Journal of Information and Organizational Sciences

Publication Ethics; List of Reviewers; Instructions for Authors

Alen Lovrenčić — 2024-06-16

Full text available in PDF.

From the Editor

Alen Lovrenčić — 2024-06-16

Dear readers,

I had the pleasure of preparing the articles published in the Journal of Information and Organizational Sciences in the last four years. This is my issue, and I want to thank all who helped, every one in its way, the Journal to prosper.

Firstly, I want to thank the authors who recognized JIOS as a decent journal adequate to publish their paper. Thanks to all the reviewers who helped me to classify received papers and raise the quality of the journal. Many of them were members of the editorial board which I want to address my thanks, too. The advisory board helped me to widen the pull of reviewers. At the end, I want to thank members of the publishing board who invested their time and work to improve the design of the journal and web page, and made it visible through the different journal bases.

In the next issue, the function of the editor will be taken by Prof. Igor Balaban. I am sure that the Journal will become much better under his leadership. I wish good luck and pleasant work on our Journal to him and his team.

Alen Lovrenčić

Cover Pages

Alen Lovrenčić — 2024-06-16

Here you can download journal cover pages.

Publication Ethics; List of Reviewers; Instructions for Authors

Alen Lovrenčić — 2023-12-22

Full text available in PDF.

From the Editor

Alen Lovrenčić — 2023-12-22

Dear readers,

I am proud to present a new issue of the Journal of Information and Organizational Sciences containing 11 original scientific papers and one preliminary communication. In this issue, we are publishing papers by 33 authors from Africa, Asia, and Europe, covering topics from management to machine translation, from bibliometric research to cryptography.

I am sure that a wide diapason of topics we are bringing can satisfy the interests of all our readers, and that you will enjoy reading this issue of our Journal.

Alen Lovrenčić

Editor

Cover Pages

Alen Lovrenčić — 2023-12-22

Here you can download journal cover pages.

Organizational Homeostasis: A Quantum Theoretical Exploration with Bohmian and Prigoginian Systemic Insights

David Leong — 2024-06-16

This study examines the complex interactions in organizational structures using Bohm's ‘wholeness’ and Prigogine’s equilibrium theories. Wave analogies and quantum principles like superposition, non-locality, and entanglement explain fluctuations in these systems. Thus, this research suggests a paradigm shift in organizational methods towards a balanced, scientific approach. Organizations need flexible tactics and behave like dissipative structures to maintain internal coherence in chaos. Heightened through mindful techniques, corporate consciousness provides insights into temporal dynamics, improving decision-making, market resilience, and an expanded organizational ethos founded in present awareness. This heightened consciousness and demand for organizational alignment and coherence empowers the corporate entities to succeed in present conditions and anticipate and address future obstacles. This study introduces ‘Mindful Corporate Entity’ (‘MCE’), emphasizing mindfulness as a critical tool for organizational well-being and sustainability. This change is proposed to close management gaps.

A Review on Blockchain for Fintech using Zero Trust Architecture

Avinash Singh — 2024-06-16

Financial Technology (FinTech) has sparked widespread interest and is fast spreading. As a result of its continual growth, new terminology in this domain has been introduced. The name 'FinTech' is one such example. This term covers a wide range of practices that are repeatedly used in the financial technology industry. This processes were typically accomplished in careers or organizations to supply required services through the use of information technology-based applications. The word covers a wide range of delicate subjects, including security, privacy, threats, cyberattacks, and others. Several cutting-edge technologies, including those associated with a mobile embedded system, mobile networks, mobile cloud computing, big data, data analytics techniques, and cloud computing, among others, must be mutually integrated for FinTech to thrive. To be approved by its users, this new technology must overcome serious security and privacy flaws. This research gives a thorough analysis of FinTech by discussing the present as well as expected confidentiality and safety problems facing the financial sector to protect FinTech. Finally, it examines potential obstacles to ensuring financial technology application security and privacy.

Digitalization of Education and Information Technologies as a Factor of Digital Economic Development

Natalya Pluzhnikova — 2024-06-16

The purpose of this study is to analyze the use of information technologies for the development of the digital economy. Digitalization of education is a necessary condition for sustainable development of modern society. The article is devoted to analyzing the factors of digitalization of education, among which information technologies are the main ones. For the analysis, the authors used a model for the development of the digital economy, which was also developed in the training of a specialist in the agro-industrial complex. Education is viewed as a subsystem of the digital economy. It is shown that the digitalization of education has both positive and negative consequences not so much for the development of industry as for human development. The article draws conclusions about the features of the socio-anthropological crisis in the context of the digitalization of education. As conclusions, the article presents forecasts for the development of digitalization of education, which include the improvement of the development and methods of introducing information and communication technologies in education, a constant change in the forms of knowledge assessment, the successful use of information technologies in the training of a specialist.

Publication Ethics; List of Reviewers; Instructions for Authors

Alen Lovrenčić — 2023-06-30

Full text available in PDF.

From the Editor

Alen Lovrenčić — 2023-06-30

Dear readers,

Again, in this issue we are bringing thirteen scientific papers from the wide field of information and communication sciences – three preliminary communications, eight survey papers, and five original scientific papers, authors of which are from Europe, Africa, and Asia.

The papers are on a wide range of topics in information, organizational, and computer sciences, so I expect the issue to be interesting for a wide range of readers.

Alen Lovrenčić

Editor

Cover Pages

Alen Lovrenčić — 2023-06-30

Here you can download journal cover pages.

Fuzzy rules-based Data Analytics and Machine Learning for Prognosis and Early Diagnosis of Coronary Heart Disease

Althaf Ali A — 2024-06-16

Globally, cardiovascular diseases stand as the primary cause of mortality. In response to the imperative to enhance operational efficiency and reduce expenses, healthcare organizations are currently undergoing a transformation. The incorporation of analytics into their IT strategy is vital for the successful execution of this transition. The approach involves consolidating data from various sources into a data lake, which is then leveraged with analytical models to revolutionize predictive analytics. The deployment of IoT-based predictive systems is aimed at diminishing mortality rates, particularly in the domain of coronary heart disease prognosis. However, the abundant and diverse nature of data across various disciplines poses significant challenges in terms of data analysis, extraction, management, and configuration within these large-scale data technologies and tools. In this context, a multi-level fuzzy rule generation approach is put forward to identify the characteristics necessary for heart disease prediction. These features are subsequently trained using an optimized recurrent neural network. Medical professionals assess and categorize the features into labeled classes based on the perceived risk. This categorization allows for early diagnosis and prompt treatment. In comparison to conventional systems, the proposed method demonstrates superior performance.

The Usage of Clouds in Zero-Trust Security Strategy: An Evolving Paradigm

Jyoti Bartakke — 2024-06-16

Zero-trust security is a security model that assumes no entity is implicitly trusted, regardless of its origin or scope of access. This approach requires continuous verification of all users, devices, and applications before granting access to resources. Cloud computing is a model for delivering IT resources and applications as a service over the Internet. Cloud computing offers many benefits, including scalability, agility, and cost savings. However, cloud computing also introduces new security challenges. This paper proposes a survey-based research methodology to evaluate the usage of clouds in zero-trust security strategies. The paper identifies different zero-trust security solutions, their key features, and the benefits and challenges of implementing these solutions in the cloud. The paper will also discuss the costs and benefits of different zero-trust security solutions. The findings of this research will be valuable for organizations that are considering implementing a zero-trust security strategy in the cloud. The paper will provide guidance on how to choose the best zero-trust security solution for organizational needs and how to implement it effectively.

A Study on Comparative Analysis of Feature Selection Algorithms for Students Grades Prediction

Muhammad Arham Tariq — 2024-06-16

Education data mining (EDM) applies data mining techniques to extract insights from educational data, enabling educators to evaluate their teaching methods and improve student outcomes. Feature selection algorithms play a crucial role in improving classifier accuracy by reducing redundant features. However, a detailed and diverse comparative analysis of feature selection algorithms on multiclass educational datasets is missing. This paper presents a study that compares ten different feature selection algorithms for predicting student grades. The goal is to identify the most effective feature selection technique for multi-class student grades prediction. Five classifiers, including Support Vector Machines (SVM), Decision Trees (DT), Random Forests (RF), Gradient Boosting (GB), and k-Nearest Neighbors (KNN), are trained and tested on ten different feature selection algorithms. The results show that SelectFwe(SFWE-F) performed best, achieving an accuracy of 74.3% with Random Forests (RT) across all ten feature selection algorithms. This algorithm selects features based on their relationship with the target variable while controlling the family-wise error rate.

Behavioral Biases in Investment Decisions: An Extensive Literature Review and Pathways for Future Research

N Sathya — 2024-06-16

In the realm of investment decisions, the influence of behavioral biases has emerged as a captivating area of exploration. This article embarks on a comprehensive journey through the landscape of behavioral biases in investment choices, delving into their profound impact on financial markets. Contrary to traditional finance theories assuming rationality, a multitude of empirical evidence attests to the pervasive effects of cognitive and emotional biases. Through an extensive literature review, this article elucidates the intricacies of key biases such as overconfidence, loss aversion, anchoring, confirmation bias, herding behavior, disposition effect, framing effects, and regret aversion. By examining the distinct ways these biases distort investors' judgment and decision-making processes, we unveil the often unexpected deviations from rationality. Each bias, rooted in human psychology, can lead to suboptimal investment behaviors, portfolio misalignments, and heightened market volatility. However, recognizing the impact of these biases provides opportunities for transformative insights. As investment professionals, policymakers, and individuals alike comprehend the subtle nuances of behavioral biases, tailored interventions, educational initiatives, and adaptive strategies can be devised to mitigate their adverse effects. This article not only synthesizes the prevailing research but also charts a course for future investigations. The implications of understanding and addressing behavioral biases extend beyond financial realms, offering a bridge between finance and psychology. As interdisciplinary collaboration gains momentum, pathways for future research become evident, beckoning scholars to delve deeper into the uncharted territories of human behavior and its intricate relationship with investment decisions. Through the exploration of these biases and their potential remedies, this article illuminates the evolving landscape of investment decision-making in a world where cognitive fallacies intersect with financial choicest.

Physical Internet Enabled Traceability Systems for Sustainable Supply Chain Management

Abdelkader Adla — 2024-06-16

Current supply chain management (SCM) requires the control of physical and information flows in order to satisfy the customer, i.e. deliver the right product to the customer at the right place, at the right time, at the right price and at the lowest cost. SCM is inseparable from traceability which makes reliable the said flows, accelerates the transmission of information on these flows, allows to access a detailed knowledge of the movements, and makes the flows visible. In order to streamline and monitor, if possible, in real time and permanently these logistical processes, we propose the design and implementation of an Ontology-based traceability system based on an architectural model for the physical Internet using computing resources such as Cloud computing, Fog computing and Internet of Things (IoT) to achieve efficiency and sustainability goals. To evaluate our system, we were able to carry out all the queries that the user can express whether he is a customer, a supplier or a manager.

Pure Strategy Saddle Points in the Generalized Progressive Discrete Silent Duel with Identical Linear Accuracy Functions

Vadim V. Romanuke — 2024-06-16

A finite zero-sum game defined on a subset of the unit square is considered. The game is a generalized progressive discrete silent duel, in which the kernel is skew-symmetric, and the players, referred to as duelists, have identical linear accuracy functions featured with an accuracy proportionality factor. As the duel starts, time moments of possible shooting become denser by a geometric progression. Apart from the duel beginning and end time moments, every following time moment is the partial sum of the respective geometric series. Due to the skew-symmetry, both the duelists have the same optimal strategies and the game optimal value is 0. If the accuracy factor is not less than 1, the duelist’s optimal strategy is the middle of the duel time span. If the factor is less than 1, the duel solution is not always a pure strategy saddle point. In a boundary case, when the accuracy factor is equal to the inverse numerator of the ratio that is the time moment preceding the duel end moment, the duel has four pure strategy saddle points which are of the mentioned time moments. For a trivial game, where the duelist possesses just one moment of possible shooting between the duel beginning and end moments, and the accuracy factor is 1, any pure strategy situation, not containing the duel beginning moment, is optimal.

Exploring the Access to the Static Array Elements via Indices and via Pointers — the Introductory C++ Case Expanded

Robert Logozar — 2024-06-16

We revisit the old but formally still unresolved debate on the time efficiency of accessing the elements of 1D arrays via indices versus accessing them via pointers. To analyze that, we have programmed benchmarks of minimal complexity in the C++ language and inspected the machine code of their compilation in the x86 assembly language. Before exploring the performance, we briefly compared a few methods used for the execution time measurements. The results on the Wintel platform show no significant advantage in using pointers over indices except for some benchmarks and array (data) types. In other cases, the exact opposite may be true. The cause of this inconsistency lies in the compilation of the source code into the rather nonorthogonal x86 instruction set. Furthermore, the execution speed does not clearly relate to the instruction length. The parallel aim of this work is to provide a ground for further analysis and measurements of this kind using different compilers, languages, and computer platforms.

Towards a Combination of Metrics for Machine Translation

Mawloud Mosbah — 2023-12-22

In this scholar, we compare three metrics for machine translation, from English to French and vice versa, and we give some combination formulas based on some schemes, algorithms, and machine learning tools. As an experimental dataset, we consider 10 English and French theses abstracts published in the web with four free in charge machine translation systems. Five combinations, with the same implicit weights, are considered namely: (BLEU+NIST), (BLEU+ (1-WER)), (NIST+(1-WER)), (BLEU+NIST+(1-WER)), and (FR(BLEU)+FR(NIST)+FR(WER)). These combinations are also considered differently through generating weights parameters on the basis of regression. The results of 12 formulas are computed and compared then in total. According to the obtained results, average regression combinations based on machine learning step are the best, especially with the three basic metrics, followed by average WER metric in the case of English to French. For French to English, (FR(BLEU)+FR(NIST)+FR(WER)) combination is the best followed respectively by the average regression combination with both first parameters (Reg(α,β)) and average BLEU basic metric. Another performance criterion is considered here, in the second position, namely: the number of times, over the 10 abstracts, where the formula is the best. Based on the obtained results, combination with regression based on the first and the last parameters (Reg(α,γ)) outperforms the others, in the case of English to French, with 3 times followed by Reg(β,γ), Reg(α,β,γ), NIST+(1-WER), and the basic metrics (BLEU, NIST, and WER) with 2 times for each of them. For French to English, the basic WER metric outperforms the others with three times followed by BLEU, (BLEU+ (1-WER)), (FR(BLEU)+FR(NIST)+FR(WER)), and Reg(α,γ) with 2 times for each of them. To note that there is a room of improvement for the combinations with1.0914 in the case of English to French and 1.01 in the case of French to English.

The Impact of Organizational Support and Employee Attitude to Innovative Work Behavior Mediating Role of Psychologic Empowerment

Nimas Pratiwi — 2023-12-22

Concerning the human aspect of organizational sustainability, this study aims to comprehensively examine organizational support (OS), employee attitude (EA), psychological empowerment (PE), and innovative work behavior (IWB). This study analyzes the relationship between OS, EA, and IWB in flexible manufacturing systems (FMS) and focuses on PE's role as a mediator between OS and EA. By dividing OS into perceived supervisor support (PSS) and procedural justice (PJ) and dividing EA into a sense of belonging (SB) and sense of awe (SA). A questionnaire was used to survey 341 participants from 23 teams employed in 9 large manufacturing enterprises in Indonesia. Eight Hypotheses were examined with Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). Results demonstrated that OS significantly affects EA and IWB, and PE mediates OS and EA through IWB. In this article, we seek to empirically test the entire belonging dimension of the OS as it relates to EA and IWB. These variables were chosen because they have well-documented pragmatic value for organizations. They also have reliable and valid relationships with various organizational support concepts. Future studies should include more variables for determining OS and EA to provide further context for organizational sustainability studies, particularly in FMS-transitioning industries.

Optimization of the results of a multilingual search engine using a fuzzy recommendation approach

Amine EL HADI — 2023-12-22

Search engines are now the main source for information retrieval due to the huge expansion of data on the internet over the last ten years. Providing users with the most relevant results for their queries poses a significant challenge for search engines. Semantic search engines, which go beyond traditional keyword-based searches, have appeared as advanced information retrieval systems to address this problem. These search engines produce more precise and pertinent search results because they understand the meanings of words and their relationships. They play a pivotal role in managing the vast amount of internet data, with a primary aim of enhancing search precision and user satisfaction. However, improving search precision remains as an important goal for natural language processing researchers. The main objective of our research is to improve the search engine results. We present a novel approach for measuring the similarity between a user’s query and a list of documents within a search engine. This approach provides a new fuzzy recommendation system using a syntactic and semantic similarity. Our results indicate that our method outperforms several existing approaches from the literature, achieving a high level of accuracy.

Consumer Segmentation in the Fashion Industry Using Social Media: An Empirical Analysis

Virtika Singhal — 2023-12-22

Social media has developed into a symbolic channel that affects consumer behavior due to the remarkable marketing and ecommerce opportunities that the internet has provided. This study is based on segmentation of consumers into different categories in the world of fashion using social media. This paper proposes two conceptual models (the FC-CBR model of consumer brand relationship and the FC-CBP model of consumer brand perception) for exploring further into these constructs and developing a more coherent theoretical framework. The study identifies factors of Consumer Brand Relationship (CBR) and Consumer Brand Perception (CBP) using social media in the fashion world. Subsequently, the manuscript groups fashion consumers into clusters using K-means cluster analysis based on consumer brand relationship and consumer brand perception. The manuscript demonstrates how the clusters can be used in the development of efficient targeting and positioning strategies by practitioners.

Publication Ethics; List of Reviewers; Instructions for Authors

Alen Lovrenčić — 2022-12-22

Full text available in PDF.

From the Editor

Alen Lovrenčić — 2022-12-22

Dear readers,

Again, in this issue we are bringing twelve scientific papers from the wide field of information and communication sciences – four preliminary communications, three survey papers, and five original scientific papers, authors of which are from Europe, Africa, and Asia.

We are trying to keep and improve the high quality of the review process, resulting in the high quality of the papers on different topics of information and communication sciences, making the Journal interesting for a wide range of scientists from the field.

I hope that you will find the papers published in this issue interesting and inspiring for your own research.

Editor

Cover Pages

Alen Lovrenčić — 2022-12-22

Here you can download journal cover pages.

Digital transformation of strategic management of SMEs in the Czech Republic

Tomas Cervinka — 2023-12-22

Strategic management of SMEs is perceived as crucial backbone of their business, as it impacts their business models and internal processes all the way up to digital innovation measured by the level of digital maturity. How do the strategic management factors influence the digital maturity? Through quantitative analysis of 76 respondents representing SMEs in the Czech Republic, the research data was collected and statistically tested. Results imply that strategic management factors affect the level of digital maturity. This paper contributes to prior literature by practical implementation of modified digital maturity model and by addressing the correlation of strategic management factors and the level of digital maturity. Limitations springing from sample site and environment are addressed and discussion on the results is conducted. Author proposes a conclusion that strategic management factors can be perceived as a driver of digital transformation, emphasizing the need for future research and practical discussion.

Integration Model of Academic Information Systems and Learning Management Systems with REST Web Services Using External Databases

Riad Sahara — 2023-12-22

ICT products like Academic Information Systems (AIS) and LMS are commonly utilized in Indonesian universities. These two ICT tools will be of tremendous use to higher education institutions in managing their academic business procedures. The two systems are still not connected in many higher institutions, nevertheless, for example when it comes to handling academic data. If the management and integration process is carried out conventionally, it will be challenging and inefficient due to the massive volume of data and complexity of these two systems. Observing these issues, the researcher plans to study the two REST-based Web Service systems' connection and make use of the External Database functionality, which will be utilized to synchronize data in real-time from AIS to E-Learning. It is hoped that the integration model resulting from research can be a solution for integration between AIS and LMS and can be implemented in many higher education institutions.

The Impact of Transformation in Higher Education: Introductory of New Technology, Is It Good or Bad?

Norzaidi Mohd Daud — 2023-12-22

This study examines the impact of transformation in higher education, in particular on the introduction of new technology to students in Malaysia. This study is unique as it focuses on usage and technology resistance. Another uniqueness of the study is that technology resistance is measured by non-technology and post-technology antecedents, which have yet to be discovered by existing studies. These factors could potentially influence students to refrain from using technology in their studies, as many previous studies only focus on usage. Furthermore, prior research should have classified different types of resistance that cause significant knowledge gaps in technology education. A survey of 156 respondents concluded that antecedents of non-technology usage do lead to resistance. Post-technology usage, similarly, does influence resistance. As expected, the usage of technology influenced students' performances. Finally, resistance to technology did not affect students' performance. This is likely the first study to examine the impact of transformation in education and classify the antecedents of technology resistance into two categories: non-technology usage and post-technology usage. This research will help policymakers understand how students react to educational transformations. Adding technology could improve how well students do in university, but it could also hurt how well they do in university.

Managing the Company's Digital Capability: A Case for Operational Excellence

Melita Draganić — 2023-06-30

The framework for assessing the company's digital capability includes six key areas that can be individually evaluated to consider the overall maturity of a company's digital capability. According to this framework key areas are innovation capability, transformation capability and IT excellence as digital transformation enablers and customer centricity, effective knowledge worker and operational excellence as digital transformation goals. The focus of this research is the area of operational excellence. The purpose of the paper is to assess how the manufacturing company manages the digital transformation of the operational excellence. In the paper, the digital capability maturity model (DCMM) and its corresponding business transformation management methodology (BTM²) are used for this assessment. The BTM2 includes nine management disciplines and each of them is individually evaluated for the case of the operational excellence. These are the following disciplines: strategy management, value management, risk management, business process management, IT management, change management, training management, project management and meta management. According to the obtained assessment results the maturity of management disciplines for the case of operational excellence within the examined company is mostly reactive (maturity level 2). In order to improve the digital transformation of the company's operational excellence, it is necessary to define digital use cases based on the new technologies and map them to the existing maturity model of operational excellence of the company. It is necessary to consider the requirements of stakeholders regarding the benefits and risks of new digital technologies to improve the operational excellence of the company. Accordingly, the company should to define a new strategic plan and align it with the new IT strategy. For this purpose, COBIT 5 framework is used in the paper. The contribution of this research is in the proposed and described three-step approach to managing the operational excellence of companies and improving the level of digital capabilities of companies.

Using the 3D Protein Structure as Key to Encrypt Images

Mohammed Abbas Fadhil Al-Husainy — 2023-12-22

In the digital world, information is exposed anytime, anywhere, to everybody, hence its privacy is a crucial matter. No matter how complicated the encryption algorithm is, it requires a strong and hard-to-break encryption key. Since the three-dimensional protein sequence structures are usually highly conserved, even better than DNA sequences, this work presents an innovative scheme for implementing the protein sequence and structural to build protein data tables that are then used to generate extremely strong encryption-keys. An image-encryption scheme designed to implement such encryption keys is developed and produced compatible security strength with existing encryption schemes. Prototype experiments resulted in an average normalized mean absolute error of 66.84%, an average peak signal to noise ratio of 6.85 dB, and comparable entropy with other cryptosystems. The obtained results make this scheme a promising color image protection technique for various applications.

A Study on Petri Net Supporting Tools for System Modeling and Analysis

Slavomir Simonak — 2023-06-30

Within this work we analyze and compare ten Petri net supporting tools for system modeling and analysis. A short summary of several available overviews of Petri net tools is performed before the tools analysis itself to evaluate the current state in this field. Principal parts of the paper are focused on analysis and evaluation of the selected tools. We provide detailed and practical description of selection of up to date tools, their evaluation based on various criteria, and recommendations for several use cases.

Usage of Cloud Computing Application by Students from Kurukshetra University: the Current State and Perspectives

Rajender Kumar — 2023-06-30

The term "cloud computing" refers to a variety of tools and applications used by organizations to manage their work processes online. Apart from providing the expected benefits, the gadgets and applications of the cloud are helpful for education. The purpose of this study is not to examine the outcomes of cloud computing in universities, but to examine how students use cloud applications. A survey research design was used to examine how students of Kurukshetra University use cloud computing applications. 200 students from the streams of science, management, social science, and arts were randomly selected to answer a structured questionnaire. A response rate of 95% was achieved by 48 students in Science, 50 in Management, 48 in Social Science, and 44 in Arts who completed and returned the questionnaire on time. The analyzed data is presented in a table that includes the Likert scale mean, standard deviation, and the cross-table Chi-square test. In the study, most students highly preferred G Suite Cloud (57%) and Microsoft (40%) learning applications. It can be seen from the study that WhatsApp (98%), Facebook (96%), and YouTube (97%) are the most preferred cloud-based social media among the students, most students preferred Google Meet (95%) and Zoom (91%) meeting application, and most students preferred Google Drive (68%) and pCloud (67%) for data storage.

New Information Technologies in the Development of Digital (Electronic) Democracy in Russia

Albina Lolaeva — 2023-06-30

This study is aimed at solving such a fundamental task as the use of modern information technologies in the development of electronic or digital democracy in Russia, as the main direction of the strategy for supporting democratic institutions and democratic processes and spreading democratic values. E-democracy is the basic foundation of the information society, accumulating a number of traditional and innovative tools that are successfully used in the democratic institutions of the modern state in the regulation of socially significant relations. The development of modern democratic processes is based not so much on public authorities, but on civil society, which is gradually transforming into a digital society. For this reason, the issue of searching for and actively implementing mechanisms that contribute to the development of information technology infrastructures, communication systems, and increasing the information literacy of the population seems to be relevant.

Data-Centric Optimization Approach for Small, Imbalanced Datasets

Vladislav Tanov — 2023-06-30

Data-centric is a newly explored concept, where the attention is given to data optimization methodologies and techniques to improve model performance, rather than focusing on machine learning models and hyperparameter tunning. This paper suggests an effective data optimization methodology for optimizing imbalanced small datasets that improves machine learning model performance.

This paper is focused on providing an effective solution when the number of observations is not enough to construct a machine learning model with high values of the estimated magnitudes. For example, the majority of the observations are labeled as one class (majority class), and the rest as the other, commonly considered as the class of interest (minority class). The proposed methodology does not depend on the applied classification models, rather it is based on the properties of the data resampling approach to systematically enhance and optimize the training dataset. The paper examines numerical experiments applying the data centric optimization methodology, and compares with previously obtained results by other authors.

Forms and conversions of the economic capital of Croatian entrepreneurs in the computer programming industry with insights into variations of the company's development stages

Tamara Šmaguc — 2023-12-22

The paper examines traditional knowledge about the role of financial and physical resources in entrepreneurship. Based on Bourdieu's theory, we search for an answer to the question of which forms of economic capital are used by Croatian entrepreneurs in the computer programming industry and what their value in the context of accessing other forms of capital is. The study is based on a qualitative methodological approach. In-depth interview technique accompanied by unstructured observations was used in data collection. In addition to primary data, research includes the use of qualitative and quantitative secondary data. Research suggests that in the computer programming industry, economic capital is just one tool in the conversion game of entrepreneurial capital. Moreover, the interviewed entrepreneurs attach the least importance to it in business, favoring the value of intangible resources such as specialized knowledge, business connections and personal acquaintances. The company's start-up phase is characterized by the entrepreneur's reliance on personal savings, which is replaced by financing based on retained earnings in the later stages of business. Other forms of growth financing, such as bank loans and recapitalization of external investors, are used by a minority of larger companies, with a good base of symbolic capital. The results on capital conversions indicate relatively easy conversion of economic capital into cultural capital and symbolic capital, and less frequent use of economic capital to create social capital. Fresh insights into the entrepreneurs' perceptions provided by the study expand existing knowledge about entrepreneurship within the computer programming industry, suggesting that it is an industry with huge potential for young talents without a personal financial base that is commonly considered a precondition for entering entrepreneurship.

Publication Ethics; List of Reviewers; Instructions for Authors

Alen Lovrenčić — 2022-06-29

Full text available in PDF.

From the Editor

Alen Lovrenčić — 2022-06-29

Dear readers,

Journal of Information and Organizational Sciences again brings high-quality scientific papers from the wide scope of topics of information sciences and management, whose authors are from different countries around the world.

This issue brings fourteen papers – twelve original scientific papers, one preliminary communication, and one survey paper. Authors come from Africa, Asia, and Europe.

All this diversity makes, in my opinion, the issue interesting to a wide scope of readers, too. Therefore, I hope that our readers will find interesting ideas and scientific results, and help them in their own research.

Alen Lovrenčić
Editor

Cover Pages

Alen Lovrenčić — 2022-06-29

Hre you can download journal cover pages.

Entrepreneur’s strategy leveraged and monitored by the interrelation of ERP and BSC

Cidalia Oliveira — 2024-06-16

Nowadays business operates in a turbulent environment, demanding quality products at low cost in short delivery times. Bearing this in mind, entrepreneurs devote special attention to define strategies, monitor entrepreneurial indicators and recruiting qualified employees. In this sense, organizations need to rely on an efficient measurement system with vast and complex information. Considering this need, the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) embraces a short-, medium- and long-term time horizon and guides entrepreneurs in the measurement of their Key Performance Indicators (KPI), as acknowledged by the well-known company like Apple, which is using BSC for planning and performance measurement. Furthermore, as the KPIs need to reflect organisational performance, the interconnection of BSC with SAP Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is considered of benefit. By means of this interlinkage, performance is monitored in an integrated way, as the flow of material and information of the whole chain is integrated and interlinked via ERP. Stressing out that several BSC implementations have failed, this research, intends to detail how ERP implementation can leverage the BSC’s features, namely to monitor entrepreneur’s strategy. As several studies have focused their attention in an isolated way and several BSC implementations failed, this research sheds light on entrepreneur’s strategy leveraged and monitored by the interrelation of ERP and BSC.

The Fundamentals of Metaverse: A Review on Types, Components and Opportunities

Arief Ramadhan — 2023-06-30

The word metaverse is resurfacing and becoming viral after Facebook changed its company name to Meta. A lot of opportunities are offered by the rise of metaverse concept. For example, a library can be presented in the form of metaverse so that visitors do not need to come physically. Metaverse means beyond the universe or in this case beyond our universe. Companies around the world including Microsoft, Facebook, Epic Games, Apple, and Nvidia already invested in the metaverse as a business opportunity, and the top 3 business sectors are technology, education, and finance. Most companies also believe there are many benefits of the metaverse that can overcome the current obstacles om this universe, such as removing the physical limitation to do various activities. This paper will give a fundamental understanding of the metaverse and the opportunity of the metaverse in practice and research in the future. The result of this paper can be a guide for any scholars and practitioners to understand the metaverse starting from the definition to the things that are related to the metaverse.

Query Refinement into Information Retrieval Systems: An Overview

Mawloud Mosbah — 2023-06-30

Query, expressing the user need and requirement, has an important role, in an information retrieval system, for reaching a high accuracy search. In this paper, we present an overview of the different refinement operations that the query may undergo, in the sake to enhance performance of an information retrieval system, such as: automatic query formulation through words prevision, query reformulation, query expansion, and query optimization.

The Influence of Digital Maturity, Competitive Priorities and Decision-making Styles on the Acceptance of Digital Technologies in Micro and Small Organizations

Dunja Dobrinić — 2023-06-30

The subject of this research is to determine the level of digital technology acceptance in micro and small organizations. There is a lack of research in the existing literature that would move away from existing models and theories and explain the reasons for digital technology acceptance by micro and small organizations. It was noticed that research on the intention to accept digital technologies in micro and small organizations needs to focus on moderating factors, the influence of which has been neglected in existing research.

For this reason, a model for digital technology acceptance by micro and small organizations was created, which explored the effect of moderating factors and encompassed the key characteristics of micro and small organizations. The effect of perceived financial risk, perceived security risk, perceived loss of time, perceived government pressure, and the level of knowledge of decision-makers on the intention to accept digital technologies are examined. As well the relationship between external pressure (market participants' pressure and crisis circumstances) and the level of knowledge of decision-makers in organizations was explored.

The focus of the research is to explore the moderating effect of the organization's digital maturity and competitive priorities on the relationship of factors (perceived security risk, perceived loss of time, perceived government pressure) and intent to accept digital technologies. The moderating effect of the decision-makers decision-making style on the relationship between external pressure (market participants' pressure and crisis circumstances) and the level of knowledge of decision-makers are explored as well.

Exploring Work from Home: Scale Construction and Its Use in Determining Croatian Engineers’ Job Satisfaction

Ivana Čavar — 2023-06-30

Working from home and work flexibility have been highly researched academic topics over the past forty years, and their importance was further amplified during the COVID-19 pandemic. Numerous qualitative and quantitative studies were aimed at better understanding this work arrangement, but they often encountered the challenges of limited scope and the inability to generalize their results. The goal of this study was to test the consistency of the instrument used in measuring the experiences of working from home for Croatian engineers, check the presence of its latent dimensions, and finally determine whether these dimensions could predict engineers’ job satisfaction. Three factors were extracted by exploratory factor analysis (productivity and work quality, work-life balance, and organizations’ distrust and control), while the multiple linear regression analysis ran on those factors as predictors proved that, although work-life balance does not influence job satisfaction, productivity and work quality positively predict it, while organizations’ distrust and control do so negatively.

A Modified Boosted Ensemble Classifier on Location Based Social Networking

Lakshmi Shree K — 2023-06-30

One of the research issues that researchers are interested in is unbalanced data classification techniques. Boosting approaches like Wang's Boosting and Modified Boosted SVM (MBSVM) have been demonstrated to be more effective for unbalanced data. Our proposal The Modified Boosted Random Forest (MBRF) classifier is a Random Forest classifier that uses the Boosting approach. The main motivation of the study is to analyze sentiment of geotagged tweets understanding the state of mind of people at FIFA and Olympics datasets. Tree based model Random Forest algorithm using boosting approach classifies the tweets to build a recommendation system with an idea of providing commercial suggestions to participants, recommending local places to visit or perform activities. MBRF employs various strategies: i) a distance-based weight-update method based on K-Medoids ii) a sign-based classifier elimination technique. We have equally partitioned the datasets as 70% of data allocated for training and the remaining 30% data as test data. Our imbalanced data ratio measured 3.1666 and 4.6 for FIFA and Olympics datasets. We looked at accuracy, precision, recall and ROC curves for each event. The average AUC achieved by MBRF on FIFA dataset is 0.96 and Olympics is 0.97. A comparison of MBRF and Decision tree model using 'Entropy' proved MBRF better.

The Role of Internal Human Resource Orchestration on Firm Performance

Xhavit Islami — 2023-06-30

The purpose of this research is to measure the mediating role of teamwork and participation (T&P) on the relationship between two human resource (HR) practices – “training and development” (T&D) and “performance appraisal” (PA) – and operational performance (OP). Employing the contingency approach, this study develops a research model that validates the assumption that appropriate internal orchestration of HR practices improves firm performance. Using AMOS, data from 157 manufacturing firms are analyzed through structural equation modeling (SEM). The results show that T&P fully mediates the relationship between T&D and OP, and partially mediates the relationship between PA and OP. This study, which provides empirical support for the importance of OP to firm effectiveness, finds that OP is positively related to financial performance (FP). The study develops a theoretical logic and empirically demonstrates that T&P is an appropriate practice for mediating the impact of T&D and PA on OP. The inclusion of T&P contributes to the theory and shows that appropriate internal orchestration of HR practices can realize effective OP and consequently greater FP of the firm.

Identification and Evaluation of the Design Risks in Iran's Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Industry

Behrouz Liravinia — 2023-06-30

Proper risk assessment and management are considered important issues in design improvement. This tendency has been due to the continuing uncertainty of the global economy and the advancement of information technology. Despite the most important and valuable benefits, developed design topics are more vulnerable and can expose the organization to higher levels of risk. Achieving sustainability is recognized as a growing and effective strategy to meet today's global design challenges. Design in the oil, gas and petrochemical industry is important due to its characteristics and high risk in different countries, especially Iran, due to its different effects on the environmental dimension. The issue of identifying and evaluating design risks has also been neglected in recent research. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to identify and evaluate design risks in Iran’s oil, gas and petrochemical industry. The present research is descriptive-survey and is qualitative and quantitative in terms of technique and data used. Based on the literature review, 13 risk factors affecting the design were identified, in two stages, in-depth interviews were conducted with the opinions of experts, and by collecting opinions through a questionnaire, and 10 key risk factors were finally confirmed. In the first stage, the validity of the questionnaire was finally confirmed based on the opinions of 5 experts and in the second stage, using the opinions of 8 experts in this industry. Cronbach's alpha coefficient of the risk questionnaire is higher than 0.7, which indicates the reliability of the research tool. According to the research findings, two factors such as weak technology / knowledge sustainability and environmental pollution, compared to other risk factors, have a higher priority in design projects in Iran's oil, gas and petrochemical industry. It is suggested that industry owners take serious and continuous measures in the field of "improving the level of process knowledge".

Measuring Customer Satisfaction Using Multi-Criteria Analysis Model of Customer Satisfaction to Evaluate Product Lines (Case Study: Kaveh Glass Industrial Group)

Maria Ali Yari — 2023-12-22

Today, customer retention and growth is the first goal. Companies have taken a heavy toll on each customer, and competitors are constantly seeking to steal them. Satisfied customers have many benefits for the company, they are less sensitive to prices, will be a customer for a long period of time, and give a favorable view of the company and its products and services to others. Paying attention to the factors that are less important from the customer's point of view and evaluating these factors leads to spending resources in areas that have less impact on customer behavior, so understanding the factors that have the greatest impact on customer satisfaction to the organization to move in this will help. In this study, we intend to use the operational data of the lines and customer satisfaction scales to evaluate the relative efficiency of product lines using the network data envelopment analysis method. In order to achieve this goal and quantify the data obtained from the questionnaire, another linear programming method called multi-criteria satisfaction analysis will be used. Another innovation of this research is the application of customer expectations in the data envelopment analysis mole because most researchers that focus on quality do not consider this component in their evaluation model. The results indicate that the distribution system is the most effective factor and resources and supply is the most effective factor affecting customer satisfaction.

Relevancy between Anchor Text and Wikipedia: A Web Search Framework

Falah Al-akashi — 2024-06-16

The overall volume of data available on the Internet is growing rapidly while finding relevant documents is becoming increasingly difficult. Moreover, queries entered by users are unique, unstructured and often ambiguous while the process has changed dramatically from standard query languages that governed by strict syntax rules to unstructured strings. In Web information retrieval, search paradigms used term occurrences to weight document content prior to any boosting stage. PageRank algorithm, for instance, was used integrated techniques to enhance post retrieval document relevancy to adequately compromise the overall process in two stages. Nevertheless, hypertexts in Web have been used for improving the quality of search results for the most common type of queries. Our main premise is that hypertexts play an important role for ranking documents in IR such as margining between user queries and consensus hypertext. We propose a new algorithm that uses term impact technology for compromising hypertext weighting in Web along with Wikipedia for efficiently find most relevant documents among large set of results. Our experimental results showed that Wikipedia could efficiently improve document relevancy rank when combined with hypertexts for exhibit robust and very good short-term process capability.

Marketing Strategy as Driving Force of Export Performance Small and Medium Enterprises - Case of Kosova

Xhelil Bekteshi — 2023-12-22

Kosovo’s private sector business is led by small and medium enterprises and shows a crucial role in the economic development and promoting the growth of this sector. Due to the lack of studies in Kosova, related to marketing strategy and export performance, the research aims to explore growth determinants of SMEs in Kosovo by emphasizing exports, revealing the importance of marketing strategy related to the performance of SMEs. Since exporting is becoming more important, it is necessary to understand all the factors that are involved in this booming trade. This research analyses explore the literature dealing with small and medium enterprises' performance to inspect the traditional and modern academic standpoints on estimating the impact of export performance, based on secondary data of five hundred small and medium enterprises, as trade, manufacturing, and services sectors in Kosovo. The data were analysed using both descriptive statistics and inferential techniques, such as logistic regression analysis, and probit model using the SPSS software. Results show a significant linkage of marketing strategy and export performance; managers and policymakers can take some action to improve export performance. On the other hand, the results measure the impact of price, production, promotion and place in export performance incorporate expected future performance. It is argued that enterprises in Kosovo must pay more attention to strategies, and attempt to design and implement better strategies that will be beneficial for developing international trade, especially exports, as one way of trading by SMEs.

Student Orientation Recommender System using TOPSIS and AHP

Farouk Ouatik — 2022-12-22

The process of traditional school guidance is carried out by specialists. They make a study of the student files based on the marks of the first year and the second year of the baccalaureate. Considering the progressive number of students and also the lack of time to make the decision, as the selection of the specialty has a great effect on the academic course of the students, we have realized a system of specialty recommendation, to computerize the orientation process and save time. But the major problem is that the students do not care about this process and pay no attention to it despite its importance. As well as the software which makes the orientation is chargeable. To order these specialties to take the best specialty. We have arrived at a problem of multi-criteria which makes it impossible to make a decision with these criteria. Because these criteria do not have the same importance and also are not
compatible, as there are criteria that must be maximum and other criteria must be minimal. To solve this problem, two systems of orientation and academic reorientation of students have been implemented. In both systems, the SMOTE method has been used to balance the learning data in the preprocessing phase. Then in the treatment phase, we sorted the specialties using in the first system, a hybridization of TOPSIS method and the information gain to find the weights of the criteria used, and in the second system, we used a hybridization of the AHP method and information gain. The results obtained indicate that before balancing data using the SMOTE method, the total accuracy of TOPSIS (84.20%) is higher than the total accuracy of AHP (83.71%). After applying balancing data using the SMOTE method, the total accuracy has increased. The total accuracy of TOPSIS (91.35%) is also higher than the total accuracy of AHP (90.83%). For the complexity of the two methods, it is related to the number of criteria and the number of alternatives. If the
number of criteria is more than 10 criteria, the complexity of TOPSIS is less than the complexity of AHP, and vice versa. The complexity of the two methods also depends on the number of alternatives, if the number of alternatives exceeds 10, the TOPSIS method becomes more complex than the AHP method. In general, the system based on TOPSIS method and the information gain is more precise than the system based on the AHP method and the information gain. But the complexity of the AHP method is less than the complexity of the TOPSIS method.

Effects of Customer Experience in Post-purchase Behavior: Evidence From Library Service in Vietnam

Trong Truong Hoang — 2022-12-22

Vietnamese universities are progressing remarkably in the list of top universities in the world. In order to obtain this achievement, Vietnamese universities have focused on improving lecturers’ capabilities, infrastructure, academic training and research quality… In the context of education in Vietnam, library service is an important factor which contributes to ranking index, attracts new enrollments and differentiates from other institutions. To find the best way to enhance students’ post-purchase behaviours, the study examined students’ experience factors that significantly affect post-purchase behaviours by proposing an analytical framework adopted from EXQ model. Data collected from 570 students studying in Vietnamese universities were analysed through structural equation modelling (SEM). The results show that post-purchase experience has a positive impact on students’ satisfaction, loyalty and word of mouth. By emphasizing the role of student experience, this study provides valuable managerial implications and contributes to the literature by suggesting a new analytical framework for measuring customer experience and post-purchase customer behaviour in the library service.

Publication Ethics; List of Reviewers; Instructions for Authors

Alen Lovrenčić — 2022-01-21

Full text available in PDF.

Towards Detecting Influential Members and Critical Topics from Dark Web Forums: A Data Mining Approach

Faris Ali — 2023-06-30

Conventionally, the Internet consists of three parts: Surface, Deep, and Dark Webs. In the last two decades, a massive increase in illicit activities took place on the different platforms of the Dark Web. Moreover, social networks on Dark Web implicate extremism dissemination on a wide scale. In this paper, we propose an approach to generate textual patterns from discussions on Dark Web terrorist forums employing Data Mining techniques. The discovered patterns help identify the influential members and extract critical topics. We describe our system modules that perform data preprocessing, text preprocessing with TF-IDF weighting, outlier detection, clustering evaluation, clustering, and clustering validation, implemented with the RapidMiner tool. We apply K-Means as the Clustering method with different distance metrics, evaluate the clustering process using Elbow and Silhouette methods, and validate it using Davies-Bouldin Index. Furthermore, we investigate the effects of altering the distance metrics for outlier detection on the Clustering results.

Predicting Customer Churn on OTT Platforms: Customers with Subscription of Multiple Service Providers

Manish Mohan — 2022-12-22

No industry can thrive without customers and with customers comes the chances of customer churn. Since customer churn have direct-impact on the revenue, all the industries are focusing in understanding the factors influencing churn and are developing methods to predict the customer churn effectively. Today, never as before, customers have wide variety of options to choose between any service or product. In addition, nowadays customers enjoy multiple subscriptions of service providers across sectors. In this study we aim to identify: i) Factors influencing customer churn on OTT platform, and ii) Predict customer churn on OTT platform. The data for this study is collected from 317 respondents, using questionnaire method, who have multiple OTT platform subscription. The questionnaire data contains 19 items which includes demographic features, usage of OTG platform, and user contentment factors about OTT service. We have identified factors influencing customer churn in Over-The-Top (OTT) platform by combining Recursive Feature Elimination (RFE), Linear Regression, and Ridge Regression feature ranking methods. We have used Hierarchical Logistic Regression, to understand impact of two newly introduced factors namely 'Multiple Subscription' and 'Switching Frequency' on the overall performance of the customer churn prediction. Finally, customer churn prediction is done using Decision Tree, Random Forest, AdaBoost, and Gradient boosting techniques. We found that random forest method gives better prediction results.

Bibliometric Mapping of Gender Disparity in Research Publications in India during 1999-2018: A Case Study of Shimla District, Himachal Pradesh

Lambodara Parabhoi — 2023-12-22

Gender disparity and gender imbalance are globally pervasive in academia. Research into gender disparity characterizing gender differences uses metrics such as publication rates, author contributions, citation rates and research impact. Previous studies are contradictory in their findings and are limited in scope. As such, the current study examines the research contribution of both men and women in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India. A Scopus search was used to identify all articles published over a 20-year period (1999-2018). For each article in the final sample of 2,881 publications, the gender the first author was identified. Both the number and the growth rate of publications by women were lower than those by men. Conversely, the growth in citation rate was higher for women in 2009 and 2016. Gender disparity was found to be highest at the Indian Institute of Wheat and Barley Research and less severe at the HP Govt. Dental College.

Cover Pages

Alen Lovrenčić — 2021-12-15

Here you can download journal cover pages.

From the Editor

Alen Lovrenčić — 2021-12-15

Dear readers,

The interest in publishing in the Journal of Information and Organizational Sciences increases every year. So, I thank all authors that find our Journal appropriate to submit their papers.

Regardless of the ever-growing number of submitted papers, we are keeping a high level of the review process.

Therefore, I would like to thank our reviewers for the care and expertise they employ in their reviews. This issue contains fourteen scientific papers, eight original scientific papers, four survey papers, and two preliminary communication.

I hope that this issue will not disappoint our readers, for, in my opinion, it contains high-quality and interesting papers from the fields of information science and management.

The Relationship of Intergenerational Perceptions of Work Ethics and Workplace Deviation Behaviors in Academic Staff

Eda Sultan Arar — 2022-12-22

The aim of the research is to examine the work ethics perceptions of academics from different generations and the relationship between these perceptions and workplace deviation behaviors. In line with the purpose, the questionnaire prepared by using 5 questions with demographic variables, academic ethical values scale and workplace deviation behavior scale were applied to 472 academicians working at state universities in Ankara and the nearby provinces. The results revealed moderately negative relationship between academic ethical values and one of its sub-dimensions which is the values for the institution and workplace deviation behaviors. Moreover, weak and strong negative relationships were found between academic ethical values and other sub-factors of workplace deviation behaviors. Intergenerational differences were found between academic ethical values and academic ethical values towards the teaching process and serious workplace deviation towards the organization, and between academic ethical values towards colleagues and deviant behaviors towards the organization.

Evaluating Compromise in Social Choice Functions

Aleksandar Hatzivelkos — 2022-12-22

We investigate the notion of compromise in the strict preferential voting setting. We introduce divergence as an inverse measure of compromise in a collection of strict preferential votes. Classical functions of social choice theory are analyzed with respect to divergence. New social welfare functions and new social choice functions with the objective of compromise are defined directly from optimization of divergence and later analyzed with respect to the common desiderata of social choice theory. For a very natural function, a simple divergence minimizer, we prove it satisfies the properties of anonymity, neutrality, consistence, and continuity. Consequently, according to Young’s theorem of characterization it follows that this function is a scoring point function. Its scoring point vector is also given. Finally, we discuss the parameter p in the divergence measure which was introduced to address vagueness and fuzziness of compromise and to control for a variety of intended levels of compromise.

Balanced Learning Design Planning: Concept and Tool

Blaženka Divjak — 2022-12-22

We present a comprehensive learning design (LD) concept and tool, motivated by the needs identified by higher education (HE) practitioners. The concept and tool aim at implementing contemporary research findings and theory to support balanced LD
planning (BDP). The student-centered BDP concept and tool provide innovation to LD planning by strongly focusing on learning outcomes (LOs) and student workload, aligning study program and course level LOs, ensuring constructive alignment and
assessment validity, enhancing LD by using learning analytics, and enabling flexible use in different contexts and pedagogical approaches. The ongoing work has been done according to design science methodology, with positive first feedback from HE
practitioners. We identify areas for further research and improvement, including testing the BDP tool in real-world HE contexts and its integration with learning management systems. This could help close the gap between intended (often innovative) LDs and their implementation in real teaching and learning environments.

The Mediating Role of Work-Family Conflict in the Relationship between Work Overload Perception and Job Satisfaction

Selami Güney — 2022-12-22

This study aims to investigate whether work-family conflict has a mediating role in the relationship between work overload perception and job satisfaction. In this framework, data were obtained from 250 accounting sector employees working in Erzincan province of Turkey by survey method. The obtained data were analyzed using SPSS and AMOS programs. As a result, it was found that work overload perception has a significant and negative impact on job satisfaction, and a significant and positive impact on work-family conflict, and work-family conflict and job satisfaction variables are significantly and negatively correlated. Also, it was determined that there is a partial mediating role of work-family conflict in the relationship between work overload perception and job satisfaction.

Role of Emotional Intelligence in Managing Organizational Culture During Covid-19 – A Cross-Sectional Study

Aakansha Singh — 2022-12-22

The present research aims to study the relation between emotional intelligence and organizational culture during the Covid-19 pandemic. Emotional intelligence is an individual's ability to understand and manage their own and others' emotions. This ability can be instrumental in driving the culture of universities and colleges. During this crucial time of Covid-19, there is a sudden shift from traditional/ face-to-face teaching to online/hybrid education; it is vital to provide a congenial environment and culture to teachers and students to promote a smooth and amiable teaching/learning experience. The data was collected from a sample of 10 colleges of higher education from NCR. The respondents included academicians of different academic ranks. 232 questionnaires were received, out of which 213 respondent's data was usable. Convenience sampling was used in this research to collect data from the colleges. According to the findings, there is a strong relation between emotional intelligence and organizational culture. The organizational culture and its dimensions are strongly affected by emotional intelligence. The most robust relationship exists between managing emotions and managing change in the organization.

Understanding Document Thematic Structure: A Systematic Review of Topic Modeling Algorithms

Victor Odumuyiwa — 2022-12-22

The increasing usage of the Internet and other digital platforms has brought in the era of big data with the attending increase in the quantity of unstructured data that is available for processing and storage. However, the full benefits of analyzing this large quantity of unstructured data will not be realized without proper techniques and algorithms. Topic modeling algorithms have seen a major success in this area. Different topic modeling algorithms exist and each one either employs probabilistic or linear algebra approaches. Recent reviews on topic modeling algorithms dwell majorly on probabilistic methods without giving proper treatment to the linear-algebra-based algorithms. This review explores linear-algebra-based topic models as well as probability-based topic models. An overview of how models generated by each of these algorithms represent document thematic structure is also presented.

The Role of Human Resource Policies on Work Life Balance Among Information Technology Sector of Women Professionals

Krishna Priya — 2022-06-29

Work life balance is the relationship between, how much time and effort someone spends to work and how much time and effort spend to other elements of their life, such as family, children, friends etc., HR policies are the organization’s continuing guidelines for managing its employees. As in this study, it mainly focuses on what are all roles played by the human resource department on balancing work and life in the Information Technology sector of women professionals. For this research, descriptive research was done with a sample of 200 women professionals from selected IT companies in Chennai using simple random sampling technique. The questionnaire was created using the independent variable of HR policies on work life balance and mediator of continuance commitment with a dependent variable of work life balance. The statistical tools used in this study are CFA, Discriminant validity and Composite reliability with the assistance of SPSS and AMOS software. The research found that, all the item used in the study are reflect a good measure of the variables.

Office Documents Classification under Limited Sample

Adrian Stepniak — 2022-12-22

Deep convolutional neural networks (CNNs) became an industry standard in image processing. However, in order to keep their high efficiency, a large annotated sample is required in the case of supervised learning. In this paper we apply the techniques specific for relatively small sample to a court files dataset. Specifically, we propose transfer learning and semisupervised learning to classify scanned page as having a table or not. We use four CNNs architectures established in the literature and find that transfer learning improves the classification performance, compared to the fully supervised learning. This result is especially evident in the scenarios where only a part of convolutioanl layers are transferred. The gains from semisupervised learning are ambiguous, as the results vary over CNNs architectures. Overall, our results show that office documents classification can achieve high accuracy when transferring initial convolutional layers is applied.

The Contribution of Women on Corporate Boards: Board’s Effectiveness – Focus on ICT

Ivana Đunđek Kokotec — 2022-06-29

The composition of supervisory and board of directors in companies is extremely important for the successful operation of companies. Nowadays, women in the workplace, and especially in management positions, encounter a form of discrimination that has its own professional name - the phenomenon of "glass ceiling". Therefore, it is very important to analyze the representation of women and men on the company’s supervisory board and board of directors. This paper will explain women's leadership style, differences between men's and women's leadership style, and the problems that women in employment, and especially in promotion. The aim off this paper is to determine whether the “glass ceiling” phenomenon is prominent in Croatian companies and to what extent. In addition, women’s representation in senior positions will be related to business performance criteria.

A Mobile Based Pharmacy Store Location-aware System

Bernard Ijesunor Akhigbe — 2022-06-29

This paper presents a formulated mobile-based location-awareness model that was implemented into a Location-awareness System (L-aS hereafter) for finding the pharmacy location where prescribed drugs and their prices are available for sale. The scenario that inspired the model formulation was formalized using the unified modeling language. The model was implemented within the android studio integrated development environment with the L-aS database created through SQL lite database. The system was tested using user experience based testing technique. Based on core system performance testing, the system demonstrated a normal response time, resource utilization (i.e. storage and memory usage), and data use potentials of 414.6ms, 4.964mb and 1.9116 kb/secs, and 3.0296mb respectively. Therefore, the system performed well under ordinary conditions as an android application running on small memory devices. The study concluded that the developed mobile based pharmacy store location-aware system was useful to provide information to purchase prescribed drugs especially in perplexed situation(s).

Exploring Students’ Perspective of a Platform for Digital Competence Acquisition in Schools

Aleksandra Sobodić — 2022-06-29

This study aims to evaluate the ways that the actual usage of a platform for digital competence acquisition, evaluation and certification contributes to satisfaction and perceived success of students in primary and secondary schools. A cross-sectional survey was implemented online to collect 1725 students’ answers in six European countries. The analysis of collected data was carried out by employing Pearson correlation, Partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) and Importance-performance map analysis (IPMA). Findings indicated that the usage of such a platform has greater effects on the impacts than on students’ satisfaction. Detailed analysis of correlations revealed that students’ decision on whether they will use the platform in the future greatly depends on how it contributes to the success of their learning processes. Results also suggest that teachers are seen as an inevitable part of such a process and are mandatory to achieve the full potential of the platform.

Strategic Development of a National Pre-tertiary Learning Analytics System

Blaženka Divjak — 2022-06-29

This paper elaborates the design of a National Learning Analytics (LA) and Educational Data Mining System for pre-tertiary education in Croatia. The described approach consists of the following five phases: 1) objectives setting, 2) user needs analysis, 3) data availability analysis, 4) dashboards pre-design and 5) validation of functionalities. There is an evident research gap, as well as the lack of practical examples about the development of a Learning Analytics System (LAS) for pre-tertiary education on the national and/or regional level. Therefore, this research aims to make a scientific contribution by filling the recognized gap, but also contribute to solving the practical issues of national schools’ LAS development. To increase the usability of an LAS, the involvement of all end users is essential. In the described case, six main user groups were identified: 10-18 years old students, teachers, school management and support staff, regional and national authorities responsible for education, strategic bodies and researchers and, finally, project partners that work on system development. For each of them, separate dashboard functionalities have been designed through several rounds of consultations. Consultations with users started with focus groups and panels, to brainstorm the most important issues they would like to answer in order to enhance learning and teaching. Between the two rounds of consultation, there was an evaluation phase of the relevance of the gathered questions. Finally, targeted users provided feedback on the pre-production functionalities of each dashboard and validated them. In this process, several challenges were detected, including data gathering and protection, ethical issues and interpretation of results for students who are underage, and continuous adjustments to the users’ needs.

Employing a Time Series Forecasting Model for Tourism Demand Using ANFIS

Sara Salehi — 2022-06-29

Forecasting the future trends is of utmost importance for managers and decision makers in different sectors. Scholars thus have introduced various techniques to the service industry aiming at employing a prediction model with ultimate accuracy and high efficiency. The literature proves that adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference systems (ANFIS) are the most efficiency models. However, the literature lacks reports on how ANFIS parameters may affect the accuracy of the system. Employing tourist arrival records to Cyprus between 2015 and 2019, this study has developed an ANFIS system to evaluate the accuracy performance of different prediction models with varied number of inputs and number or type of membership functions. Results show that the forecasting accuracy of a model with four inputs and four membership functions when the type of membership functions is Gaussian is relatively better than other models. In other words, it can be concluded that the forecast model with four inputs and four Gaussian membership functions is ultimate with the most accurate prediction record with reference to MAE, RMSE, and MAPE. The results of this study may be significant for senior managers and decision-makers of the tourism industry.

Identifying Organizational Factors Effective Knowledge Concealment in Scientific Contexts (Case Study: Islamic Azad University of Khorasan Razavi)

Mahdi Hoseinpour — 2022-06-29

This study aims to investigate the organizational factors affecting knowledge concealment in scientific contexts. This study has taken a mixed approach to identify these factors, so what makes it unique is the pluralism of data collection methods. Also, using the "Delphi" method, a conceptual model of organizational factors affecting knowledge concealment in scientific contexts is presented. The statistical sample included 314 employees of the Islamic Azad University of Khorasan Razavi who were selected through the random sampling method. They filled knowledge concealment questionnaire by Demirkasimoglu (2016) and a scholar-made questionnaire. Data were analyzed using the structural equation method (SEM) in AMOS software. Findings revealed that the coefficient correlation of organizational culture, reward system, organizational structure, organizational support, organizational justice, quality of work-life, and leadership style with knowledge concealment was -0.62, -0.27, -0.49, -1.30, -0.77, -0.39, and -0.88, respectively. The results indicate that organizational factors have an inverse and significant relationship with knowledge concealment.

Venezuelan Scientific Journals in Scopus: Production and Impact 2000-2020

Tomás Darío Marín Velásquez — 2022-06-29

The historical behavior of Venezuelan journals indexed in Scopus from 2000 to 2020, their visibility and impact were studied. The data were obtained from the Scimago Journals and Country Rank portal and were a number of journals, published papers, impact factor (SJR) and quartile of location. The historical behavior of each variable was analyzed using sequential time series models to establish whether the behavior has been random or whether it follows a defined trend. It was found that both the number of journals and the number of published papers follow definite trends and SJR behaves randomly. The decrease in the number of journals may be influenced by the critical socioeconomic situation of the country; however, the number of papers has increased over time and the SJR has remained in a narrow range, meaning that most journals fall between the Q3 and Q4 quartile.

Publication Ethics; List of Reviewers; Instructions for Authors

Alen Lovrenčić — 2021-06-15

Full text available in PDF.

From the Editor

Alen Lovrenčić — 2021-06-15

Dear readers,

The Journal is improving, not only in the means of number and quality of the papers published, but in the means of the members of the publishing board and the number of reviewers, and the number of countries that they are coming from, as well as the number of scientific databases the Journal is referenced at, also.

This year we are celebrating 45 years of continuous existence. This is an important jubilee for us, that ensures us that we are still on the right course.

The editing board is also changed, in which way we introduce young scientists, possible future editors into the work of publishing a scientific journal.

The increase of the paper that we are proud to publish is increasing, too. That means that authors recognize us as a relevant journal for publishing their papers. We are thankful for that.

In this issue you can find 15 scientific papers, 10 original scientific 3 survey papers, and 2 preliminary communications, spreading from the field of organizing government systems and e-marketing to computer algorithms and artificial intelligence.

Therefore, the Journal should be interesting to readers of a wide range of interests. I hope you will find this issue of our Journal interesting, and that you will stay with us in future issues.

Cover Pages

Alen Lovrenčić — 2021-06-15

Here you can download journal cover pages.

Development of Activity Recognition Model using LSTM-RNN Deep Learning Algorithm

Sanjay Kumar Dubey — 2022-12-22

This study analyses numerous human activities and also classifies the activities based on their trait of motion using wearable sensors data. As a part of the Human Activity Recognition Framework's development, the LSTM-RNN algorithm was implemented. We have considered ten types of motions for recognition and based on the duration of motions have classified those motions into repetitive and non-repetitive motions. The dataset utilized to evaluate the model's performance was recordings from Opportunity.
The best trained model achieved an overall accuracy of 94% and The findings of the study stated that the LSTM-RNN model achieved greater accuracy of 91% pertaining to motions that are not repeating that means motions that are performed for short
periods of time in comparison to the motions having long dependencies which achieved accuracy of 80%. The determination of performance has been done in terms of score of accuracy, score of precision and f1 score. In addition to this, a disparity analysis of the
presented model with another devised model has also been done.

Towards an Improved Framework for E-Risk Management for Digital Financial Services (DFS) in Ugandan Banks: A Case of Bank of Africa (Uganda) Limited.

Andrew Arim — 2022-06-29

One of the predominant challenges facing banks in low resource countries is the management of Digital Financial Services (DFS) risks. Many banks are making worthwhile efforts to boost the factors that make them come on top of the challenges, unfortunately they have fallen short. This article sought to develop an e-risk management framework for DFS in Ugandan banks. Design Science Research paradigm, a mono-method qualitative research method and a case study research strategy was adopted. Questionnaires, interviews and document review were the main data collection methods. Findings from this study indicate that banks in Uganda use a handful of DFS business models and face a number of DFS risks including; talent for DFS, technology, strategy, governance, product, client acquisition, crime/fraud, regulation, and agent management among others. Notwithstanding, Ugandan banks should carefully balance IT spend across customer expectations, improve cybersecurity and internal process and regularly check its IT security.

Proposing a New Term for Organizational Behavior Literature: Achilles’s Tendon Syndrome in Businesses

Tayfun Arar — 2022-06-29

In spite of threatening external factors such as uncertain environmental structure and market pitfalls, the companies struggling with the difficulty of retaining the current customer and finding the potential ones should first realize the existence of “Achilles Tendons” within themselves. To prevent this potential problem, they should focus on the labor which can be a very substantial weak point and an important asset as well. Regarding serious problems arisen from labor force, this study proposes a new term called as “Achilles Tendon Syndrome” to be used in organizational behavior literature. Various theories from different disciplines such as medicine, psychology, physics, economics and sociology support development process of the term. Similarities and differences with other close concepts are also provided throughout the paper. The current study aims to inspire future studies by filling an important gap in the organization and management literature.

The Impact of Information Technology Methods on Accounting Information Quality: Empirical Evidence From Iran

Amir Najafi — 2022-06-29

Information Technology is a key factor in eliminating the limitations posed by time and location and gives a much better and a faster access to informaition. In other words, technology has revolutionized work methods as a result of which, the paper which was used as a substrate for writing the work upon it has now been replaced by an electronic substrate. The changes created by technology include the use of Blockchain, IoT (Internet of Things), Cloud Accounting and Big Data to do accounting in automated form.The statistical sample of this study is given on the basis of the 171 person Cochran formulae consisting of financial managers, accountants and auditors of the Tehran city. Empirical results show that the use of Information Technology has a very significant role on the quality of Accounting Information and all these factors are influential in the quality of accounting system.

Digital Divide and E-Inclusion as Challenges of the Information Society – Research Review

Robertina Zdjelar — 2021-12-15

The issue of e-Inclusion has become an important topic and increasingly gains significance if one takes into account the global trend of digital transformation in the development of the information society and that the digital divide is still present. The reason more for taking the e-Inclusion of all social groups as a challenge has recently been the Covid-19 pandemic and natural disasters (earthquakes, floods) that change the norms of social behavior, require adaptation and create new rules. Users’ ability to use digital services and goods as well as open data provided by public and private organizations which ultimately results in greater access to relevant information as well as improved quality of life and are a key factor for the effectiveness of digital transformation and the economic justification of investing in advanced digital technologies, goods and services. The digital divide manifests itself on certain social groups, which is a social problem. However, despite these initiatives, there are still limitations that prevent certain population groups from becoming e-inclusive members of the information society. This paper presents an overview of the analysis results of the research perspective in which scientific and professional papers consider the concepts of e-Inclusion and digital divide as a challenge. The multiperspectiveness and multidimensionality of the concept of e-Inclusion indicates its significant role in the development of the information society.

Attitudes of Croatian Consumers About Mobile Messenger Chatbots

Damir Dobrinić — 2021-12-15

This paper aims to investigate Croatian consumers' attitudes about mobile messenger chatbots (MMC) and their propensity to use them. The proposed conceptual model is based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Innovation Diffusion Theory (IDT). The research was conducted through an anonymous survey questionnaire available on the social network Facebook. The empirical research results show that perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, compatibility, and attitude towards mobile advertisements are statistically significantly related to attitude towards mobile messenger chatbots. No negative correlation was found between internet privacy concern and consumer attitudes about mobile messenger chatbots. A positive correlation was found between attitude towards using mobile messenger chatbots and behavioral intention. In addition to the scientific contribution in better predicting chatbots' acceptance as a communication and promotional tool, the research results will also help marketing experts design advertising campaigns via mobile messenger chatbots.

Croatian Journals Covered by SCIE/SSCI: the Story from the Periphery

Martina Čuljak — 2022-06-29

The study analysed Croatian journals covered by Web of Science (WoS) Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE) and Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) over three time periods. The first two periods were the periods of inclusion of Croatian journals in SCIE/SSCI, and the third period was the period of exclusion of journals. In 1999, there were 12 Croatian journals indexed, and in 2011, mostly as a result of the WoS Regional Expansion Programme, there were 50 Croatian journals covered by SCIE/SSCI. The IF range of the Croatian journals showed an increase over the years from 1999 to 2011, but most journals remained in the fourth quartile (Q4). Although Croatia is considered as a country from the scientific periphery, in comparison with neighbouring Italy, Hungary, Slovenia, and Serbia in 2005, 2011, and 2018, Croatia had a permanently strong journal representation in JCR.

A Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS) Approach to Measuring Organizational Adaptation in Organizations and Investigating its Relationship with R&D Performance

Mahsa Fidanboy — 2021-12-15

The aim of this paper is to develop a scale for measuring organizational adaptation and investigating its relationship with R&D performance. For this purpose, the items were developed in accordance with the dimensions of organization design, and the scale was tested first in a pilot study, and after making revisions and modifications, it was employed in the main study on two different samples, one for exploratory factor analysis (EFA), and the other for confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The final scale consists of 17 items categorized under 4 dimensions labeled as contextual factors, tasks and roles, labor and labor division, and rules and regulations. The results indicate that except for rules and regulations, all dimensions of organizational adaptation bear higher values in high R&D performance cluster. The organizations who enforce adaptation in all the other three dimensions yield more innovation which will help them in their decisions regarding their adaptive responses.

Differences in Personal Innovativeness in the Domain of Information Technology Among University Students and Teachers

Andrej Šorgo — 2021-12-15

Two online surveys among 1105 university students and 656 employees were conducted with the inclusion of the construct Personal Innovativeness in the domain of Information Technologies (PIIT). After calculating descriptive statistics, statistically significant differences between personal innovativeness of university students and teachers were sought by the application of one-way ANOVA. The first and most important finding was that average perceived PIIT of teachers and students falls around the middle of the seven-point scale, which cannot be regarded as a plausible predictor of upgrading the University as an Innovative Ecosystem. The second was that university teachers scored higher than their students, a situation that could produce an expectancy conflict between those who want to work in an innovative way and those who would prefer study by the book. Teaching assistants, who should belong to the generation of digital natives, are only slightly more innovative than university teachers, who can be regarded as digital immigrants. Assuming that innovativeness can be upgraded by learning, means that efforts should be made by University Management to encourage and support Personal Innovativeness (and other creativities, as well) as a preferred teaching practice.

Hybrid Recommendation Using Temporal Data for Accuracy Improvement in Item Recommendation

Desabandhu Parasuraman — 2021-12-15

Recommender systems have become a vital entity to the business world in form of software tools to make decisions. It estimates the overloaded information and provides the suitable decisions in any kind of business work through online. Especially in the area of e-commerce, recommender systems provide suggestions to users on the items that are likely based upon user’s true interest. Collaborative Filtering and Content Based Filtering are the main techniques of recommender systems. Collaborative Filtering is considered to be the best in all domains and always outperforms Content Based filtering. But, both the techniques have some limitations like data sparsity, cold start, gray sheep and scalability issues. To overcome these limitations, Hybrid Recommender Systems are used by combining Collaborative Filtering and Content Based Filtering. This paper proposes such kind of hybrid system by combining Collaborative Filtering and Content Based Filtering using time variance and machine learning algorithm.

Digital Transformation of Agencies for Students` Part Time Jobs in the Republic of Croatia

Sonja Nidogon Višnjić — 2021-12-15

Digital transformation (DT) of agencies for students`part time jobs in the Republic of Croatia (RC) began to be mentioned through the adoption of the Act of student activities (Act). The work of students in the Republic of Croatia is regulated by the Act [1], which provides the legal basis for the DT system of mediation in employment. The Act and the Ordinance oblige the mediator to keep all records in electronic form and define the possibility of issuing student contracts in electronic form, but up to now this form of contract has not been experienced in practice [1], [2]. The distinction between digitization and DT in part led to the fact that the electronic student contract currently implies the issuance of an online student contract, which was not signed by an advanced electronic signature. Changes in business caused by COVID-19 contributed to greater utilization of existing online contracts and pointed to inconsistencies in the work of intermediaries. The aim of this paper is to present, based on a literature review and analysis of the existing situation through the case study, the conceptual model of the DT system for mediation in employment and to test the digital maturity of the current system. The scientific contribution of the paper is in presenting a model that can be implemented in the daily practice of all students employment agencies, while the social contribution is reflected in the attempts of DT public institutions that should be used as an example to the private sector.

Inverted Sparse Discriminant Preserving Projection for Face Recognition

Kiril Stoyanov Kirilov — 2021-12-15

Image classification and face recognition has been a popular subject matter for the last several decades. Images are usually handled as transformed as vectors which makes their classification a dimensionality reduction task. Some of the well-known algorithms in the area, such as the Sparsity Preserving Projection (SPP), create new theoretical concepts families, while other successfully modify or combine useful properties of the former ones. Compiled algorithms like Sparse Discriminant Preserving Projections (SDPP) employ the properties of the Sparse Representation (SR) as in their objective functions they include a supervised modification of the sparse weight matrix that considers the intra-class relations. By examining the construction of the SDPP algorithm and by providing some arguments on the supervised SR, in this paper we propose a new subspace learning algorithm, called Inverted Sparse Discriminant Preserving Projection (ISDPP). Likewise SDPP, ISDPP integrates supervised SR with the Fisher’s criterion. In contrast to SDPP, ISDPP incorporates a between-class SR with the Fischer’s within-class scatter matrix. A preliminary round of experiments support the initiative and provide an expectation for possible superior performance of the proposed ISDPP that is confirmed in the next round of empirical examinations.

Use of Augmented Reality with Game Elements in Education – Literature Review

Tamara Ređep — 2021-12-15

This paper reviews the literature and analyzes the research topics on the use of augmented reality technology in education with possible integration of game elements, in order to obtain a synthesis of previous knowledge related to the topic in the period from 2010 to 2020. Fifty-two papers describing different aspects of augmented reality used in the field of education were selected for the analysis. The main conclusions of the systematization and synthesis were: a) five basic thematic categories were identified; b) 2019 was recognized as the year with the largest publication of papers; c) the use of augmented reality in teaching activities, and especially with game elements, improves student efficiency, stimulates attention and interest, brings improvements in collaboration and perception of fun, improves teaching and learning processes and in general encourages innovation and improvement through educational technology.

Scientific Mapping of Social Accounting using Research Indexed in Scientific Databases

Ali Asghar Sadabadi — 2022-06-29

Scientometrics is one of the most important scales for evaluating scientific outputs. Co-word and social network analysis (SNA) were used to investigate relationships in the field of social accounting researches indexed on Scopus. The findings of the study indicate that the most frequent topics and vocabulary in this area is economic analysis, economic and social effects. Moreover, the most valuable subject areas were identified: based on closeness, they are water resources, tourism economics and structural adjustment. Based on centrality, economic impact, economic analysis, environmental economics and income distribution. The results of the study indicate that many important social and environmental issues can be assessed through social accounting. Co-authorship analysis revealed that the co-authorship network in this domain was discrete and with low density. By utilizing the co-occurrence map, researchers and policymakers can make policy making more effective through being aware of the research trends and hot topics in social accounting.

Early Cocoa Blackpod Pathogen Prediction with Machine Learning Ensemble Algorithm based on Climatic Parameters

Olofintuyi Sunday Samuel — 2022-06-29

Machine learning has been useful for prediction in the various sectors of the economy. The research work proposed an ensemble SA-CCT machine learning algorithm that gives early and accurate prediction of blackpod disease to farmers and agricultural extension officers in South-West, Nigeria. Since data mining put into consideration the types of pattern in a given dataset, the study considered the pattern in climatic dataset retrieved from Nigeria Meteorological agency (NIMET). The proposed model uses climatic parameters (Rainfall and Temperature) to predict the outbreak of blackpod disease. The ensemble SA-CCT model was formulated by hybridizing a linear algorithm Seasonal Auto Regressive Integrated Moving Average (SARIMA) and a nonlinear algorithm Compact Classification Tree (CCT), the implementation was done with python programming. The proposed SA-CCT model gives the following results after evaluation. Precision: 0.9429, Recall 0.9167, Mean Square Error: 0.2357, Accuracy: 0.9444

Publication Ethics; List of Reviewers; Instructions for Authors

Alen Lovrenčić — 2020-12-08

Full text available in PDF.

A Framework of Social Networks Control in Higher Educational Contexts

Maria Jakovljevic — 2021-12-15

Educationists are urged to investigate the effect of social networks control. There is a lack of multidisciplinary studies with a focus on coercive social network control in the higher education sector. This exploratory and descriptive study presents a theoretical contemplation of social network control based on ten key elements that influence teaching and learning in higher educational environments. The paper provides a critical analysis of the impact of an economic model on social networks control and examines social engineering through the tenets of digital presence, psychological strategies and tactics. Insights into user-generated content and the learning process of manipulative assimilation that influence current ways of thinking in higher educational contexts are offered through the lens of social networks control mechanisms. A framework for social network control was derived, signifying the flow and dynamics between key elements which might impact on various aspects of social network security and its applications in Higher Education.

Cover Pages

Alen Lovrenčić — 2020-12-08

Here you can download journal cover pages.

From the Editor

Alen Lovrenčić — 2020-12-08

Dear readers,

As the new editor, in the beginning I would like to thank former editor dr. Dijana Oreški for her efforts to improve the Journal in the quality of the papers, visibility and recognition in the scientific society. This Journal has been continuously published for 43 years, and yet, improvements are possible. Such a tradition demands severity in work and devotion in efforts. And I hope that I will be, as a new editor, on the level for these tasks.

The Journal could not exist without the thoughtful leading, for which I thank all previous editors, without hard work in selecting papers, for which I am thankful to all members, current and previous, of the editorial board, keeping the quality of the papers on the high level, which is the merit of our reviewers, the work on the design and layout of the Journal, which is in the continuous process of improvement, thanks to publishing board. The Journal could not exist without the content, the papers. Therefore, I want to thank all authors that, in 43 years, recognized our Journal as an adequate place to publish their scientific results.

All this work must go on. Therefore, I am proud to present the new issue of the Journal containing 10 high quality papers from the authors from Europe, Asia and Africa. Three continents authors come from justify the status of internationality of the Journal and assure us that we are still on the right track. Among the papers we have seven original scientific papers, two survey papers and one preliminary communication. I hope that readers will enjoy reading this issue and that they will find papers presented in it inspiring for their future research.

Alen Lovrenčić
Editor

Spectral Indexes Evaluation for Satellite Images Classification using CNN

Vladyslav Yaloveha — 2021-12-15

Deep learning approaches are applied for a wide variety of problems, they are being used in the remote sensing field of study and showed high performance. Recent studies have demonstrated the efficiency of using spectral indexes in classification problems, because of accuracy and F1 score increasing in comparison with the usage of only RGB channels. The paper studies the problem of classification satellite images on the EuroSAT dataset using the proposed convolutional neural network. In the research set of the most used spectral indexes have been selected and calculated on the EuroSAT dataset. Then, a novel comparative analysis of spectral indexes was carried out. It has been established that the most significant set of indexes (NDVI, NDWI, GNDVI) increased classification accuracy from 64.72% to 84.19% and F1 score from 63.89% to 84.05%. The biggest improvement was obtained for River, Highway and PermanentCrop classes.

From Discord to Concord and Back Again (Managing the Formation, Transformation, and Fission of Organizational Culture)

Armen E. Petrosyan — 2021-12-15

By means of theoretical analysis based on the results of previous research, and the relevant historical and factual material, the author outlines a new theory of formation, transformation, and fission of organizational culture. The mechanism that consolidates organizational culture (selection of “right” persons; adjustment to the common cause; and people’s accommodation with each other), the toolkit for renewing it (involvement of the key bearers of the culture to be introduced; elimination of those inconsistent with it; and translation of the proclaimed values to the “pliant mass” ready to get engaged in changes) as well as the nature of cultural ruptures in organizations and the ways out are brought into relief. The paper promotes a better understanding of the dynamics of organizational culture and gives an access to more efficient instruments to manage it.

Implementation of Feedback as an Important Element of Modern Corporate Websites

Yuriy Golchevskiy — 2021-12-15

The Internet has become an independent global electronic environment for economic activity, which for many companies has come to the forefront, not only complementing but also replacing the business methods used for decades. Almost any company, linking its activities to the Internet, develops and maintains its representation in the form of a corporate portal or website. Sites become more functional, more beautiful and informative over time, but many managers forget or do not pay due attention to such an important element of the site as feedback from external and internal contractors. This article presents the effectiveness of using feedback on specific examples in a simple and straightforward way, and gives an overview of the different forms of organisation of such communication, with an indication of possible tools for their implementation.

Existing Differences Between SMEs That Apply BSC and Those That Do Not

Cidalia Oliveira — 2021-12-15

This paper aims to confirm the importance of BSC (Balanced Scorecard) in SMEs’ organizational performance. To perform the empirical study of this investigation, a field study, namely a qualitative approach, Multi Case Study was selected and developed in two small and medium organizations (SMEs) in the wine sector. One of the organizations, had the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) implemented while the other did not, which made it possible to ascertain the existing differences among SMEs that apply and those that do not apply BSC. The results showed that BSC has impact on business success. SMEs benefit from the implementation of BSC, consequently SMEs were encouraged to adopt it based on the benefits in terms of performance and measurement of strategic objectives. This study reflects that BSC has been a discussion and research topic over the last few years as it leverages business. Managers seek appropriate BSC tools to implement indicators and monitor these in accordance with the global organizational strategy. Besides BSC provides managers with relevant information to take decisions, define action plans and achieve the whole organizational control.

The Flexibility of Temporary Employment in Europe

Margarida Rodrigues — 2021-06-15

Temporary employment is not influenced by the unemployment rate, but shows a positive relation with the social protection expenses of the companies. Poland is the country with the highest percentage of temporary workers (2013). The objective of this research is to study this flexibility, by obtaining empirical evidence in the European Union, using a quantitative research method. Research is still missing towards a better understanding of the relation between temporary employment and unemployment. The relevance of understanding of the effects of temporary employment in the European Labor Market. As future research, it is suggested that this study be replicated for the time span of 2006 to 2020. This research focuses on the geographical area studied, providing a better understanding of the relation between temporary employment and unemployment. This research is based on quantitative research using a European Union secondary database (Eurostat).

A Novel Classification Model for Employees Turnover Using Neural Network to Enhance Job Satisfaction in Organizations

Tarig Mohamed Ahmed — 2021-12-15

The most important challenge facing modern organizations is to keep their employees as valuable assists. Employee turnover is one of these challenges. This paper aims to develop a novel model that can help decision-makers to classify the problem of Employee Turnover. The proposed model is based on machine learning algorithms. The model was trained and tested by using a dataset that consists of 1470 records and 25 features. To develop the research model, many experiments had been conducted to find the best one. Based on implementation results, the Neural Network algorithm is selected as the best one with an Accuracy of 84% and AUC (ROC) of 74%. By validation mechanism, the model is acceptable and reliable to help origination decision-makers to manage their employees in a good manner and setting proactive plans to keep them. Besides the model, three important features should be dealt with carefully as Over Time, Job Level, Monthly Income.

Real Time Web Search Framework for Performing Efficient Retrieval of Data

Falah Al-akashi — 2021-06-15

With the rapidly growing amount of information on the internet, real-time system is one of the key strategies to cope with the information overload and to help users in finding highly relevant information. Real-time events and domain-specific information are important knowledge base references on the Web that frequently accessed by millions of users. Real-time system is a vital to product and a technique must resolve the context of challenges to be more reliable, e.g. short data life-cycles, heterogeneous user interests, strict time constraints, and context-dependent article relevance. Since real-time data have only a short time to live, real-time models have to be continuously adapted, ensuring that real-time data are always up-to-date. The focal point of this manuscript is for designing a real-time web search approach that aggregates several web search algorithms at query time to tune search results for relevancy. We learn a context-aware delegation algorithm that allows choosing the best real-time algorithms for each query request. The evaluation showed that the proposed approach outperforms the traditional models, in which it allows us to adapt the specific properties of the considered real-time resources. In the experiments, we found that it is highly relevant for most recently searched queries, consistent in its performance, and resilient to the drawbacks faced by other algorithms.

Dissimilarity Clustering Algorithm for Designing the PID-like Fuzzy Controllers

Essam Natsheh — 2021-06-15

Fuzzy logic controller is one of the most prominent research fields to improve efficiency for process industries, which usually stick to the conventional proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control. The paper proposes an improved version of the three-term PID-like fuzzy logic controller by removing the necessity of having user-defined parameters in place for the algorithm to work. The resulting non-parametric three-term dissimilarity-based clustering fuzzy logic controller algorithm was shown to be very efficient and fast. The performance study was conducted by simulation on armature-controlled and field-controller DC motors, for linguistic type and Takagi-Sugeno-Kang (TSK) models. Comparison of the created algorithm with fuzzy c-means algorithm resulted in improved accuracy, increased speed and enhanced robustness, with an especially high increase for the TSK type model.

Influence of Organizational culture & Intellectual Capital on Business Performance in in Textile Industry of Pakistan

Syed Muhammad Fahim — 2021-06-15

This paper aims to find out the extent to which organizational culture and intellectual capital influence the textile industry’s business performance in Pakistan. The study uses causal and explanatory research design. Several 200 textile industry employees participated in this survey, selected as the study sample using the purposive sampling technique. The study detects that both organizational and intellectual capital directly impact the textile firms’ business performance. However, the impact of intellectual capital on business performance is more substantial than that of organizational culture. The mediating effect of technological innovation in the relationship between organizational culture and business performance is also supported. The study can be used by the textile industry managers to set up policies on how to improve business performance in the textile firms. The study also fills the literature gap as prior studies do not have worked on the mediating aspect of technological innovation.

EAFP: Enterprise Architecture Fusion Process

Nedim Dedić — 2021-06-15

Enterprise Architecture (EA) is well researched and well-developed concept, and even a two decades ago there were a plenty of frameworks in this field. However, the functional integration of EA at operational and tactical levels in organisations is identified as one of the biggest challenges faced by many Enterprise Architects today. To overcome this challenge, a comprehensive literature review on EA is conducted, which resulted with the identification of the knowledge gap. To overcome this gap, Enterprise Architecture Fusion Process (EAFP), a novel practical approach that demonstrates the capability of integrating EA activities into operational and tactical activities in respective organisation is developed and presented in this paper.

New Synonyms Extraction Model Based on a Novel Terms Weighting Scheme

Ahmad Ababneh — 2021-06-15

The traditional statistical approach in synonyms extraction is time-consuming. It is necessary to develop a new method to improve the efficiency and accuracy. This research presents a new method in synonyms extraction called Noun Based Distinctive Verbs (NBDV) that replaces the traditional tf-idf weighting scheme with a new weighting scheme called the Orbit Weighing Scheme (OWS). The OWS links the nouns to their semantic space by examining the singular verbs in each context. The new method was compared with important models in the field such as the Skip-Gram, the Continuous Bag of Words, and the GloVe model. The NBDV model was manipulated over the Arabic and English languages and the results showed 47% Recall and 51% Precision in the dictionary-based evaluation and 57.5% Precision in the human experts’ evaluation. Comparing with the synonyms extraction based on tf.idf, the NBDV obtained 11% higher recall and 10% higher precision. Regarding the efficiency, we found that on average, the synonyms extraction of a single noun requires the process of 186 verbs and in 63% of the runs; the number of singular verbs was less than 200. It is concluded that the developed method is efficient and processes the single run in linear time.

The E-Marketing Strategy Process in the Tourism Industry - Case Study Kosovo and Albania

Behrije Ramaj-Desku — 2021-06-15

The E-marketing strategy is developed as a process of several stages that need to be well analyzed and constantly reviewed. The first stage of this process is situational analysis (internal and external factors). The research was focused on identifying internal and external factors. The Delphi technique was used in combination with the AHP method to answer the research questions. The research was conducted in three stages, according to the Delphi technique. In order to process the data in all three phases of the research Excel, SPSS, and the AHP-ON system were used. 36 experts of tourism industry from Kosovo and Albania took part in this study. Ranked based on the signinficance, of all factors and sub-factors the following indicated the highest influence: entrepreneurial attitudes and knowledge, management support, customer and supplier relationships, IT cost, competitor identification, competitor analysis, and innovation. Based on the scientific literature and the primary results, the conclusion and recommendations were drawn and a model was proposed by the author based on the contingency theory and the TEO framework.

Re-examination and expanding the EUCS Model on Cloud-based ERP system

Weli Weli — 2021-06-15

The end-user computing satisfaction model (EUCS) has been widely used in previous studies, and Enterprise Resource Planning. Therefore, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) System, need to be developed in accordance with cloud computing that dominate current information technology devices. This study was carried out to test the expansion of the EUCS model in a cloud-based ERP system. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to re-examine the validity and reliability of the computer application satisfaction model and its relationship with user performance in cloud-based ERP system. The overall satisfaction variable is added as a mediation between the satisfaction model and user performance. Data was collected through snowball sampling with a questionnaire distributed to the cloud-based ERP users. Additionally, data processing was conducted using the Second-order concept in structural equation modeling with the Partial Least Square approach. Since data processing using WarpPLS confirmed the validity and reliability of the model and all relationships between variables, this research contributes theoretically to the study of end-user satisfaction from information technology applications. Its final section describes the limitations and opportunities for future research.

Use of WhatsApp Application on Fruit Marketing Communication: A Traders’ Experience

Heri Akhmadi — 2021-06-15

WhatsApp is mobile messaging application which is widely used in communication. However, its use in marketing communication is relatively new. This study investigates WhatsApp user profile, factors that influence the use of WhatsApp and relationship between the factors with WhatsApp usage level in fruit marketing communication. Respondents were selected using census method by taking all fruit wholesalers in Giwangan Fruit Central Market, the largest fruit market in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Data were analyzed using descriptive methods and Spearman Rank correlation. The results showed that majority of WhatsApp users among traders are male in millennial age, with high school education. Furthermore, the convenience in use and economical reason were the most influential factors in the use of WhatsApp on marketing communication. Moreover, this study found that there was a strong and positive correlation between benefits factors and the use of WhatsApp on fruit marketing communication.

Application of Fuzzy Set Theory in the Distribution of Information Flows of a Network Information System

Alexander V. Rubtsov — 2021-06-15

This study's subject represents the processes of functioning of information flows in a network information system through the use of fuzzy sets. It considers the possibilities of fuzzy sets in the information flows distribution problems of the Network Information System by the development of mathematical tools. In the theoretical part of the study, the main issue was the description of the fuzzy approach. In the empirical part of the study, the main concern was finding out the reasons for the fuzzy approach's advantages. The main results of the study: proof of the identity between the functioning of the analytical data; held the solution of the optimization problem based on the formulated analytical models; comparison of the usage of fuzzy logic with a different statistical method; demonstrated the advantage of fuzzy approach in modeling processes network information system. The results can be applied in the field of information systems and technologies.

Trends in the Enterprise Resource Planning Market Landscape

Shadrack Katuu — 2021-06-15

This article provides a brief discussion of ERPs, including how they can be defined, their component parts, and the evolution of technologies since the 1940s. The article then offers a general overview of the current ERP vendor market landscape based on academic journals and industry reports. The article’s methodological approach is a review of both academic literature and industry expert reports, which the author performed to trace trends within the landscape. Results of the analysis demonstrate that the rapidly evolving market landscape dates back at least six decades, and there are many large, longstanding ERP vendors. Yet, opportunities like cloud computing may result in niche products in existing industry players or through start-ups. Nonetheless, technologies such as blockchain are emerging. It remains to be seen how they will impact the ERP market.

Cover Pages

Dijana Oreški — 2020-06-24

Here you can download journal cover pages.

Publication Ethics; List of Reviewers; Instructions for Authors

Dijana Oreški — 2020-06-24

Full text available in PDF.

From the Editor

Dijana Oreški — 2020-06-24

Dear readers,

let me greet you in this challenging times. Lockdown and physical distancing measures in lots of countries required adoption of information and communication technologies (ICT) and people urged to deploy digital technologies to enable as normal life as possible. Governments have designed applications and services to help in the fight against COVID-19, to facilitate wide range of services. In such environment, we have learned that future of ICT related research is in interdisciplinary approach and relations with other research domains. That is in the focus of JIOS. Now, more than ever, we will encourage and promote interdisciplinary related information sciences research topics.

In this issue, we are presenting nine original scientific papers dealing with various aspects of information and communication technologies. I believe you will find interesting topics for your research agendas.
Hope that many of you who read the Journal will join us as authors.

Dijana Oreški
Editor

The Impact of Pair Programming on the Performance of Slow-Paced Students: A Study on Data Structure Courses

Mewati Ayub — 2020-12-08

A study shows that pair programming can help slow-paced students in completing Introductory Programming assessment. This paper replicates the study on Data Structure course, in which the completion of the assessments does not only rely on logic but also theoretical knowledge. The aim is to check whether pair programming is still helpful on such new assessment characteristics. Three classes of Data Structure course with 14 teaching weeks and a total of 72 undergraduate students are considered in this study. Two of the classes are about Basic Data Structure while another one is the advanced one. Our evaluation shows that pair programming can help slow-paced students in both pair and individual academic performance. It also increases overall academic performance if the tasks are more logic oriented. Nevertheless, no benefits provided for fast-paced students paired to the slow-paced ones, even though all students appreciate the use of pair programming.

ΔRLE: Lossless data compression algorithm using delta transformation and optimized bit-level run-length encoding

Branislav Mados — 2021-06-15

Lossless data compression algorithms can use statistical redundancy to represent data using a fewer number of bits in comparison to the original uncompressed data. Run-Length Encoding (RLE) is one of the simplest lossless compression algorithms in terms of understanding its principles and software implementation, as well as in terms of temporal and spatial complexity. If this principle is applied to individual bits of original uncompressed data without respecting the byte boundaries, this approach is referred to as bit-level Run-Length Encoding. Lightweight algorithm for lossless data compression proposed in this paper optimizes bit-level RLE data compression, uses special encoding of repeating data blocks, and, if necessary, combines it with delta data transformation or representation of data in its original form intending to increase compression efficiency compared to a conventional bit-level RLE approach. The advantage of the algorithm proposed in this paper is in its low time and memory consumption which are basic features of RLE, along with the simultaneous increase of compression ratio, compared to the classical bit-level RLE approach.

The Use of E-government from the Perspective of Biggest Business Entities in Serbia

Jasmina Đurašković — 2021-06-15

The development and use of information and communication technologies (ICTs), and in particular the Internet, have changed the way businesses operate in the last twenty years, providing a number of new opportunities for improving innovation and competitiveness. Today, modern ICT is considered to be the basis for the development of a knowledge society, in which the concept of e-government plays a special role. The main goal of this paper was to examine the perceptions of business users, in terms of perceived barriers and benefits achieved, from the use of electronic public administration services. The survey included 500 companies with the highest business income in Serbia. The data collected were analyzed using Pearson’s correlation coefficient, Mann Whitney’s test and Kruskal-Wallis test. The results of the research showed that the level of acceptance of electronic services is still lower than expected, given the volume of services offered. Also, this study pointed to the need to raise the level of awareness of businesses about e-government services, as well as the need to improve the quality of electronic services, in terms of complete digitization, alignment with enterprise requirements and regular updating of data.

Queueing Systems with Random Volume Customers and their Performance Characteristics

Oleg Tikhonenko — 2021-06-15

In the paper, we consider non-classical queueing systems with non-homogeneous customers. The non-homogeneity we treat in the following sense: in systems under consideration, we characterize each customer by random capacity (volume) that can have an influence on his service time. We analyze a stochastic process having the sense of the total volume of all customers present in the system at given time instant. Such analysis for different queueing systems with unlimited or limited total volume can be used in designing of nodes of computer and communication networks while determining their buffer space capacity. We discuss basic problems of the theory of these systems and their performance characteristics. We also present some examples and results for systems with random volume customers.

Complete SAT based Cryptanalysis of RC5 Cipher

Artur Soboń — 2020-12-08

Keeping the proper security level of ciphers used in communication networks is today a very important problem. Cryptanalysts ensure a constant need for improvement complexity and ciphers' security by trying to break them. Sometimes they do not instantly try to break the strongest version of the cipher, but they are looking for weaknesses by splitting it and independently checking all algorithm components. Often cryptanalysts also attempt to break cipher by using its weaker version or configuration. There are plenty of mechanisms and approaches to cryptanalysis to solve those challenges. One of them is SAT-based method, that uses logical encoding. In this article, we present our wide analysis and new experimental results of SAT-based, direct cryptanalysis of the RC5 cipher. To perform such actions on the given cipher, we initially create a propositional logical formula, that describes and represents the entire RC5 algorithm. The second step is to randomly generate key and plaintext. Then we determine the ciphertext. In the last step of our computations, we use SAT-solvers. They are particularly designed tools for checking the satisfiability of the Boolean formulas. In our research, we make cryptanalysis of RC5 cipher in the case with plaintext and ciphertext. To get the best result, we compared many SAT-solvers and choose several. Some of them were relatively old, but still very efficient and some were modern and popular.

Use of Internet Social Networks in Academic Environment

Renáta Cenková — 2020-12-08

Numerous national and private Slovak universities and colleges are currently confronted with a state, where the offer of study programmes exceeds its demand-students' interests. This paper describes reasons for this situation but mainly it points out the fact that the advent of information and communication technologies significantly intervened in different areas of life and all types of communication. The implementation of some tools of internet social networks in the academic environment is, therefore, essential. In addition to the theoretical background, the paper also includes case study related to the creation of a new Facebook profile #MaŠtu, setting up specific online marketing key performance indicators (KPI) and monitoring them using both Facebook analytics metrics and the social networking tool for administration, ZoomSphere.

Comparison of Telecommunication Markets in Europe using Multivariate Statistical Analysis

Paweł Kossecki — 2020-12-08

Common problem in valuation of telecommunication companies is finding comparable data and markets for valuation. The aim of this work was to identify comparable markets for the telecommunication market in Europe. A method for comparison of the markets based on the Multivariate Statistical Analysis was presented. The study covers twenty-two European countries. Using taxonomic measures, these countries were divided into five groups, taking into account the following variables: average monthly service cost of the fixed Internet, average cost of the mobile usage, and average cost of the fixed telephony usage. Within individual groups, the costs of telecommunications services are less diverse than in the entire population; their members can be considered comparable markets. The same method can be used for comparing markets in cases of enterprise valuations in the telecommunication sector, and also in analysis of their level of development.

Controlled DDoS Attack on IPv4/IPv6 Network Using Distributed Computing Infrastructure

Michal Čerňanský — 2020-12-08

The paper focuses on design, background and experimental results of real environment of DDoS attacks. The experimental testbed is based on employment of a tool for IT automation to perform DDoS attacks under monitoring. DDoS attacks are still serious threat in both IPv4 and IPv6 networks and creation of simple tool to test the network for DDoS attack and to allow evaluation of vulnerabilities and DDoS countermeasures of the networks is necessary. In proposed testbed, Ansible orchestration tool is employed to perform and coordinate DDoS attacks. Ansible is a powerful tool and simplifies the implementation of the test environment. Moreover, no special hardware is required for the attacks execution, the testbed uses existing infrastructure in an organization. The case study of implementation of this environment shows straightforwardness to create a testbed comparable with a botnet with ten thousand bots. Furthermore, the experimental results demonstrate the potential of the proposed environment and present the impact of the attacks on particular target servers in IPv4 and IPv6 networks.

A Comparison of Approaches for Measuring the Semantic Similarity of Short Texts Based on Word Embeddings

Karlo Babić — 2020-12-08

Measuring the semantic similarity of texts has a vital role in various tasks from the field of natural language processing. In this paper, we describe a set of experiments we carried out to evaluate and compare the performance of different approaches for measuring the semantic similarity of short texts. We perform a comparison of four models based on word embeddings: two variants of Word2Vec (one based on Word2Vec trained on a specific dataset and the second extending it with embeddings of word senses), FastText, and TF-IDF. Since these models provide word vectors, we experiment with various methods that calculate the semantic similarity of short texts based on word vectors. More precisely, for each of these models, we test five methods for aggregating word embeddings into text embedding. We introduced three methods by making variations of two commonly used similarity measures. One method is an extension of the cosine similarity based on centroids, and the other two methods are variations of the Okapi BM25 function. We evaluate all approaches on the two publicly available datasets: SICK and Lee in terms of the Pearson and Spearman correlation. The results indicate that extended methods perform better from the original in most of the cases.

Relating Smart Governance as a University Feature to Students’ University Perceptions

Mario Jadrić — 2021-06-15

Following the results of recent studies on the creative use of smart technologies in urban and university settings, there is a growing number of promising research areas under smart university as an umbrella term. Starting from the differentiation between six standard “smart” dimensions in the university, the paper focuses on one smart university feature in particular – it explores the level and the relation of smart governance to the perception of university management, fellow students, and Perceived External Prestige (PEP) as antecedents of university affective commitment. The paper presents the results of a multivariate analysis based on the feedback from over 400 university first-year students. While the effect of Smart governance on the Perception of university management is found to be positive and significant, the effect of Perception of university management on Students' university commitment is low and not significant in the given context.

Cover Pages

Dijana Oreški — 2019-12-09

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Publication Ethics; List of Reviewers; Instructions for Authors

Dijana Oreški — 2019-12-09

Full text available in PDF.

From the Editor

Dijana Oreški — 2019-12-09

Dear readers,

it is my pleasure to present you the 2nd number of the 43rd volume of the Journal of Information and Organizational Sciences - JIOS. In this number we proudly present six original scientific papers. These papers cover wide-range of topics related to the field of information and organizational sciences, as well as relevant contributions from related scientific disciplines. Three of the papers touch upon the issues of information systems from various perspectives: information systems security, digital competences in education systems and job scheduling in a high performance computing systems. Other papers tackle the issues of intellectual capital, the dynamicity of consumer knowledge and software languages development. You are invited to share your thoughts regarding the papers in the JIOS. We hope that the variety of topics will draw the attention of researchers in various fields of information sciences and motivate potential authors to submit their research papers in JIOS. We would also like to encourage our readers to become reviewers for papers submitted to JIOS and thus actively contribute to raising the quality of our Journal.

Dijana Oreški
Editor

Development of a Models of Interpersonal Competencies as a Complex System

Boris Blažinić — 2020-12-08

Competencies represent a dynamic combination of cognitive and metacognitive skills, knowledge and understanding, interpersonal and practical skills, and ethical values. Since
there are many entities, as well as many activities between entities, according to system theory, the whole system belongs to complex systems. The paper develops a conceptual and computational model of interpersonal competences for the process of optimization and methodology design, using simulation modeling. The developed model enables: faster data collection, more accurate results, avoiding human error in data entry and processing, survey time can be measured and more easily restricted, NMAR (Not Missing at Random) data is avoided and socially desirable responses are more easily avoided.

Machine Translation System for the Industry Domain and Croatian Language

Ivan Dunđer — 2020-06-24

Machine translation is increasingly becoming a hot research topic in information and communication sciences, computer science and computational linguistics, due to the fact that it enables communication and transferring of meaning across different languages. As the Croatian language can be considered low-resourced in terms of available services and technology, development of new domain-specific machine translation systems is important, especially due to raised interest and needs of industry, academia and everyday users. Machine translation is not perfect, but it is crucial to assure acceptable quality, which is purpose-dependent. In this research, different statistical machine translation systems were built – but one system utilized domain adaptation in particular, with the intention of boosting the output of machine translation. Afterwards, extensive evaluation has been performed – in form of applying several automatic quality metrics and human evaluation with focus on various aspects. Evaluation is done in order to assess the quality of specific machine-translated text.

The The Role of Firm Characteristics in Voluntary Disclosure of IC Information and Its Importance for High-Tech Companies

Ana Rep — 2019-12-08

The purpose of this paper is to analyse whether the extent and quality of voluntarily disclosed information regarding intellectual capital (IC) are correlated with certain characteristics of a company. IC is very important for IT companies. Therefore, financial and non-financial statements of 32 high-tech companies were investigated using the content analysis method. To test the influence of firm characteristics on the intellectual capital disclosure index (ICDI), the regression model was used. The size of the firm was the only independent variable that has had a statistically significant influence on the ICDI. The auditor type, as well as financial ratios, have not shown a statistically significant influence on the extent and quality of IC disclosures. This study reflects the state regarding the voluntary IC disclosures in Croatia and therefore the study may be a roadmap for further research and, more importantly, might promote awareness of the importance of transparent reporting.

Quantum-Inspired Evolutionary Algorithms for Neural Network Weight Distribution: A Classification Model for Parkinson's Disease

Srishti Sahni — 2020-12-08

Parkinson’s Disease is a degenerative neurological disorder with unknown origins, making it impossible to be cured or even diagnosed. The following article presents a Three-Layered Perceptron Neural Network model that is trained using a variety of evolutionary as well as quantum-inspired evolutionary algorithms for the classification of Parkinson's Disease. Optimization algorithms such as Particle Swarm Optimization, Artificial Bee Colony Algorithm and Bat Algorithm are studied along with their quantum-inspired counter-parts in order to identify the best suited algorithm for Neural Network Weight Distribution. The results show that the quantum-inspired evolutionary algorithms perform better under the given circumstances, with qABC offering the highest accuracy of about 92.3%. The presented model can be used not only for disease diagnosis but is also likely to find its applications in various other fields as well.

A Novel Rule based Data Mining Approach towards Movie Recommender System

Mugdha Sharma — 2020-06-24

The proposed research work is an effort to provide accurate movie recommendations to a group of users with the help of a rule-based content-based group recommender system. The whole approach is categorized into 2 phases. In phase 1, a rule- based approach has been proposed which considers the users’ viewing history to provide the Rule Base for every individual user. In phase 2, a novel group recommendation system has been proposed which considers the ratings of the movies as per the rule base generated in phase 1. Phase 2 also considers the weightage of every individual member of the group to provide the accurate movie recommendation to that particular group of users. The results of experimental setup also establish the fact that the proposed system provides more accurate outcomes in terms of precision and recall over other rule learning algorithms such as C4.5.

Help me TripAdvisor! Examining the relationship between TripAdvisor e-WOM attributes, trusts towards online reviews and travellers’ behavioural intentions

Nur Zarifah Dhabitah Mahat — 2020-06-24

This paper aims to examine the impact of TripAdvisor reviews on behavioural intentions, basing on travellers' trust towards the e-WOM reviews. Four factors are proposed for building travellers’ trust and behavioural intentions: information quality, credibility, adoption and usefulness. Trust is expected to mediate the relationship between eWOM attributes and travellers’ behavioural intention. Data from 410 travellers were analysed using Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), and the findings show that TripAdvisor e-WOM attributes (information credibility, adoption and usefulness) significantly influence the traveller's trust. Besides, traveller behavioural intention was influenced considerably by TripAdvisor eWOM information credibility and usefulness. Lastly, trust in e-WOM significantly mediates travellers' behavioural intention. This paper confirms the importance of eWOM in the context of the tourism industry and travellers' trust and behaviour towards online review, which altered how consumers behave before deciding to travel.

The Effects of Turnover on Expert Effort Estimation

Hrvoje Karna — 2020-06-24

Turnover of the personnel represents a serious issue for management of software projects. The buildup of competences and phasing in of the people into the project requires both time and effort. This paper presents a case study of a large in-house agile software development project. The research goal was to determine the effects that turnover has on the expert effort estimation. In order to do this, paper examines relations across empirical data on a studied project. Study findings are the following: a) it is necessary to distinguish types of turnover, b) the general and planned turnover do not necessarily have a negative effect on estimation accuracy, and c) the unplanned turnover can have a significant negative impact on the reliability of the estimates and therefore should be treated with special attention. Results suggest that these facts should be taken into account both by the management and human resources.

Forming an Open Structure of Consumer Knowledge: the Case of Lithuanian Beauty and Personal Care Mass Product Industry

Vestina Vainauskiene — 2019-12-08

Purpose of the article. Scientific research implies that current tectonic shifts, taking place in the external environment, have been reforming the consumer market. In the context of these tendencies, the knowledge seeded in consumer’s consciousness keeps fluctuating in the direction hard to identify. The article investigates the problem of how the dynamicity of consumer knowledge manifests itself.

Scientific aim: The present paper aims at suggesting guidelines for constructing an open structure of consumer knowledge.

Findings. In grounding the object of the current article, theoretical investigation has been carried out to reveal that consumer knowledge dynamicity is the change of product-related information and subjective experiences, stored in consumer’s long-term memory and allowing the consumer to make purchasing decisions. It manifests through certain structural parts of knowledge, open to the external environment change and interrelated, dealing with product terminology and attributes, with the evaluation of those attributes and the ways of usage as well as facts about the brand. Those structural parts are influenced by marketing activities of an organization, by macro-environment factors, by consumer characteristics, and by changes in purchasing decision making. The present article introduces the case of Lithuanian beauty and personal care mass product industry.

Conclusions. The overview and analysis of qualitative research results have revealed the following path of the open consumer knowledge structure formation. Consumer’s knowledge about a product is built when the consumer has certain knowledge on product terminology and on product usage ways. The knowledge of product terminology and usage, then, determines the creation of knowledge on product attributes evaluation. The latter knowledge category builds synergy in the interaction with product attributes which, consequently, influence brand facts.

Publication Ethics; List of Reviewers; Instructions for Authors

Dijana Oreški — 2019-06-21

Full text available in PDF.

From the Editor

Dijana Oreški — 2019-06-21

Dear readers,

I am happy to introduce to you the 1st number of the 43rd volume of the Journal of Information and Organizational Sciences – JIOS. This issue includes 6 up-to-date, high-quality, and valuable contributions
– original scientific papers, survey papers and preliminary communication. I am grateful to scholars from different disciplines for sending their research results to the JIOS. Research topics in this issue are spanning from ERP solutions acceptance and specifics of data analysis in various fields to review and future of digital transformation, research infrastructure and information science fields

I would like to use this opportunity, dear readers, and invite you to submit papers at https://jios.foi.hr. We have been busy in the publishing offices and we have launched a new version of online manuscript submission and review system. This initiative aims to improve submission and review process. We are pleased to announce that, in this year, we will introduce Online First service which will let access to articles before print. This is possible since JIOS got DOI (Digital Object Identifier) few months ago and such articles are citable by their DOI.

All these initiatives are meant to improve quality of the journal and to strengthen its perspective. Our team continuously works on improvements and feel free to join us in making JIOS even greater! Any paper that you wish to submit is appreciated. If you have any other questions concerning the journal, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Best wishes and thank you in advance for your contribution to the JIOS!

Dijana Oreški
Editor

Cover pages

Dijana Oreški — 2019-06-21

Here you can download journal cover pages.

A DSDEVS-Based Model for Verifying Structural Constraints in Dynamic Business Processes

Sofiane Boukelkoul — 2020-12-08

This paper presents a DSDEVS-based model “Dynamic Structure Discrete Event System specification” for modeling and simulating business processes with dynamic structure regarding to different contexts. Consequently, this model, formally, improves the reuse of configurable business processes. Thus, the proposed model allows the analysts to personalize their configurable business processes in a sound manner by verifying a set of structure properties, such as, the lack of synchronization and the deadlock by means of simulation. The implementation was done in DEVS-Suite simulator, which is based on DEVSJAVA models.

Identifying Factors Influencing on Agile Practices for Software Development

Gloria ArcosMedina — 2020-06-24

Agile practices are activities or actions that are utilized during software development to improve the quality and productivity of the resulting software. Those practices are influenced by a set of factors that affect the realization of their objectives. The purpose of this study is to determine the influence of organizational factors and the personnel working on the software development project to the agile practices. To this end, a model has been proposed that is composed of six critical success factors derived from the theories of administrative and human behavior and four groups of agile practices, and resulted in identifying 13 factor-practice relationships. The results from 146 questionnaires addressed to individuals involved in the software development process show that the factors of Confidence, Perception of Self-efficacy, Integrity and Availability of the Information and Experiences Learned, and Media Used all have a noteworthy positive influence on teamwork agile practices.

Digital Transformation Playground - Literature Review and Framework of Concepts

Igor Pihir — 2019-06-21

Digital transformation (DT) introduces strategy-oriented and customer-centric changes, based on innovative usage of emerging information and communication technology (ICT), to implement improved or new processes in modern organizations. This paper provides insights into academic publishing trends and offers an analysis of scientific fields in which researches were made followed by a brief analysis of the most influential articles. Paper also identifies and discusses key determinants and influence factors of DT and some emerging trends and technologies, in order to explain organizational and technological context of DT. For better understanding of this mix of business and ICT related concepts, a framework of concepts on DT was developed and called Digital transformation playground (DTP). Its purpose is to get better understanding of what are the mainstream concepts of today, what other and emerging ICT or digitalization concepts in the context of DT arise, and how these technology elements impact business related concepts.

Publication Ethics; List of Reviewers; Instructions for Authors

Dijana Oreški — 2018-12-10

Full text available in PDF.

From the Editor

Dijana Oreški — 2018-12-10

Dear readers and authors,

It is my great honor to introduce to you the 2nd issue of the 42. volume of the Journal of Information and Organizational Sciences (JIOS), first where I have the privilege of serving as the editor. I am extremely grateful to the Faculty Council and Faculty Board for placing their trust and confidence in my abilities and giving me this opportunity. I am taking this role with serious responsibility considering it as one of the highlights of my professional career and I am committed to continue successful path established over the years. I wish to extend my thanks to the former editor, professor Alen Lovrenčić for his hard work and commitment in establishing high quality journal as well as for helping me with my first issue. The journal has made great progress in every aspect and I hope to continue his successful track.

I’m proud to present six papers in this issue: three original scientific papers, two preliminary communications and one survey paper. Research topics are spanning from decision making and project scheduling to image retrieval and ERP implementation. I believe that you will enjoy reading articles in this issue and that there is something interesting for everyone. I would also like to invite you all connected with the field of information and organizational sciences to recognize JIOS as a place for presenting your research results.

Dijana Oreški
Editor

Cover pages

Dijana Oreški — 2018-12-10

Here you can download journal cover pages.

The Current State and Future Perspectives of the Research Information Infrastructure in Croatia

Bojan Macan — 2019-06-21

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the existing Croatian research information infrastructure and to outline a new model of the Croatian Current Research Information System (CroRIS), required for the systematical monitoring and evaluation of the research processes and output of the Croatian public research and higher education institutions, as well as for the increasing of their international visibility. Based on the results of the analysis of the existing research information infrastructure in Croatia, the general outline of the new CERIF-based CroRIS model is proposed. The analysis of the existing research information infrastructure showed that there are some functional parts which could be reused and/or used as a basis for the implementation of the proposed CroRIS model. The proposed model represents a concept which would allow a quality decision and science-policy making in Croatia.

Key Success Factors of Information Systems Security

Krunoslav Arbanas — 2019-12-08

The issue of information systems security, and thus information as key resource in today's information society, is something that all organizations in all sectors face in one way or another. To ensure that information remain secure, many organizations have implemented a continuous, structured and systematic security approach to manage and protect an organization's information from undermining individuals by establishing security policies, processes, procedures, and information security organizational structures. However, despite this, security threats, incidents, vulnerabilities and risks are still raging in many organizations. One of the main causes of this problem is poor understanding of information systems security key success factors. Identifying and understanding of information security key success factors can help organizations to manage how to focus limited resources on those elements that really impact on success, therefore saving time and money and creating added value and further enabling operational business. This research, based on comprehensive literature review, summarizes most cited key success factors of information systems security identified in scientific articles indexed in relevant databases, of which the top three success factors were management support, information security policy and information security education, training and awareness. At the end, article states identified research gaps and provides readers with possible directions for further researches.

Security Challenges Behind the Development and Increased Use of Open Source Web Content Management Systems

Dejan Zlatko Viduka — 2020-06-24

Nowadays the IT market is enriched with free Open Source Web Content Systems offers that are available to all users. No system is perfect, and some of them have better solutions in one segment but are more vulnerable in others and vice versa, all in order to be more user-friendly. The most common form of Content Management System (CMS) implemented on the Internet today is the Web Content Management System(WCMS). This solution includes numerous advantages for site administrators as well as communication with the site designer for all users in order to improve the content, through written remarks, opinions and evaluations of the site content, resulting in a more dynamic and interactive site. This modern approach offers users with a poor IT background the opportunity to be independent and creative in creating their own website. In this paper we present data collected from several websites monitored for various cyber-attacks. Moreover, we will describe and analyze security challenges that follow cyber-attacks. During the monitoring process we followed 15 web addresses over a period of nine months and collected 520 reports of various cyber-attacks. The following analysis presents the different kinds of attacks, their frequency and some of the ways to reduce cyber-attacks to the lowest possible level.

Technology Acceptance Model Based Study of Students’ Attitudes Toward Use of Enterprise Resource Planning Solutions

Simona Sternad Zabukovšek — 2019-06-21

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions are the most frequently used software tool in companies in all industries. Therefore, the labour market requires the knowledge and skills for usage of ERP solutions from graduates – future employees. The main objective of our paper is therefore the identification of important factors that contribute to the acceptance of ERP solutions by students in economics and business and that shape their intentions to use this knowledge in the future. The model of our research is based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), extended by identified important multidimensional external factors that refer to (1) students’ personal characteristics and information literacy, (2) perceived system and technological characteristics of ERP solutions and (3) perceived support within the study process. Research results revealed that several dimensions of the three multidimensonal factors play an important role in shaping the attitudes towards acceptance of ERP solutions by students.

Abstract-Syntax-Driven Development of Oberon-0 Using YAJCo

Sergej Chodarev — 2019-12-08

YAJCo is a tool for the development of software languages based on an annotated language model. The model is represented by Java classes with annotations defining their mapping to concrete syntax. This approach to language definition enables the abstract syntax to be central point of the development process, instead of concrete syntax. In this paper a case study of Oberon-0 programming language development is presented. The study is based on the LTDA Tool Challenge and showcases details of abstract and concrete syntax definition using YAJCo, as well as implementation of name resolution, type checking, model transformation and code generation. The language was implemented in modular fashion to demonstrate language extension mechanisms supported by YAJCo.

Cover pages

Alen Lovrenčić — 2018-06-27

Here you can download journal cover pages.

Publication Ethics; List of Reviewers; Instructions for Authors

Alen Lovrenčić — 2018-06-27

Full text available in PDF.

From the Editor

Alen Lovrenčić — 2018-06-27

Dear readers and authors,

It is the last time I am addressing you as the editor of the Journal. From the next issue the job of the editor will be taken over by Dr. Dijana Oreški. I am sure that the new editor will bring new ideas and new quality to the Journal and that she will keep good praxis that was introduced during my mandate.

In four years I tried to increase the quality of articles and reviews. That opened the door of the Web of Science to the Journal as it is now in the Web of Science Emerging Sources. I am sure that, if Journal only keep the same quality, it will in very short time be in other Web of Science databases, but I am sure that new editor will increase further both main quality parameters mentioned afore.

At the end of my mandate I want to thank all authors who published their articles in the Journal, all reviewers who employ their knowledge to defend the quality of the Journal with their opinions and remarks. My special thanks go to the people who worked hard with me to keep the quality of the Journal in every aspect, people from the publishing board: Bernarda Kos whose participation was crucial in the including the Journal into different scientific bases, Dr. Goran Hajdin who was in charge of technical review and preparation of the papers for the printing, Dr. Marcel Maretić and Dr. Vladimir Kovšca.

In this last issue as the editor I proudly present six original scientific papers from different fields of the information science, and I hope readers will find them interesting and useful to their own research. At the end of this addressing I would like to say to all authors, reviewers and readers that it was an honor to work with you on the promotion of the Journal of Information and Organizational Sciences, and if there were any mistakes in my work I hope you will accept my deep apology.

Does Cloud-Based Accounting Information System Harmonise the Small Businesses Needs?

Bambang Agus Pramuka — 2020-06-24

Cloud technology is now becoming a valuable resource, as it provides cost-saving business technology. Businesses exist to earn a profit by keeping their capital and expenses low. In an attempt to address the issue, this study employs structural equation model to complement literature on users' technology acceptance behavior. The framework of the study was based on the technology acceptance model (TAM) to better understand the adoption of cloud computing by small businesses owners. This study looks at the perception and attitudes of small businesses (SMEs) towards cloud technology based accounting information systems, therefore, their intention to adopt the technology. Result support the view that perceived usefulness, ease of use and credibility positively influenced SMEs' attitudes towards cloud-based accounting information systems and therefore their intention to adopt the technology. The result enhances literature in the field of cloud-based accounting systems for small businesses.

Analysis of Methods and Techniques for Prediction of Natural Gas Consumption: A Literature Review

Dario Šebalj — 2019-06-21

Due to its many advantages, demand for natural gas has increased considerably and many models for predicting natural gas consumption are developed. The aim of this paper is to present an overview and systematic analysis of the latest research papers that deal with predictions of natural gas consumption for residential and commercial use from the year 2002 to 2017. Literature overview analysis was conducted using the two most relevant scientific databases Web of Science Core Collection and Scopus. The results indicate neural networks as the most common method used for predictions of natural gas consumption, while most accurate methods are genetic algorithms, support vector machines and ANFIS. Most used input variables are past natural gas consumption data and weather data, and prediction is most commonly made on daily and annual level on a country area level. Limitations of the research raise from relatively small number of analyzed papers but still research could be used for significant improving of prediction models for natural gas consumption.

Discretization for Naive Bayes Taking the Specifics of Heart Data into Account

Jan Bohacik — 2019-06-21

At the present time heart disease is a major cause of death. Factors such as physical inactiveness, obesity, diabetes, social isolation and aging are expected to make the situation worse. It is worsened even further with misdiagnosis of patients describing heart related issues. A probability decision support approach to diagnosis of heart disease based on Naive Bayes is discussed here as most hospitals collect patient records but these are rarely used for automatic decision support. The approach is analyzed on Statlog heart data with the focus on improving preprocessing methods. As the result, a discretization algorithm with Equal Frequency Discretization which considers the specifics of engaged heart disease patients is presented. Enhancements of achieved accuracy with the added discretization and in comparison with other machine learning algorithms are shown in experiments founded on 10-fold cross-validation.

Differences in prioritization of the BSC’s strategic goals using AHP and ANP methods

Aleksander Janeš — 2018-12-10

The development and empirical verification of the balanced scorecard (BSC) model, using the multi-criteria decision-making methods (MCDM) called the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and the analytic network process (ANP), are the key issues of the presented research. The paper presents the methodology of the prioritisation of the BSC goals with the AHP and ANP methods. Even though the prioritisation of the goals is possible with both, findings from the empirical analysis showed that the ANP is more complementary with the BSC because of the influences among the goals in the BSC. The ANP supports the modelling of those influences (through dependencies) and the AHP does not. The paper discusses special situations in prioritizing the BSC goals (understanding the ANP from the perspective of the user and the BSC with strategic goals that do not directly influence any other strategic goal) and proposes solutions. Therefore, it can be asserted that introducing the ANP to implement the BSC and vice versa, improved the decision-making approach and the quality of the obtained results. The research was based on a case study of modelling the BSC for Ydria Motors LL (YM), a manufacturing company.

Cover pages

Alen Lovrenčić — 2017-12-13

Here you can download journal cover pages.

Publication Ethics; List of Reviewers; Instructions for Authors

Alen Lovrenčić — 2017-12-13

Full text available in PDF.

From the Editor

Alen Lovrenčić — 2017-12-13

Dear readers and authors,

We are constantly striving to increase both quality and quantity of papers published in our Journal. Also, we are constantly endeavor to include the Journal in new scientific databases. In the meantime Journal of Information and Organizational Sciences is included in the Web of Science Core Collection - Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI) and we are hoping that we will become the full member of the Web of Science database in short time.

In this issue of the Journal we are presenting nine high quality papers from authors from Europe, Africa and Asia, consisting of four survey papers, one preliminary communication and four original scientific papers.

We hope that this issue will satisfy all your requests, and that you will find included papers interesting and scientifically challenging.

Analysis of Text Collections for the Purposes of Keyword Extraction Task

Alexander Vanyushkin — 2020-06-24

The article discusses the evaluation of automatic keyword extraction algorithms (AKEA) and points out AKEA’s dependence on the properties of the test collection for effectiveness. As a result, it is difficult to compare different algorithms who’s tests were based on various test datasets. It is also difficult to predict the effectiveness of different systems for solving real-world problems of natural language processing (NLP). We take in to consideration a number of characteristics, such as the text length distribution in words and the method of keyword assignment. Our analysis of publicly available analytical exposition text which is typical for the keywords extraction domain revealed that their length distributions are very regular and described by the lognormal form. Moreover, most of the article lengths range between 400 and 2500 words. Additionally, the paper presents a brief review of eleven corpora that have been used to evaluate AKEA’s.

Education Systems as Contextual Factors in the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge Framework

Karolina Dobi Barišić — 2019-12-08

Digital competences should be considered in teacher education and professional development. The Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework represents the knowledge required by teachers in order to successfully integrate technology into the teaching process. The Survey of Pre-service Teachers’ Knowledge of Teaching and Technology (SPTKTT) is one of the inventories developed to measure the TPACK framework. The aim of this study is to validate the SPTKTT inventory in the context of the Croatian education system by the use of exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Results showed that the new context structure of the SPTKTT inventory consists of nine factors, while confirmatory factor analysis established that the two Content Knowledge factors can actually be unified. This can be explained by differing content organization in education systems. There were also differences in the distribution of some of the remaining factors. Internal consistency of the inventory shows high reliability.

A Cloud Solution for Securing Medical Image Storage

Mbarek Marwan — 2020-06-24

Cloud computing is an easy-to-use, affordable solution to manage and analyze medical data. Therefore, this paradigm has gained wide acceptance in the healthcare sector as a cost-efficient way for a successful Electronic Medical Records (EMR) implementation. Cloud technology is, however, subject to increasing criticism because of the numerous security vulnerabilities. In this regard, we propose a framework to protect confidential data through the development of new security measures, including compression, secret share scheme and XOR operation. The primary objective of the proposal is to achieve the right balance between security and usability. To this aim, we divide an image into several blocks and then encrypt each piece separately with different cryptographic keys. To enhance privacy and performance, we suggest DepSky architecture to keep data on various storage nodes. Simulation experiments have been conducted to prove the effectiveness of the proposed methodology.

Beyond knowledge integration barriers in ERP implementations: An institutional approach

Victor Wilfredo Bohorquez Lopez — 2018-12-10

The objective of the article is to go beyond the knowledge integration barriers in ERP implementations by analyzing structural, technological, intellectual and socioemotional barriers that appear during an ERP implementation project. Using an action research methodology, the article provides some hints highlighting the knowledge integration process, and proposing an Institutional Model of ERP Knowledge Integration where ERP “best-practices” affect and are affected by institutional logics through legitimacy and isomorphism mechanisms, showing two processes of institutionalization: (1) processes that challenge knowledge integration barriers by embedding ERP “best-practices” in the expected formal functioning of the organization as well as in the routines and habits of employees; and (2) processes that operate as drivers of evolution and change by embedding the institutional logics and new requirements within ERP “best-practices”.

Tracking Predictive Gantt Chart for Proactive Rescheduling in Stochastic Resource Constrained Project Scheduling

Mario Brčić — 2018-12-10

Proactive-reactive scheduling is important in the situations where the project collaborators need to coordinate their efforts. The coordination is mostly achieved through the combination of the shared baseline schedule and the deviation penalties. In this paper, we present an extension of predictive Gantt chart to the proactive-reactive scheduling needs. It can be used to track the evolution of the relationship between dynamic and static elements through the time. The dynamic elements are evolving probability distributions due to the uncertainty and revealed information. The static elements are time-agreements in the baseline schedule. We demonstrate that in the state-of-the-art proactive-reactive scheduling, the baseline schedule is agnostic to the information received during the project execution. The sources of such inflexibility in the problem model and the scheduling methods are analyzed. The visualization is highlighted as a precursor to developing new methods that proactively change the baseline schedule in accordance with the gained information.

Cover pages

Alen Lovrenčić — 2017-06-16

Here you can download journal cover pages.

Publication Ethics; List of Reviewers; Instructions for Authors

Alen Lovrenčić — 2017-06-16

Full text available in PDF.

From the Editor

Alen Lovrenčić — 2017-06-16

Dear readers,

In this issue of the Journal of Information and Organizational Sciences you will find seven high quality papers - three original scientific papers, two preliminary communications and two survey papers.

The papers have wide diapason of themes, from organization and e-commerce through e-learning to plagiarism detection and cryptography. For this reason I hope that the issue will be interesting for the readers with different interests.

I would like to thank to all reviewers and their useful comments on the papers as well as to the dear colleagues from the editorial board that are responsible for the final look of the papers and the journal
in whole. Special thanks, of course, goes to the authors without whose papers this journal would not be possible.

I hope that in this issue you will be able to find papers that meet your interests and that are useful for your scientific work.

Business Model Grounds and Links: Towards Enterprise Architecture Perspective

Jadranka Musulin — 2018-12-10

The business model concept emerged in theory and practice without a consensus on the understanding of the concept, but it has become a well accepted and useful construct in fields such as strategy, organization, information systems and technology. This paper aims to provide an overview of the research on the use of business models focusing on outstanding works in this field, extracting main converging findings unburdened of extant lists of specific citations. Following the overview, a comparison of the seven respective conceptual frameworks of the business model research is presented. Finally, after determining grounds, the business model concept is linked to related complex concept – enterprise architecture.

An Efficient and Effective Image Retrieval System on the basis of Feature, Matching Measure and sub-space Selection

Mawloud Mosbah — 2018-12-10

Since its appearance as a research field, Content-based Image Retrieval (CBIR) system has increasingly received an important attention. Review of literature reveals that the efforts put, up to now, in the field address either effectiveness or efficiency. In this paper, we address both accuracy and efficiencythrough introducing an efficient and an effective image retrieval approach based on feature, matching measure and sub-spaceselection. The selection relies on relevance feedback information injected by the user. The approach is tested on Corel-1Kimages database. The obtained results are very promising.

The Scope of the Concept of Information and the Future of Information Science

Jiří Tomáš Stodola — 2019-06-21

The key concept of information science is the concept of information which is tied to a number of complications. The main problem is that there is no definition of this concept. The purpose of this article is an analysis of the concept of information from the position of classical logic. The main method of the article is a conceptual analysis. First, we briefly deal with the overview of the concepts of information, with concepts and their definition as such and with the scope of the concept of information. Then, we provide an analysis of 31 important definitions of the concept of information which were developed within the scope of information science and related fields, and we consider relations between the concept of information and the concepts in other disciplines. Conceptual analysis of the concept of information leads to the conclusion that information is probably a concept that somehow addresses the entire reality, thus that it is a term, which is in the classical logic described as transcendental. This fact, in the view of the fact that information science is a special field, seems to be a serious methodological problem. Problems associated with the broadness of the concept of information have three possible solutions: transformation of information science into the universal science, narrowing the concept of information to a special term, or replacement of the concept of information by a different one. At the end of the article,we briefly point out our solution to the problem.

Improving the Results of Google Scholar Engine through Automatic Query Expansion Mechanism and Pseudo Re-ranking using MVRA

Mawloud Mosbah — 2018-12-10

In this paper, we address the enhancing of Google Scholar engine, in the context of text retrieval, through two mechanisms related to the interrogation protocol of that query expansion and reformulation. The both schemes are applied with re-ranking results using a pseudo relevance feedback algorithm that we have proposed previously in the context of Content based Image Retrieval (CBIR) namely Majority Voting Re-ranking Algorithm (MVRA). The experiments conducted using ten queries reveal very promising results in terms of effectiveness.

Methodology of Evaluating the Sufficiency of Information for Software Quality Assessment According to ISO 25010

Tetiana Oleksandrivna Hovorushchenko — 2018-06-27

The research is devoted to the development of the formalized and ontological models of the software quality according to ISO 25010. These models provide the possibility of the formalization of the software quality assessment according to ISO 25010. This standard would benefit from a formal description. The paper proves that information sufficiency is a critical aspect of software quality assessment. The methods and system of evaluating the sufficiency of the information for software quality assessment according to ISO 25010 are developed. The developed methods and tools provide the increasing the veracity of software quality assessment. The conducted experiments confirm that the developed methodology of evaluating the sufficiency of information for software quality assessment increased the veracity of the software quality assessment in 12% for the automated system for large-format photo print.

Emotion-Based Content Personalization in Social Networks

Anthoniraj Amalanathan — 2018-06-27

Personalization is the process of customizing social network pages of users according to their needs and personal interests. It can also be used for filtering unwanted information from an individual's page received from other users, in case this information is unpleasant or unacceptable. To avoid unwanted information from a particular user in current social networks, the user needs to be denied accessibility by blocking them. However, instead of blocking the user, it would be preferable to have a mechanism that prevents the undesirable content in a user's social network page. Thus, this paper presents a model that determine the emotions shared in the content of a social network page by the user. The model determines the dominant emotions for a period of time and uses these to filter the content using the user's dominant emotions. Using the developed model, a novel system based on item based collaborative filtering process to personalize the user's social network page has been developed. A user study involving 5000 Twitter messages shows that the developed system performs satisfactory with a correctness in the filtering process of 87%.

Utilization of Discrete Event Simulation in Business Processes Management Projects: a Literature Review

Vesna Bosilj Vukšić — 2017-12-13

Discrete event simulation (DES) software is often used in business process management (BPM) projects, in order to support modeling, change and automatization of process modeling. However, the current research lacks systematic overview of the benefits and pitfalls of using DES software for BPM. The goal of this paper is to provide a systematic analysis of research paper related to the operations research, computer science, business and management that report the usage of DES in BPM projects, in order to shed some light in this area. Results of this analysis could be useful to academics and business practitioners in their projects.

Key factors of an organization’s environment for the acquisition and assimilation of an innovation

Sanjana Buć — 2018-06-27

The paper deals with influential factors of an organization’s environment in the initial phase of diffusion of innovations (DOI) within the organization. A qualitative research was carried out with two expert groups: one for the diffusion of e-learning as an innovation in a higher education institution and the other for the diffusion of the Building Information Modelling (BIM) in a Construction Industry. The research disclosed 20 common factors. The internal environment group covers management support, the attitude towards innovation, strategic planning and communication, motivation and expertize of employers, available resources and IT maturity level of an organization. The group of business environment factors consists of competitors, clients and partners, supply and demand balance on the specific market for goods and services. In the social environment group, three factors are recognized on the national level and two on the global levels. The holistic model combines the theory of DOI and the concept of absorption capacity.

An Iterative Automatic Final Alignment Method in the Ontology Matching System

Marko Gulić — 2018-06-27

Ontology matching plays an important role in the integration of heterogeneous data sources that are described by ontologies. In order to determine correspondences between ontologies, a set of matchers can be used. After the execution of these matchers and the aggregation of the results obtained by these matchers, a final alignment method is executed in order to select appropriate correspondences between entities of compared ontologies. The final alignment method is an important part of the ontology matching process because it directly determines the output result of this process. In this paper we improve our iterative final alignment method by introducing an automatic adjustment of final alignment threshold as well as a new rule for determining false correspondences with similarity values greater than adjusted threshold. An evaluation of the method is performed on the test ontologies of the OAEI evaluation contest and a comparison with other final alignment methods is given.

ERP Implementation and Interoperability Growth as Organization Improvement Agents in Public Administration Further Development

Darko Lugonja — 2018-06-27

Further public administration development depends on numerous various influences - stakeholders' and public needs, so when planned to be developed, implemented or improved, they have to be carefully considered. ERP and/or other system need to be incorporated according to specific conditions. Interoperability represents strong support for implementation, integration or further development for public administration. This paper aims for contribution to awareness growth and platform for further work. Considering various case studies, ERP implementation, interoperability, critical success factors and contingency approach, paper aims for further development in this area. ERP becomes a platform for further ICT development towards quantum computing.

Detecting Source Code Plagiarism on .NET Programming Languages using Low-level Representation and Adaptive Local Alignment

Faqih Salban Rabbani — 2017-06-16

Even though there are various source code plagiarism detection approaches, only a few works which are focused on low-level representation for deducting similarity. Most of them are only focused on lexical token sequence extracted from source code. In our point of view, low-level representation is more beneficial than lexical token since its form is more compact than the source code itself. It only considers semantic-preserving instructions and ignores many source code delimiter tokens. This paper proposes a source code plagiarism detection which rely on low-level representation. For a case study, we focus our work on .NET programming languages with Common Intermediate Language as its low-level representation. In addition, we also incorporate Adaptive Local Alignment for detecting similarity. According to Lim et al, this algorithm outperforms code similarity state-of-the-art algorithm (i.e. Greedy String Tiling) in term of effectiveness. According to our evaluation which involves various plagiarism attacks, our approach is more effective and efficient when compared with standard lexical-token approach.

Cover pages

Alen Lovrenčić — 2016-12-09

Here you can download journal cover pages.

Publication Ethics; List of Reviewers; Instructions for Authors

Alen Lovrenčić — 2016-12-09

Full text available in PDF.

From the Editor

Alen Lovrenčić — 2016-12-09

Dear readers,

I am proud to present the new issue of Journal of Information and Organizational Sciences. This issue contains five high quality papers: three original scientific papers, and two preliminary communications, written by 13 authors from Europe and Africa. I am glad that all papers in this issue come from foreign countries. That proves that Journal of Information and Organizational Sciences is recognized journal in
the international scientific community.

I would like to thank all authors for the high quality of the papers and reviewers for their contribution in the selection of the papers as well as for suggestions that helped authors to improve their papers. Also, I would like to express my thanks to the colleagues from the publishing board for their efforts in the technical reviewing of the papers, technical editing, distribution and all the work they built in this issue.

Alen Lovrenčić
Editor

A Review of Selected Aspects of Big Data Usage in Banks’ Risk Management

Ivana Dvorski Lacković — 2020-12-08

Contemporary banks operate in a changing environment influenced by regulatory requirements, emerging new risk types and high competition on the market. At the same time banks have on their disposal large datasets from internal and external sources – the question arising is whether banks are using adequate analytics to gain value from big data. Big data has been used in banking for some time, mostly in the marketing field, but the usage of big data in banks’ risk management has not been a subject of extensive scientific research. The goals of this paper are twofold. Firstly, the authors are presenting an overview of existing research on the topic of big data usage in banks’ risk management by discussing selected aspects of this topic. Secondly, the authors are formulating a proposal on how to strategically use big data in risk management in banks by merging literature based extracted usage of big data with risk management phases. Expected contributions of this paper are systematization of knowledge from available literature and increasing scientific and professional awareness on the topic and potential of big data in banks’ risk management.

The Use of Support Vector Machines When Designing a User-Defined Niche Search Engine

Maria Jakovljevic — 2018-06-27

Abstract: This study presents the construction of a niche search engine, whose search topic domain is to be user-defined. The specific focus of this study is the investigation of the role that a Support Vector Machine plays when classifying textual data from web pages. Furthermore, the aim is to establish whether this niche search engine can return results that are more relevant to a user than when compared to those returned by a commercial search engine Through the conduction of various experiments across a number of appropriate datasets, the suitability of the SVM to classify web pages has been proven to meet the needs of a niche search engine. A subset of the most useful webpage-specific features has been discovered, with the best performing feature being a web pages’ Text & Title component. The user defined niche search engine was successfully designed and an experiment showed that it returned more relevant results than a commercial search engine.

A Study on Recommendation Systems in Location Based Social Networking

Lakshmi Shree Kullappa — 2017-12-13

Smart devices in the hands of people are revolutionizing the social lifestyle of one's self. Everyone across the world are using smart devices linked to their social networking activities one such activity is to share location data by uploading the tagged media content like photos, videos. The data is of surroundings, events attended/attending and travel experiences. Users share their experiences at a given location through localization techniques. Using such data from social networks an attempt is made to analyse tagged media content to acquire information on user context, individual’s interests, tastes, behaviours and derive meaningful relationships amongst them are referred to as Location Based Social Networks (LBSNs). The resulting information can be used to market a product and to improve business, as well recommend a travel and plan an itinerary. This paper presents a comprehensive survey of recommended systems for LBSNs covering the concepts of LBSNs, terminologies of LBSN and various recommendation systems.

Merkle-Damgård Construction Method and Alternatives: A Review

Harshvardhan Tiwari — 2017-12-13

Cryptographic hash function is an important cryptographic tool in the field of information security. Design of most widely used hash functions such as MD5 and SHA-1 is based on the iterations of compression function by Merkle-Damgård construction method with constant initialization vector. Merkle-Damgård construction showed that the security of hash function depends on the security of the compression function. Several attacks on Merkle-Damgård construction based hash functions motivated researchers to propose different cryptographic constructions to enhance the security of hash functions against the differential and generic attacks. Cryptographic community had been looking for replacements for these weak hash functions and they have proposed new hash functions based on different variants of Merkle-Damgård construction. As a result of an open competition NIST announced Keccak as a SHA-3 standard. This paper provides a review of cryptographic hash function, its security requirements and different design methods of compression function.

The Elaboration of Strategic Decisions in the Socio-Economic Systems

Anna Alexseevna Khanova — 2017-06-16

The article deals with socio-economic strategic management, which implemented on the basis of Balanced Scorecard, multidimensional modeling and its set-theoretic representation. The main idea of the article is using of modern information technology to assist in decision-making. Much attention is given to formalization of SCIPEO-modeling and integration of its sub-model. The process of developing of management decisions is considered. The integration of these tools will improve the management of the system in a situation of total or partial indeterminacy

Computer Games as Virtual Environments for Safety-Critical Software Validation

Štefan Korečko — 2017-12-13

Computer games became an inseparable part of everyday life in modern society and the time people spend playing them every day is increasing. This trend caused a noticeable research activity focused on utilizing the time spent playing in a meaningful way, for example to help solving scientific problems or tasks related to computer systems development. In this paper we present one contribution to this activity, a software system consisting of a modified version of the Open Rails train simulator and an application called TS2JavaConn, which allows to use separately developed software controllers with the simulator. The system is intended for validation of controllers developed by formal methods. The paper describes the overall architecture of the system and operation of its components. It also compares the system with other approaches to purposeful utilization of computer games, specifies suitable formal methods and illustrates its intended use on an example.

Enhancing Formal Methods Integration with ACP2Petri

Slavomír Šimoňák — 2016-12-09

The paper deals with the ACP2Petri tool, providing a transformation of process algebraic specification to equivalent Petri net-based specification. Long-term practical experiences with the tool revealed some suggestions for its update and extension. Shortcomings and limitations found are described and proposed solutions provided within the paper. Implemented extensions, simplifying the usage of the tool and providing more options for analysis of particular transformation, are also presented. One of the most evident extensions of the tool is its graphical user interface, which allows for convenient management and detailed control over the process of transformation.

MATT: Multi Agents Testing Tool Based Nets within Nets

Sara Kerraoui — 2016-12-09

Testing is a software development activity, devoted to evaluating product quality and improving it by identifying defects and problems. Concerning multi agent systems, testing is a challenging task, which asks for new testing techniques dealing with their specific nature. The techniques need to be effective and adequate to evaluate agent’s autonomous behaviors and build confidence in them.The "Model Based Testing" (MBT) is a technique particularly interested among all existing solutions of tests. This latter is based on a system model, which produces abstract test cases. To run these last ones against systems under test,the abstract test cases have to be transformed to concrete ones.

As part of this effort, we propose a model based testing approach for multi agent systems based on such a model called Reference net, where a tool, which aims to providing a uniform and automated approach is developed. The feasibility and the advantage of the proposed approach are shown through a short case study.

Performance Measurement of Complex Event Platforms

Eva Zámečníková — 2016-12-09

The aim of this paper is to find and compare existing solutions of complex event processing platforms (CEP). CEP platforms generally serve for processing and/or predicting of high frequency data. We intend to use CEP platform for processing of complex time series and integrate a solution for newly proposed method of decision making. The decision making process will be described by formal grammar. As there are lots of CEP solutions we will take the following characteristics under consideration - the processing in real time, possibility of processing of high volume data from multiple sources, platform independence, platform allowing integration with user solution and open license. At first we will talk about existing CEP tools and their specific way of use in praxis. Then we will mention the design of method for formalization of business rules used for decision making. Afterwards, we focus on two platforms which seem to be the best fit for integration of our solution and we will list the main pros and cons of each approach. Next part is devoted to benchmark platforms for CEP. Final part is devoted to experimental measurements of platform with integrated method for decision support.

Parallel Simulation of Tasks Scheduling and Scheduling Criteria in High-performance Computing Systems

Jarmila Škrinárová — 2019-12-08

This work is focused on the issue of job scheduling in a high performance computing systems. The goal is based on the analysis of scheduling models of tasks in grid and cloud, design and implementation of the simulator on the base of GPGPU. The simulator is verified by our own proposed model of job scheduling. The simulator consists of a centralized scheduler that is using GPGPU to process large amounts of data by parallel way. In order to ensure the optimization of the scheduling process we have implemented a simulated annealing algorithm. GPGPU model was compared to the CPU when the number of nodes from 32 to 2048. Improving the implementation based on GPGPU had a significant impact on the system with 512 nodes and with an increasing number of nodes further accelerates in comparison with sequential algorithm. In this work are designed new scheduling criteria which are experimentally evaluated.

On Simulation of the Young Measures – Comparison of Random-Number Generators

Andrzej Z. Grzybowski — 2017-12-13

"Young measure" is an abstract notion from mathematical measure theory. Originally, the notion appeared in the context of some variational problems related to the analysis of sequences of “fast” oscillating of functions. From the formal point of view the Young measure may be treated as a continuous linear functional defined on the space of Carathéodory integrands satisfying certain regularity conditions. Calculating an explicit form of specific Young measure is a very important task. However, from a strictly mathematical standpoint it is a very difficult problem not solved as yet in general. Even more difficult would be the problem of calculating Lebasque’s integrals with respect to such measures. Based on known formal results it can be done only in the most simple cases. On the other hand in many real-world applications it would be enough to learn only some of the most important probabilistic characteristics of the Young distribution or learn only approximate values of the appropriate integrals. In such a case a possible solution is to adopt Monte Carlo techniques. In the presentation we propose three different algorithms designed for simulating random variables distributed according to the Young measures associated with piecewise functions. Next with the help of computer simulations we compare their statistical performance via some benchmarking problems. In this study we focus on the accurateness of the distribution of the generated sample.

Cover pages

Alen Lovrencic — 2016-06-16

Here you can download journal cover pages.

Publication Ethics; List of Reviewers; Instructions for Authors

Alen Lovrencic — 2016-06-16

Available in full text.

From the Editor

Alen Lovrencic — 2016-06-16

40 Years of Publishing in Information and Organizational Sciences

Dear readers,

I am honoured to serve as the Editor of the Journal of Information and Organizational Sciences. I proudly welcome you to the issue that marks the 40th year of continuous publication of the Journal in information and organizational sciences. As such, it has the distinction of one of the longest histories of publication in this field.

The Journal was inaugurated in 1977 as the journal of the University of Zagreb Faculty of Organization and Informatics under the title Zbornik radova. As the quality of the Journal grew and the number of foreign authors contributing papers in English increased, it was renamed as Zbornik radova: journal of information and organizational sciences in 1998. Following the changes in the publishing policy which defined that only papers written in English would be accepted for publication, in 2002 its name was changed again into Journal of Information and Organizational Sciences: JIOS. The Journal adopted its current name in 2008.

Today the Journal is referenced in 13 scientific referencing databases, including INSPEC, SCOPUS and EBSCO and is publishing papers by authors from Europe, Asia, South America and Africa. It boasts an international review board composed of scientists from all continents and a high quality double-blind review process. In all respects, it is a worldwide recognized scientific journal in the field of information and organizational sciences, and its quality is growing continuously.

In the last 40 years, we have published over 650 scientific and professional papers in the Journal, and, in my humble opinion, have influenced the development of the information and organizational sciences not only in Croatia, but also in Southwest Europe and beyond.

For that I wish to thank all the previous Editors of the Journal: Dr. Ivan Abramović, Prof. Boris Aurer, Prof. Marijan Cingula, Prof. Mirko Čubrilo, Prof. Vesna Dušak, Prof. Benedikt Bojanić-Glavica, Prof. Tihomir Hunjak, Prof. Željko Hutinski, Prof. Slavko Kapustić, Prof. Božidar Kliček, Dr. Franjo Kuhanec, Prof. Ivan Lončar, Prof. Mirko Maleković, Prof. Miodrag Ređep, Prof. Franjo Ruža, Prof. Franjo Šulak, Dr. Stjepo Vojvoda, Prof. Neven Vrček, Prof. Boris Zver and Prof. Miroslav Žugaj; all the scientists from Croatia and abroad who have served as members of the Editorial Board; all the members of the Publishing Board dedicated to continual modernization of the Journal layout; all the reviewers, owing to whose effort the quality of the papers has been maintained and raised; finally, to all authors that have contributed their high quality contemporary papers to the Journal. The current Editor as well as the Advisory, Editorial and Publishing Boards are committed to follow in the footsteps of all the former Editors and Board members who have shaped the Journal’s development and reputation.

In this issue we are delighted to present two original scientific papers, four high quality survey papers and one preliminary communication. The papers cover a wide set of themes from the fields of information and organizational sciences, so I hope that you will enjoy the reading and find it helpful and inspiring for your future research.

Alen Lovrenčić
Editor

Prestige and Collaboration Among Researchers in the Field of Education and Career Development of ICT Graduates: Is There a Cross-Fertilization of Research and Knowledge?

Katarina Pažur Aničić — 2017-12-13

This paper analyzes state of the art of the research regarding the education and career development of ICT graduates based on a comprehensive literature review. Analysis presented in this paper includes 155 papers in two research areas – one related to the education of ICT graduates (101 papers) and the other to their career development (54 papers). The most prestigious papers, most influential journals and groupings of authors in the abovementioned fields are identified by using the citation analysis and Social Network Analysis (SNA). Results show that the most influential papers related to ICT career are research papers dealing with ICT job skills requirements, and related to ICT education are ICT association’s related reports and recommendations on curriculum development. In general, results show that there is a lack of cross-fertilization of knowledge in both areas which means that the mixing of ideas that can lead to better research results is missing.

Learning Analytics for Peer-assessment: (Dis)advantages, Reliability and Implementation

Blaženka Divjak — 2017-06-16

Learning analytics deals with the data that occurs from students' interaction with ICT: collecting data, analyzing and reporting that can influence learning and teaching. Analysis of validity and reliability of assessment lags behind other applications of learning analytics. We present here mathematical modeling of learning analytics for assessment, especially for peer-assessment. In addition, we analyze and categorize students' recognition of advantages and disadvantages of peer-assessment. Finally implementations of reliability check of peer-assessment in Moodle Workshop module are explained.

Agent-Based Modelling applied to 5D model of the HIV infection

Toufik Laroum — 2016-12-09

This paper proposes a Multi-Agents Model to simulate the phenomenon of the infection by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Since the HIV was isolated in 1983 and found to be the cause of the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)in 1984, lots of studies have been carried out to understand the complex dynamics between the HIV virus and the immune system.

The simplest model was the 3D mathematical model. But the complexity of this phenomenon and the diversity of cells and actors which affect its evolution requires the use of new approaches such as multi-agents approach that we have applied in this paper. The results of our simulator on the 5D model are promising because they are consistent with biological knowledge’s. Therefore, the proposed approach is well appropriate to the study of population dynamics in general and could help to understand and predict the dynamics of HIV infection.

Using AHP Method for Making a Decision on How the Management of Sewage Sludge in the Northern Croatia

Vesna Dušak — 2017-12-13

By 2018, in Croatia, the agglomerations for collecting the sewage and water treatment systems are going to be constructed. All devices will be based on the mechanical-biological method of purification. However, the work of water treatment system produces a problem of sludge management.

The paper presents the challenges of wastewater sludge handling and makes a decision on further sludge management. The hierarchical model of the decision making problem by defining the goal, criteria and alternative solutions is developed. On each level of the hierarchical model the elements of the model are compared with each other in pairs, and the preferences are expressed by using the Saaty’s scale.

Moreover, the APH model compares the alternative pairs (thermal processing, deposition on agricultural land, disposal to waste repositories and composting) among each others. The intensities and weight preferences of one alternative over another are selected within the required criteria (economic, environmental, organisational and sociological).

A Guidance Based Approach for Enhancing the e-Government Interoperability

Yassine Jamoussi — 2017-06-16

Developing e-Government interoperability in the government context is a complex task. As interoperability in government context is associated and hindered by many challenges and barriers connected to government nature of complexity. Interoperability is generally defined as the ability for two (or more) systems to exchange information and to use the information that has been exchanged. In this paper, we focus on computing systems interoperability across government ministries to achieve interoperable e-Government IT based solutions. In order to achieve e-Government interoperability in an organised and efficient way, this paper establishes a guidance-based approach for enhancing the e-Government Interoperability. This contribution is motivated by the limitations of the traditional software engineering methodologies in terms of analysis, design and development frameworks to a point that they can hardly cope with the growing issues of e-Government services interoperability.

Comparisons of Bitcoin Cryptosystem with Other Common Internet Transaction Systems by AHP Technique

Davor Maček — 2017-06-16

This paper describes proposed methodology for evaluation of critical systems and prioritization of critical risks and assets identified in highly secured information systems. For different types of information assets or security environments it is necessary to apply different techniques and methods for their prioritization and evaluation. In this article, VECTOR matrix method for prioritization of critical assets and critical risks is explained and integrated into AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) technique as a set of fixed criteria for evaluation of defined alternatives. Bitcoin cryptocurrency was compared and evaluated along with other common Internet transaction systems by information security professionals according to defined VECTOR criteria. Also, the newly proposed hybrid AHP model is presented with potential case studies for future research. This article tries to discover security posture of Bitcoin cryptocurrency in the context of information security risks related to the existing most common online payment systems like e-banking, m-banking, and e-commerce.

Categorical model of structural operational semantics for imperative language

William Steingartner — 2016-12-09

Definition of programming languages consists of the formal definition of syntax and semantics. One of the most popular semantic methods used in various stages of software engineering is structural operational semantics. It describes program behavior in the form of state changes after execution of elementary steps of program. This feature makes structural operational semantics useful for implementation of programming languages and also for verification purposes. In our paper we present a new approach to structural operational semantics. We model behavior of programs in category of states, where objects are states, an abstraction of computer memory and morphisms model state changes, execution of a program in elementary steps. The advantage of using categorical model is its exact mathematical structure with many useful proved properties and its graphical illustration of program behavior as a path, i.e. a composition of morphisms. Our approach is able to accentuate dynamics of structural operational semantics. For simplicity, we assume that data are intuitively typed. Visualization and facility of our model is not only a new model of structural operational semantics of imperative programming languages but it can also serve for education purposes.

Comparison of DPSK and RZ-DPSK Modulations in Optical Channel with Speed of 10 Gbps

Petr Ivaniga — 2017-12-13

This article is devoted to the problematic of error rate and modulations in optical communication. Optic waveguide shows insufficiencies in high speed transfers manifested by corrupted transfer. Although modern technological processes contributed to lowering these insufficiencies, it would be uneconomical to completely reconstruct the optical network infrastructure. The solution is only partial so we approach more economical methods, such as modulations. The article works with a 10 Gbps channel with two modulation types, namely DPSK (Differential Phase Shift Keyed) and RZ-DPSK (Return to Zero-Differential Phase Shift Keyed). These modulations are evaluated and compared according to BER (Bit Error Rate) and Q-factor.

From the Editor

Alen Lovrenčić — 2015-12-16

Dear authors, reviewers and readers,

you have 39 (2) issue of the Journal of Information and Organizational Sciences in front of you. In this issue you will find seven high quality papers: six original scientific papers and one survey paper. The papers in this issue again cover very different aspects of communication sciences and informatics.

I have to address thanks to the authors who have trust in the quality of our Journal and send their papers for publishing, to reviewers who incorporate their knowledge into the improvement of the papers, and to advisory, editorial and publishing boards who make the publishing of the journal
possible.

At the end I want to emphasize that from the next issue Journal will have new visual design, which is presented at the end of this issue. I hope that authors will have no problems to adapt their future papers in accordance to it.

I wish you a pleasant reading.

Alen Lovrenčić
Editor

Cover pages

Alen Lovrenčić — 2015-12-16

Here you can download journal cover pages.

Exploring Technostress: Results of a Large Sample Factor Analysis

Steponas Jonušauskas — 2016-06-16

With reference to the results of a large sample factor analysis, the article aims to propose the frame examining technostress in a population. The survey and principal component analysis of the sample consisting of 1013 individuals who use ICT in their everyday work was implemented in the research. 13 factors combine 68 questions and explain 59.13 per cent of the answers dispersion. Based on the factor analysis, questionnaire was reframed and prepared to reasonably analyze the respondents’ answers, revealing technostress causes and consequences as well as technostress prevalence in the population in a statistically validated pattern. A key elements of technostress based on factor analysis can serve for the construction of technostress measurement scales in further research.

The Classification of Types of Business-to-Business Electronic Commerce: A Framework Construction

Jong-min Choe — 2017-06-16

Based on the degree of information sharing between buyers and suppliers as well as the
level of supplier power, we suggested a framework that can be useful for classifying
types of business to business (B2B) electronic commerce (EC) in the manufacturing
firms. According to this framework, four kinds of B2B EC were theoretically proposed,
classified, and empirically confirmed. These four are: an electronic marketplace,
electronic procurement, electronic partnerships, and electronic distribution. Many prior
studies have investigated and proposed some kinds of B2B EC. However, these studies
focused mostly on one or two types of B2B EC, and did not develop or suggest a
framework for the classification of forms of B2B EC. The framework constructed in
this research can be utilized variously. Specifically, when a firm wants to initiate B2B
EC with its suppliers, this framework can help a firm to decide and select an appropriate
kind of B2B EC. This framework can also be applied to evaluate whether the proper
form of B2B EC has been adopted or not.

The Investigation of TLC Model Checker Properties

Vadym Viktorovych Shkarupylo — 2016-06-16

This paper presents the investigation and comparison of TLC model checking method (TLA Checker) properties. There are two different approaches to method usage which are considered. The first one consists of a transition system states attendance by breadth-first search (BFS), and the second one by depth-first search (DFS). The Kripke structure has been chosen as a transition system model. A case study has been conducted, where composite web service usage scenario has been considered. Obtained experimental results are aimed at increasing the effectiveness of TLA+ specifications automated verification.

Established and Emerging Decision Constructs – A Taxonomic Perspective

Chris Barry — 2016-06-16

One might assume information systems (IS) are developed so systems enhance the user experience and facilitate a satisfying, productive interaction. From prior research, the authors established this assumption was not safe and certain design features amongst some online retailers were atypical of ‘good’ design elsewhere. It was apparent the transactional process was being used to present consumers with optional extras (and other decisions) that not only slowed the process down, but also stressed and agitated users. The research identified some new and unusual decision constructs such as the ‘must-opt’. The objective of the research presented herein is two-fold: to make an incremental contribution in first theorising and then identifying and categorising into a taxonomy some new decision constructs alongside established ones encountered throughout on-line Business-to-Consumer (B2C) transactional processes followed by a preliminary study confirming their existence and examining their clarity.

Knowledge Management Systems in the Polish Private, State and Foreign Owned Companies

Marcin Soniewicki — 2017-12-13

The importance of knowledge management for enterprises increased significantly in the recent years. In this paper one element of knowledge management will be considered, namely knowledge management systems (KMS). The main purpose of this paper is to compare the level of use of KMS between Polish private and state owned companies as well as foreign owned enterprises of different size. To measure intensity of use of particular KMS technologies research questionnaire has been created. The sample was selected from Kompass Poland database and more than 1200 questionnaires have been collected. Statistical analysis of differences between target sections was conducted by Mann-Whitney U test. Overall analysis of results showed that foreign owned companies feature greater intensity of use of KMS functions than Polish state owned and private owned enterprises. Detailed results indicated that small and medium Polish private companies utilize discussed systems to a far lesser extent. Nevertheless, large private companies feature higher intensity of use of 4 out of 5 examined KMS than large state owned enterprises.

Sampling Individually Fundamental Simplexes as Sets of Players’ Mixed Strategies in Finite Noncooperative Game for Applicable Approximate Nash Equilibrium Situations with Possible Concessions

Vadim V. Romanuke — 2016-06-16

In finite noncooperative game, a method for finding approximate Nash equilibrium situations is developed. The method is prior-based on sampling fundamental simplexes being the sets of players’ mixed strategies. Whereas the sampling is exercised, the sets of players’ mixed strategies are mapped into finite lattices. Sampling steps are envisaged dissimilar. Thus, each player within every dimension of its simplex selects and controls one’s sampling individually. For preventing approximation low quality, however, sampling steps are restricted. According to the restricted sampling steps, a player acting singly with minimal spacing over its lattice cannot change payoff of any player more than by some predetermined magnitude, being specific for each player. The finite lattice is explicitly built by the represented routine, where the player’s mixed strategies are calculated and arranged. The product of all the players’ finite lattices approximates the product of continuous fundamental simplexes. This re-defines the finite noncooperative game in its finite mixed extension on the finite lattices’ product. In such a finite-mixed-extension-defined game, the set of Nash equilibrium situations may be empty. Therefore, approximate Nash equilibrium situations are defined by the introduced possible payoff concessions. A routine for finding approximate equilibrium situations is represented. Approximate strong Nash equilibria with possible concessions are defined, and a routine for finding them is represented as well. Acceleration of finding approximate equilibria is argued also. Finally, the developed method is discussed to be a basis in stating a universal approach for the finite noncooperative game solution approximation implying unification of the game solvability, applicability, realizability, and adaptability.

The Development of Conceptual, Mathematical and System Dynamics Model for Food Industry Wastewater Purifying System

Lovorka Gotal Dmitrović — 2015-12-16

The paper presents the development of the conceptual, mathematical and system dynamics model for the food industry wastewater purification system which removes organic matter. The food industry often located in places where is difficult to install large systems for water purification while small sophisticated systems are expensive. Wastewater food industry is contaminated with organic matter, phosphorus and nitrogen compounds. This paper presents model of the small, cheap and effective cleaner water. The goal of the scientific investigation is developing such a model for purification wastewater and methodology design suitable to significant behavior patterns of contamination matter. Developed conceptual model is a computer variables model uses randomly chosen values from the theoretical probability distribution of the variable applied. For the validation of the model, considering that the distributions are asymmetrical non-Gaussian distributions, a non-parametric test was applied. Methodology proposed in the paper is mostly based on the simulation modeling.

Measuring the Utilization of On-Page Search Engine Optimization in Selected Domain

Goran Matošević — 2015-12-16

Search engine optimization (SEO) techniques involve „on-page“ and „off-page“ actions taken by web developers and SEO specialists with aim to increase the ranking of web pages in search engine results pages (SERP) by following recommendations from major search engine companies. In this paper we explore the possibility of creating a metric for evaluating on-page SEO of a website. A novel „k-rank“ metric is proposed which takes into account not only the presence of certain tags in HTML of a page, but how those tags are used with selected keywords in selected domain. The „k-rank“ is tested in domain of education by inspecting 20 university websites and comparing them with expert scores. The overview of results showed that „k-rank“ can be used as a metric for on-page SEO.

Cover pages

Alen Lovrenčić — 2015-07-06

Here you can download journal cover pages.

From the Editor

Alen Lovrenčić — 2015-07-06

Dear authors, reviewers and readers,

I am proud to introduce to you 39 (1) issue of the Journal of Information and Organizational Sciences.
I would like to thank all authors and reviewers for their efforts that make this issue possible to be published.

In this issue, you will find seven papers of respectable quality: five original scientific papers and two survey papers. The papers in this issue really affirm that this journal covers wide field of themes in information and organizational sciences from the neural networks and algorithms, through the knowledge management to the usage of ICT in the business.

Therefore, I hope that every reader will be able to find some paper that is interesting to him or her and close to the research field of his or her interest.

I wish you a pleasant reading.

Alen Lovrenčić
Editor

Performance Journey Mapping: Insights from a Methodological Triangulation

Angelika Höber — 2016-06-16

This paper presents the results of an evaluation of the Performance Journey Mapping (PJM) framework. PJM is a service performance assessment concept with accompanying tools tailored to the specific performance measurement needs of small and medium-sized service providers. The initial evaluation of PJM was performed from three different perspectives. The underlying evaluation framework applied methodological triangulation in order to (i) ensure valid and reliable results and to (ii) evaluate both the framework’s results and its process. Quantitative results were supplemented with insights gained through participant observation.

Review of Data Mining Techniques for Churn Prediction in Telecom

Vishal Mahajan — 2015-12-16

Telecommunication sector generates a huge amount of data due to increasing number of subscribers, rapidly renewable technologies; data based applications and other value added
service. This data can be usefully mined for churn analysis and prediction. Significant research had been undertaken by researchers worldwide to understand the data mining practices that can be used for predicting customer churn. This paper provides a review of around 100 recent journal articles starting from year 2000 to present the various data mining techniques used in multiple customer based churn models. It then summarizes the existing telecom literature by highlighting the sample size used, churn variables employed and the findings of different DM techniques. Finally, we list the most popular techniques for churn prediction in telecom as decision trees, regression analysis and clustering, thereby providing a roadmap to new researchers to build upon novel churn management models.

Ontology in Information Security

Krunoslav Arbanas — 2015-12-16

The past several years we have witnessed that information has become the most precious asset, while protection and security of information is becoming an ever greater challenge due to the large amount of knowledge necessary for organizations to successfully withstand external threats and attacks. This knowledge collected from the domain of information security can be formally described by security ontologies. A large number of researchers during the last decade have dealt with this issue, and in this paper we have tried to identify, analyze and systematize the relevant papers published in scientific journals indexed in selected scientific databases, in period from 2004 to 2014. This paper gives a review of literature in the field of information security ontology and identifies a total of 52 papers systematized in three groups: general security ontologies (12 papers), specific security ontologies (32 papers) and theoretical works (8 papers). The papers were of different quality and level of detail and varied from presentations of simple conceptual ideas to sophisticated frameworks based on ontology.

Individual Entrepreneurial Behavior in Croatian IT Firms: The Contribution of Strategic Thinking Skills

Lara Jelenc — 2015-12-16

This article addresses the contribution of strategic thinking skills in explaining individual entrepreneurial behavior in Croatian IT firms. Strategic thinking skills were assessed according to entrepreneurs’ use of systems thinking, reflecting, and reframing. Individual entrepreneurial behavior was measured by their inclination towards risk-taking, innovativeness, and proactiveness. Our study of 136 IT entrepreneurs in Croatia confirmed that entrepreneurs with a more developed use of strategic thinking skills exhibit stronger entrepreneurial behaviors. In fact, proactiveness as an element of IEB had a strong relation to all components of strategic thinking skills. Systems thinking as an element of strategic thinking skills showed to be a predictor of all individual entrepreneurial behavior elements.

Information Technology in Small Medium Enterprise: Logistic and Production Processes

Maurizio Pighin — 2017-06-16

This paper presents and discuss a survey which describes how small-medium
enterprises (SMEs) implement and use their information system with respect to their
logistic and production processes.
The study first describes the rationale of the research, then it identifies the
characteristics of the companies and detects their general attitude towards information
technology (IT). In the following section the paper presents a set of detailed processes
to verify the structure and workflow of companies and how IT supports their
processes. In the last part we study the influence of some company characteristics to
effective use of processes and to different technological approaches, to support
defined logistic and production processes.
The novelty of the study and its interest, both in academic and institutional context as
in the real world, resides in the opportunity to verify and understand the different
attitudes of SMEs towards information technology in defining, organizing, planning
and control their processes.

A Study on Knowledge Gain and Retention when Using Multimedia Learning Materials of Different Quality

Maja Gligora Marković — 2015-07-06

The usage of multimedia has proven to foster meaningful learning, but not every multimedia resource will necessarily contribute to the teaching-learning process. Since for the development of multimedia learning materials (MLMs) additional time and effort is required for everyone involved in the development process to pay proper attention to its quality in order to achieve desired learning effects. The paper deals with issues regarding the quality of multimedia learning materials (MLMs) as well as the relationship between MLM quality and knowledge retention.

The results of an experimental study that involves low-quality and high-quality MLMs for two different topics and their effects on knowledge gain and retention of the polytechnic school students are presented. For the purpose of the research the LORI assessment tool was used to evaluate the quality of MLMs. The analysis of research data shows that MLMs developed according to the principles of multimedia learning and principles for reducing cognitive load were perceived as being of higher quality than those that were not developed using multimedia principles. Furthermore, the students’ usage of high-quality MLMs during treatment resulted in better knowledge acquisition and retention indicated by significantly higher scores in the three knowledge assessments.

Measuring Public Procurement for Innovation on the Country Level and the Role of ICT Support

Kristina Detelj — 2015-07-06

Using of public procurement as a tool for promoting innovations has captured interest of many researchers in recent years. However, most of the research is focused on the impact of public procurement on the company's innovativeness. The article discusses the findings of the literature on this topic and proposes a model on how to transfer the concept from the company level to the level of the whole country. One of the biggest problems is unavailability of appropriate measures of this phenomenon, so the authors suggest that the concept of Public procurement for innovation can be approximated by participation of criterion of the most economically advantageous tender (MEAT). Implementation of this criterion in choosing the best offer can be supported and facilitated by using of ICT which can improve the efficiency of procurement process and enable more innovations.

Methods and Algorythms of Alternatives Ranging in Managing the Telecommunication Services Guality.

Pham Quang Hiep — 2015-07-06

The article deals with methods of solving the problem of ranging of alternatives in information-analytical system of managing the quality of telecommunication services rendering process. Tasks of choice are determined, in which the alternatives are as follows: states of quality of different objects in the structure of telecommunication company management. An algorithm of ranging of objects is elaborated for the case of using unstructured set of indices. The algorithm enables to determine the objects priorities and to select the best ones among them. The suggested methods may be used while elaborating the programs of improvement of telecommunication companies competitiveness.

Do You Walk the Talk in Quality Culture?

João Barata — 2015-12-16

We present an action research project to foster quality culture in business processes. The client setting is in the food industry, a vital sector for our society and one of the most regulated in the world. Food production involves auditing throughout the supply chain and a demanding information system (IS), with numerous requirements grounded on the organizational policies. Our ISO₂ approach – for joint development of IS and quality management system (QMS) – was tailored with a set of routines and artifacts to promote quality culture in the maintenance process of the selected organization. This contribution enables a graphical visualization of existing gaps between the high-level principles endorsed by an organization and its confirmation: (1) instantiating company policies at process level; (2) contrasting the assessment of the process owner and of the quality auditor; and (3) comparing the desired and the real practices in a specific business process. An audit from a food retail group confirmed the positive outcome of ISO₂ approach in what regards the internalization of quality principles while developing the IS. Moreover, we performed a longitudinal evaluation to verify enduring effects of the ISO₂ approach in business processes. We gathered evidence that ISO₂ can (1) improve process users’ awareness of quality culture; (2) suggest an approach to increase trust in company policies; and (3) contribute to business process improvements.

Boosting Ensembles of Heavy Two-Layer Perceptrons for Increasing Classification Accuracy in Recognizing Shifted-Turned-Scaled Flat Images with Binary Features

Vadim V. Romanuke — 2015-07-06

A method of constructing boosting ensembles of heavy two-layer perceptrons is stated. The benchmark classification problem is recognition of shifted-turned-scaled flat images of a medium format with binary features. The boosting gain is suggested in two aspects. The earliest one is the ratio of minimal recognition error percentage among the ensemble perceptrons to the recognition error percentage performed by the ensemble. The second gain type is the ratio of minimal variance of perceptrons’ recognition error percentages over 26 classes to variance of the ensemble’s recognition error percentages over 26 classes. Both ratios increase as the number of perceptron classifiers in the ensemble increase. The ensemble of 36 classifiers performs with increased accuracy, where recognition error percentage is decreased for 33 %, and the variance is decreased for more than 50 %. Further increment of classifiers into ensemble cannot increase accuracy much as there is the saturation effect of the boosting gain. And the gain itself depends on the range of noise modeling object’s distortions. Thus, the heavier perceptron classifier the less gain is expected.

An Overview of Graph-Based Keyword Extraction Methods and Approaches

Slobodan Beliga — 2015-07-06

The paper surveys methods and approaches for the task of keyword extraction. The systematic review of methods was gathered which resulted in a comprehensive review of existing approaches. Work related to keyword extraction is elaborated for supervised and unsupervised methods, with a special emphasis on graph-based methods. Various graph-based methods are analyzed and compared. The paper provides guidelines for future research plans and encourages the development of new graph-based approaches for keyword extraction.

Two Stage Comparison of Classifier Performances for Highly Imbalanced Datasets

Goran Oreški — 2015-12-16

During the process of knowledge discovery in data, imbalanced learning data often emerges and presents a significant challenge for data mining methods. In this paper, we investigate the influence of class imbalanced data on the classification results of artificial intelligence methods, i.e. neural networks and support vector machine, and on the classification results of classical classification methods represented by RIPPER and the Naïve Bayes classifier. All experiments are conducted on 30 different imbalanced datasets obtained from KEEL (Knowledge Extraction based on Evolutionary Learning) repository. With the purpose of measuring the quality of classification, the accuracy and the area under ROC curve (AUC) measures are used. The results of the research indicate that the neural network and support vector machine show improvement of the AUC measure when applied to balanced data, but at the same time, they show the deterioration of results from the aspect of classification accuracy. RIPPER results are also similar, but the changes are of a smaller magnitude, while the results of the Naïve Bayes classifier show overall deterioration of results on balanced distributions. The number of instances in the presented highly imbalanced datasets has significant additional impact on the classification performances of the SVM classifier. The results have shown the potential of the SVM classifier for the ensemble creation on imbalanced datasets.

Estimation and Comparison of Underground Economy in Croatia and European Union Countries: Fuzzy Logic Approach

Kristina Marsic — 2016-06-16

Underground economy (UE) is one of the undesired facts in every country. The size of the underground economy is an important parameter in determining the effectiveness of fiscal and monetary policy, the rate of economic growth, and income distribution. From a scientific point of view analysis of the UE is faced with severe data problems because underground activities are not recorded and anyone engaged in it has an incentive to hide them. Therefore, economists have developed a variety of methods to estimate the size of the underground economy. The aim of this paper is to estimate and compare the size of the Croatian underground economy with the underground economy of European Union (EU) countries in the period of 2004 till 2012.
The purpose of this paper is to address this issue in three ways. First, we review existing estimates of the size of the underground economy. Second, we apply a novel calculation method for estimation: fuzzy logic. Third, we calculated and compared underground economy index for 25 European Union countries and compared it, with special focus on Croatian underground economy index. Results indicated that Croatia has the thirteenth largest underground economy among measured members of the European Union. This study is the first of its kind with recent data to measure the size of underground economy in European Union countries by employing fuzzy logic approach.

Use of Informatics Textbooks in School Classroom

Goran Hajdin — 2016-06-16

Textbooks are an integral part of school classroom teaching. Their use has been researched for the past few decades with a focus on a wide variety of aspects. This paper is focused on the published literature relative to textbooks with a special focus on the pedagogical use of textbooks within school classroom of informatics. Sixty two papers of various topics related to textbooks have been analyzed. The focus was placed on a) identifying the most influential papers related to textbooks where we identified nine key papers; b) prevailing topics in research papers related to informatics’ textbooks where analysis showed that most papers related to textbooks and informatics are focused on textbook content; c) identifying which topics have been researched in other fields related to use of textbooks but have not been so far included in surveys related to informatics subject, where we identified five main categories of topics researched in other fields.

Cover pages

Alen Lovrenčić — 2014-12-16

Here you can download journal cover pages.

From the Editor

Alen Lovrenčić — 2014-12-16

Dear authors, readers and reviewers, ladies and gentlemen.

We present second number of the 38th volume of the Journal of Information and Organizational Sciences. We are continuing to publish papers from the wide scope of information and organizational sciences from the computer science to the organizational systems.

As a new JIOS editor I would like to introduce myself thank to the former editor prof. Neven Vrček not only for the help in my first JIOS issue, but for all things he did for JIOS while he was in charge. I really think that JIOS as it is today is mostly his credit, as anyone who compare the journal today and before his mandate can easily see. He improved JIOS in every sense, in international recognition, quality of papers, and technical design. I can only hope that I will be as succesful as he was and that I will develop as good relationship with authors, reviewers, editorial and publishing board as he had. I am inviting you all to read, write and participate in JIOS in the future as well as you did in the past.

In this issue we are proud to present six papers, four original scientific papers, one survey paper and one preliminary communication to you. I really hope you will enjoy in reading this issue of JIOS and that you will find the papers in it interesting and useful.

Awareness of Cloud Computing in Slovenian and Croatian Micro-Enterprises

Borut Werber — 2015-07-06

This paper presents a comparison of the two studies conducted in Slovenian and Croatian micro-enterprises (µE) about the awareness of the cloud computing (CC). We were interested in the issues relating to the characteristics of µE and the latter's use of information and communication technology (ICT) in business processes. Also, the characteristics of owners and µE were investigated. We found that the results obtained in the two countries were similar. In both cases, the most important CC characteristics were reliability, security and performance. Given that CC could represent a good business opportunity for µE, some managerial implications are proposed.

A Case Study of Software Product Line for Business Applications Changeability Prediction

Zdravko Roško — 2014-12-16

The changeability, a sub-characteristic of maintainability, refers to the level of effort which is required to do modifications to a software product line (SPL) application component. Assuming dependencies between SPL application components and reference architecture implementation (a platform), this paper empirically investigates the relationship between 7 design metrics and changeability of 46 server components of a product line for business applications. In addition, we investigated the usefulness of Platform Responsibility (PR) metric as an indicator of product line component changeability. The results show that most of the design metrics are strongly related to the changeability of server component and also indicate statistically significant correlation between Maintainability Index (MI) and PR metric. The assessment is based on a case study of the implementation of the product line for business applications in a financial institution. The results show that PR metric can be used as good predictor of changeability in the software product line environment.

Applying Genetic Algorithms and RIA technologies to the development of Complex-VRP Tools in real-world distribution of petroleum products

Antonio Moratilla Ocaña — 2014-12-16

Distribution problems had held a large body of research and development covering the VRP problem and its multiple characteristics, but few investigations examine it as an Information System, and far fewer as how it should be addressed from a development and implementation point of view. This paper describes the characteristics of a real information system for fuel distribution problems at country scale, joining the VRP research and development work using Genetic Algorithms, with the design of a Web based Information System. In this paper a view of traditional workflow in this area is shown, with a new approximation in which is based proposed system. Taking into account all constraint in the field, the authors have developed a VRPWeb-based solution using Genetic Algorithms with multiple web frameworks for each architecture layer, focusing on functionality and usability, in order to minimizing human error and maximizing productivity. To achieve these goals, authors have use SmartGWT as a powerful Web based RIA SPA framework with java integration, and multiple server frameworks and OSS based solutions,applied to development of a very complex VRP system for a logistics operator of petroleum products.

Evaluating Expert Estimators Based on Elicited Competences

Hrvoje Karna — 2015-07-06

Utilization of expert effort estimation approach shows promising results when it is applied to software development process. It is based on judgment and decision making process and due to comparative advantages extensively used especially in situations when classic models cannot be accounted for. This becomes even more accentuated in today’s highly dynamical project environment. Confronted with these facts companies are placing ever greater focus on their employees, specifically on their competences. Competences are defined as knowledge, skills and abilities required to perform job assignments. During effort estimation process different underlying expert competences influence the outcome i.e. judgments they express. Special problem here is the elicitation, from an input collection, of those competences that are responsible for accurate estimates. Based on these findings different measures can be taken to enhance estimation process. The approach used in study presented in this paper was targeted at elicitation of expert estimator competences responsible for production of accurate estimates. Based on individual competences scores resulting from performed modeling experts were ranked using weighted scoring method and their performance evaluated. Results confirm that experts with higher scores in competences identified by applied models in general exhibit higher accuracy during estimation process. For the purpose of modeling data mining methods were used, specifically the multilayer perceptron neural network and the classification and regression decision tree algorithms. Among other, applied methods are suitable for the purpose of elicitation as in a sense they mimic the ways human brains operate. Data used in the study was collected from real projects in the company specialized for development of IT solutions in telecom domain. The proposed model, applied methodology for elicitation of expert competences and obtained results give evidence that in future such a model can be used in practice to reduce estimation error and enhance expert effort estimation.

An approach to source code conversion of classical programming languages into source code of quantum programming languages

Alan Bojić — 2014-12-16

Basic principles of quantum computer ensure more computing power than the principles of classical computers. Quantum computers use quantum mechanical effects such as entanglement and superposition to speed up computing processes compared to classical computers. If the quantum computers one day becomes a commercially available product, then it is very important to have a converter that will convert the source code of programming languages for classical computers into source code of programming languages for quantum computers because it will speed up the translation process and ensure that developers of classical computers can develop programs for quantum computer using programming languages for classical computers. In this paper, the basic approach to automatic conversion of the source code for classical computer into a source code of quantum computer is introduced.

Cover pages

Neven Vrček — 2014-06-26

Here you can download journal cover pages.

From the Editor

Neven Vrček — 2014-06-26

Dear authors, readers and future authors,

it is my pleasure to present you the 1st number of the 38th volume of the Journal of Information and Organizational Sciences – JIOS.

Please allow me one personal note. This is my last issue as an editor. I started in 2008. and it is time to make some changes. I’ll continue to act as a member of editorial board but I am handling over my editorial duty to new editor Alen Lovrenčić. It was pleasure to work with all authors, reviewers and collaborators and please continue partnership with JIOS because we have high aims which cannot be achieved without dedicated scientific community. I would also like to thank the publishing team of JIOS who helped with many operational issues especially: Bernarda Kos, Goran Hajdin and Darko Grabar.

In this issue a selection of 3 original scientific papers, 1 survey paper and 1 preliminary communications has been included, all of which have undergone a rigorous double-blind review process in some cases in several rounds.

The constant mission of JIOS is to cover scientific publications from broad area of information sciences and related disciplines and we continuously receive many articles in which authors strive to achieve scientific merit. Our review procedure is very strict but even when we decline papers we try to encourage authors in their future work and motivate them to give better results. That is why we maintain very good relations with our authors and we invite all of you to extend cooperation with JIOS.

We hope that the variety of themes will draw the attention of researchers in different fields of information sciences and motivate potential authors to expand the Journal’s thematic scope by other themes that may be of interest to the wider ICT research community. These themes motivate us to continue our work of delivering research results to interested audience. The ICT field is changing rapidly and we are constantly searching for cutting edge articles that open perspective and motivate further research. We have to notice that future of ICT related research is in interdisciplinary approach and relations with other research domains which is highly emphasized in Horizon 2020 directions and all related project lines. That is why we encourage and promote scientific collaboration across scientific areas that will bring us new interesting articles. We hope that many of you who will read the Journal will join us as authors, readers and reviewers and help us to fulfill our mission. The number of submitted papers increases every year giving us opportunity to increase the quality and visibility of JIOS.

So far JIOS has been indexed in ten well known databases. We are continuously investing a lot of effort to extend the list of databases where JIOS would be cited, in order to make the published papers available to a larger readers’ audience, and give your research a greater impact factor.

So please be with us in the future, support new editorial team and help us build JIOS together.

Neven Vrček
Editor

Analysis of human resources in science and technology in ICT companies–case of Croatia

Jelena Horvat — 2014-12-16

This paper integrates theories and findings of the level of tertiary educated workforce, the human resources in science and technology and skills that are desirable in employees from in the information and communication technologies (ICT) sector. It is important to examine the real situation on the labor market in the ICT sector, which is often referred to as the key to overcoming the crisis and the future of national economy. Basic statistical elements, upon which to predict future demand for human resources in science and technology (HRST), are people who enter tertiary level of education (inputs) or are already in the system (throughputs), but until graduation are not considered HRST’s (outputs). Analysis is based on a sample of 56 small companies in ICT sector in Croatia. This paper presents the overview of the situations of human resources in small companies ICT sector in Croatia. Existing literature on HRST, employee’s skills and ICT sector is reviewed in the light of this analysis, in order to better understand current employment structure and desirable competencies of future employees of small companies in the ICT sector in Croatia.

Approximation of unit-hypercubic infinite antagonistic game via dimension-dependent irregular samplings and reshaping the payoffs into flat matrix wherewith to solve the matrix game

Vadim Romanuke — 2014-12-16

There is suggested a method of approximating unit-hypercubic infinite antagonistic game with the matrix game and the corresponding solution in finite strategies. The method is based on dimension-dependent irregular samplings over the game kernel. Numbers of the sampling points and their coordinates are chosen due to the stated conditions. If the sampled kernel is not the flat matrix them the multidimensional payoff matrix is reshaped into the flat one wherewith to solve the matrix game. The reshaping is a reversible matrix map. The concluding step of the approximation is in checking the finite solution consistency. Consistency can be weakened, and consistency can be checked at some rank corresponding to a natural number. The higher rank of the finite solution consistency is, the wider neighborhood of the sampling numbers at which the solution properties are monotonic-like.

Technical, Legal, Economic and Social Aspects of Biometrics for Cloud Computing

Jernej Bule — 2014-12-16

This article addresses technical, legal, economic and social aspects of biometrics for cloud computing, featuring application example, gains of such solution, current laws, directives and legislation for biometrics and cloud computing. It is primarily based on Slovenian example due to common general EU legislation in the field of cloud computing and biometrics. Authentication on the Internet is still mainly done using passwords, while biometrics is practically not used. It is commonly known that everything is moving to the cloud and biometrics is not an exception. Amount of biometric data is expected to grow significantly over the next few years and only cloud computing is possible to process such amounts of data. Due to these facts and increasing security needs, we propose and implement the use of biometry as a service in the cloud. A challenge regarding the use of biometric solutions in the cloud is the protection of the privacy of individuals and their personal data. In Slovenia privacy legislation is very strong, it permits usage of biometrics only for very specific reasons, but we predict that big players on the market will change this fact globally. One of the important reasons for that is also the fact that biometrics for cloud computing provides some strong benefits and economic incentives. Proper deployment can provide significant savings. Such solutions could improve people’s quality of life in terms of social development, especially in sense of more convenient, safer and reliable identification over multiple government and non-government services.

Elements of Resource Representation in Institutional Repositories: a Bibliographic Review

Jose Daniel Texier — 2014-06-26

This review focuses on identifying how the literature studies the existing problems in the Resource Representation (RR) of Institutional Repositories (IR). RR is a process of recording in a persistent manner a set of data (metadata) as a synthesis and replacement of the "real" object, to allow its identification, retrieval and dissemination. RR is defined by certain elements: resources, metadata schema, storage and cataloging. On the other hand, IRs are based on functional processes according to the material that is deposited and the ISO 14.721 standard: ingest, storage, cataloging,indexing, search engine and browsing. The results of this review show that identifying the problems found in these elements and functional processes is not a subject of study for the researchers, which leads to a vacant area in this field, and in this way to solve some of the problems present in the RI, from the point of view of functional elements and processes.

An Artificial Neural Network Modeling for Force Control System of a Robotic Pruning Machine

Ali Hashemi — 2014-06-26

Nowadays, there has been an increasing application of pruning robots for planted forests due to the growing concern on the efficiency and safety issues. Power consumption and working time of agricultural machines have become important issues due to the high value of energy in modern world. In this study, different multi-layer back-propagation networks were utilized for mapping the complex and highly interactive of pruning process parameters and to predict power consumption and cutting time of a force control equipped robotic pruning machine by knowing input parameters such as: rotation speed, stalk diameter, and sensitivity coefficient. Results showed significant effects of all input parameters on output parameters except rotational speed on cutting time. Therefore, for reducing the wear of cutting system, a less rotational speed in every sensitivity coefficient should be selected.

From the Editor

Neven Vrček — 2013-12-10

Dear authors, readers and future authors,

it is my pleasure to present you the 2nd number of the 37th volume of the Journal of Information and Organizational Sciences – JIOS.

In this issue a selection of 3 original scientic papers and 2 preliminary communications has been included, all of which have undergone a rigorous double-blind review process in some cases in several rounds.

The mission of JIOS is to cover scientic publications from broad area of information sciences and related disciplines and we continuously receive many articles in which authors strive to achieve scientic merit. Our review procedure is very strict but even when we decline papers we try to encourage authors in their future work and motivate them to give better results. That is why we maintain very good relations with our authors and we invite all of you to extend cooperation with JIOS.

We hope that the variety of themes will draw the attention of researchers in dierent elds of information sciences and motivate potential authors to expand the Journal’s thematic scope by other themes that may be of interest to the wider ICT research community. These themes motivate us to continue our work of delivering research results to interested audience. The ICT eld is changing rapidly and we are constantly searching for cutting edge articles that open perspective and motivate further research. We have to notice that future of ICT related research is in interdisciplinary approach and relations with other research domains which is highly emphasized in Horizon 2020 directions. That is why we encourage and promote scientic collaboration across scientic areas that will bring us new interesting articles. We hope that many of you who will read the Journal will join us as authors, readers and reviewers and help us to fulll our mission. The number of submitted papers increases every year giving us opportunity to increase the quality and visibility of JIOS.

So far JIOS has been indexed in nine well known databases and we are proud to announce that from this issue we are indexed in two more databases Index Copernicus and Directory of Research Journals Indexing. We are continuously investing a lot of eort to extend the list of databases where JIOS would be cited, in order to make the published papers available to a larger readers’ audience, and give your research a greater impact factor.

Cover pages

Neven Vrček — 2013-12-10

Here you can download journal cover pages.

Intention to Use and Variables Influencing Intention to Use Electronic Government Services Among Citizens

Mario Klačmer — 2014-06-26

Each organization should be aiming at higher efficiency. Government institutions should not make an exception.Business processes of today’s government institutions are extremely influenced by modern ICT and user acceptance plays a pivotal role in success of all ICT projects. As government tends to design and launch online services without actually measuring citizens’ needs, understanding citizens’ (taxpayers’) needs is becoming crucial for government institutions.In this paper, a range of earlier studies have been critically analyzed and comparedto provide anintegrated model that can identify factors which could influence adoption of e-government services. The goal of this article is to study citizens’ demand for different levels of electronic government service and to find factors which influence the adoption ofthese same services.This study integrates variables from technology acceptance model (TAM) and trustworthiness model.Analysis of the results indicates that there is a significant positive relationship between Trust in Internet, Perceived usefulness, Perceived ease of use andtheIntentionto use. Implications for further research are discussed.

Designing Gaussian Membership Functions for Fuzzy Classifier Generated by Heuristic Possibilistic Clustering

Dmitri Arkady Viattchenin — 2013-12-10

The paper deals with the problem of constructing Gaussian membership functions of fuzzy sets for fuzzy rules derived from the data by using heuristic algorithms of possibilistic clustering. Basic concepts of the heuristic approach to possibilistic clustering are reminded and the extended technique of constructing membership functions of fuzzy sets is proposed. An illustrative example is given and preliminary conclusions are made.

Biometric System Vulnerability as a Compromising Factor for Integrity of Chain of Custody and Admissibility of Digital Evidence in Court of Justice: Analysis and Improvement Proposal

Zoran Cosic — 2014-06-26

Biometric systems play an important role in digital investigation process as a important factor of authentication and verification applications, since they are strongly linked to the holder of a biometric traits and possible suspect. Thus it is important that biometric systems can be designed to withstand attacks when employed in security-critical applications, especially in unattended remote applications such as energy plants, access to borders at airports, ecommerce etc. Biometric recognition either raises important legal issues of remediation, authority, and reliability, and, of course, privacy. The standard assumptions of the technologists who design new techniques, capabilities, and systems are very different from those embedded in the legal system. Legal precedent on the use of biometric technology is growing, with some key cases going back decades and other more recent cases having raised serious questions about the admissibility of biometric evidence in court. In this paper authors is about to explain influence of reliability of biometric system on general acceptance of digital evidence in Court of Justice process. Through paper authors are also about to propose vulnerability assessment of biometric system as improvementfactor of reliability of existing methodology for preserving chain of custody of digital evidence called DEMF (Digital Evidence Management Framework). Improvement proposal is presented as an introduction of phase of biometric vulnerability evaluation methodology within proposedframework called APDEMF (Admissibility procedure of DEMF). Using UML (Universal Modeling Language) modeling methodology authors are about to represent a APDEMF framework which will describe essential phases of the same process.

Using Coevolution Genetic Algorithm with Pareto Principles to Solve Project Scheduling Problem under Duration and Cost Constraints

Alexandr Victorovich Budylskiy — 2014-06-26

This article considers the multicriteria optimization approach using the modified genetic algorithm to solve the project-scheduling problem under duration and cost constraints. The work contains the list of choices for solving this problem. The multicriteria optimization approach is justified here. The study describes the Pareto principles, which are used in the modified genetic algorithm. We identify the mathematical model of the project-scheduling problem. We introduced the modified genetic algorithm, the ranking strategies, the elitism approaches. The article includes the example.

Knowledge Organization of Integrated Water Resources Management: A Case of Chi River Basin, Thailand

Nattapong Kaewboonma — 2013-12-10

This study is a part of the research project on the Development of an Ontology-Based Semantic Search for Integrated Water Resources Management of the Chi River Basin (CRB), Thailand. The study aimed at developing the knowledge domain of water resources management for CRB. The research methods included document analysis and qualitative research by adopting Liou (1990)’s knowledge acquisition approach. Fifteen experts including ten experts in the areas of environmental engineering, water resources engineering, and GIS, and seven government officers who has been involving with water management in the CRB were interviewed. The experts also took part in the processes of developing the knowledge domain, classifying, and structuring the knowledge for water resources management in the CRB.

The results of this research were the knowledge domain of water resource management for CRB. An example of the water resources management knowledge domain which was structuredby following concepts and processes of water resources management in Thailand is shown in this paper.

List of reviewers

Neven Vrček — 2013-06-26

Daniel Rodriguez
University of Alcala, Spain
Ivan Magdalenic
University of Zagreb, Croatia
Joaquim Filipe
Polytechnic Institute of Setúbal, Portugal
Sergei Silvestrov
Mälardalen University, Sweden
Alen Lovrenčić
University of Zagreb, Croatia
Matilda Drozdova
University of Žilina, Slovakia
Maria Jose Escalona
University of Seville, Spain
Wolf Rauch
University of Graz, Austria
Sandro Gerić
University of Zagreb, Croatia
Neven Vrcek
University of Zagreb, Croatia
Marina Klačmer Čalopa
University of Zagreb, Croatia
Mohit Verma
Institute of Management Technolopgy, Dubai

List of reviewers

Neven Vrček — 2013-06-26

József Tar
Institute of Intelligent Engineering Systems, Budapest
Gašper Mušič
University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
William Steingartner
Technical University of Košice, Slovakia
Ivana Jugović
Institute for Social Research, Croatia
Gilda Pecaric
University of Zagreb, Croatia
Elisabeth Pergler
Evolaris next level GmbH, Austria
Alen Lovrenčić
University of Zagreb, Croatia
Peter Andreae
Victoria University, New Zealand
Jan Paralic
Technical University Kosice, Slovakia
Diana Šimić
University of Zagreb, Croatia
Nadica Hrgarek
MED-EL Medical Electronics, Austria
Jadranka Stojanovski
Rudjer Boskovic Institute, Croatia
Milan Ambroz
Human Resources Professional, Slovenia
Katarina Žager
University of Zagreb, Croatia
Kresimir Fertalj
University of Zagreb, Croatia

List of reviewers

Neven Vrček — 2013-06-26

Jasminka Dobša
University of Zagreb, Croatia
Kornelije Rabuzin
University of Zagreb, Croatia
Ali Koyuncugil
Capital Markets Board of Turkey, Turkey
Ivan Magdalenic
University of Zagreb, Croatia
Kresimir Fertalj
University of Zagreb, Croatia
Markus Schatten
University of Zagreb, Croatia
Dmitri Viattchenin
United Institute of Informatics Problems of the NAS of Belarus, Belarus
C. Hurt
University of Wisconsin, USA
Vesna Čančer
University of Maribor, Slovenia
Zeljka Mihajlovic
University of Zagreb, Croatia
Renata Mekovec
University of Zagreb, Croatia
Alen Lovrenčić
University of Zagreb, Croatia

From the Editor

Neven Vrček — 2013-06-19

Dear authors, readers and future authors,

it is my pleasure to present you the 1st number of the 37th volume of the Journal of Information and Organizational Sciences – JIOS.

In this issue a selection of 3 original scientific papers, 1 preliminary communication and 1 survey paper has been included, all of which have undergone a rigorous double-blind review process in some cases in several rounds.

As in prior issues of the Journal, this one also comprises papers that cover broad themes from various ICT fields and related areas: software engineering, strategic planning of information systems, knowledge management and quantum computing. We hope that the variety of themes will draw the attention of researchers in different fields of information sciences and motivate potential authors to expand the Journal’s thematic scope by other themes that may be of interest to the wider ICT research community. These themes motivate us to continue our work of delivering research results to interested audience. The ICT field is changing rapidly and we are constantly searching for cutting edge articles that open perspective and motivate further research. We have to notice that future of ICT related research is in interdisciplinary approach and relations with other research domains which is highly emphasized in Horizon 2020 directions. That is why we encourage and promote scientific collaboration across scientific areas that will bring us new interesting articles. We hope that many of you who will read the Journal will join us as authors, readers and reviewers and help us to fulfill our mission. The number of submitted papers increases every year giving us opportunity to increase the quality and visibility of JIOS.

I would like to use this opportunity to encourage prospective authors among you, dear readers, to submit papers at http://jios.foi.hr. You are also invited to share with us your comments or critical remarks regarding the papers previously published in the Journal. Further, we would appreciate your willingness to become a reviewer for submitted papers and thus contribute significantly to the rising quality of JIOS.So far JIOS has been indexed in nine well known databases. We are continuously investing a lot of effort to extend the list of databases where JIOS would be cited, in order to make the published papers available to a larger readers’ audience, and give your research a greater impact factor.

Cover pages

Neven Vrček — 2013-06-19

Here you can download journal cover pages.

Factors of Knowledge Management and the impact of employee turnover in activity and performance in scientific and technological parks in Slovenia

Vasja Roblek — 2013-06-19

Technology parks provide infrastructure for the creation and developmentof knowledge-based organizations, which are associated with centers oftechnological excellence, mainly universities. This research addresses thequestion of management and skills acquisition in member organizations oftechnology parks in Slovenia. As means and lever for development organizations,we recognize the values and organizational culture, which cannot be achievedwithout employees who possess good knowledge. We associated knowledgemanagement with employee turnover factor. The central purpose of this researchis to focus on exploring the impact of movements in knowledge management on theturnover in organizations, which are members of technology parks. By usingmultivariate regression methods we confirmed that the required skills,knowledge acquisition and knowledge transfer channels, have a statisticallysignificant effect on employee turnover in technology parks.

The Application of Multimedia Aimed at Improving the Acquisition of Typical Topics in Natural and Social Science Programs in High Schools

Bojan Banić — 2013-12-10

The issue of natural and social science courses in high schools, as well as in grammar schools, is very important not only on a global level. Therefore, the aim of this study is to address the issue of improving the process of learning with an emphasis on those subjects which students of a certain program find difficult.

By means of its application in teaching, multimedia – being a combination of various media – has enabled the introduction of new channels in the information transfer process, i.e. the reception of information through multiple sensors. At the same time the mentioned fact represents the advantage of multimedia materials over classical textual materials.

The research was conducted on the sample of 121 students, namely two social science classes (62 students) and two natural science classes (59 students). Ultimately, the result of the study is the quantification of the effect of multimedia on various student groups, as well as the recognition of differences when it comes to subject preferences, learning styles and attitudes towards learning.

Information Technology and Accounting Information Systems’ Quality in Croatian Middle and Large Companies

Ivana Mamić Sačer — 2013-12-10

An accounting information system is of a great importance for preparing quality accounting information for a wide range of users. The study elaborates the impact of information technology on accounting process and as a consequence on accounting information systems quality. This paper analyzes the basic characteristics of accounting information systems quality, discussing the model of AIS’s quality measurement. The perception of the quality of accounting information systems by accountants in medium and large companies in Croatia is also presented. The paper presents the historical overview of AIS’s quality based on three empirical studies conducted in 2001, 2008 and 2012.

Interpretation of Fuzzy Attribute Subsets in Generalized One-Sided Concept Lattices

Peter Butka — 2013-12-10

In this paper we describe possible interpretation and reduction of fuzzy attributes in GeneralizedOne-sided Concept Lattices (GOSCL). This type of concept lattices represent generalization ofFormal Concept Analysis (FCA) suitable for analysis of datatables with different types of attributes. FCA as well as generalized one-sided concept lattices represent conceptual data miningmethods. With growing number of attributes the interpretation of fuzzy subsets may become unclear, hence another interpretation of this fuzzy attribute subsets can be valuable. The originalityof the presented method is based on the usage of one-sided concept lattices derived from submodels of former object-attribute model by grouping attributes with the same truth value structure.This leads to new method for attribute reduction in GOSCL environment.

A New Quantum Game Based on CHSH Game

Alan Bojić — 2013-06-19

The Quantum game theory is an extension of the classical game theory which describes games in which players share quantum information during the game. The use of the quantum mechanical effects enables players’ better results than they would achieve in the classical game without sharing any information at all. In this paper I would like to describe a new two player cooperative game which is based on the well known CHSH game. A quantum strategy for a new game will be introduced and it will be compared to the classical strategy and CHSH game strategy.

Cover pages

Neven Vrček — 2012-12-13

Here you can download journal cover pages.

From the Editor

Neven Vrček — 2012-12-13

Dear authors, readers and future authors,

It is my pleasure to present you the 2nd number of the 36th volume of the Journal of Information andOrganizational Sciences – JIOS.

In this issue a selection of 3 original scientic papers, 3 preliminary communications and 1 surveypaper has been included, all of which have undergone a rigorous double-blind review process insome cases in several rounds.

As in prior issues of the Journal, this one also comprises papers that cover themes from various ICTelds and related areas: computer algorithms, ERP systems, business process analysis, and otherrelated themes. We hope that the variety of themes will draw the attention of researchers in dierentelds of information sciences and motivate potential authors to expand the Journal’s thematic scopeby other themes that may be of interest to the wider ICT research community. These themes motivatesus to continue our work of delivering research results to interested audience. We hope that many ofyou who will read the Journal will join us as authors, readers and reviewers and help us to fulll ourmission. The number of submitted papers increases every year giving us opportunity to increase thequality and visibility of JIOS.

So far JIOS has been indexed in nine well known databases. We are continuously investing a lot ofeort to extend the list of databases where JIOS would be cited, in order to make the publishedpapers available to a larger readers’ audience, and give your research a greater impact factor.

Impact of Aspect-Oriented Programming on the Quality of Novices’ Programs: A Comparative Study

Marija Katic — 2013-06-19

Aspect-oriented programming has been introduced in order to increase the modularity of object-oriented programs and is claimed to improve software quality. Although there are various researches on this claim, the question to what extent aspect-oriented programming improves the quality of programs depending on a developer’s experience still remains. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether aspect-oriented programming used by novice programmers improves the quality of programs, in terms of software flexibility and readability (consequently reusability and maintainability as well). As a part of an undergraduate course in programming paradigms and languages, a systematic comparison between students’ object-oriented and aspect-oriented solutions of the same problem was driven. In order to drive this comparison we have established the basis for the development of the new quality assessment model consisting of software metrics for an objective evaluation and student survey for subjective evaluation. The results show that the use of aspect-oriented programming lead to novices’ programs that are easier to change and read (flexible and readable) compared to object-oriented programs. What is more, administered survey showed that students perceive their programs as more flexible and readable.

Critical Success Factors Aspects of the Enterprise Resource Planning Implementation

Milorad Nikitović — 2012-12-13

Considering a global importance of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) they are in the spotlight of ERP implementation retail stores. Many of the relevant studies indicate the importance and diversity of the ERP implementation process. This paper presents results of the authors' research of the implementation success factors from the point of view of implementation participants. Based on the experience of a number of ERP implementations, authors compare the Croatian and international implementing practice of ERP solutions, taking into account the same critical success and the same ERP solution. Te emphasisis is put specifically on the three key participants in an implementation process: CEOs, project managers and successful-advanced users. Regardless of the relatively limited number of end users who took part in this study, it indicates a significant coincidence of Croatian and international practices in the part of perception of the critical success factors for ERP implementation, but also different views of key participants in the successful implementation.

Creating TTCN-3 Test Suite from CPN Specification

Marina Bagic Babac — 2013-06-19

Testing of a software product is the key activity before deploying it in the real-time environment. Therefore testing should be introduced into the product development process as early as possible in order to decrease the costs of repairing the damage in later phases. In this paper we use Coloured Petri Nets (CPN) for the system specification and also as a system to be tested instead of its implementation. This specification also serves as the basis for the test suite generation. Test cases are provided in the language of Testing and Test Control Notation version 3 (TTCN-3) due to its general application area and platform independence.

Croatian banking sector research: relationship between ownership structure, concentration, owners’ type and bank performance

Igor Tomičić — 2012-12-13

Banks are important financial intermediaries of any national economy, and corporate governance has an important role in banking sector; especially due to processes of the globalization and the internationalization, and also because of the sensitivity of the activities between the interest groups. The objective of this paper is to examine the relationship between ownership structure, concentration, owners’ type and bank performance. The authors made a research of banks' ownership structure using publicly available data. Using statistical tools authors discovered relationships between bank ownership structure and bank performance indicators (average asset, total asset, average equity, profit (loss) before taxes, profit (loss) after taxes, ROAA, ROAE). Further they discuss the relationships between ownership structure and a number of consequences for the bank performance. The authors discovered significant correlation between bank ownership structure and performance indicators variables that are described in the paper.

Comparison of simple graphical process models

Katarina Tomicic-Pupek — 2012-12-13

Comparing structure of graphical process models can reveal different variations of processes. Since most contemporary norms for process modeling lean on directed connectivity of objects in the model, their connections structure form sequences which can be translated into performing scenarios. While the sequences can be tested for completeness in performing process activities using simulation methods, the similarity or difference of static characteristics of sequences in different model variants is difficult to explore.

The goal of the paper is to test the appliance of a method for comparison of graphical models by analyzing and comparing the static characteristics of process models. Therefore a metamodel of process models is developed and a comparison procedure conducted using a graphical model comparison algorithm.

From the Editor

Neven Vrček — 2012-06-30

Dear authors, readers and future authors,

It is my pleasure to present you the 1st number of the 36th volume of the Journal of Information and Organizational Sciences – JIOS.

In this issue a selection of 5 original scienti! c papers and 1 survey paper has been included, all of which have undergone a rigorous double-blind review process in some cases in several rounds.

As in prior issues of the Journal, this one also comprises papers that cover themes from various ICT fields: computer programming, mobile technologies, symbolic logic in the field of informationsciences, business processes, formal concept analysis, data analysis, management and other related themes. We hope that the variety of themes will draw the attention of researchers in di" erent ICT fields and motivate potential authors to expand the Journal’s thematic scope by other themes that may be of interest to the wider ICT research community.

I would like to use this opportunity to encourage prospective authors among you, dear readers, to submit papers at http://jios.foi.hr. You are also invited to share with us your comments or critical remarks regarding the papers previously published in the Journal. Further, we would appreciate your willingness to become a reviewer for submitted papers and thus contribute signi! cantly to the rising quality of JIOS.
So far JIOS has been indexed in nine well known databases. We are continuously investing a lot of effort to extend the list of databases where JIOS would be cited, in order to make the published papers available to a larger readers’ audience, and give your research a greater impact factor.

Cover pages

Neven Vrček — 2012-06-30

Here you can download journal cover pages.

Quantum Algorithm for Finding a Maximum Clique in an Undirected Graph

Alan Bojić — 2012-12-13

The maximum clique in an undirected graph is the largest subset of a set of graph's vertices where each pair of elements in the subset is connected. In this paper I would like to propose an algorithm for quantum computers that finds a maximum clique in an arbitrary undirected graph. An algorithm has O(|V|2^|V|/2) worst case time complexity and O(2^|V|/2) best case time complexity. Algorithm's space complexity for each case is O(|V|). An algorithm is based on a version of Grover's quantum algorithm for finding element in an unsorted list in which there can be an unknown number of solutions.

Planning and Optimization of AGV Jobs by Petri Net and Genetic Algorithm

Anita Gudelj — 2012-12-13

The following article presents the possibilities of job optimization on a maritime container terminal, in order to increase the system productivity and optimize the terminal capacity. Automated guided vehicles (AGVs) are now becoming popular mode of container transport in seaport terminals. The moving of vehicles can be described as the set of discrete events and states. Some of these states can be undesirable such as conflicts and deadlocks. It is necessary to apply adequate control policy to avoid deadlocks and block the vehicles’ moving only in the case of dangerous situation.
This paper addresses the use a Petri net as modeling and scheduling tool in this context. The aim of AGV scheduling is to dispatch a set of AGVs to improve the productivity of a system and reduce delay in a batch of pickup/drop-off jobs under certain constraints such as deadlines, priority, etc. The final goals are related to optimization of processing time and minimization of the number of AGVs involved while maintaining the system throughput.
To find better solutions, the authors propose the integration MRF1 class of Petri net (MRF1PN) with a genetic algorithm. Also, the use of a matrix based formal method is proposed to analyze discrete event dynamic system (DEDS). The algorithm is described to deal with multi-project, multi-constrained scheduling problem with shared resources. The developed model was tested and validated by simulation of typical scenarios of the container terminal of Port Koper. Modularity and simplicity of the approach allow using the model to monitor and test the efficiency of the processes, and also to propose future alternative solutions to optimize the schedule of operations and the employment of AGV at the terminal.

Dynamic Aspects of the Strategic Planning of Information Systems

Marko Hell — 2013-06-19

The SPIS methodology provides methods and techniques of developing an information system (IS) that would correspond with the requirements of an organization. The result of its application is the strategic plan of IS development that would meet the future needs. As is the case in the methodology of the strategic planning in general, the primary drawback to the strategic planning of the information system is the lack of efficient control of implementation of the strategic plan, and this is precisely what this research paper deals with. One of the procedures in the measuring of results of an organization, which is also recommended by the SPIS, is the Balanced Scorecard methodology (BSC). However, the BSC concept which the classic SPIS methodology recommends as suitable for the evaluation of performance of the information technology (IT) on the business system and the performance of that new business system, does not take into account the constraint that may lead to non-implementation of the planned activities. Furthermore, the BSC has been criticised for the oversimplified modelling of the cause-consequence relations that do not take into account the time delay and the feedback.
This paper provides results of the research that resulted in identification of two types of constraints that need to be included when determining the optimal IS/IT strategy. Within the context of the system dynamics (SD) approach, the broadening of the problem with the analysis of the strategy implementation dynamics results in the new practical knowledge about the control over the time-dependant values and, consequently, with a proposal that would eliminate the reasons for the abovementioned criticism.

Classification of Hydro Chemical Data in the Reduced Dimensional Space

Jasminka Dobša — 2012-06-30

The main objective of this paper is to systematically analyze the performance of water samples classifications for different data representations. We compare the classification of full data representation to the classification of data items in lower dimensional space obtained by projection of original data on the space of first principal components and further on the space of centroids of classes. We use linear support vector machines for classification of ground water samples collected from five different localities of Odra River basin and results are evaluated by standard measures including recall, precision and F₁measure.

COVER PAGES

Željko Hutinski — 2012-04-17

Here you can download cover pages.

Documents for Visually Impaired Users in the Light of Library and Information Science

Jiří Tomáš Stodola — 2012-12-13

The article aims to show that the classical document paradigm in information science has the greatest potential to grasp the issues related to the providing information to persons with visual disabilities and it aims to check whether the FRBR study is usable in this area. The article is divided into two parts. In the first part, the paradigmatic turns in information science are briefly presented and there is examined their impact on the issues connected with users with visual disabilities. The second part briefly describes the structure of the bibliographic universe and there is examined how it is possible to create a model of documents for users with visual impairment and of associated processes. The model of the bibliographic universe is applied to the situation of the really existing documents for visually impaired users. Methodologically, the article is based on the information system analysis. There is used an entity-relationship approach to a model of the bibliographic universe.

From the Editor

Željko Hutinski — 2012-03-16

This issue of the journal JIOS, “Journal of Information and OrganizationalSciences” presents a selection of the papers presented at the 15th InternationalConference on Information and Intelligent Systems held in Varaždin, September2004. The papers were selected after thorough review of at least two internationalreferees. The papers are arranged in alphabetic order, according the surname of thefirst author as referential.

ACTIVE DATABASES, BUSINESS RULES AND REACTIVE AGENTS – WHAT IS THE CONNECTION?

Kornelije Rabuzin — 2012-03-16

These three technologies were and still are mainly treated separately. Since notmuch work has been carried out in defining and combining them together, we are going topresent what has been done and put accent on what could be done. Namely, they rely uponsimilar paradigms and concepts, as will be shown later on, and can be treated ascomplementary technologies. In this paper we will show that reactive agents reactaccording to some set of business rules and active databases can be used as a suitablemeans for implementing business rules and in those way reactive agents as well. Sincereactive agents have been well defined, recent improvements in the fields of activedatabases technology and especially business rules provide the reason to consider thebenefits to be achieved from combining these fields.

DATA ANALYSIS FOR AGENT BASED MOBILE SERVICES

Marek Paralič — 2012-03-16

One of the high interesting areas in the distributed systems is the problem ofbuilding and running pervasive computing services for mobile users. The central point forbuilding such a services is to appropriately model the physical and data environment. In thispaper we concentrate on the data part of such an environment that would enable creating ageneral scheme for a category of flexible services for mobile users. We define the basicprofile of the users and methods, how the services should deal with the profiles. Formodeling the presence of the user in the data environment (even if he/she is off-line) theagent-based solution was chosen, so the distributed system is build as a multi-agent system.

GENERIC APPROACH IN CHOICE OF ADEQUATE METHODOLOGY FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF IT INVESTMENTS

Melita Kozina — 2012-03-16

Investments into information technology (IT), (hereinafter: IT investments) havereached very high figures, which are still continually on the rise. IT potentials are being usedin an increasing number of ways. Various company managers have different approaches tothis issue. A large number of methods/models for the assessment of IT investments isavailable, so the question is posed of how to choose the adequate assessment category. Thesaid reasons have initiated a need for defining the generic approach in the choice ofadequate methodology for the assessment of IT investments, which was indeed the goal ofthis paper. General ideas to this approach stem from the fact that each IT investment has itspurpose and belongs to a certain type of IT investment (decision-making aspect) whichdemands its relevant methodology for assessing IT investments. Two groups of demands(conditions) have been defined in choosing relevant methodology. The first group pertains tomethodology analysis and determination of its compatibility with characteristics of thedefined decision-making aspect. The second group of conditions pertains to methodologyanalysis with respect to its possibilities (abilities) of integrating quantity, quality and riskfactors of IT decision. Conducted field research shows that the assessment of IT investmentshas been done mainly using simpler methods/models and their combinations, and is focusedon quantity aspects of IT values.

A TRANSACTION COST ANALYSIS OF MICROPAYMENTS IN MOBILE COMMERCE

Daniel Gille — 2012-03-16

Personalised, location-related and differentiated services in the mobile digitaleconomy create a demand for suitable pricing models. In the case of disaggregated“microservices” (e.g., small digitalized information or service units), as well as for theacquisition of low-value physical goods, the deployment of micropayments seemsappropriate.This paper analyzes the economic efficiency of marginal transaction amounts in the mcommercearea by applying the theoretical approach of transaction cost economics. Forthis purpose, a separation of technical and cognitive transaction costs is applied. Theinfluence of selected determinants such as specifity, uncertainty and bounded rationality ontransaction costs in mobile commerce micropayments is analyzed. The result is a morelikely application of micropayments for physical goods such as beverages or parking ticketsthan for digital goods and services, given the theoretical assumptions of the model. Inaddition, indicators for a significant above-zero lower limit of transaction amounts inmobile commerce are presented.

THE RICH WORLD OF COMPUTER MODELLING AND PROBLEM SOLVING

Vlatko Čerić — 2012-03-16

This paper presents some interesting aspects of the rich world of computermodelling and problem solving. After discussing basic model building principles attentionis devoted to several modelling methods aimed for solving different types of problems.These are methods for modelling of optimisation problems, dynamic systems with randomcharacteristics, knowledge, uncertain phenomena, systems with graph structure, learning,as well as cooperation and competition. Basic characteristics of these methods andexamples of their application are given.

MODELING AND SOLVING SELF-REFERENTIAL PUZZLES

Maja Bubalo — 2012-03-16

The so-called self-referential puzzles are a very interesting kind of logic puzzles,aiming at developing the skill of logical thinking. A self-referential puzzle consists of asequence of questions about the puzzle itself. In this paper, we shall show some selfreferentialpuzzles, demonstrate how to model and solve them as propositional logicproblems, and how to mechanically generate new puzzles. For this, we shall make use ofthe specific advantages of Mozart/Oz system – the finite domain constraint programminglanguage and environment.We shall also show some new puzzles, according to our best knowledge not yet publishedelsewhere. The program in Mozart/Oz using our method generated these puzzles.

From the Editor

Željko Hutinski — 2012-03-15

All the papers in this issue of the JIOS Journal may fit into the Science as Usual categoryand are therefore not going to be dealt with in detail in the introduction. However, for oneof the papers included an exception has been provided, namely the paper Sigma-notationand the equivalence of P and NP classes by Miron Ivanovich Telpiz. The circumstancesleading to its publication in this issue of JIOS are presented by the editors in this preface.It is generally acknowledged that, ever since it was defined by S. Cook over thirty yearsago, P = NP has presented one of the major open problems in computing science andinformation science in general. Whereas, on one hand, this problem presents a formidablechallenge to any scientist dealing with it, its solution, especially in case it should turn out tobe a positive one considering that current technology tends to evolve in a practicaldirection and its overall functioning is conducted implicitly under the assumption of anegative solution would have a major impact on the development of informationtechnology as well as the wider context of human society as a whole. Apart from being putforward in conferences, both positive and negative “solutions” to P = NP problem can beoccasionally found in press, scientific and professional journals. The web page titled “Pversus-NP Page” (see http://www.win.tue.nl/~gwoegi/P-versus-NP.htm) provides anexcellent source for this issue. It contains links to papers stating that P = NP, as well asthose contradicting the opposite, i.e., stating that P NP. Furthermore, references are givento Oded Goldreich's rationale behind his decision not to review papers proposing solutionsto P = NP problem and related difficult problems because, in his own words, they “alsoattract the attention of non-experts, and one annoying consequence is a flood of falseclaims of resolutions of these problems” (see http://www.wisdom.weizmann.ac.il/~oded/faq.html). Dr. Goldreich a recognised figure amongmathematicians of our time – recommends other scientists to follow his example when thisissue is concerned. Nevertheless, his arguments (at least those regarding non-experts) aredefinitely not to be acknowledged in the case of the work of the Russian mathematician andlogician Miron Ivanovich Telpiz, (see http://www.tarusa.ru/~mit/ENG/eng.php for details),who has been developing his positionality theory for functions, with a special emphasis onBoolean functions, for over two decades. While doing so, he has been drawing its(primarily conceptual) analogy to positionality theory for number systems. Building on hisextensive theory, which is combinatory very complex one indeed, Dr. Telpiz states theproof of P = NP. The underlying theory itself was proposed in the first volume of his bookPositionality principle for notation and calculation the functions, originally published inRussian by the Institute of Space Researches of the Russian Academy of Science. It was dueto this book that contacts between a member of the Editorial Board and Dr. Telpiz, as wellas Dr. Andrej Fomin, his assistant and associate, were established. During those contactsthe idea evolved of Dr. Tepiz delivering an invited lecture at the IIS2004 Conference.Annual IIS Conferences have been organized by the Faculty of Organization andInformatics for years. A lecture on proving the statement P = NP was arranged.Unfortunately, Dr. Telpiz was eventually not capable of giving the lecture. Nevertheless, heproposed for his lecture to be published in form of an article in the JIOS Journal. Uponreceiving the Russian version of his article named Sigma-notation and the equivalence of Pand NP classes, the Editorial Board had it translated into English and proceeded to havingit reviewed. The paper was sent to several renowned world experts in the field of Booleanfunctions, mathematical logic and algorithm theory for review. Yet, no response wasreceived from reviewers contacted although the Editorial Board and Dr. Telpiz made effortsfor access to all relevant papers, as well as the book itself, to be possible. Bearing in mindnot only the great relevance of P = NP problem but also the constant need for scientificideas and findings to be disseminated, the JIOS Editorial Board has decided to have Dr.Telpiz's paper published although it had not been officially reviewed, which the authorhimself has consented to in writing. Owing to its inclusion in this issue, the paper is beingpresented to a wider scientific and professional audience who are thus given an opportunityto both consider and assess it from their own perspective.Editors

SELECTING NEURAL NETWORK ARCHITECTURE FOR INVESTMENT PROFITABILITY PREDICTIONS

Marijana Zekić-Sušac — 2012-03-15

After production and operations, finance and investments are one of the mostfrequent areas of neural network applications in business. The lack of standardizedparadigms that can determine the efficiency of certain NN architectures in a particularproblem domain is still present. The selection of NN architecture needs to take intoconsideration the type of the problem, the nature of the data in the model, as well as somestrategies based on result comparison. The paper describes previous research in that areaand suggests a forward strategy for selecting best NN algorithm and structure. Since thestrategy includes both parameter-based and variable-based testings, it can be used forselecting NN architectures as well as for extracting models. The backpropagation, radialbasis,modular, LVQ and probabilistic neural network algorithms were used on twoindependent sets: stock market and credit scoring data. The results show that neuralnetworks give better accuracy comparing to multiple regression and logistic regressionmodels. Since it is model-independant, the strategy can be used by researchers andprofessionals in other areas of application.

ESSENTIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF AN ERP SYSTEM : CONCEPTUALIZATION AND OPERATIONALIZATION

Sylvestre Uwizeyemungu — 2012-03-15

The interest of firms in ERP systems has been echoed in both the scientific andprofessional literature. It is worth noting however that while this literature has becomeincreasingly abundant, there does not yet exist an operational definition of the ERP conceptthat is, if not unanimously, at least widely accepted. This constitutes a handicap for boththe research and practice communities. The present study outlines what could beconsidered as an ERP by first determining the essentially required characteristics of such asystem: integration, flexibility and transversality. Indicators are then provided in order tooperationalise these three characteristics. The study concludes by proposing a researchframework on the impact of an ERP’s key characteristics upon the performance of thesystem in a given organisational setting.

INDEPENDENT DE-DUPLICATION IN DATA CLEANING

Ajumobi Udechukwu — 2012-03-15

Many organizations collect large amounts of data to support their business anddecision-making processes. The data originate from a variety of sources that may haveinherent data-quality problems. These problems become more pronounced whenheterogeneous data sources are integrated (for example, in data warehouses). A majorproblem that arises from integrating different databases is the existence of duplicates. Thechallenge of de-duplication is identifying “equivalent” records within the database. Mostpublished research in de-duplication propose techniques that rely heavily on domainknowledge. A few others propose solutions that are partially domain-independent. Thispaper identifies two levels of domain-independence in de-duplication namely: domainindependenceat the attribute level, and domain-independence at the record level. Thepaper then proposes a positional algorithm that achieves domain-independent deduplicationat the attribute level, and a technique for field weighting by data profiling,which, when used with the positional algorithm, achieves domain-independence at therecord level. Experiments show that the proposed techniques achieve more accurate deduplicationthan the existing algorithms.

WEB LOG EXPLORER – CONTROL OF MULTIDIMENSIONAL DYNAMICS OF WEB PAGES

Mislav Šimunić — 2012-03-15

Demand markets dictate and pose increasingly more requirements to the supplymarket that are not easily satisfied. The supply market presenting its web pages to thedemand market should find the best and quickest ways to respond promptly to the changesdictated by the demand market. The question is how to do that in the most efficient andquickest way. The data on the usage of web pages on a specific web site are recorded in alog file. The data in a log file are stochastic and unordered and require systematicmonitoring, categorization, analyses, and weighing. From the data processed in this way, itis necessary to single out and sort the data by their importance that would be a basis for acontinuous generation of dynamics/changes to the web site pages in line with the criterionchosen. To perform those tasks successfully, a new software solution is required. For thatpurpose, the authors have developed the first version of the WLE (WebLogExplorer)software solution, which is actually realization of web page multidimensionality and theweb site as a whole. The WebLogExplorer enables statistical and semantic analysis of a logfile and on the basis thereof, multidimensional control of the web page dynamics. Theexperimental part of the work was done within the web site of HTZ (Croatian NationalTourist Board) being the main portal of the global tourist supply in the Republic of Croatia(on average, daily "log" consists of c. 600,000 sets, average size of log file is 127 Mb, andc. 7000-8000 daily visitors on the web site).

LOG FILE ANALYSIS AND CREATION OF MORE INTELLIGENT WEB SITES

Mislav Šimunić — 2012-03-15

To enable successful performance of any company or business system, both inthe world and in the Republic of Croatia, among many problems relating to its operationsand particularly to maximum utilization and efficiency of the Internet as a media forrunning business (especially in terms of marketing), they should make the best possible useof the present-day global trends and advantages of sophisticated technologies andapproaches to running a business. Bearing in mind the fact of daily increasing competitionand more demanding market, this paper addresses certain scientific and practicalcontribution to continuous analysis of demand market and adaptation thereto by analyzingthe log files and by retroactive effect on the web site. A log file is a carrier of numerousdata and indicators that should be used in the best possible way to improve the entirebusiness operations of a company. However, this is not always simple and easy. The websites differ in size, purpose, and technology used for designing them. For this very reason,the analytic analysis frameworks should be such that can cover any web site and at thesame time leave some space for analyzing and investigating the specific characteristicof each web site and provide for its dynamics by analyzing the log file records. Thoseconsiderations were a basis for this paper

A UML PROFILES FOR VIEWPOINT-ORIENTED MODELING

Abdellatif Hair — 2012-03-15

The viewpoint-oriented modeling consists in providing an unique modelaccessible by users with various access rights according to their needs. The system isrepresented as sub-systems (called sub-models). This cutting makes the design of systemeasier by an autonomous design of its sub-systems.UML is a standard modeling language and supports extension mechanism to allowtailoring UML to fit the needs of a specific domain. UML Profile is a predefined set ofextension mechanisms. UML profile allows the stakeholders of a certain domain to expressthe semantics of their systems using a well-defined set of extensions. In this paper wepropose an initial discussion on UML profile for viewpoint oriented modeling, whichextends the standard UML by incorporating new concepts like views, viewpoints, flexible,visibility relationships, etc.

SIGMA-NOTATION AND THE EQUIVALENCE OF P AND NP CLASSES

Miron I.Telpiz — 2012-03-15

The aim of this paper is to show that –notation, based on the positionalityprinciple, doesn’t just answer the question of equivalence of P and NP problemclasses, but also represents the key to the solution of (some) more general problemsfrom the domain of multivalued logics. However, the achievement of such an aim inits full scope is hardly possible within the limits of this paper. Therefore, the followingplan shall be realized:Firstly, the logic algebra fragment necessary for the solution of the P and NPclasses equivalence problem shall be expounded.Secondly, the necessary symbols and definitions shall be introduced to show thatthe calculations in the domain of the multivalued logic can be directly executed withinthe framework of –notation.

Use of Concept Lattices for Data Tables with Different Types of Attributes

Peter Butka — 2012-06-30

In this paper we describe the application of Formal Concept Analysis (FCA) for analysis of data tables with different types of attributes. FCA represents one of the conceptual data mining methods. The main limitation of FCA in classical case is the exclusive usage of binary attributes. More complex attributes then should be converted into binary tables. In our approach, called Generalized One-Sided Concept Lattices, we provide a method which deal with different types of attributes (e.g., ordinal, nominal, etc.) within one data table. Therefore, this method allows to create same FCA-based output in form of concept lattice with the precise many-valued attributes and the same interpretation of concept hierarchy as in the classical FCA, without the need for specific unified preprocessing of attribute values.

Utilizing GPGPU in Computer Emulation

Peter Jakubco — 2012-06-30

The article deals with the idea of computer emulation using the GPGPU technology in order to get performance improvements. Basic assumptions for using stream processing in computer emulation effectively are discussed and the structure of an emulator, together with the emulation technique are proposed. The emulator structure, in this case, is of distributed nature, so the communication issues are treated too. As an example demonstrating the viability of the proposal, Random Access Machine (RAM) emulator is given within the paper.

Cover pages

Neven Vrcek — 2011-12-14

Here you can download journal cover pages.

From the Editor

Neven Vrcek — 2011-12-14

Dear authors, readers and future authors,
It is my pleasure to present you the 2nd number of the 35th volume of the Journal of Information andOrganizational Sciences – JIOS.

In this issue a selection of 3 original scientific papers and 1 survey paper have been included, all of which have undergone a rigorous double-blind review process. Some of the papers published here were already presented at the CECIIS 2011 Conference held in Varaždin between 21st and 23rdSeptember 2011. These papers were nominated for publishing in JIOS by the chairs of the conference tracks they were presented at on the account of their research quality.

As in prior issues of the Journal, this one also comprises papers that cover themes from various ICT fields: computer programming, symbolic logic in the field of information sciences, business processes, management and other related themes. We hope that the variety of themes will draw the attentionof researchers in different ICT fields and motivate potential authors to expand the Journal’s thematic scope by other themes that may be of interest to the wider ICT research community.

I would like to use this opportunity to encourage prospective authors among you, dear readers, to submit papers at jios.foi.hr. You are also invited to share with us your comments or critical remarks regarding the papers previously published in the Journal. Further, we would appreciate yourwillingness to become a peer-reviewed for submitted papers and thus contribute significantly to the rising quality of JIOS.

So far JIOS has been indexed in eight well known databases and now this number has risen to nine, adding “Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts” to the database list. We are continuously investing a lot of effort to extend the list of databases where JIOS would be cited, in order to makethe published papers available to a larger readers’ audience, and give your research a greater impact factor.

Automated motive-based user review analysis in the context of mobile app acceptance: Opportunities and applications

Elisabeth Pergler — 2012-06-30

The increasing amount and importance of user-generated content that is available in the web necessitates methods of its effective and efficient utilization. In this paper a system is presented that enables automated classification of user reviews concerning the usage motives mentioned in the reviews. Four possible applications of the system are discussed in detail in the course of this paper: a learning environment for mobile app development, a download prognosis mechanism, an app prizing decision support system, and a recommendation system. These applications are evaluated concerning state-of-the-art methods that currently address the challenge as well as advantages of the implementation of a motive-based system in the particular business processes.

The Modeling and Complexity of Dynamical Systems by Means of Computation and Information Theories

Robert Logozar — 2011-12-14

We present the modeling of dynamical systems and finding of their complexity indicators by the use of concepts from computation and information theories, within the framework of J. P. Crutchfield's theory of ε-machines. A short formal outline of the ε-machines is given. In this approach, dynamical systems are analyzed directly from the time series that is received from a properly adjusted measuring instrument. The binary strings are parsed through the parse tree, within which morphologically and probabilistically unique subtrees or morphs are recognized as system states. The outline and precise interrelation of the information-theoretic entropies and complexities emanating from the model is given. The paper serves also as a theoretical foundation for the future presentation of the DSA program that implements the ε-machines modeling up to the stochastic finite automata level.

Adapting hierarchical clustering distance measures for improved presentation of relationships between transaction elements

Mihaela Vranić — 2012-06-30

Common goal of descriptive data mining techniques is presenting new information in concise, easily interpretable and understandable ways. Hierarchical clustering technique for example enables simple visualization of distances between analyzed objects or attributes. However, common distance measures used by existing data mining tools are usually not well suited for analyzing transactional data using this particular technique. Including new types of measures specifically aimed at transactional data can make hierarchical clustering a much more feasible choice for transactional data analysis. This paper presents and analyzes convenient measure types, providing methods of transforming them to represent distances between transaction elements more appropriately. Developed measures are implemented, verified and compared in hierarchical clustering analysis on both artificial data as well as referent transactional datasets.

The rôle of linear logic in coalgebraical approach of computing

Viliam Slodičák — 2011-12-14

Linear logic provides a logical perspective on computational issues such as control of resources and order of evaluation. The most important feature of linear logic is that formulae are
considered as actions. While classical logic treats the sentences that are always true or false, in linear logic it depends on an internal state of a dynamic system. Curry-Howard correspondence is a correspondence between logic and computing in informatics. In this contribution we present two ways of computations which correctness we prove by Curry-Howard correspondence. We show a standard way and a new way of computing based on hylomorphism by using coalgebras which is an alternative method. Our method of recursive and corecursive computations we apply in simple authentication system.

Differentiating between Student Evaluation of Teacher and Teaching Effectiveness

Goran Hajdin — 2012-12-13

Teachers are considered to be principal actors in the teaching process as well as one of its major constituents when quality and equity are concerned. Over the last decade a lot of papers have been published that deal with the quality of the teaching process and teachers. Most of them focus on students as the main subjects in evaluation of the teaching process and teachers. In this paper we analyze freshmen and senior students’ ability to differentiate between the evaluation of teacher and evaluation of teaching. In a lot of questionnaires used in research into this topic there is no difference in the approach to these two diverse aspects of the educational process quality. Since students are commonly the main target group of such questionnaires, in this paper we present the results of the study aimed at determining which elements, from the students’ perspective, are recognized and associated with teaching, and which ones with teachers.

Transition between process models (BPMN) and service models (WS-BPEL and other standards): A systematic review

Marko Jurišić — 2011-12-14

BPMN and BPEL have become de facto standards for modeling of business processes and imple-mentation of business processes via Web services. There is a quintessential problem of discrep-ancy between these two approaches as they are applied in different phases of lifecycle and theirfundamental concepts are different — BPMN is a graph based language while BPEL is basicallya block-based programming language. This paper shows basic concepts and gives an overviewof research and ideas which emerged during last two years, presents state of the art and possiblefuture research directions. Systematic literature review was performed and critical review wasgiven regarding the potential of the given solutions.

Analysis of Top 500 Central and East European Companies Net Income Using Benford's Law

Mario Žgela — 2011-12-14

There are numerous useful methods that can be conducted in data analysis in order to check data correctness and authenticity. One of contemporary and efficient methods is application of so-called Benford's Law. In this paper we examine ways of application of this law in investigation of specific net income number set. Our aim is to make a conclusion if this number set conforms to Benford's Law. An examination target focus is set on values of top 500 central and east European companies according to their income. Data set contains 1,500 records and spans through 3 years (2007, 2008 and 2009) including 500 net incomes per year. Research is based on net income profit and loss subsets as well as absolute values of net income. Analysis covers first digit Benford's Law test and proves conformance to Benford's Law of all observed subsets.

Portable reflection for C++ with the Mirror library

Matus Chochlik — 2012-06-30

Reflection and reflective programming can be used for a wide range of tasks such as implementation
of serialization-like operations, remote procedure calls, scripting, automated GUIgeneration,
implementation of several software design patterns, etc. C++ as one of the most
prevalent programming languages however, for various reasons, lacks a standardized reflection
facility. In this paper we present Mirror - a portable library adding reflection to C++ with a
command-line utility automating its usage. This library supports functional style static compiletime
reflection and metaprogramming and also provides two different object-oriented run-time
polymorphic layers for dynamic reflection.

Cover pages

Neven Vrček — 2011-06-27

Here you can download journal cover pages.

From the Editor

Neven Vrček

Dear authors, readers and future authors,
It is my pleasure to present you the 1st number of the 35th volume of the Journal of Information and Organizational Sciences – JIOS.

In this issue a selection of 6 original scientific papers, 2 preliminary communications and 2 survey papers have been included, all of which have undergone a rigorous double-blind review process.

Some of the papers published here were already presented at the CECIIS 2010 Conference held in Varaždin between 22nd and 24th September 2010. These papers were nominated for publishing in JIOS by the chairs of the conference tracks they were presented at on the account of their research quality.

As in prior issues of the Journal, this one also comprises papers that cover themes from various ICT fields: databases, programming, IT supported learning, and other topics in the field of applied information sciences. We hope that the variety of themes will draw the attention of researchers in different ICT fields and motivate potential authors to expand the Journal’s thematic scope by other themes that may be of interest to the wider ICT research community.

I would like to use this opportunity to encourage prospective authors among you, dear readers, to submit papers at jios.foi.hr. You are also invited to share with us your comments or critical remarks regarding the papers previously published in the Journal. Further, we would appreciate your willingness to become a peer-reviewed for submitted papers and thus contribute significantly to the rising quality of JIOS.

So far JIOS has been indexed in seven well known databases and now this number has risen to nine, adding “SCOPUS” and “Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts” to the database list. We are continuously investing a lot of effort to extend the list of databases where JIOS would be cited, in order to make the published papers available to a larger readers’ audience, and give your research a greater impact factor.

Ontology-based knowledge management in service-oriented systems

Ana Sasa — 2011-06-27

This paper proposes an innovative framework for knowledge management in service-oriented systems. An important novelty of our framework is that it allows for automatic instance level evolution of the knowledge base and that it integrates conceptual level knowledge base evolution with the overall service-oriented system framework. In the paper, we identify several opportunities that have arisen in the field of knowledge management with the wider acceptance of SOA and its technology stack, and we present a framework that addresses these opportunities. We focus on ontology-based knowledge management systems, which have become one of the most important technologies for implementation of knowledge management systems. The framework reduces the required input for knowledge management by knowledge engineers, increases information completeness in the knowledge base and provides a simple way for storing more up-to-date information in the knowledge base.

Service-oriented architectural framework for support and automation of collaboration tasks

Ana Sasa — 2011-06-27

Due to more and more demanding requirements for business flexibility and agility, automation of end-to-end industrial processes has become an important topic. Systems supporting business process execution need to enable automated tasks execution as well as integrate human performed tasks (human tasks) into a business process. In this paper, we focus on collaboration tasks, which are an important type of composite human tasks. We propose a service-oriented architectural framework describing a service responsible for human task execution (Human task service), which not only implements collaboration tasks but also improves their execution by automated and semi-automated decision making and collaboration based on ontologies and agent technology. The approach is very generic and can be used for any type of business processes. A case study was performed for a human task intensive business process from an electric power transmission domain.

An Ontological Approach to Study and Manage Digital Chain of Custody of Digital Evidence

Jasmin Ćosić — 2011-06-27

Chain of custody of digital evidence in digital forensic field are today essential part of digital investigation process. In order the evidence to be accepted by the court as valid, chain of custody for digital evidence must be kept, or it must be known who exactly, when, where, why and how came into contact with evidence in each stage of the digital investigations process. This paper deals with digital evidence and chain of custody of digital evidence. Authors definetaxonomy and use an ontological approach to manage chain of custody of digital evidence. The aim of this paper was to develop ontology to provide a new approach to study and better understand chain of custody of digital evidence . Additionally, developed ontology can be used as a method to further develop a set of standard and procedures for secure management with digital evidence.

Some useful structures for categorical approach for program behavior

Viliam Slodičák — 2011-06-27

Using of category theory in computer science has extremely grown in the last decade. Categories allow us to express mathematical structures in unified way. Algebras are used for constructing basic structures used in computer programs. A program can be considered as an element of the initial algebra arising from the used programming language. In our contribution we formulate two ways of expressing algebras in categories. We also construct the codomain functor from the arrow category of algebras into the base category of sets which objects are also the carrier-sets of the algebras. This functor expresses the relation between algebras and carrier-sets.

Comparison of Cloud backup performance and costs in Oracle database

Aljaž Zrnec — 2011-06-27

Current practice of backing up data is based on using backup tapes and remote locations for storing data. Nowadays, with the advent of cloud computing a new concept of database backup emerges. The paper presents the possibility of making backup copies of data in the cloud. We are mainly focused on performance and economic issues of making backups in the cloud in comparison to traditional backups. We tested the performance and overall costs of making backup copies of data in Oracle database using Amazon S3 and EC2 cloud services. The costs estimation was performed on the basis of the prices published on Amazon S3 and Amazon EC2 sites.

Source Code Generator Based on Dynamic Frames

Danijel Radošević — 2011-06-27

This paper presents the model of source code generator based on dynamic frames. The model is named as the SCT model because if its three basic components: Specification (S), which describes the application characteristics, Configuration (C), which describes the rules for building applications, and Templates (T), which refer to application building blocks. The process of code generation dynamically creates XML frames containing all building elements (S, C ant T) until final code is produced. This approach is compared to existing XVCL frames based model for source code generating.

The SCT model is described by both XML syntax and the appropriate graphical elements. The SCT model is aimed to build complete applications, not just skeletons.

The main advantages of the presented model are its textual and graphic description, a fully configurable generator, and the reduced overhead of the generated source code. The presented SCT model is shown on development of web application example in order to demonstrate its features and justify our design choices.

The impact of Game-based learning on the achievement of learning goals and motivation for learning mathematics - literature review

Blaženka Divjak — 2011-06-27

Information technologies are an integral part of a contemporary society which bases its progress on knowledge being one goal of education. Beside acquiring knowledge, skills and routines, the goal of education is to create a complete individual who can rationally and timely make decisions, purposefully react in new situations and be trained for life-long learning. In order to accomplish all this, it is necessary to make educational process more creative, contemporary and adjusted to new generations of computer literate pupils who demand quicker and more frequent interactions, a lot of information at the same time, generations who quickly acquire rules of computer games. Computer games meeting pedagogical criteria should become an integral part of learning. Teaching with mathematical computer games, which fulfil pedagogical criteria, influences pupils’ motivation, learning, retention and forgetting. This paper provides a review of literature in this field and determines whether the use of mathematical computer games contributes to more efficient realisation of educational goals at all level of education. Furthermore, considering prior research we have attempted to establish whether the use of mathematical games for teaching has an impact on the formation of a positive attitude of pupils of different ages toward the subject of mathematics, their motivation and knowledge acquisition when compared to learning without computer games. Finally, we have analysed different research methods concerning this issue and assessed the impact of pedagogically designed mathematical computer games on the realisation of educational goals and quality improvement of teaching and learning.

Unlearning/Relearning in Processesof Business Information Systems Innovation

Maurizio Pighin — 2011-06-27

Unlearning is defined as throwing away concepts learnt in the past to give space for possible new learning. The learning process that supports deep change should be composed by different unlearning-learning phases, both at the individual level and at a more general organizational level. Must unlearning and relearning concepts be explicitly considered in business process reengineering based on the reorganization of information systems? This paper tries to answer this question, by describing the impact of change in information systems on the knowledge model of an organization. The analysis of a recent case study of information systems innovation, permit us to highlight common deficiencies in the design of information systems reengineering processes, particularly in SME. The paper ends with the suggestion of “good practices” that could permit the success of innovation processes by reducing the risk of failure due to excessive resistance to change.

Cover pages

Neven Vrček

Here you can download journal cover pages.

From the Editor

Neven Vrček

Dear authors, readers and future authors,

I proudly introduce to you a new issue of JIOS, the Journal of Information and Organizational Sciences, volume 34, Issue 2. The Journal’s primary goal is to present current research in the field of information and organizational sciences, as well as on theoretical developments in the fields that impact information, computer and organizational sciences.

The importance of JIOS is rising and it is being increasingly seen as a relevant journal in the eld of information sciences and applied information and communication technology. Speaking in favour of this statement is the fact that JIOS has been included into two new databases: Scopus and EBSCO. We are particularly satised with the Journal’s inclusion in Scopus since it is the largest abstract and citation database containing both peer-reviewed research literature and quality web sources.

In this issue of JIOS a selection of four original scientic papers and one preliminary communication paper have been included that cover the following topics: approach to optical network design using a general heuristic optimization framework (Lackovic, M.), improving e-learning eciency, intelligence and adapted teaching materials (Kalpic, D. & Zuc, J.), online privacy (Mekovec, R.) and social network analysis of Eureka project partnership in Central and South-Eastern European regions (Divjak, B., Peharda P., Begicevic N.). We hope you will nd these papers interesting and challenging for your own research.

I would hereby invite all the interested colleagues to submit a paper and hence contribute to the improvement and development of JIOS. You can submit your papers at jios.foi.hr, where you can also express your comments, recommendations or critical remarks regarding the papers published in previous issues.

Social network analysis of Eureka project partnership in Central and South-Eastern European regions

Blaženka Divjak — 2010-12-14

In this article we present research on the social network structure of project partnership in the Eureka network in order to understand country performance in the network. The main method used in our research is the Social Network Analysis (SNA). Research questions were set and examined on the set of the Central and South-Eastern European countries. We investigated regionally based partnerships, relation between central position in the network and country’s level of development and, finally, in order to analyze relation between number of project partners and project success, Eureka success stories were investigated as well.

Determining semantic similarity of it systems based on the comparison of their graphical data models

Katarina Tomicic-Pupek — 2010-12-14

Modelling is the basis for research and development of IT systems. Graphical models and graphic representations of models originally built in non-graphic languages and formalisms are often used. In modelling IT systems a need exists for comparing graphical models which can represent different variations of the same or similar modelled content or graphical models which, with certain revisions, could be applied in various domains. Graphical model in the latter case first needs to be translated into another form of predicate expressions or formal languages of modelled content representation. The lack of translation of the model for comparison is a time-consuming venture and may result in the loss of modelled relations due to differences in the "language" and representation symbols.
The goal of the paper is to explore and propose methods and procedures for determining similarities of IT systems based on the comparison of their graphical data models. The procedure of determining the similarities of graphical data models of the same type shall at the end of my research be based on semantic and structural similarity of models. In this article procedures for determining semantic similarity and their application is discussed together with examples and the procedure for determining structural similarity is proposed in roughly as it is in the finishing state of current research activities.

Proposing methodology pattern for measuring public value of IT projects

Dinko Kancijan — 2011-06-27

The assessment of the acceptability and the value of IT projects in the public sector, especially when the projects feature the qualitative value along with the monetary one, is a complex problem. There are certain methodologies in the world though that help various organizations in decision-making process when projects are being chosen. The paper surveys the three IT projects public value assessing methodologies: the American Value Measuring Methodology, the French MAREVA, and the German WiBe. A comparison of the approaches to solving the problem of assessing public value of IT projects was thus made. The Analytic Hierarchy Process – a method of a multicriteria analysis of alternatives-was briefly presented. By the use of the Hierarchy Criteria Model in the way that respects all the basic characteristics that a methodology of the kind should feature in accordance with Gartner, a proposition of an IT project public value measurement methodology pattern was presented. The selection of projects with little value contribution if compared to the existing situation, the assessment of the acceptability of risk through the hierarchy structure of the value of a project and the aggregation of the value of separate PVIT dimensions is a contribution related to the methodology patterns that were surveyed.

The position of teaching materials on the monitor and its effect on the e-learning success

Janko Žufić — 2011-06-27

There are various elements in designing e-teaching materials that could have an impact in raising the efficiency of e-learning. This paper is based on the experiments aiming to investigate whether there are certain positions on the monitor in which students are able to better perceive and/or remember e-teaching materials. Our research was carried out at the Juraj Dobrila University of Pula. Participants were first year students attending the teacher education programme (aged 19.5 – 20.5). The research design included two pre-experimental groups and one experimental group. The monitor was virtually divided into 24 zones. Students read the teaching material displayed on the screen; in each reading four texts in different positions were used. The relative ease/difficulty of remembering the text was taken into account by introducing different ponders to each text. Regarding the memory efficiency, our results show statistically significant differences between certain screen positions (these differences ranged from +29.6% to -42.6% from the average result).

Keywords: efficient e-learning, text position on the screen

Cover pages

Neven Vrček

Here you can download journal cover pages.

From the Editor

Neven Vrček

Dear authors, readers and future authors,

It is my pleasure to present you the 1st number of the 34th volume of the Journal of Information and Organizational Sciences – JIOS.

In this issue a selection of 11 original scientific papers and 2 preliminary communications has been included, all of which have undergone a rigourous double-blind review process. Some of the papers published here were already presented at the CECIIS 2009 Conference held in Varaždin between 23rd and 25th September 2009. These papers were nominated for publishing in JIOS by the chairs of the conference tracks they were presented at on the account of their research quality.

As in prior issues of the Journal, this one also comprises papers that cover themes from various ICT fields: semantic web, social networks analysis, LMS interoperability, effective learning environment, game theory, model driven architecture, and other topics in the field of applied information sciences. We hope that the variety of themes will draw the attention of researchers in different ICT fields and motivate potential authors to expand the Journal’s thematic scope by other themes that may be of interest to the wider ICT research community.

I would like to use this opportunity to encourage prospective authors among you, dear readers, to submit papers at jios.foi.hr. You are also invited to share with us your comments or critical remarks regarding the papers previously published in the Journal. Further, we would appreciate your willingness to become a peer-reviewer for submitted papers and thus contribute significantly to the rising quality of JIOS.

So far JIOS has been indexed in seven well known databases. We are continuously investing a lot of effort to extend the list of databases where JIOS would be cited, in order to make the published papers available to a larger readers’ audience, and give your research a greater impact factor.

Towards more efficient e-learning, intelligence and adapted teaching material

Janko Žufić — 2010-12-14

This article presents results of a research project in which we attempted to determine the relationship between efficient E-learning and teaching materials adapted based on students’ structure of intelligence.

The project was conducted on approximately 500 students, 23 classes, nine elementary schools, with ten teachers of history, informatics and several licensed psychologists. E-teaching material was prepared for the subject of History for eight-grade students of elementary school.

Students were tested for the structure of intelligence, and based on their most prominent component, they were divided into groups, using teaching materials adapted to their most prominent intelligence component. The results have shown that use of the adapted teaching materials achieved 6-12% better results than E-materials not adapted to students’ structure of intelligence.

Analytical method of CIM to PIM transformation in Model Driven Architecture (MDA)

Martin Kardos — 2010-06-30

Information system’s models on higher level of abstraction have become a daily routine in many software companies. The concept of Model Driven Architecture (MDA) published by standardization body OMG1 since 2001 has become a concept for creation of software applications and information systems. MDA specifies four levels of abstraction: top three levels are created as graphical models and the last one as implementation code model. Many research works of MDA are focusing on the lower levels and transformations between each other. The top level of abstraction, called Computation Independent Model (CIM) and its transformation to the lower level called Platform Independent Model (PIM) is not so extensive research topic. Considering to a great importance and usability of this level in practice of IS2Keywords: transformation, MDA, CIM, PIM, UML, DFD. development now our research activity is focused to this highest level of abstraction – CIM and its possible transformation to the lower PIM level. In this article we are presenting a possible solution of CIM modeling and its analytic method of transformation to PIM.

Automatically Generated Keywords: A Comparison to Author-Generated Keywords in the Sciences

Charlie D. Hurt — 2010-06-30

This paper examines the differences between author-generated keywords and automatically generated keywords in one area of scientific and technical literature. Using inverse frequency, keywords produced using both methods are examined using a maximum likelihood algorithm. By reducing the scope and size of the corpus of literature examined, this study more closely emulates the information gathering processes of scientists and technologists. Care was taken in developing the sample used, balancing statistical factors to allow interpretable outcomes and replication. The results of the study indicated there are no statistically significant differences between the two techniques.

Describing Layered Communication Architecture in SDL Markup Language

Marina Bagic Babac — 2010-06-30

Using Specification and Description Language (SDL) as a formal language for specification of requirements for the complex, real-time and distributed systems involving many concurrent activities, we have come to the idea of making the language independent of platforms and operating systems which may use it. Shortly, we have developed markup version of the SDL language, and named it SDL Markup Language. It is an XML-based version of the SDL-PR (Phrase Representation), an SDL textual notation. We use the language to specify the complex communications protocols, which are used in wide range of layered architectures. We provide the specification from the INRES protocol in SDL-ML.

eTourism: A comparison of online and offline bookings and the importance of hotel attributes

Igor H. Crnojevac — 2010-06-30

Internet is an important tool for information searching and purchasing of products especially in tourism. This paper investigates the impact of demographic and travel characteristics of hotel guests on online and offline reservations. It also examines the importance of hotel attributes in selecting a hotel and the differences in priorities between guests who book their accommodation online and offline. Data was collected by surveys of guests in three hotels in Dubrovnik. The results of the study showed that the method of booking mostly depends on the nature of travel, and that the importance of hotel attributes does not differ much between different groups of guests.

Social network analysis of study environment

Blaženka Divjak — 2010-06-30

Student working environment influences student learning and achievement level. In this respect social aspects of students’ formal and non-formal learning play special role in learning environment. The main research problem of this paper is to find out if students' academic performance influences their position in different students' social networks. Further, there is a need to identify other predictors of this position. In the process of problem solving we use the Social Network Analysis (SNA) that is based on the data we collected from the students at the Faculty of Organization and Informatics, University of Zagreb. There are two data samples: in the basic sample N=27 and in the extended sample N=52. We collected data on social-demographic position, academic performance, learning and motivation styles, student status (full-time/part-time), attitudes towards individual and teamwork as well as informal cooperation. Afterwards five different networks (exchange of learning materials, teamwork, informal communication, basic and aggregated social network) were constructed. These networks were analyzed with different metrics and the most important were betweenness, closeness and degree centrality. The main result is, firstly, that the position in a social network cannot be forecast only by academic success and, secondly, that part-time students tend to form separate groups that are poorly connected with full-time students. In general, position of a student in social networks in study environment can influence student learning as well as her/his future employability and therefore it is worthwhile to be investigated.

Theoretical difference between impact factor and influence factor

Đilda Pečarić — 2010-06-30

Bibliometric constructions of "knowledge maps" and "cognitive structures of science" do not differentiate between impact and influence factors. The difference can be constructedaccording to different meaning and interpretation of the terms reference and citation. Reference is "acknowledgment which one author gives to another", whereas citation is "acknowledgment which one document receives from another". Development of Information Science according to period and subject area is analyzed on the corpus of citation literature retrieved from doctoral dissertations in Information Science from 1978 to 2007 at Croatian universities. The research aim is to indicate the difference between document impact factor and author's influence factor (i.e. reference ability to produce effects on actions, behavior, and opinions of authors of doctoral theses). The influence factor serves to distinguish the key role of cited authors in time and according to the duration of the influence (the average age for cited papers of dominant authors in different periods is between eight and ten years). The difference between linear and interactive communication seems vital for the interpretation of cited half-life, i.e. the attitude of one science community towards used information resources and cognitive heritage. The analyzed corpus of 22,210 citations can be divided into three communication phases according to influence factor criteria: in the phase of dialogue and interactive communication 25% of bibliographic units are cited in the first four years; in the second phase another 25% of units are cited from the fifth to the ninth year; after ten years, in the dominant linear communication phase, approximately 30% of units are cited.

Personal Efficacy and Factors of Effective Learning Environment in Higher Education: Croatian and American Students

Violeta Vidaček - Hainš — 2010-06-30

Successful learning in higher education incorporates various factors related to knowledge, skills, habits, and motivation. Additionally, students’ personalities and self-efficacy may contribute to their adjustment, planning of activities, and achieving success. The objective of this paper is to analyze students’ needs for support services, which enhance the effectiveness of their learning environment at higher education institutions. Answers received from a sample of undergraduate freshmen at one American University and one Croatian University were analyzed and compared. The students from both countries agree that there is a need for developing self-reliance and personal responsibility in using support services, as well as for the timely and accurate information on availability of these services. Students’ suggestions and their desire to enhance effectiveness of their learning environment may be used in creating and improving support services in higher education institutions as well as training their staff.

Syntactic Method for Vehicles Movement Description and Analysis

Marcin Staniek — 2010-06-30

The syntactic primitives and the description language can be used for assignment and analysis of vehicles movement. The paper introduces a method that allows spotting vehicles’ manoeuvres on and between traffic lanes, observing images, registered by a video camera. The analysis algorithms of the vehicles’ movement trajectories were considered in this paper as well.

Strategic Analysis and Model Construction on Conflict Resolution with Motion Game Theory

Chih-Yao Lo — 2010-06-30

This research uses the “Participating Observation Method” to observe the interaction between manufacturer and distributor negotiation strategies, determine the preference and expectation of participants, and establish a framework for this type of research. Then it sets up the “analysis framework of negotiation strategies” between the manufacturer and the distributor based on an analysis of the respective conditions, advantages, and disadvantages of the manufacturer and distributor. Thirdly, this study sets up a reward matrix of the strategy action game between the manufacturer and the distributor. Then establishes a set of feasible “negotiation models” based on the reward matrix of the strategy game between the both parties to observe how the manufacturer and the distributor make their own bargaining decisions in the situation of information asymmetry or exterior opportunity/threat. Finally, this study establishes a “multi-agent strategy game protocol system model” to solve the conflict resulting from the self-strategizing of both parties for their own interests, and to achieve the utmost efficiency in the negotiation.

Online privacy: overview and preliminary research

Renata Mekovec — 2010-12-14

Over the last decade using the Internet for online shopping, information browsing and searching as well as for online communication has become part of everyday life. Although the Internet technology has a lot of benefits for users, one of the most important disadvantages is related to the increasing capacity for users’ online activity surveillance. However, the users are increasingly becoming aware of online surveillance methods, which results in their increased concern for privacy protection. Numerous factors influence the way in which individuals perceive the level of privacy protection when they are online. This article provides a review of factors that influence the privacy perception of Internet users. Previous online privacy research related to e-business was predominantly focused on the dimension of information privacy and concerned with the way users’ personal information is collected, saved and used by an online company. This article’s main aim is to provide an overview of numerous Internet users’ privacy perception elements across various privacy dimensions as well as their potential categorization. In addition, considering that e-banking and online shopping are one of the most widely used e-services, an examination of online privacy perception of e-banking/online shopping users was performed.

Fuzzy Linguistic Optimization on Multi-Attribute Machining

Tian-Syung Lan — 2010-06-30

Most existing multi-attribute optimization researches for the modern CNC (computer numerical control) turning industry were either accomplished within certain manufacturing circumstances, or achieved through numerous equipment operations. Therefore, a general deduction optimization scheme proposed is deemed to be necessary for the industry. In this paper, four parameters (cutting depth, feed rate, speed, tool nose runoff) with three levels (low, medium, high) are considered to optimize the multi-attribute (surface roughness, tool wear, and material removal rate) finish turning. Through FAHP (Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process) with eighty intervals for each attribute, the weight of each attribute is evaluated from the paired comparison matrix constructed by the expert judgment. Additionally, twenty-seven fuzzy control rules using trapezoid membership function with respective to seventeen linguistic grades for each attribute are constructed. Considering thirty input and eighty output intervals, the defuzzifierion using center of gravity is thus completed. The TOPSIS (Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution) is moreover utilized to integrate and evaluate the multiple machining attributes for the Taguchi experiment, and thus the optimum general deduction parameters can then be received. The confirmation experiment for optimum general deduction parameters is furthermore performed on an ECOCA-3807 CNC lathe. It is shown that the attributes from the fuzzy linguistic optimization parameters are all significantly advanced comparing to those from benchmark. This paper not only proposes a general deduction optimization scheme using orthogonal array, but also contributes the satisfactory fuzzy linguistic approach for multiple CNC turning attributes with profound insight.

An Approach to Optical Network Design using General Heuristic Optimization Framework

Marko Lacković — 2010-12-14

The article tackles the problem of optimization methods in optical network design process, based on optimal traffic routing with the goal to minimize the utilized network resources for given topology and traffic demands. An optimization framework Nyx has been developed with the focus on flexibility in solving optimization problems by implementing general heuristic search techniques. Nyx modular organization has been described, including coding types for solutions and genetic algorithm as the optimization method. Optimal routing has been implemented to demonstrate the use of Nyx in the optical network design process. Optimal routing procedure has been applied to Pan-European optical network with variations of routing procedures and the number of wavelengths. The analysis included no protection scenario, 1+1 protection and path restoration. The routing was performed using shortest path routing and optimal routing which minimizes the use of optical network resources, being network multiplexers, amplifiers and fibers.

Cover pages

Neven Vrček

Here you can download journal cover pages.

From the Editor

Neven Vrček

Dear readers,

I proudly welcome you to Issue 2 of Volume 33 of the Journal of Information and Organizational Sciences.

Let me remind you that JIOS is published on the two-issues-per-volume basis, with one volume published annually. One issue of the volume is usually dedicated to CECIIS, the international scientific conference organized and hosted by the Faculty of Organization and Informatics. These special issues of JIOS normally contain a selection of best scientific papers presented at the Conference. The second issue is reserved for scientific papers in the fields of information sciences as well as a range of scientific fields related with information sciences, particularly applied ICT in economics and business.

Owing to the efforts of the Editorial Board aimed at including JIOS in a number of relevant databases, JIOS has been steadily increasing its visibility with every new volume. As a result, JIOS is currently being cited in seven databases that cover a variety of scientific topics connected to information sciences, computing and applied ICT.

In this issue you will find a selection of several original scientific papers, two preliminary communications and one review paper. We hope that the variety of themes reflects some of your own research interests, thus making the papers inspirational for your future work.

As in all my letters addressed to the respected readership of JIOS, I would like to use this opportunity to motivate prospective authors among you, dear readers, to submit papers at www.jios.foi.hr. You are also invited to share with us your comments or critical remarks regarding the papers previously published in the Journal. Your willingness to become a peer-reviewer for submitted papers would be much appreciated as by choosing to do so you would contribute significantly to the rising quality of JIOS.

Generic icons – yes or no?

Krunoslav Bedi — 2010-06-30

The information society has become increasingly dependant on programs that are subjected to frequent evolutive, basic and logical changes for a variety of reasons whereas the visual design of the program/program interface mostly remains the same or gets slightly modified. The development of technology has become to such an extent a commonplace that the use of redesigned programs implies icons that are visually acceptable although representing obsolete technologies and that are eventually hard to change due to the habits developed by the program users. The research presents a study into the personal preference as to a particular icon, “Save” for example, and into the perception of the visual identities of today's programs under the circumstance of program icons being not compliant with the technological state-of-the-art. Based on the obtained results, the survey that included students attending web design and media technician courses and ECDL course participants who come in contact with computers and programming tools for the first time should enlighten both teachers and designers of programming interfaces about the way of linking the formal knowledge with a constructivist approach to designing and redesigning programs.

Considering Interactions among Multiple Criteria for the Server Selection

Vesna Čančer — 2010-06-30

Decision-making about server selection is one of the multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) processes where interactions among criteria should be considered. The paper introduces and develops some solutions for considering interactions among criteria in the MCDM problems. In the frame procedure for MCDM by using the group of methods, based on assigning weights, special attention is given to the synthesis of the local alternatives’ values into the aggregate values where the mutual preferential independence between two criteria is not assumed. Firstly, we delineate how to complete the additive model into the multiplicative one with synergic and redundancy elements in the case that criteria are structured in one level and in two levels. Furthermore, we adapted the concept of the fuzzy Choquet integral to the multi-attribute value theory. Studying and comparing the results of the example case of the server selection obtained by both aggregation approaches, the paper highlights the advantages of the first one since it does not require from decision makers to determine the weights of all possible combinations of the criteria and it enables the further use of the most preferred MCDM methods.

Multi-Agent System for Decision Support in Enterprises

Dejan Lavbič — 2009-12-15

Business decisions must rely not only on organisation’s internal data but also on external data from competitors or relevant events. This information can be obtained from the Web but must be integrated with the data in an organisation’s Data Warehouse (DW). In this paper we discuss the agent-based integration approach using ontologies. To enable common understanding of a domain between people and application systems we introduce business rules approach towards ontology management. Because knowledge in organisation’s ontologies is acquired from business users without technical knowledge simple user interface based on ontology restrictions and predefined templates are used. After data from internal DW, Web and business rules are acquired; agent can deduce new knowledge and therefore facilitate decision making process. Tasks like information retrieval from competitors, creating and reviewing OLAP reports are autonomously performed by agents, while business users have control over their execution through knowledge base in ontology. The approach presented in the paper was verified on the case study from the domain of mobile communications with the emphasis on supply and demand of mobile phones and its accessories.

Impact of ICT on the structural and contextual organizational elements: Case of the Varaždin County

Kristina Brodar — 2009-12-15

The influence of certain factors on the organizational components has been in researchers' focus for years, together with their impact on the overall organizational efficiency. Traditional view commonly divided the factors on internal and external ones, which became improper in modern conditions. With contemporary division on structural and contextual factors, as a specific determinant we have to extract information and communication technology (ICT) which impacts elements of structural and contextual dimension in every organization. Therefore it is becoming generic factor which cannot be classified into one of these groups. In this research, we observed impact of ICT on organizational elements of public administrations offices on the case of the Varaždin County. Results show that this impact is present in various forms in all observed factors and thus makes ICT a generic organizational factor.

Creating an effective learning environment through an E-Learning Instructional Programme (ELIP)

Maria Jakovljevic — 2009-12-15

Though numerous research reports have provided a body of information about benefits of e-learning there are barriers such as, asynchronous communication channels, lack of personalisation, which decrease the level of interaction between the learner and instructor [13].

The aim of this paper is to discuss and outline a framework on e-learning pedagogical and technology issues which provide a basis for the creation of an e-learning instructional programme (ELIP). The Phase I of this research start with the creation of a framework for an e-learning environment and derivation of the e-learning instructional programme (ELIP); Phase II is aimed to implement a popular audio playback device (iPod) and VoIP. In this phase 40 learners, one instructor and three tutors will be observed and their experiences will be evaluated through focus group interviews and documents analysis. This research was based on a qualitative research approach [78],[44].

Cover Pages

Neven Vrcek

Here you can download journal cover pages.

From the Editor

Neven Vrcek

Dear readers,

I am happy to present you a new issue of the Journal of Information and Organizational Sciences, volume 33, number 1.

JIOS is being increasingly seen as a relevant journal in the field of information sciences and applied information and communication technology. Speaking in favour of this statement is the fact that JIOS has been included into several new databases – DOAJ (Directory of Open Access Journals), OAIster and Referativny Žurnal – which is information of interest to all our future authors. At present, we are cited in 7 diferent databases, which signifcantly enhances the visibility of the Journal.

In this issue a selection of 9 original scientific papers, 3 preliminary communication articles and 1 review paper has been included, all of which have undergone rigorous double-blind review. Some of the papers published here were already presented at the CECIIS 2008 conference. The papers in the current issue cover a broad area of topics, from programming and web related topics, through algorithm and method proposals, to economics and applied linguistics. We hope you will find the papers interesting and challenging for your own research.

We encourage you to submit your papers at www.jios.foi.hr, where you can also share with us your
recommendations, comments or critical remarks regarding the papers published in previous issues.
Your papers and feedback may prove invaluable in fulfilling our ambitions, which are very high indeed, as we have set out to enter some new databases. We would also appreciate your willingness to become a peer-reviewer for submitted papers, and thus give your contribution to the rising quality of JIOS.

PNMBG: Point Neighborhood Merging with Border Grids

Renxia Wan — 2009-12-15

The special clustering algorithm is attractive for the task of grouping arbitrary shaped database into several proper classes. Up to now, a wide variety of clustering algorithms designed for this task have been proposed, the majority of these algorithms is density-based. But the effectivity and efficiency still is the great challenges for these algorithms as far as the clustering quality of such task is concerned. In this paper, we propose an arbitrary shaped clustering method with border grids (PNMBG), PNMBG is a crisp partition method. It groups objects to point neighborhoods firstly, and then iteratively merges these point neighborhoods into clusters via grids, only bordering grids are considered during the merging stage. Experiments show that PNMBG has a good efficiency especially on the database with high dimension. In general, PNMBG outperforms DBSCAN in the term of efficiency and has an almost same effectivity with the later.

Model-Driven Analysis towards Interoperability of Assessments in LMS

Zuzana Bizonova — 2010-06-30

In this article we are focusing on interoperability of two aspects of LMS systems - test question types and assessments as such. The proposed strategy is based on MDA, especially on the Platform Independent Models (PIM). On the higher level of abstraction (PIM) it is possible to find commonalities and differences of architectures of various systems and these are the basis for the common generalized model of the assessments. In the three steps methodology we are adding specificities of PIM models of candidate systems with various architecture – Moodle, Olat and Claroline. The correctness of the final common model (General PIM) is proved in the implemented system for exchange of tests between the existing systems.

Suitability of Modern Software Development Methodologies for Model Driven Development

Ruben Picek — 2009-12-15

As an answer to today’s growing challenges in software industry, wide spectrum of new approaches of software development has occurred. One prominent direction is currently most promising software development paradigm called Model Driven Development (MDD). Despite a lot of skepticism and problems, MDD paradigm is being used and improved to accomplish many inherent potential benefits. In the methodological approach of software development it is necessary to use some kind of development process. Modern methodologies can be classified into two main categories: formal or heavyweight and agile or lightweight. But when it is a question about MDD and development process for MDD, currently known methodologies are very poor or better said they don't have any explanation of MDD process. As the result of research, in this paper, author examines the possibilities of using existing modern software methodologies in context of MDD paradigm.

The Role of Knowledge Management in Mobile Marketing

Neven Bosilj — 2009-12-15

Mobile terminal devices and mobile networks enable mass customization for individual customers, and pursuant to this mobile marketing represent the last stage of segmentation leading up to the individually customized marketing, i.e. „one on one marketing“. Mobile marketing refers to using an interactive wireless medium with purpose of providing customers with personal information, having time and location dimension, promoting goods, services and ideas, thus generating value for all stakeholders. On one hand, mobile medium has completely transformed present day notion of marketing campaigns and opened up a range of new opportunities for advertisers, and on the other hand it put new challenges before companies whose CRM and KM systems are not well adapted to new requirements of mobile marketing. This article attempts to answer the question on how to successfully run mobile marketing campaigns, while using tools and knowledge provided by Knowledge Management and Customer Relationship Management.

Linguistic competence in tertiary-level instruction in English and its relevance for student mobility

Andreja Kovacic — 2009-07-01

Student and teacher mobility are important aspects of education within the Bologna Process. Overcoming the language barrier is a precondition for following and providing instruction in a foreign language. A survey was conducted among first-year undergraduate students to determine their readiness for instruction in English. The survey results show the respondent profile, their assessment of instruction within an English language course, using other ways of acquiring knowledge and self-assessment of their command of English. The students' self-assessment of motivation for learning English and its relevance for their profession are presented along with students' interest in other courses offered in English. It turns out that, regardless of a satisfactory level of self-assesed competence in English and motivation for learning English, students are not willing to enroll in the offered study courses in English. This may indicate that all the precoditions for mobility have not been fulfilled. The survey results are compared with the corresponding results of another, more comprehensive, survey among graduate students at the Faculty of Organization and Informatics conducted at the whole University of Zagreb. Althouh the results obtained in the two surveys are not identical, they roughly correspond.

Application of Benford's Law in Payment Systems Auditing

Mario Žgela — 2009-03-01

Information systems auditing activities are mandatory in today business environments. There are numerous useful methods that can be conducted in such audits. One of contemporary methods is application of so-called Benford's Law. In this paper we examine ways of application of this law in investigation of certain number set with aim to make a conclusion if number set conforms to Benford's Law. As an examination target we used foreign payment system messages which are issued between foreign and domestic business entities i.e. commercial and central banks. We chose sample of 1.745.311 transactions and conducted examination for first, second and first two digits. We examine certain data subsets, created according to certain payment types, and investigate how Benford’s Law tests can be used in auditing. We also compare practical usefulness and note differences between various conformity tests in auditing environment. Results we achieved prove adequate potential of this law in audit practice.

Creating adaptive environment for e-learning courses

Bozidar Radenkovic — 2009-07-01

In this paper we provide an approach to creating adaptive environment for e-learning courses. In the context of e-education, successful adaptation has to be performed upon learners’ characteristics. Currently, modeling and discovering users’ needs, goals, knowledge preferences and motivations is one of the most challenging tasks in e-learning systems that deal with large volumes of information. Primary goal of the research is to perform personalizing of distance education system, according to students’ learning styles. Main steps and requirements in applying business intelligence techniques in process of personalization are identified. In addition, we propose generic model and architecture of an adaptive e-learning system by describing the structure of an adaptive course and exemplify correlations among e-learning course content and different learning styles. Moreover, research that dealt with application of data mining technique in a real e-learning system was carried out. We performed adaptation of our e-learning courses using the results from the research.

Interactions Validation Methods for Training Resources Control Engine Development

Marcin Waldemar Bernaś — 2009-05-30

The training courseware complexity proper selection is one of the most difficult factors looking from an intelligent application engine development. The application needs individual settings, the most relevant for the application structure matching to the users' individual expectations. What is more, the obtained structure allows controlling dynamically the application within a time it is used. The application units description with their controlling functions allow joining the database components into individual composition of the courseware. The paper in-troduces several aspects of distance learning resources development, fulfilling the demanding assumptions of the interactive training units.

An Efficient Algorithm for Congestion Control in Highly Loaded DiffServ/MPLS Networks

Srecko Krile — 2009-04-07

The optimal QoS path provisioning of coexisted and aggregated traffic in networks is still demanding problem. All traffic flows in a domain are distributed among LSPs (Label Switching Path) related to N service classes, but the congestion problem of concurrent flows can appear. As we know the IGP (Interior Getaway Protocol) uses simple on-line routing algorithms (e.g. OSPFS, IS-IS) based on shortest path methodology. In QoS end-to-end provisioning where some links may be reserved for certain traffic classes (for particular set of users) it becomes insufficient technique. On other hand, constraint based explicit routing (CR) based on IGP metric ensures traffic engineering (TE) capabilities. The algorithm proposed in this paper may find a longer but lightly loaded path, better than the heavily loaded shortest path. LSP can be pre-computed much earlier, possibly during SLA (Service Level Agreement) negotiation process. As we need firm correlation with bandwidth management and traffic engineering (TE) the initial (pro-active) routing can be pre-computed in the context of all priority traffic flows (former contracted SLAs) traversing the network simultaneously. It could be a very good solution for congestion avoidance and for better load-balancing purpose where links are running close to capacity. Also, such technique could be useful in inter-domain end-to-end provisioning, where bandwidth reservation has to be negotiated with neighbor ASes (Autonomous System). To be acceptable for real applications such complicated routing algorithm can be significantly improved. Algorithm was tested on the network of M core routers on the path (between edge routers) and results are given for N=3 service classes. Further improvements through heuristic approach are made and results are discussed.

The Partial Mapping of the Web Graph

Kristina Machova — 2009-03-06

The paper presents an approach to partial mapping of a web sub-graph. This sub-graph contains the nearest surroundings of an actual web page. Our work deals with acquiring relevant Hyperlinks of a base web site, generation of adjacency matrix, the nearest distance matrix and matrix of converted distances of Hyperlinks, detection of compactness of web representation, and visualization of its graphical representation. The paper introduces an LWP algorithm – a technique for Hyperlink filtration. This work attempts to help users with the orientation within the web graph.

Double Separation Method for Translation of the Infrared Information into a Visible Area

Ivana Žiljak — 2009-05-24

Information visualization refers to the wavelength area ranging from 400 to 700 nm. Areas in lower wavelengths ranging from 100 to 400 nm are translated into the visual area with the goal to protect information visible only by applying instruments adapted for the ultraviolet area. Our recent research work refers to the infrared wavelength areas above the visible specter up to 1000 nm. The scientific contribution of this paper is in setting the double separation method for printing with CMYK printing inks with the goal to detect graphic information in the infrared area only. An algorithm has been created for making visual basics in the overall visible specter containing material that responds in the infrared section. This allows planning of areas in all coloring types for one and the same document that contains a secure piece of information. The system is based on double transition transformation of the visible RGB1 information recognition into CMYK2 in the same document. Secure information is recognized with the help of instruments in the set wavelength range. Most of the experiments have been carried out by analyzing the same set of RGB records. Each sample in the set was a test unit coming from another source containing different IR3 components. Thus an innovative method of color mixing has been set where colors appear respectively in daylight and separately according to IR light programming. New IR cryptography is proposed as shown in the experimental work.

Integrating Six Sigma into a Quality Management System in the Medical Device Industry

Nadica Hrgarek — 2009-07-01

Six Sigma is a valuable management strategy to improve business processes, reduce development and production costs, increase profit margin and improve customer satisfaction. The purpose of this paper is to describe how applicable Six Sigma concepts may complement and support formal quality management systems (QMS) in the medical device industry.

A significant number of issues, which increase the development costs and times, is often found during different phases of a medical device life cycle. Some defects with high patient safety risk may result in dangerous and very costly product recalls.

The basic idea of this paper is to explore the possibilities of integrating Six Sigma techniques with an existing QMS throughout the entire life cycle of a medical device. This paper addresses how Six Sigma techniques, when appropriately integrated into the QMS at medical device companies, can eliminate defects earlier in the medical device life cycle, identify major opportunities for cost savings, focus on customer needs and expectations, and improve the overall business processes.

An Algorithm for Detecting the Principal Allotment among Fuzzy Clusters and Its Application as a Technique of Reduction of Analyzed Features Space Dimensionality

Dmitri A. Viattchenin — 2009-03-21

This paper describes a modification of a possibilistic clustering method based on the concept of allotment among fuzzy clusters. Basic ideas of the method are considered and the concept of a principal allotment among fuzzy clusters is introduced. The paper provides the description of the plan of the algorithm for detection principal allotment. An analysis of experimental results of the proposed algorithm’s application to the Tamura’s portrait data in comparison with the basic version of the algorithm and with the NERFCM-algorithm is carried out. A methodology of the algorithm’s application to the dimensionality reduction problem is outlined and the application of the methodology is illustrated on the example of Anderson’s Iris data in comparison with the result of principal component analysis. Preliminary conclusions are formulated also.

Web-based Systems Development: The Influence of Disciplinary Backgrounds on Design Practices

Michael Lang — 2009-07-01

Web development teams are multidisciplinary, bringing together designers from a variety of backgrounds. A Web designer’s professional training and education can shape his problem-solving orientation and world view by indoctrinating certain values and conditioning him to think and behave in certain ways. This paper presents an analysis of data gathered across 14 interviews, wherein four distinct orientations were identified: (1) Web development as the design of a functional software application (emphasis on back-end functionality); (2) as the design of an interactive tool (emphasis on ergonomics); (3) as the design of a communicational dialogue (emphasis on audience engagement); and (4) as an extension of branded graphic design (emphasis on visual presentation).

Web 2.1 : Toward a large and qualitative participation on the Web

Boubker Sbihi — 2009-05-30

This article presents the results of research done on Web 2.0 within the School of Information Sciences ESI. It aims to study the behavior of different academic actors who deal with information, among whom we cite teachers, students of masters and students of information sciences in Morocco, face to Web 2.0’s services.

Firstly, it aims to evaluate the use and production of information in the context of Web 2.0. Then, it attempts to assess those rates, to identify and analyze the causes of eventual problems and obstacles that academic actors face. In fact, we intend to understand why information actors in the academic world use often Web 2.0’s services but do rarely produce qualitative content.

To achieve the objectives set, we used the on-site survey method, which was based on an electronic questionnaire administered directly to our people via the Internet. We chose the electronic version of questionnaire in order to make an optimal use in terms of new technologies, to gain time and to reduce cost. Then, in order to deepen the understanding of the data collected, we complete the data collected by the questionnaire by an ongoing discussions with actors.

Finally, to overcome the problems already identified, we intend to propose the elements of a new version of the Web called Web 2.1 offering new concepts in order to encourage users to produce information of quality and make the Web more open to a larger community.

This version maintains the current contents of Web 2.0 and adds more value to it. Indeed, the content will be monitored, evaluated and validated before being published.

In order to target valuable information, the new version of Web 2.1 proposes to categorize users into three groups: users who just use the contents, producers who use and produce content, and validators who validate the content in order to target information that is validated and of good quality. Once the information is published, it must be well organized, well stored and archived or removed to avoid over-information.

From the Editor

Neven Vrček — 2008-12-09

The Journal of Information and Organizational Sciences – JIOS – is an interdisciplinary scientific journal with a focus on the application of information sciences and advances in organizational sciences, as well as on theoretical contemplations in the fields that impact information sciences, computer sciences and organizational sciences. JIOS is published twice a year, and is managed by a team of professionals, all of whom are employed at the Faculty of Organization and Informatics, University of Zagreb.

The Journal’s name and layout have already undergone several changes. As you can see, we have transformed our visual identity, and the format of the published papers has been changed as well. However, it is not only the visual identity of the Journal that we have been working on, as we have also aimed to enhance its visibility, accessibility and referencing. As a result, we are proud to say that the number of databases the Journal is cited in has grown from one to seven, and we are putting a lot of our e. orts into broadening this number in future.

As you already know, the Journal’s web address has been changed to www.jios.foi.hr and it is currently being managed by the Open Journal System, in which the entire communication from submitting the paper to its reviewing and publishing is conducted on-line.

In this issue of JIOS a selection of five original scientific papers and one review paper has been included covering the following topics: modern production management, fuzzy data, software and information systems development, online privacy and security, and fraud management. We hope you will find the papers interesting and challenging for your own research.

Finally, we encourage you to submit your papers and also share with us your recommendations, comments or observations about papers already published. In that respect, we would very much appreciate your willingness to become a peer-reviewer for submitted papers, and thus contribute to the rising quality of JIOS.

Theory of Microcrediting in Transitional Economies

Nikola Kadoić — 2008-12-11

In the early 1970s, Bangladeshi banker and economist Dr. Muhammad Yunus designed microcrediting – a socially sensitive and rightful system of fighting poverty and high unemployment rates. His Grameen Bank for the poorest of the poor in Bangladesh has so far lifted more than 3.2 million of individuals and their families out of poverty. After initial successes at home, microcredit was put into service for reducing unemployment and alleviating poverty in numerous countries throughout the world. This paper explores specific problems that a typical transitional country (like Croatia), is likely to face, with unemployment – the source of a vast number of related problems in a transitional society – as the focal point. The authors have attempted to incorporate particularities of a transitional economy into the original microcrediting principles. As a solution to problems afflicting the domestic economy, the authors define a global microcrediting system framework on the macroeconomic level, assuming at the same time that microcrediting of socially vulnerable groups can resolve many problems of modern transitional societies. Arising from the authors' primary intention – to consider in depth the functionality of microcrediting in general transition conditions – a transitional microcrediting system has been defined in general terms, and a corresponding financial and mathematical model developed.

1957-2007: 50 Years of Higher Order Programming Languages

Alen Lovrenčić — 2009-07-01

Fifty years ago one of the greatest breakthroughs in computer programming and in the history of computers happened -- the appearance of FORTRAN, the first higher-order programming language. From that time until now hundreds of programming languages were invented, different programming paradigms were defined, all with the main goal to make computer programming easier and closer to as many people as possible. Many battles were fought among scientists as well as among developers around concepts of programming, programming languages and paradigms. It can be said that programming paradigms and programming languages were very often a trigger for many changes and improvements in computer science as well as in computer industry. Definitely, computer programming is one of the cornerstones of computer science.

Today there are many tools that give a help in the process of programming, but there is still a programming tasks that can be solved only manually. Therefore, programming is still one of the most creative parts of interaction with computers.

Programmers should chose programming language in accordance to task they have to solve, but very often, they chose it in accordance to their personal preferences, their beliefs and many other subjective reasons.

Nevertheless, the market of programming languages can be merciless to languages as history was merciless to some people, even whole nations. Programming languages and developers get born, live and die leaving more or less tracks and successors, and not always the best survives.

The history of programming languages is closely connected to the history of computers and computer science itself. Every single thing from one of them has its reflexions onto the other. This paper gives a short overview of last fifty years of computer programming and computer programming languages, but also gives many ideas that influenced other aspects of computer science. Particularly, programming paradigms are described, their intentions and goals, as well as the most of the significant languages of all paradigms.

Holistic approach to fraud management in health insurance

Štefan Furlan — 2008-11-29

Fraud present an immense problem for health insurance companies and the only way to fight fraud is by using specialized fraud management systems. The current research community focussed great efforts on different fraud detection techniques while neglecting other also important activities of fraud management. We propose a holistic approach that focuses on all 6 activities of fraud management, namely, (1) deterrence, (2) prevention, (3) detection, (4) investigation, (5) sanction and redress, and (6) monitoring. The main contribution of the paper are 15 key characteristics of a fraud management system, which enable construction of a fraud management system that provides effective and efficient support to all fraud management activities. We base our research on literature review, interviews with experts from different fields, and a case study. The case study provides additional confirmation to expert opinions, as it puts our holistic framework into practice.

Java Applications Development Based on Component and Metacomponent Approach

Danijel Radošević — 2008-11-10

Component based modeling offers new and improved approach to design, construction, implementation and evolution of software applications development. This kind of software applications development is usually represented by appropriate component model/diagram. UML, for example, offers component diagram for representation of this kind of model. On the other hand, metacomponents usage offers some new features which hardly could be achieved by using generic components. Firstly, implementation of program properties which are dispersed on different classes and other program units, i.e. aspects, is offered. This implies using automated process of assembling components and their interconnection for building applications, according to appropriate model offered in this paper, which also offers generic components usage. Benefits of this hybrid process are higher flexibility achieved by automated connection process, optimization through selective features inclusion and easier application maintenance and development. In this paper we offer an approach of application development based on hybrid component/metacomponent model. The component model is given by UML diagrams, while the metacomponent model is given by generator scripting model. We explain that hybrid approach on an example of Java Web application development.

A Heuristic Approach to Possibilistic Clustering for Fuzzy Data

Dmitri A. Viattchenin — 2008-08-18

The paper deals with the problem of the fuzzy data clustering. In other words, objects attributes can be represented by fuzzy numbers or fuzzy intervals. A direct algorithm of possibilistic clustering is the basis of an approach to the fuzzy data clustering. The paper provides the basic ideas of the method of clustering and a plan of the direct possibilistic clustering algorithm. Definitions of fuzzy intervals and fuzzy numbers are presented and distances for fuzzy numbers are considered. A concept of a vector of fuzzy numbers is introduced and the fuzzy data preprocessing methodology for constructing of a fuzzy tolerance matrix is described. A numerical example is given and results of application of the direct possibilistic clustering algorithm to a set of vectors of triangular fuzzy numbers are considered in the example. Some preliminary conclusions are stated.

From the Editor

Neven Vrček

The Journal of Information and Organizational Sciences – JIOS – is an interdisciplinary scientific journal with focus on application of information sciences and advances in organizational sciences, as well as on theoretical contemplations in the fields that impact information sciences, computer sciences and organizational sciences. JIOS is published twice a year. This issue comprises submitted papers along with those chosen among papers presented at the IIS 2007 Conference (recently renamed CECIIS) organized by the Faculty of Organization and Informatics.
JIOS has already undergone several changes of its name and layout. With this issue we introduce a new visual identity of the Journal as well as modified instructions to authors, to make it more aligned with contemporary standards in scientific journal publication. Further, the Journal has changed its web address and is managed by Open Journal System, where all communication from submitting the paper to reviewing and publishing is conducted on-line.
In this issue of JIOS a selection of six original scientific papers has been included covering the following topics: organizational design, digital divide in enterprises, management software and web portals evaluation, m-marketing and m-advertising, as well as the introduction of a shot boundary detection algorithm for soccer video. We hope you will find the papers interesting and challenging for your own research.
We are looking forward to new papers to be submitted in the future and comments of papers already published.

Method for Estimating the Complexity of Designing Business Information Systems

Patrizia Poščić — 2008-11-20

The most used method for determining the complexity of information systems is the function point method. This paper illustrates the new method, Data on Document (DOD) for estimating the complexity of designing business information systems. Similar methods are shown in brief. The objective is to explain the reasons for using the newly defined DOD method instead of the function point method. The new method is easier to use while the usage of function point method takes a lot of time and effort, and is more complex. The DOD method is compared to the function point method. A high degree of correlation was determined in observed information systems. The DOD method helps in early stages of the development of information systems, when it is not possible to apply the function point method.

Modeling Organizational Design - Applying A Formalism Model From Theoretical Physics

Robert Fabac — 2008-06-16

Modern organizations are exposed to diverse external environment influences. Currently accepted concepts of organizational design take into account structure, its interaction with strategy, processes, people, etc. Organization design and planning aims to align this key organizational design variables. At the higher conceptual level, however, completely satisfactory formulation for this alignment doesn’t exist. We develop an approach originating from the application of concepts of theoretical physics to social systems. Under this approach, the allocation of organizational resources is analyzed in terms of social entropy, social free energy and social temperature. This allows us to formalize the dynamic relationship between organizational design variables. In this paper we relate this model to Galbraith's Star Model and we also suggest improvements in the procedure of the complex analytical method in organizational design.

Conceptual Modelling of Complex Production Systems

Nenad Perši — 2008-12-09

Complex system dynamics, structure and behaviour performances call for a wide range of methods, algorithms and tools to reach a model capable of finding optimal performing parameters. In the modelling process, it is up to the analyst to select the appropriate combination of methods, algorithms and tools to express significant system performances. Such a methodology for designing complex systems should be based upon conceptual modelling to perform a sensitive analysis of different system levels and views, allowing system representations for developing computer models.Complex systems, such as business systems with a continuous-discrete production process, require a well organised supply chain highly reactive to production assortment changes. Aligning two different production components distinctive in their behaviour is especially delicate at the production parameters transition point. Such system performances require distinctive designing methods that can follow the double nature of the production process behaviour in accordance with their entities dynamics caused by assortment changes. Consequently, such systems need different conceptual presentations for their purpose to be realized from different views and aspects.

Factors and Predictors of Online Security and Privacy Behavior

Goran Bubaš — 2008-12-05

Assumptions and habits regarding computer and Internet use are among the major factors which influence online privacy and security of Internet users. In our study a survey was performed on 312 subjects (college students who are Internet users with IT skills) that investigated how assumptions and habits of Internet users are related to their online security and privacy. The following four factors of online security and privacy related behaviors were revealed in factor analysis: F1 – conscientiousness in the maintenance of the operating system, upgrading of the Internet browser and use of antivirus and antispyware programs; F2 –engagement in risky and careless online activities with lack of concern for personal online privacy; F3 – disbelief that privacy violations and security threats represent possible problems; F4 – lack of fear regarding potential privacy and security threats with no need for change in personal online behavior. Statistically significant correlations were found between some of the discovered factors on the one side, and criteria variables occurrence of malicious code (C1) and data loss on the home computer (C2) on the other. In addition, a regression analysis was performed which revealed that the potentially risky online behaviors of Internet users were associated with the two criteria variables. To properly interpret the results of correlation and regression analyses a conceptual model was developed of the potential causal relationships between the behavior of Internet users and their experiences with online security threats. An additional study was also performed which partly confirmed the conceptual model, as well as the factors of online security and privacy related behaviors.

Shot Boundary Detection in Soccer Video using Twin-comparison Algorithm and Dominant Color Region

Matko Šarić — 2008-06-16

The first step in generic video processing is temporal segmentation, i.e. shot boundary detection. Camera shot transitions can be either abrupt (e.g. cuts) or gradual (e.g. fades, dissolves, wipes). Sports video is one of the most challenging domains for robust shot boundary detection. We proposed a shot boundary detection algorithm for soccer video based on the twin-comparison method and the absolute difference between frames in their ratios of dominant colored pixels to total number of pixels. With this approach the detection of gradual transitions is improved by decreasing the number of false positives caused by some camera operations. We also compared performances of our algorithm and the standard twin-comparison method.

An Investigation of Marketing via Mobile Devices - Attitudes of Croatian Marketing Experts

Damir Dobrinić — 2008-06-16

Marketing activities supported by mobile devices offer great opportunities for direct communication with consumers without the barriers of time, place, location and other. This article explores opinions and expectations Croatian marketing experts have towards use of m-advertising and other available advertising media, where we take the perspective of marketing experts to predict the future of m-marketing and m-advertising in Croatia. The paper also discusses the relevance of m-advertising and investigates the future of m-marketing and m-advertising in Croatia. This research focuses mainly on understanding the potential and effectiveness of the use of mobile phones as a promotional medium, but we also try to recognize the level of concern of marketing experts associated with spam, relating to privacy intrusion and ethics components in m-advertising. Privacy and ethics concerns could create resistance to the adoption of m-advertising. Media selection becomes the most critical factor for the success of a promotional and advertising marketing campaign. Croatian experts still consider TV or newspapers the best way to reach a large number of potential consumers, but what are their expectations towards mobile advertising? To answer this question, we built a model that links attitudes towards advertising via classical media to the intention to use m-advertising.

An Uncontrolled Item of Enterprise ICT Innovation: the High Level Digital Divide

Maurizio Pighin — 2008-07-04

The globalization phenomena strongly stresses western countries’ economies. Especially in industrial districts, companies are reacting with continuous innovations in product and process, based mainly on the introduction of ICT. This continuous organizational change process forces employees to keep in touch with the working environment in an endless learning process. Therefore, the introduction of new ICT seems to bring a cultural development for individuals. Is this always true? Our conviction is that the strong ICT impact generates a new form of digital-divide, a “High-Level Digital Divide” (HLDD): an increasing cultural distance between people able to follow the enterprise ICT evolution and complexity, and people with a lower cultural growth ability. An uncontrolled growth of HLDD may limit the evolution capacity of the enterprise and drop out people from labor market.

Benchmarking User Perceived Impact for Web Portal Success Evaluation

Daniel Delic — 2008-07-04

We describe an approach for success evaluation of Web portals by benchmarking user perceived impact with Multiple-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA). For impact measurement a questionnaire is used. The method is applied in a case study of four eGovernment portals and results are discussed.

Evaluation Framework for Quality Management Software

Nadica Hrgarek — 2008-06-03

Identifying and specifying user requirements is an integral part of information systems design and is critical for the project success. More than 50% of the reasons for the project failure presented in the CHAOS report [36] and study of a US Air Force project by Sheldon et al. [33] are related to requirements. The goal of this paper is to assess the relevant user and software requirements which are the basis for an electronic quality management system selection in medical device companies. This paper describes the structured evaluation and selection process of different quality management software tools that shall support business processes. The purpose of this paper is to help the small to medium size medical device companies to choose the right quality management software which meets the company's business needs.

FEASIBILITY OF INVESTMENT IN BUSINESS ANALYTICS

Mladen Varga

Trends in data processing for decision support show that business users need business analytics, i.e. analytical applications which incorporate a variety of business oriented data analysis techniques and task-specific knowledge. The paper discusses the feasibility of investment in two models of implementing business analytics: custom development and packed analytical applications. The consequences of both models are shown on two models of business analytics implementation in Croatia.

COLOR MANAGEMENT IMPLEMENTATION IN DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY

Maja Strgar Kurečić

Digital cameras on the market today have a great potential to become the powerful tool for capturing images for use in all demanding fields (such as artwork digitalization), so many professionals started using digital technology. But, it is often the case, that it is necessary to spend a lot of time for visual editing and making color corrections in various software applications. In this research, some ICC color management techniques were used and tested to investigate the quicker ways to achieve digital images with improved color reproduction accuracy, without visual editing. A testing procedure for characterizing digital camera is described. This procedure is target-based, thus providing objective measurement of quality. The special color reference target for digital camera characterization was developed, applied and tested. The results show that using proposed methodology, the workflow efficiency and color accuracy can be improved.

ICT IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: CONDITION AND IMPROVEMENT BY QMS - SERBIAN CASE STUDY

Miladin Stefanović

This paper evaluates the level of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the Serbian metal processing sector. This research uses data from the entire metal processing sector in Serbia (Sample: 20 large companies, 27 medium companies, and 247 small companies, overall with 33,057 workers). Data from the Serbian metal processing sector were compared to the relevant data from EU. In this paper, we present problems and steps for improvement of ICT in the Serbian metal processing industry. We will also present development of quality infrastructure necessary for support and improvement of Serbian ICT industry and improvement of ITC sectors in Serbian metal processing industry.

A METHOD FOR IMPROVEMENT OF OBJECTIVITY OF E-SERVICE QUALITY EVALUATION

Renata Mekovec

Measurement and improvement of e-service quality is important for sustaining competitive advantage of an e-commerce web site. A number of e-service quality measures have recently been developed that predominantly rely on the subjective evaluation of diverse quality attributes. To increase the objectivity of e-service quality measurement a recently developed measure of e-service quality has been adapted in a way that replaces its Likert type scales for evaluation of specific attributes with check-lists that include specific observable elements for appraisal and a scoring procedure. The consistency of scoring with this adaptation of an e-service quality measure was investigated in comparison to the use of the standard measure with Likert type scales and by the use of untrained and trained evaluators. The results of the empirical evaluation indicate a greater inter-rater consistency when the adapted/objective measure is used for evaluation of the efficiency dimension of e-service quality.

TIME SERIES ANALYSIS USING A UNIQUE MODEL OF TRANSFORMATION

Goran Klepac

REFII1 model is an authorial mathematical model for time series data mining. The main purpose of that model is to automate time series analysis, through a unique transformation model of time series. An advantage of this approach of time series analysis is the linkage of different methods for time series analysis, linking traditional data mining tools in time series, and constructing new algorithms for analyzing time series. It is worth mentioning that REFII model is not a closed system, which means that we have a finite set of methods. At first, this is a model for transformation of values of time series, which prepares data used by different sets of methods based on the same model of transformation in a domain of problem space. REFII model gives a new approach in time series analysis based on a unique model of transformation, which is a base for all kind of time series analysis. The advantage of REFII model is its possible application in many different areas such as finance, medicine, voice recognition, face recognition and text mining.

PROACTIVE APPROACH TO THE INCIDENT AND PROBLEM MANAGEMENT IN COMMUNICATION NETWORKS

Vjeran Strahonja

Proactive approach to communication network maintenance has the capability of enhancing the integrity and reliability of communication networks, as well as of reducing maintenance costs and overall number of incidents. This paper presents approaches to problem and incident prevention with the help of root-cause analysis, aligning that with the goal to foresee software performance. Implementation of proactive approach requires recognition of enterprise's current level of maintenance better insights into available approaches and tools, as well as their comparison, interoperability, integration and further development. The approach we are proposing and elaborating in this paper lies on the construction of a metamodel of the problem management of information technology, particularly the proactive problem management. The metamodel is derived from the original ITIL specification and presented in an object-oriented fashion by using structure (class) diagrams conform to UML notation. Based on current research, appropriate metrics based on the concept of Key Performance Indicators is suggested.

IMPLEMENTATION OF ICT AND THE ISO 9001:2000 STANDARD CAN IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF STUDYING IN CROATIA

Giorgio Sinković

The process of integrating the Republic of Croatia in the EU calls for an adaptation and improvement of many of the Croatian society elements, among which there is also the education system as a foundation for creating of a generation who will, by their knowledge and a world view, easily embed into the European virtues. The conformation of the high education system has been consolidated under the term "the Bologna process". Although the basic accent of this process has been put to conformation in order to form a unique European education system, the efficiency of knowledge acquiring process within the sole endeavour to ensure the quality, also represents one of the main objectives. The article hereto points to the possible advantages of implementing the ICT and the international ISO 9000 standards as a base for an efficient increase of the quality of studying in the Republic of Croatia.

DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM TO SUPPORT DECISION PROCESSES WITH DATA MINING

Rok Rupnik

Traditional techniques of data analysis do not enable the solution of all kind of problems and for that reason they have become insufficient. This caused a newinterdisciplinary field of data mining to arise, encompassing both classical statistical, and modern machine learning techniques to support the data analysis and knowledge discovery from data. Data mining methods are powerful in dealing with large quantities of data, but on the other hand they are difficult to master by business users to facilitate decision support. In this paper we introduce our approach to integration of decision support system with data mining. We discuss the role of data mining to facilitate decision support, the use of data mining methods in decision support systems, discuss applied approaches and introduce a data mining decision support system called DMDSS - Data Mining Decision Support System. We also present some obtained results and plans for future development.

SUCCESS AND IMPACT FACTORS OF CARD-BASED LOYALTY SYSTEMS - AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS IN THE GERMAN RETAIL SECTOR

Markus Ruch

The retail sector in Germany has also been badly hit by intensifying international competition. Confronted with lowering margins and the movement of customers to the most favourable provider in each case, it became increasingly more difficult for companies to reach such goals as turnover and market share inputs. With the introduction of Card-based Loyalty Systems (CBLS), an instrument appears to have been found which increases customer retention through the evaluation of purchasing information and enables the companies to realize their goals even under difficult market conditions. The provision for this, however, is the permanent acceptance of the customer with regard to these systems.
This paper first gives an overview of the connections between CBLS and increased customer retention before their impact factors are empirically analyzed for consumer utility. If these factors flow into a cost-benefit analysis, it appears that privacy of the consumers is endangered in the long term and an added value and consequently the preconditional permanent acceptance of the customer is not necessarily given. The resulting question ";Why do customers make use of CBLS anyway?"; can be answered using the approach of hyperbolic utility-discounting.

RESOLVING DATABASE CONSTRAINT COLLISIONS USING IIS*CASE TOOL

Sonja Ristić

Integrated Information Systems*Case (IIS*Case) R.6.21 is a CASE tool that we developed to support automated database (db) schema design, based on a methodology of gradual integration of independently designed subschemas into a database schema. It provides complete intelligent support for developing db schemas and enables designers to work together and cooperate reaching the most appropriate solutions. The process of independent design of subschemas may lead to collisions in expressing the real world constraints and business rules. IIS*Case uses specialized algorithms for checking the consistency of constraints embedded in the database schema and the subschemas. IIS*Case supports designers in reviewing and validating results obtained after each step of the design process. The paper outlines the process of resolving collisions. A case study based on an imaginary production system is used to illustrate the application of IIS*Case. Different outcomes and their consequences are presented.

DEVELOPING SYSTEM DYNAMICS MODELS WITH "STEP-BY-STEP" APPROACH

Mirjana Pejić-Bach

System dynamics is a powerful tool that enhances learning about company, market and competitors; portrays the cognitive limitations on the information gathering and processing power of human mind; facilitates the practice of considering opinions; and supports building of ";What if"; scenarios. Although the literature on system dynamics modeling is very rich with applications in many fields, not many papers on developing system dynamics models were published so far. In this paper we portray current approaches to the development of system dynamics models. These are (1) model development based on influence diagram, (2) model development based on the identification of resources and their states, (3) usage of generic structures for specific domain field, and (4) component strategy for the formulation of system dynamics models. Validation is an important issue that none of these approaches tackles. We propose a ";step-by-step"; approach that integrates validation with developing process of system dynamics models. This approach will be demonstrated on the example of development of a simple inventory model.

SOME APPROACHES TO TEXT MINING AND THEIR POTENTIAL FOR SEMANTIC WEB APPLICATIONS

Jan Paralič

In this paper we describe some approaches to text mining, which are supported by an original software system developed in Java for support of information retrieval and text mining (JBowl), as well as its possible use in a distributed environment. The system JBowl1 is being developed as an open source software with the intention to provide an easily extensible, modular framework for pre-processing, indexing and further exploration of large text collections. The overall architecture of the system is described, followed by some typical use case scenarios, which have been used in some previous projects. Then, basic principles and technologies used for service-oriented computing, web services and semantic web services are presented. We further discuss how the JBowl system can be adopted into a distributed environment via technologies available already and what benefits can bring such an adaptation. This is in particular important in the context of a new integrated EU-funded project KP-Lab2 (Knowledge Practices Laboratory) that is briefly presented as well as the role of the proposed text mining services, which are currently being designed and developed there.

INTERNET ENABLED PUBLIC SERVICES AS A DRIVER OF ECONOMIC GROWTH -CASE STUDY ECROATIA 2006 -

Damir Novotny

The Barcelona European Council called on the European Commission to draw up an eEurope Action Plan in order to widespread penetration of ICT, as powerful driver of growth and employment. Availability of modern on-line public services through e-Government, e-Learning, e-Health and e-Business is to be secured by the Action Plan. The eEurope 2005 is succeeding eEurope 2002 Action Plan which comprises four separate but interlinked tools: policy measures, exchange of good practices, monitoring and benchmarking and overall co ordination of existing policies. Croatia is candidate for accession to EU by 2009, which means that Croatian Government has to implement eEurope Action plan 2005 and Commission's new strategic framework, i2010 - European Information Society 2010. In first part of the paper authors are presenting overall framework of eEurope Action Plan 2005 as well i2010 strategic framework. For the purposes of the paper, authors have conducted a research availability of on-line public services through government, e-Learning, e-Health and e-Business in Croatia 2006.The results of the survey has been benchmarked to the results of similar surveys in New Europe countries.

AN AUTOMATIC AND METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH FOR ACCESSIBLE WEB APPLICATIONS

Lourdes Moreno

Semantic Web approaches try to get the interoperability and communication among technologies and organizations. Nevertheless, sometimes it is forgotten that the Web must be useful for every user, consequently it is necessary to include tools and techniques doing Semantic Web be accessible. Accessibility and usability are two usually joined concepts widely used in web application development, however their meaning are different. Usability means the way to make easy the use but accessibility is referred to the access possibility. For the first one, there are many well proved approaches in real cases. However, accessibility field requires a deeper research that will make feasible the access to disable people and also the access to novel non-disable people due to the cost to automate and maintain accessible applications. In this paper, we propose one architecture to achieve the accessibility in web-environments dealing with the WAI accessibility standard and the Universal Design paradigm. This architecture tries to control the accessibility in web applications development life-cycle following a methodology starting from a semantic conceptual model and leans on description languages and controlled vocabularies.

WEATHER FORECAST DATA SEMANTIC ANALYSIS IN F-LOGIC

Ana Meštrović

This paper addresses the semantic analysis problem in a spoken dialog system developed for the domain of weather forecasts. The main goal of semantic analysis is to extract the meaning from the spoken utterances and to transform it into a domain database format. In this work a semantic database for the domain of weather forecasts is represented using the F-logic formalism. Semantic knowledge is captured through semantic categories a semantic dictionary using phrases and output templates. Procedures for semantic analysis of Croatian weather data combine parsing techniques for Croatian language and slot filling approach. Semantic analysis is conducted in three phases. In the first phase the main semantic category for the input utterance is determined. The lattices are used for hierarchical semantic relation representation and main category derivation. In the second phase semantic units are analyzed and knowledge slots in the database are filled. Since some slot values of input data are missing in the third phase, incomplete data is updated with missing values. All rules for semantic analysis are defined in the F-logic and implemented using the FLORA-2 system. The results of semantic analysis evaluation in terms of frame and slot error rates are presented.

GENERATION OF A SET OF KEY TERMS CHARACTERISING TEXT DOCUMENTS

Kristina Machova

The presented paper describes statistical methods (information gain, mutual X^2 statistics, and TF-IDF method) for key words generation from a text document collection. These key words should characterise the content of text documents and can be used to retrieve relevant documents from a document collection. Term relations were detected on the base of conditional probability of term occurrences. The focus is on the detection of those words, which occur together very often. Thus, key words, which consist from two terms were generated additionally. Several tests were carried out using the 20 News Groups collection of text documents.

BIOMETRIC CRYPTOGRAPHY AND NETWORK AUTHENTICATION

Tonimir Kišasondi

In this paper we will present some schemes for strengthening network authentification over insecure channels with biometric concepts or how to securely transfer or use biometric characteristics as cryptographic keys. We will show why some current authentification schemes are insufficient and we will present our concepts of biometric hashes and authentification that rely on unimodal and multimodal biometrics. Our concept can be applied on any biometric authentification scheme and is universal for all systems.

FABASOFT BEST PRACTICES AND TEST METRICS MODEL

Nadica Hrgarek

Software companies have to face serious problems about how to measure the progress of test activities and quality of software products in order to estimate test completion criteria, and if the shipment milestone will be reached on time. Measurement is a key activity in testing life cycle and requires established, managed and well documented test process, defined software quality attributes, quantitative measures, and using of test management and bug tracking tools. Test metrics are a subset of software metrics (product metrics, process metrics) and enable the measurement and quality improvement of test process and/or software product. The goal of this paper is to briefly present Fabasoft best practices and lessons learned during functional and system testing of big complex software products, and to describe a simple test metrics model applied to the software test process with the purpose to better control software projects, measure and increase software quality.

ROLE OF UML SEQUENCE DIAGRAM CONSTRUCTS IN OBJECT LIFECYCLE CONCEPT

Miroslav Grgec

When modeling systems and using UML concepts, a real system can be viewed in several ways. The RUP (Rational Unified Process) defines the "4 + 1 view": 1. Logical view (class diagram (CD), object diagram (OD), sequence diagram (SD), collaboration diagram (COD), state chart diagram (SCD), activity diagram (AD)), 2.Process view (use case diagram, CD, OD, SD, COD, SCD, AD), 3. Development view (package diagram, component diagram), 4. Physical view (deployment diagram), and 5. Use case view (use case diagram, OD, SD, COD, SCD, AD) which combines the four mentioned above. With sequence diagram constructs we are describing object behavior in scope of one use case and their interaction. Each object in system goes through a so called lifecycle (create, supplement object with data, use object, decommission object). The concept of the object lifecycle is used to understand and formalize the behavior of objects from creation to deletion. With help of sequence diagram concepts our paper will describe the way of interaction modeling between objects through lifeline of each of them, and their importance in software development.

INFORMATION SYSTEM SECURITY THREATS CLASSIFICATIONS

Sandro Gerić

Information systems are exposed to different types of security risks. Theconsequences of information systems security (ISS) breaches can vary from e.g. damaging the data base integrity to physical "destruction" of entire information system facilities, and can result with minor disruptions in less important segments of information systems, or with significant interruptions in information systems functionality. The sources of security risks are different, and can origin from inside or outside of information system facility, and can be intentional or unintentional. The precise calculation of loses caused by such incidents is often not possible because a number of small scale ISS incidents are never detected, or detected with a significant time delay, a part of incidents are interpreted as an accidental mistakes, and all that results with an underestimation of ISS risks. This paper addresses the different types and criteria of information system security risks (threats) classification and gives an overview of most common classifications used in literature and in practice. We define a common set of criteria that can be used for information system security threats classification, which will enable the comparison and evaluation of different security threats from different security threats classifications.

METHODOLOGY FRAMEWORK FOR PROCESS INTEGRATION AND SERVICE MANAGEMENT

Darko Galinec

History of information systems development was driven by business system's functions automation and mergers and acquisitions - business subjects integration into a whole. Modern business requires business processes integration through their dynamics and thus enterprise application integration (EAI) as well. In this connection it is necessary to find ways and means of application integration and interaction in a consistent and reliable way. The real-time enterprise (RTE) monitors, captures and analyzes root causes and overt events that are critical to its success the instant those events occur [6]. EAI is determined by business needs and business requirements. It must be based on business process repository and models, business integration methodology (BIM) and information flow as well. Decisions concerning technology must be in function of successful application integration. In this paper EAI methodological framework and technological concepts for its achievements are introduced.

LEARNING PHENOMENA IN MANUFACTURING AND ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORK

Miroslav Car

In the industrially advanced countries, that are different from our ex and present countries, to learning phenomena has been dedicated a significant attention for the last 60 years. One of more basic reasons is multiple purposes of results. Until now, there have been applied various approaches, methods and procedures for empirical data approximation, and in this articles some possibilities of artificial neural network application are researched.

DEVELOPMENT OF AHP BASED MODEL FOR DECISION MAKING ON E-LEARNING IMPLEMENTATION

Nina Begičević

Strategic planning of e-learning implementation includes decision making about the most suitable form of implementing e-learning on different levels. Decision making about e-learning implementation has been covered as consisting of four phases: (1) intelligence, (2) design, (3) choice and (4) implementation. During the Intelligence phase we have precisely identified our central decision problem and have conducted situation analysis. In the Design phase we have developed alternatives and established criteria and subcriteria. Then, we have created the questionnaire about the importance of the advantages and goals of e-learning implementation and about criteria and subcriteria essential for decision making. The survey has been conducted on the sample of 90 elearning experts in Croatia. Further, we connected these findings with the results of the factor analysis which was performed on the complete survey. The results of the factor analysis have served as input in the multicriteria decision model (AHP) that we have developed in the Choice phase. The AHP model will be presented in the article and qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the model will be indicated.

TOWARDS AN OPEN BIOMETRIC ONTOLOGY

Miroslav Bača

Over the last decade we faced a great number of publications in the field of biometrics. Many new biometric methods, techniques, models, metrics and characteristics were proposed. Due to this explosion of research, scientific and professional papers certain inconsistencies in terminology. What some authors call a biometric method, others call model, system or even characteristic. There wasn't enough effort in creating a unique systematization and categorization which would approach the stated issues and open new areas of research. We argue that it is possible to approach biometrics in a narrower and in a broader perspective. We observed biometrics in the narrower perspecive and created a unique framework for the systematization and categorization of biometric methods, models, characteristics and patterns based on a general biometric system. This systematization is a fundamental step forward towards the creation of an open biometrics ontology.

MODEL-BASED VALIDATION AND VERIFICATION OF ANOMALIES IN LEGISLATION

Vjeran Strahonja

An anomaly in legislation is absence of completeness, consistency and other desirable properties, caused by different semantic, syntactic or pragmatic reasons. In general, the detection of anomalies in legislation comprises validation and verification. The basic idea of research, as presented in this paper, is modelling legislation by capturing domain knowledge of legislation and specifying it in a generic way by using commonly agreed and understandable modelling concepts of the Unified Modelling Language (UML). Models of legislation enable to understand the system better, support the detection of anomalies and help to improve the quality of legislation by validation and verification. By implementing model-based approach, the object of validation and verification moves from legislation to its model. The business domain of legislation has two distinct aspects: a structural or static aspect (functionality, business data etc.), and a behavioural or dynamic part (states, transitions, activities, sequences etc.). Because anomalism can occur on two different levels, on the level of a model, or on the level of legislation itself, a framework for validation and verification of legal regulation and its model is discussed. The presented framework includes some significant types of semantic and syntactic anomalies. Some ideas for assessment of pragmatic anomalies of models were found in the field of software quality metrics. Thus pragmatic features and attributes can be determined that could be relevant for evaluation purposes of models. Based on analogue standards for the evaluation of software, a qualitative and quantitative scale can be applied to determine the value of some feature for a specific model.

FACTORS WHICH HAVE FATAL INFLUENCE ON ERP IMPLEMENTATION ON SLOVENIAN ORGANIZATIONS

Simona Sternad

A lot of ERP implementations are failure, because organizations which bought ERP systems thought that this was all what they should do. But failure cases of ERP implementation showed, that organizations have to do extensive work on implementation. Because of that, organizations have to create conditions, in which they can implement chosen solution in expected time, scope and evaluated costs. That means that organizations should be aware of what most critical factors for success (CSF) in ERP implementations are. The high failure rate of ERP implementations call for better understanding of critical success factors (CSFs). In the paper we will research the CSFs in ERP implementation by studying published prior research on the field of ERP implementation. We will build a model of CSFs for ERP implementation, discuss in depth some most important factors and present preliminary results of importance CSFs of ERP implementation in Slovenian organizations.

HOW TO CALCULATE INFORMATION VALUE FOR EFFECTIVE SECURITY RISK ASSESSMENT

Mario Sajko

The actual problem of information security (infosec) risk assessment is determining the value of information property or asset. This is particularly manifested through the use of quantitative methodology in which it is necessary to state the information value in quantitative sizes. The aim of this paper is to describe the evaluation possibilities of business information values, and the criteria needed for determining importance of information. For this purpose, the dimensions of information values will be determined and the ways used to present the importance of information contents will be studied. There are two basic approaches that can be used in evaluation: qualitative and quantitative. Often they are combined to determine forms of information content. The proposed criterion is the three-dimension model, which combines the existing experiences (i.e. possible solutions for information value assessment) with our own criteria. An attempt for structuring information value in a business environment will be made as well.

BUSINESS OPERATIONS BETWEEN EFFICIENCY AND EFFECTIVENESS

Vojko Potočan

The existence and development of organizations depends on achievement of requisite holistic efficiency and effectiveness of their operations and bahaviour. But in theory (of organization and management) and business practice do not exist common understanding of efficiency and effectiveness, their relations and sinergies. When we try to investigate their definitions and relations we must take into account problems of many conflicts, which reflect their “different non-optimalty (unsuitability, inapproapriateness)”. This contribution discusses three theses: 1) how to more (requisitely) holistically understand relations between efficiency and effectiveness in the frame of business (its working and functioning), 2) how to understand their relations from the viewpoint of conflicts, and 3) one can create solution to remove a problem of different conflicts between efficiency and effectiveness in business.

REASONING ABOUT THE GAME „CLUE“ BY USING OTTER

Marko Maliković

In this article the possibilities of reasoning about the card version of the game Clue by using OTTER - system for automatic theorem proving have been presented. The game Clue, as game based on knowledge have been modelled by PVETO logic - propositional multi-modal epistemic logic with temporal parameter adapted for reasoning with OTTER. PVETO logic is an extension of S5m logic and it’s most important characteristics are the introduction of special derivation predicates for every participant in the card game and introduction of temporal parameter. Temporal parameter refers to the moment of time in which we follow the truthfulness of the epistemic formulae.

FORMAL MODELLING OF BUSINESS RULES: WHAT KIND OF TOOL TO USE?

Sandra Lovrenčić

Business rules are today essential parts of a business system model. But presently, there are still various approaches to, definitions and classifications of this concept. Similarly, there are also different approaches in business rules formalization and implementation. This paper investigates formalization using formal language in association with easy domain modelling. Two of the tools that enable such approach are described and compared according to several factors. They represent ontology modelling and UML, nowadays widely used standard for object-oriented modelling. A simple example is also presented.

ENHANCING LEAN SUPPLY CHAIN MATURITY WITH BUSINESS PROCESS MANAGEMENT

Jurij Jaklic

In today’s global market the main focus of competition is not only between different companies but also between supply chains. Technological changes and organizational improvements are important for effective supply chain management (SCM), however, the main cause of SCM improvements is not the implementation of an information system (IS) itself, but rather a change and an integration of business processes. The paper summarizes the most important concepts of SCM and specifically concentrates on the importance of business process management (BPM) in supply chains, because full advantages can be realized when business processes in the supply chain are well defined, integrated and managed. The main purpose of this paper is to show that successful SCM calls for the maturity of supply chain processes in all involved companies and at the supply chain level, which can be realized by using effective BPM methods. A necessary condition for growing of SCM in terms of supply chain process maturity levels is an inter-organizational information system development and process renovation. Yet, BPM should not be considered as a one-time project of IS implementation and process change, but as a permanent process performance measurement, analysis and continuous improvement of the supply chain processes. The concepts are illustrated with a case study of fuel supply process.

RETHINKING OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP: TOWARDS SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Marina Klačmer Čalopa

Social entrepreneurship is highlighted as a result of general entrepreneurship development because the traditional entrepreneurial factors are accomplished with the social aspects of common good. Entrepreneur's responsibility in choosing the main business activity within an industry increases if the way he conducts his activities is considered. Institutional support for social entrepreneurship is achieved by generating many business activities in order to fulfil different kinds of social needs. Social entrepreneurship is possible if both entrepreneur’s initiative and institutional support for small and medium sized enterprises (SME) are included in performing for traditionally non-profit activities. Allowing private initiative to fulfil the real needs of different users in social, educational, cultural and other non-profit fields is a good way to support SMEs. However, the institutional control should still remain in place in order to protect the minimum performing standards.The development of social entrepreneurship in transition countries is important for general economic development, but also for the supporting values of ethics in business activities.

BUSINESS PROCESS MODELLING: A FOUNDATION FOR KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT

Vesna Bosilj-Vukšić

Knowledge management (KM) is increasingly recognised as a strategic practice of knowledge-intensive companies, becoming an integral part of an organisation's strategy to improve business performance. This paper provides an overview of business process modelling applications and analyses the relationship between business process modelling and knowledge management projects. It presents the case study of Croatian leading banks and the insurance company, discussing its practical experience in conducting business process modelling projects and investigating the opportunity for integrating business process repository and organisational knowledge as the foundation for knowledge management system development.

VALIDATION OF THEORETICAL MODEL FOR DECISION MAKING ABOUT E-LEARNING IMPLEMENTATION

Nina Begičević

In the paper the possibility to use mathematical models and statistical techniques in strategic planning and decision making about e-learning is presented. Strategic planning and decision making has been covered as consisting of four phases: (1) intelligence, (2) design, (3) choice and (4) implementation. Each of the phases will be described in this paper, but the accent will be put on the statistical evaluation of the results of the questionnaire which was based on the developed theoretical model for decision making about e-learning implementation in the higher education sector. In general, the main objectives of this paper are: (1) validation of the first theoretical model for decision making about e-learning implementation in the higher education sector, by means of factor analysis and (2) reduction of a large number of variables to a smaller number of factors, i.e. designing the improved theoretical model, for modelling purposes (developing AHP & ANP models).

A SURVEY OF THE PROPERTIES OF AGENTS

Kornelije Rabuzin

In the past decade agent systems were considered to be as one of the major fields of study in Artificial Intelligence (AI) field. Many different definitions of agents were presented and several different approaches describing agency can be distinguished. While some authors have tried to define “what” an agent really is, others have tried to identify agents by means of properties which they should possess. Most authors agree on these properties (at least basic set of properties) which are intrinsic to agents. Since agent's definitions are not consistent, we are going to give an overview and list the properties intrinsic to an agent. Many different adjectives were attached to the term agent as well and many different kinds of agents and different architectures emerged too. The aim of this paper it go give an overview of what was going on in the field while taking into consideration main streams and projects. We will also present some guidelines important when modelling agent systems and say something about security issues. Also, some existing problems which restrict the wider usage of agents will be mentioned too.

IMPROVED VIRTUAL CIRCUIT ROUTING ALGORITHM FOR WIRELESS SENSOR NETWORKS UNDER THE ASPECT OF POWER AWARENESS

Abid Ali Minhas

Routing algorithms have shown their importance in the power aware wireless micro-sensor networks. In this paper first we present virtual circuit algorithm (VCRA), a routing algorithm for wireless sensor networks. We analyze the power utilized by nodes to lengthen the battery life and thus improving the lifetime of wireless sensor network. We discuss VCRA in comparison with the Multihoprouter, an algorithm developed by UC Berkeley. Then we present Improved Virtual Circuit Routing Algorithm (IVCRA) which is an improved form of VCRA. In IVCRA node failure detection and path repairing scheme has been implemented. We also present the energy analysis of IVCRA and prove that IVCRA is the best choice. We first implement our routing algorithms in simulator TOSSIM and then on real hardware of mica2 mote-sensor network platform and prove the reliable routing of the data packets from different nodes to the base station. The motes used as nodes in our mote-sensor network are from Berkeley USA. By using simulator POWERTOSSIM, we estimate and present the energy utilized by different nodes of the network. At the end we present a comparison of our work with the network layer of Zigbee/IEEE 802.15.4, which is an emerging standard for wireless sensor networks and then compare its energy efficiency with the packet size chosen for our algorithm.

EVALUATION OF ARIS AND ZACHMAN FRAMEWORKS AS ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURES

Melita Kozina

The significance of integral business systems based on closer alignment of information technology to business processes has grown over the last ten years. Comprehensive business frameworks are necessary to capture the entire complexity of such systems. These frameworks called enterprise architectures can provide the conceptual foundation necessary for building and managing the integral business system and all its components. The goal of this paper was to analyze the Architecture of Integrated Information Systems (ARIS) and the Zachman frameworks, to define the criteria for comparison and evaluation of these approaches, and determine their level of complement. Furthermore, the contents of the paper define the generic model of business system management supported by said concepts (frameworks) and analyzes their orientation towards value.

THE ROLE OF INFORMATION COMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY IN SIX SIGMA APPROACH IMPLEMENTATION

Živko Kondić

The article discusses Six Sigma Methodology as business philosophy assuring excellent product or service quality and continuous process improving to realise highest customer satisfaction level. There are analysed methodology advantages allowing defects and costs reduction and customer satisfaction improvement. Also, authors discuss methodology successful implementation according to gathering data on business processes regulation indicators values variation, and issued products or services performances. The results of implementation process of the Six Sigma Methodology in business system depend on prompt and correct data needed for statistical analysis, and its accessibility via organisation’ information system. Correlation between implementation of Six Sigma Methodology and information system development is so strong that non-conformances could cause the Six Sigma Methodology implementation fall.

SELECTING NEURAL NETWORK ARCHITECTURE FOR INVESTMENT PROFITABILITY PREDICTIONS

Tonimir Kišasondi

In this paper we present a modified neural network architecture and an algorithm that enables neural networks to learn vectors in accordance to user designed sequences or graph structures. This enables us to use the modified network algorithm to identify, generate or complete specified patterns that are learned in the training phase. The algorithm is based on the idea that neural networks in the human neurocortex represent a distributed memory of sequences that are stored in invariant hierarchical form with associative access. The algorithm was tested on our custom built simulator that supports the usage of our ADT neural network with standard backpropagation and our custom built training algorithms, and it proved to be useful and successful in modelling graphs.

A MODEL OF HETEROGENEOUS DISTRIBUTED SYSTEM FOR FOREIGN EXCHANGE PORTFOLIO ANALYSIS

Dragutin Kermek

The paper investigates the design of heterogeneous distributed system for foreign exchange portfolio analysis. The proposed model includes few separated and dislocated but connected parts through distributed mechanisms. Making system distributed brings new perspectives to performance busting where software based load balancer gets very important role. Desired system should spread over multiple, heterogeneous platforms in order to fulfil open platform goal. Building such a model incorporates different patterns from GOF design patterns, business patterns, J2EE patterns, integration patterns, enterprise patterns, distributed design patterns to Web services patterns. The authors try to find as much as possible appropriate patterns for planned tasks in order to capture best modelling and programming practices.

IDENTIFICATION OF THE FREQUENCY AND THE INTENSITY OF THE THREATS IN THE FUNCTION OF DEVELOPMENT OF THE INFORMATION SYSTEM

Željko Hutinski

In the process of development of the security system of the information system, the risk assessment is the foundation for selection of the security measures. The reduction of the level of risk and the amount of costs depend upon the adequate selection of the security measures. The quality of the risk assessment depends upon the adequate assessment of the form and the intensity of the threats. If the forms of threats are not monitored in the business system, it should make its own threat assessment, or use experience of others. The best, but also the most time-consuming solution is to develop own security system, while the fastest way is to use experience of others. However, there is the problem of migration of some other solution to our own system. Depending upon the question whether we are adopting the experiences of domestic or foreign business systems, the question of the applicability to the system from the different business environment becomes relevant. This happens because of the significant differences in the form and intensity of threats in certain local environments or different branches of industry.

PRIORITISATION OF E-LEARNING FORMS BASED ON PAIR-WISE COMPARISONS

Tihomir Hunjak

There are different forms of teaching using ICT, and they differ according to the level of technological support, the role and tasks of the participants, the level of students’ participation, the physical location of the participants and their interaction. Distance learning is the common name for the process of obtaining knowledge and skills with the assistance of ICT and other forms of distance study. E-learning is a special form of such teaching. In terms of the teaching materials’ specific qualities, and the recommendation of teaching methods for successful teaching, there are different options for applying e-learning in teaching. E-learning can be used either as an independent form of teaching, or as a support to the already established systems of education, or even as their addition. The problem that is being solved in this paper is the prioritisation of e-learning forms for the specific teaching unit, subject, group of subjects, or the whole teaching programme. All this should be done regarding the context, which is characterised by the quality and innovative teaching, available professionals, equipment, possibility of students’ approach to technology, organization of teaching, and rules and regulations. This problem was solved with the assistance of AHP models developed in the process of group decision making supported by sw TeamEC2000.

THE MODEL OF THE DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR

Josip Brumec

Modern solutions regarding the use of unstructured information are based on the concept of Content Management (CM), [08] and [09]. This is a good solution for those document contents that will be generated once the CM is in place, but the question remains of what to do with hundreds of millions of documents that have been generated over the course of many years in the public sector. This article analyzes some of the features of the existing document systems in the public sector, and then discusses the needs of business processes reengineering, which are concerned with generating official decisions of relevance for both individual and business end-users. Furthermore, we propose a practically feasible model for the Document Management Systems (DMS) design, based on modern information and communication technologies that can manage and support the use of documents already in the system. In the end, this article takes a look at a general model for the calculation of costs and benefits associated with an introducton of a new DMS.

PREDICTING THE INTENTION TO USE INTERNET – A COMPARATIVE STUDY

Slaven Brumec — 2008-03-14

This article focuses on an application of the Triandis Model in researching Internet usage and the intention to use Internet. Unlike other TAM-based studies undertaken to date, the Triandis Model offers a sociological account of interaction between the various factors, particularly attitude, intention, and behavior. The technique of Structural Equation Modeling was used to assess the impact those factors have on intention to use the Internet in accordance with the relationships posited by the Triandis Model. The survey was administered to Croatian undergraduate students at and employed individuals. The survey results are compared to the results of a similar survey that was carried out by two universities in Hong Kong.

FINGERPRINTS PREPROCESSING USING WALSH FUNCTIONS

Miroslav Bača — 2008-03-14

Minutiae classification and fingerprint classification in fingerprint evaluating process are very important. Fingerprint image contains about 150 minutiae’s. When we compare two fingerprint images, we compare latent and non latent fingerprint and we try to find 12 minutiae’s placed on the same position on latent and non latent fingerprint images. After fingerprint image pre-processing we can perform classification or we can try to find minutiae. In this paper we describe the process of minutiae classification for comparison purposes. For that purpose we use Walsh function and Walsh transforms. Paper describes minutiae classification which is relatively new in recognition systems and gives contribution for development of practical fingerprint recognition systems. Paper also gives contribution in the theoretical part due to the fact that Walsh functions were not implemented in fingerprint pre-processing systems so far. The new symbolic database model for fingerprint storage gives multifunctional foundations for future research.