A Fuzzy Logic Based Decision Support System for Business Situation Assessment and e-Business Models Selection

A new decision support system is developed for assisting business executives in deciding the e-business models to adopt for new business ventures. The developed system is based on a new framework using fuzzy logic theory. A detailed conceptual design is developed. The proposed system solves important challenges such as the use of linguistic terms to capture the executives’ assessments of the key business measures. It uses fuzzy assessment rule to find the overall grade for each business dimension. Moreover, its rule-base allows adding large number of new e-business models. A prototype is tested with business executives and received positive feedback

Investigating The Dynamic Behavior Of Introducing Outcomes Assessments In Information Systems Programs For Accreditation Compliance

The success of information systems programs accreditation process is dependent on a crucial accreditation compliance requirement which is assessing programs’ outcomes and using these assessments to close the loop and introduce key adjustments in the programs to raise outcomes level above an acceptable benchmark level. Furthermore, institutions would be required to maintain these assessments processes throughout the accreditation period and produce interim reports about their implementations. However, outcomes assessments feedback implementation is a complex and dynamic process which can produce unexpected and surprising results. This study investigates the different forms of assessment process and studies its dynamics by developing an academic program model with outcomes assessments feedback. These developments are based on genuine experiences with information systems program assessments and successful accreditation by ABET. The development uses system dynamics approach which can model complex and dynamic socio-technical systems. A system dynamics modeling and simulation are developed which can help academic administrators study the consequences of any assessment policy decisions in an interactive and dynamic way. Simulation runs revealed inherent oscillation of program outcomes over the years. Both the model and the discovered program outcomes oscillation are validated by analyzing actual assessments data collected over five year period. Extenuating this oscillation demands a careful design of the assessments feedback policies as well as course delivery to balance its effects. The simulation results lead to recommending guidelines to achieve effective assessments and raise the program quality. This is a novel approach to study outcomes assessments processes using the rich system dynamics approach

Improving The Nexus Between Research And Teaching In Undergraduate IS Education

This study outlines a framework to assess the merits of integrating IS research into undergraduate teaching. Though the general merits of such integration have been explored, with limited empirical evidences in many previous (non-IS related) studies, this integration is particularly much needed in the IS field. This urgency is justified by many factors, such as the rapid pace in the rollout of IS tools, technologies and terminologies and the shallow focus on research in most IS curricula. Our study adds to existing literature in at least two aspects. First, to our best knowledge, this is the first reported study that reflects upon the integration of research into teaching within the IS context. Second, our research is a first initiative that contributes to establishing a formal framework for the planning and the assessment of such integration. Such an assessment framework will be very useful for continuous improvement to ensure that the integration achieves the learning outcomes it was designed for. Based on the proposed assessment framework and research methodology, this research proposes multiple sources of evidence to assess the merits of incorporating IS research into undergraduate teaching. The paper also shares the experience of a three-semester case study that aimed to diffuse research into teaching in an undergraduate computing and information systems course. Our research underlines the need for formal frameworks to assess the learning outcomes of undergraduate research dissemination into the curriculum. Objectives, performance criteria and measurement indicators should be clearly defined. Careful planning, judicious implementation, based on best practices and thorough assessment, are some basic ingredients for successful integration of research into the classroom. These requirements need to be integrated in the overall assessment strategy of the program curriculum. The assessment tools and research methods presented in this study can be very useful in assisting other IS departments establish a permeable boundary between undergraduate teaching and research

Evaluating User Vulnerabilities Vs Phisher Skills In Spear Phishing

Spear phishing emails pose great danger to employees of organizations due to the inherent weakness of the employees in identifying the threat from spear phishing cues, as well as the spear phisher\u27s skill in crafting contextually convincing emails. This raises the main question of which construct (user vulnerabilities or phisher skills) has a greater influence on the vulnerable user. Researchers have provided enough evidence of user vulnerabilities, namely the desire for monetary gain, curiosity of the computer user, carelessness on the part of the user, the trust placed in the purported sender by the user, and a lack of awareness on the part of the computer user. However, there is a lack of research on the magnitude of each of these factors in influencing an unsuspecting user to fall for a phishing or spear phishing attack which we explored in this paper. While user vulnerabilities pose major risk, the effect of the spear phisher\u27s ability in skillfully crafting convincing emails (using fear appeals, urgency of action, and email contextualization) to trap even skillful IT security personnel is an area that needs to be explored. Therefore, we explored the relationships between the two major constructs namely \u27user vulnerabilities\u27 and \u27email contextualization\u27, through the theory of planned behavior with the objective to find out the major factors that lead to computer users biting the phishers\u27 bait. In this theoretical version of the paper, we provided the resulting two constructs that needed to be tested

Shaw's exposure of Illusions in conventional morality

Call number: LD2668 .R4 1964 Y1

A system dynamics approach to evaluate advanced persistent threat vectors.

Cyber-attacks targeting high-profile entities are focused, persistent, and employ common vectors with varying levels of sophistication to exploit social-technical vulnerabilities. Advanced persistent threats (APTs) deploy zero-day malware against such targets to gain entry through multiple security layers, exploiting the dynamic interplay of vulnerabilities in the target network. System dynamics (SD) offers an alternative approach to analyze non-linear, complex, and dynamic social-technical systems. This research applied SD to three high-profile APT attacks - Equifax, Carphone, and Zomato - to identify and simulate socio-technical variables leading to breaches. By modeling APTs using SD, managers can evaluate threats, predict attacks, and reduce damage by mitigating specific socio-technical cues. This study provides valuable insights into the dynamics of cyber threats, making it the first to apply SD to APTs

System Dynamics Modeling of Logistics Hub Capacity: The Dubai Logistics Corridor Case Study

This paper proposes a System Dynamics (SD) modeling and simulation-based approach to support decision making and policy actions to make appropriate and effective investment decisions about the planning of an intermodal air, sea and land logistics hub capacity. The Dubai Logistics Corridor (DLC) is used as a concrete case study. The model offers the necessary decision support that captures the complexity of managing the logistics hub along with overcoming the implicit policy resistance. The paper illustrates the case study model, application, and various case scenario simulations. The model can be used as a predictive tool to encourage decision making and detecting capacity bottlenecks to help in planning and scheduling the capacity investment of a logistics hub

Composition of Egyptian Nerolì Oil

The bitter orange flower oil (or nerolì) is an essential product, largely used in perfumery. Nerolì is obtained by hydrodistillation or steam distillation, from the flowers of bitter orange ( Citrus aurantium L.). Since a long time nerolì production is limited and its cost on the market is considerably high. The annual production in Tunisia and Morocco is ca. 1500 Kg, representing more than 90% of the worldwide production. A small amount of nerolì is also produced in Egypt, Spain and Comorros (not exceeding 150 kg totally). Due to the high cost, the producers and the users have tried to obtain less expensive products, with odor characters close to that of nerolì oil to be used as substitute and sometimes as adulterants of the genuine oil. In this study are investigated five samples of Egyptian nerolì oils produced in 2008 and 2009, in the same industrial plant, declared genuine by the producer. For all the samples the composition was determined by GC/FID and by GC/MS-LRI; the samples were also analyzed by esGC to determine the enantiomeric distribution of twelve volatiles and by GC-C-IRMS for the determination of the δ 13CVPDB values of some mono and sesquiterpene hydrocarbons, alcohols and esters. The analytical procedures allowed to quantitatively determining 86 components. In particular the variation of the composition seems to be dependent on the period of production. In fact, the amount of linalool decreases from March to April while linalyl acetate presents an opposite trend, increasing in the same period. The RSD determined for the δ 13CVPDB are very small (max. 3.89%), ensuring the authenticity of all samples. The results are also discussed in function of the limits provided by the European Pharmacopoeia (EP) (2004), AFNOR (1995) and ISO (2002) regulations for genuine nerolì oils

Procès-verbal n° 157

Boinet Albert, Fakhry Hussein, Bahgat Ali, Rouchdi. Procès-verbal n° 157. In: Comité de Conservation des Monuments de l'Art Arabe. Fascicule 25, exercice 1908, 1909. pp. 1-2

Procès-verbal n° 157

Boinet Albert, Fakhry Hussein, Bahgat Ali, Rouchdi. Procès-verbal n° 157. In: Comité de Conservation des Monuments de l'Art Arabe. Fascicule 25, exercice 1908, 1909. pp. 1-2