Comprehensive Reference Framework Research Articles

Towards malum prohibitum: crime deterrence strategies for reducing illicit antiquities trade

AbstractFight against illegal antiquities trade has predominantly taken a reactive stance. This study operates with novel quantitative and qualitative data obtained through a survey and interviews with 42 law enforcement agents from 21 source and market countries. An empirical insight on illegal antiquities trade is provided, and a comprehensive reference framework of crime deterrence strategies is created. Incidence and efficiency rates of the identified strategies conceal that a law enforcement response at the market side, strengthened through policing, criminal prosecution, reverse of the burden of proof, market control and traceability, is deemed most effective deterrence-wise leveraging certainty of being caught, severity and celerity of punishment, the key mechanisms of Deterrence theory. By contrast, the existing international and EU legislation are considered inconsistent. The findings reveal the need for critically reviewing the current situation and defining a pathway for antiquities markets from malum non prohibitum environments to at least malum prohibitum climates: shaping proactive policy approaches through updated legislation and targeted crime deterrence and prevention activities to be applied mainly at the market side.

Digital Twin of Space Environment: Development, Challenges, Applications, and Future Outlook

This paper explores and discusses the revolutionary applications of digital twin technology in space environments and its profound impact on future space exploration activities. Originating from a proposal by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in 2002, digital twin technology aims to enhance the safety and reliability of space missions by creating precise virtual models. As the technology has evolved, its applications have successfully expanded beyond aerospace to include Industry 4.0, healthcare, and urban management, demonstrating remarkable cross-industry adaptability and broad impact. In space applications, digital twin technology can not only improve spacecraft design and maintenance processes but also enhance the efficiency of mission planning and execution. It plays a crucial role in astronaut training and emergency response as well. Particularly in extreme space conditions, this technology provides real-time monitoring and fault prediction, significantly enhancing mission safety and success rates. However, despite its recognized potential, the implementation of digital twins in space environments faces numerous challenges, including data transmission delays, model accuracy, and the design of user–system interactions. In the future, as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technologies become mature and integrated, the digital twin will play a more central role in space missions, especially in remote operations, complex system management, and deep space exploration. This article is to overview key technical features, application examples, and challenges of digital twin technology, aiming to provide a comprehensive reference framework for researchers and developers while inspiring further in-depth studies and innovative applications.

Context-aware computing for mobile crowd sensing: A survey

Abstract Today, the distribution of people with smart mobile devices has provided the opportunity for mobile crowd sensing. Several mobile crowd sensing systems have led to the collection of valuable information with a low infrastructural investment. These types of information have been used in context-aware systems to provide high-level services. In this paper, a comprehensive reference framework is proposed to investigate context-aware mobile crowd sensing systems from three viewpoints of concepts, context-awareness, and functionalities. Each of these aspects has one or more parameters, which investigate and classify the existing works. To this end, the paper characterizes domain and cooperation type, context-awareness, incentive mechanisms, data sharing, local analysis and global aggregation of mobile crowd sensing systems. The aim is to thoroughly review the existing works, foster the dissemination of state-of-the-art research, and present future research directions.

Análisis de la Movilidad Espectral en Redes de Radio Cognitiva

A review of the spectrum mobility in cognitive radio networks, describing the spectrum Handoff, their classifications, current approaches, decision criteria and evaluation metrics according to the current literature is presented. The review was based on the analysis of recent mainstream publications with their respective citations, trying to provide a comprehensive reference framework of the current literature on the spectrum mobility in cognitive radio networks. The main results determine the importance of scalable and optimizing detection and targeting channel, taking into account the traffic load, the behavior of the user, the interference levels, and the characterization of the spectrum, the type of application and the need for multiple frequency channels. The study suggests that it is necessary to design adaptive algorithms to optimize the resources involved during the spectrum Handoff.

The influence of SPI on business success in software SMEs: An empirical study

In this paper, we present the findings of a study into the relationship between software process improvement (SPI) and business success in software development small- to medium-sized companies (software SMEs). A number of earlier related studies investigated the benefits of SPI in software SMEs, particularly in terms of improvements in product quality and adherence to budgetary and schedule constraints. However, only limited or indirect research has examined the relationship between SPI and business success. In this study, we adopt the Holistic Scorecard (HSC) (Sureshchandar and Leisten, 2005) as a business success reference framework, thus examining both the financial and the non-financial aspects of business success. In addition, we utilise ISO/IEC 12207 (ISO/IEC, 2008) as a comprehensive reference framework for the investigation of SPI activity in software SMEs. Through the use of new metrics introduced in this paper, the study findings establish that there is a positive association between SPI and business success in software SMEs, highlighting the importance of SPI in successful software SMEs. This is the first time that this relationship has been demonstrated using empirical data, and therefore, the findings represent a valuable new addition to the body of knowledge.

The situational factors that affect the software development process: Towards a comprehensive reference framework

ContextAn optimal software development process is regarded as being dependent on the situational characteristics of individual software development settings. Such characteristics include the nature of the application(s) under development, team size, requirements volatility and personnel experience. However, no comprehensive reference framework of the situational factors affecting the software development process is presently available. ObjectiveThe absence of such a comprehensive reference framework of the situational factors affecting the software development process is problematic not just because it inhibits our ability to optimise the software development process, but perhaps more importantly, because it potentially undermines our capacity to ascertain the key constraints and characteristics of a software development setting. MethodTo address this deficiency, we have consolidated a substantial body of related research into an initial reference framework of the situational factors affecting the software development process. To support the data consolidation, we have applied rigorous data coding techniques from Grounded Theory and we believe that the resulting framework represents an important contribution to the software engineering field of knowledge. ResultsThe resulting reference framework of situational factors consists of eight classifications and 44 factors that inform the software process. We believe that the situational factor reference framework presented herein represents a sound initial reference framework for the key situational elements affecting the software process definition. ConclusionIn addition to providing a useful reference listing for the research community and for committees engaged in the development of standards, the reference framework also provides support for practitioners who are challenged with defining and maintaining software development processes. Furthermore, this framework can be used to develop a profile of the situational characteristics of a software development setting, which in turn provides a sound foundation for software development process definition and optimisation.

A theoretical investigation of the emerging standards for web services

Currently, standards for web services are being developed via three different initiatives (W3C, Semantic web services and ebXML). To the best of our knowledge, no theoretical perspectives underlie these standardization efforts. Without the benefit of a strong theoretical basis, the results, within and across these initiatives, have remained piecemeal. We suggest `Language---Action Theories' as a plausible perspective that can effectively define, assess and refine web services standards. In this paper, we first investigate the existing initiatives to identify commonalities that point to theories of `Language---Action' as an appropriate theoretical basis for web services standards. Next, we adapt work from these theories to develop a comprehensive reference framework for understanding web services standards. Finally, we use this reference framework to assess the three initiatives, and analyze the findings to provide insights for future development and refinement of web services standards.

Improving enterprise system support—a case-based approach

Many organisations have implemented or are implementing large enterprise systems, like ERP and PDM, for integrating their business functions and streamlining the flow of information. Implementing such systems is very complex, however. In many companies the results envisioned have not or have only partly been achieved. In the literature many explanations can be found for insufficient or failing implementation efforts. A large part of the problems encountered appears to be human and organisational in nature, while it has been stressed that implementing an enterprise system requires and involves organisational change. Success and failure factors and do's and don'ts, as can be found in the literature, provide necessary, but not sufficient, preconditions for starting an implementation project. The complexity of such a project makes full anticipation and control of potential problems impossible. An organisation needs to be prepared to encounter disturbances and take corresponding actions. Knowledge on the dynamics of enterprise system implementation processes is, however, scarce and scattered. Moreover, to what extent the context in which an enterprise system is implemented influences implementation is not yet fully known. In this article, an approach is presented to gather knowledge on implementation process dynamics. The approach builds on theoretical and practical contributions in search for a structured human and organisational approach. The knowledge gathered has been analysed by means of a comprehensive reference framework. After this step a tool has been developed to support a consultant in assessing the maturity of a company to start an enterprise system implementation project. The knowledge, used directly in the tool, makes it possible to suggest improvement actions sensitive to the situation and context. Through statistical analysis, interesting context differences have been identified, which may also help in further refining the advice. Initial validation results are promising.