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International Review on Computers and Software - January 2011 (Vol. 6 N. 1) - Papers

Computing in the Cloud: Concept and Trends
Strategic Information System Planning: Review
Wavelet Based NBI Mitigation Approach for Cognitive UWB Systems
Articulatory Feature Extraction for Speech Recognition using Neural Network
Adaptive Skin Color Classification Technique for Color-Based Face Detection Systems using Integral Image
Substitution–Permutation Based Image Cipher Using Chaotic Henon and Baker’s Maps
Persian Characters Recognition based on Spatial Matching
Verb Detection in Turkish Using Logistic Regression Analysis
Survey of Intelligent Classifier Approaches for Facial Expression Recognition
Arabic Text to Speech Synthesizer: Arabic Letter to Sound Rules
Technology of on-Chip Configurations: System, Chip, Network and Lab
LED based Multi-Touchpad Application
A New Involutory 4×4 MDS Matrix for the AES-like Block Ciphers
Security Issues and Modified Version of PKM Protocol in Non-Transparent Multihop Relay in IEEE 802.16j Networks
The Impact of Quality Assurance Department/Section Existence on Software Quality
A New Optimized Tree Structure in High-Speed Multiplier Architecture
Multi-User Reception for Radio Systems CDMA Mobile
Fair Packet Scheduling for integrated WLAN and TDMA Wireless Mesh Networks
Quality of Service Provision for Unsolicited Grant Service and Real Time Traffics in WiMAX
Design and Development of an Event-based Model for Geo-spatial Information Systems in Accordance to The Concept of Dynamic Version

International Review on Computers and Software - Papers

Computing in the Cloud: Concept and Trends
by Rabindra Ku. Jena, P. K. Mahanti

Vol. 6. n. 1, pp. 1-10

Abstract - Every decade, a revolution changes the way we use computer. A huge mainframes in the 1960s, minicomputers in the 1970s, personal computers in the 1980s, cell phones and smart phones in the last decade to the emergence of could computing in the recent years has shown the tremendous revolution in information technology spectrum. This paper will succinctly discusses the state-of –the-art cloud computing technologies and its impact on industry and academia. Emphasis also has given to the technical features of cloud development environment like the features of the programming languages used for cloud development.
Copyright © 2011 Praise Worthy Prize S.r.l. - All rights reserved

Keywords: Cloud Computing, Virtualization, Cloud Languages, Cloud Trends, Cloud Terminology.

   Strategic Information System Planning: Review
         by Muneer Alsurori, Juhana Salim
           Vol. 6. n. 1, pp. 11-17

Abstract - Strategic information system planning (SISP) is based on two core arguments. The first argument is that, at a minimum, a firm’s IS investments should be aligned with the overall business strategy, and in some cases, might even become an emerging source of competitive advantage. The second core argument behind SISP is that companies can best achieve IS-based alignment or competitive advantage by following a proactive, formal and comprehensive process, such a process is especially relevant to enterprise resource planning investments, given their costs and long-term impact. This paper aims to explore the SISP process, and highlights the potential benefits from SISP implementation. In addition, it explores the major issues associated with SISP implementation. It provides an insight into better and further understanding of the SISP process, the benefits and the implementation issues.

Keywords: SISP Process, SISP Implementation, KPI.

Wavelet Based NBI Mitigation Approach for Cognitive UWB Systems
by H. Hosseini, N. Fisal, S.K. Syed-Yusof

Vol. 6. n. 1, pp. 18-24

Abstract - Ultra wideband (UWB) systems obtain attractive features such as robustness to multipath fading, high data rate, low cost, and low power consumption. However, UWB wide range of frequency band causes mutual interference with other narrowband systems. Cognitive UWB offers capability to detect these interfering occupied channels and adapt its configuration accordingly. Wavelet packet multicarrier modulation (WPMCM) is an inherently adaptive and flexible modulation for cognitive UWB transmission. Furthermore, wavelet based signal identification can be developed in this system with minimal modification. In this paper spectrum sensing literature and its analytic scheme are addressed. Then, wavelet packet based energy detection following by enhanced forward consecutive mean excision (FCME) algorithm is proposed for spectrum analysis in cognitive WPMCM UWB. Simulation results verified the proposed method and proved performance improvements in terms of side-lobe suppression, probability of detection (P_d), probability of false alarm (P_fa), and bit error rate (BER).

Keywords: Cognitive Radio, Forward Consecutive Mean Excision, Narrowband Interference, Ultra Wideband, Wavelet Packet Transform.

Articulatory Feature Extraction for Speech Recognition using Neural Network
by Mohammad Nurul Huda, Mohammad Mahedi Hasan, Foyzul Hassan, Mohammed Rokibul Alam Kotwal, Ghulam Muhammad, Chowdhury Mofizur Rahman

Vol. 6. n. 1, pp. 25-31

Abstract - This paper presents a method for articulatory features (AFs) extraction with lower cost. The method comprises two multilayer neural networks (MLNs). The first MLN, MLNLF-DPF, maps local features (LFs) of an input speech signal into discrete AFs and the second MLN, MLNDyn, restricts dynamics of outputted AFs by the MLNLF-DPF. In the experiments on Tohokudai Isolated Spoken-Word Database in clean acoustic environment, the proposed recognizer was found to provide a higher word correct rate (WCR) as well as word accuracy (WA) with fewer mixture components in hidden Markov models (HMMs) in comparison with the other methods investigated.

Keywords: Articulatory Features, Hidden Markov Models, Local Features, Multilayer Neural Networks, Recurrent Neural Network.

Adaptive Skin Color Classification Technique for Color-Based Face Detection Systems using Integral Image

by Zahra Sadri Tabatabaie, Rahmita Wirza Rahmat, Nur Izura Udzir, Esmaeil Kheirkhah

Vol. 6. n. 1, pp. 32-39

Abstract - Among the various features of human face, skin colour is a more powerful means of discerning face appearance. Numerous skin colour models, which model the human skin colours in different ways, have been proposed by researchers. Furthermore, there are a number of colour spaces which are adopted in skin colour modelling. In particular, the colour-based segmentation is a significant step in any colour-based face detection approach which uses skin-colour models to classify an image into skin and non-skin regions. Varying illumination is one of the most frequent challenges in face detection systems. A change in the light source distribution and in the illumination level (indoor, outdoor, highlights, shadows, non-white lights) affects the appearance of an object (such as human face) in a scene and produces changes in terms of object colour and shape. An adaptive skin colour classification technique, which considerably resolves around the above mentioned problems in case of illumination conditions and shadow, has been proposed and presented in this paper. The proposed method first identifies those pixels that have illumination problem using integral image and then the pixels are adjusted using an adaptive gamma intensity correction method to rectify negative effect of illumination problems. The experiments showed that the proposed method significantly improves the process of a color-based face detection system in terms of both detection rate and accuracy.

Keywords: Skin Color Classification, Illumination, Face Detection, Color-Based.

Substitution–Permutation Based Image Cipher Using Chaotic Henon and Baker’s Maps

by Alireza Jolfaei, Abdolrasoul Mirghadri

Vol. 6. n. 1, pp. 40-54

Abstract - In this paper we propose a new image encryption scheme using chaotic maps to protect the distribution of digital images in an efficient and secure way. In order to check the efficiency of proposed method, the new encryption scheme is compared with two current classes of stream ciphers: W7 and Salsa20. So, we performed a series of tests and some comparisons to justify efficiency of image encryption methods. These tests included key space analysis, psychophysical experiments, histogram analysis, information entropy, encryption quality, correlation analysis, differential analysis and sensitivity analysis. Simulation experiment has validated the effectiveness of the proposed system.

Keywords: : Image Encryption, Chaotic Map, W7, Salsa20.

Persian Characters Recognition based on Spatial Matching
by Y. Pourasad, H. Hassibi, M. Banaeyan

Vol. 6. n. 1, pp. 55-59

Abstract - In recent years, several studies have been performed on the language recognition and many types of software have been developed specially in international languages such as English. Although, there are many types of software to recognize characters in English language there is great need to develop algorithms to perform on Persian (Farsi) languages. In this paper we propose a novel method to recognize the characters of Persian language using a method based on spatial matching of contour points. Using the Euclidean distance between spatial descriptors and the gradient value in each point, increased the confidence during matching process. Various Persian language fonts are used in our testing database, and obtained matching accuracy is more than 98%.

Keywords: Character, Euclidean Distance, Recognize, Spatial Matching.

Verb Detection in Turkish Using Logistic Regression Analysis
by Senem Kumova Metin, Tarık Kışla, Bahar Karaoğlan

Vol. 6. n. 1, pp. 60-65

Abstract - In this paper, we investigated the features which discriminates verbs in Turkish. Though, words in Turkish can be classified in eight different linguistic categories (noun, verb, adjective, pronoun, adverb, postposition, conjunction and interjection), they can be discriminated in two fundamental groups as nouns and verbs. We have utilized logistic regression method to determine and compare the features based on sentence and word properties considering that all linguistic categories except verbs can be merged into the to the noun originated group. The strength of both categorical (such as inclusion of capital letters, apostrophes) and numerical features (such as position in sentence) in verb discrimination are examined and results are presented. We believe that this study may contribute to the time consuming rule based or probabilistic POS tagging applications since logistic regression analysis gives an immediate foresight of verbs.

Keywords: Logistic Regression, POS Tagging, Turkish.

Survey of Intelligent Classifier Approaches for Facial Expression Recognition
by Amir Jamshid Nezhad, Md Jan Nordin

Vol. 6. n. 1, pp. 66-71

Abstract - In recent years understanding of emotions is a basic requirement in the development of human computer interaction (HCI) systems. Emotion is recognized based on the interpreting of facial expressions, body motions and verbal communications. However, facial expression recognition is considered more than the other signs and effects, because human face is the most changeable part of body which is affected when the emotion is occurred. Six basic expressions include “happiness”, “anger”, “sadness”, “fear”, “surprise”, and “disgust” can recognize by the facial expression recognition systems. The purpose of this paper is survey of current researches and methods on the facial expression recognition systems. Feature extraction as well as classification methods for clustering the emotions are discussed to consider their accuracy and the processing time. Then, based on the advantages and disadvantages of the current methods a hybrid Genetic-Fuzzy classifier model is proposed.

Keywords: Facial Expression Recognition, Classifier, Fuzzy Logic, Genetic Algorithm.

   Arabic Text to Speech Synthesizer: Arabic Letter to Sound Rules
         by M. Rizk, Y. Mohanna, H. Mougnieh, M. Hamad, F. Khalil, A. Ghaddar
           Vol. 6. n. 1, pp. 72-85

Abstract - Speech is considered a suitable way of communication for many applications. There are so many motivations to use speech to communicate between humans and machines. Text to speech is the part of speech technology where synthesizers are used to convert raw text into sound. Producing artificial sound was the interest of many researches for decades; that’s why we may find many methods and applied techniques to generate speech waveforms. Although there is an increasing interest in speech synthesizing, due to its rapid spread in different domains, for many languages and in different ways, Arabic TTS technology growth is still steady. This paper presents different methods for TTS synthesis and focuses on concatenated speech method. Also the paper clarifies the characteristics of Arabic language and explains in details the requirements for building a text to speech synthesizer. Moreover, this paper starts with an important step for building TTS synthesizer, the letter to sound rules for Arabic language. These rules are the fundamentals for any TTS system.

Keywords: Arabic text to speech synthesizers, Arabic letter to sound rules.

Technology of on-Chip Configurations: System, Chip, Network and Lab
by A. Pourzaki, H. Mirzaee

Vol. 6. n. 1, pp. 86-90

Abstract - As a result of modern fabrication technology, integrated circuits have become smaller and smaller. This has been achieved while including larger number of components and achieving more and more functions that are called System-on-Chip (SoC). In this paper the patents on SoC and its branches (CoC, NoC, and LoC) have been presented. Chip-on-Chip (CoC) module technology is advantageous because of the density increase. That is, individual semiconductor chips having respective different technology circuits are combined in a stacked structure. A new class of SoC called Network-on-Chips (NoCs) has recently been proposed to solve the architectural and design complexity issues of SoCs. Lab-on-Chip (LoC). For live-cell manipulation, Lab-on-Chip Biosensors, Micro-flow injection analysis system, and Fabrication Methods of Lab-on-Chip have been discussed. Finally, current technology has been discussed and future technology about this subject (can be omitted) is prospected.

Keywords: System-on-Chip(SoC), Chip-on-Chip(CoC), Network-on-Chip(NoC), Lab-on-Chip(LoC).

LED based Multi-Touchpad Application
by M. D. Zachariadis, J. N. Ellinas

Vol. 6. n. 1, pp. 91-95

Abstract - Nowadays, LEDs are becoming more and more popular for display applications providing an advantageous alternative to the already known technologies. Though, one of LED properties, apart from the ability to emit light, is to operate as sensing element implementing electronic displays with touch sensing capability in many applications. In this paper, we describe the development of a LED based Touchpad prototype that senses a finger touch. This operation may be extended to multi-touch sensing, boosting displays performance while sustaining hardware requirements at the same level. It is worth mentioning that the sensing ability is provided by software, exploiting LED sensing capability, with the same hardware as this used for displaying purposes. The implication of this project promotes the ability to develop a grid of LED sensors whose operation can be dynamically configured without any other hardware overhead or any additional cost. Our experimentation has shown that LEDs are inexpensive elements that may offer interested advantages both for displaying and sensing purposes.

Keywords: Light Emitting Diode, Touch Sensor, Single-touch Screen, Multi-Touch Screen, Multi-Touchpad.

A New Involutory 4×4 MDS Matrix for the AES-like Block Ciphers
by Füsun Yavuzer Aslan, M. Tolga Sakallı, Bora Aslan, Selma Bulut

Vol. 6. n. 1, pp. 96-103

Abstract - Maximum Distance Separable (MDS) codes are used as diffusion layers in the design of the well known block ciphers like the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) and Khazad. The reason for the use of MDS codes in the design of block ciphers is that they provide optimal diffusion effect to meet security of a round function of a block cipher. On the other hand, the constructions of these diffusion layers are various. For example, while the AES use a 4×4 MDS matrix over GF(28), Khazad use an 8×8 involutory MDS matrix over GF(28). In this study, a new involutory 4×4 MDS matrix for the AES-like block ciphers is proposed and an efficient software implementation of this matrix is given. The new involutory matrix replaces MixColumns operation used in the AES cipher in order to provide equally good performance for both encryption and decryption operations. In the design of our involutory MDS matrix, we use Hadamard matrix construction instead of circulant matrices such as in the AES.

Keywords: AES, MDS Codes, MDBL Codes, Algebraic Construction, Diffusion Layers.

Security Issues and Modified Version of PKM Protocol in Non-Transparent Multihop Relay in IEEE 802.16j Networks
by Adnan Shahid Khan, N. Fisal, N.N.M.I. Ma’arof, F.E.I. Khalifa, M. Abbas

Vol. 6. n. 1, pp. 104-109

Abstract - IEEE 802.16j mobile Multihop relay (MMR) standard allow for fixed, nomadic and mobile relays. MMR networks is known to have potency of easy installation and opportune management because of its lower infrastructure cost and high data transfer rates compared to existing 3G. Due to lack of physical boundaries and injection of distributed, non-transparent relays, it is also known to be more vulnerable to security problems. In this paper, we first overview the security parameters of the standard, then discussed the security issues of IEEE 802.16j, threats and vulnerabilities on PKM protocols and our modified versions of PKM that support relays infrastructure. The propose version uses decode and forward scheme with distributed and localized authentication. We suggest possible solutions and verify them by using formal (BAN) logic.

Keywords: PKM Protocols, Security Issues, Multihop Relays, IEEE 802.16j, Distributed Authentications.

The Impact of Quality Assurance Department/Section Existence on Software Quality
by Khalid Khanfar, Mostafa Alzou’bi, Asim El Sheikh

Vol. 6. n. 1, pp. 110-115

Abstract – This paper aims to determine the impact of the presence of a software quality assurance department / section on the quality of software in Jordanian organizations. It was found that the existence of software department/section enhances the use of the software; also it was found that the presence of the software quality assurance department enhances the quality of this software. Therefore, a software quality assurance department must be established for those companies who are willing to compete in the market. for the software quality assurance to succeed, some considerations need to be taken such as senior management commitment toward software quality policy / achievements, planning for software quality prior to engaging in the process of developing a quality software will maximize the outputs of the development process, quality certificate and training programs are needed to enhance quality in the developed software, developing and establishing standards and procedures, and using well defined metrics based on the desired software quality level.

Keywords: Software Quality, Quality Assurance Department, Analytical Research.

A New Optimized Tree Structure in High-Speed Multiplier Architecture
by P. Asadee

Vol. 6. n. 1, pp. 116-121

Abstract – This paper presents a new high-speed multiplier using modified tree structure. Three modifications have been done in conventional Booth multipliers. In partial product generation step of algorithm a new modified Booth encoding is presented which decreases number of partial products efficiently. In partial product reduction step of proposed multiplier a new tree structure is designed which have more regular structure and speed in compare with conventional architectures. In final addition step of this unit a new long-width carry hybrid adder is proposed which adds two final operands very fast and in regular layout. Simulations are done using HSPICE and VHDL. Proposed multiplier decreases number of transistor count eight percent, layout area 12 percent and power consumption 16 percent in compare with previous algorithms.

Keywords: Adder, CMOS, Multiplier, VLSI, Wallace Tree.

Multi-User Reception for Radio Systems CDMA Mobile
by M. Hendaoui, A. Benakcha

Vol. 6. n. 1, pp. 122-125

Abstract – In this paper we want to study the effects of applying error correcting codes in a spread spectrum communication WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) in order to optimize the multi-user receiver of this system. Indeed, in a WCDMA system, the transmitted signal is spread over a bandwidth much wider than that of base band.
This spread spectrum can be achieved by the use of pseudo-random (PN) or by error correction codes or by the combination of the two techniques.
In this context, we propose to apply a combination of pseudo-random and convolutional codes in a WCDMA system to achieve minimum probability of error and increase system capacity.
Indeed, the use of convolutional coding offers to our system an increase in the number of users using simultaneously the same channel of communication.

Keywords: Convolutional Coding, Error Correcting Codes, Gold Sequences, Multi-User System, WCDMA.

Fair Packet Scheduling for integrated WLAN and TDMA Wireless Mesh Networks
by V.S. Naeini, N. Movahhedinia

Vol. 6. n. 1, pp. 126-133

Abstract – In recent years scheduling in TDMA wireless mesh networks has acquired attention due to its remarkable characteristics such as link scheduling being preferable versus node scheduling. However, to the best of our knowledge, the proposed methods so far has not considered the QoS requirements of data flows between mobile nodes covered by the mesh network and also the underlying network characteristics. In this paper we develop a scheduling framework which considers these two issues along with some other features of TDMA-WMNs. Moreover, we propose a threshold mechanism for fair scheduling of elastic data flows. As the scheduling problem is NP-complete in this case, we exploit the capabilities of genetic algorithm to find an appropriate schedule which can guarantee minimum QoS requirements of underlying network flows. We show that our technique provides good trade-off between fast computation and overall system goodput.

Keywords: WLAN, TDMA WMN, Scheduling, QoS, Admission Control.

Quality of Service Provision for Unsolicited Grant Service and Real Time Traffics in WiMAX
by D. S. Shu’aibu, S. K. Syed-Yusof

Vol. 6. n. 1, pp. 134-139

Abstract – Providing quality of service to subscribers in wireless communication is one of the major challenges in these days. An efficient packet scheduling algorithm in wireless network is one of the issues that require attention to quality of service providers. In heterogeneous wireless network, like WiMAX, whereby many packets of different Quality of service (QoS) are involved, packet scheduling becomes more difficult. This paper presents simple but efficient packet scheduling algorithm which uses earliest dead line first, wireless link condition and buffer state for scheduling UGS and rtPs packets. We estimate the link quality based on the total path loss and obtain SNR value which is use in chosen modulation for each packet to be schedule. The simulation shows that the proposed algorithm is efficient and has achieved higher throughput with less than 0.5% packet lost.

Keywords: Quality Of Service, Buffer, Arrival Time, Departure Time, Earliest Deadline And Packet.

Design and Development of an Event-based Model for Geo-spatial Information Systems in Accordance to The Concept of Dynamic Version
by Kambiz Borna, MohamadReza Rajabi, Majid Hamrah, Ali Mansourian, Farzad Ebrahimi

Vol. 6. n. 1, pp. 140-149

Abstract – Effectiveness of management would be seen when we have to ensure the accuracy of the output. This is possible if the model predictions are done based on the behavior of desired phenomena in the real world, using appropriate organizing data in a Geo-spatial Information System. Therefore all the aspects of a phenomenon must be considered. But most Geo-spatial Information Systems' databases use a version-based model structure for data storage that lacks the necessary capabilities in management of changeable information and consequently the historical connection between the old and new version of information cannot be recreated. In this study, in order to build dynamic raster data and create communication between the versions, the event-based data model structure has been used. The concept of version is examined, then a developed concept about evolutionary process of the version is presented and finally, the given model for effective changeability of the land cover on the run-off in SAMALGAN basin of KHORASAN SHOMALI, Iran, have been implemented in ARCGIS by using VBA programming language in ESRI ArcObjects, Model-builder and AGWA. The ability to maintain the structure of dynamic phenomena and reduce data storage volume is the most important capability in the designed database structure derived from this research.

Keywords: Geo-Spatial Information System, Version, Event, Land Cover, Run-Off.