Common Set Of Tools Research Articles

An ion beam analysis software based on ImageJ

The suit of techniques (RBS, STIM, ERDS, PIXE, IL, IF,…) available in ion beam analysis yields a variety of rich information. Typically, after the initial challenge of acquiring data we are then faced with the task of having to extract relevant information or to present the data in a format with the greatest impact.This process sometimes requires developing new software tools. When faced with such situations the usual practice at the Centre for Ion Beam Applications (CIBA) in Singapore has been to use our computational expertise to develop ad hoc software tools as and when we need them. It then became apparent that the whole ion beam community can benefit from such tools; specifically from a common software toolset that can be developed and maintained by everyone with freedom to use and allowance to modify. In addition to the benefits of readymade tools and sharing the onus of development, this also opens up the possibility for collaborators to access and analyse ion beam data without having to depend on an ion beam lab. This has the virtue of making the ion beam techniques more accessible to a broader scientific community.We have identified ImageJ as an appropriate software base to develop such a common toolset. In addition to being in the public domain and been setup for collaborative tool development, ImageJ is accompanied by hundreds of modules (plugins) that allow great breadth in analysis. The present work is the first step towards integrating ion beam analysis into ImageJ. Some of the features of the current version of the ImageJ ‘ion beam’ plugin are: (1) reading list mode or event-by-event files, (2) energy gates/sorts, (3) sort stacks, (4) colour function, (5) real time map updating, (6) real time colour updating and (7) median & average map creation.

Russian Cyclical Indicators and Their Usefulness in Real Timee: An Experience of the 2008-2009 Recession

This paper investigates the predictability of cyclical turning points in Russia. For years, anyone interested in Russia had access to a full set of common tools for business cycle analysis: several versions of Composite Leading Index, a Purchasing Managers' Index, Enterprise and Consumer Sentiment Indexes, etc. However, the 2008-2009 world financial crisis spread throughout Russia quite unexpectedly for most politicians, businessmen and experts alike. Is it possible that none of existing indexes were able to say anything about the approaching decline? In reality this is not the case. So then why did a more or less definite forecast provided by some indexes have no consequences for common economic sentiments in Russia? This paper gives some answers for this question.

Urban vulnerability to temperature-related hazards: A meta-analysis and meta-knowledge approach

Research on urban vulnerability has grown considerably during recent years, yet consists primarily of case studies based on conflicting theories and paradigms. Assessing urban vulnerability is also generally considered to be context-dependent. We argue, however, that it is possible to identify some common patterns of vulnerability across urban centers and research paradigms and these commonalities hold potential for the development of a common set of tools to enhance response capacity within multiple contexts. To test this idea we conduct an analysis of 54 papers on urban vulnerability to temperature-related hazards, covering 222 urban areas in all regions of the world. The originality of this effort is in the combination of a standard metaanalysis with a meta-knowledge approach that allows us not only to integrate and summarize results across many studies, but also to identify trends in the literature and examine differences in methodology, theoretical frameworks and causation narratives and thereby to compare “apples to oranges.” We find that the vast majority of papers examining urban vulnerability to temperature-related hazards come from an urban vulnerability as impact approach, and cities from middle and low income countries are understudied. One of the challenges facing scholarship on urban vulnerability is to supplement the emphasis on disciplinary boxes (e.g., temperature–mortality relationships) with an interdisciplinary and integrated approach to adaptive capacity and structural drivers of differences in vulnerability.

Cautionary notes on power steering for psychotherapy.

Power steering enables the driver to turn the steering wheels in contact with the road not just with his or her own strength applied to the steering wheel but with extra power from the engine which moves the wheels to where the steering wheel says the driver wants them. Applying this principle to psychological therapies is a new area that is developing fast and showing interesting potential. This has obvious appeal for therapy commissioners and researchers, particularly in financial recession as it appears to provide a very low cost route to high volume data collection, improved outcomes and shortened therapies. This article argues that these methods need to be evaluated more carefully to avoid problems seen when the physical health field used proxy outcome measures and sought zealous control and normalization through use of measurement and corrective action. The article suggests mat psychotherapy and psychotherapy research methods are bound up with social, political and technical change that have unintended direct consequences and wider sociopolitical ramifications than intended. The author argues that development of servo-control methods in psychological therapies must be tempered by consideration of their compatibility with therapy theories and practices and with research methods and theories and seen as part of a host of complementary and interwoven paradigms in our field, not as a dominant new paradigm used to denigrate and disenfranchise work that does not fit with a rationalist Zeitgeist. Finally, this article argues that practitioners, and particularly trainers and trainees, need to be very careful that the uniqueness of the individual, and of every single client-therapist relationship, is not sidelined by a reassuring focus on the score data that replaces attention to the feelings and challenges of empathy. Keywords: progress tracking, CORE system, progress monitoring, psychotherapy, assessment This issue of Canadian Psychology is devoted to the very important new development in which psychotherapists use information from client self-report measures to provide a servo-control mechanism to help the psychotherapies. I believe that this can be genuinely useful for appropriate tiierapies. However, I suggest diat, as with many well-intended developments, we must beware problems. I first spell out the extent to which change in this area is shaped by - but also shapes - sociopolitical currents, and then spell out concerns in relation to specific areas: routine clinical work; training of therapists; and research, bodi empirical and theory related. My own interest in self-report outcome measures is shaped by my enthusiastic involvement over the last 18 years in coaudioring and the continued development of the CORE system: Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation (inter alia, Barkham et al., 1998; Evans et al., 2000; Gray & Mellor-Clark, 2007). The CORE system is one of those associated with this servo-control approach to psychotherapy and rightly so: we originally built two short forms, the CORE-SFA and CORE-SFB, into the system for session by session measurement of change. However, I have substantial concerns about too uncritical an acceptance of power steering for psychotherapy. This article approaches these concerns partly through discussion of the CORE system. A great strength of the CORE system has been mat the original authors, and now the CORE System Trust that holds the copyright on the measures, have always been a diverse group and have tolerated and gained from diverse views; it should be understood that what follows is a personal view and is not representative of the view of anyone else involved with the CORE system. The CORE System The CORE system was launched in 1998 and comprised a small set of instruments designed to provide a minimal common set of tools to help therapists measure change across a wide diversity of therapies and to be acceptable to clients, practitioners, and commissioners as a useful but always approximate index of change. …

The Nexus Between Public Diplomacy and Military Diplomacy in Foreign Affairs and Defense Policy

IntroductionThe idea of was implemented approximately a century ago as purely civilian aspect of diplomacy, which aimed to inform foreign populations and citizens about goals of a given country's foreign policy through use of and programs.1 Within framework of Clausewitzian philosophy, which held that war continuation of politics by other means, was always linked to diplomatic realm, but was never part of it.2 On other hand, for a long time military meant simply business of attaches; their mission was to be the Nation's eye and ears abroad in days before satellite photography and sophisticated electronic collection techniques.3Along with changes that past several decades have seen in makeup of arena, particularly regarding new constellation of alliances, revised goals of foreign policies, and altered threat assumptions, content of public diplomacy has changed, and its targeted programs have expanded.4 At same time, understanding and definition of concept of security has changed since collapse of Iron Curtain and breakdown of Soviet Union. Nowadays, security is defined above all by notion of a comprehensive approach. Security is now viewed as a set of interconnections between civilian and means and approaches, while use of force remains a last resort. Therefore, programs and means from areas of and public diplomacy have received increased attention and have gained a more prominent status.For this reason, this essay will attempt to trace close relations of modern defense strategies, policies, and diplomacies. The guiding research question for this essay shall be, Is there in modern foreign affairs and defense policy a relation between diplomacy and public diplomacy? If so, what characterizes this relation? Along that line, this essay will examine nexus between public diplomacy and diplomacy, with assumption that relations and defense policies are aimed at overlapping areas, especially when it comes to diplomacy. The hypothesis therefore can be encapsulated thus: without naming it in official policy documents, and without a focused strategy, an area has recently developed where public diplomacy and diplomacy are proceeding in concert, with a common toolset. I will use German armed forces as a special case study in order to demonstrate that they have actually been practicing public diplomacy within their posture for decades.As a first step, essay will offer a general overview about idea, definitions, and different concepts of public diplomacy, which will provide basic background for further observations. In contrast, a brief examination of idea and concept of diplomacy will show approach from a different perspective. In a third step, essay will highlight common strategies and tools in order to display areas of overlap and similarity. Following these sections, essay will present two case studies of German Armed Forces, which will demonstrate hypothesis on foundation of observation drawn from first two steps. Finally, essay's conclusion will draw some general findings on relationship between public and diplomacy in our times.The Concept of Public DiplomacyPublic diplomacy is to some extent part of a traditional branch of diplomacy, one that refers to government sponsored-programs and initiatives that aim to influence and inform foreign audiences. These programs are also sometimes called international information or cultural programs. Usually these programs are used to transmit a certain message regarding a nation's foreign policy, political aims, economic cooperation efforts, or even touristic developments.It is inherent in concept of public diplomacy that addressees of activities carried out under its banner are mainly non-governmental actors. …

The aerosol measurement and processing system (AMAPS)

As the collection of Earth science datasets continues to grow, so too grows the challenge in the ability to collect, interpret, assimilate, compare, and combine them. Stores of data, already enormous, continue to amass. New instruments are built that introduce differences in measurements and retrieval algorithms from previous ones. Data are rarely collocated either spatially or temporally, and rarely represent equivalent quantities even for similarly named parameters. Uncertainties must be understood and accounted for. Formats differ. In the realm of diverse data sources, the analyst each time must become an expert in the data from each source, and that expertise is disseminated in the form of publications (if at all), but analysis tools are not, and must be continually redeveloped. AMAPS addresses each of these areas in a way that provides a breakthrough in the analyst’s ability to efficiently and effectively make use of the vast wealth of data that continues to accumulate. AMAPS is targeted to aerosol data acquisition and analysis. Data from disparate aerosol sources, including the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR), the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS), and the AErosol RObotic NETwork (AERONET), are efficiently retrieved and transformed behind the scenes to a common format via SciFlo. Analysis algorithms for collocation and comparison between sources are generalized so that researchers have access to a common set of tools applied consistently to each data source. AMAPS has established a successful track record in supporting scientific research.

XBRL's Global Ledger Framework: Exploring the standardised missing link to ERP integration

With the January 2009 mandate by the US Securities and Exchange Commission of Interactive Data, as well as other governmental mandates and opportunities for compliance burden reductions globally, the Extensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) is becoming a more common and necessary part of corporate governance and compliance. Due to this external pressure, as well as the primary focus of XBRL advocates themselves to encourage governmental adoption of XBRL for compliance reporting, another important deliverable from XBRL International, Inc. – XBRL's Global Ledger Framework (XBRL GL) – and its obvious and immediate benefits to organisations has been given much less visibility than the external focused efforts; however, XBRL GL has the potential to bring more measurable benefit to companies, in addition to helping support the benefits regulators and the markets receive from more transparent external reporting. XBRL GL serves as a metadata hub (to facilitate system interoperability), as a common face to data from different systems (facilitating common toolsets and controls) and as a tool to enable a seamless audit trail, spanning gaps between systems. XBRL GL seamlessly integrates incoming transactions and external facing reports, acting as a bridge, a single, holistic, generic view of data. While companies can continue to choose proprietary approaches, and while the XBRL Specification itself is sometimes used as the basis for those approaches, it is a proper combination of XBRL GL with XBRL for external reporting that may offer the greatest benefit to companies. While XBRL GL has some obvious potential benefits, the risk to companies and to the market as a whole is that lack of adoption of XBRL GL will lead to a proliferation of proprietary standards at different points in the Business Reporting Supply Chain and for different consumers, such as the world's tax regulators, leading to more confusion and burden instead of providing holistic solutions that provide benefits for all. Those responsible for corporate governance have a responsibility to make sure that interoperability solutions are being chosen with an eye on long-term value, and not just the easiest solution in the short term.

1.2.4 How do we win this game when the rules keep changing?

AbstractWe all know the goal of the game: “Develop increasingly complex systems with smaller performance margins that meet the user's requirements in the shortest time, with high reliability, open and adaptable, and at the lowest cost”. The environment we are working in continues to push Systems Engineering challenges to the next level. As Systems Engineers, we all want to win the game i.e. beat our competitors, satisfy our customers, develop unprecedented systems to address political and economic challenges. We have a proven process and a common set of tools, which we use and refine. Yet as we begin to participate in the game, we find that not only do we have huge challenges, but the rules keep changing. The customer/user requirements change, the conceptual design needs modification, the analysis reveals design challenges, budgets are reallocated. So how do we win this game? This paper presents a case for the increased application of a suite of enablers, processes, and practices referred to as Design for Six Sigma at appropriate integration points during the Systems Engineering process lifecycle.

An open source agenda for research linking text and image content features

The use of primitive content features of images for classification and retrieval has matured over the past decade. However, human beings often prefer to locate images using words. This article proposes a number of methods to utilize image primitives to support term assignment for image classification. Further, the authors propose to release code for image analysis in a common tool set for other researchers to use. Of particular interest to the authors is the expansion of work by researchers in image indexing to include image content based feature extraction capabilities in their work.

An open source agenda for research linking text and image content features

AbstractThe use of primitive content features of images for classification and retrieval has matured over the past decade. However, human beings often prefer to locate images using words. This article proposes a number of methods to utilize image primitives to support term assignment for image classification. Further, the authors propose to release code for image analysis in a common tool set for other researchers to use. Of particular interest to the authors is the expansion of work by researchers in image indexing to include image content based feature extraction capabilities in their work.

The case for CASE

Computer Aided Software Engineering (CASE) attempts to improve the productivity of systems development by imposing a discipline and a set of common tools on the development process. However, the actual results of using CASE are not always as predicted. Describes the fundamental attributes of CASE and examines the reasons why the introduction of CASE may fail.

Development of incremental deep drawing process

This paper deals with development of an incremental deep drawing process. On a newly developed incremental deep drawing set-up, the aluminium sheets are formed; the forming is carried out by deep-drawing the blank as in the conventional method but incrementally. Fractures at the punch or die corner in the blank may or may not occur depending on the conditions; the process parameters involved are punch size, punch corner radius, increment in punch displacement, blank holding force or pressure, etc. It is thus shown that different shapes are formed by one set of common tools. It is thereby confirmed that incremental deep drawing is possible without using a particular tool set for a particular shape.

Le site mésolithique du Drennec en Commana, Finistère

Before the filling of the Drennec reservoir, the soil of the Elorn and Mougau river confluence has been prospected revealing three mesolithic camp sites. The special feature of the industry is the use of quartzite macrolithic tools but also some special materials taking the place of the traditional flint in preparation of common set of tools and microlithic armatures.

A transcultural view of sustainable development. The landscape of design

Landscape planning is one of many design activities amenable to a common set of tools and methods, which also apply to the design of objects, buildings, settlements, spaces, industrial plants, social institutions and many other human concerns. Progress in the systematic theory of design over the past two decades has led to new multidisciplinary applications of great academic interest and practical value. They have, however, been based primarily on economic and aesthetic criteria. To meet the emerging concerns of human well-being, the practice of design must now also have the goal of incorporating a broader set ot societal objectives, including sustainability and the other criteria it implies, such as equity, ecological resilience and development. Because of the particularities of the social, cultural and resource environments in the Third World, the discussion largely focuses on the practice of design as it applies to landscape planning in a specific developing country; India. The character of Indian design education is analysed and some of the new directions needed for it are identified.

The relationship between design and verification

The assumption is made here that a design process, in order to be effective, must include techniques that facilitate the effectiveness of the verification of the target design resulting from that process. The assumption is also made that these techniques can and should be universal in nature. That is, any system designer should be able to use these techniques to benefit his or her own design process and to check for the proper use of these techniques, both statically and automatically, with the aid of a common set of tools. Once a set of universal techniques has been verified, there is no longer a need to verify such techniques each time a new system is designed. It follows, then, that there is no longer a need to verify or prevent those categories of problems that are known to exist no longer, given the correct use of those system design techniques that eliminates that class of problems. Verification of a system design includes the identification of redundancies, logical incompleteness, and inconsistencies of a system definition, description, implementation, and execution. If a system design process inherently produces a design that no longer requires certain types of “after the fact” verification, many aspects previously associated with the verification process can be eliminated. We discuss our recent experiences in defining systems where we have attempted to show the relationship between design and verification. An example specification is used to demonstrate the properties of a system definition whose design supports elimination of unnecessary verification, maximum use of static verification, and minimum use of dynamic verification.