Goal-oriented Approach Research Articles

Goal-oriented, model-constrained optimization for reduction of large-scale systems

Optimization-oriented reduced-order models should target a particular output functional, span an applicable range of dynamic and parametric inputs, and respect the underlying governing equations of the system. To achieve this goal, we present an approach for determining a projection basis that uses a goal-oriented, model-constrained optimization framework. The mathematical framework permits consideration of general dynamical systems with general parametric variations and is applicable to both linear and nonlinear systems. Results for a simple linear model problem of the two-dimensional heat equation demonstrate the ability of the goal-oriented approach to target a particular output functional of interest. Application of the methodology to a more challenging example of a subsonic blade row governed by the unsteady Euler flow equations shows a significant advantage of the new method over the proper orthogonal decomposition.

Empirical evaluation of optimization algorithms when used in goal-oriented automated test data generation techniques

Software testing is an essential process in software development. Software testing is very costly, often consuming half the financial resources assigned to a project. The most laborious part of software testing is the generation of test-data. Currently, this process is principally a manual process. Hence, the automation of test-data generation can significantly cut the total cost of software testing and the software development cycle in general. A number of automated test-data generation approaches have already been explored. This paper highlights the goal-oriented approach as a promising approach to devise automated test-data generators. A range of optimization techniques can be used within these goal-oriented test-data generators, and their respective characteristics, when applied to these situations remain relatively unexplored. Therefore, in this paper, a comparative study about the effectiveness of the most commonly used optimization techniques is conducted.

MEDIA TERPADU DALAM PEMBELAJARAN BAHASA INDONESIA DI SEKOLAH DASAR

The aim of this research is to fmd out the effect of instructional approach toward the result of narrative writing of fifth grade elementary school student. The research compared two approaches: Process Skill Approach (PSA) and Goal Oriented Approach (GOA) group of students who study. The result of the research are. (1) There is a significant difference between group of students who study with RA by F o = 9.8401>Ft = 4.20. (2) There is a significant difference between the result of narrative writing by group of student who has high interest in reading and study with Goal Oriented Approach (GOA) and the group of student who has high interest in reading and study with Process Skill Approach by Fo 6.3161>Ft 0.643. (3) There is a significant difference between the result of writing by group of student who has low interest in reading and study with Process Skill Approach and the result of writing by group of student who has low interest and study with Goal Oriented Approach by F o 12.2084>Ft 0.0643. (4) There is and interaction between the learning approach and reading interest toward writing of fifth grade elementary school student by Fo 84.6164>Ft 4.20. Based on that analysis, we can see that the skill process approach is more effective, entirely and for the student who has low reading interest in reading GOA is more effective.

Hierarchical hippocratic databases with minimal disclosure for virtual organizations

The protection of customer privacy is a fundamental issue in today’s corporate marketing strategies. Not surprisingly, many research efforts have proposed new privacy-aware technologies. Among them, Hippocratic databases offer mechanisms for enforcing privacy rules in database systems for inter-organizational business processes (also known as virtual organizations). This paper extends these mechanisms to allow for hierarchical purposes, distributed authorizations and minimal disclosure supporting the business processes of virtual organizations that want to offer their clients a number of ways to fulfill a service. Specifically, we use a goal-oriented approach to analyze privacy policies of the enterprises involved in a business process. On the basis of the purpose hierarchy derived through a goal refinement process, we provide algorithms for determining the minimum set of authorizations needed to achieve a service. This allows us to automatically derive access control policies for an inter-organizational business process from the collection of privacy policies associated with different participating enterprises. By using effective on-line algorithms, the derivation of such minimal information can also be done on-the-fly by the customer wishing to access a service.

PENDEKATAN KETERAMPILAN PROSES DALAM PEMBELAJARAN MENULIS KARANGAN NARASI

The aim of this research is to fmd out the effect of instructional approach toward the result of narrative writing of fifth grade elementary school student. The research compared two approaches: Process Skill Approach (PSA) and Goal Oriented Approach (GOA) group of students who study. The result of the research are. (1) There is a significant difference between group of students who study with RA by F o = 9.8401>Ft = 4.20. (2) There is a significant difference between the result of narrative writing by group of student who has high interest in reading and study with Goal Oriented Approach (GOA) and the group of student who has high interest in reading and study with Process Skill Approach by Fo 6.3161>F t 0.643. (3) There is a significant difference between the result of writing by group of student who has low interest in reading and study with Process Skill Approach and the result of writing by group of student who has low interest and study with Goal Oriented Approach by F o 12.2084>Ft 0.0643. (4) There is and interaction between the learning approach and reading interest toward writing of fifth grade elementary school student by Fo 84.6164>Ft 4.20.Based on that analysis, we can see that the skill process approach is more effective, entirely and for the student who has low reading interest in reading GOA is more effective.

Integrating automated test generation into the WYSIWYT spreadsheet testing methodology

Spreadsheet languages, which include commercial spreadsheets and various research systems, have had a substantial impact on end-user computing. Research shows, however, that spreadsheets often contain faults. Thus, in previous work we presented a methodology that helps spreadsheet users test their spreadsheet formulas. Our empirical studies have shown that end users can use this methodology to test spreadsheets more adequately and efficiently; however, the process of generating test cases can still present a significant impediment. To address this problem, we have been investigating how to incorporate automated test case generation into our testing methodology in ways that support incremental testing and provide immediate visual feedback. We have used two techniques for generating test cases, one involving random selection and one involving a goal-oriented approach. We describe these techniques and their integration into our testing environment, and report results of an experiment examining their effectiveness and efficiency.

Erectile dysfunction: management update.

Dramatic advances in the management of erectile dysfunction have occurred over the past decade. Oral therapy with vasoactive agents has emerged as first-line treatment and has transformed both the manner in which the public views erectile dysfunction and the way health care providers deliver care. Whereas an extensive investigation was previously common in the management of erectile dysfunction, recent treatment guidelines promote a more minimalist, goal-oriented approach. In this article, we review the physiology of erection, and the pathophysiology, diagnosis and clinical management of erectile dysfunction. We also present the existing evidence for the efficacy of 3 phosphodiesterase inhibitors, the most widely used class of agents for erectile dysfunction.

Intense management of diabetes mellitus: role of glucose control and antiplatelet agents.

Type 2 diabetes has now reached epidemic proportions across the world and is the cause of substantial morbidity and mortality. Patients with diabetes suffer from their mircovascular complications of retinopathy (blindness), nephropathy (renal failure, dialysis), and neuropathy (neropathic pain, trophic ulcers). However, ultimately, the majority of diabetics will die from macrovascular cardiovascular disease. Not only does cardiovascular disease develop earlier in the presence of diabetes, mortality from cardiovascular disease is increased by a factor of two to three in persons with diabetes as compared with the general population. To reduce this increased risk, a multifactorial approach to the management of type 2 diabetes has been advocated. The American Diabetes Association recommends not only good glycemic control but also identification and aggressive treatment of associated cardiovascular risk factors, with more stringent target levels for lipids and blood pressure than those recommended for the general population. Studies have shown that an intensified and goal-oriented approach to the treatment of type 2 diabetes addressing tight glucose control, optimal lipid and blood pressure management and the use of antiplatelet agents like aspirin reduces cardiovascular events, as well as nephropathy, retinopathy, and neuropathy.

Modelling error estimation and adaptive modelling of perforated materials

AbstractTraditional computational analyses of perforated materials, much like traditional computational analyses of heterogeneous materials, involve the use of homogenization, using either the assumption of periodicity or the assumption of statistical homogeneity. Recently, Oden and Vemaganti (Journal of Computational Physics 2000; 164:22–47) have proposed a goal‐oriented approach to the modelling of heterogeneous multi‐phase linearly elastic materials that does not rely on such idealized situations. In this approach, the mathematical model is adaptively selected based on estimates of the modelling error: the error resulting from the smearing out of rapidly varying material moduli. The approach is said to be goal‐oriented because the adaptive process is driven by local estimates of modelling error in quantities of interest to the analyst, instead of global estimates. We extend this goal‐oriented adaptive approach to the case of perforated domains composed of linearly elastic materials. Toward this end, new global and local bounds on modelling errors resulting from homogenization of perforated materials are developed. A representative numerical experiment is presented. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Defining goals in a COTS‐aware requirements engineering approach

AbstractThe goals of developing systems better, faster, and cheaper continue to drive software engineering practitioners and researchers to investigate software engineering methodologies. In requirements engineering, the focus has traditionally been on modeling the software engineering process and products for systems that are being built from scratch. As the size and complexity of systems continues to grow the use of commercial off the shelf (COTS) components is being viewed as a solution. Effective use of COTS components, however, requires a systematic approach that provides both a set of concepts for modeling the subject matter and a set of guidelines for using such concepts. In particular, the process needs to recognize and address the people oriented problems including the identification and resolution of conflicting goals, bridging the gaps between stated requirements and “approximately fitting” components while still satisfying the customer. In this paper, we present a goal and agent oriented requirements engineering process model that explicitly addresses the use of COTS components. More specifically, we present (part of) our model for a COTS‐Aware Requirements Engineering (CARE) process and illustrate it using a Digital Library System (DLS). © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Syst Eng 7: 61–83, 2004

Campus-Based Geographic Learning: A Field Oriented Teaching Scenario

The use of field classes and the need for university master planning are presented as a way to enhance learning. This field-oriented, goal-oriented approach to learning is proposed as a general model for university-level geographic education. This approach is presented for physical geography classes, but could also be applied to other subdivisions of geography Student performance in geographic skills appears to be improved by this approach.

Development of Integrated Pest Management Programs for the Red Imported Fire Ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)1

The historic development of integrated pest management (IPM) approaches or programs for the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta Buren, are discussed. Initial attempts to eradicate this species in the U.S. failed. In the early 1980′s site-specific, goal-oriented approaches were developed by adapting IPM concepts to fire ant problem areas. These programs have evolved over time and, more recently, the concept of managing fire ants on an area-wide or community-wide basis has been demonstrated. Currently, efforts are being made to investigate biological control agents to develop biologically-intensive IPM programs.

Risk-Based Principles for Oil Spill Response (OSR) System Design

ABSTRACT Russia is today starting to go for oil and gas offshore. After a history of serious oil spills on land, the situation regarding Oil Spill Response (OSR) in Russia has become rather complicated and several “confusing” Russian Government Decrees were issued. These Decrees require a potential polluter to justify to Regulators that it has allocated sufficient OSR capability to “localize” any spills of a prescribed amount (e.g. 1500 t for any marine terminal) within 4 hours offshore and 6 hours onshore. This requirement can be completely unrealistic in some circumstances. However, in the design of an OSR system, one can provide a satisfactory justification of sufficiency on the basis of some newly established risk engineering principles, which allow one to re-interpret the requirements of the Decrees in a rational manner. These OSR design principles have been developed on the basis of Quantitative Risk Analysis (QRA), in line with modern HSE Management System goal-oriented approaches. In QRA, oil spill source terms (amount spilled, discharge rate) are not prescribed, but calculated for each spill scenario. Moreover, QRA naturally leads to a logical basis for defining Tier 1 & Tier 2 design oil spill accidents. It is recommended that Areas of Special Value (ASV) be defined (with the agreement of regional administrations) as the targets of protection, thus establishing the goal for OSR operations and introducing a natural measure of performance of the OSR system. Thus to design an OSR system means to define the minimum OSR capability which would prevent design oil spills from reaching any ASV.

Using a course-long theme for inquiry-based laboratories in a comparative physiology course.

I developed an inquiry-based laboratory model that uses a central theme throughout the semester to develop in undergraduate biology majors the skills required for conducting science while introducing them to modern and classical physiological techniques. The physiology laboratory uses a goal-oriented approach, with students working cooperatively in small groups to answer basic biological questions. The student teams work to develop skills associated with experimental design, data analysis, written and oral communication, science literacy, and critical thinking. The laboratory curriculum is a research-based model that offers the advantage of students asking open-ended questions by use of a variety of techniques. For the students and instructor alike, this presents an exciting and challenging approach for learning physiology and basic biological principles. Another advantage of this laboratory model is that it is flexible and adaptable; the central theme can be any that the instructor chooses, and the goals and techniques developed are based on student and instructor needs and interests. Students who have completed this model at Loyola College in Maryland have become equipped with the skills essential for any area of the biological sciences and, most importantly, showed elevated excitement and commitment to learning.

Power reforms in India – the search for an indigenous model for promoting competition

Indian power sector reforms have reached a stage from where further progress appears bleak due to the following major problems: the slow rate of addition to power generating capacity; the lack of noticeable improvement in the governance, management and level of service to consumers; the failure of efforts to induct the private sector into distribution; the inability to find a solution to the problem of subsidised supply of power to agriculturists; the chaotic condition of governance of LT distribution with, inter alia, the level of TD the rationalisation or rebalancing of tariffs becoming a losing game because the average cost of supply increases faster than the possible rates of increase of tariffs; and the deficits accumulated over the years imposing an unbearable interest burden limiting the capacity to raise funds in the commercial market. A normative goal-oriented approach was adopted with the objectives of availability, accessibility and affordability to address these issues in a recent paper by the author entitled “Towards a people's plan for power sector reform” which was inspired by the recognition that power sector reforms were a failure because of inadequate appreciation of the objectives of reform. Since the resulting presentation was primarily socio-economic in character, it needed to be elaborated with arguments that would be familiar to professionals from the energy community in general and the power sector in particular. Such an elaboration is the purpose of this paper which articulates corrective actions as part of a totally revised reform programme that would attempt to “remedy” comprehensively all the above problems. The paper then explores the content and feasibility of such a totally revised reform programme with particular reference to the state of Karnataka.

Long-term assessment of waste management options--a new, integrated and goal-oriented approach.

Selected waste management scenarios were evaluated with regard to the goals of the Austrian Waste Management Act, taking into account long-term environmental protection and resource conservation as well as costs. Municipal solid waste (MSW) and sewage sludge have been chosen as the system inputs. The scenarios were compared to the status-quo scenario by combining Material Flow Analysis (MFA) and economic evaluation methods. Both, welfare-oriented Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) and Modified Cost-Effectiveness Analysis (MCEA) were applied for this assessment. Unlike CBA, MCEA takes into consideration long-term impacts of landfilled material in non-monetary terms. The results of the CBA correspond to those of the MCEA. Both evaluation methods confirm: If long-term effects are taken into account with the same weight irrespective of when they occur, the Austrian goals of waste management are reached more efficiently by thermal waste treatment scenarios than by mechanical-biological treatment scenarios or by landfilling without pre-treatment.

A goal-oriented approach to identify and engineer land use systems

This paper describes a formalized approach to identify and engineer future-oriented land use systems. Such land use systems can be used to explore options for strategic decision making with respect to land use policy and to do ex-ante assessment of land use alternatives to be further tested or developed in experimental settings. The so-called goal-oriented approach consists of three steps: (1) goal-oriented identification and design of land use systems; (2) quantification of biophysical production possibilities; and (3) defining the optimal mix of inputs, i.e. the production technique, required to realize production possibilities. The goal-oriented identification and design depends on the land-related objectives of a system under study, whereas plant, animal and environmental characteristics determine biophysical production possibilities. Characteristics of the production technique determine the realization of production possibilities. General guidelines are given to structure the specification and number of alternatives to be explored and to apply agro-ecological principles required for quantification of future-oriented land use systems. Concepts of the approach are illustrated with data from the northern Atlantic zone of Costa Rica and the Sudano–Sahelian zone of Mali. Finally, suggestions are given for the application of the approach at spatial and temporal scales exceeding the field level and time horizon of 1 year.

Managing Spasticity in People With Multiple Sclerosis: A Goal-Oriented Approach to Intrathecal Baclofen Therapy

ABSTRACT The effectiveness of intrathecal baclofen therapy (ITB) in the management of severe spasticity in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) was reviewed retrospectively. The multidisciplinary team reviewed the medical, therapy, and nursing notes of 19 people with MS who were treated with ITB. The audited information included surgical procedures, postoperative complications, medical side effects, dose requirements, and multidisciplinary input. Seventeen people were included in the audit. A total of 23 problems and 34 functional goals as objects for ITB treatment were recorded. Eighty-seven percent of the patients had sustained improvement in at least one problem, and 79% in at least one goal. Only two patients had no sustained improvement in any problem or goal. These results suggest that ITB can be an effective intervention in people with severe spasticity in MS. However, this approach requires careful patient selection, a dynamic goal-oriented approach, expert implantation, and ongoing evaluation of individual responses to treatment over time. (Int J MS Care. 2001; 3(4): 10–21)

END-OF-LIFE DECISIONS IN CANCER CARE

End-of-life decisions in critically ill patients with cancer are often complex and fraught with emotion. End-of-life care involves a multidisciplinary approach that takes into account the patient and family's desires and the goals of therapy. Decisions regarding the use of life-support technology at the end of life encompass an outcomes and goal-oriented approach. Ethical, medical, legal, and economic issues should be considered in the assessment of life-support technologies and directives for their appropriate use in the ICU.

Towards intelligent decision support systems for emergency managers: the IDA approach

The paper presents ENEA's next step towards the development of Intelligent Decision Support Systems (IDSS) for large-scale industrial and territorial emergencies. The prototype IDA (Intelligent Decision Advisor) for emergency management in an oil port is analysed as a test case. The work was performed under the national R&D MICA project and specifically ENEA's long-term strategic MINDES Program synchronised with indications of the worldwide GEMINI (Global Emergency Management Information Network Initiative) of the G7 Committee. IDA is an approach in designing intelligent agent-based kernels of IDSS. In the frame of the generic TOGA (Top-down Object-based Goal-oriented Approach) model of abstract intelligent agents, IPK (Information, Preferences, Knowledge) architecture was employed. The specific IDA objectives were to develop and verify the properties of an information-managed agent and a knowledge managed agent, where the latter should suggest an action or plan after every new significant event in the emergency domain. The IDA functional kernel is composed of three simple agents a DirectAdvisor, which interacts with the human user and emergency domain, an InfoProvider, which manages information and intervention goals and an IDAPlanner, which plans adequate interventions. For the design, UML (Unified Modelling Language) has been employed. MDP (Markov Decision Process) and CBR (Case-Based Reasoning) are used for planning crisis management actions. Owing to a generic agent model and object-based conceptualisation, the IDA system should be adaptable to the different roles of emergency managers. The obtained results confirm the IPK conceptualisation hypothesis and provide a concrete technological experience for the next step towards high-intelligent DSSs for the management of emergencies.