Informal Techniques Research Articles

Deconstructing Mediation: A Case Study of theCodWars

In this study,Iexplore the mediation techniques used by an international organization (IO) to settle an international crisis. Specifically,Ihave focused on the use of formal and informal techniques with a case study of theNorthAtlanticTreatyOrganization's (NATO) mediation during theCodWars betweenIceland and theUnitedKingdom. My analysis indicates that a combination of both formal and informal mediation techniques was instrumental in resolving theCodWars conflict. Further research would clarify whether this finding can be generalized to other cases ofNATOmediation and interventions of third parties in addition toNATO.

The Effect of Formal and Informal Contracting Mechanisms on Implementation Performance in the U.S. Federalist System

The relationship between contract management capacity and implementation success in local government contracting is well established. However, less is known about how specific contract mechanisms are linked to this success. This study uses implementation of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program to examine the use of formal and informal contract management techniques in the implementation of energy projects. The use of formal contract mechanisms, such as full and open competitive bidding, contact rescission and outcome-based performance measures, exhibits a statistically significant effect on implementation performance. The findings advance contracting theory and have practical implications for local government contracting and implementation success in fiscal federalism.

Scholarly communication trends in the digital age

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to investigate scholars’ attitudes toward informal publishing and dissemination to provide a view of the challenges and advantages of using such channels. Although considerable research has been carried out in relation to peer-reviewed scholarly publishing, relatively few studies have investigated the adoption of informal scholarly communication platforms in the scholarly publishing process.Design/methodology/approach– The paper deployed a grounded theory approach using semi-structured interviews as a qualitative research tool. A theoretical sample of 40 researchers in 4 universities were interviewed to gather data regarding informal publishing, platforms, factors that affect the researchers’ decision and the use of informal channels in dissemination.Findings– Results of the interviews suggest that there is an increasing trend among researchers toward informal publishing and dissemination throughout the scholarly communication cycle. The paper shows that there are three types of scholars who are involved in the scholarly communication process: conventional, modern and liberal scholars. Each of these scholars carries different beliefs regarding the scholarly communication process.Research limitations/implications– This paper was conducted on a relatively small sample of academic researchers, and therefore, the results cannot be easily generalized into a wider community of scholars.Originality/value– The paper provides insight into informal scholarly publishing practices using a grounded theory approach. This approach helped to capture the changes in both scholarly publishing practices and the adoption of informal techniques among the scholarly community.

Formal verification and validation of a movement control actor relocation algorithm for safety–critical applications

Wireless sensor and actor networks (WSAN) are captivating significant attention because of their suitability for safety---critical applications. Efficient actor placement in such applications is extremely desirable to perform effective and timely action across the deployment region. Nonetheless, harsh application environment inherently favors random placement of actors that leads to high concentration deployment and strangles coverage. Moreover, most of the published schemes lack rigorous validation and entirely rely on informal techniques (e.g., simulation) for evaluating nonfunctional properties of algorithms. This paper presents a localized movement control actor relocation (MCAR) algorithm that strives to improve connected coverage while minimizing movement overhead. MCAR pursues post-deployment actor repositioning in such a way that actors repel each other for better coverage while staying connected. We employ complementary formal and informal techniques for MCAR verification and validation. We model WSAN as a dynamic graph and transform MCAR to corresponding formal specification using Z notation. The resulting specification is analyzed and validated using Z eves tool. We simulate the specification to quantitatively demonstrate the efficiency of MCAR. Simulation results confirm the efficiency of MCAR in terms of movement overhead and connected coverage compared to contemporary schemes. The results show that MCAR can reduce distance movement up to 32 % while improving coverage up to 29 % compared to published schemes.

Emerging Trends of Acquisition in Public Libraries of Pakistan: Challenges and Issues

Acquiring material in public libraries is a core library activity to fulfill the unique needs of the reader's community. The present study aims to explore the trends of monograph acquisition in public libraries. The population consists of the four major public libraries of Lahore. A case study approach has been used to achieve the objectives of the study. Research is based on primarily the personal visits of the researcher to the acquisition departments of these libraries in order to collect data. Structured interviews were carried out with acquisition librarians to investigate the process of purchasing. The analysis of data reveals that a high ratio of Urdu language books has been purchased during the last decade, literature and religion being the major purchase area, whereas, art and architecture, pure sciences, and languages are the most neglected. The findings further revealed that the studied libraries have primarily been using traditional and informal techniques for acquiring material.

Interrelationships between theory and research impact

Purpose – Of late within the UK, government funded research has emphasised “impact” as a prerequisite for financial support, while the Research Excellence Framework (REF) now also includes impact as an assessment criterion. The purpose of this paper is to investigate perceptions of the construction management research (CMR) community on “impact”, especially, in relation to its possible future interrelationships with theory generation and development, research design and research outputs. Design/methodology/approach – A mixed methods design employs a structured questionnaire survey of CMR academics to collect numeric (scaled) and qualitative (narrative) data. These are analysed using graphical, descriptive statistical and informal content analysis techniques to examine perceptions and inference. Findings – There is a self-reported high understanding of impact and theory as separate concepts, but variance among perceptions as to their interrelationships. In addition, there is greater acceptance of the role of impact relating to research grants, but less so in relation to the REF. Respondents were ambivalent regarding possible effects, that an increasing emphasis on impact may have for the future. There was “slight agreement” that impact was good for CMR and, that existing theory must always be considered in research design. Research limitations/implications – The contribution of this study adds empirical evidence to the ongoing debate regarding the “emerging” role of research impact within the UK; to some extent generally, and with respect to the CMR community more specifically. Originality/value – The empirical findings are entirely novel.

Computer-aided discovery of formal specification behavioral requirements and requirement to implementation mappings

This paper presents two computer-aided techniques for discovering formal specification behavioral requirements and for mapping components and methods within an implementation to their driving requirements. The first technique is an informal technique while the second technique is formal. The first technique uses a system reference model abstraction and a set of existing formal specifications to discover implementation components that are not well covered by the formal specification set. This technique also provides a mapping between requirements and code segments driven by those requirements. The second technique uses a bounded constraint solver to match a set of tests with a generic formal specification taken from a small library.

Business rules in knowledge management and in information systems - methodology of mining business rules and knowledge

Every organisation works according to principles which define business logic that controls all business processes. However, lot of basic rules of business logic are hidden in companies’ guidelines and directives, in informal techniques of experts, processes owners and specialists. The aim of all managers should be a replacement of this incoherent set of information by set of clear and unambiguous terms which describe the way the company is controlled from inside. This notion is a ground of control and administration of business knowledge.Contemporary practises in development of informational systems demand openness and availability to correspond to constant changes. With the complexity of information system grows the amount of work and its level of difficulty. The rules of business logic are transferred to application logic and implemented into a source code. Therefore, change of the business rule needs change of the code. This means compilation or replacement of the code. Adoption of this new approach would mean more effective possibilities in adjustment of the information systems to environment dynamics thanks to the change of the rules. The article deals with mining methods and subsequent structure of business rules for easier implementation into information system. Business rules base is at the same time business knowledge base which can serve for different purposes then development and use of information systems.

A Framework for a BIM-based Knowledge Management System

Knowledge is generated in projects throughout the design and construction processes in Architecture/Engineering/Construction (AEC) projects. The management of this knowledge has been implemented by various firms in AEC the industry through the development of lessons learned databases, best practices, project closeout interviews, communities of practice and various other informal techniques. In the traditional project processes which don’t use building information modeling, the data generated through the project life cycle is typically stored in a fragmented manner in multiple formats. This makes it difficult to capture, catalog and disseminate the knowledge present in the data effectively. The objective of the research study described in this paper was to identify the ways in which Building Information Models can be used for effective Knowledge Management. Building Information Models are data-rich, object-based, intelligent and parametric digital representations of building structures. In this research, we hypothesize that the parametric models used in building information modeling can provide a centralized global context to the information stored therein and thus be an effective tool as a knowledge store; provide support other knowledge management processes. In this paper, we present a method to capture knowledge during the design and construction processes using the parametric, object oriented nature of the BIM models; extract the stored knowledge from the BIM models; present a framework for classification and dissemination of the knowledge. Finally, we present a framework to enable the use of Building Information Models to support the organization wide Knowledge Management processes.

English

As part of an ethnobotanical exploration among the Berbers of Marmoucha in the Middle Atlas in Morocco, a floristic analysis is conducted to inventory the existing plants and assess the extent of plant diversity in this area. Located in the eastern part of the Middle Atlas, the Marmoucha is characterized by the presence of various ecosystems ranging from oak and juniperus forests to alfa steppes and altitude cold areas with thorny plants. The fieldwork was conducted over the five years 2008-2012 using surveys and informal techniques. The results show that the number of species recorded in Marmoucha is 514 distributed over 83 families and 323 genera, representing 13.1%, 54% and 30% of species, families and genera at the national level, respectively. With 92 species, the Asteraceae is the richest family, representing 18% of the total reported in the Marmoucha local flora. In second and third places, the two richest families are the Poaceae and the Fabaceae, respectively. From a comparative perspective, the ranking of the eight richest families of the local flora in relation to their position in the national flora reveals a significant match between the positions at local and national levels with slight ranking differences except in the case of the Rosaceae and the Caryophyllaceae. The Asteraceae count 26% of the 50 identified endemic plants in Marmoucha. In Morocco, the Asteraceae holds the first place in terms of species richness and the third in terms of endemic plants with a rate of 24%. With respect to the genera level, local endemism roughly reflects national endemism, with at least one species in four of the five genera rich in endemics (Ononis, Teucrium, Astragalus, and Centaurea). There are 40 species and subspecies considered rare or endangered, distributed in 16 families. With 11 species, the Asteraceae represents 28% of the total of inventoried rare and endangered species. Marmoucha’s floristic heritage is characterized by high diversity and significant importance of endemic, rare, and endangered species. Available information on these species is scarce to inexistent and can be classified among the least studied and least known plants. Therefore, it is imperative to pay further attention to these plants for conservation purposes and if a red list is to be developed in Morocco, it is not inappropriate to begin with these species.

Uses, Beliefs, and Conservation of Turtles by Ashaninka Indigenous People, Central Peru

Abstract We used informal conservation and focus group techniques to gather information in 2 Ashaninka communities in Pichis River valley, central Peru. We found that turtles were mainly used as food, although some medicinal and supernatural uses were also reported. Locals demonstrated a comprehensive knowledge on the underlying causes of contemporary reductions in turtle abundance within their territory; their spiritual beliefs, including taboos on catching turtles, and those relating to supernatural or sacred sites caused them to avoid hunting and fishing in some wetlands.

Assessing the Value of Formal Control Mechanisms on Strong Password Selection

Applications often use behavior control mechanisms in order to ensure that individuals create sufficiently strong passwords. Behavior controls, which force individuals to utilize specific password characteristics, are assumed to be the best mechanism to encourage strong password creation. However, an over reliance on them could lead to counterproductive security behaviors. This study examines the efficacy of formal controls in the password creation process to determine if their use does indeed result in meaningfully stronger passwords than informal control techniques. Findings demonstrate that controls used during the password creation process do indeed shape password strength, but that behavior controls do not produce significantly stronger passwords than informal controls. Using an Agency Theory perspective, control techniques are considered in their ability to align principal-agent goal and risk perceptions. Findings illustrate the importance of using both informal and formal controls as a means of creating strong and effective passwords.

Verifying Properties of Scenarios with Fixed Points

During the requirements elicitation phase a software engineer tries to determine what the customer really wants (and needs.) This task requires, on the one hand, strong communication skills and, on the other hand, a good engineering background to construct a coherent set of requirements. There is a thus a conflict informal and formal techniques. Scenarios are a powerful communication tool and may be given a formal semantics so that they may be amenable to formal verification. We present a method to verifying properties of scenarios based on fixed points of predicate transformers. This work is adapted from an approach that had been originally proposed by Sifakis for transition systems. Scenarios are modelled in a similar way to Diijkstras guarded commands.

A Survey of Safety Analysis Techniques for Safety Critical Systems

This paper is mainly focused on the study of the techniques available for the safety analysis of critical systems. It is never possible to build a completely safe system. There is a possibility to bring the behavior of these systems within acceptable limits. For safety evaluation of such systems both formal and informal techniques are available. Both techniques have their own prospects and consequences. Informal techniques are simpler to learn and easier to interpret and have more space for creativity and imagination of the analyst. Formal techniques due to their rigorousness ensure completeness. In this paper, we have analyzed both techniques after defining few parameters. Our study found it that formal techniques are better but usage of informal techniques can never be overlooked. Some approaches combine formal and informal techniques to reap the benefits of both. In some cases, informal techniques can be used as pre-requisite to narrow down the input of minimal critical set for formal techniques and reduce the effort required for formalization of the entire system.

Informal group intervention technique to promote a healthy dietary habit in adults

Introduction: Healthy dietary habit is one of the important factors in the maintenance of good health. A study was conducted to determine the effect of informal discussion to motivate adults toward healthy eating. Materials and Methods: Healthy dietary habits were discussed informally with the help of Dietary Guidelines for Indians published by National Institute of Nutrition, to an individual group in Tamil Nadu at least for 3 hours ( n = 42 in 3 groups). After 1 year of these informal discussions, without in-between follow-ups, a telephone interview (informal) was conducted to the participants individually ( n = 31) to determine the changes in their eating behavior. Results and Discussion: About 68% of the participants interviewed reduced the quantity of rice intake as a result of informal discussion, and 42% of the participants shared their learning with other people. The changes in eating behavior were significantly higher in females than in males. Participants living in urban areas made more changes in eating behaviors than in rural areas. Similarly more changes in dietary habits were observed among participants with postgraduate qualifications than with higher secondary qualification. Conclusion: This informal intervention approach has great potential to change the eating behavior toward healthy diet in India and other developing countries. However different strategies may be required for the people with different educational and economical background.

Novice Academic Librarians Provide Insight into Choosing Their Careers, Graduate School Education, and First Years on the Job

Novice Academic Librarians Provide Insight into Choosing Their Careers, Graduate School Education, and First Years on the Job

Hope for Catching Alzheimer’s Early

Hope for Catching Alzheimer’s Early

Review: Koolhaas HouseLife by Ila Bêka, Louise Lemoîne; Gehry's Vertigo by Ila Bêka, Louise Lemoîne

Ila Beka and Louise Lemoine , directors, Koolhaas HouseLife . BekaFilms, Paris, 2008, HDV and DVD, 58 min., with book, 200 pp. BekaFilms, www.koolhaashouselife.com €65, http://www.koolhaashouselife.com/html/buy.html Ila Beka and Louise Lemoine , directors, Gehry's Vertigo . BekaFilms, Paris, 2008, HDV and DVD, 60 min., release forthcoming, trailer http://www.living-architectures.com/html/trailers.html In their documentary film series Living Architectures , Ila Beka and Louise Lemoine capture the intimacy of daily life within five icons of contemporary architecture.1 Each project was designed by a “star” architect and past winner of the Pritzker Prize, which is given to celebrate the “art of architecture” and “its impact on human behavior.”2 The filmmakers are intrigued by the latter, and rather than feature the buildings themselves, they treat the architecture as a background for the action taking place within and around it. Erasing the split between art and life, commingling the formal and the social, these documentaries chronicle the events within a house, an office, a church, a refectory, and a museum. Those events include the mundane tasks of upkeep and cleaning in Koolhaas HouseLife (2008), worship in Xmas Meier , celebrating the harvest with a party in Pomerol (2010), touring the office in Inside Piano (2010), and window washing in Gehry's Vertigo (2010). By foregrounding the action, the documentaries portray the architecture through the events. Their ambition is not to demonstrate academic expertise or to present a matter-of-fact account with the interjections by authority figures or scholars—none of whom appear here—but to convey an everyday view of these exceptional buildings. To do this, the filmmakers use informal filming techniques such as handheld cameras standing in close to human subjects, who offer refreshingly unscripted and spontaneous conversations while obscuring the architecture. This presentation of contemporary architecture with all of its imperfections marks a significant shift in the ideology of representation from a collection of fixed, beautiful, and flawless photographs of buildings without life to the buildings’ messy and actual reality. These films reintroduce the figure in a way that deepens a view into the discipline of architecture by engaging a recent anxiety—the problem of post-occupancy …

Promoting young people’s spiritual well‐being through informal education

This paper introduces the context for young people in the United Kingdom today, identifies some of the key factors associated with well‐being, and then focuses on ways spiritual well‐being can be promoted through informal education. Informal education is the widely acknowledged primary pedagogical approach for professional youth workers. Using informal education techniques, youth workers can seek to enhance young people’s well‐being in general and spiritual well‐being in particular. Suggestions and examples from practice which build on this theoretical base are then explored.

“A list” instructional design

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to outline an updated, six‐point model for instructional design which takes account of modern delivery trends in learning, such as informal and workflow e‐learning.Design/methodology/approachThe model is based on empirical research carried out over at least 20 years.FindingsThe paper finds that to adhere to the modern goal of aligning learning with business strategy, we need to predict the needs of the user and select the most useful content and delivery techniques. Until now, the instructional design model for informal and workflow e‐learning did not exist. Learners must be engaged by the learning programme/materials they are using. Learning modules should be narrowly focused to a single learning point. The learning content must be up‐to‐date and always retrievable. Learners must be motivated to use the new information they are being given via the learning materials. The effectiveness of learning materials is enhanced by the designer finding and exploiting something in the piece of learning that is significant to the learners and will affect them emotionally. Learners organise what they know through meaning and association; so, to get people to learn, we have to entice them – via building associations from what they know now to what we are going to teach them. Informal learning modules and workflow learning techniques do not always require delivery via a learning management system. Speed of access to learning materials is now an issue for users.Originality/valueThis paper explores a new – and augmented – model of instructional design which applies particularly to the design of e‐learning materials (which were unknown to the “key” instructional design gurus).