Problem-solving Logic Research Articles

A TRIZ-inspired knowledge-driven approach for user-centric smart product-service system: A case study on intelligent test tube rack design

With the advancement of information and communication technologies, smart product-service system (PSS) has attracted increasing research attention to integrate diverse providers/stakeholders and deliver value-added services. Many studies have thusly been conducted to design and develop the smart PSS, while i) how to identify multi-source requirements through reviewing the entire service interaction cycle, ii) how to define and deduce the innovative smart connected products (SCPs) features under contradictory interests, and iii) how to specify the functional and data service configuration solutions are still unclear. To tackle these problems, a knowledge-driven approach was introduced to better organize the multi-source design knowledge and deduce service recommendations for personalized user demands. Specifically, a user journey map-based method was proposed for knowledge elicitation of the specific user demands. To organize the user knowledge for better understanding, hierarchical personalized user requirements (PURs) analytics were proposed to quantitively transfer PURs into proper design engineering parameters. To inspire the problem-solving logic for design solution generation, TRIZ inventive principles were retrieved and referred to. With the generated design concept, the service logic diagrams were structured to define the personalized service content of SCPs. Having the service logic and SCPs, the overall service network of the user-centric smart PSS can be outlined. The proposed approach was demonstrated and validated in the digital health area via a case study on smart test tube rack (STTR) design, and it was validated from an economic feasibility perspective. It showed that the STTR was promising to reduce manual work, improve the nurses' performance, and enhance patients’ medical experience. Furthermore, it was suggested that the proposed approach can effectively guide the innovative SCPs creation in a straightforward and instructive manner, and is promising to process the service solution deduction and improve the efficiency of service creation in real practice.

Penguatan Pembekalan Kemampuan Pemrograman Dasar bagi Pelajar Sekolah Menengah Umum

Basic programming training that teaches problem-solving logic has developed at all ages, from kindergarten, elementary school to higher education age. This happens because at this time, the concept of computing or informatics thinking has been considered to be a basic requirement in everyday life. Various forms of learning the concept of informatics thinking, are designed according to the user's age group so that users can enjoy it. In the community service activities carried out this time, the target of basic programming training is Public High School students, which are open to all schools in Indonesia. This activity was implemented during the Covid-19 pandemic, so this activity was carried out online in the form of a bootcamp through the Zoom meeting application regularly in one month, which was led as a team by a lecturer and several teaching assistants. This training does not stop at delivering material and demonstrations from lecturers but also training assistance conducted by teaching assistants. The material in this training uses the Python programming language. Python was chosen to be used in the training, because currently Python is a programming language that is widely used for simple to complex programming such as data mining and machine learning. Participants can access training materials through the Learning Management System created by Universitas Surabaya to support the dissemination of knowledge to the wider community through the Ubaya Global Academy) platform. Based on the evaluation of the activities carried out before and after the activity was carried out, this activity is considered to provide benefits and can be carried out regularly every year and has follow-up classes.

Problem-solving for problem-solving: Data analytics to identify families for service intervention

The article draws on Bacchi’s ideas about problematisation (2020) and links to technological solutionism as governing logics of our age, to explore the double-faceted problem-solving logic operating in the UK family policy and early intervention field. Families with certain characteristics are identified as problematic, and local authorities are tasked with intervening to fix that social problem. Local authorities thus need to identify these families for problem-solving intervention, and data analytics companies will solve that problem for them. In the article, we identify discourses of transmitted deprivation and anti-social behaviour in families and the accompanying costly public sector burden as characteristics that produce families as social problems, and discursive themes around delivering powerful knowledge, timeliness and economic efficiently in data analytic companies’ problem solving claims for their data linkage and predictive analytics systems. These discursive rationales undergird the double-faceted problem-solving for problem-solving logic that directs attention away from complex structural causes.

Gli «effetti» della tradizione. Trasmutazioni dell’architettura storica nell’opera di Carlo Mollino

“As Daniele Vitale wrote, the elements of historical Alpine tradition seem to be, for Mollino, “pretexts” for an exploration and formal manipulation that seeks its ways and directions. Rural architecture is therefore seen not as the bearer of an “objective rationality”, but as a set of materials that, thanks to the design interpretation, determines unprecedented fields of value. The process that characterizes many of his mountain works rarely follows the linear logic of problem solving but is characterized by a deviation that creates a new value space, a gap that distances it from the outcome considered as a consequential act. Let us think of the device of recovery and distortion of archetypes and conventional configurations of the historical tradition, which become a pretext for reinterpretations that generate new tectonic and formal meanings. Let us consider also their disassembly and reassembly to understand their constructive relationships, static configurations, tectonic logics, which were reused in the creation of his design devices; or the metamorphic and metasemic transmutations of some constructive figures exasperated to the point that, from being part of a whole, they are amplified and hyperbolized until they coincide with the overall architectural configuration. The essay, by retracing some of Carlo Mollino’s numerous projects developed in the Alpine area and some of his main built works, tries to identify some of the conceptual devices employed in his mountain construction site.”

QLens: Visual Analytics of MUlti-step Problem-solving Behaviors for Improving Question Design.

With the rapid development of online education in recent years, there has been an increasing number of learning platforms that provide students with multi-step questions to cultivate their problem-solving skills. To guarantee the high quality of such learning materials, question designers need to inspect how students' problem-solving processes unfold step by step to infer whether students' problem-solving logic matches their design intent. They also need to compare the behaviors of different groups (e.g., students from different grades) to distribute questions to students with the right level of knowledge. The availability of fine-grained interaction data, such as mouse movement trajectories from the online platforms, provides the opportunity to analyze problem-solving behaviors. However, it is still challenging to interpret, summarize, and compare the high dimensional problem-solving sequence data. In this paper, we present a visual analytics system, QLens, to help question designers inspect detailed problem-solving trajectories, compare different student groups, distill insights for design improvements. In particular, QLens models problem-solving behavior as a hybrid state transition graph and visualizes it through a novel glyph-embedded Sankey diagram, which reflects students' problem-solving logic, engagement, and encountered difficulties. We conduct three case studies and three expert interviews to demonstrate the usefulness of QLens on real-world datasets that consist of thousands of problem-solving traces.

Small Environmental Actions Need of Problem-Solving Approach: Applying Project Management Tools to Beach Litter Clean-Ups

Clean-ups can be considered real conservation actions since beach litter may impact many ecosystem components. However, although these actions are quite easy to carry out, we think that they need to follow specific criteria and clear planning. Contrariwise, an unplanned clean-up could lead to counter-productive—or even harmful—consequences to the fragile dune ecosystem; e.g., excessive trampling and/or extreme sand removal. Here, we defined a road map for implementing beach clean-ups according to the logic of problem solving and project management, also adding a flow chart. More particularly, we subdivided the clean-up project into different steps as follows: context analysis, input and planning, process, monitoring (outputs and outcomes) and adaptation.

The impact of ABC costing systems to solve managerial cost problems: a real improvement, a fad or a fashion?

One of the main problems of management profession is that there is not yet a corpus of theories and knowledge that can assist professionals to take adequate choices for solving the problems they actually have. Initially, we can assume that the inherent reasons for the explosion and diffusion of ABC are that these systems improve the efficiency of the selected strategy. However, a significant number of failures reveal a situation that can be attributed to other potential reasons, for instance a bad implementation. The existence of this paradox, lead us to investigate alternatives reasons for the diffusion of ABC. We show that there are alternative reasons for the diffusion of ABC, which may be a “fad logic” rather than a “problem solving logic” that we think should dominate management. We also argue that ABC systems are not introducing a revolutionary improvement in terms of the conceptualization of costs, as ABC is simply a way of using a full cost approach with a different conception of a cost center. Then, it can be useful mainly in cases where the decisions to be made can be better made using a full cost instead of other cost measures.

Clinical Research - Fieldwork Perspective on Ramp-up Management Studies

This paper is about the logic of problem solving and the production of scientific knowledge through the utilisation of clinical research perspective. Ramp-up effectiveness, productivity, efficiency and organizational excellence are topics that continue to engage research and will continue doing so for years to come. This paper seeks to provide insights into ramp-up management studies through providing an agenda for conducting collaborative clinical research and extend this area by proposing how clinical research could be designed and executed in the Ramp- up management setting.

Understanding mental health intervention and assessment within a multi-tiered framework: Contemporary science, practice, and policy.

This special topic section features research regarding practices that will support mental health service delivery within a school-based multitiered framework. The articles include data and discussions regarding the evaluation of universal, targeted, or intensive intervention addressing mental health concerns and assessment tools intended for use in screening, progress monitoring, or problem identification. The featured interventions and assessment practices are suitable for use within a service delivery model that prioritizes ecological theory, data-based decision making, and problem solving logic. Each article includes a conceptualization of how the intervention/assessment of interest fits into a school-based multitiered framework and information about feasibility and utility of the practice in school-based settings. These articles highlight the use of mental health intervention and assessment within a multitiered problem-solving framework, and will hopefully stimulate interest in and further scholarship on this important topic.

Potential Applications of Carbon Nanotubes and Graphene: Marking the Direction of Scientific Research

Carbon nanotubes and graphene are often regarded as materials with some of the best properties for the development of applications in a wide variety of sectors. Research on carbon nanotubes and graphene leads to an increase in the application of nanotechnologies and prompts higher expectations for the demand of products including these technologies. This paper examines a typology of applications that could be derived from carbon nanotubes and graphene, based on their present stage of applicability.The hypothesis that part of the research on carbon nanotubes and graphene is carried out in response to the “problems or challenges” that arise when putting their applications on the market is examined, following a problem solving logic. In order to address this research, a survey with scientists specialized in research on carbon nanotubes and graphene has been conducted. We aim to identify which are the main problems and challenges posed by the difficulty in producing and applying these nanomaterials, and examine they role they play in setting new orientations for further scientific research.

A Load of Old Garbage: Applying Garbage–Can Theory to Contemporary Housing Policy

This article reviews the applicability of Kingdon’s garbage–can model of agenda setting and alternative specification for understanding the complexities of policy–making in the housing policy context. Garbage–can theories reject conventional ‘policy cycle’ models which envisage policy development processes as rational and underpinned by the logic of problem solving. They posit a loose relationship between problems and the policy solutions offered by national governments. Using an Australian housing policy case study, this article demonstrates the usefulness of Kingdon’s garbage–can theory. A modified framework is used to explain how the policy agenda has become narrowed to focus on safety–net assistance for the most disadvantaged, while housing problems have continued to worsen.

Knowledge systems development in U.S. agriculture

Abstract Knowledge engineering involves simulating the problem solving logic of a human expert, group of experts, or a constructed “expert process.” It is the integration of assimilated information as knowledge with data. This is, in fact, the procedure used in human decision making. The potential capabilities for knowledge engineering to help solve ill-structured agricultural problems where information and data are incomplete has excited many scientists. However, knowledge engineering is in its infancy and is not ready for widespread, economically viable application to commercial agriculture. The state of the art for developing and using agricultural knowledge-based decision support “expert” systems is discussed; representative examples depicting areas that are most promising are presented, and specific examples from the authors' experiences are given. These are followed by comments on commercialization, pitfalls, needed developments, and prognosis.

Development and implementation of a knowledge-based system for the dynamic scheduling of a two-stage production process

Abstract This paper discusses the implementation of a knowledge-based system for the dynamic scheduling of a two-stage production process. It is an interactive, real-time, menu-driven system written in Prolog. The system architecture is delineated and the rules and problem-solving logic to be used under various dynamic situations are described. Results of a sample system test session are included to illustrate its use.

Double Cropping Expert System

ABSTRACT EXPERT systems (ES) hold great potential for pro-viding decision support to agricultural production managers. Developing ES is a difficult process because of the ill-structured nature of agricultural systems. A methodology for developing agriculture-related ES is presented as applied to the double crop winter wheat and soybean domain. Decisions require evaluation of available resources, operational status, managerial abilities and agronomic conditions near the time of soybean planting. The methodology and technology was effective in representing the problem-solving logic of an expert consultant.

The interaction of design hierarchies and market concepts in technological evolution

This paper develops a conceptual framework for analyzing the sequence of technological changes that underlie the development of industries. The framework examines the interaction between design decisions and the coices of customers. Using examples from autos and semiconductors the paper argues that the logic of problem solving in design and the formation of concepts that underlie choice in the marketplace impose a hierarchical structure on the evolution of technology. The nature of the evolutionary process has implications for the dynamics of competition and the management of innovation.

An observation methodology for the study of interactive clinical problem-solving behavior in primary care settings.

A methodology that is adequate for a generalized description of the interactive problem-solving behavior of client and clinician must accommodate all potential types of clinical issues and client-clinician relationships. It must also be applicable to the behavior of the client as well as that of the clinician. Furthermore, behavior must be analyzable in terms of the phase of problem-solving logic that applies at the time the behavior is observed. The development, specifications, structural factors and procedures of administration of an observational methodology that is based on a 7-phase paradigm of verbal problem-solving behavior are described. Acceptable levels of consistency of coding are achievable using the methodology. Coder agreement over all phase categories was 84.8 per cent. Results of 2-way ANOVA procedures showed that the type of clinical encounter observed affected the proportion of data coded in each of the problem-solving phase categories whereas, on the whole, the identity of the coder did not. The methodology may be articulated with other methods for the study of primary care and has both research and instructional applications.