Office Network Research Articles

Robinson (C.H.) Worldwide, Inc.

AbstractMisc. Transportation Services (MIC: 15.4 SIC: 4731 NAIC: 488510)Robinson (C.H.) Worldwide is a global provider of multimodal transportation services and logistics applications, operating through a network of branch offices in North America, Europe, Asia, and South America. Co. is a non‐asset based transportation provider that works with approximately 48,000 transportation companies worldwide. In addition to multimodal transportation services, Co. has two other logistics business lines; Sourcing, which is engaged in buying, selling and marketing fresh produce; and Information Services, which consists of its T‐Chek Systems, Inc. subsidiary, that provides various management and information services to motor carrier companies and to fuel distributors.

A Global ‘Urban Roller Coaster’? Connectivity Changes in the World City Network, 2000–2004

Taylor P. J. and Aranya R. A global ‘urban roller coaster’? Connectivity changes in the world city network, 2000–2004, Regional Studies. A network model is used to assess the nature of change in intercity relations from 2000 to 2004. Data are collected for 2004 on the office networks of the same global service firms that were used to describe global connectivities for 315 cities in 2000. This allows a new cross-sectional geography of connectivities to be produced for 2004, and for changes in connectivities between 2000 and 2004 to be computed. Simple visualization and statistical techniques are used to explore the data. A distinction is made between ‘normal change’ and ‘exceptional change’ and only two cases of the latter are definitely identified: cities in both the USA and sub-Saharan Africa are generally losing global connectivity in relation to the rest of the world. Thus ‘normal change’ predominates and the paper concludes that contemporary intercity change does not correspond to Castells' image of an ‘urban roller coaster’. Taylor P. J. et ARANYA R. Des ‘montagnes russes urbaines’ mondiales? Les changements de la connectivité du réseau de grandes villes à l'échelle mondiale, Regional Studies. On se sert d'un modèle de réseau pour évaluer le caractère du changement dans les rapports intervilles de 2000 à 2004. On recueillit des données pour 2004 auprès des réseaux de bureau pour les services aux entreprises mondialisés qui ont été employés afin de décrire la connectivité mondiale de 315 grandes villes en 2000. Cela permet la réalisation d'une nouvelle géographie transversale de la connectivité pour 2004 et le calcul des changements de la connectivité entre 2000 et 2004. On emploie de simples techniques de visualisation et statistiques pour examiner les données. On fait une distinction entre le ‘changement normal’ et le ‘changement exceptionnel’, et on n'identifie indubitablement que deux cas de ce dernier: en règle générale, les grandes villes aux Etats-Unis et en Afrique-Noire perdent de la connectivité mondiale par rapport au reste du monde. Ainsi, le ‘changement normal’ prédomine et on conclut que le changement interville contemporain ne correspond pas à l'image des ‘montagnes russes urbaines’ d'après Castells. Mondialisation Grandes villes à l'échelle mondiale Réseau de villes à l'échelle mondiale Changement mondial Taylor P. J. und Aranya R. ‘Eine weltweite ,urbane Achterbahn’? Änderungen im Weltstadt-Netzwerk, 2000–04, Regional Studies. Mit Hilfe eines Netzwerkmodells bewerten wir die Art der Veränderungen in zwischenstädtischen Beziehungen im Zeitraum von 2000 bis 2004. Erfasst wurden Daten des Jahres 2004 über die Niederlassungsnetzwerke derselben weltweit tätigen Dienstleistungsfirmen, die im Jahr 2000 zur Beschreibung der weltweiten Verknüpfungen für 315 Städte genutzt wurden. Hierdurch konnte eine neue, sektionsübergreifende Geografie der Verknüpfungen für 2004 erstellt werden, und die Veränderungen der Verknüpfungen zwischen 2000 und 2004 ließen sich berechnen. Zur Analyse der Daten kamen einfache Visualisierungs- und Statistiktechniken zum Einsatz. Unterschieden wurde zwischen einer ,einfachen' und einer ,außergewöhnlichen’ Veränderung; von der letzteren ließen sich nur zwei Fälle definitiv identifizieren: Die Städte in den USA und im subsaharischen Afrika verlieren generell an weltweiten Verknüpfungen im Verhältnis zum Rest der Welt. Die ,normalen' Veränderungen herrschen also vor, und wir ziehen den Schluss, dass zeitgenössische zwischenstädtische Veränderungen nicht Castells' Bild einer ,urbanen Achterbahn' entsprechen. Globalisierung Weltstädte Weltstadt-Netzwerk Globale Veränderung Taylor P. J. y Aranya R. Una ‘montaña rusa urbana’ global? Cambios de conexión en la Red Urbana Mundial, 2000–04, Regional Studies. Con ayuda de un modelo de redes evaluamos la naturaleza de cambio en las relaciones interurbanas de 2000 a 2004. Recogimos datos para 2004 en las redes de oficinas de las mismas empresas de servicios globales que se utilizaron para describir las conexiones mundiales para 315 ciudades en 2000. Esto nos permite crear una nueva geografía transversal de conexiones para 2004 y calcular los cambios en las conexiones entre 2000 y 2004. Para explorar estos datos utilizamos técnicas sencillas de visualización y estadística. Se distingue entre ‘cambio normal’ y ‘cambio excepcional’ y sólo dos casos de este último se han identificado de modo definitivo: las ciudades en los Estados Unidos y en África subsahariana están perdiendo normalmente conexión global con relación al resto del mundo. De este modo predomina el ‘cambio normal’. Terminamos argumentando que el cambio interurbano contemporáneo no se corresponde con la imagen que da Castells de un ‘montaña rusa urbana’. Globalización Ciudades del mundo Red urbana mundial Cambio global

Construct Seamless University Library Office Network System by Using RouterOS

Construct Seamless University Library Office Network System by Using RouterOS

Secondary uses of clinical data in primary care

This paper, presented as a panel at the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) Fall Symposium 2006, explores a number of secondary uses of primary care clinical data derived from point-of-care systems, and the issues arising from those uses. The authors (from the USA and the UK) describe, compare and contrast some secondary uses: pay-for-performance, public disclosure, clinical audit, health resource planning, and clinical system usage; in various environments: national health system, network of small family practice offices, and university teaching centres. In the UK, such data are now being used in pay-for-performance for GPs, and approximately 35% of their salary has been put at risk, which has resulted in close scrutiny. In the USA, pay-for-performance is at an earlier stage but is increasingly prevalent and continues to be hotly debated. Some of the issues that arise from these uses of clinical data - data quality including accuracy, comparability, perverse incentives, effect of secondary uses on care provision, and security and confidentiality among others - were discussed. Finally, options and opportunities for improving secondary uses of data in the light of the issues covered earlier were considered.

Welcome to your office network [indoor GSM coverage

In an auction conducted by the UK telecoms regulator, Ofcom, 12 companies were awarded new radio spectrum in the 1781.7 to 1785 MHz and 1876.7 to 1880 MHz ranges. These companies are BT, Cable & Wireless UK, Colt Mobile Telecommunications, Cyberpress, FMS Solutions, Mapesbury Communications, O2 (UK), Opal Telecom, PLDT (UK), Shyam Telecom UK, Spring Mobil and Teleware. While Ofcom was hoping for diversity in technology and services, many of the license holders are aiming to use the spectrum to provide indoor GSM coverage to enable a private GSM network within an office to integrate with a company's fixed-telephony services.

On the potential of personal networks for hospitals

Objective Today, there are many barriers that prevent seamless electronic voice and data communication with remote content and services that the user wants to access at a certain time and place. This is especially the case in hospitals, where the communication needs are very complex and context dependent, and where strict privacy and safety conditions apply. Personal network (PN) technology is expected to enable the various private networks of a single person to communicate seamlessly with each other, hiding underlying network complexity from the user. We have analyzed the usefulness of PNs in hospitals. Methods We studied the use case of a medical emergency surgery, and built a demonstrator by integrating models of the specialists’ personal area networks, home networks, office networks, and a hospital network into a single virtual network. We performed user studies in various hospitals, using a combination of individual context interviews, scenario and requirements verification, guided experimenting with the demonstrator and concluding workshops. Results We show that, in case of medical emergencies, PNs can provide a means to enlist remote assistance from peers wherever they are in the world at a particular moment. It can also ease the communication between the operating theatre and the outside world, e.g. for educational purposes.

High-performance RF signals transmission in SCM/WDMA radio-on-fiber bus link using optical FM method in presence of optical beat interference

In the near future, various wireless services such as a wireless local area network and an intelligent home appliance will be widely used at home or office. To connect among many radio base stations such as a home or office network, a subcarrier multiplexing/wavelength division multiple access (SCM/WDMA) radio-on-fiber (RoF) bus link is excellent in simplicity and flexibility. However, a degradation of RF transmission performance due to optical beat interference (OBI) is a severe problem. This paper proposes the reduction method of OBI using an optical frequency modulation (OFM) method in the SCM/WDMA RoF bus and theoretically analyzes the availability of this proposed method. Using the OFM method, the power spectral density of the OBI can be reduced and the improvement of carrier power to noise power ratio before FM demodulation using the proposed method is obtained at approximately 4 and 9 dB compared to the intensity modulation/direct detection method when FM index /spl beta//sub FM/ is 1 and 10, respectively.

Contemporary, Emerging, and Ratified Wireless Security Standards: An Update for the Networked Dental Office

Wireless networking is not new to contemporary dental offices around the country. Wireless routers and network cards have made access to patient records within the office handy and, thereby, saving valuable chair side time and increasing productivity. As is the case with any rapidly developing technology, wireless technology also changes with the same rate. Unless, the users of the wireless networking understand the implications of these changes and keep themselves updated periodically, the office network will become obsolete very quickly. This update of the emerging security protocols and pertaining to ratified wireless 802.11 standards will be timely for the contemporary dentist whose office is wirelessly networked. This article brings the practicing dentist up-to-date on the newer versions and standards in wireless networking that are changing at a fast pace. The introduction of newer 802.11 standards like super G, Super AG, Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO), and pre-n are changing the pace of adaptation of this technology. Like any other rapidly transforming technology, information pertaining to wireless networking should be a priority for the contemporary dentist, an eventual end-user in order to be a well-informed and techno-savvy consumer.

Fonctionnement en réseau des pratiques documentaires dans les comités d'éducation pour la santé

A national network of health education information officers was established at the end of 2001. The aim and objective of this group is "to contribute to the development of a solid, coherent documentation service delivery for the health education field in France." The professionals decided to commence by undertaking an assessment of the documentation activities in both the regional and departmental health education committees in order to establish sub-working groups which would collaborate to better achieve this goal. The survey's results have shown that there are existing skills and competencies available within the different committees in spite of current gaps between the various regions and department in terms of their levels of qualifications, resources and information activities and practices. It is for this reason that the national network of health education information officers designed and implemented the smaller working groups in order to gradually enable them to solidify and strengthen the network to ensure that they have the capacity to meet the stated objectives. This approach could constitute the basis for a national health education documentation network as described and called for by the law delineating the missions of the French Institute for Prevention and Health Education (Inpes).

The Role of UNEP and UNDP in Multilateral Environmental Agreements

This study examines the role of the UN’s programmes for environment and development (UNEP and UNDP) in the genesis and implementation of multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs). This is set in the wider context of the changing dominant focus of the international agenda, from ‘environment’ at the Stockholm Conference in 1972, to ‘environment and development’ at Rio in 1992, and ‚sustainable development’ in Johannesburg in 2002. UNDP is a development organisation strongly rooted in its country office network. Its role is becoming increasingly normative however, particularly since 2002 when UNDP opted to root most of its activities on the Millennium Development Goals. UNEP, as an environmental organisation has been successful at catalysing MEAs at the global and regional level; but without a significant increase in its budget over 30 years, its capacity has been spread very thinly. Many of the institutional arrangements for MEAs have effectively become independent of UNEP resulting in a very loosely and sometimes poorly coordinated network. Two case studies are used to illustrate the current institutional arrangements: UNEP’s Regional Seas Conventions and Protocols, and the Convention for Biological Diversity. These illustrate the fragmentation of current institutions, the need for strengthened technical and scientific support, the importance of addressing problems at their root causes and the need to increase the devolution of global governance to the regional level. Satisfying the identified needs requires actions within the remit of both UNEP and UNDP. It is argued that current institutional arrangements have not kept pace with the requirements of evolving policy. As part of a reform process, one option may be to merge the two programmes into a single structure that conserves and strengthens vital technical functions but enables a balanced and integrated approach to sustainable development.

Dissemination of CERN's Technology Transfer

Technologies developed at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, are disseminated via a network of external technology transfer officers. Each of CERN's 20 member states has appointed at least one technology transfer officer to help establish links with CERN. This network has been in place since 2001 and early experiences indicate that the transfer processes could be improved. This paper investigates current technology transfer activities between CERN and its member states in the context of key requirements for successful transfer projects as identified in the literature. The analysis suggests that the integration of regional embedded ‘anchor organizations’, such as universities and their technology transfer offices, could overcome some of the bottlenecks that currently inhibit greater technology transfer activities between CERN and firms in its member states. The paper closes with a qualitative case study of the transfer office at Graz University of Technology.

Emerging Indian Industries: The Case of Gems & Jewellery Sector Impending Constraints and Future Prospects

In the Indian gems and jewellery industry, the cottage industry-based diamonds-processing and jewellery-making units compete with modern factories which use state-of-the-art machinery and computerized operations. The Indian gems and jewellery units have set up a worldwide network of offices in every hotspot on the diamond industry map. The phenomenal growth in gems and jewellery exports is a record among the large Indian export sectors. In fact, the gems and jewellery industry presents itself as a perfect case study for discussing how to build competitiveness of Indian industries. This sector has grown to become one of the leading export oriented industries in the country and contributes around 15–20 per cent of total merchandise exports (and 20–30% of manufactured exports). This sector recorded an export turnover of US$ 14 billion during calendar year 2004. Now even the Government of India perceives the gems & Jewellery sector as not only a potential and a large foreign exchange earner but also a thrust area for employment generation. The most important contributors in the industry have been Cut and Polished Diamonds; Coloured gemstones; and Gold Jewellery accounting for almost 95–97 percent of Gems and Jewellery exports of India. According to GJEPC, India accounts for 80–85 per cent of the world's CPD market in volume terms, 55–60 per cent in value terms and about 90 per cent in unit terms. This figure clearly indicates that India is likely to become a leading exporter of jewellery and gems both in manufacturing and trading. The industry has shown a very impressive growth and is moving in the right direction. India has been able to achieve a dominant position in diamonds and is emerging as the fastest growing jewellery sector in the world. The adequate support extended by the government in terms of pragmatic policies has helped significantly in helping India to be a global hub for gems and Jewellery both in manufacturing and trading. However, lot more has to happen for potential of this sector to be fully achieved.

Design and characteristics of large displacement optical fiber switch

Plastic optical fiber (POF) is suitable for indoor local area network (LAN), for example, in-home or office networks, because of its flexibility and its ease of connection due to its relatively large core diameter. A 1/spl times/2 optical switch for indoor LAN using POF and a shape memory alloy (SMA) coil actuator with magnetic latches was successfully fabricated and tested. In this paper, the design concept and the characteristics of this switch are described. To achieve switching by the movement of a POF, large displacement is necessary because the core diameter is large (e.g., 0.486 mm). A SMA coil actuator is used for large displacement and a magnetic latching system is employed for fixing the position of the shifted POF. For this design, the insertion loss is 0.40 to 0.50 dB and crosstalk is more than -50 dB without index-matching oil. Switching speed is less than 0.5 s at a driving current of 80 mA. A cycling test was performed 1.4 million times at room temperature. Another optical fiber switch was fabricated and successfully actuated using plastic clad fiber (PCF). PCF also has a large core diameter (e.g., 0.20 mm) and optical switches using PCF will be useful for short distance networks between buildings.

Toward a Geography of the Globalization of Architecture Office Networks

This paper examines the globalization of architectural practice, focusing on the global strategies of architectural firms in relation to those of advanced business services and to the evolving network of world cities that provides the spatial framework for economic globalization. A basic geography of global architecture office networks is identified, and multivariate statistical analysis is used to identify four distinctive global arenas in which architectural firms are involved. In a final section, the implications of these findings for architectural education are discussed.

Geisha: a unique world of tradition, elegance, and art

Exotic, mysterious, elusive, Japan's geisha have fascinated and allured westerners from Puccini to Madonna, from Picasso to Arthur Golden. But just who are the geisha? This work delves into their lives and history, with detailed coverage of their rigorous training, their sumptuous costumes and the fantastically intricate of tradition in which the geisha live and work. Geisha bureaucrats and ribald male geisha are just some of the unexpected denizens of this often misunderstood in which nothing (including the vexed question of prostitution) is quite what it seems. The book details the minute gradations of geisha rank, clothing and makeup, and the subtle changes of geisha appearance through the round of seasonal events. From wigs to clogs, it catalogues the array of specialist equipment geisha need to perform their demanding jobs. It explores the network of dance schools, teahouses, temples and offices that form the world of flowers and willows. A dense network of traditional crafts and occupations supports this world, with calligraphers, dyers and sake warmers among the many occupations serving in the hanamachi of flower towns as geisha districts are known. The geisha craft itself draws on an array of ultra-aesthetic traditional Japanese arts such as dance, tea ceremony, traditional music and games. Above all, the geisha preserves a unique sensibility of leisure, unlike any other. This book explains how this complex dreamworld evolved, how it fits into the ever-changing scenery of modern Japan and how it is changing in order to survive there.

Thinking ahead about reproductive health: contingency planning and emergency preparedness in crisis situations (Iraq and West Africa).

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) coordinated efforts to integrate RH into contingency planning for the 2003 Iraq crisis and the 2003 regional response for displaced populations in West Africa. Using UNFPA's network of country offices in the Middle East, staff developed logistics plans, conducted workshops and pre-positioned RH supplies. Though refugee movements did not occur, the contingency planning enhanced the response capacity of UNFPA offices and made it possible to rapidly provide assistance inside Iraq. In West Africa, multi-country workshops and follow-up resulted in country-level and regional action plans useful during the renewed crises of 2003; scarce funding, however, limited their full implementation. UNFPA's experiences show that contingency planning requires committing resources for crises, some of which will not occur; new staff skills; and follow-up. Moreover, RH is considered by some to be additional to the core elements of contingency planning. RH's political sensitivity, particularly with certain donors, further complicated integrated planning.

Autres sources, autre histoire ?

Cet article décrit le processus de création des archives publiques locales en France et surtout en Angleterre où il a fallu attendre la seconde moitié du xxe siècle pour qu'un réseau cohérent de dépôts se mette en place dans les comtés. Il suggère ensuite que la manière dont les collections ont été constituées a influencé directement la fabrique de l'histoire sociale et qu'elle explique, en particulier, les fortes divergences entre les historiographies anglaise et française dans les années 1960 et 1970. Il avance enfin que l'intérêt actuel pour une histoire des individus, auxquelles se prêtent mieux les sources anglaises et françaises, permet un rapprochement inattendu des historiographies.

Urban Hinterworlds Revisited

ABSTRACT This article further develops the concept of an urban binterworld. A binterworld defines a city's relations with other cities across the world. Within a framework of a world city network created by global service firms, new data are described and used to define the global network connectivity of 315 cities based upon the office networks of 100 global service firms. ‘Absolute’ hinterworlds are measured by aggregating the level of service provision that is available in a city for doing business in another city. The geography of this first measure closely mirrors global network connectivity and therefore a second ‘relative’ measure is devised. This is found in the residuals derived from regressing absolute service provision against global network connectivity. The methodology is illustrated by deriving and mapping the binterworlds of London and Manchester.

Early retirement: does cause of invalidity influence rate of social security benefit processing in Zimbabwe?

The social security invalidity benefit programme in Zimbabwe is organized through a network of regional offices. There are no standard guidelines for assessing invalidity. Aim We tested whether cause of invalidity and place of residence influenced the rate of processing of invalidity benefit claims. We carried out a retrospective cohort study involving 523 medically unadjudicated and a 25% (354/1431) random sample of medically adjudicated invalidity benefit claims at the Central Benefits Office of the National Social Security Authority in Zimbabwe. The outcome for the study was time from certification of invalidity to conclusion of medical adjudication of invalidity benefit claims. Compared with tuberculosis, HIV disease increased the rate of progress to final medical adjudication 2.6-fold, musculoskeletal diseases 1.9-fold, physical injuries 1.7-fold and chronic diseases 1.8-fold after adjusting for place of residence, industrial sector, gender and age. Compared with residing in Harare, residing in Chinhoyi, Gweru, Masvingo and Mutare regions reduced the rate of progress to final medical adjudication by 62, 69, 51 and 56%, respectively, after adjusting for cause of invalidity, industrial sector, gender and age. Compared with invalidity benefit claims from the services sector, those from the mining sector experienced a 45% reduction in rate of progress to final medical adjudication after adjusting for cause of invalidity, place of residence, gender and age. Cause of invalidity, place of residence and industrial sector had significant influences on the rate of progress to final medical adjudication of invalidity benefit claims.

On the deployment of picocellular wireless infrastructure

Wireless LANs are becoming increasingly common in both home and office networks. Additionally, wireless Internet service providers have begun installing public WLANs in airports, hotels, and other frequently trafficked areas. This article analyzes deployment strategies for such networks, specifically for possible future systems utilizing bands of up to 60 GHz. A major part of the installation cost stems from network planning, wiring, and manpower for setting up base stations. It is therefore crucial to find ways to simplify the network installation and reduce the deployment costs, while at the same time maintaining the desired system performance. We show that even simple installation rules can often achieve adequate coverage results. However, proper network planning is in some situations necessary to achieve adequate coverage. Therefore, we examine different combinatorial optimization methods for obtaining close to optimal positioning of WLAN access points and compare the performance of the proposed algorithms to the simple installation methods. The optimization algorithms used in this article evaluate an objective function that aims to maximize both the coverage area and the overall signal quality over a discrete search space. Random search algorithms can yield very good solutions, but often exhibit difficult convergence properties. Successive removal algorithms, such as pruning, converge in polynomial time, but usually produce suboptimal solutions. We therefore propose a combination of the two approaches, using pruning to obtain an initial set of the base station positions and refining these by using neighborhood search or simulated annealing.