Basic System Concepts Research Articles

İntermodal Limanlar ve Pazarlama İletişimi: Liman Web Sitelerinin İçerik Analizi

Components of integrated marketing communications have considerable, significant effects for port businesses in a highly competitive environment on their services and activities to existing and potential customers as well as informing them about such services and activities. In such marketing communication process, ports may focus on integrated marketing communication elements in order to differentiate themselves from competing ports and attract more customers. Having effective intermodal hinterland networks and gaining intermodal characteristics can be regarded as one of the differentiating factors for ports. This study examines the basic concepts of intermodal port systems in connection with marketing communications concept. The main purpose of this study is to determine to what extent the member ports of ESPO (European Sea Ports Organization) includes the variables of intermodal in their websites. To do this, content analysis is used. According to the findings of the study, the terms of intermodal, multimodal and combined transport and intermodal capabilities that ports mostly include in their websites are the Hamburg-Le

An RES-Based Model for Risk Assessment and Prediction of Backbreak in Bench Blasting

Most blasting operations are associated with various forms of energy loss, emerging as environmental side effects of rock blasting, such as flyrock, vibration, airblast, and backbreak. Backbreak is an adverse phenomenon in rock blasting operations, which imposes risk and increases operation expenses because of safety reduction due to the instability of walls, poor fragmentation, and uneven burden in subsequent blasts. In this paper, based on the basic concepts of a rock engineering systems (RES) approach, a new model for the prediction of backbreak and the risk associated with a blast is presented. The newly suggested model involves 16 effective parameters on backbreak due to blasting, while retaining simplicity as well. The data for 30 blasts, carried out at Sungun copper mine, western Iran, were used to predict backbreak and the level of risk corresponding to each blast by the RES-based model. The results obtained were compared with the backbreak measured for each blast, which showed that the level of risk achieved is in consistence with the backbreak measured. The maximum level of risk [vulnerability index (VI) = 60] was associated with blast No. 2, for which the corresponding average backbreak was the highest achieved (9.25 m). Also, for blasts with levels of risk under 40, the minimum average backbreaks (<4 m) were observed. Furthermore, to evaluate the model performance for backbreak prediction, the coefficient of correlation (R 2) and root mean square error (RMSE) of the model were calculated (R 2 = 0.8; RMSE = 1.07), indicating the good performance of the model.

Preconditions for Stare Decisis - What International Law Can Learn from Comparative Constitutional Law

The paper argues that Stare Decisis is a specific judicial doctrine that can be found in certain common law systems whose existence depends, in a large part, to the basic concepts of the legal system in which it operates and that not every judicial system that uses previous case law can be said to follow a stare decisis doctrine. Furthermore, there are certain preconditions that structurally need to be in place before a stare decisis doctrine can be put in place in a judicial system and that this can explain the presence (or lack thereof) of a notion of stare decisis in certain international court systems but not in others and certainly not on the level of the international system as a whole.

Basic concepts of photoelectrochemical solar energy conversion systems

The development of novel oxides, nanocomposites and architectures is in demand for the direct conversion of solar energy into other forms of energy, such as chemical and electrical energy. Especially, those oxides and devices, which can be used for photolysis of water (hydrogen and oxygen evolution) and for water purification, are of interest. So far, semiconducting oxides such as TiO2, Fe2O3, WO3, SrTiO3, tantalates and niobates are the only class of materials which have shown high stability as photoelectrodes towards corrosion in the rate limiting step in the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) under illumination at the electrode/electrolyte interface during photolysis of water. Oxides have to be developed to be highly conductive and have a bandgap, which can be achieved by tailoring the defect chemistry of the oxides or by formation of a suited mixed oxide phase. Of special interest is the preparation of highly conductive p- and n-type TiO2 and WO3 as well as their alloys as corrosion stable and photoelectrocatalytically active electrodes. Bandgap reduction of pure TiO2 involved the formations of solid solutions of TiO2–FeO and TiO2–Fe2O3, which were reported to have a bandgap of ∼2·2 eV.1 Besides TiO2, WO3 also has a superior stability as a photoelectrode material in the OER. Alloying with FeO also leads to lowering of the bandgap. Alternatively, ternary oxides of the systems Ni–Co–O and Ni–Fe–O are known for their high catalytic activity in the OER. They are considered as potential cocatalysts in the process of water oxidation. The materials can also be used in hybrid photoelectrodes consisting of a photovoltaic structure to absorb the sunlight with a corrosion stable and catalytically active window layer, which is in contact with the electrolyte.

Integrating Geographic Information Systems in Business School Curriculum: An Initial Example

ABSTRACTGeographic information systems have experienced rapid growth and user adoption over the last four decades, due to an increasing value to the business community. However, business schools are not teaching geospatial concepts and the related location intelligence to their students. This curriculum decision seems completely at odds with business’ day‐to‐day dependence on a wide array of geographic information system applications. Business schools typically teach relational and object‐oriented database courses, quantitative methods, decision supports systems, and Visual Basic for Applications, which are all directly related to the basic concepts of geographic information systems. In addition, these concepts are all part of location intelligence, a more business intuitive term than geospatial analysis. Spatial data modeling is discussed and compared to standard data modeling frameworks such as ANSI/SPARC. Geographic standards are introduced, along with an overview of the OpenGIS Simple Features Specification for SQL. A discussion of how to utilize MySQL open source database software for spatial queries is included, along with a comparison to PostgreSQL/PostGIS. Through the use of these software programs and the techniques introduced in this article, it is possible to integrate the concepts of location intelligence into business curriculum without requiring students to learn new GIS‐specific programs. Enhancing student knowledge of this subject area through existing skill sets provides for smoother integration of this material into existing curriculum, as these topics could be added into established courses and would not require new courses to be developed.

Development of an industrial e-maintenance system integrating groupware techniques

Nowadays, we see a change in the pattern of maintenance; this is due to the globalisation and the fast development of information and communication technologies. As a consequence, a modern method of maintenance, e-maintenance has emerged and has been progressively reorganising the usual maintenance system. In this context, we wish to contribute through the generation of new working group situations for experts. This paper outlines the basic design concepts of an e-maintenance system. The main objective of our approach is to provide a flexible group interaction support for remote maintenance phases, such as diagnosis, reparation and control. The system is tailored to support resource management, interaction, communication and collaboration between experts of various disciplines working simultaneously on a same failure. The emphasis is put on the aspect of the mobility of the experts for the remote maintenance achievement.

Peer teaching as an educational tool for learning basic concepts of the peripheral nervous system

Although the lecture approach to educating students provides a means of disseminating subject material, it is a passive learning approach not particularly effective in engaging learners in critically comprehending and understanding the subject material. In our Applied Anatomy course, two student‐centered peer teaching sessions were conducted focusing on general concepts regarding the peripheral nervous system. Prior to each session, students were given a reading assignment, a handout emphasizing major points, learning objectives, and a narrated PowerPoint. At the beginning of the scheduled class period, the students took an ungraded Turning Point quiz to evaluate what they had learned. During the quiz the students discussed their answer choice with their peers in order to better understand the rationale for the correct answer. Following the student's response to each question, a short discussion by the instructor of the correct answer and the distractors followed. After the quiz, additional important points not covered by the quiz were reviewed in a short lecture. This was followed by a second quiz, the grades of which were recorded. Again, during the quiz the students discussed their answer choice with their peers. After the second session a survey was done to evaluate the effectiveness of the learning approach. Ninety‐five percent of the students agreed or strongly agreed that peer teaching is an effective learning approach. (Sponsored by a Herz Faculty Teaching Development Award, Minnesota Medical Foundation)

FORMAL INQUIRY SYSTEMS: AN INQUIRY PROFILE FOR PROJECT MANAGEMENT?

The basic concepts of inquiry systems have long been applied to business systems, including behavior and management systems, environmental structures, public policy and ethical issues. Most of these concepts have, however, been applied to an historical knowledge of inquiry systems; or, as in the case of technology and information systems, have presented mainly mathematical calculations and formulas for the development of tools and applications. One very important factor that has often been overlooked is a formal approach to the involvement of people and human factors in inquiry systems development. A next generation inquiry model is proposed to extend inquiry systems thinking to information resources analysis and specifically to project management. It is designed as a pedagogical tool with which to begin class discussions and as a basis for applied research.

A mathematical model of the OLAP cubes

In 1993, E. Codd introduced a concept of an OLAP (online analytical processing) system, which includes 12 rules of representing data for the user. As can be seen from the name, such systems are designed for analyzing data in an interactive mode. Hence, the basic goal of OLAP means is to represent large amount of data in the form convenient for the end-user analysis. Currently, the representation of data in the form of multidimensional cubes is a de facto standard of user work with large amount of data. In this paper, basic concepts of the OLAP systems are introduced and, then, formalized in terms of the lattice theory. In the frame-work of this formalization, the optimality (in terms of the amount of data stored) of the representation of the OLAP cubes by closed lattices or by quotient lattices (which are equivalent to the former) is proved.

A tutorial on nonstationarity detection in acoustic signals: Parametric and nonparametric approaches.

This tutorial provides an overview of nonstationarity detection in acoustic signals, focusing on model‐based parametric approaches as well as more flexible nonparametric ones. The techniques discussed are presented in the context of speech and audio waveforms, with several real‐world examples given, but also apply more broadly to any class of acoustic signals that exhibits locally stationary behavior. Many such waveforms, in particular information‐carrying natural sound signals, exhibit a degree of controlled nonstationarity, and are often well modeled as slowly time‐varying systems. The tutorial first describes the basic concepts of such systems and their analysis via local Fourier methods. Parametric approaches appropriate for speech are then introduced by way of time‐varying linear predictive models, along with nonparametric approaches based on variation of time‐localized estimates of the power spectral density of an observed random process. [Work supported in part by DARPA, NGA, and NSF.]

P3-448: Intellect in default: Integrating concepts of neuroscience, psychology and human nature

Background: Default mechanisms that surface when intellect fails are human instinct, rote responses, emotional intelligence and autonomic reactions. These keys to human survival are primal and unaffected by disease. Drawing from neuroscience, basic concepts of the limbic system in human development, and applying the psychology of subconscious activity to the primal urges at the core of human nature, we establish that when one can’t think, one still feels and can interpret interpersonal dynamics with profound accuracy. When the brain is destroyed by disease, intellect will default to instinct by nature. Recognition of what is left well intact leads to new approaches to care and intervention. Methods: This workshop hails the ’dementia dilemma’ from the victim’s perspective by revealing the extent to which behaviors are triggered instinctively by non-verbal, environmental and interpersonal stimuli. Retro-genesis in Alzheimer’s causes developmental regression as the memory of life experiences unrvels backward in time, leaving victims with a mental agenda isolated in a previous reality. Results: Defensive and suspicous behaviors are the result of fear, perceived threats and instinctive reactions to fear, over which the affected have no control. Lack of intellectual counterbalance, which is at the core of ‘seemingly’ unreasonable activity, co-exists with Retro-genesis and must be considered in conjunction with autonomic responses if effective ‘interventions’ are to be formulated. Conclusions: Care focus becomes blurred by unrelenting tasks that have to be managed with the cooperation of the confused. Well intended efforts become undermined by personal feelings of exasperation, grief and failure in the process. The obvious is overlooked because intellect itself contradicts understanding dementia. Much can be done to secure, comfort and minimize the fear and anxiety that leads to disturbances if one understands the true underlying causes and abandons dependence on language and learned expectations. Integrating diversity of knowledge equips carers toward improving the quality of life for the compromised as well as themselves.

Basic concepts in nervous system: Are the nerves wired as we have thought them to be?

Fundamentals of neurology as passed down through the instruction of medical schooling say that nerves are broadly classified into three types; namely the motor, sensory and mixed nerves. But, is this truly so with regard to cranial nerves? This short communication aims at cautioning the pioneers, experts and medical instructors in the field of neurology about the use of misconstrued terminology in the basic concepts of nervous system. May be it is time for us to re-visit the basics of neurology?

Multicriteria Security System Performance Assessment Using Fuzzy Logic

Modern security problems focus on sensibly allocating resources to decrease the magnitude of potential hazards, decrease the chances of adversary success given an attempt, or minimize loss following a successful attack. The focus of this paper is on developing a simple, yet analytically sound tool that facilitates rapid assessments of security system non-performance in terms of probability of adversary success at the facility or asset level using concepts from fuzzy logic. Beginning with a short overview of how security system performance fits within an overall security risk analysis frame-work, this paper presents the basic concepts of fuzzy systems and applies them to develop a model that approximates the true relationship between defensive capabilities and probability of adversary success. A simple example demonstrating the proposed model to support decision making accompanies this discussion. This paper concludes with a strategy for implementation of the proposed model in an operational setting.

Could the Work System Method Embrace Systems Concepts More Fully?

The work system method was developed iteratively with the overarching goal of helping business professionals understand IT-reliant systems in organizations. It uses general systems concepts selectively, and sometimes implicitly. For example, a work system has a boundary, but its inputs are treated implicitly rather than explicitly. This article asks whether the further development of the work system method might benefit from integrating general systems concepts more completely. After summarizing aspects of the work system method, it dissects some of the underlying ideas and questions how thoroughly even basic systems concepts are applied. It also asks whether and how additional systems concepts might be incorporated beneficially. The inquiry about how to use additional system ideas is of potential interest to people who study systems in general and information systems in particular because it deals with bridging the gap between highly abstract concepts and practical applications.

Learning basic nervous system concepts using a team‐based learning approach

Learning basic nervous system concepts using a team‐based learning approach

Teaching Condor Grid Computing to Beginning Programming Students

Grid computing is taught at the University of Arkansas, focusing on the development of grid services, the Globus toolkit, and higher-level grid components. An early course, cluster and grid computing, successfully taught Globus materials to advanced undergraduates and beginning graduate students. However, the material assumed advanced knowledge of Java programming and covered networking and basic distributed systems concepts, and was therefore too advanced for beginning programming students. When teaching grid computing to beginners, we must focus on creating and submitting a grid job rather than programming grid services. We also teach grid computing to advanced science and engineering students whose programming skills are similar to those of beginning computer science students

An Overview of Real-Time Operating Systems

Over the past 25 years, advances in semiconductor manufacturing have led to smaller and faster computers, which in turn has stimulated the development of “smarter” laboratory devices that can control complex networks of devices and process large amounts of data fast and reliably. As more functionality is pushed down to laboratory devices and personal computers, the sophistication needed to manage external resources, events, and information grows. In some cases, only realtime operating systems (RTOSs) can meet the time and resource constraints of such systems. Whether you write your own software for lab automation, write middleware to help communicate between programs, or use off-the-shelf software, it is beneficial to know when a RTOS is an appropriate platform for your application. This paper provides an overview of RTOSs, the criteria needed for their evaluation, and examples of typical RTOSs. Our main purpose is to enable the reader to understand basic concepts of real-time systems and to stimulate further investigation into their unique properties in the context of laboratory automation.

Intelligent parking systems

The basic concepts of the parking reservation system and parking revenue management system are discussed in this paper. The proposed “intelligent” parking space inventory control system that is based on a combination of fuzzy logic and integer programming techniques makes “on line” decisions whether to accept or reject a new driver’s request for parking. In the first step of the proposed model, the best parking strategies are developed for many different patterns of vehicle arrivals. These parking strategies are developed using integer programming approach. In the second step, learning from the best strategies, specific rules are defined. The uniqueness of the proposed approach is that the rules are derived from the set of chosen examples assuming that the future traffic arrival patterns are known. The results were found to be close to the best solution assuming that the future arrival pattern is known.

VAMNET

This article gives a design overview of a new reliable distributed operating system environment, combining the world of functional and distributed programming using a virtual machine approach for hiding system dependencies, offering rapid prototyping facilities. The basic operating system concepts used are derived from the Amoeba operating system by Andrew Tanenbaum and his work group, developed 20 years ago. VAMNET is not only a native operating system. It is a hybrid solution for expanding widely used operating systems like UNIX with a distributed execution environment.

Theoretical principles for knowledge management system design: Application to pediatric bipolar disorder

Knowledge management systems (KMS) are systems designed to support organizational knowledge processes. Knowledge-oriented theories of the firm are emerging, as theories of KMS design continue to evolve. This paper adopts Habermas' theory of communicative action and discourse ethics [Drake, B, Yuthas, K, and Dillard, J F., “It’s Only Words – Impacts on Information Technology on Moral Dialogue”, Journal of Business Ethics 23: 41–59, 2000, Habermas, J., The Theory of Communicative Action: Reason and the Rationalization of Society,” Beacon Press Books, Boston, MA., 1984, Habermas, J., "Reconciliation through the Public Use of Reason: Remarks on John Rawls's Political Liberalism," Journal of Philosophy, Vol. 92, No. 3, March, 1995, 1109–131.], and Churchman's [Churchman, C.W., The Design of Inquiring Systems: Basic Concepts of Systems and Organizations, Basic Books, New York, NY, 1971.] Singerian inquiring system as kernel theories [Van Gigch, J.P., “The Paradigm of the Science of Management: In Celebration of C.W. Churchman's 80th Birthday,” Interfaces, 25 (2), March – April 1995, 81–88.] on which to base KMS design principles. Specifically, we build on Churchman's nine requirements for an object to constitute a system and his Singerian inquiring system, and Habermas' critical theory to develop the notion of Churchmanian–Habermasian knowledge management systems (CHKMS) and principles for their design. We define a CHKMS as a purposeful, ethical and adaptable system that creates exoteric knowledge (relevant for solving social and managerial problems) through communicative action, providing a link between knowledge and action in an organization or community of practice. The design principles involve a strong emphasis on ethical behavior, the development of success measures for CHKMS, the need to ensure that the CHKMS enhances the dignity of humankind, a highly participatory design process, the desire to unify the designers, the decision makers and clients, the need to shape CHKMS components in relation to the system as a whole, and the need for a “guarantor” to validate knowledge through discursive communication and the “cashing in” of validity claims. The principles are illustrated by applying them to management of knowledge concerning pediatric bipolar disorder. The implications of the design theory for KMS research are discussed.