Pattern-based e-service modelling for virtual service enterprises

Business services are customisable, interactive processes that providers have the potential to carry out together with clients that benefit from the effects. It is understood that business service transactions are best organised by means of virtual networks, where information technology allows for configuring multiple providers and processes on a per-request basis. Existing conceptual models for virtual service enterprises (VSEs) propose business service virtualisation for flexible and agile regulation and control of coordination between multiple providers and clients. In this paper, we present an approach for realising business service virtualisation based on software service technology. In particular, we propose a service-oriented software architecture for representing virtual business service processes as e-services. E-service models specify flexible business service interactions between multiple providers and clients of virtual service enterprises and allow for regulation and enforcement of their coordination. We demonstrate the utilisation of our e-service SOA in the context of an e-science scenario, where we show how to design e-service models for the use case of virtual polymorph prediction laboratories.     

Novel strategies for global manufacturing systems interoperability

This paper reviews some of the most recently reported research into novel strategies for global manufacturing systems interoperability. Such research can be categorised as addressing four broad topic areas: the sensing manufacturing enterprise; semantics and knowledge management in manufacturing; service orientation and the need for negotiation; and business interoperability. Thus we identify a spectrum of research from the management of hardware and virtual sensing devices, through the semantic interpretation of the data and information generated by these, and its utilisation to support the collaborative manufacturing network lifecycle through service oriented software, and ultimately the provision of effective business interoperability. This study includes conceptual, theoretical, empirical and technological contributions, illustrated by real examples and demonstrating the novelty in comparison with previously reported results. The paper concludes elaborating final considerations on novel strategies for global manufacturing systems interoperability.     

Knowledge cloud system for network collaboration: A case study in medical service industry in China

This paper introduces a new service model in cloud computing – the knowledge as a service (KaaS) that facilitates the interoperations among members in a knowledge network. In this study, the KaaS is modeled as a framework of a knowledge cloud system which aims for the development of collaborative networks in medical service industry. The framework is applied in a case study of radiotherapy dynamic treatment service. The collaborative activities supported by knowledge cloud system are analysed. This study has investigated the essential components for the success of a private knowledge network for business network collaboration. This study shows the best practices of the formation of collaborative network facilitating by the knowledge cloud system in medical service industry which can be transferred to other industries.     

An open digital environment to support business ecosystems

We present a Peer-to-Peer network design which aims to support business activities conducted through a network of collaborations that generate value in different, mutually beneficial, ways for the participating organisations. The temporary virtual networks formed by long-term business transactions that involve the execution of multiple services from different providers are used as the building block of the underlying scale-free business network. We show how these local interactions, which are not governed by a single organisation, give rise to a fully distributed P2P architecture that reflects the dynamics of business activities. The design is based on dynamically formed permanent clusters of nodes, the so-called Virtual Super Peers (VSPs), and this results in a topology that is highly resilient to certain types of failure (and attacks). Furthermore, the proposed P2P architecture is capable of reconfiguring itself to adapt to the usage that is being made of it and respond to global failures of conceptual hubs. This fosters an environment where business communities can evolve to meet emerging business opportunities and achieve sustainable growth within a digital ecosystem.     

Collaborative innovation in ubiquitous systems

Advances in microelectronics, semiconductor and information and communication technologies allow the creation and the development of ubiquitous systems. These intelligent systems would enable and support new dimensions of collaboration that can make business processes more efficient. In this paper, we analyse the possible contribution of the upcoming level of intelligence to collaborative innovation processes within and between enterprises as well. Considering collaborative networks and virtual organisations we propose a cyclic structure for innovation and a number of ubiquitous systems that have the potential to support different phases of the process. They would empower already existing Data Management Systems by functionalities and features of ubiquity and contribute to the future extension of the product lifecycle management approach (PLM).     

The dynamics of IT boundary objects,information infrastructures,and organisational identities: the introduction of 3D modelling technologies into the architecture,engineering, and construction industry

In recent years, more companies engage in collaborative cross-organisational practices to achieve their business objectives. To cooperate effectively across boundaries requires organisations to overcome the tension between their distinct backgrounds and the need to create shared understandings with their partners for collaboration. This requires the creation of shared artefacts such as boundary objects. Whereas the past work on boundary objects has highlighted their role as translation devices, we examine them in relation to the information infrastructures within which they are embedded, and the identities of the organisations that use them. We propose a model that outlines the relationships among the three concepts and illustrate its dynamics by presenting two case studies that describe the introduction of three-dimensional modelling technologies into the architecture, engineering, and construction industry. Based on the case studies we suggest that boundary objects, in addition to facilitating cross-organisational communication, also help to form organisational identities. We further suggest the occurrence of a process whereby changes in boundary objects enable changes in information infrastructures and identities in one organisation. These changes, in turn, create the conditions for change in bordering organisations through shared boundary objects and boundary practices.     

一种面向无线传感器网络节点的软件更新技术

针对无线传感器网络节点资源受限、网络维护与软件更新困难的特点,以Contiki操作系统为开发平台,设计了一种可以满足无线传感器网络特点和应用的节点软件更新方法。通过连续分配和基于重定位信息的内存移动,设计了一种高利用率的内存使用策略;基于黑板模型的管理方法,实现了服务模块注册、更新和卸载的生命周期管理。实验结果显示：更新模块的大小与更新时间分别减小15％和13％,整个系统设计显著提高了传感器节点的能量和内存效率,延长了节点寿命。     

Execution system for distributed business processes in a virtual enterprise

New cooperative approaches for manufacturing and service industries, as represented by the virtual enterprise paradigm, are enabled by the recent advances in communication technologies, computer networks, and logistics. The implantation of this paradigm requires the design and development of a flexible execution environment to support the distributed business processes that materialize the cooperation in a network of enterprises. A configurable architecture for such execution system is proposed focusing the support for multi-level process coordination. A set of examples to illustrate the adopted concepts and developed tools are discussed.     

Quality management in service ecosystems

Service-oriented architectures and Web services mature and have become more widely accepted and used by industry. This growing adoption increased the demands for new ways of using Web service technology. Users start re-combining and mediating other providers’ services in ways that have not been anticipated by their original provider. Within organisations and cross-organisational communities, discoverable services are organised in repositories providing convenient access to adaptable end-to-end business processes. This idea is captured in the term Service Ecosystem. This paper addresses the question of how quality management can be performed in such service ecosystems. Service quality management is a key challenge when services are composed of a dynamic set of heterogeneous sub-services from different service providers. This paper contributes to this important area by developing a reference model of quality management in service ecosystems. We illustrate the application of the reference model in an exploratory case study. With this case study, we show how the reference model helps to derive requirements for the implementation and support of quality management in an exemplary service ecosystem in public administration.     

Context-aware workflow management for virtual enterprises based on coordination of agents

Although virtual enterprises (VE) make it possible for small flexible enterprises to form a collaborative network to respond to business opportunities through dynamic coalition and sharing of the core competencies and resources, they also pose new challenges and issues. Creation of VE involves dynamically established partnerships between the partners and relies on a flexible coordination scheme. The dynamic organizations formed in VE present a challenge in the development of a new methodology to dynamically allocate re-sources and deliver the relevant information to the right people at the right time. A key issue is the development of an effective workflow management scheme for VE. Multi-agent systems (MAS) provide a flexible architecture to deal with changes based on dynamic organization and collaboration of autonomous agents. Despite the extensive studies and research results on MAS, development of a design methodology to support coordination and operations is critical to the success and adoption of VE. The objectives of this research are to propose a design methodology to facilitate coordination and development of context-aware workflow management systems and achieve effective resource allocation for VE based on MAS architecture. To achieve these objectives, a scheme for coordination of agents is proposed. Petri net models are used in the coordination scheme to describe workflows and capture resource activities in VE. The interactions between agents lead to a dynamic workflow model for VE. Based on the aforementioned model, we propose architecture to dynamically generate context-aware graphical user interface to guide the users and control resource allocation based on the state of VE. An order management example is used throughout this paper to illustrate the proposed design methodology.     

基于服务协作中间件的动态流程模型

新兴的面向服务体系结构正在加速软件的发展和变化,无法适应动态环境的应用将逐渐失去作用,尤其对那些面临着需求频繁变更的业务流程管理系统而言更是如此.为了响应这种现实需求,基于Web服务和业务流程管理技术,提出了服务协作中间件(service cooperation middleware,简称SCM)模型,探讨了其内部机理与协作流程元模型的形式化.通过引入模型转换,扩充流程状态空间,定义了动态流程模型,动态流程的结构重构和行为自适应可以借助SCM的反射能力得以实现.针对SCM模型,设计了流程虚拟机(prrocess virtual machine,简称PVM),流程在运行时由PVM控制执行.借助于模型驱动机制,业务流程可从设计到运行不断地进行模型变换.由此建立的业务流程能够更灵活、更广泛地适用于各种开放环境,提升企业分布计算.     

RN理论支持的多Agent协同业务流程建模

业务流程模型是企业、政府等组织建模的核心.针对目前业务流程执行的线性性、模型的柔性、智能性不足,和角色缺乏动态性和主动性的弊端,在分析了RN(角色网络)模型的基础上,模型中引入了多Agent,并用这些Agent之间的交流协作来描述业务流程;提出了RN理论支持的多Agent协同业务流程模型,使得执行者Agent成为模型的...     

一种面向融合泛在网的协同防护体系设计

在深入分析融合泛在网功能和特征的基础上,通过增加安全接入网关和虚拟重构安全控制服务器(简称安全控制服务器)两类主要的功能实体构成协同防护的硬件体系,同时通过策略订阅实现协同防护的软件逻辑体系,并采用基于证据投影分解方法的证据理论实现安全态势评估,从而实现在融合泛在网中各种末梢网络均可通过安全接入网关,利用现有的各种异构接入网络安全接入到位于IP核心网的安全服务平台,也可将安全服务命令和数据发送到末梢节点。     

Work in the virtual enterprise—creating identities, building trust, and sharing knowledge

The emergence of the virtual network enterprise represents a dynamic response to the crisis of the vertical bureaucracy type of business organisation. However, its key performance criteria—interconnectedness and consistency—pose tremendous challenges as the completion of the distributed tasks of the network must be integrated across the barriers of missing face-to-face clues and cultural differences. The social integration of the virtual network involves the creation of identities of the participating nodes, the building of trust between them, and the sharing of tacit and explicit knowledge among them. The conventional organisation already doing well in these areas seems to have an edge when going virtual. The paper argues that the whole question of management and control must be reconsidered due to the particular circumstances in the ‘Network Society’. The paper outlines a suggestion for an exploratory, socio-technical research approach combining the dimensions of context, subject and action with the twin objectives of contributing to the enhancement of collaborative capabilities in virtual teams as well as improving the insights into the nature of virtual work.     

An agent-based service-oriented integration architecture for collaborative intelligent manufacturing

The rapidly changing needs and opportunities of today's global market require unprecedented levels of interoperability to integrate diverse information systems to share knowledge and collaborate among organizations. The combination of Web services and software agents provides a promising computing paradigm for efficient service selection and integration of inter-organizational business processes. This paper proposes an agent-based service-oriented integration architecture to leverage manufacturing scheduling services on a network of virtual enterprises. A unique property of this approach is that the scheduling process of an order is orchestrated on the Internet through the negotiation among agent-based Web services. A software prototype system has been implemented for inter-enterprise manufacturing resource sharing. It demonstrates how the proposed service-oriented integration architecture can be used to establish a collaborative environment that provides dynamic resource scheduling services.     

基于写时拷贝的客户端共享数据层设计与实现

介绍软件运行时本地业务数据存储在应用软件中的重要性,尤其是互联网客户端软件,例如IM即时通信软件。分析传统存储模式的优缺点,并在此基础上提出一种叫做共享数据层的设计模式。它采用写时拷贝技术、带有引用计数的智能指针技术,解决数据的多线程读写安全、数据的生命周期管理等问题;通过数据的订阅模式,实现应用层和数据层的隔离,提高业务逻辑与数据源的松耦合。     

基于BPM的网络安全应急响应协同系统设计

文章描述了网络安全应急响应整个生命周期及各主要阶段内容,针对目前网络安全应急响应需要跨系统、跨网络资源共享和协同分工等问题和需求,提出了基于BPM（业务流程管理）的应急响应协同工作流管理设计思想,论述了应急响应过程和应急响应协同系统功能的对应关系,给出基于BPM的应急响应协同系统体系结构,详细描述核心模块协同工作流设计器和应急协同工作流管理器的主要功能。     

Requirements for intelligent network service operations

A service operation architecture and operation system platform are proposed that separate commonly used information from operations functions, and that use access control functions. This enables new applications to be developed more easily and increases operating efficiency. The operation system platform is related to several surrounding platforms, and requires standardized reference points such as CMIS/P and managed objects. A managed object methodology is a suitable approach for accessing the operation system platform, and managed object classes and methods are proposed for intelligent network service operations. This architecture and platform will allow telecommunication to meet the demands created by intelligent networks for enhanced customer services, more reliable operation systems, and lower development costs. On the basis of proposed platform, service surveillance prototype systems for free-phone services have already been developed, and the next versions of the service operations systems for virtual private networks services are being developed.     

用Pi演算为业务过程建模的生命周期

随着企业竞争日趋激烈,业务过程建模技术变得越来越重要.由于形式化方法降低了二义性并为模型的分析和验证提供了可行性,因此形式化的业务过程建模技术在学术界引起了很多人的关注,但到目前为止仍缺乏一套既能方便地进行过程建模,又具有对模型进行形式化分析与验证的整套理论体系.从生命周期的角度入手,探讨如何把形式化方法更有效地应用于商业过程建模.主要工作在于提出了基于Pi演算的生命周期,探讨了生命周期各个阶段使用的技术和工具.