What is ERP?

Though enterprise resource planning (ERP) has gained some prominence in the information systems (IS) literature over the past few years and is a significant phenomenon in practice, through (a) historical analysis, (b) meta-analysis of representative IS literature, and (c) a survey of academic experts, we reveal dissenting views on the phenomenon. Given this diversity of perspectives, it is unlikely that at this stage a broadly agreed definition of ERP can be achieved. We thus seek to increase awareness of the issues and stimulate further discussion, with the ultimate aim being to: (1) aid communication amongst researchers and between researchers and practitioners; (2) inform development of teaching materials on ERP and related concepts in university curricula and in commercial education and training; and (3) aid communication amongst clients, consultants and vendors. Increased transparency of the ERP-concept within IS may also benefit other aligned fields of knowledge.     

What is biology?

The following work compares two different ways of fractionating or abstracting from an organism: (a) a Mendelian way, which views the organism as a discrete bundle of phenotypic characters, each controlled by a corresponding genetic "factor", and (b) as a bundle of particulate molecular fractions, as envisaged by molecular biology. It is generally believed that the latter completely subsumes the former, and that it further serves to subsume all of biology into contemporary physics. We argue herein that the first of these assertions, if true at all, does not follow from an initial positing of an identity between the Mendelian gene and DNA sequence, and may well be false in general. In either case, the second assertion becomes false as well. This has profound consequences, not only for biology, but for the physics which is presumed to underlie it; it constitutes a part of the "new physics" which Erwin Schr?dinger, in a famous essay [(1944) What is Life? Cambridge University Press, Cambridge], argued was inherent in biology.     

What is computation?

Three conditions are usually given that must be satisfied by a process in order for it to be called a computation, namely, there must exist a finite length algorithm for the process, the algorithm must terminate in finite time for valid inputs and return a valid output and, finally, the algorithm must never return an output for invalid inputs. These three conditions are advanced as being necessary and sufficient for the process to be computable by a universal model of computation. In fact, these conditions are neither necessary nor sufficient. On the one hand, recently defined paradigms show how certain processes that do not satisfy one or more of the aforementioned properties can indeed be carried out in principle on new, more powerful, types of computers, and hence can be considered as computations. Thus, the conditions are not necessary. On the other hand, contemporary work in unconventional computation has demonstrated the existence of processes that satisfy the three stated conditions, yet contradict the Church–Turing thesis and, more generally, the principle of universality in computer science. Thus, the conditions are not sufficient.     

What is motherboard?

(W)还没有缓过味来,我们已经被一脚踢进了这个知识爆炸的信息时代。这年头,连“文盲”这词的定义都和从前不同了,“会使用电脑吗?”,“@ #＄％ ＆……”,“不会?！”,这样的窘境你遇到过吗? 我曾多次被人讥笑以后,忍无可忍,终于鼓足勇气,硬着头皮一头扎进了电脑圈。不想,在真正接触之后,原来这个恼人的东西并不是想象中那样深不可测,回头看看以前连键盘都不敢摸的那个我,真是胆怯懦弱。     

What is 'heavy'?

One of the work practices frequently taught to employees is to estimate the heaviness of load before it is actually handled. If it is ‘heavy’, then one should ask for help. However, limited information can be found in the ergonomics literature about what a person perceives as a ‘heavy load’. This study was conducted on 20 male and 20 female workers in the package delivery industry to estimate the amounts of load that correspond to various levels of load heaviness (e.g. ‘somewhat heavy’). Experienced employees were used for this purpose. The distribution of loads within each heaviness level was developed using fuzzy sets theory. The maximum load (i.e. 23 kg) defined by the US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health represents a ‘somewhat heavy’ load based on the analysis of load distribution (corresponding to a 1.0 certainty factor). Also, the 40 kg considered in the 1981 NIOSH guidelines may be classified as a ‘very heavy’ load. A comparative analysis of the results of this study with norms established in prior research indicates that one should be more careful in the interpretation of statistical norms for human perception of load handling. A ‘moderate’ level of load heaviness (i.e. 14 kg) can be handled by 85% of the worker population.     

What is software testing? And why is it so hard?

The author sheds some light on why testing today's software products is so challenging, and he identifies several solid approaches that all testers should be able to thoughtfully apply. The effective tester has a rich toolkit of fundamental testing techniques, understands how the product will be used in its operating environment, and has a nose for where subtle bugs might lurk in the product and a bag of tricks for flushing them out. The methods described can help testers provide a sensible answer to the question of what they really mean when they say they have finished testing a software system     

What is generative art?

There are various forms of what's sometimes called generative art, or computer art. This paper distinguishes the major categories and asks whether the appropriate aesthetic criteria—and the locus of creativity—are the same in each case.     

When is play productive?

Play at work is not a contradiction in terms. Rather, distinctions between work and play are becoming less clear, as more jobs involve expertise and microcomputers. This paper starts by describing play, its motives, and its consequences. Then the paper focuses on computer-based activities and suggests guidelines for activities and situations where play can enhance productivity. These guidelines should interest both software designers and those who choose software. The guidelines also generalize to work without computers.     

There is no dome?

Fulldome is slowly emerging from its planetarium shaped incubator into a brave new world of digital projectors, real-time visualisation software, independent content producers and transdisciplinary collaborations. This article takes a slow zoom through the evolution of fulldome. It reflects on the technologies and institutions that have shaped the fulldome orthodoxy and the recent emergence of a digital framework where all the different kinds of technologies, disciplines and media forms fit together. The fulldome may no longer be full of stars, but the emptiness that lies beyond its domed surface offers new imaginings of a ‘future in space’.     

Problems in Hyperland? A Human Factors Perspective

While the potential of hypertext as an information presentation medium is undeniable, its acceptance by users will be determined largely by its usability. The present paper highlights four issues of relevance: reading from screens as opposed to reading from paper; reader behaviour, particularly how and why different texts are read; interface design variables such as display size and manipulation facilities; and user navigation. Existing research is reviewed and implications for the design of hypertext systems are discussed. Suggestions for future work are presented.     

Human Flesh Search: what did we find?

Human Flesh Search (HFS) has profusely proliferated in recent years. We adopted the multiple-case, replication design approach, to investigate 21 HFS cases spanning from 2007 to 2014, comprising 204,008 posts from 67,375 posters. Our preliminary analyses depicted consistent patterns across categories of legal, moral, and entertainment. We established three contagious mechanisms driving HFS behavior (i.e., fueled emotionalism, blind acceptance, and collective amnesia) and two non-contagious mechanisms (i.e., isolated dissension and sluggish update). We also shed insights on the technology affordances and constraints. Critical theoretical contributions and important practical implications for HFS initiators, facilitators, and designers of forums are discussed.     

How effective is UML modeling ?

Modeling has become a common practice in modern software engineering. Since the mid 1990s the Unified Modeling Language (UML) has become the de facto standard for modeling software systems. The UML is used in all phases of software development: ranging from the requirement phase to the maintenance phase. However, empirical evidence regarding the effectiveness of modeling in software development is few and far apart. This paper aims to synthesize empirical evidence regarding the effectiveness of modeling using UML in software development, with a special focus on the cost and benefits.     

How do Attitudes Toward Globalization Influence Human Functioning?

ABSTRACT

This study shows the results of the research into the relationships between attitudes toward globalization (accepting, critical, fearful) and psychological factors: identity styles, attitudes toward the Internet, and the quality of friendship. The survey conducted among Polish adolescents and young adults revealed that attitudes toward globalization had a stronger influence on psychological functioning for young adults than for adolescents. The results may help to understand social acceptance factors or disapproval of technological and globalizational changes.     

What is a Sorting Function?

What is a sorting function—not a sorting function for a given ordering relation, but a sorting function with nothing given?Formulating four basic properties of sorting algorithms as defining requirements, we arrive at intrinsic notions of sorting and stable sorting: A function is a sorting function if and only it is an intrinsically parametric permutation function. It is a stable sorting function if and only if it is an intrinsically stable permutation function.We show that ordering relations can be represented isomorphically as inequality tests, comparators and stable sorting functions, each with their own intrinsic characterizations, which in turn provide a basis for run-time monitoring of their expected I/O behaviors. The isomorphisms are parametrically polymorphically definable, which shows that it is sufficient to provide any one of the representations since the others are derivable without compromising data abstraction.Finally we point out that stable sorting functions as default representations of ordering relations have the advantage of permitting linear-time sorting algorithms; inequality tests forfeit this possibility.