Using information systems to improve energy efficiency: Do smart meters make a difference?

The large-scale generation of electricity is a major contributor to increasing levels of greenhouse gas emissions, putting pressure on the industry to reduce its environmental impacts. Electricity utility companies are looking to two strategies to help make this happen: the smart grid and demand-side management. Viewing the challenge from an IS perspective, this study attempts to answer the question: do smart grid information systems and technologies make a difference in utilities’ efforts to promote energy efficiency? Drawing on organizational information processing theory and extending it by integrating the concept of information waste, two competing hypotheses are developed and tested using hierarchical regression and data from 543 U.S. electricity utilities. The model, incorporating four levels of metering devices, is found to explain a high portion of the variance in energy efficiency effects of demand-side management programs. This suggests that there are IS-enabled information processing capacities within smart meters that have a significant influence on utilities’ EDM effectiveness. However, the results also point to the potential for both positive and negative effects. Implications of these findings for practice and future research directions are discussed.     

Multivariate weighted minimum variance self-tuning controllers†

The weighted minimum variance (WMV) controller is employed in a self-tuning control system for plants which can be multivariate and non-square. Both explicit and implicit self-tuning strategies are discussed. Existing strategies, based upon k-steps ahead cost functions, have stability problems on systems whose open-loop dynamics are both unstable and non-minimum phase. The WMV controller has the advantage that when plant parameters are known and the control weighting is zero, the optimal system is guaranteed to be stable.     

Designing information fusion for the encoding of visual–spatial information

In a simulated aircraft navigation task, a fusion technique known as triangulation was used to improve the accuracy and onscreen availability of location information from two separate radars. Three experiments investigated whether the reduced cognitive processing required to extract information from the fused environment led to impoverished retention of visual–spatial information. Experienced pilots and students completed various simulated flight missions and were required to make a number of location estimates. Following a retention interval, memory for locations was assessed. Experiment 1 demonstrated, in an applied setting, that the retention of fused information was problematic and Experiment 2 replicated this finding under laboratory conditions. Experiment 3 successfully improved the retention of fused information by limiting its availability within the interface, which it is argued, shifted participants' strategies from over-reliance on the display as an external memory source to more memory-dependent interaction. These results are discussed within the context of intelligent interface design and effective human–machine interaction.     

Survey of information security

The 21st century is the age of information when information becomes an important strategic resource. The information obtaining, processing and security guarantee capability are playing critical roles in comprehensive national power, and information security is related to the national security and social stability. Therefore, we should take measures to ensure the information security of our country. In recent years, momentous accomplishments have been obtained with the rapid development of information security technology. There are extensive theories about information security and technology. However, due to the limitation of length, this article mainly focuses on the research and development of cryptology, trusted computing, security of network, and information hiding, etc.     

Information recording apparatus,information reproducing apparatus,and information distribution system

<美国分类>6,477,649Kambayashi, et al。November 5,2002<发明人>Kambayashi;Toru(Chigasaki,JP);Akiyama;Koichiro (Kanagawa-ken,JP);Tsujimoto;Shuichi(Yokohama,JP);Sumita;Kazuo(Yokohama,JP);Hirakawa;Hideki(Yokohama,JP);Sugaya;Toshihiro(Ibaraki-ken,JP)     

Can feature information interaction help for information fusion in multimedia problems?

This article presents the information-theoretic based feature information interaction, a measure that can describe complex feature dependencies in multivariate settings. According to the theoretical development, feature interactions are more accurate than current, bivariate dependence measures due to their stable and unambiguous definition. In experiments with artificial and real data we compare first the empirical dependency estimates of correlation, mutual information and 3-way feature interaction. Then, we present feature selection and classification experiments that show superior performance of interactions over bivariate dependence measures for the artificial data, for real world data this goal is not achieved yet.

An overdetermined problem for a weighted Poisson’s equation

In this paper, we discuss an overdetermined problem for a weighted Poisson’s equation. We prove that if there exists a solution of the weighted Poisson’s equation $△u+?logw??u=?1$ on a smooth bounded domain $\Omega$ with both Dirichlet and Neumann constant boundary condition, and the weight function $w$ satisfies some conditions in $\Omega$, then $\Omega$ is a ball. We also study some applications of the overdetermined problems and some overdetermined problems with nonconstant Neumann boundary condition.     

Structural entropy,information potential,information balance and evolution in self-organizing systems†

This paper is the continuation of a preceding one which appeared in this journal, and presented an approach to self-organizing systems based upon information theory. To begin with, some illustrating examples try to show why one can think that the concept of information should play a crucial role in a theory of general systems. Then the concept of ‘ structural entropy ’, and the ‘ evolution principle ’ that we have previously introduced, are improved here in a definitive form. The concept of ‘ information potential ’ is defined and we show that the capacity of an information source is given by the logarithm of its inverse entropy rather than by its negative entropy. Composition laws for the structural entropy are stated and it is shown that these concepts provide an approach to information balance. Some simple examples are outlined to connect this approach with well known existing results.     

Integrated information environment or matrix of control? The contradictory implications of information technology

This paper examines the extent to which information technology deployed in work processes facilitates changes in forms of control and forms of organizing. A field study of a single organization that implemented information technology in its production process is presented as an empirical investigation of these issues. The findings indicate that information technology reinforced established forms of organizing and facilitated an intensification and fusion of existing mechanisms of control. While debunking the technological imperative once again, the results also provide a number of insights into the contradictory implications of computer-based work and control in organizations. In particular, this paper shows that when information technology mediates work processes, it creates an information environment, which while it may facilitate integrated and flexible operations, may also enable a disciplinary matrix of knowledge and power. These findings and their implications for forms of control, forms of organizing, and professional practice are discussed.     

Integrating information — a task-orientated approach

To date, there have been few attempts at integrating the increasing amounts of information that are available to users of computer systems. Using published literature, this paper collates some relevant principles (or heuristics) for integrating information based on task orientation. These are then applied to the electronic fishing aids in an in-shore fishing vessel's wheelhouse with the purpose of reducing the number of screens used therein. However, the application raises some issues; in particular that of the designer's knowledge of the tasks so that unique information is not lost.     

Ordinal depth information from accommodation?

The ability to judge egocentric distance was assessed in two groups of six observers using a manual pointing task. The purpose of the study was to determine the extent to which blur-driven accommodation can provide information on target distance in the absence of any retinal cues to distance. Observers were extremely accurate when carrying out the pointing task in a 'full-cue' condition. In contrast, observers were extremely poor at carrying out the task when accommodation was the only distance cue available. Responses on individual trials bore little relationship to the actual target distance in any of the observers. On the other hand, accommodation weakly biased the mean responses in some observers. This bias appears to be due to the observers' effective use of accommodation to determine whether the target presented in one trial was nearer or further away than the target presented in the previous trial. Accommodation therefore appears to provide ordinal information, although the distance signal may actually arise from accommodation-driven vergence. The poverty of accommodation as a source of metric information was highlighted in a second group of observers who all demonstrated a strong bias when perceiving distance in the presence of an initially ambiguous retinal cue. It is concluded that accommodation can act as a source of ordinal distance information in the absence of other cues to distance but the contribution of accommodation to normal distance perception in full-cue conditions is questioned.     

MISCOMP — an information system tool-kit

MISCOMP, a business data information system, has been built with an object oriented design using a client—server framework. It uses both relational and object databases for persistent data storage. It has pioneered the use of an electronic data management and workflow system and has implemented part of the system in C++.