Validating Academic Training versus Organizational Training： An Analysis in the Enterprise Resource Planning （ERP） Field

ERP （enterprise resource planning） systems are packaged software applications that support most of an organization＇s informational needs within and across functional areas of the organization. Modern ERP systems serve as the foundation for a wide range of e-business models within one company, as well as throughout the value chain. This study explored industry ERP training of employees new to ERP, and compared this latter group to college students prepared with ERP skills from a college ERP class. The students remotely accessed the ERP systems featured here for class requirements. University and industry collaborations allow for a hands-on experience in the classroom that replicates industry applications by using real world tools. This synergistic relationship provides opportunities for students to acquire knowledge using a tangible tool that imitates what is utilized in the industry. The study noted that schools supported by several ERP vendor initiatives are increasingly integrating enterprise systems in their curricula. The resultant data identifies pertinent information that businesses consider valuable in their employees＇ ERP training. This noteworthy correlation, between college prepared students and employees new to ERP who have gone through ERP training, examined case studies of students who are now in the workforce. This study exposes these students＇ distinct advantage because of their ERP learning experience, and compares it to companies＇ ERP training practices. The intent, as in any educational environment, is not only to help students attain an understanding of the material, but to also master that material in the environment in which they will be required to use it.     

An iterated “hyperplane exploration” approach for the quadratic knapsack problem

The quadratic knapsack problem (QKP) is a well-known combinatorial optimization problem with numerous applications. Given its NP-hard nature, finding optimal solutions or even high quality suboptimal solutions to QKP in the general case is a highly challenging task. In this paper, we propose an iterated “hyperplane exploration” approach (IHEA) to solve QKP approximately. Instead of considering the whole solution space, the proposed approach adopts the idea of searching over a set of hyperplanes defined by a cardinality constraint to delimit the search to promising areas of the solution space. To explore these hyperplanes efficiently, IHEA employs a variable fixing strategy to reduce each hyperplane-constrained sub-problem and then applies a dedicated tabu search procedure to locate high quality solutions within the reduced solution space. Extensive experimental studies over three sets of 220 QKP instances indicate that IHEA competes very favorably with the state-of-the-art algorithms both in terms of solution quality and computing efficiency. We provide additional information to gain insight into the key components of the proposed approach.     

Studying the impact of uncertainty in operational release planning – An integrated method and its initial evaluation

ContextUncertainty is an unavoidable issue in software engineering and an important area of investigation. This paper studies the impact of uncertainty on total duration (i.e., make-span) for implementing all features in operational release planning.ObjectiveThe uncertainty factors under investigation are: (1) the number of new features arriving during release construction, (2) the estimated effort needed to implement features, (3) the availability of developers, and (4) the productivity of developers.MethodAn integrated method is presented combining Monte-Carlo simulation (to model uncertainty in the operational release planning (ORP) process) with process simulation (to model the ORP process steps and their dependencies as well as an associated optimization heuristic representing an organization-specific staffing policy for make-span minimization). The method allows for evaluating the impact of uncertainty on make-span. The impact of uncertainty factors both in isolation and in combination are studied in three different pessimism levels through comparison with a baseline plan. Initial evaluation of the method is done by an explorative case study at Chartwell Technology Inc. to demonstrate its applicability and its usefulness.ResultsThe impact of uncertainty on release make-span increases – both in terms of magnitude and variance – with an increase of pessimism level as well as with an increase of the number of uncertainty factors. Among the four uncertainty factors, we found that the strongest impact stems from the number of new features arriving during release construction. We have also demonstrated that for any combination of uncertainty factors their combined (i.e., simultaneous) impact is bigger than the addition of their individual impacts.ConclusionThe added value of the presented method is that managers are able to study the impact of uncertainty on existing (i.e., baseline) operational release plans pro-actively.     

An algorithm for the determination of the vibrational energy distribution in “hot” molecules. Description and test

An algorithm for the determination of the vibrational energy of molecules energized above their threshold for unimolecular reaction is presented. Using easily obtainable experimental data the method performs their deconvolution applying well-established unimolecular reaction concepts. Their mathematical foundations are described as well as its implementation in IBM AT compatible TB BASIC. In the case example the vibrational energy distribution is known (can be calculated thermochemically), and therefore can be used to test the method performance. It is shown that using precise unimolecular reaction parameters and well-defined average energies transferred by collision 〈ΔE〉 the agreement between deconvoluted and thermochemical results is good (i.e. within the uncertainties involved in the thermochemical test calculation).     

The impact of psychological contract under- and over-fulfillment on client citizenship behaviors in Enterprise systems projects: From the client’s perspective

This study focuses on examining client citizenship behaviors (CCBs) from a psychological contract perspective in enterprise systems (ES) vendor–client relationships. Using polynomial modeling to capture the discrepancy between expected obligations and delivered fulfillments, this stud unpacks psychological contract and investigates the impacts of psychological contract under-fulfillment, fulfillment, and over-fulfillment on CCBs. The results show that both under-fulfillment and over-fulfillment of psychological contract are negatively related to CCBs. CCBs are shown to be higher when expected obligation and delivered fulfillment are both high than when both are low. The theoretical contributions and practical implications are discussed.     

Self-correcting mechanisms and echo-effects in social media: An analysis of the “gunman in the newsroom” crisis

The positive and negative effects of social media in crises are currently receiving an increased amount of scholarly attention. This study focuses on Twitter users in the context of a crisis in the Netherlands on January 29, 2015. After having made a bomb threat, an armed man managed to get access to the national news broadcasting station around 8 pm, where he demanded airplay to share “an important message” with Dutch citizens. Three weeks after the terrorist attack on Charlie Hebdo in Paris, approximately 1.5 million viewers were anxious that a similar attack was taking place in the television studio. The crisis, also followed by social media users, reached a climax when armed policemen arrested the man, which was later shown on national TV. We analyzed 58,931 tweets, posted in the six hours after the incident. By examining shared facts and rumors during the gunman crisis, we identified an “echo-effect”: the dissemination of older tweets continued after the posting of new facts by the same source. Moreover, we found that two rumors were based on misinterpreted humor in Twitter messages. The study adds insight into the self-correcting mechanism of social media communities when verifying and dispelling online rumors during crises.     

An evolutionary approach for multi-objective optimization of the integrated location–inventory distribution network problem in vendor-managed inventory

Vendor-managed inventory (VMI) is one of the emerging solutions for improving the supply chain efficiency. It gives the supplier the responsibility to monitor and decide the inventory replenishments of their customers. In this paper, an integrated location–inventory distribution network problem which integrates the effects of facility location, distribution, and inventory issues is formulated under the VMI setup. We presented a Multi-Objective Location–Inventory Problem (MOLIP) model and investigated the possibility of a multi-objective evolutionary algorithm based on the Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm (NSGA2) for solving MOLIP. To assess the performance of our approach, we conduct computational experiments with certain criteria. The potential of the proposed approach is demonstrated by comparing to a well-known multi-objective evolutionary algorithm. Computational results have presented promise solutions for different sizes of problems and proved to be an innovative and efficient approach for many difficult-to-solve problems.     

An evaluation of Students’ Quality Circles and the World Council for Total Quality and Excellence in Education

This research was sponsored by the government of Japan through the UNESCO/Keizo Obuchi fellowship programme, to promote a culture of peace ideals through peace education. Conducted at Kingston University, UK, from September 2010 to January 2011, it was facilitated by the Mauritius National Commission for UNESCO and the Ministry of Education and Human Resources. It emphasises innovation and partnerships to tap hidden potentials of individuals, and bring people to work together for peace and progress. Globalisation has facilitated free trade and the flow of information, but it has shown the difficulties of managing cultural diversity. The importance of dialogue and intercultural learning is emphasised, but needs to be practised from an early age. Can Students’ Quality Circles, which have roots in ‘Quality Circles’ from industry, empower young individuals to develop problem-solving skills? How far is it sustainable? At a time when ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’ is cautious about investment and the UN Millennium Development Goals for many countries are a priority, can SQCs help to bridge the gap?     

Adaptive approach with the “Fast” model for dynamics identification and forecasting problems for relay control of an elastic satellite

We develop a physically implementable method of computer forecasting of the relay control dynamics for an elastic satellite given uncertain information about its elastic modes parameters. The method is based on preliminary identification of these parameters and further application of a simplified “fast” movement model, in which modes are replaced by their envelopes. Based on the forecasting results, one can decide upon adaptive tuning of the base control algorithm parameters.     

An approach to design and implementation of on-chip clock generator for the switched capacitor based embedded DC–DC converter

Here, the design and implementation of an on-chip clock generator which is needed for a switched capacitor based embedded DC–DC converter is described. The strategies that should be taken during making the design by predicting the occurrence of the parasitic issues at the time of implementation to keep the performance of the clock generator at per in silicon are also elaborated. The reported measurement results closely match with the simulation results in clock generation. It can be a helpful tutorial paper to design and implement an on-chip clock generator suitable for mid-frequency, real time applications.     

Quality and the efficiency of data in “Smart-Cities”

As a new form of sustainable development, the concept “Smart Cities” knows a large expansion during the recent years. It represents an urban model, refers to all alternative approaches to metropolitan ICTs case to enhance quality and performance of urban service for better interaction between citizens and government. However, the smart cities based on distributed and autonomous information infrastructure contains millions of information sources that will be expected more than 50 billion devices connected by using IoT or other similar technologies in 2020. In Information Technology, we often need to process and reason with information coming from various sources (sensors, experts, models). Information is almost always tainted with various kinds of imperfection: imprecision, uncertainty, ambiguity, we need a theoretical framework general enough to allow for the representation, propagation and combination of all kinds of imperfect information. The theory of belief functions is one such Framework. Real-time data generated from autonomous and distributed sources can contain all sorts of imperfections regarding on the quality of data e.g. imprecision, uncertainty, ignorance and/or incompleteness. Any imperfection in data within smart city can have an adverse effect over the performance of urban services and decision making. In this context, we address in this article the problem of imperfection in smart city data. We will focus on handling imperfection during the process of information retrieval and data integration and we will create an evidential database by using the evidence theory in order to improve the efficiency of smart city. The expected outcomes from this paper are (1) to focus on handling imperfection during the process of information retrieval and data integration (2) to create an evidential database by using the evidence theory in order to improve the efficiency of smart city. As experimentation we present a special case of modeling imperfect data in the field of Healthcare. An evidential database will be built which will contain all the perfect and imperfect data. These data come from several Heterogeneous sources in a context of Smart Cities. Imperfect aspects in the evidential database expressed by the theory of beliefs that will present in this paper.     

Comments on “An infinite dimensional matrix for the design of sampled-data systems”

A method is described which greatly facilitates the determination of the stochastic-response characteristics of a class of multivariable linear systems : the method is illustrated by the presentation of a, numerical example.     

Dynamic Merge of the Global and Local Models for Sustainable Land Use Planning with Regard for Global Projections from GLOBIOM and Local Technical–Economic Feasibility and Resource Constraints<Superscript>*</Superscript>

In order to conduct research at required spatial resolution, we propose a model fusion involving interlinked calculations of regional projections by the global dynamic model GLOBIOM (Global Biosphere Management Model) and robust dynamic downscaling model, based on cross-entropy principle, for deriving spatially resolved projections. The proposed procedure allows incorporating data from satellite images, statistics, expert opinions, as well as data from global land use models. In numerous case studies in China and Ukraine, the approach allowed to estimate local land use and land use change projections corresponding to real trends and expectations. The disaggregated data and projections were used in national models for planning sustainable land use and agricultural development.     

Work or leisure? Designing a user-centered approach for researching activity “in the wild”

Mobile devices have conquered nearly all parts of the daily life. These devices support their owners in specific situations, both at work and in leisure contexts, and therefore make it increasingly difficult to keep work and private life separated. Examining the practices around the use of mobile technology has become a topic of some interest as issues around “work–life balance” emerge. Although the field of HCI provides different approaches for capturing people’s activities in situ, we will show that an additional value can be obtained from a consideration of the “situated” view of contextuality, one which incorporates concerns of privacy and which identifies the reasons people might have for long-term user participation in this kind of study. Despite the undoubted sophistication of existing platforms, the issue of how to provide for dynamic adjustment to meet emerging research questions over time remains challenging. In this paper, we examine how one might approach the design of an observation environment that includes methods for understanding the way of how users reason about research, based upon the context they find themselves in. We have developed a research framework called “PartS,” which captures in situ information about the individual as well as his/her (work/personal) context and offers functionality for collaborative discussions about the information collected. Based on its evaluation, we outline six lessons that need to be considered when designing a study for capturing the subjective context and related activities from an individual user’s as well as a researcher’s perspective.     

“The more options,the better?” Investigating the impact of the number of options on backers’ decisions in reward-based crowdfunding projects

The number of options in reward-based crowdfunding projects plays an important role in influencing backers’ decisions. However, prior studies provided two-pronged outcomes for the impact on the backers’ decision of supporting a project. They also neglected the impact on the backers’ decision on which option to select. Anchored on the theories of assortment decisions, we found that the number of options has an inverted U-shaped relationship with the backers’ decision on supporting a crowdfunding project. It also has a significant impact on the backers’ decision on selecting an option. Three studies were conducted, and they collectively provided a piece of solid evidence to our findings.