Is information systems a discipline? Foucauldian and Toulminian insights

Following the Kleinian spirit, this study takes a critical view of the existing orthodoxy within information systems (IS) and reframes the ongoing discussion concerning the intellectual core, identity and disciplinary status of IS using the disciplinary analysis of Michel Foucault and Stephen Toulmin. Instead of limiting the discussion to specific paradigms, topics, subjects or content, it focuses on the characteristics, rules and goals of IS as an academic field. A disciplinary lens is used to frame what it means to be a field, discipline and science, and in the process the study uncovers four doxas that have shaped the development of the IS field: (1) the IS research community sees no difference between fields, disciplines or sciences; (2) IT changes so rapidly, and thus the IS field needs to change to remain relevant; (3) disciplines are by definition rigid, inflexible and uni-theoretical and (4) because IS is pluralistic, IS should not become a discipline. This study's analyses of the IS field's discursive formation and intellectual ideals offer novel perspectives that allow for the integration of the IS field's plurality and diversity. To transform the IS field from its multimodal existence into a vibrant, diverse, academically and socially relevant and influential discipline, the study proposes actionable strategies that include (1) agreeing on the intellectual ideals for IS, (2) focusing on conceptual formation, (3) focusing on theory construction, (4) erecting genealogical boundaries and (5) fostering the development of professional bodies.     

Is team training in briefings for surgical teams feasible in simulation?

We developed a module for surgical team training using briefings in simulated crisis scenarios and here we report preliminary findings. Nine surgical teams (34 trainees) participated in a pre-training simulation, followed by an interactive workshop on briefing and checklists, and then a post-training simulation. Both technical and non-technical skills were assessed via observation during simulations by expert trainers who provided feedback on performances at the end of simulation. Trainees also reported their attitudes to briefings and evaluated the training. Pre-training attitudes to briefing were positive, some of which improved post-training and trainees’ evaluation of the training was positive. Surgeons’ technical skill improved significantly post-training, but their decision-making skill was rated lower than other non-technical skills, compared to other trainees. The training did not appear to greatly improve non-technical skill performance. Training surgical teams in simulation is feasible but much more work is needed on measurement development and training strategy to confirm its efficacy and utility.     

Cooperative verification for sea-based cruise missiles

The problem of verifying sea-launched cruise missiles, which has the potential to undermine current intentions of the US and USSR to reduce their strategic arsenals by half, is examined. A cooperative approach could be based on a simple satellite monitoring system, which would have modest hardware problems. Verification requirements has tasks are discussed in the context of such an approach, and the problems that remain are highlighted     

Separation of Ethylene Glycol/Water Mixtures using NaA Zeolite Membranes

Inorganic membranes and particularly zeolite membranes are usually used for the dehydration of organic solvents by pervaporation (PV). This work reports an experimental study on the PV dehydration of ethylene glycol (EG)/water mixtures using commercial nanoporous NaA zeolite membranes. The concentration range investigated (C_EG > 70 wt %) was selected according to existing industrial requirements. The recirculation flow rate was kept at a value of 1.5 L/min. The fluxes and separation factors were monitored as the dehydration proceeded. In addition, the activation energy of permeation (E_a) was calculated. The effect of temperature was investigated in the range 50–70 °C. The results obtained demonstrated the successful performance of the membrane for the dehydration of EG/water mixtures. It was observed that at 70 °C and with 70 wt % initial EG concentration, larger fluxes and separation factors could be obtained, i.e., 0.94 kg m^–2h^–1 and 1177, respectively. The Pervaporation Separation Index (PSI) of the membrane was found to be high compared to that of polymeric membranes.     

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) investigation of air flow and temperature distribution in a small scale bread-baking oven

Experimental and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analyses of the thermal air flow distribution in a 3-zone small scale forced convection bread-baking oven are undertaken. Following industrial bread-making practise, the oven is controlled at different (constant) temperatures within each zone and a CFD model is developed and validated against experimental data collected within the oven. The CFD results demonstrate that careful selection of the flow model, together with implementation of realistic boundary conditions, give accurate temperature predictions throughout the oven. The CFD model is used to predict the flow and thermal fields within the oven and to show how key features, such as regions of recirculating flow, depend on the speeds of the impinging jets.     

Estimation of global solar irradiation on horizontal and inclined surfaces based on the horizontal measurements

Solar radiation data are essential in the design of solar energy conversion devices. In this regard, empirical models were selected to estimate the global solar radiation on horizontal and inclined surfaces. The hourly solar radiation data measured at the study area during the period of 2004-2007, were used to calculate solar radiations using selected models. The selected models were compared on the basis of statistical methods. Based on the results, a new model, H/H_o = 0.19490 + 0.4771(n/N) + 0.02994 exp(n/N) has been developed, based on Kadir Bakirci linear exponential model. This is highly recommended to estimate monthly mean daily global solar irradiation, on a horizontal surface. Further, a model to convert horizontal solar global radiation to that of radiation on a tilted surface is also presented. It is based upon a relatively simple model proposed by Olmo et al. which requires only measurements of horizontal solar radiation. The developed model appears to give excellent results and has the advantage of being relatively simple for applications. The present work will help to improve the state of knowledge of global solar radiation to the point where it has applications in the estimation of global solar radiation, both on horizontal and inclined surfaces.     

Monthly mean hourly global solar radiation estimation

In this paper, selected empirical models were used to estimate the monthly mean hourly global solar radiation from the daily global radiation at three sites in the east coast of Malaysia. The purpose is to determine the most accurate model to be used for estimating the monthly mean hourly global solar radiation in these sites. The hourly global solar radiation data used for the validation of selected models were obtained from the Malaysian Meteorology Department and University Malaysia Terengganu Renewable Energy Station. In order to indicate the performance of the models, the statistical test methods of the normalized mean bias error, normalized root mean square error, correlation coefficient and t-statistical test were used. The monthly mean hourly global solar radiation values were calculated by using six models and the results were compared with corresponding measured data. All the models fit the data adequately and can be used to estimate the monthly mean hourly global solar radiation. This study finds that the Collares-Pereira and Rabl model performed better than the other models. Therefore the Collares-Pereira and Rabl model is recommended to estimate the monthly mean hourly global radiations for the east coast of Malaysia with humid tropical climate and in elsewhere with similar climatic conditions.     

TiO2/Al2O3 membrane reactor equipped with a methanol recovery unit to produce palm oil biodiesel

In this study, the central composite design of the response surface methodology was employed to investigate the effects of reaction temperature, catalyst concentration and cross flow circulation velocity on the production of biodiesel in a TiO₂/Al₂O₃ membrane reactor. High‐quality palm oil biodiesel was produced by combination of alkali transesterification and separation processes in the ceramic membrane reactor. The optimum conditions for the conversion of palm oil to biodiesel in the ceramic membrane reactor were as follows: 70°C reaction temperature, 1.12 wt% catalyst concentration and 0.211 cm s^{? 1} cross flow circulation velocity. The physical and chemical properties of the produced biodiesel were determined and compared with the standard specifications. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Combustion characteristics of biomass in SouthEast Asia

Gas emission during combustion of mixed tropical wood, bamboo, oil palm trunk, acacia, and rubber wood have been investigated by using TG–MS in presence of oxygen as well as FTIR. The weight decreasing profiles and the gas formation rates of oil palm trunk was significantly different among the samples although their elemental composition was almost the same from biomass samples. It was found that H₂O is the main product formed for all samples. The evolving rates of the gaseous products during the combustion and infrared spectrums such as CO, H₂O, CO₂, CH₄ and COOH⁺ were found. The DTG curves spectrums for biomass present four overlapping peaks.     

Chaos control of a bounded 4D chaotic system

This paper is concerned with the problem of optimal and adaptive control for controlling chaos in a novel bounded four-dimensional (4D) chaotic system. This system can display hyperchaos, chaos, quasiperiodic and periodic behaviors, and may have a unique equilibrium, three equilibria and five equilibria for the different system parameters. An optimal control law is designed for the novel bounded chaotic system, based on the Pontryagin minimum principle. Furthermore, we propose Lyapunov stability conditions to control the new bounded 4D chaotic system with unknown parameters by a feedback control approach. Numerical simulations are presented to show the effectiveness of the proposed chaos control scheme.