An Objective Function to Evaluate Performance of Human–Robot Collaboration in Target Recognition Tasks

Robotic systems in unstructured environments must cope with unknown, unpredictable, and dynamic situations. Inherent uncertainty, and limited sensor accuracy and reliability impede target recognition performance. Introducing a human operator into the system can help improve performance and simplify the robotic system. In this paper, four basic levels of collaboration were defined for human-robot collaboration in target recognition tasks. An objective function that includes operational and time costs was developed to quantify performance and determine the best collaboration level. Signal detection theory was applied to evaluate system performance. The optimal collaboration level for different cases was determined by using numerical analyses of the objective function. The findings indicate that the best system performance, the optimal values of performance measures, and the best collaboration level depend on the task, the environment, human and robot parameters, and the system characteristics. For the tested cases, the manual level was never the best collaboration level for achieving the optimal solution. The autonomous level was the best collaboration level when robot sensitivity was higher than human sensitivity. In general, collaboration of human and robot in target recognition tasks will improve upon the optimal performance of a single human detector.     

Alternative genres in information systems research

In this special issue, we advocate a critical stance toward the presentational conventions that we – as authors, reviewers, and editors – accept as the academic article genre. We seek to highlight and illustrate the generative capacity and the significant role of genres in the production of knowledge. Furthermore, we wish to encourage Information Systems (IS) scholars to leverage a wider array of alternative genres to present their research in order to develop new insights on subject matters of interest to the IS discipline, as well as expand on how contemporary and emergent phenomena of interest are conceived and studied. Adopting a broad view of alternative genres, we solicited articles that apply unconventional presentational modalities to expand or challenge the prevailing modus operandi of communicating IS scholarship and practice. Six articles survived a rather lengthy and challenging review process. We briefly discuss the nature of the academic article genre and the role of alternative ways of writing. We also introduce the six exemplars of alternative genres in the special issue, namely conversation, French new novel, meditation, memoir, allegory, and crowdsourced research. We highlight key insights and contemplate their implications for current and future IS research.     

Valence Bond-Based Hybrid Quantum Mechanics Molecular Mechanics Approaches and Proper Inclusion of the Effect of the Surroundings

The pioneering development of multiscale models for complex chemical systems by Karplus, Levitt, and Warshel, including the hybrid quantum mechanics molecular mechanics (QM/MM) approach and its application to enzymes, established a new field in chemistry that allows the modeling of reactivity within complex chemical systems. Inspired by the potential of such methods, many groups developed different QM/MM variants. Valence bond (VB) theory, which always was and still is an important conceptual tool for chemists, is well suited to deal with problems of chemical reactivity. Hence, here we review VB-based QM/MM methods, including the early semi-empirical methods that utilize VB concepts and more recent ab initio VB-based QM/MM methods. Special emphasis is given to the different ways to include effects of the surroundings on the solute. It is shown that within the VB framework, simple mechanical embedding for each diabatic state, followed by mixing of the states, accounts for most of these effects.     

Metadocuments supporting digital library information discovery

The World Wide Web is a decentralized, unmanaged, dynamically changing repository of digital documents. Waldens Paths provides tools that enable authors to collect, organize, annotate, and present Web-based information to reader communities via a linear metadocument called a path. Waldens Paths includes path authoring and reading interfaces supporting the contextualization of included materials to match authors goals as well as enabling browsing off the path to match readers personal interests. It also provides tools to manage these paths of transient Web materials based on the identification and evaluation of changes to the component pages. Experience with Waldens Paths in educational settings and changes to Web technology as well as the Web-savvyness of users have led to a variety of changes to earlier designs. Current directions of work include the development of methods for evaluating readers understanding via quizzes associated with paths and richer path structures.     

Effects of an upland impoundment on structural and functional properties of a small stream in a basaltic plateau (golan heights,Israel)

The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of an upland storage reservoir, typical of the series of reservoirs in the Golan Heights basaltic plateau, on structural and functional properties of the downstream ecosystem, in the vicinity of the reservoir, shortly after damming. The effect of impoundment on water quality conditions may be divided into winter-spring, and summer periods. In the former, the impoundment seems to lengthen the period of flow of runoff quality water. This is evident by the elevated winter and spring turbidities and the higher concentrations of suspended solids below the reservoir. In summer, water quality below the reservoir is controlled by the consequences of stratification in the reservoir. The hypolimnial release results in depression of the maximal temperature and narrowing of the daily and seasonal temperature variations. It supplies water enriched in nutrients and low in oxygen, suspended solids and turbidity. The macroinvertebrate community responds to impoundment in density changes and shifting of dominance. We hypothesize that the thermal effect of hypolimnial release from warm monomictic reservoirs on the invertebrate community of warm streams will differ from an equivalent thermal change caused by cold dimictic reservoirs in cold, temperate zone, streams. The effect of impoundment on functional properties of the ecosystem are most pronounced. The rate of production of benthic algae biomass below the reservoir increased by more than two orders of magnitude, but the effect diminished downstream. The rate of processing of plant material below the reservoir was lower than above the reservoir. Further investigation is needed to clarify this effect. Changes in reservoir operation are recommended to diminish the effects of impoundment.     

Mechanical cutting of submersed macrophytes: Immediate effects on littoral water chemistry and metabolism

Immediate consequences of mechanical cutting of submersed macrophytes may include suspension of sediments and Aufwuchs and exudation from damaged tissues which can potentially alter water chemistry and metabolism. In the densely vegetated littoral of a shallow hardwater eutrophic lake, effects of cutting on concentrations of seston, dissolved organic carbon, biological oxygen demand of dissolved organic carbon, and particulate, dissolved unreactive, and dissolved reactive phosphorus were short lived or insignificant. In shallow areas, community photosynthesis and respiration were decreased by macrophyte removal. Use of this management approach on the limited basis tested does not appear to cause substantial detriment to the littoral environment.     

Laser and Photonic Systems Integration: Emerging Innovations and Framework for Research and Education

The purpose of this article is to review the key emerging innovations in laser and photonics systems as well as their design and integration, focusing on challenges and opportunities for solutions of societal challenges. Developments, their significance, and frontier challenges are explained in advanced manufacturing, biomedicine and healthcare, and communication. Systems, networks, and integration issues and challenges are then discussed, and an integration framework for networking laser‐ and photonic‐based services and products is proposed. The article concludes with implications and an agenda for education, research and development, and policy needs, with a focus on human, society, science, and technology integration. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.