A tau method approach for the diffusion equation with nonlocal boundary conditions

An approximate method for solving the diffusion equation with nonlocal boundary conditions is proposed. The method is based upon constructing the double shifted Legendre series to approximate the required solution using Legendre tau method. The differential and integral expressions which arise in the diffusion equation with nonlocal boundary conditions are converted into a system of linear algebraic equations which can be solved for the unknown coefficients. Numerical examples are included to demonstrate the validity and applicability of the method and a comparison is made with existing results.     

A numerical method for solving singularly perturbed systems of nonlinear two-point boundary-value problems

In this paper, a numerical method is proposed to solve singularly perturbed systems of nonlinear two-point boundary-value problems. First, Newton's iteration is used to linearize such problems, reducing these to a sequence of linear singularly perturbed two-point boundary-value problems. Then,a difference scheme is applied to solve the linear systems. The difference scheme is accurate up to O(h ²). Test examples are included to demonstrate the efficiency of the method.     

The influence of equivocality in purchasing tasks on the selection of transaction channels in online auctions

Online auctions are one of the most active business models used in electronic commerce. Previous researchers address issues of online auction behaviour focusing on the factors influencing bidding intentions, but how bidders choose transaction channels to complete the consumption process is not examined before. This study conducts an experiment to manipulate the equivocality of purchasing task. Results show that when purchasing a product with higher task equivocality, bidders tend to choose a communication channel with higher information richness, and select a payment and product delivery channel with lower risk. When purchasing a product with lower task equivocality, bidders tend to select a communication channel with lower information richness, and tolerate higher risk to complete the payment and product delivery process.     

Denotation and connotation in the human – computer interface: The ‘Save as …’ command

This paper presents a semiotic technique as a means of exploring meaning and understanding in interface design and use. This is examined through a study of the interaction between the ‘file’ metaphor and ‘save as’ command metaphor. The behaviour of these (from a functional or computational basis) do not exactly match, or map onto, the meaning of the metaphor. We examine both the denotation of a term to the user, i.e. its literal meaning to that person, and the term's connotations, i.e. any other meanings associated with the term. We suggest that the technique applied is useful in predicting future problems with understanding the use of metaphor at the interface and with designing appropriate signification for human-computer interaction. Variation in connotation was expected but a more fundamental difference in denotation was also uncovered. Moreover, the results clearly demonstrate that consistency in the denotation of a term is critical in achieving a good user understanding of the command.     

How employees' perception of information technology application and their knowledge management capacity influence organisational performance

This study investigates how workers' gender, work experience, designated division, and appointment affect (i) their perception of information technology (IT) within the organisation, (ii) their self-perceived capacity in knowledge management (KM), and (iii) their perception of organisational performance (OP). Furthermore, the study also examines the correlation among the above three dimensions by using t-test, one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), Pearson correlation and stepwise regression analysis. These results show a positive correlation among IT application, KM capacity, and OP. In addition, the study discovers that (i) adequate IT investment and acceptance will improve employees' KM capacity, (ii) appropriate IT investment and training and employees' knowledge replication ability can better predict organisational outcomes, and (iii) employees' KM capacity is a better predictor of OP than IT application. Results also show that personal factors do affect workers' perception of the organisation's IT application, their KM capacity, and overall OP.     

An unsupervised data projection that preserves the cluster structure

In this paper we propose a new unsupervised dimensionality reduction algorithm that looks for a projection that optimally preserves the clustering data structure of the original space. Formally we attempt to find a projection that maximizes the mutual information between data points and clusters in the projected space. In order to compute the mutual information, we neither assume the data are given in terms of distributions nor impose any parametric model on the within-cluster distribution. Instead, we utilize a non-parametric estimation of the average cluster entropies and search for a linear projection and a clustering that maximizes the estimated mutual information between the projected data points and the clusters. The improved performance is demonstrated on both synthetic and real world examples.     

里石门水库综合自动化系统的设计与建设

里石门水库在大坝安全监测、闸门监控、水情测报、安全监视等方面采用计算机监控技术实现了资源共享与科学调度,充分发挥了水库的综合效益,实现了水库安全科学管理的目标。     

不同含盐量及离子含量对土的界限含水率的影响规律研究

土中含盐量影响土的物理力学性能,研究细粒土中总盐含量及不同离子含量(硫酸盐和氯盐)对认识土的界限含水率的影响规律有重要意义。人工配制不同含盐量、不同离子含量的土样,测定土的界限含水率,并运用投影寻踪回归分析方法研究含盐量对土的界限含水率的影响。研究结果表明:加氯化钠时,随着含盐量的增加,土的液、塑限均有下降;加硫酸钠时,随着含盐量的增加,土的液、塑限均有上升,体积发生变化,出现膨胀现象;各加一半时,随着含盐量的增加,土的液限明显下降,塑限变化不大。     

贯彻全国水利信息化工作会议精神全面完成近期重点任务

“十一五”期间,水利信息化取得了显著成就,有力支撑了水利各项工作,在水利现代化进程中发挥了不可替代的推动作用。随着“中央一号文件”的出台和中央水利工作会议的召开,对水利信息化工作提出了明确的安排和部署,水利信息化既面临大好的发展机遇,也面临着严峻的挑战,这要求水利信息化工作这在思想上要有新认识,工作中要有新思路,执行中要有新举措,手段上要采用新技术,服务上要拓展新领域。当前,实施“金水工程”是水利信息化工作的总体抓手,加快重点工程建设是近期的首要任务。     

空间信息技术在堰塞湖应急处置中的应用

主要介绍了汶川地震中唐家山堰塞湖应急处置过程中空间信息技术的具体应用。通过收集堰塞湖发生及处置全过程中所获取的有关基础地理信息、航空航天遥感影像、地质、水文气象、资源环境、人口社会经济以及应急决策等各类数据,并对上述数据进行处理,以使相同类型的数据能在统一的格式下进行组织、存储并进行有效的数据库管理。利用Web Services、空间数据库等技术建立数据库管理信息系统,实现基于网络的各类数据的查询检索和分析功能。该数据库的建设,可为今后类似应急处置提供快速、准确和直观的基础信息和经验指导。