Epos – an instrument for the assessment of the ethical position in software development

Digital technology becomes more powerful, intelligent, pervasive and ubiquitous. Ethical aspects of this development have not yet drawn the appropriate attention of researchers and engineers. This paper presents an instrument that aims at measuring the individual ethical position with regard to the design and development of computer software. The development of the Epos tool was based on two data collections. The data of the first survey (n₁ = 147 participants) were used to select items and to determine the factorial structure of the questionnaire. Results show that the Epos instrument reliably assesses peoples’ ethical opinion with respect to five central components: (1) regulation, (2) data privacy, (3) domain specific knowledge, (4) societal responsibility and (5) company responsibility. In the second survey, we determined the stability of the instruments factor structure by assessing a sample of n₂?=?196 participants. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) supported the initial factor structure. Next steps and further implications are discussed regarding the final version of the questionnaire.     

Systematic convergence of nonlinear stochastic estimators on the Special Orthogonal Group SO(3)

This paper introduces two novel nonlinear stochastic attitude estimators developed on the Special Orthogonal Group with the tracking error of the normalized Euclidean distance meeting predefined transient and steady‐state characteristics. The tracking error is confined to initially start within a predetermined large set such that the transient performance is guaranteed to obey dynamically reducing boundaries and decrease smoothly and asymptotically to the origin in probability from almost any initial condition. The proposed estimators produce accurate attitude estimates with remarkable convergence properties using measurements obtained from low‐cost inertial measurement units. The estimators proposed in continuous form are complemented by their discrete versions for the implementation purposes. The simulation results illustrate the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed estimators against uncertain measurements and large initialization error, whether in continuous or discrete form.     

The Israeli-Palestinian peace process and its vicissitudes: Insights from attitude theory.

The vicissitudes of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process since 1967 are analyzed using attitudes and related concepts where relevant. The 1967 war returned the two peoples' zero-sum conflict around national identity to its origin as a conflict within the land both peoples claim. Gradually, new attitudes evolved regarding the necessity and possibility of negotiations toward a two-state solution based on mutual recognition, which became the building stones of the 1993 Oslo agreement. Lacking a commitment to a final outcome, the Oslo-based peace process was hampered by reserve options, which increased avoidance at the expense of approach tendencies as the parties moved toward a final agreement. The resulting breakdown of the process in 2000 produced clashing narratives, reflecting different anchors for judgment and classical mirror images. Public support for violence increased, even as public opinion continued to favor a negotiated two-state solution. Reviving the peace process requires mutual reassurance about the availability of a partner for negotiating a principled peace based on a historic compromise that meets the basic needs and validates the identities of both peoples. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

试论入世对中国氧化铝工业的影响

随着中国加入WTO，给企业带来了发展的机会，也带来了挑战。本文通过对中国氧化铝工业的现状及其与世界水平的差距的分析，阐明了入世后随着关税等贸易壁垒的消除，国内、国际市场的竞争更加激烈。明确指出了我国氧化铝工业面临的多重挑战，以及给中国氧化铝工业带来的机遇。强调充分利用WTO给企业创设的权利，借入世东风，促进我国氧化铝工业快速发展，只有发展，中国氧化铝工业才有出路。     

保证跌落试件姿态的方法

进行包装件的自由跌落试验时,必须保证试件姿态符合标准规定。笔者在实践中总结出一种保证试件姿态和检验试件姿态误差的具体方法。     

A study on the critical success factors for corporations embarking on knowledge community-based e-learning

Corporations have felt the pressure for fast-paced innovations and knowledge transfer as major driving forces in raising their sustainable competitive advantage and organizational total productivity. Thus, the development of the knowledge community through e-learning is an important strategy in implementing knowledge management policy. This paper illustrates an empirical study with which to conduct qualitative research of learning organization. From the case company’s real progress and practical experience, some core principles were extracted from four managerial aspects, such as: strategy, technology, process, and personnel. These aspects were analyzed in order to understand the value chain framework and the major concerns of knowledge community development. Further, the main benefits are addressed and certain critical factors are proposed and shown in this paper to ensure the success of corporations embarking on knowledge community-based e-learning.     

论企业竞争情报信息系统的构建与重要性

简要地述叙了现代企业构建竞争情报信息系统的必要性,介绍了竞争情报信息的构建与应用以及该系统在企业中所起的重要作用。     

Two years of operational use of Subpixel Automatic Navigation of AVHRR scheme: accuracy assessment and validation

Automated techniques for satellite imagery navigation and co-location are especially required for environmental monitoring activities intensively using satellite data. In this work are presented the results obtained after 2 years of operational use of the Subpixel Automatic Navigation of AVHRR (SANA) scheme. An automatic method for accuracy assessment of satellite navigation techniques, which permits a preliminary evaluation of their performances, dealing with a large collection of test images is also proposed. The navigation accuracy assessment, performed by using a selection of small islands as reference points, is discussed.Results achieved over more than 400 Advanced Very-High-Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) scenes confirm that the SANA scheme is a very accurate one (computed mean navigation error is generally about one AVHRR pixel). Furthermore, because of its high processing speed, it can be considered a suitable tool for intensive satellite data processing in multitemporal analyses, especially required for environmental studies as well as for operational monitoring purposes.     

修正型罗德里格斯参数在旋转弹上的应用

光纤陀螺可应用于旋转弹导航上,以提高其精确打击能力。基于光纤陀螺的捷联惯性导航系统是实现这一目的的重要手段之一。其中,姿态更新算法是捷联惯性导航系统的核心。针对旋转弹短时、近程的特点,提出一种基于修正型罗德里格斯参数的全姿态更新算法,并给出适合旋转弹姿态确定的数学模型。仿真结果表明与传统姿态更新算法相比较,新算法可以更有效的抑制不可交换误差,降低跟随时间的累积误差,减少高动态环境下的计算量,提高算法结算的速度和精度。