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Operating Environment (operating + environment)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Humanities and Social Sciences	27%
Education	27%
Information Science and Computing	11%
Business, Economics, Finance and Accounting	11%

Selected Abstracts

Molecular modeling of estrogen receptor using molecular operating environment

BIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY EDUCATION, Issue 4 2007
Urmi Roy
Abstract Molecular modeling is pervasive in the pharmaceutical industry that employs many of our students from Biology, Chemistry and the interdisciplinary majors. To expose our students to this important aspect of their education we have incorporated a set of tutorials in our Biochemistry class. The present article describes one of our tutorials where undergraduates use modeling experiments to explore the structure of an estrogen receptor. We have employed the Molecular Operating Environment, a powerful molecular visualization software, which can be implemented on a variety of operating platforms. This tutorial reinforces the concepts of ligand binding, hydrophobicity, hydrogen bonding, and the properties of side chains and secondary structure taught in a general biochemistry class utilizing a protein that has importance in human biology. [source]

A RULE-BASED APPROACH FOR SEMANTIC ANNOTATION EVOLUTION

COMPUTATIONAL INTELLIGENCE, Issue 3 2007
P.-H. Luong
An approach for managing knowledge in an organization in the new infrastructure of Semantic Web consists of building a corporate semantic web (CSW). The main components of a CSW are (i) evolving resources distributed over an intranet and indexed using (ii) semantic annotations expressed with the vocabulary provided by (iii) a shared ontology. However, changes in the operating environment may lead to some inconsistencies in the system and they result in need of modifications of the CSW components. These changes need to be evolved and well managed. In this paper we present a rule-based approach allowing us to detect and correct semantic annotation inconsistencies. This rule-based approach is implemented in the CoSWEM system enabling to manage the evolution of such a CSW, especially to address the evolution of semantic annotations when its underlying ontologies change. [source]

Gossip-based search selection in hybrid peer-to-peer networks

CONCURRENCY AND COMPUTATION: PRACTICE & EXPERIENCE, Issue 2 2008
M. Zaharia
Abstract We present GAB, a search algorithm for hybrid peer-to-peer networks, that is, networks that search using both flooding and a distributed hash table (DHT). GAB uses a gossip-style algorithm to collect global statistics about document popularity to allow each peer to make intelligent decisions about which search style to use for a given query. Moreover, GAB automatically adapts to changes in the operating environment. Synthetic and trace-driven simulations show that compared to a simple hybrid approach that always floods first, trying a DHT if too few results are found, GAB reduces the response time by 25,50% and the average query bandwidth cost by 45%, with no loss in recall. GAB scales well, with only a 7% degradation in performance despite a tripling in system size. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Model policies for land use and the environment: towards a critical typology?

ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND GOVERNANCE, Issue 6 2006
D. Peel
Abstract This article considers contemporary debates in Scotland that are concerned with the design and implementation of land use development plan ,policies that work'. The interest in developing a resource bank of model policy texts is illustrative of the wider agenda to modernize the public sector and to secure efficiency gains in public policy making. On the one hand, this is presented as strengthening policy makers' ability to achieve stated policy outcomes, and to enforce particular policy objectives in the public interest. On the other hand, it is argued that a more uniform and consistent policy context across Scotland would offer a more certain operating environment for developers and users of the planning service. The discussion considers the diversity of land use planning topics identified as potentially appropriate for formulation as a model policy, and proposes a typology for critically interrogating their suitability in practice. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source]

Policy Learning: can Government discover the treasure within?

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF EDUCATION, Issue 2 2007
GRAHAM LEICESTER
We live in powerful times and are experiencing a conceptual emergency. The imperative to learn is evident. Yet in spite of advances in knowledge about how we learn, our application of that knowledge in practice remains patchy at best. A key part of the challenge is to encourage government itself to participate in the learning process, and to overcome the psychological and structural constraints it faces that militate against learning. The article suggests a number of measures to facilitate learning within the policy process: including first tackling denial, making space for reflection, empowering the boundary spanners and , most important , practising innovation as learning. The Delors Commission for UNESCO on education for the 21st century called learning ,the treasure within'. It is no longer possible for government to ignore the turbulence and complexity of its operating environment: it needs to find its own treasure within. This is the case for policy learning. [source]

American Humanitarian Intervention: Toward a Theory of Coevolution

FOREIGN POLICY ANALYSIS, Issue 1 2007
ALYNNA J. LYON
The goal of this study is twofold. First, it seeks to move beyond the exploration of motivations for understanding why the United States launches some humanitarian interventions and avoids others. Second, it initiates a theory building process to map the complex international and domestic environment that frames American humanitarianism. To explain the selectivity of U.S. engagement, the article establishes a typology of actors, restraints, and concerns involved in the humanitarian policy-making process. It then presents a theory of coevolution that serves as a framework for understanding the interactive and diffusive dynamics between policy makers and their broader operating environment. With illustrative case studies on Operation Provide Comfort in Iraq (1991), Operation Allied Force in Kosovo (1999), and Operation Unified Assistance in response to the Asian Tsunami (2004), this study suggests that U.S.-led humanitarian interventions are part of larger episodes of engagement that hold consequences for subsequent involvements. It finds that altruistic interventions are often blurred with self-interested power pursuits, as American humanitarianism is the product of a confluence of domestic political factors, historical milieu, and international normative advancement. [source]

On the design of a real-time knowledge-based system for managing logistics operations

INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS IN ACCOUNTING, FINANCE & MANAGEMENT, Issue 1-2 2006
K. H. Chow
Over the past 10 years, various kinds of logistics information systems have been developed to store and process all sorts of data and information to support daily logistics operations. However, the logistics planning or decision-making of logistics activity is still executed manually. In this paper, a real-time knowledge-based system (RKBS) is designed to support logistic service providers in making decisions during the stage of logistics planning and operation by extracting, sharing and storing real-time logistics knowledge. The proposed system, which is suitable for usage in different business processes in a warehouse operating environment, is developed by integrating radio-frequency identification, online analytical processing, case-based reasoning technologies, and a branch-and-bound resource-route-optimizing programming model. Through applying the RKBS in GENCO, a US-based logistics service company, the overall logistics servicing level is enhanced through accurate decision-making and planning of warehouse operations. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Experimental Study of the Aging and Self-Healing of the Glass/Ceramic Sealant Used in SOFCs

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF APPLIED CERAMIC TECHNOLOGY, Issue 1 2010
Wenning N. Liu
High operating temperatures of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) require that the sealant must function at a high temperature between 600°C and 900°C and in the oxidizing and reducing environments of fuel and air. This paper describes tests to investigate the temporal evolution of the volume fraction of ceramic phases, the evolution of micro-damage, and the self-healing behavior of the glass,ceramic sealant used in SOFCs. It was found that after the initial sintering process, further crystallization of the glass,ceramic sealant does not stop, but slows down and reduces the residual glass content while boosting the ceramic crystalline content. Under a long-term operating environment, distinct fibrous and needle-like crystals in the amorphous phase disappeared, and smeared/diffused phase boundaries between the glass phase and ceramic phase were observed. Meanwhile, the micro-damage was induced by the cooling down process from the operating temperature to room temperature, which can potentially degrade the mechanical properties of the glass/ceramic sealant. The glass/ceramic sealant exhibited self-healing upon reheating to the SOFC operating temperature, which can restore the mechanical performance of the glass/ceramic sealant. [source]

DommiMOE: An implementation of ligand field molecular mechanics in the molecular operating environment

JOURNAL OF COMPUTATIONAL CHEMISTRY, Issue 2 2005
Robert J. Deeth
The ligand field molecular mechanics (LFMM) model, which incorporates the ligand field stabilization energy (LFSE) directly into the potential energy expression of molecular mechanics (MM), has been implemented in the "chemically aware" molecular operating environment (MOE) software package. The new program, christened DommiMOE, is derived from our original in-house code that has been linked to MOE via its applications programming interface and a number of other routines written in MOE's native scientific vector language (SVL). DommiMOE automates the assignment of atom types and their associated parameters and popular force fields available in MOE such as MMFF94, AMBER, and CHARMM can be easily extended to provide a transition metal simulation capability. Some of the unique features of the LFMM are illustrated using MMFF94 and some simple [MCl4]2, and [Ni(NH3)n]2+ species. These studies also demonstrate how density functional theory calculations, especially on experimentally inaccessible systems, provide important data for designing improved LFMM parameters. DommiMOE treats Jahn,Teller distortions automatically, and can compute the relative energies of different spin states for Ni(II) complexes using a single set of LFMM parameters. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem 26: 123,130, 2005 [source]

Development and application of the ,Sleep Ukiha' automated sleep analysis system

PSYCHIATRY AND CLINICAL NEUROSCIENCES, Issue 3 2000
Shinichiro Shirakawa MD
Abstrast We attempted to develop an automated sleep analysis system that uses a personal computer as an aid to the entire sleep research process. Analysis is based on electroencephalogram, chin muscle electromyogram and electrooculography, while other physiological phenomena can be handled arbitrarily. Major characteristics of the system include: (i) simultaneous gathering of physiological phenomena from up to three patients; (ii) high-speed waveform analysis; (iii) user-friendly operating environment through the use of a graphical user interface; and (iv) versatile utilization of analytical data in research. [source]

Training and public sector reform: an integrated approach

PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION & DEVELOPMENT, Issue 4 2001
Padraig Healy
This article is partly a response to McCourt and Sola (1999), who raised a number of important observations about the role and limitations of training in promoting public sector reform in Tanzania. In particular, their discussion of the relationship between individual and organizational change is referred to. The article outlines a possible alternative to the straight training approach to capacity building, and suggests it as a possible model for the kind of OD intervention mentioned in McCourt and Sola, The author describes a programme of capacity building for rural district councils in Zimbabwe, which tried to avoid the mistakes of earlier public sector training programmes. In discussing ways of integrating human resource development into programmes of capacity building and public sector reform, the article adds to the debate about process and blueprint approaches as discussed in this journal by Cook, (1997), Blunt (1997) and others. The article concludes with an attempt to assess some of the achievements and failures of the training programme after the initial three years. It draws attention to some of the external factors in the programme operating environment which combine with the internal coordination and management aspects, in determining the overall achievement of such a complex programme. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

PRODUCTIVE EFFICIENCY IN THE IVORIAN MANUFACTURING SECTOR: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY USING A DATA ENVELOPMENT ANALYSIS APPROACH

THE DEVELOPING ECONOMIES, Issue 4 2005
KARINE CHAPELLE
The African industrial structure is characterized by firm-size heterogeneity with the coexistence of small, if not micro, enterprises in the informal sector and large formal organizations operating with modern technology. In this paper, using the Data Envelopment Analysis production frontier methodology, we investigate the technical efficiency of Ivorian manufacturing firms in four sectors of economic activity: textiles and garments, metal products, food processing, and wood and furniture. Efficiency scores are adjusted to take into account the impact of the external operating environment. These scores are then broken down into three elements: the purely managerial effect, the impact of the scale of production, and a technological effect capturing the potential gain that could result from the adoption of modern technology by small informal organizations. Not only formal activities prove to be more efficient in scaling their production but also, they greatly benefit from their modem technology. [source]

Molecular modeling of estrogen receptor using molecular operating environment

British Social Democracy beyond New Labour: Entrenching a Progressive Consensus

BRITISH JOURNAL OF POLITICS & INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, Issue 3 2007
Will Leggett
Social democrats are seeking a project beyond New Labour's dwindling Third Way. In particular, they have seized on the idea of a ,progressive consensus' as a means of entrenching a deeper, cultural shift in British society on centre-left terms. This article assesses the potential of social democratic responses to New Labour for fulfilling this task. ,Traditional' and ,modernising' perspectives are identified, each of which have a positive and critical variant. The critical-modernising approach emerges with the greatest potential for moving beyond the New Labour project. Critical-modernisers operate on the Third Way's analytical terrain,recognising the still-changing operating environment of the centre-left. However, they seek simultaneously to develop a political narrative that is distinct from the Third Way. In order to achieve this latter objective, the normative heritage of more traditional approaches remains a key resource for critical-modernisers, as they seek to show how more recognisably social democratic themes can resonate with a rapidly changing social context. [source]

Not Enough Science or Not Enough Learning?

HIGHER EDUCATION QUARTERLY, Issue 4 2008
Exploring the Gaps between Leadership Theory, Practice
This paper addresses the relationships between leadership theory, practice and development, drawing on both the higher education and wider leadership literature. It explores why challenges and problems exist within the contested field of leadership theory and why gaps remain between theory and practice after more than a century of research , and indeed, with increasing levels of research, scholarship and development in the last 25 years. After highlighting the importance of context for theory, practice and development, the first section of the paper examines a range of factors that contribute to theoretical ,contests' including different starting assumptions made by researchers, the different focus of studies, examination of different causal links to explain leadership, differences in values and cultural lenses and different constructs, terminology and perspectives. The second section examines the challenges faced by leadership practitioners, as individuals, and through exercising leadership as a collective responsibility in the context of changing operating environments within higher education institutions and across sectors and countries. The author highlights three areas where some re-thinking of the links between theory and practice are necessary , at the input stage, linking research findings and recruitment practices; in terms of outcomes, by researching links between leaders, leadership and performance; and in process terms, to examine more deeply complex and relational dynamic of leadership in action. The third section offers a number of specific suggestions as to how closer alignment between theory, practice and development can be achieved. The paper concludes by arguing for greater maturity (in research, practice and development) that acknowledges that leadership is played out in complex, dynamic and changing social systems. A stronger emphasis on ,leadership learning' should deliver both better science and better outcomes for leaders and led in higher education. [source]

Changing Internal Governance: A Discussion of Leadership Roles and Management Structures in UK Universities

HIGHER EDUCATION QUARTERLY, Issue 4 2004
Robin MiddlehurstArticle first published online: 13 DEC 200
A series of reviews over the past six years , from Dearing (NCIHE, 1997) to Lambert (Lambert, 2003) , have addressed the question of whether the structure and process of ,governance' in higher education is fit for modern times. This is a proper question to ask as operating environments change and pressures on institutional resources increase. Indeed, it is not coincidental that both the recent government-sponsored reports and those of the previous decade (Jarratt, 1985; NAB, 1987) were associated with significant financial changes in the sector. There are further parallels in that both the reports of the 1980s and those of the later period heralded legislative changes that produced , or will produce , new patterns of higher education provision in the UK (Education Reform Act, 1988; Further and Higher Education Act, 1992; Higher Education Act, 2004). The messages from the reports and White Papers (DES, 1987; DES, 1991; DfES, 2003) published in this twenty-year period have remained broadly similar, even though the wider environment has altered significantly. ,Increase efficiency, find new sources of income and improve performance across an ever-widening range of activities and services' have been the watchwords of successive governments. Given the consistency of the message, it is useful to analyse the changes that universities have been making to meet these requirements and to consider what further changes may be needed in the light of new external challenges. The first part of the paper offers a historical perspective before addressing the evolution of leadership roles and management structures from the late 1980s. The second part considers some of the current drivers of internal and external change before discussing the kind of changes in internal governance that are emerging and that should be considered for the future. I conclude by arguing for a shift in focus from structure and roles to people and processes in the task of leading change in universities. [source]

Which Microfinance Institutions Are Becoming More Cost Effective with Time?

JOURNAL OF MONEY, CREDIT AND BANKING, Issue 4 2009
Evidence from a Mixture Model
microfinance; mixture model; Eastern Europe; Central Asia Microfinance institutions (MFIs) play a key role in many developing countries. Utilizing data from Eastern Europe and Central Asia, MFIs are found to generally operate with lower costs the longer they are in operation. Given the differences in operating environments, subsidies, and organizational form, this finding of increasing cost effectiveness may not aptly characterize all MFIs. Estimation of a mixture model reveals that roughly half of the MFIs are able to operate with reduced costs over time, while half do not. Among other things, we find that larger MFIs offering deposits and those receiving lower subsidies operate more cost effectively over time. [source]