Home About us Contact
|
Home About us Contact | ||
|
|
||
Technical Solutions (technical + solution)
Selected AbstractsEuroethics,a database network on biomedical ethicsHEALTH INFORMATION & LIBRARIES JOURNAL, Issue 3 2006Ylva Gavel Background:,euroethics is a database covering European literature on ethics in medicine. It is produced within Eurethnet, a European information network on ethics in medicine and biotechnology. Objectives:, The aim of Euroethics is to disseminate information on European bioethical literature that may otherwise be difficult to find. Methods:, A collaboration model for pooling data from different centres was developed. The policy was to accomplish data uniformity, while still allowing for local differences in terms of software, indexing practices and resources. Records contributed to the database follow common standards in terms of data fields and indexing terms. The indexing terms derive from two thesauri, Thesaurus Ethics in the Life Sciences (TELS) and Medical Subject Headings (MeSH). Combining elements from search tools developed previously, the developers sought to find a technical solution optimized for this data model. An approach relying on a thesaurus database that is loaded along with the bibliographic database is described. Results and conclusions:, The present case study offers examples of possible approaches to several tasks often encountered in database development, such as: merging data from diverse sources, getting the most out of indexing terms used in a database, and handling more than one thesaurus in the same system. [source] A DVB/Inmarsat hybrid architecture for asymmetrical broadband mobile satellite servicesINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS AND NETWORKING, Issue 2 2006Bjørn Roger Andersen Abstract In order to bridge the gap, both regulatory and technologically, between offering mobile satellite services at L-band today and broadband mobile services at C-band, Ku-band or Ka-band in the future, a short-term solution is foreseen. Therefore, a DVB/Inmarsat hybrid service offering bi-directional asymmetrical satellite connectivity, with a broadband receive channel at Ku-band based on DVB-S, and with a transmit channel at L-band based on Inmarsat Mobile Packet Data Service, has successfully been developed, implemented and tested. The article focuses on the rationale for, and a technical solution, and how this can be evolved to support use of Inmarsat Broadband Global Area Access as transmit channel at L-band. There are no regulatory issues associated with global operation of such a system, and the users can access the services using cost-efficient off-the-shelf equipment, since the well established Inmarsat and DVB standards are utilized. The system has proved its feasibility to offer services like Internet access, email access, fast file transfers, and IP streaming of audio and video, in addition to the traditional Inmarsat services. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Elucidation and decisional risk in a multi-criteria decision based on a Choquet integral aggregation,a cybernetic frameworkJOURNAL OF MULTI CRITERIA DECISION ANALYSIS, Issue 5-6 2005J. Montmain Abstract The authors are developing multi-criteria Decision-making support systems (DMSS) for project teams in charge of selecting a technical solution among alternatives. They propose a cybernetic framework to emphasize the link between decision-making (DM) and knowledge management processes in such projects. These DMSSs rely on the tracking of the accompanying knowledge production of long-term decisional processes by a collective with many actors. Based on knowledge-production management, this paper explains how to design decisional risk evaluation, monitoring and control aids and traceability functions for strategic choices and logical argumentation. The DMSS is seen as a recommender system for the project manager. Each possible solution involved in the decision-making process (DMP) is evaluated by means of a set of criteria. The evaluation results from an interpretation of the knowledge items in terms of satisfaction scores of the solutions according to the considered criteria. Aggregating these partial scores provides a ranking of all the possible solutions by order of preference. As criteria are sometimes interacting, the aggregation has to be based on adapted operators, i.e. Choquet integrals. Evaluating possible solutions by the knowledge contained in the knowledge base (KB) opens the way to automating the argumentation of the project team's decisions: the argumentation principle underlying this approach is based naturally on coupling a knowledge dynamical management system (KDMS) with the DMSS. The DMSS also evaluates the decisional risk that reflects the eventuality of a wrong selection due to the insufficiency of available knowledge at a given time in order to adopt a reliable solution. Decisional risk assessment corresponds to sensitivity analyses. These analyses are then exploited to control the decisional risk in time: they enable to identify the crucial information points for which additional and deeper investigations would be of great interest to improve the stability of the selection in the future. The knowledge management of a collective project is represented as a control loop: the KDMS is the actuator, the risk accompanying the decision is the controlled variable and is strongly linked to the entropy of the KB managed by the KDMS. Each of the three phases,intelligence, design, choice,of the DMP is identified to a function of the control loop: actuator, process and regulator. This cybernetic framework for decision has its origin in knowledge management activities for a great-scale project,the EtLD project of the French Atomic Commission (CEA) that concerns the management of high-level long-life radioactive waste in France. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Effects of wastewater irrigation on soil and cabbage-plant (brassica olerecea var. capitate cv. yalova-1) chemical propertiesJOURNAL OF PLANT NUTRITION AND SOIL SCIENCE, Issue 1 2007Fatih M. Kiziloglu Abstract The use of wastewater for irrigation is increasingly being considered as a technical solution to,minimize soil degradation and to restore nutrient contents of soils. The aim of this study is to increase fertility and minimize degradation of soils irrigated with wastewater exposed to different purification treatments. A field experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of control and irrigation with wastewater, which had undergone different purification treatments, on macro- and micronutrient distribution within the soil profile and nutrient contents of cabbage (Brassica olerecea var. Capitate cv. Yalova-1) in Erzurum, Turkey. Wastewater irrigation and preliminary treatment,wastewater irrigation significantly affected soil chemical properties especially at 0,30,cm soil depth and plant nutrient contents after one year. Application of wastewater increased soil salinity, organic matter, exchangeable Na, K, Ca, Mg, plant-available P, and micro-elements and decreased soil pH. Wastewater increased also yield and N, P, K, Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, B, and Mo contents of cabbage plants. Undesirable side effects were not observed in plant heavy-metal contents, due to salinity and toxic concentrations of metals from the application of wastewater to soil. [source] Twenty years of resolving the irresolvable: approaches to the fuelwood problem in KenyaLAND DEGRADATION AND DEVELOPMENT, Issue 3 2001I. Mahiri Abstract Resolving the fuelwood problem in Kenya has been the cause of many debates. A review of the literature reveals the changing emphasis on the cause and effect of the problem. The dominant focus links fuelwood consumption with environmental degradation. This view has been perpetuated and reinforced by the ,Woodfuel Gap' theory of supply and demand differentials, based on population growth. The demand mitigation has been addressed through the ,Fuelwood Orthodoxy' approach and energy technologies. This paper shows that deforestation, and subsequent degradation, has little to do with fuelwood consumption as much is extracted from outside the forest. Therefore, costly interventions of afforestation programmes have had little impact in addressing the issue. The locale-specificity of the fuelwood problem means there can be no simple, technical solution. The local nature of shortages means that national projections cannot capture the complex socio-economic and cultural issues. Such complexity and diversity of rural contexts demand that the rural energy problem cannot be treated in isolation from the equally pressing issues of poverty, labour, food, culture and values. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Tuneable Femtosecond Fiber Lasers , Ultra-short laser pulses from green to IRLASER TECHNIK JOURNAL, Issue 2 2005Jan Posthumus Dr. There is a wealth of applications for ultra-short, pulsed lasers in many areas of science and technology, material processing and also in medicine. However, their widespread use is severely hampered by the size and cost of these lasers, both in terms of acquisition and maintenance. This implies that there could be a large market for affordable, turn-key femtosecond lasers (1 fs = 10,15 s). A technical solution is now possible with a new generation of fiber lasers, which are made of standard telecom components. These fiber lasers are compact (A4 size) and scalable in cost and performance. They can also be produced in large volumes. They render water cooling methods and large power supplies obsolete. [source] 3D reconstruction of high-resolution STED microscope imagesMICROSCOPY RESEARCH AND TECHNIQUE, Issue 9 2008Annedore Punge Abstract Tackling biological problems often involves the imaging and localization of cellular structures on the nanometer scale. Although optical super-resolution below 100 nm can be readily attained with stimulated emission depletion (STED) and photoswitching microscopy methods, attaining an axial resolution <100 nm with focused light generally required the use of two lenses in a 4Pi configuration or exceptionally bright photochromic fluorophores. Here, we describe a simple technical solution for 3D nanoscopy of fixed samples: biological specimens are fluorescently labeled, embedded in a polymer resin, cut into thin sections, and then imaged via STED microscopy with nanoscale resolution. This approach allows a 3D image reconstruction with a resolution <80 nm in all directions using available state-of-the art STED microscopes. Microsc. Res. Tech., 2008. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: Discourse, Policy Controversies and the Role of Science in the Politics of Shrimp Farming DevelopmentDEVELOPMENT POLICY REVIEW, Issue 5 2005Christophe Béné This article revisits through a policy analysis the ongoing debate on shrimp farming aquaculture. It describes the changes in policy orientations that have taken place in recent years, and tries to relate them to the advocacy strategies developed by different networks and policy communities. The analysis reveals in particular the crucial contribution of the ,power of expertise' and shows how it has been instrumentalised by certain advocacy networks to depoliticise the debate. While this has allowed a number of key stakeholders to refocus the debate on technical solutions, it has prevented other groups concerned with more intractable social and political issues from engaging successfully in the policy process, thus leaving the long-term sustainability of aquaculture still a contentious issue. [source] Knowledge management practice in Scottish law firmsHUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT JOURNAL, Issue 2 2002Laurie Hunter Law firms, as part of the professional services sector, are increasingly engaged in strategic thinking about business growth and development. The management of partners, staff and their knowledge is critical to this strategic development. This study of a sample of Scottish law firms engaged in commercial and corporate law finds that organisations are at different stages of progress, and that change has focused more on technical solutions than on organisational and HR issues. Based on evidence from partners and management, and on attitude data from salaried staff, the article suggests that, although the traditional professional firm's interest in building and leveraging its human capital is still present, the underlying social and cultural processes involving motivation, sharing of experiences, coaching and mentoring are relatively underdeveloped. The implications for HR strategy and practice, and for the role of the HR manager, are considered. [source] Investigation of the distributed generation penetration in a medium voltage power distribution networkINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENERGY RESEARCH, Issue 7 2010G. N. Koutroumpezis Abstract This paper investigates the results of the distributed generation penetration in a weak medium voltage power distribution network. The connected distributed generation resources are in their entirety small hydroelectric plants. Their locations are predetermined. Specifically, the influence of distributed generation on the network branch currents and voltage profile as well as on the short-circuit level at the medium voltage busbars of the infeeding substation are examined using a commercial-grade software package. The arising problems are explored and alternative technical solutions to deal with them are proposed. Finally, an initial proposal for an optimum distributed generation penetration in the predetermined network positions is given. A real-world study case, rather than a simplified academic network, is selected to be analysed in order to specify, as accurately as possible, the arising practical problems and to use this experience in the future in the development of a fast and reliable method for the determination of optimal distributed generation allocation in random network positions. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Modelling the impact of energy taxationINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENERGY RESEARCH, Issue 6 2002Jörgen Sjödin Abstract Energy taxation in Sweden is complicated and strongly guides and governs district energy production. Consequently, there is a need for methods for accurate calculation and analysis of effects that different energy tax schemes may have on district energy utilities. Here, a practicable method to analyse influence of such governmental policy measures is demonstrated. The Swedish Government has for some years now been working on a reform of energy taxation, and during this process, several interest groups have expressed their own proposals for improving and developing the system of energy taxation. Together with the present system of taxation, four new alternatives, including the proposed directive of the European Commission, are outlined in the paper. In a case study, an analysis is made of how the different tax alternatives may influence the choice of profitable investments and use of energy carriers in a medium-sized district-heating utility. The calculations are made with a linear-programming model framework. By calculating suitable types and sizes of new investments, if any, and the operation of existing and potential plants, total energy costs are minimized. Results of the analysis include the most profitable investments, which fuel should be used, roughly when during a year plants should be in operation, and at what output. In most scenarios, the most profitable measure is to invest in a waste incineration plant. However, a crucial assumption is, with reference to the new Swedish waste disposal act, a significant income from incinerating refuse. Without this income, different tax schemes result in different technical solutions being most profitable. An investment in cogeneration seems possible in only one scenario. It is also found that particular features of some alternatives seem to oppose both main governmental policy goals, and intentions of the district heating company. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] DVB-RCS goes mobile: Challenges and technical solutionsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS AND NETWORKING, Issue 3-4 2010Ana Bolea Alamanac Abstract This article presents an overview of the DVB-RCS system addressing mobile scenarios (DVB-RCS+M). It analyses the challenges linked to the mobility support and it summarizes some of the techniques to cope with those challenges. The focus of this article will be on the technical solutions analyzed within the framework of ESA studies and contracts. In particular, this article will address in detail the proactive retransmission technique and the seamless handover mechanisms including beam, satellite, gateway and gap-filler handovers. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Membrane engineering for process intensification: a perspectiveJOURNAL OF CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY & BIOTECHNOLOGY, Issue 3 2007Enrico Drioli Abstract Pushed by the increasing demand for materials, energy and products, chemical engineering today faces a crucial challenge: to support a sustainable industrial growth. One possible solution is process intensification (PI), the innovative design strategy aiming to improve manufacturing and processing by decreasing the equipment size/productivity ratio, energy consumption and waste production using innovative technical solutions. Membrane processes meet the requirements of PI because they have potential to replace conventional energy-intensive techniques, to accomplish the selective and efficient transport of specific components, and to improve the performance of reactive processes. Here, we identify the most interesting aspects of membrane engineering in some strategic industrial sectors. The opportunity to integrate conventional membrane units with innovative systems in order to exploit the potential advantages coming from their synergic applications is also emphasized. Copyright © 2007 Society of Chemical Industry [source] Delving into the "Institutional Black Box": Revealing the Attributes of Sustainable Urban Water Management Regimes,JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN WATER RESOURCES ASSOCIATION, Issue 6 2009Susan J. Van De Meene van de Meene, Susan J. and Rebekah R. Brown, 2009. Delving into the "Institutional Black Box": Revealing the Attributes of Sustainable Urban Water Management Regimes. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 45(6):1448-1464. Abstract:, This paper is based on the proposition that the transition to sustainable urban water management has been hampered by the lack of insight into attributes of a sustainable urban water regime. Significant progress has been made in developing technical solutions to advance urban water practice, however it is the co-evolution of the socio-institutional and technical systems that enable a system-wide transition. A systematic analysis of 81 empirical studies across a range of practice areas was undertaken to construct a schema of the sustainable urban water regime attributes. Attributes were identified and analyzed using a framework of nested management regime spheres: the administrative and regulatory system, inter-organizational, intra-organizational, and human resources spheres. The regime is likely to involve significant stakeholder involvement, collaborative inter-organizational relationships, flexible and adaptive organizational cultures, and motivated and engaging employees. Comparison of the constructed sustainable and traditional regime attributes reveals that to realize sustainable urban water management in practice a substantial shift in governance is required. This difference emphasizes the critical need for explicitly supported strategies targeted at developing each management regime sphere to further enable change toward sustainable urban water management. [source] Paintings, Films and Fast Cars: A Case Study of Hubert von HerkomerART HISTORY, Issue 2 2002Lynda Nead In a recent conversation with Bruno Latour, the French philosopher Michel Serres visualized his concept of modernity through the image of the automobile. The car, Serres argued, could not be defined as uniquely of one period or as belonging exclusively to the modern, being ,a disparate aggregate of scientific and technical solutions dating from different periods , The ensemble is only contemporary by assemblage.' This metaphor offers a highly productive way of looking at the history and forms of visual culture in Britain in the early twentieth century, when the technological and commercial possibilities of nineteenth-century optical developments were filtering into all aspects of cultural production and consumption. The article examines this moment via a case study of the artist Hubert von Herkomer; offering a reassessment through an examination of his paintings, films and fast cars and thereby proposing a reframing of the history of British visual culture through the integration of still and moving images. [source] Distance learning in a multimedia networks project: main resultsBRITISH JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY, Issue 2 2000Heli Ruokamo This paper discusses a goal-oriented project called Distance Learning in Multimedia Networks (ETÄKAMU) that was a part of the Finnish Multimedia Programme (FMP). The project started in February 1996 and lasted until January 1999. The project combined the efforts of Finnish telecommunication companies, content providers, publishing houses, hardware companies and educational institutions in the field of distance learning. This paper describes the background, the goals and part of the results of the ETÄKAMU project as well as the project's organisation. The main goals of the ETÄKAMU project were to research, develop and evaluate open learning environments using computer networks and computers in learning. The pedagogical background of the project is based on seven qualities of meaningful learning that are applicable to lifelong learning independent of time and place. The ETÄKAMU project arranged teaching experiments and user trials for various learners in different content areas and in different learning environments. Feedback and data were gathered via an investigation of how various pedagogical and technical solutions function in practice. This paper presents some pilot areas of the ETÄKAMU project and main results received in the project. [source] Environmental awakening in the Swedish pulp and paper industry: pollution resistance and firm responses in the Early 20th century,BUSINESS STRATEGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT, Issue 1 2009Kristina Söderholm Abstract The purpose of this article is to analyse in what way a conflict in the early 20th century (1904,1911) over a Swedish pulp mill's emissions into air and water impacted on the technology choices and strategies of the mill. The article also analyses what characterized the company's other responses to the complaints, in the form of counter-arguments, as well as engagement of experts. The access to information about the deliberations at the mill's board meetings is very rare in historical studies of company behaviour in relation to the environment, and provides us with a unique opportunity to comprehend in what way business strategies were developed during the course of the conflict. Technology choices are often characterized by the search for knowledge that enables a company to employ existing but not yet developed technical potentials, rather than choices between known technical solutions. We emphasize that this is particularly evident in a case where a company is forced to alter its technology in order to solve previously unknown environmental problems. In spite of a persistent search, the mill did not find any ready-made technological solutions to the environmental problems faced and was therefore forced to engage scientific expertise and even initiate basic scientific research. In 1911, the Swedish Supreme Administrative Court ordered the mill to undertake a number of pollution abatement investments. Interestingly , and partly in line with the so-called Porter hypothesis , the long-run economics of these investments turned out to be more favourable than anticipated prior to the verdict. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||