Security based partner selection in Inter-organizational workflow systems

The creation of inter-organizational workflow implies the coalition of partners' efforts and resources in order to achieve a set of common objectives and goals. However, this openness may cause a huge damage to the participating entities due to security breaches. The risk of unsuccessful collaboration should be well studied. Thus, the key for successful collaboration is to select the appropriate collaborators based on specific security criteria for each outsourced task. In this sense, several criteria have to be considered, among them: trust and reputation level, policy similarity level, security level and privacy compliance level. The proposed security based partner selection approach allows us to rank participating entities in the collaboration based on the main security criteria in order to assign each task to the suitable partner with the most appropriate and efficient way

Review of CCAFS Scaling Activities

This review was commissioned by CCAFS Learning Platform for Partnerships and Capacity Building for Scaling Climate Smart Agriculture, with the aim to reflect on CCAFS project portfolio to highlight good practices and gaps in implementation of CCAFS Scaling Activities. The review was undertaken with a systemic approach, using the concepts of design thinking and system thinking throughout its methodology and analysis. 21 practitioners throughout CCAFS regional, flagship and learning platform portfolios were interviewed between March and May 2019. The results are presented in a way that allows CCAFS to identify areas to deepen systematically upon; areas for CCAFS’s further strategic or conceptual support, and areas that require more research by CCAFS. The systemic analysis shows that CCAFS has the potential to consciously transform into a learning organization and an innovation environment, thereby fostering and increasing its performance, relevance and overall impact in changing and challenging circumstances. The results were discussed and validated with the CCAFS Core Team (CT) in the frame of a CCAFS CT Workshop on Scaling on 15th May in Madrid. In open learning formats, the CT prioritized its next step. The review report further contains a set of recommendations, derived from both the review and the CT Workshop on Scaling, which shall help CCAFS to transform into both a learning organization and an innovation environment

PREdictive model for DISaster response configuration (PREDIS decision platform)

This thesis was submitted for the award of Doctor of Philosophy and was awarded by Brunel University LondonThe extraordinary conditions of a disaster, require the mobilisation of all available resources, inducing the rush of humanitarian partners into the affected area. This phenomenon called the proliferation of actors, causes serious problems during the disaster response phase including the oversupply, duplicated efforts, lack of planning. The aim of this research is to provide a solution to reduce the partner proliferation problem. To that end the main research question is put forward as “How to reduce the proliferation of partners in a disaster response”? Panel analysis of the historic record of 4,252 natural onset disasters between 1980 to 2013 via regression analysis, MA and AHP gives rise to the formation of a predictive decision-making platform called PREDIS. It is capable of predicting the human impact of the disaster (fatality, injured, homeless) of up to 3% of errors and enables the decision makers to estimate the required needs for each disaster and prioritises them based on the disaster type and socio-economics of the affected country. It further renders it possible to rank and optimise the desired partners based on the decision maker’s preferences. Verification of the PREDIS through a simulation game design using a sample group of decision makers, show that this technique enables the user to decide within one hour after the disaster strike using the widely available data at the time of the disaster. It also enables non-experts to decide almost identically to experts in terms of the similarity of the choices and the speed of the decision.The lack of an extensive database for the potential humanitarian partners from which to choose, is the limitation of this research in addition to the lack of standardised set of minimum requirements for the suitable partners.The model is also as strong as its data feed which is inconsistent in various humanitarian sources

Hercules finances research infrastructure

In 2007 the Flemish government created a structural funding channel to support investment in research infrastructure: Hercules. On 15 October 2008 the Hercules Foundation approved a first list of investment proposals. In this article specific features of this first call are examined

Research Collaborator, how do i find thee?

Expert finding systems assist researchers to automatically find a particular research collaborator. The problem of these systems is that they identify experts based on content of documents linked to the experts (system–centered perspective) and neglect the human interaction perspective, which includes the factors that affect collaborator selection decision in real life. This study examined factors that might affect researchers\u27 decision to collaborate with a particular research collaborator in the university context. Moreover, it investigated how expert finding systems designers can integrate these factors with current expert finding systems in the university context to retrieve the suitable research collaborator. The contribution of this study is the proposed model of collaborator selection criteria which can be integrated with current expert finding systems to improve their effectiveness. The model is based on scientific and technical human capital (STHC) model and social capital theory (SCT)

Coordination, cooperation and collaboration in relief supply chain management

In recent years, an increasing number of natural and man-made disasters has demonstrated that a working relief supply chain management (RSCM) is crucial in order to alleviate the suffering of the affected population. Coordination, cooperation and collaboration within RSCM is essential for overcoming these destructive incidents. This paper explores the research undertaken in recent years, focusing on coordination, cooperation and collaboration in the field of supply chain management (SCM) and RSCM in order to provide unique definitions of these concepts taking the disaster setting into consideration. A systematic literature review including 202 academic papers published from 1996 onwards in top journals dealing with commercial supply and relief supply chain coordination, cooperation and collaboration is applied. In order to answer the underlying research questions in a proper way, a descriptive analysis and qualitative and quantitative content analysis of the papers are conducted. Descriptive results indicate that RSCM coordination, cooperation and collaboration have increasingly shifted into the focus of scientific research since 2001/2004 (i.e., 9/11 and the Indian Ocean Tsunami). Based on the qualitative content analysis, clear definitions of the terms coordination, cooperation and collaboration in SCM and RSCM were elaborated. The research landscape, as a result of the quantitative content analysis, allowed the identification of three issues that need to be addressed in future research work

Sustainable organic plant breeding: Final report - a vision, choices, consequences and steps

In general, the characteristics of organic varieties - and by extension of organic plant breeding - differ from that of conventional breeding systems and conventional varieties. Realising an organic plant breeding system and subsequently steering it to meet changing demands is no less than a mammoth task. The many actions to be undertaken can be divided into short-term commercial and scientific activities, and longer or long-term commercial and scientific activities. Action must be taken in the short-term to ensure adequate quantities of organically propagated plants and seed. This is vital in consideration of Regulation 2092/91/EC which states that, as of 1 January 2000, all propagating material used in organic production must be of organic origin. Additional measures are needed to accelerate the development of organically propagated varieties. Within the breeding sector, variety groups should be established to streamline communication in the chain. Variety groups should have a large contingent of farmers, as well as representatives from the trade branch and breeders. Members should communicate intensively with each other, share experiences, and participate in trials and variety assessments. Questions, wishes and bottlenecks could be recorded by variety groups and passed on to other parties in the chain. The practical details of the plant health concept which is at the basis of organic breeding must be worked out (operationalised). This will require scientific research, for example on: root development and mineral absorption efficiency weed suppressive capacity in situ versus ex situ maintenance resistance breeding in combination with cultivation measures seed-transmitted diseases adaptive capacity alternatives for growth stimulants, silver nitrate and silver thiosulfate in the cultivation of cucumbers and pickles Such research should be carried out by academic institutions (such as Wageningen University and Research Centre) in collaboration with Louis Bolk Institute, Stichting Zaadgoed and private companies. A platform should be established to make an inventory of problems and priorities and to develop research proposals. Farmers could contribute their ideas to the platform through the variety groups. Conclusion A plant breeding system for organic production should be based on the organic concept of plant health and on the organic position on chain relationships. As the total land area under organic production is still relatively small, it is unlikely that commercial breeders will make large investments to develop organic breeding programmes without financial support from other parties, i.e. the government. In this early stage, it is vital that the government provides generous funding and plays an active enabling role. We hope that the action plan to stimulate organic plant breeding, as requested by Parliament, will dovetail with the activities described above

Three Decades of Fuzzy AHP: A Bibliometric Analysis

[EN] For decades, Fuzzy Sets Theory (FST) has been consistently developed, and its use has spread across multiple disciplines. In this process of knowledge transfer, fuzzy applications have experienced great diffusion. Among them, Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (fuzzy AHP) is one of the most widely used methodologies today. This study performs a systematic review following the PRISMA statement and addresses a bibliometric analysis of all articles published on fuzzy AHP in journals indexed in Web of Science, specifically in Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE) and Social Science Citation Index (SSCI). The analyzed database includes 2086 articles published between 1994 and 2022. The results show the thematic clusters, the evolution of the academic conversation and the main collaboration networks. The main contribution of this article is to clarify the research agenda on fuzzy AHP. The results of the study allow academics to detect publication opportunities. In addition, the evidence found allows researchers and academics setting the field¿s agenda to advise the editors of high-impact journals on gaps and new research trends.Castello-Sirvent, F.; Meneses-Eraso, C.; Alonso-Gómez, J.; Peris-Ortiz, M. (2022). Three Decades of Fuzzy AHP: A Bibliometric Analysis. Axioms. 11(10):1-34. https://doi.org/10.3390/axioms11100525134111

An environment to support negotiation and contracting in collaborative networks

During the last years, manufacturing and service industries faced a global change in the production paradigm. They have to continuously adapt their operating principles in reaction to new business or collaboration opportunities, where a natural reaction is a shift to a new business paradigm with the creation of strategic alliances for product or services development, but also for innovative and emergent business services design. On one hand, the process of creating such alliances can be rather simple if organizations share the same geographical and cultural context. But on the other hand, considering different conditions, there might be a low success rate in the creation of successful consortia. One known reason for such low rate are the delays resulting from negotiations in the establishment of collaboration commitments, represented by contracts or agreements, which are crucial in the creation of such alliances. The collaborative networks discipline covers the study of networks of organizations specially when supported by computer networks. This thesis contributes with research in this field describing the creation process of virtual organizations, and proposing a negotiation support environment to help participants in the negotiation of the consortia creation process and in the co-design of new business services. A negotiation support environment is therefore proposed and described with its main requirements, adopted negotiation protocol, conceptual architecture, models, and software environment. To demonstrate the feasibility of the implementation of the proposed systems, a proof-ofconcept software prototype was implemented and tested using some specific scenarios. This thesis work has been validated adopting a methodology that includes: (i) validation in the research community; (ii) validation in a solar industry network; and (iii) validation by comparison analysis

Management of multi-cultural teams on international joint venture megaprojects in Asia

There have been many megaprojects done by project-based international joint ventures ( PBIJVs ) in Asia with Western expatriate project managers leading the way. However, the management style expected at a local level in Asia on construction projects is unique, and for many observers appeared to be unstructured, un-systemized and autocratic. Moreover, the varying strains of Chinese-based ethics and beliefs, including networking, trust, face and avoidance of confrontation heavily influenced management practices. This research investigated how a PBIJV should approach a complex construction megaproject in Asia and how experienced Western expatriate project managers actually managed and lead these projects to achieve overall project success. The aim of this research was to propose a framework for Western expatriate project managers to be used as a guide in the project management of PBIJVs in complex construction megaprojects in Asia, with East-West multi-cultural dispersed project teams, in a holistic way with a clear focus on good e-teaming communication and flexibility of project manager thought so that the multi-cultural teams can work more effectively and efficiently, better enabling project success. The thesis begins with an extensive review of published literature related to construction, Asia, culture, total quality management ( TQM ), IJVs, project management and megaprojects. A conceptual framework of work practices and styles required of Western expatriate project managers in the management of PBIJVs in construction on complex megaprojects in Asia, with East-West multi-cultural dispersed project teams, was established from this literature review. This conceptual framework was explored and developed based upon questionnaire responses and interviews with Western project managers with related and extensive work experience in Asia. This research followed a qualitative strategy for the research design and methodology, and adopted a multiple-case study approach. This research followed a combination of questionnaires and an exploratory semi-structured face to face interview approach with manual data analysis. The first stage of the research process involved screening interviews of the short-listed project managers, which comprised of questionnaires and semi-structured interviews with an interview guide. The second stage studied three selected cases and comprised of the second stage interviews, direct observations and documentation as the main methods of data collection. The third stage involved the validation of the intermediate framework developed from the multiple-case study conducted during the second stage via a questionnaire with nine people comprising of the project managers of the selected case study projects, screening process project managers and other selected construction industry experts all with extensive working experience in Korea. The findings of this research were presented in the form of a final framework to assist in improving project manager performance and skills on complex PBIJV construction megaprojects in Asia and it was concluded that such a framework would be of benefit to Western project managers as a guideline to manage construction megaprojects in Asia in a more effective and efficient way with the ultimate goal of achieving project success