Position paper on realizing smart products: challenges for Semantic Web technologies

In the rapidly developing space of novel technologies that combine sensing and semantic technologies, research on smart products has the potential of establishing a research field in itself. In this paper, we synthesize existing work in this area in order to define and characterize smart products. We then reflect on a set of challenges that semantic technologies are likely to face in this domain. Finally, in order to initiate discussion in the workshop, we sketch an initial comparison of smart products and semantic sensor networks from the perspective of knowledge technologies

Marketing management of a successful e-business

Marketing management occupies an increasingly important position in the business world, as well as in the sphere of electronic commerce. Some participants, however, underestimate the importance of this marketing support, which may be one of the major causes of the failure and inability of some companies operating on the Internet to grow. The aim of this paper is to develop an effective marketing management process model, which can significantly contribute to the increased competitiveness of companies operating on the Internet. The validity of this model is then applied on a Czech e-shop, which has long been one of the leaders of the Czech Internet market. To achieve the objective of this paper the current situation will be analysed, and synthesis of the findings from research literature as well as modelling using the methods of abstraction and specification will be performed. This article is focused on Czech Internet market. Results of the survey (case study) will be used for further research in the field of e-business

Incorporating Systems Engineering Methodologies to Increase the Transferability of Journey Planners

AbstractOne characteristic that is highly desired in transportation-related applications, and particularly journey planners, is transferability – i.e., the capacity to be used with minimal modification in different locations. To achieve transferability, the initial design must take into account all factors that may diverge between locations, including existing modes of transport, the availability of required data, the technological habits of users, etc. In consequence, a highly transferable system is difficult and expensive to develop and maintain. A very flexible initial design, one ensuring low-cost adaptability of the system for different cities, regions, or countries, might not be cost-effective. On the other hand, a rigid design, tailored for a specific location, might act as a barrier to implementing the system elsewhere. This dilemma has motivated researchers to seek a structured process for selecting the most promising design, one that will realize the benefits of transferability while minimizing development costs.One of the fundamental building blocks of structured design in SE is requirements-design exploration. This paper evaluates the use of Multi-Attribute Tradespace Exploration (MATE), a leading design exploration process, for the effective design of journey planners.We examine the process of changeability assessment (e.g., transferability) in light of the goals of journey planning from the point of view of different stakeholders: travelers, private developers, and transport authorities. The analysis demonstrates how tradespace exploration can also be used to identify specific designs that bridge the gap between the public and private sectors and provide value over time to all parties. Moreover, when specific concerns of public authorities are not met, tradespace exploration can reveal measures the public sector can take (financial or others) for making their preferred design attractive to the private sector as well

On Logistics Management for Prosumer Business Information System Development and Implementation

Managing prosumer businesses is challenging with different types of renewable and non-renewable energy resources. The development and implementation of energy systems pose additional challenges when prosumers pursue sustainable production while simultaneously trying to mitigate gas emissions and energy losses. Issues associated with energy emissions and supply shortfalls must be addressed before developing prosumer business information systems and reaping their benefits. Innovative IS (Information System) solutions are needed to align different energy systems and prosumer coalitions that require cautious implementations. The purpose of the research is to develop IS artefacts, strategizing energy systems, establishing essential logistics requirements for smart-grids to ensure sustainable energy supplies. A conceptual Prosumer Business-based Design Science Information System (PBDSIS) framework is developed, collaborating IS articulations of prosumer business data artefacts in ecologies, where energy production and distribution need crucial logistics support and implementation of IS artefacts. The framework is implemented in prosumer business domain using open-source data

A multi-agent system for on-the-fly web map generation and spatial conflict resolution

Résumé Internet est devenu un moyen de diffusion de l’information géographique par excellence. Il offre de plus en plus de services cartographiques accessibles par des milliers d’internautes à travers le monde. Cependant, la qualité de ces services doit être améliorée, principalement en matière de personnalisation. A cette fin, il est important que la carte générée corresponde autant que possible aux besoins, aux préférences et au contexte de l’utilisateur. Ce but peut être atteint en appliquant les transformations appropriées, en temps réel, aux objets de l’espace à chaque cycle de génération de la carte. L’un des défis majeurs de la génération d’une carte à la volée est la résolution des conflits spatiaux qui apparaissent entre les objets, essentiellement à cause de l’espace réduit des écrans d’affichage. Dans cette thèse, nous proposons une nouvelle approche basée sur la mise en œuvre d’un système multiagent pour la génération à la volée des cartes et la résolution des conflits spatiaux. Cette approche est basée sur l’utilisation de la représentation multiple et la généralisation cartographique. Elle résout les conflits spatiaux et génère les cartes demandées selon une stratégie innovatrice : la génération progressive des cartes par couches d’intérêt. Chaque couche d’intérêt contient tous les objets ayant le même degré d’importance pour l’utilisateur. Ce contenu est déterminé à la volée au début du processus de génération de la carte demandée. Notre approche multiagent génère et transfère cette carte suivant un mode parallèle. En effet, une fois une couche d’intérêt générée, elle est transmise à l’utilisateur. Dans le but de résoudre les conflits spatiaux, et par la même occasion générer la carte demandée, nous affectons un agent logiciel à chaque objet de l’espace. Les agents entrent ensuite en compétition pour l’occupation de l’espace disponible. Cette compétition est basée sur un ensemble de priorités qui correspondent aux différents degrés d’importance des objets pour l’utilisateur. Durant la résolution des conflits, les agents prennent en considération les besoins et les préférences de l’utilisateur afin d’améliorer la personnalisation de la carte. Ils améliorent la lisibilité des objets importants et utilisent des symboles qui pourraient aider l’utilisateur à mieux comprendre l’espace géographique. Le processus de génération de la carte peut être interrompu en tout temps par l’utilisateur lorsque les données déjà transmises répondent à ses besoins. Dans ce cas, son temps d’attente est réduit, étant donné qu’il n’a pas à attendre la génération du reste de la carte. Afin d’illustrer notre approche, nous l’appliquons au contexte de la cartographie sur le web ainsi qu’au contexte de la cartographie mobile. Dans ces deux contextes, nous catégorisons nos données, qui concernent la ville de Québec, en quatre couches d’intérêt contenant les objets explicitement demandés par l’utilisateur, les objets repères, le réseau routier et les objets ordinaires qui n’ont aucune importance particulière pour l’utilisateur. Notre système multiagent vise à résoudre certains problèmes liés à la génération à la volée des cartes web. Ces problèmes sont les suivants : 1. Comment adapter le contenu des cartes, à la volée, aux besoins des utilisateurs ? 2. Comment résoudre les conflits spatiaux de manière à améliorer la lisibilité de la carte tout en prenant en considération les besoins de l’utilisateur ? 3. Comment accélérer la génération et le transfert des données aux utilisateurs ? Les principales contributions de cette thèse sont : 1. La résolution des conflits spatiaux en utilisant les systèmes multiagent, la généralisation cartographique et la représentation multiple. 2. La génération des cartes dans un contexte web et dans un contexte mobile, à la volée, en utilisant les systèmes multiagent, la généralisation cartographique et la représentation multiple. 3. L’adaptation des contenus des cartes, en temps réel, aux besoins de l’utilisateur à la source (durant la première génération de la carte). 4. Une nouvelle modélisation de l’espace géographique basée sur une architecture multi-couches du système multiagent. 5. Une approche de génération progressive des cartes basée sur les couches d’intérêt. 6. La génération et le transfert, en parallèle, des cartes aux utilisateurs, dans les contextes web et mobile.Abstract Internet is a fast growing medium to get and disseminate geospatial information. It provides more and more web mapping services accessible by thousands of users worldwide. However, the quality of these services needs to be improved, especially in term of personalization. In order to increase map flexibility, it is important that the map corresponds as much as possible to the user’s needs, preferences and context. This may be possible by applying the suitable transformations, in real-time, to spatial objects at each map generation cycle. An underlying challenge of such on-the-fly map generation is to solve spatial conflicts that may appear between objects especially due to lack of space on display screens. In this dissertation, we propose a multiagent-based approach to address the problems of on-the-fly web map generation and spatial conflict resolution. The approach is based upon the use of multiple representation and cartographic generalization. It solves conflicts and generates maps according to our innovative progressive map generation by layers of interest approach. A layer of interest contains objects that have the same importance to the user. This content, which depends on the user’s needs and the map’s context of use, is determined on-the-fly. Our multiagent-based approach generates and transfers data of the required map in parallel. As soon as a given layer of interest is generated, it is transmitted to the user. In order to generate a given map and solve spatial conflicts, we assign a software agent to every spatial object. Then, the agents compete for space occupation. This competition is driven by a set of priorities corresponding to the importance of objects for the user. During processing, agents take into account users’ needs and preferences in order to improve the personalization of the final map. They emphasize important objects by improving their legibility and using symbols in order to help the user to better understand the geographic space. Since the user can stop the map generation process whenever he finds the required information from the amount of data already transferred, his waiting delays are reduced. In order to illustrate our approach, we apply it to the context of tourist web and mobile mapping applications. In these contexts, we propose to categorize data into four layers of interest containing: explicitly required objects, landmark objects, road network and ordinary objects which do not have any specific importance for the user. In this dissertation, our multiagent system aims at solving the following problems related to on-the-fly web mapping applications: 1. How can we adapt the contents of maps to users’ needs on-the-fly? 2. How can we solve spatial conflicts in order to improve the legibility of maps while taking into account users’ needs? 3. How can we speed up data generation and transfer to users? The main contributions of this thesis are: 1. The resolution of spatial conflicts using multiagent systems, cartographic generalization and multiple representation. 2. The generation of web and mobile maps, on-the-fly, using multiagent systems, cartographic generalization and multiple representation. 3. The real-time adaptation of maps’ contents to users’ needs at the source (during the first generation of the map). 4. A new modeling of the geographic space based upon a multi-layers multiagent system architecture. 5. A progressive map generation approach by layers of interest. 6. The generation and transfer of web and mobile maps at the same time to users

Strategies of Italian firms in Romania. Evidence from selected case studies

The aim of this paper is to analyze the internationalization of Italian firms in Romania, operating in the sectors of footwear, furniture and industrial refrigeration. After describing and quantifying the internationalization process between Veneto and Romania, we discuss for each of the sectors, the changes that occurred in the organisation of the production processes within the firms, and particularly how such processes have been fragmented. This article draws on numerous case studies, posits different models of value chain governance, and discusses their implications for regional development and sustainabilityInternationalization, Romania, Italy, Organization of Production

A criteria based function for reconstructing low-sampling trajectories as a tool for analytics

Abstract: Mobile applications equipped with Global Positioning Systems have generated a huge quantity of location data with sampling uncertainty that must be handled and analyzed. Those location data can be ordered in time to represent trajectories of moving objects. The data warehouse approach based on spatio-temporal data can help on this task. For this reason, we address the problem of personalized reconstruction of low-sampling trajectories based on criteria over a graph for including criteria of movement as a dimension in a trajectory data warehouse solution to carry out analytical tasks over moving objects and the environment where they moveMaestrí

Technological potential of logistics service providers and the relationship dynamics.

Notre papier porte sur plusieurs résultats d'une enquête effectuée auprès des prestataires logistiques français. L'idée défendue est que l'effort technologique des prestataires de services logistiques contribue à la performance de la relation et plus généralement de la chaîne logistique dans sa globalité. Etre innovant semble constituer un indicateur d'autonomie et de capacité à copiloter les flux. L'effort technologique apparaît ainsi comme une trajectoire stratégique de différenciation pertinente pour les prestataires logistiques.logistic, service providers