SICS MarketSpace: an agent-based market infrastructure

We present a simple and uniform communication framework for an agent-based market infrastructure, the goal of which is to enable automation of markets with self-interested participants distributed over the Internet

Introduction to artificial intelligence and expert systems : a special report developed for CPAs seeking to become familiar with artificial intelligence and expert systems technology; Management advisory services special report

https://egrove.olemiss.edu/aicpa_guides/1155/thumbnail.jp

The Utilization of Building Information Modeling in Computer-Controlled Automatic Construction: Case Study of a Six-Room Wooden House

In the current context, Building Information Modeling (BIM) is belatedly providing the construction industry with a tool to reach higher levels of efficiency, quality and convenience. However, human errors in both management and construction job site control may cause a construction project to go over budget or behind schedule. Lastly, a construction project requires the collaboration of various parties to achieve the end goals of the various stakeholders. BIM provides one method of integrating the whole process of sharing information between those parties. Extensions to the current BIM methods may allow machines, such as construction robots to take over some of the human tasks. The aim of this study is to study future methods to reduce the human effort in construction and to improve the cost efficiency and quality for construction projects. In this thesis to look to integrate the construction processes of design, manufacture, shipment and installation and using data extracted from a BIM model, a conceptual computer-controlled, automatic construction process is developed for a pseudo robot. The pseudo robot is merely a development tool to look at the development of the conceptual phases for a real robot. Meanwhile, following the Plan-Do-Check-Action (PDCA) management cycle, the workflow of the process is designed in pseudocode. A case study of a six-room wooden house is used to illustrate the function of the automatic construction system and to verify that which information can be provided by BIM. Location control is identified in the study as the key criterion for attempting robotic construction. An object positioning solution of using a laser technique is suggested from this research. The results show that the program provides adequate information to allow the completion of the construction process. A two-level method is developed for accurate positioning of building components. Further research may focus on more complicated and special projects, more effective and accurate sensing and tracking technology

Theatrical Space

Theatrical Spac

Locally Identified Solutions and Practices: a critical realist investigation into the processes of social innovation in the context of neighbourhood policing

The purpose of the research was to establish by what mechanisms and in what contexts does the methodology called Locally Identified Solutions and Practices (LISP) applied to neighbourhood policing work as a socially innovative community engagement process in neighbourhood policing?’ The research used a critical realist & systems analysis approach, utilising Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) to investigate 8 projects implementing the Handbook to construct context-mechanism-outcome (CMO) chains to demonstrate what mechanisms contribute to what outcomes in which contexts. Twenty-seven mechanisms were found to be active, 6 unique to this study, which provide a high-resolution insight into the processes of social innovation, removed from the personal characteristics of the social innovator. This establishes that there are clear, consistent and repeatable processes at play in social innovation, which suggests that the currently hegemonic postmodernist concept of ‘social bricolage’ requires further revision or rejection. This study has demonstrated that the LISP Handbook is effective in neighbourhood policing for engaging with high risk vulnerable neighbourhoods. Moreover, the Handbook, allied to an understanding of the underlying mechanisms, has been demonstrated to be an effective, consistent and repeatable methodology for engaging intensively in vulnerable communities affected by severe crime. The study has demonstrated the use of SSM as a method of case study analysis and comparison, and to create new insights within a CMO analysis. The research is the first to use SSM or CMO analyses in social innovation research or practice. Police officers & researchers will be interested in the LISP Handbook and how the projects were implemented. Social innovation practitioners and theorists will be interested in the CMO framework, and how mechanisms can guide the design, and implementation, of social innovations

A solution for information management in logistics operations of modern manufacturing chains

One dominant feature of the modern manufacturing chains is the movement of goods. Manufacturing companies would remain an unprofitable investment if the supplies/logistics of raw materials, semi-finished products or final goods are not handled in an effective way. Both levels of a modern manufacturing chain-actual production and logistics-are characterized by continuous data creation at a much faster rate than they can be meaningfully analyzed and acted upon manually. Often, instant and reliable decisions need to be taken based on huge, previously inconceivable amounts of heterogeneous, contradictory or incomplete data. The paper will highlight aspects of information flows related to business process data visibility and observability in modern manufacturing networks. An information management platform developed in the framework of the EU FP7 project ADVANCE will be presented

A Self-Learning Knowledge Based System for Credit Evaluation of Loan Application: The Case of Commercial Bank of Ethiopia

This study on prototype self-learning knowledge based system (KBS) is focused on evaluation of loan application used to overcome the challenges that resulted from lack of domain experts and poor loan evaluations. We attempted to design and develop a prototype self-learning KBS that provide advisory services for any credit customers and assists the domain experts in evaluation of customer’s requests for the loan. To develop this prototype system, knowledge was acquired using semi-structured interview from domain experts which are selected using purposive sampling technique from Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) and critique the acquired knowledge. Explicit knowledge is acquired by analyzing the secondary source of knowledge by method of document analysis. Then, the acquired knowledge is modeled using decision tree that represents concepts and procedures involved in credit evaluation and production rules are used to represent the domain knowledge. The prototype system is implemented using SWI Prolog editor tool. To determine the applicability of the prototype system in the domain area, the system has been evaluated and tested by the domain experts. Eighteen (18) test cases were selected purposively.  Test cases are equally selected from both ineligible and eligible cases. The overall total performance of the prototype system is 77.71%. The performance of the prototype system is hopeful and meets the objective of the study. The study concludes that the major credit production type that advanced to customer is import letter of credit facility, export credit facility, pre-shipment credit facility and merchandise. The   eligibility of application is focused on general and specific criteria. Credit customer is classified as business, corporate and commercial based on the score sheet they achieved. Generally, in this study, the applicability of knowledge of prototype self-learning KBS is proved as hopeful approach in banking industry for credit evaluation. Keywords: KBS, self-learning and credit (loan). DOI: 10.7176/IKM/10-5-02 Publication date:August 31st 202