Toward domain-specific design environments: Some representation ideas from the telecommunications domain

ACME is an experimental environment for investigating new approaches to modeling and analysis of system requirements and designs. ACME is built on and extends object-oriented conceptual modeling techniques and knowledge representation and reasoning (KRR) tools. The most immediate intended use for ACME is to help represent, understand, and communicate system designs during the early stages of system planning and requirements engineering. While our research is ostensibly aimed at software systems in general, we are particularly motivated to make an impact in the telecommunications domain, especially in the area referred to as Intelligent Networks (IN's). IN systems contain the software to provide services to users of a telecommunications network (e.g., call processing services, information services, etc.) as well as the software that provides the internal infrastructure for providing the services (e.g., resource management, billing, etc.). The software includes not only systems developed by the network proprietors but also by a growing group of independent service software providers

Placing the Networks on the Web: Challenges and Opportunities for Managing in Developing Asia

Placing the networks on the Web poses a fundamental challenge, but also provides new opportunities for managing in Developing Asia. There is a huge efficiency gap between the region's manufacturing systems and the management of complementary, knowledge-intensive support services. The challenge is to reduce this gap as quickly as possible by embracing the Internet as a core business function, despite a weak base of accumulated knowledge of how to manage IT-based information systems. Asian companies, even the best, lag substantially behind their American and European counterparts. There is a potential vicious circle that needs to be broken: a belated transition to IT-based information systems has prevented the accumulation of knowledge, through trial-and-error, of how to design and implement an appropriate IT organization that reflects the peculiar strengths and weaknesses of diverse Asian management systems. Limited resources prevent any attempt to address these problems in a big leap forward. This implies that in-house efforts need to be supplemented with outsourcing of IT services. There is also a need for strategic partnering with major suppliers of Internet software and networking equipment. The opportunity is that the Internet provides almost unlimited opportunities for the outsourcing of mission-critical support services, such as ERP (enterprise resource planning), HRM (human resource management). Furthermore, fierce competition among major producers of Internet software and networking equipment has created a buyers' market - placing Asian firms in a reasonably strong bargaining position. These developments are generally not well covered by existing studies, which are primarily focused on developments in the U.S. and Europe. The paper tries to fill this gap, and explores how placing global production networks on the Web affects managing in Developing Asia. A conceptual framework is introduced in parts 1 to 3. That framework is then applied to one of the role models of managing in Asia, Taiwan's Acer Group. Part 1 introduces a taxonomy of expected benefits from Internet-enabled transformations of business organization. In part 2, we argue that the real issue is to analyze how the Internet reshapes the organization of global production networks. In part3, we access conflicting claims on how an increased use of the Internet to manage global production networks affects international knowledge diffusion. In part 4, the example of Taiwan's Acer Group is used to describe the challenge for Asian firms to embrace the Internet as a key management function. And in part 5, we ask what Acer's experience tells us about Developing Asia's opportunities.

Investigating the evaluation and selection of knowledge management tools

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.Knowledge management is becoming increasingly fashionable because organisations perceive they are no longer working in a predictable and incremental environment. The number of knowledge management tools available on the software market is numerous, making the selection of a suitable tool not as simple as may originally be perceived. This dissertation investigates possible ways of assisting the evaluation and selection process of a commercial knowledge management tool so that an organisation may purchase a tool that is suitably close to their business requirements. In order to achieve this, various levels of empirical investigation is carried out on 44 knowledge management tools by the researcher. Furthermore, four case studies are undertaken to support and enhance the findings from empirical investigation. The case studies consist of a research group, a computer centre based within a university, a content management consultancy, and an IT consulting and software services company. The outcome of the research is a framework to facilitate the evaluation of commercial knowledge management tools. In addition, a frame of reference that describes the issues and factors that can be taken into consideration during the selection of a commercial knowledge management tool is proposed. A taxonomy for the classification of knowledge management tools is presented along with proposals for further development of knowledge management tools

PROTOTIPE KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM DALAM PENERIMAAN, PENYIMPANAN, DAN PENDISTRIBUSIAN ZAKAT BERBASIS WEB 2.0

Zakat Al-Hakim institutions engaged social mobilization duties, storing, and distribution of zakat funds that require the data muzaki deposit and mustahik charity, and employees who manage to cleanly to improve services to the public charity. In the process of administration of zakat management is currently running as is, and there is no system for gathering and storage and distribution of web-based charity. So this study builds a prototipe Knowledge Management System (KMS) using a web-based Unified Software Development (USDP) object oriented (Object Oriented Analysis and Design) Using Modeling Language (UML). Mechanical testing of the system with a black box testing approach. Quality tested software using Focus Group Discussion (FGD). The results of the study in the form of a prototype of a Knowledge Management System in the collection, management, and distribution of Zakat based on web 2.0 LAZ Al Hakim.Keywords: Knowledge Management System, Collection, Storage, Distribution of Zakat, Web 2.0, UML, Unified Software Development Proces

Management of biomedical waste in two medical laboratories in Bangui, Central African Republic

Introduction: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 73 healthcare workers in two laboratories in Bangui, using self administered questionnaire and scale grid to get information on knowledge and practice of management biomedical waste (BMW). Methods: Data were analyzed using SPSS software (version 20). Fisher chi-square test was used to investigate whether distributions of categorical variables differ from one another. Results: Findings from this study shows that; a gap in legal framework on BMW. Seventy percent of waste generated was infectious. Segregation and color coding was inappropriate. Only 29% of the services used safety boxes. Transport of BW is manual. About 64 % of respondents have not received training on BMW. 44 of 73 (60%) didn’t know certain diseases related to poor waste management and transmission routes. The surface technicians had significantly better knowledge about tetanus vaccine than the medical-technical staff (χ2 = 4.976, p=0.047). They had also a significantly higher risk of exposure to accidents due to waste handling than medical-technical (χ2=10.276, p=0.009). The 30-39 age group had a significantly higher risk of exposure to accidents related to the BMW compared to other ages groups (χ2=11.206, p=0.026).The National Laboratory personal has significantly higher knowledge about BCG and Meningitis vaccine than the Laboratory of Community Hospital personal (χ2=10.954, p=0.002 and χ2=4.304, p=0.05). Conclusion: BMW was poor. Collaboration between the City Hall and sanitation services with the support of partners will greatly reduce the risk of exposure faced by laboratory personnel and the population.Pan African Medical Journal 2016; 2

Studying the Effect of Knowledge Sharing on Insurance Services Quality

Today, the quality of insurance services is the determining factor in the success of a company in a competitive environment. Knowledge sharing will contribute to improving the quality of services in insurance companies. This study examines the impact of knowledge sharing on the quality of insurance services. In terms of the purpose of the study, the method of study is applied and in terms of data collection is descriptive correlation. The population consisted of all employees and corporate clients of group therapy field of Dana insurance company in Mashhad, the sample size is equal to all members of society for all. The measurement tool is a questionnaire, its validity was confirmed, according to experts in the field of management, and reliability is obtained (82.0, 78/0) using Cronbach's alpha coefficient for knowledge sharing and variable quality of insurance services, respectively. The results of structural equation modeling using LISREL software indicates that knowledge sharing does not have significant effect on the quality of insurance services; but aspects of knowledge sharing, including outright transfers, expertise and strategic has positive and significant effect on the quality of insurance  services in Dana insurance company in Mashhad

A Reference Architecture for Service Lifecycle Management – Construction and Application to Designing and Analyzing IT Support

Service-orientation and the underlying concept of service-oriented architectures are a means to successfully address the need for flexibility and interoperability of software applications, which in turn leads to improved IT support of business processes. With a growing level of diffusion, sophistication and maturity, the number of services and interdependencies is gradually rising. This increasingly requires companies to implement a systematic management of services along their entire lifecycle. Service lifecycle management (SLM), i.e., the management of services from the initiating idea to their disposal, is becoming a crucial success factor. Not surprisingly, the academic and practice communities increasingly postulate comprehensive IT support for SLM to counteract the inherent complexity. The topic is still in its infancy, with no comprehensive models available that help evaluating and designing IT support in SLM. This thesis presents a reference architecture for SLM and applies it to the evaluation and designing of SLM IT support in companies. The artifact, which largely resulted from consortium research efforts, draws from an extensive analysis of existing SLM applications, case studies, focus group discussions, bilateral interviews and existing literature. Formal procedure models and a configuration terminology allow adapting and applying the reference architecture to a company’s individual setting. Corresponding usage examples prove its applicability and demonstrate the arising benefits within various SLM IT support design and evaluation tasks. A statistical analysis of the knowledge embodied within the reference data leads to novel, highly significant findings. For example, contemporary standard applications do not yet emphasize the lifecycle concept but rather tend to focus on small parts of the lifecycle, especially on service operation. This forces user companies either into a best-of-breed or a custom-development strategy if they are to implement integrated IT support for their SLM activities. SLM software vendors and internal software development units need to undergo a paradigm shift in order to better reflect the numerous interdependencies and increasing intertwining within services’ lifecycles. The SLM architecture is a first step towards achieving this goal.:Content Overview List of Figures....................................................................................... xi List of Tables ...................................................................................... xiv List of Abbreviations.......................................................................xviii 1 Introduction .................................................................................... 1 2 Foundations ................................................................................... 13 3 Architecture Structure and Strategy Layer .............................. 57 4 Process Layer ................................................................................ 75 5 Information Systems Layer ....................................................... 103 6 Architecture Application and Extension ................................. 137 7 Results, Evaluation and Outlook .............................................. 195 Appendix ..........................................................................................203 References .......................................................................................... 463 Curriculum Vitae.............................................................................. 498 Bibliographic Data............................................................................ 49

Impact of pharmaceutical care on health outcomes in patients with COPD

Background Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) treatment goals are often not achieved despite the availability of many effective treatments. Furthermore, clinical pharmacist interventions to improve clinical and humanistic outcomes in COPD patients have not yet been explored and few randomized controlled trials have been reported to evaluate the impact of pharmaceutical care on health outcomes in patients with COPD. Objective The aimof the present studywas to evaluate the impact of pharmaceutical care intervention,with a strong focus on self-management, on a range of clinical and humanistic outcomes in patients with COPD. Setting Outpatient COPD Clinic at the Royal Medical Services Hospital. Method In a randomised, controlled, prospective clinical trial, a total of 133 COPD patients were randomly assigned to intervention or control group. A structured education about COPD and management of its symptoms was delivered by the clinical pharmacist for patients in the intervention group. Patientswere followed up at 6 months during a scheduled visit. Effectiveness of the intervention was assessed in terms of improvement in health-related quality of life,medication adherence, disease knowledge and healthcare utilization. Data collected at baseline and at the 6 month assessment was coded and entered into SPSS software version 17 for statistical analysis. A P value of\0.05 was considered statistically significant. Main outcome measure The primary outcome measure was health-related quality of life improvement. All other data collected including healthcare utilization, COPD knowledge and medication adherence formed secondary outcome measures. Results A total of 66 patients were randomized to the intervention group and 67 patients were randomized to the control group. Although the current study failed to illustrate significant improvement in health-related quality of life parameters, the results indicated significant improvements in COPD knowledge (P\0.001), medication adherence (P\0.05), medication beliefs (P\ 0.01) and significant reduction in hospital admission rates (P\0.05) in intervention patients when compared with control group patients at the end of the study. Conclusion The enhanced patient outcomes as a result of the pharmaceutical care programme in the present study demonstrate the value of an enhanced clinical pharmacy service in achieving the desired health outcomes for patients with COPD

Information Technology and Russia's Social Modernization

Information technologies play a very important role in modernizing Russia's economy and society as whole. Its competitive advantage lies in the availability of highly educated labour resources. Russia accounts for approximately 9% of researchers in the world as opposed to a share of about 0.3% in the world innovation market. Our approach is based on identifying ways to set up IT innovation centres and create an organizational and economic mechanisms making possible the transfer of new technologies to production processes and the creation of tools for innovative management. In the markets of high technology Russia will concentratie on software tools for IT security, applied modelling information systems, various types of software, and cryptographic systems, some types of specialized computing systems. In the Education Project two main mechanisms of systemic change are envisaged: to identify and support leading higher educational institutions; to introduce on a grand scale new knowledge-management methods and put mechanisms into practice. Among the main intentions of the Education Project the following should be mentioned: the modernization of its material-technical base, the internetization of education, the expansion of innovation centres on the pattern of universities and scientific and research institutes, the creation of Russian "Siliceous Valley"- Skolkovo complementary clusters of small, innovative companies. In the framework of the Health Care 2020 Programme. Activities are underway to introduce a Federal Register of the most widespread diseases, to operate waiting lists of those who need high technology medical help, and to centralize access to the common database of normative and reference information. Drafts of their electronic presentation formats are developed on the basis of international ISO standards. An Internet market for various types of medical and information services is being set up; telemedicine technologies are being taken into account. The social orientation of IT development will improve educational and health care systems, accelerate progress in extending the number of qualified professionals in IT (according to experts, the demand for these in 2012 will increase by up to 550,000 persons, and even then the country's demand will only be satisfied to the degree of 15%). A model enabling Russia to enter the group of countries with a high development of intellectual potential demands more intensive introduction of IT in modernization of Russian society. --codes Information technology,human factor,modern economy,social factors,telecommunication,education,personal training,medicine,national healthcare,telemedicine,social networks,internatization

Determinants of Women Participation on Watershed Management in Gibe Sub Catchment of Nono Benja District Jimma Zone, Ethiopia

Watersheds, especially in the developing world, are increasingly being managed for poverty alleviation as well as for environmental conservation. In Ethiopia, watershed management.Program started in 1970. However, it achieved limited success due to its failure in addressing the problems of local people. Women’s knowledge and role in watershedmanagement is largely unrecognized, especially at catchment level.The objective of this studyis to identify the determinants of women participation on watershed management, in Nono Benja district ofJimma Zone. Two stage sampling techniques were used to select sample respondents. In the first stage, from 19 kebele of the district, 6 kebeles were selected by simple random sampling, In the second stage 248 respondents were selected based on probability proportional to the size of population. The necessary data were generated both from primary and secondary sources to answer the research question. Hence, field observation, household survey, key informant interview and focus group discussions were the principal means of generating primary sources of data while secondary data were obtained from reviewing various governmental documents and reports,books and Academic research papers Econometric Model were employed for analyzing data.SPSS version 20 and STATA version 13 software were used for data analysis. The results of the binary logit model indicated that, age, education, training, credit were positively and significantly related to the probability of women participation in watershed management while off farm income was negatively and significantly related to the probability of women participation. Thus, there is need for policies aiming at enhancing women’s participation in watershed management by promoting training, providing extension services,off farm income as well as facilitating access to credit services. Policy and development emphasis on these factors would lead to greater participation in Nono Benja watershed development programme Keywords: Women, Logit, Watershed, Socio‑Economic, Demographic, Intuitional Factor DOI: 10.7176/JRDM/80-02 Publication date: November 30th 202