The use of XML schema and XSLT rules for product information personalization

This thesis describes research carried out in order to help solve the problem of personalization in e-commerce/CRM system. Web-based personalization consists of activities, such as providing customised information, that tailor the user's Web experience- browsing a Web site or purchasing a product, for example-to that user's particular needs. The main research objective of the project is to investigate how XSLT technologies can be used for the development of matching engines that find XML represented products that match the tastes, needs or requirements of customers as captured in customer profiles, also represented in XML. More specifically our research investigates into novel algorithms for transforming XML based product specifications using rules that derive from mining customer profiles with the purpose of customizing the product information

Descriptive business process models at run-time

Today's competitive markets require organisations to react proactively to changes in their environment if financial and legal consequences are to be avoided. Since business processes are elementary parts of modern organisations they are also required to efficiently adapt to these changes in quick and flexible ways. This requirement demands a more dynamic handling of business processes, i.e. treating business processes as run-time artefacts rather than design-time artefacts. One general approach to address this problem is provided by the community of [email protected], which promotes methodologies concerned with self-adaptive systems where models reflect the system's current state at any point in time and allow immediate reasoning and adaptation mechanisms. However, in contrast to common self-adaptive systems the domain of business processes features two additional challenges: (i) a bigger than usual abstraction gap between the business process models and the actual run-time information of the enterprise system and (ii) the possibility of run-time deviations from the planned models. Developing an understanding of such processes is a crucial necessity in order to optimise business processes and dynamically adapt to changing demands. This thesis explores the potential of adopting and enhancing principles and mechanisms from the [email protected] domain to the business process domain for the purpose of run-time reasoning, i.e. investigating the potential role of Descriptive Business Process Models at Run-time (DBPMRTs) in the business process management domain. The DBPMRT is a model describing the enterprise system at run-time and thus enabling higher-level reasoning on the as-is state. Along with the specification of the DBPMRT, algorithms and an overall framework are proposed to establish and maintain a causal link from the enterprise system to the DBPMRT at run-time. Furthermore, it is shown that proactive higher-level reasoning on a DBPMRT in the form of performance prediction allows for more accurate results. By taking these steps the thesis addresses general challenges of business process management, e.g. dealing with frequently changing processes and shortening the business process life cycle. At the same time this thesis contributes to research in [email protected] by providing a complex real-world use case as well as a reference approach for dealing with volatile [email protected] of a higher abstraction level

Disinfection by-product formation from biofilm chlorination in drinking water pipes

Biofilms in drinking water distribution networks (DWDNs) are recognized as potential pathogen reservoirs. Recent experiments have found that biofilm can also act as precursors for the formation of disinfection by-products (DBPs). This project aimed to better understand the impact of the presence of biofilms and improve prediction of DBPs in DWDNs. To study the microbial significance of biofilms in water pipes, bacterial communities in biofilm and bulk water were identified in a DWDN in a tropical climate country. Drinking water and biofilms were characterised by physico-chemical parameters. Relationships between biotic, physico-chemical parameters and engineered factors (i.e., pipe age, material and diameter; and water age) were explored by the application of statistical tests. Additionally, improvement of DBP prediction in DWDNs was approached by modelling the role of biofilms as DBP precursors. Two models for predicting DBP formation potentials were developed from chlorination of cells and extracellular polymeric substances. The first model corresponded to stagnant conditions and a second more complex model was produced for transitional and turbulent flow. The models were implemented in the software COMSOL Multiphysics 5.2a and sensitivity analysis was carried out to screen the parameters influence on the response variables. Field-work assessment allowed determining that biofilms are richer habitats than bulk water. Pipe age, pipe material, water age, free chlorine, pH and temperature can be key to the composition of bacterial communities. Model simulations suggested that the important DBP exposure is related to dichloroacetronitrile, stagnant bulk, and slow flow. The microbial and chemical significance of biofilms is important in the context of climate change and developing countries because water managers can face multiple challenges under these conditions. Alterations of raw water properties, increasing occurrence of extreme weather events and poor capacity to mitigate such events may rise the chemical and microbiological risk associated to biofilms in DWDNs in tropical countries

ESICM LIVES 2022: part 2.

peer reviewe

The Counter-testimony of the Maker

The chapter begins with the question of critique, mainly how and why does one critique but more importantly why does no one critique effectively anymore. Such is a sentiment echoed by Bruno Latour in the paper Why has Critique Run out of Steam? He states: “It does not seem to me that we have been as quick, in academia, to prepare ourselves for new threats, new dangers, new tasks, new targets. Are we not like those mechanical toys that endlessly make the same gesture when everything else has changed around them?”(Latour, 2004:225). According to Latour, the absence of principles is to blame. As he puts it, critique has battered through all claims to a ground and the lack of a sure ground argument has backfired. The result is that there isn’t even a sure ground for criticism. Without a ground, it’s hard to differentiate a rigorous critical claim from a conspiracy theory. That’s why conspiracy theory books are best sellers. Latour mourns the death of critique. In its remnants lies a whole industry denying the Apollo program. My claim is that the absence of principles transforms critique into an issue around the strength of evidence and the credibility of the testimony. Effective critique is synonymous with a counter-testimony of a reliable witness. A witness is someone who is present at the time of an event, often a crime, and is able to testify before the law. They are able to give direct evidence in relation to the events. However, they often rely on foggy memories and blurred vision. It is not too difficult for the defence or prosecution to put the reliability or credibility of the witness in doubt. Here is where the role of making comes into play. More often than not, in the post-critical age, a testimony, or counter-testimony, is not simply uttered but is rather constructed. Latour is the first to admit that a critique has to be made. As such the eyewitness is no longer a person but a photograph, a video or other forms of surveillance. Juries are more decisive when they are presented with the facts, the evidence, more often submitted as objects as opposed to a fuzzy testimony of a witness. Critique, or counter-testimony, is a material process enabled by infrastructure. Is a practice-based question of physics, chemistry and the material forms of agency. Given all this this chapter explores further the role of critical making as counter-testimony. From aesthetic practices of forensics, counter-forensics to the role of labs in media archaeology and investigative practices, I will tell the story of makers that present their objects as a counter-narrative to pressing socio-political issues. More importantly, however, I will address the issue of how critical making practices can establish credibility in a world of fakes and loss of belief