An approach to control collaborative processes in PLM systems

Companies that collaborate within the product development processes need to implement an effective management of their collaborative activities. Despite the implementation of a PLM system, the collaborative activities are not efficient as it might be expected. This paper presents an analysis of the problems related to the collaborative work using a PLM system. From this analysis, we propose an approach for improving collaborative processes within a PLM system, based on monitoring indicators. This approach leads to identify and therefore to mitigate the brakes of the collaborative work

The role of concurrency in an evolutionary view of programming abstractions

In this paper we examine how concurrency has been embodied in mainstream programming languages. In particular, we rely on the evolutionary talking borrowed from biology to discuss major historical landmarks and crucial concepts that shaped the development of programming languages. We examine the general development process, occasionally deepening into some language, trying to uncover evolutionary lineages related to specific programming traits. We mainly focus on concurrency, discussing the different abstraction levels involved in present-day concurrent programming and emphasizing the fact that they correspond to different levels of explanation. We then comment on the role of theoretical research on the quest for suitable programming abstractions, recalling the importance of changing the working framework and the way of looking every so often. This paper is not meant to be a survey of modern mainstream programming languages: it would be very incomplete in that sense. It aims instead at pointing out a number of remarks and connect them under an evolutionary perspective, in order to grasp a unifying, but not simplistic, view of the programming languages development process

Interface refactoring in performance-constrained web services

This paper presents the development of REF-WS an approach to enable a Web Service provider to reliably evolve their service through the application of refactoring transformations. REF-WS is intended to aid service providers, particularly in a reliability and performance constrained domain as it permits upgraded ’non-backwards compatible’ services to be deployed into a performance constrained network where existing consumers depend on an older version of the service interface. In order for this to be successful, the refactoring and message mediation needs to occur without affecting functional compatibility with the services’ consumers, and must operate within the performance overhead expected of the original service, introducing as little latency as possible. Furthermore, compared to a manually programmed solution, the presented approach enables the service developer to apply and parameterize refactorings with a level of confidence that they will not produce an invalid or ’corrupt’ transformation of messages. This is achieved through the use of preconditions for the defined refactorings

FESTivE: an information system method to improve product designers and environmental experts information exchanges

Effective collaboration between product designers and environmental experts is an important driver for the ecodesign practice in industry. This paper investigates the principal functions required for such an e ective collaboration and aims at facilitating them. Product designers should be able to integrate the environmental parameters into their activities, and to exchange information dynamically with the environmental expert whenever needed during the design process. Therefore, the IT system should be in itself dynamic and exible to the integration of new concepts (knowledge, software). Recent developments in Model Driven Engineering (MDE) are showing some interesting results to gain exibility and dynamism in the IT system. Combining software interoperability using model federation based on MDE with the speci city of ecodesign practice in industry this paper proposes the FESTivE method for Federate EcodeSign Tool modEls. Experimented in two different industrial contexts the practical feasibility of FESTivE has been validated with practitioners. Results on the e ects of using FESTivE in industry shows that product designers and environmental experts are more equipped to anticipate and to respond to each other's needs at each stage of the design process of product or service

Enriching the values of micro and small business research projects : two sides of a story

Copyright and all rights therein are retained by the authors. All persons copying this information are expected to adhere to the terms and conditions invoked by each author's copyright. These works may not be re-posted without the explicit permission of the copyright holdersThe research aim was to critically examine the two sides of co-creation from the small business and GCU researcher perspectives. The interest is in the value created and delivered. Previous studies have suggested the importance of identity and trust in these types of collaborative projects. The approach used a single case study to explore indepth the development of identity and trust, and the subsequent movement of the project participants to the creation of value. The results of the study revealed important action learning and knowledge management developments. A strong focus at the beginning on identifying key propositional knowledge needs, later led to more opportunities to co-create value for both parties. The understanding of the processes and importance of trust in these significant knowledge exchange projects reveals both a strength and weakness in these university-business collaborative projects. The indepth undersrtanding and interpretation of the value derived in-action and on-action speaks highly of the role of these university-business collaborative projects. Suggesting that the university has a key role to play in future economic development. KeywordsFinal Published versio

New ATCA, ALMA and VISIR observations of the candidate LBV SK-67266 (S61): the nebular mass from modelling 3D density distributions

We present new observations of the nebula around the Magellanic candidate Luminous Blue Variable S61. These comprise high-resolution data acquired with the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA), the Atacama Large Millimetre/Submillimetre Array (ALMA), and VISIR at the Very Large Telescope (VLT). The nebula was detected only in the radio, up to 17 GHz. The 17 GHz ATCA map, with 0.8 arcsec resolution, allowed a morphological comparison with the H$\alpha$ Hubble Space Telescope image. The radio nebula resembles a spherical shell, as in the optical. The spectral index map indicates that the radio emission is due to free-free transitions in the ionised, optically thin gas, but there are hints of inhomogeneities. We present our new public code RHOCUBE to model 3D density distributions, and determine via Bayesian inference the nebula's geometric parameters. We applied the code to model the electron density distribution in the S61 nebula. We found that different distributions fit the data, but all of them converge to the same ionised mass, ~0.1 $\rm M\odot$, which is an order of magnitude smaller than previous estimates. We show how the nebula models can be used to derive the mass-loss history with high-temporal resolution. The nebula was probably formed through stellar winds, rather than eruptions. From the ALMA and VISIR non-detections, plus the derived extinction map, we deduce that the infrared emission observed by space telescopes must arise from extended, diffuse dust within the ionised region.Comment: 17 pages, 9 figures. Authors list corrected. In press in MNRAS. RHOCUBE code available online ( https://github.com/rnikutta/rhocube

Fatores que afetam a adoção de análises de Big Data em empresas

With the total quantity of data doubling every two years, the low price of computing and data storage, make Big Data analytics (BDA) adoption desirable for companies, as a tool to get competitive advantage. Given the availability of free software, why have some companies failed to adopt these techniques? To answer this question, we extend the unified theory of technology adoption and use of technology model (UTAUT) adapted for the BDA context, adding two variables: resistance to use and perceived risk. We used the level of implementation of these techniques to divide companies into users and non-users of BDA. The structural models were evaluated by partial least squares (PLS). The results show the importance of good infrastructure exceeds the difficulties companies face in implementing it. While companies planning to use Big Data expect strong results, current users are more skeptical about its performance.Con la cantidad total de datos duplicándose cada dos años, el bajo precio de la informática y del almacenamiento de datos, la adopción del análisis Big Data (BDA) es altamente deseable para las empresas, como un instrumento para conseguir una ventaja competitiva. Dada la disponibilidad de software libre, ¿por qué algunas empresas no han adoptado estas técnicas? Para responder a esta pregunta, ampliamos la teoría unificada de la adopción y uso de tecnología (UTAUT) adaptado para el contexto BDA, agregando dos variables: resistencia al uso y riesgo percibido. Utilizamos el grado de implantación de estas técnicas para dividir las empresas entre: usuarias y no usuarias de BDA. Los modelos estructurales fueron evaluados con partial least squres (PLS). Los resultados muestran que la importancia de una buena infraestructura excede las dificultades que enfrentan las empresas para implementarla. Mientras que las compañías que planean usar BDA esperan muy buenos resultados, las usuarias actuales son más escépticos sobre su rendimiento.Com a quantidade total de dados duplicando a cada dois anos, o baixo preço da computação e do armazenamento de dados tornam a adoção de análises de Big Data (BDA) desejável para as empresas, como aquelas que obterão uma vantagem competitiva. Dada a disponibilidade de software livre, por que algumas empresas não adotaram essas técnicas? Para responder a essa pergunta, estendemos a teoria unificada de adoção e uso de tecnologia (UTAUT) adaptado para o contexto do BDA, adicionando duas variáveis: resistência ao uso e risco percebido. Usamos a nível da implementação da tecnologia para dividir as empresas em usuários e não usuários de técnicas de BDA. Os modelos estruturais foram avaliados por partial least squares (PLS). Os resultados mostram que a importância de uma boa infraestrutura excede as dificuldades que as empresas enfrentam para implementá-la. Enquanto as empresas que planejam usar Big Data esperam resultados fortes, os usuários atuais são mais céticos em relação ao seu desempenho