Towards a co-creation framework in the retail banking services industry: a cross-cultural analysis

An underlying theme in modern marketing is the notion that value is not solely created within the boundaries of the firm, it is created co-jointly with outside parties. This paper aims to study the outcomes of co-creation from a customer perspective. Specifically, it examines the effects of co-creation on customer satisfaction, loyalty and word-of-mouth (WOM) within the banking services industry. Furthermore, we consider potential differences between consumers from Spain and the UK, thus incorporating cross-cultural aspects in our research. The research demonstrates that firms should not only respond to the differences that exist within different cultural contexts and incorporate these in co-creation initiatives; more importantly, firms should undertake co-creation activities themselves as these can result in customers who are more satisfied, loyal to the company and more likely to carry out positive WOM, which can ultimately lead to new customers

The Oracle Problem When Testing from MSCs

Message Sequence Charts (MSCs) form a popular language in which scenario-based specifications and models can be written. There has been significant interest in automating aspects of testing from MSCs. This paper concerns the Oracle Problem, in which we have an observation made in testing and wish to know whether this is consistent with the specification. We assume that there is an MSC specification and consider the case where we have entirely independent local testers (local observability) and where the observations of the local testers are logged and brought together (tester observability). It transpires that under local observability the Oracle Problem can be solved in low-order polynomial time if we use sequencing, loops and choices but becomes NP-complete if we also allow parallel components; if we place a bound on the number of parallel components then it again can be solved in polynomial time. For tester observability, the problem is NP-complete when we have either loops or choices. However, it can be solved in low-order polynomial time if we have only one loop, no choices, and no parallel components. If we allow parallel components then the Oracle Problem is NP-complete for tester observability even if we restrict to the case where there are at most two processes

Графическое программирование в управлении динамикой моделирования сложных процессов

Рассмотрены основные требования пользователя к графической программной среде, которая управляет моделированием сложных систем. Также анализируются методы реализации UML алгоритмов такой среды.In the present work the main user requirements to the graphic program environment are viewed, which manager simulation complicated systems. Also methods of UML algorithms realization of such environment are analyzed

Modeling SARS-CoV-2 true infections in Catalonia through a digital twin

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Fonseca, P., Garcia, J. and Garcia, V., 2023. Modeling SARS-CoV-2 true infections in Catalonia through a digital twin. Advanced theory and simulations, (2200917), which has been published in final form at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adts.202200917. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions. This article may not be enhanced, enriched or otherwise transformed into a derivative work, without express permission from Wiley or by statutory rights under applicable legislation. Copyright notices must not be removed, obscured or modified. The article must be linked to Wiley’s version of record on Wiley Online Library and any embedding, framing or otherwise making available the article or pages thereof by third parties from platforms, services and websites other than Wiley Online Library must be prohibited.A dynamic view of the evolution of the infections of SARS-CoV-2 in Cataloniausing a Digital Twin approach that forecasts the true infection curve ispresented. The forecast model incorporates the vaccination process, theconfinement, and the detection rate, and virtually allows to consider anynonpharmaceutical intervention, enabling to understand their effects on thedisease’s containment while forecasting the trend of the pandemic. Acontinuous validation process of the model is performed using real data andan optimization model that automatically provides information regarding theeffects of the containment actions on the population. To simplify thisvalidation process, a formal graphical language that simplifies the interactionwith the different specialists and an easy modification of the modelparameters are used. The Digital Twin of the pandemic in Catalonia provides aforecast of the future trend of the SARS-CoV-2 spread and informationregarding the true cases and effectiveness of the NPIs to control theSARS-CoV-2 spread over the population. This approach can be applied easilyto other regions and can become an excellent tool for decision-making.Peer ReviewedObjectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::3 - Salut i BenestarPostprint (published version

SARS-CoV-2 spread forecast dynamic model validation through digital twin approach, Catalonia case study

The spread of the SARS-CoV-2 modeling is a challenging problem because of its complex nature and lack of information regarding certain aspects. In this paper, we explore a Digital Twin approach to model the pandemic situation in Catalonia. The Digital Twin is composed of three different dynamic models used to perform the validations by a Model Comparison approach. We detail how we use this approach to obtain knowledge regarding the effects of the nonpharmaceutical interventions and the problems we faced during the modeling process. We use Specification and Description Language (SDL) to represent the compartmental forecasting model for the SARS-CoV-2. Its graphical notation simplifies the different specialists’ understanding of the model hypotheses, which must be validated continuously following a Solution Validation approach. This model allows the successful forecasting of different scenarios for Catalonia. We present some formalization details, discuss the validation process and present some results obtained from the validation model discussion, which becomes a digital twin of the pandemic in Catalonia.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Resilience, Decision-making, and Environmental Water Releases

Tensions between delivering water for human uses versus environmental benefits are increasing in many arid and semiarid regions, potentially causing irreversible environmental consequences. The issue of how to balance these competing uses of water is of fundamental importance, especially with projected increases in the variability of water resources due to climate change. In response, a stochastic resilience optimization model is developed to assist decision‐makers to optimally determine water releases from storages for environmental purposes and to measure the resilience of a system for given risk tolerances. The model, with sensitivity analyses, provides a valuable tool for water planners to minimize the risk of irreversible consequences and to optimize for resilience taking into account weather uncertainty, existing environmental conditions, and water storage levels. A calibration of the model to the Murray‐Darling Basin and also the Goulburn‐Broken catchment region in Australia highlights its potential to improve decision‐making at multiple spatial scales and over time.This work is supported by an Australian Research Council grant (LP130100174)

ГРАФИЧЕСКОЕ ПРОГРАММИРОВАНИЕ В УПРАВЛЕНИИ ДИНАМИКОЙ МОДЕЛИРОВАНИЯ СЛОЖНЫХ ПРОЦЕССОВ\ud

Рассмотрены основные требования пользователя к графической программной среде, которая управляет моделированием сложных систем. Также анализируются методы реализации UML алгоритмов такой среды.\ud \ud In the present work the main user requirements to the graphic program environment are viewed, which manager simulation complicated systems. Also methods of UML algorithms realization of such environment are analyzed.\u

Controllability problems in MSC-based testing

This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in The Computer Journal following peer review. The definitive publisher-authenticated version [Dan, H and Hierons, RM (2012), "Controllability Problems in MSC-Based Testing", The Computer Journal, 55(11), 1270-1287] is available online at: http://comjnl.oxfordjournals.org/content/55/11/1270. Copyright @ The Authors 2011.In testing systems with distributed interfaces/ports, we may place a separate tester at each port. It is known that this approach can introduce controllability problems which have received much attention in testing from finite state machines. Message sequence charts (MSCs) form an alternative, commonly used, language for modelling distributed systems. However, controllability problems in testing from MSCs have not been thoroughly investigated. In this paper, controllability problems in MSC test cases are analysed with three notions of observability: local, tester and global. We identify two types of controllability problem in MSC-based testing. It transpires that each type of controllability problem is related to a type of MSC pathology. Controllability problems of timing are caused by races but not every race causes controllability problems; controllability problems of choice are caused by non-local choices and not every non-local choice causes controllability problems. We show that some controllability problems of timing are avoidable and some controllability problems of choice can be overcome when testers have better observational power. Algorithms are provided to tackle both types of controllability problems. Finally, we show how one can overcome controllability problems using a coordination service with status messages based on algorithms developed in this paper.EPSR

Improving reading comprehension and self-directed learning through the use of explicit reading strategies and personal blogs on high school students

80 Páginas.Este proyecto de investigación sobre la aplicación de estrategias de lectura para fomentar la comprensión de lectura y el aprendizaje autónomo, se desarrolló con dos sub-grupos de once grado y décimo grado en. IE Concentración Simón Araujo, una escuela secundaria pública en la ciudad de Sincelejo, Colombia. Fueron 30 alumnos en total: 11 varones y 18 mujeres con una edad promedio de 16 años de edad. Esta investigación en el aula pretendió medir cualitativa y cuantitativamente el proceso de comprensión de la lectura a través de un pre-test, un test intermedio y una prueba final; pero también empleó otros procedimientos de producción tales como cuestionarios no-estructurados y productos finales en los blogs que fueron analizados, tanto cuantitativa como cualitativamente; otros tres métodos introspectivos utilizados fueron: el recuerdo estimulado, con el fin de analizar su comprensión real a través de respuestas específicas; el diario del profesor que se analizó cualitativamente, y la validación de algunos participantes, que se utilizó para comparar las notas del profesor. Los resultados indicaron que el uso de la tecnología y la enseñanza explicita y escalonada de las estrategias de lectura, tales como tipos de textos, identificación dela idea principal, ideas de apoyo y aprender a hacer resumen, mejoraron la comprensión lectora de los estudiantes. Además , los estudiantes aprendieron cómo mejorar su comprensión con la aplicación de los diferentes estilos de aprendizaje