Tracking of secondary and temporary objects in structural concrete work

Previous research has shown that “Scan-vs-BIM ” object recognition systems, that fuse 3D point clouds from Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) or digital photogrammetry with 4D project BIM, provide valuable information for tracking structural works. However, until now, the potential of these systems has been demonstrated for tracking progress of permanent structures only; no work has been reported yet on tracking secondary or temporary structures. For structural concrete work, temporary structures include formwork, scaffolding and shoring, while secondary components include rebar. Together, they constitute most of the earned value in concrete work. The impact of tracking such elements would thus be added veracity and detail to earned value calculations, and subsequently better project control and performance. This paper presents three different techniques for recognizing concrete construction secondary and temporary objects in TLS point clouds. Two of the techniques are tested using real-life data collected from a reinforced concrete building construction site. The preliminary experimental results show that it is feasible to recognize secondary and temporary objects in TLS point clouds with good accuracy; but it is envisaged that superior results could be achieved by using additional cues such colour and 3D edge information

Valuing human resources: perceptions and practices in UK organisations.

Despite Government and academic interest in valuing human resources, there has been relatively little progress in reflecting the value of human resources in UK organisations. This research uses a survey questionnaire to identify perceptions and practices in the area of valuing human resources in three types of UK organizations; traditional companies, knowledge intensive companies and local authorities. The survey focuses on the importance of valuing human resources, current measurement practices, key barriers to the valuation of human resources and the progress expected in this field over five years in UK organisations. Although the majority of respondents identified that the measurement/valuation of human resources was important to their organization, only little or moderate progress in recognizing the worth of human resources in financial statements was expected. The main reasons for this were identified to be lack of understanding and support of the area by others in the organization, particularly senior management, lack of resources, uncertainty as to what information should be reported and lack of precision and reliability in current human resource measures. The research identified that there is more interest in the area from human resource professionals than accounting professionals and that valuation of human resources should be included in internal reports rather than reported externally. More research is now needed, both on conceptual models for valuing human resources within organizations and empirical research focusing on issues such as gaining commitment to valuing of human resources by senior management, the development of systems of valuing human resources, how systems to value employees, when developed, are implemented in organisations and the consequences, both intended and unintended of how the systems operate in practice

Using Real Options Analysis for Evaluating Uncertain Investments in Information Technology: Insights from the ICIS 2001 Debate

Business and information systems (IS) executives continue to grapple with issues of risk and uncertainty in evaluating investments in information technology (IT). Despite the use of net present value (NPV) and other investment appraisal techniques, executives are often forced to rely on instinct when finalizing IT investment decisions. Recognizing the shortcomings of NPV, real options analysis has been suggested as an alternative approach, one that considers the risks associated with an investment while recognizing the ability of corporations to defer an investment until a later period or to make a partial investment instead. Responding to a growing interest in real options analysis among the IS community, a debate involving four prominent researchers was convened at the 2001 International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS). In addition to offering a tutorial overview of real options, the goal of the debate was to assess the state of research in this area and to identify avenues for future research. This paper describes the outcomes of the debate, culminating in a series of research questions and topics that set the stage for future research in IT and real options analysis. A transcript of the debate and an overview of real options analysis are included as appendices

Teams and E-Commerce: Exploring the Future via the Past

E-commerce is a relatively new phenomenon. One of the basic tenets of e-commerce is the way transactions, processes and customers are distributed, therefore, the role of teams/groups in such an environment can be crucial. In this research, we look at the literature on the interactions of teams/groups with inter-organizational information systems and telecommunications to hypothesize about the role and functionality of e-commerce. This paper can be of value to researchers, in that it will help them identify core areas of research that are yet to be undertaken, and to practitioners who may gain from these findings by recognizing the importance of teams relative to various e-commerce function

A research agenda to support the development and implementation of genomics-based clinical informatics tools and resources.

OBJECTIVE: The Genomic Medicine Working Group of the National Advisory Council for Human Genome Research virtually hosted its 13th genomic medicine meeting titled Developing a Clinical Genomic Informatics Research Agenda . The meeting\u27s goal was to articulate a research strategy to develop Genomics-based Clinical Informatics Tools and Resources (GCIT) to improve the detection, treatment, and reporting of genetic disorders in clinical settings. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Experts from government agencies, the private sector, and academia in genomic medicine and clinical informatics were invited to address the meeting\u27s goals. Invitees were also asked to complete a survey to assess important considerations needed to develop a genomic-based clinical informatics research strategy. RESULTS: Outcomes from the meeting included identifying short-term research needs, such as designing and implementing standards-based interfaces between laboratory information systems and electronic health records, as well as long-term projects, such as identifying and addressing barriers related to the establishment and implementation of genomic data exchange systems that, in turn, the research community could help address. DISCUSSION: Discussions centered on identifying gaps and barriers that impede the use of GCIT in genomic medicine. Emergent themes from the meeting included developing an implementation science framework, defining a value proposition for all stakeholders, fostering engagement with patients and partners to develop applications under patient control, promoting the use of relevant clinical workflows in research, and lowering related barriers to regulatory processes. Another key theme was recognizing pervasive biases in data and information systems, algorithms, access, value, and knowledge repositories and identifying ways to resolve them

TALENT ANALYTICS: HOW DATA MINING CAN IMPROVE TALENT ASSESSMENT

Contemporary Information Systems literature is recognizing the exponential growth of data made possible by the perfect storm of increasing hardware capabilities, decreasing hardware cost and introduction of ever increasing data points from social media through to regulatory reform. America in 2012 is a society of big data . The challenge presented is how to move from the collection stage of data to the data driven decision making platforms by providing meaningful insight that contributes to gaps in existing knowledge bases. In this light Information Systems is uniquely positioned to illustrate how existing techniques can be introduced into new domains to help to leverage their big data into daily utilization. This is particularly important in stimulating new research that continues to further our understanding of how co-mingling of existing information systems tools and techniques can provide new and interesting interpretations and contributions. Thus this research focuses on one specific domain where big data resides, that being Human Resources (HR). The potential of HR data has recently been explored by the likes of Davenport et al. and by progressive technology companies such as Google. This dissertation concentrates on filling the gap in the current knowledge base by focusing on how decision support systems techniques can be extending into the HR domain in a proactive manner by employing the current data captured in Human Resources Information Systems to enable proactive talent analytics. This research contributes insights into the Data Mining techniques that are applicable in the context of solving one of the most challenging and expensive decisions any organization makes - its\u27 human capital. Hiring the right person can reap huge rewards, hiring the wrong person can be poison to a team, expensive to an organization and can risk the brand reputation. Therefore this dissertation looks at a large present day workplace reviewed current and existing HR big data in different and creative ways, using existing techniques and systems tools in new and innovative combinations. The objective of this research is to contribute value in how Data Mining can create a multi-fit talent assessment, that captures not only a singular aspect of fit like most current talent assessment techniques, but can capture multiple aspects of fit like person-job fit and person-organization fit

User Adoption of Enterprise Resource Planning Systems in the Public Sector

The importance of aligning information technology and business strategies to exploit capabilities and change business practices has increased as firms strive for competitive advantage in a diverse and changing marketplace. Nevertheless, over 50% of firms implementing enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems ranked expected process and value enhancements as inadequate, whereas only 13% indicated that implementations met their needs. The unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) model formed the conceptual framework of this single case study. The study comprised a purposeful sampling of 8 business managers in Southeast Alabama working in related job roles and based on established eligibility criteria. Data collection involved semistructured interviews, casual observations, and document analysis. Through method triangulation and predetermined themes directly related to the UTAUT conceptual framework, 5 themes emerged: management endorsement, change management, training and education, dedicated resources, and governance. Results of this research may influence the elimination of key barriers central in the deployment and adoption of ERP systems by the public sector. The study\u27s implications for positive social change include the potential to enhance social and intellectual capital formation through recognizing strategies that mitigate employees\u27 gender and age variances during an ERP implementation

Applying the Social of Translation to a System Project in a Lagging Enterprise

Although actor-network theory (ANT) is enjoying increasing interest in information systems research, we are still in the early stages of understanding and appreciating ANT’s potential for drawing lessons and developing guidance for industry practitioners. This paper focuses on extending that practical understanding. Here, ANT is applied in creating an account of a human-services firm’s experience in building its first major information system. Several practical implications are drawn that point the way toward further adapting ANT thinking for applied use in system-project contexts. Central among the insights are: the potential value in viewing project leadership in terms of actor-network management; the need to treat network management more as a matter of facilitation than control; the importance of recognizing that the effective management of interests may have to begin with the very constitution of those interests; the need to understand how indirect representations of key interests during software construction may break down when the interests themselves are directly engaged during implementation; the need to manage the particulars of critical issues on which network stability depends; and the importance of grasping the interdependence between network stability and adaptability in design

A ground-truth experiment on melody genre recognition in absence of timbre

Music genre or style is an important metadata for music collections and database organization. Some authors claim for the need of having ground truth studies on this particular topic, in order to compare results with them and lead to sound conclusions when analyzing software performances. When dealing with digital scores in any format, timbrical information is not always available or trustworthy so we have avoided this information in our computer models, using only melodic information. The main goal of this work is to assess the human ability for recognizing music genres in absence of timbre in order to assess comparatively the performance of computer models for this task. For this, we have experimented with fragments of melodies in absence of accompaniment and timbre, as our computer models do. For this particular paper we have worked with two well-stablished genres in the music literature, like classical and jazz music. A number of analyses in terms of age, group, education, and music studies of the people subjected to the tests have been performed. The results show that, on average, the error rate was about 18%. This value shows the base line to be improved for computer systems in this task without using timbrical information.This work is supported by the Spanish PROSEMUS project (TIN2006-14932-C02), the research programme Consolider Ingenio 2010 (MIPRCV, CSD2007-00018) and the Pascal Network of Excellence

The design and engineering of innovative mobile data services: An ontological framework founded on business model thinking

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.This research investigates mobile service design and engineering in the mobile telecommunications industry. The mobile telecommunication business is shifting from one that was voice-centric to one that is almost all data-centric; thanks to recent rapid advances in Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). The underlying reasons behind this shift can be traced back to two main issues that are interlinked. The first and major reason is that telecoms (telecommunication companies) are trying to generate new revenue streams based on data and information transmissions, given the saturation of the voice market. This is rational given the market opportunities in one direction and the pressures being generated by the current economic downturn from the other direction. The second reason relates to the flexibility of data, compared to voice. Indeed, the number of services that can be developed on the basis of data are much greater than those that can be developed on the basis of voice. However, the design and engineering of successful and innovative mobile data services has proven to be a complex undertaking. The number of effective mobile data services is relatively small and the revenue generated from such offerings has generally been below expectations. This research develops an ontological framework to help in changing this situation, and making mobile services engineering more effective and successful, following the design-science research paradigm. Design-science research, in general, aims to solve unstructured but relevant organizational or social problems through the development of novel and useful artefacts. As the current research aims to help in solving the mobile data services engineering dilemma by developing a purposeful ontological framework, the design-science research paradigm is deemed fitting. Within this paradigm, the author develops a novel design approach specified for ontology engineering, termed “OntoEng”. This design approach is used in this research for developing the ontological framework. The developed ontological framework is founded on business model thinking. The idea is that creating innovative mobile data services requires developing innovative business models. Indeed, innovative business models can help translate technological potential into economic value and allow telecoms to achieve their strategic objectives. The ontological framework includes the development of an ontology, termed “V4 Mobile Service BM Ontology” as well as “Mobile Key Value Drivers” for designing and engineering innovative mobile data services. The V4 Mobile Service BM Ontology incorporates four design dimensions: (1) value proposition including targeting; (2) value architecture including technological and organizational infrastructure; (3) value network dealing with aspects relating to partnerships and co-operations; and finally (4) value finance relating to costs, pricing, and revenue structures. Within these four dimensions, sixteen design concepts are identified along with their constituent elements. Relationships and interdependencies amongst the identified design constructs are established and clear semantics are produced. The research then derives six key value drivers for mobile service engineering as follows: (a) Market Alignment; (b) Cohesion; (c) Dynamicity; (d) Uniqueness; (e) Fitting Network-Mode; and (f) Explicitness. The developed ontological framework in this research is evaluated to ensure that it can be successfully implemented and performs correctly in the real world. The research mainly utilizes case analysis methods to ensure the semantic correctness of the ontological framework. Indeed, the developed ontological framework is employed as an analytical lens to examine the design and engineering of three key real-life cases in the mobile telecommunications industry. These cases are: (1) Apple’s iPhone Services and Applications; (2) NTT DoCoMo’s i-mode Services; and (3) Orange Business Services. For further validation, the developed ontological framework is evaluated against a set of criteria synthesized from ontology engineering and evaluation literature. These criteria are: Clarity; Coherence; Conciseness; Preciseness; Completeness; and Customizability. The developed ontological framework is argued to make significant contributions for theory, practice, and methodology. For theory, this research provides (1) a novel ontological framework for designing and engineering mobile data services; (2) a unified framework of the business model concept; and (3) a new design approach for ontology engineering in information systems. For practice, the current research provides practitioners in the telecommunications industry with systematic and customizable means to design, implement, analyze, evaluate, and change new and existing mobile data services to make them more manageable, effective, and creative. For methodology, the use of the design- science research paradigm for ontology engineering signifies the focal methodological contribution in this research given its novelty. This research also contributes to the understanding of the design-science research paradigm in information systems as it is relatively new. It provides a working example in which the author illustrates how recognizing design-science research as a paradigm is essential and useful to the research in information systems discipline