480 research outputs found

    Barry Smith an sich

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    Festschrift in Honor of Barry Smith on the occasion of his 65th Birthday. Published as issue 4:4 of the journal Cosmos + Taxis: Studies in Emergent Order and Organization. Includes contributions by Wolfgang Grassl, Nicola Guarino, John T. Kearns, Rudolf Lüthe, Luc Schneider, Peter Simons, Wojciech Żełaniec, and Jan Woleński

    Improving Business Performance Through The Integration Of Human Factors Engineering Into Organizations Using A Systems Engineeri

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    Most organizations today understand the valuable contribution employees as people (rather than simply bodies) provide to their overall performance. Although efforts are made to make the most of the human in organizations, there is still much room for improvement. Focus in the reduction of employee injuries such as cumulative trauma disorders rose in the 80 s. Attempts at increasing performance by addressing employee satisfaction through various methods have also been ongoing for several years now. Knowledge Management is one of the most recent attempts at controlling and making the best use of employees knowledge. All of these efforts and more towards that same goal of making the most of people s performance at work are encompassed within the domain of the Human Factors Engineering/Ergonomics field. HFE/E provides still untapped potential for organizational performance as the human and its optimal performance are the reason for this discipline s being. Although Human Factors programs have been generated and implemented, there is still the need for a method to help organizations fully integrate this discipline into the enterprise as a whole. The purpose of this research is to develop a method to help organizations integrate HFE/E into it business processes. This research begun with a review of the ways in which the HFE/E discipline is currently used by organizations. The need and desire to integrate HFE/E into organizations was identified, and a method to accomplish this integration was conceptualized. This method consisted on the generation of two domain-specific ontologies (a Human Factors Engineering/Ergonomics ontology, and a Business ontology), and mapping the two creating a concept map that can be used to integrate HFE/E into businesses. The HFE/E ontology was built by generating two concept maps that were merged and then joined with a HFE/E discipline taxonomy. A total of four concept maps, two ontologies and a taxonomy were created, all of which are contributions to the HFE/E, and the business- and management-related fields

    Engineering education for sustainable development: A review of international progress

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    Since the late 1980s there have been increasing calls around the world for embedding sustainability content throughout engineering curricula, particularly over the past decade. However in general there has been little by way of strategic or systematic integration within programs offered by higher education institutions (HEIs). Responding to a growing awareness towards the issues surrounding sustainability, a number of professional engineering institutions (PEIs) internationally have placed increasing emphasis on policies and initiatives relating to the role of engineering in addressing 21st Century challenges. This has resulted in some consideration towards integrating sustainable development into engineering curricula as envisaged by accreditation guidelines. This paper provides a global overview of such accreditation developments, highlighting emerging sustainability competencies (or ‘graduate attributes’) and places these in the context of relevant PEI declarations, initiatives, policies, codes of ethics and guideline publications

    Publications by Barry Smith

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    Leadership, regionalisation of peace operations and conflict mediation: African Union and Southern African Development Community in perspective

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    This study analyses the topic of leadership in African Union (AU) peace operations and conflict mediation. Using the case studies of AU mediation in Madagascar, and the AU mission in Somalia, the study investigates how leadership is produced in AU interventions, how regional and sub regional actors interact with each other, and how regionalisation of peace processes match to dominating approaches in international peace and security management. The research is informed by an analysis of academic and policy literatures, as well as data gathered through 41 interviews with key policymakers and implementers at the AU and Southern African Development Community (SADC) headquarters. This thesis makes its primary contribution to studies of leadership and contemporary conflict management in Africa. It outlines the importance of socially constructed forms of leadership, and how this influence (and is influenced by) the relationship between AU states, sub-regional organisations, and the AU itself. By doing so, it poses significant questions with regards to how the AU is expected to demonstrate a hierarchical form of leadership on the African continent. It also contributes to contemporary debates regarding the role of regional and subregional organisations in international conflict resolution, most notably to the fields of liberal peacebuilding, and cosmopolitan approaches to peacekeeping. Moreover, the thesis broadens contemporary understanding of peace and conflict on the African continent and contributes to policy debates over strategic interventions in regionalised peace interventions

    'Surrounding Areas' and the recalibration of Japan's threat perception

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    The official narratives of Surrounding Areas in the 1997 New Guidelines are a curiosity: on the one hand, they signify Japan's readiness to increase its international involvement, while on the other hand, the geographical designation remains vague despite Japan's preoccupation with Asia. This suggests that Asia as Japan's neighbourhood is considered along with international developments to facilitate the emergence of an ambiguous language for Japanese policy makers as they seek to adapt to changes in the international environment. As such, the term 'Surrounding Areas' signifies Tokyo's anxieties in facing up to new challenges, as well as the willingness of the government to enhance Japan's international role while maintaining its status as a pacifist state. © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2011

    Power, structures, and norms

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    Die vorliegende Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit der Untersuchung der institutionalisierten Beziehungen zwischen der NATO und Russland seit 1997 und konzentriert sich dabei besonders auf die Ergebnisse des „Permanent Council“ (PJC, 1997) und des „NATO-Russia Council“ (NRC, 2002). Das Vermächtnis von Strukturen, die während des kalten Krieges entstanden, beeinflusst weiterhin die Interaktionen zwischen der NATO und Russland. Dies wurde insbesondere während der Kosovo-Krise und nach dem 11. September 2001, welcher die „post-post-Cold War era“ einläutete, sichtbar. Das zentrale Kapitel der Dissertation beinhaltet eine empirische Analyse der Policy-Felder, denen sich der PJC und der NRC widmen. Hier wird vor allem auf die Zusammenarbeit von der NATO und Russland auf dem Balkan und auf den Kampf gegen den Terrorismus eingegangen. Die Fallstudie untersucht NATO-Russland Interaktionen in Zentralasien; besonders im Hinblick auf geopolitische Trends, die für beide Akteure und ihre zukünftigen Beziehungen wichtige Auswirkungen haben werden. Diese Arbeit untersucht die Qualität der Beziehungen zwischen der NATO und Russland anhand von Ereignissen, welche diese Beziehungen geprägt haben und erklärt, warum manche Verhaltensmuster sich kontinuierlich wiederholen.This dissertation examines the institutionalized relationship between NATO and Russia since 1997; focussing on the outcomes of the 1997 Permanent Joint Council (PJC) and the 2002 NATO-Russia Council (NRC). The legacy of Cold War structures has continued to influence the way NATO and Russia interact; most notably during the Kosovo crisis and in the aftermath of the attacks of September 11 that rang in the “post-post-Cold War era”. The bulk of the research consists of an empirical analysis of policy fields covered by the PJC and the NRC. Particular attention is given to NATO-Russia interaction in the Balkans, as well as to the fight against terrorism. The case study assesses NATO-Russia interaction in Central Asia, taking into consideration geopolitical trends that will shape both actors’ actions in the future. Tracing events that have shaped NATO-Russia relations, this dissertation analyzes the quality of NATO-Russia relations and explains why certain patterns keep reoccurring

    Loose policy and local adaptation:a comparative study of masters degrees in the context of the Bologna Process

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    The research presented in this thesis focuses on a comparative analysis of six master programmes in Physics in three European countries (England, Portugal and Denmark) in the context of the implementation of reforms triggered by the Bologna Agreement. It undertakes the programme comparison with a particular interest in two dimensions: first, conceptions of master degrees, i.e. what people consider a master degree is, referred to as the ontology of the degree; second, teaching and learning practices as experienced by academics and students, referred to as enacted ontology, determined by an interplay between the ontology of the master and by the process of policy implementation. Policy-making and implementation has received special attention, since the loose guidance and „soft. legislative status that characterises Bologna policy (the open method of coordination) has led to different interpretations and a variety of national and institutional responses determined by local or situated circumstances. To capture the transformation of policy and the evolution of actor conceptions at European, national and institutional level, the implementation staircase approach has been used. The research found that similarities and differences both in conceptions and in teaching and learning practices (manifestations of enacted ontology) emerge as consequences of disciplinary features, national tradition and departmental teaching and learning regimes. In particular, country-specific traditions of university degree organisation appear powerful in shaping the degree.s conceptualisation. Differences in conceptualisation between implementation levels (European/national versus institutional) are particularly pertinent in the exemplar discipline of physics. The most notable one refers to the degree.s purpose. Whereas the national (and European) levels view the degree as preparation for employment and further studies, physics academics and students describe it more as a springboard to a PhD. Teaching methods were found to be overall similar, apparently due to disciplinary tradition. A generally low emphasis on transferable skills has been noted, again explained by disciplinary factors. Nonetheless, although physics is a highly-bounded discipline, with relatively strong agreement on its structure, several differences in its „enacted ontology. have emerged. Thus, assessment practices show discontinuity, sometimes explained by national and sometimes by institutional traditions. Use of learning outcomes is variable, apparently determined by national tradition. There are, too, different approaches to incorporating research in the degree. This research suggests that implementation and ontology are mutually sensitive and act together to shape the practices associated with master courses. First, degree conceptualisations (nationally and institutionally determined) exert influence on the interpretation of new education policies and the choices made during implementation. Second, educational policies have the power to shift ontology. New national imperatives can act as catalysts and determinants of new academic practice. Therefore, the expressions of a master degree materialised in recurrent pedagogic practices (the enacted ontology), are produced by a symbiotic intertwining of the two dimensions
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