Towards Method Component Contextualization

International audienceMethod Engineering (ME) is a discipline which aims to bring effective solutions to the construction, improvement and modification of the methods used to develop Information Systems (IS). Situational Method Engineering (SME) promotes the idea of retrieving, adapting and tailoring components, rather than complete methodologies, to the specific context. Existing SME approaches use the notion of context for characterizing situations of IS development projects and for guiding the method components selection from a repository. However, in the reviewed literature, there is no proposed approach to specify the specific context of method components. This paper provides a detailed vision of context and a process for contextualizing methods in the IS domain. This proposal is illustrated with three case studies: scenario conceptualization, project portfolio management, and decision-making

Project:Filter - using applied games to engage secondary schoolchildren with public policy

Applied games present a twenty-first-century method of consuming information for a specific purpose beyond pure entertainment. Objectives such as awareness and engagement are often used as intended outcomes of applied games in alignment with strategic, organizational, or commercial purposes. Applied games were highlighted as an engagement-based outcome to explore noPILLS, a pan-European policy research project which presented policy pointers and suggested methods of interventions for reducing micropollution within the wastewater treatment process. This paper provides an assessment of a video game which was developed for the purpose of public engagement with policy-based research. The video game, Project:Filter, was developed as a means of communicating noPILLS to secondary school children in Scotland as part of a classroom-based activity. Knowledge development and engagement were identified using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis to evidence topical awareness, depth of understanding, and suggested methods of intervention. Analysis of observations also provided insights into challenges surrounding logistics, pedagogy, social interactions, learning, and gender as contributing factors to the schoolchildren’s experiences of Project:Filter. The intention of this paper is two-fold: firstly, to provide an example of developing video games from policy-based research; and secondly, to suggest methods of phenomenological assessment for identifying play-based engagement

Contextualization: no passing fad

Originally prepared for an international conference on the churches and China attended by Chinese patriotic Christians, this paper focuses on the processes of indigenization and contextualization. Asian discussions of these processes are related to two Canadian illustrations: the development of indigenous structures by the Lutheran church in America-Canada Section; and the struggle of Canada\u27s northern natives to preserve their past and to shape their future in the face of a proposed pipeline across their land. Asian and feminist conclusions are affirmed: contextualization is the way towards, rather than a threat to, catholicity, universality and transcendence

A Generic Method for the Reliable Calculation of Large- Scale Fading in an Obstacle-Dense Propagation Environment

The aim of this chapter is to summarize and present recent findings in the field of wireless channel mod- eling that provide a new method for the reliable calculation of the statistical parameters of large-scale variations of the average received signal (shadow fading). This algorithm is theoretically based on a path loss estimation model that incorporates losses due to walls and floors. This has been confirmed to be the most precise mathematical tool for average signal strength prediction for various frequencies of interest and propagation environments. The total path loss is estimated as a sum of two independent attenuation processes: free space loss and losses due to obstacles. This solution allows for a direct and reliable calculation of the deviation of the fluctuations of the average received signal in an obstacle- dense environment

Integrating an agent-based wireless sensor network within an existing multi-agent condition monitoring system

The use of wireless sensor networks for condition monitoring is gaining ground across all sectors of industry, and while their use for power engineering applications has yet been limited, they represent a viable platform for next-generation substation condition monitoring systems. For engineers to fully benefit from this new approach to condition monitoring, new sensor data must be incorporated into a single integrated system. This paper proposes the integration of an agent-based wireless sensor network with an existing agent-based condition monitoring system. It demonstrates that multi-agent systems can be extended down to the sensor level while considering the reduced energy availability of low-power embedded devices. A novel agent-based approach to data translation is presented, which is demonstrated through two case studies: a lab-based temperature and vibration monitoring system, and a proposal to integrate a wireless sensor network to an existing technology demonstrator deployed in a substation in the UK

Eco‐Holonic 4.0 Circular Business Model to Conceptualize Sustainable Value Chain Towards Digital Transition

The purpose of this paper is to conceptualize a circular business model based on an Eco-Holonic Architecture, through the integration of circular economy and holonic principles. A conceptual model is developed to manage the complexity of integrating circular economy principles, digital transformation, and tools and frameworks for sustainability into business models. The proposed architecture is multilevel and multiscale in order to achieve the instantiation of the sustainable value chain in any territory. The architecture promotes the incorporation of circular economy and holonic principles into new circular business models. This integrated perspective of business model can support the design and upgrade of the manufacturing companies in their respective industrial sectors. The conceptual model proposed is based on activity theory that considers the interactions between technical and social systems and allows the mitigation of the metabolic rift that exists between natural and social metabolism. This study contributes to the existing literature on circular economy, circular business models and activity theory by considering holonic paradigm concerns, which have not been explored yet. This research also offers a unique holonic architecture of circular business model by considering different levels, relationships, dynamism and contextualization (territory) aspects

Library as Agent of [Re]Contextualization

Paper presented at the Digital Humanities 2009 conference in College Park, Maryland

Library as Agent of [Re]Contextualization

Paper presented at the Digital Humanities 2009 conference in College Park, Maryland