Codified-Tacit and General-Specific Knowledge in the division of labour among firms. A study of the Software Industry

This paper addresses the organisation and codification of knowledge in the software industry. It analyses various economic incentives to codification, including the need to improve the productivity and quality of software production processes and to access inter-firm collaborations. The paper examines the experience of four Italian software firms specialised in software packages and services. It compares their capabilities, the main sources of tacit knowledge, their specific incentives to invest in knowledge codification, their usage of formal software development methodologies and quality control systems. Finally, the paper analyses two distinct technological collaborations that two of these firms have recently established.

Knowledge-based systems and geological survey

This personal and pragmatic review of the philosophy underpinning methods of geological surveying suggests that important influences of information technology have yet to make their impact. Early approaches took existing systems as metaphors, retaining the separation of maps, map explanations and information archives, organised around map sheets of fixed boundaries, scale and content. But system design should look ahead: a computer-based knowledge system for the same purpose can be built around hierarchies of spatial objects and their relationships, with maps as one means of visualisation, and information types linked as hypermedia and integrated in mark-up languages. The system framework and ontology, derived from the general geoscience model, could support consistent representation of the underlying concepts and maintain reference information on object classes and their behaviour. Models of processes and historical configurations could clarify the reasoning at any level of object detail and introduce new concepts such as complex systems. The up-to-date interpretation might centre on spatial models, constructed with explicit geological reasoning and evaluation of uncertainties. Assuming (at a future time) full computer support, the field survey results could be collected in real time as a multimedia stream, hyperlinked to and interacting with the other parts of the system as appropriate. Throughout, the knowledge is seen as human knowledge, with interactive computer support for recording and storing the information and processing it by such means as interpolating, correlating, browsing, selecting, retrieving, manipulating, calculating, analysing, generalising, filtering, visualising and delivering the results. Responsibilities may have to be reconsidered for various aspects of the system, such as: field surveying; spatial models and interpretation; geological processes, past configurations and reasoning; standard setting, system framework and ontology maintenance; training; storage, preservation, and dissemination of digital records

Documentation du patrimoine de l'assemblage de fossiles du site de Kromdraai contenant des hominines (Afrique du Sud) : techniques de numérisation 3D, analyse spatiale quantitative et estimation de volume

Cette thèse explore l'utilisation de données multi-échelles pour modéliser une représentation tridimensionnelle (3D) et générer un registre numérique complet d'un assemblage de fossiles contenant des hominines à partir de l'unité lithostratigraphique P à Kromdraai situé dans le " berceau de l'humanité " classé au patrimoine mondial par l'UNESCO (Province de Gauteng, Afrique du Sud). Les objectifs principaux de cette recherche sont d'illustrer en 3D la progression temporelle et spatiale des fouilles de Kromdraai sur la période 2014-2018, d'analyse la distribution spatiale des vestiges d'homininés et de faune, comme des outils, et finalement, de fournir une documentation sur le patrimoine archéologique de Kromdraai. Nous avons réalisé une analyse multi-scalaire du site, avec l'application de méthodes de photogrammétrie terrestre et aérienne. Conformément aux principes et directives de la gestion du patrimoine archéologique mandatés par les agences internationales telles que l'UNESCO, nous présentons également un protocole de documentation du patrimoine. Nous avons utilisé des technologies de capture de données 3D pour numériser le site de Kromdraai et ses éléments archéologiques découverts entre 2014 et 2018 lors des fouilles. Cette recherche présente une technique originale développée pour la visualisation et la quantification des sédiments volumiques prélevés sur le site à chaque période de fouille par chaque fouilleur. Les estimations de volume calculées à l'aide de la photogrammétrie 3D fournissent un contexte temporel et spatial des sédiments prélevés lors des fouilles successives, et permettent un repositionnement virtuel et plus précis des vestiges découverts ex situ. De plus, nous avons mis en place une modélisation des métadonnées pour démontrer l'utilisation d'un système de gestion de base de données 4D pour la fusion, l'organisation et la diffusion de l'ensemble des données du site de Kromdraai et le partage de la propriété intellectuelle. Nous introduisons également l'une des premières approches statistiques de la modélisation spatiale 3D dans un site Plio-Pléistocène porteurs d'hominines en en Afrique du Sud. En mettant en œuvre des méthodes classiques de tests statistiques telles le partitionnement de données spatiales 3D, nous avons étudié les modèles de l'assemblage de fossiles dans l'unité P, ainsi qu'un échantillon de 810 spécimens catalogués entre 2014 et 2018. Le regroupement de bovidés, de carnivores, d'homininés et de primates non humains a révélé un modèle de distribution spatiale non uniforme des fossiles in situ. Cette recherche présente des méthodes précieuses qui peuvent être appliquées à d'autres sites fossiles contenant des hominines dans le berceau de l'humanité. Ces méthodes peuvent être appliquées pour documenter une fouille archéologique et reconstruire un site en 3D, ainsi que pour documenter des informations patrimoniales. Nos résultats permettent d'améliorer l'interprétation des assemblages fossiles à l'aide d'analyses basées sur des modèles 3D au sein d'un assemblage contenant des hominines.This thesis uses multi-scalar data to create a three-dimensional (3D) representation and, to generate a complete digital record of the early hominin-bearing fossil assemblage from the lithostratigraphic Unit P at Kromdraai in the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site (Gauteng Province, South Africa). The main purposes of this research were to illustrate in 3D the temporal and spatial progression of the excavations at Kromdraai since 2014, to investigate the spatial distribution of the hominin, faunal assemblages and artefacts, and ultimately, to provide an archive documenting the archaeological heritage of Kromdraai. We provided a multi-scalar analysis of various aspects of the study site, with the application of methods such as multi-image land and aerial photogrammetry. In alignment with the principles and guidelines for the management of archaeological heritage mandated by international agencies such as UNESCO, we also present a protocol for heritage documentation. We used 3D data capture technologies to record the Kromdraai site and the archaeological evidence discovered between 2014 and 2018 from its main excavation. This research presents an original technique developed for the quantification and visualization of the volume sediments removed from the site during each excavation period. Volume estimations computed using 3D photogrammetry and digitization, provided a temporal and spatial context to the volume and location of material removed by each excavator and, a more precise and virtual repositioning of the fossil material discovered ex situ. Furthermore, we implemented metadata modelling to demonstrate the use of 4D relational database management systems for the fusion, organisation and dissemination of the Kromdraai site dataset and the sharing of intellectual property. We also introduce one of the first statistical approaches of 3D spatial patterning in Plio-Pleistocene early hominin-bearing assemblages in South Africa. Implementing classic statistical testing methods such as k-means and Density-Based Spatial Clustering and Application with Noise (DBSCAN) cluster computation in 3D, we investigated the spatial patterns of the fossil assemblage within Unit P, a sample of 810 individually catalogued specimens recovered between 2014 and 2018. The clustering of bovids, carnivores, hominins, and non-human primates revealed a non-uniform spatial distribution pattern of fossils in-situ. This research presents valuable methods that can be applied at other hominin-bearing fossil sites within the Cradle of Humankind to document an archaeological excavation and to reconstruct of the site in 3D, to document heritage information, and to enhance the interpretation of the fossil assemblages using evidence-based assessment of spatial patterns within a hominin-bearing assemblage

Comprehensive review of vision-based fall detection systems

Vision-based fall detection systems have experienced fast development over the last years. To determine the course of its evolution and help new researchers, the main audience of this paper, a comprehensive revision of all published articles in the main scientific databases regarding this area during the last five years has been made. After a selection process, detailed in the Materials and Methods Section, eighty-one systems were thoroughly reviewed. Their characterization and classification techniques were analyzed and categorized. Their performance data were also studied, and comparisons were made to determine which classifying methods best work in this field. The evolution of artificial vision technology, very positively influenced by the incorporation of artificial neural networks, has allowed fall characterization to become more resistant to noise resultant from illumination phenomena or occlusion. The classification has also taken advantage of these networks, and the field starts using robots to make these systems mobile. However, datasets used to train them lack real-world data, raising doubts about their performances facing real elderly falls. In addition, there is no evidence of strong connections between the elderly and the communities of researchers

Collective efficiency strategies: a policy instrument solution to boost competitiveness in low-density territories

This paper motivates the focus of EU cohesion policy at large and the territorial cooperation tools on the economic development of territories featuring impoverishing growth associated to low population density. An innovative policy approach to help solving this problem in many Member States is put forward here. It is based on the economic concept of “collective efficiencyâ€. It should be understood as a proposal to improve EU cohesion policy in the next programming period. As such, the paper suggests actual ideas to be included in the forthcoming Common Strategic Framework and Development and Investment Partnership Contracts.

Fourth Conference on Artificial Intelligence for Space Applications

Proceedings of a conference held in Huntsville, Alabama, on November 15-16, 1988. The Fourth Conference on Artificial Intelligence for Space Applications brings together diverse technical and scientific work in order to help those who employ AI methods in space applications to identify common goals and to address issues of general interest in the AI community. Topics include the following: space applications of expert systems in fault diagnostics, in telemetry monitoring and data collection, in design and systems integration; and in planning and scheduling; knowledge representation, capture, verification, and management; robotics and vision; adaptive learning; and automatic programming

Twenty years into the new millennium: How integrated is Mathematics, Physics and Computer Science at secondary school level?

Twenty years into the millennium, the world has been confronted with a pandemic that has had an immeasurable impact on the workplace, learning environment and related technologies. Technology and technological advancements are founded on three disciplines, namely Physics, Mathematics and Computer Science. Internationally, an integration of the curricula of these disciplines are promoted in the education space, as an effective way to achieve 21st century capabilities that lately includes computational thinking. This study explores the changes in the content and alignment of the three subjects in the South African secondary school system from an interdisciplinary framework perspective. Textbooks, curriculum documents and planning calendars provided the information for the content analysis. The content in Physics and Mathematics have remained basically the same, with a few topics removed from Physics and some added to Mathematics. Information Technology has replaced Computer Science, with significant changes in content in alignment with developments in computing technology. No clear indication of an alignment between the disciplines could be found, which, to a certain extent, puts South Africa outside the international frame. The basic education system appears to run an assessment-driven curriculum in Mathematics, Physical Sciences and Information Technology. This system produces poor results and seemingly does not allow for interdisciplinary skills development