A Domain Independent Framework for Developing Knowledge Based Computer Generated Forces

Computer Generated Forces (CGFs) are important players in Distributed Interactive Simulation (DIS) exercises. A problem with CGFs is that they do not exhibit sufficient human behaviors to make their use effective. The SOAR approach has yielded a human cognitive model that can be applied to CGFs, but this is extremely complex. The product of the research reported in this thesis is a much less complex behavioral framework for a CGF that is easy to validate, revise, and maintain. To support this, an existing, domain independent CGF architecture is discussed and applied to an experimental CGF. Techniques for modeling the knowledge and behaviors of any CGF via semantic nets are presented. A process for transforming the semantic nets into fuzzy controllers is outlined, and pertinent issues regarding fuzzy controllers are discussed. Lastly, a method for making time critical decisions via fuzzy logic is presented

A learning experience toward the understanding of abstraction-level interactions in parallel applications

In the curriculum of a Computer Engineering program, concepts like parallelism, concurrency, consistency, or atomicity are usually addressed in separate courses due to their thoroughness and extension. Isolating such concepts in courses helps students not only to focus on specific aspects, but also to experience the reality of working with modern computer systems, where those concepts are often detached in different abstraction levels. However, due to such an isolation, it exists a risk of inducing to the students an absence of interactions between these concepts, and, by extension, between the different abstraction levels of a system. This paper proposes a learning experience showcasing the interactions between abstraction levels addressed in laboratory sessions of different courses. The driving example is a parallel ray tracer. In the different courses, students implement and assemble components of this application from the algorithmic level of the tracer to the assembly instructions required to guarantee atomicity. Each lab focuses on a single abstraction level, but shows students the interactions with the rest of the levels. Technical results and student learning outcomes through the analysis of surveys validate the proposed experience and confirm the students learning improvement with a more integrated view of the system

Experimenting with self-organised learning for organisational growth: A person-centred approach

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.This thesis records my professional search for a management model which will harness the fill capabilities of people in organisations to the achievement of the organisations, goals. This search has taken place in the context of the lost Office in which I have spent my working life. The key event in this search was my introduction to Self-Organised Learning (S-O-L) in 1984, during the Centre for the Study of Human Learning's S-O-L action research project on supervisory and managerial effectiveness. My survey of the literature in the fields of management, learning and psychology has prompted me to identify the need for a more person-centred approach to management. The survey focuses on 5 key issues, the motivation of people to contribute to the achievement of organisational goals, responsibility and control, assumptions or myths about people, attitudes towards people, and learning for continuous improvements. I have followed the action research paradigm in four main research projects: (i) a trial of S-O-L in leading Read Post Office in 1995/86; (ii) the use of S-0-L in the Parcel Sort Centre near leading between 1906 and 1990; (iii) a major Management Development and Productivity Improvement Programme in the Parcel Sort Centre in 1990. (iv) further use of S-O-L in the Parcel Sort Centre near Reading in 1991 and 1992. In the research I have used the key S-O-L tools, the Learning Conversation and the Personal Learning Contract, and I have deployed my on approach to people management which is based on trust, openness, support and encouragement. The action research results have been evaluated on a multi-perspective basis taking account of the benefits to: participating managers both as individuals and as teams; the organisation; myself, as a manager, action researcher and person. Included in the evaluation are the results of evaluation conversation held with members of my management team at the Parcel Sort Centre. These are presented in the form of Personal Learning Biographies which address the learner's own as well as others' evaluation. A major outcome of my research is the development of a Person-Centred Model of Organisational Growth. Together the action research results and the model highlight my conclusion that, as managers and trainers, we are failing to release the potential of people in organisations to learn and grow and thereby fully participate in the achievement of organisational goals. We are not developing effective personal and group relationships based upon the motivation theories of Maslow and Berzberg, McGregor’s Theory Y and Rogerian concepts. The thesis demonstrates that the systematic practice of Learning Conversations on-the-job in a variety of work based contexts transforms the attitudes of people towards work and empowers them with learning focused skills and competencies, which enable them to work more productively and effectively in individuals and as a team to meet organisational goals. This is a mutually beneficial process, enhancing the powers of the individual and the objective demands (productivity, quality of service and cost effectiveness) of the organisation. More than this, the S-O-L approach creates a structured, systematic Learning Environment which proactively encourages change and development in ways which can sustain individual development and organisational growth. This thesis identifies move of the hidden mythologies and constraints which need to be deconstructed and reconstructed in the support environment during the change process of individual and organisational growth

In-situ Data Analytics In Cyber-Physical Systems

Cyber-Physical System (CPS) is an engineered system in which sensing, networking, and computing are tightly coupled with the control of the physical entities. To enable security, scalability and resiliency, new data analytics methodologies are required for computing, monitoring and optimization in CPS. This work investigates the data analytics related challenges in CPS through two study cases: Smart Grid and Seismic Imaging System. For smart grid, this work provides a complete solution for system management based on novel in-situ data analytics designs. We first propose methodologies for two important tasks of power system monitoring: grid topology change and power-line outage detection. To address the issue of low measurement redundancy in topology identification, particularly in the low-level distribution network, we develop a maximum a posterior based mechanism, which is capable of embedding prior information on the breakers status to enhance the identification accuracy. In power-line outage detection, existing approaches suer from high computational complexity and security issues raised from centralized implementation. Instead, this work presents a distributed data analytics framework, which carries out in-network processing and invokes low computational complexity, requiring only simple matrix-vector multiplications. To complete the system functionality, we also propose a new power grid restoration strategy involving data analytics for topology reconfiguration and resource planning after faults or changes. In seismic imaging system, we develop several innovative in-situ seismic imaging schemes in which each sensor node computes the tomography based on its partial information and through gossip with local neighbors. The seismic data are generated in a distributed fashion originally. Dierent from the conventional approach involving data collection and then processing in order, our proposed in-situ data computing methodology is much more ecient. The underlying mechanisms avoid the bottleneck problem on bandwidth since all the data are processed distributed in nature and only limited decisional information is communicated. Furthermore, the proposed algorithms can deliver quicker insights than the state-of-arts in seismic imaging. Hence they are more promising solutions for real-time in-situ data analytics, which is highly demanded in disaster monitoring related applications. Through extensive experiments, we demonstrate that the proposed data computing methods are able to achieve near-optimal high quality seismic tomography, retain low communication cost, and provide real-time seismic data analytics

2005 : Part-Time Programmes

Book containing map of DIT main locations, frequently asked questions, key contacts and full listing of part-time programmes on offer at DIT 2005

Impact of a large-scale robotics adoption on the hospital pharmacy workforce

The National Health Service (NHS) regularly adopts new technologies which often result in the redesign of services, where large numbers of staff undergo organisational change. The NHS is made up of teams of people, all of whom continue to work interdependently providing safe and effective care throughout these times of change. Automation in pharmacy is becoming popular, with recent advancements involving the automation of the medicines supply chain. Previous ventures involving Automated Dispensing Systems (ADS) have been small-scale. Maximising efficiencies through automation relies on the effective introduction of technologies as well as the alignment of technical and social change, and there has been little exploration of how automation impacts on the staff experience and team effectiveness. In the literature there are numerous models available against which to compare and analyse the success of teams more generally. Underpinning many of these models is the Hackman model which proposes that team effectiveness is influenced by: the effort team members exhibit; the knowledge and skills team members possess; and the appropriateness of the performance strategies implemented. There is a gap in the literature on the impacts large-scale automation has on teams (and their success) in healthcare, specifically in pharmacy. Approved in August 2008, NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde (GG&C) initiated a large-scale redesign (the PPSU Acute Pharmacy Redesign Programme). The Programme aimed to; provide a single procurement department for Glasgow pharmacy; have a centralised Pharmacy Distribution Centre (PDC); introduce ward-level ordering; and improve the current staff skill-mix while promoting the use of patients’ own medicines in hospital (Making the Most of Your Medicines or MMyM). Since opening in September 2010, the PDC (comprising 9 robots in total) is now the single facility responsible for the procurement and distribution of medicines to approximately 4000 destinations, and affected approximately 530 hospital pharmacy staff. This scale of pharmacy redesign has not been seen in any other automated schemes in the UK. The aim of the first study was to describe and evaluate NHS GG&C pharmacy staff experiences over the programme duration by different job roles/locations. Interviews were conducted with 36 pharmacy staff members from 4 hospital sites and the PDC, and 9 stakeholders, identified by members of the project Steering Group. Staff were interviewed about their experiences before, during and after the redesign. An inductive content analysis was performed, which produced two main themes: “The Work I Do” and “The Context of My Work”. The first theme allowed the exploration of the changes in staff job role, with a focus on tasks, work pace/control, morale, training/progression opportunities and voice/relationships. The second theme focused on social impacts of the redesign, including support, leadership, praise, reliability and trust of co-workers. Results showed that there was a lack of training available and morale was low in part due to this. There was no cohesive vision among participants as to why the redesign was happening. Hospital staff training was in theory available, yet completing training, and progressing into higher pay bands was not always feasible. Management were concerned with PDC technicians losing their clinical-skills as a result of a change in job location. PDC support workers experienced a gradual depletion of medicines knowledge due to this transition. The pharmacist role was seen as more social. Experiences between MMyM and non-MMyM staff were different in terms of how challenging, varied and social the work was. All roles within the PDC appeared to be less social compared with hospital roles. The aims of the second study were to apply Hackman’s model of team effectiveness in the context of the pharmacy team dynamics and performance and (based on this model) discuss the extent to which these teams were successful in the adoption of the automation. Hackman’s characteristics were applied to the pharmacy staff interviews (n=36). The results indicated that PDC and hospital teams exhibited 8 of the 23 characteristics: members have a variety of high-level skills; members contribute and are motivated equally; members are equally committed; members have personal and professional skills; relevant education and training is present; learning should be collective; members self-regulate; and there is clarity about task requirements, constraints, resources available and who the service user is. The “minimising of performance slippages” characteristic could be observed in one hospital team but not in the PDC. The teams did not exhibit 5 of the characteristics, indicating less success in these areas: autonomy is available; adequate feedback is available; excellent performance is rewarded; team size is appropriate; and relevant education and training is actually available. Nine of Hackman’s characteristics could not be commented on due to a lack of illustrative data. This thesis adds to the limited literature on the exploration of automation in healthcare, specifically pharmacy. Three main lessons can be concluded: staff consultation and engagement is critical to the successful redesign of services driven by technology; ensuring job role components are appropriate for job tasks is essential- technology adoption may require new skill sets and also cause other pre-existing skill sets to become lost; team effectiveness is an important focus within any organisational change programme, but less up-to-date models of team effectiveness may not be ideally applicable to teams utilising technology. These lessons align with current Scottish Government policy on pharmacy innovation and provide valuable key points for change implementers to support the continued adoption of automation locally, nationally and internationally.The National Health Service (NHS) regularly adopts new technologies which often result in the redesign of services, where large numbers of staff undergo organisational change. The NHS is made up of teams of people, all of whom continue to work interdependently providing safe and effective care throughout these times of change. Automation in pharmacy is becoming popular, with recent advancements involving the automation of the medicines supply chain. Previous ventures involving Automated Dispensing Systems (ADS) have been small-scale. Maximising efficiencies through automation relies on the effective introduction of technologies as well as the alignment of technical and social change, and there has been little exploration of how automation impacts on the staff experience and team effectiveness. In the literature there are numerous models available against which to compare and analyse the success of teams more generally. Underpinning many of these models is the Hackman model which proposes that team effectiveness is influenced by: the effort team members exhibit; the knowledge and skills team members possess; and the appropriateness of the performance strategies implemented. There is a gap in the literature on the impacts large-scale automation has on teams (and their success) in healthcare, specifically in pharmacy. Approved in August 2008, NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde (GG&C) initiated a large-scale redesign (the PPSU Acute Pharmacy Redesign Programme). The Programme aimed to; provide a single procurement department for Glasgow pharmacy; have a centralised Pharmacy Distribution Centre (PDC); introduce ward-level ordering; and improve the current staff skill-mix while promoting the use of patients’ own medicines in hospital (Making the Most of Your Medicines or MMyM). Since opening in September 2010, the PDC (comprising 9 robots in total) is now the single facility responsible for the procurement and distribution of medicines to approximately 4000 destinations, and affected approximately 530 hospital pharmacy staff. This scale of pharmacy redesign has not been seen in any other automated schemes in the UK. The aim of the first study was to describe and evaluate NHS GG&C pharmacy staff experiences over the programme duration by different job roles/locations. Interviews were conducted with 36 pharmacy staff members from 4 hospital sites and the PDC, and 9 stakeholders, identified by members of the project Steering Group. Staff were interviewed about their experiences before, during and after the redesign. An inductive content analysis was performed, which produced two main themes: “The Work I Do” and “The Context of My Work”. The first theme allowed the exploration of the changes in staff job role, with a focus on tasks, work pace/control, morale, training/progression opportunities and voice/relationships. The second theme focused on social impacts of the redesign, including support, leadership, praise, reliability and trust of co-workers. Results showed that there was a lack of training available and morale was low in part due to this. There was no cohesive vision among participants as to why the redesign was happening. Hospital staff training was in theory available, yet completing training, and progressing into higher pay bands was not always feasible. Management were concerned with PDC technicians losing their clinical-skills as a result of a change in job location. PDC support workers experienced a gradual depletion of medicines knowledge due to this transition. The pharmacist role was seen as more social. Experiences between MMyM and non-MMyM staff were different in terms of how challenging, varied and social the work was. All roles within the PDC appeared to be less social compared with hospital roles. The aims of the second study were to apply Hackman’s model of team effectiveness in the context of the pharmacy team dynamics and performance and (based on this model) discuss the extent to which these teams were successful in the adoption of the automation. Hackman’s characteristics were applied to the pharmacy staff interviews (n=36). The results indicated that PDC and hospital teams exhibited 8 of the 23 characteristics: members have a variety of high-level skills; members contribute and are motivated equally; members are equally committed; members have personal and professional skills; relevant education and training is present; learning should be collective; members self-regulate; and there is clarity about task requirements, constraints, resources available and who the service user is. The “minimising of performance slippages” characteristic could be observed in one hospital team but not in the PDC. The teams did not exhibit 5 of the characteristics, indicating less success in these areas: autonomy is available; adequate feedback is available; excellent performance is rewarded; team size is appropriate; and relevant education and training is actually available. Nine of Hackman’s characteristics could not be commented on due to a lack of illustrative data. This thesis adds to the limited literature on the exploration of automation in healthcare, specifically pharmacy. Three main lessons can be concluded: staff consultation and engagement is critical to the successful redesign of services driven by technology; ensuring job role components are appropriate for job tasks is essential- technology adoption may require new skill sets and also cause other pre-existing skill sets to become lost; team effectiveness is an important focus within any organisational change programme, but less up-to-date models of team effectiveness may not be ideally applicable to teams utilising technology. These lessons align with current Scottish Government policy on pharmacy innovation and provide valuable key points for change implementers to support the continued adoption of automation locally, nationally and internationally

Establishing Regis Network Security Policy

This project proposes to establish a security policy for the computer lab Local Area Network (LAN) at the Colorado Springs Campus (CSC) for the Network Lab Practicum (NLP) by completing a network analysis to determine requirements. Utilizing the current network configuration, a risk assessment will be performed to identify vulnerabilities and threats to the information system. Once the risk analysis is completed, a network security plan will be developed to protect system resources. The security policy will include, at a minimum, access policies, password management, firewall policy, policy on use of active code and the Internet, standards and interoperability policies, a VPN policy, and enforcement standards. The System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) approach will be used as the project methodology. Key deliverables will include a configuration management baseline, security policy and procedures, wiring diagram, firewall, anti virus protection and lessons learned. The project will culminate with a presentation to the academic board. Class utilization of the LAN will determine the success of the project. In the final phase of the project, the LAN will be turned over to the CSC NLP for administration, classroom support and future project opportunities. Keywords: security policy, risk assessment, lessons learned, local area network, system development life cycle, password, firewall, antivirus, configuration management

Close range three-dimensional position sensing using stereo matching with Hopfield neural networks.

In recent years Vision Systems have found their ways into many real-world applications. This includes such fields as surveillance and tracking, computer graphics and various factory settings such as assembly line inspection and object manipulation. The application of Computer Vision techniques to factory automation, Machine Vision, is a growing field. However in most Machine Vision systems an algorithm is needed to infer 3D information regarding the objects in the field of view. Such a task can be accomplished using a Stereo Vision algorithm. In this thesis a new Machine Vision Algorithm for Close-Range Position Sensing is presented where a Hopfield Neural Network is used for the Stereo Matching stage: stereo Matching is formulated as an energy minimization task which is accomplished using the Hopfield Neural Networks. Various other important aspects of this Vision System are discussed including camera calibration and objects localization. Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 45-01, page: 0423. Thesis (M.A.Sc.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 2006

The Direction of mobile evolution examined through the NTT DoCoMo strategy, Mobile Frontier

NTT DoCoMo is Japan\u27s biggest mobile service provider. They added extra value into cellular phone as telephone , and contributed to the explosive spread of the mobile phone in Japan. They have still led Japan as a country with the world\u27s largest mobile Internet. The mobile phone now changes our lifestyles or work styles, and has a great influence also on business. In 1997, NTT DoCoMo created the company vision towards the year 2010, Mobile Frontier . It consists of five concepts, named MAGIC , and indicates the mobile phone figure in the future as a whole. I regard it as a guideline of this paper, and examine the direction of mobile evolution by researching the following topics: the present situation, the issues needed to realize each concept, and the future. At first, I state the background of the mobile phone spread in Japan and the cultural aspects peculiar to Japan. After that, I examine the mobile evolution along with the five concepts. The objective of this paper is to refer to and understand the vision of a leading company in the telecommunication field, and consider mobile communications\u27 influence and applications in the future. The goal is to expand knowledge in the present situation of the mobile phone and the trend towards future mobile, and to examine the direction the Mobile Frontier aims