Exploiting multi-agent system technology within an autonomous regional active network management system

This paper describes the proposed application of multi-agent system (MAS) technology within AuRA-NMS, an autonomous regional network management system currently being developed in the UK through a partnership between several UK universities, distribution network operators (DNO) and a major equipment manufacturer. The paper begins by describing the challenges facing utilities and why those challenges have led the utilities, a major manufacturer and the UK government to invest in the development of a flexible and extensible active network management system. The requirements the utilities have for a network automation system they wish to deploy on their distribution networks are discussed in detail. With those requirements in mind the rationale behind the use of multi-agent systems (MAS) within AuRA-NMS is presented and the inherent research and design challenges highlighted including: the issues associated with robustness of distributed MAS platforms; the arbitration of different control functions; and the relationship between the ontological requirements of Foundation for Intelligent Physical Agent (FIPA) compliant multi-agent systems, legacy protocols and standards such as IEC 61850 and the common information model (CIM)

Design of Information Systems: Things versus People

Information Technology is usually designed using traditional system development techniques and emphaizing conventional management objectives that focus on the information rather than the people in a workplace. This chaper uses research from a gender perspective that highlights the ways that office systems can be designed with peopel in mind. It then applies the gender perspective to explain why Cooperative or Participatory Design can be used to enable system developers and office workers to work together to design applications that better support working practices

Automation of knowledge asset in Public Works Department (PWD) of Malaysia

Finding the right information quickly and easily to make informed decisions is one of the biggest challenges faced by PWD today.To automate the management of the knowledge assets, PWD have to stand back and take a strategic approach – to understand why and where knowledge management (KM) will deliver the greatest benefits.Knowledge not so many years ago was based on paper filing, and PWD depended on knowledgeable workers who knew how it was filed, and had experience that enabled them to make ‘informed’ decisions.Today, this has all changed as information is held electronically and often needs to be shared with others beyond the traditional boundaries of the corporation.The objective is to make pilot study on the automation of the knowledge asset based on Knowledge Management in Project Monitoring System Unit, Information Technology Centre, Corporate Management Branches of PWD by leveraging on the existing Information Technology Infrastructure available.The outcome of the study will be presented to the Director of Corporate Management Branches of Public Works Department (PWD) as a pilot project

Penggunaan Information Technology (IT) Terintegrasi Untuk Meningkatkan Kepuasan Konsumen Di Dhyana Pura Beach Resort, Bali

Dhyana Pura Beach Resort Bali is company which run on hotel service company. Remembering the competitions with any hotel now days to attract the tourist to stay at hotel, so it needs an effective promotion and excellent Service. That's why the hotel management need to make a good service excellent and correctly to competed at market, through Integrated System Information Management. This research has main problems, i.e. how the effect of technology information and to deliver the Customer Satisfaction at Dhyana Pura Beach resort, Bali? From the description above and the existing gap, the author outlines into three research problems that : 1. How Services and Infrastructure Information System Integrated in Dhyana Pura Hotel Beach Resort Bali ? Â 2. How Architectural Design Network infrastructure and Information System Integrated in Dhyana Pura Hotel Beach Resort Bali ? 3. How to Design Systems infrastructure and Hotel Information Systems Integrated in Dhyana Pura Beach Resort Bali? The method used in this study is a mix method qualitative and Quantitative research. The Discussion of the results of the study as follows: 1. Proliferation and use of ICT (Information Communication Technology) as the needs of today's service-oriented economy in Europe, Australasia, the United States and developing countries. 2. Design of a wireless network is built using the media as a media access point interconnections between each group of services. 3. The service at the hotel integrated information system can be divided into two categories

School leaders and the implementation of education management information systems (EMIS) in the Bahamas: a case study of six principals

The tension between the leadership of technology and technology as a means of school improvement are still issues of debate. Researchers have argued that education management technology has yet to make a significant contribution to school improvement, while others have experienced small pockets of success. This study seeks to contribute to the debate by exploring the tension associated with the implementation of an education management information system (EMIS) in The Bahamas from the experiences of school leaders. More specifically, this thesis explores EMIS from the understanding of six principals in their schools and its contributions to their schools. This study develops a social constructivist view and relies on the case study approach. Among the major findings of the study was that EMIS was often perceived by principals to be associated with conflict and the primary uses of the technology were for generating report cards, facilitating school administrative tasks and monitoring. Principals’ expressed concern for the lack of support from senior management and the impact of using the technology on their role as leader. As conflicts hindered the implementation of EMIS, principals adopted a shared leadership approach. This study offers pertinent information concerning the reasons why EMIS is underutilized and the important contributions of leadership to the successful implementation of the technology. Such information can be useful for understanding EMIS in education organizations

Center for Grassland Studies Newsletter, Summer 2005, Volume 11, No. 3

Why Do We All Work So Hard on Our Lawns? Blame Habit, Snobbery by Cynthia Crosses Intensify Extensive Beef Systems? by Terry Klopfenstein, Jeff Folmer, and Galen Erickson CGS Citizens Advisory Council and Associates Visit Southwestern Nebraska Audubon’s First Important Bird Areas in Nebraska Announced XX International Grassland Congress by Walter Schacht, Department of Agronomy, UNL Visit the Ecological Site Information System by George Peacock, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Central National Technology Support Center, Fort Worth, Texas Opportunity for Holistic Management Trainin

Standard-Based eLearning Solutions in Higher Education

Computer and Automation Research Institute, Hungarian Academy of Sciences - further SZTAKI - has a really good and well-known international technology/research background. Because of this good track record SZTAKI has received the status of the EU Centre of Excellence in Information Technology and Automation. According to these experiences the staff of the eLearning Department is involved in several EU Leonardo, and Hungarian Info-communication Technology projects. We started to monitor the local eLearning market. The domestic eLearning projects have a typical weakness so far, that the created training materials can be used only in a specific Learning Management System - LMS. It is a big constrain and this is why we decided to build up a systematic method to overcome this problem

Remote information management of an automated manufacturing system

Thesis (M. Tech.) -- Central University of Technology, Free State, 2007With technology advancing, more and more people turn to the World Wide Web to conduct business. This may include buying and selling on the Web, advertising and monitoring of business activities. There is a big need for software and systems that enable remote monitoring and controlling of business activities. The Mechatronics Research Group of the Faculty of Engineering, Information and Communication Technology at the Central University of Technology, Free State, has identified a similar need. This research group has created an Automated Manufacturing System around which research topics revolve. They want to monitor this Automated Manufacturing System from remote locations like their offices or, if possible, from home. The Remote Information Management (RIM) System was developed, using the Rapid Application Development (RAD) Methodology. The reasons why this methodology was used, is because it is the best to use in a changing environment, when the system needs to be developed very quickly and when most of the data is already available. This is a good description of the Automated Manufacturing System’s environment. The RAD methodology consists of four stages: Requirements Planning, User Design, Rapid Construction and Transition. Project Management is used throughout these stages to ensure that the project goes according to plan. Development of the RIM system went through all four stages and project management was applied. The final system consisted of a Web Page with Web Camera views of the Automated Manufacturing System. The application that was developed using National Instruments LabVIEW, Microsoft Visual C++, and Microsoft Excel, is embedded in this Web Page. This application is called a Virtual Instrument (VI). The VI shows real-time data from the Automated Manufacturing System. Control over the VI can be granted and will allow the remote user to create reports on how many different products was produced and system downtimes. A system like the RIM System has advantages in the business world. It can enable telecommuting and will allow employees and managers to monitor (and even control) manufacturing systems, or any system connected to a PLC, from remote locations

Examining the Present and Looking to the Future of DSS and Intelligent Systems

In many respects, the decision making capability/promise of information technology has gone unfulfilled. In fact, many organizations have not advanced much past spreadsheets when it comes to computerized decision making assistance. This research attempts to examine why this is the case, and looks to the future by asking the questions “What’s the next spreadsheet? Is there a next killer app for intelligent systems/DSS?” Fifty-eight business professionals were surveyed to assist in answering these questions. Results suggest that while the spreadsheet is still by far the most used intelligent system, continuing improvements in the ease of use of information technology are helping to allow some organizations to begin to easily test and use newer DSS technologies. As additional organizations then begin to understand the purpose and usefulness of these newer technologies, their long term impact could be substantial. Statistical results suggest that Knowledge Management and GDSS technologies have the best chance in the near term to equal the impact of spreadsheets