A conceptual framework for managing relationships between all participants during IT service and support activities

Since the early days of computing, IT professionals have been struggling with their end users (customers) to such an extent that end users became sceptic about the quality of service and support IT professionals can offer. As such, relationships between IT professionals and end users were in many cases very poor, which impacts negatively on the efforts to use information technology to the advantage of organizations or communities as a whole. This paper briefly describes the historical reasons therefor and gives a theoretical foundation for the establishment of IT-end user relationships. The paper describes IT-end user relationships as intriguing and complex and proposes a conceptual framework that explains all the important elements involved during the establishment and maintenance of sound relationships as well as for managing change. This paper is based on a research study conducted into the working relationship between IT departments and its end users. The research was done by means of a qualitative approach in which thought experiments were used to inductively refine the results of the research study.Sedert die ontstaan van die rekenaarwese en die gepaardgaande dienslewering via inligtingstegnologie bestaan die neiging by eindpuntgebruikers om skepties te staan teenoor die gehalte van diens wat deur inligtingstegnoloë gebied kan word. Dit het daartoe gelei dat die verhoudinge tussen eindpuntgebruikers en die inligtingstegnoloë vertroebel is. Voordelige gebruik van inligtingstegnologie deur ondernemings en die gemeenskap is gevolglik daardeur benadeel. Hierdie stuk behandel kortliks die historiese oorsake vir die toedrag van sake. Dit beskryf ook die teoretiese grondslae vir die skepping van wedersydse verhoudings vir die probleemsituasie. Die stuk ondersoek die aandagwekkende en komplekse verhoudingsmilieu. Dit beskryf vervolgens ’n voorgestelde konsepraamwerk waarmee die belangrik elemente by die daarstelling en instandhouding van gesonde verhoudings blootgelê kan word. Dit behandel ook die gepaardgaande begrip van veranderingsbestuur. Die navorsing is gebaseer op werklike praktykgegewens. Die navorsings maak gebruik van kwalitatiewe metodes en induksie om die resultate tot bruikbaarheid te verfyn.http://sajie.journals.ac.z

Progressive trust formation within the South African fresh produce industry through the use of self-service technologies

When using self-service solutions to deliver services, the challenge is to retain the trust of the end user. This is specifically the case when dealing with end users in the fresh produce market environment. This sector has not seen the adoption of self-service technologies, specifically in southern Africa. In this paper we propose a model to enhance our understanding of trust formation using self-service technologies. A qualitative research approach based on a case study was followed to create the model. This case study offers insight into how the dynamics of the product, supporting services, and the technology shapes trust forming behavior.http://www.ajisonline.comam2016Informatic

Fabrication and aero dynamic levitation of chalcogenide glass spheres

Spheres of gallium-lanthanum sulphide (GLS) and gallium lanthanum sulphite (GLSO) have been produced by laser irradiation on a copper hearth. Although similar fabrication techniques have been applied to oxide glasses, the technique has been overlooked for the production of chalcogenide glasses due to the perceived problem of the volatility of the chalcogens. In this work, glass microspheres of GLS/GLSO have been fabricated by laser irradiation of micron size irregular shaped glass particles on a Cu plate. In this material we found that evaporation of sulphur was not substantial as it appears to be more strongly chemically bound [1]. In addition to this method we have also established that it is possible to form larger spheres (mm diameter) of GLSO by aerodynamic levitation and laser heating using a CO2 laser (10.6 µm wavelength). Our studies involve overheating and supercooling of liquids and melts, outgassing analysis, high temperature resistivity measurements, and crystallization/structural studies [1-3]. In both fabrication methods the glasses could be melted and re-vitrified with low sulphur mass loss. We conclude that the production of glass spheres by laser irradiation[4] from irregular shaped starting material on a substrate using the wetting principle has substantial benefits for making microspheres and nanospheres

Guidance for SMEs with the adoption of technology : a conceptual framework

When starting up a new small or medium sized company, it is crucial to understand what the requirements are in terms of Information and communication technologies (ICT). Bentellis and Boufaïsa (2008) note that over the last twenty years the markets have been changing fast, which has led to the evolution of the business environment. In many instances companies cannot keep up with the change occurring in the ICT arena. Entering the market as a small competitor, you need to ensure that you implement ICT that will support your business strategies. This paper presents the findings of a qualitative research study done to determine how SMEs cope with the adoption of technology. The paper explores the typical problems and challenges faced by SMEs, within South Africa, with regard to ICT and propose a conceptual framework to support managers in their decision making on ICT implementation. As such, this framework supports them in choosing the relevant technology, as well as supporting them with the effective application of the chosen technologies.http://sajesbm.com/am201

Social relationships in IT project teams : its role, complexity and the management thereof

Compared to other projects, information technology (IT) projects, characterized by emergency and uncertainty, are unique. To implement an IT project successfully, many aspects need to be monitored and carefully controlled and managed. One such aspect is social relationships. All IT professionals are exposed to, and in many cases involved, in the phenomenon of social relationships. These relationships are used by software project team members for personal as well as professional purposes. In most cases the impact of these relationships on the success or failure of any given IT project is ignored by IT management. Little attention is given thereto in the literature and this paper attempts to make a contribution in terms of giving a broad perspective of the complexity, the impact, as well as the management of such relationships. This paper demonstrates that these relationships play a significant role and should be managed in such a way that the team members and the project as a whole can reap the benefits thereof. A conceptual framework is proposed for the management of these relationships.http://www.sciencesphere.org/ijispmam201

Construction of radial basis function networks with diversified topologies

In this review we bring together some of our recent work from the angle of the diversified RBF topologies, including three different topologies; (i) the RBF network with tunable nodes; (ii) the Box-Cox output transformation based RBF network (Box-Cox RBF); and (iii) the RBF network with boundary value constraints (BVC-RBF). We show that the modified topologies have some advantages over the conventional RBF topology for specific problems. For each modified topology, the model construction algorithms have been developed. These proposed RBF topologies are respectively aimed at enhancing the modelling capabilities of; (i)flexible basis function shaping for improved model generalisation with the minimal model;(ii) effectively handling some dynamical processes in which the model residuals exhibit heteroscedasticity; and (iii) achieving automatic constraints satisfaction so as to incorporate deterministic prior knowledge with ease. It is shown that it is advantageous that the linear learning algorithms, e.g. the orthogonal forward selection (OFS) algorithm based leave-one-out (LOO) criteria, are still applicable as part of the proposed algorithms

Search for a W' boson decaying to a bottom quark and a top quark in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

Results are presented from a search for a W' boson using a dataset corresponding to 5.0 inverse femtobarns of integrated luminosity collected during 2011 by the CMS experiment at the LHC in pp collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV. The W' boson is modeled as a heavy W boson, but different scenarios for the couplings to fermions are considered, involving both left-handed and right-handed chiral projections of the fermions, as well as an arbitrary mixture of the two. The search is performed in the decay channel W' to t b, leading to a final state signature with a single lepton (e, mu), missing transverse energy, and jets, at least one of which is tagged as a b-jet. A W' boson that couples to fermions with the same coupling constant as the W, but to the right-handed rather than left-handed chiral projections, is excluded for masses below 1.85 TeV at the 95% confidence level. For the first time using LHC data, constraints on the W' gauge coupling for a set of left- and right-handed coupling combinations have been placed. These results represent a significant improvement over previously published limits.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters B. Replaced with version publishe

Search for the standard model Higgs boson decaying into two photons in pp collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV

A search for a Higgs boson decaying into two photons is described. The analysis is performed using a dataset recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC from pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV, which corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 4.8 inverse femtobarns. Limits are set on the cross section of the standard model Higgs boson decaying to two photons. The expected exclusion limit at 95% confidence level is between 1.4 and 2.4 times the standard model cross section in the mass range between 110 and 150 GeV. The analysis of the data excludes, at 95% confidence level, the standard model Higgs boson decaying into two photons in the mass range 128 to 132 GeV. The largest excess of events above the expected standard model background is observed for a Higgs boson mass hypothesis of 124 GeV with a local significance of 3.1 sigma. The global significance of observing an excess with a local significance greater than 3.1 sigma anywhere in the search range 110-150 GeV is estimated to be 1.8 sigma. More data are required to ascertain the origin of this excess.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters

Search for new physics in events with opposite-sign leptons, jets, and missing transverse energy in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

A search is presented for physics beyond the standard model (BSM) in final states with a pair of opposite-sign isolated leptons accompanied by jets and missing transverse energy. The search uses LHC data recorded at a center-of-mass energy sqrt(s) = 7 TeV with the CMS detector, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of approximately 5 inverse femtobarns. Two complementary search strategies are employed. The first probes models with a specific dilepton production mechanism that leads to a characteristic kinematic edge in the dilepton mass distribution. The second strategy probes models of dilepton production with heavy, colored objects that decay to final states including invisible particles, leading to very large hadronic activity and missing transverse energy. No evidence for an event yield in excess of the standard model expectations is found. Upper limits on the BSM contributions to the signal regions are deduced from the results, which are used to exclude a region of the parameter space of the constrained minimal supersymmetric extension of the standard model. Additional information related to detector efficiencies and response is provided to allow testing specific models of BSM physics not considered in this paper.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO