1,620 research outputs found
Discovering Strategies to Improve Business Value in Outsourcing Projects
This paper deals with the problem of leveraging client business value in a software development outsourcing relationship. We have observed software development projects from two different Dutch IT outsourcing companies and studied the approach they apply in their (successful) projects. The results show that they create a role dedicated to facilitate communication. This arrangement has the potential to put team members in a better position to communicate, facilitating the transfer of information supporting the rationale behind design decisions. Teams are thus better equipped to anticipate change and to react faster in solving everyday problems. This paper describes our observations and the practical implications we expect, such as the improvement of re-buy intention on the client's side
Guided Interaction Exploration in Artifact-centric Process Models
Artifact-centric process models aim to describe complex processes as a
collection of interacting artifacts. Recent development in process mining allow
for the discovery of such models. However, the focus is often on the
representation of the individual artifacts rather than their interactions.
Based on event data we can automatically discover composite state machines
representing artifact-centric processes. Moreover, we provide ways of
visualizing and quantifying interactions among different artifacts. For
example, we are able to highlight strongly correlated behaviours in different
artifacts. The approach has been fully implemented as a ProM plug-in; the CSM
Miner provides an interactive artifact-centric process discovery tool focussing
on interactions. The approach has been evaluated using real life data sets,
including the personal loan and overdraft process of a Dutch financial
institution.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, to be published in proceedings of the 19th IEEE
Conference on Business Informatics, CBI 201
Encounters with the Levant: The late medieval illustrated Jerusalem Travelogue by Paul Walter von Guglingen
The late medieval illustrated Jerusalem travelogue by the Franciscan friar Paul Walther von Guglingen has heretofore received scant scholarly attention, perhaps owing to the unusual nature of some of its images. Guglingen charts decidedly Islamic spaces with his maps and plan, instead of the conventional sacred shrines of Christianity; these topographical features are interlaced with personal travelling experiences. Illustrations of flora and fauna encountered along the way are the result of careful observation, and meticulous recording. The author experiments with forms to visually represent his own lived experience. In all cases, text and image are closely intertwined and testify that non-religious aspects form a legitimate aspect of this pilgrimage account. Consideration of the illustrations in Guglingen’s Itinerarium, alongside, for example, those in the travelogue of his famous travel companion Bernhard von Breydenbach, allows us to illuminate more facets of the late medieval pilgrimage experience
Towards F1 Hybrid Seed Potato Breeding
Compared to other major food crops, progress in potato yield as the result of breeding efforts is very slow. Genetic gains cannot be fixed in potato due to obligatory out-breeding. Overcoming inbreeding depression using diploid self-compatible clones should enable to replace the current method of out-breeding and clonal propagation into an F1 hybrid system with true seeds. This idea is not new, but has long been considered unrealistic. Severe inbreeding depression and self-incompatibility in diploid germplasm have hitherto blocked the development of inbred lines. Back-crossing with a homozygous progenitor with the Sli gene which inhibits gametophytic self-incompatibility gave self-compatible offspring from elite material from our diploid breeding programme. We demonstrate that homozygous fixation of donor alleles is possible, with simultaneous improvement of tuber shape and tuber size grading of the recipient inbred line. These results provide proof of principle for F1 hybrid potato breeding. The technical and economic perspectives are unprecedented as these will enable the development of new products with combinations of useful traits for all stakeholders in the potato chain. In addition, the hybrid’s seeds are produced by crossings, rendering the production and voluminous transport of potato seed tubers redundant as it can be replaced by direct sowing or the use of healthy mini-tubers, raised in greenhouses
The temperature and chronology of heavy-element synthesis in low-mass stars
Roughly half of the heavy elements (atomic mass greater than that of iron)
are believed to be synthesized in the late evolutionary stages of stars with
masses between 0.8 and 8 solar masses. Deep inside the star, nuclei (mainly
iron) capture neutrons and progressively build up (through the
slow-neutron-capture process, or s-process) heavier elements that are
subsequently brought to the stellar surface by convection. Two neutron sources,
activated at distinct temperatures, have been proposed: 13C and 22Ne, each
releasing one neutron per alpha-particle (4He) captured. To explain the
measured stellar abundances, stellar evolution models invoking the 13C neutron
source (which operates at temperatures of about one hundred million kelvin) are
favoured. Isotopic ratios in primitive meteorites, however, reflecting
nucleosynthesis in the previous generations of stars that contributed material
to the Solar System, point to higher temperatures (more than three hundred
million kelvin), requiring at least a late activation of 22Ne. Here we report a
determination of the s-process temperature directly in evolved low-mass giant
stars, using zirconium and niobium abundances, independently of stellar
evolution models. The derived temperature supports 13C as the s-process neutron
source. The radioactive pair 93Zr-93Nb used to estimate the s-process
temperature also provides, together with the pair 99Tc-99Ru, chronometric
information on the time elapsed since the start of the s-process, which we
determine to be one million to three million years.Comment: 30 pages, 10 figure
CH in stellar atmospheres: an extensive linelist
The advent of high-resolution spectrographs and detailed stellar atmosphere
modelling has strengthened the need for accurate molecular data.
Carbon-enhanced metal-poor (CEMP) stars spectra are interesting objects with
which to study transitions from the CH molecule. We combine programs for
spectral analysis of molecules and stellar-radiative transfer codes to build an
extensive CH linelist, including predissociation broadening as well as newly
identified levels. We show examples of strong predissociation CH lines in CEMP
stars, and we stress the important role played by the CH features in the
Bond-Neff feature depressing the spectra of barium stars by as much as 0.2
magnitudes in the 3000 -- 5500 \AA\ range. Because of the extreme
thermodynamic conditions prevailing in stellar atmospheres (compared to the
laboratory), molecular transitions with high energy levels can be observed.
Stellar spectra can thus be used to constrain and improve molecular data.Comment: 33pages, 15 figures, accepted in A&A external data available at
http://www.astro.ulb.ac.be/~spectrotools
Discovery of a TiO emission band in the infrared spectrum of the S star NP Aurigae
We report on the discovery of an infrared emission band in the Spitzer
spectrum of the S-type AGB star NP Aurigae that is caused by TiO molecules in
the circumstellar environment. We modelled the observed emission to derive the
temperature of the TiO molecules (\approx 600 K), an upper limit on the column
density (\approx 10^17.25 cm^{-2}) and a lower limit on the spatial extent of
the layer that contains these molecules. (\approx 4.6 stellar radii). This is
the first time that this TiO emission band is observed. A search for similar
emission features in the sample of S-type stars yielded two additional
candidates. However, owing to the additional dust emission, the identification
is less stringent. By comparing the stellar characteristics of NP Aur to those
of the other stars in our sample, we find that all stars with TiO emission show
large-amplitude pulsations, s-process enrichment, and a low C/O ratio. These
characteristics might be necessary requirements for a star to show TiO in
emission, but they are not sufficient.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, letter to the edito
Guided Interaction Exploration and Performance Analysisin Artifact-Centric Process Models
Artifact-centric process models aim to describecomplex processes as a collection of interacting artifacts.Recent development in process mining allow for the dis-covery of such models. However, the focus is often on therepresentation of the individual artifacts rather than theirinteractions. Based on event data, composite state machi-nes representing artifact-centric processes can be discov-ered automatically. Moreover, the study provides ways ofvisualising and quantifying interactions among differentartifacts. For example, strongly correlated behaviours indifferent artifacts can be highlighted. Interesting correla-tions can be subsequently analysed to identify potentialcauses of process performance issues. The study provides astrategy to explore the interactions and performance dif-ferences in this context. The approach has been fullyimplemented as a ProM plug-in; the CSM Miner providesan interactive artifact-centric process discovery toolfocussing on interactions. The approach has been evaluatedusing real life data, to show that the guided exploration ofartifact interactions can successfully identify process per-formance issues
A bibliography of whiplash and cervical kinematic measurement
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Washington, D.C.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/603/2/28708.0001.001.pd
Oakland County/passenger van (school bus)/passenger car/rural intersection collision/fatal
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Washington, D.C.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/1437/2/37915.0001.001.pd
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