A diagrammatic representation for entities and mereotopological relations in ontologies

In the graphical representation of ontologies, it is customary to use graph theory as the representational background. We claim here that the standard graph-based approach has a number of limitations. We focus here on a problem in the graph-based representation of ontologies in complex domains such as biomedical, engineering and manufacturing: lack of mereotopological representation. Based on such limitation, we proposed a diagrammatic way to represent an entity’s structure and various forms of mereotopological relationships between the entities

Solving Irregular Strip Packing Problems With Free Rotations Using Separation Lines

Solving nesting problems or irregular strip packing problems is to position polygons in a fixed width and unlimited length strip, obeying polygon integrity containment constraints and non-overlapping constraints, in order to minimize the used length of the strip. To ensure non-overlapping, we used separation lines. A straight line is a separation line if given two polygons, all vertices of one of the polygons are on one side of the line or on the line, and all vertices of the other polygon are on the other side of the line or on the line. Since we are considering free rotations of the polygons and separation lines, the mathematical model of the studied problem is nonlinear. Therefore, we use the nonlinear programming solver IPOPT (an algorithm of interior points type), which is part of COIN-OR. Computational tests were run using established benchmark instances and the results were compared with the ones obtained with other methodologies in the literature that use free rotation

Using ICT to support reflection in pre-service mathematics teacher education

This paper analyses a virtual supervision setting (e-mail and forum) during the practicum in a pre-service secondary school mathematics teacher education program. It is a study of the authors’ own professional practice using a qualitative-interpretative approach and case studies of student teachers. The results show that the setting was significant for pre-service teachers who had a more reflective attitude, but was seen as a burden by the others. The forum enabled fruitful reflections and discussions and e-mail was mostly used for organizational matters. In the future, attention must be paid to the role of the educational supervisor in fostering participation in the forum and use of e-mail.Este artigo analisa um dispositivo de supervisão virtual (e-mail e fórum) durante o estágio num curso de formação inicial de professores de Matemática do ensino secundário. É um estudo dos autores sobre a sua própria prática profissional usando uma abordagem qualitativa e interpretativa e estudos de casos de futuros professores. Os resultados mostram que o dispositivo foi significativo para os futuros professores que tinham uma atitude mais reflexiva mas foi visto como um “peso” pelos outros futuros professores. O fórum permitiu reflexões frutuosas e discussões e o e-mail foi principalmente usado para matérias organizacionais. No futuro, deve ser dada atenção ao papel do supervisor educacional em promover a participação no fórum e o uso do e-mail

Business Model Generation: A handbook for visionaries, game changers and challengers

The book entitled “Business Model Generation: A Handbook for visionaries, game changers and challengers” though written by Osterwalder and Pigneur (2010) was also co-created by 470 practitioners from 45 countries. The book is thus a good example of how a global creative collaboration effort can contribute positively to the business and management literature and subsequently to the advancement of society. The book "Business Model Generation" has both narrative and visual detail. Before proceeding to do an in-depth review of “Business Model Generation” we first looked at other publications by the authors which led up to the book

Producing innovation: Comments on Lee and Yu (2010)

The purpose of the article being reviewed (Lee and Yu, 2010), a survey by questionnaire with 182 valid responses, is to analyze “how different relationship styles of employees in the hi-tech industry influence innovation performance” and indeed its conclusions are that “the relationship style of an organization has a significant positive effect on innovation performance”. We see Lee and Yu (2010) as being similar to another highly cited article by Morgan and Hunt in so far as both articles are about relationships, cooperation and trust

Facilitating qualitative research in business studies - Using the business narrative to model value creation

This is a conceptual paper supported by empirical research giving details of a new Business Narrative Modelling Language (BNML). The need for BNML arose given a growing dissatisfaction with qualitative research approaches and also due to the need to bring entrepreneurs, especially those with little training in management theory, closer to the academic (as well as practitioner) discussion of innovation and strategy for value creation. We aim primarily for an improved communication process of events which can be described using the narrative, in the discussion of the value creation process. Our findings, illustrated through a case study, should be of interest to both researchers and practitioners alike

Development of pre-service mathematics teachers’ professional knowledge and identity in working with information and communication technology

This paper describes the work undertaken in a course in communication and information technology in a pre-service program for secondary school mathematics teachers. This course aimed to help pre-service teachers develop a positive attitude regarding ICT and use it confidently. It focused on the exploration of educational software and of the Internet’s potential as a means of research and production of web sites. We discuss how the pre-service mathematics teachers evaluate their work concerning their commitment, difficulties they found, learning they identified, and personal relationship. We also analyse the effects of the course on the development of their professional knowledge and identity