How to Eat a Cake Without Having It: An Evaluation of the IFIP Working Group 8.1 Report on Information Systems Methodologies

This paper reviews some aspects of Olle et al. [1988]. After an analysis of the terms "method" and "methodology", it is concluded that the book is an exercise in information system (IS) development methodology. We then argue that the aim of the book, the provision of a framework which should help in understanding existing IS development methods, is only partly reached, and that much work towards this goal is still to be done. Finally, we indicate some of the improvements which can be made to the text with respect to the presentation of the material as well as to the attainment of the goal

Prevention of major depression in complex medically ill patients: preliminary results from a randomized, controlled trial

Background: Depression is highly prevalent in patients with physical illness and is associated with a diminished quality of life and poorer medical outcomes. Objective: The authors evaluated whether a multifaceted intervention conducted by a psychiatric consultation-liaison nurse could reduce the incidence of major depression in rheumatology inpatients and diabetes outpatients with a high level of case complexity. Method: Of 247 randomized patients, the authors identified 100 patients with a high level of case complexity at baseline and without major depression (65 rheumatology and 35 diabetes patients). Patients were randomized to usual care (N = 53) or to a nurse-led intervention (N = 47). Main outcomes were the incidence of major depression and severity of depressive symptoms during a 1-year follow-up, based on quarterly assessments with standardized psychiatric interviews. Results: The incidence of major depression was 63% in usual-care patients and 36% in the intervention group. Effects of intervention on depressive symptoms were observed in outpatients with diabetes but not in rheumatology inpatients. Conclusion: These preliminary results based on subgroup analysis suggest that a multifaceted nurse-led intervention may prevent the occurrence of major depression in complex medically ill patients and reduce depressive symptoms in diabetes outpatients. (Psychosomatics 2009; 50: 227-233)

Project Selection Directed By Intellectual Capital Scorecards

Management of intellectual capital is an important issue in knowledgeintensive organizations. Part of this is the composition of theoptimal project portfolio the organization will carry out in thefuture. Standard methods that guide this process mostly focus onproject selection on the basis of expected returns. However, in manycases other strategic factors should be considered in theirinterdependence such as customer satisfaction, reputation, anddevelopment of core competences.In this paper we present a tool for the selection of a projectportfolio, explicitly taking into account the balancing of thesestrategic factors. The point of departure is the intellectual capitalscorecard in which the indicators are periodically measured against atarget; the scores constitute the input of a programming model. Fromthe optimal portfolio computed, objectives for management can bederived. The method is illustrated in the case of R&D departments.knowledge management;intellectual assets;knowledge capitalization;optimal portfolio

Performance assessment of demand controlled ventilation controls concerning indoor VOC exposure based on a dynamic VOC emission model

The performance assessment of ventilation systems often focusses only on CO2 and humidity levels. The indoor Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) emissions of building materials or other products is thereby overlooked. The new generation of ventilation systems, Demand Controlled Ventilation (DCV), are systems that do not supply the nominal airflow continuously but are controlled by CO2 or humidity sensors in order to save energy. This poses potential problems for exposure to VOCs. In this study, a dynamic VOC model, which takes into account changing temperature and humidity that was derived from literature, is implemented in a CONTAM model of the Belgian reference apartment. The impact of a DCV system on the indoor VOC levels is investigated. Results show that the use of a dynamic model is necessary compared to the previously used approximation of a constant emission. Furthermore, on a system level, the influence of the ventilation system control on the indoor VOC levels shows. The overall VOC concentration in the different rooms will be higher because of lowered ventilation rates. Especially in rooms that are often unoccupied during the day, the accumulation of VOCs shows. In the development of DCV system controls, the aspect of VOC exposure should not be overlooked to be able to benefit from both the energy savings and improved Indoor Air Quality (IAQ)

Soil Infrastructure, Interfaces & Translocation Processes in Inner Space (“Soil-it-is”): Towards a Road Map for the Constraints and Crossroads of Soil Architecture and Biophysical Processes

Soil functions and their impact on health, economy, and the environment are evident at the macro scale but determined at the micro scale, based on interactions between soil micro-architecture and the transport and transformation processes occurring in the soil infrastructure comprising pore and particle networks and at their interfaces. Soil structure formation and its resilience to disturbance are highly dynamic features affected by management (energy input), moisture (matric potential), and solids composition and complexation (organic matter and clay interactions). In this paper we review and put into perspective preliminary results of the newly started research program “Soil-it-is” on functional soil architecture. To identify and quantify biophysical constraints on soil structure changes and resilience, we claim that new approaches are needed to better interpret processes and parameters measured at the bulk soil scale and their links to the seemingly chaotic soil inner space behavior at the micro scale. As a first step, we revisit the soil matrix (solids phase) and pore system (water and air phases), constituting the complementary and interactive networks of soil infrastructure. For a field-pair with contrasting soil management, we suggest new ways of data analysis on measured soil-gas transport parameters at different moisture conditions to evaluate controls of soil matrix and pore network formation. Results imply that some soils form sponge-like pore networks (mostly healthy soils in terms of agricultural and environmental functions), while other soils form pipe-like structures (agriculturally poorly functioning soils), with the difference related to both complexation of organic matter and degradation of soil structure. The recently presented Dexter et al. (2008) threshold (ratio of clay to organic carbon of 10 kg kg-1) is found to be a promising constraint for a soil’s ability to maintain or regenerate functional structure. Next, we show the Dexter et al. (2008) threshold may also apply to hydrological and physical-chemical interface phenomena including soil-water repellency and sorption of volatile organic vapors (gas-water-solids interfaces) as well as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (water-solids interfaces). However, data for differently-managed soils imply that energy input, soil-moisture status, and vegetation (quality of eluded organic matter) may be equally important constraints together with the complexation and degradation of organic carbon in deciding functional soil architecture and interface processes. Finally, we envision a road map to soil inner space where we search for the main controls of particle and pore network changes and structure build-up and resilience at each crossroad of biophysical parameters, where, for example, complexation between organic matter and clay, and moisture-induced changes from hydrophilic to hydrophobic surface conditions can play a role. We hypothesize that each crossroad (e.g. between organic carbon/clay ratio and matric potential) may control how soil self-organization will manifest itself at a given time as affected by gradients in energy and moisture from soil use and climate. The road map may serve as inspiration for renewed and multi-disciplinary focus on functional soil architecture

Organic farming effects on clay dispersion in carbon-exhausted soils

Many Danish soils are depleted in organic matter (OM) after decades of intensive cereal cultivation (Schjønning et al., 2009). In this paper we show that clay particles (colloids) in soils that are low in OM content are easily dispersed in the soil water, which in turn has important effects on soil ecosystem functions and services. Organic farming systems generally tend to increase soil OM contents and may thus mitigate the negative effects

Landscape Design Dialogue. Bridging the gap between knowledge and action

Spatial planners and landscape architects do not excel in theory development. The authors, being a practicing landscape architect-planner and a planning scholar, explore new roads to a middle range theory of landscape design and planning. Building on theories-in-use in regional planning practice they develop an empirically grounded methodology for planning and design. The process of theory building is part of a process of methodical reflection on best and worst practices. It focuses on an analysis of planning and design efforts in the period 1970 – 2005 which have gradually transformed the landscape of the Rhine-Meuse Flood Plain in the Netherland

Crystallographic and magnetic structure of RbCoCl3 · 2 D2O

The crystallographic and magnetic structure of RbCoCl3 · 2 D2O were determined mainly by means of neutron diffraction measurements. Below TN = 2.79 K the magnetic moments are ordered in a canted antiferromagnetic pattern. A meta-magnetic phase transition is observed at unusually small field values (H = 18 Oe at T = 2 K)