Managing Information Risks in asset management - Experiences from an in-depth case study in the utility industry

Information is one of the most important resources in our globalized economy. The value of information often exceeds the value of physical assets. Information quality has, in many ways, an impact on asset management organisations and asset managers struggle to understand and to quantify it, which is a prerequisite for effective information quality improvement. Over the past few years, we have developed an innovative management concept that addresses these new asset management challenges: a process for Total Information Risk Management (TIRM), which has been already tested in a number of asset management industries. The TIRM process enables to manage information quality more effectively in asset management organisations as it focuses specifically on the risks that are imposed by information quality. In this paper, we show how we have applied the TIRM process in an in-depth study at a medium-sized European utility provider, the Manx Electricity Authority (MEA), at the Isle of Man.

A global model for effective use and evaluation of e-learning in health.

Healthcare systems worldwide face a wide range of challenges, including demographic change, rising drug and medical technology costs, and persistent and widening health inequalities both within and between countries. Simultaneously, issues such as professional silos, static medical curricula, and perceptions of "information overload" have made it difficult for medical training and continued professional development (CPD) to adapt to the changing needs of healthcare professionals in increasingly patient-centered, collaborative, and/or remote delivery contexts. In response to these challenges, increasing numbers of medical education and CPD programs have adopted e-learning approaches, which have been shown to provide flexible, low-cost, user-centered, and easily updated learning. The effectiveness of e-learning varies from context to context, however, and has also been shown to make considerable demands on users' motivation and "digital literacy" and on providing institutions. Consequently, there is a need to evaluate the effectiveness of e-learning in healthcare as part of ongoing quality improvement efforts. This article outlines the key issues for developing successful models for analyzing e-health learning.

A global model for effective use and evaluation of e-learning in health.

Healthcare systems worldwide face a wide range of challenges, including demographic change, rising drug and medical technology costs, and persistent and widening health inequalities both within and between countries. Simultaneously, issues such as professional silos, static medical curricula, and perceptions of "information overload" have made it difficult for medical training and continued professional development (CPD) to adapt to the changing needs of healthcare professionals in increasingly patient-centered, collaborative, and/or remote delivery contexts. In response to these challenges, increasing numbers of medical education and CPD programs have adopted e-learning approaches, which have been shown to provide flexible, low-cost, user-centered, and easily updated learning. The effectiveness of e-learning varies from context to context, however, and has also been shown to make considerable demands on users' motivation and "digital literacy" and on providing institutions. Consequently, there is a need to evaluate the effectiveness of e-learning in healthcare as part of ongoing quality improvement efforts. This article outlines the key issues for developing successful models for analyzing e-health learning.

Improving design quality and value in the built environment through knowledge of intangibles

Raising design quality and value in the built environment requires continuous improvement, drawing on feedback from clients or occupiers and other industry players. The challenging task for architectural and engineering designers has always been to use their intellectual knowledge to deliver both forms of benefits, tangibles and intangibles, in the built environment. Increasingly as clients demand best value for money, there is a greater need to understand the potential from intangibles, to see projects not as ends in themselves but as means to improved quality of life and wealth creation. As we begin to understand more about how - through the design of the built environment - to deliver these improvements in outcomes, clients will be better placed to expect their successful delivery from designers, and designers themselves will be better placed to provide them. This paper discusses cross-disciplinary issues about intangibles and is aimed at designers, clients, investors and entrepreneurs within the built environment. It presents some findings from a minuscule study that investigated intangible benefits in a new primary school. © 2004 IEEE.

High-quality pulse compressor for WDM/OTDM applications

The paper reports the results of a high-quality pulse source incorporating a gain-switched laser diode followed by a novel compact two-cascade fibre compression scheme. The pulse compression scheme incorporates a dispersive delay line and a nonlinear pulse compressor based on a dispersion-imbalanced fibre loop mirror (DILM). We analyse and demonstrate for the first time significant improvement of the loop performance by means of the chirped pulse switching. As a result, the DILM provides high-quality nonlinear pulse compression as well as rejection of the nonsoliton component. In the experiment, 20ps pulses from a gain switched laser diode are compressed to a duration of 300fs at a repetition rate in range 70MHz-10GHz. The pulses are pedestal free and transform-limited. Spectral filtering of the output signal by means of a bandpass filter results in generation of wavelength-tuneable picosecond pulses with a duration defined by the filter bandwidth. Alternatively, signal filtering by an arrayed waveguide grating (AWG) results in multichannel picosecond pulse generation for WDM and OTDM applications. The pulse source is built of standard components and is of compact and potentially robust design.

Improving model quality through computer controlled saturation

In dynamic centrifuge modelling, fluids with enhanced viscosity are often used to correct for the discrepancy in time scaling. However, great care must be taken when using a high viscosity fluid that hydraulic gradients during saturation do not become high enough to cause excessive model disturbance. This paper introduces the CAM-Sat system which aims to improve the saturation process by continually controlling the fluid flow into the model, limiting it to rates low enough to avoid model disturbance. A new method for measuring the fluid flow rate is then described, and its implementation & improvement to the system is discussed. © 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London.

Quality practices and problems in free software projects

Free software and open source projects are often perceived to be of high quality. It has been suggested that the high level of quality found in some free software projects is related to the open development model which promotes peer review. While the quality of some free software projects is comparable to, if not better than, that of closed source software, not all free software projects are successful and of high quality. Even mature and successful projects face quality problems; some of these are related to the unique characteristics of free software and open source as a distributed development model led primarily by volunteers. In exploratory interviews performed with free software and open source developers, several common quality practices as well as actual quality problems have been identified. The results of these interviews are presented in this paper in order to take stock of the current status of quality in free software projects and to act as a starting point for the implementation of quality process improvement strategies.

Improvement of morphology, structure, and optical properties of GaAs nanowires grown on Si substrates

We investigate vertical and defect-free growth of GaAs nanowires on Si (111) substrates via a vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) growth mechanism with Au catalysts by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). By using annealed thin GaAs buffer layers on the surface of Si substrates, most nanowires are grown on the substrates straight, following (111) direction; by using two temperature growth, the nanowires were grown free from structural defects, such as twin defects and stacking faults. Systematic experiments about buffer layers indicate that V/III ratio of precursor and growth temperature can affect the morphology and quality of the buffer layers. Especially, heterostructural buffer layers grown with different V/III ratios and temperatures and in-situ post-annealing step are very helpful to grow well arranged, vertical GaAs nanowires on Si substrates. The initial nanowires having some structural defects can be defect-free by two-temperature growth mode with improved optical property, which shows us positive possibility for optoelectronic device application. ©2010 IEEE.

Classifying data quality problems in asset management

© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2015. Making sound asset management decisions, such as whether to replace or maintain an ageing underground water pipe, are critical to ensure that organisations maximise the performance of their assets. These decisions are only as good as the data that supports them, and hence many asset management organisations are in desperate need to improve the quality of their data. This chapter reviews the key academic research on data quality (DQ) and Information Quality (IQ) (used interchangeably in this chapter) in asset management, combines this with the current DQ problems faced by asset management organisations in various business sectors, and presents a classification of the most important DQ problems that need to be tackled by asset management organisations. In this research, eleven semi structured interviews were carried out with asset management professionals in a range of business sectors in the UK. The problems described in the academic literature were cross checked against the problems found in industry. In order to support asset management professionals in solving these problems, we categorised them into seven different DQ dimensions, used in the academic literature, so that it is clear how these problems fit within the standard frameworks for assessing and improving data quality. Asset management professionals can therefore now use these frameworks to underpin their DQ improvement initiatives while focussing on the most critical DQ problems.