Intelligence systems methodology: a systemic approach to the organizational intelligence function

Organizational intelligence can be seen as a function of the viable structure of an organization. With the integration of the Viable System Model and Soft Systems Methodology (systemic approaches of organizational management) focused on the role of the intelligence function, it is possible to elaborate a model of action with a structured methodology to prospect, select, treat and distribute information to the entire organization that improves the efficacy and efficiency of all processes. This combination of methodologies is called Intelligence Systems Methodology (ISM) whose assumptions and dynamics are delimited in this paper. The ISM is composed of two simultaneous activities: the Active Environmental Mapping and the Stimulated Action Cycle. The elaboration of the formal ISM description opens opportunities for applications of the methodology on real situations, offering a new path for this specific issue of systems thinking: the intelligence systems. Knowledge Management Research & Practice (2012) 10, 141-152. doi:10.1057/kmrp.2011.44

MHD numerical simulations of colliding winds in massive binary systems - I. Thermal versus non-thermal radio emission

In the past few decades detailed observations of radio and X-ray emission from massive binary systems revealed a whole new physics present in such systems. Both thermal and non-thermal components of this emission indicate that most of the radiation at these bands originates in shocks. O and B-type stars and WolfRayet (WR) stars present supersonic and massive winds that, when colliding, emit largely due to the freefree radiation. The non-thermal radio and X-ray emissions are due to synchrotron and inverse Compton processes, respectively. In this case, magnetic fields are expected to play an important role in the emission distribution. In the past few years the modelling of the freefree and synchrotron emissions from massive binary systems have been based on purely hydrodynamical simulations, and ad hoc assumptions regarding the distribution of magnetic energy and the field geometry. In this work we provide the first full magnetohydrodynamic numerical simulations of windwind collision in massive binary systems. We study the freefree emission characterizing its dependence on the stellar and orbital parameters. We also study self-consistently the evolution of the magnetic field at the shock region, obtaining also the synchrotron energy distribution integrated along different lines of sight. We show that the magnetic field in the shocks is larger than that obtained when the proportionality between B and the plasma density is assumed. Also, we show that the role of the synchrotron emission relative to the total radio emission has been underestimated.

GROUND STATE AND NON-GROUND STATE SOLUTIONS OF SOME STRONGLY COUPLED ELLIPTIC SYSTEMS

We study an elliptic system of the form Lu = vertical bar v vertical bar(p-1) v and Lv = vertical bar u vertical bar(q-1) u in Omega with homogeneous Dirichlet boundary condition, where Lu := -Delta u in the case of a bounded domain and Lu := -Delta u + u in the cases of an exterior domain or the whole space R-N. We analyze the existence, uniqueness, sign and radial symmetry of ground state solutions and also look for sign changing solutions of the system. More general non-linearities are also considered.

Generalized Metropolis dynamics with a generalized master equation: An approach for time-independent and time-dependent Monte Carlo simulations of generalized spin systems

The extension of Boltzmann-Gibbs thermostatistics, proposed by Tsallis, introduces an additional parameter q to the inverse temperature beta. Here, we show that a previously introduced generalized Metropolis dynamics to evolve spin models is not local and does not obey the detailed energy balance. In this dynamics, locality is only retrieved for q = 1, which corresponds to the standard Metropolis algorithm. Nonlocality implies very time-consuming computer calculations, since the energy of the whole system must be reevaluated when a single spin is flipped. To circumvent this costly calculation, we propose a generalized master equation, which gives rise to a local generalized Metropolis dynamics that obeys the detailed energy balance. To compare the different critical values obtained with other generalized dynamics, we perform Monte Carlo simulations in equilibrium for the Ising model. By using short-time nonequilibrium numerical simulations, we also calculate for this model the critical temperature and the static and dynamical critical exponents as functions of q. Even for q not equal 1, we show that suitable time-evolving power laws can be found for each initial condition. Our numerical experiments corroborate the literature results when we use nonlocal dynamics, showing that short-time parameter determination works also in this case. However, the dynamics governed by the new master equation leads to different results for critical temperatures and also the critical exponents affecting universality classes. We further propose a simple algorithm to optimize modeling the time evolution with a power law, considering in a log-log plot two successive refinements.

A new approach for modeling and control of nonlinear systems via norm-bounded linear differential inclusions

A systematic approach to model nonlinear systems using norm-bounded linear differential inclusions (NLDIs) is proposed in this paper. The resulting NLDI model is suitable for the application of linear control design techniques and, therefore, it is possible to fulfill certain specifications for the underlying nonlinear system, within an operating region of interest in the state-space, using a linear controller designed for this NLDI model. Hence, a procedure to design a dynamic output feedback controller for the NLDI model is also proposed in this paper. One of the main contributions of the proposed modeling and control approach is the use of the mean-value theorem to represent the nonlinear system by a linear parameter-varying model, which is then mapped into a polytopic linear differential inclusion (PLDI) within the region of interest. To avoid the combinatorial problem that is inherent of polytopic models for medium- and large-sized systems, the PLDI is transformed into an NLDI, and the whole process is carried out ensuring that all trajectories of the underlying nonlinear system are also trajectories of the resulting NLDI within the operating region of interest. Furthermore, it is also possible to choose a particular structure for the NLDI parameters to reduce the conservatism in the representation of the nonlinear system by the NLDI model, and this feature is also one important contribution of this paper. Once the NLDI representation of the nonlinear system is obtained, the paper proposes the application of a linear control design method to this representation. The design is based on quadratic Lyapunov functions and formulated as search problem over a set of bilinear matrix inequalities (BMIs), which is solved using a two-step separation procedure that maps the BMIs into a set of corresponding linear matrix inequalities. Two numerical examples are given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

Incorporating IT & AT Convergence into Lean Thinking/Six Sigma via the Smarter Operation Transformation (SOT) Methodology

The growing demands for industrial products are imposing an increasingly intense level of competitiveness on the industrial operations. In the meantime, the convergence of information technology (IT) and automation technology (AT) is showing itself to be a tool of great potential for the modernization and improvement of industrial plants. However, for this technology fully to achieve its potential, several obstacles need to be overcome, including the demonstration of the reasoning behind estimations of benefits, investments and risks used to plan the implementation of corporative technology solutions. This article focuses on the evolutionary development of planning and adopting processes of IT & AT convergence. It proposes the incorporation of IT & AT convergence practices into Lean Thinking/Six Sigma, via the method used for planning the convergence of technological activities, known as the Smarter Operation Transformation (SOT) methodology. This article illustrates the SOT methodology through its application in a Brazilian company in the sector of consumer goods. In this application, it is shown that with IT & AT convergence is possible with low investment, in order to reduce the risk of not achieving the goals of key indicators.