National whoppercropper - risk management discussion support software

It is a paradox that in a country with one of the most variable climates in the world, cropping decisions are sometimes made with limited consideration of production and resource management risks. There are significant opportunities for improved performance based on targeted information regarding risks resulting from decision options. WhopperCropper is a tool to help agricultural advisors and farmers capture these benefits and use it to add value to their intuition and experience. WhopperCropper allows probability analysis of the effects of a range of selectable crop inputs and existing resources on yield and economic outcomes. Inputs can include agronomic inputs (e.g crop type, N fertiliser rate), resources (e.g soil water at sowing), and seasonal climate forecast (SOI phase). WhopperCropper has been successfully developed and refined as a discussion-support process for decision makers and their advisers in the northern grains region of Australia. The next phase of the project will build on the current project by extending its application nationally and enhancing the resource management aspects. A commercial partner, with over 800 advisor clients nationally, will participate in the project.

A reference methodology for conducting ontological analyses

The ontological analysis of conceptual modelling techniques is of increasing popularity. Related research did not only explore the ontological deficiencies of classical techniques such as ER or UML, but also business process modelling techniques such as ARIS or even Web services standards such as BPEL4WS. While the selected ontologies are reasonably mature, it is the actual process of an ontological analysis that still lacks rigor. The current procedure leaves significant room for individual interpretations and is one reason for criticism of the entire ontological analysis. This paper proposes a procedural model for the ontological analysis based on the use of meta models, the involvement of more than one coder and metrics. This model is explained with examples from various ontological analyses.

Instant messaging: A cross-country comparison of factors affecting adoption

This research-in-progress paper utilizes the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to determine whether differences exist in the adoption of Instant Messaging (IM) Technologies in Australia, China, Mexico and the USA. Despite significant differences in the technology needed to implement IM (e.g., software supporting Chinese language characters), few barriers exist to the adoption of IM given the environment is in place. We postulate that language interface technology, infrastructure, and culture affect the adoption of IM technology.

Model checking Z specifications using SAL

The Symbolic Analysis Laboratory (SAL) is a suite of tools for analysis of state transition systems. Tools supported include a simulator and four temporal logic model checkers. The common input language to these tools was originally developed with translation from other languages, both programming and specification languages, in mind. It is, therefore, a rich language supporting a range of type definitions and expressions. In this paper, we investigate the translation of Z specifications into the SAL language as a means of providing model checking support for Z. This is facilitated by a library of SAL definitions encoding the Z mathematical toolkit.