The double dance of agency: a socio-theoretic account of how machines and humans interact

The nature of the relationship between information technology (IT) and organizations has been a long-standing debate in the Information Systems literature. Does IT shape organizations, or do people in organisations control how IT is used? To formulate the question a little differently: does agency (the capacity to make a difference) lie predominantly with machines (computer systems) or humans (organisational actors)? Many proposals for a middle way between the extremes of technological and social determinism have been put advanced; in recent years researchers oriented towards social theories have focused on structuration theory and (lately) actor network theory. These two theories, however, adopt different and incompatible views of agency. Thus, structuration theory sees agency as exclusively a property of humans, whereas the principle of general symmetry in actor network theory implies that machines may also be agents. Drawing on critiques of both structuration theory and actor network theory, this paper develops a theoretical account of the interaction between human and machine agency: the double dance of agency. The account seeks to contribute to theorisation of the relationship between technology and organisation by recognizing both the different character of human and machine agency, and the emergent properties of their interplay.

Preliminary account on the intensity of fouling in Karwar waters

Biology of fouling in Karwar waters is presented. The composition of fouling communities, their fluctuations in relation to hydrographical factors such as temperature, dissolved oxygen, salinity and the influence of the nature and texture of the substratum on fouling communities are discussed.

A brief account on the 'Gunja Net' fishing of the Kutch Backwaters (Gujarat)

A survey was made of the fishing gear (Gunja net) and methods used in the prawn fishery of the coastal waters of the Gulf of Kutch.

Travel behaviour applied in freight transportation using intelligent products

The route planning problem for an order in freight transportation involves the selection of the best route for its transportation given a set of options that the network can offer. In its adaptive (or dynamic) version, the problem deals with the planning of a new route for an order while it is actually in transit typically because part or all of its pre-selected route is blocked or disrupted. In the intelligent product approach we are proposing, an order would be capable of identifying and evaluating such new routes in an automated manner and choosing the most preferable one without the intervention of humans. Because such approaches seek to mirror (and then automate) human decision making, in this paper we seek to identify new ways for dynamic route planning in industrial logistics inspired by the way people make similar decisions about their journey when they travel in multi-modal networks. We propose a new simulation game as a methodological tool for capturing their travel behaviour and we use it in this study. The results show that a simulation game can be used for capturing strategies and tactics of travellers and that intelligent products can provide a proper platform for the usage of such strategies in freight logistics. © 2012 IEEE.

A method for VVER-1000 fuel rearrangement optimization taking into account both fuel cladding durability and burnup

A method for VVER-1000 fuel rearrangement optimization that takes into account both cladding durability and fuel burnup and which is suitable for any regime of normal reactor operation has been established. The main stages involved in solving the problem of fuel rearrangement optimization are discussed in detail. Using the proposed fuel rearrangement efficiency criterion, a simple example VVER-1000 fuel rearrangement optimization problem is solved under deterministic and uncertain conditions. It is shown that the deterministic and robust (in the face of uncertainty) solutions of the rearrangement optimization problem are similar in principle, but the robust solution is, as might be anticipated, more conservative. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.

Suckers (Fish, Catostomidae) from the Eocene of China account for the family's current disjunct distributions

Unequivocal Eocene suckers from China are for the first time reported here. This discovery demonstrates that catostomids of the Eocene Epoch (some 55-35 Ma ago) are scattered widely on mainland Asia as well as western North America. The present day disjunct distribution pattern of catostomids, with 68 extant species widespread in North America and the northern part of Middle America and only two in the restricted areas of Asia, is the result of their post-Eocene decline in Asia due to the competitive pressure from cyprinids, their Late Cenozoic radiation in North America, and the vicariant and dispersal events triggered by the changed biogeographic landscape. All of these prove to be a historical product of the geological, biological, and climatic changes throughout the Cenozoic.

Pg震相走时的各向异性影响及各向异性结构成像

As the first arrival of seismic phase in deep seismic sounding, Pg is the important data for studying the attributes of the sedimentary layers and the shape of crystalline basement because of its high intensity and reliable detection. Conventionally, the sedimentary cover is expressed as isotropic, linear increasing model in the interpretation of Pg event. Actually, the sedimentary medium should be anisotropic as preferred cracks or fractures and thin layers are common features in the upper crust, so the interpretation of Pg event needs to be taken account of seismic velocity anisotropy. Traveltime calculation is the base of data processing and interpretation. Here, we only study the type of elliptical anisotropy for the poor quality and insufficiency of DSS data. In this thesis, we first investigate the meaning of elliptical anisotropy in the study of crustal structure and attribute, then derive Pg event’s traveltime-offset relationship by assuming a linear increasing velocity model with elliptical anisotropy and present the invert scheme from Pg traveltime-offset dataset to seismic velocity and its anisotropy of shallow crustal structure. We compare the Pg traveltime calculated by our analytic formula with numerical calculating method to test the accuracy. To get the lateral variation of elliptical anisotropy along the profiling, a tomography inversion method with the derived formula is presented, where the profile is divided into rectangles. Anisotropic imaging of crustal structure and attribute is efficient method for crust study. The imaging result can help us interprete the seismic data and discover the attribute of the rock to analyze the interaction between layers. Traveltime calculation is the base of image. Base on the ray tracing equations, the paper present a realization of three dimension of layer model with arbitrary anisotropic type and an example of Pg traveltime calculation in arbitrary anisotropic type is presented. The traveltime calculation method is complex and it only adapts to nonlinear inversion. Perturbation method of travel-time calculation in anisotropy is the linearization approach. It establishes the direct relation between seismic parameters and travetime and it is fit for inversion in anisotropic structural imaging. The thesis presents a P-wave imaging method of layer media for TTI. Southeastern China is an important part of the tectonic framework concerning the continental margin of eastern China and is commonly assumed to comprise the Yangtze block and the Cathaysia block, the two major tectonic units in the region. It’s a typical geological and geophysical zone. In this part, we fit the traveltime of Pg phase by the raytracing numerical method. But the method is not suitable here because the inefficiency of numerical method and the method itself. By the analytic method, we fit the Pg and Sg and get the lateral variation of elliptical anisotropy and then discuss its implication. The northeastern margin of Qinghai-Tibetan plateau is typical because it is the joint area of Eurasian plate and Indian plate and many strong earthquakes have occurred there in recent years．We use the Pg data to get elliptical anisotropic variation and discuss the possible meaning.

多波多分量地震资料走时近似方法的研究与应用

Compared with the conventional P wave, multi-component seismic data can markedly provide more information, thus improve the quality of reservoir evaluation like formation evaluation etc. With PS wave, better imaging result can be obtained especially in areas involved with gas chimney and high velocity formation. However, the signal-to-noise of multi-component seismic data is normally lower than that of the conventional P wave seismic data, while the frequency range of converted wave is always close to that of the surface wave which adds to the difficulty of removing surface wave. To realize common reflection point data stacking from extracted common conversion point data is a hard nut to crack. The s wave static correction of common receiver point PS wave data is not easy neither. In a word, the processing of multi-component seismic data is more complicated than P wave data. This paper shows some work that has been done, addressing those problems mentioned above. (1) Based on the AVO feature of converted wave, this paper has realized the velocity spectrum of converted waves by using Sarkar’s generalized semblance method taking into account of AVO factor in velocity analysis. (2)We achieve a method of smoothly offset division normal method.Firstly we scan the stacking velocities in different offset divisions for a t0, secondly obtain some hyperbolas using these stacking velocities, then get the travel time for every trace using these hyperbolas; in the end we interpolate the normal move out between two t0 for every trace. (3) Here realize a method of stepwise offset division normal moveout.It is similar to the method of smoothly offset division normal moveout.The main difference is using quadratic curve, sixth order curve or fraction curve to fit these hyperbolas. (4)In this paper, 4 types of travel time versus distance functions in inhomogeneous media whose velocity or slowness varies with depth and vertical travel time have been discussed and used to approximate reflection travel time. The errors of ray path and travel time based on those functions in four layered models were analyzed, and it has shown that effective results of NMO in synthetic or real data can be obtained. (5) The velocity model of converted PS-wave can be considered as that of P -wave based on the ghost source theory, thus the converted wave travel time can be approximated by calculation from 4 equivalent velocity functions: velocity or slowness vary linearly with depth or vertical travel time. Then combining with P wave velocity analysis, the converted wave data can be corrected directly to the P-wave vertical travel time. The improvements were shown in Normal Move out of converted waves with numerical examples and real data. (6) This paper introduces the methods to compute conversion point location in vertical inhomogeneous media based on linear functions of velocity or slowness versus depth or vertical travel time, and introduce three ways to choose appropriate equivalent velocity methods, which are velocity fitting, travel time approximation and semblance coefficient methods.

陕北地区石家湾-李家岔探区三叠系延长组石油成藏条件分析

Shijiawan –Lijiacha area, lying on the northeastern part of the Shanbei Slope of Ordos Basin, was selected as studying area. The previous explorations proved that the 2nd segment and 6th segment of the Yanchang Formation are the most important oil-bearing formations. It is indicated that the sedimentary facies and reservoir characteristics restricted the hydrocarbon accumulation regularity. Therefore, with petrology methodologies, such as outcrop observation, core description, geophysical logging interpretation, thin section determination, scanning electron microscope, as well as rock property analysis, the reservoirs was were systematically studied and characterized. The sedimentary micro-facies, seals, reservoir-seal combines, migration pathways and entrapping modes were taken into account. The author tempted to establish a base for further studies on reservoirs and on petroleum geology, and to provide some reliably geological evidences for later prospect activities. It was found that the sediments in the 2nd and 3rd segments of the Yanchang Formation in Shijiawan –Lijiacha area were deposited in braided rivers, and most sandy-bodies were identified as channel sandbars. The 4+5th and 6th segments were principally deposited in deltaic-plain environment, consisting of corresponding sub-facies such as distributary channels, natural levee, crevasse-splay and marsh. The skeleton sandy-bodies were identified as sandy sediments of distributary channels. The sand grains in reservoir in studied area possess generally low mineralogical maturity and moderate structural maturity, and the form of pores may be classified into intergranular types and dissolved types. Most reservoirs of Yanchang Formation in Shijiawan –Lijiacha area belong to extreme low-porosity low-permeability ones (type III), and the 2nd sediments belongs to low permeability one (type II) and the 6th segment belong to super low-permeability one(type Ⅳ). The reservoirs in the 2nd segment behave more heterogeneous than those in the 6th segment. The statistic analysis results show that, for 6th and 4+5th segments, the high quality reservoir-seal combines may be found everywhere in the studied area except in the northwest and the southwest parts; and for 1st and 2nd segments, in the northeast, central and southwest parts Petroleum migration happened in the duration of the Early Cretaceous period in both lateral and vertical directions. The migration paths were mainly constructed by permeable sandy-bodies. The superimposed channel sandy-bodies consist of the principal part of the system of carriers. the vertical fractures, that may travel through the seals between reservoirs, offered the vertical paths for migrating oil. It may be synthesized that oil coming from south kitchens migrated first laterally in carriers in the 6th segment. When arrived at the studied area, oil will migration laterally or/and vertical within both the sandy-bodies and fractures, in a climbing-stair way. The results demonstrate that the oil was entrapped in traps structure-lithology and/or lithology traps. In some cases, the hydrodynamic force may help to trap oil. Accumulation of oil in the area was mainly controlled by sedimentary facies, seals, structure, and heterogeneity of reservoir in the 2nd, 4+5th and 6th segments. Especially, the oil distributions in both the 2nd and 6th segments were obviously influenced by seals in the 4+5th segment. The existence of seals in 1st segment seems important for accumulation in the 2nd segment.