Exploring the adoption and implementation of discrete and integrated IT systems: A Framework for analysis

Despite the substantial organisational benefits of integrated IT, the implementation of such systems – and particularly Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems – has tended to be problematic, stimulating an extensive body of research into ERP implementation. This research has remained largely separate from the main IT implementation literature. At the same time, studies of IT implementation have generally adopted either a factor or process approach; both have major limitations. To address these imitations, factor and process perspectives are combined here in a unique model of IT implementation. We argue that • the organisational factors which determine successful implementation differ for integrated and traditional, discrete IT • failure to manage these differences is a major source of integrated IT failure. The factor/process model is used as a framework for proposing differences between discrete and integrated IT.

Study on Some Key Problems Related to Integrated Energy Systems: 区域综合能源系统若干问题研究

The research on integrated energy system technology meets the major national strategic needs of China. Focusing on the vital theory of planning and optimal operation of integrated energy system, six fundamental problems in the study of integrated energy system are proposed systematically, including the common modeling technology for integrated energy system, the integrated simulation of integrated energy system, the planning theory and method of integrated energy system, the security theory and method of integrated energy system, the optimal operation and control of integrated energy system, the benefit assessment and operational mechanisms of integrated energy system. The status of domestic and foreign research directions related to each scientific problems are surveyed and anticipated.

INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS: CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS

The purpose of this paper is to, in a holistic way, identify and explore the critical success factors (CSFs) that are considered in the context of the growing discussions, movements, proposed models, and case studies about the integration of management systems (MSs). This work is an investigation focused on the integration of MSs into an integrated management system (IMS) and the proposed approach takes into account the literature review as well as the experience gained by the authors on researches about Portuguese enterprises. This qualitative and empirical research, investigated the integration of MSs from existing scientific publications for the period 1999 to 2014, on-going case studies and one inquiry conducted by the authors. This research contributes to a better understanding of the CSFs regarding the integration of MSs and thus provides an insight on the preventive management. This research shows an evident lack of information regarding case studies on CSFs for integrated management systems (IMSs) and has identified a set of relevant CSFs, for MSs integration and associated guidelines that organizations should take as a priority, in order to be able to manage, on a preventive way, the implementation of IMSs, and consequently to become more competitive with added value for the stakeholders.

Ideotyping integrated aquaculture systems to balance soil nutrients

Due to growing land scarcity and lack of nutrient inputs, African farmers switched from shifting cultivation to continuous cropping and extended crop area by bringing fragile lands such as river banks and hill slopes into production. This accelerated soil fertility decline caused by erosion, harvesting and insufficient nutrient replenishment. We explored the feasibility to reduce nutrient depletion by increasing nutrient utilization efficiencies, while diversifying and increasing food production through the development of integrated aquaculture – agriculture (IAA). Considering the climatic conditions prevailing in Kenyan highlands, aquaculture production scenarios were ideotyped per agro-ecological zone. These aquaculture production scenarios were integrated into existing NUTrient MONitoring (NUTMON) farm survey data for the area. The nutrient balances and flows of the resulting IAA-systems were compared to present land use. The effects of IAA development on nutrient depletion and total food production were evaluated. With the development of IAA systems, nutrient depletion rates dropped by 23–35%, agricultural production increased by 2–26% and overall farm food production increased by 22–70%. The study demonstrates that from a bio-physical point of view, the development of IAA-systems in Africa is technically possible and could raise soil fertility and total farm production. Further studies that evaluate the economic feasibility and impacts on the livelihood of farming households are recommended.

Socio-economic characterization of integrated cropping systems in urban and peri-urban agriculture of Faisalabad, Pakistan

Faisalabad city is surrounded by agricultural lands, where farmers are growing vegetables, grain crops, and fodder for auto-consumption and local marketing. To study the socioeconomic impact and resource use in these urban and peri-urban agricultural production (UPA) systems, a baseline survey was conducted during 2009–2010. A total of 140 households were selected using a stratified sampling method and interviewed with a structured questionnaire. The results revealed that 96 % of the households rely on agriculture as their main occupation. Thirty percent of the households were owners of the land and the rest cultivated either rented or sharecropped land. Most of the families (70 %) were headed by a member with primary education, and only 10 % of the household head had a secondary school certificate. Irrigationwater was obtained from waste water (37 %), canals (27 %), and mixed alternative sources (36 %). A total of 35 species were cultivated in the UPA systems of which were 65% vegetables, 15% grain and fodder crops, and 5% medicinal plants. Fifty-nine percent of the households cultivated wheat, mostly for auto-consumption. The 51 % of the respondents grew cauliflower (Brassica oleracea L.) and gourds (Cucurbitaceae) in the winter and summer seasons, respectively. Group marketing was uncommon and most of the farmers sold their produce at the farm gate (45 %) and on local markets (43 %). Seeds and fertilizers were available from commission agents and dealers on a credit basis with the obligation to pay by harvested produce. A major problem reported by the UPA farmers of Faisalabad was the scarcity of high quality irrigation water, especially during the hot dry summer months, in addition to lacking adequate quantities of mineral fertilizers and other inputs during sowing time. Half of the respondents estimated their daily income to be less than 1.25 US$ and spent almost half of it on food. Monthly average household income and expenses were 334 and 237 US$, respectively.

I-SS: integrated supervision systems approach based on interactive components

Process supervision is the activity focused on monitoring the process operation in order to deduce conditions to maintain the normality including when faults are present Depending on the number/distribution/heterogeneity of variables, behaviour situations, sub-processes, etc. from processes, human operators and engineers do not easily manipulate the information. This leads to the necessity of automation of supervision activities. Nevertheless, the difficulty to deal with the information complicates the design and development of software applications. We present an approach called "integrated supervision systems". It proposes multiple supervisors coordination to supervise multiple sub-processes whose interactions permit one to supervise the global process

Development and illustrative outputs of the Community Integrated Assessment System (CIAS), a multi-institutional modular integrated assessment approach for modelling climate change.

This paper describes the development and first results of the “Community Integrated Assessment System” (CIAS), a unique multi-institutional modular and flexible integrated assessment system for modelling climate change. Key to this development is the supporting software infrastructure, SoftIAM. Through it, CIAS is distributed between the community of institutions which has each contributed modules to the CIAS system. At the heart of SoftIAM is the Bespoke Framework Generator (BFG) which enables flexibility in the assembly and composition of individual modules from a pool to form coupled models within CIAS, and flexibility in their deployment onto the available software and hardware resources. Such flexibility greatly enhances modellers’ ability to re-configure the CIAS coupled models to answer different questions, thus tracking evolving policy needs. It also allows rigorous testing of the robustness of IA modelling results to the use of different component modules representing the same processes (for example, the economy). Such processes are often modelled in very different ways, using different paradigms, at the participating institutions. An illustrative application to the study of the relationship between the economy and the earth’s climate system is provided.

Integrated transport systems in Latin America and the Caribbean: converging initiatives

The year 1998 is shaping up to be a year of grand regional initiatives focusing on the setting up of regional integrated transport systems. The past six months have seen intense activity in Latin America and the Caribbean. It would seem that the public and private sectors have agreed to launch converging initiatives, each from its own perspectives. In Central America, a multimodal transport project is already under way, while a new transport master plan put forward by the Permanent Secretariat of the General Treaty on Central American Economic Integration (SIECA) is being prepared; in South America, the Latin American Integration Association (LAIA) and Latin American Railways Association (ALAF) have launched a prefeasability study concerning a plan for the sustainable development of transport; the second Summit of the Americas adopted a plan of action that now takes in the work of the Executive Committee of the Western Hemisphere Transport Initiative; and the private sector also held its regional meeting in São Paulo, Brazil, with Intermodal 98, the fourth in a series. These initiatives are taking shape around similar lines of thought and action; their backgrounds are similar, and they tend towards the same goal: taking action in the immediate environment with a view to expanding linkages with the global economy. The background is the observation that after several years of growth, transport infrastructure, equipment and services appear unable to satisfy the growing demand of international trade in the region. The goal is to implement the requisite reforms in the transport sector so as to meet the challenges posed by global competition. This issue of the Bulletin is devoted to news about recent initiatives and possible future developments.

Compliance problems of small utility systems with the Powerplant and Industrial Fuel Use Act of 1978.

"DOE/RG-0045."

Integrated information systems for a contract based company

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Parametric Identification and Diagnosis of Integrated Navigation Systems in Bench Test Process

Growth of complexity and functional importance of integrated navigation systems (INS) leads to high losses at the equipment refusals. The paper is devoted to the INS diagnosis system development, allowing identifying the cause of malfunction. The proposed solutions permit taking into account any changes in sensors dynamic and accuracy characteristics by means of the appropriate error models coefficients. Under actual conditions of INS operation, the determination of current values of the sensor models and estimation filter parameters rely on identification procedures. The results of full-scale experiments are given, which corroborate the expediency of INS error models parametric identification in bench test process.

The Experience of Development and Application Perspectives of Learning Integrated Expert Systems in the Educational Process

The main principles and experience of development of learning integrated expert systems based on the third generation instrumental complex AT-TECHNOLOGY are considered.

Static and Dynamic Integrated Expert Systems: State of the Art, Problems and Trends

Systemized analysis of trends towards integration and hybridization in contemporary expert systems is conducted, and a particular class of applied expert systems, integrated expert systems, is considered. For this purpose, terminology, classification, and models, proposed by the author, are employed. As examples of integrated expert systems, Russian systems designed in this field and available to the majority of specialists are analyzed.