Measuring and incorporating vulnerability into conservation planning

Conservation planning is the process of locating and designing conservation areas to promote the persistence of biodiversity in situ. To do this, conservation areas must be able to mitigate at least some of the proximate threats to biodiversity. Information on threatening processes and the relative vulnerability of areas and natural features to these processes is therefore crucial for effective conservation planning. However, measuring and incorporating vulnerability into conservation planning have been problematic. We develop a conceptual framework of the role of vulnerability assessments in conservation planning and propose a definition of vulnerability that incorporates three dimensions: exposure, intensity, and impact. We review and categorize methods for assessing the vulnerability of areas and the features they contain and identify the relative strengths and weaknesses of each broad approach, Our review highlights the need for further development and evaluation of approaches to assess vulnerability and for comparisons of their relative effectiveness.

Objectives for multiple-species conservation planning

The first step in conservation planning is to identify objectives. Most stated objectives for conservation, such as to maximize biodiversity outcomes, are too vague to be useful within a decision-making framework. One way to clarify the issue is to define objectives in terms of the risk of extinction for multiple species. Although the assessment of extinction risk for single species is common, few researchers have formulated an objective function that combines the extinction risks of multiple species. We sought to translate the broad goal of maximizing the viability of species into explicit objectives for use in a decision-theoretic approach to conservation planning. We formulated several objective functions based on extinction risk across many species and illustrated the differences between these objectives with simple examples. Each objective function was the mathematical representation of an approach to conservation and emphasized different levels of threat Our objectives included minimizing the joint probability of one or more extinctions, minimizing the expected number of extinctions, and minimizing the increase in risk of extinction from the best-case scenario. With objective functions based on joint probabilities of extinction across species, any correlations in extinction probabilities bad to be known or the resultant decisions were potentially misleading. Additive objectives, such as the expected number of extinctions, did not produce the same anomalies. We demonstrated that the choice of objective function is central to the decision-making process because alternative objective functions can lead to a different ranking of management options. Therefore, decision makers need to think carefully in selecting and defining their conservation goals.

Biodiversity conservation planning tools: Present status and challenges for the future

Species extinctions and the deterioration of other biodiversity features worldwide have led to the adoption of systematic conservation planning in many regions of the world. As a consequence, various software tools for conservation planning have been developed over the past twenty years. These, tools implement algorithms designed to identify conservation area networks for the representation and persistence of biodiversity features. Budgetary, ethical, and other sociopolitical constraints dictate that the prioritized sites represent biodiversity with minimum impact on human interests. Planning tools are typically also used to satisfy these criteria. This chapter reviews both the concepts and technical choices that underlie the development of these tools. Conservation planning problems can be formulated as optimization problems, and we evaluate the suitability of different algorithms for their solution. Finally, we also review some key issues associated with the use of these tools, such as computational efficiency, the effectiveness of taxa and abiotic parameters at choosing surrogates for biodiversity, the process of setting explicit targets of representation for biodiversity surrogates, and

Strategy-making process and firm performance in small firms

This paper argues that individual small firms just like large firms, place differing emphasis on strategy-making and may employ different modes of strategy-making. It offers a typology of the different modes of strategy-making that seem most likely to exist in small firms, and hypothesises how this typology relates to performance. It then describes the results of an empirical study of the strategy-making processes of small firms. The structural equation analysis of the data from 477 small firms with less than 100 employees indicates among other results that the simplistic, adaptive, intrapreneurial and participative modes of strategy-making exist in these small firms. Of these modes, the simplistic mode exhibits the strongest relationship with firm performance.

Intelligent decision support for family financial planning

In today’s financial markets characterized by constantly changing tax laws and increasingly complex transactions, the demand for family financial planning (FFP) services is rising dramatically. However, the current trend to develop advisory systems that focus mainly on the financial or investment side fails to consider the whole picture of FFP. Separating financial or investment advice from legal and accounting advice may result in conflicting advice or important omissions that could lead to users suffering financial loss. In this paper, we propose a conceptual model for FFP decision-making process, followed by a novel architecture to support an aggregated FFP decision process by utilizing intelligentagents and Web-services technology. A prototype system for supporting FFP decision is presented to demonstrate the advances of the proposed Web-service multi-agentsbased system architecture and business value.

Developing an enterprise simulator to support electronic supply chain for B2B electronic process

The application of any e-Solution promises significant returns. In particular, using internet technologies both within enterprises and across the supply (value) chain provides real opportunity, not only for operational improvement but also for innovative strategic positioning. However, significant questions obscure potential investment; how any value will actually be created and, importantly, how this value will be shared across the value chain is not clear. This paper will describe a programme of research that is developing an enterprise simulator that will provide a more fundamental understanding of the impact of e-Solutions across operational supply chains, in terms of both standard operational and financial measures of performance. An efficient supply chain reduces total costs of operations by sharing accurate real-time information and coordinating inter-organizational business processes. This form of electronic link between organizations is known as business-to-business (B2B) e-Business. The financial measures go beyond simple cost calculations to real bottom-line performance by modelling the financial transactions that business processes generate. The paper will show how this enterprise simulator allows for a complete supply chain to be modelled in this way across four key applications: control system design, virtual enterprises, pan-supply-chain performance metrics and supporting e-Supply-chain design methodology.

Information system planning in drug service:a case study

The development of an information system in Caribbean public sector organisations is usually seen as a matter of installing hardware and software according to a directive from senior management, without much planning. This causes huge investment in procuring hardware and software without improving overall system performance. Increasingly, Caribbean organisations are looking for assurances on information system performance before making investment decisions not only to satisfy the funding agencies, but also to be competitive in this dynamic and global business world. This study demonstrates an information system planning approach using a process-reengineering framework. Firstly, the stakeholders for the business functions are identified along with their relationships and requirements. Secondly, process reengineering is carried out to develop the system requirements. Accordingly, information technology is selected through detailed system requirement analysis. Thirdly, cost-benefit analysis, identification of critical success factors and risk analysis are carried out to strengthen the selection. The entire methodology has been demonstrated through an information system project in the Barbados drug service, a public sector organisation in the Caribbean.

Optimal production planning for PCB assembly

It is indisputable that printed circuit boards (PCBs) play a vital role in our daily lives. With the ever-increasing applications of PCBs, one of the crucial ways to increase a PCB manufacturer’s competitiveness in terms of operation efficiency is to minimize the production time so that the products can be introduced to the market sooner. Optimal Production Planning for PCB Assembly is the first book to focus on the optimization of the PCB assembly lines’ efficiency. This is done by: • integrating the component sequencing and the feeder arrangement problems together for both the pick-and-place machine and the chip shooter machine; • constructing mathematical models and developing an efficient and effective heuristic solution approach for the integrated problems for both types of placement machines, the line assignment problem, and the component allocation problem; and • developing a prototype of the PCB assembly planning system. The techniques proposed in Optimal Production Planning for PCB Assembly will enable process planners in the electronics manufacturing industry to improve the assembly line’s efficiency in their companies. Graduate students in operations research can familiarise themselves with the techniques and the applications of mathematical modeling after reading this advanced introduction to optimal production planning for PCB assembly.

Managing enterprise resource planning projects

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to help managers to successfully plan, implement, and operate enterprise resource planning (ERP) projects using a risk management framework. Design/methodology/approach – This paper adopted a combined literature review and case study method. Using literature review, the paper first identified major issues of managing ERP projects and develops a risk management framework for managing those issues. The proposed risk management framework was then applied to a ERP implementation project of a UK-based energy services group and its effectiveness for managing ERP projects implementation had been demonstrated. Additionally, the risk factors as identified from the case application are compared with the risk factors from the previous researches so as to suggest mitigating measures. Findings – All the risk factors are categorized into planning, implementation and operations phases along with project processes, organizational transformation and information technology (IT) perspectives. Project implementation phase is the most vulnerable to failure. The case study results reveal that the effect of other projects on on-going ERP project, management of overall IT architecture and non-availability of resources for organizational transformation are most critical from likelihood and impact perspectives. Managing risk across various phases of project and equal emphasize to effective project management, organizational transformation and IT adoption are the key to success in ERP implementation. Practical implications – The risk factors, which were identified using literature review and the case study, have great significance as mitigating measures of those risks may result successful implementation of ERP projects in the industry. Additionally, proposed risk management framework could be customized to implement ERP projects elsewhere. Originality/value – ERP projects are risky as they are capital intensive, technically complex, and call for organizational transformation. There are both success and failure stories. However, both researchers and practitioners agree, that if it can be implemented and operated successfully and benefits should be achievable. Although there are many studies on ERP implementation, little has been discussed on managing risks of ERP projects. Therefore, this paper bridges the gap.

Determining the influence of strategic planning's elements in its success

This paper presents the results of a multinational large-scale survey, investigating the current trends in strategic planning. The survey was conducted online using the Warwick Business School alumni database. Considering the development and implementation of strategy within a multi-process framework, the 'Strategic Development Process' model by Dyson and O'Brien (1998), using factor analysis, four distinct factors of strategic planning have been produced and with regression analysis, their impact on the success of strategic planning from a process point of view has been assessed. The results indicate that significant variation in practices involved is created by complexity either of the organizational size or environmental turbulence.

Intelligent execution monitoring and error analysis in planning involving processes

An intelligent agent, operating in an external world which cannot be fully described in its internal world model, must be able to monitor the success of a previously generated plan and to respond to any errors which may have occurred. The process of error analysis requires the ability to reason in an expert fashion about time and about processes occurring in the world. Reasoning about time is needed to deal with causality. Reasoning about processes is needed since the direct effects of a plan action can be completely specified when the plan is generated, but the indirect effects cannot. For example, the action `open tap' leads with certainty to `tap open', whereas whether there will be a fluid flow and how long it might last is more difficult to predict. The majority of existing planning systems cannot handle these kinds of reasoning, thus limiting their usefulness. This thesis argues that both kinds of reasoning require a complex internal representation of the world. The use of Qualitative Process Theory and an interval-based representation of time are proposed as a representation scheme for such a world model. The planning system which was constructed has been tested on a set of realistic planning scenarios. It is shown that even simple planning problems, such as making a cup of coffee, require extensive reasoning if they are to be carried out successfully. The final Chapter concludes that the planning system described does allow the correct solution of planning problems involving complex side effects, which planners up to now have been unable to solve.