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

O Professor do séc. XXI e o uso das aplicações informáticas

Com este projeto pretendemos dar relevância a algumas ideias que emergem da observação diária da prática profissional da investigadora no sentido em que os professores não usam as TIC nas suas práticas pedagógicas e quando o fazem, essas práticas não são pedagogicamente muito consistentes. Assim, foi apontada como questão de partida: Está o professor do século XXI disponível para utilizar e rentabilizar as aplicações informáticas disponíveis nas redes profissionais das escolas? Assim, procurámos um referencial teórico de estudo sobre as novas competências pessoais e profissionais que o professor do século XXI deve possuir para ser capaz de dar resposta às exigências das escolas de hoje; da disponibilidade do professor do séc. XXI para a utilização das aplicações informáticas e de como as aplicações informáticas contribuem para melhorar o trabalho do professor do século XXI. O plano de resolução foi direcionado em três áreas: o ser professor, as aplicações informáticas disponíveis na rede da escola e a avaliação dos alunos, visando a implementação de várias ações que propõem-se superar os problemas encontrados e promover a melhoria da profissionalidade dos docentes.

EZ-BUD : orçamentação na nuvem

Não é novidade que o paradigma vigente baseia-se na Internet, em que cada vez mais aplicações mudam o seu modelo de negócio relativamente a licenciamento e manutenção, para passar a oferecer ao utilizador final uma aplicação mais acessível no que concerne a licenciamento e custos de manutenção, já que as aplicações se encontram distribuídas eliminando os custos de capitais e operacionais inerentes a uma arquitetura centralizada. Com a disseminação das Interfaces de Programação de Aplicações (Application Programming Interfaces – API) baseadas na Internet, os programadores passaram a poder desenvolver aplicações que utilizam funcionalidades disponibilizadas por terceiros, sem terem que as programar de raiz. Neste conceito, a API das aplicações Google® permitem a distribuição de aplicações a um mercado muito vasto e a integração com ferramentas de produtividade, sendo uma oportunidade para a difusão de ideias e conceitos. Este trabalho descreve o processo de conceção e implementação de uma plataforma, usando as tecnologias HTML5, Javascript, PHP e MySQL com integração com ®Google Apps, com o objetivo de permitir ao utilizador a preparação de orçamentos, desde o cálculo de preços de custo compostos, preparação dos preços de venda, elaboração do caderno de encargos e respetivo cronograma.

Health informatics: improving patient-centred healthcare pathway

Nowadays the use of information and communication technology is becoming prevalent in many aspects of healthcare services from patient registration, to consultation, treatment and pathology tests request. Manual interface techniques have dominated data-capture activities in primary care and secondary care settings for decades. Despites the improvements made in IT, usability issues still remain over the use of I/O devices like the computer keyboard, touch-sensitive screens, light pen and barcodes. Furthermore, clinicians have to use several computer applications when providing healthcare services to patients. One of the problems faced by medical professionals is the lack of data integrity between the different software applications which in turn can hinder the provision of healthcare services tailored to the needs of the patients. The use of digital pen and paper technology integrated with legacy medical systems hold the promise of improving healthcare quality. This paper discusses the issue of data integrity in e-health systems and proposes the modelling of "Smart Forms" via semiotics to potentially improve integrity between legacy systems, making the work of medical professionals easier and improve the quality of care in primary care practices and hospitals.

Building a Learning Architecture : e-Learning and e-Services

With the rapid advancement of the webtechnology, more and more educationalresources, including software applications forteaching/learning methods, are available acrossthe web, which enables learners to access thelearning materials and use various ways oflearning at any time and any place. Moreover,various web-based teaching/learning approacheshave been developed during the last decade toenhance the capability of both educators andlearners. Particularly, researchers from bothcomputer science and education are workingtogether, collaboratively focusing ondevelopment of pedagogically enablingtechnologies which are believed to improve theinfrastructure of education systems andprocesses, including curriculum developmentmodels, teaching/learning methods, managementof educational resources, systematic organizationof communication and dissemination ofknowledge and skills required by and adapted tousers. Despite of its fast development, however,there are still great gaps between learningintentions, organization of supporting resources,management of educational structures,knowledge points to be learned and interknowledgepoint relationships such as prerequisites,assessment of learning outcomes, andtechnical and pedagogic approaches. Moreconcretely, the issues have been widelyaddressed in literature include a) availability andusefulness of resources, b) smooth integration ofvarious resources and their presentation, c)learners’ requirements and supposed learningoutcomes, d) automation of learning process interms of its schedule and interaction, and e)customization of the resources and agilemanagement of the learning services for deliveryas well as necessary human interferences.Considering these problems and bearing in mindthe advanced web technology of which weshould make full use, in this report we willaddress the following two aspects of systematicarchitecture of learning/teaching systems: 1)learning objects – a semantic description andorganization of learning resources using the webservice models and methods, and 2) learningservices discovery and learning goals match foreducational coordination and learning serviceplanning.

Understanding e-government technology transfer: evidence from the transfer of a patent management system from EPO to INPI

Drawing upon Brazilian experience, this research explores some of the key issues to be addressed in using e-government technical cooperation designed to enhance service provision of Patent Offices in developing countries. While the development of software applications is often seen merely as a technical engineering exercise, localization and adaptation are context bounded matters that are characterized by many entanglements of human and non-humans. In this work, technical, legal and policy implications of technical cooperation are also discussed in a complex and dynamic implementation environment characterized by the influence of powerful hidden agendas associated with the arena of intellectual property (IP), which are shaped by recent technological, economic and social developments in our current knowledge-based economy. This research employs two different theoretical lenses to examine the same case, which consists of transfer of a Patent Management System (PMS) from the European Patent Office (EPO) to the Brazilian Patent Office that is locally named ‘Instituto Nacional da Propriedade Industrial’ (INPI). Fundamentally, we have opted for a multi-paper thesis comprising an introduction, three scientific articles and a concluding chapter that discusses and compares the insights obtained from each article. The first article is dedicated to present an extensive literature review on e-government and technology transfer. This review allowed the proposition on an integrative meta-model of e-government technology transfer, which is named E-government Transfer Model (ETM). Subsequently, in the second article, we present Actor-Network Theory (ANT) as a framework for understanding the processes of transferring e-government technologies from Patent Offices in developed countries to Patent Offices in developing countries. Overall, ANT is seen as having a potentially wide area of application and being a promising theoretical vehicle in IS research to carry out a social analysis of messy and heterogeneous processes that drive technical change. Drawing particularly on the works of Bruno Latour, Michel Callon and John Law, this work applies this theory to a longitudinal study of the management information systems supporting the Brazilian Patent Office restructuration plan that involved the implementation of a European Patent Management System in Brazil. Based upon the ANT elements, we follow the actors to identify and understand patterns of group formation associated with the technical cooperation between the Brazilian Patent Office (INPI) and the European Patent Office (EPO). Therefore, this research explores the intricate relationships and interactions between human and non-human actors in their attempts to construct various network alliances, thereby demonstrating that technologies embodies compromise. Finally, the third article applies ETM model as a heuristic frame to examine the same case previously studied from an ANT perspective. We have found evidence that ETM has strong heuristic qualities that can guide practitioners who are engaged in the transfer of e-government systems from developed to developing countries. The successful implementation of e-government projects in developing countries is important to stimulate economic growth and, as a result, we need to understand the processes through which such projects are being implemented and succeed. Here, we attempt to improve understanding on the development and stabilization of a complex social-technical system in the arena of intellectual property. Our preliminary findings suggest that e-government technology transfer is an inherently political process and that successful outcomes require continuous incremental actions and improvisations to address the ongoing issues as they emerge.

Estendendo CRefine para o suporte de táticas de refinamento

The use of increasingly complex software applications is demanding greater investment in the development of such systems to ensure applications with better quality. Therefore, new techniques are being used in Software Engineering, thus making the development process more effective. Among these new approaches, we highlight Formal Methods, which use formal languages that are strongly based on mathematics and have a well-defined semantics and syntax. One of these languages is Circus, which can be used to model concurrent systems. It was developed from the union of concepts from two other specification languages: Z, which specifies systems with complex data, and CSP, which is normally used to model concurrent systems. Circus has an associated refinement calculus, which can be used to develop software in a precise and stepwise fashion. Each step is justified by the application of a refinement law (possibly with the discharge of proof obligations). Sometimes, the same laws can be applied in the same manner in different developments or even in different parts of a single development. A strategy to optimize this calculus is to formalise these application as a refinement tactic, which can then be used as a single transformation rule. CRefine was developed to support the Circus refinement calculus. However, before the work presented here, it did not provide support for refinement tactics. The aim of this work is to provide tool support for refinement tactics. For that, we develop a new module in CRefine, which automates the process of defining and applying refinement tactics that are formalised in the tactic language ArcAngelC. Finally, we validate the extension by applying the new module in a case study, which used the refinement tactics in a refinement strategy for verification of SPARK Ada implementations of control systems. In this work, we apply our module in the first two phases of this strategy

Virtual instrumentation: A practical approach to control and supervision process

This work describes a control and supervision application takes into account the virtual instrumentation advantages to control and supervision industrial manufacturing stations belonging to the modular production system MPS® by Festo. These stations integrate sensors, actuators, conveyor belt and other industrial elements. The focus in this approach was to replace the use of programmable logic controllers by a computer equipped with a software application based on Labview and, together, performs the functions of traditional instruments and PLCs. The manufacturing stations had their processes modeled and simulated in Petri nets. After the models were implemented in Labview environment. Tests and previous similar works in MPS® installed in Automation Laboratory, at UNESP Sorocaba campus, showed the materials and methods used in this work allow the successful use of virtual instrumentation. The results indicate the technology as an advantageous approach for the automation of industrial processes, with gains in flexibility and reduction in project cost. © 2011 IEEE.

Proposta de gerenciamento de dados para monitoramento de saúde estrutural utilizando redes de sensores ópticos FBG

Devido às suas características únicas, redes de sensores ópticos têm encontrado aplicação em muitos campos, como em Engenharia Civil, Engenharia Geotécnica, Aeronáutica, Energia e Indústrias de Petróleo & Gás. Soluções de monitoramento baseadas nessa tecnologia têm se mostrado particularmente rentáveis e podem ser aplicadas às estruturas de grande porte, onde centenas de sensores devem ser implantados para medições a longo prazo de diferentes parâmetros mecânicos e físicos. Sensores baseados em Grades de Bragg em fibra (FBGs) são a solução mais comumente utilizada no Monitoramento de Saúde Estrutural (SHM) e as medições são realizadas por instrumentos especiais conhecidos como interrogadores ópticos. Taxas de aquisição cada vez mais elevadas têm sido possíveis utilizando interrogadores ópticos mais recentes, o que dá origem a um grande volume de dados cuja manipulação, armazenamento, gerenciamento e visualização podem demandar aplicações de software especiais. Este trabalho apresenta duas aplicações de software de tempo real desenvolvidas para esses fins: Interrogator Abstraction (InterAB) e Web-based System (WbS). As inovações neste trabalho incluem a integração, sincronização, independência, segurança, processamento e visualização em tempo real, e persistência de dados ou armazenamento proporcionados pelo trabalho conjunto das aplicações desenvolvidas. Os resultados obtidos durante testes em laboratório e ambiente real demonstraram a eficiência, robustez e flexibilidade desses softwares para diferentes tipos de sensores e interrogadores ópticos, garantindo atomicidade, consistência, isolamento e durabilidade dos dados persistidos pelo InterAB e apresentados pelo WbS.

Aplicação de redes NeuroFuzzy ao processamento de peças automotivas por meio de injeção de polímeros

The injection molding of automotive parts is a complex process due to the many non-linear and multivariable phenomena that occur simultaneously. Commercial software applications exist for modeling the parameters of polymer injection but can be prohibitively expensive. It is possible to identify these parameters analytically, but applying classical theories of transport phenomena requires accurate information about the injection machine, product geometry, and process parameters. However, neurofuzzy networks, which achieve a synergy by combining the learning capabilities of an artificial neural network with a fuzzy set's inference mechanism, have shown success in this field. The purpose of this paper was to use a multilayer perceptron artificial neural network and a radial basis function artificial neural network combined with fuzzy sets to produce an inference mechanism that could predict injection mold cycle times. The results confirmed neurofuzzy networks as an effective alternative to solving such problems.

COBAMOS: Endnutzerprogrammierung auf Basis nachrichtenbasierter Komponentenvernetzung

Die Aufgabenstellung, welche dieser Dissertation zugrunde liegt, lässt sich kurz als die Untersuchung von komponentenbasierten Konzepten zum Einsatz in der Softwareentwicklung durch Endanwender beschreiben. In den letzten 20 bis 30 Jahren hat sich das technische Umfeld, in dem ein Großteil der Arbeitnehmer seine täglichen Aufgaben verrichtet, grundlegend verändert. Der Computer, früher in Form eines Großrechners ausschließlich die Domäne von Spezialisten, ist nun ein selbstverständlicher Bestandteil der täglichen Arbeit. Der Umgang mit Anwendungsprogrammen, die dem Nutzer erlauben in einem gewissen Rahmen neue, eigene Funktionalität zu definieren, ist in vielen Bereichen so selbstverständlich, dass viele dieser Tätigkeiten nicht bewusst als Programmieren wahrgenommen werden. Da diese Nutzer nicht notwendigerweise in der Entwicklung von Software ausgebildet sind, benötigen sie entsprechende Unterstützung bei diesen Tätigkeiten. Dies macht deutlich, welche praktische Relevanz die Untersuchungen in diesem Bereich haben. Zur Erstellung eines Programmiersystems für Endanwender wird zunächst ein flexibler Anwendungsrahmen entwickelt, welcher sich als Basis zur Erstellung solcher Systeme eignet. In Softwareprojekten sind sich ändernde Anforderungen und daraus resultierende Notwendigkeiten ein wichtiger Aspekt. Dies wird im Entwurf des Frameworks durch Konzepte zur Bereitstellung von wieder verwendbarer Funktionalität durch das Framework und Möglichkeiten zur Anpassung und Erweiterung der vorhandenen Funktionalität berücksichtigt. Hier ist zum einen der Einsatz einer serviceorientierten Architektur innerhalb der Anwendung und zum anderen eine komponentenorientierte Variante des Kommando-Musters zu nennen. Zum anderen wird ein Konzept zur Kapselung von Endnutzerprogrammiermodellen in Komponenten erarbeitet. Dieser Ansatz ermöglicht es, unterschiedliche Modelle als Grundlage der entworfenen Entwicklungsumgebung zu verwenden. Im weiteren Verlauf der Arbeit wird ein Programmiermodell entworfen und unter Verwendung des zuvor genannten Frameworks implementiert. Damit dieses zur Nutzung durch Endanwender geeignet ist, ist eine Anhebung der zur Beschreibung eines Softwaresystems verwendeten Abstraktionsebene notwendig. Dies wird durch die Verwendung von Komponenten und einem nachrichtenbasierten Kompositionsmechanismus erreicht. Die vorgenommene Realisierung ist dabei noch nicht auf konkrete Anwendungsfamilien bezogen, diese Anpassungen erfolgen in einem weiteren Schritt für zwei unterschiedliche Anwendungsbereiche.

Observability of high density tracing molecular lines in lensed galaxies with the Atacama large millimeter array

Lo scopo di questo lavoro di tesi è indagare le capacità di ALMA di osservare il continuo e le righe molecolari di emissione di HCN, HCO+ e HNC, in galassie lensate ad alto z, nelle prime fasi della loro formazione. Per farlo vengono utilizzate osservazioni ALMA di righe di emissione molecolare, relative a dati pubblici di Ciclo 0. Queste osservazioni vengono utilizzate per simulare in modo realistico l’emissione da parte di galassie ad alto z e la risposta osservativa del telescopio, assumendo diverse possibili geometrie di lensing. Inoltre le recenti osservazioni ALMA sono state utilizzate per aggiornare le relazioni già esistenti tra la luminosità FIR e la luminosità delle righe molecolari. Queste recenti osservazioni con maggiore sensibilità e risoluzione angolare, sembrano essere in buon accordo con le precedenti osservazioni. Per realizzare questo progetto di tesi, sono stati scaricati dall’archivio ALMA i dati non calibrati relativi a due sorgenti ben studiate: NGC1614, rappresentativa delle galassie di tipo starburst ed IRAS 20551-4250, un AGN oscurato. Il processo di calibrazione è stato ripetuto per esaminare le proprietà dei cubi di dati utilizzando il pacchetto Common Astronomy Software Applications (CASA). Le righe spettrali osservate e l’emissione del continuo sono state successivamente estrapolate ad alto z riscalando adeguatamente le distanze, le dimensioni delle sorgenti e le frequenze di emissione. In seguito è stato applicato un modello di lensing gravitazionale basato su quello di Lapi et al. (2012). Sono state considerate diverse configurazioni tra lente e sorgente per ottenere diverse geometrie delle immagini e diversi fattori di amplificazione. Infine stato utilizzato il software CASA per simulare le osservazioni ALMA in modo da verificare le capacità osservative del telescopio al variare della geometria del sistema. Per ogni riga molecolare e per l’emissione del continuo sono state determinate la sensibilit e la risoluzione che possono essere raggiunte con le osservazioni ALMA e sono state analizzate alcune strategie osservative per effettuare survey di righe spettrali in oggetti lensati. Inoltre stata analizzata la possibilit di caratterizzare oggetti starburst ed AGN dai rapporti tra le righe di emissione delle molecole traccianti di alta densit. Le prestazioni di ALMA consentiranno di distinguere e stimare i contributi relativi di SB ed AGN in galassie lensate a z > 2.5, quindi vicine alla loro presunta epoca di formazione (Lapi et al. 2010), in meno di 5 minuti di osservazione per qualsiasi fattore di magnificazione. Nel presente lavoro sono state inoltre discusse alcune strategie osservative per condurre survey o followup per osservare le righe di HCN(4-3), HCO+(4-3) e HNC(4-3) in galassie lensate a redshift 2.5 < z < 3, dimostrando che sono possibili per campioni statisticamente significativi in tempi relativamente brevi.

Authoring tools and management information systems: study of a generalizable architecture

The need to effectively manage the documentation covering the entire production process, from the concept phase right through to market realise, constitutes a key issue in the creation of a successful and highly competitive product. For almost forty years the most commonly used strategies to achieve this have followed Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) guidelines. Translated into information management systems at the end of the '90s, this methodology is now widely used by companies operating all over the world in many different sectors. PLM systems and editor programs are the two principal types of software applications used by companies for their process aotomation. Editor programs allow to store in documents the information related to the production chain, while the PLM system stores and shares this information so that it can be used within the company and made it available to partners. Different software tools, which capture and store documents and information automatically in the PLM system, have been developed in recent years. One of them is the ''DirectPLM'' application, which has been developed by the Italian company ''Focus PLM''. It is designed to ensure interoperability between many editors and the Aras Innovator PLM system. In this dissertation we present ''DirectPLM2'', a new version of the previous software application DirectPLM. It has been designed and developed as prototype during the internship by Focus PLM. Its new implementation separates the abstract logic of business from the real commands implementation, previously strongly dependent on Aras Innovator. Thanks to its new design, Focus PLM can easily develop different versions of DirectPLM2, each one devised for a specific PLM system. In fact, the company can focus the development effort only on a specific set of software components which provides specialized functions interacting with that particular PLM system. This allows shorter Time-To-Market and gives the company a significant competitive advantage.