Complex events in business processes

Flow-oriented process modeling languages have a long tradition in the area of Business Process Management and are widely used for capturing activities with their behavioral and data dependencies. Individual events were introduced for triggering process instantiation and activities. However, real-world business cases drive the need for also covering complex event patterns as they are known in the field of Complex Event Processing. Therefore, this paper puts forward a catalog of requirements for handling complex events in process models, which can be used as reference framework for assessing process definition languages and systems. An assessment of BPEL and BPMN is provided.

Quantum-like non-separability of concept combinations, emergent associates and abduction

Consider the concept combination ‘pet human’. In word association experiments, human subjects produce the associate ‘slave’ in relation to this combination. The striking aspect of this associate is that it is not produced as an associate of ‘pet’, or ‘human’ in isolation. In other words, the associate ‘slave’ seems to be emergent. Such emergent associations sometimes have a creative character and cognitive science is largely silent about how we produce them. Departing from a dimensional model of human conceptual space, this article will explore concept combinations, and will argue that emergent associations are a result of abductive reasoning within conceptual space, that is, below the symbolic level of cognition. A tensor-based approach is used to model concept combinations allowing such combinations to be formalized as interacting quantum systems. Free association norm data is used to motivate the underlying basis of the conceptual space. It is shown by analogy how some concept combinations may behave like quantum-entangled (non-separable) particles. Two methods of analysis were presented for empirically validating the presence of non-separable concept combinations in human cognition. One method is based on quantum theory and another based on comparing a joint (true theoretic) probability distribution with another distribution based on a separability assumption using a chi-square goodness-of-fit test. Although these methods were inconclusive in relation to an empirical study of bi-ambiguous concept combinations, avenues for further refinement of these methods are identified.

Non-compositional concepts and quantum tests

Compositionality is a frequently made assumption in linguistics, and yet many human subjects reveal highly non-compositional word associations when confronted with novel concept combinations. This article will show how a non-compositional account of concept combinations can be supplied by modelling them as interacting quantum systems.

Modelling the interaction of keratinocytes and fibroblasts during normal and abnormal wound healing processes

The crosstalk between fibroblasts and keratinocytes is a vital component of the wound healing process, and involves the activity of a number of growth factors and cytokines. In this work, we develop a mathematical model of this crosstalk in order to elucidate the effects of these interactions on the regeneration of collagen in a wound that heals by second intention. We consider the role of four components that strongly affect this process: transforming growth factor-beta, platelet-derived growth factor, interleukin-1 and keratinocyte growth factor. The impact of this network of interactions on the degradation of an initial fibrin clot, as well as its subsequent replacement by a matrix that is mainly comprised of collagen, is described through an eight-component system of nonlinear partial differential equations. Numerical results, obtained in a two-dimensional domain, highlight key aspects of this multifarious process such as reepithelialisation. The model is shown to reproduce many of the important features of normal wound healing. In addition, we use the model to simulate the treatment of two pathological cases: chronic hypoxia, which can lead to chronic wounds; and prolonged inflammation, which has been shown to lead to hypertrophic scarring. We find that our model predictions are qualitatively in agreement with previously reported observations, and provide an alternative pathway for gaining insight into this complex biological process.

Optimising container processes at multimodal seaport terminals : an integrated approach and application

A Multimodal Seaport Container Terminal (MSCT) is a complex system which requires careful planning and control in order to operate efficiently. It consists of a number of subsystems that require optimisation of the operations within them, as well as synchronisation of machines and containers between the various subsystems. Inefficiency in the terminal can delay ships from their scheduled timetables, as well as cause delays in delivering containers to their inland destinations, both of which can be very costly to their operators. The purpose of this PhD thesis is to use Operations Research methodologies to optimise and synchronise these subsystems as an integrated application. An initial model is developed for the overall MSCT; however, due to a large number of assumptions that had to be made, as well as other issues, it is found to be too inaccurate and infeasible for practical use. Instead, a method of developing models for each subsystem is proposed that then be integrated with each other. Mathematical models are developed for the Storage Area System (SAS) and Intra-terminal Transportation System (ITTS). The SAS deals with the movement and assignment of containers to stacks within the storage area, both when they arrive and when they are rehandled to retrieve containers below them. The ITTS deals with scheduling the movement of containers and machines between the storage areas and other sections of the terminal, such as the berth and road/rail terminals. Various constructive heuristics are explored and compared for these models to produce good initial solutions for large-sized problems, which are otherwise impractical to compute by exact methods. These initial solutions are further improved through the use of an innovative hyper-heuristic algorithm that integrates the SAS and ITTS solutions together and optimises them through meta-heuristic techniques. The method by which the two models can interact with each other as an integrated system will be discussed, as well as how this method can be extended to the other subsystems of the MSCT.

Information sharing in Onesocialweb using a multiple profile manager to better informed medical decision making processes

The study shows an alternative solution to existing efforts at solving the problem of how to centrally manage and synchronise users’ Multiple Profiles (MP) across multiple discrete social networks. Most social network users hold more than one social network account and utilise them in different ways depending on the digital context (Iannella, 2009a). They may, for example, enjoy friendly chat on Facebook1, professional discussion on LinkedIn2, and health information exchange on PatientsLikeMe3 In this thesis the researcher proposes a framework for the management of a user’s multiple online social network profiles. A demonstrator, called Multiple Profile Manager (MPM), will be showcased to illustrate how effective the framework will be. The MPM will achieve the required profile management and synchronisation using a free, open, decentralized social networking platform (OSW) that was proposed by the Vodafone Group in 2010. The proposed MPM will enable a user to create and manage an integrated profile (IP) and share/synchronise this profile with all their social networks. The necessary protocols to support the prototype are also proposed by the researcher. The MPM protocol specification defines an Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP) extension for sharing vCard and social network accounts information between the MPM Server, MPM Client, and social network sites (SNSs). . Therefore many web users need to manage disparate profiles across many distributed online sources. Maintaining these profiles is cumbersome, time-consuming, inefficient, and may lead to lost opportunity. The writer of this thesis adopted a research approach and a number of use cases for the implementation of the project. The use cases were created to capture the functional requirements of the MPM and to describe the interactions between users and the MPM. In the research a development process was followed in establishing the prototype and related protocols. The use cases were subsequently used to illustrate the prototype via the screenshots taken of the MPM client interfaces. The use cases also played a role in evaluating the outcomes of the research such as the framework, prototype, and the related protocols. An innovative application of this project is in the area of public health informatics. The researcher utilised the prototype to examine how the framework might benefit patients and physicians. The framework can greatly enhance health information management for patients and more importantly offer a more comprehensive personal health overview of patients to physicians. This will give a more complete picture of the patient’s background than is currently available and will prove helpful in providing the right treatment. The MPM prototype and related protocols have a high application value as they can be integrated into the real OSW platform and so serve users in the modern digital world. They also provide online users with a real platform for centrally storing their complete profile data, efficiently managing their personal information, and moreover, synchronising the overall complete profile with each of their discrete profiles stored in their different social network sites.

Wind-energy based path planning for electric unmanned aerial vehicles using Markov Decision Processes

Exploiting wind-energy is one possible way to ex- tend flight duration for Unmanned Arial Vehicles. Wind-energy can also be used to minimise energy consumption for a planned path. In this paper, we consider uncertain time-varying wind fields and plan a path through them. A Gaussian distribution is used to determine uncertainty in the Time-varying wind fields. We use Markov Decision Process to plan a path based upon the uncertainty of Gaussian distribution. Simulation results that compare the direct line of flight between start and target point and our planned path for energy consumption and time of travel are presented. The result is a robust path using the most visited cell while sampling the Gaussian distribution of the wind field in each cell.

Critical time scales for advection–diffusion–reaction processes

The concept of local accumulation time (LAT) was introduced by Berezhkovskii and coworkers in 2010–2011 to give a finite measure of the time required for the transient solution of a reaction–diffusion equation to approach the steady–state solution (Biophys J. 99, L59 (2010); Phys Rev E. 83, 051906 (2011)). Such a measure is referred to as a critical time. Here, we show that LAT is, in fact, identical to the concept of mean action time (MAT) that was first introduced by McNabb in 1991 (IMA J Appl Math. 47, 193 (1991)). Although McNabb’s initial argument was motivated by considering the mean particle lifetime (MPLT) for a linear death process, he applied the ideas to study diffusion. We extend the work of these authors by deriving expressions for the MAT for a general one–dimensional linear advection–diffusion–reaction problem. Using a combination of continuum and discrete approaches, we show that MAT and MPLT are equivalent for certain uniform–to-uniform transitions; these results provide a practical interpretation for MAT, by directly linking the stochastic microscopic processes to a meaningful macroscopic timescale. We find that for more general transitions, the equivalence between MAT and MPLT does not hold. Unlike other critical time definitions, we show that it is possible to evaluate the MAT without solving the underlying partial differential equation (pde). This makes MAT a simple and attractive quantity for practical situations. Finally, our work explores the accuracy of certain approximations derived using the MAT, showing that useful approximations for nonlinear kinetic processes can be obtained, again without treating the governing pde directly.

Matter

In this video, an abstract swirling colour-field animation is accompanied by a female voice-over that describes facts and analogies about the earth, the universe and our place in it. This work engages with scientific language and the signifying processes of analogy. It questions the capacity of language to describe epic ideas like the qualities and quantities of the universe and our place in it. By emphasizing the absurdity of describing the scale and formation of the universe through analogies with the ‘everyday’, this work draws attention to the limits of verbal language and its assumed relationship to rational thought.

The Impact of Information Technology Investments on Firm Processes and Performance

This book provides the much needed international dimension on the payoffs of information technology investments. The bulk of the research on the impact of information technology investments has been undertaken in developed economies, mainly the United States. This research provides an alternative dimension - a developing country perspective on how information technology investments impacts organizations. Secondly, there has been much debate and controversy on how we measure information technology investment payoffs. This research uses an innovative two-stage model where it proposes that information technology investments will first impact the process and improvement in the processes will then impact the performance. In doing so, it considers sectors of information technology investment rather than taking it as one. Finally, almost all prior studies in this area have considered only the tangible impact of information technology investments. This research proposes that one can only better understand the benefits by looking at both the tangible and intangible benefits.

Challenges in the context-aware management of business processes : a multiple case study

Current conceptualizations of organizational processes consider them as internally optimized yet static systems. Still, turbulences in the contextual environment of a firm often lead to adaptation requirements that these processes are unable to fulfil. Based on a multiple case study of the core processes of two large organizations, we offer an extended conceptualisation of business processes as complex adaptive systems. This conceptualization can enable firms to optimise business processes by analysing operations in different contexts and by examining the complex interaction between external, contextual elements and internal agent schemata. From this analysis, we discuss how information technology can play a vital goal in achieving this goal by providing discovery, analysis, and automation support. We detail implications for research and practice.

Documentary as history, memory, dream and film

A century ago, as the Western world embarked on a period of traumatic change, the visual realism of photography and documentary film brought print and radio news to life. The vision that these new mediums threw into stark relief was one of intense social and political upheaval: the birth of modernity fired and tempered in the crucible of the Great War. As millions died in this fiery chamber and the influenza pandemic that followed, lines of empires staggered to their fall, and new geo-political boundaries were scored in the raw, red flesh of Europe. The decade of 1910 to 1919 also heralded a prolific period of artistic experimentation. It marked the beginning of the social and artistic age of modernity and, with it, the nascent beginnings of a new art form: film. We still live in the shadow of this violent, traumatic and fertile age; haunted by the ghosts of Flanders and Gallipoli and its ripples of innovation and creativity. Something happened here, but to understand how and why is not easy; for the documentary images we carry with us in our collective cultural memory have become what Baudrillard refers to as simulacra. Detached from their referents, they have become referents themselves, to underscore other, grand narratives in television and Hollywood films. The personal histories of the individuals they represent so graphically–and their hope, love and loss–are folded into a national story that serves, like war memorials and national holidays, to buttress social myths and values. And, as filmic images cross-pollinate, with each iteration offering a new catharsis, events that must have been terrifying or wondrous are abstracted. In this paper we first discuss this transformation through reference to theories of documentary and memory–this will form a conceptual framework for a subsequent discussion of the short film Anmer. Produced by the first author in 2010, Anmer is a visual essay on documentary, simulacra and the symbolic narratives of history. Its form, structure and aesthetic speak of the confluence of documentary, history, memory and dream. Located in the first decade of the twentieth century, its non-linear narratives of personal tragedy and poetic dreamscapes are an evocative reminder of the distance between intimate experience, grand narratives, and the mythologies of popular films. This transformation of documentary sources not only played out in the processes of the film’s production, but also came to form its theme.

VAMP3 regulates podosome organisation in macrophages and together with Stx4/SNAP23 mediates adhesion, cell spreading and persistent migration

The ability of cells to adhere, spread and migrate is essential to many physiological processes, particularly in the immune system where cells must traffic to sites of inflammation and injury. By altering the levels of individual components of the VAMP3/Stx4/SNAP23 complex we show here that this SNARE complex regulates efficient macrophage adhesion, spreading and migration on fibronectin. During cell spreading this complex mediates the polarised exocytosis of VAMP3- positive recycling endosome membrane into areas of membrane expansion, where VAMP3's surface partner Q-SNARE complex Stx4/SNAP23 was found to accumulate. Lowering the levels of VAMP3 in spreading cells resulted in a more rounded cell morphology and most cells were found to be devoid of the typical ring-like podosome superstructures seen normally in spreading cells. In migrating cells lowering VAMP3 levels disrupted the polarised localisation of podosome clusters. The reduced trafficking of recycling endosome membrane to sites of cell spreading and the disorganised podosome localisation in migrating macrophages greatly reduced their ability to persistently migrate on fibronectin. Thus, this important SNARE complex facilitates macrophage adhesion, spreading, and persistent macrophage migration on fibronectin through the delivery of VAMP3-positive membrane with its cargo to expand the plasma membrane and to participate in organising adhesive podosome structures.

Evolution of the extinct Sabretooths and the American cheetah-like cat

The sabretooths (Smilodon and Homotherium) and the American cheetah-like cat (Miracinonyx) were the top predators in Late Pleistocene America, but became extinct about 13 thousand years ago. As the evolutionary history of these taxa remains poorly understood , we analysed their phylogenetic relationship to extant felids. In contrast to previous molecular studies , our results show that the sabretooths diverge early and are not closely related to any living cats. This supports their morphological placement in a separate subfamily (Machairodontinae). Despite its remarkable morphological similarity to the African cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus), Miracinonyx appears to have evolved from a puma-like ancestor, presumably in response to similar ecological pressures.

Catalytic properties of 26 S and 20 S proteasomes and radiolabeling of MB1, LMP7, and C7 subunits associated with trypsin-like and chymotrypsin-like activities*

20 and 26 S proteasomes were isolated from rat liver. The procedure developed for the 26 S proteasome resulted in greatly improved yields compared with previously published methods. A comparison of the kinetic properties of 20 and 26 S proteasomes showed significant differences in the kinetic characteristics with certain substrates and differences in the effects of a protein substrate on peptidase activity. Observed differences in the kinetics of peptidylglutamyl peptide hydrolase activity suggest that the 26 S complex cannot undergo the conformational changes of 20 S proteasomes at high concentrations of the substrate benzyloxycarbonyl (Z) -Leu-Leu-Glu-b-naphthylamide. Various inhibitors that differentially affect the trypsin-like and chymotrypsin-like activities have been identified. Ala-Ala-Phe-chloromethyl (CH2Cl) inhibits chymotrypsin-like activity assayed with succinyl (Suc) -Leu-Leu-Val-Tyr-AMC, but surprisingly not hydrolysis of Ala-Ala-Phe-7-amido-4-methylcoumarin (AMC). Tyr-Gly-Arg-CH2Cl inhibits Suc-Leu-Leu-Val-Tyr-AMC hydrolysis as well as trypsinlike activity measured with t-butoxycarbonyl (Boc) -Leu-Ser-Thr-Arg-AMC, while Z-Phe-Gly-Tyr-diazomethyl (CHN2) was found to inhibit only the two chymotrypsin- like activities. Radiolabeled forms of peptidyl chloromethane and peptidyl diazomethane inhibitors, [3H]acetyl-Ala-Ala-Phe-CH2Cl, [3H]acetyland radioiodinated Tyr-Gly-Arg-CH2Cl, and Z-Phe-Gly- Tyr-(125I-CHN2), have been used to identify catalytic components associated with each of the three peptidase activities. In each case, incorporation of the label could be blocked by prior treatment of the proteasomes with known active site-directed inhibitors, calpain inhibitor 1 or 3,4-dichloroisocoumarin. Subunits of labeled proteasomes were separated either by reverse phase-HPLC and SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis or by twodimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis followed by autoradiography/fluorography and immunoblotting with subunit-specific antibodies. In each case, label was found to be incorporated into subunits C7, MB1, and LMP7 but in different relative amounts depending on the inhibitor used, consistent with the observed effects on the different peptidase activities. The results strongly suggest a relationship between trypsin-like activity and chymotrypsin-like activity. They also help to relate the different subunits of the complex to the assayed multicatalytic endopeptidase activities