Chelmsford College: Full circle – using systems integration to enhance observation, appraisal and CPD

Chelmsford College has created an observation, appraisal and continuing professional development (CPD) cycle by successfully integrating a collection of bespoke web-based systems together within its intranet. Students have benefitted from improved teaching and learning because of the rapid, transparent and thorough cycle of staff being observed, appraised and given appropriate CPD. The College has also saved time and money by being able to use single-source data to schedule observations, appraisals and CPD to individuals' needs.

Innovative approach to building systems integration problems: Using systems theory, technological forecasting and scenario planning

Building services are worth about 2% GDP and are essential for the effective and efficient operations of the building. It is increasingly recognised that the value of a building is related to the way it supports the client organisation’s ongoing business operations. Building services are central to the functional performance of buildings and provide the necessary conditions for health, well-being, safety and security of the occupants. They frequently comprise several technologically distinct sub-systems and their design and construction requires the involvement of numerous disciplines and trades. Designers and contractors working on the same project are frequently employed by different companies. Materials and equipment is supplied by a diverse range of manufacturers. Facilities managers are responsible for operation of the building service in use. The coordination between these participants is crucially important to achieve optimum performance, but too often is neglected. This leaves room for serious faults. The need for effective integration is important. Modern technology offers increasing opportunities for integrated personal-control systems for lighting, ventilation and security as well as interoperability between systems. Opportunities for a new mode of systems integration are provided by the emergence of PFI/PPP procurements frameworks. This paper attempts to establish how systems integration can be achieved in the process of designing, constructing and operating building services. The essence of the paper therefore is to envisage the emergent organisational responses to the realisation of building services as an interactive systems network.

Semiotic interoperability- a critical step towards systems integration

Information systems integration becomes critical in enhancing organisational competitiveness through effective use of information resource provided by the whole host of information systems. Information systems integration in its nature is a process of bringing about the capability of communication and information exchange between systems; while interoperability, often as the result of systems integration, is such a capability. However currently there is a lack of theoretical foundation for representation and measure of the interoperability in organisations. Organisational semiotics provides a theoretical foundation for systems interoperability. A notion of ‘semiotic interoperability’ is proposed in this paper as a paradigm, guiding systems integration and measuring degree of interoperability, covering aspects from physical properties, transmission structure of signs, placing emphasis on communicating meaning, intention to social consequence of information.

Evaluation frameworks for information systems integration: from a semiotic lens

Information systems integration aims at the interaction, information exchange and interoperability between information systems, devices and units. Research efforts have contributed in evaluation of information systems integration on the development of evaluation frameworks. To improve the usability and measurability of evaluation, a review of existing evaluation frameworks including their evolution and classifications of different interoperability levels is conducted. The theory of organisational semiotics is used for a comparative analysis of the frameworks and future work.

Sustainable knowledge management systems: integration, personalisation and contextualisation

Many knowledge management (KM) systems have proven unsustainable to date, exhibiting low quantities and quality of knowledge, with systems falling into disuse. In this paper, we provide and explore a model for sustainable KM systems, focusing on the advantages to be gained from integrating knowledge work with everyday work practices, and enabling sensemaking through personalisation and contextualisation. We employ a discourse analysis of email as an exemplar of a sustainable KM system, thereby identifying a number of key characteristics for sustainable KM systems. Our model for sustainable KM systems adds to existing KM theory and, more immediately, assists companies by providing an understanding
of the kinds of characteristics likely to make KM systems more effective, and sustainable in the long term.

CompactRIO: advanced data acquisition systems integration in CODAC Core System

Las herramientas de configuración basadas en lenguajes de alto nivel como LabVIEW permiten el desarrollo de sistemas de adquisición de datos basados en hardware reconfigurable FPGA muy complejos en un breve periodo de tiempo. La estandarización del ciclo de diseño hardware/software y la utilización de herramientas como EPICS facilita su integración con la plataforma de adquisición y control ITER CODAC CORE SYSTEM (CCS) basada en Linux. En este proyecto se propondrá una metodología que simplificará el ciclo completo de integración de plataformas novedosas, como cRIO, en las que el funcionamiento del hardware de adquisición puede ser modificado por el usuario para que éste se amolde a sus requisitos específicos. El objetivo principal de este proyecto fin de master es realizar la integración de un sistema cRIO NI9159 y diferentes módulos de E/S analógica y digital en EPICS y en CODAC CORE SYSTEM (CCS). Este último consiste en un conjunto de herramientas software que simplifican la integración de los sistemas de instrumentación y control del experimento ITER. Para cumplir el objetivo se realizarán las siguientes tareas: • Desarrollo de un sistema de adquisición de datos basado en FPGA con la plataforma hardware CompactRIO. En esta tarea se realizará la configuración del sistema y la implementación en LabVIEW para FPGA del hardware necesario para comunicarse con los módulos: NI9205, NI9264, NI9401.NI9477, NI9426, NI9425 y NI9476 • Implementación de un driver software utilizando la metodología de AsynDriver para integración del cRIO con EPICS. Esta tarea requiere definir todos los records necesarios que exige EPICS y crear las interfaces adecuadas que permitirán comunicarse con el hardware. • Implementar la descripción del sistema cRIO y del driver EPICS en el sistema de descripción de plantas de ITER llamado SDD. Esto automatiza la creación de las aplicaciones de EPICS que se denominan IOCs. SUMMARY The configuration tools based in high-level programing languages like LabVIEW allows the development of high complex data acquisition systems based on reconfigurable hardware FPGA in a short time period. The standardization of the hardware/software design cycle and the use of tools like EPICS ease the integration with the data acquisition and control platform of ITER, the CODAC Core System based on Linux. In this project a methodology is proposed in order to simplify the full integration cycle of new platforms like CompactRIO (cRIO), in which the data acquisition functionality can be reconfigured by the user to fits its concrete requirements. The main objective of this MSc final project is to develop the integration of a cRIO NI-9159 and its different analog and digital Input/Output modules with EPICS in a CCS. The CCS consists of a set of software tools that simplifies the integration of instrumentation and control systems in the International Thermonuclear Reactor (ITER) experiment. To achieve such goal the following tasks are carried out: • Development of a DAQ system based on FPGA using the cRIO hardware platform. This task comprehends the configuration of the system and the implementation of the mandatory hardware to communicate to the I/O adapter modules NI9205, NI9264, NI9401, NI9477, NI9426, NI9425 y NI9476 using LabVIEW for FPGA. • Implementation of a software driver using the asynDriver methodology to integrate such cRIO system with EPICS. This task requires the definition of the necessary EPICS records and the creation of the appropriate interfaces that allow the communication with the hardware. • Develop the cRIO system’s description and the EPICS driver in the ITER plant description tool named SDD. This development will automate the creation of EPICS applications, called IOCs.

The information systems integration for a better caring and chronic patients´ empowerment

The technology innovation (TI) in the health system has been confirmed as the best format to share information and to facilitate the communication between all the actors involved in the chronic patients´ care.

Benefits of management systems integration: a literature review

The purpose of this paper is to identify the benefits of integrated management systems by comparing them with the benefits obtained through the individual implementation of ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 standards. The methodology used is a literature review based on an electronic search in the Web of Science, ScienceDirect, Scopus and Emerald databases. Findings show that although some benefits are common regardless the system management type, the benefits obtained with integration are greater than considering management systems separately because of the wider scope considered in integration. This is one of the first papers, to the best of our knowledge, to compare benefits from the two management systems standards when implemented separately and when integrated. In addition, some ideas are proposed for consideration in future research on the internalization of management systems and selection effect.

Grid Approach to Satellite Monitoring Systems Integration

This paper highlights the challenges of satellite monitoring systems integration, in particular based on Grid platform, and reviews possible solutions for these problems. We describe integration issues on different levels: data integration level and task management level (job submission in terms of Grid). We show example of described technologies for integration of monitoring systems of Ukraine (National Space Agency of Ukraine, NASU) and Russia (Space Research Institute RAS, IKI RAN). Another example refers to the development of InterGrid infrastructure that integrates several regional and national Grid systems: Ukrainian Academician Grid (with Satellite data processing Grid segment) and RSGS Grid (Chinese Academy of Sciences).

HEALTHCARE INFORMATION SYSTEMS INTEGRATION USING SOA

The growing pressure to increase the quality of health services, as well as reducing costs, has caused healthcare organizations to increase the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) through the development and adoption of Healthcare Information Systems (HIS). However, the need for exchange of information between HIS and between organizations has also increased, resulting in the problem of interoperability. This problem is considered complex, but the use of Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) appears as a good way to address this issue. This paper presents a systematic review, performed in order to find out how and in which contexts SOA is being used to ensure the interoperability of HIS.