A brief non‐technical overview of the CASSANDRA‐II system is presented. The system performs knowledge‐based monitoring of aircraft movements in controlled airspace, and reports…
Abstract
A brief non‐technical overview of the CASSANDRA‐II system is presented. The system performs knowledge‐based monitoring of aircraft movements in controlled airspace, and reports violations of air traffic control rules to the operator. The system is based on the blackboard model of problem solving, but differs in the relative autonomy of its abstraction levels. Abstraction levels, in CASSANDRA‐II, are equipped with control components which are responsible for scheduling all decisions based on the level contents. The system is designed for continuous real‐time operation; in this context, it is important that computer memory does not become full and halt the execution of the system. CASSANDRA‐II contains special‐purpose, knowledge‐based mechanisms for the removal of out‐dated blackboard information.
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Describes a number of rule interpreters, each of which is represented as a set of production rules which can be executed as an ordinary ruleset in the ELEKTRA system. The…
Abstract
Describes a number of rule interpreters, each of which is represented as a set of production rules which can be executed as an ordinary ruleset in the ELEKTRA system. The interpreters override the default behaviour of the ELEKTRA interpreter: the default behaviour is forward‐chaining; shows how to implement backward‐chaining and content‐directed control. Some of the interpreters described are capable of interpreting themselves. Shows that ELEKTRA is powerful enough to support a wide variety of different interpreters without requiring any changes to its code. None of the interpreters requires additional system code in order to work: ELEKTRA provides all of the facilities used by the rulesets as part of its standard library. Provides additional evidence of the enormous power of reflective systems and of ELEKTRA in particular.
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Artificial Intelligence, Cybernetics, ProductionDescribes the ELEKTRA reflective production rule interpreter, which differs from other interpreters by providing considerable…
Abstract
Artificial Intelligence, Cybernetics, Production Describes the ELEKTRA reflective production rule interpreter, which differs from other interpreters by providing considerable support for meta‐level inference and reflection. Also describes the representations employed in the system, in which the control problem in production systems can be solved by increasing use of rules. Introduces the reflective properties of the system and gives examples. Shows that the interpreter on which the entire ELEKTRA system runs can be implemented as ELEKTRA rules.
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Kenneth Lawani, Luis Alfredo Arias Abad, Nigel Craig, Billy Hare and Iain Cameron
Emotional intelligence (EI) and conflict management (CM) are essential skills for construction managers towards achieving organisational effectiveness. It is believed that an…
Abstract
Purpose
Emotional intelligence (EI) and conflict management (CM) are essential skills for construction managers towards achieving organisational effectiveness. It is believed that an individual’s EI level (EIL) is a predictor of the preferred CM styles (CMS). This study aims to explore the relationships between EIL, preferred CMS and demographic factors in the construction sector of the Dominican Republic (DR).
Design/methodology/approach
The EIL and CMS of a sample of civil engineers in managerial positions were evaluated using the emotional intelligence appraisal and Rahim Organizational Conflict Inventory-II self-assessment tools.
Findings
There was a strong positive correlation between the rated EIL and the scores of collaboration and compromise styles, i.e. participants with higher EIL have stronger fit within the collaboration and compromise styles of managing conflicts. For participants with lower EIL, collaboration and compromise styles were also top preferences, but with no statistical significance. Significant relationships existed between gender, collaboration and compromise styles and between work experience and collaboration style. No significant relationship between demographics and EIL.
Practical implications
The construction industry needs innovative construction managers whose CMS and EIL are compatible with the culture and overall organisational objectives.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study appraising the EI and CMS of civil engineers working in DR construction industry.
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Iain Davies, Caroline J. Oates, Caroline Tynan, Marylyn Carrigan, Katherine Casey, Teresa Heath, Claudia E. Henninger, Maria Lichrou, Pierre McDonagh, Seonaidh McDonald, Sally McKechnie, Fraser McLeay, Lisa O'Malley and Victoria Wells
Seeking ways towards a sustainable future is the most dominant socio-political challenge of our time. Marketing should have a crucial role to play in leading research and impact…
Abstract
Purpose
Seeking ways towards a sustainable future is the most dominant socio-political challenge of our time. Marketing should have a crucial role to play in leading research and impact in sustainability, yet it is limited by relying on cognitive behavioural theories rooted in the 1970s, which have proved to have little bearing on actual behaviour. This paper aims to interrogate why marketing is failing to address the challenge of sustainability and identify alternative approaches.
Design/methodology/approach
The constraint in theoretical development contextualises the problem, followed by a focus on four key themes to promote theory development: developing sustainable people; models of alternative consumption; building towards sustainable marketplaces; and theoretical domains for the future. These themes were developed and refined during the 2018 Academy of Marketing workshop on seeking sustainable futures. MacInnis’s (2011) framework for conceptual contributions in marketing provides the narrative thread and structure.
Findings
The current state of play is explicated, combining the four themes and MacInnis’s framework to identify the failures and gaps in extant approaches to the field.
Research limitations/implications
This paper sets a new research agenda for the marketing discipline in quest for sustainable futures in marketing and consumer research.
Practical implications
Approaches are proposed which will allow the transformation of the dominant socio-economic systems towards a model capable of promoting a sustainable future.
Originality/value
The paper provides thought leadership in marketing and sustainability as befits the special issue, by moving beyond the description of the problem to making a conceptual contribution and setting a research agenda for the future.
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Iain McPhee, Tim Duffy and Colin Martin
This study explored the perspectives of low‐level drug market users on the availability, purchase and consumption of illicit drugs within the social context of drug prohibition. A…
Abstract
This study explored the perspectives of low‐level drug market users on the availability, purchase and consumption of illicit drugs within the social context of drug prohibition. A snowballing technique was used to recruit 16 participants consisting of nine males and seven females aged between 17 and 43. A semi‐structured interview process elicited their views on their use of drugs, where they obtained them, their views on the impact of the criminal justice system on their drug use and finally their views on how drug users were perceived by non‐drug users. While some negative consequences of using drugs were reported, no participant considered that their use of drugs made them an addict, a criminal or antisocial. The findings from this study suggest that current punitive drug policy, which links drug use with addiction, crime and antisocial behaviour was inconsistent with the experience of the participants.
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The parenting styles, or perhaps lack thereof, of Ambridge families is a much-talked about topic among The Archers listeners. This has been brought into keen focus recently with…
Abstract
The parenting styles, or perhaps lack thereof, of Ambridge families is a much-talked about topic among The Archers listeners. This has been brought into keen focus recently with the parental role in, and reaction to, Ed and Emma Grundy's separation, and the intra- and inter-family dynamics of the Archers clans brought about by Peggy Woolley's Ambridge Conservation Trust. This chapter presents an Archers Assembly, based on the Citizens’ Assembly model, to pass judgement on the parenting styles of the matriarchs and family heads of key Ambridge clans. The Archers Assembly crowdsourced (through the Academic Archers Facebook group) considerations on: The Matriarchs, Peggy and Gill Archer; David and Ruth Archer; Pat and Tony Archer; Susan and Neil Carter; Jenny and Brian Aldridge; and Clarrie and Eddy Grundy. The chapter offers the evidence on each set, with a list of ‘for’ and ‘against’ cases, and quotes, from respondents.
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Pain is demonstrated as a complex, multi-dimensional phenomenon that is interdependent and connected between people. The author proposes that social scientists use a “total model”…
Abstract
Purpose
Pain is demonstrated as a complex, multi-dimensional phenomenon that is interdependent and connected between people. The author proposes that social scientists use a “total model” of pain to better understand pain epistemologically and ontologically and people’s “pain lives.” Through this model, and drawing from the author’s own research on mixed martial artists, new ways to conceptualize, study, and talk about pain within the sporting context have been outlined.
Design/Method/Approach
In the first part of this chapter, pain is discussed with respect to how it has been researched and understood within the fields of medicine, sport psychology, and the sociology of sport. In the second part of this chapter, the total pain model developed by Dame Cicely Saunders is explored as a revolutionary development for the ways in which pain is understood and treated within the health field. Lastly, the author proposes a reconstructed methodology for the study of pain.
Findings
Pain should be studied not from one tradition, but using an amalgamation of the medical, sport psychology, and sociology of sport traditions and perspectives. In this way, the many dimensions of the phenomenon, social, cultural, political, material/physical, spiritual, existential, emotional, and cognitive must be explored from all systems and languages of pain in order to achieve a more robust understanding of pain in sport.
Research Limitations/Implications
The dualistic relationship between theory and method currently present in most qualitative research does not fully account for the complexity of bodies in pain. Therefore, it is critical to adopt an interwoven methodological and theoretical approach that enables scholars to relate to, and feel with, people in pain.
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Iain Munro and Kate Kenny
Whistleblowing plays a crucial role in revealing organizational misconduct and systemic corruption in industry and government. This paper investigates changing practices of…
Abstract
Whistleblowing plays a crucial role in revealing organizational misconduct and systemic corruption in industry and government. This paper investigates changing practices of whistleblower activism, with particular reference to the role of solidarity and the increased role of support networks. Many modern whistleblower disclosures have revealed gaping flaws in the system of global governance related to a range of important social and economic issues, such as tax evasion, global mass surveillance, the use of torture and illegal wars of aggression. All these forms of systemic corruption are reliant on the use of secrecy havens to conceal the abuse from public scrutiny and democratic oversight. Counter-hegemonic social movements that oppose forms of systemic corruption can find important allies in those whistleblowers, who leak vital information about misconduct and corruption to the public. In this paper, we argue that there is a clear relationship of mutual support between whistleblowing and activist social movements, both in the process of whistleblowing and in furthering the campaigns of the social movements themselves. We theorize this, unpacking the processes and dynamics underlying the relationship, and offering a framework for analysis. The paper concludes with a discussion of the changing role of whistleblower activism and support networks in undertaking social reform and counter-hegemonic practice.