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1 – 10 of 105Thomas P. Loughman, Robert A. Fleck and Robin Snipes
As organizations seek to prosper in ever more complex and changing environments, they will require ever more sophisticated analysis and design tools. Current systems analysis…
Abstract
As organizations seek to prosper in ever more complex and changing environments, they will require ever more sophisticated analysis and design tools. Current systems analysis tools function well to identify hardware and software requirements – the mostly technical elements of systems – but are less well suited to address the human component, an understanding of which is crucial to successful organizational analysis and design. The best technically designed system can easily fail when human factors are not explicitly included. The authors show how a combination of systems analysis and communication auditing methods can jointly optimize both the social and technical elements of organizations as they undergo design or business process re‐engineering. As a result of this joint optimization, the authors maintain that systems analysis tools are enriched and thereby enable system designers to explicitly include human and organizational communication factors into an information or business system. A theoretical model and implementation examples are provided.
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Robert A. Fleck and Jr
Programmer resources as measured in available hours are often a limiting or constraining resource in software projects and maintenance. A key element in software project…
Abstract
Programmer resources as measured in available hours are often a limiting or constraining resource in software projects and maintenance. A key element in software project management, therefore, is the forecast of required programming hours. Estimates based on past experience and similar projects are generally unreliable and usually underestimate the level of programming resources required. Function point counting provides a reliable methodology for estimating the level of effort required in software projects. Presents the results of using and modifying function point counting procedures in a maintenance environment where changes are often confined to one or more lines of code. The study indicates that even in this environment, function point counting procedures are useful. Finally, function point counting in the maintenance environment as discussed in this paper helped uncover problems in resource management, training, and personnel evaluation.
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Wietze A. de Vries and Robert A. Fleck
Conversion to client/server systems from host‐centric systems can be accomplished with careful attention to planning and development procedures. A key component in a successful…
Abstract
Conversion to client/server systems from host‐centric systems can be accomplished with careful attention to planning and development procedures. A key component in a successful conversion is a customized definition of client/server which complements the organization’s mission. Another key component is the development of an infrastructure which includes hardware, software and people. The training of users and design personnel is crucial to successful conversion. Discusses definitions, strategies, hardware, software, and the pitfalls to be avoided.
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Daniel Klatt, Michael Proff and Robert Hruschka
The present work aims to investigate the capabilities of accurately predicting the six-degrees-of-freedom (6DoF) trajectory and the flight behavior of a flare-stabilized…
Abstract
Purpose
The present work aims to investigate the capabilities of accurately predicting the six-degrees-of-freedom (6DoF) trajectory and the flight behavior of a flare-stabilized projectile using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and rigid body dynamics (RBD) methods.
Design/methodology/approach
Two different approaches are compared for calculating the trajectory. First, the complete matrix of static and dynamic aerodynamic coefficients for the projectile is determined using static and dynamic CFD methods. This discrete database and the data extracted from free-flight experiments are used to simulate flight trajectories with an in-house developed 6DoF solver. Second, the trajectories are simulated solving the 6DoF motion equations directly coupled with time resolved CFD methods.
Findings
Virtual fly-out simulations using RBD/CFD coupled simulation methods well reproduce the motion behavior shown by the experimental free-flight data. However, using the discrete database of aerodynamic coefficients derived from CFD simulations shows a slightly different flight behavior.
Originality/value
A discrepancy between CFD 6DoF/RBD simulations and results obtained by the MATLAB 6DoF-solver based on discrete CFD data matrices is shown. It is assumed that not all dynamic effects on the aerodynamics of the projectile are captured by the determination of the force and moment coefficients with CFD simulations based on the classical aerodynamic coefficient decomposition.
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The centrality of emotions to all significant social, indeed human activities is now broadly acknowledged. Nevertheless, discussion of emotions in core activities of science, as…
Abstract
The centrality of emotions to all significant social, indeed human activities is now broadly acknowledged. Nevertheless, discussion of emotions in core activities of science, as distinct from the motivation of scientists, is undeveloped. In reviewing the role of emotions in science the paper shows that emotions provide consciousness of objects of scientific relevance. It is also shown that emotions necessary to scientific activities are typically experienced nonconsciously. These two issues, of emotional consciousness and nonconscious experience of emotion, raise a number of questions for the study of both consciousness and emotions.
George Herbert Mead is an exemplary figure in sociology, and is central to sociological conceptions of the self and social action. However, other important aspects of Mead's…
Abstract
George Herbert Mead is an exemplary figure in sociology, and is central to sociological conceptions of the self and social action. However, other important aspects of Mead's thought have been largely neglected, including his remarkably sophisticated and sociological theory of scientific knowledge. Traditional accounts of the sociology of science identify Thomas Kuhn, and his predecessor, Ludwig Fleck, as pioneers in the social analysis of scientific knowledge, allowing the modern constructionist school of science studies to emerge. This article challenges this history by showing Mead's awareness of the sociological aspects of scientific knowledge in papers that predate both Kuhn and Fleck. Finally, Mead's position attempts to avoid sociological relativism, and offers instead a pragmatist foundation to approach the study of science.
Communications regarding this column should be addressed to Mrs. Cheney, Peabody Library School, Nashville, Term. 37203. Mrs. Cheney does not sell the books listed here. They are…
Abstract
Communications regarding this column should be addressed to Mrs. Cheney, Peabody Library School, Nashville, Term. 37203. Mrs. Cheney does not sell the books listed here. They are available through normal trade sources. Mrs. Cheney, being a member of the editorial board of Pierian Press, will not review Pierian Press reference books in this column. Descriptions of Pierian Press reference books will be included elsewhere in this publication.
SIR, The occasion of the Corrosion and Metal Finishing Exhibition appears to have aroused fresh interest in the remarkable iron column at Delhi that is still, after nearly 1,700…
Abstract
SIR, The occasion of the Corrosion and Metal Finishing Exhibition appears to have aroused fresh interest in the remarkable iron column at Delhi that is still, after nearly 1,700 years, in an excellent state of preservation. The Observer published a good photograph of it when alluding to the exhibition, and Sir Alexander Fleck in his speech when opening the exhibition made some interesting references to it as reported in your issue for December. Its preservation has puzzled many mineralogists and Sir Alexander did not offer an explanation, although he mentioned that he was not impressed by the suggestion that the so‐called mild climate of Delhi is an important factor in its preservation, and he referred to Desch's statement that there is a coating or fine adherent layer of slag, and to the suggestion that these metals may have been forged on stone anvils.
Camille Pluntz and Bernard Pras
Building strong human brands inscribed in social and symbolic recognition is a strategic issue for branded individuals. In the context of film director human brands, this study…
Abstract
Purpose
Building strong human brands inscribed in social and symbolic recognition is a strategic issue for branded individuals. In the context of film director human brands, this study aims to examine the respective influences of the economic and critical performance of films, on the one hand, and the professional legitimacy bestowed by internal stakeholders, on the other, on changes in human brand identity. Contrary to what is generally believed, it shows that the specific legitimacy bestowed by producers and the institutional legitimacy bestowed by elite peers mediate the effects of performance on changes in human brand identity. Brand extension (i.e. new films) incongruence and initial human brand identity moderate the effect of performance on legitimacy.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is applied to film director human brands and to their extensions through the films they make. Data were collected for 81 films, including information before and after the brand extension occurs, to capture changes in human brand identity and extension effects.
Findings
The results show that economic performance influences both specific and institutional legitimacy, whereas critical performance only impacts institutional legitimacy. These relationships are moderated by initial human brand identity and congruence. Both types of professional legitimacies also help reinforce human brand identity.
Originality/value
The study challenges the role of performance on the building of human brand identity and shows that the latter is co-constructed by the branded individual and internal stakeholders. It also enhances the key roles of global incongruence and genre incongruence in the model.
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