Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Field Study in Usability Engineering: Bringing in the Technical Communicators

For the last 20 years, the human-computer interaction research community has provided a multitude of methods and techniques intended to support the development of usable systems, but the impact on industrial software development has been limited. One of the reasons for this limited success is argued to be the gap between traditional academic theory generation and industrial practice. Furthermore, technical communicators (TCs) have until recently played a subordinate role in software design, even in usability-oriented methods. Considering their close relation to the users of the developed systems, and to the usability issue itself, they constitute a hidden resource, which potentially would contribute to the benefit of more usable systems. We formed the Delta project as a joint effort between industry and academia. The objectives of the project were to jointly develop usability-oriented method extensions, adapted for a particular industrial setting, and to account for the specialist competence of the TCs in the software development process. This report is a qualitative study of the development, introduction and evaluation of the Delta method extension. The analysis provides evidence in favor of a closer collaboration between system developers (SDs) and TCs. An additional outcome of the in-depth study is a proposed redefinition of the extended interface concept, taking into account the inseparability of user documentation and user interface, while providing a natural common ground for a closer collaboration between SDs and TCs. This report represents an excerpt from a licentiate thesis (Carlshamre, 1994).
Exploring Requisites and Antecedents of Continuous Innovation

When innovating, an organization needs to be capable of (1) exploring problem definition spaces and (2) exploiting them. The processes in which both activities unfold, display paradoxical characteristics which can be addressed by adopting ambidextrous organizational forms. Analyzing underlying value dynamics indicate that such forms will only be sustainable to the extent that cross-fertilization between both types of activity is achieved. These findings underscore the relevancy of interface management practices directed towards enacting synergies.
Bus Rapid Transit (BRT): An Efficient and Competitive Mode of Public Transport

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems have gained popularity worldwide as a cost effective alternative to far more expensive urban rail investments. High quality bus based systems also better serve the low density settlement patterns of many suburban markets and small to medium size cities due to the inherent flexibility advantages of rubber tire systems – the same vehicle that provides speedy line haul services on a dedicated bus lane or busway can morph into a feeder vehicle, collecting and distributing customers on local streets.This report reviews experiences with designing and implementing BRT systems worldwide. BRT is first defined across a spectrum of service qualitiesand costs. Global trends are next reviewed, highlighting cities and regions of the world with the most extensive and advanced systems. Relationships between urban densities and BRT cost effectiveness are noted. System designs and operations – in terms of running ways, rolling stock, route configurations, stations, fare collections, and the like – are then reviewed. This is followed by a comparison of BRT’s cost and performance relative to urban rail transit systems. Information on the cost effectiveness of heavyrail, light rail, and BRT systems relative to urban densities are also compared. The report then turns to efforts among a handful to cities to proactively promote transit oriented development (TOD) near BRT stations and along corridors. This is followed by discussions on the institutional arrangements that have been introduced to effectively manage BRT services. The report closes with discussions on BRT’s likely future given global growth projections and other pressing policy agendas in the foreseeable future.
Mastering the Hype Cycle: How to Choose the Right Innovation at the Right Time

It happens over and over again. Some innovation (a new product, a management trend) comes along that captures the public's imagination. Everybody joins the parade with great fanfare and high expectations. This "next big thing" promises to transform the companies that adopt it -- and inflict great peril on those that don't. Then, when the innovation fails to deliver as promised immediately, everyone starts bailing out. Investments are wasted; stock prices plunge; disillusionment sets in. It doesn't have to be this way. In Mastering the Hype Cycle, Jackie Fenn and Mark Raskino explain what drives this pattern and how your company can avoid its potential dangers. By understanding the hype cycle, you can ride it more skillfully -- timing your investment decisions so that the innovations you adopt stand the best chance of succeeding in the long-term. Drawing on company examples and Gartner's proven STREET (Scope, Track, Rank, Evaluate, Evangelize, Transfer) framework, the authors show how to orchestrate the key steps in the innovation-adoption process -- from choosing which innovations to take on and when in their life cycle you should adopt, to paving the way for a successful introduction. The hype cycle isn't going away. But this book arms you with the strategies you need to ride the crest of a new idea to success -- and steer clear of the trough of disillusionment.
The Real Coso, and Nothing but the Real Coso

Within the international corporate governance debate, one recommendation which appears to be gaining ground internationally is that management should report, publicly or otherwise, on the effectiveness of management control systems or aspects of it. With respect to evaluation and standards for effectiveness, all reports in the field of corporate governance make reference to the conceptual framework included in the final report of the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) Internal Control – Integrated Framework [1992]. In our opinion, the international reference to the current COSO report is therefore unjustified: the COSO framework does not include the assumed and widely acclaimed unequivocal standards.This paper is divided into two sections. In the first section we will analyse the current COSO framework in more depth and argue for what reasons the COSO framework does not comprise the internationally widely acclaimed standard. First, we discuss the backgrounds leading to, and the methodology applied by the Committee of Sponsoring Organisations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). Secondly, we evaluate the definition and accompanying content of the COSO framework. Thirdly, we argue why – in our opinion – the COSO framework does not comprise the widely acclaimed standards. Fourthly, we evaluate the guidance for evaluation of the effectiveness of management control systems and the general applicability of this guidance. In section two we present a new management control framework to overcome the deficiencies of the current COSO framework, in order to fulfil the international widespread corporate governance recommendations for organisations to report on the effectiveness of their management control system. The revised management control evaluation framework comprises four perspectives on control, which are derived from the main existing paradigms in organisation theory, which represent the general developments of organisation theory. First, we position the COSO framework between business practice and the different levels of analysis applied science (management control theory), basic science (organisation theory) and relevant paradigms. Secondly, we discuss the origin of the four control perspectives. Thirdly, we will evaluate the arguments mentioned in the COSO framework to include management control features, using our control evaluation framework, to analyse whether the partial and restricted view on control of COSO (see section one) is confirmed.
Treatment of Repeated Letdowns in Coordinated Consistent Recovery Line Compilation for Mobile Distributed Systems

We put forward a least_int_method (least interactive method) orchestrated CRL-compilation (consistent recovery line compilation) etiquette for non- deterministic Mob_DS (Mobile Distributed Systems); where no inoperable reinstatement-points are recorded. Recurrent terminations of CRL-compilation procedure may happen in Mobile_DS due to exhausted battery, non-voluntary disconnections of Mob_Nodes, or poor wireless connectivity. Therefore, we put forward that in the first stage, all pertinent Mob_Nodes will capture transient reinstatement-point only. Transient reinstatement-point is stored on the memory of Mob_Node only. In this case, if some method fails to capture its reinstatement-point in the first stage, then Mob_Nodes need to abandon their transient reinstatement-points only. In this way, we try to abate the loss of CRL-compilation effort when any method fails to capture its reinstatement-point in harmonization with others. We also try to reduce the CRL- compilation time and intrusion time of methods by limiting CRL-compilation tree which may be formed in other etiquettes [2, 9, 10]. We captured the transitive dependencies during the normal execution by piggybacking causal-dependency-vectors onto computation communications.
EFFECTS OF ACC ON DRIVER BEHAVIOUR, WORKLOAD AND ACCEPTANCE IN RELATION TO MINIMUM TIME HEADWAY

Effects of Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) on driving behavior, workload and acceptance were studied in inter-urban environments. Interactions with ACC minimum time headway were also analyzed. A driving simulator study with 24 participants, aged 23 - 55 years, was conducted. A mixed design was used - all participants performed test drives both with and without ACC, whereas each participant was exposed to only one of three ACC minimum time headways, 0.8s, 1.0s, and 1.5s. The total driving distance was 120 km, divided into two rural road sections and two motorway sections. Along the route, "normal" as well as more "safety critical" scenarios were presented. Some effects of ACC on driving behavior were found: the maximum driving speed was reduced. Speed variability was reduced when there was no other traffic around. On the motorway the distance driven in the left driving lane was increased. Minimum time to collision was reduced for two non-critical scenarios on the rural road and for one non-critical scenario on the motorway. As to workload, the participants rated lower physical demand and effort when driving with ACC on the motorway. Regarding user acceptance, the participants reported the ACC to be quite useful and quite pleasant to use. Most participants reported that they were willing to pay between 100 -500 Euros for having the ACC installed in their car. The participants also participated in a test intended to study their preferred ACC minimum time headway. Their average preferred headway was between 1.5 and 2.5s on the motorway and between 1.7 and 3.2s on the rural road. A supplementary study was performed with eight participants, aged 24-42 years, who drove with and without ACC support in two motorway sessions. One ACC minimum time headway was used, 1s. The same effect measures as in the major study were used. Besides, heart rate measures (Inter Beat Interval, 0.1Hz component of Inter Beat Interval variability) and performance on the Peripheral Detection Task (PDT - a secondary task performance measure) were measured as indicators of workload. For three scenarios heart rate decreased as an effect of ACC support.
Protective Role of Spermidine on two Tomato Cultivars against Cold-Induced Lipid Peroxidation by Enhancing Capacity of Anti-Oxidative System

Two pot experiments were conducted during two growing seasons 2015/2016 and 2016/2017 at the green house of the National Research Centre, Dokki, Giza, Egypt to study the effect of spermidine (Spd) on growth parameters, SPAD values, antioxidant enzymes, malondialdehyde (MDA), as well as fruits yield quantity and quality (total soluble solids (TSS) and ascorbic acid (AsA)) of two tomato cultivars (Strain B and Florida) grown under low temperature conditions. All treatments almostly caused significant increases in growth parameters and SPAD values of the two tomato cultivars relative to corresponding control plants. Moreover all Spd treatments caused marked decreases in MDA and methylglyoxal (MG) values accompanied by significant increases in APX, PAL and Gly I activities relative to control plants. All treatments almostly caused significant increases in fruits yield (g/plant) as well as TSS and AsA of fruit juices of the two tomato cultivars relative to control plants. It is worthy to mention that the highest recorded values were obtained in plants treated with 50 mg/L spermidine, these results hold true for both cultivars. Based on the obtained results, it could be concluded that the protection mechanism with Spd had helped the plants to increase their tolerance against low temperature stress, through mainly the decrease in membrane damage symptoms leading to intercellular osmotic adjustment.
Performance Evaluation of the 1988 – 2000 World Bank Financed Bicycle Track Project in Accra, Ghana

This article reports on a World Bank-financed urban transportation project conducted between 1998 and 2000 in which a number of bicycle tracks were constructed in Accra, Ghana. The bicycle track project was designed to enhance cycling as a low-cost and non-polluting mode of urban travel. The project was initiated in the context of a small, but relevant, cycling culture in the city, mainly introduced by migrants from the north of the country. The authors note that, unfortunately, only around 20% of the bicycle infrastructure initially envisaged was constructed, reflecting a lower interest in urban cycling at the implementation stage than during the earlier project planning and appraisal. They report on an evaluation of the project that was carried out in 2004, and updated in November 2007. Their conclusion is that the few bicycle paths provided were unable to trigger an increase in urban cycling. In fact. the project produced a negative effect on urban cycling due to the appearance that urban cycling in Accra cannot be enhanced successfully. Bicycling in Accra continues to be characterized by lack of road space and high risk of accidents. The authors contend that the real reason for the lack of success of this bicycle track project was the marginal size and poor quality plan of the initiative. They call for a much more substantial effort and one which is well integrated into the city’s overall transport policy in order to find out whether cycling can make a useful long-term contribution to sustainable urban travel in Accra.
The Trash-Tracker: A Macroplastic Transport and Fate Model at River Basin Scale

1 Hydrology and Quantitative Water Management Group, Wageningen University, Wageningen, the Netherlands 2 Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands 3 Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Group, Wageningen University, Wageningen, the Netherlands 4 Climate and Environmental Physics, Physics Institute, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland 5 Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland 6 Department of Marine Microbiology and Biogeochemistry, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, ‘t Horntje, the Netherlands 7 CAGE Centre for Arctic Gas Hydrate, Environment and Climate, Department of Geosciences, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway
The benchmarking handbook : step-by-step instructions

The theory of benchmarking. Benchmarking - the concept. Benchmarking process in the company. The benchmarking study. The benchmarking process in the company - plan. The benchmarking process - search. The benchmarking process in the company - observe. The benchmarking process in the company - analyze. The benchmarking process in the company - adapt. The benchmarking process in the company - recycle. Benchmarking in a larger context. Benchmarking as part of strategy and improvement. Benchmarking code of conduct. Benchmarking case studies. Case - Statoil: Benchmarking the delivery process of casing for oil wells. Case - Glamox: Benchmarking of purchasing for special products. Benchmarking study documentation package. Benchmarking documentation package. Bibliography. Index.
Green Marketing Communities and blogs: Mapping consumer's attitudes for future sustainable marketing

The last three decades have seen consumers’ environmental consciousness grow as the environment has moved to a mainstream issue. Results from our study of green marketing blog site comments in the first half of 2009 finds thirteen prominent concepts: carbon, consumers, global and energy were the largest themes, while crisis, power, people, water, fuel, product, work, time, water, organic, content and interest were the others. However sub issues were also identified, as the driving factor of this information is coming from consumer led social networks. While marketers hold some power, consumers are the real key factor to possess influence for change. They want to drive change and importantly, they have the power. Power to the people.
Ovarian follicular dynamics of a creole cattle under grazing conditions in high Andean areas of Peru

Creole cattle are a potential resource to improve productivity in the high Andean zone of Peru; however, indiscriminate crossing with improved breeds is leading to the erosion of their genetic material. Studies of the physiological processes that govern its reproductive cycle are essential for the successful application of reproductive biotechnologies that ensure their preservation, use and subsequent dissemination. In order to study the follicular dynamics of creole cattle, 15 animals were evaluated under grazing conditions in two seasons of the year (rainy and dry). Follicular growth was evaluated by ultrasonographic monitoring, luteal activity by hormonal dosing, and proximal analysis of grass was performed by season. The average length of the estrous cycle was 21.39 ± 1.17 days for the rainy season and 22.07 ± 1.04 days for the dry season, with no statistical difference (p > 0.05). Cycles with 2 (16%), 3 (78%) and 4 (6%) follicular waves was observed. The maximum diameter of the ovulatory follicle reached was 17.11 ± 1.79 and 17.67 ± 1.21mm in the rainy and dry seasons, respectively. Of the 49 ovulations studied, 27 (55%) corresponded to the right ovary and 22 (45%) to the left ovary. There was no difference (p > 0.05) in growth rate or follicle diameter by season. The maximum diameter of the corpus luteum was 20.87 ± 1. 48 and 21.30 ± 1.86 mm with a growth rate of 1.01 ± 0.16 and 1.0 ± 0.15 mm/day. These results reflect the potential of creole cattle to maintain their cyclicity even in unfavorable environments.
Implementation And Validation Of Loss Prediction Methods To An Existing One Dimensional Axial Turbine Design Program

One of the early steps in axial turbine design is the use of one-dimensional (1D) mean line calculations to predict the turbine performance and estimate the principal geometric parameters, such as radius and blade heights, that will be needed in further computational fluid dynamic (CFD) studies. This 1D analysis is based on the estimation of the aerodynamic losses expressed as a function of simple blade parameters and the velocity triangles. In this regard, there exist different loss correlations widely used in literature to estimate these losses but at the same time there is a lack of information regarding differentiation between them. Thereafter, the objective in this work was to judge and compare the behaviors of the Kacker- Okapuu, Craig-Cox and Denton loss correlations, all of them widely-used in turbine performance prediction.Present work shows the implementation of these different loss correlations on an existing 1D mean line numerical tool, LUAX-T. Subsequently, once implemented, the correlations were compared and analyzed by the use of a validation process and performing a parametric study.The results show that similar key parameters such as the flow turning, solidity and aspect ratio rule the different loss mechanisms in each correlation. On the other hand, the parametric study shows that the correlations are in agreement with the theory and give similar trends for performance prediction even though they all predict different values of efficiency for the same turbine stage. Moreover, the validation process show the correlations were found to be accurate enough when comparing against two different sets of experimental data. However, it was also proved that the models are only accurate if used within the range of applicability they were developed for, hence a complete knowledge of the limitations of each correlation should be known prior to using them.Finally, the extension of the one-dimensional mean line numerical tool LUAX-T will serve to perform further studies related to turbine design, as there are very few non-confidential turbomachinery design tools available for teaching or researching. Furthermore, a parametric study tool was also developed as part of the program. This last extension and the loss implementation codes are described in this work.
Engaging with the visual : re-thinking interpretive archaeological visualisation

Archaeology is a visually rich discipline with multiple avenues for visualisation within the field. In recent years the rising dominance of digital techniques for archaeological three dimensional surveys and interpretive visualisation has resulted in a rapid uptake of technologies without adequate assessment of their impact on the interpretive process and practitioner engagement. As such, fundamental issues with their application remain problematic and largely unresolved. This research moves the current debate forward by assessing the practices and practical application of visualisation within archaeology in order to understand and develop its role when framed within academic research practice. Through the observation, exploration and collaboration of various techniques and approaches to visualising the archaeological record this research challenges common preconceptions and assumptions associated with ‘reconstruction’, redefining its role within the field by investigating the following research questions: - In what way is a practitioner’s interpretive engagement with an archaeological site mediated by different data capture and visualisation methods in the field? - How might practitioners of archaeological visualisation combine the creative and subjective methods of storytelling and visual expression with the more systematic and traditional means of data collection and visualisation to create dynamic and challenging imagery which promote cognition? - How can we foreground and communicate the importance of the interpretive process involved in the creation of engaging visualisations to general audiences? Using a series of case-studies from sites managed by Historic Scotland on both St Kilda and Orkney the research will consider each stage of the visualisation process in detail, from collection of digital spatial and visual data in the field, to the creation of engaging three dimensional models and animations, to consumption of the output by varying audiences across a range of settings. The overall aim is to develop a clearer understanding of the ways in which interpretive archaeological visualisation and the creation of subjective narratives influences engagement with the site, the integrity of the captured record, the control of experience and the ways of dealing with uncertainty in the archaeological record in order to establish where and how it may sit within a broader academic framework.