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Active tangible interactions
No full textThis chapter explores active tangible interactions, an extension of tangible user interactions. Active tangible interactions employ tangible objects with some form of self automation in the form of robotics or locomotion. Tangible user interfaces employ physical objects to form graspable physical interfaces for a user to control a computer application. Two example forms of active tangible interactions are presented, Local Active Tangible Interactions and Remote Active Tangible Interactions. Local Active Tangible Interactions (LATI) is a concept that allows users to interact with actuated physical interfaces such as small robots locally. The Remote Active Tangible Interactions (RATI) system is a fully featured distributed version of multiple LATI’s. The underlining technology Display-Based Measurement and Control System is employed to support our instantiations of Local Active Tangible Interactions and Remote Active Tangible Interactions.
Ensuring successful business intelligence systems implementation : multiple case studies in engineering asset management organisations
No full textRecently heightened competition resulting from market deregulation and increased regulatory compliance requirements have demanded greater accountability for decision making in engineering asset management (EAM) organisations. However, the siloed information structure and fragmented business function of conventional EAM organisations do not support the effective extraction, analysis, and provision of actionable information to improve decision-making process. In response to this, many EAM organisations turned their efforts to implementing complex Business Intelligence (BI) systems. But how to increase the likelihood of BI systems implementation success for the diverse EAM organisations with its traditionally strong and fragmented culture? This paper investigates and discusses the critical success factors (CSFs) influencing BI systems implementation in EAM organisations. Seven in-depth case studies were conducted in EAM organisations. The empirical findings show a clear trend towards multidimensional challenges involved in such resourceful and complex undertaking. The CSFs exist in various dimensions composed of organisation, process, and technology perspectives. Nevertheless, the study reveals that a more fundamental issue concerning the business needs of BI systems may, in the end, impede BI systems success. Therefore, BI stakeholders of EAM organisations are urged to apply a business-orientation approach in tackling implementation challenges and ensuring buy-in from business stakeholders.
Derivation of a solar diffuse fraction model in a Bayesian framework
No full textWe propose a Bayesian statistical approach to deriving a simple logistic hourly diffuse fraction model. The model is calibrated with data that include northern as well as southern hemisphere sites. An independent dataset comprising seven worldwide locations is used to compare the model against several previous models such as Skartveit et al. (1998), Reindl et al. (1990), Erbs et al. (1982), and a version of the logistic model derived by Boland et al. (2008). On an overall basis, the new model performs better than the models of Erbs or Reindl, and exhibits similar performance to the Skartveit model but with a much simpler expression. In addition, the use of a Bayesian criterion for model selection confirms that the new proposed model achieves the best trade-off between goodness-of-fit and model complexity. Finally, it is shown that the use of Bayesian methods instead of classical statistical techniques lead to a less-biased model. Our presentation is accessible to readers with an intermediate level of statistics.