Thesis (MScEng (Industrial Engineering))--Stellenbosch University, 2008. / This thesis reports on a research project conducted at Stellenbosch University, focusing on the field of information management, and contributing to the development of an approach for structuring information in such a manner that context becomes apparent, which on its part assists persons (and groups of persons) in selecting useful information from a larger whole, given a certain context. This document is composed of three general sections. The first section is a literature study focusing on the following topics: (1) Information overload: The amount of information in the world, as well as its rate of generation is discussed, together with the notion of information overload, its causes, symptoms and possible solutions. (2) Information utilisation in organisations: General concepts concerning the utilisation of information in organisations are discussed, together with the manners in which organisations fail in efficiently utilising information, but also some examples where organisations have succeeded. (3) Information modelling: Various well-known information modelling approaches currently employed to improve information utilisation are discussed and compared. It is however mentioned that none of these approaches are sufficiently general, flexible and simple enough to assist typical organisational knowledge workers in efficiently interacting with information. The second section of this thesis focuses on the conceptual framework information modelling approach currently being investigated at Stellenbosch University as a means for improving the information utilisation efficiency of organisational knowledge workers. The basic concepts of the approach are discussed, and it is compared with the more well-known information modelling approaches mentioned in the literature study. The research being conducted on the approach is further briefly discussed, which includes the purpose of this thesis (which is the development of a methodology for conceptual framework implementation in organisations), the research method followed, and the thesis hypothesis, which is: Information represented by a conceptual framework implemented through the use of the developed conceptual framework implementation methodology, offer a truthful view on information found in an organisation. The methodology developed is subsequently discussed in terms of its phases and activities, each of which is discussed in terms of its description, the rationale behind and prerequisites of its execution, details of the manner of its execution, and the eventual outputs thereof. The final section of this thesis provides information on the validation of the conceptual framework implementation methodology described in the previous section, which were done in two parts. A theoretical validation was done through a comparison of the developed methodology with existing methodologies for the implementation of other information modelling approaches. A practical validation was also done through two case studies by which conceptual frameworks were implemented at two separate organisations. The document is finally concluded through a summary of the contents of this thesis, the outcome of the hypothesis test, and some closing remarks.

Due to the current globalization in business and investments that generate a highly interrelated business world, it is a must to have a common standard in accounting that brings transparency and the real use of information. According to that, this article presents a comparative analysis of the conceptual framework for the preparation and presentation of financial statements of the two important international accounting models of normative use: the accounting standards established by the FASB and the IASB. The conceptual framework provides a guideline to prepare and present financial statements and at the same time it is a basis for the enactment of international financial reporting standards. To this day, there are some convergence agreements on conceptual frameworks between FASB and IASB, in charge of producing standards, which implies joint work in relation to their respective frameworks, with the purpose of developing a better conceptual framework, common for both institutions. With respect to this, in the article we can find proposals and reflections related to the convergence of conceptual frameworks, in order to enable the feasibility of a convergent framework as an important document in the revision and the issuance process of future international financial reporting standards. / Debido a la continua globalización de los negocios y la globalización de las inversiones, que genera un mundo de los negocios altamente interrelacionado, es imprescindible contar con estándares comunes en contabilidad que mejoren la transparencia y la utilidad de la información. En ese sentido, el presente artículo presenta un análisis comparativo del marco conceptual para la preparación y presentación de los estados financieros de los dos modelos contables internacionales importantes de uso normativo: las normas contables emitidas por el FASB y el IASB. El marco conceptual proporciona una guía para preparar y presentar estados financieros y sirve de base para emitir normas internacionales de información financiera. A la fecha existen acuerdos de convergencia de marcos conceptuales, entre los organismos emisores de normas FASB y el IASB, lo cual implica un trabajo conjunto sobre sus respectivos marcos conceptuales, con la finalidad de desarrollar un mejor marco conceptual que sea común para ambas entidades. Al respecto, en el artículo se plantean propuestas y reflexiones vinculadas al proceso de convergencia de marcos conceptuales, para aproximar la viabilidad de un marco conceptual convergente como documento base en el proceso de revisión y emisión de futuras normas internacionales de información financiera.

Projetos de SIG (Sistemas de Informação Geográfica), em geral, ainda não apresentam modelo conceitual de banco de dados geográficos. Os implementadores de SIG se preocupam com a aquisição dos dados (captura e adaptação), que é a etapa mais cara, e dão, ainda, pouca atenção à modelagem. A utilização de modelos conceituais faz com que os usuários controlem melhor sua base de dados e tirem maior proveito do SIG. O objetivo deste trabalho é definir um conjunto de procedimentos de engenharia reversa de bancos de dados espaciais que auxiliem na criação e manutenção de modelos conceituais para aplicações de SIG a partir de dados já existentes. Estes procedimentos podem contribuir para um aumento na qualidade dos SIG implementados, auxiliando na popularização da prática de modelagem conceitual de banco de dados geográficos. São estudados três formatos de transferência utilizados por usuários de SIG. A partir daí, é proposto uma arquitetura de sistema de engenharia reversa para SIG. / Even with the increasing use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), conceptual modeling of geographic databases (GDB) is not yet usual among GIS professionals. This fact can in part be explained by the professional profile of most GIS designers. They usually are more familiar with specific GIS applications than with database technology. Among them, one can find cartographers, geographers, agricultural engineers, and architects. Besides that, the cost of geographic data acquisition is so high that much important is given to acquisition plans during GIS design and less interest is given to the database design process. Especially first time designers do not perceive the importance of a database schema that is independent of a specific GIS product. Conceptual design preserves the independence between data types and the logical schema of the product. Moreover, relying on the GDB conceptual schema users can better understand what part of the geographic reality is represented in the database. The main goal of this research work is to define a set of reverse engineering procedures for spatial databases that can support either creation or evolution if conceptual GDB schemas. It is expected that these procedures can enhance the quality of GDB design as well as contribute to the popularization of GDB conceptual modeling. Three different geographic data input formats to GIS are investigated and a reverse engineering system architecture for them is proposed. Resulting conceptual (sub)schemas are based on the framework GeoFrame.

[pt] Como um novo e poderoso paradigma para modelagem e implementação de sistemas de software, os sistemas multiagentes necessitam de metodologias, linguagens de modelagem, plataformas de desenvolvimento e linguagens de programação que explorem seus benefícios e características particulares. Contudo, diferentes metodologias, linguagens e plataformas para sistemas multiagentes propõem abstrações variadas e com definições muito diferentes. Nesse contexto, é necessário criar frameworks conceituais que definam as abstrações, seus relacionamentos e seus comportamentos. Como em qualquer novo paradigma para engenharia de software, o sucesso e a difusão de sistemas multiagentes requerem, entre outras tecnologias de software baseadas em agentes, linguagens de modelagem que explorem o uso de abstrações relacionadas a agentes e promovam o refinamento dos modelos de design para código. Esta tese contempla a definição de um framework conceitual para sistemas multiagentes chamado TAO e uma linguagem de modelagem para sistemas multiagentes chamada MAS-ML. Os objetivos desta tese são descrever os aspectos estáticos e dinâmicos das abstrações freqüentemente utilizadas em sistemas multiagentes definindo um framework conceitual, propor uma linguagem de modelagem que descreva diagramas estáticos e dinâmicos para modelar esses aspectos e descrever o refinamento dos modelos estáticos para código. / [en] As a powerful and new paradigm for designing and implementing software systems, multi-agent systems require methodologies, modeling languages, development platforms and programming languages that explore their benefits and their peculiar characteristics. However, different methodologies, languages and platforms for multi-agent systems propose very distinct and varied sets of abstraction. In this context, there is a need for creating a conceptual framework that defines the frequently used multi-agent system abstractions, their relationships and their behavior. As it is the case with any new software engineering paradigm, the successful and widespread deployment of multi-agent systems require modeling languages, among other agent-based software technologies, that explore the use of agentrelated abstractions and promote the traceability from the design models to code. This thesis contemplates the definition of a multi-agent system conceptual framework called TAO and of a multi-agent system modeling language called MAS-ML. Our goals are to describe the structural and dynamic aspects of the abstractions commonly used in multi-agent systems by defining a conceptual framework, to propose a modeling language that describes structural and dynamic diagrams to model such aspects and to present the traceability from the structural models into code.

Projetos de SIG (Sistemas de Informação Geográfica), em geral, ainda não apresentam modelo conceitual de banco de dados geográficos. Os implementadores de SIG se preocupam com a aquisição dos dados (captura e adaptação), que é a etapa mais cara, e dão, ainda, pouca atenção à modelagem. A utilização de modelos conceituais faz com que os usuários controlem melhor sua base de dados e tirem maior proveito do SIG. O objetivo deste trabalho é definir um conjunto de procedimentos de engenharia reversa de bancos de dados espaciais que auxiliem na criação e manutenção de modelos conceituais para aplicações de SIG a partir de dados já existentes. Estes procedimentos podem contribuir para um aumento na qualidade dos SIG implementados, auxiliando na popularização da prática de modelagem conceitual de banco de dados geográficos. São estudados três formatos de transferência utilizados por usuários de SIG. A partir daí, é proposto uma arquitetura de sistema de engenharia reversa para SIG. / Even with the increasing use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), conceptual modeling of geographic databases (GDB) is not yet usual among GIS professionals. This fact can in part be explained by the professional profile of most GIS designers. They usually are more familiar with specific GIS applications than with database technology. Among them, one can find cartographers, geographers, agricultural engineers, and architects. Besides that, the cost of geographic data acquisition is so high that much important is given to acquisition plans during GIS design and less interest is given to the database design process. Especially first time designers do not perceive the importance of a database schema that is independent of a specific GIS product. Conceptual design preserves the independence between data types and the logical schema of the product. Moreover, relying on the GDB conceptual schema users can better understand what part of the geographic reality is represented in the database. The main goal of this research work is to define a set of reverse engineering procedures for spatial databases that can support either creation or evolution if conceptual GDB schemas. It is expected that these procedures can enhance the quality of GDB design as well as contribute to the popularization of GDB conceptual modeling. Three different geographic data input formats to GIS are investigated and a reverse engineering system architecture for them is proposed. Resulting conceptual (sub)schemas are based on the framework GeoFrame.

Projetos de SIG (Sistemas de Informação Geográfica), em geral, ainda não apresentam modelo conceitual de banco de dados geográficos. Os implementadores de SIG se preocupam com a aquisição dos dados (captura e adaptação), que é a etapa mais cara, e dão, ainda, pouca atenção à modelagem. A utilização de modelos conceituais faz com que os usuários controlem melhor sua base de dados e tirem maior proveito do SIG. O objetivo deste trabalho é definir um conjunto de procedimentos de engenharia reversa de bancos de dados espaciais que auxiliem na criação e manutenção de modelos conceituais para aplicações de SIG a partir de dados já existentes. Estes procedimentos podem contribuir para um aumento na qualidade dos SIG implementados, auxiliando na popularização da prática de modelagem conceitual de banco de dados geográficos. São estudados três formatos de transferência utilizados por usuários de SIG. A partir daí, é proposto uma arquitetura de sistema de engenharia reversa para SIG. / Even with the increasing use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), conceptual modeling of geographic databases (GDB) is not yet usual among GIS professionals. This fact can in part be explained by the professional profile of most GIS designers. They usually are more familiar with specific GIS applications than with database technology. Among them, one can find cartographers, geographers, agricultural engineers, and architects. Besides that, the cost of geographic data acquisition is so high that much important is given to acquisition plans during GIS design and less interest is given to the database design process. Especially first time designers do not perceive the importance of a database schema that is independent of a specific GIS product. Conceptual design preserves the independence between data types and the logical schema of the product. Moreover, relying on the GDB conceptual schema users can better understand what part of the geographic reality is represented in the database. The main goal of this research work is to define a set of reverse engineering procedures for spatial databases that can support either creation or evolution if conceptual GDB schemas. It is expected that these procedures can enhance the quality of GDB design as well as contribute to the popularization of GDB conceptual modeling. Three different geographic data input formats to GIS are investigated and a reverse engineering system architecture for them is proposed. Resulting conceptual (sub)schemas are based on the framework GeoFrame.

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No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Dissertação_ilmara_Versão Final 2018 - Final.pdf: 3009131 bytes, checksum: 754000508a433f0c384e6fdbc99f7888 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-10-20 / FAPEAM - Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Amazonas / Groups are a basic social structure, and as inside as outside of the academic world they form and change themselves in various ways for multiple purposes. While students form groups easily out of class, forming groups on a course can be an unnatural process. However, for collaborative learning to succeed, it is important to form groups that can be effective and efficient in accomplishing the objectives of the task. In this sense, it is sought to improve the interactions of students mainly in group activities. The group work is a resource widely used by the teacher, with the intention of encouraging students' interaction in collaborative activities. There is a lack of support for group creation in Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs). In this sense, Learning Path (LPs) can be resources to suggest groups of learners. The use of LPs is promising because it shows the paths taken by students in VLEs, which makes it possible to suggest groups based on these interactions, since to perform groups in the EAD modality is really a challenging task for the teacher. In general, in this modality, students only have 20% of face-to-face contact with each other and with the teacher, making it difficult to establish criteria for grouping. In this context, this research proposes a conceptual framework for the formation of groups in collaborative activities, through data extracted from the LPs graphs, to assist the teacher in the teaching-learning process. To verify the feasibility of the proposed conceptual framework, the M-CLUSTER tool was developed that analyzes the attributes described below and suggests the formation of groups. The mechanism emphasizes the formation of groups by applying the K-Means algorithm, which is used with three similarity metrics, which are the distances: Euclidean, Manhattan and Cosine, using attributes (vertex access, quantity, dispersion and variances of the standard edges, forward and return, and student id) obtained through the data extracted from the LPs. Meetings were held with the teachers (specialists) to validate the results. In the case study, M-CLUSTER used the attributes and classified them with K-Means, obtaining three clustering results, one for each metric. The teacher chooses among the suggestions generated and makes one available to the students so they can choose their partners within the cluster, thus forming the groups. These groups suggested by the tool were validated and visualized by the teacher, from two representations, one descriptive and one visual through bubble charts. To validate the suggested groups, two activities were carried out in the discipline, in the first activity, the students chose their group partners and in the second, the groups were formed according to the suggestions of the tool. According to the results obtained from the case study shows that the tool obtained satisfactory results where 75% of students matched or improved their individual scores in relation to those achieved in the first activity. / Grupos são estruturas sociais básicas, tanto dentro quanto fora do mundo acadêmico, eles se formam e se modificam em vários modos para múltiplos propósitos. Enquanto alunos, formar grupos fora de sala de aula aparenta ser mais fácil, por sua vez, em ambiente educativo formar grupos pode ser um processo complexo. Contudo, para que a aprendizagem colaborativa seja bem-sucedida, é importante formar grupos que possam ser efetivos e eficientes em realizar os objetivos da tarefa. Nesse sentido, busca-se melhorar as interações dos discentes principalmente em atividades em grupo. O trabalho em grupo é um recurso bastante usado pelo docente, com o intuito de incentivar a interação dos alunos nas atividades colaborativas. Há nos AVAs uma deficiência em dar suporte à criação de grupos. As Trilhas de Aprendizagem (TAs) podem ser recursos para sugerir grupos de aprendizes. O uso de TAs é promissora porque mostra os caminhos percorridos pelos alunos nos AVAs, o que possibilita sugerir grupos baseados nessas interações, pois realizar grupos na modalidade EAD é realmente uma tarefa desafiadora para o docente. No geral, nessa modalidade, os alunos só possuem 20% do contato presencial entre si e com o docente, dificultando estabelecer critérios para realizar os agrupamentos. Diante deste contexto, nesta pesquisa é proposta um framework conceitual para formação de grupos em atividades colaborativas, por meio dos dados extraídos dos grafos das TAs, para auxiliar o docente no processo de ensinoaprendizagem. Para verificar a exequibilidade do framework conceitual proposto foi desenvolvida a ferramenta M-CLUSTER que analisa os atributos descritos as seguir e sugere a formação de grupos. O mecanismo dá ênfase à formação dos grupos aplicando o algoritmo K-Means, que é utilizado com três métricas de similaridade, que são as distâncias: Euclidiana, Manhattan e Cosseno, usando os atributos (média de acesso de vértices, quantidade, dispersão e variâncias das arestas padrão, avanço e retorno e id do aluno) obtidos por meio dos dados extraídos das TAs. Foram realizadas reuniões com os docentes (especialistas) para validar os resultados. No estudo de caso, o M-CLUSTER usou os atributos e os classificou com o KMeans, obtendo três resultados de agrupamentos, um para cada métrica. O docente escolhe dentre as sugestões geradas e disponibiliza uma delas aos estudantes para eles escolherem seus parceiros dentro do cluster, assim formando os grupos. Esses grupos sugeridos pela ferramenta foram validados e visualizados pelo docente, a partir de duas representações, uma descritiva e outra visual por meio de gráficos de bolhas. Para validar os grupos sugeridos, foram realizadas duas atividades na disciplina, na primeira atividade, os estudantes escolheram seus parceiros de grupo e na segunda, os grupos foram formados de acordo com as sugestões da ferramenta. De acordo com os resultados obtidos do estudo de caso mostra que, a ferramenta obteve resultados satisfatórios onde 75% dos alunos igualaram ou melhoraram suas notas individuais em relação às alcançadas na primeira atividade.

Abstract A conceptual framework was developed to assess how changes in temperature and precipitation affect sub-surface hydrology, groundwater recharge, groundwater quantity and quality. A conceptual and statistical approach was developed to predict groundwater level variations. Daily rainfall, snowmelt and evapotranspiration values were generated with a novel conceptual hydrological model developed in this study. These values were cross-correlated with observed groundwater levels to find representative time lags and significant correlations. A statistical model linking rainfall, snowmelt, evapotranspiration and groundwater level was then developed and validated. The model simulated seasonal variations in groundwater level very accurately. A sequential approach was developed to assess surface water-groundwater interactions. The simulated surface water level estimated with the WSFS model and recharge estimated with CoupModel were linked to the groundwater flow model MODFLOW. Groundwater, surface water and snow samples were collected to study the chemical composition of groundwater in an unconfined esker aquifer in Northern Finland. Concentrations of Ca2+, Cl-, NO3-N and SiO2 and electrical conductivity were determined. Water quality in the main aquifer was found to be similar to that in the perched groundwater. Solute concentrations generally decreased during and immediately after snowmelt periods, indicating the importance of snowmelt input for groundwater quality. In the perched groundwater, NO3-N concentration increased with elevated groundwater level, indicating a nitrogen source on the land surface. The Cl- concentration in groundwater decreased when the surface water level rose higher than groundwater level. According to simulation results for the A1B climate change scenario, groundwater recharge is projected to increase in winter months due to increased snowmelt and decreased soil frost depth. The spring snowmelt peak in late spring will decrease. This will reduce aquifer storage in early spring, increasing the vulnerability to summer droughts. It is projected that flow regimes between unconfined aquifers and surface water may change, affecting water quantity and possibly quality in groundwater systems. / Tiivistelmä Tässä työssä kehitettiin konseptuaalinen viitekehysmalli, jolla voidaan arvioida kuinka muutokset lämpötilassa ja sadannassa vaikuttavat hydrologiaan, pohjaveden muodostumiseen, pohjaveden määrään ja laatuun. Tässä työssä kehitettiin ja yhdistettiin konseptuaalinen ja tilastomatemaattinen regressiomalli, jolla voidaan simuloida pohjaveden pinnankorkeuden muutoksia. Konseptuaalisella mallilla laskettiin päivittäinen sadanta, lumen sulanta ja haihdunta. Havaitut pohjaveden pinnankorkeudet korreloitiin sadannan, lumen sulannan ja haihdunnan kanssa, jotta löydettiin merkitsevät korrelaatiot tyypillisillä viiveillä. Lopuksi tilastollinen regressiomalli, joka yhdistää sadannan, lumen sulannan, haihdunnan ja pohjaveden pinnankorkeuden, kalibroitiin ja validoitiin. Kehitetyllä mallilla onnistuttiin simuloimaan vuodenaikainen pohjaveden pinnankorkeus. Yhdensuuntainen mallinnusmenetelmä kehitettiin arvioimaan pinta- ja pohjaveden vuorovaikutusta. Menetelmässä pintaveden korkeus ja pohjaveden muodostuminen linkitettiin ajan suhteen muuttuvina reunaehtoina pohjavedenvirtauksen mallinnusohjelmaan MODFLOW. Simuloidut pintaveden pinnankorkeudet saatiin Suomen ympäristökeskuksen vesistömallijärjestelmästä ja pohjaveden muodostuminen simuloitiin 1D lämmön- ja aineensiirtomallilla, CoupModel. Pudasjärven Törrönkankaan pohjavesimuodostumasta, Pudasjärvestä, Kivarinjoesta ja lumesta kerättiin näytteet ja niistä määritettiin Ca2+, Cl-, NO3-N ja SiO2 pitoisuudet sekä sähkönjohtavuus. Pitoisuudet pohja- ja salpavedessä olivat hyvin samanlaiset. Pitoisuudet yleisesti pienenivät, kun pohjaveden pinnankorkeus nousi etenkin keväisin lumien sulamisen jälkeen. Ainoastaan salpavedessä NO3-N pitoisuus kasvoi, kun pohjaveden pinnankorkeus nousi. Tämä johtuu todennäköisesti salpaveden yläpuolella olevasta NO3-N lähteestä. Cl- pitoisuus pohjavedessä pieneni, kun pintaveden korkeus nousi korkeammalle kuin pohjavesi. A1B ilmastoskenaariossa pohjaveden muodostumisen ennakoidaan lisääntyvän talvikuukausina. Tämä johtuu lumen sulannan lisääntymisestä ja roudan vähenemisestä. Keväinen lumen sulamisen huippu voi mahdollisesti pienentyä ja johtaa pohjavesivarojen pienentymiseen keväisin. A1B ilmastoskenaariossa pinta- ja pohjaveden vuorovaikutus voi myös muuttua ja siten vaikuttaa pohjaveden määrään ja mahdollisesti myös laatuun.

Humanitarian aid and disaster relief are delivered in times of crises or natural disasters, such as after a conflict or in response to a hurricane, typhoon, or tsunami. Different from regular aid programs, aid and relief are provided to deal with emergency and immediate local areas, and to shelter affected people and refugees impacted by sudden traumatic events. There is evidence that natural and man-made disasters are increasing in numbers all around the world, affecting hundreds of millions of people every year. In spite of this fact, only in recent years – beginning in 2005 – has management of the supply chain of resources and materials for humanitarian aid and disaster relief been a topic of interest for researchers. Consequently, the academic literature in this field is comparatively new and still sparse, indicating a requirement for more academic studies. As a key part of the C-Change International Community-University Research Alliance (ICURA) project for managing adaptation to environmental change in coastal communities of Canada and the Caribbean, this thesis develops a framework and analytical model for domestic supply chain management in humanitarian aid and disaster relief in the event of severe storm and flooding in the Canadian C-Change community of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. In particular, the focus includes quantitative modeling of two specific aspects during the preparedness phase for emergency management: (1) inventory prepositioning and (2) transportation planning. In addition, this thesis proposes and analyses the characteristics of an effective supply chain management framework in practice to assist Canadian coastal communities in improving their preparation and performance in disaster relief efforts. The results indicate Charlottetown system effectiveness and decreased time to assist affected people are improved by distributing central emergency supply among more than one base station.

Modeling protean objects, i.e. objects adapting their structure and behavior dynamically with respect to a changeable environment, is often challenging in traditional object-oriented languages. According to the author, the root cause of this problem lies in the class-based conceptual framework embedded in the foundation of the object-oriented para-digm. The proposed paradigm Object Morphology (OM) is greatly influenced by prototype theory developed in the field of cognitive psychology. OM abandons the notion of class and suggests, instead, that the abstractions of protean objects should be established through the construction of morph models describing the possible forms of those objects. This the-sis defines the theoretical foundations of OM, which is further used to specify the elements of prototypical object-oriented analysis. An important part of this work is also a proof-of-concept implementation of an OM framework in Scala.