Die Entwicklung von Softwareagenten bringt neue Technologien für die Lösung von Problemen des Information Retrieval, die Bewältigung komplexer Aufgabenstellungen und ein neues Paradigma für verteilte Systeme. Um dieses breite Anwendungsgebiet systematisch analysieren zu können, wird im einleitenden theoretischen Teil der Arbeit eine Begriffsbestimmung und Klassifikation von Softwareagenten vorgenommen. Anschließend wird ein Überblick über aktuelle Standardisierungsbemühungen gegeben und beispielhafte Entwicklungen aus Forschung und Industrie vorgestellt. Im zweiten Teil der Arbeit geht es um die Entwicklung eines konkreten News-Watcher-Agentensystems. Dabei wird die Umsetzung der im theoretischen Teil vorgestellten Eigenschaften von Agenten diskutiert.

In dieser Arbeit werden die neuen objektorientierten Mechanismen von Sun's neuem Kern ¨Spring¨ vorgestellt. Hier wurden erstmals die Standards der OMG (Object Managment Group) umgesetzt. An einem kleinen Beispiel wird das Programmieren unter Spring erlaeutert.

Modeliais grįsta sistemų architektūra (MDA) yra „Object Management Group“ (OMG) konsorciumo iniciatyva apibrėžti naują požiūrį į programų sistemų kūrimą remiantis modeliais ir automatizuota jų transformacija į programinį kodą. Siekdama standartizuoti šį požiūrį, OMG patvirtino visą eilę standartų, bet esminiai MDA principai ir praktikos glūdi modeliais grįstame sistemų kūrimo stiliuje, kuris yra fundamentalus programų sistemų inžinerijoje. MDA idėjos, pradžioje sukėlusios didelį entuziazmą IT bendruomenėje, ilgainiui peraugo į skepticizmą ir kai kurie autoriai atvirai pradėjo abejoti modeliais grįsto sistemų kūrimo perspektyva. Šiame darbe analizuojamos praktinio MDA taikymo programų sistemų kūrimo procese aspektai ir galimybės, analizuojami galimi sprendimai ir kliūtys, dėl kurių MDA požiūris gali būti sunkiai pritaikomas. Įvairių autorių įvardijami praktiniai MDA taikymo programų sistemų kūrimo procese sunkumai, didelės tam reikalingos investicijos, pastangos ir resursai, tinkamų instrumentų trūkumas, didelė standartų įvairovė ir sudėtingos technologijos iš dalies lėmė išaugusį skepticizmą MDA paradigmai. MDA apibrėžia naujus sistemų kūrimo principus ir standartais apibrėžia technologijas, kurios pagrindžia šiuos principus. Tai neišvengiamai įtakoja patį programų sistemų kūrimo procesą, kuris turi pasipildyti naujomis veiklomis, praktikomis ir technologijomis, kaip kurti sistemas taikant MDA požiūrį. Šiame kontekste būtinas tam tikras pragmatinis požiūris į MDA ir su juo... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Model Driven Architecture (MDA) is an approach to using models in software development, which states that models and model-based transformations are a key part of effective automated software development. The Object Management Group (OMG) has defined standards for representing MDA models, but the principles and practice of MDA are rooted in model-based styles of development that have been fundamental to software engineering from its earliest days. Unfortunately, early enthusiasm for Model Driven Architecture (MDA) has dissipated to the point that many people are openly skeptical of the value of any model-driven approach. This paper examines the practical realities of MDA, difficulties and challenges in adopting an MDA approach to software engineering process. While MDA requires additional efforts and high investment to be adopted in software engineering process, it doesn’t provide any means or guidelines for this. This paper argues that to be successful, a pragmatic MDA approach must be executed in context of a sound Enterprise Architecture providing an integrated business architecture and governance structure that enables an organization to respond to business requirements quickly and appropriately.

Interest for business models and business modeling has increased rapidly since the mid-1990‘s and there are numerous approaches used to create business models. The business model concept has many definitions which can lead to confusion and slower progress in the research and development of business models. A business model ontology (BMO) was created in 2004 where the business model concept was conceptualized based on an analysis of existing literature. A few years later the Business Model Canvas (BMC) was published; a popular business modeling approach providing a high-level, semi-formal approach to create and communicate business models. While this approach is easy to use, the informality and high-level approach can cause ambiguity and it has limited computer-aided support available. In order to propose a solution to address this problem and facilitate the development and communication of Business Model Canvas models, two artifacts are created, demonstrated and evaluated; a structured metamodel for the Business Model Canvas and its implementation in an OMG standards-based modeling tool to provide tool support for BMC modeling.This research is carried out following the design science approach where the artifacts are created to better understand and improve the identified problem. The problem and its background are explicated and the planned artifacts and requirements are outlined. The design and development of the artifacts are detailed and the resulting BMC metamodel is presented as a class diagram in Unified Modeling Language (UML) and implemented to provide tool support for BMC modeling. A demonstration with a business model and an evaluation is performed with expert interviews and informed arguments.The creation of a BMC metamodel exposed some ambiguity in the definition and use of the Business Model Canvas and the importance of graphical presentation and flexibility in the tools used.The evaluation of the resulting artifacts suggests that the artifacts do facilitate the development and communication of the Business Model Canvas models by improving the encapsulation and communication of information in a standardized way and thereby the goals of the research are met.

The present study is an attempt to analyze the impact of changing policy regime during the liberalization era on the behaviour of 81 sample firms in Indian electronics industry in terms of factor productivities. We categorise a period of 12 years (1993-2004) as the two phases of liberalisation: - Period/ Phase 1: 1993-1998 and Period/ Phase 2: 1999-2004. The 81 sample firms are segregated into four primary sub-sectors of electronics industry based on their use pattern: communication equipments, computer hardware, consumer electronics and other electronics. The objective is to trace the growth of output in the four sub-sectors in Indian electronics industry over two phases of liberalisation and to determine the relative contributions of Input Growth (IG) and Total Factor Productivity Growth (TFPG) to Output Growth (OG). Further, the study focuses on determining the relative contributions of Technological Progress (TP) and Technical Efficiency Change (TEC) to TFPG and establishes the influence of firm specific managerial decision making and management efficiency variables on TEC and TP. The methodology follows a three-step approach in order to achieve the above objectives. The first step is to determine a potential stochastic production function using stochastic frontier production function model and measure firm-wise technical inefficiency levels. The second step is to measure the growth of TFP over two phases and to derive the components TEC and TP. The third step measures the influence of management decision variables on TEC and TP using a frontier approach model on a panel data. The contribution of labour to output was found to be higher than the contribution of capital in all four sub-sectors. However, capital contribution improved in phase 2 relative to phase 1 for computer hardware and other electronics sub-sectors. Computer hardware was the only sub-sector that experienced an improvement in returns to scale from constant returns to scale in phase 1 to increasing returns to scale in phase 2 of liberalisation. The Technological Progress (TP) and Technical Efficiency Change (TEC) that contributed to TFPG exhibited a contrasting relationship for all the four sub-sectors in the electronics industry: TEC declined when there was high TP while it improved when there was a decline in TP. This could be because Indian electronics firms generally focus on either technology imports/ develop indigenous technology to achieve TP or to assimilate the imported/ indigenous technology for better use. The lag in assimilation of imported/ developed technology could be a reason for the negative relation between TEC and TP. The communication equipment sub-sector had a balanced growth in terms of TEC and TP among the four sub-sectors. The computer hardware and the other electronics sub-sectors were worse performers in terms of TEC in period 2 relative to period 1 and so had been the electronics industry as a whole. The computer hardware sub-sector had the highest average OG in period 2 relative to period 1 among all the sub-sectors due to relatively high contribution of IG. Other electronics sub-sector had the highest average TP that compensated for the negative average TEC. On an average, percentage contribution of TP to TFPG was high for the electronics industry and its sub-sectors in period 2 relative to period 1. This is an indication that the sub-sectors of Indian electronics industry have strived and achieved steady technological progress in the period of economic liberalisation to cope with the intensifying competition internally as well as externally. The sample firms in the electronics industry were in favour of towards external acquisition of sophisticated technology, which explains the relatively high contribution of TP to the TFPG of the industry. However, this was not followed up with adequate in-house R&D in order to develop indigenous technology or to absorb imported technology as a result of which TEC for the sub-sectors and the whole industry suffered. Growth in Operating Margin (OMG) and Growth in Returns on Capital Employed (ROCEG) generate additional revenue that could be ploughed back into the firm for improvement of its existing indigenous technology or absorption of imported technology thereby leading to improvement in TE and TP. The positive influence of OMG as well as ROCEG on TEC and TP for all the sub-sectors is an indication of efficient management in these sub-sectors in utilizing assets and profits to generate earnings. However, the trend of operating margin and returns on capital employed had been declining for all the sub-sectors. Inventory management proved to be costly for TP as financial resources diverted to maintain inventory had an undesirable effect on their indigenious technology. Most of the sample firms in the electronics industry were found to have incurred R&D expenditure to derive tax incentives. As a result the resources got diverted away from other creative operational or skill improvement efforts to unproductive and wasteful R&D activities. Thus, R&D did not have the desirable influence on the components of TFPG. The present study showed that unplanned and ad hoc technology imports or even raw material imports was not conducive to the growth of both the components of TFPG. Older firms need to develop their technology or adequately import better and more sophisticated technology. This would enable older (more experienced) electronic firms to overcome the negative influence of age, reflected in our analysis. This is, however, applicable to only those segments of the electronics industry where firms preferred to serve lower end of the market as well as lower end of the technological spectrum (eg. Computer hardware and other electronics sub-sectors). Electronics industry like any other capital goods industry offers scope for vertical integration. Management of the firms in electronics industry should emphasize on vertical integration, expansion of scale of operations and should initiate R&D investments to build up R&D base, among others to improve TEC and TP. This would also help to check the decline in operating margin and returns from invested capital among the firms. Thus, improved managerial effectiveness and decision making do help in the form of generating thereby surpluses facilitating to achieve higher TP and even TEC. Regional and State governments should provide adequate policy support and appropriate industrial infrastructure to electronic firms which would in turn improve their managerial effectiveness and TFPG.

Sustainable performance of buildings has become a major concern among construction industry professionals. However, sustainability considerations are often treated as an add-on to building design, following ad hoc processes for their implementation. As a result, the most common problem to achieve a sustainable building outcome is the absence of the right information at the right time to make critical decisions. For design team members to appreciate the requirements of multidisciplinary collaboration, there is a need for transparency and a shared understanding of the process. The aim of this study is to investigate, model, and facilitate the early stages of Building Information Modelling (BIM) enabled Sustainable Building Design (SBD) by formalising the ad hoc working relationships of the best practices in order to standardise the optimal collaboration workflows. Thus, this research strives to improve BIM maturity level for SBD, assisting in the transition from ad hoc to defined , and then, to managed . For this purpose, this study has adopted an abductive research approach (iterative process of induction and deduction) for theory building and testing. Four (4) stages of data collection have been conducted, which have resulted in a total of 32 semi-structured interviews with industry experts from 17 organisations. Fourteen (14) best practice case studies have been identified, and 20 incidents narratives have been collected applying the Critical Decision Method (CMD) to examine roles and responsibilities, resources, information exchanges, interdependencies, timing and sequence of events, and critical decisions. As a result, the research has classified the critical components of SBD into a framework utilising content and thematic analyses. These have included the definition of roles and competencies that are essential for SBD along with the existing opportunities, challenges, and limitations. Then, Schedules of Services for SBD have been developed for the following stages of the RIBA Plan of Work 2013: stage 0 (Strategic Definition), stage 1 (Preparation and Brief), and stage 2 (Concept Design). The abovementioned SBD components have been coordinated explicitly into a systematic process, which follows Concurrent Engineering (CE) principles utilising Integrated DEFinition (IDEF) structured diagramming techniques (IDEF0 and IDEF3). The results have identified the key players roles and responsibilities, tasks (BIM Uses), BIM-based deliverables, and critical decision points for SBD. Furthermore, Green BIM Box (GBB) workflow management prototype tool has been developed to analyse communication and delivery of BIM-enabled SBD in a centralised system (Common Data Environment, CDE). GBB s system architecture for SBD process automation is demonstrated through Use Case Scenarios utilising the OMG UML (Object Management Group s Unified Modelling Language) notation. The proposed solution facilitates the implementation of BIM, Information Communication Technology (ICT), and Building Performance Analysis (BPA) software to realise the benefits of combining distributed teams expertise holistically into a common process. Finally, the research outcomes have been validated through academic and industrial reviews that have led to the refinement of the IDEF process model and framework. It has been found that collaborative patterns are repeatable for a variety of different non-domestic building types such as education, healthcare, and offices. Therefore, the research findings support the idea that a detailed process, which follows specified communication patterns, can assist in achieving sustainability targets efficiently in terms of time, cost, and effort.