The development of information systems consumes an increasing share of economic resources. Over a trillion dollars worldwide is invested in information technology annually, and this investment is growing over $100 billion a year. This investment occurs despite failure rates for large information system development projects that are estimated as high as 75%. The large investment and high failure rates combine to create the potential for significant impact from information system development practices that are able to address these failure rates. Researchers, over the past thirty years, have studied factors that drive these high failure rates. One of the factors repeatedly mentioned in practitioner surveys is the importance of accurate communication in the "upstream" analysis and planning stage of a project. System development professionals are aided in their upstream planning through the use of information system development methods (ISDM's). ISDM's are modeling tools and techniques that are capable of representing information about an information system. Many alternative system analysis modeling techniques have been developed, yet few empirical comparisons of the alternative techniques have been completed. The lack of comparative empirical data has contributed to a proliferation of modeling methods and increased the confusion surrounding the adoption of system analysis methods by system development professionals and teachers. This study addresses the issue of empirical comparison of system analysis modeling techniques. A new instrument and empirical method is proposed for developing a comparison of the level of "understanding" that a participant is able to create by viewing a description of a particular domain. The level of "understanding" is addressed using three measures: comprehension, problem solving, and text reconstruction. The new measures of "problem solving", suggested by Mayer in the field of Education Psychology, and "text reconstruction" or "Cloze", suggested by Taylor in the field of Communications, extend empirical instruments previously used by system analysis researchers. To test the efficacy of the proposed instrument and method, two empirical studies were developed in this thesis. The first study used the new instrument to compare three development methods "grammars: Text descriptions; Structured Analysis (using Data Flow Diagrams and Entity Relationship Diagrams); and Object Oriented Diagrams. The study was labeled an "Intergrammar" comparison, as three grammars representing three fundamental approaches to developing an analysis model were compared. Two propositions, in regards to the intergrammar study, were tested. The first suggested that viewing descriptions created with diagrams would lead to a higher level of understanding than viewing a description based solely on text. This hypothesis was confirmed. The second hypothesis suggested that viewing a domain description created using an object oriented grammar would lead to a higher level of "understanding" than viewing a description created using the "Structured Analysis" approach. The results confirmed the hypothesis that the group of participants using the Object-Oriented grammar scored higher in "understanding" than participants using the Structured Analysis grammar. A follow-up protocol analysis was undertaken to illuminate why the participants using object methods scored. The analysis of these protocols indicated two things. First, participants using Structured Analysis made little use of the Entity Relationship Diagram (ERD). Second, participants seemed to favor the "object" concept when answering questions. These findings provide some empirical evidence that objects may be more "natural" cognitive constructs than those used in Structured Analysis. The second study revisited a study Bodart and Weber's study regarding alternative grammars for the Entity Relationship Diagram. A grammar using mandatory attributes and relationships with sub types, the other using optional attributes and relationships, were compared. The grammars shared a common primary grammar, therefore, the second study was labeled an "Intragrammar" comparison. The new instrument was again used in this study. The ontological constructs proposed in the Bunge-Wand-Weber (BWW) model were used to suggest the theoretical advantage of the grammar using mandatory attributes and relationships with subtypes. The results supported the theoretical advantage associated with mandatory attributes and relationships with subtypes. This intragammar study provided further evidence of the utility of the empirical instrument proposed in this thesis. This study has implications for future empirical research in system analysis. The empirical instrument described in this thesis extends previous empirical research instruments with the introduction of the problem solving and the Cloze task. In two studies, the new instrument has displayed the sensitivity to differentiate between treatment groups. The results from the two empirical studies suggest that object-oriented analysis may hold advantages over traditional structured analysis, and that mandatory attributes and relationships may be preferred to optional attributes and relationships in the entity relationship grammar. / Business, Sauder School of / Management Information Systems, Division of / Graduate

ITC/USA 2008 Conference Proceedings / The Forty-Fourth Annual International Telemetering Conference and Technical Exhibition / October 27-30, 2008 / Town and Country Resort & Convention Center, San Diego, California / As part of a project to develop small satellites, we have developed a combined ground station and flight computer control software package using LabVIEW. These computer systems are used to acquire data from sensors, control communications links, provide automatic data acquisition capabilities, and provide a user interface. In this paper, we will look at the state machines that describe both sets of software, the challenges for the flight computer development given the PC/104 format, and show how the final product was deployed.

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 20-23, 2003 / Riviera Hotel and Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada / The 746th Test Squadron at Holloman AFB has developed and utilized the Central Inertial Guidance Test Facility (CIGTF) High Accuracy Post-processing Reference System (CHAPS). CHAPS is a multi-sensor navigation reference system used to evaluate position, velocity, and attitude performance of Global Positioning System (GPS), Inertial Navigation System (INS), and Embedded GPS/INS (EGI) navigation systems on large vehicles and aircraft. Reference data is processed post-test with accuracy ranges from a meter to sub-meter depending on the reference configuration and test environment (profile, trajectory dynamics, GPS jamming, etc.). The GPS Aided Inertial Navigation Reference (GAINR) system developed by the Air Force Flight Test Center (Edwards AFB) offered other utilization capabilities (test beds and post-processing time). The basic sensor assembly is an EGI navigation system. The data are post-processed with Multisensor Optimal Smoothing Estimation Software (MOSES). Incorporating CHAPS and GAINR capabilities generates a reference system with enhanced accuracy (sub-meter) in a dynamic GPS non-jamming/jamming environment. This paper will present the enhanced reference system combination of CHAPS/GAINR capabilities, characterization process and development methodology.

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 21, 2002 / Town & Country Hotel and Conference Center, San Diego, California / The intelligent vehicle navigation system is the multifunctional and complex integrate system that involved in auto positioning technology, geography information system and digital map database, computer technology, multimedia and wireless communication technology. In this paper, the autonomous navigation system based on the embedded hardware and embedded software platform is proposed. The system has advantages of low cost, low power consumption, multifunction and high stability and reliability.

<p>In order to maximize operating time of an industrial machine and minimize stand-by time, service time and operating costs, a diagnostic system can be a useful tool. Diagnostic systems employ information already available in a machine’s control system (such as control signals, system state, sensor readings and so forth) to perform intelligent fault detection and localisation, and predict future faults and service needs.</p><p>CC Systems develops advanced electronics and control systems for industrial machines and vehicles operating in rough environments. One of their products is a diagnostic platform called Diagnostic Runtime Engine (DRE), supplying the customer with a tool for building a diagnostic system. The platform offers supervision of the control system. Actions are performed when it detects a possible fault or indication of a potential future fault. An action could be for example the creation of an alarm.</p><p>The DRE, as designed today, only works together with a control system running in an environment called CoDeSys. In this master thesis a new architecture of the platform is presented, with the objective to make the platform compatible with an arbitrary control system. A prototype is implemented to prove the concept of the suggested architecture model. A number of different standard diagnostic blocks, used for building the diagnostic system, are also suggested with the objective to make it easier for the user to employ the DRE. A proposition of how development with the diagnostic platform can proceed beyond this thesis is also presented.</p> / <p>För att maximera drifttid hos en industriell maskin och minimera driftskostnader samt standby- och service-tid, kan ett diagnostiksystem användas. Ett sådant system använder sig av information som redan finns tillgänglig i maskinens styrsystem (så som styrsignaler, tillstånd, sensorvärden och så vidare) för att utföra feldetektering och fellokalisering samt analys av möjliga framtida feltillstånd och servicebehov.</p><p>CC Systems utvecklar avancerade elektronikkomponenter och styrsystem för industriella maskiner och fordon. En av deras produkter är en diagnostikplattform, Diagnostic Runtime Engine (DRE), som erbjuder ett verktyg för att bygga upp ett diagnostiksystem. Plattformen möjliggör övervakning av styrsystemet, och detektion av ett nuvarande feltillstånd eller möjligt framtida feltillstånd leder till att en handling utförs. En handling kan till exempel vara att ett alarm skapas.</p><p>Diagnostikplattformen, som den är gjord idag, fungerar bara tillsammans med ett styrsystem som är implementerat i utvecklingsmiljön CoDeSys. I detta examensarbete presenteras en ny arkitektur på plattformen som möjliggör användande tillsammans med ett godtyckligt styrsystem. En prototyp är implementerad för att visa att den föreslagna arkitekturmodellen fungerar i praktiken. Dessutom är ett antal standard-diagnostikblock, som används då ett diagnostiksystem byggs upp, föreslagna. Standardblocken har till syfte att underlätta användandet av diagnostikplattformen. Ett förslag för hur DRE kan byggas om och utvecklas i framtiden är också presenterat.</p>

This single case study was created to investigate one lesbian parented family's experiences in family, social, and educational systems to gain perspective on their overall happiness. In depth face-to-face interviews were conducted with two lesbian parents currently raising three children. After data collection and analysis, the researcher constructed six findings based on the primary research questions. The study determined that regardless of minor discrimination in the systems, the parents and their children have positive experiences in their family, social, and educational systems. The parents also offered ideas about political and social changes that would improve their lives. Overall, the study determined that regardless of negative experiences based on their sexual orientation, the parents believe that all members of the family are happy and proud of their family unit. / School of Education / Community Counseling / MS / Thesis

Most of machine industry in Taiwan use ¡§Build to order¡¨ which start the production process until receiving orders. The key of ¡§Build to order¡¨ can be successful or not is quickly response to demand changes. If the production system can¡¦t keep up with changes in customer demand, it won¡¦t be able to process successive demands. Then the backlog will be more and more. So in ¡§Build to order¡¨, whether production system can adjust for changes in customer demand quickly or not is an important issue of ¡§Build to order¡¨. Kanban System is a mode of production which Toyota JIT system develops. It uses kanbans to control capacity of each workstation strictly. In order to achieve pull system, it uses kanbans to authorize production. Traditional push system must change production plans frequently, and maintain a certain stock between production processes. Pull system uses demands of back-end process to pull the production of front-end process. To achieve the so-called ¡§Just-in-Time¡¨ concept, the system must output the right number of products at the right time. This study uses system dynamics. According to relevant literatures and models, this study constructs Kanban system with industrial properties. According to demand changes and number of kanbans, this study simulates and analyzes the effectiveness after implementing the Kanban system. Then this study makes some management recommendations. Conclusions and findings:(1)Under the situation of normal demand changes, Kanban system can achieve quickly response and stability of production systems.(2) Under the situation of excessive changes in demand, implementing Kanban system will increase the backlog.(3)The number of kanbans represents production needs which are additional planned. The system should minimize the number of kanbans to avoid wastes.

This study aims to develop an oscillatory wave-energy acquisition system with adjustable system characteristics. The system is designed to efficiently acquire energy from the sea waves with a wide frequency band. Based on the past studies, the oscillatory wave-energy acquisition system, designed previously, can only acquire energy from the sea waves with a narrow frequency band. Such a limit causes the system to have a low efficiency in acquiring power if the wave has a large frequency band. The main goal of this novel design to allow the system adjusting its system characteristics, based on the dynamic characteristics of sea wave, to attain the optimal power acquisition. In the study, different types of oscillatory systems are first examined whether they are effective to transform their dynamic characteristics when the system parameters are varied. The effectiveness of such transformation is evaluated through an optimization procedure. This procedure is to evaluate whether the frequency response of system can acquire the highest power from a given property of sea wave. Through a detailed analysis, the system structure of a three degree-of-freedom oscillatory wave-energy system is chosen for current purpose. A careful study about the effectiveness of dynamic transformation, via the adjustment of different system parameters, is then studied. The study shows that the selected system with adjustable capability can effectively acquire energy from a sea wave with large frequency band. The acquired efficiency can increase up to 70% compared to the earlier system.

The system of military service in competent decades of our country, always little people smell , under the pressure of the annual general presidential election of today (93 ), have become the alliance candidate out of office and fought for the letting go of the ballot? . We do not think that so great and complicated a problem should become chips of the election war , do not agree in making the question excessively simple even more. But this piece think naturally decades in the past, even sacred and inviolable system serve the mesa, exactly one best chance overall to deep discussion and analyze their. The cost tries calculating and analyzing the research in accordance with this' enlisting persons for service in the armed forces, sought the military system and changed into a mercenary system, calculate for NT$30,000 in accordance with the monthly firewood of each person while simplifying to 340,000-300,000 people in troops of our country, the annual military spending increases by NT$47,610 million and NT$23,370 million; And by 230,000 of rational scale of troops, then the military spending will be reduced by 16,670 million compared with 2003, only the above is assessed and will not have considered and adjusted the range of the firewood in the future , so the military spending assessed should be low than reality. Another learn in accordance with questionnaire investigation , compatriots reach 60.5% that the effective sample counted to support degree of the mercenary system, it is obvious that it is the expectations of most compatriots to implement the mercenary system. In the will of joining the army , though will consider that will occupy 74.6% that the result sample will be counted , the will is low to reflect the young man of the right battle age level, the main reason has no future and fetters too much. Ministry of National Defense since the 92nd year of the Republic of China , with one year Cheng by a definite date , is it recruit wish battle a soldier to run as an experiment in advance, the demand personnel is 647 person in initial stage , recruit through three times and only get 46% of the personnel¡¦s , namely 349 people. So, according to experiment of enlisting persons for service in the armed forces that our country implements for the first time, our country will implement the mercenary system and really exist difficultly. Any national defense builds up the Army and plans to pay attention to ' the stability of the manpower resource ' , because train a ripe soldier it is difficult, all taking the initiative , the wish that the advantage of enlisting persons for service in the armed forces lies in joining in the youth of the troops, the obeying can relatively bear every request trained strictly with the tolerance standing being trained hard, but the speech of stressing and obeying definitely army, it is really the easy taking and manpower resource with high fighting capacity to enlist persons for service in the armed forces. Restriction on the thing that individual took action copy characteristic of army, this be can't changed, but how to help the battle soldier of the wish to carry on the work or the career after retiring to plan, make the army become inducements , promising trade. So if can to volunteer soldier have appropriate career plan and every monthly pay money raise to more than NT$40,000, shown that the mercenary system of our country certainly will have bright prospects in the future by the statistical data.

Salt is one of the most important materials to human beings. To the state, the salt tax is one of the most steady incomes in finance. The state may control the salt industry because of the necessary to his people , or finance. This research, starting from the relative autonomy of the state, tries to discuss the purpose of the state to control the salt industry, and at the same time, the state will take different salt systems for different purposes. Specifically, the state has its own purposes, and to reach them, the state will decide it`s salt system. This research will take three salt systems- the state monopolized system,taxation system,and non-tax system, and take three factors- political business relationship,production and marketing ways,the development of salt industry to realize the the state`s purposes and how the salt system works. This research discovered that the financial factor was usually the first purpose of the state. In the state monopolized system, durivg the Japanse period, the independence of Taiwan`s finance is the purpose of the state after 1915. In taxation system, the state took salt industry as public enterprise. In order to root in Taiwan, the state authorises the resource in Taiwan through public enterprise. The salt tax is one of the most steady incomes in the state finance. In the state monopolized system, the state did not control the production of salt products, but bought all kinds of salt products in forces. The state was not a producer, but a distributor. Therefore , the political business relationship was given and taken. This relationship did not change in taxation system, because the state was both producer and distributor, till non-tax system begun. In non-tax system, the political business relationship turns to competitive relation, for the state can not control the salt industry anymore, and the relative autonomy of the the state disappeared. The salt industry had a considerable progress during the periods of the state monopolized system and taxation system, because the salt industry had to coordinate the state policy to produce difference salt products. In non-tax system period , because of the opening of the salt products market , the salt industry turns to technical denseness industry. Finally, the salt industry was controlled by the state for finance purpose and coordinated the state`s policy.