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New State of MCDM in the 21st Century
By Yong Shi, Gang Kou, Shouyang Wang, Jyrki Wallenius. 2010
This book provides cutting-edge research results and application experiences from researchers and practitioners in multiple criteria decision making areas. It…
consists of three parts: MCDM Foundation and Theory, MCDM Methodology, and MCDM Applications. In Part I, it covers the historical MCDM development, the influence of MCDM on technology, society and policy, Pareto optimization, and analytical hierarchy process. In Part II, the book presents different MCDM algorithms based on techniques of robust estimating, evolutionary multiobjective optimization, Choquet integrals, and genetic search. In Part III, this book demonstrates a variety of MCDM applications, including project management, financial investment, credit risk analysis, railway transportation, online advertising, transport infrastructure, environmental pollution, chemical industry, and regional economy. The 17 papers of the book have been selected out of the 121 accepted papers at the 20th International Conference on Multiple Criteria Decision Making "New State of MCDM in 21st Century", held at Chengdu, China, in 2009. The 35 contributors of these papers stem from 10 countries.Towards a Territorial Multi-Disaster Buildings' Resistance Certification
By Daniele Fabrizio Bignami. 2014
Disaster risk is increasing, not only in number of events, but also in incurred losses. Such increases are being driven…
also by the growing exposure of assets, due to the rapid urban growth, because vulnerability decreases as countries develop, but not enough to compensate. The situation will be more and more critical, due to the growth of the amount of the building stock. Thus we need new initiatives to foster upgrading of existing building and enhancement of land planning strategies. "Safe Home" scheme is aimed at increasing urban safety requirements against hazards under an advanced labeling approach. It provides a quantitative evaluation of building performance through an objective, reproducible approach, assessing risks at a land, urban and building scale. Aim of this rating system is to result in useful information to different users, like land planning decision makers, owners, purchasers, tenants or property and real estate managers.Innovation Communities: Teamworking of Key Persons - A Success Factor in Radical Innovation
By Klaus Fichter, Severin Beucker. 2012
Self-organising networks have become the dominant innovators of complex technologies and radical innovation. The growing need for co-operation to ensure…
innovation success calls for a broader understanding of what makes innovation projects successful and requires new concepts. The book introduces the new concept of "innovation communities", defining them as informal networks of like-minded individuals who act as innovation promotors or champions. These key figures come from various companies and organisations and will team up in a project-related fashion, jointly promoting a certain innovation, product or idea either on one or across different levels of an innovation system. The publication presents findings from surveys that demonstrate that networks of champions are a success factor in radical innovation. Five case studies of noteworthy innovation projects illustrate why the collaboration of champions can make innovation projects more successful. Furthermore, the book presents hands-on methods and includes best-practice cases and guidelines on how to develop innovation communities. This publication comprises empirical findings and practical experiences that are valuable for the following groups in particular: Entrepreneurs; Innovation, R&D, and network managers; Innovation and strategy consultants; Innovation and start-up intermediaries; Innovation researchers; Government officials and politicians responsible for R&D and innovation programmes and fundingSocially Enhanced Services Computing
By Daniel Schall, Schahram Dustdar, Florian Skopik, Lukasz Juszczyk, Harald Psaier. 2010
Socially enhanced Services Computing deals with a novel and exciting new field at the intersection between Social Computing, Service-oriented Computing,…
Crowd Computing, and Cloud Computing. The present work presents a collection of selected papers by the editors of this volume, which they feel will help the reader in understanding this field. The approach discussed allows for a seamless integration of people into trusted dynamic compositions of Human-provided Services and Software-based services, thus empowering new interaction models and processes in massive collaboration scenarios in a Future Internet.Sustainable Supply Chains
By Tonya Boone, Ram Ganeshan, Vaidyanathan Jayaraman. 2006
A sustainable enterprise is one that contributes to sustainable development by simultaneously delivering economic, social and environmental benefits or what…
has been termed "the triple bottom line." While pursuing profit, socially responsible companies should be sensitive to the environment and uphold the rights of all the firm's stakeholders. This edited volume explores leading-edge ideas -- both by academics and forward-thinking companies -- to (re)design and market products, source, manufacture, and eventually distribute and recover or dispose of them in an environmentally, ecologically, and socially responsible way. This edited volume is made up of fifteen chapters loosely grouped into clusters. After an introduction, chapter 2 shows the greenhouse emissions at various levels, from countries all the way to individual products. Chapters 3-7 each focus on an industrial sector and address issues specific to that industry, with chapter 7 presenting a case study on LEED certification of Miller Hall, home of the Mason School of Business where two of the authors (Tonya and Ram) work. Chapters 8-10 address product take back in the supply chain. Chapter 8 introduces e-waste and surveys what firms are doing to combat it. Chapter 9 provides an overview of existing take-back legislation and academic papers that have studied various research questions associated with them. Chapter 10 is a tutorial that addresses the problem of product disposition on a closed-loop supply chain: what should a firm do with a product return? Chapters 11-15 address measurement, monitoring, decision-making, and reporting regarding environmental issues in a firm. Chapter 11 provides an academic survey of eco-labeling and the consumer's willingness to pay for them. Chapter 12 discusses how firms can measure the total carbon footprint in their supply chains and some of the strategies they can use to mitigate carbon emissions. Using the price of call options, chapter 13 illustrates how managers can quantify the savings attributed to sustainability-related investment. Chapter 14 develops a non-linear optimization model that addresses the complex trade-offs involved in making joint operational and environmental decisions. Finally, chapter 15 develops a Data Envelopment Analysis-based method for supplier evaluation incorporating environmental and business factors.History and GIS: Epistemologies, Considerations and Reflections
By Alexander Von L nen, Charles Travis. 2013
Geographical Information Systems (GIS) - either as "standard" GIS or custom made Historical GIS (HGIS) - have become quite popular…
in some historical sub-disciplines, such as Economic and Social History or Historical Geography. "Mainstream" history, however, seems to be rather unaffected by this trend. More generally speaking: Why is it that computer applications in general have failed to make much headway in history departments, despite the first steps being undertaken a good forty years ago? With the "spatial turn" in full swing in the humanities, and many historians dealing with spatial and geographical questions, one would think GIS would be welcomed with open arms. Yet there seems to be no general anticipation by historians of employing GIS as a research tool. As mentioned, HGIS are popular chiefly among Historical Geographers and Social and Economic Historians. The latter disciplines seem to be predestined to use such software through the widespread quantitative methodology these disciplines have employed traditionally. Other historical sub-disciplines, such as Ancient History, are also very open to this emerging technology since the scarcity of written sources in this field can be mitigated by inferences made from an HGIS that has archaeological data stored in it, for example. In most of Modern History, however, the use of GIS is rarely seen. The intellectual benefit that a GIS may bring about seems not be apparent to scholars from this sub-discipline (and others). This book wants to investigate and discuss this controversy. Why does the wider historian community not embrace GIS more readily? While one cannot deny that the methodologies linked with a GIS follow geographical paradigms rather than historical ones, the potential of GIS as a 'killer application' for digital historical scholarship should be obvious. This book brings together authors from Geography and History to discuss the value of GIS for historical research. The focus, however, will not be on the "how", but on the "why" of GIS in history.Social Networks and the Economics of Sports
By Panos Pardalos, Victor Zamaraev. 2014
This book presents recent research developments in social networks, economics, management, marketing and optimization applied to sports. The volume will…
be of interest to students, researchers, managers from sports, policy makers and as well athletes. In particular the book contains research papers and reviews addressing the following issues: social network tools for player selection, movement and pricing in team sports, methods for ranking teams and evaluating players' performance, economics and marketing issues related to sports clubs, techniques for predicting outcomes of sports competitions, optimal strategies in sports, scheduling and managing sports tournaments, optimal referee assignment techniques and the economics and marketing of sports entertainment.Too Good To Fail
By Clifford M. Gross. 2013
Too Good to Fail: Creating Marketplace Value form the World's Brightest Minds is a guide for senior managers seeking to…
address their need to rapidly develop globally innovative products with constrained R&D budgets. It creates a practical strategy to address and bring together, for the first time, the emergence of open innovation networks, intellectual property, technology transfer and the ubiquitous compression of technology development time lines in a clear, connected and lucid manner. In the industry today, companies look to remain competitive in the face of the convergence of global innovation networks and sub-optimal equity markets. This book offers a new perspective, turning what was once perceived as a weakness into a strength. Drastic action is required to address the inability of companies to control the development of new technology. It requires relinquishing the illusion of control over new technology development and embracing crowdsourcing discoveries from the world's leading research institutions to exogenously replace the "R" of corporate "R&D." The synthesis of the literatures on open innovation and technology transfer should prove useful to the growing number of practitioners in technology transfer. The recent global emergence of Patent Box tax relief has for the first time created the financial incentives for firms to seek to create marketplace value from university intellectual capital, to improve both their competitiveness and after tax income.Life Cycle Impact Assessment
By Michael Z. Hauschild, Mark A. J. Huijbregts. 2015
This book offers a detailed presentation of the principles and practice of life cycle impact assessment. As a volume of…
the LCA compendium, the book is structured according to the LCIA framework developed by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO)passing through the phases of definition or selection of impact categories, category indicators and characterisation models (Classification): calculation of category indicator results (Characterisation); calculating the magnitude of category indicator results relative to reference information (Normalisation); and converting indicator results of different impact categories by using numerical factors based on value-choices (Weighting). Chapter one offers a historical overview of the development of life cycle impact assessment and presents the boundary conditions and the general principles and constraints of characterisation modelling in LCA. The second chapter outlines the considerations underlying the selection of impact categories and the classification or assignment of inventory flows into these categories. Chapters three through thirteen exploreall the impact categories that are commonly included in LCIA, discussing the characteristics of each followed by a review of midpoint and endpoint characterisation methods, metrics, uncertainties and new developments, and a discussion of research needs. Chapter-length treatment is accorded to Climate Change; Stratospheric Ozone Depletion; Human Toxicity; Particulate Matter Formation; Photochemical Ozone Formation; Ecotoxicity; Acidification; Eutrophication; Land Use; Water Use; and Abiotic Resource Use. The final two chapters map out the optional LCIA steps of Normalisation and Weighting.Global Cooperation Among G20 Countries
By Stephen Pickford, Michael Callaghan, Chetan Ghate, Francis Xavier Rathinam. 2014
At the outbreak of the global financial crisis, 2008, the G20 was widely acknowledged as helping prevent an even more…
serious decline in the global economy. It helped to calm the panic in financial markets and articulate a set of possible policy options to restore global stability and growth. However, as the dual-track recovery set in, policy options for advanced economies and EMEs diverged. Within this context, this book will explore the scope for cooperation amongst the G20 and the diverging challenges and the intricate interconnectedness of policy options between advanced economies and the EMEs within the G20.Social Networks and the Economics of Sports
By Panos M. Pardalos, Victor Zamaraev. 2014
This book presents recent research developments in social networks, economics, management, marketing and optimization applied to sports. The volume will…
be of interest to students, researchers, managers from sports, policy makers and as well athletes. In particular the book contains research papers and reviews addressing the following issues: social network tools for player selection, movement and pricing in team sports, methods for ranking teams and evaluating players' performance, economics and marketing issues related to sports clubs, techniques for predicting outcomes of sports competitions, optimal strategies in sports, scheduling and managing sports tournaments, optimal referee assignment techniques and the economics and marketing of sports entertainment.Steigender Kostendruck und der Zwang zur Verbesserung der Wirtschaftlichkeit sind für Mitarbeiter im Gesundheitswesen Realität geworden. Viele Einrichtungen müssen ihre…
Arbeitsabläufe optimieren und gleichzeitig die Qualität ihrer Leistungen verbessern. Das Buch erläutert Grundlagen und ausgewählte Methoden des Prozessmanagements, die in Einrichtungen des Gesundheitswesens (Krankenhäuser, Krankenkassen und Krankenversicherungen) eingesetzt werden können. Der fachliche Schwerpunkt liegt auf der abteilungsübergreifenden Dokumentation, Analyse und Optimierung von Prozessen im Gesundheitswesen mit dem Ziel, die Transparenz zu erhöhen und die Effektivität und Effizienz zu steigern. Anhand von Fallbeispielen wird der Einsatz moderner Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologie als Instrument für die Prozessverbesserung dargestellt. Zahlreiche Wiederholungsfragen und Übungen machen das Werk zu einem Lern- und Arbeitsbuch, nicht nur für Studierende, sondern auch für erfahrene Praktiker im Gesundheitswesen.Regional Advantage and Innovation
By Kate Charters, Peter Vitartas, Susan Kinnear. 2012
Regional areas are key building blocks of society in many countries. This compilation uses Australian case study examples to demonstrate…
how regional areas are uniquely well-placed to contribute to national goals in innovation, infrastructure provision, water and food security, environmental sustainability, industry diversification, healthy and liveable communities, and natural disaster preparedness and response. Each of these themes is examined in the context of using innovative approaches from regions to deliver outcomes that are nationally significant. Authorship is drawn from a balance of leading practitioners and academics to provide stories that are both engaging and rigorous. The case studies are contextualised by an analysis of regional advantage literature, discussion on the regional policy implications and lessons, and commentary around the key trends and drivers for innovation and regional advantage in Australia. The book provides a convincing argument that focusing on regional innovation and development offers significant benefits to a nation as a whole.Novel Technologies in Food Science
By Anna Mcelhatton, Paulo José do Amaral Sobral. 2004
Technologies for Development
By Eileen Hazboun, Jean-Claude Bolay, Silvia Hostettler. 2015
The book presents case studies from Africa, Asia and Latin America addressing global development issues in the fields of health,…
energy, ICT and urbanism in an interdisciplinary way. The book illustrates key issues at the interface of technology, human, social, and economic development. Bringing together the best papers of the 2014 EPFL-UNESCO Conference on Technologies for Development, this book explores innovative technologies in the global South. It will be a valuable reference for researchers from engineering, natural sciences, information management, quantitative social sciences, and business faculties, as well as for development practitioners and policy makers. It shows the development potential of technologies, and discusses successful processes to develop and deploy them, as well how to evaluate their impact. The introduction to the book begins with a reflection on key issues regarding technologies for development. The following four sections focus on; (i) Innovative Technologies for Development, (ii) Open Source-Open Access-Open Innovation, (iii) Medical Technologies for the Global South, and (iv) Impact Assessment of Technologies for Development. Individual chapters explore issues such as a need for solid standards for newly developed technologies, how to successfully up-scale technology to a larger region, and how to involve private industry in the development of a technology.Emissions Trading
By Bernd Hansjürgens, Stefan Pickl, Peter Letmathe, Ralf Antes. 2010
Emissions trading challenges the management of companies in an entirely new manner: Not only does it, like other market-based environmental…
policy instruments, allow for a bigger flexibility in management decisions concerning emission issues. More importantly, it shifts the mode of governance of environmental policy from hierarchy to market. But how is this change reflected in management processes, decisions and organizational structures? The contributions in this book discuss the theoretical implications of different institutional designs of emissions trading schemes, review schemes that have been implemented in the US and Europe, and evaluate the range of investment decisions and corporate strategies which have resulted from the new policy framework.Incentives and Performance
By Isabell M. Welpe, Jutta Wollersheim, Stefanie Ringelhan, Margit Osterloh. 2015
This book contributes to the current discussion in society, politics and higher education on innovation capacity and the financial and non-financial incentives for researchers.…
The expert contributions in the book deal with implementation of incentive systems at higher education institutions in order to foster innovation. On the other hand, the book also discusses the extent to which governance structures from economy can be transferred to universities and how scientific performance can be measured and evaluated. This book is essential for decision-makers in knowledge-intensive organizations and higher-educational institutions dealing with the topic of performance management.Resilience and Recovery in Asian Disasters
By Daniel P. Aldrich, Sothea Oum, Yasuyuki Sawada. 2015
This book establishes a new, holistic framework for disaster recovery and mitigation, providing a multidisciplinary perspective on the field of…
risk management strategies and societal and communal resilience. Going beyond narrow approaches that are all too prevalent in the field, this work builds on an optimum combination of community-level networks, private market mechanisms and state-based assistance strategies. Its chapters describe best practices in the field and elucidate cutting-edge research on recovery, highlighting the interaction between government, industry and civil society. The book uses new data from a number of recent disasters across southeast and east Asia to understand the interactions among residents, the state, and catastrophe, drawing on events in Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Japan, China and Thailand. Grounded in theories of risk mitigation and empirical research, the book provides practical guidance for decision makers along with future research directions for scholars. The Asian region is highly prone to natural disasters which devastate large and mostly poor populations. This book deals with some of the root issues underlying the continued vulnerability of these societies to catastrophic shocks. The book is unusual in that it comprehensively covers resilience and fragilities from community levels to market mechanisms and governance and it analyses these issues in very different economic and structural settings. Recommended for development and disaster risk managers--without question. Professor Debarati Guha-Sapir Director, Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED); Professor, University of Louvain, Research Institute Health and Society.Spare Parts Inventory Control under System Availability Constraints
By Geert-Jan Houtum, Bram Kranenburg. 2015
This book focuses on the tactical planning level for spare parts management. It describes a series of multi-item inventory models…
and presents exact and heuristic optimization methods, including greedy heuristics that work well for real, life-sized problems. The intended audience consists of graduate students, starting scholars in the field of spare parts inventory control, and spare parts planning specialists in the industry. In individual chapters the authors consider topics including: a basic single-location model; single-location models with multiple machine types and/or machine groups; the multi-location model with lateral transshipments; the classical METRIC model and its generalization to multi-indenture systems; and a single-location model with an explicit modeling of the repair capacity for failed parts and the priorities that one can set there. Various chapters of the book are used in a master course at Eindhoven University of Technology and in a PhD course of the Graduate Program Operations Management and Logistics (a Dutch network that organizes PhD courses in the field of OM&L). The required pre-knowledge consists of probability theory and basic knowledge of Markov processes and queuing theory. End-of-chapter problems appear for all chapters, with some answers appearing in an appendix.Zukunftsfähige Wirtschaftspolitik für Deutschland und Europa
By Paul J.J. Welfens. 2010
Nach der Bankenkrise stehen Deutschland und die Europäische Union vor einer Reihe wirtschaftlicher Herausforderungen. Die Autoren liefern in ihren Beiträgen…
eine einzigartige Bestandsaufnahme der deutschen und europäischen Wirtschaftspolitik und analysieren die Reformoptionen für die Sozial-, Währungs- und Umweltpolitik. Ihr Fazit: Zielkonflikte im Bereich Wachstum, Beschäftigung und Umweltmodernisierung lassen sich durch geeignete Politikansätze minimieren. Nur durch solche innovativen Ansätze kann nachhaltiges Wachstum erreicht werden.