The general theme of the CE2009 Conference is the recognised requirement for advancements in Concurrent Engineering (CE) with a global perspective for competitive enterprise, economy and ecology. CE appeared in the "80s as the concept of parallel performing engineering design activities and the integration of all related processes. This concept is based on the general assumption that different components of the product life cycle should be considered together and relatively early. The main goal of CE is to make processes more efficient and more resistant to errors.
Since then the whole CE approach has evolved into different forms with different names and has become omnipresent. The industrial presence of CE differs from well established corporation implementations to SME applications. The last twenty years have brought many changes to the organization of product design and manufacturing: engineers have developed narrower specializations; engineers have developed a global presence; engineers work in firms which are final producers or suppliers; sometimes firms create alliances; engineers cooperate and collaborate; and they use different methods and tools their engineering activities. As a result the CE approach supports engineers in many ways.
The role of information systems in CE has always been treated as very important. First methodologies and tools were concentrated on offering the possibility to contact people and processes, to make the right information and knowledge available at the right time. The presence of computer tools in CE is treated as standard.
If one looks now at what is going on and at how many different issues are important in design, manufacturing, supply, distribution, etc., one will understand why the context of CE is so rich and so complicated, why there are so many CE specializations and why the main topic of the CE2009 Conference is of great relevance. The plurality of CE specialization has been reflected by the range of CE 2009 Conference tracks, which include Systems Engineering, Advanced Manufacture, Product Design, Design for Sustainability, Knowledge Engineering, Supply Chain Management, Collaborative Engineering, Web Technologies and Service Solutions. Apart from the enumerated tracks, the conference also has seven special sessions: Radio Frequency Identification, Collaborative Product Development, Multi-disciplinary Design and Optimization, Design Knowledge Utilization, Competitive Supply Chain Performance, Value Engineering and Competitive Design.
The proceedings contain 84 papers, demonstrating the multitude of different perspectives contained in this volume. There are papers which are theoretic and conceptual, as well as papers which have very strong industrial roots. There are also very detailed, highly specialized paper, which are closely linked to specific industrial case studies. The reader will also find papers which are based on real processes, but which operate on abstract models and which offer a bridge between industrial reality and academic research.
CE does not develop equally in each area; the direction of development depends on many factors. The content of this volume reflects the variety of issues in today"s CE methods and phenomena; consequently, readers will be able to build their own view of the present problems and methods involved in CE.
Fiercely observed, often hilarious, and “reminiscent of Ibsen and Strindberg” ( The New York Times Book Review ), this exquisitely controversial novel was initially banned in its author’s homeland. A searing portrayal of Vienna’s bourgeoisie, it begins with the arrival of an unnamed writer at an ‘artistic dinner’ hosted by a composer and his society wife—a couple he once admired and has come to loathe. The guest of honor, a distinguished actor from the Burgtheater, is late. As the other guests wait impatiently, they are seen through the critical eye of the writer, who narrates a silent but frenzied tirade against these former friends, most of whom have been brought together by Joana, a woman they buried earlier that day. Reflections on Joana’s life and suicide are mixed with these denunciations until the famous actor arrives, bringing an explosive end to the evening that even the writer could not have seen coming.
Rein Mullerson was Deputy Foreign Minister of Estonia during the country"s independence struggles and is a distinguished professor of international relations. His book is concerned with the interplay of international law and politics in the changing international system. He analyses events in Eastern Europe and the former USSR to throw light on broad and controversial issues including non-use of force, non-interference in internal affairs, self-determination of peoples, minorities and nationalism in inter-ethnic conflicts and human rights in post-totalitarian societies. Controversial questions of continuity and succession of states and their recognition are also set in this context. One purpose of the book is to show how recent developments influence the international system as a whole and how international law has to change in order to respond to new challenges.
This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 14th IAPR TC-18 International Conference on Discrete Geometry for Computer Imagery, DGCI 2008, held in Lyon, France, in April 2008.
This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the International Symposium on Logical Foundations of Computer Science, LFCS 2007, held in New York, NY, USA in June 2007. The volume presents 36 revised refereed papers that address all current aspects of logic in computer science.
Armed opposition groups generally fight governments, seeking overthrow and/or secession. But who is accountable under international law for the acts committed by these groups, or for the failure to prevent these acts? Zegveld examines the need legally to identify the parties involved when armed internal conflict arises, and the reality of their demand for rights. Although currently most armed conflicts are internal, they remain largely uncharted territory in law. This award-winning study will be of interest to academics, postgraduate students and professionals involved with armed conflict and international relations.
It is widely recognised that the foreign aid system – of which every country in the world is a part – is in need of drastic overhaul. There are conflicting opinions as to what should be done. Some call for dramatic increases to achieve longstanding promises. Others bang the drum for cutting it altogether, and suggest putting the fate of poor and vulnerable people in the hands of markets or business. A few argue that what is needed is creative, innovative transformation. The arguments in Aid on the Edge of Chaos are firmly in the third of these categories.
In this ground-breaking book, Ben Ramalingam shows that the linear, mechanistic models and assumptions that foreign aid is built on are more at home in early twentieth century industry than in the dynamic, complex world we face today.
The reality is that economies and societies are less like machines and more like ecosystems. Aid on the Edge of Chaos explores how thinkers and practitioners in economics, business, and public policy have started to embrace new, ecologically literate approaches to thinking and acting, informed by the ideas of complex adaptive systems research. It showcases insights, experiences, and dramatic results of a growing network of practitioners, researchers, and policy makers who are applying a complexity-informed approach to aid challenges.
From transforming approaches to child malnutrition, to rethinking process of macroeconomic growth, from rural Vietnam to urban Columbia, Aid on the Edge of Chaos shows how embracing the ideas of complex systems thinking can help make foreign aid more relevant, more appropriate, more innovative, and more catalytic. It argues that taking on these ideas will be a vital part of the transformation of aid, from a post-WW2 mechanism of resource transfer, to a truly innovative and dynamic form of global cooperation fit for the twenty-first century.
This book comprises the proceedings of the International Conference on Transformations in Engineering Education conducted jointly by BVB College of Engineering & Technology, Hubli, India and Indo US Collaboration for Engineering Education (IUCEE).
