Journal of
Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics
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 ISSN: 1690-4524 (Online)    DOI: 10.54808/JSCI




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TABLE OF CONTENTS





The Digitalization of Health Care Paves the Way for Improved Quality of Life?
Martin Gellerstedt
Pages: 1-10
ABSTRACT:
The digitalization of health care is really a game changer for developing health care. This article gives an, overview, discuss opportunities and reflects on methodological issues in this new era. Important issues discussed include: Could digitalization offer the right chemistry between evidence based medicine and individualization of health care. Does Big Data imply long tail health care? How could patients be co-creators of health care? And, methodological pros and cons with different sources of “evidence”.


CHAOS Chronicles, Focusing on Failures and Possible Improvements in IT Projects
Jim Johnson, Hans Mulder
Pages: 11-15
ABSTRACT:
The Standish Group started in 1985 in the business of IT markets forecasts and predictions using Artificial Intelligence and cased-based reasoning technology. In 1994 we turned to predicting project outcomes, improving software development, and building a world-class database. Standish’s cumulative research encompasses 22 years of data on why projects succeed or fail, representing more than 50,000 active completed IT projects. In this paper we clarify how we got here, where we are, and how academia next to practitioners can be part of the next stage of the CHAOS journey. The vehicle which drives our journey is the CHAOS University System.


Smart as a Key Component of the Sustainable City Development
Tomas Zelinka, Ondrej Pribyl, Michal Lom
Pages: 16-21
ABSTRACT:
Smart City Initiatives are aiming on creation of a sustainable model for cities with the aim to improve quality of life of their citizens. A smart city represents an interdisciplinary field requiring high level of cooperation among experts from different fields and a contribution of the latest technologies in order to achieve the best results in the city’s key areas. Such approach requires an effective cooperation across many fields, from technical or economic through legislation to social areas. Success of the smart city concept is not thinkable without an effective engagement of the end users, i.e. citizens of the smart cities. The traditional systems engineering methodologies fail and new approaches are urgently needed. A new Hybrid-Agile Methodology (HAM) is introduced and its advantages with respect to smart city projects are discussed. However, application of methodologies cannot be successful without principal changes in how are all engaged parties thinking.


How to Learn Multidisciplinary Design: Biomedical Engineering in Cross Cultural Seminar
Shigehiro Hashimoto
Pages: 22-27
ABSTRACT:
The way to learn multidisciplinary design has been discussed. “Biomedical engineering” is exemplified for multidisciplinary field. “Biomedical Engineering” makes the multidisciplinary research area, which includes biology, medicine, engineering, and others. The cross-cultural student seminars on biomedical engineering have been exemplified as the case studies. In the group work, students are divided into the small cross cultural groups. Each group finds a problem, methods to solve the problem, and contribution to the society. Presentations are made referring information on the internet. They have learned how to communicate with students, who have variety of cultural backgrounds. The training awakes students to several points: thinking from a different point of view, and variation of communication tools. The process is effective to learn multidisciplinary design.


Effective Verbal Persuasion in Prayer, Business, and Teaching
Russell Jay Hendel
Pages: 28-36
ABSTRACT:
What verbal techniques – persuasion, explanation and evaluation – yield superior results? Answers to this question are taken from the education, business and prayer literature. We show that the best verbal approaches i) focus on the future, ii) attribute causes that are internal and controllable like effort, iii) advocate sub-goals that are specific and achievable short term and iv) use imagery focusing on emotions of mastery and enjoyment. Three theories – attribution theory, goal setting theory and imagery studies – are used to justify the results.


Training versus Education: eLearning, Hybrid, and Face-to-Face Modalities - a Participatory Debate
Risa Blair, Tina M. Serafini
Pages: 37-41
ABSTRACT:
Is training education or is education training? Universities and organizations treat training and education synonymously, but it is worth exploring the differences. Universities are scrambling to standardize a preferred delivery method of education and training. With the blended modalities of eLearning, face-to-face, and hybrid learning, the educational delivery seems to be equalizing. The disruptive shift with technology in education or training is complicated by the expectations of our millennial, Gen Y, and Gen Z students. As an added pressure at the university level, even more importantly, the expectation of the administration and the accrediting bodies keep changing the ‘play book’ on requirements. Given the ever changing complexities of today’s paradigm-shift in education and learning, we explored the complexities of navigating the delivery methods to achieve educational goals in higher education or training goals in corporate America.


Managing the Interoperability and Privacy of e-Health Systems as an Interdisciplinary Challenge
Alexandru Soceanu
Pages: 42-47
ABSTRACT:
The growing number of patients with chronic diseases, the ageing population worldwide, the rapid increase in hospital costs and in the cost of care personnel as well as the achieving medical objectives “increase the patient quality of life and survival” face Europe with a huge challenge. One of the solutions for reaching these challenges in the future is the deployment of complex eHealth systems in support of all the healthcare aspects on the way between patient home and healthcare provider. In the last decade the European Commission (EC) in cooperation with healthcare associations and standardization institutes announced large frameworks for supporting research and development of various components of the future eHealth systems. This may be considered as an immediate interdisciplinary opportunity for European researchers and developers to create jointly the spine of future healthcare systems. After a short introduction to eHealth architecture, interoperability, security and privacy the talk refers to the interdisciplinary solutions which approach these healthcare huge overall challenge. Two case studies will be addressed: a) interdisciplinary partnership for conducting jointly European research concerning remote control and management of future wearable dialysis devices, and b) ERASMUS supported international education programs for creating future interdisciplinary expert networks working on developing and implementing a better healthcare system.



Connecting Educators with Inter-Disciplinary Inquiry-Based Science and Students with STEM Careers with Real-World Experiences
Suzanne Lunsford, Lei Zhai, Justin Lee, Dolores Dodson
Pages: 48-51
ABSTRACT:
Our professional development workshops have provided participating teachers (inservice and pre-service) with interdisciplinary experiences in earth and environmental science that have built their content into real-world problem based research initiatives (STEM, Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). One of our real-world issues has been the detection of phenol since it has been a concern in the real-world coal mining industry. Coal tars are a complex of variable mixtures of phenols. Phenol and phenol derivative compounds are widely used in the production of polymers, drugs, dyes, explosives, pesticides, stabilizers and antioxidants. These phenolic compounds are discharged into the environment and can represent a serious hazard, mainly by the contamination of superficial and underground waters. The toxic effect of phenol can cause comas, convulsions, cyanosis, liver damage, kidney damage, lung damage and death. The mining industry for coal is an alternative source of energy and used in thermoelectric power plants. However, the pollutant phenol that can be found in coal has high need to be detected and is an important aspect to keep an eye on due to these harmful chemicals such as phenol discharging into the environment. Our inquiry-based labs have engaged our inservice and pre-service students by visiting a mine and learning the positive and negative aspects of mining and the importance of water quality. Thus, this inquiry-based module will illustrate the use of an electrochemistry modified carbon nanotube poly-3-hexylthiophene electrode to detect such harmful chemicals as phenol by unique electrochemistry techniques such as Differential Pulse Voltammetry (DPV).


Cultivating Perspectival Acuity: The Value and Cost of Integrating Theory, Craft, Research, and Practice
Joe Manganelli, Clayton Smith
Pages: 52-58
ABSTRACT:
This paper presents reflections on integrating theory, craft, research, and practice to improve the accuracy and resiliency of each. The reflections build toward a set of statements about the value and the cost of integrating theory, craft, research, and practice. Specifically, the authors offer the Privileged Work / Non-Privileged Work Framework and concept of cultivating Perspectival Acuity.


A Global Strategy for Human Development: An Example of Second Order Science
Stuart A. Umpleby
Pages: 59-64
ABSTRACT:
In the 1960s the Institute of Cultural Affairs, based in Chicago, Illinois, started working with poor communities, helping people work together to achieve positive change. They developed some very useful methods for facilitating group conversations. They then used these methods in poor communities around the world. They returned each summer to Chicago to discuss what worked and what did not. They would modify their methods, plan the next year's activities, implement the activities, then come together the following summer to discuss successes and learnings. Academics do something similar with annual conferences, but they focus on publishing academic articles rather than on improving the lives of real people in real communities. Part of the motivation for defining and creating second order science is to increase attention to innovative, problem-solving social actions, often conducted by Non-Governmental Organizations. Currently universities have large numbers of students and faculty members seeking to advance knowledge in the social sciences, using a conception of science taken from the physical sciences. But social systems are composed of thinking participants, not inanimate objects. In addition to searching for reliable cause and effect relationships, part of social science research could be devoted to developing conversational methods that aid joint action toward shared goals. If this goal were accepted within the social sciences in universities, there would be a large increase in the number of people working to improve social systems and developing more effective conversational methods.


Vladimir Lefebvre’s Theory of Two Systems of Ethical Cognition
Stuart A. Umpleby
Pages: 65-67
ABSTRACT:
In his 1982 book Algebra of Conscience Vladimir Lefebvre contended that the dominant ethical systems in the West and the Soviet Union were fundamentally different [1]. However, people on each side usually assume that there is only one type of ethical reasoning. The result is that each side takes actions that are misunderstood by the other side. With the guidance of Lefebvre's theory it became possible for both sides to take actions which, although counterintuitive in their own thinking, could lead to more success in negotiations and a reduction in armaments. Luckily, Lefebvre’s theory was used at the highest levels of the governments of the US and the Soviet Union during the break-up of the Soviet Union. Lefebvre’s theory can be used in negotiations between governments, between businesses, and between individuals. The theory explains some of the difficulties encountered in the transitions in the post-communist countries. It may also prove helpful in negotiating with extremist groups.

[1] V. Lefebvre, Algebra of Conscience: A Comparative Analysis of Western and Soviet Ethical Systems, With a forword by Anatol Rapoport, Dordrecht, Holland: D. Reidel Publishing, 1982.


A Transfer-Based Framework for Interdisciplinary Communication, Teaching, and Research
Denise Comer
Pages: 68-81
ABSTRACT:
Transfer consists of the ways in which people reshape, adapt, rethink, and challenge what they understand and learn in one context to other contexts. While transfer is often discussed in relationship to student learning and writing (how students transfer their writing and learning across contexts), transfer also provides a crucial framework for faculty, administrators to use in navigating the dynamic, intersecting, and disparate contexts of academia. A transfer framework invites faculty, administrators, and students to actively engage with, reflect on, and position themselves within and across varying and overlapping domains. Doing so can facilitate increased networks of collaboration, cultivate more robust advances in knowledge and research methods, improve pedagogy, and increase student learning gains.


Information Systems Verification and Validation: Three Perspectives: Technical, Systemic, and Philosophical (Participatory Panel) “Active Learning Tools”
Sushil Acharya
Pages: 82-85
ABSTRACT:
Software quality is a crucial issue in software development. As software has become ubiquitous, software products have become critical. Software quality issues poses a problem in the software industry, as there is generally a lack of knowledge of Software Verification and Validation (V&V) benefits and a shortage of adequately trained V&V practitioners. The fundamental challenge towards a solution to improve software quality lies in the people and processes that develop and produce software. The industry desires new hires to know software development best practices so as to be able to perform from day 1. This means new hires are expected to know software processes, methods, and tools. This is where the academia needs to step in, especially those that focus on applied teaching. The academia has to develop necessary course modules and redesign their curriculum to provide graduating students the applied knowledge they need to so as to be competitive in the job market.

Through a project funded by the National Science Foundation. the author’s team has developed (42) delivery hours of Software V&V course modules. This development activity has embraced academia, industry partnership. These tools have been successfully disseminated to over 24 universities with many CS, IS, SE programs incorporating the tools in their existing courses and others designing new courses based on these tools. The tool is available free of cost to interested academia and industry.