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- KonferenzbeitragA Data Model for Next Generation Online Dispute - Resolution Systems for Cross-border E-Commerce(Sustainability in the Information Society, 2001) Chawdhry, Pravir; Norheim, David; Wilikens, MarcThis paper presents a data model for developing the new generation of Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) systems with sophisticated end-user service and standard protocol s needed to establish confidence in a cross-border e-commerce environment . An analysis of the various activities in the ODR business process have led us to identify the underlying entities that capture the information content of the ODR process. The result is a data model that can be deployed for building a new generation of ODR systems. The data model has been implemented in XML and tested on a simple claim filing process.
- KonferenzbeitragA Decision Support System for Regional Avalanche Forecasting(Sustainability in the Information Society, 2001) Brabec, Bernhard; Meister, Roland; Stöckli, Urs; Stoffel, Andreas; Stucki, ThomasBesides the text-based and Swisswide national avalanche forecasts regional avalanche forecasts have been introduced in Switzerland in 1996. Each of the regional forecasts covers an area of about 3.000 km2 and shows the avalanche hazard in graphical form. The regional bulletins are published at 8 a.m. This paper shows a computer based system that contains • a statistical model (NXD-REG) that forecasts the avalanche hazard for Switzerland. The model is based on the nearest-neighbor approach which is applied for 60 manual snow stations. The results of each station are then compiled into a map of the current and future avalanche hazard. The model has been validated on a historic database of 10 years by cross-validation. In 47% of the situations the nearest-neighbor model was in agreement with the conventional hazard estimations of the SLF avalanche warning service. The model's results are an additional information for constructing avalanche hazard estimations. • a GIS-based editor (BULLED) for constructing maps of the past or current avalanche hazard for Switzerland. The maps can be edited, copied, printed, exported in all important graphics formats and saved in a relational database. The editor also manages the division of Switzerland into more than 100 sub-areas. These sub-areas are needed for defining all geographical terms used in the text-based national bulletin and for quick map construction. The results of NXD-REG are fully integrated with BULLED. • a text-based editor (REGBUL) for writing the forecasts for six different regions . The data of automatic weather stations and the official weather forecast of Switzerland are included automatically. Furthermore a set of structured sentences allows the avalanche forecaster to quickly compile a few sentences about the current situation. The structure of the sentences allows us to translate fully automatically into French. The hazard estimation created with BULLED is used for the region edited. These three complementary approaches are the basis of Computer Aided Regional Avalanche Forecasts. The data of automatic stations and model calculations of SNOWPACK are further important prerequisites but are not presented here. The system has been fully implemented and is in operational use at SLF since February 2000.
- KonferenzbeitragA Dynamic Model for the Assessment of Plastics Waste Disposal Options(Sustainability in the Information Society, 2001) Wäger, Patrick; Gilgen, Paul W.; Widmer, HeinrichCommissioned by the Swiss Foundation for the Reintegration of Plastic Materials (SSK), a numerical expert model has been developed, which allows to assess plastics waste management strategies by dynamic simulation of time-periods up to 15 years. The tool was conceived to answer questions of the type: What will happen, if up to 200'000 tons of plastics waste per year are taken out of the waste stream, which is incinerated in Swiss Municipal Solid Waste Incineration (MSWI) plants, and fed into thermal recovery or mechanical recyling? Simulations on a regional scale indicate that - under specified conditions — such a diversion of industry plastics waste from the waste stream into MSWI plants makes sense from an ecological as well as from an economic perspective. In view of the increasing amounts of waste and the high costs for additional MSWI plants i t hence seems appropriate to intensify the discussion about industry plastics waste disposal options in Switzerland.
- KonferenzbeitragA European Perspective on the Global Digital Divide and International Development Cooperation — A Workshop Introduction(Sustainability in the Information Society, 2001) Ruddy, Thomas F.This paper presents the global digital divide from a European point of view and contrasts it to the U.S. approach. The US answer to the global digital divide is found to work primarily through the private sector, using economic strategies of innovation and job creation with a dash of philanthropy. Europe, on the other hand, is strong in public-sector, ecological and social strategies. Inclusiveness is a key word in understanding the European point of view. The ecological thinking more prevalent in the European political spectrum is a second factor. It brings to the debate the wholly new field of study attempting to assess the effects of information and communication technologies (ICTs) on sustainable development and sustainability. In general, one must say that North America has had a headstart in the Information Society, and thus has framed the digital divide as a issue sooner than Europe. Secondly, the extremes of American capitalism gave America more reason to discover it domestic digital divide sooner. That realization and the U.S. federal tax code have given rise to stronger philanthropic giving by corporations, foundations and individuals than is currently common in Europe, where the state cares better for most. Furthermore, given Europe's lag in taking up the new ICTs, it is harder to find innovative global digital divide projects there initiated by corporations like America's leaders Microsoft, Cisco and Sun. Nonetheless a number of notable European success stories can be cited, each typically featuring a state component.
- KonferenzbeitragA proper understanding of society and social processes at the heart of the design of an information system for the management of inundation risks: the OSIRIS project approach(Sustainability in the Information Society, 2001) Blancher, Philippe; Konieczny, Roman; Taliercio, Guy; Tyszka, Tadeusz; Erlich, MarcModern information and communication systems and technologies have a definite role t o play for more efficient flood protection, provided a good understanding of the social dimension of technological development in this area is secured. This paper describes how within European Union supported OSIRIS project different potential prototype solutions have been conceived and will be developed, implemented and tested in application sites.
- KonferenzbeitragA system representation and evaluation model based on object-oriented design(Sustainability in the Information Society, 2001) Tietje, OlafReal environmental problems cannot be simply solved by system modelling. On the one hand, an evaluation under several perspectives is necessary, for instance by different agents. But, on the other hand, evaluations, such as multi-criteria evaluations, cannot rely simply on information about the values and priorities of the agents. Reliable evaluations, which may be shared by several agents, have to rely on system knowledge and its proper representation. This is even true for the evaluation by scientific experts, who discuss both the underlying (uncertain) system knowledge and the applicable evaluation criteria. Therefore an evaluation model must be related to a flexible system representation, which is capable to change and improvement, and a corresponding set of evaluation criteria, which can be interactively tested, improved and completed. The object-oriented design consists of - A hierarchy of system objects - An evaluation object and its inheritors and - A corresponding interface. The system representation inherits the land use, soil, and plant properties to the land object, which is going to be evaluated. The evaluator object has several groups of criteria (social, economic, and ecological). The methods include the presentation of the land system, its remediation based on the system specification and the available knowledge, the acquisition of the system knowledge by the evaluator, the acquisition of values and priorities, and the preliminary evaluation. The main task is the analysis of the evaluation, which continuously leads to a refinement of the preliminary evaluation until a further refinement of the system representation is necessary or until the evaluation is considered final. A Java implementation of the System Representation and Evaluation Model (SREM) i s presented for the evaluation of remediation options for soil contaminations with heavy metals Cadmium, Zinc, and Copper. The SREM is not merely another soil evaluation model, which are numerously available, but a prototype of an evaluation tool, which can be used for practical evaluation tasks, because it combines the structural aspects (system representation and a hierarchy of evaluation criteria) and the procedural aspects (interface of the representation and evaluation objects) of evaluation.
- KonferenzbeitragAn Empirical Analysis of IT Investments and their Impacts on the Industria Structure in Japan - an Application of Extended Principal Component for Regression and Input-Output Tables(Sustainability in the Information Society, 2001) Yoda, Noriko; Mori, ShunsukeIT is often expected to mitigate the environmental impacts through the substitution of transportation and the improvement of the energy efficiency. This study proposes a method to see the industry structure changes based on the Input-Output analysis developing an extended multivariate analysis. The results demonstrate the significant effects of IT on the structural changes in the Japan's historical data.
- KonferenzbeitragAn event-based archive of soft maps for the analysis of glacier changes(Sustainability in the Information Society, 2001) Carrara, Paola; Rampini, AnnaThis paper aims to describe a system for creating and managing archives of thematic maps obtained by classifying remote sensing images by soft computing techniques. Unlike traditional spatial approaches, the main key feature for query formulation is time, thus improving the investigation on changes occurred in time ranges. Both the functionalities of the system and the data structure on which it is based are described. The system has been tested in the monitoring of Alpine glacier variations: the validation methodology and its results are illustrated as well.
- KonferenzbeitragApplication of Internet Technologies to Environmental Monitoring and Education at the Local Level in Japan(Sustainability in the Information Society, 2001) Barrett, Brendan; Kuroda, AtsushiThis paper explores recent Japanese local experience with the adoption of information society technologies (ISTs) for environmental monitoring and education. Looking at the practice with a specific project, the Iwate Environment Network (IEN), the paper considers various modalities for ISTs application in order to enhance local environmental awareness raising activities and outlines some lessons learnt with regard to the impact of these technologies on environmental education, informed decision-making and improved public participation.
- KonferenzbeitragAsymmetric cellular automata for the modelling of ecological systems(Sustainability in the Information Society, 2001) Sonnenschein, Michael; Vogel, Ute