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Although in principle prior information can significantly improve inference, incorporating incorrect prior information will bias the estimates of any inferential analysis. This fact deters many scientists from incorporating prior information into their inferential analyses. In the natural sciences, where experiments are more regularly conducted, and can be combined with other relevant information, prior information is often used in inferential analysis, despite it being sometimes nontrivial to specify what that information is and how to quantify that information. In the social sciences, however, prior information is often hard to come by and very hard to justify or validate. We review a number of ways to construct such information. This information emerges naturally, either from fundamental properties and characteristics of the systems studied or from logical reasoning about the problems being analyzed. Borrowing from concepts and philosophical reasoning used in the natural sciences, and within an info-metrics framework, we discuss three different, yet complimentary, approaches for constructing prior information, with an application to the social sciences.

This paper aims to show that large organizations or geographically dispersed businesses that adopt “Web 2.0” tools to power their transformation process can become as nimble and personal as smaller firms in pursuing their required change.

The paper demonstrates how leaders can accelerate transformation using an array of new internet tools – such as discussion forums, wikis and blogs – that allow many people to engage more easily in meaningful interactions.,

The paper finds that these new web‐based tools are revolutionizing a change process the authors call Transformation 2.0. Pioneering efforts, such as those used in the Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) change process, highlight the possibilities and concrete benefits Transformation 2.0 can deliver; this case is described in detail in this paper.

Transformation 2.0 provides the tools managers need to build momentum behind a change process rapidly and in ways that energize and give voice to virtually every person in a large organization. In addition to Nokia Siemens Networks, organizations such as Del Monte Foods, Eli Lilly, the Girl Scouts of the USAand Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance are successfully forging Transformation 2.0 collaboration initiatives. Transformation 2.0 allows companies to communicate with the problem solvers in their organizations at all levels and to work together to make transformation happen.

Transformation 2.0 allows companies to communicate with the problem solvers in their organizations at all levels and to work together to make transformation happen.

This paper reconstructs the clash between William Baumol’s and Paul Samuelson’s different approaches to the history of economic thought, disguised as a debate on the Marxian transformation problem on the pages of the Journal of Economic Literature in 1974. The published papers were the result of an intense exchange of letters that shows how the debate on the transformation problem is just the surface: the debate originated from the authors’ different approaches to the history of economic thought. Samuelson applied his famous “Whig” history of economics to suggest that Marx had little to nothing to offer to modern theorists, while Baumol was interested in the past authors’ theoretical and moral intentions. Baumol and Samuelson’s Methodenstreit resulted in two different visions of Marx, and there is evidence that they kept their different approaches for their entire career.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate e-business driven organisational transformation and its resource implications for a European automotive multinational corporation. The application of Business Process Change Model (BPCM) was used to investigate throughout the five developmental stages of transformation and the associated resource implications in business-to-business (B2B) and extranet applications.

Based on a case study design, B2B and extranet applications were selected. A triangulated research approach was used to capture the resource implications upon transformation, incorporating a participant observation and interviews.

The findings indicate that the resource implications change in a transformation process based on individual e-business applications as well as the developmental stages of BPCM. Throughout the transformation only resource investment remained present in both applications. The change in resource implications and iterations between the BPCM stages in the case of “process redefinition”, “continuous improvement” underline why organisational transformation in similar settings could indicate variances in organisations’ transformation results.

The paper offers an insight into the resource implications in an e-business enabled transformation and underpins the importance of using developmental stages to bridge the divide between planning and application. The resource impact has been evaluated within the automotive sector using BPCM, future empirical research is needed to test the BPCM in other industrial e-business enabled transformation settings.

Organisations should take a developmental approach to transformation that assesses resources implications. This also raises the need for using models such as the BPCM to fine-tune the transformation effort, through the inclusion of a more interactive iteration between BPCM stages.

In this paper, the authors present an analysis of an e-business related, organisational transformation project, including an assessment of its ultimate effectiveness. This is the first case study, which focuses on resource implications solely and utilises the BPCM framework to understand the evolution of transformation effort and its resource implications.

Some functional properties of engineering materials, i.e. physical, mechanical and thermal ones, depend directly on the microstructure, which is a result of processes occurring in the material during the forming and thermomechanical processing. The proper microstructure can be obtained in many cases by the phase transformation. This phenomenon is one of the most important processes during hot forming and heat treatment. The purpose of this paper is to develop a new comprehensive hybrid model for modeling diffusion phase transformations. A problem has been divided into several tasks and is carried out on several stages. The purpose of this stage is a development of the structure of a hybrid model, development of an algorithm used in the diffusion module and one-dimensional heat flow and diffusion modeling. Generally, the processes of phase transformations are studied well enough but there are not many tools for their complex simulations. The problems of phase transformation simulation are related to the proper consideration of diffusion, movement of phase boundaries and kinetics of transformation. The proposed new model at the final stage of development will take into account the varying grain growth rate, different shape of growing grains and will allow for proper modeling of heat flow and carbon diffusion during the transformation in many processes, where heating, annealing and cooling can be considered (e.g. homogenizing and normalizing).

One of the most suitable methods for modeling of microstructure evolution during the phase transformation is cellular automata (CA), while lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) suits for modeling of diffusion and heat flow. Then, the proposed new hybrid model is based on CA and LBM methods and uses high performing parallel computations.

The first simulation results obtained for one-dimensional modeling confirm the correctness of interaction between LBM and CA in common numerical solution and the possibility of using these methods for modeling of phase transformations. The advantages of the LBM method can be used for the simulation of heat flow and diffusion during the transformation taking into account the results obtained from the simulations. LBM creates completely new possibilities for modeling of phase transformations in combination with CA.

The studies are focused on diffusion phase transformations in solid state in condition of low cooling rate (e.g. transformation of austenite into ferrite and pearlite) and during the heating and annealing (e.g. transformation of the ferrite-pearlite structure into austenite, the alignment of carbon concentration in austenite and growth of austenite grains) in carbon steels within a wide range of carbon content. The paper presents the comprehensive modeling system, which can operate with the technological processes with phase transformation during heating, annealing or cooling.

A brief review of the modeling of phase transformations and a description of the structure of a new CA and LBM hybrid model and its modules are presented in the paper. In the first stage of model implementation, the one-dimensional LBM model of diffusion and heat flow was developed. The examples of simulation results for several variants of modeling with different boundary conditions are shown.

The definition of modeling languages is a key‐prerequisite for model‐driven engineering. In this respect, Domain‐Specific Modeling Languages (DSMLs) defined from scratch in terms of metamodels and the extension of Unified Modeling Language (UML) by profiles are the proposed options. For interoperability reasons, however, the need arises to bridge modeling languages originally defined as DSMLs to UML. Therefore, the paper aims to propose a semi‐automatic approach for bridging DSMLs and UML by employing model‐driven techniques.

The paper discusses problems of the ad hoc integration of DSMLs and UML and from this discussion a systematic and semi‐automatic integration approach consisting of two phases is derived. In the first phase, the correspondences between the modeling concepts of the DSML and UML are defined manually. In the second phase, these correspondences are used for automatically producing UML profiles to represent the domain‐specific modeling concepts in UML and model transformations for transforming DSML models to UML models and vice versa. The paper presents the ideas within a case study for bridging ComputerAssociate's DSML of the AllFusion Gen CASE tool with IBM's Rational Software Modeler for UML.

The ad hoc definition of UML profiles and model transformations for achieving interoperability is typically a tedious and error‐prone task. By employing a semi‐automatic approach one gains several advantages. First, the integrator only has to deal with the correspondences between the DSML and UML on a conceptual level. Second, all repetitive integration tasks are automated by using model transformations. Third, well‐defined guidelines support the systematic and comprehensible integration.

The paper focuses on the integrating direction DSMLs to UML, but not on how to derive a DSML defined in terms of a metamodel from a UML profile.

Although, DSMLs defined as metamodels and UML profiles are frequently applied in practice, only few attempts have been made to provide interoperability between these two worlds. The contribution of this paper is to integrate the so far competing worlds of DSMLs and UML by proposing a semi‐automatic approach, which allows exchanging models between these two worlds without loss of information.

The Transformation Sprint methodology provides a customer-focused analysis process in which leaders can learn about how their digital operating model should and can evolve.

Agile transformation processes are a learning journey to produce a generative (learning) model. In an Agile setting, the plan should unfold along with experience.

Sprints with specific time spans are intended to circumvent scope-creep or other insidious ways that a project can overrun.

In Agile practice, showing and talking about work is a crucial part of the process. Transformation Sprints visualize Issues, Priorities and Points for Debate in notes posted on meeting room walls.

This article describes the Agile concepts that make a digital Transformation Sprint a potent addition to innovation practice.

Reports on research in the Danish food industry which has developed a pattern of product development interaction where rich information passes directly between the production department and the external customer. The transformation from customer preferences into engineering characteristics and vice versa was not experienced as a major barrier to cross‐functional communication. To a great extent, food producers exchange information both intra‐firm and inter‐firm as embedded in flying prototypes, i.e. in a tangible medium used for the exclusive purpose of exchanging information, thus replacing the parties′ respective jargons with a third language. Suggests that implication may be that companies can attract lead customers by offering this kind of direct interaction with production departments.

States that customer satisfaction is the ultimate goal of total quality management efforts in the service sector and that an essential prerequisite in achieving this goal is the detection and prevention of problems which the customer encounters in the service consumption process. Proposes that an instrument is needed which will enable management to gather customer problem information comprehensively and use it as a tool for quality control, planning and service innovation. Presents Service Problem Deployment as a tool which provides a framework for the fulfilment of this task. Defines Service Problem Deployment as a planning and communication system for cross‐functional teams applying a specific set of matrices principally known from the Quality Function Deployment approach. Posits that, as a result of Service Problem Deployment, you can expect the entire service planning and delivery process to be geared consistently to the needs of customers and the goals of problem prevention and customer satisfaction.

The present paper attempts to map the discursive relations between conflict and settlement as reflected in the realms of law and mediation during the second half of the 20th century, offering a 21st century model to combine the mediation drive to settle through reaching inter-subjective transformation with the legal drive to escalate and promote social conflict. Contemporary mediation, according to this model, should involve on the one hand “negotiating for justice,” according to the familiar models of problem solving and transformation, and on the other hand “fighting for law”: acknowledging the self-referential and ideological quality of conflicts, while emphasizing the pragmatic need to end them through an interpretive public act that involves value judgments.