Free and Open-Source Software for sustainable analysis in logistics systems design

Modeling and analyzing a physician clinic environment using discrete-event (visual) simulation

The article examines existing models of free and open-source software licensing worldwide. In particular, software is classified according to the type of distribution licence, while the difference between the concepts of ‘free software’ and ‘open-source software’, their ideological foundations and key features are highlighted. Within the framework of the paper, all free and open-source licences are classified into two key groups – permissive and copyleft. The main features of these groups are defined, and the most widely used licences of each type are analysed. The basis for determining the prevalence of specific free and open-source licences was current statistical data. The state of free and open-source software licensing in the EU is outlined. Special attention is also paid to public domain agreements under the public domain doctrines of the USA and Ukraine, and their relation to free and open-source software. The current legislation of Ukraine regulating free and open-source software licences is analysed. In particular, the legal nature of free and open licenses and their varieties is examined in the context of the existing legal structures of ‘public licence’, ‘licence’, and ‘licence agreement’. Furthermore, attention is given to the Recommendations of the Ministry of Economy, Leisure, and Agriculture regarding the application of free public licences for the use of copyright and related rights, which, for the first time in Ukraine, provide a definition of free public licences. To study the practical application and recognition of free and open-source software licences, relevant judicial practice is analysed. The conclusions emphasise the need for further legislative consolidation and regulation of free and open-source software licences, particularly copyleft licences, which, although operating within the framework of classical copyright, due to their specific nature, do not fully fall under the traditional provisions on public licences.

A discrete-event simulation (DES) model was developed to enhance the reinforcing bar (rebar) fabrication efficiency for multiple simultaneous projects at different sites. The production volume and procedure of the actual rebar fabrication plant were compared to the simulation model to ensure its accuracy. By determining the loss rate and necessary processing time, the fabrication plan was then optimized. The rebar type and machine features, which influence the loss rate and time required for rebar fabrication, were configured as the parameters in a discrete-event simulation model. The model considers a situation in which a rebar fabrication plant simultaneously delivers rebars to multiple sites. In this manner, the model can quantify the loss rate and time required in the fabrication process. The determination of the loss rate according to the import ratio of raw steel, site combination, and length can help optimize the rebar fabrication plan and increase work efficiency. In the considered scenario, a two-site combination and import ratio of raw steel of 2:1 (8 m:10 m) was noted to corresponded to the maximum decrease in the loss rate and required time. By extending the proposed approach to the complete rebar process (processing–transportation–construction), the plant member production process can be optimized.

Although Thrombolysis has been licensed in the UK since 2003, it is still administered only to a small percentage of eligible patients. We consider the impact of investing the impact of thrombolysis on important acute stroke services, and the effect on quality of life. The concept is illustrated using data from the Northern Ireland Stroke Service. Retrospective study. We first present results of survival analysis utilizing length of stay (LOS) for discharge destinations, based on data from the Belfast City Hospital (BCH). None of these patients actually received thrombolysis but from those who would have been eligible, we created two initial groups, the first representing a scenario where they received thrombolysis and the second comprising those who do not receive thrombolysis. On the basis of the survival analysis, we created several subgroups based on discharge destination. We then developed a discrete event simulation (DES) model, where each group is a patient pathway within the simulation. Coxian phase type distributions were used to model the group LOS. Various scenarios were explored focusing on cost-effectiveness across hospital, community and social services had thrombolysis been administered to these patients, and the possible improvement in quality of life, should the proportion of patients who are administered thrombolysis be increased. Our aim in simulating various scenarios for this historical group of patients is to assess what the cost-effectiveness of thrombolysis would have been under different scenarios; from this we can infer the likely cost-effectiveness of future policies. The cost of thrombolysis is offset by reduction in hospital, community rehabilitation and institutional care costs, with a corresponding improvement in quality of life. Our model suggests that provision of thrombolysis would produce moderate overall improvement to the service assuming current levels of funding.

Topicality. The scientific article is devoted to the research analysis of the peculiarities of legal regulation and the construction of the architecture of the intellectualization of transport systems. Transport communications unite companies around the world and are a necessary prerequisite for the integrity of the country and its integration into the world economy through foreign economic activity. In this regard, the transport system is directly related to the economy and the social sphere. The transport policy of any state is characterized by national priorities at the micro and macro levels. A competitive transport system must have the following characteristics: be economically, ecologically and socially sustainable; to be able to recover effectively after natural disasters; have a developed and reliable IT infrastructure.The use of information systems in traffic management is associated with the rapid development of modern cities, an increase in the number of rolling stocks on the streets, new routes and other features. As a result, the amount of information needed for analysis and making operational decisions has increased significantly. The information component will become an integral part of city life. And for more effective use of all the possibilities of intelligent transport systems (ITS), legal regulation is necessary, which includes data protection, standardization, rules for the application of ITS achievements and their further development.Aim and tasks. The purpose of the research is to study the legal foundations of the concept of transport and logistics systems sustainable development.Materials and Methods. The research methodology is based on the analysis of legislative and legal methods of ensuring transport and logistics flows, economic and legal analysis using the general legal framework and special legal acts that regulate the activity of transport and logistics systems. The problem of intellectualization of environmental protection activities is considered both through structural changes in the international economy, through modern processes of development of national transport and logistics systems, as well as through the study of the complex network structure of global logistics chains, where both approaches complement each other.Research results. The rapid development of modern cities, the increase of vehicles on the streets, the development of new routes increases the amount of information necessary for analysis and making operational decisions. This, in turn, stimulates the active use of intelligent information technologies. And the creation of legal incentives for the development of the intellectualization of the transport and logistics system is one of the factors of strengthening the economy and improving the welfare of the population.Conclusion. The conducted research made it possible to conduct an analysis of legal regulation and stimulation of the development of intelligent transport systems (ITS). In particular, at the international and regional levels. The main necessary elements of the comprehensive application of intelligent transport systems are standardization at the international level, in order to be able to create a global system for more efficient use of transport and achieving global goals in the safety of movement and reducing the impact of transport on the environment.

The Ukrainian market of international freight transportation has considerable unrealized potential, therefore it is necessary to identify mechanisms for improving the efficiency of functioning of the transport system of Ukraine and its integration into the international transport system.  One of the priority areas for the development of the Ukrainian transport industry is its integration into the world and European transport and logistics systems.  This can be achieved by developing the country's transport and logistics infrastructure and creating a network of modern transport and logistics centers.  Transport and logistics centers, as objects of transport and logistics infrastructure, have emerged due to the spread of integration processes in the economies of countries and have become an integral part of transport and logistics systems.  The transport and logistics center is a complex system that includes several subsystems, integrated by integration links, through which it is able to perform logistic functions. The article provides an analytical overview of the transit potential of Ukraine and the country's transport and logistics system in the global environment, examines the world experience of creating and operating transport and logistics centers as elements of the transport and logistics system, and gives attention to the peculiarities of functioning of logistics centers in developed countries. The main characteristics of the transport and logistics center, its place in the transport and logistics system and the goals of operation are determined.

In manufacturing plants, part of assembly is often performed by human workers and therefore its performance largely depends on humans (or human performances) rather than machines. However, most studies on human centred assembly systems using the modelling simulation methods do not consider or incorporate the effects of human performance that may also impact the overall system performance of such as an assembly line. The prediction of human performance or behaviour in a manufacturing system evaluation is often overlooked by researchers or system designers partially due to a lack of proper versions of existing simulation tools that can incorporate human attributes into an established simulation model. This paper presents a study by incorporating human attributes of learning and ageing into a discrete event simulation (DES) model based on a human centred assembly system. The effects of worker performance due to aging and learning were investigated and identified through a literature review [1]. The simulation result demonstrates that the worker performance may approach his/her full capacity at the age of 38 years old and this may decrease by an average of 1% from 38 to 40 years old, and 6% at the age of 45 years old. After the age of 45 years old, the decline rate of worker performance may slow down as it can be offset by accumulating worker experience through learning.

Improvement in patient waiting time in dispensing pharmacies is an important element for patient and pharmacists. The One-Dose Package (ODP) of medicines was implemented in Japan to support medicine adherence among elderly patients; however, it also contributed to increase in patient waiting times. Given the projected increase in ODP patients in the near future owing to rapid population aging, development of improved strategies is a key imperative. We conducted a cross-sectional survey at a single dispensing pharmacy to clarify the impact of ODP on patient waiting time. Further, we propose an improvement strategy developed with use of a discrete event simulation (DES) model. A total of 673 patients received pharmacy services during the study period. A two-fold difference in mean waiting time was observed between ODP and non-ODP patients (22.6 and 11.2 min, respectively). The DES model was constructed with input parameters estimated from observed data. Introduction of fully automated ODP (A-ODP) system was projected to reduce the waiting time for ODP patient by 0.5 times (from 23.1 to 11.5 min). Furthermore, assuming that 40% of non-ODP patients would transfer to ODP, the waiting time was predicted to increase to 56.8 min; however, introduction of the A-ODP system decreased the waiting time to 20.4 min. Our findings indicate that ODP is one of the elements that increases the waiting time and that it might become longer in the future. Introduction of the A-ODP system may be an effective strategy to improve waiting time.

Calculation of Emissions from Transport Services and their use for the Internalisation of External Costs in Road Transport

Against the “Networked Information Economy”: Rethinking Decentralization, Community, and Free Software Development Ben Roberts (bio) The free, libre, and open source software (FLOSS) movement is often cited as an example of fundamental changes in production associated with the rise of information networks. Don Tapscott and Anthony D. Williams see it as an example of wikinomics, a powerful new form of economic production based on sharing and self-organization.1 Yochai Benkler argues that the form of social or peer production evident in FLOSS can compete with or even displace traditional forms of capitalist organization and sees it as a symptom of the “networked information economy,” replacing the “industrial information economy,” which has been in force since the late-nineteenth century.2 The main feature of this networked information economy is the much greater role within it for decentralized individual action.3 This essay contests this broadly liberal take on the significance of the free software movement. It argues that Benkler is typical of an approach that tends to view the Internet as the primary enabler of decentralization (for example, in the form of decentralized software development). Of course, it would be foolish to discount the role that networks have played in the success of FLOSS. But, as I will argue, an examination of its history suggests that its origins can’t be entirely accounted for in purely technological and economic grounds. The proponents of such an approach often resist the claim that their focus on networks is technologically determinist,4 arguing that the network itself is shaped by social and cultural factors. However, this makes the explanatory power of networks rather circular: the existence of networks explains social and cultural behavior at the same time as being explained by it. The explanation of free software in terms of the economic properties of networks is simply too static and asocial; it serves to explain how a particular mode of production can functionally compete with the market without really being able to account for how this change has come about. In particular, as I will show, the marginalization [End Page 385] of the question of labor in theories of peer production disconnects the analysis from wider changes in the nature of economic production. Moreover, the emphasis on the empowerment of individuals ignores the possibility that decentralization consists in radical new forms of sociality and collectivity, something that can perhaps be seen in the communities built around particular free software projects. As I will argue, Gilbert Simondon’s concept of individuation may help inform a better understanding of the emergence of such free software communities. From the perspective of a nonprogrammer, it is easiest to understand the concept of FLOSS by explaining how proprietary software such as Microsoft Windows is distributed. The operating system and applications that users run on their personal computers (PCs) are most often compiled software. The creators of the application have written the code in any one of a number of different human-readable programming languages; this program is known as the source code. The source code is then converted by another program known as a compiler into object or binary code, which is a machine-readable version of the program executed when the application is run on a PC. Binary, or object, code is the form in which software is most often distributed to users, either on installation media such as compact discs (CDs), installed on a computing device before sale or, increasingly, downloaded over the Net. The end user of proprietary software created and distributed in this fashion has no access to the original source code and is therefore unable to alter, change, or fix the software running on their machine: in the words of Bob Young, the former chief executive officer (CEO) of open source software company Red Hat, purchasing proprietary software is like buying a “car with the hood welded shut.”5 In addition to the absence of source code, proprietary software is usually distributed under the terms of a highly restrictive software license. In effect, the applications run by a user remain the property of the software maker and may be used only under the terms of this contract. Typically, the license prevents sharing...

Open-source software abbreviated as OSS is computer software that is available with source code and is provided under a software license that permits users to study, change, and improve the software. For the commercial software the source code and certain other rights are normally reserved for copyright holders,i.e. the company who developes the software. A group of people in a collaborative manner often developes the Open source software, not under the roof of a large organization. This strategy makes open source software cheap, reliable and modifiable if needed. In this context we shall discuss mainly the features of Open Source Software, differences of open source and free software and open source software movement in Indian perspective.

This chapter discusses the nature of free and open source software from the perspective of business models that can be used to operate within this emerging industry. The focus in the chapter is on free and open source software in general rather than on the specific geospatial domain, however this area of activity is used in several places for reference and by example. The chapter also examines the closed and proprietary complements of the free and open source world and contrasts the rationale and behaviours of software developers and users within both market places. While it is not the intention to set one or the other markets up as a straw man, it is clear from the discussion that the free and open source alternatives have a number of advantages in terms of developing high quality outputs that are responsive to end user needs while embodying the principles of innovation and advancing knowledge.

A simulation optimization approach to investigate resource planning and coordination mechanisms in emergency systems

This study employs a discrete event simulation (DES) model to understand the dynamic workload of remote truck operators managing partially-automated trucks. The DES model uses operator queues and event generators simulating automated truck events and leverages data from the California DMV’s disengagement database and driving simulation experiments. Disengagement data were partitioned into three groups by disengagement frequency: low, moderate, and high and separate arrival time distributions were developed for each group. Simulations from the model suggest that for companies with low disengagement rates, operator utilization will likely remain below minimal thresholds to prevent boredom. In contrast, companies with moderate or high disengagement rates both exceed operator utilization capacity and generate prolonged wait times as more trucks are controlled. These findings suggest that calibrating remote truck control to human capabilities will be challenging. A sensitivity analysis suggests that accurately estimating disengagement rates will be crucial for model accuracy and predictive performance.

Geographic Service Delivery for Endovascular Clot Retrieval: Using Discrete Event Simulation to Optimize Resources