Author：Shi, Yuhui

Abstract:Throughout time, scientists have looked to nature in order to understand and model solutions for complex real-world problems. In particular, the study of self-organizing entities, such as social insect populations, presents a new opportunity within the field of artificial intelligence. Emerging Research on Swarm Intelligence and Algorithm Optimization discusses current research analyzing how the collective behavior of decentralized systems in the natural world can be applied to intelligent system design. Discussing the application of swarm principles, optimization techniques, and key algorithms being used in the field, this publication serves as an essential reference for academicians, upper-level students, IT developers, and IT theorists. © 2015 by IGI Global. All rights reserved.

Author：Phiri,Michael;Chen,Bing

Abstract:This brief started by looking at the changing context for national and international healthcare systems, before reviewing the healthcare premises information, guidance and tools that underlie the approach in which sustainability is to be seen as integrated with evidence-based design rather than as divorced and separate themes. However, to understand the role these aspects play, it is also essential to consider both the historical context and, in particular, the organisational structures of the different healthcare systems whether these are national or international. This chapter discusses emerging issues from the approach that adopts design for sustainability integrated with evidence-based design. The aim is to help decision-making within the area of healthcare premises, planning and design whether this is nationally or globally. The crucial emerging issues start with the problem of definitions of ‘Evidence’ and ‘Sustainability’ but include the debates surrounding several themes: Centralisation versus Decentralisation, the nature of Public versus Private Sector Involvement, National versus International Standards to Prescription versus Performance Standards. Addressing these issues has an important bearing on the development of design for sustainability and evidence-based design as science.

Author：Cheng, Shi ; Shi, Yuhui ; Qin, Quande

Abstract:Premature convergence occurs in swarm intelligence algorithms searching for optima. A swarm intelligence algorithm has two kinds of abilities exploration of new possibilities and exploitation of old certainties. The exploration ability means that an algorithm can explore more search places to increase the possibility that the algorithm can find good enough solutions. In contrast, the exploitation ability means that an algorithm focuses on the refinement of found promising areas. An algorithm should have a balance between exploration and exploitation, that is, the allocation of computational resources should be optimized to ensure that an algorithm can find good enough solutions effectively. The diversity measures the distribution of individuals' information. From the observation of the distribution and diversity change, the degree of exploration and exploitation can be obtained. Another issue in multiobjective is the solution metric. Pareto domination is utilized to compare two solutions; however, solutions are almost Pareto non-dominated for multiobjective problems with more than ten objectives. In this chapter, the authors analyze the population diversity of a particle swarm optimizer for solving both single objective and multiobjective problems. The population diversity of solutions is used to measure the goodness of a set of solutions. This metric may guide the search in problems with numerous objectives. Adaptive optimization algorithms can be designed through controlling the balance between exploration and exploitation. © 2015 by IGI Global. All rights reserved.

Author：Macken,Marian

Author：Phiri,Michael;Chen,Bing

Abstract:Identification and analysis of design strategies is essential for this brief to increase our knowledge and understanding in order to provide a rationale basis and underpin the joint approach to property and asset or infrastructure design and management. These are advocated as a way to address in the healthcare sector fragmentation, duplication, redundancy, unsustainable transportation and non-standardisation due to the creation of varying levels of accommodation standards. Design strategies are important because they can aid organisations determine what to produce and do (products or outcomes), how and when to do it (process) and how consistently innovative the products are and over time perform responding to changing contexts (performance) while delivering on return on investment. They can therefore play a vital integrating role in connecting design endeavours to organisation’s business strategy, in identifying the core business and focus of an organisation, in adopting the latest technologies, translating insights into actions and their prioritisation. A brief review of a selection of the main design approaches and strategies from the many that have been advocated for architectural healthcare design in recent times is conducted to provide a suitable basis for the development of technical guidance and tools. These include interrelated design for sustainability, evidence-based design, lean health care and lean-led design, six sigma, simulation modelling, learning from completed construction projects [post-project evaluations (PPE) and post-occupancy evaluations (POE)] and varying combinations of these. Identifying approaches towards measuring and monitoring the environmental impact of new buildings and refurbishment of existing buildings is essential to respond to how best projects in future minimise direct environmental effect. The underlying premise includes the use of different materials, how to manage resources optimally and lessons learnt from the most innovative methods which have been undertaken or applied to address these issues.

Author：Wang,Hui

Abstract:© 2015 by IGI Global. All rights reserved. This chapter probes into the feasibility and acceptability of integrating an in-depth annotated parallel corpus into the translation classroom. It proceeds from outlining the conceptual and structural features of English/Chinese Online Translation Teaching Platform, an in-depth annotated parallel corpus designed for teaching and (self-) learning of translation. With a 90-minute lecture as a demo, it illustrates how the combined unity of course teaching materials and the platform, as well as the teaching method and the annotation mode of the corpus, can be effectively achieved. It then discusses users' perceptions of the use of the platform in classroom teaching as shown in a recent survey and points out the possibilities of future development.

Author：Cheng, Shi ; Shi, Yuhui ; Qin, Quande

Abstract:Premature convergence happens in Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) for solving both multimodal problems and unimodal problems. With an improper boundary constraints handling method, particles may get "stuck in" the boundary. Premature convergence means that an algorithm has lost its ability of exploration. Population diversity is an effective way to monitor an algorithm's ability of exploration and exploitation. Through the population diversity measurement, useful search information can be obtained. PSO with a different topology structure and a different boundary constraints handling strategy will have a different impact on particles' exploration and exploitation ability. In this chapter, the phenomenon of particles getting "stuck in" the boundary in PSO is experimentally studied and reported. The authors observe the position diversity time-changing curves of PSOs with different topologies and different boundary constraints handling techniques, and analyze the impact of these settings on the algorithm's abilities of exploration and exploitation. From these experimental studies, an algorithm's abilities of exploration and exploitation can be observed and the search information obtained; therefore, more effective algorithms can be designed to solve problems. © 2015 by IGI Global. All rights reserved.

Author：Phiri, Michael ; Chen, Bing

Abstract:The development and update of healthcare premises planning information, technical guidance and tools in health care are controversial and have tended to engender a lot of debate. This is because many interrelated issues are involved, for example, stewardship (whether public or private), regulation (extent of compliance and associated penalties for non-compliance), rationale (whether prescription or performance based), quality, responsibilities and costs of development and updates to keep this information relevant and responsive to changing healthcare practice and technology. In recent years, there have also been many concerns over the ever-increasing amount of advice on best practice standards in the planning and design of healthcare facilities due to burgeoning safety legislation, raising expectations for quality and safety improvements and demands for effectiveness and to achieve value for money. The introduction of new procurement routes such as private finance initiative, public-private partnerships over and above the traditional one has added complexity. A summative rather than a comprehensive review of the healthcare planning information, healthcare facility briefing systems and tools provides an appropriate basis to evaluate some of the issues identified above. The review also answers the question of need for technical guidance and tools in healthcare over and above the planning regulation and building control applied to other types of the built environment. Traditional focus of building control has, in recent times, seen expanded state interventions in health and safety, including prevention of fire risk in buildings to application of rules, regulations and standards relating to the form and performance of buildings and the built environment. This has been necessary not only in order for building design to respond to increased threats to health and safety posed by terrorism and climate change but also to address sociopsychological and cultural issues related to place-making and sustainable urban living. As a result, there has been a proliferation of state-centred legal forms of regulation, formations and a plethora of rules, standards and governance practices as well as requirements by insurance companies to identify, prevent and contain risk (Imrie and Street 2011). © The Author(s) 2014.

Author：Xu,Junqian;Julian,Craig C.

Abstract:Asia Nine, as one of the most crowded places in the world, is composed of both advanced economies - Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and Singapore - and developing countries - China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand. Bilateral trade between Asia Nine has increased dramatically since these countries joined the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) agreement in 1989. Actually all these countries have links with the ancient Chinese cultural sphere and their languages are often derived from Classical Chinese; trade between these countries may date back a thousand years. The cultural and linguistic similarities may have facilitated transport and trade, but bilateral trade between these countries is very historically dependent and most East Asian countries have a colonial relationship with Japan, which as a historical factor would more or less affect bilateral trade. A comparison of transportation costs as a percentage of total trade in both developed countries and developing countries is presented in Table 2.1. G7 countries are included to enable a comparison to be made with Asia Nine. Over the last two decades, generally speaking, transportation costs as a percentage of total trade in the developed countries have declined less than those in the developing countries. As is evident from Table 2.1, however, transport costs as a percentage of total trade are decreasing in both developed and developing countries.

Author：Phiri,Michael;Chen,Bing

Abstract:© 2014, The Author(s). Worldwide, healthcare organisations are facing challenges and demands to improve design quality and safety of their estate, while addressing burgeoning safety legislation and austere funding arrangements due to the 2007–2010 financial crisis and economic downturn. This has created an imperative for all providers, commissioners and regulators to address how the healthcare environment may need to change. Although widely acknowledged that healthcare guidance/standards and tools are essential to enhance quality and safety in health care, no studies have been published, nor indeed been carried out, with regard to their usefulness. By their very nature, studying guidance and tools is rarely an attractive subject for practitioners and academics alike. However, notable publications include sustainable healthcare architecture aimed at covering the twin big and complex subjects of sustainability and healthcare architecture (Guenther and Vittori: Sustainable healthcare architecture, 2007); a step-by-step guide of how to implement an evidence-based design (EBD) process and those seeking to learn the methodology for EBD of healthcare facilities (Cama: Evidence-based healthcare design, 2009); and a description of evidence-based healthcare facility design that is meant to support quality care and reduce costs (McCullough: Evidence-based healthcare design, 2009). Crucially, the lack of studies and consequently dearth of publications that focus on the role of technical guidance and tools is manifested by the absence of policies and appropriate strategies, as well as a rationale, not only for aiding decision-making in healthcare organisations, but also for acknowledging that, fundamentally, technologies, policies and services are subject to shorter life cycles than the relatively inflexible built assets that support them. This Springer Brief aims to increase our understanding of the role played by technical guidance/standards and tools in design, construction and operation of healthcare facilities as well as ultimately establishing the impact of the physical environment on staff and patient outcomes. Consequently, the aim is for the development of guidance and tools that will aid the creation of architectural environments of quality and safety, which will lead to positive patients’ health outcomes and improved staff productivity.

Author：Ting,T. O.

Abstract:In this chapter, the main objective of maximizing the Material Reduction Rate (MRR) in the drilling process is carried out. The model describing the drilling process is adopted from the authors' previous work. With the model in hand, a novel algorithm known as Weightless Swarm Algorithm is employed to solve the maximization of MRR due to some constraints. Results show that WSA can find solutions effectively. Constraints are handled effectively, and no violations occur; results obtained are feasible and valid. Results are then compared to previous results by Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm. From this comparison, it is quite impossible to conclude which algorithm has a better performance. However, in general, WSA is more stable compared to PSO, from lower standard deviations in most of the cases tested. In addition, the simplicity of WSA offers abundant advantages as the presence of a sole parameter enables easy parameter tuning and thereby enables this algorithm to perform to its fullest.

Author：Julian,Craig C.;Ahmed,Zafar U.;Xu,Junqian

Abstract:© Craig C. Julian, Zafar U. Ahmed and Junqian Xu 2014. This comprehensive research Handbook encompasses an expansive range of perspectives on the globalization process of Chinese firms. Eminent global scholars provide contributions on a variety of topics, including: • industrial innovation; • technological innovation and learning; • the performance of Chinese international joint ventures,; • the global consumer; • Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) including barriers to FDI and FDI in China’s hinterland areas; • the globalization of Chinese business practices in Africa; • the Human Resource Management Transfer Process; • Corporate Information Disclosure in China’s Stock Market; and • the home employment effect.

Author：Julian,Craig C.;Xu,Junqian

Abstract:Although the literature on international joint ventures (IJVs) is already sizeable and steadily growing, there is a paucity of studies on at least one critical issue relating to the growth of IJVs in Asian economies, namely, the salient factors influencing IJV marketing performance. In the international business literature there are many studies that identify important determinants of IJV performance in general (Johnson et al., 2001; Lee and Beamish, 1995; Makino and Beamish, 1998). However, the literature does not adequately cover the issues relating to IJV marketing performance. In the international business literature, studies on marketing performance are largely confined to those firms involved in direct or indirect exporting (Cavusgil and Zou, 1994; Julian, 2003) with very little empirical evidence on IJV marketing performance. Given that successful marketing performance is critical to overall successful business performance (Crocombe, 1991), and the deficiency in the level of empirical evidence on IJV marketing performance, we decided to focus on marketing performance in order to enhance the already significant body of IJV literature. IJV marketing performance is defined as the degree to which the IJV’s marketing objectives, both economic and strategic, with respect to a product/service are achieved in a foreign market (that foreign market being China) through the planning and implementation of a specific marketing plan.

Author：Shi, Yuhui

Abstract:In this chapter, the human brainstorming process is modeled, based on which two versions of a Brain Storm Optimization (BSO) algorithm are introduced. Simulation results show that both BSO algorithms perform reasonably well on ten benchmark functions, which validates the effectiveness and usefulness of the proposed BSO algorithms. Simulation results also show that one of the BSO algorithms, BSO-II, performs better than the other BSO algorithm, BSO-I, in general. Furthermore, average inter-cluster distance Dc and inter-cluster diversity De are defined, which can be used to measure and monitor the distribution of cluster centroids and information entropy of the population over iterations. Simulation results illustrate that further improvement could be achieved by taking advantage of information revealed by Dc, which points at one direction for future research on BSO algorithms. © 2015 by IGI Global. All rights reserved.

Author：Phiri,Michael;Chen,Bing

Abstract:To achieve success, providers, commissioners and regulators of the delivery of healthcare or more specifically the accommodation in which health and social care is provided need to proactively embrace the principles of design for sustainability integrated with evidence-based design. Also of importance is that the process involves users or occupants of the healthcare facilities. Otherwise, efforts to meet sustainability targets and aspirations for design quality improvement are futile without a meaningful engagement of users. This means that the imperative is for a cultural shift and raising awareness among the users and managers of healthcare facilities at both the local level of a clinic, the geographical health economy comprising hospitals, clinics and care homes, and the national healthcare system as well as globally. A culture change and increased awareness is also not enough but needs to be translated into actions by both individuals and organisations. Within the organisation, the support needs to emanate from the top down in order to be effective. Applying and implementing design for sustainability is perhaps the greatest challenge for any organisation that adopts and commits to this approach. The case studies in this brief highlight the different starting points and focus. In particular, the strategy in the UK has tended to be that of providing publicly sponsored and funded health care guidance and design tools to aid the design process compared with the US where the focus on practice has encouraged private firms to implement principles of sustainable evidence-based design.

Author：Phiri,Michael;Chen,Bing

Abstract:Through a number of carefully selected purpose-built Case Studies from the UK, EU, USA, China and Australasia, this section indicates how strategies that integrate sustainability and evidence-based design have been implemented in healthcare design practice. The aim is to document the key drivers for these case study projects and the consequences of applying these design approaches. In doing so, the brief seeks to increase our understanding of the relationship between theory and practice, thus uncovering mechanisms to embed sustainability and evidence-based design in working practices. Ultimately, this will improve efficiency and effectiveness in the delivery of positive healthcare outcomes.