Complex systems are pervasive in many areas of science. With the increasing requirement for high levels of system performance, complex systems has become an important area of research due to its role in many industries. Advances in System Dynamics and Control provides emerging research on the applications in the field of control and analysis for complex systems, with a special emphasis on how to solve various control design and observer design problems, nonlinear systems, interconnected systems, and singular systems. Featuring coverage on a broad range of topics, such as adaptive control, artificial neural network, and synchronization, this book is an important resource for engineers, professionals, and researchers interested in applying new computational and mathematical tools for solving the complicated problems of mathematical modeling, simulation, and control.

This volume constitutes the refereed proceedings of the Second International Conference on Electronic Participation, ePart 2010, held in Lausanne, Switzerland, in August/September, 2010.

As legislations have become stricter and the competition on markets is getting stronger, companies facing return flows strive for the implementation of efficient and cost-effective reverse logistic procedures. At the same time, when managing reverse logistics, they are not only confronted with a high degree of uncertainties concerning the quality, quantity and timing or the product returns, but also with a dynamically changing environment. Various aspects, such the increasing amount of return flows, shorter repair and lead times as well as increasing disposal costs, affect the reverse logistic system and need to be managed proficiently. Additionally, handling product returns requires supportive computer aided modelling tools that are capable of handling the dynamic and complex characteristics of the reverse logistic system and allow an improved estimation of the impact of a changing environment and management decisions. For the purpose of this study, the system dynamics modelling approach has been identified as particularly suitable for illustrating the system in question with a special focus on understanding the dynamic behaviour over time. A generic system dynamics model has been exemplarily created and simulated using the program iThink. The model comprises end-to-end processes of the main reverse logistic activities related to customer returns and has been used for studying the strategic design and optimization of the reverse logistic system. In order to consider relevant uncertainties as well as environmental concerns and economic efficiency, representative policies have been applied where, inter alia, with the help of the graphical illustration of the processes, effective strategies could be implemented. A general evaluation of the system dynamics methodology has revealed the significant advantages of using supportive modelling techniques for strategic decision making. Particularly for complex systems that change over time, such as reverse logistics, applying appropriate computer aided modelling tools in order to anticipate the overall effect on processes caused by varying surroundings has proven essential. An effective utilization of system dynamics may significantly reduce the forecasting and planning risks within individual frameworks, such as capacity planning. Moreover, the generic approach allows the application of the model to any other industry that is characterized by uncertain capacity utilization and varying technical, economical and legal conditions.

This volume constitutes the proceedings of the 4th IFIP WG 8.1 Working Conference on the Practice of Enterprise Modeling, held in Oslo, Norway, during November 2-3, 2011. The conference series is a dedicated forum where the use of enterprise modeling (EM) in practice is addressed by bringing together researchers, users, and practitioners in order to develop a better understanding of the practice of EM, to contribute to improved industrial EM applications, and to share knowledge and experiences. The 18 papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 38 submissions. Authored by both researchers and practitioners, they reflect the fact that EM encompasses human, organizational issues as well as technical aspects related to the development of information systems. The papers are organized in five thematic sessions on process modeling, business modeling, enterprise architecture, EM, and model-driven development. In addition, two keynotes on EM in an agile world and on intra- and inter-organizational process mining complete the volume.

This volume Future Control and Automation- Volume 2 includes best papers from 2012 2nd International Conference on Future Control and Automation (ICFCA 2012) held on July 1-2, 2012, Changsha, China. Future control and automation is the use of control systems and information technologies to reduce the need for human work in the production of goods and services. This volume can be divided into six sessions on the basis of the classification of manuscripts considered, which is listed as follows: Mathematical Modeling, Analysis and Computation, Control Engineering, Reliable Networks Design, Vehicular Communications and Networking, Automation and Mechatronics.

Human resources management is essential for any workplace environment and is deemed most effective when a strategic focus is in place to ensure that people can facilitate that achievement of organizational goals. But, effective human resource management also contains an element of risk management for an organization which, as a minimum, ensures legislative compliance. Human Resources Management: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications compiles the most sought after case studies, architectures, frameworks, methodologies, and research related to human resources management. Including over 100 chapters from professional, this three-volume collection presents an in-depth analysis on the fundamental aspects, tools and technologies, methods and design, applications, managerial impact, social/behavioral perspectives, critical issues, and emerging trends in the field, touching on effective and ineffective management practices when it comes to human resources. This multi-volume work is vital and highly accessible across the hybrid domain of business and management, essential for any library collection.