Papers by Timothy L J Ferris
This is an exploration of how the artificial environment links with the natural environment and r... more This is an exploration of how the artificial environment links with the natural environment and requires a conceptual construct that bridges these two environments. Palmer's General Schema Theory, a highly theoretical work, elaborated on in a dissertation by Fernández-Solís ...
This article presents some of the salient aspects of resilience collected from many articles, bot... more This article presents some of the salient aspects of resilience collected from many articles, both scholarly and practical, for the benefit of those practitioners who are attempting to understand, analyse and implement the concept.
This article reviews the concept of resilience, especially when applied to civil infrastructures,... more This article reviews the concept of resilience, especially when applied to civil infrastructures, how this concept gained recognition as something of importance, and how it is evolving from a notion to a practical idea.
System resilience means different things to different people and different things across differen... more System resilience means different things to different people and different things across different industries and system contexts. For example, in some contexts, the need is for the system performance to be unaffected after the occurrence of a defined threat event whereas in others system impairment or even loss may be acceptable, particularly for severe threats, providing certain constraints, such as system safety, are not compromised. When wishing to specify resilience or to describe or analyse the performance and behaviour of a system in response to a threat situation, it is useful to have a conceptual model that can support these activities.
In this article we present a state-based conceptual model of the variety of states that a system may experience when encountering and resolving a resilience-related situation. We contend that it has promise for framing discussion on resilience objectives of a particular system during the design process by imbuing a common understanding of the expected resilience characteristics of the system to all stakeholders. Furthermore, we advocate that during operations the model could be used to inform decisions on how best to deal with many resilience related issues such as an impending threat and an impaired system.
Systems Engineering, vol 16, no 2, pp 152-164, 2012
This paper examines a set of abstract, top-level principles and sub-principles collected from the... more This paper examines a set of abstract, top-level principles and sub-principles collected from the literature to determine their usefulness in enabling the avoidance, survival, and recovery from disruptions caused by threats of vari-ous sources. The principles are compared to concrete solutions recommend-ed by domain experts in various case studies and to the actual events in those case studies. Also examined are the limitations, conflicts, and vulnerabilities that may be apparent when concrete solutions are created from these princi-ples. The systems considered are physical, organizational, and procedural sys-tems. Examples include cases from fire protection, aviation, railways, and power distribution domains. Threats examined include terrorist attacks, natu-ral disasters, and human and design error. Each principle is found to apply to different phases of the disruption cycle surrounding an encounter with a threat. It is found that principles, in general, cannot be applied singly to a sys-tem but must be combined with other principles to enable resilience. System developers in various domains can use the principles to create concrete solu-tions to characterize a particular system, model that solution, and determine the degree of recovery of the system from a specified threat.
International Journal of Engineering Education, vol 26, no 3, pp 699-707, 2010
Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives has been a useful tool for many educators over several... more Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives has been a useful tool for many educators over several decades. Bloom’s taxonomy divided educational outcomes into three distinct domains: the cognitive, affective and psychomotor; and provided a hierarchical taxonomy of outcomes in each of the cognitive and affective domains. Several psychomotor taxonomies have been developed for the K-12 level of basic skills development. These taxonomies are not particularly helpful in relation to development of professional level psychomotor related skills. This paper presents a theory of the nature of knowledge and a taxonomy of psychomotor domain outcomes adapted to trade and professional level skills involving the practical performance of work.
International Journal of Engineering Education, vol 26, no 4, pp 891-899, 2010
This paper describes a strategy used to develop skills in research and communication among a coho... more This paper describes a strategy used to develop skills in research and communication among a cohort of postgraduate masters students. This took place in Engineering Research Methods (ERP), where most of the students were international with English as an additional language (EAL). The paper evaluates the combined effect of a change in course assessment processes and the introduction of a program of English for Academic purposes (EAP). We determined that tightly scaffolded curriculum and assessment design, combined with discipline-specific writing support, resulted in higher quality work.
International Journal of Defence Support Systems, vol 2, no 3, pp 171-183, 2009
Doctoral degrees have been structured, traditionally, as PhDs with emphasis on training the candi... more Doctoral degrees have been structured, traditionally, as PhDs with emphasis on training the candidate to perform research into topics relevant to the discipline. Professional doctorates were developed to provide doctoral level education to enable their graduates to practice in their field with exceptional competence. In engineering the idea of professional doctorates is relatively new, and has been heavily influenced by the concept of the research embodied in engineering PhDs, with the degree structure modified to include substantial coursework. This paper describes the professional doctorate in engineering offered at the University of South Australia, in particular showing the application of an approach to professional practice which is itself research.
Systems Research and Behavioural Science, vol 24, pp 169-181, 2007
The engineering discipline of systems engineering was developed as means to address the design, i... more The engineering discipline of systems engineering was developed as means to address the design, implementation, and operation of large, complex technical systems. Whilst systems engineering includes methods for addressing the whole life-cycle of the end product system, and processes for determining what should be made, it still reflects many aspects of the traditional engineering worldview. During the past decade or so, there has been a growing trend within the systems engineering community to appreciate that systems engineering has much wider concerns than just addressing the end product system, and properly encompasses the social aspects of the interaction of people with the end product system, and also the organisational system in which the development is done. Over this period, the framework of ideas that underpins systems engineering has also progressed from engineering science to a transdisciplinary position that incorporates many of the established systems approaches to management. In this paper, we examine the nature of contemporary systems engineering and conclude that systems engineering is a metamethodology for the development and evolution of large, sociotechnical systems. We argue that, as such, systems engineering is an appropriate methodology for any problem situation where the solution can be expected to involve a substantial technical component.
Measurement, vol 36, no 1, pp 101-109, 2004
Existing definitions of measurement presented by many scholars in metrology are presented and rev... more Existing definitions of measurement presented by many scholars in metrology are presented and reviewed. A brief synopsis of advances in thinking about the nature of measurement is also presented. A new definition of measurement is proposed: “Measurement is an empirical process, using an instrument, effecting a rigorous and objective mapping of an observable into a category in a model of the observable that meaningfully distinguishes the manifestation from other possible and distinguishable manifestations.” This definition is discussed in the light of the more recent developments in the conceptualization of measurement.
Measurement, vol 21, no 4, pp 137-146., 1997
This paper discusses a problem in the way people think about measurement. This problem is analys... more This paper discusses a problem in the way people think about measurement. This problem is analysed using the tool of an Object Oriented Model of Measurement, developed in the paper, which is related to the Representational Theory of Measurement but alters and extends of the tenets of that theory. It is concluded that all measurement involves a leap of decision concerning the model of analysis of the observed which is to be employed, and in addition information processing often involves a leap from the algorithmically derivable to useful conclusions about the observed as sought through the measurement process.
Biomedical Engineering – Applications, Basis and Communications, vol 7, no 4, pp 384-391, 1995
This paper presents and discusses a model of medical diagnosis and applies this model to the arch... more This paper presents and discusses a model of medical diagnosis and applies this model to the architecture of diagnostic assistance software. The model is developed through combining the literature teaching diagnostic technique with that discussing the actual technique of experienced doctors. Previous attempts in the areas of EEG analysis and automated interview interpretation, published by others, are commented upon, and used for guidance in the planning of the architecture outlined. The author has elsewhere shown that non-uniqueness of diagnosis associated with observed manifestations results in no possible reliable algorithmic process for conclusion formation. Algorithmic processes may be numerical or symbolic, such as Expert Systems. This paper presents the author’s responses to these problems and applies the author’s work on the epistemic character of measurement to the problem of assisting medical diagnosis. The doctor’s knowledge of the patient is divided into 21 sets of information based on source path, quality, usefulness, and degree of awareness of knowledge. An architecture is presented for assisting doctors in processing the information from diverse sources which takes account of the diverse information sets outlined above and is consistent with recent advances in measurement theory scholarship. The architecture presented is planned to address the problems of diverse input data types, including discretely stated information and time traces of measured signals, and also provides means to incorporate the doctor’s implicit knowledge of the patient early in the data processing, rather than only in the doctor’s review of output, as in many current systems.
Electronics Letters, 1992
DFT windows are applied by frequency domain convolution. Suitable windows, transformed to sums o... more DFT windows are applied by frequency domain convolution. Suitable windows, transformed to sums of delta functions, result in convolutions requiring addition of few terms. These convolutions applied to DFT output, provide more accurate results, and less computation if multiple windows need to be applied to the same data, than time domain windowing.
This paper provides an exploratory study on the relationship between learning preferences of syst... more This paper provides an exploratory study on the relationship between learning preferences of systems engineering graduate students and delivery methods of systems engineering coursework. We begin by providing an overview of learning in the systems engineering context, followed by two central research questions that guide the rest of the paper. Our study is focused on measuring learning preferences based on a previously developed survey instrument called VARK. We provide a detailed description of VARK and some insight into the existing database that sheds light on the typical distribution of learning preferences across disciplines. We provide some preliminary results and discuss their implications on systems engineering curriculum development and delivery. Finally, we discuss additional questions that remain to be explored as we strive to understand the learning preferences of systems engineering graduate students.
conference papers by Timothy L J Ferris
2014 9th International Conference on System of Systems Engineering (SOSE), 2014
This paper presents a framework for visualizing the research coverage of system of systems engine... more This paper presents a framework for visualizing the research coverage of system of systems engineering (SOSE). The framework is based on prior similar work providing a framework for systems engineering research (SE) coverage. The framework presented for SOSE is sufficiently broad and developed to enable meaningful classification of SOSE research contributions. This paper compares the coverage of SOSE and SE in relevant bodies of research. The comparison reveals both different emphases in the two fields and different stages of maturity of the fields.
Proceedings of iNEER Conference for Engineering Education and Research, Tainan, Taiwan, 1-5 March, CD-ROM, paper F24., 2005
Recently there has been a shift in the educational background of overseas applicants for entry to... more Recently there has been a shift in the educational background of overseas applicants for entry to Bachelor of Engineering awards in Australian Universities. In addition, the 1988 Dawkins Higher Education policy proposed that Australian higher education in general should be structured to enable individual people to progressively upgrade qualifications throughout their career, with minimal loss of time compared with choosing a minimum time pathway to their ultimate educational goal from the outset. These background factors have resulted in Australian universities being confronted with a need to assess holders of various Diplomas in engineering disciplines with a view to granting entry to a Bachelor of Engineering award accredited by Institution of Engineers Australia and consequently throughout the Washington Accord countries as a first award in engineering, with substantial advanced standing based on the preceding studies. The numbers of applicants and the contextual factors result in a need for Australian universities to establish advanced standing agreements with diverse ‘feeder colleges’ to the effect that a holder of a particular diploma with a certain standard of attainment will be granted a certain advanced standing. Particularly where the ‘feeder college’ is overseas there are complications to the process related to distance in both geographic and cultural dimensions. The author has been involved in a task requiring determination of a generalisable set of criteria by which to assess the quality of education achieved in a program of study involving a process to measure student attainment against a defensible standard, in this case Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives, college academic staffing and facilities, in addition to the details of course and program content. The discussion of the paper will provide basis for people concerned with: 1. Accreditation of programs for recognition as engineering awards; 2. Recognition of advanced standing entry to accredited programs; and 3. Educational development assistance.
Proceedings of iNEER Conference for Engineering Education and Research, Tainan, Taiwan, 1-5 March, CD-ROM, paper W14., 2005
Bloom’s taxonomy of education objectives has been an important source for investigations of curri... more Bloom’s taxonomy of education objectives has been an important source for investigations of curriculum since its development. In the original taxonomy the authors addressed the issues of cognitive and affective objectives in education, and provided a hierarchy of kinds of capability in each of these domains that could be used as evidence of achievement. In addition, the hierarchy of capabilities provides a framework for correlating educational attainment with evidence of qualities that relate to abilities relevant to the performance of professional, or in the case of lower elements of the hierarchy, sub-professional work roles. The authors of the original taxonomy indicated that they believed that there are three domains relevant to educational outcomes. These are the cognitive, knowledge of and ability to work with information and ideas; the affective, ability to organise, articulate, and live and work by a coherent value system relevant to the capabilities achieved through education; and the psychomotor skills, ability to do acts relevant to the field of study. In engineering it is necessary for the student to develop skills working with the tangible stuff related to the discipline because the role of an engineer is to do either or both of development work of products and systems and to direct other people in the development and manufacture of products and systems. In roles where the engineer must personally perform work related to developmental experimentation, prototyping or contributions to maintenance and construction it is necessary for the engineer to have appropriately developed psychomotor skills to be able recognise and handle both test and developmental components and the equipment used to manipulate, work upon, or test those work pieces. In cases where the engineer’s role is to direct the work of others it is important for the engineer to have appreciation of the tasks that the engineer calls upon those others to do and to have sufficient experience to understand the potential difficulties and dangers associated with the performance of the tasks. This appreciation will also provide a significant influence to the design activities of the engineer, as the engineer considers the usefulness and usability of the intended product. The paper will present a hierarchical taxonomy of psychomotor skills and discuss these skills specifically from the viewpoint of the needs of engineers.
Proceedings of the 15th INCOSE Annual International Symposium – Systems Engineering: Bridging Industry, Government and Academia, Rochester, New York, USA, 10-14 July, CD-ROM paper 6.1.1., 2005
This paper discusses the need for the development of a framework for Systems Engineering to facil... more This paper discusses the need for the development of a framework for Systems Engineering to facilitate recognition of Systems Engineering as a discipline and to provide a fundamental basis for advancing the practice of Systems Engineering. Systems Engineering concerns the development of systems that satisfy the real needs of those who call for the systems to be created. Such systems are not tangible things that can be analyzed as objects to be inspected and described, but rather these systems interact with their users and stakeholders in a complex manner, where the introduction of the system perturbs the pre-existent situation, resulting in a need for sophisticated methodologies to analyze and predict outcomes of system creation and deployment. The paper exposes and discusses a range of research methodologies that are appropriate for contributing to the development of a coherent framework of research in Systems Engineering.
Proceedings of the IEEE International Engineering Management Conference, IEMC 2005 – A strategic view of engineering and technology management, St John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, 11-14 September, pp 271-275., 2005
Academics in the scientific and engineering disciplines are accustomed to framing unified theorie... more Academics in the scientific and engineering disciplines are accustomed to framing unified theories for their area of interest. This is meaningful for narrow research disciplines but can create a worldview in engineering students and academics that this is the most desirable approach to research in general. Engineering management, however, covers a vast range of topics such as project management, team building, scheduling, finance, etc. Engineers who concentrate on engineering management are influenced by their formation and tend to conduct their research from a perspective similar to that applied to engineering science. This paper argues that while this approach is appropriate for many engineering management investigations, for others, alternative research worldviews and methodologies are indicated. We propose that instead of seeking a unified engineering management framework, a better way would be to follow the tenets of postmodern thinking and apply research approaches that best match the engineering management issue under investigation. An overarching framework can still be formed but this would arise from pluralist multi-methodology thinking rather than through developing a single unified theory.
Proceedings of the 15th INCOSE Annual International Symposium – Systems Engineering: Bridging Industry, Government and Academia, Rochester, New York, USA, 10-14 July, CD-ROM paper 4.3.3., 2005
The paper presents the results of an investigation of the INCOSE Systems Engineering Measurement ... more The paper presents the results of an investigation of the INCOSE Systems Engineering Measurement Primer from the framework of measurement theory. This approach to the Primer is outside the scope of the claims of the Primer, and so is not entirely fair to the authors of the Primer. This investigation is conducted in order to contribute to the development of measurement processes suitable for use in systems engineering and also to provide a theoretical framework for measurement of systems engineering processes.
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Papers by Timothy L J Ferris
In this article we present a state-based conceptual model of the variety of states that a system may experience when encountering and resolving a resilience-related situation. We contend that it has promise for framing discussion on resilience objectives of a particular system during the design process by imbuing a common understanding of the expected resilience characteristics of the system to all stakeholders. Furthermore, we advocate that during operations the model could be used to inform decisions on how best to deal with many resilience related issues such as an impending threat and an impaired system.
conference papers by Timothy L J Ferris
In this article we present a state-based conceptual model of the variety of states that a system may experience when encountering and resolving a resilience-related situation. We contend that it has promise for framing discussion on resilience objectives of a particular system during the design process by imbuing a common understanding of the expected resilience characteristics of the system to all stakeholders. Furthermore, we advocate that during operations the model could be used to inform decisions on how best to deal with many resilience related issues such as an impending threat and an impaired system.
The BKCASE author team was composed of invited experts from industry, government, academia, and various professional associations. These authors followed an iterative, evolutionary approach when creating the two primary BKCASE products. The
BKCASE author team met in workshops approximately every three months from December 2009 to October 2012. GRCSE v0.25 was released in December 2010 to selected members of the systems engineering community with the invitation to review and provide the necessary feedback to develop subsequent versions. This feedback was received and the following year formed the basis of v0.5, which was released on a public website in December 2011, inviting review from anyone. Version 1.0 is the result of further revision of 0.5; it is
based on the review comments received from the community and further review and input the entire BKCASE author team.
The participation of professional societies in the creation of GRCSE was essential to ensure that it has the desired impact on global graduate education. The International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE), the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Computer Society (IEEE CS), the IEEE Systems Council, the Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE) and the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) Systems Engineering Division provided representatives to serve as authors for the BKCASE project. The Association for Computing
Machinery (ACM) provided review comments.