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With the new cosmological data gathered over the last few years, the inflationary paradigm has seen its predictions largely unchallenged. A recent proposal, called the ekpyrotic scenario, was argued to be a viable competitor as it was claimed that the spectrum of primordial perturbations it produces is scale invariant. By investigating closely this scenario, we show that the corresponding spect...

Scenario planning is a method widely used by strategic planners to address uncertainty about the future. However, current methods either fail to address the future behaviour and impact of stakeholders or they treat the role of stakeholders informally. We present a practical decisionanalysis-based methodology for analysing stakeholder objectives and likely behaviour within contested unfolding fu...

For 20 years, conflict between the planning and process schools of strategy has shaped the debate on strategy creation. Here we argue that a scenario-based approach to strategic planning can serve as an innovative management tool in the field with the potential to overcome discrepancies between the two opposing schools of strategy. The scenario-based approach to strategic planning builds on the...

The systems thinking and modelling framework involve five major phases: problem structuring, causal loop modelling, dynamic modelling, scenario planning & modelling , and implementation & organisational learning. In this paper we propose that stakeholder analysis would enrich the systems thinking and modelling process. Specifically, we explain the importance of stakeholder analysis in the probl...

In this paper, we present a preliminary study dealing with the importance of correct modeling of connective tissues such as ligaments in laparoscopic liver surgery simulation. We show that the model of these tissues has a significant impact on the overall results of the simulation. This is demonstrated numerically using two different scenarios from the laparoscopic liver surgery, both resulting...

A systematic analysis of stakeholders could enrich the systems thinking and modelling methodology. Among the five phases of the systems thinking and modelling framework, namely, problem structuring, causal loop modelling, dynamic modelling, scenario planning & modelling, and implementation & organisational learning, the importance of stakeholder analysis in the problem structuring and scenario ...

Many ICT-based tools for supporting democratic participation that have been developed with public funds and applied in pilot projects have not yet achieved large-scale outreach. Optimists still believe this will happen; sceptics doubt. This paper starts from the assumption that technological development and diffusion are largely influenced by socioeconomic conditions. It develops a contingency ...