Search results for: asset management space

Authors: Aqsa Akbar, Sadaf Ehsan, Suheera Khalid Sheikh

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Purpose: In the today’s competitive world, situational dynamism presents complex challenges for organizations to pursue production innovation. Calling for dire need to remain sustainable, the research aims to examine the interlinking mechanism of knowledge sharing and product innovation relationship. For this, a moderated mediation framework is developed in which employees’ creativity and top management support are suggested as viable factors affecting the knowledge sharing and product innovation relationship. Design/Methodology/Approaches A survey-based quantitative research design is selected for data collection via self-administered questionnaires from employees of Pakistan’s E-commerce organizations. Almost, 350 questionnaires were circulated and 285 were received back through a cross-sectional method. Data analysis is performed on SPSS 22.0 and AMOS. Finding The outcomes suggest that knowledge sharing is critical for companies undergoing product innovation. In addition, findings disclose that employees’ creativity partially mediates the relationship between knowledge sharing and product innovation. Furthermore, the moderation impact of top management support also substantiated the proposed hypothesis. Results are discussed in the light of the literature review, followed by the study’s limitations and future directions. Originality/Value The study donates significance towards the development of better understanding of how knowledge sharing is vital for product innovation. It adds on to the literature by highlighting mechanisms responsible for successful product innovation. Moreover, the study offers practical insights to Pakistan’s E-commerce industry and suggests about how to develop capabilities for product innovation.

Keywords: employees creativity, knowledge sharing, product innovation, top management support

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Authors: Jirarat Teeravaraprug, Usawadee Inklay

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This paper gave an attempt in prioritizing information technologies that organizations should give concentration. The case study was organizations in the automotive assembly industry in Thailand. Data were first collected to gather all information technologies known and used in the automotive assembly industry in Thailand. Five experts from the industries were surveyed based on the concept of fuzzy DEMATEL. The information technologies were categorized into six groups, which were communication, transaction, planning, organization management, warehouse management, and transportation. The cause groups of information technologies for each group were analysed and presented. Moreover, the relationship between the used and the significant information technologies was given. Discussions based on the used information technologies and the research results are given.

Keywords: information technology, automotive assembly industry, fuzzy DEMATEL

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Authors: Aaron G. Laylo

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This paper mainly assumes that social entrepreneurship contributes significantly to youth empowerment i.e., work and community engagement. Two questions are thus raised in order to establish this hypothesis: 1) First, how does social entrepreneurship contribute to youth empowerment?; and 2) secondly, why is social entrpreneurship significantly incremental to youth empowerment? This research aims a) to investigate on the social aspect of entrepreneurship; b) to explore challenges in youth empowerment particularly in respect to work and community engagement; and c) to inquire into whether social enterprises have truly served as a catalyst for, thus an effective response to, youth empowerment. It must be emphasized that young people, which comprise 1.8 billion in a world of seven billion are an asset; Apparently, how to maximize that potential is crucial. By utilizing exploratory research design, the paper endeavors to generate new ideas in regards to both components, develop tentative theories on social entrepreneurship, and refine certain issues that are under observation and seek scholarly attention— a rather emerging phenomenon vis a vis the challenge to empower a significant cluster of the society. Case studies will be utilized as an approach in order to comparatively analyze youth-driven social enterprises in the Philippines that have been widely recognized as successful insofar as social impact is concerned. As most scholars attested, social entrepreneurship is still at its infancy stage. Youth empowerment, meanwhile, is yet a vast area to explore insofar as academic research is concerned. Programs and projects that advocate the pursuit of these components abound. However, academic research is yet to be undertaken to see and understand their social and economic relevance. This research is also an opportunity for scholars to explore, understand, and make sense of the promise that lies in social entrepreneurship research and how it can serve as a catalyst for youth empowerment. Youth-driven social enterprises can be an influential tool in sustaining development across the globe as they intend to provide opportunities for optimal economic productivity that recognizes social inclusion. Ultimately, this study should be able to contribute to both research and development-in-practice communities for the greater good of the society. By establishing the nexus between these two components, the research may contribute to fostering greater exploration of the benefits that both may yield to human progress as well as the gaps that have to be filled in by various policy stakeholders relevant to these units.

Keywords: social entpreneurship, youth, empowerment, social inclusion

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Authors: Ahmed E. Hodaib, Mohamed A. Hashem

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In engineering applications, a design has to be as fully perfect as possible in some defined case. The designer has to overcome many challenges in order to reach the optimal solution to a specific problem. This process is called optimization. Generally, there is always a function called “objective function” that is required to be maximized or minimized by choosing input parameters called “degrees of freedom” within an allowed domain called “search space” and computing the values of the objective function for these input values. It becomes more complex when we have more than one objective for our design. As an example for Multi-Objective Optimization Problem (MOP): A structural design that aims to minimize weight and maximize strength. In such case, the Pareto Optimal Frontier (POF) is used, which is a curve plotting two objective functions for the best cases. At this point, a designer should make a decision to choose the point on the curve. Engineers use algorithms or iterative methods for optimization. In this paper, we will discuss the Evolutionary Algorithms (EA) which are widely used with Multi-objective Optimization Problems due to their robustness, simplicity, suitability to be coupled and to be parallelized. Evolutionary algorithms are developed to guarantee the convergence to an optimal solution. An EA uses mechanisms inspired by Darwinian evolution principles. Technically, they belong to the family of trial and error problem solvers and can be considered global optimization methods with a stochastic optimization character. The optimization is initialized by picking random solutions from the search space and then the solution progresses towards the optimal point by using operators such as Selection, Combination, Cross-over and/or Mutation. These operators are applied to the old solutions “parents” so that new sets of design variables called “children” appear. The process is repeated until the optimal solution to the problem is reached. Reliable and robust computational fluid dynamics solvers are nowadays commonly utilized in the design and analyses of various engineering systems, such as aircraft, turbo-machinery, and auto-motives. Coupling of Computational Fluid Dynamics “CFD” and Multi-Objective Evolutionary Algorithms “MOEA” has become substantial in aerospace engineering applications, such as in aerodynamic shape optimization and advanced turbo-machinery design.

Keywords: mathematical optimization, multi-objective evolutionary algorithms "MOEA", computational fluid dynamics "CFD", aerodynamic shape optimization

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Authors: Marcelo Jose Cabarcas Ortega, Lissette Herrera, Juan Carlos Lemus Stave

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This work makes a rather theoretical reflection on a pedagogical response against the coloniality of knowledge and power. The purpose here is to reflect on the challenges and opportunities it opens up in the educational field. No doubt, ours derived in a more abstract than concrete reflection. The quest, nevertheless, to stimulate the interest in a non-violent, non-contemptuous education able to balance, improves and if necessary, transforms the relationships that have made it a space of privilege and exclusion. We all know the school has found itself in need of rethinking diversity while developing awareness of its own role in reproducing inequality. Intercultural education may provide an answer to that hurry when fostering critical awareness and dialogue.

Keywords: decoloniality, coloniality of power, diversity, interculturality

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Authors: S. Bader, N. Essoukri Ben Amara

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With the technological development and rise of virtual worlds, these spaces are becoming more and more attractive for cybercriminals, hidden behind avatars and fictitious identities. Since access to these spaces is not restricted or controlled, some impostors take advantage of gaining unauthorized access and practicing cyber criminality. This paper proposes an identity management approach for securing access to virtual worlds. The major purpose of the suggested solution is to install a strong security mechanism to protect virtual identities represented by avatars. Thus, only legitimate users, through their corresponding avatars, are allowed to access the platform resources. Access is controlled by integrating an authentication process based on biometrics. In the request process for registration, a user fingerprint is enrolled and then encrypted into a watermark utilizing a cancelable and non-invertible algorithm for its protection. After a user personalizes their representative character, the biometric mark is embedded into the avatar through a watermarking procedure. The authenticity of the avatar identity is verified when it requests authorization for access. We have evaluated the proposed approach on a dataset of avatars from various virtual worlds, and we have registered promising performance results in terms of authentication accuracy, acceptation and rejection rates.

Keywords: identity management, security, biometrics authentication and authorization, avatar, virtual world

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Authors: Salma Akter, Md. Kamal Uddin

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Ashrayan (shelter) Prakalpa – a fully subsidized ‘integrated poverty eradication program’ through the provisioning of shelter of Bangladesh Government (GoB) targeting the internally displaced and homeless. In spite of the inclusiveness (poverty alleviation, employment opportunity, Tenure ship and training) of the shelter policy, dwellers are not merely questioned by the issue of 'the quality of life' .This study demonstrates how top-down policies, ambiguous ownership status of land and dwelling environments lead to ‘everyday compromise’ by the grassroots in both subjective (satisfaction, comfort and safety) and objective (physical design elements and physical environmental elements) issues in three respective scale macro (neighborhood) meso (shelter /built environment) and micro(family). It shows that by becoming subject to Government’s resettlements policies and after becoming user of its shelter units (although locally known as ‘barracks’ rather shelter or housing), the once displaced settlers assume a curious form of spatial practice where both social and spatial often bear slippery meanings. Thus, Policy-based shelter force the dwellers frequently compromise with their provided built environments and spaces within the settlements both in overtly and covertly. Compromises are made during the production of space and forms, whereas interesting new spaces and space-making practices emerge. The settlements under study are Dakshin Chandani Mahal Ashrayan Prakalpa located at the Eastern fringe area of Khulna, Bangladesh. In terms of methodology, this research is primarily exploratory and assumes a qualitative approach. Key tools used to obtain information are policy analysis, literature review, key informant interview, focus group discussion and participant observation at the level of dwelling and settlements. Necessary drawings and photographs have been taken to promote the study objective. Findings revealed that various shortages, inadequacies and negligence of policymakers make a compromising character of displaced by the means of 'quality of life' both in objective and subjective ground. Thus the study ends up with a recommendation to the policymakers to take an initiative to ensure the quality of life of the dwellers.

Keywords: Ashrayan, compromise, displaced people, quality of life

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Authors: Dimeji Abe, Nonso Okoye, Gideon Ikpimi, Prince Idemudia

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Multi-reservoir optimization operation has been a critical issue for river basin management. Water, as a scarce resource, is in high demand and the problems associated with the reservoir as its storage facility are enormous. The complexity in balancing the supply and demand of this prime resource has created the need to examine the best way to solve the problem using optimization techniques. The objective of this study is to evaluate the performance of the multi-objective meta-heuristic algorithm for the operation of Gariep Dam for satisfying ecological flow requirements. This study uses an evolutionary algorithm called backtrack search algorithm (BSA) to determine the best way to optimise the dam operations of hydropower production, flood control, and water supply without affecting the environmental flow requirement for the survival of aquatic bodies and sustain life downstream of the dam. To achieve this objective, the operations of the dam that corresponds to different tradeoffs between the objectives are optimized. The results indicate the best model from the algorithm that satisfies all the objectives without any constraint violation. It is expected that hydropower generation will be improved and more water will be available for ecological flow requirements with the use of the algorithm. This algorithm also provides farmers with more irrigation water as well to improve their business.

Keywords: BSA evolutionary algorithm, metaheuristics, optimization, river basin management

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Authors: Aedah Abd Rahman

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Software organisations may implement single or multiple frameworks in order to remain competitive. There are wide selection of generic Software Process Improvement (SPI) frameworks, best practices and standards implemented with different focuses and goals. Issues and difficulties emerge in the SPI practices from the context of software development and IT Service Management (ITSM). This research looks into the integration of multiple frameworks from the perspective of software development and ITSM. The research question of this study is how to define steps of methodology to solve the multi model software process improvement problem. The objective of this study is to define the research approach and methodologies to produce a more integrated and efficient Multi Model Process Improvement (MMPI) solution. A multi-step methodology is used which contains the case study, framework mapping and Delphi study. The research outcome has proven the usefulness and appropriateness of the proposed framework in SPI and quality practice in Malaysian software industries. This mixed method research approach is used to tackle problems from every angle in the context of software development and services. This methodology is used to facilitate the implementation and management of multi model environment of SPI frameworks in multiple domains.

Keywords: Delphi study, methodology, multi model software process improvement, service management

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Authors: Seung-Jun Yu, Hwan-Jun Choi, Hyoung-Kyu Song

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Among spatial diversity scheme, orthogonal space-time block code (OSTBC) and cyclic delay diversity (CDD) have been widely studied for the cooperative wireless relaying system. However, conventional OSTBC and CDD cannot cope with change in the number of relays owing to low throughput or error performance. In this paper, we propose a cooperative cyclic delay diversity (CDD) scheme that use hierarchical modulation at the source and adaptive modulation based on cyclic redundancy check (CRC) code at the relays.

Keywords: adaptive modulation, cooperative communication, CDD, OSTBC

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Authors: Michael Sonne Kristensen, Frank Loesche, James Foster, Elif Ozcan, Judy Edworthy

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Auditory alarms play an integral role in intensive care nurses’ daily work. Most medical devices in the intensive care unit (ICU) are designed to produce alarm sounds in order to make nurses aware of immediate or prospective safety risks. The utilisation of sound as a carrier of crucial patient information is highly dependent on nurses’ presence - both physically and mentally. For ICU nurses, especially the ones who work with stationary alarm devices at the patient bed space, it is a challenge to display ‘appropriate’ alarm responses at all times as they have to navigate with great flexibility in a complex work environment. While being primarily responsible for a small number of allocated patients they are often required to engage with other nurses’ patients, relatives, and colleagues at different locations inside and outside the unit. This work explores the social strategies used by a team of nurses to comprehend and react to the information conveyed by the alarms in the ICU. Two main research questions guide the study: To what extent do alarms from a patient bed space reach the relevant responsible nurse by direct auditory exposure? By which means do responsible nurses get informed about their patients’ alarms when not directly exposed to the alarms? A comprehensive video-ethnographic field study was carried out to capture and evaluate alarm-related events in an ICU. The study involved close collaboration with four nurses who wore eye-level cameras and ear-level binaural audio recorders during several work shifts. At all time the entire unit was monitored by multiple video and audio recorders. From a data set of hundreds of hours of recorded material information about the nurses’ location, social interaction, and alarm exposure at any point in time was coded in a multi-channel replay-interface. The data shows that responsible nurses’ direct exposure and awareness of the alarms of their allocated patients vary significantly depending on work load, social relationships, and the location of the patient’s bed space. Distributed listening is deliberately employed by the nursing team as a social strategy to respond adequately to alarms, but the patterns of information flow prompted by alarm-related events are not uniform. Auditory Spatiotemporal Trajectory (AST) is proposed as a methodological label to designate the integration of temporal, spatial and auditory load information. As a mixed-method metrics it provides tangible evidence of how nurses’ individual alarm-related experiences differ from one another and from stationary points in the ICU. Furthermore, it is used to demonstrate how alarm-related information reaches the individual nurse through principles of social and distributed cognition, and how that information relates to the actual alarm event. Thereby it bridges a long-standing gap in the literature on medical alarm utilisation between, on the one hand, initiatives to measure objective data of the medical sound environment without consideration for any human experience, and, on the other hand, initiatives to study subjective experiences of the medical sound environment without detailed evidence of the objective characteristics of the environment.

Keywords: auditory spatiotemporal trajectory, medical alarms, social cognition, video-ethography

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Authors: Nicholas Bayfield, Liam Bibo, Kaushelandra Rathore, Lucas Sanders, Mark Newman

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INTRODUCTION: Surgical pulmonary embolectomy is an established therapy for acute pulmonary embolism causing right heart dysfunction and haemodynamic instability. Massive intraoperative airway haemorrhage is a rare complication of pulmonary embolectomy. We present our institutional experience with massive airway haemorrhage complicating pulmonary embolectomy and discuss optimal therapeutic strategies. METHODS: A retrospective review of emergent surgical pulmonary embolectomy patients was undertaken. Cases complicated by massive intra-operative airway haemorrhage were identified. Intra- and peri-operative management strategies were analysed and discussed. RESULTS: Of 76 patients undergoing emergent or salvage pulmonary embolectomy, three cases (3.9%) of massive intraoperative airway haemorrhage were identified. Haemorrhage always began on weaning from cardiopulmonary bypass. Successful management strategies involved intraoperative isolation of the side of bleeding, occluding the affected airway with an endobronchial blocker, institution of veno-arterial (VA) extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and reversal of anticoagulation. Running the ECMO without heparinisation allows coagulation to occur. Airway haemorrhage was controlled within 24 hours of operation in all patients, allowing re-institution of dual lung ventilation and decannulation from ECMO. One case in which positive end-expiratory airway pressure was trialled initially was complicated by air embolism. Although airway haemorrhage was controlled successfully in all cases, all patients died in-hospital for reasons unrelated to the airway haemorrhage. CONCLUSION: Massive intraoperative airway haemorrhage during pulmonary embolectomy is a rare complication with potentially catastrophic outcomes. Re-perfusion alveolar and capillary injury is the likely aetiology. With a systematic approach to management, airway haemorrhage can be well controlled intra-operatively and often resolves within 24 hours. Stopping blood flow to the pulmonary arteries and support of oxygenation by the institution of VA ECMO is important. This management has been successful in our 3 cases.

Keywords: pulmonary embolectomy, cardiopulmonary bypass, cardiac surgery, pulmonary embolism

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Authors: Christian Rathgeber, Franz Winkler, Dirk Odenthal, Steffen Müller

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In this contribution a structure for high level lateral vehicle tracking control based on the disturbance observer is presented. The structure is characterized by stationary compensating side forces disturbances and guaranteeing a cooperative behavior at the same time. Driver inputs are not compensated by the disturbance observer. Moreover the structure is especially useful as it robustly stabilizes the vehicle. Therefore the parameters are selected using the Parameter Space Approach. The implemented algorithms are tested in real world scenarios.

Keywords: disturbance observer, trajectory tracking, robust control, autonomous driving, cooperative driving

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Authors: Jareeluk Ratanaphan

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The purposed of this research were; 1.To survey the teacher’s needs on knowledge about special education management for special needs learner 2.To development of distance training packages on providing for learner with special needs. 3. To study the effects of using the packages on trainee’s achievement. 4. To study the effects of using the packages on trainee’s opinion on the distance training packages. The design of the experiment was research and development. The research sample for survey were 86 teachers, and 22 teachers for study the effects of using the packages on achievement and opinion. The research instrument comprised: 1) training packages on special education management for special needs learner 2) achievement test 3) questionnaire. Mean, percentage, standard deviation, t-test and content analysis were used for data analysis. The findings of the research were as follows: 1. The teacher’s needs on knowledge about teaching for learner with learning disability, mental retardation, autism, physical and health impairment and research in special education. 2. The package composed of special education management for special needs student document and manual of distance training packages. The efficiency of packages was established at 79.50/81.35. 3. The results of using the packages were the posttest average scores of trainee’s achievement were higher than pretest. 4. The trainee’s opinion on the package was at the highest level.

Keywords: distance training, training package, teacher, learner with special needs

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Authors: Murat Sözen

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It is not at all difficult to estimate which level today’s technology reaches considering that humankinds space-faring in early 1950s. Technology is a means to help achieve goals and people can produce systems on their physical and mental abilities. Needed and used as tools in all areas of life and became a necessity and dependency, technology, widely used in the military field. To be a revolutionary change in the military matters, opportunities offered by technology should be put into practice. Tech makes weapons, sensors, platforms and soldiers carrying them more effective. To increase this efficiency in the battlefield defense industry is seeking every advantage of technology. In this study, the applicability of existing and on-going augmented reality applications for Armed Forces will be evaluated.

Keywords: augmented reality, battlefield, military, virtual reality

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Authors: J. G. Batista, T. S. Santiago, E. A. Ribeiro, G. A. P. Thé

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This work deals with parameter identification of permanent magnet motors, a class of ac motor which is particularly important in industrial automation due to characteristics like applications high performance, are very attractive for applications with limited space and reducing the need to eliminate because they have reduced size and volume and can operate in a wide speed range, without independent ventilation. By using experimental data and genetic algorithm we have been able to extract values for both the motor inductance and the electromechanical coupling constant, which are then compared to measure and/or expected values.

Keywords: modeling, AC servomotor, permanent magnet synchronous motor-PMSM, genetic algorithm, vector control, robotic manipulator, control

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Authors: Alisher Agzamov, Hanan Al Harbi

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BACKGROUND: The timely assessment and treatment of ICU Surgical and Medical Oncology patients is important for Oncology surgeons and Medical Oncologists and Intensivists (1). We hypothesized that the use of Robot Physician’s (RP - 7) ICU management and care in ICU can improve ICU physician rapid response to unstable ICU Oncology patients. METHODS: This is a prospective study of 1501 oncology patients using a before-after, cohort-control design to test the effectiveness of RP. We have used RP to make multidisciplinary ICU rounds in the ICU and for Emergency cases. Data concerning several aspects of the RP interaction, including the latency of the response, the problem being treated, the intervention that was ordered, and the type of information gathered using the RP, were documented. The effect of RP on ICU length of stay and cost was assessed. RESULTS: The use of RP was associated with a reduction in latency of attending physician face-to-face response for routine and urgent pages compared to conventional care (RP: 10.2 +/- 3.3 minutes vs conventional: 210 +/- 40 minutes). The response latencies to Oncology Emergency (8.0 +/- 2.8 vs 140 +/- 35 minutes) and for Respiratory Failure (12 +/- 04 vs 110 +/- 45 minutes) were reduced (P < .001), as was the LOS for oncology patients (5 days) and ARDS (10 day). There was an increase in ICU occupancy by 29 % compared with the prerobot era, and there was an ICU cost savings of KD2.2 million attributable to the use of RP. CONCLUSION: The use of RP enabled rapid face-to-face ICU Intensivist - physician response to unstable ICU Oncology patients and resulted in decreased ICU cost and LOS.

Keywords: robot physician, oncology patients, icu management and care, cost and icu occupancy

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Authors: Stephanie Ann Houghton

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SDG-driven intercultural citizenship education through performing arts and history research, combined with dance-fitness development inspired by performing arts, can provide a third space in which performing arts, local history, and contemporary society drive educational and social development, supporting the performing arts in student-generated ways, reflecting their sense, priorities, and goals. Within a string of rugged volcanic peninsulas along the north-western coastline of the Ariake Sea, Kyushu, southern Japan, are found a range of traditional performing arts endangered in Japan’s ageing society, including Menburyu mask dance. From 2017, Menburyu culture and history were explored with Menburyu veterans and students within Houghton’s FURYU Educational Program (FEP) at Saga University. Through collaboration with professional fitness instructor Kazuki Miyata, basic Menburyu movements and concepts were blended into aerobics routines to generate Menburyu-Inspired Dance-Fitness (MIDF). Drawing on history, legends, and myths, three important storylines for understanding Menburyu, captured in students’ bilingual (English/Japanese) exhibition panels, emerged: harvest, demons and gods, and the Battle of Tadenawate 1530. Houghton and Miyata performed the first MIDF routine at the 22nd Traditional Performing Arts Festival at Yutoku Inari Shrine, Kashima, in September 2019. FEP exhibitions, dance-fitness events, and MIDF performance have been reported in the media locally and nationally. In an action research case study, a classroom research project was conducted with four female Japanese students over fifteen three-hour online lessons (April-July 2020). Part 1 of each lesson focused on Menburyu history. This included a guest lecture by Kensuke Ryuzoji. The three Menburyu storylines served as keys for exploring Menburyu history from international standpoints.Part 2 focused on the development of MIDF basic steps and an online MIDF event with outside guests. Through post-lesson reflective diaries and reports/videos documenting their experience, students engaged in heritage management, intercultural dialogue, health/fitness, technology and art generation activities within the FEP, centring on UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) including health and wellness (SDG3), and quality education (SDG4), taking a glocal approach. In this presentation, qualitative analysis of student-generated reflective diary and reports will be presented to reveal educational processes, learning outcomes,and apparent areas of (potential) social impact of this classroom research project. Data will be presented in two main parts: (1) The mutually beneficial relationship between local traditional performing arts research and local history researchwill be addressed. One has the power both inform and illuminate the other given their deep connections. This can drive the development of students’ intercultural history competence related to and through the performing arts. (2) The development of dance-fitness inspired by traditional performing arts provides a third space in which performing arts, local history and contemporary society can be connected through SDG-driven education inside the classroom in ways that can also drive social innovation outside the classroom, potentially supporting the performing arts itself in student-generated ways, reflecting their own sense, priorities and social goals. Links will be drawn with intercultural citizenship, strengths and weaknesses of this teaching approach will be highlighted, and avenues for future research in this exciting new area will be suggested.

Keywords: cultural traditions, dance-fitness performance and participation, intercultural communication approach, mask dance origins

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Authors: Dumont Maxime, Correia Carlos, Sauvage Jean-François, Schwartz Noah, Gray Morgan

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Context: The concept of the segmented telescope is unavoidable to build extremely large telescopes (ELT) in the quest for spatial resolution, but it also allows one to fit a large telescope within a reduced volume of space (JWST) or into an even smaller volume (Standard Cubesat). Cubesats have tight constraints on the computational burden available and the small payload volume allowed. At the same time, they undergo thermal gradients leading to large and evolving optical aberrations. The pupil segmentation comes nevertheless with an obvious difficulty: to co-phase the different segments. The CubeSat constraints prevent the use of a dedicated wavefront sensor (WFS), making the focal-plane images acquired by the science detector the most practical alternative. Yet, one of the challenges for the wavefront sensing is the non-linearity between the image intensity and the phase aberrations. Plus, for Earth observation, the object is unknown and unrepeatable. Recently, several studies have suggested Neural Networks (NN) for wavefront sensing; especially convolutional NN, which are well known for being non-linear and image-friendly problem solvers. Aims: We study in this paper the prospect of using NN to measure the phasing aberrations of a segmented pupil from the focal-plane image directly without a dedicated wavefront sensing. Methods: In our application, we take the case of a deployable telescope fitting in a CubeSat for Earth observations which triples the aperture size (compared to the 10cm CubeSat standard) and therefore triples the angular resolution capacity. In order to reach the diffraction-limited regime in the visible wavelength, typically, a wavefront error below lambda/50 is required. The telescope focal-plane detector, used for imaging, will be used as a wavefront-sensor. In this work, we study a point source, i.e. the Point Spread Function [PSF] of the optical system as an input of a VGG-net neural network, an architecture designed for image regression/classification. Results: This approach shows some promising results (about 2nm RMS, which is sub lambda/50 of residual WFE with 40-100nm RMS of input WFE) using a relatively fast computational time less than 30 ms which translates a small computation burder. These results allow one further study for higher aberrations and noise.

Keywords: wavefront sensing, deep learning, deployable telescope, space telescope

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Authors: Gadinga Walter Forje, Martin Ngankam Tchamba, Nyong Princely Awazi, Barnabas Neba Nfornka

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Ecotourism is viewed as a double edge sword for the enhancement of conservation and local livelihood within a protected landscape. The Campo Ma’an National Park (CMNP) adopted ecotourism in its management plan as a strategic axis for better management of the park. The growing importance of ecotourism as a strategy for the sustainable management of CMNP and its environs requires adequate information to bolster the sector. This study was carried out between November 2018 and September 2021, with the main objective to contribute to the sustainable management of the CMNP through suggestions for enhancing the capacity of ecotourism in and around the park. More specifically, the study aimed at; 1) Analyse the governance of ecotourism in the CMNP and its surrounding; 2) Assessing the impact of ecotourism on local livelihood around the CMNP; 3) Evaluating the contribution of ecotourism to biodiversity conservation in and around the CMNP; 4) Evaluate the determinants of ecotourism possibilities in achieving sustainable livelihood and biodiversity conservation in and around the CMNP. Data were collected from both primary and secondary sources. Primary data were obtained from household surveys (N=124), focus group discussions (N=8), and key informant interviews (N=16). Data collected were coded and imputed into SPSS (version 19.0) software and Microsoft Excel spreadsheet for both quantitative and qualitative analysis. Findings from the Chi-square test revealed overall poor ecotourism governance in and around the CMNP, with benefit sharing (X2 = 122.774, p <0.01) and conflict management (X2 = 90.839, p<0.01) viewed to be very poor. For the majority of the local population sampled, 65% think ecotourism does not contribute to local livelihood around CMNP. The main factors influencing the impact of ecotourism around the CMNP on the local population’s livelihood were gender (logistic regression (β) = 1.218; p = 0.000); and level of education (logistic regression (β) = 0.442; p = 0.000). Furthermore, 55.6% of the local population investigated believed ecotourism activities do not contribute to the biodiversity conservation of CMNP. Spearman correlation between socio-economic variables and ecotourism impact on biodiversity conservation indicated relationships with gender (r = 0.200, p = 0.032), main occupation (r = 0.300 p = 0.012), time spent in the community (r = 0.287 p = 0.017), and number of children (r =-0.286 p = 0.018). Variables affecting ecotourism impact on biodiversity conservation were age (logistic regression (β) = -0.683; p = 0.037) and gender (logistic regression (β) = 0.917; p = 0.045). This study recommends the development of ecotourism-friendly policies that can accelerate Public Private Partnership for the sustainable management of the CMNP as a commitment toward good governance. It also recommends the development of gender-sensitive ecotourism packages, with fair opportunities for rural women and more parity in benefit sharing to improve livelihood and contribute more to biodiversity conservation in and around the Park.

Keywords: biodiversity conservation, Campo Ma’an national park, ecotourism, ecotourism governance, rural livelihoods, protected area management

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Authors: Sandra Soca Lozano, Teresa Isabel Lozano Pérez, Germain Weber

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Cancer is a chronic disease of high prevalence in children and adolescents. Medical care in Cuba is carried out by a multidisciplinary team and family is the mediator between this team and the patient. Around this disease, there are interwoven many stereotypes and taboos by its relation to death. In this research report, we describe the work paradigm of psychological care to patients suffering from these diseases in the University Pediatric Hospital Juan Manuel Márquez of Havana, Cuba. We present the psychosocial factors that must be taken into account to provide comprehensive care and ensuring the quality of life of patients and their families. We also present the factors related to the health team and the management of information done with the patient. This is a descriptive proposal from the working experience accumulated in the named institution and in the review of the literature. As a result of this report we make a proposal of teamwork and the aspects in which psychological intervention should be continue performing in terms of increasing the quality of the care made by the health team. We conclude that it is necessary to continue improving the information management of children and adolescents with theses health problems and took into account their right to autonomy.

Keywords: comprehensive care, management of information, psychosocial factors, right to autonomy

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Authors: Surah Aldakhl, Dafer Alali, Mohamed Zohdy

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The next generation of electricity grid infrastructure, known as the "smart grid," integrates smart ICT (information and communication technology) into existing grids in order to alleviate the drawbacks of existing one-way grid systems. Future power systems' efficiency and dependability are anticipated to significantly increase thanks to the Smart Grid, especially given the desire for renewable energy sources. The security of the Smart Grid's cyber infrastructure is a growing concern, though, as a result of the interconnection of significant power plants through communication networks. Since cyber-attacks can destroy energy data, beginning with personal information leaking from grid members, they can result in serious incidents like huge outages and the destruction of power network infrastructure. We shall thus propose a secure smart energy management system based on the Blockchain as a remedy for this problem. The power transmission and distribution system may undergo a transformation as a result of the inclusion of optical fiber sensors and blockchain technology in smart grids. While optical fiber sensors allow real-time monitoring and management of electrical energy flow, Blockchain offers a secure platform to safeguard the smart grid against cyberattacks and unauthorized access. Additionally, this integration makes it possible to see how energy is produced, distributed, and used in real time, increasing transparency. This strategy has advantages in terms of improved security, efficiency, dependability, and flexibility in energy management. An in-depth analysis of the advantages and drawbacks of combining blockchain technology with optical fiber is provided in this paper.

Keywords: smart grids, blockchain, fiber optic sensor, security

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Authors: Kayode Oshinubi, Brice Kammegne, Jacques Demongeot

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The use of mathematical tools like Partial Differential Equations and Ordinary Differential Equations have become very important to predict the evolution of a viral disease in a population in order to take preventive and curative measures. In December 2019, a novel variety of Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) was identified in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China causing a severe and potentially fatal respiratory syndrome, i.e., COVID-19. Since then, it has become a pandemic declared by World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11, 2020 which has spread around the globe. A reaction-diffusion system is a mathematical model that describes the evolution of a phenomenon subjected to two processes: a reaction process in which different substances are transformed, and a diffusion process that causes a distribution in space. This article provides a mathematical study of the Susceptible, Exposed, Infected, Recovered, and Vaccinated population model of the COVID-19 pandemic by the bias of reaction-diffusion equations. Both local and global asymptotic stability conditions for disease-free and endemic equilibria are determined using the Lyapunov function are considered and the endemic equilibrium point exists and is stable if it satisfies Routh–Hurwitz criteria. Also, adequate conditions for the existence and uniqueness of the solution of the model have been proved. We showed the spatial distribution of the model compartments when the basic reproduction rate $\mathcal{R}_0 < 1$ and $\mathcal{R}_0 > 1$ and sensitivity analysis is performed in order to determine the most sensitive parameters in the proposed model. We demonstrate the model's effectiveness by performing numerical simulations. We investigate the impact of vaccination and the significance of spatial distribution parameters in the spread of COVID-19. The findings indicate that reducing contact with an infected person and increasing the proportion of susceptible people who receive high-efficacy vaccination will lessen the burden of COVID-19 in the population. To the public health policymakers, we offered a better understanding of the COVID-19 management.

Keywords: COVID-19, SEIRV epidemic model, reaction-diffusion equation, basic reproduction number, vaccination, spatial distribution

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Authors: Mihai Liviu Despa

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The paper tackles the topic of determining the cost of innovation in software development projects. Innovation can be achieved either in a planned or unplanned manner. The paper approaches the scenarios were innovation is planned for. As a starting point an innovative software development project is analyzed. The project is depicted step by step as it was implemented, from inception to delivery. Costs that are proprietary to innovation in software development are isolated based on the author’s personal experience in managing the above mentioned project. Innovation costs components identified by the author are then validated using open discussions with software development professionals and projects managers on LinkedIn groups. In order to receive relevant feedback only groups that focus on software development and innovation management are targeted. Additional innovation cost components suggested by software development professionals and projects managers are also considered. Based on the identified cost components an indicator is built. The indicator is meant to formalize the process of determining the cost of innovation in a software development project. The indicator aggregates all the innovation cost components that are identified in the research process. The process of calculating each cost component is also described. Conclusions are formulated and new related research topics are submitted for debate.

Keywords: innovation cost, IT project management, software development, innovation management

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Authors: Taha Anjamrooz, Sareh Rajabi, Hasan Mahmmud, Ghassan Abulebdeh

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Water availability, as well as water demand, are not uniformly distributed in time and space. Numerous extra-large water diversion projects are launched in Amazon to alleviate water scarcities. This research utilizes statistical analysis to examine the temporal and spatial features of 40 extra-large water diversion projects in Amazon. Using a network analysis method, the correlation between seven major basins is measured, while the impact analysis method is employed to explore the associated economic, environmental, and social impacts. The study unearths that the development of water diversion in Amazon has witnessed four stages, from a preliminary or initial period to a phase of rapid development. It is observed that the length of water diversion channels and the quantity of water transferred have amplified significantly in the past five decades. As of 2015, in Amazon, more than 75 billion m³ of water was transferred amidst 12,000 km long channels. These projects extend over half of the Amazon Area. The River Basin E is currently the most significant source of transferred water. Through inter-basin water diversions, Amazon gains the opportunity to enhance the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 5%. Nevertheless, the construction costs exceed 70 billion US dollars, which is higher than any other country. The average cost of transferred water per unit has amplified with time and scale but reduced from western to eastern Amazon. Additionally, annual total energy consumption for pumping exceeded 40 billion kilowatt-hours, while the associated greenhouse gas emissions are assessed to be 35 million tons. Noteworthy to comprehend that ecological problems initiated by water diversion influence the River Basin B and River Basin D. Due to water diversion, more than 350 thousand individuals have been relocated, away from their homes. In order to enhance water diversion sustainability, four categories of innovative measures are provided for decision-makers: development of water tradeoff projects strategies, improvement of integrated water resource management, the formation of water-saving inducements, and pricing approach, and application of ex-post assessment.

Keywords: sustainability, water trade-off projects, environment, Amazon

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Authors: Lourenco Camnahas, Eileen Willis, Greg Fisher, Jessie Gunson, Pascale Dettwiller, Charlene Thornton

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Stock-out of pharmaceuticals is a common issue at all level of health services in Timor-Leste, a small post-conflict country. This lead to the research questions: what are the current methods used to quantify pharmaceutical supplies; what factors contribute to the on-going pharmaceutical stock-out? The study examined factors that influence the pharmaceutical supply chain system. Methodology: Privett and Goncalvez dependency model has been adopted for the design of the qualitative interviews. The model examines pharmaceutical supply chain management at three management levels: management of individual pharmaceutical items, health facilities, and health systems. The interviews were conducted in order to collect information on inventory management, logistics management information system (LMIS) and the provision of pharmaceuticals. Andersen' behavioural model for healthcare utilization also informed the interview schedule, specifically factors linked to environment (healthcare system and external environment) and the population (enabling factors). Forty health professionals (bureaucrats, clinicians) and six senior officers from a United Nations Agency, a global multilateral agency and a local non-governmental organization were interviewed on their perceptions of factors (healthcare system/supply chain and wider environment) impacting on stock out. Additionally, policy documents for the entire healthcare system, along with population data were collected. Findings: An analysis using Pozzebon’s critical interpretation identified a range of difficulties within the system from poor coordination to failure to adhere to policy guidelines along with major difficulties with inventory management, quantification, forecasting, and budgetary constraints. Weak logistics management information system, lack of capacity in inventory management, monitoring and supervision are additional organizational factors that also contributed to the issue. There were various methods of quantification of pharmaceuticals applied in the government sector, and non-governmental organizations. Lack of reliable data is one of the major problems in the pharmaceutical provision. Global Fund has the best quantification methods fed by consumption data and malaria cases. There are other issues that worsen stock-out: political intervention, work ethic and basic infrastructure such as unreliable internet connectivity. Major issues impacting on pharmaceutical quantification have been identified. However, current data collection identified limitations within the Andersen model; specifically, a failure to take account of predictors in the healthcare system and the environment (culture/politics/social. The next step is to (a) compare models used by three non-governmental agencies with the government model; (b) to run the Andersen explanatory model for pharmaceutical expenditure for 2 to 5 drug items used by these three development partners in order to see how it correlates with the present model in terms of quantification and forecasting the needs; (c) to repeat objectives (a) and (b) using the government model; (d) to draw a conclusion about the strength.

Keywords: inventory management, pharmaceutical forecasting and quantification, pharmaceutical stock-out, pharmaceutical supply chain management

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Authors: Ahmad Sarfaraz, Raiyad Herwies

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In this paper, a multi-criteria decision making analysis is used to help any organization selects the best KM tool that fits and serves its needs. The AHP model is used based on a previous study to highlight and identify the main criteria and sub-criteria that are incorporated in the selection process. Different KM tools alternatives with different criteria are compared and weighted accurately to be incorporated in the GP model. The main goal is to combine the GP model with the AHP model to ensure that selecting the KM tool considers the resource constraints. Two important issues are discussed in this paper: how different factors could be taken into consideration in forming the AHP model, and how to incorporate the AHP results into the GP model for better results.

Keywords: knowledge management, analytical hierarchy process, goal programming, multi-criteria decision making

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Authors: Hassan Abdelgadir

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Cost overruns have harmed the economies and reputations of several construction companies around the world. Many project management systems have been developed to keep track of a project's budget. However, due to several cost overrun difficulties in the construction industry, cost management is still deemed inadequate. As a result, the goal of this term paper is to identify and group prospective construction project cost overrun reasons based on their origin groups.Basically, all potential cost overrun elements were rigorously checked through 1iterature analysis before being divided into seven (7) groups of originating components, including project, contract, client, contractor, consultant, labor, and external. Each potential factor was completely defined with examples.

Keywords: construction projects, cost overruns, construction company, factors effect costoverruns

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Authors: Morgan Cheng, Wilson Ho, Max Yiu, Dragon Tsui, Wylog Wong, Richard Kwan, K. C. Lam, Hannah Lo, C. L. Wong

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Hong Kong has been known worldwide for its ability to thrive under trying circumstances. The 7.5 million residents of this mature and busy metropolis are living in a primarily high-rise city whereby development and renewal of the cityscape are taking place unceasingly. Hong Kong residents are therefore affected by the virtually continuous and numerous construction activities. In 2020, the Hong Kong environmental protection department (EPD) completed a feasibility study on managing construction noise, including those associated with the renovation of domestic premises. Part of the study was the review of management and control of construction noise in other metropolitan cities globally. As far as the authors are aware of, such worldwide and extensive review of best practices on construction noise control has not been conducted for over 20 years. In order to benefit from international best practices, the extensive review is to identify possible areas for improvement in Hong Kong. The consultant of the study first referred to the United Nations Report ‘The World’s Cities in 2016’ and examined the top 100 cities therein. The 20 most suitable cities were then chosen for further review. Upon screening of each of these 20 cities, 12 cities with the more relevant management practices were selected for further scrutiny. These 12 cities were: Asia – Tokyo, Seoul, Taipei, Guangzhou, Singapore; Europe – City of Westminster (London), Berlin; North America – Toronto, New York City, San Francisco; Oceania – Sydney, Melbourne. Afterwards, three cities, namely Sydney, City of Westminster, and New York City, were selected for in-depth review. These cities were chosen primarily because of the maturity, success, and effectiveness of their construction noise management and control measures, as well as their similarity to Hong Kong in key and selected aspects. One of the more important findings of the review is the usefulness of early focus, with the aim of designing the noise issues away wherever practicable. The consultant examined the similar yet different construction noise early focus mechanisms of the three cities. This paper describes this landmark worldwide and extensive review of international best practices on construction noise management and control. The methodology, approach, and key findings are presented to give readers a succinct yet comprehensive view. The authors shared the findings with the acoustics professionals worldwide with the hope of global advancement of more mature construction noise management while welcoming sustainable development and construction.

Keywords: construction noise, international best practices, noise control, noise management

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Authors: Ashfaq Ahmed Kharal

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The study asserts that environment-friendly practices are increasingly being used by businesses throughout the world. Today, there is a great deal of interest in green management from both practitioners and academics. People expect managers to use resources intelligently and responsibly and to minimize the use of water, minerals, and other components in the finished products, as a crucial factor in this passion. The ethical or moral relevance of green management cannot be overstated. Employee Green Behavior (EGB) and environmental sustainability were shown to be significantly influenced by green human resource management (GHRM) in this study. Environmental issues, such as climate change, global warming, and resource conservation have a direct impact on business activities. The environment, society, and economy all suffer as a result of such obstacles. The depletion of natural resources needs immediate replenishment. As a result of government, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), environmental activists, and labor unions putting pressure on businesses and firms are now required to operate in ecologically responsible ways. Organizations are increasingly concerned about environmental sustainability in light of contemporary environmental circumstances and commercial marketplaces. Companies that emphasize long-term viability will benefit from integrating green employee behavior, green human resource management techniques, and environmental sustainability. Competition drives firms to respond to external causes, adapt, and evolve in response to changing conditions in the marketplace. Organizations develop strategic capabilities to transform their resources and acquire a competitive edge while implementing a business plan. The study of GHRM's function is being prioritized since environmental sustainability is becoming a more important strategic goal.

Keywords: EGB, GHRM, environment sustainability, green ecology

Procedia PDF Downloads 105