Search results for: industry clusters

Authors: Sophia Hayes, Kenny L. Liang, Sahil Sharma, Austin Shema, Mahmoud Bader, Mohamed Elbarkouky

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Despite being one of the most significant economic contributors of the country, Canada’s construction industry is lagging behind other sectors when it comes to labor productivity improvements. The construction industry is very collaborative as a general contractor, will hire trade contractors to perform most of a project’s work; meaning low productivity from one contractor can have a domino effect on the shared success of a project. To address this issue and encourage trade contractors to improve their productivity tracking methods, an investigative study was done on the productivity views and tracking methods of various trade contractors. Additionally, an in-depth review was done on four standard tracking methods used in the construction industry: cost codes, benchmarking, the job productivity measurement (JPM) standard, and WorkFace Planning (WFP). The four tracking methods were used as a baseline in comparing the trade contractors’ responses, determining gaps within their current tracking methods, and for making improvement recommendations. 15 interviews were conducted with different trades to analyze how contractors value productivity. The results of these analyses indicated that there seem to be gaps within the construction industry when it comes to an understanding of the purpose and value in productivity tracking. The trade contractors also shared their current productivity tracking systems; which were then compared to the four standard tracking methods used in the construction industry. Gaps were identified in their various tracking methods and using a framework; recommendations were made based on the type of trade on how to improve how they track productivity.

Keywords: labor productivity, productivity tracking methods, trade contractors, construction

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Authors: K. Yu Vlasova, M. A. Abakumov, H. Wishwarsao, M. Sokolsky, N. V. Nukolova, A. G. Majouga, Y. I. Golovin, N. L. Klyachko, A. V. Kabanov

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Introduction:Nowadays pharmaceutical medicine is aimed to create systems for combined therapy, diagnostic, drug delivery and controlled release of active molecules to target cells. Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) are used to achieve this aim. MNPs can be applied in molecular diagnostics, magnetic resonance imaging (T1/T2 contrast agents), drug delivery, hyperthermia and could improve therapeutic effect of drugs. The most common drug containers, containing MNPs, are liposomes, micelles and polymeric molecules bonded to the MNPs surface. Usually superparamagnetic nanoparticles are used (the general diameter is about 5-6 nm) and all effects of high frequency magnetic field (MF) application are based on Neel relaxation resulting in heating of surrounded media. In this work we try to develop a new method to improve drug release from MNPs under super low frequency MF. We suppose that under low frequency MF exposures the Brown’s relaxation dominates and MNPs rotation could occur leading to conformation changes and release of bioactive molecules immobilized on MNPs surface.The aim of this work was to synthesize different systems with active drug (biopolymers coated MNPs nanoclusters with immobilized enzymes and doxorubicin (Dox) loaded magnetic liposomes/micelles) and investigate the effect of super low frequency MF on these drug containers. Methods: We have synthesized MNPs of magnetite with magnetic core diameter 7-12 nm . The MNPs were coated with block-copolymer of polylysine and polyethylene glycol. Superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) was electrostatically adsorbed on the surface of the clusters. Liposomes were prepared as follow: MNPs, phosphatidylcholine and cholesterol were dispersed in chloroform, dried to get film and then dispersed in distillated water, sonicated. Dox was added to the solution, pH was adjusted to 7.4 and excess of drug was removed by centrifugation through 3 kDa filters. Results: Polylysine coated MNPs formed nanosized clusters (as observed by TEM) with intensity average diameter of 112±5 nm and zeta potential 12±3 mV. After low frequency AC MF exposure we observed change of immobilized enzyme activity and hydrodynamic size of clusters. We suppose that the biomolecules (enzymes) are released from the MNPs surface followed with additional aggregation of complexes at the MF in medium. Centrifugation of the nanosuspension after AC MF exposures resulted in increase of positive charge of clusters and change in enzyme concentration in comparison with control sample without MF, thus confirming desorption of negatively charged enzyme from the positively charged surface of MNPs. Dox loaded magnetic liposomes had average diameter of 160±8 nm and polydispersity index (PDI) 0.25±0.07. Liposomes were stable in DW and PBS at pH=7.4 at 370C during a week. After MF application (10 min of exposure, 50 Hz, 230 mT) diameter of liposomes raised to 190±10 nm and PDI was 0.38±0.05. We explain this by destroying and/or reorganization of lipid bilayer, that leads to changes in release of drug in comparison with control without MF exposure. Conclusion: A new application of low frequency AC MF for drug delivery and controlled drug release was shown. Investigation was supported by RSF-14-13-00731 grant, K1-2014-022 grant.

Keywords: magnetic nanoparticles, low frequency magnetic field, drug delivery, controlled drug release

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Authors: Harish Krishnamurthy, Anna Lafontant, Ren Yi

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Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) have been an interesting topic for most enthusiasts and hence people all over the United States report such findings online at the National UFO Report Center (NUFORC). Some of these reports are a hoax and among those that seem legitimate, our task is not to establish that these events confirm that they indeed are events related to flying objects from aliens in outer space. Rather, we intend to identify if the report was a hoax as was identified by the UFO database team with their existing curation criterion. However, the database provides a wealth of information that can be exploited to provide various analyses and insights such as social reporting, identifying real-time spatial events and much more. We perform analysis to localize these time-series geospatial events and correlate with known real-time events. This paper does not confirm any legitimacy of alien activity, but rather attempts to gather information from likely legitimate reports of UFOs by studying the online reports. These events happen in geospatial clusters and also are time-based. We look at cluster density and data visualization to search the space of various cluster realizations to decide best probable clusters that provide us information about the proximity of such activity. A random forest classifier is also presented that is used to identify true events and hoax events, using the best possible features available such as region, week, time-period and duration. Lastly, we show the performance of the scheme on various days and correlate with real-time events where one of the UFO reports strongly correlates to a missile test conducted in the United States.

Keywords: time-series clustering, feature extraction, hoax prediction, geospatial events

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Authors: Kwasi Dartey-Baah, Mias De Klerk

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Project complexity has been cited as one of the essential areas of project management. It can be observed from environmental, social, technological, and organisational viewpoints, and its handling is critical to project success. Conceptualised in varied industries, this paper seeks to ascertain the meaning and understanding of project complexity within the Ghanaian construction industry based on the three dimensions of complexities (faith, fact, and interaction) using experts' opinions. Taking the form of a focus group discussion, the paper sought to gain an in-depth understanding of project complexity issues in Ghana’s construction industry. The method use obtained data from experts (a purposely selected group) comprising project leaders and project management academics. The findings indicated that the experts broadly agreed with the complexity items but offered varied reasons for their agreement. In the composite assessment of the complexity dimensions of (faith, fact, and interaction), it emerged that there was some agreement with the complexity dimensions of fact and interaction within Ghana’s construction industry. On the other hand, with the dimension for complexity by faith, it was noted that the experts in Ghana’s construction construed complexity by faith, not as the absence of evidence but the evidence that hinges on at least a member of the project team. It is expected that other researches on project complexity will focus on other industries to enhance the knowledge of the same within the field of project management.

Keywords: project complexity, complexity by faith, complexity by fact, complexity by interaction, construction industry, Ghana

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Authors: Dina Tamazin, Nicoleta Tipi, Sahar Validi

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The oil refining industry plays vital role in the world economy. Oil refining companies operate in a more complex and dynamic environment than ever before. In addition, oil refining companies and the public are becoming more conscious of crude oil scarcity and climate changes. Hence, sustainability in the oil refining industry is becoming increasingly critical to the industry's long-term viability and to the environmental sustainability. Mainly, it is relevant to the measurement and evaluation of the company's sustainable performance to support the company in understanding their performance and its implication more objectively and establishing sustainability development plans. Consequently, the oil refining companies attempt to re-engineer their supply chain to meet the sustainable goals and standards. On the other hand, this research realized that previous research in oil refining sustainable supply chain performance measurements reveals that there is a lack of studies that consider the integration of sustainability in the supply chain performance measurement practices in the oil refining industry. Therefore, there is a need for research that provides performance guidance, which can be used to measure sustainability and assist in setting sustainable goals for oil refining supply chains. Accordingly, this paper aims to present a comprehensive oil refining sustainable supply chain performance measurement theoretical framework. In development of this theoretical framework, the main characteristics of oil refining industry have been identified. For this purpose, a thorough review of relevant literature on performance measurement models and sustainable supply chain performance measurement models has been conducted. The comprehensive oil refining sustainable supply chain performance measurement theoretical framework introduced in this paper aims to assist oil refining companies in measuring and evaluating their performance from a sustainability aspect to achieve sustainable operational excellence.

Keywords: oil refining industry, oil refining sustainable supply chain, performance measurement, sustainability

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Authors: Mahfoud Djebbar

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The past two decades or so have witnessed phenomenal growth of the Islamic financial services industry. The whole industry has been thriving at about 15 percent per annum. This development entails the Islamic financial engineering, IFE, to some kind of crossroads, lagging behind its conventional counterpart. Therefore, IFE, and particularly traded products development, and in order to achieve its goals, two approaches are available, i.e., replicating engineering and innovative engineering. We also try to emphasis the innovative strategy since it guards the Islamic identity of different financial products and processes, and thereby, improves the creativity in the Islamic financial industry. The attempt also centers on sukukization (Islamic securitization), innovation, liquidity management, and risk management and hedging in the Islamic financial system. Finally, the challenges facing IFE are also addressed.

Keywords: islamic financial engineering, hedging and risk management, innovation, securitization, money market instruments, islamic capital markets

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Authors: P. C. Tewari, Rajiv Kumar, Dinesh Khanduja

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This paper discusses the performance modeling and availability analysis of Yarn Dyeing System of a Textile Industry. The Textile Industry is a complex and repairable engineering system. Yarn Dyeing System of Textile Industry consists of five subsystems arranged in series configuration. For performance modeling and analysis of availability, a performance evaluating model has been developed with the help of mathematical formulation based on Markov-Birth-Death Process. The differential equations have been developed on the basis of Probabilistic Approach using a Transition Diagram. These equations have further been solved using normalizing condition in order to develop the steady state availability, a performance measure of the system concerned. The system performance has been further analyzed with the help of decision matrices. These matrices provide various availability levels for different combinations of failure and repair rates for various subsystems. The findings of this paper are, therefore, considered to be useful for the analysis of availability and determination of the best possible maintenance strategies which can be implemented in future to enhance the system performance.

Keywords: performance modeling, markov process, steady state availability, availability analysis

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Authors: S. M. Abdus Sattar

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Introduction: The objectives of the study are to assess different aspects of the tourism and hospitality industry, analyze its contributions to the Gross Domestic Product of Bangladesh, identify the importance of the tourism and hospitality industry, explore future prospects in the sectors, identify challenges and provide recommendations for the development of these industries. The study explores the significance of the tourism and hospitality industry in economic growth and defines its role. Tourism is one of the fastest-growing industries in the world today. Methodology: The study adopts statistical methods and utilizes both quantitative and qualitative research techniques. Data is collected through surveys, interviews, visitor registration, online platforms and analysis of various tourism-related records. The study focuses on marketing, management, attractions and services in the tourism and hospitality sectors. Result: The tourism and hospitality industry offers great opportunities for emerging economies and developing countries. The industry provides job creation, infrastructure development, cultural assets and environmental conservation, essential skills development, revenue generated, foreign exchange earned, economic growth and reduced poverty and inequality. Discussion: The study focuses on improving infrastructure and service quality in the tourism and hospitality industry to attract tourists. The industry significantly contributes to the Gross Domestic Product of Bangladesh. It highlights how the tourism and hospitality sectors can drive economic development, reduce poverty and promote cultural and environmental conservation. It also explores the challenges and future prospects in the tourism and hospitality sectors. Conclusion and Future Scope: The opportunities for tourism of Bangladesh are agricultural tourism, religious tourism, sports tourism, eco-tourism, educational tourism, rural tourism and cultural tourism. However, there is a lack of research and plans to explore the development of the industry. The tourism and hospitality industry offers numerous opportunities for growth and development. There are job opportunities for travel consultants, tour operators, event planners, hotel managers, travel writers, tourism development officers and airline executives in the future. The study recommends to development of tourism infrastructure, maintaining tourist destinations, railway stations, airports, rest houses, hotels and improving the quality of services.

Keywords: tourism, hospitality, employment, economic, development

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Authors: Sepideh Nikounejad, Mostafa Ghaderi, Nematollah Azizi, Per-Olof Thang, Mohamad Reza Neyestani

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From an educational perspective, an effective and efficient relationship between university and industry can be considered as an important means by which not only both sides are improved but also it brings many advantages and benefits for both parties. It means more specifically, mutual collaboration between universities and industry can not only reduce youth unemployment, but it can improve the quality of teaching and learning in higher education settings while providing more qualified people to industrial enterprises. Indeed the lack of effective interaction between Iranian universities and industry has confronted the country and created many challenges include in increasing number of unskillful and unemployed graduates. However, in order to suggest appropriate practical strategies, it is very important to see how this issue has been tackled by Swedish universities, which have had a good background in this collaboration and how they are connected to the industry in particular and labour market in general. The research aims to study and compare the mechanisms, processes, and policies of the current model in the relationships between university and industry in Iran and Sweden. As a qualitative study, grounded theory was applied. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews. Participants were selected purposefully and by the snowball sampling method. The findings indicate that despite reported needs from both sides for close collaborations between universities and industries in Iran, current policies and practices, including internship, laboratory, and financial support, need to be revised critically. However, in light of our findings on the Swedish policies and practices for linking universities and industries, some practical strategies will be suggested for the Iranian higher education context. In conclusion, cooperation models between universities and industries in Iran and Sweden will be described.

Keywords: cooperation, higher education, industry, comparative

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Authors: Jianxin Zhu, Na Liu

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Entry strategies play a vital role in the development of new enterprises in the catering industry. Different entry strategies will have different effects on the development of new enterprise. Based on the research of scholars at home and abroad, and combining the characteristics of the catering industry, the entry strategies are divided into low-price entry strategies and high-quality entry strategies. Facing the entry of new enterprise, the strategies of incumbent enterprises are divided into response strategies and non-response strategies. This paper uses evolutionary game theory to study the strategic interaction mechanism between incumbent companies and new enterprises. When different initial values and parameter values are set, which strategy will the two-game subjects choose, respectively? Using matlab2016 for numerical simulation, the results show that the choice of strategies for new enterprise and incumbent enterprise is influenced by more than one factor, and the system has different evolution trends under different circumstances. When the parameters were set, the choice of two subjects' strategies mainly depends on the net profit between the strategies.

Keywords: catering industry, entry strategy, evolutionary game, strategic interaction mechanism

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Authors: B. Güney, Ç. Teke

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In recent years, rapid and correct decision making is crucial for both people and enterprises. However, uncertainty makes decision-making difficult. Fuzzy logic is used for coping with this situation. Thus, fuzzy linear programming models are developed in order to handle uncertainty in objective function and the constraints. In this study, a problem of a factory in food industry is investigated, required data is obtained and the problem is figured out as a fuzzy linear programming model. The model is solved using Zimmerman approach which is one of the approaches for fuzzy linear programming. As a result, the solution gives the amount of production for each product type in order to gain maximum profit.

Keywords: food industry, fuzzy linear programming, fuzzy logic, linear programming

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Authors: P. Thepnarintra, S. Nikorn

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Agricultural machinery industry plays an important role in the industrial development especially the production industry of the country. There has been continuing development responding to the higher demand of the production. However, the problem in agricultural machinery production still exists. Thus, the purpose of this research is to investigate problems on fundamental factors of industry based on the entrepreneurs’ point of view. The focus was on the small and medium size industry receiving a factory license typed number 0660 from the Department of Industrial Works. The investigation was on the comparison between the management of the small and medium size agricultural industry in 3 provinces in the central region of Thailand. Population in this study consisted of 189 company managers or managing directors, of which 101 were from the small size and 88 were from the medium size industry. The data were analyzed to find percentage, arithmetic mean, and standard deviation with independent sample T-test at the statistical significance .05. The results showed that the small and medium size agricultural machinery manufacturers in the central region of Thailand reported high problems in every aspect. When compared the problems on basic factors in running the business, it was found that there was no difference statistically at .05 in managing of the small and medium size agricultural machinery manufacturers. However, there was a statistically significant difference between the small and medium size agricultural machinery manufacturers on the aspect of policy and services of the government. The problems reported by the small and medium size agricultural machinery manufacturers were the services on public tap water and the problem on politic and stability of the country.

Keywords: agricultural machinery, manufacturers, problems, on running the business

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Authors: Muhammad Nurrizka Ramadhan

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Today,Demand for wood increase in rapid rate. Wood is widely used for many things range from building materials to furniture materials. This makes the forest area in Indonesia dropped dramatically, it is estimated that the area of Indonesiaan forest in 2020 will be only about 16 million hectares. The more forest in Indonesia loss, people are required to look for another material to subtitute wood for the furniture. Jepara, a city with the largest furniture industry in Indonesia, requires a large supply of wood, it can reach 300.000 – 500.000 cubic meters per year. Most of the furniture in Jepara use teak, mahogany, and rosewood. Though teak wood is a rare species that must be protected. Today the availability of bamboo in Indonesia is very big. With cheap price, and the period of rapid growth makes bamboo can be used as a substitute for wood for the furniture industry in the future. By making use bamboo to make wood bamboo composite to replace the use of wood for furniture material. This paper is about the use of bamboo as a substitute for wood bamboo composite for the furniture industry. Expected in future, wood can be replaced by a wood bamboo composite.

Keywords: bamboo, composite, furniture, wood

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Authors: Sepinoud Hamedi

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The ponder points to observationally look at the impact of carbon-neutrality approaches on the key assets required for Industry 4.0 driven savvy fabricating and how these assets can give a economical competitive advantage. The hypothetical system is coordinates with the regulation hypothesis and the resource-based see (RBV). The observational strategy is utilized for collecting information through studies and assist covariance-based auxiliary condition modeling is utilized to test the theories. Discoveries demonstrate that carbon–neutral-based government arrangements have a more grounded impact on unmistakable assets and human aptitudes than intangible assets related to Industry 4.0 driven shrewd fabricating. Moment, carbon–neutral arrangement arrangement with the firm’s maintainability destinations plays a directing impact on the relationship between carbon–neutral-based government arrangements and assets (substantial, intangible assets and human abilities) for Industry 4.0 driven shrewd fabricating. Finally, the three assets (substantial, intangible assets and human abilities) for Industry 4.0 driven savvy fabricating play a basic part in creating firms’ carbon–neutral capability and assist improving operational execution. Administrative suggestions incorporate venture in progressed advanced innovations, creating a solid mentality among workers and supply chain partners, and planning preparing programs for upgrading shrewd fabricating execution to create carbon-neutrality capability. This think about proposes a crossover hypothesis within the setting of carbon nonpartisanship by coordination institutional theory and RBV. Typically the primary think about that looks at the impact of carbon neutrality-based government arrangements on crucial Industry 4.0-driven savvy fabricating assets and the circuitous impact on carbon nonpartisanship capability and operational execution.

Keywords: carbon, industry 4.0, neutrality, RBV, nonpartisanship

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Authors: Phichak Phutrakhul

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The purposes of this research were to study concepts and strategies of human resource development in the automotive manufacturers and to articulate the proposals against the government about the human resource development for automotive industry. In the present study, qualitative study was an in-depth interview in which the qualitative data were collected from the executive or the executive of human resource division from five automotive companies - Toyota Motor (Thailand) Co., Ltd., Nissan Motor (Thailand) Co., Ltd., Mitsubishi Motors (Thailand) Co., Ltd., Honda Automobile (Thailand) Co., Ltd., and Suzuki Motor (Thailand) Co., Ltd. Qualitative data analysis was performed by using inter-coder agreement technique. The research findings were as follows: The external factors included the current conditions of the automotive industry, government’s policy related to the automotive industry, technology, labor market and human resource development systems of the country. The internal factors included management, productive management, organizational strategies, leadership, organizational culture and philosophy of human resource development. These factors were affected to the different concept of human resources development -the traditional human resource development and the strategies of human resource development. The organization focuses on human resources as intellectual capital and uses the strategies of human resource development in all development processes. The strategies of human resource development will enhance the ability of human resources in the organization and the country.

Keywords: human resource development strategy, automotive industry, eco-cars, ASEAN

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Authors: Jonny, T. Yuri M. Zagloel

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This paper is made to present an Indonesian Healthcare model. Currently, there are nine TQM (Total Quality Management) practices in healthcare industry. However, these practices are not integrated yet. Therefore, this paper aims to integrate these practices as a model by using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). After administering about 210 questionnaires to various stakeholders of this industry, a LISREL program was used to evaluate the model's fitness. The result confirmed that the model is fit because the p-value was about 0.45 or above required 0.05. This has signified that previously mentioned of nine TQM practices are able to be integrated as an Indonesian healthcare model.

Keywords: healthcare, total quality management (TQM), structural equation modeling (SEM), linear structural relations (LISREL)

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Authors: Mariam Zahwy, Waleed El Nemr, A. Samer Ezeldin

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In 2016, the depreciation of the Egyptian pound (EGP) had a substantial impact on Egypt's construction industry. Studies assessing this influence are scarce, though. The impact of devaluation on contractors is measured in this study using empirical data. The difficulties contractors have as a result of rising import material costs, limited financing alternatives, and inflationary pressures are also determined by analyzing survey responses from contractors and industry experts. The approaches contractors utilize to lessen the impact of devaluation are also examined in the research. The survey results show how currency depreciation directly affects contractors in the Egyptian construction industry in terms of financial consequences. Inflationary pressures, fewer financing alternatives, and rising expenses have all affected contractors. To minimize losses, contractors have, nonetheless, put a number of tactics into practice. These findings highlight the importance of understanding and managing the impact of devaluation on the construction industry to ensure its resilience and development.

Keywords: construction, devaluation, contractors, material costs, inflationary pressures, empirical data, quantitative research

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Authors: Kenneth O. Otasowie, Matthew Ikuabe, Clinton Aigbavboa, Ayodeji Oke

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Subcontracting has become a fundamental feature in the construction industry, particularly as most projects in South Africa (SA) are executed by subcontractors. However, the sector in SA contributes to the high level of occupational hazards and injuries recorded, despite Health and Safety (H&S) regulations being enforced in the industry. Hence, this study aims to evaluate the barriers to health and safety practices by subcontractors in SA Construction Industry. A survey design was adopted. A total number of one hundred and forty-four (144) questionnaires were administered to quantity surveyors, construction managers, construction project managers, project managers, architects, and civil and structural engineers, who are owners or work in small and medium enterprises in Guateng Province, SA and eighty-three (83) were returned and found suitable for analysis. Collected data were analysed using percentage, mean item score, standard deviation, and one-sample t-test. The findings show that lack of skilled workers, lack of safety training, and insufficient safety awareness are the most significant barriers to health and safety practices in SA Construction Industry. Therefore, the study recommends the improvement in skills of staff and adequate training for the safe execution of work be provided to all employees and supervisors in these subcontracting firms. These will mitigate the rate of accident occurrence on construction sites.

Keywords: barriers, health and safety, subcontractors, South Africa

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Authors: Moon-Soo Kim

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In order to cope with the increasing demand for multidisciplinary learning between academy and industry, a collaborative teaching and learning model and related operational tools enabling applications to engineering education are essential. This study proposes a web-based collaborative framework for interactive teaching and learning between academy and industry as an initial step for the development of a web- and mobile-based integrated system for both engineering students and industrial practitioners. The proposed web-based collaborative teaching and learning framework defines several entities such as learner, solver and supporter or sponsor for industrial problems, and also has a systematic architecture to build information system including diverse functions enabling effective interaction among the defined entities regardless of time and places. Furthermore, the framework, which includes knowledge and information self-reinforcing mechanism, focuses on the previous problem-solving records as well as subsequent learners’ creative reusing in solving process of new problems.

Keywords: collaborative teaching and learning model, academy and industry, web-based collaborative framework, self-reinforcing mechanism

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Authors: Raúl González Muñoz, Essam Shehab, Martin Weinitzke, Chris Fowler, Paul Baguley

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Software applications have become crucial to the aerospace industry, providing a wide range of functionalities and capabilities used during the design, manufacturing and support of aircraft. However, as this criticality increases, so too does the risk for business operations when facing a software failure. Hence, there is a need for new methodologies to be developed to support aerospace companies in effectively managing their software portfolios, avoiding the hazards of business disruption and additional costs. This paper aims to provide a definition of operational software maturity, and how this can be used to assess software operational behaviour, as well as a view on the different aspects that drive software maturity within the aerospace industry. The key research question addressed is, how can operational software maturity monitoring assist the aerospace industry in effectively managing large software portfolios? This question has been addressed by conducting an in depth review of current literature, by working closely with aerospace professionals and by running an industry case study within a major aircraft manufacturer. The results are a software maturity model composed of a set of drivers and a prototype tool used for the testing and validation of the research findings. By utilising these methodologies to assess the operational maturity of software applications in aerospace, benefits in maintenance activities and operations disruption avoidance have been observed, supporting business cases for system improvement.

Keywords: aerospace, software lifecycle, software maintenance, software maturity

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Authors: Sin Ying Tan, Mohammed Alloghani, A. J. Aljaaf, Abir Hussain, Jamila Mustafina

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Industry 4.0 is a term frequently used to describe the new upcoming industry era. Higher education institutions aim to prepare students to fulfil the future industry needs. Advancement of digital technology has paved the way for the evolution of education and technology. Evolution of education has proven its conservative nature and a high level of resistance to changes and transformation. The gap between the industry's needs and competencies offered generally by education is revealing the increasing need to find new educational models to face the future. The aim of this study was to identify the main issues faced by both universities and students in preparing the future workforce. From December 2018 to April 2019, a regional qualitative study was undertaken in Liverpool, United Kingdom (UK). Interviews were conducted with employers, faculty members and undergraduate students, and the results were analyzed using the open coding method. Four main issues had been identified, which are the characteristics of the future workforce, student's readiness to work, expectations on different roles played at the tertiary education level and awareness of the latest trends. The finding of this paper concluded that the employers and academic practitioners agree that their expectations on each other’s roles are different and in order to face the rapidly changing technology era, students should not only have the right skills, but they should also have the right attitude in learning. Therefore, the authors address this issue by proposing a learning framework known as 'ASK SUMA' framework as a guideline to support the students, academicians and employers in meeting the needs of 'Industry 4.0'. Furthermore, this technology era requires the employers, academic practitioners and students to work together in order to face the upcoming challenges and fast-changing technologies. It is also suggested that an interactive system should be provided as a platform to support the three different parties to play their roles.

Keywords: attitude, expectations, industry needs, knowledge, skills

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Authors: Zeta Dooly, Aidan Duane

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The collaborative European funded research and development landscape provides prime environmental conditions for multi-disciplinary teams to learn and enhance their knowledge beyond the capability of training and learning within their own organisation cocoons. Whilst the emergence of the academic entrepreneur has changed the focus of educational institutions to that of quasi-businesses, the training and professional development of lecturers and academic staff are often not formalised to the same level as industry. This research focuses on industry and academic collaborative research funded by the European Commission. The impact of research is scalable if an optimum research network is created and managed effectively. This paper investigates network embeddedness, the nature of relationships, links, and nodes within a research network, and the enhancement of the network’s knowledge. The contribution of this paper extends our understanding of establishing and maintaining effective collaborative research networks. The effects of network embeddedness are recognized in the literature as pertinent to innovation and the economy. Network theory literature claims that networks are essential to innovative clusters such as Silicon valley and innovation in high tech industries. This research provides evidence to support the impact collaborative research has on the disparate individuals toward their innovative contributions to their organisations and their own professional development. This study adopts a qualitative approach and uncovers some of the challenges of multi-disciplinary research through case study insights. The contribution of this paper recommends the establishment of scaffolding to accommodate cooperation in research networks, role appointment, and addressing contextual complexities early to avoid problem cultivation. Furthermore, it suggests recommendations in relation to network formation, intra-network challenges in relation to open data, competition, friendships, and competency enhancement. The network capability is enhanced by the adoption of the relevant theories; network theory, open innovation, and social exchange, with the understanding that the network structure has an impact on innovation and social exchange in research networks. The research concludes that there is an opportunity to deepen our understanding of the impact of network reuse and network hoping that provides scaffolding for the network members to enhance and build upon their knowledge using a progressive approach.

Keywords: research networks, competency building, network theory, case study

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Authors: Gunalan Vasudevan

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The Malaysia construction industry generates a large quantity of construction and demolition waste nowadays. In the handbook for demolition work only comprised small portion of demolition waste management. It is important to study and determine the ways to provide a practical guide for the professional in the building industry about handling the demolition waste. In general, demolition defined as tearing down or wrecking of structural work or architectural work of the building and other infrastructures work such as road, bridge and etc. It’s a common misconception that demolition is nothing more than taking down a structure and carrying the debris to a landfill. On many projects, 80-90% of the structure is kept for reuse or recycling which help the owner to save cost. Demolition contractors required a lot of knowledge and experience to minimize the impact of demolition work to the existing surrounding area. For data collecting method, postal questionnaires and interviews have been selected to collect data. Questionnaires have distributed to 80 respondents from the construction industry in Klang Valley. 67 of 80 respondents have replied the questionnaire while 4 people have interviewed. Microsoft Excel and Statistical Package for Social Science version 17.0 were used to analyze the data collected.

Keywords: demolition, waste management, construction material, Malaysia

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Authors: Javed Mallick

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In metropolitan areas, rapid changes in land use and land cover (LULC) have ecological and environmental consequences. Saudi Arabia's cities have experienced tremendous urban growth since the 1990s, resulting in urban heat islands, groundwater depletion, air pollution, loss of ecosystem services, and so on. From 1990 to 2020, this study examines the variance and heterogeneity in land surface temperature (LST) caused by LULC changes in Abha-Khamis Mushyet, Saudi Arabia. LULC was mapped using the support vector machine (SVM). The mono-window algorithm was used to calculate the land surface temperature (LST). To identify LST clusters, the local indicator of spatial associations (LISA) model was applied to spatiotemporal LST maps. In addition, the parallel coordinate (PCP) method was used to investigate the relationship between LST clusters and urban biophysical variables as a proxy for LULC. According to LULC maps, urban areas increased by more than 330% between 1990 and 2018. Between 1990 and 2018, built-up areas had an 83.6% transitional probability. Furthermore, between 1990 and 2020, vegetation and agricultural land were converted into built-up areas at a rate of 17.9% and 21.8%, respectively. Uneven LULC changes in built-up areas result in more LST hotspots. LST hotspots were associated with high NDBI but not NDWI or NDVI. This study could assist policymakers in developing mitigation strategies for urban heat islands

Keywords: land use land cover mapping, land surface temperature, support vector machine, LISA model, parallel coordinate plot

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Authors: Kashif Mahmood, Tehreem Fatima, Adeel Hassan

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Firms are always concerned with their performance which is directly linked to employees’ performance. In the thrive of this goal, number of researches have been conducted where Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB) and Counterproductive Work Behavior (CPWB) is among those studies. This study is aimed at investigating the role OCB by considering altruism and conscientiousness in an employee’s job performance with the mediating role of CPWB by considering sabotage and withdraw among the employees of hotel industry in Pakistan. A quantitative method was used by following deductive approach in positivist paradigm where survey was conducted through self-administered questionnaires and data was collected from the employees working in hotel industry of Pakistan. Top 10 hotels from the region of Lahore, Punjab was selected as population, and 500 questionnaires were distributed among their employees by using stratified random sampling technique. There is a positive impact of OCB is found on job performance of an employee whereas full mediation of CPWB is also found between OCB and job performance. The study is important for the practitioners in a way that hotel industry is growing at an enormous rate where employee behavior is always a concern specifically in emerging markets due to the exploitation of employees at the workplace, so the findings of the study can be helpful for practitioners and policy makers.

Keywords: organizational citizenship behavior, counterproductive work behavior, employee performance, altruism, conscientiousness, sabotage, withdraw, hotel industry

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Authors: Salma El Hajjami, Jamal Malki, Alain Bouju, Mohammed Berrada

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With the expansion of machine learning and data mining in the context of Big Data analytics, the common problem that affects data is class imbalance. It refers to an imbalanced distribution of instances belonging to each class. This problem is present in many real world applications such as fraud detection, network intrusion detection, medical diagnostics, etc. In these cases, data instances labeled negatively are significantly more numerous than the instances labeled positively. When this difference is too large, the learning system may face difficulty when tackling this problem, since it is initially designed to work in relatively balanced class distribution scenarios. Another important problem, which usually accompanies these imbalanced data, is the overlapping instances between the two classes. It is commonly referred to as noise or overlapping data. In this article, we propose an approach called: One Side Behavioral Noise Reduction (OSBNR). This approach presents a way to deal with the problem of class imbalance in the presence of a high noise level. OSBNR is based on two steps. Firstly, a cluster analysis is applied to groups similar instances from the minority class into several behavior clusters. Secondly, we select and eliminate the instances of the majority class, considered as behavioral noise, which overlap with behavior clusters of the minority class. The results of experiments carried out on a representative public dataset confirm that the proposed approach is efficient for the treatment of class imbalances in the presence of noise.

Keywords: machine learning, imbalanced data, data mining, big data

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Authors: Michael Anthony Doherty

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Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) is a significant topic in the construction industry; while reviewing (MMC) over different fields that are significant in the modern construction world, the following areas were assessed where (MMC) is developing, supply chain management, automation, digital technology, and new construction technologies. Different methods were considered as an approach to research and exploring areas highlighted within the construction industry that are making advancements using Modern Methods of Construction Methods and Technologies (MCMTs). The research was conducted using the following methodologies, literature review of academic sources, primary and secondary data sources, questionaries, and interviews. The paper is composed of two parts, firstly a literature review and secondly a questionnaire used as the basis for interviews were utilised to achieve the following key objectives: to identify (MCMTs) being implemented in the construction industry, research and compile information with regards to these methods, determine their purpose and their application in the industry, establishing what (MCMTs) are being used in the industry while also determining the success of the methods. The research considers the evolution and development of these methods in projects and within the industry itself. Major findings were as follows; automation technologies such as robotics, offsite fabrication utilising automated production lines are increasingly part of project execution, digital technologies such as AR and VR are increasingly utilised in project co-ordination, (MMCTs) are proving to be a solution to the construction industry problems such as a lack of skilled workforce, hazardous work tasks, and situations, new construction technologies are available and finding their place in mainstream construction, (SCM) and (GSCM) are evolving to new levels using new systems and technologies such as block chain technology as well as Company Size and Project size influence the use of (MMCTs) and the adoption of (MMCTS). In summary the paper endeavours to identify and detail how areas of (MMCTs) are developing and are gaining traction within mainstream construction.

Keywords: automation, digital technology, new construction technologies, supply chain management

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Authors: Dengyu You, Alireza Kashani

Abstract:

This study explores the potential of 3D concrete printing in manufacturing prefabricated staircases. The applications of 3D concrete printing in large-scale construction could enhance the industry’s implementation of the Industry 4.0 concept. In addition, the current global challenge is to achieve Net Zero Emissions by 2050. Innovation in the construction industry could potentially speed up achieving this target. The 3D printing technology offers a possible solution that reduces cement usage, minimises framework wastes, and is capable of manufacturing complex structures. The performance of the 3D concrete printed lightweight staircase needs to be evaluated. In this study, the staircase is designed using computer-aided technologies, fabricated by 3D concrete printing technologies, and tested with Australian Standard (AS 1657-2018 Fixed platforms, walkways, stairways, and ladders – design, construction, and installation) under a laboratory environment. The experiment results will be further compared with the FEM analysis. The results indicate that 3D concrete printing is capable of fast production, reducing material usage, and is highly automotive, which meets the industry’s future development goal.

Keywords: concrete 3D printing, staircase, sustainability, automation

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Authors: Nick Weir, Robert Stevens, Alan Hargreaves, Martin McGinnity, Chris Tinsley

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Hydrophobic materials have previously demonstrated the ability to elevate cell-cell interactions and promote the formation of neural networks whilst aligned nanofibers demonstrate the ability to induce extensive neurite outgrowth in an aligned manner. Hydrophobic materials typically elicit an immune response upon implantation and thus materials used for implantation are typically hydrophilic. Poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA) is a hydrophobic, non-immunogenic, FDA approved material that can be electrospun to form aligned nanofibers. Primary rat cortical neurons cultured for 10 days on aligned PLLA nanofibers formed 3D cell clusters, approximately 800 microns in diameter. Neurites that extended from these clusters were highly aligned due to the alignment of the nanofibers they were cultured upon and fasciculation was also evident. Plasma treatment of the PLLA nanofibers prior to seeding of cells significantly reduced the hydrophobicity and abolished the cluster formation and neurite fasciculation, whilst reducing the extent and directionality of neurite outgrowth; it is proposed that hydrophobicity induces the changes to cellular behaviors. Aligned PLLA nanofibers induced the formation of a structure that mimics the grey-white matter compartmentalization that is observed in vivo and thus represents a step forward in generating organoids or biomaterial-based implants. Upon implantation into the brain, the biomaterial architectures described here may provide a useful platform for both brain repair and brain remodeling initiatives.

Keywords: hydrophobicity, nanofibers, neurite fasciculation, neurite outgrowth, PLLA

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Authors: Rizqi W. Romadhon, Nur Arifan

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Halal Tourism is a part of tourism industry which is based on Islamic Principle and addressed to the Muslim tourist. The potency of halal tourism is very broad to be developed, because the growth of Muslim populations is rapidly increasing. Indonesia is one of the biggest countries with Majority of its population is Muslim, therefore human resources and natural resources have very good potential to be part of the Halal tourism industry. But the fact is Indonesia can not optimize the potential of human resources and natural resources as well as neighboring countries carried out. This paper will discuss the reasons of the importance of developing Halal tourism, and the factors influencing the success of developing halal tourism in Indonesia, and also the optimization strategies which can be adopted by the government so that the Halal tourism industry in Indonesia has a sustainable competitive advantage. The existence of this research is expected to government, tourism agents and others can optimize the potency of Indonesia’s Human resources and natural resources for developing Halal tourism industry in Indonesia.

Keywords: halal tourism, Islamic principle, optimization, sustainable competitive advantage

Procedia PDF Downloads 383