Search results for: travel demand management

Authors: I. Mentziou, C. Delezos, D. Krikidis, A. Nestoridou, G. Boskou

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Introduction: The systems of production and distribution of meals can have a significant impact on the food intake of hospital patients who are likely to develop malnutrition. In hospitals, the consequences of food borne infections can range from annoying to life-threatening for a patient, since they can lead up to death in vulnerable groups Aim: The aim of the present study was the evaluation of food safety management systems implementation, as well as the general evaluation of the total quality management systems in Greek hospitals. Methods: This is a multifocal study on the implementation and evaluation of the food safety management systems in the Greek hospitals of Attica region. Eleven hospitals from the city of Athens were chosen for this purpose. The sample was derived from the high rank personnel of the nutritional department (dietician, head-chef, food technologist, public health inspector). Tailor made questionnaires on hygiene regulations were used as tools for the interviews. Results: Overall, 30 employees in the field of hospital nutrition participated. Most of the replies implied that almost always the hygiene regulations are implemented. Nevertheless, only 30% stated that there is a Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points HACCP system (HACCP) in the hospital. In a small number of questionnaires there were proposals for changes by the staff. Conclusion: Measurement of the opinion of the personnel about the provided food services within a hospital can further lead to continuous improvement of the hospital nutrition.

Keywords: evaluation, food service, HACCP, hospital, personnel

Procedia PDF Downloads 377

Authors: Mingming Leng

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Wal-Mart has allocated considerable human resources for its quality assurance program, in which the largest retailer serves its supply chains as a quality gatekeeper. Asda Stores Ltd., the second largest supermarket chain in Britain, is now investing £27m in significantly increasing the frequency of quality control checks in its supply chains and thus enhancing quality across its fresh food business. Moreover, Tesco, the largest British supermarket chain, already constructed a quality assessment center to carry out its gatekeeping responsibility. Motivated by the above practices, we consider a supply chain in which a retailer plays the gatekeeping role in quality assurance by identifying defects among a manufacturer's products prior to selling them to consumers. The impact of a retailer's gatekeeping activity on pricing and quality assurance in a supply chain has not been investigated in the operations management area. We draw a number of managerial insights that are expected to help practitioners judiciously consider the quality gatekeeping effort at the retail level. As in practice, when the retailer identifies a defective product, she immediately returns it to the manufacturer, who then replaces the defect with a good quality product and pays a penalty to the retailer. If the retailer does not recognize a defect but sells it to a consumer, then the consumer will identify the defect and return it to the retailer, who then passes the returned 'unidentified' defect to the manufacturer. The manufacturer also incurs a penalty cost. Accordingly, we analyze a two-stage pricing and quality decision problem, in which the manufacturer and the retailer bargain over the manufacturer's average defective rate and wholesale price at the first stage, and the retailer decides on her optimal retail price and gatekeeping intensity at the second stage. We also compare the results when the retailer performs quality gatekeeping with those when the retailer does not. Our supply chain analysis exposes some important managerial insights. For example, the retailer's quality gatekeeping can effectively reduce the channel-wide defective rate, if her penalty charge for each identified de-fect is larger than or equal to the market penalty for each unidentified defect. When the retailer imple-ments quality gatekeeping, the change in the negotiated wholesale price only depends on the manufac-turer's 'individual' benefit, and the change in the retailer's optimal retail price is only related to the channel-wide benefit. The retailer is willing to take on the quality gatekeeping responsibility, when the impact of quality relative to retail price on demand is high and/or the retailer has a strong bargaining power. We conclude that the retailer's quality gatekeeping can help reduce the defective rate for consumers, which becomes more significant when the retailer's bargaining position in her supply chain is stronger. Retailers with stronger bargaining powers can benefit more from their quality gatekeeping in supply chains.

Keywords: bargaining, game theory, pricing, quality, supply chain

Procedia PDF Downloads 280

Authors: Mamdouh Y. Saleh, Gaber El Enany, Medhat H. Elzahar, Moustafa H. Omran

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The discharge limits of industrial waste water effluents are subjected to regulations which are getting more restricted with time. A former research occurred in Port Said city studied the efficiency of treating industrial wastewater using the first stage (A-stage) of the multiple-stage plant (AB-system).From the results of this former research, the effluent treated wastewater has high rates of total dissolved solids (TDS) and chemical oxygen demand (COD). The purpose of this paper is to improve the treatment process in removing TDS and COD. Thus, a pilot plant was constructed at wastewater pump station in the industrial area in the south of Port Said. Experimental work was divided into several groups adding activated carbon with different dosages to waste water, and for each group waste water was filtered after being mixed with activated carbon. pH and TSS as variables were also studied. At the end of this paper, a comparison was made between the efficiency of using activated carbon and the efficiency of using limestone in the same circumstances.

Keywords: adsorption, COD removal, filtration, TDS removal

Procedia PDF Downloads 502

Authors: Mehran Barani Shikhrobat, Roger Flanagan

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The construction planning and scheduling based on using the current tools and techniques is resulted deterministic in nature (Gantt chart, CPM) or applying a very little probability of completion (PERT) for each task. However, every project embodies assumptions and influences and should start with a complete set of clearly defined goals and constraints that remain constant throughout the duration of the project. Construction planners continue to apply the traditional methods and tools of “hard” project management that were developed for “ideal projects,” neglecting the potential influence of complexity on the design and construction process. The aim of this research is to investigate the emergence and growth of complexity in project planning and to provide a model to consider the influence of complexity on the total project duration at the post-contract award pre-construction stage of a project. The literature review showed that complexity originates from different sources of environment, technical, and workflow interactions. They can be divided into two categories of complexity factors, first, project tasks, and second, project organisation management. Project tasks may originate from performance, lack of resources, or environmental changes for a specific task. Complexity factors that relate to organisation and management refer to workflow and interdependence of different parts. The literature review highlighted the ineffectiveness of traditional tools and techniques in planning for complexity. However, this research focus on understanding the fundamental causes of the complexity of construction projects were investigated through a questionnaire with industry experts. The results were used to develop a model that considers the core complexity factors and their interactions. System dynamics were used to investigate the model to consider the influence of complexity on project planning. Feedback from experts revealed 20 major complexity factors that impact project planning. The factors are divided into five categories known as core complexity factors. To understand the weight of each factor in comparison, the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) analysis method is used. The comparison showed that externalities are ranked as the biggest influence across the complexity factors. The research underlines that there are many internal and external factors that impact project activities and the project overall. This research shows the importance of considering the influence of complexity on the project master plan undertaken at the post-contract award pre-construction phase of a project.

Keywords: project planning, project complexity measurement, planning uncertainty management, project risk management, strategic project scheduling

Procedia PDF Downloads 147

Authors: Karina Guimaraes, Lilian Santos

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This study has the purpose of planning and instituting monitoring actions as a way of knowing the scenario of assistance to the patient with stoma, treated in the public health network in Brazil, from January to November of the year 2016, from the elaboration of a technical document containing the survey of the number of procedures offered and the value of the ostomy services, accredited in the Unified Health System-SUS. The purpose of this document is to improve the quality of these services in the efficient management of available financial resources, making it indispensable for the creation of strategies for the implementation and implementation of care services for people with stomata as a strategic tool in the promotion, prevention, qualification and efficiency in health care.

Keywords: health economic, management, ostomy, unified health system

Procedia PDF Downloads 315

Authors: África Vicario, Fernando J. Álvarez, Felipe Parralejo, Fernando Aranda

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The irrigation systems of traditional agriculture, such as gravity-fed irrigation, produce a great waste of water because, generally, there is no control over the amount of water supplied in relation to the water needed. The AIRON Project tries to solve this problem by implementing an IoT-based system to sensor the irrigation plots so that the state of the crops and the amount of water used for irrigation can be known remotely. The IoT system consists of a sensor network that measures the humidity of the soil, the weather conditions (temperature, relative humidity, wind and solar radiation) and the irrigation water flow. The communication between this network and a central gateway is conducted by means of long-range wireless communication that depends on the characteristics of the irrigation plot. The main objective of the AIRON project is to deploy an IoT sensor network in two different plots of the irrigation community of Aranjuez in the Spanish region of Madrid. The first plot is 2 km away from the central gateway, so LoRa has been used as the base communication technology. The problem with this plot is the absence of mains electric power, so devices with energy-saving modes have had to be used to maximize the external batteries' use time. An ESP32 SOC board with a LoRa module is employed in this case to gather data from the sensor network and send them to a gateway consisting of a Raspberry Pi with a LoRa hat. The second plot is located 18 km away from the gateway, a range that hampers the use of LoRa technology. In order to establish reliable communication in this case, the long-term evolution (LTE) standard is used, which makes it possible to reach much greater distances by using the cellular network. As mains electric power is available in this plot, a Raspberry Pi has been used instead of the ESP32 board to collect sensor data. All data received from the two plots are stored on a proprietary server located at the irrigation management company's headquarters. The analysis of these data by means of machine learning algorithms that are currently under development should allow a short-term prediction of the irrigation water demand that would significantly reduce the waste of this increasingly valuable natural resource. The major finding of this work is the real possibility of deploying a remote sensing system for irrigated plots by using Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) devices, easily scalable and adaptable to design requirements such as the distance to the control center or the availability of mains electrical power at the site.

Keywords: internet of things, irrigation water control, LoRa, LTE, smart farming

Procedia PDF Downloads 92

Authors: O. A. Akinsanya

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This paper presents the emerging trends in household energy usage in Nigeria for sustainable development. The paper relied on a direct appraisal of energy use in the residential sector and the use of a structured questionnaire to establish the usage pattern, energy management measures and emerging advances. The use of efficient appliances, retrofitting, smart building and smart attitude are some of the benefitting measures. The paper also identified smart building, prosumer activities, hybrid energy use, improved awareness, and solar stand-alone street/security lights as the trend and concluded that energy management strategies would result in a significant reduction in the monthly bills and peak loads as well as the total electricity consumption in Nigeria and therefore it is good for sustainable development.

Keywords: household, energy, trends, strategy, sustainable, Nigeria

Procedia PDF Downloads 73

Authors: Lawrence Koech, Hilary Rutto, Olga Mothibedi

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Worldwide demand for copper has led to intensive search for methods of extraction and recovery of copper from different sources. The study investigates the leaching properties of a low-grade copper ore by optimizing the leaching variables using response surface methodology. The effects of key parameters, i.e., temperature, solid to liquid ratio, stirring speed and pH, on the leaching rate constant was investigated using a pH stat apparatus. A Central Composite Design (CCD) of experiments was used to develop a quadratic model which specifically correlates the leaching variables and the rate constant. The results indicated that the model is in good agreement with the experimental data with a correlation coefficient (R2) of 0.93. The temperature and solid to liquid ratio were found to have the most substantial influence on the leaching rate constant. The optimum operating conditions for copper leaching from the ore were identified as temperature at 65C, solid to liquid ratio at 1.625 and stirring speed of 325 rpm which yielded an average leaching efficiency of 93.16%.

Keywords: copper, leaching, CCD, rate constant

Procedia PDF Downloads 249

Authors: Adamnesh A. Bogale, Dorte Thorsen

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This paper aims to learn how children/siblings left behind due to parental migration experience care and the effects of the separation. It also aims to unpack the experiences of youth migrants in rural Ethiopia. It focuses specifically on how children and youth are affected in order to highlight in which areas intervention can enhance or inadvertently undermine the development impact of migration on young people. Based on a qualitative study in South Wollo, Ethiopia, which was undertaken in three stages in 2017-19 and involved 34 households and a number of key informants, the analysis offers insights into how migration contributes to household sustainability and, in the process, alters intergenerational relationships and dynamics. Contemporary migration in Ethiopia is complex and highly gendered. For young women, the migration corridor from Ethiopia to the Middle East is the most important, whereas young men mostly engage in local migration or travel to South Africa or Sudan. Arguing that children and youths’ experience of migration must be understood in the context of the moral, affective, and material economies, the paper distinguishes between young people’s experiences of migration as children of migrants, as siblings of a migrant, and as migrants. The material shows that children and youths demonstrate different experiences in parental migration depending on age, care arrangement, and the ability to communicate with an absent mother. Migration has a different implication for younger siblings depending on their gender. The division of work and future responsibilities post marriage combine to disadvantage female siblings while male siblings are either unaffected or reaped the benefits of investments made with remittances. Finally, migration is a mechanism to change generational power relationships. As remitters, young migrants yield better recognition in the family, though not always to the degree that they can control the use of remittances. The power to make decisions is not tied only to material resources and the household; migration facilitates social change that opens space for young women to have more influence over their own lives.

Keywords: migration, youth, Ethiopia, generations

Procedia PDF Downloads 38

Authors: Preeda Sansakorn, Min An

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In order to be capable of dealing with uncertainties, subjectivities, including vagueness arising in building construction projects, the application of fuzzy reasoning technique based on fuzzy set theory is proposed. This study contributes significantly to the development of a fuzzy reasoning safety risk assessment model for building construction projects that could be employed to assess the risk magnitude of each hazardous event identified during construction, and a third parameter of probability of consequence is incorporated in the model. By using the proposed safety risk analysis methodology, more reliable and less ambiguities, which provide the safety risk management project team for decision-making purposes.

Keywords: safety risk assessment, building construction safety, fuzzy reasoning, construction risk assessment model, building construction projects

Procedia PDF Downloads 496

Authors: Tatiana V. Korsakova

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The cognitive methodology in management is considered: Cognitive structuring - the formation of ideas about the functioning of a developing organization; Cognitive modeling - heuristic construction of existing actions (zone of successful actions); and Cognitive construct - the formation of filters for converting external information into specific events of managerial reality. The major findings of the study are the identification of areas of successful actions in the organization, harmonization of criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of company management, and the frame-description that indicates the connection of environmental elements with the elements of the organization. It is stated the development of specific events of managerial reality in the direction of the further development of the organization depends on the personal cognitive construct of the development-subjects when it is used in the zone of successful actions.

Keywords: cognitive construct, focus of applicability, knowledge corporate culture, zones of successful actions

Procedia PDF Downloads 302

Authors: Zheng Sun, Weiwei Cui, Xiaodong Ma, Hongxin Jin, Dongpao Hong, Jinsong Yang, Jingyi Sun

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With the improvement of the performance and complexity of modern equipment, automatic test system (ATS) becomes widely used for condition monitoring and fault diagnosis. However, the conventional ATS mainly works in a serial mode, and lacks the ability of testing several equipments at the same time. That leads to low test efficiency and ATS redundancy. Especially for a large majority of equipment under test, the conventional ATS cannot meet the requirement of efficient testing. To reduce the support resource and increase test efficiency, we propose a method of design for the parallel test based on the embedded system in this paper. Firstly, we put forward the general framework of the parallel test system, and the system contains a central management system (CMS) and several distributed test subsystems (DTS). Then we give a detailed design of the system. For the hardware of the system, we use embedded architecture to design DTS. For the software of the system, we use test program set to improve the test adaption. By deploying the parallel test system, the time to test five devices is now equal to the time to test one device in the past. Compared with the conventional test system, the proposed test system reduces the size and improves testing efficiency. This is of great significance for equipment to be put into operation swiftly. Finally, we take an industrial control system as an example to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method. The result shows that the method is reasonable, and the efficiency is improved up to 500%.

Keywords: parallel test, embedded system, automatic test system, automatic test system (ATS), central management system, central management system (CMS), distributed test subsystems, distributed test subsystems (DTS)

Procedia PDF Downloads 308

Authors: Teo Hao Jing, Shane Ho Ken Wae, Lee Jin Yu, Burra Venkata Durga Kumar

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Current distributed healthcare systems face the challenge of interoperability of health data. Storing electronic health records (EHR) in local databases causes them to be fragmented. This problem is aggravated as patients visit multiple healthcare providers in their lifetime. Existing solutions are unable to solve this issue and have caused burdens to healthcare specialists and patients alike. Blockchain technology was found to be able to increase the interoperability of health data by implementing digital access rules, enabling uniformed patient identity, and providing data aggregation. Consortium blockchain was found to have high read throughputs, is more trustworthy, more secure against external disruptions and accommodates transactions without fees. Therefore, this paper proposes a blockchain-based model for data management applications. In this model, a consortium blockchain is implemented by using a delegated proof of stake (DPoS) as its consensus mechanism. This blockchain allows collaboration between users from different organizations such as hospitals and medical bureaus. Patients serve as the owner of their information, where users from other parties require authorization from the patient to view their information. Hospitals upload the hash value of patients’ generated data to the blockchain, whereas the encrypted information is stored in a distributed cloud storage.

Keywords: blockchain technology, data management applications, healthcare, interoperability, delegated proof of stake

Procedia PDF Downloads 141

Authors: Dimitrios J. Dimitriou, Maria F. Sartzetaki

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Different transportation modes have key operational advantages and disadvantages, providing a variety of different transport options to users and passengers. This paper reviews key variables for the competition between air transport and other transport modes. The aim of this paper is to review the competition between air transport and other transport modes, providing results in terms of perceived cost for the users, for destinations high competitiveness for all transport modes. The competitor analysis variables include the cost and time outputs for each transport option, highlighting the level of competitiveness on high demanded Origin-Destination corridors. The case study presents the output of a such analysis for the OD corridor in Greece that connects the Capital city (Athens) with the second largest city (Thessaloniki) and the different transport modes have been considered (air, train, road). Conventional wisdom is to present an easy to handle tool for planners, managers and decision makers towards pricing policy effectiveness and demand attractiveness, appropriate to use for other similar cases.

Keywords: competitor analysis, transport economics, transport generalized cost, quantitative modelling

Procedia PDF Downloads 251

Authors: Noradin Ghadimi, Nima Amjady, Oveis Abedinia, Roza Poursoleiman

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This paper proposed an Improved Honey Bee Mating Optimization (IHBMO) for a planning paradigm for network upgrade. The proposed technique is a new meta-heuristic algorithm which inspired by mating of the honey bee. The paradigm is able to select amongst several choices equi-cost one assuring the optimum in terms of voltage profile, considering various scenarios of DG penetration and load demand. The distributed generation (DG) has created a challenge and an opportunity for developing various novel technologies in power generation. DG prepares a multitude of services to utilities and consumers, containing standby generation, peaks chopping sufficiency, base load generation. The proposed algorithm is applied over the 30 lines, 28 buses power system. The achieved results demonstrate the good efficiency of the DG using the proposed technique in different scenarios.

Keywords: distributed generation, IHBMO, renewable energy units, network upgrade

Procedia PDF Downloads 491

Authors: Gina Longo

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Social media, internet technology, and affordable travel have created avenues like tourism and internet chatrooms for Western women to meet foreign partners without paid, third-party intermediaries in regions like the Middle East/North Africa (MENA) and Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), where men from mid-level developing countries meet and marry Western women and try to relocate. Foreign nationals who marry U.S. citizens have an expedited track to naturalization. U.S. immigration officials require that “green card” petitioning couples demonstrate that their relationships are “valid and subsisting” (i.e., for love) and not fraudulent (i.e., for immigration papers). These requirements are ostensibly gender- and racially-neutral, but migration itself is not; black and white women petitioners who seek partners from these regions and solicit advice from similar others about the potential obstacles to their petitions’ success online. Using an online ethnography and textual analysis of conversation threads on a large on-line immigration forum where U.S. petitioners exchange such information, this study examines how gendered and racialized standards of legitimacy are applied to family and sexuality and used discursively online among women petitioners differently to achieve “genuineness” and define “red flags” indicating potential marriage fraud. This paper argues that forum-women members police immigration requests even before cases reach an immigration officer, and use this social media platform to reconstruct gendered and racialized hierarchies of U.S. citizenship. Women petitioners use the formal criteria of U.S. immigration in ways that reveal gender and racial ideologies, expectations for conformity to a gendered hegemonic family ideal, and policing of women’s sexual agency, fertility, and desirability. These intersectional norms shape their online discussions about the suitability of marriages and of the migration of non-citizen male partners of color to the United States.

Keywords: marriage fraud, migration, online forums, women

Procedia PDF Downloads 123

Authors: Hamid Reza Mahdipoor, Mehdi Bahrami, Mohammad Bodaghi, Seyed Ali Akbar Mansoori

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Nowadays, with stricter limitations to reduce emissions, considerable penalties are imposed if pollution limits are exceeded. Therefore, refineries, along with focusing on improving the quality of their products, are also focused on producing products with the least environmental impact. The duty of the sulfur recovery unit (SRU) is to convert H₂S gas coming from the upstream units to elemental sulfur and minimize the burning of sulfur compounds to SO₂. The Claus process is a common process for converting H₂S to sulfur, including a reaction furnace followed by catalytic reactors and sulfur condensers. In addition to a Claus section, SRUs usually consist of a tail gas treatment (TGT) section to decrease the concentration of SO₂ in the flue gas below the emission limits. To operate an SRU properly, the flow rate of combustion air to the reaction furnace must be adjusted so that the Claus reaction is performed according to stoichiometry. Accurate control of the air demand leads to an optimum recovery of sulfur during the flow and composition fluctuations in the acid gas feed. Therefore, the major control system in the SRU is the air demand control loop, which includes a feed-forward control system based on predetermined feed flow rates and a feed-back control system based on the signal from the tail gas online analyzer. The use of online analyzers requires compliance with the installation and operation instructions. Unfortunately, most of these analyzers in Iran are out of service for different reasons, like the low importance of environmental issues and a lack of access to after-sales services due to sanctions. In this paper, an SRU in Iran was simulated and calibrated using industrial experimental data. Afterward, the effect of the malfunction of the online analyzer on the performance of SRU was investigated using the calibrated simulation. The results showed that an increase in the SO₂ concentration in the tail gas led to an increase in the temperature of the reduction reactor in the TGT section. This increase in temperature caused the failure of TGT and increased the concentration of SO₂ from 750 ppm to 35,000 ppm. In addition, the lack of a control system for the adjustment of the combustion air caused further increases in SO₂ emissions. In some processes, the major variable cannot be controlled directly due to difficulty in measurement or a long delay in the sampling system. In these cases, a secondary variable, which can be measured more easily, is considered to be controlled. With the correct selection of this variable, the main variable is also controlled along with the secondary variable. This strategy for controlling a process system is referred to as inferential control" and is considered in this paper. Therefore, a sensitivity analysis was performed to investigate the sensitivity of other measurable parameters to input disturbances. The results revealed that the output temperature of the first Claus reactor could be used for inferential control of the combustion air. Applying this method to the operation led to maximizing the sulfur recovery in the Claus section.

Keywords: sulfur recovery, online analyzer, inferential control, SO₂ emission

Procedia PDF Downloads 81

Authors: Elena Tkachenko, Vladimir Kokh, Alina Osipenko, Vladislav Surkov

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The modern period of development of Russian economy is fraught with a number of problems related to limitations in the use of traditional planning and financial management tools. Restrictions in the use of foreign software when performing an order of the Russian Government, on the one hand, and sanctions limiting the support of the major ERP and MRP II systems in the Russian Federation, on the other hand, entail the necessity to appeal to the basics of developing budgeting and analysis systems for industrial enterprises. Thus, cost calculation theory becomes the theoretical foundation for the development of industrial cost management systems. Based on the foregoing, it would be fair to make an assumption that the development of a working managerial accounting model on an industrial enterprise using an automated enterprise resource management system should rest upon the concept of the inevitability of alterations of business processes. On the other hand, optimized business processes make the architecture of financial analytics more transparent and permit the use of all the benefits of data cubes. The metrics and indicator slices provide online assessment of the state of key business processes at a given moment of time, which improves the quality of managerial decisions considerably. Therefore, the bilateral sanctions situation boosted the development of corporate business analytics and took industrial companies to the next level of understanding of business processes.

Keywords: cost culculation, ERP, OLAP, modern Russian economy

Procedia PDF Downloads 226

Authors: Samuel Quashie

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PhDs in Construction Management often designs their methods based on those established in social sciences using theoretical models, to collect, gather and analysis data to answer research questions. Work aim is to apply qualitative and quantitative as a data analysis method, and as part of the theoretical framework - descriptive theory. To improve the ability to replicate the contribution to knowledge the research. Using practical triangulation approach, which covers, interviews and observations, literature review and (archival) document studies, project-based case studies, questionnaires surveys and review of integrated systems used in, construction and construction related industries. The clarification of organisational context and management delivery that influences organizational performance and quality of product and measures are achieved. Results illustrate improved reliability in this research approach when interpreting real world phenomena; cumulative results of research can be applied with confidence under similar environments. Assisted validity of the PhD research outcomes and strengthens the confidence to apply cumulative results of research under similar conditions in the Built Environment research systems, which have been criticised for the lack of reliability in approaches when interpreting real world phenomena.

Keywords: case studies, descriptive theory, theoretical framework, qualitative and quantitative research

Procedia PDF Downloads 391

Authors: Slavica P. Petrovic

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One of the key dimensions of management problems in organizations refers to the relations between stakeholders. The management problems that are characterized by conflict and coercion, in which participants do not agree on the ends and means, in which different groups, i.e., individuals, strive to – using the power they have – impose on others their favoured strategy and decisions represent the relevant research subject. Creatively managing the coercive problems in organizations, in which the sources of power can be identified, implies the emancipatory paradigm and the use of corresponding systems methodology. The main research aim is to critically reassess the theoretical foundations and methodological and methodical development of Critical Systems Heuristics (CSH) – as a valid representative of the emancipatory paradigm – in order to determine the conditions, ways, and achievements of its application in managing the coercive problems in organizations. The basic hypothesis is that CSH, as the emancipatory methodology, given its own theoretical foundations and methodological-methodical development, can be employed in a scientifically based and practically useful manner in creative addressing the coercive problems. The scientific instrumentarium corresponding to this research aim is critical systems thinking with its three key commitments to: a) Critical awareness of the strengths and weaknesses of each research instrument (theory, methodology, method, technique, model) for structuring the problem situations in organizations, b) Improvement of managing the coercive problems in organizations, and c) Pluralism – respect the different perceptions and interpretations of problem situations, and enable the combined use of research instruments. The relevant research result is that CSH – considering its theoretical foundations, methodological and methodical development – enables to reveal the normative content of the proposed or existing designs of organizational systems. Accordingly, it can be concluded that through the use of critically heuristic categories and dialectical debate between those involved and those affected by the designs, but who are not included in designing organizational systems, CSH endeavours to – in the application – support the process of improving position of all stakeholders.

Keywords: coercion and conflict in organizations, creative management, critical systems heuristics, the emancipatory systems methodology

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Authors: Mikhail Bouniaev

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The paper reviews design and implementation of a Calculus Course required for the Biomedical Competency Based Program developed as a joint project between The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, and the University of Texas’ Institute for Transformational Learning, from the theoretical perspective as presented in scholarly work on active learning, formative assessment, and on-line teaching. Following a four stage curriculum development process (objective, content, delivery, and assessment), and theoretical recommendations that guarantee effectiveness and efficiency of assessment in active learning, we discuss the practical recommendations on how to incorporate a strong formative assessment component to address disciplines’ needs, and students’ major needs. In design and implementation of this project, we used Constructivism and Stage-by-Stage Development of Mental Actions Theory recommendations.

Keywords: active learning, assessment, calculus, cognitive demand, mathematics, stage-by-stage development of mental action theory

Procedia PDF Downloads 366

Authors: Jeongwoo Lee

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Children are the most vulnerable travelers and they are at risk for pedestrian injury. Creating a safe route to school is important because walking to school is one of the main opportunities for promotion of needed physical exercise among children. This study examined how the built environmental attributes near an elementary school influence traffic accidents among school-aged children. The study used two complementary data sources including the locations of police-reported pedestrian crashes and the built environmental characteristics of school areas. The environmental attributes of road segments were collected through GIS measurements of local data and actual site audits using the inventory developed for measuring pedestrian-crash risk scores. The inventory data collected at 840 road segments near 32 elementary schools in the city of Ulsan. We observed all segments in a 300-meter-radius area from the entrance of an elementary school. Segments are street block faces. The inventory included 50 items, organized into four domains: accessibility (17items), pleasurability (11items), perceived safety from traffic (9items), and traffic and land-use measures (13items). Elementary schools were categorized into two groups based on the distribution of the pedestrian-crash hazard index scores. A high pedestrian-crash zone was defined as an school area within the eighth, ninth, and tenth deciles, while no pedestrian-crash zone was defined as a school zone with no pedestrian-crash accident among school-aged children between 2013 and 2016. No- and high pedestrian-crash zones were compared to determine whether different settings of the built environment near the school lead to a different rate of pedestrian-crash incidents. The results showed that a crash risk can be influenced by several environmental factors such as a shape of school-route, number of intersections, visibility and land-use in a street, and a type of sidewalk. The findings inform policy for creating safe routes to school to reduce the pedestrian-crash risk among children by focusing on school zones.

Keywords: active school travel, school zone, pedestrian crash, safety route to school

Procedia PDF Downloads 249

Authors: Raghava Satya SaiKrishna Dittakavi

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Cloud computing has revolutionized how businesses and individuals store, access, and process data, increasing efficiency and reducing infrastructure costs. However, the need for more transparency in cloud service billing often raises concerns about overcharging and hidden fees, hindering the realization of the full potential of cloud computing. This research paper explores how blockchain technology can be leveraged to introduce cost transparency and accountability in cloud computing services. We present a comprehensive analysis of blockchain-enabled solutions that enhance cost visibility, facilitate auditability, and promote trust in cloud service providers. Through this study, we aim to provide insights into the potential benefits and challenges of implementing blockchain in the cloud computing domain, leading to improved cost management and customer satisfaction.

Keywords: blockchain, cloud computing, cost transparency, blockchain technology

Procedia PDF Downloads 88

Authors: Weronika Molińska, Joanna Rajchert

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A musical career is not only about the quality of performing or playing music. Musicians can choose from a variety of specializations and career paths. The described study focused on psychological traits which relate to a solo career (performing individually or as a leader) or performing as part of a chamber ensemble, ensemble, choir, or orchestra. The hypothesis predicted that narcissism and self-efficacy would be higher in musicians performing solo. The study involved 124 professional musicians: instrumentalists and soloists, singers (n = 59), and ensemble instrumentalists and singers (n = 65). The results confirmed the hypothesis and showed that soloists were higher on self-efficacy and narcissism. In particular, soloists were higher on leader characteristics, demand for admiration, and vanity than musicians performing in ensembles. The result of these studies is a good introduction to a broader project answering the questions of what can increase or decrease the musician's sense of self-efficacy and whether the decreased self-efficacy could induce musicians to give up their solo careers.

Keywords: self-efficacy, musicians, musical profession, narcissism, soloists

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Authors: Josiah O. Carter, Charlotte Hayden, Elizabeth Arthurs

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Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, hospital management policies have changed frequently and rapidly. This has created novel challenges in keeping the workforce abreast of these changes to enable them to deliver safe and effective care. Traditional communication methods, e.g. email, do not keep pace with the rapidly changing environment in the hospital, resulting in inaccurate, irrelevant, or outdated information being communicated, resulting in inefficiencies in patient care. Methods: The creation of a WhatsApp messaging group within the medical division at the Bristol Royal Infirmary has enabled senior clinicians and the hospital management team to update the medical workforce in real-time. It has two primary functions: (1) To enable dissemination of a concise, important operational summary. This comprises information on bed status and infection control procedural changes. It is fed directly from a daily critical incident briefing (2) To facilitate a monthly scheduled question and answer (Q&A) session for junior doctors to clarify issues with clinical directors, rota, and management staff. Additional ad-hoc updates are sent out for time-critical information; otherwise, it mainly functions as a broadcast-only group to prevent important information from being lost amongst other communication. All junior doctors within the medical division were invited to join the group. At present, the group comprises 131 participants, of which 10 are administrative staff (rota coordinators, management staff & clinical directors); the remaining 121 are junior clinicians working within the medical division. An electronic survey via Microsoft forms was sent out to junior doctors via the WhatsApp group and via email to assess its utilisation and effectiveness with the aim of quality improvements. Results: Of the 121 group participants, 19 completed the questionnaire (response rate 15.7%). Of these, 16/19 (84.2%) used it regularly, and 12/19 (63.2%) rated it as the most useful source for reliable updates relating to the hospital response to the COVID-19 pandemic, whereas only 2/19 (10.5%) found the trust intranet and the trust COVID-19 operational email update most useful. Respondents rated the WhatsApp group more useful as an information source (mean score 7.7/10) than as a means of providing feedback to management staff (mean score 6.3/10). Qualitative feedback suggested information around ward closures and changes to COVID cohorting, along with updates on staffing issues, were most useful. Respondents also noted the Q&A sessions were an efficient way of relaying feedback about management decisions but that it would be preferable if these sessions could be delivered more frequently. Discussion: During the current global COVID-19 pandemic, there is an increased need for rapid dissemination of critical information within NHS trusts; this includes communication between junior doctors, managers, and senior clinicians. The versatility of WhatsApp permits a variety of functions allowing for regular updates, the dissemination of time-critical information, and enables conversing and feedback. The project has demonstrated that reserved and well-managed use of a WhatsApp group is a welcome, efficient and practical means of communication between the senior management team and the junior medical workforce.

Keywords: communication, COVID-19, hospital management, WhatsApp

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Authors: M. Pramila Devi, J. Praveena

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In today’s industrial scenario, the expectations and demand of customers are reaching great heights. In order to satisfy the customer requirements the users are increasingly turning towards fourth party logistics (4PL) service providers to manage their total supply chain operations. In this present research, initially, the criteria for the selection of integrated service providers have been identified and an integrated modal based on their inter-relationship has been developed with help of shippers, with this idea of what factors to be considered and their inter-relationships while selecting integrated service provider. Later, various methods deriving the priority weights viz. Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) have been employed for 4PL service provider selection. The derived priorities of 4PL alternatives using methods have been critically analyzed and compared for effective selection. The use of the modal indicates that the computed quantitative evaluation can be applied to improve the precision of the selection.

Keywords: analytical hierarchy process, fourth party logistics, priority weight, criteria selection

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Authors: Shan Wang, Fahad Alhathal, Hari Subramanian

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User-centered design skills play an important role in crafting a positive and intuitive user experience for software applications. Embracing a user-centric design approach involves understanding the needs, preferences, and behaviors of the end-users throughout the design process. This mindset not only enhances the usability of the software but also fosters a deeper connection between the digital product and its users. This paper encompasses a 6-month knowledge exchange collaboration project between an academic institution and an external industry in 2023 in the UK; it aims to improve the user experience of a digital platform utilized for a knowledge management tool, to understand users' preferences for features, identify sources of frustration, and pinpoint areas for enhancement. This research conducted one of the most effective methods to implement user-centered design through co-design workshops for testing user onboarding experiences that involve the active participation of users in the design process. More specifically, in January 2023, we organized eight co-design workshops with a diverse group of 11 individuals. Throughout these co-design workshops, we accumulated a total of 11 hours of qualitative data in both video and audio formats. Subsequently, we conducted an analysis of user journeys, identifying common issues and potential areas for improvement within three insights. This analysis was pivotal in guiding the knowledge management software in prioritizing feature enhancements and design improvements. Employing a user-centered design thinking process, we developed a series of graphic design solutions in collaboration with the software management tool company. These solutions were targeted at refining onboarding user experiences, workplace interfaces, and interactive design. Some of these design solutions were translated into tangible interfaces for the knowledge management tool. By actively involving users in the design process and valuing their input, developers can create products that are not only functional but also resonate with the end-users, ultimately leading to greater success in the competitive software landscape. In conclusion, this paper not only contributes insights into designing onboarding user experiences for software within a co-design approach but also presents key theories on leveraging the user-centered design process in software design to enhance overall user experiences.

Keywords: user experiences design, user centered design, co-design approach, knowledge management tool

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Authors: Huang Wei-Chi, Li Wei, Yu Tien-Chieh

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Medication adherence is crucial for treatment success. Adherence problem is common in patients with polypharmacy, especially in the geriatric population who are vulnerable to multiple chronic conditions but averagely less knowledgeable about diseases and medications. In order to help patients take medications appropriately and enhance the understanding of diseases or medications, a Line official account named e-Pharmacist was designed. The line is a popular freeware app with the highest penetration rate (95.7%) in Taiwan. The interface of e-Pharmacist is user-friendly for easy-to-read and convenient operating. Differ from other medication adherence apps, users just added e-Pharmacist as a LINE friend without installing any more apps and the drug lists were automatically downloaded from the personal electronic medical records with security permission. Over and above medication reminder, several additional capabilities were set up and engaged in the platform of e-Pharmacist including prescription refill reservation, laboratory examination consultation, medical appointment registration, and “Daily Health Log” where patients can record and track data of blood pressure/blood sugar and daily meals for self-health management as well as can share the important information to clinical professionals when seeking medical help. Additionally, a Line chatbot was utilized to provide tailored medicine information for the individual user. From July 2020 to March 2022, around 3000 patients added e-pharmacist as Line friends. Every day more than 1500 patients receive messages from e-pharmacist to notify them to take medicine. Thanks to the e-pharmacist alert system and Chatbot, the low-compliance patients (defined by Program on Adherence to Medication, PAM) significantly dropped from 36% to 6%, whereas the high-compliance patients dramatically increased from 13% to 77%. The user satisfaction is 98%. In brief, an e-pharmacist is not only a medication reminder but also a tailored personal assistant with value-added service for health management.

Keywords: e-pharmacist, self-health management, medication reminder, value-added service

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Authors: Mohamad Mahdi Namdari

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In today's rapidly changing and evolving business competition, companies and organizations require advanced and efficient tools to manage their markets and sales networks. Big data analysis, quick response in competitive markets, process and operations optimization, and forecasting customer behavior are among the concerns of executive managers. Artificial intelligence, as one of the emerging technologies, has provided extensive capabilities in this regard. The use of artificial intelligence in market and sales network management can lead to improved efficiency, increased decision-making accuracy, and enhanced customer satisfaction. Specifically, AI algorithms can analyze vast amounts of data, identify complex patterns, and offer strategic suggestions to improve sales performance. However, many companies are still distant from effectively leveraging this technology, and those that do face challenges in fully exploiting AI's potential in market and sales network management. It appears that the general public's and even the managerial and academic communities' lack of knowledge of this technology has caused the managerial structure to lag behind the progress and development of artificial intelligence. Additionally, high costs, fear of change and employee resistance, lack of quality data production processes, the need for updating structures and processes, implementation issues, the need for specialized skills and technical equipment, and ethical and privacy concerns are among the factors preventing widespread use of this technology in organizations. Clarifying and explaining this technology, especially to the academic, managerial, and elite communities, can pave the way for a transformative beginning. The aim of this research is to elucidate the capacities of artificial intelligence in market and sales network management, identify its opportunities and benefits, and examine the existing challenges and obstacles. This research aims to leverage AI capabilities to provide a framework for enhancing market and sales network performance for managers. The results of this research can help managers and decision-makers adopt more effective strategies for business growth and development by better understanding the capabilities and limitations of artificial intelligence.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, market management, sales network, big data analysis, decision-making, digital marketing

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Authors: Nurdiana Gaus, Mahmud Tang

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This paper analyses changes being experienced by academics in Indonesian state university systems as a result of government-driven policy and the impacts of these changes on academics work and organisations. This analysis is located in the main concept of neoliberal agenda with its associated discourse of New Public Management. The purpose of this analysis is to show how public administrative reforms adopting neoliberal agenda have been disseminated in Indonesian higher education reform via policies and programmes of the government. This essay is expected to clarify the concept of neoliberalism in the administrative reforms within higher education institutions by examining and understanding its implementation in Indonesian context and how this impacted on the structural changes in universities and academics work.

Keywords: neoliberalism, higher education, Indonesia, new public management

Procedia PDF Downloads 487