Search results for: project management perspective
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 15456

Search results for: project management perspective

14616 Student Project on Using a Spreadsheet for Solving Differential Equations by Euler's Method

Authors: Andriy Didenko, Zanin Kavazovic

Abstract:

Engineering students often have certain difficulties in mastering major theoretical concepts in mathematical courses such as differential equations. Student projects were proposed to motivate students’ learning and can be used as a tool to promote students’ interest in the material. Authors propose a student project that includes the use of Microsoft Excel. This instructional tool is often overlooked by both educators and students. An integral component of the experimental part of such a project is the exploration of an interactive spreadsheet. The aim is to assist engineering students in better understanding of Euler’s method. This method is employed to numerically solve first order differential equations. At first, students are invited to select classic equations from a list presented in a form of a drop-down menu. For each of these equations, students can select and modify certain key parameters and observe the influence of initial condition on the solution. This will give students an insight into the behavior of the method in different configurations as solutions to equations are given in numerical and graphical forms. Further, students could also create their own equations by providing functions of their own choice and a variety of initial conditions. Moreover, they can visualize and explore the impact of the length of the time step on the convergence of a sequence of numerical solutions to the exact solution of the equation. As a final stage of the project, students are encouraged to develop their own spreadsheets for other numerical methods and other types of equations. Such projects promote students’ interest in mathematical applications and further improve their mathematical and programming skills.

Keywords: student project, Euler's method, spreadsheet, engineering education

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14615 Scheduling Building Projects: The Chronographical Modeling Concept

Authors: Adel Francis

Abstract:

Most of scheduling methods and software apply the critical path logic. This logic schedule activities, apply constraints between these activities and try to optimize and level the allocated resources. The extensive use of this logic produces a complex an erroneous network hard to present, follow and update. Planning and management building projects should tackle the coordination of works and the management of limited spaces, traffic, and supplies. Activities cannot be performed without the resources available and resources cannot be used beyond the capacity of workplaces. Otherwise, workspace congestion will negatively affect the flow of works. The objective of the space planning is to link the spatial and temporal aspects, promote efficient use of the site, define optimal site occupancy rates, and ensures suitable rotation of the workforce in the different spaces. The Chronographic scheduling modelling belongs to this category and models construction operations as well as their processes, logical constraints, association and organizational models, which help to better illustrate the schedule information using multiple flexible approaches. The model defined three categories of areas (punctual, surface and linear) and four different layers (space creation, systems, closing off space, finishing, and reduction of space). The Chronographical modelling is a more complete communication method, having the ability to alternate from one visual approach to another by manipulation of graphics via a set of parameters and their associated values. Each individual approach can help to schedule a certain project type or specialty. Visual communication can also be improved through layering, sheeting, juxtaposition, alterations, and permutations, allowing for groupings, hierarchies, and classification of project information. In this way, graphic representation becomes a living, transformable image, showing valuable information in a clear and comprehensible manner, simplifying the site management while simultaneously utilizing the visual space as efficiently as possible.

Keywords: building projects, chronographic modelling, CPM, critical path, precedence diagram, scheduling

Procedia PDF Downloads 136
14614 The Development Stages of Transformation of Water Policy Management in Victoria

Authors: Ratri Werdiningtyas, Yongping Wei, Andrew Western

Abstract:

The status quo of social-ecological systems is the results of not only natural processes but also the accumulated consequence of policies applied in the past. Often water management objectives are challenging and are only achieved to a limited degree on the ground. In choosing water management approaches, it is important to account for current conditions and important differences due to varied histories. Since the mid-nineteenth century, Victorian water management has evolved through a series of policy regime shifts. The main goal of this research to explore and identify the stages of the evolution of the water policy instruments as practiced in Victoria from 1890-2016. This comparative historical analysis has identified four stages in Victorian policy instrument development. In the first stage, the creation of policy instruments aimed to match the demand and supply of the resource (reserve condition). The second stage begins after natural system alone failed to balance supply and demand. The focus of the policy instrument shifted to an authority perspective in this stage. Later, the increasing number of actors interested in water led to another change in policy instrument. The third stage focused on the significant role of information from different relevant actors. The fourth and current stage is the most advanced, in that it involved the creation of a policy instrument for synergizing the previous three focal factors: reserve, authority, and information. When considering policy in other jurisdiction, these findings suggest that a key priority should be to reflect on the jurisdictions current position among these four evolutionary stages and try to make improve progressively rather than directly adopting approaches from elsewhere without understanding the current position.

Keywords: policy instrument, policy transformation, socio-ecolgical system, water management

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14613 Integrating Building Information Modeling into Facilities Management Operations

Authors: Mojtaba Valinejadshoubi, Azin Shakibabarough, Ashutosh Bagchi

Abstract:

Facilities such as residential buildings, office buildings, and hospitals house large density of occupants. Therefore, a low-cost facility management program (FMP) should be used to provide a satisfactory built environment for these occupants. Facility management (FM) has been recently used in building projects as a critical task. It has been effective in reducing operation and maintenance cost of these facilities. Issues of information integration and visualization capabilities are critical for reducing the complexity and cost of FM. Building information modeling (BIM) can be used as a strong visual modeling tool and database in FM. The main objective of this study is to examine the applicability of BIM in the FM process during a building’s operational phase. For this purpose, a seven-storey office building is modeled Autodesk Revit software. Authors integrated the cloud-based environment using a visual programming tool, Dynamo, for the purpose of having a real-time cloud-based communication between the facility managers and the participants involved in the project. An appropriate and effective integrated data source and visual model such as BIM can reduce a building’s operational and maintenance costs by managing the building life cycle properly.

Keywords: building information modeling, facility management, operational phase, building life cycle

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14612 Creation of Greenhouses by Students, Using the Own Installations of the University and Increasing the Growth of Plants

Authors: Espinosa-Garza G., Loera-Hernandez I., Antonyan N.

Abstract:

To innovate, it is necessary to perform projects directed towards the search of improvement. The agricultural technique and the design of greenhouses have been studied by undergraduate engineering students from the Tecnológico de Monterrey using the campus areas. The purpose of this project was to incite students to create innovations and help rural populations of the state to solve one of the problems that they are dealing with nowadays. The main objective of the project was to search for an alternative technique that will allow the planting of the “chile piquín” plant, also known as Capsicum annuum, to grow quicker as it germinates. The “chile piquín” is one of the original crops of Mexico and forms the basis of the Mesoamerican cultures’ diet since the pre-hispanic era. To fulfill with today’s demand, it is required to implement new alternative methods to increase the “chile piquín’s” growth. The project lasted one semester with the participation of engineering students from multiple majors. The most important results from this academic experience were that, from the proposed goal, the students could analyze the needs of their town and were capable of introducing new and innovative ideas with the aim of resolving them. In the present article the pedagogic methodologies that allowed to carry out this project will be discussed.

Keywords: academic experience, chile piquín, engineering education, greenhouse design, innovation

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14611 Fijian Women’s Role in Disaster Risk Management: Climate Change

Authors: Priyatma Singh, Manpreet Kaur

Abstract:

Climate change is progressively being identified as a global crisis and this has immediate repercussions for Fiji Islands due to its geographical location being prone to natural disasters. In the Pacific, it is common to find significant differences between men and women, in terms of their roles and responsibilities. In the pursuit of prudent preparedness before disasters, Fijian women’s engagement is constrained due to socially constructed roles and expectation of women here in Fiji. This vulnerability is aggravated by viewing women as victims, rather than as key people who have vital information of their society, economy, and environment, as well as useful skills, which, when recognized and used, can be effective in disaster risk reduction. The focus of this study on disaster management is to outline ways in which Fijian women can be actively engaged in disaster risk management, articulating in decision-making, negating the perceived ideology of women’s constricted roles in Fiji and unveiling social constraints that limit women’s access to practical disaster management strategic plan. This paper outlines the importance of gender mainstreaming in disaster risk reduction and the ways of mainstreaming gender based on a literature review. It analyses theoretical study of academic literature as well as papers and reports produced by various national and international institutions and explores ways to better inform and engage women for climate change per ser disaster management in Fiji. The empowerment of women is believed to be a critical element in constructing disaster resilience as women are often considered to be the designers of community resilience at the local level. Gender mainstreaming as a way of bringing a gender perspective into climate related disasters can be applied to distinguish the varying needs and capacities of women, and integrate them into climate change adaptation strategies. This study will advocate women articulation in disaster risk management, thus giving equal standing to females in Fiji and also identify the gaps and inform national and local Disaster Risk Management authorities to implement processes that enhance gender equality and women’s empowerment towards a more equitable and effective disaster practice.

Keywords: disaster risk management, climate change, gender mainstreaming, women empowerment

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14610 Ground Response Analysis at the Rukni Irrigation Project Site Located in Assam, India

Authors: Tauhidur Rahman, Kasturi Bhuyan

Abstract:

In the present paper, Ground Response Analysis at the Rukni irrigation project has been thoroughly investigated. Surface level seismic hazard is mainly used by the practical Engineers for designing the important structures. Surface level seismic hazard can be obtained accounting the soil factor. Structures on soft soil will show more ground shaking than the structure located on a hard soil. The Surface level ground motion depends on the type of soil. Density and shear wave velocity is different for different types of soil. The intensity of the soil amplification depends on the density and shear wave velocity of the soil. Rukni irrigation project is located in the North Eastern region of India, near the Dauki fault (550 Km length) which has already produced earthquakes of magnitude (Mw= 8.5) in the past. There is a probability of a similar type of earthquake occuring in the future. There are several faults also located around the project site. There are 765 recorded strong ground motion time histories available for the region. These data are used to determine the soil amplification factor by incorporation of the engineering properties of soil. With this in view, three of soil bore holes have been studied at the project site up to a depth of 30 m. It has been observed that in Soil bore hole 1, the shear wave velocity vary from 99.44 m/s to 239.28 m/s. For Soil Bore Hole No 2 and 3, shear wave velocity vary from 93.24 m/s to 241.39 m/s and 93.24m/s to 243.01 m/s. In the present work, surface level seismic hazard at the project site has been calculated based on the Probabilistic seismic hazard approach accounting the soil factor.

Keywords: Ground Response Analysis, shear wave velocity, soil amplification, surface level seismic hazard

Procedia PDF Downloads 539
14609 Managing Virtual Teams in a Pandemic

Authors: M. Jafari Toosy, A. Zamani

Abstract:

This article, considering the result of pandemics at the international level and all activities and projects performed virtually and the need for resource management and virtual teams in this period identifies the components of virtual management after searching the available resources. Exploration of virtual management in the pandemic era is explored in 10 international articles. The results of research with this method and according to the tasks and topics related to management knowledge and definition of virtual teams can be divided into topics such as planning, decision making, control, organization, leadership, attention to growth and capability, resources and facilities, Communication, creativity, innovation and security. In order to explain the nature of virtual management, a definition of virtual management was provided.

Keywords: management, virtual, virtual team management, pandemic, team

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14608 Transformative Leadership and Learning Management Systems Implementation: Leadership Practices in Instructional Design for Online Learning

Authors: Felix Brito

Abstract:

With the growth of online learning, several higher education institutions have attempted to incorporate technology in their curriculum. Successful technology implementation projects really on technology infrastructure and on the acceptance of education professionals towards innovation. This research study is aimed at illustrating the relevance of the human component in technology implementation projects in higher education by describing the Learning Management System implementation project executed by instructional designers working for a higher education institution in the southeast region of the United States. An analysis of the Transformative Leadership Theory, the Technology Acceptance Model, and the Diffusion of Innovation Process provide the support for a solid understanding of this issue and address recommendations for future technology implementation projects in higher education institutions.

Keywords: diffusion of innovation process, instructional design, leadership, learning management systems, online learning, technology acceptance model, transformative leadership theory

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14607 Educational Theatre Making Project: Prior Conditions

Authors: Larisa Akhmylovskaia, Andriana Barysh

Abstract:

The present paper is introducing the translation score developing methodology and methods in the cross-cultural communication. The ideas and examples presented by the authors illustrate the universal character of translation score developing methods under analysis. Personal experience in the international theatre-making projects, opera laboratories, cross-cultural master-classes give more opportunities to single out the conditions, forms, means and principles of translation score developing as well as the translator/interpreter’s functions as cultural liaison for multiethnic collaboration.

Keywords: methodology of translation score developing, pre-production, analysis, production, post-production, ethnic scene theory, theatre anthropology, laboratory, master-class, educational project, academic project, participant observation, super-objective

Procedia PDF Downloads 495
14606 Revolutionizing Higher Education: AI-Powered Gamification for Enhanced Learning

Authors: Gina L. Solano

Abstract:

This project endeavors to enhance learning experiences for undergraduate pre-service teachers and graduate K-12 educators by leveraging artificial intelligence (AI). Firstly, the initiative delves into integrating AI within undergraduate education courses, fostering traditional literacy skills essential for academic success and extending their applicability beyond the classroom. Education students will explore AI tools to design literacy-focused activities aligned with their curriculum. Secondly, the project investigates the utilization of AI to craft instructional materials employing gamification strategies (e.g., digital and classic games, badges, quests) to amplify student engagement and motivation in mastering course content. Lastly, it aims to create a professional repertoire that can be applied by pre-service and current teachers in P-12 classrooms, promoting seamless integration for those already in teaching positions. The project's impact extends to benefiting college students, including pre-service and graduate teachers, as they enhance literacy and digital skills through AI. It also benefits current P-12 educators who can integrate AI into their classrooms, fostering innovative teaching practices. Moreover, the project contributes to faculty development, allowing them to cultivate low-risk and engaging classroom environments, ultimately enriching the learning journey. The insights gained from this project can be shared within and beyond the discipline to advance the broader field of study.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, gamification, learning experiences, literacy skills, engagement

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14605 Impact of Exogenous Risk Factors into Actual Construction Price in PPP Projects

Authors: Saleh Alzahrani, Halim Boussabaine

Abstract:

Many of Public Private Partnership (PPP) are developed based on a public project is to be awarded to a private party within a one contractual framework. PPP project risks typically include the development and construction of a new asset as well as its operation. Certainly the most severe consequences of risks through the construction period are price and time overruns. These events are among the most generally used situation in value for money analysis risks. The sources of risk change during the time in PPP project. In traditional procurement, the public sector usually has to cover all prices suffering from these risks. At least there is plenty to suggest that price suffering is a norm in some of the projects that are delivered under traditional procurement. This paper will find the impact of exogenous risk factors into actual construction price into PPP projects. The paper will present a brief literature review on PPP risk pricing strategies and then using system dynamics (SD) to analyses of the risks associated with the estimated project price. Based on the finding from these analyses a risk pricing association model is presented and discussed. The paper concludes with thoughts for future research.

Keywords: public private partnership (PPP), risk, risk pricing, system dynamics (SD)

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14604 Strategies Employed to Enhance Floriculture Production for Masvingo City Residents’ Livelihood Improvement

Authors: Jotham Mazhura

Abstract:

Floriculture production is an ideal project for sustainable horticultural production in Masvingo city.Gender links in collaboration with the embasy of Sweedenare supporting the floriculture project with the aim of improving residents livelihoods in the city.World trade in floriculture such as cut flowers,live ornamental plants and foliage continue to increase and there are recognised markets opportunities across the globe.Some specific opportunitiesin an interview discussion by the consultant appointed by gender links and embasy of Sweeden highlightedsome constraints and opportunities in the project of floriculture in Masvingo city.Based on the outcome of the scoping studies this research project developed and evaluated strategies for enhancing floriculture production in Masvingo city. A survey was therefore carried out by the researcher among the existing florists farmers in the city to determine strategies to be employed to improve floriculture production.The survey was conducted to twenty florists in the city.The sample was taken by using purposive sampling which is a sampling technique based on the certain considerations, hence there were some basic creteria in selecting samples. A questionnaire in this aspect was administered to the 20 florists to determine the essential strategies to be employed to enhance floriculture production.Each respondent was given data for the business strategies and asked to rank those strategies from the most to the least important.From the research findings the following were revealed out by the respondents that is capturing marketshare,establishment of of ownership of the project,the project manager to be innovative,the business should gain competitive strategic through generic strategies market development strategy and product development strategy. Based on the observation and structured interview with respondents the average of floriculture owners had similar strategies implemented on their business.The research proved that floriculture farmers use various strategies to keep their businesses running and succeding in achieving set goals.Therefore the ressearche who happens to be the project focal person became certain that it is edeal to emply a variety of of strategies to improve floriculture oproduction

Keywords: florist, floriculture, strategy, livelihoods

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14603 Impact of Climate Shift on Rainfall and Temperature Trend in Eastern Ganga Canal Command

Authors: Radha Krishan, Deepak Khare, Bhaskar R. Nikam, Ayush Chandrakar

Abstract:

Every irrigation project is planned considering long-term historical climatic conditions; however, the prompt climatic shift and change has come out with such circumstances which were inconceivable in the past. Considering this fact, scrutiny of rainfall and temperature trend has been carried out over the command area of Eastern Ganga Canal project for pre-climate shift period and post-climate shift periods in the present study. Non-parametric Mann-Kendall and Sen’s methods have been applied to study the trends in annual rainfall, seasonal rainfall, annual rainy day, monsoonal rainy days, average annual temperature and seasonal temperature. The results showed decreasing trend of 48.11 to 42.17 mm/decade in annual rainfall and 79.78 tSo 49.67 mm/decade in monsoon rainfall in pre-climate to post-climate shift periods, respectively. The decreasing trend of 1 to 4 days/decade has been observed in annual rainy days from pre-climate to post-climate shift period. Trends in temperature revealed that there were significant decreasing trends in annual (-0.03 ºC/yr), Kharif (-0.02 ºC/yr), Rabi (-0.04 ºC/yr) and summer (-0.02 ºC/yr) season temperature during pre-climate shift period, whereas the significant increasing trend (0.02 ºC/yr) has been observed in all the four parameters during post climate shift period. These results will help project managers in understanding the climate shift and lead them to develop alternative water management strategies.

Keywords: climate shift, rainfall trend, temperature trend, Mann-Kendall test, sen slope estimator, eastern Ganga canal command

Procedia PDF Downloads 122
14602 The Emergence of Cold War Heritage: United Kingdom Cold War Bunkers and Sites

Authors: Peter Robinson, Milka Ivanova

Abstract:

Despite the growing interest in the Cold War period and heritage, little attention has been paid to the presentation and curatorship of Cold War heritage in eastern or western Europe. In 2021 Leeds Beckett University secured a British Academy Grant to explore visitor experiences, curatorship, emotion, and memory at Cold War-related tourist sites, comparing the perspectives of eastern and western European sites through research carried out in the UK and Bulgaria. The research explores the themes of curatorship, experience, and memory. Many of the sites included in the research in the UK-based part of the project are nuclear bunkers that have been decommissioned and are now open to visitors. The focus of this conference abstract is one of several perspectives drawn from a British Academy Grant-funded project exploring curatorship, visitor experience and nostalgia and memory in former cold war spaces in the UK, bringing together critical comparisons between western and eastern European sites. The project identifies specifically the challenges of ownership, preservation and presentation and discusses the challenges facing those who own, manage, and provide access to cold war museums and sites. The research is underpinned by contested issues of authenticity and ownership, discussing narrative accounts of those involved in caring for and managing these sites. The research project draws from interviews with key stakeholders, site observations, visitor surveys, and content analysis of Trip advisor posts. Key insights from the project include the external challenges owners and managers face from a lack of recognition of and funding for important Cold War sites in the UK that are at odds with interest shown in cold war sites by visitors to Cold War structures and landmarks. The challenges center on the lack of consistent approaches toward cold war heritage conservation, management, and ownership, lack of curatorial expertise and over-reliance on no-expert interpretation and presentation of heritage, the effect of the passage of time on personal connections to cold war heritage sites, the dissipating technological knowledge base, the challenging structure that does not lend themselves easily as visitor attractions or museums, the questionable authenticity of artifacts, the limited archival material, and quite often limited budgets. A particularly interesting insight focusing on nuclear bunkers has been on the difficulties in site reinterpretation because of the impossibility of fully exploring the enormity of nuclear war as a consistent threat of the Cold War. Further insights from the research highlight the secrecy of many of the sites as a key marketing strategy, particularly in relation to the nuclear bunker sites included in the project.

Keywords: cold war, curatorship, heritage, nuclear bunkers.

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14601 Assessing Indicators, Challenges and Benefits of Sustainable Procurement in Construction Projects

Authors: Taha Anjamrooz, Sareh Rajabi, Salwa Bheiry

Abstract:

Procurement is a key process in construction project management. The present construction procurement practices have been extensively analyzed for disregarding sustainability in the project life cycle. Currently, there is a gap of information on status-quo of sustainable procurement in construction field. Thus, the aim of this study is to review sustainable procurement practices in the construction field. Disregard of three sustainability pillars is one of the major drawbacks of present construction procurement practices. Sustainable procurement is a developing idea that can enhance procurement practices and improve the sustainability performance of the construction projects. At present, sustainable procurement is still not entirely used in the construction projects. A comprehensive literature review indicated that the construction industry is still not entirely informed about the benefits and challenges of using sustainable procurement, and about important indicators that play major impacts on those benefits and challenges. This study assesses the major indicator, benefits and challenges encountered in applying sustainable procurement in the construction industry. In addition, this study investigates understanding of construction professionals on the benefits and challenges of utilizing sustainable procurement for construction projects through selected indicators that are categorized according to society and community needs.

Keywords: sustainability, sustainable development, sustainable procurement, procurement, construction industry

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14600 A Protocol Study of Accessibility: Physician’s Perspective Regarding Disability and Continuum of Care

Authors: Sidra Jawed

Abstract:

The accessibility constructs and the body privilege discourse has been a major problem while dealing with health inequities and inaccessibility. The inherent problem in this arbitrary view of disability is that disability would never be the productive way of living. For past thirty years, disability activists have been working to differentiate ‘impairment’ from ‘disability’ and probing for more understanding of limitation imposed by society, this notion is ultimately known as the Social Model of Disability. The vulnerable population as disability community remains marginalized and seen relentlessly fighting to highlight the importance of social factors. It does not only constitute physical architectural barriers and famous blue symbol of access to the healthcare but also invisible, intangible barriers as attitudes and behaviours. Conventionally the idea of ‘disability’ has been laden with prejudiced perception amalgamating with biased attitude. Equity in contemporary setup necessitates the restructuring of organizational structure. Apparently simple, the complex interplay of disability and contemporary healthcare set up often ends up at negotiating vital components of basic healthcare needs. The role of society is indispensable when it comes to people with disability (PWD), everything from the access to healthcare to timely interventions are strongly related to the set up in place and the attitude of healthcare providers. It is vital to understand the association between assumptions and the quality of healthcare PWD receives in our global healthcare setup. Most of time the crucial physician-patient relationship with PWD is governed by the negative assumptions of the physicians. The multifaceted, troubled patient-physicians’ relationship has been neglected in past. To compound it, insufficient work has been done to explore physicians’ perspective about the disability and access to healthcare PWD have currently. This research project is directed towards physicians’ perspective on the intersection of health and access of healthcare for PWD. The principal aim of the study is to explore the perception of disability in family medicine physicians, highlighting the underpinning of medical perspective in healthcare institution. In the quest of removing barriers, the first step must be to identify the barriers and formulate a plan for future policies, involving all the stakeholders. There would be semi-structured interviews to explore themes as accessibility, medical training, construct of social model and medical model of disability, time limitations, financial constraints. The main research interest is to identify the obstacles to inclusion and marginalization continuing from the basic living necessities to wide health inequity in present society. Physicians point of view is largely missing from the research landscape and the current forum of knowledge with regards to physicians’ standpoint. This research will provide policy makers with a starting point and comprehensive background knowledge that can be a stepping stone for future researches and furthering the knowledge translation process to strengthen healthcare. Additionally, it would facilitate the process of knowledge translation between the much needed medical and disability community.

Keywords: disability, physicians, social model, accessibility

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14599 Alumni Experiences of How Their Undergraduate Medical Education Instilled and Fostered a Commitment to Community-Based Work in Later Life: A Sequential Exploratory Mixed-Methods Study

Authors: Harini Aiyer, Kalyani Premkumar

Abstract:

Health professionals are the key players who can help achieve the goals of population health equity. Social accountability (SA) of health professionals emphasizes their role in addressing issues of equity in the population they serve. Therefore, health professional education must focus on instilling SA in health professionals. There is limited literature offering a longitudinal perspective of how students sustain the practice of SA in later life. This project aims to identify the drivers of social accountability among physicians. This study employed an exploratory mixed methods design (QUAL-> Quant) to explore alumni perceptions and experiences. The qualitative data, collected via 20 in-depth, semi-structured interviews, provided an understanding of the perceptions of the alumni regarding the influence of their undergraduate learning environment on their SA. This was followed by a quantitative portion -a questionnaire designed from the themes identified from the qualitative data. Emerging themes from the study highlighted community-centered education and a focus on social and preventative medicine in both curricular and non-curricular facilitators of SA among physicians. Curricular components included opportunities to engage with the community, such as roadside clinics, community-orientation programs, and postings at a secondary hospital. Other facilitators that emerged were the faculty leading by example, a subsidized fee structure, and a system that prepared students for practice in rural and remote areas. The study offers a fresh perspective and dimension on how SA is addressed by medical schools. The findings may be adapted by medical schools to understand how their own SA initiatives have been sustained among physicians over the long run.

Keywords: community-based work, global health, health education, medical education, providing health in remote areas, social accountability

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14598 Implementing a Hospitalist Co-Management Service in Orthopaedic Surgery

Authors: Diane Ghanem, Whitney Kagabo, Rebecca Engels, Uma Srikumaran, Babar Shafiq

Abstract:

Hospitalist co-management of orthopaedic surgery patients is a growing trend across the country. It was created as a collaborative effort to provide overarching care to patients with the goal of improving their postoperative care and decreasing in-hospital medical complications. The aim of this project is to provide a guide for implementing and optimizing a hospitalist co-management service in orthopaedic surgery. Key leaders from the hospitalist team, orthopaedic team and quality, safety and service team were identified. Multiple meetings were convened to discuss the comanagement service and determine the necessary building blocks behind an efficient and well-designed co-management framework. After meticulous deliberation, a consensus was reached on the final service agreement and a written guide was drafted. Fundamental features of the service include the identification of service stakeholders and leaders, frequent consensus meetings, a well-defined framework, with goals, program metrics and unified commands, and a regular satisfaction assessment to update and improve the program. Identified pearls for co-managing orthopaedic surgery patients are standardization, timing, adequate patient selection, and two-way feedback between hospitalists and orthopaedic surgeons to optimize the protocols. Developing a service agreement is a constant work in progress, with meetings, discussions, revisions, and multiple piloting attempts before implementation. It is a partnership created to provide hospitals with a streamlined admission process where at-risk patients are identified early, and patient care is optimized regardless of the number or nature of medical comorbidities. A wellestablished hospitalist co-management service can increase patient care quality and safety, as well as health care value.

Keywords: co-management, hospitalist co-management, implementation, orthopaedic surgery, quality improvement

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14597 Defining Methodology for Multi Model Software Process Improvement Framework

Authors: Aedah Abd Rahman

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

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

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14596 Fiduciary in Theory and Practice: The Perspective of the Allodial Rights Holders of Customary Land in Ghana

Authors: Kwasi Sarfo, Bernard Okoampah Otu

Abstract:

The 1992 constitution of the Republic of Ghana recognises the authority and roles of traditional leaders and considers them as being entrusted with fiduciary responsibility over land in their respective territories. The new land act, Act 1036 of 2020, in buttressing the fiduciary role of traditional leaders in land matters, inserted the traditional leaders’ accountability clause. Many traditional leaders have expressed their misgivings about the insertion of this clause. Therefore, there appears to be a misunderstanding of the concept of fiduciary in land management in Ghana. The objective of this study is to examine the concept of fiduciary in respect of allodial rights holders in land management and administration and how this concept is perceived and applied by traditional leaders. The study seeks to provide insights into the discrepancy between fiduciary theory and its practical implementation in Ghana. The study is based on a qualitative empirical research approach and adopts in-depth interviews as a primary method of data collection. The study also adopts the theory of New Institutionalism of social anthropology in analysing and interpreting the findings. The data for this study was collected over a period of one year, from July 2022 to July 2023, as part of one of the author's PhD dissertation. The collected data were carefully analysed using the principles of thematic analysis, identifying key themes and patterns. This study does not seek to pursue the discussions from a legal standpoint but from a social anthropological perspective and argues that the concept of fiduciary in theory is far different from what pertains in practice and that traditional leaders’ assumptions and application of this concept contribute to the alienation of customary and communal land at the expense of their subjects. This study deepens our understanding of the continuous expropriation of communal landholders in many rural communities in Africa in the era of global land grabbing, which worsens their poverty levels. It also explains further the theory of new institutionalism of social anthropology by highlighting how the theory manifests in practice in the case of Ghana.

Keywords: fiduciary, customary land tenure, allodial rights, land alienation, communal land, Ghana

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14595 The Acceptance of E-Assessment Considering Security Perspective: Work in Progress

Authors: Kavitha Thamadharan, Nurazean Maarop

Abstract:

The implementation of e-assessment as tool to support the process of teaching and learning in university has become a popular technological means in universities. E-Assessment provides many advantages to the users especially the flexibility in teaching and learning. The e-assessment system has the capability to improve its quality of delivering education. However, there still exists a drawback in terms of security which limits the user acceptance of the online learning system. Even though there are studies providing solutions for identified security threats in e-learning usage, there is no particular model which addresses the factors that influences the acceptance of e-assessment system by lecturers from security perspective. The aim of this study is to explore security aspects of e-assessment in regard to the acceptance of the technology. As a result a conceptual model of secure acceptance of e-assessment is proposed. Both human and security factors are considered in formulation of this conceptual model. In order to increase understanding of critical issues related to the subject of this study, interpretive approach involving convergent mixed method research method is proposed to be used to execute the research. This study will be useful in providing more insightful understanding regarding the factors that influence the user acceptance of e-assessment system from security perspective.

Keywords: secure technology acceptance, e-assessment security, e-assessment, education technology

Procedia PDF Downloads 444
14594 A Cloud-Based Federated Identity Management in Europe

Authors: Jesus Carretero, Mario Vasile, Guillermo Izquierdo, Javier Garcia-Blas

Abstract:

Currently, there is a so called ‘identity crisis’ in cybersecurity caused by the substantial security, privacy and usability shortcomings encountered in existing systems for identity management. Federated Identity Management (FIM) could be solution for this crisis, as it is a method that facilitates management of identity processes and policies among collaborating entities without enforcing a global consistency, that is difficult to achieve when there are ID legacy systems. To cope with this problem, the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) initiative proposed in 2014 a federated solution in anticipation of the adoption of the Regulation (EU) N°910/2014, the so-called eIDAS Regulation. At present, a network of eIDAS Nodes is being deployed at European level to allow that every citizen recognized by a member state is to be recognized within the trust network at European level, enabling the consumption of services in other member states that, until now were not allowed, or whose concession was tedious. This is a very ambitious approach, since it tends to enable cross-border authentication of Member States citizens without the need to unify the authentication method (eID Scheme) of the member state in question. However, this federation is currently managed by member states and it is initially applied only to citizens and public organizations. The goal of this paper is to present the results of a European Project, named eID@Cloud, that focuses on the integration of eID in 5 cloud platforms belonging to authentication service providers of different EU Member States to act as Service Providers (SP) for private entities. We propose an initiative based on a private eID Scheme both for natural and legal persons. The methodology followed in the eID@Cloud project is that each Identity Provider (IdP) is subscribed to an eIDAS Node Connector, requesting for authentication, that is subscribed to an eIDAS Node Proxy Service, issuing authentication assertions. To cope with high loads, load balancing is supported in the eIDAS Node. The eID@Cloud project is still going on, but we already have some important outcomes. First, we have deployed the federation identity nodes and tested it from the security and performance point of view. The pilot prototype has shown the feasibility of deploying this kind of systems, ensuring good performance due to the replication of the eIDAS nodes and the load balance mechanism. Second, our solution avoids the propagation of identity data out of the native domain of the user or entity being identified, which avoids problems well known in cybersecurity due to network interception, man in the middle attack, etc. Last, but not least, this system allows to connect any country or collectivity easily, providing incremental development of the network and avoiding difficult political negotiations to agree on a single authentication format (which would be a major stopper).

Keywords: cybersecurity, identity federation, trust, user authentication

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14593 Arboretum: Community Mixed Reality Nature Environment

Authors: Radek Richtr, Petr Paus

Abstract:

The connection to the primal environment, living and growing nature is disappearing for most of the residents in urban core areas nowadays. Most of the residents perceive scattered green mass like more technical objects than sentient living organisms. The Arboretum is a type of application from the 'serious games' genre -it is a research experiment masked as a gaming environment. In used virtual and augmented reality environments, every city district is represented by central objects; Pillars created as a result of resident’s consensus. Every player can furthermore plant and grow virtual organic seeds everywhere he wants. Seeds sprout, and their form is determined by both players’ choice and nearest pillar. Every house, private rooms, and even workspace get their new living virtual avatar-connected 'residents' growing from player-planted seeds. Every room or workspace is transformed into (calming) nature scene, reflecting in some way both players and community spirit and together create a vicinity environment. The conceptual design phase of the project is crucial and allows for the identification of the fundamental problems through abstraction. The project that centers on wide community usage needs a clear and accessible interface. Simultaneously the conceptual design allows early sharing of project ideas and creating public concern. The paper discusses the current conceptual model of an Arboretum project (which is part of a whole widespread project) and its validation.

Keywords: augmented reality, conceptual design, mixed reality, social engineering

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14592 The Water-Way Route Management for Cultural Tourism Promotion at Angsila District: Challenge and Opportunity

Authors: Teera Intararuang

Abstract:

The purpose of this research is to study on the challenge and opportunity for waterway route management for promoting cultural tourism in Angsila District, Chonburi Province. To accomplish the goals and objectives, qualitative research will be applied. The research instruments used are observation, basic interviews, in-depth interviews, and interview key local performance. The study also uses both primary data and secondary data. From research result, it is revealed that all respondents had appreciated and strongly agree to promote their waterway route tourism as an intend for further increase for their income. However, it has some challenges to success this project due to natural obstacles such as water level, seasons and high temperature. Moreover, they lack financial support from government sectors also.

Keywords: Angsila community, waterway tourism route, cultural tourism, way of life

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14591 Children's Literature with Mathematical Dialogue for Teaching Mathematics at Elementary Level: An Exploratory First Phase about Students’ Difficulties and Teachers’ Needs in Third and Fourth Grade

Authors: Goulet Marie-Pier, Voyer Dominic, Simoneau Victoria

Abstract:

In a previous research project (2011-2019) funded by the Quebec Ministry of Education, an educational approach was developed based on the teaching and learning of place value through children's literature. Subsequently, the effect of this approach on the conceptual understanding of the concept among first graders (6-7 years old) was studied. The current project aims to create a series of children's literature to help older elementary school students (8-10 years old) in developing a conceptual understanding of complex mathematical concepts taught at their grade level rather than a more typical procedural understanding. Knowing that there are no educational material or children's books that exist to achieve our goals, four stories, accompanied by mathematical activities, will be created to support students, and their teachers, in the learning and teaching of mathematical concepts that can be challenging within their mathematic curriculum. The stories will also introduce a mathematical dialogue into the characters' discourse with the aim to address various mathematical foundations for which there are often erroneous statements among students and occasionally among teachers. In other words, the stories aim to empower students seeking a real understanding of difficult mathematical concepts, as well as teachers seeking a way to teach these difficult concepts in a way that goes beyond memorizing rules and procedures. In order to choose the concepts that will be part of the stories, it is essential to understand the current landscape regarding the main difficulties experienced by students in third and fourth grade (8-10 years old) and their teacher’s needs. From this perspective, the preliminary phase of the study, as discussed in the presentation, will provide critical insight into the mathematical concepts with which the target grade levels struggle the most. From this data, the research team will select the concepts and develop their stories in the second phase of the study. Two questions are preliminary to the implementation of our approach, namely (1) what mathematical concepts are considered the most “difficult to teach” by teachers in the third and fourth grades? and (2) according to teachers, what are the main difficulties encountered by their students in numeracy? Self-administered online questionnaires using the SimpleSondage software will be sent to all third and fourth-grade teachers in nine school service centers in the Quebec region, representing approximately 300 schools. The data that will be collected in the fall of 2022 will be used to compare the difficulties identified by the teachers with those prevalent in the scientific literature. Considering that this ensures consistency between the proposed approach and the true needs of the educational community, this preliminary phase is essential to the relevance of the rest of the project. It is also an essential first step in achieving the two ultimate goals of the research project, improving the learning of elementary school students in numeracy, and contributing to the professional development of elementary school teachers.

Keywords: children’s literature, conceptual understanding, elementary school, learning and teaching, mathematics

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14590 Innovation Management: A Comparative Analysis among Organizations from United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Brazil and China

Authors: Asmaa Abazaid, Maram Al-Ostah, Nadeen Abu-Zahra, Ruba Bawab, Refaat Abdel-Razek

Abstract:

Innovation audit is defined as a tool that can be used to reflect on how the innovation is managed in an organization. The aim of this study is to audit innovation in the second top Engineering Firms in the world, and one of the Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) companies that are working in United Arab Emirates (UAE). The obtained results are then compared with four international companies from China and Brazil. The Diamond model has been used for auditing innovation in the two companies in UAE to evaluate their innovation management and to identify each company’s strengths and weaknesses from an innovation perspective. The results of the comparison between the two companies (Jacobs and Hyper General Contracting) revealed that Jacobs has support for innovation, its innovation processes are well managed, the company is committed to the development of its employees worldwide and the innovation system is flexible. Jacobs was doing best in all innovation management dimensions: strategy, process, organization, linkages and learning, while Hyper General Contracting did not score as Jacobs in any of the innovation dimensions. Furthermore, the audit results of both companies were compared with international companies to examine how well the two construction companies in UAE manage innovation relative to SABIC (Saudi company), Poly Easy and Arnious (Brazilian companies), Huagong tools and Guizohou Yibai (Chinese companies). The results revealed that Jacobs is doing best in learning and organization dimensions, while PolyEasy and Jacobs are equal in the linkage dimension. Huagong Tools scored the highest score in process dimension among all the compared companies. However, the highest score of strategy dimension was given to PolyEasy. On the other hand, Hyper General Contracting scored the lowest in all of the innovation management dimensions. It needs to improve its management of all the innovation management dimensions with special attention to be given to strategy, process, and linkage as they got scores below 4 out of 7 comparing with other dimensions. Jacobs scored the highest in three innovation management dimensions related to the six companies. However, the strategy dimension is considered low, and special attention is needed in this dimension.

Keywords: Brazil, China, innovation audit, innovation evaluation, innovation management, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates

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14589 IT Perspective of Service-Oriented e-Government Enterprise

Authors: Anu Paul, Varghese Paul

Abstract:

The focal aspire of e-Government (eGovt) is to offer citizen-centered service delivery. Accordingly, the citizenry consumes services from multiple government agencies through national portal. Thus, eGovt is an enterprise with the primary business motive of transparent, efficient and effective public services to its citizenry and its logical structure is the eGovernment Enterprise Architecture (eGEA). Since eGovt is IT oriented multifaceted service-centric system, EA doesn’t do much on an automated enterprise other than the business artifacts. Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) manifestation led some governments to pertain this in their eGovts, but it limits the source of business artifacts. The concurrent use of EA and SOA in eGovt executes interoperability and integration and leads to Service-Oriented e-Government Enterprise (SOeGE). Consequently, agile eGovt system becomes a reality. As an IT perspective eGovt comprises of centralized public service artifacts with the existing application logics belong to various departments at central, state and local level. The eGovt is renovating to SOeGE by apply the Service-Orientation (SO) principles in the entire system. This paper explores IT perspective of SOeGE in India which encompasses the public service models and illustrated with a case study the Passport service of India.

Keywords: enterprise architecture, service-oriented e-Government enterprise, service interface layer, service model

Procedia PDF Downloads 499
14588 Optimization of the Rain Harvest Using Multi-Purpose Valley Tanks

Authors: Ahmad Hashad

Abstract:

Valley tanks are a kind of rain harvest which is used as ground water storage to overcome drought seasons in some countries. This research displays the rain harvest evolution and introduces some ideas to develop the valley tanks to be more than water storage. These ideas developed the current valley tanks design to become an integrated renaissance project. The suggested design has some changes making it different than the traditional design of valley tanks. These changes allow for the new design to be more flexible for adding additional capacity, water purification units and water pumping units. The suggested valley tanks project will be designed based on studying the rainfall and evaporation rates, as well as land topography and designed agricultural map linked to seasons of rain and drought.

Keywords: valley tanks, rain harvest, volatile nature, integrated renaissance project

Procedia PDF Downloads 232
14587 Implementing Activity-Based Costing in Architectural Aluminum Projects: Case Study and Lessons Learned

Authors: Amer Momani, Tarek Al-Hawari, Abdallah Alakayleh

Abstract:

This study explains how to construct an actionable activity-based costing and management system to accurately track and account the total costs of architectural aluminum projects. Two ABC models were proposed to accomplish this purpose. First, the learning and development model was introduced to examine how to apply an ABC model in an architectural aluminum firm for the first time and to be familiar with ABC concepts. Second, an actual ABC model was built on the basis of the results of the previous model to accurately trace the actual costs incurred on each project in a year, and to be able to provide a quote with the best trade-off between competitiveness and profitability. The validity of the proposed model was verified on a local architectural aluminum company.

Keywords: activity-based costing, activity-based management, construction, architectural aluminum

Procedia PDF Downloads 74