Search results for: project managers underutilization

Authors: R. Barros, J. Azevedo, P. Padrão, M. Gregório, I. Pádua, C. Almeida, C. Rodrigues, P. Fontes, A. Coelho

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Recent evidence shows a positive association between nutritional literacy and healthy eating. Traditional nutrition education strategies for childhood obesity prevention have shown weak effect. The Nutriscience project aims to create and evaluate an innovative and multidisciplinary strategy for promoting effective and accessible nutritional information to children, their families, and educators. Nutriscience is a one-year prospective follow-up evaluation study including pre-school children (3-5 y), who attend national schools’ network (29). The project is structured around a web-based intervention, using an on-line interactive platform, and focus on increasing fruit and vegetable consumption, and reducing sugar and salt intake. The platform acts as a social network where educational materials, games, and nutritional challenges are proposed in a gamification approach that promotes family and community social ties. A nutrition Massive Online Open Course is developed for educators, and a national healthy culinary contest will be promoted on TV channel. A parental self-reported questionnaire assessing sociodemographic and nutritional literacy (knowledge, attitudes, skills) is administered (baseline and end of the intervention). We expect that results on nutritional literacy from the presented strategy intervention will give us important information about the best practices for health intervention with kindergarten families. This intervention program using a digital interactive platform could be an educational tool easily adapted and disseminated for childhood obesity prevention.

Keywords: childhood obesity, educational tool, nutritional literacy, web-based intervention

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Authors: Vaidehi Murarka, Sneha Mehta, Dishant Upadhyay

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Our project topic is “Alphabet Recognition using pixel probability distribution”. The project uses techniques of Image Processing and Machine Learning in Computer Vision. Alphabet recognition is the mechanical or electronic translation of scanned images of handwritten, typewritten or printed text into machine-encoded text. It is widely used to convert books and documents into electronic files etc. Alphabet Recognition based OCR application is sometimes used in signature recognition which is used in bank and other high security buildings. One of the popular mobile applications includes reading a visiting card and directly storing it to the contacts. OCR's are known to be used in radar systems for reading speeders license plates and lots of other things. The implementation of our project has been done using Visual Studio and Open CV (Open Source Computer Vision). Our algorithm is based on Neural Networks (machine learning). The project was implemented in three modules: (1) Training: This module aims “Database Generation”. Database was generated using two methods: (a) Run-time generation included database generation at compilation time using inbuilt fonts of OpenCV library. Human intervention is not necessary for generating this database. (b) Contour–detection: ‘jpeg’ template containing different fonts of an alphabet is converted to the weighted matrix using specialized functions (contour detection and blob detection) of OpenCV. The main advantage of this type of database generation is that the algorithm becomes self-learning and the final database requires little memory to be stored (119kb precisely). (2) Preprocessing: Input image is pre-processed using image processing concepts such as adaptive thresholding, binarizing, dilating etc. and is made ready for segmentation. “Segmentation” includes extraction of lines, words, and letters from the processed text image. (3) Testing and prediction: The extracted letters are classified and predicted using the neural networks algorithm. The algorithm recognizes an alphabet based on certain mathematical parameters calculated using the database and weight matrix of the segmented image.

Keywords: contour-detection, neural networks, pre-processing, recognition coefficient, runtime-template generation, segmentation, weight matrix

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Authors: Alan Walsh, Peter Walker, Michael Ellis

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There is a real danger that both practitioners and researchers considering risks associated with megaprojects ignore or underestimate the impacts of cultural risk. The paper investigates the potential impacts of a failure to achieve cultural unity between the principal actors executing a megaproject. The principle relationships include the relationships between the principle Contractors and the project stakeholders or the project stakeholders and their principle advisors, Western Consultants. This study confirms that cultural dissonance between these parties can delay or disrupt the megaproject execution and examines why cultural issues should be prioritized as a significant risk factor in megaproject delivery. This paper addresses the practical impacts and potential mitigation measures, which may reduce cultural dissonance for a megaproject's delivery. This information is retrieved from on-going case studies in live infrastructure megaprojects in Europe and the Middle East's GCC states, from Western Consultants' perspective. The collaborating researchers each have at least 30 years of construction experience and are engaged in architecture, project management and contracts management, dealing with megaprojects in Europe or the GCC. After examining the cultural interfaces they have observed during the execution of megaprojects, they conclude that globally, culture significantly influences their efficient delivery. The study finds that cultural risk is ever-present, where different nationalities co-manage megaprojects and that cultural conflict poses a real threat to the timely delivery of megaprojects. The study indicates that the higher the cultural distance between the principal actors, the more pronounced the risk, with the risk of cultural dissonance more prominent in GCC megaprojects. The findings support a more culturally aware and cohesive team approach and recommend cross-cultural training to mitigate the effects of cultural disparity.

Keywords: cultural risk underestimation, cultural distance, megaproject characteristics, megaproject execution

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Authors: Eileen Y. Wong, Katherine Jin, Anat Talmon

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Background: Help seeking behaviors are highly contingent on socio-cultural factors such as ethnicity. Both Latino and Asian Americans underutilize mental health services compared to their White American counterparts. This difference may be related to the composite of one’s social support system, which includes family cohesion and social networks. Previous studies have found that Latino families are characterized by higher levels of family cohesion and social support, and Asian American families with greater family cohesion exhibit lower levels of help seeking behaviors. While both are broadly considered collectivist communities, within-culture variability is also significant. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the relationship between help seeking behaviors in the two cultures with levels of family cohesion and strength of social network. We also consider such relationships in light of previous traumatic events and diagnoses, particularly post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), to understand whether clinically diagnosed individuals differ in their strength of network and help seeking behaviors. Method: An adult sample (N = 2,990) from the National Latino and Asian American Study (NLAAS) provided data on participants’ social network, family cohesion, likelihood of seeking professional help, and DSM-IV diagnoses. T-tests compared Latino American (n = 1,576) and Asian American respondents (n = 1,414) in strength of social network, level of family cohesion, and likelihood of seeking professional help. Linear regression models were used to identify the probability of help-seeking behavior based on ethnicity, PTSD diagnosis, and strength of social network. Results: Help-seeking behavior was significantly associated with family cohesion and strength of social network. It was found that higher frequency of expressing one’s feelings with family significantly predicted lower levels of help-seeking behaviors (β = [-.072], p = .017), while higher frequency of spending free time with family significantly predicted higher levels of help-seeking behaviors (β = [.129], p = .002) in the Asian American sample. Subjective importance of family relations compared to that of one’s peers also significantly predict higher levels of help-seeking behaviors (β = [.095], p = .011) in the Asian American sample. Frequency of sharing one’s problems with relatives significantly predicted higher levels of help-seeking behaviors (β = [.113], p < .01) in the Latino American sample. A PTSD diagnosis did not have any significant moderating effect. Conclusion: Considering the underutilization of mental health services in Latino and Asian American minority groups, it is crucial to understand ways in which help seeking behavior can be encouraged. Our findings suggest that different dimensions within family cohesion and social networks have differential impacts on help-seeking behavior. Given the multifaceted nature of family cohesion and cultural relevance, the implications of our findings for theory and practice will be discussed.

Keywords: family cohesion, social networks, Asian American, Latino American, help-seeking behavior

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Authors: E. Maistrou, P. Themelis, D. Kosmopoulos, K. Boulougoura, A. M. Konidi, K. Moretti

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InterArch is an ongoing research project that is running since September 2020 and aims to propose a digital application for the enhancement of the cultural landscape, which emphasizes the contribution of physical space and time in digital data organization. The research case study refers to Ancient Messene in the Peloponnese, one of the most important archaeological sites in Greece. The project integrates an interactive approach to the natural environment, aiming at a manifold sensory experience. It combines the physical space of the archaeological site with the digital space of archaeological and cultural data while, at the same time, it embraces storytelling processes by engaging an interdisciplinary approach that familiarizes the user to multiple semantic interpretations. The research project is co‐financed by the European Union and Greek national funds, through the Operational Program Competitiveness, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation, under the call RESEARCH - CREATE – INNOVATE (project code: Τ2ΕΔΚ-01659). It involves mutual collaboration between academic and cultural institutions and the contribution of an IT applications development company. New technologies and the integration of digital data enable the implementation of non‐linear narratives related to the representational characteristics of the art of collage. Various images (photographs, drawings, etc.) and sounds (narrations, music, soundscapes, audio signs, etc.) could be presented according to our proposal through new semiotics of augmented and virtual reality technologies applied in touch screens and smartphones. Despite the fragmentation of tangible or intangible references, material landscape formations, including archaeological remains, constitute the common ground that can inspire cultural narratives in a process that unfolds personal perceptions and collective imaginaries. It is in this context that cultural landscape may be considered an indication of space and historical continuity. It is in this context that history could emerge, according to our proposal, not solely as a previous inscription but also as an actual happening. As a rhythm of occurrences suggesting mnemonic references and, moreover, evolving history projected on the contemporary ongoing cultural landscape.

Keywords: cultural heritage, digital data, landscape, archaeological sites, visitors’ itineraries

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Authors: Juan Manuel Macia

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The Montreal Port Authority (MPA) wanted to build a new road link via Souligny Avenue to increase the fluidity of goods transported by truck in the Viau Street area of Montreal and to mitigate the current traffic problems on Notre-Dame Street. With the purpose of having a better integration and acceptance of this project with the neighboring residential surroundings, this project needed to include an architectural integration, bringing some artistic components to the bridge design along with some landscaping components. The MPA is required primarily to provide direct truck access to Port of Montreal with a direct connection to the future Assomption Boulevard planned by the City of Montreal and, thus, direct access to Souligny Avenue. The MPA also required other key aspects to be considered for the proposal and development of the project, such as the layout of road and rail configurations, the reconstruction of underground structures, the relocation of power lines, the installation of lighting systems, the traffic signage and communication systems improvement, the construction of new access ramps, the pavement reconstruction and a summary assessment of the structural capacity of an existing service tunnel. The identification of the various possible scenarios began by identifying all the constraints related to the numerous infrastructures located in the area of the future link between the port and the future extension of Souligny Avenue, involving interaction with several disciplines and technical specialties. Several viaduct- and tunnel-type geometries were studied to link the port road to the right-of-way north of Notre-Dame Street and to improve traffic flow at the railway corridor. The proposed design took into account the existing access points to Port of Montreal, the built environment of the MPA site, the provincial and municipal rights-of-way, and the future Notre-Dame Street layout planned by the City of Montreal. These considerations required the installation of an engineering structure with a span of over 60 m to free up a corridor for the future urban fabric of Notre-Dame Street. The best option for crossing this span length was identified by the design and construction of a curved bridge over Notre-Dame Street, which is essentially a structure with a deck formed by a reinforced concrete slab on steel box girders with a single span of 63.5m. The foundation units were defined as pier-cap type abutments on drilled shafts to bedrock with rock sockets, with MSE-type walls at the approaches. The configuration of a single-span curved structure posed significant design and construction challenges, considering the major constraints of the project site, a design for durability approach, and the need to guarantee optimum performance over a 75-year service life in accordance with the client's needs and the recommendations and requirements defined by the standards used for the project. These aspects and the need to include architectural and artistic components in this project made it possible to design, build, and integrate a signature infrastructure project with a sustainable approach, from which the MPA, the commuters, and the city of Montreal and its residents will benefit.

Keywords: curved bridge, steel box girder, medium span, simply supported, industrial and urban environment, architectural integration, design for durability

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Authors: Mónika Bartalné-Berceli, Eszter Izsó, Szilveszter Gergely, András Salgó

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Nowadays a significant portion of the Earth's population does not have access to healthy food. Either because they can not afford them or because they do not know which they are. The aim of the VIIth Framework CHANCE project (Nr. 266331) supported by the European Union has been to develop relatively cheap food favorable from nutritional point of view and has acceptable quality for consumers. Within the project we dealt with manufacturing of bread belonging to basic foods. We had examined the enrichment of bread products with four kinds of bran, with a special milling product of grain industry (aleurone flour) and with a soy-based sprouted additive. The applied concentration of the six mentioned additives has been optimized and the physical and sensory properties of the bread products were monitored. The weight of the enriched breads increased slightly, however the volume and height decreased slightly compared to the corresponding data of the control bread. The composition of the final product is favorable affected by these additives having highly preferred composition from nutritional point of view.

Keywords: bread products, brans, YASO, aleurone flour

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Authors: Palash Bandyopadhyay

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Background and significance of the study: Crude oil and natural gas is of crucial importance due to its increasing demand in India. The demand has been increased because of change of lifestyle overtime. Since India has poor utilization of oil production capacity, constantly the import of it has been increased progressively day by day. This ultimately hit the foreign exchange reserves of India, however it negatively affect the Indian economy as well. The financial performance of crude oil and natural gas companies in India has been trimmed down year after year because of underutilization of production capacity, enhancement of demand, change in life style, and change in import bill and outflows of foreign currencies. In this background, the current study seeks to measure the financial performance of crude oil and natural gas companies of India in the post liberalization period. Keeping in view of this, this study assesses the financial performance in terms of liquidity management, solvency, efficiency, financial stability, and profitability of the companies under study. Methodology: This research work is encircled on yearly ratio data collected from Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) Prowess database for the periods between 1993-94 and 2012-13 with 20 observations using liquidity, solvency and efficiency indicators, profitability indicators and financial stability indicators of all the major crude oil and natural gas companies in India. In the course of analysis, descriptive statistics, correlation statistics, and linear regression test have been utilized. Major findings: Descriptive statistics indicate that liquidity position is satisfactory in case of three crude oil and natural gas companies (Oil and Natural Gas Companies Videsh Limited, Oil India Limited and Selan exploration and transportation Limited) out of selected companies under study but solvency position is satisfactory only for one company (Oil and Natural Gas Companies Videsh Limited). However, efficiency analysis points out that Oil and Natural Gas Companies Videsh Limited performs effectively the management of inventory, receivables, and payables, but the overall liquidity management is not well. Profitability position is very much satisfactory in case of all the companies except Tata Petrodyne Limited, but profitability management is not satisfactory for all the companies under study. Financial stability analysis shows that all the companies are more dependent on debt capital, which bears a financial risk. Correlation and regression test results illustrates that profitability is positively and negatively associated with liquidity, solvency, efficiency, and financial stability indicators. Concluding statement: Management of liquidity and profitability of crude oil and natural gas companies in India should have been improved through controlling unnecessary imports in spite of the heavy demand of crude oil and natural gas in India and proper utilization of domestic oil reserves. At the same time, Indian government has to concern about rupee depreciation and interest rates.

Keywords: financial performance, crude oil and natural gas companies, India, linear regression

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Authors: Emanuela Zilli, Antonella Ruffatto, Davide Bonaldo, Stefano Bevilacqua, Tommaso Caputo, Luisa Fontana, Carmelina Saraceno, Antonio Sturaroo, Teodoro Sava, Antonio Madia

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The new Hospital in Cittadella - ULSS 6 Euganea Health Trust, in the North-East of Italy (400 beds, project completion date in 2026), will partially take the place of the existing building. Interesting features have been suggested in order to project a modern, “environmental-friendly” and “people-friendly” building. Specific multidisciplinary meetings (involving stakeholders and professionals with different backgrounds) have been organized on a periodic basis in order to guarantee the appropriate implementation of logistic and organizational solutions related to eco-sustainability, integration with the context, and the concept of “design for all” and “humanization of care.” The resulting building will be composed of organic shapes determined by the external environment (sun movement, climate, landscape, pre-existing buildings, roads) and the needs of the internal environment (areas of care and diagnostic-treatment paths reorganized with experience gained during the pandemic), with extensive use of renewable energy, solar panels, a 4th-generation heating system, sanitised and maintainable surfaces. There is particular attention to the quality of the staff areas, which include areas dedicated to psycho-physical well-being (relax points, yoga gym), study rooms, and a centralized conference room. Outdoor recreational spaces and gardens for music and watercolour therapy will be included; atai-chi gym is dedicated to oncology patients. Integration in the urban and social context is emphasized through window placement toward the gardens (maternal-infant, mental health, and rehabilitation wards). Service areas such as dialysis, radiology, and labs have views of the medieval walls, the symbol of the city’s history. The new building has been designed to pursue the maximum level of eco-sustainability, harmony with the environment, and integration with the historical, urban, and social context; the concept of humanization of care has been considered in all the phases of the project management.

Keywords: environmental-friendly, humanization, eco-sustainability, new hospital

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Authors: B. N. Asare, O. A. Ajigini

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Information systems (IS) are highly important in the operation of private and public organisations in developing and developed countries. Developing countries are saddled with many project failures during the implementation of information systems. However, successful information systems are greatly needed in developing countries in order to enhance their economies. This paper is highly important in view of the high failure rate of information systems in developing countries which needs to be reduced to minimum acceptable levels by means of recommended interventions. This paper centres on a review of IS development in developing countries. The paper presents evidences of the IS successes and failures in developing countries and posits a model to address the IS failures. The proposed model can then be utilised by developing countries to reduce their IS project implementation failure rate. A comparison is drawn between IS development in developing countries and developed countries. The paper provides valuable information to assist in reducing IS failure, and developing IS models and theories on IS development for developing countries.

Keywords: developing countries, information systems, IS development, information systems failure, information systems success, information systems success model

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Authors: Jeoffrey Oostrom, Robbert James Schlingmann, Hani Alers

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This document depicts the research into the indicators of dementia progression, the automation of quality of life assignments, and the visualization of it. To do this, the Smart Teddy project was initiated to make a smart companion that both monitors the senior citizen as well as processing the captured data into an insightful dashboard. With around 50 million diagnoses worldwide, dementia proves again and again to be a bothersome strain on the lives of many individuals, their relatives, and society as a whole. In 2015 it was estimated that dementia care cost 818 billion U.S Dollars globally. The Smart Teddy project aims to take away a portion of the burden from caregivers by automating the collection of certain data, like movement, geolocation, and sound-levels. This paper proves that the Smart Teddy has the potential to become a useful tool for caregivers but won’t pose as a solution. The Smart Teddy still faces some problems in terms of emotional privacy, but its non-intrusive nature, as well as diversity in usability, can make up for it.

Keywords: dementia care, medical data visualization, quality of life, smart companion

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Authors: Kathryn Ewing

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Safe and accessible public spaces are vital elements of our South African cities. Public spaces hold the potential to act as important, vibrant places for learning, exchange, and practice. Public walkways, however, are some of the most neglected and extremely dangerous public spaces experienced in the local neighborhood of Gugulethu in Cape Town. Walkways feel insignificant, being recognized as informal and undetermined or retain complex fragments of formal erven. They are generally out of sight connecting minor streets and informal settlements. Community residents refer to the walkways as unsafe and dirty spaces. Local authorities allocate minimal to no municipal budgets nor maintenance plans resulting in a lack of basic services, particularly lighting and green infrastructure. ‘The Walkway Project’ presents a series of urban stories collected from co-design workshops, emotional mapping exercises, and fieldwork, including urban walks and urban talks. The narrative interprets the socio-spatial practice and complexity of informal public space in Gugulethu, Cape Town. The Walkway Project research, interrelated to the Master of Urban Design teaching and design-research studio, has a strong focus on participatory and engaged learning and action research methodology within a deliberate pedagogy. A consolidated urban design implementation plan exposes the impact and challenges of waste and water, opening the debate on relevant local solutions for resilience and safety in Cape Town. A small and neglected passage connecting two streets, commonly referred to as iThemba Walkway, is presented as a case study to show-case strategic urban design intervention strategies for urban upgrading. The iThemba walkway is a community-driven project that demonstrates active and responsible co-design and participatory development opportunities. In March 2021, when visited on an urban walk, the public space was covered by rubble and solid waste. By April 2021, the community cleaned the walkway and created an accessible passage for the school children to pass. Numerous co-design workshops have taken place over the past year. The walkway has emerged as a public space upgrading project facilitated, motivated, and implemented by multiple local partners and residents. Social maps from urban walks and talks illustrate the transformation of iThemba Walkway into an inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable urban space, linked to Sustainable Development Goal number 11, sustainable cities and communities. The outcomes of the upgrading project facilitate a deeper understanding of co-design methods, urban upgrading processes, and monitoring of public space and informal urbanism.

Keywords: informal, public space, resilience, safety, upgrade, walkways

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Authors: Marilena Ianculescu, Adriana Alexandru

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Internet of Health Things (IoHT) has already proved to be a persuasive means to support a proper assessment of the living conditions by collecting a huge variety of data. For a customized health management of a senior patient, IoHT provides the capacity to build a dynamic solution for sustaining the shift inside the patient-physician relationship by allowing a real-time and continuous remote monitoring of the health status, well-being, safety and activities of the senior, especially in a non-clinical environment. Thus, is created a win-win solution in which both the patient and the physician enhance their involvement and shared decision-making, with significant outcomes. Health monitoring systems in smart environments are becoming a viable alternative to traditional healthcare solutions. The ongoing “Non-invasive monitoring and health assessment of the elderly in a smart environment (RO-SmartAgeing)” project aims to demonstrate that the existence of complete and accurate information is critical for assessing the health condition of the seniors, improving wellbeing and quality of life in relation to health. The researches performed inside the project aim to highlight how the management of IoHT devices connected to the RO-SmartAgeing platform in a secure way by using a role-based access control system, can allow the physicians to provide health services at a high level of efficiency and accessibility, which were previously only available in hospitals. The project aims to identify deficient aspects in the provision of health services tailored to a senior patient’s specificity and to offer a more comprehensive perspective of proactive and preventive medical acts.

Keywords: health management, internet of health things, remote monitoring, senior patient

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Authors: Iraj Musa Dawaari

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Australia and Singapore signed the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) agreement on 29th June 2015. This agreement aims to strengthen security, defense, diplomatic, economic, education, and innovation cooperation, as well as people-to-people relations between the two states. The purpose of this study is to examine rationales underpinning the (2015 CSP) agreement in order to better understand the national and foreign policy priorities of both Australia and Singapore in the period leading up to the signing of the agreement and in the period since. This research project will seek to establish how both countries’ national and foreign policy priorities have developed in recent years in the light of growing tensions between China and the US in the Indo-Pacific region and how the CSP agreement has influenced these priorities. This project also seeks to better understand and analyse why both states signed the CSP agreement in 2015.

Keywords: Australia, Singapore, foreign policy, partnership, USA, China, Indo-Pacific Region

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Authors: Mauro Callejas-Cuervo, Andrea C. Alarcon-Aldana

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It is evident that there has been progress in the development and innovation of tools, techniques and methods in the development of software. Even so, there are few methodologies that include the human factor from the point of view of motivation, emotions and impact on the work environment; aspects that, when mishandled or not taken into consideration, increase the iterations in the requirements elicitation phase. This generates a broad number of changes in the characteristics of the system during its developmental process and an overinvestment of resources to obtain a final product that, often, does not live up to the expectations and needs of the client. The human factors such as emotions or personality traits are naturally associated with the process of developing software. However, most of these jobs are oriented towards the analysis of the final users of the software and do not take into consideration the emotions and motivations of the members of the development team. Given that in the industry, the strategies to select the requirements engineers and/or the analysts do not take said factors into account, it is important to identify and describe the characteristics or personality traits in order to elicit requirements effectively. This research describes the main personality traits associated with the requirements elicitation tasks through the analysis of the existing literature on the topic and a compilation of our experiences as software development project managers in the academic and productive sectors; allowing for the characterisation of a suitable profile for this job. Moreover, a psychometric test is used as an information gathering technique, and it is applied to the personnel of some local companies in the software development sector. Such information has become an important asset in order to make a comparative analysis between the degree of effectiveness in the way their software development teams are formed and the proposed profile. The results show that of the software development companies studied: 53.58% have selected the personnel for the task of requirements elicitation adequately, 37.71% possess some of the characteristics to perform the task, and 10.71% are inadequate. From the previous information, it is possible to conclude that 46.42% of the requirements engineers selected by the companies could perform other roles more adequately; a change which could improve the performance and competitiveness of the work team and, indirectly, the quality of the product developed. Likewise, the research allowed for the validation of the pertinence and usefulness of the psychometric instrument as well as the accuracy of the characteristics for the profile of requirements engineer proposed as a reference.

Keywords: emotions, human attitudes, personality traits, psychometric tests, requirements engineering

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Authors: Ionel Zagan, Vasile Gheorghita Gaitan

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The development of CPUs and of real-time systems based on them made it possible to use time at increasingly low resolutions. Together with the scheduling methods and algorithms, time organizing has been improved so as to respond positively to the need for optimization and to the way in which the CPU is used. This presentation contains both a detailed theoretical description and the results obtained from research on improving the performances of the nMPRA (Multi Pipeline Register Architecture) processor by implementing specific functions in hardware. The proposed CPU architecture has been developed, simulated and validated by using the FPGA Virtex-7 circuit, via a SoC project. Although the nMPRA processor hardware structure with five pipeline stages is very complex, the present paper presents and analyzes the tests dedicated to the implementation of the CPU and of the memory on-chip for instructions and data. In order to practically implement and test the entire SoC project, various tests have been performed. These tests have been performed in order to verify the drivers for peripherals and the boot module named Bootloader.

Keywords: hardware scheduler, nMPRA processor, real-time systems, scheduling methods

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Authors: Nael Y. Zabel, Maged E. Georgy, Moheeb E. Ibrahim

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A knowledge-based expert system with the acronym RASPE is developed as an application tool to help decision makers in construction companies make informed decisions about managing risks in pipeline construction projects. Choosing to use expert systems from all available artificial intelligence techniques is due to the fact that an expert system is more suited to representing a domain’s knowledge and the reasoning behind domain-specific decisions. The knowledge-based expert system can capture the knowledge in the form of conditional rules which represent various project scenarios and potential risk mitigation/response actions. The built knowledge in RASPE is utilized through the underlying inference engine that allows the firing of rules relevant to a project scenario into consideration. This paper provides an overview of the knowledge acquisition process and goes about describing the knowledge structure which is divided up into four major modules. The paper shows one module in full detail for illustration purposes and concludes with insightful remarks.

Keywords: expert system, knowledge management, pipeline projects, risk mismanagement

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Authors: Rian O. Miranda, Lidia V. de Sa, Julio C. Suita

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The Brazilian Nuclear Energy Commission (CNEN) is the main manufacturer of radiopharmaceuticals in Brazil. The Nuclear Engineering Institute (IEN), located at Rio de Janeiro, is one of its main centers of research and production, attending public and private hospitals in the state. This radiopharmaceutical production is used in diagnostic and therapy procedures and allows one and a half million nuclear medicine procedures annually. Despite this, the country is not self-sufficient to meet national demand, creating the need for importation and consequent dependence on other countries. However, IEN facilities were designed in the 60's, and today its structure is inadequate in relation to the good manufacturing practices established by sanitary regulator (ANVISA) and radiological protection leading to the need for a new project. In order to adapt and increase production in the country, a new plant will be built and integrated to the existing facilities with a new 30 MeV Cyclotron that is actually in project detailing process. Thus, it is proposed to survey current CNEN and ANVISA standards for radiopharmaceutical production facilities, as well as the radiological protection analysis of each area of the plant, following good manufacturing practices recommendations adopted nationally besides licensing exigencies for radioactive facilities. In this way, the main requirements for proper operation, equipment location, building materials, area classification, and maintenance program have been implemented. The access controls, interlocks, segregation zones and pass-through boxes integrated into the project were also analyzed. As a result, IEN will in future have the flexibility to produce all necessary radioisotopes for nuclear medicine application, more efficiently by simultaneously bombarding two targets, allowing the simultaneous production of two different radioisotopes, minimizing radiation exposure and saving operating costs.

Keywords: cyclotron, legislation, norms, production, radiopharmaceuticals

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Authors: Mustafa Tevfik Hebebci, Sirin Kucuk, Ismail Celik, A. Oguz Akturk, Ismail Sahin, Fetah Eren

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The purpose of this paper is to introduce an interactive online case-study library website developed in a national project. The design goal of the website is to provide interactive, enhanced, case-based and online educational resource for educators through the purpose and within the scope of a national project. The ADDIE instructional design model was used in the development of the website for interactive case-based library. This library is developed on a web-based platform, which is important in terms of manageability, accessibility, and updateability of data. Users are able to sort the displayed case-studies by their titles, dates, ratings, view counts, etc. The usability test is used and the expert opinion is taken for the evaluation of the website. This website is a tool to integrate technology into education. It is believed that this website will be beneficial for pre-service and in-service teachers in terms of their professional developments.

Keywords: ADDIE, case-based library, design, technology integration

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Authors: Araujo J. F. Marina, Araujo F. Marcus Vinicius, Mulinari R. Daniella

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Due to the resultant leachate from waste decomposition in landfills has polluter potential hundred times greater than domestic sewage, this is considered a problem related to the depreciation of environment requiring pre-disposal treatment. In seeking to improve this situation, this project proposes the treatment of landfill leachate using natural fibers intercropped with advanced oxidation processes. The selected natural fibers were palm, coconut and banana fiber. These materials give sustainability to the project because, besides having adsorbent capacity, are often part of waste discarded. The study was conducted in laboratory scale. In trials, the effluents were characterized as Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Turbidity and Color. The results indicate that is technically promising since that there were extremely oxidative conditions, the use of certain natural fibers in the reduction of pollutants in leachate have been obtained results of COD removals between 67.9% and 90.9%, Turbidity between 88.0% and 99.7% and Color between 67.4% and 90.4%. The expectation generated is to continue evaluating the association of efficiency of other natural fibers with other landfill leachate treatment processes.

Keywords: lndfill leachate, chemical treatment, natural fibers, advanced oxidation processes

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Authors: Sidharth Talan, Sanjay Kumar Sharma, Eoin Joseph Wallace, Nikita Agrawal

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Underground mining is at the core of rapidly evolving metals and minerals sector due to the increasing mineral consumption globally. Even though the surface mines are still more abundant on earth, the scales of industry are slowly tipping towards underground mining due to rising depth and complexities of orebodies. Thus, the efficient and productive functioning of underground operations depends significantly on the synchronized performance of key elements such as operating site, mining equipment, manpower and mine services. Production drilling is the process of conducting long hole drilling for the purpose of charging and blasting these holes for the production of ore in underground metal mines. Thus, production drilling is the crucial segment in the underground metal mining value chain. This paper presents the process mapping tool to evaluate the production drilling process in the underground metal mining operation by dividing the given process into three segments namely Input, Process and Output. The three segments are further segregated into factors and sub-factors. As per the study, the major input factors crucial for the efficient functioning of production drilling process are power, drilling water, geotechnical support of the drilling site, skilled drilling operators, services installation crew, oils and drill accessories for drilling machine, survey markings at drill site, proper housekeeping, regular maintenance of drill machine, suitable transportation for reaching the drilling site and finally proper ventilation. The major outputs for the production drilling process are ore, waste as a result of dilution, timely reporting and investigation of unsafe practices, optimized process time and finally well fragmented blasted material within specifications set by the mining company. The paper also exhibits the drilling loss matrix, which is utilized to appraise the loss in planned production meters per day in a mine on account of availability loss in the machine due to breakdowns, underutilization of the machine and productivity loss in the machine measured in drilling meters per unit of percussion hour with respect to its planned productivity for the day. The given three losses would be essential to detect the bottlenecks in the process map of production drilling operation so as to instigate the action plan to suppress or prevent the causes leading to the operational performance deficiency. The given tool is beneficial to mine management to focus on the critical factors negatively impacting the production drilling operation and design necessary operational and maintenance strategies to mitigate them. 

Keywords: process map, drilling loss matrix, SIPOC, productivity, percussion rate

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Authors: Barbara Rebecca Mutonyi, Chukwuemeka Echebiri, Terje Slåtten, Gudbrand Lien

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The concept of affective commitment to change has been scarcely explored among employees in the higher education literature. The present study addresses this knowledge gap in the literature by examining how various psychological factors, such as psychological empowerment (PsyEmp), and psychological capital (PsyCap), promotes affective commitment to change. As affective commitment to change has been identified by previous studies as an important aspect to implementation behavior, the study examines the correlation of affective commitment to change on employee innovative behavior (EIB) in higher education. The study proposes mediation relationship between PsyEmp, PsyCap, and affective commitment to change. 250 employees in higher education in Norway were sampled for this study. The study employed online survey for data collection, utilizing Stata software to perform Partial least square equation modeling to test the proposed hypotheses of the study. Through bootstrapping, the study was able to test for mediating effects. Findings of the study shows a strong direct relationship between the leadership factor PsyEmp on the individual factor PsyCap ( = 0.453). In addition, the findings of the study reveal that both PsyEmp and PsyCap are related to affective commitment to change ( = 0.28 and  = 0.249, respectively). In total, PsyEmp and PsyCap explains about 10% of the variance in the concept of affective commitment to change. Further, the direct effect of effective commitment to change and EIB is also supported ( = 0.183). The three factors, PsyEmp, PsyCap, and affective commitment to change, explains nearly 40% (R2 = 0.39) of the variance found in EIB. The relationship between PsyEmp, PsyCap, and affective commitment to change are mediated through the individual factor PsyCap. In order to effectively promote affective commitment to change among higher education employees, higher education managers should focus on both the leadership factor, PsyEmp, as well as the individual factor, PsyCap, of their employees. In this regard, higher education managers should strengthen employees EIB through providing autonomy, creating a safe environment that encourages innovation thinking and action, and providing employees in higher education opportunities to be involved in changes occurring at work. This contributes to strengthening employees´ affective commitment to change, that further improves their EIB in their work roles as higher education employees. As such, the results of this study implicate the ambidextrous nature of the concepts of affective commitment to change and EIB that should be considered in future studies of innovation in higher education research.

Keywords: affective commitment to change, psychological capital, innovative behavior, psychological empowerment, higher education

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Authors: Malla Vijayeta, Y. Vijaya Kumar, N. Ramakrishna Raju, K. Satyanarayana

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Global AEC (architecture, engineering, and construction) industry has been coined as one of the most resistive domains in embracing technology. Although this digital era has been inundated with software tools like CAD, STADD, CANDY, Microsoft Project, Primavera etc. the key stakeholders have been working in siloes and processes remain fragmented. Unlike the yesteryears’ simpler project delivery methods, the current projects are of fast-track, complex, risky, multidisciplinary, stakeholder’s influential, statutorily regulative etc. pose extensive bottlenecks in preventing timely completion of projects. At this juncture, a paradigm shift surfaced in construction industry, and Building Information Modeling, aka BIM, has been a panacea to bolster the multidisciplinary teams’ cooperative and collaborative work leading to productive, sustainable and leaner project outcome. Building information modeling has been integrative, stakeholder engaging and centralized approach in providing a common platform of communication. A common misconception that BIM can be used for building/high rise projects in Indian Construction Industry, while this paper discusses of the implementation of BIM processes/methodologies in water and waste water industry. It elucidates about BIM 4D planning and constructability reviews of a Sewage Treatment Plant in India. Conventional construction planning and logistics management involves a blend of experience coupled with imagination. Even though the excerpts or judgments or lessons learnt gained from veterans might be predictive and helpful, but the uncertainty factor persists. This paper shall delve about the case study of real time implementation of BIM 4D planning protocols for one of the Sewage Treatment Plant of Dravyavati River Rejuvenation Project in India and develops a Time Liner to identify logistics planning and clash detection. With this BIM processes, we shall find that there will be significant reduction of duplication of tasks and reworks. Also another benefit achieved will be better visualization and workarounds during conception stage and enables for early involvement of the stakeholders in the Project Life cycle of Sewage Treatment Plant construction. Moreover, we have also taken an opinion poll of the benefits accrued utilizing BIM processes versus traditional paper based communication like 2D and 3D CAD tools. Thus this paper concludes with BIM framework for Sewage Treatment Plant construction which will achieve optimal construction co-ordination advantages like 4D construction sequencing, interference checking, clash detection checking and resolutions by primary engagement of all key stakeholders thereby identifying potential risks and subsequent creation of risk response strategies. However, certain hiccups like hesitancy in adoption of BIM technology by naïve users and availability of proficient BIM trainers in India poses a phenomenal impediment. Hence the nurture of BIM processes from conception, construction and till commissioning, operation and maintenance along with deconstruction of a project’s life cycle is highly essential for Indian Construction Industry in this digital era.

Keywords: integrated BIM workflow, 4D planning with BIM, building information modeling, clash detection and visualization, constructability reviews, project life cycle

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Authors: Lucia Ceccherini Nelli, Alessandra Donato

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The ABITA Master course of the University of Florence offered by the Department of Architecture covers nearly all the energy-relevant issues that can arise in public and private companies and sectors. The main purpose of the Master course, active since 2003, is to analyse the energy consumption of building technologies, components, and structures at the conceptual design stage, so it could be very helpful, for designers, when making decisions related to the selection of the most suitable design alternatives and for the materials choice that will be used in an energy-efficient building. The training course provides a solid basis for increasing the knowledge and skills of energy managers and is developed with an emphasis on practical experiences related to the knowledge through case studies, measurements, and verification of energy-efficient solutions in buildings, in the industry and in the cities. The main objectives are: i)To raise the professional standards of those engaged in energy auditing, ii) To improve the practice of energy auditors by encouraging energy auditing professionals in a continuing education program of professional development, iii) Implement in the use of instrumentations for the typical measurements, iv) To propose an integrated methodology that links energy analysis tools with green building certification systems. This methodology will be applied at the early design stage of a project’s life. The final output of the practical training is to achieve an elevated professionalism in the study of environmental design and Energy management in buildings. The results are the redaction of line guides instruction for the energy refurbishment of Public schools in Florence. The school heritage of the Municipality of Florence requires interventions for the control of energy performance, as old construction buildings are often made without taking into account the necessary envelope performance. For this reason, every year, the Master's course aims to study groups of public schools to enable the Municipality to carry out energy redevelopment interventions on the existing building heritage. The future challenges of the education and training program are related to follow-up activities, the development of interactive tools and the curriculum's customization to meet the constantly growing needs of energy experts from industry.

Keywords: expert in energy, energy auditing, public buildings, thermal analysis

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Authors: Abdullah Alsehaimi

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Over decades, there have been many studies of delay in construction, and this type of study continues to be popular in construction management research. A synthesis and critical evaluation of delay studies in developing countries reveals that poor project management is cited as one of the main causes of delay. However, despite such consensus, most of the previous studies fall short in providing clear recommendations demonstrating how project management practice could be improved. Moreover, the majority of recommendations are general and not devoted to solving the difficulties associated with particular delay causes. This paper aims to demonstrate that the root cause of this state of affairs is that typical research into delay tends to be descriptive and explanatory, making it inadequate for solving persistent managerial problems in construction. It is contended that many problems in construction could be mitigated via alternative research approaches, i.e. action and constructive research. Such prescriptive research methods can assist in the development and implementation of innovative tools tackling managerial problems of construction, including that of delay. In so doing, those methods will better connect research and practice, and thus strengthen the relevance of academic construction management.

Keywords: construction delay, action research, constructive research, industrial engineering

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Authors: M. Gregušová, V. Schindlerová, I. Šajdlerová, P. Mohyla, J. Kedroň

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Company managers are always looking for more and more opportunities to succeed in today's fiercely competitive market. Maintain your place among the successful companies on the market today or come up with a revolutionary business idea; it is much more difficult than before. Each new or improved method, tools, or the approach that can improve the functioning of business processes or even the entire system is worth checking and verification. The use of simulation in the design of manufacturing systems and their management in practice is one of the ways without increased risk to find the optimal parameters of manufacturing processes and systems. The paper presents an example of using simulation to solve the bottleneck problem in concrete company.

Keywords: practical applications, business processes, systems, simulation

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Authors: Almudena Konrad, Tomás Galguera

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Lack of motivation and interest is a serious obstacle to students’ learning computing skills. A need exists for a knowledge base on effective pedagogy and curricula to teach computer programming. This paper presents results from research evaluating a six-year project designed to teach complex concepts in computer programming collaboratively, while supporting students to continue developing their computer thinking and related coding skills individually. Utilizing a quasi-experimental, mixed methods design, the pedagogical approaches and methods were assessed in two contrasting groups of students with different socioeconomic status, gender, and age composition. Analyses of quantitative data from Likert-scale surveys and an evaluation rubric, combined with qualitative data from reflective writing exercises and semi-structured interviews yielded convincing evidence of the project’s success at both teaching and inspiring students.

Keywords: computational thinking, computing education, computer programming curriculum, logic, teaching methods

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Authors: Kuo-Wei Hsu, Jen-Chih, Chao, Pei-Chen, Wu

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With the rapid development of global economy, the increasing population, the highly industrialization, greenhouse gas emission and the ozone layer damage, the Global Warming happens. Facing the impact of global warming, the issue of “green transportation” began to be valued and promoted in each city. Taichung has been elected as the model of low-carbon city in Taiwan. To comply with international trends and the government policy, we tried to promote the energy saving and carbon reduction to create a “low-carbon Taichung with green life and eco-friendly economy”. To cooperate with the “green transportation” project, Taichung has promoted a number of public transports constructions and traffic policy in recent years like BRT, MRT, etc. The elevated railway is one of those important constructions. Cooperating with the green transport policy, elevated railway could help to achieve the carbon reduction for this low-carbon city. The current studies of the carbon emissions associated with railways and roads are focusing on the assessment on paving material, institutional policy and economic benefit. Except for changing the mode of transportation, elevated railways/roads also create space under the bridge. However, there is no research about the carbon emissions of the space underneath the elevated section up until now. This study investigated the effect of railway track elevation project in Taichung based on the carbon emissions and the factors that affect carbon emissions by research related theory and literature analysis. This study concluded that : railway track elevation increased the public transit, the bike lanes, the green areas and walking spaces. In the other hand it reduced the traffic congestions, the use of motorcycles as well as automobiles for carbon emissions.

Keywords: low-carbon city, green transportation, carbon emissions, Taichung, Taiwan

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Authors: Fazli Idris, Jihad Mohammad

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The study aims to determine the impact of technology and service operations flexibility, which is divided into external flexibility and internal robustness, on operations costs. A mediation model is proposed that links technology to operations costs via operation flexibility. Drawing on a sample of 475 of operations managers of various service sectors in Malaysia and South Africa, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was employed to test the relationship using Smart-PLS procedures. It was found that a significant relationship was established between technologies to operations costs via both operations flexibility dimensions. Theoretical and managerial implications are offered to explain the results.

Keywords: Operations flexibility, technology, costs, mediation

Procedia PDF Downloads 596

Authors: Athanasios A. Gavrilidis, Mihai R. Nita, Larissa N. Stoia, Diana A. Onose

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Contemporary global environmental challenges must be primarily addressed at local levels. Cities are under continuous pressure as they must ensure high quality of life levels for their citizens and at the same time to adapt and address specific environmental issues. Innovative solutions using natural features or mimicking natural systems are endorsed by the scientific community as efficient approaches for both mitigating climate change effects and the decrease of environmental quality and for maintaining high standards of living for urban dwellers. The aim of this study was to assess whether Romanian cities’ authorities are considering nature-based innovation as solutions for their planning, management, and environmental issues. Data were gathered by applying 140 questionnaires to urban authorities throughout the country. The questionnaire was designed for assessinglocal policy makers’ perspective over the efficiency of nature-based innovations as a tool to address specific challenges. It also focused on extracting data about financing sources and challenges they must overcome for adopting nature-based approaches. The gather results from the municipalities participating in our study were statistically processed, and they revealed that Romanian city managers acknowledge the benefits of nature-based innovations, but investments in this sector are not on top of their priorities. More than 90% of the selected cities have agreed that in the last 10 years, their major concern was to expand the grey infrastructure (roads and public amenities) using traditional approaches. When asked how they would react if faced with different socio-economic and environmental challenges, local urban managers indicated investments nature-based solutions as a priority only in case of biodiversity loss and extreme weather, while for other 14 proposed scenarios, they would embrace the business-as-usual approach. Our study indicates that while new concepts of sustainable urban planning emerge within the scientific community, local authorities need more time to understand and implement them. Without the proper knowledge, personnel, policies, or dedicated budgets, local administrators will not embrace nature-based innovations as solutions for their challenges.

Keywords: nature based innovations, perception analysis, policy making, urban planning

Procedia PDF Downloads 153