Search results for: expert systems

Authors: Lars Andersen

Abstract:

The development of design and engineering in large construction projects are characterized by an increased degree of flattening out of formal structures, extended use of parallel and integrated processes (‘Integrated Concurrent Engineering’) and an increased number of expert disciplines. The integration process is based on ongoing collaborations, dialogues, intercommunication and comments on each other’s work (iterations). This process based on reciprocal communication between actors and disciplines triggers value creation. However, communication between equals is not in itself sufficient to create effective decision making. The complexity of the process and time pressure contribute to an increased risk of a deficit of decisions and loss of process control. The paper refers to a study that aims at developing a resilient decision-making system that does not come in conflict with communication processes based on equality between the disciplines in the process. The study includes the construction of a hospital, following the phases design, engineering and physical building. The Research method is a combination of formative process research, process tracking and phenomenological analyses. The study tracked challenges and problems in the building process to the projection substrates (drawing and models) and further to the organization of the engineering and design phase. A comparative analysis of traditional and new ways of organizing the projecting made it possible to uncover an implicit material order or structure in the process. This uncovering implied a development of a material process perspective. According to this perspective the complexity of the process is rooted in material-functional differentiation. This differentiation presupposes a structuring material (the skeleton of the building) that coordinates the other types of material. Each expert discipline´s competence is related to one or a set of materials. The architect, consulting engineer construction etc. have their competencies related to structuring material, and inherent in this; coordination competence. When dialogues between the disciplines concerning the coordination between them do not result in agreement, the disciplines with responsibility for the structuring material decide the interface issues. Based on these premises, this paper develops a self-organized expert-driven interdisciplinary decision-making system.

Keywords: collaboration, complexity, design, engineering, materiality

Procedia PDF Downloads 196

Authors: Charles-Olivier Amédée-Manesme, Benoit Faye, Eric Le Fur

Abstract:

In this paper, the heterogeneity of the Bordeaux Legends 50 wine market price segment is addressed. For this purpose, quantile regression is applied – with market segmentation based on wine bottle price quantile – and the hedonic price of wine attributes is computed for various price segments of the market. The approach is applied to a major privately held data set which consists of approximately 30,000 transactions over the 2003–2014 period. The findings suggest that the relative hedonic prices of several wine attributes differ significantly among deciles. In particular, the elasticity coefficient of the expert ratings shows strong variation among prices. If - as suggested in the literature - expert ratings have a positive influence on wine price on average, they have a clearly decreasing impact over the quantiles. Finally, the lower the wine price, the higher the potential for price appreciation over time. Other variables such as chateaux or vintage are also shown to vary across the distribution of wine prices. While enhancing our understanding of the complex market dynamics that underlie Bordeaux wines’ price, this research provides empirical evidence that the QR approach adequately captures heterogeneity among wine price ranges, which simultaneously applies to wine stock, vintage and auctions’ house.

Keywords: hedonics, market segmentation, quantile regression, heterogeneity, wine economics

Procedia PDF Downloads 309

Authors: Hala Abdulhafiz, Steffi Robak

Abstract:

Introduction: Refugees often arrive in Germany with traumatic experiences, leading to psy-chosocial challenges. According to the World Health Organization's definition, psychosocial life skills help individuals effectively cope with everyday challenges and enhance their overall health and well-being. This study explores life skills acquired in integration courses and their impact on the integration of Syrian migrants. Methods: Qualitative expert interviews identified crucial life skills for successful integration, followed by a qualitative content analysis of integration course textbooks. Additionally, written interviews with former participants of integration courses were conducted. Results: Expert interviews highlighted the significance of communication skills and problem-solving abilities in promoting integration. Emotional and stress management, however, ranked lower in the hierarchy of essential life skills. While many highlighted life skills were addressed and encouraged in textbooks, there was a deficiency in opportunities to strengthen empathy, creativity, emotions, and stress management. The participant survey revealed that respondents possessed some of the defined life skills positively affecting their integration. However, there was a need for enhancing self-esteem, and many struggled with handling emotions and stress situations. Conclusion: The analyzed life skills should be further developed through educational programs and initiatives, with increased emphasis on textbooks.

Keywords: life skills, integration, migration, integration course

Procedia PDF Downloads 40

Authors: Olivia Rybak-Karkosz

Abstract:

This paper aims to present the results of scientific research on family resemblance in the handwriting of painters. Such a problem is known in handwriting analysis, but it was never a research subject in the scope of painters' signatures on works of art. For this research, the author chose Jacek, and Rafał Malczewski (father and son) as many of their paintings are in museums, and most of them are signed. The aim was to create a catalogue of traits similar to the handwriting of both artists. Such data could be helpful for the expert’s opinion in the decision-making process to establish whether the signature is authentic and, if so, whether it is the artist whose signature is analysed, not the other family member. There are known examples of relatives of the artists who signed their works. Many of them were artists themselves. For instance Andrzej Wróblewski’s mother, Krystyna was a printmaker. To save his legacy, she signed many of her son’s works after his death using his name. This research methodology consisted of completing representative samples of signatures of both artists, which were collected in selected Polish museums. Then a catalogue of traits was created using a forensic handwriting graphic-comparative method (graphic method). The paper contains a concluding statement that it could be one of the elements of research in an expert’s analysis of the authenticity of the signature on paintings.

Keywords: artist’s signatures, authenticity of an artwork, forensic handwriting analysis, graphic-comparative method

Procedia PDF Downloads 57

Authors: Avigail Moor

Abstract:

Rape and sexual assault have been widely linked to severe psychological sequelae, the recovery from which often requires professional help. Thanks to the current shift in societal attitudes towards sexual violence, the victim's perspective is increasingly being heard. The present study is yet another step in that direction. Through the investigation of what recovered survivors of sexual assault identify as the therapeutic interventions that most assisted them in overcoming their trauma, guidelines for optimal sexual assault treatment are established. These receive further support from a comparison with expert therapists as to what they view as being most conducive to recovery from rape. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 survivors who have experienced a successful course of therapy and 15 therapists with extensive expertise in the field. The results document considerable agreement between the two perspectives, which share much in common. First, irrespective of the specific techniques involved, both survivors and therapists placed the greatest importance on a respectful and validating therapeutic relationship, that operates to counter the dehumanization and degradation entailed in the assault. In addition, specific interventions were identified, which include the reprocessing of all rape-specific peri-traumatic reactions coupled with the intentional countering of their consequences within the therapeutic relationship. Together, these reports provide a detailed account of post-rape treatment needs and the interventions required for their effective resolution.

Keywords: sexual assault, rape, treatment efficacy, survivors

Procedia PDF Downloads 121

Authors: Tomas Barnak, Libor Matejka

Abstract:

The aim of this study is to create a standard application using multi-criteria evaluation in the field of forensic engineering. This situation can occur in the professional assessment in several cases such as when it is necessary to consider more criteria variant of the structural subsystems, more variants according to several criteria based on a court claim, which requires expert advice. A problematic situation arises when it is necessary to clearly determine the ranking of the options according to established criteria, and reduce subjective evaluation. For the procurement in the field of construction which is based on the prepared text of the law not only economic criteria but also technical, technological and environmental criteria will be determined. This fact substantially changes the style of evaluation of individual bids. For the above-mentioned needs of procurement, the unification of expert’s decisions and the use of multi-criteria assessment seem to be a reasonable option. In the case of experimental verification when using multi-criteria evaluation of alternatives construction subsystem the economic, technical, technological and environmental criteria will be compared. The core of the solution is to compare a selected number of set criteria, application methods and evaluation weighting based on the weighted values assigned to each of the criteria to use multi-criteria evaluation methods. The sequence of individual variations is determined by the evaluation of the importance of the values of corresponding criteria concerning expertise in the problematic of outside wall constructional subsystems.

Keywords: criteria, expertise, multi-criteria evaluation, outside wall subsystems

Procedia PDF Downloads 296

Authors: Manoj M. Sarode, Sharad P. Jadhav, Mukesh D. Patil, Pushparaj S. Suryawanshi

Abstract:

Even though the PID controller is widely used in industrial process, tuning of PID parameters are not easy. It is a time consuming and requires expert people. Another drawback of PID controller is that process dynamics might change over time. This can happen due to variation of the process load, normal wear and tear etc. To compensate for process behavior change over time, expert users are required to recalibrate the PID gains. Implementation of model based controllers usually needs a process model. Identification of process model is time consuming job and no guaranty of model accuracy. If the identified model is not accurate, performance of the controller may degrade. Model based controllers are quite expensive and the whole procedure for the implementation is sometimes tedious. To eliminate such issues Autotuning PID controller becomes vital element. Software based Relay Feedback Autotuning Controller proves to be efficient, upgradable and maintenance free controller. In Relay Feedback Autotune controller PID parameters can be achieved with a very short span of time. This paper presents the real time implementation of LabVIEW based Relay Feedback Autotuning PID controller. It is successfully developed and implemented to control level of a laboratory setup. Its performance is analyzed for different setpoints and found satisfactorily.

Keywords: autotuning, PID, liquid level control, recalibrate, labview, controller

Procedia PDF Downloads 366

Authors: Zain Khalid

Abstract:

The paper outlines the trends of cyber financial crimes and frauds – approximating upto – in Pakistan after the enactment of The Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act in 2016. The paper elaborates on the newer methods that fraudsters have adopted after tighter preventive and counter measures were employed in Pakistan partly as a result of following the international finance related commitments, particularly the FATF regulations. The paper adopts case studies methods to highlight various aspects of the financial frauds and crimes committed and later investigated jointly by Pakistan’s one of the federal law enforcement agencies, the Federal Investigation Agency, and Mobilink Microfinance Bank , Pakistan’s premier microfinance bank. It additionally enriches the data through expert interviews – with crime investigators and the experts to carry out an in-depth analysis of the various factors involving the crime. This paper emphasizes the structural and situational factors that shape up the cyber financial crimes in Pakistan vis-à-vis digital illiteracy and lack of awareness among the users of financial services. This paper, thus, on the basis of findings and expert interviews, suggests policy reforms to reduce the instances of the financial crimes, especially in the remotest areas of the country.

Keywords: financial crimes, cyber crimes, digital literacy, terrorism financing, banking sector

Procedia PDF Downloads 54

Authors: Hermann Luecken, Young Won Park, Judith M. Puetter

Abstract:

Quality is known to be the accordance of product characteristics and customer requirements. Both the customer requirements and the assessment of the characteristics of the product with regard to the fulfillment of customer requirements are subject to cultural influences. Of course, the processes itself which lead to product manufacturing is also subject to cultural influences. In the first point, the cultural background of the customer influences the quality, in the second point, it is the cultural background of the employees and the company that influences the process itself. In times of globalization products are manufactured at different locations around the world, but typically the quality management system of the country in which the mother company is based is used. This leads to significantly different results in terms of productivity, product quality and process efficiency at the different locations, although the same quality management system is in use. The aim of an efficient and effective quality management system is therefore not doing the same at all locations, but to have the same result at all locations. In the past, standardization was used to achieve the same results. Recent investigations show that this is not the best way to achieve the same characteristics of product quality and production performance. In the present work, it is shown that the consideration of cultural aspects in the design of processes, production systems, and quality management systems results in a significantly higher efficiency and a quality improvement. Both Japanese and German companies were investigated with comparative interviews. The background of this selection is that in most cases the cultural difference regarding industrial processes between Germany and Japan is high. At the same time, however, the customer expectations regarding the product quality are very similar. Interviews were conducted with experts from German and Japanese companies; in particular, companies were selected that operate production facilities both in Germany and in Japan. The comparison shows that the cultural influence on the respective production performance is significant. Companies that adapt the design of their quality management and production systems to the country where the production site is located have a significantly higher productivity and a significantly higher quality of the product than companies that work with a centralized system.

Keywords: comparison of German and Japanese production systems, cultural influence on quality management, expert interviews, process efficiency

Procedia PDF Downloads 131

Authors: Ismail Karaca, Ridvan Saracoglu, Omer Soner

Abstract:

Fuzzy Logic, an advanced method to support decision-making, is used by various scientists in many disciplines. Fuzzy programming is a product of fuzzy logic, fuzzy rules, and implication. In marine science, fuzzy programming for ships is dramatically increasing together with autonomous ship studies. In this paper, a program to support the decision-making process for ship navigation has been designed. The program is produced in fuzzy logic and rules, by taking the marine accidents and expert opinions into account. After the program was designed, the program was tested by 46 ship accidents reported by the Transportation Safety Investigation Center of Turkey. Wind speed, sea condition, visibility, day/night ratio have been used as input data. They have been converted into a risk factor within the Fuzzy Logic Designer application and fuzzy rules set by marine experts. Finally, the expert's meteorological risk factor for each accident is compared with the program's risk factor, and the error rate was calculated. The main objective of this study is to improve the navigational safety of ships, by using the advance decision support model. According to the study result, fuzzy programming is a robust model that supports safe navigation.

Keywords: calculation of risk factor, fuzzy logic, fuzzy programming for ship, safety navigation of ships

Procedia PDF Downloads 156

Authors: Taghreed Abu-Salim

Abstract:

This paper develops and investigates a framework for the assessment of customer involvement in the service design process of result oriented product-service systems in order to improve the service offering in a business to business (B2B) context. The framework comprises five main criteria and fifteen sub-criteria that contribute to customer involvement in a hierarchy using a maturity grid to highlight the strengths and weaknesses for each criterion. To develop the customer involvement framework, an extensive literature review related to service design, result oriented product-service system (PSS) and customer involvement in service design was carried out. Key factors that significantly influence customer involvement from industry and literature were identified to develop an initial framework. This framework was tested in six companies from four different sectors of industry: district cooling, medical equipment, transportation and oil storage. Validation of the framework was carried out using expert opinions and industrial case studies. A major contribution of the developed framework includes a hierarchy of appropriate criteria for assessing customer involvement in the service design process within results oriented PSS; the definition of four maturity levels which are suitable to describe the whole spectrum of customer involvement in the service design process; and finally, The paper concludes by enabling service providers to: take proactive decisions; screen and evaluate new services; improve perceived service quality; and provide barriers against imitation.

Keywords: customer involvement, maturity grid, new service development, result oriented product-service system, service design

Procedia PDF Downloads 501

Authors: Hanene Sahli, Aymen Mouelhi, Marwa Hajji, Amine Ben Slama, Mounir Sayadi, Farhat Fnaiech, Radhwane Rachdi

Abstract:

Fetal abnormality is still a public health problem of interest to both mother and baby. Head defect is one of the most high-risk fetal deformities. Fetal head categorization is a sensitive task that needs a massive attention from neurological experts. In this sense, biometrical measurements can be extracted by gynecologist doctors and compared with ground truth charts to identify normal or abnormal growth. The fetal head biometric measurements such as Biparietal Diameter (BPD), Occipito-Frontal Diameter (OFD) and Head Circumference (HC) needs to be monitored, and expert should carry out its manual delineations. This work proposes a new approach to automatically compute BPD, OFD and HC based on morphological characteristics extracted from head shape. Hence, the studied data selected at the same Gestational Age (GA) from the fetal Ultrasound images (US) are classified into two categories: Normal and abnormal. The abnormal subjects include hydrocephalus, microcephaly and dolichocephaly anomalies. By the use of a support vector machines (SVM) method, this study achieved high classification for automated detection of anomalies. The proposed method is promising although it doesn't need expert interventions.

Keywords: biometric measurements, fetal head malformations, machine learning methods, US images

Procedia PDF Downloads 256

Authors: Salisu Ibrahim

Abstract:

The paper studies the commutativity associated with fractional order linear time-varying systems (LTVSs), which is an important area of study in control systems engineering. In this paper, we explore the properties of these systems and their ability to commute. We proposed the necessary and sufficient condition for commutativity for fractional order LTVSs. Through a simulation and mathematical analysis, we demonstrate that these systems exhibit commutativity under certain conditions. Our findings have implications for the design and control of fractional order systems in practical applications, science, and engineering. An example is given to show the effectiveness of the proposed method which is been computed by Mathematica and validated by the use of MATLAB (Simulink).

Keywords: fractional differential equation, physical systems, equivalent circuit, analog control

Procedia PDF Downloads 84

Authors: Leila H. Khiabani, Mohammadreza Vafaee, Farshad Hashemzadeh

Abstract:

Industrial waste management regulates different stages of production, storage, transfer, recycling and waste disposal. There are several common practices for industrial waste management. However, due to various local health, economic, social, environmental and aesthetic considerations, the most optimal principles and measures often vary at each specific industrial zone. In addition, waste management strategies are heavily impacted by local administrative, legal, and financial regulations. In this study, a hybrid qualitative and quantitative research methodology has been designed for waste management planning in an industrial city. Firstly, following a qualitative research methodology, the most relevant waste management strategies for the specific industrial city were identified through interviews with environmental planning and waste management experts. Forty experts participated in this study. Alborz industrial city in Iran, which hosts more than one thousand industrial units in nine hundred acres, was chosen as the sample industrial city in this study. The findings from the expert interviews at the first phase were then used to design a quantitative questionnaire for the second phase of the study. The aim of the questionnaire was to quantify the relative impact of different waste management strategies in the sample industrial city. Eight waste management strategies and three implementation policies were included in the questionnaire. The experts were asked to rank the relative effectiveness of each strategy for environmental planning of the sample industrial city. They were also asked to rank the relative effectiveness of each planning policy on each of the waste management strategies. In the end, the weighted average of all the responses was calculated to identify the most effective waste management strategy and planning policies for the sample industrial city. The results suggested that among the eight suggested waste management strategies, industrial composting is the most effective (31%) strategy based on the collective evaluation of the local expert. Additionally, the results suggested that the most effective policy (58%) in the city’s environmental planning is to reduce waste generation by prolonging the effective life of industrial products using higher quality and recyclable materials. These findings can provide useful expert guidelines for prioritization between different waste management strategies in the city’s overall environmental planning roadmap. The findings may also be applicable to similar industrial cities. In addition, a similar methodology can be utilized in the environmental planning of other industrial cities.

Keywords: environmental planning, industrial city, quantitative research, waste management

Procedia PDF Downloads 110

Authors: Ryspek Usubamatov, Tan San Chin, Sarken Kapaeva

Abstract:

Productivity of the manufacturing systems depends on technological processes, a technical data of machines and a structure of systems. Technology is presented by the machining mode and data, a technical data presents reliability parameters and auxiliary time for discrete production processes. The term structure of manufacturing systems includes the number of serial and parallel production machines and links between them. Structures of manufacturing systems depend on the complexity of technological processes. Mathematical models of productivity rate for manufacturing systems are important attributes that enable to define best structure by criterion of a productivity rate. These models are important tool in evaluation of the economical efficiency for production systems.

Keywords: productivity, structure, manufacturing systems, structural design

Procedia PDF Downloads 554

Authors: Bunakiye R. Japheth, Ogude U. Cyril

Abstract:

Since the process of transforming user requirements to modeling constructs are not very well supported by domain-specific frameworks, it became necessary to integrate domain requirements with the specific architectures to achieve an integrated customizable solutions space via artifact orientation. Domain-specific modeling language specifications of model-driven engineering technologies focus more on requirements within a particular domain, which can be tailored to aid the domain expert in expressing domain concepts effectively. Modeling processes through domain-specific language formalisms are highly volatile due to dependencies on domain concepts or used process models. A capable solution is given by artifact orientation that stresses on the results rather than expressing a strict dependence on complicated platforms for model creation and development. Based on this premise, domain-specific methods for producing artifacts without having to take into account the complexity and variability of platforms for model definitions can be integrated to support customizable development. In this paper, we discuss methods for the integration capabilities and necessities within a common structure and semantics that contribute a metamodel for artifact-orientation, which leads to a reusable software layer with concrete syntax capable of determining design intents from domain expert. These concepts forming the language formalism are established from models explained within the oil and gas pipelines industry.

Keywords: control process, metrics of engineering, structured abstraction, semantic model

Procedia PDF Downloads 114

Authors: Monika Paleczna, Małgorzata Holda

Abstract:

Choosing an avatar's gender in a computer game is one of the key elements in the process of creating an online identity. The selection of a male or female avatar can define the entirety of subsequent decisions regarding both appearance and behavior. However, when the most popular games available for the Nintendo console in 1998 were analyzed, it turned out that 41% of computer games did not have female characters. Nowadays, players create their avatars based mainly on binary gender classification, with male and female characters to choose from. The main aim of the poster is to explore gender differences in adolescent avatars. 130 adolescents aged 15-17 participated in the study. They created their avatars and then played a computer game. The creation of the avatar was based on the choice of gender, then physical and mental characteristics. Data on gender consistency (consistency between participant’s sex and gender selected for the avatar) and masculinity-femininity of avatar nicknames and appearance will be presented. The masculinity-femininity of avatar nicknames and appearance was assessed by expert raters on a very masculine to very feminine scale. Additionally, data on the relationships of the perceived levels of masculinity-femininity with hostility-friendliness and the intelligence of avatars will be shown. The dimensions of hostility-friendliness and intelligence were also assessed by expert raters on scales ranging from very hostile to very friendly and from very low intelligence to very high intelligence.

Keywords: gender, avatar, adolescence, computer games

Procedia PDF Downloads 189

Authors: Achim Kampker, Heiner Hans Heimes, Mathias Ordung, Jan-Philip Ganser

Abstract:

In the past years, the automotive industry has changed significantly. Innovative mobility concepts have become more important, and electric vehicles see a chance of replacing vehicles with combustion engines in the long term. However, the coming years will be characterized by coexistence. In this context, there are two possible production scenarios: One the one hand, electric vehicles could be manufactured in bespoke assembly lines. Concerning the uncertainty regarding sales figures development, this alternative boasts a high investment risk. Therefore, an integrated assembly building upon existing structures also seems a feasible solution. This empirical study aims at validating hypotheses concerning theoretical and practical challenges of the integrated production in the final assembly. In order to take a test of approaches of the research by analyzing censored feedback of professionals, these hypotheses are validated in the framework of an expert study. For this purpose, hypotheses have been generated on the basis of a requirements analysis and a concept specification. Thereupon, a list of question has been implemented and deduced from the hypotheses to execute an online- and written-survey and interviews with professionals. The interpretation and evaluation of the findings includes an inter-component comparison for the electric drivetrain. Furthermore, key drivers for a sufficient integrated product and process design are presented.

Keywords: automotive industry, final assembly, integrated manufacturing, product and process development

Procedia PDF Downloads 310

Authors: H. Akhloufi, M. Hulscher, J. M. Prins, I. H. Van Der Sijs, D. Melles, A. Verbon

Abstract:

Background: A timely switch from intravenous to oral antibiotic therapy has many advantages, such as reduced incidence of IV-line related infections, a decreased hospital length of stay and less workload for healthcare professionals with equivalent patient safety. Additionally, numerous studies have demonstrated significant decreases in costs of a timely intravenous to oral antibiotic therapy switch, while maintaining efficacy and safety. However, a considerable variation in iv to oral antibiotic switch therapy criteria has been described in literature. Here, we report the development of a set of iv to oral switch criteria that are generally applicable in all hospitals. Material/methods: A RAND-modified Delphi procedure, which was composed of 3 rounds, was used. This Delphi procedure is a widely used structured process to develop consensus using multiple rounds of questionnaires within a qualified panel of selected experts. The international expert panel was multidisciplinary and composed out of clinical microbiologists, infectious disease consultants and clinical pharmacists. This panel of 19 experts appraised 6 major intravenous to oral antibiotic switch therapy criteria and operationalized these criteria using 41 measurable conditions extracted from the literature. The procedure to select a concise set of iv to oral switch criteria included 2 questionnaire rounds and a face-to-face meeting. Results: The procedure resulted in the selection of 16 measurable conditions, which operationalize 6 major intravenous to oral antibiotic switch therapy criteria. The following 6 major switch therapy criteria were selected: (1) Vital signs should be good or improving when bad. (2) Signs and symptoms related to the infection have to be resolved or improved. (3) The gastrointestinal tract has to be intact and functioning. (4) The oral route should not be compromised. (5) Absence of contra-indicated infections. (6) An oral variant of the antibiotic with good bioavailability has to exist. Conclusions: This systematic stepwise method which combined evidence and expert opinion resulted in a feasible set of 6 major intravenous to oral antibiotic switch therapy criteria operationalized by 16 measurable conditions. This set of early antibiotic iv to oral switch criteria can be used in daily practice in all adult hospital patients. Future use in audits and as rules in computer assisted decision support systems will lead to improvement of antimicrobial steward ship programs.

Keywords: antibiotic resistance, antibiotic stewardship, intravenous to oral, switch therapy

Procedia PDF Downloads 330

Authors: Elke Mackensen

Abstract:

Systems Engineering plays a key role during industrial product development of complex technical systems. The need for systems engineers in industry is growing. However, there is a gap between the industrial need and the academic education. Normally the academic education is focused on the domain specific design, implementation and testing of technical systems. Necessary systems engineering expertise like knowledge about requirements analysis, product cost estimation, management or social skills are poorly taught. Thus, there is the need of new academic concepts for teaching systems engineering skills. This paper presents a project-orientated training concept to prepare students from different technical degree programs for systems engineering activities. The training concept has been initially implemented and applied in the industrial engineering master program of the University of Applied Sciences Offenburg.

Keywords: educational systems engineering training, requirements analysis, system modelling, SysML

Procedia PDF Downloads 320

Authors: Mojtaba Hakimi-Moghaddam

Abstract:

Positive realness as the most important property of driving point impedance of passive electrical networks appears in the control systems stability theory in 1960’s. There are three important subsets of positive real (PR) systems are introduced by researchers, that is, loos-less positive real (LLPR) systems, weakly strictly positive real (WSPR) systems and strictly positive real (SPR) systems. In this paper, definitions, properties, lemmas, and theorems related to family of positive real systems are summarized. Properties in both frequency domain and state space representation of system are explained. Also, several illustrative examples are presented.

Keywords: real rational matrix transfer functions, positive realness property, strictly positive realness property, Hermitian form asymptotic property, pole-zero properties

Procedia PDF Downloads 245

Authors: Alexey Abilov

Abstract:

Sociological research in the form of a questionnaire survey of the population in the last decade has become an essential part of a comprehensive assessment of the territory in the practice of urban planning in Kazakhstan. This method was successfully used for developing master plans of settlements, urban agglomerations, and projects of detailed planning of individual sections of the urban environment. Also, it greatly contributes to the objectification of design solutions, since in addition to the traditional expert multifactorial assessment of urban development territories by professional designers, they provide an opportunity to consider existing urban development problems at the local level from the inside, through the eyes of the living population. A comparison of two areas of assessment of the territory -expert and social- allows us to give a more balanced final assessment, which can serve as a strong basis for making correct design decisions. The author of the article shows this by the example of the social assessment of the territory of the Almaty urban agglomeration in the form of a questionnaire survey of the population conducted in order to assess the quality of the living environment of the population, preferences in place and forms of recreation, as well as to delimitation the boundaries of the agglomeration. At the same time, the author's methodology of qualitative and quantitative assessment of the territory divided into polling stations is used, based on a comparison of the percentage of respondents' responses to various questionnaire questions with the total number of respondents.

Keywords: social assessment of territory, comprehensive assessment, urban agglomeration, correct design decisions

Procedia PDF Downloads 46

Authors: Sheng-Hung Chen, Grace Mmametena Mahlangu, Hui-Cheng Wang

Abstract:

This study aims to explore the trends of the Entrepreneurial Framework Conditions (EFCs) in the five African regions. The Global Entrepreneur Monitor (GEM) is the primary source of data. The data drawn were organized into a panel (2000-2021) and obtained from the National Expert Survey (NES) databases as harmonized by the (GEM). The Methodology used is descriptive and uses mainly charts and tables; this is in line with the approach used by the GEM. The GEM draws its data from the National Expert Survey (NES). The survey by the NES is administered to experts in each country. The GEM collects entrepreneurship data specific to each country. It provides information about entrepreneurial ecosystems and their impact on entrepreneurship. The secondary source is from the literature review. This study focuses on the following GEM indicators: Financing for Entrepreneurs, Government support and Policies, Taxes and Bureaucracy, Government programs, Basic School Entrepreneurial Education and Training, Post school Entrepreneurial Education and Training, R&D Transfer, Commercial And Professional Infrastructure, Internal Market Dynamics, Internal Market Openness, Physical and Service Infrastructure, and Cultural And Social Norms, based on GEM Report 2020/21. The limitation of the study is the lack of updated data from some countries. Countries have to fund their own regional studies; African countries do not regularly participate due to a lack of resources.

Keywords: trend analysis, entrepreneurial framework conditions (EFCs), African region, government programs

Procedia PDF Downloads 43

Authors: Vinicius G. Goecks, Gregory M. Gremillion, William D. Nothwang

Abstract:

Modern approaches to train intelligent agents rely on prolonged training sessions, high amounts of input data, and multiple interactions with the environment. This restricts the application of these learning algorithms in robotics and real-world applications, in which there is low tolerance to inadequate actions, interactions are expensive, and real-time processing and action are required. This paper addresses this issue introducing CyberSteer, a novel approach to efficiently design intrinsic reward functions based on human intention to guide deep reinforcement learning agents with no environment-dependent rewards. CyberSteer uses non-expert human operators for initial demonstration of a given task or desired behavior. The trajectories collected are used to train a behavior cloning deep neural network that asynchronously runs in the background and suggests actions to the deep reinforcement learning module. An intrinsic reward is computed based on the similarity between actions suggested and taken by the deep reinforcement learning algorithm commanding the agent. This intrinsic reward can also be reshaped through additional human demonstration or critique. This approach removes the need for environment-dependent or hand-engineered rewards while still being able to safely shape the behavior of autonomous robotic agents, in this case, based on human intention. CyberSteer is tested in a high-fidelity unmanned aerial vehicle simulation environment, the Microsoft AirSim. The simulated aerial robot performs collision avoidance through a clustered forest environment using forward-looking depth sensing and roll, pitch, and yaw references angle commands to the flight controller. This approach shows that the behavior of robotic systems can be shaped in a reduced amount of time when guided by a non-expert human, who is only aware of the high-level goals of the task. Decreasing the amount of training time required and increasing safety during training maneuvers will allow for faster deployment of intelligent robotic agents in dynamic real-world applications.

Keywords: human-robot interaction, intelligent robots, robot learning, semisupervised learning, unmanned aerial vehicles

Procedia PDF Downloads 239

Authors: Ana Hol

Abstract:

Digital systems are in the cognitive wave of the eTransformations and are now extensively aimed at meeting the individuals’ demands, both those of customers requiring services and those of service providers. It is also apparent that successful future systems will not just simply open doors to the traditional owners/users to offer and receive services such as Uber for example does today, but will in the future require more customized and cognitively enabled infrastructures that will be responsive to the system user’s needs. To be able to identify what is required for such systems, this research reviews the historical and the current effects of the eTransformation process by studying: 1. eTransitions of company websites and mobile applications, 2. Emergence of new sheared economy business models as Uber and, 3. New requirements for demand driven, cognitive systems capable of learning and just in time decision making. Based on the analysis, this study proposes a Cognitive eTransformation Framework capable of guiding implementations of new responsive and user aware systems.

Keywords: system implementations, AI supported systems, cognitive systems, eTransformation

Procedia PDF Downloads 212

Authors: L. Ngowi, N. H. Mvungi

Abstract:

This paper critically examines the evolution of socio-technical systems theory, its practices, and challenges in system design and development. It examines concepts put forward by researchers focusing on the application of the theory in software engineering. There are various methods developed that use socio-technical concepts based on systems engineering without remarkable success. The main constraint is the large amount of data and inefficient techniques used in the application of the concepts in system engineering for developing time-bound systems and within a limited/controlled budget. This paper critically examines each of the methods, highlight bottlenecks and suggest the way forward. Since socio-technical systems theory only explains what to do, but not how doing it, hence engineers are not using the concept to save time, costs and reduce risks associated with new frameworks. Hence, a new framework, which can be considered as a practical approach is proposed that borrows concepts from soft systems method, agile systems development and object-oriented analysis and design to bridge the gap between theory and practice. The approach will enable the development of systems using socio-technical systems theory to attract/enable the system engineers/software developers to use socio-technical systems theory in building worthwhile information systems to avoid fragilities and hostilities in the work environment.

Keywords: socio-technical systems, human centered design, software engineering, cognitive engineering, soft systems, systems engineering

Procedia PDF Downloads 259

Authors: Joanna Nieżurawska, Hanna Karaszewska, Anna Dziadkiewicz

Abstract:

Contemporary conditions force companies to constantly implement changes and improvements, which is connected with plasticization of their activity in all spheres. Cafeteria systems are a good example of flexible remuneration systems. Cafeteria systems are well-known and often used in the United States, Great Britain and in Western Europe. In Poland, they are hardly ever used and greater flexibility in remuneration packages refers mainly to senior managers and executives. The main aim of this article is to research the attractiveness of the cafeteria system as viewed by generation Z. The additional aim of the article is to prioritize using the importance index of particular types of cafeteria systems from the generation Z’s perspective, as well as to identify the factors which determine the development of cafeteria systems in Poland. The research was conducted in June 2015 among 185 young employees (generation Z). The paper presents some of the results.

Keywords: cafeteria, generation X, generation Y, generation Z, flexible remuneration systems, plasticization of remuneration

Procedia PDF Downloads 375

Authors: Wiem Daoud Ben Amor, Luis Martínez López, Hela Moalla Frikha

Abstract:

Most of the multi-criteria group decision making (MCGDM) problems dealing with qualitative criteria require consideration of the large background of expert information. It is common that experts have different degrees of knowledge for giving their alternative assessments according to criteria. So, it seems logical that they use different evaluation scales to express their judgment, i.e., multi granular linguistic scales. In this context, we propose the extension of the classical additive ratio assessment (ARAS) method to the case of a hierarchical linguistics term for managing multi granular linguistic scales in uncertain contexts where uncertainty is modeled by means in linguistic information. The proposed approach is called the extended hierarchical linguistics-ARAS method (ARAS-ELH). Within the ARAS-ELH approach, the DM can diagnose the results (the ranking of the alternatives) in a decomposed style, i.e., not only at one level of the hierarchy but also at the intermediate ones. Also, the developed approach allows a feedback transformation i.e the collective final results of all experts able to be transformed at any level of the extended linguistic hierarchy that each expert has previously used. Therefore, the ARAS-ELH technique makes it easier for decision-makers to understand the results. Finally, An MCGDM case study is given to illustrate the proposed approach.

Keywords: additive ratio assessment, extended hierarchical linguistic, multi-criteria group decision making problems, multi granular linguistic contexts

Procedia PDF Downloads 183

Authors: Agoston Restas

Abstract:

Introduction: This paper describes many initiatives and shows also practical examples which happened recently using Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) to support disaster management. Since the operation of manned aircraft at disasters is usually not only expensive but often impossible to use as well, in many cases managers fail to use the aerial activity. UAS can be an alternative moreover cost-effective solution for supporting disaster management. Methods: This article uses thematic division of UAS applications; it is based on two key elements, one of them is the time flow of managing disasters, other is its tactical requirements. Logically UAS can be used like pre-disaster activity, activity immediately after the occurrence of a disaster and the activity after the primary disaster elimination. Paper faces different disasters, like dangerous material releases, floods, earthquakes, forest fires and human-induced disasters. Research used function analysis, practical experiments, mathematical formulas, economic analysis and also expert estimation. Author gathered international examples and used own experiences in this field as well. Results and discussion: An earthquake is a rapid escalating disaster, where, many times, there is no other way for a rapid damage assessment than aerial reconnaissance. For special rescue teams, the UAS application can help much in a rapid location selection, where enough place remained to survive for victims. Floods are typical for a slow onset disaster. In contrast, managing floods is a very complex and difficult task. It requires continuous monitoring of dykes, flooded and threatened areas. UAS can help managers largely keeping an area under observation. Forest fires are disasters, where the tactical application of UAS is already well developed. It can be used for fire detection, intervention monitoring and also for post-fire monitoring. In case of nuclear accident or hazardous material leakage, UAS is also a very effective or can be the only one tool for supporting disaster management. Paper shows some efforts using UAS to avoid human-induced disasters in low-income countries as part of health cooperation.

Keywords: disaster management, floods, forest fires, Unmanned Aerial Systems

Procedia PDF Downloads 204

Authors: Hyun-Woo Cho

Abstract:

Earlier detection of incipient abnormal operations in terms of plant-wide process management is quite necessary in order to improve product quality and process safety. And generating warning signals or alarms for operating personnel plays an important role in process automation and intelligent plant health monitoring. Various methodologies have been developed and utilized in this area such as expert systems, mathematical model-based approaches, multivariate statistical approaches, and so on. This work presents a nonlinear empirical monitoring methodology based on the real-time analysis of massive process data. Unfortunately, the big data includes measurement noises and unwanted variations unrelated to true process behavior. Thus the elimination of such unnecessary patterns of the data is executed in data processing step to enhance detection speed and accuracy. The performance of the methodology was demonstrated using simulated process data. The case study showed that the detection speed and performance was improved significantly irrespective of the size and the location of abnormal events.

Keywords: detection, monitoring, process data, noise

Procedia PDF Downloads 214