Search results for: perceived service quality

Authors: G. Lingam, N. Lingam, K. Raghuwaiya

Abstract:

The reported study focuses on pre-service teachers’ professional development during the teaching practice. The cohort studied comprised participants in their final year in the Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science with Graduate Certificate in Education programmes of a university in Fiji. Analysis of the data obtained using a survey questionnaire indicates that overall, the pre-service teachers were satisfied with the practicum experience. This is assumed to demonstrate that the practicum experience contributed well towards their professional preparation for work expected of them in Fiji secondary schools. Participants also identified some concerns as needing attention. To conclude, the paper provides suggestions for improving the preparation of teachers by strengthening the identified areas of the practicum offered by the university. The study has implications for other teacher education providers in small developing island states and even beyond for the purpose of enhancing learning in student teachers’ for future work.

Keywords: Pre-service, teacher education, practicum, teachers’ world of work, student teachers.

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Authors: Qiang Fu, Md. Abu Saleh

Abstract:

Research studies are highly fragmented when an Innovation Management Framework is being discussed. With the aim to identify an Innovation Management Framework/Assessment Tool suitable for Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the service industry, this researcher critically reviewed existing innovation management frameworks and assessment models/tools and discovered a number of literature gaps. It is established that the existing literature lacks generally agreed innovation management dimensions, commonly accepted knowledge creation through empirical studies on innovation management in SMEs, effective innovation management performance measurements, suitable innovation management framework in SMEs, and studies on innovation management in the service industry, in particular in retail SMEs. As such, there is a dire need to develop an appropriate firm-level innovation management framework suitable for SMEs in the service industry for future research projects and further studies. In addition, this researcher also discussed the significance of establishing such an innovation management framework.

Keywords: innovation management, innovation management framework, innovation management assessment tools, SMEs, service industry

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Authors: Salinee Thumronglaohapun

Abstract:

The proper number and appropriate locations of service centers can save cost, raise revenue and gain more satisfaction from customers. Establishing service centers is high-cost and difficult to relocate. In long-term planning periods, several factors may affect the service. One of the most critical factors is uncertain demand of customers. The opened service centers need to be capable of serving customers and making a profit although the demand in each period is changed. In this work, the capacitated location-allocation problem with stochastic demand is considered. A mathematical model is formulated to determine suitable locations of service centers and their allocation to maximize total profit for multiple planning periods. Two heuristic methods, a local search and genetic algorithm, are used to solve this problem. For the local search, five different chances to choose each type of moves are applied. For the genetic algorithm, three different replacement strategies are considered. The results of applying each method to solve numerical examples are compared. Both methods reach to the same best found solution in most examples but the genetic algorithm provides better solutions in some cases.

Keywords: Location-allocation problem, stochastic demand, local search, genetic algorithm.

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Authors: Ehab N. Alkhanak, Salimah Mokhtar

Abstract:

The main aim of this paper is to present the research findings on the solution of centralized Web-Services for students by adopting a framework and a prototype for Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) Web-Services. The current situation of students- Web-based application services has been identified and proposed an effective SOA to increase the operational efficiency of Web-Services for them it was necessary to identify the challenges in delivering a SOA technology to increase operational efficiency of Web-Services. Moreover, the SOA is an emerging concept, used for delivering efficient student SOA Web-Services. Therefore, service reusability from SOA Web-Services is provided and logically divided services into smaller services to increase reusability and modularity. In this case each service is a modular unit by itself and interoperability services.

Keywords: Services Oriented Architecture (SOA), Web-based Application services, and Web-Services.

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Authors: Xin Bai, Han Yu, Yongchang Ji, Dan C. Marinescu

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We discuss the application of matching in the area of resource discovery and resource allocation in grid computing. We present a formal definition of matchmaking, overview algorithms to evaluate different matchmaking expressions, and develop a matchmaking service for an intelligent grid environment.

Keywords: Grid, Matchmaking, Ontology

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Authors: Chng Pei Eng, Boon Yih Mah, Chng Pei Cheng

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In this cyber age, the job market has been rapidly transforming and being digitalized. Submitting a paper-based curriculum vitae (CV) nowadays does not grant a job seeker a high employability rate. This paper calls for attention on the creation of mobile Curriculum Vitae or m-CV (http://mcurriculumvitae. blogspot.com), a sample of an individual CV developed using weblog, which can enhance the job hunter especially fresh graduate-s higher marketability rate. This study is designed to identify the perceptions held by Malaysian university students regarding m-CV grounded on a modified Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). It measures the strength and the direction of relationships among three major variables – Perceived Ease of Use (PEOU), Perceived Usefulness (PU) and Behavioral Intention (BI) to use. The finding shows that university students generally accepted adopting m-CV since they perceived m-CV to be more useful rather than easy to use. Additionally, this study has confirmed TAM to be a useful theoretical model in helping to understand and explain the behavioral intention to use Web 2.0 application-weblog publishing their CV. The result of the study has underlined another significant positive value of using weblog to create personal CV. Further research of m-CV has been highlighted in this paper.

Keywords: CV, mobile curriculum vitae, Technology Acceptance Model, weblog

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Authors: Charru Malhotra, Girija Krishnaswamy

Abstract:

Setting up of rural telecentres, popularly referred to as Common Service Centres (CSCs), are considered one of the initial forerunners of rural e-Governance initiatives under the Government of India-s National e-Governance Plan (NeGP). CSCs are implemented on public-private partnership (PPP) – where State governments play a major role in facilitating the establishment of CSCs and investments are made by private companies referred to as Service Centre Agencies (SCAs). CSC implementation is expected to help in improving public service delivery in a transparent and efficient manner. However, there is very little research undertaken to study the actual impact of CSC implementation at the grassroots level. This paper addresses the gap by identifying the circumstances, concerns and expectations from the point-of-view of citizens and examining the finer aspects of social processes in the context of rural e-Governance.

Keywords: Capacity Building, Citizens' Participation, e- Government, NeGP, PPP, Rural Telecentres

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Authors: Satya Pilla

Abstract:

This study explores how the mechanics of learning paves the way to engineering innovation. Theories related to learning in the new product/service innovation are reviewed from an organizational perspective, behavioral perspective, and engineering perspective. From this, an engineering team-s external interactions for knowledge brokering and internal composition for skill balance are examined from a learning and innovation viewpoints. As a result, an integrated learning model is developed by reconciling the theoretical perspectives as well as developing propositions that emphasize the centrality of learning, and its drivers, in the engineering product/service development. The paper also provides a review and partial validation of the propositions using the results of a previously published field study in the aerospace industry.

Keywords: Engineering Services, Integrated Learning, NewProduct Development, Service Innovation

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Authors: Tasneem Halawani, Yamen Khateeb

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With customers’ ever-increasing expectations for fast services provisioning for all their business needs, information technology (IT) organizations, as business partners, have to cope with this demanding environment and deliver their services in the most effective and efficient way. The purpose of this paper is to identify optimization and automation opportunities for the top requested IT services in a heterogenic digital environment and widely spread customer base. In collaboration with systems, processes, and subject matter experts (SMEs), the processes in scope were approached by analyzing four-year related historical data, identifying and surveying stakeholders, modeling the as-is processes, and studying systems integration/automation capabilities. This effort resulted in identifying several pain areas, including standardization, unnecessary customer and IT involvement, manual steps, systems integration, and performance measurement. These pain areas were addressed by standardizing the top five requested IT services, eliminating/automating 43 steps, and utilizing a single platform for end-to-end process execution. In conclusion, the optimization of IT service request processes in a heterogenic digital environment and widely spread customer base is challenging, yet achievable without compromising the service quality and customers’ added value. Further studies can focus on measuring the value of the eliminated/automated process steps to quantify the enhancement impact. Moreover, a similar approach can be utilized to optimize other IT service requests, with a focus on business criticality.

Keywords: Automation, customer value, heterogenic, integration, IT services, optimization, processes.

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Authors: Sisuwan Kaseamsawat, Sivapan Choo-In

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This study aimed to evaluated the surface water quality for agriculture and consumption in the Amphawa District. The surface water quality parameters in this study included water temperature, turbidity, conductivity, salinity, pH, dissolved oxygen, BOD, nitrate, suspended solids, phosphorus, total dissolved solids (TDS), iron (Fe), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), manganese (Mn), lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd). The water samples were collected from small excavation, Lychee, Pomelo and Coconut orchards for 3 seasons from January to December 2011.

The surface water quality from small excavation, Lychee, pomelo and coconut orchards were met the type III of surface water quality standard. The concentration of heavy metal and did not differ significantly at 0.05 level, except dissolved oxygen.

The surface water was suitable for consumption by the usual sterile and generally improving water quality through the process before and was suitable for agriculture.

Keywords: Water Quality, Surface Water Quality.

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Authors: M. W. Yip, H. H. Ng, S. Din, N. Abu Bakar

Abstract:

This paper reviewed the relationships between the Knowledge Management (KM) activities and its perceived benefits in the knowledge based organisations. KM activities include: knowledge identification, knowledge acquisition, knowledge application, knowledge sharing, knowledge creation and knowledge preservation. And the perceived benefits of KM are fast customer responsiveness, operation excellence and high innovative intensity.  Based on the above review, a conceptual framework for KM implementation in retail business organisations has been proposed. Finally the paper forwarded some limitations of the framework and based on which, directions for future research had been suggested.

Keywords: Knowledge Management, Knowledge Management Activities, Retail Business, Knowledge Economy.

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Authors: Rania Rushdy Moussa

Abstract:

Public parks are placed high on the research agenda, with many studies addressing their social, economic and environment influences in different countries around the world. They have been recognized as contributors to the physical quality of urban environments. Recently, a broader view of public parks has emerged. This view goes well beyond the traditional value of parks as places for more recreation and visual delight, to depict them as valuable contributors to broader strategic objectives, such as property values, place attractiveness, job opportunities, social belonging, public health, tourist development, and improving the overall quality of life. This research examines the role of public parks in enhancing the quality of human life in Egyptian environment. It measures 'quality of life' in terms of 'human needs' and 'well-being'. This should open ways for policymakers, practitioners, researchers and the public to realize the potentials of public parks towards improving the quality of life.

Keywords: Elements of Parks, Human Needs, Quality of Life (QOL), Subjective Well-Being.

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Authors: Suppara Charoenpoom

Abstract:

The objectives of this research was to design and develop a quality management of the school buildings and environment. A quantitative and qualitative mixed research methodology was used. The population sample included 14 directors of primary schools. Two research tools were used. The first research tool included an in-depth interview and questionnaire. The second research tool included the Quality Business Process and Quality Work Procedure, and a Key Performance Indicator of each activity. The statistics included mean and standard deviation. The findings for the development of a quality management process of buildings and environment administration of the basic schools consisted of one quality business process (QBP) and seven quality work processes (QWP). The result from the experts’ evaluation revealed that the process and implementation of quality management of the school buildings and environment has passed the inspection process with consensus. This implies that the process of quality management of the school buildings and environment is suitable for implementation. Moreover, the level of agreement in the feasibility of the implementation of this plan had the mean in the range of 0.64-1.00 which suggests the design of the new plan is acceptable.

Keywords: Process, Building, Environment.

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Authors: R. Karami, A. Gharaei

Abstract:

This study was undertaken at four different sites (north polluted, south polluted, south healthy and north healthy) in Tehran, in order to examine whether there was a relationship between publicly available air quality data and the public’s perception of air quality and to suggest some guidelines for reducing air pollution. A total of 200 people were accidentally filled out the research questionnaires at mentioned sites and air quality data were obtained simultaneously from the Air Quality Control Department. Data was analyzed in Excel and SPSS software’s. Clean air and job security were of great importance to people comparing to other pleasant aspect of life. Also air pollution and serious diseases were the most important of people concerns. Street monitors and news paper services on air quality were little used by the public as a means of obtaining information on air pollution. Using public transportation and avoiding inevitable journeys are the most important ways for reducing air pollution. The results reveal that the public’s perception of air quality is not a reliable indicator of the actual levels of air pollution.

Keywords: Air pollution, Quality of life, Opinion poll, Public participation.

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Authors: Anil Kumar

Abstract:

The Public Bicycle System (PBS), generally known as Public Bicycle Share System or Bike-Share, is a service provided to the everyday commuter, in which several cycles are available on the shared system. The concept of PBS is new to the people of India and requires more study in the fields of essential requirements, major infrastructural requirements, social acceptability and various challenges. In various Indian cities, Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS), Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS), Monorail and other modes of transport have been adopted for the main haul of transport. These modes take more time, space and are also expensive to implement. At the same time, the PBS system is more economical and takes less time to implement. The main benefit of the PBS system is that it is more environmentally friendly. PBS is being implemented in many Indian cities for public use, but various challenges are associated with this. The study aims to determine what are the basic infrastructural requirements for PBS in India, as well as to determine to what extent a Public Bike Sharing System can provide a quality and efficient service to passengers as a primary method of transportation.

Keywords: Public Bicycle Sharing system, sustainable transport, infrastructure, smart city.

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Authors: Sajjad Hashemi, Khalil Monfaredi, Mohammad Masdari

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Cloud computing is a style of computing which is formed from the aggregation and development of technologies such as grid computing distributed computing, parallel computing and service-oriented architecture. And its aim is to provide computing, communication and storage resources in a safe environment based on service, as fast as possible, which is virtually provided via Internet platform. Considering that the provided Services in e-government are available via the Internet, thus cloud computing can be used in the implementation of e-government architecture and provide better service with the lowest economic cost using its benefits. In this paper, the Methods of using cloud computing in e-government has been studied and it's been attempted to identify the challenges and benefits of the cloud to get used in the e-government and proposals have been offered to overcome its shortcomings, encourage and partnership of governments and people to use this economical and new technology.

Keywords: Benefits, Cloud computing, Committee, Challenges, E-Government, Participation.

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Authors: Sulaiman Ainin, Yusniza Kamar ulzaman, Abdul Ghani Farinda

Abstract:

This study was initiated with a three prong objective. One, to identify the relationship between Technological Competencies factors (Technical Capability, Firm Innovativeness and E-Business Practices and professional service firms- business performance. To investigate the predictors of professional service firms business performance and finally to evaluate the predictors of business performance according to the type of professional service firms, a survey questionnaire was deployed to collect empirical data. The questionnaire was distributed to the owners of the professional small medium size enterprises services in the Accounting, Legal, Engineering and Architecture sectors. Analysis showed that all three Technology Competency factors have moderate effect on business performance. In addition, the regression models indicate that technical capability is the most highly influential that could determine business performance, followed by e-business practices and firm innovativeness. Subsequently, the main predictor of business performance for all types of firms is Technical capability.

Keywords: technology competency, technology capability, innovativeness, E-business practice

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Authors: Nasser M. Amaitik, Mohammed J. El-Sahli

Abstract:

Evaluation of educational portals is an important subject area that needs more attention from researchers. A university that has an educational portal which is difficult to use and interact by teachers or students or management staff can reduce the position and reputation of the university. Therefore, it is important to have the ability to make an evaluation of the quality of e-services the university provide to improve them over time. The present study evaluates the usability of the Information Technology Faculty portal at University of Benghazi. Two evaluation methods were used: a questionnaire-based method and an online automated tool-based method. The first method was used to measure the portal's external attributes of usability (Information, Content and Organization of the portal, Navigation, Links and Accessibility, Aesthetic and Visual Appeal, Performance and Effectiveness and educational purpose) from users' perspectives, while the second method was used to measure the portal's internal attributes of usability (number and size of HTML files, number and size of images, load time, HTML check errors, browsers compatibility problems, number of bad and broken links), which cannot be perceived by the users. The study showed that some of the usability aspects have been found at the acceptable level of performance and quality, and some others have been found otherwise. In general, it was concluded that the usability of IT faculty educational portal generally acceptable. Recommendations and suggestions to improve the weakness and quality of the portal usability are presented in this study.

Keywords: Automated tools-based evaluation, Educational portals, Evaluation criteria, Questionnaire-based evaluation, Usability evaluation.

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Authors: N. P. Tsephe, S. D. Eyono Obono

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Rural tourism is usually associated with rural development because it has strong linkages to rural resources; but it remains underdeveloped compared to urban tourism. This underdevelopment of rural tourism serves as a motivation for this study whose aim is to examine the factors affecting the perceived satisfaction of rural tourists. The objectives of this study are: to identify and design theories and models on rural tourism satisfaction, and to empirically validate these models and theories through a survey of tourists from the Malealea Lodge which is located in the Mafeteng District, in the Mountain Kingdom of Lesotho. Data generated by the collection of questionnaires used by this survey was analyzed quantitatively using descriptive statistics and correlations in SPSS after checking the validity and the reliability of the questionnaire. The main hypothesis behind this study is the relationship between the demographics of rural tourists, their motivation, and their satisfaction, as supported by existing literature; except that motivation is measured in this study according to three dimensions: push factors, pull factors, and perceived usefulness of ICTs in the rural tourism experience. Findings from this study indicate that among the demographics factors, continent of origin and marital status influence the satisfaction of rural tourists; and their occupation affects their perceptions on the use of ICTs in rural tourism. Moreover, only pull factors were found to influence the satisfaction of rural tourists.

Keywords: Digital world, Motivation, Rural tourism, Satisfaction.

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Authors: Sivapan Choo-In, Chaisri Tharasawatpipat, Srisuwan Kaseamsawat, Tatsanawalai Utarasakul

Abstract:

The research aims to study the quality of surface water for consumer in Samut Songkram province. Water sample were collected from 217 sampling sites conclude 72 sampling sites in Amphawa, 67 sampling sites in Bangkhonthee and 65 sampling sites in Muang. Water sample were collected in December 2011 for winter, March 2012 for summer and August 2012 for rainy season. From the investigation of surface water quality in Mae Klong River, main and tributaries canals in Samut Songkram province, we found that water quality meet the type III of surface water quality standard issued by the National Environmental Quality Act B.E. 1992. Seasonal variations of pH, Temperature, nitrate, lead and cadmium have statistical differences between 3 seasons.

Keywords: Samut Songkram Province, Surface water quality.

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Authors: Han Guan Chew, Keith Yong Ngee Ng, Shan-Wei Fan

Abstract:

In Singapore, talent retention is one of the most persistent and real issue companies have to grapple with due to the tight labour market. Being resource-scarce, Singapore depends solely on its talented pool of high quality human resource to sustain its competitive advantage in the global economy. But the complex and multifaceted nature of turnover phenomenon makes the prescription of effective talent retention strategies in such a competitive labour market very challenging, especially when it comes to monetary incentives, companies struggle to answer the question of “How much is enough?” By examining the interactive effects of perceived alternative employment opportunities, annual salary and satisfaction with compensation on the turnover intention of 102 Singapore Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians (PMET) through correlation analyses and multiple regressions, important insights into the psyche of the Singapore talent pool can be drawn. It is found that annual salary influence turnover intention indirectly through mediation and moderation effects on PMET’s satisfaction on compensation. PMET are also found to be heavily swayed by better external opportunities. This implies that talent retention strategies should not adopt a purely monetary based blanket approach but rather a comprehensive and holistic one that considers the dynamics of prevailing market conditions.

Keywords: Employee Turnover, High Performers, Knowledge Workers, Perceived Alternative Employment Opportunities Salary, Satisfaction on Compensation, Singapore PMET, Talent Retention.

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Authors: P. Guayjarernpanishkand, T. Mayureesawan

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This paper presents a comparison of average outgoing quality limit of the MCSP-2-C plan with MCSP-C when MCSP-2-C has been developed from MCSP-C. The parameters used in MCSP-2- C are: i (the clearance number), c (the acceptance number), m (the number of conforming units to be found before allowing c nonconforming units in the sampling inspection), f1 and f2 (the sampling frequency at level 1 and 2, respectively). The average outgoing quality limit (AOQL) values from two plans were compared and we found that for all sets of i, r, and c values, MCSP-2-C gives higher values than MCSP-C. For all sets of i, r, and c values, the average outgoing quality values of MCSP-C and MCSP-2-C are similar when p is low or high but is difference when p is moderate.

Keywords: average outgoing quality, average outgoing quality limit, continuous sampling plan.

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Authors: Shuen-Tai Wang, Yu-Ching Lin, Hsi-Ya Chang

Abstract:

Virtualization technologies are experiencing a renewed interest as a way to improve system reliability, and availability, reduce costs, and provide flexibility. This paper presents the development on leverage existing cloud infrastructure and virtualization tools. We adopted some virtualization technologies which improve portability, manageability and compatibility of applications by encapsulating them from the underlying operating system on which they are executed. Given the development of application virtualization, it allows shifting the user’s applications from the traditional PC environment to the virtualized environment, which is stored on a remote virtual machine rather than locally. This proposed effort has the potential to positively provide an efficient, resilience and elastic environment for online cloud service. Users no longer need to burden the platform maintenances and drastically reduces the overall cost of hardware and software licenses. Moreover, this flexible and web-based application virtualization service represents the next significant step to the mobile workplace, and it lets user executes their applications from virtually anywhere. 

Keywords: Cloud service, application virtualization, virtual machine, elastic environment.

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Authors: Cesar Eduardo Hernández Curiel, Victor Hugo Benítez Baltazar, Jesús Horacio Pacheco Ramírez

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This paper is devoted to present the advances in the design of a prototype that is able to supervise the complex behavior of water quality parameters such as pH and temperature, via a real-time monitoring system. The current water quality tests that are performed in government water quality institutions in Mexico are carried out in problematic locations and they require taking manual samples. The water samples are then taken to the institution laboratory for examination. In order to automate this process, a water quality monitoring system based on wireless sensor networks is proposed. The system consists of a sensor node which contains one pH sensor, one temperature sensor, a microcontroller, and a ZigBee radio, and a base station composed by a ZigBee radio and a PC. The progress in this investigation shows the development of a water quality monitoring system. Due to recent events that affected water quality in Mexico, the main motivation of this study is to address water quality monitoring systems, so in the near future, a more robust, affordable, and reliable system can be deployed.

Keywords: pH measurement, water quality monitoring, wireless sensor networks, ZigBee.

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Authors: Claudia L. Zuñiga, Andres F. Millan, Jose L. Abadia, Monica Lora, Andres Navarro, Juan C. Burguillo, Pedro S. Rodriguez

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The increasing popularity of wireless technologies and mobile computing devices has enabled new application areas and research. One of these new areas is pervasive systems in urban environments, because urban environments are characterized by high concentration of these technologies and devices. In this paper we will show the process of pervasive system design in urban environments, using as use case a local zoo in Cali, Colombia. Based on an ethnographic studio, we present the design of a pervasive system for urban computing based on service oriented architecture to controlled environment of Cali Zoo. In this paper, the reader will find a methodological approach for the design of similar systems, using data collection methods, conceptual frameworks for urban environments and considerations of analysis and design of service oriented systems.

Keywords: Service Oriented Architecture, Urban Computing, Design of pervasive systems for urban environments, PSP Design Framework (Public Social Private), Cali Zoo.

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Authors: Tamás Hartványi, Ferenc Tóth

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European telecommunication distribution center performance is measured by service lead time and quality. Operation model is CTO (customized to order) namely, a high mix customization of telecommunication network equipment and parts. CTO operation contains material receiving, warehousing, network and server assembly to order and configure based on customer specifications. Variety of the product and orders does not support mass production structure. One of the success factors to satisfy customer is to have a proper aggregated planning method for the operation in order to have optimized human resources and highly efficient asset utilization. Research will investigate several methods and find proper way to have an order book simulation where practical optimization problem may contain thousands of variables and the simulation running times of developed algorithms were taken into account with high importance. There are two operation research models that were developed, customer demand is given in orders, no change over time, customer demands are given for product types, and changeover time is constant.

Keywords: CTO, aggregated planning, demand simulation, changeover time.

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Authors: R. Schweighoffer, N. Nagy, E. Reeves, B. Liebig

Abstract:

Due to aging populations, the need for seamless palliative care provision is of central interest for western societies. An essential aspect of palliative care delivery is the quality of collaboration amongst palliative care providers. Therefore, the current research is based on Bainbridge’s conceptual framework, which provides an outline for the evaluation of palliative care provision. This study is the first one to investigate the predictive validity of spatial distribution on the quantity of interaction amongst various palliative care providers. Furthermore, based on the familiarity principle, we examine whether the extent of collaboration influences the perceived quality of collaboration among palliative care providers in urban versus rural areas of Switzerland. Based on a population-representative survey of Swiss palliative care providers, the results of the current study show that professionals in densely populated areas report higher absolute numbers of interactions and are more satisfied with their collaborative practice. This indicates that palliative care providers who work in urban areas are better embedded into networks than their counterparts in more rural areas. The findings are especially important, considering that efficient collaboration is a prerequisite to achieve satisfactory patient outcomes. Conclusively, measures should be taken to foster collaboration in weakly interconnected palliative care networks.

Keywords: Collaboration, healthcare networks, palliative care, Switzerland.

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Authors: Gurmeet Kaur, Jyoti Pruthi

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Agile Software development approaches and techniques are being considered as efficient, effective, and popular methods to the development of software. Agile software developments are useful for developing high-quality software that completes client requirements with zero defects, and in short delivery period. In agile software development methodology, quality is related to coding, which means quality, is managed through the use of approaches like refactoring, pair programming, test-driven development, behavior-driven development, acceptance test-driven development, and demand-driven development. The quality of software is measured using metrics like the number of defects during the development and improvement of the software. Usage of the above-mentioned methods or approaches reduces the possibilities of defects in developed software, and hence improves quality. This paper focuses on the study of agile-based quality methods or approaches for software development that ensures improved quality of software as well as reduced cost, and customer satisfaction.

Keywords: Agile software development, ASD, Acceptance test-driven development, ATDD, Behavior-driven development, BDD, Demand-driven development. DDD, Test-driven development, TDD.

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Authors: Chaitanya Vyas

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This paper identifies limitations of existing two e- Governance services viz. railway ticket booking and passport service in India. The comparison has been made as to how in the past these two citizen services were operating manually and how these services are taken online via e-Governance. Different e-Governance projects, investment aspects, and role of corporate are discussed. For Indian Railway online ticketing a comparison has been made between state run booking website and popular private firm run booking websites. For passport service, observations through personal visit to passport center is described. Suggestions are made to improve these services further to improve citizen service experiences.

Keywords: e-Governance, citizen services, Indian Railways, passport.

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Authors: Moon-Tak Oh, Kyung-Min Park, Tae-Eun Yoon, Hoon Choi, Chil-Woo Lee

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This paper is about middleware which enables group-user applications on mobile devices in physical proximity to interact with other devices without intervention of a central server. Requirements of the middleware are identified from service usage scenarios, and the functional architecture of the middleware is specified. These requirements include Group Management, Synchronization, and Resource Management. Group Management needs to provide various capabilities to such applications with respect to managing multiple users (e.g., creation of groups, discovery of group or individual users, member join/leave, election of a group manager and service-group association) using D2D communication technology. We designed the middleware for the above requirements on the Android platform.

Keywords: Group user, middleware, mobile service, physical proximity.

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