Search results for: Decision making style

Authors: Muhammad Aqil, Ichiro Kita, Akira Yano, Nishiyama Soichi

Abstract:

This paper presents an alternate approach that uses artificial neural network to simulate the flood level dynamics in a river basin. The algorithm was developed in a decision support system environment in order to enable users to process the data. The decision support system is found to be useful due to its interactive nature, flexibility in approach and evolving graphical feature and can be adopted for any similar situation to predict the flood level. The main data processing includes the gauging station selection, input generation, lead-time selection/generation, and length of prediction. This program enables users to process the flood level data, to train/test the model using various inputs and to visualize results. The program code consists of a set of files, which can as well be modified to match other purposes. This program may also serve as a tool for real-time flood monitoring and process control. The running results indicate that the decision support system applied to the flood level seems to have reached encouraging results for the river basin under examination. The comparison of the model predictions with the observed data was satisfactory, where the model is able to forecast the flood level up to 5 hours in advance with reasonable prediction accuracy. Finally, this program may also serve as a tool for real-time flood monitoring and process control.

Keywords: Decision Support System, Neural Network, Flood Level

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Authors: Mouna Benfssahi, Zoubir El Felsoufi

Abstract:

For many enterprises, the delocalization of a part or the totality of their supply chain to low cost countries is the best way to reduce costs and remain competitive against the growing globalized market. This new tendency is driven by logistics advantages, as well as, financial and tax discount offered by the host countries. The objective of this article is to examine the new financial challenges introduced by the project of base erosion and profits shifting (BEPS), published in 2015, and also their impact on the decision of delocalization. In fact, the strategy adopted by multinational firms for determining the transfer price (TP) of goods and services, as well as the shared amount of revenues and expenses have a major impact upon group profit and may contribute to divergent results. In order to get more profit, a coherent decision of delocalization should be based on an evaluation of all the operational and financial characteristics associated with such movement. Therefore, it is interesting to model these new constraints and integrate them in a more global decision model. The established model will enable to measure how much these financial constraints impact the decision of delocalization and will give new helpful directives for enterprise managers.

Keywords: Delocalization, intragroup transaction, multinational firms, optimization model, supply chain management, transfer pricing.

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Authors: M. Elkhoury

Abstract:

A recently developed one-equation turbulence model has been successfully applied to simulate turbulent flows with various complexities. The model, which is based on the transformation of the k-ε closure, is wall-distance free and equipped with lagging destruction/dissipation terms. Test cases included shockboundary- layer interaction flows over the NACA 0012 airfoil, an axisymmetric bump, and the ONERA M6 wing. The capability of the model to operate in a Scale Resolved Simulation (SRS) mode is demonstrated through the simulation of a massive flow separation over a circular cylinder at Re= 1.2 x106. An assessment of the results against available experiments Menter (k-ε)1Eq and the Spalart- Allmaras model that belongs to the single equation closure family is made.

Keywords: Turbulence modeling, complex flow simulation, scale adaptive simulation, one-equation turbulence model.

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Authors: Inas Hussein

Abstract:

Alice Munro is a Canadian short-story writer who has been regarded as one of the greatest writers of fiction. Owing to her great contribution to fiction, she was the first Canadian woman and the only short-story writer ever to be rewarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2013. Her literary works include collections of short stories and one book published as a novel. Her stories concentrate on the human condition and the human relationships as seen through the lens of daily life. The setting in most of her stories is her native Canada- small towns much similar to the one where she grew up. Her writing style is not only realistic but is also characterized by autobiographical, historical and regional features. The aim of this research is to analyze one of the key stylistic devices often adopted by Munro in her fictions: the juxtaposition of the past and the present, with reference to the title story in Munro's short story collection Too Much Happiness. The story under exploration is a brief biography of the Russian Mathematician and novelist Sophia Kovalevsky (1850 – 1891), the first woman to be appointed as a professor of Mathematics at a European University in Stockholm. Thus, the story has a historical protagonist and is set on the European continent. Munro dramatizes the severe historical and cultural constraints that hindered the career of the protagonist. A pragmatic stylistic framework is being adopted and the qualitative analysis is supported by textual reference. The stylistic analysis reveals that the juxtaposition of the past and the present is one of the distinctive features that characterize the author; in a typical Munrovian manner, the protagonist often moves between the units of time: the past, the present and, sometimes, the future. Munro's style is simple and direct but cleverly constructed and densely complicated by the presence of deeper layers and stories within the story. Findings of the research reveal that the story under investigation merits reading and analyzing. It is recommended that this story and other stories by Munro are analyzed to further explore the features of her art and style.

Keywords: Alice Munro, Too Much Happiness, juxtaposition of past and present, pragmatic stylistics.

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Authors: Hakim Aguedal, Abdelkader Iddou, Abdallah Aziz, Djillali Reda Merouani, Ferhat Bensaleh, Saleh Bensadek

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The textile industry produces high amount of colored effluent each year. The management or treatment of these discharges depends on the applied techniques. Adsorption is one of wastewater treatment techniques destined to treat this kind of pollution, and the performance and efficiency predominantly depend on the nature of the adsorbent used. Therefore, scientific research is directed towards the development of new materials using different physical and chemical treatments to improve their adsorption capacities. In the same perspective, we looked at the effect of the heat treatment on the effectiveness of diatomite, which is found in abundance in Algeria. The textile dye Orange Bezaktiv (SRL-150) which is used as organic pollutants in this study is provided by the textile company SOITEXHAM in Oran city (west Algeria). The effect of different physicochemical parameters on the adsorption of SRL-150 on natural and modified diatomite is studied, and the results of the kinetics and adsorption isotherms were modeled.

Keywords: Wastewater treatment, diatomite, adsorption, dye pollution, kinetic, Isotherm.

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Authors: Andrey V. Timofeev, Dmitry V. Egorov

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This paper introduces an original method of parametric optimization of the structure for multimodal decisionlevel fusion scheme which combines the results of the partial solution of the classification task obtained from assembly of the mono-modal classifiers. As a result, a multimodal fusion classifier which has the minimum value of the total error rate has been obtained.

Keywords: Сlassification accuracy, fusion solution, total error rate.

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Authors: Rizwan Moeen, Riaz Ahmad, Tanweer Ul Islam, Shahid Ikramullah, Muhammad Umer

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Supplier appraisal fosters energy in Supply Chain Management and helps in best optimization of viable business partners for a company. Many Decision Making techniques have already been proposed by researchers for supplier-s appraisal. However, Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is assumed to be the most structured technique to attain near-best solution of the problem. This paper focuses at implementation of AHP in the procurement processes. It also suggests that on what factors a Public Sector Enterprises must focus while dealing with their suppliers and what should the suppliers do to synchronize their activities with the strategic objectives of Organization. It also highlights the weak areas in supplier appraisal process with a view to suggest viable recommendations.

Keywords: AHP, MCDM techniques, Supply Chain Management (SCM), Supplier appraisal.

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Authors: Bita Mashayekhi, Mohammad Ara

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The purpose of this study is to provide some empirical evidence about implementing Activity-Based Costing (ABC) in the hospitality industry in Iran. For this purpose, we consider the Tabriz International Hotel as our sample hotel and then gather the relevant data from its cost accounting system in 2012. Then, we use ABC as our costing method and compare the cost of each service unit with that cost which had been extracted for the traditional costing method. The results show a different cost per unit for two methods. Also, because of its more precise and detailed provided information, an ABC system facilitates the decision-making process for managers on decisions related to profitability analysis, budgeting, pricing, and so on.

Keywords: Activity-based costing, activity, cost driver, hospitality industry.

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Authors: Sarma Cakula, Maija Sedleniece

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Simulation and modeling computer programs are concerned with construction of models for analyzing different perspectives and possibilities in changing conditions environment. The paper presents theoretical justification and evaluation of qualitative e-learning development model in perspective of advancing modern technologies. There have been analyzed principles of qualitative e-learning in higher education, productivity of studying process using modern technologies, different kind of methods and future perspectives of e-learning in formal education. Theoretically grounded and practically tested model of developing e-learning methods using different technologies for different type of classroom, which can be used in professor-s decision making process to choose the most effective e-learning methods has been worked out.

Keywords: E-learning, modeling, E-learning methods development, personal knowledge management

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Authors: Jo Rhodes, Peter Lok, Zahra Sadeghinejad

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The aim of this study is to determine the impact of metacognition on top management team members and firm performance based on full team integration. A survey of 1500 small to medium enterprises (SMEs) was initiated and 140 firms were obtained in this study (with response rate of 9%). The result showed that different metacognitive abilities of managers [knowledge and experience] could enhance team decision-making and problem solving, resulting in greater firm performance. This is a significant finding for SMEs because these organisations have small teams with owner leadership and entrepreneurial orientation.

Keywords: Metacognition, behavioural integration, top management team, performance.

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Authors: Chandrika M.J., Lariyah M.S., Alicia Y.C. Tang

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Ontology is widely being used as a tool for organizing information, creating the relation between the subjects within the defined knowledge domain area. Various fields such as Civil, Biology, and Management have successful integrated ontology in decision support systems for managing domain knowledge and to assist their decision makers. Gross pollutant traps (GPT) are devices used in trapping and preventing large items or hazardous particles in polluting and entering our waterways. However choosing and determining GPT is a challenge in Malaysia as there are inadequate GPT data repositories being captured and shared. Hence ontology is needed to capture, organize and represent this knowledge into meaningful information which can be contributed to the efficiency of GPT selection in Malaysia urbanization. A GPT Ontology framework is therefore built as the first step to capture GPT knowledge which will then be integrated into the decision support system. This paper will provide several examples of the GPT ontology, and explain how it is constructed by using the Protégé tool.

Keywords: Gross pollutant Trap, Ontology, Protégé.

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Authors: Yanshuang Zhang, Byungho Jeong

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Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is a methodology that computes efficiency values for decision making units (DMU) in a given period by comparing the outputs with the inputs. In many cases, there are some time lag between the consumption of inputs and the production of outputs. For a long-term research project, it is hard to avoid the production lead time phenomenon. This time lag effect should be considered in evaluating the performance of organizations. This paper suggests a model to calculate efficiency values for the performance evaluation problem with time lag. In the experimental part, the proposed methods are compared with the CCR and an existing time lag model using the data set of the 21st century frontier R&D program which is a long-term national R&D program of Korea.

Keywords: DEA, Efficiency, Time Lag

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Authors: Mahesh Pal

Abstract:

This paper proposes to use ETM+ multispectral data and panchromatic band as well as texture features derived from the panchromatic band for land cover classification. Four texture features including one 'internal texture' and three GLCM based textures namely correlation, entropy, and inverse different moment were used in combination with ETM+ multispectral data. Two data sets involving combination of multispectral, panchromatic band and its texture were used and results were compared with those obtained by using multispectral data alone. A decision tree classifier with and without boosting were used to classify different datasets. Results from this study suggest that the dataset consisting of panchromatic band, four of its texture features and multispectral data was able to increase the classification accuracy by about 2%. In comparison, a boosted decision tree was able to increase the classification accuracy by about 3% with the same dataset.

Keywords: Internal texture; GLCM; decision tree; boosting; classification accuracy.

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Authors: Ekin Kıpçak, Yağmur Karakuş, Mesut Akgün

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Hydrogen is an important chemical in many industries and it is expected to become one of the major fuels for energy generation in the future. Unfortunately, hydrogen does not exist in its elemental form in nature and therefore has to be produced from hydrocarbons, hydrogen-containing compounds or water.

Above its critical point (374.8^oC and 22.1MPa), water has lower density and viscosity, and a higher heat capacity than those of ambient water. Mass transfer in supercritical water (SCW) is enhanced due to its increased diffusivity and transport ability. The reduced dielectric constant makes supercritical water a better solvent for organic compounds and gases. Hence, due to the aforementioned desirable properties, there is a growing interest toward studies regarding the gasification of organic matter containing biomass or model biomass solutions in supercritical water.

In this study, hydrogen and biofuel production by the catalytic gasification of 2-Propanol in supercritical conditions of water was investigated. Ru/Al₂O₃ was the catalyst used in the gasification reactions. All of the experiments were performed under a constant pressure of 25 MPa. The effects of five reaction temperatures (400, 450, 500, 550 and 600^oC) and five reaction times (10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 s) on the gasification yield and flammable component content were investigated.

Keywords: 2-Propanol, Gasification, Ru/Al2O3, Supercritical water.

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Authors: Chyn Liaw, Chun-Wei Tung, Shinn-Jang Ho, Shinn-Ying Ho

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The γ-turns play important roles in protein folding and molecular recognition. The prediction and analysis of γ-turn types are important for both protein structure predictions and better understanding the characteristics of different γ-turn types. This study proposed a physicochemical property-based decision tree (PPDT) method to interpretably predict γ-turn types. In addition to the good prediction performance of PPDT, three simple and human interpretable IF-THEN rules are extracted from the decision tree constructed by PPDT. The identified informative physicochemical properties and concise rules provide a simple way for discriminating and understanding γ-turn types.

Keywords: Classification and regression tree (CART), γ-turn, Physicochemical properties, Protein secondary structure.

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Authors: Srikanth Bade

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This paper discusses how the usage of social media has altered certain discourses and communicated with the political institutions for major actions in Indian scenario. The advent of new technology in the form of social media has engrossed the general public to discuss in the open forum. How they promulgated their ideas into action is captured in this study. Moreover, these discourses happening in the social media is analyzed from certain philosophical traditions by adopting a framework. Hence, this paper analyses the role of social media in political communication and change the political discourse. Also, this paper tries to address the issue that whether the deliberation made through social media had indeed communicated the issue of political matters to the decision making authorities.

Keywords: Collective action and social capital, political communication, political discourse, social media.

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Authors: Maninder Jeet Kaur, Moin Uddin, Harsh K. Verma

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The efficient use of available licensed spectrum is becoming more and more critical with increasing demand and usage of the radio spectrum. This paper shows how the use of spectrum as well as dynamic spectrum management can be effectively managed and spectrum allocation schemes in the wireless communication systems be implemented and used, in future. This paper would be an attempt towards better utilization of the spectrum. This research will focus on the decision-making process mainly, with an assumption that the radio environment has already been sensed and the QoS requirements for the application have been specified either by the sensed radio environment or by the secondary user itself. We identify and study the characteristic parameters of Cognitive Radio and use Genetic Algorithm for spectrum allocation. Performance evaluation is done using MATLAB toolboxes.

Keywords: Cognitive Radio, Fitness Functions, Fuzzy Logic, Quality of Service (QoS)

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Authors: Rajeev Kaula

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Business rules and data warehouse are concepts and technologies that impact a wide variety of organizational tasks. In general, each area has evolved independently, impacting application development and decision-making. Generating knowledge from data warehouse is a complex process. This paper outlines an approach to ease import of information and knowledge from a data warehouse star schema through an inference class of business rules. The paper utilizes the Oracle database for illustrating the working of the concepts. The star schema structure and the business rules are stored within a relational database. The approach is explained through a prototype in Oracle-s PL/SQL Server Pages.

Keywords: Business Rules, Data warehouse, PL/SQL ServerPages, Relational model, Web Application.

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Authors: Peter Clutterbuck, Terry Rowlands, Owen Seamons

Abstract:

In this paper we describe one critical research program within a complex, ongoing multi-year project (2010 to 2014 inclusive) with the overall goal to improve the learning outcomes for first year undergraduate commerce/business students within an Information Systems (IS) subject with very large enrolment. The single research program described in this paper is the analysis of student attitudes and decision making in relation to the availability of formative assessment feedback via Web-based real time conferencing and document exchange software (Adobe Connect). The formative assessment feedback between teaching staff and students is in respect of an authentic problem-based, team-completed assignment. The analysis of student attitudes and decision making is investigated via both qualitative (firstly) and quantitative (secondly) application of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) with a two statistically-significant and separate trial samples of the enrolled students. The initial qualitative TPB investigation revealed that perceived self-efficacy, improved time-management, and lecturer-student relationship building were the major factors in shaping an overall favorable student attitude to online feedback, whilst some students expressed valid concerns with perceived control limitations identified within the online feedback protocols. The subsequent quantitative TPB investigation then confirmed that attitude towards usage, subjective norms surrounding usage, and perceived behavioral control of usage were all significant in shaping student intention to use the online feedback protocol, with these three variables explaining 63 percent of the variance in the behavioral intention to use the online feedback protocol. The identification in this research of perceived behavioral control as a significant determinant in student usage of a specific technology component within a virtual learning environment (VLE) suggests that VLEs could now be viewed not as a single, atomic entity, but as a spectrum of technology offerings ranging from the mature and simple (e.g., email, Web downloads) to the cutting-edge and challenging (e.g., Web conferencing and real-time document exchange). That is, that all VLEs should not be considered the same. The results of this research suggest that tertiary students have the technological sophistication to assess a VLE in this more selective manner.

Keywords: Formative assessment feedback, virtual learning environment, theory of planned behavior, perceived behavioral control.

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Authors: Yanshuang Zhang, Byungho Jeong

Abstract:

There exists some time lag between the consumption of inputs and the production of outputs. This time lag effect should be considered in calculating efficiency of decision making units (DMU). Recently, a couple of DEA models were developed for considering time lag effect in efficiency evaluation of research activities. However, these models can’t discriminate efficient DMUs because of the nature of basic DEA model in which efficiency scores are limited to ‘1’. This problem can be resolved a super-efficiency model. However, a super efficiency model sometimes causes infeasibility problem. This paper suggests an output oriented super-efficiency model for efficiency evaluation under the consideration of time lag effect. A case example using a long term research project is given to compare the suggested model with the MpO model.

Keywords: DEA, Super-efficiency, Time Lag.

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Authors: N. Southiseng, J. Walsh

Abstract:

Prior to 1975, women in Laos suffered from having reduced levels of power over decision-making in their families and in their communities. This has had a negative impact on their ability to develop their own identities. Their roles were identified as being responsible for household activities and making preparations for their marriage. Many women lost opportunities to get educated and access the outdoor work that might have empowered them to improve their situations. So far, no accurate figures of either emigrants or return migrants have been compiled but it appears that most of them were women, and it was women who most and more frequently remitted money home. However, very few recent studies have addressed the relationship between remittances and the roles of women in Laos. This study, therefore, aims at redressing to some extent the deficiencies in knowledge. Qualitative techniques were used to gather data, including individual in-depth interviews and direct observation in combination with the content analysis method. Forty women in Vientiane Municipality and Savannakhet province were individually interviewed. It was found that the monetary remittance was typically used for family security and well-being; on fungible activities; on economic and business activities; and on community development, especially concerning hospitality and providing daily household necessities. Remittances played important roles in improving many respondents- livelihoods and positively changed their identities in families and communities. Women became empowered as they were able to start commercial businesses, rather than taking care of (just) housework, children and elders. Interviews indicated that 92.5% of the respondents their quality of lives improved, 90% felt happier in their families and 82.5% felt conflicts in their families were reduced.

Keywords: Laos, Monetary Remittances, Social Remittance, Women's Empowerment.

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Authors: Nam Lethanh, Bryan T. Adey

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In this paper, the potential use of an exponential hidden Markov model to model a hidden pavement deterioration process, i.e. one that is not directly measurable, is investigated. It is assumed that the evolution of the physical condition, which is the hidden process, and the evolution of the values of pavement distress indicators, can be adequately described using discrete condition states and modeled as a Markov processes. It is also assumed that condition data can be collected by visual inspections over time and represented continuously using an exponential distribution. The advantage of using such a model in decision making process is illustrated through an empirical study using real world data.

Keywords: Deterioration modeling, Exponential distribution, Hidden Markov model, Pavement management

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Authors: Viliam Makis, Farnoosh Naderkhani, Leila Jafari

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In this paper, we present a model and an algorithm for the calculation of the optimal control limit, average cost, sample size, and the sampling interval for an optimal Bayesian chart to control the proportion of defective items produced using a semi-Markov decision process approach. Traditional p-chart has been widely used for controlling the proportion of defectives in various kinds of production processes for many years. It is well known that traditional non-Bayesian charts are not optimal, but very few optimal Bayesian control charts have been developed in the literature, mostly considering finite horizon. The objective of this paper is to develop a fast computational algorithm to obtain the optimal parameters of a Bayesian p-chart. The decision problem is formulated in the partially observable framework and the developed algorithm is illustrated by a numerical example.

Keywords: Bayesian control chart, semi-Markov decision process, quality control, partially observable process.

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Authors: Taimur Qureshi, Djamel A Zighed

Abstract:

Many supervised induction algorithms require discrete data, even while real data often comes in a discrete and continuous formats. Quality discretization of continuous attributes is an important problem that has effects on speed, accuracy and understandability of the induction models. Usually, discretization and other types of statistical processes are applied to subsets of the population as the entire population is practically inaccessible. For this reason we argue that the discretization performed on a sample of the population is only an estimate of the entire population. Most of the existing discretization methods, partition the attribute range into two or several intervals using a single or a set of cut points. In this paper, we introduce a technique by using resampling (such as bootstrap) to generate a set of candidate discretization points and thus, improving the discretization quality by providing a better estimation towards the entire population. Thus, the goal of this paper is to observe whether the resampling technique can lead to better discretization points, which opens up a new paradigm to construction of soft decision trees.

Keywords: Bootstrap, discretization, resampling, soft decision trees.

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Authors: Anatoly Krivinsh

Abstract:

The results of dissertation research "Preventing and  combating corruption in public procurement" are presented in this  publication. The study was conducted 2011 till 2013 in a Member  State of the European Union– in the Republic of Latvia.  Goal of the thesis is to explore corruption prevention and  combating issues in public procurement sphere, to identify the  prevalence rates, determinants and contributing factors and  prevention opportunities in Latvia.  In the first chapter the author analyzes theoretical aspects of  understanding corruption in public procurement, with particular  emphasis on corruption definition problem, its nature, causes and  consequences. A separate section is dedicated to the public  procurement concept, mechanism and legal framework. In the first  part of this work the author presents cognitive methodology of  corruption in public procurement field, based on which the author has  carried out an analysis of corruption situation in public procurement  in Republic of Latvia.  In the second chapter of the thesis, the author analyzes the  problem of corruption in public procurement, including its historical  aspects, typology and classification of corruption subjects involved,  corruption risk elements in public procurement and their  identification. During the development of the second chapter author's  practical experience in public procurements was widely used.  The third and fourth chapter deals with issues related to the  prevention and combating corruption in public procurement, namely  the operation of the concept, principles, methods and techniques,  subjects in Republic of Latvia, as well as an analysis of foreign  experience in preventing and combating corruption. The fifth chapter  is devoted to the corruption prevention and combating perspectives  and their assessment. In this chapter the author has made the  evaluation of corruption prevention and combating measures  efficiency in Republic of Latvia, assessment of anti-corruption  legislation development stage in public procurement field in Latvia. 

Keywords: Prevention of corruption, public purchases.

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Authors: S. Thirumurugan, D. R. Prince Williams

Abstract:

Software Reliability is one of the key factors in the software development process. Software Reliability is estimated using reliability models based on Non Homogenous Poisson Process. In most of the literature the Software Reliability is predicted only in testing phase. So it leads to wrong decision-making concept. In this paper, two Software Reliability concepts, testing and operational phase are studied in detail. Using S-Shaped Software Reliability Growth Model (SRGM) and Exponential SRGM, the testing and operational reliability values are obtained. Finally two reliability values are compared and optimal release time is investigated.

Keywords: Error Detection Rate, Estimation of Parameters, Instantaneous Failure Rate, Mean Value Function, Non Homogenous Poisson Process (NHPP), Software Reliability.

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Authors: Eberechi Weli, Michael Todinov

Abstract:

The gap between the selection of risk-reduction options in the railway industry and the task of their effective implementation results in compromised safety and substantial losses. An effective risk management must necessarily integrate the evaluation phases with the implementation phase. This paper proposes an essential categorisation of risk reduction measures that best addresses a standard railway industry portfolio. By categorising the risk reduction options into design, operational, procedural and technical options, it is guaranteed that the efforts of the implementation facilitators (people, processes and supporting systems) are systematically harmonised. The classification is based on an integration of fundamental principles of risk reduction in the railway industry with the systems engineering approach.

This paper argues that the use of a similar classification approach is an attribute of organisations possessing a superior level of risk-reduction readiness. The integration of the proposed rational classification structure provides a solid ground for effective risk reduction.

Keywords: Cost effectiveness, organisational readiness, risk reduction, railway, system engineering.

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Authors: Ana Paula P. dos Santos, Claudia R. Andrade, Edson L. Zaparoli

Abstract:

Pressure loss in ductworks is an important factor to be considered in design of engineering systems such as power-plants, refineries, HVAC systems to reduce energy costs. Ductwork can be composed by straight ducts and different types of fittings (elbows, transitions, converging and diverging tees and wyes). Duct fittings are significant sources of pressure loss in fluid distribution systems. Fitting losses can be even more significant than equipment components such as coils, filters, and dampers. At the present work, a conventional 90^o round elbow under turbulent incompressible airflow is studied. Mass, momentum, and k-e turbulence model equations are solved employing the finite volume method. The SIMPLE algorithm is used for the pressure-velocity coupling. In order to validate the numerical tool, the elbow pressure loss coefficient is determined using the same conditions to compare with ASHRAE database. Furthermore, the effect of Reynolds number variation on the elbow pressure loss coefficient is investigated. These results can be useful to perform better preliminary design of air distribution ductworks in air conditioning systems.

Keywords: Duct fitting, Pressure loss, Elbow.

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Authors: P. Martínez-Nieto, M. Vanegas-Hoyos, M. Zapata-Pineda, J. Robles-Camargo

Abstract:

The aquatic plants are a promising renewable energy resource. Lake Fúquene polluting macrophytes, water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes C. Mart.) and Brazilian elodea (Egeria densa Planch.), were saccharifiedby different treatments and fermented to ethanol by native yeasts. Among the tested chemical and biological methods for the saccharification, Pleurotus ostreatus at 10% (m/v) was chosen as the best pre-treatment in both macrophytes (P<0.01). Subsequently 49 yeasts were isolated from Lake Fúquene and nine strains were selected, which presented the highest precipitates characteristic of ethanol in the iodoform test. The fermentations from water hyacinth and Brazilian elodea hydrolysates using these yeasts produced ethanol at a rate between 0.38 to 0.80gL-1h-1 and 0.15 to 0.27gL-1h-1 respectively. The ethanol presence was confirmed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. The nine yeasts chosen were preliminarily identified as belonging to the genera Candida spp., Brettanomyces sp. and Hansenula spp.

Keywords: Bio-ethanol, Chemical hydrolysis, Invasive aquatic macrophytes, Native yeasts fermenting, P. ostreatus

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Authors: A. Gagat-Matuła

Abstract:

The aim of this article is to present a relation between family relationships and styles of approach to coping with stress among young people from migrant families with cerebral palsy. The study involved 70 persons (with cerebral palsy in the standard intellectual capacity) from families, in which at least one of parents is a migrant. To measure the level of communication in the family, the Family Relationships Questionnaire (FRQ) was employed, while the styles of coping with stress was investigated with the CISS Questionnaire. The relation between family relationships and styles of coping with stressful situations of the respondents was investigated. It was shown that there is an affiliation between the emotion-oriented style of coping with the stress and the variable of “communication in my family”. Moreover, it was demonstrated that there is a linkage between the task-oriented style of coping with the stress and the variable of “maternal control in mother-child relationship”. Young people with CP subjected to overprotection and control from their mothers in problem situations tend to focus on their own emotions instead of trying to undertake constructive actions. Excessive control in daily life by mothers results in passivity and a lack of motivation to cope with difficult situations.

Keywords: Young people with cerebral palsy, family relationships, styles of coping with stress, migration.

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