Search results for: Supply Chain Management (SCM)
2846 The Impact of Rehabilitation Approaches in the Sustainability of the Management of Small Tanks in Sri Lanka
Authors: N.K.K. Welgama, W.A.D.P. Wanigasundera
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Small tanks, the ancient man-made rain water storage systems, support the pheasant life and agriculture of the dry zone of Sri Lanka. Many small tanks were abandoned with time due to various reasons. Such tanks, rehabilitated in the recent past, were found to be less sustainable and most of these rehabilitation approaches have failed. The objective of this research is to assess the impact of the rehabilitation approaches in the management of small tanks in the Kurunegala District of Sri Lanka with respect to eight small tanks. A Sustainability index was developed using seven indicators representing the ability and commitment of the villagers to maintain these tanks. The sustainability index of the eight tanks varied between 79.2 and 47.2 out of a total score of 100. The conclusion is that, the approaches used for tank rehabilitation have a significant effect on the sustainability of the management of these small tanks.Keywords: Minor irrigation schemes, Participatory, Small Tanks, Sustainable, Water resource management.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 17862845 DNA Nanowires: A Charge Transfer Approach
Authors: S. Behnia, S. Fathizadeh
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Conductivity properties of DNA molecule is investigated in a simple, but chemically specific approach that is intimately related to the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger (SSH) model. This model is a tight-binding linear nanoscale chain. We have tried to study the electrical current flowing in DNA and investigated the characteristic I-V diagram. As a result, It is shown that there are the (quasi-) ohmic areas in I-V diagram. On the other hand, the regions with a negative differential resistance (NDR) are detectable in diagram.Keywords: Charge transfer in DNA, Chaos theory, Molecular electronics, Negative Differential resistance.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 18452844 Engagement Strategies for Stakeholder Management in New Technology Development in the Fertilizer Industry – A Conceptual Framework
Authors: Ammar Redza Ahmad Rizal, Shahrina Md Nordin, Mohd Shamsuri Saad, Kamariah Ismail
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Communication is becoming a significant tool to engage stakeholders since half of the century ago. In the recent years, there has been rapid growth of new technology developments. In tandem with such developments, there has been growing emphasis in communication strategies and management especially in determining the level of influence and management strategies among the said stakeholders on particular field. This paper presents a research conceptual framework focusing on stakeholder theories, communication and management strategies to be implied on the engagement of stakeholders of new technology developments of fertilizer industry in Malaysia. Framework espoused in this paper will provide insights into the various stakeholder theories and engagement strategies from different principal necessary for a successful introduction of new technology development in the above stated industry. The proposed framework has theoretical significance in filling the gap of the body of knowledge in the implementation of communication strategies in Malaysian fertilizer industry.
Keywords: Communication Strategies, Fertilizer Industry, New Technology Development, Stakeholders Management.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 28722843 The Internet of Things Ecosystem: Survey of the Current Landscape, Identity Relationship Management, Multifactor Authentication Mechanisms, and Underlying Protocols
Authors: Nazli W. Hardy
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A critical component in the Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem is the need for secure and appropriate transmission, processing, and storage of the data. Our current forms of authentication, and identity and access management do not suffice because they are not designed to service cohesive, integrated, interconnected devices, and service applications. The seemingly endless opportunities of IoT are in fact circumscribed on multiple levels by concerns such as trust, privacy, security, loss of control, and related issues. This paper considers multi-factor authentication (MFA) mechanisms and cohesive identity relationship management (IRM) standards. It also surveys messaging protocols that are appropriate for the IoT ecosystem.Keywords: Survey of internet of things ecosystem, protocols, identity relation management, multifactor authentication.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 12932842 An Intelligent Approach for Management of Hybrid DG System
Authors: Ali Vaseghi Ardekani, Hamid Reza Forutan, Amir Habibi, Ali Reza Rajabi, Hasan Adloo
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Distributed generation units (DGs) are grid-connected or stand-alone electric generation units located within the electric distribution system at or near the end user. It is generally accepted that centralized electric power plants will remain the major source of the electric power supply for the near future. DGs, however, can complement central power by providing incremental capacity to the utility grid or to an end user. This paper presents an efficient power dispatching model for hybrid wind-Solar power generation system, to satisfy some essential requirements, such as dispersed electric power demand, electric power quality and reducing generation cost and so on. In this paper, presented some elements of the main parts in the hybrid system; and then made fundamental dispatching strategies according to different situations; then pointed out four improving measures to improve genetic algorithm, such as: modify the producing way of selection probability, improve the way of crossover, protect excellent chromosomes, and change mutation range and so on. Finally, propose a technique for solving the unit's commitment for dispatching problem based on an improved genetic algorithm.
Keywords: Power Quality, Wind-Solar System, Genetic Algorithm, Hybrid System.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 16452841 A Tabu Search Heuristic for Scratch-Pad Memory Management
Authors: Maha Idrissi Aouad, Rene Schott, Olivier Zendra
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Reducing energy consumption of embedded systems requires careful memory management. It has been shown that Scratch- Pad Memories (SPMs) are low size, low cost, efficient (i.e. energy saving) data structures directly managed at the software level. In this paper, the focus is on heuristic methods for SPMs management. A method is efficient if the number of accesses to SPM is as large as possible and if all available space (i.e. bits) is used. A Tabu Search (TS) approach for memory management is proposed which is, to the best of our knowledge, a new original alternative to the best known existing heuristic (BEH). In fact, experimentations performed on benchmarks show that the Tabu Search method is as efficient as BEH (in terms of energy consumption) but BEH requires a sorting which can be computationally expensive for a large amount of data. TS is easy to implement and since no sorting is necessary, unlike BEH, the corresponding sorting time is saved. In addition to that, in a dynamic perspective where the maximum capacity of the SPM is not known in advance, the TS heuristic will perform better than BEH.
Keywords: Energy consumption, memory allocation management, optimization, tabu search heuristic.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 16792840 Innovation in Information Technology Services: Framework to Improve the Effectiveness and Efficiency of Information Technology Service Management Processes, Projects and Decision Support Management
Authors: Pablo Cardozo Herrera
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In a dynamic market of Information Technology (IT) Service and with high quality demands and high performance requirements in decreasing costs, it is imperative that IT companies invest organizational effort in order to increase the effectiveness of their Information Technology Service Management (ITSM) processes through the improvement of ITSM project management and through solid support to the strategic decision-making process of IT directors. In this article, the author presents an analysis of common issues of IT companies around the world, with strategic needs of information unmet that provoke their ITSM processes and projects management that do not achieve the effectiveness and efficiency expected of their results. In response to the issues raised, the author proposes a framework consisting of an innovative theoretical framework model of ITSM management and a technological solution aligned to the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) good practices guidance and ISO/IEC 20000-1 requirements. The article describes a research that proves the proposed framework is able to integrate, manage and coordinate in a holistic way, measurable and auditable, all ITSM processes and projects of IT organization and utilize the effectiveness assessment achieved for their strategic decision-making process increasing the process maturity level and improving the capacity of an efficient management.
Keywords: Innovation in IT services, ITSM processes, ITIL and ISO/IEC 20000-1, IT service management, IT service excellence.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 10262839 Effective Personal Knowledge Management: A Proposed Online Framework
Authors: Shahrinaz Ismail, Mohd Sharifuddin Ahmad
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This paper presents an analytical framework for an effective online personal knowledge management (PKM) of knowledge workers. The development of this framework is prompted by our qualitative research on the PKM processes and cognitive enablers of knowledge workers in eight organisations selected from three main industries in Malaysia. This multiple-case research identifies the relationships between the effectiveness of four online PKM processes: get/retrieve, understand/analyse, share, and connect. It also establishes the importance of cognitive enablers that mediate this relationship, namely, method, identify, decide and drive. Qualitative analysis is presented as the findings, supported by the preceded quantitative analysis on an exploratory questionnaire survey.Keywords: Bottom-up approach, knowledge organisation, organisational knowledge management, personal knowledge management, software agent technology.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 24872838 Urban Management and China's Municipal Pattern
Authors: Ling Zheng, Yaping Wei, Kang Cao, Zheng Huang, Songpo Shi
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Not only is municipal pattern the institution basement of urban management, but it also determines the forms of the management results. There-s a considerable possibility of bankruptcy for China-s current municipal pattern as it-s an overdraft of land deal in fact. Based on the analysis of China-s current municipal pattern, the passage proposed an assumption of a new pattern verified legitimacy by conceptual as well as econometric models. Conclusion is: the added supernumerary value of investment in public goods was not included in China-s current municipal pattern, but hidden in the rising housing prices; we should set housing tax or municipal tax to optimize the municipal pattern, to correct the behavior of local governments and to ensure the regular development of China-s urbanization.
Keywords: Urban management, China's municipal pattern, land financial institution, housing tax, Public goods.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 18572837 Application of Process Approach to Evaluate the Information Security Risk and its Implementation in an Iranian Private Bank
Authors: Isa Nakhai Kamal Abadi, Esmaeel Saberi, Ehsan Mirjafari
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Every organization is continually subject to new damages and threats which can be resulted from their operations or their goal accomplishment. Methods of providing the security of space and applied tools have been widely changed with increasing application and development of information technology (IT). From this viewpoint, information security management systems were evolved to construct and prevent reiterating the experienced methods. In general, the correct response in information security management systems requires correct decision making, which in turn requires the comprehensive effort of managers and everyone involved in each plan or decision making. Obviously, all aspects of work or decision are not defined in all decision making conditions; therefore, the possible or certain risks should be considered when making decisions. This is the subject of risk management and it can influence the decisions. Investigation of different approaches in the field of risk management demonstrates their progress from quantitative to qualitative methods with a process approach.
Keywords: Risk Management, Information Security, Methodology, Probability.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 15302836 Managing HR Knowledge in a Large Privately Owned Enterprise: An Empirical Case Analysis
Authors: Cindy Wang-Cowham, Judy Ningyu Tang
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The paper contributes towards the development of scarce literature on HR knowledge management. Drawing literature from knowledge management, the authors define the meaning of HR knowledge and propose that there are social mechanisms in organizations that facilitate the management and sharing of HR knowledge. Instead of investigating the subject in large multinational corporations, the present paper examines it in a large Chinese privately owned enterprise, which has an international standing. The main finding of the case analysis is that communication and feedback plays a pivotal role when managing HR knowledge. Social mechanisms can stimulate the communication and feedback between employees, thus facilitate knowledge exchange.Keywords: HR knowledge, knowledge management, large privately owned enterprises, China.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 8792835 Knowledge Management as Tool for Environmental Management System Implementation in Higher Education Institutions
Authors: Natalia Marulanda Grisales
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The most significant changes in the characteristics of consumers have contributed to the development and adoption of methodologies and tools that enable organizations to be more competitive in the marketplace. One of these methodologies is the integration of Knowledge Management (KM) phases and Environmental Management Systems (EMS). This integration allows companies to manage and share the required knowledge for EMS adoption, from the place where it is generated to the place where it is going to be exploited. The aim of this paper is to identify the relationship between KM phases as a tool for the adoption of EMS in HEI. The methodology has a descriptive scope and a qualitative approach. It is based on a case study and a review of the literature about KM and EMS. We conducted 266 surveys to students, professors and staff at Minuto de Dios University (Colombia). Data derived from the study indicate that if a HEI wants to achieve an adequate knowledge acquisition and knowledge transfer, it must have clear goals for implementing an EMS. Also, HEI should create empowerment and training spaces for students, professors and staff. In the case study, HEI must generate alternatives that enhance spaces of knowledge appropriation. It was found that 85% of respondents have not received any training from HEI about EMS. 88% of respondents believe that the actions taken by the university are not efficient to knowledge transfer in order to develop an EMS.Keywords: Environmental management systems, higher education institutions, knowledge management. training.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 14082834 Practice of Social Audit in Hotel Companies: Case Study of Agadir, Morocco
Authors: M. El Mousadik, F. Elkandoussi
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The concern for increased rigor in social management has led more and more Moroccan business leaders to question the value of applying social audit as an essential tool in the management of human resources. Hotel companies are not excluded; in fact, they are expected to implement such an audit to develop sound and credible human resources management (HRM) policies. The main objective of this paper is to establish the relationship between the practice of social audit as a tool, and its impact on the tourism sector, especially on hotels at one of the Morocco’s first and most popular city for tourism, Agadir. This exploratory study of properties in Agadir has revealed that hotel executives are aware of the importance of social auditing to hone their decisions in the field of HRM.
Keywords: Social audit, hotel companies, human resources management, social piloting.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 18242833 A Petri Net Representation of a Web-Service- Based Emergency Management System in Railway Station
Authors: Suparna Karmakar, Ranjan Dasgupta
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Railway Stations are prone to emergency due to various reasons and proper monitor of railway stations are of immense importance from various angles. A Petri-net representation of a web-service-based Emergency management system has been proposed in this paper which will help in monitoring situation of train, track, signal etc. and in case of any emergency, necessary resources can be dispatched.Keywords: Business process, Petri net, Rail Station Emergency Management, Web service based system
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 17342832 CyberSecurity Malaysia: Towards Becoming a National Certification Body for Information Security Management Systems Internal Auditors
Authors: M. S. Razana, Z. W. Shafiuddin
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Internal auditing is one of the most important activities for organizations that implement information security management systems (ISMS). The purpose of internal audits is to ensure the ISMS implementation is in accordance to the ISO/IEC 27001 standard and the organization’s own requirements for its ISMS. Competent internal auditors are the main element that contributes to the effectiveness of internal auditing activities. To realize this need, CyberSecurity Malaysia is now in the process of becoming a certification body that certifies ISMS internal auditors. The certification scheme will assess the competence of internal auditors in generic knowledge and skills in management systems, and also in ISMS-specific knowledge and skills. The certification assessment is based on the ISO/IEC 19011 Guidelines for auditing management systems, ISO/IEC 27007 Guidelines for information security management systems auditing and ISO/IEC 27001 Information security management systems requirements. The certification scheme complies with the ISO/IEC 17024 General requirements for bodies operating certification systems of persons. Candidates who pass the exam will be certified as an ISMS Internal Auditor, whose competency will be evaluated every three years.Keywords: ISMS internal audit, ISMS internal auditor, ISO/IEC 17024, Competence, Certification.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 18232831 Evolutionary Algorithm Based Centralized Congestion Management for Multilateral Transactions
Authors: T. Mathumathi, S. Ganesh, R. Gunabalan
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This work presents an approach for AC load flow based centralized model for congestion management in the forward markets. In this model, transaction maximizes its profit under the limits of transmission line capacities allocated by Independent System Operator (ISO). The voltage and reactive power impact of the system are also incorporated in this model. Genetic algorithm is used to solve centralized congestion management problem for multilateral transactions. Results obtained for centralized model using genetic algorithm is compared with Sequential Quadratic Programming (SQP) technique. The statistical performances of various algorithms such as best, worst, mean and standard deviations of social welfare are given. Simulation results clearly demonstrate the better performance of genetic algorithm over SQP.
Keywords: Congestion management, Genetic algorithm, Sequential quadratic programming.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 17612830 Towards Better Quality in Healthcare and Operations Management: A Developmental Literature Review
Authors: Towards Better Quality in Healthcare, Operations Management: A Developmental Literature Review
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This work presents the various perspectives, dimensions, components and definitions given to quality in the operations management (OM) and healthcare services (HCS) literature in time, highlighting gaps and learning opportunities between the two disciplines through a thorough search into their rich and distinct body of knowledge. Greater and new insights about the general nature of quality are obtained with findings such as in OM, quality has been approached in six fairly distinct paradigms (excellence, value, conformity to specifications, attributes, satisfaction and meeting or exceeding customer expectations), whereas in HCS, two approaches are prominent (Donabedian’s structure, process and outcomes model and Lohr and Schroeder’s circumscribed definition). The two disciplines views on quality seem to have progressed much in parallel with little cross-learning from each other. This work then proposes an encompassing definition of quality as a lever and suggests further research and development avenues for a better use of the concept of quality by academics and practitioners alike toward the goals of greater organizational performance and improved management in healthcare and possibly other service domains.
Keywords: Healthcare, management, operations, quality, services.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 12742829 Environmental Effects on Energy Consumption of Smart Grid Consumers
Authors: S. M. Ali, A. Salam Khan, A. U. Khan, M. Tariq, M. S. Hussain, B. A. Abbasi, I. Hussain, U. Farid
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Environment and surrounding plays a pivotal rule in structuring life-style of the consumers. Living standards intern effect the energy consumption of the consumers. In smart grid paradigm, climate drifts, weather parameter and green environmental directly relates to the energy profiles of the various consumers, such as residential, commercial and industrial. Considering above factors helps policy in shaping utility load curves and optimal management of demand and supply. Thus, there is a pressing need to develop correlation models of load and weather parameters and critical analysis of the factors effecting energy profiles of smart grid consumers. In this paper, we elaborated various environment and weather parameter factors effecting demand of consumers. Moreover, we developed correlation models, such as Pearson, Spearman, and Kendall, an inter-relation between dependent (load) parameter and independent (weather) parameters. Furthermore, we validated our discussion with real-time data of Texas State. The numerical simulations proved the effective relation of climatic drifts with energy consumption of smart grid consumers.
Keywords: Climatic drifts, correlation analysis, energy consumption, smart grid, weather parameter.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 17802828 Location Management in Cellular Networks
Authors: Bhavneet Sidhu, Hardeep Singh
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Cellular networks provide voice and data services to the users with mobility. To deliver services to the mobile users, the cellular network is capable of tracking the locations of the users, and allowing user movement during the conversations. These capabilities are achieved by the location management. Location management in mobile communication systems is concerned with those network functions necessary to allow the users to be reached wherever they are in the network coverage area. In a cellular network, a service coverage area is divided into smaller areas of hexagonal shape, referred to as cells. The cellular concept was introduced to reuse the radio frequency. Continued expansion of cellular networks, coupled with an increasingly restricted mobile spectrum, has established the reduction of communication overhead as a highly important issue. Much of this traffic is used in determining the precise location of individual users when relaying calls, with the field of location management aiming to reduce this overhead through prediction of user location. This paper describes and compares various location management schemes in the cellular networks.Keywords: Cellular Networks, Location Area, MobilityManagement, Paging.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 40222827 Indigenous Engagement: Towards a Culturally Sensitive Approach for Inclusive Economic Development
Authors: K. N. Penna, E. J. Hoffman, T. R. Carter
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This paper suggests that cultural landscape management plans in an Indigenous context are more effective if designed by taking into consideration context-related social and cultural aspects, adopting people-centred and cultural-based approaches for instance. In relation to working in Indigenous and mining contexts, we draw upon and contribute to international policies on human rights that promote the development of management plans that are co-designed through genuine engagement processes. We suggest that the production of management plans that are built upon culturally relevant frameworks leads to more inclusive economic development, a greater sense of trust, and shared managerial responsibilities. In this paper, three issues related to Indigenous engagement and cultural landscape management plans will be addressed: (1) the need for effective communication channels between proponents and Traditional Owners (Australian original Aboriginal peoples who inhabited specific regions), (2) the use of a culturally sensitive approach to engage local representatives in the decision-making processes, and (3) how design of new management plans can help in establishing shared management.
Keywords: Culture-Centred Approach, Holons’ Hierarchy, Inclusive Economic Development, Indigenous Engagement.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 4782826 Power Management Strategy for Solar-Wind-Diesel Stand-alone Hybrid Energy System
Authors: Md. Aminul Islam, Adel Merabet, Rachid Beguenane, Hussein Ibrahim
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This paper presents a simulation and mathematical model of stand-alone solar-wind-diesel based hybrid energy system (HES). A power management system is designed for multiple energy resources in a stand-alone hybrid energy system. Both Solar photovoltaic and wind energy conversion system consists of maximum power point tracking (MPPT), voltage regulation, and basic power electronic interfaces. An additional diesel generator is included to support and improve the reliability of stand-alone system when renewable energy sources are not available. A power management strategy is introduced to distribute the generated power among resistive load banks. The frequency regulation is developed with conventional phase locked loop (PLL) system. The power management algorithm was applied in Matlab®/Simulink® to simulate the results.
Keywords: Solar photovoltaic, wind energy, diesel engine, hybrid energy system, power management, frequency and voltage regulation.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 47122825 Environmental Management System According to ISO 14001 as a Source of Eco-Innovations in Enterprises - A Case of Podkarpackie Voivodeship
Authors: M. Hajduk-Stelmachowicz
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This paper presents results of empirical studies that were conducted in enterprises from Podkarpackie Voivodeship (Poland). It shows the experiences of those enterprises resulting from implementing and improving the eco-innovativeness management that is formal Environmental Management System (EMS). This study shows the expected and obtained internal benefits which are the effects of a functioning EMS. The aim of this paper is to determine whether the information included in international theoretical studies concerning the benefits of implementing, functioning and improving formal EMS (which is based on the international standard ISO 14001) are confirmed by the effects of the enterprises- activities.
Keywords: Eco-innovations, Environmental Management System (EMS), ISO 14001, Podkarpackie Voivodeship (Poland).
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 21772824 Measures and Influence of a Baw Filter on Digital Radio-Communications Signals
Authors: A. Diet, M. Villegas, G. Baudoin
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This work concerns the measurements of a Bulk Acoustic Waves (BAW) emission filter S parameters and compare with prototypes simulated types. Thanks to HP-ADS, a co-simulation of filters- characteristics in a digital radio-communication chain is performed. Four cases of modulation schemes are studied in order to illustrate the impact of the spectral occupation of the modulated signal. Results of simulations and co-simulation are given in terms of Error Vector Measurements to be useful for a general sensibility analysis of 4th/3rd Generation (G.) emitters (wideband QAM and OFDM signals)Keywords: RF architectures, BAW filters.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 27732823 Analysis of Supply Side Factors Affecting Bank Financing of Non-Oil Exports in Nigeria
Authors: Sama’ila Idi Ningi, Abubakar Yusuf Dutse
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The banking sector poses a lot of problems in Nigeria in general and the non-oil export sector in particular. The banks' lack effectiveness in handling small, medium or long-term credit risk (lack of training of loan officers, lack of information on borrowers and absence of a reliable credit registry) results in non-oil exporters being burdened with high requirements, such as up to three years of financial statements, enough collateral to cover both the loan principal and interest (including a cash deposit that may be up to 30% of the loans' net present value), and to provide every detail of the international trade transaction in question. The stated problems triggered this research. Consequently, information on bank financing of non-oil exports was collected from 100 respondents from the 20 Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) in Nigeria. The data was analysed by the use of descriptive statistics correlation and regression. It is found that, Nigerian banks are participants in the financing of non-oil exports. Despite their participation, the rate of interest for credit extended to non-oil export is usually high, ranging between 15-20%. Small and medium sized non-oil export businesses lack the credit history for banks to judge them as reputable. Banks also consider the non-oil export sector very risky for investment. The banks actually do grant less credit than the exporters may require and therefore are not properly funded by banks. Banks grant very low volume of foreign currency loan in addition to, unfavorable exchange rate at which Naira is exchanged to the Dollar and other currencies in the country. This makes importation of inputs costly and negatively impacted on the non-oil export performance in Nigeria.
Keywords: Supply Side Factors, Bank Financing, Non-Oil Exports.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 27112822 Competency-Based Social Work Practice and Challenges in Child Case Management: Studies in the Districts Social Welfare Services, Malaysia
Authors: S. Brahim, M. S. Mohamad, E. Zakaria, N. Sarnon@Kusenin
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This study aimed to explore the practical experience of child welfare caseworkers and professionalism in child case management in Malaysia. This paper discussed the specific social work practice competency and the challenges faced by child caseworkers in the fieldwork. This research was qualitative with grounded theory approach. Four sessions of focused group discussion (FGD) were conducted involving a total of 27 caseworkers (child protector and probation officers) in the Klang Valley. The study found that the four basic principles of knowledge in child case management namely: 1. knowledge in child case management; 2. professional values of caseworkers towards children; 3. skills in managing cases; and 4. culturally competent practice in child case management. In addition, major challenges faced by the child case manager are the capacity and commitment of the family in children’s rehabilitation program, the credibility of caseworkers are being challenged, and the challenges of support system from intra and interagency. This study is important for policy makers to take into account the capacity and the needs of the child’s caseworker in accordance with the national social work competency framework. It is expected that case management services for children will improve systematically in line with national standards.Keywords: Social work practice, child case management, competency-based knowledge, and professionalism.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 29082821 Environmental and Economic Scenario Analysis of the Redundant Golf Courses in Japan
Authors: Osamu Saito
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Commercial infrastructures intended for use as leisure retreats such as golf and ski resorts have been extensively developed in many rural areas of Japan. However, following the burst of the economic bubble in the 1990s, several existing resorts faced tough management decisions and some were forced to close their business. In this study, six alternative management options for restructuring the existing golf courses (park, cemetery, biofuel production, reforestation, pasturing and abandonment) are examined and their environmental and economic impacts are quantitatively assessed. In addition, restructuring scenarios of these options and an ex-ante assessment model are developed. The scenario analysis by Monte Carlo simulation shows a clear trade-off between GHG savings and benefit/cost (B/C) ratios, of which “Restoring Nature" scenario absorbs the most CO2 among the four scenarios considered, but its B/C ratio is the lowest. This study can be used to select or examine options and scenarios of golf course management and rural environmental management policies.Keywords: golf courses, restructuring and management options, scenario analysis, Tokyo Metropolitan Area.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 16212820 Risk Management through Controlling in Industrial Enterprises Operating in Slovakia
Authors: Mária Hudáková, Mária Lusková
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This report is focused on widening the theoretical knowledge as well as controlling practical application from the risk management point of view, regarding to dynamic business changes that have occurred in Slovakia which recently has been considered to be an environment full of risk and uncertainty. The idea of the report is the proposal of the controlling operation model in the course of risk management process in an enterprise operating in Slovakia, by which the controller is able to identify early risk factors in suggested major areas of the business management upon appropriate business information integration, consecutive control and prognoses and to prepare in time full-value documents in order to suggest measures for reduction thereof. Dealing with risk factors, that can quickly limit the growth potential of the enterprise, is an essential part of managerial activities on each level. This is the reason why mutual unofficial, ergo collegial cooperation of individual departments is necessary for controlling application from the business risk management point of view. An important part of the report is elaborated survey of the most important risk factors existing in major management areas of enterprises operating in Slovakia. The outcome of the performed survey is a catalogue of the most important enterprise risk factors. The catalogue serves for better understanding risk factors affecting the Slovak enterprises, their importance and evaluation.Keywords: Controlling, information system, risks management, risk factor, crisis of enterprise.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 8912819 Management of English Language Teaching in Higher Education
Authors: Vishal D. Pandya
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A great deal of perceptible change has been taking place in the way our institutions of higher learning are being managed in India today. It is believed that managers, whose intuition proves to be accurate, often tend to be the most successful, and this is what makes them almost like entrepreneurs. A certain entrepreneurial spirit is what is expected and requires a degree of insight of the manager to be successful depending upon the situational and more importantly, the heterogeneity as well as the socio-cultural aspect. Teachers in Higher Education have to play multiple roles to make sure that the Learning-Teaching process becomes effective in the real sense of the term. This paper makes an effort to take a close look at that, especially in the context of the management of English language teaching in Higher Education and, therefore, focuses on the management of English language teaching in higher education by understanding target situation analyses at the socio-cultural level.
Keywords: Management, language teaching, English language teaching, higher education.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 18942818 GIS-based Non-point Sources of Pollution Simulation in Cameron Highlands, Malaysia
Authors: M. Eisakhani, A. Pauzi, O. Karim, A. Malakahmad, S.R. Mohamed Kutty, M. H. Isa
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Cameron Highlands is a mountainous area subjected to torrential tropical showers. It extracts 5.8 million liters of water per day for drinking supply from its rivers at several intake points. The water quality of rivers in Cameron Highlands, however, has deteriorated significantly due to land clearing for agriculture, excessive usage of pesticides and fertilizers as well as construction activities in rapidly developing urban areas. On the other hand, these pollution sources known as non-point pollution sources are diverse and hard to identify and therefore they are difficult to estimate. Hence, Geographical Information Systems (GIS) was used to provide an extensive approach to evaluate landuse and other mapping characteristics to explain the spatial distribution of non-point sources of contamination in Cameron Highlands. The method to assess pollution sources has been developed by using Cameron Highlands Master Plan (2006-2010) for integrating GIS, databases, as well as pollution loads in the area of study. The results show highest annual runoff is created by forest, 3.56 × 108 m3/yr followed by urban development, 1.46 × 108 m3/yr. Furthermore, urban development causes highest BOD load (1.31 × 106 kgBOD/yr) while agricultural activities and forest contribute the highest annual loads for phosphorus (6.91 × 104 kgP/yr) and nitrogen (2.50 × 105 kgN/yr), respectively. Therefore, best management practices (BMPs) are suggested to be applied to reduce pollution level in the area.Keywords: Cameron Highlands, Land use, Non-point Sources of Pollution
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 28762817 Managerial Styles of Asian Executives: The Case of Thailand
Authors: Teerayout Wattanasupachoke
Abstract:
This research project is developed in order to study managerial styles of modern Thai executives. The thorough understanding will lead to continuous improvement and efficient performance of Thai business organizations. Regarding managerial skills, Thai executives focus heavily upon human skills. Also, the negotiator roles are most emphasis in their management. In addition, Thai executives pay most attention to the fundamental management principles including Harmony and Unity of Direction of the organizations. Moreover, the management techniques, consisting of Team work and Career Planning are of their main concern. Finally, Thai executives wish to enhance their firms- image and employees- morale through conducting the ethical and socially responsible activities. The major tactic deployed to stimulate employees- ethical behaviors and mindset is Code of Ethics development.Keywords: Management, Managerial Styles, Asian Executives, Thailand.
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