Search results for: project managers
691 EnArgus: A Knowledge-Based Search Application for Energy Research Projects
Authors: Frederike Ohrem, Lukas Sikorski, Bastian Haarmann
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Often the users of a semantic search application are facing the problem that they do not find appropriate terms for their search. This holds especially if the data to be searched is from a technical field in which the user does not have expertise. In order to support the user finding the results he seeks, we developed a domain-specific ontology and implemented it into a search application. The ontology serves as a knowledge base, suggesting technical terms to the user which he can add to his query. In this paper, we present the search application and the underlying ontology as well as the project EnArgus in which the application was developed.
Keywords: Information system, knowledge representation, ontology, semantic search.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1729690 QoS Management in the Future Internet
Authors: S. Rao, S. Khavtasi, C. Chassot, N. Van Wambeke, F. Armando, S. P. Romano, T. Castaldi
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The talks about technological convergence had been around for almost twenty years. Today Internet made it possible. And this is not only technical evolution. The way it changed our lives reflected in variety of applications, services and technologies used in day-to-day life. Such benefits imposed even more requirements on heterogeneous and unreliable IP networks. Current paper outlines QoS management system developed in the NetQoS [1] project. It describes an overall architecture of management system for heterogeneous networks and proposes automated multi-layer QoS management. Paper focuses on the structure of the most crucial modules of the system that enable autonomous and multi-layer provisioning and dynamic adaptation.Keywords: Automated QoS management, multi-layerprovisioning and adaptation, QoS, QoE.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1482689 Review of the Model-Based Supply Chain Management Research in the Construction Industry
Authors: Aspasia Koutsokosta, Stefanos Katsavounis
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This paper reviews the model-based qualitative and quantitative Operations Management research in the context of Construction Supply Chain Management (CSCM). Construction industry has been traditionally blamed for low productivity, cost and time overruns, waste, high fragmentation and adversarial relationships. The construction industry has been slower than other industries to employ the Supply Chain Management (SCM) concept and develop models that support the decision-making and planning. However the last decade there is a distinct shift from a project-based to a supply-based approach of construction management. CSCM comes up as a new promising management tool of construction operations and improves the performance of construction projects in terms of cost, time and quality. Modeling the Construction Supply Chain (CSC) offers the means to reap the benefits of SCM, make informed decisions and gain competitive advantage. Different modeling approaches and methodologies have been applied in the multi-disciplinary and heterogeneous research field of CSCM. The literature review reveals that a considerable percentage of the CSC modeling research accommodates conceptual or process models which present general management frameworks and do not relate to acknowledged soft Operations Research methods. We particularly focus on the model-based quantitative research and categorize the CSCM models depending on their scope, objectives, modeling approach, solution methods and software used. Although over the last few years there has been clearly an increase of research papers on quantitative CSC models, we identify that the relevant literature is very fragmented with limited applications of simulation, mathematical programming and simulation-based optimization. Most applications are project-specific or study only parts of the supply system. Thus, some complex interdependencies within construction are neglected and the implementation of the integrated supply chain management is hindered. We conclude this paper by giving future research directions and emphasizing the need to develop optimization models for integrated CSCM. We stress that CSC modeling needs a multi-dimensional, system-wide and long-term perspective. Finally, prior applications of SCM to other industries have to be taken into account in order to model CSCs, but not without translating the generic concepts to the context of construction industry.Keywords: Construction supply chain management, modeling, operations research, optimization and simulation.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2825688 Enhancing Seamless Communication Through a user Co-designed Wearable Device
Authors: A. Marcengo, A. Rapp, E. Guercio
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This work aims to describe the process of developing services and applications of seamless communication within a Telecom Italia long-term research project, which takes as central aim the design of a wearable communication device. In particular, the objective was to design a wrist phone integrated into everyday life of people in full transparency. The methodology used to design the wristwatch was developed through several subsequent steps also involving the Personas Layering Framework. The data collected in this phases have been very useful for designing an improved version of the first two concepts of wrist phone going to change aspects related to the four critical points expressed by the users.Keywords: Design, Interaction, User Centred Design, Wristphone.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1278687 The Use of Crisis Workplace Technology to Protect Communication Processes of Critical Infrastructure
Authors: Jiri Barta, Jiri F. Urbanek
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This paper deals with a protection of the national and European infrastructure. It is issue nowadays. The paper deals with the perspectives and possibilities of "smart solutions" to critical infrastructure protection. The research project deals with computers aided technologies are used from the perspective of new, better protection of selected infrastructure objects. Protection is focused on communication and information channels. These communication and information channels are very important for the functioning of the system of protection of critical infrastructure elements.
Keywords: Interoperability, Communication systems, Controlling Process, Critical Infrastructure, Crisis Workplaces. Continuity.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1735686 Contingent Presences in Architecture: Vitruvian Theory as a Beginning
Authors: Zelal Çinar
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This paper claims that architecture is a contingent discipline, despite the fact that its contingency has long been denied through a retreat to Vitruvian writing. It is evident that contingency is rejected not only by architecture but also by modernity as a whole. Vitruvius attempted to cover the entire field of architecture in a systematic form in order to bring the whole body of this great discipline to a complete order. The legacy of his theory hitherto lasted not only that it is the only major work on the architecture of Classical Antiquity to have survived, but also that its conformity with the project of modernity. In the scope of the paper, it will be argued that contingency should be taken into account rather than avoided as a potential threat.
Keywords: Architecture, contingency, modernity, Vitruvius.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2602685 Educational Knowledge Transfer in Indigenous Mexican Areas Using Cloud Computing
Authors: L. R. Valencia Pérez, J. M. Peña Aguilar, A. Lamadrid Álvarez, A. Pastrana Palma, H. F. Valencia Pérez, M. Vivanco Vargas
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This work proposes a Cooperation-Competitive (Coopetitive) approach that allows coordinated work among the Secretary of Public Education (SEP), the Autonomous University of Querétaro (UAQ) and government funds from National Council for Science and Technology (CONACYT) or some other international organizations. To work on an overall knowledge transfer strategy with e-learning over the Cloud, where experts in junior high and high school education, working in multidisciplinary teams, perform analysis, evaluation, design, production, validation and knowledge transfer at large scale using a Cloud Computing platform. Allowing teachers and students to have all the information required to ensure a homologated nationally knowledge of topics such as mathematics, statistics, chemistry, history, ethics, civism, etc. This work will start with a pilot test in Spanish and initially in two regional dialects Otomí and Náhuatl. Otomí has more than 285,000 speaking indigenes in Queretaro and Mexico´s central region. Náhuatl is number one indigenous dialect spoken in Mexico with more than 1,550,000 indigenes. The phase one of the project takes into account negotiations with indigenous tribes from different regions, and the Information and Communication technologies to deliver the knowledge to the indigenous schools in their native dialect. The methodology includes the following main milestones: Identification of the indigenous areas where Otomí and Náhuatl are the spoken dialects, research with the SEP the location of actual indigenous schools, analysis and inventory or current schools conditions, negotiation with tribe chiefs, analysis of the technological communication requirements to reach the indigenous communities, identification and inventory of local teachers technology knowledge, selection of a pilot topic, analysis of actual student competence with traditional education system, identification of local translators, design of the e-learning platform, design of the multimedia resources and storage strategy for “Cloud Computing”, translation of the topic to both dialects, Indigenous teachers training, pilot test, course release, project follow up, analysis of student requirements for the new technological platform, definition of a new and improved proposal with greater reach in topics and regions. Importance of phase one of the project is multiple, it includes the proposal of a working technological scheme, focusing in the cultural impact in Mexico so that indigenous tribes can improve their knowledge about new forms of crop improvement, home storage technologies, proven home remedies for common diseases, ways of preparing foods containing major nutrients, disclose strengths and weaknesses of each region, communicating through cloud computing platforms offering regional products and opening communication spaces for inter-indigenous cultural exchange.
Keywords: Mexicans indigenous tribes, education, knowledge transfer, cloud computing, Otomí, Náhuatl, language.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 905684 The Linguistic and Legal Term
Authors: Adam Niewiadomski
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The research objective of the project and article “The Linguistic and Legal Term "Real Estate" in the Polish Law and Literature” is characteristic of legal regulations in contemporary countries is the abundance of legal definitions, which are, in fact, formulated separately for the needs of each legal act. This situation does not create favourable conditions for comprehensibility and effectiveness of the law created. The definition mess leads to various interpretations of the same legal circumstances and does not support normal business trading. It needs to be pointed out that using numerous references within a legal act and to other legal acts results in new legal definitions being created for the needs of a given decision by the authority which issues the decision in question. Such interpretation freedom may lead to the law being misused, not to mention being instrumentalised.
Keywords: Real estate, linguistic, legal term.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1459683 A Way of Converting Color Images to Gray Scale Ones for the Color-Blind -Applying to the Part of the Tokyo Subway Map-
Authors: Katsuhiro Narikiyo, Shota Hashikawa
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This paper proposes a way of removing noises and reducing the number of colors contained in a JPEG image. Main purpose of this project is to convert color images to monochrome images for the color-blind. We treat the crispy color images like the Tokyo subway map. Each color in the image has an important information. But for the color blinds, similar colors cannot be distinguished. If we can convert those colors to different gray values, they can distinguish them. Therefore we try to convert color images to monochrome images.
Keywords: Color-blind, JPEG, Monochrome image, Denoise.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1520682 Inclusive Housing in Australia – A Voluntary Response
Authors: M. Ward, J. Franz, B. Adkins
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The lack of inclusive housing in Australia contributes to the marginalization and exclusion of people with disability and older people from family and community life. The Australian government has handed over the responsibility of increasing the supply of inclusive housing to the housing industry through an agreed national access standard and a voluntary strategy. Voluntary strategies have not been successful in other constituencies and little is known about what would work in Australia today. Findings from a research project into the voluntariness of the housing industry indicate that a reliable and consistent supply is unlikely without an equivalent increase in demand. The strategy has, however, an important role to play in the task of changing housing industry practices towards building more inclusive communities.Keywords: Australia, housing, inclusion, voluntary, industry
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1576681 Starting Torque Study of Darrieus Wind Turbine
Authors: M. Douak, Z. Aouachria
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The aim of our study is to project an optimized wind turbine of Darrieus type. This type of wind turbine is characterized by a low starting torque in comparison with the Savonius rotor allowing them to operate for a period greater than wind speed. This led us to reconsider the Darrieus rotor to optimize a design which will increase its starting torque. The study of a system of monitoring and control of the angle of attack of blade profile, which allows an auto start to wind speeds as low as possible is presented for the straight blade of Darrieus turbine. The study continues to extend to other configurations namely those of parabolic type.
Keywords: Darrieus turbine, pitch angle, self-stating, wind energy.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 4662680 Enhanced Economic Evaluation – Approach for a Holistic Evaluation of Factory Planning Variants
Authors: Candy P. Schulze, Michael Brieke, Prof. Peter Nyhuis
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The building of a factory can be a strategic investment owing to its long service life. An evaluation that only focuses, for example, on payments for the building, the technical equipment of the factory, and the personnel for the enterprise is – considering the complexity of the system factory – not sufficient for this long-term view. The success of an investment is secured, among other things, by the attainment of nonmonetary goals, too, like transformability. Such aspects are not considered in traditional investment calculations like the net present value method. This paper closes this gap with the enhanced economic evaluation (EWR) for factory planning. The procedure and the first results of an application in a project are presented.Keywords: economic efficiency, holistic evaluation, factory planning
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1696679 Effects of Alternative Opportunities and Compensation on Turnover Intention of Singapore PMET
Authors: Han Guan Chew, Keith Yong Ngee Ng, Shan-Wei Fan
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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.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3541678 Budget Optimization for Maintenance of Bridges in Egypt
Authors: Hesham Abd Elkhalek, Sherif M. Hafez, Yasser M. El Fahham
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Allocating limited budget to maintain bridge networks and selecting effective maintenance strategies for each bridge represent challenging tasks for maintenance managers and decision makers. In Egypt, bridges are continuously deteriorating. In many cases, maintenance works are performed due to user complaints. The objective of this paper is to develop a practical and reliable framework to manage the maintenance, repair, and rehabilitation (MR&R) activities of Bridges network considering performance and budget limits. The model solves an optimization problem that maximizes the average condition of the entire network given the limited available budget using Genetic Algorithm (GA). The framework contains bridge inventory, condition assessment, repair cost calculation, deterioration prediction, and maintenance optimization. The developed model takes into account multiple parameters including serviceability requirements, budget allocation, element importance on structural safety and serviceability, bridge impact on network, and traffic. A questionnaire is conducted to complete the research scope. The proposed model is implemented in software, which provides a friendly user interface. The framework provides a multi-year maintenance plan for the entire network for up to five years. A case study of ten bridges is presented to validate and test the proposed model with data collected from Transportation Authorities in Egypt. Different scenarios are presented. The results are reasonable, feasible and within acceptable domain.Keywords: Bridge Management Systems (BMS), cost optimization condition assessment, fund allocation, Markov chain.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1958677 Knowledge Management in Cross- Organizational Networks as Illustrated by One of the Largest European ICT Associations A Case Study of the “METORA
Authors: Thomas Klauß
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In networks, mainly small and medium-sized businesses benefit from the knowledge, experiences and solutions offered by experts from industry and science or from the exchange with practitioners. Associations which focus, among other things, on networking, information and knowledge transfer and which are interested in supporting such cooperations are especially well suited to provide such networks and the appropriate web platforms. Using METORA as an example – a project developed and run by the Federal Association for Information Economy, Telecommunications and New Media e.V. (BITKOM) for the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi) – This paper will discuss how associations and other network organizations can achieve this task and what conditions they have to consider.
Keywords: Associations, collaboration, communities, crossdepartmental organizations, semantic web, web 2.0.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1304676 The Effect of Symmetry on the Perception of Happiness and Boredom in Design Products
Authors: Michele Sinico
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The present research investigates the effect of symmetry on the perception of happiness and boredom in design products. Three experiments were carried out in order to verify the degree of the visual expressive value on different models of bookcases, wall clocks, and chairs. 60 participants directly indicated the degree of happiness and boredom using 7-point rating scales. The findings show that the participants acknowledged a different value of expressive quality in the different product models. Results show also that symmetry is not a significant constraint for an emotional design project.
Keywords: Product experience, emotional design, symmetry, expressive qualities.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 808675 Evaluation of the exIWO Algorithm Based On the Traveling Salesman Problem
Authors: Daniel Kostrzewa, Henryk Josiński
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The expanded Invasive Weed Optimization algorithm (exIWO) is an optimization metaheuristic modelled on the original IWO version created by the researchers from the University of Tehran. The authors of the present paper have extended the exIWO algorithm introducing a set of both deterministic and non-deterministic strategies of individuals’ selection. The goal of the project was to evaluate the exIWO by testing its usefulness for solving some test instances of the traveling salesman problem (TSP) taken from the TSPLIB collection which allows comparing the experimental results with optimal values.
Keywords: Expanded Invasive Weed Optimization algorithm (exIWO), Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP), heuristic approach, inversion operator.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2253674 Sociological Impact on Education An Analytical Approach Through Artificial Neural network
Authors: P. R. Jayathilaka, K.L. Jayaratne, H.L. Premaratne
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This research presented in this paper is an on-going project of an application of neural network and fuzzy models to evaluate the sociological factors which affect the educational performance of the students in Sri Lanka. One of its major goals is to prepare the grounds to device a counseling tool which helps these students for a better performance at their examinations, especially at their G.C.E O/L (General Certificate of Education-Ordinary Level) examination. Closely related sociological factors are collected as raw data and the noise of these data are filtered through the fuzzy interface and the supervised neural network is being utilized to recognize the performance patterns against the chosen social factors.Keywords: Education, Fuzzy, neural network, prediction, Sociology
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1639673 Adding Security Blocks to the DevOps Lifecycle
Authors: Andrew John Zeller, Francis Pouatcha
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Working according to the DevOps principle has gained in popularity over the past decade. While its extension DevSecOps started to include elements of cybersecurity, most real-life projects do not focus risk and security until the later phases of a project as teams are often more familiar with engineering and infrastructure services. To help bridge the gap between security and engineering, this paper will take six building blocks of cybersecurity and apply them to the DevOps approach. After giving a brief overview of the stages in the DevOps lifecycle, the main part discusses to what extent six cybersecurity blocks can be utilized in various stages of the lifecycle. The paper concludes with an outlook on how to stay up to date in the dynamic world of cybersecurity.
Keywords: Information security, data security, cybersecurity, DevOps, IT management.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 119672 Restriction of Iodine Release under Severe Accident Conditions at NPP MIR.1200
Authors: V. Bezlepkin, A. Frolov, L. Lebedev, E. Kharchenko
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Iodine radionuclides in accident releases under severe accident conditions at NPP with VVER are the most radiationimportant with a view to population dose generation at the beginning of the accident. To decrease radiation consequences of severe accidents the technical solutions for severe accidents management have been proposed in MIR.1200 project, with consideration of the measures for suppression of volatile iodine forms generation in the containment. Behavior dynamics of different iodine forms in the containment under severe accident conditions has been analyzed for the purpose of these technical solutions justification.Keywords: Iodine radionuclides, VVER, severe accident.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1886671 Simulation of Lean Principles Impact in a Multi-Product Supply Chain
Authors: M. Rossini, A. Portioli Studacher
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The market competition is moving from the single firm to the whole supply chain because of increasing competition and growing need for operational efficiencies and customer orientation. Supply chain management allows companies to look beyond their organizational boundaries to develop and leverage resources and capabilities of their supply chain partners. This creates competitive advantages in the marketplace and because of this SCM has acquired strategic importance. Lean Approach is a management strategy that focuses on reducing every type of waste present in an organization. This approach is becoming more and more popular among supply chain managers. The supply chain application of lean approach is not frequent. In particular, it is not well studied which are the impacts of lean approach principles in a supply chain context. In literature there are only few studies aimed at understanding the qualitative impact of the lean approach in supply chains. Therefore, the goal of this research work is to study the impacts of lean principles implementation along a supply chain. To achieve this, a simulation model of a threeechelon multi-product supply chain has been built. Kanban system (and several priority policies) and setup time reduction degrees are implemented in the lean-configured supply chain to apply pull and lot-sizing decrease principles respectively. To evaluate the benefits of lean approach, lean supply chain is compared with an EOQ-configured supply chain. The simulation results show that Kanban system and setup-time reduction improve inventory stock level. They also show that logistics efforts are affected to lean implementation degree. The paper concludes describing performances of lean supply chain in different contexts.Keywords: Inventory policy, Kanban, lean supply chain, simulation study, supply chain management, planning.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2131670 WAF: an Interface Web Agent Framework
Authors: Xizhi Li, Qinming He
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A trend in agent community or enterprises is that they are shifting from closed to open architectures composed of a large number of autonomous agents. One of its implications could be that interface agent framework is getting more important in multi-agent system (MAS); so that systems constructed for different application domains could share a common understanding in human computer interface (HCI) methods, as well as human-agent and agent-agent interfaces. However, interface agent framework usually receives less attention than other aspects of MAS. In this paper, we will propose an interface web agent framework which is based on our former project called WAF and a Distributed HCI template. A group of new functionalities and implications will be discussed, such as web agent presentation, off-line agent reference, reconfigurable activation map of agents, etc. Their enabling techniques and current standards (e.g. existing ontological framework) are also suggested and shown by examples from our own implementation in WAF.Keywords: HCI, Interface agent, MAS.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1660669 Using Agility in Building Business Process Management Solutions
Authors: Krešimir Fertalj, Mladen Matejaš
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In turbulent modern economy, the companies need to properly manage their business processes. Well-defined and stable business processes ensure security of crucial data and applications, and provide a quality product or service to the end customer. On the other side, constant changes on the market, new regulatory provisions, and emerging new technologies require the need of issuing prompt and effective changes of business process. In this article, we explore the use of agile principles in working with business process management (BPM) solutions. We deal with difficulties in BPM development cycle, review the benefits of using agility, and choose the basic agile principles that ensure the success of a BPM project.Keywords: Agile development, BPM environment, Kanban, SCRUM, XP.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1620668 Assessments of Internal Erosion in a Landfill Due to Changes in Groundwater Level
Authors: Siamak Feizi, Gunvor Baardvik
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Soil erosion has special consequences for landfills that are more serious than those found at conventional construction sites. Different potential heads between two sides of a landfill and the subsequent movement of water through pores within the soil body could trigger the soil erosion and construction instability. Such condition was encountered in a landfill project in the southern part of Norway. To check the risk of internal erosion due changes in the groundwater level (because of seasonal flooding in the river), a series of numerical simulations by means of Geo-Seep software were conducted. Output of this study provides a total picture of the landfill stability, possibilities of erosions and necessary measures to prevent or reduce the risk for the landfill operator.
Keywords: Erosion, seepage, landfill, stability.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 450667 A Multi-Level Approach to Improve Sustainability Performances of Industrial Agglomerations
Authors: Patrick Innocenti, Elias Montini, Silvia Menato, Marzio Sorlini
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Documented experiences of industrial symbiosis are always triggered and driven only by economic goals: environmental and (even rarely) social results are sometimes assessed and declared as effects of virtuous behaviours, but are merely casual and un-pursued side externalities. Even worse: all the symbiotic project candidates entailing economic loss for just one of the (also dozen) partners are simply stopped without considering the overall benefit for the whole partnership. The here-presented approach aims at providing methodologies and tools to effectively manage these situations and fostering the implementation of virtuous symbiotic investments in manufacturing aggregations for a more sustainable production.
Keywords: Business model, industrial symbiosis, industrial agglomerations, sustainability.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1009666 Actual Nursing Competency among Nurses in Hospital in Vietnam
Authors: Do Thi Ha, Khanitta Nuntaboot
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Background: Competency of nurses is vital to safe nursing practice as well as essential component to drive quality of nursing services. There exists little up to date information concerning actual competency among Vietnamese nurses. Purposes: The purpose of this study is to identify the actual nursing competency among nurses in clinical settings in Vietnam. Methods: A qualitative study, ethnographic method, comprised of the participant-observation, in-depth interview, and focus group discussion with multidisciplinary groups of nurses employing in Cho Ray hospital, Vietnam, managers/administrators, nurse teachers, medical doctors, other health care providers, patients and family members which derived from purposeful sampling technique. Content analysis was used for data analysis. Results: Five essential themes of nursing competencies among nurses were identified include (1) knowledge, (2) skills, (3) attitude and value-based nursing practice, (4) legal and ethical competencies, and (5) transcultural competencies. Basic and advanced knowledge were identified as further two dimensions of knowledge. There were five sub themes identified as further dimensions of skills include technical skills, communication skills, organizing and management skills, teamwork and interrelationship, and critical thinking skills. Conclusions: The findings from this study provide valuable information and understanding of the actual competency among nurses in clinical settings in Vietnam. It is expected that this understanding would assist in developing a guide to nursing education and training, nursing practice and relevant policy regulation used for promoting nursing competency among nurses.
Keywords: Nursing competency, qualitative design, ethnographic method, Vietnam.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2485665 Service Flow in Multilayer Networks: A Method for Evaluating the Layout of Urban Medical Resources
Authors: Guanglin Song
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Situated within the context of China's tiered medical treatment system, this study aims to analyze spatial causes of urban healthcare access difficulties from the perspective of the configuration of healthcare facilities. A social network analysis approach is employed to construct a healthcare demand and supply flow network between major residential clusters and various tiers of hospitals in the city. The findings reveal that: 1) There exists overall maldistribution and over-concentration of healthcare resources in the study area, characterized by structural imbalance. 2) The low rate of primary care utilization in the study area is a key factor contributing to congestion at higher-tier hospitals, as excessive reliance on these institutions by neighboring communities exacerbates the problem. 3) Gradual optimization of the healthcare facility layout in the study area, encompassing holistic, local, and individual institutional levels, can enhance systemic efficiency and resource balance. This research proposes a method for evaluating urban healthcare resource distribution structures based on service flows within hierarchical networks. It offers spatially targeted optimization suggestions for promoting the implementation of the tiered healthcare system and alleviating challenges related to accessibility and congestion in seeking medical care. In addition, the study provides some new ideas for researchers and healthcare managers in countries, cities, and healthcare management around the world with similar challenges.
Keywords: Flow of public services, healthcare facilities, spatial planning, urban networks.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 87664 The Democratization of 3D Capturing: An Application Investigating Google Tango Potentials
Authors: Carlo Bianchini, Lorenzo Catena
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The appearance of 3D scanners and then, more recently, of image-based systems that generate point clouds directly from common digital images have deeply affected the survey process in terms of both capturing and 2D/3D modelling. In this context, low cost and mobile systems are increasingly playing a key role and actually paving the way to the democratization of what in the past was the realm of few specialized technicians and expensive equipment. The application of Google Tango on the ancient church of Santa Maria delle Vigne in Pratica di Mare – Rome presented in this paper is one of these examples.
Keywords: Architectural survey, augmented/mixed/virtual reality, Google Tango project, image-based 3D capturing.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 713663 The Effect of Realizing Emotional Synchrony with Teachers or Peers on Children’s Linguistic Proficiency: The Case Study of Uji Elementary School
Authors: Reiko Yamamoto
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This paper reports on a joint research project in which a researcher in applied linguistics and elementary school teachers in Japan explored new ways to realize emotional synchrony in a classroom in childhood education. The primary purpose of this project was to develop a cross-curriculum of the first language (L1) and second language (L2) based on the concept of plurilingualism. This concept is common in Europe, and can-do statements are used in forming the standard of linguistic proficiency in any language; these are attributed to the action-oriented approach in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). CEFR has a basic tenet of language education: improving communicative competence. Can-do statements are classified into five categories based on the tenet: reading, writing, listening, speaking/ interaction, and speaking/ speech. The first approach of this research was to specify the linguistic proficiency of the children, who are still developing their L1. Elementary school teachers brainstormed and specified the linguistic proficiency of the children as the competency needed to synchronize with others – teachers or peers – physically and mentally. The teachers formed original can-do statements in language proficiency on the basis of the idea that emotional synchrony leads to understanding others in communication. The research objectives are to determine the effect of language education based on the newly developed curriculum and can-do statements. The participants of the experiment were 72 third-graders in Uji Elementary School, Japan. For the experiment, 17 items were developed from the can-do statements formed by the teachers and divided into the same five categories as those of CEFR. A can-do checklist consisting of the items was created. The experiment consisted of three steps: first, the students evaluated themselves using the can-do checklist at the beginning of the school year. Second, one year of instruction was given to the students in Japanese and English classes (six periods a week). Third, the students evaluated themselves using the same can-do checklist at the end of the school year. The results of statistical analysis showed an enhancement of linguistic proficiency of the students. The average results of the post-check exceeded that of the pre-check in 12 out of the 17 items. Moreover, significant differences were shown in four items, three of which belonged to the same category: speaking/ interaction. It is concluded that children can get to understand others’ minds through physical and emotional synchrony. In particular, emotional synchrony is what teachers should aim at in childhood education.
Keywords: Elementary school education, emotional synchrony, language proficiency, sympathy with others.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 623662 A Study on Fundamental Problems for Small and Medium Agricultural Machinery Industries in Central Region Area
Authors: P. Thepnarintra, S. Nikorn
Abstract:
Agricultural machinery industry plays an important role in the industrial development especially the production industry of the country. There has been continuing development responding to the higher demand of the production. However, the problem in agricultural machinery production still exists. Thus, the purpose of this research is to investigate problems on fundamental factors of industry based on the entrepreneurs’ point of view. The focus was on the small and medium size industry receiving factory license type number 0660 from the Department of Industrial Works. The investigation was on the comparison between the management of the small and medium size agricultural industry in 3 provinces in the central region of Thailand. Population in this study consisted of 189 company managers or managing directors, of which 101 were from the small size and 88 were from the medium size industry. The data were analyzed to find percentage, arithmetic mean, and standard deviation with independent sample T-test at the statistical significance .05. The results showed that the small and medium size agricultural machinery manufacturers in the central region of Thailand reported high problems in every aspect. When compared the problems on basic factors in running the business, it was found that there was no statistically difference at .05 in managing of the small and medium size agricultural machinery manufacturers. However, there was a statistically significant difference between the small and medium size agricultural machinery manufacturers on the aspect of policy and services of the government. The problems reported by the small and medium size agricultural machinery manufacturers were the services on public tap water and the problem on politic and stability of the country.Keywords: Agricultural machinery, manufacturers, problems, on running the business.
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