Search results for: technical lean practices.

Authors: E. Asgharizadeh, M. Ajalli, S.R. Safavi.M.M, A. Medghalchi

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Electronic Government is one of the special concepts which has been performed successfully within recent decades. Electronic government is a digital, wall-free government with a virtual organization for presenting of online governmental services and further cooperation in different political/social activities. In order to have a successful implementation of electronic government strategy and benefiting from its complete potential and benefits and generally for establishment and applying of electronic government, it is necessary to have different infrastructures as the basics of electronic government with lack of which it is impossible to benefit from mentioned services. For this purpose, in this paper we have managed to recognize relevant obstacles for establishment of electronic government in Iran. All required data for recognition of obstacles were collected from statistical society of involved specialists of Ministry of Communications & Information Technology of Iran and Information Technology Organization of Tehran Municipality through questionnaire. Then by considering of five-point Likert scope and μ =3 as the index of relevant factors of proposed model, we could specify current obstacles against electronic government in Iran along with some guidelines and proposal in this regard. According to the results, mentioned obstacles for applying of electronic government in Iran are as follows: Technical & technological problems, Legal, judicial & safety problems, Economic problems and Humanistic Problems.

Keywords: Government, Electronic Government, InformationTechnology, Obstacles, Iran.

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Authors: Khaled N. El-Hashmi, Omar K.Gnieber

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The clinical laboratory has received considerable recognition globally due to the rapid development of advanced technology, economic demands and its role in a patient’s treatment cycle. Although various cross-domain experiments and practices with respect to clinical laboratory projects are ready for the full swing, the customer needs are still ambiguous and debatable. The purpose of this study is to apply Kano’s model and customer satisfaction matrix to categorize service quality attributes in order to see how well these attributes are able to satisfy customer needs. The result reveals that ten of the 26 service quality attributes have greater impacts on highly increasing customer’s satisfaction and should be taken in consideration firstly.

Keywords: Clinical laboratory, Customer satisfaction matrix, Kano’s Model, Quality Attributes, Voice of Customer.

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Authors: Malte Brettel, Niklas Friederichsen, Michael Keller, Marius Rosenberg

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The German manufacturing industry has to withstand an increasing global competition on product quality and production costs. As labor costs are high, several industries have suffered severely under the relocation of production facilities towards aspiring countries, which have managed to close the productivity and quality gap substantially. Established manufacturing companies have recognized that customers are not willing to pay large price premiums for incremental quality improvements. As a consequence, many companies from the German manufacturing industry adjust their production focusing on customized products and fast time to market. Leveraging the advantages of novel production strategies such as Agile Manufacturing and Mass Customization, manufacturing companies transform into integrated networks, in which companies unite their core competencies. Hereby, virtualization of the process- and supply-chain ensures smooth inter-company operations providing real-time access to relevant product and production information for all participating entities. Boundaries of companies deteriorate, as autonomous systems exchange data, gained by embedded systems throughout the entire value chain. By including Cyber-Physical-Systems, advanced communication between machines is tantamount to their dialogue with humans. The increasing utilization of information and communication technology allows digital engineering of products and production processes alike. Modular simulation and modeling techniques allow decentralized units to flexibly alter products and thereby enable rapid product innovation. The present article describes the developments of Industry 4.0 within the literature and reviews the associated research streams. Hereby, we analyze eight scientific journals with regards to the following research fields: Individualized production, end-to-end engineering in a virtual process chain and production networks. We employ cluster analysis to assign sub-topics into the respective research field. To assess the practical implications, we conducted face-to-face interviews with managers from the industry as well as from the consulting business using a structured interview guideline. The results reveal reasons for the adaption and refusal of Industry 4.0 practices from a managerial point of view. Our findings contribute to the upcoming research stream of Industry 4.0 and support decision-makers to assess their need for transformation towards Industry 4.0 practices. 

Keywords: Industry 4.0., Mass Customization, Production networks, Virtual Process-Chain.

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Authors: Sundus Ayyaz, Saad Rehman, Usman Qamar

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Software Architecture is the basic structure of software that states the development and advancement of a software system. Software architecture is also considered as a significant tool for the construction of high quality software systems. A clean design leads to the control, value and beauty of software resulting in its longer life while a bad design is the cause of architectural erosion where a software evolution completely fails. This paper discusses the occurrence of software architecture erosion and presents a set of methods for the detection, declaration and prevention of architecture erosion. The causes and symptoms of architecture erosion are observed with the examples of prescriptive and descriptive architectures and the practices used to stop this erosion are also discussed by considering different types of software erosion and their affects. Consequently finding and devising the most suitable approach for fighting software architecture erosion and in some way reducing its affect is evaluated and tested on different scenarios.

Keywords: Software Architecture, Architecture Erosion, Prescriptive Architecture, Descriptive Architecture.

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Authors: Ferruh Yildiz

Abstract:

The ITE Project is a project that has 1800 km length and across the Turkey's land through east to west. The project of pipeline enters geographically from Iran to Doğubayazit (Turkey) in the east, exits to Greece from Ipsala province of Turkey in the west. This project is the one of the international projects in such scale that provides the natural gas of Iran and Caspian Sea through the European continent. In this investigation, some information will be given about the methods used to verify the direction of the pipeline and the technical properties of the results obtained. The cost of project itself entirely depends on the direction of the pipeline which would be as short as possible and the specifications of the land cover. Production standards of 1/2000 scaled digital orthophoto and vectoral maps as a results of the use of map production materials and methods (such as high resolution satellite images, and digital aerial images captured from digital aerial cameras), will also be given in this report. According to Turkish national map production standards, TM ((Transversal Mercator, 3 degree) projection is used for large scale map and UTM (Universal Transversal Mercator, 6 degree) is used for small scale map production standards. Some information is also given about the projection used in the ITE natural gas pipeline project.

Keywords: Digital Image Processing, Natural Gas Pipe Line, Photogrammetry.

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Authors: Philomena Ibuh Adzongo, Margaret U. Oluwole, Justina Nguveren Jor.

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This paper investigated the need for the development of entrepreneurial skills for Benue State University students. The population consisted of all 1,500 final year students in Benue State University. A sample of 100 students was selected using simple random sampling. A 12-item self-constructed and content validated questionnaire by research experts titled, the Need for the Development of Entrepreneurial Skills in Benue State University Students (NDECBSUS) was used to collect the data. The questionnaire items were rated using a 4-point modified rating scale of Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree and Strongly Disagree, assigned the following scores of 4,3,2 and 1, respectively. The questionnaire was administered by the researcher with the help of two research assistants through the primary source. Simple percentages and chi-square were used to answer the research questions and test the hypotheses, respectively. The findings revealed that in business management, business management skills, personal skills, and technical skills need to be developed in students for them to become effective and efficient entrepreneurs and concluded that the acquisition of these skills will reduce the challenge of unemployment. The study recommended that funds should be made available by all education stakeholders for such programmes to remain functional.

Keywords: Entrepreneurial skill, entrepreneurship, need for development, university students.

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Authors: James K. Ho

Abstract:

We present a prototype interactive (hyper) map of strategic, tactical, and logistic options for Supply Chain Management. The map comprises an anthology of options, broadly classified within the strategic spectrum of efficiency versus responsiveness, and according to logistic and cross-functional drivers. They are exemplified by cases in diverse industries. We seek to get all these information and ideas organized to help supply chain managers identify effective choices for specific business environments. The key and innovative linkage we introduce is the configuration of competitive forces. Instead of going through seemingly endless and isolated cases and wondering how one can borrow from them, we aim to provide a guide by force comparisons. The premise is that best practices in a different industry facing similar forces may be a most productive resource in supply chain design and planning. A prototype template is demonstrated.

Keywords: Competitive forces, strategic innovation, supplychain management.

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Authors: Mahmoud A. Rabah

Abstract:

The present study shows a method to recover lead metal from wastewater of wet scrubber in secondary lead smelter. The wastewater is loaded with 42,000 ppm of insoluble lead compounds (TSP) submicron in diameter. The technical background benefits the use of cationic polyfloc solution to flocculate these colloidal solids before press filtration. The polymer solution is injected in the wastewater stream in a countercurrent flow design. The study demonstrates the effect of polymer dose, temperature, pH, flow velocity of the wastewater and different filtration media on the filtration extent. Results indicated that filtration rate (¦_r), quality of purified water, purifying efficiency (¦_e) and floc diameter decrease regularly with increase in mass flow rate and velocity up to turbulence of 0.5 m.sec^-1. Laminar flow is in favor of flocculation. Polyfloc concentration of 0.75 – 1.25 g/m³ wastewater is convenient. Increasing temperature of the wastewater and pneumatic pressure of filtration enhances ¦_r. High pH value deforms floc formation and assists degradation of the filtration fabric. The overall efficiency of the method amounts to 93.2 %. Lead metal was recovered from the filtrate cake using carbon as a reducing agent at 900°C.

Keywords: Wastewater, wet scrubbers, filtration, secondary lead.

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Authors: Vahid Aryanpur , Ehsan Shafiei

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This paper presents an environmental and technoeconomic evaluation of light duty vehicles in Iran. A comprehensive well-to-wheel (WTW) analysis is applied to compare different automotive fuel chains, conventional internal combustion engines and innovative vehicle powertrains. The study examines the competitiveness of 15 various pathways in terms of energy efficiencies, GHG emissions, and levelized cost of different energy carriers. The results indicate that electric vehicles including battery electric vehicles (BEV), fuel cell vehicles (FCV) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) increase the WTW energy efficiency by 54%, 51% and 46%, respectively, compared to common internal combustion engines powered by gasoline. On the other hand, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per kilometer of FCV and BEV would be 48% lower than that of gasoline engines. It is concluded that BEV has the lowest total cost of energy consumption and external cost of emission, followed by internal combustion engines (ICE) fueled by CNG. Conventional internal combustion engines fueled by gasoline, on the other hand, would have the highest costs.

Keywords: Well-to-Wheel analysis, Energy Efficiency, GHG emissions, Levelized cost of energy, Alternative fuel vehicles.

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Authors: M. F. Chow, M. F. Abu Bakar

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Green roof system is considered a relatively new concept in Malaysia even though it has been implemented widely in the developed countries. Generally, green roofs provide many benefits such as enhancing aesthetical quality of the built environment, reduce urban heat island effect, reduce energy consumption, improve stormwater attenuation, and reduce noise pollution. A better understanding on the implementation of green roof system in Malaysia is crucial, as Malaysia’s climate is different if compared with the climate in temperate countries where most of the green roof studies have been conducted. This study has concentrated on the technical aspect of green roof system which focuses on i) types of plants and method of planting; ii) engineering design for green roof system; iii) its hydrological performance on reducing stormwater runoff; and iv) benefits of green roofs with respect to energy. Literature review has been conducted to identify the development and obstacles associated with green roofs systems in Malaysia. The study had identified the challenges and potentials of green roofs development in Malaysia. This study also provided the recommendations on standard design and strategies on the implementation of green roofs in Malaysia in the near future.

Keywords: Engineering design, green roof, sustainable development, tropical countries.

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Authors: Azadeh Maroufmashat, Sourena Sattari Khavas, Halle Bakhteeyar

Abstract:

Multi-energy systems will enhance the system reliability and power quality. This paper presents an integrated approach for the design and operation of distributed energy resources (DER) systems, based on energy hub modeling. A multi-objective optimization model is developed by considering an integrated view of electricity and natural gas network to analyze the optimal design and operating condition of DER systems, by considering two conflicting objectives, namely, minimization of total cost and the minimization of environmental impact which is assessed in terms of CO2 emissions. The mathematical model considers energy demands of the site, local climate data, and utility tariff structure, as well as technical and financial characteristics of the candidate DER technologies. To provide energy demands, energy systems including photovoltaic, and co-generation systems, boiler, central power grid are considered. As an illustrative example, a hotel in Iran demonstrates potential applications of the proposed method. The results prove that increasing the satisfaction degree of environmental objective leads to increased total cost.

Keywords: Multi objective optimization, DER systems, Energy hub, Cost, CO2 emission.

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Authors: Omid A. Zargar

Abstract:

One of the most challenging times in operation of big industrial plant or utilities is the time that alert lamp of Bently Nevada connection in main board substation turn on and show the alert condition of machine. All of the maintenance groups usually make a lot of discussion with operation and together rather this alert signal is real or fake. This will be more challenging when condition monitoring vibrationdata shows 1X(X=current rotor frequency) in fast Fourier transform(FFT) and vibration phase trends show 90 degree shift between two non-contact probedirections with overall high radial amplitude amounts. In such situations, CM (condition monitoring) groups usually suspicious about unbalance in rotor. In this paper, four critical case histories related to SIEMENS V94.2 Gas Turbines in Iran power industry discussed in details. Furthermore, probe looseness and fake (unreal) trip in gas turbine power plants discussed. In addition, critical operation decision in alert condition in power plants discussed in details.

Keywords: Gas turbine, field balance, turbine compressors, balancing tools, balancing data collectors.

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Authors: Alireza Noorpoor, Akbar Abvabi, Mehdi Saeed Kiasat

Abstract:

Development, calibration and validation of a threedimensional model of the Legform impactor for pedestrian crash with bumper are presented. Lower limb injury is becoming an increasingly important concern in vehicle safety for both occupants and pedestrians. In order to prevent lower extremity injuries to a pedestrian when struck by a car, it is important to elucidate the loadings from car front structures on the lower extremities and the injury mechanism caused by these loadings. An impact test procedure with a legform addressing lower limb injuries in car pedestrian accidents has been proposed by EEVC/WG17. In this study a modified legform impactor is introduced and validated against EEVC/WG17 criteria. The finite element model of this legform is developed using LS-DYNA software. Total mass of legform impactor is 13.4 kg.Technical specifications including the mass and location of the center of gravity and moment of inertia about a horizontal axis through the respective centre of gravity in femur and tibia are determined. The obtained results of legform impactor static and dynamic tests are as specified in the EEVC/WG17.

Keywords: Legform impactor, Pedestrian safety, Finite element model, Knee joint, EEVC/WG17.

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Authors: Mahadevan Supramaniam, Mudiarasan Kuppusamy

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In order to survive in a rapidly changing business environment, Malaysian business firms must improve their own business practices and procedures. This paper describes the impact of Critical Success Factors (CSFs) during the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system implementations using the responses from 151 organizations that completed or are in the process of completing an ERP implementation and identifying the key benefits of ERP implementation in the firm. The importance of these factors was investigated within Malaysian companies using questionnaire survey method. Our results provide advice to management on how best to utilize their limited resources to choose those CSFs that are most likely to have an impact upon the implementation of the ERP system.

Keywords: Critical Success Factors (CSFs), Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), system, vendor.

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Authors: S. Odeh, E. Abdelghani

Abstract:

Collaborative working environments for distance education can be considered as a more generic form of contemporary remote labs. At present, the majority of existing real laboratories are not constructed to allow the involved participants to collaborate in real time. To make this revolutionary learning environment possible we must allow the different users to carry out an experiment simultaneously. In recent times, multi-user environments are successfully applied in many applications such as air traffic control systems, team-oriented military systems, chat-text tools, multi-player games etc. Thus, understanding the ideas and techniques behind these systems could be of great importance in the contribution of ideas to our e-learning environment for collaborative working. In this investigation, collaborative working environments from theoretical and practical perspectives are considered in order to build an effective collaborative real laboratory, which allows two students or more to conduct remote experiments at the same time as a team. In order to achieve this goal, we have implemented distributed system architecture, enabling students to obtain an automated help by either a human tutor or a rule-based e-tutor.

Keywords: Collaboration environment, e-tutor, multi-user environments, socio-technical system.

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Authors: Khaled M. Alhawiti

Abstract:

This paper aims to analyze the role of natural language processing (NLP). The paper will discuss the role in the context of automated data retrieval, automated question answer, and text structuring. NLP techniques are gaining wider acceptance in real life applications and industrial concerns. There are various complexities involved in processing the text of natural language that could satisfy the need of decision makers. This paper begins with the description of the qualities of NLP practices. The paper then focuses on the challenges in natural language processing. The paper also discusses major techniques of NLP. The last section describes opportunities and challenges for future research.

Keywords: Data Retrieval, Information retrieval, Natural Language Processing, Text Structuring.

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Authors: D. Danesh, M. J. Ryan, A. Abbasi

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Project Portfolio Management (PPM) is an essential component of an organisation’s strategic procedures, which requires attention of several factors to envisage a range of long-term outcomes to support strategic project portfolio decisions. To evaluate overall efficiency at the portfolio level, it is essential to identify the functionality of specific projects as well as to aggregate those findings in a mathematically meaningful manner that indicates the strategic significance of the associated projects at a number of levels of abstraction. PPM success is directly associated with the quality of decisions made and poor judgment increases portfolio costs. Hence, various Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) techniques have been designed and employed to support the decision-making functions. This paper reviews possible options to enhance the decision-making outcomes in organisational portfolio management processes using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) both from academic and practical perspectives and will examine the usability, certainty and quality of the technique. The results of the study will also provide insight into the technical risk associated with current decision-making model to underpin initiative tracking and strategic portfolio management.

Keywords: Analytic hierarchy process, decision support systems, multi-criteria decision-making, project portfolio management.

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Authors: Sofia Douklia

Abstract:

The present context paper aims to present the important role of ‘student voice’ and the music teacher in the classroom, which contributes to more student-centered music education. The aim is to focus on the functions of the student voice through the music spectrum, which has been born in the music classroom, and the teacher’s methodologies and techniques used in the music classroom. The music curriculum, the principles of student-centered music education, and the role of students and teachers as music ambassadors have been considered the major music parameters of student voice. The student- voice is a worth-mentioning aspect of a student-centered education, and all teachers should consider and promote its existence in their classroom.

Keywords: Student’s voice, student-centered education, music ambassadors, music teachers.

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Authors: Mehrdad Abkenari, Alireza Rezaei, Naghmeh Pournayeb

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There have recently been many studies and investments in developed and developing countries regarding the possibility of recycling construction waste, which are still ongoing. Since the term 'construction waste' covers a vast spectrum of materials in constructing buildings, roads and etc., many investigations are required to measure their technical performance in use as well as their time and place of use. Concrete is among the major and fundamental materials used in current construction industry. Along with the rise of population in developing countries, it is desperately required to meet the people's primary need in construction industry and on the other hand, dispose existing wastes for reducing the amount of environmental pollutants. Restrictions of natural resources and environmental pollution are the most important problems encountered by civil engineers. Reusing construction waste is an important and economic approach that not only assists the preservation of environment but also, provides us with primary raw materials. In line with consistent municipal development in disposal and reuse of construction waste, several approaches including, management of construction waste and materials, materials recycling and innovation and new inventions in materials have been predicted. This article has accordingly attempted to study the activities related to recycling of construction wastes and then, stated the economic, quantitative, qualitative and environmental results obtained.

Keywords: Civil engineering, environment, recycling, construction waste.

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Authors: Guyue Zhu, Liangping Hong

Abstract:

Chinese overall urban design faces a large number of problems such as the neglect of urban characteristics, generalization of content, and difficulty in implementation. Focusing on these issues, this paper proposes the main points of shaping urban characteristics in overall urban design: focuses on core problems in city function and scale, landscape pattern, historical culture, social resources and modern city style and digs the urban characteristic genes. Then, we put forward “core problem location and characteristic gene enhancement” as a kind of overall urban design technical method. Firstly, based on the main problems in urban space as a whole, for the operability goal, the method extracts the key genes and integrates into the multi-dimension system in a targeted manner. Secondly, hierarchical management and guidance system is established which may be in line with administrative management. Finally, by converting the results, action plan is drawn up that can be dynamically implemented. Based on the above idea and method, a practical exploration has been performed in the case of Xiangyang central city.

Keywords: City characteristics, overall urban design, planning implementation, Xiangyang central city.

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Authors: J. Ruso, M. Krsmanovic, A. Trajkovic, Z. Rakicevic

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Since the late 1970s, quality management has become an important tool for achieving a high quality of public e-administration services in many countries. Very important part of quality management in e-administration is measurement of quality indicators related to this sector. Therefore, this paper gives a description of e-administration, including statistics about it and other examples from many countries worldwide, as well as the explanation of quality management in public e-administration. The paper also gives a list and description of quality indicators relevant to e-administration, as part of quality management within the e-administration. Through a literature review and best practices, the paper aims to analyze quality indicators measurement and other parts of good quality management when it comes to the public e-administration and consequently to show the usefulness of quality management in public e-administration in order to provide services of high quality.

Keywords: e-Administration, quality indicators, quality management.

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Authors: Yun-Yao Chi, Chieh-Kai Tsai, Dai-Ling Li

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In this paper, a method of fast 3D topography modeling using the high-resolution camera images is studied based on the characteristics of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) system for low altitude aerial photogrammetry and the need of three dimensional (3D) urban landscape modeling. Firstly, the existing high-resolution digital camera with special design of overlap images is designed by reconstructing and analyzing the auto-flying paths of UAVs, which improves the self-calibration function to achieve the high precision imaging by software, and further increased the resolution of the imaging system. Secondly, several-angle images including vertical images and oblique images gotten by the UAV system are used for the detail measure of urban land surfaces and the texture extraction. Finally, the aerial photography and 3D topography construction are both developed in campus of Chang-Jung University and in Guerin district area in Tainan, Taiwan, provide authentication model for construction of 3D topography based on combined UAV-based camera images from system. The results demonstrated that the UAV system for low altitude aerial photogrammetry can be used in the construction of 3D topography production, and the technology solution in this paper offers a new, fast, and technical plan for the 3D expression of the city landscape, fine modeling and visualization.

Keywords: 3D, topography, UAV, images.

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Authors: Bouttout Abdelouahab, Amara Mohamed, Djakabe Saad, Remram Youcef

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This paper presents the results of an evaluation of acoustic comfort such as background noise and reverberation time in teaching rooms in Height National School of Civil Engineering, Algeria. Four teaching rooms are evaluated: conference room, two classroom and amphitheatre. The acoustic quality of the classrooms has been analyzed based on measurements of sound pressure level inside room and reverberations time. The measurement results show that impulse decays dependent on the position of the microphone inside room and the background noise is with agreement of National Official Journal of Algeria published in July 1993. Therefore there exists a discrepancy between the obtained reverberation time value and recommended reverberation time in some classrooms. Three methods have been proposed to reduce the reverberation time values in such room. We developed a program with FORTRAN 6.0 language based on the absorption acoustic values of the Technical Document Regulation (DTR C3.1.1). The important results of this paper can be used to regulate the construction and execute the acoustic rehabilitations of teaching room in Algeria, especially the classrooms of the pupils in primary and secondary schools.

Keywords: Room acoustic, reverberation time, background noise, absorptions materials.

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Authors: Tao Yin, Zeqiang Zhang, Wei Liang, Yanqing Zeng, Yu Zhang

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To accelerate the remanufacturing process of electronic waste products, this study designs a partial disassembly line with the multi-robotic station to effectively dispose of excessive wastes. The multi-robotic partial disassembly line is a technical upgrade to the existing manual disassembly line. Balancing optimization can make the disassembly line smoother and more efficient. For partial disassembly line balancing with the multi-robotic station (PDLBMRS), a mixed-integer programming model (MIPM) considering the robotic efficiency differences is established to minimize cycle time, energy consumption and hazard index and to calculate their optimal global values. Besides, an enhanced NSGA-II algorithm (HNSGA-II) is proposed to optimize PDLBMRS efficiently. Finally, MIPM and HNSGA-II are applied to an actual mixed disassembly case of two types of computers, the comparison of the results solved by GUROBI and HNSGA-II verifies the correctness of the model and excellent performance of the algorithm, and the obtained Pareto solution set provides multiple options for decision-makers.

Keywords: Waste disposal, disassembly line balancing, multi-robot station, robotic efficiency difference, HNSGA-II.

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Authors: Mucip Tapan, Ali Ozvan, Ismail Akkaya

Abstract:

This study investigated how the concrete confinement strength and axial load carrying capacity of reinforced concrete columns are affected by corrosion damage to the stirrups. A total of small-scale 12 test specimens were cast for evaluating the effect of stirrup corrosion on confinement strength of concrete. The results of this study show that the stirrup corrosion alone dramatically decreases the axial load carrying capacity of corroded reinforced concrete columns. Recommendations were presented for improved inspection practices which will allow estimating concrete confinement strength of corrosion-damaged reinforced concrete bridge columns.

Keywords: Bridge, column, concrete, corrosion, inspection, stirrup reinforcement.

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Authors: Fatemeh Afsharnia, Mohammad Amin Asoodar, Abbas Abdeshahi, Afshin Marzban

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A repairable mechanical system (as agricultural tractor) is subject to deterioration or repeated failure and needs a repair shops and also operator’s capability for the repair and maintenance operations. Data are based on field visits and interviews with 48MF 285 tractor operators from 14 villages collected in north of Khouzestan province. The results showed that most operators were lack the technical skill to service and repair tractors due to insufficient training, specific education and work experience. Inadequate repair and maintenance facilities, such as workshops, mechanics and spare parts depots cause delays in repair work in the survey areas. Farmers do not keep accurate service records and most of them disregard proper maintenance and service of their tractors, such as changing engine oil without following the manufacturer’s recommendations. Since, Repair and maintenance facilities should be established in village areas to guarantee timely repair in case of breakdowns and to make spare parts available at low price. The operators should keep service records accurately and adhere to maintenance and service schedules according to the manufacturer’s instructions. They should also be encouraged to do the service and maintain their tractors properly.

Keywords: Operators’ capability, Facilities availability, Repair and maintenance, MF 285 tractors.

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Authors: Zamri Noranai, Mohammad Zainal Md Yusof

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Sustainable energy usage has been recognized as one of the important measure to increase the competitiveness of the nation globally. Many strong emphases were given in the Ninth Malaysia Plan (RMK9) to improve energy efficient especially to government buildings. With this in view, a project to investigate the potential of energy saving in selected building in Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM) was carried out. In this project, a case study involving electric energy consumption of the academic staff office building was conducted. The scope of the study include to identify energy consumption in a selected building, to study energy saving opportunities, to analyse cost investment in term of economic and to identify users attitude with respect to energy usage. The MS1525:2001, Malaysian Standard -Code of practice on energy efficiency and use of renewable energy for non-residential buildings was used as reference. Several energy efficient measures were considered and their merits and priority were compared. Improving human behavior can reduce energy consumption by 6% while technical measure can reduce energy consumption by 44%. Two economic analysis evaluation methods were applied; they are the payback period method and net present value method.

Keywords: office building, energy, efficiency, economic analyses

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Authors: Nidhi Gadura

Abstract:

Given the increase in the number of students and administrators asking for online courses the author developed two partially online courses. One was a biology majors at genetics course while the other was a non-majors at biology course. The student body at Queensborough Community College is generally underprepared and has work and family obligations. As an educator, one has to be mindful about changing the pedagogical approach, therefore, special care was taken when designing the course material. Despite the initial concerns, both of these partially online courses were received really well by students. Lessons learnt were that student engagement is the key to success in an online course. Good practices to run a successful online course for underprepared students are discussed in this paper. Also discussed are the lessons learnt for making the eLearning environment better for all the students in the class, overachievers and underachievers alike.

Keywords: Partially online course, pedagogy, student engagement, community college.

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Authors: Narat Susilaworn, Nuttawuth Muenjohn

Abstract:

The study applied a combination of organisational learning models (Senge, 1994: Pedler, Burgoyne and Boydell, 1991) and later adopted fifteen organisational learning principles with one of the biggest energy providers in South East Asia. The purposes of the current study were to: a) investigate the company-s practices on fifteen organisational learning principles; b) explore the perceptions and expectations of its employees in relations to the principles; and c) compare the perceptions and expectations between management and non-management staff toward the fifteen factors. One hundred and ten employees responded on a designed questionnaire and the results indicated that the company was practicing activities that associated with organisational learning principles. Also, according to the T-test results, significant differences between management and non-management respondents were found. Research implications are also provided.

Keywords: Organisational learning, employee perception, organisational performance.

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Authors: Eakong Atiptamvaree, Twittie Senivongse

Abstract:

Process-oriented software development is a new software development paradigm in which software design is modeled by a business process which is in turn translated into a process execution language for execution. The building blocks of this paradigm are software units that are composed together to work according to the flow of the business process. This new paradigm still exhibits the characteristic of the applications built with the traditional software component technology. This paper discusses an approach to apply a traditional technique for software component fabrication to the design of process-oriented software units, called process components. These process components result from decomposing a business process of a particular application domain into subprocesses, and these process components can be reused to design the business processes of other application domains. The decomposition considers five managerial goals, namely cost effectiveness, ease of assembly, customization, reusability, and maintainability. The paper presents how to design or decompose process components from a business process model and measure some technical features of the design that would affect the managerial goals. A comparison between the measurement values from different designs can tell which process component design is more appropriate for the managerial goals that have been set. The proposed approach can be applied in Web Services environment which accommodates process-oriented software development.

Keywords: Business Process Model, Managerial Goals, ProcessComponent.

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