Search results for: quality management practices
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 5610

Search results for: quality management practices

5460 Impact of Customer Management System in Improving Customer Retention: Optimization of Negative Customer Feedback

Authors: Alireza Faed, David Forbes

Abstract:

Complaints today have the ability to retain customer loyalty using state of the art systems and strategies in customer relationship management to analyze and respond to a plethora of customer perception. The Majority of companies are not aware of the beneficiary utilization of customer complaints for the sake of quality improvements. Also, some companies have problems determining how resolution of complaints can be profitable. In this study, we will define the problems and ascertain the importance of customer management system on the companies. Furthermore, we will determine the impact of such a system on efficiency, confidence, profitability and customer complaints. Eventually, we will develop methods and address the issues. In this paper, we used an open-ended questionnaire and distributed that to 30 randomly chosen respondents which were the passengers in an airport. We also define three hypotheses for our study and we will validate each of them. Then using frequency, Chi- Square and quality control method we optimized the size of customers- negative feedback and improved the process of customer retention.

Keywords: Complaint, Complaint management system, Customer relationship management, Retention.

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5459 Communication and Devices: Face to Face Communication versus Communication with Mobile Technologies

Authors: Nuran Öze

Abstract:

With the rapid changes occurring in the last twenty five years, mobile phone technology has influenced every aspect of life. Technological developments within the Internet and mobile phone areas have not only changed communication practices; it has also changed the everyday life practices of individuals. This article has focused on understanding how people’s communication practices and everyday life practices have changed with the smartphone usage. The study was conducted by using in-depth interview method and the research was conducted on twenty Turkish Cypriots who live in Northern Cyprus. According to the research results, communicating via Internet has rapidly replaced face to face communication in recent years. However, results have changed according to generations. Younger generations can easily adapt themselves to technological changes because they are already gaining everyday life practices right now. However, the older generations practices are already present in their everyday life.

Keywords: Face to face communication, internet, mobile technologies, North Cyprus.

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5458 Implication to Environmental Education of Indigenous Knowledge and the Ecosystem of Upland Farmers in Aklan, Philippines

Authors: Emily Arangote

Abstract:

This paper defined the association between the indigenous knowledge, cultural practices and the ecosystem its implication to the environmental education to the farmers. Farmers recognize the need for sustainability of the ecosystem they inhabit. The cultural practices of farmers on use of indigenous pest control, use of insect-repellant plants, soil management practices that suppress diseases and harmful pests and conserve soil moisture are deemed to be ecologically-friendly. Indigenous plant materials that were more drought- and pest-resistant were grown. Crop rotation was implemented with various crop seeds to increase their disease resistance. Multi-cropping, planting of perennial crops, categorization of soil and planting of appropriate crops, planting of appropriate and leguminous crops, alloting land as watershed, and preserving traditional palay seed varieties were found to be beneficial in preserving the environment. The study also found that indigenous knowledge about crops are still relevant and useful to the current generation. This ensured the sustainability of our environment and incumbent on policy makers and educators to support and preserve for generations yet to come.

Keywords: Cultural practices, ecosystem, environmental education, indigenous knowledge.

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5457 The Tendencies of Development of the Management in the Education System of the Republic of Kazakhstan

Authors: Altynai Zhaitapova, Aizhan Satyvaldiyeva

Abstract:

In this article the authors investigate the main tendencies of development of the management in the education system of the Republic of Kazakhstan: problems, solutions and development of the education system of Kazakhstan in the realities of globalization.

Keywords: Change management, education, globalization, innovations management systems, quality of education.

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5456 A Lean Manufacturing Profile of Practices in the Metallurgical Industry: A Methodology for Multivariate Analysis

Authors: Jonathan D. Morales M., Ramón Silva R.

Abstract:

The purpose of this project is to carry out an analysis and determine the profile of actual lean manufacturing processes in the Metropolitan Area of Bucaramanga. Through the analysis of qualitative and quantitative variables it was possible to establish how these manufacturers develop production practices that ensure their competitiveness and productivity in the market. In this study, a random sample of metallurgic and wrought iron companies was applied, following which a quantitative focus and analysis was used to formulate a qualitative methodology for measuring the level of lean manufacturing procedures in the industry. A qualitative evaluation was also carried out through a multivariate analysis using the Numerical Taxonomy System (NTSYS) program which should allow for the determination of Lean Manufacturing profiles. Through the results it was possible to observe how the companies in the sector are doing with respect to Lean Manufacturing Practices, as well as identify the level of management that these companies practice with respect to this topic. In addition, it was possible to ascertain that there is no one dominant profile in the sector when it comes to Lean Manufacturing. It was established that the companies in the metallurgic and wrought iron industry show low levels of Lean Manufacturing implementation. Each one carries out diverse actions that are insufficient to consolidate a sectoral strategy for developing a competitive advantage which enables them to tie together a production strategy.

Keywords: Lean manufacturing, metallurgic industry, production line management, productivity.

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5455 Factors Affecting Test Automation Stability and Their Solutions

Authors: Nagmani Lnu

Abstract:

Test automation is a vital requirement of any organization to release products faster to their customers. In most cases, an organization has an approach to developing automation but struggles to maintain it. It results in an increased number of flaky tests, reducing return on investments and stakeholders’ confidence. Challenges grow in multiple folds when automation is for User Interface (UI) behaviors. This paper describes the approaches taken to identify the root cause of automation instability in an extensive payments application and the best practices to address that using processes, tools, and technologies, resulting in a 75% reduction of effort.

Keywords: Automation stability, test stability, flaky test, test quality, test automation quality.

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5454 Availability Strategy of Medical Information for Telemedicine Services

Authors: Rozo D. Juan Felipe, Ramírez L. Leonardo Juan, Puerta A. Gabriel Alberto

Abstract:

The telemedicine services require correct computing resource management to guarantee productivity and efficiency for medical and non-medical staff. The aim of this study was to examine web management strategies to ensure the availability of resources and services in telemedicine so as to provide medical information management with an accessible strategy. In addition, to evaluate the quality-of-service parameters, the followings were measured: delays, throughput, jitter, latency, available bandwidth, percent of access and denial of services based of web management performance map with profiles permissions and database management. Through 24 different test scenarios, the results show 100% in availability of medical information, in relation to access of medical staff to web services, and quality of service (QoS) of 99% because of network delay and performance of computer network. The findings of this study suggest that the proposed strategy of web management is an ideal solution to guarantee the availability, reliability, and accessibility of medical information. Finally, this strategy offers seven user profile used at telemedicine center of Bogota-Colombia keeping QoS parameters suitable to telemedicine services.

Keywords: Availability, medical information, QoS, strategy, telemedicine.

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5453 Perceived Quality of Regional Products in MS Region

Authors: M. Stoklasa, H. Starzyczna, K. Matusinska

Abstract:

This article deals with the perceived quality of regional products in the Moravian-Silesian region in the Czech Republic. Research was focused on finding out what do consumers perceive as a quality product and what characteristics make a quality product. The data were obtained by questionnaire survey andanalysed by IBM SPSS. From the thousands of respondents the representative sample of 719 for MS region was created based on demographic factors of gender, age, education and income. The research analysis disclosed that consumers in MS region are still price oriented and that the preference of quality over price does not depend on regional brand knowledge.

Keywords: Regional brands, quality products, characteristics of quality, quality over price.

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5452 Evaluating Customer Satisfaction as an Aspect of Quality Management

Authors: Olga V. Krivobokova

Abstract:

A major goal of any enterprise is to create a ratings system of customer satisfaction, goods and services. It is obvious that the company cannot change what is not measured. In order to get a clearer picture of the preferences of the major consumer groups, this stage should be based on extensive research, including a variety of interviews and surveys. It is necessary to know the key benefits, which determine customer satisfaction in the market segment, of the properties of certain goods and services. It is important to estimate the terms of these preferences from the viewpoint of the client. This article discusses the importance of customer satisfaction, and ways of assessing it.

Keywords: Costs, customer, evaluation, organization, producer, quality management, satisfaction.

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5451 Monitoring of Water Pollution and Its Consequences: An Overview

Authors: N. Singh, N. Sharma, J. K. Katnoria

Abstract:

Water a vital component for all living forms is derived from variety of sources, including surface water (rivers, lakes, reservoirs and ponds) and ground water (aquifers). Over the years of time, water bodies are subjected to human interference regularly resulting in deterioration of water quality. Therefore, pollution of water bodies has become matter of global concern. As the water quality closely relate to human health, water analysis before usage is of immense importance. Improper management of water bodies can cause serious problems in availability and quality of water. The quality of water may be described according to their physico-chemical and microbiological characteristics. For effective maintenance of water quality through appropriate control measures, continuous monitoring of metals, physico-chemical and biological parameter is essential for the establishment of baseline data for the water quality in any study area. The present study has focused on to explore the status of water pollution in various areas and to estimate the magnitude of its toxicity using different bioassay.

Keywords: Genotoxicity, Heavy metals, Mutagenicity, Physico-chemical analysis.

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5450 Public Transport Reform in Indonesia, A Case Study in the City of Yogyakarta

Authors: Ahmad Munawar

Abstract:

The provision of urban public transport in Indonesia is not free of problems. Some of the problems include: an overall lack of capacity, lack of quality and choice, severe traffic congestions and insufficient fund to renew and repair vehicles. Generally, the comfort and quality of the city bus is poor, and many of the vehicles are dilapidated and dirty. Surveys were carried out in the city of Yogyakarta, by counting city bus vehicles and occupancies, interviewing the bus passengers, drivers and institutional staffs, who involve in public transport management. This paper will then analyze the possible plan to develop the public transport system to become more attractive and to improve the public transport management. The short, medium and long term plans are analyzed, to find the best solutions. Some constraints such as social impacts and financial impact are also taken into accounts.

Keywords: City bus, management, public transport.

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5449 Objective Performance of Compressed Image Quality Assessments

Authors: Ratchakit Sakuldee, Somkait Udomhunsakul

Abstract:

Measurement of the quality of image compression is important for image processing application. In this paper, we propose an objective image quality assessment to measure the quality of gray scale compressed image, which is correlation well with subjective quality measurement (MOS) and least time taken. The new objective image quality measurement is developed from a few fundamental of objective measurements to evaluate the compressed image quality based on JPEG and JPEG2000. The reliability between each fundamental objective measurement and subjective measurement (MOS) is found. From the experimental results, we found that the Maximum Difference measurement (MD) and a new proposed measurement, Structural Content Laplacian Mean Square Error (SCLMSE), are the suitable measurements that can be used to evaluate the quality of JPEG200 and JPEG compressed image, respectively. In addition, MD and SCLMSE measurements are scaled to make them equivalent to MOS, given the rate of compressed image quality from 1 to 5 (unacceptable to excellent quality).

Keywords: JPEG, JPEG2000, objective image quality measurement, subjective image quality measurement, correlation coefficients.

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5448 Designing for Inclusion within the Learning Management System: Social Justice, Identities, and Online Design for Digital Spaces in Higher Education

Authors: Christina Van Wingerden

Abstract:

The aim of this paper is to propose pedagogical design for learning management systems (LMS) that offers greater inclusion for students based on a number of theoretical perspectives and delineated through an example. Considering the impact of COVID-19, including on student mental health, the research suggesting the importance of student sense of belonging on retention, success, and student well-being, the author describes intentional LMS design incorporating theoretically based practices informed by critical theory, feminist theory, indigenous theory and practices, and new materiality. This article considers important aspects of these theories and practices which attend to inclusion, identities, and socially just learning environments. Additionally, increasing student sense of belonging and mental health through LMS design influenced by adult learning theory and the community of inquiry model are described.  The process of thinking through LMS pedagogical design with inclusion intentionally in mind affords the opportunity to allow LMS to go beyond course use as a repository of documents, to an intentional community of practice that facilitates belonging and connection, something much needed in our times. In virtual learning environments it has been harder to discern how students are doing, especially in feeling connected to their courses, their faculty, and their student peers. Increasingly at the forefront of public universities is addressing the needs of students with multiple and intersecting identities and the multiplicity of needs and accommodations. Education in 2020, and moving forward, calls for embedding critical theories and inclusive ideals and pedagogies to the ways instructors design and teach in online platforms. Through utilization of critical theoretical frameworks and instructional practices, students may experience the LMS as a welcoming place with intentional plans for welcoming diversity in identities.

Keywords: Belonging, critical pedagogy, instructional design, Learning Management System, LMS.

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5447 Core Issues Affecting Software Architecture in Enterprise Projects

Authors: Halûk Gümüşkaya

Abstract:

In this paper we analyze the core issues affecting software architecture in enterprise projects where a large number of people at different backgrounds are involved and complex business, management and technical problems exist. We first give general features of typical enterprise projects and then present foundations of software architectures. The detailed analysis of core issues affecting software architecture in software development phases is given. We focus on three main areas in each development phase: people, process, and management related issues, structural (product) issues, and technology related issues. After we point out core issues and problems in these main areas, we give recommendations for designing good architecture. We observed these core issues and the importance of following the best software development practices and also developed some novel practices in many big enterprise commercial and military projects in about 10 years of experience.

Keywords: Software architecture, enterprise projects.

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5446 Asset Management for Educational Buildings in Egypt

Authors: M. Abdelhamid, I. Beshara, M. Ghoneim

Abstract:

In Egypt, the concept of Asset Management (AM) is new; however, the need for applying it has become crucial because deteriorating or losing an asset is unaffordable in a developing country like Egypt. Therefore the current study focuses on educational buildings as one of the most important assets regarding planning, building, operating and maintenance expenditures. The main objective of this study is to develop a SAMF for educational buildings in Egypt. The General Authority for Educational Buildings (GAEB) was chosen as a case study of the current research as it represents the biggest governmental organization responsible for planning, operating and maintaining schools in Egypt. To achieve the research objective, structured interviews were conducted with senior managers of GAEB using a pre designed questionnaire to explore the current practice of AM. Gab analysis technique was applied against best practices compounded from a vast literature review to identify gaps between current practices and the desired one. The previous steps mainly revealed; limited knowledge about strategic asset management, no clear goals, no training, no real risk plan and lack of data, technical and financial resources. Based on the findings, a SAMF for GAEB was introduced and Framework implementation steps and assessment techniques were explained in detail.

Keywords: Strategic Asset Management, Educational Building, Framework, Gab Analysis, Developing Country.

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5445 Developing and Implementing Successful Key Performance Indicators

Authors: Marie Mikušová, Viktorie Janečková

Abstract:

Measurement and the following evaluation of performance represent important part of management. The paper focuses on indicators as the basic elements of performance measurement system. It emphasizes a necessity of searching requirements for quality indicators so that they can become part of the useful system. It introduces standpoints for a systematic dividing of indicators so that they have as high as possible informative value of background sources for searching, analysis, designing and using of indicators. It draws attention to requirements for indicators' quality and at the same it deals with some dangers decreasing indicator's informative value. It submits a draft of questions that should be answered at the construction of indicator. It is obvious that particular indicators need to be defined exactly to stimulate the desired behavior in order to attain expected results. In the enclosure a concrete example of the defined indicator in the concrete conditions of a small firm is given. The authors of the paper pay attention to the fact that a quality indicator makes it possible to get to the basic causes of the problem and include the established facts into the company information system. At the same time they emphasize that developing of a quality indicator is a prerequisite for the utilization of the system of measurement in management.

Keywords: performance, measurement, firm, indicator

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5444 Examination of Pre-Tender Budgeting Techniques for Mechanical and Electrical Services in Malaysia

Authors: Ganiyu Amuda Yusuf, Sarajul Fikri Mohamed

Abstract:

The procurement and cost management approach adopted for mechanical and electrical (M&E) services in Malaysian construction industry have been criticized for its inefficiency. The study examined early cost estimating practices adopted for mechanical and electrical services (M&E) in Malaysia so as to understand the level of compliance of the current techniques with best practices. The methodology adopted for the study is a review of bidding documents used on both completed and on – going building projects awarded between 2008 – 2010 under 9th Malaysian Plan. The analysis revealed that, M&E services cost cannot be reliably estimated at pre-contract stage; the bidding techniques adopted for M&E services failed to provide uniform basis for contractors to submit tender; detailed measurement of items were not made which could complicate post contract cost control and financial management. The paper concluded that, there is need to follow a structured approach in determining the pre-contract cost estimate for M&E services which will serve as a virile tool for post contract cost control.

Keywords: Cost Management, Mechanical and Electrical Services, Procurement, Standard Method of Measurement

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5443 The Development of a Narrative Management System: Storytelling in Knowledge Management

Authors: Savita K.S, Hazwani H., Kalid K. S.

Abstract:

This paper presents a narrative management system for organizations to capture organization's tacit knowledge through stories. The intention of capturing tacit knowledge is to address the problem that comes with the mobility of workforce in organisation. Storytelling in knowledge management context is seen as a powerful management tool to communicate tacit knowledge in organization. This narrative management system is developed firstly to enable uploading of many types of knowledge sharing stories, from general to work related-specific stories and secondly, each video has comment functionality where knowledge users can post comments to other knowledge users. The narrative management system allows the stories to browse, search and view by the users. In the system, stories are stored in a video repository. Stories that were produced from this framework will improve learning, knowledge transfer facilitation and tacit knowledge quality in an organization.

Keywords: Knowledge Management, Storytelling, Stories, Tacit Knowledge

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5442 Fuzzy Hierarchical Clustering Applied for Quality Estimation in Manufacturing System

Authors: Y. Q. Lv, C.K.M. Lee

Abstract:

This paper develops a quality estimation method with the application of fuzzy hierarchical clustering. Quality estimation is essential to quality control and quality improvement as a precise estimation can promote a right decision-making in order to help better quality control. Normally the quality of finished products in manufacturing system can be differentiated by quality standards. In the real life situation, the collected data may be vague which is not easy to be classified and they are usually represented in term of fuzzy number. To estimate the quality of product presented by fuzzy number is not easy. In this research, the trapezoidal fuzzy numbers are collected in manufacturing process and classify the collected data into different clusters so as to get the estimation. Since normal hierarchical clustering methods can only be applied for real numbers, fuzzy hierarchical clustering is selected to handle this problem based on quality standards.

Keywords: Quality Estimation, Fuzzy Quality Mean, Fuzzy Hierarchical Clustering, Fuzzy Number, Manufacturing system

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5441 Pre and Post IFRS Loss Avoidance in France and the United Kingdom

Authors: T. Miková

Abstract:

This paper analyzes the effect of a single uniform accounting rule on reporting quality by investigating the influence of IFRS on earnings management. This paper examines whether earnings management is reduced after IFRS adoption through the use of “loss avoidance thresholds”, a method that has been verified in earlier studies. This paper concentrates on two European countries: one that represents the continental code law tradition with weak protection of investors (France) and one that represents the Anglo-American common law tradition, which typically implies a strong enforcement system (the United Kingdom).

The research investigates a sample of 526 companies (6822 firm-year observations) during the years 2000 – 2013. The results are different for the two jurisdictions. This study demonstrates that a single set of accounting standards contributes to better reporting quality and reduces the pervasiveness of earnings management in France. In contrast, there is no evidence that a reduction in earnings management followed the implementation of IFRS in the United Kingdom. Due to the fact that IFRS benefit France but not the United Kingdom, other political and economic factors, such legal system or capital market strength, must play a significant role in influencing the comparability and transparency cross-border companies’ financial statements. Overall, the result suggests that IFRS moderately contribute to the accounting quality of reported financial statements and bring benefit for stakeholders, though the role played by other economic factors cannot be discounted.

Keywords: Accounting Standards, Earnings Management, International Financial Reporting Standards, Loss Avoidance, Reporting Quality.

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5440 Disaster Preparedness and Management in Saudi Arabia: An Empirical Investigation

Authors: Shougi Suliman Abosuliman, Arun Kumar, Firoz Alam

Abstract:

Disaster preparedness is a key success factor for any effective disaster management practices. This paper evaluates the disaster preparedness and management in Saudi Arabia using an empirical investigation approach. It presents the results of the survey conducted by interviewing representatives of the Saudi decision-makers and administrators responsible for disaster control in Jeddah before, during and after flooding in 2009 and 2010. First, demographics of the respondents are presented, followed by quantitative analysis of their views and experiences regarding the Kingdom’s readiness before and after each flood. This is shown as a series of dependent and independent variables. Following this is a list of respondents’ priorities for disaster preparation in the Kingdom.

Keywords: Disaster response policy, crisis management, effective service delivery.

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5439 A Goal-Driven Crime Scripting Framework

Authors: Hashem Dehghanniri

Abstract:

Crime scripting is a simple and effective crime modeling technique that aims to improve understanding of security analysts about security and crime incidents. Low-quality scripts provide a wrong, incomplete, or sophisticated understanding of the crime commission process, which oppose the purpose of their application, e.g., identifying effective and cost-efficient situational crime prevention (SCP) measures. One important and overlooked factor in generating quality scripts is the crime scripting method. This study investigates the problems within the existing crime scripting practices and proposes a crime scripting approach that contributes to generating quality crime scripts. It was validated by experienced crime scripters. This framework helps analysts develop better crime scripts and contributes to their effective application, e.g., SCP measures identification or policy-making.

Keywords: Attack modeling, crime commission process, crime script, situational crime prevention.

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5438 Deployment of Service Quality Characteristics

Authors: Shuki Dror

Abstract:

This work discusses an innovative methodology for deployment of service quality characteristics. Four groups of organizational features that may influence the quality of services are identified: human resource, technology, planning, and organizational relationships. A House of Service Quality (HOSQ) matrix is built to extract the desired improvement in the service quality characteristics and to translate them into a hierarchy of important organizational features. The Mean Square Error (MSE) criterion enables the pinpointing of the few essential service quality characteristics to be improved as well as selection of the vital organizational features. The method was implemented in an engineering supply enterprise and provides useful information on its vital service dimensions.

Keywords: HOQ, organizational features, service quality.

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5437 Analysis of Knowledge Management Trend by Bibliometric Approach

Authors: Hsu-Hao Tsai, Jiann-Min Yang

Abstract:

The analysis is mainly concentrating on the knowledge management literatures productivity trend which subjects as “knowledge management" in SSCI database. The purpose what the analysis will propose is to summarize the trend information for knowledge management researchers since core knowledge will be concentrated in core categories. The result indicated that the literature productivity which topic as “knowledge management" is still increasing extremely and will demonstrate the trend by different categories including author, country/territory, institution name, document type, language, publication year, and subject area. Focus on the right categories, you will catch the core research information. This implies that the phenomenon "success breeds success" is more common in higher quality publications.

Keywords: Knowledge Management, SSCI, Bibliometric, Lotka's Law

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5436 Empirical Exploration of Correlations between Software Design Measures: A Replication Study

Authors: Jehad Al Dallal

Abstract:

Software engineers apply different measures to quantify the quality of software design. These measures consider artifacts developed at low or high level software design phases. The results are used to point to design weaknesses and to indicate design points that have to be restructured. Understanding the relationship among the quality measures and among the design quality aspects considered by these measures is important to interpreting the impact of a measure for a quality aspect on other potentially related aspects. In addition, exploring the relationship between quality measures helps to explain the impact of different quality measures on external quality aspects, such as reliability and maintainability. In this paper, we report a replication study that empirically explores the correlation between six well known and commonly applied design quality measures. These measures consider several quality aspects, including complexity, cohesion, coupling, and inheritance. The results indicate that inheritance measures are weakly correlated to other measures, whereas complexity, coupling, and cohesion measures are mostly strongly correlated.  

Keywords: Quality attribute, quality measure, software design quality, spearman correlation.

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5435 Determining the Criteria and their Importance Level of Calibration Supplier Selection

Authors: Ayse Gecer, Nihal Erginel

Abstract:

Quality control is the crucial step for ISO 9001 Quality System Management Standard for companies. While measuring the quality level of both raw material and semi product/product, the calibration of the measuring device is an essential requirement. Calibration suppliers are in the service sector and therefore the calibration supplier selection is becoming a worthy topic for improving service quality. This study presents the results of a questionnaire about the selection criteria of a calibration supplier. The questionnaire was applied to 103 companies and the results are discussed in this paper. The analysis was made with MINITAB 14.0 statistical programs. “Competence of documentations" and “technical capability" are defined as the prerequisites because of the ISO/IEC17025:2005 standard. Also “warranties and complaint policy", “communication", “service features", “quality" and “performance history" are defined as very important criteria for calibration supplier selection.

Keywords: Calibration, criteria of calibration supplier selection, calibration supplier selection, questionnaire

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5434 Good Practices in the Development of the Erasmus Mundus Master program in Color in Informatics and Media Technology

Authors: J. Hardeberg, J. Hernandez-Andrès, J. L. Nieves, M. Hauta-Kasari, J. Parkkinen, A. Trémeau

Abstract:

The main objective of this paper is to identify and disseminate good practice in quality assurance and enhancement as well as in teaching and learning at master level. This paper focuses on the experience of the Erasmus Mundus Master program CIMET (Color in Informatics and Media Technology). Amongst topics covered, we discuss the adjustments necessary to a curriculum designed for excellent international students and their preparation for a global labor market.

Keywords: Good practice, internal quality systems, innovationsin curriculum design, challenges of internationalization

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5433 Seasonal Water Quality Trends in the Feitsui Reservoir Watershed, Taiwan

Authors: Pei-Te Chiueh, Hsiao-Ting Wu, Shang-Lien Lo

Abstract:

Protecting is the sources of drinking water is the first barrier of contamination of drinking water. The Feitsui Reservoir watershed of Taiwan supplies domestic water for around 5 million people in the Taipei metropolitan area. Understanding the spatial patterns of water quality trends in this watershed is an important agenda for management authorities. This study examined 7 sites in the watershed for water quality parameters regulated in the standard for drinking water source. The non-parametric seasonal Mann-Kendall-s test was used to determine significant trends for each parameter. Significant trends of increasing pH occurred at the sampling station in the uppermost stream watershed, and in total phosphorus at 4 sampling stations in the middle and downstream watershed. Additionally, the multi-scale land cover assessment and average land slope were used to explore the influence on the water quality in the watershed. Regression models for predicting water quality were also developed.

Keywords: Seasonal Mann-Kendall's test, Flow-adjusted concentrations, Water quality trends, Land-use

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5432 An Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Health and Safety Induction Practices in the Zambian Construction Industry

Authors: Josephine Mutwale-Ziko, Nonde Lushinga, Inonge Akakandelwa

Abstract:

The study discusses the effectiveness of health and safety induction practices on construction sites against the background of the Zambian construction industry experience. The research design included the literature review of relevant literature. Questionnaires and interviews were administered to regulatory bodies, health, and safety personnel. Observation was also employed on construction sites to assess the health and safety practices being used. Health and safety in the construction industry are not something to be ignored or overlooked. The construction industry needs to take heed of the serious consequences of inadequate health and safety induction practices. The implications of inadequate health and safety induction procedures included among others threats to profitability, corporate social responsibility and increased turnover of the workforce leading to poor productivity. Adequate health and safety practices can improve the health and wellbeing of employees, reduce financial implications on firms and encourage productivity on construction sites. Despite this, accidents are still prevalent on construction sites in Zambia. The overall result of this research denotes that the implementation of health and safety induction practices is inadequate, as indicated by the negligent and non-adherent attitude to health and safety induction aspects on the sites by most stakeholders on construction sites. Therefore, health and safety induction practices are ineffective as preventive measures for reduction of accidents on construction sites in Zambia.

Keywords: Accidents, employees, health and safety, inadequate induction.

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5431 Critical Success Factors for Successful Energy Management Implementation towards Sustainability in Malaysian Universities

Authors: A. Abdullah Saleh, A. H. Mohammed, M. N. Abdullah

Abstract:

Recently, universities are increasingly consuming energy to support various activities. A large population of staff and students in Malaysian universities has led to excessive energy consumption which directly gives an impact to the environment. The key question then ascended “How well is an energy management (EM) been practiced in universities without taking the Critical Success Factors (CSFs) into consideration to ensure the management of university achieves the goals in reducing energy consumption. Review on past literature is carried out to establish CSFs for EM best practices. Thus, this paper highlighted the CSFs which have to be focused on by management of university to successfully measure the EM implementation and its performance. At the end of this paper, a theoretical framework is developed for EM success factors towards sustainable university.

Keywords: Critical success factors, energy management, sustainability, Malaysian universities.

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