Search results for: coordinated regional development
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 4294

Search results for: coordinated regional development

3994 Research on the Strategy of Whole-Life-Cycle Campus Design from the Perspective of Sustainable Concept: A Case Study on Hangzhou Senior High School in Zhejiang

Authors: Fan Yang

Abstract:

With the development of social economy and the popularization of quality education, the Chinese government invests more and more funding in education. Campus constructions are experiencing a great development phase. Under the trend of sustainable development, modern green campus design needs to meet new requirements of contemporary, informational and diversified education means and adapt to future education development. Educators, designers and other participants of campus design are facing new challenges. By studying and analyzing the universal unsatisfied current situations and sustainable development requirements of Chinese campuses, this paper summarizes the strategies and intentions of the whole-life-cycle campus design. In addition, a Chinese high school in Zhejiang province is added to illustrate the design cycle in an actual case. It is aimed to make all participants of campus design, especially the designers, to realize the importance of whole-life-cycle campus design and cooperate better. Sustainable campus design is expected to come true in deed instead of becoming a slogan in this way.

Keywords: Campus design, green school, sustainable development, whole-life-cycle design.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 916
3993 Quantifying the UK’s Future Thermal Electricity Generation Water Use: Regional Analysis

Authors: Daniel Murrant, Andrew Quinn, Lee Chapman

Abstract:

A growing population has led to increasing global water and energy demand. This demand, combined with the effects of climate change and an increasing need to maintain and protect the natural environment, represents a potentially severe threat to many national infrastructure systems. This has resulted in a considerable quantity of published material on the interdependencies that exist between the supply of water and the thermal generation of electricity, often known as the water-energy nexus. Focusing specifically on the UK, there is a growing concern that the future availability of water may at times constrain thermal electricity generation, and therefore hinder the UK in meeting its increasing demand for a secure, and affordable supply of low carbon electricity. To provide further information on the threat the water-energy nexus may pose to the UK’s energy system, this paper models the regional water demand of UK thermal electricity generation in 2030 and 2050. It uses the strategically important Energy Systems Modelling Environment model developed by the Energy Technologies Institute. Unlike previous research, this paper was able to use abstraction and consumption factors specific to UK power stations. It finds that by 2050 the South East, Yorkshire and Humber, the West Midlands and North West regions are those with the greatest freshwater demand and therefore most likely to suffer from a lack of resource. However, it finds that by 2050 it is the East, South West and East Midlands regions with the greatest total water (fresh, estuarine and seawater) demand and the most likely to be constrained by environmental standards.

Keywords: Water-energy nexus, water resources, abstraction, climate change, power station cooling.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1516
3992 Community Based Tourism and Development in Third World Countries: The Case of the Bamileke Region of Cameroon

Authors: Ngono Mindzeng Terencia

Abstract:

Community based tourism, as a sustainable tourism approach, has been adopted as a tool for development among local communities in third world countries with income generation as the main driver. However, an analysis of community based tourism and development brings to light another driving force which is paramount to development strategies in the difficult conditions of third world countries: this driving force is “place revitalization”. This paper seeks to assess the relevance of “place revitalization” to the enhancement of development within the challenging context of developing countries. The research provides a community based tourism model to development in third world countries through a three step process based on awareness, mentoring and empowerment at the local level. It also tries to examine how effectively this model can address the development problems faced by the local communities of third world countries. The case study for this research is the Bamiléké region of Cameroon, the breeding ground of community based tourism initiatives and a region facing the difficulties of third world countries that are great impediments to community based tourism.

Keywords: Awareness, empowerment, local communities, mentoring, place revitalization, third world countries.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1040
3991 The Hybrid Knowledge Model for Product Development Management

Authors: Heejung Lee, Hyo-Won Suh

Abstract:

Hybrid knowledge model is suggested as an underlying framework for product development management. It can support such hybrid features as ontologies and rules. Effective collaboration in product development environment depends on sharing and reasoning product information as well as engineering knowledge. Many studies have considered product information and engineering knowledge. However, most previous research has focused either on building the ontology of product information or rule-based systems of engineering knowledge. This paper shows that F-logic based knowledge model can support such desirable features in a hybrid way.

Keywords: Ontology, rule, F-logic, product development.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1433
3990 An Empirical Study of the Expectation- Perception Gap of I.S. Development

Authors: Linda, Sau-ling Lai

Abstract:

This paper adopts a notion of expectation-perception gap of systems users as information systems (IS) failure. Problems leading to the expectation-perception gap are identified and modelled as five interrelated discrepancies or gaps throughout the process of information systems development (ISD). It describes an empirical study on how systems developers and users perceive the size of each gap and the extent to which each problematic issue contributes to the gap. The key to achieving success in ISD is to keep the expectationperception gap closed by closing all 5 pertaining gaps. The gap model suggests that most factors in IS failure are related to organizational, cognitive and social aspects of information systems design. Organization requirement analysis, being the weakest link of IS development, is particularly worthy of investigation.

Keywords: Information Systems Development, Expectation- Perception Gap, Gap Analysis, Organization Analysis.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1414
3989 Sustainable Development Contributions among University of Madeira (Portugal) Students

Authors: Hélder Spínola

Abstract:

Sustainable development is highly dependent on the implementation of environmental education programs, which has as its ultimate goal to produce environmentally literate citizens that undertake environmentally friendly actions. Efforts on environmental education along past years are now perceived on the increase of citizens awareness on European countries and, particularly, in Portugal. However, we still have a lack of information on the prevalence of specific behaviors that contributes to sustainability, influenced by a new attitude toward the environment. The determination of pro-environmental behaviors prevalence in higher education students is an important approach to understand to which extend the next leading generation is, in practice, committed with the goals of sustainable development. Therefore, present study evaluates the prevalence of a specific set of behaviors (water savings, energy savings, environmental criteria on shopping, and mobility) on the University of Madeira students and discusses their commitment with sustainable development.

Keywords: Pro-environmental behaviors, sustainable development, environmental education, higher education students

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1586
3988 The Impact of Trade on Social Development

Authors: Umut Gunduz, Mehtap Hisarciklilar, Tolga Kaya

Abstract:

Studies revealing the positive relationship between trade and income are often criticized with the argument that “development should mean more than rising incomes". Taking this argument as a base and utilizing panel data, Davies and Quinlivan [1] have demonstrated that increases in trade are positively associated with future increases in social welfare as measured by the Human Development Index (HDI). The purpose of this study is twofold: Firstly, utilizing an income based country classification; it is aimed to investigate whether the positive association between foreign trade and HDI is valid within all country groups. Secondly, keeping the same categorization as a base; it is aimed to reveal whether the positive link between trade and HDI still exists when the income components of the index are excluded. Employing a panel data framework of 106 countries, this study reveals that the positive link between trade and human development is valid only for high and medium income countries. Moreover, the positive link between trade and human development diminishes in lower-medium income countries when only non-income components of the index are taken into consideration.

Keywords: HDI, foreign trade, development, panel data.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2678
3987 Multicriteria Decision Analysis for Development Ranking of Balkan Countries

Authors: C. Ardil

Abstract:

In this research, the Balkan peninsula countries' developmental integration into European Union represents the strategic economic development objectives of the countries in the region. In order to objectively analyze the level of economic development competition of Balkan Peninsula countries, the mathematical compromise programming technique of multicriteria evaluation is used in this ranking problem. The primary aim of this research is to explain the role and significance of the multicriteria method evaluation using a real example of compromise solutions. Using the mathematical compromise programming technique, twelve countries of the Balkan Peninsula are economically evaluated and mutually compared. The economic development evaluation of the countries is performed according to five evaluation criteria forming the basis for economic development evaluation. The multiattribute model is solved using the mathematical compromise programming technique for producing different Pareto solutions. The results obtained by the multicriteria evaluation gives the possibility of identification and evaluation of the most eminent economic development indicators for each country separately. Finally, in this way, the proposed method has proved to be a successful model for the evaluation of the Balkan peninsula countries' economic development competition.

Keywords: Balkan peninsula countries, standard deviation, multicriteria decision making, mathematical compromise programming, multicriteria decision making, multicriteria analysis, multicriteria decision analysis.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 760
3986 Grassland Phenology in Different Eco-Geographic Regions over the Tibetan Plateau

Authors: Jiahua Zhang, Qing Chang, Fengmei Yao

Abstract:

Studying on the response of vegetation phenology to climate change at different temporal and spatial scales is important for understanding and predicting future terrestrial ecosystem dynamics and the adaptation of ecosystems to global change. In this study, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) dataset and climate data were used to analyze the dynamics of grassland phenology as well as their correlation with climatic factors in different eco-geographic regions and elevation units across the Tibetan Plateau. The results showed that during 2003–2012, the start of the grassland greening season (SOS) appeared later while the end of the growing season (EOS) appeared earlier following the plateau’s precipitation and heat gradients from southeast to northwest. The multi-year mean value of SOS showed differences between various eco-geographic regions and was significantly impacted by average elevation and regional average precipitation during spring. Regional mean differences for EOS were mainly regulated by mean temperature during autumn. Changes in trends of SOS in the central and eastern eco-geographic regions were coupled to the mean temperature during spring, advancing by about 7d/°C. However, in the two southwestern eco-geographic regions, SOS was delayed significantly due to the impact of spring precipitation. The results also showed that the SOS occurred later with increasing elevation, as expected, with a delay rate of 0.66 d/100m. For 2003–2012, SOS showed an advancing trend in low-elevation areas, but a delayed trend in high-elevation areas, while EOS was delayed in low-elevation areas, but advanced in high-elevation areas. Grassland SOS and EOS changes may be influenced by a variety of other environmental factors in each eco-geographic region.

Keywords: Grassland, phenology, MODIS, eco-geographic regions, elevation, climatic factors, Tibetan Plateau.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2788
3985 CompleX-Machine: An Automated Testing Tool Using X-Machine Theory

Authors: E. K. A. Ogunshile

Abstract:

This paper is aimed at creating an Automatic Java X-Machine testing tool for software development. The nature of software development is changing; thus, the type of software testing tools required is also changing. Software is growing increasingly complex and, in part due to commercial impetus for faster software releases with new features and value, increasingly in danger of containing faults. These faults can incur huge cost for software development organisations and users; Cambridge Judge Business School’s research estimated the cost of software bugs to the global economy is $312 billion. Beyond the cost, faster software development methodologies and increasing expectations on developers to become testers is driving demand for faster, automated, and effective tools to prevent potential faults as early as possible in the software development lifecycle. Using X-Machine theory, this paper will explore a new tool to address software complexity, changing expectations on developers, faster development pressures and methodologies, with a view to reducing the huge cost of fixing software bugs.

Keywords: Conformance testing, finite state machine, software testing, X-Machine.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1169
3984 Concerns Regarding the Adoption of the Model Driven Architecture in the Development of Safety Critical Avionics Applications

Authors: Benjamin Gorry

Abstract:

Safety Critical hard Real-Time Systems are ever present in the avionics industry. The Model Driven Architecture (MDA) offers different levels of model abstraction and generation. This paper discusses our concerns relating to model development and generation when using the MDA approach in the avionics industry. These concerns are based on our experience when looking into adopting the MDA as part of avionics systems development. We place emphasis on transformations between model types and discuss possible benefits of adopting an MDA approach as part of the software development life cycle.

Keywords: Model Driven Architecture, Real-Time AvionicsApplications.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2162
3983 Malaysia under the Purview of the United Nations and Agenda 21

Authors: Maisarah Makmor, Zulhabri Ismail, Rugayah Hashim, Nasyairi Mat Nasir

Abstract:

Developing a nation geared by the principle of sustainable development has been one of the piers in moulding a greater nation for Malaysia since its independence. This is seen by the act of joining the United Nations in 1957, just a month after gaining their independence. The United Nations is an international organization that aims to unite the nations worldwide based on justice, human dignity and human well-being. Malaysia has established a local body called the United Nations Malaysia which collaborates with the government to accomplish the aim of supporting sustainable development in Malaysia. Agenda 21 is an international document produced from the Earth Summit providing guidelines of implementing sustainable development globally, nationally and locally. Initiatives of applying Agenda 21 in Malaysia have been taken by the government and non-profit organizations to expose issues regarding sustainable development and providing environmental education to the community to increase awareness towards environmental protection.

Keywords: Agenda 21, Environmental Protection, Malaysia, Sustainable Development, United Nations.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2918
3982 Coordination between SC and SVC for Voltage Stability Improvement

Authors: Ali Reza Rajabi, Shahab Rashnoei, Mojtaba Hakimzadeh, Amir Habibi

Abstract:

At any point of time, a power system operating condition should be stable, meeting various operational criteria and it should also be secure in the event of any credible contingency. Present day power systems are being operated closer to their stability limits due to economic and environmental constraints. Maintaining a stable and secure operation of a power system is therefore a very important and challenging issue. Voltage instability has been given much attention by power system researchers and planners in recent years, and is being regarded as one of the major sources of power system insecurity. Voltage instability phenomena are the ones in which the receiving end voltage decreases well below its normal value and does not come back even after setting restoring mechanisms such as VAR compensators, or continues to oscillate for lack of damping against the disturbances. Reactive power limit of power system is one of the major causes of voltage instability. This paper investigates the effects of coordinated series capacitors (SC) with static VAR compensators (SVC) on steady-state voltage stability of a power system. Also, the influence of the presence of series capacitor on static VAR compensator controller parameters and ratings required to stabilize load voltages at certain values are highlighted.

Keywords: Static VAR Compensator (SVC), Series Capacitor (SC), voltage stability, reactive power.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1922
3981 Training Engineering Students in Sustainable Development

Authors: Hoong C. Chin, Soon H. Chew, Zhaoxia Wang

Abstract:

Work on sustainable developments and the call for action in education for sustainable development have been ongoing for a number of years. Training engineering students with the relevant competencies, particularly in sustainable development literacy, has been identified as an urgent task in universities. This requires not only a holistic, multi-disciplinary approach to education but also a suitable training environment to develop the needed skills and to inculcate the appropriate attitudes in students towards sustainable development. To demonstrate how this can be done, a module involving an overseas field trip was introduced in 2013 at the National University of Singapore. This paper provides details of the module and describes its training philosophy and methods. Measured against the student learning outcomes, stipulated by the Engineering Accreditation Board, the module scored well on all of them, particularly those related to complex problem solving, environmental and sustainability awareness, multi-disciplinary team work and varied-level communications.

Keywords: Civil engineering education, student learning outcomes, sustainable development.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1349
3980 Transportation and Physical Development around Kumasi, Ghana

Authors: Justice K. Owusu-Ansah, Kevin O'Connor

Abstract:

This research explores the links between physical development and transportation infrastructure around Kumasi, Ghana. It utilizes census data as well as fieldwork and interviews carried out during July and December 2005. The results suggest that there is a weak association between transportation investments and physical development, and that recent housing has generally occurred in poorly accessible locations. Road investments have generally followed physical expansion rather than the reverse. Hence policies designed to manage the fast growth now occurring around Ghanaian cities should not focus exclusively on improving transportation infrastructure but also strengthening the underlying the traditional land management structures and the official land administrative institutions that operate within those structures.

Keywords: Housing, Kumasi, population, physical development, transportation, villages.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2114
3979 A Study of the Planning and Designing of the Built Environment under the Green Transit-Oriented Development

Authors: Wann-Ming Wey

Abstract:

In recent years, the problems of global climate change and natural disasters have induced the concerns and attentions of environmental sustainability issues for the public. Aside from the environmental planning efforts done for human environment, Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) has been widely used as one of the future solutions for the sustainable city development. In order to be more consistent with the urban sustainable development, the development of the built environment planning based on the concept of Green TOD which combines both TOD and Green Urbanism is adapted here. The connotation of the urban development under the green TOD including the design toward environment protect, the maximum enhancement resources and the efficiency of energy use, use technology to construct green buildings and protected areas, natural ecosystems and communities linked, etc. Green TOD is not only to provide the solution to urban traffic problems, but to direct more sustainable and greener consideration for future urban development planning and design. In this study, we use both the TOD and Green Urbanism concepts to proceed to the study of the built environment planning and design. Fuzzy Delphi Technique (FDT) is utilized to screen suitable criteria of the green TOD. Furthermore, Fuzzy Analytic Network Process (FANP) and Quality Function Deployment (QFD) were then developed to evaluate the criteria and prioritize the alternatives. The study results can be regarded as the future guidelines of the built environment planning and designing under green TOD development in Taiwan.

Keywords: Green transit-oriented development, built environment, fuzzy Delphi technique, quality function deployment, fuzzy analytic network process.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1473
3978 Development of Industry Sector Specific Factory Standards

Authors: Peter Burggräf, Moritz Krunke, Hanno Voet

Abstract:

Due to shortening product and technology lifecycles, many companies use standardization approaches in product development and factory planning to reduce costs and time to market. Unlike large companies, where modular systems are already widely used, small and medium-sized companies often show a much lower degree of standardization due to lower scale effects and missing capacities for the development of these standards. To overcome these challenges, the development of industry sector specific standards in cooperations or by third parties is an interesting approach. This paper analyzes which branches that are mainly dominated by small or medium-sized companies might be especially interesting for the development of factory standards using the example of the German industry. For this, a key performance indicator based approach was developed that will be presented in detail with its specific results for the German industry structure.

Keywords: Factory planning, factory standards, industry sector specific standardization, production planning.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1181
3977 A Linear Use Case Based Software Cost Estimation Model

Authors: Hasan.O. Farahneh, Ayman A. Issa

Abstract:

Software development is moving towards agility with use cases and scenarios being used for requirements stories. Estimates of software costs are becoming even more important than before as effects of delays is much larger in successive short releases context of agile development. Thus, this paper reports on the development of new linear use case based software cost estimation model applicable in the very early stages of software development being based on simple metric. Evaluation showed that accuracy of estimates varies between 43% and 55% of actual effort of historical test projects. These results outperformed those of wellknown models when applied in the same context. Further work is being carried out to improve the performance of the proposed model when considering the effect of non-functional requirements.

Keywords: Metrics, Software Cost Estimation, Use Cases

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1967
3976 Evaluation of Top-down and Bottom-up Leadership Development Programs in a Finnish Company

Authors: Kati Skarp, Keijo Varis, Juha Kettunen

Abstract:

The purpose of this paper is to examine and evaluate the top-down and bottom-up leadership development programs focused on human capital that improve the performance of a company. This study reports on the external top-down leadership development program supported by a consulting company and the internal participatory action research of the bottom-up program. The sickness rate and the lost time incident failure rate decreased and the ideas produced for cost savings improved, leading to increased earnings during the top-down program. The estimated cost savings potential of the bottom-up program was 3.8 million euro based on the cost savings of meeting habits, maintenance practices and the way of working in production. The results of this study are useful for those who plan and evaluate leadership development and human capital productivity consultation programs to improve the performance of a company.

Keywords: Leadership, development, human resources, company, indicators, evaluation.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3063
3975 Voice in Pre-service Teacher Development

Authors: Pintipa Seubsang, Suttipong Boonphadung

Abstract:

Recently, Thai education system is engaged in serious and promising reforms. One of the crucial elements in most of these educational reforms is the teacher professional development. Teachers today are under growing pressure to perform. However, most new teachers are not adequately prepared to meet the expectation. Consequently, this paper seeks to investigate the opinion of mentor teachers and university supervisors about professional development in the aspect of learning management skill of the preservice teachers in Rajabhat Universities, then compare the opinion between the mentor teachers and university supervisors about professional development in the aspect of learning management skill of the pre-service teachers. The study involved a cohort of 40 university supervisors and 77 mentor teachers. The research concludes by showing that mentor teachers viewed pre-service teacher as a professional teacher with an effective learning management skill. However, in the perspective of the university supervisor, pre-service teachers still have inadequate learning management skill.

Keywords: Learning management, Professional development, Pre-service teacher.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1911
3974 The Sustainable Value Model: Comparative Analysis Romania and EU

Authors: Burja C., Burja V.

Abstract:

For Romania, the fulfilment of the obligations undertaken as a member state of the European Union in accordance with the Treaty of Accession requires the effective implementation of sustainable development principles and practices, this being the only reasonable development option, which adequately draws in on the economic, social and environment resources. Achieving this objective is based on a profound analysis of the realities in the Romanian economy, which will reflect the existent situation and the action directions for the future. The paper presents an analysis of the Romanian economic performances compared to the EU economy, based on the sustainable value (SV) model. The analysis highlighted the considerable gap between Romania and the EU regarding the sustainable capitalization of resources, the provided information being useful to justify strategic development decisions at a micro and macro levels.

Keywords: Sustainable value, sustainable development, opportunity cost, economic performance.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1345
3973 Design for Manufacturability and Concurrent Engineering for Product Development

Authors: Alemu Moges Belay

Abstract:

In the 1980s, companies began to feel the effect of three major influences on their product development: newer and innovative technologies, increasing product complexity and larger organizations. And therefore companies were forced to look for new product development methods. This paper tries to focus on the two of new product development methods (DFM and CE). The aim of this paper is to see and analyze different product development methods specifically on Design for Manufacturability and Concurrent Engineering. Companies can achieve and be benefited by minimizing product life cycle, cost and meeting delivery schedule. This paper also presents simplified models that can be modified and used by different companies based on the companies- objective and requirements. Methodologies that are followed to do this research are case studies. Two companies were taken and analysed on the product development process. Historical data, interview were conducted on these companies in addition to that, Survey of literatures and previous research works on similar topics has been done during this research. This paper also tries to show the implementation cost benefit analysis and tries to calculate the implementation time. From this research, it has been found that the two companies did not achieve the delivery time to the customer. Some of most frequently coming products are analyzed and 50% to 80 % of their products are not delivered on time to the customers. The companies are following the traditional way of product development that is sequentially design and production method, which highly affect time to market. In the case study it is found that by implementing these new methods and by forming multi disciplinary team in designing and quality inspection; the company can reduce the workflow steps from 40 to 30.

Keywords: Design for manufacturability, Concurrent Engineering, Time-to-Market, Product development

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 5531
3972 Technology Diffusion and Inclusive Development in Africa: A System Dynamics Perspective

Authors: M. Kaggwa

Abstract:

Technology or lack of it will play an important role in Africa-s effort to achieve inclusive development. Although a key determinant of competitiveness, new technology can exacerbate exclusion of the majority from the mainstream economic activities. To minimise potential technology exclusion while leveraging its critical role in African-s development, requires insight into technology diffusion process. Using system dynamics approach, a technology diffusion model is presented. The frequency of interaction of people exposed to and those not exposed to technology, and the technology adoption rate - the fraction of people who embrace new technologies once they are exposed, are identified as the broad factors critical to technology diffusion to wider society enabling more people to be part of the economic growth process. Based on simulation results, it is recommends that these two broad factors should form part of national policy aimed at achieving inclusive and sustainable development in Africa.

Keywords: Inclusive Development, System Dynamics, Technology, Technology diffusion.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1696
3971 Investigation of the Capability of REALP5 to Solve Complex Fuel Geometry

Authors: D. Abdelrazek, M. NaguibAly, A. A. Badawi, Asmaa G. Abo Elnour, A. A. El-Kafas

Abstract:

This work is developed within IAEA Coordinated Research Program 1496, “Innovative methods in research reactor analysis: Benchmark against experimental data on neutronics and thermal-hydraulic computational methods and tools for operation and safety analysis of research reactors”.

The study investigates the capability of Code RELAP5/Mod3.4 to solve complex geometry complexity. Its results are compared to the results of PARET, a common code in thermal hydraulic analysis for research reactors, belonging to MTR-PC groups.

The WWR-SM reactor at the Institute of Nuclear Physics (INP) in the Republic of Uzbekistan is simulated using both PARET and RELAP5 at steady state. Results from the two codes are compared.

REALP5 code succeeded in solving the complex fuel geometry. The PARET code needed some calculations to obtain the final result. Although the final results from the PARET are more accurate, the small differences in both results makes using RELAP5 code recommended in case of complex fuel assemblies. 

Keywords: Complex fuel geometry, PARET, RELAP5, WWR-SM reactor.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2211
3970 Evolution of Performance Measurement Methods in Conditions of Uncertainty: The Implementation of Fuzzy Sets in Performance Measurement

Authors: E. A. Tkachenko, E. M. Rogova, V. V. Klimov

Abstract:

One of the basic issues of development management is connected with performance measurement as a prerequisite for identifying the achievement of development objectives. The aim of our research is to develop an improved model of assessing a company’s development results. The model should take into account the cyclical nature of development and the high degree of uncertainty in dealing with numerous management tasks. Our hypotheses may be formulated as follows: Hypothesis 1. The cycle of a company’s development may be studied from the standpoint of a project cycle. To do that, methods and tools of project analysis are to be used. Hypothesis 2. The problem of the uncertainty when justifying managerial decisions within the framework of a company’s development cycle can be solved through the use of the mathematical apparatus of fuzzy logic. The reasoned justification of the validity of the hypotheses made is given in the suggested article. The fuzzy logic toolkit applies to the case of technology shift within an enterprise. It is proven that some restrictions in performance measurement that are incurred to conventional methods could be eliminated by implementation of the fuzzy logic apparatus in performance measurement models.

Keywords: Fuzzy logic, fuzzy sets, performance measurement, project analysis.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1037
3969 Innovation Policy and Development of Creative Industries: Case Study of Lithuanian Animation Industry

Authors: Tomas Mitkus, Vaida Nedzinskaitė-Mitkė

Abstract:

The objective of this study is to identify and explore how adequate is modern innovation support mechanism to developed creative industries. We argue that current development and support strategy for creative industries, although acknowledge high correlation between innovation and creativity, do not seek to improve conditions to promote systematic innovation development in the creative sector. Using the Lithuanian animation industry as a case study, this paper will examine innovation contribution to creativity and, for that matter, the competitiveness of animation enterprises. This paper proposes insights that contribute to theoretical and practical discussions on how creative profile companies build national and international competitiveness through innovations. The conclusions suggest that development of creative industries could greatly benefit if policymakers would implement tools that would encourage creative profile enterprises to invest in to development of innovation at a constant rate.

Keywords: Creative industries, animation, innovation, innovation policy, management.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 984
3968 Customer Involvement in the Development of New Sustainable Products: A Review of the Literature

Authors: Natalia Moreira, Trevor Wood-Harper

Abstract:

The acceptance of sustainable products by the final consumer is still one of the challenges of the industry, which constantly seeks alternative approaches to successfully be accepted in the global market. A large set of methods and approaches have been discussed and analysed throughout the literature. Considering the current need for sustainable development and the current pace of consumption, the need for a combined solution towards the development of new products became clear, forcing researchers in product development to propose alternatives to the previous standard product development models. This paper presents, through a systemic analysis of the literature on product development, eco-design and consumer involvement, a set of alternatives regarding consumer involvement towards the development of sustainable products and how these approaches could help improve the sustainable industry’s establishment in the general market. Still being developed in the course of the author’s PhD, the initial findings of the research show that the understanding of the benefits of sustainable behaviour lead to a more conscious acquisition and eventually to the implementation of sustainable change in the consumer. Thus this paper is the initial approach towards the development of new sustainable products using the fashion industry as an example of practical implementation and acceptance by the consumers. By comparing the existing literature and critically analysing it, this paper concluded that the consumer involvement is strategic to improve the general understanding of sustainability and its features. The use of consumers and communities has been studied since the early 90s in order to exemplify uses and to guarantee a fast comprehension. The analysis done also includes the importance of this approach for the increase of innovation and ground breaking developments, thus requiring further research and practical implementation in order to better understand the implications and limitations of this methodology.

Keywords: Consumer involvement, Products development, Sustainability.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1482
3967 Emotional, Behavioural and Social Development: Modality of Hierarchy of Needs in Supporting Parents with Special Needs

Authors: Fadzilah Abdul Rahman

Abstract:

Emotional development is developed between the parents and their child. Behavioural development is also developed between the parents and their child. Social Development is how parents can help their special needs child to adapt to society and to face challenges. In promoting a lifelong learning mindset, enhancing skill sets and readiness to face challenges, parents would be able to counter balance these challenges during their care giving process and better manage their expectations through understanding the hierarchy of needs modality towards a positive attitude, and in turn, improve their quality of life and participation in society. This paper aims to demonstrate how the hierarchy of needs can be applied in various situations of caregiving for parents with a special needs child.

Keywords: Hierarchy of needs, parents, special needs, care-giving.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2235
3966 Similarity Detection in Collaborative Development of Object-Oriented Formal Specifications

Authors: Fathi Taibi, Fouad Mohammed Abbou, Md. Jahangir Alam

Abstract:

The complexity of today-s software systems makes collaborative development necessary to accomplish tasks. Frameworks are necessary to allow developers perform their tasks independently yet collaboratively. Similarity detection is one of the major issues to consider when developing such frameworks. It allows developers to mine existing repositories when developing their own views of a software artifact, and it is necessary for identifying the correspondences between the views to allow merging them and checking their consistency. Due to the importance of the requirements specification stage in software development, this paper proposes a framework for collaborative development of Object- Oriented formal specifications along with a similarity detection approach to support the creation, merging and consistency checking of specifications. The paper also explores the impact of using additional concepts on improving the matching results. Finally, the proposed approach is empirically evaluated.

Keywords: Collaborative Development, Formal methods, Object-Oriented, Similarity detection

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1436
3965 Development of Mobile EEF Learning System (MEEFLS) for Mobile Learning Implementation in Kolej Poly-Tech MARA (KPTM)

Authors: M. E. Marwan, A. R. Madar, N. Fuad

Abstract:

Mobile learning (m-learning) is a new method in teaching and learning process which combines technology of mobile device with learning materials. It can enhance student's engagement in learning activities and facilitate them to access the learning materials at anytime and anywhere. In Kolej Poly-Tech Mara (KPTM), this method is seen as an important effort in teaching practice and to improve student learning performance. The aim of this paper is to discuss the development of m-learning application called Mobile EEF Learning System (MEEFLS) to be implemented for Electric and Electronic Fundamentals course using Flash, XML (Extensible Markup Language) and J2ME (Java 2 micro edition). System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) was used as an application development approach. It has three modules in this application such as notes or course material, exercises and video. MEELFS development is seen as a tool or a pilot test for m-learning in KPTM.

Keywords: Flash, mobile device, mobile learning, teaching and learning, SDLC, XML.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1936