Engineering Commons^™

A Simulation-Based Heuristic For Fleet Assignment, Sonia Rosario Anorga

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Integer programming, simulation, and rules of thumb have been integrated to develop a simulation-based heuristic for short-term assignment of fleet in the car rental industry. It generates a plan for car movements, and a set of booking limits to produce high revenue for a given planning horizon.

Three different scenarios were used to validate the heuristic. The heuristic's mean revenue was significant higher than the historical ones, in all three scenarios. Time to run the heuristic for each experiment was within the time limits of three hours set for the decision making process even though it is not fully automated. …

Digital Signal Processing Implementation For Near Real-Time Wavelet Transformation System For Binary Images, Ovidio Alfonso

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Communication has become an essential function in our civilization. With the increasing demand for communication channels, it is now necessary to find ways to optimize the use of their bandwidth. One way to achieve this is by transforming the information before it is transmitted. This transformation can be performed by several techniques. One of the newest of these techniques is the use of wavelets. Wavelet transformation refers to the act of breaking down a signal into components called details and trends by using small waveforms that have a zero average in the time domain. After this transformation the data can …

Predicting Employee Compliance With Safety Regulations, Factoring Risk Perception, Yenny Farinas Diaz

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to develop a methodology that would evaluate employees’ personality traits, demographic characteristics, and workplace parameters to predict safety compliance along with the moderating effect of risk perception.

One hundred and twenty five employees of a manufacturing facility were given questionnaires to gather their demographic and perception information. Surveys were also used to measure their personality characteristics, and periodic observations were recorded to document employee’s safety compliance. A significant correlation was found between compliance and the worker's perception of management's commitment to safety (r = 0.27, p < 0.01), as well as with gender (r = -0.19, p < 0.05). Females showed a significantly higher average compliance (78%), than males (69%). These findings demonstrated the value of developing a model to predict safety behavior that would assist companies In maintaining a safe work environment, preventing accidents, ensuring compliance, and reducing associated costs.

Dynamic Data Retrieval On The World Wide Web, Dmitriy Beryoza

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Methods for accessing data on the Web have been the focus of active research over the past few years. In this thesis we propose a method for representing Web sites as data sources. We designed a Data Extractor data retrieval solution that allows us to define queries to Web sites and process resulting data sets. Data Extractor is being integrated into the MSemODB heterogeneous database management system. With its help database queries can be distributed over both local and Web data sources within MSemODB framework.

Data Extractor treats Web sites as data sources, controlling query execution and data retrieval. It …

A Computer Simulation Model For Single-Lane Roundabouts, Hesham Roshdy Elbadrawi

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

During the past three decades, the use of roundabouts has increased throughout the world due to their greater benefits in comparison with intersections controlled by traditional means. Roundabouts are often chosen because they are widely associated with low accident rates, lower construction and operating costs, and reasonable capacities and delay.

In the planning and design of roundabouts, special attention should be given to the movement of pedestrians and bicycles. As a result, there are several guidelines for the design of pedestrian and bicycle treatments at roundabouts that increase the safety of both pedestrians and bicyclists at existing and proposed roundabout …

Multilingual Interactive Integrated Multimedia Based E-Commerce, Amol S. Chobe

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As we approach the end of the twentieth century, E-commerce is a critical force shaping the world of today and tomorrow. E-commerce have introduced a new society where people can buy freely, anywhere, at anytime, across the globe on the web. There seems to be a market for consultants and outsourcing purveyors who will take your money and put together an online business for you. These are all very different markets, however. As lot of people speak different language than English, the concept of Multilingual Technology is essential. The primary purpose of this research paper is to study the Integrated …

Process Inventory And Pollution Prevention Overview For The Citrus Industry, Carmen Alicia Aponte

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Florida citrus represents approximately 70 percent of the industry production in the United States; therefore, any associated agricultural and industrial contamination is of concern and a focus of attention. The use of synthetic organic chemicals has become a farmer's necessity in order to supply consumers with high quality products, free of pest damage. However, industrial citrus wastes and chemical residual levels worry not only government agencies but also consumers since they indicate a serious habitat risk.

This study assesses citrus industrial processes and the paths that chemical substances follow from the time the citrus seed is planted until consumers get …

A Practical Emg-Based Human-Computer Interface For Users With Motor Disabilities, Armando Barreto, Scott Scargle, Malek Adjouadi

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

In line with the mission of the Assistive Technology Act of 1998 (ATA), this study proposes an integrated assistive real-time system which "affirms that technology is a valuable tool that can be used to improve the lives of people with disabilities ." An assistive technology device is defined by the ATA as "any item, piece of equipment, or product system, whether acquired commercially, modified, or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities ." The purpose of this study is to design and develop an alternate input device that can be used …