Operations Research, Systems Engineering and Industrial Engineering Commons^™

Virtual Teams And E-Entrepreneurship, Nader Ale Ebrahim

Nader Ale Ebrahim

The advent of the virtual teams has facilitated the emergence and formation of new companies within the Net Economy which called e-Entrepreneurship. The terms of e-Entrepreneurship and virtual teams still are new in the scholarly papers. Therefore, this introductory presentation focuses on different aspects of virtual teams and e-entrepreneurship.

Ict For Poverty Alleviation In Pacific Island Nations: Study Of Icts4d In Fiji, Deogratias Harorimana, Opeti Rokotuinivono, Emali Sewale, Fane Salaiwai, Marica Naulu, Evangelin Roy

Dr Deogratias Harorimana

ICT for Poverty Alleviation in Pacific Island Nations: Study of ICTs4D in Fiji There has been a vague and little knowledge on the role or potential of Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) in relation to addressing poverty in Fiji. This may be probably due to the newness of the technology in the South Pacific Region as a whole but also probably due to the fact that only 9.7% of the current Fiji 931,000 populations are internet users (ITC Figures 2011). This paper reports on finding how ICTs is contributing towards poverty alleviation in Fiji. On the basis of reviewed best …

Process Construct In The Virtual R&D Teams, Nader Ale Ebrahim, Shamsuddin Ahmed, Salwa Hanim Abdul Rashid, Zahari Taha, Marjan Mohammadjafari Dr

Nader Ale Ebrahim

literature proves the importance of the process role in the effectiveness of virtual research and development (R&D) teams for new product development (NPD). However, the factors that make process construct in a virtual R&D team are still unclear. The manager of virtual R&D teams for NPD does not know which items of process should be used. To address the gap and answer the question, the study presents a set of factors that make a process construct. The proposed construct modified by finding of the field survey. We empirically examine the relationship between construct, dimensions and its factors by employing the …

Mechanism Design For Base Station Association And Resource Allocation In Downlink Ofdma Network, Mingyi Hong, Alfredo Garcia

Mingyi Hong

We consider a resource management problem in a multi-cell downlink OFDMA network whereby the goal is to find the optimal combination of (i) assignment of users to base stations and (ii) resource allocation strategies at each base station. Efficient resource management protocols must rely on users truthfully reporting privately held information such as downlink channel states. However, individual users can manipulate the resulting resource allocation (by misreporting their private information) if by doing so they can improve their payoff. Therefore, it is of interest to design efficient resource management protocols that are strategy-proof, i.e. it is in the users' best …

Practical Guide To Write A Phd Thesis, Nader Ale Ebrahim

Nader Ale Ebrahim

This presentation is a practical guide on how to write a PhD thesis based on personal experiences and existing literature . It is aimed at all PhD students. A thesis writing may be falling into six rules: Identifying the research problem Start thesis writing from a day after registration Writing a Thesis Plan Ask your supervisors: What are their expectations? and maintain regular contact with your supervisors directly/indirectly Expand networking Continuously write/revise and Publish Besides of the six rules, the thesis structure, logical coherence and style are also important. This presentation lead how to consider reader’s expectations during the writing …

Perceptions And Rankings Of Technology Management Competencies, Mark Doggett, Pam Mcgee, Sophia Scott

Mark Doggett

2012 Association of Technology, Management, and Applied Engineering (ATMAE) Conference Proceedings In 2010, the ATMAE Management Division set out to define an applicable technology management body of knowledge using a collection of core competencies. The research incorporated existing models, industry opinions, and educator experts. ATMAE members at both the 2010 and 2011 conferences reviewed initial versions of the competency model. In addition, the model was benchmarked against existing literature and research. The researchers found consistency within the initial versions of the competency model. Interested scholars may find the initial model and supporting rationale in the 2011 ATMAE conference proceedings. This …

Cv, Elizabeth C. Scheyder

Elizabeth C Scheyder

CV, updated November 2012.

Conversations Around Design Sketches: Use Of Communication Channels For Sharing Mental Models During Concept Generation, Nik Shahman Nik Ahmad Ariff, Petra Badke-Schaub, Ozgur Eris

Ozgur Eris

In this paper, we present an exploratory protocol study on the use of different communication channels during design sketching. We focus on how individual designers share their mental models with other designers in a group, and analyse their use of graphical, textual, and verbal communications during concept generation.

Our findings suggest that verbal communication plays a role in the sharing of individual mental models during sketching, and complements graphical and textual communication channels. However, design teams can still function without verbal communication in that respect, and address design problems. They seem to compensate for the absence of the verbal communication …

Approach To Conduct An #11;Effective Literature Review, Nader Ale Ebrahim

Nader Ale Ebrahim

This presentation introduces a guideline for conducting an effective literature review. The target audience is research based postgraduate students, researchers who are constantly struggling with the development of an effective literature review. The proposed guideline follows: 1- Find literature associated with the topic. 2- Search and analyze the literature. 3- Evaluate the paper before reading. 4- Cite literature properly. 5- Make a summary table of reviewed papers. 6- Avoid plagiarism. 7- Write a journal article based on literature review.

Mle+: A Tool For Integrated Design And Deployment Of Energy Efficient Building Controls, Willy Bernal, Madhur Behl, Truong Nghiem, Rahul Mangharam

Madhur Behl

We present MLE+, a tool for energy-efficient building automation design, co-simulation and analysis. The tool leverages the high-fidelity building simulation capabilities of EnergyPlus and the scientific computation and design capabilities of Matlab for controller design. MLE+ facilitates integrated building simulation and controller formulation with integrated support for system identification, control design, optimization, simulation analysis and communication between software applications and building equipment. It provides streamlined workflows, a graphical front-end, and debugging support to help control engineers eliminate design and programming errors and take informed decisions early in the design stage, leading to fewer iterations in the building automation development cycle. …

How Can Pacific Island Economies Benefits From The Advent Of Ict’S – Review Of Best Practices In Education, Deogratias Harorimana Sr

Dr Deogratias Harorimana

This paper explored implementation and use of information and communication technologies in Fiji, in order to gain insight into recent government initiatives to introduce computers and other ICTs for the community of Fiji. The focus of this paper in that it provided the framework for an in-depth exploration of e-learning centers around the country and the benefits from the advent of ICT’s in e-learning community centers in Fiji. Areas concentrated on are outcome of ICT’s in formal education to students and community as a whole in areas of agriculture, health, environment and infrastructure etc. The research sought understanding from the …

Comparison Of Phenolic Compounds And Antioxidant Capacities Of Traditional Sorghum Beers With Other Alcoholic Beverages, Fatouma Abdoul-Latif, Romaric G. Bayili, Louis C. Obame, Mamoudou H. Dicko Prof.

Pr. Mamoudou H. DICKO, PhD

Thirty samples of sorghum beers “dolo” were selected from traditionally fermented household manufacturers from Burkina Faso. Dolo samples were screened for their total phenolic content, proanthocyanidins and putative antioxidant capacities, and were compared with industrial beers and wines. Total phenols were measured using the Folin-Ciocalteu method. Proanthocyanidins content were determined by the method of HCl-butanol hydrolysis. Antioxidant activities were evaluated both with 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay and by the trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) using 2,2’-azinobis(3-ethyl-benzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid radical) (ABTS•+). The average contents of total phenols and proanthocyanidins were 506 μg GAE/ml of dolo and 45 μg APE/ml of dolo, respectively. An …

Publication Marketing Tools - “Enhancing Research Visibility And Improving Citations”, Nader Ale Ebrahim

Nader Ale Ebrahim

Research needs to be explained clearly to others to colleagues, to educational bodies, and to the public by publications. There are various reasons for publication: 1- Publications help in spreading your knowledge and experience, 2- It gives you an academic profile and raises the profile of your institution, 3- Research publications create income for the University, ….. and 4- Publications strengthen your CV. Publishing a high quality paper in scientific journals is a halfway of receiving citation in the future. The rest of the way is advertising and disseminating the publications by using the proper “Research Tools”. Familiarity with the …

Coronary Calcium Independently Predicts Incident Premature Coronary Heart Disease Over Measured Cardiovascular Risk Factors, Allen J. Taylor, Jody Bindeman, Irwin Feuerstein, Felix Cao, Michael Brazaitis, Patrick G. O'Malley

Allen Taylor

OBJECTIVES - We sought to examine the independent predictive value of coronary artery calcium detection for coronary outcomes in a non-referred cohort of healthy men and women ages 40 to 50 years. BACKGROUND - Existing studies have suggested that coronary calcium might have incremental predictive value for coronary outcomes above standard coronary risk factors. However, additional data from non-referred and younger populations are needed. METHODS - Participants (n = 2,000; mean age 43 years) were evaluated with measured coronary risk variables and coronary calcium detected with electron beam tomography. Incident acute coronary syndromes and sudden cardiac death were ascertained via …

Technical Assistance, Knowledge Gatekeeping And Indigenous Knowledge: Re-Thinking The International Development Practice, Deogratias Harorimana Sr

Dr Deogratias Harorimana

This paper presents results from a multi-disciplinary conceptual analysis of development theory and practice. It reviews issues raised and proposes a shift in the epistemology of possession towards an epistemology of practice which is guided by the following aspects (1) The consideration of the learning culture of parties involved, (2) the ability and willingness for decontextualisation of the knowledge by the source and (3) the ability to embedded it by recipients (embededness ), (4) the importance that is attached to knowledge of the host country as reflected through (5) Similarity in culture, values, understanding of context and knowledge bases; (6) …

What Is A Strategic Acquisition? Decision Modeling In Support Of Foreclosed Housing Redevelopment, Michael P. Johnson Jr., Rachel B. Drew, Jeffrey Keisler, David Turcotte

Michael P. Johnson

This paper describes and develops a model for calculating location-based strategic values of foreclosed properties considered for acquisition and redevelopment by community development corporations (CDCs). A property’s strategic value refers to its proximity to site-specific neighborhood amenities and disamenities (e.g. schools, public transit, distressed properties), given the relative importance of that proximity to CDC organizational and community objectives. We operationalize the concept of strategic value, and apply this concept to a salient public sector decision problem. Using data and value assessments from a CDC engaged in foreclosed housing redevelopment, we compute measures of strategic value for a set of acquisition …

Ranking Of Project Risks Based On The Pmbok Standard By Fuzzy Dematel, S.M. Ali Khatami Firouzabadi, Amin Vafadar Nikjoo

Amin Vafadarnikjoo

In project risk management, there is a need to rank project risks, because there are many complexities in nowadays projects and prioritizing these risks can help to achieve more effective and efficient projects. In this research, on the basis of the Risk Breakdown Structure (RBS) of the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide) fourth edition, it is tried to prioritize the different kinds of project risks. Many questionnaires are filled out by varied project experts in different Iranian project-based firms, to acquire the knowledge and experience of them in project risk management field. Then, fuzzy set theory was applied …

Toxicity Assessment And Analgesic Activity Investigation Of Aqueous Acetone Extracts Of Sida Acuta Burn F. And Sida Cordifolia L. (Malvaceae), Medicinal Plants Of Burkina Faso, Kiessoum Konate, Adama Hilou, Raïssa Rr Aworet-Samseny, Alain Souza, Nicolas Barro, Mamoudou H. Dicko Prof., Jacques Datté, Bertrand M’Batchi

Pr. Mamoudou H. DICKO, PhD

Background Sida acuta Burn f. and Sida cordifolia L. (Malvaceae) are traditionally used in Burkina Faso to treat several ailments, mainly pains, including abdominal infections and associated diseases. Despite the extensive use of these plants in traditional health care, literature provides little information regarding their toxicity and the pharmacology. This work was therefore designed to investigate the toxicological effects of aqueous acetone extracts of Sida acuta Burn f. and Sida cordifolia L. Furthermore, their analgesic capacity was assessed, in order to assess the efficiency of the traditional use of these two medicinal plants from Burkina Faso. Method For acute toxicity …

Heuristic Algorithms For Balanced Multi-Way Number Partitioning, Jilian Zhang, Kyriakos Mouratidis, Hwee Hwa Pang

Kyriakos MOURATIDIS

Balanced multi-way number partitioning (BMNP) seeks to split a collection of numbers into subsets with (roughly) the same cardinality and subset sum. The problem is NP-hard, and there are several exact and approximate algorithms for it. However, existing exact algorithms solve only the simpler, balanced two-way number partitioning variant, whereas the most effective approximate algorithm, BLDM, may produce widely varying subset sums. In this paper, we introduce the LRM algorithm that lowers the expected spread in subset sums to one third that of BLDM for uniformly distributed numbers and odd subset cardinalities. We also propose Meld, a novel strategy for …

The Effect Of Streamwise Vortices On The Frost Growth Rate In Developing Laminar Channel Flows, Brian Storey, Anthony Jacobi

Brian Storey

An experimental study is presented to assess the influence of streamwise vortices on frost growth in a steady, developing, laminar channel flow. Using a simple model and scale analysis, frost growth rate (ablimation) data are normalized with respect to temperature, humidity and time. Measurements from baseline experiments in a rectangular channel are found to be accurately correlated using the proposed scaling relation. Upon introducing streamwise vortices in the channel flow, frost growth still follows the scaling relation, but local growth rates were observed to increase by more than 7% in regions where the streamwise vortices induce a surface-normal flow toward …

An Introduction To The Effective Use Of Research Tools Box, Nader Ale Ebrahim

Nader Ale Ebrahim

This presentation is prepared to assist students who seek to reduce the search time by expanding the knowledge of researchers to more effectively use the “Research Tools" that are available through the Net. The presentations objectives 1- To reduce the search time by expanding the knowledge of researchers to more effectively use the "tools" that are available through the Net. 2- To evaluate the types of literature that researchers will encounter. 3- To convert the information on the search for a written document. 4- Help researchers learn how to search and analyze the right journal to submit. 5- To promote …

Virtual R&D Teams Definition, Nader Ale Ebrahim

Nader Ale Ebrahim

Introduction: The literature related to virtual R&D teams reveals a lack of depth in the definitions (Ale Ebrahim et al., 2010). Although virtual teamwork is a current topic in the literature concerning global organizations, it is problematic to define the meaning of 'virtual teams' across multiple institutional contexts (Chudoba et al., 2005). The concept of a "team" is described as a small number of people with complementary skills who are equally committed to a common purpose, goal, and working approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable (Zenun et al., 2007). It is worth mentioning that virtual teams (VTs) are …

Antibacterial Activity Against Beta- Lactamase Producing Methicillin And Ampicillin-Resistants Staphylococcus Aureus: Fractional Inhibitory Concentration Index (Fici) Determination, Kiessoun K Onate, Jacques François Mavoungou, Alexis Nicaise Lepengué, Raïssa Rr Aworet-Samseny, Adama Hilou, Mamoudou H. Dicko Prof., Bertrand M’Batchi

Pr. Mamoudou H. DICKO, PhD

The present study reports the antibacterial capacity of alkaloid compounds in combination with Methicillin and Ampicillin-resistants bacteria isolated from clinical samples. The resistance of different bacteria strains to the current antibacterial agents, their toxicity and the cost of the treatment have led to the development of natural products against the bacteria resistant infections when applied in combination with conventional antimicrobial drugs. The antibacterial assays in this study were performed by using inhibition zone diameters, MIC, MBC methods, the time-kill assay and the Fractional Inhibitory Concentration Index (FICI) determination. On the whole, fifteen Gram-positive bacterial strains (MRSA/ARSA) were used. Negative control …

Effective Virtual Teams For New Product Development, Nader Ale Ebrahim, Shamsuddin Ahmed, Salwa Hanim Abdul Rashid, Zahari Taha

Nader Ale Ebrahim

At present, the existing literature shows that the factors which influence the effectiveness of virtual teams for new product development are still ambiguous. To address this problem, a research design was developed, which includes detailed literature review, preliminary model and field survey. From literature review, the factors which influence the effectiveness of virtual teams are identified and these factors are modified using a field survey. The relationship between knowledge workers (people), process and technology in virtual teams is explored in this study. The results of the study suggest that technology and process are tightly correlated and need to be considered …

Mis Mock Questions (Why Mis In Corporate Turbulant Times), Deogratias Harorimana Sr

Dr Deogratias Harorimana

With corporate strategy becoming more and more dependent on speed,focus, innovation and strategy, what can MIS do? and what should be MIS role ? what is the relationship between Corporate Strategy KPI and MIS? These questions are answered in an MBA Management Information Systems at USP. This programme is delivered across the entire Pacific region through the Graduate School of Business. It is my privilege to post here few questions that students who attended one of the course in Nadi, at Tanoa International Hotel had to answer in one of the Quiz test.

Economic Benefits Analysis Of Mining Industries In Png And Solomon Islands, Deogratias Harorimana Sr

Dr Deogratias Harorimana

This paper discusses mining and mineral operations in the two countries Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands with regards to its contribution to the overall Gross domestic Product and the economic development of each country.

Our finding shows that mining is an excellent contributor to economic growth and development as in the case of Papua New Guinea.Tax revenue from PNG Mining industries contributions to the PNG fiscal basket remains strong and growing steadily. The mining and minerals tax revenue remains an important contributor to the government fiscal budget over the last 10 years. This has been a strong contributor to …

Rules And Limitations Of Building Delay-Tolerant Topologies For Coupled Systems, Rifat Sipahi, Wei Qiao

Rifat Sipahi

This paper investigates the equilibrium behavior of broadly studied synchronization dynamics of coupled systems, among which shared information is delayed. The underlying relationship is established between graph structures and the largest amount of delay the dynamics can withstand without losing stability. In particular, based on Cartesian product of graphs, we present the rules and limitations for synthesizing the graphs of large-scale systems that can remain stable for as large delays as possible. Examples are provided to demonstrate the results.

A Nano-Cheese-Cutter To Directly Measure Interfacial Adhesion Of Freestanding Nano-Fibers, Xin Wang, Johnny F. Najem, Shing-Chung Wong, Kai-Tak Wan

Kai-tak Wan

A nano-cheese-cutter is fabricated to directly measure the adhesion between two freestanding nano-fibers. A single electrospun fiber is attached to the free end of an atomic force microscope cantilever, while a similar fiber is similarly prepared on a mica substrate in an orthogonal direction. External load is applied to deform the two fibers into complementary V-shapes, and the force measurement allows the elastic modulus to be determined. At a critical tensile load, “pull-off” occurs when the adhering fibers spontaneously detach from each other, yielding the interfacial adhesion energy. Loading-unloading cycles are performed to investigate repeated adhesion-detachment and surface degradation.

Investigation Of Electrical Transport In Hydrogenated Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes, Adam L. Friedman, Hyunkyung Chun, Don Heiman, Yung Joon Jung, Latika Menon

Donald Heiman

Highly disordered multiwalled carbon nanotubes of large outer diameter (~60 nm) fabricated by means of chemical vapor deposition process inside porous alumina templates exhibit ferromagnetism when annealed in a H2/Ar atmosphere. In the presence of an applied magnetic field, there is a transition from positive to negative magnetoresistance. The transition may be explained in terms of the Bright model for ordered and disordered carbon structures. Additionally, temperature dependent electrical transport experiments exhibit a zero-bias anomaly at low temperature.

Understanding Economics Of The Pacific Island Nations: Issues And Cases, Deogratias Harorimana Sr

Dr Deogratias Harorimana

No abstract provided.