Operations Research, Systems Engineering and Industrial Engineering Commons^™

Acuta Enews June 2012 Vol. 41, No. 6

ACUTA Newsletters

In this issue...

1 Meeting Member Needs with Excellence

2 What's on Your Desk?

3 IPv6 Transition: The Time ls (Finally) Here

4 Board Report

5 Social Intelligence: Bringing the Human Touch to the Online Work place

5 Annual Dues Reminders Mail July 2

6 lnfo Links

7 Welcome New Members

7 Check lt Out

8-12 Annual Conference Photo Gallery

Delayed Observation Planning In Partially Observable Domains, Pradeep Reddy Varakantham, Janusz Marecki

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Traditional models for planning under uncertainty such as Markov Decision Processes (MDPs) or Partially Observable MDPs (POMDPs) assume that the observations about the results of agent actions are instantly available to the agent. In so doing, they are no longer applicable to domains where observations are received with delays caused by temporary unavailability of information (e.g. delayed response of the market to a new product). To that end, we make the following key contributions towards solving Delayed observation POMDPs (D-POMDPs): (i) We first provide an parameterized approximate algorithm for solving D-POMDPs efficiently, with desired accuracy; and (ii) We then propose …

Prioritized Shaping Of Models For Solving Dec-Pomdps, Pradeep Reddy Varakantham, William Yeoh, Prasanna Velagapudi, Paul Scerri

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

An interesting class of multi-agent POMDP planning problems can be solved by having agents iteratively solve individual POMDPs, find interactions with other individual plans, shape their transition and reward functions to encourage good interactions and discourage bad ones and then recompute a new plan. D-TREMOR showed that this approach can allow distributed planning for hundreds of agents. However, the quality and speed of the planning process depends on the prioritization scheme used. Lower priority agents shape their models with respect to the models of higher priority agents. In this paper, we introduce a new prioritization scheme that is guaranteed to …

Two-Semester Agile Systems Engineering Design Course: Investigation And Exploration Of "Immersive" Training Technologies, Andrew S. Bodenhamer, Ivan G. Guardiola, Steven Corns, Cihan H. Dagli

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The teaching of systems engineering is a daunting task that involves the development of curriculum capable of teaching students the systems engineering process, the design aspects of engineering, and the interdisciplinary knowledge of a variety of fields. Design is widely considered to be the central or the major distinguishing activity of engineering1. Design can be considered as the center of system engineering, in which engineers employ an interdisciplinary approach to design effective solutions to meet social needs. However, systems engineering requires that traditional academic boundaries be crossed and intertwined with other fields of engineering as well as business, socio-political, and …

Comparative Analysis Of Erp Emerging Technologies, Ryan Engebrethson

Master's Theses

This Master's Thesis compares technologies used in the architecture of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Systems to evaluate the benefits and advantages of emerging technologies. The emerging technologies, Cloud Computing, Software as a Service (SaaS) and Multi-Tenancy, could significantly alter the current ERP space and become a primary part of ERP Systems of the future. A survey was sent to industry professionals to obtain feedback on their company's ERP Systems and to collect their comments on these new technologies. The survey results and related analysis show that Emerging Cloud ERP Systems outperform Traditional Legacy ERP Systems in all important characteristics - …

Rfid For Inventory Of Medical Records, Johny Wu

Biomedical Engineering

The purpose of this project is to explore the feasibility and economic viability of the implementation of a radio frequency identification (RFID) system in a large-scale, medical office setting. Practitioners in fields such as; medicine, chiropractic, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, allied health, and other care providers do not have a sufficient method for tracking filing forms. RFID has the potential to reduce wait time, improve checking-in time, and decrease the possibility of interchanging documents between patients.

The purpose of this RFID system is to improve upon the filing system already in place in any office setting. The major consideration behind this …

Development And Validation Of A Model For Granular Material Volume Measurements, Pourya Fasounaki

Department of Industrial and Management Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Keeping inventory record of packed grains in silos poses challenges since the bulk material’s different segments do not discharge uniformly, leading to formation of random peaks and valleys on the surface. To facilitate obtaining accurate volume measurement of the grains by taking into account this non-linear behavior on the surface, laser or plumb-bob level-sensing devices are employed at different part of the surface to probe the level of material under those regions.

The main goals of this research is to study the behavior of granular material in silo while discharging downward and by doing so, differentiate certain flow patterns formed …

Stochastic Dominance In Stochastic Dcops For Risk-Sensitive Applications, Nguyen Duc Thien, William Yeoh, Hoong Chuin Lau

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Distributed constraint optimization problems (DCOPs) are well-suited for modeling multi-agent coordination problems where the primary interactions are between local subsets of agents. However, one limitation of DCOPs is the assumption that the constraint rewards are without uncertainty. Researchers have thus extended DCOPs to Stochastic DCOPs (SDCOPs), where rewards are sampled from known probability distribution reward functions, and introduced algorithms to find solutions with the largest expected reward. Unfortunately, such a solution might be very risky, that is, very likely to result in a poor reward. Thus, in this paper, we make three contributions: (1) we propose a stricter objective for …

Assessing Lean Systems Using Variability Mapping, Ahmed Deif

Industrial Technology and Packaging

A new approach to assess lean manufacturing based on system's variability is proposed. The assessment utilizes a new tool called variability source mapping (VSMII) which focuses on capturing and reducing variability across the production system. The new tool offers a new metric called variability index to measure the overall variability level of the system. Based on the mapping and the new metric, VSMII suggests a variability reduction plan guided by a recommendation list of both lean techniques as well as production control policies. An industrial application is used to demonstrate the new tool. Results show that VSMII managed to reduce …

Application Of Intelligent-Objects Simulation To Manufacturing Process Efficiency Analysis: A Case Study, Justin Hamilton

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Science and Technology at Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science by Justin Hamilton on May 12, 2012.

Current Trends Of Fmri In Vision Science: A Review, Nasser H. Kashou

Biomedical, Industrial & Human Factors Engineering Faculty Publications

Studying brain functional activities is an area that is experiencing rapid interest in the field of neuroimaging. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has provided vision science researchers a powerful and noninvasive tool to understand eye function and correlate it with brain activities. In this chapter, we focus on the physiological aspects followed by a literature review. More specifically, to motivate and appreciate the complexity of the visual system, we will begin with a description of specific stages the visual pathway, beginning from the distal stimulus and ending in the visual cortex. More importantly, the development of ascending visual pathway will …

An Energy Cost Optimization Method For A Large-Scale Hybrid Central Cooling Plant With Multiple Energy Sources Under A Complex Electricity Cost Structure, Yin Guo

Department of Industrial and Management Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The cooling energy cost could be a significant portion of the total energy cost for a large organization or building complex during summer. A hybrid system or thermal energy storage system is usually applied to reduce the energy cost. However, without proper integration and operation, the advantage of using such systems could be limited.

This study presents a general energy cost optimization methodology and mathematical model for a hybrid cooling system under a complex electricity cost structure. The model considers the efficiency of the hybrid cooling system and multiple energy sources. The energy cost evaluation reflects a complex cost structure …

College Of Engineering Senior Design Competition Spring 2012, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas

Fred and Harriet Cox Senior Design Competition Projects

Senior Design Experience

Part of every UNLV engineering student’s academic experience, the Senior Design project stimulates engineering innovation and entrepreneurship. Each student in their senior year chooses, plans, designs and prototypes a product in this required element of the curriculum. Working in teams, the senior design project encourages students to use everything learned in the engineering and computer design programs to create a practical, real world solution to an engineering challenge.

Beyond the classroom...

Because of the requirement to work in teams, students also build good communication skills, presentation skills and even business writing skills. They also have to source …

Study Of Grinding Burn Using Design Of Experiments Approach And Advanced Kaizen Methodology, Kiruthika Devi Sundarrajan

Department of Industrial and Management Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Grinding burn has been one of the re-occurring issues at a leading automotive manufacturer. Historically when grinding burn occurred, trial and error was used to delicately find a set up process settings that provided good-enough-to-get-by results, but not optimal. Some changes include changing the coolant manifold to improve the coolant flow and rate, changing the grinding wheel, changing the type of coolant. The experiments have proved to introduce some improvements, however the occurrence of grinding burns have not been reduced or quantified and the cause of the grinding burn has not been identified or quantified. Grinding is a complex phenomenon …

Response Strategies For Critical Supply Shortages In Healthcare, Christopher Adkins

Industrial Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The shortage of critical medical supplies in healthcare facilities is of obvious concern to both medical professionals and patients. Speci cally, the growing concern in this area is motivated, at least in part, by our dependence on generic pharmaceuticals. In the absence of FDA restrictions on the production of critical generic goods (e.g. morphine), manufacturers possess little financial incentive to produce numerous products whose patents have expired, but remain critical to patient care. Therefore, faced with crippling shortages, hospitals are left seeking ad-hoc solutions for meeting patient demand of these items. This work considers quantitative response strategies to mitigate the …

A New Metaheuristic Algorithm Motivated By The Rooting Phenomena In Plants, Behzad Nemati

All Theses

In this thesis, we present a new metaheuristic algorithm for analyzing challenging optimization problems. Initial testing reveals the potential for the algorithm, which is based on the rooting phenomena found in plants in nature, to quickly produce effective solutions to challenging combinatorial optimization problems in the class NP. We present computational results describing the proposed metaheuristic's efficacy for an important class of scheduling problems and discuss areas of future work and application.

Acuta Enews May 2012 Vol. 41, No. 5

ACUTA Newsletters

In this issue...

1 Looking Back at 2011'2012

2 NSF Funding for Cyber-learning: Transforming Education

3 Choose Your VoIP Host Carefully

3 ACUTA Webinar: Creating a Project Management Office

4 7 Must-Haves in a UC Cloud Contract

5 Board Report

6 How Cross-Cultural Competency Will Build Workers' Global Agility

6 Annual Dues Invoices Mail May 1

7 Info Links

8 Welcome New Members

8 Check It Out

Research And Development Effort In Developing The Optimal Formulations For New Tablet Drugs, Zhe Li

All Dissertations

Seeking the optimal pharmaceutical formulation is considered one of the most critical research components during the drug development stage. It is also an R&D effort incorporating design of experiments and optimization techniques, prior to scaling up a manufacturing process, to determine the optimal settings of ingredients so that the desirable performance of related pharmaceutical quality characteristics (QCs) specified by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) can be achieved. It is widely believed that process scale-up potentially results in changes in ingredients and other pharmaceutical manufacturing aspects, including site, equipment, batch size and process, with the purpose of satisfying the clinical …

Improving Health Care Quality And Safety: The Development And Assessment Of Laparoscopic Surgery Instrumentation, Practices And Procedures, Bernadette Mccrory

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Adverse events due to medical errors are a leading cause of death in the United States exceeding the mortality rates of motor vehicle accidents, breast cancer and AIDS. Improvements can and should be made to reduce the rates of preventable surgical errors since they account for nearly half of all adverse events within hospitals. Although minimally invasive surgery has proven patient benefits such as reduced postoperative pain and hospital stay, its operative environment imposes substantial physical and cognitive strain on the surgeon increasing the risk of error. In order to mitigate errors and protect patients, a multidisciplinary approach was taken …

A Phenomenological Study Of Professional Identity Change In Released-Time Seminary Teachers, Mark Daniel Mason

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Many practitioners commonly deal with implementing a change that is imposed by an organization. Some imposed changes require practitioners to alter more than what they do in practice but also to change their identity. Many researchers have studied identity change through the lens of sociocultural theory, specifically utilizing communities of practice theory (CoP). However, the majority of these studies used CoP theory as a vehicle to implement the imposed change. Yet some studies have found that after the trial period ends many practitioners revert back to the way they performed in practice prior to the study. One reason for this …