A Framework for Measuring the Performance and Power Consumption of Storage Components under Typical Workload

Although the cost of storage components are reportedaccurately by the vendors, it is not clear whether the performance (IOps,MiBps) and power consumption (W) specifications they provide are accurateunder ‘typical’ workloads. Accurately measuring this informationis a vital step in providing input for optimal storage systems design. Thispaper measures storage disk performance and power consumption using‘typical’ workloads. The workloads are generated using an open sourceversion of the (industry standard) SPC-1 benchmark. This benchmarkcreates a realistic synthetic workload that aggregates multiple usersutilizing data storage simultaneously. A flexible current sensor board hasalso been developed to measure various storage devices simultaneously.This work represents a significant contribution to data storage benchmarkingresources (both performance and power consumption) as wehave embedded the open source SPC-1 benchmark spc1 within an opensource workload generator fio, in addition to our flexible current sensordevelopment. The integration provides an easily available benchmark forresearchers developing new storage technologies. This benchmark shouldgive a reasonable estimation of performance with the official SPC-1benchmark for systems that do not yet fulfill all the requirements for anofficial SPC-1 benchmark. With accurate information, our frameworkshows promise in alleviating much of the complexity in future storagesystems design

Investigation into the effectiveness of blended learning as a means of supporting management development in MBA programmes

The aim of this research was to evaluate the effectiveness of blended learning as a means of delivering management development in Master of Business Administration (MBA) programmes. This research followed an interpretivist and qualitative approach, utilising multiple case study as a research method to explore the MBA programmes of three UK universities. The three case universities offered MBA programmes that were marketed as online learning, distance teaching, and face-to-face learning. Building this study around the theoretical learning models of Cookson (2000); Wilde et al. (2000) and Khan (2001), and their missing dimensions, data were collected by online questionnaires and semi-structured interviews from students and module leaders respectively. The collected data were further triangulated using document analysis to enhance the internal validity of the research. Based on the three theoretical frameworks and the missing dimensions, data analysis for interviews involved coding using a classification scheme, while data from the online questionnaire were analysed using descriptive statistics.Among many others, findings in this study show that; there is a difference between marketing, education and academic language when the language used in the marketing of MBA programmes is investigated; all the programmes in all three Universities were, in practice, blended learning programmes despite the fact that they were marketed as fully online learning, distance teaching, and face-to-face learning, respectively; and MBA pedagogy in the three case study Universities includes different pedagogies in full-time and part-time MBA programmes, i.e., more didactic on full-time and more experiential on part-time programmes. Based on these findings, this research developed a theoretical framework for MBA programmes, with new dimensions that strongly reflect the need for a clearly defined meaning of MBA pedagogy for institutions in the UK

Strategic group mapping and strategy canvas analysis of the environmental consulting sector : a project-based dissertation on the German Market : a public archival data web-content analysis

Nesta dissertação na modalidade de projeto tive a oportunidade de entrar em contacto com uma Pequena Média empresa no setor de consultoria ambiental, onde me foi pedido para realizar uma análise à competição no mercado alemão, focando-me em mercados específicos em que a empresa se planeia especializar (Nanomateriais, Biocidas e Instrumentos Médicos). É possível observar que as leis ambientais mais restritivas, desenvolvimentos dentro da química e consciência ambiental estão a criar um grande potencial para crescimento e relevância deste setor. Gestão estratégica e categorização estratégica desenvolveram muitas correntes de pesquisa e no entanto, ferramentas estratégicas ainda não foram utilizadas para analisar o setor da Consultoria ambiental, que tem sido negligenciado na literatura. Através de uma análise de dados de arquivamento públicos (websites, páginas de LinkedIn, e relatórios anuais), foi possível aplicar ferramentas estratégicas (Mapeamento de grupos estratégicos e o Canvas estratégico) a uma amostra de 57 empresas de consultoria ambiental no mercado alemão assim como recolher sinais de competitividade e tamanho das empresas. Nesta análise pode-se comprovar que a revolução digital, sustentabilidade e responsabilidade corporativa já se encontram presentes nesta indústria, que várias empresas oferecem tanto apoio ambiental com foco regulatório e de gestão como um apoio ambiental com foco cientifico, procurando eficiência ambiental e redução de desperdício, e que nanomateriais parecem ser o mercado menos presente em websites, comparativamente com o mercado dos biocidas e dos instrumentos médicos. Este trabalho permitiu demonstrar o valor que ferramentas estratégicas podem ter, mesmo quando aplicado a informação publica, neste caso de websites, e também demonstrar as respetivas limitações, permitindo-nos ter uma melhor visão das nuances estratégicas e estrutura de um setor negligenciado. Para além disso, o contexto da análise estratégica também demonstra que o Brexit pode agir como um catalisador de expansão geográfica, o que é um impacto estratégico que ainda não tinha sido estudado previamente em empresas nesta indústria.In this project-based dissertation I had the chance to work with an environment consulting SME, where I was asked to do a competitor analysis of the German Market in particular sectors in which they will focus on (Nanomaterials, Biocides and Medical Devices). It is possible to observe that the increasingly stringent environmental policies, chemistry developments and environmental consciousness are creating a great potential for the growth in size and relevance of this sector. Strategic management and strategic categorization have developed into many streams of research, and however, strategic tools still haven’t been used to describe the environmental consulting sector, which has been overlooked in the literature. Through an analysis of public archival data (Company website, LinkedIn and annual reports), it was possible apply the Strategic group mapping and Strategy canvas frameworks to a sample of 57 environmental consulting companies in the German market, as well as to collect other signs of competitiveness and size. In this analysis it was found that the digital revolution, sustainability and corporate responsibility are already present in this industry, it was found that many companies are providing not only environmental regulatory and managerial support but at the same time providing scientific support, focusing on environmental efficiency and waste management, and that nanomaterials seem to be the least featured market in companies websites comparatively to biocides and medical devices. This paper allowed to demonstrate the value that strategic tools can have, even when applied to public website-content, as well as to demonstrate their limitations, allowing us to give a better overview of the strategic nuances and structure of an overlooked sector. Moreover, the context of this company’s strategic analysis also showcases that Brexit can act as a catalyst of geographical expansion, which is a strategical impact in this industry that hasn’t been studied before for companies in this industry

Department of Computer Science Activity 1998-2004

This report summarizes much of the research and teaching activity of the Department of Computer Science at Dartmouth College between late 1998 and late 2004. The material for this report was collected as part of the final report for NSF Institutional Infrastructure award EIA-9802068, which funded equipment and technical staff during that six-year period. This equipment and staff supported essentially all of the department\u27s research activity during that period

The benefits of BIM use to improve information flow; making the design process more leaner

The construction industry faces many problems, such as poor productivity and efficiency, that mainly occur during the design process. Many construction problems associated with the design process are due to a lack of effective information flow management through innovative and technological strategies. As the technology matures, the amount of information and data generated and shared during the construction design process has rapidly increased. Despite the increased amount of available information in the design process, most of the shared information not only adds any value to the project but also generates waste. So, it is critically important to improve the design information by managing the information exchange effectively. Ineffective information sharing is a significant contributing factor to waste and the root cause of many construction problems. Major design problems related to information management are due to a lack of appropriate information exchange and effective information flow. Therefore, effective information flow management is crucial to project success. This can be achieved through the application of new innovative and technological approaches such as Lean and Building Information Modelling (BIM).Due to the lack of systematic exploration between the information flow management challenges, and the application of BIM and Lean, this research intends to make a number of significant and original contributions in this area of research. In identifying this gap in knowledge, this research makes a substantial contribution to the theory in understanding how information flow management could be improved by studying the implications of using the BIM/Lean approach from a cross-case studies perspective. Although the application of BIM and its benefits in the design process is commonly seen, its application with Lean construction in different BIM maturity levels and in relation to effective information flow management is seemingly very poor. The existing research suggests multiple reasons for this situation; however, the gap in theoretical grounding leaves it vulnerable to interpretation. Therefore, this study aims to explore how the information flow in the design process could be improved by applying BIM and Lean approaches in relation to the BIM maturity levels.A qualitative methodology is being followed to provide an explanation for the social phenomenon based on realist ontological and epistemological principles and assumptions. This study is structured under four phases; the first phase focuses on research design, providing a deeper understanding of the problem, and the second phase is the preparation and collection of information based on the research problem. The findings are analysed and developed in the third phase. The final phase is dedicated to discussing the findings and developing the solution to meet the research aim and objectives. Three case studies are selected to obtain in-depth information on effective information flow management, the challenges associated with the management of information flow, and the role of BIM/Lean in improving information flow management in relation to different BIM maturity levels. Semi-structured interviews are conducted within the three case studies as the data collection method, while data is analysed using thematic analysis to form the research findings. The research brings together scholarly work on effective information flow management and the role of BIM/Lean in information sharing and exchange while interrogating different value theories to develop a unique understanding of how the usage of BIM/Lean could improve information flow management in the design process and in relation to the BIM maturity levels. Value’s role as the primary dependent variable in social science has contributed to a deep understanding of the phenomenon. This research reveals how value is represented through challenges and benefits, and possibilities of value enhancement through adapting BIM/Lean to improve information flow management. This leads to a new perspective by identifying challenges of information flow management as unfulfilled expectations of users, therefore, act as recommendations for improvement required in managing information flow by the adaption of BIM/Lean approaches and in relation to different BIM maturity levels to help promote the best practice. Finally, the research contributes to the knowledge by providing a great insight into the problems and challenges of information flow management in the design process and how these challenges can be better tackled and addressed through the implementation of BIM/Lean.This study intends to make both academic and practical contributions. This research contributes to raising awareness regarding the challenges associated with information flow management in relation to projects’ BIM maturity level and how these challenges could be tackled through a set of recommendations. Therefore, the findings of this research would help academic professionals to rethink the importance of research in information flow management by the BIM/Lean and IPD application with its relation to the BIM maturity level.Also, this study would benefit the construction industry practitioners to better understand the critical information flow management challenges and how these challenges could be reduced through a set of recommendations. The beneficial role of BIM/Lean and IPD to enhance information flow would be better realised by industry professionals. This would assist them in taking logical and necessary actions to enable the practical application of BIM/Lean and IPD, thus achieving better-enhanced information flow management. A set of recommendations are designed which would help both industry practitioners and academia to realise the importance of effective information flow management and how BIM/Lean could enhance effective information flow management and to take recommended actions to better manage the information flow in practice

A cost-sensitive decision tree learning algorithm based on a multi-armed bandit framework

This paper develops a new algorithm for inducing cost-sensitive decision trees that is inspired by the multi-armed bandit problem, in which a player in a casino has to decide which slot machine (bandit) from a selection of slot machines is likely to pay out the most. Game Theory proposes a solution to this multi-armed bandit problem by using a process of exploration and exploitation in which reward is maximized. This paper utilizes these concepts to develop a new algorithm by viewing the rewards as a reduction in costs, and utilizing the exploration and exploitation techniques so that a compromise between decisions based on accuracy and decisions based on costs can be found. The algorithm employs the notion of lever pulls in the multi-armed bandit game to select the attributes during decision tree induction, using a look-ahead methodology to explore potential attributes and exploit the attributes which maximizes the reward. The new algorithm is evaluated on fifteen datasets and compared to six well-known algorithms J48, EG2, MetaCost, AdaCostM1, ICET and ACT. The results obtained show that the new multi-armed based algorithm can produce more cost-effective trees without compromising accuracy. The paper also includes a critical appraisal of the limitations of the new algorithm and proposes avenues for further research

Knowledge formalization and reuse in BIM-based mechanical, electrical and plumbing design coordination in new construction projects using data mining techniques

textIn the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry, inadequate collaboration between project stakeholders and disciplines often leads to conflicts and interoperability issues. Research has been conducted in knowledge formalization to bridge the knowledge gaps and information silos. Formalizing construction knowledge is challenging to formalize because most construction knowledge implicitly resides in the minds of construction experts, which is difficult to represent in a formal and explicit manner. The proposed study is built upon previous research findings, and attempts to formalize tacit knowledge in Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing (MEP) design coordination by capturing necessary information with a model-based information capture system and reasoning about the captured data with data mining techniques. The vision of this research is that the formalized knowledge can be used to provide guidance for early design review incorporating construction considerations, facilitate structured learning from past experience, as well as train novice engineers. In summary, this research has three main contributions. First, this research presents a formalized knowledge representation schema to capture process knowledge in design coordination, which was successfully implemented in a model-based knowledge capture system developed by the author. Second, a model-based knowledge capture system was developed to store clash information in the form of categorized features and link such categorized information directly to the relevant model elements, which can also facilitate organization and management of clashes and supports searching and grouping functions. A prototype system was developed as a plugin to a widely used BIM-based design coordination application and was demonstrated with project data gathered from three new construction projects in the United States. Third, this research applied data mining techniques for knowledge discovery and reuse in MEP design coordination. Classification models were developed to provide predicted solutions for identified clashes based on historical data. The classification algorithms that produced the best results were selected, which reached precision rates of over 70%. The effectiveness of the classification models was tested in a novice experiment.Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineerin