Supervised machine-learning predictive analytics for national quality of life scoring

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

The Analysis of Academic Information System Success: A Case Study at Instituto Profissional De Canossa (IPDC) Dili Timor-Leste

The development of information technology and modern communication era gets more progress. Therefore, every college institution or university is obligated to use the academic information system to process the academic data and to ease the user of academic administration activity as well as the students. The problem to be discussed is about how to find out the level of success of academic information system towards the users’ intention at IPDC Dili Timor-Leste. The purpose of the research was to test the level of quality based on three variables; system quality, information quality, and service quality towards the intention of academic information system’s users at IPDC Dili Timor-Leste, using DeLone & McLean model. A structured questionnnaire was distributed to the user of academic information system at IPDC, collected 106 valid questionnaires. The tools used were SPSS and AMOS. The result of the research was showed in Structural model from the hypotheses having significance towards the users’ intention. The result of this study is recommended or suggested to the manager of IPDC to be used as the consideration from the analysis result with the information technology being adopted from DeLone & McLean Success Information model towards the users’ intention

The doctoral research abstracts Vol:1 2012 / Institute of Graduate Studies, UiTM

Foreword: Congratulations to Institute of Graduate Studies on the 1st issue of The Doctoral Research Abstracts. This inaugural issue consists of 40 abstracts from our PhD graduands receiving their scrolls in the UiTM’s 76th Convocation. This convocation is very significant especially for UiTM since we are celebrating the success of 40 PhD graduands from 12 of the university’s 25 faculties – the largest number ever conferred at any one time. To the 40 doctorates, I would like it to be known that you have most certainly done UiTM proud by journeying through the scholastic path with its endless challenges and impediments, and by persevering right till the very end. Let it remain in your thoughts and hearts that knowledge is Godgiven, and for those of us who have some to spare, never fear to share with those around us, and never be sparing in serving the community and the country, in the name of the Almighty. Dato’ Prof Ir Dr Sahol Hamid Bin Abu Bakar , FASc Vice Chancellor Universiti Teknologi MAR

Development and implementation of a computer-aided method for planning resident shifts in a hospital

Ce mémoire propose une formulation pour le problème de confection d'horaire pour résidents, un problème peu étudiée dans la litérature. Les services hospitaliers mentionnés dans ce mémoire sont le service de pédiatrie du CHUL (Centre Hospitalier de l'Université Laval) et le service des urgences de l'Hôpital Enfant-Jésus à Québec. La contribution principale de ce mémoîre est la proposition d'un cadre d'analyse pour l’analyse de techniques manuelles utilisées dans des problèmes de confection d'horaires, souvent décrits comme des problèmes d'optimisation très complexes. Nous montrons qu'il est possible d'utiliser des techniques manuelles pour établir un ensemble réduit de contraintes sur lequel la recherche d’optimisation va se focaliser. Les techniques utilisées peuvent varier d’un horaire à l’autre et vont déterminer la qualité finale de l’horaire. La qualité d’un horaire est influencée par les choix qu’un planificateur fait dans l’utilisation de techniques spécifiques; cette technique reflète alors la perception du planificateur de la notion qualité de l’horaire. Le cadre d’analyse montre qu'un planificateur est capable de sélectionner un ensemble réduit de contraintes, lui permettant d’obtenir des horaires de très bonne qualité. Le fait que l'approche du planificateur est efficace devient clair lorsque ses horaires sont comparés aux solutions heuristiques. Pour ce faire, nous avons transposées les techniques manuelles en un algorithme afin de comparer les résultats avec les solutions manuelles. Mots clés: Confection d’horaires, Confection d’horaires pour résidents, Creation manuelle d’horaires, Heuristiques de confection d’horaires, Méthodes de recherche localeThis thesis provides a problem formulation for the resident scheduling problem, a problem on which very little research has been done. The hospital departments mentioned in this thesis are the paediatrics department of the CHUL (Centre Hospitalier de l’Université Laval) and the emergency department of the Hôpital Enfant-Jésus in Québec City. The main contribution of this thesis is the proposal of a framework for the analysis of manual techniques used in scheduling problems, often described as highly constrained optimisation problems. We show that it is possible to use manual scheduling techniques to establish a reduced set of constraints to focus the search on. The techniques used can differ from one schedule type to another and will determine the quality of the final solution. Since a scheduler manually makes the schedule, the techniques used reflect the scheduler’s notion of schedule quality. The framework shows that a scheduler is capable of selecting a reduced set of constraints, producing manual schedules that often are of very high quality. The fact that a scheduler’s approach is efficient becomes clear when his schedules are compared to heuristics solutions. We therefore translated the manual techniques into an algorithm so that the scheduler’s notion of schedule quality was used for the local search and show the results that were obtained. Key words: Timetable scheduling, Resident scheduling, Manual scheduling, Heuristic schedule generation, Local search method

The mediating effect of organizational commitment and moderating role of strategic implementation in the relationship between high performance work practices and organizational performance

Many studies on strategy and strategic human resource management have utilized resource-based view to explain the process through which organizations can gain sustainable competitive advantage and improve their performance. This viewpoint has overlooked the important role of managers in structuring, bundling and leveraging organizational resources to create superior value for owners and customers. However, there is still limited attention to how such role can be utilized to determine the performance of banks in Nigeria. Specifically, the study investigated the mediating role of organizational commitment and the moderating role of strategic implementation on the effect of high-performance work practices on the performance of Nigerian banks. The study employed a cross-sectional design to collect data from 400 participants using mail and personally administered questionnaires. A total of 258 usable questionnaires were retrieved to test five hypotheses. The results of Partial least square structural equation modelling analysis revealed that extensive training and development, recruitment and selection, organizational commitment, and strategic implementation had a direct and significant effect on bank performance in Nigeria. The study did not show a direct effect of job security, empowerment, compensation, and performance appraisal. Furthermore, the study demonstrated an indirect effect of extensive training and development, compensation, recruitment and selection and performance appraisal through the mediating role of organizational commitment. In line with scholarly suggestion for incorporating a moderator in the organizational level relationship between organizational commitment and organizational performance, this study confirmed the moderating role of strategic implementation. The study also contributes to the literature on how resource management model contributes to resource-based view by integrating the role of managers. Finally, the study addresses a call for a reflective-formative assessment of organizational performance as a multifaceted construct, discusses the implications and limitations, and suggests areas for future research

Intelligent Decision Support Systems—An Analysis of Machine Learning and Multicriteria Decision-Making Methods

The selection and use of appropriate multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) methods for solving complex problems is one of the challenging issues faced by decision makers in the search for appropriate decisions. To address these challenges, MCDM methods have effectively been used in the areas of ICT, farming, business, and trade, for example. This study explores the integration of machine learning and MCDM methods, which has been used effectively in diverse application areas. Objective: The objective of the research is to critically analyze state-of-the-art research methods used in intelligent decision support systems and to further identify their application areas, the significance of decision support systems, and the methods, approaches, frameworks, or algorithms exploited to solve complex problems. The study provides insights for early-stage researchers to design more intelligent and cost-effective solutions for solving problems in various application domains. Method: To achieve the objective, literature from the years 2015 to early 2020 was searched and considered in the study based on quality assessment criteria. The selected relevant literature was studied to respond to the research questions proposed in this study. To find answers to the research questions, pertinent literature was analyzed to identify the application domains where decision support systems are exploited, the impact and significance of the contributions, and the algorithms, methods, and techniques which are exploited in various domains to solve decision making problems. Results: Results of the study show that decision support systems are widely used as useful decision-making tools in various application domains. The research has collectively studied machine learning, artificial intelligence, and multi-criteria decision-making models used to provide efficient solutions to complex decision-making problems. In addition, the study delivers detailed insights into the use of AI, ML and MCDM methods to the early-stage researchers to start their research in the right direction and provide them with a clear roadmap of research. Hence, the development of Intelligent Decision Support Systems (IDSS) using machine learning (ML) and multicriteria decision-making (MCDM) can assist researchers to design and develop better decision support systems. These findings can help researchers in designing more robust, efficient, and effective multicriteria-based decision models, frameworks, techniques, and integrated solutions

Security in Cloud Computing: Evaluation and Integration

Au cours de la dernière décennie, le paradigme du Cloud Computing a révolutionné la manière dont nous percevons les services de la Technologie de l’Information (TI). Celui-ci nous a donné l’opportunité de répondre à la demande constamment croissante liée aux besoins informatiques des usagers en introduisant la notion d’externalisation des services et des données. Les consommateurs du Cloud ont généralement accès, sur demande, à un large éventail bien réparti d’infrastructures de TI offrant une pléthore de services. Ils sont à même de configurer dynamiquement les ressources du Cloud en fonction des exigences de leurs applications, sans toutefois devenir partie intégrante de l’infrastructure du Cloud. Cela leur permet d’atteindre un degré optimal d’utilisation des ressources tout en réduisant leurs coûts d’investissement en TI. Toutefois, la migration des services au Cloud intensifie malgré elle les menaces existantes à la sécurité des TI et en crée de nouvelles qui sont intrinsèques à l’architecture du Cloud Computing. C’est pourquoi il existe un réel besoin d’évaluation des risques liés à la sécurité du Cloud durant le procédé de la sélection et du déploiement des services. Au cours des dernières années, l’impact d’une efficace gestion de la satisfaction des besoins en sécurité des services a été pris avec un sérieux croissant de la part des fournisseurs et des consommateurs. Toutefois, l’intégration réussie de l’élément de sécurité dans les opérations de la gestion des ressources du Cloud ne requiert pas seulement une recherche méthodique, mais aussi une modélisation méticuleuse des exigences du Cloud en termes de sécurité. C’est en considérant ces facteurs que nous adressons dans cette thèse les défis liés à l’évaluation de la sécurité et à son intégration dans les environnements indépendants et interconnectés du Cloud Computing. D’une part, nous sommes motivés à offrir aux consommateurs du Cloud un ensemble de méthodes qui leur permettront d’optimiser la sécurité de leurs services et, d’autre part, nous offrons aux fournisseurs un éventail de stratégies qui leur permettront de mieux sécuriser leurs services d’hébergements du Cloud. L’originalité de cette thèse porte sur deux aspects : 1) la description innovatrice des exigences des applications du Cloud relativement à la sécurité ; et 2) la conception de modèles mathématiques rigoureux qui intègrent le facteur de sécurité dans les problèmes traditionnels du déploiement des applications, d’approvisionnement des ressources et de la gestion de la charge de travail au coeur des infrastructures actuelles du Cloud Computing. Le travail au sein de cette thèse est réalisé en trois phases.----------ABSTRACT: Over the past decade, the Cloud Computing paradigm has revolutionized the way we envision IT services. It has provided an opportunity to respond to the ever increasing computing needs of the users by introducing the notion of service and data outsourcing. Cloud consumers usually have online and on-demand access to a large and distributed IT infrastructure providing a plethora of services. They can dynamically configure and scale the Cloud resources according to the requirements of their applications without becoming part of the Cloud infrastructure, which allows them to reduce their IT investment cost and achieve optimal resource utilization. However, the migration of services to the Cloud increases the vulnerability to existing IT security threats and creates new ones that are intrinsic to the Cloud Computing architecture, thus the need for a thorough assessment of Cloud security risks during the process of service selection and deployment. Recently, the impact of effective management of service security satisfaction has been taken with greater seriousness by the Cloud Service Providers (CSP) and stakeholders. Nevertheless, the successful integration of the security element into the Cloud resource management operations does not only require methodical research, but also necessitates the meticulous modeling of the Cloud security requirements. To this end, we address throughout this thesis the challenges to security evaluation and integration in independent and interconnected Cloud Computing environments. We are interested in providing the Cloud consumers with a set of methods that allow them to optimize the security of their services and the CSPs with a set of strategies that enable them to provide security-aware Cloud-based service hosting. The originality of this thesis lies within two aspects: 1) the innovative description of the Cloud applications’ security requirements, which paved the way for an effective quantification and evaluation of the security of Cloud infrastructures; and 2) the design of rigorous mathematical models that integrate the security factor into the traditional problems of application deployment, resource provisioning, and workload management within current Cloud Computing infrastructures. The work in this thesis is carried out in three phases

Adoption Factors of Artificial intelligence in Human Resource Management

Tesis por compendio[ES] El mundo es testigo de nuevos avances tecnológicos que afectan significativamente a las organizaciones en diferentes departamentos. La inteligencia artificial (IA) es uno de estos avances, visto como una tecnología revolucionaria en la gestión de recursos humanos (RRHH). Profesionales y académicos han discutido el brillante papel de la IA en RRHH. Sin embargo, el análisis profundo de esta tecnología en el proceso de RRHH es aún escaso. Con todo ello, el objetivo principal de esta tesis es investigar el estado de la IA en RRHH y así identificar factores clave de implementación concretos. Primero, construyendo un marco académico para la IA en RRHH; segundo, analizar las aplicaciones de IA más utilizada en los procesos de RRHH; tercero, identificar las formas óptimas de transferir el conocimiento en los procesos de implementación de IA. La metodología utilizada para la investigación combina la revisión sistemática de la literatura y técnicas de investigación cualitativa. Como base y medida preparatoria para abordar las preguntas de investigación, se llevó a cabo un extenso análisis de la literatura en el campo AI-RRHH, con un enfoque particular en las publicaciones de algoritmos de IA en HRM, análisis de HR-Big data, aplicaciones/soluciones de IA en HRM e implementación de IA. En la misma línea, el autor publicó artículos en varias conferencias que contribuyeron a mejorar la madurez de las preguntas de investigación. Con base en este conocimiento, los estudios publicados ilustraron la brecha entre la promesa y la realidad de la IA en RRHH, teniendo en cuenta los requisitos técnicos de la implementación de la IA, así como las aplicaciones y limitaciones. Posteriormente, se entrevistó a expertos en recursos humanos y consultores de IA que ya habían adquirido experiencia de primera mano con los procesos de recursos humanos en un entorno de IA para descubrir la verdad de la aplicación de la IA dominante en el proceso de RRHH. Los principales hallazgos de esta tesis incluyen la derivación de una definición completa de IA en RRHH, así como el estado de las estrategias de adopción de aplicaciones de IA en RRHH. Como resultado adicional, se explora la utilidad y las limitaciones de los chatbots en el proceso de contratación en la India. Además, factores clave para transferir el conocimiento del proceso de implementación de IA a los gerentes y empleados de recursos humanos. Finalmente, se concluye identificando desafíos asociados con la implementación de IA en el proceso de recursos humanos y el impacto de COVID-19 en la implementación de IA.[CA] El món és testimoni de nous avanços tecnològics, que afecten significativament les organitzacions en diferents departaments. La intel·ligència artificial (IA) és un d'aquests avanços que s'anuncia àmpliament com una tecnologia revolucionària en la gestió de recursos humans (HRM). Professionals i acadèmics han discutit el brillant paper de la IA en HRM. No obstant això, encara és escàs l'anàlisi profund d'aquesta tecnologia en el procés de HRM. Per tant, l'objectiu principal d'aquesta tesi és investigar l'estat de la IA en HRM i derivar factors clau d'implementació concrets. Primer, construint un marc acadèmic per a la IA en HRM; segon, analitzar l'aplicació de IA més utilitzada en el procés de recursos humans; tercer, identificar les formes òptimes de transferir el coneixement dels processos d'implementació de IA. La metodologia utilitzada per a la investigació es combina entre una revisió sistemàtica de la literatura i una tècnica d'investigació qualitativa. Com a base i mesura preparatòria per a abordar les preguntes d'investigació, es va dur a terme una extensa anàlisi de la literatura en el camp IA-HRM, amb un enfocament particular en les publicacions d'algorismes de IA en HRM, anàlisis de HR-Big data, aplicacions/soluciones de IA en HRM i implementació de IA. En la mateixa línia, l'autor va publicar articles en diverses conferències que van procedir a millorar la maduresa de les preguntes d'investigació. Amb base en aquest coneixement, els estudis publicats van illustrar la bretxa entre la promesa i la realitat de la IA en HRM, tenint en compte els requisits tècnics de la implementació de la IA, així com les aplicacions i limitacions. Posteriorment, es va entrevistar experts en recursos humans i consultors de IA que ja havien adquirit experiència de primera mà amb els processos de recursos humans en un entorn de IA per a descobrir la veritat de l'aplicació de la IA dominant en el procés de recursos humans. Les principals troballes d'aquesta tesi són la derivació d'una definició completa de IA en HRM, així com l'estat de les estratègies d'adopció d'aplicacions de IA en HRM. Com a resultat addicional, explore la utilitat i les limitacions dels chatbots en el procés de contractació a l'Índia. A més, factors clau per a transferir el coneixement del procés d'implementació de IA als gerents i empleats de recursos humans. També es van concloure els desafiaments associats amb la implementació de IA en el procés de recursos humans i l'impacte de COVID-19 en la implementació de IA.[EN] The world is witnessing new technological advancements, which significantly impacts organizations across different departments. Artificial intelligence (AI) is one of these advancements that is widely heralded as a revolutionary technology in Human Resource Management (HRM). Professionals and scholars have discussed the bright role of AI in HRM. However, deep analysis of this technology in the HR process is still scarce. Therefore, the main goal of this thesis is to investigate the status of AI in HRM and derive concrete implementation key factors. Through, first, building an academic framework for AI in HRM; second, analyzing the most commonly used AI applications in HR process; third, identifying the optimal ways to transfer the knowledge of AI implementation processes. The methodology used for the investigation combines a systematic literature review and a qualitative research technique. As a basis and preparatory measure to address the research questions, an extensive literature analysis in the AI-HRM field was carried out, with a particular focus on publications of AI in HRM, HR-Big data analysis, AI applications/solutions in HRM and AI implementation. Along similar lines, the author published papers in several conference proceedings to improve the maturity of research questions. Based on this work, the published studies illustrate the gap between the promise and reality of AI in HRM, taking into account the requirements of AI implementation as well as the applications and limitations. Subsequently, HR experts and AI consultants, who had already gained first-hand experience with HR processes in an AI environment, were interviewed to find out the truth of the dominant AI's application in HR process. The main findings of this thesis are the derivation of a complete definition of AI in HRM as well as the status of the adoption strategies of AI applications in HRM. As a further result, it explores the usefulness and limitations of chatbots in the recruitment processes in India. In addition, derived the key factors to transfer the knowledge of AI implementation process to HR managers and employees. Challenges associated with AI implementation in the HR process and the impact of COVID-19 on AI implementation were also concluded.Tuffaha, M. (2022). Adoption Factors of Artificial intelligence in Human Resource Management [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/185909Compendi

A novel decision support tool for assessing the suitability of design-build method for civil construction projects in Malaysia

Project delivery method is a crucial decision that determines the quality of construction projects. The two main project delivery methods used in construction projects are designbuild (DB) and design-bid-build (DBB), which are comparable in terms of project quality, decision strategies, and risk factors. Although the DB method is prominent among practitioners, experts, and scholars; only a handful of studies have assessed a decision support tool (DST) to determine the suitability of a DB procurement method in civil construction projects. The decision-making process in civil construction projects heavily relies on the suitability of DB methods, which is also dictated by many factors and drivers. The decision support for any civil project depends on client, consultant, and contractor – the main players who ascertain project success. Past studies revealed that poor information sharing, low performance of decision models, and diverse project characteristics as the most common barriers that fail the DSTs in civil construction projects. Multiple projects are being undertaken across many countries and in diverse domains, such as building, highway, and underground civil projects. Referring to the study findings, a Decision Support Tool for Design-Build (DST-DB) was developed in this study to assess the suitability of a DB method in assisting civil construction project experts, contractors, and practitioners to adopt or reject DB for their construction projects, while concurrently preventing project setbacks. The main critical success factors (CSFs) and the DB drivers were identified and compiled from an extensive and in-depth literature review, while crucial inputs were captured from a panel of industry experts. A questionnaire was developed to gather insights from academicians, experts, and workers; while the DST-DB tool was developed to assess the suitability of the DB method by validating the identified factors and drivers. A total of 111 participants were involved in this study and the quasi-experiment method was conducted to compare the performances of practitioners, experts, and academicians specifically from clients, consultants, and contractors working in prestigious firms across Malaysia. The practitioners selected two commonly applied construction project methods; DST-DB and conventional decision-making methods. The decision-making performances retrieved from the two methods were ranked based on a set of conditions using an actual project to exhibit the practical value of the findings. All data were analyzed using multivariate analysis techniques, such as normalized value (NV), standard deviation (SD), and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). The results showed that the key performance measures of DST-DB (i.e., usability, likelihood, precision, confidence, and satisfaction) were higher than those recorded for conventional decision-making process in the civil construction projects undertaken in Malaysia. The pre- and post-surveys revealed that the DST-DB effectively improved the decision-making performance based on the key selection factors used in most countries (i.e., effective client briefing, maximizing resources, and sharing of expertise). Essentially, this study is one of the first decision support studies executed for DB construction projects that captured direct assessment and view from three main stakeholders of civil construction project practitioners (project clients, consultants, and contractors). The study outcomes may serve as a reference for assessing the project delivery method for civil construction projects, a resource for academic scholars working in construction projects domain, and a guide for construction practitioners to enhance their decision-making process. This study paints a comprehensive picture for a DB construction project to embark upon and accomplish future decision-making process