Supply chain design: a conceptual model and tactical simulations

In current research literature, supply chain management (SCM) is a hot topic breaching the boundaries of many academic disciplines. SCM-related work can be found in the relevant literature for many disciplines. Supply chain management can be defined as effectively and efficiently managing the flows (information, financial and physical) in all stages of the supply chain to add value to end customers and gain profit for all firms in the chain. Supply chains involve multiple partners with the common goal to satisfy customer demand at a profit. While supply chains are not new, the way academics and practitioners view the need for and the means to manage these chains is relatively new. Very little literature can be found on designing supply chains from the ground up or what dimensions of supply chain management should be considered when designing a supply chain. Additionally, we have found that very few tools exist to help during the design phase of a supply chain. Moreover, very few tools exist that allow for comparing supply chain designs. We contribute to the current literature by determining which supply chain management dimensions should be considered during the design process. We employ text mining to create a supply chain design conceptual model and compare this model to existing supply chain models and reference frameworks. We continue to contribute to the current SCM literature by applying a creative application of concepts and results in the field of Stochastic Processes to build a custom simulator capable of comparing different supply chain designs and providing insights into how the different designs affect the supply chain’s total inventory cost. The simulator provides a mechanism for testing when real-time demand information is more beneficial than using first-come, first-serve (FCFS) order processing when the distributional form of lead-time demand is derived from the supply chain operating characteristics instead of using the assumption that lead-time demand distributions are known. We find that in many instances FCFS out-performs the use of real-time information in providing the lowest total inventory cost

Learners and Luddites in the Twenty-first Century: Bringing Evidence-based Education to Anesthesiology

Anesthesiologists are both teachers and learners and alternate between these roles throughout their careers. However, few anesthesiologists have formal training in the methodologies and theories of education. Many anesthesiology educators often teach as they were taught and may not be taking advantage of current evidence in education to guide and optimize the way they teach and learn. This review describes the most up-to-date evidence in education for teaching knowledge, procedural skills, and professionalism. Methods such as active learning, spaced learning, interleaving, retrieval practice, e-learning, experiential learning, and the use of cognitive aids will be described. We made an effort to illustrate the best available evidence supporting educational practices while recognizing the inherent challenges in medical education research. Similar to implementing evidence in clinical practice in an attempt to improve patient outcomes, implementing an evidence-based approach to anesthesiology education may improve learning outcomes. (ANESTHESIOLOGY 2019; 131:908–28

Augmented Reality and Health Informatics: A Study based on Bibliometric and Content Analysis of Scholarly Communication and Social Media

Healthcare outcomes have been shown to improve when technology is used as part of patient care. Health Informatics (HI) is a multidisciplinary study of the design, development, adoption, and application of IT-based innovations in healthcare services delivery, management, and planning. Augmented Reality (AR) is an emerging technology that enhances the user’s perception and interaction with the real world. This study aims to illuminate the intersection of the field of AR and HI. The domains of AR and HI by themselves are areas of significant research. However, there is a scarcity of research on augmented reality as it applies to health informatics. Given both scholarly research and social media communication having contributed to the domains of AR and HI, research methodologies of bibliometric and content analysis on scholarly research and social media communication were employed to investigate the salient features and research fronts of the field. The study used Scopus data (7360 scholarly publications) to identify the bibliometric features and to perform content analysis of the identified research. The Altmetric database (an aggregator of data sources) was used to determine the social media communication for this field. The findings from this study included Publication Volumes, Top Authors, Affiliations, Subject Areas and Geographical Locations from scholarly publications as well as from a social media perspective. The highest cited 200 documents were used to determine the research fronts in scholarly publications. Content Analysis techniques were employed on the publication abstracts as a secondary technique to determine the research themes of the field. The study found the research frontiers in the scholarly communication included emerging AR technologies such as tracking and computer vision along with Surgical and Learning applications. There was a commonality between social media and scholarly communication themes from an applications perspective. In addition, social media themes included applications of AR in Healthcare Delivery, Clinical Studies and Mental Disorders. Europe as a geographic region dominates the research field with 50% of the articles and North America and Asia tie for second with 20% each. Publication volumes show a steep upward slope indicating continued research. Social Media communication is still in its infancy in terms of data extraction, however aggregators like Altmetric are helping to enhance the outcomes. The findings from the study revealed that the frontier research in AR has made an impact in the surgical and learning applications of HI and has the potential for other applications as new technologies are adopted

A tool framework for developing context-sensitive user assistance systems using model-driven aspect weaving

Ankara : The Department of Computer Engineering and the Graduate School of Engineering and Science of Bilkent University, 2012.Thesis (Master's) -- Bilkent University, 2012.Includes bibliographical references.User assistance systems act as a guide for the users of software products. These systems aim to guarantee a successful user experience by helping in performing tasks. Early on, off-line user manuals were mostly the mediums of user assistance, and technically, they were independent of the systems they belong to. The upward trend in user assistance systems is that the provision of assistance is automated through some attached mechanisms to the software systems. There have been numerous proposals introducing fresh and novel methods for the purpose of automated user assistance. Specifically, embedded user assistance consists of instructional or conceptual information that appears within a software application window. It includes embedded help that appear within the application, field labels, and page overviews. The overall objective of this thesis is to reveal the state of the art advances in user assistance systems, and to propose a tool framework for developing contextsensitive user assistance systems. Firstly, we conducted two systematic literature reviews for both automated and embedded user assistance systems. The systematic literature reviews are required for acquiring solid background on embedded user assistance systems as well as for exploring the main obstacles to automated user assistance systems. The research findings are presented in parallel with the work published in the literature, and we aim at revealing a variety of techniques used for automated and embedded user assistance. The systematic reviews are conducted by a multiphase study selection process under a lot of articles obtained by dedicated search strategies. Since there has been no study to systematically undertake the state of user assistance systems, our work has a pioneering value of contents providing a road-map of current trends for further researchers in the field of user assistance. Having analyzed the results of systematic reviews, we conducted a survey of help authoring tools that revealed the lack of generalized context-sensitive user assistance solutions. Also, the utilization of methods, algorithms and tools differs from domain to domain, being rather scattered. We aimed at developing embedded context-sensitive user assistance systems, which is not trivial and has to meet several challenges. Unfortunately, user-assistance concerns such as help content and related weaving information cannot be easily localized in single modules and as such tend to crosscut multiple modules. The reuse of user assistance tools for different applications is required because developing custom-based user assistance for each separate application is laborious. Consequently, the obstacles related to the development of context-sensitive user assistance systems have brought out the idea of a tool framework for this purpose. To address these issues we developed an aspect-oriented tool framework Assistant-Pro that can be used to develop context-sensitive embedded user assistance for multiple applications. The framework provides tools for defining the process model, defining guidance related to process steps, and modularizing and weaving help concerns in the target application for which user guidance needs to be provided. The tool has been originally developed and validated in the context of Aselsan, a large Turkish defense electronics company.Açar, MuratM.S

Study of Leopard Menace, Food Habits and Habitat Parameters in Mandi District, Himachal Pradesh

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A techno-economic model of ship operation with special reference to hull and propeller maintenance in the face of uncertainty

PhD ThesisA description is given of a new computer based techno-economic model designed with particular reference to investments in improved hull and propeller maintenance. The model combines the principles of accountancy with technical and operational variables so as to facilitate an operational simulation of most ship types in a selected economic environment. The technical and engineering economic basis for the proposed new model is discussed with particular emphasis on the relationship between hull surface roughness and ship resistance, the effects of hull roughness and fouling upon propulsion efficiency and quantitative measurements of hull roughness and fouling experienced on ships in service. Results from a set of full scale experiments on two sisterships are also presented in support of a proposed modification to an existing approximate relationship between roughness and ship resistance. The new techno-economic model is sub divided into three principal parts, based respectively upon deterministic analysis, dynamic programming and probabilistic cash flow simulation. Each part serves a different function in the decision making process between alternative hull and propeller maintenance strategies. A new technique is presented for obtaining probability distribution functions of individual variables associated with uncertainty when only a limited amount of subjective information is available. This new method serves as a basis for the proposed probabilistic cash flow simulation model, having the primary function of providing quantitative assessments of uncertainty in investment calculation. The initial requirement for considering the hull maintenance problem within the complete commercial context of ship operation has been confirmed in a series of case studies for different ship types where principal variables and recommended maintenance strategies have also been identified. Quantitative assessments of uncertainty are provided, indicating a potential high degree of uncertainty associated with this type of investment. A separate case study on the hydrodynamic and economic penalties of propeller roughness has established the relative difference between hull roughness and propeller roughness in economic terms. Finally, the deterministic case study evaluations have resulted in the introduction of two simplified methods of calculation from which approximate solutions to alternative hull maintenance strategies may be obtained.International Paint Marine Coatings

LANGUAGE STRATEGIES IN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS: NEW PROSPECTS FOR NEGOTIATION AND CONFLICT MANAGEMENT

With the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 — when negotiations have been almost exclusively carried out in online settings — there is a growing need for research which addresses this new norm. This dissertation explores how linguistic cues can corroborate or challenge the established measures in negotiation and conflict management research. The overarching objective is to study the interdependence of language and culture in the presence of technology within the domain of international negotiations and conflict resolution. The first essay of the dissertation addresses the anomalies regarding the use of the two major negotiation strategies identified by prior research – questions and answers (Q&A) and substantiation and offers (S&O) – and their effectiveness across cultures. I triangulate between cognitive methods utilized in negotiations research (mental model convergence, fixed-pie bias), linguistic cues (words with positive and negative connotations), and language style matching (LSM), a novel analysis in international buyer-seller negotiations. Based on an online negotiation simulation between representatives of a high-context (Hong Kong Chinese) and low-context (U.S.) communication culture (total sample size is 300) and subsequent linguistic analysis of the transcripts, the essay questions the notion of normative strategy; shows the conditions when the strategies have an integrative versus distributive character; identifies cognitive mechanisms which explain why S&O might be more beneficial than Q&A in a high-context communication culture; and clarifies in which cultural contexts the index of language style matching reflects a deeper, cognitive simmilarity and in which an automatic process. The second essay is a systematic literature review of studies about language in international conflict management research. The essay emphasizes a positive potential of a conflict and suggests how it can be achieved linguistically in an intercultural environment. It shows how language can give a dynamic process to conflict management. Unlike the static view of conflict, the proposed theoretical framework underscores the importance of poly-contextual behavior, i.e., how the behavior changes across contexts. By focusing on the multilingualism, the essay further disentangles language and culture, which are often mixed together. The essay suggests short term and long term strategies for a dynamic conflict de-escalation in the domain of international business

Watershed modeling at Yucca Mountain, Nevada

Studies are currently underway to determine the suitability of Yucca Mountain in Nevada as the nation's first high-level nuclear waste repository. Values of net infiltration are required to determine pre-waste emplacement groundwater travel times and the performance of the repository as a waste containment system. The objective of this study was to develop a numerical model to perform water balance calculations and predict rates of net infiltration for the site. The model included processes of precipitation, runoff, evapotranspiration, infiltration, and redistribution of water within a soil profile. The watershed was divided into 477 grid cells 75.7 x 75.7 m. The elevation, slope, aspect, and hydrologic properties were assumed to be constant within a grid cell but varied from one cell to the next Water balance calculations were performed for each cell using a one-dimensional form of Richards equation. The solution was obtained using the finite difference method with Newton-Raphson iteration. The model was calibrated using water content data obtained from neutron-moisture meter measurements in boreholes located in Pagany Wash Watershed Measurements were made in channel and terrace alluvium and in tuffs. Computer simulations reproduced water content data for a major precipitation event that occurred in 1984. Simulations verified the importance of antecedent soil water content in controlling the occurrence of runoff. Sensitivity analysis indicated that the soil and alluvium grain-size distributions, which are used to calculate unsaturated hydraulic conductivity, can greatly affect predicted rates of water movemen

MEASURING & MONITORING Plant Populations

The root of the word monitoring means to warn, and an essential purpose of monitoring is to raise a warning flag that the current course of action is not working. Monitoring is a powerful tool for identifying problems in the early stages, before they become dramatically obvious or crises. If identified early, problems can be addressed while cost-effective solutions are still available. For example, an invasive species that threatens a rare plant population is much easier to control at the initial stages of invasion, compared to eradicating it once it is well established at a site. Monitoring is also critical for measuring management success. Good monitoring can demonstrate that the current management approach is working and provide evidence supporting the continuation of current management