Project and Research Management: Integrating Systems, Data, and People in Multidisciplinary Work (Vol. 5)

This technical report summarizes the experiential and technical knowledge in project and research management from the Sustainable Corn Coordinated Agricultural Project team. The management infrastructure, processes, outcomes, lessons learned, and insights presented in this report will be particularly relevant to directors and managers of other large teams

Harnessing Markets for Water Quality

This issue of IMPACT is devoted to exploring and understanding the opportunities and challenges of harnessing markets to improve water quality. It looks at how markets could be implemented to address the growing concern of nonpoint source pollution as well as point sources. Recently, the EPA proposed a water quality trading proposal, which is summarized, reviewed, and critiqued

1997 NASA-ODU American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Summer Faculty Fellowship Program

Since 1964, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has supported a program of summer faculty fellowships for engineering and science educators. In a series of collaborations between NASA research and development centers and nearby universities, engineering faculty members spend 10 weeks working with professional peers on research. The Summer Faculty Program Committee of the American Society for Engineering Education supervises the programs. Objectives of the program are as follows: (1) To further the professional knowledge of qualified engineering and science faculty members, (2) To stimulate and exchange ideas between participants and NASA; (3) To enrich and refresh the research and teaching activities of participants' institutions; and (4) To contribute to the research objectives of the NASA center. Program description is as follows: College or university faculty members will be appointed as Research Fellows to spend 10 weeks in cooperative research and study at the NASA Langley Research Center. The Fellow will devote approximately 90 percent of the time to a research problem and the remaining time to a study program. The study program will consist of lectures and seminars on topics of interest or that are directly relevant to the Fellows' research topics. The lectures and seminar leaders will be distinguished scientists and engineers from NASA, education, and industry

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN ROMANIA

The purpose of this paper is to identify the main opportunities and limitations of corporate social responsibility (CSR). The survey was defined with the aim to involve the highest possible number of relevant CSR topics and give the issue a more wholesome perspective. It provides a basis for further comprehension and deeper analyses of specific CSR areas. The conditions determining the success of CSR in Romania have been defined in the paper on the basis of the previously cumulative knowledge as well as the results of various researches. This paper provides knowledge which may be useful in the programs promoting CSR.Corporate social responsibility, Supportive policies, Romania

Assessment of applications of optimisation to building design and energy modelling

Buildings account for around 35% of the world’s carbon emissions and strategies to reduce carbon emissions have made much use of building energy modelling. Optimisation techniques promise new ways of achieving the most cost effective and efficient solutions more quickly and with less input from engineers and building physicists. However, there is limited research into the practical applications of these techniques to building design practice. This thesis presents the results of case-based research into the practical application of design stage optimisation and calibration methods to energy efficient building fabric and services design using building energy modelling. The application during early stage design of a Non-dominating Sorting Genetic Algorithm 2 (NSGA2) to a building energy model EnergyPlusTM. The exercise was used to determine if the application of NSGA2 yielded a significant improvement in the selection of building services technology and building fabric elements. The use of NSGA2 enabled significant (£400,000) capital cost savings without degrading the comfort or energy performance. The potential capital cost savings significantly outweighed the cost of the engineering time required to carry out the additional analysis. Three optimisation techniques were applied to three case study buildings to select appropriate model parameters to minimise the difference between modelled and measured parameters and hence calibrate the model. An heuristic approach was applied to the Institute for Life Sciences Building 1 (ILS1) at Swansea University. Latin Hypercube Monte Carlo (LHMC) was applied to the Arup building at 8 Fitzroy St London and compared directly with the results from an approach using Self Adaptive Differential Evolution (SADE). Poor Building Management System data quality was found to significantly limit the potential to calibrate models. Where robust data was available it was however found to be possible to calibrate EnergyPlus simulations of complex real world buildings using LHMC and SADE methods at levels close to that required by professional bodies

Semantic discovery and reuse of business process patterns

Patterns currently play an important role in modern information systems (IS) development and their use has mainly been restricted to the design and implementation phases of the development lifecycle. Given the increasing significance of business modelling in IS development, patterns have the potential of providing a viable solution for promoting reusability of recurrent generalized models in the very early stages of development. As a statement of research-in-progress this paper focuses on business process patterns and proposes an initial methodological framework for the discovery and reuse of business process patterns within the IS development lifecycle. The framework borrows ideas from the domain engineering literature and proposes the use of semantics to drive both the discovery of patterns as well as their reuse

The use of yield management within the kingdom of Saudi Arabia hotels

The airline industry has successfully adopted yield management (YM), particularly after the industry was deregulated in the late 1970s. In this study, YM is applicable to the hotel industry as a strategy to maximise profits. Thus, it involves the allocation of resources among various customers in hotel rooms relative to the existing market characteristics. In doing so, YM’s core concept is the provision of the right service to customers at the right prices. The aim of this study is to examine the practices and perceptions concerning YM as per the understanding and awareness of hotel managers. The study investigates several Saudi hotels of various sizes that use YM, and it identifies revenue management strategies and general practices within the hotel industry. The investigation took place in seven key areas of the hotel industry: location, occupancy, pricing strategy, price-adjustment strategies, HR management, customer satisfaction and third-party websites. The study involved two steps to achieve its purpose. First, YM practices were investigated in comparison to the seven key areas that influence revenue. Moreover, there was an emphasis on determining whether there was an attempt to manage revenue within the hotel industry. The results from the investigation are presented using a descriptive approach. The second step involved establishing the use of YM as a tool for managing revenue in hotel operations. This shows how revenue management through YM should be conducted. These results are presented using a normative approach. In the methodology, qualitative research is applied. Through this approach, 13 revenue managers and seven general managers from various Saudi hotels in Riyadh, the Eastern Province and Mecca were interviewed. Further, documents and direct observations were used to collect vital data to compare room rates through the use of direct and indirect distribution channels. Here, direct distribution channels involve making direct calls to hotels, as well as the use of official hotel websites. Conversely, indirect distribution channels involve the use of Booking.com and Agoda.com. These different options were then compared to observe the option that was more efficient in revenue management. From the comparison, the results showed that the practices and perceptions of YM were reasonable in the cities’ hotels. Of particular interest was the fact that respondents were aware of some key principles of YM. Consequently, many of these principles had been adhered to in room revenue management. For instance, stakeholders understood the significance of segmenting potential and current customers into various groups. This is critical, as these groups have different priorities, income levels and goals. As a rule, attention focuses on criteria such as ability and willingness to pay. The study recommends strategies that can be adopted by Saudi hotels to overcome the misconceptions and perceptions of YM. For instance, the system must be interlinked with location, occupancy, pricing strategy, price-adjustment strategy, HR, customer relations and the Internet. Interlinking the system with these key concepts is essential to maximise profits in the hotel industry. In essence, this paper offers knowledge to further the research on the applicability of the YM concept within the hotel industry in Saudi Arabia