Multiple bottlenecks sorting criterion at initial sequence in solving permutation flow shop scheduling problem

This paper proposes a heuristic that introduces the application of bottleneck-based concept at the beginning of an initial sequence determination with the objective of makespan minimization. Earlier studies found that the scheduling activity become complicated when dealing with machine, m greater than 2, known as non-deterministic polynomial-time hardness (NP-hard). To date, the Nawaz-Enscore-Ham (NEH) algorithm is still recognized as the best heuristic in solving makespan problem in scheduling environment. Thus, this study treated the NEH heuristic as the highest ranking and most suitable heuristic for evaluation purpose since it is the best performing heuristic in makespan minimization. This study used the bottleneck-based approach to identify the critical processing machine which led to high completion time. In this study, an experiment involving machines (m =4) and n-job (n = 6, 10, 15, 20) was simulated in Microsoft Excel Simple Programming to solve the permutation flowshop scheduling problem. The overall computational results demonstrated that the bottleneck machine M4 performed the best in minimizing the makespan for all data set of problems

Photobook Design of Ancient Temples in Magelang Regency

Indonesia is a country with vast cultural diversity as well as high historical value, due to many historical sites found in various regions including Magelang Regency, Central Java. Beside the largest temple called Borobudur, there are also several others scattered on all places of Magelang. These temples are not yet exposed to the world, namely Lumbung, Asu, Pendem, Gunung Sari, Gunung Wukir, Losari, and any other temples. These temples become the cultural heritage with its own beauty and high historical values with different functions and objectives from each other. The existence of these temples need to be preserved because of its use for science, education, religion and any other aspects. Government Tourism Office have already made an effort in the publication through websites, brochures, and magazines. After analyzing the publication, there are shortcomings in the delivery of the publication through the media. Therefore, to provide historical information and documentation of the temples in Magelang as historical evidence there is a need for putting more effort. The survey was done by the author through questionnaire and interview, the author concludes to use photobook as media to convey the information about these temples and to use photos to document these temples. Keywords Photobook, Ancient Temples, Magelang Regenc

A Comparative Study of Positive and Negative Factorials

This paper present a comparative study of the various types of positive factorial functions, among which include the conventional factorial, double factorial, quadruple factorial, superfactorial and hyperfactorial. .............

Facilitating inter-spousal communication for birth spacing--a feasibility study of Pakistani couples for policy implications

Objective: To test three practices introduced to couples for adaptation of a non-permanent modern method of family planning and the role that each partner played during the process.SETTING: Urban and sub-urban areas of Karachi, Lahore, and Quetta.Methods: \u27Behavioral trials\u27 was conducted which is a formative research method in which researcher and participants negotiate behavior(s) that the participant agrees to try for a specific amount of time. Interviews were conducted on 72 married couples (144 men and women) living in urban and sub-urban areas of Karachi, Lahore and Quetta. Study participants were either non-users of modern methods of family panning, or using traditional methods. The three behaviors negotiated were: a) Discuss benefits of birth spacing with spouse; b) discuss specific methods of family planning and decide on the most appropriate one and c) initiate use of a modern temporary method of family planning.Results: After the introduction of first practice, of 72 couples 38 reported failure to initiate the discussion with their spouse. Where women initiated the discussion the response from spouse was not as favorable as where men initiated the discussion. After introduction of second practice 28 couples were successful in discussing about selection of a family planning method. Twenty-four couples finally selected and used a method. Traditional users were more likely to adopt a modern method than non-users, especially those with 3-5 children.CONCLUSION: Strategies to cultivate a culture of inter-spousal communication on use of family planning methods should be developed as a component of family planning programs

New Solution for ICT/ELV Infrastructure Project Reporting Using Datalink Technique System

In infrastructure project, a failure on reliable project reporting will lead to Variation Order (VO) and Project Delay issues. It is now a normal phenomenon, which leads to many negative effects such as lawsuits, claims, loss of productivity and revenue, which may also lead to contract termination. Hence, the research aims to develop a new solution system program, called Datalink Technique System (DTS) to solve the problems that occur in an infrastructure project. The objective is to eliminate the loss and reduce the project cost. However, it is not limited to that as in future it can also be applied to others. DTS introduces the new advanced technologies system solution and reliable, yet it is still consistent with the current approach to manage the project. The program produces data/information correctly and precisely

Big data and predictive analytics and Malaysian micro‑, small and medium businesses

Innovative technologies such as big data and predictive analytics are facilitating a global revolution in operational management. The present study aims to investigate the extent of their adoption among micro-, small and medium enterprises. The context of choice is Malaysia—a growing economy hosting some of the relatively more technologically advanced enterprises in ASEAN union. The research plan of the present paper pursued three objectives. First, we aimed to identify the general rate of adoption of BDPA. Second, we explored the most common uses of this set of innovations in Malaysian micro-, small, and medium enterprises. Third, we strove to abstract the antecedents and consequences of BDPA in micro-, small, and large frms in the manufacturing and service sectors. We discovered that BDPA are almost never used to outsource suppliers or to optimise spending and purchasing. Conversely, the most frequent applications of BDPA are in customer relationship management and in warehouse and operations improvement. Moreover, we smaller frms are more resilient to the challenges of adopting BDPA than their smaller and larger counterparts. Thus, this paper presents a snapshot of the BDPA dissemination in the micro-, small and medium ecosystem in Malaysia in 2021, while exploring opportunities for the future development and dissemination of this set of innovations

Enhancement of boresight radiation for leaky wave antenna array

An array of half-width microstrip leaky-wave antennas (HW-MLWAs) of two uniform elements was designed to obtain maximum boresight radiation. Achieve this, two uniform of HW-MLWAs are placed at 180◦ and fed by a probe located at the center between the elements, two uniforms of HW-MLWAs, loaded terminated by 50Ω lumped element. Two beams from two branches individual merge to form the resultant directive beam. The simulation represents the susceptibility of the proposed array of uniform HW-MLWAs to the radiation broadside direction effectively. The predict bandwidth matched of the array is 582 MHz (4.18–4.76 GHz). The direction of its main beam in boresight happens over a wide 13%, relatively (4.18-4.76 GHz) band. The proposed peak gain at the boresight direction of the array is 9.91 dBi

Design of Generalized Chebyshev Lowpass Filter with Defected Stripline Structure (DSS)

This paper presents the design of generalized Chebyshev lowpass filter (LPF) and integrated with Defected Stripline Structure (DSS) using Suspended Stripline Structure (SSS). The study involves circuit analysis to determine generalized Chebyshev responses with a transmission zero at finite frequency in order to produce a reduced number of elements values of prototype circuit. The LPF provides a cut-off frequency at 6 GHz with a return loss better than -19 dB, while the DSS exhibits a notch at frequency of 3.2 GHz with a stopband response better than -40 dB. Thus, the integrated LPF and DSS will produce lowpass and band reject response simultaneously. The design is implemented on a Roger Duroid RO4350 with a thickness of 0.168 mm and dielectric constant, εr of 3.48. The simulation performance results show promising results that could be proved in the experiment works. This new class of integrated LPF and DSS would be useful in any RF/ microwave communication systems particularly in wideband applications where the reduction of overall physical volume, weight and cost is critical to maintaining its good performance

Technique for early reliability prediction of software components using behaviour models

Behaviour models are the most commonly used input for predicting the reliability of a software system at the early design stage. A component behaviour model reveals the structure and behaviour of the component during the execution of system-level functionalities. There are various challenges related to component reliability prediction at the early design stage based on behaviour models. For example, most of the current reliability techniques do not provide fine-grained sequential behaviour models of individual components and fail to consider the loop entry and exit points in the reliability computation. Moreover, some of the current techniques do not tackle the problem of operational data unavailability and the lack of analysis results that can be valuable for software architects at the early design stage. This paper proposes a reliability prediction technique that, pragmatically, synthesizes system behaviour in the form of a state machine, given a set of scenarios and corresponding constraints as input. The state machine is utilized as a base for generating the component-relevant operational data. The state machine is also used as a source for identifying the nodes and edges of a component probabilistic dependency graph (CPDG). Based on the CPDG, a stack-based algorithm is used to compute the reliability. The proposed technique is evaluated by a comparison with existing techniques and the application of sensitivity analysis to a robotic wheelchair system as a case study. The results indicate that the proposed technique is more relevant at the early design stage compared to existing works, and can provide a more realistic and meaningful prediction