Managing innovations in engineering industries

It has been shown in this thesis why innovations are regarded as the lifeline of engineering industries. Continuous flow of novel ideas is the source of innovations but the encouragement, creation and nurturing of such ideas requires many distinct managerial attributes. Hence, management of innovations is complex but an important area of study which is not amenable to standard analyses due to its multidisciplinary nature and dependence on a large number of intangible variables. It has been shown that proper management of innovations would involve at least three distinct but closely linked activities, namely: (a) managing people, in particular the innovators, as well as inspiring others to become innovators; (b) managing the environment so that it is conducive to innovations; and (c) managing innovative processes in order to ensure that innovations are properly nurtured, well targeted and economically implemented within clearly defined time and budgetary constraints. The thesis has been divided into eight chapters; an outline of the chapters is given below. Chapter 1 is an introduction to the subject of managing innovations in engineering industries. It sets the scene for carrying out research in this field, identifies the problems to be tackled and makes a clear statement of the aims. Chapter 2 offers a critical review of the published works relevant to the field of research covered in this thesis. The purpose of this study was to understand the state of the art approach to: (a) creating and maintaining the innovative environment; (b) inspiring and leading engineers to come up with innovative solutions for engineering problems; (c) managing the innovative processes for better efficiency. Finally, in view of the comprehensive review of the relevant published literature, this chapter justifies the aims of this research. Chapter 3 describes research methodology i. e. the procedure for conducting this programme of research. The purpose of this study was to ensure that the research programme was conducted in accordance with the scientific method as closely as practicable. For sake of clarity, chapter 4 first draws distinction between inventions, innovations and engineering design and later identifies a large number of intangible factors that influence the three principal components, i. e. innovative environment, innovators and the innovation process. It is suggested that the innovativeness of engineering companies depends on these three principal components. Hence, innovativeness may be assessed by determining the influence of each on the principal components with the help of suitable computational techniques. Two computer applications have been developed to: (a) evaluate the innovativeness of engineering organisations; and (b) analyse the risks embedded in either accepting innovative ideas or implementing innovative projects. These applications are based on questionnaires and may serve as computer aided management (CAM) tools for dealing with the multidimensional problem of managing innovations speedily and efficiently. Chapter 5 analyses the influence of factors identified in chapter 4 and uses the two aforementioned applications to survey the innovativeness of four engineering organisations for their innovativeness and evaluate two projects for the risks surrounding them. These assessments were carried in the form of six case studies. Chapter 6 and Chapter 7 present the results of the six case studies and a focused discussion of the results and other observations made during the course of this research. Chapter 8 draws conclusion from this research and proposes further work that may be carried out in order to study yet unknown factors, refine the questionnaires conduct further tests in different industrial environments to build confidence in the use of CAM Applications as tools for rapid response management of innovations in engineering industries

Growth And Characterization Of Nanostructured Nickel Oxide Thin Films For Photodetection Applications

The aim of this study was to grow good crystalline quality of NiO thin films over Si substrate for photodetection application. The study was divided into three main parts. The first part focuses on growth of nanostructured NiO thin films using non-reactive RF sputtering technique. XRD analysis showed that with increasing substrate temperature from RT to 100 oC, the crystallite size was increased from 19.14 to 28.20 nm; followed by a decrease to 14.71 nm as the substrate temperature was increased to 200 oC. The further increase of the temperature to 300 oC, resulted in decomposition of NiO film into Ni. With the increase of the RF power from 150 to 200 W and the film thickness from 350 to 640 nm, the crystallite size was improved from 17.46 to 28.20 nm and from 28.20 to 29.66 nm, respectively; however, the crystalline quality of the films was degraded when the RF power and film thickness were further increased to 300 W and 920 nm, respectively. NiO film deposited at 100 oC, RF power 200 W and thickness 640 nm showed optimal crystalline quality with crystallite size value of 29.66 nm for which it was then selected for photodetection application. The second part of this work studies the growth of nanostructured NiO films using sol-gel spin coating technique. NiO film grown at stabilizer molar ratio of 0:1 suffered from severe cracks. The increase in the molar ratio to 1:1 resulted in cracks-free film. NiO film coated at molar ratio of 1:1 was annealed at different temperatures (300 to 650 oC)

Frequency response based system identification and controller tuning

A detailed simulation based analysis of different frequency response and transfer function identification techniques are performed and critically studied. Standard closed loop and open loop recursive least squares system identification techniques are studied along with methods based on Laguerre filter, frequency sampling filter and bandpass filter. Based on this critical study, the bandpass filter approach is shown to have relatively more advantages than disadvantages over the other techniques of system identification. Methods for PID controller tuning using finite and discrete set of frequency response points are developed for SISO systems and extended to MIMO systems. The controller tuning methods are supported with simulations and experiments on a temperature control system and a distillation column. Based on the results obtained, it is concluded that these methods are practical and capable of being used in industrial process control

Econometric analysis of consumer preferences and willingness-to-pay for organic tomatoes in Palestine: Choice experiment method

This study aimed to examine consumers’ willingness to pay a premium price for several environmental attributes of organic tomato to increase both producer production and consumer health in Palestine. The paper adopts the choice experiment method using the econometric analysis of the random utility model. The research questions of this study focus on awareness of the importance of ensuring / securing the environment, how many households in the West Bank purchase organic tomatoes, reasons for which households may be willing or not willing to pay more for organic tomatoes, and the main socio-economic variables that affect the households willingness to pay for organic tomatoes when making organic tomatoes choices. The empirical results show that organic tomatoes are preferred to conventional ones because of health claims by respondents so that we conclude that respondents are willing to pay more for organic tomatoes compared to conventional ones. Additionally, consumers prefer organic products because of health and environmental benefits. Some policy measures might further promote the consumption of organic products. These include creating awareness of the relevance of consuming organic products through effective marketing and educational campaigns. However, there are about 500 organic farms in Palestine with a total area of 1’0000 square meters mainly under fruit, almond, olives and dates. According to the Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committee, organic pasturelands are not found because of the Israeli control (German Development Agency GTZ) and according to the ministry of agriculture in Palestine, there are 24 organic olive farms with a total area of 18885 square meters

Application of Laser Technology in the Non-surgical Management of Periprosthetic Joint Infection (PJI); Novel Insights from Peri-implantitis

Introduction: The management of periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) is challenging, and its socio-economic impact is significant. Moreover, the incidence of MRSA and other resistant organisms are on the rise. Recently, laser technology has been incorporated into treatment protocols of dental peri-implantitis. This review explores the possibility of using laser technology to manage peri-implantitis. Methods: This article will provide a detailed, comprehensive, and perspective review of the existing evidence of laser technology in management of dental peri-implantitis. Results: Dental literature investigated the efficacy of several types of lasers. It was shown that diode lasers improved periodontal probing depth (PPD) and bleeding on probing (BOP). CO2 and Nd:YAG lasers have bactericidal and decontaminant functions. Er:YAG and Er,Cr:YSGG lasers seem to have the least heat-related side effects and can be safely used for cleaning of implants in dentistry. Photodynamic therapy is shown to decontaminate 2 types of implants used in PJI. Discussion and Conclusion: A combination of good surgical skills and application of novel technologies will deliver the best outcomes. Our aim is to provide orthopedic surgeons with the effect size and quality analysis of the current evidence behind different laser techniques to decontaminate the implant surface and preserve the surrounding tissue

Ring-opening Polymerization (ROP) of Poly Lactied by Cellulose Diacetate and Substitution with Different Amino Acids and Studying Release of Drug

تضمن هذا البحث فتح حلقة اللاكتايد باستخدام مجموعة الهايدروكسيل في ثنائي خلات السيللوز ثم تعويض احد مجاميع الهايدروكسيل باستخدام احماض امينية مختلفة اما المجموعة الكاربوكسلية المتبقية تم تعويضها بادوية مختلفة (تراي مثبريم، وساليوثامور). وقد تم دراسة الفعالية البايولوجية للمركبات المحضرة وتم تشخيصها طيفياً باستخدام طيف (IR، H.NMR) وقد تم دراسة الاستقرارية الحرايرية للمركبات وكذلك التحلل الدوائي.Novel and promising macromolecular were directly synthesized by ring opening of polylactied by hydroxyl groups in cellulose diacetate as biodegradable polymers and amino acids  substitution  for the development of a polymeric implantable delivery carrier The remain of carboxylic groups of amino acid substitution with different drug. The toxicof the synthesized matrices were evaluated using a bacterial Staphylococcus aureuse , Micrococcus, Pseudmonasaeruginosa, klebsiella, Streptococcus. A  twonew amid  bond was formed between the carboxyl  end-groups of the synthesized polymer matrices and an amine group ofamino acids , The structure of the polymeric conjugates was characterized by various spectroscopy techniques. A study of hydrogen nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) thermodiagrams indicated that the presence of drug  pendant groups in the macromolecule structures increased the polymer’s rigidity alongside increasing thermal stability. It has been found that the kinetic release of amino acids and drugs  from the obtained macromolecular conjugates, tested in vitro under different conditions, is strongly dependent on the physicochemical properties of polymeric matrices

The Impact of Water Price on the Financial Sustainability of the Palestinian Water Service Providers

The impactof water sales price on the performance of water service providers is typically something of a mystery. High prices mean more revenue and profit; but it may lead to less bills collection and encourage the illegal connections. Yet, this argument has not been fully addressed in the Palestinian water sector; this research evaluates the effect of average water prices on the financial sustainability key indicators as collection efficiency, profit or loss percentage, non-revenue water, staff productivity, daily consumption, operating, and maintenance cost. The average price of cubic meter sold is segmented into low, medium, and high categories. Multivariate analysis shows that there are significant differences in profit or working ratio, daily consumption, and operating cost based on the different price categories. Further significant differences have been found in non-revenue water, collection efficiency, and water production based on low and high price categories. On the other hand, no significant difference has been found in staff productivity. The results show high price set by Palestinian water providers, leads to an increase in the bill collection rate and profit margin. However, negative relationship has been found between the price on one hand, and non-revenue water, average daily consumption, and water production on the other hand. The implication of these findings reveal that the Palestinian water providers should increase water prices gradually to cover operating and maintenance cost for better financial performance and sustainability.This research paper has been made possible through the support from MEDRC Water Research at the Sultanate of Oman. We would like to express our deepest appreciation to MEDRC for publishing this paper. The deepest gratitude also to Palestinian Water Authority (PWA) for valuable, effective supervision, coordination of the scientific researches, and directing them toward finding creative solutions for current water problems

Therapeutic activity of crude ethanolic extract of Artemisia herba alba against Trypanosoma evansi in rabbits

The present work was conducted to evaluate the antitrypanosomal efficacy of crude ethanolic extract (CEE) of the aerial parts of Artemisia herba alba against Trypanosoma evansi infection in an animal model. The results indicated low levels of parasitaemia in rabbits administered with crude ethanolic extract (CEE) compared to those from the negative control group. Similarly, there was also haematologically significant difference (p<0.05) where low mean levels of packed cell volume (PCV) was observed in Groups 1-4 respectively. In contrast, there was no statistically significant difference in almost all investigated parameters between positive control and treatment groups of animals. In conclusion, both CEE of A. herba-alba and Berenil® showed relatively a parasitaemia and normal haematological values in infected rabbits, thereby confirming their antiparasitic properties