A Computational Model for Product Development Organizations: Integration of Distributed AI and Organization Theory

In this study, we develop a computational model and a multi-agent simulation system for the analysis and design of product development organizations. The computational model represents the product development organizations as a collection of autonomous/semiautonomous computational agents interacting with each other. It is used to model the dynamic, complex, and distributed nature of organizations. To operationalize the model, a multi-agent simulation system is developed where the detailed information requirements and decision-making procedures of human decision-makers are translated into objected oriented programming modules. This is used to measure the effect of alternative organizational structures and coordination mechanisms on organizational performances. Several hypotheses are developed to test the relationship between organization design parameters and organization performances

Different Security Mechanisms for Wireless Sensor Networks

In today’s world security becomes one of the important constraints in every research field. As increasing use of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) in various crucial applications security of wireless networks is becoming more important day by day. Today almost each and every important area makes use of wireless sensor networks. As Wireless Sensor Network is infrastructure-less network; data moves openly from one node to another thus it can be captured easily by attackers. To avoid data from being stolen security mechanism has to be applied. Many protocols are available for providing security on wireless network. We perform a detailed study of different security mechanisms used in sensor network against some criteria such as nature of algorithm, working, its benefits and some of the disadvantages of mechanism and also compare them

Secure Transmission in Wireless Sensor Network using AODV Routing Protocol

Wireless sensor networks (WSN) rely on wireless connections between sensor nodes, which mean lesser amount of security & higher rate of disconnections between nodes. In this contrast WSN is under the research and many researchers provide the various techniques to implement security in WSN. In this work, we proposed hybrid algorithm for enhancement of security during transmission with modified RSA algorithm applied in AODV routing protocol. This scheme is useful for increasing security of routing protocol while delivering the data and by reducing packet delivery ratio

Design of Extended Warranties in Supply Chains under Additive Demand

This is the author's accepted manuscript. The original publication is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1937-5956.2011.01300.x.We study the design of extended warranties in a supply chain consisting of a manufacturer and an independent retailer. The manufacturer produces a single product and sells it exclusively through the retailer. The extended warranty can be offered either by the manufacturer or by the retailer. The party offering the extended warranty decides on the terms of the policy in its best interest and incurs the repair costs of product failures. We use game theoretic models to answer the following questions. Which scenario leads to a higher supply-chain profit, the retailer offering the extended warranty or the manufacturer? How do the optimum price and extended warranty length vary under different scenarios? We find that, depending on the parameters, either party may provide better extended warranty policies and generate more system profit. We also compare these two decentralized models with a centralized system where a single party manufactures the product, sells it to the consumer and offers the extended warranty. We also consider an extension of our basic model where either the manufacturer or the retailer resells the extended warranty policies of a third party (an independent insurance company, for example), instead of offering its own policy

Investigation into the Development and Application of Simulations in Lean Construction

A substantial number of the activities currently being carried out in the construction industry are non-value adding. Waste is embedded in the system, and one of the ways to reduce this waste is by applying a lean approach. Simulations provide an opportunity to carry out controlled experiments, to generate convincing proof, and to educate personnel about lean construction principles. No study has yet been published to comprehensively inventory the simulations most frequently played when introducing participants to lean construction. Despite its importance, the development and application of lean construction simulations have not been studied comprehensively. The intent of this paper is to address this need and to offer a concise database of simulations that are being implemented in the construction industry. A thorough literature review regarding the utility, impact and necessity of simulations was conducted. Understanding of lean simulations, current and future, was supplemented by live, semi-structured interviews with three academics and/or practitioners who specialize in the development and facilitation of lean construction simulations. Finally, simulations currently being played most frequently by lean construction educators and practitioners were analyzed and categorized based on the fourteen principles of Liker’s The Toyota Way and the five principles of Womack and Jones’ Lean Thinking. Opportunities to fill gaps by developing new simulations were also identified

Prioritization Of Implementation Based Testing Technique For Class Under Test

No Abstrac

Distribution Channel Choice and Divisional Conflict in Remanufacturing Operations

We consider a firm consisting of two divisions, one responsible for designing and manufacturing new products and the other responsible for remanufacturing operations. The firm will sell these new and remanufactured products either directly to the consumer (direct selling) or through an independent retailer (indirect selling). Our study demonstrates that a firm’s organizational structure can affect its marketing decisions. Specifically, a decentralized firm with separate manufacturing and remanufacturing divisions can benefit from indirect selling with higher firm profit, supply chain profit, and total consumer demand than direct selling. Moreover, this structure also induces a remanufacturable product design. In contrast, a centralized firm in which the manufacturing and remanufacturing divisions are consolidated is intuitively better off by choosing direct selling than indirect selling. Furthermore, we show that, surprisingly, when the focal firm sells through an independent retailer, a decentralized internal structure can result in higher supply chain profit than a centralized internal structure. We further investigate the case of dual dedicated channels and conclude that, while direct selling of remanufactured products and indirect selling of new products can better induce a remanufacturable product design and higher supply chain profit, it is not in the best interest of the firm in terms of total sales and firm profit

Sensitivity of Building Energy Simulation with Building Occupancy for a University Building

Occupancy plays a major role in determining energy use of any building. It plays an even more crucial role in the case of a university classroom building. These buildings are typically loaded with highly variable occupancies that vary from very low during breaks to very high during peak daytime hours in the middle of the semester. This paper presents how an energy simulation model was built and validated and then used to explore the effect of occupancy for a classroom/studio building on the campus of Texas A&M University. The energy model for the building was created using the DOE-2 engine and validated with actual energy consumption data. As constructed building characteristics and occupancy loading data were used in the DOE-2 model. Parametric runs were then completed with the validated energy model for variations in occupancy number, occupancy schedules, etc. With the exception of extremely high occupancy, the results show that all variations in occupancy or schedule resulted in less than a 10% deviation from the actual building performance model. These results demonstrate that though it plays a role in the energy performance of this type of a classroom building, occupancy and occupant schedules do not have a major effect on annual energy performance. The results show that, during the design stage of a building life-cycle, building designers do not need very accurate estimates for the occupancy of the proposed building