Evolution of Communication Skills in Virtual Product Development Process: Experience From EGPR

More than a decade of continuous international collaboration of several European universities in teaching new product development in virtual environment gives unique opportunity to investigate evolution and development of communication techniques for NPD collaboration in virtual environment. This chapter provides theoretical and practical view on different aspects: technical evolution of ICT tools, development and fostering of communication flow, personal aspects of IT communication, with important emphasis on building of trust within virtual teams. The reader can extract from this chapter guidelines for work in collaborative virtual environment, to run effectively either small projects, meetings and lectures or even more complex projects, distributed among several dislocated teams. The chronological overview of the continuous virtual communication in the last 15 years gives also fair suggestions about future evolution for the next decade

Exploring the KEER knowledge landscape over the past decade

The aim of this paper was to systematically explore the knowledge landscape of papers presented at KEER conferences over the last decade. We collected all papers published in conference proceedings between 2010 and 2020. We (i) used a text mining pipeline to extract, clean, and normalize keywords from the Title and Abstract fields, and (ii) created a co-occurrence network reflecting the relationships between keywords. The network was then characterized at different levels of granularity (static analysis vs. time slice analysis and whole network vs. node-level analysis). The exploratory analysis showed a stable expansion of the network over time. The cluster structure revealed several groups of keywords that did not change over time and reflected both domain-specific and method-specific topics of research in Kansei engineering

FRAMEWORK FOR CRISIS-RESISTANT ENGINEERING PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT COURSES

This paper proposes a framework for the systematic adaptation and digitalisation of engineering product development courses in the event of a crisis. Applicants can use resources of the framework to identify crisis-related boundary conditions that impact the delivery of education and are assisted in determining the necessary level of course digitalisation to respond to the crisis. Furthermore, the framework comprehends a review of modern educational teaching objectives, as well as a table containing tools and methodologies linked to educational targets. These can be used to enhance course design to keep students independently of their learning profiles engaged in study activities and to uphold an excellent knowledge acquisition in a volatile environment. An exemplary application of the framework on a CAD course in a higher education context guides the educator through the processes

Kvalitet života laringektomisanih bolesnika u Srbiji

Introduction/Objective Total laryngectomy is a very mutilating operation and it leads to drastic changes in life quality. The purpose of this study was to examine factors of importance to the laryngectomized patients' quality of life and to evaluate characteristics of esophageal voice and speech. Methods The study was conducted at the Clinic of Otorhinolaryngology and Maxillofacial Surgery, at the Clinical Center of Serbia (Belgrade, Serbia), during the period between March 2012-2015. The study included 223 patients diagnosed with laryngeal cancer, who underwent total laryngectomy. The total of 168 laryngectomized patients were provided with phoniatric rehabilitation. Results The quality of life was significantly better for those laryngectomized patients who did undergo phoniatric rehabilitation. By means of intensive phoniatric rehabilitation the esophageal voice and speech was established in 86.3% of laryngectomized patients registered by objective acoustic analysis. Rehabilitated laryngectomy patients had a significantly lower presence of voice handicap sense (VHI: 19.57 ± 7.35) and expressed significantly lower symptoms of depression and anxiety (PHQ-9: 3.8 ± 4.2; GAD-7: 3.4 ± 4.2). Cronbach's alpha coefficient was above 0.7 EORTC QLQ-C30 on three levels of Likert scales: the scale of physical and emotional functioning and fatigue; as well as EORTC QLQ-H&N43 questionnaire: the symptoms of head and neck pain, speech, swallowing and eating problems and body image. Conclusion Significantly improving the quality of life of laryngectomized patients was achieved by a multidisciplinary rehabilitation. Phoniatric rehabilitation carried out in a planned and systematic way is the most efficient rehabilitation of laryngectomized patients.Uvod/Cilj Totalna laringektomija, kao veoma mutilantna operacija, dovodi do drastičnih promena u kvalitetu života. Cilj ove studije je da istraži faktore od značaja za kvalitet života laringektomisanih bolesnika i da proceni karakteristike ezofagusnog glasa i govora. Metode Istraživanje je sprovedeno u Klinici za otorinolaringologiju i maksilofacijalnu hirurgiju Kliničkog centra Srbije u Beogradu, u periodu od marta 2012. do marta 2015. godine. Ispitivanjem je bilo obuhvaćeno 223 bolesnika kojima je zbog verifikovanog karcinoma larinksa učinjena totalna laringektomija i sprovedena fonijatrijska rehabilitacija kod 168 laringektomisanih bolesnika. Rezultati Kvalitet života laringektomisanih bolesnika kod kojih je sprovedena fonijatrijska rehabilitacija je značajno bolji od onih koji nisu imali fonijatrijsku rehabilitaciju. Intenzivnom fonijatrijskom rehabilitacijom je uspostavljen ezofagusni glas i govor kod 86,3% laringektomisanih bolesnika, koji je registrovan objektivnom akustičkom analizom. Rehabilitovani laringektomisani bolesnici imaju značajno niže prisustvo hendikepa zbog glasa (VHI: 19,57 ± 7,35) i značajno niže izražene simptome depresije i anksioznosti (PHQ-9: 3,8 ± 4,2; GAD-7: 3,4 ± 4,2). Kronbahov α koeficijent je bio iznad 0,7 na tri skale upitnika EORTC QLQ-C30: fizičko funkcionisanje, emocionalno funkcionisanje i umor, kao i kod pet skala QLQ-H&N43 upitnika: bol u glavi/vratu, problemi sa gutanjem, problemi sa govorom, problemi pri jelu i slika o sebi. Zaključak Značajno poboljšanje kvaliteta života laringektomisanih bolesnika postiže se multidisciplinarnom rehabilitacijom. Fonijatrijska rehabilitacija, koja se sprovodi planski i sistematično, predstavlja najekonomičniji način rehabilitacije laringektomisanih bolesnika

CuO-based nanoplatelets for humidity sensing application

Determination and monitoring of humidity level is of great importance because water is one of essential components of the living organisms and materials used by people. Metal oxides are the most popular materials used as sensing elements for humidity sensors, due to their excellent thermal and environmental stability, high mechanical strength, wide range of working temperature, low fabrication cost and robustness in practical applications. Humidity sensing ability of metal oxide based ceramic materials can be enhanced by doping with metal cations. In this work, we present hydrothermal method for preparation of pure and Mgdoped CuO nanoplatelets and investigate their sensing properties towards humidity. The proposed method involves autoclaving of copper(II)-acetate solution under autogenous pressure in alkaline conditions, with different concentrations of Mgdopant (0, 2.5, 5 and 10 mol%). We have performed thorough structural and optical investigations of as synthesized material (TEM, XRD, SAED, UV-VIS-NIR). Furthermore, we have processed obtained powders into functional thick films using doctor blade technique, and their sensing properties were tested in wide range of temperatures (25, 50, 75 °C) and relative humidities (40–90%), resulting with strong response and promising response/recovery times

Improvement of density and influence of Sb doping on structural properties of perovskite BaSnO3

Perovskite-type materials are widely important class of materials due to their interesting physical properties, such as superconductivity, ferromagnetism, ferroelectricity, piezoelectricity, and many others [1]. Barium stannate (BaSnO3) is crystalizing in an ideal cubic structure, and has good chemical and thermal stability at high temperatures up to 1200 °C. Undoped BaSnO3 is an n-type semiconductor with a band gap of ~3.1 eV [1]. BaSnO3 finds application as dielectric ceramic material, transparent conducting oxide (TCO), resistor, photocatalyst, photoanode material, gas sensor for many gases, protonic conductor. Doping with antimony (Sb) can improve the electrical conductivity and enhance density during sintering [1-4]. In this work samples of BaSn1-xSbxO3 (x = 0.04, 0.06, 0.08, 0.1) were prepared by mechanochemically assisted solid state method. Precursor powders BaCO3, SnO2 and Sb2O3 were mechanochemically activated in isopropanol for 8h. After drying prepared powders were calcined at 900 °C for 4h in air. Calcined powder were mounted into a carbon die and subsequently sintered by spark plasma sintering (SPS) at 1200 °C for 5 minutes. Structural properties of the obtained ceramic samples of (BaSn1-xSbxO3) were completely characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Electrical properties of the ceramic BaSn1-xSbxO3 samples were determined by measuring the current-voltage characteristics at room temperature and elevated temperatures in different mediums (air, silicon oil). The XRD analysis showed the formation of the cubic perovskite BaSnO3 as a major phase and Ba2SnO4 as a secondary phase. The content of tetragonal secondary phase of Ba2SnO4 was approximately the same in all samples. This confirmed that presence of Sb did not influence the forming of Ba2SnO4. Ionic radius of Sb3+ (0.076 nm) is larger than ionic radius of Sn4+ (0.069 nm), and it incorporation by lattice leads to the increase of lattice parameter [4]. The cubic lattice parameter a was estimated to be 0.41287(9), 0.41301(9), 0.41321(9) and 0.41302(4) nm for x =0.04, 0.06, 0.08 and 0.1, respectively. The relative densities were 95.2 %, 84.2 %, 85.9 % and 79.2 % for x =0.04, 0.06, 0.08 and 0.1, respectively The SEM images of the fractured surfaces of the obtained ceramics revealed that all samples were well-densified, with the trend of reducing a grain size with increasing of Sb concentration. The AFM images showed the existence of various particles shapes, with the particle size of around 36 nm. References: [1] M Hiroshi et al, Chemistry of Materials 25 (19) (2013), 3858. [2] Y Masahiro et al, Materials Science and Engineering B 173 (2010), 29. [3] L Wenzhong et al, Sensors and Actuators 80 (2000), 35. [4] Y Daisuke et al, Materials Science and Engineering B 173 (2010), 33. [5] The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia, project III 45007

Entrepreneurial mindset development in business and engineering education

This paper presents an experimental comparative study into the entrepreneurial mindset of engineering and business students at a Canadian University. The study wants to test if the discipline has an effect on students perceptions of their entrepreneurial mindsets, when engaged in a similar educational approach. Key findings show that entrepreneurship can be taught and that there are differences in mindset change related to the discipline

Određivanje koncentracije elemenata retkih zemalja u uzorcima mahovina pasivnim biomonitoringom sa područja Republike Srbije

U radu je predstavljeno istraživanje prisustva elemenata retkih zemalja (lantanida) na teritoriji Republike Srbije. Istraživanje je vršeno na mahovinama. Rezultati iz 2020. godine su poređeni sa istraživanjem sprovedenim u 2015. godini. Diplomski rad je imao za cilj da odredi sadržaj elemenata „retkih zemalja“ (ERZ) - lantanida na teritoriji Republike Srbije i da u odnosu na istraživanje, koje je vršeno po istom principu od pre pet godina, ustanovi eventualne razlike u koncentracijama ovih elemenata u ispitivanim uzorcima. Pored elemenata retkih zemalja u studiji su obuhaćena još četiri elementa: U i Th (aktinoidi) i Ga i Tl, koji se ubrajaju u lake metale trinaeste grupe periodnog sistema elemenata. Istraživanje je vršeno na mahovini, odnosno na uzorcima koji su uzeti sa 194 lokacije, prilikom čega se vodilo računa da budu obuhvaćeni svi delovi Republike Srbije. Mahovine (Bryophyta) predstavljaju primitivnu grupu kopnenih biljaka u evolutivnom smislu, ali široko rasprostranjenu. Na Zemlji je zabeleženo između 22 i 27 hiljada različiti vrsta, a Srbija se sa aspekta raznovrsnosti mahovina izdvaja kao jedno od najbogatijih područja u Evropi. Mahovine su male, zeljaste biljke, koje pomoću njihovog nadzemnog dela apsorbuju sve hranljive materije, neophodne za njihovu egzistenciju, kao i vodu. Hranu obezbeđuju sebi tako što koriste ugljen-dioksid iz vazduha, a uz pomoć sunčeve svetlosti vrše proces fotosinteze. Pod imenom mahovine podrazumevaju se tri grupe „nižih“ biljaka: - rožnjače (Anthocerotopsida) - jetrenjače (Marchantiopsida i Jungermanniopsida) - prave ili lisnate mahovine (Briopsida) Za razliku od „viših“ biljaka, mahovine nemaju razvijen pravi korenov sistem, stablo i list, već samo analogne delove koji liče na pomenute organe. Usled nepostojanja kutikule na površini listića, mahovine upijaju vodu i nutrijente iz vazduha, a time i zagađujuće supstance. Upravo zahvaljujući ovim morfološko-fiziološkim osobinama mahovine predstavljaju dobre biomonitore zagađujućih supstanci, prvenstveno teških metala, prisutnih u okolnom vazduhu, kao i elemenata retkih zemalja. Takođe, smatra se da mahovine rastu isključivo na vlažnim mestima, što nije tačno, jer postoje određene vrste koje su adaptirane na suva područja. Pored toga, mahovine su jedni od glavnih indikatora atmosferskog zagađenja, a još jedna njihova karakteristika jeste veliki kapacitet za jonsku izmenu

Evaluation of topology optimization and generative design tools as support for conceptual design

Nowadays, a large number of different tools that support early phases of design are available to engineers. In the past decade a specialized set of CAD-based tools were developed, that support the ideation process by generating different design alternatives according to the criteria given by the designer. Two types of tools are discussed in this paper: topology optimization and generative design tools. To investigate to what extent these tools are suitable for use in early design phases and what are the main differences between them, a study was conducted on an industrial case

A method for enhanced polymer spur gear inspection based on 3D optical metrology

Accurately manufactured gears require a reliable, holistic, and fast inspection method. Standardised geometrical parameters enable a consistent and regulated inspection of gearshowever, current inspection methods include only a limited set of measurements for gears at specific locations. Therefore, a method to obtain holistic three-dimensional (3D) measurements with an optical inspection was thoroughly investigated. The measurement data were acquired via 3D optical scanning. The data were then processed and evaluated using the developed software. This was first tested on a simulated scan of an ideal shape with different mesh resolutions and subsequently on a simulated scan with synthetic deviations. The method was finally validated by measuring the gears using a coordinate-measuring machinethe results obtained were compared with those obtained using the developed optical method. A good agreement between the methods was observed. The optical method offers a more holistic measurement approach with many important advantages being identified compared with the tactile method