Software systems engineering: a journey to contemporary agile and beyond, do people matter?

It is fascinating to view the evolution of software systems engineering over the decades. At the first glance, it could be perceived that the various approaches and processes are different. Are they indeed different? This paper will briefly discuss such a journey relating to findings from an empirical study in some organisations in the UK. Some of the issues described in the literature and by practitioners are common across different software system engineering approaches over the time. It can be argued that human-element of software development plays an integral part in the success of software systems development endeavour. After all, software engineering is a human-centric craft. In order to understand such issues, we crossed the discipline to other disciplines in order to adapt theories and principles that will help to better understand and tackle such matter. Other disciplines have well established human related theories and principles that can be useful. From Japanese management philosophies, we have adapted Lean and knowledge management theories. From psychology, we have adapted Emotional Intelligence (EI). With such an interdisciplinary view, some of the issues can be addressed adequately. Which bring the question: is it really the process or the people? The second author will reflect on his experience attending the first SQM conference 25 years ago. The reflection will discuss the evolution of software systems engineering, and what was changed since then, if at all changed

Software systems engineering: a journey to contemporary agile and beyond, do people matter?

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Parametric tools and creativity in architectural practice

This paper empirically tested the relationship between creativity and computing tools in two different architectural practice settings: one that extensively uses parametric tools for design and fabrication and another that predominantly uses conventional CAD tools in design. The paper surveyed 14 parametric practices and 17 non parametric practices from the UK. The results were statistically analysed using IBM_SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences). The analysis of variance between the 2 groups revealed significant differences on the four domains of creativity. Statistical variance between the two groups on originality was big. Also the length of time subjects used parametric tools correlated significantly with three measures of creativity (fluency, variety and elaboration). Cluster analysis on design cognition of the two groups showed significant pattern differences on how each group structures the design process

Simulation analysis of anti-rollover mechanism for vehicles

Rollover accidents are considered the most significant safety problems for all classes of light vehicles, especially pickups, Sport Utility Vehicles (SUV), Light Truck Vehicle (LTV) and vans. The main objective of the research is the design of a new mechanism able to keep the vehicle stable under various road conditions and high speeds, to prevent the vehicle from rolling over and to maintain the stability for the vehicle by creating an anti-rolling torque on the vehicle body capable of turning the vehicle smoothly to stable position

Assessment of a Sustainable Building using Eco-Friendly Insulation Materials

In air conditioning and refrigeration, insulation materials are essential in building insulation to achieve high performance and reduce energy consumption. However, nowadays, environment concerns have been increased as a result of using petrochemical insulation materials. The petrochemicals insulation materials have a direct effect on the environment as a result of using non-renewable materials, fossil energy consumption, and to the disposal stage. Eco-friendly insulation materials are the solution to decrease the environment concerns and build a sustainable building. Eco-friendly insulation materials have been used in this work to assess and compare its effectiveness in building insulations. Four eco-friendly insulation materials which excited by the nature were used in wall insulation. The overall heat transfer coefficient U was used to assess and compare the insulation efficiency. The basic wall configuration was used in comparison. The results revealed that the eco-friendly insulation material have effective insulation efficiency and can be used to reduce the energy loss through a walls by 50%. Keywords - Eco-Friendly Insulations, Sustainable, Overall Heat Transfer Coefficient

The Impact of Psychosocial Support Activities on the Resilience of Conflict-Affected Adolescents in Iraq: A Sample of Nineveh Governorate

UNHCR has reported that the number of displaced people around the world reached 65 million by the end of 2015, while IOM has reported that the number of displaced individuals in Iraq between 2014 and 2016 reached 3.4 million. Among those individuals affected by conflict and/or crisis, resilience has been proven essential to their survival and well-being. One mode of strengthening this resilience is psychosocial support activities, which provide them with numerous chances to recover, feel better, and thrive. This study examines the resilience of adolescents affected by ongoing crises in Iraq as well the effect of psychosocial support activities on their resilience levels. Employing a quantitative model, this study was conducted by measuring the resilience of participants on two different occasions, before and after their participation in psychosocial support sessions in schools and centers both in camp and non-camp settings.  The results indicate that the participants possessed medium levels of resilience and that the psychosocial support activities had positively affected their resilience levels. Moreover, female participants exhibited higher levels of resilience than did males. Keywords: Iraq crises, Resilience; Psychosocial suppor

On The Dynamical Behavior of a Prey-Predator Model With The Effect of Periodic Forcing

The dynamical behavior of a two-dimensional continuous time dynamical system describing by a prey predator model is investigated. By means of constructing suitable Lyapunov functional, sufficient condition is derived for the global asymptotic stability of the positive equilibrium of the system. The Hopf bifurcation analysis is carried out. The numerical simulations are used to study the effect of periodic forcing in two different parameters. The results of simulations show that the model under the effects of periodic forcing in two different parameters, with or without phase difference, could exhibit chaotic dynamics for realistic and biologically feasible parametric values