Product structure initialization, the bottleneck of ERP implementation in customer driven environments: a case study

This study of the implementation of enterprise resource planning (ERP) in a customer driven environment analyzes the critical success factors throughout the initialization phase. The dynamic and stochastic nature of customer driven environments results in a massive workload of product structure configuration tasks related to new arrivals on one hand and a constant updating process on the other. Meanwhile, the development and implementation of an ERP system was studied from the very first step (i.e. the feasibly study for implementing an ERP) to the last step (i.e. testing the outputs of the implemented system) in an office furniture company for three years. The study involved analyzing of the data collected that were from a series of interviews, as well as direct observations and reviewing of the company's documents. Based on the output of the analysis phase, a top-down hierarchical analysis of goals and CSFs were carried out according to the CSF analysis method. Three top level objectives included reducing project failure risk, project cost, and project time. Analysing the primary results of the study (i.e. activity model, data flow diagram DFD of different levels, system problems and potential solutions descriptions, etc.) revealed that the critical phase of the implementation project would be product structure initialization and this should be taken into consideration as the bottleneck of production planning in customer driven environment, which dramatically reduced the ERP efficiency in this kind of environment. Moreover, initializing issues of the same process is the main obstacle to the success of the ERP implementation, as it considerably raises the project failure risk and cost. Therefore, the simplification, facilitation, and automation of the PSCM process, which lead to acceleration of this process, are the most significant success factors for the ERP implementation projects in customer driven environment

Search for squarks and gluinos with the ATLAS detector in final states with jets and missing transverse momentum using √s=8 TeV proton-proton collision data

A search for squarks and gluinos in final states containing high-p T jets, missing transverse momentum and no electrons or muons is presented. The data were recorded in 2012 by the ATLAS experiment in s√=8 TeV proton-proton collisions at the Large Hadron Collider, with a total integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb−1. Results are interpreted in a variety of simplified and specific supersymmetry-breaking models assuming that R-parity is conserved and that the lightest neutralino is the lightest supersymmetric particle. An exclusion limit at the 95% confidence level on the mass of the gluino is set at 1330 GeV for a simplified model incorporating only a gluino and the lightest neutralino. For a simplified model involving the strong production of first- and second-generation squarks, squark masses below 850 GeV (440 GeV) are excluded for a massless lightest neutralino, assuming mass degenerate (single light-flavour) squarks. In mSUGRA/CMSSM models with tan β = 30, A 0 = −2m 0 and μ > 0, squarks and gluinos of equal mass are excluded for masses below 1700 GeV. Additional limits are set for non-universal Higgs mass models with gaugino mediation and for simplified models involving the pair production of gluinos, each decaying to a top squark and a top quark, with the top squark decaying to a charm quark and a neutralino. These limits extend the region of supersymmetric parameter space excluded by previous searches with the ATLAS detector

Measurement of the charge asymmetry in dileptonic Decays of top quark pairs in pp collisions at √ s = 7 TeV using the ATLAS detector

A measurement of the top-antitop (tt) charge asymmetry is presented using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.6 fb −1 of LHC pp collisions at a centre- of-mass energy of 7 TeV collected by the ATLAS detector. Events with two charged leptons, at least two jets and large missing transverse momentum are selected. Two observables are studied: A tt/C, based on the reconstructed tt final state. The asymmetries are measured to be A ll/C = 0.024 +/- 0.015 (stat.) +/- 0.009 (syst.) Att/C = 0.021 +/- 0.025 (stat.) +/- 0.017 (syst.) The measured values are in agreement with the Standard Model predictions

Mathematical Model of a Tiny Fluid in Porous Media. Spilled Oil as a Case Study

A dynamic model for the movement of spilled oil through a porous medium was developed. The equation being non-linear partial differential equation and parabolic forms, was thus solved numerically with the adoption of the Crank Nicholson finite difference scheme. A mathematical algorithm to solve this system of equation was developed and implemented into simulation program. The graph of the concentration against axial distance (height), concentration against radial distance at different time were plotted from simulation results obtained which shows decrease in the concentration of solute (contaminant) through the media

Search for squarks and gluinos in events with isolated leptons, jets and missing transverse momentum at s√=8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The results of a search for supersymmetry in final states containing at least one isolated lepton (electron or muon), jets and large missing transverse momentum with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider are reported. The search is based on proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy s√=8 TeV collected in 2012, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20 fb−1. No significant excess above the Standard Model expectation is observed. Limits are set on supersymmetric particle masses for various supersymmetric models. Depending on the model, the search excludes gluino masses up to 1.32 TeV and squark masses up to 840 GeV. Limits are also set on the parameters of a minimal universal extra dimension model, excluding a compactification radius of 1/R c = 950 GeV for a cut-off scale times radius (ΛR c) of approximately 30

Evidence for the Higgs-boson Yukawa coupling to tau leptons with the ATLAS detector

Results of a search for H → τ τ decays are presented, based on the full set of proton-proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC during 2011 and 2012. The data correspond to integrated luminosities of 4.5 fb−1 and 20.3 fb−1 at centre-of-mass energies of √s = 7 TeV and √s = 8 TeV respectively. All combinations of leptonic (τ → `νν¯ with ` = e, µ) and hadronic (τ → hadrons ν) tau decays are considered. An excess of events over the expected background from other Standard Model processes is found with an observed (expected) significance of 4.5 (3.4) standard deviations. This excess provides evidence for the direct coupling of the recently discovered Higgs boson to fermions. The measured signal strength, normalised to the Standard Model expectation, of µ = 1.43 +0.43 −0.37 is consistent with the predicted Yukawa coupling strength in the Standard Model

Measurement of the top pair production cross section in 8 TeV proton-proton collisions using kinematic information in the lepton plus jets final state with ATLAS

A measurement is presented of the $t\bar{t}$ inclusive production cross-section in $pp$ collisions at a center-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}=8$ TeV using data collected by the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The measurement was performed in the lepton+jets final state using a data set corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb$^{-1}$. The cross-section was obtained using a likelihood discriminant fit and $b$-jet identification was used to improve the signal-to-background ratio. The inclusive $t\bar{t}$ production cross-section was measured to be $260\pm 1{\textrm{(stat.)}} ^{+22}_{-23} {\textrm{(syst.)}}\pm 8{\textrm{(lumi.)}}\pm 4{\mathrm{(beam)}}$ pb assuming a top-quark mass of 172.5 GeV, in good agreement with the theoretical prediction of $253^{+13}_{-15}$ pb. The $t\bar{t}\to (e,\mu)+{\mathrm{jets}}$ production cross-section in the fiducial region determined by the detector acceptance is also reported.Comment: Published version, 19 pages plus author list (35 pages total), 3 figures, 2 tables, all figures including auxiliary figures are available at http://atlas.web.cern.ch/Atlas/GROUPS/PHYSICS/PAPERS/TOPQ-2013-06

Effect of Teaching Method, Choice of Discipline and Student-Lecturer Relationship on Academic Performance

The main aim of this study is to provide new evidence on  factors affecting students’ performance. A sample of 192 students who have taken at least not less than four semesters examinations were considered. Student-Lecturer relationship, examination contents, students mode of study and assimilation, effort and students’ CGPA were the parameters used for this purpose. The result of the findings reveals that choice of disciplines has negative effect on students’ CGPA if unduly influenced by university authority or parents, and that student’s CGPA rises as rapport between student and lecturer gets better. Although we obtained mixed, and sometimes controversial result when effort was compared with performance. Those students who make special effort in their studies but performed below those who do not take their studies seriously gave different reasons for the variation: 46% of female students reported rushed lectures while 29.69% of male reported lack of access to learning facilities such as internet. In order to encourage good performance, we suggest that lecturers should try to maintain good rapport with their students. However, they should ensure that moral hazard is not created in the process. Moral hazard is created when students believe they can pass examinations without making special effort to study. Keywords:  effort, assessments, examination, validity and reliabilit