Avoiding Stffness: Perspectives of agile technology diffusion

The increased pervasiveness of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) within the Architecture Engineering and Construction (AEC) sector, not only introduces unparalleled opportunities for enhancing the performance of design/engineering/construction processes per se, but also serves as a unique lever for improving and delivering overall competitiveness. However, whilst the onset and evolution of ICT keeps improving, it is also recognised that organisations often fail to match this evolution, most notably through the adoption, diffusion and dissemination of this technology. This has also been acknowledged as a barrier, particularly concerning innovation opportunities. Cognisant of this, organisations are increasingly looking to secure full advantage of emerging ICT developments. On this theme, this study identifies a series of priority areas for organisations, with the specific remit of securing agility (in the market) through ICT diffusion. A questionnaire, based on an Agile-Technology Diffusion framework, was used to capture the perceptions of management professionals working in the Turkish AEC sector. The ranking analysis of the survey results and comparison of the different management perceptions (levels) are presented for discussion. Research findings identify several priority areas that need to be addressed. These findings also uncover significant differences in the perceptions of different management levels - which can help decision makers appreciate the holistic interdependencies, especially the factors which impinge (or impede) overall competitiveness

Construction informatics in Turkey: strategic role of ICT and future research directions

Construction Informatics deals with subjects ranging from strategic management of ICTs to interoperability and information integration in the construction industry. Studies on defining research directions for Construction Informatics have a history over 20 years. The recent studies in the area highlight the priority themes for Construction Informatics research as interoperability, collaboration support, intelligent sites and knowledge sharing. In parallel, today it is widely accepted in the Architecture/Engineering/Construction (AEC) industry that ICT is becoming a strategic asset for any organisation to deliver business improvement and achieve sustainable competitive advantage. However, traditionally the AEC industry has approached investing in ICT with a lack of strategic focus and low level of priority to the business. This paper presents a recent study from Turkey that is focused on two themes. The first theme investigates the strategic role of ICT implementations from an industrial perspective, and explores if organisations within the AEC industry view ICT as a strategic resource for their business practice. The second theme investigates the ‘perspective of academia’ in terms of future research directions of Construction Informatics. The results of the industrial study indicates that ICT is seen as a value-adding resource, but a shift towards the recognition of the importance of ICT in terms of value adding in winning work and achieving strategic competitive advantage is observed. On the other hand, ICT Training is found to be the theme of highest priority from the academia point of view

Characterization of Cu/PAr/CdS MIS structure for sensor applications

In this study, electrical characterization of. the Cu/PAr/CdS MIS structures were made for sensor application. The main electrical parameters of MIS structure such as the ideality factor (n), barrier height (phi(B)), series resistances (Rs) and interface state density (Nss) were determined at various environments. The series resistance of structures was found 696 Omega and 818 Omega respectively at atmosphere and chloroform environments. It is observed the structure is suitable for sensor applications. Examination of gas sensing property of diode, I-V measurements were done in chloroform atmosphere and constant voltage measurements were done at different gas atmosphere. With the exposure of chloroform, the resistance of diode increases and with discontinuation of gas flow, diode was reverted back to its initial. Therefore, it was understood that the diode was suitable for the sensor applications

A Hybrid Fuzzy MCDM Methodology for Optimal Structural System Selection Compatible with Sustainable Materials in Mass-Housing Projects

The present paper aimed to propose a new support approach to choosing the optimal structural system in accordance with sustainable materials in mass-housing projects. To this end, an integrated fuzzy multi-criteria-decision-making (fuzzy MCDM) method was used to identify the criteria affecting sustainable material selection. The proposed approach consists of a three-phase protocol: In phase I, the literature was used to create a database encompassing 42 factors affecting the selection of materials. These factors were classified as four indicators (economic, environmental, socio-cultural, technical-executive) in accordance with the sustainable development aspects. In phase II, the fuzzy Delphi method (FDM) was used to screen the key factors. In phase III, an integrated fuzzy SWARA–ARAS method was used to prioritize the optimal structural system for a case project: evidence from Iran. The results of selecting the structural systems based on 14 efficient key factors showed that the Light Steel Frame (LSF), Insulation Concrete framework (ICF), and the Prefabricated Reinforced Concrete System (PRC) systems have the highest priority to achieve the goals of sustainable material selection, respectively

A Hybrid Fuzzy MCDM Methodology for Optimal Structural System Selection Compatible with Sustainable Materials in Mass-Housing Projects

The present paper aimed to propose a new support approach to choosing the optimal structural system in accordance with sustainable materials in mass-housing projects. To this end, an integrated fuzzy multi-criteria-decision-making (fuzzy MCDM) method was used to identify the criteria affecting sustainable material selection. The proposed approach consists of a three-phase protocol: In phase I, the literature was used to create a database encompassing 42 factors affecting the selection of materials. These factors were classified as four indicators (economic, environmental, socio-cultural, technical-executive) in accordance with the sustainable development aspects. In phase II, the fuzzy Delphi method (FDM) was used to screen the key factors. In phase III, an integrated fuzzy SWARA–ARAS method was used to prioritize the optimal structural system for a case project: evidence from Iran. The results of selecting the structural systems based on 14 efficient key factors showed that the Light Steel Frame (LSF), Insulation Concrete framework (ICF), and the Prefabricated Reinforced Concrete System (PRC) systems have the highest priority to achieve the goals of sustainable material selection, respectively

Au/PAr/n-CdS/ITO polymer insulated MIS structure

In this work, we present optical, structural and electrical characterizations of Au/PAr/CdS metal interlayer semiconductor diode (MIS) structure by X-Ray diffraction (XRD), ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy and curent-voltage (I-V) measurements at room temperature and in the dark. CdS was deposited onto ITO substrates by spray pyrolysing method, PAr was coated over CdS by drop-casting method and a gold metal contact was evaporated by e-beam evaporation system. The barrier height of Au/CdS (MS) structure was calculated to be 0,48eV. The barrier height of Au/PAr/CdS MIS structure was found different from that of the SBH value of Au/CdS MS structure. For the Au/PAr/CdS (MIS) structure, the barrier height, phi(B), and ideality factor, n, have been calculated as 0.61 eV and 2,25, respectively, from forward bias I-V measurements. The higher ideality factor attributed to the series resistance, R-s was calculated as 907.4 k Omega and 897.1 k Omega from Cheung functions. The effective barrier height, phi(B), and the series resistance, R-s, of the Au/PAr/CdS structure were also calculated using Norde method and found to be as 0.74 eV. and 974 k Omega respectively. The interface state density (N-ss) were obtained from the forward bias I-V characteristics at a region changing from 4x10(15) eV(-1)cm(-2) to 1x10(15) eV(-1)cm(-2). The charge transport mechanism of the structure were determined by the power law behaviour of the current with different exponent I proportional to Vm+1 were determined and three main slopes were found

Well-ordered nanoparticle arrays for floating gate memory applications

A non-volatile floating gate memory device containing well-ordered Au nanoparticles (NPs) is fabricated as a metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitor structure. With superior control on the size, shape and position of nanoparticles, the presented nano-floating gate memory (NFGM) device possesses almost perfect precision of device geometry. The well-ordered Au NPs embedded within the memory device exhibit large memory window at low operation voltages (8.8V @ 15V), fast operation time (<10(-4) s) and good retention (up to 10(7) s). In this work, the structural properties of the NFGM device are correlated with the examined electrical properties. The current results are compared with the other studies in the literature to emphasis the advantages of the precise ordering and geometry of the NPs

İnşaat Sektöründe Büyük Ölçekli Kuruluşlarda BİT Strateji ve Yatırımları

<p>İnşaat Sektöründe Faaliyet Gösteren   Büyük Ölçekli Kuruluşlarda Bilgi ve İletişim Teknolojisi Strateji ve Yatırımları’nın Rolünün Belirlenmesi</p

Dielectric Response and Capacitance Measurements of Ag/ PVAc-Si /p-Si Structure

In this study, the effect of Poly(vinyl acetate) latex with Silicone surfactant (shortly PVAc-Si) thin film on the dielectric and capacitance-voltage properties of Ag / PVAc-Si /p-Si (MIS) structure were investigated. The dielectric characterization was obtained by impedance spectroscopy technique between 40 Hz-110 MHz at room temperature. The capacitance-voltage measurements were performed to clarify the flat band voltage of the sample. The frequency dependence of the real and imaginary parts of the complex impedance function indicated a space charge polarization. The Nyquist plots confirmed a single Debye type relaxation. The real and imaginary components of the complex dielectric function implied the effect of the grain and grain boundary effects in the material. Alternative current (ac) conductivity versus frequency curve of the structures displayed two different conductivity regimes. Nearly dc conductivity for the low frequencies and the dispersive region of the high-frequency band was obtained. The increase in ac conductivity with increasing frequency has been explained in the context of the Quantum Mechanical Tunneling (QMT) mechanism for PVAc-Si film-induced devices. According to the capacitance-voltage measurement, it is also shown that there is a hysteresis for flat band capacitance in between the applied forward and reverse voltage. Reduction of this hysteresis is achieved by the applied voltage across terminals of the PVAc-Si film-induced MIS structure. This controllable reduction in hysteresis may find a place in an application for floating gate memory devices. This study also provides to understand the effect of insulator layer thickness on the dielectric behavior of MIS devices