Search

This study aims to identify and reduce waste in PT Rajapaksi Adya Perkasa manufacturing company. The analysis uses the concept of green productivity with Green Value Stream Mapping as the analysis model. Through the GVSM current state, this study calculates the amount of green waste in the production line including seven green waste. The result of this study shows an improvement to minimize the waste that occurs through the GVSM future state. GVSM technique increases the green productivity value from 1.12 to 1.81.

In this paper, we establish second-order KKT conditions of a set-valued optimization problem and study second-order Mond-Weir, Wolfe, and mixed types duals with the help of second-order contingent epiderivative and second-order generalized cone convexity assumptions.

This article presents a methodology to solve a three dimensional bounded transportation problem. Bounded transportation problem is expounded by defining a parallel bounded transportation problem. Equivalence between the two problems is established. The proposed model is applied to public distribution system of North Delhi. A computing software LINGO 17:0 is used to solve the application.

The aim of our paper is to obtain efficient solutions to the interval multi-objective linear programming (IMOLP) models. In this paper, we propose a new method to determine the efficient solutions in the IMOLP models by using the expected value and variance operators (EVV operators). First, we define concepts of the expected value, variance, and uncertainty distributions, and present some properties of the EVV operators. Then, we introduce the IMOLP model under these operators. An IMOLP model consist of separate ILPs, but using the EVV operators and the uncertainty distributions, it can be converted into the interval linear programming (ILP) models under the EVV operators (EVV-ILP model). We show that optimal solutions of the EEV-ILP model are the efficient solutions of IMOLP models with uncertainty variables. The proposed method, which is called EVV, is not hard to solve. Finally, Monte Carlo simulation is used to show its performance assessment.

We present the mathematical modeling for the problem of choosing rooms and proctoring crews for massive tests, together with its implementation as the open-box system RaPID-Omega. The mathematical model is a binary integer programming problem: a combination of the 0-1 Knapsack problem and the job-assignment problem. The model makes decisions according the following criteria in order of priority: minimization of labor-hours, maximization of equity in the distribution of duties and maximization of the proctoring quality. The software is a digital solution for the aforementioned problem, which is a common need in educational institutions offering large, coordinated, lower-division courses. The system can be downloaded from \url{https://sites.google.com/a/unal.edu.co/fernando-a-morales-j/home/research/software}, 21 pages, 12 tables

One of the most important properties of graphs that represents real complex systems is community structure, or clustering, i.e., organizing vertices in cohesive groups with high concentration of edges within individual groups and low concentration of edges between vertices in different groups. In this paper, we analyze Exponential Quality function for network clustering. We consider different classes of artificial networks from literature and analyze whether the maximization of Exponential Quality function tends to merge or split clusters in optimal partition even if they are unambiguously defined. Our theoretical results show that Exponential Quality function detects the expected and reasonable clusters in all classes of instances and the Modularity function does not.

The packaging industry in India is predicted to grow at 18% annually. In recent years Packaging becomes a potential marketing tool. The marketer should design the packaging of high quality from customer perspective. As the research in the area of packaging is very few, study of quality attributes of Packaging is the need of the hour and inevitable. An empirical research was conducted by applying Kano Model. The researcher is interested to find out the perception of the customers on 22 quality attributes of packaging. 500 respondents which were selected randomly were asked about their experience of packing on everyday commodities through a well-structured questionnaire. The classification of attribute as must-be quality, one-dimensional quality, attractive quality, indifferent quality and reverse quality was done by three methods. Marketer should make a note of it and prioritise the attributes for customer satisfaction.

Traditional decision-making models assume full rationality of all actors. Nevertheless, the practice has shown that the behavior and choices of actors are influenced by many factors such as motives, beliefs, opinions, personal and social preferences, as well as cognitive biases. Moreover, it has already been proven that people have limitations in their ability to collect relevant information and respond to them, i.e., they are bounded rational. All this has contributed to the development of behavioral models in many disciplines including game theory. This paper provides a detailed review of the literature regarding behavioral models of strategic decision making. Bounded rationality and other cognitive biases in the strategic interactions are illustrated through the findings of numerous experimental studies.

The Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) is receiving considerable attention as an essential decision analysis technique and becoming a leading method. This paper describes a new version of TOPSIS with interval data and capability to deal with all types of criteria. An improved structure of the TOPSIS is presented to deal with high uncertainty in engineering and engineering decision-making. The proposed Range Target-based Criteria and Interval Data model of TOPSIS (TOPSIS-RTCID) achieves the core contribution in decision making theories through a distinct normalization formula for cost and benefits criteria in scale of point and range target-based values. It is important to notice a very interesting property of the proposed normalization formula being opposite to the usual one. This property can explain why the rank reversal problem is limited. The applicability of the proposed TOPSIS-RTCID method is examined with several empirical litreture’s examples with comparisons, sensitivity analysis, and simulation. The authors have developed a new tool with more efficient, reliable and robust outcomes compared to that from other available tools. The complexity of an engineering design decision problem can be resolved through the development of a well-structured decision making method with multiple attributes. Various decision approches developed for engineering design have neglected elements that should have been taken into account. Through this study, engineering design problems can be resolved with greater reliability and confidence.

Introduction: Universities are concerned and aware about climate change and sustainable issues in Information Technology (IT). Green IT is the practice of designing, manufacturing, using and disposing of computers, servers and associated equipment with minimal or no impact to the environment. In order to investigate how university handles this, the objective of this article is to research implementation of Green IT study cases in the university environment and to report the practices and results of this application. Method: To develop this work a systematic review was carried out, a research protocol was defined based on the last 10 years of scientific publications in the ACM, IEEE and Scopus periodical databases. The process was done in two stages comprehending the search in journals databases and the systematic analysis of the articles chosen that were related to the research topic. The findings of this study are case studies, on how to start a project, technologies, difficulties and benefits of the implementation. The research was limited to the qualitative documental analysis of scientific articles. Results: As a result, nine articles were identified which reported application practices of Green IT in universities, including studies from Africa, America, Asia, Europe and Oceania. Conclusions: The study contributed with an overview about IT sustainability practices and helped to understand the universe of Green IT applied to universities. Introdução: as universidades estão preocupadas e cientes das mudanças climáticas e questões de sustentabilidade em Tecnologia da Informação (TI). TI Verde é a prática de projetar, fabricar, usar e descartar computadores, servidores e equipamentos associados com o mínimo ou nenhum impacto no meio ambiente. Objetivo: o objetivo deste artigo é examinar a implementação de casos de estudo de TI Verde no ambiente universitário a partir das práticas e resultados relatados em artigos científicos para ter um melhor entendimento de como as universidades estão lidando com estes. problemas. Metodologia: para o desenvolvimento deste trabalho, foi realizada uma revisão sistemática e definido um protocolo de pesquisa com base nas publicações científicas nas bases de dados de periódicos ACM, IEEE e Scopus nos últimos dez anos. O processo foi realizado em duas etapas de compreensão da busca nas bases de dados de periódicos e da análise sistemática dos artigos escolhidos relacionados ao tema da pesquisa. Resultados: foram identificados nove artigos da África, América, Ásia, Europa e Oceania, que relataram a prática de aplicação de TI Verde em universidades. Por meio dos casos estudados, discute-se como iniciar um projeto, tecnologias e dificuldades e benefícios da implementação dos mesmos. Conclusões: este estudo apresenta uma visão geral de algumas práticas de sustentabilidade em TI, que ajudam a compreender o universo da TI Verde aplicada às universidades. A pesquisa se limita à análise documental qualitativa de artigos científicos.

Introdução: A temática Evolução Biológica permeia transversalmente todas as áreas do conhecimento das Ciências Biológicas. Ainda assim, é carente de respostas que conectem o nosso presente ao passado, principalmente quando os objetos de estudo são invertebrados, pelo fato do difícil registro das estruturas morfofisiológicas desses organismos. Método: O presente estudo buscou realizar um levantamento na literatura científica brasileira no Google Acadêmico, no Redalyc, no SciELO e no Scopus dos últimos 10 anos (2010 – 2020) a respeito de estudos em Evolução relacionados ao filo Cnidaria, no Nordeste do Brasil, utilizando cinco search strings previamente pensadas para condução da busca sobre o tema sugerido. Resultados: Foram encontrados 870 arquivos. E apesar da variação de palavras, depois da triagem, apenas 16 trabalhos foram computados. Trabalhos que tinham como áreas de conhecimento: Paleobiologia, Taxonomia integrativa, Biologia Molecular e Filogeografia. Nos trabalhos encontrados, Anthozoa foi a Classe de Cnidaria mais representativa. O estado de Pernambuco teve a maior contribuição de estudos para a região. Conclusão: Ainda que a busca tenha sido de trabalhos dos últimos 10 anos (2010 – 2020), os resultados dão um panorama parcial do real problema que é a falta de estudos que abranjam o tema Evolução, quando se trata de cnidários na região Nordeste do Brasil. Não se exclui a possibilidade da existência de outros trabalhos nesse período, mas com as limitações da pesquisa e os instrumentos de busca utilizados os resultados demonstraram, mesmo que superficialmente, uma problemática geral, carente de estudos e interesse pela temática por parte dos pesquisadores.

Introduction: University students had problems understanding texts. This study aimed at analyzing the effects of classifying vocabulary into parts of speech through Google Sheets to improve students’ word recognition and its incidence in reading comprehension. It analyzes the students’ perspectives on learning vocabulary. Method: The study used an action research method, pre-post surveys, and pre-post tests were applied. Results: The findings proved that classifying “parts of speech” facilitated the improvement of reading comprehension skills, with an effect size of d=0.81. Second, it confirmed that knowing vocabulary form raises students’ awareness to identify and classify words correctly. Third, the application of the study changed positively participants’ perspectives regarding learning vocabulary. Conclusion: Therefore, due to Ecuadorian learners’ need in training and to the little literature about parts of speech, the positive results of this action research can be a venue to reduce those gaps. Introdução: Estudantes universitários tiveram problemas para entender textos. Assim, este estudo teve como objetivo analisar os efeitos da classificação do vocabulário em partes do discurso por meio do Google Planilhas para melhorar o reconhecimento de palavras dos alunos e sua incidência na compreensão da leitura. Além disso, o estudo analisou as perspectivas dos estudantes sobre o vocabulário de aprendizagem. Metodologia: O estudo utilizou um método de pesquisa-ação, foram aplicadas um pré e pós questionário e um pré e pós teste. Resultados: Os resultados provaram que a classificação de "partes do discurso" facilitou a melhoria das habilidades de compreensão leitora, com um tamanho de efeito de d = 0,81. Segundo, confirmou que conhecer o formulário de vocabulário aumenta a conscientização dos alunos para identificar e classificar as palavras corretamente. Terceiro, a aplicação do estudo mudou positivamente a perspectiva dos participantes em relação a aprendizagem de vocabulário. Conclusão: Portanto, devido à necessidade de treinamento dos alunos equatorianos e à pouca literatura sobre partes do discurso, os resultados positivos dessa pesquisa-ação podem ser uma oportunidade para reduzir essas lacunas.

Introdução: A adolescência e os seus riscos dependem de vários aspectos, entre eles os contextos em que o jovem está inserido. Objetiva-se identificar contextos sociais e familiares de estudantes do 9º ano do Ensino Fundamental em Fortaleza nos anos de 2012 e 2015 que autorrelataram sofrer agressão física efetuada por um adulto da família. Método: Estudo seccional, base populacional, utilizando dados da Pesquisa Nacional de Saúde do Escolar (PeNSE), 2012 e 2015. Amostra composta por estudantes do 9º ano do Ensino Fundamental (PeNSE 2012- n=54 escolas e PeNSE 2015- n=50 escolas) da cidade de Fortaleza/CE. Realizou-se o download do banco em formato Excel® 2010, seguido de padronização e análise da consistência interna. Utilizou-se o software SPSS®, versão 20®, por meio do módulo survey analisys. Resultados: Os jovens moram com a mãe e não realizam alguma refeição com seus responsáveis. Os escolares afirmaram que seus responsáveis não fumavam e a escolaridade materna apresentou uma evolução para Ensino Superior ou pós-graduação. Eles estão se envolvendo mais em briga com uso de arma de fogo e uso de arma branca. Observa-se ampliação da prevalência dos que relatam ter sofrido alguma agressão física na quantidade de vezes, nos últimos 12 meses, em que se envolveram em briga com agressão física, foram seriamente feridos e tiveram maior quantidade de episódios de agressão. Conclusão:Recomenda-se mais estudos voltados para a temática, logo servem de embasamento para a criação de políticas públicas. Introduction: adolescence and its risks depend on several aspects, including the contexts in which the young person is inserted. The objective is to identify social and family contexts of students in the 9th grade of elementary school in Fortaleza in 2012 and 2015 who self-reported suffering physical aggression by an adult in the family. Method: sectional study, population based, using data from the National School Health Survey (PeNSE), 2012 and 2015. Sample made up of 9th grade students in elementary school (PeNSE 2012- n = 54 and PeNSE 2015- n = 50) fromthe city of Fortaleza / CE. The databasewas downloaded in Excel 2010 format, followed by standardization and internal consistency analysis. The SPSS software, version 20, was used through the survey analysis module. Results: young people live with their mother and do not have a meal with their parents. The students stated that their guardians did not smoke and that their maternal education showed an evolution to Higher Education or post-graduation. They are getting more involved in fighting with the use of a firearm and the use of a melee weapon. There is an increase in the prevalence of those who report having suffered some physical aggression in the number of times, in the last 12 months, in which they were involved in a fight with physical aggression, were seriously injured and had a greater number of episodes of aggression. Conclusions: it is recommended that more studies focused on the theme, soon serve as a basis for the creation of public policies.

Introduction: For contemporary science, data sharing is a key element for its progress and collaboration among scientific communities. In the context of open science and e-science, information science investigates solutions to the challenges of treating and using information. The current lack of knowledge of the importance of digital curation activities of scientific data and the degree of adherence to this new scenario, cause difficulties for the information professional to adapt in this context and contribute solutions to the challenges of digital curation. It aims to investigate the importance that the digital curation activities of scientific data have for the area of Information Science in Brazil, in face of the international trend of scientific knowledge management. Methods: The research follows a quantitative approach, it is applied in nature and exploratory and descriptive. It uses procedures of a survey with Survey, to obtain information from the Digital Curator through the opinion of Brazilian researchers in the area of Information Science. Results: The information analyzed reveals that the field of Brazilian Information Science is seeking to adapt in this scenario. Conclusions: The data allow us to affirm that there is not a sufficiently assimilated awareness by the researchers of Information Science regarding the need for more conscious and committed involvement in Digital Curation activities. New research is indicated to deepen this discussion. Para a ciência contemporânea, o compartilhamento de dados constitui elemento primordial para seu progresso e colaboração entre comunidades científicas. No contexto da ciência aberta e e-science, a ciência da informação investiga soluções para os desafios do tratamento e uso da informação. O desconhecimento atual da importância das atividades de curadoria digital dos dados científicos e do grau de adesão com esse novo cenário, causam dificuldades para o profissional da informação se adequar nesse contexto e contribuir com soluções para os desafios de curadoria digital. O objetivo da pesquisa é investigar a importância que as atividades de Curadoria digital de dados científicos têm para a área da Ciência da Informação no Brasil, frente à tendência internacional do gerenciamento do conhecimento científico. A pesquisa segue abordagem quantitativa, é de natureza aplicada e do tipo exploratória e descritiva. Utilizou-se de procedimentos de uma pesquisa com Survey, para obter informações da Curadoria Digital por meio da opinião dos pesquisadores brasileiros da área da Ciência da Informação. As informações analisadas revelam que o campo da Ciência da Informação brasileira está buscando se adaptar nesse cenário. Os dados permitem afirmar, que ainda não há uma conscientização suficientemente assimilada pelos pesquisadores da Ciência da Informação em relação à necessidade de envolvimento mais consciente e comprometido nas atividades de Curadoria Digital. Novas pesquisas são indicadas para aprofundar esta discussão.

Introdução: Com base nos princípios de categorização, o estudo relata uma pesquisa em andamento sobre o categorias para sistematização de conceitos em gestão do conhecimento. Objetivo: Objetiva criar uma taxonomia-de-base-em-conceito para o domínio da Gestão do Conhecimento (GC), cujo resultado poderá minimizar a confusão conceitual entre especialistas, promovendo uma melhor comunicação e também o crescimento da especialidade. Metodologia: Como recurso metodológico da abordagem de análise de domínio, uma revisão sistemática de literatura se fez necessária com o objetivo de identificar e definir as categorias que irão compor o referido esquema de classificação. Conclusão: Como resultado, duas grandes categorias foram criadas, além de sete subcategorias correspondentes. Como etapas seguintes, pretende-se definir os conceitos, que passarão por um processo de sistematização em cadeias hierárquicas, cumprindo assim o objetivo geral da pesquisa que é a criação de uma taxonomia para o domínio da GC.

Introduction: Due to the constant changes in the corporate scenario, processes and products tend to be rethought. Admitting education as an element of organizational support, this article aims to discuss the importance of creating a Corporate University - UC, based on the Corporate Education - CE, Knowledge Management - KM and Innovation Management - IM pillars. Method: The research adopted a bibliographic review and semi-structured interviews, in a sample of three companies that already have UC. The collected data were submitted to discourse analysis. Results: There was confirmation of the importance of the defined pillars, with definition of steps for the implementation of the UC. Conclusion: The need to align the offer of educational actions to the organization's strategies was realized, protecting the knowledge already built and generating opportunities for innovation in companies, in order to adjust them to the demands of the market and customers. New research is proposed in private and multinational institutions, investigating not only UC practices, but also the peculiarities of KM and IM in different contexts. Introdução: Devido às constantes mudanças do cenário corporativo, processos e produtos tendem a ser repensados. Admitindo a educação como elemento de sustentação organizacional, este artigo visa discutir a importância da criação de uma Universidade Corporativa – UC, com base nos Pilares Educação Corporativa – EC, Gestão do Conhecimento - GC e Gestão da Inovação – GI. Método: A pesquisa adotou a revisão bibliográfica e entrevistas semiestruturadas em uma amostra de três empresas que já possuem UC. Os dados coletados foram submetidos à análise de discurso. Resultados: Houve a confirmação da importância dos Pilares delimitados, com definição de etapas para a concretização da UC. Conclusão: Percebeu-se a necessidade de alinhar a oferta de ações educacionais às estratégias da organização, proteger os conhecimentos já construídos e gerar oportunidades para a inovação nas empresas, a fim de ajustá-las às demandas do mercado e clientes. Propõem-se novas pesquisas em instituições privadas e multinacionais, investigando não somente práticas de UC, mas também as peculiaridades de GC e GI em diferentes contextos.

Introduction: The present study addresses different themes that are on the agenda in the contemporary social context: Information Management, Knowledge Management (KM) and the potential tourism scenario that, mediated by competitiveness, outline the strategies for insertion, maintenance and growth of organizations. The digital tools combined with the great flow of information have allowed organizations of any size or nature to compete with organizations already consolidated and thus responding to the needs of tourist destinations and their demand. Objective: The objective is to identify, in the specialized literature, researches that discuss the role of KM in the construction of Smart Tourist Destinations (STD), and how Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are related to practices that allow a better understanding of STD. Method: It develops a descriptive research, since it proposes to delineate the relationship of the STD and KM studies, using bibliometric research as the data collection and analysis technique. For data collection, the Web of Science and Tourism Publications platforms were used, which provide material from journals in the area, using the terms: Knowledge Management in Tourism Smart Tourism Destination; Knowledge Management and Intelligent Tourist Destinations. Conclusion: The results showed that the terms converge to five different fields of research and that there is little portrayal of KM in the construction of a STD. International publications point to an emphasis on the management of these destinations, while Brazilian publications prioritize information and open an opportunity to be explored in the field of intelligent tourist destinations. Introdução: Aborda diferentes temas que estão em pauta no contexto social contemporâneo: Gestão da Informação, Gestão do Conhecimento (GC) e o potencial cenário turístico que, mediados pela competitividade, contribuem para delinear as estratégias de inserção, manutenção e crescimento das organizações. As ferramentas digitais, aliadas ao grande fluxo de informação, permitiram que organizações de qualquer porte ou natureza competissem com organizações já consolidadas e assim respondessem às necessidades dos destinos turísticos e sua demanda. Objetivo: Objetiva identificar, na literatura especializada, pesquisas que discutam o papel da GC na construção dos destinos turísticos inteligentes (DTI), e de que forma as Tecnologias da Informação e Comunicação (TICs) estão relacionadas às práticas que permitem uma melhor compreensão dos DTI. Metodologia: Desenvolve uma pesquisa descritiva, uma vez que se propõe a delinear a relação dos estudos de DTI e GC e utiliza como técnica de coleta e análise de dados a pesquisa bibliométrica. Para a coleta de dados foram utilizadas as plataformas Web of Science e Publicações de Turismo, que disponibilizam material de revistas da área, utilizando os termos: Knowledge Management in Tourism; Smart Tourism Destination; Gestão do Conhecimento e Destinos Turísticos Inteligentes. Conclusão: Os resultados demonstraram que os termos convergem para cinco diferentes linhas de pesquisa e pouco se retrata a GC na construção de um DTI. As publicações internacionais apontam uma ênfase para a gestão desses destinos, enquanto as publicações brasileiras priorizam a informação e abrem uma oportunidade a ser explorada no campo dos destinos turísticos inteligentes.

Introduction: Management is essential for meeting the requirements of a project and the computational tools of Business Intelligence (BI) have great potential to contribution, providing management information about the business. Tools of this type are used in several sectors of the industry, but in civil construction, the focus of this work, the scenario is different, with much to aadvance. Therefore, a survey of BI tools applicable to the construction sector and its uses ar presented. Method: It conducts a systematic review of the literature, which analyzed 595 articles from six databases (ACM, Engineering Village, IEEE, Material Science Engineering, Science Direct, Scopus and Web of Science). Results: It identifies12 different applications, mainly in cost management, budget and job security. In the applications, uses of Data Warehouse and OLAP technologies were evidenced. In addition, it was found that most BI tools were developed for each company to the detriment of commercial software. Conclusion: There are several BI tools for civil construction, with different purposes. Most softwares were developed for each case studied due to the unique characteristics of the construction sector. It is believed that the large-scale adoption of the tools involves cooperation between companies, class entities and universities. Limitations were found in the research regarding the characterization of companies, due to the absence of this data in the analyzed articles. Finally, it is suggested that the challenges of implementing the technologies and the verified limitations can be addressed in future studies. Introdução: A gestão é essencial para que se cumpram os requisitos de um projeto, e as ferramentas computacionais de Business Intelligence (BI) têm grande potencial de contribuição, fornecendo informações gerenciais sobre o negócio. Ferramentas desse tipo são utilizadas em diversos setores da indústria, porém na construção civil, foco deste trabalho, o cenário é diferente, com muito a avançar. Diante disso, apresenta-se um levantamento das ferramentas de BI aplicáveis ao setor da construção e suas utilizações. Método: Conduz uma revisão sistemática da literatura, que analisou 595 artigos de seis bases de dados (ACM, Engineering Village, IEEE, Material Science Engineering, Science Direct, Scopus e Web of Science). Resultados: Identifica 12 diferentes aplicações, principalmente na área de gestão de custos, orçamento da obra e segurança do trabalho. Nas aplicações, foram evidenciadas utilizações das tecnologias de Data Warehouse e OLAP. Verifica que a maioria das ferramentas de BI foram desenvolvidas para cada empresa em detrimento dos softwares comerciais. Conclusão: Existem diversas ferramentas de BI para a construção civil, com diferentes aplicações. A maioria dos softwares foram desenvolvidos para cada caso estudado devido às características únicas do setor da construção. A adoção em larga escala das ferramentas passe pela cooperação entre empresas, entidades de classe e universidades. Verifica limitações na pesquisa quanto à caracterização das empresas, devido à ausência desses dados nos artigos analisados. Sugere que os desafios de implementação das tecnologias e as limitações verificadas sejam abordados em estudos futuros.

Since the creation of the demand-driven material requirement planning (DDMRP) model, numerous studies have analysed the methodology’s significant impact on different organisations. Several successful cases and research studies into DDMRP have demonstrated that the methodology is beneficial to organisations because it increases their service level and stock adjustments; however, there is a dearth of literature regarding the steps necessary to implement this model successfully. This document delivers a systematic review of the literature based on the work done by Kitchenham (2004) with the aim of analysing studies that investigate the standardization of the process of implementing the model. Once the lack of research has been demonstrated, a possible line of future research can be outlined to standardise the implementation process of the DDMRP model to achieve its full potential.

In this paper, we apply a sliding mode control for reaction wheeled inverted pendulum. The stability of system under this method is guaranteed by Lyapunov criteria. Then, simulation results are shown to demonstrate the ability of the sliding controller. Due to the uncertainty of system parameters of experimental model, the better controller on simulation is regarded to have more robustness in stabilizing real system. Thence, the genetic algorithm is used to find the better sliding control parameters on simulation. These parameters are applied for the controller in experiment. Under this sliding controller, the real model is balanced well. Therefore, sliding method is proved to work well in both simulation and experiment on reaction wheeled inverted pendulum.

In this paper the authors presents information regarding spherical mobile robots. The first part of the paper contains general aspects and a complex classification of spherical mobile robots. The second part of the paper presents the application fields and a proposed design of spherical mobile robot.

The University Politehnica of Timisoara (former Polytechnic School and Traian Vuia Polytechnic Institute) was founded on the basis of the Royal Decree no. 4822, from 11 November 1920. Since1920, the university has constantly grown, now being one of the largest technical universities in Central and Eastern Europe. Professors and scientists from University Politehnica of Timisoara and from other main universities of Romania initiated, 30 years ago, Robotica & Management journal. Thus, in 1990, Robotica & Management journal had its first appearance, being the official journal of Association for Robotics in Romania.

In many cases of sliding control, the exact nonlinear functions of dynamic equations are difficult to be obtained. Because of this reason, the uncertainty of nonlinear functions of system can cause bad response under sliding control. In this paper, we suggest an adaptive fuzzy sliding control method which can balance a SIMO system. This method still guarantees the stability of system by Lyapunov criteria. Otherwise, the problem of uncertainty of nonlinear system is solved. The object chosen in this paper is pendubot - a popular model in control laboratory. The success of this method is proved by simulation results.

This paper aims to enlighten the virtual labs technology as a form of untraditional education in 21 century, it will focus on defining V-labs, their importance, and the possibility of applying them starting from the reality of V-labs technique, and the policy of inserting them in educational management.

The extremely rapid development of the welding technology has forced the automation - and then the robotization of manufacturing processes - from the 70s to the 80s. In the beginning one have chosen those applications with simpler and more precise parts. Therefore, the robots (nonadaptive at that time) were able to weld good enough the structures. Afterwards, the components required to be welded with a robot became increasingly complex and imprecise. It became necessary to equip the robotic systems with adaptive functions, first with the geometric adaptivity only, then with process adaptivity too. At present, robots with an expanded adaptability are becoming more and more applied to common parts, whose preparation for welding costs less obviously. The paper presents the structure and functioning of the adaptive robotic systems for electric arc welding, especially the sensory device and their adaptive regulators, as well as the specific developments of the welding equipment necessary for them to be successfully integrated into adaptive cells and systems. After introducing systems implemented in major European factories, solutions that work in the Romanian energy industry are described.

The solution presented in this paper demonstrates that even a simple three layers deep, fully connected neural network has the capacity to learn relatively complex tasks as lane keeping and steering a model vehicle by just observing the images from the front facing QVGA camera.

The crisis brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic will change education forever. The premise from which we started is that, from now on the school will combine classical face-to-face learning with online learning, because it corresponds to the mind and way of thinking of the current generation of children who have grown up in constant contact with new technologies. However, conducting online lessons means preparing teachers to be able to cope with online activities and equipping schools and students with the necessary e-learning technologies. E-learning means not only "a continuity of learning" but also a "pedagogical continuity". Today's education must be different from the past one for the sole reason that, in "today's times", the only certainty is continuous change and young people will always be put in the situation of adapting on the fly in order to be "smart" with technology and not " useless people". The skills acquired will aim to make young people "think for themselves" critically and creatively. IT tools for online learning must be very friendly to students and very easy to us.

The efficiency of a Variable neighborhood search metaheuristic for continuous global optimization problems greatly depends on geometric shape of neighborhood structures used by the algorithm. Among the neighborhoods defined by balls in ?p, 1 ?p ? ? metric, we tested the ?1, ?2, and ?? ball shape neighborhoods, for which there exist efficient algorithms for obtaining uniformly distributed points. On many challenging high-dimensional problems, our exhaustive testings showed that, popular and the easiest for implementation, ?? ball shape of neighborhoods performed the worst, and much better efficiency was obtained with ?1 and ?2.

To compare the geometry of two or more geometric structures consisting of N ordered points, which can be considered as solids in three-dimensional space, a method based on the minimization of a certain comparison function is developed. This function is the sum of squared distances between pairs of elements of the two structures under comparison with the same indices. Distances change when changing the mutual orientation of the structures with all possible shifts and rotations of the structures as rigid bodies. The comparison function is minimized by superpositioning the centers of mass of the two structures under comparison and minimizing this function with respect to Euler angles. The minimization of the comparison function with respect to Euler angles is carried out numerically by the Rosenbrock method. The comparison method of two geometric structures is used to solve problems in structural chemistry, that is, to compare two molecules with the same structural formula in one crystal.

In this paper, we consider the Markowitz mean-variance model to minimize the risk on two assets and develop the program in R software to improve the performance of the model for two real stocks data with various combinations of the portfolios. We have taken two real stocks data up to 4514 each from yahoo database finance using our R program to show how fast our calculations are.

We studied the problem of optimizing the Hausdorff distance between two convex polygons. Its minimization is chosen as the criterion of optimality. It is believed that one of the polygons can make arbitrary movements on the plane, including parallel transfer and rotation with the center at any point. The other polygon is considered to be motionless. Iterative algorithms for the phased shift and rotation of the polygon are developed and implemented programmatically, providing a decrease in the Hausdorff distance between it and the fixed polygon. Theorems on the correctness of algorithms for a wide class of cases are proved. Moreover, the geometric properties of the Chebyshev center of a compact set and the differential properties of the Euclidean function of distance to a convex set are essentially used. When implementing the software package, it is possible to run multiple times in order to identify the best found polygon position. A number of examples are simulated. © 2020 Faculty of Organizational Sciences, Belgrade. All rights reserved.

The fundamental of any supply chain revolves primarily between the production and pricing decisions. The most influential factor that affects the sales decision is the price of the product which radically affects the configuration of the demand. Further, while holding the produced goods the occurrence of deterioration is a common a phenomenon which may lead to an excessive loss if left untreated, thus, an investment in the preservation process helps in controlling deterioration efficiently. Moreover, the incorporation of the environmental factor is the need of the hour in the current situation of environmental imbalance. To address the above issues, the present paper considers volume agility so as to avoid any excessive storage and backlogging cost. Carbon-emissions and energy-usage are considered to address the environmental performance of the model. An investment in the preservation process is made so as to control the loss due to deterioration. Also, the demand for the product is taken as price-reliant. The investment in preservation, production rate and price of the product is taken as decision variable so as to maximize the total inventory turnover. The paper is analyzed for its validity and robustness through numerical and sensitivity analysis. The wide-ranging applicability of the developed study is also provided.

In this article, we develop a new method to solve the variational problems with exponential $(p,r)$-invex functionals. For both the considered variational problem and its original Mond-Weir dual variational, the associated $\eta$-approximated variational problem and its associated $\eta$-approximated Mond-Weir dual variational problem are constructed, respectively. Then, several duality results for the considered variational problem and its Mond-Weir dual variational problem are proved by the help of duality results established between $\eta$-approximated variational problems mentioned above.

Retail industry has witnessed enormous growth in the past decade in developing countries like India, China, and Brazil, owing to the upswing in globalization, growing trends in e-commerce, multi-format retailing, and increasing penetration of the internet. The growth of opportunities, on the other hand, have intensified the competition. It is important for retailers to gain a competitive edge in the market through innovative strategies and continuous improvement. Meticulous planning and efficiency in operations are the drivers for economic sustainability and profitability of the business. Important prerequisites to gain efficiency and planning for improvement is the evaluation of base level performance, defining benchmarks and evaluating effectiveness of the efforts taken in this direction. The studies in this domain existing in the literature have analysed efficiency of retail stores as a black box transforming input to outputs. This approach lacks transparency and overlooks the subprocesses, their characteristics and internal interaction and can be addressed considering the transformation process in a two stage system. Our study addresses the issue and proposes a Bi-level Programming DEA approach to evaluate the relative efficiency of multiple retail stores considering a network structure operating in a Stackelberg relation and defining benchmarks for inefficient stores. The approach enables computation of efficiency of each sub-stage as well as the overall efficiency of the stores. The proposed approach is validated through a case study of Indian electronic retail chain.

The notion of soft set theory was initiated as a general mathematical tool for handling ambiguities. Decision making is viewed as a cognitive-based human activity for selecting the best alternative. In the present time, decision making techniques based on fuzzy soft sets have gained enormous attentions. On this development, this paper proposes a new algorithm for decision making in fuzzy soft set environment by hybridizing some existing techniques. The first novelty is the idea of absolute scores. The second concerns the concept of priority table in group decision making problems. The advantages of our approach herein are stronger power of objects discrimination and a well-determined inference.

In this paper, we consider a class of transportation problems which arises in sample surveys and other areas of statistics. The associated cost matrices of these transportation problems are of special structure. We observe that the optimality of North West corner solution holds for the general problem where cost component is replaced by a convex function. We revisit assignment problem and present a weighted version of K$\ddot{\mbox{o}}$nig-Egerv$\acute{\mbox{a}}$ry theorem and Hungarian method. The weighted Hungarian method proposed in the paper can be used for solving transportation problem.

Floods are among the most persistent natural disasters that lead to massive economic and human loss globally. In this regard, this study has proposed an optimisation model for evacuating people before the occurrence of the flood using bus transit. The process of evacuation commences with the issue of warning and extends up to a certain time before the flood forecasts to strike. This model provides an optimised framework for 1) Locating pickup points and shelters, 2) Assigning pickup points to the nearest shelter by opting the shortest route among the available routes. On the basis of demand, each pickup point is allocated with a certain number of trips. The modelling of dispatch sequence of public buses, random adventing of evacuees at pickup points and evacuees transit to the shelters are presented by developing a simulation tool. The results of simulation serve for assessing the route design and then, a local search heuristic is suggested to improve the route design during the evacuation.

In this paper, we study and introduce a new type of convergence, namely (?,?)- Zweier convergence and (?,?)- Zweier ideal convergence of double sequences x = (xij) in intuitionistic fuzzy normed space (IFNS), where ? = (?n) and ?= (?m) are two non-decreasing sequences of positive real numbers such that each tending to infinity. Furthermore, we studied (?,?)- Zweier Cauchy and (?,?)- Zweier ideal Cauchy sequences on the said space and established a relation between them.

Organizations are keen on rethinking and optimizing their existing inventory strategies so as to attain profitability. The phenomenon of deterioration is a common phenomenon while managing any inventory system. However, it could become a major challenge for the business if not dealt carefully. An investment in preservation technology is by far the most inuential move towards dealing with deterioration proficiently. Additionally, it is noticed that the demand pattern of many products is reliant on its availability and usability. Thus, considering demand of the product to be ?stock-dependent" is a more practical approach. Further, in case of deteriorating items, it is observed that the longer an item stays in the system the higher is its holding cost. Therefore, the model assumes the holding cost to be time varying. Hence, the proposed framework aims to develop an inventory model for deteriorating items with stock-dependent demand and time-varying holding cost under an investment in preservation technology. The objective is to determine the optimal investment in preservation technology and the optimal cycle length so as to minimize the total cost. Numerical example with various special cases have been discussed which signifies the effect of preservation technology investment in controlling the loss due to deterioration. Finally, the effect of key model features on the optimal solution is studied through sensitivity analysis which provides some important managerial implications.

In today's World, to meet the demand of high quality and reliable software systems, it is imperative to perform comprehensive testing and debugging of the software code. The fault detection and removal rate may change over time. The time point after which the rates are changed is termed as the change point. Practically, the failure count may not coincide with the total fault count removed from the system. Their ratio is measured by Fault Reduction Factor (FRF). Here, we propose a Weibull testing effort dependent Software Reliability Growth Model with logistic FRF and change point for assessing the failure phenomenon of a software system. The models have been validated on two real software fault datasets. The parameters are estimated using Least squares and various criteria are employed to check the goodness of fit. The comparison is also facilitated with the existing models in literature to demonstrate that proposed model has better performance.

The proposed study addresses a supplier-retailer inventory problem by considering the detrimental impacts of deterioration. The inventory produced by the supplier undergoes a machine-shift and hence produces non-conforming items. The retailer uses the preservation technology so as to deal with deteriorating items ingeniously where the demand is price-sensitive at the buyer's end. Two models are developed through different means viz. Integrated and Bi-level approach and are then compared so as to impart some constructive organizational insights. Sensitivity analysis with a numerical example has been illustrated so as to establish the validity and strength of the developed models.

The output power of traffic channels in one cell of GSM like systems is estimated in this paper. We consider the real case: the number of users is much higher than the number of channels, the output power of one channel depends on the cube of the distance between a mobile user and the base station, and the distribution of users in the cell is uniform. We derive the expressions for cumulative distribution of output power of one channel and for the mean output power of the whole base station. Results of the calculation are confirmed by computer simulation.

A matrix-free direction method in association with inexact line search technique, is presented for solving systems of nonlinear equations, by means of double direction approach. In this article, we approximated the Jacobian matrix by appropriately constructed matrix-free method via acceleration parameter. The global convergence of our method is established under mild conditions. Numerical comparisons reported in this paper using a set of large scale test problems show that the proposed method is efficient for large-scale problems.

Most of the offine businesses do not run continuously for the entire day; therefore, the concept of idle time is inevitable. Natural idle time is referred to as the closing time when no demand is being fulfilled by the seller, the unproductive time when labor is not getting utilized but could be. In view of this, this paper investigates replenishment policies for the retailer who runs his business for only a part of a day and closes his shop for the remaining time. The demand gets fulfilled only during the opening time period of the day while no customer is entertained during the closing part of the day. The retailer also faces issues of imperfect quality items in the lot received from his supplier. Thus, he carries out a rigorous inspection process of the entire lot so as to fulfill the demand with perfect quality items only. Under the above-stated circumstances, it will be difficult to avoid shortages in the model. Thus, the model assumes fully backlogged shortages and is solved under a prot maximizing framework. The model is exemplified to understand its behavior. Further, to gain some managerial insights and to check the robustness of the model parameters, detailed sensitivity analysis has been performed.

Early researches related to the interaction between manufactures for complementary products, mainly considered price as only the dimension of competition. With the increasing competition in capturing the market share, manufactures cannot compete by only lowering prices. In this paper, we assume that besides the price, the manufactures choose warranty as the competitive strategy of two different but substitutable products in a duopoly supply chain with one common retailer. Furthermore, two cases are considered (i) only one manufacturer adopts warranty policy as a competitive strategy against the other, (ii) both manufacturers offer warranty on their product, to study under which situation offering a warranty becomes more profitable for a manufacturer while the other competitive manufacturer has already adopted warranty policy. The profit functions of the manufacturers and the retailer are then maximized under manufacturers' cooperative and non-cooperative strategies. We then compare the scenarios under different decision strategies numerically, which gives some insights on changes of key parameters to help the decision makers to capture the market.

The present work frames a pair of symmetric dual problems for second order nondifferentiable fractional variational problems over cone constraints with the help of support functions. Weak, strong and converse duality theorems are derived under second order F-convexity assumptions. By removing time dependency, static case of the problem is obtained. Suitable numerical example is constructed.

The present paper considers the effect of imperfect quality items on a production system which further undergoes inspection and rework. The demand of the product is price reliant. Two situations to handle the imperfect items are analyzed: selling them at a reduced price and reworking them. The demand is assumed to meet with perfect products in either case. Further, the study incorporates the carbon-emissions borne during production of goods and their holding in the inventory system. The model aims at maximizing the profit function by jointly optimizing mark-up price and production quantity. To demonstrate model characteristics, numerical and sensitivity analysis are also presented.

This work considers cooperative advertising decisions in a manufacturer-distributor-retailer supply chain, where the manufacturer is taken as the Stackelberg leader, using differential game theory. The distributor and retailer are the first and the second followers, respectively. We introduce the distributor into the traditional manufacturer-retailer channel through his direct involvement in advertising as being incorporated into the non-stochastic Sethi's sales-advertising dynamics. This is used to model the awareness share dynamics in which the distributor and the retailer directly engage in advertising, while the manufacturer bypasses the distributor to subsidise only the retail advertising effort. We consider a subsidised and unsubsidised channel structures, where each structure results in a system of three nonlinear equations, which cannot be solved analytically, but only numerically. However, we show that the unique solution to each of the systems exists, provided certain conditions are satisfied. The distributor and the retailer's advertising strategies are developed for both when subsidy is provided and when it is not provided. We also obtain the manufacturer's subsidy rate and the market awareness share for both when retail advertising is subsidised and when it is not subsidised. We observe that with the provision of subsidy, the distributor reduces his advertising effort. However, the resulting increase in the retail advertising effort is larger than the reduction in the distributor's advertising commitment, thus making the channel advertising effort larger with subsidy. It further shows that to avoid being shortchanged, each player should adopt only his optimal strategy or strategies as the case may be.

The European Union, its member states and local authorities have been working for long time on the design of solutions for future sustainable mobility. The promotion of a sustainable and affordable urban transport contemplates the bicycle as a mean of transport. The reasons for analysing the cycling mobility in urban areas, has its origin in the confrontation with motorized vehicles, as a sustainable response to the environment. In this context of sustainable mobility, the research team has studied the use of bicycles in Mediterranean cities, specifically in coastal tourist areas. The present work shows the development of a mobility index oriented to the bicycle, transport that competes with the private vehicle. By means of a survey methodology, the research group proceeded to collect field data and the subsequent analysis of them, for the development of a mobility index adapted to bicycle mobility, and with possibilities to adapt to urban environments.

In this uncertain environment, disaster may happen at any point in time or physical location that may be of the kind earthquake, flood, tornadoes, hurricanes, among others. If any disaster happens, organizations (private or government) start to provide facilities as evacuation and supply of relief commodities in the affected regions. This paper formulates an inventory-relief-chain (IRC) model with the relief supply chain for the distribution of the relief commodity. The results of the model provide the optimal number of intermediate distribution centers and relief centers. However, in the study, every relief center is considered to distribute the relief commodity because in disaster conditions every relief center is inescapable. The model is formulated with a core objective to optimize the total cost of the relief operation. An algorithm is proposed to nd the optimal solution of the proposed model. Furthermore, a numerical analysis is carried out with a numerical example to validate the efficiency of the algorithm. The sensitivity analysis is done over the optimal solution and the respective parameters of the model. The sensitivity analysis represents the strength of the model, to what extent these parameters are sensitive to the objective. The model assists relief organizations in managing relief supplies for disaster responses.