Search results for "programming."

Combining workload balance and patient priority maximisation in operating room planning through hierarchical multi-objective optimisation

2022

Abstract Previous analysis suggested the opportunity to consider the preferences of different stakeholders (hospital, patients, doctors and nurses) through the adoption of both patient priority maximisation and workload balance as performance criteria. The aim of this paper is to develop an effective and efficient solution approach for the operating room planning and scheduling capable to take into account the patient priority maximisation and workload balance criteria at the same time. This work is inspired by the need of a deeper understanding of the quality of the solutions obtained when a combination of the two criteria leads the OR planning decisions. Starting from a hierarchical multi…

Romanian Folk Literature in Our Classes: A Proposal for the Development of Intercultural Competence

2015

Abstract The present research highlights the ways in which folk literature, this valuable tool that contributes to students’ formation from both a human and literary perspective, can promote intercultural competence in class and foster a better integration within the community, while consolidating favorable attitudes towards interculturality. We share Rodriguez Almodovar's view (2009), according to which the folk story makes the geographic space expand; it channels affectivity, while guiding the learning process towards the acceptance of social values that are representative for each culture. The objectives of our study are focused, on the one hand, on improving intercultural competence amo…

The effectiveness of office information systems: a social action perspective

1991

. The purpose of this paper is to show that a number of basic issues have not been adequately addressed in existing office information systems research. Prominent among these are the nature and role of offices, the goals of office information systems development, and the nature of its organizational and managerial consequences. It is proposed that office information systems should be analysed as social action systems the behaviour of which is strongly affected by socially determined forces and constraints such as the behaviour-channelling influences of authority, norms, customs, habits and precedence. Four types of social action are discussed: instrumental, strategic, communicative and disc…

Knowledge Creation - A Perspective on the Development of Design Principles

2020

In this paper we reflect on and conceptualize on the development of design principles in a design process. We use the concept of ba to describe how design principles can be created when involving users, domain experts, designers and researchers in the design process. The study applies action design research (ADR) to design and develop a self-reflective career support tool for persons with intellectual disabilities (ID). We have applied processes of knowledge creation and their corresponding ba, the originating ba, the interacting ba, the systemizing ba and the exercising ba to conceptualize the development of design principles. Preliminary findings imply that a structured process of knowled…

Reducing disruptive behaviours and improving learning climates with class-wide positive behaviour support in middle schools

2014

Disruptive behaviours in classrooms pose a significant challenge for learning in schools and are, at the same time, a risk factor for students’ academic achievement and a major source for work-related stress among teachers. Earlier research suggests that clarifying the classroom rules and behavioural expectations, monitoring students’ adherence to them and using behaviour-specific praise are simple and effective practices to reduce disruptive behaviour. Most of the interventions have been developed for elementary schools, although behaviour problems tend to be more common in middle schools. This two-month pilot study using a pre–post design evaluated the effects of a class-wide intervention…

A Control Problem for a Class of Epidemics

2003

We consider a mathematical model corresponding to a class of epidemics. Controlling an epidemic is usually difficult. To implement the control policy suggested by a mathematical analysis in the real world is never easy. However, suggestions can be given to the public authorities about the effects of a particular control policy, and in this sense analysis and simulation by mathematical models becomes a powerful tool.

Heuristic Solutions for a Class of Stochastic Uncapacitated p-Hub Median Problems

2019

In this work, we propose a heuristic procedure for a stochastic version of the uncapacitated r-allocation p-hub median problem with nonstop services. In particular, we assume that the number of hubs to which a terminal can be allocated is bounded from above by r. Additionally, we consider the possibility of shipping traffic directly between terminals (nonstop services). Uncertainty is associated with the traffic to be shipped between nodes and with the transportation costs. If we assume that such uncertainty can be captured by a finite set of scenarios, each of which with a probability known in advance, it is possible to develop a compact formulation for the deterministic equivalent proble…

Learning by Teaching and Assessing: A Teaching Experience

2015

This chapter describes a teaching experience whereby students learnt by teaching and assessing other students. A group of students was tasked with explaining a topic from the course and preparing an exam on that topic. The remaining students in the class completed a questionnaire to measure their satisfaction. They also completed an online test on the topic following the presentation by their peers. Assessment was based on a win-win strategy because the average mark on the test counted towards the final assessment of the students who gave the presentation. The methodology allows students to study content in greater depth level and develop skills like responsibility, critical analysis and em…

Optogenetic Control of Intracellular Signaling: Class II Opsins

2017

SAUCE: A Web-Based Automated Assessment Tool for Teaching Parallel Programming

2015

Many curricula for undergraduate studies in computer science provide a lecture on the fundamentals of parallel programming like multi-threaded computation on shared memory architectures using POSIX threads or OpenMP. The complex structure of parallel programs can be challenging, especially for inexperienced students. Thus, there is a latent need for software supporting the learning process. Subsequent lectures may cover more advanced parallelization techniques such as the Message Passing Interface (MPI) and the Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA) languages. Unfortunately, the majority of students cannot easily access MPI clusters or modern hardware accelerators in order to effectivel…