1,721,008 research outputs found
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Optimization of p-chart for Processes with Multiple Assignable Causes and Random Shift
No full textA Master of Science thesis in Engineering Systems Management by Emad Aldin Mohammed Abdelkreem Mohammed entitled, “Optimization of P-Chart for Processes with Multiple Assignable Causes and Random Shift”, submitted in May 2020. Thesis advisor is Dr. Mahmoud Awad. Soft copy is available (Thesis, Approval Signatures, Completion Certificate, and AUS Archives Consent Form).Attribute control charts are used extensively in many industries to detect assignable causes for many processes. They are particularly useful in the service industries due to difficulty of evaluating services using variable scale. In addition, several critical-toquality characteristics in manufacturing and service can be combined to determine whether to accept or reject the product. The optimization of fraction non-conforming p-chart has been mainly addressed from either statistical or economic prospective or considering only single assignable cause. In this research, we propose an economicstatistical model that considers the process history of the nonconforming units to design a p-chart for processes with multiple assignable causes. The method is demonstrated using a drinking water bottling case and shows improved results compared to existing methods. When comparing the results of the proposed method with traditional methods, the proposed method is expected to reduce poor quality cost by 0.86% per unit. For a mass production company such as the water bottling company with half a million bottles filled every day, the proposed method is expected to provide significant monetary savings along with improved reputation.College of EngineeringDepartment of Industrial EngineeringMaster of Science in Engineering Systems Management (MSESM
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
An Integrated Asset Management Framework for Critical Public Utilities in UAE
No full textA Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation in Engineering Systems Management by Alya Omran Alquraidi Alshamsi entitled, “An Integrated Asset Management Framework for Critical Public Utilities in UAE”, submitted in March 2024. Dissertation advisor is Dr. Mahmoud Awad. Soft copy is available (Dissertation, Completion Certificate, Approval Signatures, and AUS Archives Consent Form).Asset management (AM) plays a significant role in ensuring systems’ availability and sustainability of utilities. It is essential due to the ever-demanding pressure to provide high quality services at minimum cost in a sustainable manner. An efficient AM is the linchpin that safeguards a resilient service to the community through system availability maximization and service disruption avoidance. This requires an integrated AM framework to ensure complete value realization of assets. Despite the importance of public utilities, there is a wide variety of practices on how providers manage their assets. These practices are governed by general asset management standards such as ISO 55000 which does not meet all specific needs of public utilities. The lack of integrated and comprehensive asset management approach may lead to inefficiencies in cost and availability of the assets. The aim of this dissertation is to assess the current status of the AM governance of critical fixed assets in critical public utilities in the UAE and develop a tailored framework to satisfy its specific needs. A comparative analysis was conducted to analyse the benefits and challenges of AM standard deployment and its impact on AM performance. Based on subject matter experts’ interviews followed by a survey, it was observed that the available standards lack some important elements of utilities AM such as resilience, digital transformation, and circular economy. Structural equation modelling was done to identify the relationship between the asset management life cycle stages and the performance in public utilities. The results showed that all stages have a positive impact on the AM performance and highlighted the importance of proper planning on all subsequent stages. Consequently, a tailored framework supported by a maturity model was developed to address gaps in current standards and frameworks and provide assessment tool to assess the utilities performance and provide decision makers with a set of recommendation actions for performance improvement. The maturity model was validated using five case studies for utility organizations in several UAE emirates. The proposed utility framework along with the maturity model aid decision makers to assess and enhance current performance which as an important impact on public wellbeing.College of EngineeringDepartment of Industrial EngineeringPhD in Engineering - Engineering Systems Management (PhD-ESM
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Full text linkWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
A Machine Learning Model Based Schedule of Photovoltaic Solar Plant Dust Cleaning
No full textA Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation in Engineering Systems Management by Haneen Mohammad Faleh Abuzaid entitled, “A Machine Learning Model Based Schedule of Photovoltaic Solar Plant Dust Cleaning”, submitted in March 2024. Dissertation advisor is Dr. Mahmoud Awad and dissertation co-advisor is Dr. Abdulrahim Shamayleh. Soft copy is available (Dissertation, Completion Certificate, Approval Signatures, and AUS Archives Consent Form).Photovoltaic (PV) systems are widely utilized renewable energy resources, playing a vital role in sustainable energy generation worldwide. Nonetheless, their performance is significantly reduced by dust accumulation, emphasizing the importance of effective cleaning strategies. This research aims to enhance the overall performance of PV systems by improving maintenance practices, particularly focusing on the methods and schedules for PV cleaning. To achieve this, a comprehensive literature review spanning from 2010 to 2024 is conducted, concerning factors influencing PV performance, and current PV cleaning methods, with ongoing discussion and validation from PV experts, actively engaged in the PV field, to bridge theory and practice. The most influential factors include meteorological variables, PV specifications, system design, dust characteristics, sustainability considerations, and operational factors. Using a Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) model, specifically the Analytic Network Process (ANP), the study proposes an optimal PV cleaning method, identifying partially automated cleaning as the most suitable for utility-scale PV projects in MENA. Additionally, the research offers a robust cleaning schedule by predicting the PV Performance Ratio (PR), a standardized metric that is widely used in performance-guaranteed contracts, utilizing machine learning algorithms. Two prediction models are proposed: time-series prediction models using LSTM, ARIMA, and SARIMAX algorithms for predicting the PR, and a threshold-based ensemble voting classifier using RF, Log, and GBM for predicting the cleaning process, with three large and distinct datasets validation. Results indicate the efficacy of SARIMAX in PR prediction, with high R2 values and low errors across case studies. The ensemble voting classification model achieves satisfactory performance accuracy in predicting cleaning processes. Notably, PR predictive models outperform cleaning process classification models. Moreover, varying features’ importance outcomes across case studies highlight the necessity of including location-specific conditions for optimal PV cleaning strategy. The findings provide robust guidelines for PV system stakeholders, aiding informed decision-making and enhancing the sustainability of PV cleaning processes.College of EngineeringMultidisciplinary ProgramsPhD in Engineering - Engineering Systems Management (PhD-ESM
Reliability-Centered Maintenance Implementation for Water Stations
No full textA Master of Science thesis in Engineering Systems Management by Dalal Abdulla Ali Mohammed Abdulla entitled, “Reliability-Centered Maintenance Implementation for Water Stations”, submitted in November 2024. Thesis advisor is Dr. Mahmoud Awad and thesis co-advisor is Dr. Hussam Alshraideh. Soft copy is available (Thesis, Completion Certificate, Approval Signatures, and AUS Archives Consent Form).Ensuring equipment availability and reliability is critical in utility systems, particularly in water distribution networks. Failures in these systems can have severe consequences, including substantial operational costs and widespread service disruptions affecting large customer populations. Reliability Centred Maintenance (RCM) is a proven and systematic methodology used to determine the requirement and effective maintenance strategy for an asset. Despite the wide implementation of RCM in many industries, RCM implementation in water pump stations (WPSs) is still limited. This is due to several challenges, such as the redundancy nature of WPS’s systems, data accessibility, and difficulty of estimating the benefits of RCM implementation beforehand. The objective of this study is to customise the existing RCM framework for WPS’s and develop a method for estimating the expected cost and benefits of RCM implementation. Water stations can greatly benefit from the implementation of RCM by saving time and money in predicting and mitigating failure risks. The customised approach is demonstrated using a major pumping station located in Dubai. Based on data collected from six failure case studies, changing the maintenance technique to one advocated by customized RCM will reduce cost and improve service availability. Results suggest that benefit to cost ratio gained from maintenance technique change is between 1.15 to 9.06.College of EngineeringDepartment of Industrial EngineeringMaster of Science in Engineering Systems Management (MSESM
- …
