scholarly journals The Replacement of Warranties with Logic and Common Sense

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 134
Author(s):  
Dean Kashiwagi ◽  
Dhaval Gajjar ◽  
Jacob Kashiwagi ◽  
Kenneth Sullivan
Keyword(s):  
Price Competition ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Best Interest ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Roof System ◽  
Independent School District ◽  
Dallas Independent School District ◽  
Technical Requirements ◽  
Use Of Expertise

Many problems are caused by owners specifying project technical requirements to expert vendors, then picking the low-price vendor, assuming that all the vendors are providing the same quality of product. Research over the last 20 years has identified that when working with highly technical areas, this practice brings high risk to the owner because the vendors do not have the expertise to understand the requirements. The Alpha sprayed polyurethane foam (SPF) roof system has brought the Dallas Independent School District (DISD) high value but also occasional risk caused by the low-price vendor. The authors are proposing that DISD’s effort to buy the Alpha SPF roof system through the low-price competition will cause DISD risk. A new approach is proposed to DISD: the Alpha SPF roof system only be used as an alternate value added option. This approach assumes that the only way the Alpha SPF system can be procured is if it is in the best interest of the owner due to dominant value. This approach minimizes the risk that DISD has encountered from low-price contractors who have not been able to minimize risk through the use of expertise and experience because their low-price was directly related to practices which are related to a lack of experience and expertise.

scholarly journals The Cost Effectiveness of Alpha SPF Roofs: Casa View Elementary School Roofing Case Study

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 42
Author(s):  
Dean Kashiwagi ◽  
Charles Zulanas IV ◽  
Dhaval Gajjar
Keyword(s):  
Elementary School ◽  
Cost Savings ◽  
Steel Ball ◽  
Modified Bitumen ◽  
Potential Cost ◽  
Roof System ◽  
Independent School District ◽  
Dallas Independent School District ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Roofing System

The performance of the Alpha Sprayed Polyurethane Foam (SPF) roofing system is perceived as not an economical option when compared to a 20-year modified roofing system. The Dallas Independent School District (DISD) is replacing the existing Alpha SPF roof systems with new roof systems rather than recoating the existing systems at a cost that is 100% more than the recoating costs. The DISD is in a heavy hail area, and the proven hail resistance of the Alpha SPF roof system is an additional benefit for DISD who is self-insured. The Casa View Elementary School roof system was installed with a Neogard Permathane roof system in 1987. This roof was hail tested with ten drops from 17 feet 9 inches of 1-3/4-inch steel ball (9 out of 10 passed) and three drops from 17 feet 9 inches with a 3-inch diameter steel ball (1 out of 3 passed). The analysis of the passing and failing core samples show that the thickness of the top and base Alpha SPF coating is one of the major differences in a roof passing or failing the FM-SH hail test. The current potential cost savings of purchasing a 61,000 square feet Alpha SPF roof versus modified bitumen roof is approximately $610,000 for DISD. The past hail tests on Alpha SPF roof systems show high customer satisfaction (9.8 out of 10) and an over 40-year service life after a $6.00/SF recoat.

An Analysis of On-Bord High-Voltage Converters of Single-Phase Alternating Current with Increased Miroelectric Power Factor

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 44-51
Author(s):  
Yury Yu. SKOROKHOD ◽  
◽  
Sehgey I. VOL’SKIY ◽  
Keyword(s):  
High Voltage ◽  
Single Phase ◽  
Input Current ◽  
Voltage Converter ◽  
Input Unit ◽  
Power Circuit ◽  
Electrical Systems ◽  
Static Converters ◽  
Technical Requirements

The power circuit arrangements of on-board high-voltage static converters fed from a 3000 V AC single-phase network that in the general case produce multi-channel AC and DC output voltages are considered. The basic technical requirements posed to such converters are formulated. The general structural diagram of high-voltage converters with improved electric power consumption quality is given. Possible power circuit arrangements for the high-voltage converter input unit based on single-phase input current correction devices are considered. A classification and criteria for comparative evaluation of the possible power circuit arrangements of these devices are proposed. The information presented in the article will be of interest for specialists engaged in designing on-board electrical systems involving high-voltage converters that must comply with strict requirements for the quality of consumed single-phase input current.

Quality of the Administration of Value-Added Tax in OECD Countries and Russia

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Knobel ◽  
Sergei Germanovich Sinelnikov-Murylev ◽  
Ilya Sokolov
Keyword(s):  
Value Added ◽  
Oecd Countries ◽  
Value Added Tax

Guideline for the management of long tunnelled external ventricular drains in chronic hydrocephalus

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (7) ◽  
pp. 416-421
Author(s):  
Phillip Correia Copley ◽  
John Emelifeonwu ◽  
Pasquale Gallo ◽  
Drahoslav Sokol ◽  
Jothy Kandasamy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Nursing Care ◽  
Pilocytic Astrocytoma ◽  
Parental Education ◽  
Chronic Hydrocephalus ◽  
Treatment Protocols ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Viable Treatment

This article reports on the journey of a child with an inoperable hypothalamic-origin pilocytic astrocytoma causing hydrocephalus, which was refractory to treatment with shunts, and required a new approach. With multidisciplinary support, excellent nursing care and parental education, the child's hydrocephalus was managed long term in the community with bilateral long-tunnelled external ventricular drains (LTEVDs). This article describes the patient's journey and highlights the treatment protocols that were created to achieve this feat. Despite the difficulties in initially setting up these protocols, they proved successful and thus the team managing the patient proposed that LTEVDs are a viable treatment option for children with hydrocephalus in the context of inoperable tumours to help maximise quality of life.

Analyzing of UVLC system considering the effect of water depth

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mustafa B. Al-Deen ◽  
Mazin Ali A. Ali ◽  
Zeyad A. Saleh
Keyword(s):  
Coastal Water ◽  
Water Depth ◽  
Bit Error Rate ◽  
Multiple Input Multiple Output ◽  
Visible Light Communications ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Multiple Input ◽  
Input Multiple Output ◽  
Depth Water

Abstract This paper presents a new approach to discover the effect of depth water for underwater visible light communications (UVLC). The quality of the optical link was investigated with varying water depth under coastal water types. The performance of the UVLC with multiple input–multiple output (MIMO) techniques was examined in terms of bit error rate (BER) and data rate. The theoretical result explains that there is a good performance for UVLC system under coastal water.

A new approach based on graph matching and evolutionary approach for sport scheduling problem

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Meriem Khelifa ◽  
Dalila Boughaci ◽  
Esma Aïmeur
Keyword(s):  
Graph Matching ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Travel Cost ◽  
Round Robin ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Traveling Tournament Problem ◽  
Significant Interest ◽  
National League ◽  
Better Than

The Traveling Tournament Problem (TTP) is concerned with finding a double round-robin tournament schedule that minimizes the total distances traveled by the teams. It has attracted significant interest recently since a favorable TTP schedule can result in significant savings for the league. This paper proposes an original evolutionary algorithm for TTP. We first propose a quick and effective constructive algorithm to construct a Double Round Robin Tournament (DRRT) schedule with low travel cost. We then describe an enhanced genetic algorithm with a new crossover operator to improve the travel cost of the generated schedules. A new heuristic for ordering efficiently the scheduled rounds is also proposed. The latter leads to significant enhancement in the quality of the schedules. The overall method is evaluated on publicly available standard benchmarks and compared with other techniques for TTP and UTTP (Unconstrained Traveling Tournament Problem). The computational experiment shows that the proposed approach could build very good solutions comparable to other state-of-the-art approaches or better than the current best solutions on UTTP. Further, our method provides new valuable solutions to some unsolved UTTP instances and outperforms prior methods for all US National League (NL) instances.

Death or Declaw: Dealing with Moral Ambiguity in a Veterinary Hospital

2005 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 315-342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dana Atwood-Harvey
Keyword(s):  
Medical Practice ◽  
Organizational Support ◽  
Theoretical Research ◽  
Best Interest ◽  
Political Debate ◽  
Self Identity ◽  
Staff Members ◽  
Moral Ambiguity ◽  
Veterinary Hospital

AbstractThe medical practice of declawing has received much political debate over the past few years. Yet, empirical and theoretical research on how this practice is maintained and the ethical positions of those who actually participate in this work is lacking. Drawing from 9 months of ethnographic fieldwork in a feline-specific veterinary hospital and open-ended interviews with veterinarians and staff, this study examines veterinary staff members' attitudes toward, and strategies for, dealing with the medical practice of declawing. Specifically, findings show that a number of staff felt uncomfortable with their participation in onychectomy (declawing) and relied heavily on organizational support structures to cope both with these feelings and the moral ambiguity about the practice. Relying on these structures, the veterinarians and their staff are able simultaneously to define felines as subjects worthy of respect for their quality of life, protect their own self-identity as people who work toward the best interest of animals, and paradoxically support action toward felines that they find morally objectionable.

scholarly journals Do patients value a hospital’s innovativeness reputation? A multi-method approach to assess the relative importance of innovativeness reputation in patients’ hospital choice

2017 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 138-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastian Gurtner ◽  
Nadine Hietschold ◽  
María Vaquero Martín
Keyword(s):  
Value Added ◽  
Patient Choice ◽  
Relative Importance ◽  
Hospital Choice ◽  
Patient Decision ◽  
Technical Innovations ◽  
Multi Method Approach ◽  
Method Approach

Innovations in health care are costly and risky, but they also provide the opportunity for hospitals to increase quality of care, to distinguish themselves from competitors and to attract patients. While numerous hospitals strive to increase their innovativeness by adopting a costly innovation leader strategy, the question of whether this actually influences the patient’s choice remains unanswered. To understand the role of innovativeness from the patient perspective, this study conceptualizes the construct of innovativeness reputation of hospitals and determines its relevance in patients’ hospital choice decisions. In the pretest, we identified six dimensions of innovativeness reputation such as progressive work procedures and value added services. We then used three different quantitative multi-criteria decision-making methods to evaluate the relative importance of innovativeness reputation in patient choice. We collected data from 355 former German patients who had undergone elective non-emergency surgery. Overall, innovativeness reputation accounts for 11.6%–16.8% of the patient decision. Innovativeness reputation has a moderate influence on hospital choice and should be taken into account by managers. Since technical innovations are costly, hospitals should use other means to enhance their innovative image. Strategies such as emphasizing value added services can enable hospitals to increase their innovativeness reputation efficiently.

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