Final Year Project (PDT 313/4): Electronic Books

As a companion to books on project-management theory, this book illustrates, in a down-to-earth, comprehensive style, how to put that theory into practice. In addition to the many examples that illustrate procedures, the book includes over 25 case studies, each one addressing a specific theme. Key topics, such as project selection, negotiations, planning and scheduling, cost and budgeting, project control, human resources, environmental impacts, risk management, and financial evaluation, are discussed, using a step-by-step approach. Beginning at the grassroots level, some cases are solved by hand to illustrate the mechanics of a procedure, while others are solved using advanced computer programs. In this way the reader has a clear idea of the problem, how and when to raise the issue, information needed (and who can provide it), how to solve it by hand, when possible, and also its resolution using the latest informatics tools.

In recent years there has been a significant increase of interest in continuous-time Principal-Agent models, or contract theory, and their applications. Continuous-time models provide a powerful and elegant framework for solving stochastic optimization problems of finding the optimal contracts between two parties, under various assumptions on the information they have access to, and the effect they have on the underlying "profit/loss" values. This monograph surveys recent results of the theory in a systematic way, using the approach of the so-called Stochastic Maximum Principle, in models driven by Brownian Motion.Optimal contracts are characterized via a system of Forward-Backward Stochastic Differential Equations. In a number of interesting special cases these can be solved explicitly, enabling derivation of many qualitative economic conclusions.

This book introduces the subject of total design, and introduces the design and selection of various common mechanical engineering components and machine elements. These provide "building blocks", with which the engineer can practice his or her art. The approach adopted for defining design follows that developed by the SEED (Sharing Experience in Engineering Design) programme where design is viewed as "the total activity necessary to provide a product or process to meet a market need." Within this framework the book concentrates on developing detailed mechanical design skills in the areas of bearings, shafts, gears, seals, belt and chain drives, clutches and brakes, springs and fasteners. Where standard components are available from manufacturers, the steps necessary for their specification and selection are developed. The framework used within the text has been to provide descriptive and illustrative information to introduce principles and individual components and to expose the reader to the detailed methods and calculations necessary to specify and design or select a component. To provide the reader with sufficient information to develop the necessary skills to repeat calculations and selection processes, detailed examples and worked solutions are supplied throughout the text. This book is principally a Year/Level 1 and 2 undergraduate text. Pre-requisite skills include some year one undergraduate mathematics, fluid mechanics and heat transfer, principles of materials, statics and dynamics. However, as the subjects are introduced in a descriptive and illustrative format and as full worked solutions are provided, it is possible for readers without this formal level of education to benefit from this book. The text is specifically aimed at automotive and mechanical engineering degree programmes and would be of value for modules in design, mechanical engineering design, design and manufacture, design studies, automotive power-train and transmission and tribology, as well as modules and project work incorporating a design element requiring knowledge about any of the content described. The aims and objectives described are achieved by a short introductory chapters on total design, mechanical engineering and machine elements followed by ten chapters on machine elements covering: bearings, shafts, gears, seals, chain and belt drives, clutches and brakes, springs, fasteners and miscellaneous mechanisms. Chapters 14 and 15 introduce casings and enclosures and sensors and actuators, key features of most forms of mechanical technology. The subject of tolerancing from a component to a process level is introduced in Chapter 16. The last chapter serves to present an integrated design using the detailed design aspects covered within the book. The design methods where appropriate are developed to national and international standards (e.g. ANSI, ASME, AGMA, BSI, DIN, ISO). The first edition of this text introduced a variety of machine elements as building blocks with which design of mechanical devices can be undertaken. The approach adopted of introducing and explaining the aspects of technology by means of text, photographs, diagrams and step-by-step procedures has been maintained. A number of important machine elements have been included in the new edition, fasteners, springs, sensors and actuators. They are included here. Chapters on total design, the scope of mechanical engineering and machine elements have been completely revised and updated. New chapters are included on casings and enclosures and miscellaneous mechanisms and the final chapter has been rewritten to provide an integrated approach. Multiple worked examples and completed solutions are included. * New chapters on casings and enclosures, springs, and fasteners * New information on important machine elements such as sensors and actuators * Clear explanation of the total mechanical design process through the use of text, photographs, diagrams, step-by-step procedures and case studies

Many countries around the world are investing a great amount of resources in government IT initiatives. However, few of these projects achieve their stated goals and some of them are complete failures. Therefore, understanding e-government success has become very important and urgent in recent years. In order to develop relevant knowledge about this complex phenomenon, researchers and practitioners need to identify and assess what are the main conditions, variables, or factors that have an impact on e-government success. However, before being able to evaluate these impacts, it is necessary to define what e-government success is and what some e-government success measures are. This book presents a review of both e-government success measures and e-government success factors. It also provides empirical evidence from quantitative analysis and two in-depth case studies. Although based on sound theory and rigorous empirical analysis, the book not only significantly contributes to academic knowledge, but also includes some practical recommendations for government officials and public managers.Theoretically, the book proposes a way to quantitatively operationalize Fountain's enactment framework. Based on the institutional tradition, the technology enactment framework attempts to explain the effects of organizational forms and institutional arrangements on the information technology used by government agencies. According to Fountain (1995; 2001) the technology enactment framework pays attention to the relationships among information technology, organizations, embeddedness, and institutions. This framework is very well known in the e-government field, but is normally used for qualitative analysis and there is no previous proposal of how to use it with quantitative data. The book proposes variables to measure each of the different constructs in this framework and also tests the relationships hypothesized by Fountain's theory. Finally, using the advantages of the selected quantitative analysis technique (Partial Least Squares), the study also proposes some adjustments and extensions to the original framework in a theory building effort.Methodologically, the book reports on one of the first multi-method studies in the field of e-government in general and e-government success in particular. This study uses a nested research design, which combines statistical analysis with two in depth case studies. The study begins with a statistical analysis using organizational, institutional, and contextual factors as the independent variables. An overall score representing e-government success in terms of the functionality of state websites is the dependent variable. Second, based on the statistical results two cases are selected based on their relative fitness to the model (residuals) and their position in the general ranking of website functionality (which includes four different measures). In order to complement the results of the statistical analysis, case studies were developed for the two selected states (New York and Indiana), using semi-structured interviews and document analysis. In terms of the statistical analysis, the book constitutes one of the first applications of Partial Least Squares (PLS) to an e-government success study. PLS is a structural equations modeling (SEM) technique and, therefore, allows estimating the measurement model and the structural model simultaneously. The use of this sophisticated statistical strategy helped to test the relationships between e-government success and different factors influencing it, as well as some of the relationships between several of the factors, thus allowing exploring some indirect effects too.

Islamic finance is emerging as a rapidly growing part of the financial sector in the Islamic world and is not restricted to Islamic countries, but is spreading wherever there is a sizable Muslim community. According to some estimates, more than 250 financial institutions in over 45 countries practice some form of Islamic finance, and the industry has been growing at a rate of more than 15 percent annually for the past several years. The market's current annual turnover is estimated to be $70 billion, compared with a mere $5 billion in 1985, and is projected to hit the $100 billion mark by the turn of the century. Since the emergence of Islamic banks in the early 1970s, considerable research has been conducted, mainly focusing on the viability, design and operations of a deposit-accepting financial institution, which operates primarily on the basis of profit and loss partnerships rather than interest. This publication provides a comprehensive overview of topics related to the assessment, analysis, and management of various types of risks in the field of Islamic banking. It is an attempt to provide a high-level framework (aimed at non-specialist executives) attuned to the current realities of changing economies and Islamic financial markets. This approach emphasizes the accountability of key players in the corporate governance process in relation to the management of different dimensions of Islamic financial risk.