A STUDY ON SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT RISK, RISK MANAGEMENT, PROJECT OUTCOMES AND THEIR INTER-RELATIONSHIP

This research was undertaken with an objective of studying software development project risk, risk management, project outcomes and their inter-relationship in the Indian context. Validated instruments were used to measure risk, risk management and project outcome in software development projects undertaken in India. A second order factor model was developed for risk with five first order factors. Risk management was also identified as a second order construct with four first order factors. These structures were validated using confirmatory factor analysis. Variation in risk across categories of select organization / project characteristics was studied through a series of one way ANOVA tests. Regression model was developed for each of the risk factors by linking it to risk management factors and project /organization characteristics. Similarly regression models were developed for the project outcome measures linking them to risk factors. Integrated models linking risk factors, risk management factors and project outcome measures were tested through structural equation modeling. Quality of the software developed was seen to have a positive relationship with risk management and negative relationship with risk. The other outcome variables, namely time overrun and cost over run, had strong positive relationship with risk. Risk management did not have direct effect on overrun variables. Risk was seen to be acting as an intervening variable between risk management and overrun variables.

Investigations on Structural response of Water Backed Perforated plates

The study envisaged herein contains the numerical investigations on Perforated Plate (PP) as well as numerical and experimental investigations on Perforated Plate with Lining (PPL) which has a variety of applications in underwater engineering especially related to defence applications. Finite element method has been adopted as the tool for analysis of PP and PPL. The commercial software ANSYS has been used for static and free vibration response evaluation, whereas ANSYS LS-DYNA has been used for shock analysis. SHELL63, SHELL93, SOLID45, SOLSH190, BEAM188 and FLUID30 finite elements available in the ANSYS library as well as SHELL193 and SOLID194 available in the ANSYS LS-DYNA library have been made use of. Unit cell of the PP and PPL which is a miniature of the original plate with 16 perforations have been used. Based upon the convergence characteristics, the utility of SHELL63 element for the analysis of PP and PPL, and the required mesh density are brought out. The effect of perforation, geometry and orientation of perforation, boundary conditions and lining plate are investigated for various configurations. Stress concentration and deflection factor are also studied. Based on these investigations, stadium geometry perforation with horizontal orientation is recommended for further analysis.Linear and nonlinear static analysis of PP and PPL subjected to unit normal pressure has been carried out besides the free vibration analysis. Shock analysis has also been carried out on these structural components. The analytical model measures 0.9m x 0.9m with stiffener of 0.3m interval. The influence of finite element, boundary conditions, and lining plate on linear static response has been estimated and presented. Comparison of behavior of PP and PPL in the nonlinear strain regime has been made using geometric nonlinear analysis. Free vibration analysis of the PP and PPL has been carried out ‘in vacuum’ condition and in water backed condition, and the influence of water backed condition and effect of perforation on natural frequency have been investigated.Based upon the studies on the vibration characteristics of NPP, PP and PPL in water backed condition and ‘in vacuum’ condition, the reduction in the natural frequency of the plate in immersed condition has been rightly brought out. The necessity to introduce the effect of water medium in the analysis of water backed underwater structure has been highlighted.Shock analysis of PP and PPL for three explosives viz., PEK, TNT and C4 has been carried out and deflection and stresses on plate as well as free field pressure have been estimated using ANSYS LS-DYNA. The effect of perforations and the effect of lining plate have been predicted. Experimental investigations of the measurement of free field pressure using PPL have been conducted in a shock tank. Free field pressure has been measured and has been validated with finite element analysis results. Besides, an experiment has been carried out on PPL, for the comparison of the static deflection predicted by finite element analysis.The distribution of the free field pressure and the estimation of differential pressure from experimentation and the provision for treating the differential pressure as the resistance, as a part of the design load for PPL, has been brought out.

Export Competitiveness of Software Industry In India

The study was motivated by the need to understand factors that guide the software exports and competitiveness, both positively and negatively. The influence of one factor or another upon the export competitiveness is to be understood in great depth, which is necessary to find out the industry’s sustainability. India is being emulated as an example for the success strategy in software development and exports. India’s software industry is hailed as one of the globally competitive software industry in the world. The major objectives are to model the growth pattern of exports and domestic sales of software and services of India and to find out the factors influencing the growth pattern of software industry in India. The thesis compare the growth pattern of software industry of India with respect to that of Ireland and Israel and to critically of various problems faced by software industry and export in India and to model the variables of competitiveness of emerging software producing nations

L-strip-fed Wideband Rectangular Dielectric Resonator Antenna

In this paper, the advantages of using L-shaped microviij) feed to e.tcite a rectangular dielectric resonator cuuenna (DRA) by elemanagnetic coupling are presented. This feeding technique enhances the hardsvidth and gain of the antenna without affecting its size. The experimental re srdts are validated using Fidelity software based on the finitedifference tine-domain (FDTD) method

A Multilingual Query Processing System using Software Agents

The goal of this work was developing a query processing system using software agents. Open Agent Architecture framework is used for system development. The system supports queries in both Hindi and Malayalam; two prominent regional languages of India. Natural language processing techniques are used for meaning extraction from the plain query and information from database is given back to the user in his native language. The system architecture is designed in a structured way that it can be adapted to other regional languages of India. . This system can be effectively used in application areas like e-governance, agriculture, rural health, education, national resource planning, disaster management, information kiosks etc where people from all walks of life are involved.

Mathematical Modelling of the Dynamics of Granular Materials in a Rotating Cylinder

The current study is aimed at the development of a theoretical simulation tool based on Discrete Element Method (DEM) to 'interpret granular dynamics of solid bed in the cross section of the horizontal rotating cylinder at the microscopic level and subsequently apply this model to establish the transition behaviour, mixing and segregation.The simulation of the granular motion developed in this work is based on solving Newton's equation of motion for each particle in the granular bed subjected to the collisional forces, external forces and boundary forces. At every instant of time, the forces are tracked and the positions velocities and accelarations of each partcle is The software code for this simulation is written in VISUAL FORTRAN 90 After checking the validity of the code with special tests, it is used to investigate the transition behaviour of granular solids motion in the cross section of a rotating cylinder for various rotational speeds and fill fraction.This work is hence directed towards a theoretical investigation based on Discrete Element Method (DEM) of the motion of granular solids in the radial direction of the horizontal cylinder to elucidate the relationship between the operating parameters of the rotating cylinder geometry and physical properties ofthe granular solid.The operating parameters of the rotating cylinder include the various rotational velocities of the cylinder and volumetric fill. The physical properties of the granular solids include particle sizes, densities, stiffness coefficients, and coefficient of friction Further the work highlights the fundamental basis for the important phenomena of the system namely; (i) the different modes of solids motion observed in a transverse crosssection of the rotating cylinder for various rotational speeds, (ii) the radial mixing of the granular solid in terms of active layer depth (iii) rate coefficient of mixing as well as the transition behaviour in terms of the bed turnover time and rotational speed and (iv) the segregation mechanisms resulting from differences in the size and density of particles.The transition behaviour involving its six different modes of motion of the granular solid bed is quantified in terms of Froude number and the results obtained are validated with experimental and theoretical results reported in the literature The transition from slumping to rolling mode is quantified using the bed turnover time and a linear relationship is established between the bed turn over time and the inverse of the rotational speed of the cylinder as predicted by Davidson et al. [2000]. The effect of the rotational speed, fill fraction and coefficient of friction on the dynamic angle of repose are presented and discussed. The variation of active layer depth with respect to fill fraction and rotational speed have been investigated. The results obtained through simulation are compared with the experimental results reported by Van Puyvelde et. at. [2000] and Ding et at. [2002].The theoretical model has been further extended, to study the rmxmg and segregation in the transverse direction for different particle sizes and their size ratios. The effect of fill fraction and rotational speed on the transverse mixing behaviour is presented in the form of a mixing index and mixing kinetics curve. The segregation pattern obtained by the simulation of the granular solid bed with respect to the rotational speed of the cylinder is presented both in graphical and numerical forms. The segregation behaviour of the granular solid bed with respect to particle size, density and volume fraction of particle size has been investigated. Several important macro parameters characterising segregation such as mixing index, percolation index and segregation index have been derived from the simulation tool based on first principles developed in this work.

Innovative Human Resource Practices and Selected HR Outcomes in Software Firms in Kerala

In this study the relationship between Innovative HR practices and selected HR outcomes is investigated.The current study represents a unique attempt to study the effects of innovative HR practices,with job satisfaction,organisational commitment and organisational citizenship bahaviour considered as the consequent variables.Results have affirmed the role of intervening variables such as job satisfaction and organisational commitment in establishing the link between IHRP and OCB obliterating any direct relation between IHRP and organisational citizenship behaviour.This finding may enable researchers in the human resource management to develop more robust understandings of the positive effects of innnovative HR practices on HR outcomes.Thus the present study provides the obvious contribution of weaving up yet another linkage between the two complimentary disciplines of Human Resource Management and Organisational Behaviour.The present study also contributes to the understanding of OCB by exploring its antecedents and extending the intervening role of job satisfaction and organisational commitment.The findings indicate that a higher level of introduction/initiation and satisfaction of innovative HR practices produces high job satisfaction and organisational commitment which lead to OCB.The researcher drew upon the perception-attitude-behaviour model to further realise the expected relationship among innovative HR practices,job satisfaction,organisational commitment and organisational citizenship behaviour.Consequently,this study makes a contribution to the broader organisational citizenship behaviour literature by manifesting the extended relationship path from innovative HR practices to organisational citizenship behaviour,and demonstrating that innovative Hr practices at the organisational level has an effect on employee attitudes and behaviours as well.

Behaviour of laterised normal and self compacting concrete subjected to elevated temperatures

Concrete is a universal material in the construction industry. With natural resources like sand and aggregate, fast depleting, it is time to look for alternate materials to substitute these in the process of making concrete. There are instances like exposure to solar radiation, fire, furnaces, and nuclear reactor vessels, special applications like missile launching pads etc., where concrete is exposed to temperature variations In this research work, an attempt has been made to understand the behaviour of concrete when weathered laterite aggregate is used in both conventional and self compacting normal strength concrete. The study has been extended to understand the thermal behaviour of both types of laterised concretes and to check suitability as a fire protection material. A systematic study of laterised concrete considering parameters like source of laterite aggregate, grades of Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) and types of supplementary cementitious materials (fly ash and GGBFS) has been carried out to arrive at a feasible combination of various ingredients in laterised concrete. A mix design methodology has been proposed for making normal strength laterised self compacting concrete based on trial mixes and the same has also been validated. The physical and mechanical properties of laterised concretes have been studied with respect to different variables like exposure temperature (200°C, 400°C and 600°C) and cooling environment (air cooled and water cooled). The behaviour of ferrocement elements with laterised self compacting concrete has also been studied by varying the cover to mesh reinforcement (10mm to 50mm at an interval of 10mm), exposure temperature and cooling environment.

Using open source software for digital libraries A case study of CUSAT

The purpose of this paper is to describe the design and development of a digital library at Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT), India, using DSpace open source software. The study covers the structure, contents and usage of CUSAT digital library. Design/methodology/approach – This paper examines the possibilities of applying open source in libraries. An evaluative approach is carried out to explore the features of the CUSAT digital library. The Google Analytics service is employed to measure the amount of use of digital library by users across the world. Findings – CUSAT has successfully applied DSpace open source software for building a digital library. The digital library has had visits from 78 countries, with the major share from India. The distribution of documents in the digital library is uneven. Past exam question papers share the major part of the collection. The number of research papers, articles and rare documents is less. Originality/value – The study is the first of its type that tries to understand digital library design and development using DSpace open source software in a university environment with a focus on the analysis of distribution of items and measuring the value by usage statistics employing the Google Analytics service. The digital library model can be useful for designing similar systems

Free/Open Source Software in CUSAT: A Success Story

Free/Open Source Software (FOSS) concept is very important in the academic community. The open philosophy of FOSS is consistent with academic freedom and the open dissemination of knowledge and information in academia. FOSS can lower the barriers to access of ICTs by reducing the cost of the software. This article discusses the success story of CUSAT's adoption of Free/Open Source Software

A Generic Software Architecture for a Domain Specific Distributed Embedded System

In this paper, we have evolved a generic software architecture for a domain specific distributed embedded system. The system under consideration belongs to the Command, Control and Communication systems domain. The systems in such domain have very long operational lifetime. The quality attributes of these systems are equally important as the functional requirements. The main guiding principle followed in this paper for evolving the software architecture has been functional independence of the modules. The quality attributes considered most important for the system are maintainability and modifiability. Architectural styles best suited for the functionally independent modules are proposed with focus on these quality attributes. The software architecture for the system is envisioned as a collection of architecture styles of the functionally independent modules identified

Characterizations of Life Distributions Using Conditional Expectations of Doubly (Interval) Truncated Random Variables

In this article, we study reliability measures such as geometric vitality function and conditional Shannon’s measures of uncertainty proposed by Ebrahimi (1996) and Sankaran and Gupta (1999), respectively, for the doubly (interval) truncated random variables. In survival analysis and reliability engineering, these measures play a significant role in studying the various characteristics of a system/component when it fails between two time points. The interrelationships among these uncertainty measures for various distributions are derived and proved characterization theorems arising out of them

Archiving News In A University Using Open Source Software

Newspapers cover a large amount of information everyday on topics of varied interests. To a university, newspapers are essential components of communication as they cover various happenings in a university. These items of information are neither stored properly nor put in retrieval systems for future use. The news and views appeared in newspapers can effectively be organized in a digital library making use of open source software. The CUSAT digital library (http://dspace.cusat.ac.in/dspace/) has organized some news items that appeared in local newspapers about the university under a special community named “CUSAT-News”. This article describes the methods of collecting, selecting, organizing, providing access and preserving news items required by a university using DSpace open source software.

Adoption of Koha Open Source Software in Libraries: a Web Based Study

Since last few years open source integrated library systems gaining attention of library and information science professionals. This paper tries to identify the extent of adoption of Koha, an open source ILS in libraries around the world through a Web based study. The study found that Koha adoption in libraries is still at infancy

Catalogue Interfaces of Integrated Library Management Systems (ILMS): Experiences in a Proprietary and Open Source Software

The Central Library of Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) has been automated by proprietary software (Adlib Library) since 2000. After 11 years, in 2011, the university authorities decided to shift to an open source software (OSS), for integrated library management system (ILMS), Koha for automating the library housekeeping operations. In this context, this study attempts to share the experiences in cataloging with both type of software. The features of the cataloging modules of both the software are analysed on the badis of certain check points. It is found that the cataloging module of Koha is almost in par with that of proven proprietary software that has been in market for the past 25 years. Some suggestions made by this study may be incorporated for the further development and perfection of Koha.