Journal of
Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics
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 ISSN: 1690-4524 (Online)    DOI: 10.54808/JSCI



TABLE OF CONTENTS





Flip the Flipped Classroom. Experiential Reason and New Technologies in Adults’ Education.
Melpomeni Papadopoulou
Pages: 1-6
ABSTRACT:
Flipped classroom is not a recent pedagogical idea but it flourished with the emergence of new technologies in education. This method is applied approximately the same way at all levels of education. The idea is simple: students learn the theory of the course by using distant learning and they apply afterwards, this theory during in class exercises and group work. However, this method remains, in our opinion, very didactic. How can we adapt the flipped classroom in the field of adult’s education? This article proposes to contribute on the field of research on alternative learning. To do so, we use as theoretical framework the researches on the experiential reason and the semiosis of Peirce. After a look to the characteristics of the flipped classroom, we analyze the pragmatism of the three reasons so that we can conclude with a systemic proposition of the flipped classroom in the adult’s education context.


Several Interdisciplinary Applications to UDL
Russell Jay Hendel
Pages: 7-12
ABSTRACT:
Universal Design in Learning (UDL) is a relatively new pedagogic approach which is especially successful in facilitating learning by students with learning disabilities. This paper explores application of several other disciplines to UDL, examining the potential to increase usage and success of UDL achievements. The paper is exploratory, reflective, and theoretical rather than explicitly empirical. The paper specifically examines four other disciplines: i) Since UDL is rooted in United States congressional laws, the paper shows UDL could benefit from UDL-like learning experiments in other countries. ii) The paper shows commonalities between UDL and the traditional pedagogic hierarchies with emphasis on transferring and applying the rich literature on executive function and goal setting in the business world to education. iii) The Van-Hiele theory is brought to suggest that personality types and some mental abilities may not be permanent, but changeable. iv) The paper advocates application of the Holland vocational psychology theory which emphasizes (vocational) preferences vs. permanent personality characteristics and abilities.


The Role of Representations in an Inductive Deductive Inductive Approach in Engineering: Perspective from Mechanics of Materials
Jorge Olmedo Montoya Vallecilla
Pages: 13-19
ABSTRACT:
An inductive-deductive-inductive (I-D-I pedagogical approach, strengthened with physical model representation (PMR) was taken in a mechanics of materials course. The first inductive phase consisted of visualization and experimentation with a simple physical model. The second inductive phase consisted of problem solving and physical model development. The two inductive phases were bridged with a more deductive development of the constitutive equations. The implementation of this approach in a course that previously only used lecture resulted in a significant increase in the student passing rate and decrease in the number of withdrawals. The importance of the three phases and the physical representation is discussed.


Proposal for the Implementation of a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) with the Open eDX Platform for the Computer Engineering Career of the UNED, Costa Rica
Dario Rios Navarro, Ariana Acón Matamoros
Pages: 20-25
ABSTRACT:
The demand for computer engineers has grown considerably and in the Computer Engineering Career of the School of Exact Sciences, of the Distance State University (UNED), which it’s population has grown a little over 3000 students.

It is for the foregoing that it is considered that by implementing a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) in the Career, will allow offering training and knowledge on current and important topics, in a more agile and fast way, that facilitates the means and the needs of the students who want to adapt to these types of learning.

Furthermore, the objective of this article is to propose the implementation of a MOOC for the Computer Engineering Career, using the JAVA programming language and an edX platform.

Also, there is a review on MOOCs characteristics, practical issues and the experiences of the accessible implementation that were experienced of this proposal. At the end, the conclusions satisfy the importance of the user-centered design for the accessible work and the necessity of having clear objectives to avoid desertion.


Student Engagement in Capstone Projects Through Integration of Technologies, Project Assessment and Academic Integrity
Khaled Nigim, Lois Nantais
Pages: 26-30
ABSTRACT:
Many technology students face challenges when it comes to executing assigned objectives in their team-based capstone projects. Problems in implementation can be due to a lack in project planning experience and the related issues involved with student confidence in light of inexperience, difficulties appreciating the many requirements involved with applied learning, including the practical skills involved, issues with developing strong team communications, or problems securing resources to bring projects to fruition. The paper will briefly present the Canadian accreditation process for technology programs and the authors’ experiences in conducting and assessing a capstone course over its five year developmental span. The paper will also elaborate on the processes that enable simplification of the many elements to project development, including the establishment of effective communications and technical reporting, the process of task assignment to team members, the use of evaluative tools within the online context of the college’s learning management system, and how students solve problems and manage time commitments throughout their learning process. The paper will provide a sample of the processes and assessment tools used in Lambton College’s School of Technology, which awards students an advanced technology diploma degree.


Modeling Workplace Conflict with “Systems Theatre”
Tom Scholte
Pages: 31-38
ABSTRACT:
Applying systemic analysis to examples of the author’s practice, this paper presents evidence for the efficacy of a theatre-based mode of systems modeling.


Challenges of Sustainable Company Development: Case of Craft Business in Latvia
Laura Grikke, Ieva Andersone, Deniss Sceulovs
Pages: 39-44
ABSTRACT:
The authors of the paper analysed international coffee trade, which is one of the most important factors for sustainable development of the industry, and also analysed the Latvian coffee roasters and their activities. The authors defined sustainable development in environmental, social and economic context, and established an implementation scenario of sustainable development in Latvian coffee roasters based on the importance of various criteria. The business model was approbated in Rocket Bean Roastery Ltd. The sustainable development model was confirmed by the company’s financial calculations and the developed sustainable coffee supply chain. The most important conclusions and suggestions of the research are that a sustainable business model of a coffee roaster has to be commercially successful, despite the growing effects of climate changes and volatile commodity prices, and should be a part of a sustainable society that is informed, knowledgeable and aware of the impact their purchases have.


Comparing the Solution of the Navier-Stokes Equations Using a Fixed Point Iterative Method and Using COMSOL Multiphysics
Blanca Bermúdez Juárez, Beatriz Bonilla Capilla, José David Alanis Urquieta, Alejandro Rangel Huerta, Wuiyebaldo Fermín Guerrero Sanchez
Pages: 45-48
ABSTRACT:
In this paper, we compare the solutions for the Navier-Stokes equations with moderate and very high Reynolds numbers obtained using a Fixed Point Iterative Method with those obtained using COMSOL Multiphysics. Despite the advantages of COMSOL, we want to show that our results, using a Fixed Point Iterative method agree as much as possible, with those obtained with COMSOL. Results for viscous incompressible flows in 2D are presented, using the Stream Function-vorticity formulation of the Navier-Stokes equations. The Fixed point Iterative Method uses Finite Differences and a uniform mesh; COMSOL uses the Finite Element Method and the formulation in primitive variables and the mesh is refined in some places; streamline and crosswind diffusion are also used. Results are reported, in the case of the lid-driven cavity problem for Reynolds numbers in the range of 5000 ≤ Re ≤ 100000.

As the Reynolds number increases, the time and the step mesh have to be refined, both for time and space in order to capture the fast dynamics of the flow and numerically, because of stability reasons. The advantages of our code are: it is “transparent” and easily modifiable, so, it can be used for solving other problems. We are looking forward to parallelize it.



Decision Making in Real Estate Developments Based on Building Information Modeling – BIM
Renata Maria Abrantes Baracho, Bruno Cesarino Soares, Rogério Amaral Bonatti, Marcelo Franco Porto, José Ricardo Queiroz Franco
Pages: 49-54
ABSTRACT:
This work presents the development of a multicriteria method to evaluate real estate investments based on Building Information Modeling (BIM). Information on possibilities in construction, renovation, expansion, acquisition or rental of buildings is used to enable a decision-making process. The BIM digital models contain building information from planning, execution and as built. The model contains the different representations of top, front view, plants and internal cuts besides the volume. The elements are refined and have the digital representation of data or information of a real estate business project and bring diverse possibilities of analysis. The choice among the available undertakings and the investments to be made is a complex problem that involves relationships between the goals and criteria of each project. The proposed method classifies the undertakings projects using objective criteria based on information automatically obtained from the digital models. It also considers intangible criteria, which are subjective evaluations based on the experience of specialists in the area. This comparative method among project alternatives has proven to be feasible and quite useful, as shown in the case study presented, and it can be further improved by developing a recommender system based on historical data from previous evaluations.


Managing Information Security System Technology Changes Across an Enterprise
Kevin E. Foltz, William R. Simpson
Pages: 55-61
ABSTRACT:
The goal of information security systems in an enterprise is to make the right information available to the right entities at the right times and in the right formats while ensuring only authorized information flows occur. The standard approach is to purchase a new system to meet current needs. Patches, work-arounds, and added components satisfy the changing future needs while creating an increasingly complex system, and operational capability slowly degrades over time as complexity builds. The system is then rebuilt from the ground up, at great cost and inconvenience, and the cycle repeats. This paper describes an approach for constant change. Instead of building the best system possible based on today’s needs, only to replace it in the future, the goal is a system that is capable of evolving toward a better future in a consistent and directed way. This prevents one-off fixes from lingering, and it keeps the distributed decision-making process aligned toward a common enterprise goal. Components not consistent with future goals are identified and scheduled for replacement. Current practices chosen for expedience are assigned expiration dates to prevent them from becoming solidified in the future architecture. The replacement cycle is applied to components of the system instead of the entire system. This stops the cycle of complete replacements by allowing constant change, which reduces overall cost and maintains a more consistent operational capability.


Assessing Water Quality Characteristics of pH and Biochemical Oxygen Demand (CBOD) of Public Utility using Statistical Quality Control (SQC)
Nathaniel Bryce Blevins, Richard S. Segall, Sharanya Choppari
Pages: 62-70
ABSTRACT:
This paper is a continuation of previous research supervised by co-author Segall that appeared in Akarapu et al. (2016a, 2016b) at WMSCI 2016. This research studies in depth only two of the characteristics of water quality for actual 2016 data collected for a water treatment plant located in United States where the previous studies Akarapu et al. (2016a, 2016) studied five characteristics of water quality for 2014 data for the same water treatment plant. The two water quality characteristics studied in-depth with this paper with a more recent data set for the same water treatment plant are pH and Carbonaceous Biochemical Oxygen Demand (CBOD). The claim is that seasonal quadratic trend lines were the most accurate for pH, and pH must be a function of other variables such as Ammonia Nitrogen (NHS-N) and Suspended Solid Bodies (SSB). Discussions of the analyses are presented as obtained using Minitab 17 and Minitab 18.


Active Noise Control Proposal for Rotating Machines
Jesús A. Calderón, Julio C. Tafur, Eliseo B. Barriga, John H. Lozano
Pages: 71-75
ABSTRACT:
Rotating machines are absolutely used in many engineering tasks, such as “Energy transmission” given by compressors, turbines, pumps. However, these machines produce high decibels of noise, for this reason is necessary to attenuate noise by many mechanisms as passive criterion, but that can not get good response under low frequencies domain or under disturbances. Therefore, in this research is proposed an active mechanism supported by “Least Mean Square” (LMS) strategies to get noise attenuation in 3-dimension space, furthermore a “Vibration Control Analysis” by sensors based in nanostructures.


Evaluation Model about Behavior, Quality Perception and Satisfaction of the Drinking Water Service in Trujillo- Peru
Bertha Ulloa Rubio, Irma Luz Yupari Azabache, Rosa Patricia Gálvez Carrillo, Julio Antonio Rodriguez Azabache, Higinio Guillermo Wong Aitken
Pages: 76-81
ABSTRACT:
The present research had as an objective to develop an evaluation model about behavior, quality perception and user´s satisfaction of the drinking water service regarding the drinking water service in Trujillo - Peru in the year 2018. The population was made up of the inhabitants with drinking water connections in the district of Trujillo that make a total of 62,166. The sample was made up of 651 people who reside in the district. The applied technique was the survey and the instrument was the questionnaire, which includes the user´s characterization, the user´s environmental behavior, either connected or not connected to public network. The results obtained were the habits and/or customs in the use of water by the users of the drinking water service and 14% believe that it is convenient; as far as the repairs on the public network in the users of the drinking water service, 92% do it externally and in relation to the sanitary guarantee in the drinking water by the users of the drinking water service, 61% consider it moderate. It is concluded that there is an optimal evaluation model about behavior, quality perception and user´s satisfaction regarding the drinking water service in Trujillo-Peru-2018.


A Novel Application of Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) Waste Material as a to Replace Membrane in Microbial Fuel Cell Treating Actual Potato Chips Processing Wastewater
Zainab Z. Ismail, Ahmed Y. Radeef
Pages: 82-87
ABSTRACT:
The microbial fuel cell (MFC) is a modern technique for treating wastewater, which is normally use a membrane in its conventional design. However, the cost of membrane in some countries in addition to the problems of fouling associated with some complex types of wastewaters led to search for new alternatives such waste materials.

In this study, a piece of waste PVC wall cover material was used as a separator between the anodic and cathodic compartments in a dual-chamber microbial fuel cell fueled with actual potato chips processing wastewater (PCPW). The performance of membrane-less MFC was evaluated in terms of the power generation and chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal. The results revealed that the membrane-less MFC achieved high removal efficiency of COD concentration up to 99%. The pH value was used for monitoring the performance of PVC separator and the results revealed a very good performance associated with relatively high current and power densities of 560.8 mA/m2 and 181.1 mW/m2, respectively obtained with relatively lower internal resistance of 45 Ω.


Towards a National Cybersecurity Strategy: The Egyptian Case
Sherif Hashem
Pages: 88-94
ABSTRACT:
This paper provides background and highlights key efforts towards establishing and implementing a national cybersecurity strategy for Egypt. We share experiences in launching national cybersecurity initiatives and developing the national cybersecurity strategy with participation from key sectors. We emphasize the importance of cooperation and knowledge exchange at the national, regional and international levels, while developing and implementing the national cybersecurity strategy.