http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/services/Feed ${session.getAttribute("locale")} 5 http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:12843 Piecewise affine functions arise from Lagrangian duals of integer programming problems, and optimizing them provides good bounds for use in a branch and bound method. Methods such as the subgradient method and bundle methods assume only one subgradient is available at each point, but in many situations there is more information available. We present a new method for optimizing such functions, which is related to steepest descent, but uses an outer approximation to the subdifferential to avoid some of the numerical problems with the steepest descent approach. We provide convergence results for a class of outer approximations, and then develop a practical algorithm using such an approximation for the compact dual to the linear programming relaxation of the uncapacitated facility location problem. We make a numerical comparison of our outer approximation method with the projection method of Conn and Cornuéjols, and the bundle method of Schramm and Zowe. 2013-05-02T01:46:25.205Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:3015 This paper will present program developers and institutional administrators with a program delivery model suitable for cross cultural international delivery developing students from industry through to master’s level tertiary qualifications. The model was designed to meet the needs of property professionals from an industry where technical qualifications are the norm and tertiary qualifications are emerging. A further need was to develop and deliver a program that enhanced the University’s current program profile in both the domestic and international arenas. Early identification of international educational partners, industry need and the ability to service the program were vital to the successful development of Master of Property program. The educational foundations of the program rest in educational partners, local tutorial support, international course management, cultural awareness of and in content, online communication fora, with a delivery focus on problem-based learning, self-directed study, teamwork and the development of a global understanding and awareness of the international property markets. In enrolling students from a diverse cultural background with technical qualifications and/or extensive work experience there are a number of educational barriers to be overcome for all students to successfully progress and complete the program. These barriers disappear when the following mechanisms are employed: individual student pathways, tutorial support by qualified peers, enculturation into tertiary practice, assessment tasks that recognise cultural norms and values, and finally that value is placed on the experiential knowledge, cultural practices and belief systems of the students. 2013-02-07T00:50:05.674Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:11408 This chapter presents a comprehensive analysis of the current state of Building Information Modelling (BIM) in the Architecture, Engineering, Construction and Facility Management (AEC/FM) industry and a re-assessment of its role and potential contribution in the near future, given the apparent slow rate of adoption by the industry. The chapter analyses the readiness of the industry with respect to the (1) tools, (2) processes and (3) people to position BIM adoption in terms of current status and expectations across disciplines. The findings are drawn from an ongoing research project funded by the Australian Cooperative Research Centre for Construction Innovation (CRC-CI) that aims at developing a technological, operational and strategic analysis of adopting BIM in the AEC/FM industry as a collaboration platform. 2012-08-28T06:10:20.489Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:3209 Investments on construction facilities can be motivated by feasibility and profitability indices of alternative initiatives. However, the potentials of projects to meet prescribed goals are being constrained by risks and uncertainties associated with process challenges and procedural frameworks. This study explores the relationship between feasibility sub-systems and profitability indices of selected case studies. The study concludes with insights into the feasibility indices of project initiation and construction processes as they relate to facility management's goals. From the array of variables provided in the study, analysis shows that design sufficiency, buildability and constructability, operability and sustainability are more responsive to the prospects of profitability. 2011-08-15T03:10:02.042Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:5981 Facility Location can be seen as a whole family of problems which have many obvious applications in economics. They have been widely explored in the Operations Research community, from the viewpoints of approximation, heuristics, linear programming, etc. We add a new facet by initiating the study of some of these problems from a parametric point of view. Moreover, we exhibit some less obvious applications of these algorithms in the processing of semistructured documents and in computational biology. 2010-04-27T04:42:14.625Z ]]>