The paper deals with a global optimization algorithm using hybrid approach. To take the advantage of global search capability the evolution strategy(ES) with some modifications in recombination is used first to find the near-optimal solutions. The sequential quadratic programming(SQP) is then used to find the exact solution from the solutions found by ES. One merit of the algorithm is that the ...

The project management discipline is expanding within many engineering activities. This discipline can facilitate strivings toward successful accomplishment of an engineering project. Therefore, many academic institutes teach the “project management” program. This study presents a novel approach that educates engineering students to become successful project managers based on contextual learnin...

Ambivalence, the presence of positive and negative reactions toward an object, typically involves the subjective experience of conflict. We investigate the role that the perceived validity of each side of an ambivalent attitude plays in producing subjective ambivalence (SA). Consistent with the metacognitive model of attitudes, we demonstrated that SA is reduced when people doubt either the pos...

The functional perspective on attitudes suggests that individuals will be more persuaded by advertisements that match their individual needs or attitude functions. Although previous research provided correlational support for this functional approach, the current study aimed to provide a stronger, experimental test. A pilot study validated situational manipulations of the value-expressive and k...