Production scheduling in SMT electronic boards assembly

This paper tackles the problem of scheduling in the assembly of SMT electronic boards. In particular, it focuses on a new scheduling method developed within the framework of an industry-university joint research project. The scheduling system aims at minimizing the makespan; this goal is achieved by reducing setup times and idle times of the machines. As an example, the outcome of a test carried out on a production mix made up of 10 board types is presented and analyzed in a summarized form.     

A low-cost approach to computer-integrated manufacturing in a small chemical unit

Many firms are considering CIM as a means of reducing costs and increasing quality. Sometimes, however, a major problem in this kind of project seems to be the high investments involved. In this paper a methodology for developing a low-cost CIM application is presented. The proposed methodology was successfully experimented in a small chemical unit of one of the leading producers of nylon in the world. The paper reports on the design and implementation of the computer-integrated manufacturing and the associated costs and benefits.     

Schools As Subjective Singularities.The Inventions Of Schools In Durkheim's L'évolution Pédagogique En France1

Abstract L'évolution pédagogique en France, is one of the major instances of Durkheim's research, and has long remained in the shadows even among the specialists. The author proposes to reconsider its importance, as it brings about a series of discoveries concerning the very category of the school, and its farsighted sociological views on the relationship between education and society. Durkheim's analyses proves that schools have the result of singular intellectual invention and reinvention, at the core of which lie, the overlapping intersections of knowing, thinking and teaching.     

On Acting Against One's Best Judgement: A Social Constructionist Interpretation for the Akrasia Problem

Akrasia is a philosophical concept meaning the possibility to perform actions against one's best judgement. This contribution aims to clarify this phenomenon in terms of a social construction, stating it as a narrative configuration generated by an observer. The latter finds himself engaged in justifying a “problematic” line of action with regard to specific cultural beliefs referring to the self, the others and the behaviour. This paper intends to make explicit the assumptions underlying the traditional definitions of akrasia when, paradoxically, an agent performs an action not in accordance with his/her best judgement. In the transition from modern to post‐modern psychology, we here propose an interpretation of the phenomenon in psychological terms, envisaging akrasia as a narrative form functional to the identity processes and to the social dynamics of the structures of contemporary societies. Implications in the psychological practice will be taken into account.