Search results for: road- users

Authors: Mustafa Mutahari, Nao Sugiki, Kojiro Matsuo

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The four decades of war, lack of job opportunities, poverty, lack of services, and natural disasters in different provinces of Afghanistan have contributed to a rapid increase in the population of Kabul, the capital city of Afghanistan. Population census has not been conducted since 1979, the first and last population census in Afghanistan. However, according to population estimations by Afghan authorities, the population of Kabul has been estimated at more than 4 million people, whereas the city was designed for two million people. Although the major transport mode of Kabul residents is public transport, responsible authorities within the country failed to supply the required means of transportation systems for the city. Besides, informal resettlement, lack of intersection control devices, presence of illegal vendors on streets, presence of illegal and unstandardized on-street parking and bus stops, driver`s unprofessional behavior, weak traffic law enforcement, and blocked roads and sidewalks have contributed to the extreme traffic congestion of Kabul. In 2018, the government of Afghanistan approved the Kabul city Urban Design Framework (KUDF), a vision towards the future of Kabul, which provides strategies and design guidance at different scales to direct urban development. Considering traffic congestion of the city and its budget limitations, the KUDF proposes a BRT route network with seven lines to reduce the traffic congestion, and it is said to facilitate more than 50% of Kabul population to benefit from this service. Based on the KUDF, it is planned to increase the BRT mode share from 0% to 17% and later to 30% in medium and long-term planning scenarios, respectively. Therefore, a detailed research study is needed to evaluate the proposed system before the implementation stage starts. The integrated land-use transport model is an effective tool to evaluate the Kabul BRT because of its future assessment capabilities that take into account the interaction between land use and transportation. This research aims to analyze and evaluate the proposed BRT route network with the application of an integrated land-use and transportation model. The research estimates the population distribution and travel behavior of Kabul within small boundary scales. The actual road network and land-use detailed data of the city are used to perform the analysis. The BRT corridors are evaluated not only considering its impacts on the spatial interactions in the city`s transportation system but also on the spatial developments. Therefore, the BRT are evaluated with the scenarios of improving the Kabul transportation system based on the distribution of land-use or spatial developments, planned development typology and population distribution of the city. The impacts of the new improved transport system on the BRT network are analyzed and the BRT network is evaluated accordingly. In addition, the research also focuses on the spatial accessibility of BRT stops, corridors, and BRT line beneficiaries, and each BRT stop and corridor are evaluated in terms of both access and geographic coverage, as well.

Keywords: accessibility, BRT, integrated land-use and transport model, travel behavior, spatial development

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Authors: Stacia E. H. Sitohang, S.Mn., Socrates Rudy Sirait

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The first movie theater in Indonesia was established in December 1900. The movie industry started with international movie penetration. After a while, local movie producers started to rise and created local Indonesian movies. The industry is growing through ups and downs in Indonesia. In 2008, Visinema was founded in Jakarta, Indonesia, by AnggaDwimasSasongko, one of the most respected movie director in Indonesia. After getting achievements and recognition, Visinema chose to grow the company horizontally as opposed to only grow vertically and gain another similar achievement. Visinemachose to build the ecosystem that enables them to obtain many more opportunities and generatebusiness sustainability. The company proceed as an agile company. They created several business subsidiaries to support the company’s Intellectual Property (IP) development. This research was done through interview with the key persons in the company and questionnaire to get market insights regarding Visinema. The is able to transform their IP that initially started from movies to different kinds of business model. Interestingly, Angga chose to use the start up approach to create Visinema. In 2019, the company successfully gained Series A funding from Intudo Ventures and got other various investment schemes to support the business. In early 2020, Covid-19 pandemic negatively impacted many industries in Indonesia, especially the entertainment and leisure businesses. Fortunately, Visinema did not face any significant problem regarding survival during the pandemic, there were nolay-offs nor work hour reductions. Instead, they were thinking of much bigger opportunities and problems. While other companies suffer during the pandemic, Visinema created the first focused Transactional Video On Demand (TVOD) in Indonesia named Bioskop Online. The platform was created to keep the company innovating and adapting with the new online market as the result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Other than a digital platform, Visinemainvested heavily in animation to target kids and family business. They believed that penetrating the technology and animation market is going to be the biggest opportunity in Visinema’s road map. Besides huge opportunities, Visinema is also facing problems. The first is company brand positioning. Angga, as the founder, felt the need to detach his name from the brand image of Visinema to create system sustainability and scalability. Second, the company has to create a strategy to refocus in a particular business area to maintain and improve the competitive advantages. The third problem, IP piracy is a huge structural problem in Indonesia, the company considers IP thieves as their biggest competitors as opposed to other production company. As the recommendation, we suggest a set of branding and management strategy to detach the founder’s name from Visinema’s brand and improve the competitive advantages. We also suggest Visinema invest in system building to prevent IP piracy in the entertainment industry, which later can be another business subsidiary of Visinema.

Keywords: business ecosystem, agile, sustainability, scalability, start Up, intellectual property, digital platform

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Authors: Maya de Vries Kedem, Abir Jubran, Diana Baron

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Employment in Israel offers Palestinian workers an income double what they can earn in the West Bank. The need to support their families leads many educated Palestinians to forgo finding work in their profession in the Palestinian Authority and instead look for employment in those sectors open to them in Israel, particularly the construction, agriculture, and industry sectors. The International Labor Organization estimated that about 1,200 workers in Israel die every year because of occupational diseases (diseases caused by working conditions). Construction workers in Israel are constantly exposed to dust, noise, chemical materials, and work in awkward postures, which require prolonged bending, repetitive motion, and other risk factors that can lead to illnesses and death. Occupational health is vastly neglected in Israel and construction workers are particularly at risk . As of June 2022, the Israeli quota in the construction sector for Palestinian workers stood at 80,000. Kav LaOved released a new study on the state of occupational health among Palestinian workers employed in construction in Israel. The study Roadmap to Health: Palestinian Workers in Israel's Construction Sector reviews the extent to which the health of Palestinian workers is protected at work in Israel. The report includes analysis of a survey administered to 256 workers as well as interviews with 10 workers and with 5 Israeli occupational health experts. Report highlights: • Among survey respondents, 63.9% stated that safety procedures to protect their health are rarely followed in their workplace (e.g., taking breaks, using protective gear, following restrictions on lifting heavy items, and having inspectors regularly on site to monitor safety). • All 256 Palestinian workers who participated to the survey said that their health has been directly or indirectly harmed by working in Israel and reported suffering from the following problems: orthopedic problems such as joint, hand, leg or knee problems (100%); headaches (75%); back problems (36.3%); eye problems (23.8%); breathing problems (17.6%); chronic pain (14.8%); heart problems (7.8%); and skin problems (3.5%). • Workers who are injured or do not feel well often continue working for fear of losing their payment for that day. About half of the 256 survey respondents reported that they pay brokerage fees to find an employer with a work permit, often paying between 2,000 and 3,000 NIS per month. “I have an obligation—I pay about NIS 120 a day for my permit, [and] I have to pay for it whether I work or not" a worker said. • Most Palestinian construction workers suffer from stress and mental health problems. Workers pointed to several issues that greatly affect their mood and mental state: daily crossings at crowded checkpoints where workers stand for hours; lack of sleep due to leaving home daily at 3:00-3:30 am; commuting two to four hours to work in each direction; and abusive work environments. A worker told KLO that the sight of thousands of workers standing together at the checkpoint causes “high blood pressure and the feeling that you are going to be squeezed.” Another said, “I felt that my bones would break.” In the survey workers reported suffering from insomnia (70.1%), breathing difficulties (35.8%), chest pressure (27.6%), or rapid pulse rate (12.2%).

Keywords: construction sector, palestinian workers, occupational health, Israel, occupation

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Authors: Partha Sarathi Nayek, Abhiparna Dasgupta, Maheshreddy Gade

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Earth retaining structure plays a vital role in stabilizing unstable road cuts and slopes in the mountainous region. The retaining structures located in seismically active regions like the Himalayas may experience moderate to severe earthquakes. An earthquake produces two kinds of ground motion: permanent quasi-static displacement (fault rapture) on the fault rupture plane and transient vibration, traveling a long distance. There has been extensive research work to understand the dynamic behavior of retaining structures subjected to transient ground motions. However, understanding the effect caused by fault rapture phenomena on retaining structures is limited. The presence of shallow crustal active faults and natural slopes in the Himalayan region further highlights the need to study the response of retaining structures subjected to fault rupture phenomena. In this paper, an attempt has been made to understand the dynamic response of the cantilever retaining wall subjected to surface fault rupture. For this purpose, a 2D finite element model consists of a retaining wall, backfill and foundation have been developed using Abaqus 6.14 software. The backfill and foundation material are modeled as per the Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion, and the wall is modeled as linear elastic. In this present study, the interaction between backfill and wall is modeled as ‘surface-surface contact.’ The entire simulation process is divided into three steps, i.e., the initial step, gravity load step, fault rupture step. The interaction property between wall and soil and fixed boundary condition to all the boundary elements are applied in the initial step. In the next step, gravity load is applied, and the boundary elements are allowed to move in the vertical direction to incorporate the settlement of soil due to the gravity load. In the final step, surface fault rupture has been applied to the wall-backfill system. For this purpose, the foundation is divided into two blocks, namely, the hanging wall block and the footwall block. A finite fault rupture displacement is applied to the hanging wall part while the footwall bottom boundary is kept as fixed. Initially, a numerical analysis is performed considering the reverse fault mechanism with a dip angle of 45°. The simulated result is presented in terms of contour maps of permanent displacements of the wall-backfill system. These maps highlighted that surface fault rupture can induce permanent displacement in both horizontal and vertical directions, which can significantly influence the dynamic behavior of the wall-backfill system. Further, the influence of fault mechanism, dip angle, and surface fault rupture position is also investigated in this work.

Keywords: surface fault rupture, retaining wall, dynamic response, finite element analysis

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Authors: Awatif Habeeb Al-Shamare

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The number of social media users amongst special education teachers and parents of children with Down Syndrome (DS) is increasing annually. This is also the case in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). However, according to the best of the author’s knowledge, there are no qualitative studies which testify to the true nature of the interaction between teachers and parents when using social media, nor the role of social media in supporting and assisting parents and teachers with regards to the children’s educational needs in KSA. Therefore, this ongoing study aims to identify the role of social media in supporting parents and teachers of DS students, with a special emphasis on early intervention services in KSA. By bridging the knowledge gap on social media and special education in KSA and presenting socially relevant and applied information on the topic, this research provides a theoretical and practical base for the establishment of appropriate and effective programmes between the ministries of Information and Special Education in particular. A qualitative approach was selected because it was the most suitable approach for exploring the participants’ experiences, which could not be determined through scientific tests. Interviewing, chosen as the research instrument, allowed the researcher to obtain a detailed understanding of the topic linked to the study objectives. Initially, a pilot study was conducted at the Daycare Center in May 2016. Its aim was to examine and refine the methodology and assess whether the questions were understood with the potential for re-drafting them, if necessary. The main study consists of five teachers and five mothers with experience of using social media and with links to the Daycare Center. Thematic Analysis has been chosen for analysing the findings because it is a flexible method that allows themes to emerge from the data. Results of the current study are still in the initial stages, but the preliminary findings are as follows: (1) social media is an important tool in encouraging parents and teachers to access the necessary information and knowledge about, and experience in, early intervention services; (2) it acts as a support network for the parents; (3) it helps raise awareness about DS and the need for early intervention; (4) it can be used to put pressure on the government for an expansion in early intervention services, and finally (5) its use can be problematic in that parents and teachers face some difficulties and challenges when using the different platforms. It can be concluded that social media plays a significant role in the lives of teachers and parents with special needs children in KSA.

Keywords: down syndrome, early intervention services, social media, support parents and teachers

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Authors: Mozhdeh Shirinzadeh, Richard Stroetmann

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Orthotropic steel deck bridge consists of a deck plate, longitudinal stiffeners under the deck plate, cross beams and the main longitudinal girders. Due to the several advantages, Orthotropic Steel Deck (OSD) systems have been utilized in many bridges worldwide. The significant feature of this structural system is its high load-bearing capacity while having relatively low dead weight. In addition, cost efficiency and the ability of rapid field erection have made the orthotropic steel deck a popular type of bridge worldwide. However, OSD bridges are highly susceptible to fatigue damage. A large number of welded joints can be regarded as the main weakness of this system. This problem is, in particular, evident in the bridges which were built before 1994 when the fatigue design criteria had not been introduced in the bridge design codes. Recently, an Orthotropic-composite slab (OCS) for road bridges has been experimentally and numerically evaluated and developed at Technische Universität Dresden as a part of AIF-FOSTA research project P1265. The results of the project have provided a solid foundation for the design and analysis of Orthotropic-composite decks with dowel strips as a durable alternative to conventional steel or reinforced concrete decks. In continuation, while using the achievements of that project, the application of a modified Ortho-composite deck for an existing typical OSD bridge is investigated. Composite action is obtained by using rows of dowel strips in a clothoid (CL) shape. Regarding Eurocode criteria for different fatigue detail categories of an OSD bridge, the effect of the proposed modification approach is assessed. Moreover, a numerical parametric study is carried out utilizing finite element software to determine the impact of different variables, such as the size and arrangement of dowel strips, the application of transverse or longitudinal rows of dowel strips, and local wheel loads. For the verification of the simulation technique, experimental results of a segment of an OCS deck are used conducted in project P1265. Fatigue assessment is performed based on the last draft of Eurocode 1993-2 (2024) for the most probable detail categories (Hot-Spots) that have been reported in the previous statistical studies. Then, an analytical comparison is provided between the typical orthotropic steel deck and the modified Ortho-composite deck bridge in terms of fatigue issues and durability. The load-bearing capacity of the bridge, the critical deflections, and the composite behavior are also evaluated and compared. Results give a comprehensive overview of the efficiency of the rehabilitation method considering the required design service life of the bridge. Moreover, the proposed approach is assessed with regard to the construction method, details and practical aspects, as well as the economic point of view.

Keywords: composite action, fatigue, finite element method, steel deck, bridge

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Authors: M. Roberts Masillamani

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There is a phenomenal difference, as regard to the teaching methodology adopted at the urban and the rural area colleges. However, bright and talented student may be from rural back ground even. But there is huge dearth of the digitization in the rural areas and lesser developed countries. Today’s students need new skills to compete and successful in the future. Education should be combination of practical, intellectual, and social skills. What does this mean for rural classrooms and how can it be achieved. Rural colleges are not able to hire the best resources, since the best teacher’s aim is to move towards the city. If city is provided everywhere, then there will be no rural area. This is possible by forming university clusters (UC). The University cluster is a group of renowned and accredited universities coming together to bridge this dearth. The UC will deliver the live lectures and allow the students’ from remote areas to actively participate in the classroom. This paper tries to present a plan of action of providing a better live classroom teaching and learning system from the city to the rural and the lesser developed countries. This paper titled “University Clusters using ICT for teaching and learning” provides a true concept of opening live digital classroom windows for rural colleges, where resources are not available, thus reducing the digital divide. This is different from pod casting a lecture or distance learning and eLearning. The live lecture can be streamed through digital equipment to another classroom. The rural students can collaborate with their peers and critiques, be assessed, collect information, acquire different techniques in assessment and learning process. This system will benefit rural students and teachers and develop socio economic status. This will also will increase the degree of confidence of the Rural students and teachers. Thus bringing about the concept of ‘Train the Trainee’ in reality. An educational university cloud for each cluster will be built remote infrastructure facilities (RIF) for the above program. The users may be informed, about the available lecture schedules, through the RIF service. RIF with an educational cloud can be set by the universities under one cluster. This paper talks a little more about University clusters and the methodology to be adopted as well as some extended features like, tutorial classes, library grids, remote laboratory login, research and development.

Keywords: lesser developed countries, digital divide, digital learning, education, e-learning, ICT, library grids, live classroom windows, RIF, rural, university clusters and urban

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Authors: Irene H. Maralit

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Warning labels have been found to inform smokers about the health hazards of smoking, encourage smokers to quit, and prevent nonsmokers from starting to smoke. Warning labels on tobacco products are an ideal way of communicating with smokers. Since the intervention is delivered at the time of smoking, nearly all smokers are exposed to warning labels and pack-a-day smokers could be exposed to the warnings more than 7,000 times per year. Given the reach and frequency of exposure, the proponents want to know the effect of warning labels on smoking behavior. Its aims to identify the profile of the smokers associated with its behavioral variables that best describe the users’ perception. The behavioral variables are AVOID, THINK RISK and FORGO. This research study aims to determine if there is significant relationship between the effect of warning labels on cigarette package on Consumer behavior when grouped according to profile variable. The researcher used quota sampling to gather representative data through purposive means to determine the accurate representation of data needed in the study. Furthermore, the data was gathered through the use of a self-constructed questionnaire. The statistical method used were Frequency count, Chi square, multi regression, weighted mean and ANOVA to determine the scale and percentage of the three variables. After the analysis of data, results shows that most of the respondents belongs to age range 22–28 years old with percentage of 25.3%, majority are male with a total number of 134 with percentage of 89.3% and single with total number of 79 and percentage of 52.7%, mostly are high school graduates with total number of 59 and percentage of 39.3, with regards to occupation, skilled workers have the highest frequency of 37 with 24.7%, Majority of the income of the respondents falls under the range of Php 5,001-Php10,000 with 50.7%. And also with regards to the number of sticks consumed per day falls under 6–10 got the highest frequency with 33.3%. The respondents THINK RISK factor got the highest composite mean which is 2.79 with verbal interpretation of agree. It is followed by FORGO with 2.78 composite mean and a verbal interpretation of agree and AVOID variable with composite mean of 2.77 with agree as its verbal interpretation. In terms of significant relationship on the effects of cigarette label to consumer behavior when grouped according to profile variable, sex and occupation found to be significant.

Keywords: consumer behavior, smokers, warning labels, think risk avoid forgo

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Authors: Yixin Zhu, Lishengsa Yue, Jian Sun, Lanyue Tang

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Modeling driving distraction in microscopic traffic simulation is crucial for enhancing simulation accuracy. Current driving distraction models are mainly derived from physical motion constraints under distracted states, in which distraction-related error terms are added to existing microscopic driver models. However, the model accuracy is not very satisfying, due to a lack of modeling the cognitive mechanism underlying the distraction. This study models driving distraction based on the Queueing Network Human Processor model (QN-MHP). This study utilizes the queuing structure of the model to perform task invocation and switching for distracted operation and control of the vehicle under driver distraction. Based on the assumption of the QN-MHP model about the cognitive sub-network, server F is a structural bottleneck. The latter information must wait for the previous information to leave server F before it can be processed in server F. Therefore, the waiting time for task switching needs to be calculated. Since the QN-MHP model has different information processing paths for auditory information and visual information, this study divides driving distraction into two types: auditory distraction and visual distraction. For visual distraction, both the visual distraction task and the driving task need to go through the visual perception sub-network, and the stimuli of the two are asynchronous, which is called stimulus on asynchrony (SOA), so when calculating the waiting time for switching tasks, it is necessary to consider it. In the case of auditory distraction, the auditory distraction task and the driving task do not need to compete for the server resources of the perceptual sub-network, and their stimuli can be synchronized without considering the time difference in receiving the stimuli. According to the Theory of Planned Behavior for drivers (TPB), this study uses risk entropy as the decision criterion for driver task switching. A logistic regression model is used with risk entropy as the independent variable to determine whether the driver performs a distraction task, to explain the relationship between perceived risk and distraction. Furthermore, to model a driver’s perception characteristics, a neurophysiological model of visual distraction tasks is incorporated into the QN-MHP, and executes the classical Intelligent Driver Model. The proposed driving distraction model integrates the psychological cognitive process of a driver with the physical motion characteristics, resulting in both high accuracy and interpretability. This paper uses 773 segments of distracted car-following in Shanghai Naturalistic Driving Study data (SH-NDS) to classify the patterns of distracted behavior on different road facilities and obtains three types of distraction patterns: numbness, delay, and aggressiveness. The model was calibrated and verified by simulation. The results indicate that the model can effectively simulate the distracted car-following behavior of different patterns on various roadway facilities, and its performance is better than the traditional IDM model with distraction-related error terms. The proposed model overcomes the limitations of physical-constraints-based models in replicating dangerous driving behaviors, and internal characteristics of an individual. Moreover, the model is demonstrated to effectively generate more dangerous distracted driving scenarios, which can be used to construct high-value automated driving test scenarios.

Keywords: computational cognitive model, driving distraction, microscopic traffic simulation, psychological-physical constraints

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Authors: Domenico Carmelo Mongelli

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The context is that of great uncertainty in the 27 countries belonging to the European Union which has adopted an epochal measure: the elimination of internal combustion engines for the traction of road vehicles starting from 2035 with complete replacement with electric vehicles. If on the one hand there is great concern at various levels for the unpreparedness for this change, on the other the Scientific Community is not preparing accurate studies on the problem, as the scientific literature deals with single aspects of the issue, moreover addressing the issue at the level of individual countries, losing sight of the global implications of the issue for the entire EU. The aim of the research is to fill these gaps: the technological, plant engineering, environmental, economic and employment aspects of the energy transition in question are addressed and connected to each other, comparing the current situation with the different scenarios that could exist in 2035 and in the following years until total disposal of the internal combustion engine vehicle fleet for the entire EU. The methodologies adopted by the research consist in the analysis of the entire life cycle of electric vehicles and batteries, through the use of specific databases, and in the dynamic simulation, using specific calculation codes, of the application of the results of this analysis to the entire EU electric vehicle fleet from 2035 onwards. Energy balance sheets will be drawn up (to evaluate the net energy saved), plant balance sheets (to determine the surplus demand for power and electrical energy required and the sizing of new plants from renewable sources to cover electricity needs), economic balance sheets (to determine the investment costs for this transition, the savings during the operation phase and the payback times of the initial investments), the environmental balances (with the different energy mix scenarios in anticipation of 2035, the reductions in CO2eq and the environmental effects are determined resulting from the increase in the production of lithium for batteries), the employment balances (it is estimated how many jobs will be lost and recovered in the reconversion of the automotive industry, related industries and in the refining, distribution and sale of petroleum products and how many will be products for technological innovation, the increase in demand for electricity, the construction and management of street electric columns). New algorithms for forecast optimization are developed, tested and validated. Compared to other published material, the research adds an overall picture of the energy transition, capturing the advantages and disadvantages of the different aspects, evaluating the entities and improvement solutions in an organic overall picture of the topic. The results achieved allow us to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the energy transition, to determine the possible solutions to mitigate these weaknesses and to simulate and then evaluate their effects, establishing the most suitable solutions to make this transition feasible.

Keywords: engines, Europe, mobility, transition

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Authors: Apurva Patil, Sujatha Srinivasan

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Reducing actuator loads is important for applications in which human effort is required for actuation. The potential benefit of applying spring balancing to rehabilitation devices which work against gravity on a nonhorizontal plane is well recognized, but practical applications have been elusive. Although existing methods provide exact spring balance, they require additional masses or auxiliary links, or all the springs used originate from the ground, which makes the resulting device bulky and space-inefficient. This paper uses a method of static balancing of mechanisms with conservative loads such as gravity and spring loads using non-zero-free-length springs and no auxiliary links. Application of this method to a manually operated swimming pool lift mechanism which lowers and raises the physically challenged users into or out of the swimming pool is presented here. Various possible configurations using extension and compression springs as well as gas spring in the mechanism are compared. This work involves approximate spring balancing of the mechanism using minimization of potential energy variance. It uses the approach of flattening the potential energy distribution over the workspace and fuses it with numerical optimization. The results show the considerable reduction in actuator torque requirement with practical spring design and arrangement. Although the method provides only an approximate balancing, it is versatile, flexible in choosing appropriate control variables that are relevant to the design problem and easy to implement. The true potential of this technique lies in the fact that it uses a very simple optimization to find the spring constant, free length of the spring and the optimal attachment points subject to the optimization constraints. Also, it uses physically realizable non-zero-free-length springs directly, thereby reducing the complexity involved in simulating zero-free-length springs from non-zero-free-length springs. This method allows springs to be attached inside the mechanism, which makes the implementation of spring balancing practical. Because auxiliary linkages can be avoided, the resultant swimming pool lift mechanism is compact. The cost benefits and reduced complexity can be significant advantages in the development of this user-actuated swimming pool lift for developing countries.

Keywords: gas spring, rehabilitation device, spring balancing, swimming pool lift

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Authors: Ludivine Gueho, Sylvain Fleury, Eric Jamet

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Driver distraction is known to be a major contributing factor of car accidents. Since many years, constructors have been designing embedded technologies to face this problem and reduce distraction. Being able to predict user acceptance would further be helpful in the development process to build appropriate systems. The present research aims at modelling the acceptability of a specific system, an innovative personalized and contextualized embedded radio, through an online survey of 202 people in France that assessed the psychological variables determining intentions to use the system. The questionnaire instantiated the dimensions of the extended version of the UTAUT acceptability model. Because of the specific features of the system assessed, we added 4 dimensions: perceived security, anxiety, trust and privacy concerns. Results showed that hedonic motivation, i.e., the fun or pleasure derived from using a technology, and performance expectancy, i.e., the degree to which individuals believe that the characteristics of the system meet their needs, are the most important dimensions in determining behavioral intentions about the innovative radio. To a lesser extent, social influence, i.e., the degree to which individuals think they can use the system while respecting their social group’s norms and while giving a positive image of themselves, had an effect on behavioral intentions. Moreover, trust, that is, the positive belief about the perceived reliability of, dependability of, and confidence in a person, object or process, had a significant effect, mediated by performance expectancy. In an applicative way, the present research reveals that, to be accepted, in-car embedded new technology has to address individual needs, for instance by facilitating the driving activity or by providing useful information. If it shows hedonic qualities by being entertaining, pretty or comfortable, this may improve the intentions to use it. Therefore, it is clearly important to include reflection about user experience in the design process. Finally, the users have to be reassured on the system’s reliability. For example, improving the transparency of the system by providing information about the system functioning, could improve trust. These results bring some highlights on determinant of acceptance of an in-vehicle technology and are useful for constructors to design acceptable systems.

Keywords: acceptability, innovative embedded radio, structural equation, user-centric evaluation, UTAUT

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Authors: Sneha Manjunath

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Architecture is a continuous process of evolution that keeps changing and evolving through time and gives rise to various design solutions based on the purpose of change and the present function of the space. This evolution in design has been happening for a long time and hence a variety of climate-responsive, context-responsive and human-responsive developments in habitats are witnessed. India has been one of the hot spots for the conservation of heritage and architecture. Buildings ranging from Indus-valley civilization to modern contemporary dwellings have all evolved in one or the other way. Various historical sites such as Hampi in Karnataka, Taj Mahal in Agra and various temples in Southern India are identified and preserved under the Archeological Survey of India. The main objective of such preservation is to help in protecting, preserving and keeping it intact for the future. Study of such heritage-rich buildings and building techniques helps us in understanding the psychology, lifestyle and socio-cultural impacts it had on the complete urban fabric that developed in a region. It also gives an insight into the occupation, economic status and religious beliefs that gave rise to a pattern in an urban form that was more inclusive and appropriate as per the need of the users. Today’s generation draws various inspirations from history with respect to space planning, building services such as lighting, ventilation and sanitation systems and elevation treatments. It is important to know and understand the importance of certain urban planning techniques used to develop ancient towns or cities in a radial pattern, square pattern, or checkered pattern depending on the need of the administrative set-up of the respective town or city. It is believed that every element of design undergoes evolution and it is important for a designer to know, respect and develop the same for the future so as to acknowledge and conserve every aspect of heritage that has been a backbone in urban form generation even today. Hampi in the Karnataka state of India is a very good example of how the monuments and dwellings from 14th Century still stand strong. Temples from North India, such as Kedarnath Temple, survived heavy floods because of their building techniques. Such building materials and construction techniques are to be revived and reused for a better perspective towards space planning in urbanized cities.

Keywords: architecture, urban form, heritage, town planning

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Authors: Sachil Kumar, Anoop Kumar Verma, Wahid Ali, Uma Shankar Singh

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Globally approximately 55.3 million people die each year. In the India there were 95 lakh annual deaths in 2013. The number of deaths resulted from homicides, suicides and unintentional injuries in the same period was about 5.7 lakh. The ever-increasing crime rate necessitated the development of methods for determining time since death. An erroneous time of death window can lead investigators down the wrong path or possibly focus a case on an innocent suspect. In this regard a research was carried out by analyzing the temperature dependent degradation of a Cardiac Troponin-T protein (cTnT) in the myocardium postmortem as a marker for time since death. Cardiac tissue samples were collected from (n=6) medico-legal autopsies, (in the Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, King George’s Medical University, Lucknow India) after informed consent from the relatives and studied post-mortem degradation by incubation of the cardiac tissue at room temperature (20±2 OC), 12 0C, 25 0C and 37 0C for different time periods ((~5, 26, 50, 84, 132, 157, 180, 205, and 230 hours). The cases included were the subjects of road traffic accidents (RTA) without any prior history of disease who died in the hospital and their exact time of death was known. The analysis involved extraction of the protein, separation by denaturing gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and visualization by Western blot using cTnT specific monoclonal antibodies. The area of the bands within a lane was quantified by scanning and digitizing the image using Gel Doc. The data shows a distinct temporal profile corresponding to the degradation of cTnT by proteases found in cardiac muscle. The disappearance of intact cTnT and the appearance of lower molecular weight bands are easily observed. Western blot data clearly showed the intact protein at 42 kDa, two major (27 kDa, 10kDa) fragments, two additional minor fragments (32 kDa) and formation of low molecular weight fragments as time increases. At 12 0C the intensity of band (intact cTnT) decreased steadily as compared to RT, 25 0C and 37 0C. Overall, both PMI and temperature had a statistically significant effect where the greatest amount of protein breakdown was observed within the first 38 h and at the highest temperature, 37 0C. The combination of high temperature (37 0C) and long Postmortem interval (105.15 hrs) had the most drastic effect on the breakdown of cTnT. If the percent intact cTnT is calculated from the total area integrated within a Western blot lane, then the percent intact cTnT shows a pseudo-first order relationship when plotted against the log of the time postmortem. These plots show a good coefficient of correlation of r = 0.95 (p=0.003) for the regression of the human heart at different temperature conditions. The data presented demonstrates that this technique can provide an extended time range during which Postmortem interval can be more accurately estimated.

Keywords: degradation, postmortem interval, proteolysis, temperature, troponin

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Authors: Michael Howard

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The growing popularity of electric vehicles in the United States requires an ever-expanding infrastructure of commercial DC fast charging stations. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates 33,355 publicly available DC fast charging stations as of September 2023. In 2017, 115,370 gasoline stations were operating in the United States, much more ubiquitous than DC fast chargers. Range anxiety is an important impediment to the adoption of electric vehicles and is even more relevant in underserved regions in the country. The peer-to-peer energy marketplace helps fill the demand by allowing private home and small business owners to rent their 240 Volt, level-2 charging facilities. The existing, publicly accessible outlets are wrapped with a Cloud-connected microcontroller managing security and charging sessions. These microcontrollers act as Edge devices communicating with a Cloud message broker, while both buyer and seller users interact with the framework via a web-based user interface. The database storage used by the marketplace framework is a key component in both the cost of development and the performance that contributes to the user experience. A traditional storage solution is the SQL database. The architecture and query language have been in existence since the 1970s and are well understood and documented. The Structured Query Language supported by the query engine provides fine granularity with user query conditions. However, difficulty in scaling across multiple nodes and cost of its server-based compute have resulted in a trend in the last 20 years towards other NoSQL, serverless approaches. In this study, we evaluate the NoSQL vs. SQL solutions through a comparison of Google Cloud Firestore and Cloud SQL MySQL offerings. The comparison pits Google's serverless, document-model, non-relational, NoSQL against the server-base, table-model, relational, SQL service. The evaluation is based on query latency, flexibility/scalability, and cost criteria. Through benchmarking and analysis of the architecture, we determine whether Firestore can support the energy marketplace storage needs and if the introduction of a GraphQL middleware layer can overcome its deficiencies.

Keywords: non-relational, relational, MySQL, mitigate, Firestore, SQL, NoSQL, serverless, database, GraphQL

Procedia PDF Downloads 27

Authors: A. Georgiou, A. Galani, A. Karatza, G. E. Bampasidis

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Augmented Reality (AR) technology has become integral in enhancing visitor experiences at Greece's UNESCO World Heritage Sites. This research meticulously investigates various facets of AR applications/games associated with these revered sites. The cultural heritage represents the identity of each nation in the world. Technology can breathe life into this identity. Through Augmented Reality (AR), individuals can travel back in time, visit places they cannot access in real life, discover the history of these places, and live unique experiences. The study examines the objectives and intended goals behind the development and deployment of each augmented reality application/game pertaining to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Greece. It thoroughly analyzes the scenarios presented within these AR games/applications, examining how historical narratives, interactive elements, and cultural context are incorporated to engage users. Furthermore, the research identifies and assesses the technological platforms utilized for the development and implementation of these AR experiences, encompassing mobile devices, AR headsets, or specific software frameworks. It classifies and examines the types of augmented reality employed within these applications/games, including marker-based, markerless, location-based, or immersive AR experiences. Evaluation of the benefits accrued by visitors engaging with these AR applications/games, such as enhanced learning experiences, improved cultural understanding, and heightened engagement with the heritage sites, forms a crucial aspect of this study. Additionally, the research scrutinizes potential drawbacks or limitations associated with the AR applications/games, considering technological barriers, user accessibility issues, or constraints affecting user experience. By thoroughly investigating these pivotal aspects, this research aims to provide a comprehensive overview and analysis of the landscape of augmented reality applications/games linked to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Greece. The findings seek to contribute nuanced insights into the effectiveness, challenges, and opportunities associated with leveraging AR technology for heritage site preservation, visitor engagement, and cultural enrichment.

Keywords: augmented reality, AR applications, UNESCO sites, cultural heritage, Greece, visitor engagement, historical narratives

Procedia PDF Downloads 37

Authors: Sunha Ahn

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Intimate relationships have constructed our embodied experiences and emotional memories, which can become grounded as practical knowledge to some extent and play a critical role in social medicine, particularly, in our well-being and mental health. In South Africa, such relational factors are significant for young women and girls in their emotional development period of time, especially, working as the existence of social and relational pressures over feminine sexual health and choices. This, in turn, brings about the absence/lack of communication in intimate relationships, especially with their parents, which leads to a vicious cycle in sexual health behaviour choices. Drawing upon sociological and socio-anthropological understandings of HIV-related issues, this study provides narrative threads of evidence about South African teenage mothers from early-dating debuted to HIV infection. Their stories consist of a visualised figure in chronicle order, illustrating embodied journeys of sexual health choices surrounding uncommunicative relationships and socially-suppressive environments. Methodologically, this qualitative study explored data from mixed online methods: 1) a case study analysing online comments (N = 12,763) on the South African Springster's website, run by the UK-based NGO, namely, Girl Effect; and 2) In-depth online interviews (N = 21) were conducted with young SA women and girls (16-28 ages) recruited in Cape Town, Pretoria, and Johannesburg, SA. Participants consist of both those living with HIV and without. Ethical approval was gained via the College of Social Sciences Ethical Committee at the University of Glasgow, and informed consent was obtained verbally and in writing from participants in due course. Data were thematically applied to an iteratively developed codebook and analysed. There are three kinds of typical pressures as relational factors for them, including peer pressure, partners or boyfriends, and parents’ reactions. Under the patriarchal and religious-devoted social atmospheres, these relationships work as a source of scaredness among young women and girls who could not talk about their sexual health concerns and rights. Such an inability to communicate with intimate relationships, eventually, emerges as a perpetuated or taken-for-granted social environment in South Africa, insistently leading to an increase in unwanted pregnancies or new HIV infections in young South African women and girls. In this sense, this study reveals the pressing need for open communication between generations with accurate information about HIV/AIDS. This also implies that the sociological feminist praxes in South Africa would help eliminate HIV-related stigma as well as construct open space to reduce gender-based violence and sexually-transmitted infection. Ultimately, this will be a road for supporting sexually healthy decisions and well-being across South African generations.

Keywords: HIV, young women, South Africa, intimate relationships, communication, social medicine

Procedia PDF Downloads 41

Authors: Constanza Levicán, Andrés Aparicio, Rodrigo F. Cádiz

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The artistic usage of Brain-computer interfaces (BCI), initially intended for medical purposes, has increased in the past few years as they become more affordable and available for the general population. One interesting question that arises from this practice is whether it is possible to compose or perform music by using only the brain as a musical instrument. In order to approach this question, we propose a BCI for musical composition, based on the representation of some mental states as the musician thinks about sounds. We developed software, called Insight2OSC, that allows the usage of the Emotiv Insight device as a musical instrument, by sending the EEG data to audio processing software such as MaxMSP through the OSC protocol. We provide two compositional applications bundled with the software, which we call Mapping your Mental State and Thinking On. The signals produced by the brain have different frequencies (or rhythms) depending on the level of activity, and they are classified as one of the following waves: delta (0.5-4 Hz), theta (4-8 Hz), alpha (8-13 Hz), beta (13-30 Hz), gamma (30-50 Hz). These rhythms have been found to be related to some recognizable mental states. For example, the delta rhythm is predominant in a deep sleep, while beta and gamma rhythms have higher amplitudes when the person is awake and very concentrated. Our first application (Mapping your Mental State) produces different sounds representing the mental state of the person: focused, active, relaxed or in a state similar to a deep sleep by the selection of the dominants rhythms provided by the EEG device. The second application relies on the physiology of the brain, which is divided into several lobes: frontal, temporal, parietal and occipital. The frontal lobe is related to abstract thinking and high-level functions, the parietal lobe conveys the stimulus of the body senses, the occipital lobe contains the primary visual cortex and processes visual stimulus, the temporal lobe processes auditory information and it is important for memory tasks. In consequence, our second application (Thinking On) processes the audio output depending on the users’ brain activity as it activates a specific area of the brain that can be measured using the Insight device.

Keywords: BCI, music composition, emotiv insight, OSC

Procedia PDF Downloads 295

Authors: Carine Muster, Prina Howald Erika

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Today's ice rinks are important energy consumers for the production and maintenance of ice. At the same time, users demand that the other rooms should be tempered or heated. The building complex must equally provide cooled and heated zones, which does not translate as carbon-zero ice rinks. The study provides an analysis of how the civil engineering sector can significantly impact minimizing greenhouse gas emissions and optimizing synergies across an entire ice rink complex. The analysis focused on three distinct aspects: the layout, including the volumetric layout of the premises present in an ice rink; the materials chosen that can potentially use the most ecological structural approach; and the construction methods based on innovative solutions to reduce carbon footprint. The first aspect shows that the organization of the interior volumes and defining the shape of the rink play a significant role. Its layout makes the use and operation of the premises as efficient as possible, thanks to the differentiation between heated and cooled volumes while optimising heat loss between the different rooms. The sprayed concrete method, which is still little known, proves that it is possible to achieve the strength of traditional concrete for the structural aspect of the load-bearing and non-load-bearing walls of the ice rink by using materials excavated from the construction site and providing a more ecological and sustainable solution. The installation of an empty sanitary space underneath the ice floor, making it independent of the rest of the structure, provides a natural insulating layer, preventing the transfer of cold to the rest of the structure and reducing energy losses. The addition of active pipes as part of the foundation of the ice floor, coupled with a suitable system, gives warmth in the winter and storage in the summer; this is all possible thanks to the natural heat in the ground. In conclusion, this study provides construction recommendations for future ice rinks with a significantly reduced energy demand, using some simple preliminary design concepts. By optimizing the layout, materials, and construction methods of ice rinks, the civil engineering sector can play a key role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and promoting sustainability.

Keywords: climate change, energy optimization, green building, sustainability

Procedia PDF Downloads 38

Authors: Nikitha Francis, Anjana Hoode, Vinitha George, Jayashree S. Bhat

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The interaction between cognition and language, referred as cognitive-communication, is very intricate, involving several mental processes such as perception, memory, attention, lexical retrieval, decision making, motor planning, self-monitoring and knowledge. Cognitive-communication disorders are difficulties in communicative competencies that result from underlying cognitive impairments of attention, memory, organization, information processing, problem solving, and executive functions. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is an acquired, non - progressive condition, resulting in distinct deficits of cognitive communication abilities such as naming, word-finding, self-monitoring, auditory recognition, attention, perception and memory. Cognitive-communication intervention in TBI is individualized, in order to enhance the person’s ability to process and interpret information for better functioning in their family and community life. The present case report illustrates the cognitive-communicative behaviors and the intervention outcomes of an adult with TBI, who was brought to the Department of Audiology and Speech Language Pathology, with cognitive and communicative disturbances, consequent to road traffic accident. On a detailed assessment, she showed naming deficits along with perseverations and had severe difficulty in recalling the details of the accident, her house address, places she had visited earlier, names of people known to her, as well as the activities she did each day, leading to severe breakdowns in her communicative abilities. She had difficulty in initiating, maintaining and following a conversation. She also lacked orientation to time and place. On administration of the Manipal Manual of Cognitive Linguistic Abilities (MMCLA), she exhibited poor performance on tasks related to visual and auditory perception, short term memory, working memory and executive functions. She attended 20 sessions of cognitive-communication intervention which followed a domain-general, adaptive training paradigm, with tasks relevant to everyday cognitive-communication skills. Compensatory strategies such as maintaining a dairy with reminders of her daily routine, names of people, date, time and place was also recommended. MMCLA was re-administered and her performance in the tasks showed significant improvements. Occurrence of perseverations and word retrieval difficulties reduced. She developed interests to initiate her day-to-day activities at home independently, as well as involve herself in conversations with her family members. Though she lacked awareness about her deficits, she actively involved herself in all the therapy activities. Rehabilitation of moderate to severe head injury patients can be done effectively through a holistic cognitive retraining with a focus on different cognitive-linguistic domains. Selection of goals and activities should have relevance to the functional needs of each individual with TBI, as highlighted in the present case report.

Keywords: cognitive-communication, executive functions, memory, traumatic brain injury

Procedia PDF Downloads 316

Authors: Mine Koyaz, M. Cem Altun

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Selection of the materials satisfying the expected performances is significantly important for any design. Today, with the constantly evolving and developing technologies, the material options are so wide that the necessity of the use of some support tools in the selection process is arising. Therefore, as a sub process of building element design, a systematic material selection tool is developed, that defines four main steps of the material selection; definition, research, comparison and decision. The main purpose of the tool is being an educational instrument that would show a methodic way of material selection in architectural detailing for the use of architecture students. The tool predefines the possible uses of various material databases and other sources of information on material properties. Hence, it is to be used as a guidance for designers, especially with a limited material knowledge and experience. The material selection tool not only embraces technical properties of materials related with building elements’ functional requirements, but also its sensual properties related with the identity of design and its environmental impacts with respect to the sustainability of the design. The method followed in the development of the tool has two main sections; first the examination and application of the existing methods and second the development of trial versions and their applications. Within the scope of the existing methods; design support tools, methodic approaches for the building element design and material selection process, material properties, material databases, methodic approaches for the decision making process are examined. The existing methods are applied by architecture students and newly graduate architects through different design problems. With respect to the results of these applications, strong and weak sides of the existing material selection tools are presented. A main flow chart of the material selection tool has been developed with the objective to apply the strong aspects of the existing methods and develop their weak sides. Through different stages, a different aspect of the material selection process is investigated and the tool took its final form. Systematic material selection tool, within the building element design process, guides the users with a minimum background information, to practically and accurately determine the ideal material that is to be chosen, satisfying the needs of their design. The tool has a flexible structure that answers different needs of different designs and designers. The trial version issued in this paper shows one of the paths that could be followed and illustrates its application over a design problem.

Keywords: architectural education, building element design, material selection tool, systematic approach

Procedia PDF Downloads 322

Authors: Mauro Callejas-Cuervo, Andrea C. Alarcon-Aldana

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It is evident that there has been progress in the development and innovation of tools, techniques and methods in the development of software. Even so, there are few methodologies that include the human factor from the point of view of motivation, emotions and impact on the work environment; aspects that, when mishandled or not taken into consideration, increase the iterations in the requirements elicitation phase. This generates a broad number of changes in the characteristics of the system during its developmental process and an overinvestment of resources to obtain a final product that, often, does not live up to the expectations and needs of the client. The human factors such as emotions or personality traits are naturally associated with the process of developing software. However, most of these jobs are oriented towards the analysis of the final users of the software and do not take into consideration the emotions and motivations of the members of the development team. Given that in the industry, the strategies to select the requirements engineers and/or the analysts do not take said factors into account, it is important to identify and describe the characteristics or personality traits in order to elicit requirements effectively. This research describes the main personality traits associated with the requirements elicitation tasks through the analysis of the existing literature on the topic and a compilation of our experiences as software development project managers in the academic and productive sectors; allowing for the characterisation of a suitable profile for this job. Moreover, a psychometric test is used as an information gathering technique, and it is applied to the personnel of some local companies in the software development sector. Such information has become an important asset in order to make a comparative analysis between the degree of effectiveness in the way their software development teams are formed and the proposed profile. The results show that of the software development companies studied: 53.58% have selected the personnel for the task of requirements elicitation adequately, 37.71% possess some of the characteristics to perform the task, and 10.71% are inadequate. From the previous information, it is possible to conclude that 46.42% of the requirements engineers selected by the companies could perform other roles more adequately; a change which could improve the performance and competitiveness of the work team and, indirectly, the quality of the product developed. Likewise, the research allowed for the validation of the pertinence and usefulness of the psychometric instrument as well as the accuracy of the characteristics for the profile of requirements engineer proposed as a reference.

Keywords: emotions, human attitudes, personality traits, psychometric tests, requirements engineering

Procedia PDF Downloads 240

Authors: Seema Sant

Abstract:

In the 21st century were four generation workforces are working, it’s crucial for organizations to build talent management strategy, as tech-savvy Gen Y has entered the work force. They are more connected to each other than ever – through the internet enabled Social media networks Social media has become important in today’s world. The users of such Social media sites have increased in multiple. From sharing their opinion for a brand/product to researching a company before going for an interview, making a conception about a company’s culture or following a Company’s updates due to sheer interest or for job vacancy, Work force today is constantly in touch with social networks. Thus corporate world has rightly realized its potential uses for business purpose. Companies now use social media for marketing, advertising, consumer survey, etc. For HR professionals, it is used for networking and connecting to the Talent pool- through Talent Community. Social recruiting is the process of sourcing or hiring candidates through the use of social sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook Twitter which provide them with an array of information about potential employee; this study represents an exploratory investigation on the role of social networking sites in recruitment. The primarily aim is to analyze the factors that can enhance the channel of recruitment used by of the recruiter with specific reference to the IT organizations in Mumbai, India. Particularly, the aim is to identify how and why companies use social media to attract and screen applicants during their recruitment processes. It also examines the advantages and limitations of recruitment through social media for employers. This is done by literature review. Further, the papers examine the recruiter impact and understand the various opportunities which have created due to technology, thus, to analyze and examine these factors, both primary, as well as secondary data, are collected for the study. The primary data are gathered from five HR manager working in five top IT organizations in Mumbai and 100 HR consultants’ i.e., recruiter. The data was collected by conducting a survey and supplying a closed-ended questionnaire. A comprehension analysis of the study is depicted through graphs and figures. From the analysis, it was observed that there exists a positive relationship between the level of employee recruited through social media and their organizational commitment. Finally the findings show that company’s i.e. recruiters are currently using social media in recruitment, but perhaps not as effective as they could be. The paper gives recommendations and conditions for success that can help employers to make the most out of social media in recruitment.

Keywords: recruitment, social media, social sites, workforce

Procedia PDF Downloads 158

Authors: Shamie Kumar

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Background: Radiologists and radiographers (RR) need to educate themselves and their colleagues to ensure that AI is integrated safely, useful, and in a meaningful way with the direction it always benefits the patients. AI education and training are fundamental to the way RR work and interact with it, such that they feel confident using it as part of their clinical practice in a way they understand it. Methodology: This exploratory research will outline the current educational and training gaps for radiographers and radiologists in AI radiology diagnostics. It will review the status, skills, challenges of educating and teaching. Understanding the use of artificial intelligence within daily clinical practice, why it is fundamental, and justification on why learning about AI is essential for wider adoption. Results: The current knowledge among RR is very sparse, country dependent, and with radiologists being the majority of the end-users for AI, their targeted training and learning AI opportunities surpass the ones available to radiographers. There are many papers that suggest there is a lack of knowledge, understanding, and training of AI in radiology amongst RR, and because of this, they are unable to comprehend exactly how AI works, integrates, benefits of using it, and its limitations. There is an indication they wish to receive specific training; however, both professions need to actively engage in learning about it and develop the skills that enable them to effectively use it. There is expected variability amongst the profession on their degree of commitment to AI as most don’t understand its value; this only adds to the need to train and educate RR. Currently, there is little AI teaching in either undergraduate or postgraduate study programs, and it is not readily available. In addition to this, there are other training programs, courses, workshops, and seminars available; most of these are short and one session rather than a continuation of learning which cover a basic understanding of AI and peripheral topics such as ethics, legal, and potential of AI. There appears to be an obvious gap between the content of what the training program offers and what the RR needs and wants to learn. Due to this, there is a risk of ineffective learning outcomes and attendees feeling a lack of clarity and depth of understanding of the practicality of using AI in a clinical environment. Conclusion: Education, training, and courses need to have defined learning outcomes with relevant concepts, ensuring theory and practice are taught as a continuation of the learning process based on use cases specific to a clinical working environment. Undergraduate and postgraduate courses should be developed robustly, ensuring the delivery of it is with expertise within that field; in addition, training and other programs should be delivered as a way of continued professional development and aligned with accredited institutions for a degree of quality assurance.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, training, radiology, education, learning

Procedia PDF Downloads 60

Authors: Marlene Rosa, Susana Lopes

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Board games have been used for different purposes in geriatric care, demonstrating good results for health in general. However, there is not a conceptual framework that can help professionals and researchers in this area to design intervention programs or to think about future studies in this area. The aim of this study was to provide a pilot collection of board games’ serious purposes in geriatric care, using a WHO framework for health and disability. Study cases were developed in seven geriatric residential institutions from the center region in Portugal that are included in AGILAB program. The AGILAB program is a serious game-based method to train and spread out the implementation of board games in geriatric care. Each institution provides 2-hours/week of experiences using TATI Hand Game for serious purposes and then fulfill questions about a study-case (player characteristics; explain changes in players health according to this game experience). Two independent researchers read the information and classified it according to the International Classification for Functioning and Disability (ICF) categories. Any discrepancy was solved in a consensus meeting. Results indicate an important variability in body functions and structures: specific mental functions (e.g., b140 Attention functions, b144 Memory functions), b156 Perceptual functions, b2 sensory functions and pain (e.g., b230 Hearing functions; b265 Touch function; b280 Sensation of pain), b7 neuromusculoskeletal and movement-related functions (e.g., b730 Muscle power functions; b760 Control of voluntary movement functions; b710 Mobility of joint functions). Less variability was found in activities and participation domains, such as purposeful sensory experiences (d110-d129) (e.g., d115 Listening), communication (d3), d710 basic interpersonal interactions, d920 recreation and leisure (d9200 Play; d9205 Socializing). Concluding, this framework designed from a brief gamed-based experience includes mental, perceptual, sensory, neuromusculoskeletal, and movement-related functions and participation in sensory, communication, and leisure domains. More studies, including different experiences and a high number of users, should be developed to provide a more comprehensive ICF framework for game-based experiences in geriatric care.

Keywords: board game, aging, framework, experience

Procedia PDF Downloads 104

Authors: Anna-Kaisa Sjolund

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The doctoral thesis examines interaction design and sensory ethnography as tools to create immersive education environments. In recent years, there has been increasing interest and discussions among researchers and educators on immersive education like augmented reality tools, virtual glasses and the possibilities to utilize them in education at all levels. Using virtual devices as learning environments it is possible to create multisensory learning environments. Sensory ethnography in this study refers to the way of the senses consider the impact on the information dynamics in immersive learning environments. The past decade has seen the rapid development of virtual world research and virtual ethnography. Christine Hine's Virtual Ethnography offers an anthropological explanation of net behavior and communication change. Despite her groundbreaking work, time has changed the users’ communication style and brought new solutions to do ethnographical research. The virtual reality with all its new potential has come to the fore and considering all the senses. Movie and image have played an important role in cultural research for centuries, only the focus has changed in different times and in a different field of research. According to Karin Becker, the role of image in our society is information flow and she found two meanings what the research of visual culture is. The images and pictures are the artifacts of visual culture. Images can be viewed as a symbolic language that allows digital storytelling. Combining the sense of sight, but also the other senses, such as hear, touch, taste, smell, balance, the use of a virtual learning environment offers students a way to more easily absorb large amounts of information. It offers also for teachers’ different ways to produce study material. In this article using sensory ethnography as research tool approaches the core question. Sensory ethnography is used to describe information dynamics in immersive environment through interaction design. Immersive education environment is understood as three-dimensional, interactive learning environment, where the audiovisual aspects are central, but all senses can be taken into consideration. When designing learning environments or any digital service, interaction design is always needed. The question what is interaction design is justified, because there is no simple or consistent idea of what is the interaction design or how it can be used as a research method or whether it is only a description of practical actions. When discussing immersive learning environments or their construction, consideration should be given to interaction design and sensory ethnography.

Keywords: immersive education, sensory ethnography, interaction design, information dynamics

Procedia PDF Downloads 107

Authors: Chen Wang, Jared Evans, Yan Asmann

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With the quick evolvement of next-generation sequencing techniques, whole-exome or exome-panel data have become a cost-effective way for detection of small exonic mutations, but there has been a growing desire to accurately detect copy number variations (CNVs) as well. In order to address this research and clinical needs, we developed a sequencing coverage pattern-based method not only for copy number detections, data integrity checks, CNV calling, and visualization reports. The developed methodologies include complete automation to increase usability, genome content-coverage bias correction, CNV segmentation, data quality reports, and publication quality images. Automatic identification and removal of poor quality outlier samples were made automatically. Multiple experimental batches were routinely detected and further reduced for a clean subset of samples before analysis. Algorithm improvements were also made to improve somatic CNV detection as well as germline CNV detection in trio family. Additionally, a set of utilities was included to facilitate users for producing CNV plots in focused genes of interest. We demonstrate the somatic CNV enhancements by accurately detecting CNVs in whole exome-wide data from the cancer genome atlas cancer samples and a lymphoma case study with paired tumor and normal samples. We also showed our efficient reuses of existing exome sequencing data, for improved germline CNV calling in a family of the trio from the phase-III study of 1000 Genome to detect CNVs with various modes of inheritance. The performance of the developed method is evaluated by comparing CNV calling results with results from other orthogonal copy number platforms. Through our case studies, reuses of exome sequencing data for calling CNVs have several noticeable functionalities, including a better quality control for exome sequencing data, improved joint analysis with single nucleotide variant calls, and novel genomic discovery of under-utilized existing whole exome and custom exome panel data.

Keywords: bioinformatics, computational genetics, copy number variations, data reuse, exome sequencing, next generation sequencing

Procedia PDF Downloads 236

Authors: Muhammad Ahnaf Zahin, Yaw Adu-Gyamfi

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Bus transit is a crucial component of transportation networks, especially in urban areas. Any intelligent transportation system must have accurate real-time information on bus travel times since it minimizes waiting times for passengers at different stations along a route, improves service reliability, and significantly optimizes travel patterns. Bus agencies must enhance the quality of their information service to serve their passengers better and draw in more travelers since people waiting at bus stops are frequently anxious about when the bus will arrive at their starting point and when it will reach their destination. For solving this issue, different models have been developed for predicting bus travel times recently, but most of them are focused on smaller road networks due to their relatively subpar performance in high-density urban areas on a vast network. This paper develops a deep learning-based architecture using a single-step multi-station forecasting approach to predict average bus travel times for numerous routes, stops, and trips on a large-scale network using heterogeneous bus transit data collected from the GTFS database. Over one week, data was gathered from multiple bus routes in Saint Louis, Missouri. In this study, Gated Recurrent Unit (GRU) neural network was followed to predict the mean vehicle travel times for different hours of the day for multiple stations along multiple routes. Historical time steps and prediction horizon were set up to 5 and 1, respectively, which means that five hours of historical average travel time data were used to predict average travel time for the following hour. The spatial and temporal information and the historical average travel times were captured from the dataset for model input parameters. As adjacency matrices for the spatial input parameters, the station distances and sequence numbers were used, and the time of day (hour) was considered for the temporal inputs. Other inputs, including volatility information such as standard deviation and variance of journey durations, were also included in the model to make it more robust. The model's performance was evaluated based on a metric called mean absolute percentage error (MAPE). The observed prediction errors for various routes, trips, and stations remained consistent throughout the day. The results showed that the developed model could predict travel times more accurately during peak traffic hours, having a MAPE of around 14%, and performed less accurately during the latter part of the day. In the context of a complicated transportation network in high-density urban areas, the model showed its applicability for real-time travel time prediction of public transportation and ensured the high quality of the predictions generated by the model.

Keywords: gated recurrent unit, mean absolute percentage error, single-step forecasting, travel time prediction.

Procedia PDF Downloads 49

Authors: Sendy Ghirardi, Pau Rausell Köster

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The European Commission increasingly pushes cultural policies towards social outcomes and local and regional authorities also call for culture-driven strategies for local development and prosperity and therefore, the measurement of cultural participation becomes increasingly more significant for evidence-based policy-making processes. Cultural participation involves various kinds of social and economic spillovers that combine social and economic objectives of value creation, including social sustainability and respect for human values. Traditionally, from the economic perspective, cultural consumption is measured by the value of financial transactions in purchasing, subscribing to, or renting cultural equipment and content, addressing the market value of cultural products and services. The main sources of data are the household spending survey and merchandise trade survey, among others. However, what characterizes the cultural consumption is that it is linked with the hedonistic and affective dimension rather than the utilitarian one. In fact, nowadays, more and more attention is being paid to the social and psychological dimensions of culture. The aim of this work is to present a comprehensive approach to measure the impacts of cultural participation and cultural users’ behaviour, combining both socio-psychological and economic approaches. The model combines contingent evaluation techniques with the individual characteristic and perception analysis of the cultural experiences to evaluate the cognitive, aesthetic, emotive and social impacts of cultural participation. To investigate the comprehensive approach to measure the impact of the cultural events on individuals, the research has been designed on the basis of prior theoretical development. A deep literature methodology has been done to develop the theoretical model applied to the web platform to measure the impacts of cultural experience on individuals. The developed framework aims to become a democratic tool for evaluating the services that cultural or policy institutions can adopt through the use of an interacting platform that produces big data benefiting academia, cultural management and policies. The Au Culture is a prototype based on an application that can be used on mobile phones or any other digital platform. The development of the AU Culture Platform has been funded by the Valencian Innovation Agency (Government of the Region of Valencia) and it is part of the Horizon 2020 project MESOC.

Keywords: comprehensive approach, cultural participation, economic dimension, socio-psychological dimension

Procedia PDF Downloads 93

Authors: Xinyu Zhang, Olga Torres-Hostench

Abstract:

This article presents a comparative study evaluating and comparing the quality of machine translation (MT) output of Chinese gastronomy nomenclature. Chinese gastronomic culture is experiencing an increased international acknowledgment nowadays. The nomenclature of Chinese gastronomy not only reflects a specific aspect of culture, but it is related to other areas of society such as philosophy, traditional medicine, etc. Chinese dish names are composed of several types of cultural references, such as ingredients, colors, flavors, culinary techniques, cooking utensils, toponyms, anthroponyms, metaphors, historical tales, among others. These cultural references act as one of the biggest difficulties in translation, in which the use of translation techniques is usually required. Regarding the lack of Chinese food-related translation studies, especially in Chinese-Spanish translation, and the current massive use of MT, the quality of the MT output of Chinese dish names is questioned. Fifty Chinese dish names with different types of cultural components were selected in order to complete this study. First, all of these dish names were translated by three different MT tools (Google Translate, Baidu Translate and Bing Translator). Second, a questionnaire was designed and completed by 12 Chinese online users (Chinese graduates of a Hispanic Philology major) in order to find out user preferences regarding the collected MT output. Finally, human translation techniques were observed and analyzed to identify what translation techniques would be observed more often in the preferred MT proposals. The result reveals that the MT output of the Chinese gastronomy nomenclature is not of high quality. It would be recommended not to trust the MT in occasions like restaurant menus, TV culinary shows, etc. However, the MT output could be used as an aid for tourists to have a general idea of a dish (the main ingredients, for example). Literal translation turned out to be the most observed technique, followed by borrowing, generalization and adaptation, while amplification, particularization and transposition were infrequently observed. Possibly because that the MT engines at present are limited to relate equivalent terms and offer literal translations without taking into account the whole context meaning of the dish name, which is essential to the application of those less observed techniques. This could give insight into the post-editing of the Chinese dish name translation. By observing and analyzing translation techniques in the proposals of the machine translators, the post-editors could better decide which techniques to apply in each case so as to correct mistakes and improve the quality of the translation.

Keywords: Chinese dish names, cultural references, machine translation, translation techniques

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