Search results for: Korean literature
3707 Evaluation of Hollocelulase Production for Lignocellulosic Biomass Degradation by Penicillium polonicum
Authors: H. M. Takematsu, B. R. De Camargo, E. F. Noronha
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The use of hydrolyzing enzymes for degradation of lignocellulosic biomass is of great concern for the production of second generation ethanol. Although many hollocelulases have already been described in the literature, much more has to be discovered. Therefore, the aim of this study to evaluate hollocelulase production of P. polonicum grown in liquid media containing sugarcane bagasse as the carbon source. From a collection of twenty fungi isolated from Cerrado biome soil, P. polonicum was molecular identified by sequencing of ITS4, βtubulin and Calmodulin genes, and has been chosen to be further investigated regarding its potential production of hydrolyzing enzymes. Spore suspension (1x10-6 ml-1) solution was inoculated in sterilized minimal liquid medium containing 0,5%(w/v) of non-pretreated sugarcane bagasse as the carbon source, and incubated in shaker incubator at 28°C and 120 rpm. The supernatant obtained, was subjected to enzymatic assays to analyze xylanase, mannanase, pectinase and endoglucanase activities. Xylanase activity showed better results (67,36 UI/mg). Xylanases bands were indicated by zymogram and SDS-PAGE, and one of them was partially purified and characterized. It showed maximum activity at 50 °C, was thermostable for 72h at 40°C, and pH5.0 was the optimum observed. This study presents P. polonicum as an interesting source of hollocelulases, especially xylanase, for lignocellulose bio-conversion processes with commercial use.Keywords: sugarcane bagasse, Cerrado biome , hollocelulase, lignocellulosic biomass
Procedia PDF Downloads 2813706 The Continuing Saga of Poverty Reduction and Food Security in the Philippines
Authors: Shienna Marie Esteban
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The economic growth experience of the Philippines is one of the fastest in Asia. However, the said growth has not yet trickled down to every Filipino. This is evident to agricultural-dependent population. Moreover, the contribution of the agriculture sector to GDP has been dwindling while large number of labor force is still dependent on a relatively small share of GDP. As a result, poverty incidence worsened among rural poor causing hunger and malnutrition. Therefore, the existing agricultural policies in the Philippines are pushing to achieve greater food production and productivity to alleviate poverty and food insecurity. Through a review of related literature and collection and analysis of secondary data from DA, DBM, BAS - CountrySTAT, PSA, NSCB, PIDS, IRRI, UN-FAO, IFPRI, and World Bank among others, the study revealed that Philippines is still far from its goals of poverty reduction and food security. In addition, the agricultural sector is underperforming. The productivity growth of the sector comes out mediocre. The common observation is that weakness is attributed to the failures of policy and institutional environments of the agriculture sector. The policy environment failed to create a structure appropriate for the rapid growth of the sector due to institutional and governance weaknesses. A recommendation is to go through institutional and policy reforms through legislative or executive mandates should take form to improve the implementation and enforcement of existing policies.Keywords: agriculture, food security, policy, poverty
Procedia PDF Downloads 3033705 Study on Conservation and Regeneration of the Industrial Buildings
Authors: Rungpansa Noichan, Bart Julian Dewancker
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The conservation and regeneration of historical industrial building is one of the most important issues to be solved in today’s urban development in the world. There are growing numbers of industrial building in which promoting heritage conservation maybe a helpful tool for a sustainable city in social, urban restructuring, environmental and economic component. This paper identifies the key attributes of conservation and regeneration industrial building from the literature, were discussed by reviewing its development at home and abroad. The authors have investigated 93 industrial buildings, which were used as industrial building before and reused into buildings with another function afterward. The data to be discussed below were mainly collected from various publications but also from available internet sources. This study focuses on green transformation, historical culture heritage, transformation techniques, and urban regeneration based on the empirical researches on the historical industrial building and site. Moreover, we focus on social, urban environment and sustainable development. The implications of the study provide suggestions for future improvements in the conservation and regeneration of historical industrial building, and inspire new ways of use, so the building becomes flexible and can consequently be adaptable to changes in order to survive time. Therefore, the building does not take into account only its future impact in the environment and society. Instead, it focuses on its entire life cycle.Keywords: industrial building, heritage conservation, green transformation, regeneration, sustainable development
Procedia PDF Downloads 3583704 Exploring Equity and Inclusion in the Context of Distance Education Using a Social Location Perspective
Authors: Boadi Agyekum
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In this study, a social location perspective is used to explore the challenges of creating opportunities that will foster lifelong education, inclusion, and equity for residents of rural communities in Ghana. The differentiated experiences of rural adults are under-researched and often unacknowledged in lifelong education literature and distance education policy. There is a need to examine carefully the structural inequalities that create disadvantages for residents of rural communities and women in pursuing distance education in designated cities in Ghana. The paper uses in-depth interviews to explore participants’ experiences of learning at a distance and to scrutinise the narratives of lifelong education. The paper reflects on the implications of the framework employed for educators and social justice in lifelong education. It further recommends the need to provide IT laboratories and fully online programs that would require stable and regular internet and access to ICT equipment for potential learning in rural communities. The social location approach presented a number of axes of diversity as comparatively more important than others; these included gender, age, education, work commitment, geography, and degree of social connectedness. This can inform lifelong education policy and programs to sustain quality education.Keywords: equity, distance education, lifelong learning, social location, intersectionality, rural communities
Procedia PDF Downloads 813703 Experiences of Discrimination and Coping Strategies of Second Generation Academics during the Career-Entry Phase in Austria
Authors: R. Verwiebe, L. Seewann, M. Wolf
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This presentation addresses marginalization and discrimination as experienced by young academics with a migrant background in the Austrian labor market. Focusing on second generation academics of Central Eastern European and Turkish descent we explore two major issues. First, we ask whether their career-entry and everyday professional life entails origin-specific barriers. As educational residents, they show competences which, when lacking, tend to be drawn upon to explain discrimination: excellent linguistic skills, accredited high-level training, and networks. Second, we concentrate on how this group reacts to discrimination and overcomes experiences of marginalization. To answer these questions, we utilize recent sociological and social psychological theories that focus on the diversity of individual experiences. This distinguishes us from a long tradition of research that has dealt with the motives that inform discrimination, but has less often considered the effects on those concerned. Similarly, applied coping strategies have less often been investigated, though they may provide unique insights into current problematic issues. Building upon present literature, we follow recent discrimination research incorporating the concepts of ‘multiple discrimination’, ‘subtle discrimination’, and ‘visual social markers’. 21 problem-centered interviews are the empirical foundation underlying this study. The interviewees completed their entire educational career in Austria, graduated in different universities and disciplines and are working in their first post-graduate jobs (career entry phase). In our analysis, we combined thematic charting with a coding method. The results emanating from our empirical material indicated a variety of discrimination experiences ranging from barely perceptible disadvantages to directly articulated and overt marginalization. The spectrum of experiences covered stereotypical suppositions at job interviews, the disavowal of competencies, symbolic or social exclusion by new colleges, restricted professional participation (e.g. customer contact) and non-recruitment due to religious or ethnical markers (e.g. headscarves). In these experiences the role of the academics education level, networks, or competences seemed to be minimal, as negative prejudice on the basis of visible ‘social markers’ operated ‘ex-ante’. The coping strategies identified in overcoming such barriers are: an increased emphasis on effort, avoidance of potentially marginalizing situations, direct resistance (mostly in the form of verbal opposition) and dismissal of negative experiences by ignoring or ironizing the situation. In some cases, the academics drew into their specific competences, such as an intellectual approach of studying specialist literature, focus on their intercultural competences or planning to migrate back to their parent’s country of origin. Our analysis further suggests a distinction between reactive (i.e. to act on and respond to experienced discrimination) and preventative strategies (applied to obviate discrimination) of coping. In light of our results, we would like to stress that the tension between educational and professional success experienced by academics with a migrant background – and the barriers and marginalization they continue to face – are essential issues to be introduced to socio-political discourse. It seems imperative to publicly accentuate the growing social, political and economic significance of this group, their educational aspirations, as well as their experiences of achievement and difficulties.Keywords: coping strategies, discrimination, labor market, second generation university graduates
Procedia PDF Downloads 2133702 Psoriasis Diagnostic Test Development: Exploratory Study
Authors: Salam N. Abdo, Orien L. Tulp, George P. Einstein
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The purpose of this exploratory study was to gather the insights into psoriasis etiology, treatment, and patient experience, for developing psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis diagnostic test. Data collection methods consisted of a comprehensive meta-analysis of relevant studies and psoriasis patient survey. Established meta-analysis guidelines were used for the selection and qualitative comparative analysis of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis research studies. Only studies that clearly discussed psoriasis etiology, treatment, and patient experience were reviewed and analyzed, to establish a qualitative data base for the study. Using the insights gained from meta-analysis, an existing psoriasis patient survey was modified and administered to collect additional data as well as triangulate the results. The hypothesis is that specific types of psoriatic disease have specific etiology and pathophysiologic pattern. The following etiology categories were identified: bacterial, environmental/microbial, genetic, immune, infectious, trauma/stress, and viral. Additional results, obtained from meta-analysis and confirmed by patient survey, were the common age of onset (early to mid-20s) and type of psoriasis (plaque; mild; symmetrical; scalp, chest, and extremities, specifically elbows and knees). Almost 70% of patients reported no prescription drug use due to severe side effects and prohibitive cost. These results will guide the development of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis diagnostic test. The significant number of medical publications classified psoriatic arthritis disease as inflammatory of an unknown etiology. Thus numerous meta-analyses struggle to report any meaningful conclusions since no definitive results have been reported to date. Therefore, return to the basics is an essential step to any future meaningful results. To date, medical literature supports the fact that psoriatic disease in its current classification could be misidentifying subcategories, which in turn hinders the success of studies conducted to date. Moreover, there has been an enormous commercial support to pursue various immune-modulation therapies, thus following a narrow hypothesis/mechanism of action that is yet to yield resolution of disease state. Recurrence and complications may be considered unacceptable in a significant number of these studies. The aim of the ongoing study is to focus on a narrow subgroup of patient population, as identified by this exploratory study via meta-analysis and patient survey, and conduct an exhaustive work up, aiming at mechanism of action and causality before proposing a cure or therapeutic modality. Remission in psoriasis has been achieved and documented in medical literature, such as immune-modulation, phototherapy, various over-the-counter agents, including salts and tar. However, there is no psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis diagnostic test to date, to guide the diagnosis and treatment of this debilitating and, thus far, incurable disease. Because psoriasis affects approximately 2% of population, the results of this study may affect the treatment and improve the quality of life of a significant number of psoriasis patients, potentially millions of patients in the United States alone and many more millions worldwide.Keywords: biologics, early diagnosis, etiology, immune disease, immune modulation therapy, inflammation skin disorder, phototherapy, plaque psoriasis, psoriasis, psoriasis classification, psoriasis disease marker, psoriasis diagnostic test, psoriasis marker, psoriasis mechanism of action, psoriasis treatment, psoriatic arthritis, psoriatic disease, psoriatic disease marker, psoriatic patient experience, psoriatic patient quality of life, remission, salt therapy, targeted immune therapy
Procedia PDF Downloads 1083701 Correlation and Prediction of Biodiesel Density
Authors: Nieves M. C. Talavera-Prieto, Abel G. M. Ferreira, António T. G. Portugal, Rui J. Moreira, Jaime B. Santos
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The knowledge of biodiesel density over large ranges of temperature and pressure is important for predicting the behavior of fuel injection and combustion systems in diesel engines, and for the optimization of such systems. In this study, cottonseed oil was transesterified into biodiesel and its density was measured at temperatures between 288 K and 358 K and pressures between 0.1 MPa and 30 MPa, with expanded uncertainty estimated as ±1.6 kg.m^-3. Experimental pressure-volume-temperature (pVT) cottonseed data was used along with literature data relative to other 18 biodiesels, in order to build a database used to test the correlation of density with temperarure and pressure using the Goharshadi–Morsali–Abbaspour equation of state (GMA EoS). To our knowledge, this is the first that density measurements are presented for cottonseed biodiesel under such high pressures, and the GMA EoS used to model biodiesel density. The new tested EoS allowed correlations within 0.2 kg•m-3 corresponding to average relative deviations within 0.02%. The built database was used to develop and test a new full predictive model derived from the observed linear relation between density and degree of unsaturation (DU), which depended from biodiesel FAMEs profile. The average density deviation of this method was only about 3 kg.m-3 within the temperature and pressure limits of application. These results represent appreciable improvements in the context of density prediction at high pressure when compared with other equations of state.Keywords: biodiesel density, correlation, equation of state, prediction
Procedia PDF Downloads 6003700 Collaborative Leadership in a Post-COVID-19 Era in Saudi Arabia
Authors: Norah Alshayhan
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Dealing with public problems is one of the struggles that may face the leaders in the public sector. Collaborative leadership is one of the most important approaches in dealing with difficult situations that affect both public, private, and nonprofit organizations. Current literature does not show exactly the extent of utilizing collaborative leadership during the post-COVID-19 world in Saudi Arabia. This study is worth exploring in order to examine collaborative leadership in similar environments. This research will utilize both integrative public leadership and transformational leadership theories to guide the researcher in answering the research question. The researcher utilizes content analysis and reviews government documents, plans, and reports to gain more information about collaborative leadership in Saudi Arabia. The researcher analyzes the data in themes and sub-themes to categorize the data in answering the research question. Leader’s behavior and performance in the public sector will be the focus of this study. Findings from this research will benefit leaders in both public, private, and nonprofit sectors in their leadership during a post-disaster time. Findings from this study support collaborative leadership practices and performance in leading future post-crises/disasters.Keywords: collaborative leadership, post-COVID-19, Saudi Arabia, performance, skills
Procedia PDF Downloads 593699 Application of Universal Distribution Factors for Real-Time Complex Power Flow Calculation
Authors: Abdullah M. Alodhaiani, Yasir A. Alturki, Mohamed A. Elkady
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Complex power flow distribution factors, which relate line complex power flows to the bus injected complex powers, have been widely used in various power system planning and analysis studies. In particular, AC distribution factors have been used extensively in the recent power and energy pricing studies in free electricity market field. As was demonstrated in the existing literature, many of the electricity market related costing studies rely on the use of the distribution factors. These known distribution factors, whether the injection shift factors (ISF’s) or power transfer distribution factors (PTDF’s), are linear approximations of the first order sensitivities of the active power flows with respect to various variables. This paper presents a novel model for evaluating the universal distribution factors (UDF’s), which are appropriate for an extensive range of power systems analysis and free electricity market studies. These distribution factors are used for the calculations of lines complex power flows and its independent of bus power injections, they are compact matrix-form expressions with total flexibility in determining the position on the line at which line flows are measured. The proposed approach was tested on IEEE 9-Bus system. Numerical results demonstrate that the proposed approach is very accurate compared with exact method.Keywords: distribution factors, power system, sensitivity factors, electricity market
Procedia PDF Downloads 4623698 Cameroon’s State Bilingualism: Mending Fences between Linguistic Communities
Authors: Charles Esambe Alobwede
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From the time of the biblical story of the Tower of Babel, languages as well as people have learnt to co-exist. It is obvious that when languages co-exist, there is the inevitable tendency of linguistic influence. This is because a language can either be a unifying factor or a factor of division within a given community, especially in a multicultural and multi-linguistic community where such a situation has led to socio-political and economic tension. Thus, leaders of such communities have a duty to plan and implement a language policy that will meet the needs of all members of the community in order to enhance its corporateness. The present article will focus on some of the major reasons that prompted the government of Cameroon to embark on an official bilingual policy after independence in 1961 and then evaluate the evolution of the linguistic situation. The article will equally look at the consequences, especially on a socio-political platform and what today has been termed 'the Anglophone problem' in Cameroon which has caused a fuse between the country’s minority Anglophone population and the majority Francophone administration. Data for the present article is collected from literature on the state of official bilingualism in Cameroon, newspapers articles on the prevailing situation in the country and interviews with actors on the field.Keywords: language policy, linguistic influence, multicultural, official bilingualism, socio-political tension
Procedia PDF Downloads 2393697 The Role of Human Resource Flexibility and Agility in Achieving Sustainable Competitiveness
Authors: Agnieszka Leszczynska
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Flexibility and agility constitute the most dominant features of modern human resource management systems. The former pertains to procedures, practices and competences of human resources, and the latter to the procedures and practices’ effectiveness in dealing with changing conditions in the surrounding environment. The purpose of the paper is to present the relations between the flexibility and agility of human resources and achieving sustainable competitiveness. Based upon hitherto research, we develop a conceptual model that links the constructs together. The conducted study is of theoretical and conceptual nature. Critical literature analysis and the synthesis method were applied. A premise was made that the three dimensions of HR (Human Resources) flexibility (employee skill flexibility, employee behaviour flexibility, and HR practice flexibility) and HR agility affect competitiveness, by increasing the flexibility, creativity of human resources, and improving quality performance, and exert an impact upon the quality of life of employees and social relations. In particular, the agility and flexibility of human resources contribute to the growth of adaptability and strategic orientation, which directly affects the organization's competitiveness. The research results will help to better understand the impact of flexibility and agility related to the HRM (Human Resources Management) system upon the implementation of the concept of sustainable development in the organization.Keywords: agility, human resource, sustainable competitiveness, sustainable development
Procedia PDF Downloads 2073696 Reliability Study of Steel Headed Stud Shear Connector Exposed to Fire
Authors: Idris Haruna Muhammad, Okorie Austine Uche
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This paper presents a study on reliability of shear connector exposed to fire situation in accordance with Eurocode 4. The reliability analysis i reliability analysis is based on First Order Second Moment Integration Technique (FOSMIT) using FORM 5. Performance functions for shear connector are derived for normal and under fire condition and their implied safety levels are evaluated. Four (4) design variables which include ultimate tensile strength, diameter of the stud, temperature and span of the steel beam are treated as random variables with their statistical characteristic adopted from literature. Results show that for normal condition the β – value decrease from 7.95 to 5.43 which show it is conservative in safety level for normal condition. Under fire condition, β – value decrease from 2.88 to – 0.32 with corresponding load ratio of 0.2 to 1.2. It was also shown from sensitivity assessment, that the temperature and span of the beam decrease with increase in their β – values while ultimate tensile strength and diameter of the stud increase with increase in their β – values for a given load ratio of 0.2 to 1.2.Keywords: Composite steel beam, Fire condition, Shear stud, Sensitivity study
Procedia PDF Downloads 5113695 Factors Affecting the Success of Private Higher Education Businesses in Malaysia
Authors: Nasir Khalid
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In Malaysia, higher education is big business. There are many companies that are willing if not already to invest heavily in higher education for students that aspire to pursue their degree in diploma, undergraduate as well as graduate studies. These companies sometimes even have a joint venture twinning program with other already established universities in and across Europe, Australia, the United States, and Canada. Some of these investments have been successful whereas others find themselves limited by the obstacle of receiving new students. Recently, the Malaysian Ministry of Higher Education has stopped issuing licenses to set up private institutions of higher education. This paper will thus examine the factors affecting the success of private higher education businesses in Malaysia. The samples will consist of thirty private institutions [N=30]. Among the factors that will be mentioned in the literature are academic programs, student quality and achievement, student employability, alumni satisfaction, student enrolment, institutional environment, lecturer-quality and effectiveness of supporting staff. A questionnaire was developed and analyzed using statistical analysis. The result of this study found that the top three factors affecting the success of private higher education businesses in Malaysia are student enrolment, institutional environment and the academic programs offered.Keywords: higher education business, successful business factors, private institutions, business in Malaysia
Procedia PDF Downloads 3013694 Uptake of Off-Site Construction: Benefit and Future Application
Authors: Faisal Alazzaz, Andrew Whyte
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Off-site construction methods have played an important role in the construction sector in the past few decades. It is increasingly becoming a major alternative technique and strategic direction compared to traditional in-situ method. It produces a significant amount of value for the construction industry and the economy more generally. To date, an impressive number of studies have been lunched on the perceived perception of off-site construction. However, it seems that a quantifying benefit on the offsite construction area is lacking. Therefore, this paper examines the recent research literature on the benefits of off- site construction and provides future direction. In the beginning, this paper provides a brief history and current value of the off-site construction followed by a detailed discussion on the benefit of off-site construction. These benefits include but not limited to time saving, quality improvement, relieving skills shortages, cost reduction and productivity improvement. Toward this end, off-site construction should learn from other productive industry similar to services or manufacturing industry by applying operational management tools and techniques with extensive focus on employee empowerment will shed the light on future uptake of Off-site construction. This study is of value in providing scholars have a clear picture of perceived benefit of off-site construction research and give an opportunities for future uptake of off-site method.Keywords: building projects, employer empowerment, off-site construction benefits, productivity
Procedia PDF Downloads 4213693 The Role of Data Protection Officer in Managing Individual Data: Issues and Challenges
Authors: Nazura Abdul Manap, Siti Nur Farah Atiqah Salleh
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For decades, the misuse of personal data has been a critical issue. Malaysia has accepted responsibility by implementing the Malaysian Personal Data Protection Act 2010 to secure personal data (PDPA 2010). After more than a decade, this legislation is set to be revised by the current PDPA 2023 Amendment Bill to align with the world's key personal data protection regulations, such as the European Union General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). Among the other suggested adjustments is the Data User's appointment of a Data Protection Officer (DPO) to ensure the commercial entity's compliance with the PDPA 2010 criteria. The change is expected to be enacted in parliament fairly soon; nevertheless, based on the experience of the Personal Data Protection Department (PDPD) in implementing the Act, it is projected that there will be a slew of additional concerns associated with the DPO mandate. Consequently, the goal of this article is to highlight the issues that the DPO will encounter and how the Personal Data Protection Department should respond to this subject. The study result was produced using a qualitative technique based on an examination of the current literature. This research reveals that there are probable obstacles experienced by the DPO, and thus, there should be a definite, clear guideline in place to aid DPO in executing their tasks. It is argued that appointing a DPO is a wise measure in ensuring that the legal data security requirements are met.Keywords: guideline, law, data protection officer, personal data
Procedia PDF Downloads 683692 Effect of Piston and its Weight on the Performance of a Gun Tunnel via Computational Fluid Dynamics
Authors: A. A. Ahmadi, A. R. Pishevar, M. Nili
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As the test gas in a gun tunnel is non-isentropically compressed and heated by a light weight piston. Here, first consideration is the optimum piston weight. Although various aspects of the influence of piston weight on gun tunnel performance have been studied, it is not possible to decide from the existing literature what piston weight is required for optimum performance in various conditions. The technique whereby the piston is rapidly brought to rest at the end of the gun tunnel barrel, and the resulted peak pressure is equal in magnitude to the final equilibrium pressure, is called the equilibrium piston technique. The equilibrium piston technique was developed to estimate the equilibrium piston mass; but this technique cannot give an appropriate estimate for the optimum piston weight. In the present work, a gun tunnel with diameter of 3 in. is described and its performance is investigated numerically to obtain the effect of piston and its weight. Numerical results in the present work are in very good agreement with experimental results. Significant influence of the existence of a piston is shown by comparing the gun tunnel results with results of a conventional shock tunnel in the same dimension and same initial condition. In gun tunnel, an increase of around 250% in running time is gained relative to shock tunnel. Also, Numerical results show that equilibrium piston technique is not a good way to estimate suitable piston weight and there will be a lighter piston which can increase running time of the gun tunnel around 60%.Keywords: gun tunnel, hypersonic flow, piston, shock tunnel
Procedia PDF Downloads 3663691 Driving Mechanism of Urban Sprawl in Chinese Context from the Perspective of Domestic and Overseas Comparison
Authors: Tingke Wu, Yaping Huang
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Many cities in China have been experiencing serious urban sprawl since the 1980s, which pose great challenges to a country with scare cultivated land and huge population. Because of different social and economic context and development stage, driving forces of urban sprawl in China are quite different from developed countries. Therefore, it is of great importance to probe into urban sprawl driving mechanism in Chinese context. By a comparison study of the background and features of urban sprawl between China and developed countries, this research establishes an analytical framework for sprawl dynamic mechanism in China. By literature review and analyzing data from national statistical yearbook, it then probes into the driving mechanism and the primary cause of urban sprawl. The results suggest that population increase, economic growth, traffic and information technology development lead to rapid expansion of urban space; defects of land institution and lack of effective guidance give rise to low efficiency of urban land use. Moreover, urban sprawl is ultimately attributed to imperfections of policy and institution. On this basis, this research puts forward several sprawl control strategies in Chinese context.Keywords: China, driving forces, driving mechanism, land institution, urban expansion, urban sprawl
Procedia PDF Downloads 1693690 The Study of Elementary School Teacher’s Behavior of Using E-books by UTAUT Model
Authors: Tzong-Shing Cheng, Chen Pei Chen, Shu-Wei Chen
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The purpose of this research is to apply Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model to investigate the factors that influence elementary school teacher’s behavior of using e-books. Based on the literature review, a questionnaire was modified and used to test the elementary school teachers in Changhua. A total of 420 questionnaires were administered and 364 of them were returned, including 328 valid and 36 invalid questionnaires. The effective response rate is 78%. The methods of data analysis include descriptive statistics, factor analysis, Pearson’s correlation coefficient, one way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and simple regression analysis. The results show that: 1. There were significant difference in the Elementary school teachers’ “Performance Expectancy”, “Effort Expectancy”, “Social Influence”, and “Facilitating Conditions” depending on their different “Demographic Variables”. 2. “Performance Expectancy” and “Behavioral Intention to Use” are positively correlated. 3. “Effort Expectancy” and “Behavioral Intention to Use” are positively correlated. 4. There was no significant relationship between “Social Influence” and “Behavioral Intention to Use”. 5. There was significant relationship between “Facilitating Conditions” and “Use Behavior”.Keywords: e-books, UTAUT, elementary school teacher, behavioral intention to use
Procedia PDF Downloads 5983689 The Impact of Blended Learning on the Perception of High School Learners Towards Entrepreneurship
Authors: Rylyne Mande Nchu, Robertson Tengeh, Chux Iwu
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Blended learning is a global phenomenon and is essential to many institutes of learning as an additional method of teaching that complements more traditional methods of learning. In this paper, the lack of practice of a blended learning approach to entrepreneurship education and how it impacts learners' perception of being entrepreneurial. E-learning is in its infancy within the secondary and high school sectors in South Africa. The conceptual framework of the study is based on theoretical aspects of systemic-constructivist learning implemented in an interactive online learning environment in an entrepreneurship education subject. The formative evaluation research was conducted implementing mixed methods of research (quantitative and qualitative) and it comprised a survey of high school learners and informant interviewing with entrepreneurs. Theoretical analysis of literature provides features necessary for creating interactive blended learning environments to be used in entrepreneurship education subject. Findings of the study show that learners do not always objectively evaluate their capacities. Special attention has to be paid to the development of learners’ computer literacy as well as to the activities that would bring online learning to practical training. Needs analysis shows that incorporating blended learning in entrepreneurship education may have a positive perception of entrepreneurship.Keywords: blended learning, entrepreneurship education, entrepreneurship intention, entrepreneurial skills
Procedia PDF Downloads 1013688 Effect of Sodium Chloride in the Recovery of Acetic Acid from Aqueous Solutions
Authors: Aidaoui Ahleme, Hasseine Abdelmalek
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Acetic acid is one of the simplest and most widely used carboxylic acids having many important chemical and industrial applications. Total worldwide production of acetic acid is about 6.5 million tonnes per year. A great deal of efforts has been made in developing feasible and economic method for recovery of carboxylic acids. Among them, Liquid-liquid extraction using aqueous two-phase systems (ATPS) has been demonstrated to be a highly efficient separation technique. The study of efficiently separating and recovering Acetic acid from aqueous solutions is an important significance on industry and environmentally sustainable development. Many research groups in different countries are working in this field and some methods are proposed in the literature. In this work, effect of sodium chloride with different content (5%, 10% and 20%) on the liquid-liquid equilibrium data of (water+ acetic acid+ DCM) system is investigated. The addition of the salt in an aqueous solution introduces ionic forces which affect liquid-liquid equilibrium and which influence directly the distribution coefficient of the solute. From the experimental results, it can be concluded that when the percentage of salt increases in the aqueous solution, the equilibrium between phases is modified in favor of the extracted phase.Keywords: acetic acid recovery, aqueous solution, salting-effect, sodium chloride
Procedia PDF Downloads 2613687 A Review of Current Knowledge on Assessment of Precast Structures Using Fragility Curves
Authors: E. Akpinar, A. Erol, M.F. Cakir
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Precast reinforced concrete (RC) structures are excellent alternatives for construction world all over the globe, thanks to their rapid erection phase, ease mounting process, better quality and reasonable prices. Such structures are rather popular for industrial buildings. For the sake of economic importance of such industrial buildings as well as significance of safety, like every other type of structures, performance assessment and structural risk analysis are important. Fragility curves are powerful tools for damage projection and assessment for any sort of building as well as precast structures. In this study, a comparative review of current knowledge on fragility analysis of industrial precast RC structures were presented and findings in previous studies were compiled. Effects of different structural variables, parameters and building geometries as well as soil conditions on fragility analysis of precast structures are reviewed. It was aimed to briefly present the information in the literature about the procedure of damage probability prediction including fragility curves for such industrial facilities. It is found that determination of the aforementioned structural parameters as well as selecting analysis procedure are critically important for damage prediction of industrial precast RC structures using fragility curves.Keywords: damage prediction, fragility curve, industrial buildings, precast reinforced concrete structures
Procedia PDF Downloads 1823686 Contextualizing the Translation and Reconstruction of “Zhengqueyiliguan” in Promoting China-Africa Diplomatic Discourse
Authors: Queen Modestus
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China’s diplomatic discourse is a complicated system underpinned by divergent translations. As such, the concept of “Zhengque Yi Li Guan” (or zhèngquè Yì Lì Guān in Pinyin), like numerous other Chinese concepts, is not well appreciated due, mainly, to the dearth of a uniform official translation and poor interpretation. So, the paper seeks to draw awareness to this vital issue that has been neglected in the China-Africa diplomatic discourse. As a way of filling this gap in the literature, the author argues that literal translation is not enough in diplomatic discourse. To identify the English equivalent of “Zhenque,” “Yi,” “Li,” and “Guan,” searches of Chinese classical works were carried out. Based on the scope of this paper, emphasis will be placed on “Yi” because it plays a critical role in the “zhèngquèyìlìguān” concept and has been the term with the most controversial interpretation. From a diplomatic-linguistic standpoint coupled with the help of the Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) developed by Norman Fairclough and Teun A. van Dijk as this paper’s theoretical framework, this paper seeks to address the above issue by exploring the philosophical translations and interpretations of ZqYLG in China-Africa diplomatic discourse, with emphasis place on the discourse reconstruction of “Yi.” As a way of reconstructing “Yi” to fit the present reality of China-Africa diplomatic discourse, the author argues that “justice” (meaning impartiality) is a better translation for “Yi.”Keywords: Africa, diplomatic discourse, reconstruction, translation, 正确义利观, interests
Procedia PDF Downloads 763685 Characterization of Laminar Flow and Power Consumption in Agitated Vessel with Curved Blade Agitator
Authors: Amine Benmoussa, Mohamed Bouanini, Mebrouk Rebhi
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Stirring is one of the unifying processes which form part of the mechanical unit operations in process technology such chemical, biotechnological, pharmaceutical, petrochemical, cosmetic, and food processing. Therefore determining the level of mixing and overall behavior and performance of the mixing tanks are crucial from the product quality and process economics point of views. The most fundamental needs for the analysis of these processes from both a theoretical and industrial perspective are the knowledge of the hydrodynamic behavior and the flow structure in such tanks. Depending on the purpose of the operation carried out in mixer, the best choice for geometry of the tank and agitator type can vary widely. Initially, a local and global study namely the velocity and power number on a typical agitation system agitated by a mobile-type two-blade straight (d/D=0.5) allowed us to test the reliability of the CFD, the result were compared with those of experimental literature, a very good concordance was observed. The stream function, the velocity profile, the velocity fields and power number are analyzed. It was shown that the hydrodynamics is modified by the curvature of the mobile which plays a key role.Keywords: agitated vessels, curved blade agitator, laminar flow, finite volume method
Procedia PDF Downloads 2783684 Role of Process Parameters on Pocket Milling with Abrasive Water Jet Machining Technique
Authors: T. V. K. Gupta, J. Ramkumar, Puneet Tandon, N. S. Vyas
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Abrasive Water Jet Machining (AWJM) is an unconventional machining process well known for machining hard to cut materials. The primary research focus on the process was for through cutting and a very limited literature is available on pocket milling using AWJM. The present work is an attempt to use this process for milling applications considering a set of various process parameters. Four different input parameters, which were considered by researchers for part separation, are selected for the above application i.e. abrasive size, flow rate, standoff distance, and traverse speed. Pockets of definite size are machined to investigate surface roughness, material removal rate, and pocket depth. Based on the data available through experiments on SS304 material, it is observed that higher traverse speeds gives a better finish because of reduction in the particle energy density and lower depth is also observed. Increase in the standoff distance and abrasive flow rate reduces the rate of material removal as the jet loses its focus and occurrence of collisions within the particles. ANOVA for individual output parameter has been studied to know the significant process parameters.Keywords: abrasive flow rate, surface finish, abrasive size, standoff distance, traverse speed
Procedia PDF Downloads 2923683 The Imperative of Adult Education in the Knowledge Society
Authors: Najim Akorede Babalola
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Adult Education is a multi and interdisciplinary in nature that cut across different fields of study which includes education, social sciences, engineering even information technologies that dominate the contemporary world among others. In the past, Adult Education has been used as an instrument of civilization by teaching people how to read and write as well as earning a better living. The present world has witnessed a transition from industrial age to information age which is also known as knowledge society needs Adult Education for knowledge acquisition and update of existing knowledge. An individual needs Adult Education in either of its various forms (on-the-job-training, in-service training, extramural classes, vocational education, continuing education among others) in order to develop towards the information society trends; this is because Adult Education is a process of transforming an individual through acquisition of relevant skills and knowledge for personal as well as societal development. Evidence abounds in the literature that Adult Education has not only assisted people in the medieval period but still assisting people in this modern society in changing and transforming their lives for a better living. This study, therefore, raised a salient question that with different ideas and innovations brought by the contemporary world, is Adult Education relevant? It is on this basis that this study intends to examine the relevance of Adult Education in the past and present in order to determine its future relevance.Keywords: adult education, multi and inter-disciplinary, knowledge society, skill acquisition
Procedia PDF Downloads 3393682 Duplicated Common Bile Duct: A Recipe for Injury
Authors: David Armany, Matthew Allaway, Preet Gosal, Senarath Edirimanne
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A potentially devastating complication of routine laparoscopic cholecystectomy includes iatrogenic bile duct injuries, which represent a stable incidence rate of 0.3% over the past three decades. Whilst related to several relative risks such as surgeon experience and patient factors (older age, male sex), misinterpretation of biliary tree anatomy remains the most common cause, accounting for 80% of iatrogenic Common Bile Duct injuries. Whilst extremely rare, a duplicate common bile duct anomaly remains a potential variation to encounter during biliary surgery, with 30 recognised cases in the worldwide literature, of which type Vb accounts for 4. We report the case of a rare type Vb variation encountered during intra-operative laparoscopic cholecystectomy and confirmed on cholangiogram. To our knowledge, this is the first documented Type Vb case encountered in an Australian population. Given these anomalies are asymptomatic and can perpetuate iatrogenic common bile duct injuries, awareness of all subtypes is crucial. Irrevocably, preoperative Magnetic Resonance Cholangiopancreatography can help recognise these anomalies before the operating theatre; however, their widespread adoption is limited by expensive and availability.Keywords: duplicated common bile duct, type Vb, cholecystitis, MRCP, cholangiogram, iatrogenic CBD
Procedia PDF Downloads 853681 Lean Environmental Management Integration System (LEMIS) Framework Development
Authors: A. P. Puvanasvaran, Suresh A. L. Vasu, N. Norazlin
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The Lean Environmental Management Integration System (LEMIS) framework development is integration between lean core element and ISO 14001. The curiosity on the relationship between continuous improvement and sustainability of lean implementation has influenced this study toward LEMIS. Characteristic of ISO 14001 standard clauses and core elements of lean principles are explored from past studies and literature reviews. Survey was carried out on ISO 14001 certified companies to examine continual improvement by implementing the ISO 14001 standard. The study found that there is a significant and positive relationship between Lean Principles: value, value stream, flow, pull and perfection with the ISO 14001 requirements. LEMIS is significant to support the continuous improvement and sustainability. The integration system can be implemented to any manufacturing company. It gives awareness on the importance on why organizations need to sustain its Environmental management system. At the meanwhile, the lean principle can be adapted in order to streamline daily activities of the company. Throughout the study, it had proven that there is no sacrifice or trade-off between lean principles with ISO 14001 requirements. The framework developed in the study can be further simplified in the future, especially the method of crossing each sub requirements of ISO 14001 standard with the core elements of Lean principles in this study.Keywords: LEMIS, ISO 14001, integration, framework
Procedia PDF Downloads 3993680 A Review of Serious Games Characteristics: Common and Specific Aspects
Authors: B. Ben Amara, H. Mhiri Sellami
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Serious games adoption is increasing in multiple fields, including health, education, and business. In the same way, many research studied serious games (SGs) for various purposes such as classification, positive impacts, or learning outcomes. Although most of these research examine SG characteristics (SGCs) for conducting their studies, to author’s best knowledge, there is no consensus about features neither in number not in the description. In this paper, we conduct a literature review to collect essential game attributes regardless of the application areas and the study objectives. Firstly, we aimed to define Common SGCs (CSGCs) that characterize the game aspect, by gathering features having the same meanings. Secondly, we tried to identify specific features related to the application area or to the study purpose as a serious aspect. The findings suggest that any type of SG can be defined by a number of CSGCs depicting the gaming side, such as adaptability and rules. In addition, we outlined a number of specific SGCs describing the 'serious' aspect, including specific needs of the domain and indented outcomes. In conclusion, our review showed that it is possible to bridge the research gap due to the lack of consensus by using CSGCs. Moreover, these features facilitate the design and development of successful serious games in any domain and provide a foundation for further research in this area.Keywords: serious game characteristics, serious games common aspects, serious games features, serious games outcomes
Procedia PDF Downloads 1233679 Distributed Leadership: An Alternative at Higher Education Institutions in Turkey
Authors: Sakine Sincer
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In today’s world, which takes further steps towards globalization each and every day, societies and cultures are re-shaped while the demands of the changing world are described once more. In this atmosphere, where the speed of change sometimes reaches a terrifying point, it is possible to state that effective leaders are needed more than ever in order to meet the above-stated needs and demands. The question of what effective leadership is keeping its importance on the agenda. Most of the answers to this question has mostly focused on the approach of distributed leadership recently. This study aims at analyzing the applicability of distributed leadership, which is accepted to be an example of effective leadership that can meet the needs of global world, which is changing more and more rapidly nowadays, at higher education institutions in Turkey. Within the framework of this study, first of all, the historical development of distributed leadership is addressed, and then a theoretical framework is drawn for this approach by means of underlying what distributed leadership is and is not. After that, different points of view about the approach are laid out within the borders of opinions expressed by Gronn and Spillane, who are accepted to be the most famous advocators of distributed leadership. Then, exemplar practices of distributed leadership are included in the study before drawing attention to the strengths and weaknesses of this approach. Lastly, the applicability of distributed leadership at higher education institutions in Turkey is analyzed. This study is carried out with the method of literature review by resorting to first- and second-hand sources on distributed leadership.Keywords: globalization, school leadership, distributed leadership, higher education, management
Procedia PDF Downloads 3963678 Side Effects of Dental Whitening: Published Data from the Literature
Authors: Ilma Robo, Saimir Heta, Emela Dalloshi, Nevila Alliu, Vera Ostreni
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The dental whitening process, beyond the fact that it is a mini-invasive dental treatment, has effects on the dental structure, or on the pulp of the tooth, where it is applied. The electronic search was performed using keywords to find articles published within the last 10 years about side effects, assessed as such, of minimally invasive dental bleaching treatment. Methodology: In selected articles, the other aim of the study was to evaluate the side effects of bleaching based on the percentage and type of solution used, where the latter was evaluated on the basic solution used for bleaching. Results: The side effects of bleaching are evaluated in selected articles depending on the method of bleaching application, which means it is carried out with recommended solutions, or with mixtures of alternative solutions or substances based on Internet information. Short conclusion: The dental bleaching process has side effects which have not yet been definitively evaluated, experimentally in large samples of individuals or animals (mice or cattle) to arrive at accurate numerical conclusions. The trend of publications about this topic is increasing in recent years, as long as the trend for aesthetic facial treatments, including dental ones, is increasing.Keywords: teeth whitening, side effects, permanent teeth, formed dental apex
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