Search results for: software process engineering

Authors: Mohammad Sheikhalishahi, Vahid Ebrahimipour, Amir Hossein Radman-Kian

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This paper proposes an Ontology framework for knowledge modeling and representation of the equipment integrity process in a typical oil and gas production plant. Our aim is to construct a knowledge modeling that facilitates translation, interpretation, and conversion of human-readable integrity interpretation into computer-readable representation. The framework provides a function structure related to fault propagation using ISO 14224 and ISO 15926 OWL-Lite/ Resource Description Framework (RDF) to obtain a generic system-level model of asset integrity that can be utilized in the integrity engineering process during the equipment life cycle. It employs standard terminology developed by ISO 15926 and ISO 14224 to map textual descriptions of equipment failure and then convert it to a causality-driven logic by semantic interpretation and computer-based representation using Lite/RDF. The framework applied for an offshore gas riser. The result shows that the approach can cross-link the failure-related integrity words and domain-specific logic to obtain a representation structure of equipment integrity with causality inference based on semantic extraction of inspection report context.

Keywords: asset integrity modeling, interoperability, OWL, RDF/XML

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Authors: Edmilson Nhambe, Belisario Machaieie

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Since the signing of the General Peace Agreement-GPA in 1992, Mozambique has seen successive setbacks in the search for effective peace, civil war, social conflicts, terrorism, and armed conflicts mix the reality of Mozambican democracy. The article seeks to understand the dynamics of conflict and peace in Mozambique. Specifically, it seeks to analyze the structural factors that lead to (violent) conflict situations and the factors that favor or promote peace. For this purpose, desk research was chosen to analyze studies of peace and conflict. This article develops the argument that the non-violation of the peace agreement, in particular the GPA in Rome, as it had a structuring effect on the Mozambican political system, no longer guarantees in itself the irreversibility of the pacification process. In fact, the country is currently stagnating in the category of a fragile peace process with the risk of slipping into a situation of war or open armed conflict.

Keywords: peace, conflict, GPA, instability

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Authors: Tris Kee

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As the urban design discipline develops renewed interests in participatory design and collaborative place-making, it becomes critical to review the potential and limitations in current processes to ensure a sustainable method for future development.This paper explores how collaborative design can be a key to future sustainable urban development through two case studies from Asia.The process involves a multi-disciplinary collaboration and an innovative learning process by sharing ideas as well as careful consideration on social, economic and political circumstances among government and district stakeholders.This intrinsic proposition of innovative participatory planning implies interdisciplinary collaboration between professionals and local residents to integrate knowledge into new urban place-making thinking.Design innovation in contemporary society can manifest itself in the discourse sustainable urban development by bottom-up planning and community driven design. This paper examines the emerging design pedagogy which promotes interdisciplinary coalition of professionals and local stakeholders in community development as an innovative design rubric to create a sustainable urban approach.Through two case studies in Hong Kong, this paper reviews and critically evaluates the process of how the notion of sustainable development in contemporary urban planning theory is underpinned by the collaborative design practice.

Keywords: collaborative design, design innovation, sustainable development, urban development

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Authors: Pedram Saadati, Zahra Nazari

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Today, the role and importance of financial technology businesses in Iran have increased significantly. Although, in Iran, there is no Islamic or non-Islamic personal financial planning field of study in the universities or educational centers, the profession of personal financial planning is not defined, and there is no software introduced in this regard for advisors or consumers. The largest sales network of financial services in Iran belongs to the insurance industry, and there is an untapped market for international companies in Iran that can contribute to 130 thousand representatives in the insurance industry and 28 million families by providing training and personal financial advisory software. To the best of the author's knowledge, despite the lack of previous internal studies in this field, the present study investigates the level of readiness of the salesforce of the insurance industry to accept this career and its technology. The statistical population of the research is made up of managers, insurance sales representatives, assistants and heads of sales departments of insurance companies. An 18-minute video was prepared that introduced and taught the job of Islamic personal financial planning and explained its difference from its non-Islamic model. This video was provided to the respondents. The data collection tool was a research-made questionnaire. To investigate the factors affecting technology acceptance and job change, independent T descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation were used, and Friedman's test was used to rank the effective factors. The results indicate the mental perception and very positive attitude of the insurance industry activists towards the usefulness of this job and its technology, and the studied sample confirmed the intention of training in this knowledge. Based on research results, the change in the customer's attitude towards the insurance advisor and the possibility of increasing income are considered as the reasons for accepting. However, Restrictions on using investment opportunities due to Islamic financial services laws and the uncertainty of the position of the central insurance in this regard are considered as the most important obstacles.

Keywords: fintech, insurance, personal financial planning, wealth management

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Authors: Imen Boudali, Marwa Ragmoun

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The Vehicle Routing Problem with Hard Time Windows (VRPHTW) is a basic distribution management problem that models many real-world problems. The objective of the problem is to deliver a set of customers with known demands on minimum-cost vehicle routes while satisfying vehicle capacity and hard time windows for customers. In this paper, we propose to deal with our optimization problem by using a new hybrid stochastic algorithm based on two metaheuristics: Chemical Reaction Optimization (CRO) and Greedy Randomized Adaptive Search Procedure (GRASP). The first method is inspired by the natural process of chemical reactions enabling the transformation of unstable substances with excessive energy to stable ones. During this process, the molecules interact with each other through a series of elementary reactions to reach minimum energy for their existence. This property is embedded in CRO to solve the VRPHTW. In order to enhance the population diversity throughout the search process, we integrated the GRASP in our method. Simulation results on the base of Solomon’s benchmark instances show the very satisfactory performances of the proposed approach.

Keywords: Benchmark Problems, Combinatorial Optimization, Vehicle Routing Problem with Hard Time Windows, Meta-heuristics, Hybridization, GRASP, CRO

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Authors: Xiaoting Jing, Ling Huang

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After the reform and opening up, Chongqing has formed far more high-rise residential areas than other cities in its more than 40 years of urban construction. High-rise residential areas have become one of the main modern living models in Chongqing and an important carrier reflecting the city's high quality of life. Reviewing the construction process and renewal work helps understand the characteristics of high-rise residential areas in Chongqing at different stages, clarify current development demands, and look forward to the focus of future renewal work. Based on socio-economic development and policy background, the article sorts the construction process of high-rise residential areas in Chongqing into four stages: the early experimental construction period of high-rise residential areas (1978-1996), the rapid start-up period of high-rise commodity housing construction (1997-2006), the large-scale construction period of high-rise commodity housing and public rental housing (2007-2014), and the period of renewal and renovation of high-rise residential areas and step-by-step construction of quality commodity housing (2015-present). Based on the construction demands and main construction types of each stage, the article summarizes that the construction of high-rise residential areas in Chongqing features large scale, high speed, and high density. It points out that a large number of high-rise residential areas built after 2000 will become important objects of renewal and renovation in the future. Based on existing renewal work experience, it is urgent to explore a path for sustainable renewal and development in terms of policy mechanisms, digital supervision, and renewal and renovation models, leading the high-rise living in Chongqing toward high-quality development.

Keywords: high-rise residential areas, construction process, renewal and renovation, Chongqing

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Authors: Chung-Yang Chuang, Chi-Lung Chen, Hui-Min Wang, Chang-Jung Chang

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Conductive fiber is the key material for e-textiles and wearable devices. However, the durability of the conductive fiber after the wash process is an important issue for conductive fiber applications in e-textiles. Therefore, it is necessary for conductive fiber with good performance on electrically conductive behavior during the product life cycle. In this research, the PET-based conductive fiber was prepared by silver conductive ink continuous coating. The conductive fiber showed low fiber resistance (10-¹~10Ω/cm), and the conductive behavior still had good performance (fiber resistance:10-¹~10Ω/cm， percentage of fiber resistance change:<60%) after the water wash durability test (AATCC-135， 30 times). This research provides a better solution to resolve the issues of resistance increase after the water wash process due to the damage to the conductive fiber structure.

Keywords: PET, conductive fiber, e-textiles, wearable devices

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Authors: Alica Höpken, Hergen Pargmann

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The resource-efficient planning of the complex production planning processes in the meat industry and the reduction of food waste is a permanent challenge. The complexity of the production planning process occurs in every part of the supply chain, from agriculture to the end consumer. It arises from long and uncertain planning phases. Uncertainties such as stochastic yields, fluctuations in demand, and resource variability are part of this process. In the meat industry, waste mainly relates to incorrect storage, technical causes in production, or overproduction. The high amount of food waste along the complex supply chain in the meat industry could not be reduced by simple solutions until now. Therefore, resource-efficient production planning by conventional methods is currently only partially feasible. The realization of intelligent, automated production planning is basically possible through the application of machine learning algorithms, such as those of reinforcement learning. By applying the adapted design thinking method, machine learning methods (especially reinforcement learning algorithms) are used for the complex production planning process in the meat industry. This method represents a concretization to the application area. A resource-efficient production planning process is made available by adapting the design thinking method. In addition, the complex processes can be planned efficiently by using this method, since this standardized approach offers new possibilities in order to challenge the complexity and the high time consumption. It represents a tool to support the efficient production planning in the meat industry. This paper shows an elegant adaption of the design thinking method to apply the reinforcement learning method for a resource-efficient production planning process in the meat industry. Following, the steps that are necessary to introduce machine learning algorithms into the production planning of the food industry are determined. This is achieved based on a case study which is part of the research project ”REIF - Resource Efficient, Economic and Intelligent Food Chain” supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action of Germany and the German Aerospace Center. Through this structured approach, significantly better planning results are achieved, which would be too complex or very time consuming using conventional methods.

Keywords: change management, design thinking method, machine learning, meat industry, reinforcement learning, resource-efficient production planning

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Authors: G. L. C. Yap

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Modelling realized volatility with high-frequency returns is popular as it is an unbiased and efficient estimator of return volatility. A computationally simple model is fitting the logarithms of the realized volatilities with a fractionally integrated long-memory Gaussian process. The Gaussianity assumption simplifies the parameter estimation using the Whittle approximation. Nonetheless, this assumption may not be met in the finite samples and there may be a need to normalize the financial series. Based on the empirical indices S&P500 and DAX, this paper examines the performance of the linear volatility model pre-treated with normalization compared to its existing counterpart. The empirical results show that by including normalization as a pre-treatment procedure, the forecast performance outperforms the existing model in terms of statistical and economic evaluations.

Keywords: Gaussian process, long-memory, normalization, value-at-risk, volatility, Whittle estimator

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Authors: Sherly Ferro Lensun, Donal Matheos Ratu, Elni Jeini Usoh, Helena M. L. Pandi, Mayske Rinny Liando

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This study aims to gain a deep understanding of the process and the increase resulting in mastery of Kanji with a Language Learning Strategies through multimedia. This research aims to gain scientific data on process and the result of improving kanji mastery by using Chokusetsu strategy in Kanji learning. The method used in this research is Action Research developed by Kemmis and Mc. Taggart is known as Spiral Model. This model consists of following stages: planning, implementation, observation, and reflection. The research results in following findings: (1) Kanji mastery comprises 4 major aspects, those are reading, writing, the use in sentence, and memorizing, and those aspects show gradual improvement from time to time. (2) Students have more participation in learning activities which can be identified from some positive behaviours such giving respond in finishing exercise in class. (3) Students’ better attention to the lesson shown by active behaviour in giving more questions or asking for more explanation to the lecturers, memorizing Kanji card, finishing the task of making Kanji card/house, doing the exercises more seriously, and finishing homework assignment punctually. (4) More attractive learning activities and tasks in the forms of more engaging colour and pictures enables students to conduct self-evaluation on their learning process.

Keywords: Kanji, action research, language learning strategies, multimedia

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Authors: Ekrem Aksoy, Nihat Adar, Selçuk Canbek

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Ambient Computing or Ambient Intelligence (AmI) is emerging area in computer science aiming to create intelligently connected environments and Internet of Things. In this paper, we propose communication middleware architecture for AmI. This middleware architecture addresses problems of communication, networking, and abstraction of applications, although there are other aspects (e.g. HCI and Security) within general AmI framework. Within this middleware architecture, any application developer might address HCI and Security issues with extensibility features of this platform.

Keywords: AmI, ambient computing, middleware, distributed-systems, software-defined networking

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Authors: Sunusi Tijjani

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Information and communication technology is an indispensable tool in the performance of office technology managers. Today's offices are automated and equipped with modern office machines that enhances and improve the work of office managers. However, today's office technology managers can process, evaluate, manage and communicate all forms of information using technological devices. Information and Communication Technology is viewed as the process of processing, storing ad dissemination information while office technology managers are trained professional who can effectively operate modern office machines, perform administrative duties and attend meetings to take dawn minute of meetings. This paper examines the importance of information and communication technology toward enhancing the work of office managers. It also stresses the importance of information and communication technology toward proper and accurate record management.

Keywords: communication, information, technology, managers

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Authors: Bouwer Kleynhans

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The built environment is responsible for about 40% of the world’s energy consumption and generates one third of global carbon dioxide emissions. The Green Building Council of South Africa’s (GBCSA) current rating tools are all for new buildings. By far the largest portion of buildings exist stock and therefore the need to develop a certification tool for existing buildings. Direct energy measurement comprises 27% of the total available points in this tool. The aim of this paper is to describe the development process of a green star certification tool for existing buildings in South Africa with specific emphasis on the energy measurement criteria. Successful implementation of this tool within the property market will ensure a reduced carbon footprint of buildings.

Keywords: certification tool, development process, energy consumption, green buildings

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Authors: Laura Çami (Vorpsi), Xhon Skënderi

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In today's rapidly evolving technological landscape, the traditional principles of contract law are facing significant challenges. The emergence of new technologies, such as electronic signatures, smart contracts, and online dispute resolution mechanisms, is transforming the way contracts are formed, interpreted, and enforced. This paper examines the implications of these technological advancements on the constitutional principles of contract law. One of the fundamental principles of contract law is freedom of contract, which ensures that parties have the autonomy to negotiate and enter into contracts as they see fit. However, the use of technology in the contracting process has the potential to disrupt this principle. For example, online platforms and marketplaces often offer standard-form contracts, which may not reflect the specific needs or interests of individual parties. This raises questions about the equality of bargaining power between parties and the extent to which parties are truly free to negotiate the terms of their contracts. Another important principle of contract law is the requirement of consideration, which requires that each party receives something of value in exchange for their promise. The use of digital assets, such as cryptocurrencies, has created new challenges in determining what constitutes valuable consideration in a contract. Due to the ambiguity in this area, disagreements about the legality and enforceability of such contracts may arise. Furthermore, the use of technology in dispute resolution mechanisms, such as online arbitration and mediation, may raise concerns about due process and access to justice. The use of algorithms and artificial intelligence to determine the outcome of disputes may also raise questions about the impartiality and fairness of the process. Finally, it should be noted that there are many different and complex effects of technical improvements on the fundamental constitutional foundations of contract law. As technology continues to evolve, it will be important for policymakers and legal practitioners to consider the potential impacts on contract law and to ensure that the principles of fairness, equality, and access to justice are preserved in the contracting process.

Keywords: technological advancements, constitutional principles, contract law, smart contracts, online dispute resolution, freedom of contract

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Authors: Sandy Bao, Yankang Bao

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The understanding of information that is being processed in the brain, especially in the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN), has been proven challenging for modern neuroscience and for researchers with a focus on how neurons process signals and images. In this paper, we are proposing a method to image process different colors within different layers of LGN, that is, green information in layers 4 & 6 and red & blue in layers 3 & 5 based on the surface dimension of layers. We take into consideration the images in LGN and visual cortex, and that the edge detected information from the visual cortex needs to be considered in order to return back to the layers of LGN, along with the image in LGN to form the new image, which will provide an improved image that is clearer, sharper, and making it easier to identify objects in the image. Matrix Laboratory (MATLAB) simulation is performed, and results show that the clarity of the output image has significant improvement.

Keywords: lateral geniculate nucleus, matrix laboratory, neuroscience, visual cortex

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Authors: Bahiru Tsegaye, Chandrajit Balomajumder, Partha Roy

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The limited supply and related negative environmental consequence of fossil fuels are driving researcher for finding sustainable sources of energy. Lignocellulose biomass like sorghum straw is considered as among cheap, renewable and abundantly available sources of energy. However, lignocellulose biomass conversion to bioenergy like bioethanol is hindered due to the reluctant nature of lignin in the biomass. Therefore, removal of lignin is a vital step for lignocellulose conversion to renewable energy. The aim of this study is to optimize microwave pretreatment conditions using design expert software to remove lignin and to release maximum possible polysaccharides from sorghum straw for efficient hydrolysis and fermentation process. Sodium hydroxide concentration between 0.5-1.5%, v/v, pretreatment time from 5-25 minutes and pretreatment temperature from 120-2000C were considered to depolymerize sorghum straw. The effect of pretreatment was studied by analyzing the compositional changes before and after pretreatments following renewable energy laboratory procedure. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to test the significance of the model used for optimization. About 32.8%-48.27% of hemicellulose solubilization, 53% -82.62% of cellulose release, and 49.25% to 78.29% lignin solubilization were observed during microwave pretreatment. Pretreatment for 10 minutes with alkali concentration of 1.5% and temperature of 1400C released maximum cellulose and lignin. At this optimal condition, maximum of 82.62% of cellulose release and 78.29% of lignin removal was achieved. Sorghum straw at optimal pretreatment condition was subjected to enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation. The efficiency of hydrolysis was measured by analyzing reducing sugars by 3, 5 dinitrisylicylic acid method. Reducing sugars of about 619 mg/g of sorghum straw were obtained after enzymatic hydrolysis. This study showed a significant amount of lignin removal and cellulose release at optimal condition. This enhances the yield of reducing sugars as well as ethanol yield. The study demonstrates the potential of microwave pretreatments for enhancing bioethanol yield from sorghum straw.

Keywords: cellulose, hydrolysis, lignocellulose, optimization

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Authors: Abdelkarim M. Ertiame, D. W. Yu, D. L. Yu, J. B. Gomm

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In this paper, a new robust fault detection and isolation (FDI) scheme is developed to monitor a multivariable nonlinear chemical process called the Chylla-Haase polymerization reactor when it is under the cascade PI control. The scheme employs a radial basis function neural network (RBFNN) in an independent mode to model the process dynamics and using the weighted sum-squared prediction error as the residual. The recursive orthogonal Least Squares algorithm (ROLS) is employed to train the model to overcome the training difficulty of the independent mode of the network. Then, another RBFNN is used as a fault classifier to isolate faults from different features involved in the residual vector. The several actuator and sensor faults are simulated in a nonlinear simulation of the reactor in Simulink. The scheme is used to detect and isolate the faults on-line. The simulation results show the effectiveness of the scheme even the process is subjected to disturbances and uncertainties including significant changes in the monomer feed rate, fouling factor, impurity factor, ambient temperature and measurement noise. The simulation results are presented to illustrate the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed method.

Keywords: Robust fault detection, cascade control, independent RBF model, RBF neural networks, Chylla-Haase reactor, FDI under closed-loop control

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Authors: M. Holle, M. Roth, M. R. Gürtler, U. Lindemann

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This paper gives insights into the research project "InnoCyFer" (in the form of an outlook) which is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology. Enabling the integrated customer individual product design as well as flexible manufacturing of these products are the main objectives of the project. To achieve this, a web-based open innovation-platform containing an integrated Toolkit will be developed. This toolkit enables the active integration of the customer’s creativity and potentials of innovation in the product development process. Furthermore, the project will show the chances and possibilities of customer individualized products by building and examining the continuous process from innovation through the customers to the flexible manufacturing of individual products.

Keywords: customer individual product design, innovation networks, open innovation, open innovation platform, toolkit

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Authors: Mohammed Alharbi, Clare Wood, Vasileios Samaras

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Sustainability leadership is a controversial topic, particularly in the engineering context. The theoretical and practical technical focus of the engineering profession impacts our lives. Technologically, engineers significantly contribute to our modern civilization. Industrial revolutions are among the top engineering accomplishments that have contributed to the flourishing of our life. However, engineers have not always received the credit they deserve; instead, they have been blamed for the advent of various global issues, among them the global warming phenomena that are believed to be a result of the industrial revolutions. Global challenges demand engineers demonstrate more than their technical skills for effective contribution to a sustainable future. As a result, engineering leadership has emerged as a new research field. Sustainable manufacturing is a cornerstone for sustainable development. Investigating the change to more sustainable manufacturing practices is a significant issue for all, and even more in the field of engineering leadership. Engineers dominate the manufacturing industry; however, one of the main criticism of engineers is the lack of leadership skills. The literature on engineering leadership has not highlighted enough the engineers' leadership ability in leading sustainable manufacturing. Since we are at the cusp of a new industrial revolution -Industry 4.0, it is vital to investigate the ability of engineers to lead the industry towards a sustainable future. The primary purpose of this paper is to evaluate engineers' sustainability leadership competencies utilizing The Cambridge University Behavioral Competency Model. However, the practical application of the Cambridge model is limited due to the absence of a reliable measurement tool. Therefore, this study developed a valid and reliable survey instrument tool compatible with the Cambridge model as a secondary objective. More than 300 Saudi engineers from the manufacturing industry responded to an online questionnaire collected through the Qualtrics platform and analyzed using SPSS software. The findings provide a contemporary understanding of engineers' mindset related to sustainability leadership. The output of this research study could be valuable in designing effective engineering leadership programs in academia or industry, particularly for enhancing a sustainable manufacturing environment.

Keywords: engineer, leadership, manufacturing, sustainability

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Authors: Pintip Vajarothai, Saad Al-Jibouri, Johannes I. M. Halman

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Public investment projects are primarily aimed at achieving development strategies to increase national economies of scale and overall improvement in a country. However, experience shows that public projects, particularly in developing countries, struggle or fail to fulfill the immediate needs of local communities. In many cases, the reason for that is that projects are selected in a subjective manner and that a major part of the problem is related to the evaluation criteria and techniques used. The evaluation process is often based on a broad strategic economic effects rather than real benefits of projects to society or on the various needs from different levels (e.g. national, regional, local) and conditions (e.g. long-term and short-term requirements). In this paper, an extensive literature review of the types of criteria used in the past by various researchers in project evaluation and selection process is carried out and the effectiveness of such criteria and techniques is discussed. The paper proposes substitute social and project sustainability criteria to improve the conditions of local people and in particular the disadvantaged groups of the communities. Furthermore, it puts forward a way for modelling the interaction between the selected criteria and the achievement of the social goals of the affected community groups. The described work is part of developing a broader decision model for public investment project selection by integrating various aspects and techniques into a practical methodology. The paper uses Thailand as a case to review what and how the various evaluation techniques are currently used and how to improve the project evaluation and selection process related to social and sustainability issues in the country. The paper also uses an example to demonstrates how to test the feasibility of various criteria and how to model the interaction between projects and communities. The proposed model could be applied to other developing and developed countries in the project evaluation and selection process to improve its effectiveness in the long run.

Keywords: evaluation criteria, developing countries, public investment, project selection methodology

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Authors: Kamila Troper, Pedro Mestre, Maria Lurdes Menano, Joana Mendonça, Maria João Costa, Sandra Demel

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Introduction: Visual impairment is a problem that has an influence on hundreds of thousands of people all over the world. Although it is possible for a Visually Impaired person to do most jobs, the right training, technological assistance, and emotional support are essential. Ergonomics be able to solve many of the problems/issues with the relative ease of positioning, lighting and design of the workplace. A little forethought can make a tremendous difference to the ease with which a person with an impairment function. Objectives: Review the main ergonomic adaptation measures reported in the literature in order to promote better working conditions and safety measures for the visually impaired. Methodology: This was an exploratory-descriptive, qualitative literature systematic review study. The main databases used were: PubMed, BIREME, LILACS, with articles and studies published between 2000 and 2021. Results: Based on the principles of the theoretical references of ergonomic analysis of work, the main restructuring of the physical space of the workstations were: Accessibility facilities and assistive technologies; A screen reader that captures information from a computer and sends it in real-time to a speech synthesizer or Braille terminal; Installations of software with voice recognition, Monitors with enlarged screens; Magnification software; Adequate lighting, magnifying lenses in addition to recommendations regarding signage and clearance of the places where the visually impaired pass through. Conclusions: Employability rates for people with visual impairments(both those who are blind and those who have low vision)are low and continue to be a concern to the world and for researchers as a topic of international interest. Although numerous authors have identified barriers to employment and proposed strategies to remediate or circumvent those barriers, people with visual impairments continue to experience high rates of unemployment.

Keywords: ergonomic adaptations, visual impairments, ergonomic analysis of work, systematic review

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Authors: Panprae Bunyapukkna

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The purpose of this research is to analyze the process that most of the Thai film industries commonly use in order to find the right cast to play the role. The result proved that most of the low-budget film productions find the cast by asking from the crew’s friends or friend of friend. Therefore, finding the cast in low-budget film productions normally has only few people shown up for the auditions and sometimes either none of them has acting knowledge or their appearances do not match the character. However, since most of the low-budget film productions do not have much ability to find members of the cast, thus some of them still will be selected. On the other hand, most of the high-budget film productions use modeling companies to find the cast for them. However, most of modeling agencies in Thailand seek and select their cast members from the cast’s appearances or talents rather than the knowledge of acting.

Keywords: casting for film, modeling business, acting, film, performing arts, film business

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Authors: Oscar Vega Camacho, Andrea Vargas, Ellery Ariza

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This paper presents the application of finite dynamic programming, specifically the "Markov Chain" model, as part of the decision making process of a company in the cosmetics sector located in the vicinity of Bogota DC. The objective of this process was to decide whether the company should completely reconstruct its waste water treatment plant or instead optimize the plant through the addition of equipment. The goal of both of these options was to make the required improvements in order to comply with parameters established by national legislation regarding the treatment of waste before it is released into the environment. This technique will allow the company to select the best option and implement a solution for the processing of waste to minimize environmental damage and the acquisition and implementation costs.

Keywords: decision making, markov chain, optimization, waste water

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Authors: Lewis Mehl-Madrona, Barbara Mainguy, Patrick McFarlane

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Introduction: There are many risk factors for attempting suicide, including young age, “minority stress,” which would include Transgender and Gender Diverse orientations (TGD). The rate of TGD youths for suicide attempts is 3 times higher than heterosexual cis-gender youth. Half of TGD youth have seriously contemplated taking their own lives; of those, about half attempted suicide; and 18% of the TGD teenagers reported suicidal thoughts linked to their gender identity. Native American TGD have a six times higher suicide attempt rate. Conventional mental health has not generally helped these individuals. Stigma and discrimination contribute to healthcare disparities. Storytelling plays a crucial role in the development of human culture and individual identities. Sharing narrative artwork, creative writing, and personal stories allow people to build trust and to share their vulnerabilities. This helps people become aware of themselves in relation to others and gain a sense of comfort that their stories are similar; they may also be transformed in the process. Art provides a means to reach people who are otherwise difficult to engage in services. Methods: TGD individuals are recruited through a snowballing procedure. Following a life story interview, participants complete a scale of gender dysphoria, identification with conventional masculinity, patient-reported anxiety, and depression measure, and a quality-of-life scale. The interview completes the Columbia Suicide Scale. Following this, an artist and a therapist works with the participant to create a story related to their gender identity using the six-part story method. This story is then rendered to an artists’ book, which combines narrative with art (drawings, collage, computer images, etc.) and can take the form of a graphic novella, a zine, or a comic book. The pages can range from plain to ornate, as can the covers. Participants describe their process of making the books as the work unfolds and then participate in an exit interview at the completion of their book, remarking on what has changed for them and how the process affected them. Results: Preliminary results show high levels of suicidal thoughts among this population, as expected. Participants participate enthusiastically in the life story interview process and in the construction of a story related to gender identity. They enthusiastically participate in the studio process of putting their story into the form of a graphic novel, zine, or comic book. Participants reported feeling more comfortable with their TGD identity after the process and more able to resist negative judgments of family members and society. Suicidal thoughts diminish, and participants reported improved emotional wellbeing. Quantitative analysis of questionnaire data is underway Conclusions: A process in which narrative therapy is combined with art therapy shows promise for attracting and helping TGD individuals to reduce their risk for suicide without the stigma of going for mental health treatment. This process can be done outside of conventional mental health settings, on college and University campuses. This can provide an exciting alternative pathway for minority stressed and stigmatized individuals to engage in reflective, psychotherapeutic work without the trappings of psychotherapy or mental health treatment.

Keywords: minority stress, narrative process, artists' books, life story interview

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Authors: Marianna Maiaru, Gregory M. Odegard

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During the processing of high-performance thermoset polymer matrix composites, chemical reactions occur during elevated pressure and temperature cycles, causing the constituent monomers to crosslink and form a molecular network that gradually can sustain stress. As the crosslinking process progresses, the material naturally experiences a gradual shrinkage due to the increase in covalent bonds in the network. Once the cured composite completes the cure cycle and is brought to room temperature, the thermal expansion mismatch of the fibers and matrix cause additional residual stresses to form. These compounded residual stresses can compromise the reliability of the composite material and affect the composite strength. Composite process modeling is greatly complicated by the multiscale nature of the composite architecture. At the molecular level, the degree of cure controls the local shrinkage and thermal-mechanical properties of the thermoset. At the microscopic level, the local fiber architecture and packing affect the magnitudes and locations of residual stress concentrations. At the macroscopic level, the layup sequence controls the nature of crack initiation and propagation due to residual stresses. The goal of this research is use molecular dynamics (MD) and finite element analysis (FEA) to predict the residual stresses in composite laminates and the corresponding effect on composite failure. MD is used to predict the polymer shrinkage and thermomechanical properties as a function of degree of cure. This information is used as input into FEA to predict the residual stresses on the microscopic level resulting from the complete cure process. Virtual testing is subsequently conducted to predict strength allowables. Experimental characterization is used to validate the modeling.

Keywords: molecular dynamics, finite element analysis, processing modeling, multiscale modeling

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Authors: Abdulrahman Abdulrahman

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Critical depth meters, such as abroad crested weir, Venture Flume and combined control flume are standard devices for measuring flow in open channels. The discharge relation for these devices cannot be solved directly, but it needs iteration process to account for the approach velocity head. In this paper, analytical solution was developed to calculate the discharge in a combined critical depth-meter namely, a hump combined with lateral contraction in rectangular channel with subcritical approach flow including energy losses. Also analytical formulae were derived for approach velocity head coefficient for different types of critical depth meters. The solution was derived by solving a standard cubic equation considering energy loss on the base of trigonometric identity. The advantage of this technique is to avoid iteration process adopted in measuring flow by these devices. Numerical examples are chosen for demonstration of the proposed solution.

Keywords: broad crested weir, combined control meter, control structures, critical flow, discharge measurement, flow control, hydraulic engineering, hydraulic structures, open channel flow

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Authors: Cristian Păuna

Abstract:

In the first decades of the 21st century, in the electronic trading environment, algorithmic capital investments became the primary tool to make a profit by speculations in financial markets. A significant number of traders, private or institutional investors are participating in the capital markets every day using automated algorithms. The autonomous trading software is today a considerable part in the business intelligence system of any modern financial activity. The trading decisions and orders are made automatically by computers using different mathematical models. This paper will present one of these models called Price Prediction Line. A mathematical algorithm will be revealed to build a reliable trend line, which is the base for limit conditions and automated investment signals, the core for a computerized investment system. The paper will guide how to apply these tools to generate entry and exit investment signals, limit conditions to build a mathematical filter for the investment opportunities, and the methodology to integrate all of these in automated investment software. The paper will also present trading results obtained for the leading German financial market index with the presented methods to analyze and to compare different automated investment algorithms. It was found that a specific mathematical algorithm can be optimized and integrated into an automated trading system with good and sustained results for the leading German Market. Investment results will be compared in order to qualify the presented model. In conclusion, a 1:6.12 risk was obtained to reward ratio applying the trigonometric method to the DAX Deutscher Aktienindex on 24 months investment. These results are superior to those obtained with other similar models as this paper reveal. The general idea sustained by this paper is that the Price Prediction Line model presented is a reliable capital investment methodology that can be successfully applied to build an automated investment system with excellent results.

Keywords: algorithmic trading, automated trading systems, high-frequency trading, DAX Deutscher Aktienindex

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Authors: Lilia Edit Aparicio Pico, Paulo Cesar Coronado Sánchez, Roberto Ferro Escobar

Abstract:

This paper presents the implementation of telemedicine services for physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy rehabilitation, utilizing telebroadcasting of audiovisual content to enhance comprehensive patient recovery in rural areas of San Vicente del Caguán municipality, characterized by high levels of social conflict in Colombia. The region faces challenges such as dysfunctional problems, physical rehabilitation needs, and a high prevalence of hearing diseases, leading to neglect and substandard health services. Limited access to healthcare due to communication barriers and transportation difficulties exacerbates these issues. To address these challenges, a research initiative was undertaken to leverage information and communication technologies (ICTs) to improve healthcare quality and accessibility for this vulnerable population. The primary objective was to develop a tele-rehabilitation system to provide asynchronous online therapies and teleconsultation services for patient follow-up during the recovery process. The project comprises two components: Communication systems and human development. A technological component involving the establishment of a wireless network connecting rural centers and the development of a mobile application for video-based therapy delivery. Communications systems will be provided by a radio link that utilizes internet provided by the Colombian government, located in the municipality of San Vicente del Caguán to connect two rural centers (Pozos and Tres Esquinas) and a mobile application for managing videos for asynchronous broadcasting in sidewalks and patients' homes. This component constitutes an operational model integrating information and telecommunications technologies. The second component involves pedagogical and human development. The primary focus is on the patient, where performance indicators and the efficiency of therapy support were evaluated for the assessment and monitoring of telerehabilitation results in physical, occupational, and speech therapy. They wanted to implement a wireless network to ensure audiovisual content transmission for tele-rehabilitation, design audiovisual content for tele-rehabilitation based on services provided by the ESE Hospital San Rafael in physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy, develop a software application for fixed and mobile devices enabling access to tele-rehabilitation audiovisual content for healthcare personnel and patients and finally to evaluate the technological solution's contribution to the ESE Hospital San Rafael community. The research comprised four phases: wireless network implementation, audiovisual content design, software application development, and evaluation of the technological solution's impact. Key findings include the successful implementation of virtual teletherapy, both synchronously and asynchronously, and the assessment of technological performance indicators, patient evolution, timeliness, acceptance, and service quality of tele-rehabilitation therapies. The study demonstrated improved service coverage, increased care supply, enhanced access to timely therapies for patients, and positive acceptance of teletherapy modalities. Additionally, the project generated new knowledge for potential replication in other regions and proposed strategies for short- and medium-term improvement of service quality and care indicators

Keywords: e-health, medical informatics, telemedicine, telerehabilitation, virtual therapy

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Authors: M. Kosacka, I. Kudelska

Abstract:

Vehicle is one of the most influential and complex product worldwide, which affects people’s life, state of the environment and condition of the economy (all aspects of sustainable development concept) during each stage of lifecycle. With the increase of vehicles’ number, there is growing potential for management of End of Life Vehicle (ELV), which is hazardous waste. From one point of view, the ELV should be managed to ensure risk elimination, but from another point, it should be treated as a source of valuable materials and spare parts. In order to obtain materials and spare parts, there are established recycling networks, which are an example of sustainable policy realization at the national level. The basic object in the polish recycling network is dismantling facility. The output material streams in dismantling stations include waste, which very often generate costs and spare parts, that have the biggest potential for revenues creation. Both outputs are stored into warehouses, according to the law. In accordance to the revenue creation and sustainability potential, it has been placed a strong emphasis on storage process. We present the concept of storage method, which takes into account the specific of the dismantling facility in order to support decision-making process with regard to the principles of sustainable development. The method was developed on the basis of case study of one of the greatest dismantling facility in Poland.

Keywords: dismantling, end of life vehicles, sustainability, storage

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Authors: Zheni S. Stefanova, Kandethody M. Ramachandran

Abstract:

With the increasing dependency on our computer devices, we face the necessity of adequate, efficient and effective mechanisms, for protecting our network. There are two main problems that Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) attempt to solve. 1) To detect the attack, by analyzing the incoming traffic and inspect the network (intrusion detection). 2) To produce a prompt response when the attack occurs (intrusion prevention). It is critical creating an Intrusion detection model that will detect a breach in the system on time and also challenging making it provide an automatic and with an acceptable delay response at every single stage of the monitoring process. We cannot afford to adopt security measures with a high exploiting computational power, and we are not able to accept a mechanism that will react with a delay. In this paper, we will propose an intrusion response mechanism that is based on artificial intelligence, and more precisely, reinforcement learning techniques (RLT). The RLT will help us to create a decision agent, who will control the process of interacting with the undetermined environment. The goal is to find an optimal policy, which will represent the intrusion response, therefore, to solve the Reinforcement learning problem, using a Q-learning approach. Our agent will produce an optimal immediate response, in the process of evaluating the network traffic.This Q-learning approach will establish the balance between exploration and exploitation and provide a unique, self-learning and strategic artificial intelligence response mechanism for IDS.

Keywords: cyber security, intrusion prevention, optimal policy, Q-learning

Procedia PDF Downloads 224