Search results for: customer requirements for sustainable design

Authors: K. Djellabi, M. E. H. Latreche

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Induction heating computer simulation is a powerful tool for process design and optimization, induction coil design, equipment selection, as well as education and business presentations. The authors share their vast experience in the practical use of computer simulation for different induction heating and heat treating processes. In this paper deals with mathematical modeling and numerical simulation of induction heating furnaces with axisymmetric geometries. For the numerical solution, we propose finite element methods combined with boundary (FEM) for the electromagnetic model using COMSOL® Multiphysics Software. Some numerical results for an industrial furnace are shown with high frequency.

Keywords: numerical methods, induction furnaces, induction heating, finite element method, Comsol multiphysics software

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Authors: Fatemeh Moosavi, Tumelo Franck Nkoshwane

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Peter Drucker the renowned management guru once said, “The best way to predict the future is to create it.” Mr. Drucker is also the man who placed human capital as the most vital resource of any institution. As such any institution bent on creating a better future, requires a competent human capital, one that is able to execute with efficiency and effectiveness the objective a society aspires to. Technology today is accelerating the rate at which many societies transition to knowledge based societies. In this accelerated paradigm, it is imperative that those in leadership establish a platform capable of sustaining the planned future; intellectual capital. The capitalist economy going into the future will not just be sustained by dollars and cents, but by individuals who possess the creativity to enterprise, innovate and create wealth from ideas. This calls for cities of the future, to have this premise at the heart of their future plan, if the objective of designing sustainable and liveable future cities will be realised. The knowledge economy, now transitioning to the creative economy, requires cities of the future to be ‘gardens’ of inspiration, to be places where knowledge, creativity, and innovation can thrive as these instruments are becoming critical assets for creating wealth in the new economic system. Developing nations must accept that learning is a lifelong process that requires keeping abreast with change and should invest in teaching people how to keep learning. The need to continuously update one’s knowledge, turn these cities into vibrant societies, where new ideas create knowledge and in turn enriches the quality of life of the residents. Cities of the future must have as one of their objectives, the ability to motivate their citizens to learn, share knowledge, evaluate the knowledge and use it to create wealth for a just society. The five functional factors suggested by Kevin Lynch;-vitality, meaning/sense, adaptability, access, control, and monitoring should form the basis on which policy makers and urban designers base their plans for future cities. The authors of this paper believe that developing nations “creative economy clusters”, cities where creative industries drive the need for constant new knowledge creating sustainable learning creative cities. Obviously the form, shape and size of these districts should be cognisant of the environmental, cultural and economic characteristics of each locale. Gaborone city in the republic of Botswana is presented as the case study for this paper.

Keywords: learning city, sustainable creative city, creative industry, good city form

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Authors: Mehrangiz Rezaee, Zabih Charrahi

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In the last decade, with increasing tourism destinations and tourism growth, we are witnessing the widespread impacts of tourism on the economy, environment and society. Tourism and its related economy are now undergoing a transformation and as one of the key pillars of business economics, it plays a vital role in the world economy. Activities related to tourism and providing services appropriate to it in an area, like many economic sectors, require the necessary context on its origin. Given the importance of tourism industry and tourism potentials of Yazd province in Iran, it is necessary to use a proper procedure for prioritizing different areas for proper and efficient planning. One of the most important goals of planning is foresight and creating balanced development in different geographical areas. This process requires an accurate study of the areas and potential and actual talents, as well as evaluation and understanding of the relationship between the indicators affecting the development of the region. At the global and regional level, the development of tourist resorts and the proper distribution of tourism destinations are needed to counter environmental impacts and risks. The main objective of this study is the sustainable development of suitable tourism areas. Given that tourism activities in different territorial areas require operational zoning, this study deals with the evaluation of territorial tourism using concepts such as land use, fitness and sustainable development. It is essential to understand the structure of tourism development and the spatial development of tourism using land use patterns, spatial planning and sustainable development. Tourism spatial planning implements different approaches. However, the development of tourism as well as the spatial development of tourism is complex, since tourist activities can be carried out in different areas with different purposes. Multipurpose areas have great important for tourism because it determines the flow of tourism. Therefore, in this paper, by studying the development and determination of tourism suitability that is related to spatial development, it is possible to plan tourism spatial development by developing a model that describes the characteristics of tourism. The results of this research determine the suitability of multi-functional territorial tourism development in line with spatial planning of tourism.

Keywords: land use change, spatial planning, sustainability, territorial tourist, Yazd

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Authors: Paul Okonkwo, Howard Smith

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This paper describes a methodology to integrate the Athena Vortex Lattice Aerodynamic Software for automated operation in a multivariate optimisation of the Blended Wing Body Aircraft. The Athena Vortex Lattice code developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology by Mark Drela allows for the aerodynamic analysis of aircraft using the vortex lattice method. Ordinarily, the Athena Vortex Lattice operation requires a text file containing the aircraft geometry to be loaded into the AVL solver in order to determine the aerodynamic forces and moments. However, automated operation will be required to enable integration into a multidisciplinary optimisation framework. Automated AVL operation within the JAVA design environment will nonetheless require a modification and recompilation of AVL source code into an executable file capable of running on windows and other platforms without the –X11 libraries. This paper describes the procedure for the integrating the FORTRAN written AVL software for automated operation within the multivariate design synthesis optimisation framework for the conceptual design of the BWB aircraft.

Keywords: aerodynamics, automation, optimisation, AVL, JNI

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Authors: Adewale Tolulope Irewale, Elias Emeka Elemike, Christian O. Dimkpa, Emeka Emmanuel Oguzie

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As the global population steadily approaches the 10billion mark, the world is currently faced with two major challenges among others – accessing sustainable and clean energy, and food security. Accessing cleaner and sustainable energy sources to drive global economy and technological advancement, and feeding the teeming human population require sustainable, innovative, and smart solutions. To solve the food production problem, producers have relied on fertilizers as a way of improving crop productivity. Commercial inorganic fertilizers, which is employed to boost agricultural food production, however, pose significant ecological sustainability and economic problems including soil and water pollution, reduced input efficiency, development of highly resistant weeds, micronutrient deficiency, soil degradation, and increased soil toxicity. These ecological and sustainability concerns have raised uncertainties about the continued effectiveness of conventional fertilizers. With the application of nanotechnology, plant biomass upcycling offers several advantages in greener energy production and sustainable agriculture through reduction of environmental pollution, increasing soil microbial activity, recycling carbon thereby reducing GHG emission, and so forth. This innovative technology has the potential for a circular economy and creating a sustainable agricultural practice. Nanomaterials have the potential to greatly enhance the quality and nutrient composition of organic biomass which in turn, allows for the conversion of biomass into nanofertilizers that are potentially more efficient. Water hyacinth plant harvested from an inland water at Warri, Delta State Nigeria were air-dried and milled into powder form. The dry biomass were used to prepare biochar at a pre-determined temperature in an oxygen deficient atmosphere. Physicochemical analysis of the resulting biochar was carried out to determine its porosity and general morphology using the Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (STEM). The functional groups (-COOH, -OH, -NH2, -CN, -C=O) were assessed using the Fourier Transform InfraRed Spectroscopy (FTIR) while the heavy metals (Cr, Cu, Fe, Pb, Mg, Mn) were analyzed using Inductively Coupled Plasma – Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES). Impregnation of the biochar with nanonutrients were achieved under varied conditions of pH, temperature, nanonutrient concentrations and resident time to achieve optimum adsorption. Adsorption and desorption studies were carried out on the resulting nanofertilizer to determine kinetics for the potential nutrients’ bio-availability to plants when used as green fertilizers. Water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) which is an aggressively invasive aquatic plant known for its rapid growth and profusion is being examined in this research to harness its biomass as a sustainable feedstock to formulate functionalized nano-biochar fertilizers, offering various benefits including water hyacinth biomass upcycling, improved nutrient delivery to crops and aquatic ecosystem remediation. Altogether, this work aims to create output values in the three dimensions of environmental, economic, and social benefits.

Keywords: biochar-based nanofertilizers, eichhornia crassipes, greener agriculture, sustainable ecosystem, water hyacinth

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Authors: Thomas Wimmer, Bernhard Weigand

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The improvement of gas turbine efficiency is one of the main drivers of research and development in the gas turbine market. This has led to elevated gas turbine inlet temperatures beyond the melting point of the utilized materials. The turbine parts need to be actively cooled in order to withstand these harsh environments. However, the usage of compressor air as coolant decreases the overall gas turbine efficiency. Thus, coolant consumption needs to be minimized in order to gain the maximum advantage from higher turbine inlet temperatures. Therefore, sophisticated cooling designs for gas turbine parts aim to minimize coolant mass flow. New design space is accessible as additive manufacturing is maturing to industrial usage for the creation of hot gas flow path parts. By making use of this technology more efficient cooling schemes can be manufacture. In order to find such cooling schemes a generative design method is being developed. It generates cooling schemes randomly which adhere to a set of rules. These assure the sanity of the design. A huge amount of different cooling schemes are generated and implemented in a simulation environment where it is validated. Criteria for the fitness of the cooling schemes are coolant mass flow, maximum temperature and temperature gradients. This way the whole design space is sampled and a Pareto optimum front can be identified. This approach is applied to a flat plate, which resembles a simplified section of a hot gas flow path part. Realistic boundary conditions are applied and thermal barrier coating is accounted for in the simulation environment. The resulting cooling schemes are presented and compared to representative conventional cooling schemes. Further development of this method can give access to cooling schemes with an even better performance having higher complexity, which makes use of the available design space.

Keywords: additive manufacturing, cooling, gas turbine, heat transfer, heat transfer design, optimization

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Authors: T. K. Chandrashekar, R. Harish Kumar, T. B. Prasad, C. R. Rajashekhar

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Cyclone separators are normally used for dust collection in rice mills for a long time. However, their dust collection efficiency is lower and is influenced by factors like geometry, exit pipe dimensions and length, humidity, and temperature at dust generation place. The design of cyclone has been slightly altered, and the new design has proven to be successful in collecting the dust particles of size up to 10 microns, the major modification was to change the height of exit pipe of the cyclone chamber to have optimum dust collection. The cyclone is coupled with a tri-chambered filter unit with three geo text materials filters of different mesh size to capture the dust less than 10 micron.

Keywords: cyclone-separator, rice mill, tri chambered filter, dust removal

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Authors: Lu Yanru, Handojo Djati Utomo, Yin Xi Jiang, Li Xiaodong

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Insulation plays a key role in the sustainable building due to the contribution of energy consumption reduction. Without sufficient insulation, a great amount of the energy used to heat or cool a building will be lost to the outdoors. In this study, we developed a highly efficient thermal insulation paint with the incorporation of silica aerogel. Silica aerogel, with a low thermal conductivity of 0.01 W/mK, has been successfully prepared from the solid waste from the incineration plants. It has been added into water-based paints to increase its thermal insulation properties. To investigate the thermal insulation performance of silica aerogel additive, the paint samples were mixed with silica aerogel at different sizes and with various portions. The thermal conductivity, water resistance, thermal stability and adhesion strength of the samples were tested and evaluated. The thermal diffusivity measurements proved that adding silica aerogel additive could improve the thermal insulation properties of the paint significantly. Up to 5 ˚C reductions were observed after applying paints with silica aerogel additive compare to the one without it. The results showed that the developed thermal insulation paints have great potential for an application in green and sustainable building.

Keywords: silica aerogel, thermal insulation, water-based paints, water resistant

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Authors: Umer Farooq

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The present work is being presented with a general aim of highlighting the role of protection/propagation of indigenous breeds of livestock in an area as a sustainable tool for poverty alleviation. Specifically, the aim is to introduce a formerly neglected Cholistani breed of cattle being reared by the Cholistani desert nomads of Pakistan. The said work will present a detaile account of research work conducted during the last five years by the author. Furthermore, it will present the performance (productive and reproductive traits) of this breed as being reared under various nomadic systems of the desert. Results will be deducted on the basis of the research work conducted on Cholistani cattle and keeping abreast the latest reforms being provided by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Initiative to Support Pastoralism (WISP) of the UN. The timely attention towards the protection and propagation of this neglected breed of cattle will pave a smoother way towards poverty alleviation of rural/suburban areas and a successful sustainable agriculture in low input production systems such as Pakistan. The 15 recognized indigenous breeds of cattle constitute 43% of the total livestock population in Pakistan and belong to Zebu cattle. These precious breeds are currently under threat and might disappear even before proper documentation until and unless streamlined efforts are diverted towards them. This horrific state is due to many factors such as epidemic diseases, urbanization, indiscriminate crossing with native stock, misdirected cross breeding with exotic stock/semen, inclined livestock systems from extensive (subsistence) to intensive (commercial), lack of valuation of local breeds, decreasing natural resources, environmental degradation and global warming. Hefty work has been documented on many aspects of Sahiwal and Red Sindhi breeds of cattle in their respective local climates which have rightly gained them an international fame as being the vital tropical milk breeds of Pakistan. However, many other indigenous livestock breeds such as Cholistani cattle being reared under pastoral systems of Cholistan are yet unexplored. The productive and reproductive traits under their local climatic conditions need to be studied and the future researches may be streamlined to manipulate their indigenous potential. The timely attention will pave a smoother way towards poverty alleviation of rural/suburban areas and a successful sustainable agriculture in low input production systems.

Keywords: Cholistan desert, Pakistan, indigenous cattle, Sahiwal cattle, pastoralism

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Authors: R. G. Ramírez-Chavarría, C. Sánchez-Pérez, V. Argueta-Díaz

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In this paper we present the design of an optical device based on a Herriott multi-pass cell fabricated on a small sized acrylic slab for heat flux measurements using the deflection of a laser beam propagating inside the cell. The beam deflection is produced by the heat flux conducted to the acrylic slab due to a gradient in the refractive index. The use of a long path cell as the sensitive element in this measurement device, gives the possibility of high sensitivity within a small size device. We present the optical design as well as some experimental results in order to validate the device’s operation principle.

Keywords: heat flux, Herriott cell, optical beam deflection, thermal conductivity

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Authors: Lucy Ampaw-Asiedu, Terri R. Norton

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In the wake of recent disasters happening around the world such as earthquake in Italy (January, 2017); hurricanes in the United States (US) (September 2016 and September 2017); and compounding disasters in Haiti (September 2010 and September 2016); to our best knowledge, never has the world seen the need to work on preemptive rather than reactionary measures to salvage this situation than now. Tornadoes are natural hazards that mostly affect mid-western and central states in the US. Tornadoes, like all natural hazards such as hurricanes, earthquakes, floods and others, are very destructive and result in massive destruction to homes, cause billions of dollars in damage and claims many lives. Healthcare facilities in general are vulnerable to disasters, and therefore, the safety of patients, health workers and those who come in to seek shelter should be a priority. The focus of this study is to assess disaster management measures instituted by healthcare facilities. Thus, the sole aim of the study is to examine the vulnerabilities and the design of safe spaces in healthcare facilities in Central US. Objectives that guide the study are to primarily identify the impacts of tornadoes in hospitals and to assess the structural design or specifications of safe spaces. St. John’s Regional Medical Center, now Mercy Hospital in Joplin, is used as a case study. Preliminary results show that the lateral base shear of the proposed design to be 684.24 ton (1508.49kip) for the safe space. Findings from this work will be used to make recommendations about the design of safe spaces for health care facilities in Central US.

Keywords: disaster management, safe spaces, structural design, tornado, vulnerability

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Authors: Carlos G. Santos, Frederico A. Genezini, A. P. Dos Santos, H. Yorivaz, P. T. D. Siqueira

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The Prompt-Gamma Activation Analysis (PGAA) is a valuable technique for investigating the elemental composition of various samples. However, the installation of a PGAA system entails specific conditions such as filtering the neutron beam according to the target and providing adequate shielding for both users and detectors. These requirements incur substantial costs, exceeding $100,000, including manpower. Nevertheless, a cost-effective approach involves leveraging an existing neutron beam facility to create a hybrid system integrating PGAA and Neutron Tomography (NT). The IEA-R1 nuclear reactor at IPEN/USP possesses an NT facility with suitable conditions for adapting and implementing a PGAA device. The NT facility offers a thermal flux slightly colder and provides shielding for user protection. The key additional requirement involves designing detector shielding to mitigate high gamma ray background and safeguard the HPGe detector from neutron-induced damage. This study employs Monte Carlo simulations with the MCNP6 code to optimize the collimator plug for PGAA within the IEA-R1 NT facility. Three collimator models are proposed and simulated to assess their effectiveness in shielding gamma and neutron radiation from nucleon fission. The aim is to achieve a focused prompt-gamma signal while shielding ambient gamma radiation. The simulation results indicate that one of the proposed designs is particularly suitable for the PGAA-NT hybrid system.

Keywords: MCNP6.1, neutron, prompt-gamma ray, prompt-gamma activation analysis

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Authors: John Dorrell, Matthew Ambrosia, Abilash

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This paper employs econometric analysis to quantify the potential profit wind farms can receive by allocating excess wind energy to power bitcoin mining machines. Cryptocurrency mining consumes a substantial amount of electricity worldwide, and wind energy produces a significant amount of energy that is lost because of the intermittent nature of the resource. Supply does not always match consumer demand. By combining the weaknesses of these two technologies, we can improve efficiency and a sustainable path to mine cryptocurrencies. This paper uses historical wind energy from the ERCOT network in Texas and cryptocurrency data from 2000-2021, to create 4-year return on investment projections. Our research model incorporates the price of bitcoin, the price of the miner, the hash rate of the miner relative to the network hash rate, the block reward, the bitcoin transaction fees awarded to the miners, the mining pool fees, the cost of the electricity and the percentage of time the miner will be running to demonstrate that wind farms generate enough excess energy to mine bitcoin profitably. Excess wind energy can be used as a financial battery, which can utilize wasted electricity by changing it into economic energy. The findings of our research determine that wind energy producers can earn profit while not taking away much if any, electricity from the grid. According to our results, Bitcoin mining could give as much as 1347% and 805% return on investment with the starting dates of November 1, 2021, and November 1, 2022, respectively, using wind farm curtailment. This paper is helpful to policymakers and investors in determining efficient and sustainable ways to power our economic future. This paper proposes a practical solution for the problem of crypto mining energy consumption and creates a more sustainable energy future for Bitcoin.

Keywords: bitcoin, mining, economics, energy

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Authors: Sanja Šurdonja, Aleksandra Deluka-Tibljaš, Mirna Klobučar, Irena Ištoka Otković

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Roundabouts are a common choice in the case of reconstruction of an intersection, whether it is to improve the capacity of the intersection or traffic safety, especially in urban conditions. The regulation for the design of roundabouts is often related to driving culture, the tradition of using this type of intersection, etc. Individual values in the regulation are usually recommended in a wide range (this is the case in Croatian regulation), and the final design of a roundabout largely depends on the designer's experience and his/her choice of design elements. Therefore, before-after analyses are a good way to monitor the performance of roundabouts and possibly improve the recommendations of the regulation. This paper presents a comprehensive before-after analysis of a roundabout on the country road network near Rijeka, Croatia. The analysis is based on a thorough collection of traffic data (operating speeds and traffic load) and design elements data, both before and after the reconstruction into a roundabout. At the chosen location, the roundabout solution aimed to improve capacity and traffic safety. Therefore, the paper analyzed the collected data to see if the roundabout achieved the expected effect. A traffic microsimulation model (VISSIM) of the roundabout was created based on the real collected data, and the influence of the increase of traffic load and different traffic structures, as well as of the selected design elements on the capacity of the roundabout, were analyzed. Also, through the analysis of operating speeds and potential conflicts by application of the Surrogate Safety Assessment Model (SSAM), the traffic safety effect of the roundabout was analyzed. The results of this research show the practical value of before-after analysis as an indicator of roundabout effectiveness at a specific location. The application of a microsimulation model provides a practical method for analyzing intersection functionality from a capacity and safety perspective in present and changed traffic and design conditions.

Keywords: before-after analysis, operating speed, capacity, design.

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Authors: Alex Rodriguez, Adam Guerrero

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Purpose: This study is designed to examine the institutions that comprise the Online Consortium of Independent Colleges and Universities (OCICU) to understand better the types of higher education institutions that comprise their membership. The literature on this topic is extensive in analyzing the current economic environment around higher education, which is largely considered to be negative for independent, tuition-driven institutions, and is forcing colleges and universities to reexamine how the college-attending population defines value and how institutions can best utilize their existing resources (and those of other institutions) to meet that value expectation. The results from this analysis are intended to give OCICU the ability to target their current customer base better, based on their most notable differences, and other institutions to see how to best approach consolidation within higher education. Design/Methodology: This study utilized k-means cluster analysis in order to explore the possibility that different segments exist within the seventy-one colleges and universities that have comprised OCICU. It analyzed fifty different variables, whose selection was based on the previous literature, collected by the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), whose data is self-reported by individual institutions. Findings: OCICU member institutions are partitioned into two clusters: "access institutions" and "conventional institutions” based largely on the student profile they target. Value: The methodology of the study is relatively unique as there are not many studies within the field of higher education marketing that have employed cluster analysis, and this type of analysis has never been conducted on OCICU members, specifically, or that of any higher education consolidated offering. OCICU can use the findings of this study to obtain a better grasp as to the specific needs of the two market segments OCICU currently serves and develop measurable marketing programs around how those segments are defined that communicate the value sought by current and potential OCICU members or those of similar institutions. Other consolidation efforts within higher education can also employ the same methodology to determine their own market segments.

Keywords: Consolidation, Colleges, Enrollment, Higher Education, Marketing, Strategy, Universities

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Authors: Abubakar Danbaba

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Sudoku squares have been widely used to design an experiment where each treatment occurs exactly once in each row, column or sub-block. For some experiments, the size of row (or column or sub-block) may be larger than the number of treatments. Since each treatment appears only once in each row (column or sub-block) with an additional empty cell such designs are partially balanced Sudoku designs (PBSD) with NP-complete structures. This paper proposed methods for constructing PBSD of prime order of treatments by a modified Kronecker product and swap of matrix row (or column) in cyclic order. In addition, linear model and procedure for the analysis of data for PBSD are proposed.

Keywords: sudoku design, partial sudoku, NP-complete, Kronecker product, row and column swap

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Authors: Raquel Vianna Duarte Cardoso, Eduarda Lobato Faria, José Jorge Boueri

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Rapid urbanization has transformed the global landscape, presenting significant challenges to public health. This article delves into the impact of urbanization on the spread of infectious diseases in cities and identifies crucial strategies to enhance urban community resilience. Massive urbanization over recent decades has created conducive environments for the rapid spread of diseases due to population density, mobility, and unequal living conditions. Urbanization has been observed to increase exposure to pathogens and foster conditions conducive to disease outbreaks, including seasonal flu, vector-borne diseases, and respiratory infections. In order to tackle these issues, a range of cross-disciplinary approaches are suggested. These encompass the enhancement of urban healthcare infrastructure, emphasizing the need for robust investments in hospitals, clinics, and healthcare systems to keep pace with the burgeoning healthcare requirements in urban environments. Moreover, the establishment of disease monitoring and surveillance mechanisms is indispensable, as it allows for the timely detection of outbreaks, enabling swift responses. Additionally, community engagement and education play a pivotal role in advocating for personal hygiene, vaccination, and preventive measures, thus playing a pivotal role in diminishing disease transmission. Lastly, the promotion of sustainable urban planning, which includes the creation of cities with green spaces, access to clean water, and proper sanitation, can significantly mitigate the risks associated with waterborne and vector-borne diseases. The article is based on a review of scientific literature, and it offers a comprehensive insight into the complexities of the relationship between urbanization and health. It places a strong emphasis on the urgent need for integrated approaches to improve urban resilience in the face of health challenges.

Keywords: infectious diseases dissemination, public health, urbanization impacts, urban resilience

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Authors: Ilknur Çevik Tekin, Serdar Öge

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As a result of globalization and changing consumer preferences, the number of shopping malls has increased significantly in recent years. Consumers prefer shopping malls to both do comfortable shopping in a short time and benefit from the social facilities there. Employees, who are obliged to behave to the consumers in the way the company wants them to do, often spend intensive emotional effort because companies buy the emotions the employees must display to customers in order to ensure customer satisfaction. The emotions the employees constantly try to contain may lead to the phenomenon of burn-out in time. This study was conducted to reveal the relationship between the emotional labor and burn-out levels of shopping mall employees, who work in shopping malls and are supposed to reflect the corporate culture.

Keywords: emotional labor, burnout, shopping mall employees

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Authors: Jing Zhang

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Sustainable development in the new energy vehicles field is the requirement of the net zero aim. Green bonds are accepted as a practical financial tool to boost the transformation of relevant enterprises. The paper analyzes the interactions among governments, enterprises of new energy vehicles, and financial institutions by an evolutionary game theory model and offers advice to stakeholders in China. The decision-making subjects of green behavior are affected by experiences, interests, perception ability, and risk preference, so it is difficult for them to be completely rational. Based on the bounded rationality hypothesis, this paper applies prospect theory in the evolutionary game analysis framework and analyses the costs of government regulation of enterprises adopting green bonds. The influence of the perceived value of revenue prospect and the probability and risk transfer coefficient of the government's active regulation on the decision-making agent's strategy is verified by numerical simulation. Finally, according to the research conclusions, policy suggestions are given to promote green bonds.

Keywords: green bonds, new energy vehicles, sustainable development, evolutionary Game Theory model

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Authors: Jun Yuan

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Shipping is a major transportation mode all over the world, and it has a significant contribution to global carbon emissions. Electrification of ships is one of the main strategies to reduce shipping carbon emissions. The number of electric ships has continued to grow in recent years. However, charging infrastructure is still scarce, which severely restricts the development of electric ships. Therefore, it is very important to design ship charging stations reasonably by comprehensively considering charging demand and investment costs. This study aims to minimize the full life cycle cost of charging stations, considering the uncertainty of charging demand. A mixed integer programming model is developed for this optimization problem. Based on the characteristics of the mathematical model, a simulation based optimization method is proposed to find the optimal number and rated power of chargers. In addition, the impact of renewable energy and storage systems is analyzed. The results can provide decision support and a reference basis for the design of ship charging stations.

Keywords: shipping emission, electricity ship, charging station, optimal design

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Authors: Violet Justine Mtonga, Cecilia Diaz

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this paper explores the prevalence of loyalty programs in the UK gambling industry and their association with unintended consequences and harm amongst program members. The use of loyalty programs within the UK gambling industry has risen significantly with over 40 million cards in circulation. Some research suggests that as of 2013-2014, nearly 95% of UK consumers have at least one loyalty card with 78% being members of two or more programs, and the average household possesses ‘22 loyalty programs’, nearly half of which tend to be used actively. The core design of loyalty programs is to create a relational ‘win-win’ approach where value is jointly created between the parties involved through repetitive engagement. However, main concern about the diffusion of gambling organisations’ loyalty programs amongst consumers, might be the use by the organisations within the gambling industry to over influence customer engagement and potentially cause unintended harm. To help understand the complex phenomena of the diffusions and adaptation of the use of loyalty programs in the gambling industry, and the potential unintended outcomes, this study is theoretically underpinned by the social exchange theory of relationships entrenched in the processes of social exchanges of resources, rewards, and costs for long-term interactions and mutual benefits. Qualitative data were collected via in-depth interviews from 14 customers and 12 employees within the UK land-based gambling firms. Data were analysed using a combination of thematic and clustering analysis to help reveal and discover the emerging themes regarding the use of loyalty cards for gambling companies and exploration of subgroups within the sample. The study’s results indicate that there are different unintended consequences and harm of loyalty program engagement and usage such as maladaptive gambling behaviours, risk of compulsiveness, and loyalty programs promoting gambling from home. Furthermore, there is a strong indication of a rite of passage among loyalty program members. There is also strong evidence to support other unfavorable behaviors such as amplified gambling habits and risk-taking practices. Additionally, in pursuit of rewards, loyalty program incentives effectuate overconsumption and heighten expenditure. Overall, the primary findings of this study show that loyalty programs in the gambling industry should be designed with an ethical perspective and practice.

Keywords: gambling, loyalty programs, social exchange theory, unintended harm

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Authors: Hammoudi Abderazek

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The present paper introduces a modified adaptive mixed differential evolution (MAMDE) to select the main geometry parameters of specific cylindrical spur gear. The developed algorithm used the self-adaptive mechanism in order to update the values of mutation and crossover factors. The feasibility rules are used in the selection phase to improve the search exploration of MAMDE. Moreover, the elitism is performed to keep the best individual found in each generation. For the constraints handling the normalization method is used to treat each constraint design equally. The finite element analysis is used to confirm the optimization results for the maximum bending resistance. The simulation results reached in this paper indicate clearly that the proposed algorithm is very competitive in precision gear design optimization.

Keywords: evolutionary algorithm, spur gear, tooth profile, meta-heuristics

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Authors: Mananya Meenakorn

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The purpose of this research is to study the relationship customer perception and brand value of cosmetics in the view of customers in Thailand. The research is quantitative research using the survey method by questionnaire. Data were collected from female cosmetics consumer that residents in Bangkok, aged between 25-55 years. Researchers have determined the size of the sample by using Taro Yamane technic a total of 400 people. The study found the Shiseido cosmetics brand image always come with the new products innovation is in the height level. The average was 3.812, second is Shiseido brand has used innovation to produce the product for 3.792. And brand Shiseido looks luxury with an average of 3.707 respectively. In additional in terms of Lancôme cosmetic brand found the brand image is luxury at the height levels for 4.170 average. The seductive glamor is considered in the moderate with an average of 3.822 respectively.

Keywords: brand image, international fashion dress, values, working women

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Authors: Mansoor Imam, Amber Afshan, Sumbul Mujeeb, Kamran Gill

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An investigative approach has been made to study the quality of living prevailing in the squatter slums of Karachi city that is influencing the urbanization trends and environmental degeneration of built environment. The paper identifies the issues and aspects that have directly and indirectly impacted the degeneration owing to inadequate basic infrastructural amenities, substandard housing, overcrowding, poor ventilation in homes and workplaces, and noncompliance with building bye-laws and regulations, etc. Primarily, secondary data has been critically examined and analyzed which was however not limited to census data, demographic / socioeconomic data, official documents and other relevant secondary data were obtained from existing literature and GIS. It is observed that the poor and sub-standard housing / living quality have serious adverse impacts on the environment and the health of city residents. Hence strategies for improving the quality of built environment for sustainable living are mandated. It is, therefore, imperative to check and prevent further degradation and promote harmonious living and sustainable urbanization.

Keywords: squatter slums, urbanization, degenerations, living quality, built environment

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Authors: M. Hilmi Ozdemir, Gokhan Ozkan

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Performance Based Logistics (PBL) is a strategic approach that enables creating long-term and win-win relations among stakeholders in the acquisition. Contrary to the traditional single transactions, the expected value is created by the performance of the service pertaining to the strategic relationships in this approach. PBL motivates all relevant stakeholders to focus on their core competencies to produce the desired outcome in a collective way. The desired outcome can only be assured with a cost effective way as long as it is periodically measured with the right performance parameters. Thus, defining these parameters is a crucial step for the PBL contracts. In performance parameter determination, Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), which is a multi-criteria decision making methodology for complex cases, was used within this study for a complex system. AHP has been extensively applied in various areas including supply chain, inventory management, outsourcing, and logistics. This methodology made it possible to convert end-user’s main operation and maintenance requirements to sub criteria contained by a single performance parameter. Those requirements were categorized and assigned weights by the relevant stakeholders. Single performance parameter capable of measuring the overall performance of a complex system is the major outcome of this study. The parameter deals with the integrated assessment of different functions spanning from training, operation, maintenance, reporting, and documentation that are implemented within a complex system. The aim of this study is to show the methodology and processes implemented to identify a single performance parameter for measuring the whole performance of a complex system within a PBL contract. AHP methodology is recommended as an option for the researches and the practitioners who seek for a lean and integrated approach for performance assessment within PBL contracts. The implementation of AHP methodology in this study may help PBL practitioners from methodological perception and add value to AHP in becoming prevalent.

Keywords: analytic hierarchy process, performance based logistics, performance measurement, performance parameters

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Authors: Fawzi Srairi, Abderrahmane Dib

Abstract:

Recently, the desire for a self-powered micro and nanodevices has attracted a great interest of using sustainable energy sources. Further, the ultimate goal of nanogenerator is to harvest energy from the ambient environment in which a self-powered device based on these generators is needed. With the development of nanogenerator-based circuits design and optimization, the building of new device simulator is necessary for the study and the synthesis of electromechanical parameters of this type of models. In the present article, both numerical modeling and optimization of piezoelectric nanogenerator based on zinc oxide have been carried out. They aim to improve the electromechanical performances, robustness, and synthesis process for nanogenerator. The proposed model has been developed for a systematic study of the nanowire morphology parameters in stretching mode. In addition, heuristic optimization technique, namely, particle swarm optimization has been implemented for an analytic modeling and an optimization of nanogenerator-based process in stretching mode. Moreover, the obtained results have been tested and compared with conventional model where a good agreement has been obtained for excitation mode. The developed nanogenerator model can be generalized, extended and integrated into simulators devices to study nanogenerator-based circuits.

Keywords: electrical potential, heuristic algorithms, numerical modeling, nanogenerator

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Authors: Ali Alsawayeh, Ibrahim Eldanfour

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This paper examines the extent of disclosure of oil and gas reserve quantum in annual reports of international oil and gas exploration and production companies, particularly companies in untested international markets, such as Canada, the UK and the US, and seeks to determine the underlying factors that affect the level of disclosure on oil reserve quantum. The study is concerned with the usefulness of disclosure of oil and gas reserves quantum to investors and other users. Given the primacy of the annual report (10-k) as a source of supplemental reserves data about the company and as the channel through which companies disseminate information about their performance, the annual reports for one year (2009) were the central focus of the study. This comparative study seeks to establish whether differences exist between the sample companies, based on new disclosure requirements by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in respect of reserves classification and definition. The extent of disclosure of reserve is provided and compared among the selected companies. Statistical analysis is performed to determine whether any differences exist in the extent of disclosure of reserve under the determinant variables. This study shows that some factors would affect the extent of disclosure of reserve quantum in the above-mentioned countries, namely: company’s size, leverage and quality of auditor. Companies that provide reserves quantum in detail appear to display higher size. The findings also show that the level of leverage has affected companies’ reserves quantum disclosure. Indeed, companies that provide detailed reserves quantum disclosure tend to employ a ‘high-quality auditor’. In addition, the study found significant independent variable such as Profit Sharing Contracts (PSC). This factor could explain variations in the level of disclosure of oil reserve quantum between the contractor and host governments. The implementation of SEC oil and gas reporting requirements do not enhance companies’ valuation because the new rules are based only on past and present reserves information (proven reserves); hence, future valuation of oil and gas companies is missing for the market.

Keywords: comparison, company characteristics, disclosure, reserve quantum, regulation

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Authors: Ming Ma, Rui Li

Abstract:

In the highly urbanized district, green open space is playing an important role in human’s health and wellbeing as a physical, aesthetic and natural environment resources. The aim of this paper is to close this gap through providing a comprehensive, qualitative meta-analysis of existing studies related to this issue. A systematic scoping of current quantitative research is conducted which mostly focused on cross-sectional survey and experimental studies. Health benefits from contact with green open space could be categorized into physical health, psychological health and social wellbeing. Mechanism for the health related to green open space could be clearly identified with the regard to natural restoration, physical activities and social capital. These results indicate a multiple pathways framework between the health benefits and mechanism. In order to support design and planning, the most evident relationship was picked up that people could psychologically benefit from green open space through outdoors physical activities. Additionally, three design and planning strategies are put forward. Various and multi-level contacts with green open space would be considered as an explanation of the pathway results and tie to bridge the health to design and planning. There is a need to carry out long-term research emphasizing on causal relationship between health and green open space through excluding cofounding factors such as self-selection.

Keywords: urban green open space, planning and design, health benefit, mechanism, pathway framework

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Authors: S. S. Bendib, L. W. Mouss, S. Kalla

Abstract:

This paper proposes a self-organization-based approach for real-time systems design. The addressed issue is the mapping of an application onto an architecture of heterogeneous processors while optimizing both makespan and reliability. Since this problem is NP-hard, a heuristic algorithm is used to obtain efficiently approximate solutions. The proposed approach takes into consideration the quality as well as the diversity of solutions. Indeed, an alternate treatment of the two objectives allows to produce solutions of good quality while a self-organization approach based on the neighborhood structure is used to reorganize solutions and consequently to enhance their diversity. Produced solutions make different compromises between the makespan and the reliability giving the user the possibility to select the solution suited to his (her) needs.

Keywords: embedded real-time systems design, makespan, reliability, self-organization, compromises

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Authors: Kingkan Pongsiri

Abstract:

This paper aims to study the role and activities of the participants and the impact of activities created in the local area in order to sustainably develop the local areas. This study applied both qualitative and quantitative approaches presented in descriptive style; the data was collected via survey, observation and in-depth interviews with samples. The results illustrated five sorts of roles of participants of the Cicada Walking-street and four types of creative activities; recreation based, art based, cultural based, and live events. Integration of local characteristics, arts and cultures were presented creatively and interestingly. Participants are various. The roles of the participants found in the Cicada Market are group of the property and area management, entrepreneurs, leisure (entertaining persons), local people, and tourists. The good impacts on local communities are those in terms of economy, environmental friendly and local arts and cultures promoting. On the other hand, the traffic congestion, waste and the increasing of energy consumption are negative impacts from area development.

Keywords: creative tourism activity, destination development, sustainable development, walking street

Procedia PDF Downloads 245