Search results for: empirical analysis

Authors: David Percy

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Landslides are a geologic phenomenon that affects a large number of inhabited places and are constantly being monitored and studied for the prediction of future occurrences. Reconstructability analysis (RA) is a methodology for extracting informative models from large volumes of data that work exclusively with discrete data. While RA has been used in medical applications and social science extensively, we are introducing it to the spatial sciences through applications like landslide prediction. Since RA works exclusively with discrete data, such as soil classification or bedrock type, working with continuous data, such as porosity, requires that these data are binned for inclusion in the model. RA constructs models of the data which pick out the most informative elements, independent variables (IVs), from each layer that predict the dependent variable (DV), landslide occurrence. Each layer included in the model retains its classification data as a primary encoding of the data. Unlike other machine learning algorithms that force the data into one-hot encoding type of schemes, RA works directly with the data as it is encoded, with the exception of continuous data, which must be binned. The usual physical and derived layers are included in the model, and testing our results against other published methodologies, such as neural networks, yields accuracy that is similar but with the advantage of a completely transparent model. The results of an RA session with a data set are a report on every combination of variables and their probability of landslide events occurring. In this way, every combination of informative state combinations can be examined.

Keywords: reconstructability analysis, machine learning, landslides, raster analysis

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Authors: Waqas Shafqat Chattha, Muhammad Iqbal, Amir Shakeel

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Transcriptional factors are proteins that play a vital role in regulating the transcription of target genes in different biological processes and are being widely studied in different plant species. In the current era of genomics, plant genomes sequencing has directed to the genome-wide identification, analyses and categorization of diverse transcription factor families and hence provide key insights into their structural as well as functional diversity. The DNA-binding with One Finger (DOF) proteins belongs to C2-C2-type zinc finger protein family. DOF proteins are plant-specific transcription factors implicated in diverse functions including seed maturation and germination, phytohormone signalling, light-mediated gene regulation, cotton-fiber elongation and responses of the plant to biotic as well as abiotic stresses. In this context, a genome-wide in-silico analysis of DOF TF family in diploid cotton species i.e. Gossypium raimondii has enabled us to identify 55 non-redundant genes encoding DOF proteins renamed as GrDofs (Gossypium raimondii Dof). Gene distribution studies have shown that all of the GrDof genes are unevenly distributed across 12 out of 13 G. raimondii chromosomes. The gene structure analysis illustrated that 34 out of 55 GrDof genes are intron-less while remaining 21 genes have a single intron. Protein sequence-based phylogenetic analysis of putative 55 GrDOFs has divided these proteins into 5 major groups with various paralogous gene pairs. Molecular evolutionary studies aided with the conserved domain as well as gene structure analysis suggested that segmental duplications were the principal contributors for the expansion of Dof genes in G. raimondii.

Keywords: diploid cotton , G. raimondii, phylogenetic analysis, transcription factor

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Authors: Georgi Vendramin, Aurea Lúcia, Yamamoto, Carlos Itsuo, Souza Melegari, N. Samuel

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This article describes the development of a model that uses a method where openings are represented by single glass and double glass. The model is based on a healthy balance equations purely theoretical and empirical data. Simplified equations are derived through a synthesis of the measured data obtained from meteorological stations. The implementation of the model in a design tool integrated buildings is discussed in this article, to better punctuate the requirements of comfort and energy efficiency in architecture and engineering. Sustainability, energy efficiency, and the integration of alternative energy systems and concepts are beginning to be incorporated into designs for new buildings and renovations to existing buildings. Few means have existed to effectively validate the potential performance benefits of the design concepts. It was used a method of degree-days for an assessment of the energy performance of a building showed that the design of the architectural design should always be considered the materials used and the size of the openings. The energy performance was obtained through the model, considering the location of the building Central Park Shopping Mall, in the city of Cascavel - PR. Obtained climatic data of these locations and in a second step, it was obtained the coefficient of total heat loss in the building pre-established so evaluating the thermal comfort and energy performance. This means that the more openings in buildings in Cascavel – PR, installed to the east side, they may be higher because the glass added to the geometry of architectural spaces will cause the environment conserve energy.

Keywords: sustainable design, energy modeling, design validation, degree-days methods

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Authors: Elina Bakhtieva

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The variety of available digital tools, strategies and activities might confuse and disorient even an experienced marketer. This applies in particular to B2B companies, which are usually less flexible in uptaking of digital technology than B2C companies. B2B companies are lacking a framework that corresponds to the specifics of the B2B business, and which helps to evaluate a company’s capabilities and to choose an appropriate path. A B2B digital marketing maturity model helps to fill this gap. However, modern marketing offers no widely approved digital marketing maturity model, and thus, some marketing institutions provide their own tools. The purpose of this paper is building an optimized B2B digital marketing maturity model based on a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis of existing models. The current study provides an analytical review of the existing digital marketing maturity models with open access. The results of the research are twofold. First, the provided SWOT analysis outlines the main advantages and disadvantages of existing models. Secondly, the strengths of existing digital marketing maturity models, helps to identify the main characteristics and the structure of an optimized B2B digital marketing maturity model. The research findings indicate that only one out of three analyzed models could be used as a separate tool. This study is among the first examining the use of maturity models in digital marketing. It helps businesses to choose between the existing digital marketing models, the most effective one. Moreover, it creates a base for future research on digital marketing maturity models. This study contributes to the emerging B2B digital marketing literature by providing a SWOT analysis of the existing digital marketing maturity models and suggesting a structure and main characteristics of an optimized B2B digital marketing maturity model.

Keywords: B2B digital marketing strategy, digital marketing, digital marketing maturity model, SWOT analysis

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Authors: M. Khajezadeh, M. Saied Fallah Niasar, S. Ali Asli, D. Davani Davari, M. Godarzi, Y. Asgari

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This study aims to explore the joint application of both Boston and Ansoff matrices in the operational development of the product. We conduct deep analysis, by utilizing the Artificial Neural Network, to predict the position of the product in the market while the company is interested in increasing its share. The data are gathered from two industries, called hygiene and detergent. In doing so, the effort is being made by investigating the behavior of top player companies and, recommend strategic orientations. In conclusion, this combination analysis is appropriate for operational development; as well, it plays an important role in providing the position of the product in the market for both hygiene and detergent industries. More importantly, it will elaborate on the company’s strategies to increase its market share related to a combination of the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix and Ansoff Matrix.

Keywords: artificial neural network, portfolio analysis, BCG matrix, Ansoff matrix

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Authors: A. Ribeiro, N. Pacheco, M. Soares, N. Valério, L. Nascimento, A. Silva, C. Vilarinho, J. Carvalho

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Hydrogen will play a key role in changing the current global energy paradigm, associated with the high use of fossil fuels and the release of greenhouse gases. This work intended to identify and quantify the potential of Solid Recovered Fuels (SFR) existing in Portugal and project the cost of hydrogen, produced through its steam gasification in different scenarios, associated with the size or capacity of the plant and the existence of carbon capture and storage (CCS) systems. Therefore, it was performed a techno-economic analysis simulation using an ASPEN base model, the H2A Hydrogen Production Model Version 3.2018. Regarding the production of SRF, it was possible to verify the annual production of more than 200 thousand tons of SRF in Portugal in 2019. The results of the techno-economic analysis simulations showed that in the scenarios containing a high (200,000 tons/year) and medium (40,000 tons/year) amount of SFR, the cost of hydrogen production was competitive concerning the current prices of hydrogen. The results indicate that scenarios 1 and 2, which use 200,000 tons of SRF per year, have lower hydrogen production values, 1.22 USD/kg H2 and 1.63 USD/kg H2, respectively. The cost of producing hydrogen without carbon capture and storage (CCS) systems in an average amount of SFR (40,000 tons/year) was 1.70 USD/kg H2. In turn, scenarios 5 (without CCS) and 6 (with CCS), which use only 683 tons of SFR from urban sources, have the highest costs, 6.54 USD/kg H2 and 908.97 USD/kg H2, respectively. Therefore, it was possible to conclude that there is a huge potential for the use of SRF for the production of hydrogen through steam gasification in Portugal.

Keywords: gasification, hydrogen, solid recovered fuels, techno-economic analysis, waste-to-energy

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Authors: G. Rajyalakhmi, C. Karthik, Gerson Desouza, Rimmie Duraisamy

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In this present work, metal matrix composites with combination of aluminium with (Sic/Al2O3) were fabricated using stir casting technique. The objective of the present work is to optimize the process parameters of Wire Electric Discharge Machining (WEDM) composites. Pulse ON Time, Pulse OFF Time, wire feed and sensitivity are considered as input process parameters with responses Material Removal Rate (MRR), Surface Roughness (SR) for optimization of WEDM process. Taguchi L18 Orthogonal Array (OA) is used for experimentation. Grey Relational Analysis (GRA) is coupled with Taguchi technique for multiple process parameters optimization. ANOVA (Analysis of Variance) is used for finding the impact of process parameters individually. Finally confirmation experiments were carried out to validate the predicted results.

Keywords: parametric optimization, particulate reinforced metal matrix composites, Taguchi-grey relational analysis, WEDM

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Authors: Ana Paula Vilas Boas Viveiros Lopes, Marly Monteiro de Carvalho

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The new product development for decades has favored companies that can put their products to market quickly and efficiently, providing sustainable competitive advantage difficult to be achieved by their competitors. This paper presents the outcomes of a systematic review of the literature relating to new product development that was published between 1992 and 2012. A hybrid methodological approach that combines bibliometrics, content analysis and semantic analysis was applied. The review discusses the publication patterns, focusing on aspects related to scientific collaboration. The results show that the main academic journal that discusses this theme is “Journal of Product Innovation Management”. Although the first paper relating to this theme was published in 1992, the number of publications on the subject only began to increase substantially in 1999. Most of the studies reviewed in this paper applied qualitative research methods, indicating that most of the research on the theme is still in an exploratory phase.

Keywords: project type, project typology, new product development, sustainable competitive advantage

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Authors: Corey F. Fitzgerald

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This study provides a comprehensive examination of the biomechanical sequencing inherent in pitching motions, coupled with an advanced methodology for interpreting gathered data to inform programming strategies. The analysis is conducted utilizing state-of-the-art biomechanical laboratory equipment capable of detecting subtle changes and deviations, facilitating highly informed decision-making processes. Through this presentation, the intricate dynamics of pitching sequences are meticulously discussed to highlight the complex movement patterns accessible and actionable for performance enhancement purposes in the weight room.

Keywords: sport science, applied biomechanics, strength and conditioning, applied research

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Authors: Yoonsoo Kim

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This paper introduces an open-source software package SCILAB, an alternative of MATLAB, which can be used for robust control design and analysis of a typical mass-spring-damper (MSD) system. Using the previously published ideas in this popular mechanical system is considered to provide another example of usefulness of SCILAB for advanced control design.

Keywords: robust control, SCILAB, mass-spring-damper (MSD), popular mechanical systems

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Authors: Estela Díaz

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This article aims to make three contributions. First, build on the literature on ethical decision-making literature by exploring factors that influence the intention of adopting veganism. Second, study the superiority of extended models of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) for understanding the process involved in forming the intention of adopting veganism. Third, analyze the moderating effect of gender on TPB given that attitudes and behavior towards animals are gender-sensitive. No study, to our knowledge, has examined these questions. Veganism is not a diet but a political and moral stand that exclude, for moral reasons, the use of animals. Although there is a growing interest in studying veganism, it continues being overlooked in empirical research, especially within the domain of social psychology. TPB has been widely used to study a broad range of human behaviors, including moral issues. Nonetheless, TPB has rarely been applied to examine ethical decisions about animals and, even less, to veganism. Hence, the validity of TPB in predicting the intention of adopting veganism remains unanswered. A total of 476 non-vegan Spanish university students (55.6% female; the mean age was 23.26 years, SD= 6.1) responded to online and pencil-and-paper self-reported questionnaire based on previous studies. TPB extended models incorporated two background factors: ‘general attitudes towards humanlike-attributes ascribed to animals’ (AHA) (capacity for reason/emotions/suffer, moral consideration, and affect-towards-animals); and ‘general attitudes towards 11 uses of animals’ (AUA). SPSS 22 and SmartPLS 3.0 were used for statistical analyses. This study constructed a second-order reflective-formative model and took the multi-group analysis (MGA) approach to study gender effects. Six models of TPB (the standard and five competing) were tested. No a priori hypotheses were formulated. The results gave partial support to TPB. Attitudes (ATTV) (β = .207, p < .001), subjective norms (SNV) (β = .323, p < .001), and perceived control behavior (PCB) (β = .149, p < .001) had a significant direct effect on intentions (INTV). This model accounted for 27,9% of the variance in intention (R2Adj = .275) and had a small predictive relevance (Q2 = .261). However, findings from this study reveal that contrary to what TPB generally proposes, the effect of the background factors on intentions was not fully mediated by the proximal constructs of intentions. For instance, in the final model (Model#6), both factors had significant multiple indirect effect on INTV (β = .074, 95% C = .030, .126 [AHA:INTV]; β = .101, 95% C = .055, .155 [AUA:INTV]) and significant direct effect on INTV (β = .175, p < .001 [AHA:INTV]; β = .100, p = .003 [AUA:INTV]). Furthermore, the addition of direct paths from background factors to intentions improved the explained variance in intention (R2 = .324; R2Adj = .317) and the predictive relevance (Q2 = .300) over the base-model. This supports existing literature on the superiority of enhanced TPB models to predict ethical issues; which suggests that moral behavior may add additional complexity to decision-making. Regarding gender effect, MGA showed that gender only moderated the influence of AHA on ATTV (e.g., βWomen−βMen = .296, p < .001 [Model #6]). However, other observed gender differences (e.g. the explained variance of the model for intentions were always higher for men that for women, for instance, R2Women = .298; R2Men = .394 [Model #6]) deserve further considerations, especially for developing more effective communication strategies.

Keywords: veganism, Theory of Planned Behavior, background factors, gender moderation

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Authors: Juan David Sepulveda

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This article reflects the current stage of progress in the project “Determining technological trends in energy generation”. At first it was oriented towards finding out those trends by employing such tools as the scientometrics community had proved and accepted as effective for getting reliable results. Because a documented methodological guide for this purpose could not be found, the decision was made to reorient the scope and aim of this project, changing the degree of interest in pursuing the objectives. Therefore it was decided to propose and implement a novel guide from the elements and techniques found in the available literature. This article begins by explaining the elements and considerations taken into account when implementing and applying this methodology, and the tools that led to the implementation of a software application for patent revision. Univariate analysis helped recognize the technological leaders in the field of energy, and steered the way for a multivariate analysis of this sample, which allowed for a graphical description of the techniques of mature technologies, as well as the detection of emerging technologies. This article ends with a validation of the methodology as applied to the case of fuel cells.

Keywords: energy, technology mapping, patents, univariate analysis

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Authors: Giovanna Borges Bottino, Luis Felipe Freitas do Nascimento Alves Teixeira

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This article aims to present a case study of the National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) in Brazil, ANAC-id. ANAC-id is the artificial intelligence algorithm developed for image analysis that recognizes standard images of unobstructed and uprighted face without sunglasses, allowing to identify potential inconsistencies. It combines YOLO architecture and 3 libraries in python - face recognition, face comparison, and deep face, providing robust analysis with high level of accuracy.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, deepface, face compare, face recognition, YOLO, computer vision

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Authors: L. Hamsaveni, Navya Prakash, Suresha

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Document Image Analysis recognizes text and graphics in documents acquired as images. An approach without Optical Character Recognition (OCR) for degraded document image analysis has been adopted in this paper. The technique involves document imaging methods such as Image Fusing and Speeded Up Robust Features (SURF) Detection to identify and extract the degraded regions from a set of document images to obtain an original document with complete information. In case, degraded document image captured is skewed, it has to be straightened (deskew) to perform further process. A special format of image storing known as YCbCr is used as a tool to convert the Grayscale image to RGB image format. The presented algorithm is tested on various types of degraded documents such as printed documents, handwritten documents, old script documents and handwritten image sketches in documents. The purpose of this research is to obtain an original document for a given set of degraded documents of the same source.

Keywords: grayscale image format, image fusing, RGB image format, SURF detection, YCbCr image format

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Authors: Shao Qi

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The article uses the CiteSpace knowledge graph analysis tool to sort and visualize the journal literature on urban plants and habitats in the Web of Science and China National Knowledge Infrastructure databases. Based on a comprehensive interpretation of the visualization results of various data sources and the description of the intrinsic relationship between high-frequency keywords using knowledge mapping, the research hotspots, processes and evolution trends in this field are analyzed. Relevant case studies are also conducted for the hotspot contents to explore the means of landscape intervention and synthesize the understanding of research theories. The results show that (1) from 1999 to 2022, the research direction of urban plants and habitats gradually changed from focusing on plant and animal extinction and biological invasion to the field of human urban habitat creation, ecological restoration, and ecosystem services. (2) The results of keyword emergence and keyword growth trend analysis show that habitat creation research has shown a rapid and stable growth trend since 2017, and ecological restoration has gained long-term sustained attention since 2004. The hotspots of future research on urban plants and habitats in China may focus on habitat creation and ecological restoration.

Keywords: research trends, visual analysis, habitat creation, ecological restoration

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Authors: Getachew Tilahun, Oluwole Makinde, David Malonza

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We propose and analyze a non-linear mathematical model for the transmission dynamics of pneumonia disease in a population of varying size. The deterministic compartmental model is studied using stability theory of differential equations. The effective reproduction number is obtained and also the local and global asymptotically stability conditions for the disease free and as well as for the endemic equilibria are established. The model exhibit a backward bifurcation and the sensitivity indices of the basic reproduction number to the key parameters are determined. Using Pontryagin’s maximum principle, the optimal control problem is formulated with three control strategies; namely disease prevention through education, treatment and screening. The cost effectiveness analysis of the adopted control strategies revealed that the combination of prevention and treatment is the most cost effective intervention strategies to combat the pneumonia pandemic. Numerical simulation is performed and pertinent results are displayed graphically.

Keywords: cost effectiveness analysis, optimal control, pneumonia dynamics, stability analysis, numerical simulation

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Authors: Vidishaa Jali, Amit Sinha, Kameshwar Prasad

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Background and Objective: Cerebral microbleeds are frequently found in healthy elderly individuals. We performed a meta- analysis to determine the prevalence of cerebral microbleeds in apparently healthy, elderly population and to determine the effect of age, smoking and hypertension on the occurrence of cerebral microbleeds. Methods: Relevant literature was searched using electronic databases such as MEDLINE, EMBASE, PubMed, Cochrane database, Google scholar to identify studies on the prevalence of cerebral microbleeds in general elderly population till March 2016. STATA version 13 software was used for analysis. Fixed effect model was used if heterogeneity was less than 50%. Otherwise, random effect model was used. Meta- regression analysis was performed to check any effect of important variables such as age, smoking, hypertension. Selection Criteria: We included cross-sectional studies performed in apparently healthy elderly population, who had age more than 50 years. Results: The pooled proportion of cerebral microbleeds in healthy population is 12% (95% CI, 0.11 to 0.13). No significant effect of age was found on the prevalence of cerebral microbleeds (p= 0.99). A linear relationship between increase in hypertension and the prevalence of cerebral microbleeds was found, however, this linear relationship was not statistically significant (p=0.16). Similarly, A linear relationship between increase in smoking and the prevalence of cerebral microbleeds was found, however, this linear relationship was also not statistically significant (p=0.21). Conclusion: Presence of cerebral microbleeds is evident in apparently healthy, elderly population, in more than 10% of individuals.

Keywords: apparently healthy, elderly, prevalence, cerebral microbleeds

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Authors: D. Mokatsanyane, J. Jansen Van Rensburg

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This paper analyses the influence and impact of COVID-19 on major agricultural commodity prices in South Africa. According to a World Bank report, the agricultural sector in South Africa has been unable to reduce the domestic food crisis that has been occurring over the past years, hence the increased rate of poverty, which is currently at 55.5 percent as of April 2020. Despite the significance of this sector, empirical findings concluded that the agricultural sector now accounts for 1.88 percent of South Africa's gross domestic product (GDP). Suggesting that the agricultural sector's contribution to the economy has diminished. Despite the low contribution to GDP, this primary sector continues to play an essential role in the economy. Over the past years, multiple factors have contributed to the soaring commodities prices, namely, climate shocks, biofuel demand, demand and supply shocks, the exchange rate, speculation in commodity derivative markets, trade restrictions, and economic growth. The COVID-19 outbursts have currently disturbed the supply and demand of staple crops. To address the disruption, the government has exempted the agricultural sector from closure and restrictions on movement. The spread of COVID-19 has caused turmoil all around the world, but mostly in developing countries. According to Statistic South Africa, South Africa's economy decreased by seven percent in 2020. Consequently, this has arguably made the agricultural sector the most affected sector since slumped economic growth negatively impacts food security, trade, farm livelihood, and greenhouse gas emissions. South Africa is sensitive to the fruitfulness of global food chains. Restrictions in trade, reinforced sanitary control systems, and border controls have influenced food availability and prices internationally. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the behavior of agricultural commodity prices pre-and during-COVID to determine the impact of volatility drivers on these crops. Historical secondary data of spot prices for the top five major commodities, namely white maize, yellow maize, wheat, soybeans, and sunflower seeds, are analysed from 01 January 2017 to 1 September 2021. The timeframe was chosen to capture price fluctuations between pre-COVID-19 (01 January 2017 to 23 March 2020) and during-COVID-19 (24 March 2020 to 01 September 2021). The Generalised Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity (GARCH) statistical model will be used to measure the influence of price fluctuations. The results reveal that the commodity market has been experiencing volatility at different points. Extremely high volatility is represented during the first quarter of 2020. During this period, there was high uncertainty, and grain prices were very volatile. Despite the influence of COVID-19 on agricultural prices, the demand for these commodities is still existing and decent. During COVID-19, analysis indicates that prices were low and less volatile during the pandemic. The prices and returns of these commodities were low during COVID-19 because of the government's actions to respond to the virus's spread, which collapsed the market demand for food commodities.

Keywords: commodities market, commodity prices, generalised autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (GARCH), Price volatility, SAFEX

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Authors: Nermin Mahmoud Gohar, Aisha Tarek Noour

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Learner satisfaction has been a vital field of interest in the literature. Accordingly, the paper will explore the reasons behind individual differences in motivation and satisfaction. This study examines the effect of both; Herzberg’s and Maslow’s theories on learners satisfaction. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from learners who were geographically widely spread around the College of Maritime Transport and Technology (CMTT) at the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport (AAST&MT) in Egypt. One hundred and fifty undergraduates responded to a questionnaire survey. Respondents were drawn from two branches in Alexandria and Port Said. The data analysis used was SPSS 22 and AMOS 18. Factor analysis technique was used to find out the dimensions under study verified by Herzberg’s and Maslow’s theories. In addition, regression analysis and structural equation modeling were applied to find the effect of the above-mentioned theories on maritime transport learners’ satisfaction. Concerning the limitation of this study, it used the available number of learners in the CMTT due to the relatively low population in this field.

Keywords: motivation, satisfaction, needs, education, Herzberg’s and Maslow’s theories

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Authors: E. Dehghan, R. Dehghan

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Generally, the slender structural walls have flexural behavior. Since behavior of bending members can be explained by moment–curvature relation, therefore, an analytical model is proposed based on moment–curvature relation for slender structural walls. The moment–curvature relationships of RC sections are constructed through section analysis. Governing equations describing the bond-slip behavior in walls are derived and applied to moment–curvature relations. For the purpose of removing the imprecision in analytical results, the plastic hinge length is included in the finite element modeling. Finally, correlation studies between analytical and experimental results are conducted with the objective to establish the validity of the proposed algorithms. The results show that bond-slip effect is more significant in walls subjected to larger axial compression load. Moreover, preferable results are obtained when ultimate strain of concrete is assumed conservatively.

Keywords: nonlinear analysis, slender structural walls, moment-curvature relation, bond-slip, plastic hinge length

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Authors: Wen Liu, Errol Haarhoff, Lee Beattie

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In 2010, New Zealand’s central government re-organise the local governments arrangements in Auckland, New Zealand by amalgamating its previous regional council and seven supporting local government units into a single unitary council, the Auckland Council. The Auckland Council is charged with providing local government services to approximately 1.5 million people (a third of New Zealand’s total population). This includes addressing Auckland’s strategic urban growth management and setting its urban planning policy directions for the next 40 years. This is expressed in the first ever spatial plan in the region – the Auckland Plan (2012). The Auckland plan supports implementing a compact city model by concentrating the larger part of future urban growth and development in, and around, existing and proposed transit centres, with the intention of Auckland to become globally competitive city and achieving ‘the most liveable city in the world’. Turning that vision into reality is operatized through the statutory land use plan, the Auckland Unitary Plan. The Unitary plan replaced the previous regional and local statutory plans when it became operative in 2016, becoming the ‘rule book’ on how to manage and develop the natural and built environment, using land use zones and zone standards. Common to the broad range of literature on urban growth management, one significant issue stands out about intensification. The ‘gap’ between strategic planning and what has been achieved is evident in the argument for the ‘compact’ urban form. Although the compact city model may have a wide range of merits, the extent to which these are actualized largely rely on how intensification actually is delivered. The transformation of the rhetoric of the residential intensification model into reality is of profound influence, yet has enjoyed limited empirical analysis. In Auckland, the establishment of the Auckland Plan set up the strategies to deliver intensification into diversified arenas. Nonetheless, planning policy itself does not necessarily achieve the envisaged objectives, delivering the planning system and high capacity to enhance and sustain plan implementation is another demanding agenda. Though the Auckland Plan provides a wide ranging strategic context, its actual delivery is beholden on the Unitary Plan. However, questions have been asked if the Unitary Plan has the necessary statutory tools to deliver the Auckland Plan’s policy outcomes. In Auckland, there is likely to be continuing tension between the strategies for intensification and their envisaged objectives, and made it doubtful whether the main principles of the intensification strategies could be realized. This raises questions over whether the Auckland Plan’s policy goals can be achieved in practice, including delivering ‘quality compact city’ and residential intensification. Taking Auckland as an example of traditionally sprawl cities, this article intends to investigate the efficacy plan making and implementation directed towards higher density development. This article explores the process of plan development, plan making and implementation frameworks of the first ever spatial plan in Auckland, so as to explicate the objectives and processes involved, and consider whether this will facilitate decision making processes to realize the anticipated intensive urban development.

Keywords: urban intensification, sustainable development, plan making, governance and implementation

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Authors: Seyed Abolhasan Naeini, Saeideh Mohammadi

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Rapid urban development leads to the construction of urban tunnels for transport. Passage of tunnels under the surface structures and utilities prompted the changes in the site conditions and hence alteration of the dynamic response of surface structures. Therefore, in this study, the effect of the interaction of tunnel-superstructure on the site response is investigated numerically. For this purpose, Fast Lagrangian Analysis of Continua (FLAC 2D) is used, and stratification and properties of soil layers are selected based on the line No 7 of Tehran subway. The superstructure is modeled both as an equivalent surcharge and the actual structure, and the results are compared. A comparison of the results shows that consideration of structure geometry is necessary for dynamic analysis and it leads to the changes in displacements and accelerations. Consequently, the geometry of the superstructure should be modeled completely instead of the application of an equivalent load. The effect of tunnel diameter and depth on the settlement of superstructures is also studied. Results show that when the tunnel depth and diameter grow, the settlements increase considerably.

Keywords: tunnel, FLAC2D, settlement, dynamic analysis

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Authors: Mst. Tuhina-Khatun, Mohamed Hanafi Musa, Mohd Rafii Yosup, Wong Mui Yun, Md. Aktar-Uz-Zaman, Mahbod Sahebi

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Rice is a staple crop of economic importance of most Asian people, and blast is the major constraints for its higher yield. Heritability of plants traits helps plant breeders to make an appropriate selection and to assess the magnitude of genetic improvement through hybridization. Diversity of crop plants is necessary to manage the continuing genetic erosion and address the issues of genetic conservation for successfully meet the future food requirements. Therefore, an experiment was conducted to estimate heritability and to determine the diversity of 27 blast resistant upland rice genotypes based on 18 quantitative traits using randomized complete block design. Heritability value was found to vary from 38 to 93%. The lowest heritability belonged to the character total number of tillers/plant (38%). In contrast, number of filled grains/panicle, and yield/plant (g) was recorded for their highest heritability value viz. 93 and 91% correspondingly. Cluster analysis based on 18 traits grouped 27 rice genotypes into six clusters. Cluster I was the biggest, which comprised 17 genotypes, accounted for about 62.96% of total population. The multivariate analysis suggested that the genotype ‘Chokoto 14’ could be hybridized with ‘IR 5533-55-1-11’ and ‘IR 5533-PP 854-1’ for broadening the gene pool of blast resistant upland rice germplasms for yield and other favorable characters.

Keywords: blast resistant, diversity analysis, heritability, upland rice

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Authors: Uma Maheshwari V., Rajanikanth Aluvalu, Kumar Gautam

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The COVID-19 disease is a highly contagious viral infection with major worldwide health implications. The global economy suffers as a result of COVID. The spread of this pandemic disease can be slowed if positive patients are found early. COVID-19 disease prediction is beneficial for identifying patients' health problems that are at risk for COVID. Deep learning and machine learning algorithms for COVID prediction using X-rays have the potential to be extremely useful in solving the scarcity of doctors and clinicians in remote places. In this paper, a convolutional neural network (CNN) with deep layers is presented for recognizing COVID-19 patients using real-world datasets. We gathered around 6000 X-ray scan images from various sources and split them into two categories: normal and COVID-impacted. Our model examines chest X-ray images to recognize such patients. Because X-rays are commonly available and affordable, our findings show that X-ray analysis is effective in COVID diagnosis. The predictions performed well, with an average accuracy of 99% on training photographs and 88% on X-ray test images.

Keywords: deep CNN, COVID–19 analysis, feature extraction, feature map, accuracy

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Authors: Vincent Jones

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The North African country of Libya is in crisis and is currently a humanitarian disaster. The current American ‘hands off’ foreign policy appear to have contributed to this crisis. The research upon which this paper is based focused on a qualitative analysis of migration to Libya and its history with slavery, current conditions that have contributed to the re-emergence of slavery, an analysis of available resources in the effected region, and an analysis of legal remedies pursuant to international law. In addition, a qualitative analysis of American foreign policy from the Reagan Administration through the current Trump administration has been a focus of analysis. The major findings of this research are: (1) Since the removal of Muammar Gadhafi, a move that the United States played a major role in achieving, the nation of Libya has been in free fall and the rule of law has all but disappeared. As a major port stop for refugees and migrants fleeing atrocities in sub-Saharan African states, Libya has become the gate way to European ports of asylum. The problem is these migrant refugees are unwanted, caught between rival and often ineffective governments, profiteers, and inaction from the international community. (2) The outlook for these refugees is bleak: the ineffective government of Libya is ill-equipped to handle the large influx, European refugee destination states like Italy and Greece are already overburdened by the Syrian refugee crisis and are reluctant to accept more refugees, leaving the powerful and armed Libyan militia in control of a situation that is ripe for exploitation. (3) The combined intervention of the international community, led by a newly committed and engaged American foreign policy. In conclusion, a new American foreign policy approach along with the active engagement of the United Nations, EU, and the African Union can effectively resolve this humanitarian crisis.

Keywords: slavery, Libya, migrants, slave auction

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Authors: Jo Angouri, Charlotte Kennedy, Shawnea Ting, David Rawlinson, Matthew Booker, Nigel Rees

Abstract:

Ambulance services need to balance the large volume of emergency (999 in the UK) calls they receive (e.g., West Midlands Ambulance Service reports per day about 4,000 999 calls; about 679,000 calls per year are received in Wales), with dispatching limited resource for on-site intervention to the most critical cases. The process by which Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD) decisions are made is related to risk assessment and involves the caller and call-taker as well as clinical teams negotiating risk levels on a case-by-case basis. Medical Priority Dispatch System (MPDS – also referred to as Advanced Medical Priority Dispatch System AMPDS) are used in the UK by NHS Trusts (e.,g WAST) to process and prioritise 999 calls. MPDS / AMPDS provide structured protocols for call prioritisation and call management. Protocols/policy frameworks have not been examined before in the way we propose in our project. In more detail, the risk factors that play a role in the EMD negotiation between the caller and call-taker have been analysed in both medical and social science research. Research has focused on the structural, morphological and phonological aspects that could improve, and train, human-to-human interaction or automate risk detection, as well as the medical factors that need to be captured from the caller to inform the dispatch decision. There are two significant gaps in our knowledge that we address in our work: 1. the role of backstage clinical teams in translating the caller/call-taker interaction in their internal risk negotiation and, 2. the role of policy frameworks, protocols and regulations in the framing of institutional priorities and resource allocation. We take a multi method approach and combine the analysis of 999 calls with the analysis of policy documents. We draw on interaction analysis, corpus methodologies and thematic analysis. In this paper, we report on our preliminary findings and focus in particular on the risk factors we have identified and the relationship with the regulations that create the frame within which teams operate. We close the paper with implications of our study for providing evidence-based policy intervention and recommendations for further research.

Keywords: emergency (999) call, interaction analysis, discourse analysis, ambulance dispatch, medical discourse

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Authors: Jiang Xu, Daoping Wang, Yinghong Pan

Abstract:

The jointing-booting stage is a critical period of both vegetative growth and reproductive growth in rice. Therefore, the proteomic analysis of the mutant Osbri1, whose corresponding gene OsBRI1 encodes the putative BRs receptor OsBRI1, at jointing-booting stage is very important for understanding the effects of BRs on vegetative and reproductive growth. In this study, the proteomes of leaves from an allelic mutant of the DWARF 61 (D61, OsBRI1) gene, Fn189 (dwarf54, d54) and its wild-type variety T65 (Taichung 65) at jointing-booting stage were analysed by using a Q Exactive plus orbitrap mass spectrometer, and more than 3,100 proteins were identified in each sample. Ontology analysis showed that these proteins distribute in various space of the cells, such as the chloroplast, mitochondrion, and nucleus, they functioned as structural components and/or catalytic enzymes and involved in many physiological processes. Moreover, quantitative analysis displayed that 266 proteins were differentially expressed in two samples, among them, 77 proteins decreased and 189 increased more than two times in Fn189 compared with T65, the proteins whose content decreased in Fn189 including b5-like Heme/Steroid binding domain containing protein, putative retrotransposon protein, putative glutaminyl-tRNA synthetase, and higher content proteins such as mTERF, putative Oligopeptidase homologue, zinc knuckle protein, and so on. A former study founded that the transcription level of a mTERF was up-regulated in the leaves of maize seedling after EBR treatment. In our experiments, it was interesting that one mTERF protein increased, but another mTERF decreased in leaves of Fn189 at jointing-booting stage, which suggested that BRs may have differential regulation mechanisms on the expression of various mTERF proteins. The relationship between other differential proteins with BRs is still unclear, and the effects of BRs on rice protein contents and its regulation mechanisms still need further research.

Keywords: bri1 mutant, jointing-booting stage, proteomic analysis, rice

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Authors: Ben J. Lippe

Abstract:

Consult Liaison Psychology services are overgrowing, given the robust empirical support of the utility of this service in hospital settings. These psychological services, including clinical assessment, applied psychotherapy, and consultation with other healthcare providers, have been shown to improve health outcomes for patients and bolster important areas of administrative interest such as decreased length of patient admission. However, there is little descriptive literature outlining the process and mechanisms of building or developing a Consult Liaison Psychology service. The main findings of this current conceptual work are intended to be clear in nature to elucidate the essential methods involved in developing consult liaison psychology programs, including thorough reviews of relevant behavioral health literature and inclusion of experiential outcomes. The diverse range of hospital settings and healthcare systems makes a “blueprint” method of program development challenging to define, yet important structural frameworks presented here based on the relevant literature and applied practice can help lay critical groundwork for program development in this growing area of psychological service. This conceptual approach addresses the prominent processes, as well as common programmatic and clinical pitfalls, involved in the event of a Consult Liaison Psychology service. This paper, including a systematic review of relevant literature, is intended to serve as a key program development reference for the development of Consult Liaison Psychology services, other related behavioral health programs, and to help inform further research efforts.

Keywords: behavioral health, consult liaison, health psychology, psychology program development

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Authors: Koe Han Beng, Khoo Boo Cheong

Abstract:

The rising interest of stepped hull design has been led by the demand of more efficient high-speed boat. At the same time, the need of accurate prediction method for stepped planing hull is getting more important. By understanding the flow at high Froude number is the key in designing a practical step hull, the study surrounding stepped hull has been done mainly in the towing tank which is time-consuming and costly for initial design phase. Here the feasibility of predicting hydrodynamics of high-speed planing hull both with and without step using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) with the volume of fluid (VOF) methodology is studied in this work. First the flow around the prismatic body is analyzed, the force generated and its center of pressure are compared with available experimental and empirical data from the literature. The wake behind the transom on the keel line as well as the quarter beam buttock line are then compared with the available data, this is important since the afterbody flow of stepped hull is subjected from the wake of the forebody. Finally the calm water performance prediction of a conventional planing hull and its stepped version is then analyzed. Overset mesh methodology is employed in solving the dynamic equilibrium of the hull. The resistance, trim, and heave are then compared with the experimental data. The resistance is found to be predicted well and the dynamic equilibrium solved by the numerical method is deemed to be acceptable. This means that computational fluid dynamics will be very useful in further study on the complex flow around stepped hull and its potential usage in the design phase.

Keywords: planing hulls, stepped hulls, wake shape, numerical simulation, hydrodynamics

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Authors: Eunsu Jang, Kang Park

Abstract:

In developing an armored ground combat vehicle (AGCV), it is a very important step to analyze the vulnerability (or the survivability) of the AGCV against enemy’s attack. In the vulnerability analysis, the penetration equations are usually used to get the penetration depth and check whether a bullet can penetrate the armor of the AGCV, which causes the damage of internal components or crews. The penetration equations are derived from penetration experiments which require long time and great efforts. However, they usually hold only for the specific material of the target and the specific type of the bullet used in experiments. Thus, penetration simulation using ANSYS can be another option to calculate penetration depth. However, it is very important to model the targets and select the input parameters in order to get an accurate penetration depth. This paper performed a sensitivity analysis of input parameters of ANSYS on the accuracy of the calculated penetration depth. Two conflicting objectives need to be achieved in adopting ANSYS in penetration analysis: maximizing the accuracy of calculation and minimizing the calculation time. To maximize the calculation accuracy, the sensitivity analysis of the input parameters for ANSYS was performed and calculated the RMS error with the experimental data. The input parameters include mesh size, boundary condition, material properties, target diameter are tested and selected to minimize the error between the calculated result from simulation and the experiment data from the papers on the penetration equation. To minimize the calculation time, the parameter values obtained from accuracy analysis are adjusted to get optimized overall performance. As result of analysis, the followings were found: 1) As the mesh size gradually decreases from 0.9 mm to 0.5 mm, both the penetration depth and calculation time increase. 2) As diameters of the target decrease from 250mm to 60 mm, both the penetration depth and calculation time decrease. 3) As the yield stress which is one of the material property of the target decreases, the penetration depth increases. 4) The boundary condition with the fixed side surface of the target gives more penetration depth than that with the fixed side and rear surfaces. By using above finding, the input parameters can be tuned to minimize the error between simulation and experiments. By using simulation tool, ANSYS, with delicately tuned input parameters, penetration analysis can be done on computer without actual experiments. The data of penetration experiments are usually hard to get because of security reasons and only published papers provide them in the limited target material. The next step of this research is to generalize this approach to anticipate the penetration depth by interpolating the known penetration experiments. This result may not be accurate enough to be used to replace the penetration experiments, but those simulations can be used in the early stage of the design process of AGCV in modelling and simulation stage.

Keywords: ANSYS, input parameters, penetration depth, sensitivity analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 378