Search results for: emergency service vehicle

Authors: Mohammad R. Jafari, Francois G. Bernardeau

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With its arid climate, Qatar experiences low annual rainfall, intense storms, and high evaporation rates. However, the fast-paced rate of infrastructure development in the capital city of Doha has led to recurring instances of surface water flooding as well as rising groundwater levels. Public Work Authority (PWA/ASHGHAL) has implemented an approach to collect and discharge the flood water into a) positive gravity systems; b) Emergency Flooding Area (EFA) – Evaporation, Infiltration or Storage off-site using tankers; and c) Discharge to deep injection wells. As part of the flood prevention scheme, 21 deep injection wells have been constructed to discharge the collected surface and groundwater table in Doha city. These injection wells function as an alternative in localities that do not possess either positive gravity systems or downstream networks that can accommodate additional loads. These injection wells are 400-m deep and are constructed in a complex karstic subsurface condition with large cavities. The injection well system will discharge collected groundwater and storm surface runoff into the permeable Umm Er Radhuma Formation, which is an aquifer present throughout the Persian Gulf Region. The Umm Er Radhuma formation contains saline water that is not being used for water supply. The injection zone is separated by an impervious gypsum formation which acts as a barrier between upper and lower aquifer. State of the art drilling, grouting, and geophysical techniques have been implemented in construction of the wells to assure that the shallow aquifer would not be contaminated and impacted by injected water. Injection and pumping tests were performed to evaluate injection well functionality (injectability). The results of these tests indicated that majority of the wells can accept injection rate of 200 to 300 m³ /h (56 to 83 l/s) under gravity with average value of 250 m³ /h (70 l/s) compared to design value of 50 l/s. This paper presents design and construction process and issues associated with these injection wells, performing injection/pumping tests to determine capacity and effectiveness of the injection wells, the detailed design of collection system and conveying system into the injection wells, and the operation and maintenance process. This system is completed now and is under operation, and therefore, construction of injection wells is an effective option for flood control.

Keywords: deep injection well, flood prevention scheme, geophysical tests, pumping and injection tests, wellhead assembly

Procedia PDF Downloads 119

Authors: Chun-Lang Chang, Chun-Kai Liu

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In this study, the patients that have undergone total knee replacement surgery from the 2010 National Health Insurance database were adopted as the study participants. The important factors were screened and selected through literature collection and interviews with physicians. Through the Cross Entropy Method (CE), Genetic Algorithm Logistic Regression (GALR), and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), the weights of the factors were obtained. In addition, the weights of the respective algorithms, coupled with the Excel VBA were adopted to construct the Case Based Reasoning (CBR) system. The results through statistical tests show that the GALR and PSO produced no significant differences, and the accuracy of both models were above 97%. Moreover, the area under the curve of ROC for these two models also exceeded 0.87. This study shall serve as a reference for medical staff as an assistance for clinical assessment of infections in order to effectively enhance medical service quality and efficiency, avoid unnecessary medical waste, and substantially contribute to resource allocations in medical institutions.

Keywords: Case Based Reasoning, Cross Entropy Method, Genetic Algorithm Logistic Regression, Particle Swarm Optimization, Total Knee Replacement Surgery

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Authors: Tippawan Nasawan

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The objective of this study is to find the replenishment policy in Assembly-to-Order manufacturing (ATO) which some of the major components have lead-time longer than customer lead-time. The variety of products, independent component demand, and long component lead-time are the difficulty that has resulted in the overstock problem. In addition, the ordering cost is trivial when compared to the cost of material of the major component. A conceptual design of the Decision Supporting System (DSS) has introduced to assist the replenishment policy. Component replenishment by using the variable which calls Available to Promise (ATP) for making the decision is one of the keys. The Poisson distribution is adopted to realize demand patterns in order to calculate Safety Stock (SS) at the specified Customer Service Level (CSL). When distribution cannot identify, nonparametric will be applied instead. The test result after comparing the ending inventory between the new policy and the old policy, the overstock has significantly reduced by 46.9 percent or about 469,891.51 US-Dollars for the cost of the major component (material cost only). Besides, the number of the major component inventory is also reduced by about 41 percent which helps to mitigate the chance of damage and keeping stock.

Keywords: Assembly-to-Order, Decision Supporting System, Component replenishment , Poisson distribution

Procedia PDF Downloads 127

Authors: Pongsiri Kingkan

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This research aims to study the Readiness of Thai Restaurant in Bangkok in Applying for Certification of Halal Food Services Standard for Tourism. This research was conduct by using mix methodology; both quantitative and qualitative data were used. 420 questionnaires were used as tools to collected data from the samples, the restaurant employees. The results were divided into two parts, the demographic data and the Readiness of Thai Restaurant in Bangkok in Applying for Certification of Halal Food Services Standard for Tourism. The majority of samples are single female age between 18–30 years old, who earn about 282.40 US dollars a month. The result of Thai restaurant readiness study demonstrated that readiness in foods and restaurant operating processes were scored at the lowest level. Readiness in social responsibility, food contact persons and food materials were rated at the low level. The readiness of utensils and kitchen tools, waste management, environmental management, and the availability of space to implement the establishment of halal food were scored at the average level. Location readiness, foods service safety and the relationship with the local community were rated at high level. But interestingly there is none of them rated at the highest level.

Keywords: availability, Bangkok, halal, Thai restaurant, readiness

Procedia PDF Downloads 316

Authors: Rubina Jahan, Mohammad Zayeed Bin Alam, Sazzad Chowdhury, Sadia Chowdhury

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Access to mental health services in Bangladesh is a tale of urban privilege and rural struggle. Mental health services in the country are primarily centered in urban medical hospitals, with only 260 psychiatrists for a population of more than 162 million, while rural populations face far more severe and daunting challenges. In alignment with the World Health Organization's perspective on mental health as a basic human right and a crucial component for personal, community, and socioeconomic development; SAJIDA Foundation a value driven non-government organization in Bangladesh has introduced a Community Based Mental Health (CMHI) program to fill critical gaps in mental health care, providing accessible and affordable community-based services to protect and promote mental health, offering support for those grappling with mental health conditions. The CMHI programme is being implemented in 3 districts in Bangladesh, 2 of them are remote and most climate vulnerable areas targeting total 6,797 individual. The intervention plan involves a screening of all participants using a 10-point vulnerability assessment tool to identify vulnerable individuals. The assumption underlying this is that individuals assessed as vulnerable is primarily due to biological, psychological, social and economic factors and they are at an increased risk of developing common mental health issues. Those identified as vulnerable with high risk and emergency conditions will receive Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) and undergo further screening with GHQ-12 to be identified as cases and non-cases. The identified cases are then referred to community lay counsellors with basic training and knowledge in providing 4-6 sessions on problem solving or behavior activation. In situations where no improvement occurs post lay counselling or for individuals with severe mental health conditions, a referral process will be initiated, directing individuals to ensure appropriate mental health care. In our presentation, it will present the findings from 6-month pilot implementation focusing on the community-based screening versus outcome of the lay counseling session and barriers and facilitators of implementing community based mental health care in a resource constraint country like Bangladesh.

Keywords: community-based mental health, lay counseling, rural bangladesh, treatment gap

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Authors: Zhai Yujia

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None of the scholars and researchers has ever stepped into this field, though there are quite a few papers worked on various topics relevant to cultural and economic globalization separately. Economic globalization is earlier than cultural globalization. Since the invention of currency, people have had the sense of making money for the purpose of living, supporting their families, or other personal reasons. Their strong desire for earning a living is one of the incentives to propel the trade, tourism and other related economic activities that provide the service within the homeland at first and expand into the whole world later, as the global markets grow and mature. The need for operation impels international communication or interaction. To achieve this, it is vital to realize or recognize other cultures to some degree, concluding language, customs, social etiquette and history of different nations. All this drives the cultural globalization process. In contrast, it is clear that the development of cultural globalization does accelerate the process of economic globalization in return. Under the guidance of Skopos theory (first proposed by Hans Vermeer, and its core principle is that the translation process is determined by the purpose), this paper aims to demonstrate that cultural globalization is not a process in isolation by analyzing its driving forces and retroaction thoroughly with an approach of overview. It intertwines with economic globalization. The two push each other to proper gradually during their development, serving as the indispensable parts of the globalization process.

Keywords: cultural globalization, driving forces, retroaction, Skopos theory

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Authors: Amir Mirzaei

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The powertrain system is one of the most basic and essential components in a machine. The occurrence of motion is practically impossible without the presence of this system. When power is generated by the engine, it is transmitted by the powertrain system to the wheels, which are the last parts of the system. Powertrain system has different components according to the type of use and design. When the force generated by the engine reaches to the wheels, the amount of frictional force between the tire and the ground determines the amount of traction and non-slip or the amount of slip. At various levels, such as icy, muddy, and snow-covered ground, the amount of friction coefficient between the tire and the ground decreases dramatically and considerably, which in turn increases the amount of force loss and the vehicle traction decreases drastically. This condition is caused by the phenomenon of slipping, which, in addition to the waste of energy produced, causes the premature wear of driving tires. It also causes the temperature of the transmission oil to rise too much, as a result, causes a reduction in the quality and become dirty to oil and also reduces the useful life of the clutches disk and plates inside the transmission. this issue is much more important in road construction and mining machinery than passenger vehicles and is always one of the most important and significant issues in the design discussion, in order to overcome. One of these methods is the automatic spin regulator system which is abbreviated as ASR. The importance of this method and its structure and function have solved one of the biggest challenges of the powertrain system in the field of construction and mining machinery. That this research is examined.

Keywords: automatic spin regulator, ASR, methods of reducing slipping, methods of preventing the reduction of the useful life of clutches disk and plate, methods of preventing the premature dirtiness of transmission oil, method of preventing the reduction of the useful life of tires

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Authors: Prapoj Na Bangchang

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The research aimed to study the satisfaction of Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University students towards the university radio station which broadcasts in both analog on FM 97.25 MHz and online via the university website. The sample used in this study consists of undergraduate students year 1 to year 4 from 6 faculties i.e. Faculty of Education, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Faculty of Management Science and Faculty of Industrial Technology, and Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts totaling 200 students. The tools used for data collection is survey. Data analysis applied statistics that are percentage, mean and standard deviation. The results showed that Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University students were satisfied to the place of listening service, followed by channels of broadcasting that cover both analog signals on 97.25 MHz FM and online via the Internet. However, the satisfaction level of the content offered was very low. Most of the students want the station to improve the content. Entertainment content was requested the most, followed by sports content. The lowest satisfaction level is with the broadcasting quality through analog signal. Most students asked the station to improve on the issue. However, overall, Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University students were satisfied with the university radio station broadcasted online via the university website.

Keywords: satisfaction, students, radio station, Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University

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Authors: Xianping Du, Runlu Miao, Guanjun Zhang, Libo Cao, Feng Zhu

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Current vehicle safety standards and human body injury criteria were established based on the biomechanical response of Euro-American human body, without considering the difference in the body anthropometry and injury characteristics among different races, particularly the East Asian people with smaller body size. Absence of such race specific design considerations will negatively influence the protective performance of safety products for these populations, and weaken the accuracy of injury thresholds derived. To resolve these issues, in this study, we aim to develop a race specific finite element model to simulate the impact response of the lower extremity of a 50th percentile East Asian (Chinese) male. The model was built based on medical images for the leg of an average size Chinese male and slightly adjusted based on the statistical data. The model includes detailed anatomic features and is able to simulate the muscle active force. Thirteen biomechanical tests available in the literature were used to validate its biofidelity. Using the validated model, a pedestrian-car impact accident taking place in China was re-constructed computationally. The results show that the newly developed lower leg model has a good performance in predicting dynamic response and tibia fracture pattern. An additional comparison on the fracture tolerance of the East Asian and Euro-American lower limb suggests that the current injury criterion underestimates the degree of injury of East Asian human body.

Keywords: lower limb, East Asian body characteristics, traffic accident reconstruction, finite element analysis, injury tolerance

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Authors: Ester B. Onag, Manuel Morga, Belen Tangco

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Evidence-based research attested that Climate Change is a global phenomenon that has a massive impact on the economy, the government and the people. To minimize its impact, the national government must undertake social orders to ensure the needs of the people by implementing developmental policies that provide adequate social service to improve the quality of life for all. This research attempts to evaluate the political accountability of the Sangguniang Barangay of Malabon on its readiness for climate change. Which, the theory of decentralization takes an active participation, where the the national policies for climate change are adopted by local ordinances and it is enforced, monitored, and reported through the Barangay ordinance enacted by the Sangguniang Barangay. This paper also analyzes certain factors anchored on the political accountability of the Sangguniang Barangay which determines the state of their readiness in climate change, such as the gravity of their accountability which extends beyond the lines of their responsibility as stated in the local government code. It also evaluated the degree of their capabilities in actual legislation, the nature of their prioritization through their enacted ordinances and the extent of participation from different stakeholders of barangay such as the sectoral representatives and the citizens in which their participation is a means that leads to community awareness.

Keywords: climate change, local government, Sangguniang Barangay, government

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Authors: Yoshitaka Ooya, Daishuke Furuya, Manabu Nemoto

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Some countries such as Canada and Australia have mandatory bicycle helmet laws for all citizens and age groups. As of 2008 Japan has also adopted a helmet law but it is restricted to people 13 years old and under. People over 13 years of age are not required to wear helmets in Japan. Currently, the rate that people 0-13 years old actually wear helmets is low. In 2013 a number of patients came to Saitama University Hospital International Medical Center for treatment due to bicycle-related trauma. The total number of patients was 89 (55 male and 34 female). The average age of the patients was 40.9 years old (eldest; 83 y/o, median; 40 y/o, youngest; 1 y/o with a standard deviation ± 2.8). 54 of these patients (61%) experienced head trauma as well as some experiencing multiple injuries associated with their accident. 13 patients were wearing helmets, 50 patients were not wearing helmets and it is unknown if the remaining 26 patients were wearing helmets. This information was acquired from the patient`s medical charts. Only one patient who was wearing a helmet had a severe head injury, and this patient also experienced other multiple injuries. 17 patients who were not wearing helmets had severe head injuries and out of the 17, two had multiple injuries. The mechanism for injury varied. 12 patients were injured in an accident with a vehicle, only one of which was wearing a helmet. This patient also had multiple injuries. Of the other 11 patients, two had multiple injuries. The remaining patient`s injuries were caused by other accidents (3; fell over while riding, 2; crashed into an inanimate object, 1; collided with a motorcycle). The ladder of which had a severe head injury. All of these patients had light energy accidents and were all over 13 years of age. In Japan it is not mandatory for people over the age of 13 years to wear a bicycle helmet. Research shows that light energy accidents were mostly present in people over the age of 13, to which the law does not require the wearing of helmets. It is important that all people in all age groups be required to wear helmets when operating a bicycle to reduce the rate of light energy severe head injuries.

Keywords: bicycle helmet, head trauma, hospital, traumatic situation

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Authors: Abdulraaof H. Alqaili, Hamad A. Alsoliman

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Through progress in pavement design developments, a pavement design method was developed, which is titled the Mechanistic Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG). Nowadays, the evolution in roads network and highways is observed in Saudi Arabia as a result of increasing in traffic volume. Therefore, the MEPDG currently is implemented for flexible pavement design by the Saudi Ministry of Transportation. Implementation of MEPDG for local pavement design requires the calibration of distress models under the local conditions (traffic, climate, and materials). This paper aims to prepare data for calibration of MEPDG in Central Saudi Arabia. Thus, the first goal is data collection for the design of flexible pavement from the local conditions of the Riyadh region. Since, the modifying of collected data to input data is needed; the main goal of this paper is the analysis of collected data. The data analysis in this paper includes processing each: Trucks Classification, Traffic Growth Factor, Annual Average Daily Truck Traffic (AADTT), Monthly Adjustment Factors (MAFi), Vehicle Class Distribution (VCD), Truck Hourly Distribution Factors, Axle Load Distribution Factors (ALDF), Number of axle types (single, tandem, and tridem) per truck class, cloud cover percent, and road sections selected for the local calibration. Detailed descriptions of input parameters are explained in this paper, which leads to providing of an approach for successful implementation of MEPDG. Local calibration of MEPDG to the conditions of Riyadh region can be performed based on the findings in this paper.

Keywords: mechanistic-empirical pavement design guide (MEPDG), traffic characteristics, materials properties, climate, Riyadh

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Authors: Krithika Kumaragurubaran, Mannu Thareja

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Saving our planet Earth is the responsibility of every human being. Global warming and carbon emissions are killing our planet. We must adopt sustainable practices to give our future generations an equal opportunity to enjoy this planet Earth, our home. One of the most used unsustainable materials is plastic. Plastics are used everywhere. They are cheap, durable, strong, waterproof, non-corrosive with a long life. So longthat it makes plastic unsustainable. With this paper, we want to bring awareness on the usage of plastic in the organizations and how to reduce it by adopting sustainable practices powered by technology. We have taken a case study on the usage of photo ID cards, which are commonly used for authentication and authorization. These ID cards are used by employees or visitors to get access to the restricted areas inside the office buildings. The scale of these plastic cards can be in thousands for a bigger organization. This paper proposes smart alternatives to Identity and Access Management (IAM) which could replace the traditional method of using plastic ID cards. Further, the proposed solution is secure with multi-factor authentication (MFA), cost effective as there is no need to manage the supply chain of ID cards, provides instant IAM with self-service, and has the convenience of smart phone. Smart IAM is not only user friendly however also environment friendly.

Keywords: sustainability, reduce plastic, IAM (Identity and Access Management), multi-factor authentication

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Authors: Ghulam Mustafa Halepota, Zaib Dahar

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Background: Low acceptance of FP services, particularly in hard to reach areas where geographic, economic, or social barriers limit-service uptake. Moreover, limited resources appeared to be a reflection of dismal contraceptive use in Pakistan. People’s Primary Health Care Initiative (PPHI) is a Public Private Partnership Program of Government of Sindh which aims to improve maternal child health through accessible family planning services in far flung areas. In 2015 PPHI launched special family planning camps to have achieved a rapid improvement in CPR. On quarterly basis, these camps focus on Long Acting Reversible Contraceptives (LARC). These camps are arranged at 250 BHU Plus (24/7 MCHCs). The Organization manages 1140 primary health care facilities all over Sindh province and focuses on maternal, newborn and child health which includes antenatal care, labor/delivery, postnatal care, family planning, immunization, nutrition, BEmONC, CEmONC, diagnostic laboratories, ambulance services. Under the FPRH program, the organization launched special family planning camps in far flung areas to achieve a rapid improvement in CPR-committed to FP 2020 goal. Objective: To assess the performance of special FP camps for the improvement of long acting reversible contraceptive in hard to reach areas. Methodology: Outreach camps are organized on quarterly basis in 250 BHUs and maternal and child health centers (available-24/7). Using observational study design, the study reports 2 years data of special FP camps conducted in 23 various districts of Sindh during April 2015-April 2017. These special camps served a range of modern contraceptive methods including IUCDs, implants, condoms, pills, and injections. Moreover, 125 male medical officers are trained across Sindh in LARC and 554 female have been trained in implants and IUCD insertions. MSI Impact calculator was used to determine health and demographic impact of services. Results: This intervention has brought exceptional results, and the response has been overwhelming in time. Total 2048 special camps during 2015 till April 2017 have been carried out. 231796 MWRAs visited camps 91% opted modern FP, of which 45% opted Implants, 6% selected IUCDs from LARC (long term reversible contraceptive) from short term, 17% opted injectable 18% choose pills, and 12% used condoms. This intervention created a high contraceptive impact in rural Sindh an estimated 125048 FP users have been created, of this 111846 LARC users and 13498 are SARC users, through this intervention an estimated 55774 unintended pregnancies, 36299 live births, 9394, 80 maternal deaths, 926 and 6077 unsafe abortion have been averted. Moreover, the intervention created an economic impact and saved 2,409,563 direct health expenditure on each woman with reproductive age. Conclusion: Special FP Camps along with routine services is an effective and acceptable model for increase in provision of long-acting and permanent methods in hard to reach areas. This innovative approach by PHHI-Sindh has also been adopted in other provinces of Pakistan.

Keywords: inequalities, special camps, family planning services, hard to reach areas

Procedia PDF Downloads 185

Authors: Chiu-Wen Chang, I-Yun Chang, Wei-Ting Chen, Hui-Ping Ho, Chao-Ying Pan, Joh-Jong Huang

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Dengue is a ‘community disease’ or ‘environmental disease’, as long as the environment exist suitable container (including natural and artificial) for mosquito breeding, once the virus invade will lead to the dengue epidemic. Surveillance of vector density is critical to effective infectious disease control and play an important role in monitoring the dynamics of mosquitoes in community, such as mosquito species, density, distribution area. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship in vector density survey (Breteau index, Adult index, House index, Container index, and Larvae index) form 2014 to 2016 in Kaohsiung City and evaluate the effects of introducing the Breeding Elimination and Appraisal Team (hereinafter referred to as BEAT) as an intervention measure on eliminating dengue vector breeding site started from May 2016. BEAT were performed on people who were suspected of contracting dengue fever, a surrounding area measuring 50 meters by 50 meters was demarcated as the emergency prevention and treatment zone. BEAT would perform weekly vector mosquito inspections and vector mosquito inspections in regions with a high Gravitrap index and assign a risk assessment index to each region. These indices as well as the prevention and treatment results were immediately reported to epidemic prevention-related units every week. The results indicated that, vector indices from 2014 to 2016 showed no statistically significant differences in the Breteau index, adult index, and house index (p > 0.05) but statistically significant differences in the container index and larvae index (p <0.05). After executing the integrated elimination work, container index and larvae index are statistically significant different from 2014 to 2016 in the (p < 0.05). A post hoc test indicated that the container index of 2014 (M = 12.793) was significantly higher than that of 2016 (M = 7.631), and that the larvae index of 2015 (M = 34.065) was significantly lower than that of 2014 (M = 66.867). The results revealed that effective vector density surveillance could highlight the focus breeding site and then implement the immediate control action (BEAT), which successfully decreased the vector density and the risk of dengue epidemic.

Keywords: Breteau index, dengue control, monitoring method, vector density

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Authors: Yeo Kyeong Lee, Hae Won Min, Ji Yeon Kang, Hee Sun Kim, Yeong Soo Shin

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Fire incidents have been steadily increased over the last year according to national emergency management agency of South Korea. Even though most of the fire incidents with property damage have been occurred in building, rehabilitation has not been properly done with consideration of structure safety. Therefore, this study aims at evaluating rehabilitation effects on fire damaged normal strength concrete beams through experiments and finite element analyses. For the experiments, reinforced concrete beams were fabricated having designed concrete strength of 21 MPa. Two different cover thicknesses were used as 40 mm and 50 mm. After cured, the fabricated beams were heated for 1hour or 2hours according to ISO-834 standard time-temperature curve. Rehabilitation was done by removing the damaged part of cover thickness and filling polymeric mortar into the removed part. Both fire damaged beams and rehabilitated beams were tested with four point loading system to observe structural behaviors and the rehabilitation effect. To verify the experiment, finite element (FE) models for structural analysis were generated using commercial software ABAQUS 6.10-3. For the rehabilitated beam models, integrated temperature-structural analyses were performed in advance to obtain geometries of the fire damaged beams. In addition to the fire damaged beam models, rehabilitated part was added with material properties of polymeric mortar. Three dimensional continuum brick elements were used for both temperature and structural analyses. The same loading and boundary conditions as experiments were implemented to the rehabilitated beam models and non-linear geometrical analyses were performed. Test results showed that maximum loads of the rehabilitated beams were 8~10% higher than those of the non-rehabilitated beams and even 1~6 % higher than those of the non-fire damaged beam. Stiffness of the rehabilitated beams were also larger than that of non-rehabilitated beams but smaller than that of the non-fire damaged beams. In addition, predicted structural behaviors from the analyses also showed good rehabilitation effect and the predicted load-deflection curves were similar to the experimental results. From this study, both experiments and analytical results demonstrated good rehabilitation effect on the fire damaged normal strength concrete beams. For the further, the proposed analytical method can be used to predict structural behaviors of rehabilitated and fire damaged concrete beams accurately without suffering from time and cost consuming experimental process.

Keywords: fire, normal strength concrete, rehabilitation, reinforced concrete beam

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Authors: Chiung-Hui Chen

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The Internet of Things (IoT) was designed for widespread convenience. With the smart tag and the sensing network, a large quantity of dynamic information is immediately presented in the IoT. Through the internal communication and interaction, meaningful objects provide real-time services for users. Therefore, the service with appropriate decision-making has become an essential issue. Based on the science of human behavior, this study employed the environment model to record the time sequences and locations of different behaviors and adopted the probability module of the hierarchical Hidden Markov Model for the inference. The statistical analysis was conducted to achieve the following objectives: First, define user behaviors and predict the user behavior routes with the environment model to analyze user purposes. Second, construct the hierarchical Hidden Markov Model according to the logic framework, and establish the sequential intensity among behaviors to get acquainted with the use and activity fabric of the intelligent environment. Third, establish the intensity of the relation between the probability of objects’ being used and the objects. The indicator can describe the possible limitations of the mechanism. As the process is recorded in the information of the system created in this study, these data can be reused to adjust the procedure of intelligent design services.

Keywords: behavior, big data, hierarchical hidden Markov model, intelligent object

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Authors: Andrey Khalov

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The rapid growth of unstructured data necessitates advanced methods for transforming raw information into structured knowledge, particularly in domain-specific contexts such as IT service management and outsourcing. This paper presents a methodology for automatically constructing domain ontologies using the DOLCE framework as the base ontology. The research focuses on expanding ITIL-based ontologies by integrating concepts from ITSMO, followed by the extraction of entities and relationships from domain-specific texts through transformers and statistical methods like formal concept analysis (FCA). In particular, this work introduces an R-GNN-based approach for ontology mapping, enabling more efficient entity extraction and ontology alignment with existing knowledge bases. Additionally, the research explores transfer learning techniques using pre-trained transformer models (e.g., DeBERTa-v3-large) fine-tuned on synthetic datasets generated via large language models such as LLaMA. The resulting ontology, termed IT Ontology (ITO), is evaluated against existing methodologies, highlighting significant improvements in precision and recall. This study advances the field of ontology engineering by automating the extraction, expansion, and refinement of ontologies tailored to the IT domain, thus bridging the gap between unstructured data and actionable knowledge.

Keywords: ontology mapping, knowledge graphs, R-GNN, ITIL, NER

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Authors: Amel Hannech, Mehdi Adda, Hamid Mcheick

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In computer science, the purpose of finding useful information is still one of the most active and important research topics. The most popular application of information retrieval (IR) are Search Engines, they meet users' specific needs and aim to locate the effective information in the web. However, these search engines have some limitations related to the relevancy of the results and the ease to explore those results. In this context, we proposed in previous works a Multi-Space Search Engine model that is based on a multidimensional interpretation universe. In the present paper, we integrate an additional dimension that allows to offer users new research experiences. The added component is based on creating user profiles and calculating the similarity between them that then allow the use of collaborative filtering in retrieving search results. To evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed model, a prototype is developed. The experiments showed that the additional dimension has improved the relevancy of results by predicting the interesting items of users based on their experiences and the experiences of other similar users. The offered personalization service allows users to approve the pertinent items, which allows to enrich their profiles and further improve research.

Keywords: information retrieval, v-facets, user behavior analysis, user profiles, topical ontology, association rules, data personalization

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Authors: Alia El Akhrass, Raheed Al Jifri, Sara Babalghoum, Jana Bushnag

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This project delves into exploring the functionalities of Mailchimp, an artificial intelligence application. The objective is to comprehend its operations through the AI tools it offers. To achieve this, a survey was conducted among peers, seeking insights into Mailchimp's functionality, accessibility, efficiency, and overall benefits. The survey aimed to gather valuable feedback for analysis. Subsequently, a thorough analysis of the collected data was performed to identify trends, patterns, and areas of improvement. Visual representations were then crafted to effectively summarize the findings, aiding in conveying the research outcomes clearly. Founded in 2001, Mailchimp initially provided email marketing services but has since expanded into a comprehensive marketing platform. Its focus on simplicity and accessibility has contributed to its success among businesses of all sizes. Alternative platforms such as Constant Contact, AWeber, and GetResponse offer similar services with their own unique strengths. Mailchimp's journey exemplifies the importance of vision and adaptability in the ever-evolving digital marketing landscape. By prioritizing innovation, user-centricity, and customer service, Mailchimp has established itself as a trusted partner in the field of digital marketing, enabling businesses to effectively connect with their customers and achieve their marketing goals.

Keywords: email marketing, ai tool, connect, communicate, generate

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Authors: Srinivasa Rao Idapalapati, Manssour Habbash

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As mobile connectedness continues to sweep across the landscape, the value of deploying mobile technology to the service of learning and teaching appears to be both self-evident and unavoidable. To this end, this study explores the reasons for the reluctance of teachers in Saudi Arabia to use mobiles in EFL (English as a Foreign Language) classes for teaching and learning purposes. The main objective of this study is a qualitative analysis of the responses of the views of the teachers at a university in Saudi Arabia about the use of mobile phones in classrooms for educational purposes. Driven by the hypothesis that the teachers in Saudi Arabian universities aren’t prepared well enough to use mobile phones in classrooms for educational purposes, this study examines the data obtained through a questionnaire provided to about hundred teachers working at a university in Saudi Arabia through convenient sampling method. The responses are analyzed by qualitative interpretive method and found that teachers and the students are in confusion whether to use mobiles, and need some training sessions on the use of mobile phones in classrooms for educational purposes. The outcome of the analysis is discussed in light of the concerns bases adoption model and the inferences are provided in a descriptive mode.

Keywords: mobile assisted language learning, technology adoption, classroom instruction, concerns based adoption model

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Authors: Urooj Saeed, Sajid Rashid Ahmad, Iqra Khalid, Sahar Mirza, Imtiaz Younas

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Pakistan, a flood-prone country, has experienced worst floods in the recent past which have caused extensive damage to the urban and rural areas by loss of lives, damage to infrastructure and agricultural fields. Poor flood management system in the country has projected the risks of damages as the increasing frequency and magnitude of floods are felt as a consequence of climate change; affecting national economy directly or indirectly. To combat the needs of flood emergency, this paper focuses on remotely sensed data based approach for rapid mapping and monitoring of flood extent and its damages so that fast dissemination of information can be done, from local to national level. In this research study, spatial extent of the flooding caused by heavy rains of 2014 has been mapped by using space borne data to assess the crop damages and affected population in sixteen districts of Punjab. For this purpose, moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) was used to daily mark the flood extent by using Normalised Difference Water Index (NDWI). The highest flood value data was integrated with the LandScan 2014, 1km x 1km grid based population, to calculate the affected population in flood hazard zone. It was estimated that the floods covered an area of 16,870 square kilometers, with 3.0 million population affected. Moreover, to assess the flood damages, Object Based Image Analysis (OBIA) aided with spectral signatures was applied on Landsat image to attain the thematic layers of healthy (0.54 million acre) and damaged crops (0.43 million acre). The study yields that the population of Jhang district (28% of 2.5 million population) was affected the most. Whereas, in terms of crops, Jhang and Muzzafargarh are the ‘highest damaged’ ranked district of floods 2014 in Punjab. This study was completed within 24 hours of the peak flood time, and proves to be an effective methodology for rapid assessment of damages due to flood hazard

Keywords: flood hazard, space borne data, object based image analysis, rapid damage assessment

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Authors: Mohd Mudasir Shafi, Zafrul Hasan, Talat Saleem

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Information and communication Technology (ICT) services have been defined as a route to good governance. Introduction of ICT into Governance has given rise to the idea of e-governance which helps in enhancing transparency, generating accountability and responsiveness in the system in order to provide faster and quality service to the citizen. Advancement in ICT has provided governments all over the world to speed up the delivery of information and services to citizens and businesses and increase their participation in governance. There has been varying degree of success over the past decade into providing services to the citizens using internet and different web services. These e-government initiatives have been extensively researched. Our research is aimed at the transition from electronic government to mobile government (m-government) initiatives implementing the mobile services and concerned to understand the major factors which will aid to adoption and distribution of these services. There must be some amount of research done in the integration process between e-government and m-government. There must also be enough amount of investigation done all the factors that could affect the transition process. Such factors differ between different places and the advancement in information and technology available there. In this paper, we have discussed why mobile communication system can be used for effective e-governance and the areas where m-governance can be implemented. The paper will examine some of the reasons as well as the main opportunities for improving effective governance through mobile phones.

Keywords: e-governance, mobile phones, information technology, m-government

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Authors: Tien Wei Daniel Hwang

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The computer program inventors, particularly in Fintech, are unwilling to apply for patents in Taiwan after 2014. Passing the ‘statutory subject matter eligibility’ test and becoming the system patent are not the only cause to the reduction in the number of application. Taiwanese court needs to resolve whether the defendants had ‘used’ that software patent in patent direct infringement suit. Both 35 U.S.C. § 271(a) and article 58 paragraph 2 of Taiwan Patent Law don’t define the meaning of ‘use’ in the statutes. Centillion Data Sys., LLC v. Qwest Commc’ns Int’l, Inc. reconsidered the meaning of ‘use’ in system patent infringement, and held that ‘a party must put the invention into service, i.e., control the system as a whole and obtain benefit from it.’ In Taiwan, Intellectual Property Office, Ministry of Economic Affairs, has explained that ‘using’ the patent is ‘achieving the technical effect of the patent.’ Nonetheless, this definition is too broad to apply to not only the software patent but also the traditional patent. To supply the friendly environment for Fintech corporations, this article aims to let Taiwanese court realize why and how United States District Court, S.D. Indiana, Indianapolis Division and United States Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit defined the meaning of ‘use’ in 35 U.S.C. § 271(a). However, this definition is so lax and confuses many defendants in United States. Accordingly, this article indicates the elements in Taiwan Patent Law are different with 35 U.S.C. § 271(a), so Taiwanese court can follow the interpretation of ‘use’ in Centillion Data case without the same obstacle.

Keywords: direct infringement, FinTech, software patent, use

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Authors: Magdalena Kuleta

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Ponta de Piedade (37º05 ' N, 08º40 ' W) is an area located in the southern part of the Lagos municipality, which include an abrasive and accumulative type of coastline. It is the one of the main touristic destinations of the city. The dynamic development of the attractiveness of the coast, is related with the expansion of the new tourism infrastructure and urban tourism products. These products are: transportation, sightseeing and entertainment in the form of the boat trips. Each type of excursion refers to the different product. This progress brings also many risks associated primarily with landslides cliffs. Natural conditions affecting the coast, create a huge impact on the evolution of urban tourism management. Based on observation, statistical analysis and survey method, author compare the period of six years from 2012 to 2016 in terms of the number of tourists, number and diversity of attractions, most frequently dialled products and infrastructure changes in the city. Carried methodology is based on data belonging to Turismo Portugal and the tourist company Days of Adventure. Main result, is to indicate the essence of the income from coastal tourism into the city development and how does it influence on the marketing and promoting of urban tourism in Lagos.

Keywords: geomorphology of the coast in Lagos, market and promotion, quality of tourism service, urban tourism products

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Authors: Wiseman Emmanuel Nkhomah, Chiyembekezo Kachimanga, Moses Banda Aron, Julia Higgins, Manuel Mulwafu, Kondwani Mpinga, Mwayi Chunga, Grace Momba, Enock Ndarama, Dickson Sumphi, Atupere Phiri, Fabien Munyaneza

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Background: Data is key to supporting health service delivery as stakeholders, including NGOs rely on it for effective service delivery, decision-making, and system strengthening. Several studies generated debate on data quality from national health management information systems (HMIS) in sub-Saharan Africa. This limits the utilization of data in resource-limited settings, which already struggle to meet standards set by the World Health Organization (WHO). We aimed to evaluate data quality improvement of Neno district HMIS over a 4-year period (2018 – 2021) following quarterly data reviews introduced in January 2020 by the district health management team and Partners In Health. Methods: Exploratory Mixed Research was used to examine report rates, followed by in-depth interviews using Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs). We used the WHO module desk review to assess the quality of HMIS data in the Neno district captured from 2018 to 2021. The metrics assessed included the completeness and timeliness of 34 reports. Completeness was measured as a percentage of non-missing reports. Timeliness was measured as the span between data inputs and expected outputs meeting needs. We computed T-Test and recorded P-values, summaries, and percentage changes using R and Excel 2016. We analyzed demographics for key informant interviews in Power BI. We developed themes from 7 FGDs and 11 KIIs using Dedoose software, from which we picked perceptions of healthcare workers, interventions implemented, and improvement suggestions. The study was reviewed and approved by Malawi National Health Science Research Committee (IRB: 22/02/2866). Results: Overall, the average reporting completeness rate was 83.4% (before) and 98.1% (after), while timeliness was 68.1% and 76.4 respectively. Completeness of reports increased over time: 2018, 78.8%; 2019, 88%; 2020, 96.3% and 2021, 99.9% (p< 0.004). The trend for timeliness has been declining except in 2021, where it improved: 2018, 68.4%; 2019, 68.3%; 2020, 67.1% and 2021, 81% (p< 0.279). Comparing 2021 reporting rates to the mean of three preceding years, both completeness increased from 88% to 99% (in 2021), while timeliness increased from 68% to 81%. Sixty-five percent of reports have maintained meeting a national standard of 90%+ in completeness while only 24% in timeliness. Thirty-two percent of reports met the national standard. Only 9% improved on both completeness and timeliness, and these are; cervical cancer, nutrition care support and treatment, and youth-friendly health services reports. 50% of reports did not improve to standard in timeliness, and only one did not in completeness. On the other hand, factors associated with improvement included improved communications and reminders using internal communication, data quality assessments, checks, and reviews. Decentralizing data entry at the facility level was suggested to improve timeliness. Conclusion: Findings suggest that data quality in HMIS for the district has improved following collaborative efforts. We recommend maintaining such initiatives to identify remaining quality gaps and that results be shared publicly to support increased use of data. These results can inform Ministry of Health and its partners on some interventions and advise initiatives for improving its quality.

Keywords: data quality, data utilization, HMIS, collaboration, completeness, timeliness, decision-making

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Authors: Melody Mandevere, Roselyn Cheruiyot

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Through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), organizations contribute to a stable environment that leads to a predictable climate for investment and trade. Organizations are now deviating from traditional CSR, where it was believed that the only responsibility of an organization is to meet its shareholder's needs. Organizations and society now believe that an organization has many stakeholders that it must satisfy for it to be viable. The function of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) is not profit making but providing service and accomplishing public policy objectives. SOEs demand consideration in the current economic climate because they represent an important part of the economies of many countries. Given the importance and complex relationship of the stakeholders in SOE, the paper seeks to examine how full name first Zimra is implementing its CSR activities. SOE managers are responsible for CSR implementation and stakeholder engagement. ZIMRA is one of the parastatals that plays a crucial role in the Zimbabwean economy. It is, therefore, important to understand how Zimra is implementing CSR. Qualitative research was used for the research. Interviews were contacted with Zimra managers to understand how they are implementing CSR. Although Zimra managers understand the CSR concept, the organization does not have a CSR strategy that includes their stakeholders, which may have a negative impact on stakeholder perception and the organization's reputation. The funding of the CSR strategy is also not sustainable.

Keywords: corporate social responsibility, managers, stakeholders, state-owned enterprises

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Authors: Mohammed Ghazwani, Shyma Ali Alshahrani, Zahra Abdu Yousef, Taif Torki Asiri, Ghofran Abdur Rahman, Asma Ali Alshahrani, Umme Hani

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Background and introduction: Piroxicam is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug characterized by low solubility-high permeability used to reduce pain, swelling, and joint stiffness from arthritis. Hydrotropes are a class of compounds that normally increase the aqueous solubility of insoluble solutes. Aim: The objective of the present research study was to formulate and optimize Piroxicam hydrotropic starch gel using sodium salicylate, sodium benzoate as hydrotropic salts, and potato starch for topical application. Materials and methods: The prepared Piroxicam hydrotropic starch gel was characterized for various physicochemical parameters like drug content estimation, pH, tube extrudability, and spreadability; all the prepared formulations were subjected to in-vitro diffusion studies for six hours in 100 ml phosphate buffer (pH 7.4) and determined gel strength. Results: All formulations were found to be white opaque in appearance and have good homogeneity. The pH of formulations was found to be between 6.9-7.9. Drug content ranged from 96.8%-99.4.5%. Spreadability plays an important role in patient compliance and helps in the uniform application of gel to the skin as gels should spread easily; F4 showed a spreadability of 2.4cm highest among all other formulations. In in vitro diffusion studies, extrudability and gel strength were good with F4 in comparison with other formulations; hence F4 was selected as the optimized formulation. Conclusion: Isolated potato starch was successfully employed to prepare the gel. Hydrotropic salt sodium salicylate increased the solubility of Piroxicam and resulted in a stable gel, whereas the gel prepared using sodium benzoate changed its color after one week of preparation from white to light yellowish. Hydrotropic potato starch gel proposed a suitable vehicle for the topical delivery of Piroxicam.

Keywords: Piroxicam, potato starch, hydrotropic salts, hydrotropic starch gel

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Authors: Ismail Kurt, Necibe Fusun Oyman Serteller

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Today, with the reduction in semiconductor system costs, Brushless Direct Current (BLDC) motors have become widely preferred. Based on rotor architecture, BLDC structures are divided into internal permanent magnet (IPM) and surface permanent magnet (SPM). However, permanent magnet (PM) motors in electric vehicles (EVs) are still predominantly based on interior permanent magnet (IPM) motors, as the rotors do not require sleeves, the PMs are better protected by the rotor cores, and the air-gap lengths can be much smaller. This study discusses the IPM rotor structure in detail, highlighting its higher torque levels, reluctance torque, wide speed range operation, and production advantages. IPM rotor structures are particularly preferred in EVs due to their high-speed capabilities, torque density and field weakening (FW) features. In FW applications, the motor becomes more suitable for operation at torques lower than the rated torque but at speeds above the rated speed. Although V-type and triangular IPM rotor structures are generally preferred in EV applications, the spoke-type rotor structure offers distinct advantages, making it a competitive option for these systems. The flux barriers in the rotor significantly affect motor performance, providing notable benefits in both motor efficiency and cost. This study utilizes ANSYS/Maxwell simulation software to analyze the spoke-type IPM motor and examine its key design parameters. Through analytical and 2D analysis, preliminary motor design and parameter optimization have been carried out. During the parameter optimization phase, torque ripple a common issue, especially for IPM motors has been investigated, along with the associated changes in motor parameters.

Keywords: electric vehicle, field weakening, flux barrier, spoke rotor.

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Authors: Guo Yan

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Clothing recycling bin is a traditional way to collect textile waste in many areas. In the clothing recycling business, the transportation cost normally takes over 50% of total costs. This case gives a good way to reduce transportation cost by reverse logistics system. In this reverse logistics system, there are offline strategic alliance partners, such as transport firms, convenience stores, laundries, and post office which are integrated onto the mobile APP. Offline strategic alliance partners provide the service of textile waste collection, and transportation by their vacant vehicles return journey from convenience stores, laundries and post offices to sorting centers. The results of the case study provide the strategic alliance with a valuable and light - asset business model by using the logistics of offline memberships. The company in this case just focuses on textile waste sorting, reuse, recycling etc. The research method of this paper is a case study of a clothing recycling company in Chengdu by field research and interview; the analysis is based on the theory of the reverse logistics system.

Keywords: closed-loop recycles system, clothing recycling, end-of-life clothing, sharing economy, strategic alliance, reverse logistics.

Procedia PDF Downloads 147