Search results for: volumetric assessment

Authors: Charles Amoatey

Abstract:

The issue of risk in the mining industry is a global phenomenon and the Ghanaian mining industry is not exempted. The main purpose of this study is to identify the critical risk factors affecting the mining industry. The study takes an integrated view of the mining industry by examining the contribution of various risk factors to mining project failure in Ghana. A questionnaire survey was conducted to solicit the critical risk factors from key mining practitioners. About 80 respondents from 11 mining firms participated in the survey. The study identified 22 risk factors contributing to mining project failure in Ghana. The five most critical risk factors based on both probability of occurrence and impact were: (1) unstable commodity prices, (2) inflation/exchange rate, (3) land degradation, (4) high cost of living and (5) government bureaucracy for obtaining licenses. Furthermore, the study found that risk assessment in the mining sector has a direct link with mining project sustainability. Mitigation measures for addressing the identified risk factors were discussed. The key findings emphasize the need for a comprehensive risk management culture in the entire mining industry.

Keywords: risk, assessment, mining, Ghana

Procedia PDF Downloads 434

Authors: G. A. Amin, A. D. Al-Talhi

Abstract:

The bacterium B. subtilis produced surfactin in conventional batch culture as a growth associated product and a growth rate (0.4 h-1). A fed-batch process was developed and the fermentative substrate and other nutrients were fed on hourly basis and according to the growth rate of the bacterium. Conversion of different quantities of Maldex-15 into surfactin was investigated in five different fermentation runs. In all runs, most of Maldex-15 was consumed and converted into surfactin and cell biomass with appreciable efficiencies. The best results were obtained with fermentation run supplied with 200 g Maldex-15. Up to 35.4 g.l-1 of surfactin and cell biomass of 30.2 g.l-1 were achieved in 12 hrs. Also, markedly substrate yield of 0.269 g/g and volumetric reactor productivity of 2.61 g.1-1.h-1 were obtained confirming the establishment of a cost effective commercial surfactin production.

Keywords: Bacillus subtilis, biosurfactant, exponentially fed-batch fermentation, surfactin

Procedia PDF Downloads 521

Authors: Manahil Alfuraydan, Jodie Croxall, Lisa Hurt, Mike Kerr, Sinead Brophy

Abstract:

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a developmental condition characterised by impairment in terms of social communication, social interaction, and a repetitive or restricted pattern of interest, behaviour, and activity. There is a significant delay between seeking help and a confirmed diagnosis of ASD. This may result in delay in receiving early intervention services, which are critical for positive outcomes. The long wait times also cause stress for the individuals and their families. Telehealth potentially offers a way of improving the diagnostic pathway for ASD. This review of the literature aims to examine which telehealth approaches have been used in the diagnosis and assessment of autism in children and adults, whether they are feasible and acceptable, and how they compare with face-to-face diagnosis and assessment methods. A comprehensive search of following databases- MEDLINE, CINAHL Plus with Full text, Business Sources Complete, Web of Science, Scopus, PsycINFO and trail and systematic review databases including Cochrane Library, Health Technology Assessment, Database of Abstracts and Reviews of Effectiveness and NHS Economic Evaluation was conducted, combining the terms of autism and telehealth from 2000 to 2018. A total of 10 studies were identified for inclusion in the review. This review of the literature found there to be two methods of using telehealth: (a) video conferencing to enable teams in different areas to consult with the families and to assess the child/adult in real time and (b) a video upload to a web portal that enables the clinical assessment of behaviours in the family home. The findings were positive, finding there to be high agreement in terms of the diagnosis between remote methods and face to face methods and with high levels of satisfaction among the families and clinicians. This field is in the very early stages, and so only studies with small sample size were identified, but the findings suggest that there is potential for telehealth methods to improve assessment and diagnosis of autism used in conjunction with existing methods, especially for those with clear autism traits and adults with autism. Larger randomised controlled trials of this technology are warranted.

Keywords: assessment, autism spectrum disorder, diagnosis, telehealth

Procedia PDF Downloads 115

Authors: Azin Shakibabarough, Mojtaba Valinejadshoubi, Ashutosh Bagchi

Abstract:

Catastrophic bridge failure happens due to the lack of inspection, lack of design and extreme events like flooding, an earthquake. Bridge Management System (BMS) is utilized to diminish such an accident with proper design and frequent inspection. Visual inspection cannot detect any subsurface defects, so using Non-Destructive Evaluation (NDE) techniques remove these barriers as far as possible. Among all NDE techniques, Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) has been proved as a highly effective device for detecting internal defects in a reinforced concrete bridge deck. GPR is used for detecting rebar location and rebar corrosion in the reinforced concrete deck. GPR profile is composed of hyperbola series in which sound hyperbola denotes sound rebar and blur hyperbola or signal attenuation shows corroded rebar. Interpretation of GPR images is implemented by numerical analysis or visualization. Researchers recently found that interpretation through visualization is more precise than interpretation through numerical analysis, but visualization is time-consuming and a highly subjective process. Automating the interpretation of GPR image through visualization can solve these problems. After interpretation of all scans of a bridge, condition assessment is conducted based on the generated corrosion map. However, this such a condition assessment is not objective and precise. Condition assessment based on structural integrity and strength parameters can make it more objective and precise. The main purpose of this study is to present an automated interpretation method of a reinforced concrete bridge deck through a visualization technique. In the end, the combined analysis of the structural condition in a bridge is implemented.

Keywords: bridge condition assessment, ground penetrating radar, GPR, NDE techniques, visualization

Procedia PDF Downloads 134

Authors: Jill Garner, Belinda Lange, Sheila Lennon, Maayken van den Berg

Abstract:

Currently, there are approximately one billion people worldwide affected by a neurological condition. Many of whom are assessed and treated by a physiotherapist in a variety of settings. There is a lack of consensus in the literature related to what is clinically assessed by physiotherapists in people with neurological conditions. This study aimed to explore assessment in people with neurological conditions, including how health care setting, experience, and therapeutic approach, may influence neurological assessment. A national survey targeted Australian physiotherapists who assess adults with neurological conditions as part of their clinical practice. The survey consisted of 39 questions and was distributed to physiotherapists through the Australian Physiotherapy Association, and Chief Allied Health Officers across Australia and advertised on the National Neurological Physiotherapy Facebook page. In total, 395 respondents consented to the survey from all states within Australia. Most respondents were female (85.4%) with a mean (SD) age of 35.7 years. Respondents reported working clinically in acute, community, outpatients, and community settings. Stroke was the most assessed condition (58.0%). There is variability in domains assessed by Australian physiotherapists, with common inclusions of balance, muscle strength, gait, falls and safety, function, goal setting, range of movement, pain, coordination, activity tolerance, postural alignment and symmetry and upper limb. There is little evidence to support what physiotherapists assess in practice, in different settings, and in different states within Australia and not enough information to develop a decision tree regarding what is important for assessment in different settings. Further research is needed to explore this area and develop a consensus around best practices.

Keywords: physiotherapy, neurological, assessment, domains

Procedia PDF Downloads 77

Authors: Schröde C., Rodriguez D., Sánchez A., Abdul Malak, Churchill J., Boksmati T., Alharbi, Alsulmi H., Maghrabi S., Mowalad, Mutwalli R., Abualnaja Y.

Abstract:

Formulating a strategy for sustainable development of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s coastal and marine environment is at the core of the “Marine and Coastal Protection Assessment Study for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Coastline (MCEP)”; that was set up in the context of the Vision 2030 by the Saudi Arabian government and aimed at providing a first comprehensive ‘Status Quo Assessment’ of the Kingdom’s marine environment to inform a sustainable development strategy and serve as a baseline assessment for future monitoring activities. This baseline assessment relied on scientific evidence of the drivers, pressures and their impact on the environments of the Red Sea and Arabian Gulf. A key element of the assessment was the cumulative pressure hotspot analysis developed for both national waters of the Kingdom following the principles of the Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) framework and using the cumulative pressure and impact assessment methodology. The ultimate goals of the analysis were to map and assess the main hotspots of environmental pressures, and identify priority areas for further field surveillance and for urgent management actions. The study identified maritime transport, fisheries, aquaculture, oil, gas, energy, coastal industry, coastal and maritime tourism, and urban development as the main drivers of pollution in the Saudi Arabian marine waters. For each of these drivers, pressure indicators were defined to spatially assess the potential influence of the drivers on the coastal and marine environment. A list of hotspots of 90 locations could be identified based on the assessment. Spatially grouped the list could be reduced to come up with of 10 hotspot areas, two in the Arabian Gulf, 8 in the Red Sea. The hotspot mapping revealed clear spatial patterns of drivers, pressures and hotspots within the marine environment of waters under KSA’s maritime jurisdiction in the Red Sea and Arabian Gulf. The cascading assessment approach based on the DPSIR framework ensured that the root causes of the hotspot patterns, i.e. the human activities and other drivers, can be identified. The adapted CPIA methodology allowed for the combination of the available data to spatially assess the cumulative pressure in a consistent manner, and to identify the most critical hotspots by determining the overlap of cumulative pressure with areas of sensitive biodiversity. Further improvements are expected by enhancing the data sources of drivers and pressure indicators, fine-tuning the decay factors and distances of the pressure indicators, as well as including trans-boundary pressures across the regional seas.

Keywords: Arabian Gulf, DPSIR, hotspot, red sea

Procedia PDF Downloads 124

Authors: Yuxuan Tang

Abstract:

Cognitive diagnostic assessment has received much attention in second language education, and assessment for it can provide pedagogically useful feedback for language learners. However, there is a lack of research on how students interpret and use cognitive diagnostic feedback. Thus the present study aims to adopt a mixed-method approach mainly to explore the relationship between the goal-orientation and students' response to cognitive diagnostic feedback. Almost 200 Chinese undergraduates from two universities in Xi'an, China, will be invited to do a cognitive diagnostic reading test, and each student will receive specialized cognitive diagnostic feedback, comprising of students' reading attributes mastery level generated by applying a well-selected cognitive diagnostic model, students' perceived reading ability assessed by a self-assessing questionnaire and students’ level position in the whole class. And a goal-orientation questionnaire and a self-generated questionnaire on the perception of feedback will be given to students the moment they receive feedback. In addition, interviews of students will be conducted on their future plans to see whether they have awareness of carrying out studying plans. The study aims to find a new perspective towards how students use and interpret cognitive diagnostic feedback in terms of their different goal-orientation (self-based, task-based, and other-based goals) by applying the newest goal orientation model, which is an important construct of motivation in psychology, seldom researched under language learning area. And the study is expected to provide evidence on how diagnostic feedback promotes students' learning under the educational belief of assessment for learning. Practically speaking, according to the personalized diagnostic feedback, students can take remedial self-learning more purposefully, and teachers can target students' weaknesses to adjust teaching methods and carry out tailored teaching.

Keywords: assessment for learning, cognitive diagnostic assessment, goal-orientation, personalized feedback

Procedia PDF Downloads 117

Authors: M. Laissaoui

Abstract:

The present work has for objective the simulation of a hybrid solar combined cycle power plant, compared with combined cycle conventional (gas turbine and steam turbine), this type of power plants disposed an solar tour (heliostat field and volumetric receiver) insurant a part of the thermal energy necessary for the functioning of the gas turbine. This solar energy serves to feed with heat the combustion air of the gas turbine when he out of the compressor and the front entered the combustion chamber. The simulation of even central and made for three zones deferential to know the zone of Hassi R' mel, Bechare, and the zone of Messaad wilaya of El djelfa. The radiometric and meteorological data arise directly from the software meteonorme 7. The simulation of the energy performances is made by the software TRNSYS 16.1.

Keywords: concentrating solar power, heliostat, thermal, Algeria

Procedia PDF Downloads 455

Authors: Falak Nawaz

Abstract:

The Climate Change Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment carried out in the coastal regions of Thatta and Malir districts underscore the potential risks and challenges associated with climate change affecting water resources. This study was conducted by the author using participatory rural appraisal tools, with a greater focus on conducting focus group discussions, direct observations, key informant interviews, and other PRA tools. The assessment delves into the specific impacts of climate change along the coastal belt, concentrating on aspects such as rising sea levels, depletion of freshwater, alterations in precipitation patterns, fluctuations in water table levels, and the intrusion of saltwater into rivers. These factors have significant consequences for the availability and quality of water resources in coastal areas, manifesting in frequent migration and alterations in agriculture-based livelihood practices. Furthermore, the assessment assesses the adaptive capacity of communities and organizations in these coastal regions to effectively confront and alleviate the effects of climate change on water resources. It considers various measures, including infrastructure enhancements, water management practices, adjustments in agricultural approaches, and disaster preparedness, aiming to bolster adaptive capacity. The study's findings emphasize the necessity for prompt actions to address identified vulnerabilities and fortify the adaptive capacities of Sindh's coastal areas. This calls for comprehensive strategies and policies promoting sustainable water resource management, integrating climate change considerations, and providing essential resources and support to vulnerable communities.

Keywords: climate, climate change adaptation, disaster reselience, vulnerability, capacity, assessment

Procedia PDF Downloads 40

Authors: Qisheng Hu, Jianglei Han, Yue Yang, My Hoa Ha

Abstract:

When a company is considering purchasing software for commercial use, contract risk assessment is critical to identify risks to mitigate the potential adverse business impact, e.g., security, financial and regulatory risks. Contract risk assessment requires reviewers with specialized knowledge and time to evaluate the legal documents manually. Specifically, validating contracts for a software vendor requires the following steps: manual screening, interpreting legal documents, and extracting risk-prone segments. To automate the process, we proposed a framework to assist legal contract document risk identification, leveraging pre-trained deep learning models and natural language processing techniques. Given a set of pre-defined risk evaluation problems, our framework utilizes the pre-trained transformer-based models for question-answering to identify risk-prone sections in a contract. Furthermore, the question-answering model encodes the concatenated question-contract text and predicts the start and end position for clause extraction. Due to the limited labelled dataset for training, we leveraged transfer learning by fine-tuning the models with the CUAD dataset to enhance the model. On a dataset comprising 287 contract documents and 2000 labelled samples, our best model achieved an F1 score of 0.687.

Keywords: contract risk assessment, NLP, transfer learning, question answering

Procedia PDF Downloads 113

Authors: Frederic Jumelle, Kelvin So, Didan Deng

Abstract:

A method and system for neuropsychological performance test, comprising a mobile terminal, used to interact with a cloud server which stores user information and is logged into by the user through the terminal device; the user information is directly accessed through the terminal device and is processed by artificial neural network, and the user information comprises user facial emotions information, performance test answers information and user chronometrics. This assessment is used to evaluate the cognitive performance and emotional response of the subject to a series of dichotomous questions describing various situations of daily life and challenging the users' knowledge, values, ethics, and principles. In industrial applications, the timing of this assessment will depend on the users' need to obtain a service from a provider, such as opening a bank account, getting a mortgage or an insurance policy, authenticating clearance at work, or securing online payments.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, neurofinance, neuropsychology, risk management

Procedia PDF Downloads 123

Authors: R. M. R. Hussein

Abstract:

Sustainable urban waterfront development is one of the most interesting phenomena of urban renewal in the last decades. However, there are still many cities whose visual image is compromised due to the lack of a sustainable urban waterfront development, which consequently affects the place of those cities globally. This paper aims to reimagine the role of waterfront areas in city design, with a particular focus on Egypt, so that they provide attractive, sustainable urban environments while promoting the continued aesthetic development of the city overall. This aim will be achieved by determining the main principles of a sustainable urban waterfront and its applications. This paper concentrates on sustainability assessment rating systems. A number of international case-studies, wherein a city has applied the basic principles for a sustainable urban waterfront and have made use of sustainability assessment rating systems, have been selected as examples which can be applied to the urban waterfronts in Egypt. This paper establishes the importance of developing the design of urban environments in Egypt, as well as identifying the methods of sustainability application for urban waterfronts.

Keywords: sustainable urban waterfront, green infrastructure, energy efficient, Cairo

Procedia PDF Downloads 451

Authors: Heikki Valmu, Eero Kupila, Raisa Vartia

Abstract:

A major curricular reform was implemented in Metropolia UAS in 2014. The teaching was to be based on larger course entities and collaborative pedagogy. The most thorough reform was conducted in the department of electrical engineering and automation technology. It has been already shown that the reform has been extremely successful with respect to student progression and drop-out rate. The improvement of the results has been much more significant in this department compared to the other engineering departments making only minor pedagogical changes. In the beginning of the spring term of 2017, a thorough student feedback project was conducted in the department. The study consisted of thirty questions about the implementation of the curriculum, the student workload and other matters related to student satisfaction. The reply rate was more than 40%. The students were divided to four different categories: first year students [cat.1] and students of all the three different majors [categories 2-4]. These categories were found valid since all the students have the same course structure in the first two semesters after which they may freely select the major. All staff members are divided into four teams respectively. The curriculum consists of consecutive 15 credit (ECTS) courses each taught by a group of teachers (3-5). There are to be no end exams and continuous assessment is to be employed. In 2014 the different teacher groups were encouraged to employ innovatively different assessment methods within the given specs. One of these methods has been since used in categories 1 and 2. These students have to complete a number of compulsory tasks each week to pass the course and the actual grade is defined by a smaller number of tests throughout the course. The tasks vary from homework assignments, reports and laboratory exercises to larger projects and the actual smaller tests are usually organized during the regular lecture hours. The teachers of the other two majors have been pedagogically more conservative. The student progression has been better in categories 1 and 2 compared to categories 3 and 4. One of the main goals of this survey was to analyze the reasons for the difference and the assessment methods in detail besides the general student satisfaction. The results show that in the categories following more strictly the specified assessment model much more versatile assessment methods are used and the basic spirit of the new pedagogy is followed. Also, the student satisfaction is significantly better in categories 1 and 2. It may be clearly stated that continuous assessment and teacher cooperation improve the learning outcomes, student progression as well as student satisfaction. Too much academic freedom seems to lead to worse results [cat 3 and 4]. A standardized assessment model is launched for all students in autumn 2017. This model is different from the one used so far in categories 1 and 2 allowing more flexibility to teacher groups, but it will force all the teacher groups to follow the general rules in order to improve the results and the student satisfaction further.

Keywords: continuous assessment, course integration, curricular reform, student feedback

Procedia PDF Downloads 189

Authors: Majid Azizi, Payam Ghorbannezhad, Mostafa Amiri, Mohammad Ghofrani

Abstract:

Environmental issues in the furniture industry are of great importance due to the use of natural materials such as wood and chemical substances like adhesives and paints. These issues encompass environmental conservation and managing pollution and waste generated. Improper use of wood resources, along with the use of chemicals and their release, leads to the depletion of natural resources, damage to forests, and the emission of greenhouse gases. Therefore, identifying influential indicators in the life cycle assessment of classic furniture and proposing solutions to reduce environmental impacts becomes crucial. In this study, the life cycle of classic furniture was evaluated using a hierarchical analytical process from cradle to grave. The life cycle assessment was employed to assess the environmental impacts of the furniture industry, ranging from raw material extraction to waste disposal and recycling. The most significant indicators in the furniture industry's production chain were also identified. The results indicated that the wood quality indicator is the most essential factor in the life cycle of classic furniture. Furthermore, the relative contribution of each type of traditional furniture was proposed concerning impact categories in the life cycle assessment. The results showed that among the three proposed types, the design and production of furniture with prefabricated parts had the most negligible impact in categories such as global warming potential and ozone layer depletion compared to furniture design with solid wood and furniture design with recycled components. Among the three suggested types of furniture to reduce environmental impacts, producing furniture with solid wood or other woods was chosen as the most crucial solution.

Keywords: life cycle assessment, analytic hierarchy process, environmental issues, furniture

Procedia PDF Downloads 48

Authors: Hatam H. Ali, Mohd Shahrizal Sunar, Hoshang Kolivand, Mohd Azhar Bin M. Arsad

Abstract:

Rendering light shafts is one of the important topics in computer gaming and interactive applications. The methods and models that are used to generate light shafts play crucial role to make a scene more realistic in computer graphics. This article discusses the image-based shadows and geometric-based shadows that contribute in generating volumetric shadows and light shafts, depending on ray tracing, radiosity, and ray marching technique. The main aim of this study is to provide researchers with background on a progress of light scattering methods so as to make it available for them to determine the technique best suited to their goals. It is also hoped that our classification helps researchers find solutions to the shortcomings of each method.

Keywords: shaft of lights, realistic images, image-based, and geometric-based

Procedia PDF Downloads 263

Authors: Muhammad Saleem Ullah Khan Sumbal, Eric Tsui, Ricky Cheong, Eric See To

Abstract:

Organizations are posed to a threat of valuable knowledge loss when employees leave either due to retirement, resignation, job change or because of disabilities e.g. death, etc. Due to changing economic conditions, globalization, and aging workforce, organizations are facing challenges regarding retention of valuable knowledge. On the one hand, large number of employees are going to retire in the organizations whereas on the other hand, younger generation does not want to work in a company for a long time and there is an increasing trend of frequent job change among the new generation. Because of these factors, organizations need to make sure that they capture the knowledge of employee before (s)he walks out of the door. The first step in this process is to know what type of knowledge employee possesses and whether this knowledge is important for the organization. Researchers reveal in the literature that despite the serious consequences of knowledge loss in terms of organizational productivity and competitive advantage, there has not been much work done in the area of knowledge loss assessment of departing employees. An important step in the knowledge retention process is to determine the critical ‘at risk’ knowledge. Thus, knowledge loss risk assessment is a process by which organizations can gauge the importance of knowledge of the departing employee. The purpose of this study is to explore this topic of knowledge loss risk assessment by conducting a qualitative study in oil and gas sector. By engaging in dialogues with managers and executives of the organizations through in-depth interviews and adopting a grounded methodology approach, the research will explore; i) Are there any measures adopted by organizations to assess the risk of knowledge loss from departing employees? ii) Which factors are crucial for knowledge loss assessment in the organizations? iii) How can we prioritize the employees for knowledge retention according to their criticality? Grounded theory approach is used when there is not much knowledge available in the area under research and thus new knowledge is generated about the topic through an in-depth exploration of the topic by using methods such as interviews and using a systematic approach to analyze the data. The outcome of the study will generate a model for the risk of knowledge loss through factors such as the likelihood of knowledge loss, the consequence/impact of knowledge loss and quality of the knowledge loss of departing employees. Initial results show that knowledge loss assessment is quite crucial for the organizations and it helps in determining what types of knowledge employees possess e.g. organizations knowledge, subject matter expertise or relationships knowledge. Based on that, it can be assessed which employee is more important for the organizations and how to prioritize the knowledge retention process for departing employees.

Keywords: knowledge loss, risk assessment, departing employees, Hong Kong organizations

Procedia PDF Downloads 389

Authors: Y. Chabouni, F. Amireche

Abstract:

Densities of glycerol + 1-butanol or 2-butanol mixtures were measured over the temperature range 293.15 to 303.15 K at atmospheric pressure, over the entire composition range, with a vibrating tube densimeter. Excess molar volumes, apparent and partial molar volumes of glycerol and butanol, thermal isobaric expansivities of the mixture and partial molar expansivities of the components were calculated. The excess molar volumes of the mixtures are negative at all temperatures, and deviations from ideality increase with increasing temperature. Excess molar volumes were fitted to the Redlich–Kister equation. Partial molar volumes of glycerol decrease with increasing butanol concentration.

Keywords: 1-Butanol, 2-Butanol, density, excess molar volume, glycerol, partial molar property, thermal isobaric expansivities

Procedia PDF Downloads 173

Authors: F. Louati, H. Trabelsi, M. Jamei

Abstract:

Desiccation cracks following drainage-humidification cycles. With water loss, mainly due to evaporation, suction in the soil increases, producing volumetric shrinkage and tensile stress. When the tensile stress reaches tensile strength, the soil cracks. Desiccation cracks networks can directly control soil hydraulic properties. The aim of this study was for quantifying the hydraulic properties for examples the water retention curve, the saturated hydraulic conductivity, the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity function, the shrinkage dynamics in Tibar soil- clay soil in the Northern of Tunisia. Then a numerical simulation of unsaturated hydraulic properties for a crack network has been attempted. The finite elements code ‘CODE_BRIGHT’ can be used to follow the hydraulic distribution in cracked porous media.

Keywords: desiccation, cracks, permeability, unsaturated hydraulic flow, simulation

Procedia PDF Downloads 278

Authors: Taki Eddine Seghier, Mohd Hamdan Ahmad, Yaik-Wah Lim, Samuel Opeyemi Williams

Abstract:

The assessment of building sustainability to achieve a specific green benchmark and the preparation of the required documents in order to receive a green building certification, both are considered as major challenging tasks for green building design team. However, this labor and time-consuming process can take advantage of the available Building Information Modeling (BIM) features such as material take-off and scheduling. Furthermore, the workflow can be automated in order to track potentially achievable credit points and provide rating feedback for several design options by using integrated Visual Programing (VP) to handle the stored parameters within the BIM model. Hence, this study proposes a BIM-based tool that uses Green Building Index (GBI) rating system requirements as a unique input case to evaluate the building sustainability in the design stage of the building project life cycle. The tool covers two key models for data extraction, firstly, a model for data extraction, calculation and the classification of achievable credit points in a green template, secondly, a model for the generation of the required documents for green building certification. The tool was validated on a BIM model of residential building and it serves as proof of concept that building sustainability assessment of GBI certification can be automatically evaluated and documented through BIM.

Keywords: green building rating system, GBRS, building information modeling, BIM, visual programming, VP, sustainability assessment

Procedia PDF Downloads 312

Authors: Nurfirdawati Muhamad Hanafi, Azmanirah Ab Rahman, Marina Ibrahim Mukhtar, Jamil Ahmad, Sarebah Warman

Abstract:

This study was conducted to generate empirical evidence on validity and reliability of the item of Competency Assessment Implementation (CAI) Instrument using Rasch Model for polythomous data aided by Winstep software version 3.68. The construct validity was examined by analyzing the point-measure correlation index (PTMEA), in fit and outfit MNSQ values; meanwhile the reliability was examined by analyzing item reliability index. A survey technique was used as the major method with the CAI instrument on 156 teachers from vocational schools. The results have shown that the reliability of CAI Instrument items were between 0.80 and 0.98. PTMEA Correlation is in positive values, in which the item is able to distinguish between the ability of the respondent. Statistical data obtained shows that out of 154 items, 12 items from the instrument suggested to be omitted. This study is hoped could bring a new direction to the process of data analysis in educational research.

Keywords: competency assessment, reliability, validity, item analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 426

Authors: G. S. Dangayach, Gaurav Gaurav, Alok Bihari Singh

Abstract:

The popularity of vehicles in both industrialized and developing economies led to a rise in the production of tyres. People have become increasingly concerned about the tyre industry's possible environmental impact in the last two decades. The life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology was used to assess the environmental impacts of industrial tyres throughout their life cycle, which included four stages: manufacture, transportation, consumption, and end-of-life. The majority of prior studies focused on tyre recycling and disposal. Only a few studies have been conducted on the environmental impact of tyre production process. LCA methodology was employed to determine the environmental impact of tyre manufacture process (gate to gate) at an Indian firm. Comparative analysis was also conducted to identify the environmental hotspots in various stages of tire manufacturing. This study is limited to gate-to-gate analysis of manufacturing processes with the functional unit of a single tyre weighing 50 kg. GaBi software was used to do both qualitative and quantitative analysis. Different environmental impact indicators are measured in terms of CO2, SO2, NOx, GWP (global warming potential), AP (acidification potential), EP (eutrophication potential), POCP (photochemical oxidant formation potential), and HTP (toxic human potential). The results demonstrate that the major contributor to environmental pollution is electricity. The Banbury process has a very high negative environmental impact, which causes respiratory problems to workers and operators.

Keywords: life cycle assessment (LCA), environmental impact indicators, tyre manufacturing process, environmental impact assessment

Procedia PDF Downloads 138

Authors: Shaleeza Sohail

Abstract:

Self, and peer evaluations are some of the main components in almost all group assignments and projects in higher education institutes. These evaluations provide students an opportunity to better understand the learning outcomes of the assignment and/or project. A number of online systems have been developed for this purpose that provides automated assessment and feedback of students’ contribution in a group environment based on self and peer evaluations. All these systems lack a progressive aspect of these assessments and feedbacks which is the most crucial factor for ongoing improvement and life-long learning. In addition, a number of assignments and projects are designed in a manner that smaller or initial assessment components lead to a final assignment or project. In such cases, the evaluation and feedback may provide students an insight into their performance as a group member for a particular component after the submission. Ideally, it should also create an opportunity to improve for next assessment component as well. Self and Peer Progressive Assessment and Feedback System encourages students to perform better in the next assessment by providing a comparative analysis of the individual’s contribution score on an ongoing basis. Hence, the student sees the change in their own contribution scores during the complete project based on smaller assessment components. Self-Assessment Factor is calculated as an indicator of how close the self-perception of the student’s own contribution is to the perceived contribution of that student by other members of the group. Peer-Assessment Factor is calculated to compare the perception of one student’s contribution as compared to the average value of the group. Our system also provides a Group Coherence Factor which shows collectively how group members contribute to the final submission. This feedback is provided for students and teachers to visualize the consistency of members’ contribution perceived by its group members. Teachers can use these factors to judge the individual contributions of the group members in the combined tasks and allocate marks/grades accordingly. This factor is shown to students for all groups undertaking same assessment, so the group members can comparatively analyze the efficiency of their group as compared to other groups. Our System provides flexibility to the instructors for generating their own customized criteria for self and peer evaluations based on the requirements of the assignment. Students evaluate their own and other group members’ contributions on the scale from significantly higher to significantly lower. The preliminary testing of the prototype system is done with a set of predefined cases to explicitly show the relation of system feedback factors to the case studies. The results show that such progressive feedback to students can be used to motivate self-improvement and enhanced team skills. The comparative group coherence can promote a better understanding of the group dynamics in order to improve team unity and fair division of team tasks.

Keywords: effective group work, improvement of team skills, progressive feedback, self and peer assessment system

Procedia PDF Downloads 174

Authors: Tayyaba Bibi, Jenny Ronan, Robert Hernan, Kathleen O’Rourke, Brendan McHugh, Evin McGovern, Michelle Giltrap, Gordon Chambers, James Wilson

Abstract:

Sediment contamination is a major source of ecosystem stress and has received significant attention from the scientific community. Both the Water Framework Directive (WFD) and Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) require a robust set of tools for biological and chemical monitoring. For the MSFD in particular, causal links between contaminant and effects need to be assessed. Appropriate assessment tools are required in order to make an accurate evaluation. In this study, a range of recommended sediment bioassays and chemical measurements are assessed in a number of potentially impacted and lowly impacted locations around Ireland. Previously, assessment indices have been developed on individual compartments, i.e. contaminant levels or biomarker/bioassay responses. A number of assessment indices are applied to chemical and ecotoxicological data from the Seachange project (Project code) and compared including the metal pollution index (MPI), pollution load index (PLI) and Chapman index for chemistry as well as integrated biomarker response (IBR). The benefits and drawbacks of the use of indices and aggregation techniques are discussed. In addition to this, modelling of raw data is investigated to analyse links between contaminant and effects.

Keywords: bioassays, contamination indices, ecotoxicity, marine environment, sediments

Procedia PDF Downloads 210

Authors: Svenja Pieritz, Jakab Pilaszanovich

Abstract:

Collaborative Problem Solving (CPS) is recognized as being one of the most important skills of the 21st century with having a potential impact on education, job selection, and collaborative systems design. Therefore, CPS has been adopted in several standardized tests, including the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) in 2015. A significant challenge of evaluating CPS is the underlying interplay of cognitive and social skills, which requires a more holistic assessment. However, the majority of the existing tests are using a questionnaire-based assessment, which oversimplifies this interplay and undermines ecological validity. Two major difficulties were identified: Firstly, the creation of a controllable, real-time environment allowing natural behaviors and communication between at least two people. Secondly, the development of an appropriate method to collect and synthesize both cognitive and social metrics of collaboration. This paper proposes a more holistic and automated approach to the assessment of CPS. To address these two difficulties, a multiplayer problem-solving game called Sea of Light was developed: An environment allowing students to deploy a variety of measurable collaborative strategies. This controlled environment enables researchers to monitor behavior through the analysis of game actions and chat. The according solution for the statistical model is a combined approach of Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Bayesian network analysis. Social exchanges via the in-game chat are analyzed through NLP and fed into the Bayesian network along with other game actions. This Bayesian network synthesizes evidence to track and update different subdimensions of CPS. Major findings focus on the correlations between the evidences collected through in- game actions, the participants’ chat features and the CPS self- evaluation metrics. These results give an indication of which game mechanics can best describe CPS evaluation. Overall, Sea of Light gives test administrators control over different problem-solving scenarios and difficulties while keeping the student engaged. It enables a more complete assessment based on complex, socio-cognitive information on actions and communication. This tool permits further investigations of the effects of group constellations and personality in collaborative problem-solving.

Keywords: bayesian network, collaborative problem solving, game-based assessment, natural language processing

Procedia PDF Downloads 116

Authors: Jerome T. Tolentino, Ma. Victoria Rejuso, Jara Kaye Villanueva, Loureal Camille Inocencio, Ma. Rosario Concepcion O. Ang

Abstract:

Wind energy is rapidly emerging as the primary source of electricity in the Philippines, although developing an accurate wind resource model is difficult. In this study, Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model, an open source mesoscale Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) model, was used to produce a 1-year atmospheric simulation with 4 km resolution on the Ilocos Region of the Philippines. The WRF output (netCDF) extracts the annual mean wind speed data using a Python-based Graphical User Interface. Lastly, wind resource assessment was produced using a GIS software. Results of the study showed that it is more flexible to use Python scripts than using other post-processing tools in dealing with netCDF files. Using WRF Model, Python, and Geographic Information Systems, a reliable wind resource map is produced.

Keywords: wind resource assessment, weather research and forecasting (WRF) model, python, GIS software

Procedia PDF Downloads 429

Authors: T. Ito, K. Kawaguchi, R. Ohta

Abstract:

The purpose of this study is to provide a guideline to assist globally-minded companies in developing task-based English-language programs for their employees. After conducting an online self-assessment questionnaire comprised of 45 job-related tasks, we analyzed responses received from 3,000 Japanese company employees and developed a checklist that considered three areas: (i) the percentage of those who need to accomplish English-language tasks in their workplace (need for English), (ii) a five-point self-assessment score (task performance level), and (iii) the impact of previous task experience on perceived performance (experience factor). The 45 tasks were graded according to five proficiency levels. Our results helped us to create a core guideline that may assist companies in two ways: first, in helping determine which tasks employees with a certain English proficiency should be able to satisfactorily carry out, and secondly, to quickly prioritize which business-related English skills they would need in future English language programs.

Keywords: business settings, can-do statements, English language training programs, self-assessment, task experience

Procedia PDF Downloads 237

Authors: Bouba Oumarou Aboubakar, HongXia Li, Sardar Annes Farooq

Abstract:

The Belt and Road Initiative’s success strongly depends on the safety of all the million workers on construction projects sites. As the new BRI is directed toward Africa and meets a completely different culture from the Chinese project managers, maintaining low risk for workers risks shall be closely related to cultural sharing and mutual understanding. This is why this work introduces a cultural-wise safety management framework for Chinese Construction projects in Africa. The theoretical contribution of this paper is an improved risk assessment framework that integrates language, culture and difficulty of controlling risk factors into one approach. Practically, this study provides not only a useful tool for project safety management practitioners but the full understanding of all risks that may arise in the BRI projects in Africa.

Keywords: cultural-wise, safety culture, risk assessment, Chinese construction, BRI projects, Africa

Procedia PDF Downloads 75

Authors: Jongsung Kim, Daegun Han, Myungjin Lee, Soojun Kim, Hung Soo Kim

Abstract:

Recently, the frequency and magnitude of natural disasters are gradually increasing due to climate change. Especially in Korea, large-scale damage caused by heavy rainfall frequently occurs due to rapid urbanization. Therefore, this study proposed a Heavy rain Damage Risk Index (HDRI) using PSR (Pressure – State - Response) structure for heavy rain risk assessment. We constructed pressure index, state index, and response index for the risk assessment of each local government in Gyeonggi-do province, and the evaluation indices were determined by principal component analysis. The indices were standardized using the Z-score method then HDRIs were obtained for 31 local governments in the province. The HDRI is categorized into three classes, say, the safest class is 1st class. As the results, the local governments of the 1st class were 15, 2nd class 7, and 3rd class 9. From the study, we were able to identify the risk class due to the heavy rainfall for each local government. It will be useful to develop the heavy rainfall prediction function by risk class, and this was performed in this issue. Also, this risk class could be used for the decision making for efficient disaster management. Acknowledgements: This research was supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT & Future Planning (2017R1A2B3005695).

Keywords: natural disaster, heavy rain risk assessment, HDRI, PSR

Procedia PDF Downloads 184

Authors: Rabia Iftikhar, Iqra Tariq

Abstract:

The current study examined the parental acceptance-rejection and personality assessment of sexually abused children. A sample of 50 control (25 girls and 25 boys) and 50 abused (25 girls and 25 boys) were drawn through the process of purposive sampling (N = 100). The sample consisted of school going children between the ages of 8-16. The sample was taken from non-governmental schools and NGO. Parental Acceptance-Rejection Questionnaire, Personality Assessment Questionnaire and Emotional STROOP task, were used to explore the relationship between the variables. The results showed that girls showed greater parental rejection than boys, were less psychologically and emotionally adjusted than boys. The results also showed that boys were high on psychological abuse while girls were high on physical and sexual abuse. The results of STROOP showed that sexually abused children showed more reaction time than non-abused children.

Keywords: abused, adjustment, Pakistani, stroop

Procedia PDF Downloads 213

Authors: I. Nava-Arenas, N. Ruiz-Ordaz, C. J. Galindez-Mayer, M. L. Luna-Guido, S. L. Ruiz-López, A. Cabrera-Orozco, D. Nava-Arenas

Abstract:

Among the most important herbicides, the organochlorine compounds are of considerable interest due to their recalcitrance to the chemical, biological, and photolytic degradation, their persistence in the environment, their mobility, and their bioacummulation. The most widely used herbicides in North America are primarily 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), the triazines (atrazine and simazine), and to a lesser extent diuron. The contamination of soils and water bodies frequently occurs by mixtures of these xenobiotics. For this reason, in this work, the operational stability to changes in the composition of the medium supplied to an aerobic biofilm reactor was studied. The reactor was packed with fragments of volcanic rock that retained a complex microbial film, able to degrade a mixture of organochlorine herbicides atrazine, simazine, diuron and 2,4-D, and whose members have microbial genes encoding the main catabolic enzymes atzABCD, tfdACD and puhB. To acclimate the attached microbial community, the biofilm reactor was fed continuously with a mineral minimal medium containing the herbicides (in mg•L-1): diuron, 20.4; atrazine, 14.2, simazine, 11.4, and 2,4-D, 59.7, as carbon and nitrogen sources. Throughout the bioprocess, removal efficiencies of 92-100% for herbicides, 78-90% for COD, 92-96% for TOC and 61-83% for dehalogenation were reached. In the microbial community, the genes encoding catabolic enzymes of different herbicides tfdACD, puhB and, occasionally, the genes atzA and atzC were detected. After the acclimatization, the triazine herbicides were eliminated from the mixture formulation. Volumetric loading rates of the mixture 2,4-D and diuron were continuously supplied to the reactor (1.9-21.5 mg herbicides •L-1 •h-1). Along the bioprocess, the removal efficiencies obtained were 86-100% for the mixture of herbicides, 63-94% for for COD, 90-100% for COT, and dehalogenation values of 63-100%. It was also observed that the genes encoding the enzymes in the catabolism of both herbicides, tfdACD and puhB, were consistently detected; and, occasionally, the atzA and atzC. Subsequently, the triazine herbicide atrazine and simazine were restored to the medium supply. Different volumetric charges of this mixture were continuously fed to the reactor (2.9 to 12.6 mg herbicides •L-1 •h-1). During this new treatment process, removal efficiencies of 65-95% for the mixture of herbicides, 63-92% for COD, 66-89% for TOC and 73-94% of dehalogenation were observed. In this last case, the genes tfdACD, puhB and atzABC encoding for the enzymes involved in the catabolism of the distinct herbicides were consistently detected. The atzD gene, encoding the cyanuric hydrolase enzyme, could not be detected, though it was determined that there was partial degradation of cyanuric acid. In general, the community in the biofilm reactor showed some catabolic stability, adapting to changes in loading rates and composition of the mixture of herbicides, and preserving their ability to degrade the four herbicides tested; although, there was a significant delay in the response time to recover to degradation of the herbicides.

Keywords: biodegradation, biofilm reactor, microbial community, organochlorine herbicides

Procedia PDF Downloads 423