Search results for: special theory of relativity

Authors: Altaf Hussain, Norashidah Hashim

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An important aspect needed for promoting entrepreneurship is to encourage individuals for becoming entrepreneurs by endowing them with the required skills and knowledge for identifying the opportunities and turning these opportunities into successful ventures. Literature has recognized entrepreneurship education has significant role in motivating individual’s intention to become an entrepreneurs. Developing upon the insights based on dynamic view of human capital theory, this conceptual paper explores the role of entrepreneurial alertness in a linkage between entrepreneurial education and intentions to become an entrepreneur. Prior knowledge which can be acquired through entrepreneurship education and or experience is an antecedent for developing specific human capital of alertness for identifying the opportunities which impact on individual intentions. This suggests cause & effect relationship between entrepreneurship education and intentions through entrepreneurial alertness by impacting on the attitude, social norms and perceived behavioral control of an individual which can motivate individual intention of becoming an entrepreneur. Thus, alertness skill acquired through entrepreneurship education for identifying the profitable opportunities mediates the relationship between entrepreneurship education and intentions.

Keywords: entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship education, alertness, intentions, human capital

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Authors: Wafa Nouari

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This study compares four novels written in English by Algerian writers: Donkey Heart Monkey Mind by Djaffar Chetouane, Pebble in the River by Noufel Bouzeboudja, Sophia in the White City by Belkacem Mezghouchene, and The Inner Light of Darkness by Iheb Kharab. It applies comparative research methods and cultural studies as the literary theory to analyze how these novels depict Algeria’s culture, history, and identity through their genre, style, tone, perspective, and structure. It identifies some common themes shared by them, such as the quest for freedom and dignity in a context of oppression and colonialism and the use of storytelling, imagination, and creativity as coping mechanisms for trauma and adversity. It also highlights their differences in terms of style, genre, setting, period, and perspectives. It concludes that these novels offer rich and diverse insights into Algeria and its multifaceted reality. It also discusses some limitations and challenges related to Algerian literature in English and suggests some directions for future research.

Keywords: Algeri an literature in English, comparative research methods, cultural studies, diversity and complexity

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Authors: Mariana T. Teixeira, Joana P. Luz

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This paper is based on assumptions of psycholinguistics and investigates the processing of ambiguous sentences in Brazilian Portuguese. Specifically, it aims to verify if there is a difference in processing time between sentences with lexical ambiguity and sentences with structural (or syntactic) ambiguity. We hypothesize, based on the Garden Path Theory, that the two types of ambiguity entail different cognitive efforts, since sentences with structural ambiguity require that two structures be processed, whereas ambiguous phrases whose root of ambiguity is in a word require the processing of a single structure, which admits a variation of punctual meaning, within the scope of only one lexical item. In order to test this hypothesis, 25 undergraduate students, whose average age was 27.66 years, native speakers of Brazilian Portuguese, performed a self-monitoring reading task of ambiguous sentences, which had lexical and structural ambiguity. The results suggest that unambiguous sentence processing is faster than ambiguous sentence processing, whether it has lexical or structural ambiguity. In addition, participants presented a mean reading time greater for sentences with syntactic ambiguity than for sentences with lexical ambiguity, evidencing a greater cognitive effort in sentence processing with structural ambiguity.

Keywords: Brazilian portuguese, lexical ambiguity, sentence processing, syntactic ambiguity

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Authors: Zhaocheng Shang

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In order to study the topic of cities crossing rivers, a Four-Dimensional Analysis Method consisting of timeline, X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis is proposed. Policies, plans, and their implications are summarized and researched along with the timeline. The X-axis is the direction which is parallel to the river. The research area was chosen because of its important connection function. It is proposed that more surface water network should be built because of the ecological orientation of the research area. And the analysis of groundwater makes it for sure that the proposal is feasible. After the blue water network is settled, the green landscape network which is surrounded by it could be planned. The direction which is transversal to the river (Y-axis) should run through the transportation axis so that the urban texture could stretch in an ecological way. Therefore, it is suggested that the work of the planning bureau and river bureau should be coordinated. The Z-axis research is on the section view of the river, especially on the Yellow River’s special feature of being a perched river. Based on water control safety demands, river parks could be constructed on the embankment buffer zone, whereas many kinds of ornamental trees could be used to build the buffer zone. City Crossing River is a typical case where we make use of landscaping to build a symbiotic relationship between the urban landscape architecture and the environment. The local environment should be respected in the process of city expansion. The planning order of "Benefit- Flood Control Safety" should be replaced by "Flood Control Safety - Landscape Architecture- People - Benefit".

Keywords: blue-green landscape network, city crossing river, four-dimensional analysis method, planning order

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Authors: Laurie Prange-Martin, Romeo Turcan, Norman Fraser

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The aim of this study is to identify the conditions required and describe the process of emergence for a new economic sector created from new or established businesses. A systematic literature review of English-language studies published from 1983 to 2016 was conducted using the following databases: ABI/INFORM Complete; Business Source Premiere; Google Scholar; Scopus; and Web of Science. The two main terms of business sector and emergence were used in the systematic literature search, along with another seventeen synonyms for each these main terms. From the search results, 65 publications met the requirements of an empirical study discussing and reporting the conditions of new sector emergence. A meta-analysis of the literature examined suggest that there are six favourable conditions and five key individuals or groups required for new sector emergence. In addition, the results from the meta-analysis showed that there are eighteen theories used in the literature to explain the phenomenon of new sector emergence, which can be grouped in three study disciplines. With such diversity in theoretical frameworks used in the 65 empirical studies, the authors of this paper propose the development of a new theory of sector emergence.

Keywords: economic geography, new sector emergence, economic diversification, regional economies

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Authors: Dawood Al Chanti, Alice Caplier

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Sparse representations of signals have received a great deal of attention in recent years. In this paper, the interest of using sparse representation as a mean for performing sparse discriminative analysis between spontaneous facial expressions is demonstrated. An automatic facial expressions recognition system is presented. It uses a KSVD-SVM approach which is made of three main stages: A pre-processing and feature extraction stage, which solves the problem of shared subspace distribution based on the random projection theory, to obtain low dimensional discriminative and reconstructive features; A dictionary learning and sparse coding stage, which uses the KSVD model to learn discriminative under or over dictionaries for sparse coding; Finally a classification stage, which uses a SVM classifier for facial expressions recognition. Our main concern is to be able to recognize non-basic affective states and non-acted expressions. Extensive experiments on the JAFFE static acted facial expressions database but also on the DynEmo dynamic spontaneous facial expressions database exhibit very good recognition rates.

Keywords: dictionary learning, random projection, pose and spontaneous facial expression, sparse representation

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Authors: Javad Khazaei, Rick Blum

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Distributed control is an efficient and flexible approach for coordination of multi-agent systems. One of the main challenges in designing a distributed controller is identifying the governing dynamics of the dynamical systems. Data-driven system identification is currently undergoing a revolution. With the availability of high-fidelity measurements and historical data, model-free identification of dynamical systems can facilitate the control design without tedious modeling of high-dimensional and/or nonlinear systems. This paper develops a distributed control design using consensus theory for linear and nonlinear dynamical systems using sparse identification of system dynamics. Compared with existing consensus designs that heavily rely on knowing the detailed system dynamics, the proposed model-free design can accurately capture the dynamics of the system with available measurements and input data and provide guaranteed performance in consensus and tracking problems. Heterogeneous damped oscillators are chosen as examples of dynamical system for validation purposes.

Keywords: consensus tracking, distributed control, model-free control, sparse identification of dynamical systems

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Authors: Zahid Ullah, Atlas Khan

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The presented research is dedicated to an extensive examination of the regularity properties associated with a specific class of equations, namely extremely degenerate elliptic equations. This study holds significance in unraveling the complexities inherent in these equations and understanding the smoothness of their solutions. The focus is on analyzing the regularity of results, aiming to contribute to the broader field of mathematical theory. By delving into the intricacies of extremely degenerate elliptic equations, the research seeks to advance our understanding beyond conventional analyses, addressing challenges posed by degeneracy and pushing the boundaries of classical analytical methods. The motivation for this exploration lies in the practical applicability of mathematical models, particularly in real-world scenarios where physical phenomena exhibit characteristics that challenge traditional mathematical modeling. The research aspires to fill gaps in the current understanding of regularity properties within solutions to extremely degenerate elliptic equations, ultimately contributing to both theoretical foundations and practical applications in diverse scientific fields.

Keywords: investigating smoothness, extremely degenerate elliptic equations, regularity properties, mathematical analysis, complexity solutions

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Authors: Sibo Lu, Zhongkai Qian, Haotian Zhang

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This article examines the phenomenon of micro-sovereignty in the context of property management and its implications for biopolitics and urban governance in mainland China. It explores the transformation of urban spaces into privatized communities managed by property companies, leading to the reterritorialization of urban areas and the segmentation of urban populations. Drawing on legal frameworks, we analyze how commercial real estate development and property management have reshaped the urban landscape, placing nearly all urban residents within service areas of property management firms, thus establishing micro-sovereign entities that exercise control over residential spaces. Through a critique of property management's sovereign effects on social organization and the exploration of autonomous, democratic alternatives in community governance, this article contributes to the broader discourse on sovereignty, governance, and resistance within the urban milieu of contemporary China. It underscores the urgent need for more democratic forms of community management that can transcend the capitalist logic of property management companies and foster genuine participatory governance at the grassroots level.

Keywords: biopolitic, critical theory, political sociology, political philosophy

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Authors: Julie De Pril, Cécile Godfroid

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Nowadays, achieving double bottom line has become a widely recognized objective for microfinance institutions (MFIs). They would like to be financially sustainable or even profitable while continuing to focus on their social mission. In order to rise their financial performance, MFIs tend to grant financial bonuses to loan officers so that they increase their performance and efficiency. However, as argued by motivation crowding theory, monetary rewards may not have only positive effects but can also erode intrinsic motivation. Since MFIs pursue social objectives in addition to their financial ones, their employees’ intrinsic motivations may include the willingness to help others, like in many non-profit organizations. This is called pro-social motivation in the psychology literature. Particularly, this type of motivation should be highly reflected among microfinance loan officers as a part of their role consists in improving clients’ welfare. Therefore, it seems to be crucial for MFIs to find an equilibrium between the efficiency benefits obtained thanks to the granting of financial incentives and the deterioration of social performance that may result from the reduction of the loan officers’ pro-social motivation. This paper attempts to suggest, with a mathematical model, an optimal incentive scheme MFIs could rely on.

Keywords: loan officers, microfinance, prosocial motivation, rewards

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Authors: Mohamed M. Elsherbiny, Ahmed T. Helal Ibrahim

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Social isolation is one of the common problems faced visual impaired students especially in new situations. It refers to lack of interactions with others (students, staff members, and others) and dissatisfaction of social networks with others. In addition, it means "a lack of quantity and quality of social contacts". The situation became more complicated if we know that visual impaired students at Sultan Qaboos University were in special schools for the blind completely away from any integration with regular student, which may lead to isolation for being with regular students for the first time. Because the researcher is an academic advisor for all blind students in the College of Arts and Social Sciences at Sultan Qaboos University, he has noted (from the regular meetings with them) some aspects of isolation and many complaints from staff which motivated the researcher to try to alleviate the problem. Logotherapy is an important therapy used in clinical social work with various problems to help children and young people who are facing problems related to the lack of meaning in their life. So, the aim of the therapy is to find meaning in life and to be satisfied with that life. The basic meaning for visual impaired students in this study is to provide opportunities to build relationships and friendships with others and help them to be satisfied about interactions with their networks. The study aimed to identify whether there is a relationship between the use of logotherapy and alleviating social isolation for visual impaired students. This study is considered one of the quasi-experimental studies, the researcher has used experimental method. The researcher used one design which is before and after experiment on two groups, one control (did not apply to the therapy) and experimental group which is applied to the therapy. About the study tools, social isolation scale (SIS) was used to assess the degree of isolation. The sample was (20) of the visually impaired students at the College of Arts and Social Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University. The results showed the effectiveness of logotherapy in alleviating isolation for students.

Keywords: social isolation, logotherapy, visually impaired, disability

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Authors: Redouane Tlemsani, Abdelkader Benyettou

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Work is in on line Arabic character recognition and the principal motivation is to study the Arab manuscript with on line technology. This system is a Markovian system, which one can see as like a Dynamic Bayesian Network (DBN). One of the major interests of these systems resides in the complete models training (topology and parameters) starting from training data. Our approach is based on the dynamic Bayesian Networks formalism. The DBNs theory is a Bayesians networks generalization to the dynamic processes. Among our objective, amounts finding better parameters, which represent the links (dependences) between dynamic network variables. In applications in pattern recognition, one will carry out the fixing of the structure, which obliges us to admit some strong assumptions (for example independence between some variables). Our application will relate to the Arabic isolated characters on line recognition using our laboratory database: NOUN. A neural tester proposed for DBN external optimization. The DBN scores and DBN mixed are respectively 70.24% and 62.50%, which lets predict their further development; other approaches taking account time were considered and implemented until obtaining a significant recognition rate 94.79%.

Keywords: Arabic on line character recognition, dynamic Bayesian network, pattern recognition, computer vision

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Authors: Montasser Mohamed Abdelwahab Mahmoud, Abdelwahab Saber Esawi

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The language of the Qur’an has a wide range of understanding, reflection, and meanings. Therefore, translation of the Qur’an is inevitably nothing but a translation of the interpretation of the meanings of the Qur’an. It requires special competencies and skills for translators so that they can get close to the intended meaning of the verse of the Qur’an and convey it with precision. In the Arabic language, the verbal noun “AlMasdar” is a very important derivative that properly expresses the verbal idea in the form of a noun. It sounds the same as the base form of the verb with minor changes in the vowel pattern. It is one of the important topics in morphology. The morphologists divided verbal nouns into auditory and analogical, and they stated that that the verbal nouns (Masadars) originating from three-letter verbs are auditory, although they set controls for some of them in order to preserve them. As for the lexicographers, they mentioned the verbal nouns while talking about the lexical materials, and in some cases, their explanation of them exceeded that made by the morphologists, especially in their discussion of structures that the morphologists did not refer to in their books. The verb kafara (disbelief), for example, has three patterns, namely: al-kufْr, al-kufrān, and al-kufūr, and it was mentioned in the Holy Qur’an with different connotations. The verb ṣāma (fasted) with his two patterns (al-ṣaūm and al-ṣīām) was mentioned in the Holy Qur’an while their semantic meaning is different. The problem discussed in this research paper lied in the "linguistic loss" committed by translators when dealing with Islamic religious texts, especially the Qur'an. The study tried to identify the strategy adopted by translators of the Holy Qur'an in translating words that were classified as verbal nouns through analyzing the translation rendered by five translations of the Qur’an into English: Yusuf Ali, Pickthall, Mohsin Khan, Muhammad Sarwar, and Shakir. This study was limited to the verbal nouns in the Quraan that originate from three-letter verbs and have different semantic meanings.

Keywords: pattern, three-letter verbs, translation of the Quran, verbal nouns

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Authors: Joy Aworo-Okoroh

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Literary texts are mirrors of a real-life situation. Thus, authors choose the linguistic items that would best encode their intended meanings and messages. However, words mean more than they seem. The meaning of words is not static rather, it is dynamic as they constantly enter into relationships within a context. Literary texts can only be meaningful if all pragmatic cues are identified and interpreted. Drawing upon Teun Van Djik's theory of local pragmatic coherence, it is established that words enter into relations in a text and these relations account for sequential speech acts in the texts. Comprehension of the text is dependent on the interpretation of these relations.To show the relevance of pragmatic coherence in literary text analysis, ten conversations were selected in Americanah in order to give a clear idea of the pragmatic relations used. The conversations were analysed, identifying the speech act and epistemic relations inherent in them. A subtle analysis of the structure of the conversations was also carried out. It was discovered that justification is the most commonly used relation and the meaning of the text is dependent on the interpretation of these instances' pragmatic coherence. The study concludes that to effectively teach literature in English, pragmatic coherence should be incorporated as words mean more than they say.

Keywords: pragmatic coherence, epistemic coherence, speech act, Americanah

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Authors: Parisa Toloue Hayat Azar

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Businesses have been playing an important role in the economic growth and social welfare of cities; however, they generally have negative reputations regarding their impact on environmental issues regarding sustainability. However, some believe that by incorporating strategic Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities, businesses will be able to solve problems in society, including environmental ones. Besides economic, social and environmental aspects, governance is another essential pillar for creating sustainable communities and cities. Governance plays a key role in the success of sustainable projects or creating long lasting legacies; an example of this can be creating circular supply chain with collaboration between different businesses, which in the end results in positive economic, social and environmental outcomes for everyone. Governance is a very important parameter in creating the legacy of low carbon and environmentally friendly city due to the fact that, besides building energy efficient buildings and infrastructure, citizens who are also part of the success of this system should know about how to behave and collaborate with others to make the system work. By deploying the philosophy of cultural historical activity theory, this paper explains how influential businesses have been and can be still used as a mediating tool for governance purposes, and succeed in creating shared value and lasting legacy within society.

Keywords: business, governance, CSR, sustainability

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Authors: Dhara Shah, Chandrakant Shah

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Construction industry utilizes plenty of water in the name of curing. Looking at the present scenario, the days are not so far when all construction industries will have to switch over to an alternative-self curing system, not only to save water for sustainable development of the environment but also to promote indoor and outdoor construction activities even in water scarce areas. At the same time, curing is essential for the development of proper strength and durability. IS 456-2000 recommends a curing period of 7 days for ordinary Portland cement concrete, and 10 to 14 days for concrete prepared using mineral admixtures or blended cements. But, being the last act in the concreting operations, it is often neglected or not fully done. Consequently, the quality of hardened concrete suffers, more so, if the freshly laid concrete gets exposed to the environmental conditions of low humidity, high wind velocity and high ambient temperature. To avoid the adverse effects of neglected or insufficient curing, which is considered a universal phenomenon, concrete technologist and research scientists have come up with curing compounds. Concrete is said to be self-cured, if it is able to retain its water content to perform chemical reaction for the development of its strength. Curing compounds are liquids which are either incorporated in concrete or sprayed directly onto concrete surfaces and which then dry to form a relatively impermeable membrane that retards the loss of moisture from the concrete. They are an efficient and cost-effective means of curing concrete and may be applied to freshly placed concrete or that which has been partially cured by some other means. However, they may affect the bond between concrete and subsequent surface treatments. Special care in the choice of a suitable compound needs to be exercised in such circumstances. Curing compounds are generally formulated from wax emulsions, chlorinated rubbers, synthetic and natural resins, and from PVA emulsions. Their effectiveness varies quite widely, depending on the material and strength of the emulsion.

Keywords: curing methods, self-curing compound, compressive strength, modulus of elasticity, durability

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Authors: Herjuno Bagus Wicaksono, Emma Almira Fauni, Salma Amelia Dina

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The Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH) states that, in an efficient capital market, price fully reflects the information available in the market. This theory has influenced many investors behavior in trading in the stock market. Advanced researches have been conducted to test the efficiency of the stock market in particular countries. Indonesia, as one of the emerging countries, has performed substantial growth in the past years. Hence, this paper aims to examine the efficiency of Islamic stock market in Indonesia in its weak form. The daily stock price data from Indonesia Sharia Stock Index (ISSI) for the period October 2015 to October 2016 were used to do the statistical tests: Run Test and Serial Correlation Test. The results show that there is no serial correlation between the current price with the past prices and the market follows the random walk. This research concludes that Indonesia Islamic stock market is weak form efficient.

Keywords: efficient market hypothesis, Indonesia sharia stock index, random walk, weak form efficiency

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Authors: Nady Farag Faragalla Hanna

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In the car dealership industry in Japan, the sales specialist is a key factor in the success of the company. I hypothesize that when a company understands the characteristics of sales professionals in its industry, it is easier to recruit and train salespeople effectively. Lean human resources management ensures the economic success and performance of companies, especially small and medium-sized companies.The purpose of the article is to determine the characteristics of sales specialists for small and medium-sized car dealerships using the chi-square test and the proximate variable model. Accordingly, the results show that career change experience, learning ability and product knowledge are important, while university education, career building through internal transfer, leadership experience and people development are not important for becoming a sales professional. I also show that the characteristics of sales specialists are perseverance, humility, improvisation and passion for business.

Keywords: electronics engineering, marketing, sales, E-commerce digitalization, interactive systems, sales process ARIMA models, sales demand forecasting, time series, R codetraits of sales professionals, variable precision rough sets theory, sales professional, sales professionals

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Authors: Rama Debbarma

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The present study deals with the performance of Linear base isolation system to mitigate seismic response of structures characterized by random system parameters. This involves optimization of the tuning ratio and damping properties of the base isolation system considering uncertain system parameters. However, the efficiency of base isolator may reduce if it is not tuned to the vibrating mode it is designed to suppress due to unavoidable presence of system parameters uncertainty. With the aid of matrix perturbation theory and first order Taylor series expansion, the total probability concept is used to evaluate the unconditional response of the primary structures considering random system parameters. For this, the conditional second order information of the response quantities are obtained in random vibration framework using state space formulation. Subsequently, the maximum unconditional root mean square displacement of the primary structures is used as the objective function to obtain optimum damping parameters Numerical study is performed to elucidate the effect of parameters uncertainties on the optimization of parameters of linear base isolator and system performance.

Keywords: linear base isolator, earthquake, optimization, uncertain parameters

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Authors: Sepideh Jabbari Behnam, Zahrasadat Saide Zarabadi

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A city is an intertwined texture from the relationship of different components in a whole which is united in a one, so designing the whole complex and its planning is not an easy matter. By considering that a city is a complex system with infinite components and communications, providing flexible layouts that can respond to the unpredictable character of the city, which is a result of its complexity, is inevitable. Parametric design approach as a new approach can produce flexible and transformative layouts in any stage of design. This study aimed to introduce parametric design as a modern approach to respond to complex urban issues by using descriptive and analytical methods. This paper firstly introduces complex systems and then giving a brief characteristic of complex systems. The flexible design and layout flexibility is another matter in response and simulation of complex urban systems that should be considered in design, which is discussed in this study. In this regard, after describing the nature of the parametric approach as a flexible approach, as well as a tool and appropriate way to respond to features such as limited predictability, reciprocating nature, complex communications, and being sensitive to initial conditions and hierarchy, this paper introduces parametric design.

Keywords: complexity theory, complex system, flexibility, parametric design

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Authors: Rajani Vishal, C. P. Mishra

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Background: Self-perception of an individual about own body has a strong influence on their food preference and thereby on their nutritional status. Body image is gaining importance in social theory. Globally, women in particular seem to be favour of one ideal body type (Viz A slim, tall and perfectly proportionate body). Beauty and body image ideals among research scholars can play a significant influence on their own actions. Objectives: 1) To assess perception of study subjects about body image; 2)To analyze the relationship between body image and residential status of study subjects. Material and Method: 176 female research scholars of Banaras Hindu University were selected through multistage sampling. They were interviewed with pre designed and pre-tested proforma about area of residence and perception about body image. Result: As much as 86.4% subjects were happy with the way they looked whereas 83.0% subjects considered themselves as attractive. In case of 13.6%, 27.3%, 31.8%, 14.2% and 13.1% subjects, best-described body shapes were thin, normal, curvy, athletic and overweight, respectively. Area of residence was significantly (p< o.o5) associated with perception of attractiveness and description of body shape. Conclusion: In spite of varied description of body image, majority of subjects had positive perception about their body image.

Keywords: attractiveness, body image, body shape, nutritional status

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Authors: Zhiming Ye, Dejiang Wang, Huiling Zhao

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Development of the technology demands a higher-level research on the mechanical behavior of materials. Structural members made of bi-modulus materials have different elastic modulus when they are under tension and compression. The stress and strain states of the point effect on the elastic modulus and Poisson ratio of every point in the bi-modulus material body. Accompanied by the uncertainty and nonlinearity of the elastic constitutive relation is the complicated nonlinear problem of the bi-modulus members. In this paper, the small displacement and large displacement finite element method for the bi-modulus members have been proposed. Displacement nonlinearity is considered in the elastic constitutive equation. Mechanical behavior of slender bi-modulus beam-column under different boundary conditions and loading patterns has been simulated by the proposed method. The influence factors on the ultimate bearing capacity of slender beam and columns have been studied. The results show that as the ratio of tensile modulus to compressive modulus increases, the error of the simulation employing the same elastic modulus theory exceeds the engineering permissible error.

Keywords: bi-modulus, ultimate capacity, beam-column, nonlinearity

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Authors: Fatimah Opebiyi

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Economic growth promotion, inflation reduction and consumer protection are among the core public interest aims of governments. Nevertheless, higher rates of default by consumers in relation to credit card loans and mortgages in recent times illustrate that government’s performance in balancing the protection of the economy and consumer is subpar. This thereby raises an important question on the role of government in protecting consumers during prolonged spells of inflation, particularly when such inflationary trends may be traceable to the acts of the government. Adopting a doctrinal research methodology, this article investigates the evolution of the concept of consumer protection in the United Kingdom and also brings to the fore the tensions and conflicts of interests in the aims and practices of the main regulators within the financial services industry. Relying on public interest theories of regulation and responsive regulatory theory, the article explores the limitations in the state’s ability to strike the right balance in meeting regulatory aims of the regulatory agencies at the opposite ends of the spectrum.

Keywords: financial regulation, consumer protection, prudential regulation, public interest theories of regulation, central bank

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Authors: Joyly Jill Apud

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Corruption is an all-encompassing issue worldwide. Many attempts have been done to address such cases especially by the government through increasing transparency. The Philippine government increased the mechanism of transparency by opening to public its financial transactions through Full Disclosure Policy – mandating all local governments to post in their websites all financial transactions (Philippine Public Transparency Reporting Project, 2011). For transparency to be fully realized, the challenge lies in creating a mechanism where the constituents are encouraged to engage as social auditors. In line of the said challenge, the study focused in Davao City, Philippines measuring the respondent’s awareness, access and utilization of Full Disclosure Policy (FDP). Particularly, this study determined the significant difference on the awareness, access and utilization of respondents when grouped according to sector and the significant relationship between respondents’ awareness and in the access and utilization of FDP reports. The study used descriptive-correlation, Mean, Anova and Pearson R as statistical treatment. The 120 respondents are from the different sectors of Davao City. These are the Academe, Youth, LGUs, NGOs, Business, and Church groups. The awareness of the respondents was measured in three main categories: Existence of the Policy, Content of the Policy and the Manner of Publication. Access and Utilization of the FDP reports is divided into three: Budget Reports, Procurement Reports and Special Purpose Fund Reports. Results showed that the respondents are moderately aware of the Policy. Though it manifested that the respondents are aware of the disclosure, they are unaware of the Full Disclosure Policy and Full Disclosure Policy Portal. Moreover, the respondents seldom access and utilize all the FDP reports. Further results revealed that there is a significant difference in the awareness and the access and utilization of FDP when grouped according to sector. Moreover, significant relationship in the awareness and the access and utilization of the FDP is evident. It showed that the higher the awareness on FDP, the higher the level of access and utilization on the FDP reports.

Keywords: corruption, e-governance, budget transparency, participation

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Authors: Tianyu Chen

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China's school district education policy has encouraged parents to purchase properties in school districts with high-quality education resources. Shanghai has implemented "Simultaneous Admission to Public and Private Schools" (SAPPS) since 2018, which has covered all nine-year compulsory education by 2020. This study examines the impact of SAPPS on the housing market, specifically the premium effect of houses located in dual-school districts. Based on the Hedonic Pricing Model and the Signaling Theory, data is collected from 585 second-hand house transactions in Pudong New Area, Shanghai, and it is analyzed with the Difference-in-Differences (DID) model. The results indicate that the implementation of SAPPS has exacerbated the premium of dual school district housing and weakened the effect of the policy to a certain degree. To ensure equal access to education for all students, the government should work both on the supply and demand sides of the education resource equation.

Keywords: simultaneous admission to public and private schools, housing prices, education policy, education equity

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Authors: Sunday Ofum Ogon

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The 1648 Westphalia Conference in Europe ushered in the state as the only legal entity with powers to engage in interstate relations on matters that bothers on the development need of her citizens. This epochal entry of the state reshaped global relations with the curtailment of the powers of individual and groups in external relations as the state became the only entity that acted on behalf of any individual or non-state actors like NGOs residing within the parameters of such a country. Thus, the paper interrogated the extent at which the state determines her Politico-Economic relations with regards to development and growth within the state. To achieve these objectives, the paper relied on documentary evidences wherein the qualitative descriptive method was used for data collection and analysis. The paper exploited the facilities of the Rentier State theory as a guide to the study. It was revealed at the end of the study that the 21st century global economic relations is largely determine by international organizations as exemplified by the World Bank and the International Monitory Fund (IMF) where their activities in the continent has undermined state sovereignty. Hence the paper recommended amongst others that states should look inward for development strategies rather than relying on handout from supra-national organizations which has infringe on their sovereignty.

Keywords: State , Global , Rentier state, Twenty-First Century

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Authors: Radhwane Boudjelthia

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The most recent earthquakes occurred in the world have killed thousands of people and severe damage. For all the actors involved in the building process, the earthquake is the litmus test for construction. The goal we set ourselves is to contribute to the implementation of a thoughtful approach to the seismic protection of structures. For many engineers, the most conventional approach to protection works (buildings and bridges) the effects of earthquakes is to increase rigidity. This approach is not always effective, especially when there is a context that favors the phenomenon of resonance and amplification of seismic forces. Therefore, the field of earthquake engineering has made significant inroads, among others catalyzed by the development of computational techniques in computer form and the use of powerful test facilities. This has led to the emergence of several innovative technologies, such as the introduction of special devices insulation between infrastructure and superstructure. This approach, commonly known as "seismic isolation," to absorb the significant efforts without the structure is damaged and thus ensuring the protection of lives and property. In addition, the restraints to the construction by the ground shaking are located mainly at the supports. With these moves, the natural period of construction is increasing, and seismic loads are reduced. Thus, there is an attenuation of the seismic movement. Likewise, the insulation of the base mechanism may be used in combination with earthquake dampers in order to control the deformation of the insulation system and the absolute displacement of the superstructure located above the isolation interface. On the other hand, only can use these earthquake dampers to reduce the oscillation amplitudes and thus reduce seismic loads. The use of damping devices represents an effective solution for the rehabilitation of existing structures. Given all these acceleration reducing means considered passive, much research has been conducted for several years to develop an active control system of the response of buildings to earthquakes.

Keywords: earthquake, building, seismic forces, displacement, resonance, response.

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Authors: Seungyeong Choi, Namkyu Lee, Dong Il Shim, Young Mun Lee, Yong-Ki Park, Hyung Hee Cho

Abstract:

Effect of the cross-sectional geometry on heat transfer and particle motion of circulating fluidized bed riser for CO₂ capture was investigated. Numerical simulation using Eulerian-eulerian method with kinetic theory of granular flow was adopted to analyze gas-solid flow consisting in circulating fluidized bed riser. Circular, square, and rectangular cross-sectional geometry cases of the same area were carried out. Rectangular cross-sectional geometries were analyzed having aspect ratios of 1: 2, 1: 4, 1: 8, and 1:16. The cross-sectional geometry significantly influenced the particle motion and heat transfer. The downward flow pattern of solid particles near the wall was changed. The gas-solid mixing degree of the riser with the rectangular cross section of the high aspect ratio was the lowest. There were differences in bed-to-wall heat transfer coefficient according to rectangular geometry with different aspect ratios.

Keywords: bed geometry, computational fluid dynamics, circulating fluidized bed riser, heat transfer

Procedia PDF Downloads 260

Authors: Haira Rizka, Imas Istiani

Abstract:

The way women and men use language is an interesting topic to discuss. Nowadays, Instagram shows many videos which illustrate the difference of women’s and men’s language. Furthermore, the videos show how different genders behave in daily communication. This research aims to (1) investigate conversational characteristics of women represented in Indonesian Instagram videos, and (2) investigate how different genders behave in daily communication. To analyze the two research problems, this research employs Tannen’s theory of language and gender (1996). This is a descriptive qualitative research which describes phenomena of language and gender shown in Indonesian Instagram videos. The data were collected through observation. The collected data were then analyzed by employing ethnography and textual analysis. The research results show that in Indonesian Instagram videos, women dominate the conversation than men. Women’s are portrayed as a figure who are talkative, never wrong, and sensitive. Women’s dominating men proves that women always want to be understood, produce more words than men, and are more creative in producing verbal communication. Meanwhile, men are portrayed as calm, gentle, and patient creature who listen to women’s talk. Furthermore, men are portrayed to prefer being silent for avoiding conflict.

Keywords: gender, Instagram videos, language variety, women's language

Procedia PDF Downloads 422

Authors: Rui Sun, Tamer M. Ismail, Xiaohan Ren, M. Abd El-Salam

Abstract:

Incineration of municipal solid waste (MSW) is one of the key scopes in the global clean energy strategy. A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model was established. In order to reveal these features of the combustion process in a fixed porous bed of MSW. Transporting equations and process rate equations of the waste bed were modeled and set up to describe the incineration process, according to the local thermal conditions and waste property characters. Gas phase turbulence was modeled using k-ε turbulent model and the particle phase was modeled using the kinetic theory of granular flow. The heterogeneous reaction rates were determined using Arrhenius eddy dissipation and the Arrhenius-diffusion reaction rates. The effects of primary air flow rate and temperature in the burning process of simulated MSW are investigated experimentally and numerically. The simulation results in bed are accordant with experimental data well. The model provides detailed information on burning processes in the fixed bed, which is otherwise very difficult to obtain by conventional experimental techniques.

Keywords: computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model, waste incineration, municipal solid waste (MSW), fixed bed, primary air

Procedia PDF Downloads 402