Search results for: preventive approach
13949 Cutting Tools in Finishing Operations for CNC Rapid Manufacturing Processes: Experimental Studies
Authors: M. N. Osman Zahid, K. Case, D. Watts
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This paper reports an advanced approach in the application of CNC machining for rapid manufacturing processes (CNC-RM). The aim of this study is to improve the quality of machined parts by introducing different cutting tools during finishing operations. As the cutting is performed in different directions, the surfaces presented on part can be classified into several categories. Therefore, suitable cutting tools are assigned to machine particular surfaces and to improve the quality. Experimental studies have been carried out by fabricating several parts based on the suggested approach. The results provide further support for implementing this approach in rapid machining processes.Keywords: CNC machining, end mill tool, finishing operation, rapid manufacturing
Procedia PDF Downloads 34613948 A Machine Learning Approach for Performance Prediction Based on User Behavioral Factors in E-Learning Environments
Authors: Naduni Ranasinghe
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E-learning environments are getting more popular than any other due to the impact of COVID19. Even though e-learning is one of the best solutions for the teaching-learning process in the academic process, it’s not without major challenges. Nowadays, machine learning approaches are utilized in the analysis of how behavioral factors lead to better adoption and how they related to better performance of the students in eLearning environments. During the pandemic, we realized the academic process in the eLearning approach had a major issue, especially for the performance of the students. Therefore, an approach that investigates student behaviors in eLearning environments using a data-intensive machine learning approach is appreciated. A hybrid approach was used to understand how each previously told variables are related to the other. A more quantitative approach was used referred to literature to understand the weights of each factor for adoption and in terms of performance. The data set was collected from previously done research to help the training and testing process in ML. Special attention was made to incorporating different dimensionality of the data to understand the dependency levels of each. Five independent variables out of twelve variables were chosen based on their impact on the dependent variable, and by considering the descriptive statistics, out of three models developed (Random Forest classifier, SVM, and Decision tree classifier), random forest Classifier (Accuracy – 0.8542) gave the highest value for accuracy. Overall, this work met its goals of improving student performance by identifying students who are at-risk and dropout, emphasizing the necessity of using both static and dynamic data.Keywords: academic performance prediction, e learning, learning analytics, machine learning, predictive model
Procedia PDF Downloads 15713947 On Phase Based Stereo Matching and Its Related Issues
Authors: András Rövid, Takeshi Hashimoto
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The paper focuses on the problem of the point correspondence matching in stereo images. The proposed matching algorithm is based on the combination of simpler methods such as normalized sum of squared differences (NSSD) and a more complex phase correlation based approach, by considering the noise and other factors, as well. The speed of NSSD and the preciseness of the phase correlation together yield an efficient approach to find the best candidate point with sub-pixel accuracy in stereo image pairs. The task of the NSSD in this case is to approach the candidate pixel roughly. Afterwards the location of the candidate is refined by an enhanced phase correlation based method which in contrast to the NSSD has to run only once for each selected pixel.Keywords: stereo matching, sub-pixel accuracy, phase correlation, SVD, NSSD
Procedia PDF Downloads 46913946 Supplier Selection by Considering Cost and Reliability
Authors: K. -H. Yang
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Supplier selection problem is one of the important issues of supply chain problems. Two categories of methodologies include qualitative and quantitative approaches which can be applied to supplier selection problems. However, due to the complexities of the problem and lacking of reliable and quantitative data, qualitative approaches are more than quantitative approaches. This study considers operational cost and supplier’s reliability factor and solves the problem by using a quantitative approach. A mixed integer programming model is the primary analytic tool. Analyses of different scenarios with variable cost and reliability structures show that the effectiveness of this approach to the supplier selection problem.Keywords: mixed integer programming, quantitative approach, supplier’s reliability, supplier selection
Procedia PDF Downloads 38413945 Introduction to Techno-Sectoral Innovation System Modeling and Functions Formulating
Authors: S. M. Azad, H. Ghodsi Pour, F. Roshannafasa
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In recent years ‘technology management and policymaking’ is one of the most important problems in management science. In this field, different generations of innovation and technology management are presented which the earliest one is Innovation System (IS) approach. In a general classification, innovation systems are divided in to 4 approaches: Technical, sectoral, regional, and national. There are many researches in relation to each of these approaches in different academic fields. Every approach has some benefits. If two or more approaches hybrid, their benefits would be combined. In addition, according to the sectoral structure of the governance model in Iran, in many sectors such as information technology, the combination of three other approaches with sectoral approach is essential. Hence, in this paper, combining two IS approaches (technical and sectoral) and using system dynamics, a generic model is presented for a sample of software industry. As a complimentary point, this article is introducing a new hybrid approach called Techno-Sectoral Innovation System. This TSIS model is accomplished by Changing concepts of the ‘functions’ which came from Technological IS literature and using them into sectoral system as measurable indicators.Keywords: innovation system, technology, techno-sectoral system, functional indicators, system dynamics
Procedia PDF Downloads 44013944 Incidence of Dermatophilosis in Cattle in Bauchi State, Nigeria: A Review
Authors: Adamu Garba, Saidu Idi
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This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of Dermatophilosis in cattle in Bauchi State and suggest possible control measures. Data were obtained from the State Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Veterinary Division and monthly reports from Local Government Area Veterinary Offices for a period of three years ranging from 1996-1998. The result revealed that the disease is more prevalent in the rainy season which coincides with preponderance of the predisposing factors. Of the total 17,252 infected cattle in the State, Western zone had the highest cases with 8,298 (50.0%), followed by Central zone with 5,211 (30.0%) and the least was in the Northern zone with 3,753 (20.0%) cases. Rainfall pattern within the zones could be responsible for the variation in the prevalence rate. Analysis of variance revealed that there is no significant difference in the prevalence of Dermatophilosis between the years (P<0.212) while there is significant difference within the zones (P<0.012). Correlation analysis carried out showed that there is positive relationship between rainfall and Dermatophilosis (r<0.909). Since the disease is more prevalent during the rainy season, efforts should be exerted on thorough preventive measures during the period to control the disease in the State, particularly in the Western zone.Keywords: incidence, dermatophilosis, cattle, Bauchi State
Procedia PDF Downloads 52413943 New Public Management: Step towards Democratization
Authors: Aneri Mehta, Krunal Mehta
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Administration is largely based on two sciences: ‘management science’ and ‘political science’. The approach of new public management is more inclined towards the management science. Era of ‘New Public Management’ has affected the developing countries very immensely. Public management reforms are needed to enhance the development of the countries. This reform mainly includes capacity building, control of corruption, political decentralization, debureaucratization and public empowerment. This gives the opportunity to create self-sustaining change in the governance. This paper includes the link of approach of new public management and their effect on building effective democratization in the country. This approach mainly focuses on rationality and effectiveness of governance system. These need to have deep efforts on technological, organizational, social and cultural fields. Bringing citizen participation in governance is main objective of NPM. The shift from traditional public management to new public management have low success rate of reforms. This research includes case study of RTI which is a big step of government towards citizen centric approach of governance. The aspect of ‘publicness’ in the democratic policy implementation is important for good governance in India.Keywords: public management, development, public empowerment, governance
Procedia PDF Downloads 50713942 Expert-Driving-Criteria Based on Fuzzy Logic Approach for Intelligent Driving Diagnosis
Authors: Andrés C. Cuervo Pinilla, Christian G. Quintero M., Chinthaka Premachandra
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This paper considers people’s driving skills diagnosis under real driving conditions. In that sense, this research presents an approach that uses GPS signals which have a direct correlation with driving maneuvers. Besides, it is presented a novel expert-driving-criteria approximation using fuzzy logic which seeks to analyze GPS signals in order to issue an intelligent driving diagnosis. Based on above, this works presents in the first section the intelligent driving diagnosis system approach in terms of its own characteristics properties, explaining in detail significant considerations about how an expert-driving-criteria approximation must be developed. In the next section, the implementation of our developed system based on the proposed fuzzy logic approach is explained. Here, a proposed set of rules which corresponds to a quantitative abstraction of some traffics laws and driving secure techniques seeking to approach an expert-driving- criteria approximation is presented. Experimental testing has been performed in real driving conditions. The testing results show that the intelligent driving diagnosis system qualifies driver’s performance quantitatively with a high degree of reliability.Keywords: driver support systems, intelligent transportation systems, fuzzy logic, real time data processing
Procedia PDF Downloads 51913941 The Application of System Approach to Knowledge Management and Human Resource Management Evidence from Tehran Municipality
Authors: Vajhollah Ghorbanizadeh, Seyed Mohsen Asadi, Mirali Seyednaghavi, Davoud Hoseynpour
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In the current era, all organizations need knowledge to be able to manage the diverse human resources. Creative, dynamic and knowledge-based Human resources are important competitive advantage and the scarcest resource in today's knowledge-based economy. In addition managers with skills of knowledge management must be aware of human resource management science. It is now generally accepted that successful implementation of knowledge management requires dynamic interaction between knowledge management and human resource management. This is emphasized at systematic approach to knowledge management as well. However human resource management can be complementary of knowledge management because human resources management with the aim of empowering human resources as the key resource organizations in the 21st century, the use of other resources, creating and growing and developing today. Thus, knowledge is the major capital of every organization which is introduced through the process of knowledge management. In this context, knowledge management is systematic approach to create, receive, organize, access, and use of knowledge and learning in the organization. This article aims to define and explain the concepts of knowledge management and human resource management and the importance of these processes and concepts. Literature related to knowledge management and human resource management as well as related topics were studied, then to design, illustrate and provide a theoretical model to explain the factors affecting the relationship between knowledge management and human resource management and knowledge management system approach, for schematic design and are drawn.Keywords: systemic approach, human resources, knowledge, human resources management, knowledge management
Procedia PDF Downloads 37713940 Agile Software Development Implementation in Developing a Diet Tracker Mobile Application
Authors: Dwi Puspita Sari, Gulnur Baltabayeva, Nadia Salman, Maxut Toleuov, Vijay Kanabar
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Technology era drives people to use mobile phone to support their daily life activities. Technology development has a rapid phase which pushes the IT company to adjust any technology changes in order to fulfill customer’s satisfaction. As a result of that, many companies in the USA emerged from systematics software development approach to agile software development approach in developing systems and applications to develop many mobile phone applications in a short phase to fulfill user’s needs. As a systematic approach is considered as time consuming, costly, and too risky, agile software development has become a more popular approach to use for developing software including mobile applications. This paper reflects a short-term project to develop a diet tracker mobile application using agile software development that focused on applying scrum framework in the development process.Keywords: agile software development, scrum, diet tracker, mobile application
Procedia PDF Downloads 25713939 An Adaptive Dimensionality Reduction Approach for Hyperspectral Imagery Semantic Interpretation
Authors: Akrem Sellami, Imed Riadh Farah, Basel Solaiman
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With the development of HyperSpectral Imagery (HSI) technology, the spectral resolution of HSI became denser, which resulted in large number of spectral bands, high correlation between neighboring, and high data redundancy. However, the semantic interpretation is a challenging task for HSI analysis due to the high dimensionality and the high correlation of the different spectral bands. In fact, this work presents a dimensionality reduction approach that allows to overcome the different issues improving the semantic interpretation of HSI. Therefore, in order to preserve the spatial information, the Tensor Locality Preserving Projection (TLPP) has been applied to transform the original HSI. In the second step, knowledge has been extracted based on the adjacency graph to describe the different pixels. Based on the transformation matrix using TLPP, a weighted matrix has been constructed to rank the different spectral bands based on their contribution score. Thus, the relevant bands have been adaptively selected based on the weighted matrix. The performance of the presented approach has been validated by implementing several experiments, and the obtained results demonstrate the efficiency of this approach compared to various existing dimensionality reduction techniques. Also, according to the experimental results, we can conclude that this approach can adaptively select the relevant spectral improving the semantic interpretation of HSI.Keywords: band selection, dimensionality reduction, feature extraction, hyperspectral imagery, semantic interpretation
Procedia PDF Downloads 35413938 Posterior Thigh Compartment Syndrome Associated with Hamstring Avulsion and Antiplatelet Therapy
Authors: Andrea Gatti, Federica Coppotelli, Ma Primavera, Laura Palmieri, Umberto Tarantino
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Aim of study: Scientific literature is scarce of studies and reviews valuing the pros and cons of the paratricipital approach for the treatment of humeral shaft fractures; the lateral paratricipital approach is a valid alternative to the classical posterior approach to the humeral shaft as it preserves both the triceps muscle and the elbow extensor mechanisms; based on our experience, this retrospective analysis aims at analyzing outcome, risks and benefits of the lateral paratricipital approach for humeral shaft fractures. Methods: Our study includes 14 patients treated between 2018 and 2019 for unilateral humeral shaft fractures: 13 with a B1 or B2 and a patient with a C fracture type (according to the AO/ATO Classification); 6 of our patients identified as male while 8 as female; age average was 57.8 years old (range 21-73 years old). A lateral paratricipital approach was performed on all 14 patients, sparing the triceps muscle by avoiding the olecranon osteotomy and by assessing the integrity and the preservation of the radial nerve; the humeral shaft fracture osteosynthesis was performed by means of plates and screws. After surgery all patients have started elbow functional rehabilitation with acceptable pain management. Post-operative follow-up has been carried out by assessing radiographs, MEPS (Mayo Elbow Performance Score) and DASH (Disability of Arm Shoulder and Hand) functional assessment and ROM of the affected joint. Results: All 14 patients had an optimal post-operative follow-up with an adequate osteosynthesis and functional rehabilitations by entirely preserving the operated elbow joint; the mean elbow ROM was 0-118.6 degree (range of 0-130) while the average MEPS score was 86 (range75-100) and 79.9 for the DASH (range 21.7-86.1). Just 2 patients suffered of temporary radial nerve apraxia, healed in the subsequent follow-ups. CONCLUSION: The lateral paratricipital approach preserve both the integrity of the triceps muscle and the elbow biomechanism but we do strongly recommend additional studies to be carried out to highlight differences between it and the classical posterior approach in treating humeral shaft fractures.Keywords: paratricepital approach, humerus shaft fracture, posterior approach humeral shaft, paratricipital postero-lateral approach
Procedia PDF Downloads 13013937 The Politics of Health Education: A Cultural Analysis of Tobacco Control Communication in India
Authors: Ajay Ivan
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This paper focuses on the cultural politics of health-promotional and disease-preventive pedagogic practices in the context of the national tobacco control programme in India. Tobacco consumption is typically problematised as a paradox: tobacco poses objective health risks such as cancer and heart disease, but its production, sale and export contribute significantly to state revenue. A blanket ban on tobacco products, therefore, is infeasible though desirable. Instead, initiatives against tobacco use have prioritised awareness creation and behaviour change to reduce its demand. This paper argues that public health communication is not, as commonly assumed, an apolitical and neutral transmission of disease-preventive information. Drawing on Michel Foucault’s concept of governmentality, it examines such campaigns as techniques of disciplining people rather than coercing them to give up tobacco use, which would be both impractical and counter-productive. At the level of the population, these programmes constitute a security mechanism that reduces risks without eliminating them, so as to ensure an optimal level of public health without hampering the economy. Anti-tobacco pedagogy thus aligns with a contemporary paradigm of health that emphasises risk-assessment and lifestyle management as tools of governance, using pedagogic techniques to teach people how to be healthy. The paper analyses the pictorial health warnings on tobacco packets and anti-tobacco advertisements in movie theatres mandated by the state, along with awareness-creation messages circulated by anti-tobacco advocacy groups in India, to show how they discursively construct tobacco and its consumption as a health risk. Smoking is resignified from a pleasurable and sociable practice to a deadly addiction that jeopardises the health of those who smoke and those who passively inhale the smoke. While disseminating information about the health risks of tobacco, these initiatives employ emotional and affective techniques of persuasion to discipline tobacco users. They incite fear of death and of social ostracism to motivate behaviour change, complementing their appeals to reason. Tobacco is portrayed as a grave moral danger to the family and a detriment to the vitality of the nation, such that using it contradicts one’s duties as a parent or citizen. Awareness programmes reproduce prevailing societal assumptions about health and disease, normalcy and deviance, and proper and improper conduct. Pedagogy thus functions as an apparatus of public health governance, recruiting subjects as volunteers in their own regulation and aligning their personal goals and aspirations to the objectives of tobacco control. The paper links this calculated management of subjectivity and the self-responsibilisation of the pedagogic subject to a distinct mode of neoliberal civic governance in contemporary India. Health features prominently in this mode of governance that serves the biopolitical obligation of the state as laid down in Article 39 of the Constitution, which includes a duty to ensure the health of its citizens. Insofar as the health of individuals is concerned, the problem is how to balance this duty of the state with the fundamental right of the citizen to choose how to live. Public health pedagogy, by directing the citizen’s ‘free’ choice without unduly infringing upon it, offers a tactical solution.Keywords: public health communication, pedagogic power, tobacco control, neoliberal governance
Procedia PDF Downloads 8413936 Molecular Detection of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever in Ticks of Golestan Province, Iran
Authors: Nariman Shahhosseini, Sadegh Chinikar
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Introduction: Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) causes severe disease with fatality rates of 30%. The virus is transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected tick, direct contact with the products of infected livestock and nosocomially. The disease occurs sporadically throughout many of African, Asian, and European countries. Different species of ticks serve either as vector or reservoir for CCHFV. Materials and Methods: A molecular survey was conducted on hard ticks (Ixodidae) in Golestan province, north of Iran during 2014-2015. Samples were sent to National Reference Laboratory of Arboviruses (Pasteur Institute of Iran) and viral RNA was detected by RT-PCR. Results: Result revealed the presence of CCHFV in 5.3% of the selected ticks. The infected ticks belonged to Hy. dromedarii, Hy. anatolicum, Hy. marginatum, and Rh. sanguineus. Conclusions: These data demonstrates that Hyalomma ticks are the main vectors of CCHFV in Golestan province. Thus, preventive strategies such as using acaricides and repellents in order to avoid contact with Hyalomma ticks are proposed. Also, personal protective equipment (PPE) must be utilized at abattoirs.Keywords: tick, CCHFV, surveillance, vector diversity
Procedia PDF Downloads 37213935 An Analytical Approach to Calculate Thermo-Mechanical Stresses in Integral Abutment Bridge Piles
Authors: Jafar Razmi
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Integral abutment bridges are bridges that do not have joints. If these bridges are subject to large seasonal and daily temperature variations, the expansion and contraction of the bridge slab is transferred to the piles. Since the piles are deep into the soil, displacement induced by slab can cause bending and stresses in piles. These stresses cause fatigue and failure of piles. A complex mechanical interaction exists between the slab, pile, soil and abutment. This complex interaction needs to be understood in order to calculate the stresses in piles. This paper uses a mechanical approach in developing analytical equations for the complex structure to determine the stresses in piles. The solution to these analytical solutions is developed and compared with finite element analysis results and experimental data. Our comparison shows that using analytical approach can accurately predict the displacement in piles. This approach offers a simplified technique that can be utilized without the need for computationally extensive finite element model.Keywords: integral abutment bridges, piles, thermo-mechanical stress, stress and strains
Procedia PDF Downloads 24013934 Defects Estimation of Embedded Systems Components by a Bond Graph Approach
Authors: I. Gahlouz, A. Chellil
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The paper concerns the estimation of system components faults by using an unknown inputs observer. To reach this goal, we used the Bond Graph approach to physical modelling. We showed that this graphical tool is allowing the representation of system components faults as unknown inputs within the state representation of the considered physical system. The study of the causal and structural features of the system (controllability, observability, finite structure, and infinite structure) based on the Bond Graph approach was hence fulfilled in order to design an unknown inputs observer which is used for the system component fault estimation.Keywords: estimation, bond graph, controllability, observability
Procedia PDF Downloads 41413933 A Generic Approach to Reuse Unified Modeling Language Components Following an Agile Process
Authors: Rim Bouhaouel, Naoufel Kraïem, Zuhoor Al Khanjari
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Unified Modeling Language (UML) is considered as one of the widespread modeling language standardized by the Object Management Group (OMG). Therefore, the model driving engineering (MDE) community attempts to provide reuse of UML diagrams, and do not construct it from scratch. The UML model appears according to a specific software development process. The existing method generation models focused on the different techniques of transformation without considering the development process. Our work aims to construct an UML component from fragments of UML diagram basing on an agile method. We define UML fragment as a portion of a UML diagram, which express a business target. To guide the generation of fragments of UML models using an agile process, we need a flexible approach, which adapts to the agile changes and covers all its activities. We use the software product line (SPL) to derive a fragment of process agile method. This paper explains our approach, named RECUP, to generate UML fragments following an agile process, and overviews the different aspects. In this paper, we present the approach and we define the different phases and artifacts.Keywords: UML, component, fragment, agile, SPL
Procedia PDF Downloads 39813932 Ecopsychological Approach to Enhance Space Consciousness Toward Environment
Authors: Tiwi Kamidin
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After years of effort trying to integrate environmental education, studies keep revealing that Malaysian still not reached the certain level of desired commitment toward the environment. Some researchers mentioned that our planet healthy is depending on our mentally health especially our psychological and spiritual is split from the natural. Therefore, this study discussed on ecopcyhological approach in order to enhance space consciousness toward the environment. Space consciousness represents not only freedom from ego but also from dependency on the things of this world, from materialism and materiality. It is the spiritual dimension which alone can give transcendent and true meaning to this world. If pupils can balance this internal awareness will put an individual to respect the environment as part of yourself and your family against only as contributors to the continuance of human’s life. Qualitative findings showed that the informants considered their consciousness toward environment has been changed.Keywords: ecopsychological approach, space consciousness, environmental education, environment
Procedia PDF Downloads 30913931 A Novel Machine Learning Approach to Aid Agrammatism in Non-fluent Aphasia
Authors: Rohan Bhasin
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Agrammatism in non-fluent Aphasia Cases can be defined as a language disorder wherein a patient can only use content words ( nouns, verbs and adjectives ) for communication and their speech is devoid of functional word types like conjunctions and articles, generating speech of with extremely rudimentary grammar . Past approaches involve Speech Therapy of some order with conversation analysis used to analyse pre-therapy speech patterns and qualitative changes in conversational behaviour after therapy. We describe this approach as a novel method to generate functional words (prepositions, articles, ) around content words ( nouns, verbs and adjectives ) using a combination of Natural Language Processing and Deep Learning algorithms. The applications of this approach can be used to assist communication. The approach the paper investigates is : LSTMs or Seq2Seq: A sequence2sequence approach (seq2seq) or LSTM would take in a sequence of inputs and output sequence. This approach needs a significant amount of training data, with each training data containing pairs such as (content words, complete sentence). We generate such data by starting with complete sentences from a text source, removing functional words to get just the content words. However, this approach would require a lot of training data to get a coherent input. The assumptions of this approach is that the content words received in the inputs of both text models are to be preserved, i.e, won't alter after the functional grammar is slotted in. This is a potential limit to cases of severe Agrammatism where such order might not be inherently correct. The applications of this approach can be used to assist communication mild Agrammatism in non-fluent Aphasia Cases. Thus by generating these function words around the content words, we can provide meaningful sentence options to the patient for articulate conversations. Thus our project translates the use case of generating sentences from content-specific words into an assistive technology for non-Fluent Aphasia Patients.Keywords: aphasia, expressive aphasia, assistive algorithms, neurology, machine learning, natural language processing, language disorder, behaviour disorder, sequence to sequence, LSTM
Procedia PDF Downloads 16413930 Association of Selected Polymorphisms of BER Pathway with the Risk of Colorectal Cancer in the Polish Population
Authors: Jacek Kabzinski, Karolina Przybylowska, Lukasz Dziki, Adam Dziki, Ireneusz Majsterek
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The incidence of colorectal cancer (CRC) is increasing from year to year. Despite intensive research CRC etiology remains unknown. Studies suggest that at the basis of the process of carcinogenesis can lie reduced efficiency of DNA repair mechanisms, often caused by polymorphisms in DNA repair genes. The aim of the study was to determine the relationship between gene polymorphisms Pro242Arg of PolB gene and Arg780His of Lig3 gene and modulation of the risk of colorectal cancer in the Polish population. Determination of the molecular basis of carcinogenesis process and predicting increased risk will allow qualifying patients to increased risk group and including them in preventive program. We used blood collected from 110 patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer. The control group consisted of equal number of healthy people. Genotyping was performed by TaqMan method. The obtained results indicate that the genotype 780Arg/His of Lig3 gene is associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer. On the basis of these results, we conclude that Lig3 gene polymorphism Arg780His may be associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer.Keywords: BER, colorectal cancer, PolB, Lig3, polymorphisms
Procedia PDF Downloads 45413929 Communicative Language Teaching Technique: A Neglected Approach in Reading Comprehension Instruction
Authors: Olumide Yusuf Jimoh
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Reading comprehension is an interactive and purposeful process of getting meaning from and bringing meaning to a text. Over the years, teachers of the English Language (in Nigeria) have been glued to the monotonous method of making students read comprehension passages silently and then answer the questions that follow such passages without making the reading session interactive. Hence, students often find such exercises monotonous and boring. Consequently, students' interest in language learning continues to dwindle, and this often affects their overall academic performance. Relying on Communicative Accommodation Theory therefore, the study employed the qualitative research design method to x-ray Communicative Language Teaching Approach (CLTA) in reading comprehension. Moreover, techniques such as the Genuinely Collaborative Reading Approach (GCRA), Jigsaw reading, Pre-reading, and Post-reading tasks were examined. The researcher submitted that effective reading comprehension could not be done passively. Students must respond to what they read; they must interact not only with the materials being read but also with one another and with the teacher; this can be achieved by developing communicative and interactive reading programs.Keywords: collaborative reading approach, communicative teaching, interactive reading program, pre-reading task, reading comprehension
Procedia PDF Downloads 10813928 The Implementation of Organizational Ecoinnovativeness as an Expression of a Strategic Approach of an Organization
Authors: Marzena Hajduk-Stelmachowicz
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This paper presents the reasons why the implementation of the organizational eco-innovation (based on requirements of the International Standard ISO 14001) can be an expression of a strategic organization approach. An elaboration about different issues associated with the Environmental Management Systems are given.Keywords: envionmental management system, ISO 14001, organizational ecoinnovativeness, ecoinnovation
Procedia PDF Downloads 31513927 The Dynamic Nexus of Public Health and Journalism in Informed Societies
Authors: Ali Raza
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The dynamic landscape of communication has brought about significant advancements that intersect with the realms of public health and journalism. This abstract explores the evolving synergy between these fields, highlighting how their intersection has contributed to informed societies and improved public health outcomes. In the digital age, communication plays a pivotal role in shaping public perception, policy formulation, and collective action. Public health, concerned with safeguarding and improving community well-being, relies on effective communication to disseminate information, encourage healthy behaviors, and mitigate health risks. Simultaneously, journalism, with its commitment to accurate and timely reporting, serves as the conduit through which health information reaches the masses. Advancements in communication technologies have revolutionized the ways in which public health information is both generated and shared. The advent of social media platforms, mobile applications, and online forums has democratized the dissemination of health-related news and insights. This democratization, however, brings challenges, such as the rapid spread of misinformation and the need for nuanced strategies to engage diverse audiences. Effective collaboration between public health professionals and journalists is pivotal in countering these challenges, ensuring that accurate information prevails. The synergy between public health and journalism is most evident during public health crises. The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the pivotal role of journalism in providing accurate and up-to-date information to the public. However, it also highlighted the importance of responsible reporting, as sensationalism and misinformation could exacerbate the crisis. Collaborative efforts between public health experts and journalists led to the amplification of preventive measures, the debunking of myths, and the promotion of evidence-based interventions. Moreover, the accessibility of information in the digital era necessitates a strategic approach to health communication. Behavioral economics and data analytics offer insights into human decision-making and allow tailored health messages to resonate more effectively with specific audiences. This approach, when integrated into journalism, enables the crafting of narratives that not only inform but also influence positive health behaviors. Ethical considerations emerge prominently in this alliance. The responsibility to balance the public's right to know with the potential consequences of sensational reporting underscores the significance of ethical journalism. Health journalists must meticulously source information from reputable experts and institutions to maintain credibility, thus fortifying the bridge between public health and the public. As both public health and journalism undergo transformative shifts, fostering collaboration between these domains becomes essential. Training programs that familiarize journalists with public health concepts and practices can enhance their capacity to report accurately and comprehensively on health issues. Likewise, public health professionals can gain insights into effective communication strategies from seasoned journalists, ensuring that health information reaches a wider audience. In conclusion, the convergence of public health and journalism, facilitated by communication advancements, is a cornerstone of informed societies. Effective communication strategies, driven by collaboration, ensure the accurate dissemination of health information and foster positive behavior change. As the world navigates complex health challenges, the continued evolution of this synergy holds the promise of healthier communities and a more engaged and educated public.Keywords: public awareness, journalism ethics, health promotion, media influence, health literacy
Procedia PDF Downloads 7213926 A Pragmatic Study of Falnama Texts Based on Critical Discourse Analysis Approach
Authors: Raziyeh Mashhadi Moghadam
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Persian writings in the form of stories, scientific articles, historiographies, biographies, and philosophical, religious, and poetic arguments have established their presence in the past and present. Any piece of text is composed in a unique style depending on its content and subject. In this paper, a manuscript called Falnama of the Prophet is reviewed. Only a few scattered pages of this version are extant, and the author, using the name of twenty-four prophets, seeks to explore the presence and future of the reader. This version is analyzed based on Norman Fairclough’s Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) approach to unravel the underlying processes in this type of manuscript. The spelling of some words and sentences is different from that of the new written Persian version.Keywords: application of Falnama texts, critical discourse analysis, Fairclough’s approach
Procedia PDF Downloads 10913925 Ensuring Safe Operation by Providing an End-To-End Field Monitoring and Incident Management Approach for Autonomous Vehicle Based on ML/Dl SW Stack
Authors: Lucas Bublitz, Michael Herdrich
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By achieving the first commercialization approval in San Francisco the Autonomous Driving (AD) industry proves the technology maturity of the SAE L4 AD systems and the corresponding software and hardware stack. This milestone reflects the upcoming phase in the industry, where the focus is now about scaling and supervising larger autonomous vehicle (AV) fleets in different operation areas. This requires an operation framework, which organizes and assigns responsibilities to the relevant AV technology and operation stakeholders from the AV system provider, the Remote Intervention Operator, the MaaS provider and regulatory & approval authority. This holistic operation framework consists of technological, processual, and organizational activities to ensure safe operation for fully automated vehicles. Regarding the supervision of large autonomous vehicle fleets, a major focus is on the continuous field monitoring. The field monitoring approach must reflect the safety and security criticality of incidents in the field during driving operation. This includes an automatic containment approach, with the overall goal to avoid safety critical incidents and reduce downtime by a malfunction of the AD software stack. An End-to-end (E2E) field monitoring approach detects critical faults in the field, uses a knowledge-based approach for evaluating the safety criticality and supports the automatic containment of these E/E faults. Applying such an approach will ensure the scalability of AV fleets, which is determined by the handling of incidents in the field and the continuous regulatory compliance of the technology after enhancing the Operational Design Domain (ODD) or the function scope by Functions on Demand (FoD) over the entire digital product lifecycle.Keywords: field monitoring, incident management, multicompliance management for AI in AD, root cause analysis, database approach
Procedia PDF Downloads 7713924 A Study of Shigeru Ban's Environmentally-Sensitive Design Approach
Authors: Duygu Merve Bulut, Fehime Yesim Gurani
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The Japanese architect Shigeru Ban has succeeded in bringing a different understanding to the modern architectural design approach with both the material selection and the techniques he used while combining the material with the design. Ban, who reflects his respect to people and nature with his designs, has encouraged that design should be done with economic materials, easily accessible and understandable for everyone. Because of this, Ban has attracted attention and appreciated in the architectural world with his environmentally-sensitive design ideology and humanitarian projects. In order to understand Ban’s environmentally-sensitive design approach, with this article, Ban’s projects which have used natural materials; the projects of Ban’s Japenese Pavilion in Germany, Papertainer Museum in South Korea, Centre Pompidou-Metz in France and Cardboard Cathedral in New Zealand were examined and analyzed. In the following parts, 'paper tube' technology that creates awareness in architectural area, which developed and applied by Ban; has been examined in terms of building material and structure of sustainable space design. As a result of this review, Ban’s approach is evaluated in terms of its contribution to the understanding of sustainable design.Keywords: ecological design, environmentally-sensitive design, paper tube, Shigeru Ban, sustainability
Procedia PDF Downloads 50213923 Simulation of Lean Principles Impact in a Multi-Product Supply Chain
Authors: Matteo Rossini, Alberto Portioli Staudacher
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The market competition is moving from the single firm to the whole supply chain one because of increasing competition and growing need for operational efficiencies and customer orientation. Supply chain management allows companies to look beyond their organizational boundaries to develop and leverage resources and capabilities of their supply chain partners. This leads to create competitive advantages in the marketplace and because of this SCM has acquired strategic importance. Lean Approach is a management strategy that focuses on reducing every type of waste present in an organization. This approach is becoming more and more popular among supply chain managers. The supply chain application of lean approach is low diffused. It is not well studied which are the impacts of lean approach principles in a supply chain context. In literature there are only few studies simulating the lean approach performance in single products supply chain. This research work studies the impacts of lean principles implementation along a supply chain. To achieve this, a simulation model of a three-echelon multiproduct product supply chain has been built. Kanban system (and several priority policies) and setup time reduction degrees are implemented in the lean-configured supply chain to apply pull and lot-sizing decrease principles respectively. To evaluate the benefits of lean approach, lean supply chain is compared with an EOQ-configured supply chain. The simulation results show that Kanban system and setup-time reduction improve inventory stock level. They also show that logistics efforts are affected to lean implementation degree. The paper concludes describing performances of lean supply chain in different contexts.Keywords: inventory policy, Kanban, lean supply chain, simulation study, supply chain management, planning
Procedia PDF Downloads 35813922 Towards a Business Process Model Deriving from an Intentional Perspective
Authors: Omnia Saidani Neffati, Rim Samia Kaabi, Naoufel Kraiem
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In this paper, we propose an approach aiming at (i) representing services at two levels: the intentional level and the organizational level, and (ii) establishing mechanisms allowing to make a transition from the first level to the second one in order to execute intentional services. An example is used to validate our approach.Keywords: intentional service, business process, BPMN, MDE, intentional service execution
Procedia PDF Downloads 39613921 A New Approach to Increase Consumer Understanding of Meal’s Quality – Food Focus Instead of Nutrient Focus
Authors: Elsa Lamy, Marília Prada, Ada Rocha, Cláudia Viegas
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The traditional and widely used nutrition-focused approach to communicate with consumers is reductionist and makes it difficult for consumers to assess their food intake. Without sufficient nutrition knowledge and understanding, it would be difficult to choose a healthful diet based only on nutritional recommendations. This study aimed to evaluate the understanding of how food/nutritional information is presented in menus to Portuguese consumers, comparing the nutrient-focused approach (currently used Nutrition Declaration) and the new food-focused approach (the infographic). For data collection, a questionnaire was distributed online using social media channels. A main effect of format on ratings of meal balance and completeness (Fbalance(1,79) = 18.26, p < .001, ηp2 = .188; Fcompleteness(1,67) = 27.18, p < .001, ηp2 = .289). Overall, dishes paired with the nutritional information were rated as more balanced (Mbalance= 3.70, SE = .11; Mcompleteness = 4.00, SE = .14) than meals with the infographic representation (Mbalance = 3.14, SE = .11; Mcompleteness = 3.29, SE = .13). We also observed a main effect of the meal, F(3,237) = 48.90, p < .001, ηp2 = .382, such that M1 and M2 were perceived as less balanced than the M3 and M4, all p < .001. The use of a food-focused approach (infographic) helped participants identify the lack of balance in the less healthful meals (dishes M1 and M2), allowing for a better understanding of meals' compliance with recommendations contributing to better food choices and a healthier lifestyle.Keywords: food labelling, food and nutritional recommendations, infographics, portions based information
Procedia PDF Downloads 7913920 Enhancing the Implementation Strategy of Simultaneous Operations (SIMOPS) for the Major Turnaround at Pertamina Plaju Refinery
Authors: Fahrur Rozi, Daniswara Krisna Prabatha, Latief Zulfikar Chusaini
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Amidst the backdrop of Pertamina Plaju Refinery, which stands as the oldest and historically less technologically advanced among Pertamina's refineries, lies a unique challenge. Originally integrating facilities established by Shell in 1904 and Stanvac (originally Standard Oil) in 1926, the primary challenge at Plaju Refinery does not solely revolve around complexity; instead, it lies in ensuring reliability, considering its operational history of over a century. After centuries of existence, Plaju Refinery has never undergone a comprehensive major turnaround encompassing all its units. The usual practice involves partial turnarounds that are sequentially conducted across its primary, secondary, and tertiary units (utilities and offsite). However, a significant shift is on the horizon. In the Q-IV of 2023, the refinery embarks on its first-ever major turnaround since its establishment. This decision was driven by the alignment of maintenance timelines across various units. Plaju Refinery's major turnaround was scheduled for October-November 2023, spanning 45 calendar days, with the objective of enhancing the operational reliability of all refinery units. The extensive job list for this turnaround encompasses 1583 tasks across 18 units/areas, involving approximately 9000 contracted workers. In this context, the Strategy of Simultaneous Operations (SIMOPS) execution emerges as a pivotal tool to optimize time efficiency and ensure safety. A Hazard Effect Management Process (HEMP) has been employed to assess the risk ratings of each task within the turnaround. Out of the tasks assessed, 22 are deemed high-risk and necessitate mitigation. The SIMOPS approach serves as a preventive measure against potential incidents. It is noteworthy that every turnaround period at Pertamina Plaju Refinery involves SIMOPS-related tasks. In this context, enhancing the implementation strategy of "Simultaneous Operations (SIMOPS)" becomes imperative to minimize the occurrence of incidents. At least four improvements have been introduced in the enhancement process for the major turnaround at Refinery Plaju. The first improvement involves conducting systematic risk assessment and potential hazard mitigation studies for SIMOPS tasks before task execution, as opposed to the previous on-site approach. The second improvement includes the completion of SIMOPS Job Mitigation and Work Matrices Sheets, which was often neglected in the past. The third improvement emphasizes comprehensive awareness to workers/contractors regarding potential hazards and mitigation strategies for SIMOPS tasks before and during the major turnaround. The final improvement is the introduction of a daily program for inspecting and observing work in progress for SIMOPS tasks. Prior to these improvements, there was no established program for monitoring ongoing activities related to SIMOPS tasks during the turnaround. This study elucidates the steps taken to enhance SIMOPS within Pertamina, drawing from the experiences of Plaju Refinery as a guide. A real actual case study will be provided from our experience in the operational unit. In conclusion, these efforts are essential for the success of the first-ever major turnaround at Plaju Refinery, with the SIMOPS strategy serving as a central component. Based on these experiences, enhancements have been made to Pertamina's official Internal Guidelines for Executing SIMOPS Risk Mitigation, benefiting all Pertamina units.Keywords: process safety management, turn around, oil refinery, risk assessment
Procedia PDF Downloads 75