Search results for: Sing district

Authors: Nilda San Miguel, Elymar Pascual

Abstract:

The main focus of this study is exploring the effective approaches in teaching Mathematics that is being applied in public schools, s.y. 2018-2019. This research was written as connected output to the district-wide School Learning Action Cell (DISLAC) on Math teaching approaches which was recently conducted in Victoria, Laguna. Fifty-four math teachers coming from 17 schools in Victoria became the respondents of this study. Qualitative method of doing research was applied. Teachers’ responses to the following concerns were gathered, analyzed and interpreted: (1) evaluation of the recently conducted DISLAC, (2) status of the use of different approaches, (3) perception on the effective use of approaches, (4) preference of approach to explore in classroom sessions, (5) factors affecting the choice of approach, (6) difficulties encountered, (7) and perceived benefit to learners. Results showed that the conduct of DISLAC was very highly satisfactory (mean 4.41). Teachers looked at collaborative approach as very highly effective (mean 4.74). Fifty-two percent of the teachers is using collaborative approach, 17% constructivist, 11% integrative, 11% inquiry-based, and 9% reflective. Reflective approach was chosen to be explored by most of the respondents (29%) in future sessions. The difficulties encountered by teachers in using the different approaches are: (1) learners’ difficulty in following instructions, (2) lack of focus, (3) lack of willingness and cooperation, (4) teachers’ lack of mastery in using different approaches, and (5) lack of time of doing visual aids because of time mismanagement. Teachers deemed the use of various teaching approaches can help the learners to have (1) mastery of competency, (2) increased communication, (3) improved confidence, (4) facility in comprehension, and (5) better academic output. The result obtained from this study can be used as an input for SLACs. Recommendations at the end of the study were given to school/district heads and future researchers.

Keywords: approaches, collaborative, constructivism, inquiry-based, integrative, reflective

Procedia PDF Downloads 257

Authors: Caiwei Chen, Jianhao Li, Jiasong Zhu

Abstract:

The reform and opening-up stimulated economic and technological take-off in China while resulting in massive urbanization and motorization. Wujiaochang area was set as a secondary business district in Shanghai to meet the growing demand, with the reconstruction of Wujiaochang Plaza in 2005 being a milestone of this intended urban renewal. Wujiaochang is now an economically dynamic area providing much larger traffic and transit capacity transportation-wise. However, this rebuilding has completely changed the face of the district. It is, therefore, appropriate to evaluate its impact on neighborhoods and communities while assessing the overall sustainability of such an operation. In this study, via an online questionnaire survey among local residents and daily visitors, we assess the perceptions and the estimated impact of Wujiaochang Plaza's reconstruction. We then confront these results to the 62 answers from local residents to a questionnaire collected on paper. The analysis of our data, along with observation and other forms of information -such as maps analysis or online applications (Dianping)- demonstrate major improvement in economic sustainability but also significant losses in environmental sustainability, especially in terms of active transportation. As for the social viewpoint, local residents' opinions tend to be rather positive, especially regarding traffic safety and access to consumption, despite the lack of connectivity and radical changes induced by Wujiaochang massive transformations. In general, our investigation exposes the overall positive outcomes of Wujiaochang Plaza reconstruction but also unveils major drawbacks, especially in terms of soft mobility and traffic fluidity. We gather that our approach could be of tremendous help for future major urban interventions, as such approaches in municipal regeneration are widely implemented in Chinese cities and yet still need to be thoroughly assessed in terms of sustainability.

Keywords: China's reform and opening-up, economical revitalization, neighborhood identity, sustainability assessment, urban renewal

Procedia PDF Downloads 206

Authors: P. Cinthuja, J. A. O. A Jayakody, M. P. M. Perera, W. V. D. N. Weerarathna, S.E. Nirosha, D. K. D. C. Indeewari, T. Kaethieswaran, S. B. Adikari

Abstract:

The aims of the study was to measure physical fitness parameters of school badminton players in the Kandy district and determine the factors contributing to improve the physical fitness. Height, weight, handgrip was measured and sit and reach test, shoulder flexibility test, standing long jump test, 20m sprint speed test, agility T-test and 20 m multistage shuttle run test were performed on 183 school badminton players. Linear regression and correlation tests were performed using body mass index, practiced duration, age category, level of performance, additional sports involvement as independent variables and physical fitness parameter as dependent variables. Results: The present study showed that the upper body power, upper body strength and endurance and speed depended on body mass index both in male and female school badminton players. Speed, agility, flexibility of shoulders, explosive power of shoulder and aerobic endurance depended on the duration of practiced. Furthermore, involvement in additional sports other than badminton did not enhance the performance of badminton players. But it decreased player’s performance by decreasing agility and speed. Age had an effect on the upper body power, explosive power of lower limb, agility and speed both in both males and females. Conclusions: The performance of badminton players could be enhanced by maintaining a proper body mass index. Badminton specific parameter could be improved by increasing the duration of practiced. Involvement in other sports does not give an added advantage to badminton players to improve their performance.

Keywords: agility, Body Mass Index, endurance, badminton

Procedia PDF Downloads 404

Authors: S. M. Dissanayake, I. R. Palihakkara , K. G. Premathilaka

Abstract:

Oil palm (Elaeisguineensis) is the world’s leading vegetable oil-producing plant and is well established as a perennial plantation crop in tropical countries. Oil palm in Sri Lanka has spread over 10,000 hectares in the wet zone of the Island. In immature plantations, land productivity can be increased with some selected intercrops. At the immature stage of the plantations (age up to 3-5 years), there is a large amount of free space available inside the plantations. This study attempts to determine the suitability of different intercrops during the immature phase of the oil palm. A field experiment is being conducted at Thalgaswella estate (WL2a) in Galle district, Sri Lanka. The objectives of the study are to evaluate and recommend a suitable immature oil palm-based intercropping system/s. This experiment was established with randomized complete block design (RCBD) with four treatments, including control in three replicates. Banana, ginger, and turmeric were selected as intercrops. Growth parameters of intercrops (plant height, length, width of D-leaf, and yield of intercrops) and girth, length, and number of leaflets of 17th frond in oil palms were taken at two months intervals. In addition to this, chlorophyll content was also measured in both intercrops and oil palm trees. Soil chemical parameters were measured annually. Results were statistically analyzed with SAS software. Results revealed that intercropped banana, turmeric, and ginger had given yields of 7.61Mt/ha, 4.92Mt/ha, and 4.53Mt/ha, respectively. When comparing these yields with mono-crop, banana, turmeric, and ginger intercrop yields as percentages of 16.9%, 24.6%, and 30.2%, respectively. The results of this study could be used to make appropriate policies to increase the unit land productivity in oil palm plantations in a low country wet zone (WL2a) of Sri Lanka.

Keywords: inter-cropping, oil palm, policies, mono-crop, land productivity

Procedia PDF Downloads 132

Authors: V. M. Mmbengwa, J. R. M. Mabuso, C. P. Du Plooy, S. Laurrie, H. D. van Schalkwyk

Abstract:

Sweet potato products are necessary for the provision of essential nutrients in every household, regardless of their poverty status. Their consumption appears to be highly influenced by socio-economic factors, such as malnutrition, food insecurity and unemployment. Therefore, market availability is crucial for these cultivars to resolve some of the socio-economic factors. The aim of the study was to investigate market availability of sweet potato cultivars in the North West Province. In this study, both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies were used. Qualitative methodology was used to explain the quantitative outcomes of the variables. On the other hand, quantitative results were used to test the hypothesis. The study used SPSS software to analyse the data. Cross-tabulation and Chi-square statistics were used to obtain the descriptive and inferential analyses, respectively. The study found that the Blesbok cultivar is dominating the markets of the North West Province, with the Monate cultivar dominating in the Bojanala Platinum (75 %) and Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati (25 %) districts. It is also found that a unit increase in the supply of sweet potato cultivars in both local and district municipal markets is accompanied by a reduced demand of 28 % and 33 % at district and local markets, respectively. All these results were found to be significant at p<0.05. The results further revealed that in four out of nine local municipality markets, the Blesbok cultivar seems to be solely available in those four local municipal markets of North West Province. It can be concluded that Blesbok, relative to other cultivars, is the most commercialised sweet potato variety and that consumers across this Province are highly aware of it. For other cultivars to assume market prominence in this Province, a well-designed marketing campaign for creating awareness may be required. This campaign may be based on nutritional advantages of different cultivars, of which Blesbok is relatively inferior, compared to orange-fleshed sweet potato varieties.

Keywords: cultivar, malnutrition, markets, sweet potato

Procedia PDF Downloads 265

Authors: Nataliya Apanovich, Mark Wright

Abstract:

Uganda is among the poorest but fastest growing populations in the world. Its annual population growth of 3% puts additional stress through land fragmentation, agricultural intensification, and deforestation on already highly weathered tropical (Ferralsol) soils. All of these factors lead to decreased agricultural yields and consequently diminished food security. The central region of Uganda, Buganda Kingdom, is especially vulnerable in terms of food security as its high population density coupled with mismanagement of natural resources led to gradual loss of its soil and even changes in microclimate. These changes are negatively affecting livelihoods of smallholder farmers who comprise 80% of all population in Uganda. This research focuses on biochar for soil remediation in Masaka District, Uganda. If produced on a small scale from locally sourced materials, biochar can increase the quality of soil in a cost and time effective manner. To assess biochar potential, 151 smallholder farmers were interviewed on the types of crops grown, agricultural residues produced and their use, as well as on attitudes towards biochar use and its production on a small scale. The interviews were conducted in 7 sub-counties, 32 parishes, and 92 villages. The total farmland covered by the study was 606.2 kilometers. Additional information on the state of agricultural development and environmental degradation in the district was solicited from four local government officials via informal interviews. This project has been conducted in collaboration with the international agricultural research institution, Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda. The results of this research can have implications on the way farmers perceive the value of their agricultural residues and what they decide to do with them. The underlying objective is to help smallholders in degraded soils increase their agricultural yields through the use of biochar without diverting the already established uses of agricultural residues to a new soil management practice.

Keywords: agricultural residues, biochar, central Uganda, food security, soil erosion, soil remediation

Procedia PDF Downloads 256

Authors: Yogita Tulsian, A. Yadav

Abstract:

Background: India reports 3,600 cholera cases annually. In August 2013, a cholera outbreak was reported in Jalgaon district, Maharashtra state. We sought to describe the epidemiological characteristics,identify risk factors, and recommend control measures. Methods: We collected existing stool and water testing laboratory results, and conducted a1: 1 matched case-control study. A cholera case was defined as a resident of Vishnapur or Malapur villagewith onset of acute watery diarrhea on/ after 1-July-2013. Controls were matched by age, gender and village and had not experienced any diarrhea for 3 months. We collected socio-demographic characteristics, clinical presentation, and food/travel/water exposure history and conducted conditional logistic regression. Results: Of 50 people who met the cholera case definition, 40 (80%) were from Vishnapur village and 30 (60%) were female. The median age was 8.5 years (range; 0.3-75). Twenty (45%) cases were hospitalized, twelve (60%) with severe dehydration. Three of five stool samples revealed Vibrio cholerae 01 El Tor, Ogawa and samples from 7 of 14 Vishnapur water sources contained fecal coliforms. Cases from Vishnapur were significantly more likely to drink from identified contaminated water sources (matched odds ratio (MOR) 3.5; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1-13), or from a river/canal (MOR=18.4;95%CI: 2-504). Cases from Malapur were more likely to drink from a river/canal (MOR=6.2; 95%CI: 0.6-196). Cases from both villages were significantly more likely to visit the forest (MOR 6.3; 95%CI: 2-30) or another village (MOR 3.5; 95%CI; 0.9-17). Conclusions: This outbreak was caused by Vibrio cholerae, likely through contamination of water in Vishnapur village and/or through drinking river/canal water. We recommended safe drinking water for forest visitors and all residents of these villages and use of regular water testing.

Keywords: cholera, case control study, contaminated water, river

Procedia PDF Downloads 342

Authors: Tatenda Manomano, Moreblessing Memory Ndonga

Abstract:

In South Africa and the world over, despite an array of commendable policies to protect the rights of children, the situation on the ground indicates that HIV/AIDS continues to pose increasing challenges on the children’s’ right to education due to the death of their parents. This study sought to validate the home experiences of children that negatively impact on their right to education in South Africa with a case of HIV/AIDS orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs) in Amatole District. The study utilized a qualitative research method in collecting the feelings, views and attitudes of these children to establish the children’s home experiences. An interview guide with semi-structured questions was used to steer the one-on-one in-depth interviews with children from Parkside Primary School, Langa-Liphumile High School and one anonymous school in East London, Eastern Cape Province. 5 learners were purposively selected from each school and subjected to a one-on-one interview with the researcher. The researcher purposively selected one teacher per school, 2 members each from 3 community based organizations (CBOs) who were also subjected to a one-on-one in-depth interview. The findings indicated these negative experiences of the OVCs in their homes such as; attendance to a school was poor; academic performance was low; enrollment in schools was very low and abuse of these children was high. These researchers recommend for psychosocial support for these children to be placed in the schools; integration of HIV/AIDS programmes to target especially the OVCs; social workers should ensure that they regularly do home visits to these OVCs to establish whether the home circumstances these children are still conducive for them. It is hoped that the findings from this paper will be an asset that other researchers, policy makers, the government and NGOs/CBOs will take into consideration for the benefit of OVCs.

Keywords: orphaned and vulnerable children (OVCs), HIV, AIDS, home experiences

Procedia PDF Downloads 342

Authors: Arun Dhakal, Geoff Cockfield, Tek Narayan Maraseni

Abstract:

This paper attempts to fulfil the gap in measuring adoption in agroforestry studies. It explains the derivation of an index of adoption rate in a Nepalese context and examines the factors affecting adoption of agroforestry-based land management practice (AFLMP) in the Dhanusha District of Nepal. Data about the different farm practices and the factors (bio-physical, socio-economic) influencing adoption were collected during focus group discussion and from the randomly selected households using a household survey questionnaire, respectively. A multivariate regression model was used to determine the factors. The factors (variables) found to significantly affect adoption of AFLMP were: farm size, availability of irrigation water, education of household heads, agricultural labour force, frequency of visits by extension workers, expenditure on farm inputs purchase, household’s experience in agroforestry, and distance from home to government forest. The regression model explained about 75% of variation in adoption decision. The model rejected ‘erosion hazard’, ‘flood hazard’ and ‘gender’ as determinants of adoption, which in case of single agroforestry practice were major variables and played positive role. Out of eight variables, farm size played the most powerful role in explaining the variation in adoption, followed by availability of irrigation water and education of household heads. The results of this study suggest that policies to promote the provision of irrigation water, extension services and motivation to obtaining higher education would probably provide the incentive to adopt agroforestry elsewhere in the terai of Nepal.

Keywords: agroforestry, adoption index, determinants of adoption, step-wise linear regression, Nepal

Procedia PDF Downloads 471

Authors: Shaojun Zheng, Lei Xu, Yunzi Wang

Abstract:

The main purpose of the research is to use the cultural ecology to analyze the renewal of Shenzhen urban village in the process of China's urbanization and to evaluate and guide the renewal, which will combine the society value and economic efficiency and activate urban villages. The urban village has a long history. There are also many old buildings, various residents, and a strong connection with the surrounding environment. Cultural ecology, which uses the knowledge of ecology to study culture, provides us a cultural perspective in the renewal. We take Hubei village in Shenzhen as our example. By using cultural ecology, we find a new way dealing with the relationship between culture and other factors. It helps us to give the buildings and space the culture meanings from different scales. It enables us to find a unique development pattern of urban village. After analyzing several famous cultural blocks cases, we find it is possible to connect the unique culture of urban village with the renovation of its buildings, community, and commerce. We propose the following strategies with specific target: 1. Building renovation: We repair and rebuild the origin buildings as little as possible, and retain the original urban space tissue as much as possible to keep the original sense of place and the cultural atmosphere. 2. Community upgrade: We reshape the village stream, fix the original function, add event which will activate people to complete the existing cultural circle 3. District commerce: We implant food and drink district, boutique commercial, and creative industries, to make full use of the historical atmosphere of the site to enhance the culture feelings For the renewal of a seemingly chaotic mixed urban village, it is important to break out from the conventional practices of building shopping malls or residential towers. Without creating those building landmarks, cultural ecology activates the urban village by exploiting its unique culture, which makes the old and new combine and becomes a new stream of energy, forming the new cultural, commercial and stylish landmark of the city.

Keywords: cultural ecology, urban village, renewal, combination

Procedia PDF Downloads 346

Authors: Muhammad Hardyan Prastyanto, Aisah Azhari Marwangi, Yulinda Rizky Pratiwi

Abstract:

Globalization has become a driving force for the current technological developments. The presence of the Virtual Space provides opportunities for people to self-actualization through access to a wider world, quickly and easily. Cities that are part of the existence of life, witness the history of civilization over time, also has been the major object to upgrading on technological sector. A smart city is one where the government and citizenry are using the best available means, including ICT, to achieve their shared goals. This often includes economic development, environmental sustainability, and improved quality of life for citizens. Thus theory is the basis for research of this study. This study aimed to know the implementation of the Urban Retrofitting at Malioboro area based on Information and Communication Technologies. The method of this study is by reviewing the effectiveness of the E-commerce uses as a major system to identification the Malioboro Smart Central Business District. By using a significance level of 5 %, it can be concluded that addresses have a significant influence on the ratings obtained, namely regarding the location of the hotel establishment. But despite the use of the website does not have a significant influence on the rating of the hotel, using the website still has influence significantly on the rating, because the p -value (Sig.) of the variable website is not so much different from the significance level determined by the researcher. In the interpretation, if a hotel is located on the Pasar Kembang streets and not to use the website, so the hotel is likely to have a rating of the constant value which is 3.183. However, if a hotel located on the Sosrowijayan streets, so the hotel rating will be increased by 0,302. Then if a hotel has been using a website, so the hotel rating will increase by 0,264. It is possible to conclude the effectiveness of ICT’s (Website) uses and location to identification the urban retrofitting through increasing of building rating in Malioboro Central Business District.

Keywords: urban retrofitting, e-commerce, information and communication technology, statistic regression, SCBD, Malioboro

Procedia PDF Downloads 268

Authors: Dominic Winston Kaku

Abstract:

The academic performance of students is an area of great concern in education to the various stakeholders of education. This is because the academic performance of students is widely used as a measure of the success of the educational process. There are several factors, such as school-related factors, teachers related factors, pupils or students’ factors, and many others determining their academic performance. It appears that the management role of head teachers as a determining factor of pupils’ academic achievement is not much investigated. The management role of head teachers is an essential element in the educational process that has a huge influence on students’ academic performance. The aim of the research was to examine the management role of head teachers in improving the academic performance of students. The study employed a descriptive survey and was conducted among Junior High Schools in the Ellembelle District of the Western Region of Ghana. The respondents for the study were mainly all the head teachers, teachers, and some selected basic school pupils (JHS) in four-selected public basic schools in the Ellembelle district in the Western part of Ghana. A questionnaire was used to collect primary data from a sampling size of 252 persons, including 226 JHS pupils, all JHS teachers, and head teachers of all four selected schools. Descriptive statistics, specifically frequencies, percentages, pie charts, bar charts, means, and standard deviation, were used to analyse the data, and that formed the basis of the presentation of findings. The study discovered that planning academic activities, fostering relationships between the school and the community, supervising lessons, staff motivation, and punishing students who go wrong are some of the activities the head teachers participate in to help improve students’ academic performance. The academic performance of students is an area of great concern in education to the various stakeholders of education. This is because the academic performance of students is widely used as a measure of the success of the educational process. There are several factors, such as school-related factors, teachers related factors, pupils or students’ factors, and many others determining their academic performance. It appears that the management role of head teachers as a determining factor of pupils’ academic achievement is not much investigated. The management role of head teachers is an essential element in the educational process that has a huge influence on students’ academic performance. The aim of the research was to examine the management role of head teachers in improving the academic performance of students. The study employed a descriptive survey and was conducted among Junior High Schools in the Ellembelle District of the Western Region of Ghana. The respondents for the study were mainly all the head teachers, teachers, and some selected basic school pupils (JHS) in four-selected public basic schools in the Ellembelle district in the Western part of Ghana. A questionnaire was used to collect primary data from a sampling size of 252 persons, including 226 JHS pupils, all JHS teachers, and head teachers of all four selected schools. Descriptive statistics, specifically frequencies, percentages, pie charts, bar charts, means, and standard deviation, were used to analyse the data, and that formed the basis of the presentation of findings. The study discovered that planning academic activities, fostering relationships between the school and the community, supervising lessons, staff motivation, and punishing students who go wrong are some of the activities the head teachers participate in to help improve students’ academic performance.

Keywords: supervision, head teacher, academic performance, planning, motivation, relationships

Procedia PDF Downloads 49

Authors: Rosendo Mendoza, María Carmen Hidalgo, María José Campos-Suñol, Julián Martínez, Javier Rey

Abstract:

The impact of mining environmental liabilities and mine drainage on surface water quality has been investigated in the hydrographic basin of the La Carolina mining district (southern Spain). This abandoned mining district is characterized by the existence of important mineralizations of sulfoantimonides of Pb - Ag, and sulfides of Cu - Fe. All surface waters reach the main river of this mining area, the Grande River, which ends its course in the Rumblar reservoir. This waterbody is intended to supply 89,000 inhabitants, as well as irrigation and livestock. Therefore, the analysis and control of the metal(loid) concentration that exists in these surface waters is an important issue because of the potential pollution derived from metallic mining. A hydrogeochemical campaign consisting of 20 water sampling points was carried out in the hydrographic network of the Grande River, as well as two sampling points in the Rumbler reservoir and at the main tailings impoundment draining to the river. Although acid mine drainage (pH below 4) is discharged into the Grande river from some mine adits, the pH values in the river water are always neutral or slightly alkaline. This is mainly the result of a dilution process of the small volumes of mine waters by net alkaline waters of the river. However, during the dry season, the surface waters present high mineralization due to a constant discharge from the abandoned flooded mines and a decrease in the contribution of surface runoff. The concentrations of dissolved Cd and Pb in the water reach values of 2 and 81 µg/l, respectively, exceeding the limit established by the Environmental Quality Standard for surface water. In addition, the concentrations of dissolved As, Cu, and Pb in the waters of the Rumblar reservoir reached values of 10, 20, and 11 µg/l, respectively. These values are higher than the maximum allowable concentration for human consumption, a circumstance that is especially alarming.

Keywords: environmental quality, hydrogeochemistry, metal mining, surface water

Procedia PDF Downloads 118

Authors: Alexandra Von Guionneau, William Sloper, Charlotte Burford

Abstract:

The benefits of exercise for the prevention and management of chronic disease are well established and the importance of primary care practitioners in promoting exercise is becoming increasingly recognized. However, those with severe manifestations of the chronic disease are managed in a secondary care setting. Secondary care practitioners, therefore, have a role to play in promoting physical activity. Methods: In order to assess secondary care doctors’ knowledge of the Chief Medical Officer’s guidelines for physical activity, a 12-question survey was administered to staff working in a district general hospital in South England during team and unit meetings. Questions related to knowledge of the current guidelines for both 19 - 64 year olds and older adults (65 years and above), barriers to exercise discussion or prescription and doctors’ own exercise habits. Responses were collected anonymously and analyzed using SPSS Version 24.0. Results: 96 responses were collected. Doctors taking part in the survey ranged from foundation years (26%) to consultants (40%). 17.7% of participants knew the guidelines for moderate intensity activity for 19 - 64 year olds. Only one participant knew all of the guidance for both 19 - 64 year olds and older adults. While 71.6% of doctors felt they were adequately informed about how to exercise, only 45.6% met the minimum recommended guidance for moderate intensity activity. Conclusion: More work is needed to promote the physical activity guidelines and exercise prescription to doctors working within a secondary care setting. In addition, doctors require more support to personally meet the recommended minimum level of physical activity.

Keywords: exercise is medicine, exercise prescription, physical activity guidelines, exercise habits

Procedia PDF Downloads 229

Authors: A. M. Ferrari, L. Volpi, M. Pini, C. Siligardi, F. E. Garcia Muina, D. Settembre Blundo

Abstract:

A long tradition in the ceramic manufacturing since the 18th century, primarily due to the availability of raw materials and an efficient transport system, let to the birth and development of the Italian ceramic tiles district that nowadays represents a reference point for this sector even at global level. This economic growth has been coupled to attention towards environmental sustainability issues throughout various initiatives undertaken over the years at the level of the production sector, such as certification activities and sustainability policies. In this way, starting from an evaluation of the sustainability in all its aspects, the present work aims to develop a benchmarking helping both producers and consumers. In the present study, throughout the Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA) framework, the sustainability has been assessed in all its dimensions: environmental with the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), economic with the Life Cycle Costing (LCC) and social with the Social Life Cycle Assessment (S-LCA). The annual district production of stoneware tiles during the 2016 reference year has been taken as reference flow for all the three assessments, and the system boundaries cover the entire life cycle of the tiles, except for the LCC for which only the production costs have been considered at the moment. In addition, a preliminary method for the evaluation of local and indoor emissions has been introduced in order to assess the impact due to atmospheric emissions on both people living in the area surrounding the factories and workers. The Life Cycle Assessment results, obtained from IMPACT 2002+ modified assessment method, highlight that the manufacturing process is responsible for the main impact, especially because of atmospheric emissions at a local scale, followed by the distribution to end users, the installation and the ordinary maintenance of the tiles. With regard to the economic evaluation, both the internal and external costs have been considered. For the LCC, primary data from the analysis of the financial statements of Italian ceramic companies show that the higher cost items refer to expenses for goods and services and costs of human resources. The analysis of externalities with the EPS 2015dx method attributes the main damages to the distribution and installation of the tiles. The social dimension has been investigated with a preliminary approach by using the Social Hotspots Database, and the results indicate that the most affected damage categories are health and safety and labor rights and decent work. This study shows the potential of the LCSA framework applied to an industrial sector; in particular, it can be a useful tool for building a comprehensive benchmark for the sustainability of the ceramic industry, and it can help companies to actively integrate sustainability principles into their business models.

Keywords: benchmarking, Italian ceramic industry, life cycle sustainability assessment, porcelain stoneware tiles

Procedia PDF Downloads 99

Authors: Yiling Shao, Megan Dai

Abstract:

This paper attempts to explore whether the cultural infrastructure supported by the Chinese government is still subject to a logic of “strict regulation”.Previous studies have pointed out that the "paternalism" tendency of China's cultural policy always leads to excessive government intervention in cultural development, while Chinese cultural practitioners can only seek cultural autonomy in the cracks of supervision. This can also explain why Chinese cultural policies sometimes have different effects than the official expectations.But this only reflects one aspect of China's cultural policy. In fact, the welfare cultural infrastructure funded by the government seems to highlight the principles of "safeguarding citizens' cultural rights" and "citizens' voluntary" rather than "indoctrination" and "enlightenment", What new features of China's cultural policy are reflected behind this policy orientation that is completely different from the logic of "regulation", which has also become an important issue in this paper. Based on the field survey of a cultural infrastructure (Gao ming District Cultural Center) in Gao ming District, Fo shan City, Guangdong Province, China, for nearly one year, the authors have obtained many text and picture materials.The paper discusses the dual role of cultural centers in China's cultural policy -both as a formal commitment by the state to protect citizens' basic cultural rights and as a social space for citizens to use preferential policies to obtain cultural capital. All in all, the author have conclued three operational logics of the cultural infrastructure currently supported by the Chinese government (at least in developed areas): first, the cultural center has become a versatile cultural space; second, grass-roots cultural cadres can be described as "policy entrepreneurs"; third, ordinary citizens will use the officially supported cultural infrastructure to increase cultural capital. This paper argues that, in comparison to the common “regulatory hand” in the field of cultural industries, in cultural infrastructure supported by state, the authorities and citizens are not in conflict. On the contrary, authorities must adopt a de-regulatory "pleasing" strategy to gain the support of citizens.

Keywords: cultural infrastructure, cultural capital, deregulation, policy entrepreneur

Procedia PDF Downloads 75

Authors: Hatharasinghe Liyanage Saneetha Chathaurika, Shreenika De Silva Weliange

Abstract:

Background and Significance of the Study: Natural and human-induced disasters have become more common due to rapid development and climate change. Therefore hospitalization due to injuries has increased in the midst of advancement in medicine. Prehospital trauma care is critical in reducing morbidity and mortality following injury. Army soldiers are one of the first responder categories after a major disaster causing injury. Thus, basic life support measures taken by trained lay first responders is life-saving, it is important to build up their capacities by updating their knowledge and practices while cultivating positive attitudes toward it. Objective: To describe knowledge, attitudes and practices on prehospital trauma care among army soldiers in Matara District. Methodology: A descriptive cross sectional study was carried out among army soldiers in Matara district. The whole population was studied belonging to the above group during the study period. Self-administered questionnaire was used as the study instrument. Cross tabulations were done to identify the possible associations using chi square statistics. Knowledge and practices were categorized in to two groups as “Poor” and “Good” taking 50% as the cut off. Results: The study population consists of 266 participants (response rate 97.79%).The overall level of knowledge on prehospital trauma care is poor (78.6%) while knowledge on golden hour of trauma (77.1%), triage system (74.4%), cardio pulmonary resuscitation (92.5%) and transportation of patients with spinal cord injury (69.2%) was markedly poor. Good knowledge is significantly associated with advance age, higher income and higher level of education whereas it has no significant association with work duration. More than 80% of them had positive attitudes on most aspects of prehospital trauma care while majority thinks it is good to have knowledge on this topic and they would have performed better in disaster situations if they were trained on pre-hospital trauma care. With regard to the practice, majority (62.8%) is included in the group of poor level of practice. They lack practice on first-aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation and safe transportation of the patients. Moreover, they had less opportunity to participate in drills/simulation programs done on disaster events. Good practice is significantly associated with advance age and higher level of education but not associated with level of income and working duration of army soldiers. Highly significant association was observed between the level of knowledge and level of practice on prehospital trauma care of army soldiers. It is observed that higher the knowledge practices become better. Conclusion: A higher proportion of army soldiers had poor knowledge and practice on prehospital trauma care while majority had positive attitudes regarding it. Majority lacks knowledge and practice in first-aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Due to significant association observed between knowledge and practice it can be recommended to include a training session on prehospital trauma care in the basic military curriculum which will enhance the ability to act as first responders effectively. Further research is needed in this area of prehospital trauma care to enhance the qualitative outcome.

Keywords: disaster, prehospital trauma care, first responders, army soldiers

Procedia PDF Downloads 213

Authors: Rieski Prihastuti, Meliana Depo, Trisno A. Wibowo, Misinem

Abstract:

On October 19, 2017, Yogyakarta Islamic Hospital reported 38 garment employees with nausea, vomiting, headache, abdominal pain, and diarrhea after they had lunch on October 18, 2017, to Sleman District Health Office. Objectives of this study were to ensure the outbreak and identify source and route of transmission. Case-control study was conducted to analyze food items that caused the outbreak. A case was defined as a person who got symptoms such as abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea with/without vomiting, fever, and headache after they had lunch on October 18, 2017. Samples included leftover lunch box, vomit, tap water and drinking water had been sent to the laboratory. Data were analyzed descriptively as frequency table and analyzed by using chi-square in bivariate analysis. All of 196 garment employee was included in this study. The common symptoms of this outbreak were abdominal pain (84.4%), diarrhea (72.8%), nausea (61.6%), headache (52.8%), vomiting (12.8%), and fever (6.4%) with median incubation period 13 hours (range 1-34 hours). Highest attack rate and odds ratio was found in grilled chicken (Attack Rate 58,49%) with Odds Ratio 11,023 (Confidence Interval 95% 1.383 - 87.859; p value 0,005). Almost all samples showed mold, except drinking water. Based on its sign and symptoms, also incubation period, diarrheal Bacillus cereus and Clostridium perfringens were suspected to be the causative agent of the outbreak. Limitation of this study was improper sample handling and no sample of food handler and stools in the food caterer. Outbreak investigation training needed to be given to the hospital worker, and monitoring should be done to the food caterer to prevent another outbreak.

Keywords: disease outbreak, foodborne disease, food poisoning, outbreak

Procedia PDF Downloads 128

Authors: N. C. Ghosh, Niladri Das, Prolay Mondal, Ranajit Ghosh

Abstract:

Groundwater quality deterioration due to human activities has become a prime factor of modern life. The major concern of the study is to access spatial variation of groundwater quality and to identify the sources of groundwater chemicals and its impact on human health of the concerned area. Multivariate statistical techniques, cluster, principal component analysis, and hydrochemical fancies are been applied to measure groundwater quality data on 14 parameters from 107 sites distributed randomly throughout the Birbhum district. Five factors have been extracted using Varimax rotation with Kaiser Normalization. The first factor explains 27.61% of the total variance where high positive loading have been concentrated in TH, Ca, Mg, Cl and F (Fluoride). In the studied region, due to the presence of basaltic Rajmahal trap fluoride contamination is highly concentrated and that has an adverse impact on human health such as fluorosis. The second factor explains 24.41% of the total variance which includes Na, HCO₃, EC, and SO₄. The last factor or the fifth factor explains 8.85% of the total variance, and it includes pH which maintains the acidic and alkaline character of the groundwater. Hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) grouped the 107 sampling station into two clusters. One cluster having high pollution and another cluster having less pollution. Moreover hydromorphological facies viz. Wilcox diagram, Doneen’s chart, and USSL diagram reveal the quality of the groundwater like the suitability of the groundwater for irrigation or water used for drinking purpose like permeability index of the groundwater, quality assessment of groundwater for irrigation. Gibb’s diagram depicts that the major portion of the groundwater of this region is rock dominated origin, as the western part of the region characterized by the Jharkhand plateau fringe comprises basalt, gneiss, granite rocks.

Keywords: correlation, factor analysis, hydrological facies, hydrochemistry

Procedia PDF Downloads 187

Authors: Emmanuel Yussuf, John Muthama, John Ng'ang'A

Abstract:

There has been increasing noise levels all over the world in the last decade. Many factors contribute to this increase, which is causing health related effects to humans. Developing countries are not left out of the whole picture as they are still growing and advancing their development. Motor vehicles are increasing on urban roads; there is an increase in infrastructure due to the rising population, increasing number of industries to provide goods and so many other activities. All this activities lead to the high noise levels in cities. This study was conducted in Nairobi’s Central Business District (CBD) with the main objective of simulating noise levels in order to understand the noise exposed to the people within the urban area, in relation to weather parameters namely temperature, rainfall and wind field. The study was achieved using the Neighbourhood Proximity Model and Time Series Analysis, with data obtained from proxies/remotely-sensed from satellites, in order to establish the levels of noise exposed to which people of Nairobi CBD are exposed to. The findings showed that there is an increase in temperature (0.1°C per year) and a decrease in precipitation (40 mm per year), which in comparison to the noise levels in the area, are increasing. The study also found out that noise levels exposed to people in Nairobi CBD were roughly between 61 and 63 decibels and has been increasing, a level which is high and likely to cause adverse physical and psychological effects on the human body in which air temperature, precipitation and wind contribute so much in the spread of noise. As a noise reduction measure, the use of sound proof materials in buildings close to busy roads, implementation of strict laws to most emitting sources as well as further research on the study was recommended. The data used for this study ranged from the year 2000 to 2015, rainfall being in millimeters (mm), temperature in degrees Celsius (°C) and the urban form characteristics being in meters (m).

Keywords: simulation, noise exposure, weather, proxy

Procedia PDF Downloads 352

Authors: A. Pensiri, K. Nantaporn, P. Parichut

Abstract:

Tourism is very important to the economy of many countries due to the large contribution in the areas of employment and income generation. However, the rapid growth of tourism can also be considered as one of the major uses of water user, and therefore also have a significant and detrimental impact on the environment. Guest behavior in water usage can be used to manage water in hotels for sustainable water resources management. This research presents a study of hotel guest water usage behavior at two hotels, namely Hotel A (located in Kathu district) and Hotel B (located in Muang district) in Phuket Province, Thailand, as case studies. Primary and secondary data were collected from the hotel manager through interview and questionnaires. The water flow rate was measured in-situ from each water supply device in the standard room type at each hotel, including hand washing faucets, bathroom faucets, shower and toilet flush. For the interview, the majority of respondents (n = 204 for Hotel A and n = 244 for Hotel B) were aged between 21 years and 30 years (53% for Hotel A and 65% for Hotel B) and the majority were foreign (78% in Hotel A, and 92% in Hotel B) from American, France and Austria for purposes of tourism (63% in Hotel A, and 55% in Hotel B). The data showed that water consumption ranged from 188 litres to 507 liters, and 383 litres to 415 litres per overnight guest in Hotel A and Hotel B (n = 244), respectively. These figures exceed the water efficiency benchmark set for Tropical regions by the International Tourism Partnership (ITP). It is recommended that guest water saving initiatives should be implemented at hotels. Moreover, the results showed that guests have high satisfaction for the hotels, the front office service reveal the top rates of average score of 4.35 in Hotel A and 4.20 in Hotel B, respectively, while the luxury decoration and room cleanliness exhibited the second satisfaction scored by the guests in Hotel A and B, respectively. On the basis of this information, the findings can be very useful to improve customer service satisfaction and pay attention to this particular aspect for better hotel management.

Keywords: hotel, tourism, Phuket, water usage

Procedia PDF Downloads 233

Authors: Nur Aziza Luxfiati

Abstract:

Clustering is partitioning data sets into sub-sets or groups in such a way that elements certain properties have shared property settings with a high level of similarity within one group and a low level of similarity between groups. . The K-Means algorithm is one of thealgorithmsclustering as a grouping tool that is most widely used in scientific and industrial applications because the basic idea of the kalgorithm is-means very simple. In this research, applying the technique of clustering using the k-means algorithm as a method of solving the problem of national development imbalances between regions in Central Java Province based on macroeconomic indicators. The data sample used is secondary data obtained from the Central Java Provincial Statistics Agency regarding macroeconomic indicator data which is part of the publication of the 2019 National Socio-Economic Survey (Susenas) data. score and determine the number of clusters (k) using the elbow method. After the clustering process is carried out, the validation is tested using themethodsBetween-Class Variation (BCV) and Within-Class Variation (WCV). The results showed that detection outlier using z-score normalization showed no outliers. In addition, the results of the clustering test obtained a ratio value that was not high, namely 0.011%. There are two district/city clusters in Central Java Province which have economic similarities based on the variables used, namely the first cluster with a high economic level consisting of 13 districts/cities and theclustersecondwith a low economic level consisting of 22 districts/cities. And in the cluster second, namely, between low economies, the authors grouped districts/cities based on similarities to macroeconomic indicators such as 20 districts of Gross Regional Domestic Product, with a Poverty Depth Index of 19 districts, with 5 districts in Human Development, and as many as Open Unemployment Rate. 10 districts.

Keywords: clustering, K-Means algorithm, macroeconomic indicators, inequality, national development

Procedia PDF Downloads 133

Authors: Stefan Fuchs

Abstract:

Against the backdrop of the proliferation of shopping malls in Japan during the last two decades, this paper presents the results of an ethnography conducted at a recently built suburban shopping mall in Western Tokyo. Through the analysis of the lived experiences of local residents, mall customers and the mall management this paper evaluates the benefits and disadvantages of the Business Improvement District (BID) model, which was implemented as urban redevelopment strategy in the area surrounding the shopping mall. The results of this research project show that while the BID model has in some respects contributed to the economic prosperity and to the perceived convenience of the area, it has led to gentrification and the redevelopment shows some deficiencies with regard to the inclusion of the elderly population as well as to the democratization of the decision-making process within the area. In Japan, shopping malls have been steadily growing both in size and number since a series of deregulation policies was introduced in the year 2000 in an attempt to push the domestic economy and to rejuvenate urban landscapes. Shopping malls have thereby become defining spaces of the built environment and are arguably important places of social interaction. Notwithstanding the vital role they play as factors of urban transformation, they have been somewhat overlooked in the research on Japan; especially with respect to their meaning for people’s everyday lives. By examining the ways, people make use of space in a shopping mall the research project presented in this paper addresses this gap in the research. Moreover, the research site of this research project is one of the few BIDs of Japan and the results presented in this paper can give indication on the scope of the future applicability of this urban redevelopment model. The data presented in this research was collected during a nine-months ethnographic fieldwork in and around the shopping mall. This ethnography includes semi-structured interviews with ten key informants as well as direct and participant observations examining the lived experiences and perceptions of people living, shopping or working at the shopping mall. The analysis of the collected data focused on recurring themes aiming at ultimately capturing different perspectives on the same aspects. In this manner, the research project documents the social agency of different groups within one communal network. The analysis of the perceptions towards the urban redevelopment around the shopping mall has shown that mainly the mall customers and large businesses benefit from the BID redevelopment model. While local residents benefit to some extent from their neighbourhood becoming more convenient for shopping they perceive themselves as being disadvantaged by changing demographics due to rising living expenses, the general noise level and the prioritisation of a certain customer segment or age group at the shopping mall. Although the shopping mall examined in this research project is just an example, the findings suggest that in future urban redevelopment politics have to provide incentives for landowners and developing companies to think of other ways of transforming underdeveloped areas.

Keywords: business improvement district, ethnography, shopping mall, urban redevelopment

Procedia PDF Downloads 115

Authors: Nutthan Inkhong, Sutthiphong Ruangchante

Abstract:

Chiang Rai province is located at the northern border of Thailand. Most of the geography there is the northern continental highlands, and the population has many types of inhabitants, including Thai people, immigrants and ethnic groups such as Akha, Lahu, Lisu, Yao, etc. Most of these ethnic groups migrated from neighbouring countries such as Myanmar, Laos, China, etc. and settled in the mountains. Each ethnic group has their unique traditions, culture, and ways of life, including the musical culture that the ancestors of each ethnic group brought with them. In the present, the Akha have the largest population in the region and still live together in numerous villages in many districts. Thus, Akha musical culture still appears in the community traditions and cultural events of Chiang Rai province regularly. This article presents the situations of Akha musical culture in the present and the predictions for the future. The study method involves the analysis of music information and the related social contexts, which were collected from the fieldwork of ethnomusicological methodology by in-depth interviews, observations, audio and visual recordings, and related documents. The results found that the important persons who are related with Akha musical culture include (1) a musical instrument maker (lives in Mae Chan district) who produces various Akha musical instruments, including gourd mouth organs, Akha drums, two-way flutes, three-hole flutes, Jew’s harps (the sound of teenage love), buffalo horns (the sound symbol of hunting) and bird call instruments (the imitation of bird sounds), (2) a folk philosopher (lives in Mae Pha Luang district) who can teach music to the new generation of Akha people as well as lecture and demonstrate music to academics and tourists, and (3) a community leader (lives in Mae Chan district) who conserves Akha performances, singing and music through various activities of the students in an informal school. Because of the changes to the social contexts and ways of life of the Akha people, such as the educational system, religion, social media, etc., including the popularity of both Thai and international popular music among the new generation of Akha people, changes to and the fading away of Akha musical culture in the future may likely occur. Therefore, the conservation and inheritance of Akha music is an issue that should be resolved quickly. This primary study leads to the next step of the ethnomusicological work and plays a part in preventing or reducing the problems impacting Akha musical culture survival by the recording of Akha music in all of its dimensions, such as producing musical instruments, playing musical instruments, analysis of tuning systems, recording Akha music as musical notation using symbols, researching related social contexts, etc. and the transcription of this information to create lessons that can be returned to the Akha community.

Keywords: Akha music, Chiang Rai, ethnic music in Thailand, ethnomusicology

Procedia PDF Downloads 129

Authors: Patrizia Bonaventura, Magda Di Renzo

Abstract:

This project aims to measure and assess the voice quality in children with autism. Few previous studies exist which have analyzed the voice quality of individuals with autism: abnormal voice characteristics have been found, like a high pitch, great pitch range, and sing-song quality. Existing studies did not focus specifically on Italian-speaking children’s voices and provided analysis of a few acoustic parameters. The present study aimed to gather more data and to perform acoustic analysis of the voice of children with autism in order to identify patterns of abnormal voice features that might shed some light on the causes of the dysphonia and possibly be used to create a pediatric assessment tool for early identification of autism. The participants were five native Italian-speaking boys with autism between the age of 4 years and 10 years (mean 6.8 ± SD 1.4). The children had a diagnosis of autism, were verbal, and had no other comorbid conditions (like Down syndrome or ADHD). The voices of the autistic children were recorded in the production of sustained vowels [ah] and [ih] and of sentences from the Italian version of the CAPE-V voice assessment test. The following voice parameters, representative of normal quality, were analyzed by acoustic spectrography through Praat: Speaking Fundamental Frequency, F0 range, average intensity, and dynamic range. The results showed that the pitch parameters (Speaking Fundamental Frequency and F0 range), as well as the intensity parameters (average intensity and dynamic range), were significantly different from the relative normal reference thresholds. Also, variability among children was found, so confirming a tendency revealed in previous studies of individual variation in these aspects of voice quality. The results indicate a general pattern of abnormal voice quality characterized by a high pitch and large variations in pitch and intensity. These acoustic voice characteristics found in Italian-speaking autistic children match those found in children speaking other languages, indicating that autism symptoms affecting voice quality might be independent of the native language of the children.

Keywords: autism, voice disorders, speech science, acoustic analysis of voice

Procedia PDF Downloads 43

Authors: Janmejoy Gupta, Arnab Paul, Manjari Chakraborty

Abstract:

Jharkhand is a state located in the eastern part of India. The Tropic of Cancer (23.5 degree North latitude line) passes through Ranchi district in Jharkhand. Mud huts with burnt clay tiled roofs in Jharkhand are an integral component of the state’s vernacular architecture. They come in various shapes, with a number of them having a courtyard type of plan. In general, it has been stated that designing dwellings with courtyards in them is a climate-responsive strategy in composite climate. The truth behind this hypothesis is investigated in this paper. In this paper, three types of mud huts with courtyards situated in Ranchi district in Jharkhand are taken as a study and through temperature measurements in the south-side rooms and courtyards, in addition to Autodesk Ecotect (Version 2011) software simulations, their thermal performance throughout the year are observed. Temperature measurements are specifically taken during the peak of summer and winter and the average temperatures in the rooms and courtyards during seven day-periods in peak of summer and peak of winter are plotted graphically. Thereafter, on the basis of the study and software simulations, the hypothesis is verified and the thermally better performing dwelling types in summer and winter identified among the three sub-types studied. Certain recommendations with respect to increasing thermal comfort in courtyard type mud huts in general are also made. It is found that all courtyard type dwellings do not necessarily show better thermal performance in summer and winter in composite climate. The U shaped dwelling with open courtyard on southern side offers maximum amount of thermal-comfort inside the rooms in the hotter part of the year and the square hut with a central courtyard, with the courtyard being closed from all sides, shows superior thermal performance in winter. The courtyards in all the three case-studies are found to get excessively heated up during summer.

Keywords: courtyard, mud huts, simulations, temperature measurements, thermal performance

Procedia PDF Downloads 381

Authors: Giulia Cardoni, Francesca Fabbrii

Abstract:

Living archives perform a function of social memory sharing, which contributes to building social bonds, communities, and identities. This potential lies in the ability to live archives to put together an archival function, which allows the conservation and transmission of memory with an artistic, performative and creative function linked to the present. As part of the DARE-UIA (Digital environment for collaborative alliances to regenerate urban ecosystems in middle-sized cities) project the creation of a living digital archive made it possible to create a narrative that would consolidate the cultural memory of the Darsena district of the city of Ravenna. The aim of the project is to stimulate the urban regeneration of a suburban area of a city, enhancing its cultural memory and identity heritage through digital heritage tools. The methodology used involves various digital storytelling actions necessary for the overall narrative using georeferencing systems (GIS), storymaps and 3D reconstructions for a transversal narration of historical content such as personal and institutional historical photos and to enhance the industrial archeology heritage of the neighborhood. The aim is the creation of an interactive and replicable narrative in similar contexts to the Darsena district in Ravenna. The living archive, in which all the digital contents are inserted, finds its manifestation towards the outside in the form of a museum spread throughout the neighborhood, making the contents usable on smartphones via QR codes and totems inserted on-site, creating thematic itineraries spread around the neighborhood. The construction of an interactive and engaging digital narrative has made it possible to enhance the material and immaterial heritage of the neighborhood by recreating the community that has historically always distinguished it.

Keywords: digital living archive, digital storytelling, GIS, 3D, open-air museum, urban regeneration, cultural memory

Procedia PDF Downloads 83

Authors: Kostas Kouvaris, Anastasia Eleftheriou, Georgios A. Sarantitis, Apostolos Chondronasios

Abstract:

To achieve the objective of almost zero carbon energy solutions by 2050, the EU needs to accelerate the development of integrated, highly efficient and environmentally friendly solutions. In this direction, district heating and cooling (DHC) emerges as a viable and more efficient alternative to conventional, decentralized heating and cooling systems, enabling a combination of more efficient renewable and competitive energy supplies. In this paper, we develop a forecasting tool for near real-time local weather and thermal energy demand predictions for an entire DHC network. In this fashion, we are able to extend the functionality and to improve the energy efficiency of the DHC network by predicting and adjusting the heat load that is distributed from the heat generation plant to the connected buildings by the heat pipe network. Two case-studies are considered; one for Vransko, Slovenia and one for Montpellier, France. The data consists of i) local weather data, such as humidity, temperature, and precipitation, ii) weather forecast data, such as the outdoor temperature and iii) DHC operational parameters, such as the mass flow rate, supply and return temperature. The external temperature is found to be the most important energy-related variable for space conditioning, and thus it is used as an external parameter for the energy demand models. For the development of the forecasting tool, we use state-of-the-art deep neural networks and more specifically, recurrent networks with long-short-term memory cells, which are able to capture complex non-linear relations among temporal variables. Firstly, we develop models to forecast outdoor temperatures for the next 24 hours using local weather data for each case-study. Subsequently, we develop models to forecast thermal demand for the same period, taking under consideration past energy demand values as well as the predicted temperature values from the weather forecasting models. The contributions to the scientific and industrial community are three-fold, and the empirical results are highly encouraging. First, we are able to predict future thermal demand levels for the two locations under consideration with minimal errors. Second, we examine the impact of the outdoor temperature on the predictive ability of the models and how the accuracy of the energy demand forecasts decreases with the forecast horizon. Third, we extend the relevant literature with a new dataset of thermal demand and examine the performance and applicability of machine learning techniques to solve real-world problems. Overall, the solution proposed in this paper is in accordance with EU targets, providing an automated smart energy management system, decreasing human errors and reducing excessive energy production.

Keywords: machine learning, LSTMs, district heating and cooling system, thermal demand

Procedia PDF Downloads 114

Authors: Arun Dhakal, Geoff Cockfield

Abstract:

This paper examines the emission potential of different farming practices that the farmers have adopted in Dhanusha District of Nepal and scope of these practices in climate change mitigation. Which practice is more climate-smarter is the question that this aims to address through a life cycle assessment (LCA) of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The LCA was performed to assess if there is difference in emission potential of broadly two farming systems (agroforestry–based and traditional agriculture) but specifically four farming systems. The required data for this was collected through household survey of randomly selected households of 200. The sources of emissions across the farming systems were paddy cultivation, livestock, chemical fertilizer, fossil fuels and biomass (fuel-wood and crop residue) burning. However, the amount of emission from these sources varied with farming system adopted. Emissions from biomass burning appeared to be the highest while the source ‘fossil fuel’ caused the lowest emission in all systems. The emissions decreased gradually from agriculture towards the highly integrated agroforestry-based farming system (HIS), indicating that integrating trees into farming system not only sequester more carbon but also help in reducing emissions from the system. The annual emissions for HIS, Medium integrated agroforestry-based farming system (MIS), LIS (less integrated agroforestry-based farming system and subsistence agricultural system (SAS) were 6.67 t ha-1, 8.62 t ha-1, 10.75 t ha-1 and 17.85 t ha-1 respectively. In one agroforestry cycle, the HIS, MIS and LIS released 64%, 52% and 40% less GHG emission than that of SAS. Within agroforestry-based farming systems, the HIS produced 25% and 50% less emissions than those of MIS and LIS respectively. Our finding suggests that a tree-based farming system is more climate-smarter than a traditional farming. If other two benefits (carbon sequestered within the farm and in the natural forest because of agroforestry) are to be considered, a considerable amount of emissions is reduced from a climate-smart farming. Some policy intervention is required to motivate farmers towards adopting such climate-friendly farming practices in developing countries.

Keywords: life cycle assessment, greenhouse gas, climate change, farming systems, Nepal

Procedia PDF Downloads 588

Authors: Wisit Wichitkosoom

Abstract:

Objective:The majority of the hisk-risk patients (ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), Acute cerebrovascular accident, Sepsis, Acute Traumatic patient ) are admitted to district or lacal hospitals (average 1-1.30 hr. from Udonthani general hospital, Northeastern province, Thailand) without proper facilities. The referral system was support to early care and early management at pre-hospital stage and prepare for the patient data to higher hospital. This study assessed the reduction in treatment delay achieved by pre-hospital diagnosis and referral directly to Udonthani General Hospital. Methods and results: Four district or local hospitals without proper facilities for treatment the very high-risk patient were serving the study region. Pre-hospital diagnoses were established with the simple technology such as LINE, SMS, telephone and Fax for concept of LEAN process and then the telemedicine, by ambulance monitoring (ECG, SpO2, BT, BP) in both real time and snapshot mode was administrated during the period of transfer for safety transfer concept (inter-hospital stage). The standard treatment for patients with STEMI, Intracranial injury and acute cerebrovascular accident were done. From 1 October 2012 to 30 September 2013, the 892 high-risk patients transported by ambulance and transferred to Udonthani general hospital were registered. Patients with STEMI diagnosed pre-hospitally and referred directly to the Udonthani general hospital with telemedicine closed monitor (n=248). The mortality rate decreased from 11.69% in 2011 to 6.92 in 2012. The 34 patients were arrested on the way and successful to CPR during transfer with the telemedicine consultation were 79.41%. Conclusion: The proper innovation could apply for health care system. The very high-risk patients must had the closed monitoring with two-way communication for the “safety transfer period”. It could modified to another high-risk group too.

Keywords: safety transfer, telemedicine, critical patients, medical and health sciences

Procedia PDF Downloads 283