Search results for: rehabilitation technology
3528 The Return of the Rejected Kings: A Comparative Study of Governance and Procedures of Standards Development Organizations under the Theory of Private Ordering
Authors: Olia Kanevskaia
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Standardization has been in the limelight of numerous academic studies. Typically described as ‘any set of technical specifications that either provides or is intended to provide a common design for a product or process’, standards do not only set quality benchmarks for products and services, but also spur competition and innovation, resulting in advantages for manufacturers and consumers. Their contribution to globalization and technology advancement is especially crucial in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and telecommunications sector, which is also characterized by a weaker state-regulation and expert-based rule-making. Most of the standards developed in that area are interoperability standards, which allow technological devices to establish ‘invisible communications’ and to ensure their compatibility and proper functioning. This type of standard supports a large share of our daily activities, ranging from traffic coordination by traffic lights to the connection to Wi-Fi networks, transmission of data via Bluetooth or USB and building the network architecture for the Internet of Things (IoT). A large share of ICT standards is developed in the specialized voluntary platforms, commonly referred to as Standards Development Organizations (SDOs), which gather experts from various industry sectors, private enterprises, governmental agencies and academia. The institutional architecture of these bodies can vary from semi-public bodies, such as European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), to industry-driven consortia, such as the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). The past decades witnessed a significant shift of standard setting to those institutions: while operating independently from the states regulation, they offer a rather informal setting, which enables fast-paced standardization and places technical supremacy and flexibility of standards above other considerations. Although technical norms and specifications developed by such nongovernmental platforms are not binding, they appear to create significant regulatory impact. In the United States (US), private voluntary standards can be used by regulators to achieve their policy objectives; in the European Union (EU), compliance with harmonized standards developed by voluntary European Standards Organizations (ESOs) can grant a product a free-movement pass. Moreover, standards can de facto manage the functioning of the market when other regulative alternatives are not available. Hence, by establishing (potentially) mandatory norms, SDOs assume regulatory functions commonly exercised by States and shape their own legal order. The purpose of this paper is threefold: First, it attempts to shed some light on SDOs’ institutional architecture, focusing on private, industry-driven platforms and comparing their regulatory frameworks with those of formal organizations. Drawing upon the relevant scholarship, the paper then discusses the extent to which the formulation of technological standards within SDOs constitutes a private legal order, operating in the shadow of governmental regulation. Ultimately, this contribution seeks to advise whether a state-intervention in industry-driven standard setting is desirable, and whether the increasing regulatory importance of SDOs should be addressed in legislation on standardization.Keywords: private order, standardization, standard-setting organizations, transnational law
Procedia PDF Downloads 1593527 An Investigation on the Suitability of Dual Ion Beam Sputtered GMZO Thin Films: For All Sputtered Buffer-Less Solar Cells
Authors: Vivek Garg, Brajendra S. Sengar, Gaurav Siddharth, Nisheka Anadkat, Amitesh Kumar, Shailendra Kumar, Shaibal Mukherjee
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CuInGaSe (CIGSe) is the dominant thin film solar cell technology. The band alignment of Buffer/CIGSe interface is one of the most crucial parameters for solar cell performance. In this article, the valence band offset (VBOff) and conduction band offset (CBOff) values of Cu(In0.70Ga0.30)Se/ 1 at.% Ga: Mg0.25Zn0.75O (GMZO) heterojunction, grown by dual ion beam sputtering system (DIBS), are calculated to understand the carrier transport mechanism at the heterojunction for the realization of all sputtered buffer-less solar cells. To determine the valence band offset (VBOff), ∆E_V at GMZO/CIGSe heterojunction interface, the standard method based on core-level photoemission is utilized. The value of ∆E_V can be evaluated by considering common core-level peaks. In our study, the values of (Valence band onset)VBOn, obtained by linear extrapolation method for GMZO and CIGSe films are calculated to be 2.86 and 0.76 eV. In the UPS spectra peak positions of Se 3d is observed in UPS spectra at 54.82 and 54.7 eV for CIGSe film and GMZO/CIGSe interface respectively, while the peak position of Mg 2p is observed at 50.09 and 50.12 eV for GMZO and GMZO/CIGSe interface respectively. The optical band gap of CIGSe and GMZO are obtained from absorption spectra procured from spectroscopic ellipsometry are 1.26 and 3.84 eV respectively. The calculated average values of ∆E_v and ∆E_C are estimated to be 2.37 and 0.21 eV, respectively, at room temperature. The calculated positive conduction band offset termed as a spike at the absorber junction is the required criterion for the high-efficiency solar cells for the efficient charge extraction from the junction. So we can conclude that the above study confirms GMZO thin films grown by the dual ion beam sputtering system are the suitable candidate for the CIGSe thin films based ultra-thin buffer-less solar cells. We investigated the band-offset properties at the GMZO/CIGSe heterojunction to verify the suitability of the GMZO for the realization of the buffer-less solar cells. The calculated average values of ∆E_V and ∆E_C are estimated to be 2.37 and 0.21 eV, respectively, at room temperature. The calculated positive conduction band offset termed as a spike at the absorber junction is the required criterion for the high-efficiency solar cells for the efficient charge extraction from the junction. So we can conclude that the above study confirms GMZO thin films grown by the dual ion beam sputtering system are the suitable candidate for the CIGSe thin films based ultra-thin buffer-less solar cells. Acknowledgment: We are thankful to DIBS, EDX, and XRD facility equipped at Sophisticated Instrument Centre (SIC) at IIT Indore. The authors B.S.S and A.K acknowledge CSIR and V.G acknowledge UGC, India for their fellowships. B.S.S is thankful to DST and IUSSTF for BASE Internship Award. Prof. Shaibal Mukherjee is thankful to DST and IUSSTF for BASE Fellowship and MEITY YFRF award. This work is partially supported by DAE BRNS, DST CERI, and DST-RFBR Project under India-Russia Programme of Cooperation in Science and Technology. We are thankful to Mukul Gupta for SIMS facility equipped at UGC-DAE Indore.Keywords: CIGSe, DIBS, GMZO, solar cells, UPS
Procedia PDF Downloads 2703526 Medical Experience: Usability Testing of Displaying Computed Tomography Scans and Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Virtual and Augmented Reality for Accurate Diagnosis
Authors: Alyona Gencheva
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The most common way to study diagnostic results is using specialized programs at a stationary workplace. Magnetic Resonance Imaging is presented in a two-dimensional (2D) format, and Computed Tomography sometimes looks like a three-dimensional (3D) model that can be interacted with. The main idea of the research is to compare ways of displaying diagnostic results in virtual reality that can help a surgeon during or before an operation in augmented reality. During the experiment, the medical staff examined liver vessels in the abdominal area and heart boundaries. The search time and detection accuracy were measured on black-and-white and coloured scans. Usability testing in virtual reality shows convenient ways of interaction like hand input, voice activation, displaying risk to the patient, and the required number of scans. The results of the experiment will be used in the new C# program based on Magic Leap technology.Keywords: augmented reality, computed tomography, magic leap, magnetic resonance imaging, usability testing, VTE risk
Procedia PDF Downloads 1023525 Partial Discharge Characteristics of Free- Moving Particles in HVDC-GIS
Authors: Philipp Wenger, Michael Beltle, Stefan Tenbohlen, Uwe Riechert
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The integration of renewable energy introduces new challenges to the transmission grid, as the power generation is located far from load centers. The associated necessary long-range power transmission increases the demand for high voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission lines and DC distribution grids. HVDC gas-insulated switchgears (GIS) are considered being a key technology, due to the combination of the DC technology and the long operation experiences of AC-GIS. To ensure long-term reliability of such systems, insulation defects must be detected in an early stage. Operational experience with AC systems has proven evidence, that most failures, which can be attributed to breakdowns of the insulation system, can be detected and identified via partial discharge (PD) measurements beforehand. In AC systems the identification of defects relies on the phase resolved partial discharge pattern (PRPD). Since there is no phase information within DC systems this method cannot be transferred to DC PD diagnostic. Furthermore, the behaviour of e.g. free-moving particles differs significantly at DC: Under the influence of a constant direct electric field, charge carriers can accumulate on particles’ surfaces. As a result, a particle can lift-off, oscillate between the inner conductor and the enclosure or rapidly bounces at just one electrode, which is known as firefly motion. Depending on the motion and the relative position of the particle to the electrodes, broadband electromagnetic PD pulses are emitted, which can be recorded by ultra-high frequency (UHF) measuring methods. PDs are often accompanied by light emissions at the particle’s tip which enables optical detection. This contribution investigates PD characteristics of free moving metallic particles in a commercially available 300 kV SF6-insulated HVDC-GIS. The influences of various defect parameters on the particle motion and the PD characteristic are evaluated experimentally. Several particle geometries, such as cylinder, lamella, spiral and sphere with different length, diameter and weight are determined. The applied DC voltage is increased stepwise from inception voltage up to UDC = ± 400 kV. Different physical detection methods are used simultaneously in a time-synchronized setup. Firstly, the electromagnetic waves emitted by the particle are recorded by an UHF measuring system. Secondly, a photomultiplier tube (PMT) detects light emission with a wavelength in the range of λ = 185…870 nm. Thirdly, a high-speed camera (HSC) tracks the particle’s motion trajectory with high accuracy. Furthermore, an electrically insulated electrode is attached to the grounded enclosure and connected to a current shunt in order to detect low frequency ion currents: The shunt measuring system’s sensitivity is in the range of 10 nA at a measuring bandwidth of bw = DC…1 MHz. Currents of charge carriers, which are generated at the particle’s tip migrate through the gas gap to the electrode and can be recorded by the current shunt. All recorded PD signals are analyzed in order to identify characteristic properties of different particles. This includes e.g. repetition rates and amplitudes of successive pulses, characteristic frequency ranges and detected signal energy of single PD pulses. Concluding, an advanced understanding of underlying physical phenomena particle motion in direct electric field can be derived.Keywords: current shunt, free moving particles, high-speed imaging, HVDC-GIS, UHF
Procedia PDF Downloads 1523524 A Theory of Vertical Partnerships Model as Responsive Failure in Alternative Arrangement for Infrastructural Development in the Third World Countries: A Comparative Public Administration Analysis
Authors: Cyril Ekuaze
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This paper was instigated by a set of assumption drawn at the introduction to a research work on alternative institutional arrangements for sustaining rural infrastructure in developing countries. Of one of such assumption is the one held that, a problem facing developing countries is the sustaining of infrastructural investment long enough to allow the facility to at least repay the cost of the development as been due to insufficient maintenance. On the contrary, this work argues that, most international partnerships relation with developing nations in developing infrastructures is “vertical modeling” with the hierarchical authority and command flow from top to bottom. The work argued that where international donor partners/agencies set out infrastructural development agenda in the developing nations without cognizance of design suitability and capacity for maintenance by the recipient nations; and where public administrative capacity building in the field of science, technology and engineering requisite for design, development and sustenance of infrastructure in the recipient countries are negated, prospective output becomes problematic.Keywords: vertical partnerships, responsive failure, infrastructural development, developing countries
Procedia PDF Downloads 3143523 Automated Tracking and Statistics of Vehicles at the Signalized Intersection
Authors: Qiang Zhang, Xiaojian Hu1
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Intersection is the place where vehicles and pedestrians must pass through, turn and evacuate. Obtaining the motion data of vehicles near the intersection is of great significance for transportation research. Since there are usually many targets and there are more conflicts between targets, this makes it difficult to obtain vehicle motion parameters in traffic videos of intersections. According to the characteristics of traffic videos, this paper applies video technology to realize the automated track, count and trajectory extraction of vehicles to collect traffic data by roadside surveillance cameras installed near the intersections. Based on the video recognition method, the vehicles in each lane near the intersection are tracked with extracting trajectory and counted respectively in various degrees of occlusion and visibility. The performances are compared with current recognized CPU-based algorithms of real-time tracking-by-detection. The speed of the presented system is higher than the others and the system has a better real-time performance. The accuracy of direction has reached about 94.99% on average, and the accuracy of classification and statistics has reached about 75.12% on average.Keywords: tracking and statistics, vehicle, signalized intersection, motion parameter, trajectory
Procedia PDF Downloads 2113522 A Longitudinal Exploration into Computer-Mediated Communication Use (CMC) and Relationship Change between 2005-2018
Authors: Laurie Dempsey
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Relationships are considered to be beneficial for emotional wellbeing, happiness and physical health. However, they are also complicated: individuals engage in a multitude of complex and volatile relationships during their lifetime, where the change to or ending of these dynamics can be deeply disruptive. As the internet is further integrated into everyday life and relationships are increasingly mediated, Media Studies’ and Sociology’s research interests intersect and converge. This study longitudinally explores how relationship change over time corresponds with the developing UK technological landscape between 2005-2018. Since the early 2000s, the use of computer-mediated communication (CMC) in the UK has dramatically reshaped interaction. Its use has compelled individuals to renegotiate how they consider their relationships: some argue it has allowed for vast networks to be accumulated and strengthened; others contend that it has eradicated the core values and norms associated with communication, damaging relationships. This research collaborated with UK media regulator Ofcom, utilising the longitudinal dataset from their Adult Media Lives study to explore how relationships and CMC use developed over time. This is a unique qualitative dataset covering 2005-2018, where the same 18 participants partook in annual in-home filmed depth interviews. The interviews’ raw video footage was examined year-on-year to consider how the same people changed their reported behaviour and outlooks towards their relationships, and how this coincided with CMC featuring more prominently in their everyday lives. Each interview was transcribed, thematically analysed and coded using NVivo 11 software. This study allowed for a comprehensive exploration into these individuals’ changing relationships over time, as participants grew older, experienced marriages or divorces, conceived and raised children, or lost loved ones. It found that as technology developed between 2005-2018, everyday CMC use was increasingly normalised and incorporated into relationship maintenance. It played a crucial role in altering relationship dynamics, even factoring in the breakdown of several ties. Three key relationships were identified as being shaped by CMC use: parent-child; extended family; and friendships. Over the years there were substantial instances of relationship conflict: for parents renegotiating their dynamic with their child as they tried to both restrict and encourage their child’s technology use; for estranged family members ‘forced’ together in the online sphere; and for friendships compelled to publicly display their relationship on social media, for fear of social exclusion. However, it was also evident that CMC acted as a crucial lifeline for these participants, providing opportunities to strengthen and maintain their bonds via previously unachievable means, both over time and distance. A longitudinal study of this length and nature utilising the same participants does not currently exist, thus provides crucial insight into how and why relationship dynamics alter over time. This unique and topical piece of research draws together Sociology and Media Studies, illustrating how the UK’s changing technological landscape can reshape one of the most basic human compulsions. This collaboration with Ofcom allows for insight that can be utilised in both academia and policymaking alike, making this research relevant and impactful across a range of academic fields and industries.Keywords: computer mediated communication, longitudinal research, personal relationships, qualitative data
Procedia PDF Downloads 1143521 Assessing the Viability of Solar Water Pumps Economically, Socially and Environmentally in Soan Valley, Punjab
Authors: Zenab Naseem, Sadia Imran
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One of the key solutions to the climate change crisis is to develop renewable energy resources, such as solar and wind power and biogas. This paper explores the socioeconomic and environmental viability of solar energy, based on a case study of the Soan Valley Development Program. Under this project, local farmers were provided solar water pumps at subsidized rates. These have been functional for the last seven years and have gained popularity among the local communities. The study measures the economic viability of using solar energy in agriculture, based on data from 36 households, of which 12 households each use diesel, electric and solar water pumps. Our findings are based on the net present value of each technology type. We also carry out a qualitative assessment of the social impact of solar water pumps relative to diesel and electric pumps. Finally, we conduct an environmental impact assessment, using the lifecycle assessment approach. All three analyses indicate that solar energy is a viable alternative to diesel and electricity.Keywords: alternative energy sources, pollution control adoption and costs, solar energy pumps, sustainable development
Procedia PDF Downloads 2463520 Settlements of Disputes in the Context of Islamic (Sharia) Economics in Indonesia and Egypt: A Comparative Analysis
Authors: Gemala Dewi, Wirdyaningsih, Farida Prihatini
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The development of sharia business activities at present has solidified its societal mark and has crossed influence between several nations. In the practice, there may be disputes, breaches and other forms of conflict that occurred along the way. In the meantime, alternative settlements of disputes are utilized differently between nations in the context of their political, social, economic, legal and infrastructural (technology and transportation) scope. Besides the various conditions, there is a common driving factor, which is a consequence of the need for businesses to settle conflicts in an efficient and cost-efficient manner. This factor is paired symbiotically with the limitations of the court and legal processes. Knowing this, Indonesia and Egypt represent countries that have similar social, political, economic and legal conditions. This academic research establishes a normative analysis that looks and compares the rules that regulate the prospects and challenges in the regards of dispute settlements in reference to sharia economics in Indonesia and Egypt. This work recommends that sharia economics dispute settlement is significant to be incorporated in both Indonesian and Egyptian legal systems.Keywords: sharia economics, dispute resolution, Indonesia, Egypt
Procedia PDF Downloads 3223519 Liberal Thoughts in the Modern Centuries
Authors: Siavash Soltani Hemmat
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Although 21st-century humanity is at the height of technology and has stepped toward the endless boundaries of knowledge, there are still people in many parts of the world who are deprived of even the most fundamental freedoms. Whereas without freedom, no possible meaning can be imagined for human life, none of the human talents will have the chance to flourish, and that man will be reduced to the level of an animal, removing the obstacles to human freedom, especially from the viewpoint of thoughts, is of utmost importance, in which the liberal ideas of the modern centuries have played an incomparable role. The aim of the present study is to introduce and explain the liberal ideas in the modern centuries and their role in the expansion of human freedoms in order to weaken and discredit the ideological and intellectual barriers to restricting the freedom of individuals and to pave the way for the liberation of humanity. A descriptive method has been employed in order to achieve the objectives of the research. Besides, for data collection, a library method has been conducted. In this study, three ideological teachings of the social contract , resistance against unjust governance and natural law were recognized as the foundations of the realization of fundamental freedoms of the people in the modern centuries and their content was explained and examined.Keywords: freedom, natural law, social contract, resistance
Procedia PDF Downloads 2043518 Data Security: An Enhancement of E-mail Security Algorithm to Secure Data Across State Owned Agencies
Authors: Lindelwa Mngomezulu, Tonderai Muchenje
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Over the decades, E-mails provide easy, fast and timely communication enabling businesses and state owned agencies to communicate with their stakeholders and with their own employees in real-time. Moreover, since the launch of Microsoft office 365 and many other clouds based E-mail services, many businesses have been migrating from the on premises E-mail services to the cloud and more precisely since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been a significant increase of E-mails utilization, which then leads to the increase of cyber-attacks. In that regard, E-mail security has become very important in the E-mail transportation to ensure that the E-mail gets to the recipient without the data integrity being compromised. The classification of the features to enhance E-mail security for further from the enhanced cyber-attacks as we are aware that since the technology is advancing so at the cyber-attacks. Therefore, in order to maximize the data integrity we need to also maximize security of the E-mails such as enhanced E-mail authentication. The successful enhancement of E-mail security in the future may lessen the frequency of information thefts via E-mails, resulting in the data of South African State-owned agencies not being compromised.Keywords: e-mail security, cyber-attacks, data integrity, authentication
Procedia PDF Downloads 1263517 Digital Mapping as a Tool for Finding Cities' DNA
Authors: Sanja Peter
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Transformation of urban environments can be compared to evolutionary processes. Systematic digital mapping of historical data can enable capturing some of these processes and their outcomes. For example, it may help reveal the structure of a city’s historical DNA. Gathering historical data for automatic processing may be giving a basis for cultural algorithms. Gothenburg City museum is trying to make city’s heritage information accessible through GIS-platforms and is now partnering with academic institutions to find appropriate methods to make accessible the knowledge on the city’s historical fabric. Hopefully, this will be carried out through a project called Digital Twin Cities. One part of this large project, concerning matters of Cultural Heritage, will be in collaboration with Chalmers University of Technology. The aim is to create a layered map showing historical developments of the city and extracting quantitative data about its built heritage, above and below the earth. It will allow interpreting the information from historic maps through, for example, names of the streets/places, geography, structural changes in urban fabric and information gathered by archaeologists’ excavations. Through the study of these geographical, historical and local metamorphoses, urban environment will reveal its metaphorical DNA or its MEM (Dawkins).Keywords: Gothenburg, mapping, cultural heritage, city history
Procedia PDF Downloads 1363516 Concept, Design and Implementation of Power System Component Simulator Based on Thyristor Controlled Transformer and Power Converter
Authors: B. Kędra, R. Małkowski
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This paper presents information on Power System Component Simulator – a device designed for LINTE^2 laboratory owned by Gdansk University of Technology in Poland. In this paper, we first provide an introductory information on the Power System Component Simulator and its capabilities. Then, the concept of the unit is presented. Requirements for the unit are described as well as proposed and introduced functions are listed. Implementation details are given. Hardware structure is presented and described. Information about used communication interface, data maintenance and storage solution, as well as used Simulink real-time features are presented. List and description of all measurements is provided. Potential of laboratory setup modifications is evaluated. Lastly, the results of experiments performed using Power System Component Simulator are presented. This includes simulation of under frequency load shedding, frequency and voltage dependent characteristics of groups of load units, time characteristics of group of different load units in a chosen area.Keywords: power converter, Simulink Real-Time, Matlab, load, tap controller
Procedia PDF Downloads 2333515 Operating System Based Virtualization Models in Cloud Computing
Authors: Dev Ras Pandey, Bharat Mishra, S. K. Tripathi
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Cloud computing is ready to transform the structure of businesses and learning through supplying the real-time applications and provide an immediate help for small to medium sized businesses. The ability to run a hypervisor inside a virtual machine is important feature of virtualization and it is called nested virtualization. In today’s growing field of information technology, many of the virtualization models are available, that provide a convenient approach to implement, but decision for a single model selection is difficult. This paper explains the applications of operating system based virtualization in cloud computing with an appropriate/suitable model with their different specifications and user’s requirements. In the present paper, most popular models are selected, and the selection was based on container and hypervisor based virtualization. Selected models were compared with a wide range of user’s requirements as number of CPUs, memory size, nested virtualization supports, live migration and commercial supports, etc. and we identified a most suitable model of virtualization.Keywords: virtualization, OS based virtualization, container based virtualization, hypervisor based virtualization
Procedia PDF Downloads 3113514 Waste to Biofuel by Torrefaction Technology
Authors: Jyh-Cherng Chen, Yu-Zen Lin, Wei-Zhi Chen
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Torrefaction is one of waste to energy (WTE) technologies developing in Taiwan recently, which can reduce the moisture and impurities and increase the energy density of biowaste effectively. To understand the torrefaction characteristics of different biowaste and the influences of different torrefaction conditions, four typical biowaste were selected to carry out the torrefaction experiments. The physical and chemical properties of different biowaste prior to and after torrefaction were analyzed and compared. Experimental results show that the contents of elemental carbon and caloric value of the four biowaste were significantly increased after torrefaction. The increase of combustible and caloric value in bamboo was the greatest among the four biowaste. The caloric value of bamboo can be increased from 1526 kcal/kg to 6104 kcal/kg after 300oC and 1 hour torrefaction. The caloric value of torrefied bamboo was almost four times as the original. The increase of elemental carbon content in wood was the greatest (from 41.03% to 75.24%), and the next was bamboo (from 47.07% to 74.63%). The major parameters which affected the caloric value of torrefied biowaste followed the sequence of biowaste kinds, torrefaction time, and torrefaction temperature. The optimal torrefaction conditions of the experiments were bamboo torrefied at 300oC for 3 hours, and the corresponding caloric value of torrefied bamboo was 5953 kcal/kg. This caloric value is similar to that of brown coal or bituminous coal.Keywords: torrefaction, waste to energy, calorie, biofuel
Procedia PDF Downloads 3673513 Electricity Production Enhancement in a Constructed Microbial Fuel Cell MFC Using Iron Nanoparticles
Authors: Khaoula Bensaida, Osama Eljamal
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The electrical energy generation through Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs) using microorganisms is a renewable and sustainable approach. It creates truly an efficient technology for power production and wastewater treatment. MFC is an electrochemical device which turns wastewater into electricity. The most important part of MFC is microbes. Nano zero-valent Iron NZVI technique was successfully applied in degrading the chemical pollutants and cleaning wastewater. However, the use of NZVI for enhancing the current production is still not confirmed yet. This study aims to confirm the effect of these particles on the current generation by using MFC. A constructed microbial fuel cell, which utilizes domestic wastewater, has been considered for wastewater treatment and bio-electricity generation. The two electrodes were connected to an external resistor (200 ohms). Experiments were conducted in two steps. First, the MFC was constructed without adding NZVI particles (Control) while at a second step, nanoparticles were added with a concentration of 50mg/L. After 20 hours, the measured voltage increased to 5 and 8mV, respectively. To conclude, the use of zero-valent iron in an MFC system can increase electricity generation.Keywords: bacterial growth, electricity generation, microbial fuel cell MFC, nano zero-valent iron NZVI.
Procedia PDF Downloads 1383512 The Impact of Technology on Human Rights Obligations and Theories
Authors: Mariam Kamal Sawares Gerges
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The interface between development and human rights has long been Although there has been an improvement in the protection of human rights in the region, human rights violations continue to occur. Although the government has adopted human rights laws, labor laws, and international agreements ratified by the United States, human rights violations are rare. The number of companies in debt is increasing in Bekasi, and human rights violations are increasing because the government is not obliged to protect them. The United States government and business leaders must respect, protect and defend the human rights of workers. This article discusses the human rights violations that garment workers face under the law, as well as ideas to improve workers' rights. Many theories have been developed to understand the impact between these two concepts, from rights to development to the development of human rights. Despite efforts, the relationship between development and human rights is not fully understood. But the connection between these two ideas is the idea that development efforts must respect human rights guarantees that have increased in recent years. It is then examined whether the right to sustainable development is acceptable or not.Keywords: sustainable development, human rights, the right to development, the human rights-based approach to development, environmental rights, economic development, social sustainability human rights protection, human rights violations, workers’ rights, justice, security
Procedia PDF Downloads 433511 Origins of Chicago Common Brick: Examining a Masonry Shell Encasing a New Ando Museum
Authors: Daniel Joseph Whittaker
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This paper examines the broad array of historic sites from which Chicago common brick has emerged, and the methods this brick has been utilized within and around a new hybrid structure recently completed-and periodically opened to the public, as a private art, architecture, design, and social activism gallery space. Various technical aspects regarding the structural and aesthetic reuse methods of salvaged brick within the interior and exterior of this new Tadao Ando-designed building in Lincoln Park, Chicago, are explored. This paper expands specifically upon the multiple possible origins of Chicago common brick, as well as the extant brick currently composing the surrounding alley which is integral to demarcating the southern site boundary of the old apartment building now gallery. Themes encompassing Chicago’s archeological and architectural history, local resource extraction, and labor practices permeate this paper’s investigation into urban, social and architectural history and building construction technology advancements through time.Keywords: masonry construction, history brickmaking, private museums, Chicago Illinois, Tadao Ando
Procedia PDF Downloads 1643510 Tourism in the Information Age
Authors: Suleyman Karacor
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The main purpose of this study is to investigate tourism marketing in the information age because of the importance and sensitivity. In the twenty-first century as a result of today's the increasing competition and product diversification in the tourism sector, tourism businesses must take into account exogenous variables such as new technological developments, commercial experience and consumer demand. In the information age, tourist product consumers tend to reserve their leisure time and expenditure on more active opportunities for different experiences instead of living the same experience again. Increasing the number of agents in the tourism sector, travel opportunities offering different experiences and more intensive use of modern technology helps to present diversification of leisure activities for tourists. From the perspective of tourists, travel costs are still important for buying the touristic products but maintaining a high level of tourist satisfaction is also of increasing importance. Tourists tend to prefer activities that add value. A real tourist product must be able to create value and new priorities for tourists. Therefore this study aims to review recent significant developments in international tourism marketing research and practices. To this end, this study reviews tourism marketing-focused articles.Keywords: information age, tourism marketing, tourism marketing mix, management
Procedia PDF Downloads 4183509 A Gauge Repeatability and Reproducibility Study for Multivariate Measurement Systems
Authors: Jeh-Nan Pan, Chung-I Li
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Measurement system analysis (MSA) plays an important role in helping organizations to improve their product quality. Generally speaking, the gauge repeatability and reproducibility (GRR) study is performed according to the MSA handbook stated in QS9000 standards. Usually, GRR study for assessing the adequacy of gauge variation needs to be conducted prior to the process capability analysis. Traditional MSA only considers a single quality characteristic. With the advent of modern technology, industrial products have become very sophisticated with more than one quality characteristic. Thus, it becomes necessary to perform multivariate GRR analysis for a measurement system when collecting data with multiple responses. In this paper, we take the correlation coefficients among tolerances into account to revise the multivariate precision-to-tolerance (P/T) ratio as proposed by Majeske (2008). We then compare the performance of our revised P/T ratio with that of the existing ratios. The simulation results show that our revised P/T ratio outperforms others in terms of robustness and proximity to the actual value. Moreover, the optimal allocation of several parameters such as the number of quality characteristics (v), sample size of parts (p), number of operators (o) and replicate measurements (r) is discussed using the confidence interval of the revised P/T ratio. Finally, a standard operating procedure (S.O.P.) to perform the GRR study for multivariate measurement systems is proposed based on the research results. Hopefully, it can be served as a useful reference for quality practitioners when conducting such study in industries. Measurement system analysis (MSA) plays an important role in helping organizations to improve their product quality. Generally speaking, the gauge repeatability and reproducibility (GRR) study is performed according to the MSA handbook stated in QS9000 standards. Usually, GRR study for assessing the adequacy of gauge variation needs to be conducted prior to the process capability analysis. Traditional MSA only considers a single quality characteristic. With the advent of modern technology, industrial products have become very sophisticated with more than one quality characteristic. Thus, it becomes necessary to perform multivariate GRR analysis for a measurement system when collecting data with multiple responses. In this paper, we take the correlation coefficients among tolerances into account to revise the multivariate precision-to-tolerance (P/T) ratio as proposed by Majeske (2008). We then compare the performance of our revised P/T ratio with that of the existing ratios. The simulation results show that our revised P/T ratio outperforms others in terms of robustness and proximity to the actual value. Moreover, the optimal allocation of several parameters such as the number of quality characteristics (v), sample size of parts (p), number of operators (o) and replicate measurements (r) is discussed using the confidence interval of the revised P/T ratio. Finally, a standard operating procedure (S.O.P.) to perform the GRR study for multivariate measurement systems is proposed based on the research results. Hopefully, it can be served as a useful reference for quality practitioners when conducting such study in industries.Keywords: gauge repeatability and reproducibility, multivariate measurement system analysis, precision-to-tolerance ratio, Gauge repeatability
Procedia PDF Downloads 2553508 Collaborative and Context-Aware Learning Approach Using Mobile Technology
Authors: Sameh Baccari, Mahmoud Neji
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In recent years, the rapid developments on mobile devices and wireless technologies enable new dimension capabilities for the learning domain. This dimension facilitates people daily activities and shortens the distances between individuals. When these technologies have been used in learning, a new paradigm has been emerged giving birth to mobile learning. Because of the mobility feature, m-learning courses have to be adapted dynamically to the learner’s context. The main challenge in context-aware mobile learning is to develop an approach building the best learning resources according to dynamic learning situations. In this paper, we propose a context-aware mobile learning system called Collaborative and Context-aware Mobile Learning System (CCMLS). It takes into account the requirements of Mobility, Collaboration and Context-Awareness. This system is based on the semantic modeling of the learning context and the learning content. The adaptation part of this approach is made up of adaptation rules to propose and select relevant resources, learning partners and learning activities based not only on the user’s needs, but also on its current context.Keywords: mobile learning, mobile technologies, context-awareness, collaboration, semantic web, adaptation engine, adaptation strategy, learning object, learning context
Procedia PDF Downloads 2983507 Design of Experiment for Optimizing Immunoassay Microarray Printing
Authors: Alex J. Summers, Jasmine P. Devadhasan, Douglas Montgomery, Brittany Fischer, Jian Gu, Frederic Zenhausern
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Immunoassays have been utilized for several applications, including the detection of pathogens. Our laboratory is in the development of a tier 1 biothreat panel utilizing Vertical Flow Assay (VFA) technology for simultaneous detection of pathogens and toxins. One method of manufacturing VFA membranes is with non-contact piezoelectric dispensing, which provides advantages, such as low-volume and rapid dispensing without compromising the structural integrity of antibody or substrate. Challenges of this processinclude premature discontinuation of dispensing and misaligned spotting. Preliminary data revealed the Yp 11C7 mAb (11C7)reagent to exhibit a large angle of failure during printing which may have contributed to variable printing outputs. A Design of Experiment (DOE) was executed using this reagent to investigate the effects of hydrostatic pressure and reagent concentration on microarray printing outputs. A Nano-plotter 2.1 (GeSIM, Germany) was used for printing antibody reagents ontonitrocellulose membrane sheets in a clean room environment. A spotting plan was executed using Spot-Front-End software to dispense volumes of 11C7 reagent (20-50 droplets; 1.5-5 mg/mL) in a 6-test spot array at 50 target membrane locations. Hydrostatic pressure was controlled by raising the Pressure Compensation Vessel (PCV) above or lowering it below our current working level. It was hypothesized that raising or lowering the PCV 6 inches would be sufficient to cause either liquid accumulation at the tip or discontinue droplet formation. After aspirating 11C7 reagent, we tested this hypothesis under stroboscope.75% of the effective raised PCV height and of our hypothesized lowered PCV height were used. Humidity (55%) was maintained using an Airwin BO-CT1 humidifier. The number and quality of membranes was assessed after staining printed membranes with dye. The droplet angle of failure was recorded before and after printing to determine a “stroboscope score” for each run. The DOE set was analyzed using JMP software. Hydrostatic pressure and reagent concentration had a significant effect on the number of membranes output. As hydrostatic pressure was increased by raising the PCV 3.75 inches or decreased by lowering the PCV -4.5 inches, membrane output decreased. However, with the hydrostatic pressure closest to equilibrium, our current working level, membrane output, reached the 50-membrane target. As the reagent concentration increased from 1.5 to 5 mg/mL, the membrane output also increased. Reagent concentration likely effected the number of membrane output due to the associated dispensing volume needed to saturate the membranes. However, only hydrostatic pressure had a significant effect on stroboscope score, which could be due to discontinuation of dispensing, and thus the stroboscope check could not find a droplet to record. Our JMP predictive model had a high degree of agreement with our observed results. The JMP model predicted that dispensing the highest concentration of 11C7 at our current PCV working level would yield the highest number of quality membranes, which correlated with our results. Acknowledgements: This work was supported by the Chemical Biological Technologies Directorate (Contract # HDTRA1-16-C-0026) and the Advanced Technology International (Contract # MCDC-18-04-09-002) from the Department of Defense Chemical and Biological Defense program through the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA).Keywords: immunoassay, microarray, design of experiment, piezoelectric dispensing
Procedia PDF Downloads 1753506 Efficient of Technology Remediation Soil That Contaminated by Petroleum Based on Heat without Combustion
Authors: Gavin Hutama Farandiarta, Hegi Adi Prabowo, Istiara Rizqillah Hanifah, Millati Hanifah Saprudin, Raden Iqrafia Ashna
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The increase of the petroleum’s consumption rate encourages industries to optimize and increase the activity in processing crude oil into petroleum. However, although the result gives a lot of benefits to humans worldwide, it also gives negative impact to the environment. One of the negative impacts of processing crude oil is the soil will be contaminated by petroleum sewage sludge. This petroleum sewage sludge, contains hydrocarbon compound and it can be calculated by Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon (TPH).Petroleum sludge waste is accounted as hazardous and toxic. The soil contamination caused by the petroleum sludge is very hard to get rid of. However, there is a way to manage the soil that is contaminated by petroleum sludge, which is by using heat (thermal desorption) in the process of remediation. There are several factors that affect the success rate of the remediation with the help of heat which are temperature, time, and air pressure in the desorption column. The remediation process using the help of heat is an alternative in soil recovery from the petroleum pollution which highly effective, cheap, and environmentally friendly that produces uncontaminated soil and the petroleum that can be used again.Keywords: petroleum sewage sludge, remediation soil, thermal desorption, total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH)
Procedia PDF Downloads 2353505 Comparison of the Effects of Rod Types of Rigid Fixation Devices on the Loads in the Lumbar Spine: A Finite Element Analysis
Authors: Bokku Kang, Changsoo Chon, Han Sung Kim
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We developed new design of rod of pedicle screw system that is beneficial in maintaining the spacing between the vertebrae and assessed the performance of the posterior fixation screw systems by numerical analysis according to the range of motion (flexion, extension, lateral bending, and axial rotation) of the vertebral column after inserting the pedicle screws. The simulation results showed that the conventional rod was the most low equivalent stress value among implant units in the case of flexion, extension and lateral bending of the vertebrae. In all cases except the torsional rotation, the results showed that the stress level of the single and double rounded rod exceeded about 30% to 70% compare to the conventional rod. Therefore, this product is not suitable for actual application in the field yet and it seems that product design optimization is necessary. Acknowledgement: This research was supported by the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy (MOTIE), Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology (KIAT) through the Encouragement Program for The Industries of Economic Cooperation Region.Keywords: lumber spine, internal fixation device, finite element method, biomechanics
Procedia PDF Downloads 3733504 Expansive-Restrictive Style: Conceptualizing Knowledge Workers
Authors: Ram Manohar Singh, Meenakshi Gupta
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Various terms such as ‘learning style’, ‘cognitive style’, ‘conceptual style’, ‘thinking style’, ‘intellectual style’ are used in literature to refer to an individual’s characteristic and consistent approach to organizing and processing information. However, style concepts are criticized for mutually overlapping definitions and confusing classification. This confusion should be addressed at the conceptual as well as empirical level. This paper is an attempt to bridge this gap in literature by proposing a new concept: expansive-restrictive intellectual style based on phenomenological analysis of an auto-ethnography and interview of 26 information technology (IT) professionals working in knowledge intensive organizations (KIOs) in India. Expansive style is an individual’s preference to expand his/her horizon of knowledge and understanding by gaining real meaning and structure of his/her work. On the contrary restrictive style is characterized by an individual’s preference to take minimalist approach at work reflected in executing a job efficiently without an attempt to understand the real meaning and structure of the work. The analysis suggests that expansive-restrictive style has three dimensions: (1) field dependence-independence (2) cognitive involvement and (3) epistemological beliefs.Keywords: expansive, knowledge workers, restrictive, style
Procedia PDF Downloads 4183503 Response Surface Modeling of Lactic Acid Extraction by Emulsion Liquid Membrane: Box-Behnken Experimental Design
Authors: A. Thakur, P. S. Panesar, M. S. Saini
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Extraction of lactic acid by emulsion liquid membrane technology (ELM) using n-trioctyl amine (TOA) in n-heptane as carrier within the organic membrane along with sodium carbonate as acceptor phase was optimized by using response surface methodology (RSM). A three level Box-Behnken design was employed for experimental design, analysis of the results and to depict the combined effect of five independent variables, vizlactic acid concentration in aqueous phase (cl), sodium carbonate concentration in stripping phase (cs), carrier concentration in membrane phase (ψ), treat ratio (φ), and batch extraction time (τ) with equal volume of organic and external aqueous phase on lactic acid extraction efficiency. The maximum lactic acid extraction efficiency (ηext) of 98.21%from aqueous phase in a batch reactor using ELM was found at the optimized values for test variables, cl, cs,, ψ, φ and τ as 0.06 [M], 0.18 [M], 4.72 (%,v/v), 1.98 (v/v) and 13.36 min respectively.Keywords: emulsion liquid membrane, extraction, lactic acid, n-trioctylamine, response surface methodology
Procedia PDF Downloads 3723502 Automatic Thresholding for Data Gap Detection for a Set of Sensors in Instrumented Buildings
Authors: Houda Najeh, Stéphane Ploix, Mahendra Pratap Singh, Karim Chabir, Mohamed Naceur Abdelkrim
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Building systems are highly vulnerable to different kinds of faults and failures. In fact, various faults, failures and human behaviors could affect the building performance. This paper tackles the detection of unreliable sensors in buildings. Different literature surveys on diagnosis techniques for sensor grids in buildings have been published but all of them treat only bias and outliers. Occurences of data gaps have also not been given an adequate span of attention in the academia. The proposed methodology comprises the automatic thresholding for data gap detection for a set of heterogeneous sensors in instrumented buildings. Sensor measurements are considered to be regular time series. However, in reality, sensor values are not uniformly sampled. So, the issue to solve is from which delay each sensor become faulty? The use of time series is required for detection of abnormalities on the delays. The efficiency of the method is evaluated on measurements obtained from a real power plant: an office at Grenoble Institute of technology equipped by 30 sensors.Keywords: building system, time series, diagnosis, outliers, delay, data gap
Procedia PDF Downloads 2373501 Deformation Analysis of Pneumatized Sphenoid Bone Caused Due to Elevated Intracranial Pressure Using Finite Element Analysis
Authors: Dilesh Mogre, Jitendra Toravi, Saurabh Joshi, Prutha Deshpande, Aishwarya Kura
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In earlier days of technology, it was not possible to understand the nature of complex biomedical problems and were only left to clinical postulations. With advancement in science today, we have tools like Finite Element Modelling and simulation to solve complex biomedical problems. This paper presents how ANSYS WORKBENCH can be used to study deformation of pneumatized sphenoid bone caused by increased intracranial pressure. Intracranial pressure refers to the pressure inside the skull. The increase in the pressure above the normal range of 15mmhg can lead to serious conditions due to developed stresses and deformation. One of the areas where the deformation is suspected to occur is Sphenoid Bone. Moreover, the varying degree of pneumatization increases the complexity of the conditions. It is necessary to study deformation patterns on pneumatized sphenoid bone model at elevated intracranial pressure. Finite Element Analysis plays a major role in developing and analyzing model and give quantitative results.Keywords: intracranial pressure, pneumatized sphenoid bone, deformation, finite element analysis
Procedia PDF Downloads 1843500 Cognitive eTransformation Framework for Education Sector
Authors: A. Hol
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21st century brought waves of business and industry eTransformations. The impact of change is also being seen in education. To identify the extent of this, scenario analysis methodology was utilised with the aim to assess business transformations across industry sectors ranging from craftsmanship, medicine, finance and manufacture to innovations and adoptions of new technologies and business models. Firstly, scenarios were drafted based on the current eTransformation models and its dimensions. Following this, eTransformation framework was utilised with the aim to derive the key eTransformation parameters, the essential characteristics that have enabled eTransformations across the sectors. Following this, identified key parameters were mapped to the transforming domain-education. The mapping assisted in deriving a cognitive eTransformation framework for education sector. The framework highlights the importance of context and the notion that education today needs not only to deliver content to students but it also needs to be able to meet the dynamically changing demands of specific student and industry groups. Furthermore, it pinpoints that for such processes to be supported, specific technology is required, so that instant, on demand and periodic feedback as well as flexible, dynamically expanding study content can be sought and received via multiple education mediums.Keywords: education sector, business transformation, eTransformation model, cognitive model, cognitive systems, eTransformation
Procedia PDF Downloads 1313499 Isolation of Bacterial Species with Potential Capacity for Siloxane Removal in Biogas Upgrading
Authors: Ellana Boada, Eric Santos-Clotas, Alba Cabrera-Codony, Maria Martin, Lluis Baneras, Frederic Gich
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Volatile methylsiloxanes (VMS) are a group of manmade silicone compounds widely used in household and industrial applications that end up on the biogas produced through the anaerobic digestion of organic matter in landfills and wastewater treatment plants. The presence of VMS during the biogas energy conversion can cause damage on the engines, reducing the efficiency of this renewable energy source. Non regenerative adsorption onto activated carbon is the most widely used technology to remove siloxanes from biogas, while new trends point out that biotechnology offers a low-cost and environmentally friendly alternative to conventional technologies. The first objective of this research was to enrich, isolate and identify bacterial species able to grow using siloxane molecules as a sole carbon source: anoxic wastewater sludge was used as initial inoculum in liquid anoxic enrichments, adding D4 (as representative siloxane compound) previously adsorbed on activated carbon. After several months of acclimatization, liquid enrichments were plated onto solid media containing D4 and thirty-four bacterial isolates were obtained. 16S rRNA gene sequencing allowed the identification of strains belonging to the following species: Ciceribacter lividus, Alicycliphilus denitrificans, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Pseudomonas citronellolis which are described to be capable to degrade toxic volatile organic compounds. Kinetic assays with 8 representative strains revealed higher cell growth in the presence of D4 compared to the control. Our second objective was to characterize the community composition and diversity of the microbial community present in the enrichments and to elucidate whether the isolated strains were representative members of the community or not. DNA samples were extracted, the 16S rRNA gene was amplified (515F & 806R primer pair), and the microbiome analyzed from sequences obtained with a MiSeq PE250 platform. Results showed that the retrieved isolates only represented a minor fraction of the microorganisms present in the enrichment samples, which were represented by Alpha, Beta, and Gamma proteobacteria as dominant groups in the category class thus suggesting that other microbial species and/or consortia may be important for D4 biodegradation. These results highlight the need of additional protocols for the isolation of relevant D4 degraders. Currently, we are developing molecular tools targeting key genes involved in siloxane biodegradation to identify and quantify the capacity of the isolates to metabolize D4 in batch cultures supplied with a synthetic gas stream of air containing 60 mg m⁻³ of D4 together with other volatile organic compounds found in the biogas mixture (i.e. toluene, hexane and limonene). The isolates were used as inoculum in a biotrickling filter containing lava rocks and activated carbon to assess their capacity for siloxane removal. Preliminary results of biotrickling filter performance showed 35% of siloxane biodegradation in a contact time of 14 minutes, denoting that biological siloxane removal is a promising technology for biogas upgrading.Keywords: bacterial cultivation, biogas upgrading, microbiome, siloxanes
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