Search results for: open innovation laboratory

Authors: Zavkiddin Mirtoshev, Mirabbos Mirkamalov

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We have analyzed the time series of full disk integrated soft X-ray (SXR) and hard X-ray (HXR) emission from the solar corona during 2004 January 1 to 2009 December 31, covering the descending phase of solar cycle 23. We employed the daily X-ray index (DXI) derived from X-ray observations from the Solar X-ray Spectrometer (SOXS) mission in four different energy bands: 4-5.5; 5.5-7.5 keV (SXR) and 15-20; 20-25 keV (HXR). The application of Lomb-Scargle periodogram technique to the DXI time series observed by the Silicium detector in the energy bands reveals several short and intermediate periodicities of the X-ray corona. The DXI explicitly show the periods of 13.6 days, 26.7 days, 128.5 days, 151 days, 180 days, 220 days, 270 days, 1.24 year and 1.54 year periods in SXR as well as in HXR energy bands. Although all periods are above 70% confidence level in all energy bands, they show strong power in HXR emission in comparison to SXR emission. These periods are distinctly clear in three bands but somehow not unambiguously clear in 5.5-7.5 keV band. This might be due to the presence of Ferrum and Ferrum/Niccolum line features, which frequently vary with small scale flares like micro-flares. The regular 27-day rotation and 13.5 day period of sunspots from the invisible side of the Sun are found stronger in HXR band relative to SXR band. However, flare activity Rieger periods (150 and 180 days) and near Rieger period 220 days are very strong in HXR emission which is very much expected. On the other hand, our current study reveals strong 270 day periodicity in SXR emission which may be connected with tachocline, similar to a fundamental rotation period of the Sun. The 1.24 year and 1.54 year periodicities, represented from the present research work, are well observable in both SXR as well as in HXR channels. These long-term periodicities must also have connection with tachocline and should be regarded as a consequence of variation in rotational modulation over long time scales. The 1.24 year and 1.54 year periods are also found great importance and significance in the life formation and it evolution on the Earth, and therefore they also have great astro-biological importance. We gratefully acknowledge support by the Indian Centre for Space Science and Technology Education in Asia and the Pacific (CSSTEAP, the Centre is affiliated to the United Nations), Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) at Ahmedabad, India. This work has done under the supervision of Prof. Rajmal Jain and paper consist materials of pilot project and research part of the M. Tech program which was made during Space and Atmospheric Science Course.

Keywords: corona, flares, solar activity, X-ray emission

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Authors: E. Erdogan, M. Ulusoy

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In terms of tourism, the concept of sustainability can be defined as preserving and developing natural, historical, cultural, social, and aesthetic values and enabling their permanency. Sustainable tourism aims to preserve natural, historical, cultural, and social resources, also by supporting economic progress protecting economic development and environmental values that emerge as a consequence of tourism activities. Cultural tourism feeds on sustainable cultural treasures inherently and is the most effective touristic activity. Traditional configurations and structural characteristics play an important role in generating cultural tourism in a region. Sustainable cultural tourism is related to trips upon people who embark with the aim of visiting culturally rich regions, learning about and observing fast-disappearing lifestyles and collecting cultural values as memories. With its huge tourism potential, Karadağ is the most significant cultural asset of the Karaman province, possessing unique riches in terms of cultural world history. Host to one of the most important Byzantine cities in Anatolia, Karadağ is like an open-air museum with its unparalleled architectural structures. There is a village named Madenşehir in the plain at the outskirts of Karadağ, near to which are located the “Thousand and One Churches” ruins. The 80-household house is located near the ruins in an area that been declared a 1st degree historic preservation district. stones gathered from local churches were used in the construction of these households. A ministry has assigned a new residential site near the boundaries of the 2nd degree preservation district, and the decision has been made to move the occupants to this area. The most important issue here is to enable locals’ sociocultural and socioeconomic sustainability. It is also important to build these structures in a manner compatible with the historical visual look, ecological system and environmental awareness. Therefore this new site will be planned as touristic area in terms of sustainable cultural tourism and in these new plans, shall fulfill functions oriented toward both tourists and locals. It is very important that this change be sustainable and also support cultural tourism.

Keywords: cultural tourism, new village settlement, socio cultural sustainability, “thousand and one churches” site

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Authors: Saad Zagloul Shokri Melika

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The London College of Communication is one of the only universities in the world to offer a lifestyle journalism master’s degree. A hybrid originally constructed largely out of a generic journalism program crossed with numerous cultural studies approaches, the degree has developed into a leading lifestyle journalism education attracting students worldwide. This research project seeks to present a framework for structuring the degree as well as to understand how students in this emerging field of study value the program. While some researchers have addressed questions about journalism and higher education, none have looked specifically at the increasingly important genre of lifestyle journalism, which Folker Hanusch defines as including notions of consumerism and critique among other identifying traits. Lifestyle journalism, itself poorly researched by scholars, can relate to topics including travel, fitness, and entertainment, and as such, arguably a lifestyle journalism degree should prepare students to engage with these topics. This research uses the existing Masters of Arts and Lifestyle Journalism at the London College of Communications as a case study to examine the school’s approach. Furthering Hanusch’s original definition, this master’s program attempts to characterizes lifestyle journalism by a specific voice or approach, as reflected in the diversity of student’s final projects. This framework echoes the ethos and ideas of the university, which focuses on creativity, design, and experimentation. By analyzing the current degree as well as student feedback, this research aims to assist future educators in pursuing the often neglected field of lifestyle journalism. Through a discovery of the unique mix of practical coursework, theoretical lessons, and broad scope of student work presented in this degree program, researchers strive to develop a framework for lifestyle journalism education, referring to Mark Deuze’s ten questions for journalism education development. While Hanusch began the discussion to legitimize the study of lifestyle journalism, this project strives to go one step further and open up a discussion about teaching of lifestyle journalism at the university level.

Keywords: Journalism, accountability, education, television, publicdearth, investigative, journalism, Nigeria, journalismeducation, lifestyle, university

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Authors: Mukolwe D. Lubembe, Odongo O. David, Githaka Naftali, Kanduma Esther, Marinda Oosthuizen, Kgomotso P. Sibeko

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Theileriosis is a tick-borne disease of cattle caused by an apicomplexan protozoan parasite of the genus Theileria. In eastern and southern Africa, Theileria infections in cattle are caused by the species Theileria parva whose natural reservoir is the African buffalo (Syncerus caffer). Currently, East Coast Fever (ECF) caused by the cattle-derived Theileria parva is still a major problem in eastern Africa and some parts of southern Africa but not in South Africa following its eradication in the 1950s. However, Corridor disease (CD) caused by the buffalo-derived Theileria parva still remains a concern in South Africa. The diversity of Theileria parva in South Africa in comparison to other affected countries is poorly defined yet its known to be the survival strategy of this parasite. We assessed the antigenic diversity of Theileria parva isolates from Buffalo and cattle at the wildlife-livestock interface comparing samples from South Africa, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. Antigenic epitopes of eight schizont antigen genes (Tp1, Tp3, Tp4, Tp5, Tp6, Tp7, Tp8 and Tp10) were amplified by PCR from genomic DNA extracted from blood samples collected from cattle and buffalo at the wildlife-livestock interface. Amplicons were purified and then sequenced on NGS platform. Full length open reading frames (ORFs) of two schizont antigen genes (Tp2 and Tp9) and one sporozoite antigen gene, p67 were also amplified from genomic DNA. Amplicons were then purified and cloned for sequencing. Analysis was based on sequence differences in the genes. Preliminary results show an extensively diverse population of Theileria parva circulating in buffalo and cattle populations at the wildlife-livestock interface. Diversity of the antigen genes contributes to the evasion of the immune system of the host by Theileria parva. This possess a concern in that, some of the Theileria parva populations may re-assort and become adapted to cattle to cause a form of theileriosis that is as fatal as ECF in areas where ECF was eradicated or is absent

Keywords: Theileria parva, east coast fever, corridor diseases, antigen genes, diversity

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Authors: Siti Hazar Sitorus, Marini Kristina Situmeang, Mukhammad Fatkhullah, Arfan Fadli

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This study aims to examine how the Batak tribe in the Village Lumban Sitorus Parmaksian District, Toba Samosir (Tobasa) interpret the culture of drinking Tuak as a social interaction. This research uses qualitative method with case study approach. Through this approach, the researchers obtained primary data by looking at and observing the social interaction that occurs when the activity of drinking tuak takes place on the daily life of the Batak Toba community in the village of Lumban Sitorus. The technique of data collecting is done by observation and in-depth interview. This study focuses on Batak Toba community, especially men who daily drink tuak. The results obtained from this study is Batak Toba society has a habit of drinking Tuak (a type of alcoholic beverage derived from water sapphire juice that is fermented). In Batak Toba society, tuak is not only considered as an alcoholic drink which is usually drunk in the afternoon at lapotuak (tuak shop), but tuak is also understood as a drink of honor in a traditional party at Toba Batak society. On the other hand, the activity of drinking of tuak was also considered as a medium or a means of connecting the formation of a sense of solidarity among the people of LumbanSitorous Village. In its existence, drinking tuak is defined as a mean that can facilitate the establishment to open communication with fellow members of Batak Toba community, such as at leisure, birth party, death or as medicine. Specifically, tuak in a special sense in Batak Toba society is also a symbol of intimacy, gratitude, and respect which is manifested in the activity of daily drinking tuak. In Indonesia, if we refer to the Criminal Code in articles 300 and 536 it is clear that whoever intentionally sells and consumes intoxicating / alcoholic drinks will be subject to a maximum jail term of one year. It became interesting then when looking at Indonesia as a country that has a diversity of cultures in which the law implies the prohibition of alcoholic / intoxicating beverages. However, the existence of drinking of tuak as a drink that categorized intoxicating in Batak Toba society still continues to.

Keywords: tradition of drinking tuak, meaning of tuak, Batak society, cultural studies

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Authors: Placide Poba-Nzaou, Anicet Tchibozo, Malatsi Galani, Ali Etkkali, Erwin Halim

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Artificial intelligence (AI) is a general-purpose technology that is transforming many industries, working life and society by stimulating economic growth and innovation. Despite the huge potential of benefits to be generated, the adoption of AI varies from one organization to another, from one region to another, and from one industry to another, due in part to obstacles that can inhibit an organization or organizations located in a specific geographic region or operating in a specific industry from adopting AI technology. In this context, these obstacles and their implications for AI adoption from the perspective of configurational theory is important for at least three reasons: (1) understanding these obstacles is the first step in enabling policymakers and providers to make an informed decision in stimulating AI adoption (2) most studies have investigating obstacles or challenges of AI adoption in isolation with linear assumptions while configurational theory offers a holistic and multifaceted way of investigating the intricate interactions between perceived obstacles and barriers helping to assess their synergetic combination while holding assumptions of non-linearity leading to insights that would otherwise be out of the scope of studies investigating these obstacles in isolation. This study aims to pursue two objectives: (1) characterize organizations by uncovering the typical profiles of combinations of 15 internal and external obstacles that may prevent organizations from adopting AI technology, (2) assess the variation in terms of intensity of AI adoption associated with each configuration. We used data from a survey of AI adoption by organizations conducted throughout the EU27, Norway, Iceland and the UK (N=7549). Cluster analysis and discriminant analysis help uncover configurations of organizations based on the 15 obstacles, including eight external and seven internal. Second, we compared the clusters according to AI adoption intensity using an analysis of variance (ANOVA) and a Tamhane T2 post hoc test. The study uncovers three strongly separated clusters of organizations based on perceived obstacles to AI adoption. The clusters are labeled according to their magnitude of perceived obstacles to AI adoption: (1) Cluster I – High Level of perceived obstacles (N = 2449, 32.4%)(2) Cluster II – Low Level of perceived obstacles (N =1879, 24.9%) (3) Cluster III – Moderate Level of perceived obstacles (N =3221, 42.7%). The proposed taxonomy goes beyond the normative understanding of perceived obstacles to AI adoption and associated implications: it provides a well-structured and parsimonious lens that is useful for policymakers, AI technology providers, and researchers. Surprisingly, the ANOVAs revealed a “high level of perceived obstacles” cluster associated with a significantly high intensity of AI adoption.

Keywords: Artificial intelligence (AI), obstacles, adoption, taxonomy.

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Authors: Tianyue Wan

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Lost space is the space that has not been used for a long time and is in decline, proposed by Roger Trancik. And in his book Finding Lost Space: Theories of Urban Design, the concept of lost space is defined as those anti-traditional spaces that are unpleasant, need to be redesigned, and have no benefit to the environment and users. They have no defined boundaries and do not connect the various landscape elements in a coherent way. With the rapid development of urbanization in China, the blind areas of urban renewal have become a chaotic lost space that is incompatible with the rapid development of urbanization. Therefore, lost space needs to be reconstructed urgently under the background of infill development and reduction planning in China. The formation of lost space is also an invisible division of social hierarchy. This paper tries to break down the social class division and the estrangement between people through the regeneration of lost space. Ultimately, it will enhance vitality, rebuild a sense of belonging, and create a continuous open public space for local people. Based on the concept of lost space and energy field, this paper clarifies the significance of the energy field in the lost space renovation. Then it introduces the energy field into lost space by using the magnetic field in physics as a prototype. The construction of the energy field is support by space theory, spatial morphology analysis theory, public communication theory, urban diversity theory and city image theory. Taking Wuhan’s Lingjiao Park of China as an example, this paper chooses the lost space on the west side of the park as the research object. According to the current situation of this site, the energy intervention strategies are proposed from four aspects: natural ecology, space rights, intangible cultural heritage and infrastructure configuration. And six specific lost space renewal methods are used in this work, including “riveting”, “breakthrough”, “radiation”, “inheritance”, “connection” and “intersection”. After the renovation, space will be re-introduced into the active crow. The integration of activities and space creates a sense of place, improve the walking experience, restores the vitality of the space, and provides a reference for the reconstruction of lost space in the city.

Keywords: dynamic vitality intervention, lost space, space vitality, sense of place

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Authors: Blessings Masuku

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Background: Considering that Africa is urbanizing faster than any other region globally, managing cities in the global South has become the centerpiece for the New Urban Agenda (i.e., a shared vision of how we rethink, rebuild, and manage our cities for a better and more sustainable future). This study is centered on governance and planning of urban informality practices with particular reference to the relationship between the state, informal actors (e.g., informal traders and informal dwellers), and other city stakeholders who are public space users (commuters, businesses, and environmental activists), and how informal actors organize themselves to lobby the state and claim for their rights in the city, and how they navigate their everyday livelihood strategies. Aim: The purpose of this study is to examine and interrogate contemporary approaches, policy and regulatory frameworks to urban spatial planning and management of informality in one of South Africa’s busiest and major cities, Johannesburg. Setting: The study uses the metropolitan region of the city of Johannesburg, South Africa to understand how this contemporary industrial city manages urban informality practices, including the use of public space, land zoning and street life, and paying a closer look at what progress has been made and gaps in their inclusive urban policy frameworks. Methods: This study utilized a qualitative approach that includes surveys (open-ended questions), archival research (i., e policy and other key document reviews), and key interviews mainly with city officials, and informality actors. A thematic analysis was used to analyze the data collected. Contribution: This study contributes to large urban informality scholarship in the global South cities by exploring how major cities particularly in Africa regulate and manage informality patterns and practices in their quest to build “utopian” smart cities. This study also brings a different perspective on the hacking ways used by the informal actors to resist harsh regulations and remain invisible in the city, which is something that previous literature has barely delved in-depth.

Keywords: inclusive planning and governance, infrastructure systems, livelihood strategies urban informality, urban space

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Authors: Lahari Ramya Pa, Sudhakar Ib, Madhu Vc, Madhusudhan Reddy Gd, Srinivasa Rao E.

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Selection of suitable armor materials for defense applications is very crucial with respect to increasing mobility of the systems as well as maintaining safety. Therefore, determining the material with the lowest possible areal density that resists the predefined threat successfully is required in armor design studies. A number of light metal and alloys are come in to forefront especially to substitute the armour grade steels. AA5083 aluminium alloy which fit in to the military standards imposed by USA army is foremost nonferrous alloy to consider for possible replacement of steel to increase the mobility of armour vehicles and enhance fuel economy. Growing need of AA5083 aluminium alloy paves a way to develop supplement aluminium alloys maintaining the military standards. It has been witnessed that AA 2xxx aluminium alloy, AA6xxx aluminium alloy and AA7xxx aluminium alloy are the potential material to supplement AA5083 aluminium alloy. Among those cited aluminium series alloys AA7xxx aluminium alloy (heat treatable) possesses high strength and can compete with armour grade steels. Earlier investigations revealed that layering of AA7xxx aluminium alloy can prevent spalling of rear portion of armour during ballistic impacts. Hence, present investigation deals with fabrication of hard layer (made of boron carbide) i.e. layer on AA 7075 aluminium alloy using friction stir processing with an intention of blunting the projectile in the initial impact and backing tough portion(AA7xxx aluminium alloy) to dissipate residual kinetic energy. An analytical approach has been adopted to unfold the ballistic performance of projectile. Penetration of projectile inside the armour has been resolved by considering by strain energy model analysis. Perforation shearing areas i.e. interface of projectile and armour is taken in to account for evaluation of penetration inside the armour. Fabricated surface composites (targets) were tested as per the military standard (JIS.0108.01) in a ballistic testing tunnel at Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratory (DMRL), Hyderabad in standardized testing conditions. Analytical results were well validated with experimental obtained one.

Keywords: AA7075 aluminium alloy, friction stir processing, boron carbide, ballistic performance, target

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Authors: Elena Pummer, Holger Schuettrumpf

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By today underground pumped storage plants as an outstanding alternative for classical pumped storage plants do not exist. They are needed to ensure the required balance between production and demand of energy. As a short to medium term storage pumped storage plants have been used economically over a long period of time, but their expansion is limited locally. The reasons are in particular the required topography and the extensive human land use. Through the use of underground reservoirs instead of surface lakes expansion options could be increased. Fulfilling the same functions, several hydrodynamic processes result in the specific design of the underground reservoirs and must be implemented in the planning process of such systems. A combined 3D numerical and experimental approach leads to currently unknown results about the occurring wave types and their behavior in dependence of different design and operating criteria. For the 3D numerical simulations, OpenFOAM was used and combined with an experimental approach in the laboratory of the Institute of Hydraulic Engineering and Water Resources Management at RWTH Aachen University, Germany. Using the finite-volume method and an explicit time discretization, a RANS-Simulation (k-ε) has been run. Convergence analyses for different time discretization, different meshes etc. and clear comparisons between both approaches lead to the result, that the numerical and experimental models can be combined and used as hybrid model. Undular bores partly with secondary waves and breaking bores occurred in the underground reservoir. Different water levels and discharges change the global effects, defined as the time-dependent average of the water level as well as the local processes, defined as the single, local hydrodynamic processes (water waves). Design criteria, like branches, directional changes, changes in cross-section or bottom slope, as well as changes in roughness have a great effect on the local processes, the global effects remain unaffected. Design calculations for underground pumped storage plants were developed on the basis of existing formulae and the results of the hybrid approach. Using the design calculations reservoirs heights as well as oscillation periods can be determined and lead to the knowledge of construction and operation possibilities of the plants. Consequently, future plants can be hydraulically optimized applying the design calculations on the local boundary conditions.

Keywords: energy storage, experimental approach, hybrid approach, undular and breaking Bores, 3D numerical approach

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Authors: Siti Nur Syazni Mohd Zuki, Tan Ling Ling, Nina Suhaity Azmi, Chong Kwok Feng, Lee Yook Heng

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Nitrite (NO2-) ion is used prevalently as a preservative in processed meat. Elevated levels of nitrite also found in edible bird’s nests (EBNs). Consumption of NO2- ion at levels above the health-based risk may cause cancer in humans. Spectrophotometric Griess test is the simplest established standard method for NO2- ion detection, however, it requires careful control of pH of each reaction step and susceptible to strong oxidants and dyeing interferences. Other traditional methods rely on the use of laboratory-scale instruments such as GC-MS, HPLC and ion chromatography, which cannot give real-time response. Therefore, it is of significant need for devices capable of measuring nitrite concentration in-situ, rapidly and without reagents, sample pretreatment or extraction step. Herein, we constructed a microspheres-based microbial optode for visual quantitation of NO2- ion. Raoutella planticola, the bacterium expressing NAD(P)H nitrite reductase (NiR) enzyme has been successfully extracted by microbial technique from EBN collected from local birdhouse. The whole cells and the lipophilic Nile Blue chromoionophore were physically absorbed on the photocurable poly(n-butyl acrylate-N-acryloxysuccinimide) [poly (nBA-NAS)] microspheres, whilst the reduced coenzyme NAD(P)H was covalently immobilized on the succinimide-functionalized acrylic microspheres to produce a reagentless biosensing system. Upon the NiR enzyme catalyzes the oxidation of NAD(P)H to NAD(P)+, NO2- ion is reduced to ammonium hydroxide, and that a colour change from blue to pink of the immobilized Nile Blue chromoionophore is perceived as a result of deprotonation reaction increasing the local pH in the microspheres membrane. The microspheres-based optosensor was optimized with a reflectance spectrophotometer at 639 nm and pH 8. The resulting microbial bio-optode membrane could quantify NO2- ion at 0.1 ppm and had a linear response up to 400 ppm. Due to the large surface area to mass ratio of the acrylic microspheres, it allows efficient solid state diffusional mass transfer of the substrate to the bio-recognition phase, and achieve the steady state response as fast as 5 min. The proposed optical microbial biosensor requires no sample pre-treatment step and possesses high stability as the whole cell biocatalyst provides protection to the enzymes from interfering substances, hence it is suitable for measurements in contaminated samples.

Keywords: acrylic microspheres, microbial bio-optode, nitrite ion, reflectometric

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Authors: Gashin Shahsavari, Gilles Arnaud-Fassetta, Alberto Campisano, Roberto Bertilotti, Fabien Riou

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Sewer deposits have been identified as a major cause of dysfunctions in combined sewer systems regarding sewer management, which induces different negative consequents resulting in poor hydraulic conveyance, environmental damages as well as worker’s health. In order to overcome the problematics of sedimentation, flushing has been considered as the most operative and cost-effective way to minimize the sediments impacts and prevent such challenges. Flushing, by prompting turbulent wave effects, can modify the bed form depending on the hydraulic properties and geometrical characteristics of the conduit. So far, the dynamics of the bed-load during high-flow events in combined sewer systems as a complex environment is not well understood, mostly due to lack of measuring devices capable to work in the “hostile” in combined sewer system correctly. In this regards, a one-episode flushing issue from an opening gate valve with weir function was carried out in a trunk sewer in Paris to understanding its cleansing efficiency on the sediments (thickness: 0-30 cm). During more than 1h of flushing within 5 m distance in downstream of this flushing device, a maximum flowrate and a maximum level of water have been recorded at 5 m in downstream of the gate as 4.1 m3/s and 2.1 m respectively. This paper is aimed to evaluate the efficiency of this type of gate for around 1.1 km (from the point -50 m to +1050 m in downstream from the gate) by (i) determining bed grain-size distribution and sediments evolution through the sewer channel, as well as their organic matter content, and (ii) identifying sections that exhibit more changes in their texture after the flush. For the first one, two series of sampling were taken from the sewer length and then analyzed in laboratory, one before flushing and second after, at same points among the sewer channel. Hence, a non-intrusive sampling instrument has undertaken to extract the sediments smaller than the fine gravels. The comparison between sediments texture after the flush operation and the initial state, revealed the most modified zones by the flush effect, regarding the sewer invert slope and hydraulic parameters in the zone up to 400 m from the gate. At this distance, despite the increase of sediment grain-size rages, D50 (median grain-size) varies between 0.6 mm and 1.1 mm compared to 0.8 mm and 10 mm before and after flushing, respectively. Overall, regarding the sewer channel invert slope, results indicate that grains smaller than sands (< 2 mm) are more transported to downstream along about 400 m from the gate: in average 69% before against 38% after the flush with more dispersion of grain-sizes distributions. Furthermore, high effect of the channel bed irregularities on the bed material evolution has been observed after the flush.

Keywords: bed-load evolution, combined sewer systems, flushing efficiency, sediments transport

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Authors: Narendra Akhadkar, Philippe Delcambre

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In power protection and control products, assembly process variations due to the individual parts manufactured from single or multi-cavity tooling is a major problem. The dimensional and geometrical variations on the individual parts, in the form of manufacturing tolerances and assembly tolerances, are sources of clearance in the kinematic joints, polarization effect in the joints, and tolerance stack-up. All these variations adversely affect the quality of product, functionality, cost, and time-to-market. Variation simulation analysis may be used in the early product design stage to predict such uncertainties. Usually, variations exist in both manufacturing processes and materials. In the tolerance analysis, the effect of the dimensional and geometrical variations of the individual parts on the functional characteristics (conditions) of the final assembled products are studied. A functional characteristic of the product may be affected by a set of interrelated dimensions (functional parameters) that usually form a geometrical closure in a 3D chain. In power protection and control products, the prerequisite is: when a fault occurs in the electrical network, the product must respond quickly to react and break the circuit to clear the fault. Usually, the response time is in milliseconds. Any failure in clearing the fault may result in severe damage to the equipment or network, and human safety is at stake. In this article, we have investigated two important functional characteristics that are associated with the robust performance of the product. It is demonstrated that the experimental data obtained at the Schneider Electric Laboratory prove the very good prediction capabilities of the variation simulation performed using CETOL (tolerance analysis software) in an industrial context. Especially, this study allows design engineers to better understand the critical parts in the product that needs to be manufactured with good, capable tolerances. On the contrary, some parts are not critical for the functional characteristics (conditions) of the product and may lead to some reduction of the manufacturing cost, ensuring robust performance. The capable tolerancing is one of the most important aspects in product and manufacturing process design. In the case of miniature circuit breaker (MCB), the product's quality and its robustness are mainly impacted by two aspects: (1) allocation of design tolerances between the components of a mechanical assembly and (2) manufacturing tolerances in the intermediate machining steps of component fabrication.

Keywords: geometrical variation, product robustness, tolerance analysis, variation simulation

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Authors: Keshav Raj Acharya, Prabina Sharma

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Sugandhakokila (Cinnamomum glaucescens Nees. Dury) is a large evergreen native tree species; mostly confined naturally in mid-hills of Rapti Zone of Nepal. The species is identified as prioritized for agro-technology development as well as for research and development by a department of plant resources. This species is band for export outside the country without processing by the government of Nepal to encourage the value addition within the country. The present study was carried out in Chillikot village of Dang district to find out the economic contribution of C. glaucescens in the local economy and to document the major conservation threats for this species. Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) tools such as Household survey, key informants interviews and focus group discussions were carried out to collect the data. The present study reveals that about 1.7 million Nepalese rupees (NPR) have been contributed annually in the local economy of 29 households from the collection of C. glaucescens berries in the study area. The average annual income of each family was around NPR 67,165.38 (US$ 569.19) from the sale of the berries which contributes about 53% of the total household income. Six different value chain actors are involved in C. glaucescens business. Maximum profit margin was taken by collector followed by producer, exporter and processor. The profit margin was found minimum to regional and village traders. The total profit margin for producers was NPR 138.86/kg, and regional traders have gained NPR 17/kg. However, there is a possibility to increase the profit of producers by NPR 8.00 more for each kg of berries through the initiation of community forest user group and village cooperatives in the area. Open access resource, infestation by an insect to over matured trees and browsing by goats were identified as major conservation threats for this species. Handing over the national forest as a community forest, linking the producers with the processor through organized market channel and replacing the old tree through new plantation has been recommended for future.

Keywords: community forest, conservation threats, C. glaucescens, value chain analysis

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Authors: Lintang Putra Sadewa, Ilham Prasetya Budhi

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Slope monitoring program has now become a mandatory campaign for any open pit mines around the world to operate safely. Utilizing various slope monitoring instruments and strategies, miners are now able to deliver precise decisions in mitigating the risk of slope failures which can be catastrophic. Currently, the most sophisticated slope monitoring technology available is the Slope Stability Radar (SSR), whichcan measure wall deformation in submillimeter accuracy. One of its eminent features is that SSRcan provide a timely warning by automatically raise an alarm when a predetermined rate-of-movement threshold is reached. However, establishing proper alarm thresholds is arguably one of the onerous challenges faced in any slope monitoring program. The difficulty mainly lies in the number of considerations that must be taken when generating a threshold becausean alarm must be effectivethat it should limit the occurrences of false alarms while alsobeing able to capture any real wall deformations. In this sense, experience shows that a site-specific alarm thresholdtendsto produce more reliable results because it considers site distinctive variables. This study will attempt to determinealarming thresholds for safety-critical monitoring based on an empirical model of slope deformation behaviour that is defined statistically fromdeformation data captured by the Slope Stability Radar (SSR). The study area comprises of upright-dipping highwall setting in a coal mining area with intense mining activities, andthe deformation data used for the study were recorded by the SSR throughout the year 2022. The model is site-specific in nature thus, valuable information extracted from the model (e.g., time-to-failure, onset-of-acceleration, and velocity) will be applicable in setting up site-specific alarm thresholds and will give a clear understanding of how deformation trends evolve over the area.

Keywords: safety-critical monitoring, alarming strategy, slope deformation behaviour model, coal mining

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Authors: Kamal Ahmed, Othman Ayman, Refat Mostafa

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The post-construction phase represents a critical milestone in the project lifecycle. This is because design errors and omissions, as well as construction defects, are examined during this phase. The traditional procurement approaches that are commonly adopted in construction projects separate design from construction, which ultimately inhibits contractors, suppliers and other parties from providing the design team with constructive comments and feedback to improve the project design. As a result, a lack of considering maintainability aspects during the design process results in increasing maintenance and operation costs as well as reducing building performance. This research aims to investigate the role of Early Supplier Involvement (ESI) in the design process as an approach to enhancing building maintainability. In order to achieve this aim, a research methodology consisting of a literature review, case studies and a survey questionnaire was designed to accomplish four objectives. Firstly, a literature review was used to examine the concepts of building maintenance, maintainability, the design process and ESI. Secondly, three case studies were presented and analyzed to investigate the role of ESI in enhancing building maintainability during the design process. Thirdly, a survey questionnaire was conducted with a representative sample of Architectural Design Firms (ADFs) in Egypt to investigate their perception and application of ESI towards enhancing building maintainability during the design process. Finally, the research developed a framework to facilitate ESI in the design process in ADFs in Egypt. Data analysis showed that the ‘Difficulty of trusting external parties and sharing information with transparency’ was ranked the highest challenge of ESI in ADFs in Egypt, followed by ‘Legal competitive advantage restrictions’. Moreover, ‘Better estimation for operation and maintenance costs’ was ranked the highest contribution of ESI towards enhancing building maintainability, followed by ‘Reduce the number of operation and maintenance problems or reworks’. Finally, ‘Innovation, technical expertise, and competence’ was ranked the highest supplier’s selection criteria, while ‘paying consultation fees for offering advice and recommendations to the design team’ was ranked the highest form of supplier’s remuneration. The proposed framework represents a synthesis that is creative in thought and adds value to the knowledge in a manner that has not previously occurred.

Keywords: maintenance, building maintainability, building life cycle cost (ICC), material supplier

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Authors: Geminne Manzano, Porfirio Aliño, Clairecynth Yu, Lilibeth Salvador-Reyes, Viviene Santiago

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Many marine benthic organisms produce secondary metabolites that serve as ecological roles to different biological and environmental factors. The secondary metabolites found in these organisms like algae, sponges, tunicates and worms exhibit variation at different scales. Understanding the chemical variation can be essential in deriving the evolutionary and ecological function of the secondary metabolites that may explain their patterns. Ecological surveys were performed on two collection sites representing from two Philippine marine biogeographic regions – in Oriental Mindoro located on the West Philippine Sea (WPS) and in Zamboanga del Sur located at Celebes Sea (CS), where a total of 39 Xestospongia sp. sponges were collected using SCUBA. The sponge samples were transported to the laboratory for taxonomic identification and chemical analysis. Biological and environmental factors were investigated to determine their relation to the abundance and distribution patterns and its spatial variability of their secondary metabolite production. Extracts were subjected to thin-layer chromatography and anti-proliferative assays to confirm the presence of Renieramycin-M and to test its cytotoxicity. The blue sponges were found to be more abundant on the WPS than in CS. Both the benthic community and the fish community in Oriental Mindoro, WPS and Zamboanga del Sur, CS sites are characterized by high species diversity and abundance and a very high biomass category. Environmental factors like depth and monsoonal exposure were also compared showing that wave exposure and depth are associated with the abundance and distribution of the sponges. Renieramycin-M presence using the TLC profiles between the sponge extracts from WPS and from CS showed differences in the Reniermycin-M presence and the presence of other functional groups were observed between the two sites. In terms of bioactivity, different responses were also exhibited by the sponge extracts coming from the different region. Different responses were also noted on its bioactivity depending on the cell lines tested. Exploring the influence of ecological parameters on the chemical variation can provide deeper chemical ecological insights in the knowledge and their potential varied applications at different scales. The results of this study provide further impetus in pursuing studies into patterns and processes of the chemical diversity of the Philippine blue sponge, Xestospongia sp. and the chemical ecological significance of the coral triangle.

Keywords: chemical ecology, porifera, renieramycin-m, spatial variability, Xestospongia sp.

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Authors: Floriane Shala, Evangeline Wagner, Yichun Zhao

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Background: Proper educational training and support are proven to be major components of EHR (Electronic Health Record) implementation and use. However, the majority of health providers are not sufficiently trained in EHR use, leading to adverse events, errors, and decreased quality of care. In response to this, students studying Health Information Science, Public Health, Nursing, and Medicine should all gain a thorough understanding of EHR use at different levels for different purposes. The design of a usable and safe EHR system that accommodates the needs and workflows of different users, user groups, and disciplines is required for EHR learning to be efficient and effective. Objectives: This project builds several artifacts which seek to address both the educational and usability aspects of an educational EHR. The artifacts proposed are models for and examples of such an EHR with a configurable UI to be learned by students who need a background in EHR use during their degrees. Methods: Review literature and gather professional opinions from domain experts on usability, the use of workflow patterns, UI configurability and design, and the educational aspect of EHR use. Conduct interviews in a semi-casual virtual setting with open discussion in order to gain a deeper understanding of the principal aspects of EHR use in educational settings. Select a specific task and user group to illustrate how the proposed solution will function based on the current research. Develop three artifacts based on the available research, professional opinions, and prior knowledge of the topic. The artifacts capture the user task and user’s interactions with the EHR for learning. The first generic model provides a general understanding of the EHR system process. The second model is a specific example of performing the task of MRI ordering with a configurable UI. The third artifact includes UI mock-ups showcasing the models in a practical and visual way. Significance: Due to the lack of educational EHRs, medical professionals do not receive sufficient EHR training. Implementing an educational EHR with a usable and configurable interface to suit the needs of different user groups and disciplines will help facilitate EHR learning and training and ultimately improve the quality of patient care.

Keywords: education, EHR, usability, configurable

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Authors: Martina Santobuono, Wing Sze Chan, Elettra D'Amico, Henriette Selck

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Chemicals in modern society are fundamental in many different aspects of daily human life. We use a wide range of substances, including polychlorinated compounds, pesticides, plasticizers, and pharmaceuticals, to name a few. These compounds are excessively produced, and this has led to their introduction to the environment and food resources. Municipal and industrial effluents, landfills, and agricultural runoffs are a few examples of sources of chemical pollution. Many of these compounds, such as pharmaceuticals, have been proven to mimic or alter the performance of the hormone system, thus disrupting its normal function and altering the behavior and reproductive capability of non-target organisms. Antidepressants are pharmaceuticals commonly detected in the environment, usually in the range of ng L⁻¹ and µg L⁻¹. Since they are designed to have a biological effect at low concentrations, they might pose a risk to the native species, especially if exposure lasts for long periods. Hydrophobic antidepressants, like the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) Sertraline, can sorb to the particles in the water column and eventually accumulate in the sediment compartment. Thus, deposit-feeding organisms may be at particular risk of exposure. The polychaete Capitella teleta is widespread in estuarine organically enriched sediments, being a key deposit-feeder involved in geochemistry processes happening in sediments. Since antidepressants are neurotoxic chemicals and endocrine disruptors, the aim of this work was to test if sediment-associated Sertraline impacts burrowing- and feeding behavior as well as reproduction capability in Capitella teleta in a chronic exposure set-up, which could better mimic what happens in the environment. 7 days old juveniles were selected and exposed to different concentrations of Sertraline for an entire generation until the mature stage was reached. This work was able to show that some concentrations of Sertraline altered growth and the time of first reproduction in Capitella teleta juveniles, potentially disrupting the population’s capability of survival. Acknowledgments: This Ph.D. position is part of the CHRONIC project “Chronic exposure scenarios driving environmental risks of Chemicals”, which is an Innovative Training Network (ITN) funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA).

Keywords: antidepressants, Capitella teleta, chronic exposure, endocrine disruption, sublethal endpoints, neurotoxicity

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Authors: Giorgi Katamadze

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Open public service and accountability towards citizens is an important feature of democratic state based on rule of law. Effective use of electronic resources simplifies bureaucratic procedures, makes direct communications, helps exchange information, ensures government’s openness and in general helps develop electronic/digital democracy. Development of electronic democracy should be a strategic dimension of Georgian governance. Formation of electronic democracy, its functional improvement should become an important dimension of the state’s information policy. Electronic democracy is based on electronic governance and implies modern information and communication systems, their adaptation to universal standards. E-democracy needs involvement of governments, voters, political parties and social groups in an electronic form. In the last years the process of interaction between the citizen and the state becomes simpler. This process is achieved by the use of modern technological systems which gives to a citizen a possibility to use different public services online. For example, the website my.gov.ge makes interaction between the citizen, business and the state more simple, comfortable and secure. A higher standard of accountability and interaction is being established. Electronic democracy brings new forms of interactions between the state and the citizen: e-engagement – participation of society in state politics via electronic systems; e-consultation – electronic interaction among public officials, citizens and interested groups; e-controllership – electronic rule and control of public expenses and service. Public transparency is one of the milestones of electronic democracy as well as representative democracy as only on mutual trust and accountability can democracy be established. In Georgia, institutional changes concerning establishment and development of electronic democracy are not enough. Effective planning and implementation of a comprehensive and multi component e-democracy program (central, regional, local levels) requires telecommunication systems, institutional (public service, competencies, logical system) and informational (relevant conditions for public involvement) support. Therefore, a systematic project of formation of electronic governance should be developed which will include central, regional, municipal levels and certain aspects of development of instrumental basis for electronic governance.

Keywords: e-democracy, e-governance, e-services, information technology, public administration

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Authors: Cynthia Briggs, Kimberly Gerardi

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Over the past six years, the authors have been working together on World Language Collaborations in the Middle School French Program at St. Luke's School in New Canaan, Connecticut, USA. Author 2 brings design expertise to the projects, and both teachers have utilized the fabrication lab, emerging technologies, and collaboration with students. Each year, author 1 proposes a project scope, and her students are challenged to design and engineer a signature project. Both partners have improved the iterative process to ensure deeper learning and sustained student inquiry. The projects range from a 1:32 scale model of the Eiffel Tower that was CNC routed to a fully functional jukebox that plays francophone music, lights up, and can hold up to one thousand songs powered by Raspberry Pi. The most recent project is a Fragrance Marketplace, culminating with a pop-up store for the entire community to discover. Each student will learn the history of fragrance and the chemistry behind making essential oils. Students then create a unique brand, marketing strategy, and concept for their signature fragrance. They are further tasked to use the industrial design process (bottling, packaging, and creating a brand name) to finalize their product for the public Marketplace. Sometimes, these dynamic projects require maintenance and updates. For example, our wall-mounted, three-foot francophone clock is constantly changing. The most recent iteration uses Chat GPT to program the Arduino to reconcile the real-time clock shield and keep perfect time as each hour passes. The lights, motors, and sounds from the clock are authentic to each region, represented with laser-cut embellishments. Inspired by Michel Parmigiani, the history of Swiss watch-making, and the precision of time instruments, we aim for perfection with each passing minute. The authors aim to share exemplary work that is possible with students of all ages. We implemented the reverse engineering process to focus on student outcomes to refine our collaborative process. The products that our students create are prime examples of how the design engineering process is applicable across disciplines. The authors firmly believe that the past and present of World cultures inspire innovation.

Keywords: collaboration, design thinking, emerging technologies, world language

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Authors: Shalinawati Ramli, Khairani Omar, Nurul Azmawati Mohamed, Zarini Ismail, Nur Syahrina Rahim, Nurul Hayati Chamhuri

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Medical doctors’ work to prevent, diagnose, treat diseases, disorders, and injuries as well as prescribing medication. Many people are attracted to this profession because it gives them the opportunity to help others. Doctors’ improve quality of life by providing advice, healing physical ailments and performing complex surgeries. Medicine is a profession in which dedication to the wellbeing of others is of paramount importance. Balancing the requirements of work and personal life can be a struggle as the demand of work as a doctors’ is great. Perception and expectation of medical students regarding the lifestyle of doctors’ is important to ensure that they had made the right career choice. Thus, the aim of this study is to assess the perception of pre-clinical students regarding doctors’ lifestyle. This study is a cross-sectional study involving all third-year pre-clinical medical students at University Sains Islam Malaysia. A total of 81 students participated in this study. Participants were given a set of questionnaire consisting of demographic data, open-ended questions on their perception on doctors’ lifestyle of working environment, salary expectation and family life. Thematic analysis were used to analyse the data. The participants comprised 69% female and their age range was between 20-21 years old. Majority of them were from middle-income families. Majority of the students perceived that the doctors’ lifestyle would be busy (72%). Approximately 30% of them expected that the time schedule will be unpredictable, 21% mentioned that sacrifice is required and 16% perceived it as a tiring job. Other themes emerged were ‘requiring high commitment’ (6%), challenging (7%) and risky (4%). With regards to salary expectation, 48% expected reasonable salary, 33% high salary and 12% described it as 'not worth compared to the workload'. Majority of them perceived that their family life will be restricted (62%) and time management is important (33%). Only 15% mentioned that family members have to sacrifice and spousal understanding is important (7%). About 10% of them perceived that their family will not be affected by their profession. Majority of the medical students perceived a busy doctors’ lifestyle, reasonable salary and restricted family life. However, there was a significant proportion of them who required counselling for better preparation of their future lifestyle.

Keywords: doctors lifestyle, pre-clinical students, perception, understanding

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Authors: Paolo Sassi, Jorge Freiria, Gabriel Usera

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In this work, a finite volume fluid flow solver is coupled with a discrete element method module for the simulation of the dynamics of free and elastic bodies in interaction with the fluid and between themselves. The open source fluid flow solver, caffa3d.MBRi, includes the capability to work with nested overlapping grids in order to easily refine the grid in the region where the bodies are moving. To do so, it is necessary to implement a recognition function able to identify the specific mesh block in which the device is moving in. The set of overlapping finer grids might be displaced along with the set of bodies being simulated. The interaction between the bodies and the fluid is computed through a two-way coupling. The velocity field of the fluid is first interpolated to determine the drag force on each object. After solving the objects displacements, subject to the elastic bonding among them, the force is applied back onto the fluid through a Gaussian smoothing considering the cells near the position of each object. The fishnet is represented as lumped masses connected by elastic lines. The internal forces are derived from the elasticity of these lines, and the external forces are due to drag, gravity, buoyancy and the load acting on each element of the system. When solving the ordinary differential equations system, that represents the motion of the elastic and flexible bodies, it was found that the Runge Kutta solver of fourth order is the best tool in terms of performance, but requires a finer grid than the fluid solver to make the system converge, which demands greater computing power. The coupled solver is demonstrated by simulating the interaction between the fluid, an elastic fishnet and a set of free bodies being captured by the net as they are dragged by the fluid. The deformation of the net, as well as the wake produced in the fluid stream are well captured by the method, without requiring the fluid solver mesh to adapt for the evolving geometry. Application of the same strategy to the simulation of elastic structures subject to the action of wind is also possible with the method presented, and one such application is currently under development.

Keywords: computational fluid dynamics, discrete element method, fishnets, nested overlapping grids

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Authors: Zeynep Aykul Yavuz

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Misconception about design is about making a product pretty. However, the holistic approaches such as design thinking or human-centered design could take the design from making things nice to things inspired by real people and work with real-world limitations. Design thinking helps companies to understand not only problem area but also opportunities. It can be used by any people from any background which provide a space for companies where employees from different departments work together to solve the same problem. While demanding skills changing year to year into the market, previous technical skills are commons anymore. The frontier companies in the sectors look for interactive methods to solve problems. Moreover, the recruiter aims to understand the candidate’s design thinking skills (. The study includes a case study where a 21st century creative services company “ATÖLYE” offers innovation transformation with design thinking to a banking company. Both companies are located in İstanbul in Turkey. The banking company contacted with the ATÖLYE in January 2018 because they heard design thinking in different markets and how it transformed the way of working. The transformation process had 3 phases which were basic training of teams while getting coaching from ATÖLYE’s employees, coaching training with graduates of basic training, facilitator training. Employees built new skills while solving the banking company’s strategic problems. ATÖLYE offered experiential learning which helped employees’ making sense of new skills and knowledge. One day workshops were organized to create awareness about the practice of design thinking. In addition to these, a community of practice was built to create an environment to make reflections and discuss good practice. Not only graduates from the training program but also other employees from the company participated in the community gatherings. ATÖLYE did not train some employees in the company. Rather than that, its aim was to build a contemporary organization for the company. This provided a sustainable system in terms of human resources and motivation. At the beginning of 2020, employees from the first cohort in the basic training who took coaching training and facilitator training have started to design training for different groups in the company. They have considered what could be better in their training experience and designed new ones according to that, so they have been using design thinking to design the design training. This is one of the outcomes which shows the impact of all process clearly.

Keywords: design thinking, learning community, professional development, training, organizational transformation

Procedia PDF Downloads 105

Authors: Aulanni’am Aulanni’am

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Incidence of Diabetes Mellitus (DM) progressively increasing it became a serious problem in Indonesia and it is a disease that government is priority to be addressed. The longer a person is suffering from diabetes the more likely to develop complications particularly diabetic patients who are not well maintained. Therefore, Incidence of Diabetes Mellitus needs to be done in the early diagnosis of pre-phase of the disease. In this pre-phase disease, already happening destruction of pancreatic beta cells and declining in beta cell function and the sign autoimmunity reactions associated with beta cell destruction. Type 1 DM is a multifactorial disease triggered by genetic and environmental factors, which leads to the destruction of pancreatic beta cells. Early marker of "beta cell autoreactivity" is the synthesis of autoantibodies against 65-kDa protein, which can be a molecule that can be detected early in the disease pathomechanism. The importance of early diagnosis of diabetic patients held in the phase of pre-disease is to determine the progression towards the onset of pancreatic beta cell destruction and take precautions. However, the price for this examination is very expensive ($ 150/ test), the anti-GAD65 abs examination cannot be carried out routinely in most or even in all laboratories in Indonesia. Therefore, production-based Rapid Test Recombinant Human Protein GAD65 with "Reverse Flow Immunchromatography Technique" in Indonesia is believed to reduce costs and improve the quality of care of patients with diabetes in Indonesia. Rapid Test Product innovation is very simple and suitable for screening and routine inspection of GAD65 autoantibodies. In the blood serum of patients with diabetes caused by autoimmunity, autoantibody-GAD65 is a major serologic marker to detect autoimmune reaction because their concentration level of stability.GAD65 autoantibodies can be found 10 years before clinical symptoms of diabetes. Early diagnosis is more focused to detect the presence autontibodi-GAD65 given specification and high sensitivity. Autoantibodies- GAD65 that circulates in the blood is a major indicator of the destruction of the islet cells of the pancreas. Results of research in collaboration with Biofarma has produced GAD65 autoantibodies based Rapid Test had conducted the soft launch of products and has been tested with the results of a sensitivity of 100 percent and a specificity between 90 and 96% compared with the gold standard (import product) which worked based on ELISA method.

Keywords: diabetes mellitus, GAD65 autoantibodies, rapid test, sensitivity, specificity

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Authors: Nicholas S. Norbert Jr., John E. Bischoff, Christopher J. Willy

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Knowledge Management (KM) is globally recognized as a crucial element in securing competitive advantage through building and maintaining organizational memory, codifying and protecting intellectual capital and business intelligence, and providing mechanisms for collaboration and innovation. KM frameworks and approaches have been developed and defined identifying critical success factors for conducting KM within numerous industries ranging from scientific to business, and for ranges of organization scales from small groups to large enterprises. However, engineering and technical teams operating within restricted environments are subject to unique barriers and KM challenges which cannot be directly treated using the approaches and tools prescribed for other industries. This research identifies barriers in conducting KM within Hardware Development Engineering (HDE) teams and statistically compares significance to barriers upholding the four KM pillars of organization, technology, leadership, and learning for HDE teams. HDE teams suffer from restrictions in knowledge sharing (KS) due to classification of information (national security risks), customer proprietary restrictions (non-disclosure agreement execution for designs), types of knowledge, complexity of knowledge to be shared, and knowledge seeker expertise. As KM evolved leveraging information technology (IT) and web-based tools and approaches from Web 1.0 to Enterprise 2.0, KM may also seek to leverage emergent tools and analytics including expert locators and hybrid recommender systems to enable KS across barriers of the technical teams. The research will test hypothesis statistically evaluating if KM barriers for HDE teams affect the general set of expected benefits of a KM System identified through previous research. If correlations may be identified, then generalizations of success factors and approaches may also be garnered for HDE teams. Expert elicitation will be conducted using a questionnaire hosted on the internet and delivered to a panel of experts including engineering managers, principal and lead engineers, senior systems engineers, and knowledge management experts. The feedback to the questionnaire will be processed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) to identify and rank statistically significant barriers of HDE teams within the four KM pillars. Subsequently, KM approaches will be recommended for upholding the KM pillars within restricted environments of HDE teams.

Keywords: engineering management, knowledge barriers, knowledge management, knowledge sharing

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Authors: Lev Chernyshev, Ekaterina Lieshout, Natalia Kabaliuk

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Sit-skis enable individuals with limited lower limb or core movement to ski unassisted confidently. The rise in popularity of the Winter Paralympics has seen an influx of engineering innovation, especially for the Downhill and Super-Giant Slalom events, where the athletes achieve speeds as high as 160km/h. The growth in the sport has inspired recent research into sit-ski aerodynamics. Crosswinds are expected in mountain climates and, therefore, can greatly impact a skier's maneuverability and aerodynamics. This research investigates the impact of crosswinds on the drag force of a Paralympic sit-ski using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). A Paralympic sit-ski with a model of a skier, a leg cover, a bucket seat, and a simplified suspension system was used for CFD analysis in ANSYS Fluent. The hybrid initialisation tool and the SST k–ω turbulence model were used with two tetrahedral mesh bodies of influence. The crosswinds (10, 30, and 50 km/h) acting perpendicular to the sit-ski's direction of travel were simulated, corresponding to the straight-line skiing speeds of 60, 80, and 100km/h. Following the initialisation, 150 iterations for both first and second order steady-state solvers were used, before switching to a transient solver with a computational time of 1.5s and a time step of 0.02s, to allow the solution to converge. CFD results were validated against wind tunnel data. The results suggested that for all crosswind and sit-ski speeds, on average, 64% of the total drag on the ski was due to the athlete's torso. The suspension was associated with the second largest overall sit-ski drag force contribution, averaging at 27%, followed by the leg cover at 10%. While the seat contributed a negligible 0.5% of the total drag force, averaging at 1.2N across the conditions studied. The effect of the crosswind increased the total drag force across all skiing speed studies, with the drag on the athlete's torso and suspension being the most sensitive to the changes in the crosswind magnitude. The effect of the crosswind on the ski drag reduced as the simulated skiing speed increased: for skiing at 60km/h, the drag force on the torso increased by 154% with the increase of the crosswind from 10km/h to 50km/h; whereas, at 100km/h the corresponding drag force increase was halved (75%). The analysis of the flow and pressure field characteristics for a sit-ski in crosswind conditions indicated the flow separation localisation and wake size correlated with the magnitude and directionality of the crosswind relative to straight-line skiing. The findings can inform aerodynamic improvements in sit-ski design and increase skiers' medalling chances.

Keywords: sit-ski, aerodynamics, CFD, crosswind effects

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Authors: Samantha Burns, Melissa Brown, Judith Rankin

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Background: As a specialised intervention, NEWPIP provides a service which supports both parents and their babies from conception to two years, who are experiencing issues which may affect the quality of their relationship and development of the infant. This evaluation of the NEWPIP approach was undertaken in response to the need for rich, in-depth data to understand the lived experiences of the parents who experienced the service to improve the service. NEWPIP is currently one of 34 specialised parent–infant relationship teams across England. This evaluation contributes to increasing understanding of the impact and effectiveness of this specialised service to inform future practice. Aim: The aim of this evaluation was to explore the perspectives and experiences of parents or caregivers (service users), to assess the impact of the NEWPIP service on the parents themselves and the relationship with their baby. Methods: The exploratory nature of the aim and focus on service users’ experience and perspectives provided scope for a qualitative approach for this evaluation. This consisted of 10 semi-structured interviews with parents who had received the service within the last two years. Recruitment involved both purposive and convenience sampling. The interviews took place between February 2021 – March 2021, lasting between 30-90 minutes and were guided by open-ended questions from a topic guide. The interviews adopted a narrative approach to enable the parents to share their lived experiences. The researchers transcribed the interviews and analysed the data thematically by using a coding method which is grounded in the data. Results: The analysis and findings from the data gathered illuminated an approach which supports parents to build a better bond with their baby and provides a safe space for parents to heal through their relationships. While the parents shared their experiences, the interviews were intended to receive feedback, so questions were asked about what could be improved and what recommendations could be offered to Children North East. Guided by the voice of the parents, this evaluation provides recommendations to support the future of the NEWPIP approach. Conclusions: The NEWPIP approach appears to successfully provide early and flexible support for new parents, increasing a parent’s confidence in their ability to not only cope but thrive as a new parent.

Keywords: maternal health, mental health, parent infant relationship, therapy

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Authors: Pieter A. Cornelissen, Joris J. Van Hoof

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The interest in improving occupational safety started almost simultaneously with the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. Yet, it was not until the late 1970’s before the role of communication was considered in scientific research regarding occupational safety. In recent years the importance of communication as a means to improve occupational safety has increased. Not only as communication might have a direct effect on safety performance and safety outcomes, but also as it can be viewed as a major component of other important safety-related elements (e.g., training, safety meetings, leadership). And while safety communication is an increasingly important topic in research, its operationalization is often vague and differs among studies. This is not only problematic when comparing results, but also in applying these results to practice and the work floor. By means of an in-depth analysis—building on an existing dataset—this review aims to overcome these problems. The initial database search yielded 25.527 articles, which was reduced to a research corpus of 176 articles. Focusing on the 37 articles of this corpus that addressed communication (related to safety outcomes and safety performance), the current study will provide a comprehensive overview of the role and effects of safety communication and outlines the conditions under which communication contributes to a safer work environment. The study shows that in literature a distinction is commonly made between safety communication (i.e., the exchange or dissemination of safety-related information) and feedback (i.e. a reactive form of communication). And although there is a consensus among researchers that both communication and feedback positively affect safety performance, there is a debate about the directness of this relationship. Whereas some researchers assume a direct relationship between safety communication and safety performance, others state that this relationship is mediated by safety climate. One of the key findings is that despite the strongly present view that safety communication is a formal and top-down safety management tool, researchers stress the importance of open communication that encourages and allows employees to express their worries, experiences, views, and share information. This raises questions with regard to other directions (e.g., bottom-up, horizontal) and forms of communication (e.g., informal). The current review proposes a framework to overcome the often vague and different operationalizations of safety communication. The proposed framework can be used to characterize safety communication in terms of stakeholders, direction, and characteristics of communication (e.g., medium usage).

Keywords: communication, feedback, occupational safety, review

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Authors: Lisa Graham, Kathleen Grant

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South Africa is a multicultural country with eleven official languages, yet most of the formal education at institutions of higher education in the country is in English. It is well known that many students, irrespective of their home language, struggle to grasp difficult scientific concepts and the same is true for students enrolled in the Extended Curriculum Programme at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT), studying biomedical sciences. Today we are fortunate in that there is a plethora of resources available to students to research and better understand subject matter online. For example, the students often use YouTube videos to supplement the formal education provided in our course. Unfortunately, most of this material is presented in English. The rationale behind this project lies in that it is well documented that students think and grasp concepts easier in their home language and addresses the fact that the lingua franca of instruction in the field of biomedical science is English. A project aimed at addressing the lack of available resources in most of the South African languages is planned, where students studying Bachelor of Health Science in Medical Laboratory Science will collaborate with those studying Film and Video Technology to create educational videos, explaining scientific concepts in their home languages. These videos will then be published on our own YouTube channel, thereby making them accessible to fellow students, future students and anybody with interest in the subject. Research will be conducted to determine the benefit of the project as well as the published videos to the student community. It is suspected that the students engaged in making the videos will benefit in such a way as to gain further understanding of their course content, a broader appreciation of the discipline, an enhanced sense of civic responsibility, as well as greater respect for the different languages and cultures in our classes. Indeed, an increase in student engagement has been shown to play a central role in student success, and it is well noted that deeper learning and more innovative solutions take place in collaborative groups. We aim to make a meaningful contribution towards the production and repository of knowledge in multilingual teaching and learning for the benefit of the diverse student population and staff. This would strengthen language development, multilingualism, and multiculturalism at CPUT and empower and promote African languages as languages of science and education at CPUT, in other institutions of higher learning, and in South Africa as a whole.

Keywords: educational videos, multiculturalism, multilingualism, student engagement

Procedia PDF Downloads 146