Search results for: change literature

Authors: Paul Saah, Charles Mbohwa, Nelson Sizwe Madonsela

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Organisations that want to have a competitive edge over their rivals in their industry are becoming more and more aware of the value of staff training and development programs. This conceptual study's primary goal is to determine how staff development and training affect an organization's ability to succeed. A non-empirical methodological approach was chosen because this was a conceptual study, and a thorough literature analysis was conducted to determine the contribution of staff training and development to the performance of a commercial organization. Twenty of the 100 publications about employee training and development that were obtained from Google Scholar and regarded to be more pertinent were examined for this study. The impact of employee training and development in an organization was found and documented during the analyses. According to the study's findings, some of the major advantages of staff development and training include greater productivity, the discovery of employee potential, job satisfaction, the development of skills, less supervision, a decrease in turnover and absenteeism as well as less supervision and reduction of errors and accidents. The findings show that organisations that make significant investments in the training and development of their personnel are more likely to succeed than those who do not.

Keywords: impact, employment, training and development, success, business, organization

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Authors: Masao Nakagawa, Toshiki Hirogaki, Eiichi Aoyama, Mohamed Ali Ben Abbes

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A planetary gear set is widely used in hybrid vehicles as the power distribution system or in electric vehicles as the high reduction system, but due to its complexity with planet gears, its dynamic characteristic is not fully understood. There are many reports on two-axes driving or displacement of the planet gears under these conditions, but only few reports deal with three-axes driving. A three-axes driving condition is tested using three-axes torque measurement and focuses on the dynamic characteristic around the planet gears in this report. From experimental result, it was confirmed that the transition forces around the planet gears were balanced and the torques were also balanced around the instantaneous rotation center. The meshing frequency under these conditions was revealed to be the harmonics of two meshing frequencies; meshing frequency of the ring gear and that of the planet gears. The input power of the ring gear is distributed to the carrier and the sun gear in the dynamic sequential change of three fixed conditions; planet, star and solar modes.

Keywords: dynamic characteristic, gear, planetary gear set, torque measuring

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Authors: Freya Harding, Anne Gatuguta, Chi Eziefula

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Introduction Research shows the quality of experiences of pregnancy, birth, and postpartum impacts the health and well-being of the mother and baby. This is recognised by the WHO in their recommendations ‘Intrapartum care for a positive childbirth experience’. The COVID-19 pandemic saw the transformation of the NHS Maternity services to prevent the transmission of COVID-19. Physical and social isolation may have affected women’s experiences of pregnancy, birth and postpartum; especially those of healthcare. Examples of such changes made to the NHS include both the reduction in volume of face-to-face consultations and restrictions to visitor time in hospitals. One notable detriment due to these changes was the absence of a partner during certain stages of birth. The aim of this study was to explore women’s experiences of pregnancy, birth, and postnatal period during the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK. Methods We collected qualitative data from women who had given birth during the COVID-19 pandemic. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with twelve participants recruited from mother and baby groups in Southeast England. Data were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed thematically using both inductive and deductive approaches. Ethics permission was granted from Brighton and Sussex Medical School (ER/BSMS9A83/1). Results Interviews were conducted with 12 women who gave birth between May 2020 and February 2021. Ages of the participants ranged between 28 and 42 years, most of which were white British, with one being Asian British. All participants were heterosexual and either married or co-habiting with their partner. Five participants worked in the NHS, and all participants had professional occupations. Women felt inadequately supported both socially and medically. An appropriate sense of control over their own birthing experience was lacking. Safety mechanisms, such as in-person visits from the midwife, had no suitable alternatives in place. Serious health issues were able to “slip through the net.” Mental health conditions in some of those interviewed worsened or developed. Similarly, reduced support from partners during birth and during the immediate postpartum period at the hospital, coupled with reduced ward staffing, resulted in some traumatic experiences; particularly for women who had undergone caesarean section. However, some unexpected positive effects were reported; one example being that partners were able to spend more time with their baby due to furlough schemes and working from home. Similarly, emergency care was not felt to have been compromised. Overall, six themes emerged: (1) Self-reported traumatic experiences, (2) Challenges of caring for a baby with reduced medical and social support, (3) Unexpected benefits to the parenting experience, (4) The effects of a sudden change in medical management (5) Poor communication from healthcare professionals (6) Social change; with subthemes of support accessing medical care, the workplace, family and friends, and antenatal & baby groups. Conclusions The results indicate that the healthcare system was unable to adequately deliver maternity care to facilitate positive pregnancy, birth, and postnatal experiences during the heights of the pandemic. The poor quality of such experiences has been linked an increased risk of long-term health complications in both the mother and child.

Keywords: pregnancy, birth, postpartum, postnatal, COVID-19, maternity, social support, qualitative, pandemic

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Authors: Wooseok Song, Sunjung Park, Jongkwon Lee, Jaye Koo

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The objective of this paper is to observe the effects of injection conditions on flame structures in gas-centered swirl coaxial injector. Gaseous oxygen and liquid kerosene were used as propellants. For different injection conditions, two types of injector, which only differ in the diameter of the tangential inlet, were used in this study. In addition, oxidizer injection pressure was varied to control the combustion chamber pressure in different types of injector. In order to analyze the combustion instability intensity, the dynamic pressure was measured in both the combustion chamber and propellants lines. With the increase in differential pressure between the propellant injection pressure and the combustion chamber pressure, the combustion instability intensity increased. In addition, the flame structure was recorded using a high-speed camera to detect CH* chemiluminescence intensity. With the change in the injection conditions in the gas-centered swirl coaxial injector, the flame structure changed.

Keywords: liquid rocket engine, flame structure, combustion instability, dynamic pressure

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Authors: Varun Kumar, Chandra Shakher

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Micro-optical components such as microlenses and microlens array have numerous engineering and industrial applications for collimation of laser diodes, imaging devices for sensor system (CCD/CMOS, document copier machines etc.), for making beam homogeneous for high power lasers, a critical component in Shack-Hartmann sensor, fiber optic coupling and optical switching in communication technology. Also micro-optical components have become an alternative for applications where miniaturization, reduction of alignment and packaging cost are necessary. The compliance with high-quality standards in the manufacturing of micro-optical components is a precondition to be compatible on worldwide markets. Therefore, high demands are put on quality assurance. For quality assurance of these lenses, an economical measurement technique is needed. For cost and time reason, technique should be fast, simple (for production reason), and robust with high resolution. The technique should provide non contact, non-invasive and full field information about the shape of micro- optical component under test. The interferometric techniques are noncontact type and non invasive and provide full field information about the shape of the optical components. The conventional interferometric technique such as holographic interferometry or Mach-Zehnder interferometry is available for characterization of micro-lenses. However, these techniques need more experimental efforts and are also time consuming. Digital holography (DH) overcomes the above described problems. Digital holographic microscopy (DHM) allows one to extract both the amplitude and phase information of a wavefront transmitted through the transparent object (microlens or microlens array) from a single recorded digital hologram by using numerical methods. Also one can reconstruct the complex object wavefront at different depths due to numerical reconstruction. Digital holography provides axial resolution in nanometer range while lateral resolution is limited by diffraction and the size of the sensor. In this paper, Mach-Zehnder based digital holographic interferometric microscope (DHIM) system is used for the testing of transparent microlenses. The advantage of using the DHIM is that the distortions due to aberrations in the optical system are avoided by the interferometric comparison of reconstructed phase with and without the object (microlens array). In the experiment, first a digital hologram is recorded in the absence of sample (microlens array) as a reference hologram. Second hologram is recorded in the presence of microlens array. The presence of transparent microlens array will induce a phase change in the transmitted laser light. Complex amplitude of object wavefront in presence and absence of microlens array is reconstructed by using Fresnel reconstruction method. From the reconstructed complex amplitude, one can evaluate the phase of object wave in presence and absence of microlens array. Phase difference between the two states of object wave will provide the information about the optical path length change due to the shape of the microlens. By the knowledge of the value of the refractive index of microlens array material and air, the surface profile of microlens array is evaluated. The Sag of microlens and radius of curvature of microlens are evaluated and reported. The sag of microlens agrees well within the experimental limit as provided in the specification by the manufacturer.

Keywords: micro-optics, microlens array, phase map, digital holographic interferometric microscopy

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Authors: Samira Karimi-Mansoub, Rahem Abri

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Currently, users expect high quality and personalized information from search results. To satisfy user’s needs, personalized approaches to web search have been proposed. These approaches can provide the most appropriate answer for user’s needs by using user context and incorporating information about query provided by combining search technologies. To carry out personalized web search, there is a need to make different techniques on whole of user search process. There are the number of possible deployment of personalized approaches such as personalized web search, personalized recommendation, personalized summarization and filtering systems and etc. but the common feature of all approaches in various domains is that user modeling is utilized to provide personalized information from the Web. So the most important work in personalized approaches is user model mining. User modeling applications and technologies can be used in various domains depending on how the user collected information may be extracted. In addition to, the used techniques to create user model is also different in each of these applications. Since in the previous studies, there was not a complete survey in this field, our purpose is to present a survey on applications and techniques of user modeling from the viewpoint of improvement in search results by considering the existing literature and researches.

Keywords: filtering systems, personalized web search, user modeling, user search behavior

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Authors: M. Titaouine, T. Meziane, K. Deghnouche

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The purpose of this study was to determine reference serum biochemistry values from dromedary (Camelus dromedarius) in Algeria and to evaluate potential sources of physiological variability such as the sex, age and season on serum data. Usual serum biochemistry values were determined in blood samples from 26 apparently healthy dromedaries, 11 males and 15 females, divided into 3 lots (ender 4years), (between 5 and 10 years), (up 10 years). Parametric reference ranges and physiological variations are determined for calcium (Ca), organic phosphate (P), magnesium (Mg), natrium (Na), potassium (K), iron (Fe), glucose, triglycerides (TG), cholesterol, urea, creatinine, total proteins and albumin. The results demonstrate: * Values which agreed with literature * Significant statistically differences (Anova test, p < 0.05) depending on: -the sex for Na, glucose, TG, cholesterol, urea, creatinine, albumin, -the age for Ca, P, K, Mg, glucose, TG, b and g globulin, -and season for Fe, urea, total proteins, TG, cholesterol and glucose. These reference ranges for serum biochemical analysis can be used for metabolic and nutritional disorders detection in dromedary.

Keywords: age, biochemistry, dromadery, season, sex

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Authors: M. S. Agha, A. M. Eshahiry, S. A. Aldabbar, Z. M. Alshahri

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The propagation of microwave is affected by rain and dust particles causing signal attenuation and de-polarization. Computations of these effects require knowledge of the propagation characteristics of microwave and millimeter wave energy in the climate conditions of the studied region. This paper presents effect of wind and humidity on wireless communication such as microwave links in the North West region of Libya (Al-Khoms). The experimental procedure is done on three selected antennae towers (Nagaza station, Al-Khoms center station, Al-Khoms gateway station) for determining the attenuation loss per unit length and cross-polarization discrimination (XPD) change. Dust particles are collected along the region of the study, to measure the particle size distribution (PSD), calculate the concentration, and chemically analyze the contents, then the dielectric constant can be calculated. The results show that humidity and dust, antenna height and the visibility affect both attenuation and phase shift; in which, a few considerations must be taken into account in the communication power budget.

Keywords: : Attenuation, scattering, transmission loss.

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Authors: Irum Naz

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In the Arabian higher education context, linguistic proficiency in the English language is considered crucial for the developmental sustainability, economic growth, and stability of communities and societies. Qatar’s educational reforms package, through the 2030 vision, identifies the acquisition of English at K-12 as an essential survival communication tool for globalization, believing that Qatari students need better preparation to take on the responsibilities of leadership and to participate effectively in the country’s surging economy. The idea of introducing Qatari students to modern curricula benchmarked to high-student-performance curricula in developed countries is one of the components of reformatory design principles of Education for New Era reform project that is mutually consented to and supported by the Office of Shared Services, Communications Office, and Supreme Education Council. In appreciation of the government’s vision, the English Language Centre (ELC) at the Community College of Qatar ran an internal educational audit and conducted evaluative research to understand and appraise the value, impact, and practicality of the existing ELC language development program. This study sought to identify the type of change that could identify and improve the quality of Foundation Program courses and the manners in which second language learners could be assisted to transit smoothly between (ELC) levels. Following the interpretivist paradigm and mixed research method, the data was gathered through a bicyclic research model and a triangular design. The analyses of the data suggested that there was a need for improvement in the ELC program as a whole, and particularly in terms of curriculum, student learning outcomes, and the general learning environment in the department. Key findings suggest that the target program would benefit from significant revisions, which would include narrowing the focus of the courses, providing sets of specific learning objectives, and preventing repetition between levels. Another promising finding was about the assessment tools and process. The data suggested that a set of standardized assessments that more closely suited the programs of study should be devised. It was also recommended that students undergo a more comprehensive placement process to ensure that they begin the program at an appropriate level and get the maximum benefit from their learning experience. Although this ties into the idea of curriculum revamp, it was expected that students could leave the ELC having had exposure to courses in English for specific purposes. The idea of a more reliable exit assessment for students was raised frequently so ELC could regulate itself and ensure optimum learning outcomes. Another important recommendation was the provision of a Student Learning Center for students that would help them to receive personalized tuition, differentiated instruction, and self-driven and self-evaluated learning experience. In addition, an extra study level was recommended to be added to the program to accommodate the different levels of English language proficiency represented among ELC students. The evidence collected in the course of conducting the study suggests that significant change is needed in the structure of the ELC program, specifically about curriculum, the program learning outcomes, and the learning environment in general.

Keywords: educational audit, ESL, optimum learning outcomes, Qatar’s educational reforms, self-driven and self-evaluated learning experience, Student Learning Center

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Authors: Rafik Taleb, Farid Bouriche, Mehdi Boukri, Fouad Kehila

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The aim of the paper is to investigate the dynamic behavior of an unreinforced masonry (URM) building strengthened by DC-90 dampers by ambient and low-level forced vibration tests. Ambient and forced vibration techniques are usually applied to reinforced concrete or steel buildings to understand and identify their dynamic behavior, however, less is known about their applicability for masonry buildings. Ambient vibrations were measured before and after strengthening of the URM building by DC-90 dampers system. For forced vibration test, a series of low amplitude steady state harmonic forced vibration tests were conducted after strengthening using eccentric mass shaker. The resonant frequency curves, mode shapes and damping coefficients as well as stress distribution in the steel braces of the DC-90 dampers have been investigated and could be defined. It was shown that the dynamic behavior of the masonry building, even if not regular and with deformable floors, can be effectively represented. It can be concluded that the strengthening of the building does not change the dynamic properties of the building due to the fact of low amplitude excitation which do not activate the dampers.

Keywords: ambient vibrations, masonry buildings, forced vibrations, structural dynamic identification

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Authors: Marwa Zein

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The long-term of the contract is one of the major features that distinguish international trade and investment contracts from other internal contracts. This is due to the nature of the contract and the huge works required to be performed from one hand or the desire of the parties to achieve stability in their transactions. However, long-term contracts might expose them to certain events and circumstances that impact the capability of the parties to execute their obligations pursuant to these contracts. During the year 2016, the Egyptian government has taken series of economic decisions which greatly impacted the economic and investment environment. Consequently, many contracts have encountered many problems in their execution due to such changes that greatly influence the performance of their obligation, a matter that necessitated the renegotiation of the conditions of these contracts on the basis of the unpredicted changes that could be listed under the Force Majeure Clause. The principle of fair and equitable treatment in investment placed on an obligation on the Egyptian government to consider the renegotiation of contract clauses based on the new conditions. This paper will discuss the idea of renegotiating international trade and investment contracts in Egypt with reference to the changes the economic environment has witnessed lately.

Keywords: change of circumstances, international contracts, investment contracts, renegotiation

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Authors: Muhammad Hadi Ibrahim

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The benefits of alternative/renewable fuels in general and a study of the environmental impacts of biofuels in particular have been reviewed in this paper. It is a known fact that, energy generation using fossil fuel produces many important pollutants including; nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons, soot, dust, smoke and other particulate harmful matter. It’s believed that if carbon dioxide levels continue to increase drastically, the planet will become warmer and will most likely result in a variety of negative impacts including; sea-level rise, extreme and unpredictable weather events and an increased frequency of draughts in inland agricultural zones. Biofuels such as alcohols, biogas, etc. appear to be more viable alternatives, especially for use as fuels in diesel engines. The substitution of fossil fuel through increased utilization of biofuels produced in a sustainable manner, can contribute immensely towards a cleaner environment, reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and mitigation of climate change. Stakeholders in the energy sector can be sensitized by the findings of the research study and to consider the possible adverse effects in developing technologies for the production and combustion of biofuels.

Keywords: emission, energy, renewable/alternative fuel, environment, pollution

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Authors: Andrew Laming, John Hattie, Mark Wilson

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Nine Queensland Independent high schools provided deidentified student-matched ATAR and NAPLAN data for all 1217 ATAR graduates since 2020 who also sat NAPLAN at the school. Graduating cohorts from the nine schools contained a mean 100 ATAR graduates with previous NAPLAN data from their school. Excluded were vocational students (mean=27) and any ATAR graduates without NAPLAN data (mean=20). Based on Index of Community Socio-Educational Access (ICSEA) prediction, all schools had larger that predicted proportions of their students graduating with ATARs. There were an additional 173 students not releasing their ATARs to their school (14%), requiring this data to be inferred by schools. Gain was established by first converting each student’s strongest NAPLAN domain to a statewide percentile, then subtracting this result from final ATAR. The resulting ‘percentile shift’ was corrected for plausible ATAR participation at each NAPLAN level. Strongest NAPLAN domain had the highest correlation with ATAR (R2=0.58). RESULTS School mean NAPLAN scores fitted ICSEA closely (R2=0.97). Schools achieved a mean cohort gain of two ATAR rankings, but only 66% of students gained. This ranged from 46% of top-NAPLAN decile students gaining, rising to 75% achieving gains outside the top decile. The 54% of top-decile students whose ATAR fell short of prediction lost a mean 4.0 percentiles (or 6.2 percentiles prior to correction for regression to the mean). 71% of students in smaller schools gained, compared to 63% in larger schools. NAPLAN variability in each of the 13 ICSEA1100 cohorts was 17%, with both intra-school and inter-school variation of these values extremely low (0.3% to 1.8%). Mean ATAR change between years in each school was just 1.1 ATAR ranks. This suggests consecutive school cohorts and ICSEA-similar schools share very similar distributions and outcomes over time. Quantile analysis of the NAPLAN/ATAR revealed heteroscedasticity, but splines offered little additional benefit over simple linear regression. The NAPLAN/ATAR R2 was 0.33. DISCUSSION Standardised data like NAPLAN and ATAR offer educators a simple no-cost progression metric to analyse performance in conjunction with their internal test results. Change is expressed in percentiles, or ATAR shift per student, which is layperson intuitive. Findings may also reduce ATAR/vocational stream mismatch, reveal proportions of cohorts meeting or falling short of expectation and demonstrate by how much. Finally, ‘crashed’ ATARs well below expectation are revealed, which schools can reasonably work to minimise. The percentile shift method is neither value-add nor a growth percentile. In the absence of exit NAPLAN testing, this metric is unable to discriminate academic gain from legitimate ATAR-maximizing strategies. But by controlling for ICSEA, ATAR proportion variation and student mobility, it uncovers progression to ATAR metrics which are not currently publicly available. However achieved, ATAR maximisation is a sought-after private good. So long as standardised nationwide data is available, this analysis offers useful analytics for educators and reasonable predictivity when counselling subsequent cohorts about their ATAR prospects.  

Keywords: NAPLAN, ATAR, analytics, measurement, gain, performance, data, percentile, value-added, high school, numeracy, reading comprehension, variability, regression to the mean

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Authors: Elnaz Bandeh

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This study aimed to predict marital burnout based on irrational beliefs and sexual dysfunction of couples. The research method was descriptive-correlational, and the statistical population included all couples who consulted to counseling clinics in the fall of 2016. The sample consisted of 200 people who were selected by convenience sampling and answered the Ahwaz Irrational Beliefs Questionnaire, Pines Couple Burnout, and Hudson Marital Satisfaction Questionnaire. The data were analyzed using regression coefficient. The results of regression analysis showed that there was a linear relationship between irrational beliefs and couple burnout and dimensions of helplessness toward change, expectation of approval from others, and emotional irresponsibility were positive and significant predictors of couple burnout. However, after avoiding the problem of power, it was not a significant predictor of marital dissatisfaction. There was also a linear relationship between sexual dysfunction and couple burnout, and sexual dysfunction was a positive and significant predictor of couple burnout. Based on the findings, it can be concluded that irrational beliefs and sexual dysfunction play a role in couple dysfunction.

Keywords: couple burnout, irrational beliefs, sexual dysfunction, marital relationship

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Authors: Jayisha Das Jaya, Nafis As Sami, Nazia Jahan, Tamanna Jerin, Mohammed Russedul Islam

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This paper contains continuous research which helps to analyze polypropylene modified bituminous mix and its impact characteristics with respect to original bitumen. Three percentages of polypropylene varying from (1-3) % of the weight of bitumen have been used to alter bitumen’s performance. The temperature of 170°C has been maintained during the blending of polypropylene with bitumen. It was performed by a wet process as it has certain advantages over the dry process. A rough estimate of 210 rpm rotation speed was set to prepare the blend in a mixer for 30 minutes producing homogeneous mixture. The blended mix shows a change in physical properties in comparison with the original bitumen content. Modification shows that for a 1% increment of polypropylene, softening point increases by 1 degree, penetration values decrease gradually to 55.6, 54, 52.5, ductility values decrease gradually to 87,76, 63 and specific gravity remains the same. Then Marshall mix design is performed with 60/70 penetration grade bitumen contents varying from (4-6) % with .5% intervals. Marshall stability and flow test results indicate the increase in stability and decrease in flow.

Keywords: bitumen, marshall, polypropylene, temperature

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Authors: Lizbeth Puerta, Enselmina Marín

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The purpose of this research is to present a survey to be applied to professors of public universities, to identify the factors that benefit or hinder the university-industry relation. Hence, this research studies some elements that integrate the variables: Knowledge management, technology management, and technology transfer; to define the existence of a relation between these variables and the industry necessities of innovation. This study is exploratory, descriptive and non-experimental. The research question is: What is the impact of the knowledge management, the technology management, and the technology transfer, made by administrative support areas of the public universities, in the industries innovation? Thus, literature review was made to identify some elements that should be considered to design a survey that allows to obtain valid information to the study variables. After this, the survey was developed, and the Content Validity Analysis was made through the Lawshe Model. The analysis indicated that the Content Validity Index (CVI) was 0.80. Hence, it was determined that this survey presents acceptable psychometric properties to be used as an evaluation tool.

Keywords: innovation, knowledge management, technology management, technology transfer

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Authors: Kadir Özsoy

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Creating a moderately competitive learning environment is believed to have positive effects on student interest and motivation. The best way today to attract young learners to get involved in a fun, competitive learning experience is possible through mobile applications as these learners mostly rely on games and applications on their phones and tablets to have fun, communicate, look for information and study. In this study, a mobile application called ‘QuizUp’ is used to create a specific game topic for elementary level students at Anadolu University Preparatory School. The topic is specially designed with weekly-added questions in accordance with the course syllabus. Students challenge their classmates or randomly chosen opponents to answer questions related to their course subjects. They also chat and post on the topic’s wall in English. The study aims at finding out students’ perceptions towards the use of the application as a classroom and extra-curricular activity through a survey. The study concludes that educational games boost students’ motivation, lead to increased effort, and positively change their studying habits.

Keywords: competitive learning, educational application, effort, motivation 'QuizUp', study habits

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Authors: Anushree, Chhaya Sharma, Satish Kumar

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Catalytic wet air oxidation (CWAO) is normally carried out at elevated temperature and pressure. This work investigates the potential of NiO-CeO₂ nano-catalyst in CWAO of paper industry wastewater under milder operating conditions of 90 °C and 1 atm. The NiO-CeO₂ nano-catalysts were synthesized by a simple co-precipitation method and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), before and after use, in order to study any crystallographic change during experiment. The extent of metal-leaching from the catalyst was determined using the inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The catalytic activity of nano-catalysts was studied in terms of total organic carbon (TOC), adsorbable organic halides (AOX) and chlorophenolics (CHPs) removal. Interestingly, mixed oxide catalysts exhibited higher activity than the corresponding single-metal oxides. The maximum removal efficiency was achieved with Ce₄₀Ni₆₀ catalyst. The results indicate that the CWAO process is efficient in removing the priority organic pollutants from wastewater, as it exhibited up to 59% TOC, 55% AOX, and 54 % CHPs removal.

Keywords: catalysis, nano-materials, NiO-CeO2, paper mill, wastewater, wet air oxidation

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Authors: Argyroula Argyrou

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The purpose of my current research, of which this paper form’s part, is to explore the architectural and religious transformations of Trypiti Bay in the region of Kourion, Cyprus, between the 1st and 6th centuries AD. This research aims to explore and analyse three different stages in the religious and architectural transformations of the ancient port, with evidence supporting these transformations from the main city of Kourion and the Sanctuary of Apollo Hylates between the 1st and 6th centuries. In addition, the research is using historical and archaeological comparisons with coastal sites in the Levant, North Africa, Lebanon, and Europe in an attempt to identify a pattern of development in the religious topography of Kourion and how these contributed to change in the use and symbolism of Trypiti bay as an important passageway to religious sanctuaries in the vicinity of the coast. The construction of Trypiti Bay has been proven, according to archaeological and historical evidence, gathered throughout Kourion’s fieldwork and archival research, that it served as a natural port for cargos that needed to be protected from the strong west winds of the area. The construction of Trypiti Bay is believed to be unique to the island as no similar structure has yet been discovered.

Keywords: architecture, heritage, perservation, transformation, unique

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Authors: Gurubasavaraju T. M.

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The magnetorheological (MR) damper could provide variable damping force with respect to the different input magnetic field. The damping force could be estimated through computational analysis using finite element and computational fluid dynamics analysis. The double-ended damper operates without changing the total volume of fluid. In this paper, damping force of double ended damper under different magnetic field is computed. Initially, the magneto-statics analysis carried out to evaluate the magnetic flux density across the fluid flow gap. The respective change in the rheology of the MR fluid is computed by using the experimentally fitted polynomial equation of shear stress versus magnetic field plot of MR fluid. The obtained values are substituted in the Herschel Buckley model to express the non-Newtonian behavior of MR fluid. Later, using computational fluid dynamic (CFD) analysis damping characteristics in terms of force versus velocity and force versus displacement for the respective magnetic field is estimated. The purpose of the present approach is to characterize the preliminary designed MR damper before fabricating.

Keywords: MR fluid, double ended MR damper, CFD, FEA

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Authors: Bahia Braktia, Belkacem Braktia

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Collaborative writing is now an established pedagogical technique in higher education. Since most educators do not have training in the design, execution, and evaluation of writing assignments, implementing such tasks has proven difficult. This paper firstly proposes a framework for a collaborative writing assignment based on a literature study and adopting a writing-to-learn concept. It then describes the research undertaken and shows how this framework is implemented in an economics course, at an Algerian university, with undergraduate students. Finally, using a mixed methods design, it examines the students’ perceptions of what they have learned about collaborative writing. Preliminary results show that group assignments will always be a challenge, but with careful planning and structure, a collaborative writing assignment can be used effectively to help students improve their analytical and critical thinking abilities, research and group work skills, as well as writing proficiency. Students have a positive experience of working in a team and identified a wide variety of different team skills that they have learned through the process.

Keywords: collaborative writing, research assignment, students’ perception, survey

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Authors: Lobna Hafez, Eman Elakkad

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Sustainability is no longer a choice for firms. To achieve sustainable supply chain, all three dimensions of sustainability should be considered. Unlike the economic and environmental aspects, social sustainability has been rarely given attention. The problem surrounding social sustainability and employees’ welfare in Egypt is complex and remains unsolved. The aim of this study is to qualitatively assess the current level of application of social sustainability in the retailing sector in Egypt through using the social sustainability indicators identified in the literature. The purpose of this investigation is to gain knowledge about the complexity of the system involved. A case study is conducted on one of the largest retailers in Egypt. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with managers and employees to determine the level of application and identify the major obstacles affecting the social sustainability in the retailing context. The work developed gives insights about the details and complexities of the application of social sustainability in developing countries, from the retailing perspective. The outcomes of this study will help managers to understand the enablers of social sustainability and will direct them to methods of sound implementation.

Keywords: developing countries, Egyptian retailing sector, sustainability, social sustainability

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Authors: Harun Ozdemirci

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Complexity and chaos are the characteristics of our new world today. Either business or governmental sector, inner and outer environment changes in all aspects. To ensure leaders to guide organizations accurately and effectively, leaders also must change their attitudes towards this changing world . We need new tools, new mindsets and new views for new century. Every leader have to operate within an cerative and innovative way of thinking. But how it will occur and at which direction it will be managed or directed? What kind of abilities and attitudes make leader compatible with this ever-changing and ambigous environment? Leader who will lead in the future must have some special skillls. But how can we develop these skills and behaviours? What must be the mindset of a future leader? This paper searchs for answers of some of these questions. But asking questions is more important than giving answers to them. Innovation and creativity have been at the centerpiece of our lives for some years. But we don’t know how to manage and how to tackle with the challenges come up with this new situation. This new world order compel us to take some new positions against new employees who have different types of lives and habits, new productivity processes, new adversaries… Future environment will not be the same as we experience before. So, our responses to this new environment can not be the same as our predecessors gave. We have to innovate new ways of thinking, and new tools for solving new type of problems.

Keywords: innovation, creativity, leader, future, liberal arts

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Authors: Abdullah M. Almeshal, Mohammad R. Alenezi, Talal H. Alzanki

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This paper presents a hybrid fuzzy logic control strategy for a unicycle trajectory following robot on irregular terrains. In literature, researchers have presented the design of path tracking controllers of mobile robots on non-frictional surface. In this work, the robot is simulated to drive on irregular terrains with contrasting frictional profiles of peat and rough gravel. A hybrid fuzzy logic controller is utilised to stabilise and drive the robot precisely with the predefined trajectory and overcome the frictional impact. The controller gains and scaling factors were optimised using spiral dynamics optimisation algorithm to minimise the mean square error of the linear and angular velocities of the unicycle robot. The robot was simulated on various frictional surfaces and terrains and the controller was able to stabilise the robot with a superior performance that is shown via simulation results.

Keywords: fuzzy logic control, mobile robot, trajectory tracking, spiral dynamic algorithm

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Authors: Sinead Impey, Gaye Stephens, Declan O’Sullivan

Abstract:

Mitigating organisational knowledge loss presents challenges for knowledge managers. Expert knowledge is embodied in people and captured in ‘routines, processes, practices and norms’ as well as in the paper system. These knowledge stores have limitations in so far as they make knowledge diffusion beyond geography or over time difficult. However, technology could present a potential solution by facilitating the capture and management of expert knowledge in a codified and sharable format. Before it can be digitised, however, the knowledge of healthcare experts must be captured. Methods: As a first step in a larger project on this topic, a scoping review was conducted to identify how expert healthcare knowledge is captured digitally. The aim of the review was to identify current healthcare knowledge capture practices, identify gaps in the literature, and justify future research. The review followed a scoping review framework. From an initial 3,430 papers retrieved, 22 were deemed relevant and included in the review. Findings: Two broad approaches –direct and indirect- with themes and subthemes emerged. ‘Direct’ describes a process whereby knowledge is taken directly from subject experts. The themes identified were: ‘Researcher mediated capture’ and ‘Digital mediated capture’. The latter was further distilled into two sub-themes: ‘Captured in specified purpose platforms (SPP)’ and ‘Captured in a virtual community of practice (vCoP)’. ‘Indirect’ processes rely on extracting new knowledge using artificial intelligence techniques from previously captured data. Using this approach, the theme ‘Generated using artificial intelligence methods’ was identified. Although presented as distinct themes, some papers retrieved discuss combining more than one approach to capture knowledge. While no approach emerged as superior, two points arose from the literature. Firstly, human input was evident across themes, even with indirect approaches. Secondly, a range of challenges common among approaches was highlighted. These were (i) ‘Capturing an expert’s knowledge’- Difficulties surrounding capturing an expert’s knowledge related to identifying the ‘expert’ say from the very experienced and how to capture their tacit or difficult to articulate knowledge. (ii) ‘Confirming quality of knowledge’- Once captured, challenges noted surrounded how to validate knowledge captured and, therefore, quality. (iii) ‘Continual knowledge capture’- Once knowledge is captured, validated, and used in a system; however, the process is not complete. Healthcare is a knowledge-rich environment with new evidence emerging frequently. As such, knowledge needs to be reviewed, updated, or removed (redundancy) as appropriate. Although some methods were proposed to address this, such as plausible reasoning or case-based reasoning, conclusions could not be drawn from the papers retrieved. It was, therefore, highlighted as an area for future research. Conclusion: The results described two broad approaches – direct and indirect. Three themes were identified: ‘Researcher mediated capture (Direct)’; ‘Digital mediated capture (Direct)’ and ‘Generated using artificial intelligence methods (Indirect)’. While no single approach was deemed superior, common challenges noted among approaches were: ‘capturing an expert’s knowledge’, ‘confirming quality of knowledge’, and ‘continual knowledge capture’. However, continual knowledge capture was not fully explored in the papers retrieved and was highlighted as an important area for future research. Acknowledgments: This research is partially funded by the ADAPT Centre under the SFI Research Centres Programme (Grant 13/RC/2106) and is co-funded under the European Regional Development Fund.

Keywords: expert knowledge, healthcare, knowledge capture and knowledge management

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Authors: Kuei-Chun Liu, Yu-Yu Lai, Ching-Hong Wu

Abstract:

A good automated testing tool could reduce as much as possible the manual work done by testers. Traditional record-replay testing tool provides an automated testing solution by recording mouse coordinates as test scripts, but it will be easily broken if any change of resolutions. Therefore, more and more testers design multiple test scripts to automate the testing process for different devices. In order to improve the traditional record-replay approach and reduce the effort that the testers spending on writing test scripts, we propose an approach for generating the Android application test scripts based on accessibility service without connecting to a computer. This approach simulates user input actions and replays them correctly even at the different conditions such as the internet connection is unstable when the device under test, the different resolutions on Android devices. In this paper, we describe how to generate test scripts automatically and make a comparison with existing tools for Android such as Robotium, Appium, UIAutomator, and MonkeyTalk.

Keywords: accessibility service, Appium, automated testing, MonkeyTalk, Robotium, testing, UIAutomator

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Authors: Norjan Jumaa, David Graham

Abstract:

We present a Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM) for multiphase flows with high viscosity and density ratios. The motion of the interface between fluids is modelled by solving the Cahn-Hilliard (CH) equation with LBM. Incompressibility of the velocity fields in each phase is imposed by using a pressure correction scheme. We use a unified LBM approach with separate formulations for the phase field, the pressure less Naiver-Stokes (NS) equations and the pressure Poisson equation required for correction of the velocity field. The implementation has been verified for various test case. Here, we present results for some complex flow problems including two dimensional single and multiple mode Rayleigh-Taylor instability and we obtain good results when comparing with those in the literature. The main focus of our work is related to interactions between aerated or non-aerated waves and structures so we also present results for both high viscosity and low viscosity waves.

Keywords: lattice Boltzmann method, multiphase flows, Rayleigh-Taylor instability, waves

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Authors: Arej Alhemimah

Abstract:

This study investigates the influence of tourists’ perceptions of destination image on their intention to use a tourism app. It examines the roles played by tourists’ perceptions of app/website usability, information quality, and risk in shaping tourism destination image and, subsequently, their app use intention. Using an online questionnaire, the study surveyed 194 international tourists in Saudi Arabia. Results were analysed using PLS-SEM. All the proposed hypotheses were supported and significant. Perceived risk had the strongest influence, followed by the influence of tourists’ perceptions of information quality, then app usability. Additionally, perceived risk was found to have a strong effect on the application use intention. The study makes a significant contribution to the tourism website/application literature; its implications provide practical insights and recommendations for destination marketers and managers to improve their online and social media presence in terms of enhancing e-platform usability, quality of provided information, and most importantly, to create a destination strategy to manage tourists’ risk perceptions.

Keywords: destination image, perceived risk, use intention, tourism app, information quality

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Authors: Jan Henrik Wosnitza

Abstract:

The logistic regression has developed into a standard approach for estimating conditional probabilities in a wide range of applications including credit risk prediction. The article at hand contributes to the current literature on logistic regression fourfold: First, it is demonstrated that the binary logistic regression automatically meets its model assumptions under very general conditions. This result explains, at least in part, the logistic regression's popularity. Second, the requirement of homoscedasticity in the context of binary logistic regression is theoretically substantiated. The variances among the groups of defaulted and non-defaulted obligors have to be the same across the level of the aggregated default indicators in order to achieve linear logits. Third, this article sheds some light on the question why nonlinear logits might be superior to linear logits in case of a small amount of data. Fourth, an innovative methodology for estimating correlations between obligor-specific log-odds is proposed. In order to crystallize the key ideas, this paper focuses on the example of credit risk prediction. However, the results presented in this paper can easily be transferred to any other field of application.

Keywords: correlation, credit risk estimation, default correlation, homoscedasticity, logistic regression, nonlinear logistic regression

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Authors: Alberto Azevedo, Ricardo Martins, André B. Fortunato, Anabela Oliveira

Abstract:

Water is under severe threat today because of the rising population, increased agricultural and industrial needs, and the intensifying effects of climate change. Due to sea-level rise, erosion, and demographic pressure, the coastal regions are of significant concern to the scientific community. The Water Monitoring Sentinel Cloud platform (WORSICA) service is focused on providing new tools for monitoring water in coastal and inland areas, taking advantage of remote sensing, in situ and tidal modeling data. WORSICA is a service that can be used to determine the coastline, coastal inundation areas, and the limits of inland water bodies using remote sensing (satellite and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles - UAVs) and in situ data (from field surveys). It applies to various purposes, from determining flooded areas (from rainfall, storms, hurricanes, or tsunamis) to detecting large water leaks in major water distribution networks. This service was built on components developed in national and European projects, integrated to provide a one-stop-shop service for remote sensing information, integrating data from the Copernicus satellite and drone/unmanned aerial vehicles, validated by existing online in-situ data. Since WORSICA is operational using the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) computational infrastructures, the service can be accessed via a web browser and is freely available to all European public research groups without additional costs. In addition, the private sector will be able to use the service, but some usage costs may be applied, depending on the type of computational resources needed by each application/user. Although the service has three main sub-services i) coastline detection; ii) inland water detection; iii) water leak detection in irrigation networks, in the present study, an application of the service to Óbidos lagoon in Portugal is shown, where the user can monitor the evolution of the lagoon inlet and estimate the topography of the intertidal areas without any additional costs. The service has several distinct methodologies implemented based on the computations of the water indexes (e.g., NDWI, MNDWI, AWEI, and AWEIsh) retrieved from the satellite image processing. In conjunction with the tidal data obtained from the FES model, the system can estimate a coastline with the corresponding level or even topography of the inter-tidal areas based on the Flood2Topo methodology. The outcomes of the WORSICA service can be helpful for several intervention areas such as i) emergency by providing fast access to inundated areas to support emergency rescue operations; ii) support of management decisions on hydraulic infrastructures operation to minimize damage downstream; iii) climate change mitigation by minimizing water losses and reduce water mains operation costs; iv) early detection of water leakages in difficult-to-access water irrigation networks, promoting their fast repair.

Keywords: remote sensing, coastline detection, water detection, satellite data, sentinel, Copernicus, EOSC

Procedia PDF Downloads 120