Search results for: long term instability risks

Authors: Anant Deogaonkar, Archana Nanoty

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The term civil service plays a vital role in functioning of any government. In today’s modern era of globalization civil services essentially contribute for the success of the good governance system. The civil service in India refers to the body of government officials employed in civil occupations that are neither political nor judicial. The Indian Civil Services were created to foster the idea of unity in diversity with the expectation of giving continuity and change in administration independent of the political scenario and turmoil affecting the country. The civil service is an integral part of administration and the structures of administration to determine the way civil service functions. The concept of good governance necessarily precludes the effective human resource management ensuring the root level reach of the good governance. The serious matter of concern is the element of change. The civil service in general has maintained status quo instead of sweeping changes in social and economic scenario. One may disagree for this but it is a fact on the street that the Indian civil service was not able to deliver up to the expectations of the people and was lacking on the service front. The effective management of human resources at civil service needs to be prioritized and will form a key factor in successful delivery of the desired results may be in minimum duration. This paper focuses on the various ways of effective management of human resources in civil services. It also highlights the importance of improvement in human resource management in civil services with the detailed discussion of positives and negatives if any of the human resource management in civil services.

Keywords: civil services, human resources management, India, governance

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Authors: Son Hyesook

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This project explores the possibility of poetics of emptiness in the poetry of Gary Snyder, one of the most experimental American poets, interpreting his works as an expression of his Buddhist concept, emptiness. This philosophical term demonstrates the lack of intrinsic nature in all phenomena and the absence of an independent, perduring self. Snyder’s poetics of emptiness locates the extralinguistic reality, emptiness, within the contingent nexus of language itself instead of transcending or discarding it. Language, therefore, plays an important role in his poetry, a medium intentionally applied to the carrying out of this Buddhist telos. Snyder’s poetry is characterized by strangeness and disruptiveness of language as is often the case with Asian Zen discourses. The elision of a lyric ‘I’ and transitive verbs, for example, is his grammatic attempt to represent the illusory nature of the self. He replaces the solitary speaker with sparely modified, concrete but generic images to prevent any anthropocentric understanding of the world and to demonstrate human enactment into a harmonious interplay with other elements of life as a part of a vast web of interconnections, where everything is interrelated to every other thing. In many of his poems, Snyder employs grammatical and structural ellipses and paratactical construction to avoid a facile discursive relation and to help the reader illogically imagine the inexpressible, the void. Through various uses of typographical and semantical space, his poetry forces the reader to experience the ‘thought-pause’ and intuitively perceive things-as-they-are. Snyder enacts in his Poetics an alternative to postmodern perspectives on the subject, language, and representation, and revitalizes their skeptical look at any account of human agency and the possibility of language.

Keywords: subject, language, representation, poetics of emptiness

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Authors: Reyna Singh, David Lokhat, Milan Carsky

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The world crude oil demand is projected to rise to 108.5 million bbl/d by the year 2035. With reserves estimated at 869 billion tonnes worldwide, coal is an abundant resource. This work was aimed at producing a high value hydrocarbon liquid product from the Direct Coal Liquefaction (DCL) process at, comparatively, mild operating conditions. Via hydrogenation, the temperature-staged approach was investigated. In a two reactor lab-scale pilot plant facility, the objectives included maximising thermal dissolution of the coal in the presence of a hydrogen donor solvent in the first stage, subsequently promoting hydrogen saturation and hydrodesulphurization (HDS) performance in the second. The feed slurry consisted of high grade, pulverized bituminous coal on a moisture-free basis with a size fraction of < 100μm; and Tetralin mixed in 2:1 and 3:1 solvent/coal ratios. Magnetite (Fe3O4) at 0.25wt% of the dry coal feed was added for the catalysed runs. For both stages, hydrogen gas was used to maintain a system pressure of 100barg. In the first stage, temperatures of 250℃ and 300℃, reaction times of 30 and 60 minutes were investigated in an agitated batch reactor. The first stage liquid product was pumped into the second stage vertical reactor, which was designed to counter-currently contact the hydrogen rich gas stream and incoming liquid flow in the fixed catalyst bed. Two commercial hydrotreating catalysts; Cobalt-Molybdenum (CoMo) and Nickel-Molybdenum (NiMo); were compared in terms of their conversion, selectivity and HDS performance at temperatures 50℃ higher than the respective first stage tests. The catalysts were activated at 300°C with a hydrogen flowrate of approximately 10 ml/min prior to the testing. A gas-liquid separator at the outlet of the reactor ensured that the gas was exhausted to the online VARIOplus gas analyser. The liquid was collected and sampled for analysis using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). Internal standard quantification methods for the sulphur content, the BTX (benzene, toluene, and xylene) and alkene quality; alkanes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) compounds in the liquid products were guided by ASTM standards of practice for hydrocarbon analysis. In the first stage, using a 2:1 solvent/coal ratio, an increased coal to liquid conversion was favoured by a lower operating temperature of 250℃, 60 minutes and a system catalysed by magnetite. Tetralin functioned effectively as the hydrogen donor solvent. A 3:1 ratio favoured increased concentrations of the long chain alkanes undecane and dodecane, unsaturated alkenes octene and nonene and PAH compounds such as indene. The second stage product distribution showed an increase in the BTX quality of the liquid product, branched chain alkanes and a reduction in the sulphur concentration. As an HDS performer and selectivity to the production of long and branched chain alkanes, NiMo performed better than CoMo. CoMo is selective to a higher concentration of cyclohexane. For 16 days on stream each, NiMo had a higher activity than CoMo. The potential to cover the demand for low–sulphur, crude diesel and solvents from the production of high value hydrocarbon liquid in the said process, is thus demonstrated.

Keywords: catalyst, coal, liquefaction, temperature-staged

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Authors: M. Elder, L. Beech, A. Mackie

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Heterotopic pregnancy is an uncommon and potentially life-threatening condition in which there is simultaneous occurrence of intrauterine and ectopic pregnancies. It has an incidence of approximately 1:3900 pregnancies, occurring in only 1:30000 spontaneous pregnancies. This study presents a rare case of spontaneous heterotopic pregnancy in a 34-year-old primiparous woman who was brought in by ambulance to the emergency department following collapse at 20+1 weeks gestation after normal first trimester screening and morphology scan. She was hemodynamically unstable and fetal heart rate was 60bpm. Initial resuscitation included transfusion of 2 units packed red blood cells and 1g intravenous tranexamic acid. Bedside ultrasound revealed evidence of approximately 1000ml clot in the right upper quadrant. She underwent a diagnostic laparoscopy and washout, which proceeded to a midline exploratory laparotomy. This revealed a 2.6L hemoperitoneum and query right ectopic pregnancy with calcified areas and clot, with no other cause of bleeding identified. Right salpingectomy was performed, and pathology later confirmed ectopic pregnancy. The intrauterine pregnancy had no complications, and she delivered a healthy full-term baby. This case demonstrates that ultrasound confirmation of intrauterine pregnancy does not exclude coexisting ectopic pregnancy. Heterotopic pregnancy should be considered in any pregnant woman presenting with abdominal pain or signs of hemorrhagic shock, as prompt diagnosis and treatment is essential to minimize foetal and maternal morbidity and mortality.

Keywords: ectopic pregnancy, hemorrhagic shock, salpingectomy, spontaneous heterotopic pregnancy

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Authors: Elizabeth Latham

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Aquinas has long been revered by the Catholic Church as one of the greatest theologians of all time. His most well-known and widely respected theological work, the Summa Theologica has been referenced by countless members of the clergy in support of arguments for and about the existence of God. It is surprising, then, and important that one component in his ontological arguments seems to contradict a precept upheld by the Catechism, the Catholic Church’s comprehensive document detailing their theological positions and laws. In Summa Theologica, Thomas Aquinas argued that God’s eternal existence is both an observable and necessary quality. In the Catechism, the Catholic Church argues that souls in Hell are separated from God, and only souls in Heaven are like him. After introducing research on Philosophical Psychology and the natures of consciousness and pain, this paper comes to the conclusion that in order to reconcile the theology of the Catholic Church at large with that of Thomas Aquinas, one must somehow solve the following problem: if a soul must exist eternally to suffer eternally, it must be like God; and, if a soul is in Hell, it is completely separate from God and not like him at all. Thomas Aquinas deviates at this point from the current theological holdings of the Catholic Church, and this apparent discrepancy must be resolved if the Church hopes to use him going forward as a standard for natural theology.

Keywords: aquinas, catholic catechism, consciousness, philosophical psychology, summa theologica

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Authors: M. Emami, R. Tarighi, R. Goodarzi

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Maximal radar wave absorbing cannot be achieved by shaping alone. We have to focus on the parameters of absorbing materials such as permittivity, permeability, and thickness so that best absorbing according to our necessity can happen. The real and imaginary parts of the relative complex permittivity (ε_r' and ε_r") and permeability (µ_r' and µ_r") were obtained by simulation. The microwave absorbing property of carbon and Ni(C) is simulated in this study by MATLAB software; the simulation was in the frequency range between 2 to 12 GHz for carbon black (C), and carbon coated nickel (Ni(C)) with different thicknesses. In fact, we draw reflection loss (RL) for C and Ni-C via frequency. We have compared their absorption for 3-mm thickness and predicted for other thicknesses by using of electromagnetic wave transmission theory. The results showed that reflection loss position changes in low frequency with increasing of thickness. We found out that, in all cases, using nanocomposites as absorbance cannot get better results relative to pure nanoparticles. The frequency where absorption is maximum can determine the best choice between nanocomposites and pure nanoparticles. Also, we could find an optimal thickness for long wavelength absorbing in order to utilize them in protecting shields and covering.

Keywords: absorbing, carbon, carbon nickel, frequency, thicknesses

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Authors: Ting Li Liu

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‘Leftover woman’ or ‘3S’ woman is the term used to describe a well-educated, high income, independent woman who is single and never married around 30 years in Chinese society. With the naming of this demographic of ‘leftover women’, their family, dating culture, mate selection and marriage attract public concern. Massive media representations of ‘leftover women’ occur daily; the research aims to present several media representations of women’s anxiety about their singlehood and related marital issues around thirty. The research triangulates two areas of media representation of ‘leftover women’: films and audience reviews on ‘Douban Movie’ website. Drawing on traditional media studies, Fairclough’s critical discourse analysis combined with multimodal techniques is applied to the research to analyze the representations of ‘leftover women’ and their implications for marital culture in China, in conjunction with a feminist perspective. The conference paper will discuss two case studies: the film ‘The last woman standing’ and ‘I Do’. Paying attention to different aspects of ‘leftover women’, the research aims to re-examine the representations of ‘leftover women’ in selected scenes, such as their age anxiety, family, marriage, dating process, careers, etc. The paper also includes public beliefs about ‘leftover women’ from online audience reviews. In conclusion, the emergence of ‘leftover women’ is a reflection of Chinese tradition’s impact on people’s lives and new changes in Chinese families and their attitude to marriage.

Keywords: leftover women, marriage, family, media culture, China

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Authors: B. Mendonça, D. Sandwell

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The Metropolitan Region of Sao Paulo (MRSP) has suffered from serious water scarcity. Consequently, the most convenient solution has been building wells to extract groundwater from local aquifers. However, it requires constant vigilance to prevent over extraction and future events that can pose serious threat to the population, such as subsidence. Radar imaging techniques (InSAR) have allowed continuous investigation of such phenomena. The analysis of data in the present study consists of 23 SAR images dated from October 2007 to March 2011, obtained by the ALOS-1 spacecraft. Data processing was made with the software GMTSAR, by using the InSAR technique to create pairs of interferograms with ground displacement during different time spans. First results show a correlation between the location of 102 wells registered in 2009 and signals of ground displacement equal or lower than -90 millimeters (mm) in the region. The longest time span interferogram obtained dates from October 2007 to March 2010. As a result, from that interferogram, it was possible to detect the average velocity of displacement in millimeters per year (mm/y), and which areas strong signals have persisted in the MRSP. Four specific areas with signals of subsidence of 28 mm/y to 40 mm/y were chosen to investigate the phenomenon: Guarulhos (Sao Paulo International Airport), the Greater Sao Paulo, Itaquera and Sao Caetano do Sul. The coverage area of the signals was between 0.6 km and 1.65 km of length. All areas are located above a sedimentary type of aquifer. Itaquera and Sao Caetano do Sul showed signals varying from 28 mm/y to 32 mm/y. On the other hand, the places most likely to be suffering from stronger subsidence are the ones in the Greater Sao Paulo and Guarulhos, right beside the International Airport of Sao Paulo. The rate of displacement observed in both regions goes from 35 mm/y to 40 mm/y. Previous investigations of the water use at the International Airport highlight the risks of excessive water extraction that was being done through 9 deep wells. Therefore, it is affirmed that subsidence events are likely to occur and to cause serious damage in the area. This study could show a situation that has not been explored with proper importance in the city, given its social and economic consequences. Since the data were only available until 2011, the question that remains is if the situation still persists. It could be reaffirmed, however, a scenario of risk at the International Airport of Sao Paulo that needs further investigation.

Keywords: ground subsidence, Interferometric Satellite Aperture Radar (InSAR), metropolitan region of Sao Paulo, water extraction

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Authors: Oscar Javier Herrera, Manuel Angel Camacho

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This paper addresses a cutting edge method of business demand forecasting, based on an empirical probability function when the historical behavior of the data is random. Additionally, it presents error determination based on the numerical method technique ‘propagation of errors’. The methodology was conducted characterization and process diagnostics demand planning as part of the production management, then new ways to predict its value through techniques of probability and to calculate their mistake investigated, it was tools used numerical methods. All this based on the behavior of the data. This analysis was determined considering the specific business circumstances of a company in the sector of communications, located in the city of Bogota, Colombia. In conclusion, using this application it was possible to obtain the adequate stock of the products required by the company to provide its services, helping the company reduce its service time, increase the client satisfaction rate, reduce stock which has not been in rotation for a long time, code its inventory, and plan reorder points for the replenishment of stock.

Keywords: demand forecasting, empirical distribution, propagation of error, Bogota

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Authors: Cuong D. Dao, Rob J.I. Basten, Andreas Hartmann

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This paper studies the optimal maintenance planning of preventive maintenance and renewal activities for components in a single railway track when the available time for maintenance is limited. The rail-track system consists of several types of components, such as rail, ballast, and switches with different preventive maintenance and renewal intervals. To perform maintenance or renewal on the track, a train free period for maintenance, called a possession, is required. Since a major possession directly affects the regular train schedule, maintenance and renewal activities are clustered as much as possible. In a highly dense and utilized railway network, the possession time on the track is critical since the demand for train operations is very high and a long possession has a severe impact on the regular train schedule. We present an optimization model and investigate the maintenance schedules with and without the possession capacity constraint. In addition, we also integrate the social-economic cost related to the effects of the maintenance time to the variable possession cost into the optimization model. A numerical example is provided to illustrate the model.

Keywords: rail-track components, maintenance, optimal clustering, possession capacity

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Authors: Atieh Andakhshideh, S. Maleki, Sayed Sadegh Marashi

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In this paper, the interlaminar stresses of generally laminated piezoelectric plates are presented. The electromechanical coupling effect of the piezoelectric plate is considered and the governing equations and boundary conditions are derived using the principle of minimum total potential energy. The solution procedure is a three-dimensional multi-term extended Kantorovich method (3DMTEKM). The objective of this paper is to accurately study coupling influence on the edge effects of piezolaminated plates with finite dimensions, arbitrary lamination lay-ups and under uniform axial strain. These results can provide a benchmark for checking the accuracy of the other numerical method or two-dimensional laminate theories. To verify the accuracy of the 3DMTEKM, first examples are simplified to special cases such as cross-ply or symmetric laminations and are compared with other analytical solutions available in the literature. Excellent agreement is achieved in validation test and other numerical results are presented for general cases. Numerical examples indicate the singular behavior of interlaminar normal/shear stresses and electric field strength components near the edges of the piezolaminated plates. The coupling influence on the free edge effect with respect to lamination lay-ups of piezoelectric plate is studied in several examples.

Keywords: electromechanical coupling, generally laminated piezoelectric plates, Kantorovich method, edge effect, interlaminar stresses

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Authors: Ping Chou, Xiaoyan Zhou

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Domestically and internationally, the Chinese education has long been criticized for being test-oriented, and in spite of efforts made by the Chinese government, it remains hard to find a solution. This paper intends to look at the situation in a comparatively objective manner and discuss the significance of the Shanghai Model as a newly-scheduled experiment for education reform. As a breakthrough, in addition to comprehensive inner-quality evaluation, a small but important step is to be taken in shifting focus of attention back to students by giving them more freedom in selecting certain courses for aptitude tests for college admission. As the first author of the paper has studied and taught both in Chinese and American colleges and universities, comparisons are made when the situation becomes relevant. The official solution for test-oriented education is to make students well-rounded but the writers of this paper believe that it is even more important to make the system well-rounded so it can accept a spectrum of diverse individuals with different potential.

Keywords: college admission, education reform, Shanghai model, test-oriented education

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Authors: Ikpechukwu Njoku

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The study examined appraisal of shipping trade influence on the economic growth in Nigeria from 1981-2016 by the use of secondary data collected from the Central Bank of Nigeria. The main objectives are to examine the trend of shipping trade in Nigeria as well as determine the influence of economic growth on gross domestic product (GDP). The study employed both descriptive and influential tools. The study adopted cointegration regression method for the analysis of each of the variables (shipping trade, external reserves and external debts). The results show that there is a statistically significant relationship between GDP and external reserves with p-value 0.0190. Also the result revealed that there is a statistically significant relationship between GDP and shipping trade with p-value 0.000. However, shipping trade and external reserves contributed positively at 1% and 5% level of significance respectively while external debts impacted negatively to GDP at 5% level of significance with a long run variance of cointegration regression. Therefore, the study suggests that government should do all it can to curtail foreign dominance and repatriation of profit for a more sustainable economy as well as upgrade port facilities, prevent unnecessary delays and encourage exportable goods for maximum deployment of ships.

Keywords: external debts, external reserve, GDP, shipping trade

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Authors: Daniel Thompson, Muhammad Peerbux, Sophie Cerutti, Hansraj Riteesh Bookun

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Patients with carotid stenosis, which may be asymptomatic or symptomatic in the form of transient ischaemic attack (TIA), amaurosis fugax, or stroke, often require an endarterectomy to reduce stroke risk. Risks of this procedure include stroke, death, myocardial infarction, and cranial nerve damage. Carotid endarterectomy is most commonly performed under general anaesthetic, however, it can also be undertaken with a regional anaesthetic approach. Our tertiary centre generally performs carotid endarterectomy under regional anaesthetic. Our major tertiary hospital mostly utilises regional anaesthesia for carotid endarterectomy. We completed a cross-sectional analysis of all cases of carotid endarterectomy performed under regional anaesthesia across a 10-year period between January 2010 to March 2020 at our institution. 350 patients were included in this descriptive analysis, and demographic details for patients, indications for surgery, procedural details, length of surgery, and complications were collected. Data was cross tabulated and presented in frequency tables to describe these categorical variables. 263 of the 350 patients in the analysis were male, with a mean age of 71 ± 9. 172 patients had a history of ischaemic heart disease, 104 had diabetes mellitus, 318 had hypertension, and 17 patients had chronic kidney disease greater than Stage 3. 13.1% (46 patients) were current smokers, and the majority (63%) were ex-smokers. Most commonly, carotid endarterectomy was performed conventionally with patch arterioplasty 96% of the time (337 patients). The most common indication was TIA and stroke in 64% of patients, 18.9% were classified as asymptomatic, and 13.7% had amaurosis fugax. There were few general complications, with 9 wound complications/infections, 7 postoperative haematomas requiring return to theatre, 3 myocardial infarctions, 3 arrhythmias, 1 exacerbation of congestive heart failure, 1 chest infection, and 1 urinary tract infection. Specific complications to carotid endarterectomy included 3 strokes, 1 postoperative TIA, and 1 cerebral bleed. There were no deaths in our cohort. This analysis of a large cohort of patients from a major tertiary centre who underwent carotid endarterectomy under regional anaesthesia indicates the safety of such an approach for these patients. Regional anaesthesia holds the promise of less general respiratory and cardiac events compared to general anaesthesia, and in this vulnerable patient group, calls for comparative research between local and general anaesthesia in carotid surgery.

Keywords: anaesthesia, carotid endarterectomy, stroke, carotid stenosis

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Authors: Alexander Hempfing

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The desire to understand business cycle fluctuations, trade interdependencies and co-movement has a long tradition in economic thinking. From input-output economics to business cycle theory, researchers aimed to find appropriate answers from an empirical as well as a theoretical perspective. This paper empirically analyses how the production structure of the global economy and several states developed over time, what their distributional properties are and if there are network specific metrics that allow identifying structurally important nodes, on a global, national and sectoral scale. For this, the World Input-Output Database was used, and different statistical methods were applied. Empirical evidence is provided that the importance of the Eastern hemisphere in the global production network has increased significantly between 2000 and 2014. Moreover, it was possible to show that the sectoral eigenvector centrality indices on a global level are power-law distributed, providing evidence that specific national sectors exist which are more critical to the world economy than others while serving as a hub within the global production network. However, further findings suggest, that global production cannot be characterized as a scale-free network.

Keywords: economic integration, industrial organization, input-output economics, network economics, production networks

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Authors: Eric Sanchis

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Although there does not exist a definitive consensus on a precise definition of a complex system, it is generally considered that a system is complex by nature. The presented work illustrates a different point of view: a system becomes complex only with regard to the question posed to it, i.e., with regard to the problem which has to be solved. A complex system is a couple (question, object). Because the number of questions posed to a given object can be potentially substantial, complexity does not present a uniform face. Two types of complex systems are clearly identified: first-order complex systems and second-order complex systems. First-order complex systems physically exist. They are well-known because they have been studied by the scientific community for a long time. In second-order complex systems, complexity results from the system composition and its articulation that are partially unknown. For some of these systems, there is no evidence of their existence. Vagueness is the keyword characterizing this kind of systems. Autonomy and free will, two mental productions of the human cognitive system, can be identified as second-order complex systems. A classification based on the properties structure makes it possible to discriminate complex properties from the others and to model this kind of second order complex systems. The final outcome is an implementable synthetic property that distinguishes the solid aspects of the actual property from those that are uncertain.

Keywords: autonomy, free will, synthetic property, vaporous complex systems

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Authors: Muna Mitchell, Akshay Parchure, Krishna Singaraju

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There is an increasing need for medium- to long-span steel bridges with complex geometry due to site restrictions in developed areas. One of the solutions to grade separations in congested areas is to use longer spans on skewed supports that avoid at-grade obstructions limiting impacts to the foundation. Where vertical clearances are also a constraint, continuous steel girders can be used to reduce superstructure depths. Combining continuous long steel spans on severe skews can resolve the constraints at a cost. The behavior of skewed girders is challenging to analyze and design with subsequent complexity during fabrication and construction. As a part of a corridor improvement project, Walter P Moore designed two 1700-foot side-by-side bridges carrying four lanes of traffic in each direction over a railroad track. The bridges consist of prestressed concrete girder approach spans and three-span continuous steel plate girder units. The roadway design added complex geometry to the bridge with horizontal and vertical curves combined with superelevation transitions within the plate girder units. The substructure at the steel units was skewed approximately 56 degrees to satisfy the existing railroad right-of-way requirements. A horizontal point of curvature (PC) near the end of the steel units required the use flared girders and chorded slab edges. Due to the flared girder geometry, the cross-frame spacing in each bay is unique. Staggered cross frames were provided based on AASHTO LRFD and NCHRP guidelines for high skew steel bridges. Skewed steel bridges develop significant forces in the cross frames and rotation in the girder websdue to differential displacements along the girders under dead and live loads. In addition, under thermal loads, skewed steel bridges expand and contract not along the alignment parallel to the girders but along the diagonal connecting the acute corners, resulting in horizontal displacement both along and perpendicular to the girders. AASHTO LRFD recommends a 95 degree Fahrenheit temperature differential for the design of joints and bearings. The live load and the thermal loads resulted in significant horizontal forces and rotations in the bearings that necessitated the use of HLMR bearings. A unique bearing layout was selected to minimize the effect of thermal forces. The span length, width, skew, and roadway geometry at the bridges also required modular bridge joint systems (MBJS) with inverted-T bent caps to accommodate movement in the steel units. 2D and 3D finite element analysis models were developed to accurately determine the forces and rotations in the girders, cross frames, and bearings and to estimate thermal displacements at the joints. This paper covers the decision-making process for developing the framing plan, bearing configurations, joint type, and analysis models involved in the design of the high-skew three-span continuous steel plate girder bridges.

Keywords: complex geometry, continuous steel plate girders, finite element structural analysis, high skew, HLMR bearings, modular joint

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Authors: Jingchen Zhao

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Corporate social responsibility (CSR), a major contemporary focus for companies, governments, NGOs and communities, is discussed from a multi-disciplinary perspective. The term is introduced and defined to achieve a combination of economic, social, environmental and philanthropic goals, and its adoption in company law legislations in a few jurisdictions is discussed. Despite its positive social and environmental impacts, the notion has been widely criticised for being ill-defined and fundamentally flawed in the domain of corporate law. The value and effectiveness of CSR have been interrogated for many reasons, always inter-related. This article aims to consider and address some of these problems and assess how CSR could be sharpened and made more effective through the lens of accountability, focussing on the rationale behind and the means of regulation of CSR. The article aims to achieve two interrelated goals. First, it examines the function of accountability in the arguments in favour of CSR by investigating the extent to which the notion of accountability could be used as a criterion for regulating CSR, so that companies may be held accountable for corporate decisions affecting their stakeholders. Second, this article will examine the scope and goals of CSR and board accountability, creating the possibility of a more comprehensive understanding of the two notions from an interactive perspective. In order to link CSR and accountability closely to generate a more appropriate definition of CSR that is could be more appropriately and effectively applied in corporate law, the concept of corporate social accountability (CSA) will be evaluated, with the aim of broadening its latitude beyond disclosure. This will involve a rigorous assessment of the process of fulfilling directors’ duties via questioning from stakeholder groups during meetings or committees, together with explanations and justifications from the board. This will be followed by discussions on enforcement measures in relation to the concept of CSA.

Keywords: corporate governance, CSR, board accountability, corporate law

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Authors: Wiem Daoud Ben Amor, Luis Martínez López, Hela Moalla Frikha

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Most of the multi-criteria group decision making (MCGDM) problems dealing with qualitative criteria require consideration of the large background of expert information. It is common that experts have different degrees of knowledge for giving their alternative assessments according to criteria. So, it seems logical that they use different evaluation scales to express their judgment, i.e., multi granular linguistic scales. In this context, we propose the extension of the classical additive ratio assessment (ARAS) method to the case of a hierarchical linguistics term for managing multi granular linguistic scales in uncertain contexts where uncertainty is modeled by means in linguistic information. The proposed approach is called the extended hierarchical linguistics-ARAS method (ARAS-ELH). Within the ARAS-ELH approach, the DM can diagnose the results (the ranking of the alternatives) in a decomposed style, i.e., not only at one level of the hierarchy but also at the intermediate ones. Also, the developed approach allows a feedback transformation i.e the collective final results of all experts able to be transformed at any level of the extended linguistic hierarchy that each expert has previously used. Therefore, the ARAS-ELH technique makes it easier for decision-makers to understand the results. Finally, An MCGDM case study is given to illustrate the proposed approach.

Keywords: additive ratio assessment, extended hierarchical linguistic, multi-criteria group decision making problems, multi granular linguistic contexts

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Authors: Yao Fu, Xingli Zhang, Jiannong Shi

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Visual working memory (VWM) capacity is the ability to maintain and manipulate short-term information which is not currently available. It is well known for its significance to form the basis of numerous cognitive abilities and its limitation in holding information. VWM span, the most popular measurable indicator, is found to reach the adult level (3-4 items) around 12-13 years’ old, while less is known about the precision development of the VWM capacity. By using simultaneously delayed responses paradigm, the present study investigates the development of VWM precision among 6-18-year-old children and young adults, besides its possible relationships with fluid intelligence and span. Results showed that precision and span both increased with age, and precision reached the maximum in 16-17 age-range. Moreover, when remembering 3 simultaneously presented items, the probability of remembering target item correlated with fluid intelligence and the probability of wrap errors (misbinding target and non-target items) correlated with age. When remembering more items, children had worse performance than adults due to their wrap errors. Compared to span, VWM precision was effective predictor of intelligence even after controlling for age. These results suggest that unlike VWM span, precision developed in a slow, yet longer fashion. Moreover, decreasing probability of wrap errors might be the main reason for the development of precision. Last, precision correlated more closely with intelligence than span in childhood and adolescence, which might be caused by the probability of remembering target item.

Keywords: fluid intelligence, precision, visual working memory, wrap errors

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Authors: B. Kenny

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There is currently no literature comparing undercasts in fracture care. This study is a randomised trial comparing the 4 commonly used undercasts in Australia. These are Webril, Sofban, Goretech and Delta-dry. The ideal undercast should be comfortable for the patient and not cause itchiness. It should be durable enough to withstand daily activities. The clinician/technician should find the undercast easy to apply and remove. It should provide adequate padding without compromising cast mouldability to obtain a good cast index and air index. 18 volunteering medical students were randomly allocated to receive 4 angular casts, one over each elbow and ankle(total of 72 casts). They were blinded to cast type. After an hour their casts were stressed by pouring 20ml Normal Saline onto the skin beneath. Each student filled a questionnaire about comfort, itchiness, weight and water resistance. Subsequently they ranked each cast 1 to 4 based on preference. Our preliminary results show Delta-dry is the most preferred undercast followed by Webril, Sofban and Goretech in that order. Underlay selection is important component of patient care with long immobilsation. Webril or Deltra-dry are by far the most preferred undercasts in our study.

Keywords: casts, fracture, treatment modality, patient compliance

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Authors: Jaber H. Almutairi, Hosny Z. Abou-Ziyan, Issa F. Almesri, Mosab A. Alrahmani

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The present work investigates the behavior of fluid flow inside tunnel kilns using 3D-CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) simulations. The CFD simulations are carried out with the FLUENT software and validated against experimental results on fluid flow and heat transfer in tunnel kilns. A grid dependency study is conducted in the current work to improve the accuracy of the results. Three turbulence models k–ω, standard k–ε, and RNG k–ε are tested where k–ω model gives the best results in comparison with the experiment. The numerical results reveal an intriguing phenomenon where a long flow separation zone behind the setting is observed under different geometric and operation conditions. It was found that the uniformity of flow distribution can be substantially improved by rearranging the geometrical parameters of brick setting relative to kiln/setting. This improvement of flow distribution plays a critical role to enhance the quality and quantity of the production. It can be concluded that a better design and operation of tunnel kilns in terms of productivity and energy consumption can be obtained by taking into consideration the flow uniformity inside the tunnel kilns using CFD modelling.

Keywords: tunnel kilns, flow separation, flow uniformity, computational fluid dynamics

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Authors: Julien Deborde, Thomas Milcent, Stéphane Glockner, Pierre Lubin

Abstract:

A fully Eulerian method is developed to solve the problem of fluid-elastic structure interactions based on a 1-fluid method. The interface between the fluid and the elastic structure is captured by a level set function, advected by the fluid velocity and solved with a WENO 5 scheme. The elastic deformations are computed in an Eulerian framework thanks to the backward characteristics. We use the Neo Hookean or Mooney Rivlin hyperelastic models and the elastic forces are incorporated as a source term in the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations. The velocity/pressure coupling is solved with a pressure-correction method and the equations are discretized by finite volume schemes on a Cartesian grid. The main difficulty resides in that large deformations in the fluid cause numerical instabilities. In order to avoid these problems, we use a re-initialization process for the level set and linear extrapolation of the backward characteristics. First, we verify and validate our approach on several test cases, including the benchmark of FSI proposed by Turek. Next, we apply this method to study the wave damping phenomenon which is a mean to reduce the waves impact on the coastline. So far, to our knowledge, only simulations with rigid or one dimensional elastic structure has been studied in the literature. We propose to place elastic structures on the seabed and we present results where 50 % of waves energy is absorbed.

Keywords: damping wave, Eulerian formulation, finite volume, fluid structure interaction, hyperelastic material

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Authors: Zeinab Rasouli Kahaki, Mohammad Ali Sanjari, Reza Khani Jazani, Mahnaz Saremi, Amir Kavousi

Abstract:

Work which requires prolonged standing, especially in a fixed position can cause discomfort and fatigue. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of height footrest in discomfort and fatigue lower extremities during long-standing activities. This cross-sectional study was carried out on 15 students with a mean (SD) age of 21.5 ± (2.3) and mean height of 163 ± (2.8). Participants attended 3 sessions each lasting one hour. They stood on three different surfaces: ceramic, footrest 10 and 25 cm. Surface electromyography was used to assess muscle fatigue. Body map and visual analog scale were employed to evaluate discomfort ratings of the lower extremities and the back. Data analyses were performed using ANOVA-R. Based on the results of electromyography there was no difference between soleus, anterior tibial and lateral gastrocnemius muscles fatigue and type of surfaces. There was a significant variation between the surfaces (p < 0.05) and different areas of the body discomfort level; so that the ceramic had the highest discomfort rating, while the lowest ratings were related to the footrest. Further investigations are recommended on the properties of the footrest.

Keywords: electromyography, fatigue, gastrocnemius, lower extremities, soleus, tibial

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Authors: Jiani Gao, Qingping Luo, Xinlei Fang

Abstract:

In order to try to achieve better rights and interests for both doctors and patients in the new medical environment, the paper will focus on the renewal and development of medical buildings. In today's highly developed society, many factors have a profound guiding significance for the development of medical buildings. By doing social research, the paper has found that these factors come from all aspects. These factors include the optimization of traditional medical model, rapid alternation of medical technology and equipment, the reform of the social, medical security system, changes in the age structure of the population, the birth of intelligent medical care under the Internet, and the deepening of the concept of green sustainable building development, etc. The purpose of this paper is to capture sensitively these various factors that may affect the evolution of medical buildings in the context of the current era, and to put forward, by using an adaptable development strategy, some feasible suggestions on the design of medical buildings when facing these changes and challenges. Specifically speaking, the adaptable development strategy includes some basic principles and methods, such as using modular design, adopting scalable streamline, selecting a long-span structural system and using replaceable materials and components, etc.

Keywords: medical architecture, adaptable development, medical model, space design

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Authors: E. Benga, T. Tengen, A. Alugongo

Abstract:

Periodic and continuous inventory models are the two classical management tools used to handle inventories. These models have advantages and disadvantages. The implementation of both continuous (r,Q) inventory and periodic (R, S) inventory models in most manufacturing plants comes with higher cost. Such high inventory costs are due to the fact that most manufacturing plants are not flexible enough. Since demand and lead-time are two important variables of every inventory models, their effect on the flexibility of the manufacturing plant matter most. Unfortunately, these effects are not clearly understood by managers. The reason is that the decision parameters of the continuous (r, Q) inventory and periodic (R, S) inventory models are not designed to effectively deal with the issues of uncertainties such as poor manufacturing performances, delivery performance supplies performances. There is, therefore, a need to come up with a predictive and hybrid inventory model that can combine in some sense the feature of the aforementioned inventory models. A linear combination technique is used to hybridize both continuous (r, Q) inventory and periodic (R, S) inventory models. The behavior of such hybrid inventory model is described by a differential equation and then optimized. From the results obtained after simulation, the continuous (r, Q) inventory model is more effective than the periodic (R, S) inventory models in the short run, but this difference changes as time goes by. Because the hybrid inventory model is more cost effective than the continuous (r,Q) inventory and periodic (R, S) inventory models in long run, it should be implemented for strategic decisions.

Keywords: periodic inventory, continuous inventory, hybrid inventory, optimization, manufacturing plant

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Authors: Mohsen Nouraei, Mohammad Molavi

Abstract:

Muslim scholars for a long time have tried to prove the necessity of prophecy through the Qur'an verses, Hadith's concepts, and rational arguments. According to them, the human being cannot find his welfare way based on wisdom only. They emphasize that divine teaching of the prophets accompanied by wisdom (reason) helps people to find the best way of life and consequently they achieve perfection. In contrast, some believe that mentioned necessity is helpful for primitive and ancient societies, and, matured man in the modern era has flourished his wisdom and reached the peak of maturity. Hence, the modern human can recognize good and evil rely on the individual and social wisdom and as a result they can reach to the perfection without revelation and prophetic teaching. The essay via descriptive-analytical method has attempted to analyze and critic this thought through the study of Mottahari's works as a modern prominent scholars. Findings show that AyatuAllah Mottahari believes that not only modern human intellectual development is not needless of prophecy, but also they need religion and revelation teaching exactly like primitive and ancient societies. Wisdom inherent limitations common between primitive and modern human are the main reason of AyatuAllah Mottahari.

Keywords: wisdom, modernity, prophecy, AyatuAllah Mottahari

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Authors: Scott Hollier, Ruchi Permvattana

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The purpose of this abstract is to share the findings of a recently completed disability-related Internet of Things (IoT) project undertaken at Curtin University in Australia. The project focused on identifying how IoT could support people with disabilities with their educational outcomes. To achieve this, the research consisted of an analysis of current literature and interviews conducted with students with vision, hearing, mobility and print disabilities. While the research acknowledged the ability to collect data with IoT is now a fairly common occurrence, its benefits and applicability still need to be grounded back into real-world applications. Furthermore, it is important to consider if there are sections of our society that may benefit from these developments and if those benefits are being fully realised in a rush by large companies to achieve IoT dominance for their particular product or digital ecosystem. In this context, it is important to consider a group which, to our knowledge, has had little specific mainstream focus in the IoT area –people with disabilities. For people with disabilities, the ability for every device to interact with us and with each other has the potential to yield significant benefits. In terms of engagement, the arrival of smart appliances is already offering benefits such as the ability for a person in a wheelchair to give verbal commands to an IoT-enabled washing machine if the buttons are out of reach, or for a blind person to receive a notification on a smartphone when dinner has finished cooking in an IoT-enabled microwave. With clear benefits of IoT being identified for people with disabilities, it is important to also identify what implications there are for education. With higher education being a critical pathway for many people with disabilities in finding employment, the question as to whether such technologies can support the educational outcomes of people with disabilities was what ultimately led to this research project. This research will discuss several significant findings that have emerged from the research in relation to how consumer-based IoT can be used in the classroom to support the learning needs of students with disabilities, how industrial-based IoT sensors and actuators can be used to monitor and improve the real-time learning outcomes for the delivery of lectures and student engagement, and a proposed method for students to gain more control over their learning environment. The findings shared in this presentation are likely to have significant implications for the use of IoT in the classroom through the implementation of affordable and accessible IoT solutions and will provide guidance as to how policies can be developed as the implications of both benefits and risks continue to be considered by educators.

Keywords: disability, higher education, internet of things, students

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Authors: Claudio D'Alonzo

Abstract:

According to recent tendencies, progress on resource efficiency is possible and it will lead to economic, environmental, and social benefits. The passage to a circular economy system, in which all the materials and energy will maintain their value for as long as possible, waste is reduced and only a few resources are used, is one of the most relevant parts of the European Union's environmental policy to develop a sustainable, competitive and low-carbon economy. A definition of circular economy can be found in Decision 1386/2013/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on a General Union Environment Action Programme to 2020 named “Living well, within the limits of our planet”. The purpose of renewing waste management systems in the UE and making the European model one of the most effective in the world, a revised waste legislative framework entered into force in July 2018. Regarding the Italian legislation, the laws to be modified are the Legislative Decree 3 April 2006, n. 152 and the laws ruling waste management, end-of-waste, by-products and, the regulatory principles regarding circular economy. European rules on end-of-waste are not fully harmonised and so there are legal challenges. The target to be achieved is full consistency between the laws implementing waste and chemicals policies. Only in this way, materials will be safe, fit-for-purpose and designed for durability; additionally, they will have a low environmental impact.

Keywords: circular economy, end-of-waste, legislation, secondary raw materials

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Authors: Mohammed A. Alazawi, Shiguo Jiang, Steven F. Messner

Abstract:

Research has long focused on two main spatial aspects of crime: spatial patterns and spatial processes. When analyzing these patterns and processes, a key issue has been to determine the proper spatial scale. In addition, it is important to consider the possibility that these patterns and processes might differ appreciably for different temporal scales and might vary across geographic units of analysis. We examine the spatial-temporal dependence of residential burglary. This dependence is tested at varying geographical scales and temporal aggregations. The analyses are based on recorded incidents of crime in Columbus, Ohio during the 1994-2002 period. We implement point pattern analysis on the crime points using Ripley’s K function. The results indicate that spatial point patterns of residential burglary reveal spatial scales of clustering relatively larger than the average size of census tracts of the study area. Also, spatial scale is independent of temporal scale. The results of our analyses concerning the geographic scale of spatial patterns and processes can inform the development of effective policies for crime control.

Keywords: inhomogeneous K function, residential burglary, spatial point pattern, spatial scale, temporal scale

Procedia PDF Downloads 350