Search results for: urban program re-configuration

Authors: Karen Koellner, Nanette Seago, Jennifer Jacobs, Helen Garnier

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Although studies of teacher professional development (PD) are prevalent, surprisingly most have only produced incremental shifts in teachers’ learning and their impact on students. There is a critical need to understand what teachers take up and use in their classroom practice after attending PD and why we often do not see greater changes in learning and practice. This paper is based on a mixed methods efficacy study of the Learning and Teaching Geometry (LTG) video-based mathematics professional development materials. The extent to which the materials produce a beneficial impact on teachers’ mathematics knowledge, classroom practices, and their students’ knowledge in the domain of geometry through a group-randomized experimental design are considered. In this study, we examine a small group of teachers to better understand their interpretations of the workshops and their classroom uptake. The participants included 103 secondary mathematics teachers serving grades 6-12 from two states in different regions. Randomization was conducted at the school level, with 23 schools and 49 teachers assigned to the treatment group and 18 schools and 54 teachers assigned to the comparison group. The case study examination included twelve treatment teachers. PD workshops for treatment teachers began in Summer 2016. Nine full days of professional development were offered to teachers, beginning with the one-week institute (Summer 2016) and four days of PD throughout the academic year. The same facilitator-led all of the workshops, after completing a facilitator preparation process that included a multi-faceted assessment of fidelity. The overall impact of the LTG PD program was assessed from multiple sources: two teacher content assessments, two PD embedded assessments, pre-post-post videotaped classroom observations, and student assessments. Additional data was collected from the case study teachers including additional videotaped classroom observations and interviews. Repeated measures ANOVA analyses were used to detect patterns of change in the treatment teachers’ content knowledge before and after completion of the LTG PD, relative to the comparison group. No significant effects were found across the two groups of teachers on the two teacher content assessments. Teachers were rated on the quality of their mathematics instruction captured in videotaped classroom observations using the Math in Common Observation Protocol. On average, teachers who attended the LTG PD intervention improved their ability to engage students in mathematical reasoning and to provide accurate, coherent, and well-justified mathematical content. In addition, the LTG PD intervention and instruction that engaged students in mathematical practices both positively and significantly predicted greater student knowledge gains. Teacher knowledge was not a significant predictor. Twelve treatment teachers were self-selected to serve as case study teachers to provide additional videotapes in which they felt they were using something from the PD they learned and experienced. Project staff analyzed the videos, compared them to previous videos and interviewed the teachers regarding their uptake of the PD related to content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge and resources used.

Keywords: teacher learning, professional development, pedagogical content knowledge, geometry

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Authors: H. Weigelt-Marom

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Over the years and up to the arousal of the COVID-19 pandemic, deaf or hard of hearing students studying in higher education institutions, participated lectures on campus using hearing aids and strategies adapted for frontal learning in a classroom. Usually, these aids were well known to them from their earlier study experience in school. However, the transition to online lessons, due to the latest pandemic, led deaf or hard of hearing students to study outside of their physical, well known learning environment. The change of learning environment and structure rose new challenges for these students. The present study examined the learning experience, limitations, challenges and benefits regarding learning online with lecture and classmates via the “Zoom” video conference program, among deaf or hard of hearing students in academia setting. In addition, emotional and social aspects related to learning in general versus the “Zoom” were examined. The study included 18 students diagnosed as deaf or hard of hearing, studying in various higher education institutions in Israel. All students had experienced lessons on the “Zoom”. Following allocation of the group study by the deaf and hard of hearing non-profit organization “Ma’agalei Shema”, and receiving the participants inform of consent, students were requested to answer a google form questioner and participate in an interview. The questioner included background information (e.g., age, year of studying, faculty etc.), level of computer literacy, and level of hearing and forms of communication (e.g., lip reading, sign language etc.). The interviews included a one on one, semi-structured, in-depth interview, conducted by the main researcher of the study (interview duration: up to 60 minutes). The interviews were held on “ZOOM” using specific adaptations for each interviewee: clear face screen of the interviewer for lip and face reading, and/ or professional sign language or live text transcript of the conversation. Additionally, interviewees used their audio devices if needed. Questions regarded: learning experience, difficulties and advantages studying using “Zoom”, learning in a classroom versus on “Zoom”, and questions concerning emotional and social aspects related to learning. Thematic analysis of the interviews revealed severe difficulties regarding the ability of deaf or hard of hearing students to comprehend during ”Zoom“ lessons without adoptive aids. For example, interviewees indicated difficulties understanding “Zoom” lessons due to their inability to use hearing devices commonly used by them in the classroom (e.g., FM systems). 80% indicated that they could not comprehend “Zoom” lessons since they could not see the lectures face, either because lectures did not agree to open their cameras or, either because they did not keep a straight forward clear face appearance while teaching. However, not all descriptions regarded learning via the “zoom” were negative. For example, 20% reported the recording of “Zoom” lessons as a main advantage. Enabling then to repeatedly watch the lessons at their own pace, mostly assisted by friends and family to translate the audio output into an accessible input. These finding and others regarding the learning experience of the group study on the “Zoom”, as well as their recommendation to enable deaf or hard of hearing students to study inclusively online, will be presented at the conference.

Keywords: deaf or hard of hearing, learning experience, Zoom, qualitative research

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Authors: Laura M. F. Bertens

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There is a long tradition of visually representing the art historical canon, in schematic overviews and diagrams. This is indicative of the desire for scientific, ‘objective’ knowledge of the kind (seemingly) produced in the natural sciences. These diagrams will, however, always retain an element of subjectivity and the modelling methods colour our perception of the represented information. In recent decades visualisations of art historical data, such as hand-drawn diagrams in textbooks, have been extended to include digital, computational tools. These tools significantly increase modelling strength and functionality. As such, they might be used to deconstruct and amend the very problem caused by traditional visualisations of the canon. In this paper, the use of digital tools for modelling the art historical canon is studied, in order to draw attention to the artificial nature of the static models that art historians are presented with in textbooks and lectures, as well as to explore the potential of digital, dynamic tools in creating new models. To study the way diagrams of the canon mediate the represented information, two modelling methods have been used on two case studies of existing diagrams. The tree diagram Stammbaum der neudeutschen Kunst (1823) by Ferdinand Olivier has been translated to a social network using the program Visone, and the famous flow chart Cubism and Abstract Art (1936) by Alfred Barr has been translated to an ontological model using Protégé Ontology Editor. The implications of the modelling decisions have been analysed in an art historical context. The aim of this project has been twofold. On the one hand the translation process makes explicit the design choices in the original diagrams, which reflect hidden assumptions about the Western canon. Ways of organizing data (for instance ordering art according to artist) have come to feel natural and neutral and implicit biases and the historically uneven distribution of power have resulted in underrepresentation of groups of artists. Over the last decades, scholars from fields such as Feminist Studies, Postcolonial Studies and Gender Studies have considered this problem and tried to remedy it. The translation presented here adds to this deconstruction by defamiliarizing the traditional models and analysing the process of reconstructing new models, step by step, taking into account theoretical critiques of the canon, such as the feminist perspective discussed by Griselda Pollock, amongst others. On the other hand, the project has served as a pilot study for the use of digital modelling tools in creating dynamic visualisations of the canon for education and museum purposes. Dynamic computer models introduce functionalities that allow new ways of ordering and visualising the artworks in the canon. As such, they could form a powerful tool in the training of new art historians, introducing a broader and more diverse view on the traditional canon. Although modelling will always imply a simplification and therefore a distortion of reality, new modelling techniques can help us get a better sense of the limitations of earlier models and can provide new perspectives on already established knowledge.

Keywords: canon, ontological modelling, Protege Ontology Editor, social network modelling, Visone

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Authors: Shuailing Cui, Nakajiam Naoto

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The tourism industry has experienced significant growth worldwide since the end of World War II. Tourists are drawn to suburban areas during weekends and holidays to explore historical and cultural heritage sites. Since the 1970s, there has been a resurgence in population growth in metropolitan areas, which has fueled the demand for suburban tourism and facilitated its development. The construction of infrastructure, such as railway lines and arterial roads, has also supported the growth of tourism. Tourists engaging in various activities can have a significant impact on the destinations they visit. Tourism has not only affected the local economy but has also begun to alter the social structures, culture, and lifestyle of the destinations visited. In addition, the growing number of tourists has affected the local commercial structure and daily life of suburban residents. Therefore, there is a need to figure out how tourism activities influence the residential environment of the tourist destination and how this influence changes over time. This study aims to analyze the transformation of the relationship between tourism activities and the residential environment in the Naka-Uji area of Uji City, Kyoto Prefecture. Specifically, it investigates how the growth of the tourism industry has influenced the local residential environment and how this influence has changed over time. The findings of the study indicate that the growth of tourism in the Naka-Uji area has had both positive and negative effects on the local residential environment. On the one hand, the tourism industry has created job opportunities and improved local economic conditions. On the other hand, it has also caused environmental degradation, particularly in terms of increased traffic and the construction of parking lots. The study also found that the development of the tourism industry has influenced the social structures, culture, and lifestyle of residents. For instance, the increase in the number of tourists has led to changes in the commercial structure and daily life of suburban residents. The study highlights the importance of collaboration and shared benefits among stakeholders in tourism development, particularly in terms of preserving the cultural and natural heritage of tourist destinations while promoting sustainable development. Overall, this study contributes to the growing body of research on the impact of tourism on suburban areas. It provides insights into the complex relationships between tourism, the natural environment, the local economy, and residential life and emphasizes the need for sustainable tourism development in suburban areas. The findings of this study have important implications for policymakers, urban planners, and other stakeholders involved in promoting regional revitalization and sustainable tourism development.

Keywords: tourism, residential environment, suburban area, metropolis

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Authors: Shuailing CUI, Nakajima Naoto

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The tourism industry has experienced significant growth worldwide since the end of World War II. Tourists are drawn to suburban areas during weekends and holidays to explore historical and cultural heritage sites. Since the 1970s, there has been a resurgence in population growth in metropolitan areas, which has fueled the demand for suburban tourism and facilitated its development. The construction of infrastructure, such as railway lines and arterial roads, has also supported the growth of tourism. Tourists engaging in various activities can have a significant impact on the destinations they visit. Tourism has not only affected the local economy but has also begun to alter the social structures, culture, and lifestyle of the destinations visited. In addition, the growing number of tourists has affected the local commercial structure and daily life of suburban residents. Therefore, there is a need to figure out how tourism activities influence the residential environment of the tourist destination and how this influence changes over time. This study aims to analyze the transformation of the relationship between tourism activities and the residential environment in the Naka-Uji area of Uji City, Kyoto Prefecture. Specifically, it investigates how the growth of the tourism industry has influenced the local residential environment and how this influence has changed over time. The findings of the study indicate that the growth of tourism in the Naka-Uji area has had both positive and negative effects on the local residential environment. On the one hand, the tourism industry has created job opportunities and improved local economic conditions. On the other hand, it has also caused environmental degradation, particularly in terms of increased traffic and the construction of parking lots. The study also found that the development of the tourism industry has influenced the social structures, culture, and lifestyle of residents. For instance, the increase in the number of tourists has led to changes in the commercial structure and daily life of suburban residents. The study highlights the importance of collaboration and shared benefits among stakeholders in tourism development, particularly in terms of preserving the cultural and natural heritage of tourist destinations while promoting sustainable development. Overall, this study contributes to the growing body of research on the impact of tourism on suburban areas. It provides insights into the complex relationships between tourism, the natural environment, the local economy, and residential life, and emphasizes the need for sustainable tourism development in suburban areas. The findings of this study have important implications for policymakers, urban planners, and other stakeholders involved in promoting regional revitalization and sustainable tourism development.

Keywords: tourism, residential environment, suburban area, metropolis

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Authors: Meherun Nahar

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Background:The Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) is one of the most diverse regions in Bangladesh in terms of geography, ethnicity, culture and traditions of the people and home of thirteen indigenous ethnic people. In Bangladesh indigenous children aged 6-10 years remain out of school, and the majority of those who do enroll drop out before completing primary school. According to different study that the dropout rate of indigenous children is much higher than the estimated national rate, children dropping out especially in the early years of primary school. One of the most critical barriers for these children is that they do not understand the national language in the government pre-primary school. And also their school readiness and development become slower. In this situation, indigenous children excluded from the mainstream quality education. To address this issue Save the children in Bangladesh and other organizations are implementing community-based Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education program (MTBMLE) in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) for improving the enrolment rate in Government Primary Schools (GPS) reducing dropout rate as well as quality education. In connection with that Save the children conducted comparative research in Chittagong hill tracts on children readiness through Mother tongue-based and Non-mother tongue ECCD center. Objectives of the Study To assess Mother Language based ECCD centers and Non-Mother language based ECCD centers children’s school readiness and development. To assess the community perception over Mother Language based and Non-Mother Language based ECCD center. Methodology: The methodology of the study was FGD, KII, In-depth Interview and observation. Both qualitative and quantitative research methods were followed. The quantitative part has three components, School Readiness, Classroom observation and Headteacher interview and qualitative part followed FGD technique. Findings: The interviews with children under school readiness component showed that in general, Mother Language (ML) based ECCD children doing noticeably better in all four areas (Knowledge, numeracy, fine motor skill and communication) than their peers from Non-mother language based children. ML students seem to be far better skilled in concepts about print as most of them could identify cover and title of the book that was shown to them. They could also know from where to begin to read the book or could correctly point the letter that was read. A big difference was found in the area of identifying letters as 89.3% ML students of could identify letters correctly whereas for Non mother language 30% could do the same. The class room observation data shows that ML children are more active and remained engaged in the classroom than NML students. Also, teachers of ML appeared to have more engaged in explaining issues relating to general knowledge or leading children in rhyming/singing other than telling something from text books. The participants of FGDs were very enthusiastic on using mother language as medium of teaching in pre-schools. They opined that this initiative elates children to attend school and enables them to continue primary schooling without facing any language barrier.

Keywords: Chittagong hill tracts, early childhood care and development (ECCD), indigenous, mother language

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Authors: Monika Soni, Shovonlal Bhowmick, Chandra Bhattacharya, Jitendra Sharma, Prafulla Dutta, Jagadish Mahanta

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Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus are considered as two major vectors to transmit dengue virus. In North-east India, two states viz. Assam and Arunachal Pradesh are known to be high endemic zone for dengue and Chikungunya viral infection. The taxonomical classification of medically important vectors are important for mapping of actual evolutionary trends and epidemiological studies. However, misidentification of mosquito species in field-collected mosquito specimens could have a negative impact which may affect vector-borne disease control policy. DNA barcoding is a prominent method to record available species, differentiate from new addition and change of population structure. In this study, a combined approach of a morphological and molecular technique of DNA barcoding was adopted to explore sequence variation in mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene within dengue vectors. The study has revealed the map distribution of the dengue vector from two states i.e. Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, India. Approximate five hundred mosquito specimens were collected from different parts of two states, and their morphological features were compared with the taxonomic keys. The analysis of detailed taxonomic study revealed identification of two species Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. The species aegypti comprised of 66.6% of the specimen and represented as dominant dengue vector species. The sequences obtained through standard DNA barcoding protocol were compared with public databases, viz. GenBank and BOLD. The sequences of all Aedes albopictus have shown 100% similarity whereas sequence of Aedes aegypti has shown 99.77 - 100% similarity of COI gene with that of different geographically located same species based on BOLD database search. From dengue prevalent different geographical regions fifty-nine sequences were retrieved from NCBI and BOLD databases of the same and related taxa to determine the evolutionary distance model based on the phylogenetic analysis. Neighbor-Joining (NJ) and Maximum Likelihood (ML) phylogenetic tree was constructed in MEGA6.06 software with 1000 bootstrap replicates using Kimura-2-Parameter model. Data were analyzed for sequence divergence and found that intraspecific divergence ranged from 0.0 to 2.0% and interspecific divergence ranged from 11.0 to 12.0%. The transitional and transversional substitutions were tested individually. The sequences were deposited in NCBI: GenBank database. This observation claimed the first DNA barcoding analysis of Aedes mosquitoes from North-eastern states in India and also confirmed the range expansion of two important mosquito species. Overall, this study insight into the molecular ecology of the dengue vectors from North-eastern India which will enhance the understanding to improve the existing entomological surveillance and vector incrimination program.

Keywords: COI, dengue vectors, DNA barcoding, molecular identification, North-east India, phylogenetics

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Authors: Arosha Rashmi De Silva, Ananda Chandrasekara

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This study seeks to comprehensively examine the influence of fast-food consumption and physical activity levels on the body weight of young employees within the private sector of Sri Lanka. The escalating popularity of fast food has raised concerns about its nutritional content and associated health ramifications. To investigate this phenomenon, a cohort of 100 individuals aged between 25 and 45, employed in Sri Lanka's private sector, participated in this research. These participants provided socio-demographic data through a standardized questionnaire, enabling the characterization of their backgrounds. Additionally, participants disclosed their frequency of fast-food consumption and engagement in physical activities, utilizing validated assessment tools. The collected data was meticulously compiled into an Excel spreadsheet and subjected to rigorous statistical analysis. Descriptive statistics, such as percentages and proportions, were employed to delineate the body weight status of the participants. Employing chi-square tests, our study identified significant associations between fast-food consumption, levels of physical activity, and body weight categories. Furthermore, through binary logistic regression analysis, potential risk factors contributing to overweight and obesity within the young employee cohort were elucidated. Our findings revealed a disconcerting trend, with 6% of participants classified as underweight, 32% within the normal weight range, and a substantial 62% categorized as overweight or obese. These outcomes underscore the alarming prevalence of overweight and obesity among young private-sector employees, particularly within the bustling urban landscape of Colombo, Sri Lanka. The data strongly imply a robust correlation between fast-food consumption, sedentary behaviors, and higher body weight categories, reflective of the evolving lifestyle patterns associated with the nation's economic growth. This study emphasizes the urgent need for effective interventions to counter the detrimental effects of fast-food consumption. The implementation of awareness campaigns elucidating the adverse health consequences of fast food, coupled with comprehensive nutritional education, can empower individuals to make informed dietary choices. Workplace interventions, including the provision of healthier meal alternatives and the facilitation of physical activity opportunities, are essential in fostering a healthier workforce and mitigating the escalating burden of overweight and obesity in Sri Lanka

Keywords: fast food consumption, obese, overweight, physical activity level

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Authors: Vangelis Papadimitropoulos

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This paper is part of the research program “Techno-Social Innovation in the Collaborative Economy”, funded by the Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation (H.F.R.I.) for the years 2022-2024. The paper showcases the Open Food Network (OFN) as an open-sourced digital platform supporting short food supply chains in local agricultural production and consumption. The paper outlines the research hypothesis, the theoretical framework, and the methodology of research as well as the findings and conclusions. Research hypothesis: The model of open cooperativism as a vehicle for systemic change in the agricultural sector. Theoretical framework: The research reviews the OFN as an illustrative case study of the three-zoned model of open cooperativism. The OFN is considered a paradigmatic case of the model of open cooperativism inasmuch as it produces commons, it consists of multiple stakeholders including ethical market entities, and it is variously supported by local authorities across the globe, the latter prefiguring the mini role of a partner state. Methodology: Research employs Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe’s discourse analysis -elements, floating signifiers, nodal points, discourses, logics of equivalence and difference- to analyse the breadth of empirical data gathered through literature review, digital ethnography, a survey, and in-depth interviews with core OFN members. Discourse analysis classifies OFN floating signifiers, nodal points, and discourses into four themes: value proposition, governance, economic policy, and legal policy. Findings: OFN floating signifiers align around the following nodal points and discourses: “digital commons”, “short food supply chains”, “sustainability”, “local”, “the elimination of intermediaries” and “systemic change”. The current research identifies a lack of common ground of what the discourse of “systemic change” signifies on the premises of the OFN’s value proposition. The lack of a common mission may be detrimental to the formation of a common strategy that would be perhaps deemed necessary to bring about systemic change in agriculture. Conclusions: Drawing on Laclau and Mouffe’s discourse theory of hegemony, research introduces a chain of equivalence by aligning discourses such as “agro-ecology”, “commons-based peer production”, “partner state” and “ethical market entities” under the model of open cooperativism, juxtaposed against the current hegemony of neoliberalism, which articulates discourses such as “market fundamentalism”, “privatization”, “green growth” and “the capitalist state” to promote corporatism and entrepreneurship. Research makes the case that for OFN to further agroecology and challenge the current hegemony of industrial agriculture, it is vital that it opens up its supply chains into equivalent sectors of the economy, civil society, and politics to form a chain of equivalence linking together ethical market entities, the commons and a partner state around the model of open cooperativism.

Keywords: sustainability, the digital commons, open cooperativism, innovation

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Authors: B. Baran, S. N. Kaptanoglu, M. Ocal, Y. Kagnici, E. Esen, E. Siyez, D. M. Siyez

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Infertility is the fact that couples cannot have children despite 1 year of unprotected sexual life. Infertility can be considered as an important problem affecting not only sexual life but also social and psychological conditions of couples. Learning about information about preventable factors related to infertility during university years plays an important role in preventing a possible infertility case in older ages. The possibility to facilitate access to information with the internet has provided the opportunity to reach a broad audience in the diverse learning environments and educational environment. Moreover, the internet has become a basic resource for the 21st-century learners. Providing information about infertility over the internet will enable more people to reach in a short time. When studies conducted abroad about infertility are examined, interactive websites and online education programs come to the fore. In Turkey, while there is no comprehensive online education program for university students, it seems that existing studies are aimed to make more advertisements for doctors or hospitals. In this study, it was aimed to design and develop online infertility prevention education for university students. Mayer’s Multimedia Learning Theory made up the framework for the online learning environment in this study. The results of the needs analysis collected from the university students in Turkey who were selected with sampling to represent the audience for online learning contributed to the design phase. In this study, an infertility prevention online education environment designed as a 4-week education was developed by explaining the theoretical basis and needs analysis results. As a result; in the development of the online environment, different kind of visual aids that will increase teaching were used in the environment of online education according to Mayer’s principles of extraneous processing (coherence, signaling, spatial contiguity, temporal contiguity, redundancy, expectation principles), essential processing (segmenting, pre-training, modality principles) and generative processing (multimedia, personalization, voice principles). For example, the important points in reproductive systems’ expression were emphasized by visuals in order to draw learners’ attention, and the presentation of the information was also supported by the human voice. In addition, because of the limited knowledge of university students in the subject, the issue of female reproductive and male reproductive systems was taught before preventable factors related to infertility. Furthermore, 3D video and augmented reality application were developed in order to embody female and male reproductive systems. In conclusion, this study aims to develop an interactive Online Infertility Prevention Education in which university students can easily access reliable information and evaluate their own level of knowledge about the subject. It is believed that the study will also guide the researchers who want to develop online education in this area as it contains design-stage decisions of interactive online infertility prevention education for university students.

Keywords: infertility, multimedia learning theory, online education, reproductive health

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Authors: Dalia Ambrazaitienė, Monika Vilkienė, Danute Karcauskienė, Gintaras Siaudinis

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The soil is a complex ecosystem that is part of our biosphere. The ability of soil to provide ecosystem services is dependent on microbial diversity. T Tillage is one of the major factors that affect soil properties. The no-till systems or shallow ploughless tillage are opposite of traditional deep ploughing, no-tillage systems, for instance, increase soil organic matter by reducing mineralization rates and stimulating litter concentrations of the top soil layer, whereas deep ploughing increases the biological activity of arable soil layer and reduces the incidence of weeds. The role of soil organisms is central to soil processes. Although the number of microbial species in soil is still being debated, the metagenomic approach to estimate microbial diversity predicted about 2000 – 18 000 bacterial genomes in 1 g of soil. Despite the key role of bacteria in soil processes, there is still lack of information about the bacterial diversity of soils as affected by tillage practices. This study focused on metagenomic analysis of bacterial diversity in long-term experimental plots of Dystric Epihypogleyic Albeluvisols in western part of Lithuania. The experiment was set up in 2013 and had a split-plot design where the whole-plot treatments were laid out in a randomized design with three replicates. The whole-plot treatments consisted of two tillage methods - deep ploughing (22-25 cm) (DP), ploughless tillage (7-10 cm) (PT). Three subsamples (0-20 cm) were collected on October 22, 2015 for each of the three replicates. Subsamples from the DP and PT systems were pooled together wise to make two composition samples, one representing deep ploughing (DP) and the other ploughless tillage (PT). Genomic DNA from soil sample was extracted from approximately 200 mg field-moist soil by using the D6005 Fungal/Bacterial Miniprep set (Zymo Research®) following the manufacturer’s instructions. To determine bacterial diversity and community composition, we employed a culture – independent approach of high-throughput pyrosequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. Metagenomic sequencing was made with Illumina MiSeq platform in Base Clear Company. The microbial component of soil plays a crucial role in cycling of nutrients in biosphere. Our study was a preliminary attempt at observing bacterial diversity in soil under two common but contrasting tillage practices. The number of sequenced reads obtained for PT (161 917) was higher than DP (131 194). The 10 most abundant genus in soil sample were the same (Arthrobacter, Candidatus Saccharibacteria, Actinobacteria, Acidobacterium, Mycobacterium, Bacillus, Alphaproteobacteria, Longilinea, Gemmatimonas, Solirubrobacter), just the percent of community part was different. In DP the Arthrobacter and Acidobacterium consist respectively 8.4 % and 2.5%, meanwhile in PT just 5.8% and 2.1% of all community. The Nocardioides and Terrabacter were observed just in PT. This work was supported by the project VP1-3.1-ŠMM-01-V-03-001 NKPDOKT and National Science Program: The effect of long-term, different-intensity management of resources on the soils of different genesis and on other components of the agro-ecosystems [grant number SIT-9/2015] funded by the Research Council of Lithuania.

Keywords: deep ploughing, metagenomics, ploughless tillage, soil community analysis

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Authors: Cristobal García

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The visual inspection of bolted joints in wind turbines is dangerous, expensive, and impractical due to the non-possibility to access the platform by workboat in certain sea state conditions, as well as the high costs derived from the transportation of maintenance technicians to offshore platforms located far away from the coast, especially if helicopters are involved. Consequently, the wind turbine operators have the need for simpler and less demanding techniques for the analysis of the bolts tightening. Vibration-based structural health monitoring is one of the oldest and most widely-used means for monitoring the health of onshore and offshore wind turbines. The core of this work is to find out if the modal parameters can be efficiently used as a key performance indicator (KPIs) for the assessment of joint bolts in a 1:50 scale tower of a floating offshore wind turbine (12 MW). A non-destructive vibration test is used to extract the vibration signals of the towers with different damage statuses. The procedure can be summarized in three consecutive steps. First, an artificial excitation is introduced by means of a commercial shaker mounted on the top of the tower. Second, the vibration signals of the towers are recorded for 8 s at a sampling rate of 20 kHz using an array of commercial accelerometers (Endevco, 44A16-1032). Third, the natural frequencies, damping, and overall vibration mode shapes are calculated using the software Siemens LMS 16A. Experiments show that the natural frequencies, damping, and mode shapes of the tower are directly dependent on the fixing conditions of the towers, and therefore, the variations of both parameters are a good indicator for the estimation of the static axial force acting in the bolt. Thus, this vibration-based structural method proposed can be potentially used as a diagnostic tool to evaluate the tightening torques of the bolted joints with the advantages of being an economical, straightforward, and multidisciplinary approach that can be applied for different typologies of connections by operation and maintenance technicians. In conclusion, TSI, in collaboration with the consortium of the FIBREGY project, is conducting innovative research where vibrations are utilized for the estimation of the tightening torque of a 1:50 scale steel-based tower prototype. The findings of this research carried out in the context of FIBREGY possess multiple implications for the assessment of the bolted joint integrity in multiple types of connections such as tower-to-nacelle, modular, tower-to-column, tube-to-tube, etc. This research is contextualized in the framework of the FIBREGY project. The EU-funded FIBREGY project (H2020, grant number 952966) will evaluate the feasibility of the design and construction of a new generation of marine renewable energy platforms using lightweight FRP materials in certain structural elements (e.g., tower, floating platform). The FIBREGY consortium is composed of 11 partners specialized in the offshore renewable energy sector and funded partially by the H2020 program of the European Commission with an overall budget of 8 million Euros.

Keywords: SHM, vibrations, connections, floating offshore platform

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Authors: Burmansyah Muhammad, Supriyoto Supriyoto

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Crop yield, quality and food safety are three important components that all estate and food crops must put into consideration to lifting the economic value. These measurements should be evaluated because marketplace demand is simultaneously changing and farmers must adapt quickly to remain competitive. The increase in economic value could be done by producing high quality product that aligns with harvest collector preferences. The purpose of this study is to examine the causal effects of value added farming in agriculture economic aspects towards crop yield, quality and food security. This research is using descriptive survey research by employing data from small-scale cocoa farmers listed to off-taker company, located on Sulawesi area of Indonesia. The questionnaire was obtained from 650 cocoa farmers, selected randomly. Major findings of the study indicate that 78% of respondents agree that agriculture inputs have positive effect on crop yield, quality and food safety. The study recommended that cocoa stakeholders should ensure access to agriculture inputs in first priority and then followed by ensuring access to cocoa supply chain trader and micro-financing. Value Added Farming refers to lifting the economic value of a commodity through particular intervention. Regarding access to agriculture inputs, one of significant intervention is fertilization and plant nutrition management, both organic and inorganic fertilizer. Small-scale cocoa farmers can get access to fertilizer intervention through establishment of demo farm. Ordinary demo farm needs large area, selective requirements, lots of field resources and centralization impact. On the contrary, satellite demo farm is developing to wide-spread the impact of agriculture economic aspects and also the involvement in number of farmers. In Sulawesi Project, we develop leveling strata of small-scale demo farm with group of farmers and local cooperative. With this methodology, all of listed small-scale farmers can get access to agriculture input, micro-financing and how to deliver quality output. PT Pupuk Kaltim is member firm of holding company PT Pupuk Indonesia, private company belongs to the government of Indonesia. The company listed as Indonesia's largest producer of urea fertilizers, besides ammonia, Compound Fertilizer (NPK) and biological fertilizers. To achieve strategic objectives, the company has distinguished award such as SNI Platinum, SGS Award IFA Protect and Sustain Stewardship and Gold Rank of Environment Friendly Company. This achievement has become the strategic foundation for our company to energize value added farming in sustaining food security program. Moreover, to ensure cocoa sustainability farming the company has developed partnership with international companies and Non-Government Organization (NGO).

Keywords: fertilizer and plant nutrition management, good agriculture practices, agriculture economic aspects, value-added farming

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Authors: Lauren Beth Birney

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BOP-CCERS is a consortium of scientists, K-16 New York City students, faculty, academicians, teachers, stakeholders, STEM Industry professionals, CBO’s, NPO’s, citizen scientists, and local businesses working in partnership to restore New York Harbor’s oyster populations while at the same time providing clean water in New York Harbor. BOP-CCERS gives students an opportunity to learn hands-on about environmental stewardship as well as environmental law and policy by giving students real responsibility. The purpose of this REU will allow for the BOP CCERS Project to further broaden its parameters into the focus of environmental law and policy where further change can be affected. Creating opportunities for undergraduates to work collaboratively with graduate students in law and policy and envision themselves in STEM careers in the field of law continues to be of importance in this project. More importantly, creating opportunities for underrepresented students to pursue careers in STEM Education has been a goal of the project over the last ten years. By raising the level of student interest in community-based citizen science integrated into environmental law and policy, a more diversified workforce will be fostered through the momentum of this dynamic program. The continuing climate crisis facing our planet calls for 21st-century skill development that includes learning and innovation skills derived from critical thinking, which will help REU students address the issues of climate change facing our planet. The demand for a climate-friendly workforce will continue to be met through this community-based citizen science effort. Environmental laws and policies play a crucial role in protecting humans, animals, resources, and habitats. Without these laws, there would be no regulations concerning pollution or contamination of our waterways. Environmental law serves as a mechanism to protect the land, air, water, and soil of our planet. To protect the environment, it is crucial that future policymakers and legal experts both understand and value the importance of environmental protection. The Environmental Law and Policy REU provides students with the opportunity to learn, through hands-on work, the skills, and knowledge needed to help foster a legal workforce centered around environmental protection while participating alongside the BOP CCERS researchers in order to gain research experience. Broadening this area to law and policy will further increase these opportunities and permit students to ultimately affect and influence larger-scale change on a global level while further diversifying the STEM workforce. Students’ findings will be shared at the annual STEM Institute at Pace University in August 2022. Basic research methodologies include qualitative and quantitative analysis performed by the research team. Early findings indicate that providing students with an opportunity to experience, explore and participate in environmental science programs such as these enhances their interests in pursuing STEM careers in Law and Policy, with the focus being on providing opportunities for underserved, marginalized, and underrepresented populations.

Keywords: environmental restoration science, citizen science, environmental law and policy, STEM education

Procedia PDF Downloads 92

Authors: Selin Top, Raul Marcos, M. Sinan Bilgili

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Although there have been several studies related to collection, temporary storage, handling and disposal of solid wastes generated by hospitals, there are only a few studies related to liquid wastes generated by hospitals or hospital wastewaters. There is an important amount of water consumptions in hospitals. While minimum domestic water consumption per person is 100 L/day, water consumption per bed in hospitals is generally ranged between 400-1200 L. This high amount of consumption causes high amount of wastewater. The quantity of wastewater produced in a hospital depends on different factors: bed numbers, hospital age, accessibility to water, general services present inside the structure (kitchen, laundry, laboratory, diagnosis, radiology, and air conditioning), number and type of wards and units, institution management policies and awareness in managing the structure in safeguarding the environment, climate and cultural and geographic factors. In our country, characterization of hospital wastewaters conducted by classical parameters in a very few studies. However, as mentioned above, this type of wastewaters may contain different compounds than domestic wastewaters. Hospital Wastewater (HWW) is wastewater generated from all activities of the hospital, medical and non medical. Nowadays, hospitals are considered as one of the biggest sources of wastewater along with urban sources, agricultural effluents and industrial sources. As a health-care waste, hospital wastewater has the same quality as municipal wastewater, but may also potentially contain various hazardous components due to using disinfectants, pharmaceuticals, radionuclides and solvents making not suitable the connection of hospital wastewater to the municipal sewage network. These characteristics may represent a serious health hazard and children, adults and animals all have the potential to come into contact with this water. Therefore, the treatment of hospital wastewater is an important current interest point to focus on. This paper aims to approach on the investigation of hospital wastewater treatment by membrane systems. This study aim is to determined hospital wastewater’s characterization and also evaluates the efficiency of hospital wastewater treatment by high pressure filtration systems such as ultrafiltration (UF). Hospital wastewater samples were taken directly from sewage system from Şişli Etfal Training and Research Hospital, located in the district of Şişli, in the European part of Istanbul. The hospital is a 784 bed tertiary care center with a daily outpatient department of 3850 patients. Ultrafiltration membrane is used as an experimental treatment and the influence of the pressure exerted on the membranes was examined, ranging from 1 to 3 bar. The permeate flux across the membrane was observed to define the flooding membrane points. The global COD and BOD5 removal efficiencies were 54% and 75% respectively for ultrafiltration, all the SST removal efficiencies were above 90% and a successful removal of the pathological bacteria measured was achieved.

Keywords: hospital wastewater, membrane, ultrafiltration, treatment

Procedia PDF Downloads 287

Authors: Shayla He

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Background and Purpose: According to Chamie (2017), it’s estimated that no less than 150 million people, or about 2 percent of the world’s population, are homeless. The homeless population in the United States has grown rapidly in the past four decades. In New York City, the sheltered homeless population has increased from 12,830 in 1983 to 62,679 in 2020. Knowing the trend on the homeless population is crucial at helping the states and the cities make affordable housing plans, and other community service plans ahead of time to better prepare for the situation. This study utilized the data from New York City, examined the key factors associated with the homelessness, and developed systematic modeling to predict homeless populations of the future. Using the best model developed, named HP-RNN, an analysis on the homeless population change during the months of 2020 and 2021, which were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, was conducted. Moreover, HP-RNN was tested on the data from Seattle. Methods: The methodology involves four phases in developing robust prediction methods. Phase 1 gathered and analyzed raw data of homeless population and demographic conditions from five urban centers. Phase 2 identified the key factors that contribute to the rate of homelessness. In Phase 3, three models were built using Linear Regression, Random Forest, and Recurrent Neural Network (RNN), respectively, to predict the future trend of society's homeless population. Each model was trained and tuned based on the dataset from New York City for its accuracy measured by Mean Squared Error (MSE). In Phase 4, the final phase, the best model from Phase 3 was evaluated using the data from Seattle that was not part of the model training and tuning process in Phase 3. Results: Compared to the Linear Regression based model used by HUD et al (2019), HP-RNN significantly improved the prediction metrics of Coefficient of Determination (R2) from -11.73 to 0.88 and MSE by 99%. HP-RNN was then validated on the data from Seattle, WA, which showed a peak %error of 14.5% between the actual and the predicted count. Finally, the modeling results were collected to predict the trend during the COVID-19 pandemic. It shows a good correlation between the actual and the predicted homeless population, with the peak %error less than 8.6%. Conclusions and Implications: This work is the first work to apply RNN to model the time series of the homeless related data. The Model shows a close correlation between the actual and the predicted homeless population. There are two major implications of this result. First, the model can be used to predict the homeless population for the next several years, and the prediction can help the states and the cities plan ahead on affordable housing allocation and other community service to better prepare for the future. Moreover, this prediction can serve as a reference to policy makers and legislators as they seek to make changes that may impact the factors closely associated with the future homeless population trend.

Keywords: homeless, prediction, model, RNN

Procedia PDF Downloads 109

Authors: Elizabeth Ankiambom Chiatii

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The effective participation of graduates as leaders in entrepreneurial resilience is a key driver to achieving sustainable job creation and curbing unemployment issues in the urban and rural communities of Cameroon. The unemployment problem is a global challenge in the Labour market, especially for youths graduating from universities. Statistics from the Cameroon National Institute of statistics indicate that the unemployment rate in the country increased to 3.9% in 2021 from 3.8% in 2020. One of the main causes of unemployment challenges and job hooping among university graduates is the high expectation for “white-collar jobs syndrome” as opposed to involvement in ‘blue-collar jobs’. In the recent years, the Catholic University of Cameroon has engaged its resources in problem and project based learning (PBL) approaches in order to enable the students at the end of their course work to be competent and resourceful in impacting their communities and the world at large. It is so encouraging to notice that most of our current and female ex-students have engaged as leaders in fostering entrepreneurial resilience through small and medium size ‘blue-collar’ enterprises like seamstresses or tailors, designers, catering services, poultry owners, traditional regalia designers, phone booth operators, farming (gardening) activities, saloon owners, wedding designers, restaurant operators and many other creative jobs where they also act as petty employers. A good number of them sponsor their university studies through these self-income generating activities. Part one of this paper centres on the introduction and background of study. Part two embodies some literature review in which we concentrate on some related conceptual issues. For example, we have some analogy of employment difficulties faced by the university graduates. Secondly, we will examine the details on entrepreneurial resilience within the context of Bamenda- Cameroon. Thirdly, we expound on the leadership role played by these graduates in building resilience as entrepreneurs stemming from their university training. The primary method of data collection is implemented, where questionnaires are distributed to at least 100 of these graduates engaged in building entrepreneurial resilience. The IVProbit regression analysis is used to determine the effect of these graduate participation as leader on entrepreneurial resilience. The results can contribute to the development of entrepreneurial resilience, and recommendations will be made to CATUC Bamenda, some communities and government leaders to enhance their policies to empower these young graduates in fostering these resourceful activities.

Keywords: graduates entrepreneurial resilience, unemployment challenges, white-collar job syndrome, small and medium size blue-collar enterprises

Procedia PDF Downloads 56

Authors: David L. Knott, Robert Kingsland, Alistair Hitchon

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The proposed Newcastle Light Rail is a key part of the revitalisation of Newcastle, NSW and will provide a frequent and reliable travel option throughout the city centre, running from Newcastle Interchange at Wickham to Pacific Park in Newcastle East, a total of 2.7 kilometers in length. Approximately one-third of the route, along Hunter and Scott Streets, is subject to potential shallow underground mine workings. The extent of mining and seams mined is unclear. Convicts mined the Yard Seam and overlying Dudley (Dirty) Seam in Newcastle sometime between 1800 and 1830. The Australian Agricultural Company mined the Yard Seam from about 1831 to the 1860s in the alignment area. The Yard Seam was about 3 feet (0.9m) thick, and therefore, known as the Yard Seam. Mine maps do not exist for the workings in the area of interest and it was unclear if both or just one seam was mined. Information from 1830s geological mapping and other data showing shaft locations were used along Scott Street and information from the 1908 Royal Commission was used along Hunter Street to develop an investigation program. In addition, mining was encountered for several sites to the south of the alignment at depths of about 7 m to 25 m. Based on the anticipated depths of mining, it was considered prudent to assess the potential for sinkhole development on the proposed alignment and realigned underground utilities and to obtain approval for the work from Subsidence Advisory NSW (SA NSW). The assessment consisted of a desktop study, followed by a subsurface investigation. Four boreholes were drilled along Scott Street and three boreholes were drilled along Hunter Street using HQ coring techniques in the rock. The placement of boreholes was complicated by the presence of utilities in the roadway and traffic constraints. All the boreholes encountered the Yard Seam, with conditions varying from unmined coal to an open void, indicating the presence of mining. The geotechnical information obtained from the boreholes was expanded by using various downhole techniques including; borehole camera, borehole sonar, and downhole geophysical logging. The camera provided views of the rock and helped to explain zones of no recovery. In addition, timber props within the void were observed. Borehole sonar was performed in the void and provided an indication of room size as well as the presence of timber props within the room. Downhole geophysical logging was performed in the boreholes to measure density, natural gamma, and borehole deviation. The data helped confirm that all the mining was in the Yard Seam and that the overlying Dudley Seam had been eroded in the past over much of the alignment. In summary, the assessment allowed the potential for sinkhole subsidence to be assessed and a mitigation approach developed to allow conditional approval by SA NSW. It also confirmed the presence of mining in the Yard Seam, the depth to the seam and mining conditions, and indicated that subsidence did not appear to have occurred in the past.

Keywords: downhole investigation techniques, drilling, mine subsidence, yard seam

Procedia PDF Downloads 302

Authors: Elisa Esposito, Johannes C. Jansen, Loredana Dellamuzia, Ugo Moretti, Lidietta Giorno

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The reduction of CO₂ emission into the atmosphere as a result of human activity is one of the most important environmental challenges to face in the next decennia. Emission of CO₂, related to the use of fossil fuels, is believed to be one of the main causes of global warming and climate change. In this scenario, the production of biomethane from organic waste, as a renewable energy source, is one of the most promising strategies to reduce fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emission. Unfortunately, biogas upgrading still produces the greenhouse gas CO₂ as a waste product. Therefore, this work presents a case study on biogas upgrading, aimed at the simultaneous purification of methane and CO₂ via different steps, including CO₂/methane separation by polymeric membranes. The original objective of the project was the biogas upgrading to distribution grid quality methane, but the innovative aspect of this case study is the further purification of the captured CO₂, transforming it from a useless by-product to a pure gas with food-grade quality, suitable for commercial application in the food and beverage industry. The study was performed on a pilot plant constructed by Tecno Project Industriale Srl (TPI) Italy. This is a model of one of the largest biogas production and purification plants. The full-scale anaerobic digestion plant (Montello Spa, North Italy), has a digestive capacity of 400.000 ton of biomass/year and can treat 6.250 m3/hour of biogas from FORSU (organic fraction of solid urban waste). The entire upgrading process consists of a number of purifications steps: 1. Dehydration of the raw biogas by condensation. 2. Removal of trace impurities such as H₂S via absorption. 3.Separation of CO₂ and methane via a membrane separation process. 4. Removal of trace impurities from CO₂. The gas separation with polymeric membranes guarantees complete simultaneous removal of microorganisms. The chemical purity of the different process streams was analysed by a certified laboratory and was compared with the guidelines of the European Industrial Gases Association and the International Society of Beverage Technologists (EIGA/ISBT) for CO₂ used in the food industry. The microbiological purity was compared with the limit values defined in the European Collaborative Action. With a purity of 96-99 vol%, the purified methane respects the legal requirements for the household network. At the same time, the CO₂ reaches a purity of > 98.1% before, and 99.9% after the final distillation process. According to the EIGA/ISBT guidelines, the CO₂ proves to be chemically and microbiologically sufficiently pure to be suitable for food-grade applications.

Keywords: biogas, CO₂ separation, CO2 utilization, CO₂ food grade

Procedia PDF Downloads 200

Authors: Ayesha Akbar

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Public service delivery has witnessed a significant improvement with the integration of information communication technology (ICT). It not only improves management structure with advanced technology for surveillance of service delivery but also provides evidence for informed decisions and policy. Pakistan’s public sector organizations have not been able to produce some good results to ensure service delivery. Notwithstanding, some of the public sector organizations in Pakistan has diffused modern technology and proved their credence by providing better service delivery standards. These good indicators provide sound basis to integrate technology in public sector organizations and shift of policy towards evidence based policy making. Rescue-1122 is a public sector organization which provides emergency services and proved to be a successful model for the provision of service delivery to save human lives and to ensure human development in Pakistan. The information about the organization has been received by employing qualitative research methodology. The information is broadly based on primary and secondary sources which includes Rescue-1122 website, official reports of organizations; UNDP (United Nation Development Program), WHO (World Health Organization) and by conducting 10 in-depth interviews with the high administrative staff of organizations who work in the Lahore offices. The information received has been incorporated with the study for the better understanding of the organization and their management procedures. Rescue-1122 represents a successful model in delivering the services in an efficient way to deal with the disaster management. The management of Rescue has strategized the policies and procedures in such a way to develop a comprehensive model with the integration of technology. This model provides efficient service delivery as well as maintains the standards of the organization. The service delivery model of rescue-1122 works on two fronts; front-office interface and the back-office interface. Back-office defines the procedures of operations and assures the compliance of the staff whereas, front-office equipped with the latest technology and good infrastructure handles the emergency calls. Both ends are integrated with satellite based vehicle tracking, wireless system, fleet monitoring system and IP camera which monitors every move of the staff to provide better services and to pinpoint the distortions in the services. The standard time of reaching to the emergency spot is 7 minutes, and during entertaining the case; driver‘s behavior, traffic volume and the technical assistance being provided to the emergency case is being monitored by front-office. Then the whole information get uploaded to the main dashboard of Lahore headquarter from the provincial offices. The latest technology is being materialized by Rescue-1122 for delivering the efficient services, investigating the flaws; if found, and to develop data to make informed decision making. The other public sector organizations of Pakistan can also develop such models to integrate technology for improving service delivery and to develop evidence for informed decisions and policy making.

Keywords: data, e-governance, evidence, policy

Procedia PDF Downloads 230

Authors: Mengjiao Fan, Thomson W. L. Wong

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It is unavoidable that older adults may have to deal with aging-related motor problems. Aging is highly likely to affect motor learning and control as well. For example, older adults may suffer from poor motor function and quality of life due to age-related eye changes. These adverse changes in vision results in impairment of movement automaticity. Reaching is a fundamental component of various complex movements, which is therefore beneficial to explore the changes and adaptation in visuomotor behaviors. The current study aims to explore how aging affects visuomotor behaviors by comparing motor performance and gaze behaviors between two age groups (i.e., young and older adults). Visuomotor behaviors in reaching under providing or blocking online visual feedback (simulated visual deficiency) conditions were investigated in 60 healthy young adults (Mean age=24.49 years, SD=2.12) and 37 older adults (Mean age=70.07 years, SD=2.37) with normal or corrected-to-normal vision. Participants in each group were randomly allocated into two subgroups. Subgroup 1 was provided with online visual feedback of the hand-controlled mouse cursor. However, in subgroup 2, visual feedback was blocked to simulate visual deficiency. The experimental task required participants to complete 20 times of reaching to a target by controlling the mouse cursor on the computer screen. Among all the 20 trials, start position was upright in the center of the screen and target appeared at a randomly selected position by the tailor-made computer program. Primary outcomes of motor performance and gaze behaviours data were recorded by the EyeLink II (SR Research, Canada). The results suggested that aging seems to affect the performance of reaching tasks significantly in both visual feedback conditions. In both age groups, blocking online visual feedback of the cursor in reaching resulted in longer hand movement time (p < .001), longer reaching distance away from the target center (p<.001) and poorer reaching motor accuracy (p < .001). Concerning gaze behaviors, blocking online visual feedback increased the first fixation duration time in young adults (p<.001) but decreased it in older adults (p < .001). Besides, under the condition of providing online visual feedback of the cursor, older adults conducted a longer fixation dwell time on target throughout reaching than the young adults (p < .001) although the effect was not significant under blocking online visual feedback condition (p=.215). Therefore, the results suggested that different levels of visual feedback during movement execution can affect gaze behaviors differently in older and young adults. Differential effects by aging on visuomotor behaviors appear on two visual feedback patterns (i.e., blocking or providing online visual feedback of hand-controlled cursor in reaching). Several specific gaze behaviors among the older adults were found, which imply that blocking of visual feedback may act as a stimulus to seduce extra perceptive load in movement execution and age-related visual degeneration might further deteriorate the situation. It indeed provides us with insight for the future development of potential rehabilitative training method (e.g., well-designed errorless training) in enhancing visuomotor adaptation for our aging population in the context of improving their movement automaticity by facilitating their compensation of visual degeneration.

Keywords: aging effect, movement automaticity, reaching, visuomotor behaviors, visual degeneration

Procedia PDF Downloads 303

Authors: Aditi Madan, Jayant Kumar Routray

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Purpose: Over the years flood related risks have compounded due to increasing vulnerability caused by rapid urbanisation and growing population. This increase is an indication of the need for enhancing the preparedness of institutions to respond to floods. The study describes disaster management structure and its linkages with institutions involved in managing disasters. It addresses issues and challenges associated with readiness of disaster management institutions to respond to floods. It suggests policy options for enhancing the current state of readiness of institutions to respond by considering factors like institutional, manpower, financial, technical, leadership & networking, training and awareness programs, monitoring and evaluation. Methodology: The study is based on qualitative data with statements and outputs from primary and secondary sources to understand the institutional framework for disaster management in India. Primary data included field visits, interviews with officials from institutions managing disasters and the affected community to identify the challenges faced in engaging national, state, district and local level institutions in managing disasters. For focus group discussions, meetings were held with district project officers and coordinators, local officials, community based organisation, civil defence volunteers and community heads. These discussions were held to identify the challenges associated with preparedness to respond of institutions to floods. Findings: Results show that disasters are handled by district authority and the role of local institutions is limited to a reactive role during disaster. Data also indicates that although the existing institutional setup is well coordinated at the district level but needs improvement at the local level. Wide variations exist in awareness and perception among the officials engaged in managing disasters. Additionally, their roles and responsibilities need to be clearly defined with adequate budget and dedicated permanent staff for managing disasters. Institutions need to utilise the existing manpower through proper delegation of work. Originality: The study suggests that disaster risk reduction needs to focus more towards inclusivity of the local urban bodies. Wide variations exist in awareness and perception among the officials engaged in managing disasters. In order to ensure community participation, it is important to address their social and economic problems since such issues can overshadow attempts made for reducing risks. Thus, this paper suggests development of direct linkages among institutions and community for enhancing preparedness to respond to floods.

Keywords: preparedness, response, disaster, flood, community, institution

Procedia PDF Downloads 223

Authors: Seungsik Yu, Minho Kang

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As the threat of terrorism to nuclear facilities is increasing globally after the attacks of September 11, we are striving to recognize the physical protection system and strengthen the emergency response system. Since 2015, Korea has implemented physical protection security exercise for nuclear facilities. The exercise should be carried out with full cooperation between the operator and response forces. Performance testing of the physical protection system should include appropriate exercises, for example, force-on-force exercises, to determine if the response forces can provide an effective and timely response to prevent sabotage. Significant deficiencies and actions taken should be reported as stipulated by the competent authority. The IAEA(International Atomic Energy Agency) is also preparing force-on-force exercise program documents to support exercise of member states. Currently, ROK(Republic of Korea) is implementing exercise on the force-on-force exercise evaluation system which is developed by itself for the nuclear power plant, and it is necessary to establish the exercise procedure considering the use of the force-on-force exercise evaluation system. The purpose of this study is to establish the work procedures of the three major organizations related to the force-on-force exercise of nuclear power plants in ROK, which conduct exercise using force-on-force exercise evaluation system. The three major organizations are composed of licensee, KINAC (Korea Institute of Nuclear Nonproliferation and Control), and the NSSC(Nuclear Safety and Security Commission). Major activities are as follows. First, the licensee establishes and conducts an exercise plan, and when recommendations are derived from the result of the exercise, it prepares and carries out a force-on-force result report including a plan for implementation of the recommendations. Other detailed tasks include consultation with surrounding units for adversary, interviews with exercise participants, support for document evaluation, and self-training to improve the familiarity of the MILES (Multiple Integrated Laser Engagement System). Second, KINAC establishes a force-on-force exercise plan review report and reviews the force-on-force exercise plan report established by licensee. KINAC evaluate force-on-force exercise using exercise evaluation system and prepare training evaluation report. Other detailed tasks include MILES training, adversary consultation, management of exercise evaluation systems, and analysis of exercise evaluation results. Finally, the NSSC decides whether or not to approve the force-on-force exercise and makes a correction request to the nuclear facility based on the exercise results. The most important part of ROK's force-on-force exercise system is the analysis through the exercise evaluation system implemented by KINAC after the exercise. The analytical method proceeds in the order of collecting data from the exercise evaluation system and analyzing the collected data. The exercise application process of the exercise evaluation system introduced in ROK in 2016 will be concretely set up, and a system will be established to provide objective and consistent conclusions between exercise sessions. Based on the conclusions drawn up, the ultimate goal is to complement the physical protection system of licensee so that the system makes licensee respond effectively and timely against sabotage or unauthorized removal of nuclear materials.

Keywords: Force-on-Force exercise, nuclear power plant, physical protection, sabotage, unauthorized removal

Procedia PDF Downloads 133

Authors: Anwesha Pathak

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With the increasing number of satellites and space debris, space traffic management (STM) becomes crucial. AI can aid in STM by predicting and preventing potential collisions, optimizing satellite trajectories, and managing orbital slots. Governance frameworks need to address the integration of AI algorithms in STM to ensure safe and sustainable satellite activities. AI and governance play significant roles in the context of satellite activities in space. Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, such as machine learning and computer vision, can be utilized to process vast amounts of data received from satellites. AI algorithms can analyse satellite imagery, detect patterns, and extract valuable information for applications like weather forecasting, urban planning, agriculture, disaster management, and environmental monitoring. AI can assist in automating and optimizing satellite operations. Autonomous decision-making systems can be developed using AI to handle routine tasks like orbit control, collision avoidance, and antenna pointing. These systems can improve efficiency, reduce human error, and enable real-time responsiveness in satellite operations. AI technologies can be leveraged to enhance the security of satellite systems. AI algorithms can analyze satellite telemetry data to detect anomalies, identify potential cyber threats, and mitigate vulnerabilities. Governance frameworks should encompass regulations and standards for securing satellite systems against cyberattacks and ensuring data privacy. AI can optimize resource allocation and utilization in satellite constellations. By analyzing user demands, traffic patterns, and satellite performance data, AI algorithms can dynamically adjust the deployment and routing of satellites to maximize coverage and minimize latency. Governance frameworks need to address fair and efficient resource allocation among satellite operators to avoid monopolistic practices. Satellite activities involve multiple countries and organizations. Governance frameworks should encourage international cooperation, information sharing, and standardization to address common challenges, ensure interoperability, and prevent conflicts. AI can facilitate cross-border collaborations by providing data analytics and decision support tools for shared satellite missions and data sharing initiatives. AI and governance are critical aspects of satellite activities in space. They enable efficient and secure operations, ensure responsible and ethical use of AI technologies, and promote international cooperation for the benefit of all stakeholders involved in the satellite industry.

Keywords: satellite, space debris, traffic, threats, cyber security.

Procedia PDF Downloads 58

Authors: Dila Ram Bhandari

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Throughout the 20th century, new governments were created where identities such as ethnic, religious, linguistic, caste, communal, tribal, and others played a part in the development of constitutions and the legal system of victim and criminal justice. Acute issues with extremism, poverty, environmental degradation, cybercrimes, human rights violations, crime against, and victimization of both individuals and groups have recently plagued South Asian nations. Everyday massive number of crimes are steadfast, these frequent crimes have made the lives of common citizens restless. Crimes are one of the major threats to society and also for civilization. Crime is a bone of contention that can create a societal disturbance. The old-style crime solving practices are unable to live up to the requirement of existing crime situations. Crime analysis is one of the most important activities of the majority of intelligent and law enforcement organizations all over the world. The South Asia region lacks such a regional coordination mechanism, unlike central Asia of Asia Pacific regions, to facilitate criminal intelligence sharing and operational coordination related to organized crime, including illicit drug trafficking and money laundering. There have been numerous conversations in recent years about using data mining technology to combat crime and terrorism. The Data Detective program from Sentient as a software company, uses data mining techniques to support the police (Sentient, 2017). The goals of this internship are to test out several predictive model solutions and choose the most effective and promising one. First, extensive literature reviews on data mining, crime analysis, and crime data mining were conducted. Sentient offered a 7-year archive of crime statistics that were daily aggregated to produce a univariate dataset. Moreover, a daily incidence type aggregation was performed to produce a multivariate dataset. Each solution's forecast period lasted seven days. Statistical models and neural network models were the two main groups into which the experiments were split. For the crime data, neural networks fared better than statistical models. This study gives a general review of the applied statistics and neural network models. A detailed image of each model's performance on the available data and generalizability is provided by a comparative analysis of all the models on a comparable dataset. Obviously, the studies demonstrated that, in comparison to other models, Gated Recurrent Units (GRU) produced greater prediction. The crime records of 2005-2019 which was collected from Nepal Police headquarter and analysed by R programming. In conclusion, gated recurrent unit implementation could give benefit to police in predicting crime. Hence, time series analysis using GRU could be a prospective additional feature in Data Detective.

Keywords: time series analysis, forecasting, ARIMA, machine learning

Procedia PDF Downloads 154

Authors: Katarina Pogacnik, Ursa Zakrajsek, Nejc Sirk, Ziga Lampret

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Due to an increase in living standards along with global population growth and a trend of urbanization, municipalities and regions are faced with an ever rising energy demand. A challenge has arisen for cities around the world to modify the energy supply chain in order to reduce its consumption and CO₂ emissions. The aim of our work is the development of a computational-analytical platform for dynamic support in decision-making and the determination of economic and technical indicators of energy efficiency in a smart city, named Energy Atlas. Similar products in this field focuse on a narrower approach, whereas in order to achieve its aim, this platform encompasses a wider spectrum of beneficial and important information for energy planning on a local or regional scale. GIS based interactive maps provide an extensive database on the potential, use and supply of energy and renewable energy sources along with climate, transport and spatial data of the selected municipality. Beneficiaries of Energy atlas are local communities, companies, investors, contractors as well as residents. The Energy Atlas platform consists of three modules named E-Planning, E-Indicators and E-Cooperation. The E-Planning module is a comprehensive data service, which represents a support towards optimal decision-making and offers a sum of solutions and feasibility of measures and their effects in the area of efficient use of energy and renewable energy sources. The E-Indicators module identifies, collects and develops optimal data and key performance indicators and develops an analytical application service for dynamic support in managing a smart city in regards to energy use and sustainable environment. In order to support cooperation and direct involvement of citizens of the smart city, the E-cooperation is developed with the purpose of integrating the interdisciplinary and sociological aspects of energy end-users. Interaction of all the above-described modules contributes to regional development because it enables for a precise assessment of the current situation, strategic planning, detection of potential future difficulties and also the possibility of public involvement in decision-making. From the implementation of the technology in Slovenian municipalities of Ljubljana, Piran, and Novo mesto, there is evidence to suggest that the set goals are to be achieved to a great extent. Such thorough urban energy planning tool is viewed as an important piece of the puzzle towards achieving a low-carbon society, circular economy and therefore, sustainable society.

Keywords: circular economy, energy atlas, energy management, energy planning, low-carbon society

Procedia PDF Downloads 296

Authors: Maria C. Proença, Maria T. Rebelo, Marília Antunes, Maria J. Alves, Hugo Osório, Sofia Cunha, REVIVE team

Abstract:

The environment of the mosquitoes complex Culex pipiens sl. in Portugal mainland is evaluated based in its abundance, using a data set georeferenced, collected during seven years (2006-2012) from May to October. The suitability of the different regions can be delineated using the relative abundance areas; the suitablility index is directly proportional to disease transmission risk and allows focusing mitigation measures in order to avoid outbreaks of vector-borne diseases. The interest in the Culex pipiens complex is justified by its medical importance: the females bite all warm-blooded vertebrates and are involved in the circulation of several arbovirus of concern to human health, like West Nile virus, iridoviruses, rheoviruses and parvoviruses. The abundance of Culex pipiens mosquitoes were documented systematically all over the territory by the local health services, in a long duration program running since 2006. The environmental factors used to characterize the vector habitat are land use/land cover, distance to cartographed water bodies, altitude and latitude. Focus will be on the mosquito females, which gonotrophic cycle mate-bloodmeal-oviposition is responsible for the virus transmission; its abundance is the key for the planning of non-aggressive prophylactic countermeasures that may eradicate the transmission risk and simultaneously avoid chemical ambient degradation. Meteorological parameters such as: air relative humidity, air temperature (minima, maxima and mean daily temperatures) and daily total rainfall were gathered from the weather stations network for the same dates and crossed with the standardized females’ abundance in a geographic information system (GIS). Mean capture and percentage of above average captures related to each variable are used as criteria to compute a threshold for each meteorological parameter; the difference of the mean capture above/below the threshold was statistically assessed. The meteorological parameters measured at the net of weather stations all over the country are averaged by month and interpolated to produce raster maps that can be segmented according to the meaningful thresholds for each parameter. The intersection of the maps of all the parameters obtained for each month show the evolution of the suitable meteorological conditions through the mosquito season, considered as May to October, although the first and last month are less relevant. In parallel, mean and above average captures were related to the physiographic parameters – the land use/land cover classes most relevant in each month, the altitudes preferred and the most frequent distance to water bodies, a factor closely related with the mosquito biology. The maps produced with these results were crossed with the meteorological maps previously segmented, in order to get an index of suitability for the complex Culex pipiens evaluated all over the country, and its evolution from the beginning to the end of the mosquitoes season.

Keywords: suitability index, Culex pipiens, habitat evolution, GIS model

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Authors: Gabriel Malgaresi, Sara Borazjani, Hadi Madani, Pavel Bedrikovetsky

Abstract:

Suspension-Colloidal flow in porous media occurs in numerous engineering fields, such as industrial water treatment, the disposal of industrial wastes into aquifers with the propagation of contaminants and low salinity water injection into petroleum reservoirs. The main effects are particle mobilization and captured by the porous rock, which can cause pore plugging and permeability reduction which is known as formation damage. Various factors such as fluid salinity, pH, temperature, and rock properties affect particle detachment. Formation damage is unfavorable specifically near injection and production wells. One way to control formation damage is pre-treatment of the rock with nanoparticles. Adsorption of nanoparticles on fines and rock surfaces alters zeta-potential of the surfaces and enhances the attachment force between the rock and fine particles. The main objective of this study is to develop a two-stage mathematical model for (1) flow and adsorption of nanoparticles on the rock in the pre-treatment stage and (2) fines migration and permeability reduction during the water production after the pre-treatment. The model accounts for adsorption and desorption of nanoparticles, fines migration, and kinetics of particle capture. The system of equations allows for the exact solution. The non-self-similar wave-interaction problem was solved by the Method of Characteristics. The analytical model is new in two ways: First, it accounts for the specific boundary and initial condition describing the injection of nanoparticle and production from the pre-treated porous media; second, it contains the effect of nanoparticle sorption hysteresis. The derived analytical model contains explicit formulae for the concentration fronts along with pressure drop. The solution is used to determine the optimal injection concentration of nanoparticle to avoid formation damage. The mathematical model was validated via an innovative laboratory program. The laboratory study includes two sets of core-flood experiments: (1) production of water without nanoparticle pre-treatment; (2) pre-treatment of a similar core with nanoparticles followed by water production. Positively-charged Alumina nanoparticles with the average particle size of 100 nm were used for the rock pre-treatment. The core was saturated with the nanoparticles and then flushed with low salinity water; pressure drop across the core and the outlet fine concentration was monitored and used for model validation. The results of the analytical modeling showed a significant reduction in the fine outlet concentration and formation damage. This observation was in great agreement with the results of core-flood data. The exact solution accurately describes fines particle breakthroughs and evaluates the positive effect of nanoparticles in formation damage. We show that the adsorbed concentration of nanoparticle highly affects the permeability of the porous media. For the laboratory case presented, the reduction of permeability after 1 PVI production in the pre-treated scenario is 50% lower than the reference case. The main outcome of this study is to provide a validated mathematical model to evaluate the effect of nanoparticles on formation damage.

Keywords: nano-particles, formation damage, permeability, fines migration

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Authors: Josef Drahorad, Milos Beran, Ondrej Vltavsky, Marian Urban, Martin Fronek, Jiri Sova

Abstract:

Engineering efforts of researchers of the Food research institute Prague and the Czech Technical University in spray drying technologies led to the introduction of a demonstrator ATOMIZER and a new technology of Carbon Dioxide-Assisted Spray Nebulization Drying (CASND). The equipment combines the spray drying technology, when the liquid to be dried is atomized by a rotary atomizer, with Carbon Dioxide Assisted Nebulization - Bubble Dryer (CAN-BD) process in an original way. A solution, emulsion or suspension is saturated by carbon dioxide at pressure up to 80 bar before the drying process. The atomization process takes place in two steps. In the first step, primary droplets are produced at the outlet of the rotary atomizer of special construction. In the second step, the primary droplets are divided in secondary droplets by the CO2 expansion from the inside of primary droplets. The secondary droplets, usually in the form of microbubbles, are rapidly dried by warm air stream at temperatures up to 60ºC and solid particles are formed in a drying chamber. Powder particles are separated from the drying air stream in a high efficiency fine powder separator. The product is frequently in the form of submicron hollow spheres. The CASND technology has been used to produce microparticulated protein concentrates for human nutrition from alternative plant sources - hemp and canola seed filtration cakes. Alkali extraction was used to extract the proteins from the filtration cakes. The protein solutions after the alkali extractions were dried with the demonstrator ATOMIZER. Aerosol particle size distribution and concentration in the draying chamber were determined by two different on-line aerosol spectrometers SMPS (Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer) and APS (Aerodynamic Particle Sizer). The protein powders were in form of hollow spheres with average particle diameter about 600 nm. The particles were characterized by the SEM method. The functional properties of the microparticulated protein concentrates were compared with the same protein concentrates dried by the conventional spray drying process. Microparticulated protein has been proven to have improved foaming and emulsifying properties, water and oil absorption capacities and formed long-term stable water dispersions. This work was supported by the research grants TH03010019 of the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic.

Keywords: carbon dioxide-assisted spray nebulization drying, canola seed, hemp seed, microparticulated proteins

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Authors: Yuliana Wahyu, Ambros Leonangung Edu

Abstract:

The learning praxis that is proposed by 2013 Curriculum (K-13) is no longer school-oriented as a supply-driven, but now a demand-driven provider. This vision is connected with Jokowi-Kalla Nawacita program to create a competitive nation in the global era. Competition is a social fact that must be faced. Therefore the curriculum will design a process to be the innovators and entrepreneurs.To get this goal, K-13 implements the character education. This aims at creating the innovators and entrepreneurs from an early age (primary school). One part of strengthening it is literacy formations (reading, numeracy, science, ICT, finance, and culture). Thus, science literacy is an integral part of character education. The above outputs are only formed through the innovative process through intra-curricular (blended learning), co-curriculer (hands-on learning) and extra-curricular (personalized learning). Unlike the curriculums before that child cram with the theories dominating the intellectual process, new breakthroughs make natural, social, and cultural phenomena as learning sources. For example, Science in primary schoolsplaceBiology as the platform. And Science places natural, social, and cultural phenomena as a learning field so that students can learn, discover, solve concrete problems, and the prospects of development and application in their everyday lives. Science education not only learns about facts collection or natural phenomena but also methods and scientific attitudes. In turn, Science will form the science literacy. Science literacy have critical, creative, logical, and initiative competences in responding to the issues of culture, science and technology. This is linked with science nature which includes hands-on and minds-on. To sustain the effectiveness of science learning, K-13 opens a new way of viewing a contextual learning model in which facts or natural phenomena are drawn closer to the child's learning environment to be studied and analyzed scientifically. Thus, the topic of elementary science discussion is the practical and contextual things that students encounter. This research is about to contextualize Science in primary schools at Manggarai, NTT, by placing local wisdom as a learning source and media to form the science literacy. Explicitly, this study discovers the concept of science and mathematics in Mbaru Niang. Mbaru Niang is a forgotten potentials of the centralistic-theoretical mainstream curriculum so far. In fact, the traditional Manggarai community stores and inherits much of the science-mathematical indigenous sciences. In the traditional house structures are full of science and mathematics knowledge. Every details have style, sound and mathematical symbols. Learning this, students are able to collaborate and synergize the content and learning resources in student learning activities. This is constructivist contextual learning that will be applied in meaningful learning. Meaningful learning allows students to learn by doing. Students then connect topics to the context, and science literacy is constructed from their factual experiences. The research location will be conducted in Manggarai through observation, interview, and literature study.

Keywords: indigenous science, Mbaru Niang, science literacy, science

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