Search results for: conventional learning method
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 26399

Search results for: conventional learning method

19259 Invistigation of Surface Properties of Nanostructured Carbon Films

Authors: Narek Margaryan, Zhozef Panosyan

Abstract:

Due to their unique properties, carbon nanofilms have become the object of general attention and intensive research. In this case it plays a very important role to study surface properties of these films. It is also important to study processes of forming of this films, which is accompanied by a process of self-organization at the nano and micro levels. For more detailed investigation, we examined diamond-like carbon (DLC) layers deposited by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method on Ge substrate and hydro-generated grapheme layers obtained on surface of colloidal solution using grouping method. In this report surface transformation of these CVD nanolayers is studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM) upon deposition time. Also, it can be successfully used to study surface properties of self-assembled grapheme layers. In turn, it is possible to sketch out their boundary line, which enables one to draw an idea of peculiarities of formation of these layers. Images obtained by AFM are investigated as a mathematical set of numbers and fractal and roughness analysis were done. Fractal dimension, Regne’s fractal coefficient, histogram, Fast Fourier transformation, etc. were obtained. The dependence of fractal parameters on the deposition duration for CVD films and on temperature of solution tribolayers was revealed. As an important surface parameter for our carbon films, surface energy was calculated as function of Regne’s fractal coefficient. Surface potential was also measured with Kelvin probe method using semi-contacting AFM. The dependence of surface potential on the deposition duration for CVD films and on temperature of solution for hydro-generated graphene was found as well. Results obtained by fractal analysis method was related with purly esperimental results for number of samples.

Keywords: nanostructured films, self-assembled grapheme, diamond-like carbon, surface potential, Kelvin probe method, fractal analysis

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19258 A Literature Review on Bladder Management in Individuals with Spinal Cord Injury

Authors: Elif Ates, Naile Bilgili

Abstract:

Background: One of the most important medical complications that individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) face are the neurogenic bladder. Objectives: To review methods used for management of neurogenic bladder and their effects. Methods: The study was conducted by searching CINAHL, Ebscohost, MEDLINE, Science Direct, Ovid, ProQuest, Web of Science, and ULAKBİM National Databases for studies published between 2005 and 2015. Key words used during the search included ‘spinal cord injury’, ‘bladder injury’, ‘nursing care’, ‘catheterization’ and ‘intermittent urinary catheter’. After examination of 551 studies, 21 studies which met inclusion criteria were included in the review. Results: Mean age of individuals in all study samples was 42 years. The most commonly used bladder management method was clean intermittent catheterization (CIC). Compliance with CIC was found to be significantly related to spasticity, maximum cystometric capacity, and the person performing catheterization (p < .05). The main reason for changing the existing bladder management method was urinary tract infections (UTI). Individuals who performed CIC by themselves and who voided spontaneously had better life quality. Patient age, occupation status and whether they performed CIC by themselves or not were found to be significantly associated with depression level (p ≤ .05). Conclusion: As the most commonly used method for bladder management, CIC is a reliable and effective method, and reduces the risk of UTI development. Individuals with neurogenic bladder have a higher prevalence of depression symptoms than the normal population.

Keywords: bladder management, catheterization, nursing, spinal cord injury

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19257 Creation of GaxCo1-xZnSe0.4 (x = 0.1, 0.3, 0.5) Nanoparticles Using Pulse Laser Ablation Method

Authors: Yong Pan, Li Wang, Xue Qiong Su, Dong Wen Gao

Abstract:

To date, nanomaterials have received extensive attention over the years because of their wide application. Various nanomaterials such as nanoparticles, nanowire, nanoring, nanostars and other nanostructures have begun to be systematically studied. The preparation of these materials by chemical methods is not only costly, but also has a long cycle and high toxicity. At the same time, preparation of nanoparticles of multi-doped composites has been limited due to the special structure of the materials. In order to prepare multi-doped composites with the same structure as macro-materials and simplify the preparation method, the GaxCo1-xZnSe0.4 (x = 0.1, 0.3, 0.5) nanoparticles are prepared by Pulse Laser Ablation (PLA) method. The particle component and structure are systematically investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectra, which show that the success of our preparation and the same concentration between nanoparticles (NPs) and target. Morphology of the NPs characterized by Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) indicates the circular-shaped particles in preparation. Fluorescence properties are reflected by PL spectra, which demonstrate the best performance in concentration of Ga0.3Co0.3ZnSe0.4. Therefore, all the results suggest that PLA is promising to prepare the multi-NPs since it can modulate performance of NPs.

Keywords: PLA, physics, nanoparticles, multi-doped

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19256 Teaching Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder Using Virtual Reality: Exploratory Study

Authors: Abdiwahab Guled

Abstract:

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that emanates from a broad range of conditions, which affect the communication skills, social skills. It causes restrictive and repetitive behaviors to individuals. The number of children with ASD is an increasing prevalence around the world. Virtual reality (VR) is an assistive technology, which puts the learner in an immersive learning environment. It allows the learner to interact with that environment in a seemingly real or physical way using special electronic equipment, such as headsets. This exploratory study examines the potential benefits that VR may provide to improving the communication skills of children with ASD. Educating a child with ASD is challenging because access to services, resources, and support for autistic children is inadequate. Therefore, this study intends to investigate the challenges of teaching children with ASD and how VR might help teachers to improve the communication skills of these children with ASD. Online research and literature review were used as a method to gather previously published studies to identify the research gap and provide the groundwork for future studies. Results show that VR offers potential benefits to improving the communication skills of children with ASD but there is a gap in our understanding of the functionalities of all the features of VR technology and how we can utilize it to improve the communication skills of children with ASD. Communication is a broad subject and it is impossible for one study to evidently define the speech challenges of autistic children and provide an irrefutable solution. Therefore, this study proposes further research to dissect how can VR be used to improve the different communication challenges that impede the everyday functioning of autistic children.

Keywords: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), autistic, Asperger, Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS), virtual reality (VR).

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19255 Personality Composition in Senior Management Teams: The Importance of Homogeneity in Dynamic Managerial Capabilities

Authors: Shelley Harrington

Abstract:

As a result of increasingly dynamic business environments, the creation and fostering of dynamic capabilities, [those capabilities that enable sustained competitive success despite of dynamism through the awareness and reconfiguration of internal and external competencies], supported by organisational learning [a dynamic capability] has gained increased and prevalent momentum in the research arena. Presenting findings funded by the Economic Social Research Council, this paper investigates the extent to which Senior Management Team (SMT) personality (at the trait and facet level) is associated with the creation of dynamic managerial capabilities at the team level, and effective organisational learning/knowledge sharing within the firm. In doing so, this research highlights the importance of micro-foundations in organisational psychology and specifically dynamic capabilities, a field which to date has largely ignored the importance of psychology in understanding these important and necessary capabilities. Using a direct measure of personality (NEO PI-3) at the trait and facet level across 32 high technology and finance firms in the UK, their CEOs (N=32) and their complete SMTs [N=212], a new measure of dynamic managerial capabilities at the team level was created and statistically validated for use within the work. A quantitative methodology was employed with regression and gap analysis being used to show the empirical foundations of personality being positioned as a micro-foundation of dynamic capabilities. The results of this study found that personality homogeneity within the SMT was required to strengthen the dynamic managerial capabilities of sensing, seizing and transforming, something which was required to reflect strong organisational learning at middle management level [N=533]. In particular, it was found that the greater the difference [t-score gaps] between the personality profiles of a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and their complete, collective SMT, the lower the resulting self-reported nature of dynamic managerial capabilities. For example; the larger the difference between a CEOs level of dutifulness, a facet contributing to the definition of conscientiousness, and their SMT’s level of dutifulness, the lower the reported level of transforming, a capability fundamental to strategic change in a dynamic business environment. This in turn directly questions recent trends, particularly in upper echelons research highlighting the need for heterogeneity within teams. In doing so, it successfully positions personality as a micro-foundation of dynamic capabilities, thus contributing to recent discussions from within the strategic management field calling for the need to empirically explore dynamic capabilities at such a level.

Keywords: dynamic managerial capabilities, senior management teams, personality, dynamism

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19254 Interdisciplinary Approach in Vocational Training for Orthopaedic Surgery

Authors: Mihail Nagea, Olivera Lupescu, Elena Taina Avramescu, Cristina Patru

Abstract:

Classical education of orthopedic surgeons involves lectures, self study, workshops and cadaver dissections, and sometimes supervised practical training within surgery, which quite seldom gives the young surgeons the feeling of being unable to apply what they have learned especially in surgical practice. The purpose of this paper is to present a different approach from the classical one, which enhances the practical skills of the orthopedic trainees and prepare them for future practice. The paper presents the content of the research project 2015-1-RO01-KA202-015230, ERASMUS+ VET ‘Collaborative learning for enhancing practical skills for patient-focused interventions in gait rehabilitation after orthopedic surgery’ which, using e learning as a basic tool , delivers to the trainees not only courses, but especially practical information through videos and case scenarios including gait analysis in order to build patient focused therapeutic plans, adapted to the characteristics of each patient. The outcome of this project is to enhance the practical skills in orthopedic surgery and the results are evaluated following the answers to the questionnaires, but especially the reactions within the case scenarios. The participants will thus follow the idea that any mistake within solving the cases might represent a failure of treating a real patient. This modern approach, besides using interactivity to evaluate the theoretical and practical knowledge of the trainee, increases the sense of responsibility, as well as the ability to react properly in real cases.

Keywords: interdisciplinary approach, gait analysis, orthopedic surgery, vocational training

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19253 A Variant of a Double Structure-Preserving QR Algorithm for Symmetric and Hamiltonian Matrices

Authors: Ahmed Salam, Haithem Benkahla

Abstract:

Recently, an efficient backward-stable algorithm for computing eigenvalues and vectors of a symmetric and Hamiltonian matrix has been proposed. The method preserves the symmetric and Hamiltonian structures of the original matrix, during the whole process. In this paper, we revisit the method. We derive a way for implementing the reduction of the matrix to the appropriate condensed form. Then, we construct a novel version of the implicit QR-algorithm for computing the eigenvalues and vectors.

Keywords: block implicit QR algorithm, preservation of a double structure, QR algorithm, symmetric and Hamiltonian structures

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19252 Setting Control Limits For Inaccurate Measurements

Authors: Ran Etgar

Abstract:

The process of rounding off measurements in continuous variables is commonly encountered. Although it usually has minor effects, sometimes it can lead to poor outcomes in statistical process control using X ̅-chart. The traditional control limits can cause incorrect conclusions if applied carelessly. This study looks into the limitations of classical control limits, particularly the impact of asymmetry. An approach to determining the distribution function of the measured parameter (Y ̅) is presented, resulting in a more precise method to establish the upper and lower control limits. The proposed method, while slightly more complex than Shewhart's original idea, is still user-friendly and accurate and only requires the use of two straightforward tables.

Keywords: quality control, process control, round-off, measurement, rounding error

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19251 Improvement in Safety Profile of Semecarpus Anacardium Linn by Shodhana: An Ayurvedic Purification Method

Authors: Umang H. Gajjar, K. M. Khambholja, R. K. Patel

Abstract:

Semecarpus anacardium shows the presence of bioflavonoids, phenolic compounds, bhilawanols, minerals, vitamins and amino acids. Detoxified S. anacardium and its oils are considered to have anti-inflammatory properties and used in nervous debility, neuritis, rheumatism and leprous modules. S. anacardium if used without purification causes toxic skin inflammation problem because it contains toxic phenolic oil. During this Shodhana Process - An ayurvedic purification method, toxic phenolic oil was removed, have marked effect on the concentration of the phytoconstituent & antioxidant activity of S. anacardium. Total phenolic content decreased up to 70 % (from 28.9 %w/w to 8.94 %w/w), while there is a negligible effect on the concentration of total flavonoid (7.51 %w/w to 7.43 %w/w) and total carbohydrate (0.907 %w/w to 0.853 % w/w) content. IC50& EC50 value of extract of S. anacardium before and after purification are 171.7 & 314.3 while EC50values are 280.μg/ml & 304. μg/ml, shows that antioxidant activity of S. anacardium is decreased but the safety profile of the drug is increased as the toxic phenolic oil was removed during Shodhana - An ayurvedic purification method.

Keywords: Semecarpus anacardium, Shodhana process, safety profile, improvement

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19250 An Analytical Metric and Process for Critical Infrastructure Architecture System Availability Determination in Distributed Computing Environments under Infrastructure Attack

Authors: Vincent Andrew Cappellano

Abstract:

In the early phases of critical infrastructure system design, translating distributed computing requirements to an architecture has risk given the multitude of approaches (e.g., cloud, edge, fog). In many systems, a single requirement for system uptime / availability is used to encompass the system’s intended operations. However, when architected systems may perform to those availability requirements only during normal operations and not during component failure, or during outages caused by adversary attacks on critical infrastructure (e.g., physical, cyber). System designers lack a structured method to evaluate availability requirements against candidate system architectures through deep degradation scenarios (i.e., normal ops all the way down to significant damage of communications or physical nodes). This increases risk of poor selection of a candidate architecture due to the absence of insight into true performance for systems that must operate as a piece of critical infrastructure. This research effort proposes a process to analyze critical infrastructure system availability requirements and a candidate set of systems architectures, producing a metric assessing these architectures over a spectrum of degradations to aid in selecting appropriate resilient architectures. To accomplish this effort, a set of simulation and evaluation efforts are undertaken that will process, in an automated way, a set of sample requirements into a set of potential architectures where system functions and capabilities are distributed across nodes. Nodes and links will have specific characteristics and based on sampled requirements, contribute to the overall system functionality, such that as they are impacted/degraded, the impacted functional availability of a system can be determined. A machine learning reinforcement-based agent will structurally impact the nodes, links, and characteristics (e.g., bandwidth, latency) of a given architecture to provide an assessment of system functional uptime/availability under these scenarios. By varying the intensity of the attack and related aspects, we can create a structured method of evaluating the performance of candidate architectures against each other to create a metric rating its resilience to these attack types/strategies. Through multiple simulation iterations, sufficient data will exist to compare this availability metric, and an architectural recommendation against the baseline requirements, in comparison to existing multi-factor computing architectural selection processes. It is intended that this additional data will create an improvement in the matching of resilient critical infrastructure system requirements to the correct architectures and implementations that will support improved operation during times of system degradation due to failures and infrastructure attacks.

Keywords: architecture, resiliency, availability, cyber-attack

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19249 Multimodal Discourse, Logic of the Analysis of Transmedia Strategies

Authors: Bianca Suárez Puerta

Abstract:

Multimodal discourse refers to a method of study the media continuum between reality, screens as a device, audience, author, and media as a production from the audience. For this study we used semantic differential, a method proposed in the sixties by Osgood, Suci and Tannenbaum, starts from the assumption that under each particular way of perceiving the world, in each singular idea, there is a common cultural meaning that organizes experiences. In relation to these shared symbolic dimension, this method has had significant results, as it focuses on breaking down the meaning of certain significant acts into series of statements that place the subjects in front of some concepts. In Colombia, in 2016, a tool was designed to measure the meaning of a multimodal production, specially the acts of sense of transmedia productions that managed to receive funds from the Ministry of ICT of Colombia, and also, to analyze predictable patterns that can be found in calls and funds aimed at the production of culture in Colombia, in the context of the peace agreement, as a request for expressions from a hegemonic place, seeking to impose a worldview.

Keywords: semantic differential, semiotics, transmedia, critical analysis of discourse

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19248 Environmental Aspects of Alternative Fuel Use for Transport with Special Focus on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)

Authors: Szymon Kuczynski, Krystian Liszka, Mariusz Laciak, Andrii Oliinyk, Adam Szurlej

Abstract:

The history of gaseous fuel use in the motive power of vehicles dates back to the second half of the nineteenth century, and thus the beginnings of the automotive industry. The engines were powered by coal gas and became the prototype for internal combustion engines built so far. It can thus be considered that this construction gave rise to the automotive industry. As the socio-economic development advances, so does the number of motor vehicles. Although, due to technological progress in recent decades, the emissions generated by internal combustion engines of cars have been reduced, a sharp increase in the number of cars and the rapidly growing traffic are an important source of air pollution and a major cause of acoustic threat, in particular in large urban agglomerations. One of the solutions, in terms of reducing exhaust emissions and improving air quality, is a more extensive use of alternative fuels: CNG, LNG, electricity and hydrogen. In the case of electricity use for transport, it should be noted that the environmental outcome depends on the structure of electricity generation. The paper shows selected regulations affecting the use of alternative fuels for transport (including Directive 2014/94/EU) and its dynamics between 2000 and 2015 in Poland and selected EU countries. The paper also gives a focus on the impact of alternative fuels on the environment by comparing the volume of individual emissions (compared to the emissions from conventional fuels: petrol and diesel oil). Bearing in mind that the extent of various alternative fuel use is determined in first place by economic conditions, the article describes the price relationships between alternative and conventional fuels in Poland and selected EU countries. It is pointed out that although Poland has a wealth of experience in using methane alternative fuels for transport, one of the main barriers to their development in Poland is the extensive use of LPG. In addition, a poorly developed network of CNG stations in Poland, which does not allow easy transport, especially in the northern part of the country, is a serious problem to a further development of CNG use as fuel for transport. An interesting solution to this problem seems to be the use of home CNG filling stations: Home Refuelling Appliance (HRA, refuelling time 8-10 hours) and Home Refuelling Station (HRS, refuelling time 8-10 minutes). The team is working on HRA and HRS technologies. The article also highlights the impact of alternative fuel use on energy security by reducing reliance on imports of crude oil and petroleum products.

Keywords: alternative fuels, CNG (Compressed Natural Gas), CNG stations, LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas), NGVs (Natural Gas Vehicles), pollutant emissions

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19247 The Investment of Islamic Education Values toward Children in the Early Age through Story-Telling Method

Authors: Abdul Rofiq Badril Rizal Muzammil

Abstract:

Education is an absolute necessity for human’s life that one must fulfill for the entire life. Without education it is impossible for human to develop her/himself well. The education process is an effort to maintain a good behavior within one’s life. Good behavior will be absolutely achieved if it is taught to early-aged children. This paper focuses on how the story telling method enables teachers to make the students have the construction of good behavior and obtain the goal of national education in Indonesia. The targeted students would involve students in As-Solihin kindergarten, Salafiyah-Syafi’iyah Mumbulsari, Jember, Indonesia. Story is what early-aged children like most. Thus, it is a gorgeous chance to make story telling activity as a method to invest Islamic education values to children. This paper, however, also focuses on some deliberately important aspects which of course teachers need to consider including objectives and strategies of the method’s implementation. The teachers will be in need of knowing each student’s characteristic in the classroom so that it would enable them to select appropriate stories that fit best to early aged students. The selected stories are taken from Islamic stories that tell the life of Prophet and heroes of Islam as well as well-known persons in Islam. In addition, there will be a number of activities done in the classroom after the delivery of the story is over on purpose of leading students to have the fundamental foundation of how to build self-awareness in order they could understand better about the importance of being a well-behaved person. After reviewing relevant theories, secondary research and scholars’ opinion involved in all aspects of early-aged children behavior, the author concludes that by leveraging trusted sources, a proactive, co-operative and creative strategy, the teacher can successfully build up children’s good behavior by instilling the Islamic value toward early-aged children through story telling method.

Keywords: story, Islam, children, early age

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19246 Importance of Women Education: Mother To Be Education in Order to Brighten Future Generation’s Foredoom

Authors: Ummi Sholihah Pertiwi Abidin, Eva Fadhilah

Abstract:

Social changes are more and more growing and having many different forms as the time passed and thought methods in the society. One of many forms of that social changes is the emancipation of women that is flourishing by the inception of gender equality perception between men and women in all aspects including education. It’s not anymore found the distinction between genders in learning and the education achieving right at this globalized era. But, it is still many perceptions which are against that equality of education achieving right, either come from the women’s selves or many external factors. They assumed that they are going to be a mother in the future, and a wife, someone with responsible for taking care of the household and everything inside, while the husband is the one who has the responsible for looking for the living. So comes from this kind of assumption, the perception against the education equality between genders, which means there is no need for them –women- to achieve the high education because they will still end up as housewives. Except those working or career women that need high education to support their works. These women are not aware that even a mother needs the high and capable education. Because, as the 'mother to be,' they surely need broad knowledge from the education to educate their children in the future. It is such a big fault to say the kind of thing, 'It is no matter that I am not educated, in case I’m just a housewife. The important thing is my children get a great education'. Unfortunately, it is still often found, saying 'A housewife job is not a big deal to do with high education.' This qualitative method paper raises a theme about the importance of education for women, no matter what will they be in the future. Because however, and whatever is the woman’s career outside the house, or even not working outside, she’s still a mother for her children, and 'educational provision' is a great need. And so forth, this educational provision is a big deal to do with future generation’s foredoom, regarding the first source of children’s knowledge and the first school for them is their mother.

Keywords: women education, mother to be, educational provision, first school, future generation’s foredoom

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19245 Early Education Assessment Methods

Authors: Anantdeep Kaur, Sharanjeet Singh

Abstract:

Early childhood education and assessment of children is a very essential tool that helps them in their growth and development. Techniques should be developed, and tools should be created in this field as it is a very important learning phase of life. Some information and sources are included for student assessment to provide a record of growth in all developmental areas cognitive, physical, Language, social-emotional, and approaches to learning. As an early childhood educator, it is very important to identify children who need special support and counseling to improve them because they are not mentally mature to discuss with the teacher their problems and needs. It is the duty and responsibility of the educator to assess children from their body language, behavior, and their routine actions about their skills that can be improved and which can take them forward in their future life. And also, children should be assessed with their weaker points because this is the right time to correct them, and they be improved with certain methods and tools by working on them constantly. Observing children regularly with all their facets of development, including intellectual, linguistic, social-emotional, and physical development. Every day, a physical education class should be regulated to check their physical growth activities, which can help to assess their physical activeness and motor abilities. When they are outside on the playgrounds, it is very important to instill environmental understanding among them so that they should know that they are very part of this nature, and it will help them to be one with the universe rather than feeling themselves individually. This technique assists them in living their childhood full of energy all the time. All types of assessments have unique purposes. It is important first to determine what should be measured, then find the program that best assesses those.

Keywords: special needs, motor ability, environmental understanding, physical development

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19244 Combating Contraflow to Creativity Amongst Preservice Teachers in Teacher Arts Education

Authors: Michael Flannery, Annie ó Breacháin

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Teaching the creative arts in preservice teacher education can be challenging. Some students find artistic self-expression and its related creative processes overwhelming. Low creative self-efficacy levels and creative habits of mind can impede their levels of motivation, engagement and persistence. For some, creative arts engagement can induce a state of anxiety and distress as opposed to flow. Flow theory posits that learners are happiest when they are learning in a state of flow. During the flow state, students feel, think and perform their best. They become so involved in the learning experience that nothing else seems to matter. The creative flow state is a crucial conduit of artistic processes to enable learners to explore and produce their best work. Despite the research conducted on flow state across several contexts, the phenomenon of personal flow state remains quite elusive. While some research has examined flow in relation to characteristics, conditions and personality traits, no research has investigated individuals' personal experiences of flow in a visual and tangible manner nor explored a relationship between flow state and teachers’ artistic development. This explorative case study explores preservice teachers’ impressions of flow using an arts-based approach. It identifies, categorizes and discusses patterns of commonality and difference. Grounded by theory concerning flow, self-efficacy and creative habits, this study ponders how emerging findings regarding flow impressions might aid teacher arts educators in helping preservice teachers who struggle with creative self-expression.

Keywords: creative arts, flow theory, presence, self-efficacy, teacher education

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19243 Evaluation of the Mechanical and Microstructural Properties of Sustainable Concrete Exposed to Acid Solution

Authors: Adil Tamimi

Abstract:

Limestone powder is a natural material that is available in many parts of the world. In this research self-compacting concrete was designed and prepared using limestone powder. The resulted concrete was exposed to the hydrochloric acid solution and compared with reference concrete. Mechanical properties of both fresh and hardened concrete have been evaluated. Scanning Electron Microscopy “SEM” has been unitized to analyse the morphological development of the hydration products. In sulphuric acid solution, a large formation of gypsum was detected in both samples of self-compacting concrete and conventional concrete. The Higher amount of thaumasite and ettringite was also detected in the SCC sample. In hydrochloric acid solution, monochloroaluminate was detected.

Keywords: self-compacting concrete, mechanical properties, Scanning Electron Microscopy, acid solution

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19242 Mesoporous Carbon Ceramic SiO2/C Prepared by Sol-Gel Method and Modified with Cobalt Phthalocyanine and Used as an Electrochemical Sensor for Nitrite

Authors: Abdur Rahim, Lauro Tatsuo Kubota, Yoshitaka Gushikem

Abstract:

Carbon ceramic mesoporous SiO2/50wt%C (SBET= 170 m2g-1), where C is graphite, was prepared by the sol gel method. Scanning electron microscopy images and the respective element mapping showed that, within the magnification used, no phase segregation was detectable. It presented the electric conductivities of 0.49 S cm-1. This material was used to support cobalt phthalocyanine, prepared in situ, to assure a homogeneous dispersion of the electro active complex in the pores of the matrix. The surface density of cobalt phthalocyanine, on the matrix surfaces was 0.015 mol cm-2. Pressed disk, made with SiO2/50wt%C/CoPc, was used to fabricate an electrode and tested as sensors for nitrite determination by electro chemical technique. A linear response range between 0.039 and 0.42 mmol l−1,and correlation coefficient r=0.9996 was obtained. The electrode was chemically very stable and presented very high sensitivity for this analyte, with a limit of detection, LOD = 1.087 x 10-6 mol L-1.

Keywords: SiO2/C/CoPc, sol-gel method, electrochemical sensor, nitrite oxidation, carbon ceramic material, cobalt phthalocyanine

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19241 On the Hirota Bilinearization of Fokas-Lenells Equation to Obtain Bright N-Soliton Solution

Authors: Sagardeep Talukdar, Gautam Kumar Saharia, Riki Dutta, Sudipta Nandy

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In non-linear optics, the Fokas-Lenells equation (FLE) is a well-known integrable equation that describes how ultrashort pulses move across optical fiber. It admits localized wave solutions, just like any other integrable equation. We apply the Hirota bilinearization method to obtain the soliton solution of FLE. The proposed bilinearization makes use of an auxiliary function. We apply the method to FLE with a vanishing boundary condition, that is, to obtain bright soliton. We have obtained bright 1-soliton, 2-soliton solutions and propose the scheme for obtaining N-soliton solution. We have used an additional parameter which is responsible for the shift in the position of the soliton. Further analysis of the 2-soliton solution is done by asymptotic analysis. We discover that the suggested bilinearization approach, which makes use of the auxiliary function, greatly simplifies the process while still producing the desired outcome. We think that the current analysis will be helpful in understanding how FLE is used in nonlinear optics and other areas of physics.

Keywords: asymptotic analysis, fokas-lenells equation, hirota bilinearization method, soliton

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19240 Application of the Least Squares Method in the Adjustment of Chlorodifluoromethane (HCFC-142b) Regression Models

Authors: L. J. de Bessa Neto, V. S. Filho, J. V. Ferreira Nunes, G. C. Bergamo

Abstract:

There are many situations in which human activities have significant effects on the environment. Damage to the ozone layer is one of them. The objective of this work is to use the Least Squares Method, considering the linear, exponential, logarithmic, power and polynomial models of the second degree, to analyze through the coefficient of determination (R²), which model best fits the behavior of the chlorodifluoromethane (HCFC-142b) in parts per trillion between 1992 and 2018, as well as estimates of future concentrations between 5 and 10 periods, i.e. the concentration of this pollutant in the years 2023 and 2028 in each of the adjustments. A total of 809 observations of the concentration of HCFC-142b in one of the monitoring stations of gases precursors of the deterioration of the ozone layer during the period of time studied were selected and, using these data, the statistical software Excel was used for make the scatter plots of each of the adjustment models. With the development of the present study, it was observed that the logarithmic fit was the model that best fit the data set, since besides having a significant R² its adjusted curve was compatible with the natural trend curve of the phenomenon.

Keywords: chlorodifluoromethane (HCFC-142b), ozone, least squares method, regression models

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19239 Dynamic Environmental Impact Study during the Construction of the French Nuclear Power Plants

Authors: A. Er-Raki, D. Hartmann, J. P. Belaud, S. Negny

Abstract:

This paper has a double purpose: firstly, a literature review of the life cycle analysis (LCA) and secondly a comparison between conventional (static) LCA and multi-level dynamic LCA on the following items: (i) inventories evolution with time (ii) temporal evolution of the databases. The first part of the paper summarizes the state of the art of the static LCA approach. The different static LCA limits have been identified and especially the non-consideration of the spatial and temporal evolution in the inventory, for the characterization factors (FCs) and into the databases. Then a description of the different levels of integration of the notion of temporality in life cycle analysis studies was made. In the second part, the dynamic inventory has been evaluated firstly for a single nuclear plant and secondly for the entire French nuclear power fleet by taking into account the construction durations of all the plants. In addition, the databases have been adapted by integrating the temporal variability of the French energy mix. Several iterations were used to converge towards the real environmental impact of the energy mix. Another adaptation of the databases to take into account the temporal evolution of the market data of the raw material was made. An identification of the energy mix of the time studied was based on an extrapolation of the production reference values of each means of production. An application to the construction of the French nuclear power plants from 1971 to 2000 has been performed, in which a dynamic inventory of raw material has been evaluated. Then the impacts were characterized by the ILCD 2011 characterization method. In order to compare with a purely static approach, a static impact assessment was made with the V 3.4 Ecoinvent data sheets without adaptation and a static inventory considering that all the power stations would have been built at the same time. Finally, a comparison between static and dynamic LCA approaches was set up to determine the gap between them for each of the two levels of integration. The results were analyzed to identify the contribution of the evolving nuclear power fleet construction to the total environmental impacts of the French energy mix during the same period. An equivalent strategy using a dynamic approach will further be applied to identify the environmental impacts that different scenarios of the energy transition could bring, allowing to choose the best energy mix from an environmental viewpoint.

Keywords: LCA, static, dynamic, inventory, construction, nuclear energy, energy mix, energy transition

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19238 The Spectroscopic, Molecular Structure and Electrostatic Potential, Polarizability, Hyperpolarizability, and HOMO–LUMO Analysis of Monomeric and Dimeric Structures of N-(2-Methylphenyl)-2-Nitrobenzenesulfonamide

Authors: A. Didaoui, N. Benhalima, M. Elkeurti, A. Chouaih, F. Hamzaoui

Abstract:

The monomer and dimer structures of the title molecule have been obtained from density functional theory (DFT) B3LYP method with 6-31G(d,p) as basis set calculations. The optimized geometrical parameters obtained by B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) method show good agreement with experimental X-ray data. The polarizability and first order hyperpolarizability of the title molecule were calculated and interpreted. The intermolecular N–H•••O hydrogen bonds are discussed in dimer structure of the molecule. The vibrational wave numbers and their assignments were examined theoretically using the Gaussian 03 set of quantum chemistry codes. The predicted frontier molecular orbital energies at B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) method set show that charge transfer occurs within the molecule. The frontier molecular orbital calculations clearly show the inverse relationship of HOMO–LUMO gap with the total static hyperpolarizability. The results also show that N-(2-Methylphenyl)-2-nitrobenzenesulfonamide molecule may have nonlinear optical (NLO) comportment with non-zero values.

Keywords: DFT, Gaussian 03, NLO, N-(2-Methylphenyl)-2-nitrobenzenesulfonamide, polarizability

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19237 Preserving Digital Arabic Text Integrity Using Blockchain Technology

Authors: Zineb Touati Hamad, Mohamed Ridda Laouar, Issam Bendib

Abstract:

With the massive development of technology today, the Arabic language has gained a prominent position among the languages most used for writing articles, expressing opinions, and also for citing in many websites, defying its growing sensitivity in terms of structure, language skills, diacritics, writing methods, etc. In the context of the spread of the Arabic language, the Holy Quran represents the most prevalent Arabic text today in many applications and websites for citation purposes or for the reading and learning rituals. The Quranic verses / surahs are published quickly and without cost, which may cause great concern to ensure the safety of the content from tampering and alteration. To protect the content of texts from distortion, it is necessary to refer to the original database and conduct a comparison process to extract the percentage of distortion. The disadvantage of this method is that it takes time, in addition to the lack of any guarantee on the integrity of the database itself as it belongs to one central party. Blockchain technology today represents the best way to maintain immutable content. Blockchain is a distributed database that stores information in blocks linked to each other through encryption, where the modification of each block can be easily known. To exploit these advantages, we seek in this paper to justify the use of this technique in preserving the integrity of Arabic texts sensitive to change by building a decentralized framework to authenticate and verify the integrity of the digital Quranic verses/surahs spread on websites.

Keywords: arabic text, authentication, blockchain, integrity, quran, verification

Procedia PDF Downloads 147
19236 Culturally Relevant Pedagogy: A Cross-Cultural Comparison

Authors: Medha Talpade, Salil Talpade

Abstract:

The intent of this quantitative project was to compare the values and perceptions of students from a predominantly white college (PWI) to those from a historically black college (HBCU) about culturally relevant teaching and learning practices in the academic realm. The reason for interrelating student culture with teaching practices is to enable a pedagogical response to the low retention rates of African American students and first generation Caucasian students in high schools, colleges, and their low rates of social mobility and educational achievement. Culturally relevant pedagogy, according to related research, is deemed rewarding to students, teachers, the local and national community. Critical race theory (CRT) is the main framework used in this project to explain the ubiquity of a culturally relevant pedagogy. The purpose of this quantitative study was to test the critical race theory that relates the presence of the factors associated with culturally relevant teaching strategies with perceived relevance. The culturally relevant teaching strategies were identified based on the recommendations and findings of past research. Participants in this study included approximately 145 students from a HBCU and 55 students from the PWI. A survey consisting of 37 items related to culturally relevant pedagogy was administered. The themes used to construct the items were: Use of culturally-specific examples in class whenever possible; use of culturally-specific presentational models, use of relational reinforcers, and active engagement. All the items had a likert-type response scale. Participants reported their degree of agreement (5-point scale ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree) and importance (3-point scale ranging from not at all important to very important) with each survey item. A new variable, Relevance was formed based on the multiplicative function of importance and presence of a teaching and learning strategy. A set of six demographic questions were included in the survey. A consent form based on NIH and APA ethical standards was distributed prior to survey administration to the volunteers. Results of a Factor Analyses on the data from the PWI and the HBCU, and a ANOVA indicated significant differences on ‘Relevance’ related to specific themes. Results of this study are expected to inform educational practices and improve teaching and learning outcomes.

Keywords: culturally relevant pedagogy, college students, cross-cultural, applied psychology

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19235 Machine Learning for Rational Decision-Making: Introducing Creativity to Teachers within a School System

Authors: Larry Audet

Abstract:

Creativity is suddenly and fortunately a new educational focus in the United Arab Emirates and around the world. Yet still today many leaders of creativity are not sure how to introduce it to their teachers. It is impossible to simultaneously introduce every aspect of creativity into a work climate and reach any degree of organizational coherence. The number of alternatives to explore is so great; the information teachers need to learn is so vast, that even an approximation to including every concept and theory of creativity into the school organization is hard to conceive. Effective leaders of creativity need evidence-based and practical guidance for introducing and stimulating creativity in others. Machine learning models reveal new findings from KEYS Survey© data about teacher perceptions of stimulants and barriers to their individual and collective creativity. Findings from predictive and causal models provide leaders with a rational for decision-making when introducing creativity into their organization. Leaders should focus on management practices first. Analyses reveal that creative outcomes are more likely to occur when teachers perceive supportive management practices: providing teachers with challenging work that calls for their best efforts; allowing freedom and autonomy in their practice of work; allowing teachers to form creative work-groups; and, recognizing them for their efforts. Once management practices are in place, leaders should focus their efforts on modeling risk-taking, providing optimal amounts of preparation time, and evaluating teachers fairly.

Keywords: creativity, leadership, KEYS survey, teaching, work climate

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19234 A Practical and Theoretical Study on the Electromotor Bearing Defect Detection in a Wet Mill Using the Vibration Analysis Method and Defect Length Calculation in the Bearing

Authors: Mostafa Firoozabadi, Alireza Foroughi Nematollahi

Abstract:

Wet mills are one of the most important equipment in the mining industries and any defect occurrence in them can stop the production line and it can make some irrecoverable damages to the system. Electromotors are the significant parts of a mill and their monitoring is a necessary process to prevent unwanted defects. The purpose of this study is to investigate the Electromotor bearing defects, theoretically and practically, using the vibration analysis method. When a defect happens in a bearing, it can be transferred to the other parts of the equipment like inner ring, outer ring, balls, and the bearing cage. The electromotor defects source can be electrical or mechanical. Sometimes, the electrical and mechanical defect frequencies are modulated and the bearing defect detection becomes difficult. In this paper, to detect the electromotor bearing defects, the electrical and mechanical defect frequencies are extracted firstly. Then, by calculating the bearing defect frequencies, and the spectrum and time signal analysis, the bearing defects are detected. In addition, the obtained frequency determines that the bearing level in which the defect has happened and by comparing this level to the standards it determines the bearing remaining lifetime. Finally, the defect length is calculated by theoretical equations to demonstrate that there is no need to replace the bearing. The results of the proposed method, which has been implemented on the wet mills in the Golgohar mining and industrial company in Iran, show that this method is capable of detecting the electromotor bearing defects accurately and on time.

Keywords: bearing defect length, defect frequency, electromotor defects, vibration analysis

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19233 Establishing Control Chart Limits for Rounded Measurements

Authors: Ran Etgar

Abstract:

The process of rounding off measurements in continuous variables is commonly encountered. Although it usually has minor effects, sometimes it can lead to poor outcomes in statistical process control using X̄ chart. The traditional control limits can cause incorrect conclusions if applied carelessly. This study looks into the limitations of classical control limits, particularly the impact of asymmetry. An approach to determining the distribution function of the measured parameter ȳ is presented, resulting in a more precise method to establish the upper and lower control limits. The proposed method, while slightly more complex than Shewhart's original idea, is still user-friendly and accurate and only requires the use of two straightforward tables.

Keywords: SPC, round-off data, control limit, rounding error

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19232 Impact of Using Peer Instruction and PhET Simulations on the Motivation and Physics Anxiety

Authors: Jaypee Limueco

Abstract:

This research focused on the impact of Peer Instruction and PhET Simulations on the level of motivation and Physics anxiety of Grade 9 students. Two groups of students were used in the study. The experimental group involved 65 registered students while the control group has 64 registered students. To determine the level of motivation of students in learning physics, the Physics Motivation Questionnaire was administered. On the other hand, to determine the level of Physics anxiety of the students in each group, Physics Anxiety Rating Scale was used. Peer Instruction supplemented with PhET simulations was implemented in the experimental group while the traditional lecture method was used in the control group. Both instruments were again administered after the implementation of the two different teaching approaches. “Wilcoxon Signed Rank test” was used to test the significant difference between pretest and posttest of each group. “Mann Whitney U” was used to test if significant differences exist between each group before and after instruction. Results showed that there is no significant difference between the level of motivation and anxiety of the experimental and control group before the implementation at p<0.05 significance level. It implies that the students have the same level of motivation and physics anxiety before instruction. However, the results of both tests have significant differences between the groups after instruction. It is also found that there is a significant positive change in the responses of the students in the experimental group while no change was evident on the control. The result of the analysis of the Mann Whitney U shows that the change in the attributes of the students is caused by the treatment. Therefore, it is concluded that Peer Instruction and PhET simulation helped in alleviating motivation of students and minimizing their anxiety towards Physics.

Keywords: anxiety, motivation, peer instruction, PhET simulations

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19231 Effectiveness of Working Memory Training on Cognitive Flexibility

Authors: Leila Maleki, Ezatollah Ahmadi

Abstract:

The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of memory training exercise on cognitive flexibility. The method of this study was experimental. The statistical population selected 40 students 14 years old, samples were chosen by available sampling method and then they were replaced in experimental (training program) group and control group randomly and answered to Wisconsin Card Sorting Test; covariance test results indicated that there were a significant in post-test scores of experimental group (p<0.005).

Keywords: cognitive flexibility, working memory exercises, problem solving, reaction time

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19230 Implementation of Fuzzy Version of Block Backward Differentiation Formulas for Solving Fuzzy Differential Equations

Authors: Z. B. Ibrahim, N. Ismail, K. I. Othman

Abstract:

Fuzzy Differential Equations (FDEs) play an important role in modelling many real life phenomena. The FDEs are used to model the behaviour of the problems that are subjected to uncertainty, vague or imprecise information that constantly arise in mathematical models in various branches of science and engineering. These uncertainties have to be taken into account in order to obtain a more realistic model and many of these models are often difficult and sometimes impossible to obtain the analytic solutions. Thus, many authors have attempted to extend or modified the existing numerical methods developed for solving Ordinary Differential Equations (ODEs) into fuzzy version in order to suit for solving the FDEs. Therefore, in this paper, we proposed the development of a fuzzy version of three-point block method based on Block Backward Differentiation Formulas (FBBDF) for the numerical solution of first order FDEs. The three-point block FBBDF method are implemented in uniform step size produces three new approximations simultaneously at each integration step using the same back values. Newton iteration of the FBBDF is formulated and the implementation is based on the predictor and corrector formulas in the PECE mode. For greater efficiency of the block method, the coefficients of the FBBDF are stored at the start of the program. The proposed FBBDF is validated through numerical results on some standard problems found in the literature and comparisons are made with the existing fuzzy version of the Modified Simpson and Euler methods in terms of the accuracy of the approximated solutions. The numerical results show that the FBBDF method performs better in terms of accuracy when compared to the Euler method when solving the FDEs.

Keywords: block, backward differentiation formulas, first order, fuzzy differential equations

Procedia PDF Downloads 305