Search results for: consideration

Authors: Mete Ulaş Aksoy

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In contemporary politics, the state of emergency has become a permanent and salient feature of politics. This study aims to clarify the anthropological and ontological dimensions of the permanent state of emergency. It pays special attention to the structural relation between the exception and play. Focusing on the play in the context of emergency and exception enables the recognition of the difference and sometimes the discrepancy between the exception and emergency, which has passed into oblivion because of the frequency and normalization of emergency situations. This study coins the term “ludic exception” in order to highlight the difference between the exceptions in which exuberance and paroxysm rule over the socio-political life and the permanent emergency that protects the authority with a sort of extra-legality. The main thesis of the study is that the ludic elements such as risk, conspicuous consumption, sacrificial gestures, agonism, etc. circumscribe the exceptional moments temporarily, preventing them from being routine and normal. The study also emphasizes the decline of ludic elements in modernity as the main factor in the transformation of the exceptions into permanent emergency situations. In the introduction, the relationship between play and exception is taken into consideration. In the second part, the study elucidates the concept of ludic exceptions and dwells on the anthropological examples of the ludic exceptions. In the last part, the decline of ludic elements in modernity is addressed as the main factor for the permanent emergency.

Keywords: emergency, exception, ludic exception, play, sovereignty

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Authors: Mustafa S. Agha, Asma M. Eshahriy

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The propagation of electromagnetic waves in millimeter band is severely affected by rain, and dust particles in terms of attenuation and de-polarization. The computations of dust and/or sand storms require knowledge of electrical properties of the scattering particles and climate conditions at the studied region in the west north region of Libya. (Al -Khoms) To compute the effect of dust and sand particles on the propagation of electromagnetic waves, it is required to collect the sand particles carried out by the wind, measure the particles size distribution (PSD), calculate the concentration, and carry chemical analysis of the contents, then the dielectric constant can be calculated. The main object of this paper is to study the effect of sand and dust storms on wireless communication, such as microwave links, in the north region of Libya (Al -Khoms) of Libya (Nagaza stations, Al-khoms center stations, Al-khoms gateway stations) by determining of the attenuation loss per unit length and cross-polarization discrimination (XPD) change due to the effect of sand and dust storms on wireless communication systems (GSM signal). The result showed that there is some consideration that has to be taken into account in the communication power budget .

Keywords: attenuation, scattering, transmission loss, electromagnetic waves

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Authors: Mohammad Kargar Shouraki, Naji Yazdi, Mohsen Emami

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The environmental and social challenges have caused the organizations to put further attention and emphasis on sustainable growth and developing strategies for sustainability. Since human is both the target of development and the agent of development at the same time, one of the most important factors in the development of the sustainability strategy in organizations is the human factor. In addition, organizations have been facing the new challenge of digital transformation which impacts the human factor, meanwhile, undeniably, the human factor contributes to such transformation. Therefore, organizations are facing the challenge of digital human resource management (HRM). Thus, the present study aims to investigate how an HRM model should be so that it not only can help the consideration and of the business sustainability requirements but also can make the highest and the most appropriate positive, not destructive, utilization of the digital transformations. Furthermore, the success of the HRM regarding the two sustainability and digital transformation challenges requires dynamic human competencies, which are addressed as digital/sustainable human dynamic capabilities in this paper. The present study is conducted using a hybrid methodology consisting of the qualitative methods of meta-synthesis and content analysis and the quantitative method of interpretive-structural model (ISM). Finally, a rotatory model, including 3 approaches, 3 perspectives, and 9 dimensions, is presented.

Keywords: sustainable human resource management, digital human resource management, digital/sustainable human dynamic capabilities, talent management

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Authors: Leyla Yesilbas, M. Sukru Ozcoban, M. Ergenekon Selcuk

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From past to present, there is a constant need for engineering structures such as high-rise buildings, wide-span bridges, airports and stadiums, business towers due to technological developments and increasing population. Because of the large loads transferred from the superstructure to the ground layers in these types of structures, the bearing strength and seating problems usually occur on the floors. In order to solve these problems, piled foundations are used by passing the weak soil layers and transferring the loads from the superstructure to the solid soil layers. Considering the factors such as the characteristics of the building to be constructed, the purpose and location of the building, the basic cost of the pile should be at normal levels. When these requirements are taken into consideration, a new basic system called 'Barette Foundation' has been developed. In this thesis, an application made to provide slope stability with 'Baret Piles' was investigated. In addition, the ground parameters obtained from the field and laboratory experiments were numerically modeled using a PLAXİS 2D finite element software and barette piles. The effects of barette piles on slope stability were investigated by numerical analysis, and the results of inclinometer measurements in the field were compared with numerical analysis results.

Keywords: barette pile, PLAXİS 2D, slope, soil

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Authors: Abdelmalk Brahma

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Drying is a phenomenon that accompanies the hardening of hydraulic materials. It can, if it is not prevented, lead to significant spontaneous dimensional variations, which the cracking is one of events. In this context, cracking promotes the transport of aggressive agents in the material, which can affect the durability of concrete structures. Drying shrinkage develops over a long period almost 30 years although most occurred during the first three years. Drying shrinkage stabilizes when the material is water balance with the external environment. The drying shrinkage of cementitious materials is due to the formation of capillary tensions in the pores of the material, which has the consequences of bringing the solid walls of each other. Knowledge of the shrinkage characteristics of concrete is a necessary starting point in the design of structures for crack control. Such knowledge will enable the designer to estimate the probable shrinkage movement in reinforced or prestressed concrete and the appropriate steps can be taken in design to accommodate this movement. This study is concerned the modelling of drying shrinkage of the hydraulic materials and the prediction of the rate of spontaneous deformations of hydraulic materials during hardening. The model developed takes in consideration the main factors affecting drying shrinkage. There was agreement between drying shrinkage predicted by the developed model and experimental results. In last we show that developed model describe the evolution of the drying shrinkage of high performances concretes correctly.

Keywords: drying, hydraulic concretes, shrinkage, modeling, prediction

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Authors: Pejman Hosseinioun, Abolghasem Ghasempour, Elham Gholami, Hamed Sarbazi

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Considering the development in global semiconductor technology, it is anticipated that gadgets such as diodes and resonant transistor tunnels (RTD/RTT), Single electron transistors (SET) and quantum cellular automata (QCA) will substitute CMOS (Complementary Metallic Oxide Semiconductor) gadgets in many applications. Unfortunately, these new technologies cannot disembark the common Boolean logic efficiently and are only appropriate for liminal logic. Therefor there is no doubt that with the development of these new gadgets it is necessary to find new MacDraw technologies which are compatible with them. Resonant transistor tunnels (RTD/RTT) and circuit MacDraw with enhanced computing abilities are candida for accumulating Nano criterion in the future. Quantum cellular automata (QCA) are also advent Nano technological gadgets for electrical circuits. Advantages of these gadgets such as higher speed, smaller dimensions, and lower consumption loss are of great consideration. QCA are basic gadgets in manufacturing gates, fuses and memories. Regarding the complex Nano criterion physical entity, circuit designers can focus on logical and constructional design to decrease complication in MacDraw. Moreover Single electron technology (SET) is another noteworthy gadget considered in Nano technology. This article is a survey in future of Nano technology in digital MacDraw.

Keywords: nano technology, resonant transistor tunnels, quantum cellular automata, semiconductor

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Authors: Burcu Oksuz, Volkan Altıintas, Zulfiye Acar Senturk

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Though in the academic literature, it is emphasized that Public Relations (PR) should not be seen only as media relations, in practise, the media relations has a very dominant position at the communication studies carried out by many companies. There are many PR practitioners who have journalism background. However the number of the practitioners who have started to work in the sector after having PR education at the universities has been highly increasing. Therefore, it can be said that previous journalist dominance has diminished at the public relations sector in Turkey. However, by virtue of the fact that some companies and practitioners consider the media coverage the first priority of PR, this much is certain that the dominant position of media relations is ongoing. On the other hand, still many companies measure the success of their PR by how much place their companies have taken. This situation creates major pressure on the PR practitioners to have close relations with the media members and to make them write articles about their companies. Thereupon, PR practitioners have to take the time for the media relations and the media relations comes into prominence more than the other PR functions. The aim of this study is to reveal the PR functions at the companies and to evaluate the position of the media relations in the PR studies. Therefore, it is aimed to find out at what extend the discourse of “Public relations is not media relations” is accepted in practice and actualised. Accordingly, a research about 15 hotel enterprises which are located in the city of İzmir will be carried out. İzmir as one of the most important tourism destinations has many hotels. The PR/corporate communications managers will be interviewed profoundly within the scope of this study and PR functions performed by hotels will be discussed in details in consideration of the datum obtained.

Keywords: media relations, public relations, public relations practitioners, Turkey

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Authors: Suppawan Lertpongpakpoom, Anongnat Boonrat, Kunya BoontummoSuppawan

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This descriptive cost analysis aimed to analyze the unit cost of patients in medical intensive care unit. Purposive sampling was used to select 20 nurses, 6 practical nurses, 5 nurses aid and select samples 30 patients. Data were collected from both primary source (activity and average time of nursing care) and secondary source Z bill of payment and patient record). Instruments were cost recording form, activity observation form, and service recording form. Content validity of all instruments were evaluated by three experts (CVI = 0.87). Descriptive statistics was employed for data analysis. The results of the Activity-Based Costing Analysis showed that total activity cost of 4 service types for the patients was 14,776.92 Bath. The highest cost was nursing record was 5,674.78 Bath, followed direct nursing activity was 5,176.18 Bath, medical treatment was 1,976.6 Bath. The lowest cost was management activity was 1,003.64 Bath per visit. The result suggested that Activity-Base Costing Analysis could be applied to give better understanding of cost structure, enabling better consideration wasted expense and non-value-added activity, and improvement of effective utilization.

Keywords: activity-based costing, medical intensive care, nursing care, cost analysis

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Authors: Samuel Nii Tackie, Oyebade K. Oyedotun, Ebenezer O. Olaniyi, Adnan Khashman

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Artificial neural networks have been used in different fields of artificial intelligence, and more specifically in machine learning. Although, other machine learning options are feasible in most situations, but the ease with which neural networks lend themselves to different problems which include pattern recognition, image compression, classification, computer vision, regression etc. has earned it a remarkable place in the machine learning field. This research exploits neural networks as a data mining tool in predicting the number of times a student repeats a course, considering some attributes relating to the course itself, the teacher, and the particular student. Neural networks were used in this work to map the relationship between some attributes related to students’ course assessment and the number of times a student will possibly repeat a course before he passes. It is the hope that the possibility to predict students’ performance from such complex relationships can help facilitate the fine-tuning of academic systems and policies implemented in learning environments. To validate the power of neural networks in data mining, Turkish students’ performance database has been used; feedforward and radial basis function networks were trained for this task; and the performances obtained from these networks evaluated in consideration of achieved recognition rates and training time.

Keywords: artificial neural network, data mining, classification, students’ evaluation

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Authors: Narin Salehiyan

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The later sequencing of the complete genomes of Mycoplasma genitalium and M. pneumoniae has pulled in significant consideration to the atomic science of mycoplasmas, the littlest self-replicating living beings. It shows up that we are presently much closer to the objective of defining, in atomic terms, the complete apparatus of a self-replicating cell. Comparative genomics based on comparison of the genomic cosmetics of mycoplasmal genomes with those of other microbes, has opened better approaches of looking at the developmental history of the mycoplasmas. There's presently strong hereditary bolster for the speculation that mycoplasmas have advanced as a department of gram-positive microbes by a handle of reductive advancement. Amid this prepare, the mycoplasmas misplaced significant parcels of their ancestors’ chromosomes but held the qualities basic for life. In this way, the mycoplasmal genomes carry a tall rate of preserved qualities, incredibly encouraging quality comment. The critical genome compaction that happened in mycoplasmas was made conceivable by receiving a parasitic mode of life. The supply of supplements from their has clearly empowered mycoplasmas to lose, amid advancement, the qualities for numerous assimilative forms. Amid their advancement and adjustment to a parasitic mode of life, the mycoplasmas have created different hereditary frameworks giving a profoundly plastic set of variable surface proteins to avoid the have safe framework.

Keywords: mycoplasma, plasma, pathogen, genome

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Authors: Vhuhwavho Gadisi, Rebecca Alowo, German Nkhonjera

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It has been noted that technical programming for handling groundwater resources is not accessible. The lack of these systems hinders groundwater management processes necessary for decision-making through monitoring and evaluation regarding the Jukskei River of the Crocodile River (West) Basin in Johannesburg, South Africa. Several challenges have been identified in South Africa's Jukskei Catchment concerning groundwater management. Some of those challenges will include the following: Gaps in data records; there is a need for training and equipping of monitoring staff; formal accreditation of monitoring capacities and equipment; there is no access to regulation terms (e.g., meters). Taking into consideration necessities and human requirements as per typical densities in various regions of South Africa, there is a need to construct several groundwater level monitoring stations in a particular segment; the available raw data on groundwater level should be converted into consumable products for example, short reports on delicate areas (e.g., Dolomite compartments, wetlands, aquifers, and sole source) and considering the increasing civil unrest there has been vandalism and theft of groundwater monitoring infrastructure. GIS was employed at the catchment level to plot the relationship between those identified groundwater parameters in the catchment area and the identified borehole. GIS-based maps were designed for groundwater monitoring to be pretested on one borehole in the Jukskei catchment. This data will be used to establish changes in the borehole compared to changes in the catchment area according to identified parameters.

Keywords: GIS, monitoring, Jukskei, catchment

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Authors: Anand Ankush, Wani Mohammed Farooq

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A procedure based on digraph and matrix method is developed for modelling and evaluation of sustainability of Mechanical System in a concurrent engineering environment.The sustainability parameters of a Mechanical System are identified and are called sustainability attributes. Consideration of attributes and their interrelations is rudiment in modeling and evaluation of sustainability index. Sustainability attributes of a Mechanical System are modelled in termsof sustainability digraph. The graph is represented by a one-to-one matrix for sustainability expression which is based on sustainability attributes. A variable sustainability relationship permanent matrix is defined to develop sustainability expression(VPF-t) which is also useful in comparing two systems in a concurrent environment. The sustainability index of Mechanical System is obtained from permanent of matrix by substituting the numerical values of attributes and their interrelations. A higher value of index implies better sustainability of system.The ideal value of index is obtained from matrix expression which is useful in assessing relative sustainability of a Mechanical System in a concurrent engineering environment. The procedure is not only useful for evaluation of sustainability of a Mechanical System at conceptual design stage but can also be used for design and development of systems at system design stage. A step-by-step procedure for evaluation of sustainability index is also suggested and is illustrated by means of an example.

Keywords: digraph, matrix method, mechanical system, sustainability

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Authors: Mireille Elhajj, Washington Ochieng, Deeph Chana

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The challenges of the rapid growth in the demand for transport has traditionally been seen within the context of the problems of congestion, air quality, climate change, safety, and affordability. However, there are increasing threats including those related to crime such as cyber-attacks that threaten the security of the transport of people and goods. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper presents for the first time, a comprehensive framework for the assessment of the current and future security issues of multi-modal transport systems. The approach or method proposed is based on a structured framework starting with a detailed specification of the transport asset map (transport system architecture), followed by the identification of vulnerabilities. The asset map and vulnerabilities are used to identify the various approaches for exploitation of the vulnerabilities, leading to the creation of a set of threat scenarios. The threat scenarios are then transformed into risks and their categories, and include insights for their mitigation. The consideration of the mitigation space is holistic and includes the formulation of appropriate policies and tactics and/or technical interventions. The quality of the framework is ensured through a structured and logical process that identifies the stakeholders, reviews the relevant documents including policies and identifies gaps, incorporates targeted surveys to augment the reviews, and uses subject matter experts for validation. The approach to categorising security risks is an extension of the current methods that are typically employed. Specifically, the partitioning of risks into either physical or cyber categories is too limited for developing mitigation policies and tactics/interventions for transport systems where an interplay between physical and cyber processes is very often the norm. This interplay is rapidly taking on increasing significance for security as the emergence of cyber-physical technologies, are shaping the future of all transport modes. Examples include: Connected Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs) in road transport; the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) in rail transport; Automatic Identification System (AIS) in maritime transport; advanced Communications, Navigation and Surveillance (CNS) technologies in air transport; and the Internet of Things (IoT). The framework adopts a risk categorisation scheme that considers risks as falling within the following threat→impact relationships: Physical→Physical, Cyber→Cyber, Cyber→Physical, and Physical→Cyber). Thus the framework enables a more complete risk picture to be developed for today’s transport systems and, more importantly, is readily extendable to account for emerging trends in the sector that will define future transport systems. The framework facilitates the audit and retro-fitting of mitigations in current transport operations and the analysis of security management options for the next generation of Transport enabling strategic aspirations such as systems with security-by-design and co-design of safety and security to be achieved. An initial application of the framework to transport systems has shown that intra-modal consideration of security measures is sub-optimal and that a holistic and multi-modal approach that also addresses the intersections/transition points of such networks is required as their vulnerability is high. This is in-line with traveler-centric transport service provision, widely accepted as the future of mobility services. In summary, a risk-based framework is proposed for use by the stakeholders to comprehensively and holistically assess the security of transport systems. It requires a detailed understanding of the transport architecture to enable a detailed vulnerabilities analysis to be undertaken, creates threat scenarios and transforms them into risks which form the basis for the formulation of interventions.

Keywords: mitigations, risk, transport, security, vulnerabilities

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Authors: Hongmeng Su, Luyu Zhao, Yanyan Qian, Hong Fan

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Aim: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignant tumors that endanger human health seriously. RNA methylation, especially N6-methyladenosine (m⁶A) and 5-methylcytosine (m⁵C), a crucial epigenetic transcriptional regulatory mechanism, plays an important role in tumorigenesis, progression and prognosis. This research aims to systematically evaluate the prognostic value of m⁶A and m⁵C modulators in HCC patients. Methods: Twenty-four modulators of m⁶A and m⁵C were candidates to analyze their expression level and their contribution to predict the prognosis of HCC. Consensus clustering analysis was applied to classify HCC patients. Cox and LASSO regression were used to construct the risk model. According to the risk score, HCC patients were divided into high-risk and low/medium-risk groups. The clinical pathology factors of HCC patients were analyzed by univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis. Results: The HCC patients were classified into 2 clusters with significant differences in overall survival and clinical characteristics. Nine-gene risk model was constructed including METTL3, VIRMA, YTHDF1, YTHDF2, NOP2, NSUN4, NSUN5, DNMT3A and ALYREF. It was indicated that the risk score could serve as an independent prognostic factor for patients with HCC. Conclusion: This study constructed a Nine-gene risk model by modulators of m⁶A and m⁵C and investigated its effect on the clinical prognosis of HCC. This model may provide important consideration for the therapeutic strategy and prognosis evaluation analysis of patients with HCC.

Keywords: hepatocellular carcinoma, m⁶A, m⁵C, prognosis, RNA methylation

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Authors: Adil Balla Elkrail

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Visual MODFLOW computer codes were selected to simulate head distribution, calculate the groundwater budgets of the area, and evaluate the effect of external stresses on the groundwater head and to demonstrate how the groundwater model can be used as a comparative technique in order to optimize utilization of the groundwater resource. A conceptual model of the study area, aquifer parameters, boundary, and initial conditions were used to simulate the flow model. The trial-and-error technique was used to calibrate the model. The most important criteria used to check the calibrated model were Root Mean Square error (RMS), Mean Absolute error (AM), Normalized Root Mean Square error (NRMS) and mass balance. The maps of the simulated heads elaborated acceptable model calibration compared to observed heads map. A time length of eight years and the observed heads of the year 2004 were used for model prediction. The predictive simulation showed that the continuation of pumping will cause relatively high changes in head distribution and components of groundwater budget whereas, the low deficit computed (7122 m3/d) between inflows and outflows cannot create a significant drawdown of the potentiometric level. Hence, the area under consideration may represent a high permeability and productive zone and strongly recommended for further groundwater development.

Keywords: aquifers, model simulation, groundwater, calibrations, trail-and- error, prediction

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Authors: A. Esra İdemen, Sinan M. Şener, Emrah Acar

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The technological paradigm of the disaster management field, especially in the case of governmental intervention strategies, is generally based on rapid and flexible accommodation solutions. From various technical solution patterns used to address the immediate housing needs of disaster victims, the adaptive re-use of existing buildings can be considered to be both low-cost and practical. However, there is a scarcity of analytical methods to screen, select and adapt buildings to help decision makers in cases of emergency. Following an extensive literature review, this paper aims to highlight key points and problem areas associated with the adaptive re-use of buildings within the disaster management context. In other disciplines such as real estate management, the adaptive re-use potential (ARP) of existing buildings is typically based on the prioritization of a set of technical and non-technical criteria which are then weighted to arrive at an economically viable investment decision. After a disaster, however, the assessment of the ARP of buildings requires consideration of different/additional layers of analysis which stem from general disaster management principles and the peculiarities of different types of disasters, as well as of their victims. In this paper, a discussion of the development of an adaptive re-use potential (ARP) assessment model is presented. It is thought that governmental and non-governmental decision makers who are required to take quick decisions to accommodate displaced masses following disasters are likely to benefit from the implementation of such a model.

Keywords: adaptive re-use of buildings, disaster management, temporary housing, assessment model

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Authors: A. Elbaz, K. Spang

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Infrastructure projects are often subjected to delays and cost overruns and mistakenly described as unsuccessful projects. These projects have many peculiarities such as public attention, impact on the environment, subjected to special regulations, etc. They also deal with several stakeholders with different motivations and face unique risks. With this in mind we need to reconsider our approach to manage them, define their success factors and implement these success factors. Infrastructure projects are not only lacking a unified meaning of project success or a definition of success factors, but also a clear method to implement these factors. This paper investigates this gap and introduces a concept to implement success factors in an efficient way, taking into consideration the specific characteristics of infrastructure projects. This concept consists of six enablers such as project organization, project team, project management workflow, contract management, communication and knowledge transfer and project documentations. These enablers allow other success factors to be efficiently implemented in projects. In conclusion, this paper provides project managers as well as company managers with a tool to define and implement success factors efficiently in their projects, along with upgrading their assets for the coming projects. This tool consists of processes and validated checklists to ensure the best use of company resources and knowledge. Due to the special features of infrastructure projects this tool will be tested in the German infrastructure market. However, it is meant to be adaptable to other markets and industries.

Keywords: infrastructure projects, operative success factors, project success, success factors, transportation projects

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Authors: George Kamil Kamal Abdelnor

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Every major educational institution has incorporated diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) principles into its administrative, hiring, and pedagogical practices. Yet these DEI principles rarely incorporate explicit language or critical thinking about disability. Despite the fact that according to the World Health Organization, one in five people worldwide is disabled, making disabled people the larger minority group in the world, disability remains the neglected stepchild of DEI. Drawing on disability studies and crip theory frameworks, the underlying causes of this exclusion of disability from DEI, such as stigma, shame, invisible disabilities, institutionalization/segregation/delineation from family, and competing models and definitions of disability are examined. This paper explores both the ideological and practical shifts necessary to include disability in university DEI initiatives. It offers positive examples as well as conceptual frameworks such as 'divers ability' for so doing. Using Georgetown University’s 2020-2022 DEI initiatives as a case study, this paper describes how curricular infusion, accessibility, identity, community, and diversity administration infused one university’s DEI initiatives with concrete disability-inclusive measures. It concludes with a consideration of how the very framework of DEI itself might be challenged and transformed if disability were to be included.

Keywords: cognitive disability, cognitive diversity, disability, higher education disability, Standardized Index of Diversity of Disability (SIDD), differential and diversity in disability, 60+ population diversity, equity, inclusion, crip theory, accessibility

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Authors: Marwa M. Ibrahim

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The objective of this research is to study the technical and economic performance of wind/diesel/battery (W/D/B) off-grid system supplying a small remote gathering of four families using the HOMER software package. The second objective is to study the effect of wind energy system on the cost of generated electricity considering the cost of reducing CO₂ emissions as external benefit of wind turbines, no pollutant emission through the operational phase. The system consists of a small wind turbine, battery storage, and diesel generator. The electrical energy is to cater to the basic needs for which the daily load pattern is estimated at 8 kW peak. Net Present Cost (NPC) and Cost of Energy (COE) are used as economic criteria, while the measure of performance is % of power shortage. Technical and economic parameters are defined to estimate the feasibility of the system under study. Optimum system configurations are estimated for the selected site in Egypt. Using HOMER software, the simulation results shows that W/D/B systems are economical for the assumed community site as the price of generated electricity is about 0.285 $/kWh, without taking external benefits into considerations and 0.221 if CO₂ emissions taken into consideration W/D/B systems are more economical than alone diesel system as the COE is 0.432 $/kWh for diesel alone.

Keywords: renewable energy, hybrid energy system, on-off grid system, simulation, optimization and environmental impacts

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Authors: Doaa M. Atia, Faten H. Fahmy, Ninet M. A. El-Rahman, Hassan T. Dorra

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In this paper, the optimum design for renewable energy system powered an aquaculture pond was determined. Hybrid Optimization Model for Electric Renewable (HOMER) software program, which is developed by U.S National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), is used for analyzing the feasibility of the stand-alone and hybrid system in this study. HOMER program determines whether renewable energy resources satisfy hourly electric demand or not. The program calculates energy balance for every 8760 hours in a year to simulate operation of the system. This optimization compares the demand for the electrical energy for each hour of the year with the energy supplied by the system for that hour and calculates the relevant energy flow for each component in the model. The essential principle is to minimize the total system cost while HOMER ensures control of the system. Moreover the feasibility analysis of the energy system is also studied. Wind speed, solar irradiance, interest rate and capacity shortage are the parameters which are taken into consideration. The simulation results indicate that the hybrid system is the best choice in this study, yielding lower net present cost. Thus, it provides higher system performance than PV or wind stand-alone systems.

Keywords: wind stand-alone system, photovoltaic stand-alone system, hybrid system, optimum system sizing, feasibility, cost analysis

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Authors: Assem M. F. Sallam, Ah. El-S. Makled

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This paper presents a study on the trajectory of a two stage launch vehicle. The study includes dynamic responses of motion parameters as well as the variation of angles affecting the orientation of the launch vehicle (LV). LV dynamic characteristics including state vector variation with corresponding altitude and velocity for the different LV stages separation, as well as the angle of attack and flight path angles are also discussed. A flight trajectory study for the drop zone of first stage and the jettisoning of fairing are introduced in the mathematical modeling to study their effect. To increase the accuracy of the LV model, atmospheric model is used taking into consideration geographical location and the values of solar flux related to the date and time of launch, accurate atmospheric model leads to enhancement of the calculation of Mach number, which affects the drag force over the LV. The mathematical model is implemented on MATLAB based software (Simulink). The real available experimental data are compared with results obtained from the theoretical computation model. The comparison shows good agreement, which proves the validity of the developed simulation model; the maximum error noticed was generally less than 10%, which is a result that can lead to future works and enhancement to decrease this level of error.

Keywords: launch vehicle modeling, launch vehicle trajectory, mathematical modeling, Matlab- Simulink

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Authors: Takashi Shimizu, Tomoaki Hashimoto

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A class of implicit systems is known as a more generalized class of systems than a class of explicit systems. To establish a control method for such a generalized class of systems, we adopt model predictive control method which is a kind of optimal feedback control with a performance index that has a moving initial time and terminal time. However, model predictive control method is inapplicable to systems whose all state variables are not exactly known. In other words, model predictive control method is inapplicable to systems with limited measurable states. In fact, it is usual that the state variables of systems are measured through outputs, hence, only limited parts of them can be used directly. It is also usual that output signals are disturbed by process and sensor noises. Hence, it is important to establish a state estimation method for nonlinear implicit systems with taking the process noise and sensor noise into consideration. To this purpose, we apply the model predictive control method and unscented Kalman filter for solving the optimization and estimation problems of nonlinear implicit systems, respectively. The objective of this study is to establish a model predictive control with unscented Kalman filter for nonlinear implicit systems.

Keywords: optimal control, nonlinear systems, state estimation, Kalman filter

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Authors: Hong-Yi Lin, Feng-Tyan Lin

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In a Bike-sharing system (BSS), users can easily rent bikes from any station in the city for mid-range or short-range trips. BSS can also be integrated with other types of transport system, especially Green Transportation system, such as rail transport, bus etc. Since BSS records time and place of each pickup and return, the operational data can reflect more authentic and dynamic state of user behaviors. Furthermore, land uses around docking stations are highly associated with origins and destinations for the BSS users. As urban researchers, what concerns us more is to take BSS into consideration during the urban planning process and enhance the quality of urban life. This research focuses on the simulation of travel behavior of BSS users in Kaohsiung. First, rules of users’ behavior were derived by analyzing operational data and land use patterns nearby docking stations. Then, integrating with Monte Carlo method, these rules were embedded into a travel behavior simulation model, which was implemented by NetLogo, an agent-based modeling tool. The simulation model allows us to foresee the rent-return behaviour of BSS in order to choose potential locations of the docking stations. Also, it can provide insights and recommendations about planning and policies for the future BSS.

Keywords: agent-based model, bike-sharing system, BSS operational data, simulation

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Authors: Maria Francesca Maunes

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Life is never the same when an adolescent becomes a teenage parent. Living in a developing country with the highest rate of teenage pregnancy in the Asia-Pacific region, it is necessary to address the psychological well-being of Filipino teenage parents and be put into consideration. Thus, this quantitative study used both descriptive statistics and quantitative techniques on a total of 70 participants, consisting of 32 teenage fathers and 38 teenage mothers to describe the level of psychological well-being among teenage parents according to the six domains of Ryff’s eudaimonic well-being—autonomy, environmental mastery, personal growth, positive relations with others, purpose in life, and self-acceptance, and to determine the difference between the psychological well-being of teenage fathers and teenage mothers. Results show that there is no significant difference in the overall psychological well-being between the two groups of participants, yet, when compared by each domain, it is found that there is a significant difference between their purpose in life. While both teenage fathers and teenage mothers are high scorers across all the domains, this does not serve as an assurance that the sustained increase in the number of teenage pregnancies in the Philippines does not anymore pose as a national issue. This could only signify that despite dire circumstances, Filipino teenage parents are able to continue make meaning in their lives and strive to keep living in comfort and contentment, not only for themselves but for their children as well. Additional findings as well as its implications are further discussed. Recommendations and suggestions for further study are presented.

Keywords: adolescence, adolescent psychology, eudaimonic psychological well-being, positive psychology, teenage fathers, teenage mothers, teenage parents, teenage pregnancy in the Philippines

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Authors: Hussein Moselhy, Islam Salam

Abstract:

There have been some challenges and problems which hinder the implementation of the e-marketing systems such as the high cost of information systems infrastructure and maintenance as well as their unavailability within the institution. Also, there is no system which supports all programming languages and different platforms. Another problem is the lack of integration between these systems on one hand and the operating systems and different web browsers on the other hand. No system for customer relationship management is established which recognizes their desires and puts them in consideration while performing e-marketing functions is available. Therefore, the service-oriented architecture emerged as one of the most important techniques and methodologies to build systems that integrate with various operating systems and different platforms and other technologies. This technology allows realizing the data exchange among different applications. The service-oriented architecture represents distributed computing concepts to demonstrate its success in achieving the requirements of systems through web services. It also reflects the appropriate design for the services to use different web services in supporting the requirements of business processes and software users. In a service-oriented environment, web services are deployed on the web in the form of independent services to be accessed without knowledge of the nature of the programs and systems with in. This Paper presents a proposal for a new model which contributes to the application of methods and means of e-marketing with the integration of marketing mix elements to improve marketing efficiency (E-MSOA). And apply it in the educational city of one of the Egyptian sector.

Keywords: service-oriented architecture, electronic commerce, virtual retailing, unified modeling language

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Authors: Rendani Mercy Makhwathana

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This paper intends to explore the experiences and views of Foundation Phase teachers when teaching English First Additional Language in rural public schools. Teachers all over the world are pillars of any education system. Consequently, any education transformation should start with teachers as critical role players in the education system. As a result, teachers’ experiences and views are worth consideration, for they impact on learners learning and the wellbeing of education in general. An exploratory qualitative approach with the use of phenomenological research design was used in this paper. The population for this paper comprised all Foundation Phase teachers in the district. Purposive sampling technique was used to select a sample of 15 Foundation Phase teachers from five rural-based schools. Data was collected through classroom observation and individual face-to-face interviews. Data were categorised, analysed and interpreted. The findings revealed that from time-to-time teachers experiences one or more challenging situations, learners’ low participation in the classroom to lack of resources. This paper recommends that teachers should be provided with relevant resources and support to effectively teach English First Additional Language.

Keywords: the education system, first additional language, foundation phase, intermediate phase, language of learning and teaching, medium of instruction, teacher professional development

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Authors: Christian Angerer, Markus Lienkamp

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Electric vehicles offer a high variety of possible drivetrain topologies with up to 4 motors. Multi-motor-designs can have several advantages regarding traction, vehicle dynamics, safety and even efficiency. With a rising number of motors, the whole drivetrain becomes more complex. All permutations of gearings, drivetrain-layouts, motor-types and –sizes lead up in a very large solution space. Single elements of this solution space can be analyzed by simulation methods. In addition to longitudinal vehicle behavior, which most optimization-approaches are restricted to, also lateral dynamics are important for vehicle dynamics, stability and efficiency. In order to compete large solution spaces and to find an optimal result, genetic algorithm based optimization is state-of-the-art. As lateral dynamics simulation is way more CPU-intensive, optimization takes much more time than in case of longitudinal-only simulation. Therefore, this paper shows an approach how to create meta-models from a 14-degree of freedom vehicle model in order to enable a numerically efficient drivetrain-layout optimization process under consideration of lateral dynamics. Different meta-modelling approaches such as neural networks or DoE are implemented and comparatively discussed.

Keywords: driving dynamics, drivetrain layout, genetic optimization, meta-modeling, lateral dynamicx

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Authors: Peter I. I. Ikokwu

Abstract:

Recent developments in the world, both in the health and education sectors, have further popularized the importance of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). ICT is available for many purposes, including teaching and learning, and its use in education is believed to empower both teachers and students by making the educational process more effective and interactive. The study examined the perceptions of teachers on the factors affecting the use of ICT in the teaching and learning of chemistry and the mitigating factors. The study involved all the lecturers (herein referred to as teachers) in the Colleges of Education in South Eastern Nigeria. The survey design was employed. 35 teachers were selected by stratified random sampling from about 78 chemistry teachers in these Colleges. However, 34 questionnaires were recovered, comprising 13 males and 21 females. 3 research questions and 3 hypotheses guided the study. Results show that the teachers have a clear perception of the factors militating against the use of ICT in the teaching and learning of chemistry, with a pooled mean of 2.96. But there was no significant difference in the perceptions of male and female teachers. Also, they identified the mitigating factors highlighted with no significant difference between the perceptions of the males and females with pooled means of 3.23 and 3.11, respectively. In all, it is noteworthy that lack of funds, irregular and inadequate power supply, and inadequate time in the school timetable was among the militating factors. Recommendations were made for the consideration of the government, the teachers, and the Institutions.

Keywords: chemistry, teachers, perception, ICT, learning

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Authors: Enemeri George Uweiyohowo

Abstract:

Improved achievement with respect to output control of photovoltaic (PV) systems is one of the major focus of PV in recent times. This is evident to its low carbon emission and efficiency. Power failure or outage from commercial providers, in general, does not promote development to public and private sector, these basically limit the development of industries. The need for a well-structured PV system is of importance for an efficient and cost-effective monitoring system. The purpose of this paper is to validate the maximum power point of an off-grid PV system taking into consideration the most effective tilt and orientation angles for PV's in the southern hemisphere. This paper is based on analyzing the system using a solar charger with MPPT from a pulse width modulation (PWM) perspective. The power conditioning device chosen is a solar charger with MPPT. The practical setup consists of a PV panel that is set to an orientation angle of 0∘N, with a corresponding tilt angle of 36∘, 26∘ and 16∘. Preliminary results include regression analysis (normal probability plot) showing the maximum power point in the system as well the best tilt angle for maximum power point tracking.

Keywords: poly-crystalline PV panels, information technology (IT), maximum power point tracking (MPPT), pulse width modulation (PWM)

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Authors: Nadia Pourabbas Tahvildari

Abstract:

National identity is formed in the process of time and in the community while influenced by the historical events. The country which has a more coherent national and historical identity would be successful as well as strengthening solidarity and social cohesion. Among the international community where the various likes challenge the subject of identity, taking into consideration the components which using identity seems to be very critical. Handicrafts as reflecting the historical and cultural characteristics of the product location can be used as an important component in order to introduce the culture and identity to be evaluated. As one of the most durable crafts for man, handicrafts have played a continuous role in sustaining human culture. Today without the presence of handicrafts, restoration of culture and national identity and religious beliefs of the past clans and people, is not only difficult but is even impossible also. Due to its brilliant historical experience and having rich culture and civilization, Iran has accomplished to the high competence in the field of traditional arts and handicrafts. This article is a scientific approach which by using descriptive – analytic method based on library studies tried to address the issue of handicrafts looking to examine the position of the industry to consolidate the national identity. Studies indicate that Iran as one of the original human habitats in the field of handicrafts has adequate enrichment and in case there will be an appropriate planning and investment away from oil-based industry, it would be beneficent. Furthermore, the quality and variety of handicrafts can be used as an essential yardstick for the consolidation of Iran national identity in the age of globalization.

Keywords: handicrafts, Iran national identity, globalization, cultural heritage

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