Search results for: knowledge graph and recommender system

Authors: Zainab Abdulkarim

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Literature is the study of life, a source of knowledge. It involves the truth about many things in life. Most of these creative artistes most especially the poets are representatives of the voices of the people. These set of artistes have been the critics to all involved in the development of their nation. This paper will examine how Nigerian Poets goes further not just by writing but by showing the different ways the country has been convoluted. This paper intends to show the power and ability literature has in representation. The power is to represent the important values of life. There is no doubt that literature asserts truth. Through the various poems examined in this paper, Nigerian Poets have proved to portray the realities of the nation.

Keywords: literature, poets, reality, representation

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Authors: Vandana Dave, Neelam Kumari

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India, a fast growing global power, is climbing the ladder of success very swiftly and has been attracting the world’s attention in recent decades. But unfortunately in the modern society, women who constitute half the population of our country have been the victims of violence in different fields of life both physically, socially, mentally and economically. Women face a lot of societal pressure, gender based violence – including rape, domestic violence, dowry death, murder and sexual abuse. But none the less, it is not considered as a problem of serious concern. Among the issues related to women, domestic violence is one of the major issue in our society which is occurring within the safe confines of home at the hands of close family members and cuts across line of race, nationality, language, culture, economics, sexual orientation, physical ability and religion to affect women from all walks of life. It is not to be perceived as a law and order problem alone but it is a socio- cultural problem and it is directly affecting the family life, health of women and life of children. Structural imbalance of power, systematic gender based discrimination; inequality between women and men and other kind of subordination are the context and cause of violence against women. Understanding it as a major problem of our society, the present study was conducted to assess the status of women of Rohtak, district of Haryana. The present study is based on primary and secondary data, adopting feminist research methodology. Case study method was incorporated during the research. It was observed that violence varied according to different age groups of women, marital status, education status, economic status and sociodemography factors. The case studies depicted the inadequate justice system for the victims of domestic violence. The study also revealed that the victims failed to understand the judiciary system and considered themselves helpless and hopeless. The study indicates the need of women friendly justice system for the upliftment of the society.

Keywords: domestic violence, women, victim, justice

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Authors: Shweta Dhindhwal

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Dopamine is an essential neurotransmitter in the central nervous system of all vertebrates and plays an important role in many processes such as motor function, learning and behavior, and sensory activity. One of the important functions of dopamine is release of pituitary hormones. It is synthesized from the amino acid tyrosine. Two types of dopamine receptors, D1-like and D2-like, have been reported in fish. The dopamine containing neurons are located in the olfactory bulbs, the ventral regions of the pre-optic area and tuberal hypothalamus. Distribution of the dopaminergic system has not been studied in the murrel, Channa punctatus. The present study deals with identification of D2 receptors in the brain of murrel. A phylogenetic tree has been constructed using partial sequence of D2 receptor. Distribution of putative dopaminergic neurons in the brain has been investigated. Also, formalin induced hypertrophy of neurosecretory cells in murrel has been studied.

Keywords: dopamine, fish, pre-optic area, murrel

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Authors: Sadia H. Syeda, Zain H. Malik

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As systems continue to become more complex and the interdependencies of processes and sub-systems continue to grow and transform, the need for a comprehensive method of tracking and linking the lifecycle of the systems in a digital form becomes ever more critical. Digital Engineering (DE) provides an approach to managing an authoritative data source that links, tracks, and updates system data as it evolves and grows throughout the system development lifecycle. DE enables the developing, tracking, and sharing system data, models, and other related artifacts in a digital environment accessible to all necessary stakeholders. The DE environment provides an integrated electronic repository that enables traceability between design, engineering, and sustainment artifacts. The DE activities' primary objective is to develop a set of integrated, coherent, and consistent system models for the program. It is envisioned to provide a collaborative information-sharing environment for various stakeholders, including operational users, acquisition personnel, engineering personnel, and logistics and sustainment personnel. Examining the processes that DE can support in the systems engineering life cycle (SELC) is a primary step in the DE adoption and implementation journey. Through an analysis of the U.S Department of Defense’s (DoD) Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD’s) Digital Engineering Strategy and their implementation, examples of DE implementation by the industry and technical organizations, this paper will provide descriptions of the current DE processes and best practices of implementing DE across an enterprise. This will help identify the capabilities, environment, and infrastructure needed to develop a potential roadmap for implementing DE practices consistent with its business strategy. A capability maturity matrix will be provided to assess the organization’s DE maturity emphasizing how all the SELC elements interlink to form a cohesive ecosystem. If implemented, DE can increase efficiency and improve the systems engineering processes' quality and outcomes.

Keywords: digital engineering, digital environment, digital maturity model, single source of truth, systems engineering life-cycle

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Authors: Maria Hopkins

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Research on student engagement is founded on a desire to improve the quality of online instruction in both course design and delivery. A high level of student engagement is associated with a wide range of educational practices including purposeful student-faculty contact, peer to peer contact, active and collaborative learning, and positive factors such as student satisfaction, persistence, achievement, and learning. By encouraging student engagement, institutions of higher education can have a positive impact on student success that leads to retention and degree completion. The current research presents the results of an online student engagement survey which support faculty teaching practices to maximize the learning experience for online students. The ‘Indicators of Engaged Learning Online’ provide a framework that measures level of student engagement. Social constructivism and collaborative learning form the theoretical basis of the framework. Social constructivist pedagogy acknowledges the social nature of knowledge and its creation in the minds of individual learners. Some important themes that flow from social constructivism involve the importance of collaboration among instructors and students, active learning vs passive consumption of information, a learning environment that is learner and learning centered, which promotes multiple perspectives, and the use of social tools in the online environment to construct knowledge. The results of the survey indicated themes that emphasized the importance of: Interaction among peers and faculty (collaboration); Timely feedback on assignment/assessments; Faculty participation and visibility; Relevance and real-world application (in terms of assignments, activities, and assessments); and Motivation/interest (the need for faculty to motivate students especially those that may not have an interest in the coursework per se). The qualitative aspect of this student engagement study revealed what instructors did well that made students feel engaged in the course, but also what instructors did not do well, which could inform recommendations to faculty when expectations for teaching a course are reviewed. Furthermore, this research provides evidence for the connection between higher student engagement and persistence and retention in online programs, which supports our rationale for encouraging student engagement, especially in the online environment because attrition rates are higher than in the face-to-face environment.

Keywords: instructional design, learning effectiveness, online learning, student engagement

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Authors: Gerhard Gritsch, Ana Skupch, Manfred Hartmann, Wolfgang Frühwirt, Hannes Perko, Dieter Grossegger, Tilmann Kluge

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Rehabilitation of stroke patients is dominated by classical physiotherapy. Nowadays, a field of research is the application of neurofeedback techniques in order to help stroke patients to get rid of their motor impairments. Especially, if a certain limb is completely paralyzed, neurofeedback is often the last option to cure the patient. Certain exercises, like the imagination of the impaired motor function, have to be performed to stimulate the neuroplasticity of the brain, such that in the neighboring parts of the injured cortex the corresponding activity takes place. During the exercises, it is very important to keep the motivation of the patient at a high level. For this reason, the missing natural feedback due to a movement of the effected limb may be replaced by a synthetic feedback based on the motor-related brain function. To generate such a synthetic feedback a system is needed which measures, detects, localizes and visualizes the motor related µ-rhythm. Fast therapeutic success can only be achieved if the feedback features high specificity, comes in real-time and without large delay. We describe such an approach that offers a 3D visualization of µ-rhythms in real time with a delay of 500ms. This is accomplished by combining smart EEG preprocessing in the frequency domain with source localization techniques. The algorithm first selects the EEG channel featuring the most prominent rhythm in the alpha frequency band from a so-called motor channel set (C4, CZ, C3; CP6, CP4, CP2, CP1, CP3, CP5). If the amplitude in the alpha frequency band of this certain electrode exceeds a threshold, a µ-rhythm is detected. To prevent detection of a mixture of posterior alpha activity and µ-activity, the amplitudes in the alpha band outside the motor channel set are not allowed to be in the same range as the main channel. The EEG signal of the main channel is used as template for calculating the spatial distribution of the µ - rhythm over all electrodes. This spatial distribution is the input for a inverse method which provides the 3D distribution of the µ - activity within the brain which is visualized in 3D as color coded activity map. This approach mitigates the influence of lid artifacts on the localization performance. The first results of several healthy subjects show that the system is capable of detecting and localizing the rarely appearing µ-rhythm. In most cases the results match with findings from visual EEG analysis. Frequent eye-lid artifacts have no influence on the system performance. Furthermore, the system will be able to run in real-time. Due to the design of the frequency transformation the processing delay is 500ms. First results are promising and we plan to extend the test data set to further evaluate the performance of the system. The relevance of the system with respect to the therapy of stroke patients has to be shown in studies with real patients after CE certification of the system. This work was performed within the project ‘LiveSolo’ funded by the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG) (project number: 853263).

Keywords: real-time EEG neuroimaging, neurofeedback, stroke, EEG–signal processing, rehabilitation

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Authors: Steven W. Carruthers

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The purpose of the present research is to equate two test forms as part of a study to evaluate the educational effectiveness of the ARTé: Mecenas art history learning game. The researcher applied Item Response Theory (IRT) procedures to calculate item, test, and mean-sigma equating parameters. With the sample size n=134, test parameters indicated “good” model fit but low Test Information Functions and more acute than expected equating parameters. Therefore, the researcher applied equipercentile equating and linear equating to raw scores and compared the equated form parameters and effect sizes from each method. Item scaling in IRT enables the researcher to select a subset of well-discriminating items. The mean-sigma step produces a mean-slope adjustment from the anchor items, which was used to scale the score on the new form (Form R) to the reference form (Form Q) scale. In equipercentile equating, scores are adjusted to align the proportion of scores in each quintile segment. Linear equating produces a mean-slope adjustment, which was applied to all core items on the new form. The study followed a quasi-experimental design with purposeful sampling of students enrolled in a college level art history course (n=134) and counterbalancing design to distribute both forms on the pre- and posttests. The Experimental Group (n=82) was asked to play ARTé: Mecenas online and complete Level 4 of the game within a two-week period; 37 participants completed Level 4. Over the same period, the Control Group (n=52) did not play the game. The researcher examined between group differences from post-test scores on test Form Q and Form R by full-factorial Two-Way ANOVA. The raw score analysis indicated a 1.29% direct effect of form, which was statistically non-significant but may be practically significant. The researcher repeated the between group differences analysis with all three equating methods. For the IRT mean-sigma adjusted scores, form had a direct effect of 8.39%. Mean-sigma equating with a small sample may have resulted in inaccurate equating parameters. Equipercentile equating aligned test means and standard deviations, but resultant skewness and kurtosis worsened compared to raw score parameters. Form had a 3.18% direct effect. Linear equating produced the lowest Form effect, approaching 0%. Using linearly equated scores, the researcher conducted an ANCOVA to examine the effect size in terms of prior knowledge. The between group effect size for the Control Group versus Experimental Group participants who completed the game was 14.39% with a 4.77% effect size attributed to pre-test score. Playing and completing the game increased art history knowledge, and individuals with low prior knowledge tended to gain more from pre- to post test. Ultimately, researchers should approach test equating based on their theoretical stance on Classical Test Theory and IRT and the respective  assumptions. Regardless of the approach or method, test equating requires a representative sample of sufficient size. With small sample sizes, the application of a range of equating approaches can expose item and test features for review, inform interpretation, and identify paths for improving instruments for future study.

Keywords: effectiveness, equipercentile equating, IRT, learning games, linear equating, mean-sigma equating

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Authors: Abdulkarim Nasir, Alhassan T. Yahaya, Hauwa T. Abdulkarim, Abdussalam El-Suleiman, Yakubu K. Abubakar

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The need for sustainable and reliable electricity supply in rural communities of Nigeria remains a pressing issue, given the country's vast energy deficit and the significant number of inhabitants lacking access to electricity. This research focuses on the development of a portable hybrid renewable energy system designed to provide a sustainable and efficient electricity supply to these underserved regions. The proposed system integrates multiple renewable energy sources, specifically solar and wind, to harness the abundant natural resources available in Nigeria. The design and development process involves the selection and optimization of components such as photovoltaic panels, wind turbines, energy storage units (batteries), and power management systems. These components are chosen based on their suitability for rural environments, cost-effectiveness, and ease of maintenance. The hybrid system is designed to be portable, allowing for easy transportation and deployment in remote locations with limited infrastructure. Key to the system's effectiveness is its hybrid nature, which ensures continuous power supply by compensating for the intermittent nature of individual renewable sources. Solar energy is harnessed during the day, while wind energy is captured whenever wind conditions are favourable, thus ensuring a more stable and reliable energy output. Energy storage units are critical in this setup, storing excess energy generated during peak production times and supplying power during periods of low renewable generation. These studies include assessing the solar irradiance, wind speed patterns, and energy consumption needs of rural communities. The simulation results inform the optimization of the system's design to maximize energy efficiency and reliability. This paper presents the development and evaluation of a 4 kW standalone hybrid system combining wind and solar power. The portable device measures approximately 8 feet 5 inches in width, 8 inches 4 inches in depth, and around 38 feet in height. It includes four solar panels with a capacity of 120 watts each, a 1.5 kW wind turbine, a solar charge controller, remote power storage, batteries, and battery control mechanisms. Designed to operate independently of the grid, this hybrid device offers versatility for use in highways and various other applications. It also presents a summary and characterization of the device, along with photovoltaic data collected in Nigeria during the month of April. The construction plan for the hybrid energy tower is outlined, which involves combining a vertical-axis wind turbine with solar panels to harness both wind and solar energy. Positioned between the roadway divider and automobiles, the tower takes advantage of the air velocity generated by passing vehicles. The solar panels are strategically mounted to deflect air toward the turbine while generating energy. Generators and gear systems attached to the turbine shaft enable power generation, offering a portable solution to energy challenges in Nigerian communities. The study also addresses the economic feasibility of the system, considering the initial investment costs, maintenance, and potential savings from reduced fossil fuel use. A comparative analysis with traditional energy supply methods highlights the long-term benefits and sustainability of the hybrid system.

Keywords: renewable energy, solar panel, wind turbine, hybrid system, generator

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Authors: Nasser Mohamed Ramli, Nurul Izzati Zulkifli

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Sump can be defined as a reservoir which contains slurry; a mixture of solid and liquid or water, in it. Sump system is an unsteady process owing to the level response. Sump level shall be monitored carefully by using a good controller to avoid overflow. The current conventional controllers would not be able to solve problems with large time delay and nonlinearities, Fuzzy Logic controller is tested to prove its ability in solving the listed problems of slurry sump. Therefore, in order to justify the effectiveness and reliability of these controllers, simulation of the sump system was created by using MATLAB and the results were compared. According to the result obtained, instead of Proportional-Integral (PI) and Proportional-Integral and Derivative (PID), Fuzzy Logic controller showed the best result by offering quick response of 0.32 s for step input and 5 s for pulse generator, by producing small Integral Absolute Error (IAE) values that are 0.66 and 0.36 respectively.

Keywords: fuzzy, sump, level, controller

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Authors: Marta Maria Aguilar Carceles, Ginesa Torrente Hernandez

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The goal of the current study is focused on giving an interdisciplinary comprehension of an increased phenomenon in recent years: violence against parents. Violence can take different forms depending on the context and the vulnerability of the victims, but in this kind of situations, the relationship between parents and young people can become abusive and uncontrollable. Taking a sample from the Spanish Criminal Courts, this study explores those psychological and sociological factors that can contribute to the appearance and continuity of this kind of behaviors in minors. It is considered factors like the type of offence, presence or absence of psychopathology in the subjects, family aspects, or sociodemographic factors, getting a criminal profile of the minor and evaluating which measures are more efficient or adequate in each particular case. Finally, it will be discussed on how getting effective interventions and restorative responses to address teen violence against their parents within the Spanish Legal System.

Keywords: criminality, legal system, parents, tyrant sons, violence

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Authors: Sheren H. Salah

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The inverted pendulum is a highly nonlinear and open-loop unstable system. An inverted pendulum (IP) is a pendulum which has its mass above its pivot point. It is often implemented with the pivot point mounted on a cart that can move horizontally and may be called a cart and pole. The characteristics of the inverted pendulum make identification and control more challenging. This paper presents the simulation study of several control strategies for an inverted pendulum system. The goal is to determine which control strategy delivers better performance with respect to pendulum’s angle. The inverted pendulum represents a challenging control problem, which continually moves toward an uncontrolled state. For controlling the inverted pendulum. The simulation study that sliding mode control (SMC) control produced better response compared to Genetic Algorithm Control (GAs) and proportional-integral-derivative(PID) control.

Keywords: Inverted Pendulum (IP) Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID), Genetic Algorithm Control (GAs), Sliding Mode Control (SMC)

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Authors: Zakir Husain, Deepak Kumar

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The harmonics are very harmful within an electrical system and can have serious consequences such as reducing the life of apparatus, stress on cable and equipment etc. This paper cites extensive analytical study of harmonic characteristics of multiphase (six-phase) and three-phase system equipped with two and three level inverters for non-linear loads. Multilevel inverter has elevated voltage capability with voltage limited devices, low harmonic distortion, abridged switching losses. Multiphase technology also pays a promising role in harmonic reduction. Matlab simulation is carried out to compare the advantage of multi-phase over three phase systems equipped with two or three level inverters for non-linear load harmonic reduction. The extensive simulation results are presented based on case studies.

Keywords: fast Fourier transform (FFT), harmonics, inverter, ripples, total harmonic distortion (THD)

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Authors: Zahra Majd, Mohsen Kalantar

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Power management and voltage regulation is one of the most important issues in microgrid (MG) control and scheduling. This paper proposes a multiobjective scheduling formulation that consists of active power costs, voltage fluctuations summation, and technical constraints of MG. Furthermore, load flow and reserve constraints are considered to achieve proper voltage regulation. A modified Jacobian matrix is presented for calculating voltage variations and Mont Carlo simulation is used for generating and reducing scenarios. To convert the problem to a mixed integer linear program, a linearization procedure for nonlinear equations is presented. The proposed model is applied to a typical low-voltage MG and two different cases are investigated. The results show the effectiveness of the proposed model.

Keywords: microgrid, energy management system, voltage fluctuations, modified Jacobian matrix

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Authors: Ngoc Tu Truong, Nuong T. Bui, Ben Rao, Ya L. Shen

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Quorum sensing is a phenomenon present in many gram-negative bacteria that allows bacterial communication and controlled expression of a large suite of genes through quorum sensing signals - N-acyl homoserine lactones (AHLs). In order to investigate the ability of the rhlR/rhlI quorum sensing system in Pseudomonas aeruginosa to express the ß-Galactosidase reporter gene, an engineered E. coli strain EpHL02, was genetically engineered. This engineered E. coli strain EpHL02 responded to the presence of the N-butanoyl homoserine lactone and N-hexanoyl homoserine lactone to express the ß-Galactosidase reporter gene at a concentration limit of 5x10⁻⁸ M. This was also found to be comparable to AHLs extraction from Serratia marcescens H31. Moreover, we examined this ability of this engineered E. coli strain for respond of AHLs from extractions of Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC9027. The results demonstrated that the rhlR/rhlI quorum sensing system can express the ß-Galactosidase reporter gene by using the N-butanoyl homoserine lactone, N-hexanoyl homoserine lactone and AHLs from extractions of Serratia marcescens H31 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC9027 in the engineered E. coli strain EpHL02.

Keywords: N-butanoyl homoserine lactone, C4-HSL, N-hexanoyl homoserine lactone, C6-HSL, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, quorum sensing, Serratia marcescens, ß-galactosidase reporter gene

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Authors: Joon Hock Yeo, Munirah Ismail

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Chronic venous insufficiency is a condition where the venous wall or venous valves fail to operate properly. As such, it is difficult for the blood to return from the lower extremities back to the heart. Chronic venous insufficiency affects many people worldwide. In last decade, there have been many new and innovative designs of prosthetic venous valves to replace the malfunction native venous valves. However, thus far, to the authors’ knowledge, there is no successful prosthetic venous valve. In this project, we have developed a venous valve which could operate under low pressure. While further testing is warranted, this unique valve could potentially alleviate problems associated with chronic venous insufficiency.

Keywords: prosthetic venous valve, bi-leaflet valve, chronic venous insufficiency, valve hemodynamics

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Authors: Yananda Siraphatthada

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The objectives of this research were to study the level of influencing factors, leadership, supply chain management, innovation, competitive advantages, business success, and affecting factors to the business success of the mobile phone system service providers in Bangkok Metropolitan. This research was done by the quantitative approach and the qualitative approach. The quantitative approach was used for questionnaires to collect data from the 331 mobile service shop managers franchised by AIS, Dtac and TrueMove. The mobile phone system service providers/shop managers were randomly stratified and proportionally allocated into subgroups exclusive to the number of the providers in each network. In terms of qualitative method, there were in-depth interviews of 6 mobile service providers/managers of Telewiz and Dtac and TrueMove shop to find the agreement or disagreement with the content analysis method. Descriptive Statistics, including Frequency, Percentage, Means and Standard Deviation were employed; also, the Structural Equation Model (SEM) was used as a tool for data analysis. The content analysis method was applied to identify key patterns emerging from the interview responses. The two data sets were brought together for comparing and contrasting to make the findings, providing triangulation to enrich result interpretation. It revealed that the level of the influencing factors – leadership, innovation management, supply chain management, and business competitiveness had an impact at a great level, but that the level of factors, innovation and the business, financial success and nonbusiness financial success of the mobile phone system service providers in Bangkok Metropolitan, is at the highest level. Moreover, the business influencing factors, competitive advantages in the business of mobile system service providers which were leadership, supply chain management, innovation management, business advantages, and business success, had statistical significance at .01 which corresponded to the data from the interviews.

Keywords: mobile service providers, facilitating factors, Bangkok Metropolitan, business success

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Authors: Md Tasbirul Islam, Pablo Dias, Nazmul Huda

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E-waste/Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) is one of the fastest growing waste streams across the globe. This paper aims to compare the e-waste management system in Switzerland and Australia in terms of four features - legislative initiatives, disposal practice, collection and financial mechanisms. The qualitative content analysis is employed as a research method in the study. Data were collected from various published academic research papers, industry reports, and web sources. In addition, a questionnaire survey is conducted in Australia to understand the public awareness and opinions on the features. The results of the study provide valuable insights to policymakers in Australia developing better e-waste management system in conjunction with the public consensus, and the state-of-the-art operational strategies currently being practiced in Switzerland.

Keywords: E-waste management, WEEE, awareness, pro-environmental behavior, Australia, Switzerland

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Authors: Piyawan Srisuruk, Janya Boonmeeprasert, Romwarin Gamlunglert, Benjamaporn Choikhruea, Ornjira Jaraepram, Jarin Boonsuchat, Sakdadech Singkibud, Kusalaporn Chaiudomsom, Chanatiporn Chonprai, Pornchanaka Tana, Suchat Paholpak

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Objective: To develop an Intensive and comprehensive program (ICP) for the Inclusive Class Teacher (ICPICT) to teach elementary students (ES) with ASD in order to enhance the students’ academic and social skills (ASS) and to study the effect of the teaching program. Methods: The purposive sample included 15 Khon Kaen inclusive class teachers and their 15 elementary students. All the students were diagnosed by a child and adolescent psychiatrist to have DSM-5 level 1 ASD. The study tools included 1) an ICP to teach teachers about ASD, a teaching method to enhance academic and social skills for ES with ASD, and an assessment tool to assess the teacher’s knowledge before and after the ICP. 2) an ICPICT to teach ES with ASD to enhance their ASS. The project taught 10 sessions, 3 hours each. The ICPICT had its teaching structure. Teaching media included: pictures, storytelling, songs, and plays. The authors taught and demonstrated to the participant teachers how to teach with the ICPICT until the participants could display the correct teaching method. Then the teachers taught ICPICT at school by themselves 3) an assessment tool to assess the students’ ASS before and after the completion of the study. The ICP to teach the teachers, the ICPICT, and the relevant assessment tools were developed by the authors and were adjusted until consensus agreed as appropriate for researching by 3 curriculum of teaching children with ASD experts. The data were analyzed by descriptive and analytic statistics via SPSS version 26. Results: After the briefing, the teachers increased the mean score, though not with statistical significance, of knowledge of ASD and how to teach ES with ASD on ASS (p = 0.13). Teaching ES with ASD with the ICPICT could increase the mean scores of the students’ skills in learning and expressing social emotions, relationships with a friend, transitioning, and skills in academic function 3.33, 2.27, 2.94, and 3.00 scores (full scores were 18, 12, 15 and 12, Paired T-Test p = 0.007, 0.013, 0.028 and 0.003 respectively). Conclusion: The program to teach academic and social skills simultaneously in an intensive and comprehensive structure could enhance both the academic and social skills of elementary students with ASD. Keywords: Elementary students, autism spectrum, academic skill, social skills, intensive program, comprehensive program, integration.

Keywords: academica and social skills, students with autism, intensive and comprehensive, teaching program

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Authors: Chien-Yeh Hsu, Yuan-Ching Chiang, Zi-Jie Chien, Sih-Li Chen

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In this study, a field experiment and performance analysis of air-tunnel heat exchanger integrated with water-filled raft foundation of residential building were performed. In order to obtain better performance, conventional applications of air-tunnel inevitably have high initial cost or issues about insufficient installation space. To improve the feasibility of air tunnel heat exchanger in high-density housing, an integrated system consisting of air pipes immersed in the water-filled raft foundation was presented, taking advantage of immense amount of water and relatively stable temperature in raft foundation of building. The foundation-integrated air tunnel was applied to a residential building located in Yilan, Taiwan, and its thermal performance was measured in the field experiment. The results indicated that the cooling potential of integrated system was close to the potential of soil-based EAHE at 2 m depth or deeper. An analytical model based on thermal resistance method was validated by measurement results, and was used to carry out the dimensioning of foundation-integrated air tunnel. The discrepancies between calculated value and measured data were less than 2.7%. In addition, the return-on-investment with regard to thermal performance and economics of the application was evaluated. Because the installation for air tunnel is scheduled in the building foundation construction, the utilization of integrated system spends less construction cost compare to the conventional earth-air tunnel.

Keywords: air tunnel, ground heat exchanger, raft foundation, residential building

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Authors: Cristian Pauna

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With few steps away from the 2020, investments in financial markets is a common activity nowadays. In the electronic trading environment, the automated investment software has become a major part in the business intelligence system of any modern financial company. The investment decisions are assisted and/or made automatically by computers using mathematical algorithms today. The complexity of these algorithms requires computer assistance in the investment process. This paper will present several investment strategies that can be automated with algorithmic trading for Deutscher Aktienindex DAX30. It was found that, based on several price action mathematical models used for high-frequency trading some investment strategies can be optimized and improved for automated investments with good results. This paper will present the way to automate these investment decisions. Automated signals will be built using all of these strategies. Three major types of investment strategies were found in this study. The types are separated by the target length and by the exit strategy used. The exit decisions will be also automated and the paper will present the specificity for each investment type. A comparative study will be also included in this paper in order to reveal the differences between strategies. Based on these results, the profit and the capital exposure will be compared and analyzed in order to qualify the investment methodologies presented and to compare them with any other investment system. As conclusion, some major investment strategies will be revealed and compared in order to be considered for inclusion in any automated investment system.

Keywords: Algorithmic trading, automated investment systems, limit conditions, trading principles, trading strategies

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Authors: Sorcha Bennett, Joe Sullivan

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Triple-Level Cell (TLC) NAND Flash memory at, and below, 20nm (nanometer) is still largely unexplored by researchers, and with the ever more commonplace existence of Flash in consumer and enterprise applications there is a need for such gaps in knowledge to be filled. At the time of writing, there was little published data or literature on TLC, and more specifically reliability testing, with a further emphasis on both endurance and retention. This paper will give an introduction to NAND Flash memory, followed by an overview of the relevant current research on the reliability of Flash memory, along with the planned future work which will provide results to help characterise the reliability of TLC memory.

Keywords: endurance, patterns, raw flash, reliability, retention, TLC NAND flash memory, trade-off

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Authors: Paolo Guzzini, Emad Samuel M. Ebeid

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Bridges and Railways are critical infrastructures. Ensuring safety for transports using such assets is a primary goal as it directly impacts the lives of people. By the way, improving safety could require increased investments in O&M, and therefore optimizing resource usage for asset maintenance becomes crucial. Drones4Safety (D4S), a European project funded under the H2020 Research and Innovation Action (RIA) program, aims to increase the safety of the European civil transport by building a system that relies on 3 main pillars: • Drones operating autonomously in swarm mode; • Drones able to recharge themselves using inductive phenomena produced by transmission lines in the nearby of bridges and railways assets to be inspected; • Data acquired that are analyzed with AI-empowered algorithms for defect detection This paper describes the business model behind this disruptive project. The Business Model is structured in 2 parts: • The first part is focused on the design of the business model Canvas, to explain the value provided by the Drone4safety project; • The second part aims at defining a detailed financial analysis, with the target of calculating the IRR (Internal Return rate) and the NPV (Net Present Value) of the investment in a 7 years plan (2 years to run the project + 5 years post-implementation). As to the financial analysis 2 different points of view are assumed: • Point of view of the Drones4safety company in charge of designing, producing, and selling the new system; • Point of view of the Utility company that will adopt the new system in its O&M practices; Assuming the point of view of the Drones4safety company 3 scenarios were considered: • Selling the drones > revenues will be produced by the drones’ sales; • Renting the drones > revenues will be produced by the rental of the drones (with a time-based model); • Selling the data acquisition service > revenues will be produced by the sales of pictures acquired by drones; Assuming the point of view of a utility adopting the D4S system, a 4th scenario was analyzed taking into account the decremental costs related to the change of operation and maintenance practices. The paper will show, for both companies, what are the key parameters affecting most of the business model and which are the sustainable scenarios.

Keywords: a swarm of drones, AI, bridges, railways, drones4safety company, utility companies

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Authors: Shailender Kumar

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Current health policy pronouncements in India advocate for insurance-based financing mechanism to achieve universal health coverage (UHC), while undermine the role of comprehensive healthcare provision system. UHC is achieved when all people receive the health services they need without suffering financial hardship. This study, using 68th & 71st NSS rounds data, examines their relative and combined strength in achieving the above objective. Health-insurance has been unsuccessful in reducing prevalence and catastrophic effects of out-of-pocket payment and even dismantle the effectiveness of traditional way of health financing system. Healthcare provision is the best way forward to enhance health and well-being of households in condition if India removes existing inadequacies and inequalities in service provision across districts/states and ensure free/low cost medicines/diagnostics to the citizens.

Keywords: health policy, demand-side financing, supply-side financing, incidence of health payment

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Authors: Arash Dara, Mahsa Mokhtari, Nafiseh Zamindar

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The aim of this study was to determine the effect of thermal resistance, temperature, voltage, and pH changes in an ohmic heating system on reducing the logarithmic number of Byssochlamys fulva species (PTCC 5062) in tomato juice water and to investigate the quantitative properties of tomato juice in the ohmic heating pasteurization system. The percentage of thermal degradation by ohmic heating was determined in tomato juice for the kinetics of Byssochlamys fulva in ohmic chamber at the temperatures of 88, 93, and 98°C, with two voltages of 30 and 40 volts and two pH levels of 3.5 and 4.5; this was done using Weibull frequency distribution model. Three different parameters (pH = 3.5, two voltages of 30 and 40, at three temperatures 88, 93, and 98) and (pH = 4.5, two voltages 30 and 40, at three temperatures 88, 93, and 98) in three replications were considered in the ohmic system. Heating time for the temperature of 88°C was 20 minutes once every 2 minutes, while for the temperature of 93°C, it was 10 minutes once every 1 minute. At the temperature of 98°C, the first time was 0.5 minutes, and for other times, sampling was done every 1 minute. In each condition, the qualitative characteristics, including acidity, Brix, and pH, were measured before and after the ohmic process in the tomato juice. This study demonstrates that the differences in pH and voltage due to different temperatures in the ohmic process can greatly affect the inactivation of Byssochlamys fulva fungus and the qualitative characteristics of the tomato juice. This is the first study using the Weibull frequency method to model the inactivation of Byssochlamys fulva in tomato juice. Variation in parameters such as temperature, voltage, and pH can prevent the presence of Byssochlamys fulva in the pasteurized juices.

Keywords: pasteurization, ohmic heating process, Byssochlamys fulva, tomato juice, heat resistance, voltage, pH

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Authors: Hashim Ali, Sheheryar Khan

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Security for applications is always been a keen issue of concern. In general, security is to allow access of grant to legal user or to deny non-authorized access to the system. Shoulder surfing is an observation technique to hack an account or to enter into a system. When a malicious observer is capturing or recording the fingers of a user while he is entering sensitive inputs (PIN, Passwords etc.) and may be able to observe user’s password credential. It is very rigorous for a novice user to prevent himself from shoulder surfing or unaided observer in a public place while accessing his account. In order to secure the user account, there are five factors of authentication; they are: “(i) something you have, (ii) something you are, (iii) something you know, (iv) somebody you know, (v) something you process”. A technique has been developed of fifth-factor authentication “something you process” to provide novel approach to the user. In this paper, we have applied position based operational code authentication in such a way to more easy and user friendly to the user.

Keywords: shoulder surfing, malicious observer, sensitive inputs, authentication

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Authors: Danielle L. Iamarino

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This paper explores the embattled territory of academic creative writing—and most focally, the use of critical theory in the teaching and structuring of creative practice. It places creative writing in contemporary social, cultural, and otherwise anthropological contexts, and evaluates conventional creative writing pedagogies based on how well they serve the updated needs of increasingly diverse student congregations. With continued emphasis on student-centered learning, this paper compares theoretical to practical applications of discipline-specific knowledge, examining and critiquing theory in terms of its relevance, accessibility, and whether or not it is both actionable and beneficial in the creative writing classroom.

Keywords: creative writing, literary theory, content, pedagogy, workshop, teaching

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Authors: Johnson Adafin, James O. B. Rotimi, Suzanne Wilkinson, Abimbola O. Windapo

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An aspect of client expenditure management that requires attention is the level of accuracy achievable in design-stage elemental cost planning. This has been a major concern for construction clients and practitioners in New Zealand (NZ). Pre-tender estimating inaccuracies are significantly influenced by the level of risk information available to estimators. Proper cost planning activities should ensure the production of a project’s likely construction costs (initial and final), and subsequent cost control activities should prevent unpleasant consequences of cost overruns, disputes and project abandonment. If risks were properly identified and priced at the design stage, observed variance between design-stage elemental cost plans (ECPs) and final tender sums (FTS) (initial contract sums) could be reduced. This study investigates the variations between design-stage ECPs and FTS of construction projects, with a view to identifying risk factors that are responsible for the observed variance. Data were sourced through interviews, and risk factors were identified by using thematic analysis. Access was obtained to project files from the records of study participants (consultant quantity surveyors), and document analysis was employed in complementing the responses from the interviews. Study findings revealed the discrepancies between ECPs and FTS in the region of -14% and +16%. It is opined in this study that the identified risk factors were responsible for the variability observed. The values obtained from the analysis would enable greater accuracy in the forecast of FTS by Quantity Surveyors. Further, whilst inherent risks in construction project developments are observed globally, these findings have important ramifications for construction projects by expanding existing knowledge on what is needed for reasonable budgetary performance and successful delivery of construction projects. The findings contribute significantly to the study by providing quantitative confirmation to justify the theoretical conclusions generated in the literature from around the world. This therefore adds to and consolidates existing knowledge.

Keywords: accuracy, design-stage, elemental cost plan, final tender sum

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Authors: Sergio Celaschi, Henrique Canavarro de Alencar, Claaudecir Biazoli

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Effluent quality is of the highest priority for compliance with the permit limits of environmental protection agencies and ensures the protection of their local water system. Of the pollutants monitored, the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) posed one of the greatest challenges. This work presents a solution for wastewater treatment plants - WWTP’s ability to react to different situations and meet treatment goals. Delayed BOD5 results from the lab take 7 to 8 analysis days, hindered the WWTP’s ability to react to different situations and meet treatment goals. Reducing BOD turnaround time from days to hours is our quest. Such a solution is based on a system of two BOD bioreactors associated with Digital Twin (DT) and Machine Learning (ML) methodologies via an Internet of Things (IoT) platform to monitor and control a WWTP to support decision making. DT is a virtual and dynamic replica of a production process. DT requires the ability to collect and store real-time sensor data related to the operating environment. Furthermore, it integrates and organizes the data on a digital platform and applies analytical models allowing a deeper understanding of the real process to catch sooner anomalies. In our system of continuous time monitoring of the BOD suppressed by the effluent treatment process, the DT algorithm for analyzing the data uses ML on a chemical kinetic parameterized model. The continuous BOD monitoring system, capable of providing results in a fraction of the time required by BOD5 analysis, is composed of two thermally isolated batch bioreactors. Each bioreactor contains input/output access to wastewater sample (influent and effluent), hydraulic conduction tubes, pumps, and valves for batch sample and dilution water, air supply for dissolved oxygen (DO) saturation, cooler/heater for sample thermal stability, optical ODO sensor based on fluorescence quenching, pH, ORP, temperature, and atmospheric pressure sensors, local PLC/CPU for TCP/IP data transmission interface. The dynamic BOD system monitoring range covers 2 mg/L < BOD < 2,000 mg/L. In addition to the BOD monitoring system, there are many other operational WWTP sensors. The CPU data is transmitted/received to/from the digital platform, which in turn performs analyses at periodic intervals, aiming to feed the learning process. BOD bulletins and their credibility intervals are made available in 12-hour intervals to web users. The chemical kinetics ML algorithm is composed of a coupled system of four first-order ordinary differential equations for the molar masses of DO, organic material present in the sample, biomass, and products (CO₂ and H₂O) of the reaction. This system is solved numerically linked to its initial conditions: DO (saturated) and initial products of the kinetic oxidation process; CO₂ = H₂0 = 0. The initial values for organic matter and biomass are estimated by the method of minimization of the mean square deviations. A real case of continuous monitoring of BOD wastewater effluent quality is being conducted by deploying an IoT application on a large wastewater purification system located in S. Paulo, Brazil.

Keywords: effluent treatment, biochemical oxygen demand, continuous monitoring, IoT, machine learning

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Authors: Yekini N. Asafe, Haastrup A. Victor, Lawal N. Olawale, Okikiola F. Mercy

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Recent increase in access to personal computer and networking systems have made it feasible to perform much of cumbersome and costly paper-based administration in all organization. Desktop computers, networking systems, high capacity storage devices and telecommunications system is currently allowing the transfer of various format of data to be processed, stored and dissemination for the purpose of decision making. Going paperless is more of benefits compare to full paper-based office. This paper proposed a model for design and implementation of e-administration system (paperless campus) for an institution of learning. If this model is design and implemented it will reduced cost and complexity of educational administration also eliminate menaces and environmental hazards attributed to paper-based administration within schools and colleges.

Keywords: e-administration, educational administration, paperless campus, paper-based administration

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Authors: Burcu Uçan

Abstract:

The certification approach differs in civil and military projects in aviation. Sets of criteria and standards created by airworthiness authorities for the determination of certification basis are distinct. While the civil standards are more understandable and clear because of not only include detailed specifications but also the help of guidance materials such as Advisory Circular, military criteria do not provide this level of guidance. Therefore, specifications that are more negotiable and sometimes more difficult to reconcile arise for the certification basis of a military aircraft. This study investigates a method of how to develop a military specification set by taking advantage of civil standards, regarding the European Military Airworthiness Criteria (EMACC) that establishes the airworthiness criteria for aircraft systems. Airworthiness Certification Criteria (MIL-HDBK-516C) is a handbook published for guidance that contains qualitative evaluation for military aircrafts meanwhile Certification Specifications (CS-29) is published for civil aircrafts by European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). This method intends to compare and contrast specifications that MIL-HDBK-516C and CS-29 contain within the scope of Human Factors. Human Factors supports human performance and aims to improve system performance by encompassing knowledge from a range of scientific disciplines. Human Factors focuses on how people perform their tasks and reduce the risk of an accident occurring due to human physical and cognitive limitations. Hence, regardless of whether the project is civil or military, the specifications must be guided at a certain level by taking into account human limits. This study presents an advisory method for this purpose. The method in this study develops a solution for the military certification process by identifying the CS requirement corresponding to the criteria in the MIL-HDBK-516C by means of EMACC. Thus, it eases understanding the expectations of the criteria and establishing derived requirements. As a result of this method, it may not always be preferred to derive new requirements. Instead, it is possible to add remarks to make the expectancy of the criteria and required verification methods more comprehensible for all stakeholders. This study contributes to creating a certification basis for military aircraft, which is difficult and takes plenty of time for stakeholders to agree due to gray areas in the certification process for military aircrafts.

Keywords: human factors, certification, aerospace, requirement

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