Search results for: adaptive processes

Authors: Chipo Mugova, Zuko Mjobo

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The aim of this study was to evaluate the cost of quality (COQ) at a local foundry business to identify the contribution of its units and processes to quality costs within the foundry’s operations. The foundry selected for detailed case study is one of major businesses that have been targeted by the government to produce components for building and re-furbishing wagons and trains. The study aimed at identifying areas in the foundry’s processes in which investment needs to be made to reduce quality costs. This is in alignment with government’s vision of promoting local business to support local markets leading to creation of jobs, and hence reduction of unemployment rate in South Africa. The methodology adopted used cost of quality models. Results from the study indicated that internal failure costs were significantly higher than all other cost of quality categories, taking more than 60% of the business’s income.

Keywords: appraisal costs, cost of quality, failure costs, local content, prevention costs

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Authors: Dragana Gnjatovic

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Assessment is a burning topic in education policy and practice due to measurement-driven neoliberal agendas of quality and standardisation of assessment practice through high stakes standardised testing systems that are now influencing early childhood education. This paper presents a collaborative, arts-informed action research project which places children at the centre of their learning, with assessment as an integral part of play-based learning processes. It aims to challenge traditional approaches to assessment that are often teacher-led and decontextualised from the processes of learning through exploring approaches where children's voices are central, and their creative arts expressions are used to assess learning and development. The theoretical framework draws on Vygotsky's sociocultural theory and Freire's critical pedagogy, which indicate the importance of socially constructed reality where knowledge is the result of collaboration between children and adults. This reality perceives children as competent agents of their own learning processes. An interpretive-constructivist and critical-transformative paradigm underpin collaborative action research in a three to five-year-old setting, where creative methods like storytelling, play, drama, drawing are used to assess children's learning. As data collection and analysis are still in process, this paper will present the methodology and some data vignettes, with the aim of stimulating discussion about innovation in assessment and contribution of the collaborative enquiry in the field of Early Childhood Education and Care.

Keywords: assessment for learning, creative methodologies, collaborative action research, early childhood education and care

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Authors: Evalita Amrita, Abdurrokhim, Ildrem Syafri

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Research area is located in Pasedan District, Rembang Regency, Central Java Province. This research is being held for the purpose of microfacies and diagenetic study of carbonate rocks. The study area is dominated by deformed carbonate rocks, folded and faulted. The research method is petrographic analysis with red alizarin staining to differentiate mineral types. Microfacies types and diagenetic processes can be known from petrographic analysis of rock texture, rock structure, type of grain, and fossils. Carbonate rocks in the study area can be divided into 4 types of microfacies: Reef Microfacies (SMF 7), Shallow Water Microfacies (SMF 9), and Textural Inversion Microfacies (SMF 10). Diagenetic processes that take place in carbonate rocks are microbial micritization, compaction, neomorphism, cementation, and dissolution.

Keywords: diagenetic, limestone, microfacies, Rembang

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Authors: F. Mutelet, L. Cesari

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Development of safer and environmentally friendly processes and products is needed to achieve sustainable production and consumption patterns. Ionic liquids, which are of great interest to the chemical and related industries because of their attractive properties as solvents, should be considered. Ionic liquids are comprised of an asymmetric, bulky organic cation and a weakly coordinating organic or inorganic anion. A large number of possible combinations allows for the ability to ‘fine tune’ the solvent properties for a specific purpose. Physical and chemical properties of ionic liquids are not only influenced by the nature of the cation and the nature of cation substituents but also by the polarity and the size of the anion. These features infer to ionic liquids numerous applications, in organic synthesis, separation processes, and electrochemistry. Separation processes required a good knowledge of the behavior of organic compounds with ionic liquids. Gas chromatography is a useful tool to estimate the interactions between organic compounds and ionic liquids. Indeed, retention data may be used to determine infinite dilution thermodynamic properties of volatile organic compounds in ionic liquids. Among others, the activity coefficient at infinite dilution is a direct measure of solute-ionic liquid interaction. In this work, infinite dilution thermodynamic properties of volatile organic compounds in specific bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide based ionic liquids measured by gas chromatography is presented. It was found that apolar compounds are not miscible in this family of ionic liquids. As expected, the solubility of organic compounds is related to their polarity and hydrogen-bond. Through activity coefficients data, the performance of these ionic liquids was evaluated for different separation processes (benzene/heptane, thiophene/heptane and pyridine/heptane). Results indicate that ionic liquids may be used for the extraction of polar compounds (aromatics, alcohols, pyridine, thiophene, tetrahydrofuran) from aliphatic media. For example, 1-benzylpyridinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl) imide and 1-cyclohexylmethyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide are more efficient for the extraction of aromatics or pyridine from aliphatics than classical solvents. Ionic liquids with long alkyl chain length present important capacity values but their selectivity values are low. In conclusion, we have demonstrated that specific bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide based ILs containing polar chain grafted on the cation (for example benzyl or cyclohexyl) increases considerably their performance in separation processes.

Keywords: interaction organic solvent-ionic liquid, gas chromatography, solvation model, COSMO-RS

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Authors: Elahe Kamari

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Research on translation process has been conducted for more than 20 years, investigating various issues and using different research methodologies. Most recently, researchers have started to use eye tracking to study translation processes. They believed that the observable, measurable data that can be gained from eye tracking are indicators of unobservable cognitive processes happening in the translators’ mind during translation tasks. The aim of this study was to investigate directionality in translation processes through using eye tracking. The following hypotheses were tested: 1) processing the target text requires more cognitive effort than processing the source text, in both directions of translation; 2) L2 translation tasks on the whole require more cognitive effort than L1 tasks; 3) cognitive resources allocated to the processing of the source text is higher in L1 translation than in L2 translation; 4) cognitive resources allocated to the processing of the target text is higher in L2 translation than in L1 translation; and 5) in both directions non-professional translators invest more cognitive effort in translation tasks than do professional translators. The performance of a group of 30 male professional translators was compared with that of a group of 30 male non-professional translators. All the participants translated two comparable texts one into their L1 (Persian) and the other into their L2 (English). The eye tracker measured gaze time, average fixation duration, total task length and pupil dilation. These variables are assumed to measure the cognitive effort allocated to the translation task. The data derived from eye tracking only confirmed the first hypothesis. This hypothesis was confirmed by all the relevant indicators: gaze time, average fixation duration and pupil dilation. The second hypothesis that L2 translation tasks requires allocation of more cognitive resources than L1 translation tasks has not been confirmed by all four indicators. The third hypothesis that source text processing requires more cognitive resources in L1 translation than in L2 translation and the fourth hypothesis that target text processing requires more cognitive effort in L2 translation than L1 translation were not confirmed. It seems that source text processing in L2 translation can be just as demanding as in L1 translation. The final hypothesis that non-professional translators allocate more cognitive resources for the same translation tasks than do the professionals was partially confirmed. One of the indicators, average fixation duration, indicated higher cognitive effort-related values for professionals.

Keywords: translation processes, eye tracking, cognitive resources, directionality

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Authors: Paul Ihuoma Oluikpe

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The purpose of this paper is to explore and highlight the process of creating value for strategy management by embedding knowledge management in the business process. Knowledge management can be seen from a three-dimensional perspective of content, connections and competencies. These dimensions can be embedded in the knowledge processes (create, capture, share, and apply) and operationalized within a business process to effectively create a scenario where knowledge can be focused on enabling a process and the process in turn generates outcomes. The application of knowledge management on business processes of organizations is rare and underreported. Few researches have explored this paradigm although researches have tended to reinforce the notion that competitive advantage sits within the internal aspects of the firm. Given this notion, it is surprising that knowledge management research and practice have not focused sufficiently on the business process which is the basic unit of organizational decision implementation. This research serves to generate understanding on applying KM in business process using a large multinational in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Keywords: knowledge management, business process, strategy, multinational

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Authors: Igor V. Kuzminov

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According to its content, the proposed article is a collection of articles with comments and additions. All articles, in one way or another, have a connection with the Second Law of Thermodynamics. The content of the articles is given in a concise form. The articles were published in different journals at different times. Main topics are presented: gravity, biography of the Earth, physics of global warming-cooling cycles, multiverse. The articles are based on the laws of classical physics. Along the way, it should be noted that the Second Law of thermodynamics can be formulated as the Law of Matter Cooling. As it cools down, the processes of condensation, separation, and changes in the aggregate states of matter occur. In accordance with these changes, a picture of the world is being formed. Also, the main driving force of these processes is the inverse temperature dependence of the forces of gravity. As matter cools, the forces of gravity increase. The actions of these phenomena in the compartment form a picture of the world.

Keywords: gravitational forces, cooling of matter, inverse temperature dependence of gravitational forces, planetary model of the atom

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Authors: Teresa Isabel Lozano Pérez, Sandra Soca Lozano

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In Cuba, the childcare is one of the programs prioritized by the Ministry of Public Health and the birth of a child becomes a desired and rewarding event for the family, which is prepared for the reception of a healthy child. When this does not happen and after the first months of the child's birth begin to appear developmental deviations that indicate the presence of a disorder, the event becomes a live event potentially negative and generates disruptions in the family health. A quantitative, descriptive, and cross-sectional research methodology was conducted to describe the impact on family health of diagnosis of autism in a sample of 25 families of children diagnosed with infantile autism at the University Pediatric Hospital Juan Manuel Marquez Havana, Cuba; in the period between January 2014 and May 2015. The sample was non probabilistic and intentional from the inclusion criteria selected. As instruments, we used a survey to identify the structure of the family, life events inventory and an instrument to assess the relative impact, adaptive resources of family and social support perceived (IRFA) to identify the diagnosis of autism as life event. The main results indicated that the majority of families studied were nuclear, small and medium and in the formation stage. All households surveyed identified the diagnosis of autism in a child as an event of great importance and negative significance for the family, taking in most of the families studied a high impact on the four areas of family health and impact enhancer of involvement in family health. All the studied families do not have sufficient adaptive resources to face this situation, sensing that they received social support frequently, mainly in information and emotional areas. We conclude that the diagnosis of autism one of the members of the families studied is valued as a life event highly significant with unfavorably way causing an enhancer impact of involvement in family health especially in the areas ‘health’ and ‘socio-psychological’. Among the social support networks health institutions, partners and friends are highlighted. We recommend developing intervention strategies in families of these children to support them in the process of adapting the diagnosis.

Keywords: family, family health, infantile autism, life event

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Authors: Michele Aleandri, Matteo Colangeli, Davide Gabrielli

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We study a generalization to a continuous setting of the classical Markov chain tree theorem. In particular, we consider an irreducible diffusion process on a metric graph. The unique invariant measure has an atomic component on the vertices and an absolutely continuous part on the edges. We show that the corresponding density at x can be represented by a normalized superposition of the weights associated to metric arborescences oriented toward the point x. A metric arborescence is a metric tree oriented towards its root. The weight of each oriented metric arborescence is obtained by the product of the exponential of integrals of the form ∫a/b², where b is the drift and σ² is the diffusion coefficient, along the oriented edges, for a weight for each node determined by the local orientation of the arborescence around the node and for the inverse of the diffusion coefficient at x. The metric arborescences are obtained by cutting the original metric graph along some edges.

Keywords: diffusion processes, metric graphs, invariant measure, reversibility

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Authors: S. Kozlovski, S.W. Feigelson, R. Alon

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The b2 integrin ligands ICAM-1 ICAM-2 and the endothelial VLA-4 integrin ligand VCAM-1 are constitutively expressed on different lung vessels and on high endothelial venules (HEVs), the main portal for lymphocyte entry from the blood into lung draining lymph nodes. ICAMs are also ubiquitously expressed by many antigen-presenting leukocytes and have been traditionally suggested as critical for the various antigen-specific immune synapses generated by these distinct leukocytes and specific naïve and effector T cells. Loss of both ICAM-1 and ICAM-2 on the lung vasculature reduces the ability to patrol monocytes and Tregs to patrol the lung vasculature at a steady state. Our new findings suggest, however, that in terms of innate leukocyte trafficking into the lung lamina propria, both constitutively expressed and virus-induced vascular VCAM-1 can functionally compensate for the loss of these ICAMs. In a mouse model for influenza infection, neutrophil and NK cell recruitment and clearance of influenza remained normal in mice deficient in both ICAMs. Strikingly, mice deficient in both ICAMs also mounted normal influenza-specific CD8 proliferation and differentiation. In addition, these mice normally combated secondary influenza infection, indicating that the presence of ICAMs on conventional dendritic cells (cDCs) that present viral antigens are not required for immune synapse formation between these APCs and naïve CD8 T cells as previously suggested. Furthermore, long-lasting humoral responses critical for protection from a secondary homosubtypic influenza infection were also normal in mice deficient in both ICAM-1 and ICAM-2. Collectively, our results suggest that the expression of ICAM-1 and ICAM-2 on lung endothelial and epithelial cells, as well as on DCs and B cells, is not critical for the generation of innate or adaptive anti-viral immunity in the lungs. Our findings also suggest that endothelial VCAM-1 can substitute for the functions of vascular ICAMs in leukocyte trafficking into various lung compartments.

Keywords: emigration, ICAM-1, lymph nodes, VCAM-1

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Authors: Tanjil Sowgat, Shamim Kobir

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World is now experiencing the consequences of climate change such as increased heat stress due to high temperature rise. In the context of changing climate, this study intends to find out the planning interventions necessary to adapt to the current heat stress in the planned residential areas of Khulna city. To carry out the study Sonadanga residential area (phase I) of Khulna city has been taken as the study site. This residential neighbourhood covering an area of 30 acres has 206 residential plots. The study area comprises twelve access roads, one park, one playfield, one water body and two street furniture’s. This study conducts visual analysis covering green, open space, water body, footpath, drainage and street trees and furniture and questionnaire survey deals with socio-economic, housing tenancy, experience of heat stress and urban design interventions. It finds that the current state that accelerates the heat stress condition such as lack of street trees and inadequate shading, maximum uses are not within ten minutes walking distance, no footpath for the pedestrians and lack of well-maintained street furniture. It proposes that to adapt to the heat stress pedestrian facilities, buffer sidewalk with landscaping, street trees and open spaces, soft scape, natural and man-made water bodies, green roofing could be effective urban design interventions. There are evidences of limited number of heat stress adaptive planned residential area. Since current sub-division planning practice focuses on rigid land use allocation, it partly addresses the climatic concerns through creating open space and street trees. To better respond to adapt to the heat stress, urban design considerations in the context of sub-division practice would bring more benefits.

Keywords: climate change, urban design, adaptation, heat stress, water-logging

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Authors: Yousef Barahmeh

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This paper is a linguistic and pragmatic analysis of the use of the diminutive in Colloquial Jordanian Arabic (CJA). It demonstrates a peculiar form of the diminutive in CJA inflected by means of feminine plural ends with -aat suffix. The analysis shows that the pragmatic function(s) of the diminutive in CJA refers primarily to ‘littleness’ while the morphological inflection conveys the message of ‘the plethora’. Examples of this linguistic phenomenon are intelligible and often include a large number of words that are culture-specific to the rural dialect in the north of Jordan. In both cases, the diminutive in CJA is an adaptive strategy relative to its pragmatic and social contexts.

Keywords: Colloquial Jordanian Arabic, diminutive, morphology, pragmatics

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Authors: Bojana Horvat, Barbara Karleusa, Goran Volf, Nevenka Ozanic, Ivica Kisic

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Forest fire is a major threat in many regions in Croatia, especially in coastal areas. Although they are often caused by natural processes, the most common cause is the human factor, intentional or unintentional. Forest fires drastically transform landscapes and influence natural processes. The main goal of the presented research is to analyse and quantify the impact of the forest fire on hydrological processes and propose the model that best describes changes in hydrological patterns in the analysed catchments. Keeping in mind the spatial component of the processes, geospatial analysis is performed to gain better insight into the spatial variability of the hydrological response to disastrous events. In that respect, two catchments that experienced severe forest fire were delineated, and various hydrological and meteorological data were collected both attribute and spatial. The major drawback is certainly the lack of hydrological data, common in small torrential karstic streams; hence modelling results should be validated with the data collected in the catchment that has similar characteristics and established hydrological monitoring. The event chosen for the modelling is the forest fire that occurred in July 2019 and burned nearly 10% of the analysed area. Surface (land use/land cover) conditions before and after the event were derived from the two Sentinel-2 images. The mapping of the burnt area is based on a comparison of the Normalized Burn Index (NBR) computed from both images. To estimate and compare hydrological behaviour before and after the event, curve number (CN) values are assigned to the land use/land cover classes derived from the satellite images. Hydrological modelling resulted in surface runoff generation and hence prediction of hydrological responses in the catchments to a forest fire event. The research was supported by the Croatian Science Foundation through the project 'Influence of Open Fires on Water and Soil Quality' (IP-2018-01-1645).

Keywords: Croatia, forest fire, geospatial analysis, hydrological response

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Authors: Irena Maus, Katharina Gabriella Cibis, Andreas Bremges, Yvonne Stolze, Geizecler Tomazetto, Daniel Wibberg, Helmut König, Alfred Pühler, Andreas Schlüter

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Within the agricultural sector, the production of biogas from organic substrates represents an economically attractive technology to generate bioenergy. Complex consortia of microorganisms are responsible for biomass decomposition and biogas production. Recently, species belonging to the phylum Thermotogae were detected in thermophilic biogas-production plants utilizing renewable primary products for biomethanation. To analyze adaptive genome features of representative Thermotogae strains, Defluviitoga tunisiensis L3 was isolated from a rural thermophilic biogas plant (54°C) and completely sequenced on an Illumina MiSeq system. Sequencing and assembly of the D. tunisiensis L3 genome yielded a circular chromosome with a size of 2,053,097 bp and a mean GC content of 31.38%. Functional annotation of the complete genome sequence revealed that the thermophilic strain L3 encodes several genes predicted to facilitate growth of this microorganism on arabinose, galactose, maltose, mannose, fructose, raffinose, ribose, cellobiose, lactose, xylose, xylan, lactate and mannitol. Acetate, hydrogen (H2) and carbon dioxide (CO2) are supposed to be end products of the fermentation process. The latter gene products are metabolites for methanogenic archaea, the key players in the final step of the anaerobic digestion process. To determine the degree of relatedness of dominant biogas community members within selected digester systems to D. tunisiensis L3, metagenome sequences from corresponding communities were mapped on the L3 genome. These fragment recruitments revealed that metagenome reads originating from a thermophilic biogas plant covered 95% of D. tunisiensis L3 genome sequence. In conclusion, availability of the D. tunisiensis L3 genome sequence and insights into its metabolic capabilities provide the basis for biotechnological exploitation of genome features involved in thermophilic fermentation processes utilizing renewable primary products.

Keywords: genome sequence, thermophilic biogas plant, Thermotogae, Defluviitoga tunisiensis

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Authors: Sonia Regina Lyra

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The desire for unequivocal clarity is understandable, but this can make one forget that things of the soul are experiential processes, or transformations, which should never be designated unilaterally if it is not wanted to transform something that moves, a living thing, into something static. Among the so-called ‘things of the soul’ there are especially spontaneous fantasies, that emerge during the processes, as a result from the use of the active imagination technique, for when fantasy is not forced, violated, or subjugated by an illegitimate, intellectually preconceived idea, then it is a legitimate and authentic product of the unconscious mind. This is how one can gain access to unadulterated information about everything that transcends the conscious mind. However, it is vital to discern between ego and non-ego, because this principle will result in a release of energy and a renewal of life, which will come to have meaning. This study will deal with the active imagination as a knowledge that depends on the individual experience of the therapist because the patient will be taken just to reach where the unconscious of the therapist was assimilated to his own conscience. In this way, the therapist becomes the method itself, being his personality, a fundamental part of an effective factor.

Keywords: active imagination, effective factor, synchronicity, symptom

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Authors: Irfan Wazeer

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Desalination has become one of the major water treatment process in several countries around the world where shortage of water is a serious problem. Energy consumption is a vital economic factor in selecting the type of desalination processes because current desalination processes require large amount of energy which is costly. Multi-effect desalination system with thermal vapor compression (MED-TVC) is particularly more attractive than other thermal desalination systems due to its low energy consumption. MED-TVC is characterized by high performance ratio (PR), easier operation, low maintenance requirements and simple geometry. These attractive features make MED-TVC highly competitive to other well established desalination techniques that include the reverse osmosis (RO) and multi-stage flash desalination (MSF). The primary goal of this paper is to present a preview of some aspects related with the theory of the technology, parametric study of the MED-TVC systems and its development. It will analyzed the current and future aspects of the MED-TVC technology in view of latest installed plants.

Keywords: MED-TVC, parallel feed, performance ratio, GOR

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Authors: Jaeun Park, Daekyoung Kim, Ho Kyoon Chung, Heeyeop Chae

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Quantum dots light-emitting diodes (QD-LEDs) have been considered as the next generation display and lighting devices due to their excellent color purity, photo-stability solution process possibility and good device stability. Currently typical quantum dot light emitting diodes contain organic layers such as PEDOT:PSS and PVK for charge transport layers. To make quantum dot light emitting diodes (QD-LED) more stable, it is required to replace those acidic and relatively unstable organic charge transport layers with inorganic materials. Therefore all inorganic and solution processed quantum dot light emitting diodes can potentially be a solution to stable and cost-effective display devices. We studied solution processed NiO films to replace organic charge transport layers that are required for stable all-inorganic based light emitting diodes. The transition metal oxides can be made by various vacuum and solution processes, but the solution processes are considered more cost-effective than vacuum processes. In this work we investigated solution processed NiOx for a hole transport layer (HTL). NiOx, has valence band energy levels of 5.3eV and they are easy to make sol-gel solutions. Water vapor oxidation process was developed and applied to solution processed all-inorganic QD-LED. Turn-on voltage, luminance and current efficiency of QD in this work were 5V, 1800Cd/m2 and 0.5Cd/A, respectively.

Keywords: QD-LED, metal oxide solution, NiO, all-inorganic QD-LED device

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Authors: Liz van Acker, Linda Colley

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Political processes are shaped by the gendered culture of parliaments. This paper examines how the institution of parliament has been affected by the changing number of women in politics. In order to understand how and why gender change occurs, the paper employs a feminist historical institutionalism approach. It argues that while it is difficult to change the gendered nature of political institutions, it is possible, from a gender perspective, to understand the processes of change both formally and informally. Increasing women’s representation has been a slow process which has not occurred without political struggles. A broadly defined ‘feminist historical institutionalism’ has critiqued existing approaches to institutions and combined historical institutional analysis with tools of gender to enhance our understanding of institutional processes and change. The paper examines the gendered rules, norms, and practices that influence institutional design choices and processes. Institutions such as Parliament often are able to adjust to women’s entry and absorb them without too much interruption. Exploring the hidden aspects to informal institutions involves identifying unspoken and accepted norms that may guide decision-making – exposing and questioning the gender status quo. This paper examines the representation of women in the Queensland Parliament, Australia. It places the Queensland experience in historical context, as well as in the national and international context. The study is interesting, given that its gender representation has rocketed from one of the worst performing states in 2012 to one of the best performing in 2015 with further improvements in 2017. The state currently has a re-elected female Premier, a female Deputy Premier and a female-dominated cabinet – in fact, Queensland was the first ministry in Australia to have a majority of women in its Cabinet. However, it is unnecessary to dig far below these headlines to see that this is uncharacteristic of its history: progress towards this current position has been slow and patchy. The paper finds that matters such as the glass ceiling and the use of quotas explain women’s recent success in Queensland politics.

Keywords: feminist historical institutional approach, glass ceiling, quotas, women’s participation in politics

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Authors: Safeer Hussain Khan, H. Fukhar-ud-Din

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The concept of quasi-contractive type operators was given by Berinde and extended by Imoru and Olatinwo. They named this new type as contractive-like operators. On the other hand, Xu and Noo introduced a three-step-one-mappings iterative process which can be seen as a generalization of Mann and Ishikawa iterative processes. Approximating common fixed points has its own importance as it has a direct link with minimization problem. Motivated by this, in this paper, we first extend the iterative process of Xu and Noor to the case of three-step-three-mappings and then prove a strong convergence result using contractive-like operators for this iterative process. In general, this generalizes corresponding results using Mann, Ishikawa and Xu-Noor iterative processes with quasi-contractive type operators. It is to be pointed out that our results can also be proved with iterative process involving error terms.

Keywords: contractive-like operator, iterative process, common fixed point, strong convergence

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Authors: Joseph Falzon, Margaret Nelson

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Background: Policy makers at European Union (EU) and national levels address the re-use of historic buildings calling for sustainable practices and approaches. Implementation stages of policy are crucial so that EU and national strategic objectives for historic building sustainability are achieved. Governance remains one of the key objectives to ensure resource sustainability. Objective: The aim of the research was to critically examine policies for the regeneration and adaptive re-use of historic buildings in the EU and national level, and to analyse gaps between EU and national legislation and policies, taking Malta as a case study. The impact of policies on regeneration and re-use of historic buildings was also studied. Research Design: Six semi-structured interviews with stakeholders including architects, investors and community representatives informed the research. All interviews were audio recorded and transcribed in the English language. Thematic analysis utilising Atlas.ti was conducted for the semi-structured interviews. All phases of the study were governed by research ethics. Findings: Findings were grouped in main themes: resources, experiences and governance. Other key issues included identification of gaps in policies, key lessons and quality of regeneration. Abandonment of heritage buildings was discussed, for which main reasons had been attributed to governance related issues both from the policy making perspective as well as the attitudes of certain officials representing the authorities. The role of authorities, co-ordination between government entities, fairness in decision making, enforcement and management brought high criticism from stakeholders along with time factors due to the lengthy procedures taken by authorities. Policies presented an array from different perspectives of same stakeholder groups. Rather than policy, it is the interpretation of policy that presented certain gaps. Interpretations depend highly on the stakeholders putting forward certain arguments. All stakeholders acknowledged the value of heritage in regeneration. Conclusion: Active stakeholder involvement is essential in policy framework development. Research informed policies and streamlining of policies are necessary. National authorities need to shift from a segmented approach to a holistic approach.

Keywords: adaptive re-use, historic buildings, policy, sustainable

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Authors: R. S. Quintal, J. L. Tesch Santos, M. D. Davis, E. C. de Santana, M. de F. Bandeira dos Santos

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The objective is to identify the contributions from the introduction of the computerized system deal within the Accounting Department of Brazilian Navy Financial Directorship and its possible effects on the budgetary and financial harvest of Brazilian Navy. The relevance lies in the fact that the management process is responsible for the continuous improvement of organizational performance through higher levels of quality in their activities. Improvements in organizational processes have direct effects on crops cost, quality, reliability, flexibility and speed. The method of study of this research is the case study. The choice of case study attended, among other demands, a need for greater flexibility to study processes related to a computerized system. The sources of evidence were used literature, documentary and direct observation. Direct observation was made by monitoring the implementation of the computerized system in the Division of Management Analysis. The main findings of the study point to the fact that the computerized system may contribute significantly to the standardization of information. There was improvement of internal processes in the division of management analysis, made possible the consolidation of a standard management and performance analysis that contribute to global homogeneity in the treatment of information essential to the process of decision making. This study has limitations related to the fact the search result be subject exclusively to the case studied, and it is impossible to generalize to other organs of government.

Keywords: process management, management control, business intelligence, Brazilian Navy

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Authors: Harvard Najoan, Sarwono Sutikno, Yusep Rosmansyah

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Most enterprises are now using information technology services as their assets to support business objectives. These kinds of services are provided by the internal service provider (inside the enterprise) or external service provider (outside enterprise). To deliver quality information technology services, the service provider (which from now on will be called ‘organization’) either internal or external, must have a standard for service management system. At present, the standard that is recognized as best practice for service management system for the organization is international standard ISO/IEC 20000:2011. The most important part of this international standard is the first part or ISO/IEC 20000-1:2011-Service Management System Requirement, because it contains 22 for organization processes as a requirement to be implemented in an organizational environment in order to build, manage and deliver quality service to the customer. Assessing organization management processes is the first step to implementing ISO/IEC 20000:2011 into the organization management processes. This assessment needs Process Assessment Model (PAM) as an assessment instrument. PAM comprises two parts: Process Reference Model (PRM) and Measurement Framework (MF). PRM is built by transforming the 22 process of ISO/IEC 20000-1:2011 and MF is based on ISO/IEC 33020. This assessment instrument was designed to assess the capability of service management process in Divisi Teknologi dan Sistem Informasi (Information Systems and Technology Division) as an internal organization of PT Pos Indonesia. The result of this assessment model can be proposed to improve the capability of service management system.

Keywords: ISO/IEC 20000-1:2011, ISO/IEC 33020:2015, process assessment, process capability, service management system

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Authors: Abhimanyu Pati, Prabir K. Bandyopadhyay

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The paper intends to highlight the significance of Digital Manufacturing (DM) strategy in support and achievement of business strategy and goals of any manufacturing organization. Towards this end, DM initiatives have been given a process perspective, while not undermining its technological significance, with a view to link its benefits directly with fulfilment of customer needs and expectations in a responsive and cost-effective manner. A digital process model has been proposed to categorize digitally enabled organizational processes with a view to create synergistic groups, which adopt and use digital tools having similar characteristics and functionalities. This will throw future opportunities for researchers and developers to create a unified technology environment for integration and orchestration of processes. Secondly, an effort has been made to apply “what” and “how” features of Quality Function Deployment (QFD) framework to establish the relationship between customers’ needs – both for external and internal customers, and the features of various digital processes, which support for the achievement of these customer expectations. The paper finally concludes that in the present highly competitive environment, business organizations cannot thrive to sustain unless they understand the significance of digital strategy and integrate it with their business strategy with a clearly defined implementation roadmap. A process-oriented approach to DM strategy will help business executives and leaders to appreciate its value propositions and its direct link to organization’s competitiveness.

Keywords: knowledge management, cloud computing, knowledge management approaches, cloud-based knowledge management

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Authors: P. M. Ikonić, T. A. Tasić, L. S. Petrović, S. B. Škaljac, M. R. Jokanović, V. M. Tomović, B. V. Šojić, N. R. Džinić, A. M. Torbica, B. B. Ikonić

Abstract:

The aim of the study was to determine how different ripening processes (traditional vs. industrial) influenced the proteolysis in traditional Serbian dry-fermented sausage Petrovská klobása. The obtained results indicated more intensive pH decline (0.7 units after 9 days) in industrially ripened products (I), what had a positive impact on drying process and proteolytic changes in these samples. Thus, moisture content in I sausages was lower at each sampling time, amounting 24.7% at the end of production period (90 days). Likewise, the process of proteolysis was more pronounced in I samples, resulting in higher contents of non-protein nitrogen (NPN) and free amino acids nitrogen (FAAN), as well as in faster and more intensive degradation of myosin (≈220 kDa), actin (≈45 kDa) and other polypeptides during processing. Consequently, the appearance and accumulation of several protein fragments were registered.

Keywords: dry-fermented sausage, Petrovská klobása, proteolysis, ripening process

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Authors: Athirat Intajorn

Abstract:

According to the ASEAN free trade areas (AFTA), Thailand has applied the AFTA agreement for reducing tariffs and reflecting changes in business processes. The reflection of changes in agribusiness processes, in particular, has accumulated as production costs for producers. Palm Oil industry has become an important industry to Thailand economic. Thailand currently ranks the 3rd in the world for Crude Palm Oil CPO. Therefore, the scope of this paper presents a research framework to investigate the supply chain management practices in Thailand palm oil industry. This research is limit to literature review. And the proposed framework identifies the criteria of supply chain management for Thailand palm oil industry in order for linkage among entities within logistics management involving plantation, mill, collection port, refinery and cookie from the data utilization. The Supply Chain Management Practices in Thailand Palm Oil Industry framework has a somewhat different view due to the high complexity of agribusiness logistics management.

Keywords: supply chain management, practice, palm oil industry, Thailand palm oil industry

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Authors: Da Kuang

Abstract:

Resilience is a hotly debated topic in many research fields (e.g., engineering, ecology, society, psychology). In flood management studies, we are experiencing the paradigm shift from flood resistance to flood resilience. Flood resilience refers to tolerate flooding through adaptation or transformation. It is increasingly argued that our city as a social-ecological system holds the ability to learn from experience and adapt to flood rather than simply resist it. This research aims to investigate what kinds of adaptation knowledge the frequently flooded village learned from past experience and its advantages and limitations in coping with floods. The study area – Xinnongcun village, located in the west of Wuhan city, is a linear village and continuously suffered from both flash flood and drainage flood during the past 30 years. We have a field trip to the site in June 2017 and conducted semi-structured interviews with local residents. Our research summarizes two types of adaptation knowledge that people learned from the past floods. Firstly, at the village scale, it has formed a collective urban form which could help people live during both flood and dry season. All houses and front yards were elevated about 2m higher than the road. All the front yards in the village are linked and there is no barrier. During flooding time, people walk to neighbors through houses yards and boat to outside village on the lower road. Secondly, at individual scale, local people learned tacit knowledge of preparedness and emergency response to flood. Regarding the advantages and limitations, the adaptation knowledge could effectively help people to live with flood and reduce the chances of getting injuries. However, it cannot reduce local farmers’ losses on their agricultural land. After flood, it is impossible for local people to recover to the pre-disaster state as flood emerges during June and July will result in no harvest. Therefore, we argue that learning from past flood experience could increase people’s adaptive capacity. However, once the adaptive capacity cannot reduce people’s losses, it requires a transformation to a better regime.

Keywords: adaptation, flood resilience, tacit knowledge, transformation

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Authors: Andy Alubaidy

Abstract:

In this work, a robotic additive manufacturing system (RAMS) that is capable of three-dimensional (3D) printing in six degrees of freedom (DOF) with very high accuracy and virtually on any surface has been designed and built. One of the major shortcomings in existing 3D printer technology is the limitation to three DOF, which results in prolonged fabrication time. Depending on the techniques used, it usually takes at least two hours to print small objects and several hours for larger objects. Another drawback is the size of the printed objects, which is constrained by the physical dimensions of most low-cost 3D printers, which are typically small. In such cases, large objects are produced by dividing them into smaller components that fit the printer’s workable area. They are then glued, bonded or otherwise attached to create the required object. Another shortcoming is material constraints and the need to fabricate a single part using different materials. With the flexibility of a six-DOF robot, the RAMS has been designed to overcome these problems. A feeding mechanism using an adaptive Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) controller is utilized along with a national instrument compactRIO (NI cRIO), an ABB robot, and off-the-shelf sensors. The RAMS have the ability to 3D print virtually anywhere in six degrees of freedom with very high accuracy. It is equipped with an ABB IRB 120 robot to achieve this level of accuracy. In order to convert computer-aided design (CAD) files to digital format that is acceptable to the robot, Hypertherm Robotic Software Inc.’s state-of-the-art slicing software called “ADDMAN” is used. ADDMAN is capable of converting any CAD file into RAPID code (the programing language for ABB robots). The robot uses the generated code to perform the 3D printing. To control the entire process, National Instrument (NI) compactRIO (cRio 9074), is connected and communicated with the robot and a feeding mechanism that is designed and fabricated. The feeding mechanism consists of two major parts, cold-end and hot-end. The cold-end consists of what is conventionally known as an extruder. Typically, a stepper-motor is used to control the push on the material, however, for optimum control, a DC motor is used instead. The hot-end consists of a melt-zone, nozzle, and heat-brake. The melt zone ensures a thorough melting effect and consistent output from the nozzle. Nozzles are made of brass for thermo-conductivity while the melt-zone is comprised of a heating block and a ceramic heating cartridge to transfer heat to the block. The heat-brake ensures that there is no heat creep-up effect as this would swell the material and prevent consistent extrusion. A control system embedded in the cRio is developed using NI Labview which utilizes adaptive PID to govern the heating cartridge in conjunction with a thermistor. The thermistor sends temperature feedback to the cRio, which will issue heat increase or decrease based on the system output. Since different materials have different melting points, our system will allow us to adjust the temperature and vary the material.

Keywords: robotic, additive manufacturing, PID controller, cRIO, 3D printing

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Authors: R. Nayak, T. Panwar, R. Padhye

Abstract:

Protective textiles get soiled, stained and even worn during their use, which may not be usable after a certain period due to the loss of protective performance. They need regular cleaning and maintenance, which helps to extend the durability of the clothing, retains their useful properties and ensures that fresh clothing is ready to wear when needed. Generally, the cleaning processes used for various protective clothing include dry-cleaning (using solvents) or wet cleaning (using water). These cleaning processes can alter the fabric surface properties, dimensions, and physical, mechanical and performance properties. The technology of laundering and dry-cleaning has undergone several changes. Sustainable methods and products are available for faster, safer and improved cleaning of protective textiles. We performed a comprehensive and systematic review of green technologies and eco-friendly products for sustainable cleaning of protective textiles. Special emphasis is given on the care and maintenance procedures of protective textiles for protection from fire, bullets, chemical and other types of protective clothing.

Keywords: Sustainable cleaning, protective textiles, ecofriendly cleaning, ozone laundering, ultrasonic cleaning

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Authors: M. Yosofi, S. Ezeddini, A. Ollivier, V. Lavaste, C. Mayousse

Abstract:

Additive manufacturing processes have changed significantly in a wide range of industries and their application progressed from rapid prototyping to production of end-use products. However, their environmental impact is still a rather open question. In order to support the growth of this technology in the industrial sector, environmental aspects should be considered and predictive models may help monitor and reduce the environmental footprint of the processes. This work presents predictive models based on a previously developed methodology for the environmental impact evaluation combined with a technical and economical assessment. Here we applied the methodology to the Fused Deposition Modeling process. First, we present the predictive models relative to different types of machines. Then, we present a decision-making tool designed to identify the optimum manufacturing strategy regarding technical, economic, and environmental criteria.

Keywords: additive manufacturing, decision-makings, environmental impact, predictive models

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Authors: Samuel Olajide Babawale, Jonathan Bridge

Abstract:

Natural Flood Management (NFM) is promoted as part of sustainable flood management (SFM) in response to climate change adaptation. Stakeholder engagement is central to this approach, and current trends are progressively moving towards a collaborative learning approach where stakeholder participation is perceived as one of the indicators of sustainable development. Within this methodology, participation embraces a diversity of knowledge and values underpinned by a philosophy of empowerment, equity, trust, and learning. To identify barriers to NFM uptake, there is a need for a new understanding of how stakeholder participation could be enhanced to benefit individual and community resilience within SFM. This is crucial in light of climate change threats and scientific reliability concerns. In contributing to this new understanding, this research evaluated the proposed interventions on six (6) UK NFM in a catchment known as the Sheffield Lakeland Partnership Area with reference to the Environment Agency Working with Natural Processes (WWNP) Potentials/Opportunities. Three of the opportunities, namely Run-off Attenuation Potential of 1%, Run-off Attenuation Potential of 3.3% and Riparian Woodland Potential, were modeled. In all the models, the interventions, though they have been proposed or already in place, are not in agreement with the data presented by EA WWNP. Findings show some institutional weaknesses, which are seen to inhibit the development of adequate flood management solutions locally with damaging implications for vulnerable communities. The gap in communication from practitioners poses a challenge to the implementation of real flood mitigating measures that align with the lead agency’s nationally accepted measures which are identified as not feasible by the farm management officers within this context. Findings highlight a dominant top-bottom approach to management with very minimal indication of local interactions. Current WWNP opportunities have been termed as not realistic by the people directly involved in the daily management of the farms, with less emphasis on prevention and mitigation. The targeted approach suggested by the EA WWNP is set against adaptive flood management and community development. The study explores dimensions of participation using the self-reliance and self-help approach to develop a methodology that facilitates reflections of currently institutionalized practices and the need to reshape spaces of interactions to enable empowered and meaningful participation. Stakeholder engagement and resilience planning underpin this research. The findings of the study suggest different agencies have different perspectives on “community participation”. It also shows communities in the case study area appear to be least influential, denied a real chance of discussing their situations and influencing the decisions. This is against the background that the communities are in the most productive regions, contributing massively to national food supplies. The results are discussed concerning practical implications for addressing interagency partnerships and conducting grassroots collaborations that empower local communities and seek solutions to sustainable development challenges. This study takes a critical look into the challenges and progress made locally in sustainable flood risk management and adaptation to climate change by the United Kingdom towards achieving the global 2030 agenda for sustainable development.

Keywords: natural flood management, sustainable flood management, sustainable development, working with natural processes, environment agency, run-off attenuation potential, climate change

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