Search results for: territorial information systems

Authors: Hassan Mohammad Alkomy, Hesham Elkaranshawy, Ahmed Ibrahim Ashour, Khaled Tawfik Mohamed

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For a rigid body sliding on a rough surface, a range of uncertainty or non-uniqueness of solution could be found, which is termed: Painlevé paradox. Painlevé paradox is the reason of a wide range of bouncing motion, observed during sliding of robotic manipulators on rough surfaces. In this research work, the existence of the paradox zone during the sliding motion of a two-link (P-R) robotic manipulator with a unilateral constraint is investigated. Parametric study is performed to investigate the effect of friction, link-length ratio, total height and link-mass ratio on the paradox zone.

Keywords: dynamical system, friction, multibody system, painlevé paradox, robotic systems, sliding robots, unilateral constraint

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Authors: Hannah O'Sullivan, Esther Quinn

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Purpose: The Architectural, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry has historically struggled to adapt to change. Although the ability to innovate and successfully implement organizational change has been demonstrated to be critical in achieving a sustainable competitive advantage in the industry, many AEC organizations continue to struggle when affecting organizational change. One prominent area of organizational change that presents many challenges in the industry is the adoption of new forms of technology, for example, Building Information Modelling (BIM). Certain Organisational Change Management (OCM) practices have been proven to be effective in supporting organizations to adopt change, but little research has been carried out on diverging employee attitudes to change relative to their roles within the organization. The purpose of this research study is to examine how OCM practices influence employee attitudes to change when adopting new forms of technology and to analyze the diverging employee perspectives within an organization on the importance of different OCM strategies. Methodology: Adopting an interview-based approach, a case study was carried out on a large-sized, prominent Irish construction organization who are currently adopting a new technology platform for its projects. Qualitative methods were used to gain insight into differing perspectives on the utilization of various OCM practices and their efficacy when adopting a new form of technology on projects. Change agents implementing the organizational change gave insight into their intentions with the technology rollout strategy, while other employees were interviewed to understand how this rollout strategy was received and the challenges that were encountered. Findings: The results of this research study are currently being finalized. However, it is expected that employees in different roles will value different OCM practices above others. Findings and conclusions will be determined within the coming weeks. Value: This study will contribute to the body of knowledge relating to the introduction of new technologies, including BIM, to AEC organizations. It will also contribute to the field of organizational change management, providing insight into methods of introducing change that will be most effective for different employees based on their roles and levels of experience within the industry. The focus of this study steers away from traditional studies of the barriers to adopting BIM in its first instance at an organizational level and centers on the direct effect on employees when a company changes the technology platform being used.

Keywords: architectural, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry, Building Information Modelling, case study, challenges, employee perspectives, organisational change management.

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Authors: Reza Hadjiaghaie Vafaie, Aysan Madanpasandi, Behrooz Zare Desari, Seyedmohammad Mousavi

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High lamination in microchannel is one of the main challenges in on-chip components like micro total analyzer systems and lab-on-a-chips. Electro-osmotic force is highly effective in chip-scale. This research proposes a microfluidic-based micropump for low ionic strength solutions. Narrow microchannels are designed to generate an efficient electroosmotic flow near the walls. Microelectrodes are embedded in the lateral sides and actuated by low electric potential to generate pumping effect inside the channel. Based on the simulation study, the fluid velocity increases by increasing the electric potential amplitude. We achieve a net flow velocity of 100 µm/s, by applying +/- 2 V to the electrode structures. Our proposed low voltage design is of interest in conventional lab-on-a-chip applications.

Keywords: integration, electrokinetic, on-chip, fluid pumping, microfluidic

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Authors: Charawee Butbumrung

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This research aim to study the financial service of the Thailand financial Institution, second is to identify "best practices" offered by four financial institutions, namely, Kasikornthai Bank, Bangkok Bank, Siam Commercial Bank, and Thanachart Bank. In-depth interviews with managers of financial institution and borrowers reveal best practices from each financial institution. Close monitoring of and a close relationship with borrowers appear to be important for early detection of any problem. Another aspect that may be important is building up loyalty and developing reliability among members. A close and informal relationship with borrowers may also help in monitoring and early detection of problems that may arise in non-repayment of loans. Other factors that may be considered important to the success of a financial service scheme are cooperation and coordination among various agencies that provide additional support to borrowers. Indirectly, these support systems contribute to the success of a SME in Thailand.

Keywords: best practices, financial service, financial institution, SME in Thailand

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Authors: Jozef Mindas, Jana Skvareninova

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Wetlands are a main natural source of methane emissions, but they also represent the important biodiversity reservoirs in the landscape. There are about 26 thousands hectares of wetlands in Slovakia identified via the wetlands monitoring program. Created database of wetlands in Slovakia allows to analyze several ecological processes including also the methane emissions estimate. Based on the information from the database, the first estimate of the methane emissions from wetlands in Slovakia has been done. The IPCC methodology (Tier 1 approach) has been used with proposed emission factors for the ice-free period derived from the climatic data. The highest methane emissions of nearly 550 Gg are associated with the category of fens. Almost 11 Gg of methane is emitted from bogs, and emissions from flooded lands represent less than 8 Gg.

Keywords: bogs, methane emissions, Slovakia, wetlands

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Authors: Nilson Barbieri, Bruno Matos Martins, Gabriel de Sant'Anna Vitor Barbieri

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In more complex systems, such as automotive gearbox, a rigorous treatment of the data is necessary because there are several moving parts (gears, bearings, shafts, etc.), and in this way, there are several possible sources of errors and also noise. The basic objective of this work is the detection of damage in automotive gearbox. The detection methods used are the wavelet method, the bispectrum; advanced filtering techniques (selective filtering) of vibrational signals and mathematical morphology. Gearbox vibration tests were performed (gearboxes in good condition and with defects) of a production line of a large vehicle assembler. The vibration signals are obtained using five accelerometers in different positions of the sample. The results obtained using the kurtosis, bispectrum, wavelet and mathematical morphology showed that it is possible to identify the existence of defects in automotive gearboxes.

Keywords: automotive gearbox, mathematical morphology, wavelet, bispectrum

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Authors: Chompunuch Pongjit

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In this research, the authors have shown that social media is becoming an important platform for the dissemination of information among the younger generation who are looking for new tourist-related experiences. The focus of the younger generation in Thailand has shifted toward spiritual experiences which are close to nature, especially during the difficult and stressful time of Covid-19. We have presented the case of the Naga Cave, which is a new pilgrimage site gaining immense popularity among spiritual seekers via social media platforms. Most of the earlier studies in a similar field have focused on cultural tourism in Thailand. However, the emergence of this new spiritual site has not been studied yet.

Keywords: folklore tourism, spirituality, naga cave, thailand, pilgrimage

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Authors: Robin Devillers, Chantal van Dijk

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Children face ambiguities in everyday language use. Particularly ambiguity in pronoun resolution can be challenging, whereas adults can rapidly identify the antecedent of the mentioned pronoun. Two main factors underlie this process, namely the accessibility of the referent and the syntactic cues of the pronoun. After 200ms, adults have converged the accessibility and the syntactic constraints, while relieving cognitive effort by considering contextual cues. As children are still developing their cognitive capacity, they are not able yet to simultaneously assess and integrate accessibility, contextual cues and syntactic information. As such, they fail to identify the correct referent and possibly fixate more on the competitor in comparison to adults. In this study, Dutch while-clauses were used to investigate the interpretation of pronouns by children. The aim is to a) examine the extent to which 7-10 year old children are able to utilise discourse and syntactic information during online and offline sentence processing and b) analyse the contribution of individual factors, including age, working memory, condition and vocabulary. Adult and child participants are presented with filler-items and while-clauses, and the latter follows a particular structure: ‘Anna and Sophie are sitting in the library. While Anna is reading a book, she is taking a sip of water.’ This sentence illustrates the ambiguous situation, as it is unclear whether ‘she’ refers to Anna or Sophie. In the unambiguous situation, either Anna or Sophie would be substituted by a boy, such as ‘Peter’. The pronoun in the second sentence will unambiguously refer to one of the characters due to the syntactic constraints of the pronoun. Children’s and adults’ responses were measured by means of a visual world paradigm. This paradigm consisted of two characters, of which one was the referent (the target) and the other was the competitor. A sentence was presented and followed by a question, which required the participant to choose which character was the referent. Subsequently, this paradigm yields an online (fixations) and offline (accuracy) score. These findings will be analysed using Generalised Additive Mixed Models, which allow for a thorough estimation of the individual variables. These findings will contribute to the scientific literature in several ways; firstly, the use of while-clauses has not been studied much and it’s processing has not yet been identified. Moreover, online pronoun resolution has not been investigated much in both children and adults, and therefore, this study will contribute to adults and child’s pronoun resolution literature. Lastly, pronoun resolution has not been studied yet in Dutch and as such, this study adds to the languages

Keywords: pronouns, online language processing, Dutch, eye-tracking, first language acquisition, language development

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Authors: Sowmiyaa V. S., Tiruvengala Padma, Dhanasekaran B.

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Due to urbanization, traffic congestion, air pollution and fuel consumption underground metros are constructed in urban cities nowadays. These metros reduce the commutation time and makes the daily transportation in urban cities hassle free. To construct the underground metros deep excavations are to be carried out. These excavations should be supported by an appropriate earth retaining structures to provide stability and to prevent deformation failures. The failure of deep excavations is catastrophic and hence appropriate caution need to be carried out during design and construction stages. This paper covers the construction aspects, equipment, quality control, design aspects of one of the earth retaining systems the Diaphragm Walls.

Keywords: underground metros, diaphragm wall, quality control of diaphragm wall, design aspects of diaphragm wall

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Authors: G. Dottavio, M. F. Andrade, F. Renard, V. Cheutet, A.-L. Ladier, S. Vercraene, P. Hoang, S. Briet, R. Dachicourt, Y. Baizet

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An important number of technological equipment and high-skilled workers over long periods of time have to be mobilized during nuclear decommissioning processes. The related operations generate complex flows of waste and high inventory levels, associated to information flows of heterogeneous types. Taking into account that more than 10 decommissioning operations are on-going in France and about 50 are expected toward 2025: A big challenge is addressed today. The management of decommissioning and dismantling of nuclear installations represents an important part of the nuclear-based energy lifecycle, since it has an environmental impact as well as an important influence on the electricity cost and therefore the price for end-users. Bringing new technologies and new solutions into decommissioning methodologies is thus mandatory to improve the quality, cost and delay efficiency of these operations. The purpose of our project is to improve decommissioning management efficiency by developing a decision-support framework dedicated to plan nuclear facility decommissioning operations and to optimize waste evacuation by means of a logistic approach. The target is to create an easy-to-handle tool capable of i) predicting waste flows and proposing the best decommissioning logistics scenario and ii) managing information during all the steps of the process and following the progress: planning, resources, delays, authorizations, saturation zones, waste volume, etc. In this article we present our results from waste nuclear flows simulation during decommissioning process, including discrete-event simulation supported by FLEXSIM 3-D software. This approach was successfully tested and our works confirms its ability to improve this type of industrial process by identifying the critical points of the chain and optimizing it by identifying improvement actions. This type of simulation, executed before the start of the process operations on the basis of a first conception, allow ‘what-if’ process evaluation and help to ensure quality of the process in an uncertain context. The simulation of nuclear waste flows before evacuation from the site will help reducing the cost and duration of the decommissioning process by optimizing the planning and the use of resources, transitional storage and expensive radioactive waste containers. Additional benefits are expected for the governance system of the waste evacuation since it will enable a shared responsibility of the waste flows.

Keywords: nuclear decommissioning, logistical optimization, decision-support framework, waste management

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Authors: Ali Bhayani

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College is a high involvement decision making where students are expected to evaluate several college offerings before selecting a college or a course to study. However, even in high involvement product like college, students get influenced by opinion leaders and suffer from social contagion. This narrative style study, involving 98 first year students, was able to demonstrate that social contagion differs with regards to gender, ethnicity and personality. Recommendations from students with academically strong background would impact on the college choice of the undergraduate students and limit information search. Study was able to identify the incidence of anchoring heuristics amongst the students. Managerial implications with regards to design of marketing campaign follows at the end of the study.

Keywords: social contagion, opinion leaders, higher education, consumer behavior

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Authors: Marco E. O. Jardim, Frederico A. M. Souza, Valeria M. Bastos, Myrian C. A. Costa, Nelson F. F. Ebecken

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Urban public transportation in Rio de Janeiro is based on bus lines, powered by diesel, and four limited metro lines that support only some neighborhoods. This work presents an infrastructure built to better understand microclimate variations related to massive urban transportation in some specific areas of the city. The use of sensor nodes with small analytics capacity provides environmental information to population or public services. The analyses of data collected from a few small sensors positioned near some heavy traffic streets show the harmful impact due to poor bus route plan.

Keywords: big data, IoT, public transportation, public health system

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Authors: Mohammad Ghavami, Reza S. Dilmaghani

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This paper presents an adaptive framework for modelling financial markets using equity risk premiums, risk free rates and volatilities. The recorded economic factors are initially used to train four adaptive filters for a certain limited period of time in the past. Once the systems are trained, the adjusted coefficients are used for modelling and prediction of an important financial market index. Two different approaches based on least mean squares (LMS) and recursive least squares (RLS) algorithms are investigated. Performance analysis of each method in terms of the mean squared error (MSE) is presented and the results are discussed. Computer simulations carried out using recorded data show MSEs of 4% and 3.4% for the next month prediction using LMS and RLS adaptive algorithms, respectively. In terms of twelve months prediction, RLS method shows a better tendency estimation compared to the LMS algorithm.

Keywords: adaptive methods, LSE, MSE, prediction of financial Markets

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Authors: Iyad Muslih, Azzah Alkhalailah, Ali Merdji

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Photovoltaic efficiency is highly affected by dust accumulation; the dust particles prevent direct solar radiation from reaching the panel surface; therefore a reduction in output power will occur. A study of dust and soiling accumulation effect on the output power of PV panels was conducted for different periods of time from May to October in three countries of the MENA region, Jordan, Egypt, and Algeria, under local weather conditions. This study leads to build a more realistic equation to estimate the power reduction as a function of time. This logarithmic function shows the high reduction in power in the first days with 10% reduction in output power compared to the reference system, where it reaches a steady state value after 60 days to reach a maximum value of 30%.

Keywords: solar energy, PV system, soiling, MENA

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Authors: Boukhris Lahouari, Bouchetara Mostefa

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The active safety of a vehicle is mainly influenced by the properties of the installed braking system. With the increase in road traffic density and travel speeds, increasingly stringent requirements are placed on the vehicle's behaviour during braking. The achievable decelerations are limited by the physical aspect characterized by the coefficient of friction between the tires and the ground. As a result, it follows that an optimized distribution of braking forces becomes necessary for a better use of friction coefficients. This objective could only be achieved if sufficient knowledge is available on the theory of vehicle dynamics during braking and on current standards for the approval of braking systems. This will facilitate the development of a braking force calculation algorithm that will enable an optimized distribution of braking forces to be achieved. Operating safety is conditioned by the requirements of efficiency, progressiveness, regularity or fidelity of a braking system without obviously neglecting the recommendations imposed by the legislator.

Keywords: brake force distribution, distribution diagram, friction coefficient, brake by wire

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Authors: Adel S. Alanazi

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The transition of a student with a disability from school to work is the most crucial phase while moving from the stage of adolescence into early adulthood. In this process, young individuals face various difficulties and challenges in order to accomplish the next venture of life successfully. In this respect, this paper aims to examine the challenges encountered by the individuals with intellectual disabilities in transition to work in Saudi Arabia. For this purpose, this study has undertaken a qualitative research-based methodology; wherein interpretivist philosophy has been followed along with inductive approach and exploratory research design. The data for the research has been gathered with the help of semi-structured interviews, whose findings are analysed with the help of thematic analysis. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with parents of persons with intellectual disabilities, officials, supervisors and specialists of two vocational rehabilitation centres providing training to intellectually disabled students, in addition to that, directors of companies and websites in hiring those individuals. The total number of respondents for the interview was 15. The purposive sampling method was used to select the respondents for the interview. This sampling method is a non-probability sampling method which draws respondents from a known population and allows flexibility and suitability in selecting the participants for the study. The findings gathered from the interview revealed that the lack of awareness among their parents regarding the rights of their children who are intellectually disabled; the lack of adequate communication and coordination between various entities; concerns regarding their training and subsequent employment are the key difficulties experienced by the individuals with intellectual disabilities. Training in programmes such as bookbinding, carpentry, computing, agriculture, electricity and telephone exchange operations were involved as key training programmes. The findings of this study also revealed that information technology and media were playing a significant role in smoothing the transition to employment of individuals with intellectual disabilities. Furthermore, religious and cultural attitudes have been identified to be restricted for people with such disabilities in seeking advantages from job opportunities. On the basis of these findings, it can be implied that the information gathered through this study will serve to be highly beneficial for Saudi Arabian schools/ rehabilitation centres for individuals with intellectual disability to facilitate them in overcoming the problems they encounter during the transition to work.

Keywords: intellectual disability, transition services, rehabilitation centre, employment

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Authors: Carlos Roberto Valêncio, Fábio Renato de Almeida, Thatiane Kawabata, Leandro Alves Neves, Julio Cesar Momente, Mario Luiz Tronco, Angelo Cesar Colombini

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By running transactions under the Snapshot isolation we can achieve a good level of concurrency, specially in databases with high-intensive read workloads. However, Snapshot is not immune to all the problems that arise from competing transactions and therefore no serialization warranty exists. We propose in this paper a technique to obtain data consistency with Snapshot by using some special triggers that we named Daemon Triggers. Besides keeping the benefits of the Snapshot isolation, the technique is specially useful for those database systems that do not have an isolation level that ensures serializability, like Firebird and Oracle. We describe all the anomalies that might arise when using the Snapshot isolation and show how to preclude them with Daemon Triggers. Based on the methodology presented here, it is also proposed the creation of a new isolation level: Daemon Snapshot.

Keywords: data consistency, serialization, snapshot, isolation

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Authors: E. Omanya, E. Mueni, G. Makau, M. Kariuki

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HIV infection is the strongest risk factor for a person to develop TB. Isoniazid preventive therapy (IPT) for People Living with HIV (PLWHIV) not only reduces the individual patients’ risk of developing active TB but mitigates cross infection. In Kenya, IPT for six months was recommended through the National TB, Leprosy and Lung Disease Program to treat latent TB. In spite of this recommendation by the national government, uptake of IPT among PLHIV remained low in Kenya by the end of 2015. The USAID/Kenya and East Africa Afya Jijini project, which supports 42 TBHIV health facilities in Nairobi County, began addressing low uptake of IPT through Quality Improvement (QI) teams set up at the facility level. Quality is characterized by WHO as one of the four main connectors between health systems building blocks and health systems outputs. Afya Jijini implements the Kenya Quality Model for Health, which involves QI teams being formed at the county, sub-county and facility levels. The teams review facility performance to identify gaps in service delivery and use QI tools to monitor and improve performance. Afya Jijini supported the formation of these teams in 42 facilities and built the teams’ capacity to review data and use QI principles to identify and address performance gaps. When the QI teams began working on improving IPT uptake among PLHIV, uptake was at 31.8%. The teams first conducted a root cause analysis using cause and effect diagrams, which help the teams to brainstorm on and to identify barriers to IPT uptake among PLHIV at the facility level. This is a participatory process where program staff provides technical support to the QI teams in problem identification and problem-solving. The gaps identified were inadequate knowledge and skills on the use of IPT among health care workers, lack of awareness of IPT by patients, inadequate monitoring and evaluation tools, and poor quantification and forecasting of IPT commodities. In response, Afya Jijini trained over 300 health care workers on the administration of IPT, supported patient education, supported quantification and forecasting of IPT commodities, and provided IPT data collection tools to help facilities monitor their performance. The facility QI teams conducted monthly meetings to monitor progress on implementation of IPT and took corrective action when necessary. IPT uptake improved from 31.8% to 61.2% during the second year of the Afya Jijini project and improved to 80.1% during the third year of the project’s support. Use of QI teams and root cause analysis to identify and address service delivery gaps, in addition to targeted program interventions and continual performance reviews, can be successful in increasing TB related service delivery uptake at health facilities.

Keywords: isoniazid, quality, health care workers, people leaving with HIV

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Authors: Sonia Mastrangelo

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The Miller Umwelt Assessment Scale is a useful tool for obtaining information about the developmental capacities of children on the autism spectrum. The assessment, made up of 19 tasks in the areas of: body organization, contact with surroundings, expressive and receptive communication, representation, and social-emotional development, has been used with much success over the past 40 years. While many assessments are difficult to administer to children on the autism spectrum, the simplicity of the MUAS reveals key strengths and challenges for both low and high functioning children on the spectrum. The results guide parents and clinicians in providing a curriculum and/or home program that moves children up the developmental ladder.

Keywords: autism spectrum disorder, assessment, reading intervention, Miller method

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Authors: Y. de Smet, J. Hubinont

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PROMETHEE and GAIA are well-known Multiple Criteria Decision Aid methods. Given an evaluation table and preference parameters they allow to rank the alternatives, to visualize the problem, to perform sensitivity and robustness analysis, etc. Unfortunately, it is often hard for the Decision Maker (DM) to estimate the precise values of these parameters. Therefore an alternative option is to give ranges of potential values in order to apply Stochastic Multicriteria Acceptability Analysis. This has been recently studied in the context of the SMAA-PROMETHEE method. The aim of this contribution is to propose an SMAA extension of GAIA. We show how this tool can be useful and provide complementary information to SMAA-PROMETHEE. This is illustrated on a pedagogical example.

Keywords: multiple criteria decision making, PROMETHEE, GAIA, SMAA

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Authors: Khaled Shehata, Hanady Hussien, Sara Yehia

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Securing the data stored on E-passport is a very important issue. RSA encryption algorithm is suitable for such application with low data size. In this paper the design and implementation of 1024 bit-key RSA encryption and decryption module on an FPGA is presented. The module is verified through comparing the result with that obtained from MATLAB tools. The design runs at a frequency of 36.3 MHz on Virtex-5 Xilinx FPGA. The key size is designed to be 1024-bit to achieve high security for the passport information. The whole design is achieved through VHDL design entry which makes it a portable design and can be directed to any hardware platform.

Keywords: RSA, VHDL, FPGA, modular multiplication, modular exponential

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Authors: Theoktisti Makridou, Konstantinos Tsaprailis, George Arvanitakis, Charalampos Kontoes

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In the literature, the data-driven approaches for mosquito abundance prediction relaying on supervised machine learning models that get trained with historical in-situ measurements. The counterpart of this approach is once the model gets trained on pointlevel (specific x,y coordinates) measurements, the predictions of the model refer again to point-level. These point-level predictions reduce the applicability of those solutions once a lot of early warning and mitigation actions applications need predictions for an area level, such as a municipality, village, etc... In this study, we apply a data-driven predictive model, which relies on public-open satellite Earth Observation and geospatial data and gets trained with historical point-level in-Situ measurements of mosquito abundance. Then we propose a methodology to extract information from a point-level predictive model to a broader area-level prediction. Our methodology relies on the randomly spatial sampling of the area of interest (similar to the Poisson hardcore process), obtaining the EO and geomorphological information for each sample, doing the point-wise prediction for each sample, and aggregating the predictions to represent the average mosquito abundance of the area. We quantify the performance of the transformation from the pointlevel to the area-level predictions, and we analyze it in order to understand which parameters have a positive or negative impact on it. The goal of this study is to propose a methodology that predicts the mosquito abundance of a given area by relying on point-level prediction and to provide qualitative insights regarding the expected performance of the area-level prediction. We applied our methodology to historical data (of Culex pipiens) of two areas of interest (Veneto region of Italy and Central Macedonia of Greece). In both cases, the results were consistent. The mean mosquito abundance of a given area can be estimated with similar accuracy to the point-level predictor, sometimes even better. The density of the samples that we use to represent one area has a positive effect on the performance in contrast to the actual number of sampling points which is not informative at all regarding the performance without the size of the area. Additionally, we saw that the distance between the sampling points and the real in-situ measurements that were used for training did not strongly affect the performance.

Keywords: mosquito abundance, supervised machine learning, culex pipiens, spatial sampling, west nile virus, earth observation data

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Authors: Muna Tabuni

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The paper contains an investigation of the notion of Q algebras. A brief introduction to quantum mechanics is given, in that systems the state defined by a vector in a complex vector space H which have Hermitian inner product property. H may be finite or infinite-dimensional. In quantum mechanics, operators must be hermitian. These facts are saved by Lie algebra operators but not by those of quantum algebras. A Hilbert space H consists of a set of vectors and a set of scalars. Lie group is a differentiable topological space with group laws given by differentiable maps. A Lie algebra has been introduced. Q-algebra has been defined. A brief introduction to BCI-algebra is given. A BCI sub algebra is introduced. A brief introduction to BCK=BCH-algebra is given. Every BCI-algebra is a BCH-algebra. Homomorphism maps meanings are introduced. Homomorphism maps between two BCK algebras are defined. The mathematical formulations of quantum mechanics can be expressed using the theory of unitary group representations. A generalization of Q algebras has been introduced, and their properties have been considered. The Q- quantum algebra has been studied, and various examples have been given.

Keywords: Q-algebras, BCI, BCK, BCH-algebra, quantum mechanics

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Authors: Joshua Doe, George Amoako

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Purpose: In an increasingly digital world, the realm of sports fandom has extended its borders, creating a vibrant ecosystem of online communities centered around football clubs. This study ventures into the intricate interplay of motivations that drive football fans to respond to brand activism and its profound implications for brand antagonism and engagement among two of Ghana's most revered premier football clubs. Methods: A sample of 459 fervent fans from these two rival clubs were engaged through self-administered questionnaires expertly distributed via social media and online platforms. Data was analysed, using PLS-SEM. Findings: The tapestry of motivations that weave through these online football communities is as diverse as the fans themselves. It becomes apparent that fans are propelled by a spectrum of incentives. They seek education, yearn for information, revel in entertainment, embrace socialization, and fortify their self-esteem through their interactions within these digital spaces. Yet, it is the nuanced distinction in these motivations that shapes the trajectory of brand antagonism and engagement. Surprisingly, the study reveals a remarkable pattern. Football fans, despite their fierce rivalries, do not engage in brand antagonism based on educational pursuits, information-seeking endeavors, or socialization. Instead, it is motivations rooted in entertainment and self-esteem that serve as the fertile grounds for brand antagonism. Paradoxically, it is these very motivations coupled with the desire for socialization that nurture brand engagement, manifesting as active support and advocacy for their chosen club brand. Originality: Our research charters new waters by extending the boundaries of existing theories in the field. The Technology Acceptance Uses and Gratifications Theory, and Social Identity Theory all find new dimensions within the context of online brand community engagement. This not only deepens our understanding of the multifaceted world of online football fandom but also invites us to explore the implications these insights carry within the digital realm. Contribution to Practice: For marketers, our findings offer a treasure trove of actionable insights. They beckon the development of targeted content strategies that resonate with fan motivations. The implementation of brand advocacy programs, fostering opportunities for socialization, and the effective management of brand antagonism emerge as pivotal strategies. Furthermore, the utilization of data-driven insights is poised to refine consumer engagement strategies and strengthen brand affinity. Future Studies: For future studies, we advocate for longitudinal, cross-cultural, and qualitative studies that could shed further light on this topic. Comparative analyses across different types of online brand communities, an exploration of the role of brand community leaders, and inquiries into the factors that contribute to brand community dissolution all beckon the research community. Furthermore, understanding motivation-specific antagonistic behaviors and the intricate relationship between information-seeking and engagement present exciting avenues for further exploration. This study unfurls a vibrant tapestry of fan motivations, brand activism, and rivalry within online football communities. It extends a hand to scholars and marketers alike, inviting them to embark on a journey through this captivating digital realm, where passion, rivalry, and engagement harmonize to shape the world of sports fandom as we know it.

Keywords: online brand engagement, football fans, brand antagonism, motivations

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Authors: Luís Miguel Cabeça Marques, Alberto Manuel Martinho Vale, José Pedro Miragaia Trancoso Vaz, Ana Sofia Baptista Fernandes, Rui Alexandre de Barros Coito, Tiago Miguel Prates da Costa

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The detection and localization of hidden radioactive sources are of significant importance in countering the illicit traffic of Special Nuclear Materials and other radioactive sources and materials. Radiation portal monitors are commonly used at airports, seaports, and international land borders for inspecting cargo and vehicles. However, these equipment can be expensive and are not available at all checkpoints. Consequently, the localization of SNM and other radioactive sources often relies on handheld equipment, which can be time-consuming. The current study presents the advantages of real-time analysis of gamma-ray count rate data from a mobile radiation detection system based on simulated data and field tests. The incorporation of profit functions and decision criteria to optimize the detection system's path significantly enhances the radiation field information and reduces survey time during cargo inspection. For source position estimation, a maximum likelihood estimation algorithm is employed, and confidence intervals are derived using the Fisher information. The study also explores the impact of uncertainties, baselines, and thresholds on the performance of the profit function. The proposed detection system, utilizing a plastic scintillator with silicon photomultiplier sensors, boasts several benefits, including cost-effectiveness, high geometric efficiency, compactness, and lightweight design. This versatility allows for seamless integration into any mobile platform, be it air, land, maritime, or hybrid, and it can also serve as a handheld device. Furthermore, integration of the detection system into drones, particularly multirotors, and its affordability enable the automation of source search and substantial reduction in survey time, particularly when deploying a fleet of drones. While the primary focus is on inspecting maritime container cargo, the methodologies explored in this research can be applied to the inspection of other infrastructures, such as nuclear facilities or vehicles.

Keywords: plastic scintillators, profit functions, path planning, gamma-ray detection, source localization, mobile radiation detection system, security scenario

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Authors: Salwa Enneifer

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The research is intended to investigate Tunisian students’ own perception of the difficulties they encounter in the writing task. To achieve this objective, a questionnaire was administered to students enrolled in the ‘Faculty of Letters Arts and Humanities’ in Kairouan, in Tunisia. Students were classified into three groups: first-, second-, and third-year students. The researcher used 120 questionnaires filled in by the students as data for this study; moreover, 30 students participated in a semi-structured interview to complete the data. The questionnaire results revealed that Tunisian EFL students faced spelling and grammar difficulties. ANOVA also revealed that the first-year students did not recognise that Arabic and English greatly differ in their respective punctuation systems. The second-year class, however, was fully aware of this difference. Additionally, the interview shed light on other aspects or different difficulties experienced by students in writing: a cruel ‘lack of vocabulary’, Arabic language interference, the organisation of the essay and especially the academic essay, and difficulty with writing an argumentative essay.

Keywords: difficulties, writing, Tunisian, EFL students

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Authors: Marit D. Murry, Amy K. Marks

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The transition to college is a critical period that affords abundant opportunities for growth in conjunction with novel challenges for emerging adults. During this time, emerging adults are garnering experiences and acquiring hosts of new information that they are required to synthesize and use to inform life-shaping decisions. This stage is characterized by instability and exploration, which necessitates a diverse set of coping skills to successfully navigate and positively adapt to their evolving environment. However, important sociocultural factors result in differences that occur developmentally for minority emerging adults (i.e., emerging adults with an identity that has been or is marginalized). While the transition to college holds vast potential, not all are afforded the same chances, and many individuals enter into this stage at varying degrees of readiness. Understanding the nuance and diversity of student preparedness for college and contextualizing these factors will better equip systems to support incoming students. Emerging adulthood for ethnic, racial minority students presents itself as an opportunity for growth and resiliency in the face of systemic adversity. Ethnic, racial identity (ERI) is defined as an identity that develops as a function of one’s ethnic-racial group membership. Research continues to demonstrate ERI as a resilience factor that promotes positive adjustment in young adulthood. Adaptive coping responses (e.g., engaging in help-seeking behavior, drawing on personal and community resources) have been identified as possible mechanisms through which ERI buffers youth against stressful life events, including discrimination. Additionally, trait mindfulness has been identified as a significant predictor of general psychological health, and mindfulness practice has been shown to be a self-regulatory strategy that promotes healthy stress responses and adaptive coping strategy selection. The current study employed a person-centered approach to explore emerging patterns across ethnic identity development and psychological well-being criterion variables among college freshmen. Data from 283 incoming college freshmen at Northeastern University were analyzed. The Brief COPE Acceptance and Emotional Support scales, the Five Factor Mindfulness Questionnaire, and MIEM Exploration and Affirmation measures were used to inform the cluster profiles. The TwoStep auto-clustering algorithm revealed an optimal three-cluster solution (BIC = 848.49), which classified 92.6% (n = 262) of participants in the sample into one of the three clusters. The clusters were characterized as ‘Mixed Adjustment’, ‘Lowest Adjustment’, and ‘Moderate Adjustment.’ Cluster composition varied significantly by ethnicity X² (2, N = 262) = 7.74 (p = .021) and gender X² (2, N = 259) = 10.40 (p = .034). The ‘Lowest Adjustment’ cluster contained the highest proportion of students of color, 41% (n = 32), and male-identifying students, 44.2% (n = 34). Follow-up analyses showed higher ERI exploration in ‘Moderate Adjustment’ cluster members, also reported higher levels of psychological distress, with significantly elevated depression scores (p = .011), psychological diagnoses of depression (p = .013), anxiety (p = .005) and psychiatric disorders (p = .025). Supporting prior research, students engaging with identity exploration processes often endure more psychological distress. These results indicate that students undergoing identity development may require more socialization and different services beyond normal strategies.

Keywords: adjustment, coping, college, emerging adulthood, ethnic-racial identity, psychological well-being, resilience

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Authors: Diego Tancara, Raul Coto, Ariel Norambuena, Hoseein T. Dinani, Felipe Fanchini

Abstract:

Quantum machine learning is a growing research field that aims to perform machine learning tasks assisted by a quantum computer. Kernel-based quantum machine learning models are paradigmatic examples where the kernel involves quantum states, and the Gram matrix is calculated from the overlapping between these states. With the kernel at hand, a regular machine learning model is used for the learning process. In this paper we investigate the quantum support vector machine and quantum kernel ridge models to predict the degree of non-Markovianity of a quantum system. We perform digital quantum simulation of amplitude damping and phase damping channels to create our quantum dataset. We elaborate on different kernel functions to map the data and kernel circuits to compute the overlapping between quantum states. We observe a good performance of the models.

Keywords: quantum, machine learning, kernel, non-markovianity

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Authors: Eiman Nour

Abstract:

The rising interest in harvesting power is because of the capabilities application of expanding self-powered systems based on nanostructures. Using renewable and self-powered sources is necessary for the growth of green electronics and could be of the capability to wireless sensor networks. The ambient mechanical power is among the ample sources for various power harvesting device configurations that are published. In this work, we design and fabricate a paper-based nanogenerator (NG) utilizing piezoelectric zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowires (NWs) grown hydrothermally on a paper substrate. The fabricated NG can harvest ambient mechanical energy from various kinds of human motions, such as handwriting. The fabricated NG from a single ZnO NWs/PVDF-TrFE NG has been used firstly as handwriting-driven NG. The mechanical pressure applied on the paper platform while handwriting is harvested by the NG to deliver electrical energy; depending on the mode of handwriting, a maximum harvested voltage of 4.8 V was obtained.

Keywords: nanostructure, zinc oxide, nanogenerator, energy harvesting

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Authors: Chen Xi, Lao Xuerui, Li Junjie, Jiang Yike, Wang Hanwei, Zeng Zihao

Abstract:

To further promote the development of smart cities, the microscopic "nerve endings" of the City Intelligent Model (CIM) are extended to be more sensitive. In this paper, we develop a pedestrian trajectory twin terminal based on the CIM and CNN technology. It also uses 5G networks, architectural and geoinformatics technologies, convolutional neural networks, combined with deep learning networks for human behaviour recognition models, to provide empirical data such as 'pedestrian flow data and human behavioural characteristics data', and ultimately form spatial performance evaluation criteria and spatial performance warning systems, to make the empirical data accurate and intelligent for prediction and decision making.

Keywords: urban planning, urban governance, CIM, artificial intelligence, convolutional neural network

Procedia PDF Downloads 108