Search results for: Privacy and Data Protection Law

Authors: Zs. Csanádi, A. Szabó Nagy, J. Szabó, J. Erdős

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Atmospheric aerosols have several important environmental impacts and health effects in point of air quality. Monitoring the PM10-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) could have important environmental significance and health protection aspects. Benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) is the most relevant indicator of these PAH compounds. In Hungary, the Hungarian Air Quality Network provides air quality monitoring data for several air pollutants including BaP, but these data show only the annual mean concentrations and maximum values. Seasonal variation of BaP concentrations comparing the heating and non-heating periods could have important role and difference as well. For this reason, the main objective of this study was to assess the annual concentration and seasonal variation of BaP associated with PM10 in the ambient air of Northwestern Hungary seven different sampling sites (six urban and one rural) in the sampling period of 2008–2013. A total of 1475 PM10 aerosol samples were collected in the different sampling sites and analyzed for BaP by gas chromatography method. The BaP concentrations ranged from undetected to 8 ng/m3 with the mean value range of 0.50-0.96 ng/m3 referring to all sampling sites. Relatively higher concentrations of BaP were detected in samples collected in each sampling site in the heating seasons compared with non-heating periods. The annual mean BaP concentrations were comparable with the published data of the other Hungarian sites.

Keywords: air quality, benzo(a)pyrene, PAHs, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

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Authors: Chu Chen, Giorgio Gotti, Tony Kang, Michael Wolfe

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This study examines the role of codes of ethics in reducing the extent to which managers’ act opportunistically in reporting earnings. Corporate codes of ethics, by clarifying the boundaries of ethical corporate behaviors and making relevant social norms more salient, have the potential to deter managers from engaging in opportunistic financial reporting practices. In a sample of international companies, we find that the quality of corporate codes of ethics is associated with higher earnings quality, i.e., lower discretionary accruals. Our results are confirmed for a subsample of firms more likely to be engaging in opportunistic reporting behavior, i.e., firms that just meet or beat analysts’ forecasts. Further, codes of ethics play a greater role in reducing earnings management for firms in countries with weaker investor protection mechanisms. Our results suggest that corporate codes of ethics can be a viable alternative to country-level investor protection mechanisms in curbing aggressive reporting behaviors.

Keywords: corporate ethics policy, code of ethics, business ethics, earnings discretion, accruals

Procedia PDF Downloads 270

Authors: Liana Khandolishvili, Giorgi Dvalashvili

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Karst waters in the world play an important role in the water supply. Among them, the Vaucluse in Chiatura municipality (Georgia) is used as drinking water and is irreplaceable for the local population. Accordingly, it is important to assess their geo-ecological conditions and take care to maintain sustainability. The aim of the paper is to identify the hazards of pollution of underground waters in the karst environment and to develop a scheme for their protection, which will take into consideration both the hydrogeological characteristics and the role of humans. To achieve this goal, the EPIK method was selected using which an epikarst zone of the study area was studied in detail, as well as the protective cover, infiltration conditions and frequency of karst network development, after which the conditions of karst waters in Chiatura municipality was assessed, their main pollutants were identified and the recommendations were prepared for their protection. The results of the study showed that the karst water pollution rate in Chiatura municipality is highest, where karst-fissured layers are represented and intensive extraction works are underway. The EPIK method is innovative in Georgia and was first introduced on the example of karst waters of Chiatura municipality.

Keywords: cave, EPIK method, pollution, Karst waters, geology, geography, ecology

Procedia PDF Downloads 83

Authors: Arlan Zandro Brucal, John Lynham

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With the accelerated sea-level rise (SLR) increasingly becoming a concern, demand for coastal management and protection is expected to grow. Among the coastal management and protection methods, building seawalls are among the most controversial due to the negative externalities they impose on beachgoers and neighboring properties. This paper provides estimates of the external cost associated with building seawalls on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. Using hedonic pricing approach on real properties sold between 1980-2010 and aerial photographs of seawalls in 1995, the paper finds that (1) while seawalls do increase the value of protected properties, the share of armored properties appear to be negatively correlated with property sale prices, suggesting that the positive effect of seawalls tend to decline as more and more rely on this coastal management method; and (2) the value of beachfront properties tend to decline as they get approach seawalls. Results suggest that policymakers should devise a policy that would internalize the externalities associated with private-sector adaptation to climate change.

Keywords: private sector climate change adaptation, externalities, sea-level rise, hedonic pricing

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Authors: Ivan Župan

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Critical infrastructure is essential for the functioning of a country and is designated for special protection by governments worldwide. Due to the increase in smart technology usage in every facet of the industry, including critical infrastructure, the exposure to malicious cyber-physical attacks has grown in the last few years. Proper security measures must be undertaken in order to defend against cyber-physical threats that can disrupt the normal functioning of critical infrastructure and, consequently the functioning of the country. This paper provides a review of the scientific literature of models, methods and technologies used to protect from cyber-physical threats in industries. The focus of the literature was observed from three aspects. The first aspect, resilience, concerns itself with the robustness of the system’s defense against threats, as well as preparation and education about potential future threats. The second aspect concerns security risk management for systems with cyber-physical aspects, and the third aspect investigates available testbed environments for testing developed models on scaled models of vulnerable infrastructure.

Keywords: critical infrastructure, cyber-physical security, smart industry, security methodology, security technology

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Authors: Hebert Sihle Ntuli

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Traditional cultural practices mirror or replicate the values and beliefs held by members of the community. Throughout the world, every social grouping has specific traditional practices, some of which are beneficial to all, while others have become harmful to specific group such as women. Like in some African states, these traditional cultural practices are performed in South Africa and are violating women’s rights. Women’s rights are human rights. The South African Constitution is one of the most progressive in the world, and notable includes the Bill of Rights which provides protection of socio-economic and cultural rights. Cultural rights are protected in Section 30 and 31 of the constitution, although such protection is not without limitation. This highly complex interplay and competition between human rights and cultural rights, which are manifested through cultural practices, is the golden thread that traces through this paper. The paper argues that there is conflict and the lack of balance between diverse cultural and legal or constitutional framework which promotes the value of human dignity and equality, especially for women. These practices are reviewed in connection with the South African government laws. This work adopted qualitative research method.

Keywords: cultural practices, conflict, South African constitution, laws

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Authors: Dominic Huschke, Rudolf Keil

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New driving functionalities like highly automated driving have a major impact on the electrics/electronics architecture of future vehicles and inevitably lead to higher safety requirements. Partly due to these increased requirements, the vehicle industry is increasingly looking at semiconductor switches as an alternative to conventional melting fuses. The protective functionality of semiconductor switches can be implemented in hardware as well as in software. A current approach discussed in science and industry is the implementation of a model of the protected low voltage power cable on a microcontroller to calculate its temperature. Here, the information regarding the current is provided by the continuous current measurement of the semiconductor switch. The signal to open the semiconductor switch is provided by the microcontroller when a previously defined limit for the temperature of the low voltage power cable is exceeded. A setup for the testing of the described principle for electronic fuse protection of a low voltage power cable is built and successfullyvalidated with experiments afterwards. Here, the evaluation criterion is the deviation of the measured temperature of the low voltage power cable from the specified limit temperature when the semiconductor switch is opened. The analysis is carried out with an assumed ambient temperature as well as with a measured ambient temperature. Subsequently, the experimentally performed investigations are simulated in a virtual environment. The explicit focus is on the simulation of the behavior of the microcontroller with an implemented model of a low voltage power cable in a real-time environment. Subsequently, the generated results are compared with those of the experiments. Based on this, the completely virtual design of the described approach is assumed to be valid.

Keywords: automotive wire harness, electronic fuse protection, low voltage power cable, semiconductor-based fuses, software-based validation

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Authors: Yael Teff-Seker

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More often than not, ecosystems do not follow anthropogenic political borders. Thus, transboundary environmental protection or rehabilitation initiatives can be beneficial and at times even vital for supporting healthy ecosystems. Marine areas demand unique considerations and challenges for such initiatives, as maritime borders tend to be less defined, less fortified and less visible. In areas of recent conflict, cross-border environmental initiatives can also improve relations between states and promote peace-building efforts, in addition to their environmental benefits. The current study reviews the current literature on transboundary marine environmental protection initiatives that take place in these areas and focuses on joint initiatives in Israel-Jordan and Croatia-Slovenia. In addition to factors described in the literature such as funding and third-party involvement, findings suggest that the peripheral location of marine environmental initiatives can be beneficial for the success of such initiatives, as well as facilitating border crossing and the extent to which such initiatives advance other governmental goals. A sense of urgency, environmental or other, has also been found to be highly relevant to project success.

Keywords: environmental cooperation, environmental peacebuilding, marine environment, environmental conflict, environmental management

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Authors: Maeah Stephanie A. Macapaz Abadejos

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Covid-19 shook the whole world. Every person on all sides of the world was affected by the pandemic. All the nations and world leaders were searching for a variety of cures and solutions to stop the spread of the virus. In connection with this, this investigative case study aims to show a relationship between COVID-19 vaccinations to the immune system of the seniors and elderly. The seniors and elderly are one of the most vulnerable populations that show high morbidity and mortality in any illnesses and diseases. This study will show lived experiences of the senior’s immune system and health status, how it is being affected by the COVID-19 virus and its vaccines, Risk for COVID-19 Infection, Hospitalization, and Death by Age Group. Participants of this study are from 3 Cebu City Barangays and 2 from Barangays of the Cities of the Cebu Province. To conclude, this study shall serve its purpose of providing clear and concise results in strengthening the evidence of the effects of the COVID-19 virus infection, especially the free vaccinations, on the health and overall well-being of the elderly and seniors.

Keywords: gerontology nursing, vaccination, protection and immunity, seniors and the elderly

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Authors: Radhwane Boudjelthia

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The most recent earthquakes occurred in the world have killed thousands of people and severe damage. For all the actors involved in the building process, the earthquake is the litmus test for construction. The goal we set ourselves is to contribute to the implementation of a thoughtful approach to the seismic protection of structures. For many engineers, the most conventional approach to protection works (buildings and bridges) the effects of earthquakes is to increase rigidity. This approach is not always effective, especially when there is a context that favors the phenomenon of resonance and amplification of seismic forces. Therefore, the field of earthquake engineering has made significant inroads, among others catalyzed by the development of computational techniques in computer form and the use of powerful test facilities. This has led to the emergence of several innovative technologies, such as the introduction of special devices insulation between infrastructure and superstructure. This approach, commonly known as "seismic isolation," to absorb the significant efforts without the structure is damaged and thus ensuring the protection of lives and property. In addition, the restraints to the construction by the ground shaking are located mainly at the supports. With these moves, the natural period of construction is increasing, and seismic loads are reduced. Thus, there is an attenuation of the seismic movement. Likewise, the insulation of the base mechanism may be used in combination with earthquake dampers in order to control the deformation of the insulation system and the absolute displacement of the superstructure located above the isolation interface. On the other hand, only can use these earthquake dampers to reduce the oscillation amplitudes and thus reduce seismic loads. The use of damping devices represents an effective solution for the rehabilitation of existing structures. Given all these acceleration reducing means considered passive, much research has been conducted for several years to develop an active control system of the response of buildings to earthquakes.

Keywords: earthquake, building, seismic forces, displacement, resonance, response.

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Authors: Shizra Waris, Saleem Akhtar

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Big data is a research area receiving attention from academia and IT communities. In the digital world, the amounts of data produced and stored have within a short period of time. Consequently this fast increasing rate of data has created many challenges. In this paper, we use functionalism and structuralism paradigms to analyze the genesis of big data applications and its current trends. This paper presents a complete discussion on state-of-the-art big data technologies based on group and stream data processing. Moreover, strengths and weaknesses of these technologies are analyzed. This study also covers big data analytics techniques, processing methods, some reported case studies from different vendor, several open research challenges and the chances brought about by big data. The similarities and differences of these techniques and technologies based on important limitations are also investigated. Emerging technologies are suggested as a solution for big data problems.

Keywords: computer, it community, industry, big data

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Authors: Nebiat Lemenih Lenger

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Today, the digital economy is evolving faster than ever in Ethiopia. Platforms that provide a ride-hailing service are growing fast in the country. The market welcomed them as they disrupt it with quality services and lower prices. This revolution is, however, not without challenges. These include cybersecurity breaches, facilitating illegal economic activities, and challenging concepts of privacy. To mitigate the risks and utilize the benefits, appropriate regulation should be introduced in the economy. By identifying legal and institutional gaps in Ethiopia`s digital economy, this research work assists the government`s effort to create a better digital economy. Moreover, this study, being a pioneer study in the area, will be an input for further studies in academia. The research employs a qualitative legal research method and analyzes various legal and policy instruments in Ethiopia in comparison with best international experiences. As this research applies a qualitative research method, a grounded theory method of data analysis is used. The research concluded that Ethiopia is far from designing appropriate legal and regulatory infrastructures. Due to the government monopoly of the sector, there is poor digital infrastructure in the country. The existing labor laws have no specific provisions on the rights and obligations of gig workers.

Keywords: Ethiopia, gig economy, digital, ride-hailing, regulation

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Authors: Monika Sobolewska, Aleksandra Majchrzak, Bartlomiej Chojnacki, Katarzyna Baruch, Adam Pilch

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The main purpose of the study is to perform the measurement and analysis of noise harmfulness in public utility facilities. The World Health Organization reports that the number of people suffering from hearing impairment is constantly increasing. The most alarming is the number of young people occurring in the statistics. The majority of scientific research in the field of hearing protection and noise prevention concern industrial and road traffic noise as the source of health problems. As the result, corresponding standards and regulations defining noise level limits are enforced. However, there is another field uncovered by profound research – leisure time. Public utility facilities such as clubs, shopping malls, sport facilities or concert halls – they all generate high-level noise, being out of proper juridical control. Among European Union Member States, the highest legislative act concerning noise prevention is the Environmental Noise Directive 2002/49/EC. However, it omits the problem discussed above and even for traffic, railway and aircraft noise it does not set limits or target values, leaving these issues to the discretion of the Member State authorities. Without explicit and uniform regulations, noise level control at places designed for relaxation and entertainment is often in the responsibility of people having little knowledge of hearing protection, unaware of the risk the noise pollution poses. Exposure to high sound levels in clubs, cinemas, at concerts and sports events may result in a progressive hearing loss, especially among young people, being the main target group of such facilities and events. The first step to change this situation and to raise the general awareness is to perform reliable measurements the results of which will emphasize the significance of the problem. This project presents the results of more than hundred measurements, performed in most types of public utility facilities in Poland. As the most suitable measuring instrument for such a research, personal noise dosimeters were used to collect the data. Each measurement is presented in the form of numerical results including equivalent and peak sound pressure levels and a detailed description considering the type of the sound source, size and furnishing of the room and the subjective sound level evaluation. In the absence of a straight reference point for the interpretation of the data, the limits specified in EU Directive 2003/10/EC were used for comparison. They set the maximum sound level values for workers in relation to their working time length. The analysis of the examined problem leads to the conclusion that during leisure time, people are exposed to noise levels significantly exceeding safe values. As the hearing problems are gradually progressing, most people underplay the problem, ignoring the first symptoms. Therefore, an effort has to be made to specify the noise regulations for public utility facilities. Without any action, in the foreseeable future the majority of Europeans will be dealing with serious hearing damage, which will have a negative impact on the whole societies.

Keywords: hearing protection, noise level limits, noise prevention, noise regulations, public utility facilities

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Authors: Nikhil Verma, Akshay Kant Mishra, Rishabh Rastogi, Bikarama Prasad Yadav

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Emerging fire incidents are the protuberant contributor out turning into life loss, property damage and importantly firefighters. It insinuates that a firefighting and rescue operation of the existing equipment or apparatus and their proficiency is limited, particularly in annihilating firefighting environments. The proposed methodology will help in developing a technology which can be useful in minimizing the risks and losses due to fire. In this paper, design and development of combat mini vehicle comprising of multi-purpose nozzle system is proposed which can target diverse fires simultaneously at distinct time and location. Basically, the system is semi-automated type protection system which can be manoeuvred by controller. Designing of robust vehicle based on semi-automated protection type system is consummated using SolidWorks platform. Concept of developing a robust vehicle will help to fight fires in multiple directions reducing the time required to douse multiple fires.

Keywords: fire douse vehicle, multiple fires, multi-purpose nozzle, semi-automated system

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Authors: Innocent O. Arukalam, Emeka E. Oguzie

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Interest in the development of eco-friendly anti-corrosion coatings using bio-based renewable materials is gaining momentum recently. To this effect, chitin biopolymer, which is non-toxic, biodegradable, and inherently possesses anti-microbial property, was successfully synthesized from snail shells and used as a filler in the preparation of epoxy coating. The chitin particles were characterized with contact angle goniometer, scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrophotometer, and X-ray diffractometer (XRD). The performance of the coatings was evaluated by immersion and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) tests. Electronic structure properties of the coating ingredients and molecular level interaction of the corrodent and coated Q235 steel were appraised by quantum chemical computations (QCC) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation techniques, respectively. The water contact angle (WCA) measurement of chitin particles was found to be 129.3o while that of chitin particles modified with amino trimethoxy silane (ATMS) was 149.6o, suggesting it is highly hydrophobic. Immersion and EIS analyses revealed that epoxy coating containing silane-modified chitin exhibited lowest water absorption and highest barrier as well as anti-corrosion performances. The QCC showed that quantum parameters for the coating containing silane-modified chitin are optimum and therefore corresponds to high corrosion protection. The high negative value of adsorption energies (Eads) for the coating containing silane-modified chitin indicates the coating molecules interacted and adsorbed strongly on the steel surface. The observed results have shown that silane-modified epoxy-chitin coating would perform satisfactorily for surface protection of metal structures in saline environment.

Keywords: chitin, EIS, epoxy coating, hydrophobic, molecular dynamics simulation, quantum chemical computation

Procedia PDF Downloads 73

Authors: Hideo Suzuki, Yuya Kiyonobu, Kotaro Matsushita, Masaki Hanada, Rie Suzuki, Noriko Niijima, Noriko Uosaki, Tadao Nakamura

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People often worry about their elderly family members who are living by themselves or staying alone somewhere. An intelligent watch-over system for such elderly people, using a Raspberry Pi IoT device, has been newly developed to monitor those who live or stay separately from their families and alert them if a problem occurs. The system consists of motion sensors and temperature-humidity combined sensors that are located at seven points within an elderly person's home. The intelligent algorithms of the system detect signs and the possibility of unhealthy situations arising for the elderly relative; e.g., an unusually long bathing time, or a visit to a restroom, too high a room temperature, etc., by using data cached by the sensors above, at seven points within their house. The system gives more consideration to the elderly person's privacy, by using the sensors above, instead of using cameras and microphones placed around the house. The system invented and described here, can send a Twitter direct message to designated family members when an elderly relative is possibly in an unhealthy condition. Thus the system helps decrease family members' anxieties regarding their elderly relatives and increases their sense of security.

Keywords: elderly person, IoT device, Raspberry Pi, watch-over system

Procedia PDF Downloads 209

Authors: Y. P. Wang, J. K. Chen, C. H. Lee, G. H. Huang, M. C. Wang, S. W. Chen, Y. T. Kuan, H. C. Lin, C. Y. Huang, W. H. Liang, W. C. Lin, H. C. Yu

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The hi-tech industries in the Science Park at southern Taiwan were heavily damaged by a strong earthquake early 2016. The financial loss in this event was attributed primarily to the automated stocker system handling fully processed products, and recovery of the automated stocker system from the aftermath proved to contribute major lead time. Therefore, development of effective means for protection of stockers against earthquakes has become the highest priority for risk minimization and business continuity. This study proposes to mitigate the seismic response of the stockers by introducing viscous fluid dampers in between the ceiling and the top of the stockers. The stocker is expected to vibrate less violently with a passive control force on top. Linear damper is considered in this application with an optimal damping coefficient determined from a preliminary parametric study. The damper is small in size in comparison with those adopted for building or bridge applications. Component test of the dampers has been carried out to make sure they meet the design requirement. Shake table tests have been further conducted to verify the proposed scheme under realistic earthquake conditions. Encouraging results have been achieved by effectively reducing the seismic responses of up to 60% and preventing the FOUPs from falling off the shelves that would otherwise be the case if left unprotected. Effectiveness of adopting a viscous fluid damper for seismic control of the stocker on top against the ceiling has been confirmed. This technique has been adopted by Macronix International Co., LTD for seismic retrofit of existing stockers. Demonstrative projects on the application of the proposed technique are planned underway for other companies in the display industry as well.

Keywords: hi-tech industries, seismic protection, automated stocker system, viscous fluid damper

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Authors: Kimberly Tasha Jiayi Tang, Changqing Lin, Zhe Wang, Tze-Wai Wong, Md. Shakhaoat Hossain, Jian Yu, Alexis Lau

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Hong Kong has practiced a risk-based Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) system that sums hospitalization risks associated with short-term exposure to air pollu-tants. As an air pollution risk communication tool, it informs the public about the current air quality, anchoring around the World Health Organization's (WHO) 2005 Air Quality Guidelines (AQGs). Given the WHO's recent update in 2021, assessing how Hong Kong’s air quality risk communication can be en-hanced using these updated guidelines is essential. Hong Kong’s AQHI is lim-ited by solely focusing on short-term health risks, which could lead the public to underestimate cumulative health impacts. Therefore, we propose the intro-duction of a composite AQHI that reports both long-term and short-term health risks. Additionally, the WHO interim targets will be considered as anchor points for various health risk categories. Furthermore, with the increasing ozone levels in Hong Kong and Southern China due to improved NOx mitigation measures, it has been a challenging task in balancing health protection against climate mitigation. However, our findings present a promising outlook. Despite the rise in ozone levels, the combined health risks in Hong Kong and Guang-dong have seen a decline, largely due to reductions in NO2 and PM concentra-tions, both having significant health implications. By shifting from a concentra-tion-based approach to a health risk-based system like the AQHI, our study highlights the prospective of harmonizing health protection and climate mitiga-tion goals. This health-focused framework suggests that rigorous NOx controls can effective-ly serve both objectives in parallel.

Keywords: air quality management, air quality health index, health risk management, air pollution

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Authors: Todor Nickolov Stoyanov

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Cooperatives are present in all countries and in almost all sectors, including agriculture, forestry, food, finance, health, marketing, insurance and credit. Strong cooperatives are able to overcome many of the difficulties faced by private owners. Cooperatives use seven principles, including the 'Community Concern" principle, which enables cooperatives to work for the sustainable development of the community. The members of cooperatives may use different systems for generating year-round employment and for receiving sustainable income through performing different forestry activities. Various methods are used during the preparation of the report. These include literature reviews, statistics, secondary data and expert interviews. The members of the cooperatives are benefits exclusively from increasing the efficiency of the various products and from the overall yield of the harvest, and ultimately from achieving better profit through cooperative efforts. Cooperatives also use other types of activities that are an additional opportunity for cooperative income. There are many heterogeneous activities in the production and service sectors of the forest cooperatives under consideration. Some cooperatives serve dairies, distilleries, woodworking enterprises, tourist homes, hotels and motels, shops, ski slopes, sheep breeding, etc. Through the revenue generated by the activity, cooperatives have the opportunity to carry out various environmental and protective activities - recreation, water protection, protection of endangered and endemic species, etc., which in the case of small-scale forests cannot be achieved and the management is not sustainable. The conclusions indicate the results received in the analysis. Cooperative management of forests and forest lands gives higher incomes to individual owners. The management of forests and forest lands through cooperatives helps to carry out different environmental and protective activities. Cooperative forest management provides additional means of subsistence to the owners of poor forest lands. Cooperative management of forests and forest lands support owners to implement the forest management plans and to apply sustainable management of these territories.

Keywords: cooperative, forestry, forest owners, principles of cooperation

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Authors: Mariam Kamal Sawares Gerges

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The interface between development and human rights has long been Although there has been an improvement in the protection of human rights in the region, human rights violations continue to occur. Although the government has adopted human rights laws, labor laws, and international agreements ratified by the United States, human rights violations are rare. The number of companies in debt is increasing in Bekasi, and human rights violations are increasing because the government is not obliged to protect them. The United States government and business leaders must respect, protect and defend the human rights of workers. This article discusses the human rights violations that garment workers face under the law, as well as ideas to improve workers' rights. Many theories have been developed to understand the impact between these two concepts, from rights to development to the development of human rights. Despite efforts, the relationship between development and human rights is not fully understood. But the connection between these two ideas is the idea that development efforts must respect human rights guarantees that have increased in recent years. It is then examined whether the right to sustainable development is acceptable or not.

Keywords: sustainable development, human rights, the right to development, the human rights-based approach to development, environmental rights, economic development, social sustainability human rights protection, human rights violations, workers’ rights, justice, security

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Authors: M. B. Sokoto, L. Tanko, Y. M. Abdullahi

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The study aimed at examining the impact of climatic factors (rainfall, minimum and maximum temperature) on the productivity of major cereals in Sokoto state, Nigeria. Secondary data from 1997-2008 were used in respect of annual yield of Major cereals crops (maize, millet, rice, and sorghum (t ha-1). Data in respect of climate was collected from Sokoto Energy Research Centre (SERC) for the period under review. Data collected was analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation and regression analysis. The result of the research reveals that there is variation in the trend of the climatic factors and also variation in cereals output. The effect of average temperature on yields has a negative effect on crop yields. Similarly, rainfall is not significant in explaining the effect of climate on cereal crops production. The study has revealed to some extend the effect of climatic variables, such as rainfall, relative humidity, maximum and minimum temperature on major cereals production in Sokoto State. This will assist in planning ahead in cereals production in the area. Other factors such as soil fertility, correct timing of planting and good cultural practices (such as spacing of strands), protection of crops from weeds, pests and diseases and planting of high yielding varieties should also be taken into consideration for increase yield of cereals.

Keywords: cereals, climate, impact, major, productivity

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Authors: Branci Sarra, Branci Saadia

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Because of the multiplied data growth, many computer science tools have been developed to process and analyze these Big Data. High-performance computing architectures have been designed to meet the treatment needs of Big Data (view transaction processing standpoint, strategic, and tactical analytics). The purpose of this article is to provide a historical and global perspective on the recent trend of high-performance computing architectures especially what has a relation with Analytics and Data Mining.

Keywords: high performance computing, HPC, big data, data analysis

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Authors: Jari Koskiaho, Teija Kirkkala, Jani Salminen, Sarianne Tikkanen, Sirkka Tattari

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Here, phosphorus (P) loading to the lake Pyhäjärvi (SW Finland) was reviewed, load reduction targets were determined, and different measures of waterwise circular economy to reach the targets were evaluated. In addition to the P loading from the lake’s catchment, there is a significant amount of internal P loading occurring in the lake. There are no point source emissions into the lake. Thus, the most important source of external nutrient loading is agriculture. According to the simulations made with LLR-model, the chemical state of the lake is at the border of the classes ‘Satisfactory’ and ‘Good’. The LLR simulations suggest that a reduction of some hundreds of kilograms in annual P loading would be needed to reach an unquestionably ‘Good’ state. Evaluation of the measures of the waterwise circular economy suggested that they possess great potential in reaching the target P load reduction. If they were applied extensively and in a versatile, targeted manner in the catchment, their combined effect would reach the target reduction. In terms of cost-effectiveness, the waterwise measures were ranked as follows: The best: Fishing, 2nd best: Recycling of vegetation of reed beds, wetlands and buffer zones, 3rd best: Recycling field drainage waters stored in wetlands and ponds for irrigation, 4th best: Controlled drainage and irrigation, and 5th best: Recycling of the sediments of wetlands and ponds for soil enrichment. We also identified various waterwise nutrient recycling measures to decrease the P content of arable land. The cost-effectiveness of such measures may be very good. Solutions are needed to Finnish water protection in general, and particularly for regions like lake Pyhäjärvi catchment with intensive domestic animal production, of which the ‘P-hotspots’ are a crucial issue.

Keywords: circular economy, lake protection, mitigation measures, phosphorus

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Authors: Prashant Shrivastava

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The purpose of this study is to explore re3dat.org registry to identify research data repositories registration workflow process. Further objective is to depict a graph for present development of research data repositories in India. Preliminarily with an approach to understand re3data.org registry framework and schema design then further proceed to explore the status of research data repositories of India in re3data.org registry. Research data repositories are getting wider relevance due to e-research concepts. Now available registry re3data.org is a good tool for users and researchers to identify appropriate research data repositories as per their research requirements. In Indian environment, a compatible National Research Data Policy is the need of the time to boost the management of research data. Registry for Research Data Repositories is a crucial tool to discover specific information in specific domain. Also, Research Data Repositories in India have not been studied. Re3data.org registry and status of Indian research data repositories both discussed in this study.

Keywords: research data, research data repositories, research data registry, re3data.org

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Authors: Kevin Moustapha

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Psychopathy is perceived today as being «the most important concept in the criminal justice system» and as «the most important legal notion of the early 21 th century». The explosion of research related to psychopathy seems to perfectly illustrate this trend. Traditionally, many studies tend to focus on links between insanity defense and psychopathy. That is why our purpose in this article is to analyze psychopathic disorders in the scope of judges sentencing in Canada. Indeed, in every Canadian case related to dangerous offenders, judges must balance between fairness and protection of the individuals rights of the accused and protection of society from dangerous predators who may commit future acts of physical or sexual violence. Increasingly, psychopathic disorders are taking an important part in judge sentencing, especially in Canada. This phenomenon can be illustrated by the high proportion of psychopath offenders incarcerated in North American prisons. Many decisions in Canadians courtrooms seem to point out that psychopathy is often used as a strong argument by the judges to preserve public safety. The fact that psychopathy is often associated with violence, recklessness and recidivism, it could explain why many judges consider psychopathic disorders as an aggravating factor. Generally, the judge reasoning is based on article 753 of Canadian Criminal Code related to dangerous offenders, which is used for individuals who show a pattern of repetitive and persistent aggressive behaviour. However, with cognitive neurosciences, the psychopath’s situation in courtrooms would probably change. Cerebral imaging and news data provided by the neurosciences show that emotional and volitional functions in psychopath’s brains are impaired. Understanding these new issues could enable some judges to recognize psychopathic disorders as a mitigating factor. Two important questions ought to be raised in this article: can exploring psychopaths ‘brains really change the judge sentencing in Canadian courtrooms? If yes, can judges consider psychopathy more as a mitigating factor than an aggravating factor?

Keywords: criminal law, judges sentencing, neurosciences, psychopathy

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Authors: Flavio Cannavo

Abstract:

Continuous evaluation of the status of potentially hazardous volcanos plays a key role for civil protection purposes. The importance of monitoring volcanic activity, especially for energetic paroxysms that usually come with tephra emissions, is crucial not only for exposures to the local population but also for airline traffic. Presently, real-time surveillance of most volcanoes worldwide is essentially delegated to one or more human experts in volcanology, who interpret data coming from different kind of monitoring networks. Unfavorably, the high nonlinearity of the complex and coupled volcanic dynamics leads to a large variety of different volcanic behaviors. Moreover, continuously measured parameters (e.g. seismic, deformation, infrasonic and geochemical signals) are often not able to fully explain the ongoing phenomenon, thus making the fast volcano state assessment a very puzzling task for the personnel on duty at the control rooms. With the aim of aiding the personnel on duty in volcano surveillance, here we introduce a system based on an ensemble of data-driven classifiers to infer automatically the ongoing volcano status from all the available different kind of measurements. The system consists of a heterogeneous set of independent classifiers, each one built with its own data and algorithm. Each classifier gives an output about the volcanic status. The ensemble technique allows weighting the single classifier output to combine all the classifications into a single status that maximizes the performance. We tested the model on the Mt. Etna (Italy) case study by considering a long record of multivariate data from 2011 to 2015 and cross-validated it. Results indicate that the proposed model is effective and of great power for decision-making purposes.

Keywords: Bayesian networks, expert system, mount Etna, volcano monitoring

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Authors: Nabila Farhin, Israt Jahan

Abstract:

Despite the feminisation of the global health force, women mostly engage in nursing, midwifery and community health workers (HWs), and the posts like surgeons, doctors, and specialists are generally male-dominated. It is also prominent in Bangladesh, where female HWs witness systematic workplace inequalities, discrimination, and underpayment. The Covid-19 pandemic put unsurmountable pressure on HWs as they had to serve in high-risk workplaces as frontliners. The already disadvantaged female HWs shouldered the same burden, were overworked without adequate occupational health and safety measures (OSH) and risked their lives. Acknowledging their vulnerable workplace conditions, the World Health Organization (WHO) and International Labour Organization (ILO) circulated a few specialised guidelines amid the peril. Bangladesh tried to adhere to international guidelines while formulating pandemic management strategies. In reality, the already weak and understaffed health sector collapsed with the patient influx and many HWs got infected and died in the line of duty, exposing the high-risk nature of the work. Unfortunately, the gender-segregated data of infected HWs are absent. This qualitative research investigates whether the existing laws of Bangladesh are adequate in protecting female HWs as frontliners in high-risk workplaces during the Covid-19 pandemic. The paper first examines international labour laws safeguarding female frontline HWs. It also analyses the specialised Covid-19 pandemic guidelines protecting their interests. Finally, the research investigates the compliance of Bangladesh as per international legal guidance during the pandemic. In doing so, it explores the domestic laws, professional guidelines for HWs and pandemic response strategies. The paper critically examines the primary sources like international and national statutes, rules, regulations and guidelines. Secondary sources like authoritative journal articles, books and newspaper reports are contextually analysed in line with the objective of the paper. The definition of HW is ambiguous in the labour laws of Bangladesh. It leads to confusion regarding the extent of legal protection rendered to female HWs at private hospitals in high-risk situations. The labour laws are not applicable in Public hospitals, as the employees follow the public service rules. Unfortunately, the country has no specialised law to protect HWs in high-risk workplaces, and the professional guidelines for HWs also remain inadequate in this regard. Even though the pandemic management strategies highlight some protective measures in high-risk situations, they only deal with HWs who are pregnant or have underlying health issues. No specialised protective guidelines can be found for female HWs as frontliners. Therefore, the laws are insufficient and failed to render adequate legal protection to female frontline HWs during the pandemic. The country also lacks comprehensive health legislation and uniform institutional and professional guidelines, preventing them from accessing grievance mechanisms. Hence, the female HWs felt victimised while duty-bound to serve in high-risk workplaces without adequate safeguards. Bangladesh should clarify the definition of HWs and standardise the service rules for providing medical care in high-risk workplaces. The research also recommends adequate health legislation and specialised legal protection to safeguard female HWs in future emergencies.

Keywords: female health workers (HWs), high-risk workplaces, Covid-19 pandemic, Bangladesh

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Authors: Artemova Anastasiia, Shen Zexiang, Savilov Serguei

Abstract:

The marine environment is very aggressive for a number of factors, such as moisture, temperature, winds, ultraviolet radiation, chloride ion concentration, oxygen concentration, pollution, and biofouling, all contributing to marine corrosion. Protective organic coatings provide protection either by a barrier action from the layer, which is limited due to permeability to water and oxygen or from active corrosion inhibition and cathodic protection due to the pigments in the coating. Carbon nanotubes can play not only barrier effect but also passivation effect via adsorbing molecular species of oxygen, hydroxyl, chloride and sulphate anions. Multiwall carbon nanotubes composite provide very important properties such as mechanical strength, non-cytotoxicity, outstanding thermal and electrical conductivity, and very strong absorption of ultraviolet radiation. The samples of stainless steel (316L) coated by epoxy resin with carbon nanotubes-based pigments were exposed to UV irradiation (340nm), and immersion to the sodium chloride solution for 1000h and corrosion behavior in 3.5 wt% sodium chloride (NaCl) solution was investigated. Experimental results showed that corrosion current significantly decreased in the presence of carbon nanotube-based materials, especially nitrogen-doped ones, in the composite coating. Importance of the structure and composition of the pigment materials and its composition was established, and the mechanism of the protection was described. Finally, the effect of nitrogen doping on the corrosion behavior was investigated. The pigment-polymer crosslinking improves the coating performance and the corrosion rate decreases in comparison with pure epoxy coating from 5.7E-05 to 1.4E-05mm/yr for the coating without any degradation; in more than 6 times for the coating after ultraviolet degradation; and more than 16% for the coatings after immersion degradation.

Keywords: corrosion, coating, carbon nanotubes, degradation

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Authors: Ilgin Gökaşar, Saman Ghaffarian

Abstract:

The need for fast processed big data of transportation ridership (eg., smartcard data) and traffic operation (e.g., traffic detectors data) which requires a lot of computational power is incontrovertible in Intelligent Transportation Systems. Nowadays cloud computing is one of the important subjects and popular information technology solution for data processing. It enables users to process enormous measure of data without having their own particular computing power. Thus, it can also be a good selection for transportation big data processing as well. This paper intends to examine how the cloud computing can enhance transportation big data process with contrasting its advantages and disadvantages, and discussing cloud computing features.

Keywords: big data, cloud computing, Intelligent Transportation Systems, ITS, traffic data processing

Procedia PDF Downloads 445

Authors: Ali Kadivar, Kaveh Niayesh

Abstract:

The integration of green energy resources is a major focus, and the role of Medium Voltage Direct Current (MVDC) systems is exponentially expanding. However, the protection of MVDC systems against DC faults is a challenge that can have consequences on reliable and safe grid operation. This challenge reveals the need for MVDC circuit breakers (MVDC CB), which are in infancies of their improvement. Therefore will be a lack of MVDC CBs standards, including thresholds for acceptable power losses and operation speed. To establish a baseline for comparison purposes, a benchmark system for testing future MVDC CBs is vital. The literatures just give the timing sequence of each switch and the emphasis is on the topology, without in-depth study on the control algorithm of DCCB, as the circuit breaker control system is not yet systematic. A digital testing benchmark is designed for the Proof-of-concept of simulation studies using software models. It can validate studies based on real-time digital simulators and Transient Network Analyzer (TNA) models. The proposed experimental setup utilizes data accusation from the accurate sensors installed on the tested MVDC CB and through general purpose input/outputs (GPIO) from the microcontroller and PC Prototype studies in the laboratory-based models utilizing Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) equipment connected to real-time digital simulators is achieved. The improved control algorithm of the circuit breaker can reduce the peak fault current and avoid arc resignation, helping the coordination of DCCB in relay protection. Moreover, several research gaps are identified regarding case studies and evaluation approaches.

Keywords: DC circuit breaker, hardware-in-the-loop, real time digital simulation, testing benchmark

Procedia PDF Downloads 62