Search results for: online path planning

Authors: Alemaw Kefale, Aramde Fetene, Hayal Desta

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This study analyzed the users' and experts' views on the green space quality and planning models in Debre Berhan (DB) and Debre Markos (DM) cities in Ethiopia. A questionnaire survey was conducted on 350 park users (148 from DB and 202 from DM) to rate the accessibility, size, shape, vegetation cover, social and cultural context, conservation and heritage, community participation, attractiveness, comfort, safety, inclusiveness, and maintenance of green spaces using a Likert scale. A key informant interview was held with 13 experts in DB and 12 in DM. Descriptive statistics and tests of independence of variables using the chi-square test were done. A statistically significant association existed between the perception of green space quality attributes and users' occupation (χ² (160, N = 350) = 224.463, p < 0.001), age (χ² (128, N = 350) = 212.812, p < 0.001), gender (χ² (32, N = 350) = 68.443, p < 0.001), and education level (χ² (192, N = 350) = 293.396, p < 0.001). 61.7 % of park users were unsatisfied with the quality of urban green spaces. The users perceived dense vegetation cover as "good," with a mean value of 3.41, while the remaining were perceived as "medium with a mean value of 2.62 – 3.32". Only quantitative space standards are practiced as a green space planning model, while other models are unfamiliar and never used in either city. Therefore, experts need to be aware of and practice urban green models during urban planning to ensure that new developments include green spaces to accommodate the community's and the environment's needs.

Keywords: urban green space, quality, users and experts, green space planning models, Ethiopia

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Authors: Haneffa M. G.

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Retirement preparedness among Malaysian working individuals found to be poor. Prior research proven women consistently have lower retirement confidence as compared to men. Retirement planning still become the vague issues due to saving for the golden years are being stepsided by many people. Most of them think that their contributions in companies and government retirement plan is enough to comfort them in their golden years. The Employee Provident Fund (EPF) claims that most of nearly retired person have inadequate fund to retire. Therefore, this paper aims to discuss the saving behavior of younger cohort of working individuals towards retirement planning in Malaysia. A theoretical framework is developed to understand the relationship between demographic characteristics, financial education, goal clarity, perceived religiosity and retirement savings behavior.

Keywords: retirement planning, savings behavior, perceived religiosity, goal clarity, Malaysia

Procedia PDF Downloads 261

Authors: Kourosh Modarresi

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The abundance of media channels and devices has given users a variety of options to extract, discover, and explore information in the digital world. Since, often, there is a long and complicated path that a typical user may venture before taking any (significant) action (such as purchasing goods and services), it is critical to know how each node (media channel) in the path of user has contributed to the final action. In this work, the significance of each media channel is computed using statistical analysis and machine learning techniques. More specifically, “Regularized Singular Value Decomposition”, and “Sparse Principal Component” has been used to compute the significance of each channel toward the final action. The results of this work are a considerable improvement compared to the present approaches.

Keywords: multimedia attribution, sparse principal component, regularization, singular value decomposition, feature significance, machine learning, linear systems, variable shrinkage

Procedia PDF Downloads 289

Authors: Firdaous Zair, Zoubir Elfelsoufi, Mohammed Fourka

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The allocation of resources is an issue that is needed on the tactical and operational strategic plan. This work considers the allocation of resources in the case of pure players, manufacturers and Click & Mortars that have launched online sales. The aim is to improve the level of customer satisfaction and maintaining the benefits of e-retailer and of its cooperators and reducing costs and risks. Our contribution is a decision support system and tool for improving the allocation of resources in logistics chains e-commerce B2C context. We first modeled the B2C chain with all operations that integrates and possible scenarios since online retailers offer a wide selection of personalized service. The personalized services that online shopping companies offer to the clients can be embodied in many aspects, such as the customizations of payment, the distribution methods, and after-sales service choices. In addition, every aspect of customized service has several modes. At that time, we analyzed the optimization problems of supply chain resource allocation in customized online shopping service mode, which is different from the supply chain resource allocation under traditional manufacturing or service circumstances. Then we realized an optimization model and algorithm for the development based on the analysis of the allocation of the B2C supply chain resources. It is a multi-objective optimization that considers the collaboration of resources in operations, time and costs but also the risks and the quality of services as well as dynamic and uncertain characters related to the request.

Keywords: e-commerce, supply chain, B2C, optimisation, resource allocation

Procedia PDF Downloads 254

Authors: Semire Yekta

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Many online retailers set up manual review teams to overcome the limitations of automated online fraud detection systems. This study critically examines the strategies they adapt in their decision-making process to set apart fraudulent individuals from non-fraudulent online shoppers. The study uses a mix method research approach. 32 in-depth interviews have been conducted alongside with participant observation and auto-ethnography. The study found out that all steps of the decision-making process are significantly affected by a level of subjectivity, personal understandings of online fraud, preferences and judgments and not necessarily by objectively identifiable facts. Rather clearly knowing who the fraudulent individuals are, the team members have to predict whether they think the customer might be a fraudster. Common strategies used are relying on the classification and fraud scorings in the automated fraud detection systems, weighing up arguments for and against the customer and making a decision, using cancellation to test customers’ reaction and making use of personal experiences and “the sixth sense”. The interaction in the team also plays a significant role given that some decisions turn into a group discussion. While customer data represent the basis for the decision-making, fraud management teams frequently make use of Google search and Google Maps to find out additional information about the customer and verify whether the customer is the person they claim to be. While this, on the one hand, raises ethical concerns, on the other hand, Google Street View on the address and area of the customer puts customers living in less privileged housing and areas at a higher risk of being classified as fraudsters. Phone validation is used as a final measurement to make decisions for or against the customer when previous strategies and Google Search do not suffice. However, phone validation is also characterized by individuals’ subjectivity, personal views and judgment on customer’s reaction on the phone that results in a final classification as genuine or fraudulent.

Keywords: online fraud, data mining, manual review, social construction

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Authors: Siyuan Cai

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COVID-19 has triggered the planning circles to think about how to improve the city's ability to respond to public health emergencies. From the perspective of the community, this article reviews the risk cases in Wuhan Chenjiadun Community and other communities under the epidemic, and analyzes the response to public health emergencies such as infectious disease outbreaks in the excellent cases of resilient epidemic prevention communities. Then, combined with the planning of the living circle, it demonstrates the necessity of integrating the concept of resilience into the 15-minute community living circle to make up for the shortcomings of infectious disease prevention. Finally, it is proposed to strictly control the source and tail of the epidemic in the layout of the living circle, daily health and epidemic emergency should be taken into account in planning, community medical resources should be decentralized in management, and the application of smart technologies in the planning of living circle should be fully emphasized, so as to improve the community's ability to respond to public health emergencies.

Keywords: pandemic, resilient cities, resilient community, 15-minute community life circle

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Authors: Thifhuriwi Emmanuel Madzunye, Patricia Harpur, Ephias Ruhode

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A review of the pertinent literature identified a gap concerning the hindrances and opportunities accompanying the implementation of real-time online learning systems (RTOLs) in rural areas. Whilst RTOLs present a possible solution to teaching and learning issues in rural areas, little is known about the implementation of digital strategies among schools in isolated communities. This study explores associated guidelines that have the potential to inform decision-making where Internet-based education could improve educational opportunities. A systematic literature review has the potential to consolidate and focus on disparate literature served to collect interlinked data from specific sources in a structured manner. During qualitative data analysis (QDA) of selected publications via the application of a QDA tool - ATLAS.ti, the following overarching themes emerged: digital divide, educational strategy, human factors, and support. Furthermore, findings from data collection and literature review suggest that signiant factors include a lack of digital knowledge, infrastructure shortcomings such as a lack of computers, poor internet connectivity, and handicapped real-time online may limit students’ progress. The study recommends that timeous consideration should be given to the influence of the digital divide. Additionally, the evolution of educational strategy that adopts digital approaches, a focus on training of role-players and stakeholders concerning human factors, and the seeking of governmental funding and support are essential to the implementation and success of RTOLs.

Keywords: communication, digital divide, digital skills, distance, educational strategy, government, ICT, infrastructures, learners, limpopo, lukalo, network, online learning systems, political-unrest, real-time, real-time online learning, real-time online learning system, pass-rate, resources, rural area, school, support, teachers, teaching and learning and training

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Authors: Li Shiyue

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In an urban built environment, urban green space is scarce, especially around old residential areas. Due to the innate design deficiency and the non-core location of these areas, they lack green space, and the recreational opportunities of the surrounding residents are not guaranteed. Micro greenspace becomes a "patch" to compensate for the urban function. To realize the renewal and transformation of micro greenspace, and make it meet the use needs of most groups, this paper introduces the concept of inclusive design. Based on relevant research at home and abroad, this paper discusses the connotation and current situation of micro greenspace. Combining with the realistic conditions of China, this paper thinks about the planning path of inclusive renewal from the aspects of selecting micro greenspace transformation potential points and exploring the key points of site renewal. Among them, the key points of site renewal are explored from five angles: land guarantee, systematic coordination, refined design, and shared space creation, to provide useful references for related research and practice.

Keywords: inclusive design, micro greenspace, old city area, space renewal

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Authors: Yassir Abdelrazig, Ren Moses

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Roadway planning and design is a very complex process involving five key phases before a project is completed; planning, project development, final design, right-of-way, and construction. The planning phase for a new roadway transportation project is a very critical phase as it greatly affects all latter phases of the project. A location study is usually performed during the preliminary planning phase in a new roadway project. The objective of the location study is to develop alignment alternatives that are cost efficient considering land acquisition and construction costs. This paper describes a methodology to develop optimal preliminary roadway alignments utilizing spatial-data. Four optimization criteria are taken into consideration; roadway length, land cost, land slope, and environmental impacts. The basic concept of the methodology is to convert the proposed project area into a grid, which represents the search space for an optimal alignment. The aforementioned optimization criteria are represented in each of the grid’s cells. A spatial-data optimization technique is utilized to find the optimal alignment in the search space based on the four optimization criteria. Two case studies for new roadway projects in Duval County in the State of Florida are presented to illustrate the methodology. The optimization output alignments are compared to the proposed Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) alignments. The comparison is based on right-of-way costs for the alignments. For both case studies, the right-of-way costs for the developed optimal alignments were found to be significantly lower than the FDOT alignments.

Keywords: gemoetric design, optimization, planning, roadway planning, roadway design

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Authors: Halil Ibrahim Demir, Abdullah Hulusi Kokcam, Fuat Simsir, Özer Uygun

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Traditionally, three important manufacturing functions which are process planning, scheduling and due-date assignment are performed sequentially and separately. Although there are numerous works on the integration of process planning and scheduling and plenty of works focusing on scheduling with due date assignment, there are only a few works on integrated process planning, scheduling and due-date assignment. Although due-dates are determined without taking into account of weights of the customers in the literature, here weighted due-date assignment is employed to get better performance. Jobs are scheduled according to weighted earliest due date dispatching rule and due dates are determined according to some popular due date assignment methods by taking into account of the weights of each job. Simulated Annealing, Evolutionary Strategies, Random Search, hybrid of Random Search and Simulated Annealing, and hybrid of Random Search and Evolutionary Strategies, are applied as solution techniques. Three important manufacturing functions are integrated step-by-step and higher integration levels are found better. Search meta-heuristics are found to be very useful while improving performance measure.

Keywords: process planning, weighted scheduling, weighted due-date assignment, simulated annealing, evolutionary strategies, hybrid searches

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Authors: Avoseh Funmilola, Osman Khalid, Wayne Nelson, Paramespri Naidoo, Deresh Ramjugernath

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The increasing global atmospheric temperature is of great concern and this has led to the development of technologies to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Flue gas emissions from fossil fuel combustion are major sources of greenhouse gases. One of the ways to reduce the emission of CO₂ from flue gases is by post combustion capture process and this can be done by absorbing the gas into suitable chemical solvents before emitting the gas into the atmosphere. Alkanolamines are promising solvents for this capture process. Vapour liquid equilibrium of CO₂-alkanolamine systems is often represented by CO₂ loading and partial pressure of CO₂ without considering the liquid phase. The liquid phase of this system is a complex one comprising of 9 species. Online analysis of the process is important to monitor the concentrations of the liquid phase reacting and product species. Liquid phase analysis of CO₂-diethanolamine (DEA) solution was performed by attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy. A robust Calibration was performed for the CO₂-aqueous DEA system prior to an online monitoring experiment. The partial least square regression method was used for the analysis of the calibration spectra obtained. The models obtained were used for prediction of DEA and CO₂ concentrations in the online monitoring experiment. The experiment was performed with a newly built recirculating experimental set up in the laboratory. The set up consist of a 750 ml equilibrium cell and ATR-FTIR liquid flow cell. Measurements were performed at 400°C. The results obtained indicated that the FTIR spectroscopy combined with Partial least square method is an effective tool for online monitoring of speciation.

Keywords: ATR-FTIR, CO₂ capture, online analysis, PLS regression

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Authors: Pirom Thangchitpianpol, Suttipong Jumroonrut

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This research investigates the distribution of food demand for animal food and the optimum amount of that food production at minimum cost. The data consist of customer purchase orders for the food of laying hens, price of food for laying hens, cost per unit for the food inventory, cost related to food of laying hens in which the food is out of stock, such as fine, overtime, urgent purchase for material. They were collected from January, 1990 to December, 2013 from a factory in Nakhonratchasima province. The collected data are analyzed in order to explore the distribution of the monthly food demand for the laying hens and to see the rate of inventory per unit. The results are used in a stochastic linear programming model for aggregate planning in which the optimum production or minimum cost could be obtained. Programming algorithms in MATLAB and tools in Linprog software are used to get the solution. The distribution of the food demand for laying hens and the random numbers are used in the model. The study shows that the distribution of monthly food demand for laying has a normal distribution, the monthly average amount (unit: 30 kg) of production from January to December. The minimum total cost average for 12 months is Baht 62,329,181.77. Therefore, the production planning can reduce the cost by 14.64% from real cost.

Keywords: animal food, stochastic linear programming, aggregate planning, production planning, demand uncertainty

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Authors: Saw Thiha, Jay Rajasekera

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A boom in video conferencing generated millions of hours of video data daily to be analyzed. However, such enormous data pose certain scalability issues to be analyzed efficiently, let alone do it in real-time, as online conferences can involve hundreds of people and can last for hours. This paper proposes an efficient online proctoring solution that can analyze the online conferences real-time on edge devices such as Android, iOS, and desktops. Since the computation can be done upfront on the devices where online conferences take place, it can scale well without requiring intensive resources such as GPU servers and complex cloud infrastructure. According to the linear models, face orientation does indeed impact the perceived eye openness. Also, the proposed z score facial landmark standardization was proven to be functional in detecting face orientation and contributed to classifying eye blinks with single eyelid distance computation while achieving a better f1 score and accuracy than the Eye Aspect Ratio (EAR) threshold method. Last but not least, the authors implemented the solution natively in the MediaPipe framework and open-sourced it along with the reproducible experimental results on GitHub. The solution provides face orientation, eye blink, facial activity, and translation detections out of the box and is highly customizable and extensible.

Keywords: android, desktop, edge computing, blink, face orientation, facial activity and translation, MediaPipe, open source, real-time, video conference, web, iOS, Z score facial landmark standardization

Procedia PDF Downloads 81

Authors: Adedayo Jeremiah Adeyekun, Samuel Oluwagbemiga Ishola

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This paper aimed to identify the significance of sustainability in the built environment, the economic and environmental importance to building and construction projects. Sustainability in the built environment has been a key objective of research over the past several decades. Sustainability in the built environment requires reconciliation between economic, environmental and social impacts of design and planning decisions made during the life cycle of a project from inception to termination. Planning for sustainability in the built environment needs us to go beyond our individual disciplines to consider the variety of economic, social and environmental impacts of our decisions in the long term. A decision to build a green residential development in an isolated location may pass some of the test of sustainability through its reduction in stormwater runoff, energy efficiency, and ecological sustainability in the building, but it may fail to be sustainable from a transportation perspective. Sustainability is important to the planning, design, construction, and preservation of the built environment; because it helps these activities reflect multiple values and considerations. In fact, the arts and sciences of the built environment have traditionally integrated values and fostered creative expression, capabilities that can and should lead the sustainability movement as society seeks ways to live in dynamic balance with its own diverse needs and the natural world. This research aimed to capture the state-of-the-art in the development of innovative sustainable design and planning strategies for building and construction projects. Therefore, there is a need for a holistic selection and implication approach for identifying potential sustainable strategies applicable to a particular project and evaluating the overall life cycle impact of each alternative by accounting for different applicable impacts and making the final selection among various viable alternatives.

Keywords: sustainability, built environment, planning, design, construction

Procedia PDF Downloads 156

Authors: Maithem Al-Saadi, Min An

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During airport planning and design stages, the major issues of capacity and safety in construction and operation of an airport need to be taken into consideration. The airside of an airport is a major and critical infrastructure that usually consists of runway(s), taxiway system, and apron(s) etc., which have to be designed according to the international standards and recommendations, and local limitations to accommodate the forecasted demands. However, in many cases, airport airsides are suffering from unexpected risks that occurred during airport operations. Therefore, safety risk assessment should be applied in the planning and design of airsides to cope with the probability of risks and their consequences, and to make decisions to reduce the risks to as low as reasonably practicable (ALARP) based on safety risk assessment. This paper presents a combination approach of Failure Modes, Effect, and Criticality Analysis (FMECA), Fuzzy Reasoning Approach (FRA), and Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP) to develop a risk analysis model for safety risk assessment. An illustrated example is used to the demonstrate risk assessment process on how the design of an airside in an airport can be analysed by using the proposed safety design risk assessment model.

Keywords: airport airside planning and design, design for safety, fuzzy reasoning approach, fuzzy AHP, risk assessment

Procedia PDF Downloads 349

Authors: Tayfun Cay, Fazil Nacar

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Energy investments have increased in North Mediterranean Ceyhan and Yumurtalık districts of Turkey in the last years because of the treaties which are signed between Turkey and other countries for petroleum and natural gas transmission. Authority of land use has passed to district and metropolitan municipalities from town municipalities because of changes in coast legislation and local management legislation. Also Ministry of Environment and Urban Planning and Ministry of Industry and Commerce have had a right to comment on planning unofficially. Public investments increase in area and related planning and expropriation services continue. On the other hand, a lot of private sectors invest in organised industrial sites and industrial areas and it causes a rapid change in ownership status. Also Ceyhan-yumurtalık region is the tourism centre of North Mediterranean. Tourism investments continue in this district. Especially construction sector gain speed and a lot of country sites and apartments are built. In these studies, changes in planning activities in management of different administrative organisations and changes in ownership status and changes in private properties will be presented.

Keywords: coast management, land management, land use, property, public interest

Procedia PDF Downloads 492

Authors: Estephanie S. López Contreras, Vicente Aranda Palacios, Daniela Flores Silva, Felipe Oliveros Olivares, Romina Riquelme Escobedo, Iñaki Westerhout Usabiaga

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This research explored whether the context of online instruction has influenced the development of first-year English-teaching students' communication skills, being these speaking and listening. The theoretical basis finds its niche in the need to bridge the gap in knowledge about the Chilean online educational context and the development of English communicative skills. An interpretative paradigm and a phenomenological design were implemented in this study. Twenty- two first-year students and two teachers from an English teaching training program participated in the study. The students' ages ranged from 18 to 26 years of age, and the teachers' years of experience ranged from 5 to 13 years in the program. For data collection purposes, semi- structured interviews were applied to both students and teachers. Interview questions were based on the initial conceptualization of the central phenomenon. Observations, field notes, and focus groups with the students are also part of the data collection process. Data analysis considered two-cycle methods. The first included descriptive coding for field notes, initial coding for interviews, and creating a codebook. The second cycle included axial coding for both field notes and interviews. After data analysis, the findings show that students perceived online classes as instances in which active communication cannot always occur. In addition, changes made to the curricula as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic have affected students' speaking and listening skills.

Keywords: attitudes, communicative skills, EFL teaching training program, online instruction, and perceptions

Procedia PDF Downloads 103

Authors: Mercy Marimirofa, Farai Machinga, Alfred Zvoushe, Tsitsidzaishe Musvosvi

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The Government of Zimbabwe embarked on integrating family planning with Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) services in May 2020 with support from the World Health Organization (WHO). There was high HIV prevalence, incidence rates and STI infections among women attending FP clinics. Spilhaus is a specialized center of excellence clinic which offers a range of sexual reproductive health services. HIV services were limited to testing only, and clients were referred to other facilities for further management. Integration of services requires that all the services be available at one point so that clients will access them during their visit to the facility. Objectives: The study was conducted to assess the impact the one-stop-shop model has made in accessing integrated Family Planning services and sexual reproductive health services compared to the supermarket approach. It also assessed the relationship family planning services have with other sexual reproductive health services. Methods: A secondary data analysis was conducted at Spilhaus clinic in Harare using family planning registers and HIV services registers comparing years 2019 and 2021. A 2 sample t-test was used to determine the difference in clients accessing the services under the two models. A Spearman’s rank correlation was used to determine if accessing family planning services has a relationship with other sexual reproductive health services. Results: In 2019, 7,548 clients visited the Spilhaus clinic compared to 8,265 during the period January to December 2021. The median age for all clients accessing services was 32 years. An increase of 69% in the number of services accessed was recorded from 2019 to 2021. More services were accessed in 2021. There was no difference in the number of clients accessing family planning services cervical cancer, and HIV services. A difference was found in the number of clients who were offered STI screening services. There was also a relationship between accessing family planning services and STI screening services (ρ = 0.729, p-value=0.006). Conclusion: Programming towards SRH services was a great achievement, the use of an integrated approach proved to be cost-effective as it minimised the required resources for separate programs. Clients accessed important health needs at once. The integration of these services provided an opportunity to offer comprehensive information which addressed an individual’s sexual reproductive health needs.

Keywords: intergration, one stop shop, family planning, reproductive health

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Authors: Ammar Asfari, Faizah Finur Fithriah, Shighia Ajeng Savitri

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Jakarta as the capital city of Indonesia held an important role for the country, that is being the city where central government is located. But its topographic character which categorized as lowland area is causing an ultimate trouble. With average height of 7 meters above the sea level, flood keeps occurring in this city. On the other hand, water exploitation that caused land subsidence and sea-levels increasing by global warming make it even worse. Giant Sea Wall Development is a project created by Jakarta’s government to overcome flood, which is inspired by Saemangeum Dam in South Korea. For further planning, Giant Sea Wall is planned to be water reservoir for Jakarta’s inhabitants. This research’s aim is to fully understand the knowledge and opinion of people living in North Jakarta (Jakarta’s Coastal Area) on Giant Sea Wall development planning using qualitative method analysis with descriptive approach. The result of this research will be one of the determining factors in Giant Sea Wall Jakarta development planning continuance.

Keywords: descriptive approach, Giant Sea Wall Jakarta, qualitative method analysis, society perception

Procedia PDF Downloads 267

Authors: Kwan Hee Han

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In today’s business environments, frequent change of customer requirements is a tough challenge to manufacturing company. To cope with these challenges, a production planning and scheduling (PP&S) function might be established to provide accountability for both customer service and operational efficiency. Nowadays, many manufacturing firms have utilized PP&S software solutions to generate a realistic production plan and schedule to adapt to external changes efficiently. However, companies which consider the introduction of PP&S software solution, still have difficulties for selecting adequate solution to meet their specific needs. Since the task of PP&S is the one of major building blocks of SCM (Supply Chain Management) architecture, which deals with short term decision making in the production process of SCM, it is needed that the functionalities of PP&S should be analysed within the whole SCM process. The aim of this paper is to analyse the PP&S functionalities and its system architecture from the SCM perspective by using the criteria of level of planning hierarchy, major 4 SCM processes and problem-solving approaches, and finally propose a classification framework of PP&S solutions to facilitate the comparison among various commercial software solutions. By using proposed framework, several major PP&S solutions are classified and positioned according to their functional characteristics in this paper. By using this framework, practitioners who consider the introduction of computerized PP&S solutions in manufacturing firms can prepare evaluation and benchmarking sheets for selecting the most suitable solution with ease and in less time.

Keywords: production planning, production scheduling, supply chain management, the advanced planning system

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Authors: Mohamed A. Abou-Shouk, Mahamoud M. Hewedi

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This study extends technology acceptance model (TAM) to investigate the antecedents and consequences of social media adoption by tourists and travel agents. It compares their perceptions on social media adoption and its consequences. Online survey was addressed to tourists and travel agents for data collection purposes. Structural equation modelling was employed for analysis purposes. The findings revealed that the majority of tourists and travel agents involved in the study believe in the usefulness of social media adoption for travel planning and marketing purposes. They agree that adopting social media could change the attitude of tourists towards specific destination or attraction and influence their purchasing decisions. This study contributes to knowledge by extending TAM and provides some managerial implication to marketers.

Keywords: TAM, social media, travel and tourism, travel agents

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Authors: Marina Magdy Naguib Karas

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New methods of providing banking services to the customer have been introduced, such as online banking. Banks have begun to consider electronic banking (e-banking) as a way to replace some traditional branch functions by using the Internet as a new distribution channel. Some consumers have at least one account at multiple banks and access these accounts through online banking. To check their current net worth, clients need to log into each of their accounts, get detailed information, and work toward consolidation. Not only is it time-consuming, but it is also a repeatable activity with a certain frequency. To solve this problem, the concept of account aggregation was added as a solution. Account consolidation in e-banking as a form of electronic banking appears to build a stronger relationship with customers. An account linking service is generally referred to as a service that allows customers to manage their bank accounts held at different institutions via a common online banking platform that places a high priority on security and data protection. The article provides an overview of the account aggregation approach in e-banking as a new service in the area of e-banking.

Keywords: compatibility, complexity, mobile banking, observation, risk banking technology, Internet banks, modernization of banks, banks, account aggregation, security, enterprise development

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Authors: Haneen Joseph Habib Yeldoka

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There is a strong link between technology and development. Architecture as a profession is a call to service and society. Maybe next to soldiers, engineers and patriots. However, unlike soldiers, they always remain employees of society under all circumstances. Despite the construction profession's role in society, there appears to be a lack of respect as some projects fail. This paper focuses on the need to improve development engineering performance in developing countries, using engineering education in Nigerian universities as a tool for discussion. A purposeful survey, interviews and focus group discussions were conducted on one hundred and twenty (120) prominent companies in Nigeria. The subject is approached through a large number of projects that companies have been involved in from the planning stage, some of which have been completed and even reached the maintenance and monitoring stage. It has been found that certain factors beyond the control of engineers are hindering the full development and success of the construction sector in developing countries. The main culprit is corruption and its eradication will put the country on a stable path to develop construction and combat poverty.

Keywords: decision analysis, industrial engineering, direct vs. indirect values, engineering management

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Authors: Dana Al-Qattan, Faiza Goodarzi, Heba Al-Resheedan, Kawther Shehab, Shoug Al-Ansari

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This project involves working with different types of forecasting methods and facility planning tools to help the company we have chosen to improve and reduce its inventory, increase its sales, and decrease its wastes and losses. The methods that have been used by the company have shown no improvement in decreasing the annual losses. The research made in the company has shown that no interest has been made in exploring different techniques to help the company. In this report, we introduce several methods and techniques that will help the company make more accurate forecasts and use of the available space efficiently. We expect our approach to reduce costs without affecting the quality of the product, and hence making production more viable.

Keywords: production planning, inventory management, inventory control, simulation, facility planning and design, engineering economy and costs

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Authors: Tianchen Dai

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Shantytowns are special historical products in china, possessing strong particularity and typicality, the theoretical value and the practical significance of which are deemed to hold great importance in the modern development of residential areas in China. The renovation planning of shantytowns can be very challenging in terms of cultural inheritance. The traditional lifestyle, one of the key elements building up residents’ perception of affiliation, should be carried forward in the renovation planning of shantytowns. Mobile vending can be considered as a rare business model survived within modern commercial environment, thanks to the unique spatial characteristics of Chinese shantytowns. This article mainly investigates the unique phenomenon of mobile vending in shantytowns, discussing the operating mechanism and rationality behind this commercial phenomenon. For humanistic concern, the innovative conservation of mobile vending, as a means to preserve the vivacious traditional lifestyle of local residents, can be realized through substantial urban design strategies, including spatial design of public space, height control of the facades, and traffic management around and inside shantytowns.

Keywords: cultural inheritance, mobile vending, renovation planning, shantytowns

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Authors: Gina Longo

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Social media, internet technology, and affordable travel have created avenues like tourism and internet chatrooms for Western women to meet foreign partners without paid, third-party intermediaries in regions like the Middle East/North Africa (MENA) and Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), where men from mid-level developing countries meet and marry Western women and try to relocate. Foreign nationals who marry U.S. citizens have an expedited track to naturalization. U.S. immigration officials require that “green card” petitioning couples demonstrate that their relationships are “valid and subsisting” (i.e., for love) and not fraudulent (i.e., for immigration papers). These requirements are ostensibly gender- and racially-neutral, but migration itself is not; black and white women petitioners who seek partners from these regions and solicit advice from similar others about the potential obstacles to their petitions’ success online. Using an online ethnography and textual analysis of conversation threads on a large on-line immigration forum where U.S. petitioners exchange such information, this study examines how gendered and racialized standards of legitimacy are applied to family and sexuality and used discursively online among women petitioners differently to achieve “genuineness” and define “red flags” indicating potential marriage fraud. This paper argues that forum-women members police immigration requests even before cases reach an immigration officer, and use this social media platform to reconstruct gendered and racialized hierarchies of U.S. citizenship. Women petitioners use the formal criteria of U.S. immigration in ways that reveal gender and racial ideologies, expectations for conformity to a gendered hegemonic family ideal, and policing of women’s sexual agency, fertility, and desirability. These intersectional norms shape their online discussions about the suitability of marriages and of the migration of non-citizen male partners of color to the United States.

Keywords: marriage fraud, migration, online forums, women

Procedia PDF Downloads 103

Authors: Xi Xiao, Chunhui Chen, Xinyu Liu, Guangwu Hu, Yong Jiang

Abstract:

Location sharing is a fundamental service in mobile Online Social Networks (mOSNs), which raises significant privacy concerns in recent years. Now, most location-based service applications adopt client/server architecture. In this paper, a location sharing system, named CSLocShare, is presented to provide flexible privacy-preserving location sharing with client/server architecture in mOSNs. CSLocShare enables location sharing between both trusted social friends and untrusted strangers without the third-party server. In CSLocShare, Location-Storing Social Network Server (LSSNS) provides location-based services but do not know the users’ real locations. The thorough analysis indicates that the users’ location privacy is protected. Meanwhile, the storage and the communication cost are saved. CSLocShare is more suitable and effective in reality.

Keywords: mobile online social networks, client/server architecture, location sharing, privacy-preserving

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Authors: David Kaufman

Abstract:

Despite the ‘silver Tsunami’ that is occurring worldwide, ageism is still a problem in modern society. As well, families are becoming increasingly separated geographically. This paper will discuss these issues and one potential solution - an online escape room game that is played by two players over the internet while talking to each other. The payers can be two seniors or one senior and one youth, e.g., a grandchild. Each player sees a different view of the game environment and players must collaborate in order to solve the puzzles presented and escape from the three rooms, all connected by a maze. The game was developed by Masters students at the Centre for Digital Media in Vancouver, BC in collaboration with a team of post-doctoral scholar, graduate students and faculty member, as well as 10 seniors who assisted. This paper will describe the game, development process and results of our pilot studies. The research study conducted comprises several stages: 1. several formative evaluation sessions with seniors to obtain feedback to assist further design, and 2. field testing of the game. Preliminary results have been extremely positive and results of our field tests will be presented in this paper.

Keywords: digital game, online escape room, intergenerational play, seniors

Procedia PDF Downloads 340

Authors: Gerges Samaan Henin Abdalla

Abstract:

New methods of providing banking services to the customer have been introduced, such as online banking. Banks have begun to consider electronic banking (e-banking) as a way to replace some traditional branch functions by using the Internet as a new distribution channel. Some consumers have at least one account at multiple banks and access these accounts through online banking. To check their current net worth, clients need to log into each of their accounts, get detailed information, and work toward consolidation. Not only is it time consuming, but it is also a repeatable activity with a certain frequency. To solve this problem, the concept of account aggregation was added as a solution. Account consolidation in e-banking as a form of electronic banking appears to build a stronger relationship with customers. An account linking service is generally referred to as a service that allows customers to manage their bank accounts held at different institutions via a common online banking platform that places a high priority on security and data protection. The article provides an overview of the account aggregation approach in e-banking as a new service in the area of e-banking.

Keywords: compatibility, complexity, mobile banking, observation, risk banking technology, Internet banks, modernization of banks, banks, account aggregation, security, enterprise development

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Authors: Felix Brito

Abstract:

With the growth of online learning, several higher education institutions have attempted to incorporate technology in their curriculum. Successful technology implementation projects really on technology infrastructure and on the acceptance of education professionals towards innovation. This research study is aimed at illustrating the relevance of the human component in technology implementation projects in higher education by describing the Learning Management System implementation project executed by instructional designers working for a higher education institution in the southeast region of the United States. An analysis of the Transformative Leadership Theory, the Technology Acceptance Model, and the Diffusion of Innovation Process provide the support for a solid understanding of this issue and address recommendations for future technology implementation projects in higher education institutions.

Keywords: diffusion of innovation process, instructional design, leadership, learning management systems, online learning, technology acceptance model, transformative leadership theory

Procedia PDF Downloads 304