Search results for: mean field theory

Authors: Fulufhelo Oscar Makananise

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Digital technologies have played a significant role in bridging the information gap between the haves and the have nots in society. In developing countries such as South Africa, historically marginalised groups such as women in rural communities have an opportunity to use digital technologies to network among themselves as well as interact with their government, thereby enhancing prospects for poverty eradication, political participation, community development and democracy. However, the extent to which these goals can be achieved in a developing context through harnessing digital technologies is not quite clear, particularly given the fact that access to these technologies is not evenly distributed and the fact that women’s access to digital technologies is hampered by factors that go beyond the question of infrastructure. Informed by the technological dependency theory, this paper is about how female youth in rural South Africa are deploying digital media tools for socio-economic empowerment. In particular, the study investigated the extent to which female youth in Limpopo province, South Africa access and use digital media platforms and gadgets and the extent to which those technologies are breaking down barriers that stand in the way of female youth empowerment. Data were gathered using a self-administered questionnaire disseminated to selected 100 female youth in Limpopo Province, South Africa. The data were analysed using SPSS version 9, and the results were analysed using descriptive statistics. The paper argues that wider and constant access to digital media by female youth in rural areas is indicative of the great potential for empowering female youth in rural areas through harnessing digital media. The study established that the majority of female youth had access to digital media technologies and used them to share valuable information among themselves. The study further established that female youth are active users of digital media in South Africa, which is the significant driver for socio-economic empowerment.

Keywords: digital technologies, empowerment, female youth, South Africa, survey, technological dependency

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Authors: Juiwen Liang, Choliang Chung

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In this study, the silicon-base oxide nanofibers with hollow structure were prepared using single-nozzle electrospinning and heat treatment. Firstly, precursor solution was prepared: the Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and Tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) dissolved in ethanol and to make sure the concentration of solution in appropriate using single-nozzle electrospinning to produce the nanofibers. Secondly, control morphology of the electrostatic spinning nanofibers was conducted, and design the temperature profile to created hollow nanofibers, exploring the morphology and properties of nanofibers. The characterized of nanofibers, following instruments were used: Atomic force microscopy (AFM), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FE-SEM), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Photoluminescence (PL), X-ray Diffraction (XRD). The AFM was used to scan the nanofibers, and 3D Graphics were applied to explore the surface morphology of fibers. FE-SEM and TEM were used to explore the morphology and diameter of nanofibers and hollow nanofiber. The excitation and emission spectra explored by PL. Finally, XRD was used for identified crystallization of ceramic nanofibers. Using electrospinning technique followed by subsequent heat treatment, we have successfully prepared silicon-base oxide nanofibers with hollow structure. Thus, the microstructure and morphology of electrostatic spinning silicon-base oxide hollow nanofibers were explored. Major characteristics of the nanofiber in terms of crystalline, optical properties and crystal structure were identified.

Keywords: electrospinning, single-nozzle, hollow, nanofibers

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Authors: R. O. Anyasi, H. I. Atagana

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In this study, phytoextraction ability of a weed on Aroclor 1254 was studied under greenhouse conditions. Chromolaena odorata plants were transplanted into soil containing 100, 200, and 500 ppm of Aroclor in 1L pots. The experiments were watered daily at 70 % moisture field capacity. Parameters such as fully expanded leaves per plant, shoot length, leaf chlorophyll content as well as root length at harvest were measured. PCB was not phytotoxic to C. odorata growth but plants in the 500 ppm treatment only showed diminished growth at the sixth week. Percentage increases in height of plant were 45.9, 39.4 and 40.0 for 100, 200 and 500 ppm treatments respectively. Such decreases were observed in the leaf numbers, root length and leaf chlorophyll concentration. The control sample showed 48.3 % increase in plant height which was not significant from the treated samples, an indication that C. odorata could survive such PCB concentration and could be used to remediate contaminated soil. Mean total PCB absorbed by C. odorata plant was between 6.40 and 64.60 ppm per kilogram of soil, leading to percentage PCB absorption of 0.03 and 17.03 % per kilogram of contaminated soil. PCBs were found mostly in the root tissues of the plants, and the Bioaccumulation factor were between 0.006-0.38. Total PCB absorbed by the plant increases as the concentration of the compound is increased. With these high BAF ensured, C. odorata could serve as a promising candidate plant in phytoextraction of PCB from a PCB-contaminated soil.

Keywords: phytoremediation, bioremediation, soil restoration, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB), biological treatment, aroclor

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Authors: Yun-Tao Zhang, Jong-Yeop Bae, Whoi-Yul Kim

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Background modeling and subtraction in video analysis has been widely proved to be an effective method for moving objects detection in many computer vision applications. Over the past years, a large number of approaches have been developed to tackle different types of challenges in this field. However, the dynamic background and illumination variations are two of the most frequently occurring issues in the practical situation. This paper presents a new two-layer model based on codebook algorithm incorporated with local binary pattern (LBP) texture measure, targeted for handling dynamic background and illumination variation problems. More specifically, the first layer is designed by block-based codebook combining with LBP histogram and mean values of RGB color channels. Because of the invariance of the LBP features with respect to monotonic gray-scale changes, this layer can produce block-wise detection results with considerable tolerance of illumination variations. The pixel-based codebook is employed to reinforce the precision from the outputs of the first layer which is to eliminate false positives further. As a result, the proposed approach can greatly promote the accuracy under the circumstances of dynamic background and illumination changes. Experimental results on several popular background subtraction datasets demonstrate a very competitive performance compared to previous models.

Keywords: background subtraction, codebook model, local binary pattern, dynamic background, illumination change

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Authors: Li-Jun Zheng

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The use of drums as an accompanying instrument is a common phenomenon in traditional Chinese folk rituals and musical culture. Especially, some folk rituals construct ritual-related sounds and give them ritual-specific symbolic and meaningful systems through the combination and use of multiple percussion instruments. The Yue drum(岳鼓), an asymmetrically shaped thin waist drum, is currently used in Han Chinese Shigong（师公）rituals in Guangxi, China, and is an important ritual instrument in Shigong rituals. This paper examines the use of the Yue drum and other percussion instruments in Han Chinese Shigong rituals in Guangxi, China, and shows the current status of combining instrumental accompaniment forms with human voices in Shigong rituals. Through further analysis of the musical and dance forms of Han Chinese Shigong rituals, this paper shows how Han Chinese Shigong ritual performers construct the ritual field through "sound-human-dance" and further explains the relationship between the existing and fictitious performance fields in the rituals. In addition, this paper demonstrates the relationship between Han Chinese Shigong rituals and the religious beliefs they involve, such as Taoism and Buddhism. And it further explores how performers in Han Chinese Shigong rituals use Yue drums for the dual purpose of "entertaining the gods" and "entertaining the people".

Keywords: sound research, the Han Chinese Shigong ritual, the thin waist drum, folk beliefs, ritual music

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Authors: Ellie Abdi, Susana Juniu

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The purpose of this presentation is to describe an interdisciplinary teaching program that integrates physical education concepts using a philosophical approach. The presentation includes a review of: a) the philosophy of American education, b) the philosophy of sports and physical education, c) the interdisciplinary physical education program, d) professional development programs, (e) the Success of this physical education program, f) future of physical education. This unique interdisciplinary program has been implemented in an urban school physical education discipline in East Orange, New Jersey for over 10 years. During the program the students realize that the bodies go through different experiences. The body becomes a place where a child can recognize in an enjoyable way to express and perceive particular feelings or mental states. Children may distinguish themselves to have high abilities in the social or other domains but low abilities in the field of athletics. The goal of this program for the individuals is to discover new skills, develop and demonstrate age appropriate mastery level at different tasks, therefore the program consists of 9 to 12 sports, including many game. Each successful experience increases the awareness ability. Engaging in sports and physical activities are social movements involving groups of children in situations such as teams, friends, and recreational settings, which serve as a primary socializing agent for teaching interpersonal skills. As a result of this presentation the audience will reflect and explore how to structure a physical education program to integrate interdisciplinary subjects with philosophical concepts.

Keywords: interdisciplinary disciplines, philosophical concepts, physical education, interdisciplinary teaching program

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Authors: Shahin Farajifar, Azadeh Safadoust, Ali Akbar Mahboubi

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A study was conducted to evaluate hydraulic properties of a sandy loam soil and corn (Zea mays L.) crop production under a short-term tillage and manure combinations field experiment carried out in west of Iran. Treatments included composted cattle manure application rates [0, 30, and 60 Mg (dry weight) ha-1] and tillage systems [no-tillage (NT), chisel plowing (CP), and moldboard plowing (MP)] arranged in a split-plot design. Soil water characteristic curve (SWCC) and saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks) were significantly affected by manure and tillage treatments. At any matric suction, the soil water content was in the order of MP>CP>NT. At all matric suctions, the amount of water retained by the soil increased as manure application rate increased (i.e. 60>30>0 Mg ha-1). Similar to the tillage effects, at high suctions the differences of water retained due to manure addition were less than that at low suctions. The change of SWCC from tillage methods and manure applications may attribute to the change of pore size and aggregate size distributions. Soil Ks was in the order of CP>MP>NT for the first two layers and in the order of MP>CP and NT for the deeper soil layer. The Ks also increased with increasing rates of manure application (i.e. 60>30>0 Mg ha-1). This was due to the increase in the total pore size and continuity.

Keywords: corn, manuure, saturated hydraulic conductivity, soil water characteristic curve, tillage

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Authors: Martin Botz, Michael Kraus, Geralt Siebert

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The use of laminated glass gains increasing importance in structural engineering. For safety reasons, at least two glass panes are laminated together with a polymeric interlayer. In case of breakage of one or all of the glass panes, the glass fragments are still connected to the interlayer due to adhesion forces and a certain residual load-bearing capacity is left in the system. Polymer interlayers used in the laminated glass show a viscoelastic material behavior, e.g. stresses and strains in the interlayer are dependent on load duration and temperature. In the intact stage only small strains appear in the interlayer, thus the material can be described in a linear way. In the broken stage, large strains can appear and a non-linear viscoelasticity material theory is necessary. Relaxation tests on two different types of polymeric interlayers are performed at different temperatures and strain amplitudes to determine the border to the non-linear material regime. Based on the small-scale specimen results further tests on broken laminated glass panes are conducted. So-called ‘through-crack-bending’ (TCB) tests are performed, in which the laminated glass has a defined crack pattern. The test set-up is realized in a way that one glass layer is still able to transfer compressive stresses but tensile stresses have to be transferred by the interlayer solely. The TCB-tests are also conducted under different temperatures but constant force (creep test). Aims of these experiments are to elaborate if the results of small-scale tests on the interlayer are transferable to a laminated glass system in the broken stage. In this study, limits of the applicability of linear-viscoelasticity are established in the context of two commercially available polymer-interlayers. Furthermore, it is shown that the results of small-scale tests agree to a certain degree to the results of the TCB large-scale experiments. In a future step, the results can be used to develop material models for the post breakage performance of laminated glass.

Keywords: glass breakage, laminated glass, relaxation test, viscoelasticity

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Authors: Ted Gournelos

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Marketing approaches in practice and academic literature usually foreground the importance of product and brand awareness in strategy. Decisions emphasize justifications and promotions of existing projects, which has the unintended consequence of pushing marketing, public relations, and other communications to secondary strategies and tactics rather than as inherent pieces of organizational development. In other words, marketers implement what others have already decided. This is a challenge not only for the communications field, but also for the organizations themselves, since integrated communications employees are often the primary, if not the only, touchpoints for client/customer/user research and interaction. Organizations thus become increasingly out of touch, raising the risk of public or human resources crisis and decreasing the focus on opportunities for development and growth. This paper will discuss the potential for social entrepreneurship to refocus marketing and communications professionals on primary strategy, and suggest best practices for developing initiatives not only to impact marketing efforts themselves, but also the guiding organizational approaches to project management, human resources, corporate social responsibility, and research. It will provide a comparative analysis of social media marketing efforts conducted by food security non-governmental organizations from several countries, pointing out both flaws and areas of opportunity for integration with for-profit organizational strategy, and discuss the implications of descriptive, proactive, and interactive messaging.

Keywords: social enterprise, strategy, innovation, social media

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Authors: Bowei Yuan, Shi Li, Liuyang Song, Huaqing Wang, Lingli Cui

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Convolutional neural networks (CNN) have received extensive attention in the field of fault diagnosis. Many fault diagnosis methods use CNN for fault type identification. However, when the amount of raw data collected by sensors is massive, the neural network needs to perform a time-consuming classification task. In this paper, a mechanical fault diagnosis method based on vibration signal down-sampling and the improved one-dimensional convolutional neural network is proposed. Through the robust principal component analysis, the low-rank feature matrix of a large amount of raw data can be separated, and then down-sampling is realized to reduce the subsequent calculation amount. In the improved one-dimensional CNN, a smaller convolution kernel is used to reduce the number of parameters and computational complexity, and regularization is introduced before the fully connected layer to prevent overfitting. In addition, the multi-connected layers can better generalize classification results without cumbersome parameter adjustments. The effectiveness of the method is verified by monitoring the signal of the centrifugal pump test bench, and the average test accuracy is above 98%. When compared with the traditional deep belief network (DBN) and support vector machine (SVM) methods, this method has better performance.

Keywords: fault diagnosis, vibration signal down-sampling, 1D-CNN

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Authors: Nyaris Pambudiyatno, Asto Buditjahjanto, Eppy Yundra, Arie Wardhono, Eko Hariadi

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Vocational education is part of the national education system that is prepared to produce graduates who have the skills and knowledge according to the needs and requirements required by the job. Vocational Education is a secondary education that prepares students to work in a particular field. The purpose of this study was to analyze and find out the effect of industrial work practice experience and career information on work readiness through work motivation. This type of research is causal research with a quantitative approach. The population in this study was 359 cadets of Aviation Polytechnic Surabaya. While the number of samples calculates using slovin calculations obtained by 189 cadets of Surabaya Aviation Polytechnic. The type of data used is quantitative data with the primary data source. Data collection techniques are by distributing questionnaires. Analysis of this study is with Lisrel. The findings prove that: (1) Industrial Work Experience experience has a positive and significant effect on work motivation; (2) Industrial Work Experience has a positive and significant impact on work readiness; (3) Career information has a positive and significant effect on job readiness; (4) Career information has a positive and significant impact on job readiness; Dan (5) Work motivation has a positive and significant effect on work readiness.

Keywords: career information, increase work readiness, industrial work experience, work motivation

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Authors: David Alejandro Lazo-Vasquez, Jorge Luis Balino

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In the petroleum industry, multiphase flow occurs when oil, gas, and water are transported in the same pipe through large pipeline systems. The flow can take different patterns depending on parameters like fluid velocities, pipe diameter, pipe inclination, and fluid properties. Mainly, intermittent flow is produced by the natural propagation of short and long waves, according to the Kelvin-Helmholtz Stability Theory. To model stratified flow and the onset of intermittent flow, it is crucial to have knowledge of short and long waves behavior. The two-fluid model, frequently employed for characterizing multiphase systems, becomes ill-posed for high liquid and gas velocities and large inclination angles, for short waves can develop infinite growth rates. We are interested in focusing attention on long-wave instability, which leads to the production of roll waves that may grow and result in the transition from stratified flow to intermittent flow. In this study, global and local linear stability analyses for dynamic and kinematic stability criteria predict the regions of stability of the flow for different pipe inclinations and fluid velocities in regularized and non-regularized systems, concurrently. It was possible to distinguish when: wave growth rates are absolutely bounded (stable stratified smooth flow), waves have finite growth rates (unstable stratified wavy flow), and when the equation system becomes elliptic and hyperbolization is needed. In order to bound short wave growth rates and regularize the equation system, we incorporated some lower and higher-order terms like interfacial drag and surface tension, respectively.

Keywords: linear stability analysis, multiphase flow, onset of slugging, two-fluid model regularization

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Authors: Frederick Anlimah, Vinod Gopaldasani, Catherine MacPhail, Brian Davies

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The construction industry, particularly tunnel construction, exposes workers to respirable crystalline silica (RCS), which can cause incurable illnesses such as silicosis and lung cancer. Despite various control measures, exposures remain inadequately controlled. This research aimed to examine what workers on a tunnelling project in Australia think should be done to reduce exposure to dust to protect them from RCS exposure. A qualitative research approach consisting of interviews and focus group discussions was employed for this research. The preliminary analysis of the data reveals a diverse array of solutions proposed to address the different sociotechnical factors that present challenges for effectively reducing dust exposure. Solutions are proposed to address challenges such as cost, time pressure, low-risk perception, inadequate awareness, inadequate enforcement and compliance with personal protective equipment. The findings highlight the need to make dust control a level playing field for all contractors during the bidding process, with more collaboration and enforcement after the signing of contracts. The research highlights that although improvements have been made in the past years regarding dust controls, many opportunities exist to reduce worker exposure to RCS.

Keywords: tunnel, respirable crystalline silica, RCS, dust exposure, personal protective equipment, worker perspectives

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Authors: Raya Morag

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This paper proposes a new paradigm for cinema/trauma studies - the trauma of the perpetrator. Canonical trauma research from Freud’s Aetiology of Hysteria to the present has been carried out from the perspective of identification with the victim, as have cinema trauma research and contemporary humanities-based trauma studies, climaxing during the 1990s in widespread interest in the victim vis-à-vis the Holocaust, war, and domestic violence. Breaking over 100 years of repression of the abhorrent and rejected concept of the perpetrator in psychoanalytic-based research proposes an uncanny shift in our conception of psychoanalysis' trajectory from women's 'hysteria' to 'post-traumatic stress disorder'. This new paradigm is driven by the global emergence of new waves of films (2007-2015) representing trauma suffered by perpetrators involved in the new style of war entailing deliberate targeting of non-combatants. Analyzing prominent examples from Israeli post-second Intifada documentaries (e.g., Ari Folman’s Waltz with Bashir), and post post-Iraq (and Afghanistan) War American documentaries (e.g., Errol Morris' Standard Operating Procedure), the paper discusses the limitations of victim trauma by the firm boundaries it (rightly) set in order to defend such victims of nineteenth and especially twentieth-century catastrophes; the epistemological processes needed in order to consider perpetrators’ trauma as an inevitable part of psychiatric-psychological and cultural perspectives on trauma, and, thus, the definition of perpetrators' trauma in contrast to victims'. It also analyzes the perpetrator's figure in order to go beyond the limitation of current trauma theory's relation to the Real, thus transgressing the 'unspeakableness' of the trauma itself. The paper seeks an exploration of what perpetrator trauma teaches us not only as a counter-paradigm to victim trauma, but as a reflection on the complex intertwining of the two paradigms in the twenty-first century collective new war unconscious, and on what psychoanalysis might offer us in the first decade of this terrorized-ethnicized century.

Keywords: American war documentaries, Israeli war documentaries, 'new war', perpetrator trauma

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Authors: Nonde Lushinga, Jiang Xin, Danstan Chiponde, Lawrence P. Mutale

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In this paper, falling weight deflectometer (FWD) was used to determine the bonding condition of a newly constructed semi-rigid base pavement. Using Evercal back-calculation computer programme, it was possible to quickly and accurately determine the structural condition of the pavement system of FWD test data. The bonding condition of the pavement layers was determined from calculated shear stresses and strains (relative horizontal displacements) on the interface of pavement layers from BISAR 3.0 pavement computer programmes. Thus, by using non-linear layered elastic theory, a pavement structure is analysed in the same way as other civil engineering structures. From non-destructive FWD testing, the required bonding condition of pavement layers was quantified from soundly based principles of Goodman’s constitutive models shown in equation 2, thereby producing the shear reaction modulus (Ks) which gives an indication of bonding state of pavement layers. Furthermore, a Tack coat failure Ratio (TFR) which has long being used in the USA in pavement evaluation was also used in the study in order to give validity to the study. According to research [39], the interface between two asphalt layers is determined by use of Tack Coat failure Ratio (TFR) which is the ratio of the stiffness of top layer asphalt layers over the stiffness of the second asphalt layer (E1/E2) in a slipped pavement. TFR gives an indication of the strength of the tack coat which is the main determinants of interlayer slipping. The criteria is that if the interface was in the state full bond, TFR would be greater or equals to 1 and that if the TFR was 0, meant full slip. Results of the calculations showed that TFR value was 1.81 which re-affirmed the position that the pavement under study was in the state of full bond because the value was greater than 1. It was concluded that FWD can be used to determine bonding condition of existing and newly constructed pavements.

Keywords: falling weight deflectometer (FWD), backcaluclation, semi-rigid base pavement, shear reaction modulus

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Authors: Mohammadjavad Yaghoubi, Arul Arulrajah, Mahdi M. Disfani, Suksun Horpibulsuk, Myint W. Bo, Stephen P. Darmawan

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This paper investigates the changes in the strength development of a high water content soft soil stabilised with alkaline activation of fly ash (FA) to use in deep soil mixing (DSM) technology. The content of FA was 20% by dry mass of soil, and the alkaline activator was sodium silicate (Na2SiO3). Samples were cured for 3, 7, 14, 28 and 56 days to evaluate the effect of curing time on strength development. To study the effect of adding slag (S) to the mixture on the strength development, 5% S was replaced with FA. In addition, the effect of the initial unit weight of samples on strength development was studied by preparing specimens with two different static compaction stresses. This was to replicate the field conditions where during implementing the DSM technique, the pressure on the soil while being mixed, increases with depth. Unconfined compression strength (UCS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) tests were conducted on the specimens. The results show that adding S to the FA based geopolymer activated by Na2SiO3 decreases the strength. Furthermore, samples prepared at a higher unit weight demonstrate greater strengths. Moreover, samples prepared at lower unit weight reached their final strength at about 14 days of curing, whereas the strength development continues to 56 days for specimens prepared at a higher unit weight.

Keywords: alkaline activation, curing time, fly ash, geopolymer, slag

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Authors: Nacer Eddine Chelbi, Ayet Bagane, Annie Saleh, Claude Sauvageau, Denis Gingras

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As recently stated by National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), to demonstrate the expected performance of a highly automated vehicles system, test approaches should include a combination of simulation, test track, and on-road testing. In this paper, we propose a new validation method for autonomous vehicles involving on-road tests (Field Operational Tests), test track (Test Matrix) and simulation (Worst Case Scenarios). We concentrate our discussion on the simulation aspects, in particular, we extend recent work based on Importance Sampling by using a Metropolis-Hasting algorithm (MHS) to sample collected data from the Safety Pilot Model Deployment (SPMD) in lane-change scenarios. Our proposed MH sampling method will be compared to the Importance Sampling method, which does not perform well in high-dimensional problems. The importance of this study is to obtain a sampler that could be applied to high dimensional simulation problems in order to reduce and optimize the number of test scenarios that are necessary for validation and certification of autonomous vehicles.

Keywords: automated driving, autonomous emergency braking (AEB), autonomous vehicles, certification, evaluation, importance sampling, metropolis-hastings sampling, tests

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Authors: Mark Osborn

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Clustered, regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR/Cas) proteins can be designed to bind specified DNA and RNA sequences and hold great promise for the accurate detection of nucleic acids for diagnostics. Commercially available reagents were integrated into a CRISPR/Cas9-based lateral flow assay that can detect severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequences with single-base specificity. This approach requires minimal equipment and represents a simplified platform for field-based deployment. A rapid, multiplex fluorescence CRISPR/Cas9 nuclease cleavage assay capable of detecting and differentiating SARS-CoV-2, influenza A and B, and respiratory syncytial virus in a single reaction was also developed. These findings provide proof of principle for CRISPR/Cas9 point-of-care diagnosis that can detect specific SARS-CoV-2 strain(s). Further, Cas9 cleavage allows for a scalable fluorescent platform for identifying respiratory viral pathogens with overlapping symptomology. Collectively, this approach is a facile platform for diagnostics with broad application to user-defined sequence interrogation and detection.

Keywords: CRISPR/Cas9, lateral flow assay, SARS-Co-V2, single-nucleotide resolution

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Authors: Tina Melkoshvili

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Drastic development of information and communication technologies in Georgia has led to the necessity of launching conceptually new, effective, flexible, transparent and society oriented form of government that is e-government. Through applying information technologies, the electronic system enables to raise the efficacy of state governance and increase citizens’ participation in the process. Focusing on the topic of e-government allows us to analyze success stories, attributed benefits and, at the same time, observes challenges hampering the government development process. There are number of methodologies elaborated to study the conditions in the field of electronic governance. They enable us to find out if the government is ready to apply broad opportunities of information and communication technologies and if the government is apt to improve the accessibility and quality of delivering mainly social services. This article seeks to provide comparative analysis of widely spread methodologies used for Electronic government projects’ assessment. It has been concluded that applying current methods of assessment in Georgia is related to difficulties due to inaccessible data and the necessity of involving number of experts. The article presents new indicators for e-government development assessment that reflect efficacy of e-government conception realization in the regions of Georgia and enables to provide quantitative evaluation of regional e-government projects including all significant aspects of development.

Keywords: development methodology, e-government in Georgia, information and communication technologies, regional government

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Authors: Faiqa Jalal

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The purpose of the following research paper is to discuss the differentiating meanings of culture and how popular culture has maintained a great impact on intercultural and international behavior. The following discussion leads to the notion of communicating cultural impact on behavior through advertising and sub-cultural theory in advertising. Although towards the end of the research, the complexities that develop through the above discussion, lead to the solution that ‘advertising gives meaning to the otherwise meaningless and identical objects through linking them to our basic needs’. In today’s fast paced digital world, it is difficult to define culture, literally, since its meaning tends to shift through series of different perceptions such as ‘how’ and ‘why’ it should be used. This notion can be taken towards another notion of popular culture. It is dependent on ‘attitudes, ideas, images, perspectives and other phenomena within the mainstream of a given culture’. Since popular culture is influenced by mass media, it has a way of influencing an individual’s attitude towards certain topics. For example, tattoos are a form of human decorations, that have historic significance, and a huge spectrum of meanings. Advertising is one aspect of marketing that has evolved from the time when it was ‘production oriented’, up till the time it started using different mediums to make its impact more effective. However, this impact has confused us between our needs and desires. The focus in this paper is ‘we consume to acquire a sense of social identity and status, not just for the sake of consumption’. Every culture owns different expressions, which are then used by advertisers to create its impact on the behavior of people sub-culturally and globally, as culture grows through social interaction. Advertisers furthermore play a smart role in highlighting quality of life ranging from ‘survival to well-being’. Hence, this research paper concludes by highlighting that culture is considered as a ‘basic root’ of any community that also provides solution to certain problems; however, advertisers play their part in manipulating society’s literacy and beliefs by rationalizing how relevant certain products/brands are to their beliefs.

Keywords: mass media, popular culture, production oriented, sub-culture

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Authors: Yulong Jia, Xiang Zhang, Ziyuan Wu, Shiji Hu

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The calculation of bilinear pairing is the core of the SM9 algorithm, which relies on the underlying prime domain algorithm and the quadratic extension domain algorithm. Among the field algorithms, modular multiplication operation is the most time-consuming part. Therefore, the underlying modular multiplication algorithm is optimized to maximize the operation speed of bilinear pairings. This paper uses a modular multiplication method based on non-least positive (NLP) combined with Karatsuba and schoolbook multiplication to improve the Montgomery algorithm. At the same time, according to the characteristics of multiplication operation in quadratic extension domain, a quadratic extension domain FP2-NLP modular multiplication algorithm for bilinear pairings is proposed, which effectively reduces the operation time of modular multiplication in quadratic extension domain. The subexpanded domain 𝐹ₚ₂ -NLP modular multiplication algorithm effectively reduces the operation time of modular multiplication under the second-expanded domain. The multiplication unit in the quadratic extension domain is implemented using SMIC55nm process, and two different implementation architectures are designed to cope with different application scenarios. Compared with the existing related literature, the output latency of this design can reach a minimum of 15 cycles. The shortest time for calculating the (𝐴𝐵 + 𝐶𝐷)𝑟⁻¹ mod 𝑀 form is 37.5ns, and the comprehensive area-time product (AT) is 11400. The final R-ate pairing algorithm hardware accelerator consumes 2670k equivalent logic gates and 1.8ms computing time in 55nm process.

Keywords: sm9, hardware, NLP, Montgomery

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Authors: Farmesk Abubaker, Francesco Tortorici, Marco Capogni, Concetta Sutera, Vincenzo Bellini

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This project concerns with the detection efficiency of the portable triple-to-double coincidence ratio (TDCR) at the National Institute of Metrology of Ionizing Radiation (INMRI-ENEA) which allows direct activity measurement and radionuclide standardization for pure-beta emitter or pure electron capture radionuclides. The dependency of the simulated detection efficiency of the TDCR, by using Monte Carlo simulation Geant4 code, on the Birks factor (kB) and defocusing parameter has been examined especially for low energy beta-emitter radionuclides such as 3H and 14C, for which this dependency is relevant. The results achieved in this analysis can be used for selecting the best kB factor and the defocusing parameter for computing theoretical TDCR parameter value. The theoretical results were compared with the available ones, measured by the ENEA TDCR portable detector, for some pure-beta emitter radionuclides. This analysis allowed to improve the knowledge of the characteristics of the ENEA TDCR detector that can be used as a traveling instrument for in-situ measurements with particular benefits in many applications in the field of nuclear medicine and in the nuclear energy industry.

Keywords: Birks constant, defocusing parameter, GEANT4 code, TDCR parameter

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Authors: M. Linda Phooko, Phesheya E. Dlamini, Vusumuzi E. Mbanjwa, Rhandu Chauke

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The decline of yields as a consequence of miss-informed land-use decisions poses a threat to sustainable agriculture in South Africa. The non-uniform growth pattern of wheat crop and the yields below expectations has been one of the main concerns for Timatjatji community farmers. This study was then conducted to characterize, classify, and evaluate soils of the farm for sustainable land use planning. A detailed free survey guided by surface features was conducted on a 25 ha farm to check soil variation. It was revealed that Sepane (25%), Bonheim (21%), Rensburg (18%), Katspruit (15%), Arcadia (12%) and Dundee (9%) were the dominant soil forms found across the farm. Field soil description was done to determine morphological characteristics of the soils which were matched with slope percentage and climate to assess the potential of the soils. The land capability results showed that soils were generally shallow due to high clay content in the B horizon. When the climate of the area was factored in (i.e. land potential), it further revealed that the area has low cropping potential due to heat, moisture stress and shallow soils. This implies that the farm is not suitable for annual cropping but can be highly suitable for planted pastures.

Keywords: characterization, land capability, land evaluation, land potential

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Authors: Violina R. Angelova, Radka V. Ivanova, Givko M. Todorov, Krasimir I. Ivanov

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A field study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of Salvia sclarea L. for phytoremediation of contaminated soils. The experiment was performed on an agricultural fields contaminated by the Non-Ferrous-Metal Works near Plovdiv, Bulgaria. The content of heavy metals in different parts of Salvia sclarea L. (roots, stems, leaves and inflorescences) was determined by ICP. The essential oil of the Salvia sclarea L. was obtained by steam distillation in laboratory conditions and was analyzed for heavy metals and its chemical composition was determined. Salvia sclarea L. is a plant which is tolerant to heavy metals and can be grown on contaminated soils. Based on the obtained results and using the most common criteria, Salvia sclarea L. can be classified as Pb hyperaccumulator and Cd and Zn accumulators, therefore, this plant has suitable potential for the phytoremediation of heavy metal contaminated soils. Favorable is also the fact that heavy metals do not influence the development of the Salvia sclarea L., as well as on the quality and quantity of the essential oil. For clary sage oil obtained from the processing of clary sage grown on highly contaminated soils, its key odour-determining ingredients meet the quality requirements of the European Pharmacopoeia and BS ISO 7609 regarding Bulgarian clary sage oil and/or have values that are close to the limits of these standards. The possibility of further industrial processing will make Salvia sclarea L. an economically interesting crop for farmers of phytoextraction technology.

Keywords: clary sage, heavy metals, phytoremediation, polluted soils

Procedia PDF Downloads 220

Authors: Shahid Iqbal, Haroon Z. Khan, Muhammad Arif

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A sustainable agricultural system involving the improvement in soil properties and crop performance cannot be developed without organic fertilizer use. The effects of poultry manure compost (PMC) and pressmud compost (PrMC) at different levels on improving the soil properties and maize performance has not been yet described by any study comprehensively. Thus, field experiments (2011 and 2012) were conducted at Agronomy Research Area, University of Agriculture Faisalabad (31°26'5" N and 73°4'6" E) in sandy loam soil to determine the improvement in soil properties and maize performance due to application of PMC and PrMC each at five different levels (2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 t ha-1). A control (unamended) treatment was also included for comparison. The results indicated that performance of PMC levels was superior to PrMC levels. Increasing both composts levels improved soil properties, maize growth, and stover yield. Results showed that during both years’ highest rates of PMC i.e. 10 and 8 t ha-1 improved the soil properties: ECe, pH, inorganic N, OM, and WHC higher than other treatments. While, 10 and 8 t PMC ha-1 also significantly increased leaf area index (LAI), crop growth rate (CGR) and net assimilation rate (NAR), and stover yield. Similarly, 10 and 8 t PMC ha-1 also improved the grain protein content, but contrarily, grain oil was lowest for 10 and 8 t ha-1 PMC during both years. Moreover, in both years highest gross and net income, and benefit cost ratio was also achieved by 10 and 8 t ha-1 PMC. It is concluded that PMC at rate of 10 and 8 t ha-1 sustainably improved soil properties and maize performance.

Keywords: compost, soil, maize, growth, yield

Procedia PDF Downloads 369

Authors: Ehsan Sakhaei, Ali Taherabadi

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In this study, an aft sweep wing with specific characteristic feature was analysis with CFD method in Fluent software. In this analysis wings aerodynamic coefficient was calculated in different rake angle and wing lift curve slope to rake angle was achieved. Wing section was selected among NACA airfoils version 6. The sweep angle of wing is 15 degree, aspect ratio 8 and taper ratios 0.4. Designing and modeling this wing was done in CATIA software. This model was meshed in Gambit software and its three dimensional analysis was done in Fluent software. CFD methods used here were based on pressure base algorithm. SIMPLE technique was used for solving Navier-Stokes equation and Spalart-Allmaras model was utilized to simulate three dimensional wing in air. Roskam method is one of the common and most used methods for determining aerodynamics parameters in the field of airplane designing. In this study besides CFD analysis, an advanced aircraft analysis was used for calculating aerodynamic coefficient using Roskam method. The results of CFD were compared with measured data acquired from Roskam method and authenticity of relation was evaluated. The results and comparison showed that in linear region of lift curve there is a minor difference between aerodynamics parameter acquired from CFD to relation present by Roskam.

Keywords: aft sweep wing, CFD method, fluent, Roskam, Spalart-Allmaras model

Procedia PDF Downloads 506

Authors: Hyo Jung Lee

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The purpose of this study is to develop a literature appreciation education program for classic literatures and apply them to the field, and to derive the achievements and improvement points. Classic literature is a work of value recognized in the context of literature history and culture history, and learners can develop interest in literature and inherit tradition through appreciation of classic literature. However, in Korean educational environment, classic literature is a means for college entrance examination, and many learners analyze contents and language in textbooks and concentrate on memorizing the whole plot. This study is one of the reasons that classic literature appreciation education is not done properly and it is not able to give an opportunity to appreciate the whole work in the early learning stage. In Korean primary education, classic literature is used as a means to achieve the goals of reading, writing, speaking and listening, rather than being used as a material for its own appreciation. It is problematic to make the piece appreciation experience fragmentary. This study proposes a program to experience classic literatures by linking school education and school library with primary school students in grades 4-6. We work with local primary schools (siheung-si, gyeonggi-do, Korea) to provide appropriate activities and rewards to learners, observe their participation, and introduce student learning outcomes. Through this, we are able to systematically improve the learner 's ability to appreciate the literature and to diversify primary education.

Keywords: classic literature education, primary education, out-of-school program, learning by appreciation experience

Procedia PDF Downloads 150

Authors: Pranil Kumar Upadhayaya

Abstract:

While peace is dividend to tourism, tourism can also be a vital force for world peace. The existing body of knowledge on a tripartite complex nexus between tourism, peace and conflict reveals that tourism is benefactor to peace and sensitive to conflict. By contextualizing the ongoing sporadic structural conflict in the transitional phase in the aftermath of a decade long (1996-2006), Maoist armed conflict in Nepal, the purpose of this study is to explore the potentials of tourism in peace-building. The outcomes of this research paper is based on the mixed methods of research (qualitative and quantitative). Though the armed conflict ended with the comprehensive peace agreement in 2006 but there is constant manifestations of non-violent structural conflicts, which continue to threaten the sustainability of tourism industry. With the persistent application of coping strategies, tourism is found resilient during the ongoing structural political conflict. The strong coping abilities of the private sector of tourism industry have also intersected with peace-building efforts with more reactive and less proactive (pro-peace) engagements. This paper ascertains about the application of the ‘theory of tourism security’ by Nepalese tourism industry while coping with conflict and reviving, and sustaining. It reveals that the multiple verities of tourism at present has heterogeneous degree of peace potentials. The opportunities of ‘peace through tourism’ can be promoted subject to its molding with responsible, sustainable and participatory characteristics. This paper comes out with pragmatic policy recommendations for strengthening the position of tourism as a true peace-builder: (a) a broad shift from mainstream conventional tourism to the community based rural with local participation and ownership to fulfill Nepal’s potentials for peace, and (b) building and applications of the managerial and operational codes of conducts for owners and workers (labor unions) at all tourism enterprises and strengthen their practices.

Keywords: code of conduct, community based tourism, conflict, peace-building, tourism

Procedia PDF Downloads 269

Authors: Bin Liu

Abstract:

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNA molecules, functioning in transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression. The discrimination of the real pre-miRNAs from the false ones (such as hairpin sequences with similar stem-loops) is necessary for the understanding of miRNAs’ role in the control of cell life and death. Since both their small size and sequence specificity, it cannot be based on sequence information alone but requires structure information about the miRNA precursor to get satisfactory performance. Kmers are convenient and widely used features for modeling the properties of miRNAs and other biological sequences. However, Kmers suffer from the inherent limitation that if the parameter K is increased to incorporate long range effects, some certain Kmer will appear rarely or even not appear, as a consequence, most Kmers absent and a few present once. Thus, the statistical learning approaches using Kmers as features become susceptible to noisy data once K becomes large. In this study, we proposed a Gapped k-mer approach to overcome the disadvantages of Kmers, and applied this method to the field of miRNA prediction. Combined with the structure status composition, a classifier called imiRNA-GSSC was proposed. We show that compared to the original imiRNA-kmer and alternative approaches. Trained on human miRNA precursors, this predictor can achieve an accuracy of 82.34 for predicting 4022 pre-miRNA precursors from eleven species.

Keywords: gapped k-mer, imiRNA-GSSC, microRNA precursor, support vector machine

Procedia PDF Downloads 165

Authors: Raphael Tuor, Denis Lalanne

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The ATM research community is missing suitable tools to design, test, and validate new UI prototypes. Important stakes underline the implementation of both DSS and XAI methods into current systems. ML-based DSS are gaining in relevance as ATFM becomes increasingly complex. However, these systems only prove useful if a human can understand them, and thus new XAI methods are needed. The human-machine dyad should work as a team and should understand each other. We present xSky, a configurable benchmark tool that allows us to compare different versions of an ATC interface in conflict detection tasks. Our main contributions to the ATC research community are (1) a conflict detection task simulator (xSky) that allows to test the applicability of visual prototypes on scenarios of varying difficulty and outputting relevant operational metrics (2) a theoretical approach to the explanations of AI-driven trajectory predictions. xSky addresses several issues that were identified within available research tools. Researchers can configure the dimensions affecting scenario difficulty with a simple CSV file. Both the content and appearance of the XAI elements can be customized in a few steps. As a proof-of-concept, we implemented an XAI prototype inspired by the maritime field.

Keywords: air traffic control, air traffic simulation, conflict detection, explainable artificial intelligence, explainability, human-automation collaboration, human factors, information visualization, interpretability, trajectory prediction

Procedia PDF Downloads 163