Search results for: determined in the context of hesitant fuzzy sets. The decisions are made using the extended Technique for Order Performance by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) method under a hesitant fuzzy environment. Hence

Authors: Adesina Nathaniel Olanrewaju

Abstract:

The motivation behind this study is the need to see strategic leadership as one of the key driving forces for improving corporate performance. Strategic leadership is seen as a potent source of management development and sustained competitive advantage for both employee and organizational performance. There is currently a charge on leaders as a major cause of organizational failure. Stakeholders give what they can afford, not necessarily what the organization needs and impose operational and financial decisions on the leaders, 200 respondents were fit for the analysis from the six geo-political regions in Nigeria. The selection was done equally among various parastatals through random sampling technique from the south-south, south-east, south-west, north-east, north-west and north-central. A descriptive research of the survey was employed. The data were subjected to t-test analysis and correlation and regression were used for the analysis. The findings revealed that there is a strong relationship and impact between a strategic leader and corporate performance. Recommendations were made based on the findings that strategic leaders should be given the blueprint, company’s policy and the stakeholders’ expectation within a time frame the work is to be carried out.

Keywords: time, strategic, organization, stakeholder, leader, performance

Procedia PDF Downloads 299

Authors: Oleksii Bychkov

Abstract:

The fundamental difference between randomness and vagueness is that the former requires statistical research. These issues were studied by Zadeh L, Dubois D., Prad A. The theory of possibility works with expert assessments, hypotheses, etc. gives an idea of the characteristics of the problem situation, the nature of the goals and real limitations. Possibility theory examines experiments that are not repeated. The article discusses issues related to the formalization of a fuzzy, uncertain idea of reality. The author proposes to expand the classical model of the theory of possibilities by introducing a measure of necessity. The proposed model of the theory of possibilities allows us to extend the measures of possibility and necessity onto a Boolean while preserving the properties of the measure. Thus, upper and lower estimates are obtained to describe the fact that the event will occur. Knowledge of the patterns that govern mass random, uncertain, fuzzy events allows us to predict how these events will proceed. The article proposed for publication quite fully reveals the essence of the construction and use of the theory of probability and the theory of possibility.

Keywords: possibility, artificial, modeling, axiomatics, intellectual approach

Procedia PDF Downloads 22

Authors: Irina A. Gudkova, Yousra Demigha

Abstract:

Scientific research is moving more and more towards the study of complex systems in several areas of economics, biology physics, and computer science. In this paper, we will work on complex systems in communication networks, Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) that are considered as stochastic systems composed of interacting entities. The current advancements of the sensing in computing and communication systems is an investment ground for research in several tracks. A detailed presentation was made for the WSN, their use, modeling, different problems that can occur in their application and some solutions. The main goal of this work reintroduces the idea of mean field method since it is a powerful technique to solve this type of models especially systems that evolve according to a Continuous Time Markov Chain (CTMC). Modeling of a CTMC has been focused; we obtained a large system of interacting Continuous Time Markov Chain with population entities. The main idea was to work on one entity and replace the others with an average or effective interaction. In this context to make the solution easier, we consider a wireless sensor network as a multi-body problem and we reduce it to one body problem. The method was applied to a system of WSN modeled as a Markovian queue showing the results of the used technique.

Keywords: Continuous-Time Markov Chain, Hidden Markov Chain, mean field method, Wireless sensor networks

Procedia PDF Downloads 157

Authors: M. Lloret-Climent, J. Nescolarde-Selva

Abstract:

The aim of this paper is to propose a mathematical model to determine invariant sets, set covering, orbits and, in particular, attractors in the set of tourism variables. Analysis was carried out based on a pre-designed algorithm and applying our interpretation of chaos theory developed in the context of General Systems Theory. This article sets out the causal relationships associated with tourist flows in order to enable the formulation of appropriate strategies. Our results can be applied to numerous cases. For example, in the analysis of tourist flows, these findings can be used to determine whether the behaviour of certain groups affects that of other groups and to analyse tourist behaviour in terms of the most relevant variables. Unlike statistical analyses that merely provide information on current data, our method uses orbit analysis to forecast, if attractors are found, the behaviour of tourist variables in the immediate future.

Keywords: attractor, invariant set, tourist flows, orbits, social responsibility, tourism, tourist variables

Procedia PDF Downloads 505

Authors: Ida Bagus Made Putra Jandhana, Teuku Yuri M. Zagloel, Rahmat Nurchayo

Abstract:

Having several crises that affect industrial sector performance in the past decades, decision makers should utilize measurement application that enables them to measure industrial resiliency more precisely. It provides not only a framework for the development of resilience measurement application, but also several theories for the concept building blocks, such as performance measurement management, and resilience engineering in real world environment. This research is a continuation of previously published paper on performance measurement in the industrial sector. Finally, this paper contributes an alternative performance measurement method in industrial sector based on resilience concept. Moreover, this research demonstrates how applicable the concept of resilience engineering is and its method of measurement.

Keywords: industrial, measurement, resilience, sector

Procedia PDF Downloads 272

Authors: B. O. Diyaolu

Abstract:

Viability and competency during competition is the dream of every team sports so as to have a good result. But it seems factors abound which deter the performance of even a good sports team. Different individuals with different state of mind all come together to perform in team sports with different degree of satisfaction. This study investigated the role of satisfaction on performance among Afe Babalola University team sports. Descriptive survey research design was used and the population consists of all male and female athletes in the team sports that participated in the last 2019 Ekiti State Higher Institution games (ESHIGA). Total enumeration technique was used for the three team sports; football (44), basketball (24) and volleyball (24). A total of 92 participants were involved in the research. The instrument used for the study was a modified Athlete Satisfaction Scale (ASS). The questionnaire was divided into two sections. The Cronbach’s Alpha reliability coefficient of 0.71 was obtained. The hypotheses were tested at 0.05 significant levels. The completed questionnaire was collated, coded, and analyzed using descriptive statistics of frequency counts and percentage and inferential statistics of chi-square (X²). Findings of this study revealed that satisfaction significantly influences team sports performance among Athletes of Afe Babalola University. The responsibility of satisfying athlete lies on the coaches, fans, sports administrators as well as organizers of such event, as it is not only financial reward that gives satisfaction. The performance of a team sports is quiet important and its being determined by the degree of satisfaction of each individual that make up the team. All effort must be made to satisfy athlete in order to guarantee optimum performance.

Keywords: athlete satisfaction, optimum achievement, optimum performance, sports performance and team sports

Procedia PDF Downloads 141

Authors: Arjun Goutham, Chaitanya Sridhar, Sunita Maheshwari, Robin Uthappa, Prasanna Gopinath

Abstract:

In alignment with the growth in the sporting industry, a number of people playing and competing in sports are growing exponentially across the globe. However, the number of sports psychology experts are not growing at a similar rate, especially in the Asian and more so, Indian context. Hence, the access to actionable mental training solutions specific to individual athletes is limited. Also, the time constraint an athlete faces due to their intense training schedule makes one-on-one sessions difficult. One of the means to bridge that gap is through technology. Technology makes individualization possible. It allows for easy access to specific-qualitative content/information and provides a medium to place individualized assessments, analysis, solutions directly into an athlete's hands. This enables mental training awareness, education, and real-time actionable solutions possible for athletes in-spite of the limitation of available sports psychology experts in their region. Furthermore, many athletes are hesitant to seek support due to the stigma of appearing weak. Such individuals would prefer a more discreet way. Athletes who have strong mental performance tend to produce better results. The mobile application helps to equip athletes with assessing and developing their mental strategies directed towards improving performance on an ongoing basis. When an athlete understands their strengths and limitations in their mental application, they can focus specifically on applying the strategies that work and improve on zones of limitation. With reports, coaches get to understand the unique inner workings of an athlete and can utilize the data & analysis to coach them with better precision and use coaching styles & communication that suits better. Systematically capturing data and supporting athletes(with individual-specific solutions) or teams with assessment, planning, instructional content, actionable tools & strategies, reviewing mental performance and the achievement of objectives & goals facilitate for a consistent mental skills development at all levels of sporting stages of an athlete's career. The mobile application will help athletes recognize and align with their stable attributes such as their personalities, learning & execution modalities, challenges & requirements of their sport, etc and help develop dynamic attributes like states, beliefs, motivation levels, focus etc. with practice and training. It will provide measurable analysis on a regular basis and help them stay aligned to their objectives & goals. The solutions are based on researched areas of influence on sporting performance individually or in teams.

Keywords: athletes, mental training, mobile application, performance, sports

Procedia PDF Downloads 262

Authors: Jonathan J. Foo, Keng Hao Chew

Abstract:

Interest in virtual reality (VR) technologies as virtual learning environments have been on the rise in recent years. With thanks to the aggressively competitive consumer electronics environment, VR technology has been made affordable and accessible to the average person with developments like Google Cardboard and Oculus Go. While the promise of virtual access to unique virtual learning environments with the benefits of experiential learning sounds extremely attractive, there are still concerns over user comfort in the psychomotor, cognitive, and affective domains. Reports of motion sickness and short durations create doubt and have stunted its growth. In this paper, a multidimensional framework is proposed for the evaluation of VR learning environments within the three dimensions: tactual quality, didactic quality, and autodidactic quality. This paper further proposes a mixed-methods experimental research plan that sets out to evaluate a virtual reality training simulator in the context of amateur sports fencing. The study will investigate if an immersive VR learning environment can effectively simulate an authentic learning environment suitable for instruction, practice, and assessment while providing the user comfort in the tactual, didactic, and autodidactic dimensions. The models and recommendations developed for this study are designed in the context of fencing, but the potential impact is a guide for the future design and evaluation of all VR developments across sports and technical classroom education.

Keywords: autodidactic quality, didactic quality, tactual quality, virtual reality

Procedia PDF Downloads 128

Authors: Rana Nasiri, Hamid Vahidkia

Abstract:

Recently, most courts in democratic nations were hesitant to consider foreign and international law. Their approach was to steer clear of using foreign sources of law that conflicted with their own government's stance. Numerous legal experts consider turning to foreign and international law unsuitable. However, those who advocate for using external sources of law also believe that relying on foreign and international law will always be in conflict with the importance of national sovereignty. Therefore, the academic discussion revolves around the commonly known broader debate on ‘the counter-majoritarian difficulty’. This article challenges the idea of tension. It suggests that in many democratic nations' legal systems, including those in the U.S., using foreign and international law can help strengthen domestic democratic processes by protecting them from outside economic, political, and legal influences. Citing international law supports domestic democratic processes and regains national sovereignty from various globalization forces. In other words, national courts must consider foreign and international law to uphold their national political institutions and protect their own status in relation to political branches.

Keywords: international law, social science, US, democracy, politics

Procedia PDF Downloads 37

Authors: Allan F. F. Alves, Fernando A. Bacchim Neto, Guilherme Giacomini, Marcela de Oliveira, Ana L. M. Pavan, Maria E. D. Rosa, Diana R. Pina

Abstract:

Stroke is a worldwide concern, only in Brazil it accounts for 10% of all registered deaths. There are 2 stroke types, ischemic (87%) and hemorrhagic (13%). Early diagnosis is essential to avoid irreversible cerebral damage. Non-enhanced computed tomography (NECT) is one of the main diagnostic techniques used due to its wide availability and rapid diagnosis. Detection depends on the size and severity of lesions and the time spent between the first symptoms and examination. The Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score (ASPECTS) is a subjective method that increases the detection rate. The aim of this work was to implement an image segmentation system to enhance ischemic stroke and to quantify the area of ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke lesions in CT scans. We evaluated 10 patients with NECT examinations diagnosed with ischemic stroke. Analyzes were performed in two axial slices, one at the level of the thalamus and basal ganglion and one adjacent to the top edge of the ganglionic structures with window width between 80 and 100 Hounsfield Units. We used different image processing techniques such as morphological filters, discrete wavelet transform and Fuzzy C-means clustering. Subjective analyzes were performed by a neuroradiologist according to the ASPECTS scale to quantify ischemic areas in the middle cerebral artery region. These subjective analysis results were compared with objective analyzes performed by the computational algorithm. Preliminary results indicate that the morphological filters actually improve the ischemic areas for subjective evaluations. The comparison in area of the ischemic region contoured by the neuroradiologist and the defined area by computational algorithm showed no deviations greater than 12% in any of the 10 examination tests. Although there is a tendency that the areas contoured by the neuroradiologist are smaller than those obtained by the algorithm. These results show the importance of a computer aided diagnosis software to assist neuroradiology decisions, especially in critical situations as the choice of treatment for ischemic stroke.

Keywords: ischemic stroke, image processing, CT scans, Fuzzy C-means

Procedia PDF Downloads 363

Authors: M. Alsharqawi, T. Zayed, S. Abu Dabous

Abstract:

To ensure safety and serviceability of bridge infrastructure, accurate condition assessment and rating methods are needed to provide basis for bridge Maintenance, Repair and Replacement (MRR) decisions. In North America, the common practices to assess condition of bridges are through visual inspection. These practices are limited to detect surface defects and external flaws. Further, the thresholds that define the severity of bridge deterioration are selected arbitrarily. The current research discusses the main deteriorations and defects identified during visual inspection and Non-Destructive Evaluation (NDE). NDE techniques are becoming popular in augmenting the visual examination during inspection to detect subsurface defects. Quality inspection data and accurate condition assessment and rating are the basis for determining appropriate MRR decisions. Thus, in this paper, a novel method for bridge condition assessment using the Quality Function Deployment (QFD) theory is utilized. The QFD model is designed to provide an integrated condition by evaluating both the surface and subsurface defects for concrete bridges. Moreover, an integrated condition rating index with four thresholds is developed based on the QFD condition assessment model and using K-means clustering technique. Twenty case studies are analyzed by applying the QFD model and implementing the developed rating index. The results from the analyzed case studies show that the proposed threshold model produces robust MRR recommendations consistent with decisions and recommendations made by bridge managers on these projects. The proposed method is expected to advance the state of the art of bridges condition assessment and rating.

Keywords: concrete bridge decks, condition assessment and rating, quality function deployment, k-means clustering technique

Procedia PDF Downloads 218

Authors: Nihal Atif Salim

Abstract:

To improve the quality of life in cities, a variety of interventions are used. Noise is a substantial and important sort of pollution that has a negative impact on the urban environment and human health. According to the complaint survey, it ranks second among environmental contamination complaints (conducted by EEAA in 2019). The most significant source of noise in the city is traffic noise. In order to improve the sound urban environment, many physical techniques are applied. In the local area, noise barriers are considered as one of the most appropriate physical techniques along existing traffic routes. Alexandria is Egypt's second-largest city after Cairo. It is located along the Mediterranean Sea, and El- Gish Road is one of the city's main arteries. It impacts the waterfront promenade that extends along with the city by a high level of traffic noise. The purpose of this paper is to clarify the design considerations for the most appropriate noise barrier type along with the promenade, with the goal of improving the Quality of Life (QOL) and the sonic urban environment specifically. The proposed methodology focuses on how noise affects human perception and the environment. Then it delves into the various physical noise control approaches. After that, the paper discusses sustainable design decisions making. Finally, look into the importance of incorporating sustainability into design decisions making. Three stages will be followed in the case study. The first stage involves doing a site inspection and using specific sound measurement equipment (a noise level meter) to measure the noise level along the promenade at many sites, and the findings will be shown on a noise map. The second step is to inquire about the site's user experience. The third step is to investigate the various types of noise barriers and their effects on QOL along existing routes in order to select the most appropriate type. The goal of this research is to evaluate the suitable design of noise barriers that fulfill environmental and social perceptions while maintaining a balanced approach to the noise issue in order to improve QOL along existing roadways in the local area.

Keywords: noise pollution, sonic urban environment, traffic noise, noise barrier, acoustic sustainability, noise reduction techniques

Procedia PDF Downloads 133

Authors: Reza Mohammadi

Abstract:

Using quartic spline, we develop a method for numerical solution of singularly perturbed two-point boundary-value problems. The purposed method is fourth-order accurate and applicable to problems both in singular and non-singular cases. The convergence analysis of the method is given. The resulting linear system of equations has been solved by using a tri-diagonal solver. We applied the presented method to test problems which have been solved by other existing methods in references, for comparison of presented method with the existing methods. Numerical results are given to illustrate the efficiency of our methods.

Keywords: second-order ordinary differential equation, singularly-perturbed, quartic spline, convergence analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 356

Authors: D. Garg, S. Luthra, A. Haleem

Abstract:

Reverse logistics (RL) is supposed to be a systematic procedure that helps in improving the environmental hazards and maintain business sustainability for industries. Industries in Indian are now opting for adoption of RL techniques in business. But, RL practices are not popular in Indian industries because of many barriers for its successful implementation. Therefore, need arises to identify and evaluate the barriers to implement RL practices by taking an Indian industries perspective. Literature review approach and case study approach have been adapted to identify relevant barriers to implement RL practices. Further, Fuzzy Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory methodology has been brought into use for evaluating causal relationships among the barriers to implement RL practices. Seven barriers out of ten barriers have been categorized into the cause group and remaining into effect group. This research will help Indian industries to manage these barriers towards effective implementing RL practices.

Keywords: barriers, decision making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL), fuzzy set theory, Indian industries, reverse logistics (RL)

Procedia PDF Downloads 324

Authors: Rouhallah Bagheri, Morteza Mahmoudi, Hadi Moheb-Alizadeh

Abstract:

This paper aims at developing a multi-objective model for supplier selection and order allocation problem in stochastic environment, where purchasing cost, percentage of delivered items with delay and percentage of rejected items provided by each supplier are supposed to be stochastic parameters following any arbitrary probability distribution. In this regard, dependent chance programming is used which maximizes probability of the event that total purchasing cost, total delivered items with delay and total rejected items are less than or equal to pre-determined values given by decision maker. The abovementioned stochastic multi-objective programming problem is then transformed into a stochastic single objective programming problem using minimum deviation method. In the next step, the further problem is solved applying a genetic algorithm, which performs a simulation process in order to calculate the stochastic objective function as its fitness function. Finally, the impact of stochastic parameters on the given solution is examined via a sensitivity analysis exploiting coefficient of variation. The results show that whatever stochastic parameters have greater coefficients of variation, the value of the objective function in the stochastic single objective programming problem is deteriorated.

Keywords: supplier selection, order allocation, dependent chance programming, genetic algorithm

Procedia PDF Downloads 308

Authors: Jan Franciszek Jacko

Abstract:

This investigation presents the principle of methodological rationality of decision making and discusses the impact of an organisation's members' methodologically rational or irrational decisions on its security. This study formulates and partially justifies some research hypotheses regarding the impact. The thinking experiment is used according to Max Weber's ideal types method. Two idealised situations("models") are compared: Model A, whereall decision-makers follow methodologically rational decision-making procedures. Model B, in which these agents follow methodologically irrational decision-making practices. Analysing and comparing the two models will allow the formulation of some research hypotheses regarding the impact of methodologically rational and irrational attitudes of members of an organisation on its security. In addition to the method, phenomenological analyses of rationality and irrationality are applied.

Keywords: methodological rationality, rational decisions, security of organisations, philosophy of economics

Procedia PDF Downloads 135

Authors: Huan Lin, Liwen Pang

Abstract:

In order to reduce the ambiguity and uncertainty of product form bionic design, a product form bionic design method based on eye tracking is proposed. The eye-tracking experiment is designed to calculate the average time ranking of the specific parts of the bionic shape that the subjects are looking at. Key bionic shape is explored through the experiment and then applied to a desk lamp bionic design. During the design case, FAHP (Fuzzy Analytic Hierachy Process) and SD (Semantic Differential) method are firstly used to identify consumer emotional perception model toward desk lamp before product design. Through investigating different desk lamp design elements and consumer views, the form design factors on the desk lamp product are reflected and all design schemes are sequenced after caculation. Desk lamp form bionic design method is combined the key bionic shape extracted from eye-tracking experiment and priority of desk lamp design schemes. This study provides an objective and rational method to product form bionic design.

Keywords: Bionic design; Form; Eye tracking; FAHP; Desk lamp

Procedia PDF Downloads 213

Authors: Mohammad Saber Eslamlou, Manouchehr Tabibian, Mahta Mirmoghtadaei

Abstract:

The history of urban development and the increasing complexities of urban life have long been intertwined with different natural and man-made disasters. Sometimes, these unpleasant events have destroyed the cities forever. The growth of the urban population and the increase of social and economic resources in the cities increased the importance of developing a holistic approach to dealing with unknown urban disasters. As a result, the interest in resilience has increased in most of the scientific fields, and the urban planning literature has been enriched with the studies of the social, economic, infrastructural, and physical abilities of the cities. In this regard, different conceptual frameworks and patterns have been developed focusing on dimensions of resilience and different kinds of disasters. As the most frequent and likely natural disaster in Iran is flooding, the present study aims to develop a cause-effect model of urban resilience against flood in Karaj City. In this theoretical study, desk research and documentary studies were used to find the elements and dimensions of urban resilience. In this regard, 6 dimensions and 32 elements were found for urban resilience and a questionnaire was made by considering the requirements of TOPSIS techniques (pairwise comparison). The sample of the research consisted of 10 participants who were faculty members, academicians, board members of research centers, managers of the Ministry of Road and Urban Development, board members of New Towns Development Company, experts, and practitioners of consulting companies who had scientific and research backgrounds. The gathered data in this survey were analyzed using TOPSIS and Shannon Entropy techniques. The results show that Infrastructure/Physical, Social, Organizational/ Institutional, Structural/Physical, Economic, and Environmental dimensions are the most effective factors in urban resilience against floods in Karaj, respectively. Finally, a comprehensive model and a systematic framework of factors that affect the urban resilience of Karaj against floods was developed. This cause – effect model shows how different factors are related and influence each other, based on their connected structure and preferences.

Keywords: urban resilience, TOPSIS, Shannon entropy, cause-effect model of resilience, flood

Procedia PDF Downloads 51

Authors: Can Hu, Huixia Shi, Hongcheng Mei, Jun Zhu, Hongling Guo

Abstract:

Textile fibers are important trace evidence and frequently encountered in criminal investigations. A significant aspect of fiber evidence examination is the determination of fiber dyes. Although several instrumental methods have been developed for dyes detection, the analysis speed is not fast enough yet. A rapid dye analysis method is still needed to further improve the efficiency of case handling. Capillary electrophoresis has the advantages of high separation speed and high separation efficiency and is an ideal method for the rapid analysis of fiber dyes. In this paper, acid dyes used for protein fiber dyeing were determined by a developed short-end injection capillary electrophoresis technique. Five acid red dyes with similar structures were successfully baseline separated within 5 min. The separation reproducibility is fairly good for the relative standard deviation of retention time is 0.51%. The established method is rapid and accurate which has great potential to be applied in forensic setting.

Keywords: acid dyes, capillary electrophoresis, fiber evidence, rapid determination

Procedia PDF Downloads 143

Authors: Thohaku Abdul Hadi, Hadyan Perdana Putra, Nugroho Wicaksono, Adhika Prajna Nandiwardhana, Onang Surya Nugroho, Heri Suryoatmojo, Soedibjo

Abstract:

Access to electricity is now a basic requirement of mankind. Unfortunately, there are still many places around the world which have no access to electricity, such as small islands, where there could potentially be a factory, a plantation, a residential area, or resorts. Many of these places might have substantial potential for energy generation such us Photovoltaic (PV) and Wind turbine (WT), which can be used to generate electricity independently for themselves. Solar energy and wind power are renewable energy sources which are mostly found in nature and also kinds of alternative energy that are still developing in a rapid speed to help and meet the demand of electricity. PV and Wind has a characteristic of power depend on solar irradiation and wind speed based on geographical these areas. This paper presented a control methodology of hybrid small scale PV/Wind energy system that use a fuzzy logic controller (FLC) to extract the maximum power point tracking (MPPT) in different solar irradiation and wind speed. This paper discusses simulation and analysis of the generation process of hybrid resources in MPP and power conditioning unit (PCU) of Photovoltaic (PV) and Wind Turbine (WT) that is connected to the three-phase low voltage electricity grid system (380V) without battery storage. The capacity of the sources used is 2.2 kWp PV and 2.5 kW PMSG (Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generator) -WT power rating. The Modeling of hybrid PV/Wind, as well as integrated power electronics components in grid connected system, are simulated using MATLAB/Simulink.

Keywords: fuzzy MPPT, grid connected inverter, photovoltaic (PV), PMSG wind turbine

Procedia PDF Downloads 351

Authors: Yanto Santosa, Catharina Yudea

Abstract:

The rapid growth of oil palm industry in Indonesia raised many negative accusations from various parties, who said that oil palm plantation is damaging the environment and biodiversity, including birds. Since research on oil palm plantation impacts on bird diversity is still limited, this study needs to be developed in order to gain further learning and understanding. Data on bird diversity were collected in March 2018 in KJNP Estate, Riau Province using strip transect method on five different land cover types (young, intermediate, and old growth of oil palm plantation, high conservation value area, and crops field or the baseline). The observations were conducted simultaneously, with three repetitions. The result shows that the baseline has 19 species of birds and land cover after the oil palm plantation has 39 species. HCV (high conservation value) area has the highest increase in diversity value. Oil palm plantation has changed the composition of bird species. The highest similarity index is shown by young growth oil palm land cover with total score 0.65, meanwhile the lowest similarity index with total score 0.43 is shown by HCV area. Overall, the existence of oil palm plantation made a positive impact by increasing bird species diversity, with total 23 species gained and 3 species lost.

Keywords: bird diversity, crops field, impact of oil palm plantation, KJNP estate

Procedia PDF Downloads 121

Authors: M. F. Alrubaie, S. A. Salih, W. A. Abbas

Abstract:

Slurry infiltrated fiber concrete (SIFCON) is considered as a special type of high strength high-performance fiber reinforced concrete, extremely strong, and ductile. The objective of this study is to investigate the durability of SIFCON to corrosion in chloride environments. Six different SIFCON mixes were made in addition to two refinance mixes with 0% and 1.5% steel fiber content. All mixes were exposed to 10% chloride solution for 180 days. Half of the specimens were partially immersed in chloride solution, and the others were exposed to weekly cycles of wetting and drying in 10% chloride solution. The effectiveness of using corrosion inhibitors, mineral admixture, and epoxy protective coating were also evaluated as protective measures to reduce the effect of chloride attack and to improve the corrosion resistance of SIFCON mixes. Corrosion rates, half-cell potential, electrical resistivity, total permeability tests had been monitored monthly. The results indicated a significant improvement in performance for SIFCON mixes exposed to chloride environment, when using corrosion inhibitor or epoxy protective coating, whereas SIFCON mix contained mineral admixture (metakaolin) did not improve the corrosion resistance at the same level. The cyclic wetting and drying exposure were more aggressive to the specimens than the partial immersion in chloride solution although the observed surface corrosion for the later was clearer.

Keywords: chloride attack, chloride environments, corrosion inhibitor, corrosion resistance, durability, SIFCON, slurry infiltrated fiber concrete

Procedia PDF Downloads 131

Authors: Reza Mohammadi

Abstract:

Using quartic spline, we develop a method for numerical solution of singularly perturbed two-point boundary-value problems. The purposed method is fourth-order accurate and applicable to problems both in singular and non-singular cases. The convergence analysis of the method is given. The resulting linear system of equations has been solved by using a tri-diagonal solver. We applied the presented method to test problems which have been solved by other existing methods in references, for comparison of presented method with the existing methods. Numerical results are given to illustrate the efficiency of our methods.

Keywords: second-order ordinary differential equation, singularly-perturbed, quartic spline, convergence analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 291

Authors: Elizaveta Korzhova, Sebastien Deon, Patrick Fievet, Dmitry Lopatin, Oleg Baranov

Abstract:

Filtration with nanoporous ultrafiltration membranes is an attractive option to remove ionic pollutants from contaminated effluents. Unfortunately, commercial membranes are not necessarily suitable for specific applications, and their modification by polymer deposition is a fruitful way to adapt their performances accordingly. Many methods are usually used for surface modification, but a novel technique based on electrospray is proposed here. Various quantities of polymers were deposited on a commercial membrane, and the impact of the deposit is investigated on filtration performances and discussed in terms of charge and hydrophobicity. The electrospray deposition is a technique which has not been used for membrane modification up to now. It consists of spraying small drops of polymer solution under a high voltage between the needle containing the solution and the metallic support on which membrane is stuck. The advantage of this process lies in the small quantities of polymer that can be coated on the membrane surface compared with immersion technique. In this study, various quantities (from 2 to 40 μL/cm²) of solutions containing two charged polymers (13 mmol/L of monomer unit), namely polyethyleneimine (PEI) and polystyrene sulfonate (PSS), were sprayed on a negatively charged polyethersulfone membrane (PLEIADE, Orelis Environment). The efficacy of the polymer deposition was then investigated by estimating ion rejection, permeation flux, zeta-potential and contact angle before and after the polymer deposition. Firstly, contact angle (θ) measurements show that the surface hydrophilicity is notably improved by coating both PEI and PSS. Moreover, it was highlighted that the contact angle decreases monotonously with the amount of sprayed solution. Additionally, hydrophilicity enhancement was proved to be better with PSS (from 62 to 35°) than PEI (from 62 to 53°). Values of zeta-potential (ζ were estimated by measuring the streaming current generated by a pressure difference on both sides of a channel made by clamping two membranes. The ζ-values demonstrate that the deposits of PSS (negative at pH=5.5) allow an increase of the negative membrane charge, whereas the deposits of PEI (positive) lead to a positive surface charge. Zeta-potentials measurements also emphasize that the sprayed quantity has little impact on the membrane charge, except for very low quantities (2 μL/m²). The cross-flow filtration of salt solutions containing mono and divalent ions demonstrate that polymer deposition allows a strong enhancement of ion rejection. For instance, it is shown that rejection of a salt containing a divalent cation can be increased from 1 to 20 % and even to 35% by deposing 2 and 4 μL/cm² of PEI solution, respectively. This observation is coherent with the reversal of the membrane charge induced by PEI deposition. Similarly, the increase of negative charge induced by PSS deposition leads to an increase of NaCl rejection from 5 to 45 % due to electrostatic repulsion of the Cl- ion by the negative surface charge. Finally, a notable fall in the permeation flux due to the polymer layer coated at the surface was observed and the best polymer concentration in the sprayed solution remains to be determined to optimize performances.

Keywords: ultrafiltration, electrospray deposition, ion rejection, permeation flux, zeta-potential, hydrophobicity

Procedia PDF Downloads 184

Authors: Prince Igor Itoua, Daquan Sun, Shihui Shen

Abstract:

This study aimed at investigating the properties of asphalt and mix asphalt based on the effects of waste toner sources (WT1 and WT2) with 8% dosage waste toner powders (WT). The test results included penetration, softening points, ductility, G*sinδ, G*/sinδ, Ideal cracking test(IDEAL-CT), and Ideal shear rutting test(IDEAL-RT). The results showed that the base binder with WT2 had a significantly higher viscosity value compared to the WT1 modified binder, and thus, higher energy for mixing and compaction is needed. Fur-thermore, the results of penetration, softening points, G*sinδ, and G*/sinδ were all affected by waste toner type. In terms of asphalt mixture, the IDEAL-RT test revealed that the addition of waste toner improved the rutting resistance of the asphalt mixture regardless of toner type. Further, CTindex values for waste toner-modified asphalt mixtures show no significant difference. Above all, WT-modified asphalt mixtures produced by the wet process have better rutting performance.

Keywords: waste toner, waste toner modified asphalt, asphalt mixture properties, IDEAL-RT test, IDEAL-CT test

Procedia PDF Downloads 82

Authors: Lisa Kasmer

Abstract:

Teachers’ instructional decisions shape the structure and content of mathematics lessons and influence the mathematics that students are given the opportunity to learn. Therefore, it is important to better understand how teachers make instructional decisions and thus find new ways to help practicing and future teachers give their students a more effective and robust learning experience. Understanding the relationship between teachers’ instructional decisions and their goals, resources, and orientations (beliefs) is important given the heightened focus on geometric transformations in the middle school mathematics curriculum. This work is significant as the development and support of current and future teachers need more effective ways to teach geometry to their students. The following research questions frame this study: (1) As middle school mathematics teachers plan and enact instruction related to teaching transformations, what thinking processes do they engage in to make decisions about teaching transformations with or without a coordinate system and (2) How do the goals, resources and orientations of these teachers impact their instructional decisions and reveal about their understanding of teaching transformations? Teachers and students alike struggle with understanding transformations; many teachers skip or hurriedly teach transformations at the end of the school year. However, transformations are an important mathematical topic as this topic supports students’ understanding of geometric and spatial reasoning. Geometric transformations are a foundational concept in mathematics, not only for understanding congruence and similarity but for proofs, algebraic functions, and calculus etc. Geometric transformations also underpin the secondary mathematics curriculum, as features of transformations transfer to other areas of mathematics. Teachers’ instructional decisions in terms of goals, orientations, and resources that support these instructional decisions were analyzed using open-coding. Open-coding is recognized as an initial first step in qualitative analysis, where comparisons are made, and preliminary categories are considered. Initial codes and categories from current research on teachers’ thinking processes that are related to the decisions they make while planning and reflecting on the lessons were also noted. Surfacing ideas and additional themes common across teachers while seeking patterns, were compared and analyzed. Finally, attributes of teachers’ goals, orientations and resources were identified in order to begin to build a picture of the reasoning behind their instructional decisions. These categories became the basis for the organization and conceptualization of the data. Preliminary results suggest that teachers often rely on their own orientations about teaching geometric transformations. These beliefs are underpinned by the teachers’ own mathematical knowledge related to teaching transformations. When a teacher does not have a robust understanding of transformations, they are limited by this lack of knowledge. These shortcomings impact students’ opportunities to learn, and thus disadvantage their own understanding of transformations. Teachers’ goals are also limited by their paucity of knowledge regarding transformations, as these goals do not fully represent the range of comprehension a teacher needs to teach this topic well.

Keywords: coordinate plane, geometric transformations, instructional decisions, middle school mathematics

Procedia PDF Downloads 84

Authors: O. Bourkoukou, Essaid El Bachari

Abstract:

The group composing is one of the key issue in collaborative learning to achieve a positive educational experience. The goal of this work is to propose for teachers and tutors a method to create effective collaborative learning groups in e-learning environment based on the learner profile. For this purpose, a new function was defined to rate implicitly learning objects used by the learner during his learning experience. This paper describes the proposed algorithm to build an adequate collaborative learning group. In order to verify the performance of the proposed algorithm, several experiments were conducted in real data set in virtual environment. Results show the effectiveness of the method for which it appears that the proposed approach may be promising to produce better outcomes.

Keywords: building groups, collaborative learning, e-learning, learning objects

Procedia PDF Downloads 295

Authors: Anusuya Ghosh, Vishnu Narayanan

Abstract:

The approximation of convex set by semidefinite representable set plays an important role in semidefinite programming, especially in modern convex optimization. To optimize a linear function over a convex set is a hard problem. But optimizing the linear function over the semidefinite representable set which approximates the convex set is easy to solve as there exists numerous efficient algorithms to solve semidefinite programming problems. So, our approximation technique is significant in optimization. We develop a technique to approximate any closed convex set, say K by compactly semidefinite representable set. Further we prove that there exists a sequence of compactly semidefinite representable sets which give tighter approximation of the closed convex set, K gradually. We discuss about the convergence of the sequence of compactly semidefinite representable sets to closed convex set K. The recession cone of K and the recession cone of the compactly semidefinite representable set are equal. So, we say that the sequence of compactly semidefinite representable sets converge strongly to the closed convex set. Thus, this approximation technique is very useful development in semidefinite programming.

Keywords: semidefinite programming, semidefinite representable set, compactly semidefinite representable set, approximation

Procedia PDF Downloads 375

Authors: Khaled Ben Oualid Medani, Samir Sayah

Abstract:

The Optimal Reactive Power Dispatch (ORPD) problem has been solved and analysed usually in the normal conditions. However, network collapses appear in contingency conditions. In this paper, ORPD under several contingencies is presented using the proposed method WOA. To ensure viability of the power system in contingency conditions, several critical cases are simulated in order to prevent and prepare the power system to face such situations. The results obtained are carried out in IEEE 30 bus test system for the solution of ORPD problem in which control of bus voltages, tap position of transformers and reactive power sources are involved. Moreover, another method, namely, Particle Swarm Optimization with Time Varying Acceleration Coefficient (PSO-TVAC) has been compared with the proposed technique. Simulation results indicate that the proposed WOA gives remarkable solution in terms of effectiveness in case of outages.

Keywords: optimal reactive power dispatch, power system analysis, real power loss minimization, contingency condition, metaheuristic technique, whale optimization algorithm

Procedia PDF Downloads 114

Authors: Almas Athif Fathin Wiyantoro, Fransiskus Xaverius Ivan Budiman, Fithra Faisal Hastiadi

Abstract:

The growth of clothing and technology as a marketing tool has a great influence on online business owners to know how much the characteristics and psychology of consumers in influencing purchasing decisions made by Indonesian women consumers. One of the most important issues faced by Indonesian women consumers is the suitability of clothing. The suitability of clothing can affect the body cathexis, identity, and confidence. So the thematic analysis of clothing fitness and body cathexis of women consumers when and after using virtual fitting room technology to purchase decision is important to do. This research using group method of pre-post treatment and considers how the recruitment technique of snowball sampling, which uses interpersonal relations and connections between people, both includes and excludes individuals into 39 participants' social networks to access specific populations. The results obtained from the study that the results of body scans and photos of virtual fitting room results can be made an intervention in women consumers in assessing their body cathexis objectively in the process of making purchasing decisions. The study also obtained a regression equation Y = 0.830 + 0.290X1 + 0.292X2, showing a positive relationship between suitability of clothing and body cathexis which influenced purchasing decisions on women consumers and after (personal and psychological factors) using virtual fitting room, meaning that all independent variables influence Positive towards the purchasing decision of the women consumers.

Keywords: body cathexis, clothing fitness, purchasing decision making and virtual fitting room

Procedia PDF Downloads 209