Search results for: participation models
7566 Using the Bootstrap for Problems Statistics
Authors: Brahim Boukabcha, Amar Rebbouh
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The bootstrap method based on the idea of exploiting all the information provided by the initial sample, allows us to study the properties of estimators. In this article we will present a theoretical study on the different methods of bootstrapping and using the technique of re-sampling in statistics inference to calculate the standard error of means of an estimator and determining a confidence interval for an estimated parameter. We apply these methods tested in the regression models and Pareto model, giving the best approximations.Keywords: bootstrap, error standard, bias, jackknife, mean, median, variance, confidence interval, regression models
Procedia PDF Downloads 3787565 Framework for Developing Change Team to Maximize Change Initiative Success
Authors: Mohammad Z. Ansari, Lisa Brodie, Marilyn Goh
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Change facilitators are individuals who utilize change philosophy to make a positive change to organizations. The application of change facilitators can be seen in various change models; Lewin, Lippitt, etc. The facilitators within numerous change models are considered as internal/external consultants. Whilst most of the scholarly paper considers change facilitation as a consensus attempt to improve organization, there is a lack of a framework that develops both the organization and the change facilitator creating a self-sustaining change environment. This research paper introduces the development of the framework for change Leaders, Planners, and Executers (LPE), aiming at various organizational levels (Process, Departmental, and Organisational). The LPE framework is derived by exploring interrelated characteristics between facilitator(s) and the organization through qualitative research for understanding change management techniques and facilitator(s) behavioral aspect from existing Change Management models and Organisation behavior works of literature. The introduced framework assists in highlighting and identify the most appropriate change team to successfully deliver the change initiative within any organization (s).Keywords: change initiative, LPE framework, change facilitator(s), sustainable change
Procedia PDF Downloads 1937564 3D Building Model Utilizing Airborne LiDAR Dataset and Terrestrial Photographic Images
Authors: J. Jasmee, I. Roslina, A. Mohammed Yaziz & A.H Juazer Rizal
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The need of an effective building information collection method is vital to support a diversity of land development activities. At present, advances in remote sensing such as airborne LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) is an established technology for building information collection, location, and elevation of the reflecting laser points towards the construction of 3D building models. In this study, LiDAR datasets and terrestrial photographic images of buildings towards the construction of 3D building models is explored. It is found that, the quantitative accuracy of the constructed 3D building model, namely in the horizontal and vertical components were ± 0.31m (RMSEx,y) and ± 0.145m (RMSEz) respectively. The accuracies were computed based on sixty nine (69) horizontal and twenty (20) vertical surveyed points. As for the qualitative assessment, it is shown that the appearance of the 3D building model is adequate to support the requirements of LOD3 presentation based on the OGC (Open Geospatial Consortium) standard CityGML.Keywords: LiDAR datasets, DSM, DTM, 3D building models
Procedia PDF Downloads 3197563 Improving University Operations with Data Mining: Predicting Student Performance
Authors: Mladen Dragičević, Mirjana Pejić Bach, Vanja Šimičević
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The purpose of this paper is to develop models that would enable predicting student success. These models could improve allocation of students among colleges and optimize the newly introduced model of government subsidies for higher education. For the purpose of collecting data, an anonymous survey was carried out in the last year of undergraduate degree student population using random sampling method. Decision trees were created of which two have been chosen that were most successful in predicting student success based on two criteria: Grade Point Average (GPA) and time that a student needs to finish the undergraduate program (time-to-degree). Decision trees have been shown as a good method of classification student success and they could be even more improved by increasing survey sample and developing specialized decision trees for each type of college. These types of methods have a big potential for use in decision support systems.Keywords: data mining, knowledge discovery in databases, prediction models, student success
Procedia PDF Downloads 4057562 Investigating the Effectiveness of Multilingual NLP Models for Sentiment Analysis
Authors: Othmane Touri, Sanaa El Filali, El Habib Benlahmar
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Natural Language Processing (NLP) has gained significant attention lately. It has proved its ability to analyze and extract insights from unstructured text data in various languages. It is found that one of the most popular NLP applications is sentiment analysis which aims to identify the sentiment expressed in a piece of text, such as positive, negative, or neutral, in multiple languages. While there are several multilingual NLP models available for sentiment analysis, there is a need to investigate their effectiveness in different contexts and applications. In this study, we aim to investigate the effectiveness of different multilingual NLP models for sentiment analysis on a dataset of online product reviews in multiple languages. The performance of several NLP models, including Google Cloud Natural Language API, Microsoft Azure Cognitive Services, Amazon Comprehend, Stanford CoreNLP, spaCy, and Hugging Face Transformers are being compared. The models based on several metrics, including accuracy, precision, recall, and F1 score, are being evaluated and compared to their performance across different categories of product reviews. In order to run the study, preprocessing of the dataset has been performed by cleaning and tokenizing the text data in multiple languages. Then training and testing each model has been applied using a cross-validation approach where randomly dividing the dataset into training and testing sets and repeating the process multiple times has been used. A grid search approach to optimize the hyperparameters of each model and select the best-performing model for each category of product reviews and language has been applied. The findings of this study provide insights into the effectiveness of different multilingual NLP models for Multilingual Sentiment Analysis and their suitability for different languages and applications. The strengths and limitations of each model were identified, and recommendations for selecting the most performant model based on the specific requirements of a project were provided. This study contributes to the advancement of research methods in multilingual NLP and provides a practical guide for researchers and practitioners in the field.Keywords: NLP, multilingual, sentiment analysis, texts
Procedia PDF Downloads 997561 Profiles of Physical Fitness and Enjoyment among Children: Associations with Sport Participation
Authors: Norjali Wazir M. R. W., Pion P., Mostaert M., De Meester A., Lenoir M., Bardid F.
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Background and study aim: Most of the people assume that someone will perform well on something they like. A tool evaluating how much an individual likes an activity can also be guidance for talent detection and to keep youngster doing what they like as a recreational sport. The purpose of this study was to identify the relationship between physical performances with something that they like. Material and methods: In this cross-sectional study, 558 pupils age between 8 years to 11 years were tested using test battery containing 7 physical performance tests (I Do) compared to a pictorial scale containing 7 pictures (I Like) referring to the physical performance tests. Pearson correlation was computed to investigate the relation between the actual performance and the enjoyment. Results: Moderate significant correlations between each of the respective I Do, and I Like components were found. It appears that the correlation between the endurance items is higher as compared to the other six characteristics. Rerunning the analysis for age and sex groups separately resulted in only one significant correlation across all age group, namely between the evaluations of cardiovascular endurance. Conclusions: Information on enjoyment appears to be a useful and cost-effective addition to current multidimensional test batteries in a sport. By providing a clear picture on activities the young child or athlete likes or dislikes, attrition can be increased if a child starts his ‘career’ in a sport that alludes to skills or tasks he/she likes. This enjoyment will increase the intrinsic motivation, which is beneficial for sustained sports participation as well as for avoiding dropout in promising young athletes.Keywords: I Do, I Like, physical performance, enjoyment
Procedia PDF Downloads 1537560 Ubudehe: A Social Work Analysis of Indigenous Solutions to Poverty Reduction in Post-Genocide Rwanda
Authors: Charles Rutikanga
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As part of the effort to reconstruct Rwanda and foster a shared national identity after the 1994 genocide against Tutsi, the government of Rwanda has drawn on aspects of indigenous culture and traditional practices. One of these traditional practices and cultural values is Ubudehe, which has been re-introduced after it has been gradually lost since colonial times. It is a form of collective action at the village level, which is inclusive, covering men, women, and the most marginalized community members. The philosophy behind Ubudehe is to increase the level of participation and institutional problem-solving capacity at the local level by citizens and local government. Since the early 2000s, the government re-introduced Ubudehe as a neo-traditional cultural institution in order to support the implementation of the country’s poverty reduction and development programs. An empirical study on indigenous and innovative models of social work practice was conducted under the framework of the ‘Professional Social Work in East Africa’ (PROSOWO II) project. Field data were collected on traditional/indigenous approaches, including Ubudehe, from different categories of informants through focus group discussions (FGDs) and personal interviews. The research showed that professional social workers play a significant role in the whole Ubudehe process. While there have been some challenges in the administration and implementation, overall it has contributed to poverty reduction in a post-genocide Rwanda.Keywords: development, indigenous approach, social work, Ubudehe
Procedia PDF Downloads 1157559 Drying Kinects of Soybean Seeds
Authors: Amanda Rithieli Pereira Dos Santos, Rute Quelvia De Faria, Álvaro De Oliveira Cardoso, Anderson Rodrigo Da Silva, Érica Leão Fernandes Araújo
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The study of the kinetics of drying has great importance for the mathematical modeling, allowing to know about the processes of transference of heat and mass between the products and to adjust dryers managing new technologies for these processes. The present work had the objective of studying the kinetics of drying of soybean seeds and adjusting different statistical models to the experimental data varying cultivar and temperature. Soybean seeds were pre-dried in a natural environment in order to reduce and homogenize the water content to the level of 14% (b.s.). Then, drying was carried out in a forced air circulation oven at controlled temperatures of 38, 43, 48, 53 and 58 ± 1 ° C, using two soybean cultivars, BRS 8780 and Sambaíba, until reaching a hygroscopic equilibrium. The experimental design was completely randomized in factorial 5 x 2 (temperature x cultivar) with 3 replicates. To the experimental data were adjusted eleven statistical models used to explain the drying process of agricultural products. Regression analysis was performed using the least squares Gauss-Newton algorithm to estimate the parameters. The degree of adjustment was evaluated from the analysis of the coefficient of determination (R²), the adjusted coefficient of determination (R² Aj.) And the standard error (S.E). The models that best represent the drying kinetics of soybean seeds are those of Midilli and Logarítmico.Keywords: curve of drying seeds, Glycine max L., moisture ratio, statistical models
Procedia PDF Downloads 6267558 Failing Regeneration, Displacement, and Continued Consequences on Future Urban Planning Processes in Distressed Neighborhoods in Tehran
Authors: Razieh Rezabeigi Sani, Alireza Farahani, Mahdi Haghi
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Displacement, local discontent, and forced exclusion have become prominent parts of urban regeneration activities in the Global North and South. This paper discusses the processes of massive displacement and neighborhood alteration as the consequences of a large-scale political/ideological placemaking project in central Tehran that transformed people's daily lives in surrounding neighborhoods. The conversion of Imam Hussein Square and connecting 17-Shahrivar Street to a pedestrian plaza in 2016 resulted in adjacent neighborhoods' physical, social, and economic degradation. The project has downgraded the economic and social characteristics of urban life in surrounding neighborhoods, commercialized residential land uses, displaced local people and businesses, and created unprecedented housing modes. This research has been conducted in two stages; first, after the project's implementation between 2017-2018, and second, when the street was reopened after local protests in 2021. In the first phase, 50+ on-site interviews were organized with planners, managers, and dwellers about the decision-making processes, design, and project implementation. We find that the project was based on the immediate political objectives and top-down power exertion of the local government in creating exclusive spaces (for religious ceremonies) without considering locals' knowledge, preferences, lifestyles, and everyday interactions. In the continued research in 2021, we utilized data gathered in facilitation activities and several meetings and interviews with local inhabitants and businesses to explore, design, and implement initiatives for bottom-up planning in these neighborhoods. The top-down and product-oriented (rather than process-oriented) planning, dependency on municipal financing rather than local partnerships, and lack of public participation proved to have continued effects on local participation. The paper concludes that urban regeneration projects must be based on the participation of different private/public actors, sustainable financial resources, and overall social and spatial analysis of the peripheral area before interventions.Keywords: displacement, urban regeneration, distressed neighborhoods, ideological placemaking, Tehran
Procedia PDF Downloads 1007557 Logistic Regression Based Model for Predicting Students’ Academic Performance in Higher Institutions
Authors: Emmanuel Osaze Oshoiribhor, Adetokunbo MacGregor John-Otumu
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In recent years, there has been a desire to forecast student academic achievement prior to graduation. This is to help them improve their grades, particularly for individuals with poor performance. The goal of this study is to employ supervised learning techniques to construct a predictive model for student academic achievement. Many academics have already constructed models that predict student academic achievement based on factors such as smoking, demography, culture, social media, parent educational background, parent finances, and family background, to name a few. This feature and the model employed may not have correctly classified the students in terms of their academic performance. This model is built using a logistic regression classifier with basic features such as the previous semester's course score, attendance to class, class participation, and the total number of course materials or resources the student is able to cover per semester as a prerequisite to predict if the student will perform well in future on related courses. The model outperformed other classifiers such as Naive bayes, Support vector machine (SVM), Decision Tree, Random forest, and Adaboost, returning a 96.7% accuracy. This model is available as a desktop application, allowing both instructors and students to benefit from user-friendly interfaces for predicting student academic achievement. As a result, it is recommended that both students and professors use this tool to better forecast outcomes.Keywords: artificial intelligence, ML, logistic regression, performance, prediction
Procedia PDF Downloads 967556 Infilling Strategies for Surrogate Model Based Multi-disciplinary Analysis and Applications to Velocity Prediction Programs
Authors: Malo Pocheau-Lesteven, Olivier Le Maître
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Engineering and optimisation of complex systems is often achieved through multi-disciplinary analysis of the system, where each subsystem is modeled and interacts with other subsystems to model the complete system. The coherence of the output of the different sub-systems is achieved through the use of compatibility constraints, which enforce the coupling between the different subsystems. Due to the complexity of some sub-systems and the computational cost of evaluating their respective models, it is often necessary to build surrogate models of these subsystems to allow repeated evaluation these subsystems at a relatively low computational cost. In this paper, gaussian processes are used, as their probabilistic nature is leveraged to evaluate the likelihood of satisfying the compatibility constraints. This paper presents infilling strategies to build accurate surrogate models of the subsystems in areas where they are likely to meet the compatibility constraint. It is shown that these infilling strategies can reduce the computational cost of building surrogate models for a given level of accuracy. An application of these methods to velocity prediction programs used in offshore racing naval architecture further demonstrates these method's applicability in a real engineering context. Also, some examples of the application of uncertainty quantification to field of naval architecture are presented.Keywords: infilling strategy, gaussian process, multi disciplinary analysis, velocity prediction program
Procedia PDF Downloads 1567555 Socioeconomic and Demographic Factors Influencing Male Antenatal Care Participation in Zimbabwe
Authors: Lucia Mavudzi
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Socioeconomic and demographic factors influence male attendance of antenatal care (ANC) activities which are beneficial in improving maternal health and birth outcome. When a male, as the head of the family is expected to solely make decisions of how finances are managed, when and where health services are sought, it impacts on the woman’s health seeking behavior. Using the data from the Zimbabwe Demographic and Health Survey 2010-2011 this paper seeks to assess the prevalence of male ANC attendance in Zimbabwe and factors that influence male ANC attendance. We hypothesized that socioeconomic and demographic factors do not influence male ANC attendance. To achieve the objectives of this paper, descriptive analysis was used to describe the characteristics of men and the Binomial logistic modelling was used to assess the relationship between male ANC attendance and selected socioeconomic and demographic factors. Male ANC attendance was used as the dependent variable, and the independent variables are age, marital status, place of residence, wealth, education, religion and employment. A high percentage of males did not attend ANC with their pregnant partners. Religion, education, and place of residence were found to be significantly associated with male ANC attendance. There was no evidence to show that there was a difference in male ANC attendance by employment, marital status, and age. Findings from this paper are relevant to public health. They will be used to develop strategies and intervention programs to improve pregnant women’s attendance of ANC attendance by involving men in maternal health.Keywords: antenatal care, male participation, maternal health, socio-economic and demographic factors
Procedia PDF Downloads 3347554 Legal Considerations in Fashion Modeling: Protecting Models' Rights and Ensuring Ethical Practices
Authors: Fatemeh Noori
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The fashion industry is a dynamic and ever-evolving realm that continuously shapes societal perceptions of beauty and style. Within this industry, fashion modeling plays a crucial role, acting as the visual representation of brands and designers. However, behind the glamorous façade lies a complex web of legal considerations that govern the rights, responsibilities, and ethical practices within the field. This paper aims to explore the legal landscape surrounding fashion modeling, shedding light on key issues such as contract law, intellectual property, labor rights, and the increasing importance of ethical considerations in the industry. Fashion modeling involves the collaboration of various stakeholders, including models, designers, agencies, and photographers. To ensure a fair and transparent working environment, it is imperative to establish a comprehensive legal framework that addresses the rights and obligations of each party involved. One of the primary legal considerations in fashion modeling is the contractual relationship between models and agencies. Contracts define the terms of engagement, including payment, working conditions, and the scope of services. This section will delve into the essential elements of modeling contracts, the negotiation process, and the importance of clarity to avoid disputes. Models are not just individuals showcasing clothing; they are integral to the creation and dissemination of artistic and commercial content. Intellectual property rights, including image rights and the use of a model's likeness, are critical aspects of the legal landscape. This section will explore the protection of models' image rights, the use of their likeness in advertising, and the potential for unauthorized use. Models, like any other professionals, are entitled to fair and ethical treatment. This section will address issues such as working conditions, hours, and the responsibility of agencies and designers to prioritize the well-being of models. Additionally, it will explore the global movement toward inclusivity, diversity, and the promotion of positive body image within the industry. The fashion industry has faced scrutiny for perpetuating harmful standards of beauty and fostering a culture of exploitation. This section will discuss the ethical responsibilities of all stakeholders, including the promotion of diversity, the prevention of exploitation, and the role of models as influencers for positive change. In conclusion, the legal considerations in fashion modeling are multifaceted, requiring a comprehensive approach to protect the rights of models and ensure ethical practices within the industry. By understanding and addressing these legal aspects, the fashion industry can create a more transparent, fair, and inclusive environment for all stakeholders involved in the art of modeling.Keywords: fashion modeling contracts, image rights in modeling, labor rights for models, ethical practices in fashion, diversity and inclusivity in modeling
Procedia PDF Downloads 747553 A Stepwise Approach to Automate the Search for Optimal Parameters in Seasonal ARIMA Models
Authors: Manisha Mukherjee, Diptarka Saha
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Reliable forecasts of univariate time series data are often necessary for several contexts. ARIMA models are quite popular among practitioners in this regard. Hence, choosing correct parameter values for ARIMA is a challenging yet imperative task. Thus, a stepwise algorithm is introduced to provide automatic and robust estimates for parameters (p; d; q)(P; D; Q) used in seasonal ARIMA models. This process is focused on improvising the overall quality of the estimates, and it alleviates the problems induced due to the unidimensional nature of the methods that are currently used such as auto.arima. The fast and automated search of parameter space also ensures reliable estimates of the parameters that possess several desirable qualities, consequently, resulting in higher test accuracy especially in the cases of noisy data. After vigorous testing on real as well as simulated data, the algorithm doesn’t only perform better than current state-of-the-art methods, it also completely obviates the need for human intervention due to its automated nature.Keywords: time series, ARIMA, auto.arima, ARIMA parameters, forecast, R function
Procedia PDF Downloads 1617552 MCDM Spectrum Handover Models for Cognitive Wireless Networks
Authors: Cesar Hernández, Diego Giral, Fernando Santa
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The spectral handoff is important in cognitive wireless networks to ensure an adequate quality of service and performance for secondary user communications. This work proposes a benchmarking of performance of the three spectrum handoff models: VIKOR, SAW and MEW. Four evaluation metrics are used. These metrics are, accumulative average of failed handoffs, accumulative average of handoffs performed, accumulative average of transmission bandwidth and, accumulative average of the transmission delay. As a difference with related work, the performance of the three spectrum handoff models was validated with captured data of spectral occupancy in experiments realized at the GSM frequency band (824 MHz-849 MHz). These data represent the actual behavior of the licensed users for this wireless frequency band. The results of the comparative show that VIKOR Algorithm provides 15.8% performance improvement compared to a SAW Algorithm and, 12.1% better than the MEW Algorithm.Keywords: cognitive radio, decision making, MEW, SAW, spectrum handoff, VIKOR
Procedia PDF Downloads 4367551 Nonlinear Estimation Model for Rail Track Deterioration
Authors: M. Karimpour, L. Hitihamillage, N. Elkhoury, S. Moridpour, R. Hesami
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Rail transport authorities around the world have been facing a significant challenge when predicting rail infrastructure maintenance work for a long period of time. Generally, maintenance monitoring and prediction is conducted manually. With the restrictions in economy, the rail transport authorities are in pursuit of improved modern methods, which can provide precise prediction of rail maintenance time and location. The expectation from such a method is to develop models to minimize the human error that is strongly related to manual prediction. Such models will help them in understanding how the track degradation occurs overtime under the change in different conditions (e.g. rail load, rail type, rail profile). They need a well-structured technique to identify the precise time that rail tracks fail in order to minimize the maintenance cost/time and secure the vehicles. The rail track characteristics that have been collected over the years will be used in developing rail track degradation prediction models. Since these data have been collected in large volumes and the data collection is done both electronically and manually, it is possible to have some errors. Sometimes these errors make it impossible to use them in prediction model development. This is one of the major drawbacks in rail track degradation prediction. An accurate model can play a key role in the estimation of the long-term behavior of rail tracks. Accurate models increase the track safety and decrease the cost of maintenance in long term. In this research, a short review of rail track degradation prediction models has been discussed before estimating rail track degradation for the curve sections of Melbourne tram track system using Adaptive Network-based Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) model.Keywords: ANFIS, MGT, prediction modeling, rail track degradation
Procedia PDF Downloads 3337550 Parametric Study for Obtaining the Structural Response of Segmental Tunnels in Soft Soil by Using No-Linear Numerical Models
Authors: Arturo Galván, Jatziri Y. Moreno-Martínez, Israel Enrique Herrera Díaz, José Ramón Gasca Tirado
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In recent years, one of the methods most used for the construction of tunnels in soft soil is the shield-driven tunneling. The advantage of this construction technique is that it allows excavating the tunnel while at the same time a primary lining is placed, which consists of precast segments. There are joints between segments, also called longitudinal joints, and joints between rings (called as circumferential joints). This is the reason because of this type of constructions cannot be considered as a continuous structure. The effect of these joints influences in the rigidity of the segmental lining and therefore in its structural response. A parametric study was performed to take into account the effect of different parameters in the structural response of typical segmental tunnels built in soft soil by using non-linear numerical models based on Finite Element Method by means of the software package ANSYS v. 11.0. In the first part of this study, two types of numerical models were performed. In the first one, the segments were modeled by using beam elements based on Timoshenko beam theory whilst the segment joints were modeled by using inelastic rotational springs considering the constitutive moment-rotation relation proposed by Gladwell. In this way, the mechanical behavior of longitudinal joints was simulated. On the other hand for simulating the mechanical behavior of circumferential joints elastic springs were considered. As well as, the stability given by the soil was modeled by means of elastic-linear springs. In the second type of models, the segments were modeled by means of three-dimensional solid elements and the joints with contact elements. In these models, the zone of the joints is modeled as a discontinuous (increasing the computational effort) therefore a discrete model is obtained. With these contact elements the mechanical behavior of joints is simulated considering that when the joint is closed, there is transmission of compressive and shear stresses but not of tensile stresses and when the joint is opened, there is no transmission of stresses. This type of models can detect changes in the geometry because of the relative movement of the elements that form the joints. A comparison between the numerical results with two types of models was carried out. In this way, the hypothesis considered in the simplified models were validated. In addition, the numerical models were calibrated with (Lab-based) experimental results obtained from the literature of a typical tunnel built in Europe. In the second part of this work, a parametric study was performed by using the simplified models due to less used computational effort compared to complex models. In the parametric study, the effect of material properties, the geometry of the tunnel, the arrangement of the longitudinal joints and the coupling of the rings were studied. Finally, it was concluded that the mechanical behavior of segment and ring joints and the arrangement of the segment joints affect the global behavior of the lining. As well as, the effect of the coupling between rings modifies the structural capacity of the lining.Keywords: numerical models, parametric study, segmental tunnels, structural response
Procedia PDF Downloads 2287549 Bridging the Gap between M and E, and KM: Towards the Integration of Evidence-Based Information and Policy Decision-Making
Authors: Xueqing Ivy Chen, Christo De Coning
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It is clear from practice that a gap exists between Result-Based Monitoring and Evaluation (RBME) as a discipline, and Knowledge Management (KM) on the other hand. Whereas various government departments have institutionalised these functions, KM and M&E has functioned in isolation from each other in a practical sense in the public sector. It’s therefore necessary to explore the relationship between KM and M&E and the necessity for integration, so that a convergence of these disciplines can be established. An integration of KM and M&E will lead to integration and improvement of evidence-based information and policy decision-making. M&E and KM process models are available but the complementarity between specific process steps of these process models are not exploited. A need exists to clarify the relationships between these functions in order to ensure evidence based information and policy decision-making. This paper will depart from the well-known policy process models, such as the generic model and consider recent on the interface between policy, M&E and KM.Keywords: result-based monitoring and evaluation, RBME, knowledge management, KM, evident based decision making, public policy, information systems, institutional arrangement
Procedia PDF Downloads 1527548 Prediction of Mechanical Strength of Multiscale Hybrid Reinforced Cementitious Composite
Authors: Salam Alrekabi, A. B. Cundy, Mohammed Haloob Al-Majidi
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Novel multiscale hybrid reinforced cementitious composites based on carbon nanotubes (MHRCC-CNT), and carbon nanofibers (MHRCC-CNF) are new types of cement-based material fabricated with micro steel fibers and nanofilaments, featuring superior strain hardening, ductility, and energy absorption. This study focused on established models to predict the compressive strength, and direct and splitting tensile strengths of the produced cementitious composites. The analysis was carried out based on the experimental data presented by the previous author’s study, regression analysis, and the established models that available in the literature. The obtained models showed small differences in the predictions and target values with experimental verification indicated that the estimation of the mechanical properties could be achieved with good accuracy.Keywords: multiscale hybrid reinforced cementitious composites, carbon nanotubes, carbon nanofibers, mechanical strength prediction
Procedia PDF Downloads 1607547 Assisting Dating of Greek Papyri Images with Deep Learning
Authors: Asimina Paparrigopoulou, John Pavlopoulos, Maria Konstantinidou
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Dating papyri accurately is crucial not only to editing their texts but also for our understanding of palaeography and the history of writing, ancient scholarship, material culture, networks in antiquity, etc. Most ancient manuscripts offer little evidence regarding the time of their production, forcing papyrologists to date them on palaeographical grounds, a method often criticized for its subjectivity. By experimenting with data obtained from the Collaborative Database of Dateable Greek Bookhands and the PapPal online collections of objectively dated Greek papyri, this study shows that deep learning dating models, pre-trained on generic images, can achieve accurate chronological estimates for a test subset (67,97% accuracy for book hands and 55,25% for documents). To compare the estimates of these models with those of humans, experts were asked to complete a questionnaire with samples of literary and documentary hands that had to be sorted chronologically by century. The same samples were dated by the models in question. The results are presented and analysed.Keywords: image classification, papyri images, dating
Procedia PDF Downloads 787546 A Systemic Maturity Model
Authors: Emir H. Pernet, Jeimy J. Cano
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Maturity models, used descriptively to explain changes in reality or normatively to guide managers to make interventions to make organizations more effective and efficient, are based on the principles of statistical quality control promulgated by Shewhart in the years 30, and on the principles of PDCA continuous improvement (Plan, Do, Check, Act) developed by Deming and Juran. Some frameworks developed over the concept of maturity models includes COBIT, CMM, and ITIL. This paper presents some limitations of traditional maturity models, most of them based on points of reflection and analysis done by some authors. Almost all limitations are related to the mechanistic and reductionist approach of the principles over those models are built. As Systems Theory helps the understanding of the dynamics of organizations and organizational change, the development of a systemic maturity model can help to overcome some of those limitations. This document proposes a systemic maturity model, based on a systemic conceptualization of organizations, focused on the study of the functioning of the parties, the relationships among them, and their behavior as a whole. The concept of maturity from the system theory perspective is conceptually defined as an emergent property of the organization, which arises from as a result of the degree of alignment and integration of their processes. This concept is operationalized through a systemic function that measures the maturity of an organization, and finally validated by the measuring of maturity in organizations. For its operationalization and validation, the model was applied to measure the maturity of organizational Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) processes.Keywords: GRC, maturity model, systems theory, viable system model
Procedia PDF Downloads 3107545 The Evolution of Domestic Terrorism: Global Contemporary Models
Authors: Bret Brooks
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As the international community has focused their attention in recent times on international and transnational terrorism, many nations have ignored their own domestic terrorist groups. Domestic terrorism has significantly evolved over the last 15 years and as such nation states must adequately understand their own individual issues as well as the broader worldwide perspective. Contemporary models show that obtaining peace with domestic groups is not only the end goal, but also very obtainable. By evaluating modern examples and incorporating successful strategies, countries around the world have the ability to bring about a diplomatic resolution to domestic extremism and domestic terrorism.Keywords: domestic, evolution, peace, terrorism
Procedia PDF Downloads 5187544 Predicting Returns Volatilities and Correlations of Stock Indices Using Multivariate Conditional Autoregressive Range and Return Models
Authors: Shay Kee Tan, Kok Haur Ng, Jennifer So-Kuen Chan
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This paper extends the conditional autoregressive range (CARR) model to multivariate CARR (MCARR) model and further to the two-stage MCARR-return model to model and forecast volatilities, correlations and returns of multiple financial assets. The first stage model fits the scaled realised Parkinson volatility measures using individual series and their pairwise sums of indices to the MCARR model to obtain in-sample estimates and forecasts of volatilities for these individual and pairwise sum series. Then covariances are calculated to construct the fitted variance-covariance matrix of returns which are imputed into the stage-two return model to capture the heteroskedasticity of assets’ returns. We investigate different choices of mean functions to describe the volatility dynamics. Empirical applications are based on the Standard and Poor 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average and Dow Jones United States Financial Service Indices. Results show that the stage-one MCARR models using asymmetric mean functions give better in-sample model fits than those based on symmetric mean functions. They also provide better out-of-sample volatility forecasts than those using CARR models based on two robust loss functions with the scaled realised open-to-close volatility measure as the proxy for the unobserved true volatility. We also find that the stage-two return models with constant means and multivariate Student-t errors give better in-sample fits than the Baba, Engle, Kraft, and Kroner type of generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (BEKK-GARCH) models. The estimates and forecasts of value-at-risk (VaR) and conditional VaR based on the best MCARR-return models for each asset are provided and tested using Kupiec test to confirm the accuracy of the VaR forecasts.Keywords: range-based volatility, correlation, multivariate CARR-return model, value-at-risk, conditional value-at-risk
Procedia PDF Downloads 987543 Leadership Development of Professional Ethiopian Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics: Insights Gained through an Onsite Culturally Embedded Workshop
Authors: Araceli Martinez Ortiz, Gillian Bayne, Solomon Abraham
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This paper describes research led by faculty from three American universities and four Ethiopian universities on the delivery of professional leadership development for early-career female Ethiopian university instructors in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields. The objective was to carry out a case study focused on the impact of an innovative intervention program designed to assist in the empowerment and leadership development related to teaching effectiveness, scholarly activity participation, and professional service participation by female instructors. This research was conducted utilizing a case study methodology for the weeklong intervention and a survey to capture the voices of the leadership program participants. The data regarding insights into the challenges and opportunities for women in these fields is presented. The research effort project expands upon existing linkages between universities to support professional development and research effort in this region of the world. Findings indicate the positive reception of this kind of professional development by the participating women. Survey data also reflects the particular cultural challenges professional women in STEM education face in Ethiopia as well as the global challenges of balancing family expectations with career development.Keywords: Ethiopian women, STEM leadership, professional development, gender equity
Procedia PDF Downloads 1087542 Fuzzy Time Series Forecasting Based on Fuzzy Logical Relationships, PSO Technique, and Automatic Clustering Algorithm
Authors: A. K. M. Kamrul Islam, Abdelhamid Bouchachia, Suang Cang, Hongnian Yu
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Forecasting model has a great impact in terms of prediction and continues to do so into the future. Although many forecasting models have been studied in recent years, most researchers focus on different forecasting methods based on fuzzy time series to solve forecasting problems. The forecasted models accuracy fully depends on the two terms that are the length of the interval in the universe of discourse and the content of the forecast rules. Moreover, a hybrid forecasting method can be an effective and efficient way to improve forecasts rather than an individual forecasting model. There are different hybrids forecasting models which combined fuzzy time series with evolutionary algorithms, but the performances are not quite satisfactory. In this paper, we proposed a hybrid forecasting model which deals with the first order as well as high order fuzzy time series and particle swarm optimization to improve the forecasted accuracy. The proposed method used the historical enrollments of the University of Alabama as dataset in the forecasting process. Firstly, we considered an automatic clustering algorithm to calculate the appropriate interval for the historical enrollments. Then particle swarm optimization and fuzzy time series are combined that shows better forecasting accuracy than other existing forecasting models.Keywords: fuzzy time series (fts), particle swarm optimization, clustering algorithm, hybrid forecasting model
Procedia PDF Downloads 2497541 A Review on 3D Smart City Platforms Using Remotely Sensed Data to Aid Simulation and Urban Analysis
Authors: Slim Namouchi, Bruno Vallet, Imed Riadh Farah
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3D urban models provide powerful tools for decision making, urban planning, and smart city services. The accuracy of this 3D based systems is directly related to the quality of these models. Since manual large-scale modeling, such as cities or countries is highly time intensive and very expensive process, a fully automatic 3D building generation is needed. However, 3D modeling process result depends on the input data, the proprieties of the captured objects, and the required characteristics of the reconstructed 3D model. Nowadays, producing 3D real-world model is no longer a problem. Remotely sensed data had experienced a remarkable increase in the recent years, especially data acquired using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). While the scanning techniques are developing, the captured data amount and the resolution are getting bigger and more precise. This paper presents a literature review, which aims to identify different methods of automatic 3D buildings extractions either from LiDAR or the combination of LiDAR and satellite or aerial images. Then, we present open source technologies, and data models (e.g., CityGML, PostGIS, Cesiumjs) used to integrate these models in geospatial base layers for smart city services.Keywords: CityGML, LiDAR, remote sensing, SIG, Smart City, 3D urban modeling
Procedia PDF Downloads 1347540 The Museum of Museums: A Mobile Augmented Reality Application
Authors: Qian Jin
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Museums have been using interactive technology to spark visitor interest and improve understanding. These technologies can play a crucial role in helping visitors understand more about an exhibition site by using multimedia to provide information. Google Arts and Culture and Smartify are two very successful digital heritage products. They used mobile augmented reality to visualise the museum's 3D models and heritage images but did not include 3D models of the collection and audio information. In this research, service-oriented mobile augmented reality application was developed for users to access collections from multiple museums(including V and A, the British Museum, and British Library). The third-party API (Application Programming Interface) is requested to collect metadata (including images, 3D models, videos, and text) of three museums' collections. The acquired content is then visualized in AR environments. This product will help users who cannot visit the museum offline due to various reasons (inconvenience of transportation, physical disability, time schedule).Keywords: digital heritage, argument reality, museum, flutter, ARcore
Procedia PDF Downloads 777539 Monthly Labor Forces Surveys Portray Smooth Labor Markets and Bias Fixed Effects Estimation: Evidence from Israel’s Transition from Quarterly to Monthly Surveys
Authors: Haggay Etkes
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This study provides evidence for the impact of monthly interviews conducted for the Israeli Labor Force Surveys (LFSs) on estimated flows between labor force (LF) statuses and on coefficients in fixed-effects estimations. The study uses the natural experiment of parallel interviews for the quarterly and the monthly LFSs in Israel in 2011 for demonstrating that the Labor Force Participation (LFP) rate of Jewish persons who participated in the monthly LFS increased between interviews, while in the quarterly LFS it decreased. Interestingly, the estimated impact on the LFP rate of self-reporting individuals is 2.6–3.5 percentage points while the impact on the LFP rate of individuals whose data was reported by another member of their household (a proxy), is lower and statistically insignificant. The relative increase of the LFP rate in the monthly survey is a result of a lower rate of exit from the LF and a somewhat higher rate of entry into the LF relative to these flows in the quarterly survey. These differing flows have a bearing on labor search models as the monthly survey portrays a labor market with less friction and a “steady state” LFP rate that is 5.9 percentage points higher than the quarterly survey. The study also demonstrates that monthly interviews affect a specific group (45–64 year-olds); thus the sign of coefficient of age as an explanatory variable in fixed-effects regressions on LFP is negative in the monthly survey and positive in the quarterly survey.Keywords: measurement error, surveys, search, LFSs
Procedia PDF Downloads 2697538 Artificial Intelligence-Based Detection of Individuals Suffering from Vestibular Disorder
Authors: Dua Hişam, Serhat İkizoğlu
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Identifying the problem behind balance disorder is one of the most interesting topics in the medical literature. This study has considerably enhanced the development of artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms applying multiple machine learning (ML) models to sensory data on gait collected from humans to classify between normal people and those suffering from Vestibular System (VS) problems. Although AI is widely utilized as a diagnostic tool in medicine, AI models have not been used to perform feature extraction and identify VS disorders through training on raw data. In this study, three machine learning (ML) models, the Random Forest Classifier (RF), Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGB), and K-Nearest Neighbor (KNN), have been trained to detect VS disorder, and the performance comparison of the algorithms has been made using accuracy, recall, precision, and f1-score. With an accuracy of 95.28 %, Random Forest Classifier (RF) was the most accurate model.Keywords: vestibular disorder, machine learning, random forest classifier, k-nearest neighbor, extreme gradient boosting
Procedia PDF Downloads 677537 Ongoing Gender-Based Challenges in Post-2015 Development Agenda: A Comparative Study between Qatar and Arab States
Authors: Abdel-Samad M. Ali, Ali A. Hadi Al-Shawi
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Discrimination against women and girls impairs progress in all domains of development articulated either in the framework of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) or in the Post-2015 Development Agenda. Paper aspires to create greater awareness among researchers and policy makers of the challenges posed by gender gaps and the opportunities created by reducing them within the Arab region. The study reveals how Arab countries are closing in on gender-oriented targets of the third and fifth MDGs. While some countries can claim remarkable achievements particularly in girls’ equality in education, there is still a long way to go to keep Arab’s commitments to current and future generations in other countries and subregions especially in the economic participation or in the political empowerment of women. No country has closed or even expected to close the economic participation gap or the political empowerment gap. This should provide the incentive to keep moving forward in the Post-2015 Agenda. Findings of the study prove that while Arab states have uneven achievements in reducing maternal mortality, Arab women remain at a disadvantage in the labour market. For Arab region especially LDCs, improving maternal health is part of the unmet agenda for the post-2015 period and still calls for intensified efforts and procedures. While antenatal care coverage is improving across the Arab region, progress is marginal in LDCs. To achieve proper realization of gender equality and empowerment of women in the Arab region in the post-2015 agenda, the study presents critical key challenges to be addressed. These challenges include: Negative cultural norms and stereotypes; violence against women and girls; early marriage and child labour; women’s limited control over their own bodies; limited ability of women to generate their own income and control assets and property; gender-based discrimination in law and in practice; women’s unequal participation in private and public decision making autonomy; and limitations in data. However, in all Arab states, gender equality must be integrated as a goal across all issues, particularly those that affect the future of a country.Keywords: gender, equity, millennium development goals, post-2015 development agenda
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