Search results for: spatial data base

Authors: Louvill Manangan Ozarraga

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this study was designed to ascertain the concept of revenue generation system of Bacolod, Lanao del Norte, through the completely enumerated elected officials and permanent employees sample respondents. The pertinent data were obtained through the use of structured questionnaire and with the help of key informants. The study utilized a cross-sectional survey design to analyze and interpret the data using frequency count, percentage distribution, and weighted mean. For the major findings, the local revenue generation of the Municipality has increased by Php 4,465,394.21 roughly 73.52% from years 2018 to 2020. Administrative activities help the Municipality cope up with development namely, issuance of ordinance, personnel augmentation and collection strategies. Moreover, respondents were undecided whether revenue generation contributed to infrastructures and purchases of assets. Majority of the respondents agreed that the municipality’s local revenue generation contributes to the social welfare of its constituents. Also, the respondents disagreed that locally generated revenue augments the 20% development fund. The study revealed that there is a big difference on the 2018 and 2020 Real Property Tax (RPT) collection. No committee was created to monitor and supervise the municipal revenue generation system. The Municipality, through partnership with TESDA, provides skilled-job opportunity to its constituents and participants.

Keywords: contribution, development, Bacolod Lanao del Norte, revenue generation system

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Authors: Aisha Siddiqa

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The knowledge of pragmatic practices in a particular language is considered key to effective communication. Unlike one’s native language where this knowledge is acquired spontaneously, more conscious attention is required to learn second language pragmatics. Traditional foreign language (FL) classrooms generally focus on the acquisition of vocabulary and lexico-grammatical structures, neglecting pragmatic functions that are essential for effective communication in the multilingual networks of the modern world. In terms of effective communication, of particular importance is knowledge of what is perceived as polite or impolite in a certain language, an aspect of pragmatics which is not perceived as obligatory but is nonetheless indispensable for successful intercultural communication and integration. While learning a second language, the acquisition of politeness assumes more prominence as the politeness norms and practices vary according to language and culture. Therefore, along with focusing on the ‘use’ of politeness strategies, it is crucial to examine the ‘acquisition’ and the ‘acquisitional development’ of politeness strategies by second language learners, particularly, by lower proficiency leaners as the norms of politeness are usually focused in lower levels. Hence, there is an obvious need for a study that not only investigates the acquisition of pragmatics by young FL learners using innovative multiple methods; but also identifies the potential causes of the gaps in their development. The present research employs a cross sectional design to explore the acquisition of politeness by young English as a foreign language learners (EFL) in France; at three levels of secondary school learning. The methodology involves two phases. In the first phase a cartoon oral production task (COPT) is used to elicit samples of requests from young EFL learners in French schools. These data are then supplemented by a) role plays, b) an analysis of textbooks, and c) video recordings of classroom activities. This mixed method approach allows us to explore the repertoire of politeness strategies the learners possess and delve deeper into the opportunities available to learners in classrooms to learn politeness strategies in requests. The paper will provide the results of the analysis of COPT data for 250 learners at three different stages of English as foreign language development. Data analysis is based on categorization of requests developed in CCSARP project. The preliminary analysis of the COPT data shows that there is substantial evidence of pragmalinguistic development across all levels but the developmental process seems to gain momentum in the second half of the secondary school period as compared to the early period at school. However, there is very little evidence of sociopragmatic development. The study aims to document the current classroom practices in France by looking at the development of young EFL learner’s politeness strategies across three levels of secondary schools.

Keywords: acquisition, English, France, interlanguage pragmatics, politeness

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Authors: Fredrick Olatunji Ajegbomogun, Bello Modinat Morenikeji, Okorie Nancy Chituru

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Electronic information resources are highly relevant to students' academic and research needs but are grossly underutilized, despite the institutional commitment to making them available. The under-utilisation of these resources could be attributed to a low level of study behaviour coupled with a low level of computer self-efficacy. This study assessed computer self-efficacy, study behaviour, and the use of electronic information resources by students in selected polytechnics in Ogun State. A simple random sampling technique using Krejcie and Morgan's (1970) Table was used to select 370 respondents for the study. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data on respondents. Data were analysed using frequency counts, percentages, mean, standard deviation, Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC) and multiple regression analysis. Results reveal that the internet (= 1.94), YouTube (= 1.74), and search engines (= 1.72) were the common information resources available to the students, while the Internet (= 4.22) is the most utilized resource. Major reasons for using electronic information resources were to source materials and information (= 3.30), for research (= 3.25), and to augment class notes (= 2.90). The majority (91.0%) of the respondents have a high level of computer self-efficacy in the use of electronic information resources through selecting from screen menus (= 3.12), using data files ( = 3.10), and efficient use of computers (= 3.06). Good preparation for tests (= 3.27), examinations (= 3.26), and organization of tutorials (= 3.11) are the common study behaviours of the respondents. Overall, 93.8% have good study behaviour. Inadequate computer facilities to access information (= 3.23), and poor internet access (= 2.87) were the major challenges confronting students’ use of electronic information resources. According to the PPMC results, study behavior (r = 0.280) and computer self-efficacy (r = 0.304) have significant (p 0.05) relationships with the use of electronic information resources. Regression results reveal that self-efficacy (=0.214) and study behavior (=0.122) positively (p 0.05) influenced students' use of electronic information resources. The study concluded that students' use of electronic information resources depends on the purpose, their computer self-efficacy, and their study behaviour. Therefore, the study recommended that the management should encourage the students to improve their study habits and computer skills, as this will enhance their continuous and more effective utilization of electronic information resources.

Keywords: computer self-efficacy, study behaviour, electronic information resources, polytechnics, Nigeria

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Authors: Tzong-Ying Hao, Mohammad T. Rahmani

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This article presents the structural health monitoring (SHM) method based on changes in wave traveling times (wave method) within a layered 1-D shear beam model of structure. The wave method measures the velocity of shear wave propagating in a building from the impulse response functions (IRF) obtained from recorded data at different locations inside the building. If structural damage occurs in a structure, the velocity of wave propagation through it changes. The wave method analysis is performed on the responses of Torre Central building, a 9-story shear wall structure located in Santiago, Chile. Because events of different intensity (ambient vibrations, weak and strong earthquake motions) have been recorded at this building, therefore it can serve as a full-scale benchmark to validate the structural health monitoring method utilized. The analysis of inter-story drifts and the Fourier spectra for the EW and NS motions during 2010 Chile earthquake are presented. The results for the NS motions suggest the coupling of translation and torsion responses. The system frequencies (estimated from the relative displacement response of the 8th-floor with respect to the basement from recorded data) were detected initially decreasing approximately 24% in the EW motion. Near the end of shaking, an increase of about 17% was detected. These analysis and results serve as baseline indicators of the occurrence of structural damage. The detected changes in wave velocities of the shear beam model are consistent with the observed damage. However, the 1-D shear beam model is not sufficient to simulate the coupling of translation and torsion responses in the NS motion. The wave method is proven for actual implementation in structural health monitoring systems based on carefully assessing the resolution and accuracy of the model for its effectiveness on post-earthquake damage detection in buildings.

Keywords: Chile earthquake, damage detection, earthquake response, impulse response function, shear beam model, shear wave velocity, structural health monitoring, torre central building, wave method

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Authors: Reyhan Tekin Sitrava

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Teachers should have robust and comprehensive content knowledge for effective mathematics teaching. It was explained that content knowledge includes knowing the facts, truths, and concepts; explaining the reasons behind these facts, truths and concepts, and making relationship between the concepts and other disciplines. By virtue of its importance, it will be significant to explore teachers and prospective teachers’ content knowledge related to variety of topics in mathematics. From this point of view, the purpose of this study was to investigate prospective mathematics teachers’ content knowledge. Particularly, it was aimed to reveal the prospective teachers’ knowledge regarding the definition of limit and derivate. To achieve the purpose and to get in-depth understanding, a qualitative case study method was used. The data was collected from 34 prospective mathematics teachers through a questionnaire containing 2 questions. The first question required the prospective teachers to define the limit and the second one required to define the derivative. The data was analyzed using content analysis method. Based on the analysis of the data, although half of the prospective teachers (50%) could write the definition of the limit, nine prospective teachers (26.5%) could not define limit. However, eight prospective teachers’ definition was regarded as partially correct. On the other hand, twenty-seven prospective teachers (79.5%) could define derivative, but seven of them (20.5%) defined it partially. According to the findings, most of the prospective teachers have robust content knowledge on limit and derivative. This result is important because definitions have a virtual role in learning and teaching of mathematics. More specifically, definition is starting point to understand the meaning of a concept. From this point of view, prospective teachers should know the definitions of the concepts to be able to teach them correctly to the students. In addition, they should have knowledge about the relationship between limit and derivative so that they can explain these concepts conceptually. Otherwise, students may memorize the rules of calculating the derivative and the limit. In conclusion, the present study showed that most of the prospective mathematics teachers had enough knowledge about the definition of derivative and limit. However, the rest of them should learn their definition conceptually. The examples of correct, partially correct, and incorrect definition of both concepts will be presented and discussed based on participants’ statements. This study has some implications for instructors. Instructors should be careful about whether students learn the definition of these concepts or not. In order to this, the instructors may give prospective teachers opportunities to discuss the definition of these concepts and the relationship between the concepts.

Keywords: content knowledge, derivative, limit, prospective mathematics teachers

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Authors: Shuaili Ji

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The correct use of verbs is an important element of high-quality research articles, and thus for Chinese EFL learners, it is significant to master characteristics of verbs and to precisely use verbs. However, some researches have shown that there are differences in using verbs between learners and native speakers and learners have difficulty in using English verbs. This corpus-based quantitative research can enhance learners’ knowledge of English verbs and promote the quality of research article abstracts even of the whole academic writing. The aim of this study is to find the differences between learners’ and native speakers’ use of verbs and to study the factors that contribute to those differences. To this end, the research question is as follows: What are the differences between most frequently used verbs by learners and those by native speakers? The research question is answered through a study that uses corpus-based data-driven approach to analyze the verbs used by learners in their abstract writings in terms of collocation, colligation and semantic prosody. The results show that: (1) EFL learners obviously overused ‘be, can, find, make’ and underused ‘investigate, examine, may’. As to modal verbs, learners obviously overused ‘can’ while underused ‘may’. (2) Learners obviously overused ‘we find + object clauses’ while underused ‘nouns (results, findings, data) + suggest/indicate/reveal + object clauses’ when expressing research results. (3) Learners tended to transfer the collocation, colligation and semantic prosody of shǐ and zuò to make. (4) Learners obviously overused ‘BE+V-ed’ and used BE as the main verb. They also obviously overused the basic forms of BE such as be, is, are, while obviously underused its inflections (was, were). These results manifested learners’ lack of accuracy and idiomatic property in verb usage. Due to the influence of the concept transfer of Chinese, the verbs in learners’ abstracts showed obvious transfer of mother language. In addition, learners have not fully mastered the use of verbs, avoiding using complex colligations to prevent errors. Based on these findings, the present study has implications for English teaching, seeking to have implications for English academic abstract writing in China. Further research could be undertaken to study the use of verbs in the whole dissertation to find out whether the characteristic of the verbs in abstracts can apply in the whole dissertation or not.

Keywords: academic writing abstracts, Chinese EFL learners, corpus-based, data-driven, verbs

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Authors: Rebecca Bach, Evgenia Kanli, Nihat Kiziltoprak, Linda Hildebrand, Ulrich Knaack, Jens Schneider

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The building industry has a high demand for resources and at the same time is responsible for a significant amount of waste created worldwide. Today's building components need to contribute to the protection of natural resources without creating waste. This is defined in the product development phase and impacts the product’s degree of being cycle-oriented. Paper-based materials show advantage due to their renewable origin and their ability to incorporate different functions. Besides the ecological aspects like renewable origin and recyclability the main advantages of paper materials are its light-weight but stiff structure, the optimized production processes and good insulation values. The main deficits from building technology’s perspective are the material's vulnerability to humidity and water as well as inflammability. On material level, those problems can be solved by coatings or through material modification. On construction level intelligent setup and layering of a building component can improve and also solve these issues. The target of the present work is to provide an overview of developed building components and construction typologies mainly made from paper materials. The research is structured in four parts: (1) functions and requirements, (2) preselection of paper-based materials, (3) development of building components and (4) evaluation. As part of the research methodology at first the needs of the building sector are analyzed with the aim to define the main areas of application and consequently the requirements. Various paper materials are tested in order to identify to what extent the requirements are satisfied and determine potential optimizations or modifications, also in combination with other construction materials. By making use of the material’s potentials and solving the deficits on material and on construction level, building components and construction typologies are developed. The evaluation and the calculation of the structural mechanics and structural principals will show that different construction typologies can be derived. Profiles like paper tubes can be used at best for skeleton constructions. Massive structures on the other hand can be formed by plate-shaped elements like solid board or honeycomb. For insulation purposes corrugated cardboard or cellulose flakes have the best properties, while layered solid board can be applied to prevent inner condensation. Enhancing these properties by material combinations for instance with mineral coatings functional constructions mainly out of paper materials were developed. In summary paper materials offer a huge variety of possible applications in the building sector. By these studies a general base of knowledge about how to build with paper was developed and is to be reinforced by further research.

Keywords: construction typologies, cycle-oriented construction, innovative building material, paper materials, renewable resources

Procedia PDF Downloads 265

Authors: Eftah Bte Moh, Hj Abdullah Izazol Binti Idris, Abd. Aziz Bin Abd. Shukor

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This study aimed to identify the alignment of understanding and assessment practices among secondary school teachers. The study was carried out using quantitative descriptive study. The sample consisted of 164 teachers who taught Form 1 and 2 from 11 secondary schools in the district of North Kinta, Perak, Malaysia. Data were obtained from 164 respondents who answered Expectation Alignment Understanding and Practices of School Assessment (PEKDAPS) questionnaire. The data were analysed using SPSS 17.0 +. The Cronbach alpha value obtained through PEKDAPS questionnaire pilot study was 0.86. The results showed that teachers' performance in PEKDAPS based on the mean value was less than 3, which means that perfect alignment does not occur between the understanding and practices of school assessment. Two major PEKDAPS sub-constructs of articulation across grade and age and usability of the system were higher than the moderate alignment of the understanding and practices of school assessment (Min=2.0). The content was focused on PEKDAPs sub-constructs which showed lower than the moderate alignment of the understanding and practices of school assessment (Min=2.0). Another two PEKDAPS sub-constructs of transparency and fairness and the pedagogical implications showed moderate alignment (2.0). The implications of the study is that teachers need to fully understand the importance of alignment among components of assessment, learning and teaching and learning objectives as strategies to achieve quality assessment process.

Keywords: school based assessment, alignment, understanding, assessment practices

Procedia PDF Downloads 449

Authors: Shankar Ganesh, Rishee Patel, Vikram Dwivedi, Balakishore P., Deepak Chhabra, Anandhi Dakshinamoorthy, Parminder Kaur

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Background: The World Health Organization has recommended a moderate intensity physical activity of 150 minutes, or 75 minutes vigorous-intensity physical activity per week to achieve optimal health benefits. It is not known if Indian public who indulge in leisure time physical exercises satisfy these recommendations. Methods: This study used a questionnaire to obtain data regarding demographic details, current engagement in leisure time physical activities, and dosages of these exercises from participants between 18-64 years of age. Results: Data was collected from a total of 390 participants (231 males and 159 females). 50.76% and 34.35% o of the participants reported exercising voluntarily and for health benefits respectively. Most participants (94.61%) indicated exercising without prescription. 55.38% and 12.82% of the participants under and above 38 years of age perform moderate to vigorous intensity exercises respectively. Conclusion: The over-all results of this study indicate that the participants’ choices of leisure time physical exercises are based on their personal choices and beliefs. The exercise intensities undertaken do not meet the global recommended intensities, especially in those above 38 years of age. Professionals and facilities to engage the public in the WHO recommended intensities of physical activity needs to be established.

Keywords: physical activity, exercise, India, sedentary

Procedia PDF Downloads 225

Authors: Vlad Andrei Raducanu, Mariana Lucia Angelescu, Ion Cinca, Vasile Danut Cojocaru, Doina Raducanu

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By using smart digital tools, such as generative design (GD) and digital fabrication (DF), problems of high actuality concerning resources optimization (materials, energy, time) can be solved and applications or products of free-form type can be created. In the new digital technology materials are active, designed in response to a set of performance requirements, which impose a total rethinking of old material practices. The article presents the design procedure key steps of a free-form architectural object - a column type one with connections to get an adaptive 3D surface, by using the parametric design methodology and by exploiting the properties of conventional metallic materials. In parametric design the form of the created object or space is shaped by varying the parameters values and relationships between the forms are described by mathematical equations. Digital parametric design is based on specific procedures, as shape grammars, Lindenmayer - systems, cellular automata, genetic algorithms or swarm intelligence, each of these procedures having limitations which make them applicable only in certain cases. In the paper the design process stages and the shape grammar type algorithm are presented. The generative design process relies on two basic principles: the modeling principle and the generative principle. The generative method is based on a form finding process, by creating many 3D spatial forms, using an algorithm conceived in order to apply its generating logic onto different input geometry. Once the algorithm is realized, it can be applied repeatedly to generate the geometry for a number of different input surfaces. The generated configurations are then analyzed through a technical or aesthetic selection criterion and finally the optimal solution is selected. Endless range of generative capacity of codes and algorithms used in digital design offers various conceptual possibilities and optimal solutions for both technical and environmental increasing demands of building industry and architecture. Constructions or spaces generated by parametric design can be specifically tuned, in order to meet certain technical or aesthetical requirements. The proposed approach has direct applicability in sustainable architecture, offering important potential economic advantages, a flexible design (which can be changed until the end of the design process) and unique geometric models of high performance.

Keywords: parametric design, algorithmic procedures, free-form architectural object, sustainable architecture

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Authors: Taras Agryzkov, Jose L. Oliver, Leandro Tortosa, Jose Vicent

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This paper aims to demonstrate how network models can be used to understand and to deal with some aspects of urban complexity. As it is well known, the Theory of Architecture and Urbanism has been using for decades’ intellectual tools based on the ‘sciences of complexity’ as a strategy to propose theoretical approaches about cities and about architecture. In this sense, it is possible to find a vast literature in which for instance network theory is used as an instrument to understand very diverse questions about cities: from their commercial activity to their heritage condition. The contribution of this research consists in adding one step of complexity to this process: instead of working with one single primal graph as it is usually done, we will show how new network models arise from the consideration of two different primal graphs interacting in two layers. When we model an urban network through a mathematical structure like a graph, the city is usually represented by a set of nodes and edges that reproduce its topology, with the data generated or extracted from the city embedded in it. All this information is normally displayed in a single layer. Here, we propose to separate the information in two layers so that we can evaluate the interaction between them. Besides, both layers may be composed of structures that do not have to coincide: from this bi-layer system, groups of interactions emerge, suggesting reflections and in consequence, possible actions.

Keywords: graphs, mathematics, networks, urban studies

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Authors: Sadeeq Launi

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NGOs, the world over, have been recognized as part of the institutions that complement government activities in providing services to the people, particularly in respect of human development. This study examined the role played by the NGOs in human development in Bauchi State, Nigeria, between 2004 and 2013. The emphasis was on reproductive health and access to education role of the selected NGOs. All the research questions, objectives and hypotheses were stated in line with these variables. The theoretical framework that guided the study was the participatory development approach. Being a survey research, data were generated from both primary and secondary sources with questionnaires and interviews as the instruments for generating the primary data. The population of the study was made up of the staff of the selected NGOs, beneficiaries, health staff and school teachers in Bauchi State. The sample drawn from these categories were 90, 107 and 148 units respectively. Stratified random and simple random sampling techniques were adopted for NGOs staff, and Health staff and school teachers data were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively and hypotheses were tested using Pearson Chi-square test through SPSS computer statistical package. The study revealed that despite the challenges facing NGOs operations in the study area, NGOs rendered services in the areas of health and education This research recommends among others that, both government and people should be more cooperative to NGOs to enable them provide more efficient and effective services. Governments at all levels should be more dedicated to increasing accessibility and affordability of basic education and reproductive health care facilities and services in Bauchi state through committing more resources to the Health and Education sectors, this would support and facilitate the complementary role of NGOs in providing teaching facilities, drugs, and other reproductive health services in the States. More enlightenment campaigns should be carried out by governments to sensitize the public, particularly women on the need to embrace immunization programmes for their children and antenatal care services being provided by both the government and NGOs.

Keywords: access to education, human development, NGOs, reproductive health

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Authors: Ana Serafimovic, Karthik Devarajan

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Non-negative matrix factorization approximates a high dimensional non-negative matrix V as the product of two non-negative matrices, W and H, and allows only additive linear combinations of data, enabling it to learn parts with representations in reality. It has been successfully applied in the analysis and interpretation of high dimensional data arising in neuroscience, computational biology, and natural language processing, to name a few. The objective of this paper is to assess a hybrid algorithm for non-negative matrix factorization with multiplicative updates. The method aims to minimize the symmetric version of Kullback-Leibler divergence known as intrinsic information and assumes that the noise is signal-dependent and that it originates from an arbitrary distribution from the exponential family. It is a generalization of currently available algorithms for Gaussian, Poisson, gamma and inverse Gaussian noise. We demonstrate the potential usefulness of the new generalized algorithm by comparing its performance to the baseline methods which also aim to minimize symmetric divergence measures.

Keywords: non-negative matrix factorization, dimension reduction, clustering, intrinsic information, symmetric information divergence, signal-dependent noise, exponential family, generalized Kullback-Leibler divergence, dual divergence

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Authors: Alisa Salimova, Jiane Zuo, Christopher Homer

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The objective of this study is to analyse the North Canal riparian zone land use with the help of remote sensing analysis in ArcGis using 30 cloudless Landsat8 open-source satellite images from May to August of 2013 and 2017. Land cover, urban construction, heat island effect, vegetation cover, and water system change were chosen as the main parameters and further analysed to evaluate its impact on the North Canal water quality. The methodology involved the following steps: firstly, 30 cloudless satellite images were collected from the Landsat TM image open-source database. The visual interpretation method was used to determine different land types in a catchment area. After primary and secondary classification, 28 land cover types in total were classified. Visual interpretation method was used with the help ArcGIS for the grassland monitoring, US Landsat TM remote sensing image processing with a resolution of 30 meters was used to analyse the vegetation cover. The water system was analysed using the visual interpretation method on the GIS software platform to decode the target area, water use and coverage. Monthly measurements of water temperature, pH, BOD, COD, ammonia nitrogen, total nitrogen and total phosphorus in 2013 and 2017 were taken from three locations of the North Canal in Tongzhou district. These parameters were used for water quality index calculation and compared to land-use changes. The results of this research were promising. The vegetation coverage of North Canal riparian zone in 2017 was higher than the vegetation coverage in 2013. The surface brightness temperature value was positively correlated with the vegetation coverage density and the distance from the surface of the water bodies. This indicates that the vegetation coverage and water system have a great effect on temperature regulation and urban heat island effect. Surface temperature in 2017 was higher than in 2013, indicating a global warming effect. The water volume in the river area has been partially reduced, indicating the potential water scarcity risk in North Canal watershed. Between 2013 and 2017, urban residential, industrial and mining storage land areas significantly increased compared to other land use types; however, water quality has significantly improved in 2017 compared to 2013. This observation indicates that the Tongzhou Water Restoration Plan showed positive results and water management of Tongzhou district had been improved.

Keywords: North Canal, land use, riparian vegetation, river ecology, remote sensing

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Authors: Charles Owenda Omulo

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This study examines Occupational Health and Safety implications in flower farms in Central Uganda. An exploratory sequential mixed method design and methodology was employed, with multiple data collection methods, including interviews, focus group discussions, and surveys. The findings show that occupational health and safety issues remain a major problem in flower farms. While the majority of workers agreed that the farms provided them with protective equipment, the data collected from the workers point to either the improper use or ineffectiveness of this equipment. A number of workers reported skin irritations, sore and painful eyes, stiff necks, back pains, and occasional headaches that were presumably argued to have arisen from their work environment. The study also found that farms have been adjusting in an attempt to correct some of these anomalies. These included the use of biological approaches to control pests and diseases and restricting the use of some chemical formulations that are deemed to be harmful to applicators and the environment. Alongside these efforts, the study recommends increased vigilance by the flower farm owners in the provision of personal protective equipment to workers.

Keywords: flower farms, personal protective equipment, agrochemicals, rural communities, occupational health and safety

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Authors: Yanto Santosa, Windi Sugiharti

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Fires occur annually in oil palm plantations. The objective of the study was to identify the impact of fire on bird diversity in oil palm plantations. Data of bird diversity were collected using the line transect method. Data were collected from February to March 2017. To estimate species richness, we used the Margalef index, to determine the evenness of species richness between site, we used an Evenness index, and to estimate the similarity of bird communities between different habitat, we used the Sørensen index. The result showed that the number of bird species and species richness in the post burned area was higher than those in unburned area. Different results were found for the Evenness Index, where the value was higher in unburned area that was in post burned area. These results indicate that fires did not decrease bird diversity as alleged by many parties whom stated that fires caused species extinction. Fire trigger the emerging of belowground plant and population of insects as a sources of food for the bird community. This result is consistent with several research findings in the United States and Australia that used controlled fires as one of regional management tools.

Keywords: bird, fire, index of similarity, oil palm, species diversity

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Authors: Prapoj Na Bangchang

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The research aimed to study the satisfaction of Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University students towards the university radio station which broadcasts in both analog on FM 97.25 MHz and online via the university website. The sample used in this study consists of undergraduate students year 1 to year 4 from 6 faculties i.e. Faculty of Education, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Faculty of Management Science and Faculty of Industrial Technology, and Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts totaling 200 students. The tools used for data collection is survey. Data analysis applied statistics that are percentage, mean and standard deviation. The results showed that Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University students were satisfied to the place of listening service, followed by channels of broadcasting that cover both analog signals on 97.25 MHz FM and online via the Internet. However, the satisfaction level of the content offered was very low. Most of the students want the station to improve the content. Entertainment content was requested the most, followed by sports content. The lowest satisfaction level is with the broadcasting quality through analog signal. Most students asked the station to improve on the issue. However, overall, Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University students were satisfied with the university radio station broadcasted online via the university website.

Keywords: satisfaction, students, radio station, Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University

Procedia PDF Downloads 254

Authors: Wisam H. Benamer, Ehab A. Elfallah, Mohamed A. Elshaari, Farag A. Elshaari

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A challenge for laboratories is to provide bacterial identification and antibiotic sensitivity results within a short time. Hence, advancement in the required technology is desirable to improve timing, accuracy and quality. Even with the current advances in methods used for both phenotypic and genotypic identification of bacteria the need is there to develop method(s) that enhance the outcome of bacteriology laboratories in accuracy and time. The hypothesis introduced here is based on the assumption that the chromosome of any bacteria contains unique sequences that can be used for its identification and typing. The outcome of a pilot study designed to test this hypothesis is reported in this manuscript. Methods: The complete chromosome sequences of several bacterial species were downloaded to use as search targets for unique sequences. Visual basic and SQL server (2014) were used to generate a complete set of 18-base long primers, a process started with reverse translation of randomly chosen 6 amino acids to limit the number of the generated primers. In addition, the software used to scan the downloaded chromosomes using the generated primers for similarities was designed, and the resulting hits were classified according to the number of similar chromosomal sequences, i.e., unique or otherwise. Results: All primers that had identical/similar sequences in the selected genome sequence(s) were classified according to the number of hits in the chromosomes search. Those that were identical to a single site on a single bacterial chromosome were referred to as unique. On the other hand, most generated primers sequences were identical to multiple sites on a single or multiple chromosomes. Following scanning, the generated primers were classified based on ability to differentiate between medically important bacterial and the initial results looks promising. Conclusion: A simple strategy that started by generating primers was introduced; the primers were used to screen bacterial genomes for match. Primer(s) that were uniquely identical to specific DNA sequence on a specific bacterial chromosome were selected. The identified unique sequence can be used in different molecular diagnostic techniques, possibly to identify bacteria. In addition, a single primer that can identify multiple sites in a single chromosome can be exploited for region or genome identification. Although genomes sequences draft of isolates of organism DNA enable high throughput primer design using alignment strategy, and this enhances diagnostic performance in comparison to traditional molecular assays. In this method the generated primers can be used to identify an organism before the draft sequence is completed. In addition, the generated primers can be used to build a bank for easy access of the primers that can be used to identify bacteria.

Keywords: bacteria chromosome, bacterial identification, sequence, primer generation

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Authors: Sarma Binti Aralas

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The relationship between property rights and trade specialization is examined for developing and developed countries using panel data analysis. Property rights is measured using the international property rights index while trade specialization is measured using the comparative advantage index. Cross country differences in property rights are hypothesized to lead to differences in trade specialization. Based on the argument that a weak protection of natural resources implies greater trade in resource-intensive goods, developing countries with less defined property rights are hypothesized to have a comparative advantage in resource-based exports while countries with more defined property rights will not have an advantage in resource-intensive goods. Evidence suggests that developing countries with weaker environmental protection index but are rich in natural resources do specialize in the trade of resource-intensive goods. The finding suggests that institutional frameworks to increase the stringency of environmental protection of resources may be needed to diversify exports away from the trade of resource-intensive goods.

Keywords: environmental protection, panel data, renewable resources, trade specialization

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Authors: Farhana Nosheen, Maleeha Fatima

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This study on Afghan refugee women living in Punjab, Pakistan, shows a strong relationship between poor socio-economic status and lower nutritional health status. Pakistan is one of the significant countries accepting refugees from the Afghan war. Universally, refugees are vulnerable to food security and basic life necessities. The in-hand study aimed to investigate food insecurity among afghan refugees who recently migrated to Pakistan. Purposive sampling technique was employed to collect the data from afghan women refugees settled in refugee camp settled in Capital city Islamabad, Pakistan. Data was collected through an interview tool. It revealed from data that the majority of women were underweight, about 74.7% in their reproductive years, which is an alarming situation for the forthcoming children and families. It is also shown that There’s a strong impact of their income level, education, dietary habits and food insecurity on their overall health status. It can also be observed in their Body Mass Index and in their physical appearance; they also show extremely poor levels of hemoglobin which is directly indicated anemic condition, especially iron deficiency anemia among the young Afghan refugee women. The illiteracy rate is about 93.33% among the selected participants as well as a majority of this population has 10-12 family size in comparison with their income level of about 10,000-15,000 Pakistani rupees per month, which can hardly meet their daily food expenditure. Adequate food is rarely accessible to young girls and women due to fewer national and international food aids program available in Pakistan. The majority have pale yellowish skin color (due to low iron content) along with clear white eyes (low hemoglobin level), thin hairs (protein deficiency) and spoon-shaped nails (a direct indicator of low iron level). Data showed a significant relation between appetite and BMI as their appetite is very low, which is directly indicated in their underweight body condition. About 56.67% of the participants had Urinary Tract Infections. The main causes included personal unhygienic conditions and lack of washrooms as well as drinking water facilities in their refugee camps. It is suggested that National and international food aid programs should cater to the nutritional demands of women refugees in the world to protect them from food insecurities as well as future researchers should find out better ways of analysis and treatment plans for such kind of communities who are highly prone to nutritional deficiencies and lack of basic supplies.

Keywords: food insecurity, refugees, women, vulnerable

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Authors: Arthur D. Wiedemann, Christopher Fuller, Kyle A. Pascioni

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With the introduction of electric motors, small unmanned aerial vehicle designers have to consider trade-offs between acoustic noise and thrust generated. Currently, there are few low-computational tools available for predicting acoustic noise emitted by a propeller into the far-field. Artificial neural networks offer a highly non-linear and adaptive model for predicting isolated and interactive tonal noise. But neural networks require large data sets, exceeding practical considerations in modeling experimental results. A methodology known as physics guided machine learning has been applied in this study to reduce the required data set to train the network. After building and evaluating several neural networks, the best model is investigated to determine how the network successfully predicts the acoustic waveform. Lastly, a post-network transfer function is developed to remove discontinuity from the predicted waveform. Overall, methodologies from physics guided machine learning show a notable improvement in prediction performance, but additional loss functions are necessary for constructing predictive networks on small datasets.

Keywords: aeroacoustics, machine learning, propeller, rotor, neural network, physics guided machine learning

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Authors: Qi Lu, Jian Deng, Daishun Huang, Chao Guo

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The lead cooled fast reactor is considered as one of the most potential Generation IV nuclear systems due to the low working pressure, the appreciable neutron economy, and the considerable passive characteristics. Meanwhile, the lead bismuth eutectic (LBE) has the related advantages of lead with the weaker corrosiveness, which has been paid much attention by recent decades. Moreover, the sub-channel code is a necessary analysis tool for the reactor thermal-hydraulic design and safety analysis, which has been developed combined with the accumulation of LBE experimental data and the understanding of physical phenomena. In this study, a sub-channel code available for LBE was developed, and the corresponding geometric characterization method of typical sub-channels was described in detail, especially for for the fuel assembly with wire spacer. As for this sub-channel code, the transversal thermal conduction through gap was taken into account. In addition, the physical properties, the heat transfer model, the flow resistance model and the turbulent mixing model were analyzed. Finally, the thermal-hydraulic experiments of LBE conducted on THEADES (THErmal-hydraulics and Ads DESign) were selected as the evaluation data of this sub-channel code, including 19 rods with wire spacer, and the calculated results were in good agreement with the experimental results.

Keywords: lead bismuth eutectic, sub-channel code, wire spacer, transversal thermal conduction

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Authors: Ahmed Mudi, Bala Zakar

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The paper assesses the impact of safe motherhood initiative on maternal health of women in Gumel Local Government Area of Jigawa State. The work will specifically concentrate on the background on safe motherhood scheme and maternal health of women. The objective of this paper is to assess the level of safe motherhood scheme in Gumel local government area, to find out the level of maternal health in Gumel local government as well as to determine the impact of safe motherhood scheme on maternal health on women in Gumel Local Government Area Jigawa State. Various literature on the topic are reviewed, the paper adopts survey design and use questionnaire to collect data from the respondent. The study comprises 350 women selected from six rural communities in Gumel using random sampling techniques, and the data was analysed by simple frequency and percentage. The research concluded that safe motherhood initiative has a significant impact on the maternal health of women in Gumel Local Government Area of Jigawa State. Finally, suitable recommendations were given on how to improve the scheme to ensure better maternal health in the region.

Keywords: action, assessment, maternal health, safe motherhood, surgery

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Authors: U. K. Sahin, N. Erdumlu, C. Saricam, I. Gocek, M. H. Arslan, H. Acikgoz-Tufan, B. Kalav

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Finishing is an important part of fabric processing with which a wide range of features are imparted to greige or colored fabrics for various end-uses. Especially, by the addition or impartation of nano-scaled particles to the fabric structure composite fabrics, a kind of composite materials can be acquired. Composite materials, generally shortened as composites or in other words composition materials, are engineered or naturally occurring materials made from two or more component materials with significantly different physical, mechanical or chemical characteristics remaining separate and distinctive at the macroscopic or microscopic scale within the end product structure. Therefore, the technique finishing which is one of the fundamental methods to be applied on fabrics for obtainment of composite fabrics with many functionalities was used in the current study with the same purpose. However, regardless of the finishing materials applied, the efficient life of finished product on offering desired feature is low, since the durability of finishes on the material is limited. Any increase in durability of these finishes on textiles would enhance the life of use for textiles, which will result in happier users. Therefore, in this study, since higher durability was desired for the finishing materials fixed on the fabrics, nano-scaled hollow structured cyclodextrins were chemically imparted by grafting to the structure of conventional cotton fabrics by the help of finishing technique in order to be fixed permanently. By this way, a processed and functionalized base fabric having potential to be treated in the subsequent processes with many different finishing agents and nanomaterials could be obtained. Henceforth, this fabric can be used as a multi-functional fabric due to the encapturing ability of cyclodextrins to molecules/particles via physical/chemical means. In this study, scoured and rinsed woven bleached plain weave 100% cotton fabrics were utilized because textiles made of cotton are the most demanded textile products in the textile market by the textile consumers in daily life. Cotton fabric samples were immersed in treating baths containing β-cyclodextrin and 1,2,3,4-butanetetracarboxylic acid and to reduce the curing temperature the catalyst sodium hypophosphite monohydrate was used. All impregnated fabric samples were pre-dried. The reaction of grafting was performed in dry state. The treated and cured fabric samples were rinsed with warm distilled water and dried. The samples were dried for 4 h and weighed before and after finishing and rinsing. Stability and durability of β-cyclodextrins on fabric surface against external factors such as washing as well as strength of functionalized fabric in terms of tensile and tear strength were tested. Presence and homogeneity of distribution of β-cyclodextrins on fabric surface were characterized.

Keywords: cotton fabric, cyclodextrine, improved durability, multifunctional composite textile

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Authors: Ahmad Shukri Mohd Noor, Emma Ahmad Sirajudin, Rabiei Mamat

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Pertaining to a particular Marine interest, the process of data sampling could take years before a study can be concluded. Therefore, the need for a robust backup system for the data is invariably implicit. In recent advancement of Marine applications, more functionalities and tools are integrated to assist the work of the researchers. It is anticipated that this modality will continue as research scope widens and intensifies and at the same to follow suit with current technologies and lifestyles. The convenience to collect and share information these days also applies to the work in Marine research. Therefore, Marine system designers should be aware that high availability is a necessary attribute in Marine repository applications as well as a robust backup system for the data. In this paper, the approach to high availability is related both to hardware and software but the focus is more on software. We consider a NABTIC repository system that is primitively built on a single server and does not have replicated components. First, the system is decomposed into separate modules. The modules are placed on multiple servers to create a distributed system. Redundancy is added by placing the copies of the modules on different servers using Neighbor Caring Environment System(NCES) technique. NCER is utilizing parallel replication components mechanism. A background monitoring is established to check servers’ heartbeats to confirm their aliveness. At the same time, a critical adaptive threshold is maintained to make sure a failure is timely detected using Adaptive Fault Detection (AFD). A confirmed failure will set the recovery mode where a selection process will be done before a fail-over server is instructed. In effect, the Marine repository service is continued as the fail-over masks a recent failure. The performance of the new prototype is tested and is confirmed to be more highly available. Furthermore, the downtime is not noticeable as service is immediately restored automatically. The Marine repository system is said to have achieved fault tolerance.

Keywords: availability, fault detection, replication, fault tolerance, marine application

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Authors: Belkacem Selma, Boumediene Selma, Tourkia Guerzou, Abbes Labdelli

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Natural disasters have occurred and will continue to cause human and material damage. Therefore, the idea of "preventing" natural disasters will never be possible. However, their prediction is possible with the advancement of technology. Even if natural disasters are effectively inevitable, their consequences may be partly controlled. The rapid growth and progress of artificial intelligence (AI) had a major impact on the prediction of natural disasters and risk assessment which are necessary for effective disaster reduction. The Earthquakes prediction to prevent the loss of human lives and even property damage is an important factor; that is why it is crucial to develop techniques for predicting this natural disaster. This present study aims to analyze the ability of artificial neural networks (ANNs) to predict earthquakes that occur in a given area. The used data describe the problem of high energy (higher than 10^4J) seismic bumps forecasting in a coal mine using two long walls as an example. For this purpose, seismic bumps data obtained from mines has been analyzed. The results obtained show that the ANN with high accuracy was able to predict earthquake parameters; the classification accuracy through neural networks is more than 94%, and that the models developed are efficient and robust and depend only weakly on the initial database.

Keywords: earthquake prediction, ANN, seismic bumps

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Authors: Ho Yin Wickson Cheung, Liora Malki-Epshtein

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Outdoor air pollution presents a significant challenge for public health globally, especially in urban areas, with road traffic acting as the primary contributor to air pollution. Several studies have documented the antagonistic relation between traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) and the impact on health, especially to the vulnerable group of population, particularly young pupils. Generally, TRAP could cause damage to their brain, restricting the ability of children to learn and, more importantly, causing detrimental respiratory issues in later life. Butlittle is known about the specific exposure of children at school during the school day and the impact this may have on their overall exposure to pollution at a crucial time in their development. This project has set out to examine the air quality across primary schools in South-East London and assesses the variability of data found based on their geographic location and surroundings. Nitrogen dioxide, PM contaminants, and carbon dioxide were collected with diffusion tubes and portable monitoring equipment for eight schools across three local areas, that are Greenwich, Lewisham, and Tower Hamlets. This study first examines the geographical features of the schools surrounding (E.g., coverage of urban road structure and green infrastructure), then utilize three different methods to capture pollutants data. Moreover, comparing the obtained results with existing data from monitoring stations to understand the differences in air quality before and during the pandemic. Furthermore, most studies in this field have unfortunately neglected human exposure to pollutants and calculated based on values from fixed monitoring stations. Therefore, this paper introduces an alternative approach by calculating human exposure to air pollution from real-time data obtained when commuting within related areas (Driving routes and field walking). It is found that schools located highly close to motorways are generally not suffering from the most air pollution contaminants. Instead, one with the worst traffic congested routes nearby might also result in poor air quality. Monitored results also indicate that the annual air pollution values have slightly decreased during the pandemic. However, the majority of the data is currently still exceeding the WHO guidelines. Finally, the total human exposures for NO2 during commuting in the two selected routes were calculated. Results illustrated the total exposure for route 1 were 21,730 μm/m3 and 28,378.32 μm/m3, and for route 2 were 30,672 μm/m3 and 16,473 μm/m3. The variance that occurred might be due to the difference in traffic volume that requires further research. Exposure for NO2 during commuting was plotted with detailed timesteps that have shown their peak usually occurred while commuting. These have consolidated the initial assumption to the extremeness of TRAP. To conclude, this paper has yielded significant benefits to understanding air quality across schools in London with the new approach of capturing human exposure (Driving routes). Confirming the severity of air pollution and promoting the necessity of considering environmental sustainability for policymakers during decision making to protect society's future pillars.

Keywords: air pollution, schools, pupils, congestion

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Authors: Hamid Sharif, Nazish Saleem Abbas, Muhammad Haris Jamil

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Visible light communication is an emerging technology for almost a decade now; there is a growing need for VLC systems to overcome the challenges faced by radio frequency RF communication systems. With the advancement in the development of solid-state sources, in the future would replace incandescent and fluorescent light sources. These solid-state devices are not only to be used for illumination but can also be employed for communication and navigational purposes. The replacement of conventional illumination sources with highly efficient light-emitting diodes (LED's) (generally white light) will reduce energy consumption as well as environmental pollution. White LEDs dissipate very less power as compared to conventional light sources. The use of LED's is not only beneficial in terms of power consumption, but it also has an intrinsic capability for indoor wireless communication as compared to indoor RF communication. It is considerably low in cost to operate than the RF systems such as Wi-Fi routers, allows convenient means of reusing the bandwidth, and there is a huge potential for high data rate transmissions with enhanced data security. This paper provides an overview of some of the current challenges with VLC and proposes a possible solution to deal with these challenges; it also examines some joint protocols to optimize the joint illumination and communication functionality.

Keywords: visible light communication, line of sight, root mean square delay spread, light emitting diodes

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Authors: T. Kuchukhidze, N. Jalagonia, T. Archuadze, G. Bokuchava

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The growing scientific-technological progress in modern civilization causes actuality of producing construction materials which can successfully work in conditions of high temperature, radiation, pressure, speed, and chemically aggressive environment. Such extreme conditions can withstand very few types of materials and among them, ceramic materials are in the first place. Corundum ceramics is the most useful material for creation of constructive nodes and products of various purposes for its low cost, easy accessibility to raw materials and good combination of physical-chemical properties. However, ceramic composite materials have one disadvantage; they are less plastics and have lower toughness. In order to increase the plasticity, the ceramics are reinforced by various dopants, that reduces the growth of the cracks. It is shown, that adding of even small amount of carbon fibers and carbon nanotubes (CNT) as reinforcing material significantly improves mechanical properties of the products, keeping at the same time advantages of alundum ceramics. Graphene in composite material acts in the same way as inorganic dopants (MgO, ZrO2, SiC and others) and performs the role of aluminum oxide inhibitor, as it creates shell, that gives possibility to reduce sintering temperature and at the same time it acts as damper, because scattering of a shock wave takes place on carbon structures. Application of different structural modification of carbon (graphene, nanotube and others) as reinforced material, gives possibility to create multi-purpose highly requested composite materials based on alundum ceramics. In the present work offers simplified technology for obtaining of aluminum oxide ceramics, reinforced with carbon nanostructures, during which chemical modification with doping carbon nanostructures will be implemented in the process of synthesis of final powdery composite – Alumina. In charge doping carbon nanostructures connected to matrix substance with C-O-Al bonds, that provide their homogeneous spatial distribution. In ceramic obtained as a result of consolidation of such powders carbon fragments equally distributed in the entire matrix of aluminum oxide, that cause increase of bending strength and crack-resistance. The proposed way to prepare the charge simplifies the technological process, decreases energy consumption, synthesis duration and therefore requires less financial expenses. In the implementation of this work, modern instrumental methods were used: electronic and optical microscopy, X-ray structural and granulometric analysis, UV, IR, and Raman spectroscopy.

Keywords: ceramic materials, α-Al₂O₃, carbon nanostructures, composites, characterization, hot-pressing

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Authors: Diana Cunha, Catarina Coelho, Ana Paula Relvas, Elisabeth Kastenholz

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Context: Tourist experiences have a recognized impact on the well-being of individuals. However, studies on the specific benefits of tourist experiences for families are scattered across different disciplines. This study aims to systematically review the literature to synthesize the evidence on the benefits of tourist experiences for families. Research Aim: The main objective is to systematize the evidence in the literature regarding the benefits of tourist experiences for families. Methodology: A systematic literature review was conducted using Nvivo, analyzing 33 scientific studies obtained from various databases. The search terms used were "family"/ "couple" and "tourist experience". The studies included quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods, and literature reviews. All works prior to the year 2000 were excluded, and the search was restricted to full text. A language filter was also used, considering articles in Portuguese, English, and Spanish. For NVivo analysis, information was coded based on both deductive and inductive perspectives. To minimize the subjectivity of the selection and coding process, two of the authors discussed the process and agreed on criteria that would make the coding more objective. Once the coding process in NVivo was completed, the data relating to the identification/characterization of the works were exported to the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPPS), to characterize the sample. Findings: The results highlight that tourist experiences have several benefits for family systems, including the strengthening of family and marital bonds, the creation of family memories, and overall well-being and life satisfaction. These benefits contribute to both immediate relationship quality improvement and long-term family identity construction and transgenerational transmission. Theoretical Importance: This study emphasizes the systemic nature of the effects and relationships within family systems. It also shows that no harm was reported within these experiences, with only some challenges related to positive outcomes. Data Collection and Analysis Procedures: The study collected data from 33 scientific studies published predominantly after 2013. The data were analyzed using Nvivo, employing a systematic review approach. Question Addressed: The study addresses the question of the benefits of tourist experiences for families and how these experiences contribute to family functioning and individual well-being. Conclusion: Tourist experiences provide opportunities for families to enhance their interpersonal relationships and create lasting memories. The findings suggest that formal interventions based on evidence could further enhance the potential benefits of these experiences and be a valuable preventive tool in therapeutic interventions.

Keywords: family systems, individual and family well-being, marital satisfaction, tourist experiences

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