Search results for: structural trap

Authors: Elvira Lumi, Hans Jazxhi

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In the works of the writer Flutura Açka, the play with these questions is acute, and in almost each of them, the act of loneliness and isolation builds in a completely involuntary way unique and frequent conceptual spaces. Because the object of study is too broad to grasp all the works, this study lays out a rapid paradox of our access to three of the novels in the line of numerous authorial works. The novel "Woman Loneliness" (2001), also marked as the first work in prose by the author, declares in the title the paradigm of what she has decided to confess. The gender segregation proclaimed in the title will be revealed step by step in the work as conventional human segregation without gender. In this novel, the analysis of the state of "loneliness" will require a contemplation beyond man, when the role of the environment and the distance from the center of the narrative base will be extremely visible in the work. The novel "Cross of Oblivion" (2004) has another form of perception of loneliness, which, unlike the one built by the characters themselves in the novel "Woman Loneliness," is imposed and obligatory to live by the circumstances. Its characters are trapped in loneliness, as loneliness that comes from impossibility, from the past, from dependence on fate, from fear of change, and from the obligation to accept it. At the heart of the novel, the plot of the novel game is dictated by the Kanun and its rules and the loneliness of the basis of life in unbroken waves towards the periphery of the event, a periphery that has very large geography and is played in today's Europe. The novel "Where are you?" (2009) has a completely different form of constructing the concept of loneliness and isolation that comes under conditions of repression and political pressure. The loneliness in this novel takes the form of the protective element from the circumstances that actually require a social inclusion; it is personal loneliness that ensures relative mental health of the characters, up to a new trap created by the circumstances, thus building life fragmentary “healthy” in the order of a mentally ill and socially ill society.

Keywords: loneliness, existential, isolation, woman, prose

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Authors: Maria Laura Alzua, Maria Adelaida Lopera

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This paper measures the relative importance of conditional cooperation and unconditional cooperation in a large public goods experiment conducted in Mali. We use expectations about total public goods provision to estimate a structural choice model with heterogeneous preferences. While unconditional cooperation can be captured by common preferences shared by all participants, conditional cooperation is much more heterogeneous and depends on unobserved individual factors. This structural model, in combination with two experimental treatments, suggests that leadership and group communication incentivize public goods provision through different channels. First, We find that participation of local leaders effectively changes individual choices through unconditional cooperation. A simulation exercise predicts that even in the most pessimistic scenario in which all participants expect zero public good provision, 60% would still choose to cooperate. Second, allowing participants to communicate fosters conditional cooperation. The simulations suggest that expectations are responsible for around 24% of the observed public good provision and that group communication does not necessarily ameliorate public good provision. In fact, communication may even worsen the outcome when expectations are low.

Keywords: conditional cooperation, discrete choice model, expectations, public goods game, random coefficients model

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Authors: Khaled Sandjak, Boualem Tiliouine

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Structural analysis of flexible pavements has been and still is currently performed using multi-layer elastic theory. However, for thinly surfaced pavements subjected to low to medium volumes of traffics, the importance of non-linear stress-strain behaviour of unbound granular materials (UGM) requires the use of more sophisticated numerical models for structural design and performance of such pavements. In the present work, nonlinear unbound aggregates constitutive model is implemented within an axisymmetric finite element code developed to simulate the nonlinear behaviour of pavement structures including two local aggregates of different mineralogical nature, typically used in Algerian pavements. The performance of the mechanical model is examined about its capability of representing adequately, under various conditions, the granular material non-linearity in pavement analysis. In addition, deflection data collected by falling weight deflectometer (FWD) are incorporated into the analysis in order to assess the sensitivity of critical pavement design criteria and pavement design life to the constitutive model. Finally, conclusions of engineering significance are formulated.

Keywords: FWD backcalculations, finite element simulations, Nonlinear resilient behaviour, pavement response and performance, RLT test results, unbound granular materials

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Authors: Francisco Fernandez de Castro

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The Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) model gives monetary transfers to beneficiary families on the condition that they take specific education and health actions. According to the economic rationale of CCTs the poor need incentives to invest in their human capital because they are trapped by a lack of information and misleading beliefs. If left to their own decision, the poor will not be able to choose what is in their best interests. The basic assumption of the CCT model is that the poor need incentives to take care of their own education and health-nutrition. Due to the incentives (income cash transfers and conditionalities), beneficiary families are supposed to attend doctor visits and health talks. Children would stay in the school. These incentivized behaviors would produce outcomes such as better health and higher level of education, which in turn will reduce poverty. Based on a grounded theory approach to conduct a two-year period of qualitative data collection in northern Mexico, this study shows that this explanation is incomplete. In addition to the information failure and inadequate beliefs, there are structural barriers in everyday life of households that make health-nutrition and education investments difficult. In-depth interviews and observation work showed that the program takes for granted local conditions in which beneficiary families should fulfill their co-responsibilities. Data challenged the program’s assumptions and unveiled local obstacles not contemplated in the program’s design. These findings have policy and research implications for the CCT agenda. They bring elements for late programming due to the gap between the CCT strategy as envisioned by policy designers, and the program that beneficiary families experience on the ground. As for research consequences, these findings suggest new avenues for scholarly work regarding the causal mechanisms and social processes explaining CCT outcomes.

Keywords: conditional cash transfers, incentives, poverty, structural barriers

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Authors: Davide D’Aria, Paolo Falcone, Luigi Maggi, Aldo Cero, Giovanni Amoroso

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The paper presents a methodology for real-time structural health monitoring and geophysical applications. The key elements of the system are a high performance MIMO RADAR sensor, an optical camera and a dedicated set of software algorithms encompassing interferometry, tomography and photogrammetry. The MIMO Radar sensor proposed in this work, provides an extremely high sensitivity to displacements making the system able to react to tiny deformations (up to tens of microns) with a time scale which spans from milliseconds to hours. The MIMO feature of the system makes the system capable of providing a set of two-dimensional images of the observed scene, each mapped on the azimuth-range directions with noticeably resolution in both the dimensions and with an outstanding repetition rate. The back-scattered energy, which is distributed in the 3D space, is projected on a 2D plane, where each pixel has as coordinates the Line-Of-Sight distance and the cross-range azimuthal angle. At the same time, the high performing processing unit allows to sense the observed scene with remarkable refresh periods (up to milliseconds), thus opening the way for combined static and dynamic structural health monitoring. Thanks to the smart TX/RX antenna array layout, the MIMO data can be processed through a tomographic approach to reconstruct the three-dimensional map of the observed scene. This 3D point cloud is then accurately mapped on a 2D digital optical image through photogrammetric techniques, allowing for easy and straightforward interpretations of the measurements. Once the three-dimensional image is reconstructed, a 'repeat-pass' interferometric approach is exploited to provide the user of the system with high frequency three-dimensional motion/vibration estimation of each point of the reconstructed image. At this stage, the methodology leverages consolidated atmospheric correction algorithms to provide reliable displacement and vibration measurements.

Keywords: interferometry, MIMO RADAR, SAR, tomography

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Authors: Thuan Nguyen

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In the present time, data to a data-driven knowledge-based economy is the same as oil to the industrial age hundreds of years ago. Data is everywhere in vast volumes! Big data analytics is expected to help firms not only efficiently improve performance but also completely transform how they should run their business. However, employing the emergent technology successfully is not easy, and assessing the roles of big data in improving firm performance is even much harder. There was a lack of studies that have examined the impacts of big data analytics on organizational performance. This study aimed to fill the gap. The present study suggested using firms’ intellectual capital as a proxy for big data in evaluating its impact on organizational performance. The present study employed the Value Added Intellectual Coefficient method to measure firm intellectual capital, via its three main components: human capital efficiency, structural capital efficiency, and capital employed efficiency, and then used the structural equation modeling technique to model the data and test the models. The financial fundamental and market data of 100 randomly selected publicly listed firms were collected. The results of the tests showed that only human capital efficiency had a significant positive impact on firm profitability, which highlighted the prominent human role in the impact of big data technology.

Keywords: big data, big data analytics, intellectual capital, organizational performance, value added intellectual coefficient

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Authors: Su-Ning Wang, Yao-Qiang Chen

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The CeO2-ZrO2-La2O3-Al2O3 composite oxides are synthesized using co-precipitation method by two different reactors (i.e. continuous stirred-tank reactor and batch reactor), and the corresponding Rh-only three-way catalysts are obtained by wet-impregnation approach. The textural, structural, morphology and redox properties of the support materials, as well as the catalytic performance of the Rh-only catalyst are investigated systematically. The results reveal that the materials (CZLA-C) synthesized by continuous stirred-tank reactor have a better physic-chemical properties than the counterpart material (CZLA-B) prepared by batch reactor. After aging treatment at 1000 ℃ for 5 h, the BET surface area and pore volume of S1 reach up to 76 m2 g-1 and 0.36 mL/g, respectively, which is higher than that of S2. The XRD and Raman results demonstrate that a high structural stability is obtained by S1 because of the negligible lattice variation and the slight grain growth after aging treatment. The SEM and TEM images display that the morphology of S1 is assembled by many homogeneous primary nanoparticles (about 6.12 nm) that are connected to form mesoporous structure The TPR measurement shows that S1 possesses a higher reduction ability than S2. Compared with the catalyst supported on the CZLA-B, the as-prepared CZLA-C demonstrates an improved three-way catalytic activity both before and after aging treatment.

Keywords: composite oxides, reactor, catalysis, catalytic performance

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Authors: Aboubakr Gambo, Adama Diaw, Tobias Wunscher

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This study attempts to identify factors affecting rural households’ resilience to food insecurity in Niger. For this, we first create a resilience index by using Principal Component Analysis on the following five variables at the household level: income, food expenditure, duration of grain held in stock, livestock in Tropical Livestock Units and number of farms exploited and second apply Structural Equation Modelling to identify the determinants. Data from the 2010 National Survey on Households’ Vulnerability to Food Insecurity done by the National Institute of Statistics is used. The study shows that asset and social safety nets indicators are significant and have a positive impact on households’ resilience. Climate change approximated by long-term mean rainfall has a negative and significant effect on households’ resilience to food insecurity. The results indicate that to strengthen households’ resilience to food insecurity, there is a need to increase assistance to households through social safety nets and to help them gather more resources in order to acquire more assets. Furthermore, early warning of climatic events could alert households especially farmers to be prepared and avoid important losses that they experience anytime an uneven climatic event occur.

Keywords: food insecurity, principal component analysis, structural equation modelling, resilience

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Authors: A. Latif Karimi, M. K. Shrimali

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Seismic design is a critical stage in the process of design and construction of a building. It includes strategies for designing earthquake-resistant buildings to ensure health, safety, and security of the building occupants and assets. Hence, it becomes very important to understand the behavior of structural members precisely, for construction of buildings that can yield a better response to seismic forces. This paper investigates the behavior of a typical structure when subjected to ground motion. The corresponding mode shapes and modal frequencies are studied to interpret the response of an actual structure using different fabricated models and 3D visual models. In this study, three different structural configurations are subjected to horizontal ground motion, and the effect of “stiffness eccentricity” and placement of infill walls are checked to determine how each parameter contributes in a building’s response to dynamic forces. The deformation data from lab experiments and the analysis on SAP2000 software are reviewed to obtain the results. This study revealed that seismic response in a building can be improved by introducing higher deformation capacity in the building. Also, proper design of infill walls and maintaining a symmetrical configuration in a building are the key factors in building stability during the earthquake.

Keywords: eccentricity, seismic response, mode shape, building configuration, building dynamics

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Authors: Claire Limoge Schraen, Philippe Gueguen, Cedric Giry, Cedric Desprez, Frédéric Ragueneau

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Mediterranean area is characterized by numerous monumental or vernacular masonry structures illustrating old ways of build and live. Those precious buildings are often poorly documented, present complex shapes and loadings, and are protected by the States, leading to legal constraints. This area also presents a moderate to high seismic activity. Even moderate earthquakes can be magnified by local site effects and cause collapse or significant damage. Moreover the structural resistance of masonry buildings, especially when less famous or located in rural zones has been generally lowered by many factors: poor maintenance, unsuitable restoration, ambient pollution, previous earthquakes. Recent earthquakes prove that any damage to these architectural witnesses to our past is irreversible, leading to the necessity of acting preventively. This means providing preventive assessments for hundreds of structures with no or few documents. In this context we want to propose a general method, based on hierarchized numerical models, to provide preliminary structural diagnoses at a regional scale, indicating whether more precise investigations and models are necessary for each building. To this aim, we adapt different tools, being developed such as photogrammetry or to be created such as a preprocessor starting from pictures to build meshes for a FEM software, in order to allow dynamic studies of the buildings of the panel. We made an inventory of 198 baroque chapels and churches situated in the French Alps. Then their structural characteristics have been determined thanks field surveys and the MicMac photogrammetric software. Using structural criteria, we determined eight types of churches and seven types for chapels. We studied their dynamical behavior thanks to CAST3M, using EC8 spectrum and accelerogramms of the studied zone. This allowed us quantifying the effect of the needed simplifications in the most sensitive zones and choosing the most effective ones. We also proposed threshold criteria based on the observed damages visible in the in situ surveys, old pictures and Italian code. They are relevant in linear models. To validate the structural types, we made a vibratory measures campaign using vibratory ambient noise and velocimeters. It also allowed us validating this method on old masonry and identifying the modal characteristics of 20 churches. Then we proceeded to a dynamic identification between numerical and experimental modes. So we updated the linear models thanks to material and geometrical parameters, often unknown because of the complexity of the structures and materials. The numerically optimized values have been verified thanks to the measures we made on the masonry components in situ and in laboratory. We are now working on non-linear models redistributing the strains. So we validate the damage threshold criteria which we use to compute the vulnerability curves of each defined structural type. Our actual results show a good correlation between experimental and numerical data, validating the final modeling simplifications and the global method. We now plan to use non-linear analysis in the critical zones in order to test reinforcement solutions.

Keywords: heritage structures, masonry numerical modeling, seismic vulnerability assessment, vibratory measure

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Authors: Purva Mishra, Rajesh Potlia, Kuljeet Singh Sandhu

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The role of glycyl residues in the protein structure has lingered within the research community for the last several decades. Glycyl residue is the only amino acid that is achiral due to the lack of a side chain and can, therefore, exhibit Ramachandran conformations that are disallowed for L-amino acids. The structural and functional significance of glycyl residues with L-disallowed conformation, however, remains obscure. Through statistical analysis of various datasets, we found that the glycyls with L-disallowed conformations are over-represented at disease-associated sites and tend to be evolutionarily conserved. The mutations of L-disallowed glycyls tend to destabilize the native conformation, reduce protein solubility, and promote inter-molecular aggregations. We uncovered a structural motif referred to as “β-crescent” formed around the L-disallowed glycyl, which prevents β-sheet aggregation by disrupting the alternating pattern of β-pleats. The L-disallowed conformation of glycyls also holds predictive power to infer the pathogenic missense variants. Altogether, our observations highlight that the L-disallowed conformation of glycyls is selected to facilitate native folding and prevent inter-molecular aggregations. The findings may also have implications for designing more stable proteins and prioritizing the genetic lesions implicated in diseases.

Keywords: Ramachandran plot, β-sheet, protein stability, protein aggregation

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Authors: Ga Ye Kim, Hee Sun Kim, Yeong Soo Shin

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Many studies have been done on the repair and strengthening method of concrete structure, so far. The traditional retrofit method was to attach fiber sheet such as CFRP (Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer), GFRP (Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer) and AFRP (Aramid Fiber Reinforced Polymer) on the concrete structure. However, this method had many downsides in that there are a risk of debonding and an increase in displacement by a shortage of structure section. Therefore, it is effective way to enlarge the structural member with polymer mortar or Ultra-High Performance Fiber Reinforced Concrete (UHPFRC) as a means of strengthening concrete structure. This paper intends to investigate structural performance of reinforced concrete (RC) beams enlarged with polymer mortar and compare the experimental results with analytical results. Nonlinear finite element analyses were conducted to compare the experimental results and predict structural behavior of retrofitted RC beams accurately without cost consuming experimental process. In addition, this study aims at comparing differences of retrofit material between commonly used material (polymer mortar) and recently used material (UHPFRC) by conducting nonlinear finite element analyses. In the first part of this paper, the RC beams having different cover type were fabricated for the experiment and the size of RC beams was 250 millimeters in depth, 150 millimeters in width and 2800 millimeters in length. To verify the experiment, nonlinear finite element models were generated using commercial software ABAQUS 6.10-3. From this study, both experimental and analytical results demonstrated good strengthening effect on RC beam and showed similar tendency. For the future, the proposed analytical method can be used to predict the effect of strengthened RC beam. In the second part of the study, the main parameters were type of retrofit materials. The same nonlinear finite element models were generated to compare the polymer mortar with UHPFRCC. Two types of retrofit material were evaluated and retrofit effect was verified by analytical results.

Keywords: retrofit material, polymer mortar, UHPFRC, nonlinear finite element analysis

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Authors: Ismaila Oladunni Muhammed, Adegbenga Raphael Ashiru

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Construction industry has been attributed to be the engine growth of Nigerian economic and infrastructural development. It promotes infrastructural development and grows an average output of Nigerian Gross Domestic Profit. However, from this great prospect, yearly reports show that consistent accidents on construction sites in Zamfara State has affected a substantial number of workers as they become temporarily or permanently disabled, thereby making many construction sites a death trap. This posed a great threat to the industry’s sustainability, de- motivate workers from working in the industry, and further have negative impact on the economy as well. It is as a result of high construction site accident currently experiencing in Zamfara state that this research was carried out to appraise the sustainability of health and safety of construction workers on sites. The proper practice and compliance to Construction Health and safety laws are very vital to the output and growth of Zamfara State construction sector. However, a quantitative approach was adopted to justify the aforesaid statement which will provide a broader understanding of the study. Descriptive statistical analysis was obtained through Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS Version 20). Furthermore, the findings from the research highlighted that the performance and output of construction workers on construction sites depends on the proper practice of health and safety. The research findings also recommended ways to enhance employers and employee’s compliance with existing laws guiding health and safety on Zamfara State construction sites. Nevertheless, the purpose of the paper is to appraise the sustainability of Health and Safety on Zamfara State construction sites. This study further provided thorough information for resolving challenges of construction sites accidents to improve construction firm productivity and also ensured construction worker’s safety on site.

Keywords: construction industry, health and safety regulations, causes of accident, construction safety practices

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Authors: Jay N. Vyas, Sachin Daxini

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Numerical simulation techniques are widely used now in product development and testing instead of expensive, time-consuming and sometimes dangerous laboratory experiments. Numerous numerical methods are available for performing simulation of physical problems of different engineering fields. Grid based methods, like Finite Element Method, are extensively used in performing various kinds of static, dynamic, structural and non-structural analysis during product development phase. Drawbacks of grid based methods in terms of discontinuous secondary field variable, dealing fracture mechanics and large deformation problems led to development of a relatively a new class of numerical simulation techniques in last few years, which are popular as Meshless methods or Meshfree Methods. Meshless Methods are expected to be more adaptive and flexible than Finite Element Method because domain descretization in Meshless Method requires only nodes. Present paper introduces Meshless Methods and differentiates it with Finite Element Method in terms of following aspects: Shape functions used, role of weight function, techniques to impose essential boundary conditions, integration techniques for discrete system equations, convergence rate, accuracy of solution and computational effort. Capabilities, benefits and limitations of Meshless Methods are discussed and concluded at the end of paper.

Keywords: numerical simulation, Grid-based methods, Finite Element Method, Meshless Methods

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Authors: Yushinta Fujaya, Andi Ivo Asphama, Andi Parenrengi, Andi Tenriulo

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Blue Swimming crab (Portunus pelagicus) is an important commercial species throughout the subtropical waters and as such constitutes part of the fisheries resources. Data are lacking on the morphological variations of selected fast-growing crabs reared in a pond. This study aimed to analyze the morphological and molecular character of a selected fast-growing crab reared in ponds in South of Sulawesi. The crab seeds were obtained from local fish-trap and hatchery. A study on the growth was carried out in the population of crabs. The dimensions analyzed were carapace width (CW) measured after 3 months of grow out. Morphological character states were examined based on the pattern of spots on the carapace. Molecular analysis was performed using RAPD (Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA). Genetic distance was analysed using TFPGA (Tools for Population Genetic Analyses) version 1.3. The results showed that there were variations in the growth of crabs. These crabs clustered morphologically into three quite distinct groups. The crab with white spots irregularly spread over its carapace was the largest size while the crab with large white spots scattered over the carapace was the smaller size (3%). The crab with small white spots scattered over the carapace was the smallest size found in this study. Molecular analysis showed that there are morphologically and genetically different between groups of crabs. Genetic distances among crabs ranged from 0.1527 to 0.5856. Thus, this study provides information the use of white spots pattern over carapace as indicators to identify the type of blue swimming crabs.

Keywords: crab, portunus pelagicus, morphology, RAPD, Carapace

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Authors: Monika Gałwa-Widera, Anna Kwarciak–Kozłowska, Lucyna Sławik-Dembiczak

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Issues relating to management of sewage sludge from small and medium-sized wastewater treatment plants is a vital issue, which deal with such scholars as well as those directly involved in the issue of wastewater treatment and management of sedimentary. According to the Law on Waste generating waste is responsible for such processing to the product obtained impacted on the environment minimally. In small and medium-sized wastewater treatment plants have to deal with the technology of sludge management technology is far from drying and incineration of sewage sludge. So here you can use other technologies. One of them is the composting of sewage sludge. It is a process of processing and disposal of sewage sludge that effectively their disposal. By composting, we can obtain a product that contains significant amounts of organic matter to assess the fertilizing qualities. Modifications to the ongoing process in biological reactors allow for more rapid receipt of a wholesome product. The research presented and discussed in this publication relate to assist the composting process of sewage sludge and biomass structural material in the shares of rates: 35% biomass, 55% sludge, 10% structural material using a method which involves the re-spawning batch composting physical methods leachate from the composting process.

Keywords: biomass, composting, industry, sewage sludge

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Authors: Waheed Ahmad Safi, Shunichi Nakamura, Abdul Habib Ghaforzai

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Steel and concrete composite bridge with concrete filled steel I-girder (CFIG) was proposed and FEM and laboratory tests were conducted to analysis bending and shear behavior. The proposed form of structural steel I-section is mainly used at the intermediate support zone by placing infilled concrete into the top and bottom flanges of steel I-section to resist negative bending moment. The bending and shear tests were carried out to find out the significance of CFIG section. The result for test showing that the bending and shear capacity of proposed CFIG is at least 3 times and 2 times greater than conventional steel I-section (IG) respectively. Finite element study was also carried out to ensure the result for laboratory tests due to bending and shear behavior and load transfer behavior of proposed structural form. Finite element result result agreed the test result. A design example was carried out for a four-span continuous highway bridge and design method was established.

Keywords: bending strength, concrete filled steel I-girder, steel I-girder, FEM, limit states design and shear strength

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Authors: Reza Pourjafar, Morteza Sohrabi-Gilani, Mostafa Jamshidi Avanaki, Malek Mohammad Ranjbar

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Cementitious composites like concrete, are the most widely used materials in civil infrastructures. Numerous investigations on fiber’s effect on the properties of cement-based composites have been conducted in the last few decades. The use of fibers such as carbon nanofibers (CNFs) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in these materials is an ongoing field and needs further researches and studies. Excellent mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties of carbon nanotubes and nanofibers have motivated the development of advanced nanocomposites with outstanding and multifunctional properties. In this study, the electrical resistance of CNF reinforced cement mortar was examined. Three different dosages of CNF were used, and the resistances were compared to plain cement mortar. One of the biggest challenges in this study is dispersing CNF particles in the mortar mixture. Therefore, polycarboxylate superplasticizer and ultrasonication of the mixture have been selected for the purpose of dispersing CNFs in the cement matrix. The obtained results indicated that the electrical resistance of the CNF reinforced mortar samples decreases with increasing CNF content, which would be the first step towards examining strain and damage monitoring ability of cementitious composites containing CNF for structural health monitoring purposes.

Keywords: carbon nanofiber, cement and concrete, CNF reinforced mortar, smart mater, strain monitoring, structural health monitoring

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Authors: Binod Duwadi

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This article examines the language and literacy practices of English Code-mixing in Nepalese Classroom. Situating the study within an ecological framework, a systematic functional linguistic (SFL) approach was used to analyze students writing in two Neplease schools. Data collection included interviews with teachers, classroom observations, instructional materials, and focal students’ writing samples. Data analyses revealed vastly different language ecologies between the schools owing to sharp socioeconomic stratification, the structural organization of schools, and the pervasiveness of standard language ideology, with stigmatizes English code mixing (ECM) and privileges Standard English in schools. Functional analysis of students’ writing showed that the nature of the writing tasks at the schools created different affordances for exploiting lexicogrammatically choices for meaning making-enhancing them in the case of one school but severely restricting them in the case of another- perpetuating the academic disadvantage for code mixing speakers. Recommendations for structural and attitudinal changes through teacher training and implementation of approaches that engage students’ bidialectal competence for learning are made as important first steps towards addressing educational inequities in Nepalese schools.

Keywords: code-mixing, ecological perspective, systematic functional approach, language and identity

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Authors: Y. H. Mugahed Amran, Raizal S. M. Rashid, Farzad Hejazi, Nor Azizi Safiee, A. A. Abang Ali

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Experimental and analytical studies were carried out to investigate the structural behavior of precast foamed concrete sandwich panels (PFCSP) of total number (6) as one-way action slab tested under lateral load. The details of the test setup and procedures were illustrated. The results obtained from the experimental tests were discussed which include the observation of cracking patterns and influence of aspect ratio (L/b). Analytical study of finite element analysis was implemented and degree of composite action of the test panels was also examined in both experimental and analytical studies. Result shows that crack patterns appeared in only one-direction, similar to reports on solid slabs, particularly when both concrete wythes act in a composite manner. Foamed concrete was briefly reviewed and experimental results were compared with the finite element analyses data which gives a reasonable degree of accuracy. Therefore, based on the results obtained, PFCSP slab can be used as an alternative to conventional flooring system.

Keywords: aspect ratio (L/b), finite element analyses (FEA), foamed concrete (FC), precast foamed concrete sandwich panel (PFCSP), ultimate flexural strength capacity

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Authors: Houari Boumediene University of Science, Technology.

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"Various methods are typically used in the dynamic analysis of transversely vibrating beams. To achieve this, numerical methods are used to solve the general eigenvalue problem. The equations of equilibrium, which describe the motion, are derived from a fourth-order differential equation. Our study is based on the finite element method, and the results of the investigation are the vibration frequencies obtained using the Jacobi method. Two types of elementary mass matrices are considered: one representing a uniform distribution of mass along the element and the other consisting of concentrated masses located at fixed points whose number increases progressively with equal distances at each evaluation stage. The beams studied have different boundary constraints, representing several classical situations. Comparisons are made for beams where the distributed mass is replaced by n concentrated masses. As expected, the first calculation stage involves determining the lowest number of beam parts that gives a frequency comparable to that obtained from the Rayleigh formula. The obtained values are then compared to theoretical results based on the assumptions of the Bernoulli-Euler theory. These steps are repeated for the second type of mass representation in the same manner."

Keywords: finite element method, bernouilli eulertheory, structural analysis, vibration analysis, rayleigh quotient

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Authors: Chung-Hao Wu, Tung-Dju Lin, Ming-Chin Ho, Minehiro Nishiyama

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This paper discusses reported fire tests of concrete beams and columns, future fire tests of beam/column frames, and an innovative concept for designing a beam/column furnace. The proposed furnace could be designed to maximize the efficiency of fire test procedures and minimize the cost of furnace construction and fuel consumption. ASTM E119 and ISO 834 standards were drafted based on prescriptive codes and have several weaknesses. The first involves a provision allowing the support regions of a test element to be protected from fire exposure. The second deals with the L/30 deflection end point instead of the structural end point (collapse) in order to protect the hydraulic rams from fire damage. Furthermore, designers commonly use the measured fire endurances of interior columns to assess fire ratings of edge and corner columns of the same building. The validity of such an engineering practice is theoretically unsound. Performance-Based Codes (PBC) require verification tests of structural frames including the beam/column joints to overcome these weaknesses but allow the use of element test data as reference only. In the last 30 years, PBC have gained global popularity because the innovative design and flexibility in achieving an ultimate performance goal.

Keywords: fire resistance, concrete structure, beam/column frame, fire tests

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Authors: Muhammad Munir, Moazzam, Attia Saddique, Muhammad Waheed

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This study examines the complex interactions between entertainment, interaction, and authenticity aspects in the context of live streaming tourism e-commerce and how they affect tourists' intent to purchase. In the context of e-commerce live streaming, the goal of this study is to offer a thorough understanding of how these factors work together to influence consumers' intents to make purchases related to tourism. A sample of 250 respondents' information was gathered, and it was analyzed through Smart PLS 4. To ensure reliable measurement constructs, convergent and discriminant validity were evaluated. Discriminant validity was evaluated using the HTMT ratio approach, and the structural model was evaluated using structural equation modeling (SEM) with bootstrapping. Results showed that entertainment had a strong beneficial impact on social presence, highlighting the value of compelling content in raising users' sense of presence on live streaming platforms for tourism-related e-commerce. The lack of a direct relationship between Interactivity and Authenticity and Social Presence emphasizes the need for more research into certain characteristics of these dimensions that appeal to consumers in this situation.

Keywords: entertainment, interactivity, authenticity, tourism consumer’s purchase intention, social presence

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Authors: SeyedMohammad Hosseini, Amirhossein Moghanian

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The main purpose of this research was to design a biomimetic system by freeze-drying method for evaluating the effect of adding 5 and 10 mol. % of zinc (Zn)in 58S bioactive glass and gelatin (5ZnBG/G and 10ZnBG/G) in terms of structural and biological changes. The structural analyses of samples were performed by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Also, 3-(4,5dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazoliumbromide(MTT) and alkaline phosphate (ALP) activity test were carried out for investigation of MC3T3-E1cell behaviors. The SEM results demonstrated the spherical shape of the formed hydroxyapatite (HA) phases, and also HA characteristic peaks were detected by X-ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD)after 3 days of immersion in the simulated body fluid (SBF) solution. Meanwhile, FTIR spectra proved that the intensity of P–O peaks for 5ZnBG/G was more than 10ZnBG/G and control samples. Moreover, the results of alkaline phosphatase activity (ALP) test illustrated that the optimal amount of Zn (5ZnBG/G) caused a considerable enhancement in bone cell growth. Taken together, the scaffold with 5 mol.% Zn was introduced as an optimal sample because of its higher biocompatibility, in vitro bioactivity, and growth of MC3T3-E1cellsin in comparison with other samples in bone tissue engineering.

Keywords: scaffold, gelatin, modified bioactive glass, alp, bone tissue engineering

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Authors: Amanda M. Tadini, Houssam Hajjoul, Gustavo Nicolodelli, Stéphane Mounier, Célia R. Montes, Débora M. B. P. Milori

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Soil organic matter (SOM) plays an important role in maintaining soil productivity and accounting for the promotion of biological diversity. The main components of the SOM are the humic substances which can be fractionated according to its solubility in humic acid (HA), fulvic acids (FA) and humin (HU). The determination of the chemical properties of organic matter as well as its interaction with metallic species is an important tool for understanding the structure of the humic fractions. Fluorescence spectroscopy has been studied as a source of information about what is happening at the molecular level in these compounds. Specially, soils of Amazon region are an important ecosystem of the planet. The aim of this study is to understand the molecular and structural composition of HA samples from Spodosol of Amazonia using the fluorescence Emission-Excitation Matrix (EEM) and Time Resolved Fluorescence Spectroscopy (TRFS). The results showed that the samples of HA showed two fluorescent components; one has a more complex structure and the other one has a simpler structure, which was also seen in TRFS through the evaluation of each sample lifetime. Thus, studies of this nature become important because it aims to evaluate the molecular and structural characteristics of the humic fractions in the region that is considered as one of the most important regions in the world, the Amazon.

Keywords: Amazonian soil, characterization, fluorescence, humic acid, lifetime

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Authors: Shankaran Sitarama

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New Product Development involves team members coming together and working in teams to come up with innovative solutions to problems, resulting in new products. Thus, a core attribute of a successful NPD team is their creativity and innovation. They need to be creative as a group, generating a breadth of ideas and innovative solutions that solve or address the problem they are targeting and meet the user’s needs. They also need to be very efficient in their teamwork as they work through the various stages of the development of these ideas, resulting in a POC (proof-of-concept) implementation or a prototype of the product. There are two distinctive traits that the teams need to have, one is ideational creativity, and the other is effective and efficient teamworking. There are multiple types of tensions that each of these traits cause in the teams, and these tensions reflect in the team dynamics. Ideational conflicts arising out of debates and deliberations increase the collective knowledge and affect the team creativity positively. However, the same trait of challenging each other’s viewpoints might lead the team members to be disruptive, resulting in interpersonal tensions, which in turn lead to less than efficient teamwork. Teams that foster and effectively manage these creative tensions are successful, and teams that are not able to manage these tensions show poor team performance. In this paper, it explore these tensions as they result in the team communication social network and propose a Creative Tension Balance index along the lines of Degree of Balance in social networks that has the potential to highlight the successful (and unsuccessful) NPD teams. Team communication reflects the team dynamics among team members and is the data set for analysis. The emails between the members of the NPD teams are processed through a semantic analysis algorithm (LSA) to analyze the content of communication and a semantic similarity analysis to arrive at a social network graph that depicts the communication amongst team members based on the content of communication. This social network is subjected to traditional social network analysis methods to arrive at some established metrics and structural balance analysis metrics. Traditional structural balance is extended to include team interaction pattern metrics to arrive at a creative tension balance metric that effectively captures the creative tensions and tension balance in teams. This CTB (Creative Tension Balance) metric truly captures the signatures of successful and unsuccessful (dissonant) NPD teams. The dataset for this research study includes 23 NPD teams spread out over multiple semesters and computes this CTB metric and uses it to identify the most successful and unsuccessful teams by classifying these teams into low, high and medium performing teams. The results are correlated to the team reflections (for team dynamics and interaction patterns), the team self-evaluation feedback surveys (for teamwork metrics) and team performance through a comprehensive team grade (for high and low performing team signatures).

Keywords: team dynamics, social network analysis, new product development teamwork, structural balance, NPD teams

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Authors: Yue Yang, Qiang Wu, Xingyu Gao

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"Organized research units" have always been an important part of academia. According to the type of organization, there are public research units, university research units, and corporate research units. Existing research has explored the research unit in some depth from several perspectives. However, there is a research gap on the closer interaction between the three from a network perspective and the impact of this interaction on their performance as well as originality. Cliques are a special kind of structure under the concept of cohesive subgroups in the field of social networks, representing particularly tightly knit teams in a network. This study develops the concepts of the diversity of clique types and the diversity of clique geography based on cliques, starting from the diversity of collaborative activities characterized by them. Taking research units as subjects and assigning values to their power in cliques based on occupational age, we explore the impact of clique diversity and clique power on their performance as well as originality and the moderating role of clique relationship strength and structural holes in them. By collecting 9094 articles published in the field of quantum communication at WoSCC over the 15 years 2007-2021, we processed them to construct annual collaborative networks between a total of 533 research units and measured the network characteristic variables using Ucinet. It was found that the type and geographic diversity of cliques promoted the performance and originality of the research units, and the strength of clique relationships positively moderated the positive effect of the diversity of clique types on performance and negatively affected the promotional relationship between the geographic diversity of cliques and performance. It also negatively affected the positive effects of clique-type diversity and clique-geography diversity on originality. Structural holes positively moderated the facilitating effect of both types of factional diversity on performance and originality. Clique power promoted the performance of the research unit, but unfavorably affected its performance on novelty. Faction relationship strength facilitated the relationship between faction rights and performance and showed negative insignificance for clique power and originality. Structural holes positively moderated the effect of clique power on performance and originality.

Keywords: research unit, social networks, clique structure, clique power, diversity

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Authors: Louk Aourelien Andrianos, Edward Dommen, Athena Peralta

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Greed, as epitomized by overconsumption of natural resources, is at the root of ecological destruction and unsustainability of modern societies. Presently economies rely on unrestricted structural greed which fuels unlimited economic growth, overconsumption, and individualistic competitive behavior. Structural greed undermines the life support system on earth and threatens ecological integrity, social justice and peace. The World Council of Churches (WCC) has developed a program on ecological and economic justice (EEJ) with the aim to promote an economy of life where the economy is embedded in society and society in ecology. This paper aims at analyzing and assessing the economy of life (EcoLife) by offering an empirical tool to measure and monitor the root causes and effects of unsustainability resulting from human greed on global, national, institutional and individual levels. This holistic approach is based on the integrity of ecology and economy in a society founded on justice. The paper will discuss critical questions such as ‘what is an economy of life’ and ‘how to measure and control it from the effect of greed’. A model called GLIMS, which stands for Greed Lines and Indices Measurement System is used to clarify the concept of greed and help measuring the economy of life index by fuzzy logic reasoning. The inputs of the model are from statistical indicators of natural resources consumption, financial realities, economic performance, social welfare and ethical and political facts. The outputs are concrete measures of three primary indices of ecological, economic and socio-political greed (ECOL-GI, ECON-GI, SOCI-GI) and one overall multidimensional economy of life index (EcoLife-I). EcoLife measurement aims to build awareness of an economy life and to address the effects of greed in systemic and structural aspects. It is a tool for ethical diagnosis and policy making.

Keywords: greed line, sustainability indicators, fuzzy logic, eco-justice, World Council of Churches (WCC)

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Authors: Manasi Roy, Raju Mondal

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During last two decades the synthesis and design of MOFs or novel coordination polymers (CPs) has flourished as an emerging area of research due to their role as functional materials. Accordingly, ten new cobalt-based MOFs have been synthesized using a simple bispyrazole ligand, 4,4′-methylene-bispyrazole (H2MBP), and isophthalic acid (H2IPA) and its four 5-substituted derivatives R-H2IPA (R = COOH, OH, tBu, NH2). The major aim of this study was to validate the mutual influence of temperature and substitutions on the final structural self-assembly. Five different isophthalic acid derivatives were used to study the influence of substituents while each reaction was carried out at two different temperatures to assess the temperature effect. A clear correlation was observed between the reaction temperature and the coordination number of the cobalt atoms which consequently changes the self assembly pattern. Another fact that the periodical change in coordination number did bring about some systematic changes in the structural network via secondary building unit selectivity. With the presence of a tunable cavity inside the network, and unsaturated metal centers, MOFs show highly encouraging photocatalytic degradation of toxic dye with a potential application in waste water purification. Another fascinating aspect of this work is the construction of magnetic coordination polymers with the occurrence of a not-so-common MCE behavior of cobalt-based MOF.

Keywords: MOFs, temperature effect, MCE, dye degradation

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Authors: Albert Oluwole Uzodimma Authority

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Nigeria is a diverse nation with a rich cultural heritage that has produced numerous art musicians and a vast range of art songs. The compositional styles, tonal rhythm, text rhythm, word painting, and text-tone relationship vary extensively from one dialect to another, indicating the need for standardized tools for the structural and analytical deconstruction of Nigerian indigenous art music. The purpose of this research is to examine the structures of Nigerian indigenous art music and outline some crucibles for analyzing it, by investigating how dialectical inflection influences the choice of text tone, scale mode, tonal rhythm, and the general ambiance of Nigerian art music. The research used a structured questionnaire to collect data from 50 musicologists, out of which 41 responded. The study's focus was on the works of two prominent twentieth-century composers, Stephen Olusoji, and Nwamara Alvan-Ikoku, titled "Oyigiyigi" and "O Chineke, Inozikwa omee," respectively. The data collected was presented in percentages using pie charts and tables. The study shows that in Nigerian Indigenous music, several aspects are to be considered for proper analysis, such as linguistic sensitivity, dialectical inflection influences text-tone relationship, text rhythm and tonal rhythm, which help to convey the proper meanings of messages in songs. It also highlights the lack of standardized rubrics for analysis, which necessitated the proposal of robust criteria for analyzing African music, known as Neo-Eclectic-Crucibles. Hinging on eclectic approach, this research makes significant contributions to music scholarship by addressing the need for standardized tools and crucibles for the structural and analytical deconstruction of Nigerian indigenous art music. It provides a template for further studies leading to standardized rubrics for analyzing African music. This research collected data through a structured questionnaire and analyzed it using pie charts and tables to present the findings accurately. The analysis focused on the respondents' perspectives on the research objectives and structural analysis of two indigenous music compositions by Olusoji and Nwamara. This research answers the questions on the structures and analytical crucibles used in Nigerian indigenous art music, how dialectical inflection influences text-tone relationship, scale mode, tonal rhythm, and the general ambiance of Nigerian art music. This paper demonstrates the need for standardized tools and crucibles for the structural and analytical deconstruction of Nigerian indigenous art music. It highlights several aspects that are crucial to analyzing Nigerian indigenous music and proposes the Neo-Eclectic-Crucibles criteria for analyzing African music. The contribution of this research to music scholarship is significant, providing a template for further studies and research in the field.

Keywords: art-music, crucibles, dialectical inflections, indigenous, text-tone, tonal rhythm, word-painting

Procedia PDF Downloads 99