Search results for: local development

Authors: Rohit Mittal, Bright Keswani, Amit Mithal

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This paper provides a sense about the application of computational intelligence techniques used to develop computer games, especially car racing. For the deep sense and knowledge of artificial intelligence, this paper is divided into various sections that is optimization, imitation, innovation and combining approach of optimization and imitation. This paper is mainly concerned with combining approach which tells different aspects of using fitness measures and supervised learning techniques used to imitate aspects of behavior. The main achievement of this paper is based on modelling player behaviour and evolving new game content such as racing tracks as single car racing on single track.

Keywords: evolution algorithm, genetic, optimization, imitation, racing, innovation, gaming

Procedia PDF Downloads 630

Authors: Abhishek Kumar, Mohamed Awadein, Georg Gramse, Luyang Song, He Sun, Wolfgang Schofberger, Stefan Müllegger

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Electron transfer is a crucial part of chemical reactions which drive everyday processes. With the help of an electro-chemical radio frequency scanning tunneling microscopy (EC-RF-STM) setup, we are observing single electron mediated oxidation-reduction processes in molecules like ferrocene and transition metal corroles. Combining the techniques of scanning microwave microscopy and cyclic voltammetry allows us to monitor such processes with attoampere sensitivity. A systematic study of such phenomena would be critical to understanding the nano-scale behavior of catalysts, molecular sensors, and batteries relevant to the development of novel material and energy applications.

Keywords: radiofrequency, STM, cyclic voltammetry, ferrocene

Procedia PDF Downloads 457

Authors: Md Monir Hossain, Anne Staples, Kuya Takami, Tomonari Furukawa

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Tire noise has a significant impact on ride quality and vehicle interior comfort, even at low frequency. Reduction of tire noise is especially important due to strict state and federal environmental regulations. The primary sources of tire noise are the low frequency structure-borne noise and the noise that originates from the release of trapped air between the tire tread and road surface during each revolution of the tire. The frequency response of the tire changes at low and high frequency. At low frequency, the tension and bending moment become dominant, while the internal structure and local deformation become dominant at higher frequencies. Here, we analyze tire response in terms of deformation and rolling velocity at low revolution frequency. An Abaqus FEA finite element model is used to calculate the static and dynamic response of a rolling tire under different rolling conditions. The natural frequencies and mode shapes of a deformed tire are calculated with the FEA package where the subspace-based steady state dynamic analysis calculates dynamic response of tire subjected to harmonic excitation. The analysis was conducted on the dynamic response at the road (contact point of tire and road surface) and side nodes of a static and rolling tire when the tire was excited with 200 N vertical load for a frequency ranging from 20 to 200 Hz. The results show that frequency has little effect on tire deformation up to 80 Hz. But between 80 and 200 Hz, the radial and lateral components of displacement of the road and side nodes exhibited significant oscillation. For the static analysis, the fluctuation was sharp and frequent and decreased with frequency. In contrast, the fluctuation was periodic in nature for the dynamic response of the rolling tire. In addition to the dynamic analysis, a steady state rolling analysis was also performed on the tire traveling at ground velocity with a constant angular motion. The purpose of the computation was to demonstrate the effect of rotating motion on deformation and rolling velocity with respect to a fixed Newtonian reference point. The analysis showed a significant variation in deformation and rolling velocity due to centrifugal and Coriolis acceleration with respect to a fixed Newtonian point on ground.

Keywords: natural frequency, rotational motion, steady state rolling, subspace-based steady state dynamic analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 354

Authors: Wong Yat Cheung Maggie

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Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance (OS&HO) (Chap 509) was enacted in 1997, OHS in HK should be growing and maturing, with a holistic approach to occupational health and safety in the workplace including physical, mental, social and spiritual well-being. The question is “How effective are OHSPs in meeting the current needs of HK health workers?” This study was designed to explore the issue for the first time, to empirically analyse the views of those who work in the system. The study employed a mixed method approach to collect various data from Occupational Health Service Providers (OHSPs), Occupational Health Service Consumers (OHSC): Registered nurses working in the hospital setting. This study was designed in two phases and two stages. Phase I Stage I was a paper survey to collect the data on OHSP. Then Phase I Stage II was a follow-up interview. Phase II Stage I was a paper survey to collect the data on OHSC. Then Phase II Stage II was a follow-up focus group study on OHSC for further clarification of the Phase II and Stage I result. The Phase I result reflects HK OHSPs point of view and their experience in the existing OHS practice in the local hospitals. It reflects various styles of reporting systems, staff profiles background and resource in providing OHS in HK hospitals. However, the basic OHS concern is similar between hospitals. In general, the OHS policies and procedures are available on site even though they may have different foci. The Phase II result is reflecting the HKs OHSCs echoes the OHSP feedback at providing of OHS, OHS concern and related policies and procedure are available on site. However, the most significant feedback from the OHSC at Phase II Stage II shows, nurses experienced various OHS concern most commonly work stress, workplace harassment and back strain without formal or official report to the related parties. The lack of reporting was due to the management handling attitude, stakeholders’ compliance and term of definition still have room to be improved even the related policies and procedures are available on site.

Keywords: occupational health service, registered nurse, Hong Kong hospital, mixed method

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Authors: Amir Nourbakhsh Habibabadi, Alireza Ashori

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Context: The growing concern over the management of plastic waste and the high demand for wood-based products have led to the development of wood-plastic composites. Agricultural residues, which are abundantly available, can be used as a source of lignocellulosic fibers in the production of these composites. The use of recycled polymers and nanomaterials is also a promising approach to enhance the mechanical and physical properties of the composites. Research Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of using recycled high-density polyethylene (rHDPE), polypropylene (rPP), and agricultural residues fibers for manufacturing wood-plastic nano-composites. The effects of these materials on the mechanical properties of the composites, specifically tensile and flexural strength, were studied. Methodology: The study utilized an experimental approach where extruders and hot presses were used to fabricate the composites. Five types of cellulosic residues fibers (bagasse, corn stalk, rice straw, sunflower, and canola stem), three levels of nanomaterials (carbon nanotubes, nano silica, and nanoclay), and coupling agent were used to chemically bind the wood/polymer fibers, chemicals, and reinforcement. The mechanical properties of the composites were then analyzed. Findings: The study found that composites made with rHDPE provided moderately superior tensile and flexural properties compared to rPP samples. The addition of agricultural residues in several types of wood-plastic nano-composites significantly improved their bending and tensile properties, with bagasse having the most significant advantage over other lignocellulosic materials. The use of recycled polymers, agricultural residues, and nano-silica resulted in composites with the best strength properties. Theoretical Importance: The study's findings suggest that using agricultural fiber residues as reinforcement in wood/plastic nanocomposites is a viable approach to improve the mechanical properties of the composites. Additionally, the study highlights the potential of using recycled polymers in the development of value-added products without compromising the product's properties. Data Collection and Analysis Procedures: The study collected data on the mechanical properties of the composites using tensile and flexural tests. Statistical analyses were performed to determine the significant effects of the various materials used. Question addressed: Can agricultural residues and recycled polymers be used to manufacture wood-plastic nano-composites with enhanced mechanical properties? Conclusion: The study demonstrates the feasibility of using agricultural residues and recycled polymers in the production of wood-plastic nano-composites. The addition of these materials significantly improved the mechanical properties of the composites, with bagasse being the most effective agricultural residue. The study's findings suggest that composites made from recycled materials can offer value-added products without sacrificing performance.

Keywords: polymer, composites, wood, nano

Procedia PDF Downloads 60

Authors: Phong Le Ha

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In many cities the entire world, the relationship between cities and rivers is always considered as a fundament of urban history research because of their profound interactions. This kind of relationship makes the river zones become extremely sensitive in many aspects. One of the most important aspect is their roles in the drainage of cities. In this paper we will examine an extraordinary case of Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam and Red river zones. This river has contradictory impacts to this city: It is considered as a source of life of the inhabitants who live along its two banks, however, the risk of inundation caused by the complicated hydrology system of this river is always a real threat to the cities that it flows through. Morphologically, Red river was connected to the inner rivers system that made Hanoi a complete form of a river city. This structure combined with the topography of Hanoi helps this city to assure a stable drainage system in which the river zones in the north of Hanoi play some extreme important roles. Nevertheless, in the late 20 years, Hanoi's strong urbanization and the instability of Red river's complicated hydrology make the very remarkable transformations in the relationship river-city and in the river zones: The connection between the river and the city declines; the system of inner lakes are progressively replaced by habitat land; in the river zones, the infrastructure system can't adapt to the transformations of the new quarters which have the origin of the agricultural villages. These changes bring out many chances for the urban development, but also many risks and problems, particularly in the environment and technical sides. Among these, pluvial and used water evacuation is one of the most severe problems. The disappear of inner-city lakes, the high dike and the topographical changes of Hanoi blow up the risk of inundation of this city. In consequences, the riverine zones, particularly in the north of Hanoi, where the two most important water evacuation rivers of Hanoi meet each other, are burdened with the drainage pressure. The unique water treatment plant in this zone seems to be overcharged in receiving each day about 40000m3 of used water (not include pluvial water). This kind of problem leads also to another risk related to the environmental pollution (water pollution and air pollution). So, in order to better understand the situation and to propose the solutions to resolve the problems, an interdisciplinary research covering many different fields such urban planning, architecture, geography, and especially drainage and environment has been carried out. In general, this paper will analyze an important part of the research : the process of urban transformation of Hanoi (changes in urban morphology, infrastructure system, evolution of the dike system, ...) and the hydrological changes of Red river which cause the drainage and environmental problems. The conclusions of these analyses will be the solid base of the following researches focusing on the solutions of a sustainable development.

Keywords: drainage, environment, Hanoi, infrastructure, red rivers, urbanization

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Authors: Doreen Mekunda

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This paper is built on the premise that the current socio-political crisis in the two restive regions of Cameroon, though enveloped with destructive and devastating trends (effects) on both property and human lives, is not without its strengths and merits. It is incontestable that many cultures, to a greater extent, are going to be destroyed as people forcibly move from war-stricken habitats to non-violent places. Many cultural potentials, traditional shrines, artifacts, art, and crafts, etc., are unknowingly or knowingly disfigured, and many other ugly things will, by the end of the crisis, affect the cultures of these two regions under siege and of the receiving population. A plethora of other problems like the persecution of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) for being displaced and blamed for increased crime rates and the existence of cultural and ethnic differences that produce both inter-tribal and interpersonal conflicts and conflicts between communities will abound. However, there is the emergence of rapid literature, and other forms of cultural productions, whether written or oral, is visible, thereby precipitating a rich cultural diversity due to the coming together of a variety of cultures of both the IDPs and the receiving populations, rapid urbanization, improvement of health-related issues, the rebirth of indigenous cultural practices, the development of social and lingua-cultural competences, dependence on alternative religions, faith and spirituality. Even financial and economic dependence, though a burden to others by IDPs, has its own merits as it improves the living standards of the IDPs. To be able to obtain plausible results, cultural materialism, which is a literary theory that hinges on the empirical study of socio-cultural systems within a materialist infrastructure-super-structure framework, is employed together with the postcolonial theory. Postcolonial theory because the study deals with postcolonial experiences/tenets of migration, hybridity, ethnicity, indignity, language, double consciousness, migration, center/margin binaries, and identity, amongst others. The study reveals that the involuntary movement of persons from their habitual homes brings about movement in cultures, thus, the emergence of new cultures. The movement of people who hold fast to their cultural heritage can only influence new forms of literature, the development of new communication competences, the rise of alternative religion, faith and spirituality, the re-emergence of customary and traditional legal systems that might have been abandoned for the new judicial systems, and above all the revitalization of traditional health care systems.

Keywords: alternative religion, emergence, socio-political crisis, spirituality, lingua-cultural competences

Procedia PDF Downloads 159

Authors: Samaneh Poormohammadi, Farid Golkar, Vahideh Khatibi Sarabi

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Climate change and consecutive droughts have increased the importance of using rainwater harvesting methods. One of the methods of rainwater harvesting and, in other words, the management of atmospheric water resources is the use of weather modification technologies. Weather modification (also known as weather control) is the act of intentionally manipulating or altering the weather. The most common form of weather modification is cloud seeding, which increases rain or snow, usually for the purpose of increasing the local water supply. Cloud seeding operations in Iran have been married since 1999 in central Iran with the aim of harvesting rainwater and reducing the effects of drought. In this research, we analyze the results of cloud seeding operations in the Simindashtplain in northern Iran. Rainwater harvesting with the help of cloud seeding technology has been evaluated through its effects on surface water and underground water. For this purpose, two different methods have been used to estimate runoff. The first method is the US Soil Conservation Service (SCS) curve number method. Another method, known as the reasoning method, has also been used. In order to determine the infiltration rate of underground water, the balance reports of the comprehensive water plan of the country have been used. In this regard, the study areas located in the target area of each province have been extracted by drawing maps of the influence coefficients of each area in the GIS software. It should be mentioned that the infiltration coefficients were taken from the balance sheet reports of the country's comprehensive water plan. Then, based on the area of each study area, the weighted average of the infiltration coefficient of the study areas located in the target area of each province is considered as the infiltration coefficient of that province. Results show that the amount of water extracted from the rain with the help of cloud seeding projects in Simindasht is as follows: an increase in runoff 63.9 million cubic meters (with SCS equation) or 51.2 million cubic meters (with logical equation) and an increase in ground water resources: 40.5 million cubic meters.

Keywords: rainwater harvesting, ground water, atmospheric water resources, weather modification, cloud seeding

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Authors: Slim Souissi, Mohamed Ben Amar, Nesrine Bouhamed, Pierre Marechal

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The bio-composites development from biodegradable materials and natural fibers has a growing interest in the science of composite materials. The present work was conducted as part of a cooperation project between the Sfax University and the Havre University. This work consists in developing and monitoring the properties of a composite material of olive flour wood with a polymer matrix (urea formaldehyde). For this, ultrasonic non-destructive and destructive methods of characterization were used to optimize the mechanical and acoustic properties of the studied material based on the elaboration parameters.

Keywords: bio-composite, olive flour wood, polymer matrix, ultrasonic methods, mechanical properties

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Authors: Tusar Kanti Dash, Ganapati Panda

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The evaluation of speech quality and intelligence is critical to the overall effectiveness of the Speech Enhancement Algorithms. Several intrusive and non-intrusive measures are employed to calculate these parameters. Non-Intrusive Evaluation is most challenging as, very often, the reference clean speech data is not available. In this paper, a novel non-intrusive speech evaluation measure is proposed using audio features derived from the Stockwell transform. These features are used with the Light Gradient Boosting Machine for the effective prediction of speech quality and intelligibility. The proposed model is analyzed using noisy and reverberant speech from four databases, and the results are compared with the standard Intrusive Evaluation Measures. It is observed from the comparative analysis that the proposed model is performing better than the standard Non-Intrusive models.

Keywords: non-Intrusive speech evaluation, S-transform, light GBM, speech quality, and intelligibility

Procedia PDF Downloads 246

Authors: Kristine Demilou Santiago

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In a context of a developing nation, how important is the role of Corporate Social Responsibility health programs? Is there a possibility that this will render a large impact in a society where health benefits are insufficient? The Philippine government has been in an unceasing battle to provide its citizens competitive health benefits through launching various health programs. As the efforts are being claimed by the government, the numbers just show that all the health benefits being offered such as PhilHealth health cards, medical missions and other subsidized government health benefits are not effective and sufficient at the minimum level. This is a major characteristic of a developing nation which the Philippine government is focusing on addressing as it becomes a national concern under the effects of poverty. Industrial companies, through Corporate Social Responsibility, are playing an important role in the aspiration to resolve this problem on health programs as supposed to be basic services to citizens of the Philippine government. The rise of commitment by these industrial companies to render health programs to communities as part of their corporate citizenship has covered a large portion of the basic health services that the Filipino citizens are supposed to be receiving. This is the most salient subject that a developing nation should focus on determining the important contribution of industrial companies present in their country as part of the citizens’ access to basic health services. The use of survey forms containing quantitative and qualitative questions which aim to give numerical figures and support answers as to the role of CSR Health programs in helping the communities receive the basic health services they need was the methodological procedure followed in this research. A sample population in a community where the largest industrial company in a province of the Philippines was taken through simple random sampling. The assumption is that this sample population which represents the whole of the community has the highest opportunities to access both the government health services and the CSR health program services of the industrial company located in their community. Results of the research have shown a significant level of participation by industrial companies through their CSR health programs in the attainment of basic health services that should be rendered by the Philippine government to its citizens as part of the state’s health benefits. In a context of a developing nation such as the Philippines, the role of Corporate Social Responsibility is beyond the expectation of initiating to resolve environmental and social issues. It is moving deeper in the concept of the corporate industries being a pillar of the government in catering the support needed by the individuals in the community for its development. As such, the concept of the presence of an industrial company in a community is said to be a parallel progress: by which when an industrial company expands because it is becoming more profitable, so is the community gaining the same step of progress in terms of socioeconomic development.

Keywords: basic health services, CSR health program, health services in a developing nation, Philippines health benefits

Procedia PDF Downloads 184

Authors: Neerja Meena, Paresh Sukhani

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Dandy walker malformation is a generalised disorder of mesenchymal development that affect both the cerebellum and overlying meninges. Classically dandy-walker malformation consists of a triad of- 1:vermian and hemispheric cerebellar hypoplasia 2:cystic dilatation of 4th ventricle 3: enlarged posterior fossa with the upward migration of tentorium(lambdoid- torcular inversion). Clinical presentation: four months old female child with hydrocephalus and neurological symptoms. Generally- early death is common in classic dandy walker malformation. However, if it is relatively mild and uncomplicated by other CNS anomalies, intelligence can be normal and neurologic deficits minimal. Usually, VP shunting is the treatment of choice for this hydrocephalus. Conclusion: MRI is the modality of choice to diagnose posterior fossa malformation. However, it can be ruled out through using during the antenatal check as the prognosis of this malformation is not good; it's better to diagnose it inutero.

Keywords: Dandy Walker, Mri, Earlydaignosis, Treatment

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Authors: Xinrong Zong, Tao Zhang

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Macau is known as the Oriental Monte Carlo and its economy depends on gambling heavily. The dealer is the key position of the gambling industry, at the end of the fourth quarter of 2015, there were over 24,000 dealers among the 56,000 full-time employees in gambling industry. More than half of dealers were female. The dealer is also called 'Croupier', the main responsibilities of them are shuffling, dealing, processing chips, rolling dice game and inspecting play. Due to the limited land and small population of Macao, the government has not allowed hiring foreign domestic dealers since Macao developed temporary gambling industry. Therefore, local dealers enjoy special advantages but also bear the high stresses from work. From the middle of last year, with the reduced income of gambling, and the decline of mainland gamblers as well as VIP lounges, the working time of dealers increased greatly. Thus, many problems occurred in this condition, such as the rise of working pressures, psychological pressures and family-responsibility pressures, which may affect job satisfaction as well. Because of the less research of dealer satisfaction, and a lack of standing on feminine perspective to analyze female dealers, this study will focus on investigating the relationship between working pressure and job satisfaction from feminine view. Several issues will be discussed specifically: firstly, to understand current situation of the working pressures and job satisfactions of female dealers in different ages; secondly, to research if there is any relevance between working pressures and job satisfactions of female dealers in different ages; thirdly, to find out the relationship between dealers' working pressures and job satisfactions in different ages. This paper combined qualitative approach with quantitative approach selected samples by convenient sampling. The research showed the female dealers from diverse ages have different kinds of working pressures; second, job satisfactions of the female dealers in different ages are dissimilar; moreover, there is negative correlation between working pressure and job satisfaction of female dealer in different ages' groups; last but not the least, working pressure has a significant negative impact on job satisfaction. The research result will provide a reference value for the Macau gambling business. It is a pattern to improve dealers' working environment, to increase employees' job satisfaction, as well as to offer tourists a better service, which can help to attract more and more visitors from a good image of Macau gaming and tourism.

Keywords: female dealers, job satisfaction, working pressure, Macau

Procedia PDF Downloads 289

Authors: Lim Yi Wei

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Structural equation modelling (SEM) is well-known in statistics due to its flexibility and accessibility. It plays an increasingly important role in the development of the education field. The number of research publications using SEM in education has increased in recent decades. However, there is a lack of scientific review conducted on SEM in education. The purpose of this study is to investigate research trends related to SEM in education. The researcher will use Vosviewer, Datawrapper, and SciMAT to do bibliometric analysis on 5549 papers that have been published in the Scopus database in the last five years. The result will show the publication trends of the most cited documents, the top contributing authors, countries, institutions, and journals in the research field. It will also look at how they relate to each other in terms of co-citation, collaboration, and co-occurrence of keywords. This study will benefit researchers and practitioners by identifying research trends and the current state of SEM in education.

Keywords: structural equation modeling, education, bibliometric analysis, Vosviewer

Procedia PDF Downloads 87

Authors: Aklima Jesmin, Ubaidur Rob, M. Ashrafur Rahman

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Rohingya population of Arakan state in Myanmar are one the most persecuted ethnic minorities in this 21st century. According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), all human beings are born free, equal in dignity and rights. However, these populations are systematically excluded from this universal proclamation of human rights as they are Rohingya, which signify ‘other’. Based on the accessible and available literatures about Rohingya issue, this study firstly found there are chronological pattern of human rights violations against the ethnic Rohingya which follows the pathology of the Holocaust in this 21st century of human civilization. These violations have been possible due to modern technology, bureaucracy which has been performed through authorization, routinization and dehumanization; not only in formal institutions but in the society as a whole. This kind of apparently never-ending situation poses any author with the problem of available many scientific articles. The most important sources are, therefore the international daily newspapers, social media and official webpage of the non-state actors for nitty-gritty day to day update. Although it challenges the validity and objectivity of the information, but to address the critical ongoing human rights violations against Rohingya population can become a base for further work on this issue. One of the aspects of this paper is to accommodate all the social movements since August 2017 to date. The findings of this paper is that even though it seemed only human rights violations occurred against Rohingya historically but, simultaneously the process of social movements had also started, can be traced more after the military campaign in 2017. Therefore, the Rohingya crisis can be conceptualized within one ‘campaign’ movement for justice, not as episodic events, especially within the Political Process Model than any other social movement theories. This model identifies that the role of international political movements as well as the role of non-state actors are more powerful than any other episodes of violence conducted against Rohinyga in reframing issue, blaming and shaming to Myanmar government and creating the strategic opportunities for social changes. The lack of empowerment of the affected Rohingya population has been found as the loop to utilize this strategic opportunity. Their lack of empowerment can also affect their capacity to reframe their rights and to manage the campaign for their justice. Therefore, this should be placed at the heart of the international policy agenda within the broader socio-political movement for the justice of Rohingya population. Without ensuring human rights of Rohingya population, achieving the promise of the united nation’s sustainable development goals - no one would be excluded – will be impossible.

Keywords: civilization, holocaust, human rights violation, military campaign, political process model, Rohingya population, sustainable development goal, social justice, social movement, strategic opportunity

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Authors: Solene Masloh, Anne Chevrel, Maxime Culot, Leonardo Scapozza, Magali Zeisser-Labouebe

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The limited stability of clinically proven therapeutic antibodies limits their administration by the parenteral route. However, oral administration remains the best alternative as it is the most convenient and less invasive one. Obtaining a targeted treatment based on biologics, which can be orally administered, would, therefore, be an ideal situation to improve patient adherence and compliance. Nevertheless, the delivery of macromolecules through the intestine remains challenging because of their sensitivity to the harsh conditions of the gastrointestinal tract and their low permeability across the intestinal mucosa. To address this challenge, this project aims to demonstrate that targeting receptor-mediated endocytosis followed by transcytosis could maximize the intestinal uptake and transport of large molecules, such as Nanofitins. These affinity proteins of 7 kDa with binding properties similar to antibodies have already demonstrated retained stability in the digestive tract and local efficiency. However, their size does not allow passive diffusion through the intestinal barrier. Nanofitins having a controlled affinity for membrane receptors involved in the transcytosis mechanism used naturally for the transport of large molecules in humans were generated. Proteins were expressed using ribosome display and selected based on affinity to the targeted receptor and other characteristics. Their uptake and transport ex vivo across viable porcine intestines were investigated using an Ussing chambers system. In this paper, we will report the results achieved while addressing the different challenges linked to this study. To validate the ex vivo model, first, we proved the presence of the receptors targeted in humans on the porcine intestine. Then, after the identification of an optimal way of detection of Nanofitins, transport experiments were performed on porcine intestines with viability followed during the time of the experiment. The results, showing that the physiological process of transcytosis is capable of being triggered by the binding of Nanofitins on their target, will be reported here. In conclusion, the results show that Nanofitins can be transported across the intestinal barrier by triggering the receptor-mediated transcytosis and that the ex vivo model is an interesting technique to assess biologics absorption through the intestine.

Keywords: ex-vivo, Nanofitins, oral administration, transcytosis

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Authors: Dmytro Symak

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The experience in other countries shows that, the role of accreditation of higher education as one of the types of quality assurance process for providing educational services increases. This was the experience of highly developed countries such as USA, Canada, France, Germany, because without proper quality assurance process is impossible to achieve a successful future of the nation and the state. In most countries, the function of Higher Education Accreditation performs public authorities, in particular, such as the Ministry of Education. In the US, however, the quality assurance process is independent on the government and implemented by private non-governmental organization - the Council of Higher Education Accreditation. In France, the main body that carries out accreditation of higher education is the Ministry of National Education. As part of the Bologna process is the mutual recognition and accreditation of degrees. While higher education institutions issue diplomas, but the ministry could award the title. This is the main level of accreditation awarded automatically by state universities. In total, there are in France next major level of accreditation of higher education: - accreditation for a visa: Accreditation second level; - recognition of accreditation: accreditation of third level. In some areas of education to accreditation ministry should adopt formal recommendations on specific organs. But there are also some exceptions. Thus, the French educational institutions, mainly large Business School, looking for non-French accreditation. These include, for example, the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, the Association of MBAs, the European Foundation for Management Development, the European Quality Improvement System, a prestigious EFMD Programme accreditation system. Noteworthy also German accreditation system of education. The primary here is a Conference of Ministers of Education and Culture of land in the Federal Republic of Germany (Kultusministerkonferenz or CCM) was established in 1948 by agreement between the States of the Federal Republic of Germany. Among its main responsibilities is to ensure quality and continuity of development in higher education. In Germany, the program of bachelors and masters must be accredited in accordance with Resolution Kultusministerkonerenz. In Ukraine Higher Education Accreditation carried out the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of Ukraine under four main levels. Ukraine's legislation on higher education based on the Constitution Ukraine consists of the laws of Ukraine ‘On osvititu’ ‘On scientific and technical activity’, ‘On Higher osvititu’ and other legal acts and is entirely within the competence of the state. This leads to considerable centralization and bureaucratization of the process. Thus, analysis of expertise shined can conclude that reforming the system of accreditation and quality of higher education in Ukraine to its integration into the global space requires solving a number of problems in the following areas: improving the system of state certification and licensing; optimizing the network of higher education institutions; creating both governmental and non-governmental organizations to monitor the process of higher education in Ukraine and so on.

Keywords: higher education, accreditation, decentralization, education institutions

Procedia PDF Downloads 327

Authors: J. I. Santos, A. E. Cesarin, C. A. R. Sales, M. B. B. Triano, P. F. R. B. Martins, A. F. Braga, N. J. Neto, A., A. M. Barroso, P. L. C. A. Alves, C. A. M. Huaman

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Climate change projections based on the emission of greenhouse effect gases suggest an increase in the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide, in up to 750 ppm. In this scenario, we have significant changes in plant development, and consequently, in agricultural systems. This study aims to evaluate the interaction between culture (Glycine max) and weed (Amaranthus viridis and Euphorbia heterophylla) in two conditions of CO₂, 400 and 800 ppm. The results showed that the coexistence of culture with both weed species resulted in a mutual loss, with decrease in dry mass productivity of culture + weeds, in both conditions of CO₂. However, when the culture is grown in association with E. heterophylla, total dry mass of culture + weed was smaller at 800 ppm. Soybean was more aggressive in comparison to the A. viridis in both the concentrations of CO₂, but not in relation to the E. heterophylla.

Keywords: plants interaction, increase of [CO₂], plants of metabolismo C3, glycine max

Procedia PDF Downloads 381

Authors: Samira Boussema, Ben Hamed Salah

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Entrepreneurship was always considered to be the most appropriate remedy for various economies’ symptoms. It is presented as a complex process that faces several barriers thereby inhibiting a project’s implementation phase. In fact, after a careful review of the literature, we noticed that empirical researches on reasons behind non-developing entrepreneurial projects are very rare, suggesting a lack in modeling the process in general and the pre-start phase in particular. Therefore, in this study we try to identify the main environmental barriers to developing business projects in Tunisia through the study of a representative sample of undeveloped projects. To this end, we used a quantitative approach which allowed us to examine the various barriers encountered by young entrepreneurs during their projects’ implementation. Indeed, by modeling the phenomenon we found that these managers face barriers of legal, financial, educational and government support dimensions.

Keywords: entrepreneurship, environmental barriers, non-implementation of projects, structural modeling

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Authors: Eileen Kim

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As socioeconomic disparities grew in New York during the 1970s, artists represented new values that came with the times. Street art, in particular, was birthed from a distinctly urban, fringe setting to ultimately become one of the most lucrative forms of art today. Examining the economic and psychological reasons behind the rise of street art, this paper delves into the development of the art market as a parallel insight into human behaviors and economic models such as supply and demand. The purpose of this study is to show the role of the increasingly divided socioeconomic classes and the rise of art collecting as an asset-building form. This study concludes that the iconography and market value of street art represented distinct values that came from a series of intertwined social matters such as racial tensions and revolutions in industrial innovation.

Keywords: art industry, cultural representation, ethnicity, markets, public property, social classes, street art

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Authors: Gholam Reza Parvizi, Ali Reza Kargar, Amir Arani

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In the present days, learning and teaching researchers have emphasized the role which teachers, tutors, and trainers’ constraint knowledge treat in resizing and trimming what they perform in educational atmosphere. Regarding English language as subject to teaching, although the prominence of instructor’s knowledge about grammar has also been stressed, but the lack of empirical insights into the relationship between teacher’ self-monitoring and self-response of grammar knowledge have been observed. With particular attention to the grammar this article indicates and discusses information obtained self- feedback and conversing teachers of a kind who backwash the issue. The result of the study indicates that enabling teachers to progress and maintain a logical and realistic awareness of their knowledge about grammar have to be prominent goal for teachers’ education and development programs.

Keywords: grammar knowledge, self-monitoring, self-response, teaching grammar, language teaching program

Procedia PDF Downloads 543

Authors: Michael Mickson

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The recent development of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has been increasing the number of technical solutions that can be used to identify, map, and manage the effects of geohazards. UAVs are generally cheaper and more versatile than traditional remote-sensing techniques, and they can be therefore considered as a good alternative for the acquisition of imagery and other remote sensing data before, during and after a natural hazard event. This study aims to use UAV for investigating areas susceptible to high mobility flows such as debris flow in Dominica, especially after the 2017 Hurricane Maria. The use of UAVs in identifying, mapping and managing of natural hazards helps to mitigate the negative effects of natural hazards on livelihood, properties and the built environment.

Keywords: unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), geohazards, remote sensing, mapping, Dominica

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Authors: Christian Gaigl, Martin Mensinger

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Once a fire resistance rating is necessary, it has to be proofed that the load bearing behavior of a steel construction under the exposure of fire still fits the static demands. High costs of passive fire protection, which satisfies the requirements, frequently result in a concrete solution. To optimize these expenses, one method is to determine the critical temperature according to the Eurocode DIN EN 1993-1-2. For this purpose, positive effects of hot-dip galvanized surface layers on the temperature development of steel members in the accidental situation of fire exposure has been investigated. The test results show a significant better heating behavior of hot-dip galvanized steel components compared to normal steel specimen. This leads in many cases to a R30 (30 minutes of ISO-fire) fire protection requirement of unprotected steel members and therefore to an economic added value.

Keywords: fire resistance, hot-dip galvanizing, steel constructions, R30 requirement, emissivity

Procedia PDF Downloads 241

Authors: Lara Marie Pangan Lo, Soo Im Chung, Yao Cheng Zhang, Xingyue Jin, Mi Young Kang

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Being the world’s most consumed grain crop, rice (Oryza sativa L.) demands’ have increase and this prompted the development of new rice cultivars with high bio-functional properties than the commonly used white rice. Ordinary rice variety is already known to be a potential source for a number of nutritional as well as bioactive compounds. To further enhance the rice’s nutritive values, germination is done in addition to making it more tasty and palatable when cooked. Pigmented rice, on the other hand, has become increasingly popular in the recent years for their greater antioxidant potential and other nutraceutical properties which can help alleviate the occurrence of the increasing incidence of metabolic diseases. Combining these two (2) parameters, this research study is sought to quantitatively determine the pre-germinated and germinated quantities of the major bioactive compounds of South Korea’s newly developed purplish pigmented rice grain cultivar Superjami (SJ) and red pigmented rice grain Superhongmi (SH) and compare them against the non-pigmented Normal Brown (NB) rice variety. Powdered rice grain cultivars were subjected to 72-hour germination period and the quantities of GABA, γ-oryzanol, ferulic acid, tocopherol and tocotrienol homologues were compared against their pre-germinated condition using γ- amino butyric acid (GABA) analysis and High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). Results revealed the effectiveness of germination in enhancing the bioactive components in all rice samples. GABA contents in germinated rice cultivars increased by more than 10-fold following the order: SJ >SH >NB. In addition, purple rice variety (SJ) has higher total γ-oryzanol and ferulic acid contents which increased by > 2-fold after germination followed by the red cultivar SH then the control, NB. Germinated varieties also possess higher total tocotrienol content than their pre-germinated state. As for the total tocopherol content, SJ has higher quantity, but the red-pigmented SH (0.16 mg/kg) is shown to have lower total tocopherol content than the control rice NB (0.86 mg/kg). However, all tocopherol and tocotrienol homologues were present only in small amounts ( < 3.0 mg/kg) in all pre-germinated and germinated samples. In general, all of the analyzed pigmented rice cultivars were found to possess higher bioactive compounds than the control NB rice variety. Also, regardless of their strain, germinated rice samples have higher bioactive compounds than their pre-germinated counterparts. This only shows the effectiveness of germinating rice in enhancing bioactive constituents. Overall, these results suggest the potential of the pigmented rice varieties as natural source of nutraceuticals in bio-functional food development.

Keywords: bioactive compounds, germinated rice, superhongmi, superjami

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Authors: Assem El-Ansary

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This paper illustrates the event-oriented Behavioral Pattern Analysis (BPA) modeling approach using the Healthcare Multi-Agent System. The Event defined in BPA is a real-life conceptual entity that is unrelated to any implementation. The major contributions of this research are: The Behavioral Pattern Analysis (BPA) modeling methodology. The development of an interactive software tool (DECISION), which is based on a combination of the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and the ELECTRE Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) methods.

Keywords: analysis, modeling methodology, software modeling, event-oriented, behavioral pattern, use cases, Healthcare Multi-Agent System

Procedia PDF Downloads 538

Authors: Ibitoye Olabode Clement

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The huge amount of grants for infrastructures development in Tertiary Institutions in Nigeria calls for transparency and accountability in the procurement process. However, questions have been raised concerning the judicious and appropriate use of the funds, and it was doubtful if the institutions complied with due process. This paper examined the causes of non-compliance with the Public Procurement Act (2007) in the procurement of Goods, Works, and Services through either direct or indirect processes of procurement, mostly in Tertiary Institutions of State government subvention institutions in Nigeria. Nigeria has over 120 public universities, polytechnics, and colleges of Education. This paper will take samples of some selected Institutions in southwest Nigeria. The institutions comprise 5 Universities, 5 Polytechnics, and 5 Colleges of Education / Health and Technology. The opinions of the institutions’ Procurement Officers on the tremendous investment through grants and interventions for infrastructure development in Tertiary Education Institutions (TEI) in Nigeria call for transparency and accountability in the procurement process. However, there are a lot of questions have been raised as to the judicious use of the funds, and it was doubtful if the institutions complied with due process. This study examined the causes of non-compliance with the Public Procurement Act (2007) in the procurement of Goods, Works, and Services in most State Government Public Institutions in Southwest Nigeria. Over, 120 public institutions comprising 5 Universities, 5 Polytechnics, and 5 Colleges of Education / Health and Technology were used for the study. The opinions of the institutions’ Procurement Officers on the causes of non-compliance with the Act in their procurement process were sought using a structured questionnaire. The results revealed that non-independent of Procurement Officers, non-compliance with the Act by some at the managerial level, claiming inadequate knowledge of the Act, non-employment of qualified and experienced Procurement officers, insufficient publicity of the Act, and non-existence of corporate governance led to poor management of procurement record and non-provision of incentive, Inability to separate the duties of Internal Auditors and Procurement Officers, Inability to translate procurement entity at large which makes nearly all at departmental level believe they procurement officers. Conclusively, on taking the Procurement Officers through interviewing having it that: the right educational and professional qualifications, understanding of the Act, sufficient cognate working experience, recruiting most professionals needed if not all, and occupying management position will enhance compliance. Hence, in addition, adopting an external empowered department from the Bureau should raise for monitoring the compliance mostly in State Government Tertiary Education Institution. Also, an organizational culture with a corporate governance structure that supports the engagement of the right and qualified personnel to handle procurement, encourages them to perform at their best and rewards excellent service by giving incentives, and operates within an administrative environment devoid of corruption.

Keywords: non compliance of procurement act, tertiary education institution, university, polytechnic and college of education/ health science and technology, Nigeria

Procedia PDF Downloads 92

Authors: Ivana Lončarević, Biljana Pajin, Radovan Omorjan, Aleksandra Torbica, Danica Zarić, Jovana Maksimović

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Soybean seeds are the main source of lecithin in confectionery industry in Serbia and elsewhere. The extensive production of sunflower and rapeseed oil opens the possibility of using lecithin from these sources, as an alternative. Also, the development of functional foods dictates the use of edible fats with no undesirable trans fatty acids, obtained by fractionation and transesterification instead of common hydrogenation process. Crystallization properties of nontrans vegetable fat with the addition of soybean, sunflower and rapeseed lecithin were investigated in this paper. NMR technique was used for measuring the solid fat content (SFC) of fats at different temperatures, as well as for crystallization rate under static conditions. Also, the possibility of applying Gompertz function to define kinetics of crystallization was investigated.

Keywords: non-trans fat, lecithin, fatty acids, SFC

Procedia PDF Downloads 447

Authors: Tania M. Guerrero, Ileana Cortes Santiago

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Estamos Unidos Asylum Project has served more than 2,000 asylum seekers and migrants who are under the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) policy in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. The U.S. policy, implemented in January 2019, has stripped asylum seekers of their rights—forcing people fleeing violence and discrimination to wait in similar or worse conditions from which they fled and navigate their entire asylum process in a different country. Several civil rights groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), challenged MPP in U.S. federal courts in February 2019, arguing a violation of international U.S. obligations towards refugees and asylum-seekers under the 1951 Refugee Convention and the Refugee Act of 1980 in regards to the non-refoulement principle. MPP has influenced Mexico's policies, enforcement, and prioritization of the presence of asylum seekers and migrants; it has also altered the way international non-governmental organizations work at the Mexican Northern border. Estamos Unidos is a project situated in a logistical conundrum, as it provides needed legal services to a population in a legal and humanitarian void, i.e., a liminal space. The liminal space occupied by asylum seekers living under MPP is one that, in today's world, should not be overlooked; it dilutes asylum law and U.S. commitments to international protections. This paper provides analysis of and broader implications from a project whose main goal is to uphold the protections of asylum seekers and international refugee law. The authors identified and analyzed four critical points based on field work conducted since August 2019: (1) strategic coalition building with international, local, and national organizations; (2) brokering between domestic and international contexts and critical legal constraints; (3) flexibility to sudden policy changes and the diverse needs of the multiethnic groups of migrants and asylum seekers served by the project; and (4) the complexity of providing legal assistance to asylum seekers who are survivors of trauma. The authors concur with scholarship when highlighting the erosion of protections of asylum seekers and migrants as a dangerous and unjust global phenomenon.

Keywords: asylum, human rights, migrant protection protocols, refugees law

Procedia PDF Downloads 118

Authors: Nabilah Ibrahim, Hafiz Mohd Zaini, Wan Fatin Liyana Mutalib

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Ultrasound equipment or machine is capable to scan in two dimensional (2D) areas. However there are some limitations occur during scanning an object. The problem will occur when scanning process that involving the asymmetric object. In this project, the ultrasound probe holder for asymmetric reflector scanning in 3D image is proposed to make easier for scanning the phantom or object that has asymmetric shape. Initially, the constructed asymmetric phantom that construct will be used in 2D scanning. Next, the asymmetric phantom will be interfaced by the movement of ultrasound probe holder using the Arduino software. After that, the performance of the ultrasound probe holder will be evaluated by using the various asymmetric reflector or phantom in constructing a 3D image

Keywords: ultrasound 3D images, axial and lateral resolution, asymmetric reflector, Arduino software

Procedia PDF Downloads 544

Authors: N. Sefiani, C. Fikri Benbrahim, A. Boumane, K. Reklaoui

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Nowadays, the reflection on competence management is the basic for new competitive strategies. It is considered as the core of the problems of the global supply chain. It interacts a variety of actors: information, physical and activities flows, etc. Even though competence management is seen as the key factor for any business success, the existing approaches demonstrate the deficiencies and limitations of the competence concept. This research has two objectives: The first is to make a contribution by focusing on the development of a competence approach, based on continuous improvement. It allows the enterprise to spot key competencies, mobilize them in order to serve its strategic objectives and to develop future competencies. The second is to propose a method to evaluate the level of Collective Competence. The approach was confirmed through an application carried out at an automotive company.

Keywords: competence, competencies’ approach, competence management, continuous improvement, collective competence level, performance indicator

Procedia PDF Downloads 474