Search results for: small area variation

Authors: Niall J. English, Sylvia Leatham, Maria Isabel Meza Silva, Denis P. Dowling

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The training and education of under- and post-graduate students can be promoted by more active learning especially in engineering, overcoming more passive and vicarious experiences and approaches in their documented effectiveness. However, the possibility of outreach to young pupils and school-children in primary and secondary schools is a lesser explored area in terms of Education and Public Engagement (EPE) efforts – as relates to feedback and influence on shaping 3rd-level engineering training and education. Therefore, the outreach and school-visit agenda constitutes an interesting avenue to observe how active learning, careers stimulus and EPE efforts for young children and teenagers can teach the university sector, to improve future engineering-teaching standards and enhance both quality and capabilities of practice. This intervention involved careers-outreach efforts to lead to statistical determinations of motivations towards engineering, manufacturing and training. The aim was to gauge to what extent this intervention would lead to an increased careers awareness in engineering, using the method of the schools-visits programme as the means for so doing. It was found that this led to an increase in engagement by school pupils with engineering as a career option and a greater awareness of the importance of manufacturing.

Keywords: outreach, education and public engagement, careers, peer interactions

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Authors: Zhuo Cheng, Gaohang Cui, Yang Zheng, Zhiqiang-Pan

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To explore the effect of freeze-thaw cycles on saline soil mechanical properties of fly ash, this study examined the influence of different numbers of freezing and thawing cycles, fly ash content, and moisture content of saline soil in unconfined compression tests and triaxial shear tests. With increased fly ash content, the internal friction angle, cohesion, unconfined compressive strength, and shear strength of the improved soil increased at first and then decreased. Using the Desk-Expert 8.0 software and based on significance analysis theory, the number of freeze-thaw cycles, fly ash content, water content, and the interactions between various factors on the mechanical properties of saline soil were studied. The results showed that the number of freeze-thaw cycles had a significant effect on the mechanical properties of saline soil, while the fly ash content had a weakly significant effect. At the same time, interaction between the number of freeze-thaw cycles and the water content had a significant effect on the unconfined compressive strength and the cohesion of saline soil, and the interaction between fly ash content and the number of freeze-thaw cycles only had a significant effect on the unconfined compressive strength.

Keywords: fly ash, saline soil, seasonally frozen area, significance analysis, qualitative analysis

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Authors: Nina Miklavčič, Urška Kugovnik, Natalia Galkina, Primož Ribarič, Rudi Vončina

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Today, the need for weather predictions is deeply rooted in the everyday life of people as well as it is in industry. The forecasts influence final decision-making processes in multiple areas, from agriculture and prevention of natural disasters to air traffic regulations and solutions on a national level for health, security, and economic problems. Namely, in Slovenia, alongside other existing forms of application, weather forecasts are adopted for the prognosis of electrical current transmission through powerlines. Meteorological parameters are one of the key factors which need to be considered in estimations of the reliable supply of electrical energy to consumers. And like for any other measured value, the knowledge about measurement uncertainty is also critical for the secure and reliable supply of energy. The estimation of measurement uncertainty grants us a more accurate interpretation of data, a better quality of the end results, and even a possibility of improvement of weather forecast models. In the article, we focused on the estimation of measurement uncertainty of the diagnostic microscale meteorological model CALMET. For the purposes of our research, we used a network of meteorological stations spread in the area of our interest, which enables a side-by-side comparison of measured meteorological values with the values calculated with the help of CALMET and the measurement uncertainty estimation as a final result.

Keywords: uncertancy, meteorological model, meteorological measurment, CALMET

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Authors: K. Abdul Halim, E. L. Yong

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Palm oil industry is a major revenue earner in Malaysia, despite the growth of the industry is synonymous with a massive production of agro-industrial wastewater. Through the oil extraction processes, palm oil mill effluent (POME) contributes to the largest liquid wastes generated. Due to the high amount of organic compound, POME can cause inland water pollution if discharged untreated into the water course as well as affect the aquatic ecosystem. For more than 20 years, Malaysia adopted the conventional biological treatment known as lagoon system that apply biological treatment. Besides having difficulties in complying with the standard, a large build up area is needed and retention time is higher. Although anaerobic digester is more favorable, this process comes along with enormous volumes of sludge and methane gas, demanding attention from the mill operators. In order to reduce the sludge production, denitrifiers are to be removed first. Sulfate reducing bacteria has shown the capability to inhibit the growth of methanogens. This is expected to substantially reduce both the sludge and methane production in anaerobic digesters. In this paper, the effectiveness of sulfate reducing bacteria in minimizing sludge and methane will be examined.

Keywords: methane reduction, palm oil mill effluent, sludge minimization, sulfate reducing bacteria, sulfate reduction

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Authors: Mahfoud Benzerzour, Mouhamadou Amar, Nor-edine Abriak

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In this study, a sediment was used as a secondary raw material in cement substitution with prior treatment. The treatment adopted is a physical treatment involving grinding and separation to obtain different fractions, using a dry method (1 mm, 250µm, 120µm) and washing method (250µm and 120µm). They were subsequently heat treated at temperatures of 650°C, 750°C and 850°C for 1 hour and 3 hours, in order to enable chemical activation by decarbonation or by pozzolanic activation of the material. Different characterization techniques were performed. The determination of main physical and chemical characteristics was obtained through multiple tests: particle size distribution, specific density, the BET surface area, the initial setting time and hydration heat calorimetry Langavant. The chemical tests include: ATG analysis, X-ray diffractometry (XRD) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) which were used to quantify the fractions, phases and chemical elements present. Compression tests were performed conforming NF EN 196-1 French standard, over terms of 7 days - 14 days - 28 days and 60 days on all formulated mortars: reference mortar based on 100% CEM I 52.5N binder and cement substituted mortars with 8% and 15% by treated sediment. This clearly evidenced contribution due to the chemical activity which was confirmed by calorimetry monitoring and strength investigation.

Keywords: sediment, characterization, grinding, heat treatment, substitution

Procedia PDF Downloads 192

Authors: B. McGovern, J. F. Luck, A. Gade, I. V. Lake, D. O’Connell, H. C. Cutcliffe, K. P. Shah, E. E. Ginalis, C. M. Lambert, N. Christian, J. R. Kait, A. W. Yu, C. P. Eckersley, C. R. Bass

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Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) in the form of post-concussive injuries and attention deficit / hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) share similar cognitive impairments, including impaired working memory and executive function. The memory-guided oculomotor task separates working memory and inhibitory components to provide further information on the nature of these deficits in each pathology. Eleven subjects with ADHD, fifteen control subjects, and ten subjects with recent concussive injury were matched on age, gender, and education (all high school-age males). Eye movements were recorded during memory-guided oculomotor tasks with varying delays using EyeLink 1000 (SR Research). The percentage of premature saccades and the latency of correct response are the analyzed measures for response inhibition and working memory, respectively. No significant differences were found in latencies between controls subjects and subjects with ADHD or post-concussive injuries, in accordance with previous studies. Subjects with ADHD and post-concussive injuries both demonstrated a trend of increased percentages of premature saccades compared to control subjects in the same oculomotor task. This trend reached statistical significance between the post-concussive and control groups (p < 0.05). These findings support the primary nature of the executive function deficits in response inhibition in ADHD and mTBI. The interpretation of results is limited by the small sample size and the exploratory nature of the study. Further investigation into oculomotor performance differences in mTBI and ADHD may help in differentiating these pathologies in consequent diagnoses and provide insight into the interaction of these deficits in mTBI.

Keywords: attention deficit / hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), concussion, diagnosis, oculomotor, pediatrics

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Authors: Joanna Bielecka-Prus

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In the view of increasing number of labour migrations associated with broadly understood economic crisis, many families experience migration separation. Currently, in the era of globalization, migration movements include an increasing number of families, more and more frequently a new type of family, a transnational family. Accordingly, the functions of the family, family practice of care, and the relationships between members of the group change especially in the case of female migration. Sociologists highlight the emotional aspects of migrants’ family lives: managing emotions, coping with guilt, loneliness and rejection. Not without significance is the fact that today's public discourse often represents migrant women in a negative light. On the one hand, consumption and expanding material resources are assessed positively, on the other hand, deficits emotional and devastation of family life in the transnational families appear. Opinions expressed by different environments: the media, the political environment, etc. do not always take into account the context of mobility and their different effects on family life. The paper will present the analysis of qualitative studies of Polish female migrants’ families left-behind (children, parents, caregivers N = 100) and their coping strategies in different situations in the event of migration separation. The main area of care deficit will be defined and it will be showed who and how help to solve the problems.

Keywords: care, children left behind, female migration, parents left behind

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Authors: Mandana Karimi, Martha McMahon

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One of the most important consequences of water scarcity worldwide is the increase in conflicts over water issues, reduced access to clean water, food shortages, energy shortages, and reduced economic development. The extreme weather conditions in British Columbia are because of climate change, which is leading to water scarcity becoming a serious issue affecting British Columbians, aquatic ecosystems, the BC water policy, agriculture, and the economy. In light of climate change and water stress, the British Columbia government introduced a new water legislation in 2016 named the Water Sustainability Act to manage water resources in British Columbia. So, this study aimed to present a deep understanding emanating from the political and social dimensions of the new water policy in BC in the agriculture sector and which sociological paradigm governs the current water policy (WSA) in BC. Policy analysis based on the water problem representation approach was used to present the problem and solutions identified by the water policy in the agricultural sector in BC. The results of the policy analysis highlighted that the Water Sustainability Act is governed by a positivist and modernist approach because the groundwater license is the measurable situation to access the adequate quantity of water for the farmers. In addition, by the positivist paradigm water resources are conceptualized as a commodity to be bought and sold. Under the positivist approach, the measurable parameter of groundwater is also applied based on the top-down approach for water management to show the use of water resources for economic development. In addition, the findings of the policy analysis suggest that alternative paradigms, such as relational ontology, ecofeminism, and indigenous knowledge, could be applied in introducing water policies to shift from the positivist or modernist paradigm. These new paradigms present the potential for environmental policies like the Water Sustainability Act, based on partnership, and collaboration and with an explicit emphasis on protecting water for nature.

Keywords: water governance, Water Sustainability Act, water policy, small-scale farmer, policy analysis

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Authors: Yongqi Dong, Zuo Zhang, Rui Fu, Li Li

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The records generated by taxicabs which are equipped with GPS devices is of vital importance for studying human mobility behavior, however, here we are focusing on taxi drivers' operation strategies between workdays and weekends temporally and spatially. We identify a group of valuable characteristics through large scale drivers' behavior in a complex metropolis environment. Based on the daily operations of 31,000 taxi drivers in New York City, we classify drivers into top, ordinary and low-income groups according to their monthly working load, daily income, daily ranking and the variance of the daily rank. Then, we apply big data analysis and visualization methods to compare the different characteristics among top, ordinary and low income drivers in selecting of working time, working area as well as strategies between workdays and weekends. The results verify that top drivers do have special operation tactics to help themselves serve more passengers, travel faster thus make more money per unit time. This research provides new possibilities for fully utilizing the information obtained from urban taxicab data for estimating human behavior, which is not only very useful for individual taxicab driver but also to those policy-makers in city authorities.

Keywords: big data, operation strategies, comparison, revenue, temporal, spatial

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Authors: Omar M. Elmabrouk., Roaa Y. Taha., Najat M. Ebrahim, Sabbreen A. Mohammed

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Power transformers are the most crucial part of power electrical system, distribution and transmission grid. This part is maintained using predictive or condition-based maintenance approach. The diagnosis of power transformer condition is performed based on Dissolved Gas Analysis (DGA). There are five main methods utilized for analyzing these gases. These methods are International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) gas ratio, Key Gas, Roger gas ratio, Doernenburg, and Duval Triangle. Moreover, due to the importance of the transformers, there is a need for an accurate technique to diagnose and hence predict the transformer condition. The main objective of this technique is to avoid the transformer faults and hence to maintain the power electrical system, distribution and transmission grid. In this paper, the DGA was utilized based on the data collected from the transformer records available in the General Electricity Company of Libya (GECOL) which is located in Benghazi-Libya. The Fuzzy Logic (FL) technique was implemented as a diagnostic approach based on IEC gas ratio method. The FL technique gave better results and approved to be used as an accurate prediction technique for power transformer faults. Also, this technique is approved to be a quite interesting for the readers and the concern researchers in the area of FL mathematics and power transformer.

Keywords: dissolved gas-in-oil analysis, fuzzy logic, power transformer, prediction

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Authors: Orhun Aydin, Mark V. Janikas, Rodrigo Alves, Renato Assuncao

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In this paper, a tree-based perturbation methodology for regionalization inference is presented. Regionalization is a constrained optimization problem that aims to create groups with similar attributes while satisfying spatial contiguity constraints. Similar to any constrained optimization problem, the spatial constraint may hinder convergence to some global minima, resulting in spatially contiguous members of a group with dissimilar attributes. This paper presents a general methodology for rigorously perturbing spatial constraints through the use of random spanning trees. The general framework presented can be used to quantify the effect of the spatial constraints in the overall regionalization result. We compare several types of stochastic spanning trees used in inference problems such as fuzzy regionalization and determining the number of regions. Performance of stochastic spanning trees is juxtaposed against the traditional permutation-based hypothesis testing frequently used in spatial statistics. Inference results for fuzzy regionalization and determining the number of regions is presented on the Local Area Personal Incomes for Texas Counties provided by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Keywords: regionalization, constrained clustering, probabilistic inference, fuzzy clustering

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Authors: R. Christopher, C. Brandt, N. Damons

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Background: The sequence of prevention model states that by constant assessment of injury, injury mechanisms and risk factors are identified, highlighting that collecting and recording of data is a core approach for preventing injuries. Several screening tools are available for use in the clinical setting. These screening techniques only recently received research attention, hence there is a dearth of inconsistent and controversial data regarding their applicability, validity, and reliability. Several systematic reviews related to common soccer injuries have been conducted; however, none of them addressed the screening tools for common soccer injuries. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to conduct a review of screening tools and their accuracy for common injuries in soccer. Methods: A systematic scoping review was performed based on the Joanna Briggs Institute procedure for conducting systematic reviews. Databases such as SPORT Discus, Cinahl, Medline, Science Direct, PubMed, and grey literature were used to access suitable studies. Some of the key search terms included: injury screening, screening, screening tool accuracy, injury prevalence, injury prediction, accuracy, validity, specificity, reliability, sensitivity. All types of English studies dating back to the year 2000 were included. Two blind independent reviewers selected and appraised articles on a 9-point scale for inclusion as well as for the risk of bias with the ACROBAT-NRSI tool. Data were extracted and summarized in tables. Plot data analysis was done, and sensitivity and specificity were analyzed with their respective 95% confidence intervals. I² statistic was used to determine the proportion of variation across studies. Results: The initial search yielded 95 studies, of which 21 were duplicates, and 54 excluded. A total of 10 observational studies were included for the analysis: 3 studies were analysed quantitatively while the remaining 7 were analysed qualitatively. Seven studies were graded low and three studies high risk of bias. Only high methodological studies (score > 9) were included for analysis. The pooled studies investigated tools such as the Functional Movement Screening (FMS™), the Landing Error Scoring System (LESS), the Tuck Jump Assessment, the Soccer Injury Movement Screening (SIMS), and the conventional hamstrings to quadriceps ratio. The accuracy of screening tools was of high reliability, sensitivity and specificity (calculated as ICC 0.68, 95% CI: 52-0.84; and 0.64, 95% CI: 0.61-0.66 respectively; I² = 13.2%, P=0.316). Conclusion: Based on the pooled results from the included studies, the FMS™ has a good inter-rater and intra-rater reliability. FMS™ is a screening tool capable of screening for common soccer injuries, and individual FMS™ scores are a better determinant of performance in comparison with the overall FMS™ score. Although meta-analysis could not be done for all the included screening tools, qualitative analysis also indicated good sensitivity and specificity of the individual tools. Higher levels of evidence are, however, needed for implication in evidence-based practice.

Keywords: accuracy, screening tools, sensitivity, soccer injuries, specificity

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Authors: Abdeta Bayissa Mekessa

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The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of plyometric exercises on agility, power, and speed and improvement of U-17 female sprinters in the case of the Burayu Athletics project. The true experimental research design was employed for conducting this study. The total populations of the study were 14 U-17 female sprinters from Burayu athletics project. The populations were small in numbers; therefore, the researcher took all as a sample by using comprehensive sampling techniques. These subjects were classified into the Experimental group (N=7) and the Control group (N=7) by using simple random sampling techniques. The Experimental group participated in plyometric training for 8 weeks, 3 days per week and 60 minutes duration per day in addition to their regular training. But, the control groups were following their only regular training program. The variables selected for the purpose of this study were agility, power and speed. The tests were the Illinois agility test, standing long jump test, and 30m sprint test, respectively. Both groups were tested before (pre-test) and after (post-test) 8 weeks of plyometric training. For data analysis, the researcher used SPSS version 26.0 software. The collected data was analyzed using a paired sample t-test to observe the difference between the pre-test and post-test results of the plyometric exercises of the study. The significant level of p<0.05 was considered. The result of the study shows that after 8 weeks of plyometric training, significant improvements were found in Agility (MD=0.45, p<0.05), power (MD=-1.157, P<0.05) and speed (MD=0.37, P<0.05) for experimental group subjects. On the other hand, there was no significant change (P>0.05) in those variables in the control groups. Finally, the findings of the study showed that eight (8) weeks of plyometric exercises had a positive effect on agility, power and speed improvement of female sprinters. Therefore, Athletics coaches and athletes are highly recommended to include plyometric exercise in their training program.

Keywords: ploymetric exercise, speed power, aglity, female sprinter

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Authors: Jamileh Vasheghani Farahani

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The main purpose of this research is to show the current active faults and active tectonic of the area by three seismic networks in Tehran region: 1-Tehran Disaster Mitigation and Management Organization (TDMMO), 2-Broadband Iranian National Seismic Network Center (BIN), 3-Iranian Seismological Center (IRSC). In this study, we analyzed microearthquakes happened in Tehran city and its surroundings using the Tehran networks from 1996 to 2015. We found some active faults and trends in the region. There is a 200-year history of historical earthquakes in Tehran. Historical and instrumental seismicity show that the east of Tehran is more active than the west. The Mosha fault in the North of Tehran is one of the active faults of the central Alborz. Moreover, other major faults in the region are Kahrizak, Eyvanakey, Parchin and North Tehran faults. An important seismicity region is an intersection of the Mosha and North Tehran fault systems (Kalan village in Lavasan). This region shows a cluster of microearthquakes. According to the historical and microseismic events analyzed in this research, there is a seismic gap in SE of Tehran. The empirical relationship is used to assess the Mmax based on the rupture length. There is a probability of occurrence of a strong motion of 7.0 to 7.5 magnitudes in the region (based on the assessed capability of the major faults such as Parchin and Eyvanekey faults and historical earthquakes).

Keywords: Iran, major faults, microseismicity, Tehran

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Authors: Nicholas C. Rose, Christopher D. Spicer

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The regeneration of damaged or diseased tissues would provide an invaluable therapeutic tool in biological research and medicine. Cells must be provided with a number of different biochemical signals in order to form mature tissue through complex signaling networks that are difficult to recreate in synthetic materials. The ability to attach and detach bioactive proteins from material in an iterative and dynamic manner would therefore present a powerful way to mimic natural biochemical signaling cascades for tissue growth. We propose to reversibly attach these bioactive proteins using ortho-boronoimine (oBI) linkages and related derivatives formed by the reaction of an ortho-boronobenzaldehyde with a nucleophilic amine derivative. To enable the use of oBIs for biomaterial modification, we have studied binding and cleavage processes with precise detail in the context of small molecule models. A panel of oBI complexes has been synthesized and screened using a novel Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) assay, using a cyanine dye FRET pair (Cy3 and Cy5), to identify the most reactive boron-aldehyde/amine nucleophile pairs. Upon conjugation of the dyes, FRET occurs under Cy3 excitation and the resultant ratio of Cy3:Cy5 emission directly correlates to conversion. Reaction kinetics and equilibria can be accurately quantified for reactive pairs, with dissociation constants of oBI derivatives in water (KD) found to span 9-orders of magnitude (10⁻²-10⁻¹¹ M). These studies have provided us with a better understanding of oBI linkages that we hope to exploit to reversibly attach bioconjugates to materials. The long-term aim of the project is to develop a modular biomaterial platform that can be used to help combat chronic diseases such as osteoarthritis, heart disease, and chronic wounds by providing cells with potent biological stimuli for tissue engineering.

Keywords: dynamic, bioconjugation, bornoimine, rapid, physiological

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Authors: Vendula Safarova

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The author describes the architectural and social research through the project, Interventions Ostrava City 2013 (the idea came from Vallo + Sadovský architects), in which she participated as an organizer and as an architect. The project invited the public to actively participate, logging their "hits" or proposals (58), and resulted in three exhibitions in Ostrava, a catalog of the exhibition called Urban interventions Ostrava 2013 (published in 2014) and the implementation of two interventions (2014), with a third intervention still in preparation. The article dealt with the public's views and reactions of local authorities. The project also engaged Ostrava City council, who began to talk about the future of the city of Ostrava, taking part in public debates (organized by Fiducia), invited new associations, civil society - city for people (workers from Cooltour), as well as more established clubs such as the Beautification Committee for beautiful Ostrava (newsletter published since 2008). Currently, the City Interventions project has taken place in more than 10 cities, including Slovakia, where it originated, and in Bratislava in 2009. The aim of this article is to inform the public about the so-called Activism in architecture, which manifests itself in the form of community projects that are organized by volunteers (sometimes financially supported by local authorities). It is a unique way to survey public relations and representatives of state and local government for a public urban area.

Keywords: architecture, community project, public urban space, society and planning

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Authors: Samar Akef, Ahdab M. K. El-Morshedy, Mohamed M. Samy, Ahmed M. Emam

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This paper presents a safe and realistic design for the proposed high voltage direct current grounding grid for the converter station at Badr City in Egypt. The outcomes show that the estimated results for touch and step voltages are below the safe limits for humans in monopolar operation and fault conditions. The cross-section area of earthing conductor is computed using IEC TS 62344. The results show that touch voltage in monopolar and fault conditions are 46.6 V and 167.68 V, respectively. The optimum number of required earthing rods is obtained by an analytical method. The step voltages are 12.9 and 43 V in monopolar operation and fault conditions. In addition, this paper presents an experimental case study to verify the simulation work executed using CYMGrd software (finite element method based). The percentage error between the measured and simulated surface potential is below 15.9%.

Keywords: grounding, monopolar, fault conditions, step potential, touch potential, CYMGrd, finite element method, experimental case study

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Authors: Morteza Karami, Soheila Dayani

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Deep Soil Mixing (DSM) is a soil improvement technique that involves mechanically mixing the soil with a binder material to improve its strength, stiffness, and durability. This technique is typically used in geotechnical engineering applications where weak or unstable soil conditions exist, such as in building foundations, embankment support, or ground improvement projects. In this study, the settlement of the foundation on the improved soil using the wet DSM technique has been analyzed for a case study. Before DSM production, the initial soil mixture has been determined based on the laboratory tests and then, the proper mix designs have been optimized based on the pilot scale tests. The results show that the spacing and depth of the DSM columns depend on the soil properties, the intended loading conditions, and other factors such as the available space and equipment limitations. Moreover, monitoring instruments installed in the pilot area verify that the settlement of the foundation has been placed in an acceptable range to ensure that the soil mixture is providing the required strength and stiffness to support the structure or load. As an important result, if the DSM columns touch or penetrate into the stiff soil layer, the settlement of the foundation can be significantly decreased. Furthermore, the DSM columns should be allowed to cure sufficiently before placing any significant loads on the structure to prevent excessive deformation or settlement.

Keywords: deep soil mixing, soil mixture, settlement, instrumentation, curing age

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Authors: Abdulwahab Alalyani, Mahbub Rashid

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Public Open Space (POS) availability and distribution among urban communities have a central role to promotes community health. However, growing health challenges in a city would raise attention to the planning quality of these community's assets. This research aims to measure the existing availability and distribution equity of POS in the context of Saudi Arabia using Riyadh city as a case study. The methodology for the POS availability was by calculating the total POS with respect to the population total (m²/inhabitant). All POS were mapped using geographical information systems (GIS), and the total area availability of POS was compared to global, regional, and local standards. To evaluate the significant differences in POS availability across low, medium, and high-income Riyadh neighborhoods, we used a One-way ANOVA analysis of covariance to test the differences. The results are as follows; POS availability was lower than global standers. Riyadh has only 1.40m² per capita of POS. Spatial equity of the availability were significantly different among Riyadh neighborhoods based on socioeconomic status. The future development of POS should be focused on increasing general POS availability and should be given priority to those low-income and unhealthy communities. Accessibility indicators of POS should be considered in future studies.

Keywords: open spaces availability, open spaces distribution, spatial equity, healthy city, Riyadh City

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Authors: Zainal Arifin, Mohammad Saeri

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The purpose of this study is to determine the efficiency of irrigation use on the growth and yield of two varieties of rice. Water management research on rainfed lowland rice was carried out in dry season (DS I) 2016 in an area of 10,000 m2 in Bunbarat Village, Rubaru Subdistrict, Sumenep Regency. The research was randomized block design factorial with 8 treatments and repeated 3 times, ie Factor I (varieties): (a) Inpago 9, and (b) Sidenuk; factor II (irrigation): (a) Alternate Wetting and Drying, (b) intermittent, (c) submerged, and (d) inundated. The results showed that dominant weed species such as purslane (Portulaca oleraceae L.) and barnyard grass (Echinochloa crusgalli) were mostly found in rice cultivation with Alternate Wetting and Drying, intermittent and submerged irrigation treatment, while the lowest was inundated irrigation. The use of Sidenuk variety with Alternate Wetting and Drying irrigation yielded 5.7 t/ha dry grain harvest (dgh) and was not significantly different from the inundated watering using the Sidenuk variety (6.2 t/ha dgh). With Alternate Wetting and Drying irrigation technique, water use is more efficient as much as 1,503 m3/ha so as to produce 1 kg of grain, it needs 459 liters of water compared to inundated irrigation (665 liters/kg of grain). Results of analysis of rice farming Sidenuk variety with Alternate Wetting and Drying irrigation has the highest B/C ratio (2.56) so that economically feasible.

Keywords: water management, varieties, rice, dry season, rainfed lowland

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Authors: Morteza Naderi

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The Persian fallow deer was considered as a globally extinct species until 1956 when a small population was rediscovered from Dez Wildlife Refuge and Karkheh Wildlife Refuge in southwestern parts of Iran. After long species rehabilitation process, the species was transplanted to Dasht-e-Naz Wildlife Refuge in northern Iran, and from where, follow deer was introduced to the different selected habitats such as Ashk Island in Lake Uromiyeh National Park. During 12 years, (from 1978 to 1989) 58 individuals (25 males and 33 females) were transferred to Ask Island. The main threat to the established population was related to the freshwater shortage and existing just one single trough such as high mortality rate of adult males during rutting season, snake biting and dilutional hyponatremia. Desiccation of Lake Uromiyeh in recent years raised new challenges to the conservation process, as about 80 individuals, nearly one third of the population were died in 2011. Connection of Island to the mainland caused predators’ accessibility (such as wolf and Jackal) to the Ask Island and higher mortality because of follow deer attraction to the surrounding mainland farms. Conservation team faced such new challenges that may cause introduction plan to be probably failed. Investigations about habitat affinities and carrying capacity are the main basic researches in the management and conservation of the species. Logistic regression analysis showed that the presence of the different fresh water resources as well as Allium akaka and Pistacia atlantica are the main environmental variables affect Follow deer habitat selection. Habitat carrying capacity analysis both in summer and winter seasons indicated that Ashk Island can support 240±30 of Persian follow deer.

Keywords: carrying capacity, follow deer, lake Uromiyeh, microhabitat affinities, population oscillation, predation, sex ratio

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Authors: Rania Sherif Abd El-Azim

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The role of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in business has evolved and led to an era where industry leaders can no longer overlook the importance of being participative corporate citizens. This is not only because of the media’s skeptical attitude toward whether or not companies’ CSR efforts are sincere but also due to key stakeholders’ ability to hold companies to a higher standard than ever before as companies can gain competitive advantage through CSR. These programs result in addressing global challenges, such as climate, and poverty, or simply improving employee retention, so it has become increasingly clear that CSR is not just the new trend for companies but a necessary tool that organizations must integrate into their overall business strategies to build a stronger reputation as well as to also increase credibility among their key audience and enhance customers’ willingness to repurchase, pay premium price and enhancing positive word of mouth. According to the literature review, the link between CSR and competitive advantage at the firm level has long been an important topic for both CSR researchers and practitioners. Thus CSR can play an important role in enhancing the firm's competitive advantage, which seems an attractive area to investigate specially in Egypt. So, this paper will investigate the role of corporate social responsibility in enhancing the firm competitive advantage.

Keywords: corporate social responsibility, competitive advantage, corporate reputation, customers' willingness to repurchase, willingness to pay premium price, positive word of mouth

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Authors: Somnath Bhattacharya, Kamal Sharma, Vaibhav Sonkar

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Composite materials emerged in the middle of the 20th century as a promising class of engineering materials providing new prospects for modern technology. Recently, a new class of composite materials known as functionally graded materials (FGMs) has drawn considerable attention of the scientific community. In general, FGMs are defined as composite materials in which the composition or microstructure or both are locally varied so that a certain variation of the local material properties is achieved. This gradual change in composition and microstructure of material is suitable to get gradient of properties and performances. FGMs are synthesized in such a way that they possess continuous spatial variations in volume fractions of their constituents to yield a predetermined composition. These variations lead to the formation of a non-homogeneous macrostructure with continuously varying mechanical and / or thermal properties in one or more than one direction. Lightweight functionally graded composites with high strength to weight and stiffness to weight ratios have been used successfully in aircraft industry and other engineering applications like in electronics industry and in thermal barrier coatings. In the present work, elastic-plastic crack growth problems (using Ramberg-Osgood Model) in an FGM plate under cyclic load has been explored by extended finite element method. Both edge and centre crack problems have been solved by taking additionally holes, inclusions and minor cracks under plane stress conditions. Both soft and hard inclusions have been implemented in the problems. The validity of linear elastic fracture mechanics theory is limited to the brittle materials. A rectangular plate of functionally graded material of length 100 mm and height 200 mm with 100% copper-nickel alloy on left side and 100% ceramic (alumina) on right side is considered in the problem. Exponential gradation in property is imparted in x-direction. A uniform traction of 100 MPa is applied to the top edge of the rectangular domain along y direction. In some problems, domain contains major crack along with minor cracks or / and holes or / and inclusions. Major crack is located the centre of the left edge or the centre of the domain. The discontinuities, such as minor cracks, holes, and inclusions are added either singly or in combination with each other. On the basis of this study, it is found that effect of minor crack in the domain’s failure crack length is minimum whereas soft inclusions have moderate effect and the effect of holes have maximum effect. It is observed that the crack growth is more before the failure in each case when hard inclusions are present in place of soft inclusions.

Keywords: elastic-plastic, fatigue crack, functionally graded materials, extended finite element method (XFEM)

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Authors: Sirirat Taneerananon

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This paper presents the results of a study of the ultra-poor in the south of Thailand, revisited after 10 years since the original study in 2000. The original study was conducted in four provinces. The first two namely Phatthalung and Nakorn were chosen to represent the Thai Buddhists and the others, Satun and Pattani were chosen to represent the Thai Muslims. For this study, only the results from the three provinces except Pattani are reported as it was difficult and dangerous to conduct fieldwork in Pattani due to the continued unrest in the area since 2005. The objectives of the study are to find out the changes of the poverty situation after 10 years and to see the impacts of the poverty reduction projects implemented by the government on the poor. The research methodology used both quantitative and qualitative methods. The same villages in the four provinces studied in 1999 were again chosen. In each village, five ultra-poor people and heads of the villages were interviewed. The results show that the poverty situation of the ultra-poor groups has not changed much since they lacked the basic key factor to get themselves out of poverty: The ownership of land. Their chronic poverty situation has been passed on from the last generation. In the province of Phatthalung, the ultra-poor have improved in terms of economic situation because of the big increase in the price of rubber. However, the same could not be said for other provinces. Even though the government’s projects have not reduced the poverty directly, the projects have significantly contributed to the improvement of the quality of life of the poor and the people in the areas.

Keywords: poverty, Southern Thailand, ultra-poor, social sustainability

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Authors: Asma AlQahtani, Jumana AlHadad, Maryam AlQallaf, Shoug AlHasan

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New product development (NPD) is the complete process of bringing a new product to the customer by integrating the two broad divisions; one involving the idea generation, product design and detail engineering; and the other involving market research and marketing analysis. It is a common practice for companies to undertake some of these tasks simultaneously (concurrent engineering) and also consider them as an ongoing process (continuous development). The current study explores the framework and methodology for a new product development process utilizing the Quality Function Deployment (QFD) tool for bringing the customer opinion into the product development process. An elaborate customer survey with focus groups in the region was carried out to ensure that customer requirements are integrated into new products as early as the design stage including identifying the recognition of need for the new product. A QFD Matrix (House of Quality) was prepared that links customer requirements to product engineering requirements and a feasibility study and risk assessment exercise was carried out for a Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) in Kuwait for development of the new product. SMEs in Kuwait, particularly in manufacturing sector are mainly focused on serving the local demand, and often lack of product quality adversely affects the ability of the companies to compete on a regional/global basis. Further, lack of focus on identifying customer requirements often deters SMEs to envisage the idea of a New Product Development. The current study therefore focuses in utilizing QFD Matrix right from the conceptual design to detail design and to some extent, extending the link this to design of the manufacturing system. The outcome of the project resulted in a development of the prototype for a new molded product which can ensure consistency between the customer’s requirements and the measurable characteristics of the product. The Engineering Economics and Cost studies were also undertaken to analyse the viability of the new product, the results of which was also linked to the successful implementation of the initial QFD Matrix.

Keywords: Quality Function Deployment, QFD Matrix, new product development, NPD, Kuwait SMEs, prototype development

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Authors: Mary Butler

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Background: Screening programmes for older drivers in Europe (though not the UK), and in many states in the US and in Australia are based on medical assessment of fitness to drive. These programmes require physicians (including general practitioners) to carry out an assessment of fitness to drive in their offices. In 2006, New Zealand changed from doing on-road driving tests with all older drivers from the age of 80, to a screening programme that uses medical assessment of fitness to drive only. Aim: This study set out to understand the experience of New Zealand GPs as they manage the process of medical assessment of fitness to drive assessments for older people. In particular, it aimed to establish how GPs understand the role of specialist driving assessment and rehabilitation carried out by occupational therapists. Design and setting: The study used an interpretive descriptive approach to analyze data from ten interviews with GPs in New Zealand. Results: The results indicated that GPs lack understanding about how occupational therapists can assist their patients, and tend to refer only when there is a disagreement with the patient. Conclusion: There are problems with the medical assessment of fitness to drive carried out by GPs, and there is a need for a more comprehensive community approach to driving cessation. Patients, families and the multidisciplinary team all have a role in deciding when driving cessation should occur. Occupational therapists have a particular responsibility for strategic leadership in this area of practice.

Keywords: assessment, driving, older people, occupational therapy

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Authors: Tanwarat Kajsongkram, Saowalux Rotamporn, Sirinat Limbunruang, Sirinan Thubthimthed.

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High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) method was developed and validated for simultaneous estimation of 6-Gingerol(6G) and 6-Shogaol(6S) in joint pain relief gel containing ginger extract. The chromatographic separation was achieved by using C18 column, 150 x 4.6mm i.d., 5μ Luna, mobile phase containing acetonitrile and water (gradient elution). The flow rate was 1.0 ml/min and the absorbance was monitored at 282 nm. The proposed method was validated in terms of the analytical parameters such as specificity, accuracy, precision, linearity, range, limit of detection (LOD), limit of quantification (LOQ), and determined based on the International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) guidelines. The linearity ranges of 6G and 6S were obtained over 20-60 and 6-18 µg/ml respectively. Good linearity was observed over the above-mentioned range with linear regression equation Y= 11016x- 23778 for 6G and Y = 19276x-19604 for 6S (x is concentration of analytes in μg/ml and Y is peak area). The value of correlation coefficient was found to be 0.9994 for both markers. The limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) for 6G were 0.8567 and 2.8555 µg/ml and for 6S were 0.3672 and 1.2238 µg/ml respectively. The recovery range for 6G and 6S were found to be 91.57 to 102.36 % and 84.73 to 92.85 % for all three spiked levels. The RSD values from repeated extractions for 6G and 6S were 3.43 and 3.09% respectively. The validation of developed method on precision, accuracy, specificity, linearity, and range were also performed with well-accepted results.

Keywords: ginger, 6-gingerol, HPLC, 6-shogaol

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Authors: Fabrizio Ascione, Martina Borrelli, Rosa Francesca De Masi, Silvia Ruggiero, Giuseppe Peter Vanoli

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The refurbishment of public buildings is one of the key factors of energy efficiency policy of European States. Educational buildings account for the largest share of the oldest edifice with interesting potentialities for demonstrating best practice with regards to high performance and low and zero-carbon design and for becoming exemplar cases within the community. In this context, this paper discusses the critical issue of dealing the energy refurbishment of a university building in heating dominated climate of South Italy. More in detail, the importance of using validated models will be examined exhaustively by proposing an analysis on uncertainties due to modelling assumptions mainly referring to the adoption of stochastic schedules for occupant behavior and equipment or lighting usage. Indeed, today, the great part of commercial tools provides to designers a library of possible schedules with which thermal zones can be described. Very often, the users do not pay close attention to diversify thermal zones and to modify or to adapt predefined profiles, and results of designing are affected positively or negatively without any alarm about it. Data such as occupancy schedules, internal loads and the interaction between people and windows or plant systems, represent some of the largest variables during the energy modelling and to understand calibration results. This is mainly due to the adoption of discrete standardized and conventional schedules with important consequences on the prevision of the energy consumptions. The problem is surely difficult to examine and to solve. In this paper, a sensitivity analysis is presented, to understand what is the order of magnitude of error that is committed by varying the deterministic schedules used for occupation, internal load, and lighting system. This could be a typical uncertainty for a case study as the presented one where there is not a regulation system for the HVAC system thus the occupant cannot interact with it. More in detail, starting from adopted schedules, created according to questioner’ s responses and that has allowed a good calibration of energy simulation model, several different scenarios are tested. Two type of analysis are presented: the reference building is compared with these scenarios in term of percentage difference on the projected total electric energy need and natural gas request. Then the different entries of consumption are analyzed and for more interesting cases also the comparison between calibration indexes. Moreover, for the optimal refurbishment solution, the same simulations are done. The variation on the provision of energy saving and global cost reduction is evidenced. This parametric study wants to underline the effect on performance indexes evaluation of the modelling assumptions during the description of thermal zones.

Keywords: energy simulation, modelling calibration, occupant behavior, university building

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Authors: S. Umar, B. F. Umar

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This study was conducted at Giron Masa village, located 30 km from Yauri town. The study determines the socio-economic factors influencing the use of coping strategies among farmers and herders during post-conflict situation. Simple random sampling was employed to select one hundred respondents (50 farmers and 50 herders) from the study area. Logistic regression analysis (LR) was used to ascertain the socioeconomic variables that influenced the use of the coping strategies. The results of the study shows that age, income, family size and farming experience were individually significant and thus influenced the use of POCS by farmers. Annual income and production system influenced the use of POCS by herders. Age, farm size and farming experience were found to be individually significant in influencing the use of EOCS among farmers. Specifically, years of occupation experience among the herders increased the use of emotion oriented coping strategies among herders. The use of SSCS among farmers was influenced by educational level; farm size and farming experience, while the variables are not collectively significant in influencing the use of SSCS among the herders. The research recommends a need to adopt the strategy of community coping to cope with stress.

Keywords: farmers, herders, conflict, coping strategies

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Authors: Ahmadali Tahmasebimoradi, Chetra Mang, Xavier Lorang

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Thanks to the additive manufacturing process, lattice structures are replacing the traditional structures in aeronautical and automobile industries. In order to evaluate the mechanical response of the lattice structures, one has to resort to numerical techniques. Ansys is a globally well-known and trusted commercial software that allows us to model the lattice structures and analyze their mechanical responses using either solid or beam elements. In this software, a script may be used to systematically generate the lattice structures for any size. On the one hand, solid elements allow us to correctly model the contact between the substrates (the supports of the lattice structure) and the lattice structure, the local plasticity, and the junctions of the microbeams. However, their computational cost increases rapidly with the size of the lattice structure. On the other hand, although beam elements reduce the computational cost drastically, it doesn’t correctly model the contact between the lattice structures and the substrates nor the junctions of the microbeams. Also, the notion of local plasticity is not valid anymore. Moreover, the deformed shape of the lattice structure doesn’t correspond to the deformed shape of the lattice structure using 3D solid elements. In this work, motivated by the pros and cons of the 3D and beam models, a numerically hybrid model is presented for the lattice structures to reduce the computational cost of the simulations while avoiding the aforementioned drawbacks of the beam elements. This approach consists of the utilization of solid elements for the junctions and beam elements for the microbeams connecting the corresponding junctions to each other. When the global response of the structure is linear, the results from the hybrid models are in good agreement with the ones from the 3D models for body-centered cubic with z-struts (BCCZ) and body-centered cubic without z-struts (BCC) lattice structures. However, the hybrid models have difficulty to converge when the effect of large deformation and local plasticity are considerable in the BCCZ structures. Furthermore, the effect of the junction’s size of the hybrid models on the results is investigated. For BCCZ lattice structures, the results are not affected by the junction’s size. This is also valid for BCC lattice structures as long as the ratio of the junction’s size to the diameter of the microbeams is greater than 2. The hybrid model can take into account the geometric defects. As a demonstration, the point clouds of two lattice structures are parametrized in a platform called LATANA (LATtice ANAlysis) developed by IRT-SystemX. In this process, for each microbeam of the lattice structures, an ellipse is fitted to capture the effect of shape variation and roughness. Each ellipse is represented by three parameters; semi-major axis, semi-minor axis, and angle of rotation. Having the parameters of the ellipses, the lattice structures are constructed in Spaceclaim (ANSYS) using the geometrical hybrid approach. The results show a negligible discrepancy between the hybrid and 3D models, while the computational cost of the hybrid model is lower than the computational cost of the 3D model.

Keywords: additive manufacturing, Ansys, geometric defects, hybrid finite element model, lattice structure

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