Search results for: vague environmental and social policies

Authors: Buket Boz, Alvaro Diez

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Waste heat recovery by means of Organic Rankine Cycle is a promising technology for the recovery of engine exhaust heat. However, it is complex to find out the optimum cycle conditions with appropriate working fluids to match exhaust gas waste heat due to its high temperature. Hence, this paper focuses on comparing sub-critical and supercritical ORC conditions with eight working fluids on a combined diesel engine-ORC system. The model employs two ORC designs, Regenerative-ORC and Pre-Heating-Regenerative-ORC respectively. The thermodynamic calculations rely on the first and second law of thermodynamics, thermal efficiency and exergy destruction factors are the fundamental parameters evaluated. Additionally, in this study, environmental and safety, GWP (Global Warming Potential) and ODP (Ozone Depletion Potential), characteristic of the refrigerants are taken into consideration as evaluation criteria to define the optimal ORC configuration and conditions. Consequently, the studys outcomes reveal that supercritical ORCs with alkane and siloxane are more suitable for high temperature exhaust waste heat recovery in contrast to sub-critical conditions.

Keywords: internal combustion engine, organic Rankine cycle, waste heat recovery, working fluids

Procedia PDF Downloads 187

Authors: Panita Wannapiroon, Noppadon Phumeechanya, Sitthichai Laisema

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This study is the research and development which is intended to: 1) design the ubiquitous cloud learning management system and: 2) assess the suitability of the design of the ubiquitous cloud learning management system. Its methods are divided into 2 phases. Phase 1 is the design of the ubiquitous cloud learning management system, phase 2 is the assessment of the suitability of the design the samples used in this study are work done by 25 professionals in the field of Ubiquitous cloud learning management systems and information and communication technology in education selected using the purposive sampling method. Data analyzed by arithmetic mean and standard deviation. The results showed that the ubiquitous cloud learning management system consists of 2 main components which are: 1) the ubiquitous cloud learning management system server (u-Cloud LMS Server) including: cloud repository, cloud information resources, social cloud network, cloud context awareness, cloud communication, cloud collaborative tools, and: 2) the mobile client. The result of the system suitability assessment from the professionals is in the highest range.

Keywords: learning management system, cloud computing, ubiquitous learning, ubiquitous learning management system

Procedia PDF Downloads 505

Authors: Sara Zadehomidi

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Iran, a geographically arid and semi-arid country, experiences varying levels of rainfall across its territory. Five major and important rivers, namely Karun, Dez, Karkheh, Jarrahi, and Hendijan, are valuable assets of the Khuzestan province. To address various needs, including those of farmers (especially during hot seasons with no rainfall), drinking water requirements, industrial and environmental, and most importantly, electricity production, dams have been constructed on several of these rivers, with some dams still under construction. The outflow of water from dam reservoirs must be managed in a way that not only preserves the reservoir's potential effectively but also ensures the maximum revenue from electricity generation. Furthermore, it should meet the other mentioned requirements. In this study, scientific methods such as optimization using Lingo software were employed to achieve these objectives. The results, when executed and adhering to the proposed electricity production program with Lingo software, indicate a 35.7% increase in electricity sales revenue over a one-year examination period. Considering that several electricity plants are currently under construction, the importance and necessity of utilizing computer systems for expediting and optimizing the electricity generation program planning from electricity plants will become evident in the future.

Keywords: Ahvaz, electricity generation programs, Iran, optimizing

Procedia PDF Downloads 45

Authors: Kari Huhtala, Iiro Jussila

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The supervisory board is assumed to use power in the governance of a firm, but the actual use of power has been scantly investigated. The research question of the paper is “How does the supervisory board use power in the selection of the board of directors”. The data stem from 11 large Finnish agricultural cooperatives. The research approach was qualitative including semi-structured interviews of the board of directors and supervisory board chairpersons. The results were analyzed and interpreted against theories of social power. As a result, the use of power is approached from two perspectives: (1) formal position-based authority and (2) informal power. Central elements of power were the mandate of the supervisory board, the role of the supervisory board, the supervisory board chair, the nomination committee, collaboration between the supervisory board and the board of directors, the role of regions and the role of the board of directors. The study contributes to the academic discussion on corporate governance in cooperatives and on the supervisory board in the context of the two-tier model. Additional research of the model in other countries and of other types of cooperatives would further academic understanding of supervisory boards.

Keywords: board, co-operative, supervisory board, selection, director

Procedia PDF Downloads 157

Authors: David Parrish

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A critical challenge for a new school is creating an inclusive, meaningful culture. While a new school offers a “shiny’ exterior, its culture has yet to be created. In 2016, Charles J. Colgan, Sr. High School in Prince William County, opened its door. In its inaugural year, the FIN Friends club was created to start the process of building connections between general education and special education students. In eight years, the club has become a relentless contributor to the most inclusive, welcoming school culture possible. Through a commitment to consistent, year-round activities, the FINS accepts students from all schools and all grades. All schools strive for inclusion and a positive culture. Our model takes explicit action toward these elements. What we have created works; it is replicable and supports any school to build a more inclusive culture. Connections and belonging are directly related to every educational goal, including academic progress, equity, social-emotional health, etc. We want to share our story and collaborate with schools to create their own inclusion movement.

Keywords: inclusion, culture, connections, belonging

Procedia PDF Downloads 51

Authors: Wang Yongdong, Yeneayehu Fenetahun, You Yuan, Ogbue Chukwuka, Yahaya Ibrahim, Xu Xinwen

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This paper explores an innovative Ethiopian approach to combatting desertification, focusing on the semi-arid savanna grasslands in Southern Ethiopia. The study investigates the multifaceted strategies employed by Ethiopian communities, governmental bodies, and non-governmental organizations to address desertification challenges in the region. Through an analysis of legislative frameworks, community engagement, afforestation programs, and sustainable land management techniques, this research highlights the efficacy of Ethiopia's strategy in reducing the effects of desertification. The results emphasize how crucial it is to build effective measures for halting desertification in fragile ecosystems by utilizing local knowledge, community involvement, and adaptive governance. In addition, this study also addresses how the Ethiopian approach may be applied to other areas with comparable environmental problems. In summary, this research adds significant perspectives to the worldwide conversation about desertification and provides useful guidance for sustainable land use.

Keywords: adaptive governance, community engagement, desertification, policy frameworks

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Authors: A. Kasmi, N. E. Abriak, M. Benzerzour, I. Shahrour

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Large volumes of river sediments are dredged each year in Europe in order to maintain harbour activities and prevent floods. The management of this sediment has become increasingly complex. Several European projects were implemented to find environmentally sound solutions for these materials. The main objective of this study is to show the ability of river sediment to be used in road. Since sediments contain a high amount of water, then a dehydrating treatment by addition of the flocculation aid has been used. Firstly, a lot of physical characteristics are measured and discussed for a better identification of the raw sediment and this dehydrated sediment by addition the flocculation aid. The identified parameters are, for example, the initial water content, the density, the organic matter content, the grain size distribution, the liquid limit and plastic limit and geotechnical parameters. The environmental impacts of the used material were evaluated. The results obtained show that there is a slight change on the physical-chemical and geotechnical characteristics of sediment after dehydration by the addition of polymer. However, these sediments cannot be used in road construction.

Keywords: rive sediment, dehydration, flocculation aid or polymer, characteristics, treatments, valorisation, road construction

Procedia PDF Downloads 369

Authors: Yuanjin Liu

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Retirement withdrawal strategies are very important to minimize the probability of ruin in retirement. The ruin probability is modeled as a function of initial withdrawal age, gender, asset allocation, inflation rate, and initial withdrawal rate. The ruin probability is obtained based on the 2019 period life table for the Social Security, IRS Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) Worksheets, US historical bond and equity returns, and inflation rates using simulation. Several popular machine learning algorithms of the generalized additive model, random forest, support vector machine, extreme gradient boosting, and artificial neural network are built. The model validation and selection are based on the test errors using hyperparameter tuning and train-test split. The optimal model is recommended for retirees to monitor the ruin probability. The optimal withdrawal strategy can be obtained based on the optimal predictive model.

Keywords: ruin probability, retirement withdrawal strategies, predictive models, optimal model

Procedia PDF Downloads 61

Authors: Encarnación Álvarez, Rosa M. García-Fernández, Juan F. Muñoz

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Estimation of a proportion has many applications in economics and social studies. A common application is the estimation of the low income proportion, which gives the proportion of people classified as poor into a population. In this paper, we present this poverty indicator and propose to use the logistic regression estimator for the problem of estimating the low income proportion. Various sampling designs are presented. Assuming a real data set obtained from the European Survey on Income and Living Conditions, Monte Carlo simulation studies are carried out to analyze the empirical performance of the logistic regression estimator under the various sampling designs considered in this paper. Results derived from Monte Carlo simulation studies indicate that the logistic regression estimator can be more accurate than the customary estimator under the various sampling designs considered in this paper. The stratified sampling design can also provide more accurate results.

Keywords: poverty line, risk of poverty, auxiliary variable, ratio method

Procedia PDF Downloads 442

Authors: Maamar Moumena

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the Follower of the movement of international competition finds that the success of Japanese companies to break into global markets and win a competitive edge and meet the challenges of this competition, due primarily to the adoption of these companies to the modern concept of marketing, and possession of sophisticated marketing systems, with a focus on pricing policy. The institution's ability to produce goods and services be limited unless accompanied by an effective marketing effort. So the satisfaction of the consumer needs efficiently and effectiveness are unwarranted economic and social presence in the market, and ensure the continuity and achieve their goals, and this can only be achieved through marketing activity, where he activity facet which translates the output of the institution and its presence in the form of financial compensation, and that the inclusion of and marketing function within the functions of the institution and awarded each of gravity reflects the extent of their importance in the conduct of the future of the institution, and depending on excellence in performance and a good application of the basic concepts of marketing and primarily make the consumer focus of attention, so the pleasing of the consumer and earn his allegiance reflects the success of an organization.

Keywords: competition, marketing, institution, consumer

Procedia PDF Downloads 270

Authors: Mehdi Seifollahi, Ashkan Forootan, Sajjad Bahrami Reyhan

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Due to the complexity of olefinic plants, various environmental pollutants exist such as NO_x, CO₂, Tar Water, and most importantly Spent Caustic. In this paper, instead of investigating ways of treating this pollutant, we evaluated the production in relation to plant’s variable items. We primarily discussed the factors affecting the quality of the output spent caustic such as impurities in the feed of olefin plant, the amount of injected dimethyl disulfide (DMDS) in furnaces, variation in feed composition, differences among gas temperatures and the concentration of caustic solution at the bottom of the tower. The results of the laboratory proved that in the formation of Red Oil, 1,3butadiene and acetaldehyde followed free radical and aldol condensation mechanism respectively. By increasing the injection rate of DMDS, Mercaptide amount increases in the effluent. In addition, pyrolysis gasoline accumulation is directly related to caustic concentration in the tower. Increasing naphtenes in the liquid feed augments the amount of 1,3butadiene, as one of the sources of Red Oil formation. By increasing the oxygenated compound in the feed, the rate of acetaldehyde formation, as the main source of Red Oil formation, increases.

Keywords: olefin, spent caustic, red oil, caustic wash tower

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Authors: Siddiq Ahmed

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The current study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of a Peer-Mediated Intervention (PMI) on writing skills for a student with autism spectrum disorders in inclusive classrooms. The participants in this study were two students, one as a tutor and another as a tutee who was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The target participant struggled with writing skills and was paired with a student with high academic outcomes. The Tutor had a readiness to act as a tutor for his peer and was trained on how to assist his peer and how to identify and guide his peer’s writing mistakes. Multiple baseline design across behaviors was implemented to monitor the student’s progress in writing skills. The results of the present study showed that PMI yielded significant improvements in academic achievements for the target student. This study suggests that further studies should replicate the current study with an intensive focus on other academic skills such as reading comprehension, writing social stories, and math.

Keywords: peer tutoring, writing skills, autism, inclusion

Procedia PDF Downloads 94

Authors: Nursah Kutuk, Sevil Cetinkaya

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Geopolymers are becoming new concrete materials to use alongside cement, which are formed due to reaction between alumino-silicates and oxides with alkaline media. Silicates obtained from natural minerals or industrial wastes are used for geopolymer synthesis. Geopolymers have recently received wide attention because of their advantages over other cementitious material like Portland cement. Some of the advantages are high compressive strength, low environmental impact, chemical and fire resistance and thermal stability. In this study, geopolymers were prepared by using inorganic materials such as kaolinite and calcite. The experiments were carried out by varying the concentration of NaOH as 5, 10, 15 and 20 M, and at cure temperature of 22, 45 and 65 °C. Compressive strengths for each mixes at each cure temperature were measured. Results of the analyses indicated that the compressive strength of geopolymers did not increase steadily with increasing concentration of NaOH, but did increase steadily with increasing cure temperature. We examined the effect Na2SiO3/NaOH weight ratio on the properties of the geopolymers, too. It was seen that Na2SiO3/NaOH weight ratio was also important to prepare geopolymers that can be applied to construction industry.

Keywords: geopolymers, compressive strength, kaolinite, calcite

Procedia PDF Downloads 285

Authors: Hossein Mohammadi Rouzbahani, Hadis Karimipour, Evan Fraser, Ali Dehghantanha, Emily Duncan, Arthur Green, Conchobhair Russell

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Human population growth has driven rising demand for food that has, in turn, imposed huge impacts on the environment. In an effort to reconcile our need to produce more sustenance while also protecting the world’s ecosystems, farming is becoming more reliant on smart tools and communication technologies. Developing a smart farming framework allows farmers to make more efficient use of inputs, thus protecting water quality and biodiversity habitat. Internet of Things (IoT), which has revolutionized every sphere of the economy, is being applied to agriculture by connecting on-farm devices and providing real-time monitoring of everything from environmental conditions to market signals through to animal health data. However, utilizing IoT means farming networks are now vulnerable to malicious activities, mostly when wireless communications are highly employed. With that in mind, this research aims to review different utilized communication technologies in smart farming. Moreover, possible cyber-attacks are investigated to discover the vulnerabilities of communication technologies considering the most frequent cyber-attacks that have been happened.

Keywords: smart farming, Internet of Things, communication layer, cyber-attack

Procedia PDF Downloads 223

Authors: Muhammad Fayyaz Nazir, Ellen Wayenberg, Shahzadaah Faahed Qureshi

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Introduction: The study is based on the Contextual Interaction Theory (CIT) constructs to explore the role of policy actors in implementing the COVID-19 Disease Prevention and Control (DP&C) Policy. The study analyzes the role of healthcare workers' contextual factors, such as cognition, motives, and resources, and their interactions in implementing Social Distancing (SD). In this way, we test a two actors policy implementation theory, i.e., the CIT in a three-actor context. Methods: Data was collected through document analysis and semi-structured interviews. For a qualitative study design, interviews were conducted with questions on cognition, motives, and resources from the healthcare workers involved in implementing SD in the local context in Multan – Pakistan. The possible interactions resulting from contextual factors of the policy actors – healthcare workers were identified through framework analysis protocol guided by CIT and supported by trustworthiness criterion and data saturation. Results: This inquiry resulted in theory application, addition, and enrichment. The theoretical application in the three actor's contexts illustrates the different levels of motives, cognition, and resources of healthcare workers – senior administrators, managers, and healthcare professionals. The senior administrators working in National Command and Operations Center (NCOC), Provincial Technical Committees (PTCs), and Districts Covid Teams (DCTs) were playing their role with high motivation. They were fully informed about the policy and moderately resourceful. The policy implementors: healthcare managers working on implementing the SD within their respective hospitals were playing their role with high motivation and were fully informed about the policy. However, they lacked the required resources to implement SD. The target medical and allied healthcare professionals were moderately motivated but lack of resources and information. The interaction resulted in cooperation and the need for learning to manage the future healthcare crisis. However, the lack of resources created opposition to the implementation of SD. Objectives of the Study: The study aimed to apply a two actors theory in a multi actors context. We take this as an opportunity to qualitatively test the theory in a novel situation of the Covid-19 pandemic and make way for its quantitative application by designing a survey instrument so that implementation researchers can apply CIT through multivariate analyses or higher-order statistical modeling. Conclusion: Applying two actors' implementation theory in exploring a complex case of healthcare intervention in three actors context is a unique work that has never been done before, up to the best of our knowledge. So, the work will contribute to the policy implementation studies by applying, extending, and enriching an implementation theory in a novel case of the Covi-19 pandemic, ultimately fulfilling the gap in implementation literature. Policy institutions and other low or middle-income countries can learn from this research and improve SD implementation by working on the variables with weak significance levels.

Keywords: COVID-19, disease prevention and control policy, implementation, policy actors, social distancing

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Authors: Amanda Rebman

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This paper challenges the criminal justice system’s traditional stance regarding prostitution. Historically, the acceptance and morality of prostitution within the United States has fluctuated depending upon the social attitudes of the era. Today, prostitutes are allegedly viewed as victims; however, they are treated like criminals throughout the criminal justice system and society. Dominant patriarchal narratives within the United States has resulted in woman lacking autonomy over their bodies and diminished their ability to choose their own career. Even though prostitutes are deemed victims, many times, they are convicted of crimes, a practice that results in further victimization. Utilizing the socialist feminist theory to understand these juxtaposing positions on whether to legalize prostitution facilitates a greater understanding of how patriarchal capitalist arrangements ensure the oppression of women throughout the criminal justice system. The legalization of prostitution will alleviate some of this oppression and ensure a more equal treatment of women in the criminal justice system and society at large.

Keywords: equality, feminist theory, prostitution, sex work

Procedia PDF Downloads 123

Authors: Kelvin Datonye Bob-Manuel

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The shipping industry has begun to seriously look at ways of reducing fossil fuel consumption so that current reserves can last longer and operate their ships in a more environmentally friendly way. The concept of Green Shipping or Sustainable Shipping with the use of alternative fuels is now becoming an important issue for ship owners, shipping lines and ship builders globally. This paper provides a critical review of the performance of biodiesel and natural gas-fuelled diesel engines for shipboard application. The emission reduction technique included the use of either neat or emulsified rapeseed methyl ester (RME) for pilot ignition and the emission of NOx, CO2 and SOx were measured at engine speed range of 500 - 1500 r/min. The NOx concentrations were compared with the regulated IMO MARPOL73/78, Annex VI, Tiers I, II, III and United States Environmental Protection Agency (US-EPA) standard. All NOx emissions met Tier I and II levels and the EPA standard for the minimum specification of category 1 engines at higher speed but none met the MARPOL Tier III limit which is for designated Emission Control Areas (ECAs). No trace of soot and SOx emission were observed.

Keywords: dual-fuel, biodiesel, natural gas, NOx, SOx, MARPOL 73/78 Annex VI. USEPA Tier 3, EURO V &VI

Procedia PDF Downloads 402

Authors: Nina Bijedic, Drazena Gaspar, Mirsad Hadzikadic

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Corruption is an influential and widespread problem. One part of it is so-called petty corruption, related to large-scale bribe giving by ordinary citizens trying to influence the works of public administration or public services. As it is with all means of corruption, petty corruption is related to the level of democracy (or administration efficiency) in a society. The developed model captures some of the factors related to corruptive behavior, as well as people’s attitude towards petty corruption. It has four basic elements: user’s perception of corruption in the society of interest, the influence of social interactions, the influence of penalizing mechanism, and influence of campaigns against petty corruption. The model is agent-based, developed in NetLogo, with a lot of random settings that provide a wider scope of responses. Interactions of different settings for variables of elements provide insight into the influence of each element on attitude towards petty corruption, as well as petty corruptive behavior.

Keywords: agent-based model, attitude, influence, petty corruption, society

Procedia PDF Downloads 183

Authors: Wang Yanze

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Architectural design results from the interaction between space and drawing. Stemming from the Beaux-Arts architectural education, drawing kept its dominant position in teaching and learning process for centuries. However, this education system is being challenged in the present time due to the development of the times. Based on the architectural education of China after 1949, a brief introduction to the history of the evolution of the design concept and drawing is given in this paper. Illustrating with the reference to the students’ works in Nanjing Institute of Technology, the predecessor of Southeast University, in China, the paper analyses the relationship between concept and representation, as well as the participation of Space, the modernism discourse. This process contains the transmission of the character of architects, the renovation of drawing skills and the profound social background. With different purposes, the emphasis on representation tends to be combined with the operation on space, and the role of drawing in architectural design process also changes. Therefore, based on the continuity of the traditional architectural education system, the discussion on the “Drawing of Space” in contemporary education system is proposed.

Keywords: architectural education, beaux-arts, drawing, modernism

Procedia PDF Downloads 474

Authors: Amira Shakila Razali, Faridah Lisa Supian, Muhammad Mat Salleh, Suriani Abu Bakar

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Water contamination by toxic compound is one of the serious environmental problems today. These toxic compounds mostly originated from industrial effluents, agriculture, natural sources and human waste. These study are focused on modification of multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNTs) with nanoparticle of calixarene and explore the possibility of using this nanocomposites for the remediation of cadmium in water. The nanocomposites were prepared by dissolving calixarene in chloroform solution as solvent, followed by additional multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNTs) then sonication process for 3 hour and fabricated the nanocomposites on substrate by spin coating method. Finally, the nanocomposites were tested on cadmium ion (10 mg/ml). The morphology of nanocomposites was investigated by FESEM showing the formation of calixarene on the outer walls of carbon nanotube and cadmium ion also clearly seen from the micrograph. This formation was supported by using energy dispersive x-ray (EDX). The presence of cadmium ions in the films, leads to some changes in the surface potential and Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR).This nanocomposites have potential for development of sensor for pollutant monitoring and nanoelectronics devices applications

Keywords: calixarene, multiwalled carbon nanotubes, cadmium, surface potential

Procedia PDF Downloads 465

Authors: Nancy Daly

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Migrant youth who have experienced traumatic events in their home countries or in their passage to the United States may require interventions or formal services to support varying levels and types of needs. The manner in which such youth are engaged and evaluated, as well as the framework of evaluation, can impact their educational services and placement. Evidenced-based trauma-informed practices that engage and support migrant youth serve as an important bridge to stabilization; however, ensuring long-term growth may require a range of integrated services, including special education and mental health services. Special education evaluations which consider the eligibility of Emotional Disturbance for migrant youth must carefully weigh issues of mental health needs against the exclusionary criteria of lack of access to education, limited language skills, as well as other environmental factors. Case studies of recently arrived migrant youth reveal both commonalities and differences in types and levels of need which underscores the importance of adept evaluation and case management to ensure the provision of services that support growth and resiliency.

Keywords: migrant youth, trauma-informed care, mental health services, special education

Procedia PDF Downloads 109

Authors: Sara Subhan

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Married couples tend to experience various bio-psycho-social issues that may eventually impact the quality of their marital relationship and mental wellbeing. This study aimed to find out the comparison between the single and dual-career couples’ personality, burnout and marital satisfaction. For that purpose Big Five Inventory, Couple Satisfaction Inventory, and Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey was used to measure the relationship between variables. The main study was carried out on 200 samples of single and dual-earner couples with the age range of 23-52 (mean= 34.58; standard deviation= 6.51) by using a purposive sampling strategy. The results showed that burnout tendencies like exhaustion, cynicism and professional efficacy are playing a mediation role between the personality and marital satisfaction of both single and dual career couples. Also, the results revealed that dual-career couples are more likely to have marital satisfaction as compared to single career couples. The results were further discussed in the light of its implications in its cultural context and counseling areas.

Keywords: dual career couples, marital satisfaction, burnout tendencies, personality

Procedia PDF Downloads 151

Authors: Rui de Abrantes, André Luiz Silva Forcetto

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Air pollution is a big problem in many cities around the world. Brazilian big cities also have this problem, where millions of people are exposed daily to pollutants levels above the recommended by WHO. Brazil has taken several actions to reduce air pollution, among others, controlling the atmospheric emissions from vehicles, non-road mobile machinery, and motorcycles, but on the other side, there are no emissions controls for locomotives, which are exposing the population to tons of pollutants annually. The rail network is not homogeneously distributed in the national territory; it is denser near the big cities, and this way, the population is more exposed to pollutants; apart from that, the government intends to increase the rail network as one of the strategies for greenhouse gas mitigation, complying with the international agreements against the climate changes. This paper initially presents the estimated emissions from locomotive fleets with no emission control and with emission control equivalent to US Tier 3 from 2028 and for the next 20 years. However, we realized that a program equivalent to phase Tier 3 would not be effective, so we proposed a program in two steps that will avoid the release of more than 2.4 million tons of CO and 531,000 tons of hydrocarbons, 3.7 million tons of nitrogen oxides, and 102,000 tons of particulate matter in 20 years.

Keywords: locomotives, emission control, air pollution, pollutants emission

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Authors: Eng. M. Ahmed, A. Ibrahim, M. Ashour

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One of the major concerns facing dam is the repair of their structures to prevent the seepage under them. In previous years, many existing dams have been treated by grouting, but with varying degrees of success. One of the major reasons for this erratic performance is the unsuitable selection of the grouting materials to reduce the seepage. Grouting is an effective way to improve the engineering properties of the soil and strengthen of the permeability of the soil to reduce the seepage. The purpose of this paper is to focus on the efficiency of current available grouting materials and techniques from construction, environmental and economical point of view. The seepage reduction usually accomplished by either chemical grouting or cementious grouting using ultrafine cement. In addition, the study shows a comparison between grouting materials according to their degree of permeability reduction and cost. The application of seepage reduction is based on the permeation grouting using grout curtain installation. The computer program (SEEP/W) is employed to model a dam rested on sandy soil, using grout curtain to reduce seepage quantity and hydraulic gradient by different grouting materials. This study presents a relationship that takes into account the permeability of the soil, grout curtain spacing and a new performance parameter that can be used to predict the best selection of grouting materials for seepage reduction.

Keywords: seepage, sandy soil, grouting, permeability

Procedia PDF Downloads 349

Authors: K. E. Oyetade, S. D. Eyono Obono

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One of the fundamental characteristics of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has been the ever-changing nature of continuous release and models of ICTs with its impact on the academic, social, and psychological benefits of its introduction in schools. However, there seems to be a growing concern about its negative impact on students when introduced early in schools for teaching and learning. This study aims to design a model of child development factors affecting the early introduction of ICTs in schools in an attempt to improve the understanding of child development and introduction of ICTs in schools. The proposed model is based on a sound theoretical framework. It was designed following a literature review of child development theories and child development factors. The child development theoretical framework that fitted to the best of all child development factors was then chosen as the basis for the proposed model. This study hence found that the Jean Piaget cognitive developmental theory is the most adequate theoretical frameworks for modeling child development factors for ICT introduction in schools.

Keywords: child development factors, child development theories, ICTs, theory

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Authors: P. Parthiban, Sonu Rajak, R. Dhanalakshmi

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This paper presents an Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) approach, combined with a Speed Optimization Algorithm (SOA) to solve the Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP) with environmental considerations, which is well known as Pollution-Routing Problem (PRP). It consists of routing a number of vehicles to serve a set of customers, and determining fuel consumption, driver wages and their speed on each route segment, while respecting the capacity constraints and time windows. Since VRP is NP-hard problem, so PRP also a NP-hard problem, which requires metaheuristics to solve this type of problems. The proposed solution method consists of two stages. Stage one is to solve a Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Window (VRPTW) using ACO and in the second stage, a SOA is run on the resulting VRPTW solution. Given a vehicle route, the SOA consists of finding the optimal speed on each arc of the route to minimize an objective function comprising fuel consumption costs and driver wages. The proposed algorithm tested on benchmark problem, the preliminary results show that the proposed algorithm can provide good solutions within reasonable computational time.

Keywords: ant colony optimization, CO2 emissions, speed optimization, vehicle routing

Procedia PDF Downloads 348

Authors: Akila Murali, Prithika Manivel

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Disasters are defined as a serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society, which involves widespread human, material, economic or environmental impacts. The number of people suffering food crisis as a result of natural disasters has tripled in the last thirty years. The economic losses due to natural disasters have shown an increase with a factor of eight over the past four decades, caused by the increased vulnerability of the global society, and also due to an increase in the number of weather-related disasters. Efficient disaster detection and alerting systems could reduce the loss of life and properties. In the event of a disaster, another important issue is a good search and rescue system with high levels of precision, timeliness and safety for both the victims and the rescuers. Wireless Sensor Networks technology has the capability of quick capturing, processing, and transmission of critical data in real-time with high resolution. This paper studies the capacity of sensors and a Wireless Sensor Network to collect, collate and analyze valuable and worthwhile data, in an ordered manner to help with disaster management.

Keywords: alerting systems, disaster detection, Ad Hoc network, WSN technology

Procedia PDF Downloads 394

Authors: Dipak Sonawane, Sudarshan Daga, Somesh Gupta

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Quantitative risk assessment (QRA) is a very precise and consistent approach to defining the likelihood, consequence and severity of a major incident/accident. A variety of hazardous cargoes in bulk, such as hydrocarbons and flammable/toxic chemicals, are handled at various ports. It is well known that most of the operations are hazardous, having the potential of damaging property, causing injury/loss of life and, in some cases, the threat of environmental damage. In order to ensure adequate safety towards life, environment and property, the application of scientific methods such as QRA is inevitable. By means of these methods, comprehensive hazard identification, risk assessment and appropriate implementation of Risk Control measures can be carried out. In this paper, the authors, based on their extensive experience in Risk Analysis for ports and harbors, have exhibited how QRA can be used in practice to minimize and contain risk to tolerable levels. A specific case involving the operation for unloading of hydrocarbon at a port is presented. The exercise provides confidence that the method of QRA, as proposed by the authors, can be used appropriately for the identification of hazards and risk assessment of Ports and Terminals.

Keywords: quantitative risk assessment, hazard assessment, consequence analysis, individual risk, societal risk

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Authors: Khaja Moiduddin, Tamer Khalaf, Muthuramalingam Thangaraj

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Due to the variety of benefits over traditional cutting techniques, the usage of laser cutting technology has risen substantially in recent years. Hot wire machining can cut the leather in the required shape by controlling the wire by generating thermal energy. In the present study, an attempt has been made to investigate the effects of performance measures in the hot wire machining process on cutting leather specimens. Carbonization and material removal rates were considered as quality indicators. Burning leather during machining might cause carbon particles, reducing product quality. Minimizing the effect of carbon particles is crucial for assuring operator and environmental safety, health, and product quality. Hot wire machining can efficiently cut the specimens by controlling the current through it. Taguchi- DEAR-based optimization was also performed in the process, which resulted in a required Carbonization and material removal rate. Using the DEAR approach, the optimal parameters of the present study were found with 3.7% prediction error accuracy.

Keywords: cabronization, leather, MRR, current

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Authors: Dagmara Malina, Katarzyna Bialik-Wąs, Klaudia Pluta

Abstract:

The growing significance of transdermal systems, in which skin is a route for systemic drug delivery, has generated a considerable amount of data which has resulted in a deeper understanding of the mechanisms of transport across the skin in the context of the controlled and prolonged release of active substances. One of such solutions may be the use of carrier systems based on intelligent polymers with different physicochemical properties. In these systems, active substances, e.g. drugs, can be conjugated (attached), immobilized, or encapsulated in a polymer matrix that is sensitive to specific environmental conditions (e.g. pH or temperature changes). Intelligent polymers can be divided according to their sensitivity to specific environmental stimuli such as temperature, pH, light, electric, magnetic, sound, or electromagnetic fields. Materials & methods—The first stage of the presented research concerned the synthesis of pH-sensitive polymeric carriers by a radical polymerization reaction. Then, the selected active substance (hydrocortisone) was introduced into polymeric carriers. In a further stage, bio-hybrid sodium alginate/poly(vinyl alcohol) – SA/PVA-based hydrogel matrices modified with various carrier-drug systems were prepared with the chemical cross-linking method. The conducted research included the assessment of physicochemical properties of obtained materials i.e. degree of hydrogel swelling and degradation studies as a function of pH in distilled water and phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) at 37°C in time. The gel fraction represents the insoluble gel fraction as a result of inter-molecule cross-linking formation was also measured. Additionally, the chemical structure of obtained hydrogels was confirmed using FT-IR spectroscopic technique. The dynamic light scattering (DLS) technique was used for the analysis of the average particle size of polymer-carriers and carrier-drug systems. The nanocarriers morphology was observed using SEM microscopy. Results & Discussion—The analysis of the encapsulated polymeric carriers showed that it was possible to obtain the time-stable empty pH-sensitive carrier with an average size 479 nm and the encapsulated system containing hydrocortisone with an average 543 nm, which was introduced into hydrogel structure. Bio-hybrid hydrogel matrices are stable materials, and the presence of an additional component: pH-sensitive carrier – hydrocortisone system, does not reduce the degree of cross-linking of the matrix nor its swelling ability. Moreover, the results of swelling tests indicate that systems containing higher concentrations of the drug have a slightly higher sorption capacity in each of the media used. All analyzed materials show stable and statically changing swelling values in simulated body fluids - there is no sudden fluid uptake and no rapid release from the material. The analysis of FT-IR spectra confirms the chemical structure of the obtained bio-hybrid hydrogel matrices. In the case of modifications with a pH-sensitive carrier, a much more intense band can be observed in the 3200-3500 cm⁻¹ range, which most likely originates from the strong hydrogen interactions that occur between individual components.

Keywords: hydrogels, polymer nanocarriers, sodium alginate/poly(vinyl alcohol) matrices, wound dressings.

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