Search results for: lean tools and techniques

Authors: Zainuddin Zakaria, Sun Woh Lye

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Despite the continuous advancements in automated conflict resolution tools, there is still a low rate of adoption of automation from Air Traffic Control Officers (ATCOs). Trust or acceptance in these tools and conformance to the individual ATCO preferences in strategy execution for conflict resolution are two key factors that impact their use. This paper proposes a methodology to unearth and classify ATCO conflict resolution strategies from simulator data of trained and qualified ATCOs. The methodology involves the extraction of ATCO executive control actions and the establishment of a system of strategy resolution classification based on ATCO radar commands and prevailing flight parameters in deconflicting a pair of aircraft. Six main strategies used to handle various categories of conflict were identified and discussed. It was found that ATCOs were about twice more likely to choose only vertical maneuvers in conflict resolution compared to horizontal maneuvers or a combination of both vertical and horizontal maneuvers.

Keywords: air traffic control strategies, conflict resolution, simulator data, strategy classification system

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Authors: Hosam Mohamed Darwish

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In 2008, the Egyptian Ministry of Education introduced a new national coursebook ‘Hello for Secondary Schools, which recommends a shift in EFL teachers’ instructional practices. Since then, very little attention has been paid to teachers’ techniques in EFL writing classes. Hence, this study aimed at investigating teaching writing practices in secondary schools and exploring the teachers’ attitudes towards EFL writing skill in addition to exploring the difficulties that teachers encountered in EFL writing lessons. The study depended on data triangulation through administering two questionnaires: one to 44 teachers and the other to 24 students, and conducting semi-structured interviews with 11 teachers. Both teachers and students were asked to describe teaching practices in EFL writing classes while the open-ended questions and interviews collected data about the teachers’ difficulties in writing lessons. The questionnaires indicate that teachers have negative attitudes towards teaching writing, and most of their practices are still traditional. Five factors have influenced teachers’ practices: backwash of the test, teachers’ professional development, students’ culture of reading and large classes. The study recommends there has to be a necessary change in the students’ examination system, and ongoing teachers’ professional development should be considered. Finally, a teaching model and implications are suggested.

Keywords: EFL writing, Egyptian secondary schools, teachers’ attitudes, teachers’ techniques

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Authors: Luay Jum'a

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Many challenges are facing third-party logistics (3PL) providers in the domestic and global markets which create a volatile decision making environment. All these challenges such as managing changes in consumer behaviour, demanding expectations from customers and time compressions have turned into complex problems for 3PL providers. Since the movement towards increased outsourcing outpaces movement towards insourcing, the need to achieve a competitive advantage over competitors in 3PL market increases. This trend continues to grow over the years and as a result, areas of strengths and improvements are highlighted through the analysis of the LSQ factors that lead to B2B customers’ satisfaction which become a priority for 3PL companies. Consequently, 3PL companies are increasingly focusing on the most important issues from the perspective of their customers and relying more on this value of information in making their managerial decisions. Therefore, this study is concerned with providing guidance for improving logistics service quality (LSQ) levels in the context of 3PL industry in Jordan. The study focused on the most important factors in LSQ and used a managerial tool that guides 3PL companies in making LSQ improvements based on a quadrant analysis of two main dimensions: LSQ declared importance and LSQ inferred importance. Although, a considerable amount of research has been conducted to investigate the relationship between logistics service quality (LSQ) and customer satisfaction, there remains a lack of developing managerial tools to aid in the process of LSQ improvement decision-making. Moreover, the main advantage for the companies to use 3PL service providers as a trend is due to the realised percentage of cost reduction on the total cost of logistics operations and the incremental improvement in customer service. In this regard, having a managerial tool that help 3PL service providers in managing the LSQ factors portfolio effectively and efficiently would be a great investment for service providers. One way of suggesting LSQ improvement actions for 3PL service providers is via the adoption of analysis tools that perform attribute categorisation such as Importance–Performance matrix. In mind of the above, it can be stated that the use of quadrant analysis will provide a valuable opportunity for 3PL service providers to identify improvement opportunities as customer service attributes or factors importance are identified in two different techniques that complete each other. Moreover, the data were collected through conducting a survey and 293 questionnaires were returned from business-to-business (B2B) customers of 3PL companies in Jordan. The results showed that the LSQ factors vary in their importance and 3PL companies should focus on some LSQ factors more than other factors. Moreover, ordering procedures, timeliness/responsiveness LSQ factors considered being crucial in 3PL businesses and therefore they need to have more focus and development by 3PL service providers in the Jordanian market.

Keywords: logistics service quality, managerial decisions, quadrant analysis, third party logistics service provider

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Authors: Sabrine Ammar, Mohamed Tahar Bhiri

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Automatic planning has a de facto standard language called Planning Domain Definition Language (PDDL) for describing planning problems. It aims to formalize the planning problems described by the concept of state space. PDDL-related dynamic analysis tools, namely planners and validators, are insufficient for verifying and validating PDDL descriptions. Indeed, these tools made it possible to detect errors a posteriori by means of test activity. In this paper, we recommend a formal approach coupling the two languages Event-B and PDDL, for automatic planning. Event-B is used for formal modeling by stepwise refinement with mathematical proofs of planning problems. Thus, this paper proposes a refinement strategy allowing to obtain reliable PDDL descriptions from an ultimate Event-B model correct by construction. The ultimate Event-B model, correct by construction which is supposed to be translatable into PDDL, is automatically translated into PDDL using our MDE Event-B2PDDL tool.

Keywords: code generation, event-b, PDDL, refinement strategy, translation rules

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Authors: Mei-Yi Wu, Shang-Ming Huang

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The online shoppers nowadays often search the product information on the Internet using some keywords of products. To use this kind of information searching model, shoppers should have a preliminary understanding about their interesting products and choose the correct keywords. However, if the products are first contact (for example, the worn clothes or backpack of passengers which you do not have any idea about the brands), these products cannot be retrieved due to insufficient information. In this paper, we discuss and study the applications in E-commerce using image retrieval and text mining techniques. We design a reasonable E-commerce application system containing three layers in the architecture to provide users product information. The system can automatically search and retrieval similar images and corresponding web pages on Internet according to the target pictures which taken by users. Then text mining techniques are applied to extract important keywords from these retrieval web pages and search the prices on different online shopping stores with these keywords using a web crawler. Finally, the users can obtain the product information including photos and prices of their favorite products. The experiments shows the efficiency of proposed system.

Keywords: mobile image retrieval, text mining, product information service system, online marketing

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Authors: Y. Benabid, K. Benfriha, V. Rieuf, J. F. Omhover

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This paper describes an approach to create custom concepts for innovative products; this approach describes relations between innovation tools and Computer Aided Design environment (use creativity session and design tools). A model for the design process is proposed and explored in order to describe the power tool used to create and ameliorate an innovative product all based upon a range of data (cloud points) in this study. Comparison between traditional method and innovative method we help to generate and put forward a new model of the design process in order to create a custom Ankle Foot Orthosis (AFO) in a CAD environment in order to ameliorate and controlling the motion. The custom concept needs big development in different environments; the relation between these environments is described. The results can help the surgeons in the upstream treatment phases. CAD models can be applied and accepted by professionals in the design and manufacture systems. This development is based on the anatomy of the population of North Africa.

Keywords: ankle foot orthosis, CAD, reverse engineering, sketch

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Authors: Angela U. Makolo

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Protein-coding and Non-coding regions determine the biology of a sequenced transcriptome. Research advances have shown that Non-coding regions are important in disease progression and clinical diagnosis. Existing bioinformatics tools have been targeted towards Protein-coding regions alone. Therefore, there are challenges associated with gaining biological insights from transcriptome sequence data. These tools are also limited to computationally intensive sequence alignment, which is inadequate and less accurate to identify both Protein-coding and Non-coding regions. Alignment-free techniques can overcome the limitation of identifying both regions. Therefore, this study was designed to develop an efficient sequence alignment-free model for identifying both Protein-coding and Non-coding regions in sequenced transcriptomes. Feature grouping and randomization procedures were applied to the input transcriptomes (37,503 data points). Successive iterations were carried out to compute the gradient vector that converged the developed Protein-coding and Non-coding Region Identifier (PNRI) model to the approximate coefficient vector. The logistic regression algorithm was used with a sigmoid activation function. A parameter vector was estimated for every sample in 37,503 data points in a bid to reduce the generalization error and cost. Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE) was used for parameter estimation by taking the log-likelihood of six features and combining them into a summation function. Dynamic thresholding was used to classify the Protein-coding and Non-coding regions, and the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve was determined. The generalization performance of PNRI was determined in terms of F1 score, accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity. The average generalization performance of PNRI was determined using a benchmark of multi-species organisms. The generalization error for identifying Protein-coding and Non-coding regions decreased from 0.514 to 0.508 and to 0.378, respectively, after three iterations. The cost (difference between the predicted and the actual outcome) also decreased from 1.446 to 0.842 and to 0.718, respectively, for the first, second and third iterations. The iterations terminated at the 390th epoch, having an error of 0.036 and a cost of 0.316. The computed elements of the parameter vector that maximized the objective function were 0.043, 0.519, 0.715, 0.878, 1.157, and 2.575. The PNRI gave an ROC of 0.97, indicating an improved predictive ability. The PNRI identified both Protein-coding and Non-coding regions with an F1 score of 0.970, accuracy (0.969), sensitivity (0.966), and specificity of 0.973. Using 13 non-human multi-species model organisms, the average generalization performance of the traditional method was 74.4%, while that of the developed model was 85.2%, thereby making the developed model better in the identification of Protein-coding and Non-coding regions in transcriptomes. The developed Protein-coding and Non-coding region identifier model efficiently identified the Protein-coding and Non-coding transcriptomic regions. It could be used in genome annotation and in the analysis of transcriptomes.

Keywords: sequence alignment-free model, dynamic thresholding classification, input randomization, genome annotation

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Authors: Soner Güler, Mustafa Gülen, Eylem Güzel

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Masonry buildings constitute major part of building stock in Turkey. Masonry buildings were built up especially in rural areas and underdeveloped regions due to economic reasons. Almost all of these masonry buildings are not designed and detailed according to any design guidelines by designers. As a result of this, masonry buildings were totally collapsed or heavily damaged when subjected to destructive earthquake effects. Thus, these masonry buildings that were built up in our country must be retrofitted to improve their seismic performance. In this study, new seismic retrofitting techniques that is easy to apply and low-cost are summarized and the importance of seismic retrofitting is also emphasized for existing masonry buildings in Turkey.

Keywords: masonry buildings, earthquake effects, seismic retrofitting techniques, seismic performance

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Authors: Malinwo Estone Ayikpa

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Electric power systems are likely to operate with minimum losses and voltage meeting international standards. This is made possible generally by control actions provide by automatic voltage regulators, capacitors and transformers with on-load tap changer (OLTC). With the development of photovoltaic (PV) systems technology, their integration on distribution networks has increased over the last years to the extent of replacing the above mentioned techniques. The conventional analysis and simulation tools used for electrical networks are no longer able to take into account control actions necessary for studying distributed PV generation impact. This paper presents an unbalanced optimal power flow (OPF) model that minimizes losses with association of active power generation and reactive power control of single-phase and three-phase PV systems. Reactive power can be generated or absorbed using the available capacity and the adjustable power factor of the inverter. The unbalance OPF is formulated by current balance equations and solved by primal-dual interior point method. Several simulation cases have been carried out varying the size and location of PV systems and the results show a detailed view of the impact of PV distributed generation on distribution systems.

Keywords: distribution system, loss, photovoltaic generation, primal-dual interior point method

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Authors: Nady Farag Faragalla Hanna

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In the car dealership industry in Japan, the sales specialist is a key factor in the success of the company. I hypothesize that when a company understands the characteristics of sales professionals in its industry, it is easier to recruit and train salespeople effectively. Lean human resources management ensures the economic success and performance of companies, especially small and medium-sized companies.The purpose of the article is to determine the characteristics of sales specialists for small and medium-sized car dealerships using the chi-square test and the proximate variable model. Accordingly, the results show that career change experience, learning ability and product knowledge are important, while university education, career building through internal transfer, leadership experience and people development are not important for becoming a sales professional. I also show that the characteristics of sales specialists are perseverance, humility, improvisation and passion for business.

Keywords: electronics engineering, marketing, sales, E-commerce digitalization, interactive systems, sales process ARIMA models, sales demand forecasting, time series, R codetraits of sales professionals, variable precision rough sets theory, sales professional, sales professionals

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Authors: Matich Lyubov

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Today roadmaps are becoming commonly used tools for detecting and designing a desired future for companies, states and the international community. The growing popularity of this method puts tasks such as identifying basic roadmapping principles, creation of concepts and determination of the characteristics of the use of roadmaps depending on the objectives as well as restrictions and opportunities specific to the study area on the agenda. However, the system approach, e.g. the elements which are recognized to be major for high-quality roadmapping, remains one of the main fields for improving the methodology and practice of their development as limited research was devoted to the detailed analysis of the roadmaps from the view of system approach. Therefore, this article is an attempt to examine roadmaps from the view of the system analysis, to compare areas, where, as a rule, roadmaps and systems analysis are considered the most effective tools. To compare the structure and composition of roadmaps and systems models the identification of common points between construction stages of roadmaps and system modeling and the determination of future directions for research roadmaps from a systems perspective are of special importance.

Keywords: technology roadmap, roadmapping, systems analysis, system modeling, innovation management

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Authors: Jiawei Dai, Xinrong Li, Yulong Sun, Yunxiao Hao

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Recently, participatory approaches have become popular in a variety of fields, including social work, community, and population health, as important research tools for researchers to understand and immerse communities and conceptualize social phenomena. The participatory visual research methods promote the diversification and depth of the exploration process and communication forms to support the feasibility and practicality of the scheme, which helps to further inspire designers and avoid blind spots caused by the solidification of single thinking. This paper focuses on how to develop visual toolkits for participatory methods to assist and shape crowd participation and trigger idea generation in community issues. This project helps to verify the value of participatory visual tools in shaping participation and arousing expression, which provides support for gaining community diversity insights and community problem-solving. In addition, a visual toolbox was developed based on an actual case in a community for field testing, and further discussion was carried out after the data results were analyzed.

Keywords: participatory design, community service, visual toolbox, visual metaphor

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Authors: Joseph George, Anne Kotteswara Roa

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Skin disease is one of the most common and popular kinds of health issues faced by people nowadays. Skin cancer (SC) is one among them, and its detection relies on the skin biopsy outputs and the expertise of the doctors, but it consumes more time and some inaccurate results. At the early stage, skin cancer detection is a challenging task, and it easily spreads to the whole body and leads to an increase in the mortality rate. Skin cancer is curable when it is detected at an early stage. In order to classify correct and accurate skin cancer, the critical task is skin cancer identification and classification, and it is more based on the cancer disease features such as shape, size, color, symmetry and etc. More similar characteristics are present in many skin diseases; hence it makes it a challenging issue to select important features from a skin cancer dataset images. Hence, the skin cancer diagnostic accuracy is improved by requiring an automated skin cancer detection and classification framework; thereby, the human expert’s scarcity is handled. Recently, the deep learning techniques like Convolutional neural network (CNN), Deep belief neural network (DBN), Artificial neural network (ANN), Recurrent neural network (RNN), and Long and short term memory (LSTM) have been widely used for the identification and classification of skin cancers. This survey reviews different DL techniques for skin cancer identification and classification. The performance metrics such as precision, recall, accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and F-measures are used to evaluate the effectiveness of SC identification using DL techniques. By using these DL techniques, the classification accuracy increases along with the mitigation of computational complexities and time consumption.

Keywords: skin cancer, deep learning, performance measures, accuracy, datasets

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Authors: Nadia Selene Molina-Moreno, Maria Susana Avila-Garcia, Marco Bianchetti, Marcelina Pantoja-Flores

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Visual Programming Tools available are a great tool for introducing children to programming and to develop a skill set for algorithmic thinking. On the other hand, collaborative learning and pair programming within the context of programming activities, has demonstrated to have social and learning benefits. However, some of the online tools available for programming for children are not designed to allow simultaneous and equitable participation of the team members since they allow only for a single control point. In this paper, a report the work conducted with children playing a user role is presented. A preliminary study to cull ideas, insights, and design considerations for a formal programming course for children aged 8-10 using collaborative learning as a pedagogical approach was conducted. Three setups were provided: 1) lo-fi prototype, 2) PC, 3) a 46' multi-touch single display groupware limited by the application to a single touch entry. Children were interviewed at the end of the sessions in order to know their opinions about teamwork and the different setups defined. Results are mixed regarding the setup, but they agree to like teamwork.

Keywords: children, collaborative programming, visual programming, multi-touch tabletop, lo-fi prototype

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Authors: H. E. Keshta, A. A. Ali

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Three phase grid-tied inverters are widely employed in micro-grids (MGs) as interphase between DC and AC systems. These inverters are usually controlled through standard decoupled d–q vector control strategy based on proportional integral (PI) controllers. Recently, advanced meta-heuristic optimization techniques have been used instead of deterministic methods to obtain optimum PI controller parameters. This paper provides a comparative study between the performance of the global Porcellio Scaber algorithm (GPSA) based PI controller and Manta Ray foraging optimization (MRFO) based PI controller.

Keywords: micro-grids, optimization techniques, grid-tied inverter control, PI controller

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Authors: Charles St. Geste, Michael Neumann, Catherine Twohig

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Our primary aim is to examine farmer-centered participatory action learning as a tool to improve agricultural production, build resilience to climate shocks and, more broadly, advance community-driven solutions for sustainable development in rural communities across Haiti. For over six years, sixty plus farmers from Deslandes, Haiti, organized in three traditional work groups called konbits, have designed and tested low-input agroecology techniques as part of the Konbit Vanyan Kapab Pwoje Agroekoloji. The project utilizes a participatory action learning approach, emphasizing social inclusion, building on local knowledge, experiential learning, active farmer participation in trial design and evaluation, and cross-community sharing. Mixed methods were used to evaluate changes in knowledge and adoption of agroecology techniques, confidence in advancing agroecology locally, and innovation among Konbit Vanyan Kapab farmers. While skill and knowledge in application of agroecology techniques varied among individual farmers, a majority of farmers successfully adopted techniques outside of the trial farms. The use of agroecology techniques on trial and individual farms has doubled crop production in many cases. Farm income has also increased, and farmers report less damage to crops and property caused by extreme weather events. Furthermore, participatory action strategies have led to greater local self-determination and greater capacity for sustainable community development. With increased self-confidence and the knowledge and skills acquired from participating in the project, farmers prioritized sharing their successful techniques with other farmers and have developed a farmer-to-farmer training program that incorporates participatory action learning. Using adult education methods, farmers, trained as agroecology educators, are currently providing training in sustainable farming practices to farmers from five villages in three departments across Haiti. Konbit Vanyan Kapab farmers have also begun testing production of value-added food products, including a dried soup mix and tea. Key factors for success include: opportunities for farmers to actively participate in all phases of the project, group diversity, resources for application of agroecology techniques, focus on group processes and overcoming local barriers to inclusive decision-making.

Keywords: agroecology, participatory action learning, rural Haiti, sustainable community development

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Authors: Suby Khanam, Faisal Talib, Jamshed Siddiqui

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Total Quality Management (TQM) is a managerial approach that improves the competitiveness of the industry, meanwhile Information technology (IT) was introduced with TQM for handling the technical issues which is supported by quality experts for fulfilling the customers’ requirement. Present paper aims to utilise AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) methodology to priorities and rank the hierarchy levels of TQM enablers and IT resource together for its successful implementation in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry. A total of 17 TQM enablers (nine) and IT resources (eight) were identified and partitioned into 3 categories and were prioritised by AHP approach. The finding indicates that the 17 sub-criteria can be grouped into three main categories namely organizing, tools and techniques, and culture and people. Further, out of 17 sub-criteria, three sub-criteria: Top management commitment and support, total employee involvement, and continuous improvement got highest priority whereas three sub-criteria such as structural equation modelling, culture change, and customer satisfaction got lowest priority. The result suggests a hierarchy model for ICT industry to prioritise the enablers and resources as well as to improve the TQM and IT performance in the ICT industry. This paper has some managerial implication which suggests the managers of ICT industry to implement TQM and IT together in their organizations to get maximum benefits and how to utilize available resources. At the end, conclusions, limitation, future scope of the study are presented.

Keywords: analytic hierarchy process, information technology, information and communication technology, prioritization, total quality management

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Authors: Maryam Khazaei Pool, Lori Lewis

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This is a summary of articles based on higher order B-splines methods and the variation of B-spline methods such as Quadratic B-spline Finite Elements Method, Exponential Cubic B-Spline Method, Septic B-spline Technique, Quintic B-spline Galerkin Method, and B-spline Galerkin Method based on the Quadratic B-spline Galerkin method (QBGM) and Cubic B-spline Galerkin method (CBGM). In this paper, we study the B-spline methods and variations of B-spline techniques to find a numerical solution to the Burgers’ equation. A set of fundamental definitions, including Burgers equation, spline functions, and B-spline functions, are provided. For each method, the main technique is discussed as well as the discretization and stability analysis. A summary of the numerical results is provided, and the efficiency of each method presented is discussed. A general conclusion is provided where we look at a comparison between the computational results of all the presented schemes. We describe the effectiveness and advantages of these methods.

Keywords: Burgers’ equation, Septic B-spline, modified cubic B-spline differential quadrature method, exponential cubic B-spline technique, B-spline Galerkin method, quintic B-spline Galerkin method

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Authors: Maria Alekxandra B. Sison, Reginald C. Mallare, Joseph Albert M. Mendoza

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Ammonia (NH₃) is the alternative carbon-free fuel of the future for its promising applications. Investigations on NH₃-fuel blends recommend using hydrogen (H₂) to increase the heating value of NH3, promote combustion performance, and improve NOx efflux mitigation. To further examine the effects of this concept, the study analyzed the combustion performance, in terms of turbulence, combustion efficiency (CE), and NOx emissions, of NH3/fuel with variations of combustor diameter ratio, H2 fuel mole fraction, and fuel mass flow rate (ṁ). The simulations were performed using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modeling to represent a non-premixed (NP) and partially premixed (PP) combustion under a two-dimensional ultra-low NOx Rich-Burn, Quick-Quench, Lean-Burn (RQL) combustor. Governed by the Detached Eddy Simulation model, it was found that the diameter ratio greatly affects the turbulence in PP and NP mode, whereas ṁ in PP should be prioritized when increasing CE. The NOx emission is minimal during PP combustion, but NP combustion suggested modifying ṁ to achieve higher CE and Reynolds number without sacrificing the NO generation from the reaction.

Keywords: combustion efficiency, turbulence, dual-stage combustor, NOx emission

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Authors: Brady, Imelda Katherine, Da Cunha Fanego, Iria

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Today's university students are considered digital natives and the use of Information Technologies (ITs) forms a large part of their study and learning. In the context of language studies, applications that help with revisions of grammar or vocabulary are particularly useful, especially if they are open access. There are studies that show the effectiveness of this type of application in the learning of English as a foreign language and that using IT can help learners become more autonomous in foreign language acquisition, given that these applications can enhance awareness of the learning process; this means that learners are less dependent on the teacher for corrective feedback. We also propose that the exploitation of these technologies also enhances the work of the language instructor wishing to incorporate IT into his/her practice. In this context, the aim of this paper is to present the creation of a repository of tools that provide support in the writing and correction of texts in English and the assessment of their usefulness on behalf of university students enrolled in the English Studies Degree. The project seeks to encourage the development of autonomous learning through the acquisition of skills linked to the self-correction of written work in English. To comply with the above, our methodology follows five phases. First of all, a selection of the main open-access online applications available for the correction of written texts in English is made: AutoCrit, Hemingway, Grammarly, LanguageTool, OutWrite, PaperRater, ProWritingAid, Reverso, Slick Write, Spell Check Plus and Virtual Writing Tutor. Secondly, the functionalities of each of these tools (spelling, grammar, style correction, etc.) are analyzed. Thirdly, explanatory materials (texts and video tutorials) are prepared on each tool. Fourth, these materials are uploaded into a repository of our university in the form of an institutional blog, which is made available to students and the general public. Finally, a survey was designed to collect students’ feedback. The survey aimed to analyse the usefulness of the blog and the quality of the explanatory materials as well as the degree of usefulness that students assigned to each of the tools offered. In this paper, we present the results of the analysis of data received from 33 students in the 1st semester of the 21-22 academic year. One result we highlight in our paper is that the students have rated this resource very highly, in addition to offering very valuable information on the perceived usefulness of the applications provided for them to review. Our work, carried out within the framework of a teaching innovation project funded by our university, emphasizes that teachers need to design methodological strategies that help their students improve the quality of their productions written in English and, by extension, to improve their linguistic competence.

Keywords: academic blog, open access tools, online self-correction, written production in English, university learning

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Authors: John O. Akindoyo, M. D. H. Beg, Suriati Binti Ghazali, Nitthiyah Jeyaratnam

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Regeneration of bone due to the many health challenges arising from traumatic effects of bone loss, bone tumours and other bone infections is fast becoming indispensable. Over the period of time, some approaches have been undertaken to mitigate this challenge. This includes but not limited to xenografts, allografts, autografts as well as artificial substitutions like bioceramics, synthetic cements and metals. However, most of these techniques often come along with peculiar limitation and problems such as morbidity, availability, disease transmission, collateral site damage or absolute rejection by the body as the case may be. Hydroxyapatite (HA) is very compatible and suitable for this application. However, most of the common methods for HA synthesis are expensive and environmentally unfriendly. Extraction of HA from bio-wastes have been perceived not only to be cost effective, but also environment-friendly. In this research, HA was produced from bio-waste: namely bovine bones through a combination of hydrothermal chemical processes and ordinary calcination techniques. Structure and property of the HA was carried out through different characterization techniques (such as TGA, FTIR, DSC, XRD and BET). The synthesized HA was found to possess similar properties to stoichiometric HA with highly desirable thermal, degradation, structural and porous properties. This material is unique for its potential minimal cost, environmental friendliness and property controllability. It is also perceived to be suitable for tissue and bone engineering applications.

Keywords: biomaterial, biopolymer, bone, hydroxyapatite

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Authors: John Kabuba

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The study investigated the implementation of the Neural Network (NN) techniques for prediction of the loading of Cu ions onto clinoptilolite. The experimental design using analysis of variance (ANOVA) was chosen for testing the adequacy of the Neural Network and for optimizing of the effective input parameters (pH, temperature and initial concentration). Feed forward, multi-layer perceptron (MLP) NN successfully tracked the non-linear behavior of the adsorption process versus the input parameters with mean squared error (MSE), correlation coefficient (R) and minimum squared error (MSRE) of 0.102, 0.998 and 0.004 respectively. The results showed that NN modeling techniques could effectively predict and simulate the highly complex system and non-linear process such as ion-exchange.

Keywords: clinoptilolite, loading, modeling, neural network

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Authors: Abdallah A. Hlayel

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Operations research science (OR) deals with good success in developing and applying scientific methods for problem solving and decision-making. However, by using OR techniques, we can enhance the use of computer decision support systems to achieve optimal management for institutions. OR applies comprehensive analysis including all factors that affect on it and builds mathematical modeling to solve business or organizational problems. In addition, it improves decision-making and uses available resources efficiently. The adoption of OR by universities would definitely contributes to the development and enhancement of the performance of OR techniques. This paper provides an understanding of the structures, approaches and models of OR in problem solving and decision-making.

Keywords: best candidates' method, decision making, decision support system, operations research

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Authors: Mustafa Dogru, Ruveyda Komurlu

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Companies and professionals in the construction sector face various risks in every project depending on the characteristics, size, complexity, the location of the projects and the techniques used. Some risks’ effects may increase as the project progresses whereas new risks may emerge. Because of the ever-changing nature of the risks, risk management is a cyclical process that needs to be repeated throughout the project. Since the risks threaten the success of the project, risk management is an important part of the entire project management process. The aims of this study are to emphasize the importance of risk management in construction projects, summarize the risk identification process, and introduce a number of methods for preventing risks such as alternative design, checklists, prototyping and test-analysis-correction technique etc. Following the literature review conducted to list the techniques for preventing risks, case studies has been performed to compare and evaluate the success of the techniques in a number of completed projects with the same typology, performed domestic and international. Findings of the study suggest that controlling and minimizing the level of the risks in construction projects, taking optimal precautions for different risks, and mitigating or eliminating the effects of risks are important in order to prevent additional costs for the project. Additionally, focusing on the risks that have highest impact is the most rational way to minimize the effects of the risks on projects.

Keywords: construction projects, construction management, project management, risk management

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Authors: A. Vaidya-Soocheta, K. M. Wong-Hon-Lang

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Craft and fashion have always been interlinked. The combination of both often gives stunning results. The present study introduces ‘Paper Cutting Craft Techniques’ like the Japanese –Kirigami, Mexican –PapelPicado, German –Scherenschnitte, Polish –Wycinankito in textiles to develop innovative and novel design structures as embellishments and ornamentation. The project studies various ways of using these paper cutting techniques to obtain interesting features and delicate design patterns on fabrics. While paper has its advantages and related uses, it is fragile rigid and thus not appropriate for clothing. Fabric is sturdy, flexible, dimensionally stable and washable. In the present study, the cut out techniques develop creative design motifs and patterns to give an inventive and unique appeal to the fabrics. The beauty and fascination of lace in garments have always given them a nostalgic charm. Laces with their intricate and delicate complexity in combination with other materials add a feminine touch to a garment and give it a romantic, mysterious appeal. Various textured and decorative effects through fabric manipulation are experimented along with the use of paper cutting craft skills as an innovative substitute for developing lace or “Broderie Anglaise” effects on textiles. A number of assorted fabric types with varied textures were selected for the study. Techniques to avoid fraying and unraveling of the design cut fabrics were introduced. Fabrics were further manipulated by use of interesting prints with embossed effects on cut outs. Fabric layering in combination with assorted techniques such as cutting of folded fabric, printing, appliqué, embroidery, crochet, braiding, weaving added a novel exclusivity to the fabrics. The fabrics developed by these innovative methods were then tailored into garments. The study thus tested the feasibility and practicability of using these fabrics by designing a collection of evening wear garments based on the theme ‘Nostalgia’. The prototypes developed were complemented by designing fashion accessories with the crafted fabrics. Prototypes of accessories add interesting features to the study. The adaptation and application of this novel technique of paper cutting craft on textiles can be an innovative start for a new trend in textile and fashion industry. The study anticipates that this technique will open new avenues in the world of fashion to incorporate its use commercially.

Keywords: collection, fabric cutouts, nostalgia, prototypes

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Authors: Radhika Jain

Abstract:

The nursing community in India face unique challenges ranging from lack of adequate career progression, low social status attached to the profession, poor nurse-to-patient ratio leading to heavy workload resulting in stress and burnout, lack of general recognition and the responsibility of often having to deal with the ire of the patients and their families. This study explores how a combination of Playback Theatre and Expressive Arts could be used as a very powerful tool to understand the concerns, and consequently as a self-care tool to bring about the sense of well-being and emotional awareness for the nurses. For the purpose of this study, Playback Theatre was used as an entry tool to understand the thoughts, feelings and concerns. Playback theatre is a unique improvisational form of theatre developed by Jonathan Fox and Jo Salas in 1975, in which audience share their own stories from their lives and the performers play them back through a range of improv techniques such as metaphor, poetry, music and movement. Playback Theatre helped in first warming them up to the idea of sharing and then gave them the confidence of a safe space to collectively go deeper into their emotional experiences. As the next step, structured sessions of Expressive Arts were conducted with the same set of nurses, for them to work on the issues and concerns they have (and which they shared during the Playback performance). These sessions were to enable longer engagements as many of the concerns expressed were related to perceptions and beliefs that have been ingrained over a period of time and hence it needs a longer engagement to be worked on in detail. The Expressive Art sessions helped in this regard. Expressive arts therapy combines psychology and the creative process to promote emotional growth and healing. The study was conducted at two places: one a geriatric centre and the other, a palliative care centre. The study revealed that concerns and challenges would not be identical across the nursing community or across similar types of health care organizations but would be specific to each organization or centre as the circumstances and set-up at each place would be different. At the geriatric centre, stress and burnout emerged as the main concerns while at the palliative care centre, the main concern that came up was around the difficulty the nurses faced in expressing emotions and in communicating their feelings. The objective analysis of the results of the study indicated how longer-term engagements using Expressive Arts as the modality helped the nurses have better awareness of their emotions and helped them develop tools of self-care tools while also tapping into their emotions to express and experience. The process of eliciting the main concerns from the nurses using a Playback Theatre performance and then following that with subsequent sessions of expressive arts helped the nurses in the way nurses approached their job and the reduced level of overwhelm that they felt.

Keywords: palliative care, nurses, self-care, expressive arts, playback theatre

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Authors: Kuliya Muhammed

Abstract:

This paper examines the potentials of online learning and the challenges to its adoption in Nigeria’s higher institutions of learning. The research would assist in tackling the challenges of online learning adoption and enlighten institutions on the numerous benefits of online learning in Nigeria. The researcher used survey method for the study and questionnaires were used to obtain the needed data from 230 respondents cut across 20 higher institutions in the country. The findings revealed that online learning has the prospect to boost access to learning tools, assist students’ to learn from the comfort of their offices or homes, reduce the cost of learning, and enable individuals to gain self-knowledge. The major challenges in the adoption of e-learning are poor Information and Communication Technology infrastructures, poor internet connectivity where available, lack of Information and Communication Technology background, problem of power supply, lack of commitment by institutions, poor maintenance of Information and Communication Technology tools, inadequate facilities, lack of government funding and fraud. Recommendations were also made at the end of the research work.

Keywords: electronic, ICT, institution, internet, learning, technology

Procedia PDF Downloads 388

Authors: Watin Alkhelaiwi, Iseult Wilson, Marian Traynor, Katherine Rogers

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Clinical nursing education allows nursing students to gain essential knowledge from practice experience and develop nursing skills in a variety of clinical environments. Integrating theoretical knowledge and practical skills is made easier for nursing students by providing opportunities for practice in a clinical environment. Nursing competency is an essential capability required to fulfill nursing responsibilities. Effective mentoring in clinical settings helps nursing students develop the necessary competence and promotes the integration of theory and practice. Preceptors play a considerable role in clinical nursing education, including the supervision of nursing students undergoing a rigorous clinical practicum. Preceptors are also involved in the clinical assessment of nursing students’ competency. The assessment of nursing students’ competence by professional practitioners is essential to investigate whether nurses have developed an adequate level of competence to deliver safe nursing care. Competency assessment remains challenging among nursing educators and preceptors, particularly owing to the complexity of the process. Consistency in terms of assessment methods and tools and valid and reliable assessment tools for measuring competence in clinical practice are lacking. Nurse preceptors must assess students’ competencies to prepare them for future professional responsibilities. Preceptors encounter difficulties in the assessment of competency owing to the nature of the assessment process, lack of standardised assessment tools, and a demanding clinical environment. The purpose of the study is to examine nursing preceptors’ experiences of assessing nursing interns’ competency in Saudi Arabia. There are three objectives in this study; the first objective is to examine the preceptors’ view of the Saudi assessment tool in relation to preceptorship, assessment, the assessment tool, the nursing curriculum, and the grading system. The second and third objectives are to examine preceptors’ view of "competency'' in nursing and their interpretations of the concept of competency and to assess the implications of the research in relation to the Saudi 2030 vision. The study uses an exploratory sequential mixed-methods design that involves a two-phase project: a qualitative focus group study is conducted in phase 1, and a quantitative study- a descriptive cross-sectional design (online survey) is conducted in phase 2. The results will inform the preceptors’ view of the Saudi assessment tool in relation to specific areas, including preceptorship and how the preceptors are prepared to be assessors, and assessment and assessment tools through identifying the appropriateness of the instrument for clinical practice. The results will also inform the challenges and difficulties that face the preceptors. These results will be analysed thematically for the focus group interview data, and SPSS software will be used for the analysis of the online survey data.

Keywords: clinical assessment tools, clinical competence, competency assessment, mentor, nursing, nurses, preceptor

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Authors: Nurul Bin Ibrahim

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Advancements in neural networks have offered valuable insights into Fluid Dynamics, notably in addressing turbulence-related challenges. In this research, we introduce multiple applications of models of neural networks, namely Feed-Forward and Recurrent Neural Networks, to explore the relationship between jet formations and stratified turbulence within stochastically excited Boussinesq systems. Using machine learning tools like TensorFlow and PyTorch, the study has created models that effectively mimic and show the underlying features of the complex patterns of jet formation and stratified turbulence. These models do more than just help us understand these patterns; they also offer a faster way to solve problems in stochastic systems, improving upon traditional numerical techniques to solve stochastic differential equations such as the Euler-Maruyama method. In addition, the research includes a thorough comparison with the Statistical State Dynamics (SSD) approach, which is a well-established method for studying chaotic systems. This comparison helps evaluate how well neural networks can help us understand the complex relationship between jet formations and stratified turbulence. The results of this study underscore the potential of neural networks in computational physics and fluid dynamics, opening up new possibilities for more efficient and accurate simulations in these fields.

Keywords: neural networks, machine learning, computational fluid dynamics, stochastic systems, simulation, stratified turbulence

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Authors: Jinwooung Kim, Jae-Hwan Jung, Seong-Jun Kim, Sung-Ah Kim

Abstract:

Because the building envelope has a significant impact on the operation and maintenance stage of the building, designing the facade considering the performance can improve the performance of the building and lower the maintenance cost of the building. In general, however, optimizing two or more performance factors confronts the limits of time and computational tools. The optimization phase typically repeats infinitely until a series of processes that generate alternatives and analyze the generated alternatives achieve the desired performance. In particular, as complex geometry or precision increases, computational resources and time are prohibitive to find the required performance, so an optimization methodology is needed to deal with this. Instead of directly analyzing all the alternatives in the optimization process, applying experimental techniques (heuristic method) learned through experimentation and experience can reduce resource waste. This study proposes and verifies a method to optimize the double envelope of a building composed of a perforated panel using machine learning to the design geometry and quantitative performance. The proposed method is to achieve the required performance with fewer resources by supplementing the existing method which cannot calculate the complex shape of the perforated panel.

Keywords: building envelope, machine learning, perforated metal, multi-factor optimization, façade

Procedia PDF Downloads 224