Search results for: travel constraints
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 1854

Search results for: travel constraints

804 Estimation of Source Parameters and Moment Tensor Solution through Waveform Modeling of 2013 Kishtwar Earthquake

Authors: Shveta Puri, Shiv Jyoti Pandey, G. M. Bhat, Neha Raina

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TheJammu and Kashmir region of the Northwest Himalaya had witnessed many devastating earthquakes in the recent past and has remained unexplored for any kind of seismic investigations except scanty records of the earthquakes that occurred in this region in the past. In this study, we have used local seismic data of year 2013 that was recorded by the network of Broadband Seismographs in J&K. During this period, our seismic stations recorded about 207 earthquakes including two moderate events of Mw 5.7 on 1st May, 2013 and Mw 5.1 of 2nd August, 2013.We analyzed the events of Mw 3-4.6 and the main events only (for minimizing the error) for source parameters, b value and sense of movement through waveform modeling for understanding seismotectonic and seismic hazard of the region. It has been observed that most of the events are bounded between 32.9° N – 33.3° N latitude and 75.4° E – 76.1° E longitudes, Moment Magnitude (Mw) ranges from Mw 3 to 5.7, Source radius (r), from 0.21 to 3.5 km, stress drop, from 1.90 bars to 71.1 bars and Corner frequency, from 0.39 – 6.06 Hz. The b-value for this region was found to be 0.83±0 from these events which are lower than the normal value (b=1), indicating the area is under high stress. The travel time inversion and waveform inversion method suggest focal depth up to 10 km probably above the detachment depth of the Himalayan region. Moment tensor solution of the (Mw 5.1, 02:32:47 UTC) main event of 2ndAugust suggested that the source fault is striking at 295° with dip of 33° and rake value of 85°. It was found that these events form intense clustering of small to moderate events within a narrow zone between Panjal Thrust and Kishtwar Window. Moment tensor solution of the main events and their aftershocks indicating thrust type of movement is occurring in this region.

Keywords: b-value, moment tensor, seismotectonics, source parameters

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803 Estimating View-Through Ad Attribution from User Surveys Using Convex Optimization

Authors: Yuhan Lin, Rohan Kekatpure, Cassidy Yeung

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In Digital Marketing, robust quantification of View-through attribution (VTA) is necessary for evaluating channel effectiveness. VTA occurs when a product purchase is aided by an Ad but without an explicit click (e.g. a TV ad). A lack of a tracking mechanism makes VTA estimation challenging. Most prevalent VTA estimation techniques rely on post-purchase in-product user surveys. User surveys enable the calculation of channel multipliers, which are the ratio of the view-attributed to the click-attributed purchases of each marketing channel. Channel multipliers thus provide a way to estimate the unknown VTA for a channel from its known click attribution. In this work, we use Convex Optimization to compute channel multipliers in a way that enables a mathematical encoding of the expected channel behavior. Large fluctuations in channel attributions often result from overfitting the calculations to user surveys. Casting channel attribution as a Convex Optimization problem allows an introduction of constraints that limit such fluctuations. The result of our study is a distribution of channel multipliers across the entire marketing funnel, with important implications for marketing spend optimization. Our technique can be broadly applied to estimate Ad effectiveness in a privacy-centric world that increasingly limits user tracking.

Keywords: digital marketing, survey analysis, operational research, convex optimization, channel attribution

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802 Study of the Green Composite Jute/Epoxy

Authors: A. Mir, C. Aribi, B. Bezzazi

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Work presented is interested in the characterization of the quasistatic mechanical properties and in fatigue of a composite laminated in jute/epoxy. The natural fibers offer promising prospects thanks to their interesting specific properties, because of their low density, but also with their bio deterioration. Several scientific studies highlighted the good mechanical resistance of the vegetable fiber composites reinforced, even after several recycling. Because of the environmental standards which become increasingly severe, one attends the emergence of eco-materials at the base of natural fibers such as flax, bamboo, hemp, sisal, jute. The fatigue tests on elementary vegetable fibers show an increase of about 60% of the rigidity of elementary fibers of hemp subjected to cyclic loading. In this study, the test-tubes manufactured by the method infusion have sequences of stacking of 0/90° and ± 45° for the shearing and tensile tests. The quasistatic tests reveal a variability of the mechanical properties of about 8%. The tensile fatigue tests were carried out for levels of constraints equivalent to half of the ultimate values of the composite. Once the fatigue tests carried out for well-defined values of cycles, a series of static tests of traction type highlights the influence of the number of cycles on the quasi static mechanical behavior of the laminate jute/epoxy.

Keywords: jute, epoxy resin, mechanical, static, dynamic behavior

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801 Establish a Company in Turkey for Foreigners

Authors: Mucahit Unal, Ibrahim Arslan

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The New Turkish Commercial Code (TCC) No. 6102 was published in the Official Gazette on February 14, 2011. As stated in the New Turkish Commercial Code No. 6102 and Law No. 6103 on Validity and Application of the Turkish Commercial Code, TCC came into effect on July 1, 2012. The basic purpose of the TCC is to form corporate governance coherent with the international standards; to provide transparency in company management; to adjust the Turkish Commercial Code rules with European Union legislations and to simplify establishing a company for foreigner investors to move investments to Turkish market. In this context according to TCC, joint stock companies and limited liability companies can establish with only one single shareholder; the one single shareholder can be foreigner; all board of director members can be foreigner, also all shareholders and board of director members can be non-resident foreigners. Additionally, TCC does not require physical participation to the general shareholders and board members meetings. TCC allows that the general shareholders and board members meetings can hold in an electronic form and resolution of these meetings may also be approved via electronic signatures. Through this amendment, foreign investors no longer have to deal with red tapes. This amendment also means the TCC prevents foreign companies from incurring unnecessary travel expenses. In accordance with all this amendments about TCC, to invest in Turkish market is easy, simple and transparent for foreigner investors and also investors can establish a company in Turkey, irrespective of nationality or place of residence. This article aims to analyze ‘Establish a Company in Turkey for Foreigners’ and inform investors about investing (especially establishing a company) in the Turkish market.

Keywords: establish a company, foreigner investors, invest in Turkish market, Turkish commercial code

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800 The Dynamics of Algeria’s Natural Gas Exports to Europe: Evidence from ARDL Bounds Testing Approach with Breakpoints

Authors: Hicham Benamirouche, Oum Elkheir Moussi

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The purpose of the study is to examine the dynamics of Algeria’s natural gas exports through the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) bounds testing approach with break points. The analysis was carried out for the period from 1967 to 2015. Based on imperfect substitution specification, the ARDL approach reveals a long-run equilibrium relationship between Algeria’s Natural gas exports and their determinant factors (Algeria’s gas reserves, Domestic gas consumption, Europe’s GDP per capita, relative prices, the European gas production and the market share of competitors). All the long-run elasticities estimated are statistically significant with a large impact of domestic factors, which constitute the supply constraints. In short term, the elasticities are statistically significant, and almost comparable to those of the long term. Furthermore, the speed of adjustment towards long-run equilibrium is less than one year because of the little flexibility of the long term export contracts. Two break points have been estimated when we employ the domestic gas consumption as a break variable; 1984 and 2010, which reflect the arbitration policy between the domestic gas market and gas exports.

Keywords: natural gas exports, elasticity, ARDL bounds testing, break points, Algeria

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799 Design and Characterization of a Smart Composite Fabric for Knee Brace

Authors: Rohith J. K., Amir Nazemi, Abbas S. Milani

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In Paralympic sports, athletes often depend on some form of equipment to enable competitive sporting, where most of this equipment would only allow passive physiological supports and discrete physiological measurements. Active feedback physiological support and continuous detection of performance indicators, without time or space constraints, would be beneficial in more effective training and performance measures of Paralympic athletes. Moreover, occasionally the athletes suffer from fatigue and muscular stains due to improper monitoring systems. The latter challenges can be overcome by using Smart Composites technology when manufacturing, e.g., knee brace and other sports wearables utilities, where the sensors can be fused together into the fabric and an assisted system actively support the athlete. This paper shows how different sensing functionality may be created by intrinsic and extrinsic modifications onto different types of composite fabrics, depending on the level of integration and the employed functional elements. Results demonstrate that fabric sensors can be well-tailored to measure muscular strain and be used in the fabrication of a smart knee brace as a sample potential application. Materials, connectors, fabric circuits, interconnects, encapsulation and fabrication methods associated with such smart fabric technologies prove to be customizable and versatile.

Keywords: smart composites, sensors, smart fabrics, knee brace

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798 Analysis Mechanized Boring (TBM) of Tehran Subway Line 7

Authors: Shahin Shabani, Pouya Pourmadadi

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Tunnel boring machines (TBMs) have been used for the construction of various tunnels for mining projects for the purpose of access, conveyance of ore and waste, drainage, exploration, water supply and water diversion. Several mining projects have seen the successful and economic beneficial use of TBMs, and there is an increasing awareness of the benefits of TBMs for mining projects. Key technical considerations for the use of TBMs for the construction of tunnels for mining projects include geological issues (rock type, rock alteration, rock strength, rock abrasivity, durability, ground water inflows), depth of cover and the potential for overstressing/rockbursts, site access and terrain, portal locations, TBM constraints, minimum tunnel size, tunnel support requirements, contractor and labor experience, and project schedule demands. This study focuses on tunnelling mining, with the goal to develop methods and tools to be used to gain understanding of these processes, and to analyze metro of Tehran. The Metro Line 7 of Tehran is one of the Longest (26 Km) and deepest (27m) of projects that’s under implementation. Because of major differences like passing under all geotechnical layers of the town and encountering part of it with underground water table and also using mechanized excavation system, is one of special metro projects.

Keywords: TBM, tunnel boring machines economic, metro, line 7

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797 Stage-Gate Based Integrated Project Management Methodology for New Product Development

Authors: Mert Kıranç, Ekrem Duman, Murat Özbilen

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In order to achieve new product development (NPD) activities on time and within budgetary constraints, the NPD managers need a well-designed methodology. This study intends to create an integrated project management methodology for the ones who focus on new product development projects. In the scope of the study, four different management systems are combined. These systems are called as 'Schedule-oriented Stage-Gate Method, Risk Management, Change Management and Earned Value Management'. New product development term is quite common in many different industries such as defense industry, construction, health care/dental, higher education, fast moving consumer goods, white goods, electronic devices, marketing and advertising and software development. All product manufacturers run against each other’s for introducing a new product to the market. In order to achieve to produce a more competitive product in the market, an optimum project management methodology is chosen, and this methodology is adapted to company culture. The right methodology helps the company to present perfect product to the customers at the right time. The benefits of proposed methodology are discussed as an application by a company. As a result, how the integrated methodology improves the efficiency and how it achieves the success of the project are unfolded.

Keywords: project, project management, management methodology, new product development, risk management, change management, earned value, stage-gate

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796 A Hybrid Data Mining Algorithm Based System for Intelligent Defence Mission Readiness and Maintenance Scheduling

Authors: Shivam Dwivedi, Sumit Prakash Gupta, Durga Toshniwal

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It is a challenging task in today’s date to keep defence forces in the highest state of combat readiness with budgetary constraints. A huge amount of time and money is squandered in the unnecessary and expensive traditional maintenance activities. To overcome this limitation Defence Intelligent Mission Readiness and Maintenance Scheduling System has been proposed, which ameliorates the maintenance system by diagnosing the condition and predicting the maintenance requirements. Based on new data mining algorithms, this system intelligently optimises mission readiness for imminent operations and maintenance scheduling in repair echelons. With modified data mining algorithms such as Weighted Feature Ranking Genetic Algorithm and SVM-Random Forest Linear ensemble, it improves the reliability, availability and safety, alongside reducing maintenance cost and Equipment Out of Action (EOA) time. The results clearly conclude that the introduced algorithms have an edge over the conventional data mining algorithms. The system utilizing the intelligent condition-based maintenance approach improves the operational and maintenance decision strategy of the defence force.

Keywords: condition based maintenance, data mining, defence maintenance, ensemble, genetic algorithms, maintenance scheduling, mission capability

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795 Economics of Household Expenditure Pattern on Animal Products in Bauchi Metropolis, Bauchi State, Nigeria

Authors: B. Hamidu, A. Abdulhamid, S. Mohammed, S. Idi

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This study examined the household expenditure pattern on animal products in Bauchi metropolis. A cross-sectional data were collected from 157 households using systematic sampling technique. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation and regression models. The results reveal that the mean age, mean household size, mean monthly income and mean total expenditure on animal products were found to be 39 years, 7 persons, N28,749 and N1,740 respectively. It was also found that household monthly income, number of children and educational level of the household heads (P<0.01) significantly influence the level of household expenditure on animal products. Similarly, income was found to be the most important factor determining the proportion of total expenditure on animal products (20.91%). Income elasticity was found to be 0.66 indicating that for every 1% increase in income, expenditure on animal products would increase by 0.66%. Furthermore, beef was found to be the most preferred (54.83%) and most regularly consumed (61.84%) animal products. However, it was discovered that the major constraints affecting the consumption of animal products were low-income level of the households (29.85%), high cost of animal products (15.82%) and increase in prices of necessities (15.82%). Therefore to improve household expenditure on animal products per capita real income of the households should be improved through creation of employment opportunities. Also stabilization of market prices of animal products and other foods items of necessities through increased production are recommended.

Keywords: animal products, economics, expenditure, households

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794 Technology for Enhancing the Learning and Teaching Experience in Higher Education

Authors: Sara M. Ismael, Ali H. Al-Badi

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The rapid development and growth of technology has changed the method of obtaining information for educators and learners. Technology has created a new world of collaboration and communication among people. Incorporating new technology into the teaching process can enhance learning outcomes. Billions of individuals across the world are now connected together, and are cooperating and contributing their knowledge and intelligence. Time is no longer wasted in waiting until the teacher is ready to share information as learners can go online and get it immediately. The objectives of this paper are to understand the reasons why changes in teaching and learning methods are necessary, to find ways of improving them, and to investigate the challenges that present themselves in the adoption of new ICT tools in higher education institutes. To achieve these objectives two primary research methods were used: questionnaires, which were distributed among students at higher educational institutes and multiple interviews with faculty members (teachers) from different colleges and universities, which were conducted to find out why teaching and learning methodology should change. The findings show that both learners and educators agree that educational technology plays a significant role in enhancing instructors’ teaching style and students’ overall learning experience; however, time constraints, privacy issues, and not being provided with enough up-to-date technology do create some challenges.

Keywords: e-books, educational technology, educators, e-learning, learners, social media, Web 2.0, LMS

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793 Deficiency Risk in Islamic and Conventional Banks

Authors: Korbi Fakhri

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The management of assets and liability is a vital task for every bank as far as a good direction allows its stability; however, a bad running forewarns its disappearance. Equity of a bank is among the most important rubrics in the liability side because, actually, these funds ensure three notably primordial functions for the survival of the bank. From one hand, equity is useful to bankroll the investments and cover the unexpected losses. From another hand, they attract the fund lessors since they inspire trust. So we are going to tackle some points including whether equity of the Islamic banks are oversized. In spite of the efforts made on the subject, the relationship between the capital and the deficiency probability has not been defined with certainty. In this article, we have elaborated a study over the nature of financial intermediation in Islamic banks by comparison to those of conventional ones. We have found a striking difference between two kinds of intermediation. We tried, from another side, to study the relationship between the capital level and deficiency risk relying on econometric model, and we have obtained a positive and significant relation between the capital and the deficiency risk for the conventional banks. This means that when the capital of these banks increases, the deficiency risk increases as well. In return, since the Islamic banks are constrained to respect the Sharia Committee as well as customers’ demands who may, in certain contracts, choose to invest their capitals in projects they are interested in. These constraints have as effects to reduce the deficiency risk even when the capital increases.

Keywords: Islamic bank, conventional bank, deficiency risk, financial intermediation

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792 Real-Time Path Planning for Unmanned Air Vehicles Using Improved Rapidly-Exploring Random Tree and Iterative Trajectory Optimization

Authors: A. Ramalho, L. Romeiro, R. Ventura, A. Suleman

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A real-time path planning framework for Unmanned Air Vehicles, and in particular multi-rotors is proposed. The framework is designed to provide feasible trajectories from the current UAV position to a goal state, taking into account constraints such as obstacle avoidance, problem kinematics, and vehicle limitations such as maximum speed and maximum acceleration. The framework computes feasible paths online, allowing to avoid new, unknown, dynamic obstacles without fully re-computing the trajectory. These features are achieved using an iterative process in which the robot computes and optimizes the trajectory while performing the mission objectives. A first trajectory is computed using a modified Rapidly-Exploring Random Tree (RRT) algorithm, that provides trajectories that respect a maximum curvature constraint. The trajectory optimization is accomplished using the Interior Point Optimizer (IPOPT) as a solver. The framework has proven to be able to compute a trajectory and optimize to a locally optimal with computational efficiency making it feasible for real-time operations.

Keywords: interior point optimization, multi-rotors, online path planning, rapidly exploring random trees, trajectory optimization

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791 Brand Preferences in Saudi Arabia: Explorative Study in Jeddah

Authors: Badr Alharbi

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There is significant debate on the evolution of retail marketing as an economy matures. In penetrating new markets, global brands are efficient in establishing a presence and replacing less effective competitors by engaging in superior advertising, pricing and sometimes quality. However, national brands adapt over time and may either partner with global brands in distribution and services or directly compete more efficiently in the new, open market. This explorative study investigates brand preferences in Saudi Arabia. As a conservative society, which is nevertheless highly commercialised, Saudi Arabia markets could be fragmenting with consumer preferences and rejections based on country of origin, globalisation, or perhaps regionalisation. To investigate this, an online survey was distributed to Saudis in Jeddah to gather data on their preferences for travel, technology, clothes and accessories, eating out, vehicles, and influential brands. The results from 710 valid responses were that there are distinct regional and national brand preferences among the young Saudi men who contributed to the survey. Apart from a preference for Saudi food providers, airline preferences were the United Emirates, holiday preferences were Europe, study and work preferences were the United States, hotel preferences were United States-based, car preferences were Japanese, and clothing preferences were United States-based. The results were broadly in line with international research findings; however, the study participants varied from Arab research findings by describing themselves as innovative in their purchase selections, rarely loyal (exception of Apple products) and continually seeking new brand experiences. This survey contributes to an understanding of evolving Saudi consumer preferences.

Keywords: Saudi marketing, globalisation, country of origin, brand preferences

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790 Explicitation as a Non-Professional Translation Universal: Evidence from the Translation of Promotional Material

Authors: Julieta Alos

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Following the explicitation hypothesis, it has been proposed that explicitation is a translation universal, i.e., one of those features that characterize translated texts, and cannot be traced back to interference from a particular language. The explicitation hypothesis has been enthusiastically endorsed by some scholars, and firmly rejected by others. Focusing on the translation of promotional material from English into Arabic, specifically in the luxury goods market, the aims of this study are twofold: First, to contribute to the debate regarding the notion of explicitation in order to advance our understanding of what has become a contentious concept. Second, to add to the growing body of literature on non-professional translation by shedding light on this particular aspect of it. To this end, our study uses a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods to explore a corpus of brochures pertaining to the luxury industry, translated into Arabic at the local marketing agencies promoting the brands in question, by bilingual employees who have no translation training. Our data reveals a preference to avoid creative language choices in favor of more direct advertising messages, suggestive of a general tendency towards explicitation in non-professional translation, beyond what is dictated by the grammatical and stylistic constraints of Arabic. We argue, further, that this translation approach is at odds with the principles of luxury advertising, which emphasize implicitness and ambiguity, and view language as an extension of the creative process involved in the production of the luxury item.

Keywords: English-Arabic translation, explicitation, non-professional translation, promotional texts

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789 Aircraft Automatic Collision Avoidance Using Spiral Geometric Approach

Authors: M. Orefice, V. Di Vito

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This paper provides a description of a Collision Avoidance algorithm that has been developed starting from the mathematical modeling of the flight of insects, in terms of spirals and conchospirals geometric paths. It is able to calculate a proper avoidance manoeuver aimed to prevent the infringement of a predefined distance threshold between ownship and the considered intruder, while minimizing the ownship trajectory deviation from the original path and in compliance with the aircraft performance limitations and dynamic constraints. The algorithm is designed in order to be suitable for real-time applications, so that it can be considered for the implementation in the most recent airborne automatic collision avoidance systems using the traffic data received through an ADS-B IN device. The presented approach is able to take into account the rules-of-the-air, due to the possibility to select, through specifically designed decision making logic based on the consideration of the encounter geometry, the direction of the calculated collision avoidance manoeuver that allows complying with the rules-of-the-air, as for instance the fundamental right of way rule. In the paper, the proposed collision avoidance algorithm is presented and its preliminary design and software implementation is described. The applicability of this method has been proved through preliminary simulation tests performed in a 2D environment considering single intruder encounter geometries, as reported and discussed in the paper.

Keywords: ADS-B Based Application, Collision Avoidance, RPAS, Spiral Geometry.

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788 Progress, Challenges, and Prospects of Non-Conventional Feed Resources for Livestock Production in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Review

Authors: Clyde Haruzivi, Olusegun Oyebade Ikusika, Thando Conference Mpendulo

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Feed scarcity, increasing demand for animal products due to the growing human population, competition for conventional feed resources for humans and animal production, and ever-increasing prices of these feed resources are major constraints to the livestock industry in Sub-Saharan Africa. As a result, the industry is suffering immensely as the cost of production is high, hence the reduced returns. Most affected are the communal and resource-limited farmers who cannot afford the cost of conventional feed resources to supplement feeds, especially in arid and semi-arid areas where the available feed resources are not adequate for maintenance and production. This has tasked researchers and animal scientists to focus on the potential of non-conventional feed resources (NCFRs). Non-conventional feed resources could fill the gap through reduced competition, cost of feed, increased supply, increased profits, and independency as farmers will be utilizing locally available feed resources. Identifying available non-conventional feed resources is vital as it creates possibilities for novel feed industries and markets and implements methods of using these feedstuffs to improve livestock production and livelihoods in Sub-Saharan Africa. Hence, this research work analyses the progress, challenges, and prospects of some non-conventional feed resources in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Keywords: non-conventional, feed resources, livestock production, food security, Sub-Saharan

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787 Effects of Advanced Periodontal Disease on Hematological Parameters in Adult Dogs

Authors: Mahzad Yousefi, Azin Tavakoli

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Periodontal disease is an inflammatory reaction; therefore, it is predicted that changes may occur in some inflammatory parameters that can be detected in routine blood tests. The objective of this study was to evaluate the hematological and biochemistry changes that occur in dogs affected with advanced stages of periodontal disease. 87 dogs were diagnosed with periodontal disease (PD group), and 76 healthy dogs entered the study. The PD dogs had been affected with periodontitis stage 3 or 4 and were candidates for any dental extractions. The healthy dogs were either referred for annual checkups or for issuing health travel certificates that their owners asked for complete lab tests. Neither the diseased nor healthy subjects had a history of infectious, or other general health problems or surgery in the past 3 months. Age, as well as all hematologic including PCV, WBC and RBC count, Hb, MCV, MCH, MCHC, PLT, CBC, NLR, and biochemistry data, including total protein, albumin, glucose, BUN, Creatinine, ALT, AST, and ALP, were recorded and analyzed statistically. Results confirmed that aging has a significant direct relationship with the advanced stages of periodontal disease. Mild leukocytosis occurred in the diseased group; however, it was not significant. Also, the mean total protein of the PD group was lower than that of the healthy dogs, and serum levels of albumin were found to be lower significantly in the diseased group (P<0.05). Mean ±SD amount of Platelet, MCH, and ALT were significantly higher in the diseased group in comparison to the healthy dogs (P<0.05). No significant differences were reported in other evaluated parameters. It is concluded that CBC indices of PD dogs are not systemic inflammatory; however, only a decrease in albumin showed inflammatory responses. Some indices in routine laboratory tests can be changed significantly during advanced stages of the periodontal disease dogs.

Keywords: periodontal disease, dogs, hematological factors, advanced stages, blood tests

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786 Energy Efficiency Retrofitting of Residential Buildings Case Study: Multi-Family Apartment Building in Tripoli, Lebanon

Authors: Yathreb Sabsaby

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Energy efficiency retrofitting of existing buildings was long ignored by public authorities who favored energy efficiency policies in new buildings, which are easier to implement. Indeed, retrofitting is more complex and difficult to organize because of the extreme diversity in existing buildings, administrative situations and occupation. Energy efficiency retrofitting of existing buildings has now become indispensable in all economies—even emerging countries—given the constraints imposed by energy security and climate change, and because it represents considerable potential energy savings. Addressing energy efficiency in the existing building stock has been acknowledged as one of the most critical yet challenging aspects of reducing our environmental footprint on the ecosystem. Tripoli, Lebanon chosen as case study area is a typical Mediterranean metropolis in the North Lebanon, where multifamily residential buildings are all around the city. This generally implies that the density of energy demand is extremely high, even the renewable energy facilities are involved, they can just play as a minor energy provider at the current technology level in the single family house. It seems only the low energy design for buildings can be made possible, not the zero energy certainly in developing country. This study reviews the latest research and experience and provides recommendations for deep energy retrofits that aim to save more than 50% of the energy used in a typical Tripoli apartment building.

Keywords: energy-efficiency, existing building, multifamily residential building, retrofit

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785 Towards the Concept of Global Health Nursing

Authors: Nuruddeen Abubakar Adamu

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Background: Global health nursing describes health-related work across borders and focuses more on the differences between the nurses’ role between countries and identified why nursing care in particular country differs from another. It also helps in analyzing the health issues and concerns that transcend national borders class, race, ethnicity and culture. The primary objective of this study is to introduce the concept of global health nursing. And the article also argues for the need for global health nursing. Methods This review assesses available evidence, both published and unpublished, on issues relating to the global health nursing and the nurse's role in global health. The review is qualitative based. Results: Globalization, modern technologies, travel, migration and changes in diseases trend globally has made the nursing role to become more diverse and less traditional. These issues change the nurse’s role in the healthcare industry to become enormous and very challenging. This article considers response to issues of emerging global health nursing concept, challenges, purposes, global health nursing activities in both developed and developing countries and the nurse's role globally in maternal-newborn health; preparedness for advocacy in global health within a framework of social justice, equity; and health system strengthening globally. Conclusion: Global health nursing goes beyond the intervention to care for a patient with a particular health problem but, however health is interconnected to political, economic and social context and therefore this explains the need of a multi-professional and multi-sectoral approach to achieve the goal of global health and the need for global health nursing. Global health equity can be promoted and if the profile of nursing and nurses will be raised and enable nurses to be aware of global health issues so as to enable them to work to their full maximum potential, to attain greater health outcome and wellness.

Keywords: global health nursing, double burden of diseases, globalization, health equity

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784 Actresses as Eunuchs: The Versatility of Cross-Gendered Roles in Eighteenth-Century Orientalist Theatre

Authors: Anne Greenfield

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Introductory Statement: During the eighteenth century in London, there were over two dozen theatrical productions that featured eunuchoid characters, most of which were set in 'Eastern' locales, including the Ottoman Empire, Persia, India, and China. These characters have gone largely overlooked by recent scholars, and more analysis is needed in order to illustrate the contemporary values and anxieties reflected in these popular and recurring figures at the time. Methodology: This paper adopts a New Historical and Cultural Studies approach to the subject of theatrical depictions of eunuchs, drawing insights from seventeenth- and eighteenth-century literary works, travel narratives, medical treatises, and histories of the age. Major Findings: As this paper demonstrates, there was a high degree of complexity, variety, and -at times- respect underlying orientalist theatrical depictions of eunuchs. Not only were eunuchoid characters represented in strikingly diverse ways in scripts, but these roles were also played by a heterogeneous group of actors and even actresses. More specifically, this paper looks closely at three actresses who took roles as eunuchs in tragedies: Mrs. Verbruggen (aka Mrs. Mountfort), Mrs. Rogers, and Mrs. Bicknell—all of whom were otherwise best known as comediennes. These casting choices provided an entertaining twist on the breeches roles these actresses often played. In fact, the staging and scripting of these roles, when analyzed through the lens of these cross-gendered roles, becomes ironic and comical in several scenes that are usually assumed (by recent scholars) to be thoroughly tragic. Conclusion: Ultimately, a careful look at the staging of eunuchoid characters sheds light on not only how these productions were performed and understood, but also on how writers and theatre managers navigated the Other, whether in gender identity or culture, during this era.

Keywords: eunuch, actress, literature, drama

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783 The Dark Side of Tourism's Implications: A Structural Equation Modeling Study of the 2016 Earthquake in Central Italy

Authors: B. Kulaga, A. Cinti, F. J. Mazzocchini

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Despite the fact that growing academic attention on dark tourism is a fairly recent phenomenon, among the various reasons for travelling death-related ones, are very ancient. Furthermore, the darker side of human nature has always been fascinated and curious regarding death, or at least, man has always tried to learn lessons from death. This study proposes to describe the phenomenon of dark tourism related to the 2016 earthquake in Central Italy, deadly for 302 people and highly destructive for the rural areas of Lazio, Marche, and Umbria Regions. The primary objective is to examine the motivation-experience relationship in a dark tourism site, using the structural equation model, applied for the first time to a dark tourism research in 2016, in a study conducted after the Beichuan earthquake. The findings of the current study are derived from the calculations conducted on primary data compiled from 350 tourists in the areas mostly affected by the 2016 earthquake, including the town of Amatrice, near the epicenter, Castelluccio, Norcia, Ussita and Visso, through conducting a Likert scale survey. Furthermore, we use the structural equation model to examine the motivation behind dark travel and how this experience can influence the motivation and emotional reaction of tourists. Expected findings are in line with the previous study mentioned above, indicating that: not all tourists visit the thanatourism sites for dark tourism purpose, tourists’ emotional reactions influence more heavily the emotional tourist experience than cognitive experiences do, and curious visitors are likely to engage cognitively by learning about the incident or related issues.

Keywords: dark tourism, emotional reaction, experience, motivation, structural equation model

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782 Reducing Support Structures in Design for Additive Manufacturing: A Neural Networks Approach

Authors: Olivia Borgue, Massimo Panarotto, Ola Isaksson

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This article presents a neural networks-based strategy for reducing the need for support structures when designing for additive manufacturing (AM). Additive manufacturing is a relatively new and immature industrial technology, and the information to make confident decisions when designing for AM is limited. This lack of information impacts especially the early stages of engineering design, for instance, it is difficult to actively consider the support structures needed for manufacturing a part. This difficulty is related to the challenge of designing a product geometry accounting for customer requirements, manufacturing constraints and minimization of support structure. The approach presented in this article proposes an automatized geometry modification technique for reducing the use of the support structures while designing for AM. This strategy starts with a neural network-based strategy for shape recognition to achieve product classification, using an STL file of the product as input. Based on the classification, an automatic part geometry modification based on MATLAB© is implemented. At the end of the process, the strategy presents different geometry modification alternatives depending on the type of product to be designed. The geometry alternatives are then evaluated adopting a QFD-like decision support tool.

Keywords: additive manufacturing, engineering design, geometry modification optimization, neural networks

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781 A Conceptual Framework for Assessing the Development of Health Information Systems Enterprise Architecture Interoperability

Authors: Prosper Tafadzwa Denhere, Ephias Ruhode, Munyaradzi Zhou

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Health Information Systems (HISs) interoperability is emerging to be the future of modern healthcare systems Enterprise Architecture (EA), where healthcare entities are seamlessly interconnected to share healthcare data. The reality that the healthcare industry has been characterised by an influx of fragmented stand-alone e-Health systems, which present challenges of healthcare information sharing across platforms, desires much attention for systems integration efforts. The lack of an EA conceptual framework resultantly crates the need for investigating an ideal solution to the objective of Health Information Systems interoperability development assessment. The study takes a qualitative exploratory approach through a design science research context. The research aims to study the various themes withdrawn from the literature that can help in the assessment of interoperable HISs development through a literature study. Themes derived from the study include HIS needs, HIS readiness, HIS constraints, and HIS technology integration elements and standards tied to the EA development architectural layers of The Open Group Architecture Framework (TOGAF) as an EA development methodology. Eventually, the themes were conceptualised into a framework reviewed by two experts. The essence of the study was to provide a framework within which interoperable EA of HISs should be developed.

Keywords: enterprise architecture, eHealth, health information systems, interoperability

Procedia PDF Downloads 79
780 Comprehensive Review of Ultralightweight Security Protocols

Authors: Prashansa Singh, Manjot Kaur, Rohit Bajaj

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The proliferation of wireless sensor networks and Internet of Things (IoT) devices in the quickly changing digital landscape has highlighted the urgent need for strong security solutions that can handle these systems’ limited resources. A key solution to this problem is the emergence of ultralightweight security protocols, which provide strong security features while respecting the strict computational, energy, and memory constraints imposed on these kinds of devices. This in-depth analysis explores the field of ultralightweight security protocols, offering a thorough examination of their evolution, salient features, and the particular security issues they resolve. We carefully examine and contrast different protocols, pointing out their advantages and disadvantages as well as the compromises between resource limitations and security resilience. We also study these protocols’ application domains, including the Internet of Things, RFID systems, and wireless sensor networks, to name a few. In addition, the review highlights recent developments and advancements in the field, pointing out new trends and possible avenues for future research. This paper aims to be a useful resource for researchers, practitioners, and developers, guiding the design and implementation of safe, effective, and scalable systems in the Internet of Things era by providing a comprehensive overview of ultralightweight security protocols.

Keywords: wireless sensor network, machine-to-machine, MQTT broker, server, ultralightweight, TCP/IP

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779 Assessing the Impact of Renewable Energy on Regional Sustainability: A Comparative Study of Suwon and Seoul

Authors: Jongsoo Jurng

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The drive to expand renewable energies is often in direct conflict with sustainable development goals. Thus, it is important that energy policies account for potential trade-offs. We assess the interlinkages between energy, food, water, and land, for two case studies, Suwon and Seoul. We apply a range of assessment methods and study their usefulness as tools to identify trade-offs and to compare the sustainability performance. We calculate cross-sectoral footprints, self-sufficiency ratios and perform a simplified Energy-Water-Food nexus analysis. We use the latter for assessing scenarios to increase energy and food self-sufficiency in Suwon, while we use ecosystem service (ESS) accounting for Seoul. For Suwon, we find that constraints on the energy, food and water sectors urgently call for integrated approaches to energy policy; for Seoul, the further expansion of renewables comes at the expense of cultural and supporting ESS, which could outweigh gains from increased energy exports. We recommend a general upgrade to indicators and visualization methods that look beyond averages and a fostering of infrastructure for data on sustainable development based on harmonized international protocols. We warn against rankings of countries or regions based on benchmarks that are neither theory-driven nor location-specific.

Keywords: ESS, renewable energy, energy-water-food nexus, assessment

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778 Motivation Among Arab Learners of English in the UK

Authors: Safa Kaka

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As more and more students are travelling to different countries to study and, in particular, to study English, the question of what motivates them to make such a large move has come under question. This is particularly pertinent in the case of Arab students who make up nearly 15% of the foreign student body in the UK. Given that the cultural differences between the UK and Arab nations are extremely wide, the decision to come to this country to study English must be driven by strong motivational forces. Numerous previous studies have considered what motivates foreign students to travel to the UK and other countries for their education or language learning but the specific motivators of Arab students have yet to be explored. This study undertakes to close that gap by examining the concepts and theories of motivation, both in general terms and in relation to English learning and foreign study. 70 Arab students currently studying in the UK were asked to participate in an online questionnaire which asked about their motivations for coming to the UK and for studying and learning English. A further six individuals were interviewed on a face to face basis. The outcomes have indicated that the factors which motivate the decision to come to the UK are similar to those that motivate the desire to learn English. In particular a motivation for self-improvement, career advancement and potential future benefits were cited by a number of respondents. Other indications were the ease of accessibility to the UK as an English speaking country, a motivation to experience different cultures and lifestyles and even political freedoms. Overall the motivations of Arab students were not found to be conspicuously different from those of other foreign students, although it was noted that their motivations did change, both positively and negatively following a period of time in the country. These changes were based on the expectations of the students pre-arrival and their actual experience of the country and its teaching approaches and establishments and were, as indicated both good and bad. The implications for the Arab student population and UK educational establishments are reviewed and future research pathways highlighted.

Keywords: motivation, Arab learners of English, language teaching, applied linguistics

Procedia PDF Downloads 333
777 Probabilistic Crash Prediction and Prevention of Vehicle Crash

Authors: Lavanya Annadi, Fahimeh Jafari

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Transportation brings immense benefits to society, but it also has its costs. Costs include such as the cost of infrastructure, personnel and equipment, but also the loss of life and property in traffic accidents on the road, delays in travel due to traffic congestion and various indirect costs in terms of air transport. More research has been done to identify the various factors that affect road accidents, such as road infrastructure, traffic, sociodemographic characteristics, land use, and the environment. The aim of this research is to predict the probabilistic crash prediction of vehicles using machine learning due to natural and structural reasons by excluding spontaneous reasons like overspeeding etc., in the United States. These factors range from weather factors, like weather conditions, precipitation, visibility, wind speed, wind direction, temperature, pressure, and humidity to human made structures like road structure factors like bump, roundabout, no exit, turning loop, give away, etc. Probabilities are dissected into ten different classes. All the predictions are based on multiclass classification techniques, which are supervised learning. This study considers all crashes that happened in all states collected by the US government. To calculate the probability, multinomial expected value was used and assigned a classification label as the crash probability. We applied three different classification models, including multiclass Logistic Regression, Random Forest and XGBoost. The numerical results show that XGBoost achieved a 75.2% accuracy rate which indicates the part that is being played by natural and structural reasons for the crash. The paper has provided in-deep insights through exploratory data analysis.

Keywords: road safety, crash prediction, exploratory analysis, machine learning

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776 Spatiotemporal Analysis of Land Surface Temperature and Urban Heat Island Evaluation of Four Metropolitan Areas of Texas, USA

Authors: Chunhong Zhao

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Remotely sensed land surface temperature (LST) is vital to understand the land-atmosphere energy balance, hydrological cycle, and thus is widely used to describe the urban heat island (UHI) phenomenon. However, due to technical constraints, satellite thermal sensors are unable to provide LST measurement with both high spatial and high temporal resolution. Despite different downscaling techniques and algorithms to generate high spatiotemporal resolution LST. Four major metropolitan areas in Texas, USA: Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio, and Austin all demonstrate UHI effects. Different cities are expected to have varying SUHI effect during the urban development trajectory. With the help of the Landsat, ASTER, and MODIS archives, this study focuses on the spatial patterns of UHIs and the seasonal and annual variation of these metropolitan areas. With Gaussian model, and Local Indicators of Spatial Autocorrelations (LISA), as well as data fusion methods, this study identifies the hotspots and the trajectory of the UHI phenomenon of the four cities. By making comparison analysis, the result can help to alleviate the advent effect of UHI and formulate rational urban planning in the long run.

Keywords: spatiotemporal analysis, land surface temperature, urban heat island evaluation, metropolitan areas of Texas, USA

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775 Structural Health Monitoring of the 9-Story Torre Central Building Using Recorded Data and Wave Method

Authors: Tzong-Ying Hao, Mohammad T. Rahmani

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The Torre Central building is a 9-story shear wall structure located in Santiago, Chile, and has been instrumented since 2009. Events of different intensity (ambient vibrations, weak and strong earthquake motions) have been recorded, and thus the building can serve as a full-scale benchmark to evaluate the structural health monitoring method developed. The first part of this article presents an analysis of inter-story drifts, and of changes in the first system frequencies (estimated from the relative displacement response of the 8th-floor with respect to the basement from recorded data) as baseline indicators of the occurrence of damage. During 2010 Chile earthquake the system frequencies were detected decreasing approximately 24% in the EW and 27% in NS motions. Near the end of shaking, an increase of about 17% in the EW motion was detected. The structural health monitoring (SHM) method based on changes in wave traveling time (wave method) within a layered shear beam model of structure is presented in the second part of this article. If structural damage occurs the velocity of wave propagated through the structure changes. The wave method measures the velocities of shear wave propagation from the impulse responses generated by recorded data at various locations inside the building. Our analysis and results show that the detected changes in wave velocities are consistent with the observed damages. On this basis, the wave method is proven for actual implementation in structural health monitoring systems.

Keywords: Chile earthquake, damage detection, earthquake response, impulse response, layered shear beam, structural health monitoring, Torre Central building, wave method, wave travel time

Procedia PDF Downloads 350