Search results for: four point bending test
12912 Motion Planning and Posture Control of the General 3-Trailer System
Authors: K. Raghuwaiya, B. Sharma, J. Vanualailai
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This paper presents a set of artificial potential field functions that improves upon; in general, the motion planning and posture control, with theoretically guaranteed point and posture stabilities, convergence and collision avoidance properties of the general 3-trailer system in a priori known environment. We basically design and inject two new concepts; ghost walls and the distance optimization technique (DOT) to strengthen point and posture stabilities, in the sense of Lyapunov, of our dynamical model. This new combination of techniques emerges as a convenient mechanism for obtaining feasible orientations at the target positions with an overall reduction in the complexity of the navigation laws. Simulations are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the controls laws.Keywords: artificial potential fields, 3-trailer systems, motion planning, posture
Procedia PDF Downloads 43112911 Parameter Estimation of Induction Motors by PSO Algorithm
Authors: A. Mohammadi, S. Asghari, M. Aien, M. Rashidinejad
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After emergent of alternative current networks and their popularity, asynchronous motors became more widespread than other kinds of industrial motors. In order to control and run these motors efficiently, an accurate estimation of motor parameters is needed. There are different methods to obtain these parameters such as rotor locked test, no load test, DC test, analytical methods, and so on. The most common drawback of these methods is their inaccuracy in estimation of some motor parameters. In order to remove this concern, a novel method for parameter estimation of induction motors using particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm is proposed. In the proposed method, transient state of motor is used for parameter estimation. Comparison of the simulation results purtuined to the PSO algorithm with other available methods justifies the effectiveness of the proposed method.Keywords: induction motor, motor parameter estimation, PSO algorithm, analytical method
Procedia PDF Downloads 63712910 Seismic Impact and Design on Buried Pipelines
Authors: T. Schmitt, J. Rosin, C. Butenweg
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Seismic design of buried pipeline systems for energy and water supply is not only important for plant and operational safety, but in particular for the maintenance of supply infrastructure after an earthquake. Past earthquakes have shown the vulnerability of pipeline systems. After the Kobe earthquake in Japan in 1995 for instance, in some regions the water supply was interrupted for almost two months. The present paper shows special issues of the seismic wave impacts on buried pipelines, describes calculation methods, proposes approaches and gives calculation examples. Buried pipelines are exposed to different effects of seismic impacts. This paper regards the effects of transient displacement differences and resulting tensions within the pipeline due to the wave propagation of the earthquake. Other effects are permanent displacements due to fault rupture displacements at the surface, soil liquefaction, landslides and seismic soil compaction. The presented model can also be used to calculate fault rupture induced displacements. Based on a three-dimensional Finite Element Model parameter studies are performed to show the influence of several parameters such as incoming wave angle, wave velocity, soil depth and selected displacement time histories. In the computer model, the interaction between the pipeline and the surrounding soil is modeled with non-linear soil springs. A propagating wave is simulated affecting the pipeline punctually independently in time and space. The resulting stresses mainly are caused by displacement differences of neighboring pipeline segments and by soil-structure interaction. The calculation examples focus on pipeline bends as the most critical parts. Special attention is given to the calculation of long-distance heat pipeline systems. Here, in regular distances expansion bends are arranged to ensure movements of the pipeline due to high temperature. Such expansion bends are usually designed with small bending radii, which in the event of an earthquake lead to high bending stresses at the cross-section of the pipeline. Therefore, Karman's elasticity factors, as well as the stress intensity factors for curved pipe sections, must be taken into account. The seismic verification of the pipeline for wave propagation in the soil can be achieved by observing normative strain criteria. Finally, an interpretation of the results and recommendations are given taking into account the most critical parameters.Keywords: buried pipeline, earthquake, seismic impact, transient displacement
Procedia PDF Downloads 18912909 Mutagenicity Evaluation of Locally Produced Biphasic Calcium Phosphate Using Ames Test
Authors: Nur Fathin Alia Che Wahab, Thirumulu Ponnuraj Kannan, Zuliani Mahmood, Ismail Ab. Rahman, Hanafi Ismail
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Locally produced Biphasic Calcium Phosphate (BCP) consists of hydroxyapatite (HA) and β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) which is a promising material for dentin and bone regeneration as well as in tissue engineering applications. The study was carried out to investigate the mutagenic effect of locally produced BCP using Ames test. Mutagenicity was evaluated with and without the addition of metabolic activation system (S9). This study was performed on Salmonella typhimurium TA98, TA102, TA1537, and TA1538 strains using preincubation assay method. The doses tested were 5000, 2500, 1250, 625, 313 µg/plate. Negative and positive controls were also included. The bacteria were incubated for 48 hours at 37 ± 0.5 °C. Then, the revertant colonies were counted. Data obtained were evaluated using non-statistical method. The mean number of revertant colonies in strains with and without S9 mix treated with locally produced BCP was less than double when compared to negative control for all the tested concentrations. The results from this study indicate that the locally produced BCP is non-mutagenic under the present test conditions.Keywords: ames test, biphasic calcium phosphate, dentin regeneration, mutagenicity
Procedia PDF Downloads 32712908 Experimental Study on the Effectiveness of Extracurricular Football Training for Improving Primary Students Physical Fitness
Authors: Yizhi Zhang, Xiaozan Wang, Mingming Guo, Pengpeng Li
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Introduction: The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of after-school football training in improving the physical fitness of primary school students, so as to provide corresponding suggestions for carrying out after-school football training in primary schools. Methods: A total of 72 students from the experimental primary school of Mouping district, Yantai city, Shandong province, participated in this experiment. The experiment was conducted for two semesters. During the experiment period, the experimental group conducted one-hour football training after school from Monday to Thursday afternoon every week, and two hours of football training on Saturday morning every week. The control group conducted sports teaching and extracurricular activities as usual without other intervention. Before and after the experiment, both the experimental group and the control group underwent physical fitness tests according to the physical fitness test standards of Chinese students, including lung capacity, 50-meter run, one-minute skipping rope, sitting forward flexor, and one-minute sit-ups. The test results were all converted to the 100-point system according to the scoring standards. Results: (1) Before the experiment, there was no significant difference between the experimental group and the control group in various physical fitness indicators (p > 0.05). (2) After the experiment, the lung capacity score (T = 3.108, p < 0.05), the 50-meter run score (T = 6.593, p < 0.05), the skipping score (T = 9.227, p < 0.05), the sitting forward flexor score (T = 3.742, p < 0.05), and the sit-up score (T = 5.210, p < 0.05) of the experimental group were significantly higher than that of the control group. Conclusion: This study shows that the physical fitness of primary school students can be improved by football training in their spare time. It is suggested to carry out after-school football training activities in primary schools so as to effectively improve the physical fitness of pupils.Keywords: after-school football training, physical fitness, primary school students, school sports
Procedia PDF Downloads 14012907 A Pilot Study Assessing the Effectiveness of a Virtual Reality Intervention for Alleviating Pain and Anxiety in the Pediatric Emergency Room
Authors: Muqadis Shazia Rajpar, Lawrence Mitelberg, Rubaiat S. Ahmed, Jemer Garrido, Rukhsana Hossain, Sergey M. Motov
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Distraction techniques have been used as a means to reduce pain, anxiety, and stress in various healthcare settings to facilitate care and make visits less unpleasant. Using virtual reality (VR) in the pediatric emergency setting can be a valuable, effective, and safe non-pharmacological alternative to the current standard of care for pain and anxiety management in pediatric patients. Our pilot study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a VR-based intervention as an alternative distraction modality to alleviate pain and anxiety associated with pediatric emergency department (ED) visits and acute pain conditions. The pilot study period was from November 16 to December 9, 2022, for pediatric ED visits for pain, anxiety, or both. Patients were selected based on a novel VR protocol to receive the VR intervention with the administration of pre and post-intervention surveys concerning pain/anxiety ratings and pain scores (Wong-Baker FACES/NRS). Descriptive statistics, paired t-test, and a Fisher Exact Test were used for data analysis, assuming a p-value of 0.05 for significance. A total of 33 patients (21 females, 12 males), ages 5-20 (M = 10.5, SD = 3.43) participated in this study – 12 patients had pain, 2 patients had anxiety, and 19 patients had both pain and anxiety. There was a statistically significant decrease in post-intervention pain scores of less than one point on the rating scale (6.48 vs. 5.62, p < .001). There was a statistically significant reduction in the percentage of patients suffering from “considerable” or “great” pain after the VR intervention (51.6% to 42.3%, p < .001). Similarly, we noticed an increase in the number of patients with “slight” or “moderate” pain post–VR intervention (48.4% to 57.7%, p < .001). Lastly, we demonstrated a decrease in anxiety among patients after utilizing VR (63.6% vs. 36.4%, p < .001). To conclude, VR can alleviate pain and anxiety in pediatric patients and be a useful non-pharmacological tool in the emergency setting.Keywords: anxiety, emergency room, pain management, pediatric emergency medicine, virtual reality
Procedia PDF Downloads 9112906 Evaluation of Mechanical Behavior of Gas Turbine Blade at High Temperature
Authors: Sung-Uk Wee, Chang-Sung Seok, Jae-Mean Koo, Jeong-Min Lee
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Gas turbine blade is important part of power plant, so it is necessary to evaluate gas turbine reliability. For better heat efficiency, inlet temperature of gas turbine has been elevated more and more so gas turbine blade is exposed to high-temperature environment. Then, higher inlet temperature affects mechanical behavior of the gas turbine blade, so it is necessary that evaluation of mechanical property of gas turbine blade at high-temperature environment. In this study, tensile test and fatigue test were performed at various high temperature, and fatigue life was predicted by Coffin-Manson equation at each temperature. The experimental results showed that gas turbine blade has a lower elastic modulus and shorter fatigue life at higher temperature.Keywords: gas turbine blade, tensile test, fatigue life, stress-strain
Procedia PDF Downloads 48112905 Schrödinger Equation with Position-Dependent Mass: Staggered Mass Distributions
Authors: J. J. Peña, J. Morales, J. García-Ravelo, L. Arcos-Díaz
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The Point canonical transformation method is applied for solving the Schrödinger equation with position-dependent mass. This class of problem has been solved for continuous mass distributions. In this work, a staggered mass distribution for the case of a free particle in an infinite square well potential has been proposed. The continuity conditions as well as normalization for the wave function are also considered. The proposal can be used for dealing with other kind of staggered mass distributions in the Schrödinger equation with different quantum potentials.Keywords: free particle, point canonical transformation method, position-dependent mass, staggered mass distribution
Procedia PDF Downloads 40612904 A Contribution to Blockchain Privacy
Authors: Malika Yaici, Feriel Lalaoui, Lydia Belhoul
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As a new distributed point-to-point (P2P) technology, blockchain has become a very broad field of research, addressing various challenges, including privacy preserving, as is the case in all other technologies. In this work, a study of the existing solutions to the problems related to private life in general and in blockchains in particular is performed. User anonymity and transaction confidentiality are the two main challenges to the protection of privacy in blockchains. Mixing mechanisms and cryptographic solutions respond to this problem but remain subject to attacks and suffer from shortcomings. Taking into account these imperfections and the synthesis of our study, we present a mixing model without trusted third parties, based on group signatures, allowing reinforcing the anonymity of the users, the confidentiality of the transactions, with minimal turnaround time and without mixing costs.Keywords: anonymity, blockchain, mixing coins, privacy
Procedia PDF Downloads 1712903 Experimental Measurements of Fire Retardants on Plywood at Fire Test
Authors: Gisele C. A. Martins, Leonardo A. Marcolin, Laurenn B. de Macedo, Francisco A. Rocco Lahr, Carlito Calil Jr
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The use and development of wood composite materials increased in the past few years. However, in Brazil there are some restrictions on these products regarding their use since it could be considered a potential risk in a fire situation. Thus, becomes evident the need for research aiming to fit these in safety standards. This study aims to evaluate the efficiency of two new fire retardant products produced by a Brazilian industry. Tests were performed on plywood panels of Pinus spp previously immersed, varying the products concentrations and compared with untreated samples. The test used to evaluate the flame spread in a panel was the modified Schlyter test. The product in question was proved efficient, before and after shutting off the burner. Comparing panels with the panels without treatment, there was a decrease of 400% of the height of the flame spread on the treated ones.Keywords: fire retardant, flame spread, plywood, wood-based material
Procedia PDF Downloads 43712902 Participation of Students and Lecturers in Social Networking for Teaching and Learning in Public Universities in Rivers State, Nigeria
Authors: Nkeiruka Queendarline Nwaizugbu
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The use of social media and mobile devices has become acceptable in virtually all areas of today’s world. Hence, this study is a survey that was carried out to find out if students and lecturers in public universities in Rivers State use social networking for educational purposes. The sample of the study comprised of 240 students and 99 lecturers from the University of Port Harcourt and the Rivers State University of science and Technology. The study had five research questions, two hypotheses and the instrument for data collection was a 4-point Likert-type rating scale questionnaire. The data was analysed using mean, standard deviation and z-test. The findings gotten from the analysed data shows that students participate in social networking using different types of web applications but they hardly use them for educational purposes. Some recommendations were also made.Keywords: internet access, mobile learning, participation, social media, social networking, technology
Procedia PDF Downloads 42612901 The Potential of Braking Energy Recuperation in a City Bus Diesel Engine in the Japanese JE05 Emission Test Cycle
Authors: Grzegorz Baranski, Piotr Kacejko, Konrad Pietrykowski, Mariusz Duk
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This paper discusses a model of a bus-driving scheme. Rapid changes in speed result in a constantly changing kinetic energy accumulated in a bus mass and an increased fuel consumption due to hardly recuperated kinetic energy. The model is based on the results achieved from chassis dynamometer, airport and city street researches. The verified model was applied to simulate the mechanical energy recuperation during the Japanese JE05 Emission Test Cycle. The simulations were performed for several values of vehicle mass. The research results show that fuel economy is impacted by kinetic energy recuperation.Keywords: heavy duty vehicle, city bus, Japanese JE05 test cycle, kinetic energy, simulations
Procedia PDF Downloads 21812900 Strong Convergence of an Iterative Sequence in Real Banach Spaces with Kadec Klee Property
Authors: Umar Yusuf Batsari
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Let E be a uniformly smooth and uniformly convex real Banach space and C be a nonempty, closed and convex subset of E. Let $V= \{S_i : C\to C, ~i=1, 2, 3\cdots N\}$ be a convex set of relatively nonexpansive mappings containing identity. In this paper, an iterative sequence obtained from CQ algorithm was shown to have strongly converge to a point $\hat{x}$ which is a common fixed point of relatively nonexpansive mappings in V and also solve the system of equilibrium problems in E. The result improve some existing results in the literature.Keywords: relatively nonexpansive mappings, strong convergence, equilibrium problems, uniformly smooth space, uniformly convex space, convex set, kadec klee property
Procedia PDF Downloads 42712899 Impact of Mathematical Modeling on Mathematics Achievement, Attitude, and Interest of Pre-Service Teachers in Niger State, Nigeria
Authors: Mohammed Abubakar Ndanusa, A. A. Hassan, R. W. Gimba, A. M. Alfa, M. T. Abari
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This study investigated the Impact of Mathematical Modeling on Mathematics Achievement, Attitude and Interest of Pre-Service Teachers in Niger States, Nigeria. It was an attempt to ease students’ difficulties in comprehending mathematics. The study used randomized pretest, posttest control group design. Two Colleges of Education were purposively selected from Niger State with a sample size of eighty-four 84 students. Three research instruments used are Mathematical Modeling Achievement Test (MMAT), Attitudes Towards Mathematical Modeling Questionnaire (ATMMQ) and Mathematical Modeling Students Interest Questionnaire (MMSIQ). Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC) formula was used for MMAT and Alpha Cronbach was used for ATMMQ and MMSIQ to determine their reliability coefficient and the values the following values were obtained respectively 0.76, 0.75 and 0.73. Independent t-test statistics was used to test hypothesis One while Mann Whitney U-test was used to test hypothesis Two and Three. Findings revealed that students taught Mathematics using Mathematical Modeling performed better than their counterparts taught using lecture method. However, there was a significant difference in the attitude and interest of pre-service mathematics teachers after being exposed to mathematical modeling. The strategy, therefore, was recommended to be used by Mathematics teachers with a view to improving students’ attitude and interest towards Mathematics. Also, modeling should be taught at NCE level in order to prepare pre-service teachers towards real task in the field of Mathematics.Keywords: achievement, attitude, interest, mathematical modeling, pre-service teachers
Procedia PDF Downloads 30912898 Searching k-Nearest Neighbors to be Appropriate under Gaming Environments
Authors: Jae Moon Lee
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In general, algorithms to find continuous k-nearest neighbors have been researched on the location based services, monitoring periodically the moving objects such as vehicles and mobile phone. Those researches assume the environment that the number of query points is much less than that of moving objects and the query points are not moved but fixed. In gaming environments, this problem is when computing the next movement considering the neighbors such as flocking, crowd and robot simulations. In this case, every moving object becomes a query point so that the number of query point is same to that of moving objects and the query points are also moving. In this paper, we analyze the performance of the existing algorithms focused on location based services how they operate under gaming environments.Keywords: flocking behavior, heterogeneous agents, similarity, simulation
Procedia PDF Downloads 30612897 The Impact of Entrepreneurship Education on the Entrepreneurial Tendencies of Students: A Quasi-Experimental Design
Authors: Lamia Emam
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The attractiveness of entrepreneurship education stems from its perceived value as a venue through which students can develop an entrepreneurial mindset, skill set, and practice, which may not necessarily lead to them starting a new business, but could, more importantly, be manifested as a life skill that could be applied to all types of organizations and career endeavors. This, in turn, raises important questions about what happens in our classrooms; our role as educators, the role of students, center of learning, and the instructional approach; all of which eventually contribute to achieving the desired EE outcomes. With application to an undergraduate entrepreneurship course -Entrepreneurship as Practice- the current paper aims to explore the effect of entrepreneurship education on the development of students’ general entrepreneurial tendencies. Towards that purpose, the researcher herein uses a pre-test and post-test quasi-experimental research design where the Durham University General Enterprising Tendency Test (GET2) is administered to the same group of students before and after course delivery. As designed and delivered, the Entrepreneurship as Practice module is a highly applied and experiential course where students are required to develop an idea for a start-up while practicing the entrepreneurship-related knowledge, mindset, and skills that are taught in class, both individually and in groups. The course is delivered using a combination of short lectures, readings, group discussions, case analysis, guest speakers, and, more importantly, actively engaging in a series of activities that are inspired by diverse methods for developing successful and innovative business ideas, including design thinking, lean-start up and business feasibility analysis. The instructional approach of the course particularly aims at developing the students' critical thinking, reflective, analytical, and creativity-based problem-solving skills that are needed to launch one’s own start-up. The analysis and interpretation of the experiment’s outcomes shall simultaneously incorporate the views of both the educator and students. As presented, the study responds to the rising call for the application of experimental designs in entrepreneurship in general and EE in particular. While doing so, the paper presents an educator’s perspective of EE to complement the dominant stream of research which is constrained to the students’ point of view. Finally, the study sheds light on EE in the MENA region, where the study is applied.Keywords: entrepreneurship education, andragogy and heutagogy, scholarship of teaching and learning, experiment
Procedia PDF Downloads 13112896 Torque Loss Prediction Test Method of Bolted Joints in Heavy Commercial Vehicles
Authors: Volkan Ayik
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Loosening as a result of torque loss in bolted joints is one of the most encountered problems resulting in loss of connection between parts. The main reason for this is the dynamic loads to which the joints are subjected while the vehicle is moving. In particular, vibration-induced loads can loosen the joints in any size and geometry. The aim of this study is to study an improved method due to road-induced vibration in heavy commercial vehicles for estimating the vibration performance of bolted joints of the components connected to the chassis, before conducting prototype level vehicle structural strength tests on a proving ground. The frequency and displacements caused by the road conditions-induced vibration loads have been determined for the parts connected to the chassis, and various experimental design scenarios have been formed by matching specific components and vibration behaviors. In the studies, the performance of the torque, washer, test displacement, and test frequency parameters were observed by maintaining the connection characteristics on the vehicle, and the sensitivity ratios for these variables were calculated. As a result of these experimental design findings, tests performed on a developed device based on Junker’s vibration device and proving ground conditions versus test correlation levels were found.Keywords: bolted joints, junker’s test, loosening failure, torque loss
Procedia PDF Downloads 12812895 Effectiveness of the Resistance to Irradiance Test on Sunglasses Standards
Authors: Mauro Masili, Liliane Ventura
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It is still controversial in the literature the ultraviolet (UV) radiation effects on the ocular media, but the World Health Organization has established safe limits on the exposure of eyes to UV radiation based on reports in literature. Sunglasses play an important role in providing safety, and their lenses should provide adequate UV filters. Regarding UV protection for ocular media, the resistance-to-irradiance test for sunglasses under many national standards requires irradiating lenses for 50 uninterrupted hours with a 450 W solar simulator. This artificial aging test may provide a corresponding evaluation of exposure to the sun. Calculating the direct and diffuse solar irradiance at a vertical surface and the corresponding radiant exposure for the entire year, we compare the latter with the 50-hour radiant exposure of a 450 W xenon arc lamp from a solar simulator required by national standards. Our calculations indicate that this stress test is ineffective in its present form. We provide evidence of the need to re-evaluate the parameters of the tests to establish appropriate safe limits against UV radiation. This work is potentially significant for scientists and legislators in the field of sunglasses standards to improve the requirements of sunglasses quality and safety.Keywords: ISO 12312-1, solar simulator, sunglasses standards, UV protection
Procedia PDF Downloads 20112894 Bed Scenes Allurement as Entertainment and Selling Point in Nigeria's Nollywood Movie Industry
Authors: Ojinime E. Ojiakor, Allen N. Adum
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We report on bed scenes allurement as entertainment and selling point in Nigeria’s Nollywood movie industry. In recent times, there has been an increase in the portrayal of bed scenes in Nollywood movies. Before now, Nigerian film producers have been very conservative when it comes to showing sex and nudity. This appears to have changed in line with global trends. Movie industries all over the world appear a haven for delectable women who glamorize our screens, not only with their beauty but also their acting skills. At Hollywood, Bollywood, Ghollywood and the like, pretty actresses with sensuous endowments engage in bed scenes which allure the minds of viewers. The idea that, a ravishing beauty on cast is as good as a box office hit apparently drives Nigerian film producers to incorporate bed scenes in their movies. In this era of sex crusade where what sells is sex and maybe a little bit of violence, there is the suggestion that producers believe that if the talent of an actress doesn’t do the trick, the sexiness she exudes is bound to get attention. Against this backdrop, our study examined bed scenes depiction by Nollywood films, in an attempt to establish if their allurement influences the choice of movie and purchase decisions of target markets. We assessed Nollywood films and viewer preference using the mixed method approach. Our findings reveal that bed scenes, as portrayed in Nigerian movies are a significant determinant of which films to watch and which films to purchase among the respondents studied.Keywords: allurement, bed scenes, nollywood, selling point
Procedia PDF Downloads 27612893 Designing Presentational Writing Assessments for the Advanced Placement World Language and Culture Exams
Authors: Mette Pedersen
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This paper outlines the criteria that assessment specialists use when they design the 'Persuasive Essay' task for the four Advanced Placement World Language and Culture Exams (AP French, German, Italian, and Spanish). The 'Persuasive Essay' is a free-response, source-based, standardized measure of presentational writing. Each 'Persuasive Essay' item consists of three sources (an article, a chart, and an audio) and a prompt, which is a statement of the topic phrased as an interrogative sentence. Due to its richness of source materials and due to the amount of time that test takers are given to prepare for and write their responses (a total of 55 minutes), the 'Persuasive Essay' is the free-response task on the AP World Language and Culture Exams that goes to the greatest lengths to unleash the test takers' proficiency potential. The author focuses on the work that goes into designing the 'Persuasive Essay' task, outlining best practices for the selection of topics and sources, the interplay that needs to be present among the sources and the thinking behind the articulation of prompts for the 'Persuasive Essay' task. Using released 'Persuasive Essay' items from the AP World Language and Culture Exams and accompanying data on test taker performance, the author shows how different passages, and features of passages, have succeeded (and sometimes not succeeded) in eliciting writing proficiency among test takers over time. Data from approximately 215.000 test takers per year from 2014 to 2017 and approximately 35.000 test takers per year from 2012 to 2013 form the basis of this analysis. The conclusion of the study is that test taker performance improves significantly when the sources that test takers are presented with express directly opposing viewpoints. Test taker performance also improves when the interrogative prompt that the test takers respond to is phrased as a yes/no question. Finally, an analysis of linguistic difficulty and complexity levels of the printed sources reveals that test taker performance does not decrease when the complexity level of the article of the 'Persuasive Essay' increases. This last text complexity analysis is performed with the help of the 'ETS TextEvaluator' tool and the 'Complexity Scale for Information Texts (Scale)', two tools, which, in combination, provide a rubric and a fully-automated technology for evaluating nonfiction and informational texts in English translation.Keywords: advanced placement world language and culture exams, designing presentational writing assessments, large-scale standardized assessments of written language proficiency, source-based language testing
Procedia PDF Downloads 14612892 Development of Interaction Diagram for Eccentrically Loaded Reinforced Concrete Sandwich Walls with Different Design Parameters
Authors: May Haggag, Ezzat Fahmy, Mohamed Abdel-Mooty, Sherif Safar
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Sandwich sections have a very complex nature due to variability of behavior of different materials within the section. Cracking, crushing and yielding capacity of constituent materials enforces high complexity of the section. Furthermore, slippage between the different layers adds to the section complex behavior. Conventional methods implemented in current industrial guidelines do not account for the above complexities. Thus, a throughout study is needed to understand the true behavior of the sandwich panels thus, increase the ability to use them effectively and efficiently. The purpose of this paper is to conduct numerical investigation using ANSYS software for the structural behavior of sandwich wall section under eccentric loading. Sandwich walls studied herein are composed of two RC faces, a foam core and linking shear connectors. Faces are modeled using solid elements and reinforcement together with connectors are modeled using link elements. The analysis conducted herein is nonlinear static analysis incorporating material nonlinearity, crashing and crushing of concrete and yielding of steel. The model is validated by comparing it to test results in literature. After validation, the model is used to establish extensive parametric analysis to investigate the effect of three key parameters on the axial force bending moment interaction diagram of the walls. These parameters are the concrete compressive strength, face thickness and number of shear connectors. Furthermore, the results of the parametric study are used to predict a coefficient that links the interaction diagram of a solid wall to that of a sandwich wall. The equation is predicted using the parametric study data and regression analysis. The predicted α was used to construct the interaction diagram of the investigated wall and the results were compared with ANSYS results and showed good agreement.Keywords: sandwich walls, interaction diagrams, numerical modeling, eccentricity, reinforced concrete
Procedia PDF Downloads 40612891 Efficient Positioning of Data Aggregation Point for Wireless Sensor Network
Authors: Sifat Rahman Ahona, Rifat Tasnim, Naima Hassan
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Data aggregation is a helpful technique for reducing the data communication overhead in wireless sensor network. One of the important tasks of data aggregation is positioning of the aggregator points. There are a lot of works done on data aggregation. But, efficient positioning of the aggregators points is not focused so much. In this paper, authors are focusing on the positioning or the placement of the aggregation points in wireless sensor network. Authors proposed an algorithm to select the aggregators positions for a scenario where aggregator nodes are more powerful than sensor nodes.Keywords: aggregation point, data communication, data aggregation, wireless sensor network
Procedia PDF Downloads 16512890 Use of Numerical Tools Dedicated to Fire Safety Engineering for the Rolling Stock
Authors: Guillaume Craveur
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This study shows the opportunity to use numerical tools dedicated to Fire Safety Engineering for the Rolling Stock. Indeed, some lawful requirements can now be demonstrated by using numerical tools. The first part of this study presents the use of modelling evacuation tool to satisfy the criteria of evacuation time for the rolling stock. The buildingEXODUS software is used to model and simulate the evacuation of rolling stock. Firstly, in order to demonstrate the reliability of this tool to calculate the complete evacuation time, a comparative study was achieved between a real test and simulations done with buildingEXODUS. Multiple simulations are performed to capture the stochastic variations in egress times. Then, a new study is done to calculate the complete evacuation time of a train with the same geometry but with a different interior architecture. The second part of this study shows some applications of Computational Fluid Dynamics. This work presents the approach of a multi scales validation of numerical simulations of standardized tests with Fire Dynamics Simulations software developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). This work highlights in first the cone calorimeter test, described in the standard ISO 5660, in order to characterize the fire reaction of materials. The aim of this process is to readjust measurement results from the cone calorimeter test in order to create a data set usable at the seat scale. In the second step, the modelisation concerns the fire seat test described in the standard EN 45545-2. The data set obtained thanks to the validation of the cone calorimeter test was set up in the fire seat test. To conclude with the third step, after controlled the data obtained for the seat from the cone calorimeter test, a larger scale simulation with a real part of train is achieved.Keywords: fire safety engineering, numerical tools, rolling stock, multi-scales validation
Procedia PDF Downloads 30412889 Mechanical Properties of Kenaf Reinforced Composite with Different Fiber Orientation
Authors: Y. C. Ching, K. H. Chong
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The increasing of environmental awareness has led to grow interest in the expansion of materials with eco-friendly attributes. In this study, a 3 ply sandwich layer of kenaf fiber reinforced unsaturated polyester with various fiber orientations was developed. The effect of the fiber orientation on mechanical and thermal stability properties of polyester was studied. Unsaturated polyester as a face sheets and kenaf fibers as a core was fabricated with combination of hand lay-up process and cold compression method. Tested result parameters like tensile, flexural, impact strength, melting point, and crystallization point were compared and recorded based on different fiber orientation. The failure mechanism and property changes associated with directional change of fiber to polyester composite were discussed.Keywords: kenaf fiber, polyester, tensile, thermal stability
Procedia PDF Downloads 36312888 A Proposed Program for Postgraduates in Egypt to Acquire the Skills and Techniques for Producing Concept Cartoons for Kindergarten Children
Authors: Ahmed Amin Mousa, M. Abd El Salam
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The current study presents a proposed program for acquisition the skills and techniques needed to produce concept cartoon. The proposed program has been prepared for non-specialist students who have never used neither graphics nor animating software. It was presented to postgraduates in Faculty of Education for Early Childhood, Cairo University, during the spring term of the 2014-2015 academic year. The program works in three different aspects: Drawing and images editing, sound manipulation, and creating animation. In addition, the researchers have prepared a questionnaire for measuring the quality of the concept cartoons produced by the students. The questionnaire was used as a pre-test and post-test, and at the end of the study, a significant difference was determined in favour of post-test results.Keywords: cartoon, concept cartoon, kindergarten, animation
Procedia PDF Downloads 43812887 A Lightweight Authentication and Key Exchange Protocol Design for Smart Homes
Authors: Zhifu Li, Lei Li, Wanting Zhou, Yuanhang He
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This paper proposed a lightweight certificate-less authentication and key exchange protocol (Light-CL-PKC) based on elliptic curve cryptography and the Chinese Remainder Theorem for smart home scenarios. Light-CL-PKC can efficiently reduce the computational cost of both sides of authentication by forgoing time-consuming bilinear pair operations and making full use of point-addition and point-multiplication operations on elliptic curves. The authentication and key exchange processes in this system are also completed in a a single round of communication between the two parties. The analysis result demonstrates that it can significantly minimize the communication overhead of more than 32.14% compared with the referenced protocols, while the runtime for both authentication and key exchange have also been significantly reduced.Keywords: authentication, key exchange, certificateless public key cryptography, elliptic curve cryptography
Procedia PDF Downloads 10312886 Characteristics and Item Parameters Fitness on Chemistry Teacher-Made Test Instrument
Authors: Rizki Nor Amelia, Farida A. Setiawati
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This study aimed to: (1) describe the characteristics of teacher-made test instrument used to measure the ability of students’chemistry, and (2) identify the presence of the compability difficulty level set by teachers to difficulty level by empirical results. Based on these objectives, this study was a descriptive research. The analysis in this study used the Rasch model and Chi-square statistics. Analysis using Rasch Model was based on the response patterns of high school students to the teacher-made test instrument on chemistry subject Academic Year 2015/2016 in the Yogyakarta. The sample of this research were 358 students taken by cluster random sampling technique. The analysis showed that: (1) a teacher-made tests instrument has a medium on the mean difficulty level. This instrument is capable to measure the ability on the interval of -0,259 ≤ θ ≤ 0,659 logit. Maximum Test Information Function obtained at 18.187 on the ability +0,2 logit; (2) 100% items categorized either as easy or difficult by rasch model is match with the teachers’ judgment; while 37 items are categorized according to rasch model which 8.10% and 10.81% categorized as easy and difficult items respectively according to the teachers, the others are medium categorized. Overall, the distribution of the level of difficulty formulated by the teachers has the distinction (not match) to the level of difficulty based on the empirical results.Keywords: chemistry, items parameter fitness, Rasch model, teacher-made test
Procedia PDF Downloads 24012885 An Analytical Study of the Quality of Educational Administration and Management At Secondary School Level in Punjab, Pakistan
Authors: Shamim Akhtar
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The purpose of the present research was to analyse the performance level of district administrators and school heads teachers at secondary school level. The sample of the study was head teachers and teachers of secondary schools. In survey three scales were used, two scales were for the head teachers, one five point scale was for analysing the working efficiency of educational administrators and other seven points scale was for head teachers for analysing their own performance and one another seven point rating scale similar to head teacher was for the teachers for analysing the working performance of their head teachers. The results of the head teachers’ responses revealed that the performance of their District Educational Administrators was average and for the performance efficiency of the head teachers, researcher constructed the rating scales on seven parameters of management likely academic management, personnel management, financial management, infra-structure management, linkage and interface, student’s services, and managerial excellence. Results of percentages, means, and graphical presentation on different parameters of management showed that there was an obvious difference in head teachers and teachers’ responses and head teachers probably were overestimating their efficiency; but teachers evaluated that they were performing averagely on majority statements. Results of t-test showed that there was no significance difference in the responses of rural and urban teachers but significant difference in male and female teachers’ responses showed that female head teachers were performing their responsibilities better than male head teachers in public sector schools. When efficiency of the head teachers on different parameters of management were analysed it was concluded that their efficiency on academic and personnel management was average and on financial management and on managerial excellence was highly above of average level but on others parameters like infra-structure management, linkage and interface and on students services was above of average level on most statements but highly above of average on some statements. Hence there is need to improve the working efficiency in academic management and personnel management.Keywords: educational administration, educational management, parameters of management, education
Procedia PDF Downloads 34012884 Simulation Modelling of the Transmission of Concentrated Solar Radiation through Optical Fibres to Thermal Application
Authors: M. Rahou, A. J. Andrews, G. Rosengarten
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One of the main challenges in high-temperature solar thermal applications transfer concentrated solar radiation to the load with minimum energy loss and maximum overall efficiency. The use of a solar concentrator in conjunction with bundled optical fibres has potential advantages in terms of transmission energy efficiency, technical feasibility and cost-effectiveness compared to a conventional heat transfer system employing heat exchangers and a heat transfer fluid. In this paper, a theoretical and computer simulation method is described to estimate the net solar radiation transmission from a solar concentrator into and through optical fibres to a thermal application at the end of the fibres over distances of up to 100 m. A key input to the simulation is the angular distribution of radiation intensity at each point across the aperture plane of the optical fibre. This distribution depends on the optical properties of the solar concentrator, in this case, a parabolic mirror with a small secondary mirror with a common focal point and a point-focus Fresnel lens to give a collimated beam that pass into the optical fibre bundle. Since solar radiation comprises a broad band of wavelengths with very limited spatial coherence over the full range of spectrum only ray tracing models absorption within the fibre and reflections at the interface between core and cladding is employed, assuming no interference between rays. The intensity of the radiation across the exit plane of the fibre is found by integrating across all directions and wavelengths. Results of applying the simulation model to a parabolic concentrator and point-focus Fresnel lens with typical optical fibre bundle will be reported, to show how the energy transmission varies with the length of fibre.Keywords: concentrated radiation, fibre bundle, parabolic dish, fresnel lens, transmission
Procedia PDF Downloads 57012883 Assessment of the Electrical, Mechanical, and Thermal Nociceptive Thresholds for Stimulation and Pain Measurements at the Bovine Hind Limb
Authors: Samaneh Yavari, Christiane Pferrer, Elisabeth Engelke, Alexander Starke, Juergen Rehage
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Background: Three nociceptive thresholds of thermal, electrical, and mechanical thresholds commonly use to evaluate the local anesthesia in many species, for instance, cow, horse, cat, dog, rabbit, and so on. Due to the lack of investigations to evaluate and/or validate such those nociceptive thresholds, our plan was the comparison of two-foot local anesthesia methods of Intravenous Regional Anesthesia (IVRA) and our modified four-point Nerve Block Anesthesia (NBA). Materials and Methods: Eight healthy nonpregnant nondairy Holstein Frisian cows in a cross-over study design were selected for this study. All cows divided into two different groups to receive two local anesthesia techniques of IVRA and our modified four-point NBA. Three thermal, electrical, and mechanical force and pinpricks were applied to evaluate the quality of local anesthesia methods before and after local anesthesia application. Results: The statistical evaluation demonstrated that our four-point NBA has a qualification to select as a standard foot local anesthesia. However, the recorded results of our study revealed no significant difference between two groups of local anesthesia techniques of IVRA and modified four-point NBA related to quality and duration of anesthesia stimulated by electrical, mechanical and thermal nociceptive stimuli. Conclusion and discussion: All three nociceptive threshold stimuli of electrical, mechanical and heat nociceptive thresholds can be applied to measure and evaluate the efficacy of foot local anesthesia of dairy cows. However, our study revealed no superiority of those three nociceptive methods to evaluate the duration and quality of bovine foot local anesthesia methods. Veterinarians to investigate the duration and quality of their selected anesthesia method can use any of those heat, mechanical, and electrical methods.Keywords: mechanical, thermal, electrical threshold, IVRA, NBA, hind limb, dairy cow
Procedia PDF Downloads 249