Search results for: future water resources

Authors: Nino Grigolaia

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Introduction - The paper discusses the role of industrial policy in the development of the economy in the country. The main challenges on the way to the implementation of industrial policy are analyzed: the long-term period of industrial policy, the risk of changes in priorities, the limited scope and external shocks. Methodology - Various research methods are used in the paper. The methods of induction, deduction, analysis, synthesis, analogy, correlation and statistical observation are used. Main Findings - Based on the analysis of the current situation in Georgia, the obstacles to the country's industrialization and its supporting factors are identified. Also, the challenges of the country's core industrial policies are revealed. Specific industry development strategies, ways of state support and main directions of new industrial policies are identified. Conclusion - The paper concludes that the development of the industrial sector is critical for the future growth and development of the Georgian economy, which will accelerate the industrialization and structural transformation processes, reduce the trade deficit, increase the exports and create more jobs in the country. The listed changes will guarantee the improvement of the socio-economic situation of the population. Accordingly, it is revealed that the study of industrial policy in Georgia is still actual. Based on the analysis, relevant conclusions in the field of industrialization of the country are developed and recommendations are proposed.

Keywords: industrialization , industrial policy, industrialization of the economy, Georgia priorities

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Authors: Manal Sultan Alhussein, Xiang Michelle Liu

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Telehealth is an advanced technology using digital information and telecommunication facilities that provide access to health services from a distance. It slows the transmission factor of COVID-19, especially for elderly patients and patients with chronic diseases during the pandemic. Therefore, understanding patient perspectives on telehealth services and the factors impacting their option of telehealth service will shed light on the measures that healthcare providers can take to improve the quality of telehealth services. This study aimed to evaluate perceptions of telehealth services among different patient groups and explore various aspects of telehealth utilization in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. An online survey distributed via social media platforms was used to collect research data. In addition to the descriptive statistics, both correlation and regression analyses were conducted to test research hypotheses. The empirical results highlighted that the factors such as accessibility to telehealth services and the type of specialty clinics that the patients required play important roles in the effectiveness of telehealth services they received. However, the results found that patients’ waiting time to receive telehealth services and their annual income did not significantly influence their desire to select receiving healthcare services via telehealth. The limitations of the study and future research directions are discussed.

Keywords: telehealth, patient satisfaction, pandemic, healthcare, survey

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Authors: Lojain Suliman, Xinrong Liu, Xiaohan Zhou

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Since most tunnels are built in crowded metropolitan settings, the excavation process must take place in highly condensed locations, including high-density cities. In this way, the tunnels are typically located close together, which leads to more interaction between the parallel existing tunnels, and this, in turn, leads to more settlement. This research presents an examination of the impact of a large-scale tunnel excavation on two forms of settlement: surface settlement and settlement surrounding the tunnel. Additionally, research has been done on the properties of interactions between two and three parallel tunnels. The settlement has been evaluated using three primary techniques: theoretical modeling, numerical simulation, and data monitoring. Additionally, a parametric investigation on how distance affects the settlement characteristic for parallel tunnels with short distances has been completed. Additionally, it has been observed that the sequence of excavation has an impact on the behavior of settlements. Nevertheless, a comparison of the model test and numerical simulation yields significant agreement in terms of settlement trend and value. Additionally, when compared to the FEM study, the suggested analytical solution exhibits reduced sensitivity in the settlement prediction. For example, the settlement of the small tunnel diameter does not appear clearly on the settlement curve, while it is notable in the FEM analysis. It is advised, however, that additional studies be conducted in the future employing analytical solutions for settlement prediction for parallel tunnels.

Keywords: settlement, FEM, analytical solution, parallel tunnels

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Authors: R. Marhenke, M. Martini

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The distraction of attentional resources after learning hinders long-term memory consolidation compared to several minutes of post-encoding inactivity in form of wakeful resting. We tested whether an 8-minute period of wakeful resting, compared to performing an adapted version of the d2 test of attention after learning, supports memory retention. Participants encoded and immediately recalled a word list followed by either an 8 minute period of wakeful resting (eyes closed, relaxed) or by performing an adapted version of the d2 test of attention (scanning and selecting specific characters while ignoring others). At the end of the experimental session (after 12-24 min) and again after 7 days, participants were required to complete a surprise free recall test of both word lists. Our results showed no significant difference in memory retention between the experimental conditions. However, we found that participants who completed the first lines of the d2 test in less than the given time limit of 20 seconds and thus had short unfilled intervals before switching to the next test line, remembered more words over the 12-24 minute and over the 7 days retention interval than participants who did not complete the first lines. This interaction occurred only for the first test lines, with the highest temporal proximity to the encoding task and not for later test lines. Differences in retention scores between groups (completed first line vs. did not complete) seem to be widely independent of the general performance in the d2 test. Implications and limitations of these exploratory findings are discussed.

Keywords: long-term memory, retroactive interference, attention, forgetting

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Authors: Oanthata Jester Sealetsa, Richie Moalosi

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Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs) are reported to be amongst the leading contributing factors of low productivity in many industries across the world, and the most affected being New Emerging Economies (NEC) such as Botswana. This is due to lack of expertise and resources to deal with existing ergonomics challenges. This study was aimed to evaluate occupational postures and the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders among diamond polishers in a diamond company in Botswana. A case study was conducted with about 106 diamond polishers in Gaborone, Botswana. A case study was chosen because it can investigate and explore an issue thoroughly and deeply, and record behaviour over time so changes in behaviour can be identified. The Corlett and Bishop Body Map was used to determine frequency of MSDs symptoms in different body parts of the workers. This was then followed by the use of the Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA) to evaluate the occupational postural risks of MSDs. Descriptive statistics, chi square, and logistic regression were used for data analysis. The results of the study reveal that workers experienced pain in the upper back, lower back, shoulders, neck, and wrists with the most pain reported in the upper back (44.6%) and lower back (44.2%). However, the mean REBA score of 6.07 suggests that sawing, bruiting and polishing were the most dangerous processes in diamond polishing. The study recommends that a redesign of the diamond polishing workstations is necessary to accommodate the anthropometry characteristic of Batswana (people from Botswana) to prevent the development of MSDs.

Keywords: assessment, Botswana, diamond polishing, ergonomics, musculoskeletal disorders, occupational postural risks

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Authors: Faheema Khan

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We have investigated the effects of salt stress on the stability of plant growth, water relations, photosynthetic variables, lipid peroxidation and antioxidant system in salt-tolerant (PK-327) and salt-sensitive (PK-471) soybean genotypes. Ten-day-old salt-tolerant and salt-sensitive soybean plants were subjected to 0-150 mM NaCl for 15 days. While the growth of genotype PK-327 was not affected significantly up to 75 mM NaCl treatment, the growth of the PK-471 was reduced significantly beyond 25 mM NaCl treatments. Salt stress caused severe impairments in photosynthetic variables like photosynthetic rate, chlorophyll fluorescence and chlorophyll content, being more pronounced in salt-sensitive genotype than in salt-tolerant.The activities of antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase, catalase, ascorbate peroxidase and glutathione reductase) were higher in PK-327 than in PK-471 at various levels of salt treatments.It is concluded that tolerance capacity of PK-327 against salinity can be associated with the ability of this genotype in keeping an active photosynthetic system and strong antioxidant defence system.

Keywords: salt stress, soybean, antioxidant, photosynthesis

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Authors: Lindani Mbatha, Suvendi Rimer, Mpho Gololo

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Image segmentation is the process of dividing an image into several sections, such as the object's background and the foreground. It is a critical technique in both image-processing tasks and computer vision. Most of the image segmentation algorithms have been developed for gray-scale images and little research and algorithms have been developed for the color images. Most image segmentation algorithms or techniques vary based on the input data and the application. Nearly all of the techniques are not suitable for noisy environments. Most of the work that has been done uses the Markov Random Field (MRF), which involves the computations and is said to be robust to noise. In the past recent years' image segmentation has been brought to tackle problems such as easy processing of an image, interpretation of the contents of an image, and easy analysing of an image. This article reviews and summarizes some of the image segmentation techniques and algorithms that have been developed in the past years. The techniques include neural networks (CNN), edge-based techniques, region growing, clustering, and thresholding techniques and so on. The advantages and disadvantages of medical ultrasound image segmentation techniques are also discussed. The article also addresses the applications and potential future developments that can be done around image segmentation. This review article concludes with the fact that no technique is perfectly suitable for the segmentation of all different types of images, but the use of hybrid techniques yields more accurate and efficient results.

Keywords: clustering-based, convolution-network, edge-based, region-growing

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Authors: Jamie David Hopkin

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This study aims to contribute uniquely to help colleges and community learning and development institutes to help aid progression within ESOL learning. The study investigates the barriers that migrant and displaced learners face accessing further education in Scotland. The study also includes a set of recommendations both for colleges and CLD institutes to help ESOL learners in their journey to further education. The research found that integration into Scottish society is one of the biggest motivators for ESOL students to learn English. It also found that the place of gender and “gender roles” contribute to the barriers that learners face in terms of progression and learning. The study also reviews all literature related to ESOL learning in Scotland and found that there are only two main policies that support ESOL learning, and both are slightly outdated in terms of supporting progression. This study aims to help bridge the gap in knowledge around the progression from informal learning to formal education. The recommendations that are made in this study are aimed to help institutes and learners on their journey to a positive destination. The main beneficiaries of this research are current and future ESOL learners in Scotland, ESOL institutes, and TESOL professionals.

Keywords: community learning and development, English for speakers of other languages, further education, higher education TESOL, teaching English as a second language

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Authors: Saeedeh Shafiee Nahrkhalaji

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Metacognitive knowledge increases EFL students’ ability to be successful learners. Although this relationship has been investigated by a number of scholars, EFL teachers’ explicit awareness of their cognitive knowledge has not been sufficiently explored. The aim of this study was to examine the role of EFL teachers’ metacognitive knowledge in their pedagogical performance. Furthermore, the role played by years of their academic education and teaching experience was also studied. Fifty female EFL teachers were selected. They completed Metacognitive Awareness Inventory (MAI) that assessed six components of metacognition including procedural knowledge, declarative knowledge, conditional knowledge, planning, evaluating, and management strategies. Near the end of the academic semester, the students of each class filled in ‘the Language Teacher Characteristics Questionnaire’ to evaluate their teachers’ pedagogical performance. Four elements of MAI, declarative knowledge, planning, evaluating, and management strategies were found to be significantly correlated with EFL teachers’ pedagogical success. Significant correlation was also established between metacognitive knowledge and EFL teachers’ years of academic education and teaching experience. The findings obtained from this research have contributing implication for EFL teacher educators. The discussion concludes by setting out directions for future research.

Keywords: metacognotive knowledge, pedagogical performance, language teacher characteristics questionnaire, metacognitive awareness inventory

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Authors: Raquel P. F. Guiné, Ana R. B. Figueiredo, Paula M. R. Correia, Fernando J. Gonçalves

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The purpose of the present work was to develop an innovative food product with nutritional properties as well as appealing organoleptic qualities. The product, a jam, was prepared with the beans’ cooking water combined with fresh apple or carrot, without the addition of any conservatives. Three different jams were produced: bean and carrot, bean and apple and bean, apple and cinnamon. The developed products underwent a sensorial analysis that revealed that the bean, apple and cinnamon jam was globally better accepted. However, with this study, the consumers determined that the bean and carrot jam had the most attractive color and the bean and apple jam the better consistency. Additionally, it was possible to analyze the jams for their chemical components, namely fat, fiber, protein, sugars and antioxidant activity. The obtained results showed that the bean and carrot jam had the highest lipid content, while the bean, apple and cinnamon jam had the highest fiber content, when compared to the other two jams. Regarding the sugar content, both jams with apple revealed similar sugar values, which were higher than the sugar content of the bean and carrot jam. The antioxidant activity was on average 10 mg TE/g.

Keywords: Bean jam, chemical composition, sensorial analysis, product acceptability

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Authors: Niloofar Alipoormazandarani

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The rift environmental, efficiency and being environmental-friendly of these innovative food packaging in edible films made them as an alternative to synthetic packages. This issue has been widely studied in this experiment. Some of the greatest advances in food packaging industry is associated with nanotechnology. Recently, a polysaccharide extracted from the cell wall of soybean cotyledons: A soluble soybean polysaccharide (SSPS), a pectin-like structure. In this study, the addition (0%, 1%, 3%, and 5%) of nano silica dioxide (SiO2) film is examined SSPS in different features. The research aims to investigate the effect of nano-SiO2 on the physicochemical and electromagnetic properties of the SSPS films were sonicated and then heated to the melting point, besides the addition of plasticizer. After that, it has been cooled into the room temperature and were dried with Casting method. In final examinations,improvement in Moisture Content and Water Absorption was observed with a significant decrease.Also, in Color measurements there were some obvious differences. These reports indicate that the incorporation of nano-SiO2 and SSPS has the power to be extensively used in pharmaceutical and food packaging industry as well.

Keywords: SSPS, NanoSiO2, food packaging, renewable films

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Authors: H. N. Anjanayappa, S. Benakappa, A. T. Ramachandra Naik, P. Nayana, D. P. Rajesh

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Fishes of the family Priacanthidae, popularly called big eye or bulls eye. Priacanthus hamrur is an important deep-water inhabitant of great commercial value. High percentage of landings of Priancanthids used as raw material for surimi, sausage and other fishery by-products. Presently, it has great demand in Singapore Thailand, Taiwan, Hong Kong and other countries. For the maturation studies, samples were collected from commercial landing centre, Mangalore. Studies on reproductive biology showed that Priacanthus hamrur spawns twice in a year, the spawning season extending from March to May and October to November. Based on the percentage occurrence of mature fishes in various size group it was inferred that male attained maturity at smaller size than female. This study will enable us to understand the spawning periodicity, cyclic morphological changes in male, female gonads and also it helps to improve stock size by enforcing fishing ban in particular season by assessing spawning periodicity.

Keywords: breeding biology, Mangalore, morphological changes, Priacanthus hamrur

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Authors: Mahdi Motahari, Mojtaba Farzaneh, Ebrahim Sepidbar

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Tracking of moving and flying targets is one of the most important issues in image processing topic. Estimating of trajectory of desired object in short-term and long-term scale is more important than tracking of moving and flying targets. In this paper, a new way of identifying and estimating of future trajectory of a moving ball in long-term scale is estimated by using synthesis and interaction of image processing algorithms including noise removal and image segmentation, Kalman filter algorithm in order to estimating of trajectory of ball in football game in short-term scale and intelligent adaptive neuro-fuzzy algorithm based on time series of traverse distance. The proposed system attain more than 96% identify accuracy by using aforesaid methods and relaying on aforesaid algorithms and data base video in format of synthesis and interaction. Although the present method has high precision, it is time consuming. By comparing this method with other methods we realize the accuracy and efficiency of that.

Keywords: tracking, signal processing, moving targets and flying, artificial intelligent systems, estimating of trajectory, Kalman filter

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Authors: Vimarshi Sandamali Godigamuwa

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Background: Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality in women worldwide. Its incidence is increasing and young women affected more than ever. Nursing students are the future nurses who will have the opportunity to encourage and influence women to be aware of breast cancers. Objectives: To determine the level of knowledge, awareness and practices concerning of breast cancer among Sri Lankan student nurses. Methods: A descriptive cross sectional study was conducted on 150 nursing students who are in their 2nd and 3rd year studies by distributing a standard self-administered questionnaire. The completed questionnaire were retrieved, graded and scored. Results: Mean age of the respondents was 24.27; (SD=1.66) years and ranged from 20-30 years. Most of the students were female which was 85%. 32% of nursing students scored below 55% for the questionnaire and only 7.3% had good overall knowledge and awareness of breast cancer. Out of 128 female students 89.9% were answered that they know how to perform Breast Self Examination (BSE), out of which 37% of them performed BSE regularly. Only 33% were aware of recommended age for BSE and 10% were knew the recommended age for mammography. 9.3% were aware of frequency for Clinical Breast Examination on 20-39 years of age group. Of the female participants, 11.7% reported positive family history of breast cancer. Conclusion: Nursing students should explore to health educational programs on regular basis on breast cancer and its screening methods. Further studies are needed to identify reasons for not practicing BSE.

Keywords: breast cancer, student nurses, knowledge, awareness, practice, BSE

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Authors: Steve Apell

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Transit-oriented development (TOD) is a popular intervention for local governments endeavoring to reduce auto-dependency and the adverse effects of sprawl. At the same time, American households such as the millennial generation, are shifting their residential preferences from the suburbs to the central city. These changes have intensified demand for TOD housing which generates high rents. This leads to displacement of low-income, transit-dependent households by more affluent middle class families. Critics argue that, the effectiveness of TOD might be compromised as newer affluent residents drive more and use transit less. However, there has not been a comprehensive study to test this hypothesis. Using census data ( 1990 – 2012) from six metropolitans areas, this research investigated if block groups within one-mile radius of TOD are gentrifying. Our findings reveal that the price of housing and number of college graduates, increased more in TODs compared to the metropolitan area. Similarly, the percentage of immigrants increased in TOD, while those of blacks and whites declined. Most importantly, TOD residents generally commuted less by car, while transit use increased in some metropolitan areas. TOD in the south of the United States registered higher cost of housing and less transit use. These findings have significant implications for the future of equitable and sustainable transportation policy.

Keywords: commuting, equity, gentrification, mode choice, transit oriented development

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Authors: Min-Kook Park, Deuck Hang Lee, Hyun Mo Yang, Jae Hyun Kim, Kang Su Kim

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Prestressed hollow-core slabs (HCS) are structurally optimized precast units with light-weight hollowed-sections and very economical due to the mass production by a unique production method. They have been thus widely used in the precast concrete constructions in many countries all around the world. It is, however, difficult to provide shear reinforcement in HCS units produced by the extrusion method, and thus all the shear forces should be resisted solely by concrete webs in the HCS units. This means that, for the HCS units, it is very important to estimate the contribution of web concrete to the shear resistance accurately. In design codes, however, the shear strengths for HCS units are estimated by the same equations that are used for typical prestressed concrete members, which were determined from the calibrations to experimental results of conventional prestressed concrete members other than HCS units. In this study, therefore, shear test results of HCS members with a wide range of influential variables were collected, and the shear strength equations in design codes were thoroughly examined by comparing to the experimental results in the shear database of HCS members. Acknowledgement: This research was supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea(NRF) funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT & Future Planning(NRF-2016R1A2B2010277).

Keywords: hollow-core, web-shear, precast concrete, prestress, capacity

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Authors: Cameron Hamilton, Walter Potter, Gerrit Hoogenboom, Ronald McClendon, Will Hobbs

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A model was constructed to predict the amount of solar radiation that will make contact with the surface of the earth in a given location an hour into the future. This project was supported by the Southern Company to determine at what specific times during a given day of the year solar panels could be relied upon to produce energy in sufficient quantities. Due to their ability as universal function approximators, an artificial neural network was used to estimate the nonlinear pattern of solar radiation, which utilized measurements of weather conditions collected at the Griffin, Georgia weather station as inputs. A number of network configurations and training strategies were utilized, though a multilayer perceptron with a variety of hidden nodes trained with the resilient propagation algorithm consistently yielded the most accurate predictions. In addition, a modeled DNI field and adjacent weather station data were used to bolster prediction accuracy. In later trials, the solar radiation field was preprocessed with a discrete wavelet transform with the aim of removing noise from the measurements. The current model provides predictions of solar radiation with a mean square error of 0.0042, though ongoing efforts are being made to further improve the model’s accuracy.

Keywords: artificial neural networks, resilient propagation, solar radiation, time series forecasting

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Authors: Ugwu Chukwuka E.

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The African context of human right instruments as recognized today can be traced to Africa’s relationship with the Western World. A significant preponderance of these instruments are found in both colonial and post colonial statutes as the colonial laws, the post colonial legal documents as constitutions or Africa’s adherence to relevant international instruments on human rights as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (1981). In spite of all these human rights instruments inherent in the African continent, it is contended in this paper that, these Western-oriented notion of human rights, emphasizes rights that hardly meets the current needs of contemporary African citizens. Adopting a historical research methodology, this study interrogates the dynamics of the African poverty context in relation to the implementation of human rights instruments in the continent. In this vein, using human rights and poverty scenarios from one Anglophone (Uganda) and one Francophone (Senegal) countries in Africa, the study hypothesized that, majority of Africans are not in a historical condition for the realization of these rights. The raison d’etre for this claim emerges from the fact that, the present generations of African hoi polloi are inundated with extensive powerlessness, ignorance, diseases, hunger and overall poverty that emasculates their interest in these rights instruments. In contrast, the few Africans who have access to the enjoyment of these rights in the continent hardly needs these instruments, as their power and resources base secures them that. The paper concludes that the stress of African states and stakeholders on African affairs should concentrated significantly, on the alleviation of the present historical poverty squalor of Africans, which when attended to, enhances the realization of human right situations in the continent.

Keywords: Africa, human rights, poverty, western world

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Authors: Shatirah Akib, Hossein Basser, Hojat Karami, Afshin Jahangirzadeh

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Bridge piers which are constructed in the track of high water rivers cause some variations in the flow patterns. This variation mostly is a result of the changes in river sections. Decreasing the river section, bridge piers significantly impress the flow patterns. Once the flow approaches the piers, the stream lines change their order, causing the appearance of different flow patterns around the bridge piers. New flow patterns are created following the geometry and the other technical characteristics of the piers. One of the most significant consequences of this event is the scour generated around the bridge piers which threatens the safety of the structure. In order to determine the properties of scour holes, to find maximum depth of the scour is an important factor. In this manuscript a numerical simulation of the scour around Marand-Soofian route bridge piers has been carried out via SSIIM 2.0 Software and the amount of maximum scour has been achieved subsequently. Eventually the methods for retrofitting of bridge piers against scours and also the methods for decreasing the amount of scour have been offered.

Keywords: scour, bridge pier, numerical simulation, SSIIM 2.0

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Authors: G. K. Awari, Vishwajeet V. Ambade, S. W. Rajurkar

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The field of additive manufacturing is growing, and discoveries are being made. 3D printing machines are also being developed to accommodate a wider range of 3D printing materials, including plastics, metals (metal AM powders), composites, filaments, and other materials. There are numerous printing materials available for industrial additive manufacturing. Such materials have their unique characteristics, advantages, and disadvantages. In order to avoid errors in additive manufacturing, key elements such as 3D printing material type, texture, cost, printing technique and procedure, and so on must be examined. It can be complex to select the best material for a particular job. Polylactic acid (PLA) is made from sugar cane or cornstarch, both of which are renewable resources. "Black plastic" is another name for it. Because it is safe to use and print, it is frequently used in primary and secondary schools. This is also how FDM screen printing is done. PLA is simple to print because of its low warping impact. It's also possible to print it on a cold surface. When opposed to ABS, it allows for sharper edges and features to be printed. This material comes in a wide range of colours. Polylactic acid (PLA) is the most common material used in fused deposition modelling (FDM). PLA can be used to print a wide range of components, including medical implants, household items, and mechanical parts. The mechanical behaviour of the printed item is affected by variations in infill patterns that are subjected to compressive tests in the current investigation to examine their behaviour under compressive stresses.

Keywords: fused deposition modelling, polylactic acid, infill density, infill pattern, compressive strength

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Authors: Karim Hamidi Machekposhti, Hossein Sedghi, Abdolrasoul Telvari, Hossein Babazadeh

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Floods have huge environmental and economic impact. Therefore, flood prediction is given a lot of attention due to its importance. This study analysed the annual maximum streamflow (discharge) (AMS or AMD) of Karkheh River in Karkheh River Basin for flood predicting using ARIMA model. For this purpose, we use the Box-Jenkins approach, which contains four-stage method model identification, parameter estimation, diagnostic checking and forecasting (predicting). The main tool used in ARIMA modelling was the SAS and SPSS software. Model identification was done by visual inspection on the ACF and PACF. SAS software computed the model parameters using the ML, CLS and ULS methods. The diagnostic checking tests, AIC criterion, RACF graph and RPACF graphs, were used for selected model verification. In this study, the best ARIMA models for Annual Maximum Discharge (AMD) time series was (4,1,1) with their AIC value of 88.87. The RACF and RPACF showed residuals’ independence. To forecast AMD for 10 future years, this model showed the ability of the model to predict floods of the river under study in the Karkheh River Basin. Model accuracy was checked by comparing the predicted and observation series by using coefficient of determination (R²).

Keywords: time series modelling, stochastic processes, ARIMA model, Karkheh river

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Authors: Shohreh Azizi, Memory Tekere, Wag Nel

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An evaluation of the characteristics of wastewater generated from small communities was carried out in relation to decentralized approach for domestic sewage treatment plant and design of biological nutrient removal system. The study included the survey of the waste from various individual communities such as a hotel, a residential complex, an office premise, and an educational institute. The results indicate that the concentration of organic pollutant in wastewater from the residential complex is higher than the waste from all the other communities with COD 664 mg/l, BOD 370.2 mg/l and TSS 248.8 mg/l. And the waste water from office premise indicates low organic load with COD428 mg/l, BOD 232mg/l and TSS 157mg/l. The wastewater from residential complex was studied under activated sludge process to evaluate this technology for decentralized wastewater treatment. The Activated sludge process was operated at different 12to 4 hrs hydraulic retention times and the optimum 6 hrs HRT was selected, therefore the average reduction of COD (85.92%) and BOD (91.28 %) was achieved. The issue of sludge recycling, maintenance of biomass concentration and high HRT reactor (10 L) volume are making the system non-practical for smaller communities.

Keywords: wastewater, small communities, activated sludge process, decentralized system

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Authors: Niragi Dave, Ruchika Lalit

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Concrete is one of the most widely used materials across the globe mostly second to water and generating high carbon dioxide emission during its whole manufacturing due to the presence of cement as an ingredient. Therefore it is necessary to find an alternative material to the Portland cement. This study focused on the use of Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag as geopolymer binder. Geopolymer concrete can be an alternative material which is produced by the chemical reaction of inorganic molecules. On the other hand, waste generating from power plants and other industries like iron and steel industries can be effectively used which has disposal problems. Therefore in this study geopolymer concrete is manufactured by 100% replacement of cement content by ground granulated blast furnace slag and a combination of sodium silicate and sodium hydroxide is used as an alkaline solution. The results have shown that the compressive strengths increased with increasing curing time and type of alkali activators. Naphthalene sulfonate-based superplasticizer performed better than other superplasticizers. All the specimens have been cast at ambient temperature.

Keywords: alkali activators, concrete, geopolymer, ground granulated blast furnace slag

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Authors: Natalia Naoumova

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Facing changes and continuous growth of the contemporary cities, along with the globalization effects that accelerate cultural dissolution, the maintenance of cultural authenticity, which is implicit in historical areas as a part of cultural diversity, can be considered one of the key elements of a sustainable society. This article focuses on the polychromy of buildings in a historical context as an important feature of urban settings. It analyses the coloring of Brazilian urban heritage, characterized by the study of historical districts in Pelotas and Piratini, located in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The objective is to reveal the coloring characteristics of different historical periods, determine the chromatic typologies of the corresponding building styles, and clarify the connection between the historical chromatic aspects and their relationship with the contemporary urban identity. Architectural style data were collected by different techniques such as stratigraphic prospects of buildings, survey of historical records and descriptions, analysis of images and study of projects with colored facades kept in historical archives. Three groups of characteristics were considered in searching for working criteria in the formation of chromatic model typologies: 1) coloring palette; 2) morphology of the facade, and 3) their relationship. The performed analysis shows the formation of the urban chromatic image of the historical center as a continuous and dynamic process with the development of constant chromatic resources. It establishes that the changes in the formal language of subsequent historical periods lead to the changes in the chromatic schemes, providing a different reading of the facades both in terms of formal interpretation and symbolic meaning.

Keywords: building style, historic colors, urban heritage, urban polychromy

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Authors: Carlo Cernicchiaro, Pedro D. Gaspar, Martim L. Aguiar

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The agricultural sector is becoming more critical than ever in view of the expected overpopulation of the Earth. The introduction of robotic solutions in this field is an increasingly researched topic to make the most of the Earth's resources, thus going to avoid the problems of wear and tear of the human body due to the harsh agricultural work, and open the possibility of a constant careful processing 24 hours a day. This project is realized for a terrestrial autonomous robot aimed to navigate in an orchard collecting fallen peaches below the trees. When it receives the signal indicating the low battery, it has to return to the docking station where it will replace its battery and then return to the last work point and resume its routine. Considering a preset path in orchards with tree rows with variable length by which the robot goes iteratively using the algorithm D*. In case of low battery, the D* algorithm is still used to determine the fastest return path to the docking station as well as to come back from the docking station to the last work point. MATLAB simulations were performed to analyze the flexibility and adaptability of the developed algorithm. The simulation results show an enormous potential for adaptability, particularly in view of the irregularity of orchard field, since it is not flat and undergoes modifications over time from fallen branch as well as from other obstacles and constraints. The D* algorithm determines the best route in spite of the irregularity of the terrain. Moreover, in this work, it will be shown a possible solution to improve the initial points tracking and reduce time between movements.

Keywords: path planning, fastest return path, agricultural autonomous terrestrial robot, docking station

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Authors: Hazel Johanna J., Ntailang Mary Tariang

Abstract:

The paper “Runaway Girl Children and the Reasons: Qualitative Study In Government Girls Home Bangalore” explores the different reasons why children choose this last resort of running away rather than seeking proper help from the authorities. A qualitative study using a purposive sampling method was used to identify the participants based on the objectives. Girl runaway children between the age group of 12-18 years admitted to the Government Girls Home, Bangalore, were chosen for this study. Data was collected through in-depth interviews using semi-structured questions. Thematic analysis has been done using QDA Miner Lite. The main objectives of this study were to identify the reasons behind running away in children, to explore their childhood experiences and future dreams after they leave the Child Care Institution. The findings of this study derived five major themes that have caused the children to run away from their homes. The themes are child maltreatment and dysfunctional families, coerced into adulthood, forced work, adolescent dalliance, and aspirations. As a result, all the themes that emerged here are related to the family in one way or another. In conclusion, it is revealed that interpersonal family conflicts lead to the violation of child rights in so many ways, which in this context leads the child to run away from the comfort of their home.

Keywords: runaway children, dysfunctional family, abuse, child marriage, education

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Authors: Norshima Humaidi, Saif Hussein Abdallah Alghazo

Abstract:

Cybersecurity threat have become a serious issue recently, and one of the cause is because human error, which is usually constituted by carelessness, ignorance, and failure to practice cybersecurity behaviour adequately. Using a data from a quantitative survey, Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) analysis was used to determine the factors that affect cybersecurity protective behaviour (CPB). This study adapts cybersecurity protective behaviour model by focusing on two constructs that can enhance CPB: manager’s information security competencies (MISI) and procedural information security countermeasure (PCM) awareness. Theory of leadership competencies were adapted to measure user’s perception towards competencies among security managers/leader in the organization. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) testing shows that all the measurement items of each constructs were adequate in their validity individually based on their factor loading value. Moreover, each constructs are valid based on their parameter estimates and statistical significance. The quantitative research findings show that PCM awareness strongly influences CPB compared to MISI. Meanwhile, MISI was significantlyPCM awarenss. This study believes that the research findings can contribute to human behaviour in IS studies and are particularly beneficial to policy makers in improving organizations’ strategic plans in information security, especially in this new era. Most organizations spend time and resources to provide and establish strategic plans of information security; however, if employees are not willing to comply and practice information security behaviour appropriately, then these efforts are in vain.

Keywords: cybersecurity, protection behaviour, information security, information security competencies, countermeasure awareness

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Authors: Mohsen Yaghmoor, Sima Radmanesh

Abstract:

Rapid environmental changes have been threaten the life of many organizations .Enabling and productivity of human resource should be considered as the most important issue in order to increase performance and ensure survival of the organizations. In this research, the effectiveness of management factory in productivity & inability of human resource have been identified and reviewed at glance. Afterward there were two questions they are “what are the factors effecting productivity and enabling of human resource” . And ”what are the priority order based on effective management of human resource in Fars Poultry Complex". A specified questionnaire has been designed in order to priorities and effectiveness of the identified factors. Six factors specify to consist of: Individual characteristics, teaching, motivation, partnership management, authority or power submission and job development that have most effect on organization. Then specify a questionnaire for priority and effect measurement of specified factor that reach after collect information and using statistical tests of keronchbakh alpha coefficient r=0.792 that we can say the questionnaire has sufficient reliability. After information analysis of specified six factors by Friedman test categorize their effect. Measurement on organization respectively consists of individual characteristics, job development or enrichment, authority submission, partnership management, teaching and motivation. At last it has been indicated to approaches to increase making power full and productivity of manpower.

Keywords: productivity, empowerment, enrichment, authority submission, partnership management, teaching, motivation

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Authors: Meet Shah, Ankita Aditya, Dhruv Bindra, V. S. Omkar, Aashruti Seervi

Abstract:

In today's world, we need documents everywhere for a smooth workflow in the identification process or any other security aspects. The current system and techniques which are used for identification need one thing, that is ‘proof of existence’, which involves valid documents, for example, educational, financial, etc. The main issue with the current identity access management system and digital identification process is that the system is centralized in their network, which makes it inefficient. The paper presents the system which resolves all these cited issues. It is based on ‘blockchain’ technology, which is a 'decentralized system'. It allows transactions in a decentralized and immutable manner. The primary notion of the model is to ‘have everything with nothing’. It involves inter-linking required documents of a person with a single identity card so that a person can go anywhere without having the required documents with him/her. The person just needs to be physically present at a place wherein documents are necessary, and using a fingerprint impression and an iris scan print, the rest of the verification will progress. Furthermore, some technical overheads and advancements are listed. This paper also aims to layout its far-vision scenario of blockchain and its impact on future trends.

Keywords: blockchain, decentralized system, fingerprint impression, identity management, iris scan

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Authors: Somoshree Datta, Chithra A. V., Sandeep Nithyanandan, Smitha K. K.

Abstract:

Space exploration has always been at the forefront of technological innovation, pushing the boundaries of human knowledge and capabilities. In recent years, the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has revolutionized the field, offering unprecedented opportunities to enhance the efficiency, autonomy and intelligence of space missions. This survey paper aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the multifaceted applications of AI in space exploration, exploring the evolution of this synergy and its impact on mission success, scientific discovery, and the future of space endeavors. Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has achieved great feats in the recent moon mission (Chandrayaan-3) and sun mission (Aditya L1) by using artificial intelligence to enhance moon navigation as well as help young scientists to study the Sun even before the launch by creating AI-generated image visualizations. Throughout this survey, we will review key advancements, challenges and prospects in the intersection of AI and space exploration. As humanity continues its quest to explore the cosmos, the integration of AI promises to unlock new frontiers, reshape mission architectures, and redefine our understanding of the universe. This survey aims to serve as a comprehensive resource for researchers, engineers and enthusiasts interested in the dynamic and evolving landscape of AI applications in space exploration.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, space exploration, space missions, deep learning

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