Search results for: agricultural product export

Authors: Luciano Batista, Sylvia Saes, Nuno Fouto, Liam Fassam

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This paper introduces the theoretical and methodological basis of an analytical framework conceived with the purpose of bringing industrial ecology perspectives into the core of the underlying disciplines supporting analyses in studies concerned with environmental sustainability aspects beyond the product cycle in a supply chain. Given the pressing challenges faced by the food sector, the framework focuses upon waste minimization through industrial linkages in food supply chains. The combination of industrial ecology practice with basic LCA elements, the waste hierarchy model, and the spatial scale of industrial symbiosis allows the standardization of qualitative analyses and associated outcomes. Such standardization enables comparative analysis not only between different stages of a supply chain, but also between different supply chains. The analytical approach proposed contributes more coherently to the wider circular economy aspiration of optimizing the flow of goods to get the most out of raw materials and cuts wastes to a minimum.

Keywords: by-product synergy, food supply chain, industrial ecology, industrial symbiosis

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Authors: Muhammad Abdullah, Muhammad Atiq Ur Rehman Tariq, Faraz Ul Haq

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In developed countries, sustainability measures are widely accepted and acknowledged as crucial for addressing environmental concerns. Hydroponics, a soilless cultivation technique, has emerged as a potentially sustainable solution as it can reduce water consumption, land use, and environmental impacts. However, hydroponics may not be economically viable, especially when using reclaimed water, which may entail additional costs and risks. This study aims to address the critical question of whether hydroponics using reclaimed water can achieve a balance between sustainability and financial viability. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Life Cycle Cost (LCC) will be integrated to assess the potential of hydroponics whether it is environmentally sustainable and economically viable. Life cycle assessment, or LCA, is a methodology for assessing environmental impacts associated with all the stages of the life cycle of a commercial product, process, or service. While Life Cycle Cost (LCC) is an approach that assesses the total cost of an asset over its life cycle, including initial capital costs and maintenance costs. The expected benefits of this study include supporting evidence-based decision-making for policymakers, farmers, and stakeholders involved in agriculture. By quantifying environmental impacts and economic costs, this research will facilitate informed choices regarding the adoption of hydroponics with reclaimed water. It is believed that the outcomes of this research work will help to achieve a sustainable approach to agricultural production, aligning with sustainability goals while considering economic factors by adopting hydroponic technique.

Keywords: hydroponic, life cycle assessment, life cycle cost, sustainability

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Authors: Eva Savy, Anthony Ruiz

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In extrusion blow molding, there is great variability in product quality due to the sensitivity of the machine settings. These variations lead to unnecessary rejects and loss of time. Yet production control is a major challenge for companies in this sector to remain competitive within their market. Current quality control methods only apply to finished products (vision control, leak test...). It has been shown that material melt temperature, blowing pressure, and ambient temperature have a significant impact on the variability of product quality. Since blowing is a key step in the process, we have studied this parameter in this paper. The objective is to determine if airflow analysis allows the identification of quality problems before the full completion of the manufacturing process. We conducted tests to determine if it was possible to identify a leakage defect and an obstructed defect, two common defects on products. The results showed that it was possible to identify a leakage defect by airflow analysis.

Keywords: extrusion blow molding, signal, sensor, defects, detection

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Authors: B. Seetanah, H. Neeliah

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This paper investigates the relationship among energy, emissions and economic growth in Mauritius in the presence of trade activities, with capital and labour as other control variables. Using annual data from 1960 to 2011, it is found that the variables are non-stationary and cointegrated. The relationship among the various variables are thus examined in a dynamic VECM framework. Our empirical results comply with the growth hypothesis. Output elasticities of 0.17, 0.25 and 0.43 show that increases in energy consumption cause increases in economic growth, capital accumulation and trade in the long run. We also found that CO2 negatively affects output, but has no significant effect on trade. Findings for the long-run generally tend to tally with those in the short-run. Interestingly we found that energy consumption has a significant impact on CO2 emissions. Our results tend to suggest that implementing energy conservation strategies to mitigate the negative impact of CO2 emissions can dent economic growth, and that promoting cleaner energy production could be a better alternative for Mauritius.

Keywords: energy, emissions, economic growth, export, VECM

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Authors: Hamed Saremi, Suzan Taghavy, Seyed Mohammad Hanif Sanjari, Mostafa Kahali

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One of the challenges in manufacturing and service companies to provide a product or service is recognized Brand to consumers in target markets. They provide most of their processes under the same capacity. But the constant threat of devastating internal and external resources to prevent a rise Brands and more companies are recognizing the stages are bankrupt. This paper has tried to identify and analyze effective indicators of brand equity and focuses on indicators and presents a model of intelligent create a model to prevent possible damage. In this study, the identified indicators of brand equity are based on literature study and according to expert opinions, set of indicators By techniques DEMATEL Then to used Multi-Step Adaptive Neural-Fuzzy Inference system (ANFIS) to design a multi-stage intelligent system for assessment of brand equity.

Keywords: brand, cosmetic product, ANFIS, DEMATEL

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Authors: Ethan Petersen

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In this paper, we analyze the volatility of Apple’s stock beginning January 3, 2005 up to October 9, 2014, then focus on a range from 30 days prior to each product announcement until 30 days after. Product announcements are filtered; announcements whose 60 day range is devoid of other events are separated. This filtration is chosen to isolate, and study, a potential cross-effect. Concerning Apple keynotes, there are two significant dates: the day the invitations to the event are received and the day of the event itself. As such, the statistical analysis is conducted for both invite-centered and event-centered time frames. A comparison to the VIX is made to determine if the trend is simply following the market or deviating. Regardless of the filtration, we find that there is a clear deviation from the market. Comparing these data sets, there are significantly different trends: isolated events have a constantly decreasing, erratic trend in volatility but an increasing, linear trend is observed for clustered events. According to the Efficient Market Hypothesis, we would expect a change when new information is publicly known and the results of this study support this claim.

Keywords: efficient market hypothesis, event study, volatility, VIX

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Authors: Siri-Orn Champatong

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The objectives of this research were to study the attitude of service marketing mix that affected the decision making behavior to use fitness service in case of the fitness in Thailand. This study employed by survey research and questionnaire was used to collect the data from 400 of consumers who have used the service and interested in using the service in the future. The descriptive statistics and multiple regression analysis were used to analyze data. The results revealed that the attitude toward overall marketing mix was at moderate level. For particulars, attitude toward product and service aspects were at good level, however, attitude toward price, place, promotion, people, physical evidence and service quality aspects were at moderate level. The hypothesis testing results showed that attitude toward each aspect affected word of mouth, however, attitude toward product and service, place, promotion, people and physical evidence affected tendency to use fitness service at .05 statistically significant level.

Keywords: decision making behavior, fitness, marketing mix, marketing service

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Authors: Yobo Opare-Addo

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Ghana came under a military and democratic rule of the same leadership from 1981-2000. These were the Provisional National Defense Council (PNDC), a military government and a democratic government, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) both under the leadership of Flt. Lt. J.J. Rawlings. Meanwhile the year 1985 marked a turning point in the development of the tourism industry in Ghana. Interest in tourism among African governments and for that matter the ‘PNDC cum NDC Government’ (PNDC/NDC) arose because of adverse developments in intangible exports and a corresponding decline in commodity export earnings. The ‘PNDC/NDC Government’ undertook measures and policies to improve the tourism industry and at the same time embarked on export diversification to reap the foreign exchange that the industry could generate in Ghana. The objective of this paper is to examine the measures and policies of the PNDC/NDC to improve the tourism industry in order to reap the foreign exchange. It specifically interrogates the role of the government as an agent of tourism development, through its deliberate creation of a conducive environment for tourism to flourish, the involvement of the private sector both foreign and local and the provision of tourism facilities and infrastructure and how these factors impacted on the tourism industry in Ghana. In the final analysis it evaluates the degree of success of the PNDC/NDC Government in this arena of Ghana’s socio-cultural and economic development. Introduction The Provisional National Defense Council (PNDC), a military government under the leadership of Flt. Lt J.J. Rawlings overthrew a constitutionally elected government of People’s National Party in 1981. In 1992, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) won the general election conducted in December. Flt. Lt. J.J. Rawlings, the party’s leader became the President of the Fourth Republic from January 1993 to December 2000. It was refreshing to see Ghanaians embrace democracy with renewed energy, zeal, and enthusiasm. This paper takes a critical look at the efforts of the PNDC cum NDC Government (PNDC/NDC) to develop tourism in Ghana during the period from 1981-2000 Methodology: Qualitative method of research was adopted for the study. Data was collected from both primary and secondary sources, and analysis was done using descriptive analysis because descriptive analysis made it possible to describe or summarize the statistical data in the research. To gather data from primary sources, questionnaires, oral interviews, and semi-structured discussions were conducted. Respondents included public officials from Ghana Tourist Board, Ministry of Tourism, Hoteliers, restaurant operators and travel and tour operators in Accra. Secondary data sources included articles in journals, reports, magazines, bulletins, and books. The major findings included statistical data for tourism arrivals and receipts during the period and the status of the industry by the year 2000. Conclusion: The paper contributes to knowledge on political and historical aspects of tourism development in Ghana, which is almost non-existent, attitudes of the PNDC cum NDC government towards tourism development and the debates on the generation of foreign exchange to Ghana and third world countries.

Keywords: ghana, infrastructure, policies, privatization, tourism facilities

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Authors: Azzedine Hamza, Chouaib Chakour, Messaoud Ramdani

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Energy demand prediction plays a crucial role in achieving next-generation power systems for agricultural greenhouses. As a result, high prediction quality is required for efficient smart grid management and therefore low-cost energy consumption. The aim of this paper is to investigate the effectiveness of a hybrid data-driven model in day-ahead energy demand prediction. The proposed model consists of Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT), and Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS). The DWT is employed to decompose the original signal in a set of subseries and then an ANFIS is used to generate the forecast for each subseries. The proposed hybrid method (DWT-ANFIS) was evaluated using a greenhouse energy demand data for a week and compared with ANFIS. The performances of the different models were evaluated by comparing the corresponding values of Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE). It was demonstrated that discret wavelet transform can improve agricultural greenhouse energy demand modeling.

Keywords: wavelet transform, ANFIS, energy consumption prediction, greenhouse

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Authors: Mohammed Abaoli Abafogi, Sinem Satiroglu, M. Misir

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The current study has addressed the effect of Hazelnut (Corylus avellana) agroforestry on carbon sequestration. Eight sample plots were collected from Hazelnut (Corylus avellana) agroforestry using random sampling method. The diameter of all trees in each plot with ≥ 2cm at 1.3m DBH was measured by using a calliper. Average diameter, aboveground biomass, and carbon stock were calculated for each plot. Comparative data for natural forestland was used for C was taken from KTU, and the soil C was converted from the biomass conversion equation. Biomass carbon was significantly higher in the Natural forest (68.02Mgha⁻¹) than in the Hazelnut agroforestry (16.89Mgha⁻¹). SOC in Hazelnut agroforestry, Natural forest, and arable agricultural land were 7.70, 385.85, and 0.00 Mgha⁻¹ respectively. Biomass C, on average accounts for only 0.00% of the total C in arable agriculture, and 11.02% for the Hazelnut agroforestry while 88.05% for Natural forest. The result shows that the conversion of arable crop field to Hazelnut agroforestry can sequester a large amount of C in the soil as well as in the biomass than Arable agricultural lands.

Keywords: arable agriculture, biomass carbon, carbon sequestration, hazelnut (Corylus avellana) agroforestry, soil organic carbon

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Authors: Nitin Singh, Meng Ling, Talha Ahmed, Tianxia Zhao, Reinier van de Pol

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We propose the use of reinforcement learning (RL) as a viable alternative for optimizing supply chain management, particularly in scenarios with stochasticity in product demands. RL’s adaptability to changing conditions and its demonstrated success in diverse fields of sequential decision-making makes it a promising candidate for addressing supply chain problems. We investigate the impact of demand fluctuations in a multi-product supply chain system and develop RL agents with learned generalizable policies. We provide experimentation details for training RL agents and statistical analysis of the results. We study the generalization ability of RL agents for different demand uncertainty scenarios and observe superior performance compared to the agents trained with fixed demand curves. The proposed methodology has the potential to lead to cost reduction and increased profit for companies dealing with frequent inventory movement between supply and demand nodes.

Keywords: inventory management, reinforcement learning, supply chain optimization, uncertainty

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Authors: Mónika Bartalné-Berceli, Eszter Izsó, Szilveszter Gergely, András Salgó

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Nowadays a significant portion of the Earth's population does not have access to healthy food. Either because they can not afford them or because they do not know which they are. The aim of the VIIth Framework CHANCE project (Nr. 266331) supported by the European Union has been to develop relatively cheap food favorable from nutritional point of view and has acceptable quality for consumers. Within the project we dealt with manufacturing of bread belonging to basic foods. We had examined the enrichment of bread products with four kinds of bran, with a special milling product of grain industry (aleurone flour) and with a soy-based sprouted additive. The applied concentration of the six mentioned additives has been optimized and the physical and sensory properties of the bread products were monitored. The weight of the enriched breads increased slightly, however the volume and height decreased slightly compared to the corresponding data of the control bread. The composition of the final product is favorable affected by these additives having highly preferred composition from nutritional point of view.

Keywords: bread products, brans, YASO, aleurone flour

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Authors: Ala’a H. Al-Muhtaseb, Farrukh Jamil, Lamya Al-Haj, Mohab Al-Hinai

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Bio-glycerol is considered as high boiling polar triol and immiscible with fossil fuel fractions due to which it is transformed into its respective ketals and acetals which help to improve the quality of diesel emitting less amount of aldehydes and carbon monoxide. Solketal visual appearance is transparent and it is odorless organic liquid used as fuel additive for diesel to improve its cold flow properties. Condensation of bio-glycerol with bio-acetone in presence of beta zeolite has been done for synthesizing solketal. It was observed that glycerol conversion and selectivity of solketal was largely effected by temperature, as it increases from 40 ºC to 60 ºC the conversion of glycerol rises from 80.04 % to 94.26 % and selectivity of solketal from 80.0 % to 94.21 % but further increase in temperature to 100 ºC glycerol conversion reduced to 93.06 % and solketal selectivity to 92.08 %. At the optimum conditions, the bio-glycerol conversion and solketal yield were about 94.26% and 94.21wt% respectively. This process offers an attractive route for converting bio-glycerol, the main by-product of biodiesel to solketal with bio-acetone; a value-added green product with potential industrial applications as a valuable green fuel additive or combustion promoter for gasoline/diesel engines.

Keywords: bio-acetone, bio-glycerol, acetylation, solketal

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Authors: Merve Aygün Esastürk, Deren Ataç Yılmaz, Görkem Oğur, Emre Özgen Kuzu, Sadık Ödemiş

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Hydrocracker plants are one of the most complicated and most profitable units in the refinery process. It takes long chain paraffinic hydrocarbons as feed and turns them into smaller and more valuable products, mainly kerosene and diesel under high pressure with the excess amount of hydrogen. Controlling the product qualities well directly contributes to the unit profit. Control of a plant is mainly based on PID and MPC controllers. Controlling the reaction section is important in terms of reaction severity. However, controlling the fractionation section is more crucial since the end products are separated in fractionation section. In this paper, the importance of well-configured base layer control mechanism, composed of PID controllers, is highlighted. For this purpose, two different base layer control scheme is applied in a hydrocracker fractionator column performances of schemes, which is a direct contribution to better product quality, are compared.

Keywords: controller, distillation, configuration selection, hydrocracker, model predictive controller, proportional-integral-derivative controller

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Authors: Farrukh Jamil, Ala'a H. Al-Muhtaseb, Lamya Al-Haj, Mohab A. Al-Hinai

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Glycerol is considered as high boiling polar triol and immiscible with fossil fuel fractions due to which it is transformed into its respective ketals and acetals which help to improve the quality of diesel emitting less amount of aldehydes and carbon monoxide. Solketal visual appearance is transparent, and it is odorless organic liquid used as a fuel additive for diesel to improve its cold flow properties. Condensation of bio-glycerol with bio-acetone in presence of beta zeolite has been done for synthesizing solketal. It was observed that glycerol conversion and selectivity of solketal was largely effected by temperature, as it increases from 40 ºC to 60 ºC the conversion of glycerol rises from 80.04 % to 94.26 % and selectivity of solketal from 80.0 % to 94.21 % but further increase in temperature to 100 ºC glycerol conversion reduced to 93.06 % and solketal selectivity to 92.08 %. At the optimum conditions, the bio-glycerol conversion and solketal yield were about 94.26% and 94.21wt% respectively. This process offers an attractive route for converting bio-glycerol, the main by-product of biodiesel to solketal with bio-acetone; a value-added green product with potential industrial applications as a valuable green fuel additive or combustion promoter for gasoline/diesel engines.

Keywords: bio-glycerol, catalyst, green additive, biomass

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Authors: Darren A. Whitaker, Dan Palmer, Jens Wesholowski, James Flaherty, John Mack, Ahmad B. Albadarin, Gavin Walker

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Traditional mechanosynthesis has been performed by either ball milling or manual grinding. However, neither of these techniques allow the easy application of process control. The temperature may change unpredictably due to friction in the process. Hence the amount of energy transferred to the reactants is intrinsically non-uniform. Recently, it has been shown that the use of Twin-Screw extrusion (TSE) can overcome these limitations. Additionally, TSE enables a platform for continuous synthesis or manufacturing as it is an open-ended process, with feedstocks at one end and product at the other. Several materials including metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), co-crystals and small organic molecules have been produced mechanochemically using TSE. The described advantages of TSE are offset by drawbacks such as increased process complexity (a large number of process parameters) and variation in feedstock flow impacting on product quality. To handle the above-mentioned drawbacks, this study utilizes UV-Vis spectrophotometry (InSpectroX, ColVisTec) as an online tool to gain real-time information about the quality of the product. Additionally, this is combined with real-time process information in an Advanced Process Control system (PharmaMV, Perceptive Engineering) allowing full supervision and control of the TSE process. Further, by characterizing the dynamic behavior of the TSE, a model predictive controller (MPC) can be employed to ensure the process remains under control when perturbed by external disturbances. Two reactions were studied; a Knoevenagel condensation reaction of barbituric acid and vanillin and, the direct amidation of hydroquinone by ammonium acetate to form N-Acetyl-para-aminophenol (APAP) commonly known as paracetamol. Both reactions could be carried out continuously using TSE, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy was used to confirm the percentage conversion of starting materials to product. This information was used to construct partial least squares (PLS) calibration models within the PharmaMV development system, which relates the percent conversion to product to the acquired UV-Vis spectrum. Once this was complete, the model was deployed within the PharmaMV Real-Time System to carry out automated optimization experiments to maximize the percentage conversion based on a set of process parameters in a design of experiments (DoE) style methodology. With the optimum set of process parameters established, a series of PRBS process response tests (i.e. Pseudo-Random Binary Sequences) around the optimum were conducted. The resultant dataset was used to build a statistical model and associated MPC. The controller maximizes product quality whilst ensuring the process remains at the optimum even as disturbances such as raw material variability are introduced into the system. To summarize, a combination of online spectral monitoring and advanced process control was used to develop a robust system for optimization and control of two TSE based mechanosynthetic processes.

Keywords: continuous synthesis, pharmaceutical, spectroscopy, advanced process control

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Authors: T. S. Desak Ketut, A.n. Isna, A.a. Ayu, D. P. Ririn, Suharjono Hadiatullah

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The requirement of paper from year to year rise rapidly. The raising of cellulose requirement in paper production caused increasing of wood requirement with the effect that limited forest areal because of deforestation. Alternative cellulose that can be used for making paper is microbial cellulose. The objective of this research are to know the effectivity fermentation media Spirogyra sp. by Gluconacetobacter xylinum for cellulose production as material for the making of paper and to know effect composition bacterial cellulose composite product of Gluconacetobacter xylinum in Spirogyra sp. The method, was used, is as follow, 1) the effect assay from variation composition of fermentation media to bacterial cellulose production by Gluconacetobacter xylinum. 2) The effect assay of composition bacterial cellulose fermentation producted by Gluconacetobacter xylinum in extracted Spirogyra media to paper quality. The result of this research is variation fermentation media Spirogyra sp. affect to production of cellulose by Gluconacetobacter xylinum. Thus, result showed by the highest value and significantly different in thickness parameter, dry weight and wet weight of nata in sucrose concentration 7,5 % and urea 0,75 %. Composition composite of bacterial cellulose from fermentation product by Gluconacetobacter xylinum in media Spirogyra sp. affect to paper quality from wet nata and dry nata. Parameters thickness, weight, water absorpsion, density and gramatur showed highest result in sucrose concentration 7,5 % and urea concentration 0,75 %, except paper density from dry nata had highest result in sucrose and urea concentration 0%.

Keywords: cellulose, fermentation media, , Gluconacetobacter xylinum, paper, Spirogyra sp.

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Authors: John Mark King

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Beginning on Feb. 7, 2019, the luxury brand, Gucci, was met with a firestorm on social media over fashion runway images of its black balaclava sweater, which covered the bottom half of the face and featured large, shiny bright red lips surrounding the mouth cutout. Many observers on social media and in the news media noted the garment resembled racist “blackface.” This study aimed to measure how items were framed across multiple media platforms. The unit of analysis was any headline or lead paragraph published using the search terms “Gucci” and “sweater” or “jumper” or “balaclava” during the one-year timeframe of Feb. 7, 2019, to Feb. 6, 2020. Limitations included headlines and lead paragraphs published in English and indexed in the Lexis/Nexis database. Independent variables were the nation in which the item was published and the platform (newspapers, blogs, web-based publications, newswires, magazines, or broadcast news). Dependent variables were tone toward Gucci (negative, neutral or positive) and frame (blackface/racism/racist, boycott/celebrity boycott, sweater/balaclava/jumper/fashion, apology/pulling the product/diversity initiatives by Gucci or frames unrelated to the controversy but still involving Gucci sweaters) and word count. Two coders achieved 100% agreement on all variables except tone (94.2%) and frame (96.3%). The search yielded 276 items published from 155 sources in 18 nations. The tone toward Gucci during this period was negative (69.9%). Items that were neutral (16.3%) or positive (13.8%) toward the brand were overwhelmingly related to items about other Gucci sweaters worn by celebrities or fashion reviews of other Gucci sweaters. The most frequent frame was apology/pulling the product/diversity initiatives by Gucci (35.5%). The tone was most frequently negative across all continents, including the Middle East (83.3% negative), Asia (81.8%), North America (76.6%), Australia/New Zealand (66.7%), and Europe (59.8%). Newspapers/magazines/newswires/broadcast news transcripts (72.4%) were more negative than blogs/web-based publications (63.6%). The most frequent frames used by newspapers/magazines/newswires/broadcast news transcripts were apology/pulling the product/diversity initiatives by Gucci (38.7%) and blackface/racism/racist (26.1%). Blogs/web-based publications most frequently used frames unrelated to the controversial garment, but about other Gucci sweaters (42.9%) and apology/pulling the product/diversity initiatives by Gucci (27.3%). Sources in Western nations (34.7%) and Eastern nations (47.1%) most frequently used the frame of apology/pulling the product/diversity initiatives by Gucci. Mean word count was higher for negative items (583.58) than positive items (404.76). Items framed as blackface/racism/racist or boycott/celebrity boycott had higher mean word count (668.97) than items framed as sweater/balaclava/jumper/fashion or apology/pulling the product/diversity initiatives by Gucci (498.22). The author concluded that during the year-long period, Gucci’s image was likely damaged by the release of the garment at the center of the controversy due to near-universally negative items published, but Gucci’s apology/pulling the product off the market/diversity initiatives by Gucci and items about other Gucci sweaters worn by celebrities or fashion reviews of other Gucci sweaters were the most common frames across multiple media platforms, which may have mitigated the damage to the brand.

Keywords: Blackface, branding, Gucci, media framing

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Authors: Stamatia Nasiakou, Dimitrios Chouvardas, Michael Vrahnakis, Vassiliki Kleftoyanni

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Recent research in the mountainous and semi-mountainous rural landscapes of Greece shows that they have been significantly changed over the last 80 years. These changes have the form of structural modification of land cover/use patterns, with the main characteristic being the extensive expansion of dense forests and shrubs at the expense of grasslands and extensive agricultural areas. The aim of this research was to study the 60-year changes (1960-2019) of land cover/ use units in the rural landscape of Mouzaki (Karditsa Prefecture, central Greece). Relevant cartographic material such as forest land use maps, digital maps (Corine Land Cover -2018), 1960 aerial photos from Hellenic Military Geographical Service, and satellite imagery (Google Earth Pro 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2019) was collected and processed in order to study landscape evolution. ArcGIS v 10.2.2 software was used to process the cartographic material and to produce several sets of data. Main product of the analysis was a digitized photo-mosaic of the 1960 aerial photographs, a digitized photo-mosaic of recent satellite images (2014, 2016, 2017 and 2019), and diagrams and maps of temporal transformation of the rural landscape (1960 – 2019). Maps and diagrams were produced by applying photointerpretation techniques and a suitable land cover/ use classification system on the two photo-mosaics. Demographic and socioeconomic inventory data was also collected mainly from diachronic census reports of the Hellenic Statistical Authority and local sources. Data analysis of the temporal transformation of land cover/ use units showed that they are mainly located in the central and south-eastern part of the study area, which mainly includes the mountainous part of the landscape. The most significant change is the expansion of the dense forests that currently dominate the southern and eastern part of the landscape. In conclusion, the produced diagrams and maps of the land cover/ use evolution suggest that woody vegetation in the rural landscape of Mouzaki has significantly increased over the past 60 years at the expense of the open areas, especially grasslands and agricultural areas. Demographic changes, land abandonment and the transformation of traditional farming practices (e.g. agroforestry) were recognized as the main cause of the landscape change. This study is part of a broader research project entitled “Perspective of Agroforestry in Thessaly region: A research on social, environmental and economic aspects to enhance farmer participation”. The project is funded by the General Secretariat for Research and Technology (GSRT) and the Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation (HFRI).

Keywords: Agroforestry, Forest expansion, Land cover/ use changes, Mountainous and semi-mountainous areas

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Authors: Gülay Dalgıç, Gildis Tachir

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Architectural design studios are ambiencein where architecture design is realized as a palpable product in architectural education. In the design studios that the architect candidate will use in the design processthe information, the methods of approaching the design problem, the solution proposals, etc., are set uptogetherwith the studio coordinators. The architectural design process, on the other hand, is complex and uncertain.Candidate architects work in a process that starts with abstre and ill-defined problems. This process starts with the generation of alternative solutions with the help of representation tools, continues with the selection of the appropriate/satisfactory solution from these alternatives, and then ends with the creation of an acceptable design/result product. In the studio ambience, many designs and thought relationships are evaluated, the most important step is the early design phase. In the early design phase, the first steps of converting the information are taken, and converted information is used in the constitution of the first design decisions. This phase, which positively affects the progress of the design process and constitution of the final product, is complex and fuzzy than the other phases of the design process. In this context, the aim of the study is to investigate the effects of face-to-face learning model and e-learning model on the early design phase. In the study, the early design phase was defined by literature research. The data of the defined early design phase criteria were obtained with the feedback graphics created for the architect candidates who performed e-learning in the first year of architectural education and continued their education with the face-to-face learning model. The findings of the data were analyzed with the common graphics program. It is thought that this research will contribute to the establishment of a contemporary architectural design education model by reflecting the evaluation of the data and results on architectural education.

Keywords: education modeling, architecture education, design education, design process

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Authors: Aedah Abd Rahman, Nurdatillah Hasim

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Software quality issues require special attention especially in view of the demands of quality software product to meet customer satisfaction. Software development projects in most organisations need proper defect management process in order to produce high quality software product and reduce the number of defects. The research question of this study is how to produce high quality software and reducing the number of defects. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to provide a framework for managing software defects by following defined life cycle processes. The methodology starts by reviewing defects, defect models, best practices and standards. A framework for defect management life cycle is proposed. The major contribution of this study is to define a defect management road map in software development. The adoption of an effective defect management process helps to achieve the ultimate goal of producing high quality software products and contributes towards continuous software process improvement.

Keywords: defects, defect management, life cycle process, software quality

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Authors: A. Senthil Kumar, V. Murali Bhaskaran

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In the information technology ground, people are using various tools and software for their official use and personal reasons. Nowadays, people are worrying to choose data accessing and extraction tools at the time of buying and selling their products. In addition, worry about various quality factors such as price, durability, color, size, and availability of the product. The main purpose of the research study is to find solutions to these unsolved existing problems. The proposed algorithm is a Multidirectional Rank Prediction (MDRP) decision making algorithm in order to take an effective strategic decision at all the levels of data extraction, uses a real time textile dataset and analyzes the results. Finally, the results are obtained and compared with the existing measurement methods such as PCC, SLCF, and VSS. The result accuracy is higher than the existing rank prediction methods.

Keywords: Knowledge Discovery in Database (KDD), Multidirectional Rank Prediction (MDRP), Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient (PCC), VSS (Vector Space Similarity)

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Authors: Seok-Hyeon Park, Joon-Hong Park, Mok-Tan-Ahn, Seong-Hun Ha

Abstract:

Clad Pipe is made of a different kind of material, which is different from the internal and external materials, for the corrosive crude oil transportation tube. Most of the clad pipes are produced by hot rolling. However, problems arise due to high product prices and excessive process numbers. Therefore, in this study, the hot drawing process with excellent product cost, process number and productivity is applied. Due to the nature of the drawing process, the shape of the mold greatly influences the formability of the material and the bonding pressure of the two materials because it is a process of drawing the material to the die and reducing the cross-sectional area. Also, in case of hot drawing, if the mold shape is not suitable due to the increased fluidity of the material, it may cause problems such as tearing and stretching. Therefore, in this study, we try to find the shape of the mold which suppresses the occurrence of defects in the hot drawing process and maximizes the bonding pressure between the two materials through the mold shape optimization design by FEM analysis.

Keywords: clad pipe, hot drawing, bonding pressure, mold shape

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Authors: Aysegul Sarac

Abstract:

The aim of this study is to analyze the impacts of integrating agile development principles and practices, in particular to reduce project lead time in a multi-project environment. We analyze Arçelik Washing Machine R&D Center in which multiple projects are conducted by shared resources. In the first part of the study, we illustrate the current waterfall model system by using a value stream map. We define all activities starting from the first idea of the project to the customer and measure process time and lead time of projects. In the second part of the study we estimate potential improvements and select a set of these improvements to integrate agile principles. We aim to develop a future state map and analyze the impacts of integrating lean principles on project lead time. The main contribution of this study is that we analyze and integrate agile product development principles in a real multi-project system.

Keywords: agile project management, multi project system, project lead time, product development

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Authors: Goksen Arik, Mihriban Korukluoglu

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Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) has been used commonly in the food industry. They can be used as natural preservatives because acidifying carried out in the medium can protect the last product against microbial spoilage. Besides, other metabolites produced by LAB during fermentation period have also an antimicrobial effect on pathogen and spoilage microorganisms in the food industry. LAB are responsible for the desirable and distinctive aroma and flavour which are observed in fermented food products such as pickle, kefir, yogurt, and cheese. Various LAB strains are able to produce B-group vitamins such as folate (B11), riboflavin (B2) and cobalamin (B12). Especially wild-type strains of LAB can produce B-group vitamins in high concentrations. These cultures may be used in food industry as a starter culture and also the microbial strains can be used in encapsulation technology for new and functional food product development. This review is based on the current applications of B-group vitamin producing LAB. Furthermore, the new technologies and innovative researches about B vitamin production in LAB have been demonstrated and discussed for determining their usage availability in various area in the food industry.

Keywords: B vitamin, food industry, lactic acid bacteria, starter culture, technology

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Authors: Mehrnoosh Askarizadeh

Abstract:

Agile manufacturing concept was first coined by Iacocca institute in 1991 as a new manufacturing paradigm in order to provide and ensure competitiveness in the emerging global manufacturing order. Afterward, a considerable number of studies have been conducted in this area. Reviewing these studies reveals that they mostly focus on agile manufacturing drivers, definition and characteristics but few of them propose practical solutions to achieve it. Agile manufacturing is recommended as a successful paradigm after lean for the 21st manufacturing firms. This competitive concept has been developed in response to the continuously changes and uncertainties in today’s business environment. In order to become an agile competitor, a manufacturing firm should focus on enriching its agility capabilities. These agility capabilities can be categorized into seven groups: proactiveness, customer focus, responsiveness, quickness, flexibility, basic competence and partnership. A manufacturing firm which is aiming at achieving agility should first develop its own appropriate agility strategy. This strategy prioritizes required agility capabilities.

Keywords: agile manufacturing, product architecture, customer focus, responsiveness, quickness, flexibility, basic competence

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Authors: Shih-Jen Feng, Nai-Chia Chao, Meng-Chi Shih, Chien-Chi Chang

Abstract:

Today, Taiwan agriculture operates under small business scale with economic insufficiency, due to aging population, unproductiveness, inadequate systematic management, insufficient agro-economic scale, and cultivation on agro-education. Moreover, because of farming special working method (physical tiring, shackled weather condition), environment (asymmetric distribution information), hours devoted (unbalance wealth), the willingness for younger generation to delicate into agriculture farming is rare. Although government had provided policies to harmonize the existing problem, significant result is unseen. Living lab (LL) is a methodology approach to sense, prototype and validate complex solutions in real life context. This paper contributes an innovative interaction methodology by probing under implementation of diverse LL sector merging big data analysis utilizing rural redevelopment and revitalization plan of Wufeng.

Keywords: living lab approach, historic rural redevelopment, innovation model, innovation approach

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Authors: Fathi Elyaagubi

Abstract:

Salinization is a major threat to the productivity of agricultural land. The Gefara Plain located in the northwest of Libya; comprises about 80% of the total agricultural activity. The high water requirements for the populations and agriculture are depleting the groundwater aquifer, resulting in intrusion of seawater in the first few kilometers along the coast. Due to increasing salinity in the groundwater used for irrigation, the soils of the Gefara Plain are becoming increasingly saline. This research paper investigated the sensitivity of these soils to increased salinity using Co2 evolution as an integrating measure of soil function. Soil was collected from four sites located in the Gefara Plain, Almaya, Janzur, Gargaresh and Tajura. Soil collected from Tajura had the highest background salinity, and Janzur had the highest organic matter content. All of the soils had relatively low organic matter content, ranging between 0.49-%1.25. The cumulative rate of 14CO2 of added 14C-labelled Lolium shoots (Lolium perenne L.) to soils was decreased under effects of water containing different concentrations of NaCl at 20, 50, 70, 90, 150, and 200 mM compared to the control at any time of incubation in four sites.

Keywords: soil salinity, gefara plain, organic matter, 14C-labelled lolium shoots

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Authors: Daniela Brioschi, Rovilson Mafalda, Silvia Titotto

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In the present days, packages are considered a fundamental element in the commercialization of products and services. A good package is capable of helping to attract new customers and also increasing a product’s purchase intent. In this scenario, packaging design emerges as an important tool, since products and design of their packaging are so interconnected that they are no longer seen as separate elements. Packaging design is, in fact, capable of generating desire for a product. The packaging market for cosmetics, especially makeup market, has also been experiencing an increasing level of sophistication and requirements. Considering packaging represents an important link of communication with the final user and plays a significant role on the sales process, it is of great importance that packages accomplish not only with functional requirements but also with the visual appeal. One of the possibilities for the design of packages and, in this context, packages for make-up, is the bioinspired design – or biomimicry. The bio-inspired design presents a promising paradigm for innovation in both design and sustainable design, by using biological system analogies to develop solutions. It has gained importance as a widely diffused movement in design for environmentally conscious development and is also responsible for several useful and innovative designs. As eye mascara packages are also part of the constant evolution on the design for cosmetics area and the traditional packages present the disadvantage of product drying along time, this project aims to develop a new and innovative package for this product, by using a selected bioinspired design methodology during the development process and also suitable computational tools. In order to guide the development process of the package, it was chosen the spiral methodology, conceived by The Biomimicry Institut, which consists of a reliable tool, since it was based on traditional design methodologies. The spiral design comprises identification, translation, discovery, abstraction, emulation and evaluation steps, that can work iteratively as the process develops as a spiral. As support tool for packaging, 3D modelling is being used by the software Inventor Autodesk Inventor 2018. Although this is an ongoing research, first results showed that spiral methodology design, together with Autodesk Inventor, consist of suitable instruments for the bio-inspired design process, and also nature proved itself to be an amazing and inexhaustible source of inspiration.

Keywords: bio-inspired design, design methodology, packaging, cosmetics

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Authors: Zo Hasina Rabemananjara

Abstract:

The North-East of Madagascar is the pillar of Madagascar's foreign trade, providing 41% and 80% of world exports of cloves and vanilla, respectively, in 2016. For Madagascar, the north-eastern escarpment is home to the last massifs of humid forest in large scale of the island, surrounded by a small scale agricultural mosaic. In the sites where this study is taking place, located in the peripheral zones of protected areas, the production of rent aims to supply international markets. In fact, importers of the cash crops produced in these areas are located mainly in India, Singapore, France, Germany and the United States. Recently, the price of these products has increased significantly, especially from the year 2015. For vanilla, the price has skyrocketed, from an approximate price of 73 USD per kilo in 2015 to more than 250 USD per kilo in 2016. The value of clove exports increased sharply by 49.4% in 2017, largely to Singapore and India due to the sharp increase in exported volume (+47, 6%) in 2017. If the relationship between the rise in prices of rented products and the change in physical environments is known, the evolution of the behavior of land users linked to this aspect was not yet addressed by research. In fact, the consequence of this price increase in the organization of the use of space at the local level still raises questions. Hence, the research question is: to what extent does this improvement in the price of imported products affect user behavior linked to the local organization of access to the factor of soil production? To fully appreciate this change in behavior, surveys of 144 land user households were carried out, and group interviews were also carried out. The results of this research showed that the rise in the prices of annuity products from the year 2015 caused significant changes in the behavior of land users in the study sites. Young people, who have not been attracted to farming for a long time, have started to show interest in it since the period of rising vanilla and clove prices. They have set up their own fields of vanilla and clove cultivation. This revival of interest conferred an important value on the land and caused conflicts especially between family members because the acquisition of the cultivated land was done by inheritance or donation. This change in user behavior has also affected the farmers' life strategy since the latter have decided to abandon rain-fed rice farming, which has long been considered a guaranteed subsistence activity for cash crops. This research will contribute to nourishing scientific reflection on the management of land use and also to support political decision-makers in decision-making on spatial planning.

Keywords: behavior of land users, North-eastern Madagascar, price of export products, spatial planning

Procedia PDF Downloads 117