Search results for: community-based natural resource management

Authors: Nyasha Agnes Gurira, Patrick Ngulube

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Heritage as an asset can be used to achieve cultural and socio-economic development through its careful use as a tourist attraction. Cultural heritage sites, especially those listed as World Heritage sites generate a lot of revenue through their use as tourist attractions. According to article 5(a) of the World Heritage Convention, World Heritage Sites (WHS) must serve a function in the life of the communities. This is further stressed by the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) charter on cultural heritage tourism which recognizes the positive effects of tourism on cultural heritage and underlines that domestic and international tourism is among the foremost vehicles for cultural exchange, conservation should thus provide for responsible and well-managed opportunities for local communities. The inclusion of communities in the world heritage agenda identifies them as the owners of the heritage and partners in the management planning process. This reiterates the need to empower communities and enable them to participate in the decisions which relate to the use of their heritage divorcing from the ideals of viewing communities as beneficiaries from the heritage resource. It recognizes community ownership rights to cultural heritage an element enshrined in Zimbabwe’ national constitution. Through the use of contingency valuation approaches, by assessing the Willingness to pay for visitors at the site the research determined the tourism use value of Great Zimbabwe (WHS). It assessed the extent to which the communities at Great Zimbabwe (WHS) have been developed through the tourism use of the WHS. Findings show that the current management mechanism in place regards communities as stakeholders in the management of the WHS, their ownership and property rights are not fully recognized. They receive indirect benefits from the tourism use of the WHS. This paper calls for a shift in management approach where community ownership rights are fully recognized and more inclusive approaches are adopted to ensure that the goal of sustainable development is achieved. Pro-poor benefits of tourism are key to enhancing the livelihoods of communities and can only be achieved if their rights are recognized and respected.

Keywords: communities, cultural heritage tourism, development, property ownership rights, pro-poor benefits, sustainability, world heritage site

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Authors: Threera Intarareaung

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This research aims to study guidelines of organizing the Wat Sai Museum of Local Boats, of Ruam Sai Pattana Community 789, Kradangnga sub-district, Bang Khon Tee district, Samut Songkram province. The procedures are to seek for potentials and problems within the community to properly organize the said museum. The research contains methodology of qualitative by studying from the population from Ruam Sai Pattana 789, a community that located within the area of the museum. The sample contains 40 persons. The procedures are in-depth interview, observation, focus group by discussing ideas, problems and the importance of the museum. After that, the information received is synthesized and analyzed. The result finds that the local temple requires setting up the boat museum. However, there are several factors that limit the possibility which are the museum manager, resources, exhibition and service and knowledge management. These factors reflect mutual potentials and problems that lead us to seek the best solutions to set up the local boat museum. In conclusion, there are 4 issues regarding the management. First, the knowledge management should be conducted to indicate the purposes of the museum. Second, exhibition and service should be categorized. In addition, the serviced should be assisted by local guides. Third, the museum should employ staffs to correspond to other entities such as related authorities. Fourth is regarding location and condition of the building. This is considered as a major factor that needs discussion from different parties. However, the condition of the existing resource is proper. All the information is collected by field trip and interview the locals and person of interest. Therefore, the idea is inconsistent with the community’s requirement that can proceed to real practice.

Keywords: museum, boat museum, heritage tourism, conservation lifestyle

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Authors: Panita Wannapiroon, Noppadon Phumeechanya, Sitthichai Laisema

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This study is the research and development which is intended to: 1) design the ubiquitous cloud learning management system and: 2) assess the suitability of the design of the ubiquitous cloud learning management system. Its methods are divided into 2 phases. Phase 1 is the design of the ubiquitous cloud learning management system, phase 2 is the assessment of the suitability of the design the samples used in this study are work done by 25 professionals in the field of Ubiquitous cloud learning management systems and information and communication technology in education selected using the purposive sampling method. Data analyzed by arithmetic mean and standard deviation. The results showed that the ubiquitous cloud learning management system consists of 2 main components which are: 1) the ubiquitous cloud learning management system server (u-Cloud LMS Server) including: cloud repository, cloud information resources, social cloud network, cloud context awareness, cloud communication, cloud collaborative tools, and: 2) the mobile client. The result of the system suitability assessment from the professionals is in the highest range.

Keywords: learning management system, cloud computing, ubiquitous learning, ubiquitous learning management system

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Authors: Indu Saini, Ashu Khanna, S. K. Peddoju

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Cloud computing is the new buzz word today attracting high interest among various domains like business enterprises, Particularly in Small and Medium Enterprises. As it is a pay-per-use model, SMEs have high expectations that adapting this model will not only make them flexible, hassle-free but also economic. In view of such expectations, this paper analyses the possibility of adapting cloud computing technologies in SMEs in light of economic concerns. In this paper, two hypotheses are developed to compare the average annual per-user costs of using Enterprise Resource Planning systems in two ways, The traditional approach and the cloud approach. A web based survey is conducted apart from the Interviews with the peers to collect the data across the selected SMEs and t-test is performed to compare both the technologies on the proposed hypothesis. Results achieved are produced and discussed.

Keywords: cloud computing, small and medium enterprises, enterprise resource solutions, interviews

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Authors: S. Sadallah

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In this paper, dynamic programming is used to determine the optimal management of financial resources in company. Solution of the problem by consider into simpler substructures is constructed. The optimal management of internal capital of company are simulated. The tools applied in this development are based on graph theory. The software of given problems is built by using greedy algorithm. The obtained model and program maintenance enable us to define the optimal version of management of proper financial flows by using visual diagram on each level of investment.

Keywords: management, software, optimal, greedy algorithm, graph-diagram

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Authors: K. V. N. K. C. Sharma

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Globalization, coupled with increase in competition is compelling organizations to adopt innovative strategies and identify core competencies in order to distinguish themselves from the competition. The capability of an organization is no longer determined by their products or services alone. The intellectual assets and quality of the human resource are fast emerging as key differentiators. Corporations are now positioning themselves as ‘brands’ not solely to market their products and services, but also to lure and to retain the best talent in the business. This paper identifies leadership as the ‘key element’ in developing an organization’s brand, which has a significant influence on the employee’s eventual perception of this external brand as portrayed by the organization. External branding incorporates innovation, consumer concern, trust, quality and sustainability. The paper contends that employees are indeed an organization’s ‘brand ambassadors. Internal branding involves taking care of these ambassadors of corporate brand i.e. human resource. If employees of an organization are not exposed to the organization’s branding (an ongoing process that functionally aligns, motivates and empower employees at all levels to consistently provide a satisfying customer experience), the external brand could be jeopardized. Internal branding, on the other hand, refers to employee’s perception of the organization’s brand. The current business environment can at best, be termed as volatile. Employees with the right technical and behavioral skills remain a scarce resource and the employers need to be ready to capture the attention, interest and commitment of the best and brightest candidates. This paper attempts to review and understand the relationship between employer branding and employee retention. The paper also seeks to identify potential impact of employer branding across all the factors affecting employees.

Keywords: external branding, organisation personnel, internal branding, leadership

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Authors: H. Golchoobian, S. Saedodin, M. H. Taheri, A. Sarafraz

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In this paper, natural convection in an attic is numerically investigated. The geometry of the problem is considered to be a triangular enclosure. ANSYS Fluent software is used for modeling and numerical solution. This study is for steady state. Four right-angled triangles with height to base ratios of 2, 1, 0.5 and 0.25 are considered. The behavior of various parameters related to its performance, including temperature distribution and velocity vectors are evaluated, and graphs for the Nusselt number have been drawn. Also, in this study, the effect of geometric shape of enclosure with different height-to-base ratios has been evaluated for three types of boundary conditions of winter, summer day and one another state. It can be concluded that as the bottom side temperature and ratio of base to height of the enclosure increases, the convective effects become more prominent and circulation happened.

Keywords: enclosure, natural convection, numerical solution, Nusselt number, triangular

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Authors: Yao Lu, Xiuguo Zhang, Zhiying Cao

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In this paper, Load Balancing idea is used in the Web service mobile host. The main idea of Load Balancing is to establish a one-to-many mapping mechanism: An entrance-mapping request to plurality of processing node in order to realize the dividing and assignment processing. Because the mobile host is a resource constrained environment, there are some Web services which cannot be completed on the mobile host. When the mobile host resource is not enough to complete the request, Load Balancing scheduler will divide the request into a plurality of sub-requests and transfer them to different auxiliary mobile hosts. Auxiliary mobile host executes sub-requests, and then, the results will be returned to the mobile host. Service request integrator receives results of sub-requests from the auxiliary mobile host, and integrates the sub-requests. In the end, the complete request is returned to the client. Experimental results show that this technology adopted in this paper can complete requests and have a higher efficiency.

Keywords: Dinic, load balancing, mobile host, web service

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Authors: Ramesh Chand Chauhan, Sanjay Kumar Rai, Shashi kant, Rakesh Lodha, Nand Kumar

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Background: With a better understanding of HIV pathogenesis and availability of antiretroviral therapy more children are growing and entering in teenage group; informing children of their own HIV status has become an important aspect of long-term disease management. There is little evidence of how and when this type of disclosure takes place in a resource-limited setting. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from June 2010 to May 2011 among a dyads of 156 HIV-infected children and their caregivers, those were visiting pediatric clinic at a tertiary care hospital in Delhi, India. The study protocol was approved by the Institute Ethics Committee. After taking written informed consent; pretested structured questionnaire was administered to caregivers during routine clinic visits. Information regarding socio-demographic characteristics, awareness of HIV infection status among children and their perception regarding disclosure was collected. Mean and frequencies were calculated and chi-square and logistic regression test were applied. Results: The mean age of children was 8.4 ±3.45 years. Among them 73.7% were male and 39.1% were orphans. Among 156 enrolled children, 74.4% (n=116) were of ≥ 6 years and were assessed for disclosure. Only 18.1% (n=21) children had been informed of their HIV status. Of those under 9 years, 6.4% knew their status, whereas 18.4% of 9-11 years and 35.5% of 12-14 years children knew they had HIV. Awareness among males (23.3%) was higher than females (3.3%). Both age and sex of child were significantly (p<0.01) associated with disclosure status. Other factors favoring disclosure were orphan-hood, non-perinatal mode of transmission (OR = 4.32; 95% CI 1.01-7.12), ART initiation (OR = 4.21; 95% CI 1.03-6.98), and caregiver educated beyond primary level (OR = 1.89; 95% CI 1.03-3.26). Repeated enquiry regarding the visit to clinic was the most common reason (66.6%) for disclosure. In 52.4% children disclosure was done with the involvement of other family members. 82.5% caregivers felt the age of > 10 years is appropriate for disclosing the HIV infection status to the child. Conclusion: Detailed guidelines on disclosure are required focusing on children of school-going age with perinatal infection who are not on ART and with caregivers of low educational status.

Keywords: HIV, children, India, disclosure

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Authors: Thuduwage Lasanthika Sajeevanie

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Success is very important, and there are many factors affecting the success of any situation or a person. In Sri Lankan Context, it is hardly possible to find an empirical study relating to time management and academic success. Globally many organizations, individuals practice time management to be effective. Hence it is very important to examine the nature of time management practice. Thus this study will fill the existing gap relating to achieving academic success through proper time management practices. The research problem of this study is what is the relationship exist among time management skills and academic success of university lecturers in state universities. The objective of this paper is to identify the impact of time management skills for academic success of university lecturers. This is a conceptual study, and it was done through a literature survey by following purposive sampling technique for the selection of literature. Most of the studies have found that time management is highly related to academic performance. However, most of them have done on the academic performance of the students, and there were very few studies relating to academic performance of the university lecturers. Hence it can be further suggested to conduct a study relating to identifying the relationship between academic performance and time management skills of university lecturers.

Keywords: academic success, performance, time management skills, university lecturers

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Authors: Raymond Olayinka

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The last three decades have witnessed myriads of definitions of knowledge management proposed by researchers and industry practitioners. Despite the magnitude of research and available literature on knowledge management, there is yet to be a consensus on what constitutes a good definition. There exists an in-exhaustive list of definitions which can appear confusing, conflicting and overlapping. What is even more daunting is the lack of common terminology in describing knowledge management processes and the inconsistency in the sequence in which the processes take. Whilst newbies to knowledge management research would struggle to make sense of knowledge management definitions, industry practitioners would struggle with their applicability. Against this backdrop, this study aimed to re-evaluate knowledge management definitions and terminologies. The objectives were threefold: (1) to conduct a critical review of an existing body of work around knowledge management concepts and definitions (2) to analyse and synthesise findings (3) to present conclusions and recommendations. The methodology for this study centres around the review of the literature and secondary data sources. A total of 48 knowledge management processes were found and extracted from various definitions (e.g. ‘identify’, ‘capture’, ‘codify’, ‘store’…). A taxonomy of the processes was created based on the commonality of the entities. The 48 processes were classified under 8 headings which were further converged into 3 main headings namely ‘acquire’, ‘exploit’ and ‘evaluate’, of which all definitions therefore hinge. The study concludes that in the multitude of knowledge management definitions, there is a consistent pattern to which the processes are organised and should be utilised. The contribution of this study is in the synthesis of previous work by various authors and the presentation of a more holistic approach to knowledge management definitions and terminologies.

Keywords: knowledge management definitions, knowledge management terminologies, knowledge management processes, literature review

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Authors: Amir Sina Fouladi, Arul Arulrajah, Jian Chu, Suksun Horpibulsuk

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Waste generation is a growing concern in many countries across the world, particularly in urban areas with high rates of population growth and industrialization. The increasing amount of waste generated from human activities has led to environmental, economic, and health issues. Improper disposal of waste can result in air and water pollution, land degradation, and the spread of diseases. Waste generation also consumes large amounts of natural resources and energy, leading to the depletion of valuable resources and contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. To address these concerns, there is a need for sustainable waste management practices that reduce waste generation and promote resource recovery and recycling. Amongst these, developing innovative technologies such as Microbially Induced Calcite Precipitation (MICP) in construction materials is an effective approach to transforming waste into valuable and sustainable applications. MICP is an environmentally friendly microbial-chemical technology that applies microorganisms and chemical reagents to biological processes to produce carbonate mineral. This substance can be an energy-efficient, cost-effective, sustainable solution to environmental and engineering challenges. Recent research has shown that waste streams can replace several MICP-chemical components in the cultivation media of microorganisms and cementation reagents (calcium sources and urea). In addition to its effectiveness in treating hazardous waste streams, MICP has been found to be cost-effective and sustainable solution applicable to various waste media. This comprehensive review paper aims to provide a thorough understanding of the environmental advantages and engineering applications of MICP technology, with a focus on the contribution of waste streams. It also provides researchers with guidance on how to identify and overcome the challenges that may arise applying the MICP technology using waste streams.

Keywords: waste stream, microbially induced calcite precipitation, construction materials, sustainability

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Authors: Madelaine Venzon, Dany S. S. L. Amaral, André L. Perez, Natália S. Diaz, Juliana A. Martinez Chiguachi, Maira C. M. Fonseca, James D. Harwood, Angelo Pallini

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Integrating strategies of sustainable crop production and promoting the provisioning of ecological services on farms and within rural landscapes is a challenge for today’s agriculture. Habitat management, through increasing vegetational diversity, enhances heterogeneity in agroecosystems and has the potential to improve the recruitment of natural enemies of pests, which promotes biological control services. In tropical agroecosystems, however, there is a paucity of information pertaining to the resources provided by associated plants and their interactions with natural enemies. The maintenance of non-crop plants integrated into and/or surrounding crop fields provides the farmer with a low-investment option to enhance biological control. We carried out field experiments in chili pepper agroecosystems with small stakeholders located in the Zona da Mata, State of Minas Gerais, Brazil, from 2011 to 2015 where we assessed: (a) whether non-crop plants within and around chili pepper fields affect the diversity and abundance of aphidophagous species; (b) whether there are direct interactions between non-crop plants and aphidophagous arthropods; and (c) the importance of non-crop plant resources for survival of Coccinellidae and Chrysopidae species. Aphidophagous arthropods were dominated by Coccinellidae, Neuroptera, Syrphidae, Anthocoridae and Araneae. These natural enemies were readily observed preying on aphids, feeding on flowers or extrafloral nectaries and using plant structures for oviposition and/or protection. Aphid populations were lower on chili pepper fields associated with non-crop plants that on chili pepper monocultures. Survival of larvae and adults of different species of Coccinellidae and Chrysopidae on non-crop resources varied according to the plant species. This research provides evidence that non-crop plants in chili pepper agroecosystems can affect aphid abundance and their natural enemy abundance and survival. It is also highlighting the need for further research to fully characterize the structure and function of plant resources in these and other tropical agroecosystems. Financial support: CNPq, FAPEMIG and CAPES (Brazil).

Keywords: Conservation biological control, aphididae, Coccinellidae, Chrysopidae, plant diversification

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Authors: M. S. R. Waas, S. G. U. S. Chandrarathne, U. A. Kumara

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The purpose of this quantitative study is to identify the impact of the destination attributes of Negombo on the coastal tourists’ visitor experience. As an island nation, Sri Lanka is identified and well renowned for its gold sandy beaches and natural scenic beauty. Among many tourist attractions, Negombo is identified as a developed beach centric tourist destination in the country. Yet, it is identified that there are low positive reviews on the internet for Negombo compared to other beach centric tourist attractions in Sri Lanka. Therefore, this study would help the policymakers and tourism service providers to identify the impact of destination attributes on international visitor satisfaction and to understand the visitors comprehensively so as to develop Negombo as a stable tourist destination while offering a memorable and satisfying experience for its visitors. In support, a self-administered questionnaire survey study was performed with 150 respondents (international tourists) in Negombo. The questions were designed based on the selected dimensions of destination attributes such as tourism service quality, infrastructure and superstructure developments, tourist information facilities and destination aesthetics and developments. The results showed that the overall satisfaction level of the international tourists who visit Sri Lanka is significantly affected by the destination attributes of Negombo. Yet, the dimensions of destination aesthetics and developments and tourist information facilities indicated a low level of mean satisfaction, paving the critique that Negombo as a beach centric tourist attraction is not serving well with its natural beauty and its destination management. Further, it is advocated that the policymakers and tourism service providers have a significant role in leading the way to attract more potential visitors to enhance their destination satisfaction and to encourage them to revisit Sri Lanka while recommending it to others. The survey was done during the off-peak season of the industry and it is suggested that the survey would have been conducted throughout a complete year.

Keywords: destination attributes, coastal tourism, tourism development, tourist satisfaction

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Authors: R. Deju, M. Mincu, D. Gurau

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During the interim storage or final disposal of low level waste, migration/diffusion of radionuclides can occur when the waste comes in contact with water. The long-term leaching behaviour into surrounding fluid (demineralized water) of ¹³⁷Cs, ⁶⁰Co and ¹⁵²Eu radionuclides, artificially incorporated in mortar matrices made from natural aggregates (river sand) and recycled radioactive concrete was studied. Results presented in this work are obtained in two years of mortar testing and will be used for the safety increasing in the storage of low level radioactive waste. The study involved the influence of curing time, type and size distribution of the aggregates on leaching behaviour. The mortar samples were immersed in distilled water for 30 days. The leached activity of the mortar samples was measured on samples from the immersing water and analyzed through a gamma-ray spectrometry method using an HPGe detector with a GESPECOR code for efficiency evaluation. The long-term leaching behaviour of the radionuclides was evaluated from the leaching data calculating the apparent diffusion coefficient.

Keywords: gamma spectrometry, leaching behavior, reuse and recycling of radioactive concrete, waste management

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Authors: Carlos Alberto Ríos Reyes, Andrés Felipe Mejía Durán, Oscar Mauricio Castellanos Alarcón

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There is no doubt of great importance to make it known that planet Earth is an entity in constant change and transformation; processes such as construction and destruction are part of the evolution of the territory. Geoeducation workshops represent a significant contribution to the search for educational projects focused on teaching relevant geoscience topics to make natural threats known in schools through recreational and didactic activities. This initiative represents an educational alternative that must be developed with the participation of primary and secondary schools, universities, and local communities. The methodology is based on several phases, which include: diagnosis to know the best teaching method for basic concepts and establish a starting point for the topics to be taught, as well as to identify areas and concepts that need to be reinforced and/or deepened; design of activities that involve all students regardless of their ability or level; use of accessible materials and experimentation to support clear and concise explanations for all students; adaptation of the teaching-learning process to individual needs; sensitization about natural threats; and evaluation and feedback. It is expected to offer a series of activities and materials as a significant contribution to the search for educational projects focused on teaching relevant geoscientific topics such as natural threats associated with earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods, landslides, etc. The major findings of this study are the pedagogical strategies that primary and secondary school teachers can appropriate to face the challenge of transferring geological knowledge and to advise decision-makers and citizens on the importance of geosciences for daily life. We conclude that the knowledge of the natural threats to our planet is very important to contribute to mitigating their risk.

Keywords: workshops, geoeducation, curriculum, geosciences, natural threats

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Authors: Kunyaporn Pipithsangchan, Alongkorn Korntong, Assanee Songserm, Phatchara Piriyavinit, Saowanee Dechakampoo

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The Kingdom of Thailand is one of the South East Asian countries. From its area of 514,000 square kilometers (51 million ha), at least 18,000 plant species (8% of the world total) have been estimated to be found in the country. As a result, the conservation of plant genetic diversity, particularly food crops, is becoming important and is an assurance for the national food security. Department of Agriculture Genebank or DOA Genebank, Thailand is responsible for the conservation of plant germplasm by participating and accomplishing several collaborative projects both at national and international levels. Integrated Management System of Plant Genetic Resources or IMPGR is one of the most outstandingly successful cooperation. It is a multilateral project under the Asian Food and Agriculture Cooperation Initiative (AFACI) supported by the Rural Development Administration (RDA) of South Korea. The member countries under the project consist of 11 nations namely Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos PDR, Mongolia, Nepal, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam and South Korea. The project enabled the members to jointly address the global issues in plant genetic resource (PGR) conservation and strengthen their network in this aspect. The 1st phase of IMPGR project, entitled 'Collection, Conservation, Regeneration and Characterization of Cucurbitaceae and Solanaceae 2012-2014', comprises three main objectives that are: 1) To improve management in storage facilities, collection, and regeneration, 2) To improve linkage between Genebank and material sources (for regeneration), and 3) To improve linkage between Genebank and other field crop or/and horticultural research centers. The project was done for three years from 2012 to 2014. The activities of the project can be described as following details: In the 1st year, there were 9 target provinces for completing plant genetic resource survey and collection. 108 accessions of PGR were collected. In the 2nd year, PGR were continuously surveyed and collected from 9 provinces. The total number of collection was 140 accessions. In addition, the process of regeneration of 237 accessions collected from 1st and 2nd year was started at several sites namely Biotechnology Research and Development Office, Sukothai Horticultural Research Center, Tak Research, and Development Center and Nakhon Ratchasima Research and Development Center. In the 3rd year, besides survey and collection of 115 accessions from 9 target provinces, PGR characterization and evaluation were done for 206 accessions. Moreover, safety duplication of 253 PGR at the World Seed Vault, RDA, was also done according to Standard Agreement on Germplasm Safety Duplication between Department of Agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, the Kingdom of Thailand and the National Agrobiodiversity Center, Rural Development Administration of the Republic of Korea. The success of the 1st phase project led to the second phase which entitled 'Collection and Characterization for Effective Conservation of Local Capsicum spp., Solanum spp. and Lycopersicon spp. in Thailand 2015-2017'.

Keywords: characterization, conservation, DOA genebank, plant genetic resources

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Authors: Belkacem Ould Said, Nourddine Retiel, Abdelilah Benazza, Mohamed Aichouni

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In this paper, a numerical study of two-dimensional steady flow has been made of natural convection in a differentially heated vertical conical partially annular space. The heat transfer is assumed to take place by natural convection. The inner and outer surfaces of annulus are maintained at uniform wall temperature. The annulus is filled with air. The CFD FLUENT12.0 code is used to solve the governing equations of mass, momentum and energy using constant properties and the Boussinesq approximation for density variation. The streamlines and the isotherms of the fluid are presented for different annuli with different boundary conditions and Rayleigh numbers. Emphasis is placed on the influences of the height of the inner vertical cone on the flow and the temperature fields. In addition, the effects on the heat transfer are discussed for various values of physical parameters of the fluid and geometric parameters of the annulus. The heat transfer on the hot walls of the annulus is also calculated in order to make comparisons between the cylinder annulus for boundary conditions and several Rayleigh numbers. A good agreement of Nusselt number has been found between the present predictions and reference from the literature data.

Keywords: natural convection, heat transfer, numerical simulation, conical partially, annular space

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Authors: Vasileiou Apostolos, Theodosiou Chrysa, Tsitroulis Ioannis, Maris Fotios

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The severity of extreme phenomena is due to their ability to cause severe damage in a small amount of time. It has been observed that floods affect the greatest number of people and induce the biggest damage when compared to the total of annual natural disasters. The detection of potential flood-prone areas constitutes one of the fundamental components of the European Natural Disaster Management Policy, directly connected to the European Directive 2007/60. The aim of the present paper is to develop a new methodology that combines geographical information, fuzzy logic and multi-criteria evaluation methods so that the most vulnerable areas are defined. Therefore, ten factors related to geophysical, morphological, climatological/meteorological and hydrological characteristics of the basin were selected. Afterwards, two models were created to detect the areas pronest to flooding. The first model defined the gravitas of each factor using Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and the final map of possible flood spots were created using GIS and Boolean Algebra. The second model made use of the fuzzy logic and GIS combination and a respective map was created. The application area of the aforementioned methodologies was in Ardas basin due to the frequent and important floods that have taken place these last years. Then, the results were compared to the already observed floods. The result analysis shows that both models can detect with great precision possible flood spots. As the fuzzy logic model is less time-consuming, it is considered the ideal model to apply to other areas. The said results are capable of contributing to the delineation of high risk areas and to the creation of successful management plans dealing with floods.

Keywords: analytical hierarchy process, flood prone areas, fuzzy logic, geographic information system

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Authors: Masimuddin Mohd Khaled

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From the past couple of years, focus has been done on the quality management theories and has been pertained to various firms. The core quality management theories are Total Quality Management (TQM) and Six Sigma where a number of documents have already been presented regarding these theories. The purpose of this paper is to study in detail about these theories and how the theories are applied in the aerospace industry. A methodical literature review, comparison of TQM and Six Sigma as well as a case study of each has been carried out in this paper thus providing a clear understanding of the theories.

Keywords: total quality management, six sigma, aerospace, research, innovation

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Authors: N. Prabavathy, R. Balasundaraprabhu, S. Shalini, Dhayalan Velauthapillai, S. Prasanna, N. Muthukumarasamy

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Dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC) has become a significant research area due to their fundamental and scientific importance in the area of energy conversion. Synthetic dyes as sensitizer in DSSC are efficient and durable but they are costlier, toxic and have the tendency to degrade. Natural sensitizers contain plant pigments such as anthocyanin, carotenoid, flavonoid, and chlorophyll which promote light absorption as well as injection of charges to the conduction band of TiO2 through the sensitizer. But, the efficiency of natural dyes is not up to the mark mainly due to instability of the pigment such as anthocyanin. The stability issues in vitro are mainly due to the effect of solvents on extraction of anthocyanins and their respective pH. Taking this factor into consideration, in the present work, the anthocyanins were extracted from the flower Caesalpinia pulcherrima (C. pulcherrimma) with various solvents and their respective stability and pH values are discussed. The usage of citric acid as solvent to extract anthocyanin has shown good stability than other solvents. It also helps in enhancing the sensitization properties of anthocyanins with Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanorods. The IPCE spectra show higher photovoltaic performance for dye sensitized TiO2nanorods using citric acid as solvent. The natural DSSC using citric acid as solvent shows a higher efficiency compared to other solvents. Hence citric acid performs to be a safe solvent for natural DSSC in boosting the photovoltaic performance and maintaining the stability of anthocyanins.

Keywords: Caesalpinia pulcherrima, citric acid, dye sensitized solar cells, TiO₂ nanorods

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Authors: Muhammd Usman Sardar, Mazhar Hussain Baloch, Muhammad Shahbaz Ahmad, Zahir Javed Paracha

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Likewise other developing countries in the world, Pakistan is furthermore suffering from electrical energy deficiency as adverse well-being nominated. Its generation of electricity has become reliant onto a great range of conventional sources since the last ten of years. The foreseeable exhaustion of petroleum and conventional resources will be alarming in continued growth and development for future in Pakistan so renewable energy interchange have to be employed by interesting the majority of power grid network. Energy adding-up through solar photovoltaic based systems and projects can offset the shortfall to such an extent with this sustainable natural resources and most promising technologies. An assessment of solar energy potential for electricity generation is being presented for fulfilling the energy demands with higher level of reliability. This research study estimates the present and future approaching renewable energy resource for power generation to off-grid independent setup or energizing the existed conventional power grids of Pakistan to becoming self-sustained for its entire outfit.

Keywords: powergrid network, solar photovoltaic setups, solar power generation, solar energy technology

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Authors: Marcel Randermann, Roland Jochem

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Research activities are mostly conducted in form of projects. In fact, research projects take the highest share of all project forms combined. However, project management is very rarely applied purposefully by researchers and scientists. More specifically no project management frameworks, methods or tools are not being used to plan, execute or control research project to ensure research success or improve project quality. In this qualitative study, several interviews were conducted with scientists and research managers from German institutions to gain insights into project management activities, to determine challenges and barriers, and to evaluate premises for successful project management. The analyses show that conventional project management is not easily applicable in scientific environments and researchers’ mindsets prevent a reasonable application.

Keywords: academics, project management methods, research and science projects, scientist's mindset

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Authors: Pooya Lotfabadi

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In today's world, sustainability is a critical concern, particularly in the building industry, which is a significant contributor to energy consumption. Buildings must be considered in relation to their urban surroundings, highlighting the importance of collaboration between architecture and urban design. Natural light plays a vital role in enhancing a building's thermal and visual comfort and promoting the well-being of outdoor residents. Therefore, architects and urban designers are responsible for maximizing sunlight exposure in urban settings. Key factors such as building height and orientation are essential for optimizing natural light. Without proper attention, standalone projects can negatively affect their urban environment. Regulations like the Sky Exposure Plane- a virtual sloping plane that determines minimum building heights and spacing- serve as effective tools for guiding urban development. This study aims to define the Sky Exposure Plane in public open spaces, proposing an optimal angle for buildings on Gulseren Street in Famagusta, North Cyprus. Utilizing computer simulations, the research examines the role of sunlight in public streets and offers guidelines to improve natural lighting in urban planning.

Keywords: public open space, sky exposure plane, street natural lighting, sustainable urban design

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Authors: Samia Hachemi, Abdelhafid Ounis, W. Heriheri

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This paper presents an experimental investigation of high temperatures applied to normal and high performance concrete made with natural coarse aggregates. The experimental results of physical and mechanical properties were compared with those obtained with recycled brick aggregates produced by replacing 30% of natural coarse aggregates by recycled brick aggregates. The following parameters: compressive strength, concrete mass loss, apparent density and water porosity were examined in this experiment. The results show that concrete could be produced by using recycled brick aggregates and reveals that at high temperatures recycled aggregate concrete preformed similar or even better than natural aggregate concrete.

Keywords: high temperature, compressive strength, mass loss, recycled brick aggregate

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Authors: Kamalendu Pal

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Supply chains are the spinal cord of trade and commerce. Their logistics use different transport corridors on regular basis for operational purpose. The international supply chain transport corridors include different infrastructure elements (e.g. weighbridge, package handling equipment, border clearance authorities, and so on) in supply chains. This paper presents the use of multi-agent systems (MAS) to model and simulate some aspects of transportation corridors, and in particular the area of weighbridge resource optimization for operational profit generation purpose. An underlying multi-agent model provides a means of modeling the relationships among stakeholders in order to enable coordination in a transport corridor environment. Simulations of the costs of container unloading, reloading, and waiting time for queuing up tracks have been carried out using data sets. Results of the simulation provide the potential guidance in making decisions about optimal service resource allocation in a trade corridor.

Keywords: multi-agent systems, simulation, supply chain, transport corridor, weighbridge

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Authors: Selin Küçük

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Pre-industrial architecture is integration of natural and subsequent properties by intelligence and experience. Since various settlements relatively industrialized or non-industrialized at any time, ‘pre-industrial’ term does not refer to a definite time. Natural properties, which are existent conditions and materials in natural local environment, are climate, geomorphology and local materials. Subsequent properties, which are all anthropological comparatives, are culture of societies, requirements of people and construction techniques that people use. Yet, after industrialization, technology took technique’s place, cultural effects are manipulated, requirements are changed and local/natural properties are almost disappeared in architecture. Technology is universal, global and expands simply; conversely technique is time and experience dependent and should has a considerable cultural background. This research is about construction techniques according to natural properties of a region and classification of these techniques. Understanding local architecture is only possible by searching its background which is hard to reach. There are always changes in positive and negative in architectural techniques through the time. Archaeological layers of a region sometimes give more accurate information about transformation of architecture. However, natural properties of any region are the most helpful elements to perceive construction techniques. Many international sources from different cultures are interested in local architecture by mentioning natural properties separately. Unfortunately, there is no literature deals with this subject as far as systematically in the correct way. This research aims to improve a clear perspective of local architecture existence by categorizing archetypes according to natural properties. The ultimate goal of this research is generating a clear classification of local architecture independent from subsequent (anthropological) properties over the world such like a handbook. Since local architecture is the most sustainable architecture with refer to its economic, ecologic and sociological properties, there should be an excessive information about construction techniques to be learned from. Constructing the same buildings in all over the world is one of the main criticism of modern architectural system. While this critics going on, the same buildings without identity increase incrementally. In post-industrial term, technology widely took technique’s place, yet cultural effects are manipulated, requirements are changed and natural local properties are almost disappeared in architecture. These study does not offer architects to use local techniques, but it indicates the progress of pre-industrial architectural evolution which is healthier, cheaper and natural. Immigration from rural areas to developing/developed cities should be prohibited, thus culture and construction techniques can be preserved. Since big cities have psychological, sensational and sociological impact on people, rural settlers can be convinced to not to immigrate by providing new buildings designed according to natural properties and maintaining their settlements. Improving rural conditions would remove the economical and sociological gulf between cities and rural. What result desired to arrived in, is if there is no deformation (adaptation process of another traditional buildings because of immigration) or assimilation in a climatic region, there should be very similar solutions in the same climatic regions of the world even if there is no relationship (trade, communication etc.) among them.

Keywords: climate zones, geomorphology, local architecture, local materials

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Authors: Sareh Rajabi, Taha Anjamrooz, Salwa Bheiry

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The continuous increase in the world population, resource shortage and the warning of climate change cause various environmental and social issues to the world. Thus, sustainability concept is much needed nowadays. Organizations are progressively falling under strong worldwide pressure to integrate sustainability practices into their project decision-making development. Construction projects in the industry are amongst the most significant, since it is one of the biggest divisions and of main significance for the national economy and hence has a massive effect on the environment and society. So, it is important to discover approaches to incorporate sustainability into the management of those projects. This study presents a combined sustainability index of projects with sustainable transportation which has been formed as per a comprehensive literature review and survey study. Transportation systems enable the movement of goods and services worldwide, and it is leading to economic growth and creating jobs while creating negative impacts on the environment and society. This research is study to quantify the sustainability indicators, through 1) identifying the importance of sustainable transportation indicators that are based on the sustainable practices used for the construction projects and 2) measure the effectiveness of practices through these indicators on the three sustainable pillars. A total 26 sustainability indicators have been selected and grouped under each related sustainability pillars. A survey was used to collect the opinion about the sustainability indicators by a scoring system. A combined sustainability index considering three sustainable pillars can be helpful in evaluating the transportation sustainable practices of a project and making decisions regarding project selection. In addition to focus on the issue of financial resource allocation in a project selection, the decision-maker could take into account the sustainability as an important key in addition to the project’s return and risk. The purpose of this study is to measure the performance of transportation sustainability which allow companies to assess multiple projects selection. This is useful to decision makers to rank and focus more on future sustainable projects.

Keywords: sustainable transportation, transportation performances, sustainable indicators, sustainable construction practice, sustainability

Procedia PDF Downloads 141

Authors: Rafik Ouared

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The purpose of this paper is to invalidate decisions made by the Islamic conference led at Istanbul in 2016, which had defined two basic criteria to determine the start of the lunar month: (1)they are all based on the sighting of the crescent, be it observed or computed with modern methods, and (2) they've strongly recommended the adoption of the principle of 'unification of sighting', by which any occurrence of sighting anywhere would be applicable everywhere. To demonstrate the invalidation of those statements, a survey of 101 years of data, from 1938 to 2038, have been analyzed to compare the probability density function (PDF) of time difference between different types of fajr and new moon. Two groups of fajr have been considered: the 'natural fajr', which is the very first fajr following new moon, and the 'biased fajr', which is defined by human being inclusively of all chosen definitions. The parametric and non-parametric statistical comparisons between the different groups have shown the all the biased PDFs are significantly different from the unbiased (natural) PDF with probability value (p-value) less than 0.001. The significance level was fixed to 0.05. Conclusion: the on-going reference to sighting of crescent is inducing an significant bias in defining lunar calendar. Therefore, 'natural' calendar would be more applicable requiring a more contextualized revision of issue in fiqh.

Keywords: biased fajr, lunar calendar, natural fajr, probability density function, sighting of crescent, time difference between fajr and new moon

Procedia PDF Downloads 211

Authors: Haythem H. Abdullah, Hesham Elkady

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With the fast increase in radio frequency identification (RFID) applications such as medical recording, library management, etc., the limitation of active tags stems from its need to external batteries as well as passive or active chips. The chipless RFID tag reduces the cost to a large extent but at the expense of utilizing the spectrum. The reduction of the cost of chipless RFID is due to the absence of the chip itself. The identification is done by utilizing the spectrum in such a way that the frequency response of the tags consists of some resonance frequencies that represent the bits. The system capacity is decided by the number of resonators within the pre-specified band. It is important to find a solution to enhance the spectrum utilization when using chipless RFID. Target identification is a process that results in a decision that a specific target is present or not. Several target identification schemes are present, but one of the most successful techniques in radar target identification in the oscillatory region is the extinction pulse technique (E-Pulse). The E-Pulse technique is used to identify targets via its characteristics (natural) modes. By introducing an innovative solution for chipless RFID reader and tag designs, the spectrum utilization goes to the optimum case. In this paper, a novel capacity enhancement scheme based on the E-pulse technique is introduced to improve the performance of the chipless RFID system.

Keywords: chipless RFID, E-pulse, natural modes, resonators

Procedia PDF Downloads 78