Search results for: factors for use of formative assessment

Authors: Dana Christensen

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Undergraduate students, particularly in the environmental sciences, have difficulty displaying quantitative skills in their laboratory courses. Students spend time sampling in the field, often using new methods, and are expected to make sense of the data they collect. Computational thinking may be used to navigate these new experiences. We developed a curriculum for the marine science department at a small liberal arts college in the Northeastern United States based on previous computational thinking frameworks. This curriculum incorporates marine science data sets with specific objectives and topics selected by the faculty at the College. The curriculum was distributed to all students enrolled in introductory marine science classes as a mandatory module. Two pre-tests and post-tests will be used to quantitatively assess student progress on both content-based and computational principles. Student artifacts are being collected with each lesson to be coded for content-specific and computational-specific items in qualitative assessment. There is an overall gap in marine science education research, especially curricula that focus on computational thinking and associated quantitative assessment. The curricula itself, the assessments, and our results may be modified and applied to other environmental science courses due to the nature of the inquiry-based laboratory components that use quantitative skills to understand nature.

Keywords: marine science, computational thinking, curriculum assessment, quantitative skills

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Authors: Chahrazed Salhi, Ayoub Zeroual, Yasmina Hamitouche

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Soil water erosion poses a significant threat to the watersheds in Algeria today. The degradation of storage capacity in large dams over the past two decades, primarily due to erosion, necessitates a comprehensive understanding of the factors that contribute to soil erosion. The Isser watershed, located in the Northwestern region of Algeria, faces additional challenges such as recurrent droughts and the presence of delicate marl and clay outcrops, which amplify its susceptibility to water erosion. This study aims to employ advanced techniques such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS), in conjunction with the Canonical Correlation Analysis (CCA) method and Soil Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model, to predict specific erosion patterns and analyze the key factors influencing erosion in the Isser basin. To accomplish this, an array of data sources including rainfall, climatic, hydrometric, land use, soil, digital elevation, and satellite data were utilized. The application of the SWAT model to the Isser basin yielded an average annual soil loss of approximately 16 t/ha/year. Particularly high erosion rates, exceeding 12 T/ha/year, were observed in the central and southern parts of the basin, encompassing 41% of the total basin area. Through Canonical Correlation Analysis, it was determined that vegetation cover and topography exerted the most substantial influence on erosion. Consequently, the study identified significant and spatially heterogeneous erosion throughout the study area. The impact of land topography on soil loss was found to be directly proportional, while vegetation cover exhibited an inverse proportional relationship. Modeling specific erosion for the Ladrat dam sub-basin estimated a rate of around 39 T/ha/year, thus accounting for the recorded capacity loss of 17.80% compared to the bathymetric survey conducted in 2019. The findings of this research provide valuable decision-support tools for soil conservation managers, empowering them to make informed decisions regarding soil conservation measures.

Keywords: Isser watershed, RS, CCA, SWAT, vegetation cover, topography

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Authors: Y. Atilgan Şengül

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Health information technologies promise higher quality, safer care and much more for both patients and professionals. Despite their promise, they are costly to develop and difficult to implement. On the other hand, user acceptance and usage determine the success of implemented information technology in healthcare. This study provides a model to understand health professionals’ perception and expectation of health information technology. Extensive literature review has been conducted to determine the main factors to be measured. A questionnaire has been designed as a measurement model and submitted to the personnel of an in vitro fertilization clinic. The respondents’ degree of agreement according to five-point Likert scale was 72% for convenient access to data and 69.4% for the importance of data security. There was a significant difference in acceptance of electronic data storage for female respondents. Also, other significant differences between professions were obtained.

Keywords: healthcare, health informatics, medical record system, questionnaire

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Authors: Kai Yip Michael Tsang

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Science writing has played a crucial part in science assessments. This paper reports a study in an area that has received little research attention – how Language across the Curriculum (LAC, i.e. science language and literacy) learning activities in science lessons can increase the science knowledge development of English as a foreign language (EFL) students in Hong Kong. The data comes from a school-based interventional study in chemistry classrooms, with written data from questionnaires, assessments and teachers’ logs and verbal data from interviews and classroom observations. The effectiveness of the LAC teaching and learning activities in various chemistry classrooms were compared and evaluated, with discussion of some implications. Students in the treatment group with lower achieving students received LAC learning and teaching activities while students in the control group with higher achieving students received conventional learning and teaching activities. After the study, they performed better in control group in formative assessments. Moreover, they had a better attitude to learning chemistry content with a richer language support. The paper concludes that LAC teaching and learning activities yielded positive learning outcomes among chemistry learners with low English ability.

Keywords: science learning and teaching, content and language integrated learning, language across the curriculum, English as a foreign language

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Authors: Shuo Lei

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In order to explore the influencing factors of residents' energy consumption and carbon emissions in different types of communities, this paper conducted research on residents' household energy consumption and carbon emissions in different types of communities in Caijia New Town, Chongqing. By calculating the carbon emissions of residents' household energy consumption, we analyze the structure and characteristics of the energy consumption of households in each type of community. At the same time, the key influencing factors affecting the carbon emissions of residents' energy consumption in Caijia New Town are analyzed from both social and spatial perspectives. The results of the study show that: (1) different types of neighborhoods have a clustering and locking effect on different types of resident groups, which makes the distribution of household energy consumption and carbon emissions closely related to the characteristics of the residents; (2) social and spatial factors have an impact on the residents' energy consumption and carbon emissions, and there is a significant difference in the carbon emission levels of different types of neighborhoods. Accordingly, an identification method is proposed to recognize the carbon emissions of Caijia New Town and even Chongqing City, which provides technical reference for the sustainable planning of low-carbon communities.

Keywords: community type, residential energy consumption and carbon emissions, residential differentiation, influencing factors, low-carbon community

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Authors: Alena Skalon, Jennifer L. Beaudry

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Eyewitness misidentifications can sometimes lead to wrongful convictions of innocent people. This occurs in part because jurors tend to believe confident eyewitnesses even when the identification took place under suggestive conditions. Empirical research demonstrated that jurors are often unaware of the factors that can influence the reliability of eyewitness identification. Most common legal safeguards that are designed to educate jurors about eyewitness evidence are judicial instructions and expert testimony. To date, very few studies assessed the effectiveness of judicial instructions and most of them found that judicial instructions make jurors more skeptical of eyewitness evidence or do not have any effect on jurors’ judgments. Similar results were obtained for expert testimony. However, none of the previous studies focused on the ability of legal safeguards to improve jurors’ assessment of evidence obtained from suggestive identification procedures—this is one of the gaps addressed by this paper. Furthermore, only three studies investigated whether legal safeguards improve the ultimate accuracy of jurors’ judgments—that is, whether after listening to judicial instructions or expert testimony jurors can differentiate between accurate and inaccurate eyewitnesses. This presentation includes two studies. Both studies used genuine eyewitnesses (i.e., eyewitnesses who watched the crime) and manipulated the suggestiveness of identification procedures. The first study manipulated the presence of judicial instructions; the second study manipulated the presence of one of two types of expert testimony: a traditional, verbal expert testimony or expert testimony accompanied by visual aids. All participant watched a video-recording of an identification procedure and of an eyewitness testimony. The results indicated that neither judicial instructions nor expert testimony affected jurors’ judgments. However, consistent with the previous findings, when the identification procedure was non-suggestive, jurors believed accurate eyewitnesses more often than inaccurate eyewitnesses. When the procedure was suggestive, jurors believed accurate and inaccurate eyewitnesses at the same rate. The paper will discuss the implications of these studies and directions for future research.

Keywords: expert testimony, eyewitness evidence, judicial instructions, jurors’ decision making, legal safeguards

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Authors: S. Wietrzychowski

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The following review has identified specific programs, as well as the elements of these programs, that have been shown to be most effective in preventing suicide in schools. Suicide is an issue that affects many students each year. Although this is a prominent issue, there are few prevention programs used within schools. The primary objective of most prevention programs is to reduce risk factors such as depression and hopelessness, and increase protective factors like support systems and help-seeking behaviors. Most programs include a gatekeeper training model, education component, peer support group, and/or counseling/treatment. Research shows that some of these programs, like the Signs of Suicide and Youth Aware of Mental Health Programme, are effective in reducing suicide behaviors and increasing protective factors. These programs have been implemented in many countries across the world and have shown promising results. Since schools can provide easy access to adolescents, implement education programs, and train staff members and students how to identify and to report suicide behaviors, school-based programs seem to be the best way to prevent suicide among adolescents. Early intervention may be an effective way to prevent suicide. Although, since early intervention is not always an option, school-based programs in high schools have also been shown to decrease suicide attempts by up to 50%. As a result of this presentation, participants will be able to 1.) list at least 2 evidence-based suicide prevention programs, 2.) identify at least 3 factors which protect against suicide, and 3.) describe at least 3 risk factors for suicide.

Keywords: school, suicide, prevention, programs

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Authors: Anabel Fernandez, Leandro Rodriguez-Ortiz, Rosa RodríGuez

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Due to the negative impact of fossil fuels, renewable energies are promising sources to limit global temperature rise and damage to the environment. Also, the development of technology is focused on obtaining energetic products from renewable sources. In this study, a thermodynamic model including Exergy balance and a subsequent Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) were carried out for four subsystems of the integrated gasification-combustion of pinewood. Results of exergy analysis and LCA showed the process feasibility in terms of exergy efficiency and global energy efficiency of the life cycle (GEELC). Moreover, the energy return on investment (EROI) index was calculated. The global exergy efficiency resulted in 67 %. For pretreatment, reaction, cleaning, and electric generation subsystems, the results were 85, 59, 87, and 29 %, respectively. Results of LCA indicated that the emissions from the electric generation caused the most damage to the atmosphere, water, and soil. GEELC resulted in 31.09 % for the global process. This result suggested the environmental feasibility of an integrated gasification-combustion system. EROI resulted in 3.15, which determinates the sustainability of the process.

Keywords: exergy analysis, life cycle assessment (LCA), renewability, sustainability

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Authors: Chenyao Shen, Jie Shen

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The rating system provides an effective framework for assessing building environmental performance and integrating sustainable development into building and construction processes; as it can be used as a design tool by developing appropriate sustainable design strategies and determining performance measures to guide the sustainable design and decision-making processes. Healthcare buildings are resource (water, energy, etc.) intensive. To maintain high-cost operations and complex medical facilities, they require a great deal of hazardous and non-hazardous materials, stringent control of environmental parameters, and are responsible for producing polluting emission. Compared with other types of buildings, the impact of healthcare buildings on the full cycle of the environment is particularly large. With broad recognition among designers and operators that energy use can be reduced substantially, many countries have set up their own green rating systems for healthcare buildings. There are four main green healthcare building evaluation systems widely acknowledged in the world - Green Guide for Health Care (GGHC), which was jointly organized by the United States HCWH and CMPBS in 2003; BREEAM Healthcare, issued by the British Academy of Building Research (BRE) in 2008; the Green Star-Healthcare v1 tool, released by the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) in 2009; and LEED Healthcare 2009, released by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) in 2011. In addition, the German Association of Sustainable Building (DGNB) has also been developing the German Sustainable Building Evaluation Criteria (DGNB HC). In China, more and more scholars and policy makers have recognized the importance of assessment of sustainable development, and have adapted some tools and frameworks. China’s first comprehensive assessment standard for green building (the GBTs) was issued in 2006 (lately updated in 2014), promoting sustainability in the built-environment and raise awareness of environmental issues among architects, engineers, contractors as well as the public. However, healthcare building was not involved in the evaluation system of GBTs because of its complex medical procedures, strict requirements of indoor/outdoor environment and energy consumption of various functional rooms. Learn from advanced experience of GGHC, BREEAM, and LEED HC above, China’s first assessment criteria for green hospital/healthcare buildings was finally released in December 2015. Combined with both quantitative and qualitative assessment criteria, the standard highlight the differences between healthcare and other public buildings in meeting the functional needs for medical facilities and special groups. This paper has focused on the assessment criteria framework for sustainable healthcare buildings, for which the comparison of different rating systems is rather essential. Descriptive analysis is conducted together with the cross-matrix analysis to reveal rich information on green assessment criteria in a coherent manner. The research intends to know whether the green elements for healthcare buildings in China are different from those conducted in other countries, and how to improve its assessment criteria framework.

Keywords: assessment criteria framework, green building design, healthcare building, building performance rating tool

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Authors: Max Neu

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A large variety of studies on the utilization of games in classroom settings promote positive effects on students motivation for learning. Still, most of those studies rarely can give any specifics about the factors that might lead to changes in students motivation. The undertaken study has been conducted in tandem with the development of a highly classroom-optimized serious game, with the intent of providing a subjectively positive initial contact with the subject of political participation and to enable the development of personal motivation towards further engagement with the topic. The goal of this explorative study was to Identify the factors that influence students motivation towards the subject when serious games are being used in classroom education. Therefor, students that have been exposed to a set of classes in which a classroom optimized serious game has been used. Afterwards, a selection of those have been questioned in guided interviews that have been evaluated through Qualitative Content Analysis. The study indicates that at least 23 factors in the categories, mechanics, content and context potentially influence students motivation to engage with the classes subject. The conclusions are of great value for the further production of classroom games as well as curricula involving digital games in general.

Keywords: formal education, games in classroom, motivation, political education

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Authors: Narong Anurak

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The objectives of the study were to determine the factors influencing tourists’ destination decision making for cultural tourism in the southern provinces, to examine the potential for developing cultural tourism and to guideline for marketing strategy for cultural tourism in Nakhon Si Thammarat. Both quantitative and qualitative data were applied in this study. The samples of 400 cases for quantitative analysis were tourists who were interested in cultural tourism in the southern provinces, and traveled to cultural sites in Nakhon Si Thammarat, Surat Thani, and Phuket, and 14 representatives from provincial tourism committee of Nakhon Si Thammarat. The study found that Thai and foreign tourists are influenced by different important marketing mix factors (7Ps) when making decisions for cultural tourism in southern provinces. The important factors for Thai respondents were physical evidence, price, people, and place at high importance level, whereas, product, process, and promotion were moderate importance level as well.

Keywords: marketing mix factors, Nakhon Si Thammarat province, sustainable cultural tourism, tourists decision making

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Authors: Yaser E. Hawas, Md. Didarul Alam

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Rollover crashes are complex events entailing interactions of driver, road, vehicle, and environmental factors. The primary objective of this paper is to present an empirical approach that can be used to characterise the rollover crashes and to identify some of the important factors that may lead to rollovers. Among the studied factors are the vehicle types and the rollover occurrence rate after hitting various barrier types. The carried analysis indicated that 71% of the rollover crashes occurred after impact and the type of rollover initiation is “trip/turn over” (nearly 50%). It was also found that light trucks (LTVs) vehicles are more likely to rollover than the sedan vehicles. Barrier impacts are associated with increased incidence of rollover.

Keywords: empirical, hitting barrier, in-depth crash investigation, rollover, severe crash

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Authors: Majid Bayatian, Mohammadreza Ashouri

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Releasing hazardous chemicals is one of the major problems for office buildings in the chemical industry and, therefore, environmental risks are inherent to these environments. The adverse health effects of the airborne concentration of benzene have been a matter of significant concern, especially in oil refineries. The chronic and acute adverse health effects caused by benzene exposure have attracted wide attention. Acute exposure to benzene through inhalation could cause headaches, dizziness, drowsiness, and irritation of the skin. Chronic exposures have reported causing aplastic anemia and leukemia at the occupational settings. Association between chronic occupational exposure to benzene and the development of aplastic anemia and leukemia were documented by several epidemiological studies. Numerous research works have investigated benzene emissions and determined benzene concentration at different locations of the refinery plant and stated considerable health risks. The high cost of industrial control measures requires justification through lifetime health risk assessment of exposed workers and the public. In the present study, a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model has been proposed to assess the exposure risk of office building around a refinery due to its release of benzene. For simulation, GAMBIT, FLUENT, and CFD Post software were used as pre-processor, processor, and post-processor, and the model was validated based on comparison with experimental results of benzene concentration and wind speed. Model validation results showed that the model is highly validated, and this model can be used for health risk assessment. The simulation and risk assessment results showed that benzene could be dispersion to an office building nearby, and the exposure risk has been unacceptable. According to the results of this study, a validated CFD model, could be very useful for decision-makers for control measures and possibly support them for emergency planning of probable accidents. Also, this model can be used to assess exposure to various types of accidents as well as other pollutants such as toluene, xylene, and ethylbenzene in different atmospheric conditions.

Keywords: health risk assessment, office building, Benzene, numerical simulation, CFD

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Authors: Anam Noshaba, Mahr Muhammad Saeed Akhtar

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The aim of this study was to find out the relationship between quality education and organizational culture. The population of this study was all the teachers of Public Degree Colleges located in Punjab. A sample of 400 teachers was selected by using a simple random sampling technique. Quality Education Assessment Questionnaire (QEAQ) and Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI) were used for data collection. Out of all, 90% of teachers responded. Findings showed that quality education and organizational culture are positively correlated. Results indicated that there is no difference in quality education and organizational culture by demographic variables of teachers. Future research is needed to study the viewpoint of other stakeholders of education regarding quality education and organizational culture.

Keywords: quality education, minimum quality standards, organizational culture, college level

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Authors: Ladaporn Pithuk

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This study aims to investigate the marketing mixed factors that affecting on expectations about commercial transactions through social networks. The research method will using quantitative research, data was collected by questionnaires to person have experience access to trading over the internet for 400 sample by purposive sampling method. Data was analyzed by descriptive statistic including percentage, mean, standard deviation and using quality function deployment for hypothesis testing. Finding the most significant interrelationship between marketing mixed factors and commercial transactions expectations through social networks are product and place the relationship of five ties product and place (location) is involved in almost all will make the site a model that meets the needs of the user visit. In terms of price, the promotion, privacy, personalization and providing a process technical. This will make operations more efficient, reduce confusion, duplication, delays in data transmission, including the creation of different elements in products and services.

Keywords: commercial transactions expectations, marketing mixed factors, social networks, consumer behavior

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Authors: Kristine Demilou D. Santiago

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An access to a high-quality health care system is what sets apart industrialized nations, such as the United States from other developing countries, which in this case is specifically pertaining to their older population. But what was the underrated factor in the sphere of quality healthcare rendered to elderly people in the Western context? Will this salient factor could push conviction to prorogue the existing gaps between self-denial patient-client and cheek by jowl medications? Are the natural socio-environmental approaches of caregiving the protracted remedy to healthcare disparities for aging population considering their day to day living? The conceptual framework of this model is primarily associated with addressing health and illness of human beings considering the biological, psychological and socio-environmental factors around them. The relevance of biopsychosocial formulation advancing each of the characteristics in the Biopsychosocial (BPS) model in a balance contemplation is the tumult of this study in an attempt to respond to prevailing disparities in caregiving services for old-aged patients on a day to day living. Caregiving services have been the medium path connecting between the patient and its prescribed medications. Moreover, caregivers serve as positive reinforcers in a patient’s environment. Therefore, caregivers play an important role in healthcare delivery to patients. They are considered significant people whom their acts will give an impact to a patient’s view in life. This research study intends to present the supreme importance of biopsychosocial assessment to old-aged patients with mental health illness and conditions. Biopsychosocial assessment will secure the quality of full medication to an old-aged adult suffering from a mental illness. This is because it offers a recognizably wholesome approach to medical healing of old-aged adult patients. The principle of biopsychosocial supersedes the biomedicine being offered to old-aged adults having mental illness, but it does not take away the high relevance of scientific biomedicine in healing patients. The framework presented an overlapping participation of each of its factors in its BPS model that affects in general a person’s health. The correlation between the biological (physiological), psychological (mental) and social (environment) in a person’s health condition requires equal attention according to BPS, and it always coexist with each other. Indisputably said, bio-medicine has been and is being in its unceasing endeavor to provide scientifically proven health care medications for every individual seeking medical treatments. As we grow older and eventually reach the other side of the median population, not only our physiological aspects change, our psychological and socio-environmental changes happen too. Caregiving is a salient responsibility taking place on these inevitable changes.

Keywords: biopsychosocial formulation, caregiving through natural approaches, US health care, BPS in caregiving, caregiving for aging population

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Authors: Oussedik Lydia, Zaouani-Denoux Souâd

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Given the evolution of professions, training is becoming a solution to meet the current requirements of the labor market. Notably, the amount of money invested in training activities is considerable and continuously increasing globally. The justification of this investment becomes an obligation for those responsible for training. Therefore, the impact of training can be measured by the degree to which the knowledge, skills, and attitudes acquired through training are transferred to the workplace. Further, knowledge transfer is fundamental because the objective of any training is to be close to a professional environment in order to improve the productivity of participants. Hence, the need to better understand the knowledge transfer process in order to determine the factors that may influence it. The objective of this research is to understand the process of knowledge transfer that can occur between two contexts: professional training and the workplace, which will provide further insight to identify the environmental factors that can hinder or promote it. By examining participants' perceptions of the training and work contexts, this qualitative approach seeks to understand the knowledge transfer process that occurs between the two contexts. It also aims to identify the factors that influence it. The results will help managers identify environmental factors in the training and work context that may impact knowledge transfer. These results can be used to promote the knowledge transfer process and the performance of the trainees.

Keywords: knowledge transfer, professional training, professional training in agriculture, training context, professional context

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Authors: Sergo Tsiramua, Sulkhan Sulkhanishvili, Elisabed Asabashvili, Lazare Kvirtia

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The paper presents logical-probabilistic methods, models, and algorithms for reliability assessment of complex systems, based on which a web application for structural analysis and reliability assessment of systems was created. It is important to design systems based on structural analysis, research, and evaluation of efficiency indicators. One of the important efficiency criteria is the reliability of the system, which depends on the components of the structure. Quantifying the reliability of large-scale systems is a computationally complex process, and it is advisable to perform it with the help of a computer. Logical-probabilistic modeling is one of the effective means of describing the structure of a complex system and quantitatively evaluating its reliability, which was the basis of our application. The reliability assessment process included the following stages, which were reflected in the application: 1) Construction of a graphical scheme of the structural reliability of the system; 2) Transformation of the graphic scheme into a logical representation and modeling of the shortest ways of successful functioning of the system; 3) Description of system operability condition with logical function in the form of disjunctive normal form (DNF); 4) Transformation of DNF into orthogonal disjunction normal form (ODNF) using the orthogonalization algorithm; 5) Replacing logical elements with probabilistic elements in ODNF, obtaining a reliability estimation polynomial and quantifying reliability; 6) Calculation of “weights” of elements of system. Using the logical-probabilistic methods, models and algorithms discussed in the paper, a special software was created, by means of which a quantitative assessment of the reliability of systems of a complex structure is produced. As a result, structural analysis of systems, research, and designing of optimal structure systems are carried out.

Keywords: complex systems, logical-probabilistic methods, orthogonalization algorithm, reliability of systems, “weights” of elements

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Authors: Salma I. Dwidar, Amal A. Abdel-Sattar

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The window openings are the key to the relationship between the inside and the outside of any building. It is the eye that sees from, the lunges of the construction, and the ear to hear. The success of the building, as well as the comfort of the uses, depends mainly on this relationship. Usually, windows are affected by human factors like religious, social, political and economic factors as well as environmental factors like climatic, aesthetic and functional factors. In Islamic architecture, the windows were one of the most important elements of physiological and psychological comfort to the users of the buildings. Windows considered one of the main parameters in designing internal and external facade, where the window openings occupied a big part of the formation of the external facade of the buildings. This paper discusses the importance of the window openings and its relationship to residential buildings in the Islamic architecture. It addresses the rules that have been followed in the design of windows in Islamic architecture to achieve privacy and thermal comfort while there are no technological elements within the dwellings. Also, it demonstrates the effects of windows on the building form and identity and how it gives a distinctive fingerprint of the architecture buildings.

Keywords: window openings, thermal comfort, residential buildings, the Islamic architecture, human considerations

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Authors: Anne Theresa Eidhoff, Sarah E. Stief, Markus Voeth, Sarah Gundlach

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With digitalization increasingly changing the rules of competition, firms face the need to adapt and assimilate digital technologies in order to remain competitive. Firms can choose from various possibilities to integrate digital technologies including the option to embed digital technologies aiming to innovate products or to develop digital products. However, the question of which specific factors influence a firm’s decision to pursue digital product innovation remains unanswered in research. By adopting the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE)-framework we have designed a qualitative exploratory study including eleven German practitioners to investigate relevant contingency factors. Our results indicate that the most critical factors for a company’s decision to pursue digital product innovation can be found in the technological and environmental dimensions, namely customers, competitive pressure, technological change, as well as digitalization fit. 

Keywords: digital innovation, digitalization, product innovation, TOE-framework

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Authors: Mst. Nilufa Sultana, Shatirah Akib, Muhammad Aqeel Ashraf, Mohamed Roseli Zainal Abidin

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Most people today are aware that global Climate change, is not just a scientific theory but also a fact with worldwide consequences. Global climate change is due to rapid urbanization, industrialization, high population growth and current vulnerability of the climatic condition. Water is becoming scarce as a result of global climate change. To mitigate the problem arising due to global climate change and its drought effect, harvesting rainwater from green roofs, an environmentally-friendly and versatile technology, is becoming one of the best assessment criteria and gaining attention in Malaysia. This paper addresses the sustainability of green roofs and examines the quality of water harvested from green roofs in comparison to rainwater. The factors that affect the quality of such water, taking into account, for example, roofing materials, climatic conditions, the frequency of rainfall frequency and the first flush. A green roof was installed on the Humid Tropic Centre (HTC) is a place of the study on monitoring program for urban Stormwater Management Manual for Malaysia (MSMA), Eco-Hydrological Project in Kualalumpur, and the rainwater was harvested and evaluated on the basis of four parameters i.e., conductivity, dissolved oxygen (DO), pH and temperature. These parameters were found to fall between Class I and Class III of the Interim National Water Quality Standards (INWQS) and the Water Quality Index (WQI). Some preliminary treatment such as disinfection and filtration could likely to improve the value of these parameters to class I. This review paper clearly indicates that there is a need for more research to address other microbiological and chemical quality parameters to ensure that the harvested water is suitable for use potable water for domestic purposes. The change in all physical, chemical and microbiological parameters with respect to storage time will be a major focus of future studies in this field.

Keywords: Green roofs, INWQS, MSMA-SME, rainwater harvesting, water treatment, water quality parameter, WQI

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Authors: Asad Yousuf

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Purpose: The aim of the present study was to audit treatment planning system beam dataset for small field output factors against standard dataset produced by radiological physics center (RPC) from a multicenter study. Such data are crucial for validity of special techniques, i.e., IMRT or stereotactic radiosurgery. Materials/Method: In this study, multiple small field size output factor datasets were measured and calculated for 6 to 18 MV x-ray beams using the RPC recommend methods. These beam datasets were measured at 10 cm depth for 10 × 10 cm2 to 2 × 2 cm2 field sizes, defined by collimator jaws at 100 cm. The measurements were made with a Landauer’s nanoDot OSLDs whose volume is small enough to gather a full ionization reading even for the 1×1 cm2 field size. At our institute the beam data including output factors have been commissioned at 5 cm depth with an SAD setup. For comparison with the RPC data, the output factors were converted to an SSD setup using tissue phantom ratios. SSD setup also enables coverage of the ion chamber in 2×2 cm2 field size. The measured output factors were also compared with those calculated by Eclipse™ treatment planning software. Result: The measured and calculated output factors are in agreement with RPC dataset within 1% and 4% respectively. The large discrepancies in TPS reflect the increased challenge in converting measured data into a commissioned beam model for very small fields. Conclusion: OSLDs are simple, durable, and accurate tool to verify doses that delivered using small photon beam fields down to a 1x1 cm2 field sizes. The study emphasizes that the treatment planning system should always be evaluated for small field out factors for the accurate dose delivery in clinical setting.

Keywords: small field dosimetry, optically stimulated luminescence, audit treatment, radiological physics center

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Authors: Ali Alzeyadi, Edward Loffill, Rafid Alkhaddar Ali Alattabi

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Phosphate, ammonium, and nitrates are forms of nutrients; they are released from different sources. High nutrient levels contribute to the eutrophication of water bodies by accelerating the extraordinary growth of algae. Recently, many filtration and treatment systems were developed and used for different removal processes. Due to enhanced operational aspects for the up-flow, continuous, granular Media filter researchers became more interested in further developing this technology and its performance for nutrient removal from wastewater. Environmental factors significantly affect the filtration process performance, and understanding their impact will help to maintain the nutrient removal process. Phosphate removal by phosphate sorption materials PSMs and nitrogen removal biologically are the methods of nutrient removal that have been discussed in this paper. Hence, the focus on the factors that influence these processes is the scope of this work. The finding showed the presence of factors affecting both removal processes; the size, shape, and roughness of the filter media particles play a crucial role in supporting biofilm formation. On the other hand, all of which are effected on the reactivity of surface between the media and phosphate. Many studies alluded to factors that have significant influence on the biological removal for nitrogen such as dissolved oxygen, temperature, and pH; this is due to the sensitivity of biological processes while the phosphate removal by PSMs showed less affected by these factors. This review work provides help to the researchers in create a comprehensive approach in regards study the nutrient removal in up flow filtration systems.

Keywords: nitrogen biological treatment, nutrients, psms, upflow filter, wastewater treatment

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Authors: Gizem Kodak, Alper Unal, Birsen Koldemir, Tayfun Acarer

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Turkish Straits System which consists of Istanbul Strait (Bosphorus), Canakkale Strait (Dardanelles) and the Marmara Sea has a strategical location on international maritime as it is a unique waterway between the Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea and the Aegean Sea. Thus, this area has great importance since it is the only waterway between Black Sea countries and the rest of the World. Turkish Straits System has dangerous environmental factors hosts more vessel every day through developing World trade and this situation results in expanding accident risks day by day. Today, a lot of precautions have been taken to ensure safe navigation and to prevent maritime accidents, and international standards are followed to avoid maritime accidents. Despite this, the environmental factors that affect this area, trigger the maritime accidents and threaten the vessels with new accidents risks in different months with different hazards. This descriptive study consists of temporal and spatial analyses of environmental factors causing maritime accidents. This study also aims at contributing to safety navigation including monthly and regionally characteristics of variables. In this context, two different data sets are created consisting of environmental factors and accidents. This descriptive study on the accidents between 2001 and 2017 the mentioned region also studies the months and places of the accidents with environmental factor variables. Environmental factor variables are categorized as dynamic and static factors. Dynamic factors are appointed as meteorological and oceanographical while static factors are appointed as geological factors that threaten safety navigation with geometrical restricts. The variables that form dynamic factors are approached meteorological as wind direction, wind speed, wave altitude and visibility. The circulations and properties of the water mass on the system are studied as oceanographical properties. At the end of the study, the efficient meteorological and oceanographical parameters on the region are presented monthly and regionally. By this way, we acquired the monthly, seasonal and regional distributions of the accidents. Upon the analyses that are done; The Turkish Straits System that connects the Black Sea countries with the other countries and which is one of the most important parts of the world trade; is analyzed on temporal and spatial dimensions on the reasons of the accidents and have been presented as environmental factor dynamics causing maritime accidents.

Keywords: descriptive study, environmental factors, maritime accidents, statistics

Procedia PDF Downloads 198

Authors: Berrin Şentürk

Abstract:

In this study, due to the recurrence of bovine tuberculosis, in the same areas, the risk factors for the disease were determined and evaluated at the local level. This study was carried out in 32 farms where the disease was detected in the district and center of Samsun province in 2014. Predetermined risk factors, such as farm, environmental and economic risks, were investigated with the survey method. It was predetermined that risks in the three groups are similar to the risk variables of the disease on the global scale. These risk factors that increase the susceptibility of the infection must be understood by the herd owners. The risk-based contagious disease management system approach should be applied for bovine tuberculosis by farmers, animal health professionals and public and private sector decision makers.

Keywords: bovine tuberculosis, disease management, control, outbreak, risk analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 398

Authors: Charles Amoo, Joshua New, Bill Eckman

Abstract:

Buildings in the United States account for a significant proportion of energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and this trend is expected to continue as well as rise in the near future. Low-income households, in particular, bear a disproportionate burden of high building energy consumption and spending due to high energy costs. Energy efficiency improvements need to reach an average of 4% per year in this decade in order to meet global net zero emissions target by 2050, but less than 1 % of U.S. buildings are improved each year. The government has recognized the importance of technology in addressing this issue, and energy efficiency programs have been developed to tackle the problem. The Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP), the largest residential whole-house energy efficiency program in the U.S., is specifically designed to reduce energy costs for low-income households. Under the WAP, energy auditors must follow specific audit procedures and use Department of Energy (DOE) approved energy audit tools or software. This article proposes an expanded framework of factors that should be considered in energy audit software that is approved for use in energy efficiency programs, particularly for low-income households. The framework includes more than 50 factors organized under 14 assessment criteria and can be used to qualitatively and quantitatively score different energy audit software to determine their suitability for specific energy efficiency programs. While the tool can be useful for developers to build new tools and improve existing software, as well as for energy efficiency program administrators to approve or certify tools for use, there are limitations to the model, such as the lack of flexibility that allows continuous scoring to accommodate variability and subjectivity. These limitations can be addressed by using aggregate scores of each criterion as weights that could be combined with value function and direct rating scores in a multicriteria decision analysis for a more flexible scoring.

Keywords: buildings, energy efficiency, energy audit, software

Procedia PDF Downloads 75

Authors: Elahe Memari, Ahmad Aslizadeh, Ahmad Memari

Abstract:

To compile and execute a strategy for State Road Management and Transportation Organization, we need to identify and include them in the process of planning. Therefore, present research work tries to rely on experiences by managers and experts from State Road Management and Transportation Organization and other sources like books, magazines and new papers, such factors have to be identified and be applied in this important and vital process before proceeding to strategic planning. Trying to present a conceptual model from factors effective on strategic planning success in fulfillment of State Road Management and Transportation Organization, the present research figures on indicating the role of organizational factors in efficiency of the process to managers. In this research connection between six main factors studied in fulfillment of State Road Management and Transportation Organization objectives. The factors are improvement of strategic thinking in senior managers, improvement of organization business, rationalizing resource allocation in different sections of the organization, conformity of strategic planning with organization needs, conformity of organization activities with environmental changes, stabilization of organizational culture, all approved through implemented tests.

Keywords: improvement of organization business, rationalization of resource allocation in different sections of the organization, stability of organizational culture, strategic planning

Procedia PDF Downloads 342

Authors: Shahid Mahmood, Ghulam Mueen-Ud-Din, Farah Naz Akbar, Yousaf Quddoos, Syeda Mahvish Zahra, Wajiha Saeed, Tayyaba Sami Ullah

Abstract:

Obesity is an epidemic across the globe that affects all the segments of the population. Physical inactivity, passionate consumption of junk food, inadequate water intake and an unhealthy lifestyle are evident among university girls that are ruining their health gravely especially fat accumulation. The study was carried out to investigate the potential etiological factors of obesity development in university girls. The cross sectional study was carried out after approval of the Departmental Review Committee for Ethics (DRCE) as the par Declaration of Helsinki at Institute of Food Science and Nutrition (IFSN), University of Sargodha, Sargodha-Pakistan and Department of Food Science and Home Economics, G. C. Women University, Faisalabad-Pakistan. 400 girls were selected randomly from different departments of both universities. Nutritional status of the volunteers was assessed through approved protocols for demographics, anthropometrics, body composition, energetics, vital signs, clinical signs and symptoms, medical/family history, and dietary intake assessment (FFQ), water intake and physical activity level. The obesity was determined on body fat (%). Alarming and unheeded etiological factors for the development of obesity in girls were explored by the study. About 93 % girls had a sedentary level of physical activity, zealous consumption of junk food (5.31±1.23 servings), drank little water (1.09±0.26 L/day) that consequent high heaps of fat (35.06±3.02 %), measly body water (52.38±3.4 %), poor bone mass (05.14±0.31 Kg), and high BMI (26.68±1.14 Kg/m²) in 34% girls. The malnutrition also depicted by poor vital signs i.e. low body temperature (97.11±0.93 °F), slightly higher blood pressure (124.19±4.08 / 85.25±2.97 mmHg), rapid pulse rate (99.2 ± 6.85 beats/min), reduced blood O₂ saturation (96.53±0.96 %), scanty peak expiratory flow rate (297 ± 15.7 L /min). The outcomes of the research articulated that physical inactivity; extreme intakes of junk food, insufficient water consumption are etiological factors for obesity development among girls which are usually overlooked in Pakistan.

Keywords: informed consent, junk food, obesity, physical inactivity

Procedia PDF Downloads 186

Authors: Kyaw Zin Htut

Abstract:

In this article, the synthesis of the efficiency of intelligent diagnostic system in the aircraft measuring devices is described. The technology developments of the diagnostic system are considered based on the model errors of the gyro instruments, which are used to measure the parameters of the aircraft. The synthesis of the diagnostic intelligent system is considered on the example of the problem of assessment and forecasting errors of the gyroscope devices on the onboard aircraft. The result of the system is to detect of faults of the aircraft measuring devices as well as the analysis of the measuring equipment to improve the efficiency of its work.

Keywords: diagnostic, dynamic system, errors of gyro instruments, model errors, assessment, prognosis

Procedia PDF Downloads 393

Authors: J. R. Wang, W. Y. Cheng, J. S. Yeh, S. W. Chen, Y. M. Ferng, J. H. Yang, W. S. Hsu, C. Shih

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To understand the risk for dry storage concrete casks in the cask loading, transfer, and storage phase, the purpose of this research is to establish the probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) analysis methodology for dry storage concrete casks by using SAPHIRE 8 code. This analysis methodology is used to perform the study of Taiwan nuclear power plants (NPPs) dry storage system. The process of research has three steps. First, the data of the concrete casks and Taiwan NPPs are collected. Second, the PRA analysis methodology is developed by using SAPHIRE 8. Third, the PRA analysis is performed by using this methodology. According to the analysis results, the maximum risk is the multipurpose canister (MPC) drop case.

Keywords: PRA, dry storage, concrete cask, SAPHIRE

Procedia PDF Downloads 210