Search results for: growing condition
5846 Prediction of Mental Health: Heuristic Subjective Well-Being Model on Perceived Stress Scale
Authors: Ahmet Karakuş, Akif Can Kilic, Emre Alptekin
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A growing number of studies have been conducted to determine how well-being may be predicted using well-designed models. It is necessary to investigate the backgrounds of features in order to construct a viable Subjective Well-Being (SWB) model. We have picked the suitable variables from the literature on SWB that are acceptable for real-world data instructions. The goal of this work is to evaluate the model by feeding it with SWB characteristics and then categorizing the stress levels using machine learning methods to see how well it performs on a real dataset. Despite the fact that it is a multiclass classification issue, we have achieved significant metric scores, which may be taken into account for a specific task.Keywords: machine learning, multiclassification problem, subjective well-being, perceived stress scale
Procedia PDF Downloads 1315845 Prevalence, Associated Risk Factors, and Bacterial Pathogens in Dairy Camels: A Review
Authors: Djeddi Khaled, Houssou Hind, Miloudi Abdelatif, Rabah Siham
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Camels play a vital role as multipurpose animals, providing milk meat and serving as a means of transportation. They serve as a financial reserve for pastoralists and hold significant cultural and social value. Camel milk, known for its exceptional nutritional properties, is considered a valuable substitute for human milk. However, udder infections, particularly mastitis, pose significant challenges to camel farming. Clinical and subclinical mastitis can lead to substantial economic losses. Mastitis, especially the subclinical form, is a persistent and prevalent condition affecting milk hygiene and quality in dairy camels. This review offers insights into the prevalence and risk factors associated with subclinical mastitis in camels. The prevalence of subclinical mastitis in dairy camels was found to range from 9.28% to 87.78%. Major pathogens responsible for camel mastitis include Staphylococcus aureus, Coagulase-negative Staphylococcus, Streptococcus agalactiae, Streptococcus dysgalactiae, Escherichia coli, Micrococcus spp, Pasteurella haemolytica and Corynebacterium spp. The study outlines key risk factors contributing to camel mastitis, emphasizing factors such as severe tick infestation, age, stage of lactation, parity, body condition score, skin lesion on the teats or udders, anti-suckling devices, previous history of the udder, conformation of the udder, breed, unhygienic milking practices, production system, amongst others have been reported to be important in the prevalence of subclinical mastitis. This comprehensive overview provides valuable insights into the multifaceted aspects of camel mastitis, encompassing prevalent bacterial pathogens and diverse risk factors. The findings underscore the importance of holistic management practices, emphasizing hygiene, health monitoring, and targeted interventions to ensure the well-being and productivity of camels in various agro-pastoral contexts.Keywords: bacterial pathogens, camel, mastitis, risk factors
Procedia PDF Downloads 805844 Effect of Helical Flow on Separation Delay in the Aortic Arch for Different Mechanical Heart Valve Prostheses by Time-Resolved Particle Image Velocimetry
Authors: Qianhui Li, Christoph H. Bruecker
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Atherosclerotic plaques are typically found where flow separation and variations of shear stress occur. Although helical flow patterns and flow separations have been recorded in the aorta, their relation has not been clearly clarified and especially in the condition of artificial heart valve prostheses. Therefore, an experimental study is performed to investigate the hemodynamic performance of different mechanical heart valves (MHVs), i.e. the SJM Regent bileaflet mechanical heart valve (BMHV) and the Lapeyre-Triflo FURTIVA trileaflet mechanical heart valve (TMHV), in a transparent model of the human aorta under a physiological pulsatile right-hand helical flow condition. A typical systolic flow profile is applied in the pulse-duplicator to generate a physiological pulsatile flow which thereafter flows past an axial turbine blade structure to imitate the right-hand helical flow induced in the left ventricle. High-speed particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements are used to map the flow evolution. A circular open orifice nozzle inserted in the valve plane as the reference configuration initially replaces the valve under investigation to understand the hemodynamic effects of the entered helical flow structure on the flow evolution in the aortic arch. Flow field analysis of the open orifice nozzle configuration illuminates the helical flow effectively delays the flow separation at the inner radius wall of the aortic arch. The comparison of the flow evolution for different MHVs shows that the BMHV works like a flow straightener which re-configures the helical flow pattern into three parallel jets (two side-orifice jets and the central orifice jet) while the TMHV preserves the helical flow structure and therefore prevent the flow separation at the inner radius wall of the aortic arch. Therefore the TMHV is of better hemodynamic performance and reduces the pressure loss.Keywords: flow separation, helical aortic flow, mechanical heart valve, particle image velocimetry
Procedia PDF Downloads 1745843 Multidimensional Poverty and Its Correlates among Rural Households in Limpopo Province, South Africa
Authors: Tamunotonye Mayowa Braide, Isaac Oluwatayo
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This study investigates multidimensional poverty, and its correlates among rural households in Sekhukhune and Capricorn District municipalities (SDM & CDM) in Limpopo Province, South Africa. Primary data were collected from 407 rural households selected through purposive and simple random sampling techniques. Analytical techniques employed include descriptive statistics, principal component analysis (PCA), and the Alkire Foster (A-F) methodology. The results of the descriptive statistics showed there are more females (66%) than males (34%) in rural areas of Limpopo Province, with about 45% of them having secondary school education as the highest educational level attained and only about 3% do not have formal education. In the analysis of deprivation, eight dimensions of deprivation, constructed from 21 variables, were identified using the PCA. These dimensions include type and condition of dwelling water and sanitation, educational attainment and income, type of fuel for cooking and heating, access to clothing and cell phone, assets and fuel for light, health condition, crowding, and child health. In identifying the poor with poverty cut-off (0.13) of all indicators, about 75.9% of the rural households are deprived in 25% of the total dimensions, with the adjusted headcount ratio (M0) being 0.19. Multidimensional poverty estimates showed higher estimates of poor rural households with 71%, compared to 29%, which fall below the income poverty line. The study conducted poverty decomposition, using sub-groups within the area by examining regions and household characteristics. In SDM, there are more multidimensionally poor households than in CDM. The water and sanitation dimension is the largest contributor to the multidimensional poverty index (MPI) in rural areas of Limpopo Province. The findings can, therefore, assist in better design of welfare policy and target poverty alleviation programs and as well help in efficient resource allocation at the provincial and local municipality levels.Keywords: Alkire-Foster methodology, Limpopo province, multidimensional poverty, principal component analysis, South Africa
Procedia PDF Downloads 1645842 Colonialism, Health and Women’s Print Culture in South Asia: A Study of Urdu Journals in Colonial India 1900-1930
Authors: Khanday Pervaiz Ahmad
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It was in 19th century when the Indian educated class started to reform their socio-religious set up as an imperative to respond to the challenges put forward by the colonial empire. The colonial discourse on India from the very beginning was gendered, as the colonized society was feminized and its ‘effeminate’ character, as opposed to ‘colonial masculinity’ was held to be a justification for its loss of independence. The ‘women health figure’ is prominently in these gender discourses. The women’s health received a much place in the colonial discourse. Lack of health consciousness, illiteracy, and belief in myths, rituals and superstitions were deemed the main factors taken as an indicator of miserable condition of Indian women’s health. As the low position of women caused shame to the natives, reforming the condition of women, its health occupied a major place in their intellectual as well as activist engagements. Magazines (journals) for women began to appear in various Indian languages in the mid to late 19th century with Bengal leading the front. These sources (Magazines) like Harm, Tehzib un Niswan, Saheli, Khatoon etc. are essential for the study of the emergence of an ideology of respectable domesticity in Indian Muslim upper middle class. Similarly for the study of development of Women’s health consciousness, women’s magazines are very essential. These earliest women Urdu magazines were first started by men, and then followed by the women’s own magazines. Various health issues, like pregnancy, child-rearing, menstruation, midwives training, Pardah, and health etc. were discussed at a time when it was impossible to discuss them in public sphere. These women magazines were brave pioneers, expanding the frontiers of women’s roles, and consciousness at a time when those frontiers were severely limited. This paper will try to focus on how women responded to the question of colonial discourse about their bodies. How health consciousness developed among Indian Muslim women and in what way it contributed in the development of feminist consciousness in South Asian Muslim Women community.Keywords: Ashraf class, khatoon, haram women, feminism
Procedia PDF Downloads 2745841 Green Space and Their Possibilities of Enhancing Urban Life in Dhaka City, Bangladesh
Authors: Ummeh Saika, Toshio Kikuchi
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Population growth and urbanization is a global phenomenon. As the rapid progress of technology, many cities in the international community are facing serious problems of urbanization. There is no doubt that the urbanization will proceed to have significant impact on the ecology, economy and society at local, regional, and global levels. The inhabitants of Dhaka city suffer from lack of proper urban facilities. The green spaces are needed for different functional and leisure activities of the urban dwellers. Again growing densification, a number of green space are transferred into open space in the Dhaka city. As a result greenery of the city's decreases gradually. Moreover, the existing green space is frequently threatened by encroachment. The role of green space, both at community and city level, is important to improve the natural environment and social ties for future generations. Therefore, it seems that the green space needs to be more effective for public interaction. The main objective of this study is to address the effectiveness of urban green space (Urban Park) of Dhaka City. Two approaches are selected to fulfill the study. Firstly, analyze the long-term spatial changes of urban green space using GIS and secondly, investigate the relationship of urban park network with physical and social environment. The case study site covers eight urban parks of Dhaka metropolitan area of Bangladesh. Two aspects (Physical and Social) are applied for this study. For physical aspect, satellite images and aerial photos of different years are used to find out the changes of urban parks. And for social aspect, methods are used as questionnaire survey, interview, observation, photographs, sketch and previous information of parks to analyze about the social environment of parks. After calculation of all data by descriptive statistics, result is shown by maps using GIS. According to physical size, parks of Dhaka city are classified into four types: Small, Medium, Large and Extra Large parks. The observed result showed that the physical and social environment of urban parks varies with their size. In small size parks physical environment is moderate by newly tree plantation and area expansion. However, in medium size parks physical environment are poor, example- tree decrease, exposed soil increase. On the other hand, physical environment of large size and extra large size parks are in good condition, because of plenty of vegetation and well management. Again based on social environment, in small size parks people mainly come from surroundings area and mainly used as waiting place. In medium-size parks, people come to attend various occasion from different places. In large size and extra large size parks, people come from every part of the city area for tourism purpose. Urban parks are important source of green space. Its influence both physical and social environment of urban area. Nowadays green space area gradually decreases and transfer into open space. The consequence of this research reveals that changes of urban parks influence both physical and social environment and also impact on urban life.Keywords: physical environment, social environment, urban life, urban parks
Procedia PDF Downloads 4295840 Vineyard Soils of Karnataka - Characterization, Classification and Soil Site Suitability Evaluation
Authors: Harsha B. R., K. S. Anil Kumar
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Land characterization, classification, and soil suitability evaluation of grapes-growing pedons were assessed at fifteen taluks covering four agro climatic zones of Karnataka. Study on problems and potentials of grapes cultivation in selected agro-climatic zones was carried out along with the plant sample analysis. Twenty soil profiles were excavated as study site based on the dominance of area falling under grapes production and existing spatial variability of soils. The detailed information of profiles and horizon wise soil samples were collected to study the morphological, physical, chemical, and fertility characteristics. Climatic analysis and water retention characteristics of soils of major grapes-growing areas were also done. Based on the characterisation and classification study, it was revealed that soils of Doddaballapur (Bangalore Blue and Wine grapes), Bangalore North (GKVK Farm, Rajankunte, and IIHR Farm), Devanahalli, Magadi, Hoskote, Chikkaballapur (Dilkush and Red globe), Yelaburga, Hagari Bommanahalli, Bagalkot (UHS farm) and Indi fall under the soil order Alfisol. Vijaypur pedon of northern dry zone was keyed out as Vertisols whereas, Jamkhandi and Athani as Inceptisols. Properties of Aridisols were observed in B. Bagewadi (Manikchaman and Thompson Seedless) and Afzalpur. Soil fertility status and its mapping using GIS technique revealed that all the nutrients were found to be in adequate range except nitrogen, potassium, zinc, iron, and boron, which indicated the need for application along with organic matter to improve the SOC status. Varieties differed among themselves in yield and plant nutrient composition depending on their age, climatic, soil, and management requirements. Bangalore North (GKVK farm) and Jamkhandi are having medium soil organic carbon stocks of 6.21 and 6.55 kg m⁻³, respectively. Soils of Bangalore North (Rajankunte) were highly suitable (S1) for grapes cultivation. Under northern Karnataka, Vijayapura, B. Bagewadi, Indi, and Afzalpur vineyards were good performers despite the limitations of fertility and free lime content.Keywords: land characterization, suitability, soil orders, soil organic carbon stock
Procedia PDF Downloads 1135839 Development of Standard Evaluation Technique for Car Carpet Floor
Authors: In-Sung Lee, Un-Hwan Park, Jun-Hyeok Heo, Tae-Hyeon Oh, Dae-Gyu Park
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Statistical Energy Analysis is to be the most effective CAE Method for air-born noise analysis in the Automotive area. This study deals with a method to predict the noise level inside of the car under the steady-state condition using the SEA model of car for air-born noise analysis. We can identify weakened part due to the acoustic material properties using it. Therefore, it is useful for the material structural design.Keywords: air-born noise, material structural design, acoustic material properties, absorbing
Procedia PDF Downloads 4245838 Fuzzy Inference System for Diagnosis of Malaria
Authors: Purnima Pandit
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Malaria remains one of the world’s most deadly infectious disease and arguably, the greatest menace to modern society in terms of morbidity and mortality. To choose the right treatment and to ensure a quality of life suitable for a specific patient condition, early and accurate diagnosis of malaria is essential. It reduces transmission of disease and prevents deaths. Our work focuses on designing an efficient, accurate fuzzy inference system for malaria diagnosis.Keywords: fuzzy inference system, fuzzy logic, malaria disease, triangular fuzzy number
Procedia PDF Downloads 2975837 Electrical Properties of CVD-Graphene on SiC
Authors: Bilal Jabakhanji, Dimitris Kazazis, Adrien Michon, Christophe Consejo, Wilfried Desrat, Benoit Jouault
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In this paper, we investigate the electrical properties of graphene grown by Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) on the Si face of SiC substrates. Depending on the growth condition, hole or electron doping can be achieved, down to a few 1011cm−2. The high homogeneity of the graphene and the low intrinsic carrier concentration, allow the remarkable observation of the Half Integer Quantum Hall Effect, typical of graphene, at the centimeter scale.Keywords: graphene, quantum hall effect, chemical vapor, deposition, silicon carbide
Procedia PDF Downloads 6675836 Fabrication of a High-Performance Polyetherimide Membrane for Helium Separation
Authors: Y. Alqaheem, A. Alomair, F. Altarkait, F. Alswaileh, Nusrat Tanoli
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Helium market is continuously growing due to its essential uses in the electronic and healthcare sectors. Currently, helium is produced by cryogenic distillation but the process is uneconomical especially for low production volumes. On the other hand, polymeric membranes can provide a cost-effective solution for helium purification due to their low operating energy. However, the preparation of membranes involves the use of very toxic solvents such as chloroform. In this work, polyetherimide membranes were prepared using a less toxic solvent, n-methylpyrrolidone with a polymer-to-solvent ratio of 27 wt%. The developed membrane showed a superior helium permeability of 15.9 Barrer that surpassed the permeability of membranes made by chloroform.Keywords: helium separation, polyetherimide, dense membrane, gas permeability
Procedia PDF Downloads 1685835 Influence of Javascript Programming on the Developement of Web and Mobile Application
Authors: Abdul Basit Kiani
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Web technologies are growing rapidly in the current era with the increasing development of the web, various novel web technologies emerged to web applications, compared to HTML. JavaScript is the language that provided a dynamic web site which actively interacts with users. The JavaScript language supports the Model View Controller (MVC) architecture that maintains a readable code and clearly separates parts of the program code. Our research is focused on the comparison of the popular JavaScript frameworks; Angular JS, Django, Node JS, Laravel. These frameworks are rely on MVC. In this paper, we will discuss the merits and demerits of each framework, the influence on the application speed, testing methods, for example, JS applications, and methods to advance code security.Keywords: java script, react, nodejs, htmlcsss
Procedia PDF Downloads 1235834 Achieving Sustainable Agriculture with Treated Municipal Wastewater
Authors: Reshu Yadav, Himanshu Joshi, S. K. Tripathi
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Fresh water is a scarce resource which is essential for humans and ecosystems, but its distribution is uneven. Agricultural production accounts for 70% of all surface water supplies. It is projected that against the expansion in the area equipped for irrigation by 0.6% per year, the global potential irrigation water demand would rise by 9.5% during 2021-25. This would, on one hand, have to compete against the sharply rising urban water demand. On the other, it would also have to face the fear of climate change, as temperatures rise and crop yields could drop from 10-30% in many large areas. The huge demand for irrigation combined with fresh water scarcity encourages to explore the reuse of wastewater as a resource. However, the use of such wastewater is often linked to the safety issues when used non judiciously or with poor safeguards while irrigating food crops. Paddy is one of the major crops globally and amongst the most important in South Asia and Africa. In many parts of the world, use of municipal wastewater has been promoted as a viable option in this regard. In developing and fast growing countries like India, regularly increasing wastewater generation rates may allow this option to be considered quite seriously. In view of this, a pilot field study was conducted at the Jagjeetpur Municipal Sewage treatment plant situated in the Haridwar town of Uttarakhand state, India. The objectives of the present study were to study the effect of treated wastewater on the production of various paddy varieties (Sharbati, PR-114, PB-1, Menaka, PB1121 and PB 1509) and emission of GHG gases (CO2, CH4 and N2O) as compared to the same varieties grown in the control plots irrigated with fresh water. Of late, the concept of water footprint assessment has emerged, which explains enumeration of various types of water footprints of an agricultural entity from its production to processing stages. Paddy, the most water demanding staple crop of Uttarakhand state, displayed a high green water footprint value of 2966.538 m3/ton. Most of the wastewater irrigated varieties displayed upto 6% increase in production, except Menaka and PB-1121, which showed a reduction in production (6% and 3% respectively), due to pest and insect infestation. The treated wastewater was observed to be rich in Nitrogen (55.94 mg/ml Nitrate), Phosphorus (54.24 mg/ml) and Potassium (9.78 mg/ml), thus rejuvenating the soil quality and not requiring any external nutritional supplements. Percentage increase of GHG gases on irrigation with treated municipal waste water as compared to control plots was observed as 0.4% - 8.6% (CH4), 1.1% - 9.2% (CO2), and 0.07% - 5.8% (N2O). The variety, Sharbati, displayed maximum production (5.5 ton/ha) and emerged as the most resistant variety against pests and insects. The emission values of CH4 ,CO2 and N2O were 729.31 mg/m2/d, 322.10 mg/m2/d and 400.21 mg/m2/d in water stagnant condition. This study highlighted a successful possibility of reuse of wastewater for non-potable purposes offering the potential for exploiting this resource that can replace or reduce existing use of fresh water sources in agricultural sector.Keywords: greenhouse gases, nutrients, water footprint, wastewater irrigation
Procedia PDF Downloads 3215833 A Basic Metric Model: Foundation for an Evidence-Based HRM System
Authors: K. M. Anusha, R. Krishnaveni
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Crossing a decade of the 21st century, the paradigm of human resources can be seen evolving with the strategic gene induced into it. There seems to be a radical shift descending as the corporate sector calls on its HR team to become strategic rather than administrative. This transferal eventually requires the metrics employed by these HR teams not to be just operationally reactive but to be aligned to an evidence-based strategic thinking. Realizing the growing need for a prescriptive metric model for effective HR analytics, this study has designed a conceptual framework for a basic metric model that can assist IT-HRM professionals to transition to a practice of evidence-based decision-making to enhance organizational performance.Keywords: metric model, evidence based HR, HR analytics, strategic HR practices, IT sector
Procedia PDF Downloads 4035832 Characterization of Forest Fire Fuel in Shivalik Himalayas Using Hyperspectral Remote Sensing
Authors: Neha Devi, P. K. Joshi
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Fire fuel map is one of the most critical factors for planning and managing the fire hazard and risk. One of the most significant forms of global disturbance, impacting community dynamics, biogeochemical cycles and local and regional climate across a wide range of ecosystems ranging from boreal forests to tropical rainforest is wildfire Assessment of fire danger is a function of forest type, fuelwood stock volume, moisture content, degree of senescence and fire management strategy adopted in the ground. Remote sensing has potential of reduction the uncertainty in mapping fuels. Hyperspectral remote sensing is emerging to be a very promising technology for wildfire fuels characterization. Fine spectral information also facilitates mapping of biophysical and chemical information that is directly related to the quality of forest fire fuels including above ground live biomass, canopy moisture, etc. We used Hyperion imagery acquired in February, 2016 and analysed four fuel characteristics using Hyperion sensor data on-board EO-1 satellite, acquired over the Shiwalik Himalayas covering the area of Champawat, Uttarakhand state. The main objective of this study was to present an overview of methodologies for mapping fuel properties using hyperspectral remote sensing data. Fuel characteristics analysed include fuel biomass, fuel moisture, and fuel condition and fuel type. Fuel moisture and fuel biomass were assessed through the expression of the liquid water bands. Fuel condition and type was assessed using green vegetation, non-photosynthetic vegetation and soil as Endmember for spectral mixture analysis. Linear Spectral Unmixing, a partial spectral unmixing algorithm, was used to identify the spectral abundance of green vegetation, non-photosynthetic vegetation and soil.Keywords: forest fire fuel, Hyperion, hyperspectral, linear spectral unmixing, spectral mixture analysis
Procedia PDF Downloads 1645831 Modelling Volatility Spillovers and Cross Hedging among Major Agricultural Commodity Futures
Authors: Roengchai Tansuchat, Woraphon Yamaka, Paravee Maneejuk
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From the past recent, the global financial crisis, economic instability, and large fluctuation in agricultural commodity price have led to increased concerns about the volatility transmission among them. The problem is further exacerbated by commodities volatility caused by other commodity price fluctuations, hence the decision on hedging strategy has become both costly and useless. Thus, this paper is conducted to analysis the volatility spillover effect among major agriculture including corn, soybeans, wheat and rice, to help the commodity suppliers hedge their portfolios, and manage the risk and co-volatility of them. We provide a switching regime approach to analyzing the issue of volatility spillovers in different economic conditions, namely upturn and downturn economic. In particular, we investigate relationships and volatility transmissions between these commodities in different economic conditions. We purposed a Copula-based multivariate Markov Switching GARCH model with two regimes that depend on an economic conditions and perform simulation study to check the accuracy of our proposed model. In this study, the correlation term in the cross-hedge ratio is obtained from six copula families – two elliptical copulas (Gaussian and Student-t) and four Archimedean copulas (Clayton, Gumbel, Frank, and Joe). We use one-step maximum likelihood estimation techniques to estimate our models and compare the performance of these copula using Akaike information criterion (AIC) and Bayesian information criteria (BIC). In the application study of agriculture commodities, the weekly data used are conducted from 4 January 2005 to 1 September 2016, covering 612 observations. The empirical results indicate that the volatility spillover effects among cereal futures are different, as response of different economic condition. In addition, the results of hedge effectiveness will also suggest the optimal cross hedge strategies in different economic condition especially upturn and downturn economic.Keywords: agricultural commodity futures, cereal, cross-hedge, spillover effect, switching regime approach
Procedia PDF Downloads 2025830 A Multi Criteria Approach for Prioritization of Low Volume Rural Roads for Maintenance and Improvement
Authors: L. V. S. S. Phaneendra Bolem, S. Shankar
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Low Volume Rural Roads (LVRRs) constitute an integral component of the road system in all countries. These encompass all aspects of the social and economic development of rural communities. It is known that on a worldwide basis the number of low traffic roads far exceeds the length of high volume roads. Across India, 90% of the roads are LVRRs, and they often form the most important link in terms of providing access to educational, medical, recreational and commercial activities in local and regional areas. In the recent past, Government of India (GoI), with the initiation of the ambitious programme namely 'Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana' (PMGSY) gave greater importance to LVRRs realizing their role in economic development of rural communities. The vast expansion of the road network has brought connectivity to the rural areas of the country. Further, it is noticed that due to increasing axle loads and lack of timely maintenance, is accelerated the process of deterioration of LVRRs. In addition to this due to limited budget for maintenance of these roads systematic and scientific approach in utilizing the available resources has been necessitated. This would enable better prioritization and ranking for the maintenance and make ‘all-weather roads’. Taking this into account the present study has adopted a multi-criteria approach. The multi-criteria approach includes parameters such as social, economic, environmental and pavement condition as the main criterion and some sub-criteria to find the best suitable parameters and their weight. For this purpose the expert’s opinion survey was carried out using Delphi Technique (DT) considering Likert scale, pairwise comparison and ranking methods and entire data was analyzed. Finally, this study developed the maintenance criterion considering the socio-economic, environmental and pavement condition parameters for effective maintenance of low volume roads based on the engineering judgment.Keywords: Delphi technique, experts opinion survey, low volume rural road maintenance, multi criteria analysis
Procedia PDF Downloads 1665829 Embodied Spirituality in Gestalt Therapy
Authors: Silvia Alaimo
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This lecture brings to our attention the theme of spirituality within Gestalt therapy’s theoretical and clinical perspectives and which is closely connected to the fertile emptiness and creative indifference’ experiences. First of all, the premise that must be done is the overcoming traditional western culture’s philosophical and religious misunderstandings, such as the dicotomy between spirituality and pratical/material daily life, as well as the widespread secular perspective of classic psychology. Even fullness and emptiness have traditionally been associated with the concepts of being and not being. "There is only one way through which we can contact the deepest layers of our existence, rejuvenate our thinking and reach intuition (the harmony of thought and being): inner silence" (Perls) *. Therefore, "fertile void" doesn't mean empty in itself, but rather an useful condition of every creative and responsible act, making room for a deeper dimension close to spirituality. Spirituality concerns questions about the meaning of existence, which lays beyond the concrete and literal dimension, looking for the essence of things, and looking at the value of personal experience. Looking at fundamentals of Gestalt epistemology, phenomenology, aesthetics, and the relationship, we can reach the heart of a therapeutic work that takes spiritual contours and which are based on an embodied (incarnate size), through the relational aesthetic knowledge (Spagnuolo Lobb ), the deep contact with each other, the role of compassion and responsibility, as the patient's recognition criteria (Orange, 2013) rooted in the body. The aesthetic dimension, like the spiritual dimension to which it is often associated, is a subtle dimension: it is the dimension of the essence of things, of their "soul." In clinical practice, it implies that the relationship between therapist and patient is "in the absence of judgment," also called "zero point of creative indifference," expressed by ‘therapeutic mentality’. It consists in following with interest and authentic curiosity where the patient wants to go and support him in his intentionality of contact. It’s a condition of pure and simple awareness, of the full acceptance of "what is," a moment of detachment from one's own life in which one does not take oneself too seriously, a starting point for finding a center of balance and integration that brings to the creative act, to growth, and, as Perls would say, to the excitement and adventure of living.Keywords: spirituality, bodily, embodied aesthetics, phenomenology, relationship
Procedia PDF Downloads 1375828 District 10 in Tehran: Urban Transformation and the Survey Evidence of Loss in Place Attachment in High Rises
Authors: Roya Morad, W. Eirik Heintz
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The identity of a neighborhood is inevitably shaped by the architecture and the people of that place. Conventionally the streets within each neighborhood served as a semi-public-private extension of the private living spaces. The street as a design element formed a hybrid condition that was neither totally public nor private, and it encouraged social interactions. Thus through creating a sense of community, one of the most basic human needs of belonging was achieved. Similar to major global cities, Tehran has undergone serious urbanization. Developing into a capital city of high rises has resulted in an increase in urban density. Although allocating more residential units in each neighborhood was a critical response to the population boom and the limited land area of the city, it also created a crisis in terms of social communication and place attachment. District 10 in Tehran is a neighborhood that has undergone the most urban transformation among the other 22 districts in the capital and currently has the highest population density. This paper will explore how the active streets in district 10 have changed into their current condition of high rises with a lack of meaningful social interactions amongst its inhabitants. A residential building can be thought of as a large group of people. One would think that as the number of people increases, the opportunities for social communications would increase as well. However, according to the survey, there is an indirect relationship between the two. As the number of people of a residential building increases, the quality of each acquaintance reduces, and the depth of relationships between people tends to decrease. This comes from the anonymity of being part of a crowd and the lack of social spaces characterized by most high-rise apartment buildings. Without a sense of community, the attachment to a neighborhood is decreased. This paper further explores how the neighborhood participates to fulfill ones need for social interaction and focuses on the qualitative aspects of alternative spaces that can redevelop the sense of place attachment within the community.Keywords: high density, place attachment, social communication, street life, urban transformation
Procedia PDF Downloads 1275827 Screening for Hit Identification against Mycobacterium abscessus
Authors: Jichan Jang
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Mycobacterium abscessus is a rapidly growing life-threatening mycobacterium with multiple drug-resistance mechanisms. In this study, we screened the library to identify active molecules targeting Mycobacterium abscessus using resazurin live/dead assays. In this screening assay, the Z-factor was 0.7, as an indication of the statistical confidence of the assay. A cut-off of 80% growth inhibition in the screening resulted in the identification of four different compounds at a single concentration (20 μM). Dose-response curves identified three different hit candidates, which generated good inhibitory curves. All hit candidates were expected to have different molecular targets. Thus, we found that compound X, identified, may be a promising candidate in the M. abscessus drug discovery pipeline.Keywords: Mycobacterium abscessus, antibiotics, drug discovery, emerging Pathogen
Procedia PDF Downloads 2095826 Mechanical Properties and Characterization of Ti–6Al–4V Alloy Diffused by Molybdenum
Authors: Alaeddine Kaouka
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The properties and characterization of Ti-6Al-4V alloys with different contents of Mo were investigated. Microstructure characterization and hardness are considered. The alloy structure was characterized by X-ray diffraction, SEM and optical microscopy. The results showed that the addition of Mo stabilized the β-phase in the treated solution condition. The Mo element added to titanium alloys changes the lattice parameters of phases. Microstructural observations indicate an obvious reduction in the prior grain size. The hardness has increased with the increase in β-phase stability, while Young’s modulus and ductility have decreased.Keywords: characterization, mechanical properties, molybdenum, titanium alloy
Procedia PDF Downloads 2605825 Combining Experiments and Surveys to Understand the Pinterest User Experience
Authors: Jolie M. Martin
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Running experiments while logging detailed user actions has become the standard way of testing product features at Pinterest, as at many other Internet companies. While this technique offers plenty of statistical power to assess the effects of product changes on behavioral metrics, it does not often give us much insight into why users respond the way they do. By combining at-scale experiments with smaller surveys of users in each experimental condition, we have developed a unique approach for measuring the impact of our product and communication treatments on user sentiment, attitudes, and comprehension.Keywords: experiments, methodology, surveys, user experience
Procedia PDF Downloads 3125824 The Follower Robots Tested in Different Lighting Condition and Improved Capabilities
Authors: Sultan Muhammed Fatih Apaydin
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In this study, two types of robot were examined as being pioneer robot and follower robot for improving of the capabilities of tracking robots. Robots continue to tracking each other and measurement of the follow-up distance between them is very important for improvements to be applied. It was achieved that the follower robot follows the pioneer robot in line with intended goals. The tests were applied to the robots in various grounds and environments in point of performance and necessary improvements were implemented by measuring the results of these tests.Keywords: mobile robot, remote and autonomous control, infra-red sensors, arduino
Procedia PDF Downloads 5655823 A Machine Learning-Assisted Crime and Threat Intelligence Hunter
Authors: Mohammad Shameel, Peter K. K. Loh, James H. Ng
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Cybercrime is a new category of crime which poses a different challenge for crime investigators and incident responders. Attackers can mask their identities using a suite of tools and with the help of the deep web, which makes them difficult to track down. Scouring the deep web manually takes time and is inefficient. There is a growing need for a tool to scour the deep web to obtain useful evidence or intel automatically. In this paper, we will explain the background and motivation behind the research, present a survey of existing research on related tools, describe the design of our own crime/threat intelligence hunting tool prototype, demonstrate its capability with some test cases and lastly, conclude with proposals for future enhancements.Keywords: cybercrime, deep web, threat intelligence, web crawler
Procedia PDF Downloads 1735822 The Effect of Catastrophic Losses on Insurance Cycle: Case of Croatia
Authors: Drago Jakovčević, Maja Mihelja Žaja
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This paper provides an analysis of the insurance cycle in the Republic of Croatia and whether they are affected by catastrophic losses on a global level. In general, it is considered that insurance cycles are particularly pronounced in periods of financial crisis, but are also affected by the growing number of catastrophic losses. They cause the change of insurance cycle and premium growth and intensification and narrowing of the coverage conditions, so these variables move in the same direction and these phenomena point to a new cycle. The main goal of this paper is to determine the existence of insurance cycle in the Republic of Croatia and investigate whether catastrophic losses have an influence on insurance cycles.Keywords: catastrophic loss, insurance cycle, premium, Republic of Croatia
Procedia PDF Downloads 3535821 Urban and Rural Population Pyramids in Georgia Since 1950’s
Authors: Shorena Tsiklauri, Avtandil Sulaberidze, Nino Gomelauri
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In the years followed independence, an economic crisis and some conflicts led to the displacement of many people inside Georgia. The growing poverty, unemployment, low income and its unequal distribution limited access to basic social service have had a clear direct impact on Georgian population dynamics and its age-sex structure. Factors influencing the changing population age structure and urbanization include mortality, fertility, migration and expansion of urban. In this paper presents the main factors of changing the distribution by urban and rural areas. How different are the urban and rural age and sex structures? Does Georgia have the same age-sex structure among their urban and rural populations since 1950s?Keywords: age and sex structure of population, georgia, migration, urban-rural population
Procedia PDF Downloads 4105820 Structural Stress of Hegemon’s Power Loss: A Pestle Analysis for Pacification and Security Policy Plan
Authors: Sehrish Qayyum
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Active military power contention is shifting to economic and cyberwar to retain hegemony. Attuned Pestle analysis confirms that structural stress of hegemon’s power loss drives a containment approach towards caging actions. Ongoing diplomatic, asymmetric, proxy and direct wars are increasing stress hegemon’s power retention due to tangled military and economic alliances. It creates the condition of catalepsy with defective reflexive control which affects the core warfare operations. When one’s own power is doubted it gives power to one’s own doubt to ruin all planning either done with superlative cost-benefit analysis. Strategically calculated estimation of Hegemon’s power game since the early WWI to WWII, WWII-to Cold War and then to the current era in three chronological periods exposits that Thucydides’s trap became the reason for war broke out. Thirst for power is the demise of imagination and cooperation for better sense to prevail instead it drives ashes to dust. Pestle analysis is a wide array of evaluation from political and economic to legal dimensions of the state matters. It helps to develop the Pacification and Security Policy Plan (PSPP) to avoid hegemon’s structural stress of power loss in fact, in turn, creates an alliance with maximum amicable outputs. PSPP may serve to regulate and pause the hurricane of power clashes. PSPP along with a strategic work plan is based on Pestle analysis to deal with any conceivable war condition and approach for saving international peace. Getting tangled into self-imposed epistemic dilemmas results in regret that becomes the only option of performance. It is a generic application of probability tests to find the best possible options and conditions to develop PSPP for any adversity possible so far. Innovation in expertise begets innovation in planning and action-plan to serve as a rheostat approach to deal with any plausible power clash.Keywords: alliance, hegemon, pestle analysis, pacification and security policy plan, security
Procedia PDF Downloads 1065819 Improving Creative Problem Solving for Teams through a Web-Based Peer Review System
Authors: JungYeon Park, Jooyong Park
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Brainstorming and discussion are widely used around the world as formal techniques of collaborative creative problem solving. This study investigated whether a web-based peer review system would improve collaborative creative problem solving. In order to assess the efficiency of using web-based peer review system before brainstorming and discussion, we conducted a between-group design study for two conditions (a web-based peer review system vs. face-to-face brainstorming only) using two different scenarios. One hundred and twenty participants were divided into teams of four and randomly assigned to one of the four conditions. The participants were given problems for them to solve. The participants in the experimental group first generated ideas independently for 20 minutes and wrote down their ideas. Afterwards, they reviewed the list of ideas of their peers and gave and received feedback for 10 minutes. These activities were performed on-line. The last activity was face-to-face brain-storming and discussion for 30 minutes. In contrast, the control group participated in brainstorming and discussion for 60 minutes. The quantity and the quality of ideas were measured as dependent variables of creative problem solving. Two evaluators rated the quantity and quality of the proposed ideas. Inter-rater agreement rate was good or strong. The results showed that both the average number of unique ideas and the average quality of ideas generated for the experimental condition were significantly higher than those for the control condition in both scenarios. The results of this study support the hypothesis that collaborative creative problem solving is enhanced when individuals write their thoughts individually and review ideas written by peers before face-to-face brainstorming and discussion. The present study provides preliminary evidence that a web-based peer review system can be instrumental in improving creative problem solving for teams. This system also offers an effective means to quantify the contribution of each member in collaborative team activity. We are planning to replicate these results in real-life situations.Keywords: brainstorming, creative problem solving, peer-review, team efficiency
Procedia PDF Downloads 1585818 Temporal Progression of Episodic Memory as Function of Encoding Condition and Age: Further Investigation of Action Memory in School-Aged Children
Authors: Farzaneh Badinlou, Reza Kormi-Nouri, Monika Knopf
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Studies of adults' episodic memory have found that enacted encoding not only improve recall performance but also retrieve faster during the recall period. The current study focused on exploring the temporal progression of different encoding conditions in younger and older school children. 204 students from two age group of 8 and 14 participated in this study. During the study phase, we studied action encoding in two forms; participants performed the phrases by themselves (SPT), and observed the performance of the experimenter (EPT), which were compared with verbal encoding; participants listened to verbal action phrases (VT). At test phase, we used immediate and delayed free recall tests. We observed significant differences in memory performance as function of age group, and encoding conditions in both immediate and delayed free recall tests. Moreover, temporal progression of recall was faster in older children when compared with younger ones. The interaction of age-group and encoding condition was only significant in delayed recall displaying that younger children performed better in EPT whereas older children outperformed in SPT. It was proposed that enactment effect in form of SPT enhances item-specific processing, whereas EPT improves relational information processing and this differential processes are responsible for the results achieved in younger and older children. The role of memory strategies and information processing methods in younger and older children were considered in this study. Moreover, the temporal progression of recall was faster in action encoding in the form of SPT and EPT compared with verbal encoding in both immediate and delayed free recall and size of enactment effect was constantly increased throughout the recall period. The results of the present study provide further evidence that the action memory is explained with an emphasis on the notion of information processing and strategic views. These results also reveal the temporal progression of recall as a new dimension of episodic memory in children.Keywords: action memory, enactment effect, episodic memory, school-aged children, temporal progression
Procedia PDF Downloads 2735817 Just Not Seeing It: Exploring the Relationship between Inattention Blindness and Banner Blindness
Authors: Carie Cunningham, Krsiten Lynch
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Despite a viewer’s thought that they may be paying attention, many times they are missing out on their surrounds-- a phenomenon referred to as inattentional blindness. Inattention blindness refers to the failure of an individual to orient their attention to a particular item in their visual field. This well-defined in the psychology literature. Similarly, this phenomenon has been evaluated in media types in advertising. In advertising, not comprehending/remembering items in one’s field of vision is known as banner blindness. On the other hand, banner blindness is a phenomenon that occurs when individuals habitually see a banner in a specific area on a webpage, and thus condition themselves to ignore those habitual areas. Another reason that individuals avoid these habitual areas (usually on the top or sides of a webpage) is due to the lack of personal relevance or pertinent information to the viewer. Banner blindness, while a web-based concept, may also relate this inattention blindness. This paper is proposing an analysis of the true similarities and differences between these concepts bridging the two dimensions of thinking together. Forty participants participated in an eye-tracking and post-survey experiment to test attention and memory measures in both a banner blindness and inattention blindness condition. The two conditions were conducted between subjects semi-randomized order. Half of participants were told to search through the content ignoring the advertising banners; the other half of participants were first told to search through the content ignoring the distractor icon. These groups were switched after 5 trials and then 5 more trials were completed. In review of the literature, sustainability communication was found to have many inconsistencies with message production and viewer awareness. For the purpose of this study, we used advertising materials as stimuli. Results suggest that there are gaps between the two concepts and that more research should be done testing these effects in a real world setting versus an online environment. This contributes to theory by exploring the overlapping concepts—inattention blindness and banner blindness and providing the advertising industry with support that viewers can still fall victim to ignoring items in their field of view even if not consciously, which will impact message development.Keywords: attention, banner blindness, eye movement, inattention blindness
Procedia PDF Downloads 275