Search results for: land resources investigation

Authors: Christopher Baiyegunhi, Oswald Gwavava

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The location/source of the Beattie magnetic anomaly (BMA) and interconnectivity of geologic structures at depth have been a topic of investigation for over 30 years. Up to now, no relationship between geological structures (interconnectivity of dolerite intrusions) at depth has been established. Therefore, the environmental impact of fracking the Karoo for shale gas could not be assessed despite the fact that dolerite dykes are groundwater localizers in the Karoo. In this paper, we shed more light to the unanswered questions concerning the possible location of the source of the BMA, the connectivity of geologic structures like dolerite dykes and sills at depth and this relationship needs to be established before the tectonic evolution of the Karoo basin can be fully understood and related to fracking of the Karoo for shale gas. The result of the magnetic investigation and modelling of four gravity profiles that crosses the BMA in the study area reveals that the anomaly, which is part of the Beattie magnetic anomaly tends to divide into two anomalies and continue to trend in an NE-SW direction, the dominant gravity signatures is of long wavelength that is due to a deep source/interface inland and shallows towards the coast, the average depth to the top of the shallow and deep magnetic sources was estimated to be approximately 0.6 km and 15 km, respectively. The BMA become stronger with depth which could be an indication that the source(s) is deep possibly a buried body in the basement. The bean-shaped anomaly also behaves in a similar manner like the BMA thus it could possibly share the same source(s) with the BMA.

Keywords: Beattie magnetic anomaly, magnetic sources, modelling, Karoo Basin

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Authors: Pavel Kotin, Sergey Dotofeev, Daniil Kozlov, Alexey Garshev

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We propose the investigation of CdSe quantum dots which were synthesized in the presence of silver halides. To understand a process of nanoparticle formation in more detail, we varied the silver halide amount in the synthesis and proposed a sampling during colloidal growth. The attempts were focused on the investigation of shape, structure and optical properties of nanoparticles. We used the colloidal method of synthesis. Cadmium oleate, tri-n-octylphosphine selenide (TOPSe) and AgHal in TOP were precursors of cadmium, selenium and silver halides correspondingly. The molar Ag/Cd ratio in synthesis was varied from 1/16 to 1/1. The sampling was basically realized in 20 sec, 5 min, and 30 min after the beginning of quantum dots nucleation. To investigate nanoparticles we used transmission electron microscopy (including high resolution one), X-ray diffraction, and optical spectroscopy. It was established that silver halides lead to obtaining tetrapods with different leg length and large ellipsoidal nanoparticles possessing an intensive near IR photoluminescence. The change of the amount of silver halide in synthesis and the selection of an optimal growth time allows controlling the shape and the share of tetrapods or ellipsoidal nanoparticles in the product. Our main attempts were focused on a detailed investigation of the quantum dots structure and shape evolution and, finally, on mechanisms of such nanoparticle formation.

Keywords: colloidal quantum dots, shape evolution, silver doping, tetrapods

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Authors: Basman Elhadidi, Islam Elqatary, Osama Saaid, Hesham Othman

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An active slat is developed to increase the lift and delay the separation for a DU96-W180 airfoil. The active slat is a fixed slat that can be closed, fully opened or intermittently opened by a rotating vane depending on the need. Experimental results show that the active slat has reduced the mean pressure and increased the mean velocity on the suction side of the airfoil for all positive angles of attack, indicating an increase of lift. The experimental data and numerical simulations also show that the direction of actuator vane rotation can influence the mixing of the flow streams on the suction side and hence influence the aerodynamic performance.

Keywords: active slat, flow control, experimental investigation, aerodynamic performance

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Authors: Vu Dinh Tuan, Truc Xuyen Nguyen Phan, Nguyen Thi Truc Nhi

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Cultivating on hillslopes in Northwest Vietnam induced soil erosion that reduce overall soil fertility, capacity of water bodies and drainage ditches or channels, and enhance the risk of flooding, even obstruct traffics and create 'mud flooding or landslide’. This study aimed at assessing the magnitude of erosion under maize monocropping and perennial teak plantation on a rainstorm basic over two years 2010-2011 using double sediment fences installed at convergent point of catchments (slope inclination of 27-74%). Mean annual soil erosion under maize cultivation was 4.39 kg.m⁻², being far greater than that under teak plantation 1.65 kg.m⁻². Intensive tillage in maize monocropping and clearance of land before sowing was most probably the causes induced such effect as no tillage was performed in teak plantation during monitored period. Larger sediment generated across two land use types in year 2010 (4.11 kg.m⁻²) compared to year 2011 (1.87 kg.m⁻²) was attributed to higher amount and intensity of precipitation in the first year (1448 mm) as compared to the latter year (1299 mm). Reducing tillage and establishing good cover for maize monocropping on steep slopes, therefore, are necessary to reduce soil erosion and control sediment delivery to downstream.

Keywords: maize monocropping, teak plantation, tillage, sediment fence, sediment delivery, soil erosion

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Authors: Abdel Rahman Khider Hassan

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This paper describes a multi-criteria geospatial model for prediction of landslide hazard zonation (LHZ) for Lake Naivasha catchment (Kenya), based on spatial analysis of integrated datasets of location intrinsic parameters (slope stability factors) and external landslides triggering factors (natural and man-made factors). The intrinsic dataset included: lithology, geometry of slope (slope inclination, aspect, elevation, and curvature) and land use/land cover. The landslides triggering factors included: rainfall as the climatic factor, in addition to the destructive effects reflected by proximity of roads and drainage network to areas that are susceptible to landslides. No published study on landslides has been obtained for this area. Thus, digital datasets of the above spatial parameters were conveniently acquired, stored, manipulated and analyzed in a Geographical Information System (GIS) using a multi-criteria grid overlay technique (in ArcGIS 10.2.2 environment). Deduction of landslide hazard zonation is done by applying weights based on relative contribution of each parameter to the slope instability, and finally, the weighted parameters grids were overlaid together to generate a map of the potential landslide hazard zonation (LHZ) for the lake catchment. From the total surface of 3200 km² of the lake catchment, most of the region (78.7 %; 2518.4 km²) is susceptible to moderate landslide hazards, whilst about 13% (416 km²) is occurring under high hazards. Only 1.0% (32 km²) of the catchment is displaying very high landslide hazards, and the remaining area (7.3 %; 233.6 km²) displays low probability of landslide hazards. This result confirms the importance of steep slope angles, lithology, vegetation land cover and slope orientation (aspect) as the major determining factors of slope failures. The information provided by the produced map of landslide hazard zonation (LHZ) could lay the basis for decision making as well as mitigation and applications in avoiding potential losses caused by landslides in the Lake Naivasha catchment in the Kenya Highlands.

Keywords: decision making, geospatial, landslide, multi-criteria, Naivasha

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Authors: Sanjida Ahmed Sinthia

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Bangladesh is one of the poorest countries in the world. There are several reasons for this insufficiency and uncontrolled population growth is one of the prime reasons. Others include low economic progress, imbalanced resource management, unemployment and underemployment, urban migration and natural catastrophes etc. As a result, the rate of urban poor is increasing inevitably in every sphere of urban cities in Bangladesh and Dhaka is the most affected one. Besides there is scarcity of urban land, housing, urban infrastructure and amenities which create pressure on urban cities and mostly encroach the open space, wetlands that causes environmental degradation. Government has no or limited control over these due to poor government policy and management, political pressure and lack of resource management. Unfortunately, over centralization and bureaucracy creates unnecessary delay and interruptions in any government initiations. There is also no coordination between government and private sector developer to solve the problem of urban Poor. To understand the problem of these huge populations this paper analyzes one of the single largest slum areas in Dhaka, Korail Slum. The study focuses on socio demographic analysis, morphological pattern and role of different actors responsible for the improvements of the area and recommended some possible steps for determining the potential outcomes.

Keywords: demographic analysis, environmental degradation, government policy, housing and land management policy

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Authors: Sakshi Saxena

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Bangalore is an IT industry-based metropolitan city in the state of Karnataka in India. It has experienced tremendous urbanization at the expense of the environment. The reasons behind development over and near ecologically sensitive areas have been raised by several instances of disappearing lakes. Lakes in Bangalore can be considered commons on both a local and a regional scale and these water bodies are becoming less interconnected because of encroachment in the catchment area. Other sociocultural environmental risks that have led to social issues are now a source of concern. They serve as an example of the transformations in commons, a dilemma that as is transformed from rural to urban areas, as well as the complicated institutional issues associated with governance. According to some scholarly work and ecologists, a nexus of public and commercial institutions is primarily responsible for the depletion of water tanks and the inefficiency of the planning process. It is said that Bangalore's growth as an urban centre, together with the demands it created, particularly on land and water, resulted in the emergence of a middle and upper class that was demanding and self-assured. For the report in focus, it is evident to understand the issues and problems which led to these encroachments and captured violations if any around these lakes and tanks which arose during these decades. To claim watersheds and lake edges as properties, institutional arrangements (organizations, laws, and policies) intersect with planning authorities. Because of unregulated or indiscriminate forms of urbanization, it is claimed that the engagement of actors and negotiations of the process, including government ignorance, are allowing this problem to flourish. In general, the governance of natural resources in India is largely state-based. This is due to the constitutional scheme, which since the Government of India Act, of 1935 has in principle given the power to the states to legislate in this area. Thus, states have the exclusive power to regulate water supplies, irrigation and canals, drainage and embankments, water storage, hydropower, and fisheries. Thus, The main aim is to understand institutional arrangements and the master planning processes behind these arrangements. To understand the ambiguity through an example, it is noted that, Custodianship alone is a role divided between two state and two city-level bodies. This creates regulatory ambiguity and the effects on the environment are such as changes in city temperature, urban flooding, etc. As established, the main kinds of issues around lakes/tanks in Bangalore are encroachment and depletion. This study will further be enhanced by doing a physical survey of three of these lakes focusing on the Bellandur site and the stakeholders involved. According to the study's findings thus far, corrupt politicians and dubious land transaction tools are involved in the real estate industry. It appears that some destruction could have been stopped or at least mitigated in this case if there had been a robust system of urban planning processes involved along with strong institutional arrangements to protect lakes.

Keywords: wetlands, lakes, urbanization, bangalore, politics, reservoirs, municipal jurisdiction, lake connections, institutions

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Authors: Nura Bello

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Sokoto caliphate is the product of a hectic revolutionary movement that took place in the first decade of the nineteenth century under the leadership of Seikh Usmanu Danfodio. The movement led to the overthrow of the Sarauta system in Hausa Land, leading to the emergence of the Sokoto caliphate and Sokoto city as its headquarters. This development led to the collapse of Alkalawa (headquarters of the Gobir Kingdom) in 1808. A year later, in 1809, Sokoto city emerged as the headquarter of the Sokoto Caliphate. Due to the open door policy adopted by the leaders, the city came to experience an influx of people especially craft manufacturers from all over Hausa Land and beyond, who occupied many areas of the city and engaged in different craft production. This paper aims to highlight the development of crafts manufacturing in the 19th century Sokoto city and its contribution to transforming the city into a major economic base of the caliphate. In dealing with the above issue, qualitative research methods that mainly involve the use of oral and archival data will be adopted. Finally, the paper identified that the expansion of craft manufacturing in the 19th century Sokoto city could have resulted from the role played by the leadership of the caliphate, which favoured such development. The paper argues that if those industries were revived in Nigeria today, they would ultimately create various jobs among the younger generations, which would result in economic prosperity.

Keywords: craft manufacturing, diversification, economy, migration

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Authors: Matheus Fonseca Durães, Bruno da Silva Pereira, Bruna Stewart

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The concept of Brazil’s water governance has been the topic of discussion and has undergone legal and organizational improvements due to the need to promote a more effective and sustainable relationship with natural resources and stemming from conflicts related to shortcomings in decision-making. The Waters Act has enabled Brazil to create interesting mechanisms for integrated management, but, on the other hand, it has created a challenge that involves the implementation of the principles established in this legal framework. This study aims to evaluate some challenges and opportunities for water governance in two watersheds based on data collection and analysis of concessions, the water use register, and flow data. The elements presented demonstrated, via an analysis of legally instituted criteria, that the level of commitment of water resources is high, especially to public supply, and the adoption of the reference flow constituted one of the main barriers to implementing an efficient system, demonstrating the need for a regulatory policy that considers the hydrological behavior of the watersheds. Finally, the current water management model presents challenges to be addressed to achieve the objectives proposed by the water policy, such as ensuring sustainable, rational, and integrated use of water resources.

Keywords: management, hydrology, public policies, Brazil

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Authors: Saad S. Alrwashdeh, Henning Markötter, Handri Ammari, Jan Haußmann, Tobias Arlt, Joachim Scholta, Ingo Manke

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In this investigation, synchrotron X-ray imaging is used to study water transport inside polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells. Two measurement techniques are used, namely in-situ radiography and quasi-in-situ tomography combining together in order to reveal the relationship between the structures of the microporous layers (MPLs) and the gas diffusion layers (GDLs), the operation temperature and the water flow. The developed cell is equipped with a thick GDL and a high back pressure MPL. It is found that these modifications strongly influence the overall water transport in the whole adjacent GDM.

Keywords: polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell, microporous layer, water transport, radiography, tomography

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Authors: Nuraddeen Usman, Khiruddin Abdullah, Mohd Nawawi, Amin Khalil Ismail

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A magnetic survey is carried out in order to locate the remains of construction items, specifically concrete pillars. The conventional Euler deconvolution technique can perform the task but it requires the use of fixed structural index (SI) and the construction items are made of materials with different shapes which require different SI (unknown). A Euler deconvolution technique that estimate background, horizontal coordinate (xo and yo), depth and structural index (SI) simultaneously is prepared and used for this task. The synthetic model study carried indicated the new methodology can give a good estimate of location and does not depend on magnetic latitude. For field data, both the total magnetic field and gradiometer reading had been collected simultaneously. The computed vertical derivatives and gradiometer readings are compared and they have shown good correlation signifying the effectiveness of the method. The filtering is carried out using automated procedure, analytic signal and other traditional techniques. The clustered depth solutions coincided with the high amplitude/values of analytic signal and these are the possible target positions of the concrete pillars being sought. The targets under investigation are interpreted to be located at the depth between 2.8 to 9.4 meters. More follow up survey is recommended as this mark the preliminary stage of the work.

Keywords: concrete pillar, magnetic survey, geotechnical investigation, Euler Deconvolution

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Authors: Ilango Thiagalingam, Erwann Yvin, Gabriel Crehan, Roch El Khoury

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An experimental investigation is carried out in order to evaluate the relevance of a customization approach of the passive thermal mannikin. The promise of this approach consists in the following assumption: physiological differences lead to distinct thermo-physiological responses that explain a part of the thermal appraisal differences between people. Categorizing people and developing an appropriate thermal mannikin for each group would help to reduce the actual dispersion on the subjective thermal comfort perception. The present investigation indicates that popular passive physiological diversity drivers such as sex, age and BMI are not the correct parameters to consider. Indeed, very little or no discriminated global thermo-physiological responses arise from the physiological classification of the population using these parameters.

Keywords: thermal comfort, thermo-physiology, customization, thermal mannikin

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Authors: Carmen Georgeta Dumitrache

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Measurements of terrestrial science aims to study the totality of operations and computing, which are carried out for the purposes of representation on the plan or map of the land surface in a specific cartographic projection and topographic scale. With the development of society, the metrics have evolved, and they land, being dependent on the achievement of a goal-bound utility of economic activity and of a scientific purpose related to determining the form and dimensions of the Earth. For measurements in the field, data processing and proper representation on drawings and maps of planimetry and landform of the land, using topographic and geodesic instruments, calculation and graphical reporting, which requires a knowledge of theoretical and practical concepts from different areas of science and technology. In order to use properly in practice, topographical and geodetic instruments designed to measure precise angles and distances are required knowledge of geometric optics, precision mechanics, the strength of materials, and more. For processing, the results from field measurements are necessary for calculation methods, based on notions of geometry, trigonometry, algebra, mathematical analysis and computer science. To be able to illustrate topographic measurements was established for the lifting of property located near the locality of Gircov, Romania. We determine this total surface of the plan (T30), parcel/plot, but also in the field trace the coordinates of a parcel. The purpose of the removal of the planimetric consisted of: the exact determination of the bounding surface; analytical calculation of the surface; comparing the surface determined with the one registered in the documents produced; drawing up a plan of location and delineation with closeness and distance contour, as well as highlighting the parcels comprising this property; drawing up a plan of location and delineation with closeness and distance contour for a parcel from Dave; in the field trace outline of plot points from the previous point. The ultimate goal of this work was to determine and represent the surface, but also to tear off a plot of the surface total, while respecting the first surface condition imposed by the Act of the beneficiary's property.

Keywords: topography, surface, coordinate, modeling

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Authors: Kemkanit Sanyanunthana

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The purpose of this research is to study the management system of information technology which supports the education of five private universities in Thailand, according to the case studies which have been developing their qualities and standards of management and education by service provision of information technology to support the excellence performance. The concept to connect information technology with a suitable system has been created by information technology administrators for development, as a system that can be used throughout the organizations to help reach the utmost benefits of using all resources. Hence, the researcher as a person who has been performing these duties within higher education is interested to do this research by selecting the Control Objective for Information and Related Technology 5 (COBIT 5) for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) of America, or the National Award which applies the concept of Total Quality Management (TQM) to the organization evaluation. Such evaluation is called the Education Criteria for Performance Excellence (EdPEx) focuses on studying and comparing education quality development for excellent performance using COBIT 5 in terms of information technology to study the problems and obstacles of the investigation process for an information technology system, which is considered as an instrument to drive all organizations to reach the excellence performance of the information technology, and to be the model of evaluation and analysis of the process to be in accordance with the strategic plans of the information technology in the universities. This research is conducted in the form of descriptive and survey research according to the case studies. The data collection were carried out by using questionnaires through the administrators working related to the information technology field, and the research documents related to the change management as the main study. The research can be concluded that the performance based on the APO domain process (ALIGN, PLAN AND ORGANISE) of the COBIT 5 standard frame, which emphasizes concordant governance and management of strategic plans for the organizations, could reach only 95%. This might be because of some restrictions such as organizational cultures; therefore, the researcher has studied and analyzed the management of information technology in universities as a whole, under the organizational structures, to reach the performance in accordance with the overall APO domain which would affect the determined strategic plans to be able to develop based on the excellence performance of information technology, and to apply the risk management system at the organizational level into every performance process which would develop the work effectiveness for the resources management of information technology to reach the utmost benefits. 

Keywords: COBIT5, APO, EdPEx Criteria, MBNQA

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Authors: Earleen Jane Fuentes, Regeene Melarese Lim, Franklin Benjamin Tapia, Alexis Pantola

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Mobile Ad-hoc Network (MANET) is an infrastructure-less network of mobile devices, also known as nodes. These nodes heavily rely on each other’s resources such as memory, computing power, and energy. Thus, some nodes may become selective in forwarding packets so as to conserve their resources. These nodes are called misleading nodes. Several reputation-based techniques (e.g. CORE, CONFIDANT, LARS, SORI, OCEAN) and acknowledgment-based techniques (e.g. TWOACK, S-TWOACK, EAACK) have been proposed to detect such nodes. These techniques do not appropriately punish misleading nodes. Hence, this paper addresses the limitations of these techniques using a system called MINDRA.

Keywords: acknowledgment-based techniques, mobile ad-hoc network, selfish nodes, reputation-based techniques

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Authors: Maryam Davodi-Far

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Although sustainability offers a vision to preserve the earth’s resources while sustaining life on earth, there tends to be injustice and disparity in how resources are allocated across the globe. As such, the question that arises is whom will sustainability benefit? Will the rich grow richer and the poor become worse off? Is there a way to find balance between sustainability and still implement and achieve success with distributive justice theories? One of the facets of justice is distributive justice; the idea of balancing benefits and costs associated with the way in which we disseminate and consume goods. Social justice relies on how the cost and burdens of our resource allocation can be done reasonably and equitably and spread across a number of societies, and within each society spread across diverse groups and communities. In the end, the question is how to interact with the environment and diverse communities of today and of those communities of the future.

Keywords: consumerism, sustainability, sustainable development, social justice, social equity, distributive justice

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Authors: Hilda Freimuth

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This study examined the interactional resources of self-mentions and engagement markers in twenty official IELTS reading exam passages to determine the passages’ similarity to academic research papers. Although the findings revealed a variation ranging from zero to 22 instances for any given passage, the study found the average number of markers (5.5) per passage in line with those found on research papers. This finding confirms that the IELTS exam’s reading passages mirror the academic nature of research papers in this regard.

Keywords: IELTS exam, IELTS reading, interpersonal resources, self-mentions, engagement markers

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Authors: Seyedeh Zahra Seyed Sharifi, M. R. M. Tabatabaei

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Due to increase of population and healthy food demand, management and conservation of water resources have become one of the main concerns of governments, scientists and economists. In recent years, Iran has exposed to water scarcity as a result of which its rivers, lakes and wetlands have dried up or are in the drying process. Therefore, water crisis has become the most important environmental issue in the country. Under these circumstances, increasing public awareness by promoting their culture as well as public collaboration to protect water resources could only be possible by making courses to reflect water importance. This could be approached by school and high-school students to learn optimum use of water resources. This study initially focuses on the current position of water courses in levels of school and high-school educations in Iran and Turkey and then deals with the challenges to be faced for the promotion of the system. The course titles and number of pages related to water in all primary and secondary textbooks of the education system of Iran and Turkey were determined using content analysis method and the results were presented. The results indicate that primary and secondary textbooks in both countries must focus on water shortage and water protection and teach children the optimum use of water in order to promote water protection.

Keywords: educational system, environmental awareness, Iran, Turkey, water crisis

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Authors: Charles Asenime, Asaju Joel, Fagbenro Abiola, Adetoyese Oguntimehin, Agosu Rebecca

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This paper examines the fundamental principles of the National Transport Policy (NTP) and determined its role in the execution of transport projects, and the establishment of ministries, departments, and agencies. Data used for the paper are from secondary sources of commissioned reports, studies, internet sources, and government releases. Results of the analysis show that the draft NTP has been used to establish transport schemes, master plans, and transport infrastructure. The paper concludes that though, the national transport Policy is still in a draft form, its production, however, has shaped the transport system in Nigeria and has shown how transport has improved the economy through the efficient utilisation of resources, improved mobility, and lifestyle.

Keywords: principles, draft, system, resources

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Authors: Esperanza Garcia-Uceda, Josefina L. Murillo-Luna, M. Pilar Latorre-Martinez, Marta Ferrer-Serrano

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Social entrepreneurship represents an innovation of traditional business models. During the last decade, its important role in contributing to rural and regional development has been widely recognized, due to its capacity to combat the problem of depopulation through the creation of employment. However, the success of this type of innovative business initiatives depends to a large extent on the existence of an adequate ecosystem of support resources. Based on the theoretical framework of the quadruple helix (QH), which highlights the need for collaboration between different interest groups -university, industry, government and civil society- for the development of regional innovations, in this work the network analysis is applied to study the ecosystem of resources to support social entrepreneurship in the rural area of the province of Zaragoza (Spain). It is a quantitative analysis that can be used to measure the interactions between the different actors that make up the quadruple helix, as well as the networks created between the different institutions and support organizations, through the study of the complex networks they form. The results show the importance of the involvement of local governments and the university, as key elements in the development process, but also allow identifying other issues that are susceptible to improvement.

Keywords: ecosystem of support resources, network analysis, quadruple helix, social entrepreneurship

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Authors: P. Amarnath, Albert Thomas

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Buildings qualify to be the major consumer of energy and resources thereby urging the designers, architects and policy makers to place a great deal of effort in achieving and implementing sustainable building strategies in construction. Green building rating systems help a great deal in this by measuring the effectiveness of these strategies along with the escalation of building performance in social, environmental and economic perspective, and construct new sustainable buildings. However, for a country like India, enormous population and its rapid rate of growth impose an increasing burden on the country's limited and continuously degrading natural resource base, which also includes the land available for construction. In general, the number of sustainable rated buildings in India is very minimal primarily due to the complexity and obstinate nature of the assessment systems/regulations that restrict the stakeholders and designers in proper implementation and utilization of these rating systems. This paper aims to introduce a data driven and user-friendly framework which cross compares the present prominent green building rating systems such as LEED, BREEAM, and GRIHA and subsequently help the users to rate their proposed building design as per the regulations of these assessment frameworks. This framework is validated using the input data collected from green buildings constructed globally. The proposed system has prospects to encourage the users to test the efficiency of various sustainable construction practices and thereby promote more sustainable buildings in the country.

Keywords: BREEAM, GRIHA, green building rating systems, LEED, sustainable buildings

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Authors: Silvija Šiljeg, Ante Šiljeg, Branko Cavrić

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Housing is considered as a basic human need and important component of the quality of life (QoL) in urban areas worldwide. In contemporary housing studies, the concept of the quality of housing (QoH) is considered as a multi-dimensional and multi-disciplinary field. It emphasizes connection between various aspects of the QoL which could be measured by quantitative and qualitative indicators at different spatial levels (e.g. local, city, metropolitan, regional). The main goal of this paper is to examine the QoH and compare results of quantitative analysis with the clutter land use categories derived for selected local communities in Croatian Coastal City of Zadar. The qualitative housing analysis based on the four housing indicators (out of total 24 QoL indicators) has provided identification of the three Zadar’s local communities with the highest estimated QoH ranking. Furthermore, by using GIS overlay techniques, the QoH was merged with the urban environment analysis and introduction of spatial metrics based on the three categories: the element, class and environment as a whole. In terms of semantic-content analysis, the research has also generated a set of indexes suitable for evaluation of “housing state of affairs” and future decision making aiming at improvement of the QoH in selected local communities.

Keywords: housing, quality, indicators, indexes, urban environment, GIS, element, class

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Authors: Issamaldin Mohammed, Ahmed Abdalla, Hatim Elobied

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Soil erosion is globally known for adverse effects on social, environmental and economical aspects which directly or indirectly influence the human life. The area under study suffers from problems like water quality, river and agricultural canals bed rise due to high sediment load brought by Algash River from upstream (Eritrea high land), the current study utilized from remote sensing and Geographical Information System (GIS) to estimate the annual soil loss using Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE). The USLE is widely used over the world which basically relies on rainfall erosivity factor (R), soil erodibility factor (K), topographic factor (LS), cover management factor (C) and support practice factor (P). The result of the study showed high soil loss in the study area, this result was illustrated in a form of map presenting the spatial distribution of soil loss amounts which classified into seven zones ranging from very slight zone (less than 2 ton/ha.year) to very severe (100-500 ton/ha.year), also the total soil loss from the whole study area was found to be 32,916,840.87 ton/ha.year. These kinds of results will help the experts of land management to give a priority for the severely affected zones to be tackled in an appropriate way.

Keywords: Geographical Information System, remote sensing, sedimentation, soil loss

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Authors: C. R. Ríos-Soberanis, V. M. Moo-Huchin, R. J. Estrada-Leon, E. Perez-Pacheco

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Polymers from renewable resources have attracted an increasing amount of attention over the last two decades, predominantly due to two major reasons: firstly environmental concerns, and secondly the realization that our petroleum resources are finite. Finding new uses for agricultural commodities is also an important area of research. Therefore, it is crucial to get new sources of natural materials that can be used in different applications. Ramon tree (Brosimum alicastrum) is a tropical plant that grows freely in Yucatan countryside. This paper focuses on the seeds recollection, processing and starch extraction and characterization in order to find out about its suitability as biomaterial. Results demonstrated that it has a high content of qualities to be used not only as comestible but also as an important component in polymeric blends.

Keywords: biomaterials, characterization techniques, natural resource, starch

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Authors: Berna Çalışkan

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The integrated water management is a colloborative approach to planning that brings together institutions that influence all elements of the water cycle, waterways, watershed characteristics, wetlands, ponds, lakes, floodplain areas, stream channel structure. It encourages collaboration where it will be beneficial and links between water planning and other planning processes that contribute to improving sustainable urban development and liveability. Hydraulic considerations can influence the selection of a highway corridor and the alternate routes within the corridor. widening a roadway, replacing a culvert, or repairing a bridge. Because of this, the type and amount of data needed for planning studies can vary widely depending on such elements as environmental considerations, class of the proposed highway, state of land use development, and individual site conditions. The extraction of drainage networks provide helpful preliminary drainage data from the digital elevation model (DEM). A case study was carried out using the Arc Hydro extension within ArcGIS in the study area. It provides the means for processing and presenting spatially-referenced Stream Model. Study area’s flow routing, stream levels, segmentation, drainage point processing can be obtained using DEM as the 'Input surface raster'. These processes integrate the fields of hydrologic, engineering research, and environmental modeling in a multi-disciplinary program designed to provide decision makers with a science-based understanding, and innovative tools for, the development of interdisciplinary and multi-level approach. This research helps to manage transport project planning and construction phases to analyze the surficial water flow, high-level streams, wetland sites for development of transportation infrastructure planning, implementing, maintenance, monitoring and long-term evaluations to better face the challenges and solutions associated with effective management and enhancement to deal with Low, Medium, High levels of impact. Transport projects are frequently perceived as critical to the ‘success’ of major urban, metropolitan, regional and/or national development because of their potential to affect significant socio-economic and territorial change. In this context, sustaining and development of economic and social activities depend on having sufficient Water Resources Management. The results of our research provides a workflow to build a stream network how can classify suitability map according to stream levels. Transportation projects establish, develop, incorporate and deliver effectively by selecting best location for reducing construction maintenance costs, cost-effective solutions for drainage, landslide, flood control. According to model findings, field study should be done for filling gaps and checking for errors. In future researches, this study can be extended for determining and preventing possible damage of Sensitive Areas and Vulnerable Zones supported with field investigations.

Keywords: water resources management, hydro tool, water protection, transportation

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Authors: Mahdi Fakoor, Seyed Mohammad Navid Ghoreishi

Abstract:

Investigation of fracture of wood components can prevent from catastrophic failures. Created fracture process zone (FPZ) in crack tip vicinity has important effect on failure of cracked composite materials. In this paper, a failure criterion for fracture investigation of cracked wood specimens under mixed mode I/II loading is presented. This criterion is based on maximum strain energy release rate and material nonlinearity in the vicinity of crack tip due to presence of microcracks. Verification of results with available experimental data proves the coincidence of the proposed criterion with the nature of fracture of wood. To simplify the estimation of nonlinear properties of FPZ, a damage factor is also introduced for engineering and application purposes.

Keywords: fracture criterion, mixed mode loading, damage zone, micro cracks

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Authors: Rajendra Kumar Pandey

Abstract:

Forest genetic resources not only represent regional biodiversity but also have immense value as the wealth for securing livelihood of poor people. These are vulnerable to ecological due to depletion/deforestation and /or impact of climate change. These resources of various plant categories are vulnerable on the floor of natural tropical forests, and leading to the threat on the growth and development of future forests. More than 170 species, including NTFPs, are in critical condition for their survival in natural tropical forests of Central India. Forest degradation, commensurate with biodiversity loss, is now pervasive, disproportionately affecting the rural poor who directly depend on forests for their subsistence. Looking ahead the interaction between forest and water, soil, precipitation, climate change, etc. and its impact on biodiversity of tropical forests, it is inevitable to develop co-operation policies and programmes to address new emerging realities. Forests ecosystem also known as the 'wealth of poor' providing goods and ecosystem services on a sustainable basis, are now recognized as a stepping stone to move poor people beyond subsistence. Poverty alleviation is the prime objective of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). However, environmental sustainability including other MDGs, is essential to ensure successful elimination of poverty and well being of human society. Loss and degradation of ecosystem are the most serious threats to achieving development goals worldwide. Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA, 2005) was an attempt to identify provisioning and regulating cultural and supporting ecosystem services to provide livelihood security of human beings. Climate change may have a substantial impact on ecological structure and function of forests, provisioning, regulations and management of resources which can affect sustainable flow of ecosystem services. To overcome these limitations, policy guidelines with respect to planning and consistent research strategy need to be framed for conservation and sustainable development of forest genetic resources.

Keywords: climate change, forest ecosystem services, sustainable forest management, biodiversity conservation

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Authors: Se-Hyuk Park, Hee-Jung Seo

Abstract:

Previous studies have investigated effective coping strategies for excessive stress, positive adaptation, resilience, mental health, and personal growth. However, to the best of the authors' knowledge, little research has been conducted to investigate how Koreans with physical disabilities deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this study was to identify coping strategies and coping resources that Koreans with physical disabilities utilized during the COVID-19 crisis. This study used semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 15 participants. Data were qualitatively analyzed using the constant comparative method with content mapping and content mining questions. We identified three salient themes that were used by participants as coping strategies to deal with various COVID-related challenges: (a) engagement in meaningful activities, (b) improvement of social and emotional support, and (c) experience of resilience. The findings of the present study highlighted that Korean adults with SCI actively engaged in various leisure activities, maintained and developed closer social relationships, and experienced resilience to face COVID-19-related stressors. These coping strategies were noted as a catalyst for physical health as well as psychological well-being of individuals with SCI.

Keywords: spinal cord injury, covid-19 pandemic, coping strategies, coping resources, leisure

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Authors: Olanrewaju B. Lasisi

Abstract:

The position of Ijebu-Ode, the historical capital of the Ijebu Kingdom, at the center of gravity of Ijebu land is enclosed by the 180-km-long earthwork and suggests a centrally controlled project. This paper reflects on the first stratigraphic drawing of the banks and ditches of this earthwork, and place its construction mechanism in a chronological framework. Nine radiocarbon dates obtained at the site suggest that the earthwork was built in the late 14th or early 15th century. This suggests a relationship with the Ijebu Kingdom, which pre-existed the opening of the Atlantic trade but first became visible only in the Portuguese records in the 1480s. In June 2017, more earthworks were found but within the core of Ijebu Land. This most recent finding points to an extension of territory from the center to the outlying villages. One central question about this discovery of monumental architectures that was functional around the 14th century or before is in its mode of construction. Apparently, iron tools must have been used in the construction of ‘a 20m deep ditch that runs 180km in circumference.’ Thus, the discovery of iron-working sites around the vicinity of the earthwork is a pointer to this building process that is up till now shrouded in mystery. By comparing the chronology of Ijebu earthworks with the evidence of Iron working in south western Nigeria around the first half of the first millennium AD, it can be thought that the rise in polity triggered the knowledge of metallurgy in the region.

Keywords: archaeology, earthworks, Ijebu, metallurgy

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Authors: Daniel Suarez Alonso

Abstract:

Cybercrime is a growing international threat and a challenge for law enforcement agencies and judicial systems worldwide. International cooperation is necessary to solve this problem because cybercrime knows no borders and often involves multiple jurisdictions, being related to organised crime. The purpose of this article is to analyse international cooperation in the investigation and prosecution of cybercrime, focusing on the framework of the Regulation of the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (EUROPOL), cooperation that takes place between police authorities from different countries. It examines the legal and operational mechanisms in place to facilitate international cooperation in Europe in this area and assesses their effectiveness in the fight against cybercrime. In addition, the study of a Spanish investigation where cooperation with EUROPOL took place will be examined, analyzing how international cooperation was carried out to investigate and track down criminals. Lessons learned from this case will be discussed and recommendations for improving international cooperation in the fight against cybercrime will be proposed.

Keywords: Europol, international cooperation, cybercrime, computer crime, law

Procedia PDF Downloads 61