Search results for: religious law and order

Authors: Meseret Berhanie Menkir

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The present study explores folk dance, one of the folklore texts, its symbols, and its therapeutic role. As a case, the study concentrates on Astrio-Mariam and Merkorios Bera, celebrated on January 30 and February 3 at Deresgie-Mariam Church in Ethiopia. By taking a qualitative stance, the study analyses the meaning of folk dance, explains its role, and describes its types. The data gathered through observation, interview, and focus group discussion techniques are documented in field notes, audio, and video. The data obtained is analyzed using structural-functionalism, psychoanalysis, and semiotics. Accordingly, community members of all ages (mainly the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church followers) participate in the performance. While the folk dance is a type of small group dance and group dance, the group has no feature of using men and women performing together. The folk dance's role is a form of healing and spiritual fulfilment besides entertainment. The folk dance also has sword dance characteristics; the study confirmed this feature in content and form. Moreover, the folk dance characterized by frequent shoulder and hand movements Wancha likleka (Horn-mug spin), Doro metet (Chicken drink), and sword dance depict wealth, heroism, and warfare. The instruments used in the performances are also alive, with religious symbols reaching from the drum, incense, and cross to the suffering of Jesus Christ from Hanna to Qeyafa, and references to the 12 Apostles.

Keywords: folk dance, festival, ritual, symbol, therapeutic

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Authors: Georgiana Ciobotaru

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The vocabulary that foreign students assimilate once they start studying the Romanian language must allow them to develop the linguistic competence of oral and written expression, but also the intercultural one, necessary for their integration into the new socio-cultural environment. Therefore, the familiarization courses with Romanian as a foreign language aim at fundamental language acquisitions in order to obtain the expected level of Romanian language. They also relate differently to the new culture and the new language they come in contact with, having a distinct way of expressing themselves. Foreign students want to continue their university and postgraduate studies at specialized faculties in the country; therefore, they need both a general language for their integration into society and for interaction with others, Romanians or students from countries other than their own, but also from a specialized language that facilitates didactic communication and professional development. The complexity of the vocabulary must thus cover the daily communication needs, but also the subsequent evolution of each one. This paper aims to illustrate the most important semantic fields that students must assimilate in order to crystallize a linguistic identity in the new context of their personal and professional development and to help them cope with the culture shock.

Keywords: integration, intercultural, language, linguistic, vocabulary

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Authors: Xiaogang Li, Jieqiong Miao

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As for the problem of the grey forecasting model prediction accuracy is low, an improved grey prediction model is put forward. Firstly, use trigonometric function transform the original data sequence in order to improve the smoothness of data , this model called SGM( smoothness of grey prediction model), then combine the improved grey model with support vector machine , and put forward the grey support vector machine model (SGM - SVM).Before the establishment of the model, we use trigonometric functions and accumulation generation operation preprocessing data in order to enhance the smoothness of the data and weaken the randomness of the data, then use support vector machine (SVM) to establish a prediction model for pre-processed data and select model parameters using genetic algorithms to obtain the optimum value of the global search. Finally, restore data through the "regressive generate" operation to get forecasting data. In order to prove that the SGM-SVM model is superior to other models, we select the battery life data from calce. The presented model is used to predict life of battery and the predicted result was compared with that of grey model and support vector machines．For a more intuitive comparison of the three models, this paper presents root mean square error of this three different models .The results show that the effect of grey support vector machine (SGM-SVM) to predict life is optimal, and the root mean square error is only 3.18%. Keywords: grey forecasting model, trigonometric function, support vector machine, genetic algorithms, root mean square error

Keywords: Grey prediction model, trigonometric functions, support vector machines, genetic algorithms, root mean square error

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Authors: Changhong Guo, Shaomei Fang, Yong He

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In this paper, fractional Black-Scholes models for the European option pricing were established based on the fractional G-Brownian motion (fGBm), which generalizes the concepts of the classical Brownian motion, fractional Brownian motion and the G-Brownian motion, and that can be used to be a tool for considering the long range dependence and uncertain volatility for the financial markets simultaneously. A generalized fractional Black-Scholes equation (FBSE) was derived by using the Taylor’s series of fractional order and the theory of absence of arbitrage. Finally, some explicit option pricing formulas for the European call option and put option under the FBSE were also solved, which extended the classical option pricing formulas given by F. Black and M. Scholes.

Keywords: European option pricing, fractional Black-Scholes equations, fractional g-Brownian motion, Taylor's series of fractional order, uncertain volatility

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Authors: Sean O'Callaghan

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Around 2011/2012, a whole new genre of Christian religious writing began to emerge, focused on the role of advanced technologies, particularly the GRIN technologies (Genetics, Robotics, Information Technology and Nanotechnology), in bringing about a techno-apocalypse, leading to catastrophic events which would usher in the end of the world. This genre, at first niche, has now begun to grow in significance in many quarters of the more fundamentalist and biblically literalist branches of evangelicalism. It approaches science and technology with more than extreme skepticism. It accuses transhumanists of being in league with satanic powers and a satanic agenda and contextualizes transhumanist scientific progress in terms of its service to what it believes to be a soon to come Antichrist figure. The genre has moved beyond literature and videos about its message can be found on YouTube and other forums, where many of the presentations there get well over a quarter of a million views. This paper will examine the genre and its genesis, referring to the key figures involved in spreading the anti-intellectualist and anti-scientific message. It will demonstrate how this genre of writing is similar in many respects to other forms of apocalyptic writing which have emerged in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, all in response to both scientific and political events which are interpreted in the light of biblical prophecy. It will also set the genre in the context of a contemporary pre-occupation with conspiracy theory. The conclusions of the research conducted in this field by the author are that it does a grave disservice to both the scientific and Christian audiences which it targets, by misrepresenting scientific advances and by creating a hermeneutic of suspicion which makes it impossible for Christians to place their trust in scientific claims.

Keywords: antichrist, catastrophic, Christian, techno-apocalypse

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Authors: Tareq Al Muhareb, Jasper Graham-Jones

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The service quality is a significant element in aviation industry especially in the international airports. Through this paper, the researchers built a model based on Lean six sigma methodologies and applied it in the departure area at KKIA (King Khalid International Airport) in order to assess it. This model characterized with many special features that can become over the cultural differences in aviation industry since it is considered the most critical circumstance in this field. Applying the model of this study is depending on following the DMAIC procedure systemized in lean thinking aspects. This model of Lean-six-sigma as a managerial procedure is mostly focused on the change management culture that requires high level of planning, organizing, modifying, and controlling in order to benefit from strengths as well as revoke weaknesses.

Keywords: lean-six-sigma, service quality, aviation industry, KKIA (King Khalid International Airport), SERVQUAL

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Authors: Mona Alzahrani

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Microworld theories can help to define the many influences on female development. In this research, theories together with narratives have been used to discover the reality of children’s gender perceptions in Saudi Arabia. Today, Saudi Arabia is considered a ‘closed and conserved’ society due to tribal, cultural and religious factors. This study focuses on how young girls in Saudi Arabia learn about what is expected of them as females. Cultural beliefs and experiences contribute to children’s notions of identity. Moreover, significant others such as more experienced peers, teachers, parents, and other members of a society can influence a child’s development of knowledge through interactions within their social world. There are dominant influences from the Saudi State. These influences have very strong devices and perceptions of what or how a female should act and be. However, children may have other viewpoints, as it also needs to be considered that the Internet and other media sources could have an influence. Consequently, difficulties could exist for these young children to feel an authentic sense of belonging. The study gathered data using a multi-method approach that elicited the perspectives of the children using ‘multiple modes of expression’ such as observations, story-telling, picture prompt cards, group interviews, drawings and annotations. For this study, prompts and a book was devised, specifically, for use in a Saudi setting. It was found that Saudi young girls in preschool were heteronomous, mainly influenced by culture and society, in their perceptions of female gender and role.

Keywords: Saudi Arabia, pre-school, female, teachers, gender, identity, role

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Authors: P. Pramod Kumar, Madhu Salumari, V. V. Subba Rao

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Due to their high strength-to-weight ratio, carbon nanotube (CNTs) reinforced polymer composites are being considered as one of the most promising nanocomposites which can improve the performance when used in structural applications. The buckling behavior is one of the most important parameter needs to be considered in the design of structural members like beams and plates. In the present paper, the elastic constants of CNT reinforced polymer composites are evaluated by using Mori-Tanaka micromechanics approach. Knowing the elastic constants, an analytical study is being conducted to investigate the buckling behavior of nanocomposites for different CNT volume fractions at different boundary conditions using first-order shear deformation theory (FSDT). The effect of stacking sequence and CNT radius on the buckling of beam has also been presented. This study is being conducted primarily with an intension to find the stiffening effect of CNTs when used in polymer composites as reinforcement.

Keywords: CNT, buckling, micromechanics, FSDT

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Authors: Jianjun Wu, Fanhui Guo, Yixin Zhang

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In this study, gasification-coke were produced by blending the middlings (MC), and coking coal (CC) and a large proportion of long flame coal (Shenfu coal, SC), the effects of blending ratio were investigated. Mineral evolution and crystalline order obtained by XRD methods were reproduced within reasonable accuracy. Structure characteristics of partially gasification-coke such as surface area and porosity were determined using the N₂ adsorption and mercury porosimetry. Experimental data of gasification-coke was dominated by the TGA results provided trend, reactivity differences between gasification-cokes are discussed in terms of structure characteristic, crystallinity, and alkali index (AI). The first-order reaction equation was suitable for the gasification reaction kinetics of CO₂ atmosphere which was represented by the volumetric reaction model with linear correlation coefficient above 0.985. The differences in the microporous structure of gasification-coke and catalysis caused by the minerals in parent coals were supposed to be the main factors which affect its reactivity. The addition of MC made the samples enriched with a large amount of ash causing a higher surface area and a lower crystalline order to gasification-coke which was beneficial to gasification reaction. The higher SiO₂ and Al₂O₃ contents, causing a decreasing AI value and increasing activation energy, which reduced the gasification reaction activity. It was found that the increasing amount of MC got a better performance on the coke gasification reactivity by blending > 30% SC with this coking process.

Keywords: low-rank coal, middlings, structure characteristic, mineral evolution, alkali index, gasification-coke, gasification kinetics

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Authors: V. A. Adzika, D. Ayim-Aboagye, T. Gordh

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Background and aims: Prevalence of Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) is high in Ghana but not much is known in terms of research into non-medical strategies for managing and coping with the pain associated with SCD. This study was carried out to examine effective non-medical related strategies patients use to cope and manage their SCD condition. Methods: SCD patients (387) consisting of 180 males and 204 females between 18-65 years old years participated in the study. A cross-sectional research design was used in which participants completed questionnaires on pain, non-medical coping and management strategies, anxiety, and depression. Results of multiple regression analysis showed that socio-demographic characteristics contributed to the variance in the pain associated with SCD. Results: Over 90% of participants reported that pains associated with SCD were the main reason for seeking treatment in SCD crisis. In terms of non-medical related coping strategies, attending a place of worship and praying were the main coping strategies used in SCD crises, suggesting that patients’ beliefs, particularly in a supernatural being, served as a mitigating factor in the process of coping with the pain associated with SCD crisis. Also, avoidance and withdrawal from people and social activities were reported to be strategies used to cope effectively with the pain associated with SCD crisis. Conclusion: This indicates that it is imperative to incorporate non-medical related coping and management strategies, especially religious beliefs and psychosocial factors, to coping and management of the pain associated with SCD.

Keywords: anxiety, depression, sickle cell disease, quality of life, socio-demographic characteristics, Ghana

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Authors: H. R. Khodaei, M. Moradi, A. H. Tajik

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The type of foundation commonly used today for berthing dolphins is a set of tubular steel piles with large diameters, which are known as monopiles. The design of these monopiles is based on the theories related with laterally loaded piles. One of the most common methods to analyze and design the piles subjected to lateral loads is the p-y curves. In the present study, centrifuge tests are conducted in order to obtain the p-y curves. Series of tests were designed in order to investigate the scaling laws in the centrifuge for monotonic loading. Also, two important parameters, the embedded depth L of the pile in the soil and free length e of the pile, as well as their ratios were studied via five experimental tests. Finally, the p-y curves of API are presented to be compared with the curves obtained from the tests so that the differences could be demonstrated. The results show that the p-y curves proposed by API highly overestimate the lateral load bearing capacity. It suggests that these curves need correction and modification for each site as the soil conditions change.

Keywords: centrifuge modeling, monopile, lateral loading, p-y curves

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Authors: Hussain Hameed Mayuuf

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We may find multiple functions that are required to exist in order for meaning, in any certain context, to manifest and act accordingly. Pragmatic function and symbolic function need to be contributing in a combined effort towards that manifestation in order for meaning to be acquired or achieved from within a structure too complex to detect meaning in it by employing any other means. This paper inspects symbolism pragma-stylistically in literary texts. Thus, it principally aims at showing the ways writers utilize symbolism to contribute to the themes of their works and, consequently, pinpointing the most frequently flouted maxim involved in symbolic interpretations in addition to the reason(s) behind the writer's exploitation of that maxim in the literary work. E. E. Cummings' play Him constitutes rich data for the present study. Thus, to achieve its aims, the present study hypothesizes that the descriptions of scenes, the playwright’s remarks, and the characters’ references are all manipulated symbolically to contribute to the themes of the play. It is also hypothesized that the maxim of manner is the most frequently flouted maxim involved in symbolic interpretations in the play, which comes as a result of the intended ambiguity and obscurity manipulated in the descriptions of the scenes, the playwright’s remarks and the characters’ references. In order to achieve the aims of the study and test its hypotheses, a theoretical background about symbolism in general and symbolism from pragma-stylistic points of view is presented. Then, (six) extracts of Him according to Eco’s (1984) model Semiotics and the Philosophy of Language are analyzed. The findings of the analysis verify the above-mentioned hypotheses.

Keywords: pragmatic function, stylistic function, Symbolism, pragma-stylistics, Cummings

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Authors: Amir Hossein Ashari, Sedighe Erfan Manesh

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When investigating Iranian traditional and historical urban development, such as that seen in Shiraz, our attention is drawn to mosques as a focal point. Vakil Mosque in Shiraz is completely consistent, coordinated and integrated with the Bazaar, square and school. This is a significant example of traditional urban development. The position of the mosque in the most important urban joint near bazaar in a way that it is considered part of the bazaar structure are factors that have given it social, political, and economic roles in addition to the original religious role. These are among characteristics of sustainable development. The mosque has had an important effect in formation of the city because it is connected to main gates. In terms of access, the mosque has different main and peripheral access paths from different parts of the city. The courtyard of the mosque was located next to the main elements of the city so that it was considered as an urban open space, which made it a more active and more dynamic place. This study is carried out via library and field research with the purpose of finding strategies for taking advantage of useful features of the mosque in traditional urban development. These features include its role as a gathering center for people and city in sustainable urban development. Mosque can be used as a center for enhancing social interactions and creating a sense of association that leads to sustainable social space. These can act as a model which leads us to sustainable cities in terms of social and economic factors.

Keywords: mosque, traditional urban development, sustainable social space, Vakil Mosque, Shiraz

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Authors: Rachid Marzoug, Noureddine Lakouari, Beatriz Castillo Téllez, Margarita Castillo Téllez, Gerardo Alberto Mejía Pérez

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This paper developed a two-lane cellular automata model to explain the relationship between car accidents at a signalized intersection and traffic-related parameters. It is found that the increase of the lane-changing probability P?ₕ? increases the risk of accidents, besides, the inflow α and the probability of accidents Pₐ? exhibit a nonlinear relationship. Furthermore, depending on the inflow, Pₐ? exhibits three different phases. The transition from phase I to phase II is of first (second) order when P?ₕ?=0 (P?ₕ?>0). However, the system exhibits a second (first) order transition from phase II to phase III when P?ₕ?=0 (P?ₕ?>0). In addition, when the inflow is not very high, the green light length of one road should be increased to improve road safety. Finally, simulation results show that the traffic at the intersection is safer adopting symmetric lane-changing rules than asymmetric ones.

Keywords: two-lane intersection, accidents, fatality risk, lane-changing, phase transition

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Authors: Manee Arpanantikul, Pennapa Unsanit, Dolrat Rujiwatthanakorn, Aporacha Lumdubwong

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In order to continuously perform self-care based on the sufficiency economy philosophy for the length of women’s lives is not easy. However, there are different ways that women can use to carry out self-care activities regularly. Some women individually perform self-care while others perform self-care in groups. Little is known about ways to sustaining self-care of women based on the fundamental principle of Thai culture. The purpose of this study was to investigate ways to sustaining self-care based on the sufficiency economy philosophy of Thai middle-aged women living in the community in order to achieve future healthy aging. This study employed a qualitative research design. Twenty women who were willing to participate in this study were recruited. Data collection were conducted through in-depth interviews with tape recording, doing field notes, and observation. All interviews were transcribed verbatim, and data were analyzed by using content analysis. The findings showed ways to sustaining self-care of Thai community women to achieve future healthy aging consisting of 7 themes: 1) having determination, 2) having a model, 3) developing a leader, 4) carrying on performing activities, 5) setting up rules, 6) building self-care culture, and 7) developing a self-care group/network. The findings of this study suggested that in order to achieve self-care sustainability women should get to know themselves, have intention and belief, together with having the power of community and support. Therefore, having self-care constantly will prevent disease and promote healthy in women’s lives.

Keywords: qualitative research, sufficiency economy philosophy, Thai middle-aged women, ways to sustaining self-care

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Authors: Bharti Gupta, V. K. Kukreja

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A comprehensive numerical study is presented for the solution of time-dependent advection diffusion problems by using cubic B-spline collocation method. The linear combination of cubic B-spline basis, taken as approximating function, is evaluated using the zeros of shifted Chebyshev polynomials as collocation points in each element to obtain the best approximation. A comparison, on the basis of efficiency and accuracy, with the previous techniques is made which confirms the superiority of the proposed method. An asymptotic convergence analysis of technique is also discussed, and the method is found to be of order two. The theoretical analysis is supported with suitable examples to show second order convergence of technique. Different numerical examples are simulated using MATLAB in which the 3-D graphical presentation has taken at different time steps as well as different domain of interest.

Keywords: cubic B-spline basis, spectral norms, shifted Chebyshev polynomials, collocation points, error estimates

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Authors: Naragain Phumchusri, Krisada Roekdethawesab, Manoj Lohatepanont

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Overbooking is an approach of selling more goods or services than available capacities because sellers anticipate that some buyers will not show-up or may cancel their bookings. At present, many airlines deploy overbooking strategy in order to deal with the uncertainty of their customers. Particularly, some airlines sell more cargo capacity than what they have available to freight forwarders with beliefs that some of them will cancel later. In this paper, we propose methods to find the optimal overbooking level of volume and weight for air cargo in order to minimize the total cost, containing cost of spoilage and cost of offloaded. Cancellations of volume and weight are jointly random variables with a known joint distribution. Heuristic approaches applying the idea of weight and volume independency is considered to find an appropriate answer to the full problem. Computational experiments are used to explore the performance of approaches presented in this paper, as compared to a naïve method under different scenarios.

Keywords: air cargo overbooking, offloading capacity, optimal overbooking level, revenue management, spoilage capacity

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Authors: Yihua Wang, Yunru Lai

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Statistical process control has been successfully applied in a variety of industries. In some applications, the quality of a process or product is better characterized and summarized by a functional relationship between a response variable and one or more explanatory variables. A collection of this type of data is called a profile. Profile monitoring is used to understand and check the stability of this relationship or curve over time. The independent assumption for the error term is commonly used in the existing profile monitoring studies. However, in many applications, the profile data show correlations over time. Therefore, we focus on a general linear regression model with a first-order autocorrelation between profiles in this study. We propose an exponentially weighted moving average charting scheme to monitor this type of profile. The simulation study shows that our proposed methods outperform the existing schemes based on the average run length criterion.

Keywords: autocorrelation, EWMA control chart, general linear regression model, profile monitoring

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Authors: Eugene Y. C. Wong

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The increased market competition, customer expectation, and warehouse operating cost in third-party logistics have motivated the continuous exploration in improving operation efficiency in warehouse logistics. Cargo tracing in ordering picking process consumes excessive time for warehouse operators when handling enormous quantities of goods flowing through the warehouse each day. Internet of Things (IoT) with mobile cargo tracing apps and database management systems are developed this research to facilitate and reduce the cargo tracing time in order picking process of a third-party logistics firm. An operation review is carried out in the firm with opportunities for improvement being identified, including inaccurate inventory record in warehouse management system, excessive tracing time on stored products, and product misdelivery. The facility layout has been improved by modifying the designated locations of various types of products. The relationship among the pick and pack processing time, cargo tracing time, delivery accuracy, inventory turnover, and inventory count operation time in the warehouse are evaluated. The correlation of the factors affecting the overall cycle time is analysed. A mobile app is developed with the use of MIT App Inventor and the Access management database to facilitate cargo tracking anytime anywhere. The information flow framework from warehouse database system to cloud computing document-sharing, and further to the mobile app device is developed. The improved performance on cargo tracing in the order processing cycle time of warehouse operators have been collected and evaluated. The developed mobile voice picking and tracking systems brings significant benefit to the third-party logistics firm, including eliminating unnecessary cargo tracing time in order picking process and reducing warehouse operators overtime cost. The mobile tracking device is further planned to enhance the picking time and cycle count of warehouse operators with voice picking system in the developed mobile apps as future development.

Keywords: warehouse, order picking process, cargo tracing, mobile app, third-party logistics

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Authors: S. Mehrab Amiri, Nasser Talebbeydokhti

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Modeling sediment transport processes by means of numerical approach often poses severe challenges. In this way, a number of techniques have been suggested to solve flow and sediment equations in decoupled, semi-coupled or fully coupled forms. Furthermore, in order to capture flow discontinuities, a number of techniques, like artificial viscosity and shock fitting, have been proposed for solving these equations which are mostly required careful calibration processes. In this research, a numerical scheme for solving shallow water and Exner equations in fully coupled form is presented. First-Order Centered scheme is applied for producing required numerical fluxes and the reconstruction process is carried out toward using Monotonic Upstream Scheme for Conservation Laws to achieve a high order scheme.  In order to satisfy C-property of the scheme in presence of bed topography, Surface Gradient Method is proposed. Combining the presented scheme with fourth order Runge-Kutta algorithm for time integration yields a competent numerical scheme. In addition, to handle non-prismatic channels problems, Cartesian Cut Cell Method is employed. A trained Multi-Layer Perceptron Artificial Neural Network which is of Feed Forward Back Propagation (FFBP) type estimates sediment flow discharge in the model rather than usual empirical formulas. Hydrodynamic part of the model is tested for showing its capability in simulation of flow discontinuities, transcritical flows, wetting/drying conditions and non-prismatic channel flows. In this end, dam-break flow onto a locally non-prismatic converging-diverging channel with initially dry bed conditions is modeled. The morphodynamic part of the model is verified simulating dam break on a dry movable bed and bed level variations in an alluvial junction. The results show that the model is capable in capturing the flow discontinuities, solving wetting/drying problems even in non-prismatic channels and presenting proper results for movable bed situations. It can also be deducted that applying Artificial Neural Network, instead of common empirical formulas for estimating sediment flow discharge, leads to more accurate results.

Keywords: artificial neural network, morphodynamic model, sediment continuity equation, shallow water equations

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Authors: Asad Salahuddin

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Crime rates seem to be severely augmenting over the past several years in Pakistan which has perpetuated concerns as to what, when and how this upsurge will be eradicated. State institutions are posed to be in utmost perplexity, given the enormity of worsening law and order situation, compelling government on the flip side to expend more resources in strengthening institutions to confront crime, whereas, the economy has been confronted with massive energy crisis, mass unemployment and considerable inflation which has rendered most of the people into articulate apprehension as to how to satisfy basic necessities. A framework to investigate the variability in the rising street crimes, as affected by social and institutional outcomes, has been established using a cross-sectional study. Questionnaire, entailing 7 sections incorporating numerous patterns of behavior and history of involvement in different crimes for potential street criminals was observed as data collection instrument. In order to specifically explicate the intent of street crimes on micro level, various motivational and de-motivational factors that stimulate people to resort to street crimes were scrutinized. Intent of mobile snatching and intent of street assault as potential dependent variables were examined using numerous variables that influence the occurrence and intent of these crimes using ordered probit along with ordered logit and tobit as competing models. Model Estimates asserts that intent of mobile snatching has been significantly enhanced owing to perceived judicial inefficiency and lower ability of police reforms to operate effectively, which signifies the inefficiency of institutions that are entitled to deliver justice and maintaining law and order respectively. Whereas, intent of street assaults, as an outcome, affirms that people with lack of self-stability and severe childhood punishments were more tempted to be involved in violent acts. Hence, it is imperative for government to render better resources in form of training, equipment and improved salaries to police and judiciary in order to enhance their abilities and potential to curb inflating crime.

Keywords: deprivation, street assault, self control, police reform

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Authors: Shadi Kanan, Ghada Shahrour, Barbara Broome, Donna Bernert, Muntaha Alibrahim, Dana Hansen

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Coronary artery disease is responsible for over 7 million deaths a year worldwide. In developing countries, such as Jordan, the incidence of coronary artery disease exceeds that of developed countries. One contributing factor to this disparity is decreased physical activity among the population, for reasons related to specific cultural and religious values. Using the theory of planned behaviour, the purpose of this study was to investigate the intentions of Jordanian patients with coronary artery disease regarding physical activity. A total of 109 patients with coronary artery disease were recruited for this cross-sectional study from King Abdullah University Hospital in Jordan. A 15-item questionnaire based on the theory of planned behaviour was used to assess participants’ attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control and intentions towards engagement in physical activity. Perceived behavioural control was found to have the strongest significant relationship with participants’ intentions to engage in physical activity. Barriers to physical activity included lack of time, lack of support from family or friends, and feelings of exhaustion. Lifestyle interventions for patients with coronary artery disease should focus on fostering a sense of control over the environment to encourage patients to engage in physical activity.

Keywords: coronary artery disease, perceived behavioural control, subjective norms, theory of planned behaviour

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Authors: Cristian Pauna

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Trading the financial markets is a widespread activity today. A large number of investors, companies, public of private funds are buying and selling every day in order to make profit. Algorithmic trading is the prevalent method to make the trade decisions after the electronic trading release. The orders are sent almost instantly by computers using mathematical models. This paper will present a price prediction methodology based on a multi-dimensional neural network. Using the Fisher transform, the neural network will be instructed for a low-latency auto-adaptive process in order to predict the price evolution for the next period of time. The model is designed especially for algorithmic trading and uses the real-time price series. It was found that the characteristics of the Fisher function applied at the nodes scale level can generate reliable trading signals using the neural network methodology. After real time tests it was found that this method can be applied in any timeframe to trade the financial markets. The paper will also include the steps to implement the presented methodology into an automated trading system. Real trading results will be displayed and analyzed in order to qualify the model. As conclusion, the compared results will reveal that the neural network methodology applied together with the Fisher transform at the nodes level can generate a good price prediction and can build reliable trading signals for algorithmic trading.

Keywords: algorithmic trading, automated trading systems, financial markets, high-frequency trading, neural network

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Authors: Ahmed Tahsin Shams

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The right to dissent through any form of art has been facing challenges through various strict legal measures, particularly since 2018 when the Government of Bangladesh passed the Digital Security Act 2018 (DSA). Therefore, the references to ‘popular’ culture mostly include mainstream religious and national festivals and exclude critical intellectual representation of specific political allusions in any form of storytelling: whether wall art or fiction writing, since the post-DSA period in Bangladesh. Through inductive quantitative and qualitative methodological approaches, this paper aims to study the pattern of censorship, detention or custodial tortures against artists and the banning approach by the Bangladeshi government in the last five years, specifically against static visual arts, i.e., cartoon and wall art. The pattern drawn from these data attempts to redefine the popular notion of ‘pop culture’ as an unorganized folk or mass culture. The results also hypothesize how the post-DSA period forcefully constructs ‘pop culture’ as a very organized repetitive deception of enlightenment or entertainment. Thus the argument theorizes that this censoring trend is a fascist approach making the artists subaltern. So, in this socio-political context, these two similar and overlapping elements: culture and art, are vastly separated in two streams: the former being appreciated by the power, and the latter is a fearful concern for the power. Therefore, the purpose of art also shifts from entertainment to an act of rebellion, adding more layers to the new postmodern definition of ‘pop culture.’

Keywords: popular culture, visual arts, censoring trend, fascist approach, subaltern, digital security act

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Authors: F. L. Bernardo, R. A. S. Zacarias

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The ways to translate are manifold since textual genres undergoing translations are diverse. In this essay, our goal is to give special attention to the literary genre and to the online translation tool Google Translate (GT), widely used either by nonprofessionals or by scholars, in order to show evidence of the indispensability of human wit in a good translation. Our study has its basis on a literary review of prominent authors, with emphasis on translation categories. Also highlighting the issue of polysemous literary translation, we aim to shed light on the translator’s craft and the fallible nature of online translation. To better illustrate these principles, the methodology consisted on performing a comparative analysis involving the original text Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe in English to its online translation given by GT and to a translation into Brazilian Portuguese performed by a human. We proceeded to identifying and analyzing the degrees of textual equivalence according to the following categories: volume, levels and order. The results have attested the unsuitability in a translation done by a computer connected to the World Wide Web.

Keywords: Google Translator, human translation, literary translation, Moll Flanders

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Authors: Hilary Rutto, Linda Sibali

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In this study, the adsorption of lead and zinc ions from aqueous solutions by modified millet husk has been investigated. The effects of different parameters, such as pH, adsorbent dosage, concentration, temperature, and contact time, have been investigated. The results of the experiments showed that the adsorption of both metal ions increased by increasing pH values up to 11. Adsorption process was initially fast. The adsorption rate decreased then until it reached to equilibrium time of 120 min for both lead and zinc ions. The Langmuir, Freundlich, Dubinin-Radushkevich (D-R), and thermodynamic models (Gibbs free energy) were used to determine the isotherm parameters associated with the adsorption process. The positive values of Gibbs free energy change indicated that reaction is not spontaneous. Experimental data were also evaluated in terms of kinetic characteristics of adsorption, and it was found that adsorption process for both metal ions followed pseudo-first order for zinc and pseudo-second-order for lead.

Keywords: zinc, lead, adsorption, millet husks

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Authors: Nahid H. Hajrah, Jamal S. M. Sabir, Neil Hall

Abstract:

The jasmonic pathway is ubiquitous in plants and is crucial to plant development. It Is involved in fertility, ripening, and sex determination as well as in response to environmental stresses such as herbivory, pathogen drought or temperature shock. Essentially the jasmonic pathway acts to shut down growth in order to induce defence pathways. These pathways include the production of secondary metabolites which have evolved to defend against herbivores and pathogens but are of increasing interest due to their roll in medicine and biotechnology. Here we describe the transcriptional response of Rhazia stricta (a poisonous shrub widely used in traditional medicine) to jasmonic acid, in order to better characterize the genes involved in secondary metabolite production and its response to stress. We observe coordinated upregulation of flavonoid biosynthesis pathway leading to flavonols, flavones and anthocyanins but no similar coordination of the monoterpene indole alkaloid pathway.

Keywords: medicinal plants, Rhazia stricta, jasmonic acid, transcriptional analysis

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Authors: Christopher I. Ifeacho, Adeleke Omolade

Abstract:

The paper examines the relationship between energy price dynamics and green growth in Sub Sahara African Countries. The quest for adopting green energy in order to improve green growth that can engender sustainability and stability has received more attention from researchers in recent times. This study uses a panel autoregressive distributed lag approach to investigate this relationship. Findings from the result showed that energy price dynamics and exchange rates have more short-run significant impacts on green growth in individual countries rather than the pooled result. Furthermore, the long-run result confirmed that inflation and capital have a significant long-run relationship with green growth. The causality test result revealed the existence of a bi-directional relationship between green growth and energy price dynamics. The study recommends caution in a currency devaluation and improvement in renewable energy production in the Sub Sahara Africa in order to achieve sustainable green growth.

Keywords: green growth, energy price dynamics, Sub Saharan Africa, relationship

Procedia PDF Downloads 99

Authors: Jether Gomes, Thiago M. R. Dias, Gray F. Moita

Abstract:

The production and publication of scientific works have increased significantly in the last years, being the Internet the main factor of access and diffusion of these. In view of this, researchers from several areas of knowledge have carried out several studies on scientific production data in order to analyze phenomena and trends about science. The understanding of how research has evolved can, for example, serve as a basis for building scientific policies for further advances in science and stimulating research groups to become more productive. In this context, the objective of this work is to analyze the main research topics investigated along the trajectory of the Brazilian science of researchers working in the areas of engineering, in order to map scientific knowledge and identify topics in highlights. To this end, studies are carried out on the frequency and relationship of the keywords of the set of scientific articles registered in the existing curricula in the Lattes Platform of each one of the selected researchers, counting with the aid of bibliometric analysis features.

Keywords: research topics, bibliometrics, topics of interest, Lattes Platform

Procedia PDF Downloads 221

Authors: M. Fakharian, M. I. Khodakarami

Abstract:

In this paper, a new trend for improvement in semi-analytical method based on scale boundaries in order to solve the 2D elastodynamic problems is provided. In this regard, only the boundaries of the problem domain discretization are by specific sub-parametric elements. Mapping functions are uses as a class of higher-order Lagrange polynomials, special shape functions, Gauss-Lobatto -Legendre numerical integration, and the integral form of the weighted residual method, the matrix is diagonal coefficients in the equations of elastodynamic issues. Differences between study conducted and prior research in this paper is in geometry production procedure of the interpolation function and integration of the different is selected. Validity and accuracy of the present method are fully demonstrated through two benchmark problems which are successfully modeled using a few numbers of DOFs. The numerical results agree very well with the analytical solutions and the results from other numerical methods.

Keywords: 2D elastodynamic problems, lagrange polynomials, G-L-Lquadrature, decoupled SBFEM

Procedia PDF Downloads 444