Search results for: comparative constitutional law
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 2760

Search results for: comparative constitutional law

1410 Gait Biometric for Person Re-Identification

Authors: Lavanya Srinivasan

Abstract:

Biometric identification is to identify unique features in a person like fingerprints, iris, ear, and voice recognition that need the subject's permission and physical contact. Gait biometric is used to identify the unique gait of the person by extracting moving features. The main advantage of gait biometric to identify the gait of a person at a distance, without any physical contact. In this work, the gait biometric is used for person re-identification. The person walking naturally compared with the same person walking with bag, coat, and case recorded using longwave infrared, short wave infrared, medium wave infrared, and visible cameras. The videos are recorded in rural and in urban environments. The pre-processing technique includes human identified using YOLO, background subtraction, silhouettes extraction, and synthesis Gait Entropy Image by averaging the silhouettes. The moving features are extracted from the Gait Entropy Energy Image. The extracted features are dimensionality reduced by the principal component analysis and recognised using different classifiers. The comparative results with the different classifier show that linear discriminant analysis outperforms other classifiers with 95.8% for visible in the rural dataset and 94.8% for longwave infrared in the urban dataset.

Keywords: biometric, gait, silhouettes, YOLO

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1409 Application of the Piloting Law Based on Adaptive Differentiators via Second Order Sliding Mode for a Fixed Wing Aircraft

Authors: Zaouche Mohammed, Amini Mohammed, Foughali Khaled, Hamissi Aicha, Aktouf Mohand Arezki, Boureghda Ilyes

Abstract:

In this paper, we present a piloting law based on the adaptive differentiators via high order sliding mode controller, by using an aircraft in virtual simulated environment. To deal with the design of an autopilot controller, we propose a framework based on Software in the Loop (SIL) methodology and we use MicrosoftTM Flight Simulator (FS-2004) as the environment for plane simulation. The aircraft dynamic model is nonlinear, Multi-Input Multi-Output (MIMO) and tightly coupled. The nonlinearity resides in the dynamic equations and also in the aerodynamic coefficients' variability. In our case, two (02) aircrafts are used in the flight tests, the Zlin-142 and MQ-1 Predator. For both aircrafts and in a very low altitude flight, we send the piloting control inputs to the aircraft which has stalled due to a command disconnection. Then, we present the aircraft’s dynamic behavior analysis while reestablishing the command transmission. Finally, a comparative study between the two aircraft’s dynamic behaviors is presented.

Keywords: adaptive differentiators, second order sliding modes, dynamic adaptation of the gains, microsoft flight simulator, Zlin-142, MQ-1 predator

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1408 Effect of Demineralized Water Purity on the Corrosion Behavior of Steel Alloys

Authors: A. M. El-Aziz, M. Elsehamy, H. Hussein

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Steel or stainless steel have reasonable corrosion behavior in water, their corrosion resistance is significantly dependent on the water purity. It was not expected that demineralized water has an aggressive effect on steel alloys, in this study, the effect of water with different purity on steel X52 and stainless steel 316L was investigated. Weight loss and electrochemical measurements were employed to measure the corrosion behavior. Samples were microscopically investigated after test. It was observed that the higher the water purity the more reactive it is. Comparative analysis of the potentiodynamic curves for different water purity showed the aggressiveness of the demineralised water (conductivity of 0.05 microSiemens per cm) over the distilled water. Whereas, the corrosion rates of stainless steel 858 and 623 nm/y for demi and distilled water respectively. On the other hand, the corrosion rates of carbon steel x52 were estimated about 4.8 and 3.6 µm/y for demi and distilled water, respectively. Open circuit potential (OCP) recorded more positive potentials in case of stainless steel than carbon steel in different water purities. Generally, stainless steel illustrated high pitting resistance than carbon steel alloy, the surface film was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and analyzed by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). This behavior was explained based on that demi and distilled water might be considered as ‘hungry water’ in which it wants to be in equilibrium and will pull ions out of the surrounding metals trying to satisfy its ‘hunger’.

Keywords: corrosion, demineralized water, distilled water, steel alloys

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1407 A Review on Thermal Conductivity of Bio-Based Carbon Nanotubes

Authors: Gloria A. Adewumi, Andrew C. Eloka-Eboka, Freddie L. Inambao

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Bio-based carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have received considerable research attention due to their comparative advantages of high level stability, simplistic use, low toxicity and overall environmental friendliness. New potentials for improvement in heat transfer applications are presented due to their high aspect ratio, high thermal conductivity and special surface area. Phonons have been identified as being responsible for thermal conductivities in carbon nanotubes. Therefore, understanding the mechanism of heat conduction in CNTs involves investigating the difference between the varieties of phonon modes and knowing the kinds of phonon modes that play the dominant role. In this review, a reference to a different number of studies is made and in addition, the role of phonon relaxation rate mainly controlled by boundary scattering and three-phonon Umklapp scattering process was investigated. Results show that the phonon modes are sensitive to a number of nanotube conditions such as: diameter, length, temperature, defects and axial strain. At a low temperature (<100K) the thermal conductivity increases with increasing temperature. A small nanotube size causes phonon quantization which is evident in the thermal conductivity at low temperatures.

Keywords: carbon nanotubes, phonons, thermal conductivity, Umklapp process

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1406 Bioprotective Role of Soil Borne Bacillus Strains against Selected Fungal Pathogens of Agriculture Relevance

Authors: Asad Ali, Asif Jamal

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The agriculture productivity losses due to microbial pathogens have been a serious issue in Pakistan and rest of the world. Present work was designed to isolate soil borne microorganisms having the antagonistic ability against notorious phytopathogens. From the initial collection of 23 bacterial isolates, two potent strains of Bacillus were screened on the basis of their comparative efficacy against devastating fungal pathogens. The strains AK-1 and AK-5 showed excellent inhibitory indexes against the majority of tested fungal strains. It was noted that both strains of Bacillus showed significant biocontrolling activity against Aspergillus flavus, Fusarium moniliforme, Colletotricum falcatum, Botrytis cinerea, Aspergillus niger, Fusarium oxysporum, Phythopthora capsici and Rhizopus oryzae. The strain AK-1 was efficient to suppress Aspergillus species and Rhizopus oryzae while AK-5 expressed significant antagonistic activity against Fusarium, Botrytis and Colletotricum species. On the basis of in vitro assay, it can be postulated that the Bacillus strains AK-1 and AK-5 can be used as bio-protective agent against various plant diseases. In addition, their applications as natural pesticides could be very helpful to prevent the adverse effects of chemical pesticides.

Keywords: bacillus species, biocontrol agent, biopesticides, phytopathogens

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1405 From a Distance: A Grounded Theory Study of Incarcerated Filipino Elderly's Separation Anxiety

Authors: Allan B. de Guzman, Rochelle Gabrielle R. Gatan, Ira Bianca Mae G. Gesmundo, Astley Justine H. Golosinda

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Background: While in prison, the elderly, like the younger prisoners, face specific problems and deprivations arising directly from their imprisonment, one of which is forced separation from family and loved ones. Despite the numerous studies that examined the impact of separation and separation anxiety on the emotions and behavior of young individuals, little is known about separation anxiety in the elderly population. Objective: This grounded theory study purports to describe the process of separation anxiety among incarcerated Filipino elderly men. Method: Individual interviews and participant observations were conducted with 25 incarcerated elderly Filipino men who are first-time prisoners, sentenced to lifetime imprisonment and were analyzed using constant comparative method. Results: Following Strauss and Corbin’s protocol, a four-part process emerged to describe the studied layer of human experience. The Tectonic Model of Separation Anxiety among incarcerated Filipino elderly men comprises of four phases: Winkling, Wilting, Weeding, and Weaving. Conclusion: This study has inductively and creatively explored the process of separation anxiety among the Filipino incarcerated elderly men. Findings of this study invite nurses and other clinicians to identify developmentally appropriate strategies and interventions for this vulnerable and neglected sector of society.

Keywords: elderly, grounded theory, separation anxiety, Filipino, incarcerated

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1404 Conceptualizing the Moroccan Amazigh

Authors: Sanaa Riaz

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The free people, Amazigh (plural Imazighen), often known by the more popular exonym, Berber, are spread across several North African countries with the highest population in Morocco have been substantially misunderstood and differentially showcased by entities from western-school educated scholars to human, health and women’s rights organizations, to the State to the international community. This paper is an examination of the various conceptualization of the Imazighen. With the popularity of the Arab Spring movement to oust monarchical and dictatorial rulers across the Middle East and North Africa in Morocco, the Moroccan monarchy introduced various reform programs to win public favor. These included social, economic and educational reforms to incorporate marginalized groups such as the Imazighen. The monarchy has ushered Amazigh representation in public offices and landscape through Amazigh script, even though theirs has been an oral culture. After the Arab Spring, the Justice and Development party, an Islamist party took over in Morocco due to its accessibility to the masses, In Sept. 2021, unlike the case of Egypt and Tunisia where military and constitutional means were sought, Morocco successfully removed it from power through the ballot, resulting in a real victory for the neutral monarchy and its representation as a moderate, secular and liberal force for the nation. As a result, supporting the perpetuation of Amazigh linguistic identity also became synonymous to making a secular statement as a Muslim. It has led to the telling of Amazigh identity at state museums as one representing the indigenous, pure, diverse, culturally-rich and united Morocco. Reform efforts have also prioritized an amiable look towards the economic and familial links of Moroccan Jews with the few thousand families still left in the country and a showcasing through museums and cultural centers of the Jewish identity as Moroccan first. In that endeavor, it is interesting to note the coverage of Jews as the indigenous of Morocco through the embracing of their “folk” cultural and religious practices, those that are not continued outside Morocco. In this epistemology, the concept of the Moroccan Jew becomes similar to the indigenous Amazigh, both cherished as the oldest peoples of Morocco and symbols of its unity and resilience. In the urban discourse, Amazigh identity is a concept that continues to be part of the deliberations of elites and scholars graduating from French schools on the incorporation of rural and illiterate Morocco in economic and educational advancement. Yet, with the constant influx of migrants from Western Sahara into cities like Fez and Marrakesh, Amazigh has often been described as the umbrella term of those of “mixed” ethnic ancestry who constitute the country’s free population. In sum, Amazigh identity highlights the changing discourse on marginalized communities, human rights, representation, Moroccan nationhood, and regional and transnational politics. The aim of this paper is to analyze perceptions of Amazigh identity in Morocco post-2021 ousting of the Islamist party using data from state-sponsored museum displays and cultural centers collected in Summer 2022 and scholarly analyses of Amazigh identity, representation and rights in Morocco.

Keywords: Amazigh identity, Morocco, representation, state politics

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1403 Comparative Analysis of the Computer Methods' Usage for Calculation of Hydrocarbon Reserves in the Baltic Sea

Authors: Pavel Shcherban, Vlad Golovanov

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Nowadays, the depletion of hydrocarbon deposits on the land of the Kaliningrad region leads to active geological exploration and development of oil and natural gas reserves in the southeastern part of the Baltic Sea. LLC 'Lukoil-Kaliningradmorneft' implements a comprehensive program for the development of the region's shelf in 2014-2023. Due to heterogeneity of reservoir rocks in various open fields, as well as with ambiguous conclusions on the contours of deposits, additional geological prospecting and refinement of the recoverable oil reserves are carried out. The key element is use of an effective technique of computer stock modeling at the first stage of processing of the received data. The following step uses information for the cluster analysis, which makes it possible to optimize the field development approaches. The article analyzes the effectiveness of various methods for reserves' calculation and computer modelling methods of the offshore hydrocarbon fields. Cluster analysis allows to measure influence of the obtained data on the development of a technical and economic model for mining deposits. The relationship between the accuracy of the calculation of recoverable reserves and the need of modernization of existing mining infrastructure, as well as the optimization of the scheme of opening and development of oil deposits, is observed.

Keywords: cluster analysis, computer modelling of deposits, correction of the feasibility study, offshore hydrocarbon fields

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1402 Hierarchical Filtering Method of Threat Alerts Based on Correlation Analysis

Authors: Xudong He, Jian Wang, Jiqiang Liu, Lei Han, Yang Yu, Shaohua Lv

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Nowadays, the threats of the internet are enormous and increasing; however, the classification of huge alert messages generated in this environment is relatively monotonous. It affects the accuracy of the network situation assessment, and also brings inconvenience to the security managers to deal with the emergency. In order to deal with potential network threats effectively and provide more effective data to improve the network situation awareness. It is essential to build a hierarchical filtering method to prevent the threats. In this paper, it establishes a model for data monitoring, which can filter systematically from the original data to get the grade of threats and be stored for using again. Firstly, it filters the vulnerable resources, open ports of host devices and services. Then use the entropy theory to calculate the performance changes of the host devices at the time of the threat occurring and filter again. At last, sort the changes of the performance value at the time of threat occurring. Use the alerts and performance data collected in the real network environment to evaluate and analyze. The comparative experimental analysis shows that the threat filtering method can effectively filter the threat alerts effectively.

Keywords: correlation analysis, hierarchical filtering, multisource data, network security

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1401 A Novel Breast Cancer Detection Algorithm Using Point Region Growing Segmentation and Pseudo-Zernike Moments

Authors: Aileen F. Wang

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Mammography has been one of the most reliable methods for early detection and diagnosis of breast cancer. However, mammography misses about 17% and up to 30% of breast cancers due to the subtle and unstable appearances of breast cancer in their early stages. Recent computer-aided diagnosis (CADx) technology using Zernike moments has improved detection accuracy. However, it has several drawbacks: it uses manual segmentation, Zernike moments are not robust, and it still has a relatively high false negative rate (FNR)–17.6%. This project will focus on the development of a novel breast cancer detection algorithm to automatically segment the breast mass and further reduce FNR. The algorithm consists of automatic segmentation of a single breast mass using Point Region Growing Segmentation, reconstruction of the segmented breast mass using Pseudo-Zernike moments, and classification of the breast mass using the root mean square (RMS). A comparative study among the various algorithms on the segmentation and reconstruction of breast masses was performed on randomly selected mammographic images. The results demonstrated that the newly developed algorithm is the best in terms of accuracy and cost effectiveness. More importantly, the new classifier RMS has the lowest FNR–6%.

Keywords: computer aided diagnosis, mammography, point region growing segmentation, pseudo-zernike moments, root mean square

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1400 Roasting Process of Sesame Seeds Modelling Using Gene Expression Programming: A Comparative Analysis with Response Surface Methodology

Authors: Alime Cengiz, Talip Kahyaoglu

Abstract:

Roasting process has the major importance to obtain desired aromatic taste of nuts. In this study, two kinds of roasting process were applied to hulled sesame seeds - vacuum oven and hot air roasting. Efficiency of Gene Expression Programming (GEP), a new soft computing technique of evolutionary algorithm that describes the cause and effect relationships in the data modelling system, and response surface methodology (RSM) were examined in the modelling of roasting processes over a range of temperature (120-180°C) for various times (30-60 min). Color attributes (L*, a*, b*, Browning Index (BI)), textural properties (hardness and fracturability) and moisture content were evaluated and modelled by RSM and GEP. The GEP-based formulations and RSM approach were compared with experimental results and evaluated according to correlation coefficients. The results showed that both GEP and RSM were found to be able to adequately learn the relation between roasting conditions and physical and textural parameters of roasted seeds. However, GEP had better prediction performance than the RSM with the high correlation coefficients (R2 >0.92) for the all quality parameters. This result indicates that the soft computing techniques have better capability for describing the physical changes occuring in sesame seeds during roasting process.

Keywords: genetic expression programming, response surface methodology, roasting, sesame seed

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1399 The Impact of the General Data Protection Regulation on Human Resources Management in Schools

Authors: Alexandra Aslanidou

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The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), concerning the protection of natural persons within the European Union with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, became applicable in the European Union (EU) on 25 May 2018 and transformed the way personal data were being treated under the Data Protection Directive (DPD) regime, generating sweeping organizational changes to both public sector and business. A social practice that is considerably influenced in the way of its day-to-day operations is Human Resource (HR) management, for which the importance of GDPR cannot be underestimated. That is because HR processes personal data coming in all shapes and sizes from many different systems and sources. The significance of the proper functioning of an HR department, specifically in human-centered, service-oriented environments such as the education field, is decisive due to the fact that HR operations in schools, conducted effectively, determine the quality of the provided services and consequently have a considerable impact on the success of the educational system. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the decisive role that GDPR plays in HR departments that operate in schools and in order to practically evaluate the aftermath of the Regulation during the first months of its applicability; a comparative use cases analysis in five highly dynamic schools, across three EU Member States, was attempted.

Keywords: general data protection regulation, human resource management, educational system

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1398 Optimising Urban Climate at Mesoscale: The Case of Floor-Area-Ratio Modelling and Energy Planning Integration

Authors: Ali Cheshmehzangi, Ayotunde Dawodu

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In urban planning, Floor Area Ratio (FAR) of the site plays a major role in the multiplicity of performances, from humane living environments to energy performance. When one considers the astounding volume of new housing that is going to be constructed across the globe during the next few decades due to growing urbanisation (e.g. particularly in developing world), it is imperative that we have an empirically grounded grasp of which building configurations are more energy efficient. As a common planning metric, it would be helpful to know exactly how managing FAR connects with energy efficiency. Hence, this study puts together a set of modelling of various FARs for a typical residential compound and address the considerations of energy planning integration in the practice of building configuration and urban planning. Such decision makings at the planning and design stage enable us to provide pathways of optimising urban climate at mesoscale of the built environment, i.e. the neighbourhood or community level. In this study, a comparative study is conducted using Eco-Tect Software, using a case study in the City of Ningbo, China. Findings of the study contribute to identifying scenarios of various FAR use and energy planning at mesoscale. The final results contribute to studies in urban climate, from the perspectives of urban planning, energy planning, and urban modelling.

Keywords: China, energy planning, FAR, floor-area-ratio, mesoscale, urban climate, urban modelling

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1397 Child Mortality in Portuguese Speaking Africa Countries: Levels and Trends, 1975-2021

Authors: Alcino Panguana

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All Portuguese-speaking African countries are in Sub-Saharan Africa, a region that has high infant mortality rates, being responsible for 49.6% of deaths in Portuguese-speaking African countries, Angola has levels of infant mortality among children, where 2017, 156 children who died before reaching 1 year of life in 1000 live births. Although there is an increase in studies that document trends and specific causes of infant mortality in each country, historical-comparative studies of infant mortality among these countries remain rare. Understanding the trend of this indicator is important for policymakers and planners in order to improve access to successful child survival operations. Lusophone Africa continues with high infant mortality rates in the order of 64 deaths per thousand births. Assuming heterogeneities that can characterize these countries, raise an analysis investigated indicator at the country level to understand the pattern and historical trend of infant mortality within Lusophone Africa from the year 2021. The result is to understand the levels and evolution of infant mortality in Portuguese-speaking African countries.

Keywords: child mortality, levels, trends, lusophone African countries

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1396 A Comparative Study on Indian and Greek Cotton Fiber Properties Correlations

Authors: Md. Nakib Ul Hasan, Md. Ariful Islam, Md. Sumon Miah, Misbah Ul Hoque, Bulbul Ahmed

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The variability of cotton fiber characteristics has always been influenced by origin, weather conditions, method of culturing, and harvesting. Spinners work tirelessly to ensure consistent yarn quality by using the different origins of fibers to maximizes the profit margin. Spinners often fail to select desired raw materials of various origins to achieve an appropriate mixing plan due to the lack of knowledge on the interrelationship among fiber properties. The purpose of this research is to investigate the correlations among dominating fiber properties such as micronaire, strength, breaking elongation, upper half mean length, length uniformity index, short fiber index, maturity, reflectance, and yellowness. For this purpose, fiber samples from 500 Indian cotton bales and 350 Greek cotton bales were collected and tested using the high volume instrument (HVI). The fiber properties dataset was then compiled and analyzed using python 3.7 to determine the correlations matrix. Results show that Indian cotton fiber have highest correlation between strength-mat = 0.84, followed by SFI-Unf =-0.83, and Neps-Unf = -0.72. Greek cotton fiber, in contrast, have highest correlation between SFI-Unf =-0.98, followed by SFI-Mat = 0.89, +b-Len = 0.84, and Str-Mat = 0.74. Overall, the Greek cotton fiber showed a higher correlational matrix than compared to that of Indian cotton fiber.

Keywords: cotton fiber, fiber properties correlation, Greek cotton, HVI, Indian cotton, spinning

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1395 Representations of Germanophobia during the German Unification and the Euro Crisis: A Comparative Study in the Portuguese Press

Authors: Ana Luisa Mouro, Ana Maria Ramalheira

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The Reunification of Germany, in 1990, was not received with great enthusiasm by other European countries. On the contrary, the union of the two German states was accompanied by great concern towards its possible political and economic consequences. The Europeans had not forgotten Germany’s responsibility in the outbreak of the Second World War, and many feared that this new nation would again long for a hegemonic role. During the following years, however, the notion of a threatening Germany faded away, giving place to a description of Germany as an economic giant but a political dwarf. Twenty years after the Reunification, with the outbreak of the financial crisis, Germany conquered a key and powerful position at the heart of Europe and Germanophobia started to gain ground again. The present study has been based on the survey, selection and critical analysis of news reporting, opinion articles, interviews and editorials, published in the weekly Expresso and the daily Público, during two historical moments: the Reunification of Germany in 1990 and the European Crisis, between 2008 and 2015. The findings of this study will show that Germany’s growing influence over the current European economic and political scene woke up old 'demons' that had been 'sleeping' since 1990.

Keywords: media and cultural studies, Euro crisis, German Unification, Germanophobia, Portuguese quality press

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1394 Efficiency and Performance of Legal Institutions in the Middle East in the 21st Century

Authors: Marco Khalaf Ayad Milhaail

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In thinking about the role of legal rules and their impact on social ethics and social structures, scholars have explored many issues related to gender, power, and ideology. First, it provides a framework for defining feminist legal studies through an overview of the field's evolution in terms of equality, rights, and justice. Secondly, it encourages those interested in equality, rights, and justice regarding women's issues to participate in international comparative law research. Third, we must emphasize that those seeking solutions to disability and discrimination must be aware of the need to confront the so-called undermining of culture. Therefore, an effective way for women to solve this problem is to rely heavily on international law, which establishes basic legal principles such as gender equality, rights, and justice and can help create a domestic environment. Woman has gained many advantages by adopting the law of Divorce in the Islamic Sharea. Any Egyptian woman can get divorce by letting her rightful rights and wealth to her husband in return for her freedom.

Keywords: stability, harsh environments, techniques, thermal, properties, materials, applications, brittleness, fragility, disadvantages, bank, branches, profitability, setting prediction, effective target, measurement, evaluation, performance, commercial, business, profitability, sustainability, financial, system, banks

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1393 Characterization and Comparative Analysis of North Bengal Sand

Authors: Marzia Hoque Tania, Oishy Roy, ASW Kurny, Fahmida Gulshan

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This paper presents results of the investigation on the characterization of silica sand of northern region of Bangladesh on the basis of material composition, particle shape, and size, density, transportation, crystallinity, etc. before and after upgradation. The raw sand samples collected from Nilphamari and Lalmonirhat district were studied and compared for the prospect silica as a high valued commodity rather than heavy minerals. The raw sand particles were colorful in appearance with varying particle size distribution. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) showed uniformity in grain size and mineralogical composition. X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis indicated the silica content of the as-received sample to be 75%. Thermogravimetric and Differential Thermal Analysis (DTA) did not detect the presence of any organic material. These tests revealed the sample to be alpha-quartz. Samples were washed with organic and inorganic acid with a combination of varying rotation speed, concentration, solid-liquid ratio. Experiments showed the silica content could be enhanced to more than 85% by washing with 15% sulphuric acid in room temperature. Beneficiation can be improved in further work considering the effect of varying temperature or advanced technology.

Keywords: beneficiation, characterization, commercial grade sand, glass sand, silica, upgradation

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1392 Soueif’s 'The Returning' and 'The Nativity': A Portrait of the Other as Others

Authors: Samira Brahimi

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Throughout Aisha, her first collection of short stories, Ahdaf Soueif draws a multilayered picture of the Other as others, picturing a series of encounters of her protagonist with this very Other as a set of binary elements. The current essay includes a comparative study between two narratives, namely The Returning and The Nativity. The Other is portrayed as a male/female binary in The Returning and as 'The Foreigner' in an exotic land vs. the local in The Nativity. The analysis is to focus on Aisha, the main female character, who figures as conforming to the portrait of the stereotyped Arab Muslim woman as a sex-subject, submissive, and maudlin character, confining her vision of the Other to the boundaries of her cocooned self, epitomizing a self-centered vision of the world. This reduced vision results in the possibility of viewing the Other as a hindrance to her attaining a clarified and centrifugal representation of the latter, herself, and the outside world. The encounters could also be considered as the character's opportunity for a less stigmatized perception of the elements set forth. The main queries to be probed are: what are the different perceptions of the Other by the author in the narratives set forth? How does the protagonist's encounter with the Other(s) impede her ability to understand the Other, herself, and the world around her? Or how does this encounter allow her an enlightened vision of the aforementioned elements to forge a new start? The possibility of imagining a dialogic relation between different perceptions of the Other opens up new perspectives for adopting magnified representations of the later, oneself, and the world, dilating one's imagination.

Keywords: dialogic, female, foreigner, local, male, other, others

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1391 Comparative Study of Essential Oils Extracted from Algerian Citrus fruits Using Microwaves and Hydrodistillation

Authors: Ferhat Mohamed Amine, Boukhatem Mohamed Nadjib, Chemat Farid

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Solvent-free-microwave-extraction (SFME) is a combination of microwave heating and distillation, performed at atmospheric pressure without added any solvent or water. Isolation and concentration of volatile compounds are performed by a single stage. SFME extraction of orange essential oil was studied using fresh orange peel from Valencia late cultivar oranges as the raw material. SFME has been compared with a conventional technique, which used a Clevenger apparatus with hydro-distillation (HD). SFME and HD were compared in term of extraction time, yields, chemical composition and quality of the essential oil, efficiency and costs of the process. Extraction of essential oils from orange peels with SFME was better in terms of energy saving, extraction time (30 min versus 3 h), oxygenated fraction (11.7% versus 7.9%), product yield (0.42% versus 0.39%) and product quality. Orange peels treated by SFME and HD were observed by scanning electronic microscopy (SEM). Micrographs provide evidence of more rapid opening of essential oil glands treated by SFME, in contrast to conventional hydro-distillation.

Keywords: hydro-distillation, essential oil, microwave, orange peel, solvent free microwave, extraction SFME

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1390 Analysis of Noodle Production Process at Yan Hu Food Manufacturing: Basis for Production Improvement

Authors: Rhadinia Tayag-Relanes, Felina C. Young

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This study was conducted to analyze the noodle production process at Yan Hu Food Manufacturing for the basis of production improvement. The study utilized the PDCA approach and record review in the gathering of data for the calendar year 2019 from August to October data of the noodle products miki, canton, and misua. Causal-comparative research was used in this study; it attempts to establish cause-effect relationships among the variables such as descriptive statistics and correlation, both were used to compute the data gathered. The study found that miki, canton, and misua production has different cycle time sets for each production and has different production outputs in every set of its production process and a different number of wastages. The company has not yet established its allowable rejection rate/ wastage; instead, this paper used a 1% wastage limit. The researcher recommended the following: machines used for each process of the noodle product must be consistently maintained and monitored; an assessment of all the production operators by checking their performance statistically based on the output and the machine performance; a root cause analysis for finding the solution must be conducted; and an improvement on the recording system of the input and output of the production process of noodle product should be established to eliminate the poor recording of data.

Keywords: continuous improvement, process, operations, PDCA

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1389 Contemplating Charge Transport by Modeling of DNA Nucleobases Based Nano Structures

Authors: Rajan Vohra, Ravinder Singh Sawhney, Kunwar Partap Singh

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Electrical charge transport through two basic strands thymine and adenine of DNA have been investigated and analyzed using the jellium model approach. The FFT-2D computations have been performed for semi-empirical Extended Huckel Theory using atomistic tool kit to contemplate the charge transport metrics like current and conductance. The envisaged data is further evaluated in terms of transmission spectrum, HOMO-LUMO Gap and number of electrons. We have scrutinized the behavior of the devices in the range of -2V to 2V for a step size of 0.2V. We observe that both thymine and adenine can act as molecular devices when sandwiched between two gold probes. A prominent observation is a drop in HLGs of adenine and thymine when working as a device as compared to their intrinsic values and this is comparative more visible in case of adenine. The current in the thymine based device exhibit linear increase with voltage in spite of having low conductance. Further, the broader transmission peaks represent the strong coupling of electrodes to the scattering molecule (thymine). Moreover, the observed current in case of thymine is almost 3-4 times than that of observed for adenine. The NDR effect has been perceived in case of adenine based device for higher bias voltages and can be utilized in various future electronics applications.

Keywords: adenine, DNA, extended Huckel, thymine, transmission spectra

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1388 A Comparative Evaluation of Antioxidant Activity of in vivo and in vitro Raised Holarrhena antidysenterica Linn.

Authors: Gayatri Nahak, Satyajit Kanungo, Rajani Kanta Sahu

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Holarrhena antidysenterica Linn. (Apocynaceae) is a typical Indian medicinal plant popularly known as “Indrajav”. Traditionally the plant has been considered a popular remedy for the treatment of dysentery, diarrhea, intestinal worms and the seeds of this plant are also used as an anti-diabetic remedy. In the present study axillary shoot multiplication, callus induction and shoot regeneration from callus culture were obtained on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with different concentrations and combinations of plant growth regulators. Then in vivo and in vitro grown healthy plants were selected for study of antioxidant activity through DPPH and OH methods. Significantly higher antioxidant activity and phenol contents were observed in vitro raised plant in comparison to in vivo plants. The findings indicated the greater amount of phenolic compounds leads to more potent radical scavenging effect as shown in in vitro raised plant in comparison to in vivo plants which showed the ability to utilize tissue culture techniques towards development of desired bioactive metabolites from in vitro culture as an alternative way to avoid using endangered plants in pharmaceutical purposes.

Keywords: Holarrhena antidysenterica, in vitro, in vivo, antioxidant activity

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1387 A Comparative Study of Self, Peer and Teacher Assessment Based on an English Writing Checklist

Authors: Xiaoting Shi, Xiaomei Ma

Abstract:

In higher education, students' self-assessment and peer assessment of compositions in writing classes can effectively improve their ability of evaluative judgment. However, students' self-assessment and peer assessment are not advocated by most teachers because of the significant difference in scoring compared with teacher assessment. This study used a multi-faceted Rasch model to explore whether an English writing checklist containing 30 descriptors can effectively improve rating consistency among self-assessment, peer assessment and teacher assessment. Meanwhile, a questionnaire was adopted to survey students’ and teachers’ attitudes toward self-assessment and peer assessment using the writing checklist. Results of the multi-faceted Rasch model analysis show that the writing checklist can effectively distinguish the students’ writing ability (separate coefficient = 2.05, separate reliability = 0.81, chi-square value (df = 32) = 123.4). Moreover, the results revealed that the checklist could improve rating consistency among self-assessment, peer assessment and teacher assessment. (separate coefficient = 1.71, separate reliability = 0.75, chi-square value (df=4) = 20.8). The results of the questionnaire showed that more than 85% of students and all teachers believed that the checklist had a good advantage in self-assessment and peer assessment, and they were willing to use the checklist to conduct self-assessment and peer assessment in class in the future.

Keywords: english writing, self-assessment, peer assessment, writing checklist

Procedia PDF Downloads 146
1386 Comparative Operating Speed and Speed Differential Day and Night Time Models for Two Lane Rural Highways

Authors: Vinayak Malaghan, Digvijay Pawar

Abstract:

Speed is the independent parameter which plays a vital role in the highway design. Design consistency of the highways is checked based on the variation in the operating speed. Often the design consistency fails to meet the driver’s expectation which results in the difference between operating and design speed. Literature reviews have shown that significant crashes take place in horizontal curves due to lack of design consistency. The paper focuses on continuous speed profile study on tangent to curve transition for both day and night daytime. Data is collected using GPS device which gives continuous speed profile and other parameters such as acceleration, deceleration were analyzed along with Tangent to Curve Transition. In this present study, models were developed to predict operating speed on tangents and horizontal curves as well as model indicating the speed reduction from tangent to curve based on continuous speed profile data. It is observed from the study that vehicle tends to decelerate from approach tangent to between beginning of the curve and midpoint of the curve and then accelerates from curve to tangent transition. The models generated were compared for both day and night and can be used in the road safety improvement by evaluating the geometric design consistency.

Keywords: operating speed, design consistency, continuous speed profile data, day and night time

Procedia PDF Downloads 153
1385 The Effect of Smartphones on Human Health Relative to User’s Addiction: A Study on a Wide Range of Audiences in Jordan

Authors: T. Qasim, M. Obeidat, S. Al-Sharairi

Abstract:

The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of the excessive use of smartphones. Smartphones have enormous effects on the human body in that some musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and health problems might evolve. These days, there is a wide use of the smartphones among all age groups of society, thus, the focus on smartphone effects on human behavior and health, especially on the young and elderly people, becomes a crucial issue. This study was conducted in Jordan on smartphone users for different genders and ages, by conducting a survey to collect data related to the symptoms and MSDs that are resulted from the excessive use of smartphones. A total of 357 responses were used in the analysis. The main related symptoms were numbness, fingers pain, and pain in arm, all linked to age and gender for comparative reasons. A statistical analysis was performed to find the effects of extensive usage of a smartphone for long periods of time on the human body. Results show that the significant variables were the vision problems and the time spent when using the smartphone that cause vision problems. Other variables including age of user and ear problems due to the use of the headsets were found to be a border line significant.

Keywords: smart phone, age group, musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), health problems

Procedia PDF Downloads 248
1384 Statistical Tools for SFRA Diagnosis in Power Transformers

Authors: Rahul Srivastava, Priti Pundir, Y. R. Sood, Rajnish Shrivastava

Abstract:

For the interpretation of the signatures of sweep frequency response analysis(SFRA) of transformer different types of statistical techniques serves as an effective tool for doing either phase to phase comparison or sister unit comparison. In this paper with the discussion on SFRA several statistics techniques like cross correlation coefficient (CCF), root square error (RSQ), comparative standard deviation (CSD), Absolute difference, mean square error(MSE),Min-Max ratio(MM) are presented through several case studies. These methods require sample data size and spot frequencies of SFRA signatures that are being compared. The techniques used are based on power signal processing tools that can simplify result and limits can be created for the severity of the fault occurring in the transformer due to several short circuit forces or due to ageing. The advantages of using statistics techniques for analyzing of SFRA result are being indicated through several case studies and hence the results are obtained which determines the state of the transformer.

Keywords: absolute difference (DABS), cross correlation coefficient (CCF), mean square error (MSE), min-max ratio (MM-ratio), root square error (RSQ), standard deviation (CSD), sweep frequency response analysis (SFRA)

Procedia PDF Downloads 691
1383 Improve Closed Loop Performance and Control Signal Using Evolutionary Algorithms Based PID Controller

Authors: Mehdi Shahbazian, Alireza Aarabi, Mohsen Hadiyan

Abstract:

Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) controllers are the most widely used controllers in industry because of its simplicity and robustness. Different values of PID parameters make different step response, so an increasing amount of literature is devoted to proper tuning of PID controllers. The problem merits further investigation as traditional tuning methods make large control signal that can damages the system but using evolutionary algorithms based tuning methods improve the control signal and closed loop performance. In this paper three tuning methods for PID controllers have been studied namely Ziegler and Nichols, which is traditional tuning method and evolutionary algorithms based tuning methods, that are, Genetic algorithm and particle swarm optimization. To examine the validity of PSO and GA tuning methods a comparative analysis of DC motor plant is studied. Simulation results reveal that evolutionary algorithms based tuning method have improved control signal amplitude and quality factors of the closed loop system such as rise time, integral absolute error (IAE) and maximum overshoot.

Keywords: evolutionary algorithm, genetic algorithm, particle swarm optimization, PID controller

Procedia PDF Downloads 474
1382 Interliterariness: Teaching Dystopia in the Arab Classrooms

Authors: Firas Al-Jubouri

Abstract:

Literature has been a subject of studying English at secondary, university, and postgraduate levels in many countries and for several decades. One of the prominent literary genres, which is being increasingly used in the literature classrooms, is dystopian literature. However, since teachers usually address the educational requirements of teaching canonical English literature to meet the expected objectives of the particular 1organisation, and the learner’s needs in the non- Anglophone context, they must also negotiate the issues of cultural differences, aesthetic values, literary significance, and the rationale of storytelling. This paper examines how teaching certain dystopian themes in Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World (1932), an extremely influential dystopian canon, has to take into consideration the ideas, traditions, cultures, and means of literary interpretation inherent in the Arab Muslim world, with specific emphasis on the GCC region. It suggests the use of DionýzĎurišin’s (1929-1997) system of interliterariness in teaching world and comparative literature to help improve the interpretation of canonical literary texts in the international and inter-ethnic classrooms and contexts. Thus, this study helps to define a means of integrating global content and cross-cultural experiences into an effective teaching methodology that helps mitigate the major divides between the Anglophone text and the non-Anglophone readers.

Keywords: anglophone, dystopia, brave new world, huxley, interliterariness

Procedia PDF Downloads 71
1381 An Animation-Based Resource for Screening Emotional and Behavioural Distress in Children Aged 6 to 12

Authors: Zoe Lynch, Kirsty Zieschank

Abstract:

There are several factors that compromise the utility and wide-spread use of existing emotional and behavioural distress screening instruments. Some of these factors include lengthy administration times, high costs, feasibility issues, and a lack of self-report options for children under 12 years of age. This animation-based resource was developed to overcome as many of these factors as possible. Developed for educators and medical and mental health professionals, this resource offers children a self-guided mechanism for reporting any current emotional and behavioural distress. An avatar assistant, selected by the child, accompanies them through each stage of the screening process, offering further instruction if prompted. Children enter their age and gender before viewing comparative animations conveying common childhood emotional and behavioural difficulties. The child then selects the most relatable animations, along with the frequency with which they experience the depicted emotions. From a perspective of intellectual development, an engaging, animated format means that outcomes will not be constrained by children’s reading, writing, cognitive, or verbal expression abilities. Having been user-tested with children aged 6 to 12, this resource shows promising results as a self-guided screening instrument.

Keywords: animation-based screening instrument, mental health, primary-aged children, self-guided

Procedia PDF Downloads 152