Search results for: mining conflicts

Authors: Dasom Kim, Chen Liu, Myungsu Lim, Su-Hyeon Jeon, ByeoungKug Jeon, Kee-Young Kwahk, Namgyu Kim

Abstract:

Recently, numerous documents including unstructured data and text have been created due to the rapid increase in the usage of social media and the Internet. Each document is usually provided with a specific category for the convenience of the users. In the past, the categorization was performed manually. However, in the case of manual categorization, not only can the accuracy of the categorization be not guaranteed but the categorization also requires a large amount of time and huge costs. Many studies have been conducted towards the automatic creation of categories to solve the limitations of manual categorization. Unfortunately, most of these methods cannot be applied to categorizing complex documents with multiple topics because the methods work by assuming that one document can be categorized into one category only. In order to overcome this limitation, some studies have attempted to categorize each document into multiple categories. However, they are also limited in that their learning process involves training using a multi-categorized document set. These methods therefore cannot be applied to multi-categorization of most documents unless multi-categorized training sets are provided. To overcome the limitation of the requirement of a multi-categorized training set by traditional multi-categorization algorithms, we previously proposed a new methodology that can extend a category of a single-categorized document to multiple categorizes by analyzing relationships among categories, topics, and documents. In this paper, we design a survey-based verification scenario for estimating the accuracy of our automatic categorization methodology.

Keywords: big data analysis, document classification, multi-category, text mining, topic analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 272

Authors: Mohanad Rezeq, Tarik Aouam, Frederik Gailly

Abstract:

In times of armed conflicts, various security checkpoints are placed by authorities to control the flow of merchandise into and within areas of conflict. The flow of humanitarian trucks that is added to the regular flow of commercial trucks, together with the complex security procedures, creates congestion and long waiting times at the security checkpoints. This causes distribution costs to increase and shortages of relief aid to the affected people to occur. Our research proposes a decision-support tool to assist planners and policymakers in building efficient plans for the distribution of relief aid, taking into account congestion at security checkpoints. The proposed tool is built around a multi-item humanitarian distribution planning model based on multi-phase design science methodology that has as its objective to minimize distribution and back ordering costs subject to capacity constraints that reflect congestion effects using nonlinear clearing functions. Using the 2014 Gaza War as a case study, we illustrate the application of the proposed tool, model the underlying relief-aid humanitarian supply chain, estimate clearing functions at different security checkpoints, and conduct computational experiments. The decision support tool generated a shipment plan that was compared to two benchmarks in terms of total distribution cost, average lead time and work in progress (WIP) at security checkpoints, and average inventory and backorders at distribution centers. The first benchmark is the shipment plan generated by the fixed capacity model, and the second is the actual shipment plan implemented by the planners during the armed conflict. According to our findings, modeling and optimizing supply chain flows reduce total distribution costs, average truck wait times at security checkpoints, and average backorders when compared to the executed plan and the fixed-capacity model. Finally, scenario analysis concludes that increasing capacity at security checkpoints can lower total operations costs by reducing the average lead time.

Keywords: humanitarian distribution planning, relief-aid distribution, congestion, clearing functions

Procedia PDF Downloads 82

Authors: Thomas Yeboah

Abstract:

In contemporary times, the incessant movement of northern children especially girls to southern Ghana at the detriment of their education is worrisome. Due to the misplaced mindset of the migrants concerning southern Ghana, majority of them move without an idea of where to stay and what to do exposing them to hash conditions of living. Majority find menial work in cocoa farms, illegal mining and head porterage business. This study was conducted in the Kumasi Metropolis to ascertain the major causes of child migration from the northern part of Ghana to the south and their living conditions. Both qualitative and quantitative tools of data collection and analysis were employed. The purposive sampling technique was used to select 90 migrants below 18 years. Specifically, interviews, focus group discussions and questionnaires were used to elicit responses from the units of analysis. The study revealed that the major cause of child migration from northern Ghana to the south is poverty. It was evident that respondents were vulnerable to the new environment in which they lived. They are exposed to harsh environmental conditions; sexual, verbal and physical assault; and harassment from arm robbers. The paper recommends that policy decisions should be able to create an enabling environment for the labour force in the north to ameliorate the compelling effects poverty has on child migration. Efforts should also be made to create a proper psychological climate in the minds of the children regarding their destination areas through sensitization and education.

Keywords: child migration, vulnerability, social exclusion, child labour, Ghana

Procedia PDF Downloads 443

Authors: Mulaudzi Tshimbiluni Annah

Abstract:

South African city centres depict dynamic urban spaces which reflect complex interactions between multiple actors: the state, formal businesses and informal street traders, with each competing for territorial claims and spatial dominance. The objective of the study is exploring how space is contested, negotiated and occupied between formal and informal sectors, while consequently trying to understand the implication that this has on spatial planning and spatial justice. Through a case-study analysis of the eThekwini city centre, this research examines spatial arrangement, coexistence and conflicts that shape the urban fabric. The study employs spatial justice as a theoretical lens to highlight the inequalities that are embedded within urban planning policies and how street traders are resilient to the harsh restrictive spatial frameworks. Limited evidence is known about how urban planning frameworks can integrate informal street traders in city centres and recognize them as legitimate stakeholders. The study investigates how spatial planning frameworks can be reimagined to promote spatial justice and further facilitate coexistence between formal and informal stakeholders in city centres. Primary data collection included interviews with key stakeholders, while NVivo software was used to analyse the interview data. Observations were conducted through transect walks, which allowed for insight into the spatial dynamics and daily interactions. Visual representations were depicted using GIS mapping to show areas of contestation as well as areas where formal and informal activities intersect. Furthermore, secondary data from literature enabled a comparative analysis of similar case studies through precedent studies. The study revealed continuous contestation by formal businesses and the state, who are for the most part often prioritized by planning frameworks while street traders are often marginalized regardless of their contribution towards economic development. This study therefore proposes strategies for spatial planning that supports an integrative urban framework which ensures equitable access and also a reduction of the marginalization of street traders within urban spaces. This study aims to contribute to understanding urban coexistence and further advocates for spatial planning approaches that integrates informal street traders as legitimate actors in the urban landscape while fostering spatial justice within city centres.

Keywords: coexistence, contestation, integration, spatial justice, spatial planning, street traders

Procedia PDF Downloads 15

Authors: Haleh Rezaei Zanjirabadi, Fatemeh Saberi, Bahman Rahimzadeh, Fariborz Masoudi, Mohammad Rahgosha

Abstract:

In this study, apatite minerals from the iron-phosphate deposit of Yazd have been investigated within the microcontinent zone of Iran in the Zagros structural zone. The geological units in the Esfordi area belong to the pre-Cambrian to lower-Cambrian age, consisting of a succession of carbonate rocks (dolomite), shale, tuff, sandstone, and volcanic rocks. In addition to the mentioned sedimentary and volcanic rocks, the granitoid mass of Bahabad, which is the largest intrusive mass in the region, has intruded into the eastern part of this series and has caused its metamorphism and alteration. After collecting the available data, various samples of Esfordi’s apatite were prepared, and their mineralogy and crystallography were investigated using laboratory methods such as petrographic microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, EDS, and SEM. In non-destructive Raman spectroscopy, the molecular structure of apatite minerals was revealed in four distinct spectral ranges. Initially, the spectra of phosphate and aluminum bonds with O2HO, OH, were observed, followed by the identification of Cl, OH, Al, Na, Ca and hydroxyl units depending on the type of apatite mineral family. In SEM analysis, based on various shapes and different phases of apatites, their constituent major elements were identified through EDS, indicating that the samples from the Esfordi mining area exhibit a dense and coherent texture with smooth surfaces. Based on the elemental analysis results by EDS, the apatites in the Esfordi area are classified into the calcic apatite group.

Keywords: petrology, apatite, Esfordi, EDS, SEM, Raman spectroscopy

Procedia PDF Downloads 61

Authors: Mina Samizadeh

Abstract:

In the past few decades, there has been an explosion in the amount of available data produced from various sources with different topics. The availability of this enormous data necessitates us to adopt effective computational tools to explore the data. This leads to an intense growing interest in the research community to develop computational methods focused on processing this text data. A line of study focused on condensing the text so that we are able to get a higher level of understanding in a shorter time. The two important tasks to do this are keyword extraction and text summarization. In keyword extraction, we are interested in finding the key important words from a text. This makes us familiar with the general topic of a text. In text summarization, we are interested in producing a short-length text which includes important information about the document. The TextRank algorithm, an unsupervised learning method that is an extension of the PageRank (algorithm which is the base algorithm of Google search engine for searching pages and ranking them), has shown its efficacy in large-scale text mining, especially for text summarization and keyword extraction. This algorithm can automatically extract the important parts of a text (keywords or sentences) and declare them as a result. However, this algorithm neglects the semantic similarity between the different parts. In this work, we improved the results of the TextRank algorithm by incorporating the semantic similarity between parts of the text. Aside from keyword extraction and text summarization, we develop a topic clustering algorithm based on our framework, which can be used individually or as a part of generating the summary to overcome coverage problems.

Keywords: keyword extraction, n-gram extraction, text summarization, topic clustering, semantic analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 71

Authors: Rudzani Lusunzi, Frans Waanders, Elvis Fosso-Kankeu, Robert Khashane Netshitungulwana

Abstract:

The Sabie Goldfield has a history of gold mining dating back more than a century. Acid mine drainage (AMD) from the Nestor mine tailings storage facility (MTSF) poses a serious threat to the nearby ecosystem, specifically the Sabie River system. This study aims at developing mitigation measures for the AMD emanating from the Nestor MTSF using materials from the Glynns Lydenburg MTSF. The Nestor MTSF (NM) and the Glynns Lydenburg MTSF (GM) each provided about 20 kg of bulk composite samples. Using samples from the Nestor MTSF and the Glynns Lydenburg MTSF, two mixtures were created. MIX-A is a mixture that contains 25% weight percent (GM) and 75% weight percent (NM). MIX-B is the name given to the second mixture, which contains 50% AN and 50% AG. The same static test, i.e., acid–base accounting (ABA), net acid generation (NAG), and acid buffering characteristics curve (ABCC) was used to estimate the acid-generating probabilities of samples NM and GM for MIX-A and MIX-B. Furthermore, the mineralogy of the Nestor MTSF samples consists of the primary acid-producing mineral pyrite as well as the secondary minerals ferricopiapite and jarosite, which are common in acidic conditions. The Glynns Lydenburg MTSF samples, on the other hand, contain primary acid-neutralizing minerals calcite and dolomite. Based on the assessment conducted, materials from the Glynns Lydenburg are capable of neutralizing AMD from Nestor MTSF. Therefore, the alkaline tailings materials from the Glynns Lydenburg MTSF can be used to rehabilitate the acidic Nestor MTSF.

Keywords: Nestor Mine, acid mine drainage, mitigation, Sabie River system

Procedia PDF Downloads 86

Authors: Sraman Sree Mattananda

Abstract:

This present article is an analytical research on ‘Buddhism and Innovative Sustainable Development.' The main purpose of researching is to the better understanding of many social science theories both in politics and in economics. And the understanding of both Buddhism and science is complementary in order to enable any individual to live a full and meaningful human life. How people can avoid conflict, socially, economically, politically and spiritually using Buddhist teachings for a sustainable development. The aim of studying is also to comprehend every human to be aware that peoples’ happiness and sorrow depends on the choices that they had taken to do what was perceptional right and wrong. Everything that happens does have a reason. This study will be supported by the supply of environmental knowledge, philosophy, and experience. Within the domestic and international cultures, this knowledge might provide a significant basis for the contemporary and the future world. Happiness and unsatisfactoriness of mind depend on the consequences of what we had already done. This is to give deep sense to adjust the nature of all that exists and desire not to attach to them and to liberate oneself leaving the reality as it is. An implicit of references will be drawn from the primary sources, secondary sources, internet sources, and other Scholar’s diamond writings, to prove the investigation of philosophical and theoretical analysis. After the investigation of philosophical and theoretical analysis, the article will demonstrate about, what Buddha advised the follows to stop over-exploitation and how to eradicate conflicts to gain a peaceful society. This will be a lively awareness in the approach to the understanding of the Buddhist view of reality and adopt with middle path. The last part of the article will concern with the Buddhist Challenge of sustaining the society and how Buddhist contemporary scholars interpret sustainable development issues. Mahatma Gandhi’s emphasize to use Buddhist Non-Violence will be demonstrating to gain peace, freedom, and security. Twelve things that concern us when we want to explore the issues of sustainability, demonstrated by A Little Book of Hope will be cleared. How individual hearts can implicate to the contemporary globe will be demonstrated to obtain healthy and practical environment. Finally, generating new awareness and care by minimizing the negative impact on earth resources will reduce the degradation of the planet which would pose a challenge to sustain Development.

Keywords: Buddhism, economic, sustainable development, Buddhist ethics

Procedia PDF Downloads 217

Authors: Jianghao Hu, Hongyu Wang

Abstract:

The effective and efficient human pose estimation algorithm is an important task for real-time human pose estimation on mobile devices. This paper proposes a light-weight human key points detection algorithm, Light-Weight Network for Real-Time Pose Estimation (LWPE). LWPE uses light-weight backbone network and depthwise separable convolutions to reduce parameters and lower latency. LWPE uses the feature pyramid network (FPN) to fuse the high-resolution, semantically weak features with the low-resolution, semantically strong features. In the meantime, with multi-scale prediction, the predicted result by the low-resolution feature map is stacked to the adjacent higher-resolution feature map to intermediately monitor the network and continuously refine the results. At the last step, the key point coordinates predicted in the highest-resolution are used as the final output of the network. For the key-points that are difficult to predict, LWPE adopts the online hard key points mining strategy to focus on the key points that hard predicting. The proposed algorithm achieves excellent performance in the single-person dataset selected in the AI (artificial intelligence) challenge dataset. The algorithm maintains high-precision performance even though the model only contains 3.9M parameters, and it can run at 225 frames per second (FPS) on the generic graphics processing unit (GPU).

Keywords: depthwise separable convolutions, feature pyramid network, human pose estimation, light-weight backbone

Procedia PDF Downloads 154

Authors: Asena Demirci, Gozen Guner Aktaş, Nur Ayalp

Abstract:

Nature provides a living space for humans, also in contrast it is destroyed by humans for their personal needs and ambitions. For decreasing these damages against nature, solutions are started to generate and to develop. Moreover, precautions are implemented. After 1960s, especially when the ozone layer got harmed and got thinner by toxic substances coming from man made structures, environmental problems which effected human’s activities of daily living. Thus, this subject about environmental solutions and precautions is becoming a priority issue for scientists. Most of the environmental problems are caused by buildings and factories which are built without any concerns about protecting nature. This situation creates awareness about environmental issues and also the terms like sustainability, Renewable energy show up in building, Construction and architecture sectors to provide environmental protection. In this perspective, the design disciplines also should be respectful to nature and the sustainability. Designs which involve the features like sustainability, renewability and being ecologic have specialties to be less detrimental to the environment rather than the designs which do not involve. Furthermore, these designs produce their own energy for consuming, So they do not use the natural resources. They do not contain harmful substances and they are made of recyclable materials. Thus, they are becoming environmentally friendly structures. There is a common concern among designers about the issue of sustainable design. They believe that the idea of sustainability inhibits the creativity. All works of design resemble each other from the point of aesthetics and technological matters. In addition, there is a concern about design ethics which aesthetic designs cannot be accepted as a priority. For these reasons, there are few designs included the features of being eco-friendly and well-designed and also had design concerns around the world. Despite the other design disciplines, The concept of sustainability is getting more important each day in interior architecture and interior design. As it is known that human being spends 90 % of his life in interior spaces, The importance of that concept in interior spaces is obvious. Aesthetic is another vital concern in interior space design also. Most of the time sustainable materials and sustainable interior design applications conflicts with personal aesthetic parameters. This study aims to discuss the great paradox between the design aesthetic and the sustainable design. Does the sustainable approach in interior design disturbs the design aesthetic? This is one of the most popular questions that have been discussed for a while. With this paper this question will be evaluated with a case study which analyzes the aesthetic perceptions and preferences of the users and designers in sustainable interior spaces.

Keywords: aesthetics, interior design, sustainable design, sustainability

Procedia PDF Downloads 291

Authors: Medina O. Kadiri, John E. Gabriel

Abstract:

Heavy metals are metallic elements with a relatively high density, at least five times greater compared to water. The sources of heavy metal pollution in the environment include industrial, medical, agricultural, pharmaceutical, domestic effluents, and atmospheric sources, mining, foundries, smelting, and any heavy metal-based operation. Although some heavy metals in trace quantities are required for biological metabolism, their higher concentrations elicit toxicities. Others are distinctly toxic and are of no biological functions. Microalgae are the primary producers of aquatic ecosystems and, therefore, the foundation of the aquatic food chain. A study investigating the effects of copper and zinc on the two chlorophytes-Chlorella vulgaris and Dictyosphaerium pulchellum was done in the laboratory, under different concentrations of 0mg/l, 2mg/l, 4mg/l, 6mg/l, 8mg/l, 10mg/l, and 20mg/l. The growth of the test microalgae was determined every two days for 14 days. The results showed that the effects of the test heavy metals were concentration-dependent. From the two microalgae species tested, Chlorella vulgaris showed appreciable growth up to 8mg/l concentration of zinc. Dictyoshphaerium pulchellum had only minimal growth at different copper concentrations except for 2mg/l, which seemed to have relatively higher growth. The growth of the control was remarkably higher than in other concentrations. Generally, the growth of both test algae was consistently inhibited by heavy metals. Comparatively, copper generally inhibited the growth of both algae than zinc. Chlorella vulgaris can be used for bioremediation of high concentrations of zinc. The potential of many microalgae in heavy metal bioremediation can be explored.

Keywords: heavy metals, green algae, microalgae, pollution

Procedia PDF Downloads 195

Authors: Kari Bjorn

Abstract:

Team learning has been studied and modeled as double loop model and its variations. Also, metacognition has been suggested as a concept to describe the nature of team learning to be more than a simple sum of individual learning of the team members. Team learning has a positive correlation with both individual motivation of its members, as well as the collective factors within the team. Team learning of previously very independent members of two teaching teams is analyzed. Applied Science Universities are training future professionals with ever more diversified and multidisciplinary skills. The size of the units of teaching and learning are increasingly larger for several reasons. First, multi-disciplinary skill development requires more active learning and richer learning environments and learning experiences. This occurs on students teams. Secondly, teaching of multidisciplinary skills requires a multidisciplinary and team-based teaching from the teachers as well. Team formation phases have been identifies and widely accepted. Team role stress has been analyzed in project teams. Projects typically have a well-defined goal and organization. This paper explores team stress of two teacher teams in a parallel running two course units in engineering education. The first is an Industrial Automation Technology and the second is Development of Medical Devices. The courses have a separate student group, and they are in different campuses. Both are run in parallel within 8 week time. Both of them are taught by a group of four teachers with several years of teaching experience, but individually. The team role stress scale items - the survey is done to both teaching groups at the beginning of the course and at the end of the course. The inventory of questions covers the factors of ambiguity, conflict, quantitative role overload and qualitative role overload. Some comparison to the study on project teams can be drawn. Team development stage of the two teaching groups is different. Relating the team role stress factors to the development stage of the group can reveal the potential of management actions to promote team building and to understand the maturity of functional and well-established teams. Mature teams indicate higher job satisfaction and deliver higher performance. Especially, teaching teams who deliver highly intangible results of learning outcome are sensitive to issues in the job satisfaction and team conflicts. Because team teaching is increasing, the paper provides a review of the relevant theories and initial comparative and longitudinal results of the team role stress factors applied to teaching teams.

Keywords: engineering education, stress, team role, team teaching

Procedia PDF Downloads 225

Authors: Liu Si, Wang Chunmei, Liu Huangmei

Abstract:

A prominent component of the semantic versus pragmatic debate, scalar implicature (SI) has been gaining great attention ever since it was proposed by Horn. The constant debate is between the structural and pragmatic approach. The former claims that generation of SI is costless, automatic, and dependent mostly on the structural properties of sentences, whereas the latter advocates both that such generation is largely dependent upon context, and that the process is costly. Many experiments, among which Katsos’s text comprehension experiments are influential, have been designed and conducted in order to verify their views, but the results are not conclusive. Besides, most of the experiments were conducted in English language materials. Katsos conducted one off-line and three on-line text comprehension experiments, in which the previous shortcomings were addressed on a certain extent and the conclusion was in favor of the pragmatic approach. We intend to test the results of Katsos’s experiment in Chinese scalar implicature. Four experiments in both off-line and on-line conditions to examine the generation and response time of SI in Chinese "yixie" (some) and "quanbu (dou)" (all) will be conducted in order to find out whether the structural or the pragmatic approach could be sustained. The study mainly aims to answer the following questions: (1) Can SI be generated in the upper- and lower-bound contexts as Katsos confirmed when Chinese language materials are used in the experiment? (2) Can SI be first generated, then cancelled as default view claimed or can it not be generated in a neutral context when Chinese language materials are used in the experiment? (3) Is SI generation costless or costly in terms of processing resources? (4) In line with the SI generation process, what conclusion can be made about the cognitive processing model of language meaning? Is it a parallel model or a linear model? Or is it a dynamic and hierarchical model? According to previous theoretical debates and experimental conflicts, presumptions could be made that SI, in Chinese language, might be generated in the upper-bound contexts. Besides, the response time might be faster in upper-bound than that found in lower-bound context. SI generation in neutral context might be the slowest. At last, a conclusion would be made that the processing model of SI could not be verified by either absolute structural or pragmatic approaches. It is, rather, a dynamic and complex processing mechanism, in which the interaction of language forms, ad hoc context, mental context, background knowledge, speakers’ interaction, etc. are involved.

Keywords: cognitive linguistics, pragmatics, scalar implicture, experimental study, Chinese language

Procedia PDF Downloads 361

Authors: R. Suresh, Pavan Kumar Nimmagadda, Ming Zo Tan, Shane Hart, Sharp Ugwuocha

Abstract:

Polycrystalline diamond compact (PDC) drill bits are extensively used in the oil and gas industry as well as the mining industry. Industry engineers continually improve upon PDC drill bit designs and hydraulic conditions. Optimized injection nozzles play a key role in improving the drilling performance and efficiency of these ever changing PDC drill bits. In the first part of this study, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling is performed to investigate the hydrodynamic characteristics of drilling fluid flow around the PDC drill bit. An Open-source CFD software – OpenFOAM simulates the flow around the drill bit, based on the field input data. A specifically developed console application integrates the entire CFD process including, domain extraction, meshing, and solving governing equations and post-processing. The results from the OpenFOAM solver are then compared with that of the ANSYS Fluent software. The data from both software programs agree. The second part of the paper describes the parametric study of the PDC drill bit nozzle to determine the effect of parameters such as number of nozzles, nozzle velocity, nozzle radial position and orientations on the flow field characteristics and bit washing patterns. After analyzing a series of nozzle configurations, the best configuration is identified and recommendations are made for modifying the PDC bit design.

Keywords: ANSYS Fluent, computational fluid dynamics, nozzle configuration, OpenFOAM, PDC dill bit

Procedia PDF Downloads 420

Authors: Lin Qing

Abstract:

[Objective/Significance] The cultivation of high-value patents is the focus and difficulty of patent work, which is of great significance to the construction of a powerful country with intellectual property rights. This work should not only pay attention to the existing patent applications, but also start from the pre-application to explore the high-value technical solutions as the core of high-value patents. [Methods/processes] Comply with the principle of scientific and technological knowledge diffusion, this study studies the top academic conference papers and their cited patent applications, taking the power semiconductor field as an example, using facts date show the feasibility and rationality of mining technology solutions from high quality research results to foster high value patents, stating the actual benefits of these achievements to the industry, giving patent protection suggestions for Chinese applicants comparative with field situation. [Results/Conclusion] The research shows that the quality of citation applications of ISPSD papers is significantly higher than the field average level, and the ability of Chinese applicants to use patent protection related achievements needs to be improved. This study provides a practical and highly targeted reference idea for patent administrators and researchers, and also makes a positive exploration for the practice of the spirit of breaking the five rules.

Keywords: high-value patents cultivation, technical solutions, knowledge diffusion, top academic conference papers, intellectual property information analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 129

Authors: Sergio Zabala-Vargas, Miguel Jiménez-Barrera, Luz VArgas-Sánchez

Abstract:

In recent years, information related to project management in organizations has been increasing exponentially. Performance data, management statistics, indicator results have forced the collection, analysis, traceability, and dissemination of project managers to be essential. In this sense, there are current trends to facilitate efficient decision-making in emerging technology projects, such as: Machine Learning, Data Analytics, Data Mining, and Big Data. The latter is the most interesting in this project. This research is part of the thematic line Construction methods and project management. Many authors present the relevance that the use of emerging technologies, such as Big Data, has taken in recent years in project management in the construction sector. The main focus is the optimization of time, scope, budget, and in general mitigating risks. This research was developed in the northeastern region of Colombia-South America. The first phase was aimed at diagnosing the use of emerging technologies (Big-Data) in the construction sector. In Colombia, the construction sector represents more than 50% of the productive system, and more than 2 million people participate in this economic segment. The quantitative approach was used. A survey was applied to a sample of 91 companies in the construction sector. Preliminary results indicate that the use of Big Data and other emerging technologies is very low and also that there is interest in modernizing project management. There is evidence of a correlation between the interest in using new data management technologies and the incorporation of Building Information Modeling BIM. The next phase of the research will allow the generation of guidelines and strategies for the incorporation of technological tools in the construction sector in Colombia.

Keywords: big data, building information modeling, tecnology, project manamegent

Procedia PDF Downloads 128

Authors: Usama Shahid, Muhammad Zunnurain Hussain

Abstract:

This research paper presents a comprehensive analysis of a sentiment analysis approach that employs valence and arousal as its foundational pillars, in comparison to traditional techniques. Sentiment analysis is an indispensable task in natural language processing that involves the extraction of opinions and emotions from textual data. The valence and arousal dimensions, representing the intensity and positivity/negativity of emotions, respectively, enable the creation of four quadrants, each representing a specific emotional state. The study seeks to determine the impact of utilizing these quadrants to identify distinct emotional states on the accuracy and efficiency of sentiment analysis, in comparison to traditional techniques. The results reveal that the valence and arousal-based approach outperforms other approaches, particularly in identifying nuanced emotions that may be missed by conventional methods. The study's findings are crucial for applications such as social media monitoring and market research, where the accurate classification of emotions and opinions is paramount. Overall, this research highlights the potential of using valence and arousal as a framework for sentiment analysis and offers invaluable insights into the benefits of incorporating specific types of emotions into the analysis. These findings have significant implications for researchers and practitioners in the field of natural language processing, as they provide a basis for the development of more accurate and effective sentiment analysis tools.

Keywords: sentiment analysis, valence and arousal, emotional states, natural language processing, machine learning, text analysis, sentiment classification, opinion mining

Procedia PDF Downloads 101

Authors: Jonny Beirne

Abstract:

Hydropower developments have come to assume an important role within the Ethiopian government's overall development strategy for the country during the last ten years. The Gilgel Gibe III on the Omo river, due to become operational in September 2014, represents the most ambitious, and controversial, of these projects to date. Further aspects of the government's national development strategy include leasing vast areas of designated 'unused' land for large-scale commercial agricultural projects and 'voluntarily' villagizing scattered, semi-nomadic agro-pastoralist groups to centralized settlements so as to use land and water more efficiently and to better provide essential social services such as education and healthcare. The Lower Omo valley, along the Omo River, is one of the sites of this villagization programme as well as of these large-scale commercial agricultural projects which are made possible owing to the regulation of the river's flow by Gibe III. Though the Ethiopian government cite many positive aspects of these agricultural and hydropower developments there are still expected to be serious regional and transnational effects, including on migration flows, in an area already characterized by increasing climatic vulnerability with attendant population movements and conflicts over scarce resources. The following paper is an attempt to track actual and anticipated migration flows resulting from the construction of Gibe III in the immediate vicinity of the dam, downstream in the Lower Omo Valley and across the border in Kenya around Lake Turkana. In the case of those displaced in the Lower Omo Valley, this will be considered in view of the distinction between voluntary villagization and forced resettlement. The research presented is not primary-source material. Instead, it is drawn from the reports and assessments of the Ethiopian government, rights-based groups, and academic researchers as well as media articles. It is hoped that this will serve to draw greater attention to the issue and encourage further methodological research on the dynamics of dam constructions (and associated large-scale irrigation schemes) on migration flows and on the ultimate experience of displacement and resettlement for environmental migrants in the region.

Keywords: forced displacement, voluntary resettlement, migration, human rights, human security, land grabs, dams, commercial agriculture, pastoralism, ecosystem modification, natural resource conflict, livelihoods, development

Procedia PDF Downloads 381

Authors: Faten Hatem

Abstract:

This paper promotes the importance of focusing on spatial aspects and affective factors that impact smart urbanism. This helps to better inform city governance, spatial planning, and policymaking to focus on what Smart does and what it can achieve for cities in terms of performance rather than on using the notion for prestige in a worldwide trend towards becoming a smart city. By illustrating how this style of practice compromises the social aspects and related elements of space making through an interdisciplinary comparative approach, the paper clarifies the impact of this compromise on the overall smart city performance. In response, this paper recognizes the importance of establishing a new meaning for urban progress by moving beyond improving basic services of the city to enhance the actual human experience which is essential for the development of authentic smart cities. The topic is presented under five overlooked areas that discuss the relation between smart cities’ potential and efficiency paradox, the social aspect, connectedness with nature, the human factor, and untapped resources. However, these themes are not meant to be discussed in silos, instead, they are presented to collectively examine smart cities in performance, arguing there is more to the practical life of smart cities than software and hardware inventions. The study is based on a case study approach, presenting Milton Keynes as a living example to learn from while engaging with various methods for data collection including multi-disciplinary semi-structured interviews, field observations, and data mining.

Keywords: smart design, the human in the city, human needs and urban planning, sustainability, smart cities, smart

Procedia PDF Downloads 103

Authors: Ankit Sinha, Soham Banerjee, Pratik Chattopadhyay

Abstract:

Automated product recognition in retail stores is an important real-world application in the domain of Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition. In this paper, we consider the problem of automatically identifying the classes of the products placed on racks in retail stores from an image of the rack and information about the query/product images. We improve upon the existing approaches in terms of effectiveness and memory requirement by developing a two-stage object detection and recognition pipeline comprising of a Faster-RCNN-based object localizer that detects the object regions in the rack image and a ResNet-18-based image encoder that classifies the detected regions into the appropriate classes. Each of the models is fine-tuned using appropriate data sets for better prediction and data augmentation is performed on each query image to prepare an extensive gallery set for fine-tuning the ResNet-18-based product recognition model. This encoder is trained using a triplet loss function following the strategy of online-hard-negative-mining for improved prediction. The proposed models are lightweight and can be connected in an end-to-end manner during deployment to automatically identify each product object placed in a rack image. Extensive experiments using Grozi-32k and GP-180 data sets verify the effectiveness of the proposed model.

Keywords: retail stores, faster-RCNN, object localization, ResNet-18, triplet loss, data augmentation, product recognition

Procedia PDF Downloads 157

Authors: Enebe Christian Chukwudi

Abstract:

Water bodies around the world notably underground water, ground water, rivers, streams, and seas, face degradation of their water quality as a result of activities associated with coal utilization including coal mining, coal processing, coal burning, waste storage and thermal pollution from coal plants which tend to contaminate these water bodies. This contamination results from heavy metals, presence of sulphate and iron, dissolved solids, mercury and other toxins contained in coal ash, sludge, and coal waste. These wastes sometimes find their way to sources of urban water supply and contaminate them. A major problem encountered in the supply of potable water to Enugu municipality is the contamination of Ajali River, the source of water supply to Enugu municipal by coal waste. Hydro geochemical analysis of Ajali water samples indicate high sulphate and iron content, high total dissolved solids(TDS), low pH (acidity values) and significant hardness in addition to presence of heavy metals, mercury, and other toxins. This is indicative of the following remedial measures: I. Proper disposal of mine wastes at designated disposal sites that are suitably prepared. II. Proper water treatment and III. Reduction of coal related contaminants taking advantage of clean coal technology.

Keywords: effects, coal, utilization, water quality, sources, waste, contamination, treatment

Procedia PDF Downloads 424

Authors: Maha Atout, Pippa Hemingway, Jane Seymour

Abstract:

Background: A mixed method systematic review was undertaken in order to explore issues related to the experiences of health care providers and parents in the care of children with palliative care needs. The aims of this systematic review were to identify existing evidence about the experiences of communication in the care of children with palliative care needs, to appraise the research conducted in this area and to identify gaps in the literature in order to recommend for future related studies. Method: A mixed method systematic review of research on the experience of communication in the care of children with palliative care needs, conducted with parents and health professionals was undertaken. The electronic databases of CINAHL, Cochrane, PubMed, OVID, Social Care Online, Web of Science, Scopus, and ProQuest were searched for the period of 2000-2016. Inclusion was limited to studies of communication experience in the care of children with palliative care needs. Result: Thirty-eight studies were found. The studies were conducted in a variety of countries: Uganda, Jordan, USA, UK, Taiwan, Turkey, Ireland, Poland, Brazil, Australia, Switzerland, Sweden, Netherland, Lebanon, Spain, Greece, and China. The current review shows that parents tend to protect their children when they are discussing their illnesses with them, particularly where they have a life-threatening or life-limiting condition. The approach of parents towards the discussion of sensitive issues concerning death with their children is significantly affected by the cultural background of the families. Conservative cultures encourage collusion behaviours which tend to keep children unaware of the incurable nature of the disease. The major communication challenges reported by health professionals are facing difficulties in judging how much information should be given to parents, responding to difficult questions, conflicts with families and inadequate skills to support grieving families. Conclusion: It is probably significant for the future studies to consider the change of parent-child communication experience over time in order to understand how the parents could change their interaction styles with their children according to the different stages of their children’s disease. Moreover, further studies are required to investigate the experience of communication of parents of children with non-malignant life-threatening and life-limiting illnesses.

Keywords: children with life-threatening or life- limiting illnesses, end of life, experience of communication, healthcare care providers, paediatric palliative care

Procedia PDF Downloads 297

Authors: Lucksini Raveendran

Abstract:

Introduction: This mixed-methods study focuses on the experiences of ethnocultural youth and families in Canada, identifying key barriers and opportunities to inform service programming and policies that can better meet their mental health needs during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. Methods: Mental Health Commission of Canada's Headstrong initiative administered the youth survey (April – June 2020) and family survey (June – August 2020) with a total sample size of 137 and 481 respondents, respectively. Thematic analysis was conducted to identify key challenges faced, coping strategies used, and help-seeking behaviours. A similar approach was also applied to the family survey data, but instead, a representative sample was collated to analyze geographically variable and ethnically diverse subgroups. Results and analysis: Multiple challenges have impacted families, including increased feelings of loneliness and distress from border travel restrictions, especially among those navigating pregnancy alone or managing children with developmental needs, which is often understudied. Also, marginalized groups were disproportionately affected by inequitable access to communication technologies, further deepening the digital divide. Some reported living in congregated homes with regular conflicts, thus leading to increased anxiety and exposure to violence. For many families, urbanicity and ethnicity played a key role in how families reported coping with feelings of uncertainty while managing work commitments, navigating community resources, fulfilling care responsibilities, and homeschooling children of all ages. Despite these challenges, there was evidence of post-traumatic growth and building community resiliency. Conclusions and implications for policy, practice, or additional research: There is a need to foster opportunities to promote and sustain mental health, wellness, and resilience for families through social connections. Also, intersectionality must be embedded in the collection, analysis, and application of data to improve equitable access to evidence-based and recovery-oriented mental health supports among diverse families in Canada. Lastly, address future research on the long-term COVID-19 impacts of travel border restrictions on family wellness.

Keywords: mental health, youth mental health, family wellness, health equity

Procedia PDF Downloads 94

Authors: P. Saravanan, A. Vasumathi

Abstract:

Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) plays a vital role in formulating the policies and strategies for the company, in order to fulfill the employee’s requirement and to perform the job efficiently within the organisation. Human Resource Management (HRM) functions helps in attracting and motivating the talented workforce for the organisation and by increasing the performance of an individual, will result in achieving the defined goals and objectives for the company. HRM function plays an important role in managing the workers within organisation through a formal communication channel. Since HR functions acts as a mediatory role in between the employee as well as the employers within the organisation that helps in improving the efficacy and skills of the individuals employed within the company. HR manager acts as a change agent, enabling and driving the change management program with respect to business HR functions and its future requirements of the company. Due to change in the business environment, the focus of HR manager is shifting from administrative/personal functions in to a strategic business HR function. HR managers plays a strategic role in managing various HR functions such as recruitment and selection, human resource information system, manpower planning, performance management, conflict management, employee engagement, compensation management, policy formation and retention strategies followed within the industry. Major challenges faced by HR managers at work place are managing the level of engagement for the talented resources within the organisation, reducing the conflicts at workplace, mapping the talented resources through succession planning process, building the effective appraisal process and performance management system and mapping the compensation based on the skills and experience possed by the employee within the company. The authors conducted a study for the sample size of 75 HR managers from an Indian IT company through systematic sampling method. This study identifies that the female employees are facing lesser conflict than the male employees against their managers within the organisation and also the study determines the impact of demographic profile on strategic HRM practices and its challenges faced by HR managers in IT firm, India.

Keywords: strategic human resource management, change agent, employee engagement, performance management, succession planning and conflict management

Procedia PDF Downloads 298

Authors: Siqing Guan, Fumiyo Oshima, Eiji Shimizu, Nozomi Tomita, Toru Takahashi, Hiroaki Kumano

Abstract:

Risk factors for social anxiety in autism spectrum conditions involve executive attention, emotion regulation, and thought regulation as processes of cognitive dysregulation. Social camouflaging behaviors as strategies used to mask and/or compensate for autism characteristics during social interactions in autism spectrum conditions have also been emphasized. However, the role of cognitive dysregulation and social camouflaging related to social anxiety in autism spectrum conditions has not been clarified. Whether these factors are specific to social anxiety in autism spectrum conditions or common to social anxiety independent of autism spectrum conditions needs to be clarified. Here, we explored risk factors specific to social anxiety in autism spectrum conditions and general risk factors for social anxiety independent of autism spectrum conditions. From the Japanese participants in early adulthood (age=18~39) of the online survey in Japan, those who exceeded the Japanese version Autism-Spectrum Quotient cutoff (33 points or more )were divided into the autism spectrum conditions group (ASC; N=255, mean age=32.08, SD age=5.16)and those who did not exceed the cutoff were divided into the non-autism spectrum conditions group (Non-ASC; N=255, mean age=31.70, SD age=5.09). Using the Japanese versions of the Social Phobia Scale, the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale, and the Short Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale, a composite score for social anxiety was calculated using a method of principal. We also measured emotional control difficulties using the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale, executive attention using the Effortful Control Scale for Adults, rumination using the Rumination-Reflection Questionnaire, and worry using the Penn State Worry Questionnaire. This study was passed through the review of the Ethics Committee. No conflicts of interest. Multiple regression analysis with forced entry method was used to predict social anxiety in the ASC and non-ASC groups separately, based on executive attention, emotion dysregulation, worry, rumination, and social camouflage. In the ASC group, emotion dysregulation (β=.277, p<.001), worry (β=.162, p<.05), assimilation (β=.308, p<.001) and masking (β=.275, p<.001) were significant predictors of social anxiety (F (7,247) = 45.791, p <.001, R2=.565). In the non-ASC groups,emotion dysregulation (β=.171, p<.05), worry (β=.344，p <.001), assimilation (β=.366,p <.001) and executive attention (β=-.132,p <.05) were significant predictors of social anxiety (F (7,207) =47.333, p <.001, R2=.615).The findings suggest that masking was shown to be a risk factor for social anxiety specific to autism spectrum conditions, while emotion dysregulation, worry, and assimilation were shown to be common risk factors for social anxiety, regardless of autism spectrum conditions. In addition, executive attention is a risk factor for social anxiety without autism spectrum conditions.

Keywords: autism spectrum, cognitive control, social anxiety, social camouflaging

Procedia PDF Downloads 208

Authors: Jameela Ali, Hamid A. Jalab, Loay E. George, Abdul Rahim Ahmad, Azizah Suliman, Karim Al-Jashamy

Abstract:

Red blood cells (RBC) are the most common types of blood cells and are the most intensively studied in cell biology. The lack of RBCs is a condition in which the amount of hemoglobin level is lower than normal and is referred to as “anemia”. Abnormalities in RBCs will affect the exchange of oxygen. This paper presents a comparative study for various techniques for classifying the RBCs as normal, or abnormal (anemic) using WEKA. WEKA is an open source consists of different machine learning algorithms for data mining applications. The algorithm tested are Radial Basis Function neural network, Support vector machine, and K-Nearest Neighbors algorithm. Two sets of combined features were utilized for classification of blood cells images. The first set, exclusively consist of geometrical features, was used to identify whether the tested blood cell has a spherical shape or non-spherical cells. While the second set, consist mainly of textural features was used to recognize the types of the spherical cells. We have provided an evaluation based on applying these classification methods to our RBCs image dataset which were obtained from Serdang Hospital-alaysia, and measuring the accuracy of test results. The best achieved classification rates are 97%, 98%, and 79% for Support vector machines, Radial Basis Function neural network, and K-Nearest Neighbors algorithm respectively.

Keywords: K-nearest neighbors algorithm, radial basis function neural network, red blood cells, support vector machine

Procedia PDF Downloads 410

Authors: Kolela J Nyembwe, Darlington C. Ashiegbu, Herman J. Potgieter

Abstract:

Over the past few decades, the demand for metals has increased significantly. This has led to a decrease and decline of high-grade ore over time and an increase in mineral complexity and matrix heterogeneity. In addition to that, there are rising concerns about greener processes and a sustainable environment. Due to these challenges, the mining and metal industry has been forced to develop new technologies that are able to economically process and recover metallic values from low-grade ores, materials having a metal content locked up in industrially processed residues (tailings and slag), and complex matrix mineral deposits. Several methods to address these issues have been developed, among which are ionic liquids (IL), heap leaching, and bioleaching. Recently, the gas phase extraction technique has been gaining interest because it eliminates many of the problems encountered in conventional mineral processing methods. The technique relies on the formation of volatile metal complexes, which can be removed from the residual solids by a carrier gas. The complexes can then be reduced using the appropriate method to obtain the metal and regenerate-recover the organic extractant. Laboratory work on the gas phase have been conducted for the extraction and recovery of aluminium (Al), iron (Fe), copper (Cu), chrome (Cr), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), and vanadium V. In all cases the extraction revealed to depend of temperature and mineral surface area. The process technology appears very promising, offers the feasibility of recirculation, organic reagent regeneration, and has the potential to deliver on all promises of a “greener” process.

Keywords: gas-phase extraction, hydrometallurgy, low-grade ore, sustainable environment

Procedia PDF Downloads 133

Authors: Mohamad Musa

Abstract:

The history of mental health practices and services in the Middle East region has been deeply intertwined with its rich cultural, religious, and societal context. Tracing back to ancient times, mental health approaches were heavily influenced by the traditions of major monotheistic religions, with a strong emphasis on spiritual and traditional healing methods. As psychiatric institutions and Western medicine gradually gained a foothold in the region during the 20th century, a notable shift occurred. However, the integration of Western psychiatric practices faced significant challenges due to cultural barriers and deeply rooted beliefs. Families and communities often turned to traditional healers and religious practices as their initial recourse for mental health concerns, viewing Western interventions with skepticism and hesitation. Historically, mental health services in the Middle East have been overshadowed by a focus on physical health and the biomedical model. Mental illness carried substantial stigma, with individuals and families often reluctant to disclose mental health struggles due to fears of societal ostracization and discrimination. This stigma posed a significant barrier to accessing and accepting formal mental health support. Later in the 20th century, governments in the Middle East began recognizing the need for modernizing mental health services and integrating them into the broader healthcare system. However, this process was hindered by several factors, including limited resources, inadequate training for healthcare professionals, and ongoing conflicts and instability in certain regions, which disrupted the delivery of mental health services. As the 21st century progressed, several Middle Eastern nations, particularly those in the Arabian Gulf region, began implementing national mental health strategies and legislative reforms to address the growing need for comprehensive mental health care. These efforts aimed to destigmatize mental illness, protect the rights of individuals with mental health conditions, and promote public awareness and education. Despite these positive developments, the historical legacy of stigma, cultural barriers, and limited resources continues to pose challenges in the provision of accessible and culturally responsive mental health services across the diverse populations of the Middle East.

Keywords: mental health, history, middle east, literature review

Procedia PDF Downloads 32

Authors: Bander Mohayya Alotaibi

Abstract:

The valuable partnerships between parents and teachers may develop positive and effective interactions between home and school. This will help these stakeholders share information and resources regarding student academics during ongoing interactions. Thus, partnerships will build a solid foundation for both families and schools to help children succeed in school. Parental involvement can be seen as an effective tool that can change homes and communities and not just schools’ systems. Seeking parents and stakeholders’ attitudes toward learning and learners can help schools design a curriculum. Subsequently, this information can be used to find ways to help improve the academic performance of students, especially in low performing schools. There may be some conflicts when designing curriculum. In addition, designing curriculum might bring more educational expectations to all the sides. There is a lack of research that targets the specific attitude of parents toward specific concepts on curriculum contents. More research is needed to study the perspective that parents of children with learning disabilities (LD) have regarding early reading curriculum. Parents and stakeholders’ perspectives on early reading intervention implemented as a curriculum for children with LD was studied through an advanced quantitative research. The purpose of this study seeks to understand stakeholders and parents’ perspectives of key concepts and essential early reading skills that impact the design of curriculum that will serve as an intervention for early struggler readers who have LD. Those concepts or stages include phonics, phonological awareness, and reading fluency as well as strategies used in house by parents. A survey instrument was used to gather the data. Participants were recruited through 29 schools and districts of the metropolitan area of the northern part of Saudi Arabia. Participants were stakeholders including parents of children with learning disability. Data were collected using distribution of paper and pen survey to schools. Psychometric properties of the instrument were evaluated for the validity and reliability of the survey; face validity, content validity, and construct validity including an Exploratory Factor Analysis were used to shape and reevaluate the structure of the instrument. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) used to find differences between the variables. The study reported the results of the perspectives of stakeholders toward reading strategies, phonics, phonological awareness, and reading fluency. Also, suggestions and limitations are discussed.

Keywords: stakeholders, learning disability, early reading, perspectives, parents, intervention, curriculum

Procedia PDF Downloads 155

Authors: Nafiseh Noormohammadi, Ahmad Sobhani Najafabadi

Abstract:

Hypericins (hypericin and pseudohypericin) are natural napthodianthrone derivatives produced by Hypericum perforatum (St. John’s Wort), which have many medicinal properties such as antitumor, antineoplastic, antiviral, and antidepressant activities. Production and accumulation of hypericin in the plant are influenced by both genetic and environmental conditions. Despite the existence of different high-throughput data on the plant, genetic dimensions of hypericin biosynthesis have not yet been completely understood. In this research, 21 high-quality RNA-seq data on different parts of the plant were integrated into metabolic data to reconstruct a coexpression network. Results showed that a cluster of 30 transcripts was correlated with total hypericin. The identified transcripts were divided into three main groups based on their functions, including hypericin biosynthesis genes, transporters, detoxification genes, and transcription factors (TFs). In the biosynthetic group, different isoforms of polyketide synthase (PKSs) and phenolic oxidative coupling proteins (POCPs) were identified. Phylogenetic analysis of protein sequences integrated into gene expression analysis showed that some of the POCPs seem to be very important in the biosynthetic pathway of hypericin. In the TFs group, six TFs were correlated with total hypericin. qPCR analysis of these six TFs confirmed that three of them were highly correlated. The identified genes in this research are a rich resource for further studies on the molecular breeding of H. perforatum in order to obtain varieties with high hypericin production.

Keywords: hypericin, St. John’s Wort, data mining, transcription factors, secondary metabolites

Procedia PDF Downloads 93