Search results for: resource centre

Authors: Barbora Herdová, Rastislav Lagaňa

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The paper investigates the mechanical properties of European aspen (Populus tremula L.) as a potential replacement for load-bearing elements in historical structures. One of the main aims of the research has been the quantification of mechanical properties via destructive testing and the subsequent calculation of characteristic values of these properties. The research encompasses experimental testing of wood specimens for the determination of dynamic modulus of elasticity (MOEdyn), modulus of elasticity (MOE), modulus of rupture (MOR), and density. The results were analyzed and compared to established standards for structural timber. The results confirmed statistically significant dependence between MOR and MOEdyn. The correlation between the MOR and the dynamic MOEdyn enabled non-destructive strength grading using the Sylvatest Duo® system. The findings of this research contribute to the potential use of European aspen as a structural timber, which could have implications for the sustainable use of this abundant and renewable resource in the construction industry. They also show the usability of European aspen in the reconstruction of historical buildings.

Keywords: populus tremula, MOE, MOR, sylvatest Duo®.

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Authors: M. R. Ebrahimi, B. Mahdaviani

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Conventional electric distribution systems are radial in nature, supplied at one end through a main source. These networks generally have a simple protection system usually implemented using fuses, re-closers, and over-current relays. Recently, great attention has been paid to applying Distributed energy resources (DERs) throughout electric distribution systems. Presence of such generation in a network leads to losing coordination of protection devices. Therefore, it is desired to develop an algorithm which is capable of protecting distribution systems that include DER. On the other hand smart grid brings opportunities to the power system. Fast advancement in communication and measurement techniques accelerates the development of multi agent system (MAS). So in this paper, a new approach for the protection of distribution networks in the presence of DERs is presented base on MAS. The proposed scheme has been implemented on a sample 27-bus distribution network.

Keywords: distributed energy resource, distribution network, protection, smart grid, multi agent system

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Authors: P. Nayak, Shakeel Shaikh

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In this paper, we analyse the apparel export performance of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the world market. The study covers the 2003-2012 period at the sector as well as product levels (6 digit HS) and analysis is based HS 2002 nomenclature. We measure export similarity among Southeast Asian nations for the apparel sector (two digit HS-61 & 62), besides analysing the products performance in the world through Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA) technique. Coupled with RCA, the price as a factor of competitiveness was examined from the available Unit Value Realizations (UVR). Further to this, the resource availability or outsourced from the region was considered as an extension to the analysis of competitiveness between the nations. With the help of these methodologies, we examine the degree of competition between the exports of southeast nations in the world market. Our results show that Cambodia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam are well performing states within ASEAN. The paper further delves into sustainability of the export performing countries within ASEAN.

Keywords: export competitiveness, export similarity index, revealed comparative advantage, unit value realisation

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Authors: M. Chavleishvili, E. Kharaishvili, G. Erkomaishvili

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The article presents the development trends of farms, estimates on the optimal scope of farming, as well as the experience of local and foreign countries in this area. As well, the advantages of small and large farms are discussed; herewith, the scales of farms are compared to the local reality. The study analyzes the results of farm operations and the possibilities of diversification of farms. The indicators of an effective use of land resources and land fragmentation are measured; also, a comparative analysis with other countries is presented, in particular, the measurements of agricultural lands for farming, as well as the indicators of population ensuring. The conducted research shows that most of the farms in Georgia are small and their development is at the initial stage, which outlines that the country has a high resource potential to increase the scale of the farming industry and its full integration into market relations. On the basis of the obtained results, according to the research on the scale of farming in Georgia and the identification of hampering factors of farming development, the conclusions are presented and the relevant recommendations are suggested.

Keywords: farm cooperatives.farms, farm scale, land fragmentation, small and large farms

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Authors: Anne Kariuki, Kellen Kiambati

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The broad objective of this study was to establish the mediating effect of media visibility on the relationship between corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and the corporate performance of firms listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange. The review of the literature provided conceptual and empirical gaps that formed the basis of the conceptual hypotheses. A survey questionnaire was distributed to the 50 heads of human resource departments in the different firms. A survey was conducted on fifty (50) companies listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange. The study findings reported a significant relationship between CSR and non-financial performance and the mediating role of media visibility on the relationship between CSR and performance. The findings of the study support the signaling theory and stakeholder’s theory. Conclusively, CSR activities have an effect on media visibility, which in turn affects performance.

Keywords: corporate social responsibility, media visibility, corporate performance, non-financial performance

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Authors: Kuanrong Qiu, Sebnem Madrali, Evgueniy Entchev

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To achieve the satisfactory objectives in deploying integrated renewable energy systems, it is crucial to consider all the related parameters affecting the design and decision-making. The multi-criteria evaluation method is a reliable and efficient tool for achieving the most appropriate solution. The approach considers the influential factors and their relative importance in prioritizing the alternatives. In this paper, a multi-criteria decision framework, based on the criteria including technical, economic, environmental and reliability, is developed to evaluate and prioritize renewable energy technologies and configurations of their integrated systems for community applications, identify their viability, and thus support the adoption of the clean energy technologies and the decision-making regarding energy transitions and transition patterns. Case studies for communities in Canada show that resource availability and the configurations of the integrated systems significantly impact the economic performance and environmental performance.

Keywords: multi-criteria, renewables, integrated energy systems, decision-making, model

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Authors: Siobhan Laird

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Under article 12 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which extends human rights in their application to those under the age of 18 years, children must be consulted ‘in all matters affecting the child’. The Office of the Children’s Commissioner for England is responsible for improving the welfare of children and young people by ensuring that their Convention rights are respected and realised and their views taken seriously. In 2014 the Children’s Commissioner engaged a team of researchers at the Centre for Social Work, University of Nottingham to develop and roll out an online survey to gather information from children and young people about their exercise of choice within the public care system. Approximately 3,000 children responded to this survey, which comprised both closed and open-ended questions. SPSS was used to analyse the numerical data and a thematic analysis of textual data was conducted on answers to open-ended questions. Findings revealed that children exercised considerable choice over personal space and their spare time, but had much less choice in relation to contact with their birth families, where they lived, or the timings of moves from one placement into another. The majority of children described how they were supported to express their opinions and believed that these were taken seriously. However, a significant number reported problems and explained how specific behaviours by professionals and carers made it difficult for them to express their opinion or to feel that they had influenced decisions which affected them. In open-ended questions eliciting information about their experiences, children and young people were asked to describe how they could be better supported to make choices and what changes would assist for these to be better acknowledged and acted upon by professionals and carers. This paper concludes by presenting the ideas and suggestions of children and young people for improving the public care system in Britain in relation to their exercise of choice.

Keywords: children, choice, participation, public care

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Authors: Armineh Nourbakhsh, Sameena Shah, Carolyn Rose

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Layout-aware language models have been used to create multimodal representations for documents that are in image form, achieving relatively high accuracy in document understanding tasks. However, the large number of parameters in the resulting models makes building and using them prohibitive without access to high-performing processing units with large memory capacity. We propose an alternative approach that can create efficient representations without the need for a neural visual backbone. This leads to an 80% reduction in the number of parameters compared to the smallest SOTA model, widely expanding applicability. In addition, our layout embeddings are pre-trained on spatial and visual cues alone and only fused with text embeddings in downstream tasks, which can facilitate applicability to low-resource of multi-lingual domains. Despite using 2.5% of training data, we show competitive performance on two form understanding tasks: semantic labeling and link prediction.

Keywords: layout understanding, form understanding, multimodal document understanding, bias-augmented attention

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Authors: Rajkumar Ghosh

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Water scarcity is a significant challenge in urban areas, even in smart cities (Lucknow, Bangalore, Jaipur, etc.) where efficient resource management is prioritized. The depletion of groundwater resources in Gomti Nagar, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India is particularly severe, posing a significant challenge for sustainable development in the region. This study focuses on addressing the water shortage by investigating the effectiveness of rooftop rainwater harvesting systems (RTRWHs) as a sustainable approach to bridge the gap between groundwater recharge and extraction. The aim of this study is to assess the effectiveness of RTRWHs in reducing aquifer depletion and addressing the water scarcity issue in the Gomti Nagar region. The research methodology involves the utilization of RTRWHs as the primary method for collecting rainwater. RTRWHs will be implemented in residential and commercial buildings to maximize the collection of rainwater. Data for this study were collected through various sources such as government reports, surveys, and existing groundwater abstraction patterns. Statistical analysis and modelling techniques were employed to assess the current water situation, groundwater depletion rate, and the potential impact of implementing RTRWHs. The study reveals that the installation of RTRWHs in the Gomti Nagar region has a positive impact on addressing the water scarcity issue. Currently, RTRWHs cover only a small percentage of the total rainfall collected in the region. However, when RTRWHs are installed in all buildings, their influence on increasing water availability and reducing aquifer depletion will be significantly greater. The study also highlights the significant water imbalance in the region, emphasizing the urgent need for sustainable water management practices. This research contributes to the theoretical understanding of sustainable water management systems in smart cities. By highlighting the effectiveness of RTRWHs in reducing aquifer depletion, it emphasizes the importance of implementing such systems in urban areas. Data for this study were collected through various sources such as government reports, surveys, and existing groundwater abstraction patterns. The collected data were then analysed using statistical analysis and modelling techniques to assess the current water situation, groundwater depletion rate, and the potential impact of implementing RTRWHs. The findings of this study demonstrate that the implementation of RTRWHs can effectively mitigate the water scarcity crisis in Gomti Nagar. By reducing aquifer depletion and bridging the gap between groundwater recharge and extraction, RTRWHs offer a sustainable solution to the region's water scarcity challenges. Widespread adoption of RTRWHs in all buildings and integration into urban planning and development processes are crucial for efficient water management in smart cities like Gomti Nagar. These findings can serve as a basis for policymakers, urban planners, and developers to prioritize and incentivize the installation of RTRWHs as a potential solution to the water shortage crisis.

Keywords: water scarcity, urban areas, smart cities, resource management, groundwater depletion, rooftop rainwater harvesting systems, sustainable development, sustainable water management, mitigating water scarcity

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Authors: Viveka Jackson, Erouscilla Joseph, Denise Beckles, Thomas Christopher

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Sulphur Dioxide (SO2) has been defined as a non-flammable, non-explosive, colourless gas, having a pungent, irritating odour, and is one of the main gases emitted from volcanoes. Sulphur dioxide has been recorded in concentrations hazardous to humans (0.25 – 0.5 ppm (~650 – 1300 μg/m3), downwind of many volcanoes and hence warrants constant air-quality monitoring around these sites. It has been linked to an increase in chronic respiratory disease attributed to long-term exposures and alteration in lung and other physiological functions attributed to short-term exposures. Sulphur Springs in Saint Lucia is a highly active geothermal area, located within the Soufrière Volcanic Centre, and is a park widely visited by tourists and locals. It is also a current source of continuous volcanic emissions via its many fumaroles and bubbling pools, warranting concern by residents and visitors to the park regarding the effects of exposure to these gases. In this study, we introduce a novel SO2 measurement system for the monitoring and quantification of ambient levels of airborne volcanic SO2 using low-cost technology. This work involves the extensive production of low-cost SO2 monitors/samplers, as well as field examination in tandem with standard commercial samplers (SO2 diffusion tubes). It also incorporates community involvement in the volcanic monitoring process as non-professional users of the instrument. We intend to present the preliminary monitoring results obtained from the low-cost samplers, to identify the areas in the Park exposed to high concentrations of ambient SO2, and to assess the feasibility of the instrument for non-professional use and application in volcanic settings

Keywords: ambient SO2, community-based monitoring, risk-reduction, sulphur springs, low-cost

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Authors: Konrad Pietrykowski, Michał Gęca, Michał Bialy

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The paper presents the results of the crankshaft strength simulation. The crankshaft was taken from the opposed piston engine. Calculations were made using finite element method (FEM) in Abaqus software. This program allows to perform strength tests of individual machine parts as well as their assemblies. The crankshaft that was used in the calculations will be used in the two-stroke aviation research aircraft engine. The assumptions for the calculations were obtained from the AVL Boost software, from one-dimensional engine cycle model and from the multibody model using the method developed in the MSC Adams software. The research engine will be equipped with 3 combustion chambers and two crankshafts. In order to shorten the calculation time, only one crankcase analysis was performed. The cut of the shaft has been selected with the greatest forces resulting from the engine operation. Calculations were made for two cases. For maximum piston force when maximum bending load occurs and for the maximum torque. Cast iron material was adopted. For this material, Poisson's number, density, and Young's modulus were determined. The computational grid contained of 1,977,473 Tet elements. This type of elements was chosen because of the complex design of the crankshaft. Results are presented in the form of stress distributions maps and displacements on the surface and inside the geometry of the shaft. The results show the places of tension stresses, however, no stresses are exceeded at any place. The shaft can thus be applied to the engine in its present form. Acknowledgement: This work has been realized in the cooperation with The Construction Office of WSK 'PZL-KALISZ’ S.A. and is part of Grant Agreement No. POIR.01.02.00-00-0002/15 financed by the Polish National Centre for Research and Development.

Keywords: aircraft diesel engine, crankshaft, finite element method, two-stroke engine

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Authors: Ibe O. Stephen, Egwuonwu N. Gabriel

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Variations in seismic P-wave velocity and depth resolution resulting from variations in subsurface water saturation were investigated in this study in order to determine the season of the year that gives the most reliable P-wave velocity and depth resolution of the subsurface in Zaria Area, Nigeria. A 2D seismic refraction tomography technique involving an ABEM Terraloc MK6 Seismograph was used to collect data across a borehole of standard log with the centre of the spread situated at the borehole site. Using the same parameters this procedure was repeated along the same spread for at least once in a month for at least eight months in a year for four years. The choice for each survey time depended on when there was significant variation in rainfall data. The seismic data collected were tomographically inverted. The results suggested that the average P-wave velocity ranges of the subsurface in the area are generally higher when the ground was wet than when it was dry. The results also suggested that the overburden of about 9.0 m in thickness, the weathered basement of about 14.0 m in thickness and the fractured basement at a depth of about 23.0 m best fitted the borehole log. This best fit was consistently obtained in the months between March and May when the average total rainfall was about 44.8 mm in the area. The results had also shown that the velocity ranges in both dry and wet formations fall within the standard ranges as provided in literature. In terms of velocity, this study has not in any way clearly distinguished the quality of the results of the seismic data obtained when the subsurface was dry from the results of the data collected when the subsurface was wet. It was concluded that for more detailed and reliable seismic studies in Zaria Area and its environs with similar climatic condition, the surveys are best conducted between March and May. The most reliable seismic data for depth resolution are most likely obtainable in the area between March and May.

Keywords: best season, variations in depth resolution, variations in P-wave velocity, variations in subsurface water saturation, Zaria area

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Authors: Ahlem Nefzi, Rania Aydi Ben Abdallah, Hayfa Jabnoun-Khiareddine, Ammar Nawaim, Rabiaa Haouala, Mejda Daami-Remadi

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Seven endophytic fungi were isolated from the wild Solanaceous species Lycium arabicum growing in the Tunisian Centre-East and were assessed for their ability to suppress Fusarium Crown and Root Rot disease caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. radicis lycopersici (FORL) and to enhance plant growth. Fungal isolates were shown able to colonize tomato cv. Rio Grande roots, crowns, and stems. A significant promotion in all studied growth parameters (root length, shoot height, and roots and shoots fresh weight) was recorded in tomato plants treated with fungal conidial suspensions or their cell-free culture filtrates compared to FORL-inoculated or pathogen-free controls. I15 and I18 isolates were shown to be the most effective leading to 85.7-87.5 and 93.6-98.4% decrease in leaf and root damage index and the vascular discoloration extent, respectively, over FORL-inoculated and untreated control. These two bioactive and growth-promoting isolates (I15 and I18) were morphologically characterized and identified using rDNA sequencing gene as being Alternaria alternata (MF693801) and Fusarium fujikuroi (MF693802). These fungi significantly suppressed FORL mycelial growth and showed chitinolytic, proteolytic and amylase activities whereas only F. fujikuroi displayed a lipolytic activity. This study clearly demonstrated the potential use of fungi naturally associated with L. arabicum as biocontrol and bio-fertilizing agents.

Keywords: biocontrol, endophytic fungi, Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. radicis-lycopersici, tomato promotion, Lycium arabicum

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Authors: Masoud Irannezhad, Sirpa Rasmus, Saghar Ahmadian, Deliang Chen, Bjorn Klove

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Variability and changes in thermal conditions play a crucial role in functioning of human society, particularly over cold climate regions like Finland. Accordingly, the frost-free season (FFS) parameters in terms of start (FFSS), end (FFSE) and length (FFSL) have substantial effects not only on natural environment (e.g. flora and fauna), but also on human requirements (e.g. agriculture, forestry and energy generation). Applying the 0°C threshold of minimum temperature (Tmin), the FFS was defined as the period between the last spring frost as FFSS and the first fall frost as FFSE. For this study, gridded (10 x 10 km2) daily minimum temperature datasets throughout Finland during 1961-2011 was used to investigate recent spatio-temporal variations and trends in frost-free season (FFS) parameters and their relationships with the well-known large-scale climate teleconnections (CTs). The FFS in Finland naturally increases from north (~60 days) to south (~190 days), in association with earlier FFSS (~24 April) and later FFSE (~30 October). Statistically significant (p<0.05) trends in FFSL were all positive (increasing) ranged between 0 and 13.5 (days/decade) and mainly observed in the east, upper west, centre and upper north of Finland. Such lengthening trends in FFS were attributable to both earlier FFSS and later FFSE mostly over central and upper northern Finland, while only to later FFSE in eastern and upper western parts. Variations in both FFSL and FFSS were significantly associated with the Polar (POL) pattern over northern Finland, while with the East Atlantic (EA) pattern over eastern and upper western areas. However, the POL and Scandinavia (SCA) patterns were most influential CTs for FFSE variability over northern Finland.

Keywords: climate teleconnections, Finland, frost-free season, trend analysis

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Authors: Naser Ahmadi Sani, Karim Solaimani, Lida Razaghnia, Jalal Zandi

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In recent decades, rapid and incorrect changes in land-use have been associated with consequences such as natural resources degradation and environmental pollution. Detecting changes in land-use is one of the tools for natural resource management and assessment of changes in ecosystems. The target of this research is studying the land-use changes in Haraz basin with an area of 677000 hectares in a 15 years period (1996 to 2011) using LANDSAT data. Therefore, the quality of the images was first evaluated. Various enhancement methods for creating synthetic bonds were used in the analysis. Separate training sites were selected for each image. Then the images of each period were classified in 9 classes using supervised classification method and the maximum likelihood algorithm. Finally, the changes were extracted in GIS environment. The results showed that these changes are an alarm for the HARAZ basin status in future. The reason is that 27% of the area has been changed, which is related to changing the range lands to bare land and dry farming and also changing the dense forest to sparse forest, horticulture, farming land and residential area.

Keywords: Haraz basin, change detection, land-use, satellite data

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Authors: Khoi A. Nguyen, Rodney A. Stewart, Hong Zhang

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Advanced metering technologies coupled with informatics creates an opportunity to form digital multi-utility service providers. These providers will be able to concurrently collect a customers’ medium-high resolution water, electricity and gas demand data and provide user-friendly platforms to feed this information back to customers and supply/distribution utility organisations. With the emergence of blockchain technology, a new research area has been explored which helps bring this multi-utility service provider concept to a much higher level. This study aims at introducing a breakthrough system architecture where smart metering technology in water, energy, and gas (WEG) are combined with blockchain technology to provide customer a novel real-time consumption report and decentralized resource trading platform. A pilot study on 4 properties in Australia has been undertaken to demonstrate this system, where benefits for customers and utilities are undeniable.

Keywords: blockchain, digital multi-utility, end use, demand forecasting

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Authors: Helio Arthur Reis Irigaray, Fabricio Stocker

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This study aims to discover the extent to which affinity groups effectively act to combat inequalities, promote diversity, and contribute to the inclusion of non-hegemonic groups in the work environment. To this end, we have built empirical research, in which we interviewed 36 leaders and members of the collectives of non-hegemonic groups, namely women, blacks, and LGBTQ. With the proper authorization of the participants, their interviews were transcribed and submitted for critical analysis of the discourse. The field revealed that collectives are the result of the articulation of non-hegemonic groups, which create and participate in legitimate and institutional spaces to promote diversity. We also identified that diversity actions have happened as a market trend and reproduced mimetically. As the largest companies implement these actions, they become benchmarking and thus create a flow that is reproduced by other companies. However, there is no effective change in the structures that could promote inclusion and belonging. We state that a diverse group of employees are not enough to claim that the organization is diverse and inclusive. There remains much more to discuss and delve into deeply, including gender, diversity, and intersectionality.

Keywords: diversity, inclusion, collectives, affinity groups, employee resource groups

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Authors: Selen Demirtas Zorbaz, Ozlem Ulas

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Examining the reasons of child behaviour problems has been one of the focus of psychology and related disciplines for so long. It can be said there is a lot of reasons of child behaviour problems and familial factors might be the leading ones. When taking into account the prevalence of the children having behaviour problems in Turkey, it can be said that it is important to carry out studies putting forward the reasons of behaviour problems. From this point of view, the aim of this study is to examine dissertations and thesis putting forward the relationship between problem behaviour of the children (12-year-old and younger) and teenagers (12-18 years old), and familial factors. For that purpose, 46 dissertations that were chosen according to the study criteria out of 141 dissertations scanned by using the keywords of ‘behaviour problems’ and ‘behaviour disorder’ at Higher Education Thesis Centre between the years of 1989 and 2016 have been taken into the scope of the study. ‘Thesis Examination Draft Form’ has been prepared for the purpose of being used for data collecting tool. For the analysis of the data, percentage, and frequency analysis methods have been used. When the results of these studies are evaluated on the whole, it is seen that all the dissertations and thesis done are descriptive study, and it was not encountered any studies designed as experimental. When looked at the distribution of dissertations by years, it is seen that the first thesis was done in 1989 and the most number of dissertations were done in the years of 2014 and 2016. When looked at the department in which the dissertations were done, it can be said that dissertations and thesis were done in many different fields of disciplines ranging from psychology and special education. In addition to this, when investigated the group taken into the scope of dissertations and thesis research, it is seen that the children mostly worked with are below the age of 12 and types of studies are master’s thesis. When the dissertations and thesis are examined by means of topics, it is seen that mostly-studied topics are demographic variables such as gender, whether the family is fragmented or not, education level of the family and the parents’ attitude. Obtained findings have been examined in the light of literature.

Keywords: family, child behaviour problem, dissertations, thesis

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Authors: Romain Ben Taleb, Aurélie Montarnal, Matthieu Lauras, Mathieu Dahan, Romain Miclo

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To be competitive and sustainable, any company has to maximize its value. However, unlike listed companies that can assess their values based on market shares, most Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) which are non-listed cannot have direct and live access to this critical information. Traditional accounting reports only give limited insights to SME decision-makers about the real impact of their day-to-day decisions on the company’s performance and value. Most of the time, an SME’s financial valuation is made one time a year as the associated process is time and resource-consuming, requiring several months and external expertise to be completed. To solve this issue, we propose in this paper a value-oriented metamodel that enables real-time and dynamic assessment of the SME’s value based on the large definition of their assets. These assets cover a wider scope of resources of the company and better account for immaterial assets. The proposal, which is illustrated in a case study, discusses the benefits of incorporating assets in the SME valuation.

Keywords: SME, metamodel, decision support system, financial valuation, assets

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Authors: Aby Nesan Raj, Sumil K. Raj, Sumesh Jayan

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The objective of the study is to formulate a self-regulation model that shall enhance the usage of Intelligent Transportation Systems by understanding the theory of self-efficacy. The core logic of the self-regulation model shall monitor driver's behavior based on the situations related to the various sources of Self Efficacy like enactive mastery, vicarious experience, verbal persuasion and physiological arousal in addition to the vehicle data. For this study, four different vehicle data, speed, drowsiness, diagnostic data and surround camera views are considered. This data shall be given to the self-regulation model for evaluation. The oddness, which is the output of self-regulation model, shall feed to Intelligent Transportation Systems where appropriate actions are being taken. These actions include warning to the user as well as the input to the related transportation systems. It is also observed that the usage of vehicle as a sensor reduces the wastage of resource utilization or duplication. Altogether, this approach enhances the intelligence of the transportation systems especially in safety, productivity and environmental performance.

Keywords: emergency management, intelligent transportation system, self-efficacy, traffic management

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Authors: K. Fellah, H. Benmehdi, A. Amrouche, H. Malainine, F. Memmou, H. Dalile, W. Siata

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This work aims to evaluate the antioxidant of flavonoids extracted from the leaves of Prunus persica L. A phytochemical screening allowed us to highlight the different phytochemicals present in the leaves of the studied plant. The selective extraction of flavonoids gave yields of 0.71, 1.5, and 4.8% for the fractions ethyl ether, ethyl acetate and n- butanol, respectively. The reading of the antioxidant activity of different extracts of flavonoids by HPLTC method revealed positive reaction (yellow spots) on the TLC plates sprayed with DPPH. Using the DPPH method, the fractions of flavonoids (bunanol, ethyl acetate and Diethyl ether) showed a potent scavenging activity with IC50 = 0.22; 0.27 and 0.76 mg / ml, respectively. Furthermore, our findings revealed the extracts under study exhibited higher reducing potential which depends upon extract concentration. These results obtained from this investigation confirm that the Prunus persica remains a major resource of bioactive molecules.

Keywords: Prunus persica L., phytochemical study, flavonoids, antioxidant activity, TLC bioautographic, FRAP, DPPH

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Authors: Salman Iqbal

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Knowledge management (KM) literature has mainly focused on the antecedents of KM. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of specific human resource management (HRM) practices on employee knowledge sharing and its outcome as individual knowledge capability. Based on previous literature, a model is proposed for the study and hypotheses are formulated. The cross-sectional dataset comes from a sample of 19 knowledge intensive firms (KIFs). This study has run an item parceling technique followed by Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) on the latent constructs of the research model. Employees’ collaboration and their interpersonal trust can help to improve their knowledge sharing behaviour and knowledge capability within organisations. This study suggests that in future, by using a larger sample, better statistical insight is possible. The findings of this study are beneficial for scholars, policy makers and practitioners. The empirical results of this study are entirely based on employees’ perceptions and make a significant research contribution, given there is a dearth of empirical research focusing on the subcontinent.

Keywords: employees’ collaboration, individual knowledge capability, knowledge sharing, monetary rewards, structural equation modelling

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Authors: Fameli Kyriaki-Maria, Assimakopoulos D. Vasiliki, Kotroni Vassiliki

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The Greater Athens Area (GAA) faces photochemical and particulate pollution episodes as a result of the combined effects of local pollutant emissions, regional pollution transport, synoptic circulation and topographic characteristics. The area has undergone significant changes since the Athens 2004 Olympic Games because of large scale infrastructure works that lead to the shift of population to areas previously characterized as rural, the increase of the traffic fleet and the operation of highways. However, no recent modelling studies have been performed due to the lack of an accurate, updated emission inventory. The photochemical modelling system MM5/CAMx was applied in order to study the photochemical and particulate pollution characteristics above the GAA for two distinct ten-day periods in the summer of 2006 and 2010, where air pollution episodes occurred. A new updated emission inventory was used based on official data. Comparison of modeled results with measurements revealed the importance and accuracy of the new Athens emission inventory as compared to previous modeling studies. The model managed to reproduce the local meteorological conditions, the daily ozone and particulates fluctuations at different locations across the GAA. Higher ozone levels were found at suburban and rural areas as well as over the sea at the south of the basin. Concerning PM10, high concentrations were computed at the city centre and the southeastern suburbs in agreement with measured data. Source apportionment analysis showed that different sources contribute to the ozone levels, the local sources (traffic, port activities) affecting its formation.

Keywords: photochemical modelling, urban pollution, greater Athens area, MM5/CAMx

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Authors: Sylwia Gieraltowska, Lukasz Wachnicki, Bartlomiej S. Witkowski, Marek Godlewski

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Oxide layers doped with rare-earth (RE) ions in optimized way can absorb short (ultraviolet light), which will be converted to visible light by so-called down-conversion. Down-conversion mechanisms are usually exploited to modify the incident solar spectrum. In down conversion, multiple low-energy photons are generated to exploit the energy of one incident high-energy photon. These RE-doped oxide materials have attracted a great deal of attention from researchers because of their potential for optical manipulation in optical devices (detectors, temperature sensors, and compact solid-state lasers, light-emitting diodes), bio-analysis, medical therapy, display technologies, and light harvesting (such as in photovoltaic cells). The zirconium dioxide (ZrO2) doped RE ions (Eu, Tb, Ce) multilayer structures were tested as active layers, which can convert short wave emission to light in the visible range (the down-conversion mechanism). For these applications original approach of deposition ZrO2 layers using the Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) method and doping these layers with RE ions using the spin-coating technique was used. ALD films are deposited at relatively low temperature (well below 250°C). This can be an effective method to achieve the white-light emission and to improve on this way light conversion efficiency, by an extension of absorbed spectral range by a solar cell material. Photoluminescence (PL), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and atomic force microscope (AFM) measurement are analyzed. The research was financially supported by the National Science Centre (decision No. DEC-2012/06/A/ST7/00398 and DEC- 2013/09/N/ST5/00901).

Keywords: ALD, oxide layers, photovoltaics, thin films

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Authors: Gumilar Hadiningrat, Stewart Barr, Jo Little

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In Indonesia, the majority of those who manage food waste are women. It is Indonesian culture that women act as household managers. Therefore, women as household managers hold an important role in reducing food waste within households. Meanwhile, in the community, women’s organisations are some of the most active organisations dealing with food waste. Food waste has an increasing profile and is the subject of much global attention and have economic, social and environmental impacts. Reducing food waste will improve future food availability in the context of global population growth and increasing resource scarcity. The aim of this research is to investigate women’s experience and understanding of dealing with food waste in the household and in the community. The research will use an inductive approach using in-depth qualitative methods. In terms of data collection, two methods will be used - questionnaire and interviews. All in all, it could be claimed that women, both within the household and the community in Indonesia, hold an important role in dealing with food waste.

Keywords: community waste management, food waste, gender, household waste, waste management

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Authors: Mustafa Tevfik Hebebci, Sirin Kucuk, Ismail Celik, A. Oguz Akturk, Ismail Sahin, Fetah Eren

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The purpose of this paper is to introduce an interactive online case-study library website developed in a national project. The design goal of the website is to provide interactive, enhanced, case-based and online educational resource for educators through the purpose and within the scope of a national project. The ADDIE instructional design model was used in the development of the website for interactive case-based library. This library is developed on a web-based platform, which is important in terms of manageability, accessibility, and updateability of data. Users are able to sort the displayed case-studies by their titles, dates, ratings, view counts, etc. The usability test is used and the expert opinion is taken for the evaluation of the website. This website is a tool to integrate technology into education. It is believed that this website will be beneficial for pre-service and in-service teachers in terms of their professional developments.

Keywords: ADDIE, case-based library, design, technology integration

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Authors: Shraddha Mahore Manjrekar

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Culture has been an integral part of the civilizations in the world. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural symbols and as works of art. Historical civilizations are often identified with their surviving architectural achievements. Author has observed and thought about the relation of Indian traditional cultural beliefs and their relation to the sustainable environment. There are some unwritten norms regarding the use of resources and the environment in Indian continent, that have been commonly accepted by the people for building houses and settlements since the Vedic period . The research has been done on the chanting and prayers done in a number of houses and temples in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. After doing some research, it was also found that resource assessment had also been done for the entire country, and an idea of conservation of these resources was imbibed in the common people by means of some traditions, customs and beliefs. The sensitization and gratefulness about natural resources have been observed in the major beliefs and customs. This paper describes few of such beliefs and customs that are directly linked with the built environment and landscape.

Keywords: Indian culture, sacred groves, sustainability in built environment, sustainability practices

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Authors: Susmita Sharma, Pankaj Pathak

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Biosolids are by-products of municipal and industrial wastewater treatment process. The generation of the biosolids is increasing at an alarming rate due to the implementation of strict environmental legislation to improve the quality of discharges from wastewater treatment plant. As such, proper management and safe disposal of sewage sludge have become a worldwide topic of research. Biosolids, rich in organic matter and essential micro and macronutrients; can be used as a soil conditioner, to cut fertilizer costs and create favorable conditions for vegetation. However, it also contains pathogens and heavy metals which are undesirable as they are harmful to both humans and the environment. Therefore, for safe utilization of biosolids for land application purposes, categorization of the contaminant and pathogen is mandatory. In this context, biosolids collected from a wastewater treatment plant in Maharashtra are utilized to determine its physical, chemical and microbiological attributes. This study would ascertain, if the use of these materials from the specific site, are suitable for agriculture. Further, efforts have also been made to present the internationally acceptable legal standards and guidelines for biosolids management or application.

Keywords: biosolids, sewage, heavy metal, sustainable agriculture

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Authors: Samuel Omachi

Abstract:

Since the creation of man, conflicts have remained a part and parcel of the society in spite of all measures adopted to keep them away. Conflicts are globally recognized as impediments of sustainable development and therefore regarded as undesirable, yet they are inevitable. However, some political leaders are better managers of conflicts than others. Those that manage conflicts poorly are backward and far from achieving economic development while efficient managers excel. The states in Africa fall into the category of poor managers of conflicts. Consequently, African continent has gained the notoriety of being the most crisis-ridden and poverty-stricken continent in the world in spite of her enormous resource endowment status. This problematic provided the compelling need for the discourse in the present study. Using the documentary analytical method, the paper x-rays the sources of conflicts, their effects and resolutions through peace education to allow room for economic development. The study concluded that African leaders needed to imbibe the culture of good governance with a key plank of peace building as a sine-qua-non for breaking the jinx that has tied the continent down to enable her catch up with her contemporaries in other parts of the competitive world.

Keywords: conflicts, resolutions, peace-building, development

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Authors: Gia Surguladze, Nino Topuria, Lily Petriashvili, Giorgi Surguladze

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Modeling of building processes of a multimodal freight transportation support information system is discussed based on modern CASE technologies. Functional efficiencies of ports in the eastern part of the Black Sea are analyzed taking into account their ecological, seasonal, resource usage parameters. By resources, we mean capacities of berths, cranes, automotive transport, as well as work crews and neighbouring airports. For the purpose of designing database of computer support system for Managerial (Logistics) function, using Object-Role Modeling (ORM) tool (NORMA – Natural ORM Architecture) is proposed, after which Entity Relationship Model (ERM) is generated in automated process. The software is developed based on Process-Oriented and Service-Oriented architecture, in Visual Studio.NET environment.

Keywords: seaport resources, business-processes, multimodal transportation, CASE technology, object-role model, entity relationship model, SOA

Procedia PDF Downloads 424