Search results for: local small power plants

Authors: Peter Williams

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Mobile digital technology, in the form of smart phones, tablets, laptops and their accompanying functionality/apps etc., is becoming ever more used by people with Learning Disabilities (LD) - for entertainment, to communicate and socialize, and enjoy self-expression. Despite this, there has been very little research into the experiences of such technology by this cohort, it’s role in articulating personal identity and self-advocacy and the barriers encountered in negotiating technology in everyday life. The proposed talk describes research funded by the British Academy addressing these issues. It aims to explore: i) the experiences of people with LD in using mobile technology in their everyday lives – the benefits, in terms of entertainment, self-expression and socialising, and possible greater autonomy; and the barriers, such as accessibility or usability issues, privacy or vulnerability concerns etc. ii) how the technology, and in particular the software/apps and interfaces, can be improved to enable the greater access to entertainment, information, communication and other benefits it can offer. It is also hoped that results will inform parents, carers and other supporters regarding how they can use the technology with their charges. Rather than the project simply following the standard research procedure of gathering and analysing ‘data’ to which individual ‘research subjects’ have no access, people with Learning Disabilities (and their supporters) will help co-produce an accessible, annotated and hyperlinked living e-archive of their experiences. Involving people with LD as informants, contributors and, in effect, co-researchers will facilitate digital inclusion and empowerment. The project is working with approximately 80 adults of all ages who have ‘mild’ learning disabilities (people who are able to read basic texts and write simple sentences). A variety of methods is being used. Small groups of participants have engaged in simple discussions or storytelling about some aspect of technology (such as ‘when my phone saved me’ or ‘my digital photos’ etc.). Some individuals have been ‘interviewed’ at a PC, laptop or with a mobile device etc., and asked to demonstrate their usage and interests. Social media users have shown their Facebook pages, Pinterest uploads or other material – giving them an additional focus they have used to discuss their ‘digital’ lives. During these sessions, participants have recorded (or employed the researcher to record) their observations on to the e-archive. Parents, carers and other supporters are also being interviewed to explore their experiences of using mobile technology with the cohort, including any difficulties they have observed their charges having. The archive is supplemented with these observations. The presentation will outline the methods described above, highlighting some of the special considerations required when working inclusively with people with LD. It will describe some of the preliminary findings and demonstrate the e-archive with a commentary on the pages shown.

Keywords: inclusive research, learning disabilities, methods, technology

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Authors: Bhargavi G. Iyer, Ojaswi Bhagat

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In recent years, there has been a lot of discussion about ethnic imbalance and diversity in the international context. Arbitration is now subject to the hegemony of a small number of people who are constantly reappointed. When a court system becomes exclusionary, the quality of adjudication suffers significantly. In such a framework, there is a misalignment between adjudicators' preconceived views and the interests of the parties, resulting in a biased view of the proceedings. The world is currently witnessing a slew of intellectual property battles around cultural appropriation. The term "cultural appropriation" refers to the industrial west's theft of indigenous culture, usually for fashion, aesthetic, or dramatic purposes. Selena Gomez exemplifies cultural appropriation by commercially using the “bindi,” which is sacred to Hinduism, as a fashion symbol. In another case, Victoria's Secret insulted indigenous peoples' genocide by stealing native Indian headdresses. In the case of yoga, a similar process can be witnessed, with Vedic philosophy being reduced to a type of physical practice. Such a viewpoint is problematic since indigenous groups have worked hard for generations to ensure the survival of their culture, and its appropriation by the western world for purely aesthetic and theatrical purposes is upsetting to those who practise such cultures. Because such conflicts involve numerous jurisdictions, they must be resolved through international arbitration. However, these conflicts are already being litigated, and the aggrieved parties, namely developing nations, do not believe it prudent to use the World Intellectual Property Organization's (WIPO) already established arbitration procedure. This practise, it is suggested in this study, is the outcome of Europe's exclusionary arbitral system, which fails to recognise the non-legal and non-commercial nature of indigenous culture issues. This research paper proposes a more comprehensive, inclusive approach that recognises the non-legal and non-commercial aspects of IP disputes involving cultural appropriation, which can only be achieved through an ethnically balanced arbitration structure. This paper also aspires to expound upon the benefits of arbitration and other means of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) in the context of disputes pertaining to cultural issues; positing that inclusivity is a solution to the existing discord between international practices and localised cultural points of dispute. This paper also hopes to explicate measures that will facilitate ensuring inclusion and ideal practices in the domain of arbitration law, particularly pertaining to cultural heritage and indigenous expression.

Keywords: arbitration law, cultural appropriation, dispute resolution, heritage, intellectual property

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Authors: Lori Lioce, Gary Maddux, Norven Goddard, Ishella Fogle, Bernard Schroer

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This paper presents the integration of technologies into nursing education. The collaborative effort includes the College of Nursing (CoN) at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) and the UAH Systems Management and Production Center (SMAP). The faculty at the CoN conducts needs assessments to identify education and training requirements. A team of CoN faculty and SMAP engineers then prioritize these requirements and establish improvement/development teams. The development teams consist of nurses to evaluate the models and to provide feedback and of undergraduate engineering students and their senior staff mentors from SMAP. The SMAP engineering staff develops and creates the physical models using 3D printing, silicone molds and specialized molding mixtures and techniques. The collaboration has focused on developing teaching and training, or clinical, simulators. In addition, the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic has intensified this relationship, as 3D modeling shifted to supplied personal protection equipment (PPE) to local health care providers. A secondary collaboration has been introducing students to clinical benchmarking through the UAH Center for Management and Economic Research. As a result of these successful collaborations the Model Exchange & Development of Nursing & Engineering Technology (MEDNET) has been established. MEDNET seeks to extend and expand the linkage between engineering and nursing to K-12 schools, technical schools and medical facilities in the region to the resources available from the CoN and SMAP. As an example, stereolithography (STL) files of the 3D printed models, along with the specifications to fabricate models, are available on the MEDNET website. Ten 3D printed models have been developed and are currently in use by the CoN. The following additional training simulators are currently under development:1) suture pads, 2) gelatin wound models and 3) printed wound tattoos. Specification sheets have been written for these simulations that describe the use, fabrication procedures and parts list. These specifications are available for viewing and download on MEDNET. Included in this paper are 1) descriptions of CoN, SMAP and MEDNET, 2) collaborative process used in product improvement/development, 3) 3D printed models of training and teaching simulators, 4) training simulators under development with specification sheets, 5) family care practice benchmarking, 6) integrating the simulators into the nursing curriculum, 7) utilizing MEDNET as a pandemic response, and 8) conclusions and lessons learned.

Keywords: 3D printing, nursing education, simulation, trainers

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Authors: Julia Zimmerman, Gaurav Savant

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This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers’ River Analysis System (HEC-RAS) application to modeling the hydraulics of estuaries. HEC-RAS has been broadly used for a variety of riverine applications. However, it has not been widely applied to the study of circulation in estuaries. This report details the model development and validation of a combined 1D/2D unsteady flow hydraulic model using HEC-RAS for estuaries and they are associated with tidally influenced rivers. Two estuaries, Galveston Bay and Delaware Bay, were used as case studies. Galveston Bay, a bar-built, vertically mixed estuary, was modeled for the 2005 calendar year. Delaware Bay, a drowned river valley estuary, was modeled from October 22, 2019, to November 5, 2019. Water surface elevation was used to validate both models by comparing simulation results to NOAA’s Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services (CO-OPS) gauge data. Simulations were run using the Diffusion Wave Equations (DW), the Shallow Water Equations, Eulerian-Lagrangian Method (SWE-ELM), and the Shallow Water Equations Eulerian Method (SWE-EM) and compared for both accuracy and computational resources required. In general, the Diffusion Wave Equations results were found to be comparable to the two Shallow Water equations sets while requiring less computational power. The 1D/2D combined approach was valid for study areas within the 2D flow area, with the 1D flow serving mainly as an inflow boundary condition. Within the Delaware Bay estuary, the HEC-RAS DW model ran in 22 minutes and had an average R² value of 0.94 within the 2-D mesh. The Galveston Bay HEC-RAS DW ran in 6 hours and 47 minutes and had an average R² value of 0.83 within the 2-D mesh. The longer run time and lower R² for Galveston Bay can be attributed to the increased length of the time frame modeled and the greater complexity of the estuarine system. The models did not accurately capture tidal effects within the 1D flow area.

Keywords: Delaware bay, estuarine hydraulics, Galveston bay, HEC-RAS, one-dimensional modeling, two-dimensional modeling

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Authors: Rahma Saleh Hussein Al Balushi

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Oman Electricity Transmission Company's (OETC) vision is to be a renowned world-class transmission grid by 2025, and one of the indications of achieving the vision is obtaining Asset Management ISO55001 certification, which required setting out a documented Standard Operating Procedures (SOP). Hence, documented SOP for the Geographical information system data process has been established. Also, to effectively manage and improve OETC power transmission, asset data and information need to be governed as such by Asset Information & GIS department. This paper will describe in detail the current GIS data submission process and the journey for developing it. The methodology used to develop the process is based on three main pillars, which are system and end-user requirements, Risk evaluation, data availability, and accuracy. The output of this paper shows the dramatic change in the used process, which results subsequently in more efficient, accurate, and updated data. Furthermore, due to this process, GIS has been and is ready to be integrated with other systems as well as the source of data for all OETC users. Some decisions related to issuing No objection certificates (NOC) for excavation permits and scheduling asset maintenance plans in Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) have been made consequently upon GIS data availability. On the Other hand, defining agreed and documented procedures for data collection, data systems update, data release/reporting and data alterations has also contributed to reducing the missing attributes and enhance data quality index of GIS transmission data. A considerable difference in Geodatabase (GDB) completeness percentage was observed between the years 2017 and year 2022. Overall, concluding that by governance, asset information & GIS department can control the GIS data process; collect, properly record, and manage asset data and information within the OETC network. This control extends to other applications and systems integrated with/related to GIS systems.

Keywords: asset management ISO55001, standard procedures process, governance, CMMS

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Authors: Hui-Chen Tsai, Chien-Jen Ho, Bo-Wei Power Liang, Ying Shen, Yi-Hsin Lai

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Former Taiwan Metal Mining Corporation and its associated 3 wasted flue gas tunnels, hereinafter referred to as 'TMMC', was contaminated with heavy metals, Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPHs) in soil. Since the contamination had been exposed and unmanaged in the environment for more than 40 years, the extent of the contamination area is estimated to be more than 25 acres. Additionally, TMMC is located in a remote, mountainous area where almost no residents are residing in the 1-km radius area. Thus, it was deemed necessary to conduct an ecological risk assessment in order to evaluate the details of future contaminated site management plan. According to the winter and summer, ecological investigation results, one type of endangered, multiple vulnerable and near threaten plant was discovered, as well as numerous other protected species, such as Crested Serpent Eagle, Crested Goshawk, Black Kite, Brown Shrike, Taiwan Blue Magpie were observed. Ecological soil screening level (Eco-SSLs) developed by USEPA was adopted as a reference to conduct screening assessment. Since all the protected species observed surrounding TMMC site were birds, screening ecological risk assessment was conducted on birds only. The assessment was assessed mainly based on the chemical evaluation, which the contamination in different environmental media was compared directly with the ecological impact levels (EIL) of each evaluation endpoints and the respective hazard quotient (HQ) and hazard index (HI) could be obtained. The preliminary ecological risk assessment results indicated HI is greater than 1. In other words, the biological stressors (birds) were exposed to the contamination, which was already exceeded the dosage that could cause unacceptable impacts to the ecological system. This result was mainly due to the high concentration of arsenic, metal and lead; thus it was suggested the above mention contaminants should be remediated as soon as possible or proper risk management measures should be taken.

Keywords: screening, ecological risk assessment, ecological impact levels, risk management

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Authors: Jimoh Abiodun Alaba

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Context: In many traditional African societies, sex education is often considered a taboo topic. However, the importance of sex education is becoming increasingly evident. This study aims to investigate the challenges faced in teaching sex education in selected secondary schools in the Akoko region of Ondo state, Nigeria. Research Aim: The aim of this study is to identify and examine the problems confronting the teaching of sex education in selected secondary schools in the Akoko region of Ondo state, Nigeria. Methodology: The study utilized a multi-stage sampling method. The first stage involved a purposive selection of ten (10) secondary schools in the Akoko region of Ondo State, while the second stage was a random selection of twenty (20) students, each in the selected secondary schools of the study area. This makes a total of two (200) hundred students that were considered for the survey. Descriptive analysis using percentages was employed to analyze the collected data. Factor analysis was also used to identify the most significant problems. Findings: The study revealed that sex education has been neglected in the sampled secondary schools due to traditional African beliefs that do not support the teaching and learning of this subject. Furthermore, there was evidence to suggest that parents also displayed reluctance towards the teaching of sex education, fearing that it might expose students to inappropriate behavior. Consequently, students were deprived of this essential aspect of education necessary for self-awareness and development. Theoretical Importance: This study contributes to the understanding of the challenges faced in teaching sex education in traditional African societies, specifically in the selected secondary schools in the Akoko region of Ondo state, Nigeria. Data Collection: Data were collected through the administration of 200 questionnaires in ten selected secondary schools. Additionally, information was gathered from federal, state, and local government authorities. Analysis Procedures: The collected data were analyzed using descriptive analysis, employing percentage calculations for better interpretation. Furthermore, factor analysis was conducted to isolate the most significant problems identified. Conclusion: The study concludes that sex education in the sampled secondary schools in the Akoko region of Ondo state, Nigeria, has suffered neglect due to traditional African beliefs and parental concerns. Consequently, students are denied an important aspect of education necessary for their self-awareness and development. Recommendations are made to change the negative perception of sex education, enrich the curriculum, and employ qualified personnel for its teaching. Additionally, it is suggested that sex education should be integrated with moral instruction.

Keywords: African traditional belief, sex, sex education, sexual misdemeanor, morality

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Authors: Angelika Kris D. Dalangin, Cesar B. Quicoy

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Rice farming is a major source of livelihood and employment in the Philippines, but it requires a substantial amount of capital. Capital may come from income (farm, non-farm, and off-farm), savings and credit. However, rice farmers suffer from lack of capital due to high costs of inputs and low productivity. Capital insufficiency, coupled with low productivity, hindered them to meet their basic household and production needs. Hence, they resorted to borrowing money, mostly from informal lenders who charge very high interest rates. As another source of capital, savings can help rice farmers meet their basic needs for both the household and the farm. However, information is inadequate whether the farmers save or not, as well as, why they do not depend on savings to augment their lack of capital. Thus, it is worth analyzing how rice farmers saved. The study revealed, using the actual savings which is the difference between the household income and expenditure, that about three-fourths (72%) of the total number of farmers interviewed are savers. However, when they were asked whether they are savers or not, more than half of them considered themselves as non-savers. This gap shows that there are many farmers who think that they do not have savings at all; hence they continue to borrow money and do not depend on savings to augment their lack of capital. The study also identified the forms of savings, saving motives, and savings utilization among rice farmers. Results revealed that, for the past 12 months, most of the farmers saved cash at home for liquidity purposes while others deposited cash in banks and/or saved their money in the form of livestock. Among the most important reasons of farmers for saving are for daily household expenses, for building a house, for emergency purposes, for retirement, and for their next production. Furthermore, the study assessed the factors affecting the rice farmers’ savings behaviour using logistic regression. Results showed that the factors found to be significant were presence of non-farm income, per capita net farm income, and per capita household expense. The presence of non-farm income and per capita net farm income positively affects the farmers’ savings behaviour. On the other hand, per capita household expenses have negative effect. The effect, however, of per capita net farm income and household expenses is very negligible because of the very small chance that the farmer is a saver. Generally, income and expenditure were proved to be significant factors that affect the savings behaviour of the rice farmers. However, most farmers could not save regularly due to low farm income and high household and farm expenditures. Thus, it is highly recommended that government should develop programs or implement policies that will create more jobs for the farmers and their family members. In addition, programs and policies should be implemented to increase farm productivity and income.

Keywords: agricultural economics, agricultural finance, binary logistic regression, logit, Philippines, Quezon, rice farmers, savings, savings behaviour

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Authors: May Al Sahib

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This paper draws together an analysis of two autobiographical writings; Ahdaf Soueif’s Cairo: My City, Our Revolution (2012), Radwa Ashour’s Heavier than Radwa (2013), and Revolution is My Name: An Egyptian Woman’s Diary from Eighteen Days in Tahrir (2015). Soueif, Ashour, and Prince are Egyptian authors, activists, and cultural commentators who are fully aware that being a ‘third world’ citizen constrains the writer into taking a specific pattern in writing. However, this paper will analyze the choice of literary form in writing the 2011 January revolution. All texts give factual accounts of the revolution with all its contesting powers lingering with mixed references of anxiety and merriment that accentuates their sense of communal solidarity against social corruption and political positioning. Through shifting between the pronouns ‘I’ and ‘we’, these narratives do not solely engage with the personal life of the memorialist; but rather give an account of the collective. Both writers take us to the heart of high-spirited Tahrir Square in 2011 while millions are ranting to oust Hosni Mubarak, the 30 years ruling dictator. By utilizing the instrumentality of collective memory for expressing textual collectivity in their non-fictional writings, these writers are depicting the people power of Egyptians and the historical civil-resistance against governmental unfairness and establishing a certain type of patriotism that elevates and priorities itself from minor conflicts. Their de-individualizing type of life narrative represents the Arabic nation through vital socio-political situations that perpetuate the politics of resistance and collectivity with a constant fear of betraying it and erupts historical moments aiming for an improved future. The texts incorporate an explicit set of reported political series of thought that shape an overall public argument and representational ideas.

Keywords: resistance narrative, life-writing, Tahrir memoir, Middle Eastern literature

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Authors: Nazia Muhsin, Tofael Ahamed, Ryozo Noguchi, Tomohiro Takigawa

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One of the most challenging issues to achieve sustainable development on food security is land use changes. The crisis of lands for agricultural production mainly arises from the unplanned transformation of agricultural lands to infrastructure development i.e. urbanization and industrialization. Land use without sustainability assessment could have impact on the food security and environmental protections. Bangladesh, as the densely populated country with limited arable lands is now facing challenges to meet sustainable food security. Agricultural lands are using for economic growth by establishing industries. The industries are spreading from urban areas to the suburban areas and using the agricultural lands. To minimize the agricultural land losses for unplanned industrialization, compact economic zones should be find out in a scientific approach. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to find out suitable sites for industrial growth by land suitability analysis (LSA) by using Geographical Information System (GIS) and multi-criteria analysis (MCA). The goal of the study was to emphases both agricultural lands and industries for sustainable development in land use. The study also attempted to analysis the agricultural land use changes in a suburban area by statistical data of agricultural lands and primary data of the existing industries of the study place. The criteria were selected as proximity to major roads, and proximity to local roads, distant to rivers, waterbodies, settlements, flood-flow zones, agricultural lands for the LSA. The spatial dataset for the criteria were collected from the respective departments of Bangladesh. In addition, the elevation spatial dataset were used from the SRTM (Shuttle Radar Topography Mission) data source. The criteria were further analyzed with factors and constraints in ArcGIS®. Expert’s opinion were applied for weighting the criteria according to the analytical hierarchy process (AHP), a multi-criteria technique. The decision rule was set by using ‘weighted overlay’ tool to aggregate the factors and constraints with the weights of the criteria. The LSA found only 5% of land was most suitable for industrial sites and few compact lands for industrial zones. The developed LSA are expected to help policy makers of land use and urban developers to ensure the sustainability of land uses and agricultural production.

Keywords: AHP (analytical hierarchy process), GIS (geographic information system), LSA (land suitability analysis), MCA (multi-criteria analysis)

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Authors: Soumyajit Koley, Kuladeep Rajamudili, Supriyo Ganguly

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In recent years, iron-based shape-memory alloys have been emerging as an inexpensive alternative to costly Ni-Ti alloy and thus considered suitable for many different applications in civil structures. Fe-17Mn-10Cr-5Si-4Ni-0.5V-0.5C alloy contains 37 wt.% of total solute elements. Such complex multi-component metallurgical system often leads to severe solute segregation and solidification cracking. Wire-arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) of Fe-17Mn-10Cr-5Si-4Ni-0.5V-0.5C alloy was attempted using a cold-wire fed plasma arc torch attached to a 6-axis robot. Self-standing walls were manufactured. However, multiple vertical cracks were observed after deposition of around 15 layers. Microstructural characterization revealed open surfaces of dendrites inside the crack, confirming these cracks as solidification cracks. Machine hammer peening (MHP) process was adopted on each layer to cold work the newly deposited alloy. Effect of MHP traverse speed were varied systematically to attain a window of operation where cracking was completely stopped. Microstructural and textural analysis were carried out further to correlate the peening process to microstructure.MHP helped in many ways. Firstly, a compressive residual stress was induced on each layer which countered the tensile residual stress evolved from solidification process; thus, reducing net tensile stress on the wall along its length. Secondly, significant local plastic deformation from MHP followed by the thermal cycle induced by deposition of next layer resulted into a recovered and recrystallized equiaxed microstructure instead of long columnar grains along the vertical direction. This microstructural change increased the total crack propagation length and thus, the overall toughness. Thirdly, the inter-layer peening significantly reduced the strong cubic {001} crystallographic texture formed along the build direction. Cubic {001} texture promotes easy separation of planes and easy crack propagation. Thus reduction of cubic texture alleviates the chance of cracking.

Keywords: Iron-based shape-memory alloy, wire-arc additive manufacturing, solidification cracking, inter-layer cold working, machine hammer peening

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Authors: Şule Yanık, Hasan Gürgür

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It is thought that it is important for disabled children to have the opportunity to benefit preschool education that smoothens transition process to formal education, and for the constitution of a precondition for their success. Within this context, it is important for the disabled in Turkey to be evaluated medically firstly and then educational-wise in order for them to benefit early inclusive education. Thus, disabled people are both diagnosed in hospitals and at Guidance and Research Centers (GRC) attached to Ministry of Education educational-wise. It is seen that standard evaluation tools are used and evaluations are done by special education teachers (SET) in order for educational diagnosis and evaluation (EDAE) to be realized. The literature emphasizes the importance of informal evaluation tools as well as formal ones. According to this, it is thought that another party, besides students in EDAE process and SETs, is family, because families are primary care takers for their children, and that the most correct and real information can be obtained via families beside results of educational evaluation processes (EEP). It is thought that obtaining opinions of families during EEP is important to be able to exhibit the present EDAE activities in Turkey, materialize any existing problems, and increase quality of the process. Within this context, the purpose of this study is to exhibit experiences regarding EDAE processes of 10 families having preschool children with hearing loss (CHL). The process of research is designed to be descriptive based on qualitative research paradigms. Data were collected via semi-structured interview questions, and the themes were obtained. As a result, it is seen that families, after they realize the hearing loss of their children, do not have any information regarding the subject, and that they consult to an ear-nose-throat doctor or an audiologist for support. It is seen that families go to hospitals for medical evaluation which is a pre-requisite for benefiting early education opportunities. However, during this process, as some families do not have any experience of having a CHL, it is seen that they are late for medical evaluation and hearing aids. Moreover, families stated that they were directed to GRC via audiologists for educational evaluation. Families stated that their children were evaluated regarding language, academic and psychological development in proportion with their ages in GRC after they were diagnosed medically. However, families stated that EEP realized in GRC was superficial, short and lacked detail. It is seen that many families were not included in EEP process, whereas some families stated that they were asked questions because their children are too small to answer. Regarding the benefits of EEP for themselves and their children, families stated that GRC had to give a report to them for benefiting the free support of Special Education and Rehabilitation Center, and that families had to be directed to inclusive education. As a result, it is seen that opinions of families regarding EDAE processes at GRC indicate inefficiency of the process as it is short and superficial, regardless being to the point.

Keywords: children with hearing loss, educational diagnosis and evaluation, guidance and research center, inclusion

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Authors: Samuel Faboyede, Obiamaka Nwobu, Samuel Fakile, Dickson Mukoro

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In the present dynamic business environment of corporate governance and regulations, financial reporting is an inevitable and extremely significant process for every business enterprise. Several financial elements such as Annual Reports, Quarterly Reports, ad-hoc filing, and other statutory/regulatory reports provide vital information to the investors and regulators, and establish trust and rapport between the internal and external stakeholders of an organization. Investors today are very demanding, and emphasize greatly on authenticity, accuracy, and reliability of financial data. For many companies, the Internet plays a key role in communicating business information, internally to management and externally to stakeholders. Despite high prominence being attached to external reporting, it is disconnected in most companies, who generate their external financial documents manually, resulting in high degree of errors and prolonged cycle times. Chief Executive Officers and Chief Financial Officers are increasingly susceptible to endorsing error-laden reports, late filing of reports, and non-compliance with regulatory acts. There is a lack of common platform to manage the sensitive information – internally and externally – in financial reports. The Internet financial reporting language known as eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) continues to develop in the face of challenges and has now reached the point where much of its promised benefits are available. This paper looks at the emergence of this revolutionary twenty-first century language of digital reporting. It posits that today, the world is on the brink of an Internet revolution that will redefine the ‘business reporting’ paradigm. The new Internet technology, eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL), is already being deployed and used across the world. It finds that XBRL is an eXtensible Markup Language (XML) based information format that places self-describing tags around discrete pieces of business information. Once tags are assigned, it is possible to extract only desired information, rather than having to download or print an entire document. XBRL is platform-independent and it will work on any current or recent-year operating system, or any computer and interface with virtually any software. The paper concludes that corporate stakeholders and the government cannot afford to ignore the XBRL. It therefore recommends that all must act locally and think globally now via the adoption of XBRL that is changing the face of worldwide business reporting.

Keywords: XBRL, financial reporting, internet, internal and external reports

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Authors: Denise Muro

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Conflict in Syria, producing over 11 million displaced persons, has incited global attention to displacement. Although neighboring countries have borne the largest part of the displacement burden, due to the influx of refugees into Europe, the so-called ‘refugee crisis’ is taking place on two fronts: Syria’s neighboring countries, with millions of refugees, and Europe, a destination goal for so many that European states face unprecedented challenges. With increasing attention to displacement, forcibly displaced persons are consistently portrayed as either un-agentic victims, or as dangerous free agents. Recognizing that these dominant portrayals involve discourses of power and inequality, this research investigates the extent to which this victim-agent dichotomy affects refugees and organizations that work closely with them during initial integration processes in Berlin, Germany. The research measures initial integration based on German policy measures regarding integration juxtaposed with the way refugees and those who work with them understand integration. Additionally, the study examines day-to-day interactions of refugees in Germany as a way to gauge social integration in a bottom-up approach. This study involved a discourse analysis of portrayals of refugees and participant observation and interviews with refugees and those who work closely with them, which took place during fieldwork in Berlin in the summer of 2016. Germany is unique regarding their migration history and lack of successful integration, in part due to the persistent refrain, ‘Wir sind kein einwanderungsland’ (‘We are not an immigration country’). Still, their accepted asylum seeker population has grown exponentially in the past few years. Findings suggest that the victim-agent dichotomy is present and impactful in the process of refugees entering and integrating into Germany. Integration is hindered due to refugees either being patronized or criminalized to such an extent that, despite being constantly told that they must integrate, they cannot become part of German society.

Keywords: discourse analysis, Germany, integration, refugee crisis

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Authors: Meszár Tárik

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The aim of the study is to introduce the minority groups living in Iraq and to shed light on their current situation. The Middle East is a rather heterogeneous region in ethnic terms. It includes many ethnic, national, religious, linguistic, or ethnoreligious groups. The relationship between the majority and minority is the main cause of various conflicts in the region. It seems that most of the post-Ottoman states have not yet developed a unified national identity capable of integrating their multi-ethnic societies. The issue of minorities living in the Middle East is highly politicized and controversial, as the various Arab states consider the treatment of minorities as their internal affair, do not recognize discrimination or even deny the existence of any kind of minorities on their territory. This attitude of the Middle Eastern states may also be due to the fact that the minority issue can be abused and can serve as a reference point for the intervention policies of Western countries at any time. Methodologically, the challenges of these groups are perceived through the manifestos of prominent individuals and organizations belonging to minorities. The basic aim is to present the minorities’ own history in dealing with the issue. It also introduces the different ethnic and religious minorities in Iraq and analyzes their situation during the operation of the terrorist organization „Islamic State” and in the aftermath. It is clear that the situation of these communities deteriorated significantly with the advance of ISIS, but it is also clear that even after the expulsion of the militant group, we cannot necessarily report an improvement in this area, especially in terms of the ability of minorities to assert their interests and physical security. The emergence of armed militias involved in the expulsion of ISIS sometimes has extremely negative effects on them. Until the interests of non-Muslims are adequately represented at the local level and in the legislature, most experts and advocates believe that little will change in their situation. When conflicts flare, many Iraqi citizens usually leave Iraq, but because of the poor public security situation (threats from terrorist organizations, interventions by other countries), emigration causes serious problems not only outside the country’s borders but also within the country. Another ominous implication for minorities is that their communities are very slow if ever, to return to their homes after fleeing their own settlements. An important finding of the study is that this phenomenon is changing the face of traditional Iraqi settlements and threatens to plunge groups that have lived there for thousands of years into the abyss of history. Therefore, we not only present the current situation of minorities living in Iraq but also discuss their future possibilities.

Keywords: Middle East, Iraq, Islamic State, minorities

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Authors: David Delpine Leila, Demnyo Sunita Femi, Musa David Garkida, Elisha Emmanuel Barde, Emmanuel Allahnanan, Yani Julius Philip

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Birds are among the key components of the earth’s biodiversity and the most diverse and evolutionarily successful groups of animals. The weaverbirds are a large family of birds found mostly in Africa, with a few species found in southern Asia and the West Indian Ocean islands. This study assessed the diversity and abundance of weaver birds and their allies within and around Ngel-Nyaki Forest Reserve in Yelwa, Sardauna Local Government Area of Taraba State, Nigeria. A total of 602 weaver birds and allies’ bird species were recorded using the Point Count Line Transect. The data collected during the research period were analyzed using simple percentages, and diversity was calculated using the Shannon Wiener Diversity Index. The fenced (ungrazed area) was more abundant with 351 individuals while the unfenced (grazed area) was less abundant with 251 individuals recorded. In the fenced (ungrazed area), Yellow Bishop (Euplectes capensis) had the highest abundance of (102; 29.01%), followed by Village Weaver (Ploceus cucullatus) (80; 22.79%), then Vieillot's Black Weaver (Ploceus nigerrimus) (40; 11.42%), Red-collard Widowbird (Ploceus ardens) (6; 1.71%), Dark-backed Weaver (5; 1.42%) and the least was Hartlaub Marsh Widowbird (1; 0.28%) while in the unfenced (grazed area), the Village weaver (Ploceus cucullatus) (85; 33.86%) was the most abundant, followed by Spectacled Weaver (Ploceus ocularis) (36; 14.34%), then Yellow Bishop (Euplectes capensis) (30; 11.95%), Baglefecht Weaver (Ploceus baglafecht) (23; 9.16%), Bannerman’s Weaver (Ploceus bannermani) (17; 6.77%) and the least was Yellow-mantled Widowbird (Euplectes macroura) (5; 1.99%). In terms of diversity, there were more weaver bird species in the fenced area with a Shannon Wiener Diversity Index of (Hˈ 2.03417) than in the unfenced area with a Shannon Wiener Diversity Index of (Hˈ 1.862671). The Shannon Wiener Diversity Index in both fenced and unfenced areas is significant. There was more abundance of bird species in the fenced area than in the unfenced area of the Forest Reserve. Thorough research should be conducted on the abundance and diversity of weavers and their allies because we were only able to access 4 km2 out of 46 km2 of land available, according to the Annual Report of Ngel-Nyaki Forest Reserve of 2020. It shows that there are many species of weaver birds and their allies, such as the Black-billed Weaver (Ploceus melanogaster) and the Red-billed Quelea (Quelea quelea), which are available within the reserve.

Keywords: abundance, diversity, weaver birds, allies, Ngel-Nyaki

Procedia PDF Downloads 71

Authors: Lara Marie Pangan Lo, Soo Im Chung, Yao Cheng Zhang, Xingyue Jin, Mi Young Kang

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Being the world’s most consumed grain crop, rice (Oryza sativa L.) demands’ have increase and this prompted the development of new rice cultivars with high bio-functional properties than the commonly used white rice. Ordinary rice variety is already known to be a potential source for a number of nutritional as well as bioactive compounds. To further enhance the rice’s nutritive values, germination is done in addition to making it more tasty and palatable when cooked. Pigmented rice, on the other hand, has become increasingly popular in the recent years for their greater antioxidant potential and other nutraceutical properties which can help alleviate the occurrence of the increasing incidence of metabolic diseases. Combining these two (2) parameters, this research study is sought to quantitatively determine the pre-germinated and germinated quantities of the major bioactive compounds of South Korea’s newly developed purplish pigmented rice grain cultivar Superjami (SJ) and red pigmented rice grain Superhongmi (SH) and compare them against the non-pigmented Normal Brown (NB) rice variety. Powdered rice grain cultivars were subjected to 72-hour germination period and the quantities of GABA, γ-oryzanol, ferulic acid, tocopherol and tocotrienol homologues were compared against their pre-germinated condition using γ- amino butyric acid (GABA) analysis and High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). Results revealed the effectiveness of germination in enhancing the bioactive components in all rice samples. GABA contents in germinated rice cultivars increased by more than 10-fold following the order: SJ >SH >NB. In addition, purple rice variety (SJ) has higher total γ-oryzanol and ferulic acid contents which increased by > 2-fold after germination followed by the red cultivar SH then the control, NB. Germinated varieties also possess higher total tocotrienol content than their pre-germinated state. As for the total tocopherol content, SJ has higher quantity, but the red-pigmented SH (0.16 mg/kg) is shown to have lower total tocopherol content than the control rice NB (0.86 mg/kg). However, all tocopherol and tocotrienol homologues were present only in small amounts ( < 3.0 mg/kg) in all pre-germinated and germinated samples. In general, all of the analyzed pigmented rice cultivars were found to possess higher bioactive compounds than the control NB rice variety. Also, regardless of their strain, germinated rice samples have higher bioactive compounds than their pre-germinated counterparts. This only shows the effectiveness of germinating rice in enhancing bioactive constituents. Overall, these results suggest the potential of the pigmented rice varieties as natural source of nutraceuticals in bio-functional food development.

Keywords: bioactive compounds, germinated rice, superhongmi, superjami

Procedia PDF Downloads 400

Authors: Hitalo Silva

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The most famous corruption scandals in the past four years were taken in Latin America, especially in Brazil, but besides the stain that these countries suffered in an international field, there was a huge effort to create or modernize its national anti-corruption laws. Also, the countries are implementing new standards for investigations and corporate compliance programs, in order to combat corruption and prevent the money laundering. But here is the following question: is here an invisible uniformization/transnationalization of the anti-corruption systems in Latin America? This new scenario reflects the impacts of the corruption investigations conducted in Latin America countries, such as Car Wash Operation in Brazil, Pretelt Case in Colombia, Gasoducto Sur Peruano case and the Mr. Alex Kouri’s case both in Peru. Legal and institutional pro-transparency reforms were made recently, the companies are trying to implement new standards of conduct and investing in their compliance department. In this sense, there is a huge homogeneity in Latin America concerning the structuring of corporate compliance programs, a truly transnationalization not only of laws but also corporate standards among these countries. Although legislative initiatives vary among the countries, there is a tendency to impose rigid liability standards for the companies being investigated for corruption, not only the personal punishments of their executives, which demonstrate the power of authorities to strength the investigative tools. Also, instruments such as leniency agreements and plea bargain are essential to put a central role in enforcement activities in Latin America. In other words, in a region where six former Presidents were convicted for acts of corruption, and, companies such as Odebrecht that is accused of offering bribes to politicians from Argentina to México, passing through Ecuador, Colombia, Guatemala and Panama, this demonstrates the necessity to increase strength of their legal framework in a sense that unify transnational goals. All things considered, this paper will show how anti-corruption regulators are cooperating in Latin America jurisdictions in order to unify their laws and how the private sector is dealing with this new scenario of corporate culture change.

Keywords: compliance, corruption, investigations, Latin America, transnational

Procedia PDF Downloads 125

Authors: Vaida Jurgile

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Intercultural learning is one of the approaches taken to understand the cultural diversity of the modern world and to accept changes in cultural identity and otherness and the expression of tolerance. During intercultural learning, students develop their abilities to interact and communicate with their group members. These abilities help to understand social and cultural differences, to form one’s identity, and to give meaning to intercultural learning. Intercultural education recognizes that a true understanding of differences and similarities of another culture is necessary in order to lay the foundations for working together with others, which contributes to the promotion of intercultural dialogue, appreciation of diversity, and cultural exchange. Therefore, it is important to examine the concept of intercultural learning, revealed through students’ learning experiences and understanding of how this learning takes place and what significance this phenomenon has in higher education. At a scientific level, intercultural learning should be explored in order to uncover the influence of cultural identity, i.e., intercultural learning should be seen in a local context. This experience would provide an opportunity to learn from various everyday intercultural learning situations. Intercultural learning can be not only a form of learning but also a tool for building understanding between people of different cultures. The research object of the study is the process of intercultural learning. The aim of the dissertation is to develop a grounded theory of the process of learning in an intercultural study environment, revealing students’ learning experiences. The research strategy chosen in this study is a constructivist grounded theory (GT). GT is an inductive method that seeks to form a theory by applying the systematic collection, synthesis, analysis, and conceptualization of data. The targeted data collection was based on the analysis of data provided by previous research participants, which revealed the need for further research participants. During the research, only students with at least half a year of study experience, i.e., who have completed at least one semester of intercultural studies, were purposefully selected for the research. To select students, snowballing sampling was used. 18 interviews were conducted with students representing 3 different fields of sciences (social sciences, humanities, and technology sciences). In the process of intercultural learning, language expresses and embodies cultural reality and a person’s cultural identity. It is through language that individual experiences are expressed, and the world in which Others exist is perceived. The increased emphasis is placed on the fact that language conveys certain “signs’ of communication and perception with cultural value, enabling the students to identify the Self and the Other. Language becomes an important tool in the process of intercultural communication because it is only through language that learners can communicate, exchange information, and understand each other. Thus, in the process of intercultural learning, language either promotes interpersonal relationships with foreign students or leads to mutual rejection.

Keywords: intercultural learning, grounded theory, students, other

Procedia PDF Downloads 65

Authors: Melkamu A. Zeru, Yamral M. Warkaw, Aweke A. Mitku, Muluwerk Ayele

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Introduction: Malaria is a severe health threat in the World, mainly in Africa. It is the major cause of health problems in which the risk of morbidity and mortality associated with malaria cases are characterized by spatial variations across the county. This study aimed to investigate the spatial patterns and predictors of malaria distribution in Ethiopia. Methods: A weighted sample of 15,239 individuals with rapid diagnosis tests was obtained from the Central Statistical Agency and Ethiopia malaria indicator survey of 2015. Global Moran's I and Moran scatter plots were used in determining the distribution of malaria cases, whereas the local Moran's I statistic was used in identifying exposed areas. In data manipulation, machine learning was used for variable reduction and statistical software R, Stata, and Python were used for data management and analysis. The auto logistics spatial binary regression model was used to investigate the predictors of malaria. Results: The final auto logistics regression model reported that male clients had a positive significant effect on malaria cases as compared to female clients [AOR=2.401, 95 % CI: (2.125 - 2.713)]. The distribution of malaria across the regions was different. The highest incidence of malaria was found in Gambela [AOR=52.55, 95%CI: (40.54-68.12)] followed by Beneshangul [AOR=34.95, 95%CI: (27.159 - 44.963)]. Similarly, individuals in Amhara [AOR=0.243, 95% CI:(0.1950.303],Oromiya[AOR=0.197,95%CI:(0.1580.244)],DireDawa[AOR=0.064,95%CI(0.049-0.082)],AddisAbaba[AOR=0.057,95%CI:(0.044-0.075)], Somali[AOR=0.077,95%CI:(0.059-0.097)], SNNPR[OR=0.329, 95%CI: (0.261- 0.413)] and Harari [AOR=0.256, 95%CI:(0.201 - 0.325)] were less likely to had low incidence of malaria as compared with Tigray. Furthermore, for a one-meter increase in altitude, the odds of a positive rapid diagnostic test (RDT) decrease by 1.6% [AOR = 0.984, 95% CI :( 0.984 - 0.984)]. The use of a shared toilet facility was found as a protective factor for malaria in Ethiopia [AOR=1.671, 95% CI: (1.504 - 1.854)]. The spatial autocorrelation variable changes the constant from AOR = 0.471 for logistic regression to AOR = 0.164 for auto logistics regression. Conclusions: This study found that the incidence of malaria in Ethiopia had a spatial pattern that is associated with socio-economic, demographic, and geographic risk factors. Spatial clustering of malaria cases had occurred in all regions, and the risk of clustering was different across the regions. The risk of malaria was found to be higher for those who live in soil floor-type houses as compared to those who live in cement or ceramics floor type. Similarly, households with thatched, metal and thin, and other roof-type houses have a higher risk of malaria than ceramic tiles roof houses. Moreover, using a protected anti-mosquito net reduced the risk of malaria incidence.

Keywords: malaria, Ethiopia, auto logistics, spatial model, spatial clustering

Procedia PDF Downloads 34

Authors: M. Duk, L. Grabowski, P. Magryta

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Today's very important element relating to air transport is the environment impact issues. Nowadays there are no emissions standards for turbine and piston engines used in air transport. However, it should be noticed that the environmental effect in the form of exhaust gases from aircraft engines should be as small as possible. For this purpose, R&D centers often use special software to simulate and to estimate the negative effect of engine working process. For cooperation between the Lublin University of Technology and the Polish aviation company WSK "PZL-KALISZ" S.A., to achieve more effective operation of the ASz62IR engine, one of such tools have been used. The AVL Boost software allows to perform 1D simulations of combustion process of piston engines. ASz62IR is a nine-cylinder aircraft engine in a radial configuration. In order to analyze the impact of its working process on the environment, the mathematical model in the AVL Boost software have been made. This model contains, among others, model of the operation cycle of the cylinders. This model was based on a volume change in combustion chamber according to the reciprocating movement of a piston. The simplifications that all of the pistons move identically was assumed. The changes in cylinder volume during an operating cycle were specified. Those changes were important to determine the energy balance of a cylinder in an internal combustion engine which is fundamental for a model of the operating cycle. The calculations for cylinder thermodynamic state were based on the first law of thermodynamics. The change in the mass in the cylinder was calculated from the sum of inflowing and outflowing masses including: cylinder internal energy, heat from the fuel, heat losses, mass in cylinder, cylinder pressure and volume, blowdown enthalpy, evaporation heat etc. The model assumed that the amount of heat released in combustion process was calculated from the pace of combustion, using Vibe model. For gas exchange, it was also important to consider heat transfer in inlet and outlet channels because of much higher values there than for flow in a straight pipe. This results from high values of heat exchange coefficients and temperature coefficients near valves and valve seats. A Zapf modified model of heat exchange was used. To use the model with the flight scenarios, the impact of flight altitude on engine performance has been analyze. It was assumed that the pressure and temperature at the inlet and outlet correspond to the values resulting from the model for International Standard Atmosphere (ISA). Comparing this model of operation cycle with the others submodels of the ASz62IR engine, it could be noticed, that a full analysis of the performance of the engine, according to the ISA conditions, can be made. This work has been financed by the Polish National Centre for Research and Development, INNOLOT, under

Keywords: aviation propulsion, AVL Boost, engine model, operation cycle, aircraft engine

Procedia PDF Downloads 292

Authors: Raj Chavan

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Currently, there are over 14,500 Water Resource Recovery Facilities (WRRFs) in the United States, with ~35% of them having some type of nutrient limits in place. These WRRFs account for about 1% of overall power demand and 2% of total greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) in the United States and contribute for 10 to 15% of the overall nutrient load to surface rivers in the United States. The evolution of densification technologies toward more compact and energy-efficient nutrient removal processes has been impacted by a number of factors. Existing facilities that require capacity expansion or biomass densification for higher treatability within the same footprint are being subjected to more stringent requirements relating to nutrient removal prior to surface water discharge. Densification of activated sludge has received recent widespread interest as a means for achieving process intensification and nutrient removal at WRRFs. At the core of the technology are the aerobic sludge granules where the biological processes occur. There is considerable interest in the prospect of producing granular sludge in continuous (or traditional) activated sludge processes (CAS) or densification of biomass by moving activated sludge flocs to a denser aggregate of biomass as a highly effective technique of intensification. This presentation will provide a fundamental understanding of densification by presenting insights and practical issues. The topics that will be discussed include methods used to generate and retain densified granules; the mechanisms that allow biological flocs to densify; the role that physical selectors play in the densification of biological flocs; some viable ways for managing biological flocs that have become densified; effects of physical selection design parameters on the retention of densified biological flocs and finally some operational solutions for customizing the flocs and granules required to meet performance and capacity targets. In addition, it will present some case studies where biological and physical parameters were used to generate aerobic granular sludge in the continuous flow system.

Keywords: densification, aerobic granular sludge, nutrient removal, intensification

Procedia PDF Downloads 186

Authors: Abbas Ahmadi, Nasser Aliasgharzad, Ali Asghar Jafarzadeh

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Nowadays, drying of the Urmia Lake as a largest saline lake in the world and emerging its saline bed from water has caused the risk of salty dune storms, which threats the health of human society and also plants and animal communities living in the region. Biological soil crusts (BSCs) as a dust stabilizer attracted the attention of Soil conservation experts in recent years. Although the presence of water by the impenetrable lake bed and endorheic basin can be an advantage to create BSCs, but the extraordinary of the lake bed salinity is a factor for prevention of its establishment in the region. Therefore, the present research work has been carried out to investigate the effects of inoculating the Cyanobacteria, algae and their combination to create BSCs for dust control. In this study, an algae attributed to Chlamydomonas sp and a cyanobacteria attributed to Anabaena sp isolated from the soils of Urmia Lake margin were used to create BSC in four soil samples which collected from 0-10 cm of the current margin (A), the previous bed (B), affected lands by lake (C) and Quomtappe sand dune (D). The main characteristics of the A, B and C soil samples are their highly salinity (their ECe are 108, 140 and 118 dS/m, respectively) and sodicity. Also, texture class of the soil A was loamy sand, and other two soils had clay textures. Soil D was Non-saline, but it was sodic with a sandy texture class. This study was conducted separately in each soil in a completely randomized design under four inoculation treatments of non-inoculated (T0), Algae (T1), cyanobacteria (T2) and equal mixture of algae and cyanobacteria (T3) with three replications. In the experiment, the soil was placed into wind tunnel trays, and a suspension containing microorganisms mixed with the trays surface soil. During the experiment, water was sprayed to the trays at the morning and evening of every day. After passing the incubation period (30 days), some characteristics of samples such as pH, EC, cold water extractable carbohydrate (CWEC), hot water extractable carbohydrate (HWEC), sulfuric acid extractable carbohydrate (SAEC), organic matter, crust thickness, penetration resistance, wind erosion threshold velocity and soil loss in the wind tunnel were measured, and Correlation between the measured characteristics was obtained through the SPSS software. Analysis of variance and so comparison between the means of treatments were analyzed with MSTATC software. In this research, Chlorophyll, an amount, was used as an indicator of the microorganism's population in the samples. Based on obtained results, the amount of Chlorophyll a in the T2 treatment of soil A and all treatments of soil D was significantly increased in comparison to the control and crust thickness showed increase in all treatments by microorganism’s inoculation. But effect of the treatments was significant in soils A and D. At all treatment’s inoculation of microorganisms in soil A caused to increase %46, %34 and %55 of the wind erosion threshold velocity in T1, T2 and T3 treatments in comparison to the control, respectively, and in soil D all treatments caused wind erosion threshold velocity became two times more than control. However, soil loss in the wind tunnel experiments was significant in T2 and T3 treatments of these soils and T1 treatment had no effect in reducing soil loss. Correlation between Chlorophyll a and salinity shows the important role of salinity in microbial growth prevention and formation of BSCs in the studied samples. In general, according to the obtained results, it can be concluded that salinity reduces the growth of microorganisms in saline soils of the region, and in soils with fine textures, salinity role in prevention of the microbial growth is clear. Also, using the mix of algae and cyanobacteria together caused the synergistic growth of them and consequently, better protection of the soil against wind erosion was provided.

Keywords: wind erosion, algae, cyanobacteria, carbohydrate

Procedia PDF Downloads 63

Authors: Patrizia Firmani, Sara Perucchini, Irene Rapone, Raffella Borrelli, Stefano Chiaberge, Manuela Grande, Rosamaria Marrazzo, Alberto Savoini, Andrea Siviero, Silvia Spera, Fabio Vago, Davide Deriu, Sergio Fanutti, Alessandro Oldani

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According to the Renewable Energy Directive II, the use of palm oil in diesel will be gradually reduced from 2023 and should reach zero in 2030 due to the deforestation caused by its production. Eni aims at finding alternative feedstocks for its biorefineries to eliminate the use of palm oil by 2023. Therefore, the ideal vegetable oils to be used in bio-refineries are those obtainable from plants that grow in marginal lands and with low impact on food-and-feed chain; hence, Eni research is studying the possibility of using oleaginous seeds, such as castor, croton, and cotton, to extract the oils to be exploited as feedstock in bio-refineries. To verify their suitability for the upgrading processes, an analytical protocol for their characterization has been drawn up and applied. The analytical characterizations include a step of water and ashes content determination, elemental analysis (CHNS analysis, X-Ray Fluorescence, Inductively Coupled Plasma - Optical Emission Spectroscopy, ICP– Mass Spectrometry), and total acid number determination. Gas chromatography coupled to flame ionization detector (GC-FID) is used to quantify the lipid content in terms of free fatty acids, mono-, di- and triacylglycerols, and fatty acids composition. Eventually, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and Fourier Transform-Infrared spectroscopies are exploited with GC-MS and Fourier Transform-Ion Cyclotron Resonance to study the composition of the oils. This work focuses on the GC-FID analysis of the lipid fraction of these oils, as the main constituent and of greatest interest for bio-refinery processes. Specifically, the lipid component of the extracted oil was quantified after sample silanization and transmethylation: silanization allows the elution of high-boiling compounds and is useful for determining the quantity of free acids and glycerides in oils, while transmethylation leads to a mixture of fatty acid esters and glycerol, thus allowing to evaluate the composition of glycerides in terms of Fatty Acids Methyl Esters (FAME). Cotton oil was extracted from cotton oilcake, croton oil was obtained by seeds pressing and seeds and oilcake ASE extraction, while castor oil comes from seed pressing (not performed in Eni laboratories). GC-FID analyses reported that the cotton oil is 90% constituted of triglycerides and about 6% diglycerides, while free fatty acids are about 2%. In terms of FAME, C18 acids make up 70% of the total and linoleic acid is the major constituent. Palmitic acid is present at 17.5%, while the other acids are in low concentration (<1%). Both analyzes show the presence of non-gas chromatographable compounds. Croton oils from seed pressing and extraction mainly contain triglycerides (98%). Concerning FAME, the main component is linoleic acid (approx. 80%). Oilcake croton oil shows higher abundance of diglycerides (6% vs ca 2%) and a lower content of triglycerides (38% vs 98%) compared to the previous oils. Eventually, castor oil is mostly constituted of triacylglycerols (about 69%), followed by diglycerides (about 10%). About 85.2% of total FAME is ricinoleic acid, as a constituent of triricinolein, the most abundant triglyceride of castor oil. Based on the analytical results, these oils represent feedstocks of interest for possible exploitation as advanced biofuels.

Keywords: analytical protocol, biofuels, biorefinery, gas chromatography, vegetable oil

Procedia PDF Downloads 144

Authors: Nane Giloyan

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The rapid development of social networks in the 21st century increases the interests towards the role and impact of social media on the success or failure of a revolution. Even though studies are investigating the role of social media on the outcome of a revolution, still, the conclusions on this matter are ambiguous so far. Hence, this research aims to investigate the role of social media in the success or failure of a revolution and make a contribution to the literature gap. The study aims to examine the research question whether the use of social media explains the success or failure of revolutions in 2008 and 2018 in Armenia. The research question is investigated through content analysis of two cases; failed revolution in 2008 and the successful revolution in 2018 in Armenia. The secondary data analysis was based on information devoted to two revolutions using local and major international news articles, journal and critical articles, in Armenian, Russian and English, also videos, posts and live streams of the revolutionary leaders. There can be many factors explaining the success or failure of a revolution. However, the investigation of the factors and their role to explain the outcome of a revolution other than the use of social media is beyond the scope of this research study. The study holds other variables constant and concludes that in the cases of 2008 and 2018 revolutions in Armenia the mobilization of society through social media explains the differences in the outcomes (failed or successful). The comparative case study of the revolutions in 2008 and 2018 in Armenia emphasizes the important role and impact of the use of social media on the success or failure of a revolution. The results highlight that the use of the Internet, particularly social media and live streams, by the opposition was the essential difference between two revolutions. Social media platforms, live streams, and communication apps that were absent in the revolutionary situation in 2008 were fundamental to the Armenian Velvet Revolution in 2018. The changes in the situation in favor of the opposition, so the outcome of the protests, were mainly based on the Internet-based mobilization of the society. It is also important to take into consideration that the country experienced a great increase in penetration rates over the decade. The percentage of access to the Internet drastically increased between 2008 and 2018. This fact may help to have a clearer understanding of the use of the Internet and social media by the opposition and the reliance on social media by society. According to the results of the continent analysis, the use of social media to direct the protests and to mobilize the society, have a vital role and positive impact on the outcome of a revolution. Thus the study concludes that it is the use of social media to initiate, organize, and direct the protests that explain the success or failure of two Armenian revolutions.

Keywords: social media, revolution, Armenia, success, failure

Procedia PDF Downloads 129

Authors: Gaëtan Calvar, Christophe Bouvier, Alexis Blasselle

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This paper presents the Sea Striker, a compact hydrofoil designed with the goal to address some of the issues raised by the recent evolutions of naval missions, threats and operation theatres in modern warfare. Able to perform a wide range of operations, the Sea Striker is a 40-meter stealth surface combatant equipped with a gas turbine and aft and forward foils to reach high speeds. The Sea Striker's stealthiness is enabled by the combination of composite structure, exterior design, and the advanced integration of sensors. The ship is fitted with a powerful and adaptable combat system, ensuring a versatile and efficient response to modern threats. Lightly Manned with a core crew of 10, this hydrofoil is highly automated and can be remoted pilote for special force operation or transit. Such a kind of ship is not new: it has been used in the past by different navies, for example, by the US Navy with the USS Pegasus. Nevertheless, the recent evolutions in science and technologies on the one hand, and the emergence of new missions, threats and operation theatres, on the other hand, put forward its concept as an answer to nowadays operational challenges. Indeed, even if multiples opinions and analyses can be given regarding the modern warfare and naval surface operations, general observations and tendencies can be drawn such as the major increase in the sensors and weapons types and ranges and, more generally, capacities; the emergence of new versatile and evolving threats and enemies, such as asymmetric groups, swarm drones or hypersonic missile; or the growing number of operation theatres located in more coastal and shallow waters. These researches were performed with a complete study of the ship after several operational performance computations in order to justify the relevance of using ships like the Sea Striker in naval surface operations. For the selected scenarios, the conception process enabled to measure the performance, namely a “Measure of Efficiency” in the NATO framework for 2 different kinds of models: A centralized, classic model, using large and powerful ships; and A distributed model relying on several Sea Strikers. After this stage, a was performed. Lethal, agile, stealth, compact and fitted with a complete set of sensors, the Sea Striker is a new major player in modern warfare and constitutes a very attractive response between the naval unit and the combat helicopter, enabling to reach high operational performances at a reduced cost.

Keywords: surface combatant, compact, hydrofoil, stealth, velocity, lethal

Procedia PDF Downloads 117

Authors: Leif Inge Tjelta, Gerd Lise Nordbotten, Cathrine Nyhus Hagum, Merete Hagen Helland

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Overweight and obesity can lead to numerous health problems, and inactive people are more often overweight and obese compared to physically active people. Even a moderate weight loss can improve cardiovascular and endocrine disease risk factors. The aim of the study was to examine to what extent overweight and obese adults starting up with two weekly intensive running sessions had an increase in aerobic capacity, reduction in BMI and waist circumference and changes in body composition after 33 weeks of training. An additional aim was to see if there were differences between participants who, in addition to training, also received lifestyle modification education, including practical cooking (nutritional guidance and training group (NTG =32)) compared to those who were not given any nutritional guidance (training group (TG=40)). 72 participants (49 women), mean age of 46.1 ( ± 10.4) were included. Inclusion Criteria: Previous untrained and inactive adults in all age groups, BMI ≥ 25, desire to become fitter and reduce their BMI. The two weekly supervised training sessions consisted of 10 min warm up followed by 20 to 21 min effective interval running where the participants’ heart rate were between 82 and 92% of hearth rate maximum. The sessions were completed with ten minutes whole body strength training. Measures of BMI, waist circumference (WC) and 3000m running time were performed at the start of the project (T1), after 15 weeks (T2) and at the end of the project (T3). Measurements of fat percentage, muscle mass, and visceral fat were performed at T1 and T3. Twelve participants (9 women) from both groups, who all scored around average on the 3000 m pre-test, were chosen to do a VO₂max test at T1 and T3. The NTG were given ten theoretical sessions (80 minutes each) and eight practical cooking sessions (140 minutes each). There was a significant reduction in bout groups for WC and BMI from T1 to T2. There was not found any further reduction from T2 to T3. Although not significant, NTG reduced their WC more than TG. For both groups, the percentage reduction in WC was similar to the reduction in BMI. There was a decrease in fat percentage in both groups from pre-test to post-test, whereas, for muscle mass, a small, but insignificant increase was observed for both groups. There was a decrease in 3000m running time for both groups from T1 to T2 as well as from T2 to T3. The difference between T2 and T3 was not statistically significant. The 12 participants who tested VO₂max had an increase of 2.86 ( ± 3.84) mlkg⁻¹ min⁻¹ in VO₂max and 3:02 min (± 2:01 min) reduction in running time over 3000 m from T1 until T3. There was a strong, negative correlation between the two variables. The study shows that two intensive running session in 33 weeks can increase aerobic fitness and reduce BMI, WC and fat percent in inactive adults. Cost guidance in addition to training will give additional effect.

Keywords: interval training, nutritional guidance, fitness, BMI

Procedia PDF Downloads 142

Authors: Iryna Biskub

Abstract:

The interdisciplinary approach to modern linguistic studies is exemplified by the merge of various research methods, which sometimes causes complications related to the verification of the research results. This methodological confusion can be resolved by means of creating new techniques of linguistic analysis combining several scientific paradigms. Modern linguistics has developed really productive and efficient methods for the investigation of cognitive and communicative phenomena of which language is the central issue. In the field of discourse studies, one of the best examples of research methods is the method of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). CDA can be viewed both as a method of investigation, as well as a critical multidisciplinary perspective. In CDA the position of the scholar is crucial from the point of view exemplifying his or her social and political convictions. The generally accepted approach to obtaining scientifically reliable results is to use a special well-defined scientific method for researching special types of language phenomena: cognitive methods applied to the exploration of cognitive aspects of language, whereas communicative methods are thought to be relevant only for the investigation of communicative nature of language. In the recent decades discourse as a sociocultural phenomenon has been the focus of careful linguistic research. The very concept of discourse represents an integral unity of cognitive and communicative aspects of human verbal activity. Since a human being is never able to discriminate between cognitive and communicative planes of discourse communication, it doesn’t make much sense to apply cognitive and communicative methods of research taken in isolation. It is possible to modify the classical CDA procedure by means of mapping human cognitive procedures onto the strategic communicative planning of discourse communication. The analysis of the electronic petition 'Block Donald J Trump from UK entry. The signatories believe Donald J Trump should be banned from UK entry' (584, 459 signatures) and the parliamentary debates on it has demonstrated the ability to map cognitive and communicative levels in the following way: the strategy of discourse modeling (communicative level) overlaps with the extraction of semantic macrostructures (cognitive level); the strategy of discourse management overlaps with the analysis of local meanings in discourse communication; the strategy of cognitive monitoring of the discourse overlaps with the formation of attitudes and ideologies at the cognitive level. Thus, the experimental data have shown that it is possible to develop a new complex methodology of discourse analysis, where cognition would meet communication, both metaphorically and literally. The same approach may appear to be productive for the creation of computational models of human-computer interaction, where the automatic generation of a particular type of a discourse could be based on the rules of strategic planning involving cognitive models of CDA.

Keywords: cognition, communication, discourse, strategy

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Authors: Tirtha Raj Adhikari, Lochan Prasad Devkota

Abstract:

This research studied the hydrological regime of three glacierized river basins in Khumbu, Langtang and Annapurna regions of Nepal using the Hydraologiska Byrans Vattenbalansavde (HBV), HVB-light 3.0 model. Future scenario of discharge is also studied using downscaled climate data derived from statistical downscaling method. General Circulation Models (GCMs) successfully simulate future climate variability and climate change on a global scale; however, poor spatial resolution constrains their application for impact studies at a regional or a local level. The dynamically downscaled precipitation and temperature data from Coupled Global Circulation Model 3 (CGCM3) was used for the climate projection, under A2 and A1B SRES scenarios. In addition, the observed historical temperature, precipitation and discharge data were collected from 14 different hydro-metrological locations for the implementation of this study, which include watershed and hydro-meteorological characteristics, trends analysis and water balance computation. The simulated precipitation and temperature were corrected for bias before implementing in the HVB-light 3.0 conceptual rainfall-runoff model to predict the flow regime, in which Groups Algorithms Programming (GAP) optimization approach and then calibration were used to obtain several parameter sets which were finally reproduced as observed stream flow. Except in summer, the analysis showed that the increasing trends in annual as well as seasonal precipitations during the period 2001 - 2060 for both A2 and A1B scenarios over three basins under investigation. In these river basins, the model projected warmer days in every seasons of entire period from 2001 to 2060 for both A1B and A2 scenarios. These warming trends are higher in maximum than in minimum temperatures throughout the year, indicating increasing trend of daily temperature range due to recent global warming phenomenon. Furthermore, there are decreasing trends in summer discharge in Langtang Khola (Langtang region) which is increasing in Modi Khola (Annapurna region) as well as Dudh Koshi (Khumbu region) river basin. The flow regime is more pronounced during later parts of the future decades than during earlier parts in all basins. The annual water surplus of 1419 mm, 177 mm and 49 mm are observed in Annapurna, Langtang and Khumbu region, respectively.

Keywords: temperature, precipitation, water discharge, water balance, global warming

Procedia PDF Downloads 344

Authors: Krisala Joshi, Sayanta Ghosh, Renu Lata, Jagdish C. Kuniyal

Abstract:

Throughout the world, monitoring and estimating the changing pattern of forests across diverse landscapes through remote sensing is instrumental in understanding the interactions of human activities and the ecological environment with the changing climate. Forest change detection using satellite imageries has emerged as an important means to gather information on a regional scale. Kullu valley in Himachal Pradesh, India is situated in a transitional zone between the lesser and the greater Himalayas. Thus, it presents a typical rugged mountainous terrain with moderate to high altitude which varies from 1200 meters to over 6000 meters. Due to changes in agricultural cropping patterns, urbanization, industrialization, hydropower generation, climate change, tourism, and anthropogenic forest fire, it has undergone a tremendous transformation in forest cover in the past three decades. The loss and degradation of forest cover results in soil erosion, loss of biodiversity including damage to wildlife habitats, and degradation of watershed areas, and deterioration of the overall quality of nature and life. The supervised classification of LANDSAT satellite data was performed to assess the changes in forest cover in Kullu valley over the years 2000 to 2020. Normalized Burn Ratio (NBR) was calculated to discriminate between burned and unburned areas of the forest. Our study reveals that in Kullu valley, the increasing number of forest fire incidents specifically, those due to anthropogenic activities has been on a rise, each subsequent year. The main objective of the present study is, therefore, to estimate the change in the forest cover of Kullu valley and to address the various social aspects responsible for the anthropogenic forest fires. Also, to assess its impact on the significant changes in the regional climatic factors, specifically, temperature, humidity, and precipitation over three decades, with the help of satellite imageries and ground data. The main outcome of the paper, we believe, will be helpful for the administration for making a quantitative assessment of the forest cover area changes due to anthropogenic activities and devising long-term measures for creating awareness among the local people of the area.

Keywords: Anthropogenic Activities, Forest Change Detection, Normalized Burn Ratio (NBR), Supervised Classification

Procedia PDF Downloads 173