Search results for: pottery making
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 5379

Search results for: pottery making

3789 Sustainability Assessment of Municipal Wastewater Treatment

Authors: Yousra Zakaria Ahmed, Ahmed El Gendy, Salah El Haggar

Abstract:

In this paper, our methodology to assess sustainability of wastewater treatment technologies in Egypt is presented. The preliminary list of factors to be considered, as well as their ranking listed. The factors include, but are not limited to pollutants removal efficiency and energy consumption under the environmental dimension, construction cost, operation and maintenance costs and required land area cost under the economic dimension and public acceptance, noise and generating job opportunities for local residents. This methodology is intended to be a user-friendly screening tool to support the decision making process when investigating different wastewater treatment technologies in Egypt. Based on the research work results presented in this paper, it can be generally concluded that the categorization of some of the social and environmental aspects of sustainability is subjective and highly dependent on the local conditions and researchers’ background.

Keywords: sustainability, wastewater treatment, sustainability assessment, Egypt

Procedia PDF Downloads 513
3788 Drawing, Design and Building Information Modelling (BIM): Embedding Advanced Digital Tools in the Academy Programs for Building Engineers and Architects

Authors: Vittorio Caffi, Maria Pignataro, Antonio Cosimo Devito, Marco Pesenti

Abstract:

This paper deals with the integration of advanced digital design and modelling tools and methodologies, known as Building Information Modelling, into the traditional Academy educational programs for building engineers and architects. Nowadays, the challenge the Academy has to face is to present the new tools and their features to the pupils, making sure they acquire the proper skills in order to leverage the potential they offer also for the other courses embedded in the educational curriculum. The syllabus here presented refers to the “Drawing for building engineering”, “2D and 3D laboratory” and “3D modelling” curricula of the MSc in Building Engineering of the Politecnico di Milano. Such topics, included since the first year in the MSc program, are fundamental to give the students the instruments to master the complexity of an architectural or building engineering project with digital tools, so as to represent it in its various forms.

Keywords: BIM, BIM curricula, computational design, digital modelling

Procedia PDF Downloads 671
3787 The Conservation of the Botanical Collar of Tutankhamun

Authors: Safwat Mohamed Sayed Ali, Hussein Kamal

Abstract:

This paper discusses the conservation procedures of the botanical collar of King Tutankhamun. It dates back to the new Kingdom. This collar was kept in a box but found in bad condition. Many parts of the collar were separated. The collar suffered from dryness and dust, so it needed to be cleaned mechanically and recollected together. Japanese paper was used to collect the separated parts of the collar on a linen thread. The linen thread was dyed with organic dye to match the color of the plant material. The guidance in collecting the different parts of the plant collar is the original photograph captured at the discovery of the tomb. Also, the optical microscope was used in collecting fractured parts. The weak parts of the collar were treated with a suitable consolidation material. Klucel G dissolved in Ethyl Alcohol 0.5% was used in the treatment and gave convenient results. Some investigations were executed in order to identify the plant types used in making the botanical collar. Scanning Electron microscope and optical microscope were used in plant identification.

Keywords: sustainable, consolidation, plant, investigation

Procedia PDF Downloads 84
3786 Portfolio Restructuring of Banks: The Impact on Performance and Risk

Authors: Hannes Koester

Abstract:

Driven by difficult market conditions and increasing regulations, many banks are making the strategic decision to restructure their portfolio by divesting several business segments. Using a unique dataset of 727 portfolio restructuring announcements by 161 international listed banks over the period 1999 to 2015, we investigate the impact of restructuring measurements on the stock performance as well as on the banks’ profitability and risk. Employing the event study methodology, we detect positive stock market reactions on the announcement of restructuring measurements. These positive stock market reactions indicate that shareholders reward banks’ specialization activities. However, the results of the system GMM regressions show a negative relation between restructuring measurements and banks’ return on assets and a positive relation towards the individual and systemic risk of banks. These empirical results indicate that there is no guarantee that portfolio restructurings will result in a more profitable and less risky institution.

Keywords: bank performance, bank risk, divestiture, restructuring, systemic risk

Procedia PDF Downloads 319
3785 Navigating Uncertainties in Project Control: A Predictive Tracking Framework

Authors: Byung Cheol Kim

Abstract:

This study explores a method for the signal-noise separation challenge in project control, focusing on the limitations of traditional deterministic approaches that use single-point performance metrics to predict project outcomes. We detail how traditional methods often overlook future uncertainties, resulting in tracking biases when reliance is placed solely on immediate data without adjustments for predictive accuracy. Our investigation led to the development of the Predictive Tracking Project Control (PTPC) framework, which incorporates network simulation and Bayesian control models to adapt more effectively to project dynamics. The PTPC introduces controlled disturbances to better identify and separate tracking biases from useful predictive signals. We will demonstrate the efficacy of the PTPC with examples, highlighting its potential to enhance real-time project monitoring and decision-making, marking a significant shift towards more accurate project management practices.

Keywords: predictive tracking, project control, signal-noise separation, Bayesian inference

Procedia PDF Downloads 27
3784 Implied Adjusted Volatility by Leland Option Pricing Models: Evidence from Australian Index Options

Authors: Mimi Hafizah Abdullah, Hanani Farhah Harun, Nik Ruzni Nik Idris

Abstract:

With the implied volatility as an important factor in financial decision-making, in particular in option pricing valuation, and also the given fact that the pricing biases of Leland option pricing models and the implied volatility structure for the options are related, this study considers examining the implied adjusted volatility smile patterns and term structures in the S&P/ASX 200 index options using the different Leland option pricing models. The examination of the implied adjusted volatility smiles and term structures in the Australian index options market covers the global financial crisis in the mid-2007. The implied adjusted volatility was found to escalate approximately triple the rate prior the crisis.

Keywords: implied adjusted volatility, financial crisis, Leland option pricing models, Australian index options

Procedia PDF Downloads 384
3783 Description of Decision Inconsistency in Intertemporal Choices and Representation of Impatience as a Reflection of Irrationality: Consequences in the Field of Personalized Behavioral Finance

Authors: Roberta Martino, Viviana Ventre

Abstract:

Empirical evidence has, over time, confirmed that the behavior of individuals is inconsistent with the descriptions provided by the Discounted Utility Model, an essential reference for calculating the utility of intertemporal prospects. The model assumes that individuals calculate the utility of intertemporal prospectuses by adding up the values of all outcomes obtained by multiplying the cardinal utility of the outcome by the discount function estimated at the time the outcome is received. The trend of the discount function is crucial for the preferences of the decision maker because it represents the perception of the future, and its trend causes temporally consistent or temporally inconsistent preferences. In particular, because different formulations of the discount function lead to various conclusions in predicting choice, the descriptive ability of models with a hyperbolic trend is greater than linear or exponential models. Suboptimal choices from any time point of view are the consequence of this mechanism, the psychological factors of which are encapsulated in the discount rate trend. In addition, analyzing the decision-making process from a psychological perspective, there is an equivalence between the selection of dominated prospects and a degree of impatience that decreases over time. The first part of the paper describes and investigates the anomalies of the discounted utility model by relating the cognitive distortions of the decision-maker to the emotional factors that are generated during the evaluation and selection of alternatives. Specifically, by studying the degree to which impatience decreases, it’s possible to quantify how the psychological and emotional mechanisms of the decision-maker result in a lack of decision persistence. In addition, this description presents inconsistency as the consequence of an inconsistent attitude towards time-delayed choices. The second part of the paper presents an experimental phase in which we show the relationship between inconsistency and impatience in different contexts. Analysis of the degree to which impatience decreases confirms the influence of the decision maker's emotional impulses for each anomaly in the utility model discussed in the first part of the paper. This work provides an application in the field of personalized behavioral finance. Indeed, the numerous behavioral diversities, evident even in the degrees of decrease in impatience in the experimental phase, support the idea that optimal strategies may not satisfy individuals in the same way. With the aim of homogenizing the categories of investors and to provide a personalized approach to advice, the results proven in the experimental phase are used in a complementary way with the information in the field of behavioral finance to implement the Analytical Hierarchy Process model in intertemporal choices, useful for strategic personalization. In the construction of the Analytic Hierarchy Process, the degree of decrease in impatience is understood as reflecting irrationality in decision-making and is therefore used for the construction of weights between anomalies and behavioral traits.

Keywords: analytic hierarchy process, behavioral finance, financial anomalies, impatience, time inconsistency

Procedia PDF Downloads 70
3782 Language Switching Errors of Bilinguals: Role of Top down and Bottom up Process

Authors: Numra Qayyum, Samina Sarwat, Noor ul Ain

Abstract:

Bilingual speakers generally can speak both languages with the same competency without mixing them intentionally and making mistakes, but sometimes errors occur in language selection. This quantitative study particularly deals with the language errors made by Urdu-English bilinguals. In this research, researchers have given special attention to the part played by bottom-up priming and top-down cognitive control in these errors. Unstable Urdu-English bilingual participants termed pictures and were prompted to shift from one language to another under the pressure of time. Different situations were given to manipulate the participants. The long and short runs trials of the same language were also given before switching to another language. The study is concluded with the findings that bilinguals made more errors when switching to the first language from their second language, and these errors are large in number, especially when a speaker is switching from L2 (second language) to L1 (first language) after a long run. When the switching is reversed, i.e., from L2 to LI, it had no effect at all. These results gave the clear responsibility of all these errors to top-down cognitive control.

Keywords: bottom up priming, language error, language switching, top down cognitive control

Procedia PDF Downloads 141
3781 Refactoring Object Oriented Software through Community Detection Using Evolutionary Computation

Authors: R. Nagarani

Abstract:

An intrinsic property of software in a real-world environment is its need to evolve, which is usually accompanied by the increase of software complexity and deterioration of software quality, making software maintenance a tough problem. Refactoring is regarded as an effective way to address this problem. Many refactoring approaches at the method and class level have been proposed. But the extent of research on software refactoring at the package level is less. This work presents a novel approach to refactor the package structures of object oriented software using genetic algorithm based community detection. It uses software networks to represent classes and their dependencies. It uses a constrained community detection algorithm to obtain the optimized community structures in software networks, which also correspond to the optimized package structures. It finally provides a list of classes as refactoring candidates by comparing the optimized package structures with the real package structures.

Keywords: community detection, complex network, genetic algorithm, package, refactoring

Procedia PDF Downloads 422
3780 Land Suitability Analysis for Rice Production in a Typical Watershed of Southwestern Nigeria: A Sustainability Pathway

Authors: Oluwagbenga O. Isaac Orimoogunje, Omolola Helen Oshosanya

Abstract:

The study examined land management in a typical watershed in southwestern Nigeria with a view to ascertaining its impact on land suitability analysis for rice cultivation and production. The study applied the analytical hierarchy process (AHP), weighted overlay analysis (WOA), multi-criteria decision-making techniques, and suitability map calculations within a Geographic Information System environment. Five main criteria were used, and these include climate, topography, soil fertility, macronutrients, and micronutrients. A consistency ratio (CR) of 0.067 was obtained for rice cultivation. The results showed that 95% of the land area is suitable for rice cultivation, with pH units ranging between 4.6 and 6.0, organic matter of 1.4–2.5 g kg-1 and base saturation of more than 80%. The study concluded that the Ofiki watershed is a potential site for large-scale rice cultivation in a sustainable capacity.

Keywords: land management, land characteristics, land suitability, rice production, watershed

Procedia PDF Downloads 81
3779 Leveraging Learning Analytics to Inform Learning Design in Higher Education

Authors: Mingming Jiang

Abstract:

This literature review aims to offer an overview of existing research on learning analytics and learning design, the alignment between the two, and how learning analytics has been leveraged to inform learning design in higher education. Current research suggests a need to create more alignment and integration between learning analytics and learning design in order to not only ground learning analytics on learning sciences but also enable data-driven decisions in learning design to improve learning outcomes. In addition, multiple conceptual frameworks have been proposed to enhance the synergy and alignment between learning analytics and learning design. Future research should explore this synergy further in the unique context of higher education, identifying learning analytics metrics in higher education that can offer insight into learning processes, evaluating the effect of learning analytics outcomes on learning design decision-making in higher education, and designing learning environments in higher education that make the capturing and deployment of learning analytics outcomes more efficient.

Keywords: learning analytics, learning design, big data in higher education, online learning environments

Procedia PDF Downloads 178
3778 Evaluation of Environmental, Technical, and Economic Indicators of a Fused Deposition Modeling Process

Authors: M. Yosofi, S. Ezeddini, A. Ollivier, V. Lavaste, C. Mayousse

Abstract:

Additive manufacturing processes have changed significantly in a wide range of industries and their application progressed from rapid prototyping to production of end-use products. However, their environmental impact is still a rather open question. In order to support the growth of this technology in the industrial sector, environmental aspects should be considered and predictive models may help monitor and reduce the environmental footprint of the processes. This work presents predictive models based on a previously developed methodology for the environmental impact evaluation combined with a technical and economical assessment. Here we applied the methodology to the Fused Deposition Modeling process. First, we present the predictive models relative to different types of machines. Then, we present a decision-making tool designed to identify the optimum manufacturing strategy regarding technical, economic, and environmental criteria.

Keywords: additive manufacturing, decision-makings, environmental impact, predictive models

Procedia PDF Downloads 137
3777 The Veil of Virtuality: Anonymity and Trust in the Metaverse's New Frontier

Authors: Cheng Xu, Rui Zhong

Abstract:

Utilizing a preregistered randomized experiment, this study explores the effects of anonymity and curated identity on trust within the Metaverse. Participants were randomly assigned to different conditions of anonymity and identity curation and engaged in a series of tasks designed to mirror the complexities of trust in real-world social interactions. Trust was measured using the classical trust game, allowing for a nuanced understanding of how these factors interact and influence trust. The findings reveal that higher levels of anonymity negatively impact trust, while identity curation can moderate this effect. Mechanism analysis uncovers how anonymity influences perceived reciprocity and group cohesion, and how curation can moderate these relationships. The results demonstrate a nuanced interaction between anonymity and trust, with variations across different curation levels. These insights provide a multifaceted understanding of trust within virtual environments, contributing valuable knowledge to the design, policy-making, and ethical considerations of the Metaverse

Keywords: metaverse, anonymity, curated identity, social behavior, trust

Procedia PDF Downloads 144
3776 Assessing Green Metrics of Cement Supply Chain in Iran: A Fuzzy DEMATEL Approach

Authors: Hadi Badri Ahmadi, Xuping Wang

Abstract:

Due to strict regulations and public awareness, corporations should develop policies to effectively decrease the negative environmental effects of their products and enhance their supply chain environmental sustainability. Assessment of environmental issues in the context of many industries has been studied in the previous literature. However, Iran cement industry has received less attention from researchers. Therefore, in this paper, we apply a Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) approach to assess the relationships among green metrics of Iran cement industry supply chain under fuzzy environment. The study findings provide considerable insight for cement industry managers and experts in order to enhance the environmental sustainability of their supply chain and move towards sustainable development.

Keywords: green supply chain, DEMATEL, fuzzy set theory, environmental sustainability, sustainable development, cement industry

Procedia PDF Downloads 416
3775 Regulating the Ottomans on Turkish Television and the Making of Good Citizens

Authors: Chien Yang Erdem

Abstract:

This paper takes up the proliferating historical dramas and children’s programs featuring the Ottoman-Islamic legacy on Turkish television as a locus where the processes of subjectification take place. A critical analysis of this emergent cultural phenomenon reveals an alliance of neoliberal and neoconservative political rationalities based on which the Turkish media is restructured to transform society. The existing debates have focused on how the Ottoman historical dramas manifest the Justice and Development Party’s (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi) neo-Ottomanist ideology and foreign policy. However, this approach tends to overlook the more complex relationship between the media, government, and society. Employing Michel Foucault’s notion of 'technologies of the self,' this paper aims to examine the governing practices that are deployed to regulate the media and to transform individual citizens into governable subjects in contemporary Turkey. First, through a brief discussion of recent development of the Turkish media towards an authoritarian model, the paper suggests that the relation between the Ottoman television drama and the political subject in question cannot be adequately examined without taking into account the force of the market. Second, by focusing on the managerial restructuring of the Turkish Television and Radio Corporation (Türkiye Radyo ve Televizyon Kurumu), the paper aims to illustrate the rationale and process through which the Turkish media sector is transformed into an integral part of the free market where the government becomes a key actor. The paper contends that this new sphere of free market is organized in a way that enables direct interference of the government and divides media practitioners and consumers into opposing categories through their own participation in the media market. On the one hand, a 'free subject' is constituted based on the premise that the market is a sphere where individuals are obliged to exercise their right to freedom (of choice, lifestyle, and expression). On the other hand, this 'free subject' is increasingly subjugated to such disciplinary practices as censorship for being on the wrong side of the government. Finally, the paper examines the relation between the restructured Turkish media market and the proliferation of Ottoman television drama in the 2010s. The study maintains that the reorganization of the media market has produced a condition where private sector is encouraged to take an active role in reviving Turkey’s Ottoman-Islamic cultural heritage and promulgating moral-religious values. Paying specific attention to the controversial case of Magnificent Century (Muhteşem Yüzyıl) in contrast with TRT’s Ottoman historical drama and children’s programs, the paper aims to identify the ways in which individual citizens are directed to conduct themselves as a virtuous citizenry. It is through the double movement between the governing practices associated with the media market and those concerning the making of a 'conservative generation' that a subject of citizenry of new Turkey is constituted.

Keywords: neoconservatism, neoliberalism, ottoman historical drama, technologies of the self, Turkish television

Procedia PDF Downloads 144
3774 Exploring Women Perceptions on the Benefit Package of the Free Maternal Health Policy under the Universal Health Coverage of the National Health Insurance Scheme in Rural Upper West Region of Ghana: A Qualitative study

Authors: Alexander Suuk Laar, Emmanuel Bekyieriya, Sylvester Isang, Benjamin Baguune

Abstract:

Introduction: In Ghana, despite the implementation of strategies and initiatives to ensure universal access to reproductive health and family planning (FP) services for the past two decades, interventions have not adequately addressed the access and utilization needs of women of reproductive age, especially in rural Ghana. To improve access and use of reproductive and maternal health services in Ghana, a free maternal care exemption policy under the universal health coverage of the National Health Insurance Scheme was implemented in 2005. Despite the importance of FP, this service was left out of the benefit package of the policy. Low or no use of FP services is often associated with poor health among women. However, to date, there has been limited research on perspectives of women for not making FP services as part of the benefit package of the free maternal health services. This qualitative study explored perceptions of women on the comprehensiveness of the free maternal health benefit package and the effects on utilisation of services in the rural Upper West region of Ghana to improve services. Methods: This exploratory qualitative study used focus group discussions with pregnant and lactating women in three rural districts in the Upper West region of Ghana. Six focus groups were held with both pregnant women and lactating mothers at the time of the interview. Three focus group discussions were organised with the same category of women in each district. We used a purposive sampling procedure to select the participants from the districts. The interviews with the written consent of the participants lasted between 60 minutes and 120 minutes. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data were analysed using Braun and Clarke thematic framework guidelines. Results: This research presents an in-depth account of women's perceptions on the effects associated with the uptake of FP services and its exclusion from the benefit package of the free maternal health policy. Our study found that participants did not support the exclusion of FP services in the benefit package. Participants mentioned factors hampering their access to and use of FP and contraceptive services to include the cost of services, distance and cost of transport to health facilities, lack of knowledge about FP services, socio-cultural norms and negative attitude of healthcare professionals. Participants are of the view that making FP services part of the benefit package could have addressed the cost aspect of services which act as the main barrier to improve the use of services by poor rural women. Conclusion: Women of reproductive age face cost barriers that limit their access to and use of FP and contraception services in the rural Upper West region of Ghana and need health policymakers to revise the free maternal health package to include FP services. It is essential for policymakers to begin considering revising the free maternal health policy benefit package to include FP services to help address the cost barrier for rural poor women to use services.

Keywords: benefit package, free maternal policy, women, Ghana, rural Upper West Region, Universal Health Coverage.

Procedia PDF Downloads 236
3773 Mechanistic Studies of Compacted and Sintered Rock Salt

Authors: Claudia H. Swanson, Jens Günster

Abstract:

This research addresses the densification via compaction and sintering of naturally occurring rock salt which was motivated by the fact that in a saline environment rock salt is thermodynamically stable and does show a mechanical behavior compatible to the surrounding host material. The sintering of rock salt powder compacts was systematically investigated using temperature and pressure as variables for the sinter process. The behavior of rock salt showed segregations of anhydrite, CaSO4 - the major impurity found in rock salt, to the grain boundaries between individual sodium chloride crystals. Powder compacts treated with lower pressures lost those anhydrite segregates over time while high pressure treated compacts remained with anhydrite segregates. The density reached in this study is 2.008 g cm-3 corresponding to a density of 92.5 % of the theoretical value. This high density is making the sintering a promising technique for rock salt as applications in underground appropriate environment.

Keywords: rock salt, sinter, anhydrite, nuclear safety

Procedia PDF Downloads 494
3772 The Technics of Desalination Water in Algeria

Authors: H. Aburideh, Z.Tigrine, D. Ziou, S. Hout, R. Bellatreche, D. Belhout, Z. Belgroun, M. Abbas

Abstract:

Faced with climate hazards in recent decades and the constant increase of the population, Algeria is making considerable efforts to provide water resources and water availability, both for its nascent industry, agriculture and for the drinking water supply of cities and arid region of the country. Following a remarkable worldwide technological breakthrough in seawater and brackish water desalination, known in recent years, the specialists have seen that the use of desalination of sea water in Algeria is a promising alternative as long as it has a coastline of 1200 km. Seawater is clean and virtually inexhaustible resource; mainly for population and industry that have high water consumption and are close to the sea. The purpose of this work is to present information on the number of sea water desalination stations and demineralization plants existing in Algeria. The constraints related to the operation of certain stations; those which are operational, those that are not operational as well as the seawater desalination program that was hired to cover 49 desalination plants across the country at the end of 2019 with the aim of increasing and diversifying water resources.

Keywords: desalination, water, membrane, demineralization

Procedia PDF Downloads 393
3771 Teaching for Change: Instructional Support in a Bilingual Setting

Authors: S. J. Hachar

Abstract:

The goal of this paper is to provide educators an overview of international practices supporting young learners, arming us with adequate information to lead effective change. We will report on research and observations of Service Learning Projects conducted by one South Texas University. The intent of the paper is also to provide readers an overview of service learning in the preparation of teacher candidates pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education. The objective of noting the efficiency and effectiveness of programs leading to literacy and oral fluency in a native language and second language will be discussed. This paper also highlights experiential learning for academic credit that combines community service with student learning. Six weeks of visits to a variety of community sites, making personal observations with faculty members, conducting extensive interviews with parents and key personnel at all sites will be discussed. The culminating Service Learning Expo will be reported as well.

Keywords: elementary education, junior achievement, service learning

Procedia PDF Downloads 326
3770 Empowering Indigenous Epistemologies in Geothermal Development

Authors: Te Kīpa Kēpa B. Morgan, Oliver W. Mcmillan, Dylan N. Taute, Tumanako N. Fa'aui

Abstract:

Epistemologies are ways of knowing. Indigenous Peoples are aware that they do not perceive and experience the world in the same way as others. So it is important when empowering Indigenous epistemologies, such as that of the New Zealand Māori, to also be able to represent a scientific understanding within the same analysis. A geothermal development assessment tool has been developed by adapting the Mauri Model Decision Making Framework. Mauri is a metric that is capable of representing the change in the life-supporting capacity of things and collections of things. The Mauri Model is a method of grouping mauri indicators as dimension averages in order to allow holistic assessment and also to conduct sensitivity analyses for the effect of worldview bias. R-shiny is the coding platform used for this Vision Mātauranga research which has created an expert decision support tool (DST) that combines a stakeholder assessment of worldview bias with an impact assessment of mauri-based indicators to determine the sustainability of proposed geothermal development. The initial intention was to develop guidelines for quantifying mātauranga Māori impacts related to geothermal resources. To do this, three typical scenarios were considered: a resource owner wishing to assess the potential for new geothermal development; another party wishing to assess the environmental and cultural impacts of the proposed development; an assessment that focuses on the holistic sustainability of the resource, including its surface features. Indicator sets and measurement thresholds were developed that are considered necessary considerations for each assessment context and these have been grouped to represent four mauri dimensions that mirror the four well-being criteria used for resource management in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Two case studies have been conducted to test the DST suitability for quantifying mātauranga Māori and other biophysical factors related to a geothermal system. This involved estimating mauri0meter values for physical features such as temperature, flow rate, frequency, colour, and developing indicators to also quantify qualitative observations about the geothermal system made by Māori. A retrospective analysis has then been conducted to verify different understandings of the geothermal system. The case studies found that the expert DST is useful for geothermal development assessment, especially where hapū (indigenous sub-tribal grouping) are conflicted regarding the benefits and disadvantages of their’ and others’ geothermal developments. These results have been supplemented with evaluations for the cumulative impacts of geothermal developments experienced by different parties using integration techniques applied to the time history curve of the expert DST worldview bias weighted plotted against the mauri0meter score. Cumulative impacts represent the change in resilience or potential of geothermal systems, which directly assists with the holistic interpretation of change from an Indigenous Peoples’ perspective.

Keywords: decision support tool, holistic geothermal assessment, indigenous knowledge, mauri model decision-making framework

Procedia PDF Downloads 187
3769 Building on Local People Capacities as Key Resources in Making Livable Environments

Authors: Ouassim Chemrouk, Naima Chabbi-Chemrouk

Abstract:

Contemporary settlements and urban places are becoming increasingly complex involving technologically advanced building materials, and mechanical systems for controlling environmental quality such as thermal comfort, lighting, acoustics and other building performances. These systems, which rely exclusively on the utilization of nonrenewable energy are often expensive and environment pollutants. The proposed paper illustrates the important role of traditional knowledge and practice and what is sometimes called intangible cultural heritage assume in the design of the built environment. It shows that some traditional “ways of doing” that are transmitted at local scales from generation to generation could be built upon to become key resources for more livable urban places. Based on evidence from documentary sources and field surveys, it also shows how different attempts were made to translate some traditional practices and local know-how in the proposal of new urban schemes.

Keywords: key resource, know-how, local people, capacity building, liveable built environments

Procedia PDF Downloads 212
3768 The Messy and Irregular Experience of Entrepreneurial Life

Authors: Hannah Dean

Abstract:

The growth ideology, and its association with progress, is an important construct in the narrative of modernity. This ideology is embedded in neoclassical economic growth theory which conceptualises growth as linear and predictable, and the entrepreneur as a rational economic manager. This conceptualisation has been critiqued for reinforcing the managerial discourse in entrepreneurship studies. Despite these critiques, both the neoclassical growth theory and its adjacent managerial discourse dominate entrepreneurship studies notably the literature on female entrepreneurs. The latter is the focus of this paper. Given this emphasis on growth, female entrepreneurs are portrayed as problematic because their growth lags behind their male counterparts. This image which ignores the complexity and diversity of female entrepreneurs’ experience persists in the literature due to the lack of studies that analyse the process and contextual factors surrounding female entrepreneurs’ experience. This study aims to address the subordination of female entrepreneurs by questioning the hegemonic logic of economic growth and the managerial discourse as a true representation for the entrepreneurial experience. This objective is achieved by drawing on Schumpeter’s theorising and narrative inquiry. This exploratory study undertakes in depth interviews to gain insights into female entrepreneurs’ experience and the impact of the economic growth model and the managerial discourse on their performance. The narratives challenge a number of assumptions about female entrepreneurs. The participants occupied senior positions in the corporate world before setting up their businesses. This is at odds with much writing which assumes that women underperform because they leave their career without gaining managerial experience to achieve work-life balance. In line with Schumpeter, who distinguishes the entrepreneur from the manager, the participants’ main function was innovation. They did not believe that the managerial paradigm governing their corporate careers was applicable to their entrepreneurial experience. Formal planning and managerial rationality can hinder their decision making process. The narratives point to the gap between the two worlds which makes stepping into entrepreneurship a scary move. Schumpeter argues that the entrepreneurial process is evolutionary and that failure is an integral part of it. The participants’ entrepreneurial process was in fact irregular. The performance of new combinations was not always predictable. They therefore relied on their initiative. The inhibition to deploy these traits had an adverse effect on business growth. The narratives also indicate that over-reliance on growth threaten the business survival as it faces competing pressures. The study offers theoretical and empirical contributions to (female) entrepreneurship studies by presenting Schumpeter’s theorising as an alternative theoretical framework to the neoclassical economic growth theory. The study also reduces entrepreneurs’ vulnerability by making them aware of the negative influence that the linear growth model and the managerial discourse hold upon their performance. The study has implications for policy makers as it generates new knowledge that incorporates the current social and economic changes in the context of entrepreneurs that can no longer be sustained by the linear growth models especially in the current economic climate.

Keywords: economic growth, female entrepreneurs, managerial discourse, Schumpeter

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3767 Urban Growth Prediction Using Artificial Neural Networks in Athens, Greece

Authors: Dimitrios Triantakonstantis, Demetris Stathakis

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Urban areas have been expanded throughout the globe. Monitoring and modeling urban growth have become a necessity for a sustainable urban planning and decision making. Urban prediction models are important tools for analyzing the causes and consequences of urban land use dynamics. The objective of this research paper is to analyze and model the urban change, which has been occurred from 1990 to 2000 using CORINE land cover maps. The model was developed using drivers of urban changes (such as road distance, slope, etc.) under an Artificial Neural Network modeling approach. Validation was achieved using a prediction map for 2006 which was compared with a real map of Urban Atlas of 2006. The accuracy produced a Kappa index of agreement of 0,639 and a value of Cramer's V of 0,648. These encouraging results indicate the importance of the developed urban growth prediction model which using a set of available common biophysical drivers could serve as a management tool for the assessment of urban change.

Keywords: artificial neural networks, CORINE, urban atlas, urban growth prediction

Procedia PDF Downloads 533
3766 Text Similarity in Vector Space Models: A Comparative Study

Authors: Omid Shahmirzadi, Adam Lugowski, Kenneth Younge

Abstract:

Automatic measurement of semantic text similarity is an important task in natural language processing. In this paper, we evaluate the performance of different vector space models to perform this task. We address the real-world problem of modeling patent-to-patent similarity and compare TFIDF (and related extensions), topic models (e.g., latent semantic indexing), and neural models (e.g., paragraph vectors). Contrary to expectations, the added computational cost of text embedding methods is justified only when: 1) the target text is condensed; and 2) the similarity comparison is trivial. Otherwise, TFIDF performs surprisingly well in other cases: in particular for longer and more technical texts or for making finer-grained distinctions between nearest neighbors. Unexpectedly, extensions to the TFIDF method, such as adding noun phrases or calculating term weights incrementally, were not helpful in our context.

Keywords: big data, patent, text embedding, text similarity, vector space model

Procedia PDF Downloads 181
3765 Determining the Target Level of Knowledge of English as a Foreign Language in Higher Education

Authors: Zorana Z. Jurinjak, Nataša B. Lukić, Christos G. Alexopoulos

Abstract:

Although in the last few decades, English as a foreign language has been a compulsory subject in almost all colleges and universities in Serbia, students who enter the first year come with different levels of knowledge, which is immense task and a burden on teachers not only which literature and how to conduct classes in heterogeneous groups but also how to evaluate and assess the progress.This paper aims to discuss the issue of determining the target level of knowledge of English as a foreign language in higher education in Serbia due to the great need for these levels to equalize. The research was conducted at several colleges and universities where first-year students took a placement test, and we also carried out a review and comparison of the literature used in teaching English in those schools. We hope that this research will not only raise the awareness of those in charge when making curriculums, but also that ways will be found to assimilate these differences in knowledge and establish the criteria in assessment.

Keywords: higher education, EFL, levels of knowledge, evaluation, assessment

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3764 Visualize Global Warming and Its Consequences Using Augmented Reality

Authors: K. R. Parvathy, R. Rao Bhavani , M. L. McLain, Kamal Bijlani, R. Jayakrishnan

Abstract:

Augmented Reality (AR) technology is considered to be an important emerging technology used in education today. One potentially key use of AR in education is to teach socio-scientific issues (SSI), topics that inure students towards social conscience and critical thinking. This work uses multiple markers and virtual buttons that interact with each other, creating a life-like visual spectacle. Learning about issues such as global warming by using AR technology, students will have an increased sense of experiencing immersion, immediacy, and presence, thereby enhancing their learning as well as likely improving their ability to make better informed decisions about considerations of such issues. Another advantage of AR is that it is a low cost technology, making it advantageous for educators to adapt to their classrooms. Also in this work we compare the effectiveness of AR versus ordinary video by polling a group of students to assess the content understandability, effectiveness and interaction of both the delivery methods.

Keywords: augmented reality, global warming, multiple markers, virtual buttons

Procedia PDF Downloads 402
3763 Parental Investment in Education: A Pathway for the Children's Access to Quality Education

Authors: Tukur Husaini Nahuche

Abstract:

The parent resources play a vital role in the life of the offspring. It help give children basic necessities of life like food, clothing, and housing. In a like manner financial assets allow parents to move into neighborhood with more affluent school systems, to pay school bills, purchase expensive technologies like personal computer, save money for tutoring books, magazines, journals, Newspapers etc. Making of proper provision in the home environment conducive for learning after school hours and creation of other outdoor activities for them are what necessitate in enhancing and accelerating children’s learning opportunities. Indeed, this paper intends to discuss parental investment in education, parent income resources, parental education, occupation, and income as relatively influencing children’s access to quality education. With the hope that families would provide equal opportunities for children irrespective of their sex, intelligence, subject choice,etc.

Keywords: parental investment, children's access, quality education

Procedia PDF Downloads 556
3762 The Promotion Effects for a Supply Chain System with a Dominant Retailer

Authors: Tai-Yue Wang, Yi-Ho Chen

Abstract:

In this study, we investigate a two-echelon supply chain with two suppliers and three retailers among which one retailer dominates other retailers. A price competition demand function is used to model this dominant retailer, which is leading market. The promotion strategies and negotiation schemes are integrated to form decision-making models under different scenarios. These models are then formulated into different mathematical programming models. The decision variables such as promotional costs, retailer prices, wholesale price, and order quantity are included in these models. At last, the distributions of promotion costs under different cost allocation strategies are discussed. Finally, an empirical example used to validate our models. The results from this empirical example show that the profit model will create the largest profit for the supply chain but with different profit-sharing results. At the same time, the more risk a member can take, the more profits are distributed to that member in the utility model.

Keywords: supply chain, price promotion, mathematical models, dominant retailer

Procedia PDF Downloads 405
3761 Date Palm Compreg: A High Quality Bio-Composite of Date Palm Wood

Authors: Mojtaba Soltani, Edi Suhaimi Bakar, Hamid Reza Naji

Abstract:

Date Palm Wood (D.P.W) specimens were impregnated with Phenol formaldehyde (PF) resin at 15% level, using vacuum/pressure method. Three levels of moisture content (MC) (50%, 60%, and 70% ) before pressing stage and three hot pressing times (15, 20, and 30 minutes) were the variables. The boards were prepared at 20% compression rate. The physical properties of specimens such as spring back, thickness swelling and water absorption, and mechanical properties including MOR, MOE were studied and compared between variables. The results indicated that the percentage of MC levels before compression set was the main factor on the properties of the Date Palm Compreg. Also, the results showed that this compregnation method can be used as a good method for making high-quality bio-composite from Date Palm Wood.

Keywords: Date palm, phenol formaldehyde resin, high-quality bio-composite, physical and mechanical properties

Procedia PDF Downloads 355
3760 CFD Analysis of Solar Floor Radiant Heating System with ‎PCM

Authors: Mohammad Nazififard, Reihane Faghihi

Abstract:

This paper is aimed at understanding convective heat transfer of enclosed phase change material (PCM) in the solar and low-temperature hot water radiant floor heating geometry. In order to obtain the best performance of PCM, a radiant heating structure of the energy storage floor is designed which places heat pipes in the enclosed phase change material (PCM) layer, without concrete in it. The governing equations are numerically solved. The PCM thermal storage time is considered in relation to the floor surface temperature under different hot water temperatures. Moreover the PCM thermal storage time is numerically estimated under different supply water temperatures and flow rate. Results show the PCM floor heating system has a potential of making use of the daytime solar energy for heating at night efficiently.

Keywords: solar floor, heating system, phase change material, computational fluid dynamics

Procedia PDF Downloads 247