Search results for: patterns in nature

Authors: Naser Ojaroudi Parchin, Atta Ullah, Haleh Jahanbakhsh Basherlou, Raed A. Abd-Alhameed, Peter S. Excell

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A design of beam-steerable antenna array for the future cellular communication (5G) is presented. The proposed design contains eight elements of compact end-fire antennas arranged on the top edge of smartphone printed circuit board (PCB). Configuration of the antenna element consists of the conductive patterns on the top and bottom copper foil layers and a substrate layer with a via-hole. The simulated results including input-impedance and also fundamental radiation properties have been presented and discussed. The impedance bandwidth (S₁₁ ≤ -10 dB) of the antenna spans from 17.5 to 21 GHz (more than 3 GHz bandwidth) with a resonance at 19 GHz. The antenna exhibits end-fire (directional) radiation beams with wide-angle scanning property and could be used for the future 5G beam-forming. Furthermore, the characteristics of the array design in the vicinity of user-hand are studied.

Keywords: beam-steering, end-fire radiation mode, mobile-phone antenna, phased array

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Authors: B. Mahfoud, A. Bendjagloli

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The effect of an axial magnetic field on the flow produced by co-rotation of the top and bottom disks in a vertical cylindrical heated from below is numerically analyzed. The governing Navier-Stokes, energy, and potential equations are solved by using the finite-volume method. It was observed that the Reynolds number is increased, the axisymmetric basic state loses stability to circular patterns of axisymmetric vortices and spiral waves. In mixed convection case the axisymmetric mode disappears giving an asymmetric mode m=1. It was also found that the primary thresholds Recr corresponding to the modes m=1and 2, increase with increasing of the Hartmann number (Ha). Finally, stability diagrams have been established according to the numerical results of this investigation. These diagrams giving the evolution of the primary thresholds as a function of the Hartmann number for various values of the Richardson number.

Keywords: bifurcation, co-rotating end disks, magnetic field, stability diagrams, vortices

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

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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

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Authors: Bhaskar Basu

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Universities and higher education institutes are finding it increasingly difficult to engage students fruitfully through traditional pedagogic tools. Web 2.0 technologies comprising social networking sites (SNSs) offer a platform for students to collaborate and share information, thereby enhancing their learning experience. Despite the potential and reach of SNSs, its use has been limited in academic settings promoting higher education. The purpose of this paper is to assess the perception of social networking sites among business school students in India and analyze its role in enhancing quality of student experiences in a business school leading to the proposal of an agenda for future research. In this study, more than 300 students of a reputed business school were involved in a survey of their preferences of different social networking sites and their perceptions and attitudes towards these sites. A questionnaire with three major sections was designed, validated and distributed among  a sample of students, the research method being descriptive in nature. Crucial questions were addressed to the students concerning time commitment, reasons for usage, nature of interaction on these sites, and the propensity to share information leading to direct and indirect modes of learning. It was further supplemented with focus group discussion to analyze the findings. The paper notes the resistance in the adoption of new technology by a section of business school faculty, who are staunch supporters of the classical “face-to-face” instruction. In conclusion, social networking sites like Facebook and LinkedIn provide new avenues for students to express themselves and to interact with one another. Universities could take advantage of the new ways  in which students are communicating with one another. Although interactive educational options such as Moodle exist, social networking sites are rarely used for academic purposes. Using this medium opens new ways of academically-oriented interactions where faculty could discover more about students' interests, and students, in turn, might express and develop more intellectual facets of their lives. hitherto unknown intellectual facets.  This study also throws up the enormous potential of mobile phones as a tool for “blended learning” in business schools going forward.

Keywords: business school, India, learning, social media, social networking, university

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Authors: U. Thisara G. Perera, C. M. Kanchana N. K. Chandrasekara

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Dengue is an epidemic which is spread by Aedes Egyptai and Aedes Albopictus mosquitoes. The cases of dengue show a dramatic growth rate of the epidemic in urban and semi urban areas spatially in tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world. Incidence of dengue has become a prominent reason for hospitalization and deaths in Asian countries, including Sri Lanka. During the last decade the dengue epidemic began to spread from urban to semi-urban and then to rural settings of the country. The highest number of dengue infected patients was recorded in Sri Lanka in the year 2016 and the highest number of patients was identified in Colombo district. Together with the commercial, industrial, and other supporting services, the district suffers from rapid urbanization and high population density. Thus, drainage and waste disposal patterns of the people in this area exert an additional pressure to the environment. The district is situated in the wet zone and thus low lying lands constitute the largest portion of the district. This situation additionally facilitates mosquito breeding sites. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to assess the spatial and temporal distribution patterns of dengue epidemic in Kolonnawa MOH area (Medical Officer of Health) in the district of Colombo. The study was carried out using 615 recorded dengue cases in Kollonnawa MOH area during the south east monsoon season from May to September 2016. The Moran’s I and Kernel density estimation were used as analytical methods. The analysis of data was accomplished through the integrated use of ArcGIS 10.1 software packages along with Microsoft Excel analytical tool. Field observation was also carried out for verification purposes during the study period. Results of the Moran’s I index indicates that the spatial distribution of dengue cases showed a cluster distribution pattern across the area. Kernel density estimation emphasis that dengue cases are high where the population has gathered, especially in areas comprising housing schemes. Results of the Kernel Density estimation further discloses that hot spots of dengue epidemic are located in the western half of the Kolonnawa MOH area, which is close to the Colombo municipal boundary and there is a significant relationship with high population density and unplanned urban land use practices. Results of the field observation confirm that the drainage systems in these areas function poorly and careless waste disposal methods of the people further encourage mosquito breeding sites. This situation has evolved harmfully from a public health issue to a social problem, which ultimately impacts on the economy and social lives of the country.

Keywords: Dengue epidemic, health hazards, Kernel density, Moran’s I, Sri Lanka

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Authors: Abdullahi Bn Umar

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Over the years curriculum planners and researchers in education have continued to seek for ways to improve teaching and learning by way of varying approaches to curriculum and instruction in line with dynamic nature of knowledge. In this regards various innovative strategies to teaching and learning have been adopted to match with the technological advancement in education particularly in the aspect of instructional delivery through Information Communication Technology (ICT) as a tools. This paper reviews some innovative strategies and how they impact on learner’s achievement and educational development in Nigeria. The paper concludes by recommending innovative approach appropriate for use in Nigerian context.

Keywords: innovation, instructional delivery, virtual laboratory, educational design

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Authors: Milene Magalhães Pinto, Irlen Antônio Gonçalves

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This paper is within the area of History of Education in Brazil, having a descriptive and exploratory nature. It has been built on the belief that professional education is organized under political guidelines and solidifies through institutionalized discourses, allowing to know its mission concerning the society in which it operates by studying these speeches. Our purpose is to analyze how the Republican political culture yielded changes in public education through reforms to professional education in the First Republic, based on seven procedures of law that occurred in the Legislature of State of Minas Gerais. The Republican effort to reform the teaching was the result of a conception of society that aspired to advance the country by way of the national worker.

Keywords: professional education, republican political culture, education reforms, Brazil

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Authors: Fatemehsadat Mousaviabarbekouh

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Population growth and changing consumption patterns have led to waste management becoming a significant global challenge. With projections indicating that nearly 67% of the Earth's population will live in megacities by 2050, there is a pressing need for smart solutions to address citizens' demands. Waste collection, facilitated by the Internet of Things (IoT), offers an efficient and cost-effective approach. This study aims to review the utilization of IoT for waste collection and explore technologies that promote eco-friendly waste management. The research focuses on information and communication technologies (ICTs), including spatial, identification, acquisition, and data communication technologies. Additionally, the study examines various energy harvesting technologies to further reduce costs. The findings indicate that the application of these technologies can lead to significant cost savings, energy efficiency, and ultimately reshape the future of waste management.

Keywords: waste collection, IoT, smart cities, eco-friendly, information and communication technologies, energy harvesting

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Authors: Chompunuch Pongjit

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In this research, the authors have shown that social media is becoming an important platform for the dissemination of information among the younger generation who are looking for new tourist-related experiences. The focus of the younger generation in Thailand has shifted toward spiritual experiences which are close to nature, especially during the difficult and stressful time of Covid-19. We have presented the case of the Naga Cave, which is a new pilgrimage site gaining immense popularity among spiritual seekers via social media platforms. Most of the earlier studies in a similar field have focused on cultural tourism in Thailand. However, the emergence of this new spiritual site has not been studied yet.

Keywords: folklore tourism, spirituality, naga cave, thailand, pilgrimage

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Authors: Amir Taghizadeh Vahed, Adithya Thaduri

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Shovels are the main components in the mining transportation system. The productivity of the mines depends on the availability of shovels due to its high capital and operating costs. The unplanned failure/shutdowns of a shovel results in higher repair costs, increase in downtime, as well as increasing indirect cost (i.e. loss of production and company’s reputation). In order to mitigate these failures, predictive maintenance can be useful approach using failure prediction. The modern mining machinery or shovels collect huge datasets automatically; it consists of reliability and maintenance data. However, the gathered datasets are useless until the information and knowledge of data are extracted. Machine learning as well as data mining, which has a major role in recent studies, has been used for the knowledge discovery process. In this study, data mining and machine learning approaches are implemented to detect not only anomalies but also patterns from a dataset and further detection of failures.

Keywords: maintenance, machine learning, shovel, conditional based monitoring

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Authors: Jie Lin, Yiwen Pan, Li Zhang, Zhangyong Xia

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Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by the accumulation of lipids, immune cells, and extracellular matrix in the arterial walls. This pathological process can lead to the formation of plaques that can obstruct blood flow and trigger various cardiovascular diseases such as heart attack and stroke. The underlying molecular mechanisms still remain unclear, although many studies revealed the dysfunction of endothelial cells, recruitment and activation of monocytes and macrophages, and the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines in atherosclerosis. This study aimed to identify hub genes involved in the progression of atherosclerosis and to analyze their biological function in silico, thereby enhancing our understanding of the disease’s molecular mechanisms. Through the analysis of microarray data, we examined the gene expression in media and neo-intima from plaques, as well as distant macroscopically intact tissue, across a cohort of 32 hypertensive patients. Initially, 112 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified. Subsequent immune infiltration analysis indicated a predominant presence of 27 immune cell types in the atherosclerosis group, particularly noting an increase in monocytes and macrophages. In the Weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), 10 modules with a minimum of 30 genes were defined as key modules, with blue, dark, Oliver green and sky-blue modules being the most significant. These modules corresponded respectively to monocyte, activated B cell, and activated CD4 T cell gene patterns, revealing a strong morphological-genetic correlation. From these three gene patterns (modules morphology), a total of 2509 key genes (Gene Significance >0.2, module membership>0.8) were extracted. Six hub genes (CD36, DPP4, HMOX1, PLA2G7, PLN2, and ACADL) were then identified by intersecting 2509 key genes, 102 DEGs with lipid-related genes from the Genecard database. The bio-functional analysis of six hub genes was estimated by a robust classifier with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.873 in the ROC plot, indicating excellent efficacy in differentiating between the disease and control group. Moreover, PCA visualization demonstrated clear separation between the groups based on these six hub genes, suggesting their potential utility as classification features in predictive models. Protein-protein interaction (PPI) analysis highlighted DPP4 as the most interconnected gene. Within the constructed key gene-drug network, 462 drugs were predicted, with ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) being identified as a potential therapeutic agent for modulating DPP4 expression. In summary, our study identified critical hub genes implicated in the progression of atherosclerosis through comprehensive bioinformatic analyses. These findings not only advance our understanding of the disease but also pave the way for applying similar analytical frameworks and predictive models to other diseases, thereby broadening the potential for clinical applications and therapeutic discoveries.

Keywords: atherosclerosis, hub genes, drug prediction, bioinformatics

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Authors: Allen A. Espinosa, Larkins A. Trinidad

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The present study investigated collegiate students’ problem solving strategies and misconceptions in solving stoichiometric problems and later on formulate a teaching framework from the result of the study. The study found out that the most prominent strategies among students are the mole method and the proportionality method, which are both algorithmic by nature. Misconception was also noted as some students rely on Avogadro’s number in converting between moles. It is suggested therefore that the teaching of stoichiometry should not be confined to demonstration. Students should be involved in the process of thinking of ways to solve the problem.

Keywords: stoichiometry, Svogadro’s number, mole method, proportionality method

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Authors: Phong Nguyen, Phap Nguyen, Thang Nguyen

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High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) or H.265 Standard fulfills the demand of high resolution video storage and transmission since it achieves high compression ratio. However, it requires a huge amount of calculation. Since Motion Estimation (ME) block composes about 80 % of calculation load of HEVC, there are a lot of researches to reduce the computation cost. In this paper, we propose a new algorithm to lower the number of Motion Estimation’s searching points. The number of computing points in search pattern is down from 77 for Diamond Pattern and 81 for Square Pattern to only 31. Meanwhile, the Peak Signal to Noise Ratio (PSNR) and bit rate are almost equal to those of conventional patterns. The motion estimation time of new algorithm reduces by at 68.23%, 65.83%compared to the recommended search pattern of diamond pattern, square pattern, respectively.

Keywords: motion estimation, wide diamond, search pattern, H.265, test zone search, HM software

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Authors: Murat Sarıkaya, Abdulkadir Güllü

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Haynes 25 alloy (also known as L-605 alloy) is cobalt based super alloy which has widely applications such as aerospace industry, turbine and furnace parts, power generators and heat exchangers and petroleum refining components due to its excellent characteristics. However, the workability of this alloy is more difficult compared to normal steels or even stainless. In present work, an experimental investigation was performed under cryogenic cooling to determine cutting tool wear patterns and obtain optimal cutting parameters in turning of cobalt based superalloy Haynes 25. In experiments, uncoated carbide tool was used and cutting speed (V) and feed rate (f) were considered as test parameters. Tool wear (VBmax) were measured for process performance indicators. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to determine the importance of machining parameters.

Keywords: cryogenic machining, difficult-to-cut alloy, tool wear, turning

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Authors: Thomas Rowan, Mohammed Seaid

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A fast finite volume solver for multi-layered shallow water flows with mass exchange and an erodible bed is developed. This enables the user to solve a number of complex sediment-based problems including (but not limited to), dam-break over an erodible bed, recirculation currents and bed evolution as well as levy and dyke failure. This research develops methodologies crucial to the under-standing of multi-sediment fluvial mechanics and waterway design. In this model mass exchange between the layers is allowed and, in contrast to previous models, sediment and fluid are able to transfer between layers. In the current study we use a two-step finite volume method to avoid the solution of the Riemann problem. Entrainment and deposition rates are calculated for the first time in a model of this nature. In the first step the governing equations are rewritten in a non-conservative form and the intermediate solutions are calculated using the method of characteristics. In the second stage, the numerical fluxes are reconstructed in conservative form and are used to calculate a solution that satisfies the conservation property. This method is found to be considerably faster than other comparative finite volume methods, it also exhibits good shock capturing. For most entrainment and deposition equations a bed level concentration factor is used. This leads to inaccuracies in both near bed level concentration and total scour. To account for diffusion, as no vertical velocities are calculated, a capacity limited diffusion coefficient is used. The additional advantage of this multilayer approach is that there is a variation (from single layer models) in bottom layer fluid velocity: this dramatically reduces erosion, which is often overestimated in simulations of this nature using single layer flows. The model is used to simulate a standard dam break. In the dam break simulation, as expected, the number of fluid layers utilised creates variation in the resultant bed profile, with more layers offering a higher deviation in fluid velocity . These results showed a marked variation in erosion profiles from standard models. The overall the model provides new insight into the problems presented at minimal computational cost.

Keywords: erosion, finite volume method, sediment transport, shallow water equations

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Authors: Irfan Ahmed Rind

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Science education has recently become the top priority of government of Pakistan. Number of schemes has been initiated for the improvement of science teaching and learning at primary and secondary levels of education, most importantly training in-service science teachers on inquiry based teaching and learning to empower students and encourage creativity, critical thinking, and innovation among them. Therefore, this approach has been promoted in the recent continuous professional development trainings for the in-service teachers. However, the follow ups on trained science teachers and educators suggest that these teachers fail to implement the inquiry based teaching and learning in their classes. In addition, these trainings also fail to bring any significant change in students’ science content knowledge and understanding as per the annual national level surveys conducted by government and independent agencies. Research suggests that science has been taught using scientific positivism, which supports objectivity based on experiments and mathematics. In contrary, the inquiry based teaching and learning are based on constructivism, which conflicts with the positivist epistemology of science teachers. It was, therefore, assumed that science teachers struggle to implement the inquiry based teaching approach as it conflicts with their basic epistemological beliefs. With this assumption, this research aimed to (i) understand how science teachers conceptualize the nature of science, and how this influence their understanding of learning, learners, their own roles as teachers and their teaching strategies, (ii) identify the conflict of science teachers’ epistemological beliefs with the inquiry based teaching approach, and (iii) find the ways in which science teachers epistemological beliefs may be developed from positivism to constructivism, so that they may effectively use the inquiry based teaching approach in teaching science. Using qualitative case study approach, thirty six secondary and higher secondary science teachers (21 male and 15 female) were selected. Data was collected using interviewed, participatory observations (sixty lessons were observed), and twenty interviews from students for verifications of teachers’ responses. The findings suggest that most of the science teacher were positivist in defining the nature of science. Most of them limit themselves to one fix answer that is provided in the books and that there is only one 'right' way to teach science. There is no room for students’ or teachers’ own opinion or bias when it comes to scientific concepts. Inquiry based teaching seems 'no right' to them. They find it difficult to allow students to think out of the box. However, some interesting exercises were found to be very effective in bringing the change in teachers’ epistemological beliefs. These will be discussed in detail in the paper. The findings have major implications for the teachers, educators, and policymakers.

Keywords: science teachers, epistemology, metacognition, inquiry based teaching

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Authors: Ridzuan Hussin, Mohd Zaihidee Arshad

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The creativity of earlier artists and sculptors in designing geometric is extraordinary provided with only a compass. Indeed, geometric in Islamic art and design are unique and have their own aesthetic values. In order to further understand geometric, self-learning with the approach of hands on would be appropriate. For this study, Islamic themed geometric designed and created, concerning only; i. The Square Repetition Unit and √2, ii. The Hexagonal Repetition Unit and √3 and iii. Double Hexagon. The aim of this research is to evaluate the creativity of Islamic geometric pattern artworks, through Fundamental Arts and Gestalt theory. Data was collected using specific tasks, and this research intends to identify the difference of Islamic geometric between 21 untitled selected geometric artworks (conventional design method), and 25 digital untitled geometric pattern artworks method. The evaluation of creativity, colors, layout, pattern and unity is known to be of utmost importance, although there are differences in the conventional or the digital approach.

Keywords: Islamic geometric design, Gestalt, fundamentals of art, patterns

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Authors: Safia Akram

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In this article, the effects of peristaltic transport with double-diffusive convection in nanofluids through an asymmetric channel with different waveforms is presented. Mathematical modelling for two-dimensional and two directional flows of a Jeffrey fluid model along with double-diffusive convection in nanofluids are given. Exact solutions are obtained for nanoparticle fraction field, concentration field, temperature field, stream functions, pressure gradient and pressure rise in terms of axial and transverse coordinates under the restrictions of long wavelength and low Reynolds number. With the help of computational and graphical results the effects of Brownian motion, thermophoresis, Dufour, Soret, and Grashof numbers (thermal, concentration, nanoparticles) on peristaltic flow patterns with double-diffusive convection are discussed.

Keywords: nanofluid particles, peristaltic flow, Jeffrey fluid, magnetic field, asymmetric channel, different waveforms

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Authors: Hee-Jeong Ahn, Kee-Won Kim, Seung-Hoon Kim

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The knowledge of the relationship between characters can help readers to understand the overall story or plot of the literary fiction. In this paper, we present a method for extracting the specific relationship between characters from a Korean literary fiction. Generally, methods for extracting relationships between characters in text are statistical or computational methods based on the sentence distance between characters without considering Korean linguistic features. Furthermore, it is difficult to extract the relationship with direction from text, such as one-sided love, because they consider only the weight of relationship, without considering the direction of the relationship. Therefore, in order to identify specific relationships between characters, we propose a statistical method considering linguistic features, such as syntactic patterns and speech verbs in Korean. The result of our method is represented by a weighted directed graph of the relationship between the characters. Furthermore, we expect that proposed method could be applied to the relationship analysis between characters of other content like movie or TV drama.

Keywords: data mining, Korean linguistic feature, literary fiction, relationship extraction

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Authors: Hamed Khezrzadeh

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Many investigations on the micromechanical structure of materials indicate that there exist fractal patterns at the micro scale in some of the main construction and industrial materials. A recently presented micro-fractal theory brings together the well-known periodic homogenization and the fractal geometry to construct an appropriate model for determination of the mechanical properties of particle reinforced composite materials. The proposed multi-step homogenization scheme considers the mechanical properties of different constituent phases in the composite together with the interaction between these phases throughout a step-by-step homogenization technique. In the proposed model the interaction of different phases is also investigated. By using this method the effect of fibers grading on the mechanical properties also could be studied. The theory outcomes are compared to the experimental data for different types of particle-reinforced composites which very good agreement with the experimental data is observed.

Keywords: fractal geometry, homogenization, micromehcanics, particulate composites

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Authors: Adewoyin O. Olusegun, Emmanuel O. Joshua, Marvel L. Akinyemi

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The heterogeneous nature of the subsurface requires the use of factual information to deal with rather than assumptions or generalized equations. Therefore, there is need to determine the actual rate of settlement possible in the soil before structures are built on it. This information will help in determining the type of foundation design and the kind of reinforcement that will be necessary in constructions. This paper presents a simplified and a faster approach for determining foundation settlement in any type of soil using real field data acquired from seismic refraction techniques and cone penetration tests. This approach was also able to determine the depth of settlement of each strata of soil. The results obtained revealed the different settlement time and depth of settlement possible.

Keywords: heterogeneous, settlement, foundation, seismic, technique

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Authors: Mansoureh Ghiasabadi Farahani, Samira Kalantary, Sara Taghi-Pour, Mahboubeh Shamsi

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Nowadays, the development of computers technology and its recent applications provide access to new types of data, which have not been considered by the traditional data analysts. Two particularly interesting characteristics of such data sets include their huge size and streaming nature .Incremental learning techniques have been used extensively to address the data stream classification problem. This paper presents a concise survey on the obstacles and the requirements issues classifying data streams with using decision tree. The most important issue is to maintain a balance between accuracy and efficiency, the algorithm should provide good classification performance with a reasonable time response.

Keywords: big data, data streams, classification, decision tree

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Authors: Hanaa A. S. Oraby, Amal A. M. Hassan, Mahmoud M. Sakr, Atef A. A. Haiba

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Applying the profiling approach for the assessment of proteomic variations due to genetic modification of the Egyptian tomato cultivar "Edkawy", three complementary approaches were used. These methods are amino acids analysis, gel electrophoresis, and Gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The results of the present study Show evidence of proteomic variations between both modified tomato and its non-modified counterpart. Amino acids concentrations, and the protein patterns separation on the 1D SDS-PAGE were not similar in the case of transformed tomato compared to that of the non-transformed counterpart. These detected differences are most likely derived from the process of transformation. Results also revealed that the efficiency of GC/MS approach to identify a mixture of unknown proteins is limited. GC/MS analysis was only able to identify few number of protein molecules. Therefore, more advanced and specific technologies like MALDI-TOF-MS are recommended to be employed.

Keywords: GMOs, unintended effects, proteomic variations, 1D SDS-PAGE, GC/MS

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Authors: Jaharlal Debbarma

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The ecological crisis has become a threat to earth’s well-being. Man’s ambitious desire of wealth, pleasure, fame, longevity and happiness has extracted natural resources so vastly that it is unable to sustain a healthy life. Man’s greed for wealth and power has caused the setting up of vast factories which further created the problem of air, water and noise pollution, which have adversely affected both fauna and flora.It is no secret that man uses his inherent powers of reason, intelligence and creativity to change his environment for his advantage. But man is not aware that the moral force he himself creates brings about corresponding changes in his environment to his weal or woe whether he likes it or not. As we are facing the global warming and the nature’s gift such as air and water has been so drastically polluted with disastrous consequences that man seek for a ways and means to overcome all this pollution problem as his health and life sustainability has been threaten and that is where man try to question about the moral ethics and value.It is where Buddhist philosophy has been emphasized deeply which gives us hope for overcoming this entire problem as Buddha himself emphasized in eradicating human suffering and Buddhism is the strongest form of humanism we have. It helps us to learn to live with responsibility, compassion, and loving kindness.It teaches us to be mindful in our action and thought as the environment unites every human being. If we fail to save it we will perish. If we can rise to meet the need to all which ecology binds us - humans, other species, other everything will survive together.My paper will look into the theory of Dependent Origination (Pratītyasamutpāda), Buddhist understanding of suffering (collective suffering), and Non-violence (Ahimsa) and an effort will be made to provide a new vision to Buddhist ecological perspective. The above Buddhist philosophy will be applied to ethical values and belief systems of modern society. The challenge will be substantially to transform the modern individualistic and consumeristic values. The stress will be made on the interconnectedness of the nature and the relation between human and planetary sustainability. In a way environmental crisis will be referred to “spiritual crisis” as A. Gore (1992) has pointed out. The paper will also give important to global consciousness, as well as to self-actualization and self-fulfillment. In the words of Melvin McLeod “Only when we combine environmentalism with spiritual practice, will we find the tools to make the profound personal transformations needed to address the planetary crisis?”

Keywords: dependent arising, collective ecological suffering, remediation, Buddhist approach

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Authors: Zeinab Yazdanfar, Dilan Robert, Daniel Lester, S. Setunge

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Scour has been identified as the most common threat to bridge stability worldwide. Traditionally, scour around bridge piers is calculated using the empirical approaches that have considerable limitations and are difficult to generalize. The multi-physic nature of scouring which involves turbulent flow, soil mechanics and solid-fluid interactions cannot be captured by simple empirical equations developed based on limited laboratory data. These limitations can be overcome by direct numerical modeling of coupled hydro-mechanical scour process that provides a robust prediction of bridge scour and valuable insights into the scour process. Several numerical models have been proposed in the literature for bridge scour estimation including Eulerian flow models and coupled Euler-Lagrange models incorporating an empirical sediment transport description. However, the contact forces between particles and the flow-particle interaction haven’t been taken into consideration. Incorporating collisional and frictional forces between soil particles as well as the effect of flow-driven forces on particles will facilitate accurate modeling of the complex nature of scour. In this study, a coupled Computational Fluid Dynamics and Discrete Element Model (CFD-DEM) has been developed to simulate the scour process that directly models the hydro-mechanical interactions between the sediment particles and the flowing water. This approach obviates the need for an empirical description as the fundamental fluid-particle, and particle-particle interactions are fully resolved. The sediment bed is simulated as a dense pack of particles and the frictional and collisional forces between particles are calculated, whilst the turbulent fluid flow is modeled using a Reynolds Averaged Navier Stocks (RANS) approach. The CFD-DEM model is validated against experimental data in order to assess the reliability of the CFD-DEM model. The modeling results reveal the criticality of particle impact on the assessment of scour depth which, to the authors’ best knowledge, hasn’t been considered in previous studies. The results of this study open new perspectives to the scour depth and time assessment which is the key to manage the failure risk of bridge infrastructures.

Keywords: bridge scour, discrete element method, CFD-DEM model, multi-phase model

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Authors: Swaleh Aboud, Mishal Gudka, David Obura

Abstract:

Background: Coral reefs are becoming increasingly vulnerable due to several threats ranging from climate change to overfishing. This has resulted in increased management and conservation efforts to protect reefs from degradation and facilitate recovery. Recruitmentof new individuals are isimportant in the recovery process and critical for the persistence of coral reef ecosystems. Local coral community structure can be influenced by successful recruit settlement, survival, and growth Understanding coral recruitment patterns can help quantify reef resilience and connectivity, establish baselines and track changes and evaluate the effectiveness of reef restoration and conservation efforts. This study will examine the abundance and spatial pattern of coral recruits and how this relates to adult community structure, including the distribution of thermal resistance and sensitive genera and their distribution in different management regimes. Methods: Coral recruit and demography surveys were conducted from 2020 to 2022, covering 35 sites in 19coral reef locations along the Kenyan coast. These included marine parks, reserves, community conservation areas (CMAs), and open access areas from the north (Marereni) to the south (Kisite) coast of Kenya and across different reef habitats. The data was collected through the underwater visual census (UVC) technique. We counted adult corals (>10 cm diameter)of23 selected genera using belt transects (25 by 1 m) and sampling of 1 m2 quadrat (at an interval of 5m) for all coloniesless than 10 cm diameter. The benthic cover was collected using photo quadrats. The surveys were only done during the northeast monsoon season. The data wereanalyzed using the R program to see the distribution patterns and the Kruskal Wallis test to see whether there was a significant difference. Spearman correlation was also applied to assess the relationship between the distribution of coral genera in recruits and adults. Results: A total of 44 different coral genera were recorded for recruits, ranging from 3at Marereni to 30at Watamu Marine Reserve. Recruit densities ranged from 1.2±1.5recruit m-2 (mean±SD) at Likoni to 10.3± 8.4 recruit m-2 at Kisite Marine Park. The overall densityof recruitssignificantly differed between reef locations, with Kisite Marine Park and Reserve and Likonihaving significantly large differences from all the other locations, while Vuma, Watamu, Malindi, and Kilifi had significantly lower differences from all the other locations. The recruit generadensity along the Kenya coastwas divided into two clusters, one of which only included sites inKisite Marine Park. Adult colonies were dominated by Porites massive, Acropora, Platygyra, and Favites, whereas recruits were dominated by Porites branching, Porites massive, Galaxea, and Acropora. However, correlation analysis revealed a statistically significant positive correlation (r=0.81, p<0.05) between recruit and adult coral densities across the 23 coral genera. Marereni, which had the lowest densityof recruits, has only thermallyresistant coral genera, while Kisite Marine Park, with the highest recruit densities, has over 90% thermal sensitive coral genera. A weak positive correlation was found between recruit density and coralline algae, dead standing corals, and turf algae, whereas a weak negative correlation was found between recruit density and bare substrate and macroalgae. Between management regimes, marine reserves were found to have more recruits than no-take zones (marine parks and CMAs) and open access areas, although the difference was not significant. Conclusion: There was a statistically significant difference in the density of recruits between different reef locations along the Kenyan coast. Although the dominating genera of adults and recruits were different, there was a strong positive correlation between their coral communities, which could indicate self-recruitment processes or consistent distance seedings (of the same recruit genera). Sites such as Kisite Marine Park, with high recruit densities but dominated by thermally sensitive genera, will, on the other hand, be adversely affected by future thermal stress. This could imply that reducing the threats to coral reefs such as overfishingcould allow for their natural regeneration and recovery.

Keywords: coral recruits, coral adult size-class, cora demography, resilience

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Authors: Aliyu Aminu Baba

Abstract:

Ethnic entrepreneurship is defined as a set of connections and regular patterns of interaction among people sharing common national background or migration experience. The disadvantage faced by ethnic minority on paid labour induced them to become self-employed. Also, enclaves motivates trading, creativity, innovation are all to provide specific service or products to certain people. These ethnic minorities are African –Caribbean, Indians, Pakistanis, Banghaladashi and Chinese. For policy development ethnic diversity was among the problem of developing policy in United Kingdom. The study finds that there is a danger in treating all ethnic minority businesses as homogeneous rather than heterogeneous. The diversity is due to religious beliefs, culture and race. This indicates that there is a wide range have shortfall in addressing the peculiarities of ethnic minority businesses in policy formulation. Also, there are differences between ethnic minorities in accessing finance. It is recommended that diversity and peculiarities between ethnic minorities should be considered in policy formulation.

Keywords: ethnic entrepreneurship, finance, policy implication, diversity

Procedia PDF Downloads 361

Authors: Zahra Ahmed Al-zadjali

Abstract:

The influence of Islam on arts can be found primarily in calligraphy, arabesque designs and architecture. Also, geometric designs were used quite extensively. Muslim craftsmen produced stunning designs based on simple geometric principles and traditional motifs which were used to decorate many surfaces. The idea of interlacing simple rectilinear lines to form the patterns impressed Arabs. Nomads of Persia, Turks and Mongols were equally impressed with the designs so they begin to use them in their homes in carpet weaving. Islamic designs, motifs and colours which were used became common place and served to influence people’s tastes. Modern life style and contemporary products have changed the style of people’s daily lives, however, people still long for the nomadic way of life. This is clearly reflected in people’s homes. In a great many Muslim homes, Islamic decorative motifs can be seen along with traditional ‘Bedouin’ style furnishing, especially in homes of the Arabian Peninsula.

Keywords: art, craft, design, Oman, weaving

Procedia PDF Downloads 460

Authors: S. Reaz Ahmed, M. S. Kaiser

Abstract:

The tribological behavior of commercially used Perspex was evaluated under dry and wet sliding condition using a pin-on-disc wear tester with different applied loads ranging from 2.5 to 20 N. Experiments were conducted with varying sliding distance from 0.2 km to 4.6 km, wherein the sliding velocity was kept constant, 0.64 ms^-1. The results reveal that the weight loss increases with applied load and the sliding distance. The nature of the wear rate was very similar in both the sliding environments in which initially the wear rate increased very rapidly with increasing sliding distance and then progressed to a slower rate. Moreover, the wear rate in wet sliding environment was significantly lower than that under dry sliding condition. The worn surfaces were characterized by optical microscope and SEM. It is found that surface modification has significant effect on sliding wear performance of Perspex.

Keywords: Perspex, wear, friction, SEM

Procedia PDF Downloads 265

Authors: Ashkan Ebadi, Andrea Schiffauerova

Abstract:

Every year, a considerable amount of money is being invested on research, mainly in the form of funding allocated to universities and research institutes. To better distribute the available funds and to set the most proper R&D investment strategies for the future, evaluation of the productivity of the funded researchers and the impact of such funding is crucial. In this paper, using the data on 15 years of journal publications of the NSERC (Natural Sciences and Engineering research Council of Canada) funded researchers and by means of bibliometric analysis, the scientific development of the funded researchers and their scientific collaboration patterns will be investigated in the period of 1996-2010. According to the results it seems that there is a positive relation between the average level of funding and quantity and quality of the scientific output. In addition, whenever funding allocated to the researchers has increased, the number of co-authors per paper has also augmented. Hence, the increase in the level of funding may enable researchers to get involved in larger projects and/or scientific teams and increase their scientific output respectively.

Keywords: bibliometrics, collaboration, funding, productivity

Procedia PDF Downloads 274