Search results for: Nonlocal Strain Gradient Theory

Authors: Bita Mashayekhi, Azadeh Maddahi, Arash Tahriri

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The purpose of this paper is developing a model for audit quality, with regard to the contextual and environmental attributes of the audit profession in Iran. For this purpose, using an exploratory approach, and because of the special attributes of the auditing profession in Iran in terms of the legal environment, regulatory and supervisory mechanisms, audit firms size, and etc., we used grounded theory approach as a qualitative research method. Therefore, we got the opinions of the experts in the auditing and capital market areas through unstructured interviews. As a result, the authors revealed the determinants of audit quality, and by using these determinants, developed an Integrated Audit Quality Model, including causal conditions, intervening conditions, context, as well as action strategies related to AQ and their consequences. In this research, audit quality is studied using a systemic approach. According to this approach, the quality of inputs, processes, and outputs of auditing determines the quality of auditing, therefore, the quality of all different parts of this system is considered.

Keywords: audit quality, integrated audit quality model, demand for audit service, supply of audit, grounded theory

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Authors: Sandra Mendes

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Social Work has encountered over time with multivariate requests in the field of its action, provisioning frameworks of knowledge and praxis. Over the years, we have observed a transformation of society and, consequently, of the public who deals with the social work practitioners. Both, training and profession have had need to adapt and readapt the ways of doing, bailing up theories to action, while action unfolds emancipation of new theories. The theoretical questioning of this subject lies on classical authors from social sciences, and contemporary authors of Social Work. In fact, both enhance, in the design of social work, an integration and social cohesion function, creating a culture of action and theory, attributing to its method a relevant function, which shall be promoter of social changes in various dimensions of both individual and collective life, as well as scientific knowledge. On the other hand, it is assumed that Social Work, through its professionalism and through the academy, is now closer to distinguish itself from other Social Sciences as an autonomous scientific field, being, however, in the center of power struggles. This paper seeks to fill the gap in social work literature about the study of the scientific field of this area of knowledge.

Keywords: field theory, knowledge, science, social work

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Authors: A. S. Mousa, R. I. Rajab, A. A. Pinto

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An envy behavioral game theoretical model with two types of homogeneous players is considered in this paper. The strategy space of each type of players is a discrete set with only two alternatives. The preferences of each type of players is given by a discrete utility function. All envy strategies that form Nash equilibria and the corresponding envy Nash domains for each type of players have been characterized. We use geometry to construct two dimensional envy tilings where the horizontal axis reflects the preference for players of type one, while the vertical axis reflects the preference for the players of type two. The influence of the envy behavior parameters on the Cartesian position of the equilibria has been studied, and in each envy tiling we determine the envy Nash equilibria. We observe that there are 1024 combinatorial classes of envy tilings generated from envy chromosomes: 256 of them are being structurally stable while 768 are with bifurcation. Finally, some conditions for the disparate envy Nash equilibria are stated.

Keywords: game theory, Nash equilibrium, envy Nash behavior, geometric tilings, bifurcation thresholds

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Authors: Tiantian Gu, Dezhi Li, Mian Zhang, Ying Jiang

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Considering the characteristics of residents’ participation in the governance of old community renewal (OCR), a theoretical model of the determinant of residents’ intention to participate in the governance of OCR has been built based on the theory of planned behavior. Seven old communities in Nanjing have been chosen as cases to conduct empirical analysis. The result indicates that participation attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control have significant positive effects on residents’ intention to participate in the governance of the OCR. Recognition of the community, cognition of the OCR and perceived behavioral control have indirect positive effects on residents’ intention to participate in the OCR. In addition, the education level and the length of residence have positive effects on their participation intention, while the gender, age, and monthly income have little effect on it. The research result provides suggestions for the improvement of residents’ participation in the OCR.

Keywords: old community renewal, residents’ participation in governance, intention, theory of planned behavior

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Authors: Ahmed Tarek, Ahmed Alveed

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In the theory of computing, there are a wide variety of direct and indirect proof techniques. However, mathematical induction (MI) stands out to be one of the most powerful proof techniques for proving hypotheses, theorems, and new results. There are variations of mathematical induction-based proof techniques, which are broadly classified into three categories, such as structural induction (SI), weak induction (WI), and strong induction (SI). In this expository paper, several different variants of the mathematical induction techniques are explored, and the specific scenarios are discussed where a specific induction technique stands out to be more advantageous as compared to other induction strategies. Also, the essential difference among the variants of mathematical induction are explored. The points of separation among mathematical induction, recursion, and logical deduction are precisely analyzed, and the relationship among variations of recurrence relations, and mathematical induction are being explored. In this context, the application of recurrence relations, and mathematical inductions are considered together in a single framework for codewords over a given alphabet.

Keywords: alphabet, codeword, deduction, mathematical, induction, recurrence relation, strong induction, structural induction, weak induction

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Authors: Janell Jayamohan

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A pilot project based on the Theory of Planned Behavior was completed at a single sex female international high school in order to improve the quality of comprehensive sex education in a 12th grade classroom. The student sample is representative of a growing phenomenon of “Third Culture Kids” or global nomads; often in today’s world, culture transcends any one dominant influence and blends values from multiple sources. The Objective was to improve intentions of condom use during the students’ first or next intercourse. A peer-education session which focused on condom attitudes, social norms, and self-efficacy - central tenets of the Theory of Planned Behavior - was added to an existing curriculum in order to achieve this objective. Peer educators were given liberty of creating and executing the lesson to their homeroom, a sample of 23 senior students, with minimal intervention from faculty, the desired outcome being that the students themselves would be the best judge of what is culturally relevant and important to their peers. The school nurse and school counselor acted as faculty facilitators but did not assist in the creation or delivery of the lesson, only checked for medical accuracy. The participating sample of students completed a pre and post-test with validated questions assessing changes in attitudes and overall satisfaction with the peer education lesson. As this intervention was completed during the Covid-19 pandemic, the peer education session was completed in a virtual classroom environment, limiting the modes of information delivery available to the peer educators, but is planned to be replicated in an in-person environment in subsequent cycles.

Keywords: adolescents, condoms, peer education, sex education, theory of planned behavior, third culture kids

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Authors: Binyam Teferi

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Numerical and theoretical analysis of mixed convection flow of magneto- hydrodynamics micropolar fluid with stretching capillary in the presence of thermal radiation, chemical reaction, viscous dissipation, and heat generation/ absorption have been studied. The non-linear partial differential equations of momentum, angular velocity, energy, and concentration are converted into ordinary differential equations using similarity transformations which can be solved numerically. The dimensionless governing equations are solved by using Runge Kutta fourth and fifth order along with the shooting method. The effect of physical parameters viz., micropolar parameter, unsteadiness parameter, thermal buoyancy parameter, concentration buoyancy parameter, Hartmann number, spin gradient viscosity parameter, microinertial density parameter, thermal radiation parameter, Prandtl number, Eckert number, heat generation or absorption parameter, Schmidt number and chemical reaction parameter on flow variables viz., the velocity of the micropolar fluid, microrotation, temperature, and concentration has been analyzed and discussed graphically. MATLAB code is used to analyze numerical and theoretical facts. From the simulation study, it can be concluded that an increment of micropolar parameter, Hartmann number, unsteadiness parameter, thermal and concentration buoyancy parameter results in decrement of velocity flow of micropolar fluid; microrotation of micropolar fluid decreases with an increment of micropolar parameter, unsteadiness parameter, microinertial density parameter, and spin gradient viscosity parameter; temperature profile of micropolar fluid decreases with an increment of thermal radiation parameter, Prandtl number, micropolar parameter, unsteadiness parameter, heat absorption, and viscous dissipation parameter; concentration of micropolar fluid decreases as unsteadiness parameter, Schmidt number and chemical reaction parameter increases. Furthermore, computational values of local skin friction coefficient, local wall coupled coefficient, local Nusselt number, and local Sherwood number for different values of parameters have been investigated. In this paper, the following important results are obtained; An increment of micropolar parameter and Hartmann number results in a decrement of velocity flow of micropolar fluid. Microrotation decreases with an increment of the microinertial density parameter. Temperature decreases with an increasing value of the thermal radiation parameter and viscous dissipation parameter. Concentration decreases as the values of Schmidt number and chemical reaction parameter increases. The coefficient of local skin friction is enhanced with an increase in values of both the unsteadiness parameter and micropolar parameter. Increasing values of unsteadiness parameter and micropolar parameter results in an increment of the local couple stress. An increment of values of unsteadiness parameter and thermal radiation parameter results in an increment of the rate of heat transfer. As the values of Schmidt number and unsteadiness parameter increases, Sherwood number decreases.

Keywords: thermal radiation, chemical reaction, viscous dissipation, heat absorption/ generation, similarity transformation

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Authors: Yen-Mei Lee

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Mobile learning (m-learning) has been applied in the education field not only because it is an alternative to web-based learning but also it possesses the ‘anytime, anywhere’ learning features. However, most studies focus on the technology-related issue, such as usability and functionality instead of addressing m-learning from the motivational perspective. Accordingly, the main purpose of the current paper is to integrate critical factors from different motivational theories and related findings to have a better understand the catalysts of an individual’s learning motivation toward m-learning. The main research question for this study is stated as follows: based on different motivational perspectives, what factors of applying mobile devices as medium can facilitate people’s learning motivations? Self-Determination Theory (SDT), Uses and Gratification Theory (UGT), Malone and Lepper’s taxonomy of intrinsic motivation theory, and different types of motivation concepts were discussed in the current paper. In line with the review of relevant studies, three motivating factors with five essential elements are proposed. The first key factor is autonomy. Learning on one’s own path and applying personalized format are two critical elements involved in the factor of autonomy. The second key factor is to apply a build-in instant feedback system during m-learning. The third factor is creating an interaction system, including communication and collaboration spaces. These three factors can enhance people’s learning motivations when applying mobile devices as medium toward learning. To sum up, in the currently proposed paper, with different motivational perspectives to discuss the m-learning is different from previous studies which are simply focused on the technical or functional design. Supported by different motivation theories, researchers can clearly understand how the mobile devices influence people’s leaning motivation. Moreover, instructional designers and educators can base on the proposed factors to build up their unique and efficient m-learning environments.

Keywords: autonomy, learning motivation, mobile learning (m-learning), motivational perspective

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Authors: Jui-Teng Liao

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The selected-response (SR) format has been commonly adopted to assess academic reading in both formal and informal testing (i.e., standardized assessment and classroom assessment) because of its strengths in content validity, construct validity, as well as scoring objectivity and efficiency. When developing a second language (L2) reading test, researchers indicate that the longer the test (e.g., more test items) is, the higher reliability and validity the test is likely to produce. However, previous studies have not provided specific guidelines regarding the optimal length of a test or the most suitable number of test items or reading passages. Additionally, reading tests often include different question types (e.g., factual, vocabulary, inferential) that require varying degrees of reading comprehension and cognitive processes. Therefore, it is important to investigate the impact of question types on the number of items in relation to the score reliability of L2 reading tests. Given the popularity of the SR question format and its impact on assessment results on teaching and learning, it is necessary to investigate the degree to which such a question format can reliably measure learners’ L2 reading comprehension. The present study, therefore, adopted the generalizability (G) theory to investigate the score reliability of the SR format in L2 reading tests focusing on how many test items a reading test should include. Specifically, this study aimed to investigate the interaction between question types and the number of items, providing insights into the appropriate item count for different types of questions. G theory is a comprehensive statistical framework used for estimating the score reliability of tests and validating their results. Data were collected from 108 English as a second language student who completed an English reading test comprising factual, vocabulary, and inferential questions in the SR format. The computer program mGENOVA was utilized to analyze the data using multivariate designs (i.e., scenarios). Based on the results of G theory analyses, the findings indicated that the number of test items had a critical impact on the score reliability of an L2 reading test. Furthermore, the findings revealed that different types of reading questions required varying numbers of test items for reliable assessment of learners’ L2 reading proficiency. Further implications for teaching practice and classroom-based assessments are discussed.

Keywords: second language reading assessment, validity and reliability, Generalizability theory, Academic reading, Question format

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Authors: Yiran Wang

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As international education continues to expand countries providing such opportunities not only benefit but also face challenges. For traditional destinations, including the United States and the United Kingdom, the number of international students has been falling. At the same time emerging economies, such as China, are witnessing a rapid increase in the number of international students enrolled in their universities. China is, therefore, beginning to play an important role in the competitive global market for higher education. This study analyses and compares the experiences of international students in the UK and China using Transformative Learning theory. While there is an extensive literature on both international higher education and also Transformative Learning theory there are currently three contributions this study makes. First, this research applies the theory to two international student groups: UK students in Chinese universities and Chinese students in UK universities.Second, this study includes a focus on the intercultural learning of Chinese doctoral students in the UK filling a gap in current research. Finally, this investigation has extended the very limited number of current research projects on UK students in China. It is generally acknowledged that international students will experience various challenges when they are in a culturally different context. Little research has focused on how, why, and why not learners are transformed through exposure to their new environment. This study applies Transformative Learning theory to address two research questions: first, do UK international students in Chinese universities and Chinese international students in UK universities experience transformational learning in/during their overseas studies? Second, what factors foster or impede international students’ experience of transformative learning? To answer the above questions, semi-structured interviews were used to investigate international students’ academic and social experiences. Based on the insights provided by Mezirow,Taylor,and previous studies on international students, this study argues that international students’ intercultural experience is a complex process.Transformation can occur in various ways and social and personal perspectives underpin the transformative learning of the students studied. Contributing factors include culture shock, educational conventions,the student’s motivation, expectations, personality, gender and previous work experience.The results reflect the significance of differences in teaching styles in the UK and China and the impact this can have on the student teaching and learning process when they move to a new university.

Keywords: intercultural learning, international higher education, transformative learning, UK and Chinese international students

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Authors: Yongsheng Guo

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This study explores the perceptions and conducts of Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) in Africa from ethical and cultural perspectives. It offers a better understanding of how ethical and cultural factors affect Chinese investment in Africa and how the investment projects performed in Africa from both Chinese investors and African stakeholders’ perceptions. It adopted a grounded theory approach and conducted 30 in-depth interviews with corporate managers. Grounded theory models are developed to link the ethical and cultural factors, actions, and consequences. Results reveal that some ethical concepts like the unity of humans and nature, benevolence, virtue and responsibility, and cultural traits including propriety, righteousness, sincerity, equilibrium, long-term orientation, and principles affect Chinese investors when making investments in Africa. Most Chinese investors harmonize with local managers, cooperate with each other, and are gentle and courteous to partners. They take stable and steady actions and invest in infrastructure and agriculture projects and adopt a virtue governance system in the organization. This study finds that consequently, Chinese investors and local partners take complementary advantages, make achievements sequentially, and therefore both sides can win. They recognize great potentials and make sustainable development in Africa to achieve the Great Together in the future. This study proposes a Chinese ethics and governance system including economic, social, and political perspectives and compares it with alternative systems. It makes implications to the world island theory and propose suggestions to solve the Clash of Civilizations problem.

Keywords: foreign direct investment, ethics, national culture, China, Africa

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Authors: Sang Wook Park, Jun Su Park, Byung Kwan Oh, Yousok Kim, Hyo Seon Park

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This study suggests the estimation method of stress distribution for the beam structures based on TLS (Terrestrial Laser Scanning). The main components of method are the creation of the lattices of raw data from TLS to satisfy the suitable condition and application of CSSI (Cubic Smoothing Spline Interpolation) for estimating stress distribution. Estimation of stress distribution for the structural member or the whole structure is one of the important factors for safety evaluation of the structure. Existing sensors which include ESG (Electric strain gauge) and LVDT (Linear Variable Differential Transformer) can be categorized as contact type sensor which should be installed on the structural members and also there are various limitations such as the need of separate space where the network cables are installed and the difficulty of access for sensor installation in real buildings. To overcome these problems inherent in the contact type sensors, TLS system of LiDAR (light detection and ranging), which can measure the displacement of a target in a long range without the influence of surrounding environment and also get the whole shape of the structure, has been applied to the field of structural health monitoring. The important characteristic of TLS measuring is a formation of point clouds which has many points including the local coordinate. Point clouds is not linear distribution but dispersed shape. Thus, to analyze point clouds, the interpolation is needed vitally. Through formation of averaged lattices and CSSI for the raw data, the method which can estimate the displacement of simple beam was developed. Also, the developed method can be extended to calculate the strain and finally applicable to estimate a stress distribution of a structural member. To verify the validity of the method, the loading test on a simple beam was conducted and TLS measured it. Through a comparison of the estimated stress and reference stress, the validity of the method is confirmed.

Keywords: structural healthcare monitoring, terrestrial laser scanning, estimation of stress distribution, coordinate transformation, cubic smoothing spline interpolation

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Authors: Mandip Singh

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Quantum entanglement plays a fundamental role in our understanding of counter-intuitive aspects of quantum reality. If classical physics is an approximation of quantum physics, then quantum entanglement should persist at a macroscopic scale. In this paper, a thought experiment is presented where a free falling spin polarized Bose-Einstein condensate interacts with a quantum superimposed magnetic field of nonzero gradient. In contrast to the semiclassical Stern-Gerlach experiment, the magnetic field and the spin degrees of freedom both are considered to be quantum mechanical in a generalized scenario. As a consequence, a Bose-Einstein condensate can be prepared at distinct locations in space in a sense of quantum superposition. In addition, the generation of Schrodinger-cat like quantum states shall be presented.

Keywords: Schrodinger-cat quantum states, macroscopic entanglement, macroscopic quantum fields, foundations of quantum physics

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Authors: Khalid Almarri

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The UAE is currently developing a peaceful nuclear energy program as part of its low Carbon energy strategy to meet future energy demands. Research of nuclear energy technologies is required to support nuclear energy generation projects and maximize their performance. Research of this type will require building an operating a research reactor (RR), a costly undertaking in most circumstances. Collaboration between government and private parties through public, private partnerships (PPP) can maximize the benefits expected from the adoption of an RR project. The aim of this research is to establish the critical success factors (CSF) for developing an RR project for newcomer countries, with the UAE taken as a case study, through the utilization of public, private partnerships (PPP). The results of this study were arrived at through the use of semi-structured interviews conducted with ten experts in the field of research reactors, using grounded theory method. Underutilization was identified as the main stumbling block that impairs the success of research reactors.

Keywords: public private partnerships, research reactors, grounded theory, critical success factors

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Authors: Yu T. Tsai, Jin H. Huang

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In this paper, the specific sound transmission loss (TL) of the laminated composite plate (LCP) with different material properties in each layer is investigated. The numerical method to obtain the TL of the LCP is proposed by using elastic plate theory. The transfer matrix approach is novelty presented for computational efficiency in solving the numerous layers of dynamic stiffness matrix (D-matrix) of the LCP. Besides the numerical simulations for calculating the TL of the LCP, the material properties inverse method is presented for the design of a laminated composite plate analogous to a metallic plate with a specified TL. As a result, it demonstrates that the proposed computational algorithm exhibits high efficiency with a small number of iterations for achieving the goal. This method can be effectively employed to design and develop tailor-made materials for various applications.

Keywords: sound transmission loss, laminated composite plate, transfer matrix approach, inverse problem, elastic plate theory, material properties

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Authors: Hari Krishan Sharma, Sanjay Kumar Sharma, Sushil Kumar Swar

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Inadequate transverse reinforcement is considered as the main reason for the beam column joint shear failure observed during recent earthquakes. DSP matrix consists of cement and high content of micro-silica with low water to cement ratio while the aggregates are graded quartz sand. The use of reinforcing fibres leads not only to the increase of tensile/bending strength and specific fracture energy, but also to reduction of brittleness and, consequently, to production of non-explosive ruptures. Besides, fibre-reinforced materials are more homogeneous and less sensitive to small defects and flaws. Recent works on the freeze-thaw durability (also in the presence of de-icing salts) of fibre-reinforced DSP confirm the excellent behaviour in the expected long term service life.DSP materials, including fibre-reinforced DSP and CRC (Compact Reinforced Composites) are obtained by using high quantities of super plasticizers and high volumes of micro-silica. Steel fibres with high tensile yield strength of smaller diameter and short length in different fibre volume percentage and aspect ratio tilized to improve the performance by reducing the brittleness of matrix material. In the case of High Performance Densified Small Particle Concrete (HPDSPC), concrete is dense at the micro-structure level, tensile strain would be much higher than that of the conventional SFRC, SIFCON & SIMCON. Beam-column sub-assemblages used as moment resisting constructed using HPDSPC in the joint region with varying quantities of steel fibres, fibre aspect ratio and fibre orientation in the critical section. These HPDSPC in the joint region sub-assemblages tested under cyclic/earthquake loading. Besides loading measurements, frame displacements, diagonal joint strain and rebar strain adjacent to the joint will also be measured to investigate stress-strain behaviour, load deformation characteristics, joint shear strength, failure mechanism, ductility associated parameters, stiffness and energy dissipated parameters of the beam column sub-assemblages also evaluated. Finally a design procedure for the optimum design of HPDSPC corresponding to moment, shear forces and axial forces for the reinforced concrete beam-column joint sub-assemblage proposed. The fact that the implementation of material brittleness measure in the design of RC structures can improve structural reliability by providing uniform safety margins over a wide range of structural sizes and material compositions well recognized in the structural design and research. This lead to the development of high performance concrete for the optimized combination of various structural ratios in concrete for the optimized combination of various structural properties. The structural applications of HPDSPC, because of extremely high strength, will reduce dead load significantly as compared to normal weight concrete thereby offering substantial cost saving and by providing improved seismic response, longer spans, and thinner sections, less reinforcing steel and lower foundation cost. These cost effective parameters will make this material more versatile for use in various structural applications like beam-column joints in industries, airports, parking areas, docks, harbours, and also containers for hazardous material, safety boxes and mould & tools for polymer composites and metals.

Keywords: high performance densified small particle concrete (HPDSPC), steel fibre reinforced concrete (SFRC), slurry infiltrated concrete (SIFCON), Slurry infiltrated mat concrete (SIMCON)

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Authors: Mei-Jie Xu, Yang Zhong

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Based on the symplectic geometry method, the theory of Hamilton system can be applied in the analysis of problem solved using the theory of elasticity and in the solution of elliptic partial differential equations. With this technique, this paper derives the theoretical solution for a thick rectangular plate with four free edges supported on a Winkler foundation by variable separation method. In this method, the governing equation of thick plate was first transformed into state equations in the Hamilton space. The theoretical solution of this problem was next obtained by applying the method of variable separation based on the Hamilton system. Compared with traditional theoretical solutions for rectangular plates, this method has the advantage of not having to assume the form of deflection functions in the solution process. Numerical examples are presented to verify the validity of the proposed solution method.

Keywords: symplectic geometry method, Winkler foundation, thick rectangular plate, variable separation method, Hamilton system

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Authors: L. Freeborn

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This paper discusses the application of complex dynamic system theory (DST) to the study of individual differences in second language development. This transdisciplinary framework allows researchers to view the trajectory of language development as a dynamic, non-linear process. A DST approach views language as multi-componential, consisting of multiple complex systems and nested layers. These multiple components and systems continuously interact and influence each other at both the macro- and micro-level. Dynamic systems theory aims to explain and describe the development of the language system, rather than make predictions about its trajectory. Such a holistic and ecological approach to second language development allows researchers to include various research methods from neurological, cognitive, and social perspectives. A DST perspective would involve in-depth analyses as well as mixed methods research. To illustrate, a neurobiological approach to second language development could include non-invasive neuroimaging techniques such as electroencephalography (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate areas of brain activation during language-related tasks. A cognitive framework would further include behavioural research methods to assess the influence of intelligence and personality traits, as well as individual differences in foreign language aptitude, such as phonetic coding ability and working memory capacity. Exploring second language development from a DST approach would also benefit from including perspectives from the field of applied linguistics, regarding the teaching context, second language input, and the role of affective factors such as motivation. In this way, applying mixed research methods from neurobiological, cognitive, and social approaches would enable researchers to have a more holistic view of the dynamic and complex processes of second language development.

Keywords: dynamic systems theory, mixed methods, research design, second language development

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Authors: S. Madhu, V. V. Subba Rao

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In the implementation of carbon nanotube reinforced polymer matrix composites in structural applications, deflection and stress analysis are important considerations. In the present study, a multi scale analysis of deflection and stress analysis of carbon nanotube (CNT) reinforced polymer composite plates is presented. A micromechanics model based on the Mori-Tanaka method is developed by introducing straight CNTs aligned in one direction. The effect of volume fraction and diameter of CNTs on plate deflection and the stresses are investigated using Classical Laminate Plate Theory (CLPT). The study is primarily conducted with the intention of observing the suitability of CNT reinforced polymer composite plates under static loading for structural applications.

Keywords: carbon nanotube, micromechanics, composite plate, multi-scale analysis, classical laminate plate theory

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Authors: Aigul Manapova

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We consider an optimal control problem in the higher coefficient of nonlinear equations with a divergent elliptic operator and unbounded nonlinearity, and the Dirichlet boundary condition. The conditions imposed on the coefficients of the state equation are assumed to hold only in a small neighborhood of the exact solution to the original problem. This assumption suggests that the state equation involves nonlinearities of unlimited growth and considerably expands the class of admissible functions as solutions of the state equation. We obtain formulas for the first partial derivatives of the objective functional with respect to the control functions. To calculate the gradients the numerical solutions of the state and adjoint problems are used. We also prove that the gradient of the cost function is Lipchitz continuous.

Keywords: cost functional, differentiability, divergent elliptic operator, optimal control, unbounded nonlinearity

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Authors: Setareh Shekarsaraei, Marjan Moridi, Nasser L. Hadipour

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In this study, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and nuclear quadrupole resonance spectroscopy parameters of 14N (Nitrogen in imidazole ring) in N–H…O hydrogen bonding for Histidine hydrochloride monohydrate were calculated via density functional theory. We considered a five-molecule model system of Histidine hydrochloride monohydrate. Also, we examined the trends of environmental effect on hydrogen bonds as well as cooperativity. The functional used in this research is M06-2X which is a good functional and the obtained results have shown good agreement with experimental data. This functional was applied to calculate the NMR and NQR parameters. Some correlations among NBO parameters, NMR, and NQR parameters have been studied which have shown the existence of strong correlations among them. Furthermore, the geometry optimization has been performed using M062X/6-31++G(d,p) method. In addition, in order to study cooperativity and changes in structural parameters, along with increase in cluster size, natural bond orbitals have been employed.

Keywords: hydrogen bonding, density functional theory (DFT), natural bond orbitals (NBO), cooperativity effect

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Authors: H. Namazi, H. T. N. Kuan

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Fick's first law relates the diffusive flux to the concentration field, by postulating that the flux goes from regions of high concentration to regions of low concentration, with a magnitude that is proportional to the concentration gradient (spatial derivative). It is clear that the diffusion of flux cannot be instantaneous and should be some time delay in this propagation. But Fick’s first law doesn’t consider this delay which results in some errors especially when there is a considerable time delay in the process. In this paper, we introduce a time delay to Fick’s first law. By this modification, we consider that the diffusion of flux cannot be instantaneous. In order to verify this claim an application sample in fluid diffusion is discussed and the results of modified Fick’s first law, Fick’s first law and the experimental results are compared. The results of this comparison stand for the accuracy of the modified model. The modified model can be used in any application where the time delay has considerable value and neglecting its effect reflects in undesirable results.

Keywords: Fick's first law, flux, diffusion, time delay, modified Fick’s first law

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Authors: Shashi Sharma, Uaday Singh, V. K. Katiyar

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Blood flow through a stenosed tube, which is of great interest to mechanical engineers as well as medical researchers. If stenosis exists in an artery, normal blood flow is disturbed. The deposition of fatty substances, cholesterol, cellular waste products in the inner lining of an artery results to plaque formation .The present study deals with a mathematical model for blood flow in constricted arteries. Blood is considered as a Newtonian, incompressible, unsteady and laminar fluid flowing in a cylindrical rigid tube along the axial direction. A time varying pressure gradient is applied in the axial direction. An analytical solution is obtained using the numerical inversion method for Laplace Transform for calculating the velocity profile of fluid as well as particles.

Keywords: blood flow, stenosis, Newtonian fluid, medical biology and genetics

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Authors: Mariam Musaddiq, Muhammad Ali Asadullah

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Psychological safety is referred as a 'nonthreatening' and 'predictable' work environment leading employees, particularly interested to contribute positively to the organization, to engage and express their true selves at work without suffering negative results. We posit that the employee who is feeling psychologically safe experiences positive emotions, feels happy and shows helping behavior towards his coworkers and supervisors. Particularly, the supervisor reciprocates this helping behavior in form of greater satisfaction to the employee showing helping behavior. We tested our hypothesis in light of Feedback system theory and functional motive theory. We collected data from 453 employees and their supervisor in Pakistani hotels and restaurants through survey method. Result showed that positive affect and helping behavior mediate the relationship between psychological safety and supervisor satisfaction. Cross sectional design of the study is a major limitation of the study. Moreover, we focused on psychological safety only that is one of three dimensions of psychological conditions.

Keywords: affect, helping behavior, psychological safety, supervisor, supervisor satisfaction

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Authors: Salem El-Tohami Ashoor

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A novel new vanadium (IV) complexes incorporating the chelating diamido cyclopentadienyl {ArN(CH2)3NAr)}2-((ηn-Cp)Cp)} (Ar = 2,6-Pri2C6H3)(Cp = C5H5 and n = 1,2,3,4 and 5) have been studied with calculation of the properties of species involved in various of cyclopentadienyl reaction. These were carried out under investigation of density functional theory (DFT) calculation, and comparing together. Other methods, explicitly including electron correlation, are necessary for more accurate calculations; MB3LYP (Becke) (Lee–Yang–Parr) level of theory often being used to obtain more exact results. These complexes were estimated of electronic energy for molecular system, because it accounts for all electron correlation interactions. The optimised of [V(ArN(CH2)3NAr)2Cl(η5-Cp)] (Ar = 2,6-Pri2C6H3 and Cp= C5H5) was found to be thermally more stable than others of vanadium cyclopentadienyl. In the meantime the complex [V(ArN(CH2)3NAr)2Cl(η1-Cp)] (Ar = 2,6-Pri2C6H3 and Cp= C5H5) which is showed a low thermal stability in case of the just one carbon of cyclopentadienyl can be insertion with vanadium metal centre. By using Dewar-Chatt-Duncanson model, as a basis of the molecular orbital (MO) analysis and showed the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and lowest occupied molecular orbital LUMO.

Keywords: vanadium (IV) cyclopentadienyl complexes, DFT, MO, HOMO, LUMO

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Authors: Mukunda Bastola, Frank Nyame-Asiamah

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Economics explanation for privatisation, drawing on neo-liberal market structures and technical efficiency principles has failed to address social imbalance and, distribute the efficiency benefits accrued from privatisation equitably among service users and different classes of people in society. Stakeholders’ interest, which cover ethical values and changing human needs are ignored due to shareholders’ profit maximising strategy with higher service charges. The consequence of these is that, the existing justifications for privatisation have fallen short of customer quality expectations because the underlying plan-based models fail to account for the nuances of customer expectations. We draw on the theory of deferred action to develop a context-based privatisation model, the deferred-based privatisation model, to explain how privatisation could be strategised for the emergent reality of the wider stakeholders’ interests and everyday quality demands of customers which are unpredictable.

Keywords: privatisation, service quality, shareholders, deferred action, deferred-based privatisation model

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Authors: Muriel Canas-Walker

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The 2012 TV series "The Legend of Zhen Huan" is one of the most popular and influential historical dramas on Chinese television and is regularly discussed on Chinese social media such as Weibo. Set in the Qing dynasty, the 76 episodes series features palace intrigues focused on female characters. In the Forbidden City, concubines must survive the cruelty of an extreme polygamy system, constantly competing against each other. The patriarchal oppression of the women sequestred in the harem relies on fierce female competition and does not leave much room for compassion. Using Michel Foucault’s theory of power, feminist theories, and visual anthropology, this paper analyzes the complex relationships between the female characters, from their rise to power to their fall from grace, from alliances to betrayals, from sorority to sororicide. This analysis aims to understand what makes this series particularly popular with young female audiences in China and explain its importance in Chinese media.

Keywords: Chinese TV Drama, feminism, popular culture, Theory of Power

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Authors: Roy. H. A. Lindelauf

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Cyberattacks are complex processes consisting of multiple interwoven tasks conducted by a set of agents. Interdictions and defenses against such attacks often rely on cyber kill chain (CKC) models. A CKC is a framework that tries to capture the actions taken by a cyber attacker. There exists a growing body of literature on CKCs. Most of this work either a) describes the CKC with respect to one or more specific cyberattacks or b) discusses the tools and technologies used by the attacker at each stage of the CKC. Defenders, facing scarce resources, have to decide where to allocate their resources given the CKC and partial knowledge on the tools and techniques attackers use. In this presentation CKCs are analyzed through the lens of covert projects, i.e., interrelated tasks that have to be conducted by agents (human and/or computer) with the aim of going undetected. Various aspects of covert project models have been studied abundantly in the operations research and game theory domain, think of resource-limited interdiction actions that maximally delay completion times of a weapons project for instance. This presentation has investigated both cooperative and non-cooperative game theoretic covert project models and elucidated their relation to CKC modelling. To view a CKC as a covert project each step in the CKC is broken down into tasks and there are players of which each one is capable of executing a subset of the tasks. Additionally, task inter-dependencies are represented by a schedule. Using multi-glove cooperative games it is shown how a defender can optimize the allocation of his scarce resources (what, where and how to monitor) against an attacker scheduling a CKC. This study presents and compares several cooperative game theoretic solution concepts as metrics for assigning resources to the monitoring of agents.

Keywords: cyber defense, cyber kill chain, game theory, information warfare techniques

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Authors: Mohammad R. Jalali, Mohammad M. Jalali

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The earliest theories of sloshing waves and solitary waves based on potential theory idealisations and irrotational flow have been extended to be applicable to more realistic domains. To this end, the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) methods are widely used. Three-dimensional CFD methods such as Navier-Stokes solvers with volume of fluid treatment of the free surface and Navier-Stokes solvers with mappings of the free surface inherently impose high computational expense; therefore, considerable effort has gone into developing depth-averaged approaches. Examples of such approaches include Green–Naghdi (GN) equations. In Cartesian system, GN velocity profile depends on horizontal directions, x-direction and y-direction. The effect of vertical direction (z-direction) is also taken into consideration by applying weighting function in approximation. GN theory considers the effect of vertical acceleration and the consequent non-hydrostatic pressure. Moreover, in GN theory, the flow is rotational. The present study illustrates the application of GN equations to propagation of sloshing waves and solitary waves. For this purpose, GN equations solver is verified for the benchmark tests of Gaussian hump sloshing and solitary wave propagation in shallow basins. Analysis of the free surface sloshing of even harmonic components of an initial Gaussian hump demonstrates that the GN model gives predictions in satisfactory agreement with the linear analytical solutions. Discrepancies between the GN predictions and the linear analytical solutions arise from the effect of wave nonlinearities arising from the wave amplitude itself and wave-wave interactions. Numerically predicted solitary wave propagation indicates that the GN model produces simulations in good agreement with the analytical solution of the linearised wave theory. Comparison between the GN model numerical prediction and the result from perturbation analysis confirms that nonlinear interaction between solitary wave and a solid wall is satisfactorilly modelled. Moreover, solitary wave propagation at an angle to the x-axis and the interaction of solitary waves with each other are conducted to validate the developed model.

Keywords: Green–Naghdi equations, nonlinearity, numerical prediction, sloshing waves, solitary waves

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Authors: Sahani Rathnasiri, Pritee Ray, Sardar M. N. Isalm, Carlos A. Vega-Mejia

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This study develops a cooperative game theory-based cost-sharing contract model for a business to consumer (B2C) e-commerce supply chain to minimize the overall supply chain costs and the individual costs within an information asymmetry scenario. The objective of this study is to address the issues of strategic interactions among the key players of the e-commerce supply chain operation, which impedes the optimal operational outcomes. Game theory has been included in the field of supply chain management to resolve strategic decision-making issues; however, most of the studies are limited only to two-echelons of the supply chains. Multi-echelon supply chain optimizations based on game-theoretic models are less explored in the previous literature. This study adopts a cooperative game model to focus on the common payoff of operations and addresses the issues of information asymmetry and coordination of a three-echelon e-commerce supply chain. The cost-sharing contract model integrates operational features such as production, inventory management and distribution with the contract related constraints. The outcomes of the model highlight the importance of maintaining lower operational costs by all players to obtain benefits from the cost-sharing contract. Further, the cost-sharing contract ensures true cost revelation, and hence eliminates the information asymmetry issues among the players. Comparing the results of the contract model with the de-centralized e-commerce supply chain operation further emphasizes that the cost-sharing contract derives Pareto-improved outcomes and minimizes the costs of overall e-commerce supply chain operation.

Keywords: cooperative game theory, cost-sharing contract, e-commerce supply chain, information asymmetry

Procedia PDF Downloads 110