Search results for: assessment and evaluation

Authors: Robby Y. Tallar, Nikodemus L., Yuri S., Jian P. Suen

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Research in the subject of ecological water resources management is full of trivial questions addressed and it seems, today to be one branch of science that can strongly contribute to the study of complexity (physical, biological, ecological, socio-economic, environmental, and other aspects). Existing literature available on different facets of these studies, much of it is technical and targeted for specific users. This study offered the combination all aspects in evaluation methodology for aquaculture lakes with its paradigm refer to hierarchical theory and to the effects of spatial specific arrangement of an object into a space or local area. Therefore, the process in developing a conceptual framework represents the more integrated and related applicable concept from the grounded theory. A design of integrated evaluation methodology for aquaculture lakes is presented. The method is based on the identification of a series of attributes which can be used to describe status of aquaculture lakes using certain indicators from aquaculture water quality index (AWQI), aesthetic aquaculture lake index (AALI) and rapid appraisal for fisheries index (RAPFISH). The preliminary preparation could be accomplished as follows: first, the characterization of study area was undertaken at different spatial scales. Second, an inventory data as a core resource such as city master plan, water quality reports from environmental agency, and related government regulations. Third, ground-checking survey should be completed to validate the on-site condition of study area. In order to design an integrated evaluation methodology for aquaculture lakes, finally we integrated and developed rating scores system which called Integrated Aquaculture Lake Index (IALI).The development of IALI are reflecting a compromise all aspects and it responds the needs of concise information about the current status of aquaculture lakes by the comprehensive approach. IALI was elaborated as a decision aid tool for stakeholders to evaluate the impact and contribution of anthropogenic activities on the aquaculture lake’s environment. The conclusion was while there is no denying the fact that the aquaculture lakes are under great threat from the pressure of the increasing human activities, one must realize that no evaluation methodology for aquaculture lakes can succeed by keeping the pristine condition. The IALI developed in this work can be used as an effective, low-cost evaluation methodology of aquaculture lakes for developing countries. Because IALI emphasizes the simplicity and understandability as it must communicate to decision makers and the experts. Moreover, stakeholders need to be helped to perceive their lakes so that sites can be accepted and valued by local people. For this site of lake development, accessibility and planning designation of the site is of decisive importance: the local people want to know whether the lake condition is safe or whether it can be used.

Keywords: aesthetic value, AHP, aquaculture lakes, integrated lakes, RAPFISH

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Authors: Zhidong Zhang

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This study established a mixed method model in assessing statistics learning with Bayesian network models. There are three variants in exploratory sequential designs. There are three linked steps in one of the designs: qualitative data collection and analysis, quantitative measure, instrument, intervention, and quantitative data collection analysis. The study used a scoring model of analysis of variance (ANOVA) as a content domain. The research study is to examine students’ learning in both semantic and performance aspects at fine grain level. The ANOVA score model, y = α+ βx1 + γx1+ ε, as a cognitive task to collect data during the student learning process. When the learning processes were decomposed into multiple steps in both semantic and performance aspects, a hierarchical Bayesian network was established. This is a theory-driven process. The hierarchical structure was gained based on qualitative cognitive analysis. The data from students’ ANOVA score model learning was used to give evidence to the hierarchical Bayesian network model from the evidential variables. Finally, the assessment results of students’ ANOVA score model learning were reported. Briefly, this was a mixed method research design applied to statistics learning assessment. The mixed methods designs expanded more possibilities for researchers to establish advanced quantitative models initially with a theory-driven qualitative mode.

Keywords: exploratory sequential design, ANOVA score model, Bayesian network model, mixed methods research design, cognitive analysis

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Authors: Tolga Barisik, Ali Fuat Guneri, K. Dastan

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Major industrial facilities have a high potential for fire risk. In particular, the indices used for the detection of hidden fire are used very effectively in order to prevent the fire from becoming dangerous in the initial stage. These indices provide the opportunity to prevent or intervene early by determining the stage of the fire, the potential for hazard, and the type of the combustion agent with the percentage values of the ambient air components. In this system, artificial neural network will be modeled with the input data determined using the Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm, which is a multi-layer sensor (CAA) (teacher-learning) type, before modeling the modeling methods in the literature. The actual values produced by the indices will be compared with the outputs produced by the network. Using the neural network and the curves to be created from the resulting values, the feasibility of performance determination will be investigated.

Keywords: artifical neural networks, fire, Graham Index, levenberg-marquardt algoritm, oxygen decrease percentage index, risk assessment, Trickett Index

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Authors: Owamah Hilary, O. C. Izinyon

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Many existing biogas kinetic models are difficult to apply to substrates they were not developed for, as they are substrate specific. Biodegradability kinetic (BIK) model and maximum biogas production potential and stability assessment (MBPPSA) model were therefore developed in this study for the anaerobic co-digestion of food waste and maize husk. Biodegradability constant (k) was estimated as 0.11d-1 using the BIK model. The results of maximum biogas production potential (A) obtained using the MBPPSA model corresponded well with the results obtained using the popular but complex modified Gompertz model for digesters B-1, B-2, B-3, B-4, and B-5. The (If) value of MBPPSA model also showed that digesters B-3, B-4, and B-5 were stable, while B-1 and B-2 were unstable. Similar stability observation was also obtained using the modified Gompertz model. The MBPPSA model can therefore be used as alternative model for anaerobic digestion feasibility studies and plant design.

Keywords: biogas, inoculum, model development, stability assessment

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Authors: Murtuza Ali Lakhani, Michelle Marquard

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Given the paradoxical nature of innovation, we propose that leaders of innovation-centered organizations need certain specific qualities focused on developing higher-order structures, fostering self-organization, and nurturing constructive dissonance and conciliation. Keeping in view the prolific literature on leadership and innovation, we carry out a quantitative study with data collected over a five-year period involving 31 leaders and 209 observers (direct reports, peers, and managers) from across five companies based in the United States. Rather than accepting, as some scholars and practitioners do, that leadership is all-encompassing, we argue that it is specific to a given context, e.g., innovation. We find that leadership is the locus of innovation and that leaders able to effectively lead the innovation agenda demonstrate five specific behaviors and characteristics, namely stewardship, communication, empowerment, creativity, and vision. We demonstrate that the alignment (or misalignment) between a leader’s “self view” and “other view” is a tell-tale sign of whether (or not) the leader’s organization will succeed at innovation. We propose a scale, iLeadership, and test it psychometrically for assessment of leaders and organizational units charged with innovation.

Keywords: leadership, innovation, knowledge creating organizations, leadership behavior, leadership assessment

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Authors: Debarati Bhaumik, Diptish Dey

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Multilevel models, increasingly deployed in industries such as insurance, food production, and entertainment within functions such as marketing and supply chain management, need to be transparent and ethical. Applications usually result in binary classification within groups or hierarchies based on a set of input features. Using open-source datasets, we demonstrate that popular explainability methods, such as SHAP and LIME, consistently underperform inaccuracy when interpreting these models. They fail to predict the order of feature importance, the magnitudes, and occasionally even the nature of the feature contribution (negative versus positive contribution to the outcome). Besides accuracy, the computational intractability of SHAP for binomial classification is a cause of concern. For transparent and ethical applications of these hierarchical statistical models, sound audit frameworks need to be developed. In this paper, we propose an audit framework for technical assessment of multilevel regression models focusing on three aspects: (i) model assumptions & statistical properties, (ii) model transparency using different explainability methods, and (iii) discrimination assessment. To this end, we undertake a quantitative approach and compare intrinsic model methods with SHAP and LIME. The framework comprises a shortlist of KPIs, such as PoCE (Percentage of Correct Explanations) and MDG (Mean Discriminatory Gap) per feature, for each of these three aspects. A traffic light risk assessment method is furthermore coupled to these KPIs. The audit framework will assist regulatory bodies in performing conformity assessments of AI systems using multilevel binomial classification models at businesses. It will also benefit businesses deploying multilevel models to be future-proof and aligned with the European Commission’s proposed Regulation on Artificial Intelligence.

Keywords: audit, multilevel model, model transparency, model explainability, discrimination, ethics

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Authors: Jana Djounova

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The World Health Organization proposes an average annual reference level of 100 Bq/m³ to minimize health risks due to radon exposure in buildings. However, if this cannot be achieved under the country's specific conditions, the chosen reference level should not exceed 300 Bq/m³. The World Health Organization recognized the relationship between indoor radon exposure and lung cancer, even at low doses. Radon in buildings is one of the most important indoor air pollutants, with harmful effects on the health of the population and especially children. This study presents the assessment of indoor radon concentration as air pollution and analyzes the exposure to radon of children and workers. Assessment of air pollution and exposure to indoor radon concentrations under the National Science Fund of Bulgaria, in the framework of grant No КП-06-Н23/1/07.12.2018 in kindergartens in two districts of Bulgaria (Razgrad and Silistra). Kindergartens were considered for the following reasons: 1these buildings are generally at the ground and/or the first floor, where radon concentration is generally higher than at upper floors; 2these buildings are attended by children, a population generally considered more sensitive to ionizing radiation, although little data is available for radon exposure. The measurements of indoor radon concentrations were performed with passive methods (CR-39 track detectors) for the period from February to May 2015. One hundred fifty-six state kindergartens on the territories of two districts in Bulgaria have been studied. The variations of radon in the children's premises vary from 9 to 1087 Bq/m³. The established arithmetic mean value of radon levels in the kindergartens in Silistra is 139 Bq/m³ and in Razgrad 152 Bq/m³, respectively. The percentage of kindergarteners, where the radon in premises exceeds the Bulgarian reference level of 300 Bq/m³, was 19%. The exposure of children and workers in those kindergartens is high, so remediation measures of air pollution had been recommended. The difference in radon concentration in kindergartens in two districts was statistically analyzed to assess the influence of geography and geology and the difference

Keywords: air pollution, radon, kindergartens, detectors

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Authors: Antonia Stergiou

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Background: Due to the developmental trajectory of executive function in preschool age, the majority of existing studies investigating the association between acute physical activity and cognitive control have focused on adolescents and adult population. Aim- The aim of this study was to investigate the possible effects of physical activity on the inhibitory control of pre-school children. Methods: This is a prospectively designed study that was conducted in a primary school in Bristol in June 2015. The total number of subjects was n=61 and 20 trials of a modified Eriksen Flanker Task were completed before and after a 30-minutes session of moderate exercise (including both 5 minutes of warm up and cool down). For each test a pre- and post-test assessment took place that included both congruent and incongruent trials. The congruent trials were considered as the control condition and the incongruent trials as those that measure inhibitory control (experimental condition). At the end of the assessment, the participants were instructed to choose the face that described their current feelings between three options (happy, neutral, sad). Results: There was a trend for increased accuracy following moderate exercise, but there was statistical significance (p > .05). However, there was statistically significant improvement in the reaction time following the same type of exercise (p = .005). Face board assessment revealed positive emotions after 30 minutes of moderate exercise. Conclusions: The current study supports findings from previous studies related to the benefits of physical activity on the children’s inhibitory control and provides evidence of those benefits in even younger ages. Further research should take place considering each child individually. Implementation of those findings could result in an improved curriculum in schools with additional time spent on physical education courses.

Keywords: cognitive control, inhibition, physical activity, pre-school children

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Authors: Tony R. Walker, N. Devin MacAskill, Andrew Thalhiemer

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Sydney Harbour, Nova Scotia, Canada has long been subject to effluent and atmospheric inputs of contaminants, including thousands of tons of PAHs from a large coking and steel plant which operated in Sydney for nearly a century. Contaminants comprised of coal tar residues which were discharged from coking ovens into a small tidal tributary, which became known as the Sydney Tar Ponds (STPs), and subsequently discharged into Sydney Harbour. An Environmental Impact Statement concluded that mobilization of contaminated sediments posed unacceptable ecological risks, therefore immobilizing contaminants in the STPs using solidification and stabilization was identified as a primary source control remediation option to mitigate against continued transport of contaminated sediments from the STPs into Sydney Harbour. Recent developments in contaminant mass flux techniques focus on understanding “mobile” vs. “immobile” contaminants at remediation sites. Forensic source evaluations are also increasingly used for understanding origins of PAH contaminants in soils or sediments. Flux and forensic source evaluation-informed remediation decision-making uses this information to develop remediation end point goals aimed at reducing off-site exposure and managing potential ecological risk. This study included reviews of previous flux studies, calculating current mass flux estimates and a forensic assessment using PAH fingerprint techniques, during remediation of one of Canada’s most polluted sites at the STPs. Historically, the STPs was thought to be the major source of PAH contamination in Sydney Harbour with estimated discharges of nearly 800 kg/year of PAHs. However, during three years of remediation monitoring only 17-97 kg/year of PAHs were discharged from the STPs, which was also corroborated by an independent PAH flux study during the first year of remediation which estimated 119 kg/year. The estimated mass efflux of PAHs from the STPs during remediation was in stark contrast to ~2000 kg loading thought necessary to cause a short term increase in harbour sediment PAH concentrations. These mass flux estimates during remediation were also between three to eight times lower than PAHs discharged from the STPs a decade prior to remediation, when at the same time, government studies demonstrated on-going reduction in PAH concentrations in harbour sediments. Flux results were also corroborated using forensic source evaluations using PAH fingerprint techniques which found a common source of PAHs for urban soils, marine and aquatic sediments in and around Sydney. Coal combustion (from historical coking) and coal dust transshipment (from current coal transshipment facilities), are likely the principal source of PAHs in these media and not migration of PAH laden sediments from the STPs during a large scale remediation project.

Keywords: contaminated sediment, mass flux, forensic source evaluations, remediation

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Authors: Susanna Asatryan

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The author will introduce a single module related to English teaching methodology for master course students getting specialization “A Foreign Language Teacher of High Schools And Professional Educational Institutions” of Yerevan Brusov State University of Languages and Social Sciences. The overall aim of the presentation is to introduce learning and teaching strategies within EXE Computer program for Mastery student-teachers of the University. The author will display the advantages of the use of this program. The learners interact with the teacher in the classroom as well as they are provided an opportunity for virtual domain to carry out their learning procedures in association with assessment and self-assessment. So they get integrated into blended learning. As this strategy is in its piloting stage, the author has elaborated a single module, embracing 3 main sections: -Teaching English vocabulary at high school, -Teaching English grammar at high school, and -Teaching English pronunciation at high school. The author will present the above mentioned topics with corresponding sections and subsections. The strong point is that preparing this module we have planned to display it on the blended learning landscape. So for this account working with EXE program is highly effective. As it allows the users to operate several tools for self-learning and self-testing/assessment. The author elaborated 3 single EXE files for each topic. Each file starts with the section’s subject-specific description: - Objectives and Pre-knowledge, followed by the theoretical part. The author associated and flavored her observations with appropriate samples of charts, drawings, diagrams, recordings, video-clips, photos, pictures, etc. to make learning process more effective and enjoyable. Before or after the article the author has downloaded a video clip, related to the current topic. EXE offers a wide range of tools to work out or prepare different activities and exercises for the learners: 'Interactive/non-interactive' and 'Textual/non-textual'. So with the use of these tools Multi-Select, Multi-Choice, Cloze, Drop-Down, Case Study, Gap-Filling, Matching and different other types of activities have been elaborated and submitted to the appropriate sections. The learners task is to prepare themselves for the coming module or seminar, related to teaching methodology of English vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation. The point is that the teacher has an opportunity for face to face communication, as well as to connect with the learners through the Moodle, or as a single EXE file offer it to the learners for their self-study and self-assessment. As for the students’ feedback –EXE environment also makes it available.

Keywords: blended learning, EXE program, learning/teaching strategies, self-study/assessment, virtual domain,

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Authors: Nevila Bardhi, Joanna Magda, Kolapo Alex-Oni, Slavenka Sedlar, Paromita Hore

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The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC DOHMH) receives blood lead test results for NYC residents and conducts lead poisoning case investigations for individuals with elevated blood lead levels exposed to lead occupationally and non-occupationally. To (1) improve participant engagement, (2) aid the identification of potential lead sources, and (3) better tailor recommendations to reduce lead exposure, Motivational Interviewing (MI) techniques were incorporated during risk assessment interviews of non-pregnant adults by DOHMH’s Adult Lead Poisoning Prevention (ALP) Program. MI is an evidence-based counselling method used in clinical settings that have been effective in promoting behavior change by resolving ambivalence and enhancing motivation in treating both physiological and psychological health conditions. The incorporation of MI techniques in the ALP risk assessment interview was effective in improving the identification of lead sources for non-pregnant adult cases, thus, allowing for the opportunity to better tailor lead poisoning prevention recommendations. The embedding of MI cues in the ALP risk assessment interview also significantly increased engagement in the interview process, resulting in approximately 50 more interviews conducted per year and a decrease in interview refusals during case investigations. Additionally, the pre-MI interview completion rate was 57%, while the post-MI Interview completion rate was 68%. We recommend MI techniques to be used by other lead poisoning prevention programs during lead poisoning investigations in similar diverse populations.

Keywords: lead poisoning prevention, motivational interviewing, behavior change, lead poisoning risk factors, self-efficacy

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Authors: Yusarina Mat-Isa, Zuraidah Mohd-Sanusi, Mohd-Nizal Haniff, Paul A. Barnes

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In view that money laundering has become eminent for banking institutions, it is an obligation for the banking institutions to adopt a risk-based approach as the integral component of the accepted policies on anti-money laundering. In doing so, those involved with the banking operations are the most critical group of personnel as these are the people who deal with the day-to-day operations of the banking institutions and are obligated to form a judgement on the level of impending risk. This requirement is extended to all relevant banking institutions staff, such as tellers and customer account representatives for them to identify suspicious customers and escalate it to the relevant authorities. Banking institutions staffs, however, face enormous challenges in identifying and distinguishing money launderers from other legitimate customers seeking genuine banking transactions. Banking institutions staffs are mostly educated and trained with the business objective in mind to serve the customers and are not trained to be “detectives with a detective’s power of observation”. Despite increasing awareness as well as trainings conducted for the banking institutions staff, their competency in assessing money laundering risk is still insufficient. Several gaps have prompted this study including the lack of behavioural perspectives in the assessment of money laundering risk in the banking institutions. Utilizing experimental approach, respondents are randomly assigned within a controlled setting with manipulated situations upon which judgement of the respondents is solicited based on various observations related to the situations. The study suggests that it is imperative that informed judgement is exercised in arriving at the decision to proceed with the banking services required by the customers. Judgement forms a basis of opinion for the banking institution staff to decide if the customers posed money laundering risk. Failure to exercise good judgement could results in losses and absorption of unnecessary risk into the banking institutions. Although the banking institutions are exposed with choices of automated solutions in assessing money laundering risk, the human factor in assessing the risk is indispensable. Individual staff in the banking institutions is the first line of defence who are responsible for screening the impending risk of any customer soliciting for banking services. At the end of the spectrum, the individual role involvement on the subject of money laundering risk assessment is not a substitute for automated solutions as human judgement is inimitable.

Keywords: banking institutions, experimental approach, money laundering, risk assessment

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Authors: Jean-Paul Kapuya Bulaba Nyembwe, John Omomoluwa Ogundiran, Manuel Carlos Gameiro da Silva

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Indoor environmental quality (IEQ) remains a global concern because it impacts people's comfort, health, performance, and general well-being. People spend a significant amount of time in buildings or while commuting, hence ensuring the minimal risk in indoor spaces by ensuring suitable IEQ. IEQ studies are limited regarding developing sub-Saharan countries, whereas there is also a huge risk and concern for the current population and geometric growth as many cities in the region will become mega-cities by 2040 (World Bank report). The absence of suitable IEQ regulations and energy poverty are reasons to assess the IEQ gaps for increased awareness of sustainable interventions to minimize the associated risk. This study evaluates the gaps and potential hazards that exist in the IEQ of sub-Saharan countries using empirical studies of hospital occupants and BRT bus passengers and drivers. The Surveys were conducted in 3 cities of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Lagos metropolis of Nigeria. The results suggest that gaps exist in IEQ for these regions. The gaps indicate existential risk to people’s health, comfort, and well-being. The inferential conclusions are that there is a need for further scientific studies, improvement in IEQ conditions, and ensuring suitable regulations for developing sub-Saharan countries.

Keywords: health hazards, hospitals indoor environmental quality, indoor spaces, occupants, sub-Saharan countries, vehicles

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Authors: Sherly M. A., Varsha Vijaykumar, Subhankar Karmakar, Terence Chan, Christian Rau

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This study aims at proposing an indicator-based framework for assessing social vulnerability of any coastal megacity to floods. The final set of indicators of social vulnerability are chosen from a set of feasible and available indicators which are prepared using a Geographic Information System (GIS) framework on a smaller scale considering 1-km grid cell to provide an insight into the spatial variability of vulnerability. The optimal weight for each individual indicator is assigned using data envelopment analysis (DEA) as it avoids subjective weights and improves the confidence on the results obtained. In order to de-correlate and reduce the dimension of multivariate data, principal component analysis (PCA) has been applied. The proposed methodology is demonstrated on twenty four wards of Mumbai under the jurisdiction of Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM). This framework of vulnerability assessment is not limited to the present study area, and may be applied to other urban damage centers.

Keywords: urban floods, vulnerability, data envelopment analysis, principal component analysis

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Authors: Melanie Kerschner

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Language is our main means of social interaction. News journalism, especially opinion discourse, holds a powerful position in this context. Editorials can be regarded as encounters of different, partially contradictory relationships between discourse participants constructed through the editorial voice. Their primary goal is to shape public opinion by commenting on events already addressed by other journalistic genres in the given newspaper. In doing so, the author tries to establish a consensus over the negotiated matter (i.e. the news event) with the reader. At the same time, he/she claims authority over the “correct” description and evaluation of an event. Yet, how can the relationship and the interaction between the discourse participants, i.e. the journalist, the reader and the news actors represented in the editorial, be best visualized and studied from a cross-cultural perspective? The present research project attempts to give insights into the role of (media) culture in British, Italian and German editorials. For this purpose the presenter will propose a basic framework: the so called “pyramid of discourse participants”, comprising the author, the reader, two types of news actors and the semantic macro-structure (as meta-level of analysis). Based on this framework, the following questions will be addressed: • Which strategies does the author employ to persuade the reader and to prompt him to give his opinion (in the comment section)? • In which ways (and with which linguistic tools) is editorial opinion expressed? • Does the author use adjectives, adverbials and modal verbs to evaluate news actors, their actions and the current state of affairs or does he/she prefer nominal labels? • Which influence do language choice and the related media culture have on the representation of news events in editorials? • In how far does the social context of a given media culture influence the amount of criticism and the way it is mediated so that it is still culturally-acceptable? The following culture-contrastive study shall examine 45 editorials (i.e. 15 per media culture) from six national quality papers that are similar in distribution, importance and the kind of envisaged readership to make valuable conclusions about culturally-motivated similarities and differences in the coverage and assessment of news events. The thematic orientation of the editorials will be the NSA scandal and the reactions of various countries, as this topic was and still is relevant to each of the three media cultures. Starting out from the “pyramid of discourse participants” as underlying framework, eight different criteria will be assigned to the individual discourse participants in the micro-analysis of the editorials. For the purpose of illustration, a single criterion, referring to the salience of authorial opinion, will be selected to demonstrate how the pyramid of discourse participants can be applied as a basis for empirical analysis. Extracts from the corpus shall furthermore enhance the understanding.

Keywords: Micro-analysis of editorials, culture-contrastive research, media culture, interaction between discourse participants, evaluation

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Authors: Jasim Uddin, Rod Smith, Malcolm Gillies

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Surface irrigation is the most popular irrigation method all over the world. However, two issues: low efficiency and huge labour involvement concern irrigators due to scarcity in recent years. To address these issues, a smart automated furrow is conceptualised that can be operated using digital devices like smartphone, iPad or computer and a preliminary evaluation was conducted in this study. The smart automated system is the integration of commercially available software and hardware. It includes real-time surface irrigation optimisation software (SISCO) and Rubicon Water’s surface irrigation automation hardware and software. The automated system consists of automatic water delivery system with 300 mm flexible pipes attached to both sides of a remotely controlled valve to operate the irrigation. A water level sensor to obtain the real-time inflow rate from the measured head in the channel, advance sensors to measure the advance time to particular points of an irrigated field, a solar-powered telemetry system including a base station to communicate all the field sensors with the main server. On the basis of field data, the software (SISCO) is optimised the ongoing irrigation and determine the optimum cut-off for particular irrigation and send this information to the control valve to stop the irrigation in a particular (cut-off) time. The preliminary evaluation shows that the automated surface irrigation worked reasonably well without manual intervention. The evaluation of farmers managed irrigation events show the potentials to save a significant amount of water and labour. A substantial amount of economic and social benefits are expected in rural industries by adopting this system. The future outcome of this work would be a fully tested commercial adaptive real-time furrow irrigation system able to compete with the pressurised alternative of centre pivot or lateral move machines on capital cost, water and labour savings but without the massive energy costs.

Keywords: furrow irrigation, smart automation, infiltration, SISCO, real-time irrigation, adoptive control

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Authors: Qazi Mahdia Ghyas

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Electronic Government Procurement (e-GP) has implemented in Bangladesh to ensure the good Governance. e-GP has transformed Bangladesh's procurement process electronically. But, to our best knowledge, there is no study to understand the key features of e-GP in Bangladesh. So, this study tries to identify the features of performance improvement after implementing an e-GP system that will help for further improvements. Data was collected from the PROMIS Overall Report (Central Procurement Technical Unit website) for the financial year from Q1 _July- Sep 2015-16 to Q4 _Apr- Jun 2021-22. This study did component factor analysis on KPIs and found nineteen KPIs that are statistically significant and represent time savings, efficiency, accountability, anti-corruption and compliance key features in procurement activities of e-GP. Based on the analysis, some practical measures have been recommended for better improvement of e-GP. This study has some limitations. Because of having multicollinearity issues, all the 42 KPIs (except 19) did not show a good fit for component factor analysis.

Keywords: public procurement, electronic government procurement, KPI, performance evaluation

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Authors: Kalpana Sharma, Jyoti Mann

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The study was designed towards institutional analysis for a clear understanding of the process involved in functioning and layout of determinants influencing physical education teacher’s education program in India. This further can be recommended for selection of parameters for creating sector benchmarking for physical education teachers training institutions across India. 165 stakeholders involving students, teachers, parents, administrators were surveyed from the identified seven institutions and universities from different states of India. They were surveyed on the basis of seven broad parameters which were associated with the post graduate physical education program in India. A physical education program assessment tool of 52 items was designed to administer it among the stakeholders selected for the survey. An item analysis of the contents was concluded through the review process from selected experts working in higher education with experience in teacher training program in physical education. The data was collected from the stakeholders of the selected institutions through Physical Education Program Assessment Tool (PEPAT). The hypothesis that PE teacher education program is independent of physical education institutions was significant. The study directed a need towards robust admission process emphasizing on identification, selection of potential candidates and quality control of intake with the scientific process developed according to the Indian education policies and academic structure. The results revealed that the universities do not have similar functional and delivery process related to the physical education teacher training program. The study reflects towards the need for physical education universities and institutions to identify the best practices to be followed regarding the functioning of delivery of physical education programs at various institutions through strategic management studies on the identified parameters before establishing strict standards and norms for achieving excellence in physical education in India.

Keywords: assessment, benchmarking, curriculum, physical education, teacher education

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Authors: Anésio de Leles Ferreira Filho, Wesley Rodrigues de Oliveira, Jéssica Santoro Gonçalves, Jorge Andrés Cormane Angarita

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The increase in electric power demand in face of environmental issues has intensified the participation of renewable energy sources such as photovoltaics, in the energy matrix of various countries. Due to their operational characteristics, they can generate time-varying harmonic and inter-harmonic distortions. For this reason, the application of methods of measurement based on traditional Fourier analysis, as proposed by IEC 61000-4-7, can provide inaccurate results. Considering the aspects mentioned herein, came the idea of the development of this work which aims to present the results of a comparative evaluation between a methodology arising from the combination of the Prony method with the Kalman filter and another method based on the IEC 61000-4-30 and IEC 61000-4-7 standards. Employed in this study were synthetic signals and data acquired through measurements in a 50kWp photovoltaic installation.

Keywords: harmonics, inter-harmonics, iec61000-4-7, parametric estimators, photovoltaic generation

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Authors: Venkatesh Kumar, Kasun Hewage, Rehan Sadiq

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Residential buildings consume significant amounts of energy and produce a large amount of emissions and waste. However, there is a substantial potential for energy savings in this sector which needs to be evaluated over the life cycle of residential buildings. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology has been employed to study the primary energy uses and associated environmental impacts of different phases (i.e., product, construction, use, end of life, and beyond building life) for residential buildings. Four different alternatives of residential buildings in Vancouver (BC, Canada) with a 50-year lifespan have been evaluated, including High Rise Apartment (HRA), Low Rise Apartment (LRA), Single family Attached House (SAH), and Single family Detached House (SDH). Life cycle performance of the buildings is evaluated for embodied energy, embodied environmental impacts, operational energy, operational environmental impacts, total life-cycle energy, and total life cycle environmental impacts. Estimation of operational energy and LCA are performed using DesignBuilder software and Athena Impact estimator software respectively. The study results revealed that over the life span of the buildings, the relationship between the energy use and the environmental impacts are identical. LRA is found to be the best alternative in terms of embodied energy use and embodied environmental impacts; while, HRA showed the best life-cycle performance in terms of minimum energy use and environmental impacts. Sensitivity analysis has also been carried out to study the influence of building service lifespan over 50, 75, and 100 years on the relative significance of embodied energy and total life cycle energy. The life-cycle energy requirements for SDH is found to be a significant component among the four types of residential buildings. The overall disclose that the primary operations of these buildings accounts for 90% of the total life cycle energy which far outweighs minor differences in embodied effects between the buildings.

Keywords: building simulation, environmental impacts, life cycle assessment, life cycle energy analysis, residential buildings

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Authors: M. H. Imam, Imran A. Tasadduq, Abdul-Rahim Ahmad, Fahd M. Aldosari

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Learning outcomes of a course (CLOs) and the abilities at the time of graduation referred to as Student Outcomes (SOs) are required to be assessed for ABET accreditation. A question in an assessment must target a CLO as well as an SO and must represent a required level of competence. This paper presents the idea of an Expert System (ES) to select a proper question to satisfy ABET accreditation requirements. For ES implementation, seven attributes of a question are considered including the learning outcomes and Bloom’s Taxonomy level. A database contains all the data about a course including course content topics, course learning outcomes and the CLO-SO relationship matrix. The knowledge base of the presented ES contains a pool of questions each with tags of the specified attributes. Questions and the attributes represent expert opinions. With implicit rule base the inference engine finds the best possible question satisfying the required attributes. It is shown that the novel idea of such an ES can be implemented and applied to a course with success. An application example is presented to demonstrate the working of the proposed ES.

Keywords: expert system, student outcomes, course learning outcomes, question attributes

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Authors: Sandra Figueiredo, Margarida Alves Martins, Carlos Silva, Cristina Simões

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This study integrates a larger research empirical project that examines second language (SL) learners’ profiles and valid procedures to perform complete and diagnostic assessment in schools. 102 learners of Portuguese as a SL aged 7 and 17 years speakers of distinct home languages were assessed in several linguistic tasks. In this article, we focused on writing performance in the specific task of narrative essay composition. The written outputs were measured using the score in six components adapted from an English SL assessment context (Alberta Education): linguistic vocabulary, grammar, syntax, strategy, socio-linguistic, and discourse. The writing processes and strategies in Portuguese language used by different immigrant students were analysed to determine features and diversity of deficits on authentic texts performed by SL writers. Differentiated performance was based on the diversity of the following variables: grades, previous schooling, home language, instruction in first language, and exposure to Portuguese as Second Language. Indo-Aryan languages speakers showed low writing scores compared to their peers and the type of language and respective cognitive mapping (such as Mandarin and Arabic) was the predictor, not linguistic distance. Home language instruction should also be prominently considered in further research to understand specificities of cognitive academic profile in a Romance languages learning context. Additionally, this study also examined the teachers representations that will be here addressed to understand educational implications of second language teaching in psychological distress of different minorities in schools of specific host countries.

Keywords: home language, immigrant students, Portuguese language, second language, writing assessment

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Authors: Mustafa M. Donma, Orkide Donma

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Obesity is associated with cardiovascular disease risk factors and metabolic syndrome (MetS). In this study, associations between adipokines and adipokine as well as obesity indices were evaluated. Plasma adipokine levels may exhibit variations according to body adipose tissue mass. Besides, upon consideration of obesity as an inflammatory disease, adipokines may play some roles in this process. The ratios of proinflammatory adipokines to adiponectin may act as highly sensitive indicators of body adipokine status. The aim of the study is to present some adipokine indices, which are thought to be helpful for the evaluation of childhood obesity and also to determine the best discriminators in the diagnosis of MetS. 80 prepubertal children (aged between 6-9.5 years) included in the study were divided into three groups; 30 children with normal weight (NW), 25 morbid obese (MO) children and 25 MO children with MetS. Physical examinations were performed. Written informed consent forms were obtained from the parents. The study protocol was approved by Ethics Committee of Namik Kemal University Medical Faculty. Anthropometric measurements, such as weight, height, waist circumference (C), hip C, head C, neck C were recorded. Values for body mass index (BMI), diagnostic obesity notation model assessment Index-II (D2 index) as well as waist-to-hip, head-to-neck ratios were calculated. Adiponectin, resistin, leptin, chemerin, vaspin, progranulin assays were performed by ELISA. Adipokine-to-adiponectin ratios were obtained. SPSS Version 20 was used for the evaluation of data. p values ≤ 0.05 were accepted as statistically significant. Values of BMI and D2 index, waist-to-hip, head-to-neck ratios did not differ between MO and MetS groups (p ≥ 0.05). Except progranulin (p ≤ 0.01), similar patterns were observed for plasma levels of each adipokine. There was not any difference in vaspin as well as resistin levels between NW and MO groups. Significantly increased leptin-to-adiponectin, chemerin-to-adiponectin and vaspin-to-adiponectin values were noted in MO in comparison with those of NW. The most valuable adipokine index was progranulin-to-adiponectin (p ≤ 0.01). This index was strongly correlated with vaspin-to-adiponectin ratio in all groups (p ≤ 0.05). There was no correlation between vaspin-to-adiponectin and chemerin-to--adiponectin in NW group. However, a correlation existed in MO group (r = 0.486; p ≤ 0.05). Much stronger correlation (r = 0.609; p ≤ 0.01) was observed in MetS group between these two adipokine indices. No correlations were detected between vaspin and progranulin as well as vaspin and chemerin levels. Correlation analyses showed a unique profile confined to MetS children. Adiponectin was found to be correlated with waist-to-hip (r = -0.435; p ≤ 0.05) as well as head-to-neck (r = 0.541; p ≤ 0.05) ratios only in MetS children. In this study, it has been investigated if adipokine indices have priority over adipokine levels. In conclusion, vaspin-to-adiponectin, progranulin-to-adiponectin, chemerin-to-adiponectin along with waist-to-hip and head-to-neck ratios were the optimal combinations. Adiponectin, waist-to-hip, head-to-neck, vaspin-to-adiponectin, chemerin-to-adiponectin ratios had appropriate discriminatory capability for MetS children.

Keywords: adipokine indices, metabolic syndrome, obesity indices, pediatric obesity

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Authors: Mohammad Javad Esmaeili

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Background: Coagulopathy is one of the complications with end stage renal disease with high prevalence in the world. Thromboelastogram is adynamic test for evaluation of coagulopathy and we have compared our patient's coagulation profiles with the results of TEG. Material and methods: In this study 50 patients with ESRD who were on regular hemodialysis for at least 6 months was selected with simple sampling and their coagulation profile was done with blood sampling and also TEG was done for every patient. Data were analyzed with SPSS and P<0.05 consider significant. Results: Protein s, Protein c and Antithrombin III deficiency was detected in 32%, 16% and 20% of patients and activated protein c resistance was abnormal in 2% of patients. In TEG, R time in 49% and K in 22/5% of patients was lower than normal and a-angle in 26% and maximum amplitude in 36% of patients was upper than normal (Hypercoagulable state). PS with R and ATIII with K have correlation. Conclusion: R time and K in TEG can be a suitable screening test in patients with suspicious to PS and ATIII deficiency.

Keywords: thromboelastography, chronic kidney disease, Coagulating disorder, hemodialysis

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Authors: Arditya Nugraha, Herry Gunawan, Agung P. Widodo

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The various possible strategies to find hydrocarbon are explored within a wide ranging of efforts. It started to identify petroleum concept in the basin. The main objectives of this paper are to integrate and develop information, knowledge, and evaluation from Indonesia’s sedimentary basins system in terms of their suitability for exploration activity and estimate the hydrocarbon potential available. The system which compiled data information and knowledge and comprised exploration and production data of all basins in Indonesia called as Basin Professor which stands for Basin Professional and Processor. Basin Professor is a website application using Geography Information System which consists of all information about basin montage, basin summary, petroleum system, stratigraphy, development play, risk factor, exploration history, working area, regional cross section, well correlation, prospect & lead inventory and infrastructure spatial. From 82 identified sedimentary basins, North Sumatra, Central Sumatra, South Sumatera, East Java, Kutai, and Tarakan basins are respectively positioned of the Indonesia’ s mature basin and the most productive basin. The Eastern of Indonesia also have many hydrocarbon potential and discovered several fields in Papua and East Abadi. Basin Professor compiled the well data in all of the basin in Indonesia from mature basin to frontier basin. Well known geological data, subsurface mapping, prospect and lead, resources and established infrastructures are the main factors make these basins have higher suitability beside another potential basin. The hydrocarbon potential resulted from this paper based on the degree of geological data, petroleum, and economic evaluation. Basin Professor has provided by a calculator tool in lead and prospect for estimate the hydrocarbon reserves, recoverable in place and geological risk. Furthermore, the calculator also defines the preliminary economic evaluation such as investment, POT IRR and infrastructures in each basin. From this Basin Professor, petroleum companies are able to estimate that Indonesia has a huge potential of hydrocarbon oil and gas reservoirs and still interesting for hydrocarbon exploration and production activity.

Keywords: basin summary, petroleum system, resources, economic evaluation

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Authors: Seyed Mohammadbagher Jafari, Elahe Mahdizadeh, Masomeh Ghahremani

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Nowadays almost all organizations depend on information systems to run their businesses. Investment on information systems and their maintenance to keep them always in best situation to support firm business is one of the main issues for every organization. The new concept of cloud computing was developed as a technical and economic model to address this issue. In cloud computing the computing resources, including networks, applications, hardwares and services are configured as needed and are available at the moment of request. However, migration to cloud is not an easy task and there are many issues that should be taken into account. This study tries to provide a comprehensive model to assess a firm readiness to implement cloud computing. By conducting a systematic literature review, four dimensions of readiness were extracted which include technological, human, organizational and environmental dimensions. Every dimension has various criteria that have been discussed in details. This model provides a framework for cloud computing readiness assessment. Organizations that intend to migrate to cloud can use this model as a tool to assess their firm readiness before making any decision on cloud implementation.

Keywords: cloud computing, human readiness, organizational readiness, readiness assessment model

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Authors: Vipin Kumar Singhal, Rohit Kumar Mittal, Pavitra Ranjan Maiti

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Damage analysis is one of the preliminary activities to be done after an earthquake so as to enhance the seismic building design technologies and prevent similar type of failure in future during earthquakes. This research article investigates the damage pattern and most probable reason of failure by observing photographs of seven major buildings collapsed/damaged which were evenly spread over the region during Mw7.8, Nepal earthquake 2015 followed by more than 400 aftershocks of Mw4 with one aftershock reaching a magnitude of Mw7.3. Over 250,000 buildings got damaged, and more than 9000 people got injured in this earthquake. Photographs of these buildings were collected after the earthquake and the cause of failure was estimated along with the severity of damage and comment on the reparability of structure has been made. Based on observations, it was concluded that the damage in reinforced concrete buildings was less compared to masonry structures. The number of buildings damaged was high near Kathmandu region due to high building density in that region. This type of damage analysis can be used as a cost effective and quick method for damage assessment during earthquakes.

Keywords: Nepal earthquake, damage analysis, damage assessment, damage scales

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Authors: Min-Chih Yang, Shih-Jen Feng, Bo-Tsang Li

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The concept of “Brownfield” has been developed for nearly 35 years since it was put forward in 《Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, CERCLA》of USA in 1980 for solving the problem of soil contamination of those old industrial lands, and later, many countries have put forward relevant policies and researches continuously. But the related concept in Taiwan, a country has developed its industry for 60 years, is still in its infancy. This leads to the slow development of Brownfield related research and policy in Taiwan. When it comes to build the foundation of Brownfield development, we have to depend on the related experience and research of other countries. They are four aspects about Brownfield: 1. Contaminated Land; 2. Derelict Land; 3. Vacant Land; 4. Previously Development Land. This study will focus on and deeply investigate the Vacant land and contaminated land. The subject of this study is Formosa Chemicals & Fibre Corporation, Changhua branch in Taiwan. It has been operating for nearly 50 years and contributing a lot to the local economy. But under the influence of the toxic waste and sewage which was drained regularly or occasionally out from the factory, the environment has been destroyed seriously. There are three factors of pollution: 1. environmental toxicants, carbon disulfide, released from producing processes and volatile gases which is hard to monitor; 2. Waste and exhaust gas leakage caused by outdated equipment; 3. the wastewater discharge has seriously damage the ecological environment of the Dadu river estuary. Because of all these bad influences, the factory has been closed nowadays and moved to other places to spare the opportunities for the contaminated lands to re-develop. So we collect information about related Brownfield management experience and policies in different countries as background information to investigate the current Taiwanese Brownfield redevelopment issues and built the environmental assessment framework for it. We hope that we can set the environmental assessment indexes for Formosa Chemicals & Fibre Corporation, Changhua branch according to the framework. By investigating the theory and environmental pollution factors, we will carry out deep analysis and expert questionnaire to set those indexes and prove a sample in Taiwan for Brownfield redevelopment and remediation in the future.

Keywords: brownfield, industrial land, redevelopment, assessment index

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Authors: Betsy S. Thomas, Manjeet Marpara, K. M. Bhat

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Introduction: After the initial enthusiasm and interest in hydroxyapatite products subsided due to dissolution of the coating and failure at the coating interface, this was a unique attempt to create a next generation of dental implant. Materials and Methods: The adhesion property of AW and HA coatings at various temperature by pulsed laser deposition was assessed on titanium plates. Moreover, AW/HA coated implants implanted in the femur of the rabbits was evaluated at various intervals. Results: Decohesion load was more for AW in scratch test and more bone formation around AW coated implants on histological evaluation. Discussion: AW coating by pulsed laser deposition was more adherent to the titanium surface and led to faster bone formation than HA. Conclusion: This experiment opined that AW coated by pulsed laser deposition seems to be a promising method in achieving bioactive coatings on titanium implants.

Keywords: surface coating, dental implants, osseo integration, biotechnology

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Authors: Musaab Riyadh, Norwati Mustapha, Dina Riyadh

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Trajectory similarity can be defined as the cost of transforming one trajectory into another based on certain similarity method. It is the core of numerous mining tasks such as clustering, classification, and indexing. Various approaches have been suggested to measure similarity based on the geometric and dynamic properties of trajectory, the overlapping between trajectory segments, and the confined area between entire trajectories. In this article, an evaluation of these approaches has been done based on computational cost, usage memory, accuracy, and the amount of data which is needed in advance to determine its suitability to stream mining applications. The evaluation results show that the stream mining applications support similarity methods which have low computational cost and memory, single scan on data, and free of mathematical complexity due to the high-speed generation of data.

Keywords: global distance measure, local distance measure, semantic trajectory, spatial dimension, stream data mining

Procedia PDF Downloads 396