Search results for: measurement similarity

Authors: Masahiro Yoneda

Abstract:

The purpose of this study is to identify human walking vertical force by using FFT power spectrum density from the experimental acceleration data of the human body. An experiment on human walking is carried out on a stationary floor especially paying attention to higher components of dynamic vertical walking force. Based on measured acceleration data of the human lumbar part, not only in-phase component with frequency of 2 fw, 3 fw, but also in-opposite-phase component with frequency of 0.5 fw, 1.5 fw, 2.5 fw where fw is the walking rate is observed. The vertical vibration of pedestrian bridge induced by higher components of human walking vertical force is also discussed in this paper. A full scale measurement for the existing pedestrian bridge with center span length of 33 m is carried out focusing on the resonance phenomenon due to higher components of human walking vertical force. Dynamic response characteristics excited by these vertical higher components of human walking are revealed from the dynamic design viewpoint of pedestrian bridge.

Keywords: simplified method, human walking vertical force, higher component, pedestrian bridge vibration

Procedia PDF Downloads 419

Authors: Zidane Abderrezzaq

Abstract:

In contrast to recent successful developments in macro monetary policies, the modelling, measurement and management of systemic financial stability has remained problematical. Indeed, the focus of most effort has been on improving individual, rather than systemic, bank risk management; the Basel II objective has been to bring regulatory bank capital into line with the (sophisticated) banks’ assessment of their own economic capital. Even at the individual bank level there are concerns over appropriate diversification allowances, differing objectives of banks and regulators, the need for a buffer over regulatory minima, and the distinction between expected and unexpected losses (EL and UL). At the systemic level the quite complex and prescriptive content of Basel II raises dangers of ‘endogenous risk’ and procyclicality. Simulations suggest that this latter could be a serious problem. In an extension to the main analysis we study how liquidity effects interact with banking structure to produce a greater chance of systemic breakdown. We finally consider how the risk of contagion might depend on the degree of asymmetry (tiering) inherent in the structure of the banking system. A number of our results have important implications for public policy, which this paper also draws out.

Keywords: systemic stability, financial regulation, credit risk, systemic risk

Procedia PDF Downloads 356

Authors: Adji Achmad Rinaldo Fernandes

Abstract:

Path analysis is an analytical technique to study the causal relationship between independent and dependent variables. In this study, the integration of Clusters in the Ward Linkage method was used in a variety of clusters with path analysis. The variables used are character (x₁), capacity (x₂), capital (x₃), collateral (x₄), and condition of economy (x₄) to on time pay (y₂) through the variable willingness to pay (y₁). The purpose of this study was to compare the Ward Linkage method cluster integration in various clusters with path analysis to classify willingness to pay (y₁). The data used are primary data from questionnaires filled out by customers of Bank X, using purposive sampling. The measurement method used is the average score method. The results showed that the Ward linkage method cluster integration with path analysis on 2 clusters is the best method, by comparing the coefficient of determination. Variable character (x₁), capacity (x₂), capital (x₃), collateral (x₄), and condition of economy (x₅) to on time pay (y₂) through willingness to pay (y₁) can be explained by 58.3%, while the remaining 41.7% is explained by variables outside the model.

Keywords: cluster integration, linkage, path analysis, compliant paying behavior

Procedia PDF Downloads 164

Authors: Kimberly Samaha

Abstract:

In order to attract new types of investors into the emerging Bio-Economy, a new set of metrics and measurement system is needed to better quantify the environmental, social and economic impacts of circular zero-waste design. The Bio-Hub Ecosystem model was developed to address a critical area of concern within the global energy market regarding the use of biomass as a feedstock for power plants. Lack of an economically-viable business model for bioenergy facilities has resulted in the continuation of idled and decommissioned plants. In particular, the forestry-based plants which have been an invaluable outlet for woody biomass surplus, forest health improvement, timber production enhancement, and especially reduction of wildfire risk. This study looked at repurposing existing biomass-energy plants into Circular Zero-Waste Bio-Hub Ecosystems. A Bio-Hub model that first targets a ‘whole-tree’ approach and then looks at the circular economics of co-hosting diverse industries (wood processing, aquaculture, agriculture) in the vicinity of the Biomass Power Plants facilities. It proposes not only models for integration of forestry, aquaculture, and agriculture in cradle-to-cradle linkages of what have typically been linear systems, but the proposal also allows for the early measurement of the circularity and impact of resource use and investment risk mitigation, for these systems. Typically, life cycle analyses measure environmental impacts of different industrial production stages and are not integrated with indicators of material use circularity. This concept paper proposes the further development of a new set of metrics that would illustrate not only the typical life-cycle analysis (LCA), which shows the reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, but also the zero-waste circularity measures of mass balance of the full value chain of the raw material and energy content/caloric value. These new measures quantify key impacts in making hyper-efficient use of natural resources and eliminating waste to landfills. The project utilized traditional LCA using the GREET model where the standalone biomass energy plant case was contrasted with the integration of a jet-fuel biorefinery. The methodology was then expanded to include combinations of co-hosts that optimize the life cycle of woody biomass from tree to energy, CO₂, heat and wood ash both from an energy/caloric value and for mass balance to include reuse of waste streams which are typically landfilled. The major findings of both a formal LCA study resulted in the masterplan for the first Bio-Hub to be built in West Enfield, Maine. Bioenergy facilities are currently at a critical juncture where they have an opportunity to be repurposed into efficient, profitable and socially responsible investments, or be idled and scrapped. If proven as a model, the expedited roll-out of these innovative scenarios can set a new standard for circular zero-waste projects that advance the critical transition from the current ‘take-make-dispose’ paradigm inherent in the energy, forestry and food industries to a more sustainable bio-economy paradigm where waste streams become valuable inputs, supporting local and rural communities in simple, sustainable ways.

Keywords: bio-economy, biomass energy, financing, metrics

Procedia PDF Downloads 142

Authors: Iva Košek Bartošová, Andrea Jokešová, Eva Kozlová, Helena Matějová

Abstract:

The paper presents results of a research team from Faculty of Education, University of Hradec Králové in the Czech Republic. It introduces with the most reading methods used in the 1^st classes of a primary school and presents results of a pilot research focused on mastering reading techniques and the quality of reading comprehension of pupils in the first half of a school year during training in teaching reading by an analytic-synthetic method and by a genetic method. These methods of practicing reading skills are the most used ones in the Czech Republic. During the school year 2015/16 there has been a measurement made of two groups of pupils of the 1^st year and monitoring of quantitative and qualitative parameters of reading pupils’ outputs by several methods. Both of these methods are based on different theoretical basis and each of them has a specific educational and methodical procedure. This contribution represents results during a piloting project and draws pilot conclusions which will be verified in the subsequent broader research at the end of the school year of the first class of primary school.

Keywords: analytic-synthetic method of reading, genetic method of reading, reading comprehension, reading literacy, reading methods, reading speed

Procedia PDF Downloads 239

Authors: Jehad Al Dallal

Abstract:

Attributes and methods are the basic contents of an object-oriented class. The connectivity among these class members and the relationship between the class and other classes play an important role in determining the quality of an object-oriented system. Class cohesion evaluates the degree of relatedness of class attributes and methods, whereas class coupling refers to the degree to which a class is related to other classes. Researchers have proposed several class cohesion and class coupling measures. However, the correlation between class coupling and class cohesion measures have not been thoroughly studied. In this paper, using classes of three open-source Java systems, we empirically investigate the correlation between several measures of connectivity-based class cohesion and coupling. Four connectivity-based cohesion measures and eight coupling measures are considered in the empirical study. The empirical study results show that class connectivity-based cohesion and coupling internal quality attributes are inversely correlated. The strength of the correlation depends highly on the cohesion and coupling measurement approaches.

Keywords: object-oriented class, software quality, class cohesion measure, class coupling measure

Procedia PDF Downloads 306

Authors: Iniye Irene Wodi, Ibebietei Temple Offor

Abstract:

Adolescence is a transition period from childhood to adulthood and one of the challenges of this period to the adolescent is the choice of a career. Choosing a career can be influenced by various factors some of which could be psychological. The study, therefore, investigated the psychological factors that influence adolescents’ choice of career in the southern part of Nigeria. Adolescents from selected secondary schools were drawn for the study using multi-stage sampling techniques. Motivating factors for adolescent career choice questionnaire (MFACC) was used for the study. The instrument was validated by experts in test and measurement. A reliability coefficient of 0.79 was obtained for the instrument using Pearson Product moment after a test-retest. The findings revealed that students’ occupational needs, interest, self-concept and societal values motivated adolescents career choices. Based on these findings, recommendations were made chief among which was the need for society to place more emphasis on acceptable and beneficial values as this would influence career decisions adolescents make. They also influence the occupational needs and interests of the adolescents.

Keywords: adolescence, career choice, psychological factors, societal values

Procedia PDF Downloads 240

Authors: N. Hatraf, L. Merabti, Z. Neffah, W. Taane

Abstract:

The excessive consumption of fossil energies (electrical energy) during summer caused by the technological development involves more and more climate warming. In order to reduce the worst impact of gas emissions produced from classical air conditioning, heat driven solar absorption chiller is pretty promising; it consists on using solar as motive energy which is clean and environmentally friendly to provide cold. Solar absorption machine is composed by four components using Lithium Bromide /water as a refrigerating couple. LiBr- water is the most promising in chiller applications due to high safety, high volatility ratio, high affinity, high stability and its high latent heat. The lithium bromide solution is constitute by the salt lithium bromide which absorbs water under certain conditions of pressure and temperature however if the concentration of the solution is high in the absorption chillers; which exceed 70%, the solution will crystallize. The main aim of this article is to study the phenomena of the crystallization and to evaluate how the dependence between the electric conductivity and the concentration which should be controlled.

Keywords: absorption, crystallization, experimental results, lithium bromide solution

Procedia PDF Downloads 292

Authors: DRIS Mohammed El-Amine, BOUNIF Abdelhamid

Abstract:

This paper considers an experimental and numerical investigation of variable density in axisymmetric turbulent free jets. Special attention is paid to the study of the scalar dissipation rate. In this case, dynamic field equations are coupled to scalar field equations by the density which can vary by the thermal effect (jet heating). The numerical investigation is based on the first and second order turbulence models. For the discretization of the equations system characterizing the flow, the finite volume method described by Patankar (1980) was used. The experimental study was conducted in order to evaluate dynamical characteristics of a heated axisymmetric air flow using the Laser Doppler Anemometer (LDA) which is a very accurate optical measurement method. Experimental and numerical results are compared and discussed. This comparison do not show large difference and the results obtained are in general satisfactory.

Keywords: Scalar dissipation rate, thermal effects, turbulent axisymmetric jets, second order modelling, Velocimetry Laser Doppler.

Procedia PDF Downloads 436

Authors: P. J. Sweeney, T. Ahtoniemi, J. Puoliväli, T. Laitinen, K. Lehtimäki, A. Nurmi, D. Wells

Abstract:

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is caused by an X linked mutation in the dystrophin gene; lack of dystrophin causes a progressive muscle necrosis which leads to a progressive decrease in mobility in those suffering from the disease. The MDX mouse, a mutant mouse model which displays a frank dystrophinopathy, is currently widely employed in pre clinical efficacy models for treatments and therapies aimed at DMD. In general the end-points examined within this model have been based on invasive histopathology of muscles and serum biochemical measures like measurement of serum creatine kinase (sCK). It is established that a “critical period” between 4 and 6 weeks exists in the MDX mouse when there is extensive muscle damage that is largely sub clinical but evident with sCK measurements and histopathological staining. However, a full characterization of the MDX model remains largely incomplete especially with respect to the ability to aggravate of the muscle damage beyond the critical period. The purpose of this study was to attempt to aggravate the muscle damage in the MDX mouse and to create a wider, more readily translatable and discernible, therapeutic window for the testing of potential therapies for DMD. The study consisted of subjecting 15 male mutant MDX mice and 15 male wild-type mice to an intense chronic exercise regime that consisted of bi-weekly (two times per week) treadmill sessions over a 12 month period. Each session was 30 minutes in duration and the treadmill speed was gradually built up to 14m/min for the entire session. Baseline plasma creatine kinase (pCK), treadmill training performance and locomotor activity were measured after the “critical period” at around 10 weeks of age and again at 14 weeks of age, 6 months, 9 months and 12 months of age. In addition, kinematic gait analysis was employed using a novel analysis algorithm in order to compare changes in gait and fine motor skills in diseased exercised MDX mice compared to exercised wild type mice and non exercised MDX mice. In addition, a morphological and metabolic profile (including lipid profile), from the muscles most severely affected, the gastrocnemius muscle and the tibialis anterior muscle, was also measured at the same time intervals. Results indicate that by aggravating or exacerbating the underlying muscle damage in the MDX mouse by exercise a more pronounced and severe phenotype in comes to light and this can be picked up earlier by kinematic gait analysis. A reduction in mobility as measured by open field is not apparent at younger ages nor during the critical period, but changes in gait are apparent in the mutant MDX mice. These gait changes coincide with pronounced morphological and metabolic changes by non-invasive anatomical MRI and proton spectroscopy (1H-MRS) we have reported elsewhere. Evidence of a progressive asymmetric pathology in imaging parameters as well as in the kinematic gait analysis was found. Taken together, the data show that chronic exercise regime exacerbates the muscle damage beyond the critical period and the ability to measure through non-invasive means are important factors to consider when performing preclinical efficacy studies in the MDX mouse.

Keywords: Gait, muscular dystrophy, Kinematic analysis, neuromuscular disease

Procedia PDF Downloads 264

Authors: Novawiguna Kemalasari, Ahmad Badawi Saluy

Abstract:

Recent economic developments are more dependent on the value created by intangible assets than tangible company's assets. Intangible assets in question is intellectual capital that is recognized as the basis of individual, organizational, and general competition in the 21st century. The rapid global economy and technological innovations that have led to tough competition in the business world, make IC creation, management, measurement, and evaluation an important indicator in improving company performance that will affect the value of the company in the future. This study aims to determine the strong influence of intellectual capital on corporate performance, and how the influence of human capital on structural capital and relation capital. By distributing questionnaires to 100 employees of banking companies in Jakarta with middle and upper positions. Approach method used is Partial Least Square (PLS) Based on research that has been done, it can be concluded that human capital has influence on relation capital and structural capital. Similarly, the influence on the performance of the company turned out to human capital and relation capital has a significant influence, but structural capital has a non-significant effect on company performance.

Keywords: human capital, structural capital, relation capital, corporate performance

Procedia PDF Downloads 174

Authors: Yoshinori Kitsutaka, Fumiya Ikedo

Abstract:

In this study, the mechanical model of various anchors embedded in gypsum board subjected cyclic shear loading were investigated. Shear tests for anchors embedded in 200 mm square size gypsum board were conducted to measure the load - load displacement curves. The strength of the gypsum board was changed for three conditions and 12 kinds of anchors were selected which were ordinary used for gypsum board anchoring. The loading conditions were a monotonous loading and a cyclic loading controlled by a servo-controlled hydraulic loading system to achieve accurate measurement. The fracture energy for each of the anchors was estimated by the analysis of consumed energy calculated by the load - load displacement curve. The effect of the strength of gypsum board and the types of anchors on the shear properties of gypsum board anchors was cleared. A numerical model to predict the load-unload curve of shear deformation of gypsum board anchors caused by such as the earthquake load was proposed and the validity on the model was proved.

Keywords: gypsum board, anchor, shear test, cyclic loading, load-unload curve

Procedia PDF Downloads 370

Authors: Cesar Eduardo Hernández Curiel, Victor Hugo Benítez Baltazar, Jesús Horacio Pacheco Ramírez

Abstract:

This paper is devoted to present the advances in the design of a prototype that is able to supervise the complex behavior of water quality parameters such as pH and temperature, via a real-time monitoring system. The current water quality tests that are performed in government water quality institutions in Mexico are carried out in problematic locations and they require taking manual samples. The water samples are then taken to the institution laboratory for examination. In order to automate this process, a water quality monitoring system based on wireless sensor networks is proposed. The system consists of a sensor node which contains one pH sensor, one temperature sensor, a microcontroller, and a ZigBee radio, and a base station composed by a ZigBee radio and a PC. The progress in this investigation shows the development of a water quality monitoring system. Due to recent events that affected water quality in Mexico, the main motivation of this study is to address water quality monitoring systems, so in the near future, a more robust, affordable, and reliable system can be deployed.

Keywords: pH measurement, water quality monitoring, wireless sensor networks, ZigBee

Procedia PDF Downloads 378

Authors: Ateeq Ur Rehman

Abstract:

This article deals with the promotional effects of CeO2 on PtPd/CeO2-OMC electrocatalysts. The synthesized catalysts are characterized using different physicochemical techniques and evaluated in a formic acid oxidation fuel cell. N2 adsorption/desorption analysis shows that CeO2 modification increases the surface area of OMC from 1005 m2/g to 1119 m2/g. SEM, XRD and TEM analysis reveal that the presence of CeO2 enhances the active metal(s) dispersion on the CeO2-OMC surface. The average particle size of the dispersed metal decreases with the increase of Pt/Pd ratio on CeO2-OMC support. Cyclic voltametry measurement of Pd/CeO2-OMC gives 12 % higher anodic current activity with 83 mV negative shift of the peak potential as compared to unmodified Pd/OMC. In bimetallic catalysts, the addition of Pt improves the activity and stability of the catalysts significantly. Among the bimetallic samples, Pd3Pt1/CeO2-OMC displays superior current density (74.6 mA/cm2), which is 28.3 times higher than that of Pt/CeO2-OMC. It also shows higher stability in extended period of runs with least indication of CO poisoning effects.

Keywords: CeO2, ordered mesoporous carbon (OMC), nano particles, formic acid fuel cell

Procedia PDF Downloads 299

Authors: Masoumeh Ghorbania, Falk Liebnerb, Hendrikus W.G. van Herwijnenc, Johannes Konnertha

Abstract:

Phenol formaldehyde (PF) resins are widely used as wood adhesives for variety of industrial products such as plywood, laminated veneer lumber and others. Lignin as a main constituent of wood has become well-known as a potential substitute for phenol in PF adhesives because of their structural similarity. During the last decades numerous research approaches have been carried out to substitute phenol with pulping-derived lignin, whereby the lower reactivity of resins synthesized with shares of lignin seem to be one of the major challenges. This work reports about a systematic screening of different types of lignin (plant origin and pulping process) for their suitability to replace phenol in phenolic resins. Lignin from different plant sources (softwood, hardwood and grass) were used, as these should differ significantly in their reactivity towards formaldehyde of their reactive phenolic core units. Additionally a possible influence of the pulping process was addressed by using the different types of lignin from soda, kraft, and organosolv process and various lignosulfonates (sodium, ammonium, calcium, magnesium). To determine the influence of lignin on the adhesive performance beside others the rate of viscosity development, bond strength development of varying hot pressing time and other thermal properties were investigated. To evaluate the performance of the cured end product, a few selected properties were studied at the example of solid wood-adhesive bond joints, compact panels and plywood. As main results it was found that lignin significantly accelerates the viscosity development in adhesive synthesis. Bonding strength development during curing of adhesives decelerated for all lignin types, while this trend was least for pine kraft lignin and spruce sodium lignosulfonate. However, the overall performance of the products prepared with the latter adhesives was able to fulfill main standard requirements, even after exposing the products to harsh environmental conditions. Thus, a potential application can be considered for processes where reactivity is less critical but adhesive cost and product performance is essential.

Keywords: phenol formaldehyde resin, lignin phenol formaldehyde resin, ABES, DSC

Procedia PDF Downloads 220

Authors: Binnur Sagbas

Abstract:

Artificial joint replacements such as total knee and total hip prosthesis have been applied to the patients who affected by osteoarthritis. Although different material combinations are used for these joints, biopolymers are most commonly preferred materials especially for acetabular cup and tibial component of hip and knee joints respectively. The main limitation that shortens the service life of these prostheses is wear. Wear is complicated phenomena and it must be considered with friction and lubrication. In this study, micro wave (MW) induced argon+oxygen plasma surface modification were applied on ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) and vitamin E blended UHMWPE (VE-UHMWPE) biopolymer surfaces to improve surface wettability and wear resistance of the surfaces. Contact angel measurement method was used for determination of wettability. Ball-on-disc wear test was applied under 25% bovine serum lubrication conditions. The results show that surface wettability and wear resistance of both material samples were increased by plasma surface modification.

Keywords: artificial joints, plasma surface modification, UHMWPE, vitamin E, wear

Procedia PDF Downloads 294

Authors: Amir H. Bayat, Mohammad R. Alipour, Saeed Khamneh

Abstract:

As the respiration via nose is important physiologically, many studies have been done about nasal breathing that switches to oronasal breathing during exercise. The aim of this study was to assess the role of anterior nasal resistance as one of the effective factors on this switching. Twelve young, healthy, non-athletic and non-smoker male volunteers with normal BMI were selected after physical examination and participated in exercise protocol, including measurement of the ventilation, work load and oronasal switching point (OSP) during exercise, and anterior rhinomanometry at rest. The protocol was an incremental exercise with 25 watt increase in work load per minute up to OSP occurrence. There was a significant negative correlation between resting total anterior nasal resistance with OSP, work load and ventilation (p<0.05, r= -0.709). Resting total anterior nasal resistance can be considered as an important factor on OSP occurrence. So, the reducing the resistance of nasal passage may increase nasal respiration tolerance for longer time during exercise.

Keywords: anterior nasal resistance, exercise, OSP, ventilation, work load

Procedia PDF Downloads 391

Authors: S. J. Taylor, S. Chowdhury, T. A. Pychyl

Abstract:

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and procrastination are often discussed in relation to problems with self-regulation and executive functioning (EF). The small body of extant research that has explored the relations between these variables has many limitations particularly in terms of the samples used and the measurement of procrastination. In this study, we recruited a sample of undergraduate students with a confirmed clinical diagnosis of ADHD (n = 48, 66.7% females) as well as a sample of student volunteers without ADHD (n = 68, 75.8% females) to investigate the relations between ADHD subtypes, EF, procrastination and other forms of delay. We used the newly developed Multidimensional Measure of Academic Procrastination and Delay Questionnaire. As hypothesized, the results revealed that individuals with ADHD displayed significantly more irrational delay, general procrastination and academic procrastination compared to individuals without ADHD. This study contributed to the research literature indicating that individuals with ADHD struggle with procrastination as a result of symptoms of ADHD and EF deficits. Theses results provide support for adopting a new language when describing procrastination problems among individuals with ADHD, and they have implications for the nature of academic accommodations and interventions for individuals with ADHD.

Keywords: ADHD, delay, executive functioning, procrastination, self-regulation

Procedia PDF Downloads 189

Authors: Jay P. Sipani, Riki H. Patel, Trushit Upadhyaya

Abstract:

Today there is a demand to monitor environmental factors almost in all research institutes and industries and even for domestic uses. The analog data measurement requires manual effort to note readings, and there may be a possibility of human error. Such type of systems fails to provide and store precise values of parameters with high accuracy. Analog systems are having drawback of storage/memory. Therefore, there is a requirement of a smart system which is fully automated, accurate and capable enough to monitor all the environmental parameters with utmost possible accuracy. Besides, it should be cost-effective as well as portable too. This paper represents the Wireless Sensor (WS) data communication using DHT11, Arduino, SIM900A GSM module, a mobile device and Liquid Crystal Display (LCD). Experimental setup includes the heating arrangement of DHT11 and transmission of its data using Arduino and SIM900A GSM shield. The mobile device receives the data using Arduino, GSM shield and displays it on LCD too. Heating arrangement is used to heat and cool the temperature sensor to study its characteristics.

Keywords: wireless communication, Arduino, DHT11, LCD, SIM900A GSM module, mobile phone SMS

Procedia PDF Downloads 262

Authors: Hossein Mardani, Neil Buchanan, Robert Cahill, Vincent Fusco

Abstract:

In this paper, we study the input impedance characteristics of axial mode helical antennas to find an effective way for matching it to 50 Ω. The study is done on the important matching parameters such as like wire diameter and helix to the ground plane gap. It is intended that these parameters control the matching without detrimentally affecting the radiation pattern. Using transmission line theory, a simple broadband technique is proposed, which is applicable for perfect matching of antennas with similar design parameters. We provide design curves to help to choose the proper dimensions of the matching section based on the antenna’s unmatched input impedance. Finally, using the proposed technique, a 4-turn axial mode helix is designed at 2.5 GHz center frequency and the measurement results of the manufactured antenna will be included. This parametric study gives a good insight into the input impedance characteristics of axial mode helical antennas and the proposed impedance matching approach provides a simple, useful method for matching these types of antennas.

Keywords: antenna, helix, helical, axial mode, wireless power transfer, impedance matching

Procedia PDF Downloads 295

Authors: Carmen Silvia Gabriel, Dsniele Bernardi da Costa, Andrea Bernardes, Sabrina Elias Mikael, Daniele da Silva Ramos

Abstract:

The goal of this quantitative study is to investigate patient safety culture from the perspective of professional from the hospital nursing team.It was conducted in two Brazilian hospitals,.The sample included 282 nurses Data collection occurred in 2013, through the questionnaire Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture.Based on the assessment of the dimensions is stressed that, in the dimension teamwork across hospital units, 69.4% of professionals agree that when a lot of work needs to be done quickly, they work together as a team; about the dimension supervisor/ manager expectations and actions promoting safety, 70.2% agree that their supervisor overlooks patient safety problems.Related to organizational learning and continuous improvement, 56.5% agree that there is evaluation of the effectiveness of the changes after its implementation.On hospital management support for patient safety, 52.8% refer that the actions of hospital management show that patient safety is a top priority.On the overall perception of patient safety, 57.2% disagree that patient safety is never compromised due to higher amount of work to be completed.In what refers to feedback and communication about error, 57.7% refer that always and usually receive such information. Relative to communication openness, 42.9% said they never or rarely feel free to question the decisions / actions of their superiors.On frequency of event reporting, 64.7% said often and always notify events with no damages to patients..About teamwork across hospital units is noted similarity between the percentages of agreement and disagreement, as on the item there is a good cooperation among hospital units that need to work together, that indicates 41.4% and 40.5% respectively.Related to adequacy of professionals, 77.8 % disagree on the existence of sufficient amount of employees to do the job, 52.4% agree that shift changes are problematic for patients. On nonpunitive response to errors, 71.7% indicate that when an event is reported it seems that the focus is on the person.On the patient safety grade of the institution, 41.6 % classified it as very good. it is concluded that there are positive points in the safety culture, and some weaknesses as a punitive culture and impaired patient safety due to work overload .

Keywords: quality of health care, health services evaluation, safety culture, patient safety, nursing team

Procedia PDF Downloads 285

Authors: Kat Jingjing Luo

Abstract:

The development of theme parks in China has been through a rapid growth in the past decades. Increasing competition within service quality has forced theme park managers concerned the relationship between service quality and visitors’ satisfaction. Even though those existing service quality measurements such as SERVQUAL and THEMEQUAL have been applied in related researches, none of them is exclusive for Chinese theme park service quality. This study aims to investigate the service quality of the most popular theme park in China currently and develop a unique, reliable and valid scale. The reliability and validity analysis results from a survey of over 200 tourists in Chimelong ocean kingdom in Zhuhai city, south of China, indicate that the dimension of waiting time is a discover factor in the measurement of Chinese theme park service quality excluding in the THEMEQUAL instrument (i.e., tangibles, reliability, responsiveness and access, assurance, empathy and courtesy). The newly developed scale gives a better understand service quality in Chinese theme park industry, and the managerial implications in regard to the research, how to improve theme park service quality are discussed.

Keywords: theme park, scale development, China, service quality

Procedia PDF Downloads 259

Authors: Babak Darvish Rouhani, Mohd Nazri Mahrin, Fatemeh Nikpay, Pourya Nikfard, Maryam Khanian Najafabadi

Abstract:

Enterprise Architecture (EA) is a strategy that is employed by enterprises in order to align their business and Information Technology (IT). EA is managed, developed, and maintained through Enterprise Architecture Implementation Methodology (EAIM). The effectiveness of EA implementation is the degree in which EA helps to achieve the collective goals of the organization. This paper analyzes the results of a survey that aims to explore the factors that affect the effectiveness of EAIM and specifically the relationship between factors and effectiveness of the output and functionality of EA project. The exploratory factor analysis highlights a specific set of five factors: alignment, adaptiveness, support, binding, and innovation. The regression analysis shows that there is a statistically significant and positive relationship between each of the five factors and the effectiveness of EAIM. Consistent with theory and practice, the most prominent factor for developing an effective EAIM is innovation. The findings contribute to the measuring the effectiveness of EA implementation project by providing an indication of the measurement implementation approaches which is used by the Enterprise Architects, and developing an effective EAIM.

Keywords: enterprise architecture, enterprise architecture implementation methodology, implementation methodology, factors, EA, effectiveness

Procedia PDF Downloads 415

Authors: Hiroshi Kinoshita, Yasuto Nakanishi, Ryuhei Okuno, Toshio Higashi

Abstract:

Various kinds of pegboards have been developed and used widely in research and clinics of rehabilitation for evaluation and training of patient’s hand function. A common measure in these peg boards is a total time of performance execution assessed by a tester’s stopwatch. Introduction of electrical and automatic measurement technology to the apparatus, on the other hand, has been delayed. The present work introduces the development of a pegboard with an electric sensor to detect moments of individual peg’s insertion and removal. The work also gives fundamental data obtained from a group of healthy young individuals who performed peg transfer tasks using the pegboard developed. Through trails and errors in pilot tests, two 10-hole peg-board boxes installed with a small photo-reflector and a DC amplifier at the bottom of each hole were designed and built by the present authors. The amplified electric analogue signals from the 20 reflectors were automatically digitized at 500 Hz per channel, and stored in a PC. The boxes were set on a test table at different distances (25, 50, 75, and 125 mm) in parallel to examine the effect of hole-to-hole distance. Fifty healthy young volunteers (25 in each gender) as subjects of the study performed successive fast 80 time peg transfers at each distance using their dominant and non-dominant hands. The data gathered showed a clear-cut light interruption/continuation moment by the pegs, allowing accurately (no tester’s error involved) and precisely (an order of milliseconds) to determine the pull out and insertion times of each peg. This further permitted computation of individual peg movement duration (PMD: from peg-lift-off to insertion) apart from hand reaching duration (HRD: from peg insertion to lift-off). An accidental drop of a peg led to an exceptionally long ( < mean + 3 SD) PMD, which was readily detected from an examination of data distribution. The PMD data were commonly right-skewed, suggesting that the median can be a better estimate of individual PMD than the mean. Repeated measures ANOVA using the median values revealed significant hole-to-hole distance, and hand dominance effects, suggesting that these need to be fixed in the accurate evaluation of PMD. The gender effect was non-significant. Performance consistency was also evaluated by the use of quartile variation coefficient values, which revealed no gender, hole-to-hole, and hand dominance effects. The measurement reliability was further examined using interclass correlation obtained from 14 subjects who performed the 25 and 125 mm hole distance tasks at two 7-10 days separate test sessions. Inter-class correlation values between the two tests showed fair reliability for PMD (0.65-0.75), and for HRD (0.77-0.94). We concluded that a sensor peg board developed in the present study could provide accurate (excluding tester’s errors), and precise (at a millisecond rate) time information of peg movement separated from that used for hand movement. It could also easily detect and automatically exclude erroneous execution data from his/her standard data. These would lead to a better evaluation of hand dexterity function compared to the widely used conventional used peg boards.

Keywords: hand, dexterity test, peg movement time, performance consistency

Procedia PDF Downloads 124

Authors: Vijay Kumar Bajpai, Sudhir Kumar Singh

Abstract:

In this study, the performance analyses of the twenty five coal-fired power plants (CFPPs) used for electricity generation are carried out through various data envelopment analysis (DEA) models. Three efficiency indices are defined and pursued. During the calculation of the operational performance, energy and non-energy variables are used as input, and net electricity produced is used as desired output. CO2 emitted to the environment is used as the undesired output in the computation of the pure environmental performance while in Model-3 CO2 emissions is considered as detrimental input in the calculation of operational and environmental performance. Empirical results show that most of the plants are operating in increasing returns to scale region and Mettur plant is efficient one with regards to energy use and environment. The result also indicates that the undesirable output effect is insignificant in the research sample. The present study will provide clues to plant operators towards raising the operational and environmental performance of CFPPs.

Keywords: coal fired power plants, environmental performance, data envelopment analysis, operational performance

Procedia PDF Downloads 436

Authors: X. Lu, T. Lu, S. Javadi

Abstract:

A simple dynamic approach is presented for analyzing thermal and moisture dynamics of buildings, which is of particular relevance to understanding climate change impacts on buildings, including assessment of risks and applications of resilience strategies. With the goal to demonstrate the proposed modeling methodology, to verify the model, and to show that wooden materials provide a mechanism that can facilitate the reduction of moisture risks and be more resilient to global warming, a wooden church equipped with high precision measurement systems was taken as a test building for full-scale time-series measurements. Sensitivity analyses indicate a high degree of accuracy in the model prediction regarding the indoor environment. The model is then applied to a future projection of climate indoors aiming to identify significant environmental factors, the changing temperature and humidity, and effective response to the climate change impacts. The paper suggests that wooden building materials offer an effective and resilient response to anticipated future climate changes.

Keywords: dynamic model, forecast, climate change impact, wooden structure, buildings

Procedia PDF Downloads 134

Authors: Noppawan Piaseu, Surat Komindr

Abstract:

This study aimed to determine factors predicting food insecurity in older Thai women living in crowded urban communities. Through purposive sampling, 315 participants were recruited from community dwelling older women in Bangkok, Thailand. Data collection included interview from questionnaires and anthropometric measurement. Results showed that approximately half of the sample were 60-69 years old (51.1%), married (50.6%), obtained primary education (52.3%), had low family income (51.7%), lived in poor physical environment (49.9%) with normal body mass index (51.0%). Logistic regression analysis revealed that older women who were widowed/divorced/separated (OR = 1.804, 95% CI = 1.052-3.092, p = .032), who reported low family income (OR =.654, 95% CI = .523-.817, p < .001), and who had poor physical environment surrounding home (OR = 2.338, 95% CI = 1.057-5.171, p = .036) were more likely to have food insecurity. Results support that social and environmental factors are major factors predicting food insecurity in older women living in the urban community. Health professionals need to identify and monitor psychosocial, economic and environmental dimensions of food insecurity among them.

Keywords: food insecurity, older women, urban communities, Thailand

Procedia PDF Downloads 389

Authors: Bahareh Najafian Ashrafi, Hossein Zeidabadinejad, Mehdi Ashjaee

Abstract:

The temperature field is a key factor of flame heat transfer rate and therefore should be measured accurately. In this study, the Mach-Zehnder Interferometry method is applied to measure the temperature field of premixed air/landfill gas (LFG60:60% CH4+40% CO2) laminar flame. The three-dimensional flame of cylindrical slot burner can assume to be two-dimensional due to the high aspect ratio (L/W=10) of the rectangular slot. So, the method converts two-dimensional flame to closed isothermal curves called fringes and the outer fringes temperature is measured by thermocouples. The experiments are carried out for Reynolds numbers and equivalence ratios ranging from 100 to 400 and 1.0 to 1.4, respectively. Results show that by increasing the equivalence ratio or Reynolds number, the flame height increases. The maximum flame temperature decreases by increasing the equivalence ratio but does not change considerably by changing the Reynolds number.

Keywords: landfill gas, Mach-Zehender interferometry, premix flame, slot burner, temperature filed

Procedia PDF Downloads 135

Authors: Alireza Jalilifar, Nadia Mayahi

Abstract:

The dissertation defense as a complicated conflict-prone context entails the adoption of elegant interactional strategies, one of which is self-denigration. This study aimed to develop and validate a self-denigration model that fits the context of doctoral defense sessions in applied linguistics. Two focus group discussions provided the basis for developing this conceptual model, which assumed 10 functions for self-denigration, namely good manners, modesty, affability, altruism, assertiveness, diffidence, coercive self-deprecation, evasion, diplomacy, and flamboyance. These functions were used to design a 40-item questionnaire on the attitudes of applied linguists concerning self-denigration in defense sessions. The confirmatory factor analysis of the questionnaire indicated the predictive ability of the measurement model. The findings of this study suggest that self-denigration in doctoral defense sessions is the social representation of the participants’ values, ideas and practices adopted as a negotiation strategy and a conflict management policy for the purpose of establishing harmony and maintaining resilience. This study has implications for doctoral students and academics and illuminates further research on self-denigration in other contexts.

Keywords: academic discourse, politeness, self-denigration, grounded theory, dissertation defense

Procedia PDF Downloads 123

Authors: G. Farkas, K. Mathis, J. Pilch, P. Minarik

Abstract:

Deformation mechanisms in an Mg-Al-Ca alloy reinforced with short alumina fibres were studied by acoustic emission and in-situ neutron diffraction method. The fibres plane orientation with respect to the loading axis was found to be a key parameter, which influences the acting deformation processes, such as twinning or dislocation slip. In-situ neutron diffraction tests were measured at different temperatures from room temperature (RT) to 200°C. The measurement shows the lattice strain changes in the matrix and also in the reinforcement phase depending on macroscopic compressive deformation and stress. In case of parallel fibre plane orientation, the increment of compressive lattice strain is lower in the matrix and higher in the fibres in comparison to perpendicular fibre orientation. Furthermore, acoustic emission results indicate a larger twinning activity and more frequent fibre cracking in sample with perpendicular fibre plane orientation. Both types of mechanisms are more dominant at elevated temperatures.

Keywords: neutron diffraction, acoustic emission, magnesium based composite, deformation mechanisms

Procedia PDF Downloads 145