Search results for: public transport supply

Authors: Siti Indati Mustapa, Hussain Ali Bekhet

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Global CO2 emission and increasing fuel consumption to meet energy demand requirement has become a threat in recent decades. Effort to reduce the CO2 emission is now a matter of priority in most countries of the world including Malaysia. Transportation has been identified as the most intensive sector of carbon-based fuels and achievement of the voluntary target to meet 40% carbon intensity reduction set at the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15) means that the emission from the transport sector must be reduced accordingly. This posed a great challenge to Malaysia and effort has to be made to embrace suitable and appropriate energy policy for sustainable energy and emission reduction of this sector. The focus of this paper is to analyse the trends of Malaysia’s energy consumption and emission of four different transport sub-sectors (road, rail, aviation and maritime). Underlying factors influencing the growth of energy consumption and emission trends are discussed. Besides, technology status towards energy efficiency in transportation sub-sectors is presented. By reviewing the existing policies and trends of energy used, the paper highlights prospective policy options towards achieving emission reduction in the transportation sector.

Keywords: CO2 emissions, transportation sector, fuel consumption, energy policy, Malaysia

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Authors: Tomas Berhanu Bekele

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Traffic congestion is one of the main problems related to transportation in developed as well as developing countries. Traffic control systems are based on the idea of avoiding traffic instabilities and homogenizing traffic flow in such a way that the risk of accidents is minimized and traffic flow is maximized. Lately, Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) has become an important area of research to solve such road traffic-related issues for making smart decisions. It links people, roads and vehicles together using communication technologies to increase safety and mobility. Moreover, accurate prediction of road traffic is important to manage traffic congestion. The aim of this study is to develop an ANN model for the prediction of traffic flow and to compare the ANN model with the linear regression model of traffic flow predictions. Data extraction was carried out in intervals of 15 minutes from the video player. Video of mixed traffic flow was taken and then counted during office work in order to determine the traffic volume. Vehicles were classified into six categories, namely Car, Motorcycle, Minibus, mid-bus, Bus, and Truck vehicles. The average time taken by each vehicle type to travel the trap length was measured by time displayed on a video screen.

Keywords: intelligent transport system (ITS), traffic flow prediction, artificial neural network (ANN), linear regression

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Authors: Veenapani Rajeev Verma

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Context: Assessing facility readiness is paramount as it can indicate capacity of facilities to provide essential care for resilience to health challenges. In the context of decentralization, estimation of supply side readiness indices at sub national level is imperative for effective evidence based policy but remains a colossal challenge due to lack of dependable and representative data sources. Setting: District Poonch of Jammu and Kashmir was selected for this study. It is remote, rural district with unprecedented topographical barriers and is identified as high priority by government. It is also a fragile area as is bounded by Line of Control with Pakistan bearing the brunt of cease fire violations, military skirmishes and sporadic militant attacks. Hilly geographical terrain, rudimentary/absence of road network and impoverishment are quintessential to this area. Objectives: Objective of the study is to a) Evaluate the service readiness of health facilities and create a concise index subsuming plethora of discrete indicators and b) Ascertain supply side barriers in service provisioning via stakeholder’s analysis. Study also strives to expand analytical domain unravelling context and area specific intricacies associated with service delivery. Methodology: Mixed method approach was employed to triangulate quantitative analysis with qualitative nuances. Facility survey encompassing 90 Subcentres, 44 Primary health centres, 3 Community health centres and 1 District hospital was conducted to gauge general service availability and service specific availability (depth of coverage). Compendium of checklist was designed using Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS) in form of standard core questionnaire and scorecard generated for each facility. Information was collected across dimensions of amenities, equipment, medicines, laboratory and infection control protocols as proposed in WHO’s Service Availability and Readiness Assesment (SARA). Two stage polychoric principal component analysis employed to generate a parsimonious index by coalescing an array of tracer indicators. OLS regression method used to determine factors explaining composite index generated from PCA. Stakeholder analysis was conducted to discern qualitative information. Myriad of techniques like observations, key informant interviews and focus group discussions using semi structured questionnaires on both leaders and laggards were administered for critical stakeholder’s analysis. Results: General readiness score of health facilities was found to be 0.48. Results indicated poorest readiness for subcentres and PHC’s (first point of contact) with composite score of 0.47 and 0.41 respectively. For primary care facilities; principal component was characterized by basic newborn care as well as preparedness for delivery. Results revealed availability of equipment and surgical preparedness having lowest score (0.46 and 0.47) for facilities providing secondary care. Presence of contractual staff, more than 1 hr walk to facility, facilities in zone A (most vulnerable) to cross border shelling and facilities inaccessible due to snowfall and thick jungles was negatively associated with readiness index. Nonchalant staff attitude, unavailability of staff quarters, leakages and constraint in supply chain of drugs and consumables were other impediments identified. Conclusions/Policy Implications: It is pertinent to first strengthen primary care facilities in this setting. Complex dimensions such as geographic barriers, user and provider behavior is not under precinct of this methodology.

Keywords: effective coverage, principal component analysis, readiness index, universal health coverage

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Authors: Mosito Jonas Seabela

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Breastfeeding in public has become a contentious issue in contemporary society. Mothers are often subjected to unfair discrimination and harassment for simply responding to their maternal instinct to breastfeed their infants. The unwillingness of society to accept public breastfeeding as a natural, non-sexual act is partly influenced by the imposition of a pornified and hypersexualised Western culture, which was imported to Africa through colonisation, enforced by the apartheid regime, and is now perpetuated by Western media. The imposition of the modern nuclear family on Africans, and the coerced aspiration to subscribe to bourgeois values, has eroded the moral standing of the traditional African family and its cultural values. Western-centric perceptions of African women have altered the experience of motherhood for many, commodifying the practice of breastfeeding. As a result, the use of bottles and infant formulas is often perceived as the preferred method, while breastfeeding in public is viewed as primitive, immoral, and unacceptable. This normative study seeks to answer the question of what ought to be done to preserve the dignity of African motherhood and protect their right to breastfeed in public. The African philosophy of Ubuntu is employed to advocate for the right to breastfeed in public. This moral philosophy posits that the western perception of a person seeks to isolate people from their environment and culture, thereby undermining the process of acquiring humanity, which fosters social cohesion. The Ubuntu philosophy embodies the aphorism, “umuntu ngumuntu nga bantu”, meaning “a person is a person through other persons”, signifying people’s interconnectedness and interdependence. The application of the key principles of Ubuntu, such as “survival, the spirit of solidarity, compassion, respect, and dignity” can improve human interaction and unite the public to support the government’s efforts to increase exclusive breastfeeding rates and reduce infant mortality rates. A doctrine called “Ubuntu Lactivism” is what the author proposes as a means to advocate for breastfeeding rights in fulfilment of African traditional values.

Keywords: ubuntu, breastfeeding, Afrocentric, colonization, culture, motherhood, imperialism, objectification

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Authors: Mozhgan Aliakbari, Sara Moridpour

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In recent years, much attention has been given to truck drivers’ fatigue management. Long working hours negatively influence truck drivers’ physiology, health, and safety. However, there is little empirical research in the heavy vehicle transport sector in Australia to identify the influence of working hours’ management on drivers’ fatigue and consequently, on the risk of crashes and injuries. There is no national legislation regulating the number of hours or kilometres travelled by truck drivers. Consequently, it is almost impossible to define a standard number of hours or kilometres for truck drivers in a safety management system. This paper reviews the existing studies concerning safe system interventions such as tachographs in relation to fatigue caused by long working hours. This paper also reviews the literature to identify the influence of frequency of rest breaks on the reduction of work-related road transport accidents involving trucks. A framework is presented to manage truck drivers’ fatigue, which may result in the reduction of injuries and fatalities involving heavy vehicles.

Keywords: fatigue, time management, trucks, traffic safety

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Authors: M. Gomaa Abdoelatef, Robert M. Field, Lee, Yong-Kwan

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Growing human populations have placed increased demands on water supplies and a heightened interest in desalination infrastructure. Key elements of the economics of desalination projects are thermal and electrical inputs. With growing concerns over the use of fossil fuels to (indirectly) supply these inputs, coupling of desalination with nuclear power production represents a significant opportunity. Individually, nuclear and desalination technologies have a long history and are relatively mature. For desalination, Reverse Osmosis (RO) has the lowest energy inputs. However, the economically driven output quality of the water produced using RO, which uses only electrical inputs, is lower than the output water quality from thermal desalination plants. Therefore, modern desalination projects consider that RO should be coupled with thermal desalination technologies (MSF, MED, or MED-TVC) with attendant steam inputs to permit blending to produce various qualities of water. A large nuclear facility is well positioned to dispatch large quantities of both electrical and thermal power. This paper considers the supply of thermal energy to a large desalination facility to examine heat balance impact on the nuclear steam cycle. The APR1400 nuclear plant is selected as prototypical from both a capacity and turbine cycle heat balance perspective to examine steam supply and the impact on electrical output. Extraction points and quantities of steam are considered parametrically along with various types of thermal desalination technologies to form the basis for further evaluations of economically optimal approaches to the interface of nuclear power production with desalination projects. In our study, the thermodynamic evaluation will be executed by DE-TOP which is the IAEA desalination program, it is approved to be capable of analyzing power generation systems coupled to desalination systems through various steam extraction positions, taking into consideration the isolation loop between the APR-1400 and the thermal desalination plant for safety concern.

Keywords: APR-1400, desalination, DE-TOP, IAEA, MSF, MED, MED-TVC, RO

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Authors: Sara Najiazarpour, Mahsa Najiazarpour

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There are many problems in contracting projects and their performance. At each project stage and due to different reasons, these problems affect cost, time and overall project quality. Hence, in order to increase the efficiency and performance in all levels of the chain and with supply chain management approach, there will be a coordination from the beginning of a project (contractor selection) to the end of project (handover of project). Contractor selection is the foremost part of construction projects which in this multi-criteria decision-making, the best contractor is determined by expert judgment, different variables and their priorities. In this paper for selecting the best contractor, numerous criteria were collected by asking from adept experts and then among them, 16 criteria with highest frequency were considered for questionnaire. This questionnaire was distributed between experts. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was obtained as 72%. Then based on Borda's function 12 important criteria was selected which was categorized in four main criteria and related sub-criteria as follow: Environmental factors and physical equipment: procurement and materials (supplier), company's machines, contractor’s proposed cost estimate - financial capacity: bank turnover and company's assets, the income of tax declaration in last year, Ability to compensate for losses or delays - past performance- records and technical expertise: experts and key personnel, the past technical backgrounds and experiences, employer satisfaction of previous contracts, the number of similar projects was done - standards: rank and field of expertise which company is qualified for and its validity, availability and number of permitted projects done. Then with PROMTHEE method, the criteria were normalized and monitored, finally the best alternative was selected. In this research, qualitative criteria of each company is became a quantitative criteria. Finally, information of some companies was evaluated and the best contractor was selected based on all criteria and their priorities.

Keywords: contractor evaluation and selection, project development, supply chain management, PROMTHEE method

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Authors: Pichaya Poonlarp, Danai Boonyakiat, C. Chuamuangphan, M. Chanta

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Current consumers’ behavior trends have changed towards more health awareness, the well-being of society and interest of nature and environment. The Royal Project Foundation is, therefore, well aware of organic agriculture. The project only focused on using natural products and utilizing its highland biological merits to increase resistance to diseases and insects for the produce grown. The project also brought in basic knowledge from a variety of available research information, including, but not limited to, improvement of soil fertility and a control of plant insects with biological methods in order to lay a foundation in developing and promoting farmers to grow quality produce with a high health safety. This will finally lead to sustainability for future highland agriculture and a decrease of chemical use on the highland area which is a source of natural watershed. However, there are still shortcomings of the postharvest management in term of quality and losses, such as bruising, rottenness, wilting and yellowish leaves. These losses negatively affect the maintenance and a shelf life of organic vegetables. Therefore, it is important that a research study of the appropriate and effective postharvest management is conducted for an individual organic vegetable to minimize product loss and find root causes of postharvest losses which would contribute to future postharvest management best practices. This can be achieved through surveys and data collection from postharvest processes in order to conduct analysis for causes of postharvest losses of organic pak-choi, baby pak-choi, and choy sum. Consequently, postharvest losses reduction strategies of organic vegetables can be achieved. In this study, postharvest losses of organic pak choi, baby pak-choi, and choy sum were determined at each stage of the supply chain starting from the field after harvesting, at the Development Center packinghouse, at Chiang Mai packinghouse, at Bangkok packing house and at the Royal Project retail shop in Chiang Mai. The results showed that postharvest losses of organic pak-choi, baby pak-choi, and choy sum were 86.05, 89.05 and 59.03 percent, respectively. The main factors contributing to losses of organic vegetables were due to mechanical damage and underutilized parts and/or short of minimum quality standard. Good practices had been developed after causes of losses were identified. Appropriate postharvest handling and management, for example, temperature control, hygienic cleaning, and reducing the duration of the supply chain, postharvest losses of all organic vegetables should be able to remarkably reduced postharvest losses in the supply chain.

Keywords: postharvest losses, organic vegetables, handling improvement, shelf life, supply chain

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Authors: Farzaneh Bahrami

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Different indicators, such as modal shares in mobility practices or car ownership, may suggest that the century of car dominance - at least in Europe and North America - is already behind us. If the emergence of the car had radical spatial and social consequences, what would be the implications of its gradual disappearance - which could be expected in the context of ecological consciousness, economic and energetic constraints as a result of both urban policies as well as lifestyle choices? To what extend shall urban experts account for this limited but visible transition from car-dominated systems towards alternative models of mobility in which the individual-motorized mobility (car) is not central; what models of urbanity could be imagined to support such a transformation? We have examined a selection of projects at different scales and within different contexts - new planned cities, dense urban areas or territories of dispersion – whose visions involve a significant shift from the current car system. We have been looking into their tools, strategies and different measures of car reduction, as well as their varied approaches to public space as an inevitable corollary to this change. The car’s dominance was formerly questioned by advocates of public space, rather than through interests in ecological urban design or other urban planning concerns. In the 60s already a universal longing for the qualities of traditional urban space led to a critique of the proliferation of fast roads, and thus the car’s colonization of everyday life. Reclamation of public space as the city’s quintessential social territory reappears today in contemporary discourses and reinforces the shift-provoking trends towards a new urbanity freed from car dominance. In a hypothetical process of the progressive phasing-out of the car, we shall expect fundamental transformations in spatial practices of the city, accompanied by the physical configuration of its public spaces. What will be the main characteristics of the new emerging spaces of sociability and where shall we encounter them? This contribution is an ongoing research within the framework of Post-Car World, an interdisciplinary project that explores the future of mobility through the role of the car.

Keywords: mobility, urbanity, future visions, public space

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Authors: Elackiya Sithamparanathan

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Chemical agents used during the Sri Lankan civil war continue to threaten human and environmental health as affected areas are re-settled. Bioremediation is a cost-effective and eco-friendly approach to degrading chemical agents, and has greater public acceptance than chemical degradation. Baseline data on contaminant distribution, environmental parameters, and indigenous microbes are required before bioremediation can commence. The culture and isolate of suitable microbes and enzymes should be followed by laboratory trials, before field application and long-term monitoring of contaminant concentration, soil parameters, microbial ecology, and public health to monitor environmental and public health. As local people are not aware of the persistence of warfare chemicals and do not understand the potential impacts on human health, community awareness programs are required. Active community participation, and collaboration with international and local agencies, would contribute to the success of bioremediation and the effective removal of chemical agents in war affected areas of Sri Lanka.

Keywords: bioremediation, environmental protection, human health, war affected regions in Sri Lanka

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Authors: Mohammad Syahirin Aisha, Khairul Imran Sainan

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The PEM fuel cell is a device that generate electric by electrochemical reaction between hydrogen fuel and oxygen in the fuel cell stack. PEM fuel cell consists of an anode (hydrogen supply), a cathode (oxygen supply) and an electrolyte that allow charges move between the two positions of the fuel cell. The only product being developed after the reaction is water (H2O) and heat as the waste which does not emit greenhouse gasses. The performance of fuel cell affected by numerous parameters. This study is restricted to cathode parameters that affect fuel cell performance. At the anode side, the reactant is not going through any changes. Experiments with variation in air velocity (3m/s, 6m/s and 9m/s), temperature (10oC, 20oC, 35oC) and relative humidity (50%, 60%, and 70%) have been carried out. The experiments results are presented in the form of fuel cell stack power output over time, which demonstrate the impacts of the various air condition on the execution of the PEM fuel cell. In this study, the experimental analysis shows that with variation of air conditions, it gives different fuel cell performance behavior. The maximum power output of the experiment was measured at an ambient temperature of 25oC with relative humidity and 9m/s velocity of air.

Keywords: air-breathing PEM fuel cell, cathode side, performance, variation in air condition

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Authors: Hatthaphone Silimanotham, Michael Henry

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The effective maintenance of road bridge infrastructure is becoming a widely researched topic in the civil engineering field. Deterioration is one of the main issues in bridge performance, and it is necessary to understand how bridges deteriorate to optimally plan budget allocation for bridge maintenance. In Laos, many bridges are in a deteriorated state, which may affect the performance of the bridge. Due to bridge deterioration, the Ministry of Public Works and Transport is interested in the deterioration model to allocate the budget efficiently and support the bridge maintenance planning. A deterioration model can be used to predict the bridge condition in the future based on the observed behavior in the past. This paper analyzes the available inspection data of road bridges on the road classifications network to build deterioration prediction models for the main bridge type found at the provincial level (concrete slab, concrete girder, and steel truss) using probabilistic deterioration modeling by linear regression method. The analysis targets there has three bridge types in the 18 provinces of Laos and estimates the bridge deterioration rating for evaluating the bridge's remaining life. This research thus considers the relationship between the service period and the bridge condition to represent the probability of bridge condition in the future. The results of the study can be used for a variety of bridge management tasks, including maintenance planning, budgeting, and evaluating bridge assets.

Keywords: deterioration model, bridge condition, bridge management, probabilistic modeling

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Authors: Tsu-Yin Wu, Jenni Hoffman, Lydia McMurrows, Sarah Lally

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Recent events of the Flint Water Crisis and elevated lead levels in Detroit public school water have highlighted a specific public health disparity and shown the need for better education of healthcare providers on lead education. Identifying children and pregnant women with a high risk for lead poisoning and ensuring lead testing is completed is critical. The purpose of this study is to explore the impact of an educational intervention on knowledge and confidence levels among nursing students enrolled in the prelicensure Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) and Registered Nurse to BSN program (R2B). The study used both quantitative and qualitative research methods to assess the impact of multi-modal pedagogy on knowledge and confidence of lead screening and prevention among prelicensure and R2B nursing students. The students received lead poisoning and prevention content in addition to completing an e-learning module developed by the Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Units. A total of 115 students completed the pre-and post-test instrument that consisted of demographic, lead knowledge, and confidence items. Despite the increase of total knowledge, three dimensions of lead poisoning, and confidence from pre- to post-test scores for both groups, there was no statistical significance on the increase between prelicensure and R2B students. Thematic analysis of qualitative data showed five themes from participants' learning experiences: lead exposure, signs and symptoms of lead poisoning, screening and diagnosis, prevention, and policy and statewide issues. The study is limited by a small sample and participants recalling some correct answers from the pretest, thus, scoring higher on the post-test. The results contribute to the minimally existent literature examining a critical public health concern regarding lead health exposure and prevention education of nursing students. Incorporating such content area into the nursing curriculum is essential in ensuring that such public health disparities are mitigated.

Keywords: lead poisoning, emerging public health issue, community health, nursing edducation

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Authors: Fatimah Opebiyi

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Economic growth promotion, inflation reduction and consumer protection are among the core public interest aims of governments. Nevertheless, higher rates of default by consumers in relation to credit card loans and mortgages in recent times illustrate that government’s performance in balancing the protection of the economy and consumer is subpar. This thereby raises an important question on the role of government in protecting consumers during prolonged spells of inflation, particularly when such inflationary trends may be traceable to the acts of the government. Adopting a doctrinal research methodology, this article investigates the evolution of the concept of consumer protection in the United Kingdom and also brings to the fore the tensions and conflicts of interests in the aims and practices of the main regulators within the financial services industry. Relying on public interest theories of regulation and responsive regulatory theory, the article explores the limitations in the state’s ability to strike the right balance in meeting regulatory aims of the regulatory agencies at the opposite ends of the spectrum.

Keywords: financial regulation, consumer protection, prudential regulation, public interest theories of regulation, central bank

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Authors: Chiahsu Yang, Peiling Wu, Ted Ho

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From emphasizing economic development to stressing public happiness, the international community mainly hopes to be able to understand whether the quality of life for the public is becoming better. The Better Life Index (BLI) constructed by OECD uses living conditions and quality of life as starting points to cover 11 areas of life and to convey the state of the general public’s well-being. In light of the BLI framework, the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) of the Executive Yuan instituted the Gross National Happiness Index to understand the needs of the general public and to measure the progress of the aforementioned conditions in residents across the island. Whereas living conditions consist of income and wealth, jobs and earnings, and housing conditions, health status, work and life balance, education and skills, social connections, civic engagement and governance, environmental quality, personal security. The ICT area consists of health care, living environment, ICT-enabled communication, transportation, government, education, pleasure, purchasing, job & employment. In the wake of further science and technology development, rapid formation of information societies, and closer integration between lifestyles and information societies, the public’s well-being within information societies has indeed become a noteworthy topic. the Board of Science and Technology of the Executive Yuan use the OECD’s BLI as a reference in the establishment of the Taiwan-specific ICT-Enabled Better Life Index. Using this index, the government plans to examine whether the public’s quality of life is improving as well as measure the public’s satisfaction with current digital quality of life. This understanding will enable the government to gauge the degree of influence and impact that each dimension of digital services has on digital life happiness while also serving as an important reference for promoting digital service development. The content of the ICT Enabled Better Life Index. Information and communications technology (ICT) has been affecting people’s living styles, and further impact people’s quality of life (QoL). Even studies have shown that ICT access and usage have both positive and negative impact on life satisfaction and well-beings, many governments continue to invest in e-government programs to initiate their path to information society. This research is the few attempts to link the e-government benchmark to the subjective well-being perception, and further address the gap between user’s perception and existing hard data assessment, then propose a model to trace measurement results back to the original public policy in order for policy makers to justify their future proposals.

Keywords: information and communications technology, quality of life, satisfaction, well-being

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Authors: Jason West

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Low profitability in agriculture production along with increasing scrutiny over environmental effects is limiting food production at scale. In contrast, the mining sector offers access to resources including energy, water, transport and chemicals for food production at low marginal cost. Scalable agricultural production can benefit from the nexus of resources (water, energy, transport) offered by mining activity in remote locations. A decision support bioeconomic model for controlled environment vertical farms was used. Four submodels were used: crop structure, nutrient requirements, resource-crop integration, and economic. They escalate to a macro mathematical model. A demonstrable dynamic systems framework is needed to prove productive outcomes are feasible. We demonstrate a generalized bioeconomic macro model for controlled environment production systems in minesites using systems dynamics modeling methodology. Despite the complexity of bioeconomic modelling of resource-agricultural dynamic processes and interactions, the economic potential greater than general economic models would assume. Scalability of production as an input becomes a key success feature.

Keywords: crop production systems, mathematical model, mining, agriculture, dynamic systems

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Authors: Kasun P. Wijayaratna, Lauren Gardner, Taha Hossein Rashidi

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Undergraduate students entering university across the last 2 to 3 years tend to be born during the middle years of the 1990s. This generation of students has been exposed to the internet and the desire and dependency on technology since childhood. Brains develop based on environmental influences and technology has wired this generation of student to be attuned to sophisticated complex visual imagery, indicating visual forms of learning may be more effective than the traditional lecture or discussion formats. Furthermore, post-millennials perspectives on career are not focused solely on stability and income but are strongly driven by interest, entrepreneurship and innovation. Accordingly, it is important for educators to acknowledge the generational shift and tailor the delivery of learning material to meet the expectations of the students and the needs of industry. In the context of transport engineering, effectively teaching undergraduate students the basic principles of transport planning, traffic engineering and highway design is fundamental to the progression of the profession from a practice and research perspective. Recent developments in technology have transformed the discipline as practitioners and researchers move away from the traditional “pen and paper” approach to methods involving the use of computer programs and simulation. Further, enhanced accessibility of technology for students has changed the way they understand and learn material being delivered at tertiary education institutions. As a consequence, blended learning approaches, which aim to integrate face to face teaching with flexible self-paced learning resources, have become prevalent to provide scalable education that satisfies the expectations of students. This research study involved the development of a series of ‘Blended Learning’ initiatives implemented within an introductory transport planning and geometric design course, CVEN2401: Sustainable Transport and Highway Engineering, taught at the University of New South Wales, Australia. CVEN2401 was modified by conducting interactive polling exercises during lectures, including weekly online quizzes, offering a series of supplementary learning videos, and implementing a realistic design project that students needed to complete using modelling software that is widely used in practice. These activities and resources were aimed to improve the learning environment for a large class size in excess of 450 students and to ensure that practical industry valued skills were introduced. The case study compared the 2016 and 2017 student cohorts based on their performance across assessment tasks as well as their reception to the material revealed through student feedback surveys. The initiatives were well received with a number of students commenting on the ability to complete self-paced learning and an appreciation of the exposure to a realistic design project. From an educator’s perspective, blending the course made it feasible to interact and engage with students. Personalised learning opportunities were made available whilst delivering a considerable volume of complex content essential for all undergraduate Civil and Environmental Engineering students. Overall, this case study highlights the value of blended learning initiatives, especially in the context of large class size university courses.

Keywords: blended learning, highway design, teaching, transport planning

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Authors: Siyuan Cai

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COVID-19 has triggered the planning circles to think about how to improve the city's ability to respond to public health emergencies. From the perspective of the community, this article reviews the risk cases in Wuhan Chenjiadun Community and other communities under the epidemic, and analyzes the response to public health emergencies such as infectious disease outbreaks in the excellent cases of resilient epidemic prevention communities. Then, combined with the planning of the living circle, it demonstrates the necessity of integrating the concept of resilience into the 15-minute community living circle to make up for the shortcomings of infectious disease prevention. Finally, it is proposed to strictly control the source and tail of the epidemic in the layout of the living circle, daily health and epidemic emergency should be taken into account in planning, community medical resources should be decentralized in management, and the application of smart technologies in the planning of living circle should be fully emphasized, so as to improve the community's ability to respond to public health emergencies.

Keywords: pandemic, resilient cities, resilient community, 15-minute community life circle

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Authors: Mohammad H. Yarmohamadian, Reza Safdari, Nahid Tavakoli

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In recent years, many countries have suffered various natural disasters. Disaster response continues to face the challenges in health care sector in all countries. Information and communication management is a significant challenge in disaster scene. During the last decades, rapid advances in information technology have led to manage information effectively and improve communication in health care setting. Information technology is a vital solution for effective response to disasters and emergencies so that if an efficient ICT-based health information system is available, it will be highly valuable in such situation. Of that, mobile technology represents a nearly computing technology infrastructure that is accessible, convenient, inexpensive and easy to use. Most projects have not yet reached the deployment stage, but evaluation exercises show that mHealth should allow faster processing and transport of patients, improved accuracy of triage and better monitoring of unattended patients at a disaster scene. Since there is a high prevalence of cell phones among world population, it is expected the health care providers and managers to take measures for applying this technology for improvement patient safety and public health in disasters. At present there are challenges in the utilization of mhealth in disasters such as lack of structural and financial issues in our country. In this paper we will discuss about benefits and challenges of mhealth technology in disaster setting considering connectivity, usability, intelligibility, communication and teaching for implementing this technology for disaster response.

Keywords: information technology, mhealth, disaster, effective response

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Authors: Tiago Sampaio, André Vasconcelos, Bruno Fragoso

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The Normalized Systems Theory, which is designed to be applied to software architectures, provides a set of theorems, elements and rules, with the purpose of enabling evolution in Information Systems, as well as ensuring that they are ready for change. In order to make that possible, this work’s solution is to apply the Normalized Systems Theory to the domain of enterprise architectures, using Archimate. This application is achieved through the adaptation of the elements of this theory, making them artifacts of the modeling language. The theorems are applied through the identification of the viewpoints to be used in the architectures, as well as the transformation of the theory’s encapsulation rules into architectural rules. This way, it is possible to create normalized enterprise architectures, thus fulfilling the needs and requirements of the business. This solution was demonstrated using the Portuguese Public Procurement System. The Portuguese government aims to make this system as fair as possible, allowing every organization to have the same business opportunities. The aim is for every economic operator to have access to all public tenders, which are published in any of the 6 existing platforms, independently of where they are registered. In order to make this possible, we applied our solution to the construction of two different architectures, which are able of fulfilling the requirements of the Portuguese government. One of those architectures, TO-BE A, has a Message Broker that performs the communication between the platforms. The other, TO-BE B, represents the scenario in which the platforms communicate with each other directly. Apart from these 2 architectures, we also represent the AS-IS architecture that demonstrates the current behavior of the Public Procurement Systems. Our evaluation is based on a comparison between the AS-IS and the TO-BE architectures, regarding the fulfillment of the rules and theorems of the Normalized Systems Theory and some quality metrics.

Keywords: archimate, architecture, broker, enterprise, evolvable systems, interoperability, normalized architectures, normalized systems, normalized systems theory, platforms

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Authors: Pintip Vajarothai, Saad Al-Jibouri, Johannes I. M. Halman

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Public investment projects are primarily aimed at achieving development strategies to increase national economies of scale and overall improvement in a country. However, experience shows that public projects, particularly in developing countries, struggle or fail to fulfill the immediate needs of local communities. In many cases, the reason for that is that projects are selected in a subjective manner and that a major part of the problem is related to the evaluation criteria and techniques used. The evaluation process is often based on a broad strategic economic effects rather than real benefits of projects to society or on the various needs from different levels (e.g. national, regional, local) and conditions (e.g. long-term and short-term requirements). In this paper, an extensive literature review of the types of criteria used in the past by various researchers in project evaluation and selection process is carried out and the effectiveness of such criteria and techniques is discussed. The paper proposes substitute social and project sustainability criteria to improve the conditions of local people and in particular the disadvantaged groups of the communities. Furthermore, it puts forward a way for modelling the interaction between the selected criteria and the achievement of the social goals of the affected community groups. The described work is part of developing a broader decision model for public investment project selection by integrating various aspects and techniques into a practical methodology. The paper uses Thailand as a case to review what and how the various evaluation techniques are currently used and how to improve the project evaluation and selection process related to social and sustainability issues in the country. The paper also uses an example to demonstrates how to test the feasibility of various criteria and how to model the interaction between projects and communities. The proposed model could be applied to other developing and developed countries in the project evaluation and selection process to improve its effectiveness in the long run.

Keywords: evaluation criteria, developing countries, public investment, project selection methodology

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Authors: Soma Chatterjee, I. Das

Abstract:

In the present study, we have investigated the structural, electrical and magneto-transport properties of polycrystalline and nanocrystalline Gd0.5Sr0.5MnO3 compounds. The variation of transport properties is modified by tuning the grain size of the material. In the high-temperature semiconducting region, temperature-dependent resistivity data can be well explained by the non-adiabatic small polaron hopping (SPH) mechanism. In addition, the resistivity data for all compounds in the low-temperature paramagnetic region can also be well explained by the variable range hopping (VRH) model. The parameters obtained from SPH and VRH mechanisms are found to be reasonable. In the case of nanocrystalline compounds, there is an overlapping temperature range where both SPH and VRH models are valid simultaneously, and a new conduction mechanism - variable range hopping of small polaron s(VR-SPH) is satisfactorily valid for the whole temperature range of these compounds. However, for the polycrystalline compound, the overlapping temperature region between VRH and SPH models does not exist and the VR-SPH mechanism is not valid here. Thus, polarons play a leading role in selecting different conduction mechanisms in different temperature ranges.

Keywords: electrical resistivity, manganite, small polaron hopping, variable range hopping, variable range of small polaron hopping

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Authors: T. Wejrzanowski, M. Grybczuk, E. Tymicki, K. J. Kurzydlowski

Abstract:

In the present study numerical simulations silicon carbide single crystal growth process in Physical Vapor Transport reactor are addressed. Silicon Carbide is a perspective material for many applications in modern electronics. One of the main challenges for wider applications of SiC is high price of high quality mono crystals. Improvement of silicon carbide manufacturing process has a significant influence on the product price. Better understanding of crystal growth allows for optimization of the process, and it can be achieved by numerical simulations. In this work Virtual Reactor software was used to simulate the process. Predicted geometrical properties of the final product and information about phenomena occurring inside process reactor were obtained. The latter is especially valuable because reactor chamber is inaccessible during the process due to high temperature inside the reactor (over 2000˚C). Obtained data was used for improvement of the process and reactor geometry. Resultant crystal quality was also predicted basing on crystallization front shape evolution and threading dislocation paths. Obtained results were confronted with experimental data and the results are in good agreement.

Keywords: Finite Volume Method, semiconductors, Physical Vapor Transport, silicon carbide

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Authors: Kedar Vishnu, Parmod Kumar

Abstract:

India is becoming most favored retail destination in the world. The organized retail has presented many opportunities to farmers to increase income by shifting cropping pattern from food grains to commercial crops. Previous research revealed potential benefits for farmers by supplying fruits and vegetables to organized retail channels. However the supply of fruits and vegetables from small and marginal farmers remain low than expected. The main objective of this paper is to identify the factors determining market participation of smallholder farmers in modern organized retail chains. Attempt is also made to find out factors influencing the choice of participation in particular organized retail collection centers as compared to other organized retail. The paper was based on primary survey of 40 Beans and Tomato farmers who supply to organized retail collection centers from Karnataka, India. Multiple regression technique is used to identify the factors determining quantity sold at collection centers. The regression result, show that area under vegetables, yield, and price from modern collection center and having access to technical help were found significantly affecting quantity sold into modern organized retail channels. On the opposite, increased rejection rates and vegetable prices at APMC were found influencing farmers decision into the reverse side. Empirical result of the multinomial logit model show that Reliance fresh has tendency to prefer large farmers who can supply more quality and better quantity compared with TESCO and More collection centers. The negative sign of area, having access to technical help, transportation cost, and number of bore wells led to higher probability of farmers to participate in Reliance Fresh collection centers as compared with More and TESCO.

Keywords: fruits, vegetables, organized retail markets, multinomial logit model

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Authors: Alexandra M. Kriofske Mainella

Abstract:

This paper will examine the need for more aggressive public policies around bodily, reproductive and sexual health education for young people with disabilities in the United States. This paper will consider the policies around sexuality education for students in the United States and the recommendation for national standards around sexuality education. We will investigate the intersection of these policies and recommendations for students with disabilities and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA): what this means for students with disabilities’ access to comprehensive sexuality education and how it affects their behaviors and outcomes.

Keywords: disability, sexuality, education, policy

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Authors: Safia Asif, Saadia Bano

Abstract:

In a world with rapidly depleting resources, using artificial lighting during daytime is an act of human ignorance. Imitated light is the major source of energy consumption in public buildings. Despite, the fact that substantial working hours of these buildings usually persist in natural daylight time; there is a trend of isolated, un-fenestrated and a-contextual interiors majorly dependent on active energy sources. On the contrary, if direct and un-controlled sunlight is allowed inside the building, it will create visual and thermal discomfort. Controlled daylighting with appropriate design mechanisms is one of the important aspects of achieving thermal and visual comfort. The natural sunlight can be utilized intelligently with the help of architectural thermal controlling mechanisms to achieve a healthy and productive environment. This paper is an attempt to investigate and analyze the importance of daylighting with reference to energy efficiency and thermal comfort. For this purpose, three public buildings including two educational institutions and one general post office are selected, as case-studies in the context of Karachi, Pakistan. Various parameters of visual and thermal comfort are analyzed which includes orientation, ceiling heights, overall building profile along with daylight controlling mechanisms in terms of penetration, distribution, protection, and control. In the later part of the research, a questionnaire survey is also conducted to evaluate the user experience in terms of adequate daylighting and thermal comfort.

Keywords: daylight, public buildings, sustainable architecture, visual and thermal comfort

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Authors: Junhang Luo

Abstract:

With the transformation of spatial structure and the deepening of urban development, the demand for a better life and the concerns for social resources equities of residents are increasing. As an important social resource, park plays an essential role in building environmentally sustainable cities. Thus, it is important to examine park accessibility for low-income and how it works in relative deprivation, so as to provide all residents with equitable services. Using the network and buffer methods of GIS, this paper analyzes urban park accessibility for low-income residents in Chongqing, China. And then conduct a satisfaction evaluation of park resource accessibility with low-incomes through questionnaire surveys from deprivation dimensions. Results show that the level of park accessibility in Chongqing varies significantly and the degree of relative deprivation is relatively high. Public transportation convenience improves and the number of community park increases contribute positively to improving park accessibility and alleviating the relative deprivation of public resources. Combined with the innovation pattern of social governance in China, it suggests that urban park accessibility needs to be jointly governed and optimized by multiple social resources from the government to the public, and the service efficiency needs the index system and planning standards according to local conditions to improve quality and promote equity. At the same time, building a perfect park system and complete legislation assurance system will also play a positive role in ensuring that all residents can enjoy the urban public space more fairly, especially low-income groups.

Keywords: urban park, accessibility, relative deprivation, GIS network analysis, chongqing

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Authors: Tajuddin Mohamad Rasdi, Chung Ming Zhe, Nurul Anida Mohamad

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This research paper aims to examine the lack of the idea of democracy and its concept among Malaysia’s citizens. In fact, all civil servants, whether federal or state departments, are the machinery of citizens. The objective of this research is to evaluate the administrative buildings in Selangor from the perspective of democratic architecture. The methodology used in this research is by reviewing and evaluating the selected administrative building, Majlis Bandaraya Petaling Jaya, as a case study, and the interview was conducted. The data collection was recorded based on a few criteria of the following architectural characteristic and management principles (public square, town hall, meeting rooms, convenient parking space, humanitarian spaces, public spaces) and architectural design elements (scale and massing, ornament, elevational language, accessibility, and spatial hierarchy). The analysis result shows that the administrative building elements which show the idea of democracy are not reflected well in some of the criteria that restrict the public, but those setbacks could be improved.

Keywords: democratic architecture, case study, design elements, administrative buildings

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Authors: Abdel-Aziz M. Mohamed, Nermeen Coutry

Abstract:

Lead time is an important measure of supply chain performance. It impacts both customer satisfactions as well as the total cost of inventory. This paper presents the result of a study on the analysis of the customer order lead-time for a multinational company. In the study, the lead time was divided into three stages: order entry, order fulfillment, and order delivery. A sample of size 2,425 order lines from the company records were considered for this study. The sample data includes information regarding customer orders from the time of order entry until order delivery. Data regarding the lead time of each sage for different orders were also provided. Summary statistics on lead time data reveals that about 30% of the orders were delivered after the scheduled due date. The result of the multiple linear regression analysis technique revealed that component type, logistics parameter, order size and the customer type have significant impact on lead time. Data analysis on the stages of lead time indicates that stage 2 consumes over 50% of the lead time. Pareto analysis was made to study the reasons for the customer order delay in each of the 3 stages. Recommendation was given to resolve the problem.

Keywords: lead time reduction, customer satisfaction, service quality, statistical analysis

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Authors: Triem T. Hoang

Abstract:

Loop heat pipes (LHPs) are two-phase capillary-pumped heat transports. An appropriate working fluid is selected for the intended application temperature range. A closed-loop is evacuated to a high vacuum, back-filled partially with the working fluid, and then hermetically sealed under the fluid own pressure. Heat from a heat source conducts through the evaporator casing to vaporize liquid on the outer surface of the wick structure inside the evaporator. The generated vapor is compelled to vent out of the evaporator and into the vapor line for transport to the condenser assembly. There, heat is removed and rejected to a heat sink to condensed vapor back to liquid. The liquid exits the condenser and travels in the liquid line to return to the evaporator to complete the cycle. The circulation of fluid, and thus the heat transport in the LHP, is accomplished entirely by capillary action. The LHP contains no mechanical moving part to wear out or break down and, therefore possesses, reliability and a long life even without maintenance. In this paper, the author not only attempts to introduce the LHP technology in simplistic terms to those who are not familiar with it but also provides necessary technical information to potential users for the proper design and analysis of the LHP system.

Keywords: two-phase heat transfer, loop heat pipe, capillary pumped technology, thermal-fluid modeling

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