Search results for: exploratory data analysis
40807 Big Data’s Mechanistic View of Human Behavior May Displace Traditional Library Missions That Empower Users
Authors: Gabriel Gomez
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The very concept of information seeking behavior, and the means by which librarians teach users to gain information, that is information literacy, are at the heart of how libraries deliver information, but big data will forever change human interaction with information and the way such behavior is both studied and taught. Just as importantly, big data will orient the study of behavior towards commercial ends because of a tendency towards instrumentalist views of human behavior, something one might also call a trend towards behaviorism. This oral presentation seeks to explore how the impact of big data on understandings of human behavior might impact a library information science (LIS) view of human behavior and information literacy, and what this might mean for social justice aims and concomitant community action normally at the center of librarianship. The methodology employed here is a non-empirical examination of current understandings of LIS in regards to social justice alongside an examination of the benefits and dangers foreseen with the growth of big data analysis. The rise of big data within the ever-changing information environment encapsulates a shift to a more mechanistic view of human behavior, one that can easily encompass information seeking behavior and information use. As commercial aims displace the important political and ethical aims that are often central to the missions espoused by libraries and the social sciences, the very altruism and power relations found in LIS are at risk. In this oral presentation, an examination of the social justice impulses of librarians regarding power and information demonstrates how such impulses can be challenged by big data, particularly as librarians understand user behavior and promote information literacy. The creeping behaviorist impulse inherent in the emphasis big data places on specific solutions, that is answers to question that ask how, as opposed to larger questions that hint at an understanding of why people learn or use information threaten library information science ideals. Together with the commercial nature of most big data, this existential threat can harm the social justice nature of librarianship.Keywords: big data, library information science, behaviorism, librarianship
Procedia PDF Downloads 38740806 Impact of Interest and Foreign Exchange Rates Liberalization on Investment Decision in Nigeria
Authors: Kemi Olalekan Oduntan
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This paper was carried out in order to empirical, and descriptively analysis how interest rate and foreign exchange rate liberalization influence investment decision in Nigeria. The study spanned through the period of 1985 – 2014, secondary data were restricted to relevant variables such as investment (Proxy by Gross Fixed Capital Formation) saving rate, interest rate and foreign exchange rate. Theories and empirical literature from various scholars were reviews in the paper. Ordinary Least Square regression method was used for the analysis of data collection. The result of the regression was critically interpreted and discussed. It was discovered for empirical finding that tax investment decision in Nigeria is highly at sensitive rate. Hence, all the alternative hypotheses were accepted while the respective null hypotheses were rejected as a result of interest rate and foreign exchange has significant effect on investment in Nigeria. Therefore, impact of interest rate and foreign exchange rate on the state of investment in the economy cannot be over emphasized.Keywords: interest rate, foreign exchange liberalization, investment decision, economic growth
Procedia PDF Downloads 37040805 Big Data Applications for Transportation Planning
Authors: Antonella Falanga, Armando Cartenì
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"Big data" refers to extremely vast and complex sets of data, encompassing extraordinarily large and intricate datasets that require specific tools for meaningful analysis and processing. These datasets can stem from diverse origins like sensors, mobile devices, online transactions, social media platforms, and more. The utilization of big data is pivotal, offering the chance to leverage vast information for substantial advantages across diverse fields, thereby enhancing comprehension, decision-making, efficiency, and fostering innovation in various domains. Big data, distinguished by its remarkable attributes of enormous volume, high velocity, diverse variety, and significant value, represent a transformative force reshaping the industry worldwide. Their pervasive impact continues to unlock new possibilities, driving innovation and advancements in technology, decision-making processes, and societal progress in an increasingly data-centric world. The use of these technologies is becoming more widespread, facilitating and accelerating operations that were once much more complicated. In particular, big data impacts across multiple sectors such as business and commerce, healthcare and science, finance, education, geography, agriculture, media and entertainment and also mobility and logistics. Within the transportation sector, which is the focus of this study, big data applications encompass a wide variety, spanning across optimization in vehicle routing, real-time traffic management and monitoring, logistics efficiency, reduction of travel times and congestion, enhancement of the overall transportation systems, but also mitigation of pollutant emissions contributing to environmental sustainability. Meanwhile, in public administration and the development of smart cities, big data aids in improving public services, urban planning, and decision-making processes, leading to more efficient and sustainable urban environments. Access to vast data reservoirs enables deeper insights, revealing hidden patterns and facilitating more precise and timely decision-making. Additionally, advancements in cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI) have further amplified the potential of big data, enabling more sophisticated and comprehensive analyses. Certainly, utilizing big data presents various advantages but also entails several challenges regarding data privacy and security, ensuring data quality, managing and storing large volumes of data effectively, integrating data from diverse sources, the need for specialized skills to interpret analysis results, ethical considerations in data use, and evaluating costs against benefits. Addressing these difficulties requires well-structured strategies and policies to balance the benefits of big data with privacy, security, and efficient data management concerns. Building upon these premises, the current research investigates the efficacy and influence of big data by conducting an overview of the primary and recent implementations of big data in transportation systems. Overall, this research allows us to conclude that big data better provide to enhance rational decision-making for mobility choices and is imperative for adeptly planning and allocating investments in transportation infrastructures and services.Keywords: big data, public transport, sustainable mobility, transport demand, transportation planning
Procedia PDF Downloads 6340804 Problems Confronting the Teaching of Sex Education in Some Selected Secondary Schools in the Akoko Region of Ondo State, Nigeria
Authors: Jimoh Abiodun Alaba
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Context: In many traditional African societies, sex education is often considered a taboo topic. However, the importance of sex education is becoming increasingly evident. This study aims to investigate the challenges faced in teaching sex education in selected secondary schools in the Akoko region of Ondo state, Nigeria. Research Aim: The aim of this study is to identify and examine the problems confronting the teaching of sex education in selected secondary schools in the Akoko region of Ondo state, Nigeria. Methodology: The study utilized a multi-stage sampling method. The first stage involved a purposive selection of ten (10) secondary schools in the Akoko region of Ondo State, while the second stage was a random selection of twenty (20) students, each in the selected secondary schools of the study area. This makes a total of two (200) hundred students that were considered for the survey. Descriptive analysis using percentages was employed to analyze the collected data. Factor analysis was also used to identify the most significant problems. Findings: The study revealed that sex education has been neglected in the sampled secondary schools due to traditional African beliefs that do not support the teaching and learning of this subject. Furthermore, there was evidence to suggest that parents also displayed reluctance towards the teaching of sex education, fearing that it might expose students to inappropriate behavior. Consequently, students were deprived of this essential aspect of education necessary for self-awareness and development. Theoretical Importance: This study contributes to the understanding of the challenges faced in teaching sex education in traditional African societies, specifically in the selected secondary schools in the Akoko region of Ondo state, Nigeria. Data Collection: Data were collected through the administration of 200 questionnaires in ten selected secondary schools. Additionally, information was gathered from federal, state, and local government authorities. Analysis Procedures: The collected data were analyzed using descriptive analysis, employing percentage calculations for better interpretation. Furthermore, factor analysis was conducted to isolate the most significant problems identified. Conclusion: The study concludes that sex education in the sampled secondary schools in the Akoko region of Ondo state, Nigeria, has suffered neglect due to traditional African beliefs and parental concerns. Consequently, students are denied an important aspect of education necessary for their self-awareness and development. Recommendations are made to change the negative perception of sex education, enrich the curriculum, and employ qualified personnel for its teaching. Additionally, it is suggested that sex education should be integrated with moral instruction.Keywords: African traditional belief, sex, sex education, sexual misdemeanor, morality
Procedia PDF Downloads 8840803 Drought Risk Analysis Using Neural Networks for Agri-Businesses and Projects in Lejweleputswa District Municipality, South Africa
Authors: Bernard Moeketsi Hlalele
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Drought is a complicated natural phenomenon that creates significant economic, social, and environmental problems. An analysis of paleoclimatic data indicates that severe and extended droughts are inevitable part of natural climatic circle. This study characterised drought in Lejweleputswa using both Standardised Precipitation Index (SPI) and neural networks (NN) to quantify and predict respectively. Monthly 37-year long time series precipitation data were obtained from online NASA database. Prior to the final analysis, this dataset was checked for outliers using SPSS. Outliers were removed and replaced by Expectation Maximum algorithm from SPSS. This was followed by both homogeneity and stationarity tests to ensure non-spurious results. A non-parametric Mann Kendall's test was used to detect monotonic trends present in the dataset. Two temporal scales SPI-3 and SPI-12 corresponding to agricultural and hydrological drought events showed statistically decreasing trends with p-value = 0.0006 and 4.9 x 10⁻⁷, respectively. The study area has been plagued with severe drought events on SPI-3, while on SPI-12, it showed approximately a 20-year circle. The concluded the analyses with a seasonal analysis that showed no significant trend patterns, and as such NN was used to predict possible SPI-3 for the last season of 2018/2019 and four seasons for 2020. The predicted drought intensities ranged from mild to extreme drought events to come. It is therefore recommended that farmers, agri-business owners, and other relevant stakeholders' resort to drought resistant crops as means of adaption.Keywords: drought, risk, neural networks, agri-businesses, project, Lejweleputswa
Procedia PDF Downloads 13040802 Applying GIS Geographic Weighted Regression Analysis to Assess Local Factors Impeding Smallholder Farmers from Participating in Agribusiness Markets: A Case Study of Vihiga County, Western Kenya
Authors: Mwehe Mathenge, Ben G. J. S. Sonneveld, Jacqueline E. W. Broerse
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Smallholder farmers are important drivers of agriculture productivity, food security, and poverty reduction in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, they are faced with myriad challenges in their efforts at participating in agribusiness markets. How the geographic explicit factors existing at the local level interact to impede smallholder farmers' decision to participates (or not) in agribusiness markets is not well understood. Deconstructing the spatial complexity of the local environment could provide a deeper insight into how geographically explicit determinants promote or impede resource-poor smallholder farmers from participating in agribusiness. This paper’s objective was to identify, map, and analyze local spatial autocorrelation in factors that impede poor smallholders from participating in agribusiness markets. Data were collected using geocoded researcher-administered survey questionnaires from 392 households in Western Kenya. Three spatial statistics methods in geographic information system (GIS) were used to analyze data -Global Moran’s I, Cluster and Outliers Analysis (Anselin Local Moran’s I), and geographically weighted regression. The results of Global Moran’s I reveal the presence of spatial patterns in the dataset that was not caused by spatial randomness of data. Subsequently, Anselin Local Moran’s I result identified spatially and statistically significant local spatial clustering (hot spots and cold spots) in factors hindering smallholder participation. Finally, the geographically weighted regression results unearthed those specific geographic explicit factors impeding market participation in the study area. The results confirm that geographically explicit factors are indispensable in influencing the smallholder farming decisions, and policymakers should take cognizance of them. Additionally, this research demonstrated how geospatial explicit analysis conducted at the local level, using geographically disaggregated data, could help in identifying households and localities where the most impoverished and resource-poor smallholder households reside. In designing spatially targeted interventions, policymakers could benefit from geospatial analysis methods in understanding complex geographic factors and processes that interact to influence smallholder farmers' decision-making processes and choices.Keywords: agribusiness markets, GIS, smallholder farmers, spatial statistics, disaggregated spatial data
Procedia PDF Downloads 14240801 VIAN-DH: Computational Multimodal Conversation Analysis Software and Infrastructure
Authors: Teodora Vukovic, Christoph Hottiger, Noah Bubenhofer
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The development of VIAN-DH aims at bridging two linguistic approaches: conversation analysis/interactional linguistics (IL), so far a dominantly qualitative field, and computational/corpus linguistics and its quantitative and automated methods. Contemporary IL investigates the systematic organization of conversations and interactions composed of speech, gaze, gestures, and body positioning, among others. These highly integrated multimodal behaviour is analysed based on video data aimed at uncovering so called “multimodal gestalts”, patterns of linguistic and embodied conduct that reoccur in specific sequential positions employed for specific purposes. Multimodal analyses (and other disciplines using videos) are so far dependent on time and resource intensive processes of manual transcription of each component from video materials. Automating these tasks requires advanced programming skills, which is often not in the scope of IL. Moreover, the use of different tools makes the integration and analysis of different formats challenging. Consequently, IL research often deals with relatively small samples of annotated data which are suitable for qualitative analysis but not enough for making generalized empirical claims derived quantitatively. VIAN-DH aims to create a workspace where many annotation layers required for the multimodal analysis of videos can be created, processed, and correlated in one platform. VIAN-DH will provide a graphical interface that operates state-of-the-art tools for automating parts of the data processing. The integration of tools that already exist in computational linguistics and computer vision, facilitates data processing for researchers lacking programming skills, speeds up the overall research process, and enables the processing of large amounts of data. The main features to be introduced are automatic speech recognition for the transcription of language, automatic image recognition for extraction of gestures and other visual cues, as well as grammatical annotation for adding morphological and syntactic information to the verbal content. In the ongoing instance of VIAN-DH, we focus on gesture extraction (pointing gestures, in particular), making use of existing models created for sign language and adapting them for this specific purpose. In order to view and search the data, VIAN-DH will provide a unified format and enable the import of the main existing formats of annotated video data and the export to other formats used in the field, while integrating different data source formats in a way that they can be combined in research. VIAN-DH will adapt querying methods from corpus linguistics to enable parallel search of many annotation levels, combining token-level and chronological search for various types of data. VIAN-DH strives to bring crucial and potentially revolutionary innovation to the field of IL, (that can also extend to other fields using video materials). It will allow the processing of large amounts of data automatically and, the implementation of quantitative analyses, combining it with the qualitative approach. It will facilitate the investigation of correlations between linguistic patterns (lexical or grammatical) with conversational aspects (turn-taking or gestures). Users will be able to automatically transcribe and annotate visual, spoken and grammatical information from videos, and to correlate those different levels and perform queries and analyses.Keywords: multimodal analysis, corpus linguistics, computational linguistics, image recognition, speech recognition
Procedia PDF Downloads 11540800 Emerging Technology for Business Intelligence Applications
Authors: Hsien-Tsen Wang
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Business Intelligence (BI) has long helped organizations make informed decisions based on data-driven insights and gain competitive advantages in the marketplace. In the past two decades, businesses witnessed not only the dramatically increasing volume and heterogeneity of business data but also the emergence of new technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Semantic Web (SW), Cloud Computing, and Big Data. It is plausible that the convergence of these technologies would bring more value out of business data by establishing linked data frameworks and connecting in ways that enable advanced analytics and improved data utilization. In this paper, we first review and summarize current BI applications and methodology. Emerging technologies that can be integrated into BI applications are then discussed. Finally, we conclude with a proposed synergy framework that aims at achieving a more flexible, scalable, and intelligent BI solution.Keywords: business intelligence, artificial intelligence, semantic web, big data, cloud computing
Procedia PDF Downloads 10140799 Reflecting Socio-Political Needs in Education Policy-Making: An Exploratory Study of Vietnam's Key Education Reforms (1945-2017)
Authors: Linh Tong
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This paper aims to contribute to the understanding of key education reforms in Vietnam from 1945 to 2017, which reflects an evolution of socio-political needs of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam throughout this period. It explores the contextual conditions, motivations and ambitions influencing the formation of the education reforms in Vietnam. It also looks, from an applied practical perspective, at the influence of politics on education policy-making. The research methodology includes a content analysis of curriculum designs proposed by the Ministry of Education and Training, relevant resolutions and executive orders passed by the National Assembly and the Prime Minister, as well as interviews with experts and key stakeholders. The results point to a particular configuration of factors which have been inspiring the shape and substance of these reforms and which have most certainly influenced their implementation. This configuration evolves from the immediate needs to erase illiteracy and cultivate socialist economic model at the beginning of Vietnam’s independence in 1945-1975, to a renewed urge to adopt market-oriented economy in 1986 and cautiously communicate with the outside world until 2000s, and to currently a demonstrated desire to fully integrate into the global economy and tackle with rising concerns about national security (the South China Sea Dispute), environmental sustainability, construction of a knowledge economy, and a rule-of-law society. Overall, the paper attempts to map Vietnam’s socio-political needs with the changing sets of goals and expected outcomes in teaching and learning methodologies and practices as introduced in Vietnamese key education reforms.Keywords: curriculum development, knowledge society, national security, politics of education policy-making, Vietnam's education reforms
Procedia PDF Downloads 15340798 Personnel Marketing as Perceived by HR Managers in Czech Republic: Results of a Qualitative Research Study
Authors: Lukáš Mazánek, Zdeňka Konečná
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The article is devoted to the area of personnel marketing. A comprehensive review of scientific literature and articles published predominantly in personnel-oriented journals was carried out, followed by a qualitative exploratory research with the aim to explore and explain the perception of personnel marketing. Due to the lack of research in this field in Czech Republic, we have focused on Czech HR managers, more specifically, on how they understand the tasks of personnel marketing, which tools they use and whether the companies they work for try to be a preferred employer. The answers from our respondents were used to help us determine what is important within this field. All of the respondents strive to be a preferred employer and try to achieve it by using an extensive range of marketing tools. The most frequently used tools are advertising, job fairs presentations, employee care and employer brand promotion.Keywords: Czech Republic, personnel marketing, preferred employer, qualitative research study
Procedia PDF Downloads 34340797 From Theory to Practice: Harnessing Mathematical and Statistical Sciences in Data Analytics
Authors: Zahid Ullah, Atlas Khan
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The rapid growth of data in diverse domains has created an urgent need for effective utilization of mathematical and statistical sciences in data analytics. This abstract explores the journey from theory to practice, emphasizing the importance of harnessing mathematical and statistical innovations to unlock the full potential of data analytics. Drawing on a comprehensive review of existing literature and research, this study investigates the fundamental theories and principles underpinning mathematical and statistical sciences in the context of data analytics. It delves into key mathematical concepts such as optimization, probability theory, statistical modeling, and machine learning algorithms, highlighting their significance in analyzing and extracting insights from complex datasets. Moreover, this abstract sheds light on the practical applications of mathematical and statistical sciences in real-world data analytics scenarios. Through case studies and examples, it showcases how mathematical and statistical innovations are being applied to tackle challenges in various fields such as finance, healthcare, marketing, and social sciences. These applications demonstrate the transformative power of mathematical and statistical sciences in data-driven decision-making. The abstract also emphasizes the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration, as it recognizes the synergy between mathematical and statistical sciences and other domains such as computer science, information technology, and domain-specific knowledge. Collaborative efforts enable the development of innovative methodologies and tools that bridge the gap between theory and practice, ultimately enhancing the effectiveness of data analytics. Furthermore, ethical considerations surrounding data analytics, including privacy, bias, and fairness, are addressed within the abstract. It underscores the need for responsible and transparent practices in data analytics, and highlights the role of mathematical and statistical sciences in ensuring ethical data handling and analysis. In conclusion, this abstract highlights the journey from theory to practice in harnessing mathematical and statistical sciences in data analytics. It showcases the practical applications of these sciences, the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration, and the need for ethical considerations. By bridging the gap between theory and practice, mathematical and statistical sciences contribute to unlocking the full potential of data analytics, empowering organizations and decision-makers with valuable insights for informed decision-making.Keywords: data analytics, mathematical sciences, optimization, machine learning, interdisciplinary collaboration, practical applications
Procedia PDF Downloads 9740796 Social Work Practice to Labour Welfare: A Proposed Model of Field Work Practicum and Role of Social Worker in India
Authors: Naeem Ahmed
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Social work is a professional activity based on the approach of “helping people to help themselves” (Stroup). Social work education and practice both are based on humanitarian philosophy in which social workers try to increase the happiness of the society and to reduce the problems of society. Labour welfare is a specialised field of social work which especially focuses on welfare of organised and unorganised labour. In India labour is facing numerous problems in both organised and unorganised sectors because of ignorance, illiteracy, high rate of unemployment etc. In most of the Indian social work institutions we have this specialization with different names like Human Resource Management or Industrial Relation and Personnel Management or Industrial Relations and Labour Welfare or Industrial Social Work etc. Field work practice is integrated part of social work education curriculum in all specialised field. In India we have different field work practice models being followed in different institutions. The main objective of this paper is to prepare a universal field work practicum model in the field of labour welfare. This paper is exploratory in nature, researcher used personal experience and secondary data (model of field work practice in different institutions like Aligarh Muslim University, Pondicherry University, Central University of Karnataka, University of Lucknow, MJP Rohilkhand University Bareilly etc.) Researcher found that there is an immediate need to upgrade the curriculum or field work practice in this particular field, as more than 40 percent of total population engaged in either unorganised or organised sector (NSSO 2011-12) and they are not aware about their rights. In this way a social worker can play an important role in existing labour welfare facilities by making them aware.Keywords: field work, labour welfare, organised labour, social work practice, unorganised labour
Procedia PDF Downloads 40540795 Feasibility Study for the Implementation of a Condition-Based Maintenance System in the UH-60 Helicopters
Authors: Santos Cabrera, Halbert Yesid, Moncada Nino, Alvaro Fernando, Rincon Cuta, Yeisson Alexis
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The present work evaluates the feasibility of implementing a health and use monitoring system (HUMS), based on vibration analysis as a condition-based maintenance program for the UH60L 'Blackhawk' helicopters. The mixed approach used consists of contributions from national and international experts, the analysis of data extracted from the software (Meridium), the correlation of variables derived from the diagnosis of availability, the development, and application of the HUMS system, the evaluation of the latter through of the use of instruments designed for the collection of information using the DELPHI method and data capture with the device installed in the helicopter studied. The results obtained in the investigation reflect the context of maintenance in aerial operations, a reduction of operation and maintenance costs of over 2%, better use of human resources, improvement in availability (5%), and fulfillment of the aircraft’s security standards, enabling the implementation of the monitoring system (HUMS) in the condition-based maintenance program. New elements are added to the study of maintenance based on condition -specifically, in the determination of viability based on qualitative and quantitative data according to the methodology. The use of condition-based maintenance will allow organizations to adjust and reconfigure their strategic, logistical, and maintenance capabilities, aligning them with their strategic objectives of responding quickly and adequately to changes in the environment and operational requirements.Keywords: air transportation sustainability, HUMS, maintenance based condition, maintenance blackhawk capability
Procedia PDF Downloads 16340794 Exploring Career Guidance Program for Students with Special Needs
Authors: Rahayu Azkiya
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Career guidance is an integral part of education that aims to help students understand their interests, talents, and potential and provide direction in choosing an appropriate career path. Approximately 76 million people are working out of 17 million people with disabilities in 2022, and this number has become a focal point as career guidance is crucial among people with special needs. Therefore, this study explores how the career guidance program is implemented and what challenges are faced by teachers. This study employs a qualitative case study in one of the senior high schools for special needs (SMLB) in Depok, Indonesia. Meanwhile, the data analysis was done through thematic analysis. Data has been obtained through the interviews of two teachers who focused on the physically impaired and deaf. The results of this study show that (1) the school has implemented career guidance well, the students were selected in the first year to look for their talents and interests, and for the second and third years, students are trained to master their abilities. (2) There are still many challenges teachers face in implementing career guidance programs, such as a need for more human resources for both students and teachers, high curriculum demands, and simple facilities that hinder student progress. Therefore, this research shows that every child is unique, so schools must meet the standards of student needs and re-evaluate the various challenges that teachers and students still face. This research is expected to serve as an analysis material for the government's policy towards special needs schools in Indonesia.Keywords: Students with Special Needs, Career Guidance Program, Implementation, Challenges
Procedia PDF Downloads 5740793 Application of Neutron-Gamma Technologies for Soil Elemental Content Determination and Mapping
Authors: G. Yakubova, A. Kavetskiy, S. A. Prior, H. A. Torbert
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In-situ soil carbon determination over large soil surface areas (several hectares) is required in regard to carbon sequestration and carbon credit issues. This capability is important for optimizing modern agricultural practices and enhancing soil science knowledge. Collecting and processing representative field soil cores for traditional laboratory chemical analysis is labor-intensive and time-consuming. The neutron-stimulated gamma analysis method can be used for in-situ measurements of primary elements in agricultural soils (e.g., Si, Al, O, C, Fe, and H). This non-destructive method can assess several elements in large soil volumes with no need for sample preparation. Neutron-gamma soil elemental analysis utilizes gamma rays issued from different neutron-nuclei interactions. This process has become possible due to the availability of commercial portable pulse neutron generators, high-efficiency gamma detectors, reliable electronics, and measurement/data processing software complimented by advances in state-of-the-art nuclear physics methods. In Pulsed Fast Thermal Neutron Analysis (PFTNA), soil irradiation is accomplished using a pulsed neutron flux, and gamma spectra acquisition occurs both during and between pulses. This method allows the inelastic neutron scattering (INS) gamma spectrum to be separated from the thermal neutron capture (TNC) spectrum. Based on PFTNA, a mobile system for field-scale soil elemental determinations (primarily carbon) was developed and constructed. Our scanning methodology acquires data that can be directly used for creating soil elemental distribution maps (based on ArcGIS software) in a reasonable timeframe (~20-30 hectares per working day). Created maps are suitable for both agricultural purposes and carbon sequestration estimates. The measurement system design, spectra acquisition process, strategy for acquiring field-scale carbon content data, and mapping of agricultural fields will be discussed.Keywords: neutron gamma analysis, soil elemental content, carbon sequestration, carbon credit, soil gamma spectroscopy, portable neutron generators, ArcMap mapping
Procedia PDF Downloads 9440792 Using Equipment Telemetry Data for Condition-Based maintenance decisions
Authors: John Q. Todd
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Given that modern equipment can provide comprehensive health, status, and error condition data via built-in sensors, maintenance organizations have a new and valuable source of insight to take advantage of. This presentation will expose what these data payloads might look like and how they can be filtered, visualized, calculated into metrics, used for machine learning, and generate alerts for further action.Keywords: condition based maintenance, equipment data, metrics, alerts
Procedia PDF Downloads 19140791 Investigating the Subjective Factors Related to the Need for Psychological Help of the College Students
Authors: Ismail Ay
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In this study, it is aimed to analyze the relations of the factors such as the learned resourcefulness, self-efficacy, self-regulation and subjective well-being which are thought to affect the needs of the university students for psychological help and to determine if the subjective well-being mediates other factors in the prediction of the needs of the university students for psychological help. The population of the study is formed of undergraduates who get education in 16 faculties in the central campus of the University of Atatürk in the spring term of 2012-2013 academic years. The sample of the study is formed of 1205 undergraduates (female=666, 55,3 %; male=539, 44,7 %; average of age =21,49; Sd=2,18) selected from the mentioned universe by convenience sampling method. “Need for Psychological Help Scale” has been developed as a part of the study to determine the needs for psychological help. “Short Self-Regulation Questionnaire” has been adapted into Turkish to determine the self-regulation skills. Apart from these, Rosenbaum’s Learned Resourcefulness Scale, General Self-Efficacy Scale and to determine subjective well-being; Satisfaction with Life Scale and Positive and Negative Affect Scale have been used within the study. SPSS 22.0 and LISREL 9.1 have been used in the analysis of the data. Pearson product-moment correlation, descriptive analysis, factor analysis and path analysis to test the research hypothesis has been used in the study. According to obtained data, the learned resourcefulness factor does not predict the subjective well-being; however, it highly predicts the self-regulation and self-efficacy factors. It has been determined that the self-regulation and self-efficacy factors predict the subjective well-being in a positive way and medium level, and subjective well-being mediates self-regulation and self-efficacy factors to predict the needs for psychological help. It was also determined that subjective well-being predicts the needs for psychological help in a negative way and fair level. All these results have been discussed in terms of the related theories and literature, and several suggestions have been made.Keywords: need for psychological help, self-regulation, self-efficacy, learned resourcefulness, subjective well-being, Maslow, psychological needs
Procedia PDF Downloads 35940790 Using the Textbook to Promote Thinking Skills in Intermediate School EFL Classrooms in Saudi Arabia: An Analysis of the Tasks and an Exploration of Teachers' and Perceptions
Authors: Nurah Saleh Alfares
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An aim of TS in EFL is to help learners to understand how they learn, which could help them in using the target language with other learners in language classrooms, and in their social life. The early researchers have criticised the system of teaching methods in EFL applied in Saudi schools, as they claim that it does not produce students who are highly proficient in English. Some of them suggested that enhancing learners’ TS would help to improve the learners’ proficiency of using the EFL. The textbook in Saudi schools is the central material for teachers to follow in the EFL classroom. Thus, this study is investigating the main issues that could promote TS in Saudi EFL: the textbook and the teachers. The purposes of the study are: to find out the extent to which the tasks in the textbook have the potential to support teachers in promoting TS; to discover insights into the nature of classroom activities that teachers use to encourage TS from the textbook and to explore the teachers’ views on the role of the textbook in promoting TS in the English language. These aims will improve understanding of the connection between the potential of the textbook content and the participants’ theoretical knowledge and their teaching practice. The investigation employed research techniques including the following: (1) analysis of the textbook; (2) questionnaire for EFL teachers; (3) observation for EFL classroom; (4) interviews with EFL teachers. Analysis of the third intermediate grade textbook has been undertaken, and six EFL teachers from five intermediate schools were involved in the study. Data analysis revealed that 36.71 % of the tasks in the textbook could have the potential to promote TS, and 63.29 % of the tasks in the textbook could not have the potential to promote TS. Therefore, the result of the textbook analysis showed that the majority of the tasks do not have the potential to help teachers to promote TS. Although not all teachers of the observed lessons displayed behaviour helpful to promote TS, teachers, who presented potential TS tasks in their lesson encouraged learners’ interaction and students’ engagement more than teachers who presented tasks that did not have the potential to promote TS. Therefore, the result of the teachers’ data showed that having a textbook that has the potential to promote TS is not enough to develop teaching TS in Saudi EFL since teachers’ behaviour could make the task more or less productive.Keywords: English as a Foreign Language, metacognitive skills, textbook, thinking skills
Procedia PDF Downloads 13040789 Modeling Factors Affecting Fertility Transition in Africa: Case of Kenya
Authors: Dennis Okora Amima Ondieki
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Fertility transition has been identified to be affected by numerous factors. This research aimed to investigate the most real factors affecting fertility transition in Kenya. These factors were firstly extracted from the literature convened into demographic features, social, and economic features, social-cultural features, reproductive features and modernization features. All these factors had 23 factors identified for this study. The data for this study was from the Kenya Demographic and Health Surveys (KDHS) conducted in 1999-2003 and 2003-2008/9. The data was continuous, and it involved the mean birth order for the ten periods. Principal component analysis (PCA) was utilized using 23 factors. Principal component analysis conveyed religion, region, education and marital status as the real factors. PC scores were calculated for every point. The identified principal components were utilized as forecasters in the multiple regression model, with the fertility level as the response variable. The four components were found to be affecting fertility transition differently. It was found that fertility is affected positively by factors of region and marital and negatively by factors of religion and education. These four factors can be considered in the planning policy in Kenya and Africa at large.Keywords: fertility transition, principal component analysis, Kenya demographic health survey, birth order
Procedia PDF Downloads 11040788 Cracking the ‘Glass Ceiling’ Code: The Intricate Dance of Gender and Discipline in Chinese Research University’s Career Promotion
Authors: Yu Yitian, Chen Kaizhe, Liu Jin
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'Glass ceiling' phenomenon refers to the invisible barriers that specific groups encounter in career advancement within organizations. This phenomenon is widespread all over the world and is prevalent among university faculty. However, there has been limited attention in the previous studies on Chinese university faculty. This research mainly focuses on whether the existence of 'glass ceiling' phenomenon exists among female faculty in the Chinese academic community and the characteristics among different disciplines in China. By utilizing the big data from education faculty members in 149 research-oriented universities in China, the research employs a Curriculum Vitae analysis to draw the academic career trajectories of faculty, along with potential variations across different academic disciplines within the Chinese academic landscape. This research addresses the existing gap in the scholarly investigation of gender equality in China and is helpful to promote gender equality in the academic community.Keywords: big data, China academic community, curriculum vitae analysis, glass ceiling
Procedia PDF Downloads 5640787 The Wear Recognition on Guide Surface Based on the Feature of Radar Graph
Authors: Youhang Zhou, Weimin Zeng, Qi Xie
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Abstract: In order to solve the wear recognition problem of the machine tool guide surface, a new machine tool guide surface recognition method based on the radar-graph barycentre feature is presented in this paper. Firstly, the gray mean value, skewness, projection variance, flat degrees and kurtosis features of the guide surface image data are defined as primary characteristics. Secondly, data Visualization technology based on radar graph is used. The visual barycentre graphical feature is demonstrated based on the radar plot of multi-dimensional data. Thirdly, a classifier based on the support vector machine technology is used, the radar-graph barycentre feature and wear original feature are put into the classifier separately for classification and comparative analysis of classification and experiment results. The calculation and experimental results show that the method based on the radar-graph barycentre feature can detect the guide surface effectively.Keywords: guide surface, wear defects, feature extraction, data visualization
Procedia PDF Downloads 52240786 Examining the Level of Anxiety and Stress in Dental Students
Authors: Vusale Aliyev, Khalil Aryanfar
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Background and purpose: Dentistry is a stressful profession, and dental students are exposed to educational and clinical stress. The present study was conducted to investigate the level of stress and its factors in dental students of Nakhjavan University of Medical Sciences in 2023. Methodology: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted on dental students in Nakhjavan. The data collection tool was the standard DASS-21 questionnaire (Depression-anxiety-stress scale-21) and the demographic information questionnaire. After collecting the data in SPSS statistical software, using Linear regression analysis, test regression and t-tests were subjected to statistical analysis. Results: 32.6% of students had moderate stress, and 4.3% had severe stress, and no significant statistical difference was observed between the two genders living; there was a significant difference with others (P=0.047). There was no significant relationship between the stress factor and the academic year (P=0.037). 66% of people were related to university issues. Conclusion: According to the results of this research, the level of stress is relatively high, and it seems necessary to pay attention to this issue.Keywords: stress, dental students, Nakhichevan State University, anxiety
Procedia PDF Downloads 1240785 Seismic Microzonation Analysis for Damage Mapping of the 2006 Yogyakarta Earthquake, Indonesia
Authors: Fathul Mubin, Budi E. Nurcahya
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In 2006, a large earthquake ever occurred in the province of Yogyakarta, which caused considerable damage. This is the basis need to investigate the seismic vulnerability index in around of the earthquake zone. This research is called microzonation of earthquake hazard. This research has been conducted at the site and surrounding of Prambanan Temple, includes homes and civil buildings. The reason this research needs to be done because in the event of an earthquake in 2006, there was damage to the temples at Prambanan temple complex and its surroundings. In this research, data collection carried out for 60 minutes using three component seismograph measurements at 165 points with spacing of 1000 meters. The data recorded in time function were analyzed using the spectral ratio method, known as the Horizontal to Vertical Spectral Ratio (HVSR). Results from this analysis are dominant frequency (Fg) and maximum amplification factor (Ag) are used to obtain seismic vulnerability index. The results of research showed the dominant frequency range from 0.5 to 30 Hz and the amplification is in interval from 0.5 to 9. Interval value for seismic vulnerability index is 0.1 to 50. Based on distribution maps of seismic vulnerability index and impact of buildings damage seemed for suitability. For further research, it needs to survey to the east (klaten) and south (Bantul, DIY) to determine a full distribution maps of seismic vulnerability index.Keywords: amplification factor, dominant frequency, microzonation analysis, seismic vulnerability index
Procedia PDF Downloads 19940784 BIM Data and Digital Twin Framework: Preserving the Past and Predicting the Future
Authors: Mazharuddin Syed Ahmed
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This research presents a framework used to develop The Ara Polytechnic College of Architecture Studies building “Kahukura” which is Green Building certified. This framework integrates the development of a smart building digital twin by utilizing Building Information Modelling (BIM) and its BIM maturity levels, including Levels of Development (LOD), eight dimensions of BIM, Heritage-BIM (H-BIM) and Facility Management BIM (FM BIM). The research also outlines a structured approach to building performance analysis and integration with the circular economy, encapsulated within a five-level digital twin framework. Starting with Level 1, the Descriptive Twin provides a live, editable visual replica of the built asset, allowing for specific data inclusion and extraction. Advancing to Level 2, the Informative Twin integrates operational and sensory data, enhancing data verification and system integration. At Level 3, the Predictive Twin utilizes operational data to generate insights and proactive management suggestions. Progressing to Level 4, the Comprehensive Twin simulates future scenarios, enabling robust “what-if” analyses. Finally, Level 5, the Autonomous Twin, represents the pinnacle of digital twin evolution, capable of learning and autonomously acting on behalf of users.Keywords: building information modelling, circular economy integration, digital twin, predictive analytics
Procedia PDF Downloads 4740783 Ethics Can Enable Open Source Data Research
Authors: Dragana Calic
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The openness, availability and the sheer volume of big data have provided, what some regard as, an invaluable and rich dataset. Researchers, businesses, advertising agencies, medical institutions, to name only a few, collect, share, and analyze this data to enable their processes and decision making. However, there are important ethical considerations associated with the use of big data. The rapidly evolving nature of online technologies has overtaken the many legislative, privacy, and ethical frameworks and principles that exist. For example, should we obtain consent to use people’s online data, and under what circumstances can privacy considerations be overridden? Current guidance on how to appropriately and ethically handle big data is inconsistent. Consequently, this paper focuses on two quite distinct but related ethical considerations that are at the core of the use of big data for research purposes. They include empowering the producers of data and empowering researchers who want to study big data. The first consideration focuses on informed consent which is at the core of empowering producers of data. In this paper, we discuss some of the complexities associated with informed consent and consider studies of producers’ perceptions to inform research ethics guidelines and practice. The second consideration focuses on the researcher. Similarly, we explore studies that focus on researchers’ perceptions and experiences.Keywords: big data, ethics, producers’ perceptions, researchers’ perceptions
Procedia PDF Downloads 29040782 Transportation Accidents Mortality Modeling in Thailand
Authors: W. Sriwattanapongse, S. Prasitwattanaseree, S. Wongtrangan
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The transportation accidents mortality is a major problem that leads to loss of human lives, and economic. The objective was to identify patterns of statistical modeling for estimating mortality rates due to transportation accidents in Thailand by using data from 2000 to 2009. The data was taken from the death certificate, vital registration database. The number of deaths and mortality rates were computed classifying by gender, age, year and region. There were 114,790 cases of transportation accidents deaths. The highest average age-specific transport accident mortality rate is 3.11 per 100,000 per year in males, Southern region and the lowest average age-specific transport accident mortality rate is 1.79 per 100,000 per year in females, North-East region. Linear, poisson and negative binomial models were chosen for fitting statistical model. Among the models fitted, the best was chosen based on the analysis of deviance and AIC. The negative binomial model was clearly appropriate fitted.Keywords: transportation accidents, mortality, modeling, analysis of deviance
Procedia PDF Downloads 24940781 Evaluation the Financial and Social Efficiency of Microfinance Institutions Using Data Envelope Analysis - A Sample Study of Active Microfinance Institutions in India
Authors: Hiba Mezaache
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The study aims to assess the financial and social efficiency of microfinance institutions in india for the period 2015-2019 by using two models of economies of scale and choosing the output direction of the data envelope analysis (DEA) method and using the MIX MARKET database. The study concluded that microfinance institutions focus on achieving financial efficiency beyond their focus on achieving social efficiency to ensure their continuity in the market. Convergence in the efficiency ratios that have been achieved, but the optimum ratios have been achieved under the changing economies of scale; Efficiency is affected by the depth of reaching low-income groups, as serving this group raises costs and risks. The importance of lending to women in rural areas and raising their awareness to ensure their financial and social empowerment; Make improvements in operating expenses, asset management, and loan personnel control in order to maximize output.Keywords: microfinance, financial efficiency, social efficiency, mix market, microfinance institutions
Procedia PDF Downloads 16240780 A Geographic Information System Mapping Method for Creating Improved Satellite Solar Radiation Dataset Over Qatar
Authors: Sachin Jain, Daniel Perez-Astudillo, Dunia A. Bachour, Antonio P. Sanfilippo
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The future of solar energy in Qatar is evolving steadily. Hence, high-quality spatial solar radiation data is of the uttermost requirement for any planning and commissioning of solar technology. Generally, two types of solar radiation data are available: satellite data and ground observations. Satellite solar radiation data is developed by the physical and statistical model. Ground data is collected by solar radiation measurement stations. The ground data is of high quality. However, they are limited to distributed point locations with the high cost of installation and maintenance for the ground stations. On the other hand, satellite solar radiation data is continuous and available throughout geographical locations, but they are relatively less accurate than ground data. To utilize the advantage of both data, a product has been developed here which provides spatial continuity and higher accuracy than any of the data alone. The popular satellite databases: National Solar radiation Data Base, NSRDB (PSM V3 model, spatial resolution: 4 km) is chosen here for merging with ground-measured solar radiation measurement in Qatar. The spatial distribution of ground solar radiation measurement stations is comprehensive in Qatar, with a network of 13 ground stations. The monthly average of the daily total Global Horizontal Irradiation (GHI) component from ground and satellite data is used for error analysis. The normalized root means square error (NRMSE) values of 3.31%, 6.53%, and 6.63% for October, November, and December 2019 were observed respectively when comparing in-situ and NSRDB data. The method is based on the Empirical Bayesian Kriging Regression Prediction model available in ArcGIS, ESRI. The workflow of the algorithm is based on the combination of regression and kriging methods. A regression model (OLS, ordinary least square) is fitted between the ground and NSBRD data points. A semi-variogram is fitted into the experimental semi-variogram obtained from the residuals. The kriging residuals obtained after fitting the semi-variogram model were added to NSRBD data predicted values obtained from the regression model to obtain the final predicted values. The NRMSE values obtained after merging are respectively 1.84%, 1.28%, and 1.81% for October, November, and December 2019. One more explanatory variable, that is the ground elevation, has been incorporated in the regression and kriging methods to reduce the error and to provide higher spatial resolution (30 m). The final GHI maps have been created after merging, and NRMSE values of 1.24%, 1.28%, and 1.28% have been observed for October, November, and December 2019, respectively. The proposed merging method has proven as a highly accurate method. An additional method is also proposed here to generate calibrated maps by using regression and kriging model and further to use the calibrated model to generate solar radiation maps from the explanatory variable only when not enough historical ground data is available for long-term analysis. The NRMSE values obtained after the comparison of the calibrated maps with ground data are 5.60% and 5.31% for November and December 2019 month respectively.Keywords: global horizontal irradiation, GIS, empirical bayesian kriging regression prediction, NSRDB
Procedia PDF Downloads 9140779 Delivery Service and Online-and-Offline Purchasing for Collaborative Recommendations on Retail Cross-Channels
Authors: S. H. Liao, J. M. Huang
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The delivery service business model is the final link in logistics for both online-and-offline businesses. The online-and-offline business model focuses on the entire customer purchasing process online and offline, placing greater emphasis on the importance of data to optimize overall retail operations. For the retail industry, it is an important task of information and management to strengthen the collection and investigation of consumers' online and offline purchasing data to better understand customers and then recommend products. This study implements two-stage data mining analytics for clustering and association rules analysis to investigate Taiwanese consumers' (n=2,209) preferences for delivery service. This process clarifies online-and-offline purchasing behaviors and preferences to find knowledge profiles/patterns/rules for cross-channel collaborative recommendations. Finally, theoretical and practical implications for methodology and enterprise are presented.Keywords: delivery service, online-and-offline purchasing, retail cross-channel, collaborative recommendations, data mining analytics
Procedia PDF Downloads 3940778 Moderation Effects of Legal Origin on Corruption and Corporate Performance
Authors: S. Sundarasen, I. Ibrahim
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This study examines whether the legal origin of a country alters the association between corruption and corporate performance in the East Asia and South East Asia Region. A total of 18,286 companies from 14 countries in the East Asia and South East Asia Region are tested using Generalized Least Square (GLS) panel and pool data analysis with the cross-section being the income level. The data is further analyzed in terms of high income, upper middle income and low-income countries within the East and South Asia region. The empirical results indicate that legal origin positively moderates the relationship between a country’s corruption level and firm performance. As for the sub-analysis, legal origin positively moderates only in the high and upper middle-income countries. As for the low-income countries, no significance is documented in both the common and civil law.Keywords: corruption, performance, legal origin, East Asia and South East Asia Region
Procedia PDF Downloads 168