Search results for: historical factors

Authors: Sina Saadati

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Multiprocessors Systems-On-Chips (MPSOCs) are used widely on modern computers to execute sophisticated software and applications. These systems include different processors for distinct aims. Most of the proposed task schedulers attempt to improve energy consumption. In some schedulers, the processor's temperature is considered to increase the system's reliability and performance. In this research, we have proposed a new method for thermal-aware task scheduling which is based on an artificial neural network (ANN). This method enables us to consider a variety of factors in the scheduling process. Some factors like ambient temperature, season (which is important for some embedded systems), speed of the processor, computing type of tasks and have a complex relationship with the final temperature of the system. This Issue can be solved using a machine learning algorithm. Another point is that our solution makes the system intelligent So that It can be adaptive. We have also shown that the computational complexity of the proposed method is cheap. As a consequence, It is also suitable for battery-powered systems.

Keywords: task scheduling, MOSOC, artificial neural network, machine learning, architecture of computers, artificial intelligence

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Authors: Wiwat Onnakklum

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Clarification is the turbidity removal process of water treatment plant. This paper was to study the factors affecting on energy consumption in order to control energy saving strategy. The factors studied were raw water turbidity in the range of 26-40 NTU and production rate in the range of 3.76-5.20 m³/sec. Clarifiers were sludge blanket and sludge recirculation clarifier. Experimental results found that the raw water turbidity was not affected significantly by energy consumption, while the production rate was affected significantly by energy consumption. Sludge blanket clarifier provided lower energy consumption than sludge recirculation clarifier about 32-37%. Subsequently, the operating pattern in production rate can be arranged to decreased energy consumption. The results showed that it can be reduced about 5.09 % of energy saving of clarification process about 754,655 Baht per year.

Keywords: sludge blanket clarifier, sludge recirculation clarifier, water treatment plant, energy

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Authors: Meity Sompie, Agnes Triasih, Wisje Ponto

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Edible coating is thin layers that act as a barrier to the external factors and protect the food products. The addition of the plasticizer to the edible coating is required to overcome film caused by extensive intermolecular forces. The potential development of pigskin with different ages as a raw material for the manufacture of edible films had not been widely publicized. This research was aimed to determine the influence of gelatin concentration and different type of plasticizer on the edible coating characteristics extracted from pigskin gelatin. This study used Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with two factors and three replicates of treatments. The first factor was consisted of pigskin gelatin concentration ( 10, 20, and 30 %) and the second factor was different type of plasticizer (glycerol, sorbitol and PEG). The results show that the interaction between the use of gelatin concentrations and type of plasticizer had significant effect (P< 0.05) on the thickness, tensile strength, elongation, water vapor transmission rate (WVTR), water content and amino acid profile of edible coating. It was concluded that the edible coating from pigskin gelatin with plasticizer gliserol had the best film characteristics, and it can be applied as an edible coating.

Keywords: edible coating, edible film, pigskin gelatin, plasticizer

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Authors: Felix Eyben, Simon Schaffrath, Markus Feldmann

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A building should maximize the potential for use through its design. Therefore, flexible use is always important when designing a steel structure. To create flexibility, steel beams with web openings are increasingly used, because these offer the advantage that cables, pipes and other technical equipment can easily be routed through without detours, allowing for more space-saving and aesthetically pleasing construction. This can also significantly reduce the height of ceiling systems. Until now, beams with web openings were not explicitly considered in the European standard. However, this is to be done with the new EN 1993-1-13, in which design rules for different opening forms are defined. In order to further develop the design concepts, beams with web openings under bending are therefore to be investigated in terms of damage mechanics as part of a German national research project aiming to optimize the verifications for steel structures based on a wider database and a validated damage prediction. For this purpose, first, fundamental factors influencing the load-bearing behavior of girders with web openings under bending load were investigated numerically without taking material damage into account. Various parameter studies were carried out for this purpose. For example, the factors under study were the opening shape, size and position as well as structural aspects as the span length, arrangement of stiffeners and loading situation. The load-bearing behavior is evaluated using resulting load-deformation curves. These results are compared with the design rules and critically analyzed. Experimental tests are also planned based on these results. Moreover, the implementation of damage mechanics in the form of the modified Bai-Wierzbicki model was examined. After the experimental tests will have been carried out, the numerical models are validated and further influencing factors will be investigated on the basis of parametric studies.

Keywords: damage mechanics, finite element, steel structures, web openings

Procedia PDF Downloads 153

Authors: Lindy Valdez, Daryl Parker

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Introduction: There has been much research on academic achievement in elementary schools. Most of the research has been on school leadership. While research has focused on the role of leadership on school improvement, little research has examined what variables the top elementary schools have in common. To undertake school improvement, it is important to understand what factors the best schools share. The purpose of this study was to examine data of the “Best Elementary Schools in California,” based on academic achievement as rated by three prominent websites and determine if these schools had any common factors which were different than the statewide averages. The variables examined included access to subject matter specialists (physical education, art, and music), librarians, after school programs, class size, socioeconomic status, and diversity. The participants consisted of the top public elementary schools in California based on the websites i)https://www.niche.com/k12/search/best-schools/, ii)https://www.finder.com/best-schools-california,and iii)https://www.schooldigger.com/go/CA/schoolrank.aspx. The data for subject matter specialists (physical education, art, and music), librarians, after school programs, class size, socioeconomic status, and diversity were collected from these top schools and compared to California statewide averages. Results indicate that top public elementary schools in California have a high number of subject matter specialists that teach physical education, art, and music. These positions are on the decline in the average public elementary school in California, but the top schools have abundant access to these specialists. The physical education specialist has the highest statistically significant difference between the nationwide average and the top schools—librarians, and after school programs are also most commonly high in top public elementary schools in California. The high presence of these programs may be aiding academic achievement in less visible ways. Class size is small, socio-economic status is high, and diversity is low among top public elementary schools in California when compared to the statewide average public elementary schools in California. The single largest area of discrepancy was between physical education specialists in a top school and their state and nationwide averages. The socioeconomic status of schools and parents may be an underlining factor affecting several other variables. This affluence could explain how these schools were able to have access to subject matter specialists, after-school activities, and, therefore, more opportunities for physical activity and greater learning opportunities affecting academic achievement.

Keywords: academic achievement, elementary education, factors, schools

Procedia PDF Downloads 115

Authors: Allahyar Arabmomeni, Hojjatollah Alaei

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Background: The objectives of this study was to investigate effect of anthropometric variables and body composition on physical capabilities among male and female students. Materials and Methods: The study had a descriptive correlation method. The statistical population consisted of all students of Islamic Azad University, Khomeinishahr Branch, from 2011 to 2013, which was about 7000 students. The statistical sample included 300 male and 300 female students who were randomly selected from among university students in proportion to frequency of students in each faculty. Descriptive statistical methods, t-test and Pearson correlation coefficient were used for data analysis. Results: Results of this research showed that body size of male students in the studied variables was more than that of female students (p<0.05). Moreover, there was significant difference between all the variables based on significance level of the table. Also, the results taken from the Pearson correlation of this study's variables showed a positive relationship between height and leg and hand length and sit-up, full-ups bar and vertical jump tests (p<0/01). Besides, there was a positive correlation between hand length, sit-up, full-ups bar and vertical jump tests. As far as tests of length of legs and vertical jump were concerned, a highly positive correlation was observed between them. Additionally, results of this study indicated a significant correlation at alpha level of 0.05 between age and height of the students; but, there was a negative correlation between age, sit-up and 1600-m tests (p<0.05). Conclusion: The results of this study indicated a relationship between size of weight, height, length of hands and legs and some physical fitness tests. Therefore, it is required to consider anthropometric factors in addition to gender and age while preparing norms of physical fitness since variables of height and length of hands also affect physical fitness evaluation.

Keywords: anthropometric variables, physical fitness factors, students, body composition

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Authors: A. S. Adegoke, O. N. Popoola

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The central purpose of management in any organization is that of coordinating the efforts of people towards the achievement of its goal. Effective and productive management is the function of leadership. Leadership plays a critical role in helping groups, organizations and societies to achieve their goals. Factors considered to make leadership to be effective are intelligence, social maturity, inner motivation and achievement drives and lastly, human relations attitudes. The factors affecting leadership style and effectiveness were examined. Also, the study examined which of the various leadership style best befits an organization and discussed the ways in which the style was determined. In order to meet the objectives of this study, different types of methods of data gathering were carried out. The methods include data from primary and secondary sources. The primary sources include personal interview, personal observation, and questionnaire while data from secondary sources were derived from various books, journal write up and other documentary records. Data were collected from respondents through questionnaire, and the field research carried out through oral interview to test each of the related hypotheses. From the data analysed it was determined that 45% strongly agreed that leadership traits are inborn not acquired and 28.3% agreed that leadership traits are inborn, while 11.7% and 10% strongly disagreed and disagreed respectively and 5% were undecided. 48.4% strongly agreed, and 43.3% agreed that environmental factors determined the appropriate style of leadership to be employed while 3.3% strongly disagreed, 1.7% disagreed and 3.3% were undecided. From the study, no single style of leadership is appropriate in any situation instead of concentrating on single leadership style; leader can vary approaches depending on forces in the leaders, characteristic of the subordinates, situational forces of the organization, lastly the expectations and behaviour of superior.

Keywords: hypothesis, leadership, management, organization

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Authors: Keh-Wen Carin Chuang, Kuan-Chou Chen

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Our society is in a constant state of change. Technology advancements continue to affect our daily lives. How we work, communicate and entertain ourselves has changed dramatically in the past decades. As our society learns to accept and adapt to the many different technological advances that seem to inundate every part of our lives, the education institutions must migrate from traditional methods of instruction to online education in order to take full advantage of the opportunities provided by these technology advancements. There are many benefits that can be gained for university and society from offering online programs by utilizing advanced technologies. But the programs must not be implemented carelessly. The key to providing a quality online program is the issue of perceived quality, which takes into account the viewpoint of all stakeholders involved. To truly ensure the institutional quality, however, a systemic view of all factors contributing to the quality must be analyzed and linked to one another — allowing education administrators to understand how each factor contributes to the perceived quality of online education. The perceived quality of an online program will be positively reinforced only through an organizational-wide effort that focuses on managed administration, augmenting online program branding, skilled faculty, supportive alumni, student satisfaction, and effective delivery systems — each of which is vital to a quality online program. This study focuses on the concept of quality assurance in the start-up, implementation, and sustainability of online education. A case of online MBA program will be analyzed to explore the quality assurance. The difficulties in promoting online education quality is the fact that universities are complex networks of disciplinary, social, economic, and political fiefdoms, both internal and external factors to the institutions. As such, the system analysis, a systems-thinking approach, on the issue of perceived quality is ideal to investigate the factors and how each factor contributes to the perceived quality in the online education domain.

Keywords: systems thinking, quality assurance, online education, MBA program

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Authors: Zahzouh Zoubir

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The widespread adoption of photovoltaic panel systems for global electricity generation is a prominent trend. Algeria, demonstrating steadfast commitment to strategic development and innovative projects for harnessing solar energy, emerges as a pioneering force in the field. Heat and radiation, being fundamental factors in any solar system, are currently subject to comprehensive studies aiming to discern their genuine impact on crucial elements within photovoltaic systems. This endeavor is particularly pertinent given that solar module performance is exclusively assessed under meticulously defined Standard Test Conditions (STC). Nevertheless, when deployed outdoors, solar modules exhibit efficiencies distinct from those observed under STC due to the influence of diverse environmental factors. This discrepancy introduces ambiguity in performance determination, especially when surpassing test conditions. This article centers on the performance monitoring of an Algerian photovoltaic project, specifically the Oued El Keberite power (OKP) plant boasting a 15 megawatt capacity, situated in the town of Souk Ahras in eastern Algeria. The study elucidates the behavior of a subfield within this facility throughout the year, encompassing various conditions beyond the STC framework. To ensure the optimal efficiency of solar panels, this study integrates crucial factors, drawing on an authentic technical sheet from the measurement station of the OKP photovoltaic plant. Numerical modeling and simulation of a sub-field of the photovoltaic station were conducted using MATLAB Simulink. The findings underscore how radiation intensity and temperature, whether low or high, impact the short-circuit current, open-circuit voltage; fill factor, and overall efficiency of the photovoltaic system.

Keywords: performance monitoring, photovoltaic system, numerical modeling, radiation intensity

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Authors: Ankit Tyagi, Reet Kamal Tiwari, Naveen James

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In India, landslides are the most frequently occurring disaster in the regions of the Himalayas and the Western Ghats. The steep slopes and land use in these areas are quite apprehensive. In the recent past, many landslide hazard zonation (LHZ) works have been carried out in the Himalayas. However, the preparation of LHZ maps considering temporal factors such as seismic ground shaking, seismic amplification at surface level, and rainfall are limited. Hence this study presents a comprehensive use of the multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) method in landslide risk assessment. In this research, we conducted both geospatial and geotechnical analysis to minimize the danger of landslides. Geospatial analysis is performed using high-resolution satellite data to produce landslide causative factors which were given weightage using the MCDM method. The geotechnical analysis includes a slope stability check, which was done to determine the potential landslide slope. The landslide risk map can provide useful information which helps people to understand the risk of living in an area.

Keywords: landslide hazard zonation, PHA, AHP, GIS

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Authors: Lisandy Arinta Suryana, Santi Novani, Utomo Sarjono

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Paradox of business strategic is associated with the contradictory practice. It becomes one of the critical way to survive and win in the dynamic competitive landscape – high level of uncertainty and rapid change in the business environment. Those characteristics are similar with the environment of hijab fashion business, especially in Indonesia. This paper aims to describe the success of paradoxical strategic based on historical data of hijab fashion business which have been validated by qualitative approach. This paper discusses two main aspects of paradoxical strategic such as paradox in human resource management, and logistic center management. Then, the detail effects from each practice are described in term of causal loop diagram. Moreover, the practice of paradoxical strategic depends on leadership that can make a brave and dynamic decision by capturing the main problems and opportunities in their business, and also build commitment to achieve a specific goal.

Keywords: paradox of business strategic, paradoxical strategic, causal loop diagram, sustainable business, hijab fashion business, business strategic

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Authors: Amey Kulkarni, Paavan Shetty, Amol Patil, B. Rajiv

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Fuel Efficiency plays a very important role in overall performance of an automobile. In this paper study of fuel efficiency of heavy construction, compaction machine is done. The fuel Consumption trials are performed in order to obtain the consumption of fuel in performing certain set of actions by the compactor. Usually, Heavy Construction machines are put to work in locations where refilling the fuel tank is not an easy task and also the fuel is consumed at a greater rate than a passenger automobile. So it becomes important to have a fuel efficient machine for long working hours. The fuel efficiency is the most important point in determining the future scope of the product. A heavy construction compaction machine operates in five major roles. These five roles are traveling, Static working, High-frequency Low amplitude compaction, Low-frequency High amplitude compaction, low idle. Fuel consumption readings for 1950 rpm, 2000 rpm & 2350 rpm of the engine are taken by using differential fuel flow meter and are analyzed. And the optimum RPM setting which fulfills the fuel efficiency, as well as engine performance criteria, is considered. Also, other factors such as rear end gears, Intake and exhaust restriction for an engine, vehicle operating techniques, air drag, Tribological aspects, Tires are considered for increasing the fuel efficiency of the compactor. The fuel efficiency of compactor can be precisely calculated by using Differential Fuel Flow Meter. By testing the compactor at different combinations of Engine RPM and also considering other factors such as rear end gears, Intake and exhaust restriction of an engine, vehicle operating techniques, air drag, Tribological aspects, The optimum solution was obtained which lead to significant improvement in fuel efficiency of the compactor.

Keywords: differential fuel flow meter, engine RPM, fuel efficiency, heavy construction compaction machine

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Authors: Yael Teff-Seker

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More often than not, ecosystems do not follow anthropogenic political borders. Thus, transboundary environmental protection or rehabilitation initiatives can be beneficial and at times even vital for supporting healthy ecosystems. Marine areas demand unique considerations and challenges for such initiatives, as maritime borders tend to be less defined, less fortified and less visible. In areas of recent conflict, cross-border environmental initiatives can also improve relations between states and promote peace-building efforts, in addition to their environmental benefits. The current study reviews the current literature on transboundary marine environmental protection initiatives that take place in these areas and focuses on joint initiatives in Israel-Jordan and Croatia-Slovenia. In addition to factors described in the literature such as funding and third-party involvement, findings suggest that the peripheral location of marine environmental initiatives can be beneficial for the success of such initiatives, as well as facilitating border crossing and the extent to which such initiatives advance other governmental goals. A sense of urgency, environmental or other, has also been found to be highly relevant to project success.

Keywords: environmental cooperation, environmental peacebuilding, marine environment, environmental conflict, environmental management

Procedia PDF Downloads 158

Authors: Reihaneh Rafiemanzelat

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One of the most recent fields of investigation in urban issues focuses on the walkability in urban spaces. The paper aims to establish the theoretical relationship between the people's link with definite urban public spaces and the social identity processes derived from the relation with these places. The theoretical aspects which are examined for this purpose are: the concept of walkability and its developments and the social identity theories derived from walkable spaces. In fact, the paper presents the main results obtained from an empirical investigation which concern to the genesis of urban social identity in particular street as one of the main elements of public spaces in cities. İsmet İnönü Blvd which known as Salamis Street in Famagusta, North Cyprus is one of the main street in city whit high level of physical and social activities all the time. The urban social identity of users was analyzed, focusing on three main factors: walkability of space, social identification, and image of the space. These three factors were analyzed in relation to a series of items in the initial questionnaire, evaluation of existing natural resources, and environmental attitudes.

Keywords: walkability, urban public space, pedestrian, social activity, social identity

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Authors: Snezana Svetozarevic

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The aim of the research was to determine whether there were significant changes in perceptions of family functioning by families in Serbia 12 months after the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak has been declared a global pandemic. Above all, what has protected families in the face of the global crisis caused by COVID-19. The Self-Report Family Inventory, II version (SFI-II; Beavers and Hampson, 2013) and the Inventory of Family Protective Factors (IFPF; Gardner et al., 2008) were used to assess family functioning and protective factors. Currently, families perceive their functioning as more problematic regarding family emotional expressiveness, conflict, cohesion, and global family health/competence. Adaptive appraisal based on positive coping experiences significantly predicted values on emotional expressiveness, conflict, leadership, and global family health/competence dimensions -a higher prevalence of this factor was associated with more optimal family functioning and fewer problems. The growing problem in family functioning with the beginning of the pandemic is inevitable. However, our research confirmed that it is not enough to take into account what families do to survive. It is equally important to learn about what they do to thrive i.e., to study the family resilience.

Keywords: family, coping, resilience, pandemic, COVID-19

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Authors: The Danh Phan

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House price forecasting is a main topic in the real estate market research. Effective house price prediction models could not only allow home buyers and real estate agents to make better data-driven decisions but may also be beneficial for the property policymaking process. This study investigates the housing market by using machine learning techniques to analyze real historical house sale transactions in Australia. It seeks useful models which could be deployed as an application for house buyers and sellers. Data analytics show a high discrepancy between the house price in the most expensive suburbs and the most affordable suburbs in the city of Melbourne. In addition, experiments demonstrate that the combination of Stepwise and Support Vector Machine (SVM), based on the Mean Squared Error (MSE) measurement, consistently outperforms other models in terms of prediction accuracy.

Keywords: house price prediction, regression trees, neural network, support vector machine, stepwise

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Authors: Jihong Liang, Huiling Feng, Linqing Ma, Tianjiao Qi

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Confucius is the first sage in Chinese culture. Confucianism, the theories represented by Confucius, has long been at the core of Chinese traditional society, as the dominating political ideology of centralized feudal monarchy for more than two thousand years. Confucius Worship Ceremony held in the Confucian Temple in Qufu (Confucius’s birthplace), which is dedicated to commemorate Confucius and other 170 elites in Confucianism with a whole set of formal rites, pertains to “Auspicious Rites”, which worship heaven and earth, humans and ghosts. It was first a medium-scaled ritual activity but then upgraded to the supreme one at national level in the Qing Dynasty. As a national event, it was celebrated by Emperor as well as common intellectuals in traditional China. The Ceremony can be solemn and respectful, with prescribed and complicated procedures, well-prepared utensil and matched offerings operated in rhythm with music and dances. Each participant has his place, and everyone follows the specified rules. This magnificent ritual Ceremony, while embedded with rich culture connotation, actually symbolizes the social acknowledgment for orthodox culture represented by Confucianism. Rites reflected in this Ceremony, is one of the most important features of Chinese culture, serving as the key bond in the identification and continuation of Chinese culture. These rites and ritual ceremonies, as culture memories themselves, are not only treasures of China, but of the whole world. However, while the ancient Chinese Rite has been one of the thorniest and most complicated topics for academics, the more regrettable is that due to their interruption in practice and historical changes, these rites and ritual ceremonies have already become a vague language in today’s academic discourse and strange terms of the past for common people. Luckily, we, today, by virtue of modern digital technology, may be able to reproduce these ritual ceremonies, as most of them can still be found in ancient manuscripts, through which Chinese ancestors tell the beauty and gravity of their dignified rites and more importantly, their spiritual pursuits with vivid language and lively pictures. This research, based on review and interpretation of the ancient literature, intends to construct the ancient ritual ceremonies, with the Confucius Worship Ceremony as a case and by use of digital technology. Using 3D technology, the spatial scenes in the Confucian Temple can be reconstructed by virtual reality; the memorial tablet exhibited in the temple by GIS and different rites in the ceremonies by animation technology. With reference to the lyrics, melodies and lively pictures recorded in ancient scripts, it is also possible to reproduce the live dancing site. Also, image rendering technology can help to show the life experience and accomplishments of Confucius. Finally, lining up all the elements in a multimedia narrative form, a complete digitalized Confucius Worship Ceremony can be reproduced, which will provide an excellent virtual experience that goes beyond time and space by bringing its audience back to that specific historical time. This digital project, once completed, will play an important role in the inheritance and dissemination of cultural heritage.

Keywords: Confucius worship ceremony, multimedia narrative form, GIS, visual representation

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Authors: Fatemeh Valizadeh Gamchi, Edward L. Boone

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This research focuses on Lyme disease, a widespread infectious condition in the United States caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto. It is critical to identify environmental and economic elements that are contributing to the spread of the disease. This study examined data from Virginia to identify a subset of explanatory variables significant for Lyme disease case numbers. To identify relevant variables and avoid overfitting, linear poisson, and regularization regression methods such as a ridge, lasso, and elastic net penalty were employed. Cross-validation was performed to acquire tuning parameters. The methods proposed can automatically identify relevant disease count covariates. The efficacy of the techniques was assessed using four criteria on three simulated datasets. Finally, using the Virginia Department of Health’s Lyme disease data set, the study successfully identified key factors, and the results were consistent with previous studies.

Keywords: lyme disease, Poisson generalized linear model, ridge regression, lasso regression, elastic net regression

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Authors: Jiashu Shen, Guoting Zhang, Zhicheng Wang, Yu Wang, Yun Liang, Siyu Zou, Fan Yang, Kun Tang

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Objectives: This study aims to enhance the understanding of paid blood donors’ characteristics in Chinese population and devise strategies to protect these paid donors. Background: Paid blood donation was the predominant mode of blood donation in China from the 1970s to 1998 and caused several health and social problems including largely increased the risk of infectious diseases with nonstandard operation in unhygienic conditions. Methods: This study utilized the cross-sectional data from the China Kadoorie Biobank with about 0.5 million people from 10 regions of China from 2004 to 2008. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to examine the associations between socio-demographic factors and paid blood donation. Furthermore, a stratified analysis was applied in education level and annual household income by rural and urban areas. Results: The prevalence of paid blood donation was 0.50% in China and males were more likely to donate blood than females (Adjusted odds ratio (AOR) =0.81, 95%Confident Intervals (CI): 0.75-0.88). Urban people had much lower odds than rural people (AOR =0.24, 95%CI: 0.21-0.27). People with a high annual household income had lower odds of paid blood donation compared with that of people with low income (AOR=0.37, 95%CI: 0.31-0.44). Compared with people who didn’t receive school education, people in a higher level of education had increased odds of paid blood donation (AOR=2.31, 95%CI: 1.94-2.74). Conclusion: Paid blood donors in China were associated with those who were males, living in rural areas, with low annual household income and educational background.

Keywords: China Kadoorie Biobank, Chinese population, paid blood donation, socio-demographic factors

Procedia PDF Downloads 137

Authors: Deepak

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WEDM is an amazingly potential electro-wire process for machining of hard metal compounds and metal grid composites without making contact. Wire electrical machining is a developing noncustomary machining process for machining hard to machine materials that are electrically conductive. It is an exceptionally exact, precise, and one of the most famous machining forms in nontraditional machining. WEDM has turned into the fundamental piece of many assembling process ventures, which require precision, variety, and accuracy. In the present examination, AA-6063 is utilized as a workpiece, and execution investigation is done to discover the critical control factors. Impact of different parameters like a pulse on time, pulse off time, servo voltage, peak current, water pressure, wire tension, wire feed upon surface hardness has been researched while machining on AA-6063. RSM has been utilized to advance the yield variable. A variety of execution measures with input factors was demonstrated by utilizing the response surface methodology.

Keywords: AA-6063, response surface methodology, WEDM, surface roughness

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Authors: Sari F. Alkhatib, Chang Je Park, Gyuhong Roh

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The iterative scheme which is used to treat buildup factors for stratified shields is being investigated here using the layer-splitting technique. A simple suggested formalism for the scheme based on the Kalos’ formula is introduced, based on which the implementation of the testing technique is carried out. The second layer in a double-layer shield was split into two equivalent layers and the scheme (with the suggested formalism) was implemented on the new “three-layer” shield configuration. The results of such manipulation on water-lead and water-iron shields combinations are presented here for 1 MeV photons. It was found that splitting the second layer introduces some deviation on the overall buildup factor value. This expected deviation appeared to be higher in the case of low Z layer followed by high Z. However, the overall performance of the iterative scheme showed a great consistency and strong coherence even with the introduced changes. The introduced layer-splitting testing technique shows the capability to be implemented in test the iterative scheme with a wide range of formalisms.

Keywords: buildup factor, iterative scheme, stratified shields, layer-splitting tecnique

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Authors: Melahat Çevik

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The discovery of fabric has a quite old historical perspective because of veiling, heating and shelter needs of human. Since the days which fashion has a say, this situation has pasted beyond needs and has become status symbols. For the theater art drama which tell people by people, in the concern of reflecting daily life there will be such regards also we may see alternative products to artistically reshaped fabric. The stage is determined in the consensus of costume designer and director. Costume Designer does the research, taking into account the alternative products. Approaching nature as inventor, discovering products, shapes the work because in this work, cost is considerable. All types of fabric will be used but also new materials which are not presented to clothing industry yet are of great importance. In the discovery of new materials there priorities of the costume designer. In the scene everything should be determined in the axis of actor. The material discussed should have positive qualities which allow the performer to move and invigorate him or her in terms of physical and also should be positive in terms of health. This point must be approached in a more precise in high action plays and the obtained material should be tested before the presentation process.

Keywords: fabric, stage design, alternative materials, clothing industry

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Authors: Ali Hesari, Arezoo Esmaeeli

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Regarding to dramatic changes of fertility and higher order births during recent decades in Iran, access to knowledge about affecting factors on different birth orders has crucial importance. In this study, According to hierarchical structure of many of social sciences data and the effect of variables of different levels of social phenomena that determine different birth orders in 365 days ending to 1390 census have been explored by multilevel approach. In this paper, 2% individual row data for 1390 census is analyzed by HLM software. Three different hierarchical linear regression models are estimated for data analysis of the first and second, third, fourth and more birth order. Research results displays different outcomes for three models. Individual level variables entered in equation are; region of residence (rural/urban), age, educational level and labor participation status and province level variable is GDP per capita. Results show that individual level variables have different effects in these three models and in second level we have different random and fixed effects in these models.

Keywords: fertility, birth order, hierarchical approach, fixe effects, random effects

Procedia PDF Downloads 325

Authors: Aparna Datey

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This paper explores the theoretical frameworks underpinning professional learning, professional development, and academic identity. The focus is on sessional teachers (also called tutors or adjuncts) in architectural design studios, who may be practitioners, masters or doctoral students and academics hired ‘as needed’. Drawing from Schön’s work on reflective practice, learning and developmental theories of Vygotsky (social constructionism and zones of proximal development), informal and workplace learning, this research proposes that sessional teachers not only develop their teaching skills but also shape their identities through their 'everyday' work. Continuing academic staff develop their teaching through a combination of active teaching, self-reflection on teaching, as well as learning to teach from others via formalised programs and informally in the workplace. They are provided professional development and recognised for their teaching efforts through promotion, student citations, and awards for teaching excellence. The teaching experiences of sessional staff, by comparison, may be discontinuous and they generally have fewer opportunities and incentives for teaching development. In the absence of access to formalised programs, sessional teachers develop their teaching informally in workplace settings that may be supportive or unhelpful. Their learning as teachers is embedded in everyday practice applying problem-solving skills in ambiguous and uncertain settings. Depending on their level of expertise, they understand how to teach a subject such that students are stimulated to learn. Adult learning theories posit that adults have different motivations for learning and fall into a matrix of readiness, that an adult’s ability to make sense of their learning is shaped by their values, expectations, beliefs, feelings, attitudes, and judgements, and they are self-directed. The level of expertise of sessional teachers depends on their individual attributes and motivations, as well as on their work environment, the good practices they acquire and enhance through their practice, career training and development, the clarity of their role in the delivery of teaching, and other factors. The architectural design studio is ideal for study due to the historical persistence of the vocational learning or apprenticeship model (learning under the guidance of experts) and a pedagogical format using two key approaches: project-based problem solving and collaborative learning. Hence, investigating the theoretical frameworks underlying academic roles and informal professional learning in the workplace would deepen understanding of their professional development and how they shape their academic identities. This qualitative research is ongoing at a major university in Australia, but the growing trend towards hiring sessional staff to teach core courses in many disciplines is a global one. This research will contribute to including transient sessional teachers in the discourse on institutional quality, effectiveness, and student learning.

Keywords: academic identity, architectural design learning, pedagogy, teaching and learning, sessional teachers

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Authors: Jo Kuys, Kirsten Day

Abstract:

Improving urban transportation systems requires an emphasis on users’ end-to-end journey experience, from the moment the user steps out of their home to when they arrive at their destination. In considering such end-to-end experiences, human centred design (HCD) must be integrated from the very beginning to generate viable outcomes for the public. An HCD approach will encourage innovative outcomes while acknowledging all factors that need to be understood along the journey. We provide evidence to show that when designing for public transportation, it is not just about the physical manifestation of a particular outcome; moreover, it’s about the context and human behaviours that need to be considered throughout the design process. Humans and their behavioural factors are vitally important to successful implementation of sustainable public transport systems. Through an in-depth literature review of HCD approaches for urban transportation systems, we provide a base to exploit the benefits and highlight the importance of including HCD in public transportation projects for greater patronage, resulting in more sustainable cities. An HCD approach is critical to all public transportation projects to understand different levels of transportation design, from the setting of transport policy to implementation to infrastructure, vehicle, and interface design.

Keywords: human centred design, public transportation, urban planning, user experience

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Authors: Mohammed Islam

Abstract:

Graduate employability is a well debated topic by governments, employers, and higher education institutes (HEI) across the world. Much of the focus of these debates have centred around the skills that graduates bring or should bring to the job market, a point echoed by United Arab Emirates (UAE) policy makers and employers. While some research has been carried out on graduates' employability skills, little or no attention has been paid to the forces at play in developing employability policy and its subsequent implementation. The focus of debate has been on a perceived skills gap rather than policy. Recognising a gap in the literature, this paper details a study of UAE employability policy development. Taking a social constructionist approach, this case study views policy as discursive and socially constructed through interactions with key stakeholders. It is within the myriad of interdependent socio-political factors and social practices, particularly power relationships, that this paper explores UAE policy on graduate employability. In doing so, this adds to the debate on graduate employability from the perspective of policy and explores its roots in the interaction between human activity and the ‘system’. Data was collected from two main sources: documentary review and semi-structured interviews. Policies and publicly stated rhetoric on graduate employability were analysed using Critical Discourse Analysis. Semi-structured interviews with representatives from policy makers, HEIs, and employers were reviewed through Thematic Analysis. The theoretical framework for the discussion of findings draws from social practice theories and highlights the factors at play in access to employment for UAE graduates. This case study presents a methodological approach to policy studies that can be applied beyond the context under investigation. Education policy researchers are provided with an opportunity to compare similarities and differences with their own specific contexts.

Keywords: critical discourse analysis, employability, methodology, policy, social constructionism

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Authors: Farrukh Javed, Krzysztof Podgórski

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We propose a new model that accounts for the asymmetric response of volatility to positive ('good news') and negative ('bad news') shocks in economic time series the so-called leverage effect. In the past, asymmetric powers of errors in the conditionally heteroskedastic models have been used to capture this effect. Our model is using the gamma difference representation of the generalized Laplace distributions that efficiently models the asymmetry. It has one additional natural parameter, the shape, that is used instead of power in the asymmetric power models to capture the strength of a long-lasting effect of shocks. Some fundamental properties of the model are provided including the formula for covariances and an explicit form for the conditional distribution of 'bad' and 'good' news processes given the past the property that is important for the statistical fitting of the model. Relevant features of volatility models are illustrated using S&P 500 historical data.

Keywords: heavy tails, volatility clustering, generalized asymmetric laplace distribution, leverage effect, conditional heteroskedasticity, asymmetric power volatility, GARCH models

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Authors: S. Jimenez, R.Duarte, J.Sanchez-Choliz, I. Villanua

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There is a certain consensus in economic literature about the factors that have influenced in historical differences in growth rates observed between developed and developing countries. However, it is less clear what elements have marked different paths of growth in developed economies in recent decades. R&D has always been seen as one of the major sources of technological progress, and productivity growth, which is directly influenced by technological developments. Following recent literature, we can say that ‘innovation pushes the technological frontier forward’ as well as encourage future innovation through the creation of externalities. In other words, productivity benefits from innovation are not fully appropriated by innovators, but it also spread through the rest of the economies encouraging absorptive capacities, what have become especially important in a context of increasing fragmentation of production This paper aims to contribute to this literature in two ways, first, exploring alternative indexes of R&D flows embodied in inter-country, inter-sectorial flows of good and services (as approximation to technology spillovers) capturing structural and technological characteristic of countries and, second, analyzing the impact of direct and embodied R&D on the evolution of labor productivity at the country/sector level in recent decades. The traditional way of calculation through a multiregional input-output framework assumes that all countries have the same capabilities to absorb technology, but it is not, each one has different structural features and, this implies, different capabilities as part of literature, claim. In order to capture these differences, we propose to use a weight based on specialization structure indexes; one related with the specialization of countries in high-tech sectors and the other one based on a dispersion index. We propose these two measures because, as far as we understood, country capabilities can be captured through different ways; countries specialization in knowledge-intensive sectors, such as Chemicals or Electrical Equipment, or an intermediate technology effort across different sectors. Results suggest the increasing importance of country capabilities while increasing the trade openness. Besides, if we focus in the country rankings, we can observe that with high-tech weighted R&D embodied countries as China, Taiwan and Germany arose the top five despite not having the highest intensities of R&D expenditure, showing the importance of country capabilities. Additionally, through a fixed effects panel data model we show that, in fact, R&D embodied is important to explain labor productivity increases, in fact, even more that direct R&D investments. This is reflecting that globalization is more important than has been said until now. However, it is true that almost all analysis done in relation with that consider the effect of t-1 direct R&D intensity over economic growth. Nevertheless, from our point of view R&D evolve as a delayed flow and it is necessary some time to be able to see its effects on the economy, as some authors have already claimed. Our estimations tend to corroborate this hypothesis obtaining a gap between 4-5 years.

Keywords: economic growth, embodied, input-output, technology

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Authors: Rajkishore Nayak, Tarun Panwar, Majo George

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The study focuses on investigating the factors that influence the growth of fashion and textile manufacturing in the Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) countries. This paper endeavours to identify, analyse and evaluate the critical factors associated with the growth of fashion and textile manufacturing in SSA countries. This research has done a Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, and Threat (SWOT) analysis based on the available literature and the knowledge of authors in garment manufacturing and export. It was found that the SSA countries have shown little growth in fashion and textile manufacturing and export from the starting of the year 2000. Unlike the developing countries such as Vietnam and Bangladesh, the total export to the US, the EU and other parts of the world has declined. On the other hand, the total supply of fashion and textiles to the domestic market has been in rise. However, the local communities still need to rely on other countries to meet their demand. Availability of cheaper imported clothes from other countries such as Bangladesh, China and Vietnam have made it difficult for the local manufacturers to produce at a cheaper price.

Keywords: Sub-Saharan Africa, developing countries, apparel industry, fashion and textile, sustainable fashion

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Authors: Kazem Bashirnezhad, Seyed Ahmad Kebriyaee, saeed hoseyngholizadeh moghadam

Abstract:

The urea–SCR catalyst system has the advantages of high NOx conversion efficiency and a wide range of operating conditions. The key factors for successful implementation of urea–SCR technology is good mixing of urea (ammonia) and gas to reduce ammonia slip. Urea mixer components are required to facilitate evaporation and mixing, because it is difficult to evaporate urea in the liquid state; the injection parameters are the most critical factors affecting mixer performance. In this study, The effect of urea injection on NOx emissions in a six-cylinder, four-stroke internal combustion engine fueled with B80 biodiesel has been experimentally investigated. The results reveal that urea injection leads to a reduction of NOx emissions of B80 biodiesel fuel. Moreover, the influence of injection parameters on NOx reductions has been studied. The findings show that by increasing the injection temperature, more reduction in NOx emissions has been occurred. Also, urea mass flow rate increment leads to more NOx reduction. The same result has been obtained by an increase in spray angle.

Keywords: urea, NOx emissions, diesel engines, biodiesels

Procedia PDF Downloads 478