Search results for: building retention

Authors: Razyeh Behbahani, Martin L. Plumer, Ivan Saika-Voivod

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Micromagnetic simulations based on the stochastic Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation are used to calculate dynamic magnetic hysteresis loops relevant to magnetic hyperthermia applications. With the goal to effectively simulate room-temperature loops for large iron-oxide based systems at relatively slow sweep rates on the order of 1 Oe/ns or less, a coarse-graining scheme is proposed and tested. The scheme is derived from a previously developed renormalization-group approach. Loops associated with nanorods, used as building blocks for larger nanoparticles that were employed in preclinical trials (Dennis et al., 2009 Nanotechnology 20 395103), serve as the model test system. The scaling algorithm is shown to produce nearly identical loops over several decades in the model grain sizes. Sweep-rate scaling involving the damping constant alpha is also demonstrated.

Keywords: coarse-graining, hyperthermia, hysteresis loops, micromagnetic simulations

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Authors: Sara Fayez Fawzy Mikhael

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Inclusive education services for students with Autism remains in its early developmental stages in Thailand. Despite many more children with autism are attending schools since the Thai government introduced the Education Provision for People with Disabilities Act in 2008, the services students with autism and their families receive are generally lacking. This quantitative study used Attitude and Preparedness to Teach Students with Autism Scale (APTSAS) to investigate 110 primary school teachers’ attitude and preparedness to teach students with autism in the general education classroom. Descriptive statistical analysis of the data found that student behavior was the most significant factor in building teachers’ negative attitudes students with autism. The majority of teachers also indicated that their pre-service education did not prepare them to meet the learning needs of children with autism in particular, those who are non-verbal. The study is significant and provides direction for enhancing teacher education for inclusivity in Thailand.

Keywords: attitude, autism, teachers, thailandsports activates, movement skills, motor skills

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Authors: S. Jagadeesh Kumar

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This expose presents a luculent of recent machine learning practices as employed in the modern and as pertinent to prospective automatic speech recognition schemes. The aspiration is to promote additional traverse ablution among the machine learning and automatic speech recognition factions that have transpired in the precedent. The manuscript is structured according to the chief machine learning archetypes that are furthermore trendy by now or have latency for building momentous hand-outs to automatic speech recognition expertise. The standards offered and convoluted in this article embraces adaptive and multi-task learning, active learning, Bayesian learning, discriminative learning, generative learning, supervised and unsupervised learning. These learning archetypes are aggravated and conferred in the perspective of automatic speech recognition tools and functions. This manuscript bequeaths and surveys topical advances of deep learning and learning with sparse depictions; further limelight is on their incessant significance in the evolution of automatic speech recognition.

Keywords: automatic speech recognition, deep learning methods, machine learning archetypes, Bayesian learning, supervised and unsupervised learning

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Authors: Mouhammd Alkasassbeh, Alaa Lasasmeh

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We live in an era of rapid development as a result of significant scientific growth. Like other technologies, wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are playing one of the main roles. Based on WSNs, ZigBee adds many features to devices, such as minimum cost and power consumption, and increasing the range and connect ability of sensor nodes. ZigBee technology has come to be used in various fields, including science, engineering, and networks, and even in medicinal aspects of intelligence building. In this work, we generated two main datasets, the first being based on tree topology and the second on star topology. The datasets were evaluated by three machine learning (ML) algorithms: J48, meta.j48 and multilayer perceptron (MLP). Each topology was classified into normal and abnormal (attack) network traffic. The dataset used in our work contained simulated data from network simulation 2 (NS2). In each database, the Bayesian network meta.j48 classifier achieved the highest accuracy level among other classifiers, of 99.7% and 99.2% respectively.

Keywords: IDS, Machine learning, WSN, ZigBee technology

Procedia PDF Downloads 546

Authors: Samwail Fahmi Francis Yacoub

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Inclusive education services for students with Autism remains in its early developmental stages in Thailand. Despite many more children with autism are attending schools since the Thai government introduced the Education Provision for People with Disabilities Act in 2008, the services students with autism and their families receive are generally lacking. This quantitative study used Attitude and Preparedness to Teach Students with Autism Scale (APTSAS) to investigate 110 primary school teachers’ attitude and preparedness to teach students with autism in the general education classroom. Descriptive statistical analysis of the data found that student behavior was the most significant factor in building teachers’ negative attitudes students with autism. The majority of teachers also indicated that their pre-service education did not prepare them to meet the learning needs of children with autism in particular, those who are non-verbal. The study is significant and provides direction for enhancing teacher education for inclusivity in Thailand.

Keywords: attitude, autism, teachers, movement skills, motor skills, children, behavior.

Procedia PDF Downloads 56

Authors: Petros Gkotsis, Anastasios Zouboulis, Manasis Mitrakas, Dimitrios Zamboulis, E. Peleka

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The most serious drawback in wastewater treatment using membrane bioreactors (MBRs) is membrane fouling which gradually leads to membrane permeability decrease and efficiency deterioration. This work is part of a research project that aims to develop an integrated methodology for membrane fouling control, using specific chemicals which will enhance the coagulation and flocculation of compounds responsible for fouling, hence reducing biofilm formation on the membrane surface and limiting the fouling rate acting as a pre-treatment step. For this purpose, a pilot-scale plant with fully automatic operation achieved by means of programmable logic controller (PLC) has been constructed and tested. The experimental set-up consists of four units: wastewater feed unit, bioreactor, membrane (side-stream) filtration unit and permeate collection unit. Synthetic wastewater was fed as the substrate for the activated sludge. The dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration of the aerobic tank was maintained in the range of 2-3 mg/L during the entire operation by using an aerator below the membrane module. The membranes were operated at a flux of 18 LMH while membrane relaxation steps of 1 min were performed every 10 min. Both commercial and composite coagulants are added in different concentrations in the pilot-scale plant and their effect on the overall performance of the ΜΒR system is presented. Membrane fouling was assessed in terms of TMP, membrane permeability, sludge filterability tests, total resistance and the unified modified fouling index (UMFI). Preliminary tests showed that particular attention should be paid to the addition of the coagulant solution, indicating that pipe flocculation effectively increases hydraulic retention time and leads to voluminous sludge flocs. The most serious drawback in wastewater treatment using MBRs is membrane fouling, which gradually leads to membrane permeability decrease and efficiency deterioration. This results in increased treatment cost, due to high energy consumption and the need for frequent membrane cleaning and replacement. Due to the widespread application of MBR technology over the past few years, it becomes clear that the development of a methodology to mitigate membrane fouling is of paramount importance. The present work aims to develop an integrated technique for membrane fouling control in MBR systems and, thus, contribute to sustainable wastewater treatment.

Keywords: coagulation, membrane bioreactor, membrane fouling, pilot plant

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Authors: Mizam Doğan

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In service life; structures can be damaged if they are subjected to dead and live loads which are greater than design values. For preventing this case; possible loads must be correctly calculated, structure must be designed according to determined loads, and structure must not be used out of its function. If loading case of the structure changes when its function changes; it must be reinforced for continuing it is new function. Reinforcement is a process that is made by increasing the existing strengths of structural system elements of the structure as reinforced concrete walls, beams, and slabs. Reinforcement can be done by casting reinforced concrete, placing steel and fiber structural elements. In this paper, reinforcing of columns and slabs of a structure of which function is changed is studied step by step. This reinforcement is made for increasing vertical and lateral load carrying capacity of the building. Not for repairing damaged structural system.

Keywords: strengthening, RC slabs, seismic load, steel beam, structural irregularity

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Authors: Nikolaos Vassilas, Theocharis Tsenoglou, Djamchid Ghazanfarpour

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In this work we explore the capability of the mean shift algorithm as a powerful preprocessing tool for improving the quality of spatial data, acquired from airborne scanners, from densely built urban areas. On one hand, high resolution image data corrupted by noise caused by lossy compression techniques are appropriately smoothed while at the same time preserving the optical edges and, on the other, low resolution LiDAR data in the form of normalized Digital Surface Map (nDSM) is upsampled through the joint mean shift algorithm. Experiments on both the edge-preserving smoothing and upsampling capabilities using synthetic RGB-z data show that the mean shift algorithm is superior to bilateral filtering as well as to other classical smoothing and upsampling algorithms. Application of the proposed methodology for 3D reconstruction of buildings of a pilot region of Athens, Greece results in a significant visual improvement of the 3D building block model.

Keywords: 3D buildings reconstruction, data fusion, data upsampling, mean shift

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Authors: Andrea Bikfalvi, Josep Llach, Ferran Lazaro, Bojan Jovanovski

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Due to the continuous need to foster university-business cooperation in both developed and developing countries, some higher education institutions face the challenge of designing, piloting, operating, and consolidating knowledge and technology transfer units. University-business cooperation has different maturity stages worldwide, with some higher education institutions excelling in these practices, but with lots of others that could be qualified as intermediate, or even some situated at the very beginning of their knowledge transfer adventure. These latter face the imminent necessity to formally create the technology transfer unit and to draw its roadmap. The complexity of this operation is due to various aspects that need to align and coordinate, including a major change in mission, vision, structure, priorities, and operations. Qualitative in approach, this study presents 5 case studies, consisting of higher education institutions located in the Western Balkans – 2 in Albania, 2 in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1 in Montenegro- fully immersed in the entrepreneurial journey of creating their knowledge and technology transfer unit. The empirical evidence is developed in a pan-European project, illustratively called KnowHub (reconnecting universities and enterprises to unleash regional innovation and entrepreneurial activity), which is being implemented in three countries and has resulted in at least 15 pilot cooperation agreements between academia and business. Based on a peer-mentoring approach including more experimented and more mature technology transfer models of European partners located in Spain, Finland, and Austria, a series of initial lessons learned are already available. The findings show that each unit developed its tailor-made approach to engage with internal and external stakeholders, offer value to the academic staff, students, as well as business partners. The latest technology underpinning KnowHub services and institutional commitment are found to be key success factors. Although specific strategies and plans differ, they are based on a general strategy jointly developed and based on common tools and methods of strategic planning and business modelling. The main output consists of providing good practice for designing, piloting, and initial operations of units aiming to fully valorise knowledge and expertise available in academia. Policymakers can also find valuable hints on key aspects considered vital for initial operations. The value of this contribution is its focus on the intersection of three perspectives (service orientation, organisational innovation, business model) since previous research has only relied on a single topic or dual approaches, most frequently in the business context and less frequently in higher education.

Keywords: business model, capacity building, entrepreneurial education, knowledge transfer

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Authors: Aeslina Binti Abdul Kadir, Ahmad Shayuti Bin Abdul Rahim

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Brick is one of the most common masonry units used as building material. Due to the demand, different types of waste have been investigated to be incorporated into the bricks. Many types of sludge have been incorporated in fired clay brick for example marble sludge, stone sludge, water sludge, sewage sludge, and ceramic sludge. The utilization of these waste materials in fired clay bricks usually has positive effects on the properties such as lightweight bricks with improved shrinkage, porosity, and strength. This paper reviews on utilization of different types of sludge wastes into fired clay bricks. Previous investigations have demonstrated positive effects on the physical and mechanical properties as well as less impact towards the environment. Thus, the utilizations of sludge waste could produce a good quality of brick and could be one of alternative disposal methods for the sludge wastes.

Keywords: fired clay brick, sludge waste, compressive strength, shrinkage, water absorption

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Authors: Chi-Rung Jiang, Chun-Chung Chen, Sheng-Yuan Shiao, Fang-Yao Yeh

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Transmission lines are essential for power systems which play a significant role in a city for the development of infrastructures. Once a tower on the transmission line is damaged or becomes unstable, small-scale transmission tower damage might cause a large-scale electric power failure, and consequently, the enormous economic losses will occur. This paper assesses the structural safety and considers the impact of earthquakes and winds, presents a preliminary study of transmission tower with high-low legs by building structural analysis models of towers. The result shows that the high-low legs towers do have some structural characteristics need to be considered, such as the length of the difference of high legs and low legs should be restricted and the deployment direction of legs must be carefully planned during the design of transmission towers. The outcome of this study is beneficial to power systems authorities.

Keywords: power transition tower, structural analysis, high-low legs, safety assessment

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Authors: Claire M. Hollocou, Denise Johnson

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As racism permeates the foundation of America's educational system, educators hold a level of responsibility to address racism and the power of white privilege in the classroom by implementing anti-racist practices. This study aims to discuss the practices of anti-racist education across two predominantly affluent white schools. It offers our perspectives as white and black female teachers committed to implementing and reflecting on our antiracist work. Through communities of practice and the critical dialogue framework, we will provide an environment for one another to share our experiences implementing anti-racist education. We will spend a couple of months engaging in dialogue together to support our praxis. With critical reflection, we will look for themes that emerge through the conversations as well as develop a protocol for building an antiracist community of practice. This study is a work in progress.

Keywords: anti-racism, critical dialogue, race and racism, teacher education

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Authors: Hakim Benoumelghar

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The launch in 1999 of the open access Initiative (OAI) and the protocol for sharing metadata, OAI-PMH, in parallel with the provision of deposit platforms, open-source software, such as DSpace in 2002, which allow libraries to develop digital repositories and play a leading role in the open access movement, and by building institutional open archives alongside the theme. This study focuses on Algerian universities and their projects and platforms for digital repositories of theses and scientific papers and the possibilities of access to the university community to develop research and access to archives of scientific digital content offered by the scientific community. This contribution attempts to compare Algerian and foreign institutional deposits in developed countries in order to have development and perspectives to facilitate scientific research and give more possibilities to the scientific community in documentary matters.

Keywords: digital repository, repository software, university, algeria

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Authors: Flavio Araujo, Livia Dias, Fabiolla Lima, Paulo Scalize, Antonio Albuquerque

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Water treatment residues (WTR) are solid waste produced during drinking water treatment and have recently been seen as a reusable material. The aim of this research was show how to use the residue generated in a Water Treatment Plant, located in Goiania, Brazil, following the considerations of the law of solid waste to obtain normative parameters and consider sustainable alternatives for reincorporation of the residues in the productive chain for manufacturing various materials construction. In order to reduce the environmental liabilities generated by sanitation companies and discontinue unsustainable forms of disposal. The analyzes performed: Granulometry, Scanning Electron Microscopy and X-Ray Diffraction demonstrated the potential application of residues to replace the soil and sand, because it has characteristics compatible with small aggregate and can be used as feedstock for the manufacture of materials as ceramic and soil-cement bricks, mortars, interlocking floors and concrete artifacts.

Keywords: residue, sustainable, water treatment plants, WTR, WTP

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Authors: Nargiza Nuralieva

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This meta-analysis investigates the effectiveness of mental health interventions tailored for international students in China, with a specific focus on Uzbek students and Silk Road scholarship recipients. The comprehensive literature review synthesizes existing studies, papers, and reports, evaluating the outcomes, limitations, and cultural considerations of these programs. Data selection targets mental health programs for international students, honing in on a subset analysis related to Uzbek students and Silk Road scholarship recipients. The analysis encompasses diverse outcome measures, such as reported stress levels, utilization rates of mental health services, academic performance, and more. Results reveal a consistent and statistically significant reduction in reported stress levels, emphasizing the positive impact of these interventions. Utilization rates of mental health services witness a significant increase, highlighting the accessibility and effectiveness of support. Retention rates show marked improvement, though academic performance yields mixed findings, prompting nuanced exploration. Psychological well-being, quality of life, and overall well-being exhibit substantial enhancements, aligning with the overarching goal of holistic student development. Positive outcomes are observed in increased help-seeking behavior, positive correlations with social support, and significant reductions in anxiety levels. Cultural adaptation and satisfaction with interventions both indicate positive outcomes, underscoring the effectiveness of culturally sensitive mental health support. The findings emphasize the importance of tailored mental health interventions for international students, providing novel insights into the specific needs of Uzbek students and Silk Road scholarship recipients. This research contributes to a nuanced understanding of the multifaceted impact of mental health programs on diverse student populations, offering valuable implications for the design and refinement of future interventions. As educational institutions continue to globalize, addressing the mental health needs of international students remains pivotal for fostering inclusive and supportive learning environments.

Keywords: international students, mental health interventions, cross-cultural support, silk road scholarship, meta-analysis

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Authors: Swee Kun Yap, Sachin Jangam, Suraj Vasudevan

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Experiential learning is dubbed as a highly effective way to enhance learning. Virtual reality (VR) is thus a helpful tool in providing a safe, memorable, and interactive learning environment. A class of 49 fluid mechanics students participated in starting up a pump, one of the most used equipment in the chemical industry, in VR. They experience the process in VR to familiarize themselves with the safety training and the standard operating procedure (SOP) in guided mode. Students subsequently observe their peers (in groups of 4 to 5) complete the same training. The training first brings each user through the personal protection equipment (PPE) selection, before guiding the user through a series of steps for pump startup. One of the most common feedback given by industries include the weakness of our graduates in pump design and operation. Traditional fluid mechanics is a highly theoretical module loaded with engineering equations, providing limited opportunity for visualization and operation. With VR pump, students can now learn to startup, shutdown, troubleshoot and observe the intricacies of a centrifugal pump in a safe and controlled environment, thereby bridging the gap between theory and practical application. Following the completion of the guided mode operation, students then individually complete the VR assessment for pump startup on the same day, which requires students to complete the same series of steps, without any cues given in VR to test their recollection rate. While most students miss out a few minor steps such as the checking of lubrication oil and the closing of minor drain valves before pump priming, all the students scored full marks in the PPE selection, and over 80% of the students were able to complete all the critical steps that are required to startup a pump safely. The students were subsequently tested for their recollection rate by means of an online quiz 3 weeks later, and it is again found that over 80% of the students were able to complete the critical steps in the correct order. In the survey conducted, students reported that the VR experience has been enjoyable and enriching, and 79.5% of the students voted to include VR as a positive supplementary exercise in addition to traditional teaching methods. One of the more notable feedback is the higher ease of noticing and learning from mistakes as an observer rather than as a VR participant. Thus, the cycling between being a VR participant and an observer has helped tremendously in their knowledge retention. This reinforces the positive impact VR has on learning.

Keywords: experiential learning, learning by doing, pump, unit operations, virtual reality

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Authors: Leandra Prempeh, Emily Malugen

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Prenatal drug exposure can have a molecular impact on the hypothalamic and reward genes that regulate feeding behavior. This can impact feeding regulation, resulting in feeding difficulties and growth failure. This was potentially seen in “McKayla,” a 19- month old girl with a history of in-utero drug exposure, patent ductus arteriosus, and gastroesophageal reflux disease who presented for intensive day treatment feeding therapy. She was diagnosed with Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder, described as total food refusal and meeting 100% of her caloric needs from a gastrostomy tube. The primary goals during intensive feeding therapy were to increase her oral intake and decrease her reliance on supplementation with formula. Several behavioral antecedent manipulations were implemented to establish consistent responding and make progress towards treatment goals. This included multiple modified bolus placements (using underloaded and Nuk brush), reinforcement contingencies, and variety fading before stability was finally achieved. Following, increasing retention of bites then increasing volume and variety were goals targeted. From treatment onset to the last 3 days of treatment, McKayla's rate of rapid acceptance of bite presentations increased significantly from 33.33% to 93.13%, rapid swallowing went from 0.00% to 92.32%, and her percentage of inappropriate mealtime behavior and expels decreased from 58.33% and 100% to 2.31% and 7.68%, respectively. Overall, the treatment team successfully introduced and increased the bite size of 7 pureed foods, generalize the treatment to caregivers with high integrity, and began facilitating tube weaning. She was receiving about 33.42% of her needs by mouth at the time of discharge. Other nutritional concerns addressed during treatment included drinking a nutritionally complete drink out of an open cup and age appropriate growth. McKayla continued to have emesis almost daily, as was her baseline before starting treatment; however, the frequency during mealtime decreased. Overall, McKayla responded well to treatment. She had a very slow response to treatment and required a lot of antecedent manipulations to establish consistent responding. As the literature suggests, [drug]-exposed neonates, like McKayla, may be at increased risk for nutritional and growth challenges that may persist throughout development. This supports the need for longterm follow-up of infant growth.

Keywords: behavioral intervention, feeding problems, in-utero drug exposure, intensive multidisciplinary intervention

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Authors: M. Attavanich, H. Kobayashi

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Moklen is a sub-group of ethnic minority in Thailand. In the past, they were vagabonds of the sea. Their livelihood relied on the sea but they built temporary shelters to avoid strong wind and waves during monsoon season. Recently, they have permanently settled on land along coastal area and mangrove forest in Phang Nga and Phuket Province, Southern Thailand. Moklen people have their own housing culture: the Moklen ethnic house was built from local natural materials, indicating a unique structure and design. Its wooden structure is joined by rattan ropes. The construction process is very unique because of using body-based unit of measurement for design and construction. However, there are several threats for those unique structures. One of the most important threats on Moklen ethnic house is tsunami. Especially the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami caused widely damage to Southern Thailand and Phang Nga province was the most affected area. In that time, Moklen villages which are located along the coastal area also affected calamitously. In order to recover the damage in affected villages, mostly new modern style houses were provided by aid agencies. This process has caused a significant impact on Moklen housing culture. Not only tsunami, but also modernization has an influence on the changing appearance of the Moklen houses and the effect of modernization has been started to experience before the tsunami. As a result, local construction knowledge is very limited nowadays because the number of elderly people in Moklen has been decreasing drastically. Last but not the least, restrictions of construction materials which are originally provided from accessible mangroves, create limitations in building a Moklen house. In particular, after the Reserved Forest Act, wood chopping without any permission has become illegal. These are some of the most important reasons for Moklen ethnic houses to disappear. Nevertheless, according to the results of field surveys done in 2013 in Phang Nga province, it is found out that some Moklen ethnic houses are still available in Tubpla Village, but only a few. Next survey in the same area in 2014 showed that number of Moklen houses in the village has been started to increase significantly. That proves that there is a high potential to conserve Moklen houses. Also the project of our research team in February 2014 contributed to continuation of Moklen ethnic house. With the cooperation of the village leader and our team, it was aimed to construct a Moklen house with the help of local participants. For the project, villagers revealed the building knowledge and techniques, and in the end, project helped community to understand the value of their houses. Also, it was a good opportunity for Moklen children to learn about their culture. In addition, NGOs recently have started to support ecotourism projects in the village. It not only helps to preserve a way of life, but also contributes to preserve indigenous knowledge and techniques of Moklen ethnic house. This kind of supporting activities are important for the conservation of Moklen ethnic houses.

Keywords: conservation, construction project, Moklen Ethnic House, 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami

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Authors: Pekka Makkonen, Georgios Lampropoulos, Kerstin Siakas

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This paper examines the impact of social media on knowledge work. It discloses and highlights which specific aspects, areas and tasks of knowledge work can be improved by the use of social media. Moreover, the study includes a survey about higher education students’ viewpoints in regard to the use of social media as a means to enhance knowledge work and knowledge sharing. The analysis has been conducted based both on empirical data and on discussions about the sources dealing with knowledge work and how it can be enhanced by using social media. The results show that social media can improve knowledge work, knowledge building and maintenance tasks in which communication, information sharing and collaboration play a vital role. Additionally, by using social media, personal, collaborative and supplementary work activities can be enhanced. Based on the results of the study, we suggest how knowledge work can be enhanced when using the contemporary information and communications technologies (ICTs) of the 21^st century and recommend future directions towards improving knowledge work.

Keywords: knowledge work, social media, social media services, improving work performance

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Authors: Joao Almeida, Ana Azevedo, Myriam Kanoun-Boule, Maria Ines Santos, Antonio Tadeu

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The effects of the increasing expansion of cities and climate changes have encouraged European countries and regions to adopt nature-based solutions with ability to mitigate environmental issues and improve life in cities. Among these strategies, green roofs and urban gardens have been considered ingenious solutions, since they have the desirable potential to improve air quality, prevent floods, reduce the heat island effect and restore biodiversity in cities. However, an additional consumption of fresh water and mineral nutrients is necessary to sustain larger green urban areas. This communication discusses the main technical features of a new system to manage urine recovery at the building level and its application in green roofs. The depletion of critical nutrients like phosphorus constitutes an emergency. In turn, their elimination through urine is one of the principal causes for their loss. Thus, urine recovery in buildings may offer numerous advantages, constituting a valuable fertilizer abundantly available in cities and reducing the load on wastewater treatment plants. Although several urine-diverting toilets have been developed for this purpose and some experiments using urine directly in agriculture have already been carried out in Europe, several challenges have emerged with this practice concerning collection, sanitization, storage and application of urine in buildings. To our best knowledge, current buildings are not designed to receive these systems and integrated solutions with ability to self-manage the whole process of urine recovery, including separation, maturation and storage phases, are not known. Additionally, if from a hygiene point of view human urine may be considered a relatively safe fertilizer, the risk of disease transmission needs to be carefully analysed. A reduction in microorganisms can be achieved by storing the urine in closed tanks. However, several factors may affect this process, which may result in a higher survival rate for some pathogens. In this work, urine effluent was collected under real conditions, stored in closed containers and kept in climatic chambers under variable conditions simulating cold, temperate and tropical climates. These samples were subjected to a first physicochemical and microbiological control, which was repeated over time. The results obtained so far suggest that maturation conditions were reached for all the three temperatures and that a storage period of less than three months is required to achieve a strong depletion of microorganisms. The authors are grateful for the Project WashOne (POCI-01-0247-FEDER-017461) funded by the Operational Program for Competitiveness and Internationalization (POCI) of Portugal 2020, with the support of the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER).

Keywords: sustainable green roofs and urban gardens, urban nutrient cycle, urine-based fertilizers, urine recovery in buildings

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Authors: Rudan Xue, Annika Moscati, Rehel Zeleke Kebede, Peter Johansson

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Successful buildings’ simulation and analysis inevitably require information exchange between multiple building information modeling (BIM) software. The BIM infor-mation exchange based on IFC is widely used. However, Industry Foundation Classifi-cation (IFC) files are not always reliable and information can get lost when using dif-ferent software for modeling and simulations. In this research, interviews with lighting simulation experts and a case study provided by a company producing lighting devices have been the research methods used to identify the necessary steps and data for suc-cessful information exchange between lighting simulation tools and authoring design tools. Model creation, information exchange, and model simulation have been identi-fied as key aspects for the success of information exchange. The paper concludes with recommendations for improved information exchange and more reliable simulations that take all the needed parameters into consideration.

Keywords: BIM, data exchange, interoperability issues, lighting simulations

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Authors: Yuichi Morita, Yoshiteru Nakamori

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In car dealer business of Japan, a sale professional is a key factor of company’s success. We hypothesize that, if a corporation knows what is the sales professionals’ trait of its corporation’s business field, it will be easier for a corporation to secure and nurture sales persons effectively. The lean human resources management will ensure business success and good performance of corporations, especially small and medium ones. The goal of the paper is to determine the traits of sales professionals for small-and medium-size car dealers, using chi-square test and the variable rough set model. As a result, the results illustrate that experience of job change, learning ability and product knowledge are important, and an academic background, building a career with internal transfer, experience of the leader and self-development are not important to be a sale professional. Also, we illustrate sales professionals’ traits are persistence, humility, improvisation and passion at business.

Keywords: traits of sales professionals, variable precision rough sets theory, sales professional, sales professionals

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Authors: Mousa Bani Baker, Raed Abendeh, Zaidoon Abu Salem, Hesham Ahmad

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This research paper was commissioned to discuss the Jordanian marble, which is a non-foliated metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however, stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphised limestone. Marble is commonly used for sculpture and as a building material. The marble has many uses; one of them is using the white marble that has been prized for its use in sculptures since classical times. This preference has to do with its softness, relative isotropy and homogeneity, and a relative resistance to shattering. Another use of it is the construction marble which is “a stone which is composed of calcite, dolomite or serpentine which is capable of taking a polish” Marble Institute of America. This report focuses most about the marble in Jordan and its properties: rock definition, physical properties, the marble occurrences in Jordan, types of Jordanian marble and their prices and test done on this marble.

Keywords: marble, metamorphic, non-foliated, compressive strength, recrystallized, Moh’s hardness, abrasion, absorption, modulus of rupture, porosity

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Authors: Charles A. Khamala

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In 2003, constrained by an absent “rule of law culture” and negative economic growth, the new Kenyan government chose to pursue incremental judicial reforms rather than comprehensive constitutional reforms. President Mwai Kibaki’s first administration’s judicial reform strategy was two pronged. First, to implement unprecedented “radical surgery,” he appointed a new Chief Justice who instrumentally recommended that half the purportedly-corrupt judiciary should be removed by Presidential tribunals of inquiry. Second, the replacement High Court judges, initially, instrumentally-endorsed the “radical surgery’s” administrative decisions removing their corrupt predecessors. Meanwhile, retention of the welfare-reducing Constitution perpetuated declining public confidence in judicial institutions culminating in refusal by the dissatisfied opposition party to petition the disputed 2007 presidential election results, alleging biased and corrupt courts. Fatefully, widespread post-election violence ensued. Consequently, the international community prompted the second Kibaki administration to concede to a new Constitution. Suddenly, the High Court then adopted a non-instrumental interpretation to reject the 2003 “radical surgery.” This paper therefore critically analyzes whether the Kenyan court’s inconsistent interpretations–pertaining to the constitutionality of the 2003 “radical surgery” removing corruption from Kenya’s courts–was predicated on political expediency or human rights principles. If justice “must also seen to be done,” then pursuit of the CJ’s, Judicial Service Commission’s and president’s political or economic interests must be limited by respect for the suspected judges and magistrates’ due process rights. The separation of powers doctrine demands that the dismissed judges should have a right of appeal which entails impartial review by a special independent oversight mechanism. Instead, ignoring fundamental rights, Kenya’s new Supreme Court’s interpretation of another round of vetting under the new 2010 Constitution, ousts the High Court’s judicial review jurisdiction altogether, since removal of judicial corruption is “a constitutional imperative, akin to a national duty upon every judicial officer to pave way for judicial realignment and reformulation.”

Keywords: administrative decisions, corruption, fair hearing, judicial review, (non) instrumental

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Authors: Mohammed Alkiyumi

Abstract:

Educational systems are currently paying special attention to developing learners' higher thinking skills to develop the capabilities of human resources to deal with contemporary challenges. Although psychologists disagree about the concept of higher-order thinking skills and the skills they include, there is unlimited effort in designing them and building strategies for their implementation. The most important factor helping to develop these skills is their classification according to specific criteria, and the most important of these classifications is Bloom's classification, which is dominant in most educational systems at all levels. Previous classifications have many limitations, including the comprehensiveness of the skills they contain, the logical structure of their hierarchy, and classification criteria. Therefore, this article puts another step in this area by providing a new classification of higher-order thinking skills that includes five categories: the first response stage, transformative stage, application, reasoning stage, and the production stage with a logical justification for this classification, with some techniques to developing it among learners.

Keywords: high-order thinking skills, classification, teaching, education

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Authors: Wenqian Bai

Abstract:

Background: In response to the post-pandemic directives of Xi Jinping concerning the new era of ecological civilization, China has embarked on ecological restoration projects across its territorial spaces. This initiative faces challenges such as complex evaluation metrics and subpar informatization standards. Methodology: This research focuses on Mianzhu City, Sichuan Province, to assess its resource and environmental carrying capacities and the appropriateness of land use for development from ecological, agricultural, and urban perspectives. The study incorporates a range of spatial data to evaluate factors like ecosystem services (including water conservation, soil retention, and biodiversity), ecological vulnerability (addressing issues like soil erosion and desertification), and resilience. Utilizing the Minimum Cumulative Resistance model along with the ‘Three Zones and Three Lines’ strategy, the research maps out ecological corridors and significant ecological networks. These frameworks support the ecological restoration and environmental enhancement of the area. Results: The study identifies critical ecological zones in Mianzhu City's northwestern region, highlighting areas essential for protection and particularly crucial for water conservation. The southeastern region is categorized as a generally protected ecological zone with respective ratings for water conservation functionality and ecosystem resilience. The research also explores the spatial challenges of three ecological functions and underscores the substantial impact of human activities, such as mining and agricultural expansion, on the ecological baseline. The proposed spatial arrangement for ecological restoration, termed ‘One Mountain, One Belt, Four Rivers, Five Zones, and Multiple Corridors’, strategically divides the city into eight major restoration zones, each with specific tasks and projects. Conclusion: With its significant ‘mountain-plain’ geography, Mianzhu City acts as a crucial ecological buffer for the Yangtze River's upper reaches. Future development should focus on enhancing ecological corridors in agriculture and urban areas, controlling soil erosion, and converting farmlands back to forests and grasslands to foster ecosystem rehabilitation.

Keywords: ecological restoration, resource and environmental carrying capacity, land development suitability, ecosystem services, ecological vulnerability, ecological networks

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Authors: Muhamad Azani Yahya, Vikneswaran Munikanan, Mohammed Alias Yusof

Abstract:

There is the need to take the holistic approach in achieving sustainable construction for a contemporary practice. Sustainable construction is the practice that involved method of human preservation of the environment, whether economically or socially through responsibility, management of resources and maintenance utilizing support. This paper shows the correlation of achieving rapid construction with sustainable concepts using lean principles. Lean principles being used widely in the manufacturing industry, but this research will demonstrate the principles into building construction. Lean principle offers the benefits of stabilizing work flow and elimination of unnecessary work. Therefore, this principle contributes to time and waste reduction. The correlation shows that pulling factor provides the improvement of progress curve and stabilizing the time-quality relation. The finding shows the lean principles offer the elements of rapid construction synchronized with the elements of sustainability.

Keywords: sustainable construction, rapid construction, time reduction, lean construction

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Authors: Waziri Victor Onomza, John K. Alhassan, Idris Ismaila, Noel Dogonyaro Moses

Abstract:

This paper describes the problem of building secure computational services for encrypted information in the Cloud Computing without decrypting the encrypted data; therefore, it meets the yearning of computational encryption algorithmic aspiration model that could enhance the security of big data for privacy, confidentiality, availability of the users. The cryptographic model applied for the computational process of the encrypted data is the Fully Homomorphic Encryption Scheme. We contribute theoretical presentations in high-level computational processes that are based on number theory and algebra that can easily be integrated and leveraged in the Cloud computing with detail theoretic mathematical concepts to the fully homomorphic encryption models. This contribution enhances the full implementation of big data analytics based cryptographic security algorithm.

Keywords: big data analytics, security, privacy, bootstrapping, homomorphic, homomorphic encryption scheme

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Authors: Robert K. Hillyard, Jonathan Thomas, Brett A. Story

Abstract:

Compressed Stabilized Earth Blocks (CSEB) are masonry units that combine soil, sand, stabilizer, and water under pressure to form an earth block. These CSEB’s offer a cost-effective building solution for remote construction, using local resources and labor to minimize transportation and material costs. However, CSEB’s, and earthen construction generally have not been widely adopted as standardized construction materials. One shortcoming is the difficulty in standardizing strength values of CSEB units and systems due to the inherent variations in mix design, including production compression. This research presents findings on compressive strengths of full-scale CSEB’s from 60 different mix designs as a function of the amount of cement, sand, soil, and water added to the mixture. The full-scale results are compared with CSEB cylinder cores.

Keywords: CSEB, compressive strength, earth construction, mix design

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Authors: Marut Phichetvit

Abstract:

The research objective aims to search information about storytelling and fable associated with fireflies in Amphawa community, in order to design and create a story book which is appropriate for the interests of children in early childhood. This book should help building the development of learning about the natural environment, imagination, and creativity among children, which then, brings about the promotion of the development, conservation and dissemination of cultural values and uniqueness of the Amphawa community. The population used in this study were 30 students in early childhood aged between 6-8 years-old, grade 1-3 from the Demonstration School of Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University. The method used for this study was purposive sampling and the research conducted by the query and analysis of data from both the document and the narrative field tales and fable associated with the fireflies of Amphawa community. Then, using the results to synthesize and create a conceptual design in a form of 8 visual images which were later applied to 1 illustrated children’s book and presented to the experts to evaluate and test this media.

Keywords: children’s illustrated book, fireflies, Amphawa

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