Search results for: Data Analysis
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 42139

Search results for: Data Analysis

15169 Modelling of Heating and Evaporation of Biodiesel Fuel Droplets

Authors: Mansour Al Qubeissi, Sergei S. Sazhin, Cyril Crua, Morgan R. Heikal

Abstract:

This paper presents the application of the Discrete Component Model for heating and evaporation to multi-component biodiesel fuel droplets in direct injection internal combustion engines. This model takes into account the effects of temperature gradient, recirculation and species diffusion inside droplets. A distinctive feature of the model used in the analysis is that it is based on the analytical solutions to the temperature and species diffusion equations inside the droplets. Nineteen types of biodiesel fuels are considered. It is shown that a simplistic model, based on the approximation of biodiesel fuel by a single component or ignoring the diffusion of components of biodiesel fuel, leads to noticeable errors in predicted droplet evaporation time and time evolution of droplet surface temperature and radius.

Keywords: heat/mass transfer, biodiesel, multi-component fuel, droplet

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15168 Analyzing the Effects of Real Income and Biomass Energy Consumption on Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Emissions: Empirical Evidence from the Panel of Biomass-Consuming Countries

Authors: Eyup Dogan

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This empirical aims to analyze the impacts of real income and biomass energy consumption on the level of emissions in the EKC model for the panel of biomass-consuming countries over the period 1980-2011. Because we detect the presence of cross-sectional dependence and heterogeneity across countries for the analyzed data, we use panel estimation methods robust to cross-sectional dependence and heterogeneity. The CADF and the CIPS panel unit root tests indicate that carbon emissions, real income and biomass energy consumption are stationary at the first-differences. The LM bootstrap panel cointegration test shows that the analyzed variables are cointegrated. Results from the panel group-mean DOLS and the panel group-mean FMOLS estimators show that increase in biomass energy consumption decreases CO2 emissions and the EKC hypothesis is validated. Therefore, countries are advised to boost their production and increase the use of biomass energy for lower level of emissions.

Keywords: biomass energy, CO2 emissions, EKC model, heterogeneity, cross-sectional dependence

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15167 Debt Reconstruction, Career Development and Famers Household Well-Being in Thailand

Authors: Yothin Sawangdee, Piyawat Katewongsa, Chutima Yousomboon, Kornkanok Pongpradit, Sakapas Saengchai, Phusit Khantikul

Abstract:

Debts reconstruction under some of moratorium projects is one of important method that highly benefits to both the Banks and farmers. The method can reduce probabilities for nonprofits loan. This paper discuss about debts reconstruction and career development training for farmers in Thailand between 2011 and 2013. The research designed is mix-method between quantitative survey and qualitative survey. Sample size for quantitative method is 1003 cases. Data gathering procedure is between October and December 2013. Main results affirmed that debts reconstruction is needed. And there are numerous benefits from farmers’ career development training. Many of farmers who attend field school activities able to bring knowledge learned to apply for the farms’ work. They can reduce production costs. Framers’ quality of life and their household well-being also improve. This program should apply in any countries where farmers have highly debts and highly risks for not return the debts.

Keywords: career development, debts reconstruction, farmers household well-being, Thailand

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15166 Observer-based Robust Diagnosis for Wind Turbine System

Authors: Sarah Odofin, Zhiwei Gao

Abstract:

Operations and maintenance of wind turbine have received much attention by researcher due to rapid expansion of wind farms. This paper explores a novel fault diagnosis that is designed and optimized to be very sensitive to faults and robust to disturbances. The faults considered are the sensor faults of which the augmented observer is considered to enlarge faults and to be robust to disturbance. A qualitative model based analysis is proposed for early fault diagnosis to minimize downtime mostly caused by components breakdown and exploit productivity. Simulation results are computed validating the models provided which demonstrates system performance using practical application of fault type examples. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of the developed techniques investigated in a Matlab/Simulink environment.

Keywords: wind turbine, condition monitoring, genetic algorithm, fault diagnosis, augmented observer, disturbance robustness, fault estimation, sensor monitoring

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15165 Meeting the Parents on Facebook : A Case Study of the Swedish Social Insurance Agency’s Social Media Use

Authors: Cecilia Teljas

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Many government agencies use social media to supplement their traditional communication channels. Government agencies are typically risk-averse, which makes social media practices problematic. However, this case study of the social media use of the Swedish social insurance agency shows considerable bi-directional communication between the agency and the public. On one hand, the agency’s aims, strategies, ways of working and experiences related to its social media communication practice are analyzed. On the other hand, the communication by both the agency and the public is studied on one of the agency’s Facebook pages. The results showed that it is possible for an agency to provide relevant and accurate information in real-time in social media if identifying and addressing different segments separately. Furthermore, as a result of context adaption this communication was rather informal and the practice can be considered to manifest positive democratic effects due to the increased availability and inclusion.

Keywords: e-government, social media, case study, discourse analysis

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15164 Bending Behaviour of Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composite Stiffened Panel Subjected to Transverse Loading

Authors: S. Kumar, Rajesh Kumar, S. Mandal

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Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) is gaining popularity in many branch of engineering and various applications due to their light weight, specific strength per unit weight and high stiffness in particular direction. As the strength of material is high it can be used in thin walled structure as industrial roof sheds satisfying the strength constraint with comparatively lesser thickness. Analysis of bending behavior of FRP panel has been done here with variation in oriented angle of stiffener panels, fiber orientation, aspect ratio and boundary conditions subjected to transverse loading by using Finite Element Method. The effect of fiber orientation and thickness of ply has also been studied to determine the minimum thickness of ply for optimized section of stiffened FRP panel.

Keywords: bending behavior, fiber reinforced polymer, finite element method, orientation of stiffeners

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15163 Feasibility Analysis of Active and Passive Technical Integration of Rural Buildings

Authors: Chanchan Liu

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In the process of urbanization in China, the rapid development of urban construction has been achieved, but a large number of rural buildings still continue the construction mode many years ago. This paper mainly analyzes the rural residential buildings in the hot summer and cold winter regions analyze the active and passive technologies of the buildings. It explored the feasibility of realizing the sustainable development of rural buildings in an economically reasonable range, using mainly passive technologies, innovative building design methods, reducing the buildings’ demand for conventional energy, and supplementing them with renewable energy sources. On this basis, appropriate technology and regional characteristics are proposed to keep the rural architecture retain its characteristics in the development process. It is hoped that this exploration can provide reference and help for the development of rural buildings in the hot summer and cold winter regions.

Keywords: the rural building, active technology, passive technology, sustainable development

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15162 A Review of the Environmental Impact of Physical Expansion of Shandiz City

Authors: Foruzan Taheri, Seyedeh Negar Hosseinian, Katayoon Alizadeh

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The small countryside city of Shandiz, with a population of about 13.297 is located 35 km to the west of the Mashhad metropolitan. Due to Shandiz’s natural beauty, suitable climate, and its close proximity to Mashhad which is the largest city in the eastern half of the country, many people own second houses in this area. In addition to this, Shandiz hosts millions of visitors annually. Its economic role, which is parallel and complementary to Mashhad, has caused population growth, the increase of activities, and physical expansion, all of which exceed the city’s capacity. The aim of this descriptive and analytical study was to evaluate the impact of city expansion on the environment and aid in preventing further harm to the natural environment of this perimeter. Data were collected from population and housing statistics during a different period of time-based on GIS. Results show that the existence of an integrated environmental management system in order to coordinate development projects and the expansion of tourism programs that meet environmental conditions are necessary and achieving sustainable development with quality of life in this area without considering environmental limitations and capabilities cannot be sustained.

Keywords: population growth, tourism, physical development, environmental impact, Shandiz City

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15161 Determination of the Element Contents in Turkish Coffee and Effect of Sugar Addition

Authors: M. M. Fercan, A. S. Kipcak, O. Dere Ozdemir, M. B. Piskin, E. Moroydor Derun

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Coffee is a widely consumed beverage with many components such as caffeine, flavonoids, phenolic compounds, and minerals. Coffee consumption continues to increase due to its physiological effects, its pleasant taste, and aroma. Robusta and Arabica are two basic types of coffee beans. The coffee bean used for Turkish coffee is Arabica. There are many elements in the structure of coffee and have various effect on human health such as Sodium (Na), Boron (B), Magnesium (Mg) and Iron (Fe). In this study, the amounts of Mg, Na, Fe, and B contents in Turkish coffee are determined and effect of sugar addition is investigated for conscious consumption. The analysis of the contents of coffees was determined by using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). From the results of the experiments the Mg, Na, Fe and B contents of Turkish coffee after sugar addition were found as 19.83, 1.04, 0.02, 0.21 ppm, while without using sugar these concentrations were found 21.46, 0.81, 0.008 and 0.16 ppm. In addition, element contents were calculated for 1, 3 and 5 cups of coffee in order to investigate the health effects.

Keywords: health effect, ICP-OES, sugar, Turkish coffee

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15160 Gas Flaring Utilization at KK Station

Authors: Abd Alati Ali Abushnaq, Malek Essnni, Abduraouf Eteer

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The present study proposes a comprehensive approach to effectively utilize associated gas from the KK remote station, eliminating the practice of flaring and mitigating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The proposed integrated system involves diverting the associated gas via a newly designed pipeline, seamlessly connecting to the existing 12-inch pipeline at the tie-in point. The proposed destination is the low-pressure system at A-100 or 3rd stage, where the associated gas will be channeled towards the NGL (natural gas liquid) plant for processing. To ensure the system's efficacy under varying gas production scenarios, the study employs two industry-standard simulation software packages, Aspen HYSYS and PIPSIM. The simulated results demonstrate the system's ability to handle the projected increase in gas production, reaching up to 38 MMSCFD. This comprehensive analysis ensures the system's robustness and adaptability to future production demands.

Keywords: associated gas, flaring mitigation, GHG emissions, pipeline diversion, NGL plant, KK remote station, production forecasting, Aspen HYSYS, PIPSIM

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15159 Exploring Distinct Materials for Hydrogen Storage: A Density Functional Theory Approach

Authors: Abdalla Ahmad Obeidat

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Developing efficient hydrogen storage materials is critical to advancing clean energy technologies, particularly for applications in fuel cells and renewable energy systems. This study explores materials for hydrogen storage through Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations, addressing one of the most significant challenges in sustainable energy: the safe and efficient storage and release of hydrogen. Our research provides an in-depth analysis of various candidate compounds' structural and electronic properties, aiming to identify materials with enhanced hydrogen storage capacities. By investigating adsorption mechanisms and optimizing key material properties, we aim to contribute to developing high-performance hydrogen storage solutions. The findings from this work have the potential to impact the field of hydrogen fuel technology significantly, offering insights and advancements that support the transition to sustainable energy systems.

Keywords: hydrogen storage, density functional theory, electronic, thermal stability

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15158 An Introspective look into Hotel Employees Career Satisfaction

Authors: Anastasios Zopiatis, Antonis L. Theocharous

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In the midst of a fierce war for talent, the hospitality industry is seeking new and innovative ways to enrich its image as an employer of choice and not a necessity. Historically, the industry’s professions are portrayed as ‘unattractive’ due to their repetitious nature, long and unsocial working schedules, below average remunerations, and the mental and physical demands of the job. Aligning with the industry, hospitality and tourism scholars embarked on a journey to investigate pertinent topics with the aim of enhancing our conceptual understanding of the elements that influence employees at the hospitality world of work. Topics such as job involvement, commitment, job and career satisfaction, and turnover intentions became the focal points in a multitude of relevant empirical and conceptual investigations. Nevertheless, gaps or inconsistencies in existing theories, as a result of both the volatile complexity of the relationships governing human behavior in the hospitality workplace, and the academic community’s unopposed acceptance of theoretical frameworks mainly propounded in the United States and United Kingdom years ago, necessitate our continuous vigilance. Thus, in an effort to enhance and enrich the discourse, we set out to investigate the relationship between intrinsic and extrinsic job satisfaction traits and the individual’s career satisfaction, and subsequent intention to remain in the hospitality industry. Reflecting on existing literature, a quantitative survey was developed and administered, face-to-face, to 650 individuals working as full-time employees in 4- and 5- star hotel establishments in Cyprus, whereas a multivariate statistical analysis method, namely Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), was utilized to determine whether relationships existed between constructs as a means to either accept or reject the hypothesized theory. Findings, of interest to both industry stakeholders and academic scholars, suggest that the individual’s future intention to remain within the industry is primarily associated with extrinsic job traits. Our findings revealed that positive associations exist between extrinsic job traits, and both career satisfaction and future intention. In contrast, when investigating the relationship of intrinsic traits, a positive association was revealed only with career satisfaction. Apparently, the local industry’s environmental factors of seasonality, excessive turnover, overdependence on seasonal, and part-time migrant workers, prohibit industry stakeholders in effectively investing the time and resources in the development and professional growth of their employees. Consequently intrinsic job satisfaction factors such as advancement, growth, and achievement, take backstage to the more materialistic extrinsic factors. Findings from the subsequent mediation analysis support the notion that intrinsic traits can positively influence future intentions indirectly only through career satisfaction, whereas extrinsic traits can positively impact both career satisfaction and future intention both directly and indirectly.

Keywords: career satisfaction, Cyprus, hotel employees, structural equation modeling, SEM

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15157 Advances in Axonal Biomechanics and Mechanobiology: A Nanotechnology-Based Approach to the Study of Mechanotransduction of Axonal Growth

Authors: Alessandro Falconieri, Sara De Vincentiis, Vittoria Raffa

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Mechanical force regulates axonal growth, elongation and maturation processes. This force is opening new frontiers in the field, contributing to a general understanding of the mechanisms of axon growth that, in the past, was thought to be governed exclusively by the growth cone and its ability to influence axonal growth in response to chemical signals. A method recently developed in our laboratory allows, through the labeling of neurons with magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) and the use of permanent magnets, to apply extremely low mechanical forces, similar to those generated endogenously by the growth cone or by the increase of body mass during the organism growth. We found that these extremely low forces strongly enhance the spontaneous axonal elongation rate as well as neuronal sprouting. Data obtained don’t exclude that local phenomena, such as local transport and local translation, may be involved. These new advances could shed new light on what happens when the cell is subjected to external mechanical forces, opening new interesting scenarios in the field of mechanobiology.

Keywords: axon, external mechanical forces, magnetic nanoparticles, mechanotransduction

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15156 Paternal Postpartum Depression and Its Relationship to Maternal Depression

Authors: Fatemeh Abdollahi, Mehran Zarghami, Jamshid Yazdani Jarati, Mun-Sunn Lye

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Fathers may be at risk of depression during the postpartum period. Some studies have been reported maternal depression is the key predictor of paternal postpartum depression (PPD). This study aimed to explore this association. Using a cross-sectional study design, 591 couples referring to primary health centers at 2-8 weeks postpartum (during 2017) were recruited. Couples screened for depression using Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Data on socio-demographic characteristics and psychosocial factors was also gathered. Paternal PPD was analyzed in relation to maternal PPD and other related factors using multiple regressions. The prevalence of Paternal and maternal postpartum depression was 15.7% (93) and 31.8% (188), respectively. The regression model showed that there was increased risk of PPD in fathers whose wives experienced PPD [OR=1.15, (95%CI: 1.04-1.27)], who had a lower state of general health [OR=1.21, (95%CI: 1.11-1.33)], who experienced increased number of life events [OR=1.42, (95%CI: 1.01-1.2.00)], and who were at older age [OR=1.20, (95%CI: 1.05- 1.36)]. Also, there was a decreased risk of depression in fathers with more children compared with those with fewer children [OR=0.20, (95%CI: 0.07-0.53)]. Maternal PPD and psychosocial risk factors were the strong predictors of parental PPD. Being grown up in a family with two depressed parents are an important issue for children and needs futher research and attention.

Keywords: Father, Mother, Postpartum depression, Risk factors

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15155 Platform Virtual for Joint Amplitude Measurement Based in MEMS

Authors: Mauro Callejas-Cuervo, Andrea C. Alarcon-Aldana, Andres F. Ruiz-Olaya, Juan C. Alvarez

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Motion capture (MC) is the construction of a precise and accurate digital representation of a real motion. Systems have been used in the last years in a wide range of applications, from films special effects and animation, interactive entertainment, medicine, to high competitive sport where a maximum performance and low injury risk during training and competition is seeking. This paper presents an inertial and magnetic sensor based technological platform, intended for particular amplitude monitoring and telerehabilitation processes considering an efficient cost/technical considerations compromise. Our platform particularities offer high social impact possibilities by making telerehabilitation accessible to large population sectors in marginal socio-economic sector, especially in underdeveloped countries that in opposition to developed countries specialist are scarce, and high technology is not available or inexistent. This platform integrates high-resolution low-cost inertial and magnetic sensors with adequate user interfaces and communication protocols to perform a web or other communication networks available diagnosis service. The amplitude information is generated by sensors then transferred to a computing device with adequate interfaces to make it accessible to inexperienced personnel, providing a high social value. Amplitude measurements of the platform virtual system presented a good fit to its respective reference system. Analyzing the robotic arm results (estimation error RMSE 1=2.12° and estimation error RMSE 2=2.28°), it can be observed that during arm motion in any sense, the estimation error is negligible; in fact, error appears only during sense inversion what can easily be explained by the nature of inertial sensors and its relation to acceleration. Inertial sensors present a time constant delay which acts as a first order filter attenuating signals at large acceleration values as is the case for a change of sense in motion. It can be seen a damped response of platform virtual in other images where error analysis show that at maximum amplitude an underestimation of amplitude is present whereas at minimum amplitude estimations an overestimation of amplitude is observed. This work presents and describes the platform virtual as a motion capture system suitable for telerehabilitation with the cost - quality and precision - accessibility relations optimized. These particular characteristics achieved by efficiently using the state of the art of accessible generic technology in sensors and hardware, and adequate software for capture, transmission analysis and visualization, provides the capacity to offer good telerehabilitation services, reaching large more or less marginal populations where technologies and specialists are not available but accessible with basic communication networks.

Keywords: inertial sensors, joint amplitude measurement, MEMS, telerehabilitation

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15154 Use of Interpretable Evolved Search Query Classifiers for Sinhala Documents

Authors: Prasanna Haddela

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Document analysis is a well matured yet still active research field, partly as a result of the intricate nature of building computational tools but also due to the inherent problems arising from the variety and complexity of human languages. Breaking down language barriers is vital in enabling access to a number of recent technologies. This paper investigates the application of document classification methods to new Sinhalese datasets. This language is geographically isolated and rich with many of its own unique features. We will examine the interpretability of the classification models with a particular focus on the use of evolved Lucene search queries generated using a Genetic Algorithm (GA) as a method of document classification. We will compare the accuracy and interpretability of these search queries with other popular classifiers. The results are promising and are roughly in line with previous work on English language datasets.

Keywords: evolved search queries, Sinhala document classification, Lucene Sinhala analyzer, interpretable text classification, genetic algorithm

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15153 Handwriting Velocity Modeling by Artificial Neural Networks

Authors: Mohamed Aymen Slim, Afef Abdelkrim, Mohamed Benrejeb

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The handwriting is a physical demonstration of a complex cognitive process learnt by man since his childhood. People with disabilities or suffering from various neurological diseases are facing so many difficulties resulting from problems located at the muscle stimuli (EMG) or signals from the brain (EEG) and which arise at the stage of writing. The handwriting velocity of the same writer or different writers varies according to different criteria: age, attitude, mood, writing surface, etc. Therefore, it is interesting to reconstruct an experimental basis records taking, as primary reference, the writing speed for different writers which would allow studying the global system during handwriting process. This paper deals with a new approach of the handwriting system modeling based on the velocity criterion through the concepts of artificial neural networks, precisely the Radial Basis Functions (RBF) neural networks. The obtained simulation results show a satisfactory agreement between responses of the developed neural model and the experimental data for various letters and forms then the efficiency of the proposed approaches.

Keywords: Electro Myo Graphic (EMG) signals, experimental approach, handwriting process, Radial Basis Functions (RBF) neural networks, velocity modeling

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15152 Role of Medicinal Plants in Treatment of Diseases and Drug Discovery in Azad Kashmir, Pakistan

Authors: Neelam Rashid, Muhammad Zafar, Mushtaq Ahmad, Khafsa Malik, Syed Nasar Shah

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The present study was conducted to study the role of medicinal plants used to cure different ailments in Azad Kashmir. Various ethno medicinal surveys were carried out during 2016 to enlist the uses of plants against various ailments by rural communities of the area. Information was obtained from 60 local people including 45 males (10 traditional health practitioners) and 15 females by semi structured interviews and group discussions. 65 plant species belonging to 45 families were reported. The dominant plant habit was herbaceous (56%) while decoction was the most common method of utilization (40%). The most cited turmoil was the gastrointestinal disorders. The data obtained were analyzed using ethno medicinal indices such as FL, UV, ICF, FC, and RFC. Results revealed that various species had numerous uses in curing of diseases. So conservation of biodiversity of these medicinal plants and traditional knowledge can play important role in improving the local health conditions of rural people and modern drug discovery and development.

Keywords: medicinal plants, ailments, drug, health, traditional

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15151 The Significant Effect of Wudu’ and Zikr in the Controlling of Emotional Pressure Using Biofeedback Emwave Technique

Authors: Mohd Anuar Awang Idris, Muhammad Nubli Abdul Wahab, Nora Yusma Mohamed Yusoff

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Wudu’ (Ablution) and Zikr are amongst some of the spiritual tools which may help an individual control his mind, emotion and attitude. These tools are deemed to be able to deliver a positive impact on an individual’s psychophysiology. The main objective of this research is to determine the effects of Wudu’ (Ablution) and Zikr therapy using the biofeedback emWave application and technology. For this research, 13 students were selected as samples from the students’ representative body at the University Tenaga National, Malaysia. The DASS (Depression Anxiety Stress Scale) questionnaire was used to help with the assessment and measurement of each student’s ability in controlling his or her emotions before and after the therapies. The biofeedback emWave technology was utilized to monitor the student’s psychophysiology level. In addition, the data obtained from the Heart rate variability (HRV) test have also been used to affirm that Wudu’ and Zikr had had significant impacts on the student’s success in controlling his or her emotional pressure.

Keywords: biofeedback EmWave, emotion, psychophysiology, wudu’, zikr

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15150 Turbulence Modeling of Source and Sink Flows

Authors: Israt Jahan Eshita

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Flows developed between two parallel disks have many engineering applications. Two types of non-swirling flows can be generated in such a domain. One is purely source flow in disc type domain (outward flow). Other is purely sink flow in disc type domain (inward flow). This situation often appears in some turbo machinery components such as air bearings, heat exchanger, radial diffuser, vortex gyroscope, disc valves, and viscosity meters. The main goal of this paper is to show the mesh convergence, because mesh convergence saves time, and economical to run and increase the efficiency of modeling for both sink and source flow. Then flow field is resolved using a very fine mesh near-wall, using enhanced wall treatment. After that we are going to compare this flow using standard k-epsilon, RNG k-epsilon turbulence models. Lastly compare some experimental data with numerical solution for sink flow. The good agreement of numerical solution with the experimental works validates the current modeling.

Keywords: hydraulic diameter, k-epsilon model, meshes convergence, Reynolds number, RNG model, sink flow, source flow, wall y+

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15149 Towards the Ideal Life: Quantitative Study on the Impact of Social Enterprises towards Their Employees

Authors: Joseph Daniel Lumain

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The Philippine business sector has witnessed the emergence of a new category that distinguishes itself from the common framework that most enterprises utilize as this new emerging player incorporates social needs as part of its mission and goals. Various literature has manifested the relevance of social enterprises as an instrument towards poverty alleviation, as it concretely increases the capabilities of individuals. This study aims to identify whether or not social enterprises creates an impact towards their employees by positively influencing their respective perceptions on their capabilities on income, health and education. Utilizing Amartya Sen’s Capabilities Framework, this study is grounded on the relationships between social enterprises and increased capabilities, and increased capabilities and developing towards living a life they truly desire. The data gathered was analyzed quantitatively, supplemented by qualitative interviews with one to two employees from the social enterprise itself. Focusing on three social enterprises found within GKonomics, or the platform of Gawad Kalinga for social enterprise development, this purposive study was able to show that employees’ perceptions on their employment positively influenced their perceptions on their capabilities, and that this result affected their improvement towards living a life they desire.

Keywords: social enterprise, Amartya Sen, capabilities framework, Gawad Kalinga

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15148 Introducing an Innovative Structural Fuse for Creation of Repairable Buildings with See-Saw Motion during Earthquake and Investigating It by Nonlinear Finite Element Modeling

Authors: M. Hosseini, N. Ghorbani Amirabad, M. Zhian

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Seismic design codes accept structural and nonstructural damages after the sever earthquakes (provided that the building is prevented from collapse), so that in many cases demolishing and reconstruction of the building is inevitable, and this is usually very difficult, costly and time consuming. Therefore, designing and constructing of buildings in such a way that they can be easily repaired after earthquakes, even major ones, is quite desired. For this purpose giving the possibility of rocking or see-saw motion to the building structure, partially or as a whole, has been used by some researchers in recent decade .the central support which has a main role in creating the possibility of see-saw motion in the building’s structural system. In this paper, paying more attention to the key role of the central fuse and support, an innovative energy dissipater which can act as the central fuse and support of the building with seesaw motion is introduced, and the process of reaching an optimal geometry for that by using finite element analysis is presented. Several geometric shapes were considered for the proposed central fuse and support. In each case the hysteresis moment rotation behavior of the considered fuse were obtained under simultaneous effect of vertical and horizontal loads, by nonlinear finite element analyses. To find the optimal geometric shape, the maximum plastic strain value in the fuse body was considered as the main parameter. The rotational stiffness of the fuse under the effect of acting moments is another important parameter for finding the optimum shape. The proposed fuse and support can be called Yielding Curved Bars and Clipped Hemisphere Core (YCB&CHC or more briefly YCB) energy dissipater. Based on extensive nonlinear finite element analyses it was found out the using rectangular section for the curved bars gives more reliable results. Then, the YCB energy dissipater with the optimal shape was used in a structural model of a 12 story regular building as its central fuse and support to give it the possibility of seesaw motion, and its seismic responses were compared to those of a the building in the fixed based conditions, subjected to three-components acceleration of several selected earthquakes including Loma Prieta, Northridge, and Park Field. In building with see-saw motion some simple yielding-plate energy dissipaters were also used under circumferential columns.The results indicated that equipping the buildings with central and circumferential fuses result in remarkable reduction of seismic responses of the building, including the base shear, inter story drift, and roof acceleration. In fact by using the proposed technique the plastic deformations are concentrated in the fuses in the lowest story of the building, so that the main body of the building structure remains basically elastic, and therefore, the building can be easily repaired after earthquake.

Keywords: rocking mechanism, see-saw motion, finite element analysis, hysteretic behavior

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15147 A Bi-Objective Stochastic Mathematical Model for Agricultural Supply Chain Network

Authors: Mohammad Mahdi Paydar, Armin Cheraghalipour, Mostafa Hajiaghaei-Keshteli

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Nowadays, in advanced countries, agriculture as one of the most significant sectors of the economy, plays an important role in its political and economic independence. Due to farmers' lack of information about products' demand and lack of proper planning for harvest time, annually the considerable amount of products is corrupted. Besides, in this paper, we attempt to improve these unfavorable conditions via designing an effective supply chain network that tries to minimize total costs of agricultural products along with minimizing shortage in demand points. To validate the proposed model, a stochastic optimization approach by using a branch and bound solver of the LINGO software is utilized. Furthermore, to accumulate the data of parameters, a case study in Mazandaran province placed in the north of Iran has been applied. Finally, using ɛ-constraint approach, a Pareto front is obtained and one of its Pareto solutions as best solution is selected. Then, related results of this solution are explained. Finally, conclusions and suggestions for the future research are presented.

Keywords: perishable products, stochastic optimization, agricultural supply chain, ɛ-constraint

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15146 Analysis of the Theoretical Values of Several Characteristic Parameters of Surface Topography in Rotational Turning

Authors: J. Kundrák, I. Sztankovics, K. Gyáni

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In addition to the increase of the material removal rate or surface rate, or the improvement of the surface quality, which are the main aims of the development of manufacturing technology, a growing number of other manufacturing requirements have appeared in the machining of workpiece surfaces. Among these, it is becoming increasingly dominant to generate a surface topography in finishing operations which meet more closely the needs of operational requirements. These include the examination of the surface periodicity and/or ensuring that the twist structure values are within the limits (or even preventing its occurrence) in specified cases such as on the sealing surfaces of rotating shafts or on the inside working surfaces of needle roller bearings. In the view of the measurement, the twist has different parameters from surface roughness, which must be determined for the machining procedures. Therefore in this paper the alteration of the theoretical values of the parameters determining twist structure are studied as a function of the kinematic properties.

Keywords: kinematic parameters, rotational turning, surface topography, twist structure

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15145 The Change of Urban Land Use/Cover Using Object Based Approach for Southern Bali

Authors: I. Gusti A. A. Rai Asmiwyati, Robert J. Corner, Ashraf M. Dewan

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Change on land use/cover (LULC) dominantly affects spatial structure and function. It can have such impacts by disrupting social culture practice and disturbing physical elements. Thus, it has become essential to understand of the dynamics in time and space of LULC as it can be used as a critical input for developing sustainable LULC. This study was an attempt to map and monitor the LULC change in Bali Indonesia from 2003 to 2013. Using object based classification to improve the accuracy, and change detection, multi temporal land use/cover data were extracted from a set of ASTER satellite image. The overall accuracies of the classification maps of 2003 and 2013 were 86.99% and 80.36%, respectively. Built up area and paddy field were the dominant type of land use/cover in both years. Patch increase dominantly in 2003 illustrated the rapid paddy field fragmentation and the huge occurring transformation. This approach is new for the case of diverse urban features of Bali that has been growing fast and increased the classification accuracy than the manual pixel based classification.

Keywords: land use/cover, urban, Bali, ASTER

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15144 Evaluating the Economic Impact of Community Sports Facilities on Residents in Ghana

Authors: Samuel Richard Marcourt

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The economic impact of community sports facilities can be examined through various dimensions, such as job creation, tourism, local business development, and property values. The aim of the study is to evaluate the economic impacts of community sports facilities on residents who lived within 500m radii of 4 Astro Turf soccer facilities in Ghana. The results of the study were based on the responses from in-depth semi-structured interviews with 16 purposively selected participants aged between 25 and 55 years. Participants’ responses revealed that community sports facilities create direct and indirect benefits for residents. Further, the direct benefits include job creation and employment among residents in the locality. Again, the promotion of local entrepreneurship and small business development, as well promotion of tourism, were indirect benefits. Consequently, the study provides useful data for stakeholders, including The Ministry of Sports, Ghana Football Association (GFA), and Government and non-governmental organizations, to construct more community sports facilities to assist in reducing the level of unemployment in Ghanaian communities.

Keywords: economic impact, community sports facilities, Astro turf, residents

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15143 Political Polarization May Be Distorted When It Comes to Police Reform

Authors: Nancy Bartekian, Christine Reyna

Abstract:

Republicans and Democrats are often polarized when it comes to important topics, but the portrayal of polarization of key issues might be distorted and exaggerated. We examined Republicans' and Democrats’ attitudes about police reform policy during the 2020 racial justice protests and calls to ‘defund the police’. We hypothesized that a) Republicans and Democrats will be polarized on the “defund police'' question; however, b) they will have similar overall attitudes towards specific police reform policies (will be on the same side of the scale--disagree vs. agree), but c) will differ in their extent of agreement or disagreement (main effect of political party ID, but located on the same side of the scale). Using one-way, Multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) controlling for race, education, and income, we found an overall effect of political party ID. Six out of the nine policies studied were, in fact, not polarizing; both groups were in consensus on whether they disagreed or agreed with the policy, including “defund police''. Results suggest that polarization might be exaggerated.

Keywords: political psychology, social, ideology, polarization

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15142 Object-Centric Process Mining Using Process Cubes

Authors: Anahita Farhang Ghahfarokhi, Alessandro Berti, Wil M.P. van der Aalst

Abstract:

Process mining provides ways to analyze business processes. Common process mining techniques consider the process as a whole. However, in real-life business processes, different behaviors exist that make the overall process too complex to interpret. Process comparison is a branch of process mining that isolates different behaviors of the process from each other by using process cubes. Process cubes organize event data using different dimensions. Each cell contains a set of events that can be used as an input to apply process mining techniques. Existing work on process cubes assume single case notions. However, in real processes, several case notions (e.g., order, item, package, etc.) are intertwined. Object-centric process mining is a new branch of process mining addressing multiple case notions in a process. To make a bridge between object-centric process mining and process comparison, we propose a process cube framework, which supports process cube operations such as slice and dice on object-centric event logs. To facilitate the comparison, the framework is integrated with several object-centric process discovery approaches.

Keywords: multidimensional process mining, mMulti-perspective business processes, OLAP, process cubes, process discovery, process mining

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15141 The Influence of Age and Education on Patients' Attitudes Towards Contraceptives in Rural California

Authors: Shivani Thakur, Jasmin Dominguez Cervantes, Ahmed Zabiba, Fatima Zabiba, Sandhini Agarwal, Kamalpreet Kaur, Hussein Maatouk, Shae Chand, Omar Madriz, Tiffany Huang, Saloni Bansal

Abstract:

Contraceptives are an effective public health achievement, allowing for family planning and reducing the risk of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). California’s rural Central Valley has high rates of teenage pregnancy and STDs. Factors affecting contraceptive usage here may include religious concerns, financial issues, and regional variations in the accessibility and availability of contraceptives. The increasing population and diversity of the Central Valley make the understanding of the determinants of unintended pregnancy and STDs increasingly nuanced. Patients in California’s Central Valley were surveyed at 6 surgical clinics to assess attitudes toward contraceptives. The questionnaire consisted of demographics and 14 Likert-scale statements investigating patients’ feelings regarding contraceptives. Parametric and non-parametric analysis was performed on the Likert statements. A correlation matrix for the Likert-scale statements was used to evaluate the strength of the relationship between each question. 76 patients aged 18-75 years completed the questionnaire. 90% of the participants were female, 76% Hispanic, 36% married, 44% with an income range between 30-60K, and 83% were between childbearing ages. 60% of participants stated they are currently using or had used some type of contraceptive. 25% of participants had at least one unplanned pregnancy. The most common type of contraceptives used were oral contraceptives(28%) and condoms(38%). The top reasons for patients’ contraceptive usage were: prevention of pregnancy (72%), safe sex/prevention of STDs (32%), and regulation of menstrual cycle (19%). Further analysis of Likert responses revealed that contraception usage increased due to approval of contraceptives (x̄=3.98, σ =1.02); partner approval of contraceptives (x̄=3.875, σ =1.16); and reduced anxiety about pregnancy (x̄=3.875, σ =1.23). Younger females (18-34 years old) agreed more with the statement that the cost of contraceptive supplies is too expensive than older females (35-75 years old), (x̄=3.2, σ = 1.4 vs x̄=2.8, σ =1.3, p<0.05). Younger females (44%) were also more likely to use short-acting contraceptive methods (oral and male condoms) compared to older females (64%) who use long-acting methods (implants/ intrauterine devices). 51% of Hispanic females were using some type of contraceptive. Of those Hispanic females who do not use contraceptives, 33% stated having no children, and all plan to have at least one child in the future. 35% of participants had a bachelor's degree. Those with bachelor’s degrees were more likely to use contraceptives, 58% vs 51%, p<0.05, and less likely to have unplanned pregnancy, 50% vs. 12%, p<0.01. There is increasing use and awareness among patients in rural settings concerning contraceptives. Our finding shows that younger women and women with higher educational attainment tend to have more positive attitudes towards the use of contraceptives. This work gives physicians an understanding of patients’ concerns about contraceptive methods and offers insight into culturally competent intervention programs that respect individual values.

Keywords: contraceptives, public health, rural california, women of child baring age

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15140 Case Study of Migrants, Cultures and Environmental Crisis

Authors: Christina Y. P. Ting

Abstract:

Migration is a global phenomenon with movements of migrants from developed and developing countries to the host societies. Migrants have changed the host countries’ demography – its population structure and also its ethnic cultural diversity. Acculturation of migrants in terms of their adoption of the host culture is seen as important to ensure that they ‘fit into’ their adopted country so as to participate in everyday public life. However, this research found that the increase of the China-born migrants’ post-migration consumption level had impact on Australia’s environment reflected not only because of their adoption of elements of the host culture, but also retention of aspects of Chinese culture – indicating that the influence of bi-culturalism was in operation. This research, which was based on the face-to-face interview with 61 China-born migrants in the suburb of Box Hill, Melbourne, investigated the pattern of change in the migrants’ consumption upon their settlement in Australia. Using an ecological footprint calculator, their post-migration footprints were found to be larger than pre-migration footprint. The uniquely-derived CALD (Culturally and Linguistically Diverse) Index was used to measure individuals’ strength of connectedness to ethnic culture. Multi-variant analysis was carried out to understand which independent factors that influence consumption best explain the change in footprint (which is the difference between pre-and post-migration footprints, as a dependent factor). These independent factors ranged from socio-economic and demographics to the cultural context, that is, the CALD Index and indicators of acculturation. The major findings from the analysis were: Chinese culture (as measured by the CALD Index) and indicators of acculturation such as length of residency and using English in communications besides the traditional factors such as age, income and education level made significant contributions to the large increase in the China-born group’s post-migration consumption level. This paper as part of a larger study found that younger migrants’ large change in their footprint were related to high income and low level of education. This group of migrants also practiced bi-cultural consumption in retaining ethnic culture and adopting the host culture. These findings have importantly highlighted that for a host society to tackle environmental crisis, governments need not only to understand the relationship between age and consumption behaviour, but also to understand and embrace the migrants’ ethnic cultures, which may act as bridges and/or fences in relationships. In conclusion, for governments to deal with national issues such as environmental crisis within a cultural diverse population, it necessitates an understanding of age and aspects of ethnic culture that may act as bridges and fences. This understanding can aid in putting in place policies that enable the co-existence of a hybrid of the ethnic and host cultures in order to create and maintain a harmonious and secured living environment for population groups.

Keywords: bicultural consumer, CALD index, consumption, ethnic culture, migrants

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