Search results for: urban transformation

Authors: Edy Wahyu Susilo

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This research discusses a comparative analysis of various anti-corruption responses of three Indonesian City Governments (Jakarta, Surabaya, and Medan) and completes previous findings on the effectiveness of the city anti-corruption program. Some factors (transparency, accountability, leadership, law enforcement, and bureaucratic reform) have been chosen in this study to diagnose the main role in the success and the failure of anti-corruption programs in these cities. These factors diagnose the relationship between factors and their dominancy, which is then utilized to create the city’s strategic anti-corruption programs. Although this study found leadership had a dominant influence both in encouraging and discouraging the performance of city transformation drastically, however, it is not the only factor that determined the performance of the city in the fight against corruption. It needs other factors as an ideal balancing element to achieve an anti-corruption program, namely KPK’s intervention and public engagement. Based on the dominance factors found, this research then develops an appropriate strategy using a policy evaluation approach to create a real practical guide regardless of the existence of good or bad leadership in the city. This research is expected to be a useful reference for stakeholders, especially the government, as a blueprint to prevent corruption by considering several important steps and guidance in efforts to eradicate corruption in the city, especially in Indonesia.

Keywords: intervention, KPK (corruption eradication commission), law enforcements, leadership, policy evaluation

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Authors: Zeinab Aliyas, Diba Mahboubi

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Leisure walking is known as one of the most common types of physical activity that perform in purpose of recreation or health, which in turn may affect resident’s health. In the recent years, promoting leisure walking activity in neighborhood areas become as one of the important issues regarding promoting mental and physical health, however; the level of physical inactivity is rising in many societies including Iran. As it was proven that the tendency to walk out of choice is not encouraging among Iranian people. Hence; understanding the main concern of residents regarding walking activity in their neighborhoods can help in increasing the tendency to do leisure activity among residents. Built environment, social and individual factors are known as the main factors that affect decision to walk, in this regard, the study aimed to investigate the influence of personal and social factors that prevent residents to walk for recreation or exercise in their neighborhoods. Hence the fear of crime and personal barriers were examined in the current research as social and personal factors respectively. To collect the required data, 500 questionnaires by using systematic sampling were distributed from March to May 2016 in four residential neighborhoods of Bandar Abbas in Iran out which 411 questionnaire turned out to be qualified to be used in the study. The Smart-PLS was used to analyze the data. The findings of the study revealed that personal and fear of crime both have significant influence on the level of recreation and exercise walking in the neighborhood areas. The study found that fear of crime has the higher influence on exercise and recreational walking behavior in comparison to individual factors. It was revealed that social factors such as fear of crime in the neighborhoods might be more important than the personal reason for walking optionally in the surrounding environment. The finding of this study can help urban and health researcher to know the significant influence of fear of crime and individual attitudes on the level of leisure walking activity, in addition, the findings of the study suggest that urban planners and designers, as well as public health promoters, need to highly consider the contribution of neighborhoods' social environment variables as well as individual variables to promote walking behavior changes among adult population.

Keywords: exercise walking, fear of crime, neighborhood, personal barriers, recreation walking

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Authors: G. C. Tikkiwal, Mukesh Upadhyay

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During the surveillance operations at war or peace time, the Radar operator gets a scatter of targets over the screen. This may be a tracked vehicle like tank vis-à-vis T72, BMP etc, or it may be a wheeled vehicle like ALS, TATRA, 2.5Tonne, Shaktiman or moving army, moving convoys etc. The Radar operator selects one of the promising targets into Single Target Tracking (STT) mode. Once the target is locked, the operator gets a typical audible signal into his headphones. With reference to the gained experience and training over the time, the operator then identifies the random target. But this process is cumbersome and is solely dependent on the skills of the operator, thus may lead to misclassification of the object. In this paper we present a technique using mathematical and statistical methods like Fast Fourier Transformation (FFT) and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to identify the random objects. The process of classification is based on transforming the audible signature of target into music octave-notes. The whole methodology is then automated by developing suitable software. This automation increases the efficiency of identification of the random target by reducing the chances of misclassification. This whole study is based on live data.

Keywords: radar target, fft, principal component analysis, eigenvector, octave-notes, dsp

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Authors: Mir Afzal Tajik

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The 'Strengthening Teacher Education in Pakistan' (STEP) is an innovative programme jointly funded by the Government of Canada and the Aga Khan Foundation Canada and implemented by the Aga Khan University - Institute for Educational Development (AKU-IED) in partnership with the local governments, education departments and communities in the provinces of Balochistan, Sindh and Gilgit-Baltistan in Pakistan. One of the key components of the programme is the professional development of teachers, headteachers and teacher educators through a variety of teacher education programmes including a two-year Masters of Education (MEd) Programme offered by AKU-IED. A number of teachers, headteachers and teacher educators from these provinces have been developed through the MEd Programme. This paper discusses a qualitative research study conducted to explore the nature, relevance, rigor and richness of the experiences of the MEd graduates, and how these experiences have fostered their own professional development and their ability to bring about positive changes in their schools. The findings of the study provide useful insights into the graduates’ self-actualization, the transformation of their professional beliefs and practices, the difference they have made in their schools, and the challenges they face. The study also provides recommendations for policy and practice related to teacher education programmes.

Keywords: STEP, teacher education, Pakistan, Canada, Aga Khan foundation

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Authors: Shivani Yadav

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The paper illustrates dynamics of nuclear resistance movements in India and how peoples’ power rises in response to subversion of justice and suppression of human rights. The need for democratizing nuclear policy runs implicit through the demands of the people protesting against nuclear programmes. The paper analyses the rationale behind developing nuclear energy according to the mainstream development model adopted by the state. Whether the prevalent nuclear discourse includes people’s ambitions and addresses local concerns or not is discussed. Primarily, the nuclear movements across India comprise of two types of actors i.e. the local population as well as the urban interlocutors. The first type of actor is the local population comprising of the people who are residing in the vicinity of the nuclear site and are affected by its construction, presence and operation. They have very immediate concerns against nuclear energy projects but also have an ideological stand against producing nuclear energy. The other types of actors are the urban interlocutors, who are the intellectuals and nuclear activists who have a principled stand against nuclear energy and help to aggregate the aims and goals of the movement on various platforms. The paper focuses on the nuclear resistance movements at five sites in India- Koodankulam (Tamil Nadu), Jaitapur (Maharashtra), Haripur (West Bengal), Mithivirdi (Gujrat) and Gorakhpur (Haryana). The origin, development, role of major actors and mass media coverage of all these movements are discussed in depth. Major observations from the Indian case include: first, nuclear policy discussions in India are confined to elite circles; secondly, concepts like national security and national interest are used to suppress dissent against mainstream policies; and thirdly, India’s energy policies focus on economic concerns while ignoring the human implications of such policies. In conclusion, the paper observes that the anti-nuclear movements question not just the feasibility of nuclear power but also its exclusionary nature when it comes to people’s participation in policy making, endangering the ecology, violation of human rights, etc. The character of these protests is non-violent with an aim to produce more inclusive policy debates and democratic dialogues.

Keywords: anti-nuclear movements, Koodankulam nuclear power plant, non-violent resistance, nuclear resistance movements, social movements

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Authors: Frederick Johnson

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Product management has a long and well-established history within the consumer goods industry, despite being one of the most obscure aspects of brand management. Many global manufacturing organizations are now opting for external cloud-based Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) to replace costly and outdated monolithic MES solutions. Other global manufacturing leaders are restructuring their organizations to support human-centered values, agile methodologies, and fluid operating principles. Still, industry-leading organizations struggle to apply the appropriate framework for managing evolving external MES solutions as internal "digital products." Product management complements these current trends in technology and philosophical thinking in the market. This paper discusses the central problems associated with adopting product management processes by analyzing its traditional theories and characteristics. Considering these ideas, the article then constructs a translated internal digital product management framework by combining new and existing approaches and principles. The report concludes by demonstrating the framework's capabilities and potential effectiveness in achieving digital maturity and business agility within a manufacturing environment.

Keywords: internal product management, digital transformation, manufacturing information technology, manufacturing execution systems

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Authors: Wei-Kuang Liu, Ya-Hsu Chiang

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In the coming of an aging society, the issues of living quality, health care, and social security for the elderly have been gradually taken seriously. In order to maintain favorable living condition, urban societies are also facing the challenge of disasters caused by extreme climate change. However, in the practice of disaster prevention, elderly people are always weak due to their physiological conditions. That is to say, in the planning of resilient urbanism, the aging society is relatively in need of more care. Thus, this research aims to map areas where have high-density elderly population and fragile environmental condition in Taiwan, and to understand the actual situation of disaster prevention management in these areas, so as to provide suggestions for the development of intellectual resilient urban management. The research takes the cities of Taoyuan and Taichung as examples for explorations. According to GIS mapping of areas with high aging index, high-density population and high flooding potential, the communities of Sihai and Fuyuan in Taoyuan and the communities of Taichang and Nanshih in Taichung are highlighted. In these communities, it can be found that there are more elderly population and less labor population with high-density living condition. In addition, they are located in the areas where they have experienced severe flooding in the recent past. Based on a series of interviews with community organizations, there is only one community out of the four using flood information mobile app and Line messages for the management of disaster prevention, and the others still rely on the traditional approaches that manage the works of disaster prevention by their community security patrol teams and community volunteers. The interview outcome shows that most elderly people are not interested in learning the use of intellectual devices. Therefore, this research suggests to keep doing the GIS mapping of areas with high aging index, high-density population and high flooding potential for grasping the high-risk communities and to help develop smart monitor and forecast systems for disaster prevention practice in these areas. Based on case-study explorations, the research also advises that it is important to develop easy-to-use bottom-up and two-way immediate communication mechanism for the management of aging society’s disaster prevention.

Keywords: aging society, disaster prevention, GIS, resilient, Taiwan

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Authors: H. Niranjan, S. Sivasankaran

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Heat and mass transfer near a steady stagnation point boundary layer flow of viscous incompressible fluid through porous media investigates along a vertical plate is thoroughly studied under the presence of magneto hydrodynamic (MHD) effects. The fluid flow is steady, laminar, incompressible and in two-dimensional. The nonlinear differential coupled parabolic partial differential equations of continuity, momentum, energy and specie diffusion are converted into the non-similar boundary layer equations using similarity transformation, which are then solved numerically using the Runge-Kutta method along with shooting method. The effects of the conjugate heat transfer parameter, the porous medium parameter, the permeability parameter, the mixed convection parameter, the magnetic parameter, and the thermal radiation on the velocity and temperature profiles as well as on the local skin friction and local heat transfer are presented and analyzed. The validity of the methodology and analysis is checked by comparing the results obtained for some specific cases with those available in the literature. The various parameters on local skin friction, heat and mass transfer rates are presented in tabular form.

Keywords: MHD, porous medium, slip, convective boundary condition, stagnation point

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Authors: Paola Clerici Maestosi

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Positive Energy District (PED) is a rather recent concept whose aim is to contribute to the main objectives of the Energy Union strategy. It is based on an integrated multi-sectoral approach in response to Europe's most complex challenges. PED integrates energy efficiency, renewable energy production, and energy flexibility in an integrated, multi-sectoral approach at the city level. The core idea behind Positive Energy Districts (PEDs) is to establish an urban area that can generate more energy than it consumes. Additionally, it should be flexible enough to adapt to changes in the energy market. This is crucial because a PED's goal is not just to achieve an annual surplus of net energy but also to help reduce the impact on the interconnected centralized energy networks. It achieves this by providing options to increase on-site load matching and self-consumption, employing technologies for short- and long-term energy storage, and offering energy flexibility through smart control. Thus, it seems that PEDs can encompass all types of buildings in the city environment. Given this which is the added value of having green buildings being constitutive part of PEDS? The paper will present a systematic literature review identifying the role of green building in Positive Energy District to provide answer to following questions: (RQ1) the state of the art of PEDs implementation; (RQ2) penetration of green building in Positive Energy District selected case studies. Methodological approach is based on a broad holistic study of bibliographic sources according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) further data will be analysed, mapped and text mining through VOSviewer. Main contribution of research is a cognitive framework on Positive Energy District in Europe and a selection of case studies where green building supported the transition to PED. The inclusion of green buildings within Positive Energy Districts (PEDs) adds significant value for several reasons. Firstly, green buildings are designed and constructed with a focus on environmental sustainability, incorporating energy-efficient technologies, materials, and design principles. As integral components of PEDs, these structures contribute directly to the district's overall ability to generate more energy than it consumes. Secondly, green buildings typically incorporate renewable energy sources, such as solar panels or wind turbines, further boosting the district's capacity for energy generation. This aligns with the PED objective of achieving a surplus of net energy. Moreover, green buildings often feature advanced systems for on-site energy management, load-matching, and self-consumption. This enhances the PED's capability to respond to variations in the energy market, making the district more agile and flexible in optimizing energy use. Additionally, the environmental considerations embedded in green buildings align with the broader sustainability goals of PEDs. By reducing the ecological footprint of individual structures, PEDs with green buildings contribute to minimizing the overall impact on centralized energy networks and promote a more sustainable urban environment. In summary, the incorporation of green buildings within PEDs not only aligns with the district's energy objectives but also enhances environmental sustainability, energy efficiency, and the overall resilience of the urban environment.

Keywords: positive energy district, renewables energy production, energy flexibility, energy efficiency

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Authors: D. Suman, B. Nikitha, J. Sarvani, V. Archana

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Histological slides provide clinical diagnostic information about the subjects from the ancient times. Even with the advent of high resolution imaging cameras the image tend to have some background noise which makes the analysis complex. A study of the histological slides is done by using a nonlinear transfer function based image enhancement method. The method processes the raw, color images acquired from the biological microscope, which, in general, is associated with background noise. The images usually appearing blurred does not convey the intended information. In this regard, an enhancement method is proposed and implemented on 50 histological slides of human tissue by using nonlinear transfer function method. The histological image is converted into HSV color image. The luminance value of the image is enhanced (V component) because change in the H and S components could change the color balance between HSV components. The HSV image is divided into smaller blocks for carrying out the dynamic range compression by using a linear transformation function. Each pixel in the block is enhanced based on the contrast of the center pixel and its neighborhood. After the processing the V component, the HSV image is transformed into a colour image. The study has shown improvement of the characteristics of the image so that the significant details of the histological images were improved.

Keywords: HSV space, histology, enhancement, image

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Authors: Sanjib Kr Pal, S. Bhattacharyya

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Mixed convection of Cu-water nanofluid in an enclosure with thick wavy bottom wall has been investigated numerically. A co-ordinate transformation method is used to transform the computational domain into an orthogonal co-ordinate system. The governing equations in the computational domain are solved through a pressure correction based iterative algorithm. The fluid flow and heat transfer characteristics are analyzed for a wide range of Richardson number (0.1 ≤ Ri ≤ 5), nanoparticle volume concentration (0.0 ≤ ϕ ≤ 0.2), amplitude (0.0 ≤ α ≤ 0.1) of the wavy thick- bottom wall and the wave number (ω) at a fixed Reynolds number. Obtained results showed that heat transfer rate increases remarkably by adding the nanoparticles. Heat transfer rate is dependent on the wavy wall amplitude and wave number and decreases with increasing Richardson number for fixed amplitude and wave number. The Bejan number and the entropy generation are determined to analyze the thermodynamic optimization of the mixed convection.

Keywords: conjugate heat transfer, mixed convection, nano fluid, wall waviness

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Authors: Mabrook Saleh Amera, Prabhakarn Arunachalama, Maged N. Shaddadb, Abdulhadi Al-Qadia

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Global energy crises and water pollution have negatively impacted sustainable development in recent years. It is most promising to use Bismuth vanadate (BiVO4) as an electrode for photoelectrocatalytic (PEC) oxidation of water and pollution degradation. However, BiVO4 anodes suffer from poor charge separation and slow water oxidation. In this paper, a Zr:BiVO4/NiFeOOH heterojunction was successfully prepared by electrodeposition and photoelectrochemical transformation process. The method resulted in a notable 5-fold improvement in photocurrent features (1.27 mAcm−2 at 1.23 VRHE) and a lower onset potential of 0.6 VRHE. Photoanodes with high photocatalytic features and high photocorrosion resistance may be attributed their high conformity and amorphous nature of the coating. In this study, PEC was compared to electrocatalysis (EC), and the effect of bias potential on PEC degradation was discussed for tetracycline (TCH), riboflavin, and streptomycin. In PEC, TCH was degraded in the most efficient way (96 %) by Zr:BiVO4/NiFeOOH, three times larger than Zr:BiVO4 and EC (55 %). Thus, this study offers a potential solution for oxidizing PEC water and treating water pollution.

Keywords: photoelectrochemical, water splitting, pharmaceutical pollutants degradation, photoanodes, cocatalyst

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Authors: Sevda Engin, Ugur Buyuk, Necmettin Marasli

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Directional solidification of eutectic alloys attracts considerable attention because of microhardness, tensile strength, and electrical resistivity influenced by eutectic structures. In this research, we examined processing of Al–Si–Fe (Al–11.7wt.%Si–1wt.%Fe) eutectic by directional solidification. The alloy was prepared by vacuum furnace and directionally solidified in Bridgman-type equipment. During the directional solidification process, the growth rates utilized varied from 8.25 m/s to 164.80 m/s. The Al–Si–Fe system showed an eutectic transformation, which resulted in the matrix Al, Si and Al5SiFe plate phases. The eutectic spacing between (λ_Si-λ_Si, λ_(Al_5 SiFe)-λ_(Al_5 SiFe)) was measured. Additionally, the microhardness, tensile strength, and electrical resistivity of the alloy were determined using directionally solidified samples. The effects of growth rates on microhardness, tensile strength, and electrical resistivity for directionally solidified Al–Si–Fe eutectic alloy were investigated, and the relationships between them were experimentally obtained. It was found that the microhardness, tensile strength, and electrical resistivity were affected by both eutectic spacing and the solidification parameter.

Keywords: directional solidification, aluminum alloy, microstructure, electrical properties, tensile test, hardness test

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Authors: B. Selma

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The aim of this study is to test the feasibility of SIPINA method to predict the harmfulness parameters controlling the seismic response. The approach developed takes into consideration both the focal depth and the peak ground acceleration. The parameter to determine is displacement. The data used for the learning of this method and analysis nonlinear seismic are described and applied to a class of models damaged to some typical structures of the existing urban infrastructure of Jassy, Romania. The results obtained indicate an influence of the focal depth and the peak ground acceleration on the displacement.

Keywords: SIPINA algorithm, seism, focal depth, peak ground acceleration, displacement

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Authors: Helida Thays Gomes Soares, Conceicao De Maria Pinheiro Correia, Fabiano Maciel Soares, Kleymer Silva

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There is great discussion around populational increase in urban areas of the global south, and, consequently, the growth of inappropriate housing and the different ways humans have found to solve housing problems around the world. Sao Luís, the capital of the state of Maranhao is a good example. The 1.6 million inhabitant metropole is a colonial tropical city that shelters 22% of the population of Maranhão, brazilian state that still carries the scars of slavery in past centuries. In 2016, Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistic found that 20% of Maranhão’s inhabitants were living in houses with external walls made of non-durable materials, like recycled wood, cardboard or soil. Out of this problematic, this study aims to propose interventions not only in the physical structure of irregular housing, but also to serve as a guide to intervene in the way eco-friendly, communitarian housing is seen by extreme poor zones inside metropolitan regions around big cities in the global south. The adaptation and reuse of industrial containers from the Harbor of Itaqui for housing is also an aim of the project. The great volume of discarded industrial containers may be an opportunity to solve housing deficit in the city. That way, through field research in São Luís’ neighborhoods mostly occupied by inappropriate housing, the study intends to raise ethnographical and physical values that help to shape new uses of industrial containers and recycled building materials, bringing the community into the process of shaping new-housing for local housing programs, changing the mindset of a concrete/brick model of building. The study used a general feasibility analysis of local engineers regarding strength of the locally used container for construction purposes, and also researched in-loco the current impressions of risky areas inhabitants of housing, traditional housing and the role they played as city shapers, evaluating their perceptions of what means to live and how their houses represent their personality.

Keywords: container housing, civil construction, housing deficit, participatory design, sustainability

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Authors: Brian J. Graham, Ronald T. Raines

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The presence of a nearly vacant p orbital on boron endows boronic acids with unique abilities as a catalyst and ligand. An organocatalytic process has been developed for the conversion of biomass-derived sugars to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, which is a platform chemical. Specifically, 2-carboxyphenylboronic acid (2-CPBA) has been shown to be an optimal catalyst for this process, promoting the desired transformation in the absence of metals. The attributes of 2-CPBA as a catalyst led to additional investigations of its structure and reactivity. 2-CPBA was found to exist as a cyclized benzoxaborolone adduct rather than a free carboxylic acid. This cyclization has profound consequences for the oxidative stability of the boronic acid. Stereoelectronic effects within the oxaborolone ring destabilize the oxidation transition state by reducing electron donation from the cyclic oxygen to the developing p orbital on boron. That leads to a 10,000-fold increase in oxidative stability while maintaining the normal reactivity of boronic acids toward diols (e.g., carbohydrates) and nucleophiles in proteins while also presenting numerous hydrogen-bond accepting and donating groups. Thus, benzoxaborolones are useful in catalysis, chemical biology, medicinal chemistry, and allied fields.

Keywords: bioisosteres, boronic acid, catalysis, oxidative stability, pharmacophore, stereoelectronic effects

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Authors: Tibor Ajtai, Noémi Utry, Máté Pintér, Gábor Szabó, Zoltán Bozóki

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Beyond its climate and health related issues ambient light absorbing carbonaceous particulate matter (LAC) has also become a great scientific interest in terms of its regulations recently. It has been experimentally demonstrated in recent studies, that LAC is dominantly composed of traffic and wood burning aerosol particularly under wintertime urban conditions, when the photochemical and biological activities are negligible. Several methods have been introduced to quantitatively apportion aerosol fractions emitted by wood burning and traffic but most of them require costly and time consuming off-line chemical analysis. As opposed to chemical features, the microphysical properties of airborne particles such as optical absorption and size distribution can be easily measured on-line, with high accuracy and sensitivity, especially under highly polluted urban conditions. Recently a new method has been proposed for the apportionment of wood burning and traffic aerosols based on the spectral dependence of their absorption quantified by the Aerosol Angström Exponent (AAE). In this approach the absorption coefficient is deduced from transmission measurement on a filter accumulated aerosol sample and the conversion factor between the measured optical absorption and the corresponding mass concentration (the specific absorption cross section) are determined by on-site chemical analysis. The recently developed multi-wavelength photoacoustic instruments provide novel, in-situ approach towards the reliable and quantitative characterization of carbonaceous particulate matter. Therefore, it also opens up novel possibilities on the source apportionment through the measurement of light absorption. In this study, we demonstrate an in-situ spectral characterization method of the ambient carbon fraction based on light absorption and size distribution measurements using our state-of-the-art multi-wavelength photoacoustic instrument (4λ-PAS) and Single Mobility Particle Sizer (SMPS) The carbonaceous particulate selective source apportionment study was performed for ambient particulate matter in the city center of Szeged, Hungary where the dominance of traffic and wood burning aerosol has been experimentally demonstrated earlier. The proposed model is based on the parallel, in-situ measurement of optical absorption and size distribution. AAEff and AAEwb were deduced from the measured data using the defined correlation between the AOC(1064nm)/AOC(266nm) and N100/N20 ratios. σff(λ) and σwb(λ) were determined with the help of the independently measured temporal mass concentrations in the PM1 mode. Furthermore, the proposed optical source apportionment is based on the assumption that the light absorbing fraction of PM is exclusively related to traffic and wood burning. This assumption is indirectly confirmed here by the fact that the measured size distribution is composed of two unimodal size distributions identified to correspond to traffic and wood burning aerosols. The method offers the possibility of replacing laborious chemical analysis with simple in-situ measurement of aerosol size distribution data. The results by the proposed novel optical absorption based source apportionment method prove its applicability whenever measurements are performed at an urban site where traffic and wood burning are the dominant carbonaceous sources of emission.

Keywords: absorption, size distribution, source apportionment, wood burning, traffic aerosol

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Authors: Shahid Nishat, Keith Thomas

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E-government initiatives attract substantial public investments around the world. These investments are based on the premise of digital transformation of the public services, improved efficiency and transparency, and citizen participation in the social democratic processes. However, many e-Government projects, especially in developing countries, fail to achieve their intended outcomes, and a strong disparity exists between the investments made and outcomes achieved, often referred to as e-Government paradox. Further, there is lack of research on evaluating the impacts of e-Government in terms of public value it creates, which ultimately drives usage. This study aims to address these gaps by identifying key enablers of e-Government success and by proposing a public value based framework to examine impact of e-Government services. The study will extend Delone and McLean Information System (IS) Success model by integrating Technology Readiness (TR) characteristics to develop an integrated success model. Level of analysis will be mobile government applications, and the framework will be empirically tested using quantitative methods. The research will add to the literature on e-Government success and will be beneficial for governments, especially in developing countries aspiring to improve public services through the use of Information Communication Technologies (ICT).

Keywords: e-Government, IS success model, public value, technology adoption, technology readiness

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Authors: Pavlo Selyshchev

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A theoretical approach to describe kinetic of heat transfer between an irradiated sample and environment is developed via formalism of the Complex systems and kinetic equations. The irradiated material is a metastable system with non-linear feedbacks, which can give rise to different regimes of buildup and annealing of radiation-induced defects, heating and heat transfer with environment. Irradiation with energetic particles heats the sample and produces defects of the crystal lattice of the sample. The crystal with defects accumulates extra (non-thermal) energy, which is transformed into heat during the defect annealing. Any increase of temperature leads to acceleration of defect annealing, to additional transformation of non-thermal energy into heat and to further growth of the temperature. Thus a non-linear feedback is formed. It is shown that at certain conditions of irradiation this non-linear feedback leads to self-oscillations of the defect density, the temperature of the irradiated sample and the heat transfer between the sample and environment. Simulation and analysis of these phenomena is performed. The frequency of the self-oscillations is obtained. It is determined that the period of the self-oscillations is varied from minutes to several hours depending on conditions of irradiation and properties of the sample. Obtaining results are compared with experimental ones.

Keywords: irradiation, heat transfer, non-linear feed-back, self-oscillations

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Authors: Sefiu A. Bello, Nasirudeen K. Raji, Jeleel A. Adebisi, Sadiq A. Raji

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Pure metals are not used in most cases for structural applications because of their limited properties. Presently, high entropy alloys (HEAs) are emerging by mixing comparative proportions of metals with the aim of maximizing the entropy leading to enhancement in structural and mechanical properties. Aluminum Silicon Nickel Iron Vanadium (AlSiNiFeV) alloy was developed using stir cast technique and analysed. Results obtained show that the alloy grade G0 contains 44 percentage by weight (wt%) Al, 32 wt% Si, 9 wt% Ni, 4 wt% Fe, 3 wt% V and 8 wt% for minor elements with tensile strength and elongation of 106 Nmm^-2 and 2.68%, respectively. X-ray diffraction confirmed intermetallic compounds having hexagonal closed packed (HCP), orthorhombic and cubic structures in cubic dendritic matrix. This affirmed transformation from the cubic structures of elemental constituents of the HEAs to the precipitated structures of the intermetallic compounds. A maximum tensile strength of 188 Nmm^-2 with 4% elongation was noticed at 10wt% of silica addition to the G0. An increase in tensile strength with an increment in silica content could be attributed to different phases and crystal geometries characterizing each HEA.

Keywords: HEAs, phases model, aluminium, silicon, tensile strength, model

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Authors: Sara Saboonian, Pierre Filion

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The dispersed-suburban model has been the dominant one across North America for the past seventy years, characterized by automobile reliance, low density, and land-use specialization. Two planning models have emerged as possible alternatives to address the ills inflicted by this development pattern. First, there is intensification, which promotes efficient infrastructure by connecting high-density, multi-functional, and walkable nodes with public transit services within the suburban landscape. Second is green infrastructure, which provides environmental health and human well-being by preserving and restoring ecosystem services. This research studies incompatibilities and the possibility of amalgamating the two alternatives in an attempt to develop a comprehensive alternative to suburban model that advocates density, multi-functionality and transit- and pedestrian-conduciveness, with measures capable of mitigating the adverse environmental impacts of compactness. The research investigates three Canadian urban growth centers, where intensification is the current planning practice, and the awareness of green infrastructure benefits is on the rise. However, these three centers are contrasted by their development stage, the presence or absence of protected natural land, their environmental approach, and their adverse environmental consequences according to the planning cannons of different periods. The methods include reviewing the literature on green infrastructure planning, criticizing the Ontario provincial plans for intensification, surveying residents’ preferences for alternative models, and interviewing officials who deal with the local planning for the centers. Moreover, the research draws on recalling debates between New Urbanism and Landscape/Ecological Urbanism. The case studies expose the difficulties in creating urban growth centres that accommodate green infrastructure while adhering to intensification principles. First, the dominant status of intensification and the obstacles confronting intensification have monopolized the planners’ concerns. Second, the tension between green infrastructure and intensification explains the absence of the green infrastructure typologies that correspond to intensification-compatible forms and dynamics. Finally, the lack of highlighted social-economic benefits of green infrastructure reduces residents’ participation. Moreover, the results from the research provide insight into predominating urbanization theories, New Urbanism and Landscape/Ecological Urbanism. In order to understand political, planning, and ecological dynamics of such blending, dexterous context-specific planning is required. Findings suggest the influence of the following factors on amalgamating intensification and green infrastructure. Initially, producing ecosystem services-based justifications for green infrastructure development in the intensification context provides an expert-driven backbone for the implementation programs. This knowledge-base should be translated to effectively imbue different urban stakeholders. Moreover, due to the limited greenfields in intensified areas, spatial distribution and development of multi-level corridors such as pedestrian-hospitable settings and transportation networks along green infrastructure measures are required. Finally, to ensure the long-term integrity of implemented green infrastructure measures, significant investment in public engagement and education, as well as clarification of management responsibilities is essential.

Keywords: ecosystem services, green infrastructure, intensification, planning

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Authors: Eli Buchbinder

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Women abuse life after divorce is an important issue in understanding their recovery after leaving an intimate violent relationship. The aim of this study was to describe and analyze abused women’s post-traumatic emotional changes following divorce. The study was based on semi-structured qualitative interviews, in Israel, with 12 women aged 33 to 55, at least five years after divorcing their violent husbands. The interviewees described a transformation process: from a damaged, hurting, powerless self, which coped with dissociation and emotional suppression, to a sense of recovery after the divorce. The sense of recovery was experienced as a strong self-connected to positive self-emotions, such as a sense of control and self-efficacy in coping with past pain and life’s challenges. This transformational experience was related to initiating the divorce as a necessity and/or a choice. The interviewees described a continuous dialectic process in healing: first, continuous awareness of their damaged self (post-traumatic fears and negative emotions) and second recognizing their strengths as active choicer in the face of their everyday life and their biography. The discussion of the findings focuses on abused women’s meaning-making as a basic process of healing from abusive intimate relationships.

Keywords: abused women, divorce, recovery, meaning making

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Authors: Aparna Soni

Abstract:

The much-celebrated foretold story of Indian city engines driving the growth of India has been scrutinized to have serious consequences. A wide spectrum of scholarship has brought to light the un-equalizing effects and the need to adopt a rights-based approach to development planning in India. Notably, these concepts and discourses ubiquitously entail the study of land struggles in the making of Urban. In fact, the very progression of the primitive accumulation theory to accumulation by dispossession, followed by ‘dispossession without development,’ thereafter Development without dispossession and now as Dispossession by financialization noticeably the last three developing in a span of mere three decades, is evidence enough to trace the centrality and evolving role of land in the making of urban India. India, in the last decade, has seen its regional governments actively experimenting with alternative models of land assembly (Amaravati and Delhi land pooling models, the loudly advertised ones). These are publicized as a replacement to the presumably cost and time antagonistic, prone to litigation land acquisition act of 2013. It has been observed that most of the literature treats these models as a generic large bracket of land expropriation and do not, in particular, try to differentially analyse to granularly find a pattern in these alternatives. To cater to this gap, this research comparatively studies these alternative land, assembly models. It categorises them based on their basic architecture, spatial and sectoral application, and governance frameworks. It is found that these alternatives are ad-hoc and fragmented pieces of legislation. These are fit for profit models commodifying land to ease its access by the private sector for real estate led growth. The research augments the literature on the privatization of land use planning in India. Further, it attempts to discuss the increasing role a landowner is expected to play in the future and suggests a way forward to safeguard them from market risks. The study involves a thematic analysis of the policy elements contained in legislative/policy documents, notifications, office orders. The study also derives from the various widely circulated print media information. With the present field-visit limitations, the study relies on documents accessed open-source in the public domain.

Keywords: commodification, dispossession, land acquisition, landowner

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Authors: Sreeni K. R.

Abstract:

Sarvathobhadram-Organic–Farmers Cooperative was helpful in supporting small and marginal farmers in customizing, adapting, and tailoring the system to their specific requirements. The Farmers Club, which has 50 members, was founded in May 2020 to create additional cash while also encouraging farmers to shift to organic farming. The club's mission is to ensure food security, livelihood, and entrepreneurship in the Anthikad Block Panchayat. The project addressed climate change and resilience, collaborating with government departments and utilizing convergence to maximize the schemes accessible to farmers in panchayath. The transformation was sluggish initially, but it accelerated over time, indicating that farmers have variable levels of satisfaction based on a variety of circumstances. This paper examines the changing trend in the area after adopting organic farming using the SRI method, the increase in production, and the success of the convergence method. It also attempts to find out various constraints faced by farmers during the paradigm shift from conventional methods to organic, and the results have proven that SRI should be considered as a potential cultivation method for all farmer's groups (Padasekharam).

Keywords: Sarvathobhadram-Organic, Thanniyam gram Panchayat, organic Joythi rice, convergence method, Jeevamirtham, natural methods, system of rice intensification

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Authors: K. Jafar, R. Nazar, A. Ishak, I. Pop

Abstract:

The present analysis considers the steady stagnation point flow and heat transfer towards a permeable sheet in an upper-convected Maxwell (UCM) electrically conducting fluid, with a constant magnetic field applied in the transverse direction to flow, and a local heat generation within the boundary layer with a heat generation rate proportional to (T-T_inf)^p. Using a similarity transformation, the governing system of partial differential equations is first transformed into a system of ordinary differential equations, which is then solved numerically using a finite-difference scheme known as the Keller-box method. Numerical results are obtained for the flow and thermal fields for various values of the shrinking/stretching parameter lambda, the magnetic parameter M, the elastic parameter K, the Prandtl number Pr, the suction parameter s, the heat generation parameter Q, and the exponent p. The results indicate the existence of dual solutions for the shrinking sheet up to a critical value lambda_c whose value depends on the value of M, K, and s. In the presence of internal heat absorbtion (Q<0), the surface heat transfer rate decreases with increasing p but increases with parameter Q and s, when the sheet is either stretched or shrunk.

Keywords: magnetohydrodynamic (MHD), boundary layer flow, UCM fluid, stagnation point, shrinking sheet

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Authors: Mishu Gupta, Rama Gupta

Abstract:

It has been elucidated here that non- autonomous discrete non-linear Schrödinger equation is associated with saturable non-linearity through photo-refractive media. We have investigated the localized solution of non-autonomous saturable discrete non-linear Schrödinger equations. The similarity transformation has been involved in converting non-autonomous saturable discrete non-linear Schrödinger equation to constant-coefficient saturable discrete non-linear Schrödinger equation (SDNLSE), whose exact solution is already known. By back substitution, the solution of the non-autonomous version has been obtained. We have analysed our solution for the hyperbolic and periodic form of gain/loss term, and interesting results have been obtained. The most important characteristic role is that it helps us to analyse the propagation of electromagnetic waves in glass fibres and other optical wave mediums. Also, the usage of SDNLSE has been seen in tight binding for Bose-Einstein condensates in optical mediums. Even the solutions are interrelated, and its properties are prominently used in various physical aspects like optical waveguides, Bose-Einstein (B-E) condensates in optical mediums, Non-linear optics in photonic crystals, and non-linear kerr–type non-linearity effect and photo refracting medium.

Keywords: B-E-Bose-Einstein, DNLSE-Discrete non linear schrodinger equation, NLSE-non linear schrodinger equation, SDNLSE - saturable discrete non linear Schrodinger equation

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Authors: Yan Wang, Yasushi Asami, Yukio Sadahiro

Abstract:

In urban area, several landmarks may affect housing price and rents, hedonic analysis should employ distance variables corresponding to each landmarks. Unfortunately, the effects of distances to landmarks on housing prices are generally not consistent with the true price. These distance variables may cause magnitude error in regression, pointing a problem of spatial multicollinearity. In this paper, we provided some approaches for getting the samples with less bias and method on locating the specific sampling area to avoid the multicollinerity problem in two specific landmarks case.

Keywords: landmarks, hedonic regression, distance variables, collinearity, multicollinerity

Procedia PDF Downloads 441

Authors: Omar Al Denali, Abdelaziz Badi

Abstract:

The ASTM A516 Grade 70 steel is a suitable material used for the fabrication of boiler pressure vessels working in moderate and lower temperature services, and it has good weldability and excellent notch toughness. The post-weld heat treatment (PWHT) or stress-relieving heat treatment has significant effects on avoiding the martensite transformation and resulting in high hardness, which can lead to cracking in the heat-affected zone (HAZ). An adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) was implemented to predict the material tensile strength of post-weld heat treatment (PWHT) experiments. The ANFIS models presented excellent predictions, and the comparison was carried out based on the mean absolute percentage error between the predicted values and the experimental values. The ANFIS model gave a Mean Absolute Percentage Error of 0.556 %, which confirms the high accuracy of the model.

Keywords: prediction, post-weld heat treatment, adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system, mean absolute percentage error

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Authors: Kofi Quartey, Kola Ijasan

Abstract:

Achieving densification around transit-oriented development projects has proven the most ideal way of facilitating urban sprawl whilst increasing the mobility of the majority of the urban populations, making parts of the city that were inaccessible, accessible. Johannesburg has undertaken TOD vision, which was initially called the corridors of freedom. The TOD, in line with the Sustainable Development Goal 11, seeks to establish inclusive, sustainable cities and, in line with the Joburg Growth Development Strategy, aims to create an equitable world-class African city. Equity and inclusivity should occur from the onset of planning and implementation of TOD projects through meaningful community participation. Stakeholder engagement literature from various disciplinary backgrounds has documented dissatisfaction of communities regarding the lack of meaningful participation in government-led development initiatives. The views of other project stakeholders such as project policy planners and project implementors and their challenges in undertaking community participation are, however, not taken into account in such instances, leaving room for a biased perspective. Document analysis was undertaken to determine what is expected of the Project stakeholders according to policy and whether they carried out their duties) seven interviews were also conducted with city entities and community representatives to determine their experiences and challenges with community participation in the various TOD projects attributed to the CoF vision. The findings of the study indicated that stakeholder engagement processes were best described as an ‘educative process’; where local communities were limited to being informed from the onset rather than having an active involvement in the planning processes. Most community members felt they were being informed and educated as to what was going to happen in spite of having their views and opinions collected – primarily due to project deadlines and budget constraints, as was confirmed by professional stakeholders. Some community members exhibited reluctance to change due to feelings of having projects being imposed on them, and the implications of the projects on their properties and lifestyles. It is recommended that community participation should remain a participatory and engaging process that creates an exchange of knowledge and understanding in the form of a dialogue between communities and project stakeholders until a consensus is reached.

Keywords: stakeholder engagement, transit oriented development, community participation, Johannesburg

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Authors: Ola Haj Saleh

Abstract:

This study of a contemporary building attempts to identify how a building can reflect its presence within its community. The example of the pavilion is discussed here with references to adaptability and flexibility theories. The analytical methodology of the Sun Valley Pavilion discovers to what extent a public space can be flexible and adaptable to several conditions. Furthermore, redefine an existing public building in an urban landscape context, becomes more than an important place for its community as a music pavilion for the arts, it is even for the interactivity wedding parties. Thus, the Sun Valley Pavilion can have an obvious role in a community gathering place in a result that flexibility and adaptability are more economical in the long term.

Keywords: adaptability, flexibility, pavilion, tensile

Procedia PDF Downloads 119