Search results for: soft decision fusion

Authors: Indre Brazauskaite, Vilte Auruskeviciene

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Significance of the study is outlined through current strategic management challenges faced by SMEs. First, innovation is recognized as competitive advantage in the market, having ever changing market conditions. It is of constant interest from both practitioners and academics to capture and capitalize on business opportunities or mitigate the foreseen risks. Secondly, it is recognized that integrated system is needed for proper implementation of innovation process, especially during the period of business incubation, associated with relatively high risks of new product failure. Finally, ability to successful commercialize innovations leads to tangible business results that allow to grow organizations further. This is particularly relevant to SMEs due to limited structures, resources, or capabilities. Cooperation between scientific and business institutions could be a tool of mutual interest to observe, address, and further develop innovations during the incubation period, which is the most demanding and challenging during the innovation process. Material aims to address the following problematics: i) indicate the major barriers and challenges in innovation process that SMEs are facing, ii) outline the possibilities for these barriers and challenges to be addressed by cooperation between scientific and business institutions. Basis for this research is stage-by-stage integrated innovation management process which presents existing challenges and needed aid in operational decision making. The stage-by-stage innovation management process exploration highlights relevant research opportunities that have high practical relevance in the field. It is expected to reveal the possibility for business incubation programs that could combine interest from both – practices and academia. Methodology. Scientific meta-analysis of to-date scientific literature that explores innovation process. Research model is built on the combination of stage-gate model and lean six sigma approach. It outlines the following steps: i) pre-incubation (discovery and screening), ii) incubation (scoping, planning, development, and testing), and iii) post-incubation (launch and commercialization) periods. Empirical quantitative research is conducted to address barriers and challenges related to innovation process among SMEs that limits innovations from successful launch and commercialization and allows to identify potential areas for cooperation between scientific and business institutions. Research sample, high level decision makers representing trading SMEs, are approached with structured survey based on the research model to investigate the challenges associated with each of the innovation management step. Expected findings. First, the current business challenges in the innovation process are revealed. It will outline strengths and weaknesses of innovation management practices and systems across SMEs. Secondly, it will present material for relevant business case investigation for scholars to serve as future research directions. It will contribute to a better understanding of quality innovation management systems. Third, it will contribute to the understanding the need for business incubation systems for mutual contribution from practices and academia. It can increase relevance and adaptation of business research.

Keywords: cooperation between scientific and business institutions, innovation barriers and challenges, innovation measure, innovation process, SMEs

Procedia PDF Downloads 147

Authors: Raya Hamed Hilal Al Maamari

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The Gulf societies have been undergoing radical changes due to the technology transfer. It altered the humanities attitudes, especially, youth habits as they have become an addicted to using social media. This study aimed to find out the ratio of social media in guiding youth to participate with government’s institutions in decision-making and developing their societies. The study considered a descriptive study, social survey method was used on a sample of 100 young from different gulf countries, using an electronic questionnaire, as well as, some interviews with famous leaders of youth groups. Finally, the researcher suggested some effective ways activate youth efforts using social media in an effective manner to plan for the development policy in the community. The findings illustrated that social media plays a vital role in encouraging youth to participate enthusiastically in providing services. Noticeably, social media contains large numbers of youth. Therefore, the influences will be widely and feasible. Moreover, the study indicated the fact that most of the youth teamwork started in social media. Then, it has been growing in the real society.

Keywords: community, participation, social media, youth

Procedia PDF Downloads 369

Authors: Yunhan Zhang, Xiaopeng Li, Zhongxiao Peng

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Additive manufacturing (AM) possesses several key characteristics, including high design freedom, energy-efficient manufacturing process, reduced material waste, high resolution of finished products, and excellent performance of finished products. These advantages have garnered widespread attention and fueled rapid development in recent decades. AM has significantly broadened the spectrum of available materials in the manufacturing industry and is gradually replacing some traditionally manufactured parts. Similar to components produced via traditional methods, products manufactured through AM are susceptible to degradation caused by wear during their service life. Given the prevalence of 316L stainless steel (SS) parts and the limited research on the tribological behavior of 316L SS samples or products fabricated using AM technology, this study aims to investigate the degradation process and wear mechanisms of 316L SS disks fabricated using AM technology. The wear mechanisms and tribological performance of these AM-manufactured samples are compared with commercial 316L SS samples made using conventional methods. Additionally, methods to enhance the tribological performance of additive-manufactured SS samples are explored. Four disk samples with a diameter of 75 mm and a thickness of 10 mm are prepared. Two of them (Group A) are prepared from a purchased SS bar using a milling method. The other two disks (Group B), with the same dimensions, are made of Gas Atomized 316L Stainless Steel (size range: 15-45 µm) purchased from Carpenter Additive and produced using Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF). Pin-on-disk tests are conducted on these disks, which have similar surface roughness and hardness levels. Multiple tests are carried out under various operating conditions, including varying loads and/or speeds, and the friction coefficients are measured during these tests. In addition, the evolution of the surface degradation processes is monitored by creating moulds of the wear tracks and quantitatively analyzing the surface morphologies of the mould images. This analysis involves quantifying the depth and width of the wear tracks and analyzing the wear debris generated during the wear processes. The wear mechanisms and wear performance of these two groups of SS samples are compared. The effects of load and speed on the friction coefficient and wear rate are investigated. The ultimate goal is to gain a better understanding of the surface degradation of additive-manufactured SS samples. This knowledge is crucial for enhancing their anti-wear performance and extending their service life.

Keywords: degradation process, additive manufacturing, stainless steel, surface features

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Authors: Punrapha Praditpong, Surangkana Pipatchokchaiyo

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The objectives of this study were to study the consumer behavior of the Baby boomers, the X & the Y generation towards Online Travel Agents in purchasing tourism-related products and services. The research methodology of this research used the quantitative study and the sample size consisted of 400 questionnaires in five districts of Bangkok. The data was analyzed by frequency, percentage, mean and SD. Moreover, all the hypotheses were tested by One-Way ANOVA and Pearson-Correlation statistics. The research findings were as follows: 1) There were significant effects to the purchasing decision making process towards purchasing tourism related products and services via OTAs; 2) There were different consumer behaviors from the Baby boomers, the X generation and the Y generation towards purchasing tourism related products and services via OTAs, which are explained in detail in finding. The research offers a discussion and presents some recommendations for the OTA websites.

Keywords: consumer behavior, online travel agent, x generations, y generations

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Authors: A. Alrasheed, I. Connerton

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Providing patients with safe meals on a daily basis is one of the challenges in the healthcare sector. In Saudi Arabia matters related to food safety and hygiene have been the heart of the Ministry of Health (MOH) and Saudi Food and Drugs Authority (SFDA). The aim of this study is to examine the causes of inadequate implementation of food safety management systems such as HACCP in Riyadh’s MOH hospitals. By the law, food safety must be managed using a documented, HACCP based approach, and food handlers must be appropriately trained in food safety. Food handlers in Saudi Arabia are not required to provide a certificate or attend a food handling training course even in healthcare sectors. Since food safety and hygiene issues are of increasing importance for Saudi Arabian health decision makers, the SFDA has been established to apply food hygiene requirements in all food operations. It should be pointed out that the implications of food outbreaks on the whole society may potentially go beyond individual health impacts but also impact on the Nation’s health and bring about economic repercussions.

Keywords: food safety, patient, hospital, HACCP

Procedia PDF Downloads 865

Authors: Afrah Saad Mohsen Al-Mahfadi

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The construction of dams can provide various ecosystem services, but it can also lead to ecological changes such as habitat loss and coastal degradation. Yemen faces multiple risks, including water crises and inadequate environmental policies, which are particularly detrimental to coastal zones like the Ahwar Delta in Abyan. This study aims to examine the impacts of dam construction on downstream wetlands and propose sustainable management approaches. Research Aim: The main objective of this study is to assess the different impacts of dam construction on downstream wetlands, specifically focusing on the Ahwar Delta in Yemen. Methodology: The study utilizes a literature review approach to gather relevant information on dam impacts and adaptation measures. Interviews with decision-making stakeholders and local community members are conducted to gain insights into the specific challenges faced in the Ahwar Delta. Additionally, sensing data, such as Arc-GIS and precipitation data from 1981 to 2020, are analyzed to examine changes in hydrological dynamics. Questions Addressed: This study addresses the following questions: What are the impacts of dam construction on downstream wetlands in the Ahwar delta? How can environmental management planning activities be implemented to minimize these impacts? Findings: The results indicate several future issues arising from dam construction in the coastal areas, including land loss due to rising sea levels and increased salinity in drinking water wells. Climate change has led to a decrease in rainfall rates, impacting vegetation and increasing sedimentation and erosion. Downstream areas with dams exhibit lower sediment levels and slower flowing habitats compared to those without dams. Theoretical Importance: The findings of this study provide valuable insights into the ecological impacts of dam construction on downstream wetlands. Understanding these dynamics can inform decision-makers about the need for adaptation measures and their potential benefits in improving coastal biodiversity under dam impacts. Data Collection and Analysis Procedures: The study collects data through a literature review, interviews, and sensing technology. The literature review helps identify relevant studies on dam impacts and adaptation measures. Interviews with stakeholders and local community members provide firsthand information on the specific challenges faced in the Ahwar Delta. Sensing data, such as Arc-GIS and precipitation data, are analyzed to understand changes in hydrological dynamics over time. Conclusion: The study concludes that while the situation can worsen due to dam construction, practical adaptation measures can help mitigate the impacts. Recommendations include improving water management, developing integrated coastal zone planning, raising awareness among stakeholders, improving health and education, and implementing emergency projects to combat climate change.

Keywords: dam impact, delta wetland, hydrology, Yemen

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Authors: Rezaei Hachesu Peyman, Oliyaee Azadeh, Salahzadeh Zahra, Alizadeh Somayyeh, Safaei Naser

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Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) is one major cause of disability in adults and one main cause of death in developed. In this study, data mining techniques including Decision Trees, Artificial neural networks (ANNs), and Support Vector Machine (SVM) analyze CAD data. Data of 4948 patients who had suffered from heart diseases were included in the analysis. CAD is the target variable, and 24 inputs or predictor variables are used for the classification. The performance of these techniques is compared in terms of sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy. The most significant factor influencing CAD is chest pain. Elderly males (age > 53) have a high probability to be diagnosed with CAD. SVM algorithm is the most useful way for evaluation and prediction of CAD patients as compared to non-CAD ones. Application of data mining techniques in analyzing coronary artery diseases is a good method for investigating the existing relationships between variables.

Keywords: classification, coronary artery disease, data-mining, knowledge discovery, extract

Procedia PDF Downloads 654

Authors: Raimoana Frogier, Luc Girard, Pierre Bauduin, Diane Rebiscoul, Olivier Diat

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Nano-ions (NIs) are ionic species or clusters of nanometric size. Their low charge density and the delocalization of their charges give special properties to some of NIs belonging to chemical classes of polyoxometalates (POMs) or boron clusters. They have the particularity of interacting non-covalently with neutral hydrated surface or interfaces such as assemblies of surface-active molecules (micelles, vesicles, lyotropic liquid crystals), foam bubbles or emulsion droplets. This makes possible to classify those NIs in the Hofmeister series as superchaotropic ions. The mechanism of adsorption is complex, linked to the simultaneous dehydration of the ion and the molecule or supramolecular assembly with which it can interact, all with an enthalpic gain on the free energy of the system. This interaction process is reversible and is sufficiently pronounced to induce changes in molecular and supramolecular shape or conformation, phase transitions in the liquid phase, all at sub-millimolar ionic concentrations. This new property of some NIs opens up new possibilities for applications in fields as varied as biochemistry for solubilization, recovery of metals of interest by foams in the form of NIs... In order to better understand the physico-chemical mechanisms at the origin of this interaction, we use silicon wafers functionalized by non-ionic oligomers (polyethylene glycol chains or PEG) to study in situ by X-ray reflectivity this interaction of NIs with the grafted chains. This study carried out at ESRF (European Synchrotron Radiation Facility) and has shown that the adsorption of the NIs, such as POMs, has a very fast kinetics. Moreover the distribution of the NIs in the grafted PEG chain layer was quantify. These results are very encouraging and confirm what has been observed on soft interfaces such as micelles or foams. The possibility to play on the density, length and chemical nature of the grafted chains makes this system an ideal tool to provide kinetic and thermodynamic information to decipher the complex mechanisms at the origin of this adsorption.

Keywords: adsorption, nano-ions, solid-liquid interface, superchaotropicity

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Authors: Doris C. C. K. Kowaltowski, Marcella S. Deliberador

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The architectural design process, in general, is becoming more complex, as new technical, social, environmental, and economical requirements are imposed. For school buildings, this scenario is also valid. The quality of a school building depends on known design criteria and professional knowledge, as well as feedback from building performance assessments. To attain high-performance school buildings, a design process should add a multidisciplinary team, through an integrated process, to ensure that the various specialists contribute at an early stage to design solutions. The participation of stakeholders is of special importance at the programming phase when the search for the most appropriate design solutions is underway. The composition of a multidisciplinary team should comprise specialists in education, design professionals, and consultants in various fields such as environmental comfort and psychology, sustainability, safety and security, as well as administrators, public officials and neighbourhood representatives. Users, or potential users (teachers, parents, students, school officials, and staff), should be involved. User expectations must be guided, however, toward a proper understanding of a response of design to needs to avoid disappointment. In this context, appropriate tools should be introduced to organize such diverse participants and ensure a rich and focused response to needs and a productive outcome of programming sessions. In this paper, different stakeholder in a school design process are discussed in relation to their specific contributions and a tool in the form of a card game is described to structure the design debates and ensure a comprehensive decision-making process. The game is based on design patterns for school architecture as found in the literature and is adapted to a specific reality: State-run public schools in São Paulo, Brazil. In this State, school buildings are managed by a foundation called Fundação para o Desenvolvimento da Educação (FDE). FDE supervises new designs and is responsible for the maintenance of ~ 5000 schools. The design process of this context was characterised with a recommendation to improve the programming phase. Card games can create a common environment, to which all participants can relate and, therefore, can contribute to briefing debates on an equal footing. The cards of the game described here represent essential school design themes as found in the literature. The tool was tested with stakeholder groups and with architecture students. In both situations, the game proved to be an efficient tool to stimulate school design discussions and to aid in the elaboration of a rich, focused and thoughtful architectural program for a given demand. The game organizes the debates and all participants are shown to spontaneously contribute each in his own field of expertise to the decision-making process. Although the game was specifically based on a local school design process it shows potential for other contexts because the content is based on known facts, needs and concepts of school design, which are global. A structured briefing phase with diverse stakeholder participation can enrich the design process and consequently improve the quality of school buildings.

Keywords: architectural program, design process, school building design, stakeholder

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Authors: Anastasia Tsakiridi

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Geographic information systems (GIS) have been utilized in numerous spatial problems, such as site research, land suitability, and demographic analysis. Besides, GIS has been applied in scientific fields like geography, health, and economics. In business studies, GIS has been used to provide insights and spatial perspectives in demographic trends, spending indicators, and network analysis. To date, the information regarding the available usages of GIS in supply chain management (SCM) and how these analyses can benefit businesses is limited. A systematic literature review (SLR) of the last 5-year peer-reviewed academic literature was conducted, aiming to explore the existing usages of GIS in SCM. The searches were performed in 3 databases (Web of Science, ProQuest, and Business Source Premier) and reported using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) methodology. The analysis resulted in 79 papers. The results indicate that the existing GIS applications used in SCM were in the following domains: a) network/ transportation analysis (in 53 of the papers), b) location – allocation site search/ selection (multiple-criteria decision analysis) (in 45 papers), c) spatial analysis (demographic or physical) (in 34 papers), d) combination of GIS and supply chain/network optimization tools (in 32 papers), and e) visualization/ monitoring or building information modeling applications (in 8 papers). An additional categorization of the literature was conducted by examining the usage of GIS in the supply chain (SC) by the business sectors, as indicated by the volume of the papers. The results showed that GIS is mainly being applied in the SC of the biomass biofuel/wood industry (33 papers). Other industries that are currently utilizing GIS in their SC were the logistics industry (22 papers), the humanitarian/emergency/health care sector (10 papers), the food/agro-industry sector (5 papers), the petroleum/ coal/ shale gas sector (3 papers), the faecal sludge sector (2 papers), the recycle and product footprint industry (2 papers), and the construction sector (2 papers). The results were also presented by the geography of the included studies and the GIS software used to provide critical business insights and suggestions for future research. The results showed that research case studies of GIS in SCM were conducted in 26 countries (mainly in the USA) and that the most prominent GIS software provider was the Environmental Systems Research Institute’s ArcGIS (in 51 of the papers). This study is a systematic literature review of the usage of GIS in SCM. The results showed that the GIS capabilities could offer substantial benefits in SCM decision-making by providing key insights to cost minimization, supplier selection, facility location, SC network configuration, and asset management. However, as presented in the results, only eight industries/sectors are currently using GIS in their SCM activities. These findings may offer essential tools to SC managers who seek to optimize the SC activities and/or minimize logistic costs and to consultants and business owners that want to make strategic SC decisions. Furthermore, the findings may be of interest to researchers aiming to investigate unexplored research areas where GIS may improve SCM.

Keywords: supply chain management, logistics, systematic literature review, GIS

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Authors: U. Chattaraj, D. Meena

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Growth of traffic brings various negative effects, such as road accidents. To avoid such problems, a model is developed for the purpose of highway safety. In such areas, fuzzy logic is the most well-known simulation in the larger field. A model is accomplished for hilly and steep terrain based on Fuzzy Inference System (FIS), for which output is super elevation and input data is horizontal radius, vertical gradient, accident rate (AR). This result shows that the system can be efficaciously applied as for highway safety tool distinguishing hazards components correlated to the characteristics of the highway and has a great influence to the making of decision for accident precaution in transportation models. From this model, a positive relationship between geometric elements, accident rate, and super elevation is also identified.

Keywords: accident rate, fuzzy inference system, fuzzy logic, gradient, radius, super elevation

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Authors: Birome Holo Ba, Christian Prins, Caroline Prodhon

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Optimization is an important aspect of logistics management. It can reduce significantly logistics costs and also be a good tool for decision support. In this paper, we address a planning problem specific to biomass supply chain. We propose a new mixed integer linear programming (MILP) model dealing with different feed stock production operations such as harvesting, packing, storage, pre-processing and transportation, with the objective of minimizing the total logistic cost of the system on a regional basis. It determines the optimal number of harvesting machine, the fleet size of trucks for transportation and the amount of each type of biomass harvested, stored and pre-processed in each period to satisfy demands of refineries in each period. We illustrate the effectiveness of the proposal model with a numerical example, a case study in Aube (France department), which gives preliminary and interesting, results on a small test case.

Keywords: biomass logistics, supply chain, modelling, optimization, bioenergy, biofuels

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Authors: Grace Omowunmi Soyebi

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A computerized medical record system is a collection of medical information about a person that is stored on a computer. One principal problem of most hospitals in rural areas is using the file management system for keeping records. A lot of time is wasted when a patient visits the hospital, probably in an emergency, and the nurse or attendant has to search through voluminous files before the patient's file can be retrieved; this may cause an unexpected to happen to the patient. This data mining application is to be designed using a structured system analysis and design method which will help in a well-articulated analysis of the existing file management system, feasibility study, and proper documentation of the design and implementation of a computerized medical record system. This computerized system will replace the file management system and help to quickly retrieve a patient's record with increased data security, access clinical records for decision-making, and reduce the time range at which a patient gets attended to.

Keywords: programming, data, software development, innovation

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Authors: Angrita Denziana, Haninun, Hepiana Patmarina, Ferdinan Fatah

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The aims of the study are to determine the effect of the company's financial performance with Return on Asset (ROA) and Return on Equity (ROE) indicators. The macroeconomic factors with the indicators of Indonesia interest rate (SBI) and exchange rate on stock returns of non-financial companies listed in IDX. The results of this study indicate that the variable of ROA has negative effect on stock returns, ROE has a positive effect on stock returns, and the variable interest rate and exchange rate of SBI has positive effect on stock returns. From the analysis data by using regression model, independent variables ROA, ROE, SBI interest rate and the exchange rate very significant (p value < 0.01). Thus, all the above variable can be used as the basis for investment decision making for investment in Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) mainly for shares in the non- financial companies.

Keywords: ROA, ROE, interest rate, exchange rate, stock return

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Authors: Mahmoud Reza Hosseini

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The universe is in a continuous expansion process, resulting in the reduction of its density and temperature. Also, by extrapolating back from its current state, the universe at its early times is studied, known as the big bang theory. According to this theory, moments after creation, the universe was an extremely hot and dense environment. However, its rapid expansion due to nuclear fusion led to a reduction in its temperature and density. This is evidenced through the cosmic microwave background and the universe structure at a large scale. However, extrapolating back further from this early state reaches singularity, which cannot be explained by modern physics, and the big bang theory is no longer valid. In addition, one can expect a nonuniform energy distribution across the universe from a sudden expansion. However, highly accurate measurements reveal an equal temperature mapping across the universe, which is contradictory to the big bang principles. To resolve this issue, it is believed that cosmic inflation occurred at the very early stages of the birth of the universe. According to the cosmic inflation theory, the elements which formed the universe underwent a phase of exponential growth due to the existence of a large cosmological constant. The inflation phase allows the uniform distribution of energy so that an equal maximum temperature can be achieved across the early universe. Also, the evidence of quantum fluctuations of this stage provides a means for studying the types of imperfections the universe would begin with. Although well-established theories such as cosmic inflation and the big bang together provide a comprehensive picture of the early universe and how it evolved into its current state, they are unable to address the singularity paradox at the time of universe creation. Therefore, a practical model capable of describing how the universe was initiated is needed. This research series aims at addressing the singularity issue by introducing a state of energy called a "neutral state," possessing an energy level that is referred to as the "base energy." The governing principles of base energy are discussed in detail in our second paper in the series "A Conceptual Study for Addressing the Singularity of the Emerging Universe," which is discussed in detail. To establish a complete picture, the origin of the base energy should be identified and studied. In this research paper, the mechanism which led to the emergence of this natural state and its corresponding base energy is proposed. In addition, the effect of the base energy in the space-time fabric is discussed. Finally, the possible role of the base energy in quantization and energy exchange is investigated. Therefore, the proposed concept in this research series provides a road map for enhancing our understating of the universe's creation from nothing and its evolution and discusses the possibility of base energy as one of the main building blocks of this universe.

Keywords: big bang, cosmic inflation, birth of universe, energy creation, universe evolution

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Authors: Jiří Barta, Oldřich Svoboda

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This article deals with the issue of practical training of the management staff during emergency events in the frame of critical infrastructure. Critical infrastructure represents one of the possible targets of destructive activities as well as operational accidents and incidents which can seriously influence the functioning of the system of ensuring the basic needs of the inhabitants. Therefore, protection of critical infrastructure and training of the staff in dealing with emergencies becomes a broadly discussed topic. Nowadays, the market offers a wide range of simulation tools which proclaim that they are suitable for practical training of management staff and completing their tasks. Another group of programs declares that they are not primarily designed for this type of simulations. However, after some minor adaptations, for example by adding or changing users‘ roles, they are able to fulfil the needs of practical training as well as the process of emergency simulation. This paper characterises and selects simulators and programs for simulating emergency events.

Keywords: computer simulation, Symos´97, simulation software, harmful substances, Konstruktivní simulace, SIMEX

Procedia PDF Downloads 249

Authors: Tengku Farah Petri Tengku Mahmood, Shameem Rafik-Galea, Zalina Mohd Kasim, Norlijah Othman

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Childhood vaccination programme is mandatory in Malaysia. However, the decision to vaccinate or not vaccinate children is still left to the parents. Presently, there are parents who are opting out of vaccination claiming that it causes autism and other chronic disorders despite inconclusive evidence. There appears to be a dangerous trend among some Malaysian parents to not vaccinate their children and to not participate in the childhood vaccination programme. This study presents preliminary findings of parental discourse on childhood vaccination programme through the perspective of the Integrated Threat Theory. An in-depth interview was carried out to investigate a parent’s concern of the effects of childhood vaccination on children. A thematic discourse analysis was used to analyse the transcribed data. The emerging themes based on the analysis and their relevance to our understanding of a parent’s concerns of the effects of childhood vaccination on children are discussed.

Keywords: case study, parental discourse, thematic discourse analysis, childhood vaccination

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Authors: Sol Girouard, Zona Kostic

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A home is often the largest and most expensive purchase a person makes. Whether the decision leads to a successful outcome will be determined by a combination of critical factors. In this paper, we propose a method that efficiently handles all the factors in residential real estate and performs predictions given a feature space with high dimensionality while controlling for overfitting. The proposed method was built on gradient descent and boosting algorithms and uses a mixed optimizing technique to improve the prediction power. Usually, a single model cannot handle all the cases thus our approach builds multiple models based on different subsets of the predictors. The algorithm was tested on 3 million homes across the U.S., and the experimental results demonstrate the efficiency of this approach by outperforming techniques currently used in forecasting prices. With everyday changes on the real estate market, our proposed algorithm capitalizes from new events allowing more efficient predictions.

Keywords: real estate prediction, gradient descent, boosting, ensemble methods, active learning, training

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Authors: Xiaoqiang Fu, Baihao Li

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In 1895, the failure of Sino-Japanese prompted the trend of comprehensive and systematic study of western pattern in China. In urban planning and construction, urban reform movement sprang up slowly, which aimed at renovating and reconstructing the traditional cities into modern cities similar to the concessions. During the movement, Chinese traditional city initiated a process of modern urban planning for its modernization. Meanwhile, the traditional planning morphology and system started to disintegrate, on the contrary, western form and technology had become the paradigm. Therefore, the improvement of existing cities had become the prototype of urban planning of early modern China. Currently, researches of the movement mainly concentrate on large cities, concessions, railway hub cities and some special cities resembling those. However, the systematic research about the large number of traditional small and medium-sized cities is still blank, up to now. This paper takes the improvement constructions of small and medium-sized cities in Southern region of Jiangsu Province as the research object. First of all, the criteria of small and medium-sized cities are based on the administrative levels of general office and cities at the county level. Secondly, the suitability of taking the Southern Jiangsu as the research object. The southern area of Jiangsu province called Southern Jiangsu for short, was the most economically developed region in Jiangsu, and also one of the most economically developed and the highest urbanization regions in China. As the most developed agricultural areas in ancient China, Southern Jiangsu formed a large number of traditional small and medium-sized cities. In early modern times, with the help of the Shanghai economic radiation, geographical advantage and powerful economic foundation, Southern Jiangsu became an important birthplace of Chinese national industry. Furthermore, the strong business atmosphere promoted the widespread urban improvement practices, which were incomparable of other regions. Meanwhile, the demonstration of Shanghai, Zhenjiang, Suzhou and other port cities became the improvement pattern of small and medium-sized city in Southern Jiangsu. This paper analyzes the reform movement of the small and medium-sized cities in Southern Jiangsu (1895-1927), including the subjects, objects, laws, technologies and the influence factors of politic and society, etc. At last, this paper reveals the formation mechanism and characteristics of urban improvement movement in early modern China. According to the paper, the improvement of small-medium city was a kind of gestation of the local city planning culture in early modern China，with a fusion of introduction and endophytism.

Keywords: early modern China, improvement of small-medium city, southern region of Jiangsu province, urban planning history of China

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Authors: Cesar Hernández, Diego Giral, Ingrid Páez

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This article proposes a hybrid algorithm for spectrum allocation in cognitive radio networks based on the algorithms Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP) and Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) to improve the performance of the spectrum mobility of secondary users in cognitive radio networks. To calculate the level of performance of the proposed algorithm a comparative analysis between the proposed AHP-TOPSIS, Grey Relational Analysis (GRA) and Multiplicative Exponent Weighting (MEW) algorithm is performed. Four evaluation metrics is used. These metrics are the accumulative average of failed handoffs, the accumulative average of handoffs performed, the accumulative average of transmission bandwidth, and the accumulative average of the transmission delay. The results of the comparison show that AHP-TOPSIS Algorithm provides 2.4 times better performance compared to a GRA Algorithm and, 1.5 times better than the MEW Algorithm.

Keywords: cognitive radio, decision making, hybrid algorithm, spectrum handoff, wireless networks

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Authors: Rashed Shah, Jeanne Koepsell, Dixmer Rivera, Eric Swedberg, David Marsh

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Success of primary health care goals of health promotion and disease prevention may well be determined by community based health workers’ overall job satisfaction. It is also important to understand the ways community health workers perceive their jobs and the importance they give to the various factors influencing their job satisfaction, which is critical before making a decision for task-shifting and for expanding their scope of work. Although brigadistas are unpaid volunteers, they are formally recognized and receive support and supervision from the Ministry of Health in Nicaragua. Brigadistas are responsible for classifying and diagnosing illnesses, administering treatment, counseling mothers and care givers within the community, encouraging referral in case of serious illness and making follow-up visits at home. Some brigadistas provide more technically advanced services, including treatment for pneumonia, diarrhea, malaria and tuberculosis and/or distribution of contraceptives. Expanding brigadistas’ duties could threaten their heretofore ‘job satisfaction’. This study primarily aims to report on job satisfaction of brigadistas in Nicaragua before expanding the scope of their work by adding more responsibilities. The study was guided by the following research questions: 1) What aspects of their job made the brigadistas satisfied or dissatisfied? 2) What is the job satisfaction level of brigadistas in Nicaragua? This cross-sectional study was conducted during March – July 2014, to assess brigadistas’ job satisfaction, prior to deciding on inclusion of care for sick newborns and young infants (<2 months of age) to brigadistas’ existing service package of community case management for children of 2-59 months of age. Following stratified random sampling strategy, 15 brigadistas were randomly selected from each of the following four strata: [(1) females under 25 years of age, (2) females over 30 years of age, (3) males under 25 years of age, and (4) males over 30 years of age. Out of 45 completed in-person interview with eligible and available brigadistas, 20 (44.4%) were with female and 25 (55.6%) were with male respondents; the mean age (±sd) was found as 32.0 (±3.2) years. About 53% (24/45) brigadista mentioned “Training” as the most helpful for performing their job. Another 31% (14/45) mentioned that “feeling of doing good, supporting community, women and children” was helpful to perform their job well. When asked about difficulty, about 35.5% (16/45) brigadistas mentioned about “Lack of time” due to their responsibilities in family, farm, other work places, study and such time constraint made their job performance difficult. Measured on a 0-5 scale, estimated average job satisfaction was 4.2. Current trends in task-shifting and integrated program delivery require community health workers (like the brigadistas) to deliver several essential services, including maternal, newborn and child health, and family planning, and thereby increasing their responsibilities. Given the reported level of job satisfaction among brigadistas (4.2 out of 5), and the mentioned difficulty in performing their current job (as ‘Lack of Time’) in this study results, the policy makers and program managers in MOH should be cautious enough before making a decision to expand current scope of work for brigadistas in Nicaragua.

Keywords: Brigadisata, job satisfaction, Nicaragua, task-shifting

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Authors: Nesreen M. Alqaissi

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Little is known about the lived experiences of breast cancer among Arab Muslim women. The researcher used a qualitative interpretive phenomenological research design to explore the lived experiences of breast cancer as described by Jordanian Muslim women. A purposive sample of 20 women with breast cancer was recruited. Data were collected utilizing individual semi-structured interviews, and analyzed using Heideggerian Hermeneutical methodology. Results: Five related themes and one constitutive pattern: (a) breast cancer means death; (b) matriarchal family members as important source of support; (c) spirituality as a way to live and survive breast cancer; (d) concealing cancer experiences to protect self and families; (e) physicians as protectors and treatment decision makers; (f) the constitutive pattern: culture influencing Jordanian women experiences with breast cancer. In conclusion, researchers and healthcare providers should consider the influence of culture, spirituality, and families, when caring for women with breast cancer from Jordan.

Keywords: breast cancer, Arab Muslim, Jordan, lived experiences, spirituality, culture

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Authors: Emilija Tribocka

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This contribution presents parts of an ongoing study of a diachronic relationship between two weak verb classes in Norwegian, the a-class (cf. the paradigm of ‘throw’: kasta – kastar – kasta – kasta) and the e-class (cf. the paradigm of ‘buy’: kjøpa – kjøper – kjøpte – kjøpt). The study investigates inflection class shifts between the two classes with Old Norse, the ancestor of Modern Norwegian, as a starting point. Examination of inflection in 38 verbs in four chosen dialect areas (106 places of attestations) demonstrates that the shifts from the a-class to the e-class are widespread to varying degrees in three out of four investigated areas and are more common than the shifts in the opposite direction. The diachronic productivity of the e-class is unexpected for several reasons. There is general agreement that type frequency is an important factor influencing productivity. The a-class (53% of all weak verbs) was more type frequent in Old Norse than the e-class (42% of all weak verbs). Thus, given the type frequency, the expansion of the e-class is unexpected. Furthermore, in the ‘core’ areas of expanded e-class inflection, the shifts disregard phonological principles creating forms with uncomfortable consonant clusters, e.g., fiskte instead of fiska, the preterit of fiska ‘fish’. Later on, these forms may be contracted, i.e., fiskte > fiste. In this contribution, two factors influencing the shifts are presented: phonological form and token frequency. Verbs with the stem ending in a consonant cluster, particularly when the cluster ends in -t, hardly ever shift to the e-class. As a matter of fact, verbs with this structure belonging to the e-class in Old Norse shift to the a-class in Modern Norwegian, e.g., ON e-class verb skipta ‘change’ shifts to the a-class. This shift occurs as a result of the lack of morpho-phonological transparency between the stem and the preterit suffix of the e-class, -te. As there is a phonological fusion between the stem ending in -t and the suffix beginning in -t, the transparent a-class inflection is chosen. Token frequency plays an important role in the shifts, too, in some dialects. In one of the investigated areas, the most token frequent verbs of the ON e-class remain in the e-class (e.g., høyra ‘hear’, leva ‘live’, kjøpa ‘buy’), while less frequent verbs may shift to the a-class. Furthermore, the results indicate that the shift from the a-class to the e-class occurs in some of the most token frequent verbs of the ON a-class in this area, e.g., lika ‘like’, lova ‘promise’, svara ‘answer’. The latter is unexpected as frequent items tend to remain stable. This study presents a case of unexpected productivity, demonstrating that minor patterns can grow and outdo major patterns. Thus, type frequency is not the only factor that determines productivity. The study addresses the role of phonological form and token frequency in the spread of inflection patterns.

Keywords: inflection class, productivity, token frequency, phonological form

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Authors: Dimitrios J. Dimitriou, Maria F. Sartzetaki

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Different transportation modes have key operational advantages and disadvantages, providing a variety of different transport options to users and passengers. This paper reviews key variables for the competition between air transport and other transport modes. The aim of this paper is to review the competition between air transport and other transport modes, providing results in terms of perceived cost for the users, for destinations high competitiveness for all transport modes. The competitor analysis variables include the cost and time outputs for each transport option, highlighting the level of competitiveness on high demanded Origin-Destination corridors. The case study presents the output of a such analysis for the OD corridor in Greece that connects the Capital city (Athens) with the second largest city (Thessaloniki) and the different transport modes have been considered (air, train, road). Conventional wisdom is to present an easy to handle tool for planners, managers and decision makers towards pricing policy effectiveness and demand attractiveness, appropriate to use for other similar cases.

Keywords: competitor analysis, transport economics, transport generalized cost, quantitative modelling

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Authors: Cao Xiaopeng, Shi Linkai

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The practical Byzantine fault-tolerant algorithm does not add nodes dynamically. It is limited in practical application. In order to add nodes dynamically, Dynamic Practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance Algorithm (DPBFT) was proposed. Firstly, a new node sends request information to other nodes in the network. The nodes in the network decide their identities and requests. Then the nodes in the network reverse connect to the new node and send block information of the current network. The new node updates information. Finally, the new node participates in the next round of consensus, changes the view and selects the master node. This paper abstracts the decision of nodes into the undirected connected graph. The final consistency of the graph is used to prove that the proposed algorithm can adapt to the network dynamically. Compared with the PBFT algorithm, DPBFT has better fault tolerance and lower network bandwidth.

Keywords: practical byzantine, fault tolerance, blockchain, consensus algorithm, consistency analysis

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Authors: Deborah A. Hollingworth

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The key tenets associated with ‘environmental justice’, were first articulated in a global context in Principle 10 of the United Nations Declaration on Environment and Development at Rio de Janeiro in 1992 (the Rio Declaration). The elements can be conflated to require: public participation in decision-making; the provision of relevant information to those affected about environmental hazards issues; access to judicial and administrative proceeding; and the opportunity for redress where remedy where required. This paper examines the legislative and regulatory arrangements in place for the implementation these elements in a number of industrialised democracies, including Australia. Most have, over time made regulatory provision for these elements – even if they are not directly attributed Principle 10 or the notion of environmental justice. The paper proposes, that of these elements the most critical to the achievement of good environmental governance, is a legislated recognition and role of public participation. However, the paper considers that notwithstanding sound legislative and regulatory practices, environmental regulators frequently struggle, where there is a complex decision-making scenario or long-standing enmity between a community and industry to achieve effective engagement with the public. This study considers the dilemma confronted by environmental regulators to given meaningful effect to the principles enshrined in Principle 10 – that even when the legislative expression of Principle 10 is adhered to – does not prevent adverse outcomes. In particular, it considers, as a case study a prominent environmental incident in 2014 in Australia in which an open-cut coalmine located in the regional township of Morwell caught fire during bushfire season. The fire, which took 45 days to be extinguished had a significant and adverse impact on the community in question, but compounded a complex, and sometime antagonistic history between the mine and township. The case study exemplifies the complex factors that will often be present between industry, the public and regulatory bodies, and which confound the concept of environmental justice, and the elements of enshrined in the Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration. The study proposes that such tensions and complex examples will commonly be the reality of communities and regulators. However, to give practical effect to outcomes contemplated by Principle 10, the paper considers that regulators will may consider public intervention more broadly as including early interventions and formal opportunities for “conferencing” between industry, community and regulators. These initiatives help to develop a shared understanding and identification of issues. It is proposed that although important, options for “alternative dispute resolution” are not sufficiently preventative, as they come into play when a dispute has arise. Similarly “restorative justice” programs, while important once an incident or adverse environmental outcome has occurred, are post event and therefore necessarily limited. The paper considers the examples of how public participation at the outset – at the time of a proposal, before issues arise or eventuate to ensure, is demonstrably the most effective way for building commonality and an agreed methodology for working to resolve issues once they occur.

Keywords: environmental justice, alternative dispute resolution, domestic environmental law, international environmental law

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Authors: Alyaa Darwish, Peter Burns, Sofia Reino

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Online marketing has been the key focus of attention for the majority of destinations since the Internet became the primarily information tool for travel marketing. Tourism is a reputation-dependent industry; potential travelers who do not have previous experience with the destination face numerous risks during the process of decision-making. An accurate perception of the destination’s reputation helps to minimize risk against unsatisfying travel experiences. However, there has been limited investigation with regards to the reputation of tourist destination. Taking the importance of reputation to the tourism industry, this research aims to: 1) Develop a destination reputation model; 2) Assess the tourist destination approach towards online marketing tactics; 3) Evaluate the impact of differentiated online marketing tactics on reputation; and 4) Measure the potential for using online marketing tactics to manage the destination’s online reputation. This research follows an interpretivism epistemological research approach through using four research methods; interviews, questionnaire, content analysis, and experiment to achieve the research goals.

Keywords: destination reputation, online marketing, reputation, tactics

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Authors: Chien-Chun Hung, Chun-Fong Wu

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It is important for a commander to have real-time information to aware situations and to make decision in the battlefield. Results of modern technique developments have brought in this kind of information for military purposes. Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is one of the means to gather intelligence owing to its widespread applications. It is still not clear whether or not the mini UAV with short-range wireless transmission system is used as a reconnaissance system in Taiwanese. In this paper, previous experience on the research of the sort of aerial vehicles has been applied with a data-relay system using the ZigBee modulus. The mini UAV developed is expected to be able to collect certain data in some appropriate theaters. The omni-directional antenna with high gain is also integrated into mini UAV to fit the size-reducing trend of airborne sensors. Two advantages are so far obvious. First, mini UAV can fly higher than usual to avoid being attacked from ground fires. Second, the data will be almost gathered during all maneuvering attitudes.

Keywords: mini UAV, reconnaissance, wireless transmission, ZigBee modulus

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Authors: Lamia Bouzgarrou, Amira Omrane, Malika Azzouzi, Asma Kheder, Amira Saadallah, Ilhem Boussarsar, Kamel Rejeb

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Introduction: Increasing the women’s labor force participation is a political issue in countries with developed economies and those with low growth prospects. However, in the labor market, women continue to face several obstacles, either for the integration or for the maintenance at work. This study aims to assess the prevalence of premature withdrawal from working life -due to invalidity or medical justified early retirement- among active women in the Tunisian center and to identify its determinants. Material and methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study, over one year, focusing on the agreement for invalidity or early retirement for premature usury of the body- delivered by the medical commission of the National Health Insurance Fund (CNAM) in the central Tunisian district. We exhaustively selected women's files. Data related to Socio-demographic characteristics, professional and medical ones, were collected from the CNAM's administrative and medical files. Results: During the period of one year, 222 women have had an agreement for premature departure of their professional activity. Indeed, 149 women (67.11%) benefit of from invalidity agreement and 20,27% of them from favorable decision for early retirement. The average age was 50 ± 6 years with extremes of 23 and 62 years, and 18.9% of women were under 45 years. Married women accounted for 69.4% and 59.9% of them had at least one dependent child in charge. The average professional seniority in the sector was 23 ± 8 years. The textile-clothing sector was the most affected, with 70.7% of premature departure. Medical reasons for withdrawal from working life were mainly related to neuro-degenerative diseases in 46.8% of cases, rheumatic ones in 35.6% of cases and cardiovascular diseases in 22.1% of them. Psychiatric and endocrine disorders motivated respectively 17.1% and 13.5% of these departures. The evaluation of the sequels induced by these pathologies concluded to an average permanent partial disability equal to 61.4 ± 17.3%. The analytical study concluded that the agreement of disability or early retirement was correlated with the insured ‘age (p = 10-3), the professional seniority (p = 0.003) and the permanent partial incapacity (PPI) rate assessed by the expert physician (p = 0.04). No other social or professional factors were correlated with this decision. Conclusion: Despite many advances in labour law and Tunisian legal text on employability, women still exposed to several social and professional inequalities (payment inequality, precarious work ...). Indeed, women are often pushed to accept working in adverse conditions, thus they are more vulnerable to develop premature wear on the body and being forced to premature departures from the world of work. These premature withdrawals from active life are not only harmful to the concerned women themselves, but also associated with considerable costs for the insurance organism and the society. In order to ensure maintenance at work for women, a political commitment is imperative in the implementation of global prevention strategies and the improvement of working conditions, particularly in our socio-cultural context.

Keywords: Active Women , Early Retirement , Invalidity , Maintenance at Work

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Authors: Isari Pairoa, Proud Arunrangsiwed

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Brand mascots are the cartoon characters, which are mainly designed for advertising or other related marketing purposes. Many brand mascots are extremely popular, since they were presented in commercial advertisements and Line Stickers. Brand Line Stickers could lead the users to identify with the brand and brand mascots, where might influence users to become loyal customers, and share the identity with the brand. The objective of the current study is to examine the effect of brand mascots on consumers’ decision and consumers’ intention to purchase the product. This study involved 400 participants, using cluster sampling from 50 districts in Bangkok metropolitan area. The descriptive analysis shows that using brand mascot causes consumers' positive attitude toward the products, and also heightens the possibility to purchasing the products. The current study suggests the new type of marketing strategy, which is brand fandom. This study has also contributed the knowledge to the area of integrated marketing communication and identification theory.

Keywords: brand mascot, consumers’ behavior, marketing communication, purchasing

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