Search results for: hierarchical structure model

Authors: Khatir Omar, Fekih Sidi Mohamed, Sahli Abderahmene, Benkhettou Abdelkader, Boudjemaa Ismail

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Advancements in technology have revolutionized healthcare, with notable impacts on auditory health. This study introduces an approach aimed at optimizing materials for middle ear prostheses to enhance auditory performance. We have developed a finite element (FE) model of the ear incorporating a pure titanium TORP prosthesis, validated against experimental data. Subsequently, we applied the Functionally Graded Materials (FGM) methodology, utilizing linear, exponential, and logarithmic degradation functions to modify prosthesis materials. Biocompatible materials suitable for auditory prostheses, including Stainless Steel, titanium, and Hydroxyapatite, were investigated. The findings indicate that combinations such as Stainless Steel with titanium and Hydroxyapatite offer improved outcomes compared to pure titanium and Hydroxyapatite ceramic in terms of both displacement and stress. Additionally, personalized prostheses tailored to individual patient needs are feasible, underscoring the potential for further advancements in auditory healthcare.

Keywords: middle ear, prosthesis, ossicles, FGM, vibration analysis, finite-element method

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Authors: Yun-Yao Chi, Chieh-Kai Tsai, Dai-Ling Li

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In this paper, a method of fast 3D topography modeling using the high-resolution camera images is studied based on the characteristics of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) system for low altitude aerial photogrammetry and the need of three dimensional (3D) urban landscape modeling. Firstly, the existing high-resolution digital camera with special design of overlap images is designed by reconstructing and analyzing the auto-flying paths of UAVs, which improves the self-calibration function to achieve the high precision imaging by software, and further increased the resolution of the imaging system. Secondly, several-angle images including vertical images and oblique images gotten by the UAV system are used for the detail measure of urban land surfaces and the texture extraction. Finally, the aerial photography and 3D topography construction are both developed in campus of Chang-Jung University and in Guerin district area in Tainan, Taiwan, provide authentication model for construction of 3D topography based on combined UAV-based camera images from system. The results demonstrated that the UAV system for low altitude aerial photogrammetry can be used in the construction of 3D topography production, and the technology solution in this paper offers a new, fast, and technical plan for the 3D expression of the city landscape, fine modeling and visualization.

Keywords: 3D, topography, UAV, images

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Authors: Yvonne Kainuku, Wendy Trimmer

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A critical element in closing the gaps in health disparities is the presence of a culturally appropriate health workforce. This study presents one of the findings from a qualitative study that explored the lived experiences of Cook Islands peoples during their three-year nursing training within a Bachelor of Nursing Pacific (BNP) programme in Aotearoa NZ. The study utilized both qualitative and context-specific methods; these included the Tivaevae Research Model and Qualitative Inquiry. The aim of the research was to collect stories from registered nurses about their experiences of culturally responsive pedagogy and their connection to content relating to Pacific world views and Pacific ways of knowing while they were students. Further to this, the researcher sought to recognize factors that supported the participant's successful completion of becoming a registered nurse. This study will introduce the theme of Tiaki moemoeā (dream keeper), identifying essential elements that engage learners along their journey. The various features that define the theme Tiaki moemoeā (dream keeper) have the potential to contribute to transformational change in nursing education training in Aotearoa, New Zealand.

Keywords: education, nursing, pacific, pedagogy

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Authors: Michael Leo L. Dela Cruz, Khryslyn G. Arano, Eden May B. Dela Pena, Leslie Joy Diaz

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Arsenic adsorbents were continuously being researched to ease the detrimental impact of arsenic to human health. A comparative study on the adsorption mechanism of arsenic on iron modified nanoclays was undertaken. Iron intercalated montmorillonite (Fe-MMT) and montmorillonite supported zero-valent iron (ZVI-MMT) were the adsorbents investigated in this study. Fe-MMT was produced through ion-exchange by replacing the sodium intercalated ions in montmorillonite with iron (III) ions. The iron (III) in Fe-MMT was later reduced to zero valent iron producing ZVI-MMT. Adsorption study was performed by batch technique. Obtained data were fitted to intra-particle diffusion, pseudo-first order, and pseudo-second-order models and the Elovich equation to determine the kinetics of adsorption. The adsorption of arsenic on Fe-MMT followed the intra-particle diffusion model with intra-particle rate constant of 0.27 mg/g-min0.5. Arsenic was found to be chemically bound on ZVI-MMT as suggested by the pseudo-second order and Elovich equation. The derived pseudo-second order rate constant was 0.0027 g/mg-min with initial adsorption rate computed from the Elovich equation was 113 mg/g-min.

Keywords: adsorption mechanism, arsenic, montmorillonite, zero valent iron

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Authors: Yaou Zhang

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Background: Relatively little scholarly attention has been paid to the production of Benjamin Britten’s chamber opera The Turn of the Screw. As one of Britten’s most remarkable operas. The story of the libretto was from Henry James’s novella of the same name. The novella was created in 1898 and one of the primary questions addressed to people in the story is “how real the ghosts are,” which leads the story to a huge ambiguity in readers’ minds. Aims: This research focuses on the experience of seeing the opera on stage over several decades. This study of opera productions over time not only provides insight into how stage performances can alter audience members' perceptions of the opera in the present but also reveals a landscape of shifting aesthetics and receptions. Methods: To examine the hypotheses in interpretation and reception, the qualitative analysis is used to examine the figures of ghosts in different productions across the time from 1954 to 2021 in the UK: by accessing recordings, newspapers, and reviews for the productions that are sourced from online and physical archives. For instance, the field research is conducted on the topic by arranging interviews with the creative team and visiting Opera North in Leeds and Britten-Pears Foundation. The collected data reveals the “hidden identity” in creative teams’ interpretations, social preferences, and rediscover that have previously remained unseen. Results: This research presents an angle of Britten’s Screw by using the third position; it shows how the attention moved from the stage of “do the ghosts really exist” to “traumatised children.” Discussion: Critics and audiences have debated whether the governess hallucinates the ghosts in the opera for decades. While, in recent years, directors of new productions have given themselves the opportunity to go deeper into Britten's musical structure and offer the opera more space to be interpreted, rather than debating if "ghosts actually exist" or "the psychological problems of the governess." One can consider and reflect that the questionable actions of the children are because they are suffering from trauma, whether the trauma comes from the ghosts, the hallucinating governess, or some prior experiences: various interpretations cause one result that children are the recipients of trauma. Arguably, the role of the supernatural is neither simply one of the elements of a ghost story nor simply one of the parts of the ambiguity between the supernatural and the hallucination of the governess; rather, the ghosts and the hallucinating governess can exist at the same time - the combination of the supernatural’s and the governess’s behaviours on stage generates a sharper and more serious angle that draws our attention to the traumatized children.

Keywords: benjamin britten, chamber opera, production, reception, staging, the turn of the screw

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Authors: Tshegofatso Galekgathege

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Poor water quality is of great concern to human health as it can cause disease outbreaks. A standard practice today, in developed countries, is that people should be provided with safe-reliable drinking water, as safe drinking water is recognized as a basic human right and a cost effective measure of reducing diseases. Over 1.1 billion people worldwide lack access to a safe water supply and as a result, the majority are forced to use polluted surface or groundwater. It is widely accepted that our water supply systems are susceptible to the intentional or accidental contamination .Water quality degradation may occur anywhere in the path that water takes from the water source to the consumer. Chlorine is believed to be an effective tool in disinfecting water, but its concentration may decrease with time due to consumption by chemical reactions. This shows that we are at the risk of being infected by waterborne diseases if chlorine in water falls below the required level of 0.2-1mg/liter which should be maintained in water and some contaminants enter into the water distribution system. It is believed that the lack of adequate sanitation also contributes to the contamination of water globally. This study therefore, assesses drinking water contamination from the source to the consumer by identifying the point vulnerable to contamination from the source to the consumer in the study area .To identify the point vulnerable to contamination, water was sampled monthly from boreholes, water treatment plant, water distribution system (WDS), service reservoirs and consumer taps from all the twenty (20) villages of Palapye region. Sampled water was then taken to the laboratory for testing and analysis of microbiological and chemical parameters. Water quality analysis were then compared with Botswana drinking water quality standards (BOS32:2009) to see if they comply. Major sources of water contamination identified during site visits were the livestock which were found drinking stagnant water from leaking pipes in 90 percent of the villages. Soils structure around the area was negatively affected because of livestock movement even vegetation in the area. In conclusion microbiological parameters of water in the study area do not comply with drinking water standards, some microbiological parameters in water indicated that livestock do not only affect land degradation but also the quality of water. Chlorine has been applied to water over some years but it is not effective enough thus preventative measures have to be developed, to prevent contaminants from reaching water. Remember: Prevention is better than cure.

Keywords: land degradation, leaking systems, livestock, water contamination

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Authors: Jose Luis Solleiro, Rosario Castanon, Laura Elena Martinez

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The State of Mexico is an administrative entity of Mexico, and it is one of the most important territories due to its great economic and social impact for the whole country, especially since it contributes with more than eight of the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The State of Mexico has a population of over seventeen million people and host very important business and productive industries such as Automotive, Chemicals, Pharmaceutical, and Agri-food. In 2017, the State Development Plan (Plan Estatal de Desarrollo in Spanish) which is a policy document that rules State's economic actions and integrates the bases for sectoral and regional programs to achieve regional development), raised innovation as a key aspect to boost competitiveness and productivity of the State of Mexico. Therefore, in line with this proposal, in 2018 the Mexican Council for Science and Technology (COMECYT for its acronym in Spanish), an institution in charge of promoting public science and technology policies in the State of Mexico, took actions towards building up the State´s Innovation System. Hence, the main objective of this paper is to review and analyze the process to create RIS in the State of Mexico. We focus on the key elements of the process, the diverse actors that were involved in it, the activities that were carried out and the identification of the challenges, findings, successes, and failures of the intended exercise. The methodology used to analyze the structure of the Innovation System of the State of Mexico is based on two elements: the case study and the research-action approach. The main objective of the paper, the case study was based on semi-structured interviews with key actors who have participated in the process of launching the RIS of the State of Mexico. Additionally, we analyzed the information reports and other documents that were elaborated during the process of shaping the State's innovation system. Finally, the results obtained in the process were also examined. The relevance of this investigation fundamentally rests in two elements: 1) keeping documental record of the process of building a RIS in Mexico; and 2) carrying out the analysis of this case study recognizing the importance of knowledge extraction and dissemination, so that lessons on this matter may be useful for similar experiences in the future. We conclude that in Mexico, documentation and analysis efforts related to the formation of RIS and interaction processes between innovation ecosystem actors are scarce, so documents like are of great importance, especially since it generates a series of findings and recommendations for the building of RIS.

Keywords: regional innovation systems, innovation, development, competitiveness

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Authors: Chau-Kuang Chen, John Hughes, Jr., A. Dexter Samuels

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The prediction models for the United States Medical Licensure Examination (USMLE) Steps 1 and 2 performances were constructed by the Monte Carlo simulation modeling approach via linear regression. The purpose of this study was to build robust simulation models to accurately identify the most important predictors and yield the valid range estimations of the Steps 1 and 2 scores. The application of simulation modeling approach was deemed an effective way in predicting student performances on licensure examinations. Also, sensitivity analysis (a/k/a what-if analysis) in the simulation models was used to predict the magnitudes of Steps 1 and 2 affected by changes in the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) Basic Science Subject Board scores. In addition, the study results indicated that the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) Verbal Reasoning score and Step 1 score were significant predictors of the Step 2 performance. Hence, institutions could screen qualified student applicants for interviews and document the effectiveness of basic science education program based on the simulation results.

Keywords: prediction model, sensitivity analysis, simulation method, USMLE

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Authors: Omer Cahana, Maya Herman, Ofer Levi

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Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a long medical scan that stems from a long acquisition time. This length is mainly due to the traditional sampling theorem, which defines a lower boundary for sampling. However, it is still possible to accelerate the scan by using a different approach, such as compress sensing (CS) or parallel imaging (PI). These two complementary methods can be combined to achieve a faster scan with high-fidelity imaging. In order to achieve that, two properties have to exist: i) the signal must be sparse under a known transform domain, ii) the sampling method must be incoherent. In addition, a nonlinear reconstruction algorithm needs to be applied to recover the signal. While the rapid advance in the deep learning (DL) field, which has demonstrated tremendous successes in various computer vision task’s, the field of MRI reconstruction is still in an early stage. In this paper, we present an extension of the state-of-the-art model in MRI reconstruction -VarNet. We utilize VarNet by using dilated convolution in different scales, which extends the receptive field to capture more contextual information. Moreover, we simplified the sensitivity map estimation (SME), for it holds many unnecessary layers for this task. Those improvements have shown significant decreases in computation costs as well as higher accuracy.

Keywords: MRI, deep learning, variational network, computer vision, compress sensing

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Authors: Nam Kyu Kim, Hee Jun Cha, Jae Jin Seo, Dong Jun Won

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Output power of a photovoltaic (PV) generator depends on incident solar irradiance. If the clouds pass or the climate condition is bad, the PV output fluctuates frequently. When PV generator is connected to the grid, these fluctuations adversely affect power quality. Thus, ramp rate control with battery energy storage system (BESS) is needed to reduce PV output fluctuations. At the same time, for effective BESS operation and sizing the optimal BESS capacity, managing state of charge (SOC) is the most important part. In addition, managing SOC helps to avoid violating the SOC operating range of BESS when performing renewable integration (RI) continuously. As PV and BESS increase, the SOC management of BESS will become more important in the future. This paper presents the SOC management algorithm which helps to operate effectively BESS, and has focused on method to manage SOC while reducing PV output fluctuations. A simulation model is developed in PSCAD/EMTDC software. The simulation results show that the SOC is maintained within the operating range by adjusting the output distribution according to the SOC of the BESS.

Keywords: battery energy storage system, ramp rate control, renewable integration, SOC management

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Authors: Yu-Zhou Zheng, Wen-Wei Wang

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In this paper, a new strengthening technique for reinforced concrete (RC) beams is proposed by combining Basalt Fibre Reinforced Polymer (BFRP) grid and Engineered Cementitious Composites (ECC) as a composite reinforcement layer (CRL). Five RC beams externally bonded with the CRL at the soffit and one control RC beam was tested to investigate their flexural behaviour. The thickness of BFRP grids (i.e., 1mm, 3mm and 5mm) and the sizes of CRL in test program were selected as the test parameters, while the thickness of CRL was fixed approximately at 30mm. The test results showed that there is no debonding of CRL to occur obviously in the strengthened beams. The final failure modes were the concrete crushing or the rupture of BFRP grids, indicating that the proposed technique is effective in suppressing the debonding of externally bonded materials and fully utilizing the material strengths. Compared with the non-strengthened beam, the increments of crack loading for strengthened beams were 58%~97%, 15%~35% for yield loading and 4%~33% for the ultimate loading, respectively. An analytical model is also presented to predict the full-range load-deflection responses of the strengthened beams and validated through comparisons with the test results.

Keywords: basalt fiber-reinforced polymer (BFRP) grid, ECC, RC beams, strengthening

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Authors: A. Ballard

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The ability to track goods and products en route in the delivery system, in the warehouse, and on the top floor is a huge advantage to shippers and retailers. Recently the emergence of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology has enabled this better than ever before. However, a significant problem exists in that RFID technology depends on the quality of the information stored for each tagged product. Because of the profusion of names for colours, it is very difficult to ascertain that stored values are recognised by all users who view the product visually. This paper reports the findings of a study in which 50 consumers and 50 logistics workers were shown colour swatches and asked to choose the name of the colour from a multiple choice list. They were then asked to match consumer products, including toasters, jumpers, and toothbrushes, with the identifying inventory information available for each one. The findings show that the ability to match colours was significantly stronger with the color swatches than with the consumer products and that while logistics professionals made more frequent correct identification than the consumers, their results were still unsatisfactorily low. Based on these findings, a proposed universal model of colour identification numbers has been developed.

Keywords: consumer preferences, supply chain logistics, radio frequency identification, RFID, colour preference

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Authors: Obulesh Avuku, Satwik Sunnam, Sri Charan Mohan Janthuka, Keerthi Yalamaddi

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In the United States alone, there are over 1.5 million spine fractures per year, resulting in about 17,730 spinal cord injuries. The cervical spine is where fractures in the spine most frequently occur. The prevalence of spinal fractures in the elderly has increased, and in this population, fractures may be harder to see on imaging because of coexisting degenerative illness and osteoporosis. Nowadays, computed tomography (CT) is almost completely used instead of radiography for the imaging diagnosis of adult spine fractures (x-rays). To stop neurologic degeneration and paralysis following trauma, it is vital to trace any vertebral fractures at the earliest. Many approaches have been proposed for the classification of the cervical spine [2d models]. We are here in this paper trying to break the bounds and use the vision transformers, a State-Of-The-Art- Model in image classification, by making minimal changes possible to the architecture of ViT and making it 3D-enabled architecture and this is evaluated using a weighted multi-label logarithmic loss. We have taken this problem statement from a previously held Kaggle competition, i.e., RSNA 2022 Cervical Spine Fracture Detection.

Keywords: cervical spine, spinal fractures, osteoporosis, computed tomography, 2d-models, ViT, multi-label logarithmic loss, Kaggle, public score, private score

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Authors: Yanmei Xiong, Baowen Liao, Kun Xin, Zhongmao Jiang, Hao Guo, Yujun Chen, Mei Li

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Conversion of mangroves to aquaculture ponds represented as one major reason for mangrove loss in Asian countries in the 20th century. Recently the Chinese government has set a goal to increase 48,650 ha (more than the current mangrove area) of mangroves before the year of 2025 and “rehabilitation of aquaculture ponds to mangroves” projects are considered to be the major pathway to increase the mangrove area of China. It remains unclear whether natural colonization is feasible and what are the main influencing factors for mangrove restoration in these projects. In this study, a total of 17 rehabilitation sites in Dongzhai Bay, Hainan, China were surveyed for vegetation, soil and surface elevation five years after the rehabilitation project was initiated. Colonization of non-planted mangrove species was found at all sites and non-planted species dominated over planted species at 14 sites. Mangrove plants could only be found within the elevation range of -20 cm to 65 cm relative to the mean sea level. Soil carbon and nitrogen contents of the top 20 cm were generally low, ranging between 0.2%–1.4% and 0.03%–0.09%, respectively, and at each site, soil carbon and nitrogen were significantly lower at elevations with mangrove plants than lower elevations without mangrove plants. Seven sites located at the upper stream of river estuaries, where soil salinity was relatively lower, and nutrient was relatively higher, was dominated by non-planted Sonneratia caseolaris. Seven sites located at the down-stream of river estuaries or in the inner part of the bay, where soil salinity and nutrient were intermediate, were dominated by non-planted alien Sonneratia apetala. Another three sites located at the outer part of the bay, where soil salinity was higher and nutrient was lower, were dominated by planted species (Rhizophora stylosa, Kandelia obovata, Aegiceras corniculatum and Bruguiera sexangula) with non-planted S. apetala and Avicennia marina also found. The results suggest that natural colonization of mangroves is feasible in pond rehabilitation projects given the rehabilitation of tidal activities and appropriate elevations. Surface elevation is the major determinate for the success of mangrove rehabilitation, and soil salinity and nutrients are important in shaping vegetation structure. The colonization and dominance of alien species (Sonneratia apetala in this case) in some rehabilitation sites poses invasion risks and thus cautions should be taken when introducing alien mangrove species.

Keywords: coastal wetlands, ecological restoration, mangroves, natural colonization, shrimp pond rehabilitation, wetland restoration

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Authors: Madjid Karimirad

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Floating solar was not very well-known in the renewable energy field a decade ago; however, there has been tremendous growth internationally with a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of nearly 30% in recent years. To reach the goal of global net-zero emission by 2050, all renewable energy sources including solar should be used. Considering that 40% of the world’s population lives within 100 kilometres of the coasts, floating solar in coastal waters is an obvious energy solution. However, this requires more robust floating solar solutions. This paper tries to enlighten the fundamental requirements in the design of floating solar for offshore installations from the hydrodynamic and offshore engineering points of view. In this regard, a closer look at dynamic characteristics, stochastic behaviour and nonlinear phenomena appearing in this kind of structure is a major focus of the current article. Floating solar structures are alternative and very attractive green energy installations with (a) Less strain on land usage for densely populated areas; (b) Natural cooling effect with efficiency gain; and (c) Increased irradiance from the reflectivity of water. Also, floating solar in conjunction with the hydroelectric plants can optimise energy efficiency and improve system reliability. The co-locating of floating solar units with other types such as offshore wind, wave energy, tidal turbines as well as aquaculture (fish farming) can result in better ocean space usage and increase the synergies. Floating solar technology has seen considerable developments in installed capacities in the past decade. Development of design standards and codes of practice for floating solar technologies deployed on both inland water-bodies and offshore is required to ensure robust and reliable systems that do not have detrimental impacts on the hosting water body. Floating solar will account for 17% of all PV energy produced worldwide by 2030. To enhance the development, further research in this area is needed. This paper aims to discuss the main critical design aspects in light of the load and load effects that the floating solar platforms are subjected to. The key considerations in hydrodynamics, aerodynamics and simultaneous effects from the wind and wave load actions will be discussed. The link of dynamic nonlinear loading, limit states and design space considering the environmental conditions is set to enable a better understanding of the design requirements of fast-evolving floating solar technology.

Keywords: floating solar, offshore renewable energy, wind and wave loading, design space

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Authors: Randall E. Osborne

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In a course on International Psychology, 8 theoretical perspectives (Critical Psychology, Liberation Psychology, Post-Modernism, Social Constructivism, Social Identity Theory, Social Reduction Theory, Symbolic Interactionism, and Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory) are used as a framework for getting students to understand the concept of and need for Globalization. One of critical psychology's main criticisms of conventional psychology is that it fails to consider or deliberately ignores the way power differences between social classes and groups can impact the mental and physical well-being of individuals or groups of people. Liberation psychology, also known as liberation social psychology or psicología social de la liberación, is an approach to psychological science that aims to understand the psychology of oppressed and impoverished communities by addressing the oppressive sociopolitical structure in which they exist. Postmodernism is largely a reaction to the assumed certainty of scientific, or objective, efforts to explain reality. It stems from a recognition that reality is not simply mirrored in human understanding of it, but rather, is constructed as the mind tries to understand its own particular and personal reality. Lev Vygotsky argued that all cognitive functions originate in, and must therefore be explained as products of social interactions and that learning was not simply the assimilation and accommodation of new knowledge by learners. Social Identity Theory discusses the implications of social identity for human interactions with and assumptions about other people. Social Identification Theory suggests people: (1) categorize—people find it helpful (humans might be perceived as having a need) to place people and objects into categories, (2) identify—people align themselves with groups and gain identity and self-esteem from it, and (3) compare—people compare self to others. Social reductionism argues that all behavior and experiences can be explained simply by the affect of groups on the individual. Symbolic interaction theory focuses attention on the way that people interact through symbols: words, gestures, rules, and roles. Meaning evolves from human their interactions in their environment and with people. Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory of human learning describes learning as a social process and the origination of human intelligence in society or culture. The major theme of Vygotsky’s theoretical framework is that social interaction plays a fundamental role in the development of cognition. This presentation will discuss how these theoretical perspectives are incorporated into a course on International Psychology, a course on the Politics of Hate, and a course on the Psychology of Prejudice, Discrimination and Hate to promote student thinking in a more ‘global’ manner.

Keywords: globalization, international psychology, society and culture, teaching interculturally

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Authors: Àidan Higgins

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Higher education will be crucial in the coming decades in helping to make Ireland a nation is known for innovation, competitive enterprise, and ongoing academic success, as well as a desirable location to live and work with a high quality of life, vibrant culture, and inclusive social structures. Higher education institutions will actively connect with each student community, society, and business; they will help students develop a sense of place and identity in Ireland and provide the tools they need to contribute significantly to the global community. It will also serve as a catalyst for novel ideas through research, many of which will become the foundation for long-lasting inventive businesses in the future as part of the 2030 National Strategy on Education focuses on change and developing our education system with a focus on how we carry out Research. The emphasis is central to knowledge transfer and a consistent research framework with exploiting opportunities and having the necessary expertise. The newly formed Technological Universities (TU) in Ireland are based on a government initiative to create a new type of higher education institution that focuses on applied and industry-focused research and education. The basis of the TU is to bring together two or more existing institutes of technology to create a larger and more comprehensive institution that offers a wider range of programs and services to students and industry partners. The TU model aims to promote collaboration between academia, industry, and community organizations to foster innovation, research, and economic development. The TU model also aims to enhance the student experience by providing a more seamless pathway from undergraduate to postgraduate studies, as well as greater opportunities for work placements and engagement with industry partners. Additionally, the TUs are designed to provide a greater emphasis on applied research, technology transfer, and entrepreneurship, with the goal of fostering innovation and contributing to economic growth. A project is a collection of organised tasks carried out precisely to produce a singular output (product or service) within a given time frame. Project management is a set of activities that facilitates the successful implementation of a project. The significant differences between research and development projects are the (lack of) precise requirements and (the inability to) plan an outcome from the beginning of the project. The evaluation criteria for a research project must consider these and other "particularities" in works; for instance, proving something cannot be done may be a successful outcome. This study intends to explore how a newly established multi-campus technological university manages research projects effectively. The study will identify the potential and difficulties of managing research projects, the tools, resources and processes available in a multi-campus Technological University context and the methods and approaches employed to deal with these difficulties. Key stakeholders like project managers, academics, and administrators will be surveyed as part of the study, which will also involve an explorative investigation of current literature and data. The findings of this study will contribute significantly to creating best practices for project management in this setting and offer insightful information about the efficient management of research projects within a multi-campus technological university.

Keywords: project management, research and research-related projects, multi-campus technology university, processes

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Authors: Can Zhang, Qun Li, Yonglin Lei, Zhi Zhu, Dong Guo

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Aiming at the problem of factor screen in distributed collaborative navigation of dense UAV swarm, an efficient distributed collaborative navigation factor screen method is proposed. The method considered the balance between computing load and positioning accuracy. The proposed algorithm utilized the factor graph model to implement a distributed collaborative navigation algorithm. The GNSS information of the UAV itself and the ranging information between the UAVs are used as the positioning factors. In this distributed scheme, a local factor graph is established for each UAV. The positioning factors of nodes with good geometric position distribution and small variance are selected to participate in the navigation calculation. To demonstrate and verify the proposed methods, the simulation and experiments in different scenarios are performed in this research. Simulation results show that the proposed scheme achieves a good balance between the computing load and positioning accuracy in the distributed cooperative navigation calculation of UAV swarm. This proposed algorithm has important theoretical and practical value for both industry and academic areas.

Keywords: screen method, cooperative positioning system, UAV swarm, factor graph, cooperative navigation

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Authors: Mehran Naghizaderokni, Asscar Janalizadechobbasty

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There are more probabilistic and deterministic liquefaction evaluation procedures in order to judge whether liquefaction will occur or not. A review of this approach reveals that there is a need for a comprehensive procedure that accounts for different sources of uncertainty in liquefaction evaluation. In fact, for the same set of input parameters, different methods provide different factors of safety and/or probabilities of liquefaction. To account for the different uncertainties, including both the model and measurement uncertainties, reliability analysis is necessary. This paper has obtained information from Standard Penetration Test (SPT) and some empirical approaches such as: Seed et al, Highway bridge of Japan approach to soil liquefaction, The Overseas Coastal Area Development Institute of Japan (OCDI) and reliability method to studying potential of liquefaction in soil of Babol city in the north of Iran are compared. Evaluation potential of liquefaction in soil of Babol city is an important issue since the soil of some area contains sand, seismic area, increasing level of underground waters and consequently saturation of soil; therefore, one of the most important goals of this paper is to gain suitable recognition of liquefaction potential and find the most appropriate procedure of evaluation liquefaction potential to decrease related damages.

Keywords: reliability analysis, liquefaction, Babol, civil, construction and geological engineering

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Authors: Kadio Valere R. Angaman, Birahim Bouna Niang

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Land degradation is a serious problem in developing countries, including Cote d’Ivoire, which has its economy focused on agriculture. It occurs in all kinds of ecosystems over the world. However, the drivers of land degradation vary from one region to another and from one ecosystem to another. Thus, identifying these drivers is an essential prerequisite to developing and implementing appropriate policies to reverse the trend of land degradation in the country, especially in the trays ecosystem. Using the binary logistic model with primary data obtained through 780 farmers surveyed, we analyze and identify the drivers of land degradation in the trays ecosystem. The descriptive statistics show that 52% of farmers interviewed have stated facing land degradation in their farmland. This high rate shows the extent of land degradation in this ecosystem. Also, the results obtained from the binary logit regression reveal that land degradation is significantly influenced by a set of variables such as sex, education, slope, erosion, pesticide, agricultural activity, deforestation, and temperature. The drivers identified are mostly local; as a result, the government must implement some policies and strategies that facilitate and incentive the adoption of sustainable land management practices by farmers to reverse the negative trend of land degradation.

Keywords: drivers, land degradation, trays ecosystem, sustainable land management

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Authors: Vladimir Simovic, Matija Varga, Tonco Marusic

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This research paper shows matrix technology models and examples of information systems in education (in the Republic of Croatia and in the Germany) in support of business, education (when learning and teaching) and e-learning. Here we researched and described the aims and objectives of the main process in education and technology, with main matrix classes of data. In this paper, we have example of matrix technology with detailed description of processes related to specific data classes in the processes of education and an example module that is support for the process: ‘Filling in the directory and the diary of work’ and ‘evaluation’. Also, on the lower level of the processes, we researched and described all activities which take place within the lower process in education. We researched and described the characteristics and functioning of modules: ‘Fill the directory and the diary of work’ and ‘evaluation’. For the analysis of the affinity between the aforementioned processes and/or sub-process we used our application model created in Visual Basic, which was based on the algorithm for analyzing the affinity between the observed processes and/or sub-processes.

Keywords: designing, education management, information systems, matrix technology, process affinity

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Authors: Saeid Sahmani

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Due to size-dependent behavior of nanostrustures, the classical continuum models are not applicable for the analyses at this submicrion size. Surface stress effect is one of the most important matters which make the nanoscale structures to have different properties compared to the conventional structures due to high surface to volume ratio. In the present study, free vibration characteristics of nanoplates are investigated including surface stress effects. To this end, non-classical plate model based on Gurtin-Murdoch elasticity theory is proposed to evaluate the surface stress effects on the vibrational behavior of nanoplates subjected to different boundary conditions. Generalized differential quadrature (GDQ) method is employed to discretize the governing non-classical differential equations along with various edge supports. Selected numerical results are given to demonstrate the distinction between the behavior of nanoplates predicted by the classical and present non-classical plate models that leads to illustrate the great influence of surface stress effect. It is observed that this influence quite depends on the magnitude of the surface elastic constants which are relevant to the selected material.

Keywords: nanomechanics, surface stress, free vibration, GDQ method, small scale effect

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Authors: Alfredo R. Roa-Henriquez

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This paper is about organizational-level resilience and decision-making in the face of natural hazards. Research on resilience emerged to explain systems’ ability to absorb and recover in the midst of adversity and uncertainty from natural disasters, crises, and other disruptive events. While interest in resilience has accelerated, research multiplied, and the number of policies and implementations of resilience to natural hazards has increased over the last several years, mainly at the level of communities and regions, there has been a dearth of empirical work on resilience at the level of the firm. This paper uses empirical data and a sample selection model to test some hypotheses related to the firm’s dependence on critical resources, the sharing of resources and its economic resilience. The objective is to understand how the sharing of resources among organizations is related to economic resilience. Empirical results that are obtained from a sample of firms affected by Superstorm Sandy and Hurricane Harvey indicate that there is unobserved heterogeneity that explains the strategic behavior of firms in the post-disaster and that those firms that are more likely to resource share are also the ones that exhibit higher economic resilience. The impact of property damage on the sharing of resources and economic resilience is explored.

Keywords: economic resilience, resource sharing, critical resources, strategic management

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Authors: Javaid Butt, Habtom Mebrahtu, Hassan Shirvani

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The paper presents a new additive manufacturing process for the production of metal and composite parts. It is termed as composite metal foil manufacturing and is a combination of laminated object manufacturing and brazing techniques. The process has been described in detail and is being used to produce dissimilar aluminum to copper foil single lap joints. A three dimensional finite element model has been developed to study the thermo-mechanical characteristics of the dissimilar Al/Cu single lap joint. The effects of thermal stress and strain have been analyzed by carrying out transient thermal analysis on the heated plates used to join the two 0.1mm thin metal foils. Tensile test has been carried out on the foils before joining and after the single Al/Cu lap joints are made, they are subjected to tensile lap-shear test to analyze the effect of heat on the foils. The analyses are designed to assess the mechanical integrity of the foils after the brazing process and understand whether or not the heat treatment has an effect on the fracture modes of the produced specimens.

Keywords: brazing, laminated object manufacturing, tensile lap-shear test, thermo-mechanical analysis

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Authors: Giselda Cristina Ferreira, Carlos Alberto Kamienski, Ana Lígia Scott

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The COVID-19 pandemic has enhanced the anti-vaccination movement in Brazil, supported by unscientific theories and false news and the possibility of wide communication through social networks such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. The World Health Organization (WHO) classified the large volume of information on the subject against COVID-19 as an Infodemic. In this paper, we present a protocol to identify polarizing users (called polarizers) and study the profiles of Brazilian polarizers on Twitter (renamed to X some weeks ago). We analyzed polarizing interactions on Twitter (in Portuguese) to identify the main polarizers and how the conflicts they caused influenced the COVID-19 vaccination rate throughout the pandemic. This protocol uses data from this social network, graph theory, Java, and R-studio scripts to model and analyze the data. The information about the vaccination rate was obtained in a public database for the government called OpenDataSus. The results present the profiles of Twitter’s Polarizer (political position, gender, professional activity, immunization opinions). We observed that social and political events influenced the participation of these different profiles in conflicts and the vaccination rate.

Keywords: Twitter, polarization, vaccine, Brazil

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Authors: Van Thinh Bui, Anh Tuan Tran, Quoc Viet Ngo, The Bao Pham

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Video retrieval is a searching problem on videos or clips based on content in which they are relatively close to an input image or video. The application of this retrieval consists of selecting video in a folder or recognizing a human in security camera. However, some recent approaches have been in challenging problem due to the diversity of video types, frame transitions and camera positions. Besides, that an appropriate measures is selected for the problem is a question. In order to overcome all obstacles, we propose a content-based video retrieval system in some main steps resulting in a good performance. From a main video, we process extracting keyframes and principal objects using Segmentation of Aggregating Superpixels (SAS) algorithm. After that, Speeded Up Robust Features (SURF) are selected from those principal objects. Then, the model “Bag-of-words” in accompanied by SVM classification are applied to obtain the retrieval result. Our system is performed on over 300 videos in diversity from music, history, movie, sports, and natural scene to TV program show. The performance is evaluated in promising comparison to the other approaches.

Keywords: video retrieval, principal objects, keyframe, segmentation of aggregating superpixels, speeded up robust features, bag-of-words, SVM

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Authors: Mahvish Anwaar

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Research Question: In this paper, we explore the causal relationship between banking competition, banking stability, and economic growth. Research Findings: The unbalanced panel data starting from 2000 to 2018 is collected to analyze the causality among banking competition, banking stability, and economic growth. The main focus of the study is to check the direction of causality among selected variables. The results of the study support the demand following, supply leading, feedback, and neutrality hypothesis conditional to different measures of banking competition, banking stability, and economic growth. Theoretical Implication: Jayakumar, Pradhan, Dash, Maradana, and Gaurav (2018) proposed a theoretical model of the causal relationship between banking competition, banking stability, and economic growth by using different indicators. So, we empirically test the proposed indicators in our study. This study makes a contribution to the literature by showing the defined relationship between developing and developed countries. Policy Implications: The study covers various policy implications regarding investors to analyze how to properly manage their finances, and government agencies will take help from the present study to find the best and most suitable policies by examining how the economy can grow concerning its finances.

Keywords: competition, stability, economic growth, vector auto-regression, granger causality

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Authors: Mustafa Elfituri, Jonathan Cook

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Recently, graph-based computations have become more important in large-scale scientific computing as they can provide a methodology to model many types of relations between independent objects. They are being actively used in fields as varied as biology, social networks, cybersecurity, and computer networks. At the same time, graph problems have some properties such as irregularity and poor locality that make their performance different than regular applications performance. Therefore, parallelizing graph algorithms is a hard and challenging task. Initial evidence is that standard computer architectures do not perform very well on graph algorithms. Little is known exactly what causes this. The Graph500 benchmark is a representative application for parallel graph-based computations, which have highly irregular data access and are driven more by traversing connected data than by computation. In this paper, we present results from analyzing the performance of various example implementations of Graph500, including a shared memory (OpenMP) version, a distributed (MPI) version, and a hybrid version. We measured and analyzed all the factors that affect its performance in order to identify possible changes that would improve its performance. Results are discussed in relation to what factors contribute to performance degradation.

Keywords: graph computation, graph500 benchmark, parallel architectures, parallel programming, workload characterization.

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Authors: Irina Khutsishvili

Abstract:

In the present research, a decision support methodology for the multi-attribute group decision-making (MAGDM) problem is developed, namely for the selection of investment projects. The objective of the investment project selection problem is to choose the best project among the set of projects, seeking investment, or to rank all projects in descending order. The project selection is made considering a set of weighted attributes. To evaluate the attributes in our approach, expert assessments are used. In the proposed methodology, lingual expressions (linguistic terms) given by all experts are used as initial attribute evaluations, since they are the most natural and convenient representation of experts' evaluations. Then lingual evaluations are converted into trapezoidal fuzzy numbers, and the aggregate trapezoidal hesitant fuzzy decision matrix will be built. The case is considered when information on the attribute weights is completely unknown. The attribute weights are identified based on the De Luca and Termini information entropy concept, determined in the context of hesitant fuzzy sets. The decisions are made using the extended Technique for Order Performance by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) method under a hesitant fuzzy environment. Hence, a methodology is based on a trapezoidal valued hesitant fuzzy TOPSIS decision-making model with entropy weights. The ranking of alternatives is performed by the proximity of their distances to both the fuzzy positive-ideal solution (FPIS) and the fuzzy negative-ideal solution (FNIS). For this purpose, the weighted hesitant Hamming distance is used. An example of investment decision-making is shown that clearly explains the procedure of the proposed methodology.

Keywords: In the present research, a decision support methodology for the multi-attribute group decision-making (MAGDM) problem is developed, namely for the selection of investment projects. The objective of the investment project selection problem is to choose the best project among the set of projects, seeking investment, or to rank all projects in descending order. The project selection is made considering a set of weighted attributes. To evaluate the attributes in our approach, expert assessments are used. In the proposed methodology, lingual expressions (linguistic terms) given by all experts are used as initial attribute evaluations since they are the most natural and convenient representation of experts' evaluations. Then lingual evaluations are converted into trapezoidal fuzzy numbers, and the aggregate trapezoidal hesitant fuzzy decision matrix will be built. The case is considered when information on the attribute weights is completely unknown. The attribute weights are identified based on the De Luca and Termini information entropy concept, determined in the context of hesitant fuzzy sets. The decisions are made using the extended Technique for Order Performance by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) method under a hesitant fuzzy environment. Hence, a methodology is based on a trapezoidal valued hesitant fuzzy TOPSIS decision-making model with entropy weights. The ranking of alternatives is performed by the proximity of their distances to both the fuzzy positive-ideal solution (FPIS) and the fuzzy negative-ideal solution (FNIS). For this purpose, the weighted hesitant Hamming distance is used. An example of investment decision-making is shown that clearly explains the procedure of the proposed methodology.

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Authors: Nasim Babazadeh

Abstract:

Growing demand for a quieter dwelling environment has turned the attention of construction companies to reducing the propagated noise of their project. In inner-city constructions, close distance between the construction site and surrounding buildings lessens the efficiency of passive noise control methods. Dwellers of the nearby areas may file complaints and lawsuits against the construction companies due to the emitted construction noise, thereby leading to the interruption of processes, compensation costs, or even suspension of the project. Therefore, construction noise should be predicted along with the project schedule. The advantage of managing the noise in the pre-construction phase is two-fold. Firstly, changes in the time plan and construction methods can be applied more flexibly. Thus, the costs related to rescheduling can be avoided. Secondly, noise-related legal problems are expected to be reduced. To implement noise mapping methods for the mentioned prediction, the required detailed information (such as the location of the noisy process, duration of the noisy work) can be exported from the 4D BIM model. The results obtained from the noise maps would be used to help the planners to define different work scenarios. The proposed approach has been applied for the foundation and earthwork of a site located in a residential area, and the obtained results are discussed.

Keywords: building information modeling, construction noise management, noise mapping, 4D BIM

Procedia PDF Downloads 141