Search results for: test case evolution.
2791 Numerical Study on the Response of Reinforced Concrete Wall Resisting the Impact Loading
Authors: DucKien Thai, Seung EockKim
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A numerical analysis of a reinforced concrete (RC) wall under missile impact loading is presented in this study. The model created by Technical Research Center of Finland was used. The commercial finite element code, LS-DYNA was used to analyze. The structural components of the reinforced concrete wall, missile and their contacts are fully modeled. The material nonlinearity with strain rate effects considering damage and failure is included in the analysis. The results of analysis were verified with other research results. The case-studies with different reinforcement ratios were conducted to investigate the influence of reinforcement on the punching behavior of walls under missile impact.
Keywords: Missile Impact, Reinforced Concrete Walls, LSDYNA, Dynamic Analysis, Punching Behavior.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 25572790 Accounting for SMEs – How Important is Size in Choosing between Global and Local Standards?
Authors: Cătălin Nicolae Albu, Nadia Albu, Maria Mădălina Gîrbină
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There is limited evidence from various countries about the possible impact of various criteria to be used to determine the scope of the IFRS for SMEs issued in 2009 and, research is needed in this area. We provide evidence from Romania, an emerging economy member of the European Union. The aim of this paper is to analyze in a local setting if size is a relevant factor for deciding between local and global standards for SMEs. Our results indicate that size is a moderate indicator of the existence of possible users interested in financial statements and that there is a difference between the scopes of the standard determined on various criteria.. Also, we suggest that the international exposure is quite reduced in the case of SMEs, but is sufficient to suggest that at least some SMEs would benefit from international comparability of financial statementsKeywords: SMEs, IFRS for SMEs, accounting regulation, entity's size.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 18612789 The Traits That Facilitate Successful Student Performance in Distance Education: The Case of the Distance Education Unit at European University Cyprus
Authors: D. Vlachopoulos, G. Tsokkas
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Although it is not intended to identify distance education students as a homogeneous group, recent research has demonstrated that there are some demographic and personality common traits among most of them that provide the basis for the description of a typical distance learning student. The purpose of this paper is to describe these common traits and to facilitate their learning journey within a distance education program. The described research is an initiative of the Distance Education Unit at the European University Cyprus (Laureate International Universities) in the context of its action for the improvement of the students’ performance.
Keywords: Distance education students, successful student performance, European University Cyprus, common traits.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 19042788 Aerodynamic Bicycle Torque Augmentation with a Wells Turbine in Wheels
Authors: Tsuyoshi Yamazaki, Etsuo Morishita
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Cyclists often run through a crosswind and sometimes we experience the adverse pressure. We came to an idea that Wells turbine can be used as power augmentation device in the crosswind something like sails of a yacht. Wells turbine always rotates in the same direction irrespective of the incoming flow direction, and we use it in the small-scale power generation in the ocean where waves create an oscillating flow. We incorporate the turbine to the wheel of a bike. A commercial device integrates strain gauges in the crank of a bike and transmitted force and torque applied to the pedal of the bike as an e-mail to the driver’s mobile phone. We can analyze the unsteady data in a spreadsheet sent from the crank sensor. We run the bike with the crank sensor on the rollers at the exit of a low-speed wind tunnel and analyze the effect of the crosswind to the wheel with a Wells turbine. We also test the aerodynamic characteristics of the turbine separately. Although power gain depends on the flow direction, several Watts increase might be possible by the Wells turbine incorporated to a bike wheel.
Keywords: Aerodynamics, wells turbine, bicycle, wind engineering.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 8562787 Numerical and Experimental Investigation of Air Distribution System of Larder Type Refrigerator
Authors: Funda Erdem Şahnali, Ş. Özgür Atayılmaz, Tolga N. Aynur
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Almost all of the domestic refrigerators operate on the principle of the vapor compression refrigeration cycle and removal of heat from the refrigerator cabinets is done via one of the two methods: natural convection or forced convection. In this study, airflow and temperature distributions inside a 375L no-frost type larder cabinet, in which cooling is provided by forced convection, are evaluated both experimentally and numerically. Airflow rate, compressor capacity and temperature distribution in the cooling chamber are known to be some of the most important factors that affect the cooling performance and energy consumption of a refrigerator. The objective of this study is to evaluate the original temperature distribution in the larder cabinet, and investigate for better temperature distribution solutions throughout the refrigerator domain via system optimizations that could provide uniform temperature distribution. The flow visualization and airflow velocity measurements inside the original refrigerator are performed via Stereoscopic Particle Image Velocimetry (SPIV). In addition, airflow and temperature distributions are investigated numerically with Ansys Fluent. In order to study the heat transfer inside the aforementioned refrigerator, forced convection theories covering the following cases are applied: closed rectangular cavity representing heat transfer inside the refrigerating compartment. The cavity volume has been represented with finite volume elements and is solved computationally with appropriate momentum and energy equations (Navier-Stokes equations). The 3D model is analyzed as transient, with k-ε turbulence model and SIMPLE pressure-velocity coupling for turbulent flow situation. The results obtained with the 3D numerical simulations are in quite good agreement with the experimental airflow measurements using the SPIV technique. After Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis of the baseline case, the effects of three parameters: compressor capacity, fan rotational speed and type of shelf (glass or wire) are studied on the energy consumption; pull down time, temperature distributions in the cabinet. For each case, energy consumption based on experimental results is calculated. After the analysis, the main effective parameters for temperature distribution inside a cabin and energy consumption based on CFD simulation are determined and simulation results are supplied for Design of Experiments (DOE) as input data for optimization. The best configuration with minimum energy consumption that provides minimum temperature difference between the shelves inside the cabinet is determined.
Keywords: Air distribution, CFD, DOE, energy consumption, larder cabinet, refrigeration, uniform temperature.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 5902786 Analysis of Users’ Behavior on Book Loan Log Based On Association Rule Mining
Authors: Kanyarat Bussaban, Kunyanuth Kularbphettong
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This research aims to create a model for analysis of student behavior using Library resources based on data mining technique in case of Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University. The model was created under association rules, Apriori algorithm. The results were found 14 rules and the rules were tested with testing data set and it showed that the ability of classify data was 79.24percent and the MSE was 22.91. The results showed that the user’s behavior model by using association rule technique can use to manage the library resources.
Keywords: Behavior, data mining technique, Apriori algorithm.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 23062785 A Practical Method for Load Balancing in the LV Distribution Networks Case Study: Tabriz Electrical Network
Authors: A. Raminfard, S. M. Shahrtash
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In this paper, a new efficient method for load balancing in low voltage distribution systems is presented. The proposed method introduces an improved Leap-frog method for optimization. The proposed objective function includes the difference between three phase currents, as well as two other terms to provide the integer property of the variables; where the latter are the status of the connection of loads to different phases. Afterwards, a new algorithm is supplemented to undertake the integer values for the load connection status. Finally, the method is applied to different parts of Tabriz low voltage network, where the results have shown the good performance of the proposed method.
Keywords: Load balancing, improved leap-frog method, optimization algorithm, low voltage distribution systems.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 34242784 The Importance of Issues for the Youth in Voter Decision Making: A Case Study among University Students in Malaysia
Authors: Sivamurugan Pandian
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In the 13th Malaysia’s General Elections held in 2013, it was observed that large numbers of urban constituencies saw strongly decisive young voters (between 21-39 age group) determine the outcome in their favour. Also, the Elections Commission had approximated that 70% of some 4.2 million unregistered voters at the time were citizens aged between 21 and 40 years old. If they are not already considered an important form of political leverage, 450,000 young Malaysians turn 21 years old each year. Further compounding this fact were the 2.4 million new voters registered in 2012, which at the time constituted almost 30% of the entire voting population. This article discusses the importance of issues for the youth, with reference to the university students in Malaysia in their decision making on polling day.
Keywords: Malaysia, Youth, Issues, Voting Patterns, Elections.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 35472783 Space Charge Distribution in 22 kV XLPE Insulated Cable by Using Pulse Electroacoustic Measurement Technique
Authors: N. Ruangkajonmathee, R. Thiamsri, B. Marungsri
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This paper presents the experimental results on space charge distribution in cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) insulating material for 22 kV power distribution system cable by using pulse electroacoustic measurement technique (PEA). Numbers of XLPE insulating material ribbon having thickness 60 μm taken from unused 22 kV high voltage cable were used as specimen in this study. DC electric field stress was applied to test specimen at room temperature (25°C). Four levels of electric field stress, 25 kV/mm, 50 kV/mm, 75 kV/mm and 100 kV/mm, were used. In order to investigate space charge distribution characteristic, space charge distribution characteristics were measured after applying electric field stress 15 min, 30 min and 60 min, respectively. The results show that applied time and magnitude of dc electric field stress play an important role to the formation of space charge.
Keywords: Space charge distribution, pulsed electroacoustic(PEA) technique, cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE), DC electrical fields stress.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 32832782 Sparse-View CT Reconstruction Based on Nonconvex L1 − L2 Regularizations
Authors: Ali Pour Yazdanpanah, Farideh Foroozandeh Shahraki, Emma Regentova
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The reconstruction from sparse-view projections is one of important problems in computed tomography (CT) limited by the availability or feasibility of obtaining of a large number of projections. Traditionally, convex regularizers have been exploited to improve the reconstruction quality in sparse-view CT, and the convex constraint in those problems leads to an easy optimization process. However, convex regularizers often result in a biased approximation and inaccurate reconstruction in CT problems. Here, we present a nonconvex, Lipschitz continuous and non-smooth regularization model. The CT reconstruction is formulated as a nonconvex constrained L1 − L2 minimization problem and solved through a difference of convex algorithm and alternating direction of multiplier method which generates a better result than L0 or L1 regularizers in the CT reconstruction. We compare our method with previously reported high performance methods which use convex regularizers such as TV, wavelet, curvelet, and curvelet+TV (CTV) on the test phantom images. The results show that there are benefits in using the nonconvex regularizer in the sparse-view CT reconstruction.Keywords: Computed tomography, sparse-view reconstruction, L1 −L2 minimization, non-convex, difference of convex functions.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 20332781 Bank Loans and the Business Cycle: The Case of the Czech Republic
Authors: Libena Cernohorska, Jan Cernohorsky
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This article aims to evaluate the impact of loans provided within the Czech banking sector on the growth of the Czech economy. The article is based on research of current scientific findings in respect to bank loans and economic development. The paper is based on data taken from the Czech Statistical Office on the development of the gross domestic product and data from the Czech National Bank on the development of loans from the period 2004-2015. Links between selected variables are tested using Granger causality tests. The results calculated confirm the hypothesis of the impact of the loans on economic growth, with a six-month delay. The results thus correspond to the standard economic findings and results of most previous studies.
Keywords: Bank, business cycle, economic growth, loans.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 6682780 Application of the Improved QFD Method Case Study: Kitchen Utensils Rack Design
Authors: Dini Endah Setyo Rahaju, Dian Retno Sari Dewi
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This paper presents an application of the improved QFD method for determining the specifications of kitchen utensils rack. By using the improved method, the subjective nature in original QFD was reduced; particularly in defining the relationship between customer requirement and engineering characteristics. The regression analysis that was used for obtaining the relationship functions between customer requirement and engineering characteristics also accommodated the inaccurateness of the competitive assessment results. The improved method which is represented in the form of a mathematical model had become a formal guidance to allocate the resource for improving the specifications of kitchen utensils rack. The specifications obtained had led to the achievement of the highest feasible customer satisfaction.
Keywords: Customer satisfaction, kitchen utensils rack design, QFD, specifications.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 16322779 Bacteria Flora in the Gut and Respiratory Organs of Clarias gariepinus in Fresh and Brackish Water Habitats of Ondo State, South/West Nigeria
Authors: Nelson R. Osungbemiro, Rafiu O. Sanni, Rotimi F. Olaniyan, Abayomi O. Olajuyigbe
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Bacteria flora of Clarias gariepinus collected from two natural habitats namely Owena River (freshwater) and Igbokoda lagoon (brackish water) were examined using standard microbiological procedures. Thirteen bacterial species were identified. The result indicated that from the identified bacteria isolated, Vibrio sp, Proteus sp. Shigella sp. and E. coli were present in both habitats (fresh and brackish waters). Others were habitat-selective such as Salmonella sp., Pseudomonas sp, Enterococcus sp, Staphylococcus sp. that were found only in freshwater habitat. While Branhamella sp, Streptococcus sp. and Micrococcus sp. were found in brackish water habitat. Bacteria load from Owena river (freshwater) was found to be the highest load recorded at 6.21 x 104cfu. T-test analysis also revealed that there was a marked significant difference between bacterial load in guts of sampled Clarias from fresh water and brackish water habitats.
Keywords: Bacteria flora, gut, Clarias gariepinus, Owena river
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 27282778 NewPerceptual Organization within Temporal Displacement
Authors: Michele Sinico
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The psychological present has an actual extension. When a sequence of instantaneous stimuli falls in this short interval of time, observers perceive a compresence of events in succession and the temporal order depends on the qualitative relationships between the perceptual properties of the events. Two experiments were carried out to study the influence of perceptual grouping, with and without temporal displacement, on the duration of auditory sequences. The psychophysical method of adjustment was adopted. The first experiment investigated the effect of temporal displacement of a white noise on sequence duration. The second experiment investigated the effect of temporal displacement, along the pitch dimension, on temporal shortening of sequence. The results suggest that the temporal order of sounds, in the case of temporal displacement, is organized along the pitch dimension.Keywords: Time perception, perceptual present, temporal displacement, gestalt laws of perceptual organization
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 8082777 A new Heuristic Algorithm for the Dynamic Facility Layout Problem with Budget Constraint
Authors: Parham Azimi, Hamid Reza Charmchi
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In this research, we have developed a new efficient heuristic algorithm for the dynamic facility layout problem with budget constraint (DFLPB). This heuristic algorithm combines two mathematical programming methods such as discrete event simulation and linear integer programming (IP) to obtain a near optimum solution. In the proposed algorithm, the non-linear model of the DFLP has been changed to a pure integer programming (PIP) model. Then, the optimal solution of the PIP model has been used in a simulation model that has been designed in a similar manner as the DFLP for determining the probability of assigning a facility to a location. After a sufficient number of runs, the simulation model obtains near optimum solutions. Finally, to verify the performance of the algorithm, several test problems have been solved. The results show that the proposed algorithm is more efficient in terms of speed and accuracy than other heuristic algorithms presented in previous works found in the literature.Keywords: Budget constraint, Dynamic facility layout problem, Integer programming, Simulation
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 19652776 Computational Study on Cardiac-Coronary Interaction in Terms of Coronary Flow-Pressure Waveforms in Presence of Drugs: Comparison Between Simulated and In Vivo Data
Authors: C. De Lazzari, E. Del Prete, I. Genuini, F. Fedele
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Cardiovascular human simulator can be a useful tool in understanding complex physiopathological process in cardiocirculatory system. It can also be a useful tool in order to investigate the effects of different drugs on hemodynamic parameters. The aim of this work is to test the potentiality of our cardiovascular numerical simulator CARDIOSIM© in reproducing flow/pressure coronary waveforms in presence of two different drugs: Amlodipine (AMLO) and Adenosine (ADO). In particular a time-varying intramyocardial compression, assumed to be proportional to the left ventricular pressure, was related to the venous coronary compliances in order to study its effects on the coronary blood flow and the flow/pressure loop. Considering that coronary circulation dynamics is strongly interrelated with the mechanics of the left ventricular contraction, relaxation, and filling, the numerical model allowed to analyze the effects induced by the left ventricular pressure on the coronary flow.Keywords: Cardiovascular system, Coronary blood flow, Hemodynamic, Numerical simulation.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 17352775 Performance of Modified Wedge Anchorage System for Pre-Stressed FRP Bars
Authors: Othman S. Alsheraida, Sherif El-Gamal
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Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) is a composite material with exceptional properties that are capable to replace conventional steel reinforcement in reinforced and pre-stressed concrete structures. However, the main obstacle for their wide use in pre-stressed concrete application is the anchorage system. Due to the weakness of FRP in the transverse direction, the pre-stressing capacity of FRP bars are limited. This paper investigates the modification of the conventional wedge anchorage system to be used for stressing of FRP bars in pre-stressed applications. Epoxy adhesive material with glass FRP (GFRP) bars and conventional steel wedge were used in this paper. The GFRP bars are encased with epoxy at the anchor zone and the wedge system was used in pull-out test. The results showed a loading capacity of 47.6 kN which is 69% of the bar ultimate capacity. Additionally, nylon wedge was made with the same dimensions of the steel wedge and tested for GFRP bars without epoxy layer. The nylon wedge showed a loading capacity of 19.7 kN which is only 28.5% of the ultimate bar capacity.
Keywords: Anchorage, concrete, epoxy, FRP, pre-stressed.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 25152774 Response of King Abdulla Canal Water to the Upgrade of As Samra WWTP
Authors: Abbas S. Al-Omari, Zain M. Al-Houri
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The response of King Abdulla Canal (KAC) water to the upgrade of As Samra Wastewater Treatment Plant which discharges its effluent to the Zarqa River is investigated. Time series quality data that extends between October 2005 and December 2009 obtained by a state of the art telemetric monitoring system were analyzed for COD, EC, TP and TN at two monitoring stations located upstream and downstream of the confluence of the Zarqa River with KAC. The samples- means and the t-test showed that there has been significant improvement in the quality of the KAC water for COD, and TP. However, the improvement in the TN was found statistically insignificant, whereas the EC of the KAC was unaffected by the upgrade. Comparing the selected parameters with the standards and guidelines for using treated wastewater in irrigation showed that the KAC water has improved towards meeting the required standards and guidelines for treated wastewater reuse in irrigation.
Keywords: As Samra wastewater treatment plant, Telemetric monitoring system, Treated wastewater, Water quality monitoring, Zarqa River watershed.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 16782773 Wireless Based System for Continuous Electrocardiography Monitoring during Surgery
Authors: K. Bensafia, A. Mansour, G. Le Maillot, B. Clement, O. Reynet, P. Ariès, S. Haddab
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This paper presents a system designed for wireless acquisition, the recording of electrocardiogram (ECG) signals and the monitoring of the heart’s health during surgery. This wireless recording system allows us to visualize and monitor the state of the heart’s health during a surgery, even if the patient is moved from the operating theater to post anesthesia care unit. The acquired signal is transmitted via a Bluetooth unit to a PC where the data are displayed, stored and processed. To test the reliability of our system, a comparison between ECG signals processed by a conventional ECG monitoring system (Datex-Ohmeda) and by our wireless system is made. The comparison is based on the shape of the ECG signal, the duration of the QRS complex, the P and T waves, as well as the position of the ST segments with respect to the isoelectric line. The proposed system is presented and discussed. The results have confirmed that the use of Bluetooth during surgery does not affect the devices used and vice versa. Pre- and post-processing steps are briefly discussed. Experimental results are also provided.
Keywords: Electrocardiography, monitoring, surgery, wireless system.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 10482772 A New Rigid Fistulectomy Set for Minimally Invasive “Core-Out“ Excision of High Anal Fistulas
Authors: Siamak Najarian, Meysam Esmaeili, Mohsen Towliat Kashani
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In this article, we propose a new surgical device for circumferentially excision of high anal fistulas in a minimally invasive manner. The new apparatus works on the basis of axially rotating and moving a tubular blade along a fistulous tract straightened using a rigid straight guidewire. As the blade moves along the tract, its sharp circular cutting edge circumferentially separates approximately 2.25 mm thickness of tract encircling the rigid guidewire. We used the new set to excise two anal fistulas in a 62-year-old male patient, an extrasphincteric type and a long tract with no internal opening. With regard to the results of this test, the new device can be considered as a sphincter preserving mechanism for treatment of high anal fistulas. Consequently, a major reduction in the risk of fecal incontinence, recurrence rate, convalescence period and patient morbidity may be achieved using the new device for treatment of fistula-in-ano.Keywords: Fecal Incontinence, Fistulectomy, High Anal Fistula, Minimally Invasive.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 17322771 Laboratory Evaluation of the Airborne Sound Insulation of Plasterboard Sandwich Panels Filled with Recycled Textile Material
Authors: Svetlana T. Djambova, Natalia B. Ivanova, Roumiana A. Zaharieva
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Small size acoustic chamber test method has been applied to experimentally evaluate and compare the airborne sound insulation provided by plasterboard sandwich panels filled with mineral wool and with its alternative from recycled textile material (produced by two different technologies). An original small-size acoustic chamber is used as a sound source room. It has been specially built in a real-size room, which is utilized as a sound receiving room. The experimental results of one of the recycled textile material specimens have demonstrated sound insulation properties similar to those of the mineral wool specimen and even superior in the 1600-3150 Hz frequency range. This study contributes to the improvement of recycled textile material production, as well as to the synergy of heat insulation and sound insulation performances of building materials.
Keywords: Airborne sound insulation, heat insulation products, mineral wool, recycled textile material.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1632770 Fair Value Implementation of Financial Asset: Evidence in Indonesia’s Banking Sector
Authors: Alhamdi Alfi Fajri
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The purpose of this study is to analyze and to give empirical proof about the effect of fair value implementation on financial asset against information asymmetry in Indonesia’s banking sector. This research tested the effect of fair value implementation on financial asset based on Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (PSAK) No. 55 and the fair value reliability measurement based on PSAK No. 60 against level of information asymmetry. The scope of research is Indonesia’s banking sector. The test’s result shows that the use of fair value based on PSAK No. 55 is significantly associated with information asymmetry. This positive relation is higher than the amortized cost implementation on financial asset. In addition, the fair value hierarchy based on PSAK No. 60 is significantly associated with information asymmetry. This research proves that the more reliable measurement of fair value on financial asset, the more observable fair value measurement and reduces level of information asymmetry.Keywords: Fair value, PSAK No. 55, PSAK No. 60, information asymmetry, banks.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 19532769 Integrated Approach of Development Communication
Authors: Qin Guo
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Internet application in China has maintained a constant development tendency in the past decade. China is now one of the most populous countries in terms of internet user population. While offering enormous opportunities, the dramatic digitalization also brings about a series of challenges that demand urgent attention. Digital divide is one of the challenges that affect China as well as other countries in the world. This paper examines digital divide in the Chinese context from the perspective of development communication. Through a case study of a rural township under the backdrop of the rapid internet development in China, the paper discusses the economic, psychological and cultural roots of digital divide; and explores development communication strategies addressing the roots of digital divide. It is argued that development communication must be responsive to the potentialities and preferences of the specific society and serve the purposes of participation and sustainability.Keywords: Development Communication, Digital Divide, Internet, communication media.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 20442768 Analyzing the Potential of Job Creation by Taking the First Step Towards Circular Economy: Case Study of Brazil
Authors: R. Conde
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The Brazilian economic projections and social indicators show a future of crisis for the country. Solutions to avoid this crisis scenario are necessary. Several developed countries implement initiatives linked to sustainability, mainly related to the circular economy, to solve their crises quickly - green recovery. This article aims to assess social gains if Brazil followed the same recovery strategy. Furthermore, with the use of data presented and recognized in the international academic society, the number of jobs that can be created, if Brazil took the first steps towards a more circular economy, was found. Moreover, in addition to the gross value in the number of jobs created, this article also detailed the number of these jobs by type of activity (collection, processing, and manufacturing) and by type of material.
Keywords: Circular economy, green recovery, job creation, social gains.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 5412767 Passenger Flow Characteristics of Seoul Metropolitan Subway Network
Authors: Kang Won Lee, Jung Won Lee
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Characterizing the network flow is of fundamental importance to understand the complex dynamics of networks. And passenger flow characteristics of the subway network are very relevant for an effective transportation management in urban cities. In this study, passenger flow of Seoul metropolitan subway network is investigated and characterized through statistical analysis. Traditional betweenness centrality measure considers only topological structure of the network and ignores the transportation factors. This paper proposes a weighted betweenness centrality measure that incorporates monthly passenger flow volume. We apply the proposed measure on the Seoul metropolitan subway network involving 493 stations and 16 lines. Several interesting insights about the network are derived from the new measures. Using Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, we also find out that monthly passenger flow between any two stations follows a power-law distribution and other traffic characteristics such as congestion level and throughflow traffic follow exponential distribution.
Keywords: Betweenness centrality, correlation coefficient, power-law distribution, Korea traffic data base.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 10022766 Effect of Bamboo Chips in Cemented Sand Soil on Permeability and Mechanical Properties in Triaxial Compression
Authors: Sito Ismanti, Noriyuki Yasufuku
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Cement utilization to improve the properties of soil is a well-known method applied in field. However, its addition in large quantity must be controlled. This study presents utilization of natural and environmental-friendly material mixed with small amount of cement content in soil improvement, i.e. bamboo chips. Absorbability, elongation, and flatness ratio of bamboo chips were examined to investigate and understand the influence of its characteristics in the mixture. Improvement of dilation behavior as a problem of loose and poorly graded sand soil is discussed. Bamboo chips are able to improve the permeability value that affects the dilation behavior of cemented sand soil. It is proved by the stress path as the result of triaxial compression test in the undrained condition. The effect of size and content variation of bamboo chips, as well as the curing time variation are presented and discussed.Keywords: Bamboo chips, permeability, mechanical properties, triaxial compression.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 16442765 Blind Identification Channel Using Higher Order Cumulants with Application to Equalization for MC−CDMA System
Authors: Mohammed Zidane, Said Safi, Mohamed Sabri, Ahmed Boumezzough
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In this paper we propose an algorithm based on higher order cumulants, for blind impulse response identification of frequency radio channels and downlink (MC−CDMA) system Equalization. In order to test its efficiency, we have compared with another algorithm proposed in the literature, for that we considered on theoretical channel as the Proakis’s ‘B’ channel and practical frequency selective fading channel, called Broadband Radio Access Network (BRAN C), normalized for (MC−CDMA) systems, excited by non-Gaussian sequences. In the part of (MC−CDMA), we use the Minimum Mean Square Error (MMSE) equalizer after the channel identification to correct the channel’s distortion. The simulation results, in noisy environment and for different signal to noise ratio (SNR), are presented to illustrate the accuracy of the proposed algorithm.
Keywords: Blind identification and equalization, Higher Order Cumulants, (MC−CDMA) system, MMSE equalizer.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 17812764 Modified PSO Based Optimal Control for Maximizing Benefits of Distributed Generation System
Authors: Priyanka Sen, Kaibalya Prasad Panda, Soumyakanta Samantaray, Sreyasee Rout, Bishnupriya Biswal
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Deregulation in the power system industry and the invention of new technologies for producing electrical energy has led to innovations in power system planning. Distributed generation (DG) is one of the most attractive technologies that bring different kinds of advantages to a lot of entities, engaged in power systems. In this paper, a model for considering DGs in the power system planning problem is presented. Dynamic power system planning for reduction of maintenance and operational cost is presented in this paper. In addition to that, a modified particle swarm optimization (PSO) is used to find the optimal topology solution. Voltage Profile Improvement Index (VPII) and Line Loss Reduction Index (LLRI) are taken as benefit index of employing DG. The effectiveness of this method is demonstrated through examination of IEEE 30 bus test system.
Keywords: Distributed generation, line loss reduction index, particle swarm optimization, power system, voltage profile improvement index.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 9132763 The Cost and Benefit on the Investment in Safety and Health of the Enterprises in Thailand
Authors: Charawee Butbumrung
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The purpose of this study is to evaluate the monetary worthiness of investment and the usefulness of risk estimation as a tool employed by a production section of an electronic factory. This study employed the case study of accidents occurring in production areas. Data is collected from interviews with six production of safety coordinators and collect the information from the relevant section. The study will present the ratio of benefits compared with the operation costs for investment. The result showed that it is worthwhile for investment with the safety measures. In addition, the organizations must be able to analyze the causes of accidents about the benefits of investing in protective working process. They also need to quickly provide the manual for the staff to learn how to protect themselves from accidents and how to use all of the safety equipment.
Keywords: Cost and benefit, enterprises in Thailand, investment in safety and health, risk estimation.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 7822762 Decision Tree-based Feature Ranking using Manhattan Hierarchical Cluster Criterion
Authors: Yasmin Mohd Yacob, Harsa A. Mat Sakim, Nor Ashidi Mat Isa
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Feature selection study is gaining importance due to its contribution to save classification cost in terms of time and computation load. In search of essential features, one of the methods to search the features is via the decision tree. Decision tree act as an intermediate feature space inducer in order to choose essential features. In decision tree-based feature selection, some studies used decision tree as a feature ranker with a direct threshold measure, while others remain the decision tree but utilized pruning condition that act as a threshold mechanism to choose features. This paper proposed threshold measure using Manhattan Hierarchical Cluster distance to be utilized in feature ranking in order to choose relevant features as part of the feature selection process. The result is promising, and this method can be improved in the future by including test cases of a higher number of attributes.
Keywords: Feature ranking, decision tree, hierarchical cluster, Manhattan distance.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1969