Search results for: social and behavior change communication.
2590 Onset Velocity Profiles Evolution in Microchannels
Authors: Cătălin Mărculescu, Andrei Avram, Cătălin Pârvulescu, Marioara Avram, Cătălin Mihai Bălan
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The present microfluidic study is emphasizing the flow behavior within a Y shape micro-bifurcation in two similar flow configurations. We report here a numerical and experimental investigation on the velocity profiles evolution and secondary flows, manifested at different Reynolds numbers (Re) and for two different boundary conditions. The experiments are performed using special designed setup based on optical microscopic devices. With this setup, direct visualizations and quantitative measurements of the path-lines are obtained. A Micro-PIV measurement system is used to obtain velocity profiles distributions in a spatial evolution in the main flows domains. The experimental data is compared with numerical simulations performed with commercial computational code FLUENT in a 3D geometry with the same dimensions as the experimental one. The numerical flow patterns are found to be in good agreement with the experimental manifestations.Keywords: Micro-PIV, numerical investigations, secondary flows, velocity profiles.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 18652589 Geometric Representation of Modified Forms of Seven Important Failure Criteria
Authors: Ranajay Bhowmick
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Elastoplastic analysis of a structural system involves defining failure/yield criterion, flow rules and hardening rules. The failure/yield criterion defines the limit beyond which the material flows plastically and hardens/softens or remains perfectly plastic before ultimate collapse. The failure/yield criterion is represented geometrically in three/two dimensional Haigh-Westergaard stress-space to facilitate a better understanding of the behavior of the material. In the present study geometric representations in three and two-dimensional stress-space of a few important failure/yield criterion are presented. The criteria presented are the modified forms obtained due to the conditional solutions of the equation of stress invariants. A comparison of the failure/yield surfaces is also presented here to obtain the effectiveness of each of them and it has been found that for identical conditions the Rankine’s criterion gives the largest values of limiting stresses.
Keywords: Deviatoric plane, failure criteria, geometric representation, hydrostatic axis, modified form.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3742588 Human Resources Management Practices in Hospitality Companies
Authors: Dora Martins, Susana Silva, Cândida Silva
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Human Resources Management (HRM) has been recognized by academics and practitioners as an important element in organizations. Therefore, this paper explores the best practices of HRM and seeks to understand the level of participation in the development of these practices by human resources managers in the hospitality industry and compare it with other industries. Thus, the study compared the HRM practices of companies in the hospitality sector with HRM practices of companies in other sectors, and identifies the main differences between their HRM practices. The results show that the most frequent HRM practices in all companies, independently of its sector of activity, are hiring and training. When comparing hospitality sector with other sectors of activity, some differences were noticed, namely in the adoption of the practices of communication and information sharing, and of recruitment and selection. According to these results, the paper discusses the major theoretical and practical implications. Suggestions for future research are also presented.
Keywords: Human resources management practices, human resources manager, hospitality companies, Portuguese companies, exploratory study.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 34442587 Addressing Security Concerns of Data Exchange in AODV Protocol
Authors: Monis Akhlaq, M Noman Jafri, Muzammil A Khan, Baber Aslam
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The Ad Hoc on demand distance vector (AODV) routing protocol is designed for mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs). AODV offers quick adaptation to dynamic link conditions; it is characterized by low memory overhead and low network utilization. The security issues related to the protocol remain challenging for the wireless network designers. Numerous schemes have been proposed for establishing secure communication between end users, these schemes identify that the secure operation of AODV is a bi tier task (routing and secure exchange of information at separate levels). Our endeavor in this paper would focus on achieving the routing and secure data exchange in a single step. This will facilitate the user nodes to perform routing, mutual authentications, generation and secure exchange of session key in one step thus ensuring confidentiality, integrity and authentication of data exchange in a more suitable way.
Keywords: AODV, key management, security, wirelessnetworks.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 20942586 Standardization and Adaption Requirements in Production System Transplants
Authors: G. Schuh, T. Potente, D. Kupke, S. Ivanescu
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As German companies roll out their standardized production systems to offshore manufacturing plants, they face the challenge of implementing them in different cultural environments. Studies show that the local adaptation is one of the key factors for a successful implementation. Thus the question arises of where the line between standardization and adaptation can be drawn. To answer this question the influence of culture on production systems is analysed in this paper. The culturally contingent components of production systems are identified. Also the contingency factors are classified according to their impact on the necessary adaptation changes and implementation effort. Culturally specific decision making, coordination, communication and motivation patterns require one-time changes in organizational and process design. The attitude towards rules requires more intense coaching and controlling. Lastly a framework is developed to depict standardization and adaption needs when transplanting production systems into different cultural environments.Keywords: Culture, influence of national culture on production systems, lean production, production systems.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 18252585 Threshold Based Region Incrementing Secret Sharing Scheme for Color Images
Authors: P. Mohamed Fathimal, P. Arockia Jansi Rani
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In this era of online communication, which transacts data in 0s and 1s, confidentiality is a priced commodity. Ensuring safe transmission of encrypted data and their uncorrupted recovery is a matter of prime concern. Among the several techniques for secure sharing of images, this paper proposes a k out of n region incrementing image sharing scheme for color images. The highlight of this scheme is the use of simple Boolean and arithmetic operations for generating shares and the Lagrange interpolation polynomial for authenticating shares. Additionally, this scheme addresses problems faced by existing algorithms such as color reversal and pixel expansion. This paper regenerates the original secret image whereas the existing systems regenerates only the half toned secret image.Keywords: Threshold Secret Sharing Scheme, Access Control, Steganography, Authentication, Secret Image Sharing, XOR, Pixel Expansion.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 11362584 Competitive Advantages of a Firm without Fundamental Technology: A Case Study of Sony, Casio and Nintendo
Authors: Kiyohiro Yamazaki
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A purpose of this study is to examine how a firm without fundamental technology is able to gain the competitive advantage. This paper examines three case studies, Sony in the flat display TV industry, Casio in the digital camera industry and Nintendo in the home game machine industry. This paper maintain the firms without fundamental technology construct two advantages, economic advantage and organizational advantage. An economic advantage involves the firm can select either high-tech or cheap devices out of several device makers, and change the alternatives cheaply and quickly. In addition, organizational advantage means that a firm without fundamental technology is not restricted by organizational inertia and cognitive restraints, and exercises the characteristic of strength.
Keywords: Firm without fundamental technology, economic advantage, organizational advantage, Sony, Casio, Nintendo.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 13942583 The Influence of Water Ingress to Aircraft Cabin Components
Authors: Nils Ischdonat
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The accomplished study is based on the appointment and identification of ageing effects and according to this absorption of moisture of aircraft cabin components over the life-cycle. In the first step of the study ceiling panels from same age and from the same aircraft cabin have been examined according to weight changes depending on the position in the aircraft cabin. In the second step of the study different aged ceiling panels have been examined concerning deflection, weight changes and the acoustic sound transmission loss. To prove the assumption of water absorption within the study and with the theoretical background from literature and scientific papers, an older test panel was exposed extreme thermal conditions (humidity and temperature) within a climate chamber to show that there is a general ingress of water to cabin components and that this ingress of water leads to the change of different mechanical properties.Keywords: Aircraft Cabin, water ingress, ageing effects, sound transmission loss
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 19762582 A Taxonomy of Routing Protocols in Wireless Sensor Networks
Authors: A. Kardi, R. Zagrouba, M. Alqahtani
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The Internet of Everything (IoE) presents today a very attractive and motivating field of research. It is basically based on Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) in which the routing task is the major analysis topic. In fact, it directly affects the effectiveness and the lifetime of the network. This paper, developed from recent works and based on extensive researches, proposes a taxonomy of routing protocols in WSNs. Our main contribution is that we propose a classification model based on nine classes namely application type, delivery mode, initiator of communication, network architecture, path establishment (route discovery), network topology (structure), protocol operation, next hop selection and latency-awareness and energy-efficient routing protocols. In order to provide a total classification pattern to serve as reference for network designers, each class is subdivided into possible subclasses, presented, and discussed using different parameters such as purposes and characteristics.
Keywords: WSNs, sensor, routing protocols, survey.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 10412581 Omni: Data Science Platform for Evaluate Performance of a LoRaWAN Network
Authors: Emanuele A. Solagna, Ricardo S, Tozetto, Roberto dos S. Rabello
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Nowadays, physical processes are becoming digitized by the evolution of communication, sensing and storage technologies which promote the development of smart cities. The evolution of this technology has generated multiple challenges related to the generation of big data and the active participation of electronic devices in society. Thus, devices can send information that is captured and processed over large areas, but there is no guarantee that all the obtained data amount will be effectively stored and correctly persisted. Because, depending on the technology which is used, there are parameters that has huge influence on the full delivery of information. This article aims to characterize the project, currently under development, of a platform that based on data science will perform a performance and effectiveness evaluation of an industrial network that implements LoRaWAN technology considering its main parameters configuration relating these parameters to the information loss.Keywords: Internet of Things, LoRa, LoRaWAN, smart cities.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 7132580 Seismic Performance Evaluation of Bridge Structures Using 3D Finite Element Methods in South Korea
Authors: Woo Young Jung, Bu Seog Ju
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This study described the seismic performance evaluation of bridge structures, located near Daegu metropolitan city in Korea. The structural design code or regulatory guidelines is focusing on the protection of brittle failure or collapse in bridges’ lifetime during an earthquake. This paper illustrated the procedure in terms of the safety evaluation of bridges using simple linear elastic 3D Finite Element (FE) model in ABAQUS platform. The design response spectra based on KBC 2009 were then developed, in order to understand the seismic behavior of bridge structures. Besides, the multiple directional earthquakes were applied and it revealed that the most dominated earthquake direction was transverse direction of the bridge. Also, the bridge structure under the compressive stress was more fragile than the tensile stress and the vertical direction of seismic ground motions was not significantly affected to the structural system.Keywords: Bridge, Finite Element, 3D model, Earthquake, Spectrum.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 16402579 Effect of Hemicellulase on Extraction of Essential Oil from Algerian Artemisia campestris
Authors: Khalida Boutemak, Nasssima Benali, Nadji Moulai-Mostefa
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Effect of enzyme on the yield and chemical composition of Artemisia campestris essential oil is reported in the present study. It was demonstrated that enzyme facilitated the extraction of essential oil with increase in oil yield and did not affect any noticeable change in flavour profile of the volatile oil. Essential oil was tested for antibacterial activity using Escherichia coli; which was extremely sensitive against control with the largest inhibition (29mm), whereas Staphylococcus aureus was the most sensitive against essential oil obtained from enzymatic pre-treatment with the largest inhibition zone (25mm). The antioxidant activity of the essential oil with hemicellulase pre-treatment (EO2) and control sample (EO1) was determined through reducing power. It was significantly lower than the standard drug (vitamin C) in this order: vitamin C˃EO2˃EO1.Keywords: Artemisia campestris, enzyme pre-treatment, hemicellulase, antibacterial activity, antioxidant activity.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 15562578 An Integrated Operational Research and System Dynamics Approach for Planning Decisions in Container Terminals
Authors: A. K. Abdel-Fattah, A. B. El-Tawil, N. A. Harraz
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This paper focuses on the operational and strategic planning decisions related to the quayside of container terminals. We introduce an integrated operational research (OR) and system dynamics (SD) approach to solve the Berth Allocation Problem (BAP) and the Quay Crane Assignment Problem (QCAP). A BAP-QCAP optimization modeling approach which considers practical aspects not studied before in the integration of BAP and QCAP is discussed. A conceptual SD model is developed to determine the long-term effect of optimization on the system behavior factors like resource utilization, attractiveness to port, number of incoming vessels to port and port profits. The framework can be used for improving the operational efficiency of container terminals and providing a strategic view after applying optimization.
Keywords: Operational research, system dynamics, container terminal, quayside operational problems, strategic planning decisions.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 33232577 Numerical Modelling of Dry Stone Masonry Structures Based on Finite-Discrete Element Method
Authors: Ž. Nikolić, H. Smoljanović, N. Živaljić
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This paper presents numerical model based on finite-discrete element method for analysis of the structural response of dry stone masonry structures under static and dynamic loads. More precisely, each discrete stone block is discretized by finite elements. Material non-linearity including fracture and fragmentation of discrete elements as well as cyclic behavior during dynamic load are considered through contact elements which are implemented within a finite element mesh. The application of the model was conducted on several examples of these structures. The performed analysis shows high accuracy of the numerical results in comparison with the experimental ones and demonstrates the potential of the finite-discrete element method for modelling of the response of dry stone masonry structures.Keywords: Finite-discrete element method, dry stone masonry structures, static load, dynamic load.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 16182576 The Effects of Wind Forcing on Surface Currents on the Continental Shelf Surrounding Rottnest Island
Authors: Jennifer Penton, Charitha Pattiaratchi
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Surface currents play a major role in the distribution of contaminants, the connectivity of marine populations, and can influence the vertical and horizontal distribution of nutrients within the water column. This paper aims to determine the effects of sea breeze-wind patterns on the climatology of the surface currents on the continental shelf surrounding Rottnest Island, WA Australia. The alternating wind patterns allow for full cyclic rotations of wind direction, permitting the interpretation of the effect of the wind on the surface currents. It was found that the surface currents only clearly follow the northbound Capes Current in times when the Fremantle Doctor sets in. Surface currents react within an hour to a change of direction of the wind, allowing southerly currents to dominate during strong northerly sea breezes, often followed by mixed currents dominated by eddies in the inter-lying times.Keywords: HF radar, surface currents, sea breeze.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 15412575 Networked Radar System to Increase Safety of Urban Railroad Crossing
Authors: S. Saponara, L. Fanucci, R. Cassettari, P. Ruggiero, M. Righetto
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The paper presents an innovative networked radar system for detection of obstacles in a railway level crossing scenario. This Monitoring System (MS) is able to detect moving or still obstacles within the railway level crossing area automatically, avoiding the need of human presence for surveillance. The MS is also connected to the National Railway Information and Signaling System to communicate in real-time the level crossing status. The architecture is compliant with the highest Safety Integrity Level (SIL4) of the CENELEC standard. The number of radar sensors used is configurable at set-up time and depends on how large the level crossing area can be. At least two sensors are expected and up four can be used for larger areas. The whole processing chain that elaborates the output sensor signals, as well as the communication interface, is fully-digital, was designed in VHDL code and implemented onto a Xilinx Virtex 6.
Keywords: Radar for safe mobility, railroad crossing, railway, transport safety.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 30902574 Elasto-Visco-Plastic-Damage Model for Pre-Strained 304L Stainless Steel Subjected to Low Temperature
Authors: Jeong-Hyeon Kim, Ki-Yeob Kang, Myung-Hyun Kim, Jae-Myung Lee
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Primary barrier of membrane type LNG containment system consist of corrugated 304L stainless steel. This 304L stainless steel is austenitic stainless steel which shows different material behaviors owing to phase transformation during the plastic work. Even though corrugated primary barriers are subjected to significant amounts of pre-strain due to press working, quantitative mechanical behavior on the effect of pre-straining at cryogenic temperatures are not available. In this study, pre-strain level and pre-strain temperature dependent tensile tests are carried to investigate mechanical behaviors. Also, constitutive equations with material parameters are suggested for a verification study.
Keywords: Constitutive equation, corrugated sheet, pre-strain effect, elasto-visco-plastic-damage model, 304L stainless steel.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 16342573 Numerical Study of Fiber Bragg Grating Sensor: Longitudinal and Transverse Detection of Temperature and Strain
Authors: K. Khelil, H. Ammar, K. Saouchi
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Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) structure is an periodically modulated optical fiber. It acts as a selective filter of wavelength whose reflected peak is called Bragg wavelength and it depends on the period of the fiber and the refractive index. The simulation of FBG is based on solving the Coupled Mode Theory equation by using the Transfer Matrix Method which is carried out using MATLAB. It is found that spectral reflectivity is shifted when the change of temperature and strain is uniform. Under non-uniform temperature or strain perturbation, the spectrum is both shifted and destroyed. In case of transverse loading, reflectivity spectrum is split into two peaks, the first is specific to X axis, and the second belongs to Y axis. FBGs are used in civil engineering to detect perturbations applied to buildings.
Keywords: Bragg wavelength, coupled mode theory, optical fiber, temperature measurement.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 8852572 Tools for Analysis and Optimization of Standalone Green Microgrids
Authors: William Anderson, Kyle Kobold, Oleg Yakimenko
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Green microgrids using mostly renewable energy (RE) for generation, are complex systems with inherent nonlinear dynamics. Among a variety of different optimization tools there are only a few ones that adequately consider this complexity. This paper evaluates applicability of two somewhat similar optimization tools tailored for standalone RE microgrids and also assesses a machine learning tool for performance prediction that can enhance the reliability of any chosen optimization tool. It shows that one of these microgrid optimization tools has certain advantages over another and presents a detailed routine of preparing input data to simulate RE microgrid behavior. The paper also shows how neural-network-based predictive modeling can be used to validate and forecast solar power generation based on weather time series data, which improves the overall quality of standalone RE microgrid analysis.Keywords: Microgrid, renewable energy, complex systems, optimization, predictive modeling, neural networks.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 10602571 Correlation between the Sowing Date and the Yield of Maize on Chernozem Soil, in Connection with the Leaf Area Index and the Photosynthesis
Authors: E. Bene
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Our sowing date experiment took place in the Demonstration Garden of Institution of Plant Sciences, Centre for Agricultural Sciences of University of Debrecen, in 2012-2014. The paper contains data of test year 2014. Our purpose, besides several other examinations, was to observe how sowing date influences the leaf area index and the activity of photosynthesis of maize hybrids, and how those factors affect fruiting. In the experiment we monitored the change of the leaf area index and the photosynthesis of hybrids with four different growing seasons. The results obtained confirm that not only the environmental and agricultural factors in the growing season have effect on the yield, but also other factors like the leaf area index and the photosynthesis are determinative parameters, and all those factors together, modifying the effects of each other, develop average yields.Keywords: Sowing date, hybrid, leaf area index, photosynthetic capacity.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 14372570 A Literature Review of Servant Leadership and Criticism of Advanced Research
Authors: So-Jung Kim, Kyoung-Seok Kim, Yeong-Gyeong Choi
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Although there are many theories and discussion of leadership, the necessity of having a new leadership paradigm was emphasized. The existing leadership characteristic of instruction and control revealed its limitations. Market competition becomes fierce and economic recession never ends worldwide. Of the leadership theories, servant leadership was introduced recently and is in line with the environmental changes of the organization. Servant leadership is a combination of two words, 'servant' and 'leader' and can be defined as the role of the leader who focuses on doing voluntary work for others with altruistic ethics, makes members, customers, and local communities a priority, and makes a commitment to satisfying their needs. This leadership received attention as one field of leadership in the late 1990s and secured its legitimacy. This study discusses the existing research trends of leadership, the concept, behavior characteristics, and lower dimensions of servant leadership, compares servant leadership with the existing leadership researches and diagnoses if servant leadership is a useful concept for further leadership researches. Finally, this study criticizes the limitations in the existing researches on servant leadership.
Keywords: Leadership Philosophy, Leadership Theory, Servant Leadership, Traditional Leadership.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 118092569 A Software of Intrusion Detection Mechanism for Virtual Platforms
Authors: Ying-Chuan Chen, Shuen-Tai Wang
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Security is an interesting and significance issue for popular virtual platforms, such as virtualization cluster and cloud platforms. Virtualization is the powerful technology for cloud computing services, there are a lot of benefits by using virtual machine tools which be called hypervisors, such as it can quickly deploy all kinds of virtual Operating Systems in single platform, able to control all virtual system resources effectively, cost down for system platform deployment, ability of customization, high elasticity and high reliability. However, some important security problems need to take care and resolved in virtual platforms that include terrible viruses, evil programs, illegal operations and intrusion behavior. In this paper, we present useful Intrusion Detection Mechanism (IDM) software that not only can auto to analyze all system-s operations with the accounting journal database, but also is able to monitor the system-s state for virtual platforms.Keywords: security, cluster, cloud, virtualization, virtual machine, virus, intrusion detection
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 15462568 Influence of Chirp of High-Speed Laser Diodes and Fiber Dispersion on Performance of Non-Amplified 40-Gbps Optical Fiber Links
Authors: Moustafa Ahmed, Ahmed Bakry, Safwat W. Z. Mahmoud
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We model and simulate the combined effect of fiber dispersion and frequency chirp of a directly modulated high-speed laser diode on the figures of merit of a non-amplified 40-Gbps optical fiber link. We consider both the return to zero (RZ) and non-return to zero (NRZ) patterns of the pseudorandom modulation bits. The performance of the fiber communication system is assessed by the fiber-length limitation due to the fiber dispersion. We study the influence of replacing standard single-mode fibers by non-zero dispersion-shifted fibers on the maximum fiber length and evaluate the associated power penalty. We introduce new dispersion tolerances for 1-dB power penalty of the RZ and NRZ 40-Gbps optical fiber links.
Keywords: Bit error rate, dispersion, frequency chirp, fiber communications, semiconductor laser.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 33092567 Expectation about Teamwork to Build a Knowledge Management System
Authors: Andrea Bencsik
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Gurus of the Classical Management School (like Taylor, Fayol and Ford) had an opinion that work must be delegated to the individual and the individual has to be instructed, his work assessed and paid based on individual performance. The theories of the Human Relations School have changed this mentality regarding the concept of groups. They came to the conclusion that the influence of groups greatly affects the behaviour and performance of its members. Group theories today are characterized by problem-solving teams and self-managing groups authorized to make decisions and execute; professional communities also play an important role during the operation of knowledge management systems. In this theoretical research we try to find answers to a question: what kind of characteristics (professional competencies, personal features, etc.) a successful team needs to manage a change to operate a knowledge management system step by step.
Keywords: Knowledge management, team, team knowledge, team memory, team roles.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 22322566 Virtual Learning Environments in Spanish Traditional Universities
Authors: Leire Urcola, Amaia Altuzarra
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This communication is intended to provide some issues for thought on the importance of implementation of Blended Learning in traditional universities, particularly in the Spanish university system. In this respect, we believe that virtual environments are likely to meet some of the needs raised by the Bologna agreement, trying to maintain the quality of teaching and at the same time taking advantage of the functionalities that virtual learning platforms offer. We are aware that an approach of learning from an open and constructivist nature in universities is a complex process that faces significant technological, administrative and human barriers. Therefore, in order to put plans in our universities, it is necessary to analyze the state of the art of some indicators relating to the use of ICT, with special attention to virtual teaching and learning, so that we can identify the main obstacles and design adaptive strategies for their full integration in the education system. Finally, we present major initiatives launched in the European and state framework for the effective implementation of new virtual environments in the area of higher education.
Keywords: Blended learning, e-Learning, ICT, Virtual LearningEnvironments
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 14382565 A Video-Based Observation and Analysis Method to Assess Human Movement and Behaviour in Crowded Areas
Authors: Shahrol Mohamaddan, Keith Case, Ana Sakura Zainal Abidin
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Human movement in the real world provides important information for developing human behaviour models and simulations. However, it is difficult to assess ‘real’ human behaviour since there is no established method available. As part of the AUNTSUE (Accessibility and User Needs in Transport – Sustainable Urban Environments) project, this research aimed to propose a method to assess human movement and behaviour in crowded areas. The method is based on the three major steps of video recording, conceptual behavior modelling and video analysis. The focus is on individual human movement and behaviour in normal situations (panic situations are not considered) and the interactions between individuals in localized areas. Emphasis is placed on gaining knowledge of characteristics of human movement and behaviour in the real world that can be modelled in the virtual environment.
Keywords: Video observation, Human movement, Behaviour, Crowds, Ergonomics, AUNT-SUE
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 22452564 Implementation of Feed-in Tariffs into Multi-Energy Systems
Authors: M. Schulze, P. Crespo Del Granado
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This paper considers the influence of promotion instruments for renewable energy sources (RES) on a multi-energy modeling framework. In Europe, so called Feed-in Tariffs are successfully used as incentive structures to increase the amount of energy produced by RES. Because of the stochastic nature of large scale integration of distributed generation, many problems have occurred regarding the quality and stability of supply. Hence, a macroscopic model was developed in order to optimize the power supply of the local energy infrastructure, which includes electricity, natural gas, fuel oil and district heating as energy carriers. Unique features of the model are the integration of RES and the adoption of Feed-in Tariffs into one optimization stage. Sensitivity studies are carried out to examine the system behavior under changing profits for the feed-in of RES. With a setup of three energy exchanging regions and a multi-period optimization, the impact of costs and profits are determined.Keywords: Distributed generation, optimization methods, power system modeling, renewable energy.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 16332563 Framework for Government ICT Projects
Authors: Manal Rayes
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In its efforts to utilize the information and communication technology to enhance the quality of public service delivery, national and local governments around the world are competing to introduce more ICT applications as tools to automate processes related to law enforcement or policy execution, increase citizen orientation, trust, and satisfaction, and create one-stop-shops for public services. In its implementation, e-Government ICTs need to maintain transparency, participation, and collaboration. Due to this diverse of mixed goals and requirements, e-Government systems need to be designed based on special design considerations in order to eliminate the risks of failure to compliance to government regulations, citizen dissatisfaction, or market repulsion. In this article we suggest a framework with guidelines for designing government information systems that takes into consideration the special requirements of the public sector. Then we introduce two case studies and show how applying those guidelines would result in a more solid system design.
Keywords: e-government, framework, guidelines, system design.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 16582562 Evaluation Pattern of Cognitive Processes in Language in Written Comprehension
Authors: Agnès Garletti
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Our research aims at helping the tutor on line to evaluate the student-s cognitive processes. The student is a learner in French as a Second Language who studies an on-line socio-cognitive scenario in written communication. In our method, these cognitive processes are defined. For that, the language abilities and learning tasks are associated to cognitive operation. Moreover, the found cognitive processes are named with specific terms. The result was to create an instrumental pattern to question the learner about the cognitive processes used to build an item of written comprehension. Our research follows the principles of the third historical generation of studies on the cognitive activity of the text comprehension. The strength of our instrumental pattern stands in the precision and the logical articulation of the questions to the learner. However, the learner-s answers can still be subjective but the precision of the instrument restricts it.Keywords: Cognitive processes, Evaluation pattern, French as asecond language, Socio-cognitive scenario, Written comprehension.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 14912561 Zigbee Based Wireless Energy Surveillance System for Energy Savings
Authors: Won-Ho Kim, Chang-Ho Hyun, Moon-Jung Kim
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In this paper, zigbee communication based wireless energy surveillance system is presented. The proposed system consists of multiple energy surveillance devices and an energy surveillance monitor. Each different standby power-off value of electric device is set automatically by using learning function of energy surveillance device. Thus adaptive standby power-off function provides user convenience and it maximizes the energy savings. Also, power consumption monitoring function is helpful to reduce inefficient energy consumption in home. The zigbee throughput simulator is designed to evaluate minimum transmission power and maximum allowable information quantity in the proposed system. The test result of prototype has been satisfied all the requirements. The proposed system has confirmed that can be used as an intelligent energy surveillance system for energy savings in home or office.
Keywords: Energy monitoring system, Energy surveillance system, Energy sensor network, Energy savings.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1671