Search results for: Impact analysis
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 10145

Search results for: Impact analysis

6395 An Analytical Electron Mobility Model based on Particle Swarm Computation for Siliconbased Devices

Authors: F. Djeffal, N. Lakhdar, T. Bendib

Abstract:

The study of the transport coefficients in electronic devices is currently carried out by analytical and empirical models. This study requires several simplifying assumptions, generally necessary to lead to analytical expressions in order to study the different characteristics of the electronic silicon-based devices. Further progress in the development, design and optimization of Silicon-based devices necessarily requires new theory and modeling tools. In our study, we use the PSO (Particle Swarm Optimization) technique as a computational tool to develop analytical approaches in order to study the transport phenomenon of the electron in crystalline silicon as function of temperature and doping concentration. Good agreement between our results and measured data has been found. The optimized analytical models can also be incorporated into the circuits simulators to study Si-based devices without impact on the computational time and data storage.

Keywords: Particle Swarm, electron mobility, Si-based devices, Optimization.

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6394 Validity and Reliability of Competency Assessment Implementation (CAI) Instrument Using Rasch Model

Authors: Nurfirdawati Muhamad Hanafi, Azmanirah Ab Rahman, Marina Ibrahim Mukhtar, Jamil Ahmad, Sarebah Warman

Abstract:

This study was conducted to generate empirical evidence on validity and reliability of the item of Competency Assessment Implementation (CAI) Instrument using Rasch Model for polythomous data aided by Winstep software version 3.68. The construct validity was examined by analyzing the point-measure correlation index (PTMEA), infit and outfit MNSQ values; meanwhile the reliability was examined by analyzing item reliability index. A survey technique was used as the major method with the CAI instrument on 156 teachers from vocational schools. The results have shown that the reliability of CAI Instrument items were between 0.80 and 0.98. PTMEA Correlation is in positive values, in which the item is able to distinguish between the ability of the respondent. Statistical data obtained show that out of 154 items, 12 items from the instrument suggested to be omitted. This study is hoped could bring a new direction to the process of data analysis in educational research.

Keywords: Competency Assessment, Reliability, Validity, Item Analysis.

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6393 A New H.264-Based Rate Control Algorithm for Stereoscopic Video Coding

Authors: Yi Liao, Wencheng Yang, Gangyi Jiang

Abstract:

According to investigating impact of complexity of stereoscopic frame pairs on stereoscopic video coding and transmission, a new rate control algorithm is presented. The proposed rate control algorithm is performed on three levels: stereoscopic group of pictures (SGOP) level, stereoscopic frame (SFrame) level and frame level. A temporal-spatial frame complexity model is firstly established, in the bits allocation stage, the frame complexity, position significance and reference property between the left and right frames are taken into account. Meanwhile, the target buffer is set according to the frame complexity. Experimental results show that the proposed method can efficiently control the bitrates, and it outperforms the fixed quantization parameter method from the rate distortion perspective, and average PSNR gain between rate-distortion curves (BDPSNR) is 0.21dB.

Keywords: Stereoscopic video coding, rate control, stereoscopic group of pictures, complexity of stereoscopic frame pairs.

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6392 Application of Particle Image Velocimetry in the Analysis of Scale Effects in Granular Soil

Authors: Zuhair Kadhim Jahanger, S. Joseph Antony

Abstract:

The available studies in the literature which dealt with the scale effects of strip footings on different sand packing systematically still remain scarce. In this research, the variation of ultimate bearing capacity and deformation pattern of soil beneath strip footings of different widths under plane-strain condition on the surface of loose, medium-dense and dense sand have been systematically studied using experimental and noninvasive methods for measuring microscopic deformations. The presented analyses are based on model scale compression test analysed using Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) technique. Upper bound analysis of the current study shows that the maximum vertical displacement of the sand under the ultimate load increases for an increase in the width of footing, but at a decreasing rate with relative density of sand, whereas the relative vertical displacement in the sand decreases for an increase in the width of the footing. A well agreement is observed between experimental results for different footing widths and relative densities. The experimental analyses have shown that there exists pronounced scale effect for strip surface footing. The bearing capacity factors rapidly decrease up to footing widths B=0.25 m, 0.35 m, and 0.65 m for loose, medium-dense and dense sand respectively, after that there is no significant decrease in . The deformation modes of the soil as well as the ultimate bearing capacity values have been affected by the footing widths. The obtained results could be used to improve settlement calculation of the foundation interacting with granular soil.

Keywords: PIV, granular mechanics, scale effect, upper bound analysis.

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6391 Nonlinear Finite Element Modeling of Deep Beam Resting on Linear and Nonlinear Random Soil

Authors: M. Seguini, D. Nedjar

Abstract:

An accuracy nonlinear analysis of a deep beam resting on elastic perfectly plastic soil is carried out in this study. In fact, a nonlinear finite element modeling for large deflection and moderate rotation of Euler-Bernoulli beam resting on linear and nonlinear random soil is investigated. The geometric nonlinear analysis of the beam is based on the theory of von Kàrmàn, where the Newton-Raphson incremental iteration method is implemented in a Matlab code to solve the nonlinear equation of the soil-beam interaction system. However, two analyses (deterministic and probabilistic) are proposed to verify the accuracy and the efficiency of the proposed model where the theory of the local average based on the Monte Carlo approach is used to analyze the effect of the spatial variability of the soil properties on the nonlinear beam response. The effect of six main parameters are investigated: the external load, the length of a beam, the coefficient of subgrade reaction of the soil, the Young’s modulus of the beam, the coefficient of variation and the correlation length of the soil’s coefficient of subgrade reaction. A comparison between the beam resting on linear and nonlinear soil models is presented for different beam’s length and external load. Numerical results have been obtained for the combination of the geometric nonlinearity of beam and material nonlinearity of random soil. This comparison highlighted the need of including the material nonlinearity and spatial variability of the soil in the geometric nonlinear analysis, when the beam undergoes large deflections.

Keywords: Finite element method, geometric nonlinearity, material nonlinearity, soil-structure interaction, spatial variability.

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6390 Evaluation Process for the Hardware Safety Integrity Level

Authors: Sung Kyu Kim, Yong Soo Kim

Abstract:

Safety instrumented systems (SISs) are becoming increasingly complex and the proportion of programmable electronic parts is growing. The IEC 61508 global standard was established to ensure the functional safety of SISs, but it was expressed in highly macroscopic terms. This study introduces an evaluation process for hardware safety integrity levels through failure modes, effects, and diagnostic analysis (FMEDA).FMEDA is widely used to evaluate safety levels, and it provides the information on failure rates and failure mode distributions necessary to calculate a diagnostic coverage factor for a given component. In our evaluation process, the components of the SIS subsystem are first defined in terms of failure modes and effects. Then, the failure rate and failure mechanism distribution are assigned to each component. The safety mode and detectability of each failure mode are determined for each component. Finally, the hardware safety integrity level is evaluated based on the calculated results.

Keywords: Safety instrumented system; Safety integrity level; Failure modes, effects, and diagnostic analysis; IEC 61508.

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6389 Human Action Recognition Based on Ridgelet Transform and SVM

Authors: A. Ouanane, A. Serir

Abstract:

In this paper, a novel algorithm based on Ridgelet Transform and support vector machine is proposed for human action recognition. The Ridgelet transform is a directional multi-resolution transform and it is more suitable for describing the human action by performing its directional information to form spatial features vectors. The dynamic transition between the spatial features is carried out using both the Principal Component Analysis and clustering algorithm K-means. First, the Principal Component Analysis is used to reduce the dimensionality of the obtained vectors. Then, the kmeans algorithm is then used to perform the obtained vectors to form the spatio-temporal pattern, called set-of-labels, according to given periodicity of human action. Finally, a Support Machine classifier is used to discriminate between the different human actions. Different tests are conducted on popular Datasets, such as Weizmann and KTH. The obtained results show that the proposed method provides more significant accuracy rate and it drives more robustness in very challenging situations such as lighting changes, scaling and dynamic environment

Keywords: Human action, Ridgelet Transform, PCA, K-means, SVM.

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6388 Synthesis and Application of Tamarind Hydroxypropane Sulphonic Acid Resin for Removal of Heavy Metal Ions from Industrial Wastewater

Authors: Aresh Vikram Singh, Sarika Nagar

Abstract:

The tamarind based resin containing hydroxypropane sulphonic acid groups has been synthesized and their adsorption behavior for heavy metal ions has been investigated using batch and column experiments. The hydroxypropane sulphonic acid group has been incorporated onto tamarind by a modified Porath's method of functionalisation of polysaccharides. The tamarind hydroxypropane sulphonic acid (THPSA) resin can selectively remove of heavy metal ions, which are contained in industrial wastewater. The THPSA resin was characterized by FTIR and thermogravimetric analysis. The effects of various adsorption conditions, such as pH, treatment time and adsorbent dose were also investigated. The optimum adsorption condition was found at pH 6, 120 minutes of equilibrium time and 0.1 gram of resin dose. The orders of distribution coefficient values were determined.

Keywords: Distribution coefficient, industrial wastewater, polysaccharides, tamarind hydroxypropane sulphonic acid resin, thermogravimetric analysis.

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6387 A GA-Based Role Assignment Approach for Web-based Cooperative Learning Environments

Authors: Yi-Chun Chang, Jian-Wei Li

Abstract:

Web-based cooperative learning focuses on (1) the interaction and the collaboration of community members, and (2) the sharing and the distribution of knowledge and expertise by network technology to enhance learning performance. Numerous research literatures related to web-based cooperative learning have demonstrated that cooperative scripts have a positive impact to specify, sequence, and assign cooperative learning activities. Besides, literatures have indicated that role-play in web-based cooperative learning environments enhances two or more students to work together toward the completion of a common goal. Since students generally do not know each other and they lack the face-to-face contact that is necessary for the negotiation of assigning group roles in web-based cooperative learning environments, this paper intends to further extend the application of genetic algorithm (GA) and propose a GA-based algorithm to tackle the problem of role assignment in web-based cooperative learning environments, which not only saves communication costs but also reduces conflict between group members in negotiating role assignments.

Keywords: genetic algorithm (GA), role assignment, role-play; web-based cooperative learning.

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6386 Evaluating the Durability and Safety of Lithium-Ion Batteries in High-Temperature Desert Climates

Authors: Kenza Maher, Yahya Zakaria, Noora S. Al-Jaidah

Abstract:

Temperature is a critical parameter for lithium-ion battery performance, life, and safety. In this study, four commercially available 18650 lithium-ion cells from four different manufacturers are subjected to accelerated cycle aging for up to 500 cycles at two different temperatures (25 °C and 45 °C). The cells are also calendar-aged at the same temperatures in both charged and discharged states for six months to investigate the effect of aging and temperature on capacity fade and state of health. The results showed that all battery cells demonstrated good cyclability and had a good state of health at both temperatures. However, the capacity loss and state of health of these cells are found to be dependent on the cell chemistry and aging conditions, including temperature. Specifically, the capacity loss is found to be higher at the higher aging temperature, indicating the significant impact of temperature on the aging of lithium-ion batteries.

Keywords: Lithium-ion battery, aging mechanisms, cycle aging, calendar aging.

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6385 Analytical Study on a Longitudinal Joints of the Slab-Type Modular Bridges

Authors: Sang-Yoon Lee, Jung-Mi Lee, Hyeong-Yeol Kim, Jae-Joon Song

Abstract:

In this study, a longitudinal joint connection was proposed for the short-span slab-type modular bridges with rapid construction. The slab-type modular bridge consists of a number of precast slab modules and has the joint connection between the modules in the longitudinal direction of the bridge. A finite element based parameter analysis was conducted to design the shape and the dimensions of the longitudinal joint connection. Numbers of shear keys within the joint, height and depth of the shear key, tooth angle, and the spacing were considered as the design parameters. Using the local cracking load at the corner of the shear key and the cross-sectional area of the joint, an efficiency factor was proposed to evaluate the effectiveness of the longitudinal joint connection. The dimensions of shear key were determined by comparing the cracking loads and the efficiency factors obtained from the finite element analysis.

Keywords: precast, slab bridge, modular bridge, shear key

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6384 A Study on the Effects of Prolactin and Its Abnormalities on Semen Parameters of Male White Rats

Authors: Rizvi Hasan

Abstract:

Male factor infertility due to endocrine disturbances such as abnormalities in prolactin levels are encountered in a significant proportion. This case control study was carried out to determine the effects of prolactin on the male reproductive tract, using 200 male white rats. The rats were maintained as the control group (G1), hypoprolactinaemic group (G2), 3 hyperprolactinaemic groups induced using oral largactil (G3), low dose fluphenazine (G4) and high dose fluphenazine (G5). After 100 days, rats were subjected to serum prolactin (PRL) level measurements and for basic seminal fluid analysis (BSA). The difference between serum PRL concentrations of rats in G2, G3, G4 and G5 as compared to the control group were highly significant by Student’s t-test (p<0.001). There were statistically significant differences in seminal fluid characteristics of rats with induced prolactin abnormalities when compared with those of control group (p value <0.05), effects were more marked as the PRL levels rise.

Keywords: Male factor infertility, Prolactin, Seminal fluid analysis, animal studies.

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6383 Sustainable Geographic Information System-Based Map for Suitable Landfill Sites in Aley and Chouf, Lebanon

Authors: Allaw Kamel, Bazzi Hasan

Abstract:

Municipal solid waste (MSW) generation is among the most significant sources which threaten the global environmental health. Solid Waste Management has been an important environmental problem in developing countries because of the difficulties in finding sustainable solutions for solid wastes. Therefore, more efforts are needed to be implemented to overcome this problem. Lebanon has suffered a severe solid waste management problem in 2015, and a new landfill site was proposed to solve the existing problem. The study aims to identify and locate the most suitable area to construct a landfill taking into consideration the sustainable development to overcome the present situation and protect the future demands. Throughout the article, a landfill site selection methodology was discussed using Geographic Information System (GIS) and Multi Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA). Several environmental, economic and social factors were taken as criterion for selection of a landfill. Soil, geology, and LUC (Land Use and Land Cover) indices with the Sustainable Development Index were main inputs to create the final map of Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA) for landfill site. Different factors were determined to define each index. Input data of each factor was managed, visualized and analyzed using GIS. GIS was used as an important tool to identify suitable areas for landfill. Spatial Analysis (SA), Analysis and Management GIS tools were implemented to produce input maps capable of identifying suitable areas related to each index. Weight has been assigned to each factor in the same index, and the main weights were assigned to each index used. The combination of the different indices map generates the final output map of ESA. The output map was reclassified into three suitability classes of low, moderate, and high suitability. Results showed different locations suitable for the construction of a landfill. Results also reflected the importance of GIS and MCDA in helping decision makers finding a solution of solid wastes by a sanitary landfill.

Keywords: Sustainable development, landfill, municipal solid waste, geographic information system, GIS, multi criteria decision analysis, environmentally sensitive area.

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6382 Social Movements and the Diffusion of Tactics and Repertoires: Activists' Network in Anti-globalism Movement

Authors: Kyoko Tominaga

Abstract:

Non-Government Organizations (NGOs), Non-Profit Organizations (NPOs), Social Enterprises and other actors play an important role in political decisions in governments at the international levels. Especially, such organizations’ and activists’ network in civil society is quite important to effect to the global politics. To solve the complex social problems in global era, diverse actors should corporate each other. Moreover, network of protesters is also contributes to diffuse tactics, information and other resources of social movements.

Based on the findings from the study of International Trade Fairs (ITFs), the author analyzes the network of activists in anti-globalism movement. This research focuses the transition of 54 activists’ whole network in the “protest event” against 2008 G8 summit in Japan. Their network is examined at the three periods: Before protest event phase, during protest event phase and after event phase. A mixed method is used in this study: the author shows the hypothesis from social network analysis and evaluates that with interview data analysis. This analysis gives the two results. Firstly, the more protesters participate to the various events during the protest event, the more they build the network. After that, active protesters keep their network as well. From interview data, we can understand that the active protesters can build their network and diffuse the information because they communicate with other participants and understand that diverse issues are related. This paper comes to same conclusion with previous researches: protest events activate the network among the political activists. However, some participants succeed to build their network, others do not. “Networked” activists are participated in the various events for short period of time and encourage the diffusion of information and tactics of social movements.

Keywords: Social Movement, Global Justice Movement, Tactics, Diffusion.

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6381 Innovation in Traditional Game: A Case Study of Trainee Teachers' Learning Experiences

Authors: Malathi Balakrishnan, Cheng Lee Ooi, Chander Vengadasalam

Abstract:

The purpose of this study is to explore a case study of trainee teachers’ learning experience on innovating traditional games during the traditional game carnival. It explores issues arising from multiple case studies of trainee teachers learning experiences in innovating traditional games. A qualitative methodology was adopted through observations, semi-structured interviews and reflective journals’ content analysis of trainee teachers’ learning experiences creating and implementing innovative traditional games. Twelve groups of 36 trainee teachers who registered for Sports and Physical Education Management Course were the participants for this research during the traditional game carnival. Semi structured interviews were administrated after the trainee teachers learning experiences in creating innovative traditional games. Reflective journals were collected after carnival day and the content analyzed. Inductive data analysis was used to evaluate various data sources. All the collected data were then evaluated through the Nvivo data analysis process. Inductive reasoning was interpreted based on the Self Determination Theory (SDT). The findings showed that the trainee teachers had positive game participation experiences, game knowledge about traditional games and positive motivation to innovate the game. The data also revealed the influence of themes like cultural significance and creativity. It can be concluded from the findings that the organized game carnival, as a requirement of course work by the Institute of Teacher Training Malaysia, was able to enhance teacher trainers’ innovative thinking skills. The SDT, as a multidimensional approach to motivation, was utilized. Therefore, teacher trainers may have more learning experiences using the SDT.

Keywords: Learning experiences, innovation, traditional games, trainee teachers.

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6380 Transformation of Kosovo Education from Traditional into Modern 1999-2012

Authors: Bekim Avdiaj

Abstract:

Everyday life is and will be influenced depending on the developments that society undergoes throughout the history. Particularly, countries undergoing transition from one system to another sustain the greatest impact in trying to embrace the modern system. Kosovo society had the fortune to experience a change, which began in late 1999 to continue up to date. One of the 'developments' of the time with the evolution in Kosovo society was the transition from the traditional education system into the modern one. This transformation began immediately after the war, to continue even today. It was started by internationals, which governed and administered Kosovo society, including education. There was a great 'evolution', because almost the entire system was 'changed'. Among other things, for the first time it was enabled the opening of private schools from the lowest level up to the colleges and universities. This paper will address: how much was ready the society to embrace such a 'cultural' change in education, respectively, how much were prepared teachers for such changes; as it was actually thought to be a modern education system, how much was it according to international standards; what are the results and current situation in Kosovo education.

Keywords: Education, evolution, reform, transformation.

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6379 Numerical Analysis on Triceratops Restraining System: Failure Conditions of Tethers

Authors: Srinivasan Chandrasekaran, Manda Hari Venkata Ramachandra Rao

Abstract:

Increase in the oil and gas exploration in ultra deep-water demands an adaptive structural form of the platform. Triceratops has superior motion characteristics compared to that of the Tension Leg Platform and Single Point Anchor Reservoir platforms, which is well established in the literature. Buoyant legs that support the deck are position-restrained to the sea bed using tethers with high axial pretension. Environmental forces that act on the platform induce dynamic tension variations in the tethers, causing the failure of tethers. The present study investigates the dynamic response behavior of the restraining system of the platform under the failure of a single tether of each buoyant leg in high sea states. Using the rain-flow counting algorithm and the Goodman diagram, fatigue damage caused to the tethers is estimated, and the fatigue life is predicted. Results shows that under failure conditions, the fatigue life of the remaining tethers is quite alarmingly low.

Keywords: Fatigue life, Failure analysis, PM spectrum, rain flow counting, triceratops.

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6378 Genetic Algorithms and Kernel Matrix-based Criteria Combined Approach to Perform Feature and Model Selection for Support Vector Machines

Authors: A. Perolini

Abstract:

Feature and model selection are in the center of attention of many researches because of their impact on classifiers- performance. Both selections are usually performed separately but recent developments suggest using a combined GA-SVM approach to perform them simultaneously. This approach improves the performance of the classifier identifying the best subset of variables and the optimal parameters- values. Although GA-SVM is an effective method it is computationally expensive, thus a rough method can be considered. The paper investigates a joined approach of Genetic Algorithm and kernel matrix criteria to perform simultaneously feature and model selection for SVM classification problem. The purpose of this research is to improve the classification performance of SVM through an efficient approach, the Kernel Matrix Genetic Algorithm method (KMGA).

Keywords: Feature and model selection, Genetic Algorithms, Support Vector Machines, kernel matrix.

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6377 Surface Roughness and MRR Effect on Manual Plasma Arc Cutting Machining

Authors: R. Bhuvenesh, M.H. Norizaman, M.S. Abdul Manan

Abstract:

Industrial surveys shows that manufacturing companies define the qualities of thermal removing process based on the dimension and physical appearance of the cutting material surface. Therefore, the roughness of the surface area of the material cut by the plasma arc cutting process and the rate of the removed material by the manual plasma arc cutting machine was importantly considered. Plasma arc cutter Selco Genesis 90 was used to cut Standard AISI 1017 Steel of 200 mm x100 mm x 6 mm manually based on the selected parameters setting. The material removal rate (MRR) was measured by determining the weight of the specimens before and after the cutting process. The surface roughness (SR) analysis was conducted using Mitutoyo CS-3100 to determine the average roughness value (Ra). Taguchi method was utilized to achieve optimum condition for both outputs studied. The microstructure analysis in the region of the cutting surface is performed using SEM. The results reveal that the SR values are inversely proportional to the MRR values. The quality of the surface roughness depends on the dross peak that occurred after the cutting process.

Keywords: Material removal rate, plasma arc cutting, surface roughness, Taguchi method

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6376 Construction of cDNALibrary and EST Analysis of Tenebriomolitorlarvae

Authors: JiEun Jeong, Se-Won Kang, Hee-Ju Hwang, Sung-Hwa Chae, Sang-Haeng Choi, Hong-SeogPark, YeonSoo Han, Bok-Reul Lee, Dae-Hyun Seog, Yong Seok Lee

Abstract:

Tofurther advance research on immune-related genes from T. molitor, we constructed acDNA library and analyzed expressed sequence taq (EST) sequences from 1,056 clones. After removing vector sequence and quality checkingthrough thePhred program (trim_alt 0.05 (P-score>20), 1039 sequences were generated. The average length of insert was 792 bp. In addition, we identified 162 clusters, 167 contigs and 391 contigs after clustering and assembling process using a TGICL package. EST sequences were searchedagainst NCBI nr database by local BLAST (blastx, EKeywords: EST, Innate immunity, Tenebriomolitor

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6375 Participation and Strategic Communication of Saudi Food Banks through Twitter to Enhance Food Waste Awareness among Saudi Arabian Citizens

Authors: Nasser Alkorbi, Manuel Hernández-Pérez, Seamus Simpson

Abstract:

Twitter is a platform service that has quickly risen to prominence as the social media platform most preferred for strategic communication campaigns. It is used by most of the Non-Profit Organizations (NPO) in Saudi Arabia, making it the most popular social media platform in the country. Non-Profit Organizations (NPOs) use Twitter to raise awareness of social issues and to communicate with stakeholders. Despite the features Twitter has recently introduced, this paper investigates how NPOs (Foodbanks) in Saudi Arabia use Twitter to raise awareness of food waste, as well as their posting behaviour over a two-year period. By the end of the research, we were able to provide a framework for using Twitter which new or existing NPOs can adopt, as well as helping NPOs (Foodbanks) to recognize and become aware of the impact of Twitter.

Keywords: Awareness, food banks, food waste, Saudi Arabia, social media, Twitter.

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6374 Military Combat Aircraft Selection Using Trapezoidal Fuzzy Numbers with the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS)

Authors: C. Ardil

Abstract:

This article presents a new approach to uncertainty, vagueness, and imprecision analysis for ranking alternatives with fuzzy data for decision making using the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS). In the proposed approach, fuzzy decision information related to the aircraft selection problem is taken into account in ranking the alternatives and selecting the best one. The basic procedural step is to transform the fuzzy decision matrices into matrices of alternatives evaluated according to all decision criteria. A numerical example illustrates the proposed approach for the military combat aircraft selection problem.

Keywords: trapezoidal fuzzy numbers, multiple criteria decision making analysis, decision making, aircraft selection, MCDMA, fuzzy TOPSIS

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6373 Surge Protection of Power Supply used for Automation Devices in Power Distribution System

Authors: Liheng Ying, Guangjiong Sun

Abstract:

The intent of this essay is to evaluate the effectiveness of surge suppressor aimed at power supply used for automation devices in power distribution system which is consist of MOV and T type low-pass filter. Books, journal articles and e-sources related to surge protection of power supply used for automation devices in power distribution system were consulted, and the useful information was organized, analyzed and developed into five parts: characteristics of surge wave, protection against surge wave, impedance characteristics of target, using Matlab to simulate circuit response after 5kV,1.2/50s surge wave and suggestions for surge protection. The results indicate that various types of load situation have great impact on the effectiveness of surge protective device. Therefore, type and parameters of surge protective device need to be carefully selected, and load matching is also vital to be concerned.

Keywords: automation devices in power distribution system, MOV, surge, T type low-pass filter.

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6372 Radionuclides Transport Phenomena in Vadose Zone

Authors: R. Testoni, R. Levizzari, M. De Salve

Abstract:

Radioactive waste management is fundamental to safeguard population and environment by radiological risks. Environmental assessment of a site, where nuclear activities are located, allows understanding the hydro geological system and the radionuclides transport in groundwater and subsoil. Use of dedicated software is the basis of transport phenomena investigation and for dynamic scenarios prediction; this permits to understand the evolution of accidental contamination events, but at the same time the potentiality of the software itself can be verified. The aim of this paper is to perform a numerical analysis by means of HYDRUS 1D code, so as to evaluate radionuclides transport in a nuclear site in Piedmont region (Italy). In particular, the behavior in vadose zone was investigated. An iterative assessment process was performed for risk assessment of radioactive contamination. The analysis therein developed considers the following aspects: i) hydro geological site characterization; ii) individuation of the main intrinsic and external site factors influencing water flow and radionuclides transport phenomena; iii) software potential for radionuclides leakage simulation purposes.

Keywords: HYDRUS 1D, radionuclides transport phenomena, site characterization.

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6371 Analysis of Current Mirror in 32nm MOSFET and CNTFET Technologies

Authors: Mohini Polimetla, Rajat Mahapatra

Abstract:

There is need to explore emerging technologies based on carbon nanotube electronics as the MOS technology is approaching its limits. As MOS devices scale to the nano ranges, increased short channel effects and process variations considerably effect device and circuit designs. As a promising new transistor, the Carbon Nanotube Field Effect Transistor(CNTFET) avoids most of the fundamental limitations of the Traditional MOSFET devices. In this paper we present the analysis and comparision of a Carbon Nanotube FET(CNTFET) based 10(A current mirror with MOSFET for 32nm technology node. The comparision shows the superiority of the former in terms of 97% increase in output resistance,24% decrease in power dissipation and 40% decrease in minimum voltage required for constant saturation current. Furthermore the effect on performance of current mirror due to change in chirality vector of CNT has also been investigated. The circuit simulations are carried out using HSPICE model.

Keywords: Carbon Nanotube Field Effect Transistor, Chirality Vector, Current Mirror

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6370 Performance Analysis of an Adaptive Threshold Hybrid Double-Dwell System with Antenna Diversity for Acquisition in DS-CDMA Systems

Authors: H. Krouma, M. Barkat, K. Kemih, M. Benslama, Y. Yacine

Abstract:

In this paper, we consider the analysis of the acquisition process for a hybrid double-dwell system with antenna diversity for DS-CDMA (direct sequence-code division multiple access) using an adaptive threshold. Acquisition systems with a fixed threshold value are unable to adapt to fast varying mobile communications environments and may result in a high false alarm rate, and/or low detection probability. Therefore, we propose an adaptively varying threshold scheme through the use of a cellaveraging constant false alarm rate (CA-CFAR) algorithm, which is well known in the field of radar detection. We derive exact expressions for the probabilities of detection and false alarm in Rayleigh fading channels. The mean acquisition time of the system under consideration is also derived. The performance of the system is analyzed and compared to that of a hybrid single dwell system.

Keywords: Adaptive threshold, hybrid double-dwell system, CA-CFAR algorithm, DS-CDMA.

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6369 Sparse Networks-Based Speedup Technique for Proteins Betweenness Centrality Computation

Authors: Razvan Bocu, Dr Sabin Tabirca

Abstract:

The study of proteomics reached unexpected levels of interest, as a direct consequence of its discovered influence over some complex biological phenomena, such as problematic diseases like cancer. This paper presents the latest authors- achievements regarding the analysis of the networks of proteins (interactome networks), by computing more efficiently the betweenness centrality measure. The paper introduces the concept of betweenness centrality, and then describes how betweenness computation can help the interactome net- work analysis. Current sequential implementations for the between- ness computation do not perform satisfactory in terms of execution times. The paper-s main contribution is centered towards introducing a speedup technique for the betweenness computation, based on modified shortest path algorithms for sparse graphs. Three optimized generic algorithms for betweenness computation are described and implemented, and their performance tested against real biological data, which is part of the IntAct dataset.

Keywords: Betweenness centrality, interactome networks, protein-protein interactions, sub-communities, sparse networks, speedup tech-nique, IntAct.

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6368 Vibration, Lubrication and Machinery Consideration for a Mixer Gearbox Related to Iran Oil Industries

Authors: Omid A. Zargar

Abstract:

In this paper, some common gearboxes vibration analysis methods and condition monitoring systems are explained. In addition, an experimental gearbox vibration analysis is discussed through a critical case history for a mixer gearbox related to Iran oil industry. The case history also consists of gear manufacturing (machining) recommendations, lubrication condition of gearbox and machinery maintenance activities that caused reduction in noise and vibration of the gearbox. Besides some of the recent patents and innovations in gearboxes, lubrication and vibration monitoring systems explained. Finally micro pitting and surface fatigue in pinion and bevel of mentioned horizontal to vertical gearbox discussed in details.

Keywords: Gear box, condition monitoring, time wave form (TWF), fast Fourier transform (FFT), gear mesh frequency (GMF), Shock Pulse measurement (SPM), bearing condition unit (BCU), pinion, bevel gear, micro pitting, surface fatigue.

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6367 Research of Potential Cluster Development in Pannonian Croatia

Authors: Mirjana Radman-Funarić, Katarina Potnik Galić

Abstract:

The paper presents an analysis of linkages and structures of co-operation and their intensity like the potential for the establishment of clusters in the Central and Eastern (Pannonian) Croatian. Starting from the theoretical elaboration of the need for entrepreneurs to organize through the cluster model and the terms of their self-actualization, related to the importance of traditional values in terms of benefits, social capital and assess where the company now is, in order to prove the need to create their own identity in terms of clustering. The institutional dimensions of social capital where the public sector has the best role in creating the social structure of clusters, and social dimensions of social capital in terms of trust, cooperation and networking will be analyzed to what extent the trust and coherency are present between companies in the Brod posavina and Pozega slavonia County, expressed through the readiness of inclusion in clusters in the NUTS II region - Central and Eastern (Pannonian) Croatia, as a homogeneous economic entity, with emphasis on limiting factors that stand in the way of greater competitiveness.

Keywords: Analysis of linkages, structures of co-operation, Cluster, Region

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6366 Analysis of the Coupled Stretching Bending Problem of Stiffened Plates by a BEM Formulation Based on Reissner's Hypothesis

Authors: Gabriela R. Fernandes, Danilo H. Konda, Luiz C. F. Sanches

Abstract:

In this work, the plate bending formulation of the boundary element method - BEM, based on the Reissner?s hypothesis, is extended to the analysis of plates reinforced by beams taking into account the membrane effects. The formulation is derived by assuming a zoned body where each sub-region defines a beam or a slab and all of them are represented by a chosen reference surface. Equilibrium and compatibility conditions are automatically imposed by the integral equations, which treat this composed structure as a single body. In order to reduce the number of degrees of freedom, the problem values defined on the interfaces are written in terms of their values on the beam axis. Initially are derived separated equations for the bending and stretching problems, but in the final system of equations the two problems are coupled and can not be treated separately. Finally are presented some numerical examples whose analytical results are known to show the accuracy of the proposed model.

Keywords: Boundary elements, Building floor structures, Platebending.

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