Search results for: discharge measurement
999 Development of a Health Literacy Scale for Chinese-Speaking Adults in Taiwan
Authors: Frank C. Pan, Che-Long Su, Ching-Hsuen Chen
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Background, measuring an individual-s Health Literacy is gaining attention, yet no appropriate instrument is available in Taiwan. Measurement tools that were developed and used in western countries may not be appropriate for use in Taiwan due to a different language system. Purpose of this research was to develop a Health Literacy measurement instrument specific for Taiwan adults. Methods, several experts of clinic physicians; healthcare administrators and scholars identified 125 common used health related Chinese phrases from major medical knowledge sources that easy accessible to the public. A five-point Likert scale is used to measure the understanding level of the target population. Such measurement is then used to compare with the correctness of their answers to a health knowledge test for validation. Samples, samples under study were purposefully taken from four groups of people in the northern Pingtung, OPD patients, university students, community residents, and casual visitors to the central park. A set of health knowledge index with 10 questions is used to screen those false responses. A sample size of 686 valid cases out of 776 was then included to construct this scale. An independent t-test was used to examine each individual phrase. The phrases with the highest significance are then identified and retained to compose this scale. Result, a Taiwan Health Literacy Scale (THLS) was finalized with 66 health-related phrases under nine divisions. Cronbach-s alpha of each division is at a satisfactory level of 89% and above. Conclusions, factors significantly differentiate the levels of health literacy are education, female gender, age, family members of stroke victims, experience with patient care, and healthcare professionals in the initial application in this study..Keywords: Health literacy, health knowledge, REALM, THLS.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2495998 A High Accuracy Measurement Circuit for Soil Moisture Detection
Authors: Sheroz Khan, A. H. M. Zahirul Alam, Othman O. Khalifa, Mohd Rafiqul Islam, Zuraidah Zainudin, Muzna S. Khan, Nurul Iman Muhamad Pauzi
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The study of soil for agriculture purposes has remained the main focus of research since the beginning of civilization as humans- food related requirements remained closely linked with the soil. The study of soil has generated an interest among the researchers for very similar other reasons including transmission, reflection and refraction of signals for deploying wireless underground sensor networks or for the monitoring of objects on (or in ) soil in the form of better understanding of soil electromagnetic characteristics properties. The moisture content has been very instrumental in such studies as it decides on the resistance of the soil, and hence the attenuation on signals traveling through soil or the attenuation the signals may suffer upon their impact on soil. This work is related testing and characterizing a measurement circuit meant for the detection of moisture level content in soil.Keywords: Analog–digital Conversion, Bridge Circuits, Intelligent sensors, Pulse Time Modulation, Relaxation Oscillator
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 4012997 Performance Evaluation of Complex Electrical Bio-impedance from V/I Four-electrode Measurements
Authors: Towfeeq Fairooz, Salim Istyaq
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The passive electrical properties of a tissue depends on the intrinsic constituents and its structure, therefore by measuring the complex electrical impedance of the tissue it might be possible to obtain indicators of the tissue state or physiological activity [1]. Complete bio-impedance information relative to physiology and pathology of a human body and functional states of the body tissue or organs can be extracted by using a technique containing a fourelectrode measurement setup. This work presents the estimation measurement setup based on the four-electrode technique. First, the complex impedance is estimated by three different estimation techniques: Fourier, Sine Correlation and Digital De-convolution and then estimation errors for the magnitude, phase, reactance and resistance are calculated and analyzed for different levels of disturbances in the observations. The absolute values of relative errors are plotted and the graphical performance of each technique is compared.Keywords: Electrical Impedance, Fast Fourier Transform, Additive White Gaussian Noise, Total Least Square, Digital De-Convolution, Sine-Correlation.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2722996 A New Approach for Counting Passersby Utilizing Space-Time Images
Authors: A. Elmarhomy, S. Karungaru, K. Terada
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Understanding the number of people and the flow of the persons is useful for efficient promotion of the institution managements and company-s sales improvements. This paper introduces an automated method for counting passerby using virtualvertical measurement lines. The process of recognizing a passerby is carried out using an image sequence obtained from the USB camera. Space-time image is representing the human regions which are treated using the segmentation process. To handle the problem of mismatching, different color space are used to perform the template matching which chose automatically the best matching to determine passerby direction and speed. A relation between passerby speed and the human-pixel area is used to distinguish one or two passersby. In the experiment, the camera is fixed at the entrance door of the hall in a side viewing position. Finally, experimental results verify the effectiveness of the presented method by correctly detecting and successfully counting them in order to direction with accuracy of 97%.Keywords: counting passersby, virtual-vertical measurement line, passerby speed, space-time image
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1399995 An Application of Extreme Value Theory as a Risk Measurement Approach in Frontier Markets
Authors: Dany Ng Cheong Vee, Preethee Nunkoo Gonpot, Noor-Ul-Hacq Sookia
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In this paper, we consider the application of Extreme Value Theory as a risk measurement tool. The Value at Risk, for a set of indices, from six Stock Exchanges of Frontier markets is calculated using the Peaks over Threshold method and the performance of the model index-wise is evaluated using coverage tests and loss functions. Our results show that “fattailedness” alone of the data is not enough to justify the use of EVT as a VaR approach. The structure of the returns dynamics is also a determining factor. This approach works fine in markets which have had extremes occurring in the past thus making the model capable of coping with extremes coming up (Colombo, Tunisia and Zagreb Stock Exchanges). On the other hand, we find that indices with lower past than present volatility fail to adequately deal with future extremes (Mauritius and Kazakhstan). We also conclude that using EVT alone produces quite static VaR figures not reflecting the actual dynamics of the data.
Keywords: Extreme Value theory, Financial Crisis 2008, Frontier Markets, Value at Risk.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2370994 WLAN Positioning Based on Joint TOA and RSS Characteristics
Authors: Peerapong Uthansakul, Monthippa Uthansakul
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WLAN Positioning has been presented by many approaches in literatures using the characteristics of Received Signal Strength (RSS), Time of Arrival (TOA) or Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA), Angle of Arrival (AOA) and cell ID. Among these, RSS approach is the simplest method to implement because there is no need of modification on both access points and client devices whereas its accuracy is terrible due to physical environments. For TOA or TDOA approach, the accuracy is quite acceptable but most researches have to modify either software or hardware on existing WLAN infrastructure. The scales of modifications are made on only access card up to the changes in protocol of WLAN. Hence, it is an unattractive approach to use TOA or TDOA for positioning system. In this paper, the new concept of merging both RSS and TOA positioning techniques is proposed. In addition, the method to achieve TOA characteristic for positioning WLAN user without any extra modification necessarily appended in the existing system is presented. The measurement results confirm that the proposed technique using both RSS and TOA characteristics provides better accuracy than using only either RSS or TOA approach.Keywords: Received signal strength, Time of arrival, Positioning system, WLAN, Measurement.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1753993 Characterization of the Energy Band Diagram of Fabricated SnO2/CdS/CdTe Thin Film Solar Cells
Authors: Rasha A. Abdullah, Mohammed. A. Razooqi, Adwan N. H. Al-Ajili
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A SnO2/CdS/CdTe heterojunction was fabricated by thermal evaporation technique. The fabricated cells were annealed at 573K for periods of 60, 120 and 180 minutes. The structural properties of the solar cells have been studied by using X-ray diffraction. Capacitance- voltage measurements were studied for the as-prepared and annealed cells at a frequency of 102 Hz. The capacitance- voltage measurements indicated that these cells are abrupt. The capacitance decreases with increasing annealing time. The zero bias depletion region width and the carrier concentration increased with increasing annealing time. The carrier transport mechanism for the CdS/CdTe heterojunction in dark is tunneling recombination. The ideality factor is 1.56 and the reverse bias saturation current is 9.6×10-10A. The energy band lineup for the n- CdS/p-CdTe heterojunction was investigated using current - voltage and capacitance - voltage characteristics.
Keywords: SnO2/CdS/CdTe heterojunction, XRD, C-V measurement, I-V measurement, energy band diagram.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3694992 Programmable Logic Controller for Cassava Centrifugal Machine
Authors: R. Oonsivilai, M. Oonsivilai, J. Sanguemrum, N. Thumsirirat, A. Oonsivilai
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Chaiyaphum Starch Co. Ltd. is one of many starch manufacturers that has introduced machinery to aid in manufacturing. Even though machinery has replaced many elements and is now a significant part in manufacturing processes, problems that must be solved with respect to current process flow to increase efficiency still exist. The paper-s aim is to increase productivity while maintaining desired quality of starch, by redesigning the flipping machine-s mechanical control system which has grossly low functional lifetime. Such problems stem from the mechanical control system-s bearings, as fluids and humidity can access into said bearing directly, in tandem with vibrations from the machine-s function itself. The wheel which is used to sense starch thickness occasionally falls from its shaft, due to high speed rotation during operation, while the shaft may bend from impact when processing dried bread. Redesigning its mechanical control system has increased its efficiency, allowing quality thickness measurement while increasing functional lifetime an additional 62 days.Keywords: Control system, Machinery, Measurement, Potato starch
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2087991 Development of a Non-invasive System to Measure the Thickness of the Subcutaneous Adipose Tissue Layer for Human
Authors: Hyuck Ki Hong, Young Chang Jo, Yeon Shik Choi, Beom Joon Kim, Hyo Derk Park
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To measure the thickness of the subcutaneous adipose tissue layer, a non-invasive optical measurement system (λ=1300 nm) is introduced. Animal and human subjects are used for the experiments. The results of human subjects are compared with the data of ultrasound device measurements, and a high correlation (r=0.94 for n=11) is observed. There are two modes in the corresponding signals measured by the optical system, which can be explained by two-layered and three-layered tissue models. If the target tissue is thinner than the critical thickness, detected data using diffuse reflectance method follow the three-layered tissue model, so the data increase as the thickness increases. On the other hand, if the target tissue is thicker than the critical thickness, the data follow the two-layered tissue model, so they decrease as the thickness increases.Keywords: Subcutaneous adipose tissue layer, non-invasive measurement system, two-layered and three-layered tissue models.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1834990 Study on the Electrochemical Performance of Graphene Effect on Cadmium Oxide in Lithium Battery
Authors: Atef Y. Shenouda, Anton A. Momchilov
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Graphene and CdO with different stoichiometric ratios of Cd(CH₃COO)₂ and graphene samples were prepared by hydrothermal reaction. The crystalline phases of pure CdO and 3CdO:1graphene were identified by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The particle morphology was studied with SEM. Furthermore, impedance measurements were applied. Galvanostatic measurements for the cells were carried out using potential limits between 0.01 and 3 V vs. Li/Li⁺. The current cycling intensity was 10⁻⁴ A. The specific discharge capacity of 3CdO-1G cell was about 450 Ah.Kg⁻¹ up to more than 100 cycles.Keywords: CdO, graphene, negative electrode, lithium battery.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 663989 Quantitative Determination of Trace Elements in Some Oriental Herb Products
Authors: Nguyen Thi Kim Dzung, Pham Ngoc Khai, Rainer Ludwig
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The quantitative determination of several trace elements (Cr, As, Se, Cd, Hg, Pb) existing as inorganic impurities in some oriental herb-products such as Lingzhi Mushroom capsules, Philamin powder, etc using ICP-MS has been studied. Various instrumental parameters such as power, gas flow rate, sample depth, as well as the concentration of nitric acid and thick background due to high concentration of possible interferences on the determination of these above-mentioned elements was investigated and the optimum working conditions of the sample measurement on ICP-MS (Agilent-7500a) were reported. Appropriate isotope internal standards were also used to improve the accuracy of mercury determination. Optimal parameters for sampling digestion were also investigated. The recovery of analytical procedure was examined by using a Certified Reference Material (IAEA-CRM 359). The recommended procedure was then applied for the quantitative determination of Cr, As, Se, Cd, Hg, Pb in Lingzhi Mushroom capsule, and Philamine powder samples. The reproducibility of sample measurement (average value between 94 and 102%) and the uncertainty of analytical data (less than 20%) are acceptable.Keywords: Oriental herbal product, trace elements, ICP-MS, biochemistry, medical chemistry.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3713988 Experimental Evaluation of Methane Adsorptionon Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) and Determination of Model Isotherm
Authors: M. Delavar, A.A. Ghoreyshi, M. Jahanshahi, M. Irannejad
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This study investigates the capacity of granular activated carbon (GAC) for the storage of methane through the equilibrium adsorption. An experimental apparatus consist of a dual adsorption vessel was set up for the measurement of equilibrium adsorption of methane on GAC using volumetric technique (pressure decay). Experimental isotherms of methane adsorption were determined by the measurement of equilibrium uptake of methane in different pressures (0-50 bar) and temperatures (285.15-328.15°K). The experimental data was fitted to Freundlich and Langmuir equations to determine the model isotherm. The results show that the experimental data is equally well fitted by the both model isotherms. Using the experimental data obtained in different temperatures the isosteric heat of methane adsorption was also calculated by the Clausius-Clapeyron equation from the Sips isotherm model. Results of isosteric heat of adsorption show that decreasing temperature or increasing methane uptake by GAC decrease the isosteric heat of methane adsorption.Keywords: Methane adsorption, Activated carbon, Modelisotherm, Isosteric heat
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2467987 Intellectual Capital and Competitive Advantage: An Analysis of the Biotechnology Industry
Authors: Campisi Domenico, Costa Roberta
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Intellectual capital measurement is a central aspect of knowledge management. The measurement and the evaluation of intangible assets play a key role in allowing an effective management of these assets as sources of competitiveness. For these reasons, managers and practitioners need conceptual and analytical tools taking into account the unique characteristics and economic significance of Intellectual Capital. Following this lead, we propose an efficiency and productivity analysis of Intellectual Capital, as a determinant factor of the company competitive advantage. The analysis is carried out by means of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and Malmquist Productivity Index (MPI). These techniques identify Bests Practice companies that have accomplished competitive advantage implementing successful strategies of Intellectual Capital management, and offer to inefficient companies development paths by means of benchmarking. The proposed methodology is employed on the Biotechnology industry in the period 2007-2010.
Keywords: Data Envelopment Analysis, Innovation, Intangible assets, Intellectual Capital, Malmquist Productivity Index.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1909986 Quantum Computing: A New Era of Computing
Authors: Jyoti Chaturvedi Gursaran
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Nature conducts its action in a very private manner. To reveal these actions classical science has done a great effort. But classical science can experiment only with the things that can be seen with eyes. Beyond the scope of classical science quantum science works very well. It is based on some postulates like qubit, superposition of two states, entanglement, measurement and evolution of states that are briefly described in the present paper. One of the applications of quantum computing i.e. implementation of a novel quantum evolutionary algorithm(QEA) to automate the time tabling problem of Dayalbagh Educational Institute (Deemed University) is also presented in this paper. Making a good timetable is a scheduling problem. It is NP-hard, multi-constrained, complex and a combinatorial optimization problem. The solution of this problem cannot be obtained in polynomial time. The QEA uses genetic operators on the Q-bit as well as updating operator of quantum gate which is introduced as a variation operator to converge toward better solutions.
Keywords: Quantum computing, qubit, superposition, entanglement, measurement of states, evolution of states, Scheduling problem, hard and soft constraints, evolutionary algorithm, quantum evolutionary algorithm.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2644985 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 3272984 Estimation of Relative Subsidence of Collapsible Soils Using Electromagnetic Measurements
Authors: Henok Hailemariam, Frank Wuttke
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Collapsible soils are weak soils that appear to be stable in their natural state, normally dry condition, but rapidly deform under saturation (wetting), thus generating large and unexpected settlements which often yield disastrous consequences for structures unwittingly built on such deposits. In this study, a prediction model for the relative subsidence of stressed collapsible soils based on dielectric permittivity measurement is presented. Unlike most existing methods for soil subsidence prediction, this model does not require moisture content as an input parameter, thus providing the opportunity to obtain accurate estimation of the relative subsidence of collapsible soils using dielectric measurement only. The prediction model is developed based on an existing relative subsidence prediction model (which is dependent on soil moisture condition) and an advanced theoretical frequency and temperature-dependent electromagnetic mixing equation (which effectively removes the moisture content dependence of the original relative subsidence prediction model). For large scale sub-surface soil exploration purposes, the spatial sub-surface soil dielectric data over wide areas and high depths of weak (collapsible) soil deposits can be obtained using non-destructive high frequency electromagnetic (HF-EM) measurement techniques such as ground penetrating radar (GPR). For laboratory or small scale in-situ measurements, techniques such as an open-ended coaxial line with widely applicable time domain reflectometry (TDR) or vector network analysers (VNAs) are usually employed to obtain the soil dielectric data. By using soil dielectric data obtained from small or large scale non-destructive HF-EM investigations, the new model can effectively predict the relative subsidence of weak soils without the need to extract samples for moisture content measurement. Some of the resulting benefits are the preservation of the undisturbed nature of the soil as well as a reduction in the investigation costs and analysis time in the identification of weak (problematic) soils. The accuracy of prediction of the presented model is assessed by conducting relative subsidence tests on a collapsible soil at various initial soil conditions and a good match between the model prediction and experimental results is obtained.
Keywords: Collapsible soil, relative subsidence, dielectric permittivity, moisture content.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1103983 Measurement and Analysis of Temperature Effects on Box Girders of Continuous Rigid Frame Bridges
Authors: Bugao Wang, Weifeng Wang, Xianwei Zeng
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Researches on the general rules of temperature field changing and their effects on the bridge in construction are necessary. This paper investigated the rules of temperature field changing and its effects on bridge using onsite measurement and computational analysis. Guanyinsha Bridge was used as a case study in this research. The temperature field was simulated in analyses. The effects of certain boundary conditions such as sun radiance, wind speed, and model parameters such as heat factor and specific heat on temperature field are investigated. Recommended values for these parameters are proposed. The simulated temperature field matches the measured observations with high accuracy. At the same time, the stresses and deflections of the bridge computed with the simulated temperature field matches measured values too. As a conclusion, the temperature effect analysis of reinforced concrete box girder can be conducted directly based on the reliable weather data of the concerned area.Keywords: continuous rigid frame bridge, temperature effectanalysis, temperature field, temperature field simulation
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2561982 DIAL Measurements of Vertical Distribution of Ozone at the Siberian Lidar Station in Tomsk
Authors: Oleg A. Romanovskii, Vladimir D. Burlakov, Sergey I. Dolgii, Olga V. Kharchenko, Alexey A. Nevzorov, Alexey V. Nevzorov
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The paper presents the results of DIAL measurements of the vertical ozone distribution. The ozone lidar operate as part of the measurement complex at Siberian Lidar Station (SLS) of V.E. Zuev Institute of Atmospheric Optics SB RAS, Tomsk (56.5ºN; 85.0ºE) and designed for study of the vertical ozone distribution in the upper troposphere–lower stratosphere. Most suitable wavelengths for measurements of ozone profiles are selected. We present an algorithm for retrieval of vertical distribution of ozone with temperature and aerosol correction during DIAL lidar sounding of the atmosphere. The temperature correction of ozone absorption coefficients is introduced in the software to reduce the retrieval errors. Results of lidar measurement at wavelengths of 299 and 341 nm agree with model estimates, which point to acceptable accuracy of ozone sounding in the 6–18 km altitude range.
Keywords: Lidar, ozone distribution, atmosphere, DIAL.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1277981 A Generalized Sparse Bayesian Learning Algorithm for Near-Field Synthetic Aperture Radar Imaging: By Exploiting Impropriety and Noncircularity
Authors: Pan Long, Bi Dongjie, Li Xifeng, Xie Yongle
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The near-field synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging is an advanced nondestructive testing and evaluation (NDT&E) technique. This paper investigates the complex-valued signal processing related to the near-field SAR imaging system, where the measurement data turns out to be noncircular and improper, meaning that the complex-valued data is correlated to its complex conjugate. Furthermore, we discover that the degree of impropriety of the measurement data and that of the target image can be highly correlated in near-field SAR imaging. Based on these observations, A modified generalized sparse Bayesian learning algorithm is proposed, taking impropriety and noncircularity into account. Numerical results show that the proposed algorithm provides performance gain, with the help of noncircular assumption on the signals.Keywords: Complex-valued signal processing, synthetic aperture radar (SAR), 2-D radar imaging, compressive sensing, Sparse Bayesian learning.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1484980 Using Structural Equation Modeling in Causal Relationship Design for Balanced-Scorecards' Strategic Map
Authors: A. Saghaei, R. Ghasemi
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Through 1980s, management accounting researchers described the increasing irrelevance of traditional control and performance measurement systems. The Balanced Scorecard (BSC) is a critical business tool for a lot of organizations. It is a performance measurement system which translates mission and strategy into objectives. Strategy map approach is a development variant of BSC in which some necessary causal relations must be established. To recognize these relations, experts usually use experience. It is also possible to utilize regression for the same purpose. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), which is one of the most powerful methods of multivariate data analysis, obtains more appropriate results than traditional methods such as regression. In the present paper, we propose SEM for the first time to identify the relations between objectives in the strategy map, and a test to measure the importance of relations. In SEM, factor analysis and test of hypotheses are done in the same analysis. SEM is known to be better than other techniques at supporting analysis and reporting. Our approach provides a framework which permits the experts to design the strategy map by applying a comprehensive and scientific method together with their experience. Therefore this scheme is a more reliable method in comparison with the previously established methods.Keywords: BSC, SEM, Strategy map.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2693979 Towards an Integrated Proposal for Performance Measurement Indicators (Financial and Operational) in Advanced Production Practices
Authors: José A. D. Machuca, Bernabé Escobar-Pérez, Pedro Garrido Vega, Darkys E. Lujan García
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Starting with an analysis of the financial and operational indicators that can be found in the specialised literature, this study aims to contribute to improvements in the performance measurement systems used when the unit of analysis is the manufacturing plant. For this a search was done in the highest impact Journals of Production and Operations Management and Management Accounting , with the aim of determining the financial and operational indicators used to evaluate performance when Advanced Production Practices have been implemented, more specifically when the practices implemented are Total Quality Management, JIT/Lean Manufacturing and Total Productive Maintenance. This has enabled us to obtain a classification of the two types of indicators based on how much each is used. For the financial indicators we have also prepared a proposal that can be adapted to manufacturing plants- accounting features. In the near future we will propose a model that links practices implementation with financial and operational indicators and these two last with each other. We aim to will test this model empirically with the data obtained in the High Performance Manufacturing Project.Keywords: Advanced Production Practices, Financial Indicators, Non-Financial Indicators
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1492978 Software-Defined Radio Based Channel Measurement System of Wideband HF Communication System in Low-Latitude Region
Authors: P. H. Mukti, I. Kurniawati, F. Oktaviansyah, A. D. Adhitya, N. Rachmadani, R. Corputty, G. Hendrantoro, T. Fukusako
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HF Communication system is one of the attractive fields among many researchers since it can be reached long-distance areas with low-cost. This long-distance communication can be achieved by exploiting the ionosphere as a transmission medium for the HF radio wave. However, due to the dynamic nature of ionosphere, the channel characteristic of HF communication has to be investigated in order to gives better performances. Many techniques to characterize HF channel are available in the literature. However, none of those techniques describe the HF channel characteristic in low-latitude regions, especially equatorial areas. Since the ionosphere around equatorial region has an ESF phenomenon, it becomes an important investigation to characterize the wideband HF Channel in low-latitude region. On the other sides, the appearance of software-defined radio attracts the interest of many researchers. Accordingly, in this paper a SDR-based channel measurement system is proposed to be used for characterizing the HF channel in low-latitude region.
Keywords: Channel Characteristic, HF Communication System, LabVIEW, Software-Defined Radio, Universal Software Radio Pheripheral.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2989977 Groundwater Level Prediction at a Pilot Area in Southeastern Part of the UAE using Shallow Seismic Method
Authors: Murad A, Baker H, Mahmoud S, Gabr A
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The groundwater is one of the main sources for sustainability in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Intensive developments in Al-Ain area lead to increase water demand, which consequently reduced the overall groundwater quantity in major aquifers. However, in certain residential areas within Al-Ain, it has been noticed that the groundwater level is rising, for example in Sha-ab Al Askher area. The reasons for the groundwater rising phenomenon are yet to be investigated. In this work, twenty four seismic refraction profiles have been carried out along the study pilot area; as well as field measurement of the groundwater level in a number of available water wells in the area. The processed seismic data indicated the deepest and shallowest groundwater levels are 15m and 2.3 meters respectively. This result is greatly consistent with the proper field measurement of the groundwater level. The minimum detected value may be referred to perched subsurface water which may be associated to the infiltration from the surrounding water bodies such as lakes, and elevated farms. The maximum values indicate the accurate groundwater level within the study area. The findings of this work may be considered as a preliminary help to the decision makers.Keywords: groundwater, shallow seismic method, United Arab Emirates
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1485976 Fault Diagnosis of Nonlinear Systems Using Dynamic Neural Networks
Authors: E. Sobhani-Tehrani, K. Khorasani, N. Meskin
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This paper presents a novel integrated hybrid approach for fault diagnosis (FD) of nonlinear systems. Unlike most FD techniques, the proposed solution simultaneously accomplishes fault detection, isolation, and identification (FDII) within a unified diagnostic module. At the core of this solution is a bank of adaptive neural parameter estimators (NPE) associated with a set of singleparameter fault models. The NPEs continuously estimate unknown fault parameters (FP) that are indicators of faults in the system. Two NPE structures including series-parallel and parallel are developed with their exclusive set of desirable attributes. The parallel scheme is extremely robust to measurement noise and possesses a simpler, yet more solid, fault isolation logic. On the contrary, the series-parallel scheme displays short FD delays and is robust to closed-loop system transients due to changes in control commands. Finally, a fault tolerant observer (FTO) is designed to extend the capability of the NPEs to systems with partial-state measurement.
Keywords: Hybrid fault diagnosis, Dynamic neural networks, Nonlinear systems.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2209975 Measurement of UHF Signal Strength Propagating from Road Surface with Vehicle Obstruction
Authors: C. Thongsopa, P. Sukphongchirakul, A. Intarapanich, P. Jarataku
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Radio wave propagation on the road surface is a major problem on wireless sensor network for traffic monitoring. In this paper, we compare receiving signal strength on two scenarios 1) an empty road and 2) a road with a vehicle. We investigate the effect of antenna polarization and antenna height to the receiving signal strength. The transmitting antenna is installed on the road surface. The receiving signal is measured 360 degrees around the transmitting antenna with the radius of 2.5 meters. Measurement results show the receiving signal fluctuation around the transmitting antenna in both scenarios. Receiving signal with vertical polarization antenna results in higher signal strength than horizontal polarization antenna. The optimum antenna elevation is 1 meter for both horizon and vertical polarizations with the vehicle on the road. In the empty road, the receiving signal level is unvarying with the elevation when the elevation is greater than 1.5 meters.Keywords: Wave propagation, wireless sensor network.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1744974 A Hybrid Distributed Vision System for Robot Localization
Authors: Hsiang-Wen Hsieh, Chin-Chia Wu, Hung-Hsiu Yu, Shu-Fan Liu
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Localization is one of the critical issues in the field of robot navigation. With an accurate estimate of the robot pose, robots will be capable of navigating in the environment autonomously and efficiently. In this paper, a hybrid Distributed Vision System (DVS) for robot localization is presented. The presented approach integrates odometry data from robot and images captured from overhead cameras installed in the environment to help reduce possibilities of fail localization due to effects of illumination, encoder accumulated errors, and low quality range data. An odometry-based motion model is applied to predict robot poses, and robot images captured by overhead cameras are then used to update pose estimates with HSV histogram-based measurement model. Experiment results show the presented approach could localize robots in a global world coordinate system with localization errors within 100mm.Keywords: Distributed Vision System, Localization, Measurement model, Motion model
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1326973 Quantum-Like Approach for Deriving a Theory Describing the Concept of Interpretation
Authors: Yehuda Roth
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In quantum theory, a system’s time evolution is predictable unless an observer performs measurement, as the measurement process can randomize the system. This randomness appears when the measuring device does not accurately describe the measured item, i.e., when the states characterizing the measuring device appear as a superposition of those being measured. When such a mismatch occurs, the measured data randomly collapse into a single eigenstate of the measuring device. This scenario resembles the interpretation process in which the observer does not experience an objective reality but interprets it based on preliminary descriptions initially ingrained into his/her mind. This distinction is the motivation for the present study in which the collapse scenario is regarded as part of the interpretation process of the observer. By adopting the formalism of the quantum theory, we present a complete mathematical approach that describes the interpretation process. We demonstrate this process by applying the proposed interpretation formalism to the ambiguous image "My wife and mother-in-law" to identify whether a woman in the picture is young or old.
Keywords: Interpretation, ambiguous images, data reception, state matching, classification, determination.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 159972 The Accuracy of the Flight Derivative Estimates Derived from Flight Data
Authors: Jung-hoon Lee, Eung Tai Kim, Byung-hee Chang, In-hee Hwang, Dae-sung Lee
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The accuracy of estimated stability and control derivatives of a light aircraft from flight test data were evaluated. The light aircraft, named ChangGong-91, is the first certified aircraft from the Korean government. The output error method, which is a maximum likelihood estimation technique and considers measurement noise only, was used to analyze the aircraft responses measures. The multi-step control inputs were applied in order to excite the short period mode for the longitudinal and Dutch-roll mode for the lateral-directional motion. The estimated stability/control derivatives of Chan Gong-91 were analyzed for the assessment of handling qualities comparing them with those of similar aircraft. The accuracy of the flight derivative estimates derived from flight test measurement was examined in engineering judgment, scatter and Cramer-Rao bound, which turned out to be satisfactory with minor defects..Keywords: Light Aircraft, Flight Test, Accuracy, Engineering Judgment, Scatter, Cramer-Rao Bound
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1941971 System Security Impact on the Dynamic Characteristics of Measurement Sensors in Smart Grids
Authors: Yiyang Su, Jörg Neumann, Jan Wetzlich, Florian Thiel
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Smart grid is a term used to describe the next generation power grid. New challenges such as integration of renewable and decentralized energy sources, the requirement for continuous grid estimation and optimization, as well as the use of two-way flows of energy have been brought to the power gird. In order to achieve efficient, reliable, sustainable, as well as secure delivery of electric power more and more information and communication technologies are used for the monitoring and the control of power grids. Consequently, the need for cybersecurity is dramatically increased and has converged into several standards which will be presented here. These standards for the smart grid must be designed to satisfy both performance and reliability requirements. An in depth investigation of the effect of retrospectively embedded security in existing grids on it’s dynamic behavior is required. Therefore, a retrofitting plan for existing meters is offered, and it’s performance in a test low voltage microgrid is investigated. As a result of this, integration of security measures into measurement architectures of smart grids at the design phase is strongly recommended.Keywords: Cyber security, performance, protocols, security standards, smart grid.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 869970 Assessment of EU Competitiveness Factors by Multivariate Methods
Authors: L. Melecký
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Measurement of competitiveness between countries or regions is an important topic of many economic analysis and scientific papers. In European Union (EU), there is no mainstream approach of competitiveness evaluation and measuring. There are many opinions and methods of measurement and evaluation of competitiveness between states or regions at national and European level. The methods differ in structure of using the indicators of competitiveness and ways of their processing. The aim of the paper is to analyze main sources of competitive potential of the EU Member States with the help of Factor analysis (FA) and to classify the EU Member States to homogeneous units (clusters) according to the similarity of selected indicators of competitiveness factors by Cluster analysis (CA) in reference years 2000 and 2011. The theoretical part of the paper is devoted to the fundamental bases of competitiveness and the methodology of FA and CA methods. The empirical part of the paper deals with the evaluation of competitiveness factors in the EU Member States and cluster comparison of evaluated countries by cluster analysis.
Keywords: Competitiveness, cluster analysis, EU, factor analysis, multivariate methods.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2033