Search results for: Climate change.

Authors: Krzysztof J. Czarnocki, F. Silveira, E. Czarnocka, K. Szaniawska

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Research background: Problems related to the occupational health and decreasing level of safety occur commonly in the construction industry. Important factor in the occupational safety in construction industry is scaffold use. All scaffolds used in construction, renovation, and demolition shall be erected, dismantled and maintained in accordance with safety procedure. Increasing demand for new construction projects unfortunately still is linked to high level of occupational accidents. Therefore, it is crucial to implement concrete actions while dealing with scaffolds and risk assessment in construction industry, the way on doing assessment and liability of assessment is critical for both construction workers and regulatory framework. Unfortunately, professionals, who tend to rely heavily on their own experience and knowledge when taking decisions regarding risk assessment, may show lack of reliability in checking the results of decisions taken. Purpose of the article: The aim was to indicate crucial parameters that could be modeling with Risk Assessment Model (RAM) use for improving both building enterprise productivity and/or developing potential and safety climate. The developed RAM could be a benefit for predicting high-risk construction activities and thus preventing accidents occurred based on a set of historical accident data. Methodology/Methods: A RAM has been developed for assessing risk levels as various construction process stages with various work trades impacting different spheres of enterprise activity. This project includes research carried out by teams of researchers on over 60 construction sites in Poland and Portugal, under which over 450 individual research cycles were carried out. The conducted research trials included variable conditions of employee exposure to harmful physical and chemical factors, variable levels of stress of employees and differences in behaviors and habits of staff. Genetic modeling tool has been used for developing the RAM. Findings and value added: Common types of trades, accidents, and accident causes have been explored, in addition to suitable risk assessment methods and criteria. We have found that the initial worker stress level is more direct predictor for developing the unsafe chain leading to the accident rather than the workload, or concentration of harmful factors at the workplace or even training frequency and management involvement.

Keywords: Civil engineering, occupational health, productivity, safety climate.

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Authors: Sang Hyun Kim

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In this paper, a fast motion compensation algorithm is proposed that improves coding efficiency for video sequences with brightness variations. We also propose a cross entropy measure between histograms of two frames to detect brightness variations. The framewise brightness variation parameters, a multiplier and an offset field for image intensity, are estimated and compensated. Simulation results show that the proposed method yields a higher peak signal to noise ratio (PSNR) compared with the conventional method, with a greatly reduced computational load, when the video scene contains illumination changes.

Keywords: Motion estimation, Fast motion compensation, Brightness variation compensation, Brightness change detection, Cross entropy.

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Authors: Sangbum Park, Namki Lee, Youngjoon Han, Hernsoo Hahn

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In this paper, we propose the robust water level detection method based on the accumulated histogram under small changed image which is acquired from water level surveillance camera. In general surveillance system, this is detecting and recognizing invasion from searching area which is in big change on the sequential images. However, in case of a water level detection system, these general surveillance techniques are not suitable due to small change on the water surface. Therefore the algorithm introduces the accumulated histogram which is emphasizing change of water surface in sequential images. Accumulated histogram is based on the current image frame. The histogram is cumulating differences between previous images and current image. But, these differences are also appeared in the land region. The band pass filter is able to remove noises in the accumulated histogram Finally, this algorithm clearly separates water and land regions. After these works, the algorithm converts from the water level value on the image space to the real water level on the real space using calibration table. The detected water level is sent to the host computer with current image. To evaluate the proposed algorithm, we use test images from various situations.

Keywords: accumulated histogram, water level detection, band pass filter.

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Authors: Wahidul K. Biswas

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Perth will run out of available sustainable natural water resources by 2015 if nothing is done to slow usage rates, according to a Western Australian study [1]. Alternative water technology options need to be considered for the long-term guaranteed supply of water for agricultural, commercial, domestic and industrial purposes. Seawater is an alternative source of water for human consumption, because seawater can be desalinated and supplied in large quantities to a very high quality. While seawater desalination is a promising option, the technology requires a large amount of energy which is typically generated from fossil fuels. The combustion of fossil fuels emits greenhouse gases (GHG) and, is implicated in climate change. In addition to environmental emissions from electricity generation for desalination, greenhouse gases are emitted in the production of chemicals and membranes for water treatment. Since Australia is a signatory to the Kyoto Protocol, it is important to quantify greenhouse gas emissions from desalinated water production. A life cycle assessment (LCA) has been carried out to determine the greenhouse gas emissions from the production of 1 gigalitre (GL) of water from the new plant. In this LCA analysis, a new desalination plant that will be installed in Bunbury, Western Australia, and known as Southern Seawater Desalinization Plant (SSDP), was taken as a case study. The system boundary of the LCA mainly consists of three stages: seawater extraction, treatment and delivery. The analysis found that the equivalent of 3,890 tonnes of CO2 could be emitted from the production of 1 GL of desalinated water. This LCA analysis has also identified that the reverse osmosis process would cause the most significant greenhouse emissions as a result of the electricity used if this is generated from fossil fuels

Keywords: Desalinization, Greenhouse gas emissions, life cycle assessment.

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Authors: Gülnar Bayramoğlu Barman

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Since the industrial revolution, technological developments and increased population have caused environmental damages. To protect the nature and architectural environment, firstly, green architecture, ecological architecture and then sustainability occurred. This term has been proposed not to be a new term but a response to environmental disturbances caused by human activities and it is re-conceptualization of architecture. Sustainable architecture or sustainability is lot more extensive than ecological and green architecture. It contains the imbalance between environmental problems that is natural environment and consumption that occurred all around the world. An important part of sustainability debate focused on urban planning and design for more sustainable forms and patterns. In particular, it is discussed that planning and design of urban areas have a major effect on transport and therefore can help reduce car usage, emissions, global warming and climate change. There are many planning and design approaches and movement that introduce certain criteria and strategies to prevent car dependency and encourage people to use public transportation and walking. However, when review the literature, it is seen that planning movements, such as New Urbanism and Transit Oriented Development originated and were implemented mostly in West European and North American Cities. The purpose of this study is to find out whether all those criteria, principles and strategies are also relevant planning approaches for more non-western cities like Baku, which has a very different planning background and therefore possibly different urban form and transport issues. In order to answer the abovementioned question, planning and design approaches in the literature and these recent planning movements were studied and a check list was formed which indicate planning and design approaches that can help attain a more sustainable transport outcome. The checklist was then applied to the case of Baku.

Keywords: Sustainability, Transport, Urban Design.

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Authors: Saeid Haghjoo, Ebrahim Reyhani, Fahimeh Kolahdouz

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The present study aimed to evaluate the understanding of the students in Tehran universities (Iran) about the numerical representation of the average rate of change based on the Structure of Observed Learning Outcomes (SOLO). In the present descriptive-survey research, the statistical population included undergraduate students (basic sciences and engineering) in the universities of Tehran. The samples were 604 students selected by random multi-stage clustering. The measurement tool was a task whose face and content validity was confirmed by math and mathematics education professors. Using Cronbach's Alpha criterion, the reliability coefficient of the task was obtained 0.95, which verified its reliability. The collected data were analyzed by descriptive statistics and inferential statistics (chi-squared and independent t-tests) under SPSS-24 software. According to the SOLO model in the prestructural, unistructural, and multistructural levels, basic science students had a higher percentage of understanding than that of engineering students, although the outcome was inverse at the relational level. However, there was no significant difference in the average understanding of both groups. The results indicated that students failed to have a proper understanding of the numerical representation of the average rate of change, in addition to missconceptions when using physics formulas in solving the problem. In addition, multiple solutions were derived along with their dominant methods during the qualitative analysis. The current research proposed to focus on the context problems with approximate calculations and numerical representation, using software and connection common relations between math and physics in the teaching process of teachers and professors.

Keywords: Average rate of change, context problems, derivative, numerical representation, SOLO taxonomy.

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Authors: Dong Ming, Su Caihong

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The scenario of bypass transition is generally described as follows: the low-frequency disturbances in the free-stream may generate long stream-wise streaks in the boundary layer, which later may trigger secondary instability, leading to rapid increase of high-frequency disturbances. Then possibly turbulent spots emerge, and through their merging, lead to fully developed turbulence. This description, however, is insufficient in the sense that it does not provide the inherent mechanism of transition that during the transition, a large number of waves with different frequencies and wave numbers appear almost simultaneously, producing sufficiently large Reynolds stress, so the mean flow profile can change rapidly from laminar to turbulent. In this paper, such a mechanism will be figured out from analyzing DNS data of transition.

Keywords: boundary layer, breakdown, bypass transition, stability, streak.

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Authors: D. Sufi Ahmadi, B. Bagheri

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Thermal water hammer is a special type of water hammer which rarely occurs in heat exchangers. In biphasic fluids, if steam bubbles are surrounded by condensate, regarding lower condensate temperature than steam, they will suddenly collapse. As a result, the vacuum caused by an extreme change in volume lead to movement of the condensates in all directions and their collision the force produced by this collision leads to a severe stress in the pipe wall. This phenomenon is a special type of water hammer. According to fluid mechanics, this phenomenon is a particular type of transient flows during which abrupt change of fluid leads to sudden pressure change inside the tube. In this paper, the mechanism of abrupt failure of 80 tubes of 481 tubes of a methanol heat exchanger is discussed. Initially, due to excessive temperature differences between heat transfer fluids and simultaneous failure of 80 tubes, thermal shock was presupposed as the reason of failure. Deeper investigation on cross-section of failed tubes showed that failure was, ductile type of failure, so the first hypothesis was rejected. Further analysis and more accurate experiments revealed that failure of tubes caused by thermal water hammer. Finally, the causes of thermal water hammer and various solutions to avoid such mechanism are discussed.

Keywords: Thermal water hammer, Brittle Failure, Condensate thermal shock

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Authors: H. Higashiyama, M. Sano, F. Nakanishi, M. Sugiyama, M. Kawanishi, S. Tsukuma

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The heat island phenomenon and extremely hot summer climate are becoming environmental problems in Japan. Cool pavements reduce the surface temperature compared to conventional asphalt pavements in the hot summer climate and improve the thermal environment in the urban area. The authors have studied cement–based grouting materials poured into voids in porous asphalt pavements to reduce the road surface temperature. For the cement–based grouting material, cement, ceramic waste powder, and natural zeolite were used. This cement–based grouting material developed reduced the road surface temperature by 20 °C or more in the hot summer season. Considering the urban landscape, this study investigates the effect of surface temperature reduction of colored cement–based grouting materials containing pigments poured into voids in porous asphalt pavements by measuring the surface temperature of asphalt pavements outdoors. The yellow color performed the same as the original cement–based grouting material containing no pigment and was thermally better performance than the other color. However, all the tested cement–based grouting materials performed well for reducing the surface temperature and for creating the urban landscape.

Keywords: Ceramic waste powder, natural zeolite, road surface temperature, asphalt pavements, urban landscape.

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Authors: Xu Du, Aparna S. Varde

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In this research, we propose to conduct diagnostic and predictive analysis about the key factors and consequences of urban population relocation. To achieve this goal, urban simulation models extract the urban development trends as land use change patterns from a variety of data sources. The results are treated as part of urban big data with other information such as population change and economic conditions. Multiple data mining methods are deployed on this data to analyze nonlinear relationships between parameters. The result determines the driving force of population relocation with respect to urban sprawl and urban sustainability and their related parameters. This work sets the stage for developing a comprehensive urban simulation model for catering to specific questions by targeted users. It contributes towards achieving sustainability as a whole.

Keywords: Data Mining, Environmental Modeling, Sustainability, Urban Planning.

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Authors: Kalsoom Sumra

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The increasing concern of public sector reforms brings new challenges to public service ethics in developing countries not only at central level but also at local level. This paper aims to identify perceptions on public service ethics of public officials and examines more generally the understanding of public servants in Pakistan towards public service ethics in local public organizations. The study uses an independently administered structured questionnaire to collect data to know the extent of the recognition of public service ethics in local organizations. A total of 150 completed questionnaires are analyzed received from public servants working at the local level in Pakistan. The analysis explores how traditional, social patterns and cultural ethics can provide us with a rounded picture of the main antecedents, moderators of public service ethics in Pakistan. Moreover, the findings of this study contribute in association of public service ethics which are crucial in ongoing political and administrative culture of Pakistan, the most crucial core for public organizational ethical climate. This study also has numerous implications for local public administration and it highlights the importance of expanding research agenda on public service ethics in developing settings with challenging institutional contexts with imperfect training and operating environments. This study may well be particularly important for practice of public service ethics in developing countries in public administration. To the best of author’s knowledge, this study is the first of its kind to provide an initial step in practical implications to emphasize relevant public service ethics in public administration in developing transparent and accountable organization.

Keywords: Public service ethics, accountability and transparency, public service reforms, public administration, organizational ethical climate.

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Authors: Selar Othman Ali

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Implementing quality assurance in higher education establishments is the main focus of the reform process currently undertaken by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The reform agenda has involved attempts to improve academic quality and management processes in universities, technical institutions and colleges. The central challenge for the reform process is to produce change in higher education in a region where administration is described as centralized and bureaucratic. To make these changes, there should be a well-designed plans and follow up processes in order to monitor progress and develop responses to obstacles. Lack of skills, resources, political dilemmas, poor motivation, and readiness to face the consequences of change are factors which will determine the success of the reform process.

Keywords: Higher Education, Kurdistan-Iraq, Quality Assurance

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Authors: T. Aboumahboub, R. Brecha, H. B. Shrestha, U. F. Hutfilter, A. Geiges, W. Hare, M. Schaeffer, L. Welder, M. Gidden

Abstract:

The proposed stringent mitigation targets require an immediate start for a drastic transformation of the whole energy system. The current Australian energy system is mainly centralized and fossil fuel-based in most states with coal and gas-fired plants dominating the total produced electricity over the recent past. On the other hand, the country is characterized by a huge, untapped renewable potential, where wind and solar energy could play a key role in the decarbonization of the Australia’s future energy system. However, integrating high shares of such variable renewable energy sources (VRES) challenges the power system considerably due to their temporal fluctuations and geographical dispersion. This raises the concerns about flexibility gap in the system to ensure the security of supply with increasing shares of such intermittent sources. One main flexibility dimension to facilitate system integration of high shares of VRES is to increase the cross-sectoral integration through coupling of electricity to other energy sectors alongside the decarbonization of the power sector and reinforcement of the transmission grid. This paper applies a multi-sectoral energy system optimization model for Australia. We investigate the cost-optimal configuration of a renewable-based Australian energy system and its transformation pathway in line with the ambitious range of proposed climate change mitigation targets. We particularly analyse the implications of linking the electricity and transport sectors in a prospective, highly renewable Australian energy system.

Keywords: Decarbonization, energy system modeling, sector coupling, variable renewable energies.

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Authors: Daekook Kang, Wooseok Jang, Hyeonjeong Lee, Hyun Joung No

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Technology changes have been acknowledged as a critical factor in determining competitiveness of organization. Under such environment, the right anticipation of technology change has been of huge importance in strategic planning. To monitor technology change, technology forecasting (TF) is frequently utilized. In academic perspective, TF has received great attention for a long time. However, few researches have been conducted to provide overview of the TF literature. Even though some studies deals with review of TF research, they generally focused on type and characteristics of various TF, so hardly provides information about patterns of TF research and which TF method is used in certain technology industry. Accordingly, this study profile developments in and patterns of scholarly research in TF over time. Also, this study investigates which technology industries have used certain TF method and identifies their relationships. This study will help in understanding TF research trend and their application area.

Keywords: Technology forecasting, technology industry, TF trend, technology trajectory.

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Authors: Jung-Chuan Chou, Chang-Chi Lee

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A measurement system was successfully fabricated to detect ion concentrations (hydrogen and chlorine) in this study. PIC18F4520, the microcontroller was used as the control unit in the measurement system. The measurement system was practically used to sense the H+ and Cl- in different examples, and the pH and pCl values were exhibited on real-time LCD display promptly. In the study, the measurement method is used to judge whether the response voltage is stable. The change quantity is smaller than 0.01%, that the present response voltage compares with next response voltage for H+ measurement, and the above condition is established only 6 sec. Besides, the change quantity is smaller than 0.01%, that the present response voltage compares with next response voltage for Clmeasurement, and the above condition is established only 5 sec. Furthermore, the average error quantities would also be considered, and they are 0.05 and 0.07 for measurements of pH and pCl values, respectively.

Keywords: Chlorine ion sensor, hydrogen ion sensor, microcontroller, response voltage.

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Authors: Sinnakkrishnan Perumal, Nitish Pandey

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Business transformation initiatives are required by any organization to jump from its normal mode of operation to the one that is suitable for the change in the environment such as competitive pressures, regulatory requirements, changes in labor market, etc., or internal such as changes in strategy/vision, changes in the capability, change in the management, etc. Recent advances in information technology in automating the business processes have the potential to transform an organization to provide it with a sustained competitive advantage. Process constitutes the skeleton of a business. Thus, for a business to exist and compete well, it is essential for the skeleton to be robust and agile. This paper details “transformation" from a business perspective, methodologies to bring about an effective transformation, process-based transformation, and the role of services computing in this. Further, it details the benefits that could be achieved through services computing.

Keywords: Business Transformation, Services Oriented Architecture, Business Processes, Process-based Transformation.

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Authors: Qiong He, S. Thomas Ng

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Upgrading the thermal performance of building envelope of existing residential buildings is an effective way to reduce heat gain or heat loss. Overhang device is a common solution for building envelope improvement as it can cut down solar heat gain and thereby can reduce the energy used for space cooling in summer time. Despite that, overhang can increase the demand for indoor heating in winter due to its function of lowering the solar heat gain. Obviously, overhang has different impacts on energy use in different climatic zones which have different energy demand. To evaluate the impact of overhang device on building energy performance under different climates of China, an energy analysis model is built up in a computer-based simulation program known as DesignBuilder based on the data of a typical high-rise residential building. The energy simulation results show that single overhang is able to cut down around 5% of the energy consumption of the case building in the stand-alone situation or about 2% when the building is surrounded by other buildings in regions which predominantly rely on space cooling though it has no contribution to energy reduction in cold region. In regions with cold summer and cold winter, adding overhang over windows can cut down around 4% and 1.8% energy use with and without adjoining buildings, respectively. The results indicate that overhang might not an effective shading device to reduce the energy consumption in the mixed climate or cold regions.

Keywords: Overhang, energy analysis, computer-based simulation, high-rise residential building, mutual shading, climate.

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Authors: T. S. Serniabat, M. N. N. Khan, M. F. M. Zain

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Climate change and environmental pressures are major international issues nowadays. It is time when governments, businesses and consumers have to respond through more environmentally friendly and aware practices, products and policies. This is the prime time to develop alternative sustainable construction materials, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, save energy, look to renewable energy sources and recycled materials, and reduce waste. The utilization of waste materials (slag, fly ash, glass beads, plastic and so on) in concrete manufacturing is significant due to its engineering, financial, environmental and ecological benefits. Thus, utilization of waste materials in concrete production is very much helpful to reach the goal of the sustainable construction. Therefore, this study intends to use glass beads in concrete production. The paper reports on the performance of 9 different concrete mixes containing different ratios of glass crushed to 5 mm - 20 mm maximum size and glass marble of 20 mm size as coarse aggregate. Ordinary Portland cement type 1 and fine sand less than 0.5 mm were used to produce standard concrete cylinders. Compressive strength tests were carried out on concrete specimens at various ages. Test results indicated that the mix having the balanced ratio of glass beads and round marbles possess maximum compressive strength which is 3889 psi, as glass beads perform better in bond formation but have lower strength, on the other hand marbles are strong in themselves but not good in bonding. These mixes were prepared following a specific W/C and aggregate ratio; more strength can be expected to achieve from different W/C, aggregate ratios, adding admixtures like strength increasing agents, ASR inhibitor agents etc.

Keywords: Waste glass, recycling, environmentally friendly, glass aggregate, strength development.

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Authors: Muftah H. El-Naas, Ameera F. Mohammad, Mabruk I. Suleiman, Mohamed Al Musharfy, Ali H. Al-Marzouqi

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CO₂ capture and storage technologies play a significant role in contributing to the control of climate change through the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere. The present study evaluates and optimizes CO₂ capture through a process, where carbon dioxide is passed into pH adjusted high salinity water and reacted with sodium chloride to form a precipitate of sodium bicarbonate. This process is based on a modified Solvay process with higher CO₂ capture efficiency, higher sodium removal, and higher pH level without the use of ammonia. The process was tested in a bubble column semi-batch reactor and was optimized using response surface methodology (RSM). CO₂ capture efficiency and sodium removal were optimized in terms of major operating parameters based on four levels and variables in Central Composite Design (CCD). The operating parameters were gas flow rate (0.5–1.5 L/min), reactor temperature (10 to 50 ^oC), buffer concentration (0.2-2.6%) and water salinity (25-197 g NaCl/L). The experimental data were fitted to a second-order polynomial using multiple regression and analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA). The optimum values of the selected variables were obtained using response optimizer. The optimum conditions were tested experimentally using desalination reject brine with salinity ranging from 65,000 to 75,000 mg/L. The CO₂ capture efficiency in 180 min was 99% and the maximum sodium removal was 35%. The experimental and predicted values were within 95% confidence interval, which demonstrates that the developed model can successfully predict the capture efficiency and sodium removal using the modified Solvay method.

Keywords: Bubble column reactor, CO2 capture, Response Surface Methodology, water desalination.

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Authors: Bachir Chemani, Rachid Halfaoui

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The aim of work is to define the distribution density of winding yarn on cylindrical and conical bobbins. It is known that parallel winding gives greater density and more regular distribution, but the unwinding of yarn is much more difficult for following process. The conical spool has an enormous advantage during unwinding and may contain a large amount of yarns, but the density distribution is not regular because of difference in diameters. The variation of specific density over the reel height is explained generally by the sudden change of winding speed due to direction movement variation of yarn. We determined the conditions of uniform winding and developed a calculate model to the change of the specific density of winding wire over entire spool height.

Keywords: Textile, cylindrical bobbins, conical bobbins, parallel winding, cross winding.

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Authors: Shuh Liang

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This article provides empirical evidence on the effect of domestic and international factors on the U.S. current account deficit. Linear dynamic regression and vector autoregression models are employed to estimate the relationships during the period from 1986 to 2011. The findings of this study suggest that the current and lagged private saving rate and foreign current account for East Asian economies have played a vital role in affecting the U.S. current account. Additionally, using Granger causality tests and variance decompositions, the change of the productivity growth and foreign domestic demand are determined to influence significantly the change of the U.S. current account. To summarize, the empirical relationship between the U.S. current account deficit and its determinants is sensitive to alternative regression models and specifications.

Keywords: Current account deficit, productivity growth, foreign demand, vector autoregression.

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Authors: Zane Turner, Kevin Labille, Susan Gauch

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Sentiment analysis is a broad and expanding field that aims to extract and classify opinions from textual data. Lexicon-based approaches are based on the use of a sentiment lexicon, i.e., a list of words each mapped to a sentiment score, to rate the sentiment of a text chunk. Our work focuses on predicting stock price change using a sentiment lexicon built from financial conference call logs. We present a method to generate a sentiment lexicon based upon an existing probabilistic approach. By using a domain-specific lexicon, we outperform traditional techniques and demonstrate that domain-specific sentiment lexicons provide higher accuracy than generic sentiment lexicons when predicting stock price change.

Keywords: Lexicon, sentiment analysis, stock movement prediction., computational finance.

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Authors: I.V. Saradhi, G.G. Pandit, V.D. Puranik

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Increasing concerns over climate change have limited the liberal usage of available energy technology options. India faces a formidable challenge to meet its energy needs and provide adequate energy of desired quality in various forms to users in sustainable manner at reasonable costs. In this paper, work carried out with an objective to study the role of various energy technology options under different scenarios namely base line scenario, high nuclear scenario, high renewable scenario, low growth and high growth rate scenario. The study has been carried out using Model for Energy Supply Strategy Alternatives and their General Environmental Impacts (MESSAGE) model which evaluates the alternative energy supply strategies with user defined constraints on fuel availability, environmental regulations etc. The projected electricity demand, at the end of study period i.e. 2035 is 500490 MWYr. The model predicted the share of the demand by Thermal: 428170 MWYr, Hydro: 40320 MWYr, Nuclear: 14000 MWYr, Wind: 18000 MWYr in the base line scenario. Coal remains the dominant fuel for production of electricity during the study period. However, the import dependency of coal increased during the study period. In baseline scenario the cumulative carbon dioxide emissions upto 2035 are about 11,000 million tones of CO2. In the scenario of high nuclear capacity the carbon dioxide emissions reduced by 10 % when nuclear energy share increased to 9 % compared to 3 % in baseline scenario. Similarly aggressive use of renewables reduces 4 % of carbon dioxide emissions.

Keywords: Carbon dioxide, energy, electricity, message.

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Authors: Zane Turner, Kevin Labille, Susan Gauch

Abstract:

Sentiment analysis is a broad and expanding field that aims to extract and classify opinions from textual data. Lexicon-based approaches are based on the use of a sentiment lexicon, i.e., a list of words each mapped to a sentiment score, to rate the sentiment of a text chunk. Our work focuses on predicting stock price change using a sentiment lexicon built from financial conference call logs. We introduce a method to generate a sentiment lexicon based upon an existing probabilistic approach. By using a domain-specific lexicon, we outperform traditional techniques and demonstrate that domain-specific sentiment lexicons provide higher accuracy than generic sentiment lexicons when predicting stock price change.

Keywords: Computational finance, sentiment analysis, sentiment lexicon, stock movement prediction.

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Authors: Ajab G. Majidi, Bilal Bingölbali, Adem Akpınar

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This study aims to investigate the amount of energy (economic wave energy potential) that can be obtained from the existing wave energy converters in the high wave energy potential region of the Black Sea in terms of wave energy potential and their performance at different depths in the region. The data needed for this purpose were obtained using the calibrated nested layered SWAN wave modeling program version 41.01AB, which was forced with Climate Forecast System Reanalysis (CFSR) winds from 1979 to 2009. The wave dataset at a time interval of 2 hours was accumulated for a sub-grid domain for around Karaburun beach in Arnavutkoy, a district of Istanbul city. The annual sea state characteristic matrices for the five different depths along with a vertical line to the coastline were calculated for 31 years. According to the power matrices of different wave energy converter systems and characteristic matrices for each possible installation depth, the probability distribution tables of the specified mean wave period or wave energy period and significant wave height were calculated. Then, by using the relationship between these distribution tables, according to the present wave climate, the energy that the wave energy converter systems at each depth can produce was determined. Thus, the economically feasible potential of the relevant coastal zone was revealed, and the effect of different depths on energy converter systems is presented. The Oceantic at 50, 75 and 100 m depths and Oyster at 5 and 25 m depths presents the best performance. In the 31-year long period 1998 the most and 1989 is the least dynamic year.

Keywords: Annual power production, Black Sea, efficiency, power production performance, wave energy converter.

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Authors: G. Bago, P. Hedbávný

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This contribution was developed from a research within the doctoral thesis. Its object was to create multimedia materials for sport gymnastics. Consequently we surveyed the influence of its practical application on the efficiency of schooling at a university. We verified the prescribed hypothesis of the efficiency of the teaching process using the method of single-factor experiment, where the entrance independent variable was the change of system of tuition and the outgoing dependent variable was the change of level of acquired motor skills. The results confirmed the positive impact of using multimedia materials on the efficiency of the teaching process. Further, with the aid of questionnaires, we evaluated how the tested subjects perceive the innovative methods in sport gymnastics. The responses showed that the students rate the application of multimedia materials very positively.

Keywords: efficiency of education, means of education, multimedia materials, sports gymnastics

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Authors: Srinath Ramakkrushnan, Aswathaman Vijayan

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In conventional seedling production, the seedlings are being grown in the open field under natural conditions. Here they are susceptible to sudden changes in climate were their quality and yield is affected. Quality seedlings are essential for good growth and performance of crops in main field; they serve as a foundation for the economic returns to the farmer. Producing quality seedling demands usage of hybrid seeds as they have the ability to result in better yield, greater uniformity, improved color, disease resistance, and so forth. Hybrid seed production poses major operational challenge and its seed use efficiency plays an important role. Thus in order to overcome the difficulties currently present in conventional seedling production and to efficiently use hybrid seeds, ITC Limited Agri Business Divisions - Sustainability Cell as conceptualized a novel method of seedling production unit for farmers in West Godavari District of Andhra Pradesh. The “Green House based Float Seedling" methodology aims at a protected cultivation technique wherein the micro climate surrounding the plant/seedling body is controlled partially or fully as per the requirement of the species. This paper reports on the techno economic evaluation of green house for cultivation of float based seedling production with experimental results that was attained from the pilot implementation in West Godavari District, Rajahmundry region of India.

Keywords: Economic Assessment, Float Seedling, Green House, ITC Limited, Payback period.

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Authors: Jer Hayes, Stephen Beirne, Breda M. Kiernan, Conor Slater, King-Tong Lau, Dermot Diamond

Abstract:

This paper describes studies carried out to investigate the viability of using wireless cameras as a tool in monitoring changes in air quality. A camera is used to monitor the change in colour of a chemically responsive polymer within view of the camera as it is exposed to varying chemical species concentration levels. The camera captures this image and the colour change is analyzed by averaging the RGB values present. This novel chemical sensing approach is compared with an established chemical sensing method using the same chemically responsive polymer coated onto LEDs. In this way, the concentration levels of acetic acid in the air can be tracked using both approaches. These approaches to chemical plume tracking have many applications for air quality monitoring.

Keywords: Environmental sensing, chemical sensors, wirelesssensor networks.

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Authors: Alexander J. Severinsky, Allen L. Sessoms

Abstract:

Atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) has dominated the discussion around the causes of climate change. This is a reflection of a 100-year time horizon for all greenhouse gases that became a norm.  The 100-year time horizon is much too long – and yet, almost all mitigation efforts, including those set in the near-term frame of within 30 years, are still geared toward it. In this paper, we show that for a 30-year time horizon, methane (CH4) is the greenhouse gas whose radiative forcing exceeds that of CO2. In our analysis, we use the radiative forcing of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, because they directly affect the rise in temperature on Earth. We found that in 2019, the radiative forcing (RF) of methane was ~2.5 W/m2 and that of carbon dioxide was ~2.1 W/m2. Under a business-as-usual (BAU) scenario until 2050, such forcing would be ~2.8 W/m2 and ~3.1 W/m2 respectively. There is a substantial spread in the data for anthropogenic and natural methane (CH4) emissions, along with natural gas, (which is primarily CH4), leakages from industrial production to consumption. For this reason, we estimate the minimum and maximum effects of a reduction of these leakages, and assume an effective immediate reduction by 80%. Such action may serve to reduce the annual radiative forcing of all CH4 emissions by ~15% to ~30%. This translates into a reduction of RF by 2050 from ~2.8 W/m2 to ~2.5 W/m2 in the case of the minimum effect that can be expected, and to ~2.15 W/m2 in the case of the maximum effort to reduce methane leakages. Under the BAU, we find that the RF of CO2 will increase from ~2.1 W/m2 now to ~3.1 W/m2 by 2050. We assume a linear reduction of 50% in anthropogenic emission over the course of the next 30 years, which would reduce the radiative forcing of CO2 from ~3.1 W/m2 to ~2.9 W/m2. In the case of "net zero," the other 50% of only anthropogenic CO2 emissions reduction would be limited to being either from sources of emissions or directly from the atmosphere. In this instance, the total reduction would be from ~3.1 W/m2 to ~2.7 W/m2, or ~0.4 W/m2. To achieve the same radiative forcing as in the scenario of maximum reduction of methane leakages of ~2.15 W/m2, an additional reduction of radiative forcing of CO2 would be approximately 2.7 -2.15 = 0.55 W/m2. In total, one would need to remove ~660 GT of CO2 from the atmosphere in order to match the maximum reduction of current methane leakages, and ~270 GT of CO2 from emitting sources, to reach "negative emissions". This amounts to over 900 GT of CO2.

Keywords: Methane Leakages, Methane Radiative Forcing, Methane Mitigation, Methane Net Zero.

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Authors: Nasrul Amri Mohd Amin, Martin Belusko, Frank Bruno

Abstract:

PCMs have always been viewed as a suitable candidate for off peak thermal storage, particularly for refrigeration systems, due to the high latent energy densities of these materials. However, due to the need to have them encapsulated within a container this density is reduced. Furthermore, PCMs have a low thermal conductivity which reduces the useful amount of energy which can be stored. To consider these factors, the true energy storage density of a PCM system was proposed and optimised for PCMs encapsulated in slabs. Using a validated numerical model of the system, a parametric study was undertaken to investigate the impact of the slab thickness, gap between slabs and the mass flow rate. The study showed that, when optimised, a PCM system can deliver a true energy storage density between 53% and 83% of the latent energy density of the PCM.

Keywords: Phase change material, refrigeration, sustainability, thermal energy storage.

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