Search results for: Shared Goal

Authors: Chin-Hung Li, Te-Ming Chen, Ying-Chuan Chen, Shuen-Tai Wang

Abstract:

This paper proposes a new approach to offer a private cloud service in HPC clusters. In particular, our approach relies on automatically scheduling users- customized environment request as a normal job in batch system. After finishing virtualization request jobs, those guest operating systems will dismiss so that compute nodes will be released again for computing. We present initial work on the innovative integration of HPC batch system and virtualization tools that aims at coexistence such that they suffice for meeting the minimizing interference required by a traditional HPC cluster. Given the design of initial infrastructure, the proposed effort has the potential to positively impact on synergy model. The results from the experiment concluded that goal for provisioning customized cluster environment indeed can be fulfilled by using virtual machines, and efficiency can be improved with proper setup and arrangements.

Keywords: Cloud Computing, HPC Cluster, Private Cloud, Virtualization

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2028

Authors: Patricia B. Cruz, Catrina Jean G. Valenzuela, Analyn N. Yumang

Abstract:

Nearly a hundred per million of the Filipino population is diagnosed with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). The early stage of CKD has no symptoms and can only be discovered once the patient undergoes urinalysis. Over the years, different methods were discovered and used for the quantification of the urinary albumin such as the immunochemical assays where most of these methods require large machinery that has a high cost in maintenance and resources, and a dipstick test which is yet to be proven and is still debated as a reliable method in detecting early stages of microalbuminuria. This research study involves the use of the liquid chromatography concept in microfluidic instruments with biosensor as a means of separation and detection respectively, and linear regression to quantify human urinary albumin. The researchers’ main objective was to create a miniature system that quantifies and detect patients’ urinary albumin while reducing the amount of volume used per five test samples. For this study, 30 urine samples of unknown albumin concentrations were tested using VITROS Analyzer and the microfluidic system for comparison. Based on the data shared by both methods, the actual vs. predicted regression were able to create a positive linear relationship with an R² of 0.9995 and a linear equation of y = 1.09x + 0.07, indicating that the predicted values and actual values are approximately equal. Furthermore, the microfluidic instrument uses 75% less in total volume – sample and reagents combined, compared to the VITROS Analyzer per five test samples.

Keywords: Chronic kidney disease, microfluidics, linear regression, VITROS analyzer, urinary albumin.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 851

Authors: Mohammed S. Assiri

Abstract:

In EFL programs, rating scales used in writing assessment are often constructed by intuition. Intuition-based scales tend to provide inaccurate and divisive ratings of learners’ writing performance. Hence, following an empirical approach, this study attempted to develop a rating scale for elementary-level writing at an EFL program in Saudi Arabia. Towards this goal, 98 students’ essays were scored and then coded using comprehensive taxonomy of writing constructs and their measures. An automatic linear modeling was run to find out which measures would best predict essay scores. A nonparametric ANOVA, the Kruskal-Wallis test, was then used to determine which measures could best differentiate among scoring levels. Findings indicated that there were certain measures that could serve as either good predictors of essay scores or differentiators among scoring levels, or both. The main conclusion was that a rating scale can be empirically developed using predictive and discriminative statistical tests.

Keywords: Analytic scoring, rating scales, writing assessment, writing performance.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3487

Authors: O. O. Obe, V. Balanica, E. Neagoe

Abstract:

The effects of hypertension are often lethal thus its early detection and prevention is very important for everybody. In this paper, a neural network (NN) model was developed and trained based on a dataset of hypertension causative parameters in order to forecast the likelihood of occurrence of hypertension in patients. Our research goal was to analyze the potential of the presented NN to predict, for a period of time, the risk of hypertension or the risk of developing this disease for patients that are or not currently hypertensive. The results of the analysis for a given patient can support doctors in taking pro-active measures for averting the occurrence of hypertension such as recommendations regarding the patient behavior in order to lower his hypertension risk. Moreover, the paper envisages a set of three example scenarios in order to determine the age when the patient becomes hypertensive, i.e. determine the threshold for hypertensive age, to analyze what happens if the threshold hypertensive age is set to a certain age and the weight of the patient if being varied, and, to set the ideal weight for the patient and analyze what happens with the threshold of hypertensive age.

Keywords: Neural Network, hypertension, data set, training set, supervised learning.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1654

Authors: Ajay Joshi, Surya Ismail

Abstract:

This paper will present the initial findings of a research into distributed computer rendering. The goal of the research is to create a distributed computer system capable of rendering a 3D model into an MPEG-4 stream. This paper outlines the initial design, software architecture and hardware setup for the system. Distributed computing means designing and implementing programs that run on two or more interconnected computing systems. Distributed computing is often used to speed up the rendering of graphical imaging. Distributed computing systems are used to generate images for movies, games and simulations. A topic of interest is the application of distributed computing to the MPEG-4 standard. During the course of the research, a distributed system will be created that can render a 3D model into an MPEG-4 stream. It is expected that applying distributed computing principals will speed up rendering, thus improving the usefulness and efficiency of the MPEG-4 standard

Keywords: Cluster, parallel architecture, rendering, MPEG-4.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1450

Authors: Y. Areepong

Abstract:

The main goal of this paper is to study Statistical Process Control (SPC) with Exponentially Weighted Moving Average (EWMA) control chart when observations are serially-correlated. The characteristic of control chart is Average Run Length (ARL) which is the average number of samples taken before an action signal is given. Ideally, an acceptable ARL of in-control process should be enough large, so-called (ARL₀). Otherwise it should be small when the process is out-of-control, so-called Average of Delay Time (ARL₁) or a mean of true alarm. We find explicit formulas of ARL for EWMA control chart for Seasonal Autoregressive and Moving Average processes (SARMA) with Exponential white noise. The results of ARL obtained from explicit formula and Integral equation are in good agreement. In particular, this formulas for evaluating (ARL₀) and (ARL₁) be able to get a set of optimal parameters which depend on smoothing parameter (λ) and width of control limit (H) for designing EWMA chart with minimum of (ARL₁).

Keywords: Average Run Length1, Optimal parameters, Exponentially Weighted Moving Average (EWMA) control chart.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1977

Authors: A. Mirzaaghazadeh, H. Motameni, M. Karshenas, H. Nematzadeh

Abstract:

Learning the gradient of neuron's activity function like the weight of links causes a new specification which is flexibility. In flexible neural networks because of supervising and controlling the operation of neurons, all the burden of the learning is not dedicated to the weight of links, therefore in each period of learning of each neuron, in fact the gradient of their activity function, cooperate in order to achieve the goal of learning thus the number of learning will be decreased considerably. Furthermore, learning neurons parameters immunes them against changing in their inputs and factors which cause such changing. Likewise initial selecting of weights, type of activity function, selecting the initial gradient of activity function and selecting a fixed amount which is multiplied by gradient of error to calculate the weight changes and gradient of activity function, has a direct affect in convergence of network for learning.

Keywords: Back propagation, Flexible, Gradient, Learning, Neural network, Pattern recognition.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1485

Authors: Buse A. Ataç, Doğan K. Cenan, Arda Çetinkaya, Naz D. Şahin, Köksal Sanlı, Zeynep Koç, Akın Kısa

Abstract:

With its spatial data reliability, interpretation and questioning capabilities, Geographical Information Systems make significant contributions to scientists, planners and practitioners. Geographic information systems have received great attention in today's digital world, growing rapidly, and increasing the efficiency of use. Access to and use of current and accurate geographical data, which are the most important components of the Geographical Information System, has become a necessity rather than a need for sustainable and economic development. This project aims to enable sharing of data collected by public institutions and organizations on a web-based platform. Within the scope of the project, INSPIRE (Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the European Community) data specifications are considered as a road-map. In this context, Turkey's National Geographic Information System (TUCBS) Integration Project supports sharing spatial data within 61 pilot public institutions as complied with defined national standards. In this paper, which is prepared by the project team members in the TUCBS Integration Project, the technical process with a detailed methodology is explained. In this context, the main technical processes of the Project consist of Geographic Data Analysis, Geographic Data Harmonization (Standardization), Web Service Creation (WMS, WFS) and Metadata Creation-Publication. In this paper, the integration process carried out to provide the data produced by 61 institutions to be shared from the National Geographic Data Portal (GEOPORTAL), have been trying to be conveyed with a detailed methodology.

Keywords: Data specification, geoportal, GIS, INSPIRE, TUCBS, Turkey’s National Geographic Information System.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 676

Authors: A. N. K. Nasir, R. M. T. Raja Ismail, M. A. Ahmad

Abstract:

The objective of this paper is to compare the time specification performance between conventional controller PID and modern controller SMC for an inverted pendulum system. The goal is to determine which control strategy delivers better performance with respect to pendulum-s angle and cart-s position. The inverted pendulum represents a challenging control problem, which continually moves toward an uncontrolled state. Two controllers are presented such as Sliding Mode Control (SMC) and Proportional- Integral-Derivatives (PID) controllers for controlling the highly nonlinear system of inverted pendulum model. Simulation study has been done in Matlab Mfile and simulink environment shows that both controllers are capable to control multi output inverted pendulum system successfully. The result shows that Sliding Mode Control (SMC) produced better response compared to PID control strategies and the responses are presented in time domain with the details analysis.

Keywords: SMC, PID, Inverted Pendulum System.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 4783

Authors: Antonino Greco, Nadia Mammone, Francesco Carlo Morabito, Mario Versaci

Abstract:

The goal of this work is to improve the efficiency and the reliability of the automatic artifact rejection, in particular from the Electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings. Artifact rejection is a key topic in signal processing. The artifacts are unwelcome signals that may occur during the signal acquisition and that may alter the analysis of the signals themselves. A technique for the automatic artifact rejection, based on the Independent Component Analysis (ICA) for the artifact extraction and on some high order statistics such as kurtosis and Shannon-s entropy, was proposed some years ago in literature. In this paper we enhance this technique introducing the Renyi-s entropy. The performance of our method was tested exploiting the Independent Component scalp maps and it was compared to the performance of the method in literature and it showed to outperform it.

Keywords: Artifact, EEG, Renyi's entropy, independent component analysis, kurtosis.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2419

Authors: Michal Martinovič, Jaroslav Polec, Kvetoslava Kotuliaková

Abstract:

In this paper we proposed multistage adaptive ARQ/HARQ/HARQ scheme. This method combines pure ARQ (Automatic Repeat reQuest) mode in low channel bit error rate and hybrid ARQ method using two different Reed-Solomon codes in middle and high error rate conditions. It follows, that our scheme has three stages. The main goal is to increase number of states in adaptive HARQ methods and be able to achieve maximum throughput for every channel bit error rate. We will prove the proposal by calculation and then with simulations in land mobile satellite channel environment. Optimization of scheme system parameters is described in order to maximize the throughput in the whole defined Signal-to- Noise Ratio (SNR) range in selected channel environment.

Keywords: Signal-to-noise ratio, throughput, forward error correction (FEC), pure and hybrid automatic repeat request (ARQ).

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1954

Authors: Z.F. Fadzil, H.S. Hashim, A.I. Che-Ani, S. Aziz

Abstract:

Campus sustainability is the goal of a university striving for sustainable development. This study found that of 17 popular approaches, two comprehensive campus sustainability assessment frameworks were developed in the context of Sustainability in Higher Education (SHE), and used by many university campuses around the world. Sustainability Tracking Assessment and Rating Systems (STARS) and the Campus Sustainability Assessment Framework (CSAF) approaches are more comprehensive than others. Therefore, the researchers examined aspects and elements used by CSAF and STARS in the approach to develop a campus sustainability assessment framework for Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). Documents analysis found that CSAF and STARS do not focus on physical development, especially the construction industry, as key elements of campus sustainability assessment. This finding is in accordance with the Sustainable UKM Programme which consists of three main components of sustainable community, ecosystem and physical development.

Keywords: Campus sustainability, campus sustainability assessment, sustainability assessment framework, sustainable campus

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3282

Authors: Azizan Bin Saaban, Adyda Binti Ibrahim, Mohammad Shehzad, Israr Ahmad

Abstract:

In chaos synchronization, the main goal is to design such controller(s) that synchronizes the states of master and slave system asymptotically globally. This paper studied and investigated the synchronization problem of two identical Chen, and identical Tigan chaotic systems and two non-identical Chen and Tigan chaotic systems using Non-linear active control algorithm. In this study, based on Lyapunov stability theory and using non-linear active control algorithm, it has been shown that the proposed schemes have excellent transient performance using only two nonlinear controllers and have shown analytically as well as graphically that synchronization is asymptotically globally stable.

Keywords: Nonlinear Active Control, Chen and Tigan Chaotic systems, Lyapunov Stability theory, Synchronization.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1948

Authors: Hesham A. El Zouka, Mustafa M. Hosni

Abstract:

The Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology has a diverse base of applications, but it is also prone to security threats. There are different types of security attacks which limit the range of the RFID applications. For example, deploying the RFID networks in insecure environments could make the RFID system vulnerable to many types of attacks such as spoofing attack, location traceability attack, physical attack and many more. Therefore, security is often an important requirement for RFID systems. In this paper, RFID mutual authentication protocol is implemented based on mobile agent technology and timestamp, which are used to provide strong authentication and integrity assurances to both the RFID readers and their corresponding RFID tags. The integration of mobile agent technology and timestamp provides promising results towards achieving this goal and towards reducing the security threats in RFID systems.

Keywords: RFID, security, authentication protocols, privacy, agent-based architecture, time-stamp, digital signature.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1780

Authors: M. G. Mattos, J. E. Pécora Jr, T. A. Briso

Abstract:

Today's challenging business environment, with unpredictable demand and volatility, requires a supply chain strategy that handles uncertainty and risks in the right way. Even though inventory models have been previously explored, this paper seeks to apply these concepts on a practical situation. This study involves the inventory replenishment problem, applying techniques that are mainly based on mathematical assumptions and modeling. The primary goal is to improve the retailer’s supply chain processes taking store differences when setting the various target stock levels. Through inventory review policy, picking piece implementation and minimum exposure definition, we were able not only to promote the inventory reduction as well as improve sales results. The inventory management theory from literature review was then tested on a single case study regarding a particular department in one of the largest Latam retail chains.

Keywords: Inventory, distribution, retail, risk, safety stock, sales, uncertainty.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1805

Authors: Kholoud H. Al-Zedjali, Abir S. Al-Harrasi, Ali H. Al-Badi

Abstract:

Recently there has been a dramatic proliferation in the number of social networking sites (SNSs) users; however, little is published about what motivates college students to use SNSs in education. The main goal of this research is to explore the college students’ motives for using SNSs in education. A conceptual framework has therefore been developed to identify the main factors that influence/motivate students to use social networking sites for learning purposes. To achieve the research objectives a quantitative method was used to collect data. A questionnaire has been distributed amongst college students. The results reveal that social influence, perceived enjoyment, institute regulation, perceived usefulness, ranking up-lift, attractiveness, communication tools, free of charge, sharing material and course nature all play an important role in the motivation of college students to use SNSs for learning purposes.

Keywords: Social networking sites (SNSs), education, college students.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3408

Authors: Ipak Torkpour

Abstract:

In order to convert natural rubber or related polymers to material with varying physical properties such as elastic modulus or durability, a chemical process named sulfur vulcanization is needed. This can be either done by heating sulfur or sulfur-containing compounds. The main goal of this process is to produce untreated natural rubber latex that can be the main source of manufacturing for several rubber producers. Temperature, pressure, and time are considered as three crucial factors in the tire vulcanization process. The present study is an attempt to optimize these crucial parameters, with the aim of achieving maximum tire modulus using Taguchi experimental design. The results revealed that the optimal parameter values are as follows: a temperature of 170 °C, a pressure of 110 bar, and a time duration of 230 seconds. Under these optimized conditions, the obtained tire modulus reached 8.8 kgf.

Keywords: Rubber vulcanization, experimental design, Taguchi, polymers.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 98

Authors: M. Breška, I. Peruš, V. Stankovski

Abstract:

The number of Ground Motion Prediction Equations (GMPEs) used for predicting peak ground acceleration (PGA) and the number of earthquake recordings that have been used for fitting these equations has increased in the past decades. The current PF-L database contains 3550 recordings. Since the GMPEs frequently model the peak ground acceleration the goal of the present study was to refit a selection of 44 of the existing equation models for PGA in light of the latest data. The algorithm Levenberg-Marquardt was used for fitting the coefficients of the equations and the results are evaluated both quantitatively by presenting the root mean squared error (RMSE) and qualitatively by drawing graphs of the five best fitted equations. The RMSE was found to be as low as 0.08 for the best equation models. The newly estimated coefficients vary from the values published in the original works.

Keywords: Ground Motion Prediction Equations, Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm, refitting PF-L database.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1486

Authors: Gül Tekin Temur, Tolga Kaya, Serpil Öktem, Sıtkı Gözlü

Abstract:

The purpose of this study is to reveal the principles, which have the highest impact on determining the Strategic Quality Management (SQM) implementation perceptions of managers. In order to accomplish this goal, first of all, a factor analysis is conducted on the attitudes of managers at 80 large-scale firms in Turkey for SQM principles. Secondly, utilizing t tests and discriminant analysis, the most effective items are determined. The results show that “process improvement" and “assessment of competitiveness" are the management principles, which have the highest impact on determining the SQM implementation perceptions of Turkish managers.

Keywords: Assessment of Competitiveness, Process Improvement, Strategic Quality Management.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1518

Authors: Alisha Fisher

Abstract:

Healing from sexual trauma can be a tumultuous process, filled with loneliness, confusion, and many unknowns or surprising road bumps. Survivors of sexual violence will often battle with the post traumatic difficulties following the trauma, some of which involve struggles with reconnecting with sexual pleasure. The goal of this paper is to analyze various papers to identify if there is a connection to survivors navigating the symptom of dissociation during self-sexual pleasuring care through grounding and mindfulness strategies. We conclude that there can be benefits to engaging in strategies of grounding and mindfulness can bring a level of presence to survivor’s mind, and body that can assist with reducing the anxieties and dissociation events dur solo sexual play. As such, service providers of survivors of sexual violence should be discussing the options of solo masturbation experiences mixed with grounding and mindfulness processes for survivors to heal and re-claim their sexual lifestyles.

Keywords: Masturbation healing, sexual violence survivor, survivor healing, survivor masturbation.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 479

Authors: Christin Tønseth

Abstract:

The Norwegian ‘knowledge promotion reform’ was implemented in elementary schools and upper secondary schools in 2006. The goal of the reform was that all pupils should develop basic skills and competencies in order to take an active part in the knowledge society. This paper discusses how governmentality as a management principle is demonstrated through the Norwegian ‘knowledge promotion reform’. Evaluation reports and political documents are the basis for the discussion. The ‘knowledge promotion reform’ was including quality assurance for schools, teachers, and students and the authorities retained control by using curricula and national tests. The reform promoted several intentions that were not reached. In light of governmentality, it seemed that thoughts and intentions by the authorities differed from those in the world of practice. The quality assurances did not motivate the practitioners to be self-governing. The relationship between the authorities and the implementation actors was weak, and the reform was, therefore, difficult to implement in practice.

Keywords: Education politics, governance, governmentality, the Norwegian knowledge promotion reform.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1156

Authors: Md Rabiul Islam, Ben Wadham

Abstract:

This paper describes how indigenous students face challenges with various school activities due to inadequate equity and diversity principles in mainstream primary schools in Bangladesh. This study focuses on indigenous students’ interactions with mainstream class teachers and students through teaching-learning activities at public primary schools. Ethnographic research methods guided data collection under a case study methodology in Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHTs) region where maximum indigenous peoples’ inhabitants. The participants (class teachers) shared information through in-depth interviews about their experiences in the four selecting schools. The authors also observed the effects of school activities by use of equity and diversity lens for indigenous students’ situations in those schools. The authors argue that the socio-economic situations of indigenous families are not supportive of the educational development of their children. Similarly, the Bangladesh government does not have enough initiative programs based on equity and diversity principles for fundamental education of indigenous children at rural schools level. Besides this, the conventional teaching system cannot improve the diversification among the students in classrooms. The principles of equity and diversity are not well embedded in professional development of teachers, and using teaching materials in classrooms. The findings suggest that implementing equitable education; there are needed to arrange teachers’ education with equitable knowledge and introducing diversified teaching materials, and implementing teaching through students centered activities that promote the diversification among the multicultural students.

Keywords: Case study research, equity and diversity, Indigenous children.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1825

Authors: Guenther Schuh, Sebastian Woelk

Abstract:

Companies face increasing challenges in research due to higher costs and risks. The intensifying technology complexity and interdisciplinarity require unique know-how. Therefore, companies need to decide whether research shall be conducted internally or externally with partners. On the other hand, research institutes meet increasing efforts to achieve good financing and to maintain high research reputation. Therefore, relevant research topics need to be identified and specialization of competency is necessary. However, additional competences for solving interdisciplinary research projects are also often required. Secured financing can be achieved by bonding industry partners as well as public fundings. The realization of faster and better research drives companies and research institutes to cooperate in organized research networks, which are managed by an administrative organization. For an effective and efficient cooperation, necessary processes, roles, tools and a set of rules need to be determined. Goal of this paper is to show the state-of-art research and to propose a governance framework for organized research networks.

Keywords: Interorganizational cooperation, design of network governance, research network.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1480

Authors: Abdelaziz Guerrouat, Harald Richter

Abstract:

In this paper test generation methods and appropriate fault models for testing and analysis of embedded systems described as (extended) finite state machines ((E)FSMs) are presented. Compared to simple FSMs, EFSMs specify not only the control flow but also the data flow. Thus, we define a two-level fault model to cover both aspects. The goal of this paper is to reuse well-known FSM-based test generation methods for automation of embedded system testing. These methods have been widely used in testing and validation of protocols and communicating systems. In particular, (E)FSMs-based specification and testing is more advantageous because (E)FSMs support the formal semantic of already standardised formal description techniques (FDTs) despite of their popularity in the design of hardware and software systems.

Keywords: Formal methods, testing and validation, finite state machines, formal description techniques.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2083

Authors: N. Kulakova

Abstract:

Thisresearch paper is dedicated to an actual issue in Latvia and in the whole European Union – development of the secondary materials management. The goal of this paper is to research the development of the secondary materials management in Latvia as a result to point out its main positive aspects and problems. In this research paper the author regards following issues: significance of the secondary materials management, current situation of the waste generation and utilization in Latvia comparing with other EU Member States, main problems and positive aspects of the secondary materials management in Latvia. The research author concludes that in last ten years a great work is done to develop the secondary materials market. Nevertheless following improvements are necessary: implementation of the packaging deposit system, development of the separate waste collection, increasing of the recycling capacity.

Keywords: sustainable development, secondary materials, separate waste collection, packaging deposit system.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1527

Authors: Hélder Spínola

Abstract:

Sustainable development is highly dependent on the implementation of environmental education programs, which has as its ultimate goal to produce environmentally literate citizens that undertake environmentally friendly actions. Efforts on environmental education along past years are now perceived on the increase of citizens awareness on European countries and, particularly, in Portugal. However, we still have a lack of information on the prevalence of specific behaviors that contributes to sustainability, influenced by a new attitude toward the environment. The determination of pro-environmental behaviors prevalence in higher education students is an important approach to understand to which extend the next leading generation is, in practice, committed with the goals of sustainable development. Therefore, present study evaluates the prevalence of a specific set of behaviors (water savings, energy savings, environmental criteria on shopping, and mobility) on the University of Madeira students and discusses their commitment with sustainable development.

Keywords: Pro-environmental behaviors, sustainable development, environmental education, higher education students

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1613

Authors: Siavash Asadi Ghajarloo

Abstract:

Nowadays predicting political risk level of country has become a critical issue for investors who intend to achieve accurate information concerning stability of the business environments. Since, most of the times investors are layman and nonprofessional IT personnel; this paper aims to propose a framework named GECR in order to help nonexpert persons to discover political risk stability across time based on the political news and events. To achieve this goal, the Bayesian Networks approach was utilized for 186 political news of Pakistan as sample dataset. Bayesian Networks as an artificial intelligence approach has been employed in presented framework, since this is a powerful technique that can be applied to model uncertain domains. The results showed that our framework along with Bayesian Networks as decision support tool, predicted the political risk level with a high degree of accuracy.

Keywords: Bayesian Networks, Data mining, GECRframework, Predicting political risk.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2166

Authors: Samira Malekmohammadi Golsefid, Mehdi Ghazanfari, Somayeh Alizadeh

Abstract:

The goal of this paper is to segment the countries based on the value of export from Iran during 14 years ending at 2005. To measure the dissimilarity among export baskets of different countries, we define Dissimilarity Export Basket (DEB) function and use this distance function in K-means algorithm. The DEB function is defined based on the concepts of the association rules and the value of export group-commodities. In this paper, clustering quality function and clusters intraclass inertia are defined to, respectively, calculate the optimum number of clusters and to compare the functionality of DEB versus Euclidean distance. We have also study the effects of importance weight in DEB function to improve clustering quality. Lastly when segmentation is completed, a designated RFM model is used to analyze the relative profitability of each cluster.

Keywords: Customers segmentation, Customer relationship management, Clustering, Data Mining

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2275

Authors: Sameh H. Ghwanmeh

Abstract:

In this study a clustering technique has been implemented which is K-Means like with hierarchical initial set (HKM). The goal of this study is to prove that clustering document sets do enhancement precision on information retrieval systems, since it was proved by Bellot & El-Beze on French language. A comparison is made between the traditional information retrieval system and the clustered one. Also the effect of increasing number of clusters on precision is studied. The indexing technique is Term Frequency * Inverse Document Frequency (TF * IDF). It has been found that the effect of Hierarchical K-Means Like clustering (HKM) with 3 clusters over 242 Arabic abstract documents from the Saudi Arabian National Computer Conference has significant results compared with traditional information retrieval system without clustering. Additionally it has been found that it is not necessary to increase the number of clusters to improve precision more.

Keywords: Hierarchical K-mean like clustering (HKM), Kmeans, cluster centroids, initial partition, and document distances

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2563

Authors: Thu Le Thi Bao

Abstract:

Industrial parks have both active roles in promoting economic development, and source of appearance of boarding houses and slums in the adjacent area, lacking infrastructure, causing many social matters. The context of recent pandemic and climate change on a global scale pose issues that need to be resolved for sustainable development. Ho Chi Minh city aims to develop housing for migrant workers to stabilize human resources and at the same time, solve problems of social evils caused by poor living conditions. The paper focuses on the content of renovating existing industrial parks and worker accommodation in Ho Chi Minh city to propose appropriate models, contributing to the goal of urban embellishment and solutions for industrial parks to adapt to decree 29/2008/ND-CP abnormal impact conditions such as pandemics, climate change, crises.

Keywords: Industrial park, social housing, accommodation, distribution centre.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 164