Search results for: Abnormally dangerous activities
968 Retrofitting Measures for Existing Housing Stock in Kazakhstan
Authors: S. Yessengabulov, A. Uyzbayeva
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Residential buildings fund of Kazakhstan was built in the Soviet time about 35-60 years ago without considering energy efficiency measures. Currently, most of these buildings are in a rundown condition and fail to meet the minimum of hygienic, sanitary and comfortable living requirements. The paper aims to examine the reports of recent building energy survey activities in the country and provide a possible solution for retrofitting existing housing stock built before 1989 which could be applicable for building envelope in cold climate. Methodology also includes two-dimensional modeling of possible practical solutions and further recommendations.
Keywords: Energy audit, energy efficient buildings in Kazakhstan, retrofit, two-dimensional conduction heat transfer analysis
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1547967 Anthropometric Profile and Its Influence on the Vital Signs of Baja California College Students
Authors: J. A. Lopez, J. E. Olguín, C. Camargo, G. A. Quijano, R. Martínez
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An anthropometric study applied to 1,115 students of the Faculty of Chemical Sciences and Engineering of the Autonomous University of California. Thirteen individual measurements were taken in a sitting position. The results obtained allow forming a reliable anthropometric database for statistical studies and analysis and inferences of specific distributions, so the opinion of experts in occupational medicine recommendations may emit to reduce risks resulting in an alteration of the vital signs during the execution of their school activities. Another use of these analyses is to use them as a reliable reference for future deeper research, to the design of spaces, tools, utensils, workstations, with anthropometric dimensions and ergonomic characteristics suitable to use.
Keywords: Anthropometry, vital signs, students.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2555966 Estimation of Methane from Hydrocarbon Exploration and Production in India
Authors: A. K. Pathak, K. Ojha
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Methane is the second most important greenhouse gas (GHG) after carbon dioxide. Amount of methane emission from energy sector is increasing day by day with various activities. In present work, various sources of methane emission from upstream, middle stream and downstream of oil & gas sectors are identified and categorised as per IPCC-2006 guidelines. Data were collected from various oil & gas sector like (i) exploration & production of oil & gas (ii) supply through pipelines (iii) refinery throughput & production (iv) storage & transportation (v) usage. Methane emission factors for various categories were determined applying Tier-II and Tier-I approach using the collected data. Total methane emission from Indian Oil & Gas sectors was thus estimated for the year 1990 to 2007.Keywords: Carbon credit, Climate change, Methane emission, Oil & Gas production
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2125965 TOPSIS Method for Supplier Selection Problem
Authors: Omid Jadidi, Fatemeh Firouzi, Enzo Bagliery
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Supplier selection, in real situation, is affected by several qualitative and quantitative factors and is one of the most important activities of purchasing department. Since at the time of evaluating suppliers against the criteria or factors, decision makers (DMS) do not have precise, exact and complete information, supplier selection becomes more difficult. In this case, Grey theory helps us to deal with this problem of uncertainty. Here, we apply Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) method to evaluate and select the best supplier by using interval fuzzy numbers. Through this article, we compare TOPSIS with some other approaches and afterward demonstrate that the concept of TOPSIS is very important for ranking and selecting right supplier.Keywords: TOPSIS, fuzzy number, MADM, Supplier selection
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 12988964 Teaching Students Collaborative Requirements Engineering: Case Study of Red:Wire
Authors: Dagmar Monett, Sven-Erik Kujat, Marvin Hartmann
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This paper discusses the use of a template-based approach for documenting high-quality requirements as part of course projects in an undergraduate Software Engineering course. In order to ease some of the Requirements Engineering activities that are performed when defining requirements by using the template, a new CASE tool, RED:WIRE, was first developed and later tested by students attending the course. Two questionnaires were conceived around a study that aims to analyze the new tool’s learnability as well as other obtained results concerning its usability in particular and the Requirements Engineering skills developed by the students in general.Keywords: CASE tool, collaborative learning, requirements engineering, undergraduate teaching.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1340963 Parallel Hybrid Honeypot and IDS Architecture to Detect Network Attacks
Authors: Hafiz Gulfam Ahmad, Chuangdong Li, Zeeshan Ahmad
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In this paper, we have proposed a parallel IDS and honeypot based approach to detect and analyze the unknown and known attack taxonomy for improving the IDS performance and protecting the network from intruders. The main theme of our approach is to record and analyze the intruder activities by using both the low and high interaction honeypots. Our architecture aims to achieve the required goals by combing signature based IDS, honeypots and generate the new signatures. The paper describes the basic component, design and implementation of this approach and also demonstrates the effectiveness of this approach to reduce the probability of network attacks.
Keywords: Network security, Intrusion detection, Honeypot, Snort, Nmap.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2516962 Modeling UWSN Simulators – A Taxonomy
Authors: Christhu Raj, Rajeev Sukumaran
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In this research article of modeling Underwater Wireless Sensor Network Simulators, we provide a comprehensive overview of the various currently available simulators used in UWSN modeling. In this work, we compare their working environment, software platform, simulation language, key features, limitations and corresponding applications. Based on extensive experimentation and performance analysis, we provide their efficiency for specific applications. We have also provided guidelines for developing protocols in different layers of the protocol stack, and finally these parameters are also compared and tabulated. This analysis is significant for researchers and designers to find the right simulator for their research activities.Keywords: Underwater Wireless Sensor networks (UWSN), SUNSET, NS2, OPNET, WOSS, DESERT, RECORDS, Aqua- Sim, Aqua- Net Mate.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3099961 Criteria of Selecting 3pl Provider: A Literature Review
Authors: Rajesh Gupta, Anish Sachdeva, Arvind Bhardwaj
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Shippers are concentrating on the core competency to stay competitive and outsourcing the logistic activities to the third party who is expert in this field. This third party logistics (3PL) is drawing the due attention at government, industrial, academicians and practitioner-s levels. If the logistics cost in India can be brought down from the current level of 13% of GDP to 9% (level in the U.S.), the savings would be around Rs 3 lakh crore approximately per annum. But the problem with the shippers is to select the suitable 3PL provider. Various criteria for selection of 3PL have been listed in the literature which are discussed in the present literature review. Every shipper will select the criteria suitable to its own requirement which have to be dynamically reviewed time to time so as to fit in the ever changing environment.Keywords: 3PL, criteria, shipper, outsourcing
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 5053960 Multi-Agent Approach for Monitoring and Control of Biotechnological Processes
Authors: Ivanka Valova
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This paper is aimed at using a multi-agent approach to monitor and diagnose a biotechnological system in order to validate certain control actions depending on the process development and the operating conditions. A multi-agent system is defined as a network of interacting software modules that collectively solve complex tasks. Remote monitoring and control of biotechnological processes is a necessity when automated and reliable systems operating with no interruption of certain activities are required. The advantage of our approach is in its flexibility, modularity and the possibility of improving by acquiring functionalities through the integration of artificial intelligence.
Keywords: Multi-agent approach, artificial intelligence, biotechnological processes, anaerobic biodegradation.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 29959 Performance Assessment and Optimization of the After-Sale Networks
Authors: H. Izadbakhsh, M.Hour Ali, A. Amirkhani, A. Montazeri, M. Saberi
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The after–sales activities are nowadays acknowledged as a relevant source of revenue, profit and competitive advantage in most manufacturing industries. Top and middle management, therefore, should focus on the definition of a structured business performance measurement system for the after-sales business. The paper aims at filling this gap, and presents an integrated methodology for the after-sales network performance measurement, and provides an empirical application to automotive case companies and their official service network. This is the first study that presents an integrated multivariate approach for total assessment and improvement of after-sale services.Keywords: Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Automotive companies, After-sale services.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1879958 Distributed Load Flow Analysis using Graph Theory
Authors: D. P. Sharma, A. Chaturvedi, G.Purohit , R.Shivarudraswamy
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In today scenario, to meet enhanced demand imposed by domestic, commercial and industrial consumers, various operational & control activities of Radial Distribution Network (RDN) requires a focused attention. Irrespective of sub-domains research aspects of RDN like network reconfiguration, reactive power compensation and economic load scheduling etc, network performance parameters are usually estimated by an iterative process and is commonly known as load (power) flow algorithm. In this paper, a simple mechanism is presented to implement the load flow analysis (LFA) algorithm. The reported algorithm utilizes graph theory principles and is tested on a 69- bus RDN.Keywords: Radial Distribution network, Graph, Load-flow, Array.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3135957 The Marketing Mix in Small Sized Hotels: A Case of Pattaya, Thailand
Authors: Anyapak Prapannetivuth
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The purpose of this research is to investigate the marketing mix that is perceived to be important for the small sized hotels in Pattaya. This research provides insights through a review of the marketing activities performed by the small sized hotels. Nine owners & marketing manager of small sized hotels and resorts, all local Chonburi people, were selected for an in-depth interview. The research suggests that seven marketing mixes (e.g. Product, Price, Place, Promotion, People, Physical Evidence and Process) were commonly used by these hotels, however, three types – People, Price and Physical Evidence were considered most important by the owners.Keywords: Marketing Mix, Marketing Tools, and Small Sized Hotels.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3472956 Possible Futures for Doctoral Research Training in Design
Authors: D. Barron, M. Zeegers
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In this paper, we argue that Design research is basic to countries- national productivity and competition agendas at the same time that vagaries of research training presents as one of the barriers faced by Design Higher Degree by Research students in engaging those agendas. We argue that, given industry requirements for research-trained recruits, students have the right to expect that research training will provide the foundations of a successful career on an academic or research pathway or a professional pathway, but that universities have yet to address problems in their provision of research training for Design doctoral students. We suggest that to facilitate this, rigorous research conducted on the provision of Doctoral programs in Design would serve to inform future activities in Design research in productive ways.
Keywords: Design, Doctoral Design Education, Research Training
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1425955 Entrepreneurs’ Perceptions of the Economic, Social and Physical Impacts of Tourism
Authors: Oktay Emir
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The objective of this study is to determine how entrepreneurs perceive the economic, social and physical impacts of tourism. The study was conducted in the city of Afyonkarahisar, Turkey, which is rich in thermal tourism resources and investments. A survey was used as the data collection method, and the questionnaire was applied to 472 entrepreneurs. A simple random sampling method was used to identify the sample. Independent sampling t-tests and ANOVA tests were used to analyse the data obtained. Additionally, some statistically significant differences (p<0.05) were found based on the participants’ demographic characteristics regarding their opinions about the social, economic and physical impacts of tourism activities.Keywords: Tourism, perception, entrepreneurship, entrepreneurs, structural equation modelling.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1217954 Academic Program Administration via Semantic Web – A Case Study
Authors: Qurban A Memon, Shakeel A. Khoja
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Generally, administrative systems in an academic environment are disjoint and support independent queries. The objective in this work is to semantically connect these independent systems to provide support to queries run on the integrated platform. The proposed framework, by enriching educational material in the legacy systems, provides a value-added semantics layer where activities such as annotation, query and reasoning can be carried out to support management requirements. We discuss the development of this ontology framework with a case study of UAE University program administration to show how semantic web technologies can be used by administration to develop student profiles for better academic program management.Keywords: Academic Program Administration, Semantic Web, Web Technology
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1608953 Pt(IV) Complexes with Polystrene-bound Schiff Bases as Antimicrobial Agent: Synthesis and Characterization
Authors: Dilek Nartop, Nurşen Sarı, Hatice Öğütçü
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Novel polystrene-bound Schiff bases and their Pt(IV) complexes have been prepared from condensation reaction of polystyrene-A-NH2 with 2-hydroxybenzaldehyde and 5-fluoro-3- bromo-2-hydroxybenzaldehyde. The structures of Pt(IV) complexes with polystyrene including Schiff bases have been determined by elemental analyses, magnetic susceptibility, IR, 1H-NMR, UV-vis, TG/DTA and AAS. The antibacterial and antifungal activities of the synthesized compounds have been studied by the well-diffusion method against some selected microorganisms: (Bacillus cereus spp., Listeria monocytogenes 4b, Micrococcus luteus, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermis, Brucella abortus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas putida spp., Shigella dysenteria type 10, Salmonella typhi H).Keywords: Polymer-bound Schiff bases, polystyrene-A-NH2, Pt(IV) complexes, biological activity.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1968952 Scientific Orientation of Youth as the Basis of Formation of a New University Culture
Authors: Sh. E. Jamanbalayeva, G. S. Abdiraiymova, N. Zh. Biyekenova, D. K. Burkhanova
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At present the process of formation of corporate values in Kazakh universities is under the influence of a whole range of socio-economic and cultural changes: on the one hand universities must maintain and transmit traditional cultural values of education, on the other, to improve quality of service and to involve young people to science, providing thus own competitiveness. Thus, this article presents some results of two cycles of sociological research conducted in 2012 and aimed at identifying possible ways to popularize science and readiness to participate of youth in given activities, expectations of young scientists and the prospects of future development of the Kazakh science.Keywords: Corporate culture, higher education institutions, motivation reforms, young scientists.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1420951 The U.S. and Central Asia: Religion, Politics, Ideology
Authors: Zhanar Aldubasheva, Elnura Assyltayeva, Mukhtar Senggirbay, Gаzizа Aldubаshovа
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Numerous facts evidence the increasing religiosity of the population and the intensification of religious movements in various countries in the last decade of the 20th century. The number of international religious institutions and foundations; religious movements; parties and sects operating worldwide is increasing as well. Some ethnic and inter-state conflicts are obviously of a religious origin. All of this make a number of analysts to conclude that the religious factor is becoming an important part of international life, including the formation and activities of terrorist organizations. Most of all is said and written about Islam, the second, after Christianity, world religions professed according to various estimates by 1.5 bln. individuals in 127 countries.Keywords: USA, Central Asia, Religion, Politics, Ideology Terrorism, Regional Security
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1623950 Response of the Residential Building Structureon Load Technical Seismicity due to Mining Activities
Authors: V. Salajka, Z. Kaláb, J. Kala, P. Hradil
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In the territories where high-intensity earthquakes are frequent is paid attention to the solving of the seismic problems. In the paper are described two computational model variants based on finite element method of the construction with different subsoil simulation (rigid or elastic subsoil) is used. For simulation and calculations program system based on method final elements ANSYS was used. Seismic responses calculations of residential building structure were effected on loading characterized by accelerogram for comparing with the responses spectra method.Keywords: Accelerogram, ANSYS, mining induced seismic, residential building structure, spectra, subsoil.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1521949 Power of Involvement over Rewards for Retention Likelihood in IT Professionals
Authors: Humayun Rashid, Lin Zhao
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Retention in the IT profession is critical for organizations to stay competitive and operate reliably in the dynamic business environment. Most organizations rely on compensation and rewards as primary tools to enhance retention of employees. In this quantitative survey-based study conducted at a large global bank, we analyze the perceptions of 575 information technology (IT) software professionals in India and Malaysia and find that fairness of rewards has very little impact on retention likelihood. It is far more important to actively involve employees in organizational activities. In addition, our findings indicate that involvement is far more important than information flow: the typical organizational communication to keep employees informed.Keywords: fairness of rewards, information flow, informationinvolvement, retention
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1428948 Corporate Sustainable Development Assessment Base on the Corporate Social Responsibility
Authors: Sun Mei, Nagata Katsuya, Onoda Hiroshi
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With the resource exhaustion, bad affections of human activities and the awakening of the human rights, the corporate social responsibility became popular corporate strategy achieving sustainable development of both corporation and society. The issue of Guideline of Chinese Corporate Social Responsibility Report promotes greatly corporation to take social responsibility. This paper built the index system according to this guideline and takes the textile industry as an example, uses the analytical hierarchy process to identify the weightings of different responsibilities of corporation to guide the corporate social responsibility performance assessment.Keywords: Sustainable development, analytical hierarchyprocess, index system, corporate social responsibility
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1855947 Biomechanical Modeling, Simulation, and Comparison of Human Arm Motion to Mitigate Astronaut Task during Extra Vehicular Activity
Authors: B. Vadiraj, S. N. Omkar, B. Kapil Bharadwaj, Yash Vardhan Gupta
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During manned exploration of space, missions will require astronaut crewmembers to perform Extra Vehicular Activities (EVAs) for a variety of tasks. These EVAs take place after long periods of operations in space, and in and around unique vehicles, space structures and systems. Considering the remoteness and time spans in which these vehicles will operate, EVA system operations should utilize common worksites, tools and procedures as much as possible to increase the efficiency of training and proficiency in operations. All of the preparations need to be carried out based on studies of astronaut motions. Until now, development and training activities associated with the planned EVAs in Russian and U.S. space programs have relied almost exclusively on physical simulators. These experimental tests are expensive and time consuming. During the past few years a strong increase has been observed in the use of computer simulations due to the fast developments in computer hardware and simulation software. Based on this idea, an effort to develop a computational simulation system to model human dynamic motion for EVA is initiated. This study focuses on the simulation of an astronaut moving the orbital replaceable units into the worksites or removing them from the worksites. Our physics-based methodology helps fill the gap in quantitative analysis of astronaut EVA by providing a multisegment human arm model. Simulation work described in the study improves on the realism of previous efforts, incorporating joint stops to account for the physiological limits of range of motion. To demonstrate the utility of this approach human arm model is simulated virtually using ADAMS/LifeMOD® software. Kinematic mechanism for the astronaut’s task is studied from joint angles and torques. Simulation results obtained is validated with numerical simulation based on the principles of Newton-Euler method. Torques determined using mathematical model are compared among the subjects to know the grace and consistency of the task performed. We conclude that due to uncertain nature of exploration-class EVA, a virtual model developed using multibody dynamics approach offers significant advantages over traditional human modeling approaches.Keywords: Extra vehicular activity, biomechanics, inverse kinematics, human body modeling.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2821946 Energy Resources Management for Sustainable Development in Nigeria Niger Delta Region: Women Issues and the Environment
Authors: Chizoba Chinweze, Gwen Abiola-Oloke, Chike Jideani
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There is an urgent need to conserve the biological diversity of the Nigerian Environment for the future and present generation in the face of current energy resources development. This paper gives an in-depth analysis of the impact of oil and gas activities on the biological diversity of the Nigerian Niger Delta area and its consequences on the sustainable development of the host communities as it relates to their social, economic and environmental issues, particularly on the womenfolk who are the key managers of environmental resources. Also reviewed is the frustration of these communities that is reflected in unending conflicts.
Keywords: Biodiversity, energy resources, sustainable development, and women issues.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2429945 Qualitative Profiling in Practice: The Italian Public Employment Services Experience
Authors: L. Agneni, F. Carta, C. Micheletta, V. Tersigni
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The development of a qualitative method to profile jobseekers is needed to improve the quality of the Public Employment Services (PES) in Italy. This is why the National Agency for Active Labour Market Policies (ANPAL) decided to introduce a Qualitative Profiling Service in the context of the activities carried out by local employment offices’ operators. The qualitative profiling service provides information and data regarding the jobseeker’s personal transition status, through a semi-structured questionnaire administered to PES clients during the guidance interview. The questionnaire responses allow PES staff to identify, for each client, proper activities and policy measures to support jobseekers in their reintegration into the labour market. Data and information gathered by the qualitative profiling tool are the following: frequency, modalities and motivations for clients to apply to local employment offices; clients’ expectations and skills; difficulties that they have faced during the previous working experiences; strategies, actions undertaken and activated channels for job search. These data are used to assess jobseekers’ personal and career characteristics and to measure their employability level (qualitative profiling index), in order to develop and deliver tailor-made action programmes for each client. This paper illustrates the use of the above-mentioned qualitative profiling service on the national territory and provides an overview of the main findings of the survey: concerning the difficulties that unemployed people face in finding a job and their perception of different aspects related to the transition in the labour market. The survey involved over 10.000 jobseekers registered with the PES. Most of them are beneficiaries of the “citizens' income”, a specific active labour policy and social inclusion measure. Furthermore, data analysis allows classifying jobseekers into a specific group of clients with similar features and behaviours, on the basis of socio-demographic variables, customers' expectations, needs and required skills for the profession for which they seek employment. Finally, the survey collects PES staff opinions and comments concerning clients’ difficulties in finding a new job and also their strengths. This is a starting point for PESs’ operators to define adequate strategies to facilitate jobseekers’ access or reintegration into the labour market.
Keywords: Labour market transition, Public Employment Services, qualitative profiling, vocational guidance.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 567944 An Overview of Construction and Demolition Waste as Coarse Aggregate in Concrete
Authors: S. R. Shamili, J. Karthikeyan
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Fast development of the total populace and far and wide urbanization has surprisingly expanded the advancement of the construction industry. As a result of these activities, old structures are being demolished to make new buildings. Due to these large-scale demolitions, a huge amount of debris is generated all over the world, which results in a landfill. The use of construction and demolition waste as landfill causes groundwater contamination, which is hazardous. Using construction and demolition waste as aggregate can reduce the use of natural aggregates and the problem of mining. The objective of this study is to provide a detailed overview on how the construction and demolition waste material has been used as aggregate in structural concrete. In this study, the preparation, classification, and composition of construction and demolition wastes are also discussed.
Keywords: Aggregate, construction and demolition waste, landfill, large scale demolition.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 622943 Phytochemical Screening, Antioxidant Activity and Lipid Profile Effects of Citrus reticulata Fruit Peel, Zingiber officinale Rhizome and Sesamum indicum Seed Extracts
Authors: Samar Saadeldin Abdelmotalab Omer, Ikram Mohamed Eltayeb Elsiddig, Amna Beshir Medani Ahmed, Saad Mohamed Hussein Ayoub
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Many herbal medicinal products are considered potential anti-hypercholesterolemic agents with encouraging safety profiles, however only a limited amount of clinical research exists to support their efficacy. The present study was designed to compare the antihypercholesterolemic and antioxidant activities of the crude ethanolic extracts of Citrus reticulata fruit peel, Zingiber officinale rhizome and Sesamum indicum seeds. Forty-five rats were used throughout the experiment which are extended for four weeks. These were divided into nine groups, five rats per each group as follows; group 1 was the normal control group (rats only fed standard normal rat diet), group 2 was the hypercholesterolemic control group (rats fed only hypercholesterolemic diet which contained 1% cholesterol plus 10% saturated animal fat added to the normal rat diet), groups 3 and 4 were fed hypercholesterolemic diet in addition to Citrus reticulata ethanolic extract at doses of (250mg/kg (group 3) and 500mg/kg (group 4)) administered daily via oral route, groups 5 and 6 were given hypercholesterolemic diet in addition to Zingiber officinale ethanolic extract at doses of (250mg/kg (group 5) and 500mg/kg (group 6)) daily through oral route, groups 7 and 8 fed on hypercholesterolemic diet in addition to Sesamum indicum ethanolic extract at doses of (250mg/kg (group 7) and 500mg/kg (group 8)) daily orally; and group 9 rats were given hypercholesterolemic diet in addition to atorvastatin (0.18mg/kg) daily via oral route as a standard reference antihypercholesterolemic drug. Blood samples from all groups were drawn from the retro-orbital venous plexus four weeks following treatment after overnight fasting and the lipid profile (total cholesterol (TC), high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) and triglyceride levels) were measured and the risk ratio (TC/HDL-C) was assessed. The antioxidant activity of the three plants extracts was determined using DPPH free-radical antioxidant assay. Results of in vivo and in vitro antihypercholesterolemic and antioxidant assay respectively, revealed that the three extracts possess comparable antioxidant and antihypercholesterolemic activities.Keywords: Antihypercholesterolemic effects, Antioxidant activity, HDL, LDL, TC, TGs, Citrus reticulata, Sesamum indicum, Zingiber officinale.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2677942 Analysis of Delays during Initial Phase of Construction Projects and Mitigation Measures
Authors: Sunaitan Al Mutairi
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A perfect start is a key factor for project completion on time. The study examined the effects of delayed mobilization of resources during the initial phases of the project. This paper mainly highlights the identification and categorization of all delays during the initial construction phase and their root cause analysis with corrective/control measures for the Kuwait Oil Company oil and gas projects. A relatively good percentage of the delays identified during the project execution (Contract award to end of defects liability period) attributed to mobilization/preliminary activity delays. Data analysis demonstrated significant increase in average project delay during the last five years compared to the previous period. Contractors had delays/issues during the initial phase, which resulted in slippages and progressively increased, resulting in time and cost overrun. Delays/issues not mitigated on time during the initial phase had very high impact on project completion. Data analysis of the delays for the past five years was carried out using trend chart, scatter plot, process map, box plot, relative importance index and Pareto chart. Construction of any project inside the Gathering Centers involves complex management skills related to work force, materials, plant, machineries, new technologies etc. Delay affects completion of projects and compromises quality, schedule and budget of project deliverables. Works executed as per plan during the initial phase and start-up duration of the project construction activities resulted in minor slippages/delays in project completion. In addition, there was a good working environment between client and contractor resulting in better project execution and management. Mainly, the contractor was on the front foot in the execution of projects, which had minimum/no delays during the initial and construction period. Hence, having a perfect start during the initial construction phase shall have a positive influence on the project success. Our research paper studies each type of delay with some real example supported by statistic results and suggests mitigation measures. Detailed analysis carried out with all stakeholders based on impact and occurrence of delays to have a practical and effective outcome to mitigate the delays. The key to improvement is to have proper control measures and periodic evaluation/audit to ensure implementation of the mitigation measures. The focus of this research is to reduce the delays encountered during the initial construction phase of the project life cycle.
Keywords: Construction activities delays, delay analysis for construction projects, mobilization delays, oil and gas projects delays.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1835941 Current Situation and Possible Solutions of Acid Rain in South Korea
Authors: Dhongkyu Yoon
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Environmental statistics reveals that the pollution of acid rain in South Korea is a serious issue. Yet the awareness of people is low. Even after a gradual decrease of pollutant emission in Korea, the acidity has not been reduced. There no boundaries in the atmosphere are set and the influence of the neighboring countries such as China is apparent. Governmental efforts among China, Japan and Korea have been made on this issue. However, not much progress has been observed. Along with the governmental activities, therefore, an active monitoring of the pollution among the countries and the promotion of environmental awareness at the civil level including especially the middle and high schools are highly recommended. It will be this young generation who will face damaged country as inheritance not the current generation.Keywords: acid rain, international collaboration, pollution, South Korea
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 6412940 Active Learning in Computer Exercises on Electronics
Authors: Zoja Raud, Valery Vodovozov
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Modelling and simulation provide effective way to acquire engineering experience. An active approach to modelling and simulation proposed in the paper involves, beside the compulsory part directed by the traditional step-by-step instructions, the new optional part basing on the human’s habits to design thus stimulating the efforts towards success in active learning. Computer exercises as a part of engineering curriculum incorporate a set of effective activities. In addition to the knowledge acquired in theoretical training, the described educational arrangement helps to develop problem solutions, computation skills, and experimentation performance along with enhancement of practical experience and qualification.
Keywords: Modelling, simulation, engineering education, electronics, active learning.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2360939 Corporate Knowledge Communication and Knowledge Communication Difficulties
Authors: H. Buluthan Cetintas, M. Nejat Ozupek
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Communication is an important factor and a prop in directing corporate activities efficiently, in ensuring the flow of knowledge which is necessary for the continuity of the institution, in creating a common language in the institution, in transferring corporate culture and ultimately in corporate success. The idea of transmitting the knowledge among the workers in a healthy manner has revived knowledge communication. Knowledge communication can be defined as the act of mutual creation and communication of intuitions, assessments, experiences and capabilities, as long as maintained effectively, can provide advantages such as corporate continuity, access to corporate objectives and making true administrative decisions. Although the benefits of the knowledge communication to corporations are known, and the necessary worth and care is given, some hardships may arise which makes it difficult or even block it. In this article, difficulties that prevent knowledge communication will be discussed and solutions will be proposed.Keywords: Corporate knowledge communication, knowledge communication, knowledge communication barriers
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1422