Search results for: information behavior
5368 Nonlinear Structural Behavior of Micro- and Nano-Actuators Using the Galerkin Discretization Technique
Authors: Hassen M. Ouakad
Abstract:
In this paper, the influence of van der Waals, as well as electrostatic forces on the structural behavior of MEMS and NEMS actuators, has been investigated using of a Euler-Bernoulli beam continuous model. In the proposed nonlinear model, the electrostatic fringing-fields and the mid-plane stretching (geometric nonlinearity) effects have been considered. The nonlinear integro-differential equation governing the static structural behavior of the actuator has been derived. An original Galerkin-based reduced-order model has been developed to avoid problems arising from the nonlinearities in the differential equation. The obtained reduced-order model equations have been solved numerically using the Newton-Raphson method. The basic design parameters such as the pull-in parameters (voltage and deflection at pull-in), as well as the detachment length due to the van der Waals force of some investigated micro- and nano-actuators have been calculated. The obtained numerical results have been compared with some other existing methods (finite-elements method and finite-difference method) and the comparison showed good agreement among all assumed numerical techniques.
Keywords: MEMS, NEMS, fringing-fields, mid-plane stretching, Galerkin method.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 14275367 Simulating Human Behavior in (Un)Built Environments: Using an Actor Profiling Method
Authors: Hadas Sopher, Davide Schaumann, Yehuda E. Kalay
Abstract:
This paper addresses the shortcomings of architectural computation tools in representing human behavior in built environments, prior to construction and occupancy of those environments. Evaluating whether a design fits the needs of its future users is currently done solely post construction, or is based on the knowledge and intuition of the designer. This issue is of high importance when designing complex buildings such as hospitals, where the quality of treatment as well as patient and staff satisfaction are of major concern. Existing computational pre-occupancy human behavior evaluation methods are geared mainly to test ergonomic issues, such as wheelchair accessibility, emergency egress, etc. As such, they rely on Agent Based Modeling (ABM) techniques, which emphasize the individual user. Yet we know that most human activities are social, and involve a number of actors working together, which ABM methods cannot handle. Therefore, we present an event-based model that manages the interaction between multiple Actors, Spaces, and Activities, to describe dynamically how people use spaces. This approach requires expanding the computational representation of Actors beyond their physical description, to include psychological, social, cultural, and other parameters. The model presented in this paper includes cognitive abilities and rules that describe the response of actors to their physical and social surroundings, based on the actors’ internal status. The model has been applied in a simulation of hospital wards, and showed adaptability to a wide variety of situated behaviors and interactions.Keywords: Agent based modeling, architectural design evaluation, event modeling, human behavior simulation, spatial cognition.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 10575366 Investigating the Effects of Sociotechnical Changes
Authors: Kee-Young Kwahk
Abstract:
Cognizant of the fact that enterprise systems involve organizational change and their implementation is over shadowed by a high failure rate, it is argued that there is the need to focus attention on employees- perceptions of such organizational change when explaining adoption behavior of enterprise systems. For this purpose, the research incorporates a conceptual constructo fattitude toward change that captures views about the need for organizational change. Centered on this conceptual construct, the research model includes beliefs regarding the system and behavioral intention as its consequences, and the personal characteristics of organizational commitment and perceived personal competence as its antecedents. Structural equation analysis using LISREL provides significant support for the proposed relationships. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed along with limitations.Keywords: Sociotechnical changes, organizational change, attitude toward change, enterprise information systems.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 18535365 The Impacts of Cost Stickiness on the Profitability of Indonesian Firms
Authors: Dezie L. Warganegara, Dewi Tamara
Abstract:
The objectives of this study is to investigate the existence of the sticky cost behavior of firms listed in the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) and to find evidence on the effects of sticky operating expenses (SG&A expenses) on profitability of firms. For the first objective, this study finds that the sticky cost behavior does exist. For the second objective, this study finds that the stickier the operating expenses the lesser future profitability of the firms. This study concludes that sticky cost affects negatively to the performance and, therefore, firms should include flexibility in designing the cost structure of their firms.
Keywords: Operating Expenses, Profitability, SG&A, Sticky Costs, Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX).
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 34515364 Interdisciplinary Principles of Field-Like Coordination in the Case of Self-Organized Social Systems1
Authors: D. Plikynas, S. Masteika, A. Budrionis
Abstract:
This interdisciplinary research aims to distinguish universal scale-free and field-like fundamental principles of selforganization observable across many disciplines like computer science, neuroscience, microbiology, social science, etc. Based on these universal principles we provide basic premises and postulates for designing holistic social simulation models. We also introduce pervasive information field (PIF) concept, which serves as a simulation media for contextual information storage, dynamic distribution and organization in social complex networks. PIF concept specifically is targeted for field-like uncoupled and indirect interactions among social agents capable of affecting and perceiving broadcasted contextual information. Proposed approach is expressive enough to represent contextual broadcasted information in a form locally accessible and immediately usable by network agents. This paper gives some prospective vision how system-s resources (tangible and intangible) could be simulated as oscillating processes immersed in the all pervasive information field.
Keywords: field-based coordination, multi-agent systems, information-rich social networks, pervasive information field
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 15555363 Numerical Analysis and Influence of the Parameters on Slope Stability
Authors: Fahim Kahlouche, Alaoua Bouaicha, Sihem Chaîbeddra, Sid-Ali Rafa, Abdelhamid Benouali
Abstract:
A designing of a structure requires its realization on rough or sloping ground. Besides the problem of the stability of the landslide, the behavior of the foundations that are bearing the structure is influenced by the destabilizing effect of the ground’s slope. This article focuses on the analysis of the slope stability exposed to loading by introducing the different factors influencing the slope’s behavior on the one hand, and on the influence of this slope on the foundation’s behavior on the other hand. This study is about the elastoplastic modelization using FLAC 2D. This software is based on the finite difference method, which is one of the older methods of numeric resolution of differential equations system with initial and boundary conditions. It was developed for the geotechnical simulation calculation. The aim of this simulation is to demonstrate the notable effect of shear modulus « G », cohesion « C », inclination angle (edge) « β », and distance between the foundation and the head of the slope on the stability of the slope as well as the stability of the foundation. In our simulation, the slope is constituted by homogenous ground. The foundation is considered as rigid/hard; therefore, the loading is made by the application of the vertical strengths on the nodes which represent the contact between the foundation and the ground.Keywords: Slope, shallow foundation, numeric method, FLAC 2D.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 11835362 Experimental Investigation of Drying Behavior of Rosehip in a Cyclone-Type Dryer
Authors: Ayse Bicer, Filiz Kar
Abstract:
This paper describes an experimental investigation of the drying behavior and conditions of rosehip in a convective cyclone-type dryer. Drying experiments were conducted at air inlet temperatures of 50, 60 and 70 o C and air velocities of 0.5, 1 and 1.5 ms–1. The parametric values obtained from the experiments were fitted to the Newton mathematical models. Consequently, the drying model developed by Newton model showed good agreement with the data obtained from the experiments. Concluding, it was obtained that; (i) the temperature is the major effect on the drying process, (ii) air velocity has low effect on the drying of rosehip, (iii) the C-vitamin is observed to change according to the temperature, moisture, drying time and flow types. The changing ratio is found to be in the range of 0.70-0.74.Keywords: Rosehip, drying, food quality.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 21055361 Sensitivity of Small Disturbance Angle Stability to the System Parameters of Future Power Networks
Authors: Nima Farkhondeh Jahromi, George Papaefthymiou, Lou van der Sluis
Abstract:
The incorporation of renewable energy sources for the sustainable electricity production is undertaking a more prominent role in electric power systems. Thus, it will be an indispensable incident that the characteristics of future power networks, their prospective stability for instance, get influenced by the imposed features of sustainable energy sources. One of the distinctive attributes of the sustainable energy sources is exhibiting the stochastic behavior. This paper investigates the impacts of this stochastic behavior on the small disturbance rotor angle stability in the upcoming electric power networks. Considering the various types of renewable energy sources and the vast variety of system configurations, the sensitivity analysis can be an efficient breakthrough towards generalizing the effects of new energy sources on the concept of stability. In this paper, the definition of small disturbance angle stability for future power systems and the iterative-stochastic way of its analysis are presented. Also, the effects of system parameters on this type of stability are described by performing a sensitivity analysis for an electric power test system.
Keywords: Power systems stability, Renewable energy sources, Stochastic behavior, Small disturbance rotor angle stability.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 20685360 Torsion Behavior of Steel Fibered High Strength Self Compacting Concrete Beams Reinforced by GFRB Bars
Authors: Khaled S. Ragab, Ahmed S. Eisa
Abstract:
This paper investigates experimentally and analytically the torsion behavior of steel fibered high strength self compacting concrete beams reinforced by GFRP bars. Steel fibered high strength self compacting concrete (SFHSSCC) and GFRP bars became in the recent decades a very important materials in the structural engineering field. The use of GFRP bars to replace steel bars has emerged as one of the many techniques put forward to enhance the corrosion resistance of reinforced concrete structures. High strength concrete and GFRP bars attract designers and architects as it allows improving the durability as well as the esthetics of a construction. One of the trends in SFHSSCC structures is to provide their ductile behavior and additional goal is to limit development and propagation of macro-cracks in the body of SFHSSCC elements. SFHSSCC and GFRP bars are tough, improve the workability, enhance the corrosion resistance of reinforced concrete structures, and demonstrate high residual strengths after appearance of the first crack. Experimental studies were carried out to select effective fiber contents. Three types of volume fraction from hooked shape steel fibers are used in this study, the hooked steel fibers were evaluated in volume fractions ranging between 0.0%, 0.75% and 1.5%. The beams shape is chosen to create the required forces (i.e. torsion and bending moments simultaneously) on the test zone. A total of seven beams were tested, classified into three groups. All beams, have 200cm length, cross section of 10×20cm, longitudinal bottom reinforcement of 3
Keywords: Self compacting concrete, torsion behavior, steel fiber, steel fiber reinforced high strength self compacting concrete (SFRHSCC), GFRP bars.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 33455359 Behavior of Confined Columns under Different Techniques
Authors: Mostafa Osman, Ata El-Kareim Shoeib Soliman
Abstract:
Since columns are the most important elements of the structures, failure of one column in a critical location can cause a progressive collapse. In this respect, the repair and strengthening of columns is a very important subject to reduce the building failure and to keep the columns capacity. Twenty columns with different parameters is tested and analysis. Eleven typical confined reinforced concrete (RC) columns with different types of techniques are assessment. And also, four confined concrete columns with plastic tube (PVC) are tested with and with four paralleling tested of unconfined plain concrete. The techniques of confined RC columns are mortar strengthening, Steel rings strengthening, FRP strengthening. Moreover, the technique of confined plain concrete (PC) column is used PVC tubes. The columns are tested under uniaxial compressive loads studied the effect of confinement on the structural behavior of circular RC columns. Test results for each column are presented in the form of crack patterns, stress-strain curves. Test results show that confining of the RC columns using different techniques of strengthening results significant improvement of the general behavior of the columns and can used in construction. And also, tested confined PC columns with PVC tubes results shown that the confined PC with PVC tubes can be used in economical building. The theoretical model for predicted column capacity is founded with experimental factor depends on the confined techniques used and the strain reduction.
Keywords: Confined reinforced concrete column, CFRP, GFRP, Mortar.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 26215358 Seismic Behavior of Suction Caisson Foundations
Authors: Mohsen Saleh Asheghabadi, Alireza Jafari Jebeli
Abstract:
Increasing population growth requires more sustainable development of energy. This non-contaminated energy has an inexhaustible energy source. One of the vital parameters in such structures is the choice of foundation type. Suction caissons are now used extensively worldwide for offshore wind turbine. Considering the presence of a number of offshore wind farms in earthquake areas, the study of the seismic behavior of suction caisson is necessary for better design. In this paper, the results obtained from three suction caisson models with different diameter (D) and skirt length (L) in saturated sand were compared with centrifuge test results. All models are analyzed using 3D finite element (FE) method taking account of elasto-plastic Mohr–Coulomb constitutive model for soil which is available in the ABAQUS library. The earthquake load applied to the base of models with a maximum acceleration of 0.65g. The results showed that numerical method is in relative good agreement with centrifuge results. The settlement and rotation of foundation decrease by increasing the skirt length and foundation diameter. The sand soil outside the caisson is prone to liquefaction due to its low confinement.
Keywords: Liquefaction, suction caisson foundation, offshore wind turbine, numerical analysis, seismic behavior.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 11725357 Behavior Fatigue Life of Wind Turbine Rotor with Longitudinal Crack Growth
Authors: S. Lecheb, A. Nour, A. Chellil, H. Mechakra, N. Hamad, H. Kebir
Abstract:
This study concerned the dynamic behavior of the wind turbine rotor. Before all we have studied the loads applied to the rotor, which allows the knowledge their effect on the fatigue, also studied the rotor with longitudinal crack in order to determine stress, strain and displacement. Firstly we compared the first six modes shapes between cracking and uncracking of HAWT rotor. Secondly we show show evolution of first six natural frequencies with longitudinal crack propagation. Finally we conclude that the residual change in the natural frequencies can be used as in shaft crack diagnosis predictive maintenance.
Keywords: Wind turbine rotor, natural frequencies, longitudinal crack growth, life time.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 21845356 Historical Geography of Lykaonia Region
Authors: Asuman Baldiran, Erdener Pehlivan
Abstract:
In this study, the root of the name Lykaonia and the geographical area defined as Lykaonia Region are mentioned. In this context, information concerning the settlements of Paleolithic Age, Neolithic Age and Chalcolithic Age are given place. Particularly the settlements belonging to Classical Age are localized and brief information about the history of these settlements is provided. In the light of this information, roads of Antique period in the region are evaluated.
Keywords: Ancient Cities, Central Anatolia, Historical Geography, Lykaonia Region.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 22325355 Experimental Analysis of Mechanical Behavior under the Effect of Temperature Frequency
Authors: A. Nedjar, S. Aguib, M. Meloussi, T. Djedid, A. Khebli, R. Harhout, L. Kobzili, N. Chikh, M. Tourab
Abstract:
Finding the mechanical properties of magnetorheological elastomers (MREs) is fundamental to create smart materials and devices with desired properties and functionalities. The MREs properties, in shear mode, have been extensively investigated, but these have been less exploited with frequency-temperature dependence. In this article, we studied the performance of MREs with frequency-temperature dependence. The elastic modulus, loss modulus and loss factor of MREs were studied under different temperature values; different values of the magnetic field and different values of the frequency. The results found showed the interest of these active materials in different industrial sectors.
Keywords: Magnetorheological elastomer, mechanical behavior, frequency, temperature.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1185354 A Study on Leaching Behavior of Na, Ca and K Using Column Leach Test
Authors: Barman P.J, Kartha S A, Gupta S, Pradhan B.
Abstract:
Column leach test has been performed to examine the behavior of leaching of sodium, calcium and potassium in landfills. In the column leach apparatus, two different layers of contaminated and uncontaminated soils of different height ratios (ratio of depth of contaminated soil to the depth of uncontaminated soil) are taken. Water is poured from an overhead tank at a particular flowrate to the inlet of the soil column for a certain ponding depth over the contaminated soil. Subsequent infiltration causes leaching and the leachates are collected from the bottom of the column. The concentrations of Na, Ca and K in the leachate are measured using flame photometry. The experiments are further extended by changing the rates of flow from the overhead tank to the inlet of the column in achieving the same ponding depth. The experiments are performed for different scenarios in which the height ratios are altered and the variations of concentrations of Na, Ca, and K are observed. The study brings an estimation of leaching in landfill sites for different heights and precipitation intensity where a ponding depth is maintained over the landfill. It has been observed that the leaching behavior of Na, Ca, and K are not similar. Calcium exhibits highest amount of leaching compared to Sodium and Potassium under similar experimental conditions.Keywords: Column leaching, flow rate, uncontaminated soil, contaminated soil, concentration, height ratio.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 23195353 The Effect of Mist Cooling on Sexual Behavior and Semen Quality of Sahiwal Bulls
Authors: Khalid Ahmed Elrabie Abdelrasoul
Abstract:
The present study was carried out on Sahiwal cattle bulls maintained at the Artificial Breeding Complex, NDRI, Karnal, Hayana, India, to assess the effect of cooling using mist cooling and fanning on Sahiwal bulls in the dry hot summer season. Fourteen Sahiwal bulls were divided into two groups of seven each. Sexual behavior and semen quality traits considered were: Reaction time (RT), Dismounting time (DMT), Total time taken in mounts (TTTM), Flehmen response (FR), Erection Score (ES), Protrusion Score (PS), Intensity of thrust (ITS), Temperament Score (TS), Libido Score (LS), Semen volume, Physical appearance, Mass activity, Initial progressive motility, Non-eosinophilic spermatozoa count (NESC) and post thaw motility percent. Data were analyzed by least squares technique. Group-1 was the control, whereas group-2 (treatment group) bulls were exposed to mist cooling and fanning (thrice a day 15 min each) in the dry hot summer season. Group-2 showed significantly (p < 0.01) higher value in DMT (sec), ES, PS, ITS, LS, semen volume (ml), semen color density, mass activity, initial motility, progressive motility and live sperm.Keywords: Mist cooling, Sahiwal bulls, semen quality, sexual behavior.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 10365352 Value-Relevance of Accounting Information:Evidence from Iranian Emerging Stock Exchange
Authors: Ali Faal Ghayoumi, Mahmoud Dehghan Nayeri, Manouchehre Ansari, Taha Raeesi
Abstract:
This study aims to investigate empirically the valuerelevance of accounting information to domestic investors in Tehran stock exchange from 1999 to 2006. During the present research impacts of two factors, including positive vs. negative earnings and the firm size are considered as well. The authors used earnings per share and annual change of earnings per share as the income statement indices, and book value of equity per share as the balance sheet index. Return and Price models through regression analysis are deployed in order to test the research hypothesis. Results depicted that accounting information is value-relevance to domestic investors in Tehran Stock Exchange according to both studied models. However, income statement information has more value-relevance than the balance sheet information. Furthermore, positive vs. negative earnings and firm size seems to have significant impact on valuerelevance of accounting information.Keywords: Value-Relevance of Accounting Information, Iranianstock exchange, Return Model, Price Model
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 25525351 Hippocampus Segmentation using a Local Prior Model on its Boundary
Authors: Dimitrios Zarpalas, Anastasios Zafeiropoulos, Petros Daras, Nicos Maglaveras
Abstract:
Segmentation techniques based on Active Contour Models have been strongly benefited from the use of prior information during their evolution. Shape prior information is captured from a training set and is introduced in the optimization procedure to restrict the evolution into allowable shapes. In this way, the evolution converges onto regions even with weak boundaries. Although significant effort has been devoted on different ways of capturing and analyzing prior information, very little thought has been devoted on the way of combining image information with prior information. This paper focuses on a more natural way of incorporating the prior information in the level set framework. For proof of concept the method is applied on hippocampus segmentation in T1-MR images. Hippocampus segmentation is a very challenging task, due to the multivariate surrounding region and the missing boundary with the neighboring amygdala, whose intensities are identical. The proposed method, mimics the human segmentation way and thus shows enhancements in the segmentation accuracy.Keywords: Medical imaging & processing, Brain MRI segmentation, hippocampus segmentation, hippocampus-amygdala missingboundary, weak boundary segmentation, region based segmentation, prior information, local weighting scheme in level sets, spatialdistribution of labels, gradient distribution on boundary.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 17395350 Entanglement-based Quantum Computing by Diagrams of States
Authors: Sara Felloni, Giuliano Strini
Abstract:
We explore entanglement in composite quantum systems and how its peculiar properties are exploited in quantum information and communication protocols by means of Diagrams of States, a novel method to graphically represent and analyze how quantum information is elaborated during computations performed by quantum circuits. We present quantum diagrams of states for Bell states generation, measurements and projections, for dense coding and quantum teleportation, for probabilistic quantum machines designed to perform approximate quantum cloning and universal NOT and, finally, for quantum privacy amplification based on entanglement purification. Diagrams of states prove to be a useful approach to analyze quantum computations, by offering an intuitive graphic representation of the processing of quantum information. They also help in conceiving novel quantum computations, from describing the desired information processing to deriving the final implementation by quantum gate arrays.Keywords: Diagrams of states, entanglement, quantum circuits, quantum information.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 16445349 Watermark Bit Rate in Diverse Signal Domains
Authors: Nedeljko Cvejic, Tapio Sepp
Abstract:
A study of the obtainable watermark data rate for information hiding algorithms is presented in this paper. As the perceptual entropy for wideband monophonic audio signals is in the range of four to five bits per sample, a significant amount of additional information can be inserted into signal without causing any perceptual distortion. Experimental results showed that transform domain watermark embedding outperforms considerably watermark embedding in time domain and that signal decompositions with a high gain of transform coding, like the wavelet transform, are the most suitable for high data rate information hiding. Keywords?Digital watermarking, information hiding, audio watermarking, watermark data rate.
Keywords: Digital watermarking, information hiding, audio watermarking, watermark data rate.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 16145348 Association between Job Satisfaction, Motivation and Five Factors of Organizational Citizenship Behavior
Authors: K. Mushtaq, M. Umar
Abstract:
The research aims to study the association between job satisfaction, motivation and the five factors of organizational citizenship behavior (i.e. Altruism, Conscientiousness, Sportsmanship, Courtesy and Civic virtue) among Public Sector Employees in Pakistan. In this research Structure Equation Modeling with confirmatory factor analysis was used to test the relationship between two independent and five dependent variables. Data was collected through questionnaire survey from 152 Public Servants Working in Gujrat District-Pakistan in different capacities. Stratified Random Sampling Technique was used to conduct this survey. The results of the study indicate that five factors of OCB have positive significant relation with both motivation and job satisfaction except the relationship of Civic Virtue with Motivation. The research findings implicate that factors other than motivation and job satisfaction may also affect OCB. Likewise, all the five factors of OCB may not be present in all populations. Thus, Managers must concentrate on increasing motivation and job satisfaction to increase OCB. Furthermore, the present research gives a direction to future researchers to use more independent variables (e.g. Culture, leadership, workplace environment, various job attitudes, types of motivation, etc.) on different types of populations with larger sample size in order to find the reasons behind insignificant relationship of civic virtue with Motivation in the research in hand and to generalize the tested model.Keywords: Five Factors of Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB), Motivation, Job Satisfaction, Public Sector Employees in Pakistan.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 31535347 Curvature Ductility Factor of Rectangular Sections Reinforced Concrete Beams
Authors: Y. Si Youcef, M. Chemrouk
Abstract:
The present work presents a method of calculating the ductility of rectangular sections of beams considering nonlinear behavior of concrete and steel. This calculation procedure allows us to trace the curvature of the section according to the bending moment, and consequently deduce ductility. It also allowed us to study the various parameters that affect the value of the ductility. A comparison of the effect of maximum rates of tension steel, adopted by the codes, ACI [1], EC8 [2] and RPA [3] on the value of the ductility was made. It was concluded that the maximum rate of steels permitted by the ACI [1] codes and RPA [3] are almost similar in their effect on the ductility and too high. Therefore, the ductility mobilized in case of an earthquake is low, the inverse of code EC8 [2]. Recommendations have been made in this direction.Keywords: Ductility, beam, reinforced concrete, seismic code, relationship, time bending, resistance, non-linear behavior.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 61745346 Drive-Related Behaviors as Elements of Thinking
Authors: Peter Pfeifer, Julian Pfeifer, Niko Pfeifer
Abstract:
Information processing is at the focus of brain and cognition research. This work has a different perspective, it starts with behaviors. The detailed analysis of behaviors leads to the discovery that a significant proportion of them are based on only five basic drives. These basic drives are combinable, and the combinations result in the diversity of human behavior and thinking. The key elements are drive memories. They collect memories of drive-related situations and feelings. They contain variations of basic drives in numerous areas of life and build combinations with different meanings depending on the area. Human thinking could be explained with variations on these nested combinations of basic drives.
Keywords: Cognitive modeling, psycholinguistics, psychology, psychophysiology of cognition.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 8705345 The Potential Benefits of Multimedia Information Representation in Enhancing Students’ Critical Thinking and History Reasoning
Authors: Ang Ling Weay, Mona Masood
Abstract:
This paper discusses the potential benefits of an interactive multimedia information representation in enhancing students’ critical thinking aligned with history reasoning in learning history amongst Secondary School students in Malaysia. Two modes of multimedia information representation were implemented; chronologic and thematic information representations. A qualitative study of an unstructured interview was conducted among two history teachers, one history education lecturer, two i-think experts, and five students from Form Four secondary school. The interview was to elicit their opinions on the implementation of thinking maps and interactive multimedia information representation in history learning. The key elements of the interactive multimedia (e.g. multiple media, user control, interactivity and use of timelines and concept maps) were then considered to improve the learning process. Findings of the preliminary investigation reveal that the interactive multimedia information representations have the potential benefits to be implemented as an instructional resource in enhancing students’ higher order thinking skills (HOTs). This paper concludes by giving suggestions for future work.
Keywords: Multimedia Information Representation, Critical Thinking, History Reasoning, Chronological and Thematic Information Representation.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 23745344 Outbound Tourism in Developed Countries: Analysis of the Trends, Behavior and the Transformation of the Moroccan Demand for International Travels
Authors: M. Boukhrouk, R. Ed-Dali
Abstract:
Outbound tourism in Morocco, as in the majority of developing countries, reveals some of the aspects of inequality between the north and the south. Considered by some researchers as one of the facets of the development crisis, access to tourism and especially international tourism is a chance for a small minority with financial means, while the vast portions of the population dream rather of immigrating to a developed country for the sake of improving their standard of living. The right to travel is also limited by visa requirements, procedures in host countries, security and technical measures and creates discrimination in the practice of tourism. These conditions do not seem to be favorable to the democratization of the practice of international tourism for the populations of the southern countries. This paper is a contribution to the reading of the trends of outbound tourism in developing countries through the example of Morocco. It highlights the different aspects of Moroccan outbound tourism, destinations and the behavior of tourists through an analysis of the offer of a sample of 50 travel agencies. In the same vein, it offers a reading grid of the possibilities offered for the development of outbound tourism and the various existing obstacles to the democratization of international outbound tourism in the southern countries. This reading reveals the transformation in the behavior of Moroccan international tourists as well as the profound changes in Moroccan society, through a model of statistical analysis.
Keywords: Demand, Hajj, Morocco, outbound tourism, tendency, Umrah.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 11825343 Dependence of Virtual Subjects Reflection from the Features of Coping Behavior of Students
Authors: F.S.Tashimova, A. Mirzabekova, Z. Ismagambetova, Y. Massanov, Z. Gabit
Abstract:
In the globalization process, when the struggle for minds and values of the people is taking place, the impact of the virtual space can cause unexpected effects and consequences in the process of adjustment of young people in this world. Their special significance is defined by unconscious influence on the underlying process of meaning and therefore the values preached by them are much more effective and affect both the personal characteristics and the peculiarities of adjustment process. Related to this the challenge is to identify factors influencing the reflection characteristics of virtual subjects and measures their impact on the personal characteristics of the students.
Keywords: Coping behavior, overcoming, personalization (representation), psychological defense, values, virtual space, virtual subject, subjective reflection.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 11565342 Users- Motivation and Satisfaction with IS
Authors: Abbas Moshref Razavi, Rodina Ahmad
Abstract:
To motivate users to adopt and use information systems effectively, the nature of motivation should be carefully investigated. People are usually motivated within ongoing processes which include a chain of states such as perception, stimulation, motivation, actions and reactions and finally, satisfaction. This study assumes that the relevant motivation processes should be executed in a proper and continuous manner to be able to persistently motivate and re-motivate people in organizational settings and towards information systems. On this basis, the study attempts to propose possible relationships between this process-nature view of motivation in terms of the common chain of states and the nearly unique properties of information systems as is perceived by users in the sense of a knowledgeable and authoritative entity. In the conclusion section, some guidelines for practitioners are suggested to ease their tasks for motivating people to adopt and use information systems.Keywords: Information Systems, Satisfaction, Motivation
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 12825341 A Case Study of Al-Shifa: A Healthcare Information System in Oman
Authors: Khamis Al-Gharbi, Said M. Gattoufi, Ali H. Al-Badi, Ali Al-Hashmi
Abstract:
The case study presents the progression of a project management of Al-Shifa, a healthcare information system in Oman. The case study describes the evolution of the implementation of a healthcare information system tailored to meet the needs of the healthcare units under the supervision of the Ministry of Health (MOH) in Oman. A focus group methodology was used for collecting the relevant information from the main project's stakeholders. In addition reports about the project made available for the researchers. The case analysis is made based on the Project Management approach developed by the Project Management Institute (PMI). The main finding that there was no formal project management approach adopted by the MOH for the development and implementation of the herewith mentioned healthcare information system project. Furthermore, the project had suffered a scope creep in terms of features, cost and time-schedule. The recommendations of the authors, for the rescue of the project from its current dilemma, consist of technological, administrative and human resources development actions.
Keywords: Al-Shifa, Information system, Healthcare, Oman, Project Management.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 53515340 Comparative Studies of the Effects of Microstructures on the Corrosion Behavior of Micro-Alloyed Steels in Unbuffered 3.5 Wt% NaCl Saturated with CO2
Authors: Lawrence I. Onyeji, Girish M. Kale, M. Bijan Kermani
Abstract:
Corrosion problem which exists in every stage of oil and gas production has been a great challenge to the operators in the industry. The conventional carbon steel with all its inherent advantages has been adjudged susceptible to the aggressive corrosion environment of oilfield. This has aroused increased interest in the use of micro alloyed steels for oil and gas production and transportation. The corrosion behavior of three commercially supplied micro alloyed steels designated as A, B, and C have been investigated with API 5L X65 as reference samples. Electrochemical corrosion tests were conducted in an unbuffered 3.5 wt% NaCl solution saturated with CO2 at 30 0C for 24 hours. Pre-corrosion analyses revealed that samples A, B and X65 consist of ferrite-pearlite microstructures but with different grain sizes, shapes and distribution whereas sample C has bainitic microstructure with dispersed acicular ferrites. The results of the electrochemical corrosion tests showed that within the experimental conditions, the corrosion rate of the samples can be ranked as CR(A)< CR(X65)< CR(B)< CR(C). These results are attributed to difference in microstructures of the samples as depicted by ASTM grain size number in accordance with ASTM E112-12 Standard and ferrite-pearlite volume fractions determined by ImageJ Fiji grain size analysis software.
Keywords: Carbon dioxide corrosion, corrosion behavior, micro-alloyed steel, microstructures.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 10835339 Nanocrystalline Mg-3%Al Alloy: its Synthesis and Investigation of its Tensile Behavior
Authors: A. Mallick
Abstract:
The tensile properties of Mg-3%Al nanocrystalline alloys were investigated at different test environment. Bulk nanocrystalline samples of these alloy was successfully prepared by mechanical alloying (MA) followed by cold compaction, sintering, and hot extrusion process. The crystal size of the consolidated milled sample was calculated by X-Ray line profile analysis. The deformation mechanism and microstructural characteristic at different test condition was discussed extensively. At room temperature, relatively lower value of activation volume (AV) and higher value of strain rate sensitivity (SRS) suggests that new rate controlling mechanism accommodating plastic flow in the present nanocrystalline sample. The deformation behavior and the microstructural character of the present samples were discussed in details.Keywords: Nanocrystalline, tensile properties, temperature effect.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1446