Search results for: social effects.

Authors: Han Nguyen

Abstract:

The objectives of this study is to investigate the impact of culture on advertising appeals in mobile phone industry via social media channel in UK, Brazil and India. Content analysis on Samsung and Nokia commercials in YouTube is conducted. The result indicates that the advertising appeals are both congruent and incongruent with cultural dimensions in UK, Brazil and India. The result suggests that Hofstede and value paradoxes might be the tools to predict the relationship between cultural values and advertising appeals.

Keywords: Advertising appeal, international advertising, mobile phone advertising, social media advertising.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 5232

Authors: Guo Yanru, Zhu Xiaobo, Lee Chu Keong

Abstract:

This paper maps the structure of the social network of the 2011 class ofsixty graduate students of the Masters of Science (Knowledge Management) programme at the Nanyang Technological University, based on their friending relationships on Facebook. To ensure anonymity, actual names were not used. Instead, they were replaced with codes constructed from their gender, nationality, mode of study, year of enrollment and a unique number. The relationships between friends within the class, and among the seniors and alumni of the programme wereplotted. UCINet and Pajek were used to plot the sociogram, to compute the density, inclusivity, and degree, global, betweenness, and Bonacich centralities, to partition the students into two groups, namely, active and peripheral, and to identify the cut-points. Homophily was investigated, and it was observed for nationality and study mode. The groups students formed on Facebook were also studied, and of fifteen groups, eight were classified as dead, which we defined as those that have been inactive for over two months.

Keywords: Facebook, friending relationships, Social network analysis, social network sites, structural position

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1716

Authors: Elnaz Afshari, Siamak Najarian

Abstract:

Having considered tactile sensing and palpation of a surgeon in order to detect kidney stone during open surgery; we present the 2D model of nephrolithiasis (two dimensional model of kidney containing a simulated stone). The effects of stone existence that appear on the surface of kidney (because of exerting mechanical load) are determined. Using Finite element method, it is illustrated that the created stress patterns on the surface of kidney and stress graphs not only show existence of stone inside kidney, but also show its exact location.

Keywords: Nephrolithiasis, Minimally Invasive Surgery, Artificial Tactile Sensing, Finite Element Method.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1330

Authors: L. Krpalkova, N. O' Mahony, A. Carvalho, S. Campbell, S. Harapanahalli, J. Walsh

Abstract:

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of environmental stressors on the performance of lactating dairy cows and discuss some future trends. There exists a relationship between the meteorological data and milk yield prediction accuracy in pasture-based dairy systems. New precision technologies are available and are being developed to improve the sustainability of the dairy industry. Some of these technologies focus on welfare of individual animals on dairy farms. These technologies allow the automatic identification of animal behaviour and health events, greatly increasing overall herd health and yield while reducing animal health inspection demands and long-term animal healthcare costs. The data set consisted of records from 489 dairy cows at two dairy farms and temperature measured from the nearest meteorological weather station in 2018. The effects of temperature on milk production and behaviour of animals were analyzed. The statistical results indicate different effects of temperature on milk yield and behaviour. The “comfort zone” for animals is in the range 10 °C to 20 °C. Dairy cows out of this zone had to decrease or increase their metabolic heat production, and it affected their milk production and behaviour.

Keywords: Behaviour, milk yield, temperature, precision technologies.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 589

Authors: Thomas Jin-Chee Liu

Abstract:

Using the finite element analyses, this paper discusses the effects of temperature-dependent material properties on the stress and temperature fields in a cracked metal plate under the electric current load. The practical and complicated results are obtained when the temperature-dependent material properties are adopted in the analysis. If the simplified (temperature-independent) material properties are used, incorrect results will be obtained.

Keywords: Joule heating, temperature-dependent, crack tip, finite element.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1962

Authors: A. Pashkevich, A. Klimchik, D. Chablat

Abstract:

The paper focuses on the enhanced stiffness modeling of robotic manipulators by taking into account influence of the external force/torque acting upon the end point. It implements the virtual joint technique that describes the compliance of manipulator elements by a set of localized six-dimensional springs separated by rigid links and perfect joints. In contrast to the conventional formulation, which is valid for the unloaded mode and small displacements, the proposed approach implicitly assumes that the loading leads to the non-negligible changes of the manipulator posture and corresponding amendment of the Jacobian. The developed numerical technique allows computing the static equilibrium and relevant force/torque reaction of the manipulator for any given displacement of the end-effector. This enables designer detecting essentially nonlinear effects in elastic behavior of manipulator, similar to the buckling of beam elements. It is also proposed the linearization procedure that is based on the inversion of the dedicated matrix composed of the stiffness parameters of the virtual springs and the Jacobians/Hessians of the active and passive joints. The developed technique is illustrated by an application example that deals with the stiffness analysis of a parallel manipulator of the Orthoglide family

Keywords: Robotic manipulators, Stiffness model, Loaded mode, Nonlinear effects, Buckling, Orthoglide manipulator

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1432

Authors: William Xiu Shun Wong, Myungsu Lim, Yoonjin Hyun, Chen Liu, Seongi Choi, Dasom Kim, Kee-Young Kwahk, Namgyu Kim

Abstract:

Recently, many users have begun to frequently share their opinions on diverse issues using various social media. Therefore, numerous governments have attempted to establish or improve national policies according to the public opinions captured from various social media. In this paper, we indicate several limitations of the traditional approaches to analyze public opinion on science and technology and provide an alternative methodology to overcome these limitations. First, we distinguish between the science and technology analysis phase and the social issue analysis phase to reflect the fact that public opinion can be formed only when a certain science and technology is applied to a specific social issue. Next, we successively apply a start list and a stop list to acquire clarified and interesting results. Finally, to identify the most appropriate documents that fit with a given subject, we develop a new logical filter concept that consists of not only mere keywords but also a logical relationship among the keywords. This study then analyzes the possibilities for the practical use of the proposed methodology thorough its application to discover core issues and public opinions from 1,700,886 documents comprising SNS, blogs, news, and discussions.

Keywords: Big data, social network analysis, text mining, topic modeling.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1638

Authors: Yongsheng Guo, Xiaoxian Zhu, Mandella Osei-Assibey Bonsu

Abstract:

This study explores the effects of national culture on consumer behaviour by identifying the characteristics of Chinese consumers’ decision making in Europe. It offers a better understanding of how cultural factors affect consumers’ behaviour, and how consumers make decisions in other nations with different culture. It adopted a grounded theory approach and conducted 24 in-depth interviews. Grounded theory models are developed to link the causal conditions, process, and consequences. Results reveal that some cultural factors including conservatism, emotionality, acquaintance community, long-term orientation and principles affect Chinese consumers when making purchase decisions in Europe. Most Chinese consumers plan and prepare their expenditure and stay in Europe as cultural learners, and purchase durable products or assets as investment, and share their experiences within a community. This study identified potential problems such as political and social environment, complex procedures, and restrictions. This study found that external factors influence internal factors and then internal characters determine consumer behaviour. This study proposes that cultural traits developed in convergence evolution through social selection and Chinese consumers persist most characters but adapt some perceptions and actions overtime in other countries. This study suggests that cultural marketing could be adopted by companies to reflect consumers’ preferences. Agencies, shops, and the authorities could take actions to reduce the complexity and restrictions.

Keywords: National culture, consumer behaviour, cultural marketing, decision making.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 394

Authors: Thomas Jin-Chee Liu, Ji-Fu Tseng, Yu-Shen Chen

Abstract:

This paper investigates the thermo-electric effects around the crack and notch tips under the electric current load. The research methods include the finite element analysis and thermal imaging experiment. The finite element solutions show that the electric current density field concentrates at the crack tip. Due to the Joule heating, this electric concentration causes the hot spot at the tip zone. From numerical and experimental results, this hot spot is identified. The temperature of the hot spot is affected by the electric load, operation time and geometry of the sample.

Keywords: Thermo-electric, Joule heating, crack tip, notch tip.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1437

Authors: Mahshid Kakouei, Mina Kakouei, Kumaran Suberamanian, Sabzali Musa Kahn, Afshin Jahangirzadeh, Shatirah Akib

Abstract:

Human always tried to create a suitable situation for their life according to environmental conditions. In fact, geography has an important role in the shape of our living area. Iran also as a four-season country has different climate type: hot and humid, hot and dry, mid and humid, and cold; therefore, we can find different architecture styles in Iran. Gilan-s traditional architecture is a suitable sample of sustainable construction in Iran. Because the main factors of every dwelling are the climatic, social, economic and cultural effects which demonstrate the interaction between environment and people settlement. This paper was determined the interaction between environmental factors and the rural dwellings in the Gilan province. Also, traditional village (city) of Masouleh as a rare sample of rural and sustainable architecture was introduced.

Keywords: Masouleh, Traditional architecture, vernacular materials, sustainable architecture.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3030

Authors: L. Cazacova, A. Erdelhun, A.M. Saymanlier, N. Cazacova, U. Ulbar

Abstract:

Today due to rising levels of housing- necessities, several problems have been raised regarding to urban quality of life. The aim of the research is to study social and spatial aspects of housing environment and to find out their interaction with the urban quality of life. As a case of study two pilot areas of Famagusta city in North Cyprus, were selected: Baykal, considered as an established urban district and Tuzla, a newly developed peri-urban district. In order to determine urban quality of life in planning and developing of housing areas, social and spatial aspects of selected areas have been examined, differences between them according to the planning policy have been pointed out, advantages and disadvantages of housing planning have been found. As a practical implementation of the research a number of households in each selected area have been interviewed in order to draw a conclusion.

Keywords: housing development, Famagusta, quality of life, social and spatial aspects.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1708

Authors: Charita Jashi

Abstract:

The aim of the paper is to explore the role of social marketing in changing the behavior of consumers on road safety, identify critical aspects and priority needs which impede the implementation of road safety program in Georgia. Given the goals of the study, a quantitative method was used to carry out interviews for primary data collection. This research identified the awareness level of road safety, legislation base, and marketing interventions to change behavior of drivers and pedestrians. During several years the non-governmental sector together with the local authorities and media have been very intensively working on the road safety issue in Georgia, but only seat-belts campaign should be considered rather successful. Despite achievements in this field, efficiency of road safety programs far from fulfillment and needs strong empowering.

Keywords: Road safety, social marketing interventions, behavior change, well-being.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1083

Authors: M. M. Shokrieh, A. Karamnejad

Abstract:

This paper deals with a numerical analysis of the transient response of composite beams with strain rate dependent mechanical properties by use of a finite difference method. The equations of motion based on Timoshenko beam theory are derived. The geometric nonlinearity effects are taken into account with von Kármán large deflection theory. The finite difference method in conjunction with Newmark average acceleration method is applied to solve the differential equations. A modified progressive damage model which accounts for strain rate effects is developed based on the material property degradation rules and modified Hashin-type failure criteria and added to the finite difference model. The components of the model are implemented into a computer code in Mathematica 6. Glass/epoxy laminated composite beams with constant and strain rate dependent mechanical properties under dynamic load are analyzed. Effects of strain rate on dynamic response of the beam for various stacking sequences, load and boundary conditions are investigated.

Keywords: Composite beam, Finite difference method, Progressive damage modeling, Strain rate.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1964

Authors: Raya A. Jones

Abstract:

This paper interrogates online representations of robot companions for children, including promotional material by manufacturers, media articles and technology blogs. The significance of the study lies in its contribution to understanding attitudes to robots. The prospect of childcare robots is particularly controversial ethically, and is associated with emotive arguments. The sampled material is restricted to relatively recent posts (the past three years) though the analysis identifies both continuous and changing themes across the past decade. The method extrapolates social representations theory towards examining the ways in which information about robotic products is provided for the general public. Implications for social acceptance of robot companions for the home and robot ethics are considered.

Keywords: Acceptance of robots, childcare robots, ethics, social representations.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1002

Authors: Carine Moussaed, Stephen Wornom, Bruno Koobus, Maria Vittoria Salvetti, Alain Dervieux,

Abstract:

The effects of dynamic subgrid scale (SGS) models are investigated in variational multiscale (VMS) LES simulations of bluff body flows. The spatial discretization is based on a mixed finite element/finite volume formulation on unstructured grids. In the VMS approach used in this work, the separation between the largest and the smallest resolved scales is obtained through a variational projection operator and a finite volume cell agglomeration. The dynamic version of Smagorinsky and WALE SGS models are used to account for the effects of the unresolved scales. In the VMS approach, these effects are only modeled in the smallest resolved scales. The dynamic VMS-LES approach is applied to the simulation of the flow around a circular cylinder at Reynolds numbers 3900 and 20000 and to the flow around a square cylinder at Reynolds numbers 22000 and 175000. It is observed as in previous studies that the dynamic SGS procedure has a smaller impact on the results within the VMS approach than in LES. But improvements are demonstrated for important feature like recirculating part of the flow. The global prediction is improved for a small computational extra cost.

Keywords: variational multiscale LES, dynamic SGS model, unstructured grids, circular cylinder, square cylinder.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1797

Authors: M. Ramezani, Gh. Amin, E. Jalili

Abstract:

In present study the effects of anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive of vitex hydro-alcoholic extract were evaluated on male mice. In inflammatory test mice were divided into 7 groups: first group was control. The second group, positive control group, received dexamethasone (15 mg/kg) and the other five groups received different doses of hydroalcohol extract of Vitex fruit (265, 365, 465, 565, and 665 mg/kg). The inflammation was caused by xylene-induced ear edema. Formalin test was used for evaluation of antinociceptive effect of extract. In this test, mice were divided into 7 groups: control, morphine (10mg/kg) as positive control group, and Vitex extract groups ((265, 365, 465, 565, and 665 mg/kg). All drugs were administered intrapritoneally, 30 min before each test. The data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey-kramer multiple comparison test. Results have shown significant antiinflammatory effects of extract at all dosed as compared with control (P<0.05). In the first phase of formalin test (0-5 min) none doses of extract could inhibit acute pain, but in the second phase (15-30 min) chronic pain decreased at 265, 365, 465, and 565 mg/kg doses (P<0.05). The results of this research indicated that Vitex extract remarkably inhibited inflammation and second phase of nociception (inflammatory pain) and can be used for treatment of inflammatory diseases.

Keywords: Anti-inflammatory, Antinociceptive, Mice, Vitexagnus castus.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2060

Authors: Ali W. Alattabi, Khalid S. Hashim, Hassnen M. Jafer, Ali Alzeyadi

Abstract:

This study was performed to optimise the react time (RT) and study its effects on the removal rates of nitrogen compounds in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) treating synthetic industrial wastewater. The results showed that increasing the RT from 4 h to 10, 16 and 22 h significantly improved the nitrogen compounds’ removal efficiency, it was increased from 69.5% to 95%, 75.7 to 97% and from 54.2 to 80.1% for NH₃-N, NO₃-N and NO₂-N respectively. The results obtained from this study showed that the RT of 22 h was the optimum for nitrogen compounds removal efficiency.

Keywords: Ammonia-nitrogen, retention time, nitrate, nitrite, sequencing batch reactor, sludge characteristics.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1039

Authors: A. M. Tahsini

Abstract:

Computational study of two dimensional supersonic reacting hydrogen-air flows is performed to investigate the nitrogen effects on ignition delay time for premixed and diffusion flames. Chemical reaction is treated using detail kinetics and the advection upstream splitting method is used to calculate the numerical inviscid fluxes. The results show that just in stoichiometric condition for both premixed and diffusion flames, there is monotone dependency of the ignition delay time to the nitrogen addition. In other situations, the optimal condition from ignition viewpoint should be found using numerical investigations.

Keywords: Diffusion flame, Ignition delay time, Mixing layer, Numerical simulation, Premixed flame, Supersonic flow.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1952

Authors: T. Theodosiou, P. Polychronidou, A. G. Karasavvoglou

Abstract:

The latest years the number of immigrants at Greece has increased dramatically. Their impact on the National Health System (NHS) has not been yet thoroughly investigated. This paper analyses the cost of immigrants to the NHS hospitals of the region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace. The data are collected from 2005 to 2011 from five different hospitals and are analysed using linear mixed effects models in order to investigate the effects of nationality and year on the cost of hospitalization and treatment. The results show that generally the Greek nationality patients have a higher mean cost of hospitalization compared to the immigrants and that there is an increasing trend for the cost except for the year 2010.

Keywords: Cost, Eastern Macedonia, Thrace, immigrants, national health system.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1509

Authors: Joachim Kimmerle, Johannes Moskaliuk, Ulrike Cress

Abstract:

The development of Internet technology in recent years has led to a more active role of users in creating Web content. This has significant effects both on individual learning and collaborative knowledge building. This paper will present an integrative framework model to describe and explain learning and knowledge building with shared digital artifacts on the basis of Luhmann-s systems theory and Piaget-s model of equilibration. In this model, knowledge progress is based on cognitive conflicts resulting from incongruities between an individual-s prior knowledge and the information which is contained in a digital artifact. Empirical support for the model will be provided by 1) applying it descriptively to texts from Wikipedia, 2) examining knowledge-building processes using a social network analysis, and 3) presenting a survey of a series of experimental laboratory studies.

Keywords: Individual learning, collaborative knowledge building, systems theory, equilibration.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1603

Authors: Sameer Kumar, Jariah Mohd. Jan

Abstract:

Earlier studies in kinship networks have primarily focused on observing the social relationships existing between family relatives. In this study, we pre-identified hubs in the network to investigate if they could play a catalyst role in the transfer of physical information. We conducted a case study of a ceremony performed in one of the families of a small Hindu community – the Uttar Rarhi Kayasthas. Individuals (n = 168) who resided in 11 geographically dispersed regions were contacted through our hub-based representation. We found that using this representation, over 98% of the individuals were successfully contacted within the stipulated period. The network also demonstrated a small-world property, with an average geodesic distance of 3.56.

Keywords: Social Networks, Kinship Networks, Social Network Analysis, Geospatial Communication, Hubs

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1912

Authors: W. C. Lucas, S. Titus, M. E. M. Young

Abstract:

Gymnastics is the umbrella term that represents seven different and unique disciplines of gymnastics. Men and women of all ages and abilities practice this sport, and participation in gymnastics can develop both gross and fine motor skills, strength, flexibility, coordination and balance. There are various social factors, such as a family’s socioeconomic status or accessibility to sports facilities that may play a role in affecting levels of participation. The aim of this study is to investigate the social factors that have an influence on gymnastics participation in the Western Cape. To this end, a qualitative approach is adopted to collect data. This study also adopts the ecological systems theory as the theoretical framework, and is used to analyze and interpret current social factors that directly or indirectly influence participation in gymnastics. The study’s objectives were to ascertain which social factors hinder participation, and which social factors promote participation, thus, coaches, parents and gymnasts participated in focus group discussions. Key informant interviews took place with experts in the field of gymnastics in the Western Cape. A thematic analysis was conducted on transcriptions from the focus group discussions and key informant interviews. Social factors investigated in this study occurred in the chronosystem, macrosystem, exosystem, mesosystem, and microsystem, and had both a direct and indirect influence on the gymnast’s continued participation. These systems are defined as the environment of the individual, in which they grow and develop. The research findings of this paper are used to draw conclusions and make specific recommendations for practice and further research. The information gathered in this study can assist all stakeholders within the field of gymnastics, such as parents, judges, coaches, gymnasts, and the supporting community which surround the participating gymnast.

Keywords: Developing child, ecological systems theory, facilities, federation, gymnastics, influence, participation, social factors, socioeconomic status, sport.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2323

Authors: Yuyun Wabula, B. J. Dewancker

Abstract:

In the past decade, the social networking app has been growing very rapidly. Geolocation data is one of the important features of social media that can attach the user's location coordinate in the real world. This paper proposes the use of geolocation data from the Twitter social media application to gain knowledge about urban dynamics, especially on human mobility behavior. This paper aims to explore the relation between geolocation Twitter with the existence of people in the urban area. Firstly, the study will analyze the spread of people in the particular area, within the city using Twitter social media data. Secondly, we then match and categorize the existing place based on the same individuals visiting. Then, we combine the Twitter data from the tracking result and the questionnaire data to catch the Twitter user profile. To do that, we used the distribution frequency analysis to learn the visitors’ percentage. To validate the hypothesis, we compare it with the local population statistic data and land use mapping released by the city planning department of Makassar local government. The results show that there is the correlation between Twitter geolocation and questionnaire data. Thus, integration the Twitter data and survey data can reveal the profile of the social media users.

Keywords: Geolocation, Twitter, distribution analysis, human mobility.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1165

Authors: Amanda Abbott-Jones

Abstract:

Adult students with dyslexia in higher education can receive support for their cognitive needs but may also experience negative emotion such as anxiety due to their dyslexia in connection with their studies. This paper aims to test the hypothesis that adult dyslexic learners have a higher prevalence of academic and social anxiety than their non-dyslexic peers. A quantitative approach was used to measure differences in academic and social anxiety between 102 students with a formal diagnosis of dyslexia compared to 72 students with no history of learning difficulties. Academic and social anxiety was measured in a questionnaire based on the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Findings showed that dyslexic students showed statistically significant higher levels of academic, but not social anxiety in comparison to the non-dyslexic sample. Dyslexic students in higher education show academic anxiety levels that are well above what is shown by students without dyslexia. The implications of this for the dyslexia practitioner is that delivery of strategies to deal with anxiety should be seen equally as important, if not more so, than interventions to deal with cognitive difficulties.

Keywords: Academic, anxiety, dyslexia, quantitative, students, university.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1276

Authors: Khattab Ibrahim Al Qaisi, Nicholas Bowring

Abstract:

This paper presents the simulation results of the effects of sampling frequency on the total harmonic distortion (THD) of three-phase inverters using the space vector pulse width modulation (SVPWM) and space vector control (SVC) algorithms. The relationship between the variables was studied using curve fitting techniques, and it has been shown that, for 50 Hz inverters, there is an exponential relation between the sampling frequency and THD up to around 8500 Hz, beyond which the performance of the model becomes irregular, and there is an negative exponential relation between the sampling frequency and the marginal improvement to the THD. It has also been found that the performance of SVPWM is better than that of SVC with the same sampling frequency in most frequency range, including the range where the performance of the former is irregular.

Keywords: SVPWM, THD, DC-AC Inverter, Sampling Frequency.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2953

Authors: Branko Skoric, Aleksandar Miletic, Pal Terek, Lazar Kovacevic, Milan Kukuruzovic

Abstract:

In this paper, we present the results of a study of TiN thin films which are deposited by a Physical Vapour Deposition (PVD) and Ion Beam Assisted Deposition (IBAD). In the present investigation the subsequent ion implantation was provided with N⁵⁺ ions. The ion implantation was applied to enhance the mechanical properties of surface. The thin film deposition process exerts a number of effects such as crystallographic orientation, morphology, topography, densification of the films. A variety of analytic techniques were used for characterization, such as scratch test, calo test, Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Atomic Force Microscope (AFM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Energy Dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX).

Keywords: Steel, coating, super hard, ion implantation, nanohardness.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1191

Authors: Kevin Fong-Rey Liu, Ken Yeh, Cheng-Wu Chen, Han-Hsi Liang

Abstract:

This paper proposes the use of Bayesian belief networks (BBN) as a higher level of health risk assessment for a dumping site of lead battery smelter factory. On the basis of the epidemiological studies, the actual hospital attendance records and expert experiences, the BBN is capable of capturing the probabilistic relationships between the hazardous substances and their adverse health effects, and accordingly inferring the morbidity of the adverse health effects. The provision of the morbidity rates of the related diseases is more informative and can alleviate the drawbacks of conventional methods.

Keywords: Bayesian belief networks, lead battery smelter factory, health risk assessment.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1696

Authors: Rachelle Bosua, Nina Evans

Abstract:

The resource-based view of the firm regards knowledge as one of the most important organizational assets and a key strategic resource that contributes unique value to organizations. The acquisition, absorption and internalization of external knowledge are central to an organization-s innovative capabilities. This ability to evaluate, acquire and integrate new knowledge from its environment is referred to as a firm-s absorptive capacity (AC). This research in progress paper explores the link between interorganizational Social Networks (SNs) and a firm-s Absorptive Capacity (AC). Based on an in-depth literature survey of both concepts, four propositions are proposed that explain the link between AC and SNs. These propositions suggest that SNs are key to a firm-s AC. A qualitative research method is proposed to test the set of propositions in the next stage of this research.

Keywords: Knowledge, Innovation, Absorptive Capacity, Social Networks

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1724

Authors: M. Raatikainen, J-P. Skön, M. Johansson, K. Leiviskä, M. Kolehmainen

Abstract:

Continuous measurements and multivariate methods are applied in researching the effects of energy consumption on indoor air quality (IAQ) in a Finnish one-family house. Measured data used in this study was collected continuously in a house in Kuopio, Eastern Finland, during fourteen months long period. Consumption parameters measured were the consumptions of district heat, electricity and water. Indoor parameters gathered were temperature, relative humidity (RH), the concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) and carbon monoxide (CO) and differential air pressure. In this study, self-organizing map (SOM) and Sammon's mapping were applied to resolve the effects of energy consumption on indoor air quality. Namely, the SOM was qualified as a suitable method having a property to summarize the multivariable dependencies into easily observable two-dimensional map. Accompanying that, the Sammon's mapping method was used to cluster pre-processed data to find similarities of the variables, expressing distances and groups in the data. The methods used were able to distinguish 7 different clusters characterizing indoor air quality and energy efficiency in the study house. The results indicate, that the cost implications in euros of heating and electricity energy vary according to the differential pressure, concentration of carbon dioxide, temperature and season.

Keywords: Indoor air quality, Energy efficiency, Self- organizing map, Sammon's mapping

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1845

Authors: Emelia Noronha, Milind Malshe

Abstract:

The phatic function of communication is a vital element of any conversation. This research paper looks into this function with respect to personal blogs maintained by Indian bloggers. This paper is a study into the phenomenon of phatic communication maintained by bloggers through their blogs. Based on a linguistic analysis of the posts of twenty eight Indian bloggers, writing in English, studied over a period of three years, the study indicates that though the blogging phenomenon is not conversational in the same manner as face-to-face communication, it does make ample provision for feedback that is conversational in nature. Ordinary day to day offline conversations use conventionalized phatic utterances; those on the social media are in a perpetual mode of innovation and experimentation in order to sustain contact with its readers. These innovative methods and means are the focus of this study. Though the personal blogger aims to chronicle his/her personal life through the blog, the socializing function is crucial to these bloggers. In comparison to the western personal blogs which focus on the presentation of the ‘bounded individual self’, we find Indian personal bloggers engage in the presentation of their ‘social selves’. These bloggers yearn to reach out to the readers on the internet and the phatic function serves to initiate, sustain and renew social ties on the blogosphere thereby consolidating the social network of readers and bloggers.

Keywords: Personal blogs, phatic, social-selves, blog readers.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1915