Search results for: cultural mapping

Authors: Elizabeth J. Currie, Fernando Ortega Perez

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—‘MEDICINE’ is a new project funded under the EC Horizon 2020 Marie-Sklodowska Curie Actions, to determine concepts of health and healing from a culturally specific indigenous context, using a framework of interdisciplinary methods which integrates archaeological-historical, ethnographic and modern health sciences approaches. The study will generate new theoretical and methodological approaches to model how peoples survive and adapt their traditional belief systems in a context of alien cultural impacts. In the immediate wake of the conquest of Peru by invading Spanish armies and ideology, native Andeans responded by forming the Taki Onkoy millenarian movement, which rejected European philosophical and ontological teachings, claiming “you make us sick”. The study explores how people’s experience of their world and their health beliefs within it, is fundamentally shaped by their inherent beliefs about the nature of being and identity in relation to the wider cosmos. Cultural and health belief systems and related rituals or behaviors sustain a people’s sense of identity, wellbeing and integrity. In the event of dislocation and persecution these may change into devolved forms, which eventually inter-relate with ‘modern’ biomedical systems of health in as yet unidentified ways. The development of new conceptual frameworks that model this process will greatly expand our understanding of how people survive and adapt in response to cultural trauma. It will also demonstrate the continuing role, relevance and use of TM in present-day indigenous communities. Studies will first be made of relevant pre-Colombian material culture, and then of early colonial period ethnohistorical texts which document the health beliefs and ritual practices still employed by indigenous Andean societies at the advent of the 17^th century Jesuit campaigns of persecution - ‘Extirpación de las Idolatrías’. Core beliefs drawn from these baseline studies will then be used to construct a questionnaire about current health beliefs and practices to be taken into the study population of indigenous Quechua peoples in the northern Andean region of Ecuador. Their current systems of knowledge and medicine have evolved within complex historical contexts of both the conquest by invading Inca armies in the late 15^th century, followed a generation later by Spain, into new forms. A new model will be developed of contemporary  Andean concepts of health, illness and healing demonstrating  the way these have changed through time. With this, a ‘policy tool’ will be constructed as a bridhging facility into contemporary global scenarios relevant to other Indigenous, First Nations, and migrant peoples to provide a means through which their traditional health beliefs and current needs may be more appropriately understood and met. This paper presents findings from the first analytical phases of the work based upon the study of the literature and the archaeological records. The study offers a novel perspective and methods in the development policies sensitive to indigenous and minority people’s health needs.

Keywords: Andean ethnomedicine, andean health beliefs, health beliefs models, traditional medicine.

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Authors: Gioacchino Lavanco, Cinzia Novara, Floriana Romano, Elisabetta Di Giovanni

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Modern culture, based on disinhibition of cultural trends and on heterodirection, is promoting openmindedness attitudes towards ethnic diversity, but on the other hand also new forms of social representations of the foreigner. Social representation is situated between the psychic field and the social one; it is the representation of oneself and of the other one, hanging between social categories and individual inner world. We will produce the results of a research on the representation of the foreigner, built on the type of prejudice prevailing among middle-low or middle-high educational qualification subjects, in which prejudicial attitudes seem to descend from precise mental images of the foreigner.

Keywords: Community, diversity, integration, prejudice, representations.

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Authors: Harleen Kaur, Deepika Jindal Singla

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Buying decision making is a complicated process, in which consumer’s decision is under the impact of others. The buying decision making is directed in a way that they have to act as customers in the society. Media and family are key socialising agents for adolescents’. Moreover, changes in the socio-cultural environment in India necessitate that adolescents’ influence in family’s buying decision-making should be investigated. In comparison to Western society, Indian is quite different, when compared in terms of family composition and structure, behaviour, values and norms which effect adolescents’ buying decision-making.

Keywords: Adolescents’, buying behaviour, Indian urban families, consumer socialization.

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Authors: H. Fabian Weber, Betina Szkudlarek

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The following study aims to outline, whether the perceptions of entrepreneurs about their entrepreneurial activities and the underlying meanings of their activities are universal or whether they vary systematically across cultures. In contrast to previous studies, the phenomenographical approach and the resulting findings of this study provide new insights into what constitutes entrepreneurship by drawing an inference from the perceptions of entrepreneurs in the United States and in Germany. Culture is shown to have an important impact on entrepreneurship, since the underlying meanings of entrepreneurship vary significantly among the two sample groups. Furthermore, the study sheds more light on the culturally contingent 'why' of entrepreneurship by looking at the internal motivations of individuals instead of exclusively focusing on character traits or external influences of the respective economic environments.

Keywords: Cross-Cultural Management, Entrepreneurship, Phenomenography, Qualitative Research.

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Authors: Sasitorn Chetanont

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The objectives of this study are to study Chinese tourist’s Behaviors towards travel and shopping in Bangkok. The research methodology was a quantitative research. The sample of this research was 400 Chinese tourists in Bangkok chosen by the accidental sampling and the purposive sampling. Inferential Statistics Analysis by using the Chi-square statistics. As for the results of this study the researcher found that differences between personal, social and cultural information, i.e., gender, age, place of residence, educational level, occupation, income, family, and main objectives of tourism with behaviors of Chinese tourists in Bangkok towards travel and shopping in Bangkok.

Keywords: Tourists’ behavior, Chinese tourists, travelling, expenses in travels.

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Authors: Mohd. Noor Md. Sap, A. Majid Awan

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Intelligent systems based on machine learning techniques, such as classification, clustering, are gaining wide spread popularity in real world applications. This paper presents work on developing a software system for predicting crop yield, for example oil-palm yield, from climate and plantation data. At the core of our system is a method for unsupervised partitioning of data for finding spatio-temporal patterns in climate data using kernel methods which offer strength to deal with complex data. This work gets inspiration from the notion that a non-linear data transformation into some high dimensional feature space increases the possibility of linear separability of the patterns in the transformed space. Therefore, it simplifies exploration of the associated structure in the data. Kernel methods implicitly perform a non-linear mapping of the input data into a high dimensional feature space by replacing the inner products with an appropriate positive definite function. In this paper we present a robust weighted kernel k-means algorithm incorporating spatial constraints for clustering the data. The proposed algorithm can effectively handle noise, outliers and auto-correlation in the spatial data, for effective and efficient data analysis by exploring patterns and structures in the data, and thus can be used for predicting oil-palm yield by analyzing various factors affecting the yield.

Keywords: Pattern analysis, clustering, kernel methods, spatial data, crop yield

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Authors: Fadil Elmenfi

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Edward Said in his book Culture and Imperialism devotes the introduction to the Arabic translation. He claims that the fading echo of Orientalism in the Arab world is unlike the positive reflections of its counterpart elsewhere in the world. The probable reason behind his inquiry would be that the methodology Abu Deeb applied in translating Said's book contributed to the book having the limited impact which Said is referring to. The paper adds new insights to the body of theory and the effectiveness of the performance of translation from culture to culture. It presents a survey that can provide the reader with an overview of Said's Orientalism and the two Arabic translations of the book. It investigates some of the problems of translating cultural texts, more specifically translating features of Said's style.

Keywords: Orientalism, Retranslation, Arabic Language, Muhammad Enani, Kamal Abu Deeb, Edward Said.

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Authors: Sherry S. Herron, Douglas Magomo, Paula Gossard

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In this article, we discuss project-based learning in the context of a wheel garden as an instructional tool in science and mathematics education. A wheel garden provides multiple opportunities to teach across the curriculum, to integrate disciplines, and to promote community involvement. Grounded in the theoretical framework of constructivism, the wheel garden provides a multidisciplined educational tool that provides a hands-on, non-traditional arena for learning. We will examine some of the cultural, art, science, and mathematics connections made with this project.

Keywords: Art education, cross-curriculum instruction, multicultural education, project-based learning, school gardens, task based learning.

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Authors: Muqdad Al-Juboori, Bithin Datta

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Hydraulic structures such as gravity dams are classified as essential structures, and have the vital role in providing strong and safe water resource management. Three major aspects must be considered to achieve an effective design of such a structure: 1) The building cost, 2) safety, and 3) accurate analysis of seepage characteristics. Due to the complexity and non-linearity relationships of the seepage process, many approximation theories have been developed; however, the application of these theories results in noticeable errors. The analytical solution, which includes the difficult conformal mapping procedure, could be applied for a simple and symmetrical problem only. Therefore, the objectives of this paper are to: 1) develop a surrogate model based on numerical simulated data using SEEPW software to approximately simulate seepage process related to a hydraulic structure, 2) develop and solve a linked simulation-optimization model based on the developed surrogate model to describe the seepage occurring under a concrete gravity dam, in order to obtain optimum and safe design at minimum cost. The result shows that the linked simulation-optimization model provides an efficient and optimum design of concrete gravity dams.

Keywords: Artificial neural network, concrete gravity dam, genetic algorithm, seepage analysis.

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Authors: Wiriya Loongyai, Kiettisak Promphet, Nilubol Kangsukul, Ratchawat Noppha

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Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay and conventional microbiological methods were used to detect bacterial contamination of egg shells and egg content in different commercial housing systems, open house system and evaporative cooling system. A PCR assay was developed for direct detection using a set of primers specific for the invasion by A gene (invA) of Salmonella spp. PCR detected the presence of Salmonella in 2 samples of shell egg from the evaporative cooling system, while conventional cultural methods detected no Salmonella from the same samples.

Keywords: egg content, egg shell, invA gene, PCR, Salmonellaspp.

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Authors: Loreta Losane

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Changes in global economy require changes in firms. They need to adapt to speed producing faster and creating new products, structures and processes. The purpose of the paper is to explore literature about organizational culture and its impact on innovation.

In the paper the method of literature review is used to examine influence of organizational culture on innovation and performance of enterprise.

Organizational culture is crucial for innovation. Literature reveals that research of organizational culture mostly confirm already existing conceptions and models, but those help to make profile of innovation culture.

Research summarize previous research of organizational culture as culture which foster innovation and provide profile of innovation culture, which may be used by managers to improve cultural environment to increase performance of their companies. Research also leads to hypothesis for further research.

Keywords: Innovation, Innovation Culture, Organizational Culture.

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Authors: Riham A. Ragheb

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Tourism can do a great deal of good in destinations, whether it be by bringing economic benefits to local communities, helping with conservation efforts or in placing a value on aspects of cultural heritage. As responsive travelers, we must all try to do more of the good and less of the negative. This is simply description of the sustainable tourism. This paper aims to set some criteria of successful sustainable tourism development and then through these criteria analyzing the development of some resorts in Egypt known as sustainable resorts. Hence, a comprehensive improvement of the touristic areas is certainly needed to ensure a successful sustainable tourism development radiated the sense of uniformity and coherence. Egypt can benefit from these criteria to develop its resorts in order to preserve and revitalize its unique natural character and achieve mixed uses and tourism development.

Keywords: Egypt, resorts, sustainable tourism, tourism development.

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Authors: A. Buruzs, M. F. Hatwágner, A. Torma, L. T. Kóczy

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The development, operation and maintenance of Integrated Waste Management Systems (IWMS) affects essentially the sustainable concern of every region. The features of such systems have great influence on all of the components of sustainability. In order to reach the optimal way of processes, a comprehensive mapping of the variables affecting the future efficiency of the system is needed such as analysis of the interconnections among the components and modeling of their interactions. The planning of a IWMS is based fundamentally on technical and economical opportunities and the legal framework. Modeling the sustainability and operation effectiveness of a certain IWMS is not in the scope of the present research. The complexity of the systems and the large number of the variables require the utilization of a complex approach to model the outcomes and future risks. This complex method should be able to evaluate the logical framework of the factors composing the system and the interconnections between them. The authors of this paper studied the usability of the Fuzzy Cognitive Map (FCM) approach modeling the future operation of IWMS’s. The approach requires two input data set. One is the connection matrix containing all the factors affecting the system in focus with all the interconnections. The other input data set is the time series, a retrospective reconstruction of the weights and roles of the factors. This paper introduces a novel method to develop time series by content analysis.

Keywords: Content analysis, factors, integrated waste management system, time series.

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Authors: Hyein Ko

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In 2017, many signs of populism occurred around the world. This paper suggests that populism is not a sudden phenomenon, but a manifestation of common people’s will. By analyzing previous research, this paper proposes three factors related to populism: Inequality, experience of economic crisis, and rapid cultural change. With these three elements, four cases will be investigated in this article; two countries experienced populism, and the other two countries did not experience it. Comparing four cases by using three elements will give a fruitful foundation for further analysis regarding populism. In sum, aforementioned three elements are highly related to the occurrence of populism. However, there is one hidden factor: dissatisfaction with established politics. Thus, populism is not a temporal phenomenon. It is a red alert for democratic crisis.

Keywords: Common people, democratic crisis, populism, Trump phenomenon.

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Authors: Clement M. Matasane, Mohamed T. Kahn

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Biomass resources such as animal waste, agricultural and acro-industrial residues, forestry and woodland waste, and industrial and municipal solid wastes provide alternative means to utilize its untapped potential for biomass/biofuel renewable energy systems. In addition, crop residues (i.e., grain, starch, and energy crops) are commonly available in the district and play an essential role in community farming activities. The remote sensing technology (mappings) and geographic information systems tool will be used to determine the biomass potential in the Vhembe District Municipality. The detailed assessment, estimation, and modeling in quantifying their distribution, abundance, and quality yield an effective and efficient use of their potential. This paper aims to examine the potential and prospects of deploying bioenergy systems in small or micro-systems in the district for community use and applications. This deployment of the biofuels/biomass systems will help communities for sustainable energy supply from their traditional energy use into innovative and suitable methods that improve their livelihood. The study demonstrates the potential applications of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) in spatial mapping analysis, evaluation, modeling, and decision support for easy access to renewable energy systems.

Keywords: Agricultural crops, waste materials, biomass potentials, bioenergy potentials, GIS mappings, environmental data, renewable energy deployment, sustainable energy supply.

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Authors: Dalia Suša Vugec

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Business process management (BPM) is widely used approach focused on designing, mapping, changing, managing and analyzing business processes of an organization, which eventually leads to better performance and derives many other benefits. Since every organization strives to improve its performance in order to be sustainable and to remain competitive on the market in long-term period, numerous organizations are nowadays adopting and implementing BPM. However, not all organizations are equally successful in that. One of the ways of measuring BPM success is by measuring its maturity by calculating Process Performance Index (PPI) using ten BPM success factors. Still, although BPM is a holistic concept, organizational culture is not taken into consideration in calculating PPI. Hence, aim of this paper is twofold; first, it aims to explore and analyze the current state of BPM success factors within the big organizations from Slovenia, Croatia, and Austria and second, it aims to analyze the structure of organizational culture within the observed companies, focusing on the link with BPM success factors as well. The presented study is based on the results of the questionnaire conducted as the part of the PROSPER project (IP-2014-09-3729) and financed by Croatian Science Foundation. The results of the questionnaire reveal differences in the achieved levels of BPM success factors and therefore BPM maturity in total between the three observed countries. Moreover, the structure of organizational culture across three countries also differs. This paper discusses the revealed differences between countries as well as the link between organizational culture and BPM success factors.

Keywords: Business process management, BPM maturity, BPM success factors, organizational culture, process performance index.

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Authors: Magdalena Meusburger, Caroline Maria Hofer

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The advancement of women entrepreneurship in the last decade has been a vital driver for social and economic development. Despite the positive evolution, women entrepreneurs are still underrepresented in entrepreneurial ecosystems. Fear-of-failure is a major factor inhibiting their entrepreneurial activity. This survey-based research focused on aspiring and established entrepreneurial women in Austria and in the USA. It explored and compared the extent to which entrepreneurial fear-of-failure influences their self-employment and their aspirations to become self-employed. The results demonstrate that entrepreneurial fear-of-failure is significantly higher for women with the wish for self-employment than it is for women who are already self-employed. In terms of the geographical and cultural setting no major differences were confirmed.

Keywords: Entrepreneurial ecosystems, fear-of-failure, female entrepreneurship, women entrepreneurship.

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Authors: Gitanjali Devi, Kandarpa Kumar Sarma, Pranayee Datta, Anjana Kakoti Mahanta

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Cosmic showers, during the transit through space, produce sub - products as a result of interactions with the intergalactic or interstellar medium which after entering earth generate secondary particles called Extensive Air Shower (EAS). Detection and analysis of High Energy Particle Showers involve a plethora of theoretical and experimental works with a host of constraints resulting in inaccuracies in measurements. Therefore, there exist a necessity to develop a readily available system based on soft-computational approaches which can be used for EAS analysis. This is due to the fact that soft computational tools such as Artificial Neural Network (ANN)s can be trained as classifiers to adapt and learn the surrounding variations. But single classifiers fail to reach optimality of decision making in many situations for which Multiple Classifier System (MCS) are preferred to enhance the ability of the system to make decisions adjusting to finer variations. This work describes the formation of an MCS using Multi Layer Perceptron (MLP), Recurrent Neural Network (RNN) and Probabilistic Neural Network (PNN) with data inputs from correlation mapping Self Organizing Map (SOM) blocks and the output optimized by another SOM. The results show that the setup can be adopted for real time practical applications for prediction of primary energy and location of EAS from density values captured using detectors in a circular grid.

Keywords: EAS, Shower, Core, ANN, Location.

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Authors: A. Bouabid, B. Bielenberg, S. Ainane, N. Pasha

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In this paper, a team of faculty members of the Petroleum Institute in Abu Dhabi, UAE representing six different courses across General Engineering (ENGR), Communication (COMM), and Design (STPS) worked together to establish a clear developmental progression of learning outcomes and performance indicators for targeted knowledge, areas of competency, and skills for the first three semesters of the Bachelor of Sciences in Engineering curriculum. The sequences of courses studied in this project were ENGR/COMM, COMM/STPS, and ENGR/STPS. For each course’s nine areas of knowledge, competency, and skills, the research team reviewed the existing learning outcomes and related performance indicators with a focus on identifying linkages across disciplines as well as within the courses of a discipline. The team reviewed existing performance indicators for developmental progression from semester to semester for same discipline related courses (vertical alignment) and for different discipline courses within the same semester (horizontal alignment). The results of this work have led to recommendations for modifications of the initial indicators when incoherence was identified, and/or for new indicators based on best practices (identified through literature searches) when gaps were identified. It also led to recommendations for modifications of the level of emphasis within each course to ensure developmental progression. The exercise has led to a revised Sequence Performance Indicator Mapping for the knowledge, skills, and competencies across the six core courses.

Keywords: Curriculum alignment, horizontal and vertical progression, performance indicators, skill level.

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Authors: S. K. Lujara, M. M. Kissaka, L. Trojer, N. H. Mvungi

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The concept of e-Learning is now emerging in Sub Saharan African countries like Tanzania. Due to economic constraints and other social and cultural factors faced by these countries, the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is increasing at a very low pace. The digital divide threat has propelled the Government of Tanzania to put in place the national ICT Policy in 2003 which defines the direction of all ICT activities nationally. Among the main focused areas is the use of ICT in education, since for the development of any country, there is a need of creating knowledge based society. This paper discusses the initiatives made so far to introduce the use of ICT tools to some secondary schools using open source software in e-content development to facilitate a self-learning environment

Keywords: e-content, e-Learning, ICT, Open Source Software.

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Authors: Jahangir Jafari, Nematollah Khorasani, Afshin Danehkar

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Having a very many number of pipelines all over the country, Iran is one of the countries consists of various ecosystems with variable degrees of fragility and robusticity as well as geographical conditions. This study presents a state-of-the-art method to estimate environmental risks of pipelines by recommending rational equations including FES, URAS, SRS, RRS, DRS, LURS and IRS as well as FRS to calculate the risks. This study was carried out by a relative semi-quantitative approach based on land uses and HVAs (High-Value Areas). GIS as a tool was used to create proper maps regarding the environmental risks, land uses and distances. The main logic for using the formulas was the distance-based approaches and ESI as well as intersections. Summarizing the results of the study, a risk geographical map based on the ESIs and final risk score (FRS) was created. The study results showed that the most sensitive and so of high risk area would be an area comprising of mangrove forests located in the pipeline neighborhood. Also, salty lands were the most robust land use units in the case of pipeline failure circumstances. Besides, using a state-of-the-art method, it showed that mapping the risks of pipelines out with the applied method is of more reliability and convenience as well as relative comprehensiveness in comparison to present non-holistic methods for assessing the environmental risks of pipelines. The focus of the present study is “assessment" than that of “management". It is suggested that new policies are to be implemented to reduce the negative effects of the pipeline that has not yet been constructed completely

Keywords: ERM, ESI, ERA, Pipeline, Assalouyeh

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Authors: Mohd Hasmadi Ismail, Kamaruzaman Jusoff

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In order to develop forest management strategies in tropical forest in Malaysia, surveying the forest resources and monitoring the forest area affected by logging activities is essential. There are tremendous effort has been done in classification of land cover related to forest resource management in this country as it is a priority in all aspects of forest mapping using remote sensing and related technology such as GIS. In fact classification process is a compulsory step in any remote sensing research. Therefore, the main objective of this paper is to assess classification accuracy of classified forest map on Landsat TM data from difference number of reference data (200 and 388 reference data). This comparison was made through observation (200 reference data), and interpretation and observation approaches (388 reference data). Five land cover classes namely primary forest, logged over forest, water bodies, bare land and agricultural crop/mixed horticultural can be identified by the differences in spectral wavelength. Result showed that an overall accuracy from 200 reference data was 83.5 % (kappa value 0.7502459; kappa variance 0.002871), which was considered acceptable or good for optical data. However, when 200 reference data was increased to 388 in the confusion matrix, the accuracy slightly improved from 83.5% to 89.17%, with Kappa statistic increased from 0.7502459 to 0.8026135, respectively. The accuracy in this classification suggested that this strategy for the selection of training area, interpretation approaches and number of reference data used were importance to perform better classification result.

Keywords: Image Classification, Reference Data, Accuracy Assessment, Kappa Statistic, Forest Land Cover

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Authors: Yeskendirov N.R., Karjaubaeva S.K., Ahmet A. K.

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A number of theoretical and methodological problems connected with substantiation of a new approach and searches of a new research paradigm and the analysis of features of formation and development of the Kazakh stage are considered in the article. The wide spectrum of questions connected with genesis of the Kazakh stage art has caused necessity of consideration of world outlook and social cultural aspects which have affected formation of the given phenomenon in the Kazakh culture. But how can we define the form of expression and aesthetics of the national theatre? Probably, the answer to this question we will find if we apply to deep world view sources, and, as a consequence, it is necessary to study deeply the plot dramaturgy, which is based on myths, rites and eposes, mastering of symbolic gestures and mimics, allegory of a word, etc.

Keywords: Tradition, theater, art, culture, nomadic Kazakhs.

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Authors: Maria Giannopoulou

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Open urban public spaces comprise an important element for the development of social, cultural and economic activities of the population in the modern cities. These spaces are also considered regulators of the region-s climate conditions, providing better thermal, visual and auditory conditions which can be optimized by the application of appropriate strategies of bioclimatic design. The paper focuses on the analysis and evaluation of the recent unification of the open spaces in the centre of Xanthi, a medium – size city in northern Greece, from a bioclimatic perspective, as well as in the creation of suitable methodology. It is based both on qualitative observation of the interventions by fieldwork research and assessment and on quantitative analysis and modeling of the research area.

Keywords: Bioclimatic principles, Quantitative analysis, Sustainability, TownScope III, Urban open spaces

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Authors: Elison Eduardo Jardim Bierhals, Claudineia Brazil, Francisco Pereira, Elton Rossini

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The use of alternative energy sources to meet energy demand reduces environmental damage. To diversify an energy matrix and to minimize global warming, a solar energy is gaining space, being an important source of renewable energy, and its potential depends on the climatic conditions of the region. Brazil presents a great solar potential for a generation of electric energy, so the knowledge of solar radiation and its characteristics are fundamental for the study of energy use. Due to the above reasons, this article aims to verify the climatic variability corresponding to the variations in solar radiation anomalies, in the face of climate change scenarios. The data used in this research are part of the Intercomparison of Interconnected Models, Phase 5 (CMIP5), which contributed to the preparation of the fifth IPCC-AR5 report. The solar radiation data were extracted from The Australian Community Climate and Earth System Simulator (ACCESS) model using the RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5 scenarios that represent an intermediate structure and a pessimistic framework, the latter being the most worrisome in all cases. In order to allow the use of solar radiation as a source of energy in a given location and/or region, it is important, first, to determine its availability, thus justifying the importance of the study. The results pointed out, for the 75-year period (2026-2100), based on a pessimistic scenario, indicate a drop in solar radiation of the approximately 12% in the eastern region of Rio Grande do Sul. Factors that influence the pessimistic prospects of this scenario should be better observed by the responsible authorities, since they can affect the possibility to produce electricity from solar radiation.

Keywords: Climate change, solar radiation, energy utilization.

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Authors: Roberto Iglesias, Theocharis Kyriacou, Ulrich Nehmzow, Steve Billings

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Fundamental sensor-motor couplings form the backbone of most mobile robot control tasks, and often need to be implemented fast, efficiently and nevertheless reliably. Machine learning techniques are therefore often used to obtain the desired sensor-motor competences. In this paper we present an alternative to established machine learning methods such as artificial neural networks, that is very fast, easy to implement, and has the distinct advantage that it generates transparent, analysable sensor-motor couplings: system identification through nonlinear polynomial mapping. This work, which is part of the RobotMODIC project at the universities of Essex and Sheffield, aims to develop a theoretical understanding of the interaction between the robot and its environment. One of the purposes of this research is to enable the principled design of robot control programs. As a first step towards this aim we model the behaviour of the robot, as this emerges from its interaction with the environment, with the NARMAX modelling method (Nonlinear, Auto-Regressive, Moving Average models with eXogenous inputs). This method produces explicit polynomial functions that can be subsequently analysed using established mathematical methods. In this paper we demonstrate the fidelity of the obtained NARMAX models in the challenging task of robot route learning; we present a set of experiments in which a Magellan Pro mobile robot was taught to follow four different routes, always using the same mechanism to obtain the required control law.

Keywords: Mobile robotics, system identification, non-linear modelling, NARMAX.

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Authors: O. Boe, A. Langaard Jensen

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The Norwegian Military Academy (Army) has been using a tactical simulator for the last two years. During this time there has been some discussion concerning how to use the simulator most efficiently and what type of learning one achieves by using the simulator. The problem that is addressed in this paper is how simulators can be used as a learning resource for students concerned with developing their military profession. The aim of this article is to create a wider consciousness regarding the use of a simulator while educating officers in a military profession. The article discusses the use of simulators from two different perspectives. The first perspective deals with using the simulator as a computer game, and the second perspective looks at the simulator as a socio-cultural artefact. Furthermore the article discusses four different ways the simulator can be looked upon as a useful learning resource when educating students of a military profession.

Keywords: Learning, military, profession, simulator.

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Authors: Phusit Phukamchanoad, Bua Srikos

Abstract:

This research aimed to study the characteristics of a community in the social, economic and cultural context. This research used interviews and surveys of the members in the Patthana Soi Ranongklang community, Dusit District, Bangkok. The results are as follows: In terms of overall conditions and characteristics, the Patthana Soi Ranongklang community is located on the property of the Treasury Department. 50 years ago, the location of this community consisted of paddy fields with limited convenience in terms of transportation. Rama V Road was only a small narrow road accessed only by three-wheelers there were no buses. The majority of community members moved in from Mak Khawan Rangsan Bridge. Thus, most community members were either workers or government officials as they were routers not the owners of the land. Therefore, there were no primary occupations within the 7 acres of this community. The development of the community started in 1981. At present, the community is continuously being developed and modernization is rapidly flowing in. One of the reasons was because the main roads were widened, especially Rama V Road that allows more convenient transportation, leading to heightened citizens’ convenience. In terms of the economy and society, Rama V Road causes the research to find out the development and expansion of change in the conditions of the area and buildings. Some buildings were improved and changed along the time, as well as the development of new facilities that caused the community members to continually become more materialistic. In the community, it has well organized and managed jobs to each part of community members, and areas were improved to allow the new buildings and apartments. The trend of jobs became more varied, in terms of both jobs at home, such as workers, merchandizing and small own businesses, and the community jobs outside, which became much more convenient to car drivers as they got used to the narrow roads inside the community. The location of the community next to Rama V Road also allows assistance from government agencies to reach the community with ease. Moreover, the welfare of the community was well taken care of by the community committee. In terms of education, the research found that there are two schools: Wat Pracharabuedham School and Wat Noi Noppakun School that are providing education within the community. The majority in the community have received Bachelor degrees. In areas of culture, the research found that the culture, traditions and beliefs of people in the community were mainly transferred from the old community: the majorities are Buddhists, so especially beliefs in Buddhism; the main reason for this is because the old community was situated near Wat Makut Kasattriyaram. Therefore, the community members have always had Buddhist temples as the centre of the community. Later years, more citizens moved along culture in and bring traditions and beliefs with them. The community members also took part in building a Dharma hall named Wat Duang Jai which is 72 year old.

Keywords: Social Capital, Patthana Soi Ranongklang community, Way of Life.

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Authors: Yoshikazu Onuki, Itsuo Kumazawa

Abstract:

Fundamental motivation of this paper is how gaze estimation can be utilized effectively regarding an application to games. In games, precise estimation is not always important in aiming targets but an ability to move a cursor to an aiming target accurately is also significant. Incidentally, from a game producing point of view, a separate expression of a head movement and gaze movement sometimes becomes advantageous to expressing sense of presence. A case that panning a background image associated with a head movement and moving a cursor according to gaze movement can be a representative example. On the other hand, widely used technique of POG estimation is based on a relative position between a center of corneal reflection of infrared light sources and a center of pupil. However, a calculation of a center of pupil requires relatively complicated image processing, and therefore, a calculation delay is a concern, since to minimize a delay of inputting data is one of the most significant requirements in games. In this paper, a method to estimate a head movement by only using corneal reflections of two infrared light sources in different locations is proposed. Furthermore, a method to control a cursor using gaze movement as well as a head movement is proposed. By using game-like-applications, proposed methods are evaluated and, as a result, a similar performance to conventional methods is confirmed and an aiming control with lower computation power and stressless intuitive operation is obtained.

Keywords: Point-of-gaze, gaze estimation, head movement, corneal reflections, two infrared light sources, game.

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Authors: Andreas L. Savvides

Abstract:

The proposed paper examines strategies whose aim is to counter the all too often sighted process of abandonment that characterizes contemporary cities. The city of Nicosia in Cyprus is used as an indicative case study, whereby several recent projects are presented as capitalizing on traditional cultural assets to revive the downtown. The reuse of existing building stock as museums, performing arts centers and theaters but also as in the form of various housing typologies is geared to strengthen the ranks of local residents and to spur economic growth. Unlike the examples from the 1960s, the architecture of more recent adaptive reuse for urban regeneration seems to be geared in reinforcing a connection to the city where the buildings often reflect the characteristics of their urban context.

Keywords: Public Housing, Building Rehabilitation, Urban Regeneration, Population Integration

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