Search results for: Raga analysis
3085 Nonlinear Model Predictive Control of Water Quality in Drinking Water Distribution Systems with DBPs Objectives
Authors: Mingyu Xie, Mietek Brdys
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The paper develops a Non-Linear Model Predictive Control (NMPC) of water quality in Drinking Water Distribution Systems (DWDS) based on the advanced non-linear quality dynamics model including disinfections by-products (DBPs). A special attention is paid to the analysis of an impact of the flow trajectories prescribed by an upper control level of the recently developed two-time scale architecture of an integrated quality and quantity control in DWDS. The new quality controller is to operate within this architecture in the fast time scale as the lower level quality controller. The controller performance is validated by a comprehensive simulation study based on an example case study DWDS.Keywords: Model predictive control, hierarchical control structure, genetic algorithm, water quality with DBPs objectives.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 24773084 Active Fiber Composites for Smart Damping of Doubly Curved Laminated Shells
Authors: Saroj Kumar Sarangi, M. C. Ray
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This paper deals with the analysis of active constrained layer damping (ACLD) of doubly curved laminated composite shells using active fiber composite (AFC) materials. The constraining layer of the ACLD treatment has been considered to be made of the AFC materials. A three dimensional energy based finite element model of the smart doubly curved laminated composite shell integrated with a patch of such ACLD treatment has been developed to demonstrate the performance of the patch on enhancing the damping characteristics of the doubly curved laminated composite shells. Particular emphasis has been placed on studying the effect of variation of piezoelectric fiber orientation angle in the constraining AFC layer on the control authority of the ACLD patch.
Keywords: Active constrained layer damping, Active fibercomposites, Finite element modeling, First order shear deformationtheory.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 16373083 Convergence Analysis of an Alternative Gradient Algorithm for Non-Negative Matrix Factorization
Authors: Chenxue Yang, Mao Ye, Zijian Liu, Tao Li, Jiao Bao
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Non-negative matrix factorization (NMF) is a useful computational method to find basis information of multivariate nonnegative data. A popular approach to solve the NMF problem is the multiplicative update (MU) algorithm. But, it has some defects. So the columnwisely alternating gradient (cAG) algorithm was proposed. In this paper, we analyze convergence of the cAG algorithm and show advantages over the MU algorithm. The stability of the equilibrium point is used to prove the convergence of the cAG algorithm. A classic model is used to obtain the equilibrium point and the invariant sets are constructed to guarantee the integrity of the stability. Finally, the convergence conditions of the cAG algorithm are obtained, which help reducing the evaluation time and is confirmed in the experiments. By using the same method, the MU algorithm has zero divisor and is convergent at zero has been verified. In addition, the convergence conditions of the MU algorithm at zero are similar to that of the cAG algorithm at non-zero. However, it is meaningless to discuss the convergence at zero, which is not always the result that we want for NMF. Thus, we theoretically illustrate the advantages of the cAG algorithm.
Keywords: Non-negative matrix factorizations, convergence, cAG algorithm, equilibrium point, stability.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 16973082 The Contribution of Edgeworth, Bootstrap and Monte Carlo Methods in Financial Data
Authors: Edlira Donefski, Tina Donefski, Lorenc Ekonomi
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Edgeworth Approximation, Bootstrap and Monte Carlo Simulations have a considerable impact on the achieving certain results related to different problems taken into study. In our paper, we have treated a financial case related to the effect that have the components of a Cash-Flow of one of the most successful businesses in the world, as the financial activity, operational activity and investing activity to the cash and cash equivalents at the end of the three-months period. To have a better view of this case we have created a Vector Autoregression model, and after that we have generated the impulse responses in the terms of Asymptotic Analysis (Edgeworth Approximation), Monte Carlo Simulations and Residual Bootstrap based on the standard errors of every series created. The generated results consisted of the common tendencies for the three methods applied, that consequently verified the advantage of the three methods in the optimization of the model that contains many variants.
Keywords: Autoregression, Bootstrap, Edgeworth Expansion, Monte Carlo Method.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 5953081 Performance Analysis of a Series of Adaptive Filters in Non-Stationary Environment for Noise Cancelling Setup
Authors: Anam Rafique, Syed Sohail Ahmed
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One of the essential components of much of DSP application is noise cancellation. Changes in real time signals are quite rapid and swift. In noise cancellation, a reference signal which is an approximation of noise signal (that corrupts the original information signal) is obtained and then subtracted from the noise bearing signal to obtain a noise free signal. This approximation of noise signal is obtained through adaptive filters which are self adjusting. As the changes in real time signals are abrupt, this needs adaptive algorithm that converges fast and is stable. Least mean square (LMS) and normalized LMS (NLMS) are two widely used algorithms because of their plainness in calculations and implementation. But their convergence rates are small. Adaptive averaging filters (AFA) are also used because they have high convergence, but they are less stable. This paper provides the comparative study of LMS and Normalized NLMS, AFA and new enhanced average adaptive (Average NLMS-ANLMS) filters for noise cancelling application using speech signals.Keywords: AFA, ANLMS, LMS, NLMS.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 19343080 Music Aptitude and School Readiness in Indonesian Children
Authors: Diella Gracia Martauli
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This study investigated the relationship between music aptitude and school readiness in Indonesian children. Music aptitude is described as children’s music potential, whereas school readiness is defined as a condition in which a child is deemed ready to enter the formal education system. This study presents a hypothesis that music aptitude is correlated with school readiness. This is a correlational research study of 17 children aged 5-6 years old (M = 6.10, SD = 0.33) who were enrolled in a kindergarten school in Jakarta, Indonesia. Music aptitude scores were obtained from Primary Measures of Music Audiation, whereas School readiness scores were obtained from Bracken School Readiness Assessment Third Edition. The analysis of the data was performed using Pearson Correlation. The result found no correlation between music aptitude and school readiness (r = 0.196, p = 0.452). Discussions regarding the results, perspective from the measures and cultures are presented. Further study is recommended to establish links between music aptitude and school readiness.
Keywords: Bracken school readiness assessment, music aptitude, primary measures of music audiation, school readiness.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 7623079 Identification of Impact Loads and Partial System Parameters Using 1D-CNN
Authors: Xuewen Yu, Danhui Dan
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The identification of impact loads and some hard-to-obtain system parameters is crucial for analysis, validation, and evaluation activities in the engineering field. This paper proposes a method based on 1D-CNN to identify impact loads and partial system parameters from the measured responses. To this end, forward computations are conducted to provide datasets consisting of triples (parameter θ, input u, output y). Two neural networks are then trained: one to learn the mapping from output y to input u and another to learn the mapping from input and output (u, y) to parameter θ. Subsequently, by feeding the measured output response into the trained neural networks, the input impact load and system parameter can be calculated, respectively. The method is tested on two simulated examples and shows sound accuracy in estimating the impact load (waveform and location) and system parameter.
Keywords: Convolutional neural network, impact load identification, system parameter identification, inverse problem.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1003078 Assessing Relationship between Type of Financial Market and Market Indices in Tehran Stock Exchange
Authors: Zahra Amirhosseini, Alireza Bashiri
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The aim of this study was to examine and identify the type of Iranian financial market in terms of being symmetrical or asymmetrical and to measure relationship between type of market and the market's indices. In this study, daily information on the market-s Share Price Index, Industrial Index and Top Fifty Most Active Companies during the years 1999-2010 has been used. In addition, to determine type of the financial market, rate of return on Security is taken into account. In this research, by using logistic regression analysis methods, relationship of the market type with the above mentioned indices have been examined. The results showed that the type of the financial market has a positive significant association with market share price index and Industrial Index. Index of Top Fifty Most Active Companies is significantly associated with type of financial market, however this relationship is inverse.Keywords: All Share Price Index, Asymmetrical Market, Industrial Index, Symmetrical Market, Top Fifty Most Active Companies Index
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 12603077 Assessing Habitat-Suitability Models with a Virtual Species at Khao Nan National Park, Thailand
Authors: W. Srisang, K. Jaroensutasinee, M. Jaroensutasinee
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This study examined a habitat-suitability assessment method namely the Ecological Niche Factor Analysis (ENFA). A virtual species was created and then dispatched in a geographic information system model of a real landscape in three historic scenarios: (1) spreading, (2) equilibrium, and (3) overabundance. In each scenario, the virtual species was sampled and these simulated data sets were used as inputs for the ENFA to reconstruct the habitat suitability model. The 'equilibrium' scenario gives the highest quantity and quality among three scenarios. ENFA was sensitive to the distribution scenarios but not sensitive to sample sizes. The use of a virtual species proved to be a very efficient method, allowing one to fully control the quality of the input data as well as to accurately evaluate the predictive power of the analyses.Keywords: Habitat-Suitability Models, Ecological niche factoranalysis, Climatic factors, Geographic information system.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 18163076 X-Corner Detection for Camera Calibration Using Saddle Points
Authors: Abdulrahman S. Alturki, John S. Loomis
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This paper discusses a corner detection algorithm for camera calibration. Calibration is a necessary step in many computer vision and image processing applications. Robust corner detection for an image of a checkerboard is required to determine intrinsic and extrinsic parameters. In this paper, an algorithm for fully automatic and robust X-corner detection is presented. Checkerboard corner points are automatically found in each image without user interaction or any prior information regarding the number of rows or columns. The approach represents each X-corner with a quadratic fitting function. Using the fact that the X-corners are saddle points, the coefficients in the fitting function are used to identify each corner location. The automation of this process greatly simplifies calibration. Our method is robust against noise and different camera orientations. Experimental analysis shows the accuracy of our method using actual images acquired at different camera locations and orientations.Keywords: Camera Calibration, Corner Detector, Saddle Points, X-Corners.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 31533075 Providing a Practical Model to Reduce Maintenance Costs: A Case Study in Golgohar Company
Authors: Iman Atighi, Jalal Soleimannejad, Ahmad Akbarinasab, Saeid Moradpour
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In the past, we could increase profit by increasing product prices. But in the new decade, a competitive market does not let us to increase profit with increase prices. Therefore, the only way to increase profit will be reduce costs. A significant percentage of production costs are the maintenance costs, and analysis of these costs could achieve more profit. Most maintenance strategies such as RCM (Reliability-Center-Maintenance), TPM (Total Productivity Maintenance), PM (Preventive Maintenance) etc., are trying to reduce maintenance costs. In this paper, decreasing the maintenance costs of Concentration Plant of Golgohar Company (GEG) was examined by using of MTBF (Mean Time between Failures) and MTTR (Mean Time to Repair) analyses. These analyses showed that instead of buying new machines and increasing costs in order to promote capacity, the improving of MTBF and MTTR indexes would solve capacity problems in the best way and decrease costs.
Keywords: Golgohar Iron Ore Mining & Industrial Company, maintainability, maintenance costs, reliability-center-maintenance.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 6563074 Predicting the Life Cycle of Complex Technical Systems (CTS)
Authors: Khalil A. Yaghi, Samer Barakat
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Complex systems are composed of several plain interacting independent entities. Interaction between these entities creates a unified behavior at the global level that cannot be predicted by examining the behavior of any single individual component of the system. In this paper we consider a welded frame of an automobile trailer as a real example of Complex Technical Systems, The purpose of this paper is to introduce a Statistical method for predicting the life cycle of complex technical systems. To organize gathering of primary data for modeling the life cycle of complex technical systems an “Automobile Trailer Frame" were used as a prototype in this research. The prototype represents a welded structure of several pieces. Both information flows underwent a computerized analysis and classification for the acquisition of final results to reach final recommendations for improving the trailers structure and their operational conditions.
Keywords: Complex Technical System (CTS), AutomobileTrailer Frame, Automobile Service.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 12343073 Numerical Analysis of Electrical Interaction between two Axisymmetric Spheroids
Authors: Kuan-Liang Liu, Eric Lee, Jung-Jyh Lee, Jyh-Ping Hsu
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The electrical interaction between two axisymmetric spheroidal particles in an electrolyte solution is examined numerically. A Galerkin finite element method combined with a Newton-Raphson iteration scheme is proposed to evaluate the spatial variation in the electrical potential, and the result obtained used to estimate the interaction energy between two particles. We show that if the surface charge density is fixed, the potential gradient is larger at a point, which has a larger curvature, and if surface potential is fixed, surface charge density is proportional to the curvature. Also, if the total interaction energy against closest surface-to-surface curve exhibits a primary maximum, the maximum follows the order (oblate-oblate) > (sphere-sphere)>(oblate-prolate)>(prolate-prolate), and if the curve has a secondary minimum, the absolute value of the minimum follows the same order.Keywords: interaction energy, interaction force, Poisson-Boltzmann equation, spheroid.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 14703072 Design and Parametric Analysis of Pentaband Meander Line Antenna for Mobile Handset Applications
Authors: Shrinivas P. Mahajan, Aarti C. Kshirsagar
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Wireless communication technology is rapidly changing with recent developments in portable devices and communication protocols. This has generated demand for more advanced and compact antenna structures and therefore, proposed work focuses on Meander Line Antenna (MLA) design. Here, Pentaband MLA is designed on a FR4 substrate (85 mm x 40 mm) with dielectric constant (ϵr) 4.4, loss tangent (tan ) 0.018 and height 1.6 mm with coplanar feed and open stub structure. It can be operated in LTE (0.670 GHz-0.696 GHz) GPS (1.564 GHz-1.579 GHz), WCDMA (1.920 GHz-2.135 GHz), LTE UL frequency band 23 (2-2.020 GHz) and 5G (3.10 GHz-3.550 GHz) application bands. Also, it gives good performance in terms of Return Loss (RL) which is < -10 dB, impedance bandwidth with maximum Bandwidth (BW) up to 0.21 GHz and realized gains with maximum gain up to 3.28 dBi. Antenna is simulated with open stub and without open stub structures to see the effect on impedance BW coverage. In addition to this, it is checked with human hand and head phantoms to assure that it falls within specified Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) limits.
Keywords: Coplanar feed, L shaped ground, MLA, phantom, SAR, stub.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 5463071 Phase-Averaged Analysis of Three-Dimensional Vorticity in the Wake of Two Yawed Side-By-Side Circular Cylinders
Authors: T. Zhou, S. F. Mohd. Razali, Y. Zhou, H. Wang, L. Cheng
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Thewake flow behind two yawed side-by-sidecircular cylinders is investigated using athree-dimensional vorticity probe. Four yaw angles (α), namely, 0°, 15°, 30° and 45° and twocylinder spacing ratios T* of 1.7 and 3.0 were tested. For T* = 3.0, there exist two vortex streets and the cylinders behave as independent and isolated ones. The maximum contour value of the coherent streamwise vorticity ~* ωx is only about 10% of that of the spanwise vorticity ~* ωz . With the increase of α, ~* ωx increases whereas ~* ωz decreases. At α = 45°, ~* ωx is about 67% of ~* ωz .For T* = 1.7, only a single peak is detected in the energy spectrum. The spanwise vorticity contours have an organized pattern only at α = 0°. The maximum coherent vorticity contours of ~* ω x and ~* ωz for T* = 1.7 are about 30% and 7% of those for T* = 3.0.The independence principle (IP)in terms of Strouhal numbers is applicable in both wakes when α< 40°.
Keywords: Circular cylinder wake, vorticity, vortex shedding.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 17953070 An Experimental Study of Structural, Optical and Magnetic Properties of Lithium Ferrite
Authors: S. Malathi, P. Seenuvasakumaran
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Nanomaterials ferrites have applications in making permanent magnets, high density information devices, color imaging etc. In the present examination, lithium ferrite is synthesized by sol-gel process. The x-ray diffraction (XRD) result shows that the structure of lithium ferrite is monoclinic structure. The average particle size 22 nm is calculated by Scherer formula. The lattice parameters and dislocation density (δ) are calculated from XRD data. Strain (ε) values are evaluated from Williamson – hall plot. The FT-IR study reveals the formation of ferrites showing the significant absorption bands. The VU-VIS spectroscopic data is used to calculate direct and indirect optical band gap (Eg) of 1.57eV and 1.01eV respectively for lithium ferrite by using Tauc plot at the edge of the absorption band. The energy dispersive x-ray analysis spectra showed that the expected elements exist in the material. The magnetic behaviour of the materials studied using vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM).Keywords: Sol-gel, dislocation density, energy band gap, VSM.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 17943069 Forecasting Stock Indexes Using Bayesian Additive Regression Tree
Authors: Darren Zou
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Forecasting the stock market is a very challenging task. Various economic indicators such as GDP, exchange rates, interest rates, and unemployment have a substantial impact on the stock market. Time series models are the traditional methods used to predict stock market changes. In this paper, a machine learning method, Bayesian Additive Regression Tree (BART) is used in predicting stock market indexes based on multiple economic indicators. BART can be used to model heterogeneous treatment effects, and thereby works well when models are misspecified. It also has the capability to handle non-linear main effects and multi-way interactions without much input from financial analysts. In this research, BART is proposed to provide a reliable prediction on day-to-day stock market activities. By comparing the analysis results from BART and with time series method, BART can perform well and has better prediction capability than the traditional methods.
Keywords: Bayesian, Forecast, Stock, BART.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 7343068 Energy Distribution of EEG Signals: EEG Signal Wavelet-Neural Network Classifier
Authors: I. Omerhodzic, S. Avdakovic, A. Nuhanovic, K. Dizdarevic
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In this paper, a wavelet-based neural network (WNN) classifier for recognizing EEG signals is implemented and tested under three sets EEG signals (healthy subjects, patients with epilepsy and patients with epileptic syndrome during the seizure). First, the Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) with the Multi-Resolution Analysis (MRA) is applied to decompose EEG signal at resolution levels of the components of the EEG signal (δ, θ, α, β and γ) and the Parseval-s theorem are employed to extract the percentage distribution of energy features of the EEG signal at different resolution levels. Second, the neural network (NN) classifies these extracted features to identify the EEGs type according to the percentage distribution of energy features. The performance of the proposed algorithm has been evaluated using in total 300 EEG signals. The results showed that the proposed classifier has the ability of recognizing and classifying EEG signals efficiently.
Keywords: Epilepsy, EEG, Wavelet transform, Energydistribution, Neural Network, Classification.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 19753067 Development of a New Method for T-joint Specimens Testing under Shear Loading
Authors: R. Doubrava, R. Růžek
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Nonstandard tests are necessary for analyses and verification of new developed structural and technological solutions with application of composite materials. One of the most critical primary structural parts of a typical aerospace structure is T-joint. This structural element is loaded mainly in shear, bending, peel and tension. The paper is focused on the shear loading simulations. The aim of the work is to obtain a representative uniform distribution of shear loads along T-joint during the mechanical testing. A new design of T-joint test procedure, numerical simulation and optimization of representative boundary conditions are presented. The different conditions and inaccuracies both in simulations and experiments are discussed. The influence of different parameters on stress and strain distributions is demonstrated on T-joint made of CFRP (carbon fibre reinforced plastic). A special test rig designed by VZLU (Aerospace Research and Test Establishment) for T-shear test procedure is presented.
Keywords: T-joint, shear, composite, mechanical testing, Finite Element analysis, methodology.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 26603066 Synthesis and Analysis of Swelling and Controlled Release Behaviour of Anionic sIPN Acrylamide based Hydrogels
Authors: Atefeh Hekmat, Abolfazl Barati, Ebrahim Vasheghani Frahani, Ali Afraz
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In modern agriculture, polymeric hydrogels are known as a component able to hold an amount of water due to their 3-dimensional network structure and their tendency to absorb water in humid environments. In addition, these hydrogels are able to controllably release the fertilisers and pesticides loaded in them. Therefore, they deliver these materials to the plants' roots and help them with growing. These hydrogels also reduce the pollution of underground water sources by preventing the active components from leaching. In this study, sIPN acrylamide based hydrogels are synthesised by using acrylamide free radical, potassium acrylate, and linear polyvinyl alcohol. Ammonium nitrate is loaded in the hydrogel as the fertiliser. The effect of various amounts of monomers and linear polymer, measured in molar ratio, on the swelling rate, equilibrium swelling, and release of ammonium nitrate is studied.Keywords: Hydrogel, controlled release, ammonium nitrate fertiliser, sIPN.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 21613065 Effect of Social Media on Knowledge Work
Authors: Pekka Makkonen, Georgios Lampropoulos, Kerstin Siakas
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This paper examines the impact of social media on knowledge work. It discloses and highlights which specific aspects, areas and tasks of knowledge work can be improved by the use of social media. Moreover, the study includes a survey about higher education students’ viewpoints in regard to the use of social media as a means to enhance knowledge work and knowledge sharing. The analysis has been conducted based both on empirical data and on discussions about the sources dealing with knowledge work and how it can be enhanced by using social media. The results show that social media can improve knowledge work, knowledge building and maintenance tasks in which communication, information sharing and collaboration play a vital role. Additionally, by using social media, personal, collaborative and supplementary work activities can be enhanced. Based on the results of the study, we suggest how knowledge work can be enhanced when using the contemporary information and communications technologies (ICTs) of the 21st century and recommend future directions towards improving knowledge work.
Keywords: Knowledge work, social media, social media services, improving work performance.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 10883064 Introducing Successful Financial Innovations: Rewriting the Rules in Light of the Global Financial Crisis
Authors: Abdel Aziz, Hadia H.
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Since the 1980s, banks and financial service institutions have been running in an endless race of innovation to cope with the advancing technology, the fierce competition, and the more sophisticated and demanding customers. In order to guide their innovation efforts, several researches were conducted to identify the success and failure factors of new financial services. These mainly included organizational factors, marketplace factors and new service development process factors. They almost all emphasized the importance of customer and market orientation as a response to the highly perceptual and intangible characteristics of financial services. However, they deemphasized the critical characteristics of high involvement of risk and close correlation with the economic conditions, a factor that heavily contributed to the Global financial Crisis of 2008. This paper reviews the success and failure factors of new financial services. It then adds new perspectives emerging from the analysis of the role of innovation in the global financial crisis.
Keywords: Financial innovation, global financial crisis, lessons learned from global financial crisis, success factors in financial innovation.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 17323063 Exploring the Role of Private Commercial Banks in Increasing Small and Medium Size Enterprises’ Financial Accessibility in Developing Countries: A Study in Bangladesh
Authors: Khondokar Farid Ahmmed, Robin Bown
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It is widely recognized that the formal financing of Small and Medium Size Enterprises (SMEs) by Private Commercial Banks (PCBs) is restricted. Due to changing financial market competition, SMEs are now important customers to PCBs in the member countries of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Various initiatives in enhancing the efficiency of risk assessment of PCBs have failed in increasing financing accessibility in the traditional financing system where information asymmetry is a key constraint. In this circumstance, PCBs need to undertake a holistic approach. Holistic approach refers to methods that attempt to fundamentally change established traditions. To undertake holistic approach, this study intends to find the entire established financing culture between PCBs and SMEs in a new lens beyond the tradition on the basis of two basic questions: “What is the traditional lending culture between PCBs and SMEs” and “What could be potential role of PCBs to develop that culture where focusing on SME financing to PCBs". This study considered formal SME financing in Bangladesh by focusing on SMEs applying for their first loan. Bangladesh is a member country of ADB. The data collection method is semi-structured and we utilized face-to-face interviews with in-depth branch managers, higher officials and owner-managers of SME customers of PCBs and higher officials of SME Foundation and the Bangladesh central bank. Discourse analysis method was used for data analysis on the frame of thematic discussion fully based on participants’ views. The research found that branch managers and loan officers have a high level of power in assessing and financing decision-making. There is a changing attitude in PCB sector in requiring flexible collateral assets. Branch managers (Loan Officers) consider value of business prospect of owner-mangers as complementary of collateral assets. However, the study found the assessment process of business prospect is entirely unstructured and linked with socio-cultural settings that does not support PCBs’ changing manner in terms of collateral requirement. The study redefined and classified collateral assets to include all financing constructs in a structure. The degree of value of the collateral assets determines the degree of business prospects. This study suggested applying an outside classroom-learning paradigm such as “knowledge tour” to enhance the value of the kinds of collateral assets. This is the scope of PCBs in increasing SMEs’ financing eligibility in win-win basis. The findings and proposition could be effective in other ADB member countries and audiences in the field.
Keywords: CCA, financing, information asymmetry, PCA, PCB, financing.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 15063062 Employment Promotion and Its Role in Counteracting Unemployment during the Financial Crisis in the USA
Authors: Beata Wentura-Dudek
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In the United States in 2007-2010 before the crisis, the US labour market policy focused mainly on providing residents with unemployment insurance, after the recession this policy changed. The aim of the article was to present quantitative research presenting the most effective labor market instruments contributing to reducing unemployment during the crisis in the USA. The article presents research based on the analysis of available documents and statistical data. The results of the conducted research show that the most effective forms of counteracting unemployment at that time were: direct job creation, job search assistance, subsidized employment, training and employment promotion using new technologies, including social media.
Keywords: United States, financial crisis, unemployment, employment promotion, social media, job creation, training, labour market, employment agencies, lifelong learning, job search assistance, subsidized employment, companies, tax.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 7533061 Numerical and Infrared Mapping of Temperature in Heat Affected Zone during Plasma Arc Cutting of Mild Steel
Authors: Dalvir Singh, Somnath Chattopadhyaya
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During welding or flame cutting of metals, the prediction of heat affected zone (HAZ) is critical. There is need to develop a simple mathematical model to calculate the temperature variation in HAZ and derivative analysis can be used for this purpose. This study presents analytical solution for heat transfer through conduction in mild steel plate. The homogeneous and nonhomogeneous boundary conditions are single variables. The full field analytical solutions of temperature measurement, subjected to local heating source, are derived first by method of separation of variables followed with the experimental visualization using infrared imaging. Based on the present work, it is suggested that appropriate heat input characteristics controls the temperature distribution in and around HAZ.Keywords: Conduction Heat Transfer, Heat Affected Zone (HAZ), Infra-Red Imaging, Numerical Method, Orthogonal Function, Plasma Arc Cutting, Separation of Variables, Temperature Measurement.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 17873060 A Tool for Modeling Slope Instability Triggered by Piping
Authors: Paola Gattinoni, Vincenzo Francani
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The paper deals with the analysis of triggering conditions and evolution processes of piping phenomena, in relation to both mechanical and hydraulic aspects. In particular, the aim of the study is to predict slope instabilities triggered by piping, analysing the conditions necessary for a flow failure to occur. Really, the mechanical effect involved in the loads redistribution around the pipe is coupled to the drainage process arising from higher permeability of the pipe. If after the pipe formation, the drainage goes prevented for pipe clogging, the porewater pressure increase can lead to the failure or even the liquefaction, with a subsequent flow slide. To simulate the piping evolution and to verify relevant stability conditions, a iterative coupled modelling approach has been pointed out. As example, the proposed tool has been applied to the Stava Valley disaster (July, 1985), demonstrating that piping might be one of triggering phenomena of the tailings dams collapse.Keywords: Flow failure, liquefaction, modeling, piping, porewater pressure.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 24643059 Analysis of Dropped Call Rate for Long Term Evolution Networks in Bayelsa State, Nigeria
Authors: Chibuzo Emeruwa, Nnamdi N. Omehe
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This work attempts to effectively compare Dropped Call Rate (DCR) against industry benchmarks and competitor networks to identify areas for improvement and sets performance targets. Four mobile telecommunication networks operational in Bayelsa State Nigeria were considered. Results obtained shows that MTN and Airtel performed well within the regulator’s benchmark of ≤ 1% in all cases, while Globacom and 9moblie had instances where their performance fell outside the benchmark. The maximum values obtained within the period in view was 18.52% and it was in March 2016 for Globacom while the least value recorded is 0.00% and it was in September 2018 for 9mobile. In the seven years period under review, MTN and Airtel performed within the Nigerian Communication Commission’s (NCC) benchmark all through. This affirms that it is possible for the networks to perform optimally if adequate measures are put in place for improved Quality of Service (QoS).
Keywords: Attempted calls, data, dropped call rate, handover failure rate, key performance indicator, mobile network.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1223058 Analysis of a Population of Diabetic Patients Databases with Classifiers
Authors: Murat Koklu, Yavuz Unal
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Data mining can be called as a technique to extract information from data. It is the process of obtaining hidden information and then turning it into qualified knowledge by statistical and artificial intelligence technique. One of its application areas is medical area to form decision support systems for diagnosis just by inventing meaningful information from given medical data. In this study a decision support system for diagnosis of illness that make use of data mining and three different artificial intelligence classifier algorithms namely Multilayer Perceptron, Naive Bayes Classifier and J.48. Pima Indian dataset of UCI Machine Learning Repository was used. This dataset includes urinary and blood test results of 768 patients. These test results consist of 8 different feature vectors. Obtained classifying results were compared with the previous studies. The suggestions for future studies were presented.
Keywords: Artificial Intelligence, Classifiers, Data Mining, Diabetic Patients.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 54313057 Influence of City Environment to the Regional Development in Baltic Countries
Authors: Ilze Stokmane
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Economic processes underway in the country directly and indirectly affect the welfare of the people and the social environment, starting with job security and having a direct impact on the qualitative and safe living environment.
The paper describes existing situation and gives analysis of the regional development policy determination and implementation in the all three Baltic countries. According statistical indicators there are differences between implementation of the regional development activities between all Baltic countries and in regions of inside each country.
It is analyzed more detail differences between regions in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia according possibility to evaluate success of development processes in regions of the Baltic countries. The descriptive analyze of documents, statistical indicators at national level and regional level were used in the research.
Keywords: Baltic countries, city environment, regional development, urban areas.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 14273056 Worm Gearing Design Improvement by Considering Varying Mesh Stiffness
Authors: A. H. Elkholy, A. H. Falah
Abstract:
A new approach has been developed to estimate the load share and distribution of worm gear drives, and to calculate the instantaneous tooth meshing stiffness. In the approach, the worm gear drive was modelled as a series of spur gear slices, and each slice was analyzed separately using the well-established formulae of spur gear loading and stresses. By combining the results obtained for all slices, the entire envolute worm gear set loading and stressing was obtained. The geometric modelling method presented allows tooth elastic deformation and tooth root stresses of worm gear drives under different load conditions to be investigated. Based on the slicing method introduced in this study, the instantaneous meshing stiffness and load share are obtained. In comparison with existing methods, this approach has both good analysis accuracy and less computing time.Keywords: Gear, load/stress distribution, worm, wheel, tooth stiffness, contact line.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2223