Search results for: Condition Assessment

Authors: Mijoh A. Gbededo, Kapila Liyanage, Ilias Oraifige

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Decision making for sustainable manufacturing design and management requires critical considerations due to the complexity and partly conflicting issues of economic, social and environmental factors. Although there are tools capable of assessing the combination of one or two of the sustainability factors, the frameworks have not adequately integrated all the three factors. Case study and review of existing simulation applications also shows the approach lacks integration of the sustainability factors. In this paper we discussed the development of a simulation based framework for support of a holistic assessment of sustainable manufacturing design and management. To achieve this, a strategic approach is introduced to investigate the strengths and weaknesses of the existing decision supporting tools. Investigation reveals that Discrete Event Simulation (DES) can serve as a rock base for other Life Cycle Analysis frameworks. Simio-DES application optimizes systems for both economic and competitive advantage, Granta CES EduPack and SimaPro collate data for Material Flow Analysis and environmental Life Cycle Assessment, while social and stakeholders’ analysis is supported by Analytical Hierarchy Process, a Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis method. Such a common and integrated framework creates a platform for companies to build a computer simulation model of a real system and assess the impact of alternative solutions before implementing a chosen solution.

Keywords: Discrete event simulation, life cycle sustainability analysis, manufacturing, sustainability.

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Authors: Thamer Al-Rousan, Shahida Sulaiman, Rosalina Abdul Salam

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Risk management is an essential fraction of project management, which plays a significant role in project success. Many failures associated with Web projects are the consequences of poor awareness of the risks involved and lack of process models that can serve as a guideline for the development of Web based applications. To circumvent this problem, contemporary process models have been devised for the development of conventional software. This paper introduces the WPRiMA (Web Project Risk Management Assessment) as the tool, which is used to implement RIAP, the risk identification architecture pattern model, which focuses upon the data from the proprietor-s and vendor-s perspectives. The paper also illustrates how WPRiMA tool works and how it can be used to calculate the risk level for a given Web project, to generate recommendations in order to facilitate risk avoidance in a project, and to improve the prospects of early risk management.

Keywords: Architecture pattern model, risk factors, risk identification, web project, web project risk management assessment.

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Authors: Moustafa Osman Mohammed

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This paper will explore formation of HCl aerosol at atmospheric boundary layers and encourages the uptake of environmental modeling systems (EMSs) as a practice evaluation of gaseous emissions (“framework measures”) from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The conceptual model predicts greenhouse gas emissions to ecological points beyond landfill site operations. It focuses on incorporation traditional knowledge into baseline information for both measurement data and the mathematical results, regarding parameters influence model variable inputs. The paper has simplified parameters of aerosol processes based on the more complex aerosol process computations. The simple model can be implemented to both Gaussian and Eulerian rural dispersion models. Aerosol processes considered in this study were (i) the coagulation of particles, (ii) the condensation and evaporation of organic vapors, and (iii) dry deposition. The chemical transformation of gas-phase compounds is taken into account photochemical formulation with exposure effects according to HCl concentrations as starting point of risk assessment. The discussion set out distinctly aspect of sustainability in reflection inputs, outputs, and modes of impact on the environment. Thereby, models incorporate abiotic and biotic species to broaden the scope of integration for both quantification impact and assessment risks. The later environmental obligations suggest either a recommendation or a decision of what is a legislative should be achieved for mitigation measures of landfill gas (LFG) ultimately.

Keywords: Air dispersion model, landfill management, spatial analysis, environmental impact and risk assessment.

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Authors: A. I. Augie, M. Saleh, A. A. Gado

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In this research, Self-Potential (SP) method was employed to locate anomalous electrical conductivity located in Goronyo area and also to determine the condition of the embankment of the dam. SP data were plotted against distance along with the profile and spacing of electrode using surfer software (version 12). High and low zones of SP values were identified along the right and left abutments of the dam reservoir. The regions with high SP values were described to be high tendency of fluid flow associate with wet sandy soil. These zones have the SP values ranging from 200 mV and above. High SP values were due to the high moisture content that may lead to the seepage of water leaking through this zone. The zones with high SP values occupied Profiles S1, S2, S3, S4 and S5 indicating the presence of potential seepage paths within the subsurface of the embankment. These regions of seepage were identified as weak zones and potential pathways through which water could be lost from the dam reservoir. The SP values for the regions range from 250 m to 400 m (S1), 306 m to 400 m (S2), 192 m to 400 m (S3), 48 m to 200 m (S4) and 7 m to 170 m (S5) with their corresponding maximum depths of 30 m, 28 m, 28 m, 30 m and 26 m respectively. However, zones of low SP values in the overburden were observed which shows the presence of intact regions, which may be due to the compactness and dryness around the dam. The weak zones were considered as geological features (such as fractures, joints, and faults) that have undermined the integrity of the dam structure, which has led to the abnormal seepage.

Keywords: Self-potential, subsurface, seepage, condition and dam.

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Authors: Trisha Malhotra

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Sentiment analysis is a recent field of study that computationally assesses the emotional nature of a body of text. To assess its test-validity, sentiment analysis was carried out on the emotional corpus of text from a personal 15-day mood diary. Self-reported mood scores varied more or less accurately with daily mood evaluation score given by the software. On further assessment, it was found that while sentiment analysis was good at assessing ‘global’ mood, it was not able to ‘locally’ identify and differentially score synonyms of various emotional words. It is further critiqued for treating the intensity of an emotion as universal across cultures. Finally, the software is shown not to account for emotional complexity in sentences by treating emotions as strictly positive or negative. Hence, it is posited that a better output could be two (positive and negative) affect scores for the same body of text.

Keywords: Analysis, data, diary, emotions, mood, sentiment.

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Authors: Nader Gharibnavaz, Hossein Yazdi

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If organizations like Mellat Bank want to identify its customer market completely to reach its specified goals, it can segment the market to offer the product package to the right segment. Our objective is to offer a segmentation model for Iran banking market in Mellat bank view. The methodology of this project is combined by “segmentation on the basis of four part-quality variables" and “segmentation on the basis of different in means". Required data are gathered from E-Systems and researcher personal observation. Finally, the research offers the organization that at first step form a four dimensional matrix with 756 segments using four variables named value-based, behavioral, activity style, and activity level, and at the second step calculate the means of profit for every cell of matrix in two distinguished work level (levels α1:normal condition and α2: high pressure condition) and compare the segments by checking two conditions that are 1- homogeneity every segment with its sub segment and 2- heterogeneity with other segments, and so it can do the necessary segmentation process. After all, the last offer (more explained by an operational example and feedback algorithm) is to test and update the model because of dynamic environment, technology, and banking system.

Keywords: market segmentation model, banking system, Mellat bank

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Authors: Jamaiah H. Yahaya, Aziz Deraman, Abdul Razak Hamdan, Yusmadi Yah Jusoh

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One of the most essential issues in software products is to maintain it relevancy to the dynamics of the user’s requirements and expectation. Many studies have been carried out in quality aspect of software products to overcome these problems. Previous software quality assessment models and metrics have been introduced with strengths and limitations. In order to enhance the assurance and buoyancy of the software products, certification models have been introduced and developed. From our previous experiences in certification exercises and case studies collaborating with several agencies in Malaysia, the requirements for user based software certification approach is identified and demanded. The emergence of social network applications, the new development approach such as agile method and other varieties of software in the market have led to the domination of users over the software. As software become more accessible to the public through internet applications, users are becoming more critical in the quality of the services provided by the software. There are several categories of users in web-based systems with different interests and perspectives. The classifications and metrics are identified through brain storming approach with includes researchers, users and experts in this area. The new paradigm in software quality assessment is the main focus in our research. This paper discusses the classifications of users in web-based software system assessment and their associated factors and metrics for quality measurement. The quality model is derived based on IEEE structure and FCM model. The developments are beneficial and valuable to overcome the constraints and improve the application of software certification model in future.

Keywords: Software certification model, user centric approach, software quality factors, metrics and measurements, web-based system.

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Authors: Mustafa M. Donma, Orkide Donma

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Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a disease associated with obesity. It is a complicated clinical problem possibly affecting body composition as well as macrominerals. These parameters gain further attention particularly in pediatric population. The aim of this study is to investigate the amount of discrete body composition fractions in groups that differ in the severity of obesity. Also, the possible associations with calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P), magnesium (Mg) will be examined. The study population was divided into four groups. 28, 29, 34 and 34 children were involved in Group 1 (healthy), Group 2 (obese), Group 3 (morbid obese) and Group 4 (MetS), respectively. Institutional Ethical Committee approved the study protocol. Informed consent forms were obtained from the parents of the participants. The classification of obese groups was performed based upon the recommendations of World Health Organization. MetS components were defined. Serum Ca, P, Mg concentrations were measured. Within the scope of body composition, fat mass, fat-free mass, protein mass, mineral mass were determined by body composition monitor using bioelectrical impedance analysis technology. Weight, height, waist circumference, hip circumference, head circumference and neck circumference values were recorded. Body mass index, diagnostic obesity notation model assessment index, fat mass index and fat-free mass index values were calculated. Data were statistically evaluated and interpreted. There was no statistically significant difference among the groups in terms of Ca and P concentrations. Magnesium concentrations differed between Group 1 and Group 4. Strong negative correlations were detected between P as well as Mg and fat mass index as well as diagnostic obesity notation model assessment index in Group 4, which comprised morbid obese children with MetS. This study emphasized unique associations of P and Mg minerals with diagnostic obesity notation model assessment index and fat mass index during the evaluation of morbid obese children with MetS. It was also concluded that diagnostic obesity notation model assessment index and fat mass index were more proper indices in comparison with body mass index and fat-free mass index for the purpose of defining body composition in children.

Keywords: Children, fat mass, fat-free mass, macrominerals, obesity.

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Authors: Marine Segui, Simon Bezin, Ruxandra Mihaela Botez

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As part of a ‘Morphing-Wing’ idea, this study consists of measuring how a winglet, which is able to change its shape during the flight, is efficient. Conventionally, winglets are fixed-vertical platforms at the wingtips, optimized for a cruise condition that the airplane should use most of the time. However, during a cruise, an airplane flies through a lot of cruise conditions corresponding to altitudes variations from 30,000 to 45,000 ft. The fixed winglets are not optimized for these variations, and consequently, they are supposed to generate some drag, and thus to deteriorate aircraft fuel consumption. This research assumes that it exists a winglet position that reduces the fuel consumption for each cruise condition. In this way, the methodology aims to find these optimal winglet positions, and to further simulate, and thus estimate the fuel consumption of an aircraft wearing this type of adaptive winglet during several cruise conditions. The adaptive winglet is assumed to have degrees of freedom given by the various changes of following surfaces: the tip chord, the sweep and the dihedral angles. Finally, results obtained during cruise simulations are presented in this paper. These results show that an adaptive winglet can reduce, thus improve up to 2.12% the fuel consumption of an aircraft during a cruise.

Keywords: Aerodynamics, Cessna Citation X, optimization, winglet, adaptive, morphing, wing, aircraft.

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Authors: Jisun Mo, Paola Boarin

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The impact of common buildings on climate and environment has prompted people to get involved in the green building standards aimed at implementing rating tools or certifications. Thus, green building rating systems were introduced to the construction industry, and the demand for certified green buildings has increased gradually and succeeded considerably in enhancing people’s environmental awareness. However, the existing certification process has been unsatisfactory in attracting stakeholders and/or professionals who are actively engaged in adopting a rating system. It is because they have faced recurring barriers regarding limited information in understanding the rating process, time-consuming procedures and higher costs, which have a direct influence on pursuing green building rating systems. To promote the achievement of green building certifications within the building industry more successfully, this paper aims at designing a Pre-Assessment Tool (PAT) framework that can help stakeholders and/or professionals engaged in the construction industry to clarify their basic knowledge, timeframe and extra costs needed to activate a green building certification. First, taking the first steps towards the rating tool seems to be complicated because of upfront commitment to understanding the overall rating procedure is required. This conceptual PAT framework can increase basic knowledge of the rating tool and the certification process, mainly in terms of all resources or information of each credit requirements. Second, the assessment process of rating tools is generally known as a “lengthy and time-consuming system”, contributing to unenthusiastic reactions concerning green building projects. The proposed framework can predict the timeframe needed to identify how long it will take for a green project to process each credit requirement and the documentation required from the beginning of the certification process to final approval. Finally, most people often have the initial perception that pursuing green building certification costs more than constructing a non-green building, which makes it more difficult to execute rating tools. To overcome this issue, this PAT will help users to estimate the extra expenses such as certification fees and third-party contributions based on the track of the amount of time it takes to implement the rating tool throughout all the related stages. Also, it can prevent unexpected or hidden costs occurring in the process of assessment. Therefore, this proposed PAT framework can be recommended as an effective method to support the decision-making of inexperienced users and play an important role in promoting green building certification.

Keywords: Barriers, certification process, green building rating systems, pre-assessment tool.

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Authors: Michael W. Markowitz

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A central element of higher education today is the “core” or “general education” curriculum: that configuration of courses that often encompasses the essence of liberal arts education. Ensuring that such offerings reflect the mission and values of the institution is a challenge faced by most college and universities, often more than once. This paper presents an action model of program planning designed to structure the processes of developing, implementing and revising core curricula in a manner consistent with key institutional goals and objectives. Through presentation of a case study from a university in the United States, the elements of needs assessment, stakeholder investment and collaborative compromise are shown as key components of a planning strategy that can produce a general education program that is comprehensive, academically rigorous, assessable, and mission consistent. The paper concludes with recommendations for both the implementation and evaluation of such programs in practice.

Keywords: Academic assessment, academic program planning, curriculum development, general education reform.

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Authors: Jukka Heinonen

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Higher density reduces distances, private car dependency and thus reduces greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs). As a result, increased density has been given a central role among urban development targets. However, it is not just travel behavior that changes along with density. Rather, the consumption patterns, or overall lifestyles, change along with changing urban structure, particularly with changing housing types and consumption opportunities. Furthermore, elevated consumption of services, more frequent flying and less intra-household sharing have been shown to potentially outweigh the gains from reduced driving in more dense urban settlements. In this study, the geography of carbon footprints (CFs) in California is analyzed paying close attention to the household size differences and the resulting economies-of-scale advantages and disadvantages. A hybrid life cycle assessment (LCA) framework is employed together with consumer expenditure data to assess the CFs. According to the study, small urban households have the highest CFs in California. Their transport related emissions are significantly lower than those of the residents of less urbanized areas, but higher emissions from other consumption categories, together with the low degree of sharing of goods, overweigh the gains. Two functional units, per capita and per household, are used to analyze the CFs and to demonstrate the importance of household size. The lifestyle impacts visible through the consumption data are also discussed. The study suggests that there are still significant gaps in our understanding of the premises of low-carbon human settlements.

Keywords: Carbon footprint, life cycle assessment, consumption, lifestyle, household size, economies-of-scale.

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Authors: V. Endo, A. G. Silva Sobrinho, F. A. Almeida, N. L. L. Lima, G. M. Manzi, L. G. A. Cirne, N. M. B. L. Zeola

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We used 24 Ile de France lambs, weighing between 15 and 32 kg (BW). Treatments were supplemented with concentrate: “in nature” sugarcane (IN), sugarcane hydrolyzed using 0.6% calcium oxide (CaO) under aerobic condition (AER), and sugarcane hydrolyzed using 0.6% CaO under anaerobic condition (ANA), constituting a completely randomized design with eight repetitions per treatment. Lambs were housed in individual stalls and fed into the through, allowing 10% of leftovers. Lambs were slaughtered when body weight reached 32 kg. The following parameters were determined on Longissimu lumborum muscle of hot and cold carcasses: pH and color, 45 minutes and 24 hours after slaughtering. Qualitative analysis of the meat were performed in the loins, water-holding capacity (WHC), cooking loss (CL), and shear force (SF). We used a completely randomized design with three treatments and eight repetitions. Means were compared by Tukey test at 5% significance. A higher value for redness (a*) 45 minutes after slaughter (10.48) were found for lambs fed hydrolyzed under anaerobic conditions sugarcane. The other qualitative characteristics of meat were not affected by treatments (P >0.05). The comparison of meat quality resulting from the treatments shows that it is possible to feed in nature sugarcane to lambs, thus waiving hydrolyses process and the spending with alkalizing agent.

Keywords: Calcium oxide, hydrolysis, meat quality, pH.

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Authors: H. Bhowmik, A. Faisal, Ahmed Al Yaarubi, Nabil Al Alawi

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Experiments are conducted to analyze the steady-state and the power-on transient natural convection heat transfer from a horizontal cylinder mounted in a vertical up flow circular duct. The heat flux ranges from 177 W/m² to 2426 W/m² and the Rayleigh number ranges from 1×10⁴ to 4.35×10⁴. For natural air flow and constant heat flux condition, the effects of heat transfer around the cylinder under steady-state condition are investigated. The steady-state results compare favorably with that of the available data. The effects of transient heat transfer data on different angular position of the thermocouple (0^o, 90^o, 180^o) are also reported. It is observed that the transient heat transfer around the cylinder is strongly affected by the position of thermocouples. In the transient region, the rate of heat transfer obtained at 90^o and 180^o are higher than that of stagnation point (0^o). Finally, the dependence of the average Nusselt number on Rayleigh number for steady and transient natural convection heat transfer are analyzed, and a correlation equation is presented.

Keywords: Steady-state, transient, natural convection, Rayleigh number, Nusselt number, Fourier Number.

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Authors: N. R. Putra, A. H. Abdul Aziz, A. S. Zaini, Z. Idham, F. Idrus, M. Z. Bin Zullyadini, M. A. Che Yunus

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The content of omega-3 in soybean oil is important in the development of infants and is an alternative for the omega-3 in fish oils. The investigation of extraction of soybean oil is needed to obtain the bioactive compound in the extract. Supercritical carbon dioxide extraction is modern and green technology to extract herbs and plants to obtain high quality extract due to high diffusivity and solubility of the solvent. The aim of this study was to obtain the optimum condition of soybean oil extraction by modified supercritical carbon dioxide. The soybean oil was extracted by using modified supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO₂) under the temperatures of 40, 60, 80 °C, pressures of 150, 250, 350 Bar, and constant flow-rate of 10 g/min as the parameters of extraction processes. An experimental design was performed in order to optimize three important parameters of SC-CO₂ extraction which are pressure (X₁), temperature (X₂) to achieve optimum yields of soybean oil. Box Behnken Design was applied for experimental design. From the optimization process, the optimum condition of extraction of soybean oil was obtained at pressure 338 Bar and temperature 80 °C with oil yield of 2.713 g. Effect of pressure is significant on the extraction of soybean oil by modified supercritical carbon dioxide. Increasing of pressure will increase the oil yield of soybean oil.

Keywords: Soybean oil, SC-CO2 extraction, yield, optimization.

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Authors: Simon Samwel Msanjila

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Networked environments which provide platforms for business organizations are configured in different forms depending on many factors including life time, member characteristics, communication structure, and business objectives, among others. With continuing advances in digital technologies the distance has become a less barrier for business minded collaboration among organizations. With the need and ease to make business collaborate nowadays organizations are sometimes forced to co-work with others that are either unknown or less known to them in terms of history and performance. A promising approach for sustaining established collaboration has been establishment of trust relationship among organizations based on assessed trustworthiness for each participating organization. It has been stated in research that trust in organization is dynamic and thus assessment of trust level must address such dynamic nature. This paper assesses relevant aspects of trust and applies the assessed concepts to propose a semi-automated system for the management of Sustainability and Evolution of trust in organizations participating in specific objective in a networked organizations environment.

Keywords: Trust evolution, trust sustainability, networked organizations, dynamic trust.

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Authors: Eric Ho

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Pedagogical approaches in Asia nowadays are imported from the West. In Confucian Heritage Culture (CHC), however, there is a dichotomy between the perceived benefits of Western pedagogies and the real classroom practices in Chinese societies. The success of Hong Kong students in large-scale international assessments has proved that both the strengths of both Western pedagogies and CHC educational approaches should be integrated for the sake of the students. University students aim to equip themselves with employability skills upon graduation. Formative assessments allow students to receive detailed, positive, and timely feedback and they can identify their strengths and weaknesses before they start working. However, there remains a question of whether university year 1 students who come from an examination-driven secondary education background are ready to respond to more formative assessments. The findings show that year 1 students are less concerned about competition in the university and more open to new teaching approaches that will allow them to improve as professionals in their major study areas.

Keywords: Formative assessment, higher education, learning styles, Confucian heritage culture.

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Authors: Camelia Iuliana Lungu, Chirața Caraiani, Cornelia Dascălu

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The business strategy of any company wanting to be competitive on the market should be designed around the concept of intangibles, with an increasingly decisive role in knowledge transfer of the biggest corporations. Advancing the research in these areas, this study integrates the two approaches, emphasizing the relationships between the components of intellectual capital and corporate social responsibility. The three dimensions of intellectual capital in terms of sustainability requirements are debated. The paper introduces the concept of sustainable intellectual capital and debates it within an assessment model designed on the base of key performance indicators. The results refer to the assessment of possible ways for including the information on intellectual capital and corporate responsibility within the corporate strategy. The conclusions enhance the need for companies to be ready to support the integration of this type of information the knowledge transfer process, in order to develop competitive advantage on the market.

Keywords: Corporate social responsibility, corporate strategy, intellectual capital, sustainability

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Authors: Guenther Schuh, Sebastian Woelk, Daniel Schraknepper, Anders Such

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The systematic evaluation of manufacturing technologies with regard to the potential for product designing constitutes a major challenge. Until now, conventional evaluation methods primarily consider the costs of manufacturing technologies. Thus, the potential of manufacturing technologies for achieving additional product design features is not completely captured. To compensate this deficit, final evaluations of new technologies are mainly intuitive in practice. Therefore, an additional evaluation dimension is needed which takes the potential of manufacturing technologies for specific realizable product designs into account. In this paper, we present the approach of an evaluation method for selecting manufacturing technologies with regard to their potential for product designing. This research is done within the Fraunhofer innovation cluster »AdaM« (Adaptive Manufacturing) which targets the development of resource efficient and adaptive manufacturing technology processes for complex turbomachinery components.

Keywords: Manufacturing, product design, production, technology assessment, technology management.

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Authors: S. Pushkar, O. Verbitsky

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Currently, green rating systems are mainly utilized for correctly sizing mechanical and electrical systems, which have short lifetime expectancies. In these systems, passive solar and bio-climatic architecture, which have long lifetime expectancies, are neglected. Urban rating systems consider buildings and services in addition to neighborhoods and public transportation as integral parts of the built environment. The main goal of this study was to develop a more consistent point allocation system for urban building standards by using six different lifetime shearing layers: Site, Structure, Skin, Services, Space, and Stuff, each reflecting distinct environmental damages. This shearing-layer concept was applied to internationally well-known rating systems: Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for Neighborhood Development, BRE Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) for Communities and Comprehensive Assessment System for Building Environmental Efficiency (CASBEE) for Urban Development. The results showed that LEED for Neighborhood Development and BREEAM for Communities focused on long-lifetime-expectancy building designs, whereas CASBEE for Urban Development gave equal importance to the Building and Service Layers. Moreover, although this rating system was applied using a building-scale assessment, “Urban Area + Buildings” focuses on a short-lifetime-expectancy system design, neglecting to improve the architectural design by considering bioclimatic and passive solar aspects.

Keywords: Green rating system, passive solar architecture, shearing-layer concept, urban community.

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Authors: Saher Ali Al-Sabbah, See Ching Mey, Ong Saw Lan

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This article addresses the procedures to validate the Arabic version of Multiple Intelligence Development Assessment Scale (MIDAS). The content validity was examined based on the experts- judgments on the MIDAS-s items in the Arabic version. The content of eleven items in the Arabic version of MIDAS was modified to match the Arabic context. Then a translation from original English version of MIDAS into Arabic language was performed. The reliability of the Arabic MIDAS was calculated based on test and retest method and found to be 0.85 for the overall MIDAS and for the different subscales ranging between 0.78 - 0.87. The examination of construct validity for the overall Arabic MIDAS and its subscales was established by using Winsteps program version 6 based on Rasch model in order to fit the items into the Arabic context. The findings indicated that, the eight subscales in Arabic version of MIDAS scale have a unidimensionality, and the total number of kept items in the overall scale is 108 items.

Keywords: Rasch-Model, validation, multiple intelligence, and MIDAS scale.

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Authors: Adenike O. Olatunji-Akioye, Emmanual B Farayola

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In order to improve the animal protein recommended daily intake of Nigerians, there is an upsurge in breeding of hitherto shunned food animals one of which is the rabbit. Radiography and ultrasonography are tools for diagnosing disease and evaluating the anatomical architecture of parts of the body non-invasively. As the rabbit is becoming a more important food animal, to achieve improved breeding of these animals, the best of the species form a breeding stock and will usually depend on breeding soundness which may be evaluated by assessment of the male reproductive organs by these tools. Four male intact rabbits weighing between 1.2 to 1.5 kg were acquired and acclimatized for 2 weeks. Dorsoventral views of the testes were acquired using a digital radiographic machine and a 5 MHz portable ultrasound scanner was used to acquire images of the testes in longitudinal, sagittal and transverse planes. Radiographic images acquired revealed soft tissue images of the testes in all rabbits. The testes lie in individual scrotal sacs sides on both sides of the midline at the level of the caudal vertebrae and thus are superimposed by caudal vertebrae and the caudal limits of the pelvic girdle. The ultrasonographic images revealed mostly homogenously hypoechogenic testes and a hyperechogenic mediastinum testis. The dorsal and ventral poles of the testes were heterogeneously hypoechogenic and correspond to the epididymis and spermatic cord. The rabbit is unique in the ability to retract the testes particularly when stressed and so careful and stressless handling during the procedures is of paramount importance. The imaging of rabbit testes can be safely done using both imaging methods but ultrasonography is a better method of assessment and evaluation of soundness for breeding.

Keywords: Breeding soundness, rabbits, radiography, ultrasonography.

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Authors: Ammar Anwar Khan, Nissar R. Wani, Nazar Malik, Abdulrehman Al-Arainy, and Saad Alghuwainem

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Power cables are vulnerable to failure due to aging or defects that occur with the passage of time under continuous operation and loading stresses. PD detection and characterization provide information on the location, nature, form and extent of the degradation. As a result, PD monitoring has become an important part of condition based maintenance (CBM) program among power utilities. Online partial discharge (PD) localization of defect sources in power cable system is possible using the time of flight method. The information regarding the time difference between the main and reflected pulses and cable length can help in locating the partial discharge source along the cable length. However, if the length of the cable is not known and the defect source is located at the extreme ends of the cable or in the middle of the cable, then double ended measurement is required to indicate the location of PD source. Use of multiple sensors can also help in discriminating the cable PD or local/ external PD. This paper presents the experience and results from online partial discharge measurements conducted in the laboratory and the challenges in partial discharge source localization.

Keywords: Power cables, partial discharge localization, HFCT, condition based monitoring.

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Authors: Theingi Shwe, Riken Homma, Kazuhisa Iki, Juko Ito

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The growing cities of the developing country are characterized by rapid growth and poor infrastructure management inviting and accelerating relative environmental problems. Even though the movements of the sustainability had already been developed around the world, it is still increasing in the developing countries to plant sustainable practices. Aligned with the sustainable development actions, many sustainable assessment tools are also developed to rate and evaluate the sustainability performances through the building to community level. Among them, CASBEE is developed by Japanese organizations and is recognized as one of the international well-known assessment tools. The main purpose of the study is to find out the potential of CASBEE tool reflecting sustainability city level performances in developing countries. The research framework was designed with three major phases: Quantitative Approach, Qualitative Approach and Evaluation Reflection. The first two approaches were based on the investigation of tool’s contents and indicators by means of three sustainable dimensions and sustainability categories. To know the reality and reflection on developing country, Pathein City from Myanmar was selected and evaluated by 2012 version of CASBEE for Cities. The evaluation practices went through assigned indicators and the evaluation outcome presents the performances of Pathein city’s environmental efficiency as a very good in current conditions. The results of this study indicate that the indicators of this tool have balance coverage among three dimensions of sustainability but it has not yet counted enough for some indicators like location, infrastructure and institution which are relative to society dimension. In the developing countries’ cities, the most critical issues on development such as affordable housing and heritage preservation which are already planted in Pathein City but the tool does not account for those issues. Moreover, in some of the indicators, the benchmark and the weighting coefficient are strongly linked to the system birth region. By means of this study, it can be stated that CASBEE for Cities would be potential for delivering sustainable city level development in developing country especially in Myanmar along with further inclusion of the indicators.

Keywords: Assessment tool, CASBEE, developing country, Myanmar, Pathein city, sustainable development.

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Authors: Wahidul K. Biswas

Abstract:

Perth will run out of available sustainable natural water resources by 2015 if nothing is done to slow usage rates, according to a Western Australian study [1]. Alternative water technology options need to be considered for the long-term guaranteed supply of water for agricultural, commercial, domestic and industrial purposes. Seawater is an alternative source of water for human consumption, because seawater can be desalinated and supplied in large quantities to a very high quality. While seawater desalination is a promising option, the technology requires a large amount of energy which is typically generated from fossil fuels. The combustion of fossil fuels emits greenhouse gases (GHG) and, is implicated in climate change. In addition to environmental emissions from electricity generation for desalination, greenhouse gases are emitted in the production of chemicals and membranes for water treatment. Since Australia is a signatory to the Kyoto Protocol, it is important to quantify greenhouse gas emissions from desalinated water production. A life cycle assessment (LCA) has been carried out to determine the greenhouse gas emissions from the production of 1 gigalitre (GL) of water from the new plant. In this LCA analysis, a new desalination plant that will be installed in Bunbury, Western Australia, and known as Southern Seawater Desalinization Plant (SSDP), was taken as a case study. The system boundary of the LCA mainly consists of three stages: seawater extraction, treatment and delivery. The analysis found that the equivalent of 3,890 tonnes of CO2 could be emitted from the production of 1 GL of desalinated water. This LCA analysis has also identified that the reverse osmosis process would cause the most significant greenhouse emissions as a result of the electricity used if this is generated from fossil fuels

Keywords: Desalinization, Greenhouse gas emissions, life cycle assessment.

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Authors: Haluk Eren, Ümit Çelik

Abstract:

Recent developments in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have begun to attract intense interest. UAVs started to use for many different applications from military to civilian use. Some online retailer and logistics companies are testing the UAV delivery. UAVs have great potentials to reduce cost and time of deliveries and responding to emergencies in a short time. Despite these great positive sides, just a few works have been done for routing of UAVs for package deliveries. As known, transportation of goods from one place to another may have many hazards on delivery route due to falling hazards that can be exemplified as ground objects or air obstacles. This situation refers to wide-range insurance concept. For this reason, deliveries that are made with drones get into the scope of shipping insurance. On the other hand, air traffic was taken into account in the absence of unmanned aerial vehicle. But now, it has been a reality for aerial fields. In this study, the main goal is to conduct risk analysis of package delivery services using drone, based on delivery routes.

Keywords: Drone risk assessment, drone package delivery.

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Authors: T. Inada, M. Kanzaki, W. Ano, S. Hardiwinoto, R. Sadono

Abstract:

In a lowland dipterocarp forest, we assessed the impact of canopy openness (CO) and the resultant changes under different logging systems using hemispherical photography. CO was assessed in a primary forest and two forests logged selectively  using reduced impact logging. At one site, 3-m-wide strip cutting was conducted for line planting. From the comparison of CO among the three sites, we found significant changes caused by logging. However, no significant difference was observed between the two logged sites. Strip cutting treatment did not affect CO. One year after, significant canopy closure occurred in both of the logged sites. Canopy closure was significant regardless of the disturbance element, logging gap, skid trail, or strip cutting line. Significant establishment of seedlings within a year was observed in the strip cutting line. Seedling establishment seemed to contribute to rapid canopy closure and prospected to affect to the survival and growth of planted trees.

Keywords: Hemispherical photography, light condition, lowland dipterocarp forest, selective logging.

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Authors: David Tena-Gago, Jose M. Alcaraz Calero, Qi Wang

Abstract:

The evolution and integration of automated vehicles have become more and more tangible in recent years. State-of-the-art technological advances in the field of camera-based Artificial Intelligence (AI) and computer vision greatly favor the performance and reliability of Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS), leading to a greater knowledge of vehicular operation and resembling the human behaviour. However, the exclusive use of this technology still seems insufficient to control the vehicular operation at 100%. To reveal the degree of accuracy of the current camera-based automated driving AI modules, this paper studies the structure and behavior of one of the main solutions in a controlled testing environment. The results obtained clearly outline the lack of reliability when using exclusively the AI model in the perception stage, thereby entailing using additional complementary sensors to improve its safety and performance.

Keywords: Accuracy assessment, AI-Driven Mobility, Artificial Intelligence, automated vehicles.

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Authors: P. Moeinzadeh, A. Hajfathaliha

Abstract:

Many firms implemented various initiatives such as outsourced manufacturing which could make a supply chain (SC) more vulnerable to various types of disruptions. So managing risk has become a critical component of SC management. Different types of SC vulnerability management methodologies have been proposed for managing SC risk, most offer only point-based solutions that deal with a limited set of risks. This research aims to reinforce SC risk management by proposing an integrated approach. SC risks are identified and a risk index classification structure is created. Then we develop a SC risk assessment approach based on the analytic network process (ANP) and the VIKOR methods under the fuzzy environment where the vagueness and subjectivity are handled with linguistic terms parameterized by triangular fuzzy numbers. By using FANP, risks weights are calculated and then inserted to the FVIKOR to rank the SC members and find the most risky partner.

Keywords: Analytic network process (ANP), Fuzzy sets, Supply chain risk management (SCRM), VIšekriterijumsko KOmpromisno Rangiranje (VIKOR)

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Authors: Amira A. A. Abdallah, Amir A. Beltagi

Abstract:

Background: Core stability training has recently attracted attention for improving muscle balance and optimizing performance in healthy and unhealthy individuals. Purpose: This study investigated the effect of beginner’s core stability exercises on trunk flexors’/extensors’ peak torque ratio and trunk flexors’ and extensors’ peak torques. Methods: Thirty five healthy individuals participated in the study. They were randomly assigned to two groups; experimental “group I, n=20” and control “group II, n=15”. Their mean age, weight and height were 20.7±2.4 vs. 20.3±0.61 years, 66.5±12.1 vs. 68.57±12.2 kg and 166.7±7.8 vs. 164.28 ±7.59 cm. for group I vs. group II. Data were collected using the Biodex Isokinetic system. The participants were tested twice; before and after a 6-week period during which group I performed a core stability training program. Results: The 2x2 Mixed Design ANOVA revealed that there were no significant differences (p>0.025) in the trunk flexors’/extensors’ peak torque ratio between the pre-test and post-test conditions for either group. Moreover, there were no significant differences (p>0.025) in the trunk flexion/extension ratios between both groups at either condition. However, the 2x2 Mixed Design MANOVA revealed significant increases (p<0.025) in the trunk flexors’ and extensors’ peak torques in the post-test condition compared with the pre-test in group I with no significant differences (p>0.025) in group II. Moreover, there was a significant increase (p<0.025) in the trunk flexors’ peak torque only in group I compared with group II in the post-test condition with no significant differences in the other conditions. Interpretation/Conclusion: The improvement in muscle performance indicated by the increase in the trunk flexors’ and extensors’ peak torques in the experimental group recommends including core stability training in the exercise programs that aim to improve muscle performance.

Keywords: Core Stability, Isokinetic, Trunk Muscles.

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