Search results for: Developing Countries

Authors: Hekmatpanah M., Fadavinia, A.

Abstract:

Failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA) is an effective technique for preventing potential problems and actions needed to error cause removal. On the other hand, the oil producing companies paly a critical role in the oil industry of Iran as a developing country out of which, Sepahan Oil Co. has a considerable contribution. The aim of this research is to show how FMEA could be applied and improve the quality of products at Sepahan Oil Co. For this purpose, the four liter production line of the company has been selected for investigation. The findings imply that the application of FMEA has reduced the scraps from 50000 ppm to 5000 ppm and has resulted in a 0.92 percent decrease of the oil waste.

Keywords: FMEA, Iran, Sepahan Oil Co., Canning, Waste, Scrap

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Authors: Jan Newmarch

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With the increasing spread of computers and the internet among culturally, linguistically and geographically diverse communities, issues of internationalization and localization and becoming increasingly important. For some of the issues such as different scales for length and temperature, there is a well-developed measurement theory. For others such as date formats no such theory will be possible. This paper fills a gap by developing a measurement theory for a class of scales previously overlooked, based on discrete and interval-valued scales such as spanner and shoe sizes. The paper gives a theoretical foundation for a class of data representation problems.

Keywords: Data representation, internationalisation, localisation, measurement theory.

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Authors: Jakub Kraus, Vladimír Plos, Peter Vittek

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This article deals with a new approach to the airport emergency plans, which are the basic documents and manuals for dealing with events with impact on safety or security. The article describes the identified parts in which the current airport emergency plans do not fulfill their role and which should therefore be considered in the creation of corrective measures. All these issues have been identified at airports in the Czech Republic and confirmed at airports in neighboring countries.

Keywords: Airport emergency plan, aviation safety, aviation security, comprehensive management system.

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Authors: Gonçalo G. Aleixo, Alexandra B. Tenera

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This work will provide a new perspective of exploring innovation thematic. It will reveal that radical and incremental innovations are complementary during the innovation life cycle and accomplished through distinct ways of developing new products. Each new product development process will be constructed according to the nature of each innovation and the state of the product development. This paper proposes the inclusion of the organizational function areas that influence new product's development on the new product development process.

Keywords: Cross-functional, Incremental Innovation, New Product development Process, Radical Innovation

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Authors: Talal Alsulaiman, Khaldoun Khashanah

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In this paper, we provided a literature survey on the artificial stock problem (ASM). The paper began by exploring the complexity of the stock market and the needs for ASM. ASM aims to investigate the link between individual behaviors (micro level) and financial market dynamics (macro level). The variety of patterns at the macro level is a function of the AFM complexity. The financial market system is a complex system where the relationship between the micro and macro level cannot be captured analytically. Computational approaches, such as simulation, are expected to comprehend this connection. Agent-based simulation is a simulation technique commonly used to build AFMs. The paper proceeds by discussing the components of the ASM. We consider the roles of behavioral finance (BF) alongside the traditionally risk-averse assumption in the construction of agent’s attributes. Also, the influence of social networks in the developing of agents interactions is addressed. Network topologies such as a small world, distance-based, and scale-free networks may be utilized to outline economic collaborations. In addition, the primary methods for developing agents learning and adaptive abilities have been summarized. These incorporated approach such as Genetic Algorithm, Genetic Programming, Artificial neural network and Reinforcement Learning. In addition, the most common statistical properties (the stylized facts) of stock that are used for calibration and validation of ASM are discussed. Besides, we have reviewed the major related previous studies and categorize the utilized approaches as a part of these studies. Finally, research directions and potential research questions are argued. The research directions of ASM may focus on the macro level by analyzing the market dynamic or on the micro level by investigating the wealth distributions of the agents.

Keywords: Artificial stock markets, agent based simulation, bounded rationality, behavioral finance, artificial neural network, interaction, scale-free networks.

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Authors: Mustafa M. Donma, Orkide Donma, Murat Aydin, Muhammet Demirkol, Burcin Nalbantoglu, Aysin Nalbantoglu, Birol Topcu

Abstract:

Childhood obesity is an ever increasing global health problem, affecting both developed and developing countries. Accurate evaluation of obesity in children requires difficult and detailed investigation. In our study, obesity in children was evaluated using new body fat ratios and indices. Assessment of anthropometric measurements, as well as some ratios, is important because of the evaluation of gender differences particularly during the late periods of obesity. A total of 239 children; 168 morbid obese (MO) (81 girls and 87 boys) and 71 normal weight (NW) (40 girls and 31 boys) children, participated in the study. Informed consent forms signed by the parents were obtained. Ethics Committee approved the study protocol. Mean ages (years)±SD calculated for MO group were 10.8±2.9 years in girls and 10.1±2.4 years in boys. The corresponding values for NW group were 9.0±2.0 years in girls and 9.2±2.1 years in boys. Mean body mass index (BMI)±SD values for MO group were 29.1±5.4 kg/m² and 27.2±3.9 kg/m² in girls and boys, respectively. These values for NW group were calculated as 15.5±1.0 kg/m² in girls and 15.9±1.1 kg/m² in boys. Groups were constituted based upon BMI percentiles for age-and-sex values recommended by WHO. Children with percentiles >99 were grouped as MO and children with percentiles between 85 and 15 were considered NW. The anthropometric measurements were recorded and evaluated along with the new ratios such as trunk-to-appendicular fat ratio, as well as indices such as Index-I and Index-II. The body fat percent values were obtained by bio-electrical impedance analysis. Data were entered into a database for analysis using SPSS/PASW 18 Statistics for Windows statistical software. Increased waist-to-hip circumference (C) ratios, decreased head-to-neck C, height ‘to’ ‘two’-‘to’-waist C and height ‘to’ ‘two’-‘to’-hip C ratios were observed in parallel with the development of obesity (p≤0.001). Reference value for height ‘to’ ‘two’-‘to’-hip ratio was detected as approximately 1.0. Index-II, based upon total body fat mass, showed much more significant differences between the groups than Index-I based upon weight. There was not any difference between trunk-to-appendicular fat ratios of NW girls and NW boys (p≥0.05). However, significantly increased values for MO girls in comparison with MO boys were observed (p≤0.05). This parameter showed no difference between NW and MO states in boys (p≥0.05). However, statistically significant increase was noted in MO girls compared to their NW states (p≤0.001). Trunk-to-appendicular fat ratio was the only fat-based parameter, which showed gender difference between NW and MO groups. This study has revealed that body ratios and formula based upon body fat tissue are more valuable parameters than those based on weight and height values for the evaluation of morbid obesity in children.

Keywords: Anthropometry, childhood obesity, gender, Morbid obesity.

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Authors: Tanima Bhattacharya, Joy Sen

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To transform a space into a better livable and sustainable zone, United Nations Summit in New York 2015, has decided upon 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) that approach directly to achieve inclusive, people-centric, sustainable developments. Though sustainability has been majorly constructed by four pillars, namely, Ecological, Economic, Social and Cultural, but it is essentially reduced to economic and ecological consideration in the context of developing countries. Therefore, in most cases planning has reduced its ambit to concentrate around the tangible infrastructure, ignoring the fundamentals of socio-cultural heritage. With the accentuating hype of infrastructural augmentation, lack of emphasis of traditional concerns like ethnicity and social connection have further diluted the situation, disintegrating cultural continuity. As cultural continuity lacks its cohesion, it’s growing absence increasingly acts as a catalyst to degrade the heritage structures, spaces around and linking these structures, and the ability of stakeholders in identifying themselves rooted in that particular space. Hence, this paper will argue that sustainability depends on the people and their interaction with their surroundings, their culture and livelihood. The interaction between people and their surroundings strengthen community building and social interaction that abides by stakeholders reverting back to their roots. To assess the socio-cultural sustainability of the city of Kolkata, two study areas are selected, namely, an old settlement from the northern part of the city of Kolkata (KMA), imbued with social connection, age-old cultural and ethnic bonding and, another cluster of new high-rises coming up in the Newtown area having portions of planned city extension on the eastern side of the city itself. Whereas, Newtown prioritizes the surging post-industrial trends of economic aspiration and ecological aspects of urban sustainability; the former settlements of northern Kolkata still continue to represent the earliest community settlement of the British-colonial-cum native era and even the pre-colonial era, permeated with socio-cultural reciprocation. Thus, to compare and assess the inlayed organizational structure of both the spaces in the two cases, selected areas have been surveyed to portray their current imageability. The argument of this paper is structured in 5parts. First, an introduction of the idea has been forwarded, Secondly, a literature review has been conducted to ground the proposed ideas, Thirdly, methodology has been discussed and appropriate case study areas have been selected, Fourthly, surveys and analyses has been forwarded and lastly, the paper has arrived at a set of conclusions by suggesting a threefold development to create happy, healthy and sustainable community.

Keywords: Art innovation, current scenario assessment, heritage, imageability, socio-cultural sustainability.

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Authors: Reiko Yamamoto

Abstract:

This paper reports on a project to integrate Japanese (as a first language) and English (as a second language) education. This study focuses on the mutual effects of the two languages on the linguistic proficiency of elementary school students. The research team consisted of elementary school teachers and researchers at a university. The participants of the experiment were students between 3^rd and 6^th grades at an elementary school. The research process consisted of seven steps: 1) specifying linguistic proficiency; 2) developing the cross-curriculum of L1 and L2; 3) forming can-do statements; 4) creating a self-evaluation questionnaire; 5) executing the self-evaluation questionnaire at the beginning of the school year; 6) instructing L1 and L2 based on the curriculum; and 7) executing the self-evaluation questionnaire at the beginning of the next school year. In Step 1, the members of the research team brainstormed ways to specify elementary school students’ linguistic proficiency that can be observed in various scenes. It was revealed that the teachers evaluate their students’ linguistic proficiency on the basis of the students’ utterances, but also informed by their non-verbal communication abilities. This led to the idea that competency for understanding others’ minds through the use of physical movement or bodily senses in communication in L1 – to sympathize with others – can be transferred to that same competency in communication in L2. Based on the specification of linguistic proficiency that L1 and L2 have in common, a cross-curriculum of L1 and L2 was developed in Step 2. In Step 3, can-do statements based on the curriculum were also formed, building off of the action-oriented approach from the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) used in Europe. A self-evaluation questionnaire consisting of the main can-do statements was given to the students between 3^rd grade and 6^th grade at the beginning of the school year (Step 4 and Step 5), and all teachers gave L1 and L2 instruction based on the curriculum to the students for one year (Step 6). The same questionnaire was given to the students at the beginning of the next school year (Step 7). The results of statistical analysis proved the enhancement of the students’ linguistic proficiency. This verified the validity of developing the cross-curriculum of L1 and L2 and adapting it in elementary school. It was concluded that elementary school students do not distinguish between L1 and L2, and that they just try to understand others’ minds through physical movement or senses in any language.

Keywords: Cross-curriculum of L1 and L2, elementary school education, language proficiency, sympathy with others.

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Authors: N.A. Aldabek, M.B. Assyl, D.B. Dauyen, A.E. Serikkaliyeva

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The aim of this paper is to investigate a process of modernization of the People-s Republic of China. The theme of scientific research is interesting, first, because the Chinese model of development is recognized as successful and most dynamically developing. They are obliged by these successes of the modernization spent in the country. Economy modernization as the basic motive power of progress of the country is a priority direction of development in the Republic of Kazakhstan. So the example of successful development modernization processes in China can be rather useful to use in working out of the Kazakhstan national reforms.

Keywords: Modernization, the People's Republic of China, social and economic development.

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Authors: M. Rodionov, Z. Dedovets

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This article discusses ways to implement a differentiated approach to developing academic motivation for mathematical studies which relies on defining the primary structural characteristics of motivation. The following characteristics are considered: features of realization of cognitive activity, meaningmaking characteristics, level of generalization and consistency of knowledge acquired by personal experience. The assessment of the present level of individual student understanding of each component of academic motivation is the basis for defining the relevant educational strategy for its further development.

Keywords: Learning activity, mathematics, motivation, student.

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Authors: P. Ondee, S. Pannarunothai

Abstract:

In Thailand, both the 1997 and the current 2007 Thai Constitutions have mentioned the establishment of independent organizations as a new mechanism to play a key role in proposing policy recommendations to national decision-makers in the interest of collective consumers. Over the last ten years, no independent organizations have yet been set up. Evidently, nobody could point out who should be key players in establishing provincial independent consumer bodies. The purpose of this study was to find definitive stakeholders in establishing and developing independent consumer bodies in a Thai context. This was a cross-sectional study between August and September 2007, using a postal questionnaire with telephone follow-up. The questionnaire was designed and used to obtain multiple stakeholder assessment of three key attributes (power, interest and influence). Study population was 153 stakeholders associated with policy decision-making, formulation and implementation processes of civil-based consumer protection in pilot provinces. The population covered key representatives from five sectors (academics, government officers, business traders, mass media and consumer networks) who participated in the deliberative forums at 10 provinces. A 49.7% response rate was achieved. Data were analyzed, comparing means of three stakeholder attributes and classification of stakeholder typology. The results showed that the provincial health officers were the definitive stakeholders as they had legal power, influence and interest in establishing and sustaining the independent consumer bodies. However, only a few key representatives of the provincial health officers expressed their own paradigm on the civil-based consumer protection. Most provincial health officers put their own standpoint of building civic participation at only a plan-implementation level. For effective policy implementation by the independent consumer bodies, the Thai government should provide budgetary support for the operation of the provincial health officers with their paradigm shift as well as their own clarified standpoint on corporate governance.

Keywords: Civic participation, civil society, consumerprotection, independent organization, policy decision-making, stakeholder analysis.

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Authors: Ilias A. Makris

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In this work, we attempt to analyze the contribution of innovative activities to firm performance and growth. We examine economic data from some of the economies that were heavily affected by current economic crisis: the countries of southern Europe (Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain) and Ireland. Following literature, an appropriate econometric model is developed and several indicators are tested in order to disclose possible relation with innovative activity. Findings confirm the crucial effect of innovative process in economic activity, in firm and country level.

Keywords: Eurozone Periphery, Firm Performance, Innovative activity, R&D.

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Authors: Nguyen Manh Hien

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Service quality is the highest requirement by users,  especially for the service in electronic government. During the past  decades, it has become a major area of academic investigation.  Considering this issue, there are a lot of researches that evaluated the  dimensions and e-service contexts. This study also identified the  dimensions of service quality, but focuses on a new concept and  provides a new methodology in developing measurement scales of  e-service quality such as information quality, service quality and  organization quality. Finally, this study will suggest a key factor to  evaluate e-government service quality better.

 

Keywords: E-government, e-service, e-service quality, dimensionality.

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Authors: M. M. Mortula

Abstract:

Bottle water is getting very popular all through the world; especially in the gulf countries as the main source of drinking water. However, concerns over leaching of toxic chemicals are increasing. In this study, a health risk assessment was conducted in accordance with the guidelines indicated by United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). It is conducted based on leaching of Diethyl Phthalate (DEP) from Polyethylene terephthalate (PET). The toxicity and exposure assessment of diethyl phthalate was conducted to characterize its risk on human health. Risk management is also discussed.

Keywords: Toxicity, diethyl phthalate, PET, risk Assessment.

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Authors: Diako Azizi, Hosein Heydari, Ahmad Gholami

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Today with the rapid growth of telecommunications equipment, electronic and developing more and more networks of power, influence of electromagnetic waves on one another has become hot topic discussions. So in this article, this issue and appropriate mechanisms for EMC operations have been presented. First, impact of high voltage lines on the surrounding environment especially on the control room has been investigated, then to reduce electromagnetic radiation, various methods of shielding are provided and shielding effectiveness of them has been compared. It should be expressed that simulations have been done by the finite element method (FEM).

Keywords: Electrical field, EMC, field distribution, finite element method

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Authors: Ε. Giovanis

Abstract:

In this paper we present a Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy System (ANFIS) with inputs the lagged dependent variable for the prediction of Gross domestic Product growth rate in six countries. We compare the results with those of Autoregressive (AR) model. We conclude that the forecasting performance of neuro-fuzzy-system in the out-of-sample period is much more superior and can be a very useful alternative tool used by the national statistical services and the banking and finance industry.

Keywords: Autoregressive model, Forecasting, Gross DomesticProduct, Neuro-Fuzzy

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Authors: Said Baadel

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The belief of a heavenly God is enshrined to all Abrahamic religions which form the three major religions of the world today. Muslims believe in Allah who is above the seven heavens. The youth in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) study Islamic courses as part of their high school curriculum and are required to take at least one Islamic course at the university level to gain credit hours towards their general education (GENED). This paper provides an insight of what the youth studying in the UAE think of where Allah is. Our analysis shows that a big number of Muslim youth were not sure, especially those from the Middle Eastern and Arab countries bringing to conclusion that this subject needs to be revisited again in the course work.

Keywords: Allah, Islam, Tawheed.

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Authors: Ahmed Usman Egye, Hamza Muhammad

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Poverty alleviation is one of the most difficult challenges facing third world countries in their development efforts. Evidences in Nigeria showed that the number of those in poverty has continued to increase. This paper is aimed at analyzing the performance of poverty alleviation measures undertaken by successive administrations in Nigeria with a view to addressing the quagmire. The study identified the whole gamut of factors that served as stumbling blocks to the implementation of each of the strategies and recommended the involvement of local people in the identification and design of projects so that sufficient participation could be achieved.

Keywords: Poverty, development, strategies, Nigeria.

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Authors: Abdullah Faqihi, John Hedley

Abstract:

Biosensors play a significant role in the healthcare sectors, scientific and technological progress. Developing electrodes that are easy to manufacture and deliver better electrochemical performance is advantageous for diagnostics and biosensing. They can be implemented extensively in various analytical tasks such as drug discovery, food safety, medical diagnostics, process controls, security and defence, in addition to environmental monitoring. Development of biosensors aims to create high-performance electrochemical electrodes for diagnostics and biosensing. A biosensor is a device that inspects the biological and chemical reactions generated by the biological sample. A biosensor carries out biological detection via a linked transducer and transmits the biological response into an electrical signal; stability, selectivity, and sensitivity are the dynamic and static characteristics that affect and dictate the quality and performance of biosensors. In this research, a developed experimental study for laser scribing technique for graphene oxide inside a vacuum chamber for processing of graphene oxide is presented. The processing of graphene oxide (GO) was achieved using the laser scribing technique. The effect of the laser scribing on the reduction of GO was investigated under two conditions: atmosphere and vacuum. GO solvent was coated onto a LightScribe DVD. The laser scribing technique was applied to reduce GO layers to generate rGO. The micro-details for the morphological structures of rGO and GO were visualised using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Raman spectroscopy so that they could be examined. The first electrode was a traditional graphene-based electrode model, made under normal atmospheric conditions, whereas the second model was a developed graphene electrode fabricated under a vacuum state using a vacuum chamber. The purpose was to control the vacuum conditions, such as the air pressure and the temperature during the fabrication process. The parameters to be assessed include the layer thickness and the continuous environment. Results presented show high accuracy and repeatability achieving low cost productivity.

Keywords: Laser scribing, LightScribe DVD, graphene oxide, scanning electron microscopy.

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Authors: Ahmad Ghayoumi, Mehdi Ghayoumi

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Intelligent schools are those which use IT devices and technologies as media software, hardware and networks to improve learning process. On the other hand Strategic management is a field that deals with the major intended and emergent initiatives taken by general managers on behalf of owners, involving utilization of resources, to enhance the performance of firms in their external environments. Here, we present a model Strategic Management System that has been applied on some schools and have made strict improvement.

Keywords: Intelligent school, Strategic management system, Learning station, Teaching station

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Authors: Benjamin Gorry, Andrew Ireland, Peter King

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Verification of real-time software systems can be expensive in terms of time and resources. Testing is the main method of proving correctness but has been shown to be a long and time consuming process. Everyday engineers are usually unwilling to adopt formal approaches to correctness because of the overhead associated with developing their knowledge of such techniques. Performance modelling techniques allow systems to be evaluated with respect to timing constraints. This paper describes PARTES, a framework which guides the extraction of performance models from programs written in an annotated subset of C.

Keywords: Performance Modelling, Real-time, SensitivityAnalysis.

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Authors: Hassan Haghighi, Seyedeh Zahra Hosseini, Seyedeh Elahe Jalambadani

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ERP systems are often supposed to be implemented and deployed in multi-national companies. On the other hand, an ERP developer may plan to market and sale its product in various countries. Therefore, an EPR system should have the ability to communicate with its users, who usually have different languages and cultures, in a suitable way. EPR support of Multilanguage capability is a solution to achieve this objective. In this paper, an agent oriented architecture including several independent but cooperative agents has been suggested that helps to implement Multilanguage EPR systems.

Keywords: enterprise resource planning, Multilanguage, software architecture, agent oriented architecture, intelligence, learning, translation.

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Authors: Shende Suraj Balu, A. B. Deoghare, K. M. Pandey

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The human middle ear (ME) is a delicate and vital organ. It has a complex structure that performs various functions such as receiving sound pressure and producing vibrations of eardrum and propagating it to inner ear. It consists of Tympanic Membrane (TM), three auditory ossicles, various ligament structures and muscles. Incidents such as traumata, infections, ossification of ossicular structures and other pathologies may damage the ME organs. The conditions can be surgically treated by employing prosthesis. However, the suitability of the prosthesis needs to be examined in advance prior to the surgery. Few decades ago, this issue was addressed and analyzed by developing an equivalent representation either in the form of spring mass system, electrical system using R-L-C circuit or developing an approximated CAD model. But, nowadays a three-dimensional ME model can be constructed using micro X-Ray Computed Tomography (μCT) scan data. Moreover, the concern about patient specific integrity pertaining to the disease can be examined well in advance. The current research work emphasizes to develop the ME model from the stacks of μCT images which are used as input file to MIMICS Research 19.0 (Materialise Interactive Medical Image Control System) software. A stack of CT images is converted into geometrical surface model to build accurate morphology of ME. The work is further extended to understand the dynamic behaviour of Harmonic response of the stapes footplate and umbo for different sound pressure levels applied at lateral side of eardrum using finite element approach. The pathological condition Cholesteatoma of ME is investigated to obtain peak to peak displacement of stapes footplate and umbo. Apart from this condition, other pathologies, mainly, changes in the stiffness of stapedial ligament, TM thickness and ossicular chain separation and fixation are also explored. The developed model of ME for pathologies is validated by comparing the results available in the literatures and also with the results of a normal ME to calculate the percentage loss in hearing capability.

Keywords: Computed tomography, human middle ear, harmonic response, pathologies, tympanic membrane.

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Authors: Larysa Novak-Kalyayeva, Aleksander Kuczabski, Orystlava Sydorchuk, Nataliia Fersman, Tatyana Zemlinskaia

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The article presents the results of the creative analysis and comparison of trends in the development of the theory of public administration during the period from the second half of the 20^th to the beginning of the 21^st century. The process of conceptualization of the priorities of public administration in the dynamics of reforming was held under the influence of such factors as globalization, integration, information and technological changes and human rights is examined. The priorities of the social state in the concepts of the second half of the 20^th century are studied. Peculiar approaches to determining the priorities of public administration in the countries of "Soviet dictatorship" in Central and Eastern Europe in the same period are outlined. Particular attention is paid to the priorities of public administration regarding the interaction between public power and society and the development of conceptual foundations for the modern managerial process. There is a thought that the dynamics of the formation of concepts of the European governance is characterized by the sequence of priorities: from socio-economic and moral-ethical to organizational-procedural and non-hierarchical ones. The priorities of the "welfare state" were focused on the decent level of material wellbeing of population. At the same time, the conception of "minimal state" emphasized priorities of human responsibility for their own fate under the conditions of minimal state protection. Later on, the emphasis was placed on horizontal ties and redistribution of powers and competences of "effective state" with its developed procedures and limits of responsibility at all levels of government and in close cooperation with the civil society. The priorities of the contemporary period are concentrated on human rights in the concepts of "good governance" and all the following ones, which recognize the absolute priority of public administration with compliance, provision and protection of human rights. There is a proved point of view that civilizational changes taking place under the influence of information and technological imperatives also stipulate changes in priorities, redistribution of emphases and update principles of managerial concepts on the basis of publicity, transparency, departure from traditional forms of hierarchy and control in favor of interactivity and inter-sectoral interaction, decentralization and humanization of managerial processes. The necessity to permanently carry out the reorganization, by establishing the interaction between different participants of public power and social relations, to establish a balance between political forces and social interests on the basis of mutual trust and mutual understanding determines changes of social, political, economic and humanitarian paradigms of public administration and their theoretical comprehension. The further studies of theoretical foundations of modern public administration in interdisciplinary discourse in the context of ambiguous consequences of the globalizational and integrational processes of modern European state-building would be advisable. This is especially true during the period of political transformations and economic crises which are the characteristic of the contemporary Europe, especially for democratic transition countries.

Keywords: Concepts of public administration, democratic transition countries, human rights, the priorities of public administration, theory of public administration.

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Authors: C. Slim

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This paper presents an integrated model, which hybridized data envelopment analysis (DEA) and support vector machine (SVM) together, to class countries according to their efficiency and performance. This model takes into account aspects of multi-dimensional indicators, decision-making hierarchy and relativity of measurement. Starting from a set of indicators of performance as exhaustive as possible, a process of successive aggregations has been developed to attain an overall evaluation of a country’s competitiveness.

Keywords: Artificial neural networks, support vector machine, data envelopment analysis, aggregations, indicators of performance.

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Authors: Nagmani Lnu

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Test automation is a vital requirement of any organization to release products faster to their customers. In most cases, an organization has an approach to developing automation but struggles to maintain it. It results in an increased number of flaky tests, reducing return on investments and stakeholders’ confidence. Challenges grow in multiple folds when automation is for User Interface (UI) behaviors. This paper describes the approaches taken to identify the root cause of automation instability in an extensive payments application and the best practices to address that using processes, tools, and technologies, resulting in a 75% reduction of effort.

Keywords: Automation stability, test stability, flaky test, test quality, test automation quality.

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Authors: Sang Keun Rhee, Hyojeong Jin, Jihye Lee, Misoo Kwon, Myon-Woong Park, Sungdo Ha

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Extensive information is required within a R&D environment, and a considerable amount of time and efforts are being spent on finding the necessary information. An adaptive information providing system would be beneficial to the environment, and a conceptual model of the resources, people and context is mandatory for developing such applications. In this paper, an information model on various contexts and resources is proposed which provides the possibility of effective applications for use in adaptive information systems within a R&D project and meeting environment.

Keywords: Adaptive Hypermedia, Adaptive System, ContextAwareness, Information Model, Information System, Personalisation.

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Authors: Dipo Dunsin, Mohamed C. Ghanem, Karim Ouazzane

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Digital investigators often have a hard time spotting evidence in digital information. It has become hard to determine which source of proof relates to a specific investigation. A growing concern is that the various processes, technology, and specific procedures used in the digital investigation are not keeping up with criminal developments. Therefore, criminals are taking advantage of these weaknesses to commit further crimes. In digital forensics investigations, artificial intelligence (AI) is invaluable in identifying crime. Providing objective data and conducting an assessment is the goal of digital forensics and digital investigation, which will assist in developing a plausible theory that can be presented as evidence in court. This research paper aims at developing a multiagent framework for digital investigations using specific intelligent software agents (ISAs). The agents communicate to address particular tasks jointly and keep the same objectives in mind during each task. The rules and knowledge contained within each agent are dependent on the investigation type. A criminal investigation is classified quickly and efficiently using the case-based reasoning (CBR) technique. The proposed framework development is implemented using the Java Agent Development Framework, Eclipse, Postgres repository, and a rule engine for agent reasoning. The proposed framework was tested using the Lone Wolf image files and datasets. Experiments were conducted using various sets of ISAs and VMs. There was a significant reduction in the time taken for the Hash Set Agent to execute. As a result of loading the agents, 5% of the time was lost, as the File Path Agent prescribed deleting 1,510, while the Timeline Agent found multiple executable files. In comparison, the integrity check carried out on the Lone Wolf image file using a digital forensic tool kit took approximately 48 minutes (2,880 ms), whereas the MADIK framework accomplished this in 16 minutes (960 ms). The framework is integrated with Python, allowing for further integration of other digital forensic tools, such as AccessData Forensic Toolkit (FTK), Wireshark, Volatility, and Scapy.

Keywords: Artificial intelligence, computer science, criminal investigation, digital forensics.

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Authors: Sebastien Harasse, Laurent Bonnaud, Michel Desvignes

Abstract:

Counting people from a video stream in a noisy environment is a challenging task. This project aims at developing a counting system for transport vehicles, integrated in a video surveillance product. This article presents a method for the detection and tracking of multiple faces in a video by using a model of first and second order local moments. An iterative process is used to estimate the position and shape of multiple faces in images, and to track them. the trajectories are then processed to count people entering and leaving the vehicle.

Keywords: face detection, tracking, counting, local statistics

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Authors: Jorge Cardoso

Abstract:

It has been recognized that due to the autonomy and heterogeneity, of Web services and the Web itself, new approaches should be developed to describe and advertise Web services. The most notable approaches rely on the description of Web services using semantics. This new breed of Web services, termed semantic Web services, will enable the automatic annotation, advertisement, discovery, selection, composition, and execution of interorganization business logic, making the Internet become a common global platform where organizations and individuals communicate with each other to carry out various commercial activities and to provide value-added services. This paper deals with two of the hottest R&D and technology areas currently associated with the Web – Web services and the semantic Web. It describes how semantic Web services extend Web services as the semantic Web improves the current Web, and presents three different conceptual approaches to deploying semantic Web services, namely, WSDL-S, OWL-S, and WSMO.

Keywords: Semantic Web, Web service, Web process, WWW

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