Search results for: Electronic government
512 Localization for Indoor Service Robot Using Natural Landmark on the Ceiling
Authors: Seung-Hun Kim, Changwoo Park
Abstract:
In this paper, we present a localization of a mobile robot with localization modules which have two ceiling-view cameras in indoor environments. We propose two kinds of localization method. The one is the localization in the local space; we use the line feature and the corner feature between the ceiling and wall. The other is the localization in the large space; we use the natural features such as bulbs, structures on the ceiling. These methods are installed on the embedded module able to mount on the robot. The embedded module has two cameras to be able to localize in both the local space and the large spaces. The experiment is practiced in our indoor test-bed and a government office. The proposed method is proved by the experimental results.
Keywords: Robot, Localization, Indoor, Ceiling vision, Local space, Large space, Complex space.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2171511 Long Short-Term Memory Based Model for Modeling Nicotine Consumption Using an Electronic Cigarette and Internet of Things Devices
Authors: Hamdi Amroun, Yacine Benziani, Mehdi Ammi
Abstract:
In this paper, we want to determine whether the accurate prediction of nicotine concentration can be obtained by using a network of smart objects and an e-cigarette. The approach consists of, first, the recognition of factors influencing smoking cessation such as physical activity recognition and participant’s behaviors (using both smartphone and smartwatch), then the prediction of the configuration of the e-cigarette (in terms of nicotine concentration, power, and resistance of e-cigarette). The study uses a network of commonly connected objects; a smartwatch, a smartphone, and an e-cigarette transported by the participants during an uncontrolled experiment. The data obtained from sensors carried in the three devices were trained by a Long short-term memory algorithm (LSTM). Results show that our LSTM-based model allows predicting the configuration of the e-cigarette in terms of nicotine concentration, power, and resistance with a root mean square error percentage of 12.9%, 9.15%, and 11.84%, respectively. This study can help to better control consumption of nicotine and offer an intelligent configuration of the e-cigarette to users.
Keywords: Iot, activity recognition, automatic classification, unconstrained environment, deep neural networks.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1128510 Study of Characteristics of Multi-Layer Piezoelectric Transformers by using 3-D Finite Element Method
Authors: C. Panya-Isara, T. Kulworawanichpong, P. Pao-La-Or
Abstract:
Piezoelectric transformers are electronic devices made from piezoelectric materials. The piezoelectric transformers as the name implied are used for changing voltage signals from one level to another. Electrical energy carried with signals is transferred by means of mechanical vibration. Characterizing in both electrical and mechanical properties leads to extensively use and efficiency enhancement of piezoelectric transformers in various applications. In this paper, study and analysis of electrical and mechanical properties of multi-layer piezoelectric transformers in forms of potential and displacement distribution throughout the volume, respectively. This paper proposes a set of quasi-static mathematical model of electromechanical coupling for piezoelectric transformer by using a set of partial differential equations. Computer-based simulation utilizing the three-dimensional finite element method (3-D FEM) is exploited as a tool for visualizing potentials and displacements distribution within the multi-layer piezoelectric transformer. This simulation was conducted by varying a number of layers. In this paper 3, 5 and 7 of the circular ring type were used. The computer simulation based on the use of the FEM has been developed in MATLAB programming environment.Keywords: Multi-layer Piezoelectric Transformer, 3-D Finite Element Method (3-D FEM), Electro-mechanical Coupling, Mechanical Vibration
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1634509 Design Systems and the Need for a Usability Method: Assessing the Fitness of Components and Interaction Patterns in Design Systems Using Atmosphere Methodology
Authors: P. Johansson, S. Mardh
Abstract:
The present study proposes a usability test method, Atmosphere, to assess the fitness of components and interaction patterns of design systems. The method covers the user’s perception of the components of the system, the efficiency of the logic of the interaction patterns, perceived ease of use as well as the user’s understanding of the intended outcome of interactions. These aspects are assessed by combining measures of first impression, visual affordance and expectancy. The method was applied to a design system developed for the design of an electronic health record system. The study was conducted involving 15 healthcare personnel. It could be concluded that the Atmosphere method provides tangible data that enable human-computer interaction practitioners to analyze and categorize components and patterns based on perceived usability, success rate of identifying interactive components and success rate of understanding components and interaction patterns intended outcome.
Keywords: atomic design, atmosphere methodology, design system, expectancy testing, first impression testing, usability testing, visual affordance testing
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 832508 Assessing and Evaluating the Course Outcomes of Control Systems Course Mapping Complex Engineering Problem Solving Issues and Associated Knowledge Profiles with the Program Outcomes
Authors: Muhibul Haque Bhuyan
Abstract:
In the current context, the engineering program educators need to think about how to develop the concepts and complex engineering problem-solving skills through various complex engineering activities by the undergraduate engineering students in various engineering courses. But most of them are facing challenges to assess and evaluate these skills of their students. In this study, detailed assessment and evaluation methods for the undergraduate Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE) program are stated using the Outcome-Based Education (OBE) approach. For this purpose, a final year course titled control systems has been selected. The assessment and evaluation approach, course contents, course objectives, course outcomes (COs), and their mapping to the program outcomes (POs) with complex engineering problems and activities via the knowledge profiles, performance indicators, rubrics of assessment, CO and PO attainment data, and other statistics, are reported for a student-cohort of control systems course registered by the students of BSc in EEE program in Spring 2021 Semester at the EEE Department of Southeast University (SEU). It is found that the target benchmark was achieved by the students of that course. Several recommendations for the continuous quality improvement (CQI) process are also provided.
Keywords: Complex engineering problem, knowledge profiles, OBE, control systems course, COs, PIs, POs, assessment rubrics.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 601507 The Impact of E-Learning on Medication Administration of Nursing Students: What Recent Studies Say?
Authors: Z. Karakus, Z. Ozer
Abstract:
Nurses are responsible for the care and treatment of individuals, as well as health maintenance and education. Medication administration is an important part of health promotion. The administration of a medicine is a common but important clinical procedure for nurses because of its complex structure. Therefore, medication errors are inevitable for nurses or nursing students. Medication errors can cause ineffective treatment, patient’s prolonged hospital stay, disablement or death. Additionally, medication errors affect the global economy adversely by increasing health costs. Hence, preventing or decreasing of medication errors is a critical and essential issue in nursing. Nurse educators are in pursuit of new teaching methods to teach students significance of medication application. In the light of technological developments of this age, e-learning has started to be accepted as an important teaching method. E-learning is the use of electronic media and information and communication technologies in education. It has advantages such as flexibility of time and place, lower costs, faster delivery and lower environmental impact. Students can make their own schedule and decide the learning method. This study is conducted to determine the impact of e-learning on medication administration of nursing students.
Keywords: E-Learning, Medication Administration, Nursing, Nursing Students.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2747506 Reliability of Chute-Feeders in Automatic Machines of High Production Capacity
Authors: R. Usubamatov, A. Usubamatova, S. Hussain
Abstract:
Modern highly automated production systems faces problems of reliability. Machine function reliability results in changes of productivity rate and efficiency use of expensive industrial facilities. Predicting of reliability has become an important research and involves complex mathematical methods and calculation. The reliability of high productivity technological automatic machines that consists of complex mechanical, electrical and electronic components is important. The failure of these units results in major economic losses of production systems. The reliability of transport and feeding systems for automatic technological machines is also important, because failure of transport leads to stops of technological machines. This paper presents reliability engineering on the feeding system and its components for transporting a complex shape parts to automatic machines. It also discusses about the calculation of the reliability parameters of the feeding unit by applying the probability theory. Equations produced for calculating the limits of the geometrical sizes of feeders and the probability of sticking the transported parts into the chute represents the reliability of feeders as a function of its geometrical parameters.Keywords: Chute-feeder, parts, reliability.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1448505 Instruction Resource Recommendation Services for Elementary Schools in Taiwan
Authors: Hong-Ren Chen, Fang-Yu Yeh
Abstract:
In the past, there were more researches of recommendation system in applied electronic commerce. However, because all circles promote information technology integrative instruction actively, the quantity of instruction resources website is more and more increasing on the Internet. But there are less website including recommendation service, especially for teachers. This study established an instruction resource recommendation website that analyzed teaching style of teachers, then provided appropriate instruction resources for teachers immediately. We used the questionnaire survey to realize teacher-s suggestions and satisfactions with the instruction resource contents and recommendation results. The study shows: (1)The website used “Transactional Ability Inventory" that realized teacher-s style and provided appropriate instruction resources for teachers in a short time, it reduced the step of data filter. (2)According to the content satisfaction of questionnaire survey, four styles teachers were almost satisfied with the contents of the instruction resources that the website recommended, thus, the conception of developing instruction resources with different teaching style is accepted. (3) According to the recommendation satisfaction of questionnaire survey, four styles teachers were almost satisfied with the recommendation service of the website, thus, the recommendation strategy that provide different results for teachers in different teaching styles is accepted.
Keywords: Instruction resource, recommendation service, teaching style.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1484504 Quantum Modelling of AgHMoO4, CsHMoO4 and AgCsMoO4 Chemistry in the Field of Nuclear Power Plant Safety
Authors: Mohamad Saab, Sidi Souvi
Abstract:
In a major nuclear accident, the released fission products (FPs) and the structural materials are likely to influence the transport of iodine in the reactor coolant system (RCS) of a pressurized water reactor (PWR). So far, the thermodynamic data on cesium and silver species used to estimate the magnitude of FP release show some discrepancies, data are scarce and not reliable. For this reason, it is crucial to review the thermodynamic values related to cesium and silver materials. To this end, we have used state-of-the-art quantum chemical methods to compute the formation enthalpies and entropies of AgHMoO₄, CsHMoO₄, and AgCsMoO₄ in the gas phase. Different quantum chemical methods have been investigated (DFT and CCSD(T)) in order to predict the geometrical parameters and the energetics including the correlation energy. The geometries were optimized with TPSSh-5%HF method, followed by a single point calculation of the total electronic energies using the CCSD(T) wave function method. We thus propose with a final uncertainty of about 2 kJmol⁻¹ standard enthalpies of formation of AgHMoO₄, CsHMoO₄, and AgCsMoO₄.
Keywords: ASTEC, Accident Source Term Evaluation Code, quantum chemical methods, severe nuclear accident, thermochemical database.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 805503 Production of Carbon Nanotubes by Iron Catalyst
Authors: Ezgi Dündar-Tekkaya, Nilgün Karatepe
Abstract:
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with their high mechanical, electrical, thermal and chemical properties are regarded as promising materials for many different potential applications. Having unique properties they can be used in a wide range of fields such as electronic devices, electrodes, drug delivery systems, hydrogen storage, textile etc. Catalytic chemical vapor deposition (CCVD) is a common method for CNT production especially for mass production. Catalysts impregnated on a suitable substrate are important for production with chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method. Iron catalyst and MgO substrate is one of most common catalyst-substrate combination used for CNT. In this study, CNTs were produced by CCVD of acetylene (C2H2) on magnesium oxide (MgO) powder substrate impregnated by iron nitrate (Fe(NO3)3•9H2O) solution. The CNT synthesis conditions were as follows: at synthesis temperatures of 500 and 800°C multiwall and single wall CNTs were produced respectively. Iron (Fe) catalysts were prepared by with Fe:MgO ratio of 1:100, 5:100 and 10:100. The duration of syntheses were 30 and 60 minutes for all temperatures and catalyst percentages. The synthesized materials were characterized by thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Raman spectroscopy.Keywords: Carbon nanotube, catalyst, catalytic chemical vapordeposition, iron
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2889502 Numerical Simulations of Electronic Cooling with In-Line and Staggered Pin Fin Heat Sinks
Authors: Yue-Tzu Yang, Hsiang-Wen Tang, Jian-Zhang Yin, Chao-Han Wu
Abstract:
Three-dimensional incompressible turbulent fluid flow and heat transfer of pin fin heat sinks using air as a cooling fluid are numerically studied in this study. Two different kinds of pin fins are compared in the thermal performance, including circular and square cross sections, both are in-line and staggered arrangements. The turbulent governing equations are solved using a control-volume- based finite-difference method. Subsequently, numerical computations are performed with the realizable k - ԑ turbulence for the parameters studied, the fin height H, fin diameter D, and Reynolds number (Re) in the range of 7 ≤ H ≤ 10, 0.75 ≤ D ≤ 2, 2000 ≤ Re ≤ 126000 respectively. The numerical results are validated with available experimental data in the literature and good agreement has been found. It indicates that circular pin fins are streamlined in comparing with the square pin fins, the pressure drop is small than that of square pin fins, and heat transfer is not as good as the square pin fins. The thermal performance of the staggered pin fins is better than that of in-line pin fins because the staggered arrangements produce large disturbance. Both in-line and staggered arrangements show the same behavior for thermal resistance, pressure drop, and the entropy generation.
Keywords: Pin-fin, heat sinks, simulations, turbulent flow.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1259501 Authentication and Data Hiding Using a Reversible ROI-based Watermarking Scheme for DICOM Images
Authors: Osamah M. Al-Qershi, Khoo Bee Ee
Abstract:
In recent years image watermarking has become an important research area in data security, confidentiality and image integrity. Many watermarking techniques were proposed for medical images. However, medical images, unlike most of images, require extreme care when embedding additional data within them because the additional information must not affect the image quality and readability. Also the medical records, electronic or not, are linked to the medical secrecy, for that reason, the records must be confidential. To fulfill those requirements, this paper presents a lossless watermarking scheme for DICOM images. The proposed a fragile scheme combines two reversible techniques based on difference expansion for patient's data hiding and protecting the region of interest (ROI) with tamper detection and recovery capability. Patient's data are embedded into ROI, while recovery data are embedded into region of non-interest (RONI). The experimental results show that the original image can be exactly extracted from the watermarked one in case of no tampering. In case of tampered ROI, tampered area can be localized and recovered with a high quality version of the original area.Keywords: DICOM, reversible, ROI-based, watermarking.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1708500 High-Value Health System for All: Technologies for Promoting Health Education and Awareness
Authors: M. P. Sebastian
Abstract:
Health for all is considered as a sign of well-being and inclusive growth. New healthcare technologies are contributing to the quality of human lives by promoting health education and awareness, leading to the prevention, early diagnosis and treatment of the symptoms of diseases. Healthcare technologies have now migrated from the medical and institutionalized settings to the home and everyday life. This paper explores these new technologies and investigates how they contribute to health education and awareness, promoting the objective of high-value health system for all. The methodology used for the research is literature review. The paper also discusses the opportunities and challenges with futuristic healthcare technologies. The combined advances in genomics medicine, wearables and the IoT with enhanced data collection in electronic health record (EHR) systems, environmental sensors, and mobile device applications can contribute in a big way to high-value health system for all. The promise by these technologies includes reduced total cost of healthcare, reduced incidence of medical diagnosis errors, and reduced treatment variability. The major barriers to adoption include concerns with security, privacy, and integrity of healthcare data, regulation and compliance issues, service reliability, interoperability and portability of data, and user friendliness and convenience of these technologies.
Keywords: Bigdata, education, healthcare, ICT, patients, technologies.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1034499 Bayesian Network Model for Students- Laboratory Work Performance Assessment: An Empirical Investigation of the Optimal Construction Approach
Authors: Ifeyinwa E. Achumba, Djamel Azzi, Rinat Khusainov
Abstract:
There are three approaches to complete Bayesian Network (BN) model construction: total expert-centred, total datacentred, and semi data-centred. These three approaches constitute the basis of the empirical investigation undertaken and reported in this paper. The objective is to determine, amongst these three approaches, which is the optimal approach for the construction of a BN-based model for the performance assessment of students- laboratory work in a virtual electronic laboratory environment. BN models were constructed using all three approaches, with respect to the focus domain, and compared using a set of optimality criteria. In addition, the impact of the size and source of the training, on the performance of total data-centred and semi data-centred models was investigated. The results of the investigation provide additional insight for BN model constructors and contribute to literature providing supportive evidence for the conceptual feasibility and efficiency of structure and parameter learning from data. In addition, the results highlight other interesting themes.Keywords: Bayesian networks, model construction, parameterlearning, structure learning, performance index, model comparison.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1718498 System Module for Student Idol
Authors: M. S. Roslina, A. Noraziah
Abstract:
Malaysia government had been trying hard in order to find the most efficient methods in learning. However, it is hard to actually access and evaluate students whom will then be called an excellent student. It is because in our realties student who excellent is only excel in academic. This evaluation becomes a problem because it not balances in our real life interm of to get an excellent student in whole area in their involvement of curiculum and cocuriculum. To overcome this scenario, we designed a module for Student Idol to evaluate student through three categories which are academic, co-curiculum and leadership. All the categories have their own merit point. Using this method, student will be evaluated more accurate compared to the previously. So, teacher can easily evaluate their student without having any emotion factor, relation factor and others. As conclusion this system module will helps the development of student evaluation more accurate and valid in Student Idol.Keywords: Evaluation, curiculum, co-curriculum, idol, systemmodule.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1438497 Evaluation of Housing Defects in Build-Then- Sell Houses: A Study of Six Residential Areas
Authors: S. N. F. Mohd Fauzi, N. Yusof, N. Zainul Abidin
Abstract:
The Build-Then-Sell (BTS) is a novel system implemented in Malaysia after a number of complaints have been received from buyers in the preceding Sell-Then-Build (STB) system. When the government announced the implementation of the BTS in 2007, proponents of BTS have asserted that the new system will provide houses with low level of defects. Their argument however is not supported by any empirical data. Hence, this study is conducted to evaluate the housing defects in BTS houses. Six BTS residential areas have been surveyed to collect the defects data. Questionnaires were administered directly to the occupiers in each of the BTS houses through door-to-door visits. The result has shown that the rate of defects for the six residential areas is ranged from minor to slight, which only affect the aesthetic value of the house.Keywords: Build-Then-Sell houses, housing defects, residential areas, occupiers
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1945496 Impact of Process Parameters on Tensile Strength of Fused Deposition Modeling Printed Crisscross Poylactic Acid
Authors: Shilpesh R. Rajpurohit, Harshit K. Dave
Abstract:
Additive manufacturing gains the popularity in recent times, due to its capability to create prototype as well functional as end use product directly from CAD data without any specific requirement of tooling. Fused deposition modeling (FDM) is one of the widely used additive manufacturing techniques that are used to create functional end use part of polymer that is comparable with the injection-molded parts. FDM printed part has an application in various fields such as automobile, aerospace, medical, electronic, etc. However, application of FDM part is greatly affected by poor mechanical properties. Proper selection of the process parameter could enhance the mechanical performance of the printed part. In the present study, experimental investigation has been carried out to study the behavior of the mechanical performance of the printed part with respect to process variables. Three process variables viz. raster angle, raster width and layer height have been varied to understand its effect on tensile strength. Further, effect of process variables on fractured surface has been also investigated.
Keywords: 3D printing, fused deposition modeling, layer height, raster angle, raster width, tensile strength.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1651495 Implementation of Neural Network Based Electricity Load Forecasting
Authors: Myint Myint Yi, Khin Sandar Linn, Marlar Kyaw
Abstract:
This paper proposed a novel model for short term load forecast (STLF) in the electricity market. The prior electricity demand data are treated as time series. The model is composed of several neural networks whose data are processed using a wavelet technique. The model is created in the form of a simulation program written with MATLAB. The load data are treated as time series data. They are decomposed into several wavelet coefficient series using the wavelet transform technique known as Non-decimated Wavelet Transform (NWT). The reason for using this technique is the belief in the possibility of extracting hidden patterns from the time series data. The wavelet coefficient series are used to train the neural networks (NNs) and used as the inputs to the NNs for electricity load prediction. The Scale Conjugate Gradient (SCG) algorithm is used as the learning algorithm for the NNs. To get the final forecast data, the outputs from the NNs are recombined using the same wavelet technique. The model was evaluated with the electricity load data of Electronic Engineering Department in Mandalay Technological University in Myanmar. The simulation results showed that the model was capable of producing a reasonable forecasting accuracy in STLF.Keywords: Neural network, Load forecast, Time series, wavelettransform.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2484494 Multi-Robotic Partial Disassembly Line Balancing with Robotic Efficiency Difference via HNSGA-II
Authors: Tao Yin, Zeqiang Zhang, Wei Liang, Yanqing Zeng, Yu Zhang
Abstract:
To accelerate the remanufacturing process of electronic waste products, this study designs a partial disassembly line with the multi-robotic station to effectively dispose of excessive wastes. The multi-robotic partial disassembly line is a technical upgrade to the existing manual disassembly line. Balancing optimization can make the disassembly line smoother and more efficient. For partial disassembly line balancing with the multi-robotic station (PDLBMRS), a mixed-integer programming model (MIPM) considering the robotic efficiency differences is established to minimize cycle time, energy consumption and hazard index and to calculate their optimal global values. Besides, an enhanced NSGA-II algorithm (HNSGA-II) is proposed to optimize PDLBMRS efficiently. Finally, MIPM and HNSGA-II are applied to an actual mixed disassembly case of two types of computers, the comparison of the results solved by GUROBI and HNSGA-II verifies the correctness of the model and excellent performance of the algorithm, and the obtained Pareto solution set provides multiple options for decision-makers.
Keywords: Waste disposal, disassembly line balancing, multi-robot station, robotic efficiency difference, HNSGA-II.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 499493 How Do Crisis Affect Economic Policy?
Authors: Eva Kotlánová
Abstract:
After recession that began in 2007 in the United States and subsequently spilled over the Europe we could expect recovery of economic growth. According to the last estimation of economic progress of European countries, this recovery is not strong enough. Among others, it will depend on economic policy, where and in which way, the economic indicators will proceed. Economic theories postulate that the economic subjects prefer stably, continual economic policy without repeated and strong fluctuations. This policy is perceived as support of economic growth. Mostly in crises period, when the government must cope with consequences of recession, the economic policy becomes unpredictable for many subjects and economic policy uncertainty grows, which have negative influence on economic growth. The aim of this paper is to use panel regression to prove or disprove this hypothesis on the example of five largest European economies in the period 2008–2012.
Keywords: Economic Crises in Europe, Economic Policy, Uncertainty, Panel Analysis Regression.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1522492 Grounded Theory of Consumer Loyalty, a Perspective through Video Game Addiction
Authors: Bassam Shaikh, R. S. A. Jumain
Abstract:
Game addiction has become an extremely important topic in psychology researchers, particularly in understanding and explaining why individuals become addicted (to video games). In previous studies, effect of online game addiction on social responsibilities, health problems, government action, and the behaviors of individuals to purchase and the causes of making individuals addicted on the video games has been discussed. Extending these concepts in marketing, it could be argued than the phenomenon could enlighten and extending our understanding on consumer loyalty. This study took the Grounded Theory approach, and found that motivation, satisfaction, fulfillments, exploration and achievements to be part of the important elements that builds consumer loyalty.
Keywords: Consumer Loyalty, Video Games Addiction, Video Games, Grounded Theory.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2682491 Bioethanol - A Viable Answer to India-s Surging Energy Needs
Authors: Pranav Raghav Sood
Abstract:
India is currently the second most populous nation in the world with over 1.2 billion people, growing annually at the rate of 1.5%. It is experiencing a surge in energy demands, expected to grow more than three to four times in 25 years. Most of the energy requirements are currently satisfied by the import of fossil fuels – coal, petroleum-based products and natural gas. Biofuels can satisfy these energy needs in an environmentally benign and cost effective manner while reducing dependence on import of fossil fuels, thus providing National Energy Security. Among various forms of bioenergy, bioethanol is one of the major options for India because of availability of feed stock crops. This paper presents an overview on bioethanol production and technology, steps taken by the Indian government to facilitate and bring about optimal development and utilization of indigenous biomass feedstocks for production of this biofuel.Keywords: Bioethanol, Fossil fuel, Biofuel, energy
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1720490 Mega Projects and Governmentality
Authors: Sophie Sturup
Abstract:
Mega urban transport projects (MUTPs) are increasingly being used in urban environments to ameliorate the problem of congestion. However, a number of problems with regard to mega projects have been identified. In particular the seemingly institutionalised over estimation of economic benefits and persistent cost over runs, could mean that the wrong projects are selected, and that the projects that are selected cost more than they should. Studies to date have produced a number of solutions to these problems, perhaps most notably, the various methods for the inclusion of the private sector in project provision. However the problems have shown significant intractability in the face of these solutions. This paper provides a detailed examination of some of the problems facing mega projects and then examines Foucault-s theory of 'governmentality' as a possible frame of analysis which might shed light on the intractability of the problems that have been identified, through an identification of the art of government in which MUTPs occur.Keywords: Michel Foucault, Governmentality, Mega projects, Transport.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2474489 Scale Development for Measuring E-Service Quality in Banking
Authors: Vivek Agrawal, Vikas Tripathi, Nitin Seth
Abstract:
This study examines several critical dimensions of eservice quality overlooked in the existing literature and proposes a model and instrument framework for measuring customer perceived e-service quality in the banking sector. The initial design was derived from a pool of instrument dimensions and their items from the existing literature review by content analysis. Based on focused group discussion, nine dimensions were extracted. An exploratory factor analysis approach was applied to data from a survey of 323 respondents. The instrument has been designed specifically for the banking sector. Research data was collected from bank customers who use electronic banking in a developing economy. A nine-factor instrument has been proposed to measure the e-service quality. The instrument has been checked for reliability. The validity and sample place limited the applicability of the instrument across economies and service categories. Future research must be conducted to check the validity. This instrument can help bankers in developing economies like India to measure the e-service quality and make improvements. The present study offers a systematic procedure that provides insights on to the conceptual and empirical comprehension of customer perceived e-service quality and its constituents.
Keywords: Testing, instrument, e-service quality, factor analysis.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3826488 Adoptability Issues of GPS in Public Sector in Pakistan
Authors: Asim Tanvir, Numera Rafaqat
Abstract:
This study discusses the stumbling blocks stifling the adoption of GPS technology in the public sector of Pakistan. This study has been carried out in order to describe the value of GPS technology and its adoption at various public sector organisations in Pakistan. Sample size for the research conducted was 200; personnel working in public sector having age above 29 years were surveyed. Data collected for this research has been quantitatively analysed with the help of SPSS. Regression analysis, correlation and cross tabulation were the techniques used to determine the strength of relationship between key variables. Findings of this research indicate that main hurdles in GPS adoption in the public sector of Pakistan are lack of awareness about GPS among masses in general and the stakeholders in particular, lack of initiative on part of government in promoting new technologies, unavailability of GPS infrastructure in Pakistan and prohibitions on map availability because of security reasons.Keywords: Adoptability issues, Growth of GPS, GPSinfrastructure, Public sectors in Pakistan
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1747487 Decision Location and Resource Requirement for Relief Goods Assembly
Authors: Glenda Minguito, Jenith Banluta
Abstract:
One of the critical aspects of humanitarian operations is the distribution of relief goods to an affected community. The common assumption is that relief goods are prepositioned during disasters which are not applicable in developing countries like the Philippines. During disasters, the on-the-ground government agencies and responders have to procure, sort, weigh and pack the relief goods. There is a need to review the relief goods preparation as it seriously affects the delivery of necessary aid for human survival. This study also identifies the ideal location of the assembly hub to minimize the distance to the affected community. This paper reveals that location and resources are dependent on the type of disasters encountered at the local level. The Center-of-Gravity method and Multiple Activity Chart were applied in the analysis.
Keywords: Humanitarian supply chain, location decision, resource allocation, local level.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 434486 The Antibacterial Efficacy of Gold Nanoparticles Derived from Gomphrena celosioides and Prunus amygdalus (Almond) Leaves on Selected Bacterial Pathogens
Authors: M. E. Abalaka, S. Y. Daniyan, S. O. Adeyemo, D. Damisa
Abstract:
Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have gained increasing interest in recent times. This is greatly due to their special features, which include unusual optical and electronic properties, high stability and biological compatibility, controllable morphology and size dispersion, and easy surface functionalization. In typical synthesis, AuNPs were produced by reduction of gold salt AuCl4 in an appropriate solvent. A stabilizing agent was added to prevent the particles from aggregating. The antibacterial activity of different sizes of gold nanoparticles was investigated against Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhi and Pseudomonas pneumonia using the disk diffusion method in a Müeller–Hinton Agar. The Au-NPs were effective against all bacteria tested. That the Au-NPs were successfully synthesized in suspension and were used to study the antibacterial activity of the two medicinal plants against some bacterial pathogens suggests that Au-NPs can be employed as an effective bacteria inhibitor and may be an effective tool in medical field. The study clearly showed that the Au-NPs exhibiting inhibition towards the tested pathogenic bacteria in vitro could have the same effects in vivo and thus may be useful in the medical field if well researched into.
Keywords: Gold Nanoparticles, Gomphrena celesioides, Prunus amygdalus, Pathogens.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3820485 Comparative Analysis of Different Control Strategies for Electro-hydraulic Servo Systems
Authors: Ismail Algelli Sassi Ehtiwesh, Željko Đurović
Abstract:
The main goal of the study is to analyze all relevant properties of the electro hydraulic systems and based on that to make a proper choice of the control strategy that may be used for the control of the servomechanism system. A combination of electronic and hydraulic systems is widely used since it combines the advantages of both. Hydraulic systems are widely spread because of their properties as accuracy, flexibility, high horsepower-to-weight ratio, fast starting, stopping and reversal with smoothness and precision, and simplicity of operations. On the other hand, the modern control of hydraulic systems is based on control of the circuit fed to the inductive solenoid that controls the position of the hydraulic valve. Since this circuit may be easily handled by PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) signal with a proper frequency, the combination of electrical and hydraulic systems became very fruitful and usable in specific areas as airplane and military industry. The study shows and discusses the experimental results obtained by the control strategy (classical feedback (PID) & neural network) using MATLAB and SIMULINK [1]. Finally, the special attention was paid to the possibility of neuro-controller design and its application to control of electro-hydraulic systems and to make comparative with classical control.Keywords: Electro-hydraulic systems, PID, Neural network controller.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1833484 A Web Designer Agent, Based On Usage Mining Online Behavior of Visitors
Authors: Babak Abedin, Babak Sohrabi
Abstract:
Website plays a significant role in success of an e-business. It is the main start point of any organization and corporation for its customers, so it's important to customize and design it according to the visitors' preferences. Also, websites are a place to introduce services of an organization and highlight new service to the visitors and audiences. In this paper, we will use web usage mining techniques, as a new field of research in data mining and knowledge discovery, in an Iranian government website. Using the results, a framework for web content layour is proposed. An agent is designed to dynamically update and improve web links locations and layout. Then, we will explain how it is used to directly enable top managers of the organization to influence on the arrangement of web contents and also to enhance customization of web site navigation due to online users' behaviors.
Keywords: Web usage mining, website design, agent, website customization.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1924483 The Attitude of Second Year Pharmacy Students towards Lectures, Exams and E-Learning
Authors: Ahmed T. Alahmar
Abstract:
There is an increasing trend toward student-centred interactive e-learning methods and students’ feedback is a valuable tool for improving learning methods. The aim of this study was to explore the attitude of second year pharmacy students at the University of Babylon, Iraq, towards lectures, exams and e-learning. Materials and methods: Ninety pharmacy students were surveyed by paper questionnaire about their preference for lecture format, use of e-files, theoretical lectures versus practical experiments, lecture and lab time. Students were also asked about their predilection for Moodle-based online exams, different types of exam questions, exam time and other extra academic activities. Results: Students prefer to read lectures on paper (73.3%), use of PowerPoint file (76.7%), short lectures of less than 10 pages (94.5%), practical experiments (66.7%), lectures and lab time of less than two hours (89.9% and 96.6 respectively) and intra-lecture discussions (68.9%). Students also like to have paper-based exam (73.3%), short essay (40%) or MCQ (34.4%) questions and also prefer to do extra activities like reports (22.2%), seminars (18.6%) and posters (10.8%). Conclusion: Second year pharmacy students have different attitudes toward traditional and electronic leaning and assessment methods. Using multimedia, e-learning and Moodle are increasingly preferred methods among some students.
Keywords: Pharmacy, students, lecture, exam, e-learning, Moodle.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1418