Search results for: kernel principal component analysis
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 9387

Search results for: kernel principal component analysis

8667 Life Cycle Assessment of Residential Buildings: A Case Study in Canada

Authors: Venkatesh Kumar, Kasun Hewage, Rehan Sadiq

Abstract:

Residential buildings consume significant amounts of energy and produce large amount of emissions and waste. However, there is a substantial potential for energy savings in this sector which needs to be evaluated over the life cycle of residential buildings. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology has been employed to study the primary energy uses and associated environmental impacts of different phases (i.e., product, construction, use, end of life, and beyond building life) for residential buildings. Four different alternatives of residential buildings in Vancouver (BC, Canada) with a 50-year lifespan have been evaluated, including High Rise Apartment (HRA), Low Rise Apartment (LRA), Single family Attached House (SAH), and Single family Detached House (SDH). Life cycle performance of the buildings is evaluated for embodied energy, embodied environmental impacts, operational energy, operational environmental impacts, total life-cycle energy, and total life cycle environmental impacts. Estimation of operational energy and LCA are performed using DesignBuilder software and Athena Impact estimator software respectively. The study results revealed that over the life span of the buildings, the relationship between the energy use and the environmental impacts are identical. LRA is found to be the best alternative in terms of embodied energy use and embodied environmental impacts; while, HRA showed the best life-cycle performance in terms of minimum energy use and environmental impacts. Sensitivity analysis has also been carried out to study the influence of building service lifespan over 50, 75, and 100 years on the relative significance of embodied energy and total life cycle energy. The life-cycle energy requirements for SDH are found to be a significant component among the four types of residential buildings. The overall disclose that the primary operations of these buildings accounts for 90% of the total life cycle energy which far outweighs minor differences in embodied effects between the buildings.

Keywords: Building simulation, environmental impacts, life cycle assessment, life cycle energy analysis, residential buildings.

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8666 Finite Element Application to Estimate Inservice Material Properties using Miniature Specimen

Authors: G. Partheepan, D.K. Sehgal, R.K. Pandey

Abstract:

This paper presents a method for determining the uniaxial tensile properties such as Young-s modulus, yield strength and the flow behaviour of a material in a virtually non-destructive manner. To achieve this, a new dumb-bell shaped miniature specimen has been designed. This helps in avoiding the removal of large size material samples from the in-service component for the evaluation of current material properties. The proposed miniature specimen has an advantage in finite element modelling with respect to computational time and memory space. Test fixtures have been developed to enable the tension tests on the miniature specimen in a testing machine. The studies have been conducted in a chromium (H11) steel and an aluminum alloy (AR66). The output from the miniature test viz. load-elongation diagram is obtained and the finite element simulation of the test is carried out using a 2D plane stress analysis. The results are compared with the experimental results. It is observed that the results from the finite element simulation corroborate well with the miniature test results. The approach seems to have potential to predict the mechanical properties of the materials, which could be used in remaining life estimation of the various in-service structures.

Keywords: ABAQUS, finite element, miniature test, tensileproperties

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8665 Development of a Cost Effective Two Wheel Tractor Mounted Mobile Maize Sheller for Small Farmers in Bangladesh

Authors: M. Israil Hossain, T. P. Tiwari, Ashrafuzzaman Gulandaz, Nusrat Jahan

Abstract:

Two-wheel tractor (power tiller) is a common tillage tool in Bangladesh agriculture for easy access in fragmented land with affordable price of small farmers. Traditional maize sheller needs to be carried from place to place by hooking with two-wheel tractor (2WT) and set up again for shelling operation which takes longer time for preparation of maize shelling. The mobile maize sheller eliminates the transportation problem and can start shelling operation instantly any place as it is attached together with 2WT. It is counterclockwise rotating cylinder, axial flow type sheller, and grain separated with a frictional force between spike tooth and concave. The maize sheller is attached with nuts and bolts in front of the engine base of 2WT. The operating power of the sheller comes from the fly wheel of the engine of the tractor through ‘V” belt pulley arrangement. The average shelling capacity of the mobile sheller is 2.0 t/hr, broken kernel 2.2%, and shelling efficiency 97%. The average maize shelling cost is Tk. 0.22/kg and traditional custom hire rate is Tk.1.0/kg, respectively (1 US$=Tk.78.0). The service provider of the 2WT can transport the mobile maize sheller long distance in operator’s seating position. The manufacturers started the fabrication of mobile maize sheller. This mobile maize sheller is also compatible for the other countries where 2WT is available for farming operation.

Keywords: Cost effective, mobile maize sheller, maize shelling capacity, small farmers, two-wheel tractor.

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8664 Modeling and Analysis of a Cruise Control System

Authors: Anthony Spiteri Staines

Abstract:

This paper examines the modeling and analysis of a cruise control system using a Petri net based approach, task graphs, invariant analysis and behavioral properties. It shows how the structures used can be verified and optimized.

Keywords: Software Engineering, Real Time Analysis andDesign, Petri Nets, Task Graphs, Parallelism.

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8663 Student Records Management System Using Smart Cards and Biometric Technology for Educational Institutions

Authors: Patrick O. Bobbie, Prince S. Attrams

Abstract:

In recent times, the rapid change in new technologies has spurred up the way and manner records are handled in educational institutions. Also, there is a need for reliable access and ease-of use to these records, resulting in increased productivity in organizations. In academic institutions, such benefits help in quality assessments, institutional performance, and assessments of teaching and evaluation methods. Students in educational institutions benefit the most when advanced technologies are deployed in accessing records. This research paper discusses the use of biometric technologies coupled with smartcard technologies to provide a unique way of identifying students and matching their data to financial records to grant them access to restricted areas such as examination halls. The system developed in this paper, has an identity verification component as part of its main functionalities. A systematic software development cycle of analysis, design, coding, testing and support was used. The system provides a secured way of verifying student’s identity and real time verification of financial records. An advanced prototype version of the system has been developed for testing purposes.

Keywords: Biometrics, fingerprints, identity-verification, smartcards.

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8662 Effect of Modified Atmosphere Packaging and Storage Temperatures on Quality of Shelled Raw Walnuts

Authors: M. Javanmard

Abstract:

This study was aimed at analyzing the effects of packaging (MAP) and preservation conditions on the packaged fresh walnut kernel quality. The central composite plan was used for evaluating the effect of oxygen (0–10%), carbon dioxide (0-10%), and temperature (4-26 °C) on qualitative characteristics of walnut kernels. Also, the response level technique was used to find the optimal conditions for interactive effects of factors, as well as estimating the best conditions of process using least amount of testing. Measured qualitative parameters were: peroxide index, color, decreased weight, mould and yeast counting test, and sensory evaluation. The results showed that the defined model for peroxide index, color, weight loss, and sensory evaluation is significant (p < 0.001), so that increase of temperature causes the peroxide value, color variation, and weight loss to increase and it reduces the overall acceptability of walnut kernels. An increase in oxygen percentage caused the color variation level and peroxide value to increase and resulted in lower overall acceptability of the walnuts. An increase in CO2 percentage caused the peroxide value to decrease, but did not significantly affect other indices (p ≥ 0.05). Mould and yeast were not found in any samples. Optimal packaging conditions to achieve maximum quality of walnuts include: 1.46% oxygen, 10% carbon dioxide, and temperature of 4 °C.

Keywords: Shelled walnut, MAP, quality, storage temperature.

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8661 Modern Detection and Description Methods for Natural Plants Recognition

Authors: Masoud Fathi Kazerouni, Jens Schlemper, Klaus-Dieter Kuhnert

Abstract:

Green planet is one of the Earth’s names which is known as a terrestrial planet and also can be named the fifth largest planet of the solar system as another scientific interpretation. Plants do not have a constant and steady distribution all around the world, and even plant species’ variations are not the same in one specific region. Presence of plants is not only limited to one field like botany; they exist in different fields such as literature and mythology and they hold useful and inestimable historical records. No one can imagine the world without oxygen which is produced mostly by plants. Their influences become more manifest since no other live species can exist on earth without plants as they form the basic food staples too. Regulation of water cycle and oxygen production are the other roles of plants. The roles affect environment and climate. Plants are the main components of agricultural activities. Many countries benefit from these activities. Therefore, plants have impacts on political and economic situations and future of countries. Due to importance of plants and their roles, study of plants is essential in various fields. Consideration of their different applications leads to focus on details of them too. Automatic recognition of plants is a novel field to contribute other researches and future of studies. Moreover, plants can survive their life in different places and regions by means of adaptations. Therefore, adaptations are their special factors to help them in hard life situations. Weather condition is one of the parameters which affect plants life and their existence in one area. Recognition of plants in different weather conditions is a new window of research in the field. Only natural images are usable to consider weather conditions as new factors. Thus, it will be a generalized and useful system. In order to have a general system, distance from the camera to plants is considered as another factor. The other considered factor is change of light intensity in environment as it changes during the day. Adding these factors leads to a huge challenge to invent an accurate and secure system. Development of an efficient plant recognition system is essential and effective. One important component of plant is leaf which can be used to implement automatic systems for plant recognition without any human interface and interaction. Due to the nature of used images, characteristic investigation of plants is done. Leaves of plants are the first characteristics to select as trusty parts. Four different plant species are specified for the goal to classify them with an accurate system. The current paper is devoted to principal directions of the proposed methods and implemented system, image dataset, and results. The procedure of algorithm and classification is explained in details. First steps, feature detection and description of visual information, are outperformed by using Scale invariant feature transform (SIFT), HARRIS-SIFT, and FAST-SIFT methods. The accuracy of the implemented methods is computed. In addition to comparison, robustness and efficiency of results in different conditions are investigated and explained.

Keywords: SIFT combination, feature extraction, feature detection, natural images, natural plant recognition, HARRIS-SIFT, FAST-SIFT.

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8660 Modified Genome-Scale Metabolic Model of Escherichia coli by Adding Hyaluronic Acid Biosynthesis-Related Enzymes (GLMU2 and HYAD) from Pasteurella multocida

Authors: P. Pasomboon, P. Chumnanpuen, T. E-kobon

Abstract:

Hyaluronic acid (HA) consists of linear heteropolysaccharides repeat of D-glucuronic acid and N-acetyl-D-glucosamine. HA has various useful properties to maintain skin elasticity and moisture, reduce inflammation, and lubricate the movement of various body parts without causing immunogenic allergy. HA can be found in several animal tissues as well as in the capsule component of some bacteria including Pasteurella multocida. This study aimed to modify a genome-scale metabolic model of Escherichia coli using computational simulation and flux analysis methods to predict HA productivity under different carbon sources and nitrogen supplement by the addition of two enzymes (GLMU2 and HYAD) from P. multocida to improve the HA production under the specified amount of carbon sources and nitrogen supplements. Result revealed that threonine and aspartate supplement raised the HA production by 12.186%. Our analyses proposed the genome-scale metabolic model is useful for improving the HA production and narrows the number of conditions to be tested further.

Keywords: Pasteurella multocida, Escherichia coli, hyaluronic acid, genome-scale metabolic model, bioinformatics.

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8659 Morphometric Analysis of Tor tambroides by Stepwise Discriminant and Neural Network Analysis

Authors: M. Pollar, M. Jaroensutasinee, K. Jaroensutasinee

Abstract:

The population structure of the Tor tambroides was investigated with morphometric data (i.e. morphormetric measurement and truss measurement). A morphometric analysis was conducted to compare specimens from three waterfalls: Sunanta, Nan Chong Fa and Wang Muang waterfalls at Khao Nan National Park, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Southern Thailand. The results of stepwise discriminant analysis on seven morphometric variables and 21 truss variables per individual were the same as from a neural network. Fish from three waterfalls were separated into three groups based on their morphometric measurements. The morphometric data shows that the nerual network model performed better than the stepwise discriminant analysis.

Keywords: Morphometric, Tor tambroides, Stepwise Discriminant Analysis , Neural Network Analysis.

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8658 Automatic Generation of OWL Ontologies from UML Class Diagrams Based on Meta- Modelling and Graph Grammars

Authors: Aissam Belghiat, Mustapha Bourahla

Abstract:

Models are placed by modeling paradigm at the center of development process. These models are represented by languages, like UML the language standardized by the OMG which became necessary for development. Moreover the ontology engineering paradigm places ontologies at the center of development process; in this paradigm we find OWL the principal language for knowledge representation. Building ontologies from scratch is generally a difficult task. The bridging between UML and OWL appeared on several regards such as the classes and associations. In this paper, we have to profit from convergence between UML and OWL to propose an approach based on Meta-Modelling and Graph Grammars and registered in the MDA architecture for the automatic generation of OWL ontologies from UML class diagrams. The transformation is based on transformation rules; the level of abstraction in these rules is close to the application in order to have usable ontologies. We illustrate this approach by an example.

Keywords: ATOM3, MDA, Ontology, OWL, UML

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8657 KM Practices in Service SMEs

Authors: K. Cormican, G. Coppola, S. Farina

Abstract:

Knowledge management is a critical component of competitive success in service organizations. Knowledge management centers on creating new knowledge and utilizing existing knowledge. While utilizing existing knowledge relates to input and control and can lead to a reduction in costs; creating new knowledge relates to output and growth and can lead to an increase in revenue. Therefore managers must ensure that they can successfully optimize the knowledge and talent in their organizations. To do this they and must try to develop an environment that promotes the generation, acquisition, transfer and use of valuable knowledge in creative ways. However knowledge management is complex and diverse. Research suggests that organizations in general and SMEs in particular are finding it difficult to implement successful knowledge management initiatives. Our research attempts to understand whether organizations are adopting best practice initiatives in their organizations. This paper presents findings from an exploratory study of 139 SMEs operating in the tourism sector across Europe. The goals of the survey is to assess the level of awareness of knowledge and talent management strategies and methodologies and to determine whether the responding companies implement best practice knowledge management initiatives in their organizations Analysis of the findings from the study are presented and discussed.

Keywords: service sector, small enterprise, success factors, survey

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8656 Mathematical Modeling for Dengue Transmission with the Effect of Season

Authors: R. Kongnuy., P. Pongsumpun

Abstract:

Mathematical models can be used to describe the transmission of disease. Dengue disease is the most significant mosquito-borne viral disease of human. It now a leading cause of childhood deaths and hospitalizations in many countries. Variations in environmental conditions, especially seasonal climatic parameters, effect to the transmission of dengue viruses the dengue viruses and their principal mosquito vector, Aedes aegypti. A transmission model for dengue disease is discussed in this paper. We assume that the human and vector populations are constant. We showed that the local stability is completely determined by the threshold parameter, 0 B . If 0 B is less than one, the disease free equilibrium state is stable. If 0 B is more than one, a unique endemic equilibrium state exists and is stable. The numerical results are shown for the different values of the transmission probability from vector to human populations.

Keywords: Dengue disease, mathematical model, season, threshold parameters.

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8655 A Face-to-Face Education Support System Capable of Lecture Adaptation and Q&A Assistance Based On Probabilistic Inference

Authors: Yoshitaka Fujiwara, Jun-ichirou Fukushima, Yasunari Maeda

Abstract:

Keys to high-quality face-to-face education are ensuring flexibility in the way lectures are given, and providing care and responsiveness to learners. This paper describes a face-to-face education support system that is designed to raise the satisfaction of learners and reduce the workload on instructors. This system consists of a lecture adaptation assistance part, which assists instructors in adapting teaching content and strategy, and a Q&A assistance part, which provides learners with answers to their questions. The core component of the former part is a “learning achievement map", which is composed of a Bayesian network (BN). From learners- performance in exercises on relevant past lectures, the lecture adaptation assistance part obtains information required to adapt appropriately the presentation of the next lecture. The core component of the Q&A assistance part is a case base, which accumulates cases consisting of questions expected from learners and answers to them. The Q&A assistance part is a case-based search system equipped with a search index which performs probabilistic inference. A prototype face-to-face education support system has been built, which is intended for the teaching of Java programming, and this approach was evaluated using this system. The expected degree of understanding of each learner for a future lecture was derived from his or her performance in exercises on past lectures, and this expected degree of understanding was used to select one of three adaptation levels. A model for determining the adaptation level most suitable for the individual learner has been identified. An experimental case base was built to examine the search performance of the Q&A assistance part, and it was found that the rate of successfully finding an appropriate case was 56%.

Keywords: Bayesian network, face-to-face education, lecture adaptation, Q&A assistance.

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8654 Partial 3D Reconstruction using Evolutionary Algorithms

Authors: Mónica Pérez-Meza, Rodrigo Montúfar-Chaveznava

Abstract:

When reconstructing a scenario, it is necessary to know the structure of the elements present on the scene to have an interpretation. In this work we link 3D scenes reconstruction to evolutionary algorithms through the vision stereo theory. We consider vision stereo as a method that provides the reconstruction of a scene using only a couple of images of the scene and performing some computation. Through several images of a scene, captured from different positions, vision stereo can give us an idea about the threedimensional characteristics of the world. Vision stereo usually requires of two cameras, making an analogy to the mammalian vision system. In this work we employ only a camera, which is translated along a path, capturing images every certain distance. As we can not perform all computations required for an exhaustive reconstruction, we employ an evolutionary algorithm to partially reconstruct the scene in real time. The algorithm employed is the fly algorithm, which employ “flies" to reconstruct the principal characteristics of the world following certain evolutionary rules.

Keywords: 3D Reconstruction, Computer Vision, EvolutionaryAlgorithms, Vision Stereo.

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8653 Optimization of CO2 Emissions and Cost for Composite Building Design with NSGA-II

Authors: Ji Hyeong Park, Ji Hye Jeon, Hyo Seon Park

Abstract:

Environmental pollution problems have been globally main concern in all fields including economy, society and culture into the 21st century. Beginning with the Kyoto Protocol, the reduction on the emissions of greenhouse gas such as CO2 and SOX has been a principal challenge of our day. As most buildings unlike durable goods in other industries have a characteristic and long life cycle, they consume energy in quantity and emit much CO2. Thus, for green building construction, more research is needed to reduce the CO2 emissions at each stage in the life cycle. However, recent studies are focused on the use and maintenance phase. Also, there is a lack of research on the initial design stage, especially the structure design. Therefore, in this study, we propose an optimal design plan considering CO2 emissions and cost in composite buildings simultaneously by applying to the structural design of actual building.

Keywords: Multi-objective optimization, CO2 emissions, structural cost, encased composite structure

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8652 A Semi-Classical Signal Analysis Method for the Analysis of Turbomachinery Flow Unsteadiness

Authors: Fadi Eleiwi, Taous Meriem Laleg-Kirati, Sofiane Khelladi, Farid Bakir

Abstract:

This paper presents the use of a semi-classical signal analysis method that has been developed recently for the analysis of turbomachinery flow unsteadiness. We will focus on the correlation between theSemi-Classical Signal Analysis parameters and some physical parameters in relation with turbomachinery features. To demonstrate the potential of the proposed approach, a static pressure signal issued from a rotor/stator interaction of a centrifugal pump is studied. Several configurations of the pump are compared.

Keywords: Semi-classical signal analysis, turbomachines, newindices, physical parameters

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8651 Application of Pearson Parametric Distribution Model in Fatigue Life Reliability Evaluation

Authors: E. A. Azrulhisham, Y. M. Asri, A. W. Dzuraidah, A. H. Hairul Fahmi

Abstract:

The aim of this paper is to introduce a parametric distribution model in fatigue life reliability analysis dealing with variation in material properties. Service loads in terms of responsetime history signal of Belgian pave were replicated on a multi-axial spindle coupled road simulator and stress-life method was used to estimate the fatigue life of automotive stub axle. A PSN curve was obtained by monotonic tension test and two-parameter Weibull distribution function was used to acquire the mean life of the component. A Pearson system was developed to evaluate the fatigue life reliability by considering stress range intercept and slope of the PSN curve as random variables. Considering normal distribution of fatigue strength, it is found that the fatigue life of the stub axle to have the highest reliability between 10000 – 15000 cycles. Taking into account the variation of material properties associated with the size effect, machining and manufacturing conditions, the method described in this study can be effectively applied in determination of probability of failure of mass-produced parts.

Keywords: Stub axle, Fatigue life reliability, Stress-life, PSN curve, Weibull distribution, Pearson system

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8650 The Leaves of a Tree

Authors: Zhu Jiaming, Yu Mengna

Abstract:

In this article, models based on quantitative analysis, physical geometry and regression analysis are established, by using analytic hierarchy process analysis, fuzzy cluster analysis, fuzzy photographic and data fitting. The reasons of various leaf shapes among different species and the differences between the leaf shapes on same tree have been solved by using software, such as Eviews, VB and Matlab. We also successfully estimate the leaf mass of a tree and the correlation with the tree profile.

Keywords: Leaf shape; Mass; Fuzzy cluster; Regression analysis; Eviews; Matlab

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8649 Indicator of Small Calcification Detection in Ultrasonography using Decorrelation of Forward Scattered Waves

Authors: Hirofumi Taki, Takuya Sakamoto, Makoto Yamakawa, Tsuyoshi Shiina, Toru Sato

Abstract:

For the improvement of the ability in detecting small calcifications using Ultrasonography (US) we propose a novel indicator of calcifications in an ultrasound B-mode image without decrease in frame rate. Since the waveform of an ultrasound pulse changes at a calcification position, the decorrelation of adjacent scan lines occurs behind a calcification. Therefore, we employ the decorrelation of adjacent scan lines as an indicator of a calcification. The proposed indicator depicted wires 0.05 mm in diameter at 2 cm depth with a sensitivity of 86.7% and a specificity of 100%, which were hardly detected in ultrasound B-mode images. This study shows the potential of the proposed indicator to approximate the detectable calcification size using an US device to that of an X-ray imager, implying the possibility that an US device will become a convenient, safe, and principal clinical tool for the screening of breast cancer.

Keywords: Ultrasonography, Calcification, Decorrelation, Forward scattered wave

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8648 Systematic Functional Analysis Methods for Design Retrieval and Documentation

Authors: L. Zehtaban, D. Roller

Abstract:

Apart from geometry, functionality is one of the most significant hallmarks of a product. The functionality of a product can be considered as the fundamental justification for a product existence. Therefore a functional analysis including a complete and reliable descriptor has a high potential to improve product development process in various fields especially in knowledge-based design. One of the important applications of the functional analysis and indexing is in retrieval and design reuse concept. More than 75% of design activity for a new product development contains reusing earlier and existing design know-how. Thus, analysis and categorization of product functions concluded by functional indexing, influences directly in design optimization. This paper elucidates and evaluates major classes for functional analysis by discussing their major methods. Moreover it is finalized by presenting a noble hybrid approach for functional analysis.

Keywords: Functional analysis, design reuse, functionalindexing and representation.

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8647 Riding the Crest of the Wave: Inclusive Education in New Zealand

Authors: Barbara A. Perry

Abstract:

In 1996, the New Zealand government and the Ministry of Education announced that they were setting up a "world class system of inclusive education". As a parent of a son with high and complex needs, a teacher, school Principal and Disability studies Lecturer, this author will track the changes in the journey towards inclusive education over the last 20 years. Strategies for partnering with families to ensure educational success along with insights from one of those on the crest of the wave will be presented. Using a narrative methodology the author will illuminate how far New Zealand has come towards this world class system of inclusion promised and share from personal experience some of the highlights and risks in the system. This author has challenged the old structures and been part of the setting up of new structures particularly for providing parent voice and insight; this paper provides a unique view from an insider’s voice as well as a professional in the system.

Keywords: Disability studies, inclusive education, special education, working with families with children with disability.

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8646 Perception-Oriented Model Driven Development for Designing Data Acquisition Process in Wireless Sensor Networks

Authors: K. Indra Gandhi

Abstract:

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) have always been characterized for application-specific sensing, relaying and collection of information for further analysis. However, software development was not considered as a separate entity in this process of data collection which has posed severe limitations on the software development for WSN. Software development for WSN is a complex process since the components involved are data-driven, network-driven and application-driven in nature. This implies that there is a tremendous need for the separation of concern from the software development perspective. A layered approach for developing data acquisition design based on Model Driven Development (MDD) has been proposed as the sensed data collection process itself varies depending upon the application taken into consideration. This work focuses on the layered view of the data acquisition process so as to ease the software point of development. A metamodel has been proposed that enables reusability and realization of the software development as an adaptable component for WSN systems. Further, observing users perception indicates that proposed model helps in improving the programmer's productivity by realizing the collaborative system involved.

Keywords: Model-driven development, wireless sensor networks, data acquisition, separation of concern, layered design.

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8645 Simplified 3R2C Building Thermal Network Model: A Case Study

Authors: S. M. Mahbobur Rahman

Abstract:

Whole building energy simulation models are widely used for predicting future energy consumption, performance diagnosis and optimum control.  Black box building energy modeling approach has been heavily studied in the past decade. The thermal response of a building can also be modeled using a network of interconnected resistors (R) and capacitors (C) at each node called R-C network. In this study, a model building, Case 600, as described in the “Standard Method of Test for the Evaluation of Building Energy Analysis Computer Program”, ASHRAE standard 140, is studied along with a 3R2C thermal network model and the ASHRAE clear sky solar radiation model. Although building an energy model involves two important parts of building component i.e., the envelope and internal mass, the effect of building internal mass is not considered in this study. All the characteristic parameters of the building envelope are evaluated as on Case 600. Finally, monthly building energy consumption from the thermal network model is compared with a simple-box energy model within reasonable accuracy. From the results, 0.6-9.4% variation of monthly energy consumption is observed because of the south-facing windows.

Keywords: ASHRAE case study, clear sky solar radiation model, energy modeling, thermal network model.

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8644 Developing New Media Credibility Scale: A Multidimensional Perspective

Authors: Hanaa Farouk Saleh

Abstract:

The main purposes of this study are to develop a scale that reflects emerging theoretical understandings of new media credibility, based on the evolution of credibility studies in western researches, identification of the determinants of credibility in the media and its components by comparing traditional and new media credibility scales and building accumulative scale to test new media credibility. This approach was built on western researches using conceptualizations of media credibility, which focuses on four principal components: Source (journalist), message (article), medium (newspaper, radio, TV, web, etc.), and organization (owner of the medium), and adding user and cultural context as key components to assess new media credibility in particular. This study’s value lies in its contribution to the conceptualization and development of new media credibility through the creation of a theoretical measurement tool. Future studies should explore this scale to test new media credibility, which represents a promising new approach in the efforts to define and measure credibility of all media types.

Keywords: Credibility scale, media credibility components, new media credibility scale, scale development.

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8643 A Multi-Feature Deep Learning Algorithm for Urban Traffic Classification with Limited Labeled Data

Authors: Rohan Putatunda, Aryya Gangopadhyay

Abstract:

Acoustic sensors, if embedded in smart street lights, can help in capturing the activities (car honking, sirens, events, traffic, etc.) in cities. Needless to say, the acoustic data from such scenarios are complex due to multiple audio streams originating from different events, and when decomposed to independent signals, the amount of retrieved data volume is small in quantity which is inadequate to train deep neural networks. So, in this paper, we address the two challenges: a) separating the mixed signals, and b) developing an efficient acoustic classifier under data paucity. So, to address these challenges, we propose an architecture with supervised deep learning, where the initial captured mixed acoustics data are analyzed with Fast Fourier Transformation (FFT), followed by filtering the noise from the signal, and then decomposed to independent signals by fast independent component analysis (Fast ICA). To address the challenge of data paucity, we propose a multi feature-based deep neural network with high performance that is reflected in our experiments when compared to the conventional convolutional neural network (CNN) and multi-layer perceptron (MLP).

Keywords: FFT, ICA, vehicle classification, multi-feature DNN, CNN, MLP.

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8642 Environmental Accounting Practice: Analyzing the Extent and Qualification of Environmental Disclosures of Turkish Companies Located in BIST-XKURY Index

Authors: Raif Parlakkaya, Mustafa Nihat Demirci, Mehmet Nuri Salur

Abstract:

Environmental pollution has detrimental effects on the quality of our life and its scope has reached such an extent that measures are being taken both at the national and international levels to reduce, prevent and mitigate its impact on social, economic and political spheres. Therefore, awareness of environmental problems has been increasing among stakeholders and accordingly among companies. It is seen that corporate reporting is expanding beyond environmental performance. Primary purpose of publishing an environmental report is to provide specific audiences with useful, meaningful information. This paper is intended to analyze the extent and qualification of environmental disclosures of Turkish publicly quoted firms and see how it varies from one sector to another. The data for the study were collected from annual activity reports of companies, listed on the corporate governance index (BIST-XKURY) of Istanbul Stock Exchange. Content analysis was the research methodology used to measure the extent of environmental disclosure. Accordingly, 2015 annual activity reports of companies that carry out business in some particular fields were acquired from Capital Market Board, websites of Public Disclosure Platform and companies’ own websites. These reports were categorized into five main aspects: Environmental policies, environmental management systems, environmental protection and conservation activities, environmental awareness and information on environmental lawsuits. Subsequently, each component was divided into several variables related to what each firm is supposed to disclose about environmental information. In this context, the nature and scope of the information disclosed on each item were assessed according to five different ways (N.I: No Information; G.E.: General Explanations; Q.E.: Qualitative Detailed Explanations; N.E.: Quantitative (numerical) Detailed Explanations; Q.&N.E.: Both Qualitative and Quantitative Explanations).

Keywords: Environmental accounting, disclosure, corporate governance, content analysis.

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8641 Statistical Texture Analysis

Authors: G. N. Srinivasan, G. Shobha

Abstract:

This paper presents an overview of the methodologies and algorithms for statistical texture analysis of 2D images. Methods for digital-image texture analysis are reviewed based on available literature and research work either carried out or supervised by the authors.

Keywords: Image Texture, Texture Analysis, Statistical Approaches, Structural approaches, spectral approaches, Morphological approaches, Fractals, Fourier Transforms, Gabor Filters, Wavelet transforms.

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8640 The Documentary Analysis of Meta-Analysis Research in Violence of Media

Authors: Proud Arunrangsiwed

Abstract:

The part of “future direction” in the findings of meta-analysis could provide the great direction to conduct the future studies. This study, “The Documentary Analysis of Meta-Analysis Research in Violence of Media” would conclude “future directions” out of 10 meta-analysis papers. The purposes of this research are to find an appropriate research design or an appropriate methodology for the future research related to the topic, “violence of media”. Further research needs to explore by longitudinal and experimental design, and also needs to have a careful consideration about age effects, time spent effects, enjoyment effects and ordinary lifestyle of each media consumer.

Keywords: Aggressive, future direction, meta-analysis, media, violence.

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8639 Noise Removal from Surface Respiratory EMG Signal

Authors: Slim Yacoub, Kosai Raoof

Abstract:

The aim of this study was to remove the two principal noises which disturb the surface electromyography signal (Diaphragm). These signals are the electrocardiogram ECG artefact and the power line interference artefact. The algorithm proposed focuses on a new Lean Mean Square (LMS) Widrow adaptive structure. These structures require a reference signal that is correlated with the noise contaminating the signal. The noise references are then extracted : first with a noise reference mathematically constructed using two different cosine functions; 50Hz (the fundamental) function and 150Hz (the first harmonic) function for the power line interference and second with a matching pursuit technique combined to an LMS structure for the ECG artefact estimation. The two removal procedures are attained without the use of supplementary electrodes. These techniques of filtering are validated on real records of surface diaphragm electromyography signal. The performance of the proposed methods was compared with already conducted research results.

Keywords: Surface EMG, Adaptive, Matching Pursuit, Powerline interference.

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8638 Proposal for a Ultra Low Voltage NAND gate to withstand Power Analysis Attacks

Authors: Omid Mirmotahari, Yngvar Berg

Abstract:

In this paper we promote the Ultra Low Voltage (ULV) NAND gate to replace either partly or entirely the encryption block of a design to withstand power analysis attack.

Keywords: Differential Power Analysis (DPA), Low Voltage (LV), Ultra Low Voltage (ULV), Floating-Gate (FG), supply current analysis.

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