Search results for: ASHRAE case study

Authors: Oulad Naoui Noureddine, Cherif ELAmine, Djehiche Abdelkader

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Water resources management includes several disciplines; the modeling of rainfall-runoff relationship is the most important discipline to prevent natural risks. There are several models to study rainfall-runoff relationship in watersheds. However, the majority of these models are not applicable in all basins of the world.  In this study, a new stochastic method called The Only Corresponding Competitor method (OCC) was used for the hydrological modeling of M’ZAB   Watershed (South East of Algeria) to adapt a few empirical models for any hydrological regime.  The results obtained allow to authorize a certain number of visions, in which it would be interesting to experiment with hydrological models that improve collectively or separately the data of a catchment by the OCC method.

Keywords: Empirical model, modeling, OCC, rainfall-runoff relationship.

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Authors: Brian Ceh, Alison Jackson-Holland

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Food deserts are a reality in some cities. These deserts can be described as a shortage of healthy food options within close proximity of consumers. The shortage in this case is typically facilitated by a lack of stores in an urban area that provide adequate fruit and vegetable choices. This study explores new avenues to better understand food deserts by examining modes of transportation that are available to shoppers or consumers, e.g. walking, automobile, or public transit. Further, this study is unique in that it not only explores the location of large grocery stores, but small grocery and convenience stores too. In this study, the relationship between some socio-economic indicators, such as personal income, are also explored to determine any possible association with food deserts. In addition, to help facilitate our understanding of food deserts, complex network spatial models that are built on adequate algorithms are used to investigate the possibility of food deserts in the city of Hamilton, Canada. It is found that Hamilton, Canada is adequate serviced by retailers who provide healthy food choices and that the food desert phenomena is almost absent.

Keywords: Canada, desert, food, Hamilton, stores.

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Authors: Brandy Yee, Dianne Yee

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Through the exploration of the lived experiences, beliefs and values of instructional leaders, teachers and students in Finland, Germany and Canada, we investigated the factors which contribute to developmentally responsive, intellectually engaging middle-level learning environments for early adolescents. Student-centred leadership dimensions, effective instructional practices and student agency were examined through the lens of current policy and research on middle-level learning environments emerging from the Canadian province of Manitoba. Consideration of these three research perspectives in the context of early adolescent learning, placed against an international backdrop, provided a previously undocumented perspective on leading, teaching and learning in the middle years. Aligning with a social constructivist, qualitative research paradigm, the study incorporated collective case study methodology, along with constructivist grounded theory methods of data analysis. Data were collected through semi-structured individual and focus group interviews and document review, as well as direct and participant observation. Three case study narratives were developed to share the rich stories of study participants, who had been selected using maximum variation and intensity sampling techniques. Interview transcript data were coded using processes from constructivist grounded theory. A cross-case analysis yielded a conceptual framework highlighting key factors that were found to be significant in the establishment of developmentally responsive, intellectually engaging middle-level learning environments. Seven core categories emerged from the cross-case analysis as common to all three countries. Within the visual conceptual framework (which depicts the interconnected nature of leading, teaching and learning in middle-level learning environments), these seven core categories were grouped into Essential Factors (student agency, voice and choice), Contextual Factors (instructional practices; school culture; engaging families and the community), Synergistic Factors (instructional leadership) and Cornerstone Factors (education as a fundamental cultural value; preservice, in-service and ongoing teacher development). In addition, sub-factors emerged from recurring codes in the data and identified specific characteristics and actions found in developmentally responsive, intellectually engaging middle-level learning environments. Although this study focused on 12 schools in Finland, Germany and Canada, it informs the practice of educators working with early adolescent learners in middle-level learning environments internationally. The authentic voices of early adolescent learners are the most important resource educators have to gauge if they are creating effective learning environments for their students. Ongoing professional dialogue and learning is essential to ensure teachers are supported in their work and develop the pedagogical practices needed to meet the needs of early adolescent learners. It is critical to balance consistency, coherence and dependability in the school environment with the necessary flexibility in order to support the unique learning needs of early adolescents. Educators must intentionally create a school culture that unites teachers, students and their families in support of a common purpose, as well as nurture positive relationships between the school and its community. A large, urban school district in Canada has implemented a school cohort-based model to begin to bring developmentally responsive, intellectually engaging middle-level learning environments to scale.

Keywords: Developmentally responsive learning environments, early adolescents, middle-level learning, middle years, instructional leadership, instructional practices, intellectually engaging learning environments, leadership dimensions, student agency.

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Authors: Kai Zhang

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Transformation under the reconfiguration of urban-rural relation in Liuzhou city has never been as radical and visible as it has been since the tremendous turn of the last century in China. Huanjiang village is located in Linhuashan Scenic Area in the middle east of Liuzhou city, with spectacular landscape and traditional features. Nowadays Huanjiang village has become a so-called "village in city", which is considered full of great potential for development because of the economic value of regional advantages during the urban sprawl. Communities of village found it difficult to acclimatize with the dramatic changes, which later led to numerous problems including ecological damage, unemployment of landless farmers and loss of traditional culture. Government has started up a series of renewal planings to resolve the problems, which are based on advanced technology and conform to sustainable and integrated strategies of city planning considering the original context and historical culture, superseding the traditional arrangements based on the guide of extensive economic growth. This paper aims to elaborate the context of Liuzhou city and Huanjiang village offered to both the traditional and sustainable planning approaches, in order to understand challenges and solutions of the rebuilding process. Through the analysis of the place relevant to architecture, society and culture, it will establish the corresponding systematic strategies. Considering the local features, it concludes with a comprehensive perspective on organic renewal in the case of Huanjiang village.

Keywords: China, Liuzhou, sustainable strategy, urban renewal, village in city.

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Authors: Jehad Al Dallal, Paul Sorenson

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An application framework provides a reusable design and implementation for a family of software systems. Application developers extend the framework to build their particular applications using hooks. Hooks are the places identified to show how to use and customize the framework. Hooks define Framework Interface Classes (FICs) and their possible specifications, which helps in building reusable test cases for the implementations of these classes. In applications developed using gray-box frameworks, FICs inherit framework classes or use them without inheritance. In this paper, a test-case generation technique is extended to build test cases for FICs built for gray-box frameworks. A tool is developed to automate the introduced technique.

Keywords: Class testing, object-oriented framework, reusable test case.

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Authors: Feddaoui Amina

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In a broad sense, corporate governance covers the organization of the control and management. The term is also used in a narrower sense, to refer to the relationship between shareholders, and the company’s board. There are a lot of discussions devoted to the understanding of the corporate governance role and its principles. In this paper, we are going to describe the definition of corporate governance as a control system and its principles, and find the role of corporate governance and its pillars. Finally, we are going to drop the theoretical study on the case of Japan.

Keywords: Corporate governance, place, role, Japan.

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Authors: Snezhana G. Gocheva-Ilieva, Maya P. Stoimenova

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Ambient air pollution with fine particulate matter (PM10) is a systematic permanent problem in many countries around the world. The accumulation of a large number of measurements of both the PM10 concentrations and the accompanying atmospheric factors allow for their statistical modeling to detect dependencies and forecast future pollution. This study applies the classification and regression trees (CART) method for building and analyzing PM10 models. In the empirical study, average daily air data for the city of Pleven, Bulgaria for a period of 5 years are used. Predictors in the models are seven meteorological variables, time variables, as well as lagged PM10 variables and some lagged meteorological variables, delayed by 1 or 2 days with respect to the initial time series, respectively. The degree of influence of the predictors in the models is determined. The selected best CART models are used to forecast future PM10 concentrations for two days ahead after the last date in the modeling procedure and show very accurate results.

Keywords: Cross-validation, decision tree, lagged variables, short-term forecasting.

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Authors: F. Ekoue, A. Fouache d'Halloy, D. Gigon, G Plantamp, E. Zajdman

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This work focuses on analysis of classical heat transfer equation regularized with Maxwell-Cattaneo transfer law. Computer simulations are performed in MATLAB environment. Numerical experiments are first developed on classical Fourier equation, then Maxwell-Cattaneo law is considered. Corresponding equation is regularized with a balancing diffusion term to stabilize discretizing scheme with adjusted time and space numerical steps. Several cases including a convective term in model equations are discussed, and results are given. It is shown that limiting conditions on regularizing parameters have to be satisfied in convective case for Maxwell-Cattaneo regularization to give physically acceptable solutions. In all valid cases, uniform convergence to solution of initial heat equation with Fourier law is observed, even in nonlinear case.

Keywords: Maxwell-Cattaneo heat transfers equations, fourierlaw, heat conduction, numerical solution.

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Authors: Atif Zafar, Fan Haijun

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A sequence of different Reservoir Engineering methods and tools in reservoir characterization and field development are presented in this paper. The real data of Jin Gas Field of L-Basin of Pakistan is used. The basic concept behind this work is to enlighten the importance of well test analysis in a broader way (i.e. reservoir characterization and field development) unlike to just determine the permeability and skin parameters. Normally in the case of reservoir characterization we rely on well test analysis to some extent but for field development plan, the well test analysis has become a forgotten tool specifically for locations of new development wells. This paper describes the successful implementation of well test analysis in Jin Gas Field where the main uncertainties are identified during initial stage of field development when location of new development well was marked only on the basis of G&G (Geologic and Geophysical) data. The seismic interpretation could not encounter one of the boundary (fault, sub-seismic fault, heterogeneity) near the main and only producing well of Jin Gas Field whereas the results of the model from the well test analysis played a very crucial rule in order to propose the location of second well of the newly discovered field. The results from different methods of well test analysis of Jin Gas Field are also integrated with and supported by other tools of Reservoir Engineering i.e. Material Balance Method and Volumetric Method. In this way, a comprehensive way out and algorithm is obtained in order to integrate the well test analyses with Geological and Geophysical analyses for reservoir characterization and field development. On the strong basis of this working and algorithm, it was successfully evaluated that the proposed location of new development well was not justified and it must be somewhere else except South direction.

Keywords: Field development, reservoir characterization, reservoir engineering, well test analysis.

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Authors: Ibrahim Ozkan

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In this study, a cross-layer design which combines adaptive modulation and coding (AMC) and hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) techniques for a cooperative wireless network is investigated analytically. Previous analyses of such systems in the literature are confined to the case where the fading channel is independent at each retransmission, which can be unrealistic unless the channel is varying very fast. On the other hand, temporal channel correlation can have a significant impact on the performance of HARQ systems. In this study, utilizing a Markov channel model which accounts for the temporal correlation, the performance of non-cooperative and cooperative networks are investigated in terms of packet loss rate and throughput metrics for Chase combining HARQ strategy.

Keywords: Cooperative network, adaptive modulation and coding, hybrid ARQ, correlated fading.

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Authors: Mahmoud S. Ahmed, Hany A. Mohamed, Mohamed A. Omara, Mohamed F. Abdeen

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Experimental study of natural convection heat transfer inside smooth and rough surfaces of vertical and inclined equilateral triangular channels of different inclination angles with a uniformly heated surface are performed. The inclination angle is changed from 15º to 90º. Smooth and rough surface of average roughness (0.02mm) are used and their effect on the heat transfer characteristics are studied. The local and average heat transfer coefficients and Nusselt number are obtained for smooth and rough channels at different heat flux values, different inclination angles and different Rayleigh numbers (Ra) 6.48 × 105 ≤ Ra ≤ 4.78 × 106. The results show that the local Nusselt number decreases with increase of axial distance from the lower end of the triangular channel to a point near the upper end of channel, and then, it slightly increases. Higher values of local Nusselt number for rough channel along the axial distance compared with the smooth channel. The average Nusselt number of rough channel is higher than that of smooth channel by about 8.1% for inclined case at θ = 45o and 10% for vertical case. The results obtained are correlated using dimensionless groups for both rough and smooth surfaces of the inclined and vertical triangular channels.

Keywords: Natural heat transfer convection, constant heat flux, open channels, heat transfer.

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Authors: V. Ramnarain-Seetohul, J. Abdool Karim, A. Amir

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Almost all universities include some form of assignment in their courses. The assignments are either carried out in either in groups or individually. To effectively manage these submitted assignments, a well-designed assignment submission system is needed, hence the need for an online assignment submission system to facilitate the distribution, and collection of assignments on due dates. The objective of such system is to facilitate interaction of lecturers and students for assessment and grading purposes. The aim of this study was to create a web based online assignment submission system for University of Mauritius. The system was created to eliminate the traditional process of giving an assignment and collecting the answers for the assignment. Lecturers can also create automated assessment to assess the students online. Moreover, the online submission system consists of an automatic mailing system which acts as a reminder for students about the deadlines of the posted assignments. System was tested to measure its acceptance rate among both student and lecturers.

Keywords: Assignment, assessment, online, submission

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Authors: Maryam Honarmand

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Regarding to the fast growth of computer, internet, and virtual learning in our country (Iran) and need computer-based learning systems and multimedia tools as an essential part of such education, designing and implementing such systems would help teach different field such as science. This paper describes the basic principle of multimedia. At the end, with a description of learning science to the infant students, the method of this system will be explained.

Keywords: Multimedia tools, computer based learning, science, student.

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Authors: Sasitorn Chetanont, Benjaporn Yamjameung

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The objectives of this study are to increase tourism products and to develop family agro-tourism. The research methodology was to analyze internal and external situations according to MP-MF and the MC-STEPS principles.

The results of this study highlight following necessary improvements; extend the cycling routes, increase the number of bicycle rental shops, offer a recreation place for the elders, organize a space for the floating market products and increase tourism activities throughout the year. In ‘places or distribution channel’ we discuss the improvement of facilities, specifically the routes to facilitate elder visitors and visitors on wheelchairs and furthermore the arrangement of educational trips to relevant centers in the community. In ‘promotions’, we discuss the implementation of an “all inclusive package” were the agro-tourism program, health-conscious program and the elderly fun program converge.

Keywords: Marketing Planning Strategy, Agro-tourism, Bang Nam Phueng.

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Authors: Sa’ed Abed, Mohammad H. Al Shayeji, Ovais Ahmed, Sahel Alouneh

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Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) is a signaling layer protocol for building, adjusting and ending sessions among participants including Internet conferences, telephone calls and multimedia distribution. SIP facilitates user movement by proxying and forwarding requests to the present location of the user. In this paper, we provide a formal Specification and Description Language (SDL) and Message Sequence Chart (MSC) to model and define the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) SIP protocol and its sample services resulted from informal SIP specification. We create an “Abstract User Interface” using case analysis so that can be applied to identify SIP services more explicitly. The issued sample SIP features are then used as case scenarios; they are revised in MSCs format and validated to their corresponding SDL models.

Keywords: Modeling, MSC, SDL, SIP, validating.

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Authors: Mbainaibeye Jérôme, Noureddine Ellouze

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We study in this paper the effect of the scene changing on image sequences coding system using Embedded Zerotree Wavelet (EZW). The scene changing considered here is the full motion which may occurs. A special image sequence is generated where the scene changing occurs randomly. Two scenarios are considered: In the first scenario, the system must provide the reconstruction quality as best as possible by the management of the bit rate (BR) while the scene changing occurs. In the second scenario, the system must keep the bit rate as constant as possible by the management of the reconstruction quality. The first scenario may be motivated by the availability of a large band pass transmission channel where an increase of the bit rate may be possible to keep the reconstruction quality up to a given threshold. The second scenario may be concerned by the narrow band pass transmission channel where an increase of the bit rate is not possible. In this last case, applications for which the reconstruction quality is not a constraint may be considered. The simulations are performed with five scales wavelet decomposition using the 9/7-tap filter bank biorthogonal wavelet. The entropy coding is performed using a specific defined binary code book and EZW algorithm. Experimental results are presented and compared to LEAD H263 EVAL. It is shown that if the reconstruction quality is the constraint, the system increases the bit rate to obtain the required quality. In the case where the bit rate must be constant, the system is unable to provide the required quality if the scene change occurs; however, the system is able to improve the quality while the scene changing disappears.

Keywords: Image Sequence Compression, Wavelet Transform, Scene Changing, Zero Tree, Bit Rate, Quality.

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Authors: Sara Blanc, José V. Benlloch-Dualde, Laura Grindei, Ana C. Torres, Angélica Monteiro

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This paper presents a study that leads an experience by introducing digital learning applied to a case study focused on primary and secondary school garden-based education. The approach represents an example for interaction among different education and research agents at different countries and levels, such as universities, public and private researches and schools, to get involved in the implementation of education for sustainable development that will make students become more sensible to natural environment, more responsible for their consumption, more aware about waste reduction and recycling, more conscious of the sustainable use of natural resources and, at the same time, more ‘digitally competent’. The experience was designed attending to the European digital education context and OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) directives in transversal skills education. The paper presents the methodology carried out in the study as well as outcomes obtained from the experience.

Keywords: School gardens, primary education, secondary education, science technology and innovation in education, digital learning, sustainable development goals, university, knowledge transference.

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Authors: Bahloul Amel

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This study is an attempt to raise the awareness of the stakeholders and the authorities on the sensitivity of Algerian secondary school teachers of English as a Foreign Language about the students’ loss of English language skills learned during formal schooling with effort and at expense and the supposed measures to arrest that loss. Data was collected from secondary school teachers of EFL and analyzed quantitatively using a questionnaire containing open-ended and close-ended questions. The results advocate a consensus about the need for actions to be adopted to make assessment techniques outcome-oriented. Most of the participants were in favor of including curricular activities involving contextualized learning, problem-solving learning critical selfawareness, self and peer-assisted learning, use of computers and internet so as to make learners autonomous.

Keywords: Contextualized learning, EFL, Lifelong learning.

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Authors: D. Pugazhendhi

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The ancient Greeks were forerunners in many fields than other societies. So, the Greeks were well connected with all the countries which were well developed during that time through trade route. In this connection, trading of goods from the ancient Greece to Tamil Nadu which is presently in India, though they are geographically far away, played an important role. In that way, the word and the goods related with kos and kare got exchanged between these two societies. So, it is necessary to compare the phonology and the morphological occurrences of these words that are found common both in the ancient Greek and Tamil literatures of the contemporary period. The results show that there were many words derived from the root kos with the basic meaning of ‘arrange’ in the ancient Greek language, but this is not the case in the usage of the word kare. In the ancient Tamil literature, the word ‘kos’ does not have any root and also had rare occurrences. But it was just the opposite in the case of the word ‘kare’. One of all the meanings of the word, which was derived from the root ‘kos’ in ancient Greek literature, is related with costly ornaments. This meaning seems to have close resemblance with the usage of word ‘kos’ in ancient Tamil literature. Also, the meaning of the word ‘kare’ in ancient Tamil literature is related with spices whereas, in the ancient Greek literature, its meaning is related to that of the cooking of meat using spices. Hence, the similarity seen in the meanings of these words ‘kos’ and ‘kare’ in both these languages provides lead for further study. More than that, the ancient literary resources which are available in both these languages ensure the export and import of gold and spices from the ancient Greek land to Tamil land.

Keywords: Arrange, kare, kos, ornament, Tamil.

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Authors: Hanadi Mubarak AL-Mubaraki, Michael Busler

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In the context of business incubation (BI) as strategic enablers, this paper critically reviews the literature relating to the strategic benefits of BI in the Middle East. The taxonomy of BI benefits in the strategic elements on 1) type, 2) financial model, 3) services, 4) objectives, 5) number of clients, 6) number of graduates, and 7) jobs creation. Understanding the importance of BI benefits can be significant in the economic development although most incubators lead to diversify the economy. Thus, taxonomies of the benefits of BI are produced from both the academic literature and published case studies. In this way, a classification of strategic benefits elements as they relate to incubators has been developed to provide a greater understanding of the benefits needed to obtain a specific element. The result of this paper is Business incubators is aimed entrepreneurship, jobs creation, research commercialization and profitable enterprises in Middle Eastern countries.

Keywords: Economic Development, Incubators, Middle East, Strategic.

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Authors: Seyedebrahim Afkhami, Meisam Abdi, Reza Baserinia

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Additive manufacturing is revolutionizing production in different industries, including pharmaceuticals. This case study explores the influence of surface area on the dissolution of additively manufactured polyvinyl alcohol parts as a polymer candidate. Specimens of different geometries and constant mass were fabricated using a Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) 3D printer. The dissolution behavior of these samples was compared with respect to their surface area. Improved and accelerated dissolution was observed for samples with a larger surface area. This study highlights the capabilities of additive manufacturing to produce samples of complex geometries that cannot be manufactured otherwise to control the dissolution behavior for pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical applications.

Keywords: Additive manufacturing, polymer dissolution, fused deposition modelling, geometry optimization.

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Authors: T. Francis Thamburaj, A. Aloysius

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Polymorphism is one of the main pillars of objectoriented paradigm. It induces hidden forms of class dependencies which may impact software quality, resulting in higher cost factor for comprehending, debugging, testing, and maintaining the software. In this paper, a new cognitive complexity metric called Cognitive Weighted Polymorphism Factor (CWPF) is proposed. Apart from the software structural complexity, it includes the cognitive complexity on the basis of type. The cognitive weights are calibrated based on 27 empirical studies with 120 persons. A case study and experimentation of the new software metric shows positive results. Further, a comparative study is made and the correlation test has proved that CWPF complexity metric is a better, more comprehensive, and more realistic indicator of the software complexity than Abreu’s Polymorphism Factor (PF) complexity metric.

Keywords: Cognitive complexity metric, cognitive weighted polymorphism factor, object-oriented metrics, polymorphism factor, software metrics.

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Authors: R. Malisa, E. Schwella, K. I. Theletsane

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Due to climate change, population growth and rapid urbanization, the demand for water in South Africa is inevitably surpassing supply. To address similar challenges globally, there has been a paradigm shift from conventional urban waste water management “government” to a “governance” paradigm. From the governance paradigm, Integrated Urban Water Management (IUWM) principle emerged. This principle emphasizes efficient urban waste water treatment and production of high-quality recyclable effluent. In so doing mimicking natural water systems, in their processes of recycling water efficiently, and averting depletion of natural water resources.  The objective of this study was to investigate drivers of shifting the current urban waste water management approach from a “government” paradigm towards “governance”. The study was conducted through Interactive Management soft systems research methodology which follows a qualitative research design. A case study methodology was employed, guided by realism research philosophy. Qualitative data gathered were analyzed through interpretative structural modelling using Concept Star for Professionals Decision-Making tools (CSPDM) version 3.64.  The constructed model deduced that the main drivers in shifting the Stellenbosch municipal urban waste water management towards IUWM “governance” principles are mainly social elements characterized by overambitious expectations of the public on municipal water service delivery, mis-interpretation of the constitution on access to adequate clean water and sanitation as a human right and perceptions on recycling water by different communities. Inadequate public participation also emerged as a strong driver. However, disruptive events such as draught may play a positive role in raising an awareness on the value of water, resulting in a shift on the perceptions on recycled water. Once the social elements are addressed, the alignment of governance and administration elements towards IUWM are achievable. Hence, the point of departure for the desired paradigm shift is the change of water service authorities and serviced communities’ perceptions and behaviors towards shifting urban waste water management approaches from “government” to “governance” paradigm.

Keywords: Integrated urban water management, urban water system, waste water governance, waste water treatment works.

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Authors: C. Snae Namahoot, M. Brueckner

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Thailand-s health system is challenged by the rising number of patients and decreasing ratio of medical practitioners/patients, especially in rural areas. This may tempt inexperienced GPs to rush through the process of anamnesis with the risk of incorrect diagnosis. Patients have to travel far to the hospital and wait for a long time presenting their case. Many patients try to cure themselves with traditional Thai medicine. Many countries are making use of the Internet for medical information gathering, distribution and storage. Telemedicine applications are a relatively new field of study in Thailand; the infrastructure of ICT had hampered widespread use of the Internet for using medical information. With recent improvements made health and technology professionals can work out novel applications and systems to help advance telemedicine for the benefit of the people. Here we explore the use of telemedicine for people with health problems in rural areas in Thailand and present a Telemedicine Diagnosis System for Rural Thailand (TEDIST) for diagnosing certain conditions that people with Internet access can use to establish contact with Community Health Centers, e.g. by mobile phone. The system uses a Web-based input method for individual patients- symptoms, which are taken by an expert system for the analysis of conditions and appropriate diseases. The analysis harnesses a knowledge base and a backward chaining component to find out, which health professionals should be presented with the case. Doctors have the opportunity to exchange emails or chat with the patients they are responsible for or other specialists. Patients- data are then stored in a Personal Health Record.

Keywords: Biomedical engineering, data acquisition, expert system, information management system, and information retrieval.

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Authors: M. M. Sadeghi, S. Vahdani

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Masonry dome structures had been widely used for covering large spans in the past. The seismic assessment of these historical structures is very complicated due to the nonlinear behavior of the material, their rigidness, and special stability configuration. The assessment method based on energy balance concept, as well as the standard pushover analysis, is used to evaluate the effectiveness of these methods in the case of masonry dome structures. The Soltanieh dome building is used as an example to which two methods are applied. The performance points are given from superimposing the capacity, and demand curves in Acceleration Displacement Response Spectra (ADRS) and energy coordination are compared with the nonlinear time history analysis as the exact result. The results show a good agreement between the dynamic analysis and the energy balance method, but standard pushover method does not provide an acceptable estimation.

Keywords: Energy balance method, pushover analysis, time history analysis, masonry dome.

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Authors: Fahme Dabaj, Havva Başak

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The aim of this study is to find out and analyze the role of gender and age on the perceptions of students to the distant online program offered by Vocational High School in Sakarya University. The research is based on a questionnaire as a mean of data collection method to find out the role of age and gender on the student-s perceptions toward online education, and the study progressed through finding relationships between the variables used in the data collection instrument. The findings of the analysis revealed that although the students registered to the online program by will, they preferred the traditional face-to-face education due to the difficulty of the nonverbal communication, their incompetence of using the technology required, and their belief in traditional face-toface learning more than online education. Regarding gender, the results showed that the female students have a better perception of the online education as opposed to the male students. Regarding age, the results showed that the older the students are the more is their preference towards attending face-toface classes.

Keywords: Distance education, online education, interneteducation, student perceptions.

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Authors: Yusri Yusof, Stephen Newman, Aydin Nassehi, Keith Case

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The changing economic climate has made global manufacturing a growing reality over the last decade, forcing companies from east and west and all over the world to collaborate beyond geographic boundaries in the design, manufacture and assemble of products. The ISO10303 and ISO14649 Standards (STEP and STEP-NC) have been developed to introduce interoperability into manufacturing enterprises so as to meet the challenge of responding to production on demand. This paper describes and illustrates a STEP compliant CAD/CAPP/CAM System for the manufacture of rotational parts on CNC turning centers. The information models to support the proposed system together with the data models defined in the ISO14649 standard used to create the NC programs are also described. A structured view of a STEP compliant CAD/CAPP/CAM system framework supporting the next generation of intelligent CNC controllers for turn/mill component manufacture is provided. Finally a proposed computational environment for a STEP-NC compliant system for turning operations (SCSTO) is described. SCSTO is the experimental part of the research supported by the specification of information models and constructed using a structured methodology and object-oriented methods. SCSTO was developed to generate a Part 21 file based on machining features to support the interactive generation of process plans utilizing feature extraction. A case study component has been developed to prove the concept for using the milling and turning parts of ISO14649 to provide a turn-mill CAD/CAPP/CAM environment.

Keywords:

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Authors: A. Roukouni, S. Basbas, M. Giannopoulou

Abstract:

Transport and land use are two systems that are mutually influenced. Their interaction is a complex process associated with continuous feedback. The paper examines the existing land use around an under construction metro station of the new metro network of Thessaloniki, Greece, through the use of field investigations, around the station-s predefined location. Moreover, except from the analytical land use recording, a sampling questionnaire survey is addressed to several selected enterprises of the study area. The survey aims to specify the characteristics of the enterprises, the trip patterns of their employees and clients, as well as the stated preferences towards the changes the new metro station is considered to bring to the area. The interpretation of the interrelationships among selected data from the questionnaire survey takes place using the method of Principal Components Analysis for Categorical Data. The followed methodology and the survey-s results contribute to the enrichment of the relevant bibliography concerning the way the creation of a new metro station can have an impact on the land use pattern of an area, by examining the situation before the operation of the station.

Keywords: land use, metro station, questionnaire survey

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Authors: Victoria L. Nkosi, Parvaneh Farhangpour

Abstract:

Often a Grade 12 certificate is perceived as a passport to tertiary education and the minimum requirement to enter the world of work. In spite of its importance, many students do not make this milestone in South Africa. It is important to find out why so many students still fail in spite of transformation in the education system in the post-apartheid era. Given the complexity of education and its context, this study adopted a case study design to examine one historically underperforming high school in Bushbuckridge, Mpumalanga Province, South Africa in 2013. The aim was to gain a understanding of the inner and outer school contextual factors associated with the high failure rate among Grade 12 students.  Government documents and reports were consulted to identify factors in the district and the village surrounding the school and a student survey was conducted to identify school, home and student factors. The randomly-sampled half of the population of Grade 12 students (53) participated in the survey and quantitative data are analyzed using descriptive statistical methods. The findings showed that a host of factors is at play. The school is located in a village within a municipality which has been one of the poorest three municipalities in South Africa and the lowest Grade 12 pass rate in the Mpumalanga province.   Moreover, over half of the families of the students are single parents, 43% are unemployed and the majority has a low level of education. In addition, most families (83%) do not have basic study materials such as a dictionary, books, tables, and chairs. A significant number of students (70%) are over-aged (+19 years old); close to half of them (49%) are grade repeaters. The school itself lacks essential resources, namely computers, science laboratories, library, and enough furniture and textbooks. Moreover, teaching and learning are negatively affected by the teachers’ occasional absenteeism, inadequate lesson preparation, and poor communication skills. Overall, the continuous low performance of students in this school mirrors the vicious circle of multiple negative conditions present within and outside of the school. The complexity of factors associated with the underperformance of Grade 12 students in this school calls for a multi-dimensional intervention from government and stakeholders. One important intervention should be the placement of over-aged students and grade-repeaters in suitable educational institutions for the benefit of other students.

Keywords: Inner context, outer context, over-aged students, vicious circle.

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Authors: Noor Mohammad

Abstract:

Agriculture is one of the single largest sectors of Bangladesh economy. Bangladesh is an agro based country and predominantly is an agrarian economy. It is the backbone of the economy of Bangladesh. Around 75% of the total population directly or indirectly depends on agriculture and near about 84% of the total population lives in rural areas almost depend on agriculture for livelihood. Agriculture includes the sub-sectors of crop, livestock, forestry and fisheries. The contribution of all sub sectors is around 22.83 percent to national GDP in 2003-2004. The crops sub sector alone contributes 12.94 percent of GDP.

Keywords: Agricultural Governance

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