Search results for: influence of public transport

Authors: M. S. Ahmed, F. A. Mohammad

Abstract:

This paper focuses on the dynamic behavior of reinforced concrete (RC) slabs. Therefore, the theoretical modal analysis was performed using two different types of boundary conditions. Modal analysis method is the most important dynamic analyses. The analysis would be modal case when there is no external force on the structure. By using this method in this paper, the effects of freely and simply supported boundary conditions on the frequencies and mode shapes of RC square slabs are studied. ANSYS software was employed to derive the finite element model to determine the natural frequencies and mode shapes of the slabs. Then, the obtained results through numerical analysis (finite element analysis) would be compared with the exact solution. The main goal of the research study is to predict how the boundary conditions change the behavior of the slab structures prior to performing experimental modal analysis. Based on the results, it is concluded that simply support boundary condition has obvious influence to increase the natural frequencies and change the shape of the mode when it is compared with freely supported boundary condition of slabs. This means that such support conditions have the direct influence on the dynamic behavior of the slabs. Thus, it is suggested to use free-free boundary condition in experimental modal analysis to precisely reflect the properties of the structure. By using free-free boundary conditions, the influence of poorly defined supports is interrupted.

Keywords: Natural frequencies, Mode shapes, Modal analysis, ANSYS software, RC slabs.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3802

Authors: Aqsa Akbar, Waheed Akhter

Abstract:

Job stress is one of the most important concepts for the today-s corporate as well as institutional world. The current study is conducted to identify the causes of faculty stress at Higher Education in Pakistan. For the purpose, Public & Private Business Schools of Punjab is selected as representative of Pakistan. A sample of 300 faculty members (214 males, 86 females) responded to the survey. Regression analysis shows that the Workload, Student Related issues and Role Conflicts are the major sources contributing significantly towards producing stress. The study also revealed that Private sector faculty members experienced more stress as compared to faculty in Public sector Business Schools. Moreover, females, younger ages, lower designation & low qualification faculty members experience more stress as compared to males, older ages, higher designation and high qualification. The study yield many significant results for the policy makers of Business Institutions.

Keywords: Faculty Stress, Higher Education, Stress Coping Strategies, Work Load

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2708

Authors: Jelena Zagorska, Inga Ciprovica

Abstract:

The freezing point of milk is in important indicator of the milk quality. The freezing point of milk is determined primarily to prove milk adulteration with water and to determine the amount of water in it. Chemical composition and properties of milk, thermal treatment and presence of any substance can influence freezing point of product. There are different substances, which can be added to milk with main purpose to prolong shelf-life of raw milk. There are detergent, preservatives, formaldehyde, hydrogen peroxide, antibiotics, sodium carbonate, and hydrogen peroxide. Therefore the aim of the present study was to determine freezing point of milk, skimmed milk, pasteurized milk and milk with different substances (formaldehyde, antibiotics, sodium carbonate, hydrogen peroxide, disinfectant, and detergent) in different concentrations. The thermal treatment and different undesirable substances presence in milk have significant influence on freezing point of it.

Keywords: Antibiotics, freezing point, milk, pH, thermal treatment.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 10320

Authors: Puntani Pongsumpun, I-Ming Tang

Abstract:

The incidences of dengue hemorrhagic disease (DHF) over the long term exhibit a seasonal behavior. It has been hypothesized that these behaviors are due to the seasonal climate changes which in turn induce a seasonal variation in the incubation period of the virus while it is developing the mosquito. The standard dynamic analysis is applied for analysis the Susceptible-Exposed- Infectious-Recovered (SEIR) model which includes an annual variation in the length of the extrinsic incubation period (EIP). The presence of both asymptomatic and symptomatic infections is allowed in the present model. We found that dynamic behavior of the endemic state changes as the influence of the seasonal variation of the EIP becomes stronger. As the influence is further increased, the trajectory exhibits sustained oscillations when it leaves the chaotic region.

Keywords: Chaotic behavior, dengue hemorrhagic fever, extrinsic incubation period, SEIR model.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1744

Authors: Khalid Al Siyabi, Angie Al Habib

Abstract:

To measure or asses any government’s efficiency we need to measure the performance of this government in regards to the quality of the service it provides. Using a technological platform in service provision became a trend and a public demand. It is also a public need to make sure these services are aligned to values and to the whole government’s strategy, vision and goals as well. Providing services using technology tools and channels can enhance the internal business process and also help establish many essential values to government services like transparency and excellence, since in order to establish e-services many standards and policies must be put in place to enable the handing over of decision making to a mature system oriented mechanism. There was no doubt that the Sultanate of Oman wanted to enhance its services and move it towards automation and establishes a smart government as well as links its services to life events. Measuring government efficiency is very essential in achieving social security and economic growth, since it can provide a clear dashboard of all projects and improvements. Based on this data we can improve the strategies and align the country goals to them.

Keywords: Government, Maturity, Oman, Performance, Service.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1779

Authors: Sanjay Baburao Kulkarni

Abstract:

Exact solution of an unsteady flow of elastico-viscous electrically conducting fluid through a porous media in a tube of elliptical cross section under the influence of constant pressure gradient and magnetic field has been obtained in this paper. Initially, the flow is generated by a constant pressure gradient. After attaining the steady state, the pressure gradient is suddenly withdrawn and the resulting fluid motion in a tube of elliptical cross section by taking into account of the transverse magnetic field and porosity factor of the bounding surface is investigated. The problem is solved in twostages the first stage is a steady motion in tube under the influence of a constant pressure gradient, the second stage concern with an unsteady motion. The problem is solved employing separation of variables technique. The results are expressed in terms of a nondimensional porosity parameter (K), magnetic parameter (m) and elastico-viscosity parameter (β), which depends on the Non- Newtonian coefficient. The flow parameters are found to be identical with that of Newtonian case as elastic-viscosity parameter and magnetic parameter tends to zero and porosity tends to infinity. It is seen that the effect of elastico-viscosity parameter, magnetic parameter and the porosity parameter of the bounding surface has significant effect on the velocity parameter.

Keywords: Elastico-viscous fluid, Elliptic cross-section, Porous media, Second order fluids.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1911

Authors: A. G. Temnikov, O. S. Belova, L. L. Chernensky, T. K. Gerastenok, N. Y. Lysov, A. V. Orlov, D. S. Zhuravkova

Abstract:

Hypothesis of the lightning initiation on the arrays of large hydrometeors are in the consideration. There is no agreement about the form the hydrometeors that could be the best for the lightning initiation from the thundercloud. Artificial charged water aerosol clouds of the positive or negative polarity could help investigate the possible influence of the hydrometeor form on the peculiarities and the probability of the lightning discharge initiation between the thundercloud and the ground. Artificial charged aerosol clouds that could create the electric field strength in the range of 5-6 kV/cm to 16-18 kV/cm have been used in experiments. The array of the model hydrometeors of the volume and plate form has been disposed near the bottom cloud boundary. It was established that the different kinds of the discharge could be initiated in the presence of the model hydrometeors array – from the cloud discharges up to the diffuse and channel discharges between the charged cloud and the ground. It was found that the form of the model hydrometeors could significantly influence the channel discharge initiation from the artificial charged aerosol cloud of the negative or positive polarity correspondingly. Analysis and generalization of the experimental results have shown that the maximal probability of the channel discharge initiation and propagation stimulation has been observed for the artificial charged cloud of the positive polarity when the arrays of the model hydrometeors of the cylinder revolution form have been used. At the same time, for the artificial charged clouds of the negative polarity, application of the model hydrometeor array of the plate rhombus form has provided the maximal probability of the channel discharge formation between the charged cloud and the ground. The established influence of the form of the model hydrometeors on the channel discharge initiation and from the artificial charged water aerosol cloud and its following successful propagation has been related with the different character of the positive and negative streamer and volume leader development on the model hydrometeors array being near the bottom boundary of the charged cloud. The received experimental results have shown the possibly important role of the form of the large hail particles precipitated in thundercloud on the discharge initiation.

Keywords: Cloud and channel discharges, hydrometeor form, lightning initiation, negative and positive artificial charged aerosol cloud.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 854

Authors: ER. Yashpaul Singh, A. Swarup

Abstract:

This research paper evaluates and compares the performance of equal cost adaptive multi-path routing algorithms taking the transport protocols TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) and UDP (User Datagram Protocol) using network simulator ns2 and concludes which one is better.

Keywords: Multi-path routing algorithm, Datagram, Virtual Circuit, Throughput, Network services.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1476

Authors: A. Iaaly, O. Jadayel, R. Jadayel

Abstract:

This paper explores the effectiveness of approaches used for the implementation of technology within central governments specifically Geographic Information Systems (GIS). It examines the extent to which various strategies to GIS implementation and its roll out to users within an organization is crucial for its long term assimilation. Depending on the contextual requirements, various implementation strategies exist spanning from the most revolutionary to the most evolutionary, which have an influence on the success of GIS projects and the realization of resulting business benefits within the central governments. This research compares between two strategies of GIS implementation within the Lebanese Municipalities. The first strategy is the “Technological Approach” which is focused on technology acquisition, overlaid on existing governmental frameworks. This approach gives minimal attention to capability building and the long term sustainability of the implemented program. The second strategy, referred to as the “Ecological Approach”, is naturally oriented to the function of the organization. This approach stresses on fostering the evolution of the program and on building the human capabilities. The Union of the Joumeh Municipalities will be presented as a case study under the “Ecological Approach” and the role of the GIS Center at the University of Balamand will be highlighted. Thus, this research contributes to the development of knowledge on technology implementation and the vital role of academia in the specific context of the Lebanese public sector so that this experience may pave the way for further applications.

Keywords: Ecological Approach, GIS, low income countries, technological approach.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1394

Authors: Omar.S. Qaftan, T. T. Sabbagh

Abstract:

This paper studies the free-field response by adopting a flexible membrane container as soil boundary for experimental shaking table tests. The influence of the soil container boundary on the soil behaviour and the dynamic soil properties under seismic effect were examined. A flexible container with 1/50 scale factor was adopted in the experimental tests, including construction, instrumentation, and determination of the results of dynamic tests on a shaking table. Horizontal face displacements and accelerations were analysed to determine the influence of the container boundary on the performance of the soil. The outputs results show that the flexible boundary container allows more displacement and larger accelerations. The soil in a rigid wall container cannot deform as similar as the soil in the real field does. Therefore, the response of flexible container tested is believed to be more reliable for soil boundary than that in the rigid container.

Keywords: Soil, boundary, seismic, earthquake, ground motion.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1077

Authors: A.R.Tahmasebi Birgani, M.Hosseinjani Zamenjani, M.R.Isvandzibaei

Abstract:

Study is on the vibration of thin cylindrical shells made of a functionally gradient material (FGM) composed of stainless steel and nickel is presented. The effects of the FGM configuration are studied by studying the frequencies of FG cylindrical shells. In this case FG cylindrical shell has Nickel on its inner surface and stainless steel on its outer surface. The study is carried out based on third order shear deformation shell theory. The objective is to study the natural frequencies, the influence of constituent volume fractions and the effects of configurations of the constituent materials on the frequencies. The properties are graded in the thickness direction according to the volume fraction power-law distribution. Results are presented on the frequency characteristics, the influence of the constituent various volume fractions on the frequencies.

Keywords: Nickel, Stainless Steel, Cylindrical shell.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1392

Authors: Farzad Yavari, Hamid Chegini, Saeed Lotfi

Abstract:

This paper reviews the comparison of Resin Rich (RR) and Vacuum Pressure Impregnation (VPI) insulation system qualities for stator bar of rotating electrical machines. Voltage endurance and tangent delta are two diagnostic tests to determine the quality of insulation systems. The paper describes the trend of dissipation factor while performing voltage endurance test for different stator bar samples made with RR and VPI insulation system methods. Some samples were made with the same strands and insulation thickness but with different main wall material to prove the influence of insulation system methods on stator bar quality. Also, some of the samples were subjected to voltage at the temperature of their insulation class, and their dissipation factor changes were measured and studied.

Keywords: Vacuum pressure impregnation, resin rich, insulation, stator bar, dissipation factor, voltage endurance.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 560

Authors: M.R.Alinaghizadehand, M.R.Isvandzibaei

Abstract:

Study of the vibration cylindrical shells made of a functionally gradient material (FGM) composed of stainless steel and nickel is important. Material properties are graded in the thickness direction of the shell according to volume fraction power law distribution. The objective is to study the natural frequencies, the influence of constituent volume fractions and the effects of boundary conditions on the natural frequencies of the FG cylindrical shell. The study is carried out using third order shear deformation shell theory. The governing equations of motion of FG cylindrical shells are derived based on shear deformation theory. Results are presented on the frequency characteristics, influence of constituent volume fractions and the effects of clampedclamped boundary conditions.

Keywords: Vibration, FGM, Cylindrical shell, Hamilton's principle.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1510

Authors: Bita Mashayekhi, Marjan Fayyazi, Parisa Sefati

Abstract:

Audit quality is a popular topic in accounting and auditing research because recent decades’ financial crises reduce the reliability of financial reports to public investors and cause significant doubt about the audit profession. Therefore, doing research to identify effective factors in improving audit quality is necessary for bringing back public investors’ trust to financial statements as well as audit reports. In this study, we explore the relationship between audit rotation and audit quality. For this purpose, we employ the Duff (2009) model of audit quality to measure audit quality and use a questionnaire survey of 27 audit service quality attributes. Our results show that there is a negative relationship between auditor’s rotation and audit quality as we consider the auditor’s reputation, capability, assurance, experience, and responsiveness as surrogates for audit quality. There is no evidence for verifying a same relationship when we use the auditor’s independence and expertise for measuring audit quality.

Keywords: Audit quality, auditor’s rotation, reputation, capability, assurance, experience, responsiveness, independence, expertise.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 763

Authors: M.karavanmasjedi, N.Hedayat , A.Rohani, H.Shirin

Abstract:

Sedimentation process resulting from soil erosion in the water basin especially in arid and semi-arid where poor vegetation cover in the slope of the mountains upstream could contribute to sediment formation. The consequence of sedimentation not only makes considerable change in the morphology of the river and the hydraulic characteristics but would also have a major challenge for the operation and maintenance of the canal network which depend on water flow to meet the stakeholder-s requirements. For this reason mathematical modeling can be used to simulate the effective factors on scouring, sediment transport and their settling along the waterways. This is particularly important behind the reservoirs which enable the operators to estimate the useful life of these hydraulic structures. The aim of this paper is to simulate the sedimentation and erosion in the eastern and western water intake structures of the Dez Diversion weir using GSTARS-3 software. This is done to estimate the sedimentation and investigate the ways in which to optimize the process and minimize the operational problems. Results indicated that the at the furthest point upstream of the diversion weir, the coarser sediment grains tended to settle. The reason for this is the construction of the phantom bridge and the outstanding rocks just upstream of the structure. The construction of these along the river course has reduced the momentum energy require to push the sediment loads and make it possible for them to settle wherever the river regime allows it. Results further indicated a trend for the sediment size in such a way that as the focus of study shifts downstream the size of grains get smaller and vice versa. It was also found that the finding of the GSTARS-3 had a close proximity with the sets of the observed data. This suggests that the software is a powerful analytical tool which can be applied in the river engineering project with a minimum of costs and relatively accurate results.

Keywords: Erosion, sedimentation, Dez Diversion weir, GSTARS-3

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1603

Authors: Delaram Jarchi, Reza Boostani

Abstract:

Linear Discrimination Analysis (LDA) is a linear solution for classification of two classes. In this paper, we propose a variant LDA method for multi-class problem which redefines the between class and within class scatter matrices by incorporating a weight function into each of them. The aim is to separate classes as much as possible in a situation that one class is well separated from other classes, incidentally, that class must have a little influence on classification. It has been suggested to alleviate influence of classes that are well separated by adding a weight into between class scatter matrix and within class scatter matrix. To obtain a simple and effective weight function, ordinary LDA between every two classes has been used in order to find Fisher discrimination value and passed it as an input into two weight functions and redefined between class and within class scatter matrices. Experimental results showed that our new LDA method improved classification rate, on glass, iris and wine datasets, in comparison to different versions of LDA.

Keywords: Discriminant vectors, weighted LDA, uncorrelation, principle components, Fisher-face method, Bootstarp method.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1501

Authors: Anne Sørebø

Abstract:

The present study was designed to test how fulfillment of three basic psychological needs influence students development of perceived usefulness (PU) and ease of use (EOU) in connection with use of a spreadsheet. Both PU and EOU are assumed to be critical for development of students' willingness to utilize spreadsheet in future work within business administration. A questionnaire was completed by 196 business students in Norway. We found that satisfying the need for competence and autonomy is most critical for willingness to utilize the software package. The results also indicate that satisfying the need for relatedness, surprisingly, has no influence on students’ willingness to utilize the software package. A key implication of the present research is that teachers mainly should focus on fulfilling students need for competence and self-determination when the purpose is to motivate them to utilize new software. That students’ should develop their own competence when using a new technology is somewhat obvious, but that the feeling of being self-determined needs to be a complementary element in this connection is not necessary seen as obvious.

Keywords: Spreadsheet, business students, technology acceptance, basic psychological needs.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1470

Authors: Sotirios Raptis

Abstract:

Bayesian reasoning (BR) or Linear (Auto) Regression (AR/LR) can predict different sources of data using priors or other data, and can link social service demands in cohorts, while their consideration in isolation (self-prediction) may lead to service misuse ignoring the context. The paper advocates that BR with Binomial (BD), or Normal (ND) models or raw data (.D) as probabilistic updates can be compared to AR/LR to link services in Scotland and reduce cost by sharing healthcare (HC) resources. Clustering, cross-correlation, along with BR, LR, AR can better predict demand. Insurance companies and policymakers can link such services, and examples include those offered to the elderly, and low-income people, smoking-related services linked to mental health services, or epidemiological weight in children. 22 service packs are used that are published by Public Health Services (PHS) Scotland and Scottish Government (SG) from 1981 to 2019, broken into 110 year series (factors), joined using LR, AR, BR. The Primary component analysis found 11 significant factors, while C-Means (CM) clustering gave five major clusters.

Keywords: Bayesian probability, cohorts, data frames, regression, services, prediction.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 177

Authors: Mohan Kotamrazu

Abstract:

Cyclone Hudhud which battered the city of Visakhapatnam on 12^th October, 2014, damaged many buildings, public amenities and infrastructure facilities along the Visakha- Bheemili coastal corridor. More than half the green cover of the city was wiped out. Majority of the trees along the coastal corridor suffered from complete or partial damage. In order to understand the different ways that trees incurred damage during the cyclone, a damage assessment study was carried out by the author. The areas covered by this study included two university campuses, several parks and residential colonies which bore the brunt of the cyclone. Post disaster attempts have been made to restore many of the trees that have suffered from partial or complete damage from the effects of extreme winds. This paper examines the various ways that trees incurred damage from the cyclone Hudhud and presents some examples of the restoration efforts carried out by educational institutions, public parks and religious institutions of the city of Visakhapatnam in the aftermath of the devastating cyclone.

Keywords: Defoliation, restoration, salt spray damage, wind throw.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1819

Authors: Mohd Zaimmudin Mohd Zain, Patsy Perry, Lee Quinn

Abstract:

This study explores how fashion consumers are influenced by fashion bloggers towards pre-purchase decision for online fashion products in a non-Western context. Malaysians rank among the world’s most avid online shoppers, with apparel the third most popular purchase category. However, extant research on fashion blogging focuses on the developed Western market context. Numerous international fashion retailers have entered the Malaysian market from luxury to fast fashion segments of the market; however Malaysian fashion consumers must balance religious and social norms for modesty with their dress style and adoption of fashion trends. Consumers increasingly mix and match Islamic and Western elements of dress to create new styles enabling them to follow Western fashion trends whilst paying respect to social and religious norms. Social media have revolutionised the way that consumers can search for and find information about fashion products. For online fashion brands with no physical presence, social media provide a means of discovery for consumers. By allowing the creation and exchange of user-generated content (UGC) online, they provide a public forum that gives individual consumers their own voices, as well as access to product information that facilitates their purchase decisions. Social media empower consumers and brands have important roles in facilitating conversations among consumers and themselves, to help consumers connect with them and one another. Fashion blogs have become an important fashion information sources. By sharing their personal style and inspiring their followers with what they wear on popular social media platforms such as Instagram, fashion bloggers have become fashion opinion leaders. By creating UGC to spread useful information to their followers, they influence the pre-purchase decision. Hence, successful Western fashion bloggers such as Chiara Ferragni may earn millions of US dollars every year, and some have created their own fashion ranges and beauty products, become judges in fashion reality shows, won awards, and collaborated with high street and luxury brands. As fashion blogging has become more established worldwide, increasing numbers of fashion bloggers have emerged from non-Western backgrounds to promote Islamic fashion styles, such as Hassanah El-Yacoubi and Dian Pelangi. This study adopts a qualitative approach using netnographic content analysis of consumer comments on two famous Malaysian fashion bloggers’ Instagram accounts during January-March 2016 and qualitative interviews with 16 Malaysian Generation Y fashion consumers during September-October 2016. Netnography adapts ethnographic techniques to the study of online communities or computer-mediated communications. Template analysis of the data involved coding comments according to the theoretical framework, which was developed from the literature review. Initial data analysis shows the strong influence of Malaysian fashion bloggers on their followers in terms of lifestyle and morals as well as fashion style. Followers were guided towards the mix and match trend of dress with Western and Islamic elements, for example, showing how vivid colours or accessories could be worked into an outfit whilst still respecting social and religious norms. The blogger’s Instagram account is a form of online community where followers can communicate and gain guidance and support from other followers, as well as from the blogger.

Keywords: Fashion bloggers, Malaysia, qualitative, social media.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2460

Authors: Shidvash Vakilipour, Masoud Mohammadi, Rouzbeh Riazi, Scott Ormiston, Kimia Amiri, Sahar Barati

Abstract:

An essential component of a finite volume method (FVM) is the advection scheme that estimates values on the cell faces based on the calculated values on the nodes or cell centers. The most widely used advection schemes are upwind schemes. These schemes have been developed in FVM on different kinds of structured and unstructured grids. In this research, the physical influence scheme (PIS) is developed for a cell-centered FVM that uses an implicit coupled solver. Results are compared with the exponential differencing scheme (EDS) and the skew upwind differencing scheme (SUDS). Accuracy of these schemes is evaluated for a lid-driven cavity flow at Re = 1000, 3200, and 5000 and a backward-facing step flow at Re = 800. Simulations show considerable differences between the results of EDS scheme with benchmarks, especially for the lid-driven cavity flow at high Reynolds numbers. These differences occur due to false diffusion. Comparing SUDS and PIS schemes shows relatively close results for the backward-facing step flow and different results in lid-driven cavity flow. The poor results of SUDS in the lid-driven cavity flow can be related to its lack of sensitivity to the pressure difference between cell face and upwind points, which is critical for the prediction of such vortex dominant flows.

Keywords: Cell-centered finite volume method, physical influence scheme, exponential differencing scheme, skew upwind differencing scheme, false diffusion.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1063

Authors: Azaz Zaman, Mirazur Rahman

Abstract:

Capital market is a crucial financial market place where companies and the government can raise long-term funds and, at the same time, investors get the opportunity to invest in the listed companies. Capital markets play a vital role not only in shifting the funds from surplus entity to deficit for investment, but also in the overall economic development of any developing country like Bangladesh. Being the first and biggest capital market of Bangladesh, Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) is the prime bourse of the country. The differences in the investment preference— among three broad categories of investors in DSE including individual investors, institutional investors, and government— are easily observed. Authors of this article have used five categories of investors such as sponsors or directors of the company, institutional investors, foreign investors, government, and the general public in order to present a comparative analysis of their investment patterns. Obtaining data on the percentage of investment by these five types of investors in different sectors from the DSE website, this study aims to analyze the sector-wise investment preference of these investors using August 2018 data. The study has found that the sponsors or directors of the company have the highest percentage of investment in the textile industry which is close to 16%. The Bangladesh government, as an investor, has the highest percentage of investment in the fuel & power sector, approximately 32%. It has also found that the mutual funds' sector is mostly financed by institutional investors, nearly 28%. Foreign investors have their most investments in the banking sector, which is close to 22%. It has also revealed that the textile sector is mostly financed by the general public, close to 17%. Nevertheless, general public, surprisingly, has the lowest percentage of investment in the telecommunication sector, which is 0.10%.

Keywords: Stock market investment, Dhaka stock exchange, capital market, Bangladesh.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 868

Authors: Wann-Ming Wey

Abstract:

In recent years, in addition to face the external threats such as energy shortages and climate change, traffic congestion and environmental pollution have become anxious problems for many cities. Considering private automobile-oriented urban development had produced many negative environmental and social impacts, the transit-oriented development (TOD) has been considered as a sustainable urban model. TOD encourages public transport combined with friendly walking and cycling environment designs, however, non-motorized modes help improving human health, energy saving, and reducing carbon emissions. Due to environmental changes often affect the planners’ decision-making; this research applies dynamic network process (DNP) which includes the time dependent concept to promoting friendly walking and cycling environmental designs as an advanced planning support system for environment improvements.

This research aims to discuss what kinds of design strategies can improve a friendly walking and cycling environment under TOD. First of all, we collate and analyze environment designing factors by reviewing the relevant literatures as well as divide into three aspects of “safety”, “convenience”, and “amenity” from fifteen environment designing factors. Furthermore, we utilize fuzzy Delphi Technique (FDT) expert questionnaire to filter out the more important designing criteria for the study case. Finally, we utilized DNP expert questionnaire to obtain the weights changes at different time points for each design criterion. Based on the changing trends of each criterion weight, we are able to develop appropriate designing strategies as the reference for planners to allocate resources in a dynamic environment. In order to illustrate the approach we propose in this research, Taipei city as one example has been used as an empirical study, and the results are in depth analyzed to explain the application of our proposed approach.

Keywords: Environment Planning Support Systems, Walking and Cycling, Transit-oriented Development (TOD), Dynamic Network Process (DNP).

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1829

Authors: Yasmin Z. Murad, Haneen M. Abdl-Jabbar

Abstract:

An experimental program is conducted in this research to investigate the influence of basalt fibers and steel fibers on the flexural behavior of RC beams. Reinforced concrete beams are constructed using steel fiber concrete and basalt fiber concrete. Steel and basalt fibers are included in a percentage of 15% and 2.5% of the total cement weight, respectively. Test results have shown that basalt fibers have increased the load carrying capacity of the beams up to 30% and the maximum deflection to almost 2.4 times that measured in the control specimen. It has also shown that steel fibers have increased the load carrying capacity of the beams up to 47% and the ultimate deflection is almost duplicated compared to the control beam. Steel and basalt fibers have increased the ductility of the reinforced concrete beams.

Keywords: Basalt fiber, steel fiber, reinforced concrete beams, flexural behavior.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 688

Authors: Provides Ng

Abstract:

Platform economy is a peer-to-peer model of distributing resources facilitated by community-based digital platforms. In recent years, digital platforms are rapidly reconfiguring the public realm using hyper-personalisation techniques. This paper aims at investigating how urban planning can leapfrog into the digital age to help relieve the rising tension of the global issue of labour flow; it discusses the means to transfer techniques of hyper-personalisation into urban planning for plasticity using platform technologies. This research first denotes the limitations of the current system of urban residency, where the system maintains itself on the circulation of documents, which are data on paper. Then, this paper tabulates how some of the institutions around the world, both public and private, digitise data, and streamline communications between a network of systems and citizens using platform technologies. Subsequently, this paper proposes ways in which hyper-personalisation can be utilised to form a digital planning platform. Finally, this paper concludes by reviewing how the proposed strategy may help to open up new ways of thinking about how we affiliate ourselves with cities.

Keywords: Platform urbanism, hyper-personalisation, urban residency, digital data.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 640

Authors: Frank Emmert Streib, Matthias Dehmer, Gökhan H. Bakır, Max Mühlhauser

Abstract:

In this paper we investigate the influence of external noise on the inference of network structures. The purpose of our simulations is to gain insights in the experimental design of microarray experiments to infer, e.g., transcription regulatory networks from microarray experiments. Here external noise means, that the dynamics of the system under investigation, e.g., temporal changes of mRNA concentration, is affected by measurement errors. Additionally to external noise another problem occurs in the context of microarray experiments. Practically, it is not possible to monitor the mRNA concentration over an arbitrary long time period as demanded by the statistical methods used to learn the underlying network structure. For this reason, we use only short time series to make our simulations more biologically plausible.

Keywords: Dynamic Bayesian networks, structure learning, gene networks, Markov chain Monte Carlo, microarray data.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1593

Authors: Silva, Fátima, Fernandes, Paula Odete

Abstract:

The future of Higher Education Institutions (HEI) depend on their ability to attract and retain students, increase recognition and prestige. In order to respond to the 'customers' increasingly demanding, HEI need to identify the key factors that influence the satisfaction of a 'customers', thereby creating competitive advantages. These determinants of satisfaction are important elements that guide the strategy of an institution and allow the successful achievement of strategic plans, both teaching and administrative, to offer their ‘costumers’ services and products with higher quality. Following this way of thinking, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the satisfaction with the service quality of the School of Technology and Management of Bragança (ESTiG), of the Polytechnic Institute of Bragança, identifying, thus, the dimensions related to the quality of services that might influence students' satisfaction. The results showed that, in general, the students are satisfied with the performance of ESTiG.

Keywords: Customer Satisfaction, Higher Education Institutions, Importance-Satisfaction Model.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2844

Authors: W. Afef, A. Mohamed Ammar, G. Kamel, O. Ahmed

Abstract:

In the present study, a numerical approach to describe the pyrolysis of a single solid particle of wood is used to study the influence of various conditions such as particle size, heat transfer coefficient, reactor temperature and heating rate. The influence of these parameters in the change of the duration of the pyrolysis cycle was studied. Mathematical modeling was employed to simulate the heat, mass transfer, and kinetic processes inside the reactor. The evolutions of the mass loss as well as the evolution of temperature inside the thick piece are investigated numerically. The elaborated model was also employed to study the effect of the reactor temperature and the rate of heating on the change of the temperature and the local loss of the mass inside the piece of wood. The obtained results are in good agreement with the experimental data available in the literature.

Keywords: Wood, Pyrolysis, Modeling, Convective heat transfer, Kinetic.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1355

Authors: Khawtar Hasan Ahmed, Sasha Omanovic

Abstract:

Polarization modulation infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (PM-IRRAS) in combination with electrochemistry, was employed to study the influence of surface charge (potential) on the kinetics of bovine serum albumin (BSA) adsorption on a biomedical-grade 316LVM stainless steel surface is discussed. The BSA adsorption kinetics was found to greatly depend on the surface potential. With an increase in surface potential towards more negative values, both the BSA initial adsorption rate and the equilibrium (saturated) surface concentration also increased. Both effects were explained on the basis of replacement of well-ordered water molecules at the 316LVM / solution interface, i.e. by the increase in entropy of the system.

Keywords: adsorption, biomedical grade stainless steel, bovine serum albumin (BSA), electrode surface potential / charge, kinetics, PM-IRRAS, protein/surface interactions

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1946

Authors: Kawpong Polyorat

Abstract:

Since the outbreak of mad cow disease and bird flu, consumers have become more concerned with meat quality and safety. As a result, meat traceability is adopted as one approach to handle consumers’ concern in this issue. Nevertheless, in Thailand, meat traceability is rarely used as a marketing tool to persuade consumers. As a consequence, the present study attempts to understand consumer trust in the meat traceability system by conducting a study in this country to examine the impact of three types of consumer knowledge on this trust. The study results reveal that out of three types of consumer knowledge, marketplace knowledge was the sole predictor of consumer trust in meat traceability and it has a positive influence. General product class knowledge and knowledge in meat products with traceability, however, did not significantly influence consumer trust. The research results provide several implications and directions for future study.

Keywords: Consumer knowledge, marketing, product knowledge, traceability.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1069