Search results for: environmental planning

Authors: H. Al-Baghli, F. Al-Asfour

Abstract:

The current applied asphalt technology for Kuwait roads pavement infrastructure is the hot mix asphalt (HMA) pavement, including both pen grade and polymer modified bitumen (PMBs), that is produced and compacted at high temperature levels ranging from 150 to 180 °C. There are no current specifications for warm and cold mix asphalts in Kuwait’s Ministry of Public Works (MPW) asphalt standard and specifications. The process of the conventional HMA is energy intensive and directly responsible for the emission of greenhouse gases and other environmental hazards into the atmosphere leading to significant environmental impacts and raising health risk to labors at site. Warm mix asphalt (WMA) technology, a sustainable alternative preferred in multiple countries, has many environmental advantages because it requires lower production temperatures than HMA by 20 to 40 °C. The reduction of temperatures achieved by WMA originates from multiple technologies including foaming and chemical or organic additives that aim to reduce bitumen and improve mix workability. This paper presents a literature review of WMA technologies and techniques followed by an experimental study aiming to compare the results of produced WMA samples, using a water containing additive (foaming process), at different compaction temperatures with the HMA control volumetric properties mix designed in accordance to the new MPW’s specifications and guidelines.

Keywords: Warm-mix asphalt, water-bearing additives, foaming-based process, chemical additives, organic additives.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 480

Authors: Kamel Khoualdi, Radia Benghezal

Abstract:

Research in distributed artificial intelligence and multiagent systems consider how a set of distributed entities can interact and coordinate their actions in order to solve a given problem. In this paper an overview of this concept and its evolution is presented particularly its application in the design of intelligent tutoring systems. An intelligent tutor based on the concept of agent and centered specifically on the design of a pedagogue agent is illustrated. Our work has two goals: the first one concerns the architecture aspect and the design of a tutor using multiagent approach. The second one deals particularly with the design of a part of a tutor system: the pedagogue agent.

Keywords: Intelligent tutoring systems, Multiagent systems, Pedagogue agent, Planning.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1473

Authors: Porntip Ruengtam

Abstract:

This article is an extension of previous research presenting the relevant factors related to environmental perceptions, residential community, and the design of a healing environment, which have effects on the well-being and requirements of Thai elderly. Research methodology began with observations and interviews in three case studies in terms of the management processes and environment design of similar existing projects in Thailand. The interview results were taken to summarize with related theories and literature. A questionnaire survey was designed for data collection to confirm the factors of requirements in a residential community intended for the Thai elderly. A structural equation model (SEM) was formulated to explain the cause-effect factors for the requirements of a residential community for Thai elderly. The research revealed that the requirements of a residential community for Thai elderly were classified into three groups when utilizing a technique for exploratory factor analysis. The factors were comprised of (1) requirements for general facilities and activities, (2) requirements for facilities related to health and security, and (3) requirements for facilities related to physical exercise in the residential community. The results from the SEM showed the background of elderly people had a direct effect on their requirements for a residential community from various aspects. The results should lead to the formulation of policies for design and management of residential communities for the elderly in order to enhance quality of life as well as both the physical and mental health of the Thai elderly.

Keywords: Elderly, environmental design, residential community, structural equation modeling.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 883

Authors: Bujar Ismaili, Bahti Ismajli, Venhar Ismaili, Skender Ramadani

Abstract:

In Kosovo, the problem with the electricity supply is huge and it does not meet the demands of consumers. Older thermal power plants, which are regarded as big environmental polluters, produce most of the energy. Our experiment is based on the production of electricity using the closed method that does not affect environmental pollution by using waste as fuel that is considered to pollute the environment. The experiment was carried out in the village of Godanc, municipality of Shtime, Kosovo. In the experiment, a production line based on the production of electricity and central heating was designed at the same time. The results are the benefits of electricity as well as the release of temperature for heating with minimal expenses and with the release of 0% gases into the atmosphere. During this experiment, coal, plastic, waste from wood processing, and agricultural wastes were used as raw materials. The method utilized in the experiment allows for the release of gas through pipes and filters during the top-to-bottom combustion of the raw material in the boiler, followed by the method of gas filtration from waste wood processing (sawdust). During this process, the final product, gas, is obtained. This gas passes through the carburetor, enabling the combustion process to put the internal combustion machine and the generator into operation and produce electricity that does not release gases into the atmosphere. The results show that the system provides energy stability without environmental pollution from toxic substances and waste, as well as with low production costs. From the final results, it follows that, in the case of using coal fuel, we have benefited from more electricity and higher temperature release, followed by plastic waste, which also gave good results. The results obtained during these experiments prove that the current problems of lack of electricity and heating can be met at a lower cost and have a clean environment and waste management.

Keywords: Energy, heating, atmosphere, waste management, gasification.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 179

Authors: Vahid Rostami, Saeed Ebrahimijam, P.khajehpoor, P.Mirzaei, Mahdi Yousefiazar

Abstract:

This paper introduces our first efforts of developing a new team for RoboCup Middle Size Competition. In our robots we have applied omni directional based mobile system with omnidirectional vision system and fuzzy control algorithm to navigate robots. The control architecture of MRL middle-size robots is a three layered architecture, Planning, Sequencing, and Executing. It also uses Blackboard system to achieve coordination among agents. Moreover, the architecture should have minimum dependency on low level structure and have a uniform protocol to interact with real robot.

Keywords: Robocup, Soccer robots, Fuzzy controller, Multi agent.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1543

Authors: Reza Bazargan Lari, Mohammad H. Fattahi

Abstract:

Natural resources management including water resources requires reliable estimations of time variant environmental parameters. Small improvements in the estimation of environmental parameters would result in grate effects on managing decisions. Noise reduction using wavelet techniques is an effective approach for preprocessing of practical data sets. Predictability enhancement of the river flow time series are assessed using fractal approaches before and after applying wavelet based preprocessing. Time series correlation and persistency, the minimum sufficient length for training the predicting model and the maximum valid length of predictions were also investigated through a fractal assessment.

Keywords: Wavelet, de-noising, predictability, time series fractal analysis, valid length, ANN.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2036

Authors: C. Tung, P.-L. Tso

Abstract:

This paper presents a complete procedure for tool path planning and blade machining in 5-axis manufacturing. The actual cutting contact and cutter locations can be determined by lead and tilt angles. The tool path generation is implemented by piecewise curved approximation and chordal deviation detection. An application about drive surface method promotes flexibility of tool control and stability of machine motion. A real manufacturing process is proposed to separate the operation into three regions with five stages and to modify the local tool orientation with an interactive algorithm.

Keywords: 5-axis machining, tool orientation, lead and tilt angles, tool path generation.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2238

Authors: J. Fenianos, C. Khater, D. Brouillet

Abstract:

Ecological projects are often faced with reluctance from local communities hosting the project, especially when this project involves variation from preset ideas or classical practices. This paper aims at appreciating the contribution of environmental psychology through cognitive flexibility exercises to improve the acceptability of local communities in adopting more ecological rehabilitation scenarios. The study is based on a quarry site located in Bekaa- Lebanon. Four groups were considered with different levels of involvement, as follows: Group 1 is Training (T) – 50 hours of on-site training over 8 months, Group 2 is Awareness (A) – 2 hours of awareness raising session, Group 3 is Flexibility (F) – 2 hours of flexibility exercises and Group 4 is the Control (C). The results show that individuals in Group 3 (F) who followed flexibility sessions accept comparably the ecological rehabilitation option over the more classical one. This is also the case for the people in Group 1 (T) who followed a more time-demanding “on-site training”. Another experience was conducted on a second quarry site combining flexibility with awareness-raising. This research confirms that it is possible to reduce resistance to change thanks to a limited in-time intervention using cognitive flexibility. This methodological approach could be transferable to other environmental problems involving local communities and changes in preset perceptions.

Keywords: Acceptability, ecological restoration, environmental psychology, Lebanon, local communities, resistance to change.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1255

Authors: Majdi M. Alomari, Nafesah I. Alshdaifat, Mohammad S. Widyan

Abstract:

Different countries have introduced different schemes and policies to counter global warming. The rationale behind the proposed policies and the potential barriers to successful implementation of the policies adopted by the countries were analyzed and estimated based on different models. It is argued that these models enhance the transparency and provide a better understanding to the policy makers. However, these models are underpinned with several structural and baseline assumptions. These assumptions, modeling features and future prediction of emission reductions and other implication such as cost and benefits of a transition to a low-carbon economy and its economy wide impacts were discussed. On the other hand, there are potential barriers in the form political, financial, and cultural and many others that pose a threat to the mitigation options.

Keywords: Economic wide impact, energy models, environmental policy instruments, mitigating CO2 emission.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1529

Authors: M. Das Gupta, S. Banerjee

Abstract:

Content Based Image Retrieval (CBIR) coupled with Case Based Reasoning (CBR) is a paradigm that is becoming increasingly popular in the diagnosis and therapy planning of medical ailments utilizing the digital content of medical images. This paper presents a survey of some of the promising approaches used in the detection of abnormalities in retina images as well in mammographic screening and detection of regions of interest in MRI scans of the brain. We also describe our proposed algorithm to detect hard exudates in fundus images of the retina of Diabetic Retinopathy patients.

Keywords: Case based reasoning, Exudates, Retina image, Similarity based retrieval.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2099

Authors: Christian Meinecke, Bernd Scholz-Reiter

Abstract:

The integrated problem of production and distribution scheduling is relevant in many industrial applications. Thus, many heuristics to solve this integrated problem have been developed in the last decade. Most of these heuristics use a sequential working principal or a single decomposition and integration approach to separate and solve subproblems. A heuristic using a multi step decomposition and integration approach is presented in this paper and evaluated in a case study. The result show significant improved results compared with sequential scheduling heuristics.

Keywords: Production and outbound distribution, integrated planning, heuristic, decomposition and integration.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2447

Authors: Adriana Alexandru, Cristian Tantareanu, Elena Jitaru

Abstract:

The paper presents the potential for RES in Romania and the results of the Romanian national research project “Romania contribution to the European targets regarding the development of renewable energy sources - PROMES". The objective of the project is the development of energy generation from renewable energy sources (RES) in Romania by drawing up scenarios and prognosis harmonized with national and European targets, RES development effects modeling (environmental, economic, social etc.), research of the impact of the penetration of RES into the main, implementation of an advanced software system tool for RES information recording and communication, experimental research based on demonstrative applications. The expected results are briefly presented, as well as the social, economic and environmental impact.

Keywords: Energy policy, Internet, renewable energy sources, potential.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1450

Authors: Waqqas-ur-Rehman Butt, Martin Servin, Marion Pause

Abstract:

In recent years, object detection has gained much attention and very encouraging research area in the field of computer vision. The robust object boundaries detection in an image is demanded in numerous applications of human computer interaction and automated surveillance systems. Many methods and approaches have been developed for automatic object detection in various fields, such as automotive, quality control management and environmental services. Inappropriately, to the best of our knowledge, object detection under illumination with shadow consideration has not been well solved yet. Furthermore, this problem is also one of the major hurdles to keeping an object detection method from the practical applications. This paper presents an approach to automatic object detection in images under non-standardized environmental conditions. A key challenge is how to detect the object, particularly under uneven illumination conditions. Image capturing conditions the algorithms need to consider a variety of possible environmental factors as the colour information, lightening and shadows varies from image to image. Existing methods mostly failed to produce the appropriate result due to variation in colour information, lightening effects, threshold specifications, histogram dependencies and colour ranges. To overcome these limitations we propose an object detection algorithm, with pre-processing methods, to reduce the interference caused by shadow and illumination effects without fixed parameters. We use the Y CrCb colour model without any specific colour ranges and predefined threshold values. The segmented object regions are further classified using morphological operations (Erosion and Dilation) and contours. Proposed approach applied on a large image data set acquired under various environmental conditions for wood stack detection. Experiments show the promising result of the proposed approach in comparison with existing methods.

Keywords: Image processing, Illumination equalization, Shadow filtering, Object detection, Colour models, Image segmentation.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 996

Authors: Chrysoula Karathanasi, Senad Karavdic, Angela Odero, Michèle Baumann

Abstract:

It is not only the economic determinants that impact on life conditions, but maintaining a good level of life satisfaction (LS) may also be an important challenge currently. In Luxembourg, university students receive financial aid from the government. They are then registered at the Centre for Documentation and Information on Higher Education (CEDIES). Luxembourg is built on migration with almost half its population consisting of foreigners. It is upon this basis that our research aims to analyze the associations with mental health factors (health satisfaction, psychological quality of life, worry), perceived financial situation, career attitudes (adaptability, optimism, knowledge, planning) and LS, for non-Luxembourgish and native postgraduate students. Between 2012 and 2013, postgraduates registered at CEDIES were contacted by post and asked to participate in an online survey with either the option of English or French. The study population comprised of 644 respondents. Our statistical analysis excluded: those born abroad who had Luxembourgish citizenship, or those born in Luxembourg who did not have citizenship. Two groups were formed one consisting 147 non-Luxembourgish and the other 284 natives. A single item measured LS (1=not at all satisfied to 10=very satisfied). Bivariate tests, correlations and multiple linear regression models were used in which only significant relationships (p<0.05) were integrated. Among the two groups no differences were found between LS indicators (7.8/10 non-Luxembourgish; 8.0/10 natives) as both were higher than the European indicator of 7.2/10 (for 25-34 years). In the case of non-Luxembourgish students, they were older than natives (29.3 years vs. 26.3 years) perceived their financial situation as more difficult, and a higher percentage of their parents had an education level higher than a Bachelor's degree (father 59.2% vs 44.6% for natives; mother 51.4% vs 33.7% for natives). In addition, the father’s education was related to the LS of postgraduates and the higher was the score, the greater was the contribution to LS. Whereas for native students, when their scores of health satisfaction and career optimism were higher, their LS’ score was higher. For both groups their LS was linked to mental health-related factors, perception of their financial situation, career optimism, adaptability and planning. The higher the psychological quality of life score was, the greater the LS of postgraduates’ was. Good health and positive attitudes related to the job market enhanced their LS indicator.

Keywords: Career attitudes, fathers’ education level, life satisfaction, mental health.

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

Authors: Rawinun Praserttaweelap, Somyot Kiatwanidvilai

Abstract:

Obstacle avoidance is the one key for the robot system in unknown environment. The robots should be able to know their position and safety region. This research starts on the path planning which are SLAM and AMCL in ROS system. In addition, the best parameters of the obstacle avoidance function are required. In situation on Hard Disk Drive Manufacturing, the distance between robots and obstacles are very serious due to the manufacturing constraint. The simulations are accomplished by the SLAM and AMCL with adaptive velocity and safety region calculation.

Keywords: Obstacle avoidance, simultaneous localization and mapping, adaptive Monte Carlo localization, KLD sampling.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 459

Authors: Giovanni Incerti

Abstract:

The motion planning procedure described in this paper has been developed in order to eliminate or reduce the residual vibrations of electromechanical positioning systems, without augmenting the motion time (usually imposed by production requirements), nor introducing overtime for vibration damping. The proposed technique is based on a suitable choice of the motion law assigned to the servomotor that drives the mechanism. The reference profile is defined by a Bezier curve, whose shape can be easily changed by modifying some numerical parameters. By means of an optimization technique these parameters can be modified without altering the continuity conditions imposed on the displacement and on its time derivatives at the initial and final time instants.

Keywords: Servomechanism, residual vibrations, motion optimization.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1390

Authors: L. Chaussy, M. Nouvel

Abstract:

Workload of the system engineers during Integration Validation Verification process of Electronic Warfare Systems (EWS) is growing with complexity of the systems and with the diversity of tested cases (diversity of operational scenario in front of EWS). Even if the use of Digital Twin makes easier conception and development phases in term of planning and test equipment availability, time to analyze tests results is still too long and too complex. The idea to reduce the system engineer’s workload and improve test coverage is to introduce some intelligent and aid-analysis algorithms to improve this step.

Keywords: Analysis tools, automatic testing, digital twin, electronic warfare system.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 345

Authors: Kho Mei Ye, Hamzah Abdul Rahman

Abstract:

This paper provides some thoughts about the lack of attentiveness of building commissioning in the construction industry and the lack of handling in project commissioning as an integral part of the project life-cycle. Many have perceived commissioning as the problem solving process of a project, rather than the start up of the equipment, or the handing over of the project to the client. Therefore, there is a lack of proper attention in the planning of commissioning as a vital part of the project life-cycle. This review paper aims to highlight the benefits of building commissioning and to propose the lacking of knowledge gap on building commissioning. Finally, this paper hopes to propose the shift of focus on this matter in future research.

Keywords: building, commissioning, construction, delay

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2129

Authors: Zhiyong Li, Zhigang Chen, Chao Fu, Shipeng Zhang

Abstract:

Load forecasting has always been the essential part of an efficient power system operation and planning. A novel approach based on support vector machines is proposed in this paper for annual power load forecasting. Different kernel functions are selected to construct a combinatorial algorithm. The performance of the new model is evaluated with a real-world dataset, and compared with two neural networks and some traditional forecasting techniques. The results show that the proposed method exhibits superior performance.

Keywords: combinatorial algorithm, data mining, load forecasting, support vector machines

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1620

Authors: Peter Takáč, Dana Šimová, Terézia Szabová, Tomáš Bakalár

Abstract:

The direct sewage sludge application is a relative cheap method for their liquidation. In the past heavy metal contents increase in soils treated with sewage sludge was observed. In 2003 there was acceptance on act n.188/2003 about sewage sludge application on soils. The basic philosophy of act is a safety of the environmental proof of sludge application on soils. The samples of soils from wastewater treatment plant (WTP) Poprad (35) and WTP Michalovce (33 samples) were analyzed which were chosen for sludge application on soils. According to the results only 14 areas for Poprad and 25 areas for Michalovce are suitable for sludge application according to act No. 188/2003. The application dose of sludge was calculated 50 t.ha-1 or 75 t. ha-1 once in 5 years to ensure that heavy metal contents in treated soils will be kept.

Keywords: Environmental safety, heavy metals in soils, sewagesludge application.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1354

Authors: Li Wu

Abstract:

Plant ecological stoichiometry, which is one of the most important tools to connect the components among different levels of ecosystem, has obtained increasingly extensive concern, especially on its responses to the environmental gradients. Based on the published literatures and datasets, this article focused on reviewing the variable responses of plant foliar ecological stoichiometry to the climatic factors, such as temperature, water, elevated CO₂, and found that foliar ecological stoichiometry responded dynamically to climatic variations among different regions and different growth forms. Then, research status and deficiency were summarized and the expectation on studying the relationships between plant C, N and P ecological stoichiometry and environmental variations which can provide a reference to understand how plants will respond to global change in the future was pointed out.

Keywords: Climatic variations, terrestrial plant, foliar ecological stoichiometry, temperature, precipitation, drought, elevated CO2.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 726

Authors: A. Ramachandran

Abstract:

Nowadays there is a growing environmental concern and the business communities have slowly started recognising environmental protection and sustainable utilization of natural resources into their marketing strategies. This paper discusses the various Ecolabeling and Certification Systems developed world over to regulate and introduce Fair Trade in Ornamental Fish Industry. Ecolabeling and green certification are considered as part of these strategies implemented partly out of compulsion from the National and International Regulatory Bodies and Environmental Movements. All the major markets of ornamental fishes like European Union, USA and Japan have started putting restrictions on the trade to impose ecolabeling as a non tariff barrier like the one imposed on seafood and aqua cultured products. A review was done on the available Ecolabeling and Green Certification Schemes available at local, national and international levels for fisheries including aquaculture and ornamental fish trade and to examine the success and constraints faced by these schemes during its implementation. The primary downside of certification is the multiplicity of ecolabels and cost incurred by applicants for certification, costs which may in turn be passed on to consumers. The studies reveal serious inadequacies in a number of ecolabels and cast doubt on their overall contribution to effective fisheries management and sustainability. The paper also discusses the inititive taken in India to develop guidelines for Green Certification of Fresh water ornamental fishes.

Keywords: Ecolabeling in fisheries, Fair trade, Green Certification, Sustainable Ornamental fish trade.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2567

Authors: Shirin Shafaei, James R. Bolton, Mohamed Gamal El Din

Abstract:

Ultraviolet (UV) disinfection causes damage to the DNA or RNA of microorganisms, but many microorganisms can repair this damage after exposure to near-UV or visible wavelengths (310–480 nm) by a mechanism called photoreactivation. Photoreactivation is gaining more attention because it can reduce the efficiency of UV disinfection of wastewater several hours after treatment. The focus of many photoreactivation research activities on the single species has caused a considerable lack in knowledge about complex natural communities of microorganisms and their response to UV treatment. In this research, photoreactivation experiments were carried out on the influent of the UV disinfection unit at a municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in Edmonton, Alberta after exposure to a Medium-Pressure (MP) UV lamp system to evaluate the effect of environmental factors on photoreactivation of microorganisms in the actual municipal wastewater. The effect of reactivation fluence, temperature, and river water on photoreactivation of total coliforms was examined under indoor conditions. The results showed that higher effective reactivation fluence values (up to 20 J/cm²) and higher temperatures (up to 25 °C) increased the photoreactivation of total coliforms. However, increasing the percentage of river in the mixtures of the effluent and river water decreased the photoreactivation of the mixtures. The results of this research can help the municipal wastewater treatment industry to examine the environmental effects of discharging their effluents into receiving waters.

Keywords: Photoreactivation, reactivation fluence, river water, temperature, ultraviolet disinfection, wastewater effluent.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1384

Authors: Y. J. Huang, C. H. Chang

Abstract:

In this paper, an intelligent automatic parking control method is proposed. First, the dynamical equation of the rear parking control is derived. Then a fuzzy logic control is proposed to perform the parking planning process. Further, a rear neural network is proposed for the steering control. Through the simulations and experiments, the intelligent auto-parking mode controllers have been shown to achieve the demanded goals with satisfactory control performance and to guarantee the system robustness under parametric variations and external disturbances. To improve some shortcomings and limitations in conventional parking mode control and further to reduce consumption time and prime cost.

Keywords: Auto-parking system, Fuzzy control, Neural network, Robust

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1838

Authors: Alaa Tag Eldin Mohamed

Abstract:

The environmental, cultural, social, and technological changes have led higher education institutes to question their traditional roles. Many declarations and frameworks highlight the importance of fulfilling social responsibility of higher education institutes. The study aims at developing a framework of university social responsibility and sustainability (USR&S) with focus on South Valley University (SVU) as a case study of Egyptian Universities. The study used meetings with 12 vice deans of community services and environmental affairs on social responsibility and environmental issues. The proposed framework integrates social responsibility with strategic management through the establishment and maintenance of the vision, mission, values, goals and management systems; elaboration of policies; provision of actions; evaluation of services and development of social collaboration with stakeholders to meet current and future needs of the community and environment. The framework links between different stakeholders internally and externally using communication and reporting tools. The results show that SVU integrates social responsibility and sustainability in its strategic plans. It has policies and actions however fragmented and lack of appropriate structure and budgeting. The proposed framework could be valuable for researchers and decision makers of the Egyptian Universities. The study proposed recommendations and highlighted building on the results and conducting future research.

Keywords: Corporate social responsibility (CSR), South Valley University, Sustainable University, university social responsibility and sustainability (USR&S).

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 4074

Authors: Vishal Naranje, Shailendra Kumar

Abstract:

Metal stamping die design is a complex, experiencebased and time-consuming task. Various artificial intelligence (AI) techniques are being used by worldwide researchers for stamping die design to reduce complexity, dependence on human expertise and time taken in design process as well as to improve design efficiency. In this paper a comprehensive review of applications of AI techniques in manufacturability evaluation of sheet metal parts, die design and process planning of metal stamping die is presented. Further the salient features of major research work published in the area of metal stamping are presented in tabular form and scope of future research work is identified.

Keywords: Artificial Intelligence, Die design, ManufacturabilityEvaluation, Metal Stamping Die.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3818

Authors: Lobat Taghavi, Najaf Hedayat

Abstract:

Renewable water resources are crucial production variables in arid and semi-arid regions where intensive agriculture is practiced to meet ever-increasing demand for food and fiber. This is crucial for the Dez and Moghan command areas where water delivery problems and adverse environmental issues are widespread. This paper aims to identify major problems areas using on-farm surveys of 200 farmers, agricultural extensionists and water suppliers which was complemented by secondary data and field observations during 2010- 2011 cultivating season. The SPSS package was used to analyze and synthesis data. Results indicated inappropriate canal operations in both schemes, though there was no unanimity about the underlying causes. Inequitable and inflexible distribution was found to be rooted in deficient hydraulic structures particularly in the main and secondary canals. The inadequacy and inflexibility of water scheduling regime was the underlying causes of recurring pest and disease spread which often led to the decline of crop yield and quality, although these were not disputed, the water suppliers were not prepared to link with the deficiencies in the operation of the main and secondary canals. They rather attributed these to the prevailing salinity; alkalinity, water table fluctuations and leaching of the valuable agro-chemical inputs from the plants- route zone with farreaching consequences. Examples of these include the pollution of ground and surface resources due to over-irrigation at the farm level which falls under the growers- own responsibility. Poor irrigation efficiency and adverse environmental problems were attributed to deficient and outdated farming practices that were in turn rooted in poor extension programs and irrational water charges.

Keywords: water delivery, inequity, inflexibility, conflicts, environmental impact, Dez and Moghan

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1502

Authors: Nwobu Obiamaka, Owolabi Akintola

Abstract:

This study examined the extent of statistical significant difference between the economic, environmental, governance and social aspects of sustainability reporting as a result of board committee on sustainability and time (year) of reporting for business organizations in the Nigerian banking sector. The years of reporting under consideration were 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013. Content analysis methodology was employed through a reporting index used to score the amount of economic, environmental, governance and social indicators of sustainability reporting. The results of this study indicated that business organizations with board committee on sustainability had more indicators of sustainability reporting than those without board committees on sustainability issues. Also, sustainability reporting in 2013 was higher than that of prior years (2012, 2011 and 2010) for the economic, environmental and social indicators. The governance indicators of 2012 was highest compared to the other years (2013, 2011 and 2010) under consideration in this study. The implication of this finding is that business organizations that have board committees on sustainability are monitored by such boards to report more to their stakeholders. On the other hand, business organizations are appreciating the need to engage in sustainability reporting with each passing year. This could be due to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Sustainability Reporting framework that business organizations in the banking sector have to adhere to. When sustainability issues are monitored from the board of directors, business organizations are likely to increase and improve on their sustainability reporting.

Keywords: Governance, organizations, reporting, sustainability.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2067

Authors: V. K. Banga, Jasjit Kaur, R. Kumar, Y. Singh

Abstract:

In this research paper we have presented control architecture for robotic arm movement and trajectory planning using Fuzzy Logic (FL) and Genetic Algorithms (GAs). This architecture is used to compensate the uncertainties like; movement, friction and settling time in robotic arm movement. The genetic algorithms and fuzzy logic is used to meet the objective of optimal control movement of robotic arm. This proposed technique represents a general model for redundant structures and may extend to other structures. Results show optimal angular movement of joints as result of evolutionary process. This technique has edge over the other techniques as minimum mathematics complexity used.

Keywords: Kinematics, Genetic algorithms (GAs), Fuzzy logic(FL), Optimal control.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2972

Authors: V. L. M. F. Capellini, A. P. P. M. Maturana, N. C. M. Brondino, M. B. C. L. B. M. Peixoto, A. J. Broughton

Abstract:

A paradigm shift is a process. The process of implementing inclusive education, a system constructed to support all learners, requires planning, identification, experimentation, and evaluation. In this vein, the purpose of the present study was to evaluate the capacity of one Brazilian state school systems to provide special education students with a quality inclusive education. This study originated at the behest of concerned families of students with special needs who filed complaints with the Municipality of Bauru, São Paulo. These families claimed, 1) children with learning differences and educational needs had not been identified for services, and 2) those who had been identified had not received sufficient specialized educational assistance (SEA) in schools across the City of Bauru. Hence, the Office of Civil Rights for the state of São Paulo (Ministério Público de São Paulo) summoned the local higher education institution, UNESP, to design a research study to investigate these allegations. In this exploratory study, descriptive data were gathered from all elementary and middle schools including 58 state schools and 17 city schools, for a total of 75 schools overall. Data collection consisted of each school's annual strategic action plan, surveys and interviews with all school stakeholders to determine their perceptions of the inclusive education available to students with Special Education Needs (SEN). The data were collected as one of four stages in a larger study which also included field observations of a focal students' experience and a continuing education course for all teachers and administrators in both state and city schools. For the purposes of this study, the researchers were interested in understanding the perceptions of school staff, parents, and students across all schools. Therefore, documents and surveys from 75 schools were analyzed for adherence to federal legislation guaranteeing students with SEN the right to special education assistance within the regular school setting. Results shows that while some schools recognized the legal rights of SEN students to receive special education, the plans to actually deliver services were absent. In conclusion, the results of this study revealed both school staff and families have insufficient planning and accessibility resources, and the schools have inadequate infrastructure for full-time support to SEN students, i.e., structures and systems to support the identification of SEN and delivery of services within schools of Bauru, SP. Having identified the areas of need, the city is now prepared to take next steps in the process toward preparing all schools to be inclusive.

Keywords: Inclusive education, special education, special needs.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 991