Search results for: Smart energy management systems

Authors: Abdul Basit Kiani, Maryam Kiani

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The art of web development in new technologies is a dynamic journey, shaped by the constant evolution of tools and platforms. With the emergence of JavaScript frameworks and APIs, web developers are empowered to craft web applications that are not only robust but also highly interactive. The aim is to provide an overview of the developments in the field. The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) has opened new horizons in web development. Chatbots, intelligent recommendation systems, and personalization algorithms have become integral components of modern websites. These AI-powered features enhance user engagement, provide personalized experiences, and streamline customer support processes, revolutionizing the way businesses interact with their audiences. Lastly, the emphasis on web security and privacy has been a pivotal area of progress. With the increasing incidents of cyber threats, web developers have implemented robust security measures to safeguard user data and ensure secure transactions. Innovations such as HTTPS protocol, two-factor authentication, and advanced encryption techniques have bolstered the overall security of web applications, fostering trust and confidence among users. Hence, recent progress in web development has propelled the industry forward, enabling developers to craft innovative and immersive digital experiences. From responsive design to AI integration and enhanced security, the landscape of web development continues to evolve, promising a future filled with endless possibilities.

Keywords: Web development, software testing, progressive web apps, web and mobile native application.

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Authors: K. Rusnakova, D. Gerych, M. Stehlik

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Postural stability is a complex process involving actions of biomechanical, motor, sensory and central nervous system components. Numerous joint systems, muscles involved, the complexity of sporting movements and situations require perfect coordination of the body's movement patterns. To adapt to a constantly changing situation in such a dynamic environment as physical performance, optimal input of information from visual, vestibular and somatosensory sensors are needed. Combat soldiers are required to perform physically and mentally demanding tasks in adverse conditions, and poor postural stability has been identified as a risk factor for lower extremity musculoskeletal injury. The aim of this study is to investigate whether some personality traits are related to the performance of static postural stability among soldiers of combat troops. NEO personality inventory (NEO-PI-R) was used to identify personality traits and the Nintendo Wii Balance Board was used to assess static postural stability of soldiers. Postural stability performance was assessed by changes in center of pressure (CoP) and center of gravity (CoG). A posturographic test was performed for 60 s with eyes opened during quiet upright standing. The results showed that facets of neuroticism and conscientiousness personality traits were significantly correlated with measured parameters of CoP and CoG. This study can help for better understanding the relationship between personality traits and static postural stability. The results can be used to optimize the training process at the individual level.

Keywords: Neuroticism, conscientiousness, postural stability, combat troops.

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Authors: Yuko Hiramatsu, Fumihiro Sato, Atsushi Ito, Hiroyuki Hatano, Mie Sato, Yu Watanabe, Akira Sasaki

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This paper presents a mobile phone application developed for sightseeing in Nikko, one of the cultural world heritages in Japan, using the BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) beacon. Based on our pre-research, we decided to design our application for young people who walk around the area actively, but know little about the tradition and culture of Nikko. One solution is to construct many information boards to explain; however, it is difficult to construct new guide plates in cultural world heritage sites. The smartphone is a good solution to send such information to such visitors. This application was designed using a combination of the smartphone and beacons, set in the area, so that when a tourist passes near a beacon, the application displays information about the area including a map, historical or cultural information about the temples and shrines, and local shops nearby as well as a bus timetable. It is useful for foreigners, too. In addition, we developed quizzes relating to the culture and tradition of Nikko to provide information based on the Zeigarnik effect, a psychological effect. According to the results of our trials, tourists positively evaluated the basic information and young people who used the quiz function were able to learn the historical and cultural points. This application helped young visitors at Nikko to understand the cultural elements of the site. In addition, this application has a function to send notifications. This function is designed to provide information about the local community such as shops, local transportation companies and information office. The application hopes to also encourage people living in the area, and such cooperation from the local people will make this application vivid and inspire young visitors to feel that the cultural heritage site is still alive today. This is a gateway for young people to learn about a traditional place and understand the gravity of preserving such areas.

Keywords: BLE beacon, smartphone application, Zeigarnik effect, world heritage site, school trip.

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Authors: T. Moremedi, L. Katata-Seru, S. Sardar, A. Bandyopadhyay, E. Makhado, M. Joseph Hato

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The rapid industrialisation and population growth have led to a steady fall in freshwater supplies worldwide. As a result, water systems are affected by modern methods upon use due to secondary contamination. The application of novel adsorbents derived from natural polymer holds a great promise in addressing challenges in water treatment. In this study, the UV irradiation technique was used to prepare acrylamide (AAm) monomer, and acrylic acid (AA) monomer grafted xanthan gum (XG) copolymer. Furthermore, the factors affecting rhodamine B (RhB) adsorption from aqueous media, such as pH, dosage, concentration, and time were also investigated. The FTIR results confirmed the formation of graft copolymer by the strong vibrational bands at 1709 cm^-1 and 1612 cm^-1 for AA and AAm, respectively. Additionally, more irregular, porous and wrinkled surface observed from SEM of XG-g-AAm/AA indicated copolymerization interaction of monomers. The optimum conditions for removing RhB dye with a maximum adsorption capacity of 313 mg/g at 25 ⁰C from aqueous solution were pH approximately 5, initial dye concentration = 200 ppm, adsorbent dose = 30 mg. Also, the detailed investigation of the isothermal and adsorption kinetics of RhB from aqueous solution showed that the adsorption of the dye followed a Freundlich model (R² = 0.96333) and pseudo-second-order kinetics. The results further indicated that this absorbent based on XG had the universality to remove dye through the mechanism of chemical adsorption. The outstanding adsorption potential of the grafted copolymer could be used to remove cationic dyes from aqueous solution as a low-cost product.

Keywords: Xanthan gum, adsorbents, rhodamine B, Freundlich model.

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Authors: Dominik Krimpmann

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Cloud computing has provided the impetus for change in the demand, sourcing, and consumption of IT-enabled services. The technology developed from an emerging trend towards a ‘musthave’. Many organizations harnessed on the quick-wins of cloud computing within the last five years but nowadays reach a plateau when it comes to sustainable savings and performance. This study aims to investigate what is needed from an organizational perspective to make cloud computing a sustainable success. The study was carried out in Germany among senior IT professionals, both in management and delivery positions. Our research shows that IT executives must be prepared to realign their IT workforce to sustain the advantage of cloud computing for today and the near future. While new roles will undoubtedly emerge, roles alone cannot ensure the success of cloud deployments. What is needed is a change in the IT workforce’s business behaviour, or put more simply, the ways in which the IT personnel works. It gives clear guidance on which dimensions of an employees’ working behaviour need to be adapted. The practical implications are drawn from a series of semi-structured interviews, resulting in a high-level workforce enablement plan. Lastly, it elaborates on tools and gives clear guidance on which pitfalls might arise along the proposed workforce enablement process.

Keywords: Cloud Computing, Organization Design, Organizational Change, Workforce Enablement.

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Authors: Khaled S. Abdallah, Abdel-Aziz M. Mohamed

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Moving industries consume numerous resources and dispose masses of used packaging materials. Proper sorting, recycling and disposing the packaging materials is necessary to avoid a sever pollution disaster. This research paper presents a conceptual model to propose sustainable truck rental operations instead of the regular one. An optimization model was developed to select the locations of truck rental centers, collection sites, maintenance and repair sites, and identify the rental fees to be charged for all routes that maximize the total closed supply chain profits. Fixed costs of vehicle purchasing, costs of constructing collection centers and repair centers, as well as the fixed costs paid to use disposal and recycling centers are considered. Operating costs include the truck maintenance, repair costs as well as the cost of recycling and disposing the packing materials, and the costs of relocating the truck are presented in the model. A mixed integer model is developed followed by a simulation model to examine the factors affecting the operation of the model.

Keywords: Modeling, truck rental, supply chains management, simulation.

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Authors: Liang Wang, Wei Zhang

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Nowadays sustainable development has increasingly become an important research topic of engineering education all over the world. Engineering Education for Sustainable Development (EESD) highlighted the importance of addressing sustainable development in engineering practice. However, whether and how the professional engineering learning and experience affect those perceptions is an interesting research topic especially in Chinese context. Our study fills this gap by investigating perceptions bias of EESD among first-grade engineering students, fourth-grade engineering students and experienced engineers using a triple-dimensional model. Our goal is to find the effect of engineering learning and experience on sustainable development and make these learning and experiences more accessible for students and engineers in school and workplace context. The data (n = 138) came from a Likert questionnaire based on the triple-dimensional model of EESD adopted from literature reviews and the data contain 48 first-grade students, 56 fourth-grade students and 34 engineers with rich working experience from Environmental Engineering, Energy Engineering, Chemical Engineering and Civil Engineering in or graduated from Zhejiang University, China. One-way ANOVA analysis was used to find the difference in different dimensions among the three groups. The statistical results show that both engineering students and engineers have a well understanding of sustainable development in ecology dimension of EESD while there are significant differences among three groups as to the socio-economy and value rationality dimensions of EESD. The findings provide empirical evidence that both engineering learning and professional engineering experience are helpful to cultivate the cognition and perception of sustainable development in engineering education. The results of this work indicate that more practical content should be added to students’ engineering education while more theoretical content should be added to engineers’ training in order to promote the engineering students’ and engineers’ perceptions of sustainable development. In addition, as to the design of engineering courses and professional practice system for sustainable development, we should not only pay attention to the ecological aspects, but also emphasize the coordination of ecological, socio-economic and human-centered sustainable development (e.g., engineer's ethical responsibility).

Keywords: Engineering education, sustainable development, experienced engineers, engineering students.

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Authors: Osama Al-Sehail

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This paper argues for sustainability as a necessity in the evolution of tall architecture. It provides a different mode for dealing with sustainability in tall architecture, taking into consideration the speciality of its typology. To this end, the article develops a Biomimetic Structural Form as a paradigm to attain Vital Sustainability. A Biomimetic Structural Form, which is derived from the amalgamation of biomimicry as an approach for sustainability defining nature as source of knowledge and inspiration in solving humans’ problems and a Structural Form as a catalyst for evolving tall architecture, is a dynamic paradigm emerging from a conceptualizing and morphological process. A Biomimetic Structural Form is a flow system whose different forces and functions tend to be “better”, more "fit", to “survive”, and to be efficient. Through geometry and function—the two aspects of knowledge extracted from nature—the attributes of the Biomimetic Structural Form are formulated. Vital Sustainability is the survival level of sustainability in natural systems through which a system enhances the performance of its internal working and its interaction with the external environment. A Biomimetic Structural Form, in this context, is a medium for evolving tall architecture to emulate natural models in their ways of coexistence with the environment. As an integral part of this article, the sustainable super tall building 3Ts is discussed as a case study of applying Biomimetic Structural Form.   

Keywords: Biomimicry, design in nature, high-rise buildings, sustainability, structural form, tall architecture, vital sustainability.

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Authors: Mohammad Reza Mobinipouya, Zahra Barzegar

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Accurate and comprehensive thermodynamic properties of pure and mixture of refrigerants are in demand by both producers and users of these materials. Information about thermodynamic properties is important initially to qualify potential candidates for working fluids in refrigeration machinery. From practical point of view, Refrigerants and refrigerant mixtures are widely used as working fluids in many industrial applications, such as refrigerators, heat pumps, and power plants The present work is devoted to evaluating seven cubic equations of state (EOS) in predicting gas and liquid phase volumetric properties of nine ozone-safe refrigerants both in super and sub-critical regions. The evaluations, in sub-critical region, show that TWU and PR EOS are capable of predicting PVT properties of refrigerants R32 within 2%, R22, R134a, R152a and R143a within 1% and R123, R124, R125, TWU and PR EOS's, from literature data are 0.5% for R22, R32, R152a, R143a, and R125, 1% for R123, R134a, and R141b, and 2% for R124. Moreover, SRK EOS predicts PVT properties of R22, R125, and R123 to within aforementioned errors. The remaining EOS's predicts volumetric properties of this class of fluids with higher errors than those above mentioned which are at most 8%.In general, the results are in favor of the preference of TWU and PR EOS over other remaining EOS's in predicting densities of all mentioned refrigerants in both super and sub critical regions. Typically, this refrigerant is known to offer advantages such as ozone depleting potential equal to zero, Global warming potential equal to 140, and no toxic.

Keywords: Refrigerant, cooling systems, Sub-CriticalRegions, volumetric properties, efficiency.

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Authors: Yveta Pohnětalová, Veronika Nováková, Lucie Hrašová

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The paper presents the results of research in which we were looking for common characteristics of the family environment of students alternative and innovative education systems. Topicality comes from the fact that nowadays in the Czech Republic there are several civic and parental initiatives held with the aim to establish schools for their children. The goal of our research was to reveal key aspects of these families and to identify their common indicators. Among other things, we were interested what reasons lead parents to decide to enroll their child into different education than standard (common). The survey was qualitative and there were eighteen respondents of parents of alternative schools´ pupils. The reason to implement qualitative design was the opportunity to gain deeper insight into the essence of phenomena and to obtain detailed information, which would become the basis for subsequent quantitative research. There have been semi structured interviews done with the respondents which had been recorded and transcribed. By an analysis of gained data (categorization and by coding), we found out that common indicator of our respondents is higher education and higher economic level. This issue should be at the forefront of the researches because there is lack of analysis which would provide a comparison of common and alternative schools in the Czech Republic especially with regard to quality of education. Based on results, we consider questions whether approaches of these parents towards standard education come from their own experience or from the lack of knowledge of current goals and objectives of education policy of the Czech Republic.

Keywords: Alternative schools, family environment, quality of education, parents´ approach.

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Authors: Sahila Chopra, Hemdeep, Arshdeep Kaur, Raj K. Gupta

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In recent times, we noticed an interesting and important role of non-coplanar degree-of-freedom (Φ = 00) in heavy ion reactions. Using the dynamical cluster-decay model (DCM) with Φ degree-of-freedom included, we have studied three compound systems 246Bk∗, 164Yb∗ and 105Ag∗. Here, within the DCM with pocket formula for nuclear proximity potential, we look for the effects of including compact, non-coplanar configurations (Φc = 00) on the non-compound nucleus (nCN) contribution in total fusion cross section σfus. For 246Bk∗, formed in 11B+235U and 14N+232Th reaction channels, the DCM with coplanar nuclei (Φc = 00) shows an nCN contribution for 11B+235U channel, but none for 14N+232Th channel, which on including Φ gives both reaction channels as pure compound nucleus decays. In the case of 164Yb∗, formed in 64Ni+100Mo, the small nCN effects for Φ=00 are reduced to almost zero for Φ = 00. Interestingly, however, 105Ag∗ for Φ = 00 shows a small nCN contribution, which gets strongly enhanced for Φ = 00, such that the characteristic property of PCN presents a change of behaviour, like that of a strongly fissioning superheavy element to a weakly fissioning nucleus; note that 105Ag∗ is a weakly fissioning nucleus and Psurv behaves like one for a weakly fissioning nucleus for both Φ = 00 and Φ = 00. Apparently, Φ is presenting itself like a good degree-of-freedom in the DCM.

Keywords: Dynamical cluster-decay model, fusion cross sections, non-compound nucleus effects, non-coplanarity.

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Authors: Branislav Timotijevic, Yves Petremand, Markus Luetzelschwab, Dara Bayat, Laurent Aebi

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Optical miniaturized sensors with remote readout are required devices for the monitoring in harsh electromagnetic environments. As an example, in turbo and hydro generators, excessively high vibrations of the end-windings can lead to dramatic damages, imposing very high, additional service costs. A significant change of the generator temperature can also be an indicator of the system failure. Continuous monitoring of vibrations, temperature, humidity, and gases is therefore mandatory. The high electromagnetic fields in the generators impose the use of non-conductive devices in order to prevent electromagnetic interferences and to electrically isolate the sensing element to the electronic readout. Metal-free sensors are good candidates for such systems since they are immune to very strong electromagnetic fields and given the fact that they are non-conductive. We have realized miniature optical accelerometer and temperature sensors for a remote sensing of the harsh environments using the common, inexpensive silicon Micro Electro-Mechanical System (MEMS) platform. Both devices show highly linear response. The accelerometer has a deviation within 1% from the linear fit when tested in a range 0 – 40 g. The temperature sensor can provide the measurement accuracy better than 1 °C in a range 20 – 150 °C. The design of other type of sensors for the environments with high electromagnetic interferences has also been discussed.

Keywords: Accelerometer, harsh environment, optical MEMS, pressure sensor, remote sensing, temperature sensor.

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Authors: Konstantinos C. Giotopoulos, Christos E. Alexakos, Grigorios N. Beligiannis, Spiridon D.Likothanassis

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In this contribution an innovative platform is being presented that integrates intelligent agents and evolutionary computation techniques in legacy e-learning environments. It introduces the design and development of a scalable and interoperable integration platform supporting: I) various assessment agents for e-learning environments, II) a specific resource retrieval agent for the provision of additional information from Internet sources matching the needs and profile of the specific user and III) a genetic algorithm designed to extract efficient information (classifying rules) based on the students- answering input data. The agents are implemented in order to provide intelligent assessment services based on computational intelligence techniques such as Bayesian Networks and Genetic Algorithms. The proposed Genetic Algorithm (GA) is used in order to extract efficient information (classifying rules) based on the students- answering input data. The idea of using a GA in order to fulfil this difficult task came from the fact that GAs have been widely used in applications including classification of unknown data. The utilization of new and emerging technologies like web services allows integrating the provided services to any web based legacy e-learning environment.

Keywords: Bayesian Networks, Computational Intelligencetechniques, E-learning legacy systems, Service Oriented Integration, Intelligent Agents, Genetic Algorithms.

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Authors: A. G. Margaryan

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Ability of adaptation of the organism is considered as an important component of health in maintaining relative dynamic constancy of the hemostasis and functioning of all organs and systems. Among the various forms of adaptation (individual, species and mental), social adaptation of the organism has a particular role. The aim of this study was to evaluate the subjective perception of social factors, social welfare and the level of adaptability of Armenian physicians. The survey involved 2,167 physicians (592 men and 1,575 women). According to the survey, most physicians (75.1%) were married. It was found that 88.6% of respondents had harmonious family relationships, 7.6% of respondents – tense relationships, and 1.0% – marginal relationships. The results showed that the average monthly salary with all premium payments amounted to 88 263.6±5.0 drams, and 16.7% of physicians heavily relied on the material support of parents or other relatives. Low material welfare was also confirmed by the analysis of the living conditions. Analysis of the results showed that the degree of subjective perception of social factors of different specialties averaged 11.3±3.1 points, which corresponds to satisfactory results (a very good result – 4.0 points). The degree of social adaptation of physicians on average makes 4.13±1.9 points, which corresponds to poor results (allowable less than 3.0 points). The distribution of the results of social adaptation severity revealed that the majority of physicians (58.6%) showed low social adaptation, average social adaptation is observed in 22.4% of the physicians and high adaptation – in only 17.4% of physicians. In conclusions, the findings of this study suggest that the degree of social adaptation of currently practicing physicians is low.

Keywords: Physician's health, social adaptation, social factor, social health.

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Authors: Zahra Hatami, Hesham Ali, David Volkman

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Selecting a portfolio for investing is a crucial decision for individuals and legal entities. In the last two decades, with economic globalization, a stream of financial innovations has rushed to the aid of financial institutions. The importance of selecting stocks for the portfolio is always a challenging task for investors. This study aims to create a financial network to identify optimal portfolios using network centralities metrics. This research presents a community detection technique of superior stocks that can be described as an optimal stock portfolio to be used by investors. By using the advantages of a network and its property in extracted communities, a group of stocks was selected for each of the various time periods. The performance of the optimal portfolios was compared to the famous index. Their Sharpe ratio was calculated in a timely manner to evaluate their profit for making decisions. The analysis shows that the selected potential portfolio from stocks with low centrality measurement can outperform the market; however, they have a lower Sharpe ratio than stocks with high centrality scores. In other words, stocks with low centralities could outperform the S&P500 yet have a lower Sharpe ratio than high central stocks.

Keywords: Portfolio management performance, network analysis, centrality measurements, Sharpe ratio.

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Authors: I. Tiryakioglu, M. A. Ugur, C. Ozkaymak

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The development of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) technology has led to increasingly widely and successful applications of GNSS surveys for monitoring crustal movements. Instead of the multi-period GNSS solutions, this study utilizes GNSS time series that are required to more precisely determine the vertical deformations in the study area. In recent years, the surface deformations that are parallel and semi-parallel to Bolvadin fault have occurred in Western Anatolia. These surface deformations have continued to occur in Bolvadin settlement area that is located mostly on alluvium ground. Due to these surface deformations, a number of cracks in the buildings located in the residential areas and breaks in underground water and sewage systems have been observed. In order to determine the amount of vertical surface deformations, two continuous GNSS stations have been established in the region. The stations have been operating since 2015 and 2017, respectively. In this study, GNSS observations from the mentioned two GNSS stations were processed with GAMIT/GLOBK (GNSS Analysis Massachusetts Institute of Technology/GLOBal Kalman) program package to create coordinate time series. With the time series analyses, the GNSS stations’ behaviour models (linear, periodical, etc.), the causes of these behaviours, and mathematical models were determined. The study results from the time series analysis of these two 2 GNSS stations show approximately 50-90 mm/yr vertical movement.

Keywords: Bolvadin fault, GAMIT, GNSS time series, surface deformations.

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Authors: Marzena Świgoń

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Nowadays, graduates should be prepared for serious challenges in the internal and external labor market. The notion that a degree is a “passport to employment” has been relegated to the past. In the last few years a phenomenon in the form of the increasing unemployment of highly educated young people in EU countries, including Poland has been observed. Empirical studies were conducted among Polish students in the scope of the so-called self-perceived employability review. In this study, a special scale was used which consisted of 19 statements regarding five components: student’s perception of university; field of study; self-belief; state of the external labor market; and, personal knowledge management. The respondent group consisted of final-year master’s students of International Relations at the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Poland. The findings of the empirical studies were compiled using statistical methods: descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. In general, in light of the conducted studies, the self-perceived employability of the Polish students was not high. Limitations of the studies were discussed, as well as the implications for future research in the scope of the students’ employability.

Keywords: Self-perceived employability, students of international relations, university education.

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Authors: Papon Thamvasupong, Kwanchanok Viravaidya-Pasuwat

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Osteoarthritis affects a lot of people worldwide. Local injection of glucosamine is one of the alternative treatment methods to replenish the natural lubrication of cartilage. However, multiple injections can potentially lead to possible bacterial infection. Therefore, a drug delivery system is desired to reduce the frequencies of injections. A hydrogel is one of the delivery systems that can control the release of drugs. Thermo-reversible hydrogels can be beneficial to the drug delivery system especially in the local injection route because this formulation can change from liquid to gel after getting into human body. Once the gel is in the body, it will slowly release the drug in a controlled manner. In this study, various formulations of Pluronic-based hydrogels were synthesized for the controlled release of glucosamine. One of the challenges of the Pluronic controlled release system is its fast dissolution rate. To overcome this problem, alginate and calcium sulfate (CaSO₄) were added to the polymer solution. The characteristics of the hydrogels were investigated including the gelation temperature, gelation time, hydrogel dissolution and glucosamine release mechanism. Finally, a mathematical model of glucosamine release from Pluronic-alginate-hyaluronic acid hydrogel was developed. Our results have shown that crosslinking Pluronic gel with alginate did not significantly extend the dissolution rate of the gel. Moreover, the gel dissolution profiles and the glucosamine release mechanisms were best described using the zeroth-order kinetic model, indicating that the release of glucosamine was primarily governed by the gel dissolution.

Keywords: Controlled release, drug delivery system, glucosamine, Pluronic® F-127, thermoreversible hydrogel.

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Authors: Kurniawan D. Irianto, Demetres D. Kouvatsos

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The growth of wireless devices affects the availability of limited frequencies or spectrum bands as it has been known that spectrum bands are a natural resource that cannot be added. Meanwhile, the licensed frequencies are idle most of the time. Cognitive radio is one of the solutions to solve those problems. Cognitive radio is a promising technology that allows the unlicensed users known as secondary users (SUs) to access licensed bands without making interference to licensed users or primary users (PUs). As cloud computing has become popular in recent years, cognitive radio networks (CRNs) can be integrated with cloud platform. One of the important issues in CRNs is security. It becomes a problem since CRNs use radio frequencies as a medium for transmitting and CRNs share the same issues with wireless communication systems. Another critical issue in CRNs is performance. Security has adverse effect to performance and there are trade-offs between them. The goal of this paper is to investigate the performance related to security trade-off in CRNs with supporting cloud platforms. Furthermore, Queuing Network Models with preemptive resume and preemptive repeat identical priority are applied in this project to measure the impact of security to performance in CRNs with or without cloud platform. The generalized exponential (GE) type distribution is used to reflect the bursty inter-arrival and service times at the servers. The results show that the best performance is obtained when security is disabled and cloud platform is enabled.

Keywords: Cloud Platforms, Cognitive Radio Networks, GEtype Distribution, Performance Vs Security.

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Authors: Satish Kumar Peddapelli

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This paper presents advances in pulse width modulation techniques which refers to a method of carrying information on train of pulses and the information be encoded in the width of pulses. Pulse Width Modulation is used to control the inverter output voltage. This is done by exercising the control within the inverter itself by adjusting the ON and OFF periods of inverter. By fixing the DC input voltage we get AC output voltage. In variable speed AC motors the AC output voltage from a constant DC voltage is obtained by using inverter. Recent developments in power electronics and semiconductor technology have lead improvements in power electronic systems. Hence, different circuit configurations namely multilevel inverters have became popular and considerable interest by researcher are given on them. A fast space-vector pulse width modulation (SVPWM) method for five-level inverter is also discussed. In this method, the space vector diagram of the five-level inverter is decomposed into six space vector diagrams of three-level inverters. In turn, each of these six space vector diagrams of three-level inverter is decomposed into six space vector diagrams of two-level inverters. After decomposition, all the remaining necessary procedures for the three-level SVPWM are done like conventional two-level inverter. The proposed method reduces the algorithm complexity and the execution time. It can be applied to the multilevel inverters above the five-level also. The experimental setup for three-level diode-clamped inverter is developed using TMS320LF2407 DSP controller and the experimental results are analyzed.

Keywords: Five-level inverter, Space vector pulse wide modulation, diode clamped inverter.

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Authors: Sawsan J. Al-Husseini

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Transformational leadership (TL) has been found to have an important influence on knowledge and knowledge management (KM). It can contribute to organizational learning, employees’ creativity, encourage followers to participate in educational programs and develop the skills needed to achieve exceptional performance. This research sought to examine the impact of TL on knowledge donating and collecting and the differences between these impacts in public and private higher education institutes (HEIs) in Iraq. A mixed method approach was taken and 580 valid responses were collected to test the causal relationships between the factors, then 12 interviews were conducted with the leaders of HEIs to give more insight of the findings from quantitative stage. Employing structural equation modelling with AMOS v.24, the research found that TL would be ideal in an educational context, promoting knowledge sharing activities in both sectors. The interviews revealed differences between public and private HEIs in terms of the effects relationships. Guidelines are developed for academics as well as leaders and provided evidence to support the use of TL to encourage knowledge sharing activities within higher education in developing countries particularly Iraq.

Keywords: Transformational leadership, knowledge sharing, higher education, multi-groups.

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Authors: Amid Ranjkesh, Milan Ambrožič, Samo Kralj

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We study the typical domain size and configuration character of a randomly perturbed system exhibiting continuous symmetry breaking. As a model system we use rod-like objects within a cubic lattice interacting via a Lebwohl–Lasher-type interaction. We describe their local direction with a headless unit director field. An example of such systems represents nematic LC or nanotubes. We further introduce impurities of concentration p, which impose the random anisotropy field-type disorder to directors. We study the domain-type pattern of molecules as a function of p, anchoring strength w between a neighboring director and impurity, temperature, history of samples. In simulations we quenched the directors either from the random or homogeneous initial configuration. Our results show that a history of system strongly influences: i) the average domain coherence length; and ii) the range of ordering in the system. In the random case the obtained order is always short ranged (SR). On the contrary, in the homogeneous case, SR is obtained only for strong enough anchoring and large enough concentration p. In other cases, the ordering is either of quasi long range (QLR) or of long range (LR). We further studied memory effects for the random initial configuration. With increasing external ordering field B either QLR or LR is realized.

Keywords: Lebwohl-Lasher model, liquid crystals, disorder, memory effect, orientational order.

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Authors: Sujing Wang, Song Wang, Jian Zhang, Qiang Xu

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Flaring emissions during abnormal operating conditions such as plant start-ups, shut-downs, and upsets in chemical process industries (CPI) are usually significant. Flare minimization can help to save raw material and energy for CPI plants, and to improve local environmental sustainability. In this paper, a systematic methodology based on plant-wide dynamic simulation is presented for CPI plant flare minimizations under abnormal operating conditions. Since off-specification emission sources are inevitable during abnormal operating conditions, to significantly reduce flaring emission in a CPI plant, they must be either recycled to the upstream process for online reuse, or stored somewhere temporarily for future reprocessing, when the CPI plant manufacturing returns to stable operation. Thus, the off-spec products could be reused instead of being flared. This can be achieved through the identification of viable design and operational strategies during normal and abnormal operations through plant-wide dynamic scheduling, simulation, and optimization. The proposed study includes three stages of simulation works: (i) developing and validating a steady-state model of a CPI plant; (ii) transiting the obtained steady-state plant model to the dynamic modeling environment; and refining and validating the plant dynamic model; and (iii) developing flare minimization strategies for abnormal operating conditions of a CPI plant via a validated plant-wide dynamic model. This cost-effective methodology has two main merits: (i) employing large-scale dynamic modeling and simulations for industrial flare minimization, which involves various unit models for modeling hundreds of CPI plant facilities; (ii) dealing with critical abnormal operating conditions of CPI plants such as plant start-up and shut-down. Two virtual case studies on flare minimizations for start-up operation (over 50% of emission savings) and shut-down operation (over 70% of emission savings) of an ethylene plant have been employed to demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed study.

Keywords: Flare minimization, large-scale modeling and simulation, plant shut-down, plant start-up.

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Authors: Mouna Benfssahi, Zoubir El Felsoufi

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For many enterprises, the delocalization of a part or the totality of their supply chain to low cost countries is the best way to reduce costs and remain competitive against the growing globalized market. This new tendency is driven by logistics advantages, as well as, financial and tax discount offered by the host countries. The objective of this article is to examine the new financial challenges introduced by the project of base erosion and profits shifting (BEPS), published in 2015, and also their impact on the decision of delocalization. In fact, the strategy adopted by multinational firms for determining the transfer price (TP) of goods and services, as well as the shared amount of revenues and expenses have a major impact upon group profit and may contribute to divergent results. In order to get more profit, a coherent decision of delocalization should be based on an evaluation of all the operational and financial characteristics associated with such movement. Therefore, it is interesting to model these new constraints and integrate them in a more global decision model. The established model will enable to measure how much these financial constraints impact the decision of delocalization and will give new helpful directives for enterprise managers.

Keywords: Delocalization, intragroup transaction, multinational firms, optimization model, supply chain management, transfer pricing.

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Authors: Burcu Akyildiz, Cigdem Kadaifci, Y. Ilker Topcu, Burc Ulengin

Abstract:

In today’s business environment, companies should  make strategic decisions to gain sustainable competitive advantage.  Order selection is a crucial issue among these decisions especially for  steel production industry. When the companies allocate a high  proportion of their design and production capacities to their ongoing  projects, determining which customer order should be chosen among  the potential orders without exceeding the remaining capacity is the  major critical problem. In this study, it is aimed to identify and  prioritize the evaluation factors for the customer order selection  problem. Conjoint Analysis is used to examine the importance level  of each factor which is determined as the potential profit rate per unit  of time, the compatibility of potential order with available capacity,  the level of potential future order with higher profit, customer credit  of future business opportunity, and the negotiability level of  production schedule for the order.

 

Keywords: Conjoint analysis, order prioritization, profit management, structural steel firm.

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Authors: Abdallah Al Sabbagh

Abstract:

Next Generation Wireless Network (NGWN) is expected to be a heterogeneous network which integrates all different Radio Access Technologies (RATs) through a common platform. A major challenge is how to allocate users to the most suitable RAT for them. An optimized solution can lead to maximize the efficient use of radio resources, achieve better performance for service providers and provide Quality of Service (QoS) with low costs to users. Currently, Radio Resource Management (RRM) is implemented efficiently for the RAT that it was developed. However, it is not suitable for a heterogeneous network. Common RRM (CRRM) was proposed to manage radio resource utilization in the heterogeneous network. This paper presents a user level Markov model for a three co-located RAT networks. The load-balancing based and service based CRRM algorithms have been studied using the presented Markov model. A comparison for the performance of load-balancing based and service based CRRM algorithms is studied in terms of traffic distribution, new call blocking probability, vertical handover (VHO) call dropping probability and throughput.

Keywords: Heterogeneous Wireless Network, Markov chain model, load-balancing based and service based algorithm, CRRM algorithms, Beyond 3G network.

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Authors: C. Valderrama-Ulloa, C. Schmitt, J.-P. Marchetti, V. Bucarey

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Access to adequate housing is a fundamental human right and a crucial factor for health. Housing should be inclusive, accessible, and able to meet the needs of all its inhabitants at every stage of their lives without hindering their health, autonomy, or independence. This article addresses the importance of designing housing for people with disabilities, which varies depending on individual abilities, preferences, and cultural considerations. Based on the components of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health, wheelchair users, little people (achondroplasia), children with autism spectrum disorder and Down syndrome were characterized, and six domains of activities related to daily life inside homes were defined. The article describes the main barriers homes present for this group of people. It proposes a list of architectural and design aspects to reduce barriers to housing use. The aspects are divided into three main groups: space management, building services, and supporting facilities. The article emphasizes the importance of consulting professionals and users with experience designing for diverse needs to create inclusive, safe, and supportive housing for people with disabilities.

Keywords: Achondroplasia, autism spectrum disorder, disability, down syndrome, wheelchair user.

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Authors: Sumiko Anno, Keiji Imaoka, Takeo Tadono, Tamotsu Igarashi, Subramaniam Sivaganesh, Selvam Kannathasan, Vaithehi Kumaran, Sinnathamby Noble Surendran

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Dengue outbreaks are affected by biological, ecological, socio-economic and demographic factors that vary over time and space. These factors have been examined separately and still require systematic clarification. The present study aimed to investigate the spatial-temporal clustering relationships between these factors and dengue outbreaks in the northern region of Sri Lanka. Remote sensing (RS) data gathered from a plurality of satellites were used to develop an index comprising rainfall, humidity and temperature data. RS data gathered by ALOS/AVNIR-2 were used to detect urbanization, and a digital land cover map was used to extract land cover information. Other data on relevant factors and dengue outbreaks were collected through institutions and extant databases. The analyzed RS data and databases were integrated into geographic information systems, enabling temporal analysis, spatial statistical analysis and space-time clustering analysis. Our present results showed that increases in the number of the combination of ecological factor and socio-economic and demographic factors with above the average or the presence contribute to significantly high rates of space-time dengue clusters.

Keywords: ALOS/AVNIR-2, Dengue, Space-time clustering analysis, Sri Lanka.

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Authors: Faisal Alazzaz, Andrew Whyte

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Off-site construction methods have played an important role in the construction sector in the past few decades. It is increasingly becoming a major alternative technique and strategic direction compared to traditional in-situ method. It produces a significant amount of value for the construction industry and the economy more generally. To date, an impressive number of studies have been lunched on the perceived perception of off-site construction. However, it seems that a quantifying benefit on the offsite construction area is lacking. Therefore, this paper examines the recent research literature on the benefits of off- site construction and provides future direction. In the beginning, this paper provides a brief history and current value of the off-site construction followed by a detailed discussion on the benefit of off-site construction. These benefits include but not limited to time saving, quality improvement, relieving skills shortages, cost reduction and productivity improvement. Toward this end, off-site construction should learn from other productive industry similar to services or manufacturing industry by applying operational management tools and techniques with extensive focus on employee empowerment will shed the light on future uptake of Off-site construction. This study is of value in providing scholars have a clear picture of perceived benefit of off-site construction research and give an opportunities for future uptake of off-site method.

Keywords: Building projects, Employer empowerment, Off-site construction benefits, Productivity.

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Authors: Hossein Shabanali Fami, Omid Sharifi, Javad Ghasemi, Mahtab Pouratashi, Mona Sadat Moghadasian

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The main purpose of this study was to investigate perception of greenhouse vegetable growers regarding use of biological control practices during the growing season. The statistical population of the study included greenhouse vegetable growers in Jiroft county (N=1862). A sample of 137 vegetable growers was selected, using random sampling method. Data were collected via a questionnaire. The validity of the instrument was obtained by the faculty members of the Department of Agricultural Development and Management in the University of Tehran. Cronbach’s alpha was applied to estimate the reliability which showed a high reliability for the instrument. Data was analyzed using SPSS/Windows 13.5. The results revealed that greenhouse vegetable growers had moderate level of perception regarding biological control practices. Levels of vegetable growers’ perceptions regarding biological control practices were different on the basis of their academic qualifications as well as educational level and job. In addition, the results indicated that about 54.1% of variations in vegetable growers’ perceptions could be explained by variables such as awareness of biological control practices, knowledge on pests, annual production and age.

Keywords: Greenhouse, biological control, biological agents, perception, vegetable grower.

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