Search results for: Correlated random damping
332 The Perception of Omani E-consumers on the Importance and Performance of Dubai SMHs' Website Dimensions and Attributes
Authors: Mohammed G. Montasser, Rehab Y. Zoweil
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There is no doubt that Internet technology is widely used by hotels and its demand is constantly booming. Hotels have largely adopted website information services through using different interactive tools, dimensions and attributes to achieve excellence in functionality and usability but these do not necessary equate with website effectiveness. One way to investigate the effectiveness of hotel website is from the perspective ofe-consumers. This exploratory research is to investigate the perceived importance of websites effectiveness of some selected independent small and medium-sized hotels (SMHs) located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, from the perspective of Omanie-consumers by using non-random sampling method. From 400 questionnaire addressed to respondents in 27 organizations in Muscat the capital city of Oman, 173 are valid. Findings of this study assist SMHs management in Dubai with the reallocation of their resources and efforts in order to supportebusiness development and to sustain a competitive advantage.
Keywords: Dubai's SMHs, Hotel websites, Omani e-consumer perception, weight and performance evaluation.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1785331 Effect of Processing Methods on Texture Evolution in AZ31 Mg Alloy Sheet
Authors: Jung-Ho Moon, Tae Kwon Ha
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Textures of AZ31 Mg alloy sheets were evaluated by using neutron diffraction method in this study. The AZ31 sheets were fabricated either by conventional casting and subsequent hot rolling or strip casting. The effect of warm rolling was investigated using the AZ31 Mg alloy sheet produced by conventional casting. Warm rolling of 30% thickness reduction per pass was possible without any side-crack at temperatures as low as 200oC under the roll speed of 30 m/min. The initial microstructure of conventionally cast specimen was found to be partially recrystallized structures. Grain refinement was found to occur actively during the warm rolling. The (0002),(10-10) (10-11),and (10-12) complete pole figures were measured using the HANARO FCD (Neutron Four Circle Diffractometer) and ODF were calculated. The major texture of all specimens can be expressed by ND//(0001) fiber texture. Texture of hot rolled specimen showed the strongest fiber component, while that of strip cast sheet seemed to be similar to random distribution.
Keywords: Mg alloy, texture, pole figure, ODF, neutron diffraction, warm rolling.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2234330 Bio-Psycho-Social Consequences and Effects in Fall-Efficacy Scale in Seniors Using Exercise Intervention of Motor Learning According to Yoga Techniques
Authors: Milada Krejci, Martin Hill, Vaclav Hosek, Dobroslava Jandova, Jiri Kajzar, Pavel Blaha
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The paper declares effects of exercise intervention of the research project “Basic research of balance changes in seniors”, granted by the Czech Science Foundation. The objective of the presented study is to define predictors, which influence bio-psycho-social consequences and effects of balance ability in senior 65 years old and above. We focused on the Fall-Efficacy Scale changes evaluation in seniors. Comprehensive hypothesis of the project declares, that motion uncertainty (dyskinesia) can negatively affect the well-being of a senior in bio-psycho-social context. In total, random selection and testing of 100 seniors (30 males, 70 females) from Prague and Central Bohemian region was provided. The sample was divided by stratified random selection into experimental and control groups, who underwent input and output testing. For diagnostics the methods of Medical Anamnesis, Functional anthropological examinations, Tinetti Balance Assessment Tool, SF-36 Health Survey, Anamnestic comparative self-assessment scale were used. Intervention method called "Life in Balance" based on yoga techniques was applied in four-week cycle. Results of multivariate regression were verified by repeated measures ANOVA: subject factor, phase of intervention (between-subject factor), body fluid (within-subject factor) and phase of intervention × body fluid interaction). ANOVA was performed with a repetition involving the factors of subjects, experimental/control group, phase of intervention (independent variable), and x phase interaction followed by Bonferroni multiple comparison assays with a test strength of at least 0.8 on the probability level p < 0.05. In the paper results of the first-year investigation of the three years running project are analysed. Results of balance tests confirmed no significant difference between females and males in pre-test. Significant improvements in balance and walking ability were observed in experimental group in females comparing to males (F = 128.4, p < 0.001). In the females control group, there was no significant change in post- test, while in the female experimental group positive changes in posture and spine flexibility in post-tests were found. It seems that females even in senior age react better to incentives of intervention in balance and spine flexibility. On the base of results analyses, we can declare the significant improvement in social balance markers after intervention in the experimental group (F = 10.5, p < 0.001). In average, seniors are used to take four drugs daily. Number of drugs can contribute to allergy symptoms and balance problems. It can be concluded that static balance and walking ability of seniors according Tinetti Balance scale correlate significantly with psychic and social monitored markers.
Keywords: Exercises, balance, seniors 65+, health, mental and social balance.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 858329 Simulation of Roughness Shape and Distribution Effects on Rarefied and Compressible Flows at Slip Flow Regime
Authors: M. Hakak Khadem, S. Hossainpour, M. Shams
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A numerical simulation of micro Poiseuille flow has performed for rarefied and compressible flow at slip flow regimes. The wall roughness is simulated in two cases with triangular microelements and random micro peaks distributed on wall surfaces to study the effects of roughness shape and distribution on flow field. Two values of Mach and Knudsen numbers have used to investigate the effects of rarefaction as well as compressibility. The numerical results have also checked with available theoretical and experimental relations and good agreements has achieved. High influence of roughness shape can be seen for both compressible and incompressible rarefied flows. In addition it is found that rarefaction has more significant effect on flow field in microchannels with higher relative roughness. It is also found that compressibility has more significant effects on Poiseuille number when relative roughness increases.Keywords: Relative roughness, slip flow, Poiseuille number, roughness distribution.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1166328 Non-Timber Forest Products and Livelihood Linkages: A Case of Lamabagar, Nepal
Authors: Sandhya Rijal, Saroj Adhikari, Ramesh R. Pant
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Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) have attracted substantial interest in the recent years with the increasing recognition that these can provide essential community needs for improved and diversified rural livelihood and support the objectives of biodiversity conservation. Nevertheless, various challenges are witnessed in their sustainable harvest and management. Assuming that sustainable management with community stewardship can offer one of the solutions to existing challenges, the study assesses the linkages between NTFPs and rural livelihood in Lamabagar village of Dolakha, Nepal. The major objective was to document the status of NTFPs and their contributions in households of Lamabagar. For status documentation, vegetation sampling was done using systematic random sampling technique. 30 plots of 10 m × 10 m were laid down in six parallel transect lines at horizontal distance of 160 m in two different community forests. A structured questionnaire survey was conducted in 76 households (excluding non-response rate) using stratified random sampling technique for contribution analysis. Likewise, key informant interview and focus group discussions were also conducted for data triangulations. 36 different NTFPs were recorded from the vegetation sample in two community forests of which 50% were used for medicinal purposes. The other uses include fodder, religious value, and edible fruits and vegetables. Species like Juniperus indica, Daphne bholua Aconitum spicatum, and Lyonia ovalifolia were frequently used for trade as a source of income, which was sold in local market. The protected species like Taxus wallichiana and Neopicrorhiza scrophulariiflora were also recorded in the area for which the trade is prohibited. The protection of these species urgently needs community stewardship. More than half of the surveyed households (55%) were depending on NTFPs for their daily uses, other than economic purpose whereas 45% of them sold those products in the market directly or in the form of local handmade products as a source of livelihood. NTFPs were the major source of primary health curing agents especially for the poor and unemployed people in the study area. Hence, the NTFPs contributed to livelihood under three different categories: subsistence, supplement income and emergency support, depending upon the economic status of the households. Although the status of forest improved after handover to the user group, the availability of valuable medicinal herbs like Rhododendron anthopogon, Swertia nervosa, Neopicrorhiza scrophulariiflora, and Aconitum spicatum were declining. Inadequacy of technology, lack of easy transport access, and absence of good market facility were the major limitations for external trade of NTFPs in the study site. It was observed that people were interested towards conservation only if they could get some returns: economic in terms of rural settlements. Thus, the study concludes that NTFPs could contribute rural livelihood and support conservation objectives only if local communities are provided with the easy access of technology, market and capital.
Keywords: Contribution, medicinal, subsistence, sustainable harvest.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 961327 Genetic Content-Based MP3 Audio Watermarking in MDCT Domain
Authors: N. Moghadam, H. Sadeghi
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In this paper a novel scheme for watermarking digital audio during its compression to MPEG-1 Layer III format is proposed. For this purpose we slightly modify some of the selected MDCT coefficients, which are used during MPEG audio compression procedure. Due to the possibility of modifying different MDCT coefficients, there will be different choices for embedding the watermark into audio data, considering robustness and transparency factors. Our proposed method uses a genetic algorithm to select the best coefficients to embed the watermark. This genetic selection is done according to the parameters that are extracted from the perceptual content of the audio to optimize the robustness and transparency of the watermark. On the other hand the watermark security is increased due to the random nature of the genetic selection. The information of the selected MDCT coefficients that carry the watermark bits, are saves in a database for future extraction of the watermark. The proposed method is suitable for online MP3 stores to pursue illegal copies of musical artworks. Experimental results show that the detection ratio of the watermarks at the bitrate of 128kbps remains above 90% while the inaudibility of the watermark is preserved.Keywords: Content-Based Audio Watermarking, Genetic AudioWatermarking.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1517326 Implementation of the SIP Express Router with Mediaproxy Method on VoIP
Authors: Heru Nurwarsito, R. Arief Setyawan, Rakhmadhany Primananda
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Voice Over IP (VoIP) is a technology that could pass the voice traffic and data packet form over an IP network. Network can be used for intranet or Internet. Phone calls using VoIP has advantages in terms of cheaper cost of PSTN phone to more than half, because the cost is calculated by the cost of the global nature of the Internet. Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) is a signaling protocol at the application layer which serves to establish, modify, and terminate a multimedia session involving one or more users. This SIP signaling has SIP message in text form that is used for session management by the SIP components, such as User Agent, Registrar, Redirect Server, and Proxy Server. To build a SIP communication is required SIP Express Router (SER) to be able to receive SIP messages, for handling the basic functions of SIP messages. Problems occur when the NAT through which affects the voice communication will be blocked starting from the sound that is not sent or one side of the sound are sent (half duplex). How that could be used to penetrate NAT is to use a given mediaproxy random RTP port to penetrate NAT.Keywords: VoIP, SIP, SIP Express Router, NAT, Mediaproxy.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2558325 Evaluation of Heterogeneity of Paint Coating on Metal Substrate Using Laser Infrared Thermography and Eddy Current
Authors: S. Mezghani, E. Perrin, J. L Bodnar, J. Marthe, B. Cauwe, V. Vrabie
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Non contact evaluation of the thickness of paint coatings can be attempted by different destructive and nondestructive methods such as cross-section microscopy, gravimetric mass measurement, magnetic gauges, Eddy current, ultrasound or terahertz. Infrared thermography is a nondestructive and non-invasive method that can be envisaged as a useful tool to measure the surface thickness variations by analyzing the temperature response. In this paper, the thermal quadrupole method for two layered samples heated up with a pulsed excitation is firstly used. By analyzing the thermal responses as a function of thermal properties and thicknesses of both layers, optimal parameters for the excitation source can be identified. Simulations show that a pulsed excitation with duration of ten milliseconds allows obtaining a substrate-independent thermal response. Based on this result, an experimental setup consisting of a near-infrared laser diode and an Infrared camera was next used to evaluate the variation of paint coating thickness between 60 μm and 130 μm on two samples. Results show that the parameters extracted for thermal images are correlated with the estimated thicknesses by the Eddy current methods. The laser pulsed thermography is thus an interesting alternative nondestructive method that can be moreover used for nonconductive substrates.Keywords: Nondestructive, paint coating, thickness, infrared thermography, laser, heterogeneity.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2073324 EFL Teachers’ Metacognitive Awareness as a Predictor of Their Professional Success
Authors: Saeedeh Shafiee Nahrkhalaji
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Metacognitive knowledge increases EFL students’ ability to be successful learners. Although this relationship has been investigated by a number of scholars, EFL teachers’ explicit awareness of their cognitive knowledge has not been sufficiently explored. The aim of this study was to examine the role of EFL teachers’ metacognitive knowledge in their pedagogical performance. Furthermore, the role played by years of their academic education and teaching experience was also studied. Fifty female EFL teachers were selected. They completed Metacognitive Awareness Inventory (MAI) that assessed six components of metacognition including procedural knowledge, declarative knowledge, conditional knowledge, planning, evaluating, and management strategies. Near the end of the academic semester, the students of each class filled in ‘the Language Teacher Characteristics Questionnaire’ to evaluate their teachers’ pedagogical performance. Four elements of MAI, declarative knowledge, planning, evaluating, and management strategies were found to be significantly correlated with EFL teachers’ pedagogical success. Significant correlation was also established between metacognitive knowledge and EFL teachers’ years of academic education and teaching experience. The findings obtained from this research have contributing implication for EFL teacher educators. The discussion concludes by setting out directions for future research.
Keywords: Metacognotive Knowledge, Pedagogical Performance, Language Teacher Characteristics Questionnaire, Metacognitive Awareness Inventory.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2708323 Efficient Detection Using Sequential Probability Ratio Test in Mobile Cognitive Radio Systems
Authors: Yeon-Jea Cho, Sang-Uk Park, Won-Chul Choi, Dong-Jo Park
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This paper proposes a smart design strategy for a sequential detector to reliably detect the primary user-s signal, especially in fast fading environments. We study the computation of the log-likelihood ratio for coping with a fast changing received signal and noise sample variances, which are considered random variables. First, we analyze the detectability of the conventional generalized log-likelihood ratio (GLLR) scheme when considering fast changing statistics of unknown parameters caused by fast fading effects. Secondly, we propose an efficient sensing algorithm for performing the sequential probability ratio test in a robust and efficient manner when the channel statistics are unknown. Finally, the proposed scheme is compared to the conventional method with simulation results with respect to the average number of samples required to reach a detection decision.
Keywords: Cognitive radio, fast fading, sequential detection, spectrum sensing.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1743322 Can Physical Activity and Dietary Fat Intake Influence Body Mass Index in a Cross-sectional Correlational Design?
Authors: D.O. Omondi, L.O.A. Othuon, G.M. Mbagaya
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The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of physical activity and dietary fat intake on Body Mass Index (BMI) of lecturers within a higher learning institutionalized setting. The study adopted a Cross-sectional Correlational Design and included 120 lecturers selected proportionately by simple random sampling techniques from a population of 600 lecturers. Data was collected using questionnaires, which had sections including physical activity checklist adopted from the international physical activity questionnaire (IPAQ), 24-hour food recall, anthropometric measurements mainly weight and height. Analysis involved the use of bivariate correlations and linear regression. A significant inverse association was registered between BMI and duration (in minutes) spent doing moderate intense physical activity per day (r=-0.322, p<0.01). Physical activity also predicted BMI (r2=0.096, F=13.616, β=-3.22, t=-3.69, n=120, P<0.01). However, the association between Body Mass Index and dietary fat was not significant (r=0.038, p>0.05). Physical activity emerged as a more powerful determinant of BMI compared to dietary fat intake.Keywords: Physical activity, dietary fat intake, Body MassIndex, Kenya.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1711321 Inadequacy of Macronutrient and Micronutrient Intake in Children Aged 12-23 Months Old: An Urban Study in Central Jakarta, Indonesia
Authors: Dewi Fatmaningrum, Ade Wiradnyani
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Optimal feeding, including optimal micronutrient intake, becomes one of the ways to overcome the long-term consequences of undernutrition. Macronutrient and micronutrient intake were important to a rapid growth and development of young children. The study objective was to assess macro and micronutrient intake and its adequacy in children aged 12-23 months. This survey was a cross-sectional study, involving 83 caregivers with children aged 12-23 months old in Senen Sub-district, Central Jakarta selected through simple random sampling. Data on nutrient intake was obtained through interview using single 24-hour recall. Repeated 24- hour recall to sub-sample was done to estimate the proportion of nutrient inadequacy. The highest prevalence of nutrient inadequacy was iron (52.4%), followed by vitamin C (30.9%) and zinc (28.8%). Almost 12% children had inadequate energy intake. More than half of children (62.6%) were anemic (25.3% were severely anemic). Micronutrient inadequacy, especially iron, was more problematic than macronutrient inadequacy in the study area.
Keywords: Micronutrient, macronutrient, children under five, urban setting.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1603320 3D Rendering of American Sign Language Finger-Spelling: A Comparative Study of Two Animation Techniques
Authors: Nicoletta Adamo-Villani
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In this paper we report a study aimed at determining the most effective animation technique for representing ASL (American Sign Language) finger-spelling. Specifically, in the study we compare two commonly used 3D computer animation methods (keyframe animation and motion capture) in order to ascertain which technique produces the most 'accurate', 'readable', and 'close to actual signing' (i.e. realistic) rendering of ASL finger-spelling. To accomplish this goal we have developed 20 animated clips of fingerspelled words and we have designed an experiment consisting of a web survey with rating questions. 71 subjects ages 19-45 participated in the study. Results showed that recognition of the words was correlated with the method used to animate the signs. In particular, keyframe technique produced the most accurate representation of the signs (i.e., participants were more likely to identify the words correctly in keyframed sequences rather than in motion captured ones). Further, findings showed that the animation method had an effect on the reported scores for readability and closeness to actual signing; the estimated marginal mean readability and closeness was greater for keyframed signs than for motion captured signs. To our knowledge, this is the first study aimed at measuring and comparing accuracy, readability and realism of ASL animations produced with different techniques.Keywords: 3D Animation, American Sign Language, DeafEducation, Motion Capture.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1998319 Incidence of Disasters and Coping Mechanism among Farming Households in South West Nigeria
Authors: Fawehinmi Olabisi Alaba, Adeniyi O. R.
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Farming households faces lots of disaster which contribute to endemic poverty. Anticipated increases in extreme weather events will exacerbate this. Primary data was administered to farming household using multi-stage random sampling technique. The result of the analysis shows that majority of the respondents (69.9%) are male, have mean household size, years of formal education and age of 5±1.14, 6±3.41, and 51.06±10.43 respectively. The major (48.9%) type of disaster experienced is flooding. Major coping mechanism adopted is sourcing for support from family and friends. Age, education, experience, access to extension agent, and mitigation control method contribute significantly to vulnerability to disaster. The major adaptation method (62.3%) is construction of drainage.
The study revealed that the coping mechanisms employed may become less effective as increasingly fragile livelihood systems struggle to withstand disaster shocks. Thus there is need for training of the farmers on measures to adapt to mitigate the shock from disasters
Keywords: Adaptation, Disasters, Flooding, Vulnerability.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2127318 Performance Comparison of AODV and Soft AODV Routing Protocol
Authors: Abhishek, Seema Devi, Jyoti Ohri
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A mobile ad hoc network (MANET) represents a system of wireless mobile nodes that can self-organize freely and dynamically into arbitrary and temporary network topology. Unlike a wired network, wireless network interface has limited transmission range. Routing is the task of forwarding data packets from source to a given destination. Ad-hoc On Demand Distance Vector (AODV) routing protocol creates a path for a destination only when it required. This paper describes the implementation of AODV routing protocol using MATLAB-based Truetime simulator. In MANET's node movements are not fixed while they are random in nature. Hence intelligent techniques i.e. fuzzy and ANFIS are used to optimize the transmission range. In this paper, we compared the transmission range of AODV, fuzzy AODV and ANFIS AODV. For soft computing AODV, we have taken transmitted power and received threshold as input and transmission range as output. ANFIS gives better results as compared to fuzzy AODV.Keywords: ANFIS, AODV, fuzzy, MANET, reactive routing protocol, routing protocol, Truetime.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1329317 High Perfomance Communication Protocol for Wireless Ad-Hoc Sensor Networks
Authors: Toshihiko Sasama, Takahide Yanaka, Kazunori Sugahara, Hiroshi Masuyama
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In order to monitor for traffic traversal, sensors can be deployed to perform collaborative target detection. Such a sensor network achieves a certain level of detection performance with the associated costs of deployment and routing protocol. This paper addresses these two points of sensor deployment and routing algorithm in the situation where the absolute quantity of sensors or total energy becomes insufficient. This discussion on the best deployment system concluded that two kinds of deployments; Normal and Power law distributions, show 6 and 3 times longer than Random distribution in the duration of coverage, respectively. The other discussion on routing algorithm to achieve good performance in each deployment system was also addressed. This discussion concluded that, in place of the traditional algorithm, a new algorithm can extend the time of coverage duration by 4 times in a Normal distribution, and in the circumstance where every deployed sensor operates as a binary model.Keywords: binary sensor, coverage rate, power energy consumption, routing algorithm, sensor deployment
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1376316 Material Handling Equipment Selection using Hybrid Monte Carlo Simulation and Analytic Hierarchy Process
Authors: Amer M. Momani, Abdulaziz A. Ahmed
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The many feasible alternatives and conflicting objectives make equipment selection in materials handling a complicated task. This paper presents utilizing Monte Carlo (MC) simulation combined with the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to evaluate and select the most appropriate Material Handling Equipment (MHE). The proposed hybrid model was built on the base of material handling equation to identify main and sub criteria critical to MHE selection. The criteria illustrate the properties of the material to be moved, characteristics of the move, and the means by which the materials will be moved. The use of MC simulation beside the AHP is very powerful where it allows the decision maker to represent his/her possible preference judgments as random variables. This will reduce the uncertainty of single point judgment at conventional AHP, and provide more confidence in the decision problem results. A small business pharmaceutical company is used as an example to illustrate the development and application of the proposed model.Keywords: Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), Materialhandling equipment selection, Monte Carlo simulation, Multi-criteriadecision making
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3138315 The Study of the Mutual Effect of Genotype in Environment by Percent of Oil Criterion in Sunflower
Authors: Seyed Mohammad Nasir Mousavi, Pasha Hejazi, Maryam Ebrahimian Dehkordi
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In order to study the Mutual effect of genotype × environment for the percent of oil index in sunflower items, an experiment was accomplished form complete random block designs in four iteration and was four diverse researching station comprising Esfahan, Birjand, Sari, and Karaj. Complex variance analysis showed that there is an important diversity between the items under investigation. The results relevant the coefficient variation of items Azargol and Vidoc has respectively allocated the minimum coefficient of variations. According to the results extrapolated from Shokla stability variance, the Items Brocar, Allison and Fabiola, are among the stable genotypes for oil percent respectively. In the biplot GGE, the location under investigations divided in two superenvironments, first one comprised of locations naming Esfahan, Karaj, and Birjand, and second one were such a location as Sari. By this point of view, in the first super-environment, the Item Fabiola and in the second Almanzor item was among the best items and crops.
Keywords: Sunflower, Stability, GGE biplot, Super- Environment.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1843314 A Relationship between Expectation (Before) and Satisfaction (After) Receiving Services of Thai Consumers from Domestic Low-Cost Airlines
Authors: Sittichai Charoensettasilp, Chong Wu
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This study employs sampling of 400 Thai people who live in Bangkok and have used air transportation to travel. A random convenience sampling technique is used to collect data. The results found that at 0.05 significance level the differences of means of Thai consumers’ expectations (before) and satisfaction (after) receiving services in the service marketing mix, the results of all aspects are different both in general and for each aspect of the service marketing mix. Average levels of expectations before receiving services are higher than satisfaction after receiving services in all aspects, as well. When analyzing further to the correlation between average means, the means of expectations before receiving services are higher than those of satisfaction after receiving services in general. As in all aspects of the service marketing mix, any aspect that has a big difference between expectations before receiving services and satisfaction after receiving services has low correlation.
Keywords: Domestic Low-Cost Airlines, Expectation Before Receiving Services, Relationship, Satisfaction After Receiving Services, Thai Consumers.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2569313 Development of Integrated GIS Interface for Characteristics of Regional Daily Flow
Authors: Ju Young Lee, Jung-Seok Yang, Jaeyoung Choi
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The purpose of this paper primarily intends to develop GIS interface for estimating sequences of stream-flows at ungauged stations based on known flows at gauged stations. The integrated GIS interface is composed of three major steps. The first, precipitation characteristics using statistical analysis is the procedure for making multiple linear regression equation to get the long term mean daily flow at ungauged stations. The independent variables in regression equation are mean daily flow and drainage area. Traditionally, mean flow data are generated by using Thissen polygon method. However, method for obtaining mean flow data can be selected by user such as Kriging, IDW (Inverse Distance Weighted), Spline methods as well as other traditional methods. At the second, flow duration curve (FDC) is computing at unguaged station by FDCs in gauged stations. Finally, the mean annual daily flow is computed by spatial interpolation algorithm. The third step is to obtain watershed/topographic characteristics. They are the most important factors which govern stream-flows. In summary, the simulated daily flow time series are compared with observed times series. The results using integrated GIS interface are closely similar and are well fitted each other. Also, the relationship between the topographic/watershed characteristics and stream flow time series is highly correlated.Keywords: Integrated GIS interface, spatial interpolation algorithm, FDC.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1510312 Passenger Seat Vibration Comparison Using ANFIS Control in Active Quarter Car Model
Authors: Devdutt
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In this paper, vibration control response of passenger seat in quarter car model having three degrees of freedom is studied. Three different control strategies are taken into account using Adaptive Neuro Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) controller. In first case, ANFIS controller is applied in main suspension of active quarter car model. In second case, passenger seat suspension is assembled with ANFIS controller. Finally, both main and passenger seat suspensions are integrated with ANFIS controller. Simulation work under random road excitations is performed using passive and controlled quarter car models for performance comparison of passenger ride comfort. Ride comfort analysis is also compared as per ISO 2631-1 criterion. The obtained simulation responses are compared taking passenger seat acceleration and displacement response in time and frequency domain for the selection of best control strategy in designed quarter car model.
Keywords: Active suspension system, ANFIS controller, passenger ride comfort, quarter car model.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 837311 An Improved Greedy Routing Algorithm for Grid using Pheromone-Based Landmarks
Authors: Lada-On Lertsuwanakul, Herwig Unger
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This paper objects to extend Jon Kleinberg-s research. He introduced the structure of small-world in a grid and shows with a greedy algorithm using only local information able to find route between source and target in delivery time O(log2n). His fundamental model for distributed system uses a two-dimensional grid with longrange random links added between any two node u and v with a probability proportional to distance d(u,v)-2. We propose with an additional information of the long link nearby, we can find the shorter path. We apply the ant colony system as a messenger distributed their pheromone, the long-link details, in surrounding area. The subsequence forwarding decision has more option to move to, select among local neighbors or send to node has long link closer to its target. Our experiment results sustain our approach, the average routing time by Color Pheromone faster than greedy method.
Keywords: Routing algorithm, Small-World network, Ant Colony Optimization, and Peer-to-peer System.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1861310 Factors Determining the Women Empowerment through Microfinance: An Empirical Study in Sri Lanka
Authors: Y. Rathiranee, D. M. Semasinghe
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This study attempts to identify the factors influencing on women empowerment of rural area in Sri Lanka through micro finance services. Data were collected from one hundred (100) rural women involving self-employment activities through a questionnaire using direct personal interviews. Judgment and Convenience Random sampling technique was used to select the sample size from three Divisional Secretariat divisions of Kandawalai, Poonakari and Karachchi in Kilinochchi District. The factor analysis was performed on fourteen (14) variables for screening and reducing the variables to identify the influencing factors on empowerment. Multiple regression analysis was used to identify the relationship between the three empowerment factors and the impact of micro finance on overall empowerment of rural women. The result of this study summarized the variables into three factors namely decision making, freedom to mobility and family support and which are positively associated with empowerment. In addition to this the value of adjusted R2 is 0.248 indicates that all the variables extracted can be explained 24.8% of the variation in the women empowerment through microfinance. Independent variables of these three factors have positive correlation with women empowerment as well as significant values at 5 percent level.Keywords: Influencing factors, Micro finance, rural women and women empowerment.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3958309 Analysis of MAC Protocols with Correlation Receiver for OCDMA Networks - Part II
Authors: Shivaleela E. S., Shrikant S. Tangade
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In this paper optical code-division multiple-access (OCDMA) packet network is considered, which offers inherent security in the access networks. Two types of random access protocols are proposed for packet transmission. In protocol 1, all distinct codes and in protocol 2, distinct codes as well as shifted versions of all these codes are used. O-CDMA network performance using optical orthogonal codes (OOCs) 1-D and two-dimensional (2-D) wavelength/time single-pulse-per-row (W/T SPR) codes are analyzed. The main advantage of using 2-D codes instead of onedimensional (1-D) codes is to reduce the errors due to multiple access interference among different users. In this paper, correlation receiver is considered in the analysis. Using analytical model, we compute and compare packet-success probability for 1-D and 2-D codes in an O-CDMA network and the analysis shows improved performance with 2-D codes as compared to 1-D codes.
Keywords: Optical code-division multiple-access, optical CDMA correlation receiver, wavelength/time optical CDMA codes.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1394308 3D Network-on-Chip with on-Chip DRAM: An Empirical Analysis for Future Chip Multiprocessor
Authors: Thomas Canhao Xu, Bo Yang, Alexander Wei Yin, Pasi Liljeberg, Hannu Tenhunen
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With the increasing number of on-chip components and the critical requirement for processing power, Chip Multiprocessor (CMP) has gained wide acceptance in both academia and industry during the last decade. However, the conventional bus-based onchip communication schemes suffer from very high communication delay and low scalability in large scale systems. Network-on-Chip (NoC) has been proposed to solve the bottleneck of parallel onchip communications by applying different network topologies which separate the communication phase from the computation phase. Observing that the memory bandwidth of the communication between on-chip components and off-chip memory has become a critical problem even in NoC based systems, in this paper, we propose a novel 3D NoC with on-chip Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) in which different layers are dedicated to different functionalities such as processors, cache or memory. Results show that, by using our proposed architecture, average link utilization has reduced by 10.25% for SPLASH-2 workloads. Our proposed design costs 1.12% less execution cycles than the traditional design on average.
Keywords: 3D integration, network-on-chip, memory-on-chip, DRAM, chip multiprocessor.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2447307 Awareness of Reading Strategies among EFL Learners at Bangkok University
Authors: Nuttanuch Munsakorn
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This questionnaire-based study, aimed to measure and compare the awareness of English reading strategies among EFL learners at Bangkok University (BU) classified by their gender, field of study, and English learning experience. Proportional stratified random sampling was employed to formulate a sample of 380 BU students. The data were statistically analyzed in terms of the mean and standard deviation. t-Test analysis was used to find differences in awareness of reading strategies between two groups (-male and female- /-science and social-science students). In addition, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to compare reading strategy awareness among BU students with different lengths of English learning experience. The results of this study indicated that the overall awareness of reading strategies of EFL learners at BU was at a high level (ðÑ = 3.60) and that there was no statistically significant difference between males and females, and among students who have different lengths of English learning experience at the significance level of 0.05. However, significant differences among students coming from different fields of study were found at the same level of significance.Keywords: EFL learners, higher education, reading comprehension, reading strategies
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3938306 The Influence of Beta Shape Parameters in Project Planning
Authors: Αlexios Kotsakis, Stefanos Katsavounis, Dimitra Alexiou
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Networks can be utilized to represent project planning problems, using nodes for activities and arcs to indicate precedence relationship between them. For fixed activity duration, a simple algorithm calculates the amount of time required to complete a project, followed by the activities that comprise the critical path. Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) generalizes the above model by incorporating uncertainty, allowing activity durations to be random variables, producing nevertheless a relatively crude solution in planning problems. In this paper, based on the findings of the relevant literature, which strongly suggests that a Beta distribution can be employed to model earthmoving activities, we utilize Monte Carlo simulation, to estimate the project completion time distribution and measure the influence of skewness, an element inherent in activities of modern technical projects. We also extract the activity criticality index, with an ultimate goal to produce more accurate planning estimations.
Keywords: Beta distribution, PERT, Monte Carlo Simulation, skewness, project completion time distribution.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 770305 Data Mining Classification Methods Applied in Drug Design
Authors: Mária Stachová, Lukáš Sobíšek
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Data mining incorporates a group of statistical methods used to analyze a set of information, or a data set. It operates with models and algorithms, which are powerful tools with the great potential. They can help people to understand the patterns in certain chunk of information so it is obvious that the data mining tools have a wide area of applications. For example in the theoretical chemistry data mining tools can be used to predict moleculeproperties or improve computer-assisted drug design. Classification analysis is one of the major data mining methodologies. The aim of thecontribution is to create a classification model, which would be able to deal with a huge data set with high accuracy. For this purpose logistic regression, Bayesian logistic regression and random forest models were built using R software. TheBayesian logistic regression in Latent GOLD software was created as well. These classification methods belong to supervised learning methods. It was necessary to reduce data matrix dimension before construct models and thus the factor analysis (FA) was used. Those models were applied to predict the biological activity of molecules, potential new drug candidates.Keywords: data mining, classification, drug design, QSAR
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2849304 The Non-Stationary BINARMA(1,1) Process with Poisson Innovations: An Application on Accident Data
Authors: Y. Sunecher, N. Mamode Khan, V. Jowaheer
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This paper considers the modelling of a non-stationary bivariate integer-valued autoregressive moving average of order one (BINARMA(1,1)) with correlated Poisson innovations. The BINARMA(1,1) model is specified using the binomial thinning operator and by assuming that the cross-correlation between the two series is induced by the innovation terms only. Based on these assumptions, the non-stationary marginal and joint moments of the BINARMA(1,1) are derived iteratively by using some initial stationary moments. As regards to the estimation of parameters of the proposed model, the conditional maximum likelihood (CML) estimation method is derived based on thinning and convolution properties. The forecasting equations of the BINARMA(1,1) model are also derived. A simulation study is also proposed where BINARMA(1,1) count data are generated using a multivariate Poisson R code for the innovation terms. The performance of the BINARMA(1,1) model is then assessed through a simulation experiment and the mean estimates of the model parameters obtained are all efficient, based on their standard errors. The proposed model is then used to analyse a real-life accident data on the motorway in Mauritius, based on some covariates: policemen, daily patrol, speed cameras, traffic lights and roundabouts. The BINARMA(1,1) model is applied on the accident data and the CML estimates clearly indicate a significant impact of the covariates on the number of accidents on the motorway in Mauritius. The forecasting equations also provide reliable one-step ahead forecasts.Keywords: Non-stationary, BINARMA(1, 1) model, Poisson Innovations, CML
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 588303 The Role and Importance of Genome Sequencing in Prediction of Cancer Risk
Authors: M. Sadeghi, H. Pezeshk, R. Tusserkani, A. Sharifi Zarchi, A. Malekpour, M. Foroughmand, S. Goliaei, M. Totonchi, N. Ansari–Pour
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The role and relative importance of intrinsic and extrinsic factors in the development of complex diseases such as cancer still remains a controversial issue. Determining the amount of variation explained by these factors needs experimental data and statistical models. These models are nevertheless based on the occurrence and accumulation of random mutational events during stem cell division, thus rendering cancer development a stochastic outcome. We demonstrate that not only individual genome sequencing is uninformative in determining cancer risk, but also assigning a unique genome sequence to any given individual (healthy or affected) is not meaningful. Current whole-genome sequencing approaches are therefore unlikely to realize the promise of personalized medicine. In conclusion, since genome sequence differs from cell to cell and changes over time, it seems that determining the risk factor of complex diseases based on genome sequence is somewhat unrealistic, and therefore, the resulting data are likely to be inherently uninformative.
Keywords: Cancer risk, extrinsic factors, genome sequencing, intrinsic factors.
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