Search results for: Multiple Criteria Decision Making Analysis
1413 Factors Affecting the e-Business Adoption among the Home-Based Businesses (HBBs) in Malaysia
Authors: S, Rosnafisah, M.S., Siti Salbiah., A, Mohd Sharifuddin
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Research in e-Business has been growing tremendously covering all related aspects such as adoption issues, e- Business models, strategies, etc. This research aims to explore the potential of adopting e-Business for a micro size business operating from home called home-based businesses (HBBs). In Malaysia, the HBB industry started many years ago and were mostly monopolized by women or housewives managed as a part-time job to support their family economy. Today, things have changed. The availability of the Internet technology and the emergence of e-Business concept promote the evolution of HBBs, which have been adopted as another alternative as a professional career for women without neglecting their family needs especially the children. Although this study is confined to a limited sample size and within geographical biasness, the findings show that it concurs with previous large scale studies. In this study, both qualitative and quantitative methods were used and data were gathered using triangulation methods via interview, direct observation, document analysis and survey questionnaires. This paper discusses the literature review, research methods and findings pertaining to e-Business adoption factors that influence the HBBs in Malaysia.Keywords: e-Business, HBB, adoption factor, qualitative andquantitative
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 26971412 Method Development and Validation for the Determination of Cefixime in Pure and Commercial Dosage Forms by Specrophotometry
Authors: S. N. H. Azmi, B. Iqbal, J. K. Al Mamari, K. A. Al Hattali, W. N. Al Hadhrami
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A simple, accurate and precise direct spectrophotometric method has been developed for the determination of cefixime in tablets and capsules. The method is based on the reaction of cefixime with a mixture of potassium iodide and potassium iodate to form yellow coloured product in ethanol-distilled water medium at room temperature which absorbed maximally at 352 nm. The factors affecting the reaction product were carefully studied and optimized. The validation parameters based on International Conference on Harmonisation (ICH, USA) guidelines were followed. The effect of common excipients used as additives has been tested and the tolerance limit was calculated for the determination of cefixime. Beer’s law is obeyed in the concentration range of 4 – 24 ug mL-1 with apparent molar absorptivity of 1.52 × 104 L mol-1cm-1 and Sandell’s sensitivity of 0.033 ug/cm2/ 0.001 absorbance unit. The limits of detection and quantitation for the proposed method are 0.32 and 1.06 ug mL-1, respectively. The proposed method has been successfully applied for the determination of cefixime in pharmaceutical formulations. The results obtained by the proposed method were statistically compared with the reference method using t- and F- values and found no significant difference between the two methods. The proposed method can be used as an alternate method for routine quality control analysis of cefixime in pharmaceutical formulations.
Keywords: Spectrophotometry, cefixime, validation, pharmaceutical formulations.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 31491411 Examining Corporate Tax Evaders: Evidence from the Finalized Audit Cases
Authors: Ming Ling Lai, Zalilawati Yaacob, Normah Omar, Norashikin Abdul Aziz, Bee Wah Yap
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This paper aims to (1) analyze the profiles of transgressors (detected evaders); (2) examine reason(s) that triggered a tax audit, causes of tax evasion, audit timeframe and tax penalty charged; and (3) to assess if tax auditors followed the guidelines as stated in the 'Tax Audit Framework' when conducting tax audits. In 2011, the Inland Revenue Board Malaysia (IRBM) had audited and finalized 557 company cases. With official permission, data of all the 557 cases were obtained from the IRBM. Of these, a total of 421 cases with complete information were analyzed. About 58.1% was small and medium corporations and from the construction industry (32.8%). The selection for tax audit was based on risk analysis (66.8%), information from third party (11.1%), and firm with low profitability or fluctuating profit pattern (7.8%). The three persistent causes of tax evasion by firms were over claimed expenses (46.8%), fraudulent reporting of income (38.5%) and overstating purchases (10.5%). These findings are consistent with past literature. Results showed that tax auditors took six to 18 months to close audit cases. More than half of tax evaders were fined 45% on additional tax raised during audit for the first offence. The study found tax auditors did follow the guidelines in the 'Tax Audit Framework' in audit selection, settlement and penalty imposition.Keywords: Corporate tax fraud, tax non-compliance, tax evasion, tax audit, fraudulent reporting.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 34151410 Present State of Local Public Transportation Service in Local Municipalities of Japan and Its Effects on Population
Authors: Akiko Kondo, Akio Kondo
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We are facing regional problems to low birth rate and longevity in Japan. Under this situation, there are some local municipalities which lose their vitality. The aims of this study are to clarify the present state of local public transportation services in local municipalities and relation between local public transportation services and population quantitatively. We conducted a questionnaire survey concerning regional agenda in all local municipalities in Japan. We obtained responses concerning the present state of convenience in use of public transportation and local public transportation services. Based on the data gathered from the survey, it is apparent that we should some sort of measures concerning public transportation services. Convenience in use of public transportation becomes an object of public concern in many rural regions. It is also clarified that some local municipalities introduce a demand bus for the purpose of promotion of administrative and financial efficiency. They also introduce a demand taxi in order to secure transportation to weak people in transportation and eliminate of blank area related to public transportation services. In addition, we construct a population model which includes explanatory variables of present states of local public transportation services. From this result, we can clarify the relation between public transportation services and population quantitatively.
Keywords: Public transportation, local municipality, regional analysis, regional issue.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 18851409 Treatment of the Modern Management Mechanism of the Debris Flow Processes Expected in the Mletiskhevi
Authors: G. Chakhaia, S. Gogilava, L. Tsulukidze, Z. Laoshvili, I. Khubulava, S. Bosikashvili, T. Gugushvili
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The work reviewed and evaluated various genesis debris flow phenomena recently formatted in the Mletiskhevi, accordingly it revealed necessity of treatment modern debris flow against measures. Based on this, it is proposed the debris flow against truncated semi cone shape construction, which elements are contained in the car’s secondary tires. its constituent elements (sections), due to the possibilities of amortization and geometric shapes is effective and sustainable towards debris flow hitting force. The construction is economical, because after crossing the debris flows in the river bed, the riverbed is not cleanable, also the elements of the building are resource saving. For assessment of influence of cohesive debris flow at the construction and evaluation of the construction effectiveness have been implemented calculation in the specific assumptions with approved methodology. According to the calculation, it was established that after passing debris flow in the debris flow construction (in 3 row case) its hitting force reduces 3 times, that causes reduce of debris flow speed and kinetic energy, as well as sedimentation on a certain section of water drain in the lower part of the construction. Based on the analysis and report on the debris flow against construction, it can be said that construction is effective, inexpensive, technically relatively easy-to-reach measure, that’s why its implementation is prospective.
Keywords: Construction, debris flow, sections, theoretical calculation.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3871408 Performance Analysis of an Island Power System Including Wind Turbines Operating under Random Wind Speed
Authors: Meng-Jen Chen, Yu-Chi Wu, Guo-Tsai Liu, Sen-Feng Lin
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With continuous rise of oil price, how to develop alternative energy source has become a hot topic around the world. This study discussed the dynamic characteristics of an island power system operating under random wind speed lower than nominal wind speeds of wind turbines. The system primarily consists of three diesel engine power generation systems, three constant-speed variable-pitch wind turbines, a small hydraulic induction generation system, and lumped static loads. Detailed models based on Matlab/Simulink were developed to cater for the dynamic behavior of the system. The results suggested this island power system can operate stably in this operational mode. This study can serve as an important reference for planning, operation, and further expansion of island power systems.
Keywords: Diesel engine power generation system, constant-speed variable-pitch wind turbine, small hydraulic induction generation system, penetration, Matlab/Simulink, SimPowerSystems.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 22441407 Designing Information Systems in Education as Prerequisite for Successful Management Results
Authors: Vladimir Simovic, Matija Varga, Tonco Marusic
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This research paper shows matrix technology models and examples of information systems in education (in the Republic of Croatia and in the Germany) in support of business, education (when learning and teaching) and e-learning. Here we researched and described the aims and objectives of the main process in education and technology, with main matrix classes of data. In this paper, we have example of matrix technology with detailed description of processes related to specific data classes in the processes of education and an example module that is support for the process: ‘Filling in the directory and the diary of work’ and ‘evaluation’. Also, on the lower level of the processes, we researched and described all activities which take place within the lower process in education. We researched and described the characteristics and functioning of modules: ‘Fill the directory and the diary of work’ and ‘evaluation’. For the analysis of the affinity between the aforementioned processes and/or sub-process we used our application model created in Visual Basic, which was based on the algorithm for analyzing the affinity between the observed processes and/or sub-processes.Keywords: Designing, education management, information systems, matrix technology, process affinity.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 10831406 Sandwich Structure Composites: Effect of Kenaf on Mechanical Properties
Authors: M. N. Othman, M. Bukhari, Z. Halim, S. A. Mohammad, K. Khalid
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Sandwich structure composites produced by epoxy core and aluminium skin were developed as potential building materials. Interface bonding between core and skin was controlled by varying kenaf content. Five different weight percentage of kenaf loading ranging from 10 wt% to 50 wt% were employed in the core manufacturing in order to study the mechanical properties of the sandwich composite. Properties of skin aluminium with epoxy were found to be affected by drying time of the adhesive. Mechanical behavior of manufactured sandwich composites in relation with properties of constituent materials was studied. It was found that 30 wt% of kenaf loading contributed to increase the flexural strength and flexural modulus up to 102 MPa and 32 GPa, respectively. Analysis were done on the flatwise and edgewise compression test. For flatwise test, it was found that 30 wt% of fiber loading could withstand maximum force until 250 kN, with compressive strength results at 96.94 MPa. However, at edgewise compression test, the sandwich composite with same fiber loading only can withstand 31 kN of the maximum load with 62 MPa of compressive strength results.
Keywords: Aluminium, kenaf fiber epoxy, sandwich structure composite.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 22161405 Research on Emotional Healing Street Furniture under the Background of Urban Micro-Renewal
Authors: Tanhao Gao, Hongtao Zhou
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With the COVID-19 pandemic spreading worldwide, people are facing more significant mental pressure. The government and social groups are sparing no effort to find ways to heal people's emotions and return to normal life. Therefore, research on emotional healing has urgency and practical significance. From the perspective of urban planning, street furniture has the potential to become "emotional healing touchpoints." This study first analyzed the suitable places for adding emotional healing street furniture in the background of urban micro-renewal and combined the 15-minute living circle, the leftover space, and urban acupuncture theories, then used the 5W analysis method to show the main characteristics of emotionally healing street furniture. Finally, the research discovers four design strategies, which can be summarized as: A. Exploring the renewal potential of the leftover space; B. Integrating with local culture and the surrounding environment; C. Discovering quick and straightforward ways of interaction; D. Finding a delicate balance between artistry and functionality. Then, we take one emotional healing street furniture located on Chifeng Road as an example to show the design strategies vividly.
Keywords: Emotional healing, street furniture, urban micro-renewal, urban acupuncture.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 4421404 Perception of Hygiene Knowledge among Staff Working in Top Five Famous Restaurants of Male’
Authors: Zulaikha Reesha Rashaad
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One of the major factors which can contribute greatly to success of catering businesses is to employ food and beverage staff having sound hygiene knowledge. Individuals having sound knowledge of hygiene has a higher chance of following safe food practices in food production. One of the leading causes of food poisoning and food borne illnesses has been identified as lack of hygiene knowledge among food and beverage staff working in catering establishments and restaurants. This research aims to analyze the hygiene knowledge among food and beverage staff working in top five restaurants of Male’, in relation to their age, educational background, occupation and training. The research uses quantitative and descriptive methods in data collection and in data analysis. Data was obtained through random sampling technique with self-administered survey questionnaires which was completed by 60 respondents working in 5 different restaurants operating at top level in Male’. The respondents of the research were service staff and chefs working in these restaurants. The responses to the questionnaires have been analyzed by using SPSS. The results of the research indicated that age, education level, occupation and training correlated with hygiene knowledge perception scores.Keywords: Food and beverage staff, food poisoning, food production, hygiene knowledge.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 10751403 Daylightophil Approach towards High-Performance Architecture for Hybrid-Optimization of Visual Comfort and Daylight Factor in BSk
Authors: Mohammadjavad Mahdavinejad, Hadi Yazdi
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The greatest influence we have from the world is shaped through the visual form, thus light is an inseparable element in human life. The use of daylight in visual perception and environment readability is an important issue for users. With regard to the hazards of greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels, and in line with the attitudes on the reduction of energy consumption, the correct use of daylight results in lower levels of energy consumed by artificial lighting, heating and cooling systems. Windows are usually the starting points for analysis and simulations to achieve visual comfort and energy optimization; therefore, attention should be paid to the orientation of buildings to minimize electrical energy and maximize the use of daylight. In this paper, by using the Design Builder Software, the effect of the orientation of an 18m2(3m*6m) room with 3m height in city of Tehran has been investigated considering the design constraint limitations. In these simulations, the dimensions of the building have been changed with one degree and the window is located on the smaller face (3m*3m) of the building with 80% ratio. The results indicate that the orientation of building has a lot to do with energy efficiency to meet high-performance architecture and planning goals and objectives.
Keywords: Daylight, window, orientation, energy consumption, design builder.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 10711402 Design of One – Dimensional Tungsten Gratings for Thermophotovoltaic Emitters
Authors: Samah. G. Babiker, Shuai Yong, Mohamed Osman Sid-Ahmed Xie Ming, A.M. Abdelbagi
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In this paper, a one - dimensional microstructure tungsten grating (pyramids) is optimized for potential application as thermophotovoltaic (TPV) emitter. The influence of gratings geometric parameters on the spectral emittance are studied by using the rigorous coupled-wave analysis (RCWA).The results show that the spectral emittance is affected by the gratings geometrical parameters. The optimum parameters are grating period of 0.5µm, a filling ratio of 0.8 and grating height of h=0.2µm. A broad peak of high emittance is obtained at wavelengths between 0.5 and 1.8µm. The emittance drops below 0.2 at wavelengths above 1.8µm. This can be explained by the surface plasmon polaritons excitation coupled with the grating microstructures. At longer wavelengths, the emittance remains low and this is highly desired for thermophotovoltaic applications to reduce the thermal leakage due to low-energy photons that do not produce any photocurrent. The proposed structure can be used as a selective emitter for a narrow band gap cell such as GaSb. The performance of this simple 1-D emitter proved to be superior to that from more complicated structures. Almost all the radiation from the emitter incident, at angles up to 40°, on the cell, could be utilized to produce a photocurrent. There is no need for a filter.
Keywords: Thermophotovoltaic, RCWA, Grating, Emittance, Surface plasmon polaritons
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 22131401 Participatory Democracy to the Contemporary Problems of Polish Social Policy
Authors: Agnieszka Szczudlińska-Kanoś
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Socio-economic development, which is seen around the world today, has contributed to the emergence of new problems of a social nature. Different political, historical, geographical or economic conditions cause that, in addition to global issues of social policy such as an aging population, unemployment, migration, countries, regions, there are also specific new problems that require diagnosis, individualized approach and efficient, planned solutions. These should include, among others, digital addiction, peer violence, obesity among children, the problem of ‘legal highs’, stress, depression, diseases associated with environmental pollution etc. The central authorities, selected most often with the tools specific to representative democracy, that is, the general election, for many reasons, inter alia, organizational, communication, are not able to effectively diagnose their intensity, territorial distribution, and thus to effectively fight them. This article aims to show how in Poland, citizens influence solving problems related to the broader social policy implemented at the local government level and indicates the possibilities of improving those solutions. The conclusions of theoretical analysis have been supported by empirical studies, which tested the use of instruments of participatory democracy in the planning and creation of communal strategies for solving social problems in one of the Polish voivodeships.Keywords: Commune, democracy, participation, social policy, social problems.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 25481400 Resveratrol Incorporated Liposomes Prepared from Pegylated Phospholipids and Cholesterol
Authors: Mont Kumpugdee-Vollrath, Khaled Abdallah
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Liposomes and pegylated liposomes were widely used as drug delivery system in pharmaceutical field since a long time. However, in the former time, polyethylene glycol (PEG) was connected into phospholipid after the liposomes were already prepared. In this paper, we intend to study the possibility of applying phospholipids which already connected with PEG and then they were used to prepare liposomes. The model drug resveratrol was used because it can be applied against different diseases. Cholesterol was applied to stabilize the membrane of liposomes. The thin film technique in a laboratory scale was a preparation method. The liposomes were then characterized by nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA), photon correlation spectroscopy (PCS) and light microscopic techniques. The stable liposomes can be produced and the particle sizes after filtration were in nanometers. The 2- and 3-chains-PEG-phospholipid (PL) caused in smaller particle size than the 4-chains-PEG-PL. Liposomes from PL 90G and cholesterol were stable during storage at 8 °C of 56 days because the particle sizes measured by PCS were almost not changed. There was almost no leakage of resveratrol from liposomes PL 90G with cholesterol after diffusion test in dialysis tube for 28 days. All liposomes showed the sustained release during measuring time of 270 min. The maximum release amount of 16-20% was detected with liposomes from 2- and 3-chains-PEG-PL. The other liposomes gave max. release amount of resveratrol only of 10%. The release kinetic can be explained by Korsmeyer-Peppas equation.
Keywords: Liposome, NTA, resveratrol, pegylation, cholesterol.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 10431399 Fretting Fatigue behavior of Bolted Single Lap Joints of Aluminum Alloys
Authors: Hadi Rezghi Maleki, Babak Abazadeh
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In this paper, the effect of bolt clamping force on the fatigue behavior of bolted single lap joints of aluminum alloy 2024- T3 have been studied using numerical finite element method. To do so, a three dimensional model according to the bolted single lap joint has been created and numerical analysis has been carried out using finite element based package. Then the stress distribution and also the slip amplitudes have been calculated in the critical regions and the outcome have been compared with the available experimental fatigue tests results. The numerical results show that in low applied clamping force, the fatigue failure of the specimens occur around the stress concentration location (the bolted hole edge) due to the tensile stresses and thus fatigue crack propagation, but with increase of the clamping force, the fatigue life increases and the cracks nucleate and propagate far from the hole edge because of fretting fatigue. In other words, with the further increase of clamping force value of the joint, the fatigue life reduces due to occurrence of the fretting fatigue in the critical location where the slip amplitude is within its critical occurs earlier.
Keywords: Fretting fatigue, bolted single lap joint, torque tightening, finite element method.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 25361398 Influence of Maturation Degree of Arbutus (Arbutus unedo L.) Fruits in Spirit Composition and Quality
Authors: Goreti Botelho, Filomena Gomes, Fernanda M. Ferreira, Ilda Caldeira
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The strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo L.) is a small tree or shrub from botanical Ericaceae family that grows spontaneously nearby the Mediterranean basin and produce edible red fruits. A traditional processed fruit application, in Mediterranean countries, is the production of a spirit (known as aguardente de medronho, in Portugal) obtained from the fermented fruit. The main objective of our study was to contribute to the knowledge about the influence of the degree of maturation of fruits in the volatile composition and quality of arbutus spirit. The major volatiles in the three distillates fractions (head, heart and tail) obtained from fermentation of two different fruit maturation levels were quantified by GC-FID analysis and ANOVA one-way was performed. Additionally, the total antioxidant capacity and total phenolic compounds of both arbutus fruit spirits were determined, by ABTS and Folin-Ciocalteau method, respectively. The methanol concentration is higher (1022.39 g/hL a.a.) in the spirit made from fruits with highest total soluble solids, which is a value above the legal limit (1000 g/hL a.a.). Overall, our study emphasizes, for the first time, the influence of maturation degree of arbutus fruits in the spirit volatile composition and quality.Keywords: Arbutus fruit, maturation, quality, spirit.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 22951397 Retarding Potential Analyzer Design and Result Analysis for Ion Energy Distribution Measurement of the Thruster Plume in the Laboratory
Authors: Ma Ya-li, Tang Fu-jun, Xue Yu-xiong, Chen Yi-feng, Gao Xin, Wang Yi, Tian Kai, Yan Ze-dong
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Plasma plume will be produced and arrive at spacecraft when the electric thruster operates on orbit. It-s important to characterize the thruster plasma parameters because the plume has significant effects or hazards on spacecraft sub-systems and parts. Through the ground test data of the desired parameters, the major characteristics of the thruster plume will be achieved. Also it is very important for optimizing design of Ion thruster. Retarding Potential Analyzer (RPA) is an effective instrument for plasma ion energy per unit charge distribution measurement. Special RPA should be designed according to certain plume plasma parameters range and feature. In this paper, major principles usable for good RPA design are discussed carefully. Conform to these principles, a four-grid planar electrostatic energy analyzer RPA was designed to avoid false data, and details were discussed including construction, materials, aperture diameter and so on. At the same time, it was designed more suitable for credible and long-duration measurements in the laboratory. In the end, RPA measurement results in the laboratory were given and discussed.
Keywords: Thruster plume ion energy distributions, retarding potential analyzer, ground test.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 39801396 Estimation of Carbon Released From Dry Dipterocarp Forest Fire in Thailand
Authors: Ubonwan Chaiyo, Yannick Pizzo, Savitri Garivait
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This study focused on the estimation of carbon released to the atmosphere from dry dipterocarp forest (DDF) fires in Thailand. Laboratory experiments were conducted using a cone calorimeter to simulate the DDF fires. The leaf litter collected from DDF in western Thailand was used as biomass fuel. Three different masses of leaf litter were employed, 7g, 10g and 13g, to estimate the carbon released from this type of vegetation fire to the atmosphere. The chemical analysis of the leaf litter showed that the carbon content in the experimental biomass fuel was 46.0±0.1%. From the experiments, it was found that more than 95% of the carbon input was converted to carbon released to the atmosphere, while less than 5% were left in the form of residues, and returned to soil. From the study, the carbon released amounted 440.213±2.243 g/kgdry biomass, and the carbon retained in the residues was 19.786±2.243 g/kgdry biomass. The quantity of biomass fuel consumed to produce 1 g of carbon released was 2.27±0.01gkgdry biomass. Using these experimental data of carbon produced by the DDF fires, it was estimated that this type of fires in 2009 contributed to 4.659 tonnes of carbon released to the atmosphere, and 0.229 tonnes of carbon in the residues to be returned to soil in Thailand.
Keywords: Carbon mass balance, carbon released, tropical dry dipterocarp forest, biomass bunring.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 24341395 SOA-Based Mobile Application for Crime Control in Thailand
Authors: Jintana Khemprasit, Vatcharaporn Esichaikul
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Crime is a major societal problem for most of the world's nations. Consequently, the police need to develop new methods to improve their efficiency in dealing with these ever increasing crime rates. Two of the common difficulties that the police face in crime control are crime investigation and the provision of crime information to the general public to help them protect themselves. Crime control in police operations involves the use of spatial data, crime data and the related crime data from different organizations (depending on the nature of the analysis to be made). These types of data are collected from several heterogeneous sources in different formats and from different platforms, resulting in a lack of standardization. Moreover, there is no standard framework for crime data collection, integration and dissemination through mobile devices. An investigation into the current situation in crime control was carried out to identify the needs to resolve these issues. This paper proposes and investigates the use of service oriented architecture (SOA) and the mobile spatial information service in crime control. SOA plays an important role in crime control as an appropriate way to support data exchange and model sharing from heterogeneous sources. Crime control also needs to facilitate mobile spatial information services in order to exchange, receive, share and release information based on location to mobile users anytime and anywhere.Keywords: Crime Control, Geographic Information System (GIS), Mobile GIS, Service Oriented Architecture (SOA).
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 25141394 Validating Condition-Based Maintenance Algorithms Through Simulation
Authors: Marcel Chevalier, Léo Dupont, Sylvain Marié, Frédérique Roffet, Elena Stolyarova, William Templier, Costin Vasile
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Industrial end users are currently facing an increasing need to reduce the risk of unexpected failures and optimize their maintenance. This calls for both short-term analysis and long-term ageing anticipation. At Schneider Electric, we tackle those two issues using both Machine Learning and First Principles models. Machine learning models are incrementally trained from normal data to predict expected values and detect statistically significant short-term deviations. Ageing models are constructed from breaking down physical systems into sub-assemblies, then determining relevant degradation modes and associating each one to the right kinetic law. Validating such anomaly detection and maintenance models is challenging, both because actual incident and ageing data are rare and distorted by human interventions, and incremental learning depends on human feedback. To overcome these difficulties, we propose to simulate physics, systems and humans – including asset maintenance operations – in order to validate the overall approaches in accelerated time and possibly choose between algorithmic alternatives.
Keywords: Degradation models, ageing, anomaly detection, soft sensor, incremental learning.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2901393 Small Signal Stability Assessment Employing PSO Based TCSC Controller with Comparison to GA Based Design
Authors: D. Mondal, A. Chakrabarti, A. Sengupta
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This paper aims to select the optimal location and setting parameters of TCSC (Thyristor Controlled Series Compensator) controller using Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) and Genetic Algorithm (GA) to mitigate small signal oscillations in a multimachine power system. Though Power System Stabilizers (PSSs) are prime choice in this issue, installation of FACTS device has been suggested here in order to achieve appreciable damping of system oscillations. However, performance of any FACTS devices highly depends upon its parameters and suitable location in the power network. In this paper PSO as well as GA based techniques are used separately and compared their performances to investigate this problem. The results of small signal stability analysis have been represented employing eigenvalue as well as time domain response in face of two common power system disturbances e.g., varying load and transmission line outage. It has been revealed that the PSO based TCSC controller is more effective than GA based controller even during critical loading condition.Keywords: Genetic Algorithm, Particle Swarm Optimization, Small Signal Stability, Thyristor Controlled Series Compensator.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 19441392 Least-Squares Support Vector Machine for Characterization of Clusters of Microcalcifications
Authors: Baljit Singh Khehra, Amar Partap Singh Pharwaha
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Clusters of Microcalcifications (MCCs) are most frequent symptoms of Ductal Carcinoma in Situ (DCIS) recognized by mammography. Least-Square Support Vector Machine (LS-SVM) is a variant of the standard SVM. In the paper, LS-SVM is proposed as a classifier for classifying MCCs as benign or malignant based on relevant extracted features from enhanced mammogram. To establish the credibility of LS-SVM classifier for classifying MCCs, a comparative evaluation of the relative performance of LS-SVM classifier for different kernel functions is made. For comparative evaluation, confusion matrix and ROC analysis are used. Experiments are performed on data extracted from mammogram images of DDSM database. A total of 380 suspicious areas are collected, which contain 235 malignant and 145 benign samples, from mammogram images of DDSM database. A set of 50 features is calculated for each suspicious area. After this, an optimal subset of 23 most suitable features is selected from 50 features by Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO). The results of proposed study are quite promising.
Keywords: Clusters of Microcalcifications, Ductal Carcinoma in Situ, Least-Square Support Vector Machine, Particle Swarm Optimization.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 17971391 Influencing of Rice Residue Management Method on GHG Emission from Rice Cultivation
Authors: Cheewaphongphan P., Garivait S., Pongpullponsak A., Patumsawad S.
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Thailand is one of the world-s leaders of rice producers and exporters. Farmers have to increase the rice cultivation frequency for serving the national increasing of export-s demand. It leads to an elimination of rice residues by open burning which is the quickest and costless management method. The open burning of rice residue is one of the major causes of air pollutants and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission. Under ASEAN agreement on trans-boundary haze, Thailand set the master plan to mitigate air pollutant emission from open burning of agricultural residues. In this master plan, residues incorporation is promoted as alternative management method to open burning. However, the assessment of both options in term of GHG emission in order to investigate their contribution to long-term global warming is still scarce or inexistent. In this study, a method on rice residues assessment was first developed in order to estimate and compare GHG emissions from rice cultivation under rice residues open burning and the case with incorporation of the same amount of rice residues, using 2006 IPCC guidelines for emission estimation and Life Cycle Analysis technique. The emission from rice cultivation in different preparing area practice was also discussed.Keywords: Greenhouse gases, Incorporation, Rice cultivation, Rice field residue, Rice residue management
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 32121390 Evaluation of Settlement of Coastal Embankments Using Finite Elements Method
Authors: Sina Fadaie, Seyed Abolhassan Naeini
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Coastal embankments play an important role in coastal structures by reducing the effect of the wave forces and controlling the movement of sediments. Many coastal areas are underlain by weak and compressible soils. Estimation of during construction settlement of coastal embankments is highly important in design and safety control of embankments and appurtenant structures. Accordingly, selecting and establishing of an appropriate model with a reasonable level of complication is one of the challenges for engineers. Although there are advanced models in the literature regarding design of embankments, there is not enough information on the prediction of their associated settlement, particularly in coastal areas having considerable soft soils. Marine engineering study in Iran is important due to the existence of two important coastal areas located in the northern and southern parts of the country. In the present study, the validity of Terzaghi’s consolidation theory has been investigated. In addition, the settlement of these coastal embankments during construction is predicted by using special methods in PLAXIS software by the help of appropriate boundary conditions and soil layers. The results indicate that, for the existing soil condition at the site, some parameters are important to be considered in analysis. Consequently, a model is introduced to estimate the settlement of the embankments in such geotechnical conditions.
Keywords: Consolidation, coastal embankments, settlement, numerical methods, finite elements method.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 7731389 Geometrically Non-Linear Axisymmetric Free Vibration Analysis of Functionally Graded Annular Plates
Authors: Boutahar Lhoucine, El Bikri Khalid, Benamar Rhali
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In this paper, the non-linear free axisymmetric vibration of a thin annular plate made of functionally graded material (FGM) has been studied by using the energy method and a multimode approach. FGM properties vary continuously as well as non-homogeneity through the thickness direction of the plate. The theoretical model is based on the classical plate theory and the Von Kármán geometrical non-linearity assumptions. An approximation has been adopted in the present work consisting of neglecting the in-plane deformation in the formulation. Hamilton’s principle is used to derive the governing equation of motion. The problem is solved by a numerical iterative procedure in order to obtain more accurate results for vibration amplitudes up to 1.5 times the plate thickness. The numerical results are given for the first axisymmetric non-linear mode shape for a wide range of vibration amplitudes and they are presented either in tabular form or in graphical form to show the effect that the vibration amplitude and the variation in material properties have significant effects on the frequencies and the bending stresses in large amplitude vibration of the functionally graded annular plate.
Keywords: Non-linear vibrations, Annular plates, Large amplitudes, FGM.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 21681388 The Algorithm of Semi-Automatic Thai Spoonerism Words for Bi-Syllable
Authors: Nutthapat Kaewrattanapat, Wannarat Bunchongkien
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The purposes of this research are to study and develop the algorithm of Thai spoonerism words by semi-automatic computer programs, that is to say, in part of data input, syllables are already separated and in part of spoonerism, the developed algorithm is utilized, which can establish rules and mechanisms in Thai spoonerism words for bi-syllables by utilizing analysis in elements of the syllables, namely cluster consonant, vowel, intonation mark and final consonant. From the study, it is found that bi-syllable Thai spoonerism has 1 case of spoonerism mechanism, namely transposition in value of vowel, intonation mark and consonant of both 2 syllables but keeping consonant value and cluster word (if any). From the study, the rules and mechanisms in Thai spoonerism word were applied to develop as Thai spoonerism word software, utilizing PHP program. the software was brought to conduct a performance test on software execution; it is found that the program performs bi-syllable Thai spoonerism correctly or 99% of all words used in the test and found faults on the program at 1% as the words obtained from spoonerism may not be spelling in conformity with Thai grammar and the answer in Thai spoonerism could be more than 1 answer.
Keywords: Algorithm, Spoonerism, Computational Linguistics.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 23381387 Pressure Angle and Profile Shift Factor Effects on the Natural Frequency of Spur Tooth Design
Authors: Ali Raad Hassan
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In this paper, an (irregular) case relating to base circle, root circle, and pressure angle has been discussed and a computer programme has been developed to simulate and plot spur gear tooth profile, including involute and trochoid curves based on the formulation of rack cutter using different values of pressure angle and profile shift factor and it gave the values of all important geometric parameters. The results showed the flexibility of this approach and versatility of the programme to draw many different cases of spur gear teeth of any module, pressure angle, profile shift factor, number of teeth and rack cutter tip radius. The procedure developed can be extended to produce finite element models of heretofore intractable geometrical forms, to exploring fabrication of nonstandard tooth forms also. Finite elements model of these irregular cases have been built using above programme, and modal analysis has been done using ANSYS software, and natural frequencies of these selected cases have been obtained and discussed.Keywords: involute, trochoid, pressure angle, profile shift factor, natural frequency
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 13711386 Mathematical Model of Depletion of Forestry Resource: Effect of Synthetic Based Industries
Authors: Manisha Chaudhary, Joydip Dhar, Govind Prasad Sahu
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A mathematical model is proposed considering the forest biomass density B(t), density of wood based industries W(t) and density of synthetic industries S(t). It is assumed that the forest biomass grows logistically in the absence of wood based industries, but depletion of forestry biomass is due to presence of wood based industries. The growth of wood based industries depends on B(t), while S(t) grows at a constant rate, independent of B(t). Further there is a competition between W(t) and S(t) according to market demand. The proposed model has four ecologically feasible steady states, namely, E1: forest biomass free and wood industries free equilibrium; E2: wood industries free equilibrium and two coexisting equilibria E∗1 , E∗2 . Behavior of the system near all feasible equilibria is analyzed using the stability theory of differential equations. In the proposed model, the natural depletion rate h1 is a crucial parameter and system exhibits Hopf-bifurcation about the non-trivial equilibrium with respect to h1. The analytical results are verified using numerical simulation.
Keywords: A mathematical model, Competition between wood based and synthetic industries, Hopf-bifurcation, Stability analysis.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 34771385 Toxicity Depletion Rates of Water Lettuce (Pistia stratoites) in an Aquaculture Effluent Hydroponic System
Authors: E. A. Kiridi, A. O. Ogunlela
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The control of ammonia build-up and its by-product is a limiting factor for a successful commercial aquaculture in a developing country like Nigeria. The technology for an advanced treatment of fish tank effluent is uneconomical to local fish farmers which have led to indiscriminate disposal of aquaculture wastewater, thereby increasing the concentrations of these nitrogenous compound and other contaminants in surface and groundwater above the permissible level. Phytoremediation using water lettuce could offer cheaper and sustainable alternative. On the first day of experimentation, approximately 100 g of water lettuce were replicated in four hydroponic units containing aquaculture effluents. The water quality parameters measured were concentration of ammonium–nitrogen (NH4+-N), nitrite-nitrogen (NO2--N), nitrate-nitrogen (NO3--N), and phosphate–phosphorus (PO43--P). Others were total suspended solids (TSS), pH, electrical conductivity (EC), and biomass value. At phytoremediation intervals of 7, 14, 21 and 28 days, the biomass recorded were 361.2 g, 498.7 g, 561.2 g, and 623.7 g. Water lettuce was able to reduce the pollutant concentration of all the selected parameter. The percentage reduction of pH ranged from 3.9% to 14.4%, EC from 49.8% to 96.2%, TDS from 50.4% to 96.2%, TSS from 38.3% to 81.7%, NH4+-N from 38.9% to 90.7%, NO2--N from 0% to 74.9%, NO3--N from 63.2% to 95.9% and PO43--P from 0% to 76.3%. At 95% confidence level, the analysis of variance shows that F(critical) is less than F(cal) and p < 0.05; therefore, it can be concluded statistically that the inequality between the pre-treatment and post-treatment values are significant. This suggests the potency of water lettuce for remediation of aquaculture effluent.
Keywords: Aquaculture effluent, nitrification, phytoremediation, water lettuce.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 11161384 New Vision of 'Social Europe': Renationalising the Integration Process in the Internal Market of the European Union
Authors: Robert Grzeszczak, Magdalena Gniadzik
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The article deals with one of the most significant issues concerning the functioning of the internal market of the European Union – the free movement of workers and free movement of persons. The purpose is to identify the political and legal effects of the “renationalisation process” on the EU and its Member States. The concept of renationalisation is expressed through Member States’ aim to verify the relationship with the EU. The tendency is more visible in the public opinion of several MS’s of the ‘EU core’ and may be confirmed by the changes applied by the regulatory body. The thesis for the article is the return of renationalisation tendencies in the area of the Single Market, which is supported by, among others, an open criticism of the foundations of EU integration or considerations on withdrawal from the EU by some MS. This analysis will focus primarily on the effects that renationalisation may have on the free movement of persons. The free movement of persons is one of the key issues for the development of the European integration. It is still subject to theoretical reflections, new doubts and practical issues. The latest developments in politics, law and jurisprudence demonstrate the need to reflect on the attempts to redefine certain principles regarding migrant EU workers and their protection against nationality-based discrimination.
Keywords: European law, European Union, common market, free movement of workers, posting of workers, case law.
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