Search results for: Complex systems
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 5587

Search results for: Complex systems

4567 Using Multimedia in Computer Based Learning (CBL) A Case Study: Teaching Science to Student

Authors: Maryam Honarmand

Abstract:

Regarding to the fast growth of computer, internet, and virtual learning in our country (Iran) and need computer-based learning systems and multimedia tools as an essential part of such education, designing and implementing such systems would help teach different field such as science. This paper describes the basic principle of multimedia. At the end, with a description of learning science to the infant students, the method of this system will be explained.

Keywords: Multimedia tools, computer based learning, science, student.

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4566 Providing Additional Advantages for STATCOM in Power Systems by Integration of Energy Storage Device

Authors: Reza Sedaghati

Abstract:

The use of Flexible AC Transmission System (FACTS) devices in a power system can potentially overcome limitations of the present mechanically controlled transmission system. Also, the advance of technology makes possible to include new energy storage devices in the electrical power system. The integration of Superconducting Magnetic Energy Storage (SMES) into Static Synchronous Compensator (STATCOM) can lead to increase their flexibility in improvement of power system dynamic behaviour by exchanging both active and reactive powers with power grids. This paper describes structure and behaviour of SMES, specifications and performance principles of the STATCOM/SMES compensator. Moreover, the benefits and effectiveness of integrated SMES with STATCOM in power systems is presented. Also, the performance of the STATCOM/SMES compensator is evaluated using an IEEE 3-bus system through the dynamic simulation by PSCAD/EMTDC software.

Keywords: STATCOM/SMES compensator, chopper, converter, energy storage system, power systems.

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4565 Connectionist Approach to Generic Text Summarization

Authors: Rajesh S.Prasad, U. V. Kulkarni, Jayashree.R.Prasad

Abstract:

As the enormous amount of on-line text grows on the World-Wide Web, the development of methods for automatically summarizing this text becomes more important. The primary goal of this research is to create an efficient tool that is able to summarize large documents automatically. We propose an Evolving connectionist System that is adaptive, incremental learning and knowledge representation system that evolves its structure and functionality. In this paper, we propose a novel approach for Part of Speech disambiguation using a recurrent neural network, a paradigm capable of dealing with sequential data. We observed that connectionist approach to text summarization has a natural way of learning grammatical structures through experience. Experimental results show that our approach achieves acceptable performance.

Keywords: Artificial Neural Networks (ANN); Computational Intelligence (CI); Connectionist Text Summarizer ECTS (ECTS); Evolving Connectionist systems; Evolving systems; Fuzzy systems (FS); Part of Speech (POS) disambiguation.

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4564 Employee Assessment Systems in the Structures of Corporate Groups

Authors: D. Bąk-Grabowska, K. Grzesik, A. Iwanicka, A. Jagoda

Abstract:

The process of human resources management in the structures of corporate groups demonstrates certain specificity, resulting from the division of decision-making and executive competencies, which occurs within these structures between a parent company and its subsidiaries. The subprocess of employee assessment is considered crucial, since it provides information for the implementation of personnel function. The empirical studies conducted in corporate groups, within which at least one company is located in Poland, confirmed the critical significance of employee assessment systems in the process of human resources management in corporate groups. Parent companies, most often, retain their decision-making authority within the framework of the discussed process and introduce uniform employee assessment and personnel controlling systems to subsidiary companies. However, the instruments for employee assessment applied in corporate groups do not present such specificity.

Keywords: Corporate groups, employee periodical assessment system, holding, human resources management.

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4563 Solving Fully Fuzzy Linear Systems by use of a Certain Decomposition of the Coefficient Matrix

Authors: S. H. Nasseri, M. Sohrabi, E. Ardil

Abstract:

In this paper, we give a certain decomposition of the coefficient matrix of the fully fuzzy linear system (FFLS) to obtain a simple algorithm for solving these systems. The new algorithm can solve FFLS in a smaller computing process. We will illustrate our method by solving some examples.

Keywords: Fully fuzzy linear system, Fuzzy number, LUdecomposition.

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4562 Issues in Deploying Smart Antennas in Mobile Radio Networks

Authors: Rameshwar Kawitkar

Abstract:

With the exponentially increasing demand for wireless communications the capacity of current cellular systems will soon become incapable of handling the growing traffic. Since radio frequencies are diminishing natural resources, there seems to be a fundamental barrier to further capacity increase. The solution can be found in smart antenna systems. Smart or adaptive antenna arrays consist of an array of antenna elements with signal processing capability, that optimize the radiation and reception of a desired signal, dynamically. Smart antennas can place nulls in the direction of interferers via adaptive updating of weights linked to each antenna element. They thus cancel out most of the co-channel interference resulting in better quality of reception and lower dropped calls. Smart antennas can also track the user within a cell via direction of arrival algorithms. This implies that they are more advantageous than other antenna systems. This paper focuses on few issues about the smart antennas in mobile radio networks.

Keywords: Smart/Adaptive Antenna, Multipath fading, Beamforming, Radio propagation.

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4561 Self-adaptation of Ontologies to Folksonomies in Semantic Web

Authors: Francisco Echarte, José Javier Astrain, Alberto Córdoba, Jesús Villadangos

Abstract:

Ontologies and tagging systems are two different ways to organize the knowledge present in the current Web. In this paper we propose a simple method to model folksonomies, as tagging systems, with ontologies. We show the scalability of the method using real data sets. The modeling method is composed of a generic ontology that represents any folksonomy and an algorithm to transform the information contained in folksonomies to the generic ontology. The method allows representing folksonomies at any instant of time.

Keywords: Folksonomies, ontologies, OWL, semantic web.

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4560 Computer Aided Detection on Mammography

Authors: Giovanni Luca Masala

Abstract:

A typical definition of the Computer Aided Diagnosis (CAD), found in literature, can be: A diagnosis made by a radiologist using the output of a computerized scheme for automated image analysis as a diagnostic aid. Often it is possible to find the expression Computer Aided Detection (CAD or CADe): this definition emphasizes the intent of CAD to support rather than substitute the human observer in the analysis of radiographic images. In this article we will illustrate the application of CAD systems and the aim of these definitions. Commercially available CAD systems use computerized algorithms for identifying suspicious regions of interest. In this paper are described the general CAD systems as an expert system constituted of the following components: segmentation / detection, feature extraction, and classification / decision making. As example, in this work is shown the realization of a Computer- Aided Detection system that is able to assist the radiologist in identifying types of mammary tumor lesions. Furthermore this prototype of station uses a GRID configuration to work on a large distributed database of digitized mammographic images.

Keywords: Computer Aided Detection, Computer Aided Diagnosis, mammography, GRID.

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4559 Peak Data Rate Enhancement Using Switched Micro-Macro Diversity in Cellular Multiple-Input-Multiple-Output Systems

Authors: Jihad S. Daba, J. P. Dubois, Yvette Antar

Abstract:

With the exponential growth of cellular users, a new generation of cellular networks is needed to enhance the required peak data rates. The co-channel interference between neighboring base stations inhibits peak data rate increase. To overcome this interference, multi-cell cooperation known as coordinated multipoint transmission is proposed. Such a solution makes use of multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) systems under two different structures: Micro- and macro-diversity. In this paper, we study the capacity and bit error rate in cellular networks using MIMO technology. We analyse both micro- and macro-diversity schemes and develop a hybrid model that switches between macro- and micro-diversity in the case of hard handoff based on a cut-off range of signal-to-noise ratio values. We conclude that our hybrid switched micro-macro MIMO system outperforms classical MIMO systems at the cost of increased hardware and software complexity.

Keywords: Cooperative multipoint transmission, ergodic capacity, hard handoff, macro-diversity, micro-diversity, multiple-input-multiple-output systems, MIMO, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing, OFDM.

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4558 Quantitative Genetics Researches on Milk Protein Systems of Romanian Grey Steppe Breed

Authors: V. Maciuc, Şt. Creangă, I. Gîlcă, V. Ujică

Abstract:

The paper makes part from a complex research project on Romanian Grey Steppe, a unique breed in terms of biological and cultural-historical importance, on the verge of extinction and which has been included in a preservation programme of genetic resources from Romania. The study of genetic polymorphism of protean fractions, especially kappa-casein, and the genotype relations of these lactoproteins with some quantitative and qualitative features of milk yield represents a current theme and a novelty for this breed. In the estimation of the genetic parameters we used R.E.M.L. (Restricted Maximum Likelihood) method. The main lactoprotein from milk, kappa - casein (K-cz), characterized in the specialized literature as a feature having a high degree of hereditary transmission, behaves as such in the nucleus under study, a value also confirmed by the heritability coefficient (h2 = 0.57 %). We must mention the medium values for milk and fat quantity (h2=0.26, 0.29 %) and the fat and protein percentage from milk having a high hereditary influence h2 = 0.71 - 0.63 %. Correlations between kappa-casein and the milk quantity are negative and strong. Between kappa-casein and other qualitative features of milk (fat content 0.58-0.67 % and protein content 0.77- 0.87%), there are positive and very strong correlations. At the same time, between kappa-casein and β casein (β-cz), β lactoglobulin (β- lg) respectively, correlations are positive having high values (0.37 – 0.45 %), indicating the same causes and determining factors for the two groups of features.

Keywords: breed, genetic preservation, lactoproteins, Romanian Grey Steppe

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4557 Examination of the Effect of Air Viscosity on Narrow Acoustic Tubes Using FEM Involving Complex Effective Density and Complex Bulk Modulus

Authors: M. Watanabe, T. Yamaguchi, M. Sasajima, Y. Kurosawa, Y. Koike

Abstract:

Earphones and headphones, which are compact electro-acoustic transducers, tend to have a lot of acoustic absorption materials and porous materials known as dampers, which often have a large number of extremely small holes and narrow slits to inhibit the resonance of the vibrating system, because the air viscosity significantly affects the acoustic characteristics in such acoustic paths. In order to perform simulations using the finite element method (FEM), it is necessary to be aware of material characteristics such as the impedance and propagation constants of sound absorbing materials and porous materials. The transfer function is widely known as a measurement method for an acoustic tube with such physical properties, but literature describing the measurements at the upper limits of the audible range is yet to be found. The acoustic tube, which is a measurement instrument, must be made narrow, and the distance between the two sets of microphones must be shortened in order to take measurements of acoustic characteristics at higher frequencies. When such a tube is made narrow, however, the characteristic impedance has been observed to become lower than the impedance of air. This paper considers the cause of this phenomenon to be the effect of the air viscosity and describes an FEM analysis of an acoustic tube considering air viscosity to compare to the theoretical formula by including the effect of air viscosity in the theoretical formula for an acoustic tube.

Keywords: Acoustic tube, air viscosity, earphones, FEM, porous materials, sound absorbing materials, transfer function method.

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4556 Knowledge Mining in Web-based Learning Environments

Authors: Nittaya Kerdprasop, Kittisak Kerdprasop

Abstract:

The state of the art in instructional design for computer-assisted learning has been strongly influenced by advances in information technology, Internet and Web-based systems. The emphasis of educational systems has shifted from training to learning. The course delivered has also been changed from large inflexible content to sequential small chunks of learning objects. The concepts of learning objects together with the advanced technologies of Web and communications support the reusability, interoperability, and accessibility design criteria currently exploited by most learning systems. These concepts enable just-in-time learning. We propose to extend theses design criteria further to include the learnability concept that will help adapting content to the needs of learners. The learnability concept offers a better personalization leading to the creation and delivery of course content more appropriate to performance and interest of each learner. In this paper we present a new framework of learning environments containing knowledge discovery as a tool to automatically learn patterns of learning behavior from learners' profiles and history.

Keywords: Knowledge mining, Web-based learning, Learning environments.

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4555 Evaluating the Impact of Replacement Policies on the Cache Performance and Energy Consumption in Different Multicore Embedded Systems

Authors: Sajjad Rostami-Sani, Mojtaba Valinataj, Amir-Hossein Khojir-Angasi

Abstract:

The cache has an important role in the reduction of access delay between a processor and memory in high-performance embedded systems. In these systems, the energy consumption is one of the most important concerns, and it will become more important with smaller processor feature sizes and higher frequencies. Meanwhile, the cache system dissipates a significant portion of energy compared to the other components of a processor. There are some elements that can affect the energy consumption of the cache such as replacement policy and degree of associativity. Due to these points, it can be inferred that selecting an appropriate configuration for the cache is a crucial part of designing a system. In this paper, we investigate the effect of different cache replacement policies on both cache’s performance and energy consumption. Furthermore, the impact of different Instruction Set Architectures (ISAs) on cache’s performance and energy consumption has been investigated.

Keywords: L1-cache, energy consumption, replacement policy, Instruction set architecture, multicore processor.

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4554 Comparative Performance and Microbial Community of Single-phase and Two-phase Anaerobic Systems Co-Digesting Cassava Pulpand Pig Manure

Authors: P. Panichnumsin, B. K. Ahring, A. Nopharatana, P. Chaipresert

Abstract:

In this study, we illustrated the performance and microbial community of single- and two-phase systems anaerobically co-digesting cassava pulp and pig manure. The results showed that the volatile solid reduction and biogas productivity of two-phase CSTR were 66 ± 4% and 2000 ± 210 ml l-1 d-1, while those of singlephase CSTR were 59 ± 1% and 1670 ± 60 ml l-1 d-1, respectively. Codigestion in two-phase CSTR gave higher 12% solid degradation and 25% methane production than single-phase CSTR. Phylogenetic analysis of 16S rDNA clone library revealed that the Bacteroidetes were the most abundant group, followed by the Clostridia in singlephase CSTR. In hydrolysis/acidification reactor of two-phase system, the bacteria within the phylum Firmicutes, especially Clostridium, Eubacteriaceae and Lactobacillus were the dominant phylogenetic groups. Among the Archaea, Methanosaeta sp. was the exclusive predominant in both digesters while the relative abundance of Methanosaeta sp. and Methanospirillum hungatei differed between the two systems.

Keywords: Anaerobic co-digestion, Cassava pulp, Microbialdiversity, Pig manure.

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4553 Methodology for Quantifying the Meaning of Information in Biological Systems

Authors: Richard L. Summers

Abstract:

The advanced computational analysis of biological systems is becoming increasingly dependent upon an understanding of the information-theoretic structure of the materials, energy and interactive processes that comprise those systems. The stability and survival of these living systems is fundamentally contingent upon their ability to acquire and process the meaning of information concerning the physical state of its biological continuum (biocontinuum). The drive for adaptive system reconciliation of a divergence from steady state within this biocontinuum can be described by an information metric-based formulation of the process for actionable knowledge acquisition that incorporates the axiomatic inference of Kullback-Leibler information minimization driven by survival replicator dynamics. If the mathematical expression of this process is the Lagrangian integrand for any change within the biocontinuum then it can also be considered as an action functional for the living system. In the direct method of Lyapunov, such a summarizing mathematical formulation of global system behavior based on the driving forces of energy currents and constraints within the system can serve as a platform for the analysis of stability. As the system evolves in time in response to biocontinuum perturbations, the summarizing function then conveys information about its overall stability. This stability information portends survival and therefore has absolute existential meaning for the living system. The first derivative of the Lyapunov energy information function will have a negative trajectory toward a system steady state if the driving force is dissipating. By contrast, system instability leading to system dissolution will have a positive trajectory. The direction and magnitude of the vector for the trajectory then serves as a quantifiable signature of the meaning associated with the living system’s stability information, homeostasis and survival potential.

Keywords: Semiotic meaning, Shannon information, Lyapunov, living systems.

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4552 Synthesis of Filtering in Stochastic Systems on Continuous-Time Memory Observations in the Presence of Anomalous Noises

Authors: S. Rozhkova, O. Rozhkova, A. Harlova, V. Lasukov

Abstract:

We have conducted the optimal synthesis of rootmean- squared objective filter to estimate the state vector in the case if within the observation channel with memory the anomalous noises with unknown mathematical expectation are complement in the function of the regular noises. The synthesis has been carried out for linear stochastic systems of continuous - time.

Keywords: Mathematical expectation, filtration, anomalous noise, memory.

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4551 Modern Seismic Design Approach for Buildings with Hysteretic Dampers

Authors: Vanessa A. Segovia, Sonia E. Ruiz

Abstract:

The use of energy dissipation systems for seismic applications has increased worldwide, thus it is necessary to develop practical and modern criteria for their optimal design. Here, a direct displacement-based seismic design approach for frame buildings with hysteretic energy dissipation systems (HEDS) is applied. The building is constituted by two individual structural systems consisting of: 1) a main elastic structural frame designed for service loads; and 2) a secondary system, corresponding to the HEDS, that controls the effects of lateral loads. The procedure implies to control two design parameters: a) the stiffness ratio (α=Kframe/Ktotal system), and b) the strength ratio (γ=Vdamper/Vtotal system). The proposed damage-controlled approach contributes to the design of a more sustainable and resilient building because the structural damage is concentrated on the HEDS. The reduction of the design displacement spectrum is done by means of a damping factor (recently published) for elastic structural systems with HEDS, located in Mexico City. Two limit states are verified: serviceability and near collapse. Instead of the traditional trial-error approach, a procedure that allows the designer to establish the preliminary sizes of the structural elements of both systems is proposed. The design methodology is applied to an 8-story steel building with buckling restrained braces, located in soft soil of Mexico City. With the aim of choosing the optimal design parameters, a parametric study is developed considering different values of હ and ઻. The simplified methodology is for preliminary sizing, design, and evaluation of the effectiveness of HEDS, and it constitutes a modern and practical tool that enables the structural designer to select the best design parameters. 

Keywords: Damage-controlled buildings, direct displacementbased seismic design, optimal hysteretic energy dissipation systems

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4550 Analyzing the Shearing-Layer Concept Applied to Urban Green System

Authors: S. Pushkar, O. Verbitsky

Abstract:

Currently, green rating systems are mainly utilized for correctly sizing mechanical and electrical systems, which have short lifetime expectancies. In these systems, passive solar and bio-climatic architecture, which have long lifetime expectancies, are neglected. Urban rating systems consider buildings and services in addition to neighborhoods and public transportation as integral parts of the built environment. The main goal of this study was to develop a more consistent point allocation system for urban building standards by using six different lifetime shearing layers: Site, Structure, Skin, Services, Space, and Stuff, each reflecting distinct environmental damages. This shearing-layer concept was applied to internationally well-known rating systems: Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for Neighborhood Development, BRE Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) for Communities and Comprehensive Assessment System for Building Environmental Efficiency (CASBEE) for Urban Development. The results showed that LEED for Neighborhood Development and BREEAM for Communities focused on long-lifetime-expectancy building designs, whereas CASBEE for Urban Development gave equal importance to the Building and Service Layers. Moreover, although this rating system was applied using a building-scale assessment, “Urban Area + Buildings” focuses on a short-lifetime-expectancy system design, neglecting to improve the architectural design by considering bioclimatic and passive solar aspects.

Keywords: Green rating system, passive solar architecture, shearing-layer concept, urban community.

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4549 Identification of Microbial Community in an Anaerobic Reactor Treating Brewery Wastewater

Authors: Abimbola M. Enitan, John O. Odiyo, Feroz M. Swalaha

Abstract:

The study of microbial ecology and their function in anaerobic digestion processes are essential to control the biological processes. This is to know the symbiotic relationship between the microorganisms that are involved in the conversion of complex organic matter in the industrial wastewater to simple molecules. In this study, diversity and quantity of bacterial community in the granular sludge taken from the different compartments of a full-scale upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor treating brewery wastewater was investigated using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR). The phylogenetic analysis showed three major eubacteria phyla that belong to Proteobacteria, Firmicutes and Chloroflexi in the full-scale UASB reactor, with different groups populating different compartment. The result of qPCR assay showed high amount of eubacteria with increase in concentration along the reactor’s compartment. This study extends our understanding on the diverse, topological distribution and shifts in concentration of microbial communities in the different compartments of a full-scale UASB reactor treating brewery wastewater. The colonization and the trophic interactions among these microbial populations in reducing and transforming complex organic matter within the UASB reactors were established.

Keywords: Bacteria, brewery wastewater, real-time quantitative PCR, UASB reactor.

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4548 Multi-Line Power Flow Control using Interline Power Flow Controller (IPFC) in Power Transmission Systems

Authors: A.V.Naresh Babu, S.Sivanagaraju, Ch.Padmanabharaju, T.Ramana

Abstract:

The interline power flow controller (IPFC) is one of the latest generation flexible AC transmission systems (FACTS) controller used to control power flows of multiple transmission lines. This paper presents a mathematical model of IPFC, termed as power injection model (PIM). This model is incorporated in Newton- Raphson (NR) power flow algorithm to study the power flow control in transmission lines in which IPFC is placed. A program in MATLAB has been written in order to extend conventional NR algorithm based on this model. Numerical results are carried out on a standard 2 machine 5 bus system. The results without and with IPFC are compared in terms of voltages, active and reactive power flows to demonstrate the performance of the IPFC model.

Keywords: flexible AC transmission systems (FACTS), interline power flow controller (IPFC), power injection model (PIM), power flow control.

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4547 The Spiral_OWL Model – Towards Spiral Knowledge Engineering

Authors: Hafizullah A. Hashim, Aniza. A

Abstract:

The Spiral development model has been used successfully in many commercial systems and in a good number of defense systems. This is due to the fact that cost-effective incremental commitment of funds, via an analogy of the spiral model to stud poker and also can be used to develop hardware or integrate software, hardware, and systems. To support adaptive, semantic collaboration between domain experts and knowledge engineers, a new knowledge engineering process, called Spiral_OWL is proposed. This model is based on the idea of iterative refinement, annotation and structuring of knowledge base. The Spiral_OWL model is generated base on spiral model and knowledge engineering methodology. A central paradigm for Spiral_OWL model is the concentration on risk-driven determination of knowledge engineering process. The collaboration aspect comes into play during knowledge acquisition and knowledge validation phase. Design rationales for the Spiral_OWL model are to be easy-to-implement, well-organized, and iterative development cycle as an expanding spiral.

Keywords: Domain Expert, Knowledge Base, Ontology, Software Process.

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4546 The Current Implementation Status of Manufacturing Control Systems for a Key Manufacturing Industry

Authors: Rajab Abdullah Hokoma

Abstract:

Manufacturing, production and service industries within Libya have struggled with many problems during the past two decades due to many difficulties. These problems have created a negative impact on the productivity and utilization of many industries around the country. This paper studies the implementation levels of the manufacturing control systems known as Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRPII) being adapted within some Libyan industries. A survey methodology has been applied for this research, based on the survey analysis, the results pointed out that the system within these industries has a modest strategy towards most of the areas that are considered as being very crucial in implementing these systems successfully. The findings also show a variation within these implementation levels with a respect to the key-elements that related to MRPII, giving the highest levels in the emphasise on financial data accuracy. The paper has also identified limitations within the investigated manufacturing and managerial areas and has pointed to where senior managers should take immediate actions in order to achieve effective implementation of MRPII within their business area.

Keywords: Control, Industry, Manufacturing, Survey, System

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4545 Promoting Authenticity in Employer Brands to Address the Global-Local Problem in Complex Organisations: The Case of a Developing Country

Authors: Saud A. Taj

Abstract:

Employer branding is considered as a useful tool for addressing the global-local problem facing complex organisations that have operations scattered across the globe and face challenges of dealing with the local environment alongside. Despite being an established field of study within the Western developed world, there is little empirical evidence concerning the relevance of employer branding to global companies that operate in the under-developed economies. This paper fills this gap by gaining rich insight into the implementation of employer branding programs in a foreign multinational operating in Pakistan dealing with the global-local problem. The study is qualitative in nature and employs semistructured and focus group interviews with senior/middle managers and local frontline employees to deeply examine the phenomenon in case organisation. Findings suggest that authenticity is required in employer brands to enable them to respond to the local needs thereby leading to the resolution of the global-local problem. However, the role of signaling theory is key to the development of authentic employer brands as it stresses on the need to establish an efficient and effective signaling environment where in signals travel in both directions (from signal designers to receivers and backwards) and facilitate firms with the global-local problem. The paper also identifies future avenues of research for the employer branding field.

Keywords: Authenticity, Counter-signals, Employer Branding, Global-Local Problem, Signaling Theory.

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4544 Coordination for Synchronous Cooperative Systems Based on Fuzzy Causal Relations

Authors: Luis A. Morales Rosales, Saul E. Pomares Hernandez, Gustavo Rodriguez Gomez

Abstract:

Synchronous cooperative systems (SCS) bring together users that are geographically distributed and connected through a network to carry out a task. Examples of SCS include Tele- Immersion and Tele-Conferences. In SCS, the coordination is the core of the system, and it has been defined as the act of managing interdependencies between activities performed to achieve a goal. Some of the main problems that SCS present deal with the management of constraints between simultaneous activities and the execution ordering of these activities. In order to resolve these problems, orderings based on Lamport-s happened-before relation have been used, namely, causal, Δ-causal, and causal-total orderings. They mainly differ in the degree of asynchronous execution allowed. One of the most important orderings is the causal order, which establishes that the events must be seen in the cause-effect order as they occur in the system. In this paper we show that for certain SCS (e.g. videoconferences, tele-immersion) where some degradation of the system is allowed, ensuring the causal order is still rigid, which can render negative affects to the system. In this paper, we illustrate how a more relaxed ordering, which we call Fuzzy Causal Order (FCO), is useful for such kind of systems by allowing a more asynchronous execution than the causal order. The benefit of the FCO is illustrated by applying it to a particular scenario of intermedia synchronization of an audio-conference system.

Keywords: Event ordering, fuzzy causal ordering, happenedbefore relation and cooperative systems.

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4543 Augmented Reality for Maintenance Operator for Problem Inspections

Authors: Chong-Yang Qiao, Teeravarunyou Sakol

Abstract:

Current production-oriented factories need maintenance operators to work in shifts monitoring and inspecting complex systems and different equipment in the situation of mechanical breakdown. Augmented reality (AR) is an emerging technology that embeds data into the environment for situation awareness to help maintenance operators make decisions and solve problems. An application was designed to identify the problem of steam generators and inspection centrifugal pumps. The objective of this research was to find the best medium of AR and type of problem solving strategies among analogy, focal object method and mean-ends analysis. Two scenarios of inspecting leakage were temperature and vibration. Two experiments were used in usability evaluation and future innovation, which included decision-making process and problem-solving strategy. This study found that maintenance operators prefer build-in magnifier to zoom the components (55.6%), 3D exploded view to track the problem parts (50%), and line chart to find the alter data or information (61.1%). There is a significant difference in the use of analogy (44.4%), focal objects (38.9%) and mean-ends strategy (16.7%). The marked differences between maintainers and operators are of the application of a problem solving strategy. However, future work should explore multimedia information retrieval which supports maintenance operators for decision-making.

Keywords: Augmented reality, situation awareness, decision-making, problem-solving.

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4542 Surveillance of Super-Extended Objects: Bimodal Approach

Authors: Andrey V. Timofeev, Dmitry Egorov

Abstract:

This paper describes an effective solution to the task of a remote monitoring of super-extended objects (oil and gas pipeline, railways, national frontier). The suggested solution is based on the principle of simultaneously monitoring of seismoacoustic and optical/infrared physical fields. The principle of simultaneous monitoring of those fields is not new but in contrast to the known solutions the suggested approach allows to control super-extended objects with very limited operational costs. So-called C-OTDR (Coherent Optical Time Domain Reflectometer) systems are used to monitor the seismoacoustic field. Far-CCTV systems are used to monitor the optical/infrared field. A simultaneous data processing provided by both systems allows effectively detecting and classifying target activities, which appear in the monitored objects vicinity. The results of practical usage had shown high effectiveness of the suggested approach.

Keywords: Bimodal processing, C-OTDR monitoring system, LPboost, SVM.

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4541 Control of Chaotic Dynamical Systems using RBF Networks

Authors: Yoichi Ishikawa, Yuichi Masukake, Yoshihisa Ishida

Abstract:

This paper presents a novel control method based on radial basis function networks (RBFNs) for chaotic dynamical systems. The proposed method first identifies the nonlinear part of the chaotic system off-line and then constructs a model-following controller using only the estimated system parameters. Simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme.

Keywords: Chaos, nonlinear plant, radial basis function network.

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4540 Research on the Aeration Systems’ Efficiency of a Lab-Scale Wastewater Treatment Plant

Authors: Oliver Marunțălu, Elena Elisabeta Manea, Lăcrămioara Diana Robescu, Mihai Necșoiu, Gheorghe Lăzăroiu, Dana Andreya Bondrea

Abstract:

In order to obtain efficient pollutants removal in small-scale wastewater treatment plants, uniform water flow has to be achieved. The experimental setup, designed for treating high-load wastewater (leachate), consists of two aerobic biological reactors and a lamellar settler. Both biological tanks were aerated by using three different types of aeration systems - perforated pipes, membrane air diffusers and tube ceramic diffusers. The possibility of homogenizing the water mass with each of the air diffusion systems was evaluated comparatively. The oxygen concentration was determined by optical sensors with data logging. The experimental data was analyzed comparatively for all three different air dispersion systems aiming to identify the oxygen concentration variation during different operational conditions. The Oxygenation Capacity was calculated for each of the three systems and used as performance and selection parameter. The global mass transfer coefficients were also evaluated as important tools in designing the aeration system. Even though using the tubular porous diffusers leads to higher oxygen concentration compared to the perforated pipe system (which provides medium-sized bubbles in the aqueous solution), it doesn’t achieve the threshold limit of 80% oxygen saturation in less than 30 minutes. The study has shown that the optimal solution for the studied configuration was the radial air diffusers which ensure an oxygen saturation of 80% in 20 minutes. An increment of the values was identified when the air flow was increased.

Keywords: Flow, aeration, bioreactor, oxygen concentration.

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4539 Design of Collaborative Web System: Based on Case Study of PBL Support Systems

Authors: Kawai Nobuaki

Abstract:

This paper describes the design and implementation of web system for continuable and viable collaboration. This study proposes the improvement of the system based on a result of a certain practice. As contemporary higher education information environments transform, this study highlights the significance of university identity and college identity that are formed continuously through independent activities of the students. Based on these discussions, the present study proposes a practical media environment design which facilitates the processes of organizational identity formation based on a continuous and cyclical model. Even if users change by this system, the communication system continues operation and cooperation. The activity becomes the archive and produces new activity. Based on the result, this study elaborates a plan with a re-design by a system from the viewpoint of second-order cybernetics. Systems theory is a theoretical foundation for our study.

Keywords: Collaborative work, learning management system, second-order cybernetics, systems theory, user generated contents, viable system model.

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4538 Static and Dynamic Three-Dimensional Finite Element Analysis of Pelvic Bone

Authors: M. S. El-Asfoury, M. A. El-Hadek

Abstract:

The complex shape of the human pelvic bone was successfully imaged and modeled using finite element FE processing. The bone was subjected to quasi-static and dynamic loading conditions simulating the effect of both weight gain and impact. Loads varying between 500 – 2500 N (~50 – 250 Kg of weight) was used to simulate 3D quasi-static weight gain. Two different 3D dynamic analyses, body free fall at two different heights (1 and 2 m) and forced side impact at two different velocities (20 and 40 Km/hr) were also studied. The computed resulted stresses were compared for the four loading cases, where Von Misses stresses increases linearly with the weight gain increase under quasi-static loading. For the dynamic models, the Von Misses stress history behaviors were studied for the affected area and effected load with respect to time. The normalization Von Misses stresses with respect to the applied load were used for comparing the free fall and the forced impact load results. It was found that under the forced impact loading condition an over lapping behavior was noticed, where as for the free fall the normalized Von Misses stresses behavior was found to nonlinearly different. This phenomenon was explained through the energy dissipation concept. This study will help designers in different specialization in defining the weakest spots for designing different supporting systems.

Keywords: Pelvic Bone, Static and Dynamic Analysis, Three- Dimensional Finite Element Analysis.

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