Search results for: Regional development initiatives
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 4379

Search results for: Regional development initiatives

3359 Toward a Model for Knowledge Development in Virtual Environments: Strategies for Student Ownership

Authors: N.B. Adams

Abstract:

This article discusses the concept of student ownership of knowledge and seeks to determine how to move students from knowledge acquisition to knowledge application and ultimately to knowledge generation in a virtual setting. Instructional strategies for fostering student engagement in a virtual environment are critical to the learner-s strategic ownership of the knowledge. A number of relevant theories that focus on learning, affect, needs and adult concerns are presented to provide a basis for exploring the transfer of knowledge from teacher to learner. A model under development is presented that combines the dimensions of knowledge approach, the teacher-student relationship with regards to knowledge authority and teaching approach to demonstrate the recursive and scaffolded design for creation of virtual learning environments.

Keywords: Virtual learning environments, learning theory, teaching model, online learning.

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3358 Encouraging the Development of Scientific Literacy in Early Childhood Institutions: Croatian Experience

Authors: L. Vujičić, Ž. Ivković, Ž. Boneta

Abstract:

There is a widespread belief in everyday discourse that science subjects (physics, chemistry and biology) are, along with math, the most difficult school subjects in the education of an individual. This assumption is usually justified by the following facts: low GPA in these subjects, the number of pupils who fail these subjects is high in comparison to other subjects, and the number of pupils interested in continuing their studies in the fields with a focus on science subjects is lower compared to non-science-oriented fields. From that perspective, the project: “Could it be different? How do children explore it?” becomes extremely interesting because it is focused on young children and on the introduction of new methods, with aim of arousing interest in scientific literacy development in 10 kindergartens by applying the methodology of an action research, with an ethnographic approach. We define scientific literacy as a process of encouraging and nurturing the research and explorative spirit in children, as well as their natural potential and abilities that represent an object of scientific research: to learn about exploration by conducting exploration. Upon project completion, an evaluation questionnaire was created for the parents of the children who had participated in the project, as well as for those whose children had not been involved in the project. The purpose of the first questionnaire was to examine the level of satisfaction with the project implementation and its outcomes among those parents whose children had been involved in the project (N=142), while the aim of the second questionnaire was to find out how much the parents of the children not involved (N=154) in this activity were interested in this topic.

Keywords: Documenting, early childhood education, evaluation questionnaire for parents, scientific literacy development.

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3357 A Theoretical Framework for Rural Tourism Motivation Factors

Authors: N. P. Tsephe, S. D. Eyono Obono

Abstract:

Rural tourism has many economical, environmental, and socio-cultural benefits. However, the development of rural tourism compared to urban tourism is also faced with several challenges added to the disadvantages of rural tourism. The aim of this study is to design a model of the factors affecting the motivations of rural tourists, in an attempt to improve the understanding of rural tourism motivation for the development of that form of tourism. The proposed model is based on a sound theoretical framework. It was designed following a literature review of tourism motivation theoretical frameworks and of rural tourism motivation factors. The tourism motivation theoretical framework that fitted to the best all rural tourism motivation factors was then chosen as the basis for the proposed model. This study hence found that the push and pull tourism motivation framework and the inner and outer directed values theory are the most adequate theoretical frameworks for the modeling of rural tourism motivation.

Keywords: Motivation factors, rural tourism, tourism motivation theories.

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3356 Interest Rate of Managers and Tourism Officials over e-Tourism (Electronic Tourism) Development (Case Study of Lenjan City)

Authors: Akram Shahriyari, Reza Mokhtari Malek Abadi

Abstract:

E-tourism is among the issues that have recently been entered into the field of tourism. In order to achieve this type of tourism, Information and Communications Technology or ICT infrastructures as well as Co-governmental organizations and tourism resources are important. In this study, the opinions of managers and tourism officials about the e-tourism in Lenjan city were measured; it also surveyed the impact of level of digital literacy of managers and tourism officials on attracting tourists in Lenjan city. This study was conducted in Lenjan, one of the environs of the Esfahan province. This study is a documentary – survey and the sources include library resources and also questionnaires. The results obtained indicate that if managers use ICT, it may help E-tourism to be developed in the region, and increasing managers’ beliefs on e-tourism and upgrading their level of digital literacy may affect e-tourism development.

Keywords: ICT, e-tourism, opinion of managers and officials.

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3355 Poli4SDG: An Application for Environmental Crises Management and Gender Support

Authors: Angelica S. Valeriani, Lorenzo Biasiolo

Abstract:

In recent years, the scale of the impact of climate change and its related side effects has become ever more massive and devastating. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), promoted by United Nations, aim to front issues related to climate change, among others. In particular, the project CROWD4SDG focuses on a bunch of SDGs, since it promotes environmental activities and climate-related issues. In this context, we developed a prototype of an application, under advanced development considering web design, that focuses on SDG 13 (SDG on climate action) by providing users with useful instruments to face environmental crises and climate-related disasters. Our prototype is thought and structured for both web and mobile development. The main goal of the application, POLI4SDG, is to help users to get through emergency services. To this extent, an organized overview and classification prove to be very effective and helpful to people in need. A careful analysis of data related to environmental crises prompted us to integrate the user contribution, i.e. exploiting a core principle of Citizen Science, into the realization of a public catalog, available for consulting and organized according to typology and specific features. In addition, gender equality and opportunity features are considered in the prototype, in order to allow women, often the most vulnerable category, to have direct support. The overall description of the application functionalities is detailed. Moreover, implementation features and properties of the prototype are discussed.

Keywords: Crowdsourcing, social media, SDG, climate change, natural disasters, gender equality.

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3354 Development of Risk Assessment and Occupational Safety Management Model for Building Construction Projects

Authors: Preeda Sansakorn, Min An

Abstract:

In order to be capable of dealing with uncertainties, subjectivities, including vagueness arising in building construction projects, the application of fuzzy reasoning technique based on fuzzy set theory is proposed. This study contributes significantly to the development of a fuzzy reasoning safety risk assessment model for building construction projects that could be employed to assess the risk magnitude of each hazardous event identified during construction, and a third parameter of probability of consequence is incorporated in the model. By using the proposed safety risk analysis methodology, more reliable and less ambiguities, which provide the safety risk management project team for decision-making purposes.

Keywords: Safety risks assessment, building construction safety, fuzzy reasoning, construction risk assessment model, building construction projects.

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3353 Embedded Systems Energy Consumption Analysis Through Co-modelling and Simulation

Authors: José Antonio Esparza Isasa, Finn Overgaard Hansen, Peter Gorm Larsen

Abstract:

This paper presents a new methodology to study power and energy consumption in mechatronic systems early in the development process. This new approach makes use of two modeling languages to represent and simulate embedded control software and electromechanical subsystems in the discrete event and continuous time domain respectively within a single co-model. This co-model enables an accurate representation of power and energy consumption and facilitates the analysis and development of both software and electro-mechanical subsystems in parallel. This makes the engineers aware of energy-wise implications of different design alternatives and enables early trade-off analysis from the beginning of the analysis and design activities.

Keywords: Energy consumption, embedded systems, modeldriven engineering, power awareness.

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3352 Management Software for the Elaboration of an Electronic File in the Pharmaceutical Industry Following Mexican Regulations

Authors: M. Peña Aguilar Juan, Ríos Hernández Ezequiel, R. Valencia Luis

Abstract:

For certification, certain goods of public interest, such as medicines and food, it is required the preparation and delivery of a dossier. For its elaboration, legal and administrative knowledge must be taken, as well as organization of the documents of the process, and an order that allows the file verification. Therefore, a virtual platform was developed to support the process of management and elaboration of the dossier, providing accessibility to the information and interfaces that allow the user to know the status of projects. The development of dossier system on the cloud allows the inclusion of the technical requirements for the software management, including the validation and the manufacturing in the field industry. The platform guides and facilitates the dossier elaboration (report, file or history), considering Mexican legislation and regulations, it also has auxiliary tools for its management. This technological alternative provides organization support for documents and accessibility to the information required to specify the successful development of a dossier. The platform divides into the following modules: System control, catalog, dossier and enterprise management. The modules are designed per the structure required in a dossier in those areas. However, the structure allows for flexibility, as its goal is to become a tool that facilitates and does not obstruct processes. The architecture and development of the software allows flexibility for future work expansion to other fields, this would imply feeding the system with new regulations.

Keywords: Electronic dossier, technologies for management, web software, dossier elaboration, pharmaceutical industry.

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3351 Development of Variable Stepsize Variable Order Block Method in Divided Difference Form for the Numerical Solution of Delay Differential Equations

Authors: Fuziyah Ishak, Mohamed B. Suleiman, Zanariah A. Majid, Khairil I. Othman

Abstract:

This paper considers the development of a two-point predictor-corrector block method for solving delay differential equations. The formulae are represented in divided difference form and the algorithm is implemented in variable stepsize variable order technique. The block method produces two new values at a single integration step. Numerical results are compared with existing methods and it is evident that the block method performs very well. Stability regions of the block method are also investigated.

Keywords: block method, delay differential equations, predictor-corrector, stability region, variable stepsize variable order.

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3350 Implementation of an IoT Sensor Data Collection and Analysis Library

Authors: Jihyun Song, Kyeongjoo Kim, Minsoo Lee

Abstract:

Due to the development of information technology and wireless Internet technology, various data are being generated in various fields. These data are advantageous in that they provide real-time information to the users themselves. However, when the data are accumulated and analyzed, more various information can be extracted. In addition, development and dissemination of boards such as Arduino and Raspberry Pie have made it possible to easily test various sensors, and it is possible to collect sensor data directly by using database application tools such as MySQL. These directly collected data can be used for various research and can be useful as data for data mining. However, there are many difficulties in using the board to collect data, and there are many difficulties in using it when the user is not a computer programmer, or when using it for the first time. Even if data are collected, lack of expert knowledge or experience may cause difficulties in data analysis and visualization. In this paper, we aim to construct a library for sensor data collection and analysis to overcome these problems.

Keywords: Clustering, data mining, DBSCAN, k-means, k-medoids, sensor data.

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3349 Analytical Study of Component Based Software Engineering

Authors: Iqbaldeep Kaur, Parvinder S. Sandhu, Hardeep Singh, Vandana Saini

Abstract:

This paper is a survey of current component-based software technologies and the description of promotion and inhibition factors in CBSE. The features that software components inherit are also discussed. Quality Assurance issues in componentbased software are also catered to. The feat research on the quality model of component based system starts with the study of what the components are, CBSE, its development life cycle and the pro & cons of CBSE. Various attributes are studied and compared keeping in view the study of various existing models for general systems and CBS. When illustrating the quality of a software component an apt set of quality attributes for the description of the system (or components) should be selected. Finally, the research issues that can be extended are tabularized.

Keywords: Component, COTS, Component based development, Component-based Software Engineering.

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3348 Storage Method for Parts from End of Life Vehicles' Dismantling Process According to Sustainable Development Requirements: Polish Case Study

Authors: M. Kosacka, I. Kudelska

Abstract:

Vehicle is one of the most influential and complex product worldwide, which affects people’s life, state of the environment and condition of the economy (all aspects of sustainable development concept) during each stage of lifecycle. With the increase of vehicles’ number, there is growing potential for management of End of Life Vehicle (ELV), which is hazardous waste. From one point of view, the ELV should be managed to ensure risk elimination, but from another point, it should be treated as a source of valuable materials and spare parts. In order to obtain materials and spare parts, there are established recycling networks, which are an example of sustainable policy realization at the national level. The basic object in the polish recycling network is dismantling facility. The output material streams in dismantling stations include waste, which very often generate costs and spare parts, that have the biggest potential for revenues creation. Both outputs are stored into warehouses, according to the law. In accordance to the revenue creation and sustainability potential, it has been placed a strong emphasis on storage process. We present the concept of storage method, which takes into account the specific of the dismantling facility in order to support decision-making process with regard to the principles of sustainable development. The method was developed on the basis of case study of one of the greatest dismantling facility in Poland.

Keywords: Dismantling, end of life vehicle, sustainability, storage.

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3347 The Design, Development, and Optimization of a Capacitive Pressure Sensor Utilizing an Existing 9 DOF Platform

Authors: Andrew Randles, Ilker Ocak, Cheam Daw Don, Navab Singh, Alex Gu

Abstract:

Nine Degrees of Freedom (9 DOF) systems are already in development in many areas. In this paper, an integrated pressure sensor is proposed that will make use of an already existing monolithic 9 DOF inertial MEMS platform. Capacitive pressure sensors can suffer from limited sensitivity for a given size of membrane. This novel pressure sensor design increases the sensitivity by over 5 times compared to a traditional array of square diaphragms while still fitting within a 2 mm x 2 mm chip and maintaining a fixed static capacitance. The improved design uses one large diaphragm supported by pillars with fixed electrodes placed above the areas of maximum deflection. The design optimization increases the sensitivity from 0.22 fF/kPa to 1.16 fF/kPa. Temperature sensitivity was also examined through simulation.

Keywords: Capacitive pressure sensor, 9 DOF, 10 DOF, sensor, capacitive, inertial measurement unit, IMU, inertial navigation system, INS.

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3346 OILU Tag: A Projective Invariant Fiducial System

Authors: Youssef Chahir, Messaoud Mostefai, Salah Khodja

Abstract:

This paper presents the development of a 2D visual marker, derived from a recent patented work in the field of numbering systems. The proposed fiducial uses a group of projective invariant straight-line patterns, easily detectable and remotely recognizable. Based on an efficient data coding scheme, the developed marker enables producing a large panel of unique real time identifiers with highly distinguishable patterns. The proposed marker Incorporates simultaneously decimal and binary information, making it readable by both humans and machines. This important feature opens up new opportunities for the development of efficient visual human-machine communication and monitoring protocols. Extensive experiment tests validate the robustness of the marker against acquisition and geometric distortions.

Keywords: visual marker, projective invariants, distance map, level set

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3345 Steps towards the Development of National Health Data Standards in Developing Countries: An Exploratory Qualitative Study in Saudi Arabia

Authors: Abdullah I. Alkraiji, Thomas W. Jackson, Ian R. Murray

Abstract:

The proliferation of health data standards today is somewhat overlapping and conflicting, resulting in market confusion and leading to increasing proprietary interests. The government role and support in standardization for health data are thought to be crucial in order to establish credible standards for the next decade, to maximize interoperability across the health sector, and to decrease the risks associated with the implementation of non-standard systems. The normative literature missed out the exploration of the different steps required to be undertaken by the government towards the development of national health data standards. Based on the lessons learned from a qualitative study investigating the different issues to the adoption of health data standards in the major tertiary hospitals in Saudi Arabia and the opinions and feedback from different experts in the areas of data exchange and standards and medical informatics in Saudi Arabia and UK, a list of steps required towards the development of national health data standards was constructed. Main steps are the existence of: a national formal reference for health data standards, an agreed national strategic direction for medical data exchange, a national medical information management plan and a national accreditation body, and more important is the change management at the national and organizational level. The outcome of this study can be used by academics and practitioners to develop the planning of health data standards, and in particular those in developing countries.

Keywords: Interoperability, Case Study, Health Data Standards, Medical Data Exchange, Saudi Arabia.

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3344 Gross Motor Skills of Children with Mild Intellectual Disabilities

Authors: Pavel Zikl, Nikola Holoubková, Hana Karásková, Tereza B. Veselíková

Abstract:

The article presents the research results focused on comparing the level of gross motor skills in children with mild intellectual disabilities and intact children. The data collection used the standard test (Test of Gross Motor Development). The research sample consisted of a total of 114 students with an average age of 10 years. The results present the differences between the two groups of students in locomotor skills and object control skills. The presented results can serve as a basis for better targeting of special-pedagogical support for children with mild intellectual disabilities and as a basis for innovation of the curriculum for this group of children, as well as a basis for further research activities in this area.

Keywords: Gross motor, mild intellectual disability, Test of Gross Motor Development.

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3343 The Policy Improvement for Developing OTOP under the Context of Changing into ASEAN Economic Community (AEC)

Authors: Kawinphat Lertpongmanee

Abstract:

The development of One Tambon One Product (OTOP) became the policy of the government in 1997 after the former Prime Minister had been in power. The strategy of sections is currently set for the policy. OTOP has become the part of the way of community lives around the country. OTOP may be developed under changing into ASEAN economic community in 2015 because of the flow of capitals, productions, and many workers in the region. All sectors are improved for the change. The purposes of study were to study the strength and weakness of the OTOP-creating process via its policy and to lead to the strategy to be able to apply before changing. The methodology is qualitative to study its policy including document and to interview experienced persons. The findings showed that the effort of improvement of all sectors obviously involves with OTOP development. Particularly, the strategic administration of OTOP is in every level of the state, central sector, region, and community.

Keywords: ASEAN Economic Community – AEC, One Tambon One Product – OTOP.

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3342 Biotechonomy System Dynamics Modelling: Sustainability of Pellet Production

Authors: Andra Blumberga, Armands Gravelsins, Haralds Vigants, Dagnija Blumberga

Abstract:

The paper discovers biotechonomy development analysis by use of system dynamics modelling. The research is connected with investigations of biomass application for production of bioproducts with higher added value. The most popular bioresource is wood, and therefore, the main question today is about future development and eco-design of products. The paper emphasizes and evaluates energy sector which is open for use of wood logs, wood chips, wood pellets and so on. The main aim for this research study was to build a framework to analyse development perspectives for wood pellet production. To reach the goal, a system dynamics model of energy wood supplies, processing, and consumption is built. Production capacity, energy consumption, changes in energy and technology efficiency, required labour source, prices of wood, energy and labour are taken into account. Validation and verification tests with available data and information have been carried out and indicate that the model constitutes the dynamic hypothesis. It is found that the more is invested into pellets production, the higher the specific profit per production unit compared to wood logs and wood chips. As a result, wood chips production is decreasing dramatically and is replaced by wood pellets. The limiting factor for pellet industry growth is availability of wood sources. This is governed by felling limit set by the government based on sustainable forestry principles.

Keywords: Bioenergy, biotechonomy, system dynamics modelling, wood pellets.

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3341 An Ontology Abstract Machine

Authors: Leong Lee, Jennifer Leopold, Julia Albath, Alton Coalter

Abstract:

As more people from non-technical backgrounds are becoming directly involved with large-scale ontology development, the focal point of ontology research has shifted from the more theoretical ontology issues to problems associated with the actual use of ontologies in real-world, large-scale collaborative applications. Recently the National Science Foundation funded a large collaborative ontology development project for which a new formal ontology model, the Ontology Abstract Machine (OAM), was developed to satisfy some unique functional and data representation requirements. This paper introduces the OAM model and the related algorithms that enable maintenance of an ontology that supports node-based user access. The successful software implementation of the OAM model and its subsequent acceptance by a large research community proves its validity and its real-world application value.

Keywords: Ontology, Abstract Machine, Ontology Editor, WebbasedOntology Management System.

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3340 SWOT Analysis of Cassava Sector in Cameroon

Authors: Elise Stephanie Mvodo Meyo, Dapeng Liang

Abstract:

Cassava is one of the top five crops in Cameroon. Its evolution has remained constant since the independence period and the production has more than tripled. It is a crop with multiple industrial capacities but the sector-s business opportunities are underexploited. Using Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats analysis method, this paper examines the cassava actual state. It appraises the sector-s strengths (S), considers suitable measures to strengthen weaknesses (W), evaluates strategies to fully benefit from the sector numerous business opportunities (O) and explore means to convert threats (T) into opportunities. Data were collected from the ministry of agriculture and rural development and different actors. The results show that cassava sector embodies many business opportunities and stands as a raw material provider for many industries but ultimately requires challenges to be tackled appropriately.

Keywords: Business opportunities, cassava sector, rural development, SWOT analysis.

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3339 Grading Fourteen Zones of Isfahan in Terms of the Impact of Globalization on the Urban Fabric of the City, Using the TOPSIS Model

Authors: A. Zahedi Yeganeh, A. Khademolhosseini, R. Mokhtari Malekabadi

Abstract:

Undoubtedly one of the most far-reaching and controversial topics considered in the past few decades, has been globalization. Globalization lies in the essence of the modern culture. It is a complex and rapidly expanding network of links and mutual interdependence that is an aspect of modern life; though some argue that this link existed since the beginning of human history. If we consider globalization as a dynamic social process in which the geographical constraints governing the political, economic, social and cultural relationships have been undermined, it might not be possible to simply describe its impact on the urban fabric. But since in this phenomenon the increase in communications of societies (while preserving the main cultural - regional characteristics) with one another and the increase in the possibility of influencing other societies are discussed, the need for more studies will be felt. The main objective of this study is to grade based on some globalization factors on urban fabric applying the TOPSIS model. The research method is descriptive - analytical and survey. For data analysis, the TOPSIS model and SPSS software were used and the results of GIS software with fourteen cities are shown on the map. The results show that the process of being influenced by the globalization of the urban fabric of fourteen zones of Isfahan was not similar and there have been large differences in this respect between city zones; the most affected areas are zones 5, 6 and 9 of the municipality and the least impact has been on the zones 4 and 3 and 2.

Keywords: Grading, Globalization, Urban fabric, 14 zones of Isfahan, TOPSIS model.

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3338 A Development of a Weight-Balancing Control System Based On Android Operating System

Authors: Rattanathip Rattanachai, Piyachai Petchyen, Kunyanuth Kularbphettong

Abstract:

This paper describes the development of a Weight- Balancing Control System based on the Android Operating System and it provides recommendations on ways of balancing of user’s weight based on daily metabolism process and need so that user can make informed decisions on his or her weight controls. The system also depicts more information on nutrition details. Furthermore, it was designed to suggest to users what kinds of foods they should eat and how to exercise in the right ways. We describe the design methods and functional components of this prototype. To evaluate the system performance, questionnaires for system usability and Black Box Testing were used to measure expert and user satisfaction. The results were satisfactory as followed: Means for experts and users were 3.94 and 4.07 respectively.

Keywords: Weight-Balancing Control, Android Operating System, daily metabolism, Black Box Testing.

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3337 Egyptian Electronic Government: The University Enrolment Case Study

Authors: Hend S.H. Hassan, Essam M. Shehab, Joe Peppard

Abstract:

E-government projects have potential for greater efficiency and effectiveness of government operations. For this reason, many developing countries governments have invested heavily in this agenda and an increasing number of e-government projects are being implemented. However, there is a lack of clear case material, which describes the potentialities and consequence experienced by organizations trying to manage with this change. The Ministry of State for Administrative Development (MSAD) is the organization responsible for the e-Government program in Egypt since early 2004. This paper presents a case study of the process of admission to public universities and institutions in Egypt which is led by MSAD. Underlining the key benefits resulting from the initiative, explaining the strategies and the development steps used to implement it, and highlighting the main obstacles encountered and how they were overcome will help repeat the experience in other useful e-government projects.

Keywords: Case studies, Egypt, Electronic government, Electronic services, University enrolment.

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3336 Three Steps of One-way Nested Grid for Energy Balance Equations by Wave Model

Authors: Worachat Wannawong, Usa W. Humphries, Prungchan Wongwises, Suphat Vongvisessomjai

Abstract:

The three steps of the standard one-way nested grid for a regional scale of the third generation WAve Model Cycle 4 (WAMC4) is scrutinized. The model application is enabled to solve the energy balance equation on a coarse resolution grid in order to produce boundary conditions for a smaller area by the nested grid technique. In the present study, the model takes a full advantage of the fine resolution of wind fields in space and time produced by the available U.S. Navy Global Atmospheric Prediction System (NOGAPS) model with 1 degree resolution. The nested grid application of the model is developed in order to gradually increase the resolution from the open ocean towards the South China Sea (SCS) and the Gulf of Thailand (GoT) respectively. The model results were compared with buoy observations at Ko Chang, Rayong and Huahin locations which were obtained from the Seawatch project. In addition, the results were also compared with Satun based weather station which was provided from Department of Meteorology, Thailand. The data collected from this station presented the significant wave height (Hs) reached 12.85 m. The results indicated that the tendency of the Hs from the model in the spherical coordinate propagation with deep water condition in the fine grid domain agreed well with the Hs from the observations.

Keywords: energy balance equation, Gulf of Thailand, nested gridapplication, South China Sea, wave model.

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3335 An Approach to Capture, Evaluate and Handle Complexity of Engineering Change Occurrences in New Product Development

Authors: Mohammad Rostami Mehr, Seyed Arya Mir Rashed, Arndt Lueder, Magdalena Mißler-Behr

Abstract:

This paper represents the conception that complex problems do not necessary need similar complex solutions in order to cope with the complexity. Furthermore, a simple solution based on established methods can provide a sufficient way dealing with the complexity. To verify this conception, the presented paper focuses on the field of change management as a part of new product development process in automotive sector. In the field of complexity management, dealing with increasing complexity is essential, while, only non-flexible rigid processes that are not designed to handle complexity are available. The basic methodology of this paper can be divided in four main sections: 1) analyzing the complexity of the change management, 2) literature review in order to identify potential solutions and methods, 3) capturing and implementing expertise of experts from change management filed of an automobile manufacturing company and 4) systematical comparison of the identified methods from literature and connecting these with defined requirements of the complexity of the change management in order to develop a solution. As a practical outcome, this paper provides a method to capture the complexity of engineering changes (EC) and includes it within the EC evaluation process, following case-related process guidance to cope with the complexity. Furthermore, this approach supports the conception that dealing with complexity is possible while utilizing rather simple and established methods by combining them in to a powerful tool.

Keywords: complexity management, new product development, engineering change management, flexibility

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3334 Analysis of Precipitation and Temperature Trends in Sefid-Roud Basin

Authors: Amir Gandomkar, Tahereh Soltani Gord faramarzi, Parisa Safaripour Chafi, Abdol-Reza Amani

Abstract:

Temperature, humidity and precipitation in an area, are parameters proved influential in the climate of that area, and one should recognize them so that he can determine the climate of that area. Climate changes are of primary importance in climatology, and in recent years, have been of great concern to researchers and even politicians and organizations, for they can play an important role in social, political and economic activities. Even though the real cause of climate changes or their stability is not yet fully recognized, they are a matter of concern to researchers and their importance for countries has prompted them to investigate climate changes in different levels, especially in regional, national and continental level. This issue has less been investigated in our country. However, in recent years, there have been some researches and conferences on climate changes. This study is also in line with such researches and tries to investigate and analyze the trends of climate changes (temperature and precipitation) in Sefid-roud (the name of a river) basin. Three parameters of mean annual precipitation, temperature, and maximum and minimum temperatures in 36 synoptic and climatology stations in a statistical period of 49 years (1956-2005) in the stations of Sefid-roud basin were analyzed by Mann-Kendall test. The results obtained by data analysis show that climate changes are short term and have a trend. The analysis of mean temperature revealed that changes have a significantly rising trend, besides the precipitation has a significantly falling trend.

Keywords: Trend, Climate changes, Sefid-roud, Mann-Kendall

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3333 Palestine Smart Tourism Augmented Reality Mobile Application

Authors: Murad Al-Rajab, Sherin Hazboun, Azhar Al-Hamamreh, Nirmeen Odeh, Siham Halaseh

Abstract:

Tourism is considered an important sector for most countries, while maintaining good tourism attractions can promote national economic development. The State of Palestine is historically considered a wealthy country full of many archaeological places. In the city of Bethlehem, for example, the Church of the Nativity is the most important touristic site, but it does not have enough technology development to attract tourists. In this paper, we propose a smart mobile application named “Pal-STAR” (Palestine Smart Tourist Augmented Reality) as an innovative solution which targets tourists and assists them to make a visit inside the Church of the Nativity. The application will use augmented reality and feature a virtual tourist guide showing views of the church while providing historical information in a smart, easy, effective and user-friendly way. The proposed application is compatible with multiple mobile platforms and is considered user friendly. The findings show that this application will improve the practice of the tourism sector in the Holy Land, it will also increase the number of tourists visiting the Church of the Nativity and it will facilitate access to historical data that have been difficult to obtain using traditional tourism guidance. The value that tourism adds to a country cannot be denied, and the more technological advances are incorporated in this sector, the better the country’s tourism sector can be served. Palestine’s economy is heavily dependent on tourism in many of its main cities, despite several limitations, and technological development is needed to enable this sector to flourish. The proposed mobile application would definitely have a good impact on the development of the tourism sector by creating an Augmented Reality environment for tourists inside the church, helping them to navigate and learn about holy places in a non-traditional way, using a virtual tourist guide.

Keywords: Smartphones, tourism, tourists guide, augmented reality, Palestine.

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3332 Design Development, Fabrication, and Preliminary Specifications of Multi-Fingered Prosthetic Hand

Authors: Mogeeb A. El-Sheikh

Abstract:

The study has developed the previous design of an artificial anthropomorphic humanoid hand and accustomed it as a prosthetic hand. The main specifications of this design are determined. The development of our previous design involves the main artificial hand’s parts and subassemblies, palm, fingers, and thumb. In addition, the study presents an adaptable socket design for a transradial amputee. This hand has 3 fingers and thumb. It is more reliable, cosmetics, modularity, and ease of assembly. Its size and weight are almost as a natural hand. The socket cavity has the capability for different sizes of a transradial amputee. The study implements the developed design by using rapid prototype and specifies its main specifications by using a data glove and finite element method.

Keywords: Adaptable socket, prosthetic hand, transradial amputee.

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3331 The National Security Assurance of the Republic of Kazakhstan

Authors: Sholpan Zhandossova, Erden Ordabek, Yelbolsyn Nazarov

Abstract:

the article analyzes the national security as a scientific and practical problem, characterized by the state's political institutions to ensure effective action to maintain optimal conditions for the existence and development of the individual and society. National security, as a category of political science reflects the relationship between the security to the nation, including public relations and social consciousness, social institutions and their activities, ensuring the realization of national interests in a particular historical situation. In national security are three security levels: individual, society and state. Their role and place determined by the nature of social relations, political systems, the presence of internal and external threats. In terms of content in the concept of national security is taken to provide political, economic, military, environmental, information security and safety of the cultural development of the nation.

Keywords: Kazakhstan, national security, religious extremism

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3330 Energy Conscious Builder Design Pattern with C# and Intermediate Language

Authors: Kayun Chantarasathaporn, Chonawat Srisa-an

Abstract:

Design Patterns have gained more and more acceptances since their emerging in software development world last decade and become another de facto standard of essential knowledge for Object-Oriented Programming developers nowadays. Their target usage, from the beginning, was for regular computers, so, minimizing power consumption had never been a concern. However, in this decade, demands of more complicated software for running on mobile devices has grown rapidly as the much higher performance portable gadgets have been supplied to the market continuously. To get along with time to market that is business reason, the section of software development for power conscious, battery, devices has shifted itself from using specific low-level languages to higher level ones. Currently, complicated software running on mobile devices are often developed by high level languages those support OOP concepts. These cause the trend of embracing Design Patterns to mobile world. However, using Design Patterns directly in software development for power conscious systems is not recommended because they were not originally designed for such environment. This paper demonstrates the adapted Design Pattern for power limitation system. Because there are numerous original design patterns, it is not possible to mention the whole at once. So, this paper focuses only in creating Energy Conscious version of existing regular "Builder Pattern" to be appropriated for developing low power consumption software.

Keywords: Design Patterns, Builder Pattern, Low Power Consumption, Object Oriented Programming, Power Conscious System, Software.

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