Search results for: urban area
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 3078

Search results for: urban area

1758 Premarital Sex, HIV, and Use of Condom among Youths in Nigeria

Authors: Okechukwu Odinaka Ajaegbu

Abstract:

In the recent past, discussing about sex among children and youths was frowned at by traditional norms and as such sexual discussions and behavior were approached with great respect. Things are actually falling apart with the increasing number of young people that engage in premarital sex. Due to lack of experience and sex education, many young people are becoming increasingly exposed to the risk of HIV infection. In the light of the above, this study discussed premarital sex, HIV, and use of condom among youths in Nigeria. Data for this study came from 2013 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey and other secondary data. The survey revealed that only 18.5 percent of young women that had sex in the 12 months preceding the survey used condom. Out of 3306 never-married sexually active men and women, 1728 representing 52 percent live in urban areas and 43 percent of them did not use condom during sexual intercourse in the 12 months preceding the survey. This study concludes that for there to be reduction in prevalence of HIV/AIDS among Nigerian youths, there is need for concerted effort to be made towards educating youths on the expedient of the use of condom during sexual intercourse.

Keywords: Condom, HIV, Nigeria, Premarital sex, Youths.

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1757 Application of Fuzzy Neural Network for Image Tumor Description

Authors: Nahla Ibraheem Jabbar, Monica Mehrotra

Abstract:

This paper used a fuzzy kohonen neural network for medical image segmentation. Image segmentation plays a important role in the many of medical imaging applications by automating or facilitating the diagnostic. The paper analyses the tumor by extraction of the features of (area, entropy, means and standard deviation).These measurements gives a description for a tumor.

Keywords: FCM, features extraction, medical image processing, neural network, segmentation.

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1756 The Fabrication and Characterization of a Honeycomb Ceramic Electric Heater with a Conductive Coating

Authors: Siming Wang, Qing Ni, Yu Wu, Ruihai Xu, Hong Ye

Abstract:

Porous electric heaters, compared to conventional electric heaters, exhibit excellent heating performance due to their large specific surface area. Porous electric heaters employ porous metallic materials or conductive porous ceramics as the heating element. The former attains a low heating power with a fixed current due to the low electrical resistivity of metal. Although the latter can bypass the inherent challenges of porous metallic materials, the fabrication process of the conductive porous ceramics is complicated and high cost. This work proposed a porous ceramic electric heater with dielectric honeycomb ceramic as a substrate and surface conductive coating as a heating element. The conductive coating was prepared by the sol-gel method using silica sol and methyl trimethoxysilane as raw materials and graphite powder as conductive fillers. The conductive mechanism and degradation reason of the conductive coating was studied by electrical resistivity and thermal stability analysis. The heating performance of the proposed heater was experimentally investigated by heating air and deionized water. The results indicate that the electron transfer is achieved by forming the conductive network through the contact of the graphite flakes. With 30 wt% of graphite, the electrical resistivity of the conductive coating can be as low as 0.88 Ω∙cm. The conductive coating exhibits good electrical stability up to 500 °C but degrades beyond 600 °C due to the formation of many cracks in the coating caused by the weight loss and thermal expansion. The results also show that the working medium has a great influence on the volume power density of the heater. With air under natural convection as the working medium, the volume power density attains 640.85 kW/m3, which can be increased by 5 times when using deionized water as the working medium. The proposed honeycomb ceramic electric heater has the advantages of the simple fabrication method, low cost, and high-volume power density, demonstrating great potential in the fluid heating field.

Keywords: Conductive coating, honeycomb ceramic electric heater, high specific surface area, high volume power density.

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1755 A Descriptive Preference Analysis on Waterfront Parks Neighboring Lake Shihwa

Authors: J. H. Ahn, J. W. Moon, K. H. Kim, H. K. Kim

Abstract:

As the ecology of Lake Shihwa has been restored significantly nowadays, the urban development is in progress around Lake Shihwa areas. Each development project includes a plan on utilizing waterfront areas, but there exist a difference on waterfront design criteria between experts and users. Therefore, it is significant to analyze preferences in design elements of existing waterfront parks around Lake Shihwa (Ansan Waterfront Park, Shihwa Reed Wetland Park, and T-Light Park) based on users’ perspectives and to reflect the result on upcoming waterfront developments. This study derives design elements on waterfront parks from literature reviews. The survey questionnaires are created based on these classified elements and the surveys are conducted to experts and users with in-depth interviews. For all three parks, several park facilities appear to be not recognized by users. Therefore the circulation path should be introduced in guide maps and information activities and furthermore in disposition of park facilities.

Keywords: Design Elements, Lake Shihwa, Preference, Waterfront Park.

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1754 A Study on Evaluation of E-Government Service Quality

Authors: Nguyen Manh Hien

Abstract:

Service quality is the highest requirement by users,  especially for the service in electronic government. During the past  decades, it has become a major area of academic investigation.  Considering this issue, there are a lot of researches that evaluated the  dimensions and e-service contexts. This study also identified the  dimensions of service quality, but focuses on a new concept and  provides a new methodology in developing measurement scales of  e-service quality such as information quality, service quality and  organization quality. Finally, this study will suggest a key factor to  evaluate e-government service quality better.

 

Keywords: E-government, e-service, e-service quality, dimensionality.

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1753 Catalytic Cracking of Butene to Propylene over Modified HZSM-5 Zeolites

Authors: Jianwen Li, Hongfang Ma, Haitao Zhang, Qiwen Sun, Weiyong Ying

Abstract:

Catalytic cracking of butene to propylene was carried out in a continuous-flow fixed-bed reactor over HZSM-5 catalysts modified by nickel and phosphorus. The structure and acidity of catalysts were measured by N2 adsorption, NH3-TPD and XPS. The results revealed that surface area and strong acid sites both decreased with increasing phosphorus loadings. The increment of phosphorus loadings reduced the butene conversion but enhanced the propylene selectivity and catalyst stability.

Keywords: Butene, catalytic cracking, HZSM-5, modification.

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1752 Political Economy of Integrated Soil Fertility Management in the Okavango Delta, Botswana

Authors: Oluwatoyin D. Kolawole, Oarabile Mogobe, Lapologang Magole

Abstract:

Although many factors play a significant role in agricultural production and productivity, the importance of soil fertility cannot be underestimated. The extent to which small farmers are able to manage the fertility of their farmlands is crucial in agricultural development particularly in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).  This paper assesses the nutrient status of selected farmers’ fields in relation to how government policy addresses the allocation of and access to agricultural inputs (e.g. chemical fertilizers) in a unique social-ecological environment of the Okavango Delta in northern Botswana. It also analyses small farmers and soil scientists’ perceptions about the political economy of integrated soil fertility management (ISFM) in the area. A multi-stage sampling procedure was used to elicit quantitative and qualitative information from 228 farmers and 9 soil researchers through the use of interview schedules and questionnaires, respectively. Knowledge validation workshops and focus group discussions (FGDs) were also used to collect qualitative data from farmers. Thirty-three composite soil samples were collected from 30 farmers’ plots in three farming communities of Makalamabedi, Nokaneng and Mohembo for laboratory analysis. While meeting points exist, farmers and scientists have divergent perspectives on soil fertility management. Laboratory analysis carried out shows that most soils in the wetland and the adjoining dry-land/upland surroundings are low in essential nutrients as well as in cation exchange capacity (CEC). Although results suggest the identification and use of appropriate inorganic fertilizers, the low CEC is an indication that holistic cultural practices, which are beyond mere chemical fertilizations, are critical and more desirable for improved soil health and sustainable livelihoods in the area. Farmers’ age (t= -0.728; p≤0.10); their perceptions about the political economy (t = -0.485; p≤0.01) of ISFM; and their preference for the use of local knowledge in soil fertility management (t = -10.254; p≤0.01) had a significant relationship with how they perceived their involvement in the implementation of ISFM.

Keywords: Access, Botswana, ecology, inputs, Okavango Delta, policy, scientists, small farmers, soil fertility.

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1751 Toward a Measure of Appropriateness of User Interfaces Adaptations Solutions

Authors: A. Siam, R. Maamri, Z. Sahnoun

Abstract:

The development of adaptive user interfaces (UI) presents for a long time an important research area in which researcher attempt to call upon the full resources and skills of several disciplines, The adaptive UI community holds a thorough knowledge regarding the adaptation of UIs with users and with contexts of use. Several solutions, models, formalisms, techniques and mechanisms were proposed to develop adaptive UI. In this paper, we propose an approach based on the fuzzy set theory for modeling the concept of the appropriateness of different solutions of UI adaptation with different situations for which interactive systems have to adapt their UIs.

Keywords: Adaptive user interfaces, adaptation solution’s appropriateness, fuzzy sets.

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1750 Assessing Traffic Calming Measures for Safe and Accessible Emergency Routes in Norrkoping City in Sweden

Authors: Ghazwan Al-Haji

Abstract:

Most accidents occur in urban areas, and the most related casualties are vulnerable road users (pedestrians and cyclists). The traffic calming measures (TCMs) are widely used and considered to be successful in reducing speed and traffic volume. However, TCMs create unwanted effects include: noise, emissions, energy consumption, vehicle delays and emergency response time (ERT). Different vertical and horizontal TCMs have been already applied nationally (Sweden) and internationally with different impacts. It is a big challenge among traffic engineers, planners, and policy-makers to choose and priorities the best TCMs to be implemented. This study will assess the existing guidelines for TCMs in relation to safety and ERT with focus on data from Norrkoping city in Sweden. The expected results will save lives, time, and money on particularly Swedish Roads. The study will also review newly technologies and how they can improve safety and reduce ERT.

Keywords: Traffic safety, traffic calming measures, speeding, emergency response time.

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1749 The Impact of Bus Rapid Transit on Land Development: A Case Study of Beijing, China

Authors: Taotao Deng, John D. Nelson

Abstract:

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) has emerged as a cost-effective transport system for urban mobility. However its ability to stimulate land development remains largely unexplored. The study makes use of qualitative (interview method) and quantitative analysis (questionnaire survey and longitudinal analysis of property data) to investigate land development impact resulting from BRT in Beijing, China. The empirical analysis suggests that BRT has a positive impact on the residential and commercial property attractiveness along the busway corridor. The statistical analysis suggests that accessibility advantage conferred by BRT is capitalized into higher property price. The average price of apartments adjacent to a BRT station has gained a relatively faster increase than those not served by the BRT system. The capitalization effect mostly occurs after the full operation of BRT, and is more evident over time and particularly observed in areas which previously lack alternative mobility opportunity.

Keywords: accessibility, Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), Beijing, property value uplift

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1748 The Spatial Equity Assessment of Community-Based Elderly Care Facilities in Old Neighborhood of Chongqing

Authors: Jiayue Zhao, Hongjuan Wu, Guiwen Liu

Abstract:

Old neighborhoods with a large elderly population depend on community-based elderly care facilities (community-based ECFs) for aging-in-place. Yet, due to scarce and scattered land, the facilities face inequitable distribution. This research uses spatial equity theory for measuring the spatial equity of community-based ECFs in old neighborhoods. Field surveys gather granular data and methods including coverage rate, Gini coefficient, Lorenz curve and G2SFCA. The findings showed that coverage is substantial but does not indicate supply is matching to demand, nor does it imply superior accessibility. The key contributions are that structuring spatial equity framework considering elderly residents’ travel behavior. This study dedicated to the international literature on spatial equity from the perspective of travel behavior and could provide valuable suggestions for the urban planning of old neighborhoods.

Keywords: Community-based ECFs, elderly residents’ travel behavior, old neighborhoods, spatial equity.

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1747 Quantifying Freeway Capacity Reductions by Rainfall Intensities Based on Stochastic Nature of Flow Breakdown

Authors: Hoyoung Lee, Dong-Kyu Kim, Seung-Young Kho, R. Eddie Wilson

Abstract:

This study quantifies a decrement in freeway capacity during rainfall. Traffic and rainfall data were gathered from Highway Agencies and Wunderground weather service. Three inter-urban freeway sections and its nearest weather stations were selected as experimental sites. Capacity analysis found reductions of maximum and mean pre-breakdown flow rates due to rainfall. The Kruskal-Wallis test also provided some evidence to suggest that the variance in the pre-breakdown flow rate is statistically insignificant. Potential application of this study lies in the operation of real time traffic management schemes such as Variable Speed Limits (VSL), Hard Shoulder Running (HSR), and Ramp Metering System (RMS), where speed or flow limits could be set based on a number of factors, including rainfall events and their intensities.

Keywords: Capacity randomness, flow breakdown, freeway capacity, rainfall.

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1746 Economics of Oil and Its Stability in the Gulf Region

Authors: Al Mutawa A. Amir, Liaqat Ali, Faisal Ali

Abstract:

After the World War II, the world economy was disrupted and changed due to oil and its prices. The research in this paper presents the basic statistical features and economic characteristics of the Gulf economy. The main features of the Gulf economies and its heavy dependence on oil exports, its dualism between modern and traditional sectors and its rapidly increasing affluences are particularly emphasized.  In this context, the research in this paper discussed the problems of growth versus development and has attempted to draw the implications for the future economic development of this area.

Keywords: Oil prices, Gulf Cooperation Council, economic growth, Gulf oil.

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1745 Using Model to Plan of Strategic Objectives

Authors: Terezie Bartusková, Jitka Baňařová, Zuzana Kusněřová

Abstract:

Importance of strategic planning is unquestionable. However, the practical implementation of a strategic plan faces too many obstacles. The aim of the article is explained the importance of strategic planning and to find how companies in Moravian-Silesian Region deal with strategic planning, and to introduce the model, which helps to set strategic goals in financial indicators area. This model should be part of the whole process of strategic planning and can be use to predict the future values of financial indicators of the company with regard to the factor, which influence these indicators.

Keywords: Planning of Potentials, Planning of Strategic Objectives, Portfolio Planning, Significant Factors, Strategic Planning.

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1744 Road Accidents Bigdata Mining and Visualization Using Support Vector Machines

Authors: Usha Lokala, Srinivas Nowduri, Prabhakar K. Sharma

Abstract:

Useful information has been extracted from the road accident data in United Kingdom (UK), using data analytics method, for avoiding possible accidents in rural and urban areas. This analysis make use of several methodologies such as data integration, support vector machines (SVM), correlation machines and multinomial goodness. The entire datasets have been imported from the traffic department of UK with due permission. The information extracted from these huge datasets forms a basis for several predictions, which in turn avoid unnecessary memory lapses. Since data is expected to grow continuously over a period of time, this work primarily proposes a new framework model which can be trained and adapt itself to new data and make accurate predictions. This work also throws some light on use of SVM’s methodology for text classifiers from the obtained traffic data. Finally, it emphasizes the uniqueness and adaptability of SVMs methodology appropriate for this kind of research work.

Keywords: Road accident, machine learning, support vector machines.

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1743 Wireless Sensor Networks:A Survey on Ultra-Low Power-Aware Design

Authors: Itziar Marín, Eduardo Arceredillo, Aitzol Zuloaga, Jagoba Arias

Abstract:

Distributed wireless sensor network consist on several scattered nodes in a knowledge area. Those sensors have as its only power supplies a pair of batteries that must let them live up to five years without substitution. That-s why it is necessary to develop some power aware algorithms that could save battery lifetime as much as possible. In this is document, a review of power aware design for sensor nodes is presented. As example of implementations, some resources and task management, communication, topology control and routing protocols are named.

Keywords: Low Power Design, Power Awareness, RemoteSensing, Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN).

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1742 Analysis of Wi-Fi Access Networks Situation in the City Area

Authors: A. Statkus, S. Paulikas

Abstract:

With increasing number of wireless devices like laptops, Wi-Fi Web Cams, network extenders, etc., a new kind of problems appeared, mostly related to poor Wi-Fi throughput or communication problems. In this paper an investigation on wireless networks and it-s saturation in Vilnius City and its surrounding is presented, covering the main problems of wireless saturation and network load during day. Also an investigation on wireless channel selection and noise levels were made, showing the impact of neighbor AP to signal and noise levels and how it changes during the day.

Keywords: IEEE 802.11b/g/n, wireless saturation, client activity, channel selection.

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1741 Regional Low Gravity Anomalies Influencing High Concentrations of Heavy Minerals on Placer Deposits

Authors: T. B. Karu Jayasundara

Abstract:

Regions of low gravity and gravity anomalies both influence heavy mineral concentrations on placer deposits. Economically imported heavy minerals are likely to have higher levels of deposition in low gravity regions of placer deposits. This can be found in coastal regions of Southern Asia, particularly in Sri Lanka and Peninsula India and areas located in the lowest gravity region of the world. The area about 70 kilometers of the east coast of Sri Lanka is covered by a high percentage of ilmenite deposits, and the southwest coast of the island consists of Monazite placer deposit. These deposits are one of the largest placer deposits in the world. In India, the heavy mineral industry has a good market. On the other hand, based on the coastal placer deposits recorded, the high gravity region located around Papua New Guinea, has no such heavy mineral deposits. In low gravity regions, with the help of other depositional environmental factors, the grains have more time and space to float in the sea, this helps bring high concentrations of heavy mineral deposits to the coast. The effect of low and high gravity can be demonstrated by using heavy mineral separation devices.  The Wilfley heavy mineral separating table is one of these; it is extensively used in industries and in laboratories for heavy mineral separation. The horizontally oscillating Wilfley table helps to separate heavy and light mineral grains in to deferent fractions, with the use of water. In this experiment, the low and high angle of the Wilfley table are representing low and high gravity respectively. A sample mixture of grain size <0.85 mm of heavy and light mineral grains has been used for this experiment. The high and low angle of the table was 60 and 20 respectively for this experiment. The separated fractions from the table are again separated into heavy and light minerals, with the use of heavy liquid, which consists of a specific gravity of 2.85. The fractions of separated heavy and light minerals have been used for drawing the two-dimensional graphs. The graphs show that the low gravity stage has a high percentage of heavy minerals collected in the upper area of the table than in the high gravity stage. The results of the experiment can be used for the comparison of regional low gravity and high gravity levels of heavy minerals. If there are any heavy mineral deposits in the high gravity regions, these deposits will take place far away from the coast, within the continental shelf.

Keywords: Anomaly, gravity, influence, mineral.

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1740 Successful Straw Combustion Technology in Zluticka Heating Plant

Authors: P. Volakova, M. Mika, V. Verner, B. Klapste, O. Jankovsky

Abstract:

We successfully developed and tested a new separation layer solving problems with unmanageable deposits inside the boilers of Zluticka Heating Plant. The deposits are mainly created by glass-forming melts. We plotted straw ash compositions in K2OCaO- SiO2 phase diagram and illustrated that they are in the area of low-melting eutectic points. To prevent the melting of ash and the formation of deposits, we modified ash compositions by injecting additives into biomass fuel, and thus effectively suppressed deposits in a burner.

Keywords: Biomass, straw, combustion, deposit, heat, additives

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1739 Poverty Alleviation Potential of Snail Farming in Ondo State, Southwest Nigeria

Authors: Aiyeloja A.A, Ogunjinmi A.A

Abstract:

The recurring decimal of rural and urban poverty in Nigeria, resulting from lack of sustainable livelihood activities by the people due to non-diversification of the economy, necessitated this study. One hundred snail farmers were randomly selected in Akure North and Akure South Local Government areas of Ondo State, Southwest Nigeria where snail farming is widely practised. Data collection was through questionnaires administration and onsite observation of farms. Data obtained were subjected to descriptive statistics, Student-s t-test and regression analysis. Cost benefit ratio (CBR) and rate of return on investment (RORI) were calculated in order to determine the poverty alleviation potentials of snail farming in the study areas. Although snail farming was profitable and viable, it was below poverty line. With time and more knowledge in its farming activities, and with more people taking to snail production, its poverty alleviation and reduction potentials will increase.

Keywords: Alleviation, farming, Nigeria, potential, poverty, snail.

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1738 Development and Analysis of a Machine to Equally Apply Mineral Fertilizer to Soil on Slopes

Authors: Qurbanov Huseyn Nuraddin

Abstract:

Reliable food supply of the population of a country is one of the main directions of the state's economic policy. Grain growing, which is the basis of agriculture, is important in this area. In the cultivation of cereals on slopes, the application of equal amounts of mineral fertilizers to under the soil before sowing is a very important technological process. The low level of technical equipment in this area prevents producers from providing the country with the necessary quality cereals. Experience in the operation of modern technical means has shown that at present, there is a need to provide an equal amount of fertilizer to under the soil on slopes, fully meeting the agro-technical requirements. No fundamental changes have been made to the industrial machines that fertilize under the soil, and unequal application of fertilizers to under the soil on slopes has been applied. This technological process leads to the destruction of new seedlings and reduced productivity due to intolerance to frost during the winter for the plant planted in the fall. In special climatic conditions, there is an optimal fertilization rate for each agricultural product. The application of fertilizers to the soil is one of the conditions that increase their efficiency in the field. As can be seen, the development of a new technical proposal for fertilizing and plowing the slopes in equal amounts on the slopes, improving the technological and design parameters, taking into account the physical and mechanical properties of fertilizers, is very important. Taking into account the above-mentioned issues, a combined plough was developed in our laboratory. Combined plough carries out pre-sowing technological operation in the cultivation of cereals, providing a smooth equal amount of mineral fertilizers to under the soil on the slopes. Mathematical models of a smooth spreader that evenly distributes fertilizers in the field have been developed. Thus, diagrams and graphs obtained without distribution on the eight partitions of the smooth spreader are constructed under the inclined angles of the slopes. Percentage and productivity of equal distribution in the field were noted by practical and theoretical analysis.

Keywords: Combined plough, mineral fertilizer, equal sowing, fertilizer norm, grain-crops, sowing fertilizer.

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1737 Study of Unsteady Behaviour of Dynamic Shock Systems in Supersonic Engine Intakes

Authors: Siddharth Ahuja, T. M. Muruganandam

Abstract:

An analytical investigation is performed to study the unsteady response of a one-dimensional, non-linear dynamic shock system to external downstream pressure perturbations in a supersonic flow in a varying area duct. For a given pressure ratio across a wind tunnel, the normal shock's location can be computed as per one-dimensional steady gas dynamics. Similarly, for some other pressure ratio, the location of the normal shock will change accordingly, again computed using one-dimensional gas dynamics. This investigation focuses on the small-time interval between the first steady shock location and the new steady shock location (corresponding to different pressure ratios). In essence, this study aims to shed light on the motion of the shock from one steady location to another steady location. Further, this study aims to create the foundation of the Unsteady Gas Dynamics field enabling further insight in future research work. According to the new pressure ratio, a pressure pulse, generated at the exit of the tunnel which travels and perturbs the shock from its original position, setting it into motion. During such activity, other numerous physical phenomena also happen at the same time. However, three broad phenomena have been focused on, in this study - Traversal of a Wave, Fluid Element Interactions and Wave Interactions. The above mentioned three phenomena create, alter and kill numerous waves for different conditions. The waves which are created by the above-mentioned phenomena eventually interact with the shock and set it into motion. Numerous such interactions with the shock will slowly make it settle into its final position owing to the new pressure ratio across the duct, as estimated by one-dimensional gas dynamics. This analysis will be extremely helpful in the prediction of inlet 'unstart' of the flow in a supersonic engine intake and its prominence with the incoming flow Mach number, incoming flow pressure and the external perturbation pressure is also studied to help design more efficient supersonic intakes for engines like ramjets and scramjets.

Keywords: Analytical investigation, compression and expansion waves, fluid element interactions, shock trajectory, supersonic flow, unsteady gas dynamics, varying area duct, wave interactions.

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1736 A 1.8 V RF CMOS Active Inductor with 0.18 um CMOS Technology

Authors: Siavash Heydarzadeh, Massoud Dousti

Abstract:

A active inductor in CMOS techonology with a supply voltage of 1.8V is presented. The value of the inductance L can be in the range from 0.12nH to 0.25nH in high frequency(HF). The proposed active inductor is designed in TSMC 0.18-um CMOS technology. The power dissipation of this inductor can retain constant at all operating frequency bands and consume around 20mW from 1.8V power supply. Inductors designed by integrated circuit occupy much smaller area, for this reason,attracted researchers attention for more than decade. In this design we used Advanced Designed System (ADS) for simulating cicuit.

Keywords: CMOS active inductor , 0.18um CMOS technology , ADS

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1735 Rubric in Vocational Education

Authors: Azmanirah Ab Rahman, Jamil Ahmad, Ruhizan Muhammad Yasin

Abstract:

Rubric is a very important tool for teachers and students for a variety of purposes. Teachers use the rubric for evaluating student work while students use rubrics for self-assessment. Therefore, this paper was emphasized scoring rubric as a scoring tool for teachers in an environment of Competency Based Education and Training (CBET) in Malaysia Vocational College. A total of three teachers in the fields of electrical and electronics engineering were interviewed to identify how the use of rubrics practiced since vocational transformation implemented in 2012. Overall holistic rubric used to determine the performance of students in the skills area.

Keywords: Rubric, Vocational Education.

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1734 Fuzzy Gauge Capability (Cg and Cgk) through Buckley Approach

Authors: Seyed Habib A. Rahmati, Mohsen Sadegh Amalnick

Abstract:

Different terms of the Statistical Process Control (SPC) has sketch in the fuzzy environment. However, Measurement System Analysis (MSA), as a main branch of the SPC, is rarely investigated in fuzzy area. This procedure assesses the suitability of the data to be used in later stages or decisions of the SPC. Therefore, this research focuses on some important measures of MSA and through a new method introduces the measures in fuzzy environment. In this method, which works based on Buckley approach, imprecision and vagueness nature of the real world measurement are considered simultaneously. To do so, fuzzy version of the gauge capability (Cg and Cgk) are introduced. The method is also explained through example clearly.

Keywords: SPC, MSA, gauge capability, Cg, Cgk.

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1733 Links between Landscape Management and Environmental Risk Assessment: Considerations from the Italian Context

Authors: M. Balestrieri, C. Pusceddu

Abstract:

Issues relating to the destructive phenomena that can damage people and goods have returned to the centre of debate in Italy with the increase in catastrophic episodes in recent years in a country which is highly vulnerable to hydrological risk. Environmental factors and geological and geomorphological territorial characteristics play an important role in determining the level of vulnerability and the natural tendency to risk. However, a territory has also been subjected to the requirements of and transformations of society and this brings other relevant factors. The reasons for the increase in destructive phenomena are often to be found in the territorial development models adopted. Stewardship of the landscape and management of risk are related issues. This study aims to summarize the most relevant elements about this connection and at the same time to clarify the role of environmental risk assessment as a tool to aid in the sustainable management of landscape. Finally, the study reflects on how regional and urban planners deal with environmental risk and which aspects should be monitored in order to adopt responsible and useful interventions.

Keywords: Assessment, landscape, risk, planning.

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1732 The Urban Transportation Systems in Two Cities Located in the Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil

Authors: D. I. De Souza, G. P. Azevedo, R. Rocha

Abstract:

The State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, will hold two important events in the nearby future. In 2014 it will have the final game of the Football World Cup, and in 2016 it will be holding the Olympic Games. Therefore, the public transportation system (mainly buses) is of a major concern to the Rio de Janeiro State authorities-. The main objective of this work is to compare the quality of service of the bus companies operating in the cities of ItaperunaandCampos, both cities situated in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The outcome of thiscomparison, based on the opinion of the bus users, has shownthemdispleased with the quality of the service provided by the bus companies operating in both cities. It is urgent the need to find possible practical alternatives to minimize the consequences of the main problems detected in this work. With these practical alternatives available, we will be able to offer to the Rio de Janeiro State authorities- suggestions about possible solutions to the main problems identified in this survey, as well as the time of implantation and costs of these solutions.

Keywords: Public Transportation, Quality of Service, Riders' Opinion, Bus Companies, Practical Alternatives.

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1731 Study of Remote Sensing and Satellite Images Ability in Preparing Agricultural Land Use Map (ALUM)

Authors: Ali Gholami

Abstract:

In this research the Preparation of Land use map of scanner LISS III satellite data, belonging to the IRS in the Aghche region in Isfahan province, is studied carefully. For this purpose, the IRS satellite images of August 2008 and various land preparation uses in region including rangelands, irrigation farming, dry farming, gardens and urban areas were separated and identified. Therefore, the GPS and Erdas Imaging software were used and three methods of Maximum Likelihood, Mahalanobis Distance and Minimum Distance were analyzed. In each of these methods, matrix error and Kappa index were calculated and accuracy of each method, based on percentages: 53.13, 56.64 and 48.44, were obtained respectively. Considering the low accuracy of these methods in separation of land preparation use, the visual interpretation of the map was used. Finally, regional visits of 150 points were noted at random and no error was observed. It shows that the map prepared by visual interpretation is in high accuracy. Although the probable errors due to visual interpretation and geometric correction might happen but the desired accuracy of the map which is more than 85 percent is reliable.

Keywords: Land use map, Aghche Region, Erdas Imagine, satellite images

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1730 Assessing Stakeholders’ Interests in Postal Security

Authors: T. Männistö, M. Finger

Abstract:

The events of October 2010, where terrorists managed to get explosive devices onboard of three passenger aircrafts and two air freighters, demonstrated weaknesses of the international air cargo and airmail security. Ever since, postal security has gained interest among policymakers and authorities. This study augments the limited body of academic literature on the topic bydemarcating areas of postal security, identifying relevant stakeholders in each area, and investigating why these stakeholders engage in postal security. Research is based on a case study on Swiss Post’s mail service.

Keywords: Dangerous goods, mail bombs, postal security, supply chain security, theft of mail, trafficking.

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1729 Insurance Fraud Management as an Integrated Part of Business Intelligence Framework

Authors: Pavel Pešout, Miroslav Andrle

Abstract:

Frauds in insurance industry are one of the major sources of operational risk of insurance companies and constitute a significant portion of their losses. Every reasonable company on the market aims for improving their processes of uncovering frauds and invests their resources to reduce them. This article is addressing fraud management area from the view of extension of existing Business Intelligence solution. We describe the frame of such solution and would like to share with readers all benefits brought to insurance companies by adopting this approach in their fight against insurance frauds.

Keywords: business intelligence, insurance fraud, fraudmanagement

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