Search results for: Object-Oriented Integration Testing
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 1758

Search results for: Object-Oriented Integration Testing

378 Application of Systems Engineering Tools and Methods to Improve Healthcare Delivery Inside the Emergency Department of a Mid-Size Hospital

Authors: Mohamed Elshal, Hazim El-Mounayri, Omar El-Mounayri

Abstract:

Emergency department (ED) is considered as a complex system of interacting entities: patients, human resources, software and hardware systems, interfaces, and other systems. This paper represents a research for implementing a detailed Systems Engineering (SE) approach in a mid-size hospital in central Indiana. This methodology will be applied by “The Initiative for Product Lifecycle Innovation (IPLI)” institution at Indiana University to study and solve the crowding problem with the aim of increasing throughput of patients and enhance their treatment experience; therefore, the nature of crowding problem needs to be investigated with all other problems that leads to it. The presented SE methods are workflow analysis and systems modeling where SE tools such as Microsoft Visio are used to construct a group of system-level diagrams that demonstrate: patient’s workflow, documentation and communication flow, data systems, human resources workflow and requirements, leadership involved, and integration between ER different systems. Finally, the ultimate goal will be managing the process through implementation of an executable model using commercialized software tools, which will identify bottlenecks, improve documentation flow, and help make the process faster.

Keywords: Systems modeling, ED operation, workflow modeling, systems analysis.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1012
377 Food Package Design to Preserve Food Temperature

Authors: Sugiono, W. Ardiatna, H. Firdaus, N. Kusnandar, B. Utomo, J. A. Kadar

Abstract:

It is desirable that most human food is warm when eaten, including when food is obtained by taking it away from the point of sale in disposable food packaging. However, such packaging does not retain heat for a long time, which is necessary to ensure the food remains warm when eaten. The study looked for single-use food packaging that could retain the heat of the food for a long time. The methodology for obtaining such packaging is either by modifying available packages on the market or by making new ones with materials that are easily obtained locally, then testing by loading the local food and measuring its temperature and the length of time until it reaches the lowest acceptable temperature for hot food (56°C). Packages made of plastic boxes lined with thin aluminum foil on the inside are the best way to keep food warm for up to 44 minutes from the time it is put in the package to the time the required temperature is reached. Moreover, packaging made of local common food paper, where the food was put in a transparent plastic bag inside the package, was found to be the simplest package that could retain heat for 82.31% as long as the best packaging could, in this study. Plastic boxes with thin aluminum foil inside were the best single-use food packaging in this study that served to keep hot food warm and fit for consumption.

Keywords: Aluminum foil, hot food, local food, packaging.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 809
376 The Effect of Energy Consumption and Losses on the Nigerian Manufacturing Sector: Evidence from the ARDL Approach

Authors: Okezie A. Ihugba

Abstract:

The bounds testing ARDL (2, 2, 2, 2, 0) technique to cointegration was used in this study to investigate the effect of energy consumption and energy loss on Nigeria's manufacturing sector from 1981 to 2020. The model was created to determine the relationship between these three variables while also accounting for interactions with control variables such as inflation and commercial bank loans to the manufacturing sector. When the dependent variables are energy consumption and energy loss, the bound tests show that the variables of interest are bound together in the long run. Because electricity consumption is a critical factor in determining manufacturing value-added in Nigeria, some intriguing observations were made. According to the findings, the relationship between log of electricity consumption (LELC) and log of manufacturing value added (LMVA) is statistically significant. According to the findings, electricity consumption reduces manufacturing value-added. The target variable (energy loss) is statistically significant and has a positive sign. In Nigeria, a 1% reduction in energy loss increases manufacturing value-added by 36% in the first lag and 35% in the second. According to the study, the government should speed up the ongoing renovation of existing power plants across the country, as well as the construction of new gas-fired power plants. This will address a number of issues, including overpricing of electricity as a result of grid failure.

Keywords: ARDL, cointegration, Nigeria's manufacturing, electricity.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 313
375 An Automatic Tool for Checking Consistency between Data Flow Diagrams (DFDs)

Authors: Rosziati Ibrahim, Siow Yen Yen

Abstract:

System development life cycle (SDLC) is a process uses during the development of any system. SDLC consists of four main phases: analysis, design, implement and testing. During analysis phase, context diagram and data flow diagrams are used to produce the process model of a system. A consistency of the context diagram to lower-level data flow diagrams is very important in smoothing up developing process of a system. However, manual consistency check from context diagram to lower-level data flow diagrams by using a checklist is time-consuming process. At the same time, the limitation of human ability to validate the errors is one of the factors that influence the correctness and balancing of the diagrams. This paper presents a tool that automates the consistency check between Data Flow Diagrams (DFDs) based on the rules of DFDs. The tool serves two purposes: as an editor to draw the diagrams and as a checker to check the correctness of the diagrams drawn. The consistency check from context diagram to lower-level data flow diagrams is embedded inside the tool to overcome the manual checking problem.

Keywords: Data Flow Diagram, Context Diagram, ConsistencyCheck, Syntax and Semantic Rules

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3408
374 FPGA Based Longitudinal and Lateral Controller Implementation for a Small UAV

Authors: Hafiz ul Azad, Dragan V.Lazic, Waqar Shahid

Abstract:

This paper presents implementation of attitude controller for a small UAV using field programmable gate array (FPGA). Due to the small size constrain a miniature more compact and computationally extensive; autopilot platform is needed for such systems. More over UAV autopilot has to deal with extremely adverse situations in the shortest possible time, while accomplishing its mission. FPGAs in the recent past have rendered themselves as fast, parallel, real time, processing devices in a compact size. This work utilizes this fact and implements different attitude controllers for a small UAV in FPGA, using its parallel processing capabilities. Attitude controller is designed in MATLAB/Simulink environment. The discrete version of this controller is implemented using pipelining followed by retiming, to reduce the critical path and thereby clock period of the controller datapath. Pipelined, retimed, parallel PID controller implementation is done using rapidprototyping and testing efficient development tool of “system generator", which has been developed by Xilinx for FPGA implementation. The improved timing performance enables the controller to react abruptly to any changes made to the attitudes of UAV.

Keywords: Field Programmable gate array (FPGA), Hardwaredescriptive Language (HDL), PID, Pipelining, Retiming, XilinxSystem Generator.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3147
373 Influence of Port Geometry on Thrust Transient of Solid Propellant Rockets at Liftoff

Authors: Karuppasamy Pandian. M, Krishna Raj. K, Sabarinath. K, Sandeep. G, Sanal Kumar. V.R.

Abstract:

Numerical studies have been carried out using a two dimensional code to examine the influence of pressure / thrust transient of solid propellant rockets at liftoff. This code solves unsteady Reynolds-averaged thin-layer Navier–Stokes equations by an implicit LU-factorization time-integration method. The results from the parametric study indicate that when the port is narrow there is a possibility of increase in pressure / thrust-rise rate due to relatively high flame spread rate. Parametric studies further reveal that flame spread rate can be altered by altering the propellant properties, igniter jet characteristics and nozzle closure burst pressure without altering the grain configuration and/or the mission demanding thrust transient. We observed that when the igniter turbulent intensity is relatively low the vehicle could liftoff early due to the early flow choking of the rocket nozzle. We concluded that the high pressurization-rate has structural implications at liftoff in addition to transient burning effect. Therefore prudent selection of the port geometry and the igniter, for meeting the mission requirements, within the given envelop are meaningful objectives for any designer for the smooth liftoff of solid propellant rockets.

Keywords: Igniter Characteristics, Solid Propellant Rocket, SRM Liftoff, Starting Thrust Transient.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2756
372 Multivariate Assessment of Mathematics Test Scores of Students in Qatar

Authors: Ali Rashash Alzahrani, Elizabeth Stojanovski

Abstract:

Data on various aspects of education are collected at the institutional and government level regularly. In Australia, for example, students at various levels of schooling undertake examinations in numeracy and literacy as part of NAPLAN testing, enabling longitudinal assessment of such data as well as comparisons between schools and states within Australia. Another source of educational data collected internationally is via the PISA study which collects data from several countries when students are approximately 15 years of age and enables comparisons in the performance of science, mathematics and English between countries as well as ranking of countries based on performance in these standardised tests. As well as student and school outcomes based on the tests taken as part of the PISA study, there is a wealth of other data collected in the study including parental demographics data and data related to teaching strategies used by educators. Overall, an abundance of educational data is available which has the potential to be used to help improve educational attainment and teaching of content in order to improve learning outcomes. A multivariate assessment of such data enables multiple variables to be considered simultaneously and will be used in the present study to help develop profiles of students based on performance in mathematics using data obtained from the PISA study.

Keywords: Cluster analysis, education, mathematics, profiles.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 852
371 A Review on Factors Influencing Implementation of Secure Software Development Practices

Authors: Sri Lakshmi Kanniah, Mohd Naz’ri Mahrin

Abstract:

More and more businesses and services are depending on software to run their daily operations and business services. At the same time, cyber-attacks are becoming more covert and sophisticated, posing threats to software. Vulnerabilities exist in the software due to the lack of security practices during the phases of software development. Implementation of secure software development practices can improve the resistance to attacks. Many methods, models and standards for secure software development have been developed. However, despite the efforts, they still come up against difficulties in their deployment and the processes are not institutionalized. There is a set of factors that influence the successful deployment of secure software development processes. In this study, the methodology and results from a systematic literature review of factors influencing the implementation of secure software development practices is described. A total of 44 primary studies were analysed as a result of the systematic review. As a result of the study, a list of twenty factors has been identified. Some of factors that affect implementation of secure software development practices are: Involvement of the security expert, integration between security and development team, developer’s skill and expertise, development time and communication between stakeholders. The factors were further classified into four categories which are institutional context, people and action, project content and system development process. The results obtained show that it is important to take into account organizational, technical and people issues in order to implement secure software development initiatives.

Keywords: Secure software development, software development, software security, systematic literature review.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2431
370 Working Motivation Factors Affecting Job Performance Effectiveness

Authors: Supattra Kanchanopast

Abstract:

The purpose of this paper was to study motivation factors affecting job performance effectiveness. This paper drew upon data collected from an Internal Audit Staffs of Internal Audit Line of Head Office of Krung Thai Public Company Limited. Statistics used included frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation, t-test, and one-way ANOVA test. The finding revealed that the majority of the respondents were female of 46 years of age and over, married and live together, hold a bachelor degree, with an average monthly income over 70,001 Baht. The majority of respondents had over 15 years of work experience. They generally had high working motivation as well as high job performance effectiveness. The hypotheses testing disclosed that employees with different working status had different level of job performance effectiveness at a 0.01 level of significance. Working motivation factors had an effect on job performance in the same direction with high level. Individual working motivation included working completion, reorganization, working progression, working characteristic, opportunity, responsibility, management policy, supervision, relationship with their superior, relationship with co-worker, working position, working stability, safety, privacy, working conditions, and payment. All of these factors related to job performance effectiveness in the same direction with medium level.

Keywords: Internal Audit Staffs, Job Performance Effectiveness, Working Motivation.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 6338
369 Sleep Scheduling Schemes Based on Location of Mobile User in Sensor-Cloud

Authors: N. Mahendran, R. Priya

Abstract:

The mobile cloud computing (MCC) with wireless sensor networks (WSNs) technology gets more attraction by research scholars because its combines the sensors data gathering ability with the cloud data processing capacity. This approach overcomes the limitation of data storage capacity and computational ability of sensor nodes. Finally, the stored data are sent to the mobile users when the user sends the request. The most of the integrated sensor-cloud schemes fail to observe the following criteria: 1) The mobile users request the specific data to the cloud based on their present location. 2) Power consumption since most of them are equipped with non-rechargeable batteries. Mostly, the sensors are deployed in hazardous and remote areas. This paper focuses on above observations and introduces an approach known as collaborative location-based sleep scheduling (CLSS) scheme. Both awake and asleep status of each sensor node is dynamically devised by schedulers and the scheduling is done purely based on the of mobile users’ current location; in this manner, large amount of energy consumption is minimized at WSN. CLSS work depends on two different methods; CLSS1 scheme provides lower energy consumption and CLSS2 provides the scalability and robustness of the integrated WSN.

Keywords: Sleep scheduling, mobile cloud computing, wireless sensor network, integration, location, network lifetime.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 950
368 Lagrangian Flow Skeletons Captured in the Wake of a Swimming Nematode C. elegans Using an Immersed Boundary Fluid-Structure Interaction Approach

Authors: Arash Taheri

Abstract:

In this paper, Lagrangian coherent structure (LCS) concept is applied to wake flows generated in the up/down-stream of a swimming nematode C. elegans in an intermediate Re number range, i.e., 250-1200. It materializes Lagrangian hidden structures depicting flow transport barriers. To pursue the goals, nematode swimming in a quiescent fluid flow environment is numerically simulated by a two-way fluid-structure interaction (FSI) approach with the aid of immersed boundary method (IBM). In this regard, incompressible Navier-Stokes equations, fully-coupled with Lagrangian deformation equations for the immersed body, are solved using IB2d code. For all simulations, nematode’s body is modeled with a parametrized spring-fiber built-in case available in the computational code. Reverse von-Kármán vortex street formation and vortex shedding characteristics are studied and discussed in details via LCS approach, including grid resolution, integration time and Reynolds number effects. Results unveil presence of different flow regions with distinct fluid particle fates in the swimming animal’s wake and formation of so-called ‘mushroom-shaped’ structures in attracting LCS identities.

Keywords: Lagrangian coherent structure, nematode swimming, fluid-structure interaction, immersed boundary method, bionics.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 918
367 The Quality of Public Space in Mexico City: Current State and Trends

Authors: Mildred Moreno Villanueva

Abstract:

Public space is essential to strengthen the social and urban fabric and the social cohesion; there lies the importance of its study. Hence, the aim of this paper is to analyze the quality of public space in the XXI century in both quantitative and qualitative terms. In this article, the concept of public space includes open spaces such as parks, public squares and walking areas. To make this analysis, we take Mexico City as the case study. It has a population of nearly 9 million inhabitants and is composed of sixteen boroughs. For this analysis, we consider both existing public spaces and the government intervention for building and improving new and existent public spaces. Results show that on the one hand, quantitatively there is not an equitable distribution of public spaces due to both the growth of the city itself as well as due to the absence of political will to create public spaces. Another factor is the evolution of this city, which has been growing merely in a “patched pattern”, where public space has played no role at all with a total absence of urban design. On the other hand, qualitatively, even the boroughs with the most public spaces have not shown interest in making these spaces qualitatively inclusive and open to the general population aiming for integration. Therefore, urban projects that privatize public space seem to be the rule, rather than a rehabilitation effort of the existent public spaces. Hence, state intervention should reinforce its role as an agent of social change acting in benefit of the majority of the inhabitants with the promotion of more inclusive public spaces.

Keywords: Exclusion, inclusion, Mexico City, public space.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3715
366 Factors Affecting the Wages of Native Workers in Thailand's Construction Industry

Authors: C. Noknoi, W. Boripunt, K. Boomid, S. Suwitphanwong

Abstract:

This research studies the factors influencing the wages of native workers in Thailand's construction industry. The sample used comprised some 156 native construction workers from Songkhla Province, Thailand. The utilized research instrument was a questionnaire, with the data being analyzed according to frequency, percentage, and regression analysis. The results revealed that in general, native Thai construction workers are generally married males aged between 26 and 37 years old. They typically have four to six years of education, are employed as laborers with an average salary of 4,000–9,200 baht per month, and have fewer than five years of work experience. Most Thai workers work five days a week. Each establishment typically has 10–30 employees, with fewer than 10 of these being migrant workers in general. Most Thai workers are at a 20% to 40% risk from work, and they have never changed employer. The average wage of Thai workers was found to be 10,843.03 baht per month with a standard deviation of 4,898.31 baht per month. Hypothesis testing revealed that position, work experience, and the number of times they had switched employer were the factors most affecting the wages of native Thai construction workers. These three factors alone explain the salaries of Thai construction workers at 51.9%.  

Keywords: Construction industry, native workers, Thailand, wages.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 877
365 Optimization of Hemp Fiber Reinforced Concrete for Mix Design Method

Authors: Zoe Chang, Max Williams, Gautham Das

Abstract:

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the incorporation of hemp fibers (HF) in concrete. Hemp fiber reinforced concrete (HFRC) is becoming more popular as an alternative for regular mix designs. This study was done to evaluate the compressive strength of HFRC regarding mix procedure. HF were obtained from the manufacturer and hand processed to ensure uniformity in width and length. The fibers were added to concrete as both wet and dry mix to investigate and optimize the mix design process. Results indicated that the dry mix had a compressive strength of 1157 psi compared to the wet mix of 985 psi. This dry mix compressive strength was within range of the standard mix compressive strength of 1533 psi. The statistical analysis revealed that the mix design process needs further optimization and uniformity concerning the addition of HF. Regression analysis revealed that the standard mix design had a coefficient of 0.9 as compared to the dry mix of 0.375 indicating a variation in the mixing process. While completing the dry mix, the addition of plain HF caused them to intertwine creating lumps and inconsistency. However, during the wet mixing process, combining water and HF before incorporation allows the fibers to uniformly disperse within the mix hence the regression analysis indicated a better coefficient of 0.55. This study concludes that HRFC is a viable alternative to regular mixes however more research surrounding its characteristics needs to be conducted.

Keywords: hemp fibers, hemp reinforced concrete, wet and dry, freeze thaw testing, compressive strength

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 506
364 Four Decades of Greek Artistic Presence in Paris (1970-2010): Theory and Interpretation

Authors: Sapfo A. Mortaki

Abstract:

This article examines the presence of Greek immigrant artists (painters and sculptors) in Paris during 1970-2010. The aim is to highlight their presence in the French capital through archival research in the daily and periodical press as well as present the impact of their artistic activity on the French intellectual life and society. At the same time, their contribution to the development of cultural life in Greece becomes apparent. The integration of those migrant artists into an environment of cultural coexistence and the understanding of the social phenomenon of their migration, in the context of postmodernity, are being investigated. The cultural relations between the two countries are studied in the context of support mechanisms, such as the Greek community, cultural institutions, museums and galleries. The recognition of the Greek artists by the French society and the social dimension in the context of their activity in Paris, are discussed in terms of the assimilation theory. Since the 1970s, and especially since the fall of the dictatorship in Greece, in opposition to the prior situation, artists' contacts with their homeland have been significantly enhanced, with most of them now travelling to Paris, while others work in parallel in both countries. As a result, not only do the stages of the development of their work through their pursuits become visible, but, most importantly, the artistic world becomes informed about the multifaceted expression of art through the succession of various contemporary currents. Thus, the participation of Greek artists in the international cultural landscape is demonstrated.

Keywords: Artistic migration, cultural impact, Greek artists, postmodernity, theory of assimilation.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 764
363 Development of Cellulose Panels with Porous Structure for Sustainable Building Insulation

Authors: P. Garbagnoli, M. Musitelli, B. Del Curto, MP. Pedeferri

Abstract:

The study and development of an innovative material for building insulation is really important for a sustainable society in order to improve comfort and reducing energy consumption. The aim of this work is the development of insulating panels for sustainable buildings based on an innovative material made by cardboard and Phase Change Materials (PCMs). The research has consisted in laboratory tests whose purpose has been the obtaining of the required properties for insulation panels: lightweight, porous structures and mechanical resistance. PCMs have been used for many years in the building industry as smart insulation technology because of their properties of storage and release high quantity of latent heat at useful specific temperatures [1]- [2]. The integration of PCMs into cellulose matrix during the waste paper recycling process has been developed in order to obtain a composite material. Experiments on the productive process for the realization of insulating panels were done in order to make the new material suitable for building application. The addition of rising agents demonstrated the possibility to obtain a lighter structure with better insulation properties. Several tests were conducted to verify the new panel properties. The results obtained have shown the possibility to realize an innovative and sustainable material suitable to replace insulating panels currently used.

Keywords: Sustainability, recycling, waste cardboard, PCM, cladding system, insulating materials.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2257
362 Protein Secondary Structure Prediction Using Parallelized Rule Induction from Coverings

Authors: Leong Lee, Cyriac Kandoth, Jennifer L. Leopold, Ronald L. Frank

Abstract:

Protein 3D structure prediction has always been an important research area in bioinformatics. In particular, the prediction of secondary structure has been a well-studied research topic. Despite the recent breakthrough of combining multiple sequence alignment information and artificial intelligence algorithms to predict protein secondary structure, the Q3 accuracy of various computational prediction algorithms rarely has exceeded 75%. In a previous paper [1], this research team presented a rule-based method called RT-RICO (Relaxed Threshold Rule Induction from Coverings) to predict protein secondary structure. The average Q3 accuracy on the sample datasets using RT-RICO was 80.3%, an improvement over comparable computational methods. Although this demonstrated that RT-RICO might be a promising approach for predicting secondary structure, the algorithm-s computational complexity and program running time limited its use. Herein a parallelized implementation of a slightly modified RT-RICO approach is presented. This new version of the algorithm facilitated the testing of a much larger dataset of 396 protein domains [2]. Parallelized RTRICO achieved a Q3 score of 74.6%, which is higher than the consensus prediction accuracy of 72.9% that was achieved for the same test dataset by a combination of four secondary structure prediction methods [2].

Keywords: data mining, protein secondary structure prediction, parallelization.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1565
361 A Domain Specific Modeling Language Semantic Model for Artefact Orientation

Authors: Bunakiye R. Japheth, Ogude U. Cyril

Abstract:

Since the process of transforming user requirements to modeling constructs are not very well supported by domain-specific frameworks, it became necessary to integrate domain requirements with the specific architectures to achieve an integrated customizable solutions space via artifact orientation. Domain-specific modeling language specifications of model-driven engineering technologies focus more on requirements within a particular domain, which can be tailored to aid the domain expert in expressing domain concepts effectively. Modeling processes through domain-specific language formalisms are highly volatile due to dependencies on domain concepts or used process models. A capable solution is given by artifact orientation that stresses on the results rather than expressing a strict dependence on complicated platforms for model creation and development. Based on this premise, domain-specific methods for producing artifacts without having to take into account the complexity and variability of platforms for model definitions can be integrated to support customizable development. In this paper, we discuss methods for the integration capabilities and necessities within a common structure and semantics that contribute a metamodel for artifact-orientation, which leads to a reusable software layer with concrete syntax capable of determining design intents from domain expert. These concepts forming the language formalism are established from models explained within the oil and gas pipelines industry.

Keywords: Control process, metrics of engineering, structured abstraction, semantic model.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 701
360 Improving the Compaction Properties and Shear Resistance of Sand Reinforced with COVID-19 Waste Mask Fibers

Authors: Samah Said, Muhsin Elie Rahhal

Abstract:

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, disposable plastic-based face-masks were excessively used worldwide. Therefore, the production and consumption rates of these masks were significantly brought up, which led to severe environmental problems. The main purpose of this research is to test the possibility of reinforcing soil deposits with mask fibers to reuse pandemic-generated waste materials. When testing the compaction properties, the sand was reinforced with a fiber content that increased from 0% to 0.5%, with successive small increments of 0.1%. The optimum content of 0.1% remarkably increased the maximum dry density of the soil and dropped its optimum moisture content. Added to that, it was noticed that 15 mm and rectangular chips were, respectively, the optimum fiber length and shape to maximize the improvement of the sand compaction properties. Regarding the shear strength, fiber contents of 0.1%, 0.25%, and 0.5% were adopted. The direct shear tests have shown that the highest enhancement was observed for the optimum fiber content of 0.25%. Similar to compaction tests, 15 mm and rectangular chips were respectively the optimum fiber length and shape to extremely enhance the shear resistance of the tested sand.

Keywords: COVID-19, mask fibers, compaction properties, soil reinforcement, shear resistance.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 283
359 Intelligent Transport System: Classification of Traffic Signs Using Deep Neural Networks in Real Time

Authors: Anukriti Kumar, Tanmay Singh, Dinesh Kumar Vishwakarma

Abstract:

Traffic control has been one of the most common and irritating problems since the time automobiles have hit the roads. Problems like traffic congestion have led to a significant time burden around the world and one significant solution to these problems can be the proper implementation of the Intelligent Transport System (ITS). It involves the integration of various tools like smart sensors, artificial intelligence, position technologies and mobile data services to manage traffic flow, reduce congestion and enhance driver's ability to avoid accidents during adverse weather. Road and traffic signs’ recognition is an emerging field of research in ITS. Classification problem of traffic signs needs to be solved as it is a major step in our journey towards building semi-autonomous/autonomous driving systems. The purpose of this work focuses on implementing an approach to solve the problem of traffic sign classification by developing a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) classifier using the GTSRB (German Traffic Sign Recognition Benchmark) dataset. Rather than using hand-crafted features, our model addresses the concern of exploding huge parameters and data method augmentations. Our model achieved an accuracy of around 97.6% which is comparable to various state-of-the-art architectures.

Keywords: Multiclass classification, convolution neural network, OpenCV, Data Augmentation.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 760
358 The Risk and Value Engineering Structures and their Integration with Industrial Projects Management (A Case Study on I. K.Corporation)

Authors: Lida Haghnegahdar, Ezzatollah Asgharizadeh

Abstract:

Value engineering is an efficacious contraption for administrators to make up their minds. Value perusals proffer the gaffers a suitable instrument to decrease the expenditures of the life span, quality amelioration, structural improvement, curtailment of the construction schedule, longevity prolongation or a merging of the aforementioned cases. Subjecting organizers to pressures on one hand and their accountability towards their pertinent fields together with inherent risks and ambiguities of other options on the other hand set some comptrollers in a dilemma utilization of risk management and the value engineering in projects manipulation with regard to complexities of implementing projects can be wielded as a contraption to identify and efface each item which wreaks unnecessary expenses and time squandering sans inflicting any damages upon the essential project applications. Of course It should be noted that implementation of risk management and value engineering with regard to the betterment of efficiency and functions may lead to the project implementation timing elongation. Here time revamping does not refer to time diminishing in the whole cases. his article deals with risk and value engineering conceptualizations at first. The germane reverberations effectuated due to its execution in Iran Khodro Corporation are regarded together with the joint features and amalgamation of the aforesaid entia; hence the proposed blueprint is submitted to be taken advantage of in engineering and industrial projects including Iran Khodro Corporation.

Keywords: Management, risk engineering, value engineering, project manipulation, Iran Khodro.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2316
357 Risk Management through Controlling in Industrial Enterprises Operating in Slovakia

Authors: Mária Hudáková, Mária Lusková

Abstract:

This report is focused on widening the theoretical knowledge as well as controlling practical application from the risk management point of view, regarding to dynamic business changes that have occurred in Slovakia which recently has been considered to be an environment full of risk and uncertainty. The idea of the report is the proposal of the controlling operation model in the course of risk management process in an enterprise operating in Slovakia, by which the controller is able to identify early risk factors in suggested major areas of the business management upon appropriate business information integration, consecutive control and prognoses and to prepare in time full-value documents in order to suggest measures for reduction thereof. Dealing with risk factors, that can quickly limit the growth potential of the enterprise, is an essential part of managerial activities on each level. This is the reason why mutual unofficial, ergo collegial cooperation of individual departments is necessary for controlling application from the business risk management point of view. An important part of the report is elaborated survey of the most important risk factors existing in major management areas of enterprises operating in Slovakia. The outcome of the performed survey is a catalogue of the most important enterprise risk factors. The catalogue serves for better understanding risk factors affecting the Slovak enterprises, their importance and evaluation.

Keywords: Controlling, information system, risks management, risk factor, crisis of enterprise.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 864
356 A Follow–Up Study of Bachelor of Science Graduates in Applied Statistics from Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University during the 1999-2012 Academic Years

Authors: Somruedee Pongsena

Abstract:

The purpose of this study is to follow – up the graduated students of Bachelor of Science in Applied Statistics from Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University (SSRU) during the 1999 – 2012 academic years and to provide the fundamental guideline for developing the current curriculum according to Thai Qualifications Framework for Higher Education (TQF: HEd). The sample was collected from 75 graduates by interview and online questionnaire. The content covered 5 subjects were Ethics and Moral, Knowledge, Cognitive Skills, Interpersonal Skill and Responsibility, Numerical Analysis as well as Communication and Information Technology Skills. Data were analyzed by using statistical methods as percentiles, means, standard deviation, t- tests, and F- tests. The findings showed that samples were mostly female had less than 26 years old. The majority of graduates had income in the range of 10,001-20,000 Baht and experience range were 2-5 years. In addition, overall opinions from receiving knowledge to apply to work were at agree; mean score was 3.97 and standard deviation was 0.40. In terms of, the hypothesis testing’s result indicate gender only had different opinion at a significance level of 0.05.

Keywords: Follow up, Graduates, knowledge, opinion, Work performance.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1419
355 Influence of Tether Length in the Response Behavior of Square Tension Leg Platform in Regular Waves

Authors: Amr R. El-Gamal, Ashraf Essa, Ayman Ismail

Abstract:

The tension leg platform (TLP) is a vertically moored structure with excess buoyancy. The TLP is regarded as moored structure in horizontal plan, while inherit stiffness of fixed platform in vertical plane. In this paper, a numerical study using modified Morison equation was carried out in the time domain to investigate the influence of nonlinearities due to hydrodynamic forces and the coupling effect between surge, sway, heave, roll, pitch and yaw degrees of freedom on the dynamic behavior of TLP's. The stiffness of the TLP was derived from a combination of hydrostatic restoring forces and restoring forces due to cables and the nonlinear equations of motion were solved utilizing Newmark’s beta integration scheme. The effect of tethers length and wave characteristics such as wave period and wave height on the response of TLP's was evaluated.

Only uni-directional waves in the surge direction was considered in the analysis. It was found that for short wave periods (i.e. 10 sec.), the surge response consisted of small amplitude oscillations about a displaced position that is significantly dependent on tether length, wave height; whereas for longer wave periods, the surge response showed high amplitude oscillations about that is significantly dependent on tether length.

Keywords: Hydrodynamic wave forces, tension leg platforms, tethers length, wave characteristic.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2106
354 Multivariate Output-Associative RVM for Multi-Dimensional Affect Predictions

Authors: Achut Manandhar, Kenneth D. Morton, Peter A. Torrione, Leslie M. Collins

Abstract:

The current trends in affect recognition research are to consider continuous observations from spontaneous natural interactions in people using multiple feature modalities, and to represent affect in terms of continuous dimensions, incorporate spatio-temporal correlation among affect dimensions, and provide fast affect predictions. These research efforts have been propelled by a growing effort to develop affect recognition system that can be implemented to enable seamless real-time human-computer interaction in a wide variety of applications. Motivated by these desired attributes of an affect recognition system, in this work a multi-dimensional affect prediction approach is proposed by integrating multivariate Relevance Vector Machine (MVRVM) with a recently developed Output-associative Relevance Vector Machine (OARVM) approach. The resulting approach can provide fast continuous affect predictions by jointly modeling the multiple affect dimensions and their correlations. Experiments on the RECOLA database show that the proposed approach performs competitively with the OARVM while providing faster predictions during testing.

Keywords: Dimensional affect prediction, Output-associative RVM, Multivariate regression.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1635
353 The Long-Term Leaching Behaviour of 137Cs, 60Co and 152Eu Radionuclides Incorporated in Mortar Matrices Made from Natural Aggregates and Recycled Aggregates

Authors: R. Deju, M. Mincu, D. Gurau

Abstract:

During the interim storage or final disposal of low level waste, migration/diffusion of radionuclides can occur when the waste comes in contact with water. The long-term leaching behaviour into surrounding fluid (demineralized water) of 137Cs, 60Co and 152Eu radionuclides, artificially incorporated in mortar matrices made from natural aggregates (river sand) and recycled radioactive concrete was studied. Results presented in this work are obtained in two years of mortar testing and will be used for the safety increasing in the storage of low level radioactive waste. The study involved the influence of curing time, type and size distribution of the aggregates on leaching behaviour. The mortar samples were immersed in distilled water for 30 days. The leached activity of the mortar samples was measured on samples from the immersing water and analyzed through a gamma-ray spectrometry method using an HPGe detector with a GESPECOR code for efficiency evaluation. The long-term leaching behaviour of the radionuclides was evaluated from the leaching data calculating the apparent diffusion coefficient.

Keywords: Leaching behaviour, recycling of radioactive concrete, waste management, gamma-ray spectrometry.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1064
352 Thermomechanical Studies in Glass/Epoxy Composite Specimen during Tensile Loading

Authors: K. M. Mohamed Muneer, Raghu V. Prakash, Krishnan Balasubramaniam

Abstract:

This paper presents the results of thermo-mechanical characterization of Glass/Epoxy composite specimens using Infrared Thermography technique. The specimens used for the study were fabricated in-house with three different lay-up sequences and tested on a servo hydraulic machine under uni-axial loading. Infrared Camera was used for on-line monitoring surface temperature changes of composite specimens during tensile deformation. Experimental results showed that thermomechanical characteristics of each type of specimens were distinct. Temperature was found to be decreasing linearly with increasing tensile stress in the elastic region due to thermo-elastic effect. Yield point could be observed by monitoring the change in temperature profile during tensile testing and this value could be correlated with the results obtained from stress-strain response. The extent of prior plastic deformation in the post-yield region influenced the slopes of temperature response during tensile loading. Partial unloading and reloading of specimens post-yield results in change in slope in elastic and plastic regions of composite specimens.

Keywords: Glass/Epoxy composites, Thermomechanical behavior, Infrared Thermography, Thermoelastic slope, Thermoplastic slope.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2030
351 The Effects of Negative Electronic Word-of-Mouth and Webcare on Thai Online Consumer Behavior

Authors: Pongsatorn Tantrabundit, Lersak Phothong, Ong-art Chanprasitchai

Abstract:

Due to the emergence of the Internet, it has extended the traditional Word-of-Mouth (WOM) to a new form called “Electronic Word-of-Mouth (eWOM).” Unlike traditional WOM, eWOM is able to present information in various ways by applying different components. Each eWOM component generates different effects on online consumer behavior. This research investigates the effects of Webcare (responding message) from product/ service providers on negative eWOM by applying two types of products (search and experience). The proposed conceptual model was developed based on the combination of the stages in consumer decision-making process, theory of reasoned action (TRA), theory of planned behavior (TPB), the technology acceptance model (TAM), the information integration theory and the elaboration likelihood model. The methodology techniques used in this study included multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and multiple regression analysis. The results suggest that Webcare does slightly increase Thai online consumer’s perceptions on perceived eWOM trustworthiness, information diagnosticity and quality. For negative eWOM, we also found that perceived eWOM Trustworthiness, perceived eWOM diagnosticity and quality have a positive relationship with eWOM influence whereas perceived valence has a negative relationship with eWOM influence in Thai online consumers.

Keywords:

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1364
350 3D Locomotion and Fractal Analysis of Goldfish for Acute Toxicity Bioassay

Authors: Kittiwann Nimkerdphol, Masahiro Nakagawa

Abstract:

Biological reactions of individuals of a testing animal to toxic substance are unique and can be used as an indication of the existing of toxic substance. However, to distinguish such phenomenon need a very complicate system and even more complicate to analyze data in 3 dimensional. In this paper, a system to evaluate in vitro biological activities to acute toxicity of stochastic self-affine non-stationary signal of 3D goldfish swimming by using fractal analysis is introduced. Regular digital camcorders are utilized by proposed algorithm 3DCCPC to effectively capture and construct 3D movements of the fish. A Critical Exponent Method (CEM) has been adopted as a fractal estimator. The hypothesis was that the swimming of goldfish to acute toxic would show the fractal property which related to the toxic concentration. The experimental results supported the hypothesis by showing that the swimming of goldfish under the different toxic concentration has fractal properties. It also shows that the fractal dimension of the swimming related to the pH value of FD Ôëê 0.26pH + 0.05. With the proposed system, the fish is allowed to swim freely in all direction to react to the toxic. In addition, the trajectories are precisely evaluated by fractal analysis with critical exponent method and hence the results exhibit with much higher degree of confidence.

Keywords: 3D locomotion, bioassay, critical exponent method, CEM, fractal analysis, goldfish.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1689
349 Solid-Liquid-Polymer Mixed Matrix Membrane Using Liquid Additive Adsorbed on Activated Carbon Dispersed in Polymeric Membrane for CO2/CH4 Separation

Authors: P. Chultheera, T. Rirksomboon, S. Kulprathipanja, C. Liu, W. Chinsirikul, N. Kerddonfag

Abstract:

Gas separation by selective transport through polymeric membranes is one of the rapid growing branches of membrane technology. However, the tradeoff between the permeability and selectivity is one of the critical challenges encountered by pure polymer membranes, which in turn limits their large-scale application. To enhance gas separation performances, mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) have been developed. In this study, MMMs were prepared by a solution-coating method and tested for CO2/CH4 separation through permeability and selectivity using a membrane testing unit at room temperature and a pressure of 100 psig. The fabricated MMMs were composed of silicone rubber dispersed with the activated carbon individually absorbed with polyethylene glycol (PEG) as a liquid additive. PEG emulsified silicone rubber MMMs showed superior gas separation on cellulose acetate membrane with both high permeability and selectivity compared with silicone rubber membrane and alone support membrane. However, the MMMs performed limited stability resulting from the undesirable PEG leakage. To stabilize the MMMs, PEG was then incorporated into activated carbon by adsorption. It was found that the incorporation of solid and liquid was effective to improve the separation performance of MMMs.

Keywords: Mixed matrix membrane, membrane, CO2/CH4 separation, activated carbon.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1406