Search results for: Previous Usage behavior.
2073 Implementing Activity-Based Costing in Architectural Aluminum Projects: Case Study and Lessons Learned
Authors: Amer Momani, Tarek Al-Hawari, Abdallah Alakayleh
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This study explains how to construct an actionable activity-based costing and management system to accurately track and account the total costs of architectural aluminum projects. Two Activity-Based Costing (ABC) models were proposed to accomplish this purpose. First, the learning and development model was introduced to examine how to apply an ABC model in an architectural aluminum firm for the first time and to be familiar with ABC concepts. Second, an actual ABC model was built on the basis of the results of the previous model to accurately trace the actual costs incurred on each project in a year, and to be able to provide a quote with the best trade-off between competitiveness and profitability. The validity of the proposed model was verified on a local architectural aluminum company.
Keywords: Activity-based costing, activity-based management, construction, architectural aluminum.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 162072 Using Pattern Search Methods for Minimizing Clustering Problems
Authors: Parvaneh Shabanzadeh, Malik Hj Abu Hassan, Leong Wah June, Maryam Mohagheghtabar
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Clustering is one of an interesting data mining topics that can be applied in many fields. Recently, the problem of cluster analysis is formulated as a problem of nonsmooth, nonconvex optimization, and an algorithm for solving the cluster analysis problem based on nonsmooth optimization techniques is developed. This optimization problem has a number of characteristics that make it challenging: it has many local minimum, the optimization variables can be either continuous or categorical, and there are no exact analytical derivatives. In this study we show how to apply a particular class of optimization methods known as pattern search methods to address these challenges. These methods do not explicitly use derivatives, an important feature that has not been addressed in previous studies. Results of numerical experiments are presented which demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.Keywords: Clustering functions, Non-smooth Optimization, Nonconvex Optimization, Pattern Search Method.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 16412071 Modeling of Single-Particle Impact in Abrasive Water Jet Machining
Authors: S. Y. Ahmadi-Brooghani, H. Hassanzadeh, P. Kahhal
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This work presents a study on the abrasive water jet (AWJ) machining. An explicit finite element analysis (FEA) of single abrasive particle impact on stainless steel 1.4304 (AISI 304) is conducted. The abrasive water jet machining is modeled by FEA software ABAQUS/CAE. Shapes of craters in FEM simulation results were used and compared with the previous experimental and FEM works by means of crater sphericity. The influence of impact angle and particle velocity was observed. Adaptive mesh domain is used to model the impact zone. Results are in good agreement with those obtained from the experimental and FEM simulation. The crater-s depth is also obtained for different impact angle and abrasive particle velocities.Keywords: Abrasive water jet machining, Adaptive meshcontrol, Explicit finite elements analysis, Single-particle impact.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 28332070 Additional Considerations on a Sequential Life Testing Approach using a Weibull Model
Authors: D. I. De Souza, D. R. Fonseca, R. Rocha
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In this paper we will develop further the sequential life test approach presented in a previous article by [1] using an underlying two parameter Weibull sampling distribution. The minimum life will be considered equal to zero. We will again provide rules for making one of the three possible decisions as each observation becomes available; that is: accept the null hypothesis H0; reject the null hypothesis H0; or obtain additional information by making another observation. The product being analyzed is a new type of a low alloy-high strength steel product. To estimate the shape and the scale parameters of the underlying Weibull model we will use a maximum likelihood approach for censored failure data. A new example will further develop the proposed sequential life testing approach.Keywords: Sequential Life Testing, Underlying Weibull Model, Maximum Likelihood Approach, Hypothesis Testing.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 13852069 Statistics over Lyapunov Exponents for Feature Extraction: Electroencephalographic Changes Detection Case
Authors: Elif Derya UBEYLI, Inan GULER
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A new approach based on the consideration that electroencephalogram (EEG) signals are chaotic signals was presented for automated diagnosis of electroencephalographic changes. This consideration was tested successfully using the nonlinear dynamics tools, like the computation of Lyapunov exponents. This paper presented the usage of statistics over the set of the Lyapunov exponents in order to reduce the dimensionality of the extracted feature vectors. Since classification is more accurate when the pattern is simplified through representation by important features, feature extraction and selection play an important role in classifying systems such as neural networks. Multilayer perceptron neural network (MLPNN) architectures were formulated and used as basis for detection of electroencephalographic changes. Three types of EEG signals (EEG signals recorded from healthy volunteers with eyes open, epilepsy patients in the epileptogenic zone during a seizure-free interval, and epilepsy patients during epileptic seizures) were classified. The selected Lyapunov exponents of the EEG signals were used as inputs of the MLPNN trained with Levenberg- Marquardt algorithm. The classification results confirmed that the proposed MLPNN has potential in detecting the electroencephalographic changes.
Keywords: Chaotic signal, Electroencephalogram (EEG) signals, Feature extraction/selection, Lyapunov exponents
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 25092068 Ant System with Acoustic Communication
Authors: S. Bougrine, S. Ouchraa, B. Ahiod, A. A. El Imrani
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Ant colony optimization is an ant algorithm framework that took inspiration from foraging behavior of ant colonies. Indeed, ACO algorithms use a chemical communication, represented by pheromone trails, to build good solutions. However, ants involve different communication channels to interact. Thus, this paper introduces the acoustic communication between ants while they are foraging. This process allows fine and local exploration of search space and permits optimal solution to be improved.
Keywords: Acoustic Communication, Ant Colony Optimization, Local Search, Traveling Salesman Problem.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 24322067 Thai Perception on Bitcoin Value
Authors: Toby Gibbs, Suwaree Yordchim
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This research analyzes factors affecting the success of Bitcoin Value within Thailand and develops a guideline for self-reliance for effective business implementation. Samples in this study included 121 people through surveys. The results revealed four main factors affecting the success as follows: 1) A great majority didn't know what Bitcoin was. 2) Didn't grasp the concept of a digital currency or see the benefit of a digital currency. 3) There is a great need to educate the next generation of learners on the benefits of Bitcoin within the community. 4) Future Career training should be pursued in applied Bitcoin development.
The guideline for self-reliance planning consisted of 4 aspects: 1) Local communities need to develop awareness of the usefulness of Bitcoin and share the value of Bitcoin among friends and family. 2) Computer Science and Business Management staff should develop skills to expand on the benefits of Bitcoin within their departments. 3) Further research should be pursued on how Bitcoin Value can improve business and tourism within Thailand. Local communities should focus on developing Bitcoin awareness by encouraging street vendors to accept Bitcoin as another form of payment for services rendered. 4) Development planning: by arranging meet up groups to conduct further education on Bitcoin and share solutions on adoption into every day usage.
Keywords: Bitcoin, Cryptocurrency, Decentralized.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 25882066 Evaluation of Introductory Programming Course for Non-Computer Science Majored Students
Authors: H. Varol
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Although students’ interest level in pursuing Computer Science and related degrees are lower than previous decade, fundamentals of computers, specifically introductory level programming courses are either listed as core or elective courses for a number of non-computer science majors. Universities accommodate these non-computer science majored students either via creating separate sections of a class for them or simply offering mixed-body classroom solutions, in which both computer science and non-computer science students take the courses together. In this work, we demonstrated how we handle introductory level programming course at Sam Houston State University and also provide facts about our observations on students’ success during the coursework. Moreover, we provide suggestions and methodologies that are based on students’ major and skills to overcome the deficiencies of mix-body type of classes.
Keywords: Computer science, non-computer science major, programming, programming education.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 18332065 Design and Fabrication of a Scaffold with Appropriate Features for Cartilage Tissue Engineering
Authors: S. S. Salehi, A. Shamloo
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Poor ability of cartilage tissue when experiencing a damage leads scientists to use tissue engineering as a reliable and effective method for regenerating or replacing damaged tissues. An artificial tissue should have some features such as biocompatibility, biodegradation and, enough mechanical properties like the original tissue. In this work, a composite hydrogel is prepared by using natural and synthetic materials that has high porosity. Mechanical properties of different combinations of polymers such as modulus of elasticity were tested, and a hydrogel with good mechanical properties was selected. Bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells were also seeded into the pores of the sponge, and the results showed the adhesion and proliferation of cells within the hydrogel after one month. In comparison with previous works, this study offers a new and efficient procedure for the fabrication of cartilage like tissue and further cartilage repair.Keywords: Cartilage tissue engineering, hydrogel, mechanical strength, mesenchymal stem cell.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 12922064 Improving Multi-storey Building Sensor Network with an External Hub
Authors: Malka N. Halgamuge, Toong-Khuan Chan, Priyan Mendis
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Monitoring and automatic control of building environment is a crucial application of Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) in which maximizing network lifetime is a key challenge. Previous research into the performance of a network in a building environment has been concerned with radio propagation within a single floor. We investigate the link quality distribution to obtain full coverage of signal strength in a four-storey building environment, experimentally. Our results indicate that the transitional region is of particular concern in wireless sensor network since it accommodates high variance unreliable links. The transitional region in a multi-storey building is mainly due to the presence of reinforced concrete slabs at each storey and the fac┬©ade which obstructs the radio signal and introduces an additional absorption term to the path loss.Keywords: Wireless sensor networks, radio propagation, building monitoring
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 15512063 Air Flows along Perforated Metal Plates with the Heat Transfer
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The objective of the paper is a numerical study of heat transfer between perforated metal plates and the surrounding air flows. Different perforation structures can nowadays be found in various industrial products. Besides improving the mechanical properties, the perforations can intensify the heat transfer as well. The heat transfer coefficient depends on a wide range of parameters such as type of perforation, size, shape, flow properties of the surrounding air etc. The paper was focused on three different perforation structures which have been investigated from the point of the view of the production in the previous studies. To determine the heat coefficients and the Nusselt numbers, the numerical simulation approach was adopted. The calculations were performed using the OpenFOAM software. The three-dimensional, unstable, turbulent and incompressible air flow around the perforated surface metal plate was considered.Keywords: Perforations, convective heat transfers, turbulent flows, numerical simulations.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 22472062 A New Muscle Architecture Model with Non-Uniform Distribution of Muscle Fiber Types
Authors: Javier Navallas, Armando Malanda, Luis Gila, Javier Rodriguez, Ignacio Rodriguez
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According to previous studies, some muscles present a non-homogeneous spatial distribution of its muscle fiber types and motor unit types. However, available muscle models only deal with muscles with homogeneous distributions. In this paper, a new architecture muscle model is proposed to permit the construction of non-uniform distributions of muscle fibers within the muscle cross section. The idea behind is the use of a motor unit placement algorithm that controls the spatial overlapping of the motor unit territories of each motor unit type. Results show the capabilities of the new algorithm to reproduce arbitrary muscle fiber type distributions.
Keywords: muscle model, muscle architecture, motor unit, EMG simulation.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 15932061 A Carbon Footprint Analysis of Rapeseed Oil and Rapeseed Methyl Ester Produced in Romania as Fuels for Diesel Engines
Authors: R-C.Buturca, C. Gasol, D. Scarpete, X. Gabarrell
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Considering the increasing need of biofuels in Europe and the legislative requirements of the European Union it is needed to quantify the greenhouse gas emissions of biofuels life cycle. In this article a carbon footprint analysis to quantify these gases emitted during production and use of Romanian rapeseed oil (RO) and biodiesel from rapeseed oil (RME) was conducted. The functional unit was considered the LHV of diesel oil of 42.8 MJ·kg-1 corresponding to 1.15kg. of RO and 1.10 kg. of RME. When the 3 fuels were compared, the results show important benefits when using rapeseed oil or biodiesel instead of diesel. The most impacting stage in terms of GHG emissions is the use of the fuels. In this stage, rapeseed oil registers a total quantity of 3,229 kg CO2eq.·FU-1 and biodiesel register a total quantity of 3,088 kg CO2eq.·FU-1 while mineral diesel registers a total quantity of 3,156 kg CO2eq.·FU-1 emitted in the air. Taking into account that rape plant absorbed during growth stage the same quantity of CO2 as emitted into atmosphere during usage stage of the fuel, when compared the three fuels, rapeseed oil and biodiesel obtain obvious benefits against fossil diesel. Results show that by substituting diesel with RO a total quantity of 5,663 kg. CO2eq.·FU-1 would be saved while using biodiesel a total quantity of 5,570 kg. CO2eq.·FU-1 can be saved.
Keywords: Biodiesel, carbon footprint, rapeseed.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 37602060 A Study of the Damages to Historical Monuments due to Climatic Factors and Air Pollution and Offering Solutions
Authors: Shoureshe Kanani, Hassan Zandi
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Historical monuments as architectural heritage are, economically and culturally, considered one of the key aspects for modern communities. Cultural heritage represents a country-s national identity and pride and maintains and enriches that country-s culture. Therefore, conservation of the monuments remained from our ancestors requires everybody-s serious and unremitting effort. Conservation, renewal, restoration, and technical study of cultural and historical matters are issues which have a special status among various forms of art and science in the present century and this is due to two reasons: firstly, progress of humankind in this century has created a factor called environmental pollution which not only has caused new destructive processes of cultural/historical monuments but also has accelerated the previous destructive processes by several times, and secondly, the rapid advance of various sciences, especially chemistry, has lead to the contribution of new methods and materials to this significant issue.Keywords: Air Pollution, Climatic, Historical Monuments
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 97292059 Comparison of the Garden City Conceptand Green Belt Concept in Major Asian and Oceanic Cities
Authors: Kayoko Yamamoto
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The purpose of this study is to review representative cases of green space development in order to compare the Garden City concept and Green Belt concept as applied and to examine its direction in major Asian and Oceanic cities. The results of previous studies and this study show that there are two major directions in such green-oriented city planning. One direction is toward Multi-Regional Development, and the other focuses on an Environmentally Symbiotic City based on the Garden City concept. In large cities and the suburbs where extremely strong pressure to urbanize makes it impossible to keep Green Belts, it is essential to strictly control land use and adopt the Garden City concept to conserve the urban environment.Keywords: Garden City, Green Belt, Green City, Green SpaceDevelopment, Major Asian and Oceanic Cities
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 48202058 Development of Tools for Multi Vehicles Simulation with Robot Operating System and ArduPilot
Authors: Pierre Kancir, Jean-Philippe Diguet, Marc Sevaux
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One of the main difficulties in developing multi-robot systems (MRS) is related to the simulation and testing tools available. Indeed, if the differences between simulations and real robots are too significant, the transition from the simulation to the robot won’t be possible without another long development phase and won’t permit to validate the simulation. Moreover, the testing of different algorithmic solutions or modifications of robots requires a strong knowledge of current tools and a significant development time. Therefore, the availability of tools for MRS, mainly with flying drones, is crucial to enable the industrial emergence of these systems. This research aims to present the most commonly used tools for MRS simulations and their main shortcomings and presents complementary tools to improve the productivity of designers in the development of multi-vehicle solutions focused on a fast learning curve and rapid transition from simulations to real usage. The proposed contributions are based on existing open source tools as Gazebo simulator combined with ROS (Robot Operating System) and the open-source multi-platform autopilot ArduPilot to bring them to a broad audience.Keywords: ROS, ArduPilot, MRS, simulation, drones, Gazebo.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 9282057 Using New Technologies for Public Parking in Isfahan City
Authors: M. Ahmadi Baseri, R. Mokhtari Malekabadi, A. Gandomkar
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Cities expansion, urban travels increase, the technology development, the automobile price cheapen, and the families' income ascending cause the considerable increase in automobile numbers of the city. This fact has led to the traffic creation and the automobile parking site shortage in the city. Also in Esfahan metropolis, the parking lots shortage has been the great problem of this town; in addition, in designing and constructing of the parking sites the traditional methods are utilized which do not have a reasonable and optimized usage of the valuable urban lands. In this article, by introducing the prefabricate mechanized parking system which is inexpensive, simple and quick, and occupies very small space, therefore provides the high content of parking site for the cities, we can eliminate the parking space shortage difficulty of the cities. The achieved results of this research represent that an optimized utilization of the existent urban spaces for parking site construction has not been accomplished. By employing the new parking site technologies such as mechanization categorized parking sites and the capacity prefabricate mechanized of each parking space have become 8 multiples; in this case, the valuable urban lands can be used in an optimized way.Keywords: Public parking sites, New parking sites technologies, Prefabricate mechanized parking site, Isfahan City.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 18112056 Incorporating Multiple Supervised Learning Algorithms for Effective Intrusion Detection
Authors: Umar Albalawi, Sang C. Suh, Jinoh Kim
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As internet continues to expand its usage with an enormous number of applications, cyber-threats have significantly increased accordingly. Thus, accurate detection of malicious traffic in a timely manner is a critical concern in today’s Internet for security. One approach for intrusion detection is to use Machine Learning (ML) techniques. Several methods based on ML algorithms have been introduced over the past years, but they are largely limited in terms of detection accuracy and/or time and space complexity to run. In this work, we present a novel method for intrusion detection that incorporates a set of supervised learning algorithms. The proposed technique provides high accuracy and outperforms existing techniques that simply utilizes a single learning method. In addition, our technique relies on partial flow information (rather than full information) for detection, and thus, it is light-weight and desirable for online operations with the property of early identification. With the mid-Atlantic CCDC intrusion dataset publicly available, we show that our proposed technique yields a high degree of detection rate over 99% with a very low false alarm rate (0.4%).
Keywords: Intrusion Detection, Supervised Learning, Traffic Classification.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 20352055 Analysis of Cooperative Hybrid ARQ with Adaptive Modulation and Coding on a Correlated Fading Channel Environment
Authors: Ibrahim Ozkan
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In this study, a cross-layer design which combines adaptive modulation and coding (AMC) and hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) techniques for a cooperative wireless network is investigated analytically. Previous analyses of such systems in the literature are confined to the case where the fading channel is independent at each retransmission, which can be unrealistic unless the channel is varying very fast. On the other hand, temporal channel correlation can have a significant impact on the performance of HARQ systems. In this study, utilizing a Markov channel model which accounts for the temporal correlation, the performance of non-cooperative and cooperative networks are investigated in terms of packet loss rate and throughput metrics for Chase combining HARQ strategy.Keywords: Cooperative network, adaptive modulation and coding, hybrid ARQ, correlated fading.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 5892054 On the Fuzzy Difference Equation xn+1 = A +
Authors: Qianhong Zhang, Lihui Yang, Daixi Liao,
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In this paper, we study the existence, the boundedness and the asymptotic behavior of the positive solutions of a fuzzy nonlinear difference equations xn+1 = A + k i=0 Bi xn-i , n= 0, 1, · · · . where (xn) is a sequence of positive fuzzy numbers, A,Bi and the initial values x-k, x-k+1, · · · , x0 are positive fuzzy numbers. k ∈ {0, 1, 2, · · ·}.
Keywords: Fuzzy difference equation, boundedness, persistence, equilibrium point, asymptotic behaviour.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 16152053 Effect of Baffles on the Cooling of Electronic Components
Authors: O. Bendermel, C. Seladji, M. Khaouani
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In this work, we made anumerical study of the thermal and dynamic behavior of air in a horizontal channel with electronic components.The influenceto use baffles on the profiles of velocity and temperature is discussed.The finite volume method and the algorithm Simple are used for solving the equations of conservation of mass, momentum and energy.The results found show that baffles improve heat transfer between the cooling air and electronic components. The velocity will increase from 3 times per rapport of the initial velocity.
Keywords: Electronic components, baffles, cooling.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 17842052 Assessment of Health Risks to Ground Water Resources for the Emergency Supply of Population in Relation to the Content of Nitrates and Nitrites
Authors: Frantisek Bozek, Lenka Jesonkova, Jiri Dvorak, Milos Bozek, Eduard Bakos
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The contents of nitrates and nitrites were monitored in 15 ground water resources of a selected region earmarked for the emergency supply of population. The resources have been selected on the basis of previous assessment of natural conditions and the exploitation of territory in the infiltration area as well as the surroundings of water resources. The health risk analysis carried out in relation to nitrates and nitrites, which were found to be the most serious water contaminants, proved, that 14 resources met the health standards in relation to the assessed criterion and could be included in crisis plans. Water quality of ground resources may be assessed in the same way with regard to other contaminants.
Keywords: Drinking water, health risks, methemoglobinemia, nitrates, nitrites, water pollution.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 20412051 Information Security Risk in Financial Institutions
Authors: James A. Nelson
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The history of technology and banking is examined as it relates to risk and technological determinism. It is proposed that the services that banks offer are determined by technology and that banks must adopt new technologies to be competitive. The adoption of technologies paradoxically forces the adoption of other new technologies to protect the bank from the increased risk of technology. This cycle will lead to bank examiners and regulators to focus on human behavior, not on the ever changing technology.Keywords: Banking, information security, risk, technologicaldeterminism.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 16842050 Migration of the Relational Data Base (RDB) to the Object Relational Data Base (ORDB)
Authors: Alae El Alami, Mohamed Bahaj
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This paper proposes an approach for translating an existing relational database (RDB) schema into ORDB. The transition is done with methods that can extract various functions from a RDB which is based on aggregations, associations between the various tables, and the reflexive relationships. These methods can extract even the inheritance knowing that no process of reverse engineering can know that it is an Inheritance; therefore, our approach exceeded all of the previous studies made for the transition from RDB to ORDB. In summation, the creation of the New Data Model (NDM) that stocks the RDB in a form of a structured table, and from the NDM we create our navigational model in order to simplify the implementation object from which we develop our different types. Through these types we precede to the last step, the creation of tables.
The step mentioned above does not require any human interference. All this is done automatically, and a prototype has already been created which proves the effectiveness of this approach.
Keywords: Relational databases, Object-relational databases, Semantic enrichment.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 19532049 Economy-Based Computing with WebCom
Authors: Adarsh Patil, David A. Power, John P. Morrison
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Grid environments consist of the volatile integration of discrete heterogeneous resources. The notion of the Grid is to unite different users and organisations and pool their resources into one large computing platform where they can harness, inter-operate, collaborate and interact. If the Grid Community is to achieve this objective, then participants (Users and Organisations) need to be willing to donate or share their resources and permit other participants to use their resources. Resources do not have to be shared at all times, since it may result in users not having access to their own resource. The idea of reward-based computing was developed to address the sharing problem in a pragmatic manner. Participants are offered a reward to donate their resources to the Grid. A reward may include monetary recompense or a pro rata share of available resources when constrained. This latter point may imply a quality of service, which in turn may require some globally agreed reservation mechanism. This paper presents a platform for economybased computing using the WebCom Grid middleware. Using this middleware, participants can configure their resources at times and priority levels to suit their local usage policy. The WebCom system accounts for processing done on individual participants- resources and rewards them accordingly.Keywords: WebCom, Economy-based computing, WebComGrid Bank Reward, Condensed Graph, Distributor, Accounting, GridPoint.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 12072048 Decision Making with Dempster-Shafer Theory of Evidence Using Geometric Operators
Authors: José M. Merigó, Montserrat Casanovas
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We study the problem of decision making with Dempster-Shafer belief structure. We analyze the previous work developed by Yager about using the ordered weighted averaging (OWA) operator in the aggregation of the Dempster-Shafer decision process. We discuss the possibility of aggregating with an ascending order in the OWA operator for the cases where the smallest value is the best result. We suggest the introduction of the ordered weighted geometric (OWG) operator in the Dempster-Shafer framework. In this case, we also discuss the possibility of aggregating with an ascending order and we find that it is completely necessary as the OWG operator cannot aggregate negative numbers. Finally, we give an illustrative example where we can see the different results obtained by using the OWA, the Ascending OWA (AOWA), the OWG and the Ascending OWG (AOWG) operator.
Keywords: Decision making, aggregation operators, Dempster- Shafer theory of evidence, Uncertainty, OWA operator, OWG operator.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 15292047 Towards Good Accountability: The Role of Accounting in Islamic Religious Organisations
Authors: Hasan Basri Afifuddin, A.K Siti-Nabiha
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Non-profit organizations, especially religious-based institutions, have long played a very important role in society. Nevertheless, scandals such as inefficient management and the use of unlawful fundraising activities have raised questions regarding the governance and accountability of these organizations. As such, the issues have attracted considerable research interest. However, there is still limited research on accountability in religious based organizations, especially in the context of Islamic religious organizations. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to discuss the issues of accounting and accountability in religious organizations, specifically in Islamic religious establishments. The paper starts by looking at the conventional meaning and concept of accountability. This is followed by a discussion of the principles of accountability within the Islamic framework. In so doing, the history of the role of accounting within Muslim society and also the differences between the Islamic and conventional view of accountability are reviewed. Insights gained from previous research on accountability in faith based organizations are also discussedKeywords: Accountability, accounting, Islam, religiousorganization.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 37502046 The Acceptance of E-Assessment Considering Security Perspective: Work in Progress
Authors: Kavitha Thamadharan, Nurazean Maarop
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The implementation of e-assessment as tool to support the process of teaching and learning in university has become a popular technological means in universities. E-Assessment provides many advantages to the users especially the flexibility in teaching and learning. The e-assessment system has the capability to improve its quality of delivering education. However, there still exists a drawback in terms of security which limits the user acceptance of the online learning system. Even though there are studies providing solutions for identified security threats in e-learning usage, there is no particular model which addresses the factors that influences the acceptance of e-assessment system by lecturers from security perspective. The aim of this study is to explore security aspects of eassessment in regard to the acceptance of the technology. As a result a conceptual model of secure acceptance of e-assessment is proposed. Both human and security factors are considered in formulation of this conceptual model. In order to increase understanding of critical issues related to the subject of this study, interpretive approach involving convergent mixed method research method is proposed to be used to execute the research. This study will be useful in providing more insightful understanding regarding the factors that influence the user acceptance of e-assessment system from security perspective.
Keywords: Secure Technology Acceptance, E-Assessment Security, E-Assessment, Education Technology.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 24382045 Effects of LED Lighting on Visual Comfort with Respect to the Reading Task
Authors: Ayşe Nihan Avcı, İpek Memikoğlu
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Lighting systems in interior architecture need to be designed according to the function of the space, the type of task within the space, user comfort and needs. Desired and comfortable lighting levels increase task efficiency. When natural lighting is inadequate in a space, artificial lighting is additionally used to support the level of light. With the technological developments, the characteristics of light are being researched comprehensively and several business segments have focused on its qualitative and quantitative characteristics. These studies have increased awareness and usage of artificial lighting systems and researchers have investigated the effects of lighting on physical and psychological aspects of human in various ways. The aim of this study is to research the effects of illuminance levels of LED lighting on user visual comfort. Eighty participants from the Department of Interior Architecture of Çankaya University participated in three lighting scenarios consisting of 200 lux, 500 lux and 800 lux that are created with LED lighting. Each lighting scenario is evaluated according to six visual comfort criteria in which a reading task is performed. The results of the study indicated that LED lighting with three different illuminance levels affect visual comfort in different ways. The results are limited to the participants and questions that are attended and used in this study.
Keywords: Illuminance levels, LED lighting, reading task, visual comfort criteria.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 11532044 Active Power Filter dimensioning Using a Hysteresis Current Controller
Authors: Tarek A. Kasmieh, Hassan S. Omran
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This paper aims to give a full study of the dynamic behavior of a mono-phase active power filter. First, the principle of the parallel active power filter will be introduced. Then, a dimensioning procedure for all its components will be explained in detail, such as the input filter, the current and voltage controllers. This active power filter is simulated using OrCAD program showing the validity of the theoretical study.Keywords: Active power filter, Power Quality, Hysteresiscurrent controller.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1707