Search results for: academic learning
944 The Effectiveness of Therapeutic Exercise on Motor Skills and Attention of Male Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Authors: Masoume Pourmohamadreza-Tajrishi, Parviz Azadfallah
Abstract:
Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) involve myriad aberrant perceptual, cognitive, linguistic, and social behaviors. The term spectrum emphasizes that the disabilities associated with ASD fall on a continuum from relatively mild to severe. People with ASD may display stereotyped behaviors such as twirling, spinning objects, flapping the hands, and rocking. The individuals with ASD exhibit communication problems due to repetitive/restricted behaviors. Children with ASD who lack the motivation to learn, who do not enjoy physical challenges, or whose sensory perception results in confusing or unpleasant feedback from movement may not become sufficiently motivated to practice motor activities. As a result, they may show both a delay in developing certain motor skills. Additionally, attention is an important component of learning. As far as children with ASD have problems in joint attention, many education-based programs are needed to consider some aspects of attention and motor activities development for students with ASD. These programs focus on the basic movement skills that are crucial for the future development of the more complex skills needed in games, dance, sports, gymnastics, active play, and recreational physical activities. The purpose of the present research was to determine the effectiveness of therapeutic exercise on motor skills and attention of male students with ASD. This was an experimental study with a control group. The population consisted of 8-10 year-old male students with ASD and 30 subjects were selected randomly from an available center suitable for the children with ASD. They were evaluated by the Basic Motor Ability Test (BMAT) and Persian version of computerized Stroop color-word test and randomly assigned to an experimental and control group (15 students in per group). The experimental group participated in 16 therapeutic exercise sessions and received therapeutic exercise program (twice a week; each lasting for 45 minutes) designed based on the Spark motor program while the control group did not. All subjects were evaluated by BMAT and Stroop color-word test after the last session again. The collected data were analyzed by using multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA). The results of MANCOVA showed that experimental and control groups had a significant difference in motor skills and at least one of the components of attention (correct responses, incorrect responses, no responses, the reaction time of congruent words and reaction time of incongruent words in the Stroop test). The findings showed that the therapeutic exercise had a significant effect on motor skills and all components of attention in students with ASD. We can conclude that the therapeutic exercise led to promote the motor skills and attention of students with ASD, so it is necessary to design or plan such programs for ASD students to prevent their communication or academic problems.
Keywords: Attention, autism spectrum disorder, motor skills, therapeutic exercise.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 894943 Model of Appropriate Science Teaching for Mathayomsuksa 3 (Grade 9) in Ang-Thong Province
Abstract:
This research aims to study the appropriate model of Science teaching for students, academic achievement and to survey students- attitudes toward using appropriate for students in Mathayomsuksa 3 in Ang-Thong province. The research results were as follows: 1. The appropriate model of Science teaching for Mathayomsuksa 3 students in Ang-Thong province including these following five steps: Step 1. The introduction of the lessons. Step 2. Setting the hypothesis. Step 3. Doing the experiment /survey. Step 4. Making conclusion. Step 5. Applying to daily life or other subjects. 2. There is no significant difference between using appropriate model teaching and regular teaching at 0.05 level significant difference. 3. There is a significant difference between before and after teaching using appropriate model of Science teaching at 0.05 level. 4. The satisfaction of students- attitudes to using the appropriate model of Science teaching for students was in intermediate level.Keywords: Pedagogy, science teaching model, Ang-Thong province.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1856942 Machine Learning Techniques for Short-Term Rain Forecasting System in the Northeastern Part of Thailand
Authors: Lily Ingsrisawang, Supawadee Ingsriswang, Saisuda Somchit, Prasert Aungsuratana, Warawut Khantiyanan
Abstract:
This paper presents the methodology from machine learning approaches for short-term rain forecasting system. Decision Tree, Artificial Neural Network (ANN), and Support Vector Machine (SVM) were applied to develop classification and prediction models for rainfall forecasts. The goals of this presentation are to demonstrate (1) how feature selection can be used to identify the relationships between rainfall occurrences and other weather conditions and (2) what models can be developed and deployed for predicting the accurate rainfall estimates to support the decisions to launch the cloud seeding operations in the northeastern part of Thailand. Datasets collected during 2004-2006 from the Chalermprakiat Royal Rain Making Research Center at Hua Hin, Prachuap Khiri khan, the Chalermprakiat Royal Rain Making Research Center at Pimai, Nakhon Ratchasima and Thai Meteorological Department (TMD). A total of 179 records with 57 features was merged and matched by unique date. There are three main parts in this work. Firstly, a decision tree induction algorithm (C4.5) was used to classify the rain status into either rain or no-rain. The overall accuracy of classification tree achieves 94.41% with the five-fold cross validation. The C4.5 algorithm was also used to classify the rain amount into three classes as no-rain (0-0.1 mm.), few-rain (0.1- 10 mm.), and moderate-rain (>10 mm.) and the overall accuracy of classification tree achieves 62.57%. Secondly, an ANN was applied to predict the rainfall amount and the root mean square error (RMSE) were used to measure the training and testing errors of the ANN. It is found that the ANN yields a lower RMSE at 0.171 for daily rainfall estimates, when compared to next-day and next-2-day estimation. Thirdly, the ANN and SVM techniques were also used to classify the rain amount into three classes as no-rain, few-rain, and moderate-rain as above. The results achieved in 68.15% and 69.10% of overall accuracy of same-day prediction for the ANN and SVM models, respectively. The obtained results illustrated the comparison of the predictive power of different methods for rainfall estimation.Keywords: Machine learning, decision tree, artificial neural network, support vector machine, root mean square error.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3230941 Corporate Governance and Gender Diversity in Nigerian Boardrooms
Authors: A. Lincoln, O. Adedoyin
Abstract:
In recent times, corporations are increasingly under pressure to ensure diversity within their boardrooms and a large number of academic research have reported findings consistent with the view that boards perform better when they include a diverse range of people. Women have unique characteristics needed to positively influence the strategic direction of a corporation and contribute to the growth of firms. In spite of such revelations, evidence suggests that women are under-represented in senior executive and board positions. In many parts of Africa, socio-cultural traditions inhibit women from attaining these roles. Given the emphasis placed on board diversity and inclusion of women as an essential part of good corporate governance, the relationship between gender diversity and board effectiveness deserves both theoretical and empirical investigation. This research is important because it represents the first theoretical review on gender diversity in corporate boards in Nigeria.
Keywords: Boards, Corporate Governance, Gender Diversity, Nigeria.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3421940 Comparison of E-Waste Management in Switzerland and in Australia: A Qualitative Content Analysis
Authors: Md Tasbirul Islam, Pablo Dias, Nazmul Huda
Abstract:
E-waste/Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) is one of the fastest growing waste streams across the globe. This paper aims to compare the e-waste management system in Switzerland and Australia in terms of four features - legislative initiatives, disposal practice, collection and financial mechanisms. The qualitative content analysis is employed as a research method in the study. Data were collected from various published academic research papers, industry reports, and web sources. In addition, a questionnaire survey is conducted in Australia to understand the public awareness and opinions on the features. The results of the study provide valuable insights to policymakers in Australia developing better e-waste management system in conjunction with the public consensus, and the state-of-the-art operational strategies currently being practiced in Switzerland.Keywords: E-waste management, WEEE, awareness, pro-environmental behavior, Australia, Switzerland.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1755939 AI-Driven Cloud Security: Proactive Defense Against Evolving Cyber Threats
Authors: Ashly Joseph
Abstract:
Cloud computing has become an essential component of enterprises and organizations globally in the current era of digital technology. The cloud has a multitude of advantages, including scalability, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness, rendering it an appealing choice for data storage and processing. The increasing storage of sensitive information in cloud environments has raised significant concerns over the security of such systems. The frequency of cyber threats and attacks specifically aimed at cloud infrastructure has been increasing, presenting substantial dangers to the data, reputation, and financial stability of enterprises. Conventional security methods can become inadequate when confronted with ever intricate and dynamic threats. Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies possess the capacity to significantly transform cloud security through their ability to promptly identify and thwart assaults, adjust to emerging risks, and offer intelligent perspectives for proactive security actions. The objective of this research study is to investigate the utilization of AI technologies in augmenting the security measures within cloud computing systems. This paper aims to offer significant insights and recommendations for businesses seeking to protect their cloud-based assets by analyzing the present state of cloud security, the capabilities of AI, and the possible advantages and obstacles associated with using AI into cloud security policies.
Keywords: Machine Learning, Natural Learning Processing, Denial-of-Service attacks, Sentiment Analysis, Cloud computing.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 187938 Collocation Errors in English as Second Language (ESL) Essay Writing
Authors: Fatima Muhammad Shitu
Abstract:
In language learning, second language learners as well as Native speakers commit errors in their attempt to achieve competence in the target language. The realm of collocation has to do with meaning relation between lexical items. In all human language, there is a kind of ‘natural order’ in which words are arranged or relate to one another in sentences so much so that when a word occurs in a given context, the related or naturally co-occurring word will automatically come to the mind. It becomes an error, therefore, if students inappropriately pair or arrange such ‘naturally’ co–occurring lexical items in a text. It has been observed that most of the second language learners in this research group commit collocation errors. A study of this kind is very significant as it gives insight into the kinds of errors committed by learners. This will help the language teacher to be able to identify the sources and causes of such errors as well as correct them thereby guiding, helping and leading the learners towards achieving some level of competence in the language. The aim of the study is to understand the nature of these errors as stumbling blocks to effective essay writing. The objective of the study is to identify the errors, analyze their structural compositions so as to determine whether there are similarities between students in this regard and to find out whether there are patterns to these kinds of errors which will enable the researcher to understand their sources and causes. As a descriptive research, the researcher samples some nine hundred essays collected from three hundred undergraduate learners of English as a second language in the Federal College of Education, Kano, North- West Nigeria, i.e. three essays per each student. The essays which were given on three different lecture times were of similar thematic preoccupations (i.e. same topics) and length (i.e. same number of words). The essays were written during the lecture hour at three different lecture occasions. The errors were identified in a systematic manner whereby errors so identified were recorded only once even if they occur severally in students’ essays. The data was collated using percentages in which the identified numbers of occurrences were converted accordingly in percentages. The findings from the study indicate that there are similarities as well as regular and repeated errors which provided a pattern. Based on the pattern identified, the conclusion is that students’ collocation errors are attributable to poor teaching and learning which resulted in wrong generalization of rules.
Keywords: Collocations, errors, collocation errors, second language learning.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 7910937 A Research on Glass Ceiling Syndrome Career Barriers of Women Academics
Authors: Serdar Öge, Alpay Karasoy, Özlem Kara
Abstract:
Although women have merit in their jobs, they still are located very few in the top management in many sectors. There are many causes of such situation. Such a situation creates obstacles; especially invisible ones are called “glass ceiling syndrome”. Also, studies which handle this subject in academic community are very few. The aim of this research is to reach the results about glass ceiling obstacles in terms of female teaching staff (academics) working in higher education institutions. To this end, our study was performed on female academics working at Selcuk University, Konya / Turkey. Our study's main aim can be expressed as to determine whether there are glass ceiling obstacles for female academics working at the higher education institution in question, to measure their glass ceiling perceptions and, thus, to identify what the glass ceiling barrier components for them to promotion to senior management positions are.
Keywords: Career, Career Barriers, Glass ceiling syndrome.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3732936 A TIPSO-SVM Expert System for Efficient Classification of TSTO Surrogates
Authors: Ali Sarosh, Dong Yun-Feng, Muhammad Umer
Abstract:
Fully reusable spaceplanes do not exist as yet. This implies that design-qualification for optimized highly-integrated forebody-inlet configuration of booster-stage vehicle cannot be based on archival data of other spaceplanes. Therefore, this paper proposes a novel TIPSO-SVM expert system methodology. A non-trivial problem related to optimization and classification of hypersonic forebody-inlet configuration in conjunction with mass-model of the two-stage-to-orbit (TSTO) vehicle is solved. The hybrid-heuristic machine learning methodology is based on two-step improved particle swarm optimizer (TIPSO) algorithm and two-step support vector machine (SVM) data classification method. The efficacy of method is tested by first evolving an optimal configuration for hypersonic compression system using TIPSO algorithm; thereafter, classifying the results using two-step SVM method. In the first step extensive but non-classified mass-model training data for multiple optimized configurations is segregated and pre-classified for learning of SVM algorithm. In second step the TIPSO optimized mass-model data is classified using the SVM classification. Results showed remarkable improvement in configuration and mass-model along with sizing parameters.
Keywords: TIPSO-SVM expert system, TIPSO algorithm, two-step SVM method, aerothermodynamics, mass-modeling, TSTO vehicle.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2318935 Performance Analysis of Evolutionary ANN for Output Prediction of a Grid-Connected Photovoltaic System
Authors: S.I Sulaiman, T.K Abdul Rahman, I. Musirin, S. Shaari
Abstract:
This paper presents performance analysis of the Evolutionary Programming-Artificial Neural Network (EPANN) based technique to optimize the architecture and training parameters of a one-hidden layer feedforward ANN model for the prediction of energy output from a grid connected photovoltaic system. The ANN utilizes solar radiation and ambient temperature as its inputs while the output is the total watt-hour energy produced from the grid-connected PV system. EP is used to optimize the regression performance of the ANN model by determining the optimum values for the number of nodes in the hidden layer as well as the optimal momentum rate and learning rate for the training. The EPANN model is tested using two types of transfer function for the hidden layer, namely the tangent sigmoid and logarithmic sigmoid. The best transfer function, neural topology and learning parameters were selected based on the highest regression performance obtained during the ANN training and testing process. It is observed that the best transfer function configuration for the prediction model is [logarithmic sigmoid, purely linear].Keywords: Artificial neural network (ANN), Correlation coefficient (R), Evolutionary programming-ANN (EPANN), Photovoltaic (PV), logarithmic sigmoid and tangent sigmoid.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1901934 Metal Ship and Robotic Car: A Hands-On Activity to Develop Scientific and Engineering Skills for High School Students
Authors: Jutharat Sunprasert, Ekapong Hirunsirisawat, Narongrit Waraporn, Somporn Peansukmanee
Abstract:
Metal Ship and Robotic Car is one of the hands-on activities in the course, the Fundamental of Engineering that can be divided into three parts. The first part, the metal ships, was made by using engineering drawings, physics and mathematics knowledge. The second part is where the students learned how to construct a robotic car and control it using computer programming. In the last part, the students had to combine the workings of these two objects in the final testing. This aim of study was to investigate the effectiveness of hands-on activity by integrating Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) concepts to develop scientific and engineering skills. The results showed that the majority of students felt this hands-on activity lead to an increased confidence level in the integration of STEM. Moreover, 48% of all students engaged well with the STEM concepts. Students could obtain the knowledge of STEM through hands-on activities with the topics science and mathematics, engineering drawing, engineering workshop and computer programming; most students agree and strongly agree with this learning process. This indicated that the hands-on activity: “Metal Ship and Robotic Car” is a useful tool to integrate each aspect of STEM. Furthermore, hands-on activities positively influence a student’s interest which leads to increased learning achievement and also in developing scientific and engineering skills.
Keywords: Hands-on activity, STEM education, computer programming, metal work.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 971933 The Fake News Impact on the Public Policy Cycle: A Systemic Analysis through Documentary Survey
Authors: Aron Miranda Burgos, Ergon Cugler de Moraes Silva
Abstract:
In the present article, it is observed that the constant advancement of issues related to misinformation impacts the guarantee of the public policy cycle. Thus, it is found that the dissemination of false information has a direct influence on each of the component stages of this cycle. Therefore, in order to maintain scientific and theoretical credibility in the qualitative analysis process, it was necessary to logically interpose the concepts of firehosing of falsehood, fake news, public policy cycle, as well as using the epistemological and pragmatic mechanism at the intersection of such academic concepts, such as the scientific method. It was found, through the analysis of official documents and public notes, how the multiple theoretical perspectives evidence the commitment of the provision and elaboration of public policies, verifying the way in which the fake news impact each part of the process in this atmosphere.
Keywords: Firehosing of falsehood, governance, misinformation, post-truth.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 869932 A Soft Systems Methodology Perspective on Data Warehousing Education Improvement
Abstract:
This paper demonstrates how the soft systems methodology can be used to improve the delivery of a module in data warehousing for fourth year information technology students. Graduates in information technology needs to have academic skills but also needs to have good practical skills to meet the skills requirements of the information technology industry. In developing and improving current data warehousing education modules one has to find a balance in meeting the expectations of various role players such as the students themselves, industry and academia. The soft systems methodology, developed by Peter Checkland, provides a methodology for facilitating problem understanding from different world views. In this paper it is demonstrated how the soft systems methodology can be used to plan the improvement of data warehousing education for fourth year information technology students.Keywords: Data warehousing, education, soft systems methodology, stakeholders, systems thinking.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1707931 A Comparative Cross-sectional Study of Religious Behavior in High School and University Students
Authors: Bahram Esmaeili, Hossein Hosseini, Mohammad Sharifi Bohloli, Hamid Reza Imani Far, Sohrab Sadeghi
Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to investigate the religious behavior of students in high school and universality in Lamerd , a town in the south of Iran, with respect to increase in their level of education and age. The participants were 450 high school and university students in all levels from first year of junior high school to the senior university students who were chosen through multistage cluster sampling method and their religious behavior was studied. Through the revised questionnaire by Nezar Alany from the University of Bahrain (r = 0/797), the religious behavior of the subjects were analyzed. Results showed that students in high school in religious behavior were superior to the students of university (003/0>p) and there was a decline of religious behavior in junior high school third year students to second students of the same school (042/0>p). More important is that the decrease in religious behavior was associated with increase in educational levels (017/0>p) and age (043/0>p).Keywords: Academic achievement, education level, religion
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2227930 Performance Comparison of Situation-Aware Models for Activating Robot Vacuum Cleaner in a Smart Home
Authors: Seongcheol Kwon, Jeongmin Kim, Kwang Ryel Ryu
Abstract:
We assume an IoT-based smart-home environment where the on-off status of each of the electrical appliances including the room lights can be recognized in a real time by monitoring and analyzing the smart meter data. At any moment in such an environment, we can recognize what the household or the user is doing by referring to the status data of the appliances. In this paper, we focus on a smart-home service that is to activate a robot vacuum cleaner at right time by recognizing the user situation, which requires a situation-aware model that can distinguish the situations that allow vacuum cleaning (Yes) from those that do not (No). We learn as our candidate models a few classifiers such as naïve Bayes, decision tree, and logistic regression that can map the appliance-status data into Yes and No situations. Our training and test data are obtained from simulations of user behaviors, in which a sequence of user situations such as cooking, eating, dish washing, and so on is generated with the status of the relevant appliances changed in accordance with the situation changes. During the simulation, both the situation transition and the resulting appliance status are determined stochastically. To compare the performances of the aforementioned classifiers we obtain their learning curves for different types of users through simulations. The result of our empirical study reveals that naïve Bayes achieves a slightly better classification accuracy than the other compared classifiers.Keywords: Situation-awareness, Smart home, IoT, Machine learning, Classifier.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1856929 A Statistical Model for the Dynamics of Single Cathode Spot in Vacuum Cylindrical Cathode
Authors: Po-Wen Chen, Jin-Yu Wu, Md. Manirul Ali, Yang Peng, Chen-Te Chang, Der-Jun Jan
Abstract:
Dynamics of cathode spot has become a major part of vacuum arc discharge with its high academic interest and wide application potential. In this article, using a three-dimensional statistical model, we simulate the distribution of the ignition probability of a new cathode spot occurring in different magnetic pressure on old cathode spot surface and at different arcing time. This model for the ignition probability of a new cathode spot was proposed in two typical situations, one by the pure isotropic random walk in the absence of an external magnetic field, other by the retrograde motion in external magnetic field, in parallel with the cathode surface. We mainly focus on developed relationship between the ignition probability density distribution of a new cathode spot and the external magnetic field.Keywords: Cathode spot, vacuum arc discharge, transverse magnetic field, random walk.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1398928 Integrating Microcontroller-Based Projects in a Human-Computer Interaction Course
Authors: Miguel Angel Garcia-Ruiz, Pedro Cesar Santana-Mancilla, Laura Sanely Gaytan-Lugo
Abstract:
This paper describes the design and application of a short in-class project conducted in Algoma University’s Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) course taught at the Bachelor of Computer Science. The project was based on the Maker Movement (people using and reusing electronic components and everyday materials to tinker with technology and make interactive applications), where students applied low-cost and easy-to-use electronic components, the Arduino Uno microcontroller board, software tools, and everyday objects. Students collaborated in small teams by completing hands-on activities with them, making an interactive walking cane for blind people. At the end of the course, students filled out a Technology Acceptance Model version 2 (TAM2) questionnaire where they evaluated microcontroller boards’ applications in HCI classes. We also asked them about applying the Maker Movement in HCI classes. Results showed overall students’ positive opinions and response about using microcontroller boards in HCI classes. We strongly suggest that every HCI course should include practical activities related to tinkering with technology such as applying microcontroller boards, where students actively and constructively participate in teams for achieving learning objectives.
Keywords: Maker movement, microcontrollers, learning, projects, course, technology acceptance.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 857927 Optimum Design of Steel Space Frames by Hybrid Teaching-Learning Based Optimization and Harmony Search Algorithms
Authors: Alper Akın, İbrahim Aydoğdu
Abstract:
This study presents a hybrid metaheuristic algorithm to obtain optimum designs for steel space buildings. The optimum design problem of three-dimensional steel frames is mathematically formulated according to provisions of LRFD-AISC (Load and Resistance factor design of American Institute of Steel Construction). Design constraints such as the strength requirements of structural members, the displacement limitations, the inter-story drift and the other structural constraints are derived from LRFD-AISC specification. In this study, a hybrid algorithm by using teachinglearning based optimization (TLBO) and harmony search (HS) algorithms is employed to solve the stated optimum design problem. These algorithms are two of the recent additions to metaheuristic techniques of numerical optimization and have been an efficient tool for solving discrete programming problems. Using these two algorithms in collaboration creates a more powerful tool and mitigates each other’s weaknesses. To demonstrate the powerful performance of presented hybrid algorithm, the optimum design of a large scale steel building is presented and the results are compared to the previously obtained results available in the literature.Keywords: Optimum structural design, hybrid techniques, teaching-learning based optimization, harmony search algorithm, minimum weight, steel space frame.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2450926 Middle East towards Incubator Benefits: Case Studies
Authors: Hanadi Mubarak AL-Mubaraki, Michael Busler
Abstract:
In the context of business incubation (BI) as strategic enablers, this paper critically reviews the literature relating to the strategic benefits of BI in the Middle East. The taxonomy of BI benefits in the strategic elements on 1) type, 2) financial model, 3) services, 4) objectives, 5) number of clients, 6) number of graduates, and 7) jobs creation. Understanding the importance of BI benefits can be significant in the economic development although most incubators lead to diversify the economy. Thus, taxonomies of the benefits of BI are produced from both the academic literature and published case studies. In this way, a classification of strategic benefits elements as they relate to incubators has been developed to provide a greater understanding of the benefits needed to obtain a specific element. The result of this paper is Business incubators is aimed entrepreneurship, jobs creation, research commercialization and profitable enterprises in Middle Eastern countries.Keywords: Economic Development, Incubators, Middle East, Strategic.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2222925 Implementing a Visual Servoing System for Robot Controlling
Authors: Maryam Vafadar, Alireza Behrad, Saeed Akbari
Abstract:
Nowadays, with the emerging of the new applications like robot control in image processing, artificial vision for visual servoing is a rapidly growing discipline and Human-machine interaction plays a significant role for controlling the robot. This paper presents a new algorithm based on spatio-temporal volumes for visual servoing aims to control robots. In this algorithm, after applying necessary pre-processing on video frames, a spatio-temporal volume is constructed for each gesture and feature vector is extracted. These volumes are then analyzed for matching in two consecutive stages. For hand gesture recognition and classification we tested different classifiers including k-Nearest neighbor, learning vector quantization and back propagation neural networks. We tested the proposed algorithm with the collected data set and results showed the correct gesture recognition rate of 99.58 percent. We also tested the algorithm with noisy images and algorithm showed the correct recognition rate of 97.92 percent in noisy images.Keywords: Back propagation neural network, Feature vector, Hand gesture recognition, k-Nearest Neighbor, Learning vector quantization neural network, Robot control, Spatio-temporal volume, Visual servoing
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1670924 Managing a Cross-Disciplinary Research Project in a University: The Case of LEARNIT
Authors: Yulia Stukalina
Abstract:
This paper explores the main issues related to implementing a cross-disciplinary research project (LEARNIT) based on collaboration between universities from three European countries. The paper discusses the importance of using the holistic approach to managing scientific projects with due account for the complicated nature of the educational environment of a modern university. To illustrate this approach, the author describes some actions to be taken for supporting different focus areas of LEARNIT project, in the process using integrated tangible, non-tangible, and semi-tangible resources of the partner university. The methodology of the paper is based on the academic literature and research papers analysis within management discipline. The analysis reported in the paper is also based on the author’s professional experience in the area of managing international research projects in a university.
Keywords: LEARNIT, focus area, project management, resources.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1416923 Using Music in the Classroom to Help Syrian Refugees Deal with Post-War Trauma
Authors: Vartan Agopian
Abstract:
Millions of Syrian families have been displaced since the beginning of the Syrian war, and the negative effects of post-war trauma have shown detrimental effects on the mental health of refugee children. While educational strategies have focused on vocational training and academic achievement, little has been done to include music in the school curriculum to help these children improve their mental health. The literature of music education and psychology, on the other hand, shows the positive effects of music on traumatized children, especially when it comes to dealing with stress. This paper presents a brief literature review of trauma, music therapy, and music in the classroom, after having introduced the Syrian war and refugee situation. Furthermore, the paper highlights the benefits of using music with traumatized children from the literature and offers strategies for teachers (such as singing, playing an instrument, songwriting, and others) to include music in their classrooms to help Syrian refugee children deal with post-war trauma.
Keywords: Children, music, refugees, Syria, war.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1824922 Classification of Potential Biomarkers in Breast Cancer Using Artificial Intelligence Algorithms and Anthropometric Datasets
Authors: Aref Aasi, Sahar Ebrahimi Bajgani, Erfan Aasi
Abstract:
Breast cancer (BC) continues to be the most frequent cancer in females and causes the highest number of cancer-related deaths in women worldwide. Inspired by recent advances in studying the relationship between different patient attributes and features and the disease, in this paper, we have tried to investigate the different classification methods for better diagnosis of BC in the early stages. In this regard, datasets from the University Hospital Centre of Coimbra were chosen, and different machine learning (ML)-based and neural network (NN) classifiers have been studied. For this purpose, we have selected favorable features among the nine provided attributes from the clinical dataset by using a random forest algorithm. This dataset consists of both healthy controls and BC patients, and it was noted that glucose, BMI, resistin, and age have the most importance, respectively. Moreover, we have analyzed these features with various ML-based classifier methods, including Decision Tree (DT), K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN), eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost), Logistic Regression (LR), Naive Bayes (NB), and Support Vector Machine (SVM) along with NN-based Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP) classifier. The results revealed that among different techniques, the SVM and MLP classifiers have the most accuracy, with amounts of 96% and 92%, respectively. These results divulged that the adopted procedure could be used effectively for the classification of cancer cells, and also it encourages further experimental investigations with more collected data for other types of cancers.
Keywords: Breast cancer, health diagnosis, Machine Learning, biomarker classification, Neural Network.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 321921 Closing the Loop between Building Sustainability and Stakeholder Engagement: Case Study of an Australian University
Authors: Karishma Kashyap, Subha D. Parida
Abstract:
Rapid population growth and urbanization is creating pressure throughout the world. This has a dramatic effect on a lot of elements which include water, food, transportation, energy, infrastructure etc. as few of the key services. Built environment sector is growing concurrently to meet the needs of urbanization. Due to such large scale development of buildings, there is a need for them to be monitored and managed efficiently. Along with appropriate management, climate adaptation is highly crucial as well because buildings are one of the major sources of greenhouse gas emission in their operation phase. Buildings to be adaptive need to provide a triple bottom approach to sustainability i.e., being socially, environmentally and economically sustainable. Hence, in order to deliver these sustainability outcomes, there is a growing understanding and thrive towards switching to green buildings or renovating new ones as per green standards wherever possible. Academic institutions in particular have been following this trend globally. This is highly significant as universities usually have high occupancy rates because they manage a large building portfolio. Also, as universities accommodate the future generation of architects, policy makers etc., they have the potential of setting themselves as a best industry practice model for research and innovation for the rest to follow. Hence their climate adaptation, sustainable growth and performance management becomes highly crucial in order to provide the best services to users. With the objective of evaluating appropriate management mechanisms within academic institutions, a feasibility study was carried out in a recent 5-Star Green Star rated university building (housing the School of Construction) in Victoria (south-eastern state of Australia). The key aim was to understand the behavioral and social aspect of the building users, management and the impact of their relationship on overall building sustainability. A survey was used to understand the building occupant’s response and reactions in terms of their work environment and management. A report was generated based on the survey results complemented with utility and performance data which were then used to evaluate the management structure of the university. Followed by the report, interviews were scheduled with the facility and asset managers in order to understand the approach they use to manage the different buildings in their university campuses (old, new, refurbished), respective building and parameters incorporated in maintaining the Green Star performance. The results aimed at closing the communication and feedback loop within the respective institutions and assist the facility managers to deliver appropriate stakeholder engagement. For the wider design community, analysis of the data highlights the applicability and significance of prioritizing key stakeholders, integrating desired engagement policies within an institution’s management structures and frameworks and their effect on building performanceKeywords: Building Optimization, Green Building, Post Occupancy Evaluation, Stakeholder Engagement.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 988920 Affective Approach to Selected Ingmar Bergman Films
Authors: Grzegorz Zinkiewicz
Abstract:
The paper explores affective potential implicit in Bergman’s movies. This is done by the use of affect theory and the concept of affect in terms of paradigmatic and syntagmatic relations, from both diachronic and synchronic perspective. Since its inception in the early 2000s, affect theory has been applied to a number of academic fields. In Film Studies, it offers new avenues for discovering deeper, hidden layers of a given film. The aim is to show that the form and content of the films by Ingmar Bergman are determined by their inner affects that function independently of the viewer and, to an extent, are autonomous entities that can be analysed in separation from the auteur and actual characters. The paper discovers layers in Ingmar Bergman films and focuses on aspects that are often marginalised or studied from other viewpoints such as the connection between the content and visual side. As a result, a revaluation of Bergman films is possible that is more consistent with his original interpretations and comments included in his lectures, interviews and autobiography.Keywords: Affect theory, experimental cinema, Ingmar Bergman, film as autonomous entity.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 810919 Climate Safe House: A Community Housing Project Tackling Catastrophic Sea Level Rise in Coastal Communities
Authors: Chris Fersterer, Col Fay, Tobias Danielmeier, Kat Achterberg, Scott Willis
Abstract:
New Zealand, an island nation, has an extensive coastline peppered with small communities of iconic buildings known as Bachs. Post WWII, these modest buildings were constructed by their owners as retreats and generally were small, low cost, often using recycled material and often they fell below current acceptable building standards. In the latter part of the 20th century, real estate prices in many of these communities remained low and these areas became permanent residences for people attracted to this affordable lifestyle choice. The Blueskin Resilient Communities Trust (BRCT) is an organisation that recognises the vulnerability of communities in low lying settlements as now being prone to increased flood threat brought about by climate change and sea level rise. Some of the inhabitants of Blueskin Bay, Otago, NZ have already found their properties to be un-insurable because of increased frequency of flood events and property values have slumped accordingly. Territorial authorities also acknowledge this increased risk and have created additional compliance measures for new buildings that are less than 2 m above tidal peaks. Community resilience becomes an additional concern where inhabitants are attracted to a lifestyle associated with a specific location and its people when this lifestyle is unable to be met in a suburban or city context. Traditional models of social housing fail to provide the sense of community connectedness and identity enjoyed by the current residents of Blueskin Bay. BRCT have partnered with the Otago Polytechnic Design School to design a new form of community housing that can react to this environmental change. It is a longitudinal project incorporating participatory approaches as a means of getting people ‘on board’, to understand complex systems and co-develop solutions. In the first period, they are seeking industry support and funding to develop a transportable and fully self-contained housing model that exploits current technologies. BRCT also hope that the building will become an educational tool to highlight climate change issues facing us today. This paper uses the Climate Safe House (CSH) as a case study for education in architectural sustainability through experiential learning offered as part of the Otago Polytechnics Bachelor of Design. Students engage with the project with research methodologies, including site surveys, resident interviews, data sourced from government agencies and physical modelling. The process involves collaboration across design disciplines including product and interior design but also includes connections with industry, both within the education institution and stakeholder industries introduced through BRCT. This project offers a rich learning environment where students become engaged through project based learning within a community of practice, including architecture, construction, energy and other related fields. The design outcomes are expressed in a series of public exhibitions and forums where community input is sought in a truly participatory process.Keywords: Community resilience, problem based learning, project based learning, case study.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 968918 ECG Based Reliable User Identification Using Deep Learning
Authors: R. N. Begum, Ambalika Sharma, G. K. Singh
Abstract:
Identity theft has serious ramifications beyond data and personal information loss. This necessitates the implementation of robust and efficient user identification systems. Therefore, automatic biometric recognition systems are the need of the hour, and electrocardiogram (ECG)-based systems are unquestionably the best choice due to their appealing inherent characteristics. The Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) are the recent state-of-the-art techniques for ECG-based user identification systems. However, the results obtained are significantly below standards, and the situation worsens as the number of users and types of heartbeats in the dataset grows. As a result, this study proposes a highly accurate and resilient ECG-based person identification system using CNN's dense learning framework. The proposed research explores explicitly the caliber of dense CNNs in the field of ECG-based human recognition. The study tests four different configurations of dense CNN which are trained on a dataset of recordings collected from eight popular ECG databases. With the highest False Acceptance Rate (FAR) of 0.04% and the highest False Rejection Rate (FRR) of 5%, the best performing network achieved an identification accuracy of 99.94%. The best network is also tested with various train/test split ratios. The findings show that DenseNets are not only extremely reliable, but also highly efficient. Thus, they might also be implemented in real-time ECG-based human recognition systems.
Keywords: Biometrics, dense networks, identification rate, train/test split ratio.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 541917 Social Network Analysis & Information Disclosure: A Case Study
Authors: Shilpi Sharma, J. S. Sodhi
Abstract:
The advent of social networking technologies has been met with mixed reactions in academic and corporate circles around the world. This study explored the influence of social network in current era, the relation being maintained between the Social networking site and its user by the extent of use, benefits and latest technologies. The study followed a descriptive research design wherein a questionnaire was used as the main research tool. The data collected was analyzed using SPSS 16. Data was gathered from 1205 users and analyzed in accordance with the objectives of the study. The analysis of the results seem to suggest that the majority of users were mainly using Facebook, despite of concerns raised about the disclosure of personal information on social network sites, users continue to disclose huge quantity of personal information, they find that reading privacy policy is time consuming and changes made can result into improper settings.
Keywords: Social Networking Sites, Privacy Policy, Disclosure of Personal Information.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2063916 The Investigation of 5th Grade Turkish Students- Comprehension Scores According to Different Variables
Authors: Omer Kutlu, Ozen Yildirim, Safiye Bilican
Abstract:
The aim of this study is to examine the reading comprehension scores of Turkish 5th grade students according to the variables given in the student questionnaire. In this descriptive survey study research participated 279 5th grade students, who studied at 10 different primary schools in four provinces of Ankara in 2008-2009 academic year. Two different data collection tools were made use of in the study: “Reading Comprehension Test" and “Student Information Questionnaire". Independent sample t-test, oneway Anova and two-way Anova tests were used in the analyses of the gathered data. The results of the study indicate that the reading comprehension scores of the students differ significantly according to sex of the students, the number of books in their houses, the frequency of summarizing activities on the reading text of free and the frequency reading hours provided by their teachers; but, differ not significantly according to educational level of their mothers and fathers.Keywords: Primary School Education, Reading, ReadingComprehension.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1400915 An Assessment of Food Control System and Development Perspective: The Case of Myanmar
Authors: Wai Yee Lin, Masahiro Yamao
Abstract:
Food control measures are critical in fostering food safety management of a nation. However, no academic study has been undertaken to assess the food control system of Myanmar up to now. The objective of this research paper was to assess the food control system with in depth examination of five key components using desktop analysis and short survey from related food safety program organizations including regulators and inspectors. Study showed that the existing food control system is conventional, mainly focusing on primary health care approach while relying on reactive measures. The achievements of food control work have been limited to a certain extent due to insufficienttechnical capacity that is needed to upgrade staffs, laboratory equipment and technical assistance etc. associated with various sectors. Assessing food control measures is the first step in the integration of food safety management, this paper could assist policy makers in providing information for enhancing the safety and quality of food produced and consumed in Myanmar.
Keywords: Food Control, Food Policy, Legislation, Management
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 4055