Search results for: special education
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 2077

Search results for: special education

667 Investigation of Effective Parameters on Pullout Capacity in Soil Nailing with Special Attention to International Design Codes

Authors: R. Ziaie Moayed, M. Mortezaee

Abstract:

An important and influential factor in design and determining the safety factor in Soil Nailing is the ultimate pullout capacity, or, in other words, bond strength. This important parameter depends on several factors such as material and soil texture, method of implementation, excavation diameter, friction angle between the nail and the soil, grouting pressure, the nail depth (overburden pressure), the angle of drilling and the degree of saturation in soil. Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), a customary regulation in the design of nailing, is considered only the effect of the soil type (or rock) and the method of implementation in determining the bond strength, which results in non-economic design. The other regulations are each of a kind, some of the parameters affecting bond resistance are not taken into account. Therefore, in the present paper, at first the relationships and tables presented by several valid regulations are presented for estimating the ultimate pullout capacity, and then the effect of several important factors affecting on ultimate Pullout capacity are studied. Finally, it was determined, the effect of overburden pressure (in method of injection with pressure), soil dilatation and roughness of the drilling surface on pullout strength is incremental, and effect of degree of soil saturation on pullout strength to a certain degree of saturation is increasing and then decreasing. therefore it is better to get help from nail pullout-strength test results and numerical modeling to evaluate the effect of parameters such as overburden pressure, dilatation, and degree of soil saturation, and so on to reach an optimal and economical design.

Keywords: Soil nailing, pullout capacity, FHWA, grout.

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666 Land-Use Suitability Analysis for Merauke Agriculture Estates

Authors: Sidharta Sahirman, Ardiansyah, Muhammad Rifan, Edy-Melmambessy

Abstract:

Merauke district in Papua, Indonesia has a strategic position and natural potential for the development of agricultural industry. The development of agriculture in this region is being accelerated as part of Indonesian Government’s declaration announcing Merauke as one of future national food barns. Therefore, land-use suitability analysis for Merauke need to be performed. As a result, the mapping for future agriculture-based industries can be done optimally. In this research, a case study is carried out in Semangga sub district. The objective of this study is to determine the suitability of Merauke land for some food crops. A modified agro-ecological zoning is applied to reach the objective. In this research, land cover based on satellite imagery is combined with soil, water and climate survey results to come up with preliminary zoning. Considering the special characteristics of Merauke community, the agricultural zoning maps resulted based on those inputs will be combined with socio-economic information and culture to determine the final zoning map for agricultural industry in Merauke. Examples of culture are customary rights of local residents and the rights of local people and their own local food patterns. This paper presents the results of first year of the two-year research project funded by The Indonesian Government through MP3EI schema. It shares the findings of land cover studies, the distribution of soil physical and chemical parameters, as well as suitability analysis of Semangga sub-district for five different food plants.

Keywords: agriculture, agro-ecological, Merauke, zoning

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665 Perceived Quality of Regional Products in MS Region

Authors: M. Stoklasa, H. Starzyczna, K. Matusinska

Abstract:

This article deals with the perceived quality of regional products in the Moravian-Silesian region in the Czech Republic. Research was focused on finding out what do consumers perceive as a quality product and what characteristics make a quality product. The data were obtained by questionnaire survey andanalysed by IBM SPSS. From the thousands of respondents the representative sample of 719 for MS region was created based on demographic factors of gender, age, education and income. The research analysis disclosed that consumers in MS region are still price oriented and that the preference of quality over price does not depend on regional brand knowledge.

Keywords: Regional brands, quality products, characteristics of quality, quality over price.

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664 Motor Coordination and Body Mass Index in Primary School Children

Authors: Ingrid Ruzbarska, Martin Zvonar, Piotr Oleśniewicz, Julita Markiewicz-Patkowska, Krzysztof Widawski, Daniel Puciato

Abstract:

Obese children will probably become obese adults, consequently exposed to an increased risk of comorbidity and premature mortality. Body weight may be indirectly determined by continuous development of coordination and motor skills. The level of motor skills and abilities is an important factor that promotes physical activity since early childhood. The aim of the study is to thoroughly understand the internal relations between motor coordination abilities and the somatic development of prepubertal children and to determine the effect of excess body weight on motor coordination by comparing the motor ability levels of children with different body mass index (BMI) values. The data were collected from 436 children aged 7–10 years, without health limitations, fully participating in school physical education classes. Body height was measured with portable stadiometers (Harpenden, Holtain Ltd.), and body mass—with a digital scale (HN-286, Omron). Motor coordination was evaluated with the Kiphard-Schilling body coordination test, Körperkoordinationstest für Kinder. The normality test by Shapiro-Wilk was used to verify the data distribution. The correlation analysis revealed a statistically significant negative association between the dynamic balance and BMI, as well as between the motor quotient and BMI (p<0.01) for both boys and girls. The results showed no effect of gender on the difference in the observed trends. The analysis of variance proved statistically significant differences between normal weight children and their overweight or obese counterparts. Coordination abilities probably play an important role in preventing or moderating the negative trajectory leading to childhood overweight and obesity. At this age, the development of coordination abilities should become a key strategy, targeted at long-term prevention of obesity and the promotion of an active lifestyle in adulthood. Motor performance is essential for implementing a healthy lifestyle in childhood already. Physical inactivity apparently results in motor deficits and a sedentary lifestyle in children, which may be accompanied by excess energy intake and overweight.

Keywords: Childhood, KTK test, Physical education, Psychomotor competence.

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663 The Results of the Fetal Weight Estimation of the Infants Delivered in the Delivery Room At Dan Khunthot Hospital by Johnson-s Method

Authors: Nareelux Suwannobol, JintanaTapin, Khuanchanok Narachan

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The objective of this study was to determine the accuracy to estimation fetal weight by Johnson-s method and compares it with actual birth weight. The sample group was 126 infants delivered in Dan KhunThot hospital from January March 2012. Fetal weight was estimated by measuring fundal height according to Johnson-s method. The information was collected by studying historical delivery records and then analyzed by using the statistics of frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation. Finally, the difference was analyzed by a paired t-test.The results showed had an average birth weight was 3093.57 ± 391.03 g (mean ± SD) and 3,455 ± 454.55 g average estimated fetal weight by Johnson-s method higher than average actual birth weight was 384.09 grams. When classifying the infants according to birth weight found that low birth weight (<2500 g) and the appropriate birth weight (2500-3999g) actual birth weight less than estimate fetal weight . But the high birth weight (> 4000 g) actual birth weight was more than estimated fetal weight. The difference was found between actual birth weight and estimation fetal weight of the minimum weight in high birth weight ( > 4000 g) , the appropriate birth weight (2500-3999g) and low birth weight (<2500 g) respectively. The rate of estimates fetal weight within 10% of actual birth weight was 35.7%. Actual birth weight were compared with the found that the difference is statistically significant (p <.000). Employing Johnson-s method to estimate fetal weight can estimate initial fetal weight before passing to special examinations, which may require excessive high cost. A variety of methods should be employed to estimate fetal weight more precisely, which will help plan care for mother-s and infant-s safety.

Keywords: Johnson's method, Fetal weight estimate, Delivery Room, Student nurse.

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662 Developing a Research Framework for Investigating the Transparency of ePortfolios

Authors: Elizabeth Downs, Judith Repman, Kenneth Clark

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This paper describes the evolution of strategies to evaluate ePortfolios in an online Master-s of Education (M.Ed.) degree in Instructional Technology. The ePortfolios are required as a culminating activity for students in the program. By using Web 2.0 tools to develop the ePortfolios, students are able to showcase their technical skills, integrate national standards, demonstrate their professional understandings, and reflect on their individual learning. Faculty have created assessment strategies to evaluate student achievement of these skills. To further develop ePortfolios as a tool promoting authentic learning, faculty are moving toward integrating transparency as part of the evaluation process.

Keywords: e-learning evaluation, ePortfolios, transparency, Web 2.0

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661 Biodiversity and Climate Change: Consequences for Norway Spruce Mountain Forests in Slovakia

Authors: Jozef Mindas, Jaroslav Skvarenina, Jana Skvareninova

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Study of the effects of climate change on Norway Spruce (Picea abies) forests has mainly focused on the diversity of tree species diversity of tree species as a result of the ability of species to tolerate temperature and moisture changes as well as some effects of disturbance regime changes. The tree species’ diversity changes in spruce forests due to climate change have been analyzed via gap model. Forest gap model is a dynamic model for calculation basic characteristics of individual forest trees. Input ecological data for model calculations have been taken from the permanent research plots located in primeval forests in mountainous regions in Slovakia. The results of regional scenarios of the climatic change for the territory of Slovakia have been used, from which the values are according to the CGCM3.1 (global) model, KNMI and MPI (regional) models. Model results for conditions of the climate change scenarios suggest a shift of the upper forest limit to the region of the present subalpine zone, in supramontane zone. N. spruce representation will decrease at the expense of beech and precious broadleaved species (Acer sp., Sorbus sp., Fraxinus sp.). The most significant tree species diversity changes have been identified for the upper tree line and current belt of dwarf pine (Pinus mugo) occurrence. The results have been also discussed in relation to most important disturbances (wind storms, snow and ice storms) and phenological changes which consequences are little known. Special discussion is focused on biomass production changes in relation to carbon storage diversity in different carbon pools.

Keywords: Biodiversity, climate change, Norway spruce forests, gap model.

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660 Social Security Reform and Management: The Case of Three Member Territories of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States

Authors: Cleopatra Gittens

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It has been recognized that some social security and national insurance systems in the Eastern Caribbean are experiencing ageing populations and economic and other crises that will present a financial challenge of being unable to pay pension benefits in fifteen to twenty years. This has implications for the fiscal and economic positions of the countries themselves. Hence, organizations would need to address the issue urgently. The study adds to the body of knowledge on social security systems and social security reforms in Small Island Developing States (SIDS). It also makes recommendations for the types of reforms that social security systems in other SIDS can implement given their special circumstances. Secondary research is used to gather financial and other related information on three social security schemes in the Eastern Caribbean. Actuarial and financial reports and other documents of the social security systems are analysed to obtain financial and static data on each of the schemes. The findings show that the three schemes studied are experiencing steady increases in benefit expenditure versus contributions and increasing pensioner to insured ratios. The schemes will deplete their reserves between 2038 and 2050. Two of the schemes have increased their retirement age while the other has not embarked on any reforms. One scheme has made changes to its contribution percentages. Due to their small size, small populations and other unique circumstances, the social security schemes in the identified territories are not likely to be able to take advantage of all of the reform initiatives that the developed world embarked on when faced with similar problems. These schemes will need to make incremental changes that align with the timeframes recommended by the actuarial studies.

Keywords: Pension benefits, pension, Small Island Developing States, Social Security Reform.

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659 Analysis and Control of Camera Type Weft Straightener

Authors: Jae-Yong Lee, Gyu-Hyun Bae, Yun-Soo Chung, Dae-Sub Kim, Jae-Sung Bae

Abstract:

In general, fabric is heat-treated using a stenter machine in order to dry and fix its shape. It is important to shape before the heat treatment because it is difficult to revert back once the fabric is formed. To produce the product of right shape, camera type weft straightener has been applied recently to capture and process fabric images quickly. It is more powerful in determining the final textile quality rather than photo-sensor. Positioning in front of a stenter machine, weft straightener helps to spread fabric evenly and control the angle between warp and weft constantly as right angle by handling skew and bow rollers. To process this tricky procedure, the structural analysis should be carried out in advance, based on which, its control technology can be drawn. A structural analysis is to figure out the specific contact/slippage characteristics between fabric and roller. We already examined the applicability of camera type weft straightener to plain weave fabric and found its possibility and the specific working condition of machine and rollers. In this research, we aimed to explore another applicability of camera type weft straightener. Namely, we tried to figure out camera type weft straightener can be used for fabrics. To find out the optimum condition, we increased the number of rollers. The analysis is done by ANSYS software using Finite Element Analysis method. The control function is demonstrated by experiment. In conclusion, the structural analysis of weft straightener is done to identify a specific characteristic between roller and fabrics. The control of skew and bow roller is done to decrease the error of the angle between warp and weft. Finally, it is proved that camera type straightener can also be used for the special fabrics.

Keywords: Camera type weft straightener, structure analysis, control, skew and bow roller.

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658 Self-Help Adaptation to Flooding in Low-Income Settlements in Chiang Mai, Thailand

Authors: Nachawit Tikul

Abstract:

This study aimed to determine low-income housing adaptations for flooding, which causes living problems and housing damage, and the results from improvement. Three low-income settlements in Chiang Mai which experienced different flood types, i.e. flash floods in Samukeepattana, drainage floods in Bansanku, and river floods in Kampangam, were chosen for the study. Almost all of the residents improved their houses to protect the property from flood damage by changing building materials to flood damage resistant materials for walls, floors, and other parts of the structure that were below the base of annual flood elevation. They could only build some parts of their own homes, so hiring skilled workers or contractors was still important. Building materials which have no need for any special tools and are easy to access and use for construction, as well as low cost, are selected for construction. The residents in the three slums faced living problems for only a short time and were able to cope with them. This may be due to the location of the three slums near the city where assistance is readily available. But the housing and the existence in the slums can endure only the regular floods and residence still have problems in unusual floods, which have been experienced 1-2 times during the past 10 years. The residents accept the need for evacuations and prepare for them. When faced with extreme floods, residence have evacuated to the nearest safe place such as schools and public building, and come back to repair the houses after the flood. These are the distinguishing characteristics of low-income living which can withstand serious situations due to the simple lifestyle. Therefore, preparation of living areas for use during severe floods and encouraging production of affordable flood resistant materials should be areas of concern when formulating disaster assistance policies for low income people.

Keywords: Flooding, low-income settlement, housing, adaptation.

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657 Soil-Structure Interaction Models for the Reinforced Foundation System: A State-of-the-Art Review

Authors: Ashwini V. Chavan, Sukhanand S. Bhosale

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Challenges of weak soil subgrade are often resolved either by stabilization or reinforcing it. However, it is also practiced to reinforce the granular fill to improve the load-settlement behavior of it over weak soil strata. The inclusion of reinforcement in the engineered granular fill provided a new impetus for the development of enhanced Soil-Structure Interaction (SSI) models, also known as mechanical foundation models or lumped parameter models. Several researchers have been working in this direction to understand the mechanism of granular fill-reinforcement interaction and the response of weak soil under the application of load. These models have been developed by extending available SSI models such as the Winkler Model, Pasternak Model, Hetenyi Model, Kerr Model etc., and are helpful to visualize the load-settlement behavior of a physical system through 1-D and 2-D analysis considering beam and plate resting on the foundation, respectively. Based on the literature survey, these models are categorized as ‘Reinforced Pasternak Model,’ ‘Double Beam Model,’ ‘Reinforced Timoshenko Beam Model,’ and ‘Reinforced Kerr Model’. The present work reviews the past 30+ years of research in the field of SSI models for reinforced foundation systems, presenting the conceptual development of these models systematically and discussing their limitations. A flow-chart showing procedure for compution of deformation and mobilized tension is also incorporated in the paper. Special efforts are taken to tabulate the parameters and their significance in the load-settlement analysis, which may be helpful in future studies for the comparison and enhancement of results and findings of physical models. 

Keywords: geosynthetics, mathematical modeling, reinforced foundation, soil-structure interaction, ground improvement, soft soil

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656 The Performance of Natural Light by Roof Systems in Cultural Buildings

Authors: Ana Paula Esteves, Diego S. Caetano, Louise L. B. Lomardo

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This paper presents an approach to the performance of the natural lighting, when the use of appropriated solar lighting systems on the roof is applied in cultural buildings such as museums and foundations. The roofs, as a part of contact between the building and the external environment, require special attention in projects that aim at energy efficiency, being an important element for the capture of natural light in greater quantity, but also for being the most important point of generation of photovoltaic solar energy, even semitransparent, allowing the partial passage of light. Transparent elements in roofs, as well as superior protection of the building, can also play other roles, such as: meeting the needs of natural light for the accomplishment of the internal tasks, attending to the visual comfort; to bring benefits to the human perception and about the interior experience in a building. When these resources are well dimensioned, they also contribute to the energy efficiency and consequent character of sustainability of the building. Therefore, when properly designed and executed, a roof light system can bring higher quality natural light to the interior of the building, which is related to the human health and well-being dimension. Furthermore, it can meet the technologic, economic and environmental yearnings, making possible the more efficient use of that primordial resource, which is the light of the Sun. The article presents the analysis of buildings that used zenith light systems in search of better lighting performance in museums and foundations: the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in the United States, the Iberê Camargo Foundation in Brazil, the Museum of Fine Arts in Castellón in Spain and the Pinacoteca of São Paulo.

Keywords: Natural lighting, roof lighting systems, natural lighting in museums, comfort lighting.

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655 Socioculture and Cognitivist Perspectives on Language and Communication Barriers in Learning

Authors: David Hallberg

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It is believed that major account on language diversity must be taken in learning, and especially in learning using ICT. This paper-s objective is to exhibit language and communication barriers in learning, to approach the topic from socioculture and cognitivist perspectives, and to give exploratory solutions of handling such barriers. The review is mainly conducted by approaching the journal Computers & Education, but also an initially broad search was conducted. The results show that not much attention is paid on language and communication barriers in an immediate relation to learning using ICT. The results shows, inter alia, that language and communication barriers are caused because of not enough account is taken on both the individual-s background and the technology.

Keywords: communication barriers, cognitive, ICT, language barriers, learning, socioculture

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654 A Robotic Cube to Preschool Children for Acquiring the Mathematical and Colours Concepts

Authors: Ahmed Amin Mousa, Tamer M. Ismail, M. Abd El Salam

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This work presents a robot called Conceptual Robotic Cube, CR-Cube. The robot can be used as an educational tool for children from the age of three. It has a cube shape attached with a camera colours sensor. In addition, it contains four wheels to move smoothly. The researchers prepared a questionnaire to measure the efficiency of the robot. The design and the questionnaire was presented to 11 experts who agreed that the robot is appropriate for learning numbering and colours for preschool children.

Keywords: CR-Cube, robotic cube, conceptual robot, conceptual cube, colour concept, early childhood education.

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653 An Overview on the Effectiveness of Critical Thinking on Knowledge

Authors: Solehah Yaacob

Abstract:

The study focuses on revisiting the effectiveness of Critical Thinking in human mind capability as a major faculty in human life. The tool used as a measurement of this knowledge ability consists of several processes including experience and education background. To emphasize the `Overview` concept, the researcher highlights two major aspects of philosophical approach, they are; Divine Revelation Concept and Modern Scientific Theory. The research compares between the both parties to introduce the Divine Revelation into Modern Scientific theory. An analytical and critical study of the both concepts become the methodology of the discussion.

Keywords: Critical thinking, knowledge, intellectual, language.

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652 Development and Validation of a UPLC Method for the Determination of Albendazole Residues on Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Equipment Surfaces

Authors: R. S. Chandan, M. Vasudevan, Deecaraman, B. M. Gurupadayya

Abstract:

In Pharmaceutical industries, it is very important to remove drug residues from the equipment and areas used. The cleaning procedure must be validated, so special attention must be devoted to the methods used for analysis of trace amounts of drugs. A rapid, sensitive and specific reverse phase ultra performance liquid chromatographic (UPLC) method was developed for the quantitative determination of Albendazole in cleaning validation swab samples. The method was validated using an ACQUITY HSS C18, 50 x 2.1mm, 1.8μ column with a isocratic mobile phase containing a mixture of 1.36g of Potassium dihydrogenphosphate in 1000mL MilliQ water, 2mL of triethylamine and pH adjusted to 2.3 ± 0.05 with ortho-phosphoric acid, Acetonitrile and Methanol (50:40:10 v/v). The flow rate of the mobile phase was 0.5 mL min-1 with a column temperature of 350C and detection wavelength at 254nm using PDA detector. The injection volume was 2µl. Cotton swabs, moisten with acetonitrile were used to remove any residue of drug from stainless steel, teflon, rubber and silicon plates which mimic the production equipment surface and the mean extraction-recovery was found to be 91.8. The selected chromatographic condition was found to effectively elute Albendazole with retention time of 0.67min. The proposed method was found to be linear over the range of 0.2 to 150µg/mL and correlation coefficient obtained is 0.9992. The proposed method was found to be accurate, precise, reproducible and specific and it can also be used for routine quality control analysis of these drugs in biological samples either alone or in combined pharmaceutical dosage forms.

Keywords: Cleaning validation, Albendazole, residues, swab analysis, UPLC.

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651 Elasticity Model for Easing Peak Hour Demand for Metrorail Transport System

Authors: P. K. Sarkar, Amit Kumar Jain

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The demand for Urban transportation is characterised by a large scale temporal and spatial variations which causes heavy congestion inside metro trains in peak hours near Centre Business District (CBD) of the city. The conventional approach to address peak hour congestion, metro trains has been to increase the supply by way of introduction of more trains, increasing the length of the trains, optimising the time table to increase the capacity of the system. However, there is a limitation of supply side measures determined by the design capacity of the systems beyond which any addition in the capacity requires huge capital investments. The demand side interventions are essentially required to actually spread the demand across the time and space. In this study, an attempt has been made to identify the potential Transport Demand Management tools applicable to Urban Rail Transportation systems with a special focus on differential pricing. A conceptual price elasticity model has been developed to analyse the effect of various combinations of peak and nonpeak hoursfares on demands. The elasticity values for peak hour, nonpeak hour and cross elasticity have been assumed from the relevant literature available in the field. The conceptual price elasticity model so developed is based on assumptions which need to be validated with actual values of elasticities for different segments of passengers. Once validated, the model can be used to determine the peak and nonpeak hour fares with an objective to increase overall ridership, revenue, demand levelling and optimal utilisation of assets.

Keywords: Congestion, differential pricing, elasticity, transport demand management, urban transportation.

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650 Dietary Habit and Anthropometric Status in Hypertensive Patients Compared to Normotensive Participants in the North of Iran

Authors: Marjan Mahdavi-Roshan, Arsalan Salari, Mahbobeh Gholipour

Abstract:

Hypertension is one of the important reasons of morbidity and mortality in countries, including Iran. It has been shown that hypertension is a consequence of the interaction of genetics and environment. Nutrients have important roles in the controlling of blood pressure. We assessed dietary habit and anthropometric status in patients with hypertension in the north of Iran, and that have special dietary habit and according to their culture. This study was conducted on 127 patients with newly recognized hypertension and the 120 normotensive participants. Anthropometric status was measured and demographic characteristics, and medical condition were collected by valid questionnaires and dietary habit assessment was assessed with 3-day food recall (two weekdays and one weekend). The mean age of participants was 58 ± 6.7 years. The mean level of energy intake, saturated fat, vitamin D, potassium, zinc, dietary fiber, vitamin C, calcium, phosphorus, copper and magnesium was significantly lower in the hypertensive group compared to the control (p < 0.05). After adjusting for energy intake, positive association was observe between hypertension and some dietary nutrients including; Cholesterol [OR: 1.1, P: 0.001, B: 0.06], fiber [OR: 1.6, P: 0.001, B: 1.8], vitamin D [OR: 2.6, P: 0.006, B: 0.9] and zinc [OR: 1.4, P: 0.006, B: 0.3] intake. Logistic regression analysis showed that there was not significant association between hypertension, weight and waist circumference. In our study, the mean intake of some nutrients was lower in the hypertensive individuals compared to the normotensive individual. Health training about suitable dietary habits and easier access to vitamin D supplementation in patients with hypertension are cost-effective tools to improve outcomes in Iran.

Keywords: Hypertension, dietary intake, weight, waist circumference, North of Iran.

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649 The Influence of Architectural-Planning Structure of Cities on Their Sustainable Development

Authors: M. Kashiripoor

Abstract:

Existing indicators for sustainable urban development do not identify the features of cities’ planning structures and their architecture. Iranian city has special relevance problem of assessing the conformity of their planning and development of the concept of sustainable development. Based on theoretical sources, the author concludes that, despite the existence of common indicators for sustainable development of settlements, specialized evaluation criteria city structure planning has not been developed. He is trying to fill this gap and put forward a system of indicators characterizing the level of development of the architectural-planning structure of the city. The proposed system of indicators is designed based on technical and economic urban standard indicators from different countries. Alternative designing systems and requirements of modern rating systems like LEED-ND comprise a criterion for evaluation of urban structures in accordance with principles of "Green" building and New Urbanism. Urban development trends are close in spirit of sustainable development and developed under its influence. The study allowed concluding that a system of indicators to identify the relevant architectural-planning structure of the city, requirements of sustainable development, should be adapted to the conditions of each country, particularly in Iran. The article attempts typology proposed indicators, which are presented in tabular form and are divided into two types: planning and spatial. This article discusses the known indicators of sustainable development and proposed specific system of indicators characterizing the level of development of architectural-planning structure of the city. This article examines indicators for evaluating level of city' planning structure development. The proposed system of indicators is derived from the urban planning standards and rating systems such as LEED-ND, BREEAM Community and CASBEE-UD.

Keywords: Architectural-planning structure of cities, urban planning indicators, urban space indicators.

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648 Domestic Violence against Children and Trafficking in Human Beings: Two Worrying Phenomena in Kosovo

Authors: Adile Shaqiri, Arjeta Shaqiri Latifi

Abstract:

Domestic violence, trafficking with human beings especially violence against children, is a worldwide problem. Hence, it remains one of the most widespread forms of violence in Kosovo and which often continues to be described as a "closed door issue". Recognition, acceptance and prioritization of cases of domestic violence definitely require a much greater awareness of individuals in institutions for the risks, consequences and costs that the lack of such a well-coordinated response brings to the country. Considering that children are the future and the wealth of the country, violence and neglect against them should be treated as carefully as possible. The purpose of this paper is to identify steps towards prevention of the domestic violence and trafficking with human beings, so that the reflection of the consequences and the psychological flow do not reflect to a large extent in society. In this study is described: How is the phenomenon of domestic violence related to trafficking in human beings? The methods used are: historical, comparative, qualitative. Data derived from the relevant institutions were presented, i.e., by the actors who are the first reactors as well as the policy makers. Although these phenomena are present in all countries of the world, Kosovo is no exception and therefore comparisons of the development of child abuse have been made with other countries in the region as well. Since Kosovo is a country in transition, a country with a relatively high level of education, low economic development, high unemployment, political instability, dysfunctional legal infrastructure, it can be concluded that the potential for the development of negative phenomena is present and inevitable. Thus, during the research, the stages of development of these phenomena are analyzed, determining the causes and consequences which come from abuse, neglect of children and the impact on trafficking in human beings. The Kosovar family (parental responsibility), culture and religion, social services, the dignity of the abused child, etc. were analyzed. The review was also done on the legislation, educational institutions (curricula), governmental and non-governmental institutions their responsibilities and cooperation towards combating child abuse and trafficking. It is worth noting that during the work on paper, recommendations and conclusions have been drawn where it is concluded that we need an environment with educational reforms, stability in the political environment, economic development, a review of social policies, greater awareness of society, more adequate information through media, so that information and awareness could penetrate even in the most remote places of Kosovo society.

Keywords: Awareness, education, information, society, violence.

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647 Safe, Effective, and Cost-Efficient Air Cleaning for Populated Rooms and Entire Buildings Based on the Disinfecting Power of Vaporized Hypochlorous Acid

Authors: D. Boecker, R. Breves, F. Herth, Z. Zhang, C. Bulitta

Abstract:

Pathogen-carrying aerosol particles are recognized as important infection carriers like those in the current Corona pandemic. This infection route is often underestimated yet represents the infection route that has been least systematically countered to date. Particularly, the transmission indoors is of the highest concern but current indoor safety measures (e.g.: distancing, masks, filters) provide only limited protection. Inhalation of hypochlorous acid (HOCl) containing aerosols may become an alternate route to attack the incubating microbes in-situ and so potentially lead to a reduction of symptoms of already infected individuals. We investigated a facility-wide air-disinfection concept utilizing the potential of vaporized HOCl to become a disinfecting agent for populated indoor atmospheres. Aerosolized bacterial microbes were used as surrogates for a viral contamination, particularly the enveloped coronavirus. For the room air purification tests we aerosolized bacterial suspensions into lab chambers preloaded with vaporized HOCl solutions. Concentration of ‘free active chlorine’ in the test chamber atmosphere was determined with a special gas sensor system (Draeger AG, Lübeck, Germany) controlling the amount of vaporized HOCl via an aerosolis® device (oji Europe GmbH, Nauen, Germany). We could confirm the disinfecting power of HOCl in suspensions and determined the high efficacy of vaporized HOCl to disinfect atmospheres of populated indoor places at safe and non-irritant levels.

Keywords: Hypochlorous acid, HOCl, indoor air cleaning, infection control, microbial air burden, protective atmosphere.

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646 Seismic Vulnerability of Structures Designed in Accordance with the Allowable Stress Design and Load Resistant Factor Design Methods

Authors: Mohammadreza Vafaei, Amirali Moradi, Sophia C. Alih

Abstract:

The method selected for the design of structures not only can affect their seismic vulnerability but also can affect their construction cost. For the design of steel structures, two distinct methods have been introduced by existing codes, namely allowable stress design (ASD) and load resistant factor design (LRFD). This study investigates the effect of using the aforementioned design methods on the seismic vulnerability and construction cost of steel structures. Specifically, a 20-story building equipped with special moment resisting frame and an eccentrically braced system was selected for this study. The building was designed for three different intensities of peak ground acceleration including 0.2 g, 0.25 g, and 0.3 g using the ASD and LRFD methods. The required sizes of beams, columns, and braces were obtained using response spectrum analysis. Then, the designed frames were subjected to nine natural earthquake records which were scaled to the designed response spectrum. For each frame, the base shear, story shears, and inter-story drifts were calculated and then were compared. Results indicated that the LRFD method led to a more economical design for the frames. In addition, the LRFD method resulted in lower base shears and larger inter-story drifts when compared with the ASD method. It was concluded that the application of the LRFD method not only reduced the weights of structural elements but also provided a higher safety margin against seismic actions when compared with the ASD method.

Keywords: Allowable stress design, load resistant factor design, nonlinear time history analysis, seismic vulnerability, steel structures.

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645 A Study to Assess the Employment Ambitions of Graduating Students from College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Authors: J. George, M. Al Mutairi, W. Aljuryyad, A. Alhussanan, A. Alkashan, T. Aldoghiri, Z. Alamari, A. Albakr

Abstract:

Introduction: Students make plans for their career and are keen in exploring options of employment in those carriers. They make their employment choice based on their desires and preferences. This study aims to identify if students of King Saud Bin Abdulaziz for Health Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences after obtaining appropriate education prefer to work as clinicians, university faculty, or full-time researchers. There are limited studies in Saudi Arabia exploring the university student’s employment choices and preferences. This study would help employers to build the required job positions and prevent misleading employers from opening undesired positions in the job market. Methodology: The study included 394 students from third and fourth years both male and female among the eighth programs of college of applied medical sciences, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU-HS), Riyadh campus. A prospective quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted; data were collected by distributing a seven item questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS. Results: Among the participants, 358 (90.9%) of them chose one of the three listed career choices, 263 (66.8%) decided to work as hospital staff after their education, 75 students (19.0%) chose to work as a faculty member in a university after obtaining appropriate degree, 20 students (5.1%) preferred to work as full-time researcher after obtaining appropriate degree, the remaining 36 students (9.1%) had different career goals, such as obtaining a master degree after graduating, to obtain a bachelor of medicine and bachelor in surgery degree, and working in the private sector. The most recurrent reason behind the participants' choice was "career goal", where 276 (70.1%) chose it as a reason. Conclusion: The findings of the study showed that most student’s preferred to work in hospitals as clinicians, followed by choice of working as a faculty in a university, the least choice was to be working as full-time researchers.

Keywords: College of Applied Medical Sciences, employment ambitions, graduating students, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences.

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644 Islam and Fertility Regulations

Authors: Muhammad Hammad Lakhvi

Abstract:

Islam has a general principle of increase in population. But the Muslims are equally obliged to take care of health, education and the provisions etc. for their offspring and wives in the best possible way. The Muslims would have to regulate and manage the number of children, if any situation affects their duties regarding their wives or children. Islam accomplishes permissibility of temporary blockade in human fertility if someone faces any problem regarding health of mother or children. During the life of the Holy Prophet (SAW), Azl (coitus interruptus) was the only way for temporary spacing between the children. In technologically developed environment, the same can be resort through some advanced methodology or instrument of temporary blockade. Solid grounds are available in Islam that the fertility rate should be managed if any of the aspect of human quality is being affected.

Keywords: Islam, Fertility Regulations, Muslims, Qur'an

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643 Design A Situated Learning Environment Using Mixed Reality Technology - A Case Study

Authors: Rasimah Che Mohd Yusoff, Halimah Badioze Zaman, Azlina Ahmad

Abstract:

Mixed Reality (MR) is one of the newest technologies explored in education. It promises the potential to promote teaching and learning and making learners- experience more “engaging". However, there still lack of research on designing a virtual learning environment using MR technology. In this paper, we describe the Mixed Reality technology, the characteristics of situated learning as instructional design for virtual environment using mixed reality technology. We also explain a case study that implemented those design and also the system overview.

Keywords: authentic activity. authentic context, mixed reality, situated learning

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642 A Web Service Platform for Support Multiple Programming Language to Access Biomedical Image Databases

Authors: Mohd Kamir Yusof, Suhailan Dato' Safei

Abstract:

Images are important in disease research, education, and clinical medicine. This paper presents a Web Service Platform (WSP) for support multiple programming languages to access image from biomedical databases. The main function WSP is to allow web users access image from biomedical databases. The WSP will receive web user-s queries. After that, it will send to Querying Server (QS) and the QS will search and retrieve data from biomedical databases. Finally, the information will display to the web users. Simple application is developed and tested for experiment purpose. Result from experiment indicated WSP can be used in biomedical environment.

Keywords: Biomedical, Image, Web Service Platform

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641 Optimization of Assembly and Welding of Complex 3D Structures on the Base of Modeling with Use of Finite Elements Method

Authors: M. N. Zelenin, V. S. Mikhailov, R. P. Zhivotovsky

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It is known that residual welding deformations give negative effect to processability and operational quality of welded structures, complicating their assembly and reducing strength. Therefore, selection of optimal technology, ensuring minimum welding deformations, is one of the main goals in developing a technology for manufacturing of welded structures. Through years, JSC SSTC has been developing a theory for estimation of welding deformations and practical activities for reducing and compensating such deformations during welding process. During long time a methodology was used, based on analytic dependence. This methodology allowed defining volumetric changes of metal due to welding heating and subsequent cooling. However, dependences for definition of structures deformations, arising as a result of volumetric changes of metal in the weld area, allowed performing calculations only for simple structures, such as units, flat sections and sections with small curvature. In case of complex 3D structures, estimations on the base of analytic dependences gave significant errors. To eliminate this shortage, it was suggested to use finite elements method for resolving of deformation problem. Here, one shall first calculate volumes of longitudinal and transversal shortenings of welding joints using method of analytic dependences and further, with obtained shortenings, calculate forces, which action is equivalent to the action of active welding stresses. Further, a finiteelements model of the structure is developed and equivalent forces are added to this model. Having results of calculations, an optimal sequence of assembly and welding is selected and special measures to reduce and compensate welding deformations are developed and taken.

Keywords: Finite elements method, modeling, expected welding deformations, welding, assembling.

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640 University Students Sport’s Activities Assessment in Harsh Weather Conditions

Authors: Ammar S. M. Moohialdin, Bambang T. Suhariadi, Mohsin Siddiqui

Abstract:

This paper addresses the application of physiological status monitoring (PSM) for assessing the impact of harsh weather conditions on sports activities in universities in Saudi Arabia. Real sports measurement was conducted during sports activities such that the physiological status (HR and BR) of five students were continuously monitored by using Zephyr BioHarnessTM 3.0 sensors in order to identify the physiological bonds and zones. These bonds and zones were employed as indicators of the associated physiological risks of the performed sports activities. Furthermore, a short yes/no questionnaire was applied to collect information on participants’ health conditions and opinions of the applied PSM sensors. The results show the absence of a warning system as a protective aid for the hazardous levels of extremely hot and humid weather conditions that may cause dangerous and fatal circumstances. The applied formulas for estimating maximum HR provides accurate estimations for Maximum Heart Rate (HRmax). The physiological results reveal that the performed activities by the participants are considered the highest category (90–100%) in terms of activity intensity. This category is associated with higher HR, BR and physiological risks including losing the ability to control human body behaviors. Therefore, there is a need for immediate intervention actions to reduce the intensity of the performed activities to safer zones. The outcomes of this study assist the safety improvement of sports activities inside universities and athletes performing their sports activities. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first paper to represent a special case of the application of PSM technology for assessing sports activities in universities considering the impacts of harsh weather conditions on students’ health and safety.

Keywords: PSM, heart rate, HR, breathing rate, BR.

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639 The Relevance of Intellectual Capital: An Analysis of Spanish Universities

Authors: Yolanda Ramírez, Ángel Tejada, Agustín Baidez

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In recent years, the intellectual capital reporting in higher education institutions has been acquiring progressive importance worldwide. Intellectual capital approaches becomes critical at universities, mainly due to the fact that knowledge is the main output as well as input in these institutions. Universities produce knowledge, either through scientific and technical research (the results of investigation, publications, etc.) or through teaching (students trained and productive relationships with their stakeholders). The purpose of the present paper is to identify the intangible elements about which university stakeholders demand most information. The results of a study done at Spanish universities are used to see which groups of universities have stakeholders who are more proactive to the disclosure of intellectual capital.

Keywords: Intellectual capital, universities, Spain, cluster analysis.

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638 A Study of Shear Stress Intensity Factor of PP and HDPE by a Modified Experimental Method together with FEM

Authors: Md. Shafiqul Islam, Abdullah Khan, Sharon Kao-Walter, Li Jian

Abstract:

Shear testing is one of the most complex testing areas where available methods and specimen geometries are different from each other. Therefore, a modified shear test specimen (MSTS) combining the simple uniaxial test with a zone of interest (ZOI) is tested which gives almost the pure shear. In this study, material parameters of polypropylene (PP) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) are first measured by tensile tests with a dogbone shaped specimen. These parameters are then used as an input for the finite element analysis. Secondly, a specially designed specimen (MSTS) is used to perform the shear stress tests in a tensile testing machine to get the results in terms of forces and extension, crack initiation etc. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) is also performed on the shear fracture surface to find material behavior. These experiments are then simulated by finite element method and compared with the experimental results in order to confirm the simulation model. Shear stress state is inspected to find the usability of the proposed shear specimen. Finally, a geometry correction factor can be established for these two materials in this specific loading and geometry with notch using Linear Elastic Fracture Mechanics (LEFM). By these results, strain energy of shear failure and stress intensity factor (SIF) of shear of these two polymers are discussed in the special application of the screw cap opening of the medical or food packages with a temper evidence safety solution.

Keywords: Shear test specimen, Stress intensity factor, Finite Element simulation, Scanning electron microscopy, Screw cap opening.

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