Search results for: initiation life

Authors: Constantia Achilleos, Diofantos G. Hadjimitsis

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Road industry has challenged the prospect of ecoconstruction. Pavements may fit within the framework of sustainable development. Hence, research implements assessments of conventional pavements impacts on environment in use of life cycle approach. To meet global, and often national, targets on pollution control, newly introduced pavement designs are under study. This is the case of Cyprus demonstration, which occurred within EcoLanes project work. This alternative pavement differs on concrete layer reinforced with tire recycling product. Processing of post-consumer tires produces steel fibers improving strength capacity against cracking. Thus maintenance works are relevantly limited in comparison to flexible pavement. This enables to be more ecofriendly, referenced to current study outputs. More specific, proposed concrete pavement life cycle processes emits 15 % less air pollutants and consumes 28 % less embodied energy than those of the asphalt pavement. In addition there is also a reduction on costs by 0.06 %.

Keywords: Environmental impact assessment, life cycle, tirerecycling, transportation pavement.

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Authors: Andrea Bellucci, Martina Tofi

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The aim of paper is to analyze business models of bancassurance in Italy for life business. The life insurance business is very developed in the Italian market and banks branches have 80% of the market share. Given its maturity, the life insurance market needs to consolidate its organizational form to allow for the development of non-life business, which nowadays collects few premiums but represents a great opportunity to enlarge the market share of bancassurance using its strength in the distribution channel while the market share of independent agents is decreasing. Starting with the main business model of bancassurance for life business, this paper will analyze the performances of life companies in the Italian market by balance sheet indicators and by main discriminant variables of business models. The study will observe trends from 2013 to 2015 for the Italian market by exploiting a database managed by Associazione Nazionale delle Imprese di Assicurazione (ANIA). The applied approach is based on a bottom-up analysis starting with variables and indicators to define business models’ classification. The statistical classification algorithm proposed by Ward is employed to design business models’ profiles. Results from the analysis will be a representation of the main business models built by their profile related to indicators. In that way, an unsupervised analysis is developed that has the limit of its judgmental dimension based on research opinion, but it is possible to obtain a design of effective business models.

Keywords: Balance sheet indicators, Bancassurance, business models, ward algorithm.

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Authors: M. Winkens, P. Nyhuis

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Components with sensory properties such as gentelligent components developed at the Collaborative Research Centre 653 offer a new angle in terms of the full utilization of the remaining service life as well as preventive maintenance. The developed methodology of component status driven maintenance analyzes the stress data obtained during the component's useful life and on the basis of this knowledge assesses the type of maintenance required in this case. The procedure is derived from the case-based reasoning method and will be explained in detail. The method's functionality is demonstrated with real-life data obtained during test runs of a racing car prototype.

Keywords: Gentelligent Components, Preventive Maintenance, Case based Reasoning.

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Authors: M. N. Norshita, B. Z. Halimah, T. S. Tengku Mohammad

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The implementation of electronic government started since the initiation of Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) by the Malaysia government. The introduction of ICT in the public sector especially e-Government initiatives opens up a new book in the government administration throughout the world. The aim or this paper is to discuss the implementation of e-government in Malaysia, covering the result of public user self assessment on Malaysia's electronic government applications. E-services, e-procurement, Generic Office Environment (GOE), Human Resources Management Information System (HRMIS), Project Monitoring System (PMS), Electronic Labor Exchange (ELX) and e-syariah(religion) were the seven flagship application assessed. The study adopted a crosssectional survey research approach and information system literature were used. The analysis was done for 35 responden in pilot test and there was evidence from public user's perspective to suggest that the e-government applications were generally successful.

Keywords: Electronic government, flagship, multimedia super corridor, public user.

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Authors: Inseok Yeo, Tae-Ho Song

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To practically apply vacuum insulation panels (VIPs) to buildings or home appliances, VIPs have demanded long-term lifespan with outstanding insulation performance. Service lives of VIPs enveloped with Al-foil and three-layer Al-metallized envelope are calculated. For Al-foil envelope, the service life is longer but edge conduction is too large compared with the Al-metallized envelope. To increase service life even more, the proposed double enveloping method and metal-barrier-added enveloping method are further analyzed. The service lives of the VIP to employ two enveloping methods are calculated. Also, pressure increase and thermal insulation performance characteristics are investigated. For the metalbarrier- added enveloping method, effective thermal conductivity increase with time is close to that of Al-foil envelope, especially, for getter-inserted VIPs. For double enveloping method, if water vapor is perfectly adsorbed, the effect of service life enhancement becomes much greater. From these methods, the VIP can be guaranteed for service life of more than 20 years.

Keywords: Vacuum insulation panels, Service life, Double enveloping, Metal-barrier-added enveloping, Edge conduction.

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Authors: L. R. Ferreira, R. Biscaro, C. C. Danziger, C. M. Galhardi, L. C. Biscaro, R. C. Biscaro, I. S. Vasconcelos, L. C. R. Ferreira, R. Reis, L. H. Oliveira

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Introduction: There is a worldwide trend for the employer to be aware of investing in health promotion that goes beyond occupational hygiene approaches with the implementation of a comprehensive program with integration between occupational health and safety, and social/psychosocial responsibility in the workplace. Work accommodation is a necessity in most companies as it allows the worker to return to its function respecting its physical limitations. This study had the objective to verify if the integration of health and safety in the companies, with the inclusion of the concept of TWH promoted by an occupational health service has impacted in the management of absenteeism of workers in work accommodation. Method: A retrospective and paired cohort study was used, in which the impact of the implementation of the Program for the Health/Safety Integration and Total Worker Health Concept (PHSITWHC) was evaluated using the indices of absenteeism, health attestations, days and hours of sick leave of workers that underwent job accommodation/rehabilitation. This was a cohort study and the data were collected from January to September of 2017, prior to the initiation of the integration program, and compared with the data obtained from January to September of 2018, after the implementation of the program. For the statistical analysis, the student's t-test was used, with statistically significant differences being made at p < 0.05. Results: The results showed a 35% reduction in the number of absenteeism rate in 2018 compared to the same period in 2017. There was also a significant reduction in the total numbers of days of attestations/absences (mean of 2,8) as well as days of attestations, absence and sick leaves (mean of 5,2) in 2018 data after the implementation of PHSITWHC compared to 2017 data, means of 4,3 and 25,1, respectively, prior to the program. Conclusion: It can be concluded that the inclusion of the PHSITWHC was associated with a reduction in the rate of absenteeism of workers that underwent job accommodation. It was observed that, once health and safety were approached and integrated with the inclusion of the TWH concept, it was possible to reduce absenteeism, and improve worker’s quality of life and wellness, and work accommodation management.

Keywords: Absenteeism, health/safety integration, work accommodation management, total worker health.

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Authors: Aedah A. Rahman, Nurdatillah Hasim

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Software quality issues require special attention especially in view of the demands of quality software product to meet customer satisfaction. Software development projects in most organisations need proper defect management process in order to produce high quality software product and reduce the number of defects. The research question of this study is how to produce high quality software and reducing the number of defects. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to provide a framework for managing software defects by following defined life cycle processes. The methodology starts by reviewing defects, defect models, best practices, and standards. A framework for defect management life cycle is proposed. The major contribution of this study is to define a defect management roadmap in software development. The adoption of an effective defect management process helps to achieve the ultimate goal of producing high quality software products and contributes towards continuous software process improvement.

Keywords: Defects, defect management, life cycle process, software quality.

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Authors: Blaise Fyama, Elie Museng, Grace Mukoma

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In this article we present a java implementation of video telephony using the SIP protocol (Session Initiation Protocol). After a functional analysis of the SIP protocol, we relied on the work of Italian researchers of University of Parma-Italy to acquire adequate libraries for the development of our own communication tool. In order to optimize the code and improve the prototype, we used, in an incremental approach, test techniques based on a static analysis based on the evaluation of the complexity of the software with the application of metrics and the number cyclomatic of Mccabe. The objective is to promote the emergence of local start-ups producing IP video in a well understood local context. We have arrived at the creation of a video telephony tool whose code is optimized.

Keywords: Static analysis, coding, complexity, mccabe metrics, Sip, uml.

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Authors: Chang S. Woo, Hyun S. Park, Wan D. Kim

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Fatigue life prediction and evaluation are the key technologies to assure the safety and reliability of automotive rubber components. The objective of this study is to develop the fatigue analysis process for vulcanized rubber components, which is applicable to predict fatigue life at initial product design step. Fatigue life prediction methodology of vulcanized natural rubber was proposed by incorporating the finite element analysis and fatigue damage parameter of maximum strain appearing at the critical location determined from fatigue test. In order to develop an appropriate fatigue damage parameter of the rubber material, a series of displacement controlled fatigue test was conducted using threedimensional dumbbell specimen with different levels of mean displacement. It was shown that the maximum strain was a proper damage parameter, taking the mean displacement effects into account. Nonlinear finite element analyses of three-dimensional dumbbell specimens were performed based on a hyper-elastic material model determined from the uni-axial tension, equi-biaxial tension and planar test. Fatigue analysis procedure employed in this study could be used approximately for the fatigue design.

Keywords: Rubber, Material test, Finite element analysis, Strain, Fatigue test, Fatigue life prediction.

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Authors: Manjusha R. Vagal, Shyam K. Shrivastava, Umesh Mahantshetty, Sudeep Gupta, Supriya Chopra, Reena Engineer, Amita Maheshwari, Atul Buduk

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Vaginal stenosis is a common side effect associated with pelvic radiotherapy in cervical cancer patients which contributes negatively to woman’s health and prevents adequate vaginal/cervical examination. Vaginal dilation with a dilator is routine practice and is internationally advocated as a prophylactic measure to preserve vaginal patency. This retrospective study was carried out with the aim to know the usefulness of vaginal dilation following pelvic radiation therapy in cervical cancer patients in India. Data from medical records of 183 cervical cancer patients, which met the study criteria, were collected related to the stage of the disease, treatment received, commencement period of dilation post radiation therapy, sexual status and side effects associated to dilation practice. Data related to vaginal dimensions as per the length of insertion of a small, medium and large dilator were collected on regular follow-ups until 36 months and/or more. Vaginal dimensions as measured with the length of medium dilator insertion were used for analysis of dilation therapy results using paired t-test. Patients who underwent vaginal dilation with dilator maintained vaginal patency, also the mean vaginal length significantly increased, from 8.02 cm ± 2.69 to 9.96 ± 2.89 cm with a p value <0.001. There was no significant difference found on vaginal patency with different intervals of initiation of dilation therapy. At the third year and more following dilation therapy, significant increase in vaginal length observed with a p value of 0.0001 in both sexually active and inactive patients. Compilation of vaginal dosage during brachytherapy was inadequate, and hence, the secondary objective of the study to determine the effect of radiotherapy on the outcome of rehabilitation intervention was not studied in detail. This retrospective study has found that dilation therapy with vaginal dilators post pelvic radiotherapy is effective in preventing vaginal stenosis and improving vaginal patency and cannot be substituted with vaginal intercourse. Sexual quality of life assessment in the Indian population needs much attention.

Keywords: Dilator, sexually active, vaginal dilation, vaginal stenosis.

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Authors: Ya Lv, Benjamin Ong Wei Lin, Wanli Niu, Benjamin Seah Chin Tat

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This article presents a methodology that improves reliability and cyclability of 2nd-life Li-ion battery system repurposed as energy storage system (ESS). Most of the 2nd-life retired battery systems in market have module/pack-level state of health (SOH) indicator, which is utilized for guiding appropriate depth of discharge (DOD) in the application of ESS. Due to the lack of cell-level SOH indication, the different degrading behaviors among various cells cannot be identified upon reaching retired status; in the end, considering end of life (EOL) loss and pack-level DOD, the repurposed ESS has to be oversized by > 1.5 times to complement the application requirement of reliability and cyclability. This proposed battery grading algorithm, using non-invasive methodology, is able to detect outlier cells based on historical voltage data and calculate cell-level historical maximum temperature data using semi-analytic methodology. In this way, the individual battery cell in the 2nd-life battery system can be graded in terms of SOH on basis of the historical voltage fluctuation and estimated historical maximum temperature variation. These grades will have corresponding DOD grades in the application of the repurposed ESS to enhance the system reliability and cyclability. In all, this introduced battery grading algorithm is non-invasive, compatible with all kinds of retired Li-ion battery systems which lack of cell-level SOH indication, as well as potentially being embedded into battery management software for preventive maintenance and real-time cyclability optimization.

Keywords: Battery grading algorithm, 2nd-life repurposing battery system, semi-analytic methodology, reliability and cyclability.

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Authors: Aleš Florian, Lenka Ševelová, Jaroslav Žák

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Formation of tensile cracks in concrete slabs of rigid pavement can be (among others) the initiation point of the other, more serious failures which can ultimately lead to complete degradation of the concrete slab and thus the whole pavement. Two measures can be used for reliability assessment of this phenomenon - the probability of failure and/or the reliability index. Different methods can be used for their calculation. The simple ones are called moment methods and simulation techniques. Two methods - FOSM Method and Simple Random Sampling Method - are verified and their comparison is performed. The influence of information about the probability distribution and the statistical parameters of input variables as well as of the limit state function on the calculated reliability index and failure probability are studied in three points on the lower surface of concrete slabs of the older type of rigid pavement formerly used in the Czech Republic.

Keywords: Failure, pavement, probability, reliability index, simulation, tensile crack.

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Authors: Ghada Elshafei, Abdelazim Negm

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Life cycle assessment is a technique to assess the environmental aspects and potential impacts associated with a product, process, or service, by compiling an inventory of relevant energy and material inputs and environmental releases; evaluating the potential environmental impacts associated with identified inputs and releases; and interpreting the results to help you make a more informed decision. In this paper, the life cycle assessment of aluminum and beech wood as two commonly used materials in Egypt for window frames are heading, highlighting their benefits and weaknesses. Window frames of the two materials have been assessed on the basis of their production, energy consumption and environmental impacts. It has been found that the climate change of the windows made of aluminum and beech wood window, for a reference window (1.2m×1.2m), are 81.7 mPt and -52.5 mPt impacts respectively. Among the most important results are: fossil fuel consumption, potential contributions to the green building effect and quantities of solid waste tend to be minor for wood products compared to aluminum products; incineration of wood products can cause higher impacts of acidification and eutrophication than aluminum, whereas thermal energy can be recovered.

Keywords: Aluminum window, beech wood window, green building, life cycle assessment, life cycle analysis, SimaPro software, window frame.

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Authors: Saleem Z. Ramadan

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This paper discusses the effects of using progressive Type-I right censoring on the design of the Simple Step Accelerated Life testing using Bayesian approach for Weibull life products under the assumption of cumulative exposure model. The optimization criterion used in this paper is to minimize the expected pre-posterior variance of the P^th percentile time of failures. The model variables are the stress changing time and the stress value for the first step. A comparison between the conventional and the progressive Type-I right censoring is provided. The results have shown that the progressive Type-I right censoring reduces the cost of testing on the expense of the test precision when the sample size is small. Moreover, the results have shown that using strong priors or large sample size reduces the sensitivity of the test precision to the censoring proportion. Hence, the progressive Type-I right censoring is recommended in these cases as progressive Type-I right censoring reduces the cost of the test and doesn't affect the precision of the test a lot. Moreover, the results have shown that using direct or indirect priors affects the precision of the test.

Keywords: Reliability, Accelerated life testing, Cumulative exposure model, Bayesian estimation, Progressive Type-I censoring, Weibull distribution.

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Authors: Andras Szekrenyes

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This work presents the mixed-mode II/III prestressed split-cantilever beam specimen for the fracture testing of composite materials. In accordance with the concept of prestressed composite beams one of the two fracture modes is provided by the prestressed state of the specimen, and the other one is increased up to fracture initiation by using a testing machine. The novel beam-like specimen is able to provide any combination of the mode-II and mode-III energy release rates. A simple closed-form solution is developed using beam theory as a data reduction scheme and for the calculation of the energy release rates in the new configuration. The applicability and the limitations of the novel fracture mechanical test are demonstrated using unidirectional glass/polyester composite specimens. If only crack propagation onset is involved then the mixed-mode beam specimen can be used to obtain the fracture criterion of transparent composite materials in the GII - GIII plane in a relatively simple way.

Keywords: Composite, fracture mechanics, toughness testing, mixed-mode II/III fracture.

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Authors: Lorho Mary Maheo, Arundhati Maibam Devi

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Background: Maternal and child health (MCH) cares are the health services provided to mothers and children. It includes the health promotion, preventive, curative and rehabilitation health care for mothers and children. Materials and method: The present study sample comprises of 208 women within the age range 15-69 years from two remote villages of Tamenglong District in Manipur. They were randomly chosen for assessing their health as well as the child’s health adopting an interview schedule method. Results: The findings of the study revealed that majority (80%) of the women have their first conception in their first year of married life. A decadal change has been observed with regard to the last pregnancy i.e., antenatal check-up, place of delivery as well as the service provider. However, irrespective of age of the women, home delivery is still preferred though very few are locally trained. Pre- and post-delivery resting period vary depending on the busy schedule of the agricultural works as the population under study is basically agriculturist. Postnatal care remains to be traditional as they are strongly associated with cultural beliefs and practices that continue to prevail in the studied community. Breast feeding practices such as colostrums given, initiation of breastfeeding, weaning was all taken into account.  Immunization of children has not reached the expected target owing to a variety of reasons. Maternal health care also includes use of birth control measures. The health status of women would invariably improve if family planning is meaningfully adopted. Only 10.1% of the women adopted the modern birth control implying its deep-rooted value attached to the children. Based on the self-assessment report on their health treatment a good number of the respondents resorted to self-medication even to the extent of buying allopathic medicine without a doctor’s prescription. One important finding from the study is the importance attributed to the traditional health care system which is easily affordable and accessible to the villagers. Conclusion: The overall condition of maternal and child care is way behind till now as no adequate/proper health services are available.

Keywords: Antenatal, breastfeeding, child health, maternal, Tamenglong District.

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Authors: Prashanth C.M., K. Chandrashekar Shet

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In recent past, the Unified Modeling Language (UML) has become the de facto industry standard for object-oriented modeling of the software systems. The syntax and semantics rich UML has encouraged industry to develop several supporting tools including those capable of generating deployable product (code) from the UML models. As a consequence, ensuring the correctness of the model/design has become challenging and extremely important task. In this paper, we present an approach for automatic verification of protocol model/design. As a case study, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) design is verified for the property, “the CALLER will not converse with the CALLEE before the connection is established between them ". The SIP is modeled using UML statechart diagrams and the desired properties are expressed in temporal logic. Our prototype verifier “UML-SMV" is used to carry out the verification. We subjected an erroneous SIP model to the UML-SMV, the verifier could successfully detect the error (in 76.26ms) and generate the error trace.

Keywords: Unified Modeling Language, Statechart, Verification, Protocol Design, Model Checking.

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Authors: Farzaneh Hadafi, Alireza Fallahi

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Natural Disasters have always occurred through earth life. As human life developed on earth, he faced with different disasters. Since disasters would destroy his living areas and ruin his life, he learned how to respond and overcome to these matters. Nowadays, in the era of industrialized world and informatics, the man kind seeks for stages and classification of pre and post disaster process in order to identify a framework in these circumstances. Because too many parameters complicate these frameworks and proceedings, it seems that this goal has not been properly established yet and the only resource is guidelines of UNDRO (1982) [1]. This paper will discuss about temporary housing as one of an approved stage in disaster management field and investigate the affects of disapproval or dismissal of this at two earthquakes which took place in Iran.

Keywords: Temporary Housing, Temporary Sheltering, DisasterManagement, Iran

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Authors: Fan Yang

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With the development of social economy and the popularization of quality education, the Chinese government invests more and more funding in education. Campus constructions are experiencing a great development phase. Under the trend of sustainable development, modern green campus design needs to meet new requirements of contemporary, informational and diversified education means and adapt to future education development. Educators, designers and other participants of campus design are facing new challenges. By studying and analyzing the universal unsatisfied current situations and sustainable development requirements of Chinese campuses, this paper summarizes the strategies and intentions of the whole-life-cycle campus design. In addition, a Chinese high school in Zhejiang province is added to illustrate the design cycle in an actual case. It is aimed to make all participants of campus design, especially the designers, to realize the importance of whole-life-cycle campus design and cooperate better. Sustainable campus design is expected to come true in deed instead of becoming a slogan in this way.

Keywords: Campus design, green school, sustainable development, whole-life-cycle design.

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Authors: Arellano Karina, Diego Avila-Pesántez, Leticia Vaca-Cárdenas, Alberto Arellano, Carmen Mantilla

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Nowadays, security threats in Voice over IP (VoIP) systems are an essential and latent concern for people in charge of security in a corporate network, because, every day, new Denial-of-Service (DoS) attacks are developed. These affect the business continuity of an organization, regarding confidentiality, availability, and integrity of services, causing frequent losses of both information and money. The purpose of this study is to establish the necessary measures to mitigate DoS threats, which affect the availability of VoIP systems, based on the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP). A Security Model called MS-DoS-SIP is proposed, which is based on two approaches. The first one analyzes the recommendations of international security standards. The second approach takes into account weaknesses and threats. The implementation of this model in a VoIP simulated system allowed to minimize the present vulnerabilities in 92% and increase the availability time of the VoIP service into an organization.

Keywords: Denial-of-service SIP attacks, MS-DoS-SIP, security model, VoIP-SIP vulnerabilities.

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Authors: Hasan Şahan, Murat Tekin, Mustafa Yıldız, Meriç Eraslan, Mevlüt Yıldız, Hatice Sim, Demet Neriman Yarar

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The purpose of this study is to examine the selfefficacy and life satisfaction levels of students receiving education in schools of physical education and sports. The population of the study consisted 263 students, among which 154 were male and 109 were female ( X age=19,4905 + 2,5605), that received education in the schools of physical education and sports of Selcuk University, Inonu University, Gazi University and Karamanoglu Mehmetbey University. In order to achieve the purpose of the study, the selfefficacy scale, which was developed by Jarrusselam and Shwarzer (1981) [1] and adapted to Turkish by Yesillay (1993) [2], and the life satisfaction scale, developed by Diener, Emmos, Larsen and Griffin (1985) [3] and adapted to Turkish by Kokler (1991) [4], were utilized.For analyzing and interpreting data Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, t-test and one way anova test were used, while for determining the difference between the groups Tukey test and Multiple Linear Regression test were employed and significance was accepted at P<0,05. SPSS (Statistical package for social sciences) package software was used for evaluating the data and finding out the calculated values.In conclusion of this study, it was determined that female students have higher life satisfaction levels than male students, while students attending to the second grade had higher life satisfaction levels than fourth grade students. On the other hand, general self-efficacy levels of male students were found out to be higher than that of female students. It was also determined that students attending to the fourth grade had higher general self-efficacy levels than those receiving education in the first grade. Availability of a significant relation was determined between life satisfaction levels and self-efficacy levels.

Keywords: Physical Education And Sports, Student, Life Satisfaction, Self-Efficacy

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Authors: B. Engel, M. Junge

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Manufacturing components of fiber-reinforced thermoplastics requires three steps: heating the matrix, forming and consolidation of the composite and terminal cooling the matrix. For the heating process a pre-determined temperature distribution through the layers and the thickness of the pre-consolidated sheets is recommended to enable forming mechanism. Thus, a design for the heating process for forming composites with thermoplastic matrices is necessary. To obtain a constant temperature through thickness and width of the sheet, the heating process was analyzed by the help of the finite element method. The simulation models were validated by experiments with resistance thermometers as well as with an infrared camera. Based on the finite element simulation, heating methods for infrared radiators have been developed. Using the numeric simulation many iteration loops are required to determine the process parameters. Hence, the initiation of a model for calculating relevant process parameters started applying regression functions.

Keywords: Fiber-reinforced thermoplastics, heating strategies, middle-wave infrared radiator.

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Authors: R. Sinthavalai, N. Memongkol, N. Patthanaprechawong, J. Viriyanantavong, C. Choosuk

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In Thailand, the practice of pre-hospital Emergency Medical Service (EMS) in each area reveals the different growth rates and effectiveness of the practices. Those can be found as the diverse quality and quantity. To shorten the learning curve prior to speed-up the practices in other areas, story telling and lessons learnt from the effective practices are valued as meaningful knowledge. To this paper, it was to ascertain the factors, lessons learnt and best practices that have impact as contributing to the success of prehospital EMS system. Those were formulized as model prior to speedup the practice in other areas. To develop the model, Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA), which is widely recognized as a framework for organizational quality assessment and improvement, was chosen as the discussion framework. Remarkably, this study was based on the consideration of knowledge capture; however it was not to complete the loop of knowledge activities. Nevertheless, it was to highlight the recognition of knowledge capture, which is the initiation of knowledge management.

Keywords: Emergency Medical Service, Modeling, MBNQA, Thailand.

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Authors: Jenny Oliveros Lao Phillips, Arturo E. Osorio, José Alves

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Family business are the dominant form of business in the world, and Chinese family business (CFB) is a unique type of family business that relies on collective action to survive. This paper argues that in CFBs, entrepreneurial actions are transgenerational collective endeavors, and successors are groomed as stewards of the family legacy. Work-life relationship in CFBs is about synergy and not balance because the family identity is the business identity, and vice-versa. Using five in-depth case studies, this research introduces an alternative understanding of CFBs and proposes a model of work-life synergy in transgenerational entrepreneurship based on discussion of five theory-based propositions. This model explains that through emphasizing on the business family’s shared value and entrepreneurial legacy, elements of trust, shared identity and stewardship of family members are enhanced which leads to collective action and goal of the business family, resulting in transgenerational entrepreneurship. Limitations and future research are presented.

Keywords: Chinese family business, family legacy, stewardship, transgenerational entrepreneurship, work-life synergy.

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Authors: Eli Hustad, Aurilla A. Bechina

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The purpose of this research is to increase our knowledge as regards how Small-and-Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) tackle ERP implementation projects to achieve successful adoption and use of these systems within the organization. SMEs have scare resources to handle these kinds of projects which have proved to be risky and costly. There are several studies focusing on ERP implementation in larger companies, however, few studies report on challenges experienced by SMEs. Our research seeks to bridge this gap. Through a multiple case study of four companies, we identified challenges and critical elements within the different phases (pre-implementation, implementation and post-implementation) of the ERP life cycle. To interpret our findings, we utilize a well-know ERP life cycle model and critical success factors developed for larger companies which are reported in former research literature. We discuss if these models are relevant for SMEs and suggest additional critical elements identified in this study to make a framework more adapted to the SME context.

Keywords: ERP implementation challenges, ERP implementation framework, ERP life cycle model, Small-and- Medium-Sized Enterprises, ERP critical success factors

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Authors: Yudhajit Datta

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Behavioral aspects of experience such as will power are rarely subjected to quantitative study owing to the numerous complexities involved. Will is a phenomenon that has puzzled humanity for a long time. It is a belief that will power of an individual affects the success achieved by them in life. It is also thought that a person endowed with great will power can overcome even the most crippling setbacks in life while a person with a weak will cannot make the most of life even the greatest assets. This study is an attempt to subject the phenomena of will to the test of an artificial neural network through a computational model. The claim being tested is that will power of an individual largely determines success achieved in life. It is proposed that data pertaining to success of individuals be obtained from an experiment and the phenomenon of will be incorporated into the model, through data generated recursively using a relation between will and success characteristic to the model. An artificial neural network trained using part of the data, could subsequently be used to make predictions regarding data points in the rest of the model. The procedure would be tried for different models and the model where the networks predictions are found to be in greatest agreement with the data would be selected; and used for studying the relation between success and will.

Keywords: Will Power, Success, ANN, Time Series Prediction, Sliding Window, Computational Model, Behavioral Phenomena.

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Authors: Raluca-Cristina Buţurcă, CarlesM.Gasol, Xavier Gabarrell, Dan Scarpete

Abstract:

The environmental performance of rapeseed oil (RO) and rapeseed methyl ester(RME) from winter rape as fuels produced in Romanian agroclimate is analyzed in this paper. The proposed methodology is life cycle assessment (LCA) and takes into consideration the influence of grain production and agroclimatic conditions. This study shows favorable results first for RO and then for RME. When compared to diesel fuel, both studied biofuels show better results in the following impact categories: Abiotic depletion potential (ADP), Ozone layer depletion (ODP) and Photochemical ozone creation potential (POCP).Furthermore, the environmental performance of the two biofuels studied can be improved by changing the type of fertilizer used and also by using biofuels instead of diesel in the field works.

Keywords: Biodiesel, life cycle assessment, rapeseed oil.

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Authors: Michelle Zeyuan Ma, Hermann Heilmeier

Abstract:

Recently, meat production ecosystem impacts initiated many hot discussions and researchers, and it is a difficult implementation to reduce such impacts due to the demand of meat products. It calls for better management and control of ecosystem impacts from every aspects of meat production. This article analyzes the ecosystem impacts of meat production based on meat products life cycle. The analysis shows that considerable ecosystem impacts are caused by different meat production steps: initial establishment phase, animal raising, slaughterhouse processing, meat consumption, and wastes management. Based on this analysis, the impacts are summarized as: leading factor for biodiversity loss; water waste, land use waste and land degradation; greenhouse gases emissions; pollution to air, water, and soil; related major diseases. The article also provides a discussion on a solution-sustainable food system, which could help in reducing ecosystem impacts. The analysis method is based on the life cycle level, it provides a concept of the whole meat industry ecosystem impacts, and the analysis result could be useful to manage or control meat production ecosystem impacts from investor, producer and consumer sides.

Keywords: Eutrophication, life cycle based analysis, sustainable food, waste management.

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Authors: A.Chetaine, A. Benchrif, H. Amsil, V. Kuznetsov, Y. Shimazu

Abstract:

The evaluation of unit cell neutronic parameters and lifetime for some innovant reactors without on sit-refuling will be held in this work. the behavior of some small and medium reactors without on site refueling with triso and cermet fuel. For the FBNR long life except we propose to change the enrichment of the Cermet MFE to 9%. For the AFPR reactor we can see that the use of the Cermet MFE can extend the life of this reactor but to maintain the same life period for AFPR-SC we most use burnup poison to have the same slope for Kinf (Burnup). PFPWR50 cell behaves almost in same way using both fuels Cermet and TRISO. So we can conclude that PFPWR50 reactor, with CERMET Fuel, is kept among the long cycle reactors and with the new configuration we avoid subcriticality at the beginning of cycle. The evaluation of unit cell neutronic parameters reveals a good agreement with the goal of BWR-PB concept. It is found out that the Triso fuel assembly lifetime can be extended for a reasonably long period without being refueled, approximately up to 48GWd/t burnup. Using coated particles fuels with the Cermet composition can be more extended the fuel assembly life time, approximately 52 GWd/t.

Keywords: Cermet., Trisot, without on site refueling.

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Authors: Robert Cep, Lenka Ocenasova, Jana Novakova, Karel Kouril, Jan Valicek, Branimir Barisic

Abstract:

This paper deals with the problem of thermal and mechanical shocks, which rising during operation, mostly at interrupted cut. Here will be solved their impact on the cutting edge tool life, the impact of coating technology on resistance to shocks and experimental determination of tool life in heating flame. Resistance of removable cutting edges against thermal and mechanical shock is an important indicator of quality as well as its abrasion resistance. Breach of the edge or its crumble may occur due to cyclic loading. We can observe it not only during the interrupted cutting (milling, turning areas abandoned hole or slot), but also in continuous cutting. This is due to the volatility of cutting force on cutting. Frequency of the volatility in this case depends on the type of rising chips (chip size element). For difficult-to-machine materials such as austenitic steel particularly happened at higher cutting speeds for the localization of plastic deformation in the shear plane and for the inception of separate elements substantially continuous chips. This leads to variations of cutting forces substantially greater than for other types of steel.

Keywords: Cutting Tool Life, Heating, Mechanical Shocks, Thermal Shocks

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