Search results for: local governments
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 1552

Search results for: local governments

1432 Improving the Convergence of the Backpropagation Algorithm Using Local Adaptive Techniques

Authors: Z. Zainuddin, N. Mahat, Y. Abu Hassan

Abstract:

Since the presentation of the backpropagation algorithm, a vast variety of improvements of the technique for training a feed forward neural networks have been proposed. This article focuses on two classes of acceleration techniques, one is known as Local Adaptive Techniques that are based on weightspecific only, such as the temporal behavior of the partial derivative of the current weight. The other, known as Dynamic Adaptation Methods, which dynamically adapts the momentum factors, α, and learning rate, η, with respect to the iteration number or gradient. Some of most popular learning algorithms are described. These techniques have been implemented and tested on several problems and measured in terms of gradient and error function evaluation, and percentage of success. Numerical evidence shows that these techniques improve the convergence of the Backpropagation algorithm.

Keywords: Backpropagation, Dynamic Adaptation Methods, Local Adaptive Techniques, Neural networks.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2172
1431 Accounting for SMEs – How Important is Size in Choosing between Global and Local Standards?

Authors: Cătălin Nicolae Albu, Nadia Albu, Maria Mădălina Gîrbină

Abstract:

There is limited evidence from various countries about the possible impact of various criteria to be used to determine the scope of the IFRS for SMEs issued in 2009 and, research is needed in this area. We provide evidence from Romania, an emerging economy member of the European Union. The aim of this paper is to analyze in a local setting if size is a relevant factor for deciding between local and global standards for SMEs. Our results indicate that size is a moderate indicator of the existence of possible users interested in financial statements and that there is a difference between the scopes of the standard determined on various criteria.. Also, we suggest that the international exposure is quite reduced in the case of SMEs, but is sufficient to suggest that at least some SMEs would benefit from international comparability of financial statements

Keywords: SMEs, IFRS for SMEs, accounting regulation, entity's size.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1861
1430 General Purpose Graphic Processing Units Based Real Time Video Tracking System

Authors: Mallikarjuna Rao Gundavarapu, Ch. Mallikarjuna Rao, K. Anuradha Bai

Abstract:

Real Time Video Tracking is a challenging task for computing professionals. The performance of video tracking techniques is greatly affected by background detection and elimination process. Local regions of the image frame contain vital information of background and foreground. However, pixel-level processing of local regions consumes a good amount of computational time and memory space by traditional approaches. In our approach we have explored the concurrent computational ability of General Purpose Graphic Processing Units (GPGPU) to address this problem. The Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM) with adaptive weighted kernels is used for detecting the background. The weights of the kernel are influenced by local regions and are updated by inter-frame variations of these corresponding regions. The proposed system has been tested with GPU devices such as GeForce GTX 280, GeForce GTX 280 and Quadro K2000. The results are encouraging with maximum speed up 10X compared to sequential approach.

Keywords: Connected components, Embrace threads, Local weighted kernel, Structuring element.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1172
1429 Soil Organic Carbon Pool Assessment and Chemical Evaluation of Soils in Akure North and South Local Government Area of Ondo State

Authors: B. F. Dada, B. S. Ewulo, M. A. Awodun, S. O. Ajayi

Abstract:

Aggregate soil carbon distribution and stock in the soil in the form of a carbon pool is important for soil fertility and sequestration. The amount of carbon pool and other nutrients statues of the soil are to benefit plants, animal and the environment in the long run. This study was carried out at Akure North and South Local Government; the study area is one of the 18 Local Government Areas of Ondo State in the Southwest geo-political zone of Nigeria. The sites were divided into Map Grids and geo-referenced with Global Positioning System (GPS). Horizons were designated and morphological description carried out on the field. Pedons were characterized and classified according to USDA soil taxonomy. The local government area shares boundaries with; Ikere Local Government (LG) in the North, Ise Orun LG in the northwest, Ifedore LG in the northeast Akure South LG in the East, Ose LG in the South East, and Owo LG in the South. SOC-pool at Federal College of Agriculture topsoil horizon A2 is significantly higher than all horizons, 67.83 th⁻¹. The chemical properties of the pedons have shown that the soil is very strongly acidic to neutral reaction (4.68 – 6.73). The nutrients status of the soil topsoil A1 and A2 generally indicates that the soils have a low potential for retaining plant nutrients, and therefore call for adequate soil management.

Keywords: Soil organic carbon, horizon, pedon, Akure.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 654
1428 Frequency-Energy Characteristics of Local Earthquakes using Discrete Wavelet Transform(DWT)

Authors: O. H. Colak, T. C. Destici, S. Ozen, H. Arman, O. Cerezci

Abstract:

The wavelet transform is one of the most important method used in signal processing. In this study, we have introduced frequency-energy characteristics of local earthquakes using discrete wavelet transform. Frequency-energy characteristic was analyzed depend on difference between P and S wave arrival time and noise within records. We have found that local earthquakes have similar characteristics. If frequency-energy characteristics can be found accurately, this gives us a hint to calculate P and S wave arrival time. It can be seen that wavelet transform provides successful approximation for this. In this study, 100 earthquakes with 500 records were analyzed approximately.

Keywords: Discrete Wavelet Transform, Frequency-EnergyCharacteristics, P and S waves arrival time.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2270
1427 Vision-Based Collision Avoidance for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles by Recurrent Neural Networks

Authors: Yao-Hong Tsai

Abstract:

Due to the sensor technology, video surveillance has become the main way for security control in every big city in the world. Surveillance is usually used by governments for intelligence gathering, the prevention of crime, the protection of a process, person, group or object, or the investigation of crime. Many surveillance systems based on computer vision technology have been developed in recent years. Moving target tracking is the most common task for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) to find and track objects of interest in mobile aerial surveillance for civilian applications. The paper is focused on vision-based collision avoidance for UAVs by recurrent neural networks. First, images from cameras on UAV were fused based on deep convolutional neural network. Then, a recurrent neural network was constructed to obtain high-level image features for object tracking and extracting low-level image features for noise reducing. The system distributed the calculation of the whole system to local and cloud platform to efficiently perform object detection, tracking and collision avoidance based on multiple UAVs. The experiments on several challenging datasets showed that the proposed algorithm outperforms the state-of-the-art methods.

Keywords: Unmanned aerial vehicle, object tracking, deep learning, collision avoidance.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 953
1426 Linguistic Devices Reflecting Violence in Border–Provinces of Southern Thailand on the Front Page of Local and National Newspapers

Authors: Chanokporn Angsuviriya

Abstract:

The objective of the study is to analyze linguistic devices reflecting the violence in the south border provinces; namely Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat and Songkla on 1,344 front pages of three local newspapers; namely ChaoTai, Focus PhakTai and Samila Time and of two national newspapers, including ThaiRath and Matichon, between 2004 and 2005, and 2011 and 2012. The study shows that there are two important linguistic devices: 1) lexical choices consisting of the use of verbs describing violence, the use of quantitative words and the use of words naming someone who committed violent acts, and 2) metaphors consisting of “A VIOLENT PROBLEM IS HEAT”, “A VICTIM IS A LEAF”, and “A TERRORIST IS A DOG”. Comparing linguistic devices between two types of newspapers, national newspapers choose to use words more violently than local newspapers do. Moreover, they create more negative images of the south of Thailand by using stative verbs. In addition, in term of metaphors “A TERRORIST IS A FOX.” is only found in national newspapers. As regards naming terrorists “southern insurgents”, this noun phrase which is collectively called by national newspapers has strongly negative meaning. Moreover, “southern insurgents” have been perceived by the Thais in the whole country while “insurgents” that are not modified have been only used by local newspapers.

Keywords: Linguistic Devices, Local Newspapers, National Newspapers, Violence.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1287
1425 The Frequency Graph for the Traveling Salesman Problem

Authors: Y. Wang

Abstract:

Traveling salesman problem (TSP) is hard to resolve when the number of cities and routes become large. The frequency graph is constructed to tackle the problem. A frequency graph maintains the topological relationships of the original weighted graph. The numbers on the edges are the frequencies of the edges emulated from the local optimal Hamiltonian paths. The simplest kind of local optimal Hamiltonian paths are computed based on the four vertices and three lines inequality. The search algorithm is given to find the optimal Hamiltonian circuit based on the frequency graph. The experiments show that the method can find the optimal Hamiltonian circuit within several trials.

Keywords: Traveling salesman problem, frequency graph, local optimal Hamiltonian path, four vertices and three lines inequality.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1774
1424 Local Spectrum Feature Extraction for Face Recognition

Authors: Muhammad Imran Ahmad, Ruzelita Ngadiran, Mohd Nazrin Md Isa, Nor Ashidi Mat Isa, Mohd Zaizu Ilyas, Raja Abdullah Raja Ahmad, Said Amirul Anwar Ab Hamid, Muzammil Jusoh

Abstract:

This paper presents two techniques, local feature extraction using image spectrum and low frequency spectrum modelling using GMM to capture the underlying statistical information to improve the performance of face recognition system. Local spectrum features are extracted using overlap sub block window that are mapped on the face image. For each of this block, spatial domain is transformed to frequency domain using DFT. A low frequency coefficient is preserved by discarding high frequency coefficients by applying rectangular mask on the spectrum of the facial image. Low frequency information is non- Gaussian in the feature space and by using combination of several Gaussian functions that has different statistical properties, the best feature representation can be modelled using probability density function. The recognition process is performed using maximum likelihood value computed using pre-calculated GMM components. The method is tested using FERET datasets and is able to achieved 92% recognition rates.

Keywords: Local features modelling, face recognition system, Gaussian mixture models.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2255
1423 Legal Awareness of Surakarta Local Government Officer to Law Number 12 Year 2006 on Citizenship in Vanishing Civic Discrimination to Chinese Indonesians

Authors: Triyanto

Abstract:

The purposes of the paper are to know and improve the legal awareness of Surakarta local government officer to Law No.12/2006 on Citizenship in vanishing civic discrimination to Chinese Indonesians. Some issues of the Chinese Indonesian are the definitions of Indonesian citizens and native Indonesian people or “warga negara Indonesia (WNI) asli" and their obligation to show Indonesian Citizenship Certificate (SBKRI) in processing civil documents. Legal awareness of Surakarta local government officer can be categorized as “legal knowledge" only. They know the laws but they do not implement it yet. Nevertheless, at least this research has given the new awareness in citizenship law for the officers.

Keywords: Legal Awareness, Government Officer, Civic Discrimination, Chinese Indonesians

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1429
1422 Direction to Manage OTOP Entrepreneurship Based on Local Wisdom

Authors: Witthaya Mekhum

Abstract:

The OTOP Entrepreneurship that used to create substantial source of income for local Thai communities are now in a stage of exigent matters that required assistances from public sectors due to over Entrepreneurship of duplicative ideas, unable to adjust costs and prices, lack of innovation, and inadequate of quality control. Moreover, there is a repetitive problem of middlemen who constantly corner the OTOP market. Local OTOP producers become easy preys since they do not know how to add more values, how to create and maintain their own brand name, and how to create proper packaging and labeling. The suggested solutions to local OTOP producers are to adopt modern management techniques, to find knowhow to add more values to products and to unravel other marketing problems. The objectives of this research are to study the prevalent OTOP products management and to discover direction to manage OTOP products to enhance the effectiveness of OTOP Entrepreneurship in Nonthaburi Province, Thailand. There were 113 participants in this study. The research tools can be divided into two parts: First part is done by questionnaire to find responses of the prevalent OTOP Entrepreneurship management. Second part is the use of focus group which is conducted to encapsulate ideas and local wisdom. Data analysis is performed by using frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation as well as the synthesis of several small group discussions. The findings reveal that 1) Business Resources: the quality of product is most important and the marketing of product is least important. 2) Business Management: Leadership is most important and raw material planning is least important. 3) Business Readiness: Communication is most important and packaging is least important. 4) Support from public sector: Certified from the government is most important and source of raw material is the least important.

Keywords: Management, OTOP Entrepreneurship, Local Wisdom

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1943
1421 A Local Invariant Generalized Hough Transform Method for Integrated Circuit Visual Positioning

Authors: Fei Long Wei, Hua Yang, Hai Tao Zhang, Zhou Ping Yin

Abstract:

In this study, an local invariant generalized Houghtransform (LI-GHT) method is proposed for integrated circuit (IC) visual positioning. The original generalized Hough transform (GHT) is robust to external noise; however, it is not suitable for visual positioning of IC chips due to the four-dimensionality (4D) of parameter space which leads to the substantial storage requirement and high computational complexity. The proposed LI-GHT method can reduce the dimensionality of parameter space to 2D thanks to the rotational invariance of local invariant geometric feature and it can estimate the accuracy position and rotation angle of IC chips in real-time under noise and blur influence. The experiment results show that the proposed LI-GHT can estimate position and rotation angle of IC chips with high accuracy and fast speed. The proposed LI-GHT algorithm was implemented in IC visual positioning system of radio frequency identification (RFID) packaging equipment.

Keywords: Integrated Circuit Visual Positioning, Generalized Hough Transform, Local invariant Generalized Hough Transform, ICpacking equipment.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2209
1420 Some Collineations Preserving Cross-Ratio in some Moufang-Klingenberg Planes

Authors: Suleyman Ciftci, Atilla Akpinar, Basri Celik

Abstract:

In this paper we are interested in Moufang-Klingenberg planesM(A) defined over a local alternative ring A of dual numbers. We show that some collineations of M(A) preserve cross-ratio.

Keywords: Moufang-Klingenberg planes, local alternative ring, projective collineation, cross-ratio.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1284
1419 A Multimedia Telemonitoring Network for Healthcare

Authors: Hariton N. Costin, Sorin Puscoci, Cristian Rotariu, Bogdan Dionisie, Marinela C. Cimpoesu

Abstract:

TELMES project aims to develop a securized multimedia system devoted to medical consultation teleservices. It will be finalized with a pilot system for a regional telecenters network that connects local telecenters, having as support multimedia platforms. This network will enable the implementation of complex medical teleservices (teleconsulations, telemonitoring, homecare, urgency medicine, etc.) for a broader range of patients and medical professionals, mainly for family doctors and those people living in rural or isolated regions. Thus, a multimedia, scalable network, based on modern IT&C paradigms, will result. It will gather two inter-connected regional telecenters, in Iaşi and Piteşti, Romania, each of them also permitting local connections of hospitals, diagnostic and treatment centers, as well as local networks of family doctors, patients, even educational entities. As communications infrastructure, we aim to develop a combined fixmobile- internet (broadband) links. Other possible communication environments will be GSM/GPRS/3G and radio waves. The electrocardiogram (ECG) acquisition, internet transmission and local analysis, using embedded technologies, was already successfully done for patients- telemonitoring.

Keywords: Healthcare, telemedicine, telemonitoring, ECG analysis.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1821
1418 A Hybridization of Constructive Beam Search with Local Search for Far From Most Strings Problem

Authors: Sayyed R Mousavi

Abstract:

The Far From Most Strings Problem (FFMSP) is to obtain a string which is far from as many as possible of a given set of strings. All the input and the output strings are of the same length, and two strings are said to be far if their hamming distance is greater than or equal to a given positive integer. FFMSP belongs to the class of sequences consensus problems which have applications in molecular biology. The problem is NP-hard; it does not admit a constant-ratio approximation either, unless P = NP. Therefore, in addition to exact and approximate algorithms, (meta)heuristic algorithms have been proposed for the problem in recent years. On the other hand, in the recent years, hybrid algorithms have been proposed and successfully used for many hard problems in a variety of domains. In this paper, a new metaheuristic algorithm, called Constructive Beam and Local Search (CBLS), is investigated for the problem, which is a hybridization of constructive beam search and local search algorithms. More specifically, the proposed algorithm consists of two phases, the first phase is to obtain several candidate solutions via the constructive beam search and the second phase is to apply local search to the candidate solutions obtained by the first phase. The best solution found is returned as the final solution to the problem. The proposed algorithm is also similar to memetic algorithms in the sense that both use local search to further improve individual solutions. The CBLS algorithm is compared with the most recent published algorithm for the problem, GRASP, with significantly positive results; the improvement is by order of magnitudes in most cases.

Keywords: Bioinformatics, Far From Most Strings Problem, Hybrid metaheuristics, Matheuristics, Sequences consensus problems.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1748
1417 The “Ecological Approach” to GIS Implementation in Low Income Countries’ and the Role of Universities: Union of Municipalities of Joumeh Case Study

Authors: A. Iaaly, O. Jadayel, R. Jadayel

Abstract:

This paper explores the effectiveness of approaches used for the implementation of technology within central governments specifically Geographic Information Systems (GIS). It examines the extent to which various strategies to GIS implementation and its roll out to users within an organization is crucial for its long term assimilation. Depending on the contextual requirements, various implementation strategies exist spanning from the most revolutionary to the most evolutionary, which have an influence on the success of GIS projects and the realization of resulting business benefits within the central governments. This research compares between two strategies of GIS implementation within the Lebanese Municipalities. The first strategy is the “Technological Approach” which is focused on technology acquisition, overlaid on existing governmental frameworks. This approach gives minimal attention to capability building and the long term sustainability of the implemented program. The second strategy, referred to as the “Ecological Approach”, is naturally oriented to the function of the organization. This approach stresses on fostering the evolution of the program and on building the human capabilities. The Union of the Joumeh Municipalities will be presented as a case study under the “Ecological Approach” and the role of the GIS Center at the University of Balamand will be highlighted. Thus, this research contributes to the development of knowledge on technology implementation and the vital role of academia in the specific context of the Lebanese public sector so that this experience may pave the way for further applications.

Keywords: Ecological Approach, GIS, low income countries, technological approach.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1420
1416 A Four Architectures to Locate Mobile Users using Statistical Mapping of WLANs in Indoorand Outdoor Environments-Loids

Authors: K. Krishna Naik, M. N. Giri Prasad

Abstract:

These days wireless local area networks has become very popular, when the initial IEEE802.11 is the standard for providing wireless connectivity to automatic machinery, equipment and stations that require rapid deployment, which may be portable, handheld or which may be mounted on moving vehicles within a local area. IEEE802.11 Wireless local area network is a sharedmedium communication network that transmits information over wireless links for all IEEE802.11 stations in its transmission range to receive. When a user is moving from one location to another, how the other user knows about the required station inside WLAN. For that we designed and implemented a system to locate a mobile user inside the wireless local area network based on RSSI with the help of four specially designed architectures. These architectures are based on statistical or we can say manual configuration of mapping and radio map of indoor and outdoor location with the help of available Sniffer based and cluster based techniques. We found a better location of a mobile user in WLAN. We tested this work in indoor and outdoor environments with different locations with the help of Pamvotis, a simulator for WLAN.

Keywords: AP, RSSI, RPM, WLAN.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1316
1415 Distributed 2-Vertex Connectivity Test of Graphs Using Local Knowledge

Authors: Brahim Hamid, Bertrand Le Saec, Mohamed Mosbah

Abstract:

The vertex connectivity of a graph is the smallest number of vertices whose deletion separates the graph or makes it trivial. This work is devoted to the problem of vertex connectivity test of graphs in a distributed environment based on a general and a constructive approach. The contribution of this paper is threefold. First, using a preconstructed spanning tree of the considered graph, we present a protocol to test whether a given graph is 2-connected using only local knowledge. Second, we present an encoding of this protocol using graph relabeling systems. The last contribution is the implementation of this protocol in the message passing model. For a given graph G, where M is the number of its edges, N the number of its nodes and Δ is its degree, our algorithms need the following requirements: The first one uses O(Δ×N2) steps and O(Δ×logΔ) bits per node. The second one uses O(Δ×N2) messages, O(N2) time and O(Δ × logΔ) bits per node. Furthermore, the studied network is semi-anonymous: Only the root of the pre-constructed spanning tree needs to be identified.

Keywords: Distributed computing, fault-tolerance, graph relabeling systems, local computations, local knowledge, message passing system, networks, vertex connectivity.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1839
1414 Spatial Distribution of Local Sheep Breeds in Antalya Province

Authors: Serife Gulden Yilmaz, Suleyman Karaman

Abstract:

Sheep breeding is important in terms of meeting both the demand of red meat consumption and the availability of industrial raw materials and the employment of the rural sector in Turkey. It is also very important to ensure the selection and continuity of the breeds that are raised in order to increase quality and productive products related to sheep breeding. The protection of local breeds and crossbreds also enables the development of the sector in the region and the reduction of imports. In this study, the data were obtained from the records of the Turkish Statistical Institute and Antalya Sheep & Goat Breeders' Association. Spatial distribution of sheep breeds in Antalya is reviewed statistically in terms of concentration at the local level for 2015 period spatially. For this reason; mapping, box plot, linear regression are used in this study. Concentration is introduced by means of studbook data on sheep breeding as locals and total sheep farm by mapping. It is observed that Pırlak breed (17.5%) and Merinos crossbreed (16.3%) have the highest concentration in the region. These breeds are respectively followed by Akkaraman breed (11%), Pirlak crossbreed (8%), Merinos breed (7.9%) Akkaraman crossbreed (7.9%) and Ivesi breed (7.2%).

Keywords: Antalya, sheep breeds, spatial distribution, local.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1231
1413 Physicochemical and Microbiological Assessment of Source and Stored Domestic Water from Three Local Governments in Ile-Ife, Nigeria

Authors: Mary A. Bisi-Johnson, Kehinde A. Adediran, Saheed A. Akinola, Hamzat A. Oyelade

Abstract:

Some of the main problems man contends with are the quantity (source and amount) and quality of water in Nigeria. Scarcity leads to water being obtained from various sources and microbiological contamination of the water may thus occur between the collection point and the point of usage. This study thus aims to assess the general and microbiological quality of domestic water sources and household stored water used within selected areas in Ile-Ife, South-Western part of Nigeria for microbial contaminants.             Physicochemical and microbiological examination were carried out on 45 source and stored water samples collected from well and spring in three different local government areas i.e. Ife east, Ife-south and Ife-north. Physicochemical analysis included pH value, temperature, total dissolved solid, dissolved oxygen and biochemical oxygen demand. Microbiology involved most probable number analysis, total coliform, heterotrophic plate, faecal coliform and streptococcus count.

The result of the physicochemical analysis of samples showed anomalies compared to acceptable standards with the pH value of 7.20-8.60 for stored and 6.50-7.80 for source samples. The total dissolved solids (TDS of stored 20-70mg/L, source 352-691mg/L), dissolved oxygen (DO of stored 1.60-9.60mg/L, source 1.60-4.80mg/L), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD stored 0.80-3.60mg/L, source 0.60-5.40mg/L). General microbiological quality indicated that both stored and source samples with the exception of a sample were not within acceptable range as indicated by analysis of the MPN/100ml which ranges between (stored 290-1100mg/L, source 9-1100mg/L). Apart from high counts, most samples did not meet the World Health Organization standard for drinking water with the presence of some pathogenic bacteria and fungi such as Salmonella and Aspergillus spp. To annul these constraints, standard treatment methods should be adopted to make water free from contaminants. This will help identify common and likely water related infection origin within the communities and thus help guide in terms of interventions required to prevent the general populace from such infections.

Keywords: Domestic, microbiology, physicochemical, quality, water.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2714
1412 Evolutionary Program Based Approach for Manipulator Grasping Color Objects

Authors: Y. Harold Robinson, M. Rajaram, Honey Raju

Abstract:

Image segmentation and color identification is an important process used in various emerging fields like intelligent robotics. A method is proposed for the manipulator to grasp and place the color object into correct location. The existing methods such as PSO, has problems like accelerating the convergence speed and converging to a local minimum leading to sub optimal performance. To improve the performance, we are using watershed algorithm and for color identification, we are using EPSO. EPSO method is used to reduce the probability of being stuck in the local minimum. The proposed method offers the particles a more powerful global exploration capability. EPSO methods can determine the particles stuck in the local minimum and can also enhance learning speed as the particle movement will be faster.

Keywords: Color information, EPSO, hue, saturation, value (HSV), image segmentation, particle swarm optimization (PSO). Active Contour, GMM.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1581
1411 The Development and Future of Hong Kong Typography

Authors: Amic G. Ho

Abstract:

Language usage and typography in Hong Kong are unique, as can be seen clearly on the streets of the city. In contrast to many other parts of the world, where there is only one language, in Hong Kong many signs and billboards display two languages: Chinese and English. The language usage on signage, fonts and types used, and the designs in magazines and advertisements all demonstrate the unique features of Hong Kong typographic design, which reflect the multicultural nature of Hong Kong society. This study is the first step in investigating the nature and development of Hong Kong typography. The preliminary research explored how the historical development of Hong Kong is reflected in its unique typography. Following a review of historical development, a quantitative study was designed: Local Hong Kong participants were invited to provide input on what makes the Hong Kong typographic style unique. Their input was collected and analyzed. This provided us with information about the characteristic criteria and features of Hong Kong typography, as recognized by the local people. The most significant typographic designs in Hong Kong were then investigated and the influence of Chinese and other cultures on Hong Kong typography was assessed. The research results provide an indication to local designers on how they can strengthen local design outcomes and promote the values and culture of their mother town.

Keywords: Typography, Hong Kong, historical developments, multiple cultures.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1580
1410 Post Mining- Discovering Valid Rules from Different Sized Data Sources

Authors: R. Nedunchezhian, K. Anbumani

Abstract:

A big organization may have multiple branches spread across different locations. Processing of data from these branches becomes a huge task when innumerable transactions take place. Also, branches may be reluctant to forward their data for centralized processing but are ready to pass their association rules. Local mining may also generate a large amount of rules. Further, it is not practically possible for all local data sources to be of the same size. A model is proposed for discovering valid rules from different sized data sources where the valid rules are high weighted rules. These rules can be obtained from the high frequency rules generated from each of the data sources. A data source selection procedure is considered in order to efficiently synthesize rules. Support Equalization is another method proposed which focuses on eliminating low frequency rules at the local sites itself thus reducing the rules by a significant amount.

Keywords: Association rules, multiple data stores, synthesizing, valid rules.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1404
1409 Adaptive Climate Responsive Vernacular Construction in High Altitude

Authors: Ar. Amitava Sarkar

Abstract:

In the traditional architecture, buildings were designed to achieve human comfort by using locally available building materials and construction technology which were more responsive to their climatic and geographic condition. This paper will try to bring out the wisdom of the local masons and builders, often the inhabitants themselves, about their way of living, and shaping their built environment, indoor and outdoor spaces, as a response to the local climatic conditions, from the findings of a field settlement.

Keywords: Traditional architecture, High altitude, Climatic adaptation, Sustainable construction

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 6260
1408 Public Service Ethics in Public Administration: An Empirical Investigation

Authors: Kalsoom Sumra

Abstract:

The increasing concern of public sector reforms brings new challenges to public service ethics in developing countries not only at central level but also at local level. This paper aims to identify perceptions on public service ethics of public officials and examines more generally the understanding of public servants in Pakistan towards public service ethics in local public organizations. The study uses an independently administered structured questionnaire to collect data to know the extent of the recognition of public service ethics in local organizations. A total of 150 completed questionnaires are analyzed received from public servants working at the local level in Pakistan. The analysis explores how traditional, social patterns and cultural ethics can provide us with a rounded picture of the main antecedents, moderators of public service ethics in Pakistan. Moreover, the findings of this study contribute in association of public service ethics which are crucial in ongoing political and administrative culture of Pakistan, the most crucial core for public organizational ethical climate. This study also has numerous implications for local public administration and it highlights the importance of expanding research agenda on public service ethics in developing settings with challenging institutional contexts with imperfect training and operating environments. This study may well be particularly important for practice of public service ethics in developing countries in public administration. To the best of author’s knowledge, this study is the first of its kind to provide an initial step in practical implications to emphasize relevant public service ethics in public administration in developing transparent and accountable organization.

Keywords: Public service ethics, accountability and transparency, public service reforms, public administration, organizational ethical climate.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2413
1407 Ant System with Acoustic Communication

Authors: S. Bougrine, S. Ouchraa, B. Ahiod, A. A. El Imrani

Abstract:

Ant colony optimization is an ant algorithm framework that took inspiration from foraging behavior of ant colonies. Indeed, ACO algorithms use a chemical communication, represented by pheromone trails, to build good solutions. However, ants involve different communication channels to interact. Thus, this paper introduces the acoustic communication between ants while they are foraging. This process allows fine and local exploration of search space and permits optimal solution to be improved.

Keywords: Acoustic Communication, Ant Colony Optimization, Local Search, Traveling Salesman Problem.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2433
1406 Assessing Community Participation in Decision-Making Process under Co-Management: A Case Study on Hail Haor, Bangladesh

Authors: R. Ferdous

Abstract:

Power, responsibility sharing, and democratic decision-making are the central ethos to co-management. It is assumed that involving local community in the decision-making process can create a sense of ownership and responsibility of that community and motivate the community towards collective action. But this paper demonstrated that the process to involve local community is not simple and straightforward as it is influenced by structural aspects, power relations among the actors, and social embedded institutions. These factors shape the process in that way who will participate, how they will participate and how the local community maneuvers their agency in the decision-making process. To grasp the complexities that materialize in the process of participation and to understand the inclusionary and exclusionary nature of participation, this paper examines the subjective understanding of different stakeholders concerning participation and furthermore observes the enabling or constraining factors that affect the community to exercise their agency.

Keywords: Participation, social embeddedness, power, structure.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1689
1405 Community Based Tourism and Development in Third World Countries: The Case of the Bamileke Region of Cameroon

Authors: Ngono Mindzeng Terencia

Abstract:

Community based tourism, as a sustainable tourism approach, has been adopted as a tool for development among local communities in third world countries with income generation as the main driver. However, an analysis of community based tourism and development brings to light another driving force which is paramount to development strategies in the difficult conditions of third world countries: this driving force is “place revitalization”. This paper seeks to assess the relevance of “place revitalization” to the enhancement of development within the challenging context of developing countries. The research provides a community based tourism model to development in third world countries through a three step process based on awareness, mentoring and empowerment at the local level. It also tries to examine how effectively this model can address the development problems faced by the local communities of third world countries. The case study for this research is the Bamiléké region of Cameroon, the breeding ground of community based tourism initiatives and a region facing the difficulties of third world countries that are great impediments to community based tourism.

Keywords: Awareness, empowerment, local communities, mentoring, place revitalization, third world countries.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1092
1404 Learning Block Memories with Metric Networks

Authors: Mario Gonzalez, David Dominguez, Francisco B. Rodriguez

Abstract:

An attractor neural network on the small-world topology is studied. A learning pattern is presented to the network, then a stimulus carrying local information is applied to the neurons and the retrieval of block-like structure is investigated. A synaptic noise decreases the memory capability. The change of stability from local to global attractors is shown to depend on the long-range character of the network connectivity.

Keywords: Hebbian learning, image recognition, small world, spatial information.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1866
1403 Hardware Implementation of Local Binary Pattern Based Two-Bit Transform Motion Estimation

Authors: Seda Yavuz, Anıl Çelebi, Aysun Taşyapı Çelebi, Oğuzhan Urhan

Abstract:

Nowadays, demand for using real-time video transmission capable devices is ever-increasing. So, high resolution videos have made efficient video compression techniques an essential component for capturing and transmitting video data. Motion estimation has a critical role in encoding raw video. Hence, various motion estimation methods are introduced to efficiently compress the video. Low bit‑depth representation based motion estimation methods facilitate computation of matching criteria and thus, provide small hardware footprint. In this paper, a hardware implementation of a two-bit transformation based low-complexity motion estimation method using local binary pattern approach is proposed. Image frames are represented in two-bit depth instead of full-depth by making use of the local binary pattern as a binarization approach and the binarization part of the hardware architecture is explained in detail. Experimental results demonstrate the difference between the proposed hardware architecture and the architectures of well-known low-complexity motion estimation methods in terms of important aspects such as resource utilization, energy and power consumption.

Keywords: Binarization, hardware architecture, local binary pattern, motion estimation, two-bit transform.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1376