Search results for: Alternative waste technology (AWT)

Authors: B. Behera, M. K. Mishra

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Typically thermal power plants are located near to surface coal mines that produce huge amount of fly ash as a waste byproduct. Disposal of fly ash causes significant economic and environmental problems. Now-a-days, research is going on for bulk utilization of fly ash. In order to increase its percentage utilization, an investigation was carried out to evaluate its potential for haul road construction. This paper presents the laboratory California bearing ratio (CBR) tests and evaluates the effect of lime on CBR behavior of fly ash - mine overburden mixes. Tests were performed with different percentages of lime (2%, 3%, 6%, and 9%). The results show that the increase in bearing ratio of fly ash-overburden mixes was achieved by lime treatment. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses were conducted on 28 days cured specimens. The SEM study showed that the bearing ratio development is related to the microstructural development.

Keywords: California bearing ratio, Fly ash, Mine overburden, Lime.

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Authors: B. Rebekka, B. Malarkodi

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This paper describes an approach to detect the transmitted signals for 2×2 Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) setup using roulette wheel based ant colony optimization technique. The results obtained are compared with classical zero forcing and least mean square techniques. The detection rates achieved using this technique are consistently larger than the one achieved using classical methods for 50 number of attempts with two different antennas transmitting the input stream from a user. This paves the path to use alternative techniques to improve the throughput achieved in advanced networks like Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks.

Keywords: MIMO, ant colony optimization, roulette wheel, soft computing, LTE.

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Authors: E. Kaygan, A. Gatto

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A numerical study of a design concept for actively controlling wing twist is described in this paper. The concept consists of morphing elements which were designed to provide a rigid and seamless skin while maintaining structural rigidity. The wing structure is first modeled in CATIA V5 then imported into ANSYS for structural analysis. Athena Vortex Lattice method (AVL) is used to estimate aerodynamic response as well as aerodynamic loads of morphing wings, afterwards a structural optimization performed via ANSYS Static. Overall, the results presented in this paper show that the concept provides efficient wing twist while preserving an aerodynamically smooth and compliant surface. Sufficient structural rigidity in bending is also obtained. This concept is suggested as a possible alternative for morphing skin applications. 

Keywords: Aircraft, morphing, skin, twist.

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Authors: C. A. Roberts, J. G. Andrae, S. R. Smith, M. H. Poore, C. A. Young, D. W. Hancock, G. J. Pent

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To the author’s best knowledge, there are no published reports of effective methods for teaching fescue toxicosis and grass endophyte technology in the USA. To address this need, a group of university scientists, industry representatives, government agents, and livestock producers formed an organization called the Alliance for Grassland Renewal. One goal of the Alliance was to develop a teaching method that could be employed across all regions in the USA and all sectors of the agricultural community. The first step in developing this method was identification of experts who were familiar with the science and management of fescue toxicosis. The second step was curriculum development. Experts wrote a curriculum that addressed all aspects of toxicosis and management, including toxicology, animal nutrition, pasture management, economics, and mycology. The curriculum was created for presentation in lectures, laboratories, and in the field. The curriculum was in that it could be delivered across state lines, regardless of peculiar, in-state recommendations. The curriculum was also unique as it was unanimously supported by private companies otherwise in competition with each other. The final step in developing this teaching method was formulating a delivery plan. All experts, including university, industry, government, and production, volunteered to travel from any state in the USA, converge in one location, teach a 1-day workshop, then travel to the next location. The results of this teaching method indicate widespread success. Since 2012, experts across the entire USA have converged to teach Alliance workshops in Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Kentucky, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia, with ongoing workshops in Arkansas and Tennessee. Data from post-workshop surveys indicate that instruction has been effective, as at least 50% of the participants stated their intention to adopt the endophyte technology presented in these workshops. The teaching method developed by the Alliance for Grassland Renewal has proved to be effective, and the Alliance continues to expand across the USA.

Keywords: Endophyte, Epichloë coenophiala, ergot alkaloids, fescue toxicosis, tall fescue.

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Authors: Ilyas Khan. Liliane Pintelon, Harry Martin, Michael Shömig

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The increasing costs of healthcare on one hand, and the rise in aging population and associated chronic disease, on the other hand, are putting increasing burden on the current health care system in many Western countries. For instance, chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a common disease and in Europe, the cost of renal replacement therapy (RRT) is very significant to the total health care cost. However, the recent advancement in healthcare technology, provide the opportunity to treat patients at home in their own comfort. It is evident that home healthcare offers numerous advantages apparently, low costs and high patients’ quality of life. Despite these advantages, the intake of home hemodialysis (HHD) therapy is still low in particular in Germany. Many factors are accounted for the low number of HHD intake. However, this paper is focusing on patients’ safety-related factors of current HHD practices in Germany. The aim of this paper is to analyze the current HHD practices in Germany and to identify risks related factors if any exist. A case study has been conducted in a dialysis center which consists of four dialysis centers in the south of Germany. In total, these dialysis centers have 350 chronic dialysis patients, of which, four patients are on HHD. The centers have 126 staff which includes six nephrologists and 120 other staff i.e. nurses and administration. The results of the study revealed several risk-related factors. Most importantly, these centers do not offer allied health services at the pre-dialysis stage, the HHD training did not have an established curriculum; however, they have just recently developed the first version. Only a soft copy of the machine manual is offered to patients. Surprisingly, the management was not aware of any standard available for home assessment and installation. The home assessment is done by a third party (i.e. the machines and equipment provider) and they may not consider the hygienic quality of the patient’s home. The type of machine provided to patients at home is similar to the one in the center. The model may not be suitable at home because of its size and complexity. Even though portable hemodialysis machines, which are specially designed for home use, are available in the market such as the NxStage series. Besides the type of machine, no assistance is offered for space management at home in particular for placing the machine. Moreover, the centers do not offer remote assistance to patients and their carer at home. However, telephonic assistance is available. Furthermore, no alternative is offered if a carer is not available. In addition, the centers are lacking medical staff including nephrologists and renal nurses.

Keywords: Home hemodialysis, home hemodialysis practices, patients’ related risks in the current home hemodialysis practices, patient safety in home hemodialysis.

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Authors: Wookuen Shin, Gregory R. Miller, Pedro Arduino, Peter Mackenzie-Helnwein

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This paper presents strategies for dynamically creating, managing and removing mesh cells during computations in the context of the Material Point Method (MPM). The dynamic meshing approach has been developed to help address problems involving motion of a finite size body in unbounded domains in which the extent of material travel and deformation is unknown a priori, such as in the case of landslides and debris flows. The key idea is to efficiently instantiate and search only cells that contain material points, thereby avoiding unneeded storage and computation. Mechanisms for doing this efficiently are presented, and example problems are used to demonstrate the effectiveness of dynamic mesh management relative to alternative approaches.

Keywords: Numerical Analysis, Material Point Method, Large Deformations, Moving Boundaries.

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Authors: María Jesús Luengo-Valderrey, Mónica Moso-Díez

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In the knowledge-based economy, innovation is considered essential in order to achieve survival and growth in organizations. On the other hand, knowledge management is currently understood as one of the keys to innovation process. Both factors are generally admitted as generators of competitive advantage in organizations. Specifically, activities on R&D&I and those that generate internal knowledge have a positive influence in innovation results. This paper examines this effect and if it is similar or not is what we aimed to quantify in this paper. We focus on the impact that proportion of knowledge workers, the R&D&I investment, the amounts destined for ICTs and training for innovation have on the variation of tangible and intangibles returns for the sector of high and medium technology in Spain. To do this, we have performed an empirical analysis on the results of questionnaires about innovation in enterprises in Spain, collected by the National Statistics Institute. First, using clusters methodology, the behavior of these enterprises regarding knowledge management is identified. Then, using SEM methodology, we performed, for each cluster, the study about cause-effect relationships among constructs defined through variables, setting its type and quantification. The cluster analysis results in four groups in which cluster number 1 and 3 presents the best performance in innovation with differentiating nuances among them, while clusters 2 and 4 obtained divergent results to a similar innovative effort. However, the results of SEM analysis for each cluster show that, in all cases, knowledge workers are those that affect innovation performance most, regardless of the level of investment, and that there is a strong correlation between knowledge workers and investment in knowledge generation. The main findings reached is that Spanish high and medium technology companies improve their innovation performance investing in internal knowledge generation measures, specially, in terms of R&D activities, and underinvest in external ones. This, and the strong correlation between knowledge workers and the set of activities that promote the knowledge generation, should be taken into account by managers of companies, when making decisions about their investments for innovation, since they are key for improving their opportunities in the global market.

Keywords: High and medium technology sector, innovation, knowledge management, Spanish companies.

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Authors: Mohammed A. Almomani, Dina W. Al-Qudah

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Product performance depends on the type and quality of its building material. Successful product must be made using high quality material, and using the right methods. Many foot problems took place as a result of using poor insole material. Therefore, selecting a proper insole material is crucial to eliminate these problems. In this study, the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) is used to provide a systematic procedure for choosing the best material adequate for this application among three material alternatives (polyurethane, poron, and plastzote). Several comparison criteria are used to build the AHP model including: density, stiffness, durability, energy absorption, and ease of fabrication. Poron was selected as the best choice. Inconsistency testing indicates that the model is reasonable, and the materials alternative ranking is effective.

Keywords: Materials selection, biomedical insole, footwear insole, AHP.

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Authors: Mushfiqul Alam, Kashyapa Narenathreyas

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The demand for efficient transonic transport has been growing every day and may turn out to be the most pressed innovation in coming years. Oblique wing configuration was proposed as an alternative to conventional wing configuration for supersonic and transonic passenger aircraft due to its aerodynamic advantages. This paper re-demonstrates the aerodynamic advantages of oblique wing configuration using open source CFD code. The aerodynamic data were generated using Panel Method. Results show that Oblique Wing concept with elliptical wing planform offers a significant reduction in drag at transonic and supersonic speeds and approximately twice the lift distribution compared to conventional operating aircrafts. The paper also presents a preliminary conceptual aircraft sizing which can be used for further experimental analysis.

Keywords: Aerodynamics, asymmetric sweep, oblique wing, swing wing.

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Authors: M. Nassereddine, J. Rizk, M. Nagrial

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Green house effect has becomes a serious concern in many countries due to the increase consumption of the fossil fuel. There have been many studies to find an alternative power source. Wind energy found to be one of the most useful solutions to help in overcoming the air pollution and global. There is no agreed solution to conversion of wind energy to electrical energy. In this paper, the advantages of using a Switched Reluctance Generator (SRG) for wind energy applications. The theoretical study of the self excitation of a SRG and the determination of the variable parameters in a SRG design are discussed. The design parameters for the maximum power output of the SRG are computed using Matlab simulation. The designs of the circuit to control the variable parameters in a SRG to provide the maximum power output are also discussed.

Keywords: Switched Reluctance Generator, Wind Power, Electrical Machines.

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Authors: T. Häfele, J. Kaspar, M. Vielhaber, W. Calles, J. Griebsch

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The demand for an increasing diversification of the product spectrum associated with the current huge customization desire and subsequently the decreasing unit quantities of each production lot is gaining more and more importance within a great variety of industrial branches, e.g. automotive industry. Nevertheless, traditional product development and production processes (molding, extrusion) are already reaching their limits or fail to address these trends of a flexible and digitized production in view of a product variability up to lot size one. Thus, upcoming innovative production concepts like the additive manufacturing technology basically create new opportunities with regard to extensive potentials in product development (constructive optimization) and manufacturing (economic individualization), but mostly suffer from insufficient strength regarding structural components. Therefore, this contribution presents an innovative technological and procedural conception of a hybrid additive manufacturing process (fiber-reinforced sandwich structures based on selective laser sintering technology) to overcome these current structural weaknesses, and consequently support the design of complex lightweight components.

Keywords: Additive manufacturing, fiber-reinforced plastics, hybrid design, lightweight design.

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Authors: Afzeri, A.G.E Sujtipto, R. Muhida, M. Konneh, Darmawan

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Increasing the demand for effectively use of the production facility requires the tools for sharing the manufacturing facility through remote operation of the machining process. This research introduces the methodology of machining technology for direct remote operation of networked milling machine. The integrated tools with virtual simulation, remote desktop protocol and Setup Free Attachment for remote operation of milling process are proposed. Accessing and monitoring of machining operation is performed by remote desktop interface and 3D virtual simulations. Capability of remote operation is supported by an auto setup attachment with a reconfigurable pin type setup free technology installed on the table of CNC milling machine to perform unattended machining process. The system is designed using a computer server and connected to a PC based controlled CNC machine for real time monitoring. A client will access the server through internet communication and virtually simulate the machine activity. The result has been presented that combination between real time virtual simulation and remote desktop tool is enabling to operate all machine tool functions and as well as workpiece setup..

Keywords: Remote Desktop, PC Based CNC, Remote Machining.

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Authors: Priyadarsini P.L.K, Hemalatha T.

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In the Top Right Access point Minimum Length Corridor (TRA-MLC) problem [1], a rectangular boundary partitioned into rectilinear polygons is given and the problem is to find a corridor of least total length and it must include the top right corner of the outer rectangular boundary. A corridor is a tree containing a set of line segments lying along the outer rectangular boundary and/or on the boundary of the rectilinear polygons. The corridor must contain at least one point from the boundaries of the outer rectangle and also the rectilinear polygons. Gutierrez and Gonzalez [1] proved that the MLC problem, along with some of its restricted versions and variants, are NP-complete. In this paper, we give a shorter proof of NP-Completeness of TRA-MLC by findig the reduction in the following way.

Keywords: NP-complete, 2-connected planar graph, Grid embedding of a plane graph.

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Authors: Yoji Yamato

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In this paper, we propose an automatic verification technology of software patches for user virtual environments on IaaS Cloud to decrease verification costs of patches. In these days, IaaS services have been spread and many users can customize virtual machines on IaaS Cloud like their own private servers. Regarding to software patches of OS or middleware installed on virtual machines, users need to adopt and verify these patches by themselves. This task increases operation costs of users. Our proposed method replicates user virtual environments, extracts verification test cases for user virtual environments from test case DB, distributes patches to virtual machines on replicated environments and conducts those test cases automatically on replicated environments. We have implemented the proposed method on OpenStack using Jenkins and confirmed the feasibility. Using the implementation, we confirmed the effectiveness of test case creation efforts by our proposed idea of 2-tier abstraction of software functions and test cases. We also evaluated the automatic verification performance of environment replications, test cases extractions and test cases conductions.

Keywords: OpenStack, Cloud Computing, Automatic verification, Jenkins.

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Authors: Widi Astuti, Rizki Agus Hermawan, Hariono Mukti, Nurul Retno Sugiyono

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The removal of lead ion (Pb²⁺) from aqueous solution by activated carbon with phosphoric acid activation employing mangrove propagule as precursor was investigated in a batch adsorption system. Batch studies were carried out to address various experimental parameters including pH and contact time. The Langmuir and Freundlich models were able to describe the adsorption equilibrium, while the pseudo first order and pseudo second order models were used to describe kinetic process of Pb²⁺ adsorption. The results show that the adsorption data are seen in accordance with Langmuir isotherm model and pseudo-second order kinetic model.

Keywords: Activated carbon, adsorption, equilibrium, kinetic, Pb2+, mangrove propagule.

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Authors: Suguru Yoshioka, Seiichi Tani, Seinosuke Toda

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In historical science and social science, the influence of natural disaster upon society is a matter of great interest. In recent years, some archives are made through many hands for natural disasters, however it is inefficiency and waste. So, we suppose a computer system to create a historical natural disaster archive. As the target of this analysis, we consider newspaper articles. The news articles are considered to be typical examples that prescribe the temporal relations of affairs for natural disaster. In order to do this analysis, we identify the occurrences in newspaper articles by some index entries, considering the affairs which are specific to natural disasters, and show the temporal relation between natural disasters. We designed and implemented the automatic system of “extraction of the occurrences of natural disaster" and “temporal relation table for natural disaster."

Keywords: Database, digital library, corpus, historical natural disaster, temporal relation

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Authors: Rasmus Engholm, Eva B. Vedel Jensen, Henrik Karstoft

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In this paper we present a noise reduction filter for video processing. It is based on the recently proposed two dimensional steering kernel, extended to three dimensions and further augmented to suit the spatial-temporal domain of video processing. Two alternative filters are proposed - the time symmetric kernel and the time asymmetric kernel. The first reduces the noise on single sequences, but to handle the problems at scene shift the asymmetric kernel is introduced. The performance of both are tested on simulated data and on a real video sequence together with the existing steering kernel. The proposed kernels improves the Rooted Mean Squared Error (RMSE) compared to the original steering kernel method on video material.

Keywords: Adaptive image filtering, noise reduction, kernel methods, video processing.

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Authors: Mohammad Syuhaimi Ab-Rahman, Mohd. Saiful Dzulkefly Zan, Mohd Taufiq Mohd Yusof

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With the drastically growth in optical communication technology, a lossless, low-crosstalk and multifunction optical switch is most desirable for large-scale photonic network. To realize such a switch, we have introduced the new architecture of optical switch that embedded many functions on single device. The asymmetrical architecture of OXADM consists of 3 parts; selective port, add/drop operation, and path routing. Selective port permits only the interest wavelength pass through and acts as a filter. While add and drop function can be implemented in second part of OXADM architecture. The signals can then be re-routed to any output port or/and perform an accumulation function which multiplex all signals onto single path and then exit to any interest output port. This will be done by path routing operation. The unique features offered by OXADM has extended its application to Fiber to-the Home Technology (FTTH), here the OXADM is used as a wavelength management element in Optical Line Terminal (OLT). Each port is assigned specifically with the operating wavelengths and with the dynamic routing management to ensure no traffic combustion occurs in OLT.

Keywords: OXADM, asymmetrical architecture, optical switch, OLT, FTTH.

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Authors: Gregor Radonjič, Aleksandra P. Korda, Damijan Krajnc

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The aim of the study was to investigate whether there is the promotion of product ecodesign measures as a result of adopting ISO 14001 certification in manufacturing companies in the Republic of Slovenia. Companies gave the most of their product development attention to waste and energy reduction during manufacturing process and reduction of material consumption per unit of product. Regarding the importance of different ecodesign criteria reduction of material consumption per unit of product was reported as the most important criterion. Less attention is paid to endof- life issues considering recycling or packaging. Most manufacturing enterprises considered ISO 14001 standard as a very useful tool or at least a useful tool helping them to accelerate and establish product ecodesign activities. Two most frequently considered ecodesign drivers are increased competitive advantage and legal requirements and two most important barriers are high development costs and insufficient market demand.

Keywords: ecodesign, environmental management system, ISO 14001, products

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Authors: A. V. Varfolomeeva, N. S. Tkachenko, A. G. Tishchenko

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In this study, we addressed the problem of weak validity, implausible results, and inaccurate reporting in psychological research on different species. The theoretical basis of the study was the systems-evolutionary approach (SEA). We assumed that the root of the problem is the values and attitudes of the researchers (in particular anthropomorphism and anthropocentrism). The first aim of the study was the formulation of a research design that avoids this problem. Based on a literature review, we concluded that such design, amongst other things, should include methodics with playful components. The second aim was to conduct a series of studies on the differences in the formation of instrumental skill in rats raised and housed in different environments. As a result, we revealed that there are contradictions between some of the statements of SEA, so that it is not possible to choose one of the alternative hypotheses. We suggested that in order to get out of this problem, it is necessary to modify these provisions by aligning them with the attitude of multicentrism.

Keywords: epistemological attitudes, experimental design, validity, psychological structure, learning

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Authors: G. Meyer, M. Klewer, P. Nyhuis

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Constantly changing economic conditions require companies to design their production to be more economical, innovative, and flexible. Since workers have a decisive influence on cost, time, and quality, e.g. by monitoring indicators that determine quality, by developing processes more resistant to disturbances, or by monitoring environmental standards, a focus on personnel as a production factor is needed. This presupposes the efficient use and systematic enhancement of employees’ existing competences since greater consideration of these aspects in work planning will help to enhance competitiveness. The aim of the research project ‘Integrated Technology- and Competence-based Work Planning in Socio-Technical Systems’ is to develop a new work planning method that combines technology with work science by incorporating employees’ skills as a quality indicator. For employee competences to increase competitiveness, it is first of all necessary to assess how competences affect cost, time, and quality. A model for deriving predictions about the effects of competence-based parameters on these strategic business objectives is developed in this paper.

Keywords: Competence management, education and training, employee competences, one-factor-at-a-time method, work planning.

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Authors: Mohammad Songolzadeh, Maryam Takht Ravanchi, Mansooreh Soleimani

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CO2 is the primary anthropogenic greenhouse gas, accounting for 77% of the human contribution to the greenhouse effect in 2004. In the recent years, global concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere is increasing rapidly. CO2 emissions have an impact on global climate change. Anthropogenic CO2 is emitted primarily from fossil fuel combustion. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is one option for reducing CO2 emissions. There are three major approaches for CCS: post-combustion capture, pre-combustion capture and oxyfuel process. Post-combustion capture offers some advantages as existing combustion technologies can still be used without radical changes on them. There are several post combustion gas separation and capture technologies being investigated, namely; (a) absorption, (b) cryogenic separation, (c) membrane separation (d) micro algal biofixation and (e) adsorption. Apart from establishing new techniques, the exploration of capture materials with high separation performance and low capital cost are paramount importance. However, the application of adsorption from either technology, require easily regenerable and durable adsorbents with a high CO2 adsorption capacity. It has recently been reported that the cost of the CO2 capture can be reduced by using this technology. In this paper, the research progress (from experimental results) in adsorbents for CO2 adsorption, storage, and separations were reviewed and future research directions were suggested as well.

Keywords: Carbon capture and storage, pre-combustion, postcombustion, adsorption

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Authors: Rosa Nurtazina, Yerkebulan Zhumashov, Maral Tomanova

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Humanity is entering an era when "virtual reality" as the image of the world created by the media with the help of the Internet does not match the reality in many respects, when new communication technologies create a fundamentally different and previously unknown "global space". According to these technologies, the state begins to change the basic technology of political communication of the state and society, the state and the state. Nowadays image of the state becomes the most important tool and technology.

Image is a purposefully created image granting political object (person, organization, country, etc.) certain social and political values and promoting more emotional perception.

Political image of the state plays an important role in international relations. The success of the country's foreign policy, development of trade and economic relations with other countries depends on whether it is positive or negative. Foreign policy image has an impact on political processes taking place in the state: the negative image of the country's can be used by opposition forces as one of the arguments to criticize the government and its policies.

Keywords: Image of the country, country's image classification, function of the country image, country's image components.

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Authors: Derya Eren Akyol, Gonca Tuncel, G. Mirac Bayhan

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Activity-Based Costing (ABC) represents an alternative paradigm to traditional cost accounting system and it often provides more accurate cost information for decision making such as product pricing, product mix, and make-orbuy decisions. ABC models the causal relationships between products and the resources used in their production and traces the cost of products according to the activities through the use of appropriate cost drivers. In this paper, the implementation of the ABC in a manufacturing system is analyzed and a comparison with the traditional cost based system in terms of the effects on the product costs are carried out to highlight the difference between two costing methodologies. By using this methodology, a valuable insight into the factors that cause the cost is provided, helping to better manage the activities of the company.

Keywords: Activity-based costing, manufacturing systems, product costs, traditional costing.

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Authors: Perumal, V., Hassan, H., Bolong, J., Osman, M. N.

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Film, as an art form playing a vital role and is a powerful tool in documenting, influencing and shaping the society. Films are the collective creation of a large number of separate individuals, each contributing with creative input, unique talents, and technical expertise to the project. Recently, the Malaysian Independent (or “Indie") filmmakers have made their presence felt by winning awards at various international film festivals. Working in the digital video (DV) format, a number of independent filmmakers really hit their stride with a range of remarkably strong titles and international recognition has been quick in coming and their works are now regularly in exhibition or in competition, winning many top prizes at prestigious festivals around the world. The interaction factors among crewmembers are emphasized as imperative for group success. An in-depth interview is conducted to analyze the social interactions and exchanges between filmmakers through Social Exchanges Theory (SET). Certainly the new millennium that was marked as the digital technology revolution has changed the face of filmmaking in Malaysia. There is a clear need to study the Malaysian independent cinema especially from the perspective of understanding what causes the independent filmmakers to work so well given all of the difficulties and constraints.

Keywords: Digital filmmaking, technology, interaction, crewmembers, cinema, independent filmmaker.

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Authors: Sultan Alotaibi, Dmitri Roussinov

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Many governments recently started to change the ways of providing their services by allowing their citizens to access services from anywhere without the need of visiting the location of the service provider. Mobile government (M-government) is one of the techniques that fulfill that goal. It has been adopted by many governments. M-government can be defined as an implementation of Electronic Government (E-Government) by using mobile technology with the aim of improving service delivery to citizens, businesses and all government agencies. There have been several research projects developing models to understand the behavior of individuals towards the adoption of m-government. This paper proposes a model for adoption of m-government services in Saudi Arabia by extending Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) by introducing external factors. This paper also reports on the development of a survey instrument designed to measure user perception of mobile government acceptance. A survey instrument has been developed by using existing scales from prior instruments and a pilot study has been conducted by distributing the survey to 33 participants. As a result, a survey instrument has been refined to retain 43 items. The results also showed that the reliabilities of all the scales in the survey instrument are above the levels acceptable in current academic research, thus the instruments developed by us are capable of analyzing the factors in M-government adoption.

Keywords: TAM, m-government, e-government, model, acceptance.

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Authors: R. Abdulrahman, A. Eardley, A. Soliman

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The proliferation in the development of mobile learning (m-learning) has played a vital role in the rapidly growing electronic learning market. This relatively new technology can help to encourage the development of in learning and to aid knowledge transfer a number of areas, by familiarizing students with innovative information and communications technologies (ICT). M-learning plays a substantial role in the deployment of learning methods for nursing students by using the Internet and portable devices to access learning resources ‘anytime and anywhere’. However, acceptance of m-learning by students is critical to the successful use of m-learning systems. Thus, there is a need to study the factors that influence student’s intention to use m-learning. This paper addresses this issue. It outlines the outcomes of a study that evaluates the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) model as applied to the subject of user acceptance in relation to m-learning activity in nurse education. The model integrates the significant components across eight prominent user acceptance models. Therefore, a standard measure is introduced with core determinants of user behavioural intention. The research model extends the UTAUT in the context of m-learning acceptance by modifying and adding individual innovativeness (II) and quality of service (QoS) to the original structure of UTAUT. The paper goes on to add the factors of previous experience (of using mobile devices in similar applications) and the nursing students’ readiness (to use the technology) to influence their behavioural intentions to use m-learning. This study uses a technique called ‘convenience sampling’ which involves student volunteers as participants in order to collect numerical data. A quantitative method of data collection was selected and involves an online survey using a questionnaire form. This form contains 33 questions to measure the six constructs, using a 5-point Likert scale. A total of 42 respondents participated, all from the Nursing Institute at the Armed Forces Hospital in Saudi Arabia. The gathered data were then tested using a research model that employs the structural equation modelling (SEM), including confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The results of the CFA show that the UTAUT model has the ability to predict student behavioural intention and to adapt m-learning activity to the specific learning activities. It also demonstrates satisfactory, dependable and valid scales of the model constructs. This suggests further analysis to confirm the model as a valuable instrument in order to evaluate the user acceptance of m-learning activity.

Keywords: Mobile learning, nursing institute, unified theory of acceptance and use of technology model.

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Authors: M. M. Shabani, O. J. Nydal, R. Larsen

Abstract:

Gas hydrates can agglomerate and block multiphase oil and gas pipelines when water is present at hydrate forming conditions. Using "Cold Flow Technology", the aim is to condition gas hydrates so that they can be transported as a slurry mixture without a risk of agglomeration. During the pipeline shut down however, hydrate particles may settle in bends and build hydrate plugs. An experimental setup has been designed and constructed to study the flow of such plugs at start up operations. Experiments have been performed using model fluid and model hydrate particles. The propagations of initial plugs in a bend were recorded with impedance probes along the pipe. The experimental results show a dispersion of the plug front. A peak in pressure drop was also recorded when the plugs were passing the bend. The evolutions of the plugs have been simulated by numerical integration of the incompressible mass balance equations, with an imposed mixture velocity. The slip between particles and carrier fluid has been calculated using a drag relation together with a particle-fluid force balance.

Keywords: Cold Flow Technology, Gas Hydrate Plug Flow Experiments, One Dimensional Incompressible Two Fluid Model, Slurry Flow in Inclined Pipes and Bends, Transient Slurry Flow.

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Authors: S.C. Chin, N. Shafiq, M.F. Nuruddin

Abstract:

In the modern construction practices, industrial wastes or by-products are largely used as raw materials in cement and concrete. These impart many benefits to the environment and bringabout an economic impact because the cost of waste disposal is constantly increasing due to strict environmental regulations. It was reported in literature that the leakage of oil onto concrete element in older cement grinding unit resulted in concrete with greater resistance to freezing and thawing. This effect was thought to be similar to adding an air-entraining chemical admixture to concrete. This paper presents an investigation on the load deflection behaviour and crack patterns of reinforced concrete (RC) beams subjected to four point loading. Ten 120x260x1900 mm beams were cast with 100% ordinary Portland cement (OPC) concrete, 20% fly ash (FA) and 20% rice husk ash (RHA) blended cement concrete. 0.15% dosage of admixtures (used engine oil, new engine oil, and superplasticizer) was used throughout the experiment. Results show that OPC and OPC/RHA RC beams containing used engine oil and superplasticizer exhibit higher capacity, 18-26% than their corresponding control mix.

Keywords: by-products, RC beams, superplasticizer, used engine oil

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Authors: Farbod Behnaminia, Saeed Samet

Abstract:

The COVID-19 pandemic has paralyzed many lives until a vaccine has been available, which caused the so-called "new normal". COVID-19 is an infectious disease. It can cause significant illness or death in anyone. Governments and health officials tried to impose rules and regulations to avoid and slow down transmission. Therefore, software engineers worldwide developed applications to trace and track patients’ movements and notify others, mainly using Bluetooth. In this way, everyone could be informed whether they came in close contact with someone who has COVID-19 and take proper safety precautions. Because most of the applications use technologies that can potentially reveal the user’s identity and location, researchers have debated privacy preservation and how to improve user privacy during such pandemics. We conducted a comprehensive evaluation of the literature by looking for papers in the relevant field and dividing them into pre- and post-pandemic systems. Additionally, we discussed the many uses of blockchain technology in pandemic control. We found that two major obstacles facing blockchain implementation across many healthcare systems are scalability and privacy. The Polkadot platform is presented, along with a review of its efficacy in tackling current concerns. A more scalable healthcare system is achievable in near future using Polkadot as well as a much more privacy-preserving environment.

Keywords: Blockchain, Electronic Record Management, EHR, Privacy-Preserving, patient tracking, COVID-19, trust and confidence, Polkadot.

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