Search results for: Distance Training
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 1840

Search results for: Distance Training

340 Implementation of a New Neural Network Function Block to Programmable Logic Controllers Library Function

Authors: Hamid Abdi, Abolfazl Salami, Abolfazl Ahmadi

Abstract:

Programmable logic controllers are the main controllers in the today's industries; they are used for several applications in industrial control systems and there are lots of examples exist from the PLC applications in industries especially in big companies and plants such as refineries, power plants, petrochemical companies, steel companies, and food and production companies. In the PLCs there are some functions in the function library in software that can be used in PLC programs as basic program elements. The aim of this project are introducing and implementing a new function block of a neural network to the function library of PLC. This block can be applied for some control applications or nonlinear functions calculations after it has been trained for these applications. The implemented neural network is a Perceptron neural network with three layers, three input nodes and one output node. The block can be used in manual or automatic mode. In this paper the structure of the implemented function block, the parameters and the training method of the network are presented by considering the especial method of PLC programming and its complexities. Finally the application of the new block is compared with a classic simulated block and the results are presented.

Keywords: Programmable Logic Controller, PLC Programming, Neural Networks, Perception Network, Intelligent Control.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3772
339 Tom Stoppard: The Amorality of the Artist

Authors: Majeed Mohammed Midhin, Clare Finburgh

Abstract:

To maintain a healthy balanced loyalty, whether to art or society, posits a debatable issue. The artist is always on the look out for the potential tension between those two realms. Therefore, one of the most painful dilemmas the artist finds is how to function in a society without sacrificing the aesthetic values of his/her work. In other words, the life-long awareness of failure which derives from the concept of the artist as caught between unflattering social realities and the need to invent genuine art forms becomes a fertilizing soil for the artists to be tackled. Thus, within the framework of this dilemma, the question of the responsibility of the artist and the relationship of the art to politics will be illuminating. To a larger extent, however, in drama, this dilemma is represented by the fictional characters of the play. The present paper tackles the idea of the amorality of the artist in selected plays by Tom Stoppard. However, Stoppard’s awareness of his situation as a refugee has led him to keep at a distance from politics. He tried hard to avoid any intervention into the realms of political debate, especially in his earliest work. On the one hand, it is not meant that he did not interest in politics as such, but rather he preferred to question it than to create a fixed ideological position. On the other hand, Stoppard’s refusal to intervene in politics is ascribed to his feeling of gratitude to Britain where he settled. As a result, Stoppard has frequently been criticized for a lack of political engagement and also for not leaning too much for the left when he does engage. His reaction to these public criticisms finds expression in his self-conscious statements which defensively stressed the artifice of his work. He, like Oscar Wilde thinks that the responsibility of the artist is devoted to the realm of his/her art. Consequently, his consciousness for the role of the artist is truly reflected in his two plays, Artist Descending a Staircase (1972) and Travesties (1974).

Keywords: Amorality, responsibility, politics, ideology.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1681
338 Importance of Mobile Technology in Successful Adoption and Sustainability of a Chronic Disease Support System

Authors: Reza Ariaeinejad, Norm Archer

Abstract:

Self-management is becoming a new emphasis for healthcare systems around the world. But there are many different problems with adoption of new health-related intervention systems. The situation is even more complicated for chronically ill patients with disabilities, illiteracy, and impairment in judgment in addition to their conditions, or having multiple co-morbidities. Providing online decision support to manage patient health and to provide better support for chronically ill patients is a new way of dealing with chronic disease management. In this study, the importance of mobile technology through an m-Health system that supports self-management interventions including the care provider, family and social support, education and training, decision support, recreation, and ongoing patient motivation to promote adherence and sustainability of the intervention are discussed. A proposed theoretical model for adoption and sustainability of system use is developed, based on UTAUT2 and IS Continuance of Use models, both of which have been pre-validated through longitudinal studies. The objective of this paper is to show the importance of using mobile technology in adoption and sustainability of use of an m-Health system which will result in commercially sustainable self-management support for chronically ill patients.

Keywords: M-health, e-health, self-management, disease.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2759
337 Thai Perception on Litecoin Value

Authors: Toby Gibbs, Suwaree Yordchim

Abstract:

This research analyzes factors affecting the success of Litecoin Value within Thailand and develops a guideline for selfreliance for effective business implementation. Samples in this study included 119 people through surveys. The results revealed four main factors affecting the success as follows: 1) Future Career training should be pursued in applied Litecoin development. 2) Didn't grasp the concept of a digital currency or see the benefit of a digital currency. 3) There is a great need to educate the next generation of learners on the benefits of Litecoin within the community. 4) A great majority didn't know what Litecoin was. The guideline for self-reliance planning consisted of 4 aspects: 1) Development planning: by arranging meet up groups to conduct further education on Litecoin and share solutions on adoption into every day usage. Local communities need to develop awareness of the usefulness of Litecoin and share the value of Litecoin among friends and family. 2) Computer Science and Business Management staff should develop skills to expand on the benefits of Litecoin within their departments. 3) Further research should be pursued on how Litecoin Value can improve business and tourism within Thailand. 4) Local communities should focus on developing Litecoin awareness by encouraging street vendors to accept Litecoin as another form of payment for services rendered.

Keywords: Litecoin, Mining, Confirmations.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2760
336 A Perceptually Optimized Foveation Based Wavelet Embedded Zero Tree Image Coding

Authors: A. Bajit, M. Nahid, A. Tamtaoui, E. H. Bouyakhf

Abstract:

In this paper, we propose a Perceptually Optimized Foveation based Embedded ZeroTree Image Coder (POEFIC) that introduces a perceptual weighting to wavelet coefficients prior to control SPIHT encoding algorithm in order to reach a targeted bit rate with a perceptual quality improvement with respect to a given bit rate a fixation point which determines the region of interest ROI. The paper also, introduces a new objective quality metric based on a Psychovisual model that integrates the properties of the HVS that plays an important role in our POEFIC quality assessment. Our POEFIC coder is based on a vision model that incorporates various masking effects of human visual system HVS perception. Thus, our coder weights the wavelet coefficients based on that model and attempts to increase the perceptual quality for a given bit rate and observation distance. The perceptual weights for all wavelet subbands are computed based on 1) foveation masking to remove or reduce considerable high frequencies from peripheral regions 2) luminance and Contrast masking, 3) the contrast sensitivity function CSF to achieve the perceptual decomposition weighting. The new perceptually optimized codec has the same complexity as the original SPIHT techniques. However, the experiments results show that our coder demonstrates very good performance in terms of quality measurement.

Keywords: DWT, linear-phase 9/7 filter, Foveation Filtering, CSF implementation approaches, 9/7 Wavelet JND Thresholds and Wavelet Error Sensitivity WES, Luminance and Contrast masking, standard SPIHT, Objective Quality Measure, Probability Score PS.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1769
335 The Capacity of Mel Frequency Cepstral Coefficients for Speech Recognition

Authors: Fawaz S. Al-Anzi, Dia AbuZeina

Abstract:

Speech recognition is of an important contribution in promoting new technologies in human computer interaction. Today, there is a growing need to employ speech technology in daily life and business activities. However, speech recognition is a challenging task that requires different stages before obtaining the desired output. Among automatic speech recognition (ASR) components is the feature extraction process, which parameterizes the speech signal to produce the corresponding feature vectors. Feature extraction process aims at approximating the linguistic content that is conveyed by the input speech signal. In speech processing field, there are several methods to extract speech features, however, Mel Frequency Cepstral Coefficients (MFCC) is the popular technique. It has been long observed that the MFCC is dominantly used in the well-known recognizers such as the Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) Sphinx and the Markov Model Toolkit (HTK). Hence, this paper focuses on the MFCC method as the standard choice to identify the different speech segments in order to obtain the language phonemes for further training and decoding steps. Due to MFCC good performance, the previous studies show that the MFCC dominates the Arabic ASR research. In this paper, we demonstrate MFCC as well as the intermediate steps that are performed to get these coefficients using the HTK toolkit.

Keywords: Speech recognition, acoustic features, Mel Frequency Cepstral Coefficients.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1936
334 Fault Classification of Double Circuit Transmission Line Using Artificial Neural Network

Authors: Anamika Jain, A. S. Thoke, R. N. Patel

Abstract:

This paper addresses the problems encountered by conventional distance relays when protecting double-circuit transmission lines. The problems arise principally as a result of the mutual coupling between the two circuits under different fault conditions; this mutual coupling is highly nonlinear in nature. An adaptive protection scheme is proposed for such lines based on application of artificial neural network (ANN). ANN has the ability to classify the nonlinear relationship between measured signals by identifying different patterns of the associated signals. One of the key points of the present work is that only current signals measured at local end have been used to detect and classify the faults in the double circuit transmission line with double end infeed. The adaptive protection scheme is tested under a specific fault type, but varying fault location, fault resistance, fault inception angle and with remote end infeed. An improved performance is experienced once the neural network is trained adequately, which performs precisely when faced with different system parameters and conditions. The entire test results clearly show that the fault is detected and classified within a quarter cycle; thus the proposed adaptive protection technique is well suited for double circuit transmission line fault detection & classification. Results of performance studies show that the proposed neural network-based module can improve the performance of conventional fault selection algorithms.

Keywords: Double circuit transmission line, Fault detection and classification, High impedance fault and Artificial Neural Network.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3148
333 Impact of Vehicle Travel Characteristics on Level of Service: A Comparative Analysis of Rural and Urban Freeways

Authors: Anwaar Ahmed, Muhammad Bilal Khurshid, Samuel Labi

Abstract:

The effect of trucks on the level of service is determined by considering passenger car equivalents (PCE) of trucks. The current version of Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) uses a single PCE value for all tucks combined. However, the composition of truck traffic varies from location to location; therefore, a single PCE value for all trucks may not correctly represent the impact of truck traffic at specific locations. Consequently, present study developed separate PCE values for single-unit and combination trucks to replace the single value provided in the HCM on different freeways. Site specific PCE values, were developed using concept of spatial lagging headways (that is the distance between rear bumpers of two vehicles in a traffic stream) measured from field traffic data. The study used data from four locations on a single urban freeway and three different rural freeways in Indiana. Three-stage-leastsquares (3SLS) regression techniques were used to generate models that predicted lagging headways for passenger cars, single unit trucks (SUT), and combination trucks (CT). The estimated PCE values for single-unit and combination truck for basic urban freeways (level terrain) were: 1.35 and 1.60, respectively. For rural freeways the estimated PCE values for single-unit and combination truck were: 1.30 and 1.45, respectively. As expected, traffic variables such as vehicle flow rates and speed have significant impacts on vehicle headways. Study results revealed that the use of separate PCE values for different truck classes can have significant influence on the LOS estimation.

Keywords: Level of Service, Capacity Analysis, Lagging Headway.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2059
332 Extraction of Symbolic Rules from Artificial Neural Networks

Authors: S. M. Kamruzzaman, Md. Monirul Islam

Abstract:

Although backpropagation ANNs generally predict better than decision trees do for pattern classification problems, they are often regarded as black boxes, i.e., their predictions cannot be explained as those of decision trees. In many applications, it is desirable to extract knowledge from trained ANNs for the users to gain a better understanding of how the networks solve the problems. A new rule extraction algorithm, called rule extraction from artificial neural networks (REANN) is proposed and implemented to extract symbolic rules from ANNs. A standard three-layer feedforward ANN is the basis of the algorithm. A four-phase training algorithm is proposed for backpropagation learning. Explicitness of the extracted rules is supported by comparing them to the symbolic rules generated by other methods. Extracted rules are comparable with other methods in terms of number of rules, average number of conditions for a rule, and predictive accuracy. Extensive experimental studies on several benchmarks classification problems, such as breast cancer, iris, diabetes, and season classification problems, demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach with good generalization ability.

Keywords: Backpropagation, clustering algorithm, constructivealgorithm, continuous activation function, pruning algorithm, ruleextraction algorithm, symbolic rules.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1588
331 Learning through Shared Procedures -A Case of Using Technology to Bridge the Gap between Theory and Practice in Officer Education

Authors: O. Boe, S-T. Kristiansen, R. Wold

Abstract:

In this article we explore how computer assisted exercises may allow for bridging the traditional gap between theory and practice in professional education. To educate officers able to master the complexity of the battlefield the Norwegian Military Academy needs to develop a learning environment that allows for creating viable connections between the educational environment and the field of practice. In response to this challenge we explore the conditions necessary to make computer assisted training systems (CATS) a useful tool to create structural similarities between an educational context and the field of military practice. Although, CATS may facilitate work procedures close to real life situations, this case do demonstrate how professional competence also must build on viable learning theories and environments. This paper explores the conditions that allow for using simulators to facilitate professional competence from within an educational setting. We develop a generic didactic model that ascribes learning to participation in iterative cycles of action and reflection. The development of this model is motivated by the need to develop an interdisciplinary professional education rooted in the pattern of military practice.

Keywords: Development in higher education, experiential learning, professional education, simulation.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1162
330 Thai Perception on Bitcoin Value

Authors: Toby Gibbs, Suwaree Yordchim

Abstract:

This research analyzes factors affecting the success of Bitcoin Value within Thailand and develops a guideline for self-reliance for effective business implementation. Samples in this study included 121 people through surveys. The results revealed four main factors affecting the success as follows: 1) A great majority didn't know what Bitcoin was. 2) Didn't grasp the concept of a digital currency or see the benefit of a digital currency. 3) There is a great need to educate the next generation of learners on the benefits of Bitcoin within the community. 4) Future Career training should be pursued in applied Bitcoin development.

The guideline for self-reliance planning consisted of 4 aspects: 1) Local communities need to develop awareness of the usefulness of Bitcoin and share the value of Bitcoin among friends and family. 2) Computer Science and Business Management staff should develop skills to expand on the benefits of Bitcoin within their departments. 3) Further research should be pursued on how Bitcoin Value can improve business and tourism within Thailand. Local communities should focus on developing Bitcoin awareness by encouraging street vendors to accept Bitcoin as another form of payment for services rendered. 4) Development planning: by arranging meet up groups to conduct further education on Bitcoin and share solutions on adoption into every day usage.

Keywords: Bitcoin, Cryptocurrency, Decentralized.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2552
329 An Agri-food Supply Chain Model for Cultivating the Capabilities of Farmers Accessing Market Using Corporate Social Responsibility Program

Authors: W. Sutopo, M. Hisjam, Yuniaristanto

Abstract:

In general, small-scale vegetables farmers experience problems in improving the safety and quality of vegetables supplied to high-class consumers in modern retailers. They also lack of information to access market. The farmers group and/or cooperative (FGC) should be able to assist its members by providing training in handling and packing vegetables and enhancing marketing capabilities to sell commodities to the modern retailers. This study proposes an agri-food supply chain (ASC) model that involves the corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities to cultivate the capabilities of farmers to access market. Multi period ASC model is formulated as Weighted Goal Programming (WGP) to analyze the impacts of CSR programs to empower the FGCs in managing the small-scale vegetables farmers. The results show that the proposed model can be used to determine the priority of programs in order to maximize the four goals to be achieved in the CSR programs.

Keywords: agri-food supply chain, corporate social responsibility, small-scale vegetables farmers, weighted goal programming.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1646
328 Central Finite Volume Methods Applied in Relativistic Magnetohydrodynamics: Applications in Disks and Jets

Authors: Raphael de Oliveira Garcia, Samuel Rocha de Oliveira

Abstract:

We have developed a new computer program in Fortran 90, in order to obtain numerical solutions of a system of Relativistic Magnetohydrodynamics partial differential equations with predetermined gravitation (GRMHD), capable of simulating the formation of relativistic jets from the accretion disk of matter up to his ejection. Initially we carried out a study on numerical methods of unidimensional Finite Volume, namely Lax-Friedrichs, Lax-Wendroff, Nessyahu-Tadmor method and Godunov methods dependent on Riemann problems, applied to equations Euler in order to verify their main features and make comparisons among those methods. It was then implemented the method of Finite Volume Centered of Nessyahu-Tadmor, a numerical schemes that has a formulation free and without dimensional separation of Riemann problem solvers, even in two or more spatial dimensions, at this point, already applied in equations GRMHD. Finally, the Nessyahu-Tadmor method was possible to obtain stable numerical solutions - without spurious oscillations or excessive dissipation - from the magnetized accretion disk process in rotation with respect to a central black hole (BH) Schwarzschild and immersed in a magnetosphere, for the ejection of matter in the form of jet over a distance of fourteen times the radius of the BH, a record in terms of astrophysical simulation of this kind. Also in our simulations, we managed to get substructures jets. A great advantage obtained was that, with the our code, we got simulate GRMHD equations in a simple personal computer.

Keywords: Finite Volume Methods, Central Schemes, Fortran 90, Relativistic Astrophysics, Jet.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2286
327 Pesticides Use in Rural Settings in Romania

Authors: Anca E. Gurzau, Alexandru Coman, Eugen S. Gurzau, Marinela Penes, Daniela Dumitrescu, DorinMarchean, Ioan Chera

Abstract:

The environment pollution with pesticides and heavy metals is a recognized problem nowadays, with extension to the global scale the tendency of amplification. Even with all the progress in the environmental field, both in the emphasize of the effect of the pollutants upon health, the linked studies environment-health are insufficient, not only in Romania but all over the world also. We aim to describe the particular situation in Romania regarding the uncontrolled use of pesticides, to identify and evaluate the risk zones for health and the environment in Romania, with the final goal of designing adequate programs for reduction and control of the risk sources. An exploratory study was conducted to determine the magnitude of the pesticide use problem in a population living in Saliste, a rural setting in Transylvania, Romania. The significant stakeholders in Saliste region were interviewed and a sample from the population living in Saliste area was selected to fill in a designed questionnaire. All the selected participants declared that they used pesticides in their activities for more than one purpose. They declared they annually applied pesticides for a period of time between 11 and 30 years, from 5 to 9 days per year on average, mainly on crops situated at some distance from the houses but high risk behavior was identified as the volunteers declared the use of pesticides in the backyard gardens, near their homes, where children were playing. The pesticide applicators did not have the necessary knowledge about safety and exposure. The health data must be correlated with exposure biomarkers in attempt to identify the possible health effects of the pesticides exposure. Future plans include educational campaigns to raise the awareness of the population on the danger of uncontrolled use of pesticides.

Keywords: Pesticides, health effects, Romania, Saliste.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1788
326 Transient Stability Assessment Using Fuzzy SVM and Modified Preventive Control

Authors: B. Dora Arul Selvi, .N. Kamaraj

Abstract:

Transient Stability is an important issue in power systems planning, operation and extension. The objective of transient stability analysis problem is not satisfied with mere transient instability detection or evaluation and it is most important to complement it by defining fast and efficient control measures in order to ensure system security. This paper presents a new Fuzzy Support Vector Machines (FSVM) to investigate the stability status of power systems and a modified generation rescheduling scheme to bring back the identified unstable cases to a more economical and stable operating point. FSVM improves the traditional SVM (Support Vector Machines) by adding fuzzy membership to each training sample to indicate the degree of membership of this sample to different classes. The preventive control based on economic generator rescheduling avoids the instability of the power systems with minimum change in operating cost under disturbed conditions. Numerical results on the New England 39 bus test system show the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Keywords: Fuzzy Support Vector Machine (FSVM), Incremental Cost, Preventive Control, Transient stability

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1457
325 Performance of Neural Networks vs. Radial Basis Functions When Forming a Metamodel for Residential Buildings

Authors: Philip Symonds, Jon Taylor, Zaid Chalabi, Michael Davies

Abstract:

Average temperatures worldwide are expected to continue to rise. At the same time, major cities in developing countries are becoming increasingly populated and polluted. Governments are tasked with the problem of overheating and air quality in residential buildings. This paper presents the development of a model, which is able to estimate the occupant exposure to extreme temperatures and high air pollution within domestic buildings. Building physics simulations were performed using the EnergyPlus building physics software. An accurate metamodel is then formed by randomly sampling building input parameters and training on the outputs of EnergyPlus simulations. Metamodels are used to vastly reduce the amount of computation time required when performing optimisation and sensitivity analyses. Neural Networks (NNs) have been compared to a Radial Basis Function (RBF) algorithm when forming a metamodel. These techniques were implemented using the PyBrain and scikit-learn python libraries, respectively. NNs are shown to perform around 15% better than RBFs when estimating overheating and air pollution metrics modelled by EnergyPlus.

Keywords: Neural Networks, Radial Basis Functions, Metamodelling, Python machine learning libraries.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2078
324 Development and Usability Assessment of a Connected Resistance Exercise Band Application for Strength-Monitoring

Authors: J. A. Batsis, G. G. Boateng, L. M. Seo, C. L. Petersen, K. L. Fortuna, E. V. Wechsler, R. J. Peterson, S. B. Cook, D. Pidgeon, R. S. Dokko, R. J. Halter, D. F. Kotz

Abstract:

Resistance exercise bands are a core component of any physical activity strengthening program. Strength training can mitigate the development of sarcopenia, the loss of muscle mass or strength and function with aging. Yet, the adherence of such behavioral exercise strategies in a home-based setting are fraught with issues of monitoring and compliance. Our group developed a Bluetooth-enabled resistance exercise band capable of transmitting data to an open-source platform. In this work, we developed an application to capture this information in real-time, and conducted three usability studies in two mixed-aged groups of participants (n=6 each) and a group of older adults with obesity participating in a weight-loss intervention (n=20). The system was favorable, acceptable and provided iterative information that could assist in future deployment on ubiquitous platforms. Our formative work provides the foundation to deliver home-based monitoring interventions in a high-risk, older adult population.

Keywords: Application, mHealth, older adult, resistance exercise band, sarcopenia.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 723
323 Exploring Influence Range of Tainan City Using Electronic Toll Collection Big Data

Authors: Chen Chou, Feng-Tyan Lin

Abstract:

Big Data has been attracted a lot of attentions in many fields for analyzing research issues based on a large number of maternal data. Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) is one of Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) applications in Taiwan, used to record starting point, end point, distance and travel time of vehicle on the national freeway. This study, taking advantage of ETC big data, combined with urban planning theory, attempts to explore various phenomena of inter-city transportation activities. ETC, one of government's open data, is numerous, complete and quick-update. One may recall that living area has been delimited with location, population, area and subjective consciousness. However, these factors cannot appropriately reflect what people’s movement path is in daily life. In this study, the concept of "Living Area" is replaced by "Influence Range" to show dynamic and variation with time and purposes of activities. This study uses data mining with Python and Excel, and visualizes the number of trips with GIS to explore influence range of Tainan city and the purpose of trips, and discuss living area delimited in current. It dialogues between the concepts of "Central Place Theory" and "Living Area", presents the new point of view, integrates the application of big data, urban planning and transportation. The finding will be valuable for resource allocation and land apportionment of spatial planning.

Keywords: Big Data, ITS, influence range, living area, central place theory, visualization.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 944
322 Bayesian Network Model for Students- Laboratory Work Performance Assessment: An Empirical Investigation of the Optimal Construction Approach

Authors: Ifeyinwa E. Achumba, Djamel Azzi, Rinat Khusainov

Abstract:

There are three approaches to complete Bayesian Network (BN) model construction: total expert-centred, total datacentred, and semi data-centred. These three approaches constitute the basis of the empirical investigation undertaken and reported in this paper. The objective is to determine, amongst these three approaches, which is the optimal approach for the construction of a BN-based model for the performance assessment of students- laboratory work in a virtual electronic laboratory environment. BN models were constructed using all three approaches, with respect to the focus domain, and compared using a set of optimality criteria. In addition, the impact of the size and source of the training, on the performance of total data-centred and semi data-centred models was investigated. The results of the investigation provide additional insight for BN model constructors and contribute to literature providing supportive evidence for the conceptual feasibility and efficiency of structure and parameter learning from data. In addition, the results highlight other interesting themes.

Keywords: Bayesian networks, model construction, parameterlearning, structure learning, performance index, model comparison.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1698
321 Educational Data Mining: The Case of Department of Mathematics and Computing in the Period 2009-2018

Authors: M. Sitoe, O. Zacarias

Abstract:

University education is influenced by several factors that range from the adoption of strategies to strengthen the whole process to the academic performance improvement of the students themselves. This work uses data mining techniques to develop a predictive model to identify students with a tendency to evasion and retention. To this end, a database of real students’ data from the Department of University Admission (DAU) and the Department of Mathematics and Informatics (DMI) was used. The data comprised 388 undergraduate students admitted in the years 2009 to 2014. The Weka tool was used for model building, using three different techniques, namely: K-nearest neighbor, random forest, and logistic regression. To allow for training on multiple train-test splits, a cross-validation approach was employed with a varying number of folds. To reduce bias variance and improve the performance of the models, ensemble methods of Bagging and Stacking were used. After comparing the results obtained by the three classifiers, Logistic Regression using Bagging with seven folds obtained the best performance, showing results above 90% in all evaluated metrics: accuracy, rate of true positives, and precision. Retention is the most common tendency.

Keywords: Evasion and retention, cross validation, bagging, stacking.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 67
320 A Study on the Leadership Behavior, Safety Culture, and Safety Performance of the Healthcare Industry

Authors: Cheng-Chia Yang , Yi-Shun Wang , Sue-Ting Chang, Suh-Er Guo, Mei-Fen Huang

Abstract:

Object: Review recent publications of patient safety culture to investigate the relationship between leadership behavior, safety culture, and safety performance in the healthcare industry. Method: This study is a cross-sectional study, 350 questionnaires were mailed to hospital workers with 195 valid responses obtained, and a 55.7% valid response rate. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was carried out to test the factor structure and determine if the composite reliability was significant with a factor loading of >0.5, resulting in an acceptable model fit. Results: Through the analysis of One-way ANOVA, the results showed that physicians significantly have more negative patient safety culture perceptions and safety performance perceptions than non- physicians. Conclusions: The path analysis results show that leadership behavior affects safety culture and safety performance in the health care industry. Safety performance was affected and improved with contingency leadership and a positive patient safety organization culture. The study suggests improving safety performance by providing a well-managed system that includes: consideration of leadership, hospital worker training courses, and a solid safety reporting system.

Keywords: Leadership Behavior, Patient Safety, Safety Culture, Safety Performance

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3933
319 Assessing the Effect of the Position of the Cavities on the Inner Plate of the Steel Shear Wall under Time History Dynamic Analysis

Authors: Masoud Mahdavi, Mojtaba Farzaneh Moghadam

Abstract:

The seismic forces caused by the waves created in the depths of the earth during the earthquake hit the structure and cause the building to vibrate. Creating large seismic forces will cause low-strength sections in the structure to suffer extensive surface damage. The use of new steel shear walls in steel structures has caused the strength of the building and its main members (columns) to increase due to the reduction and depreciation of seismic forces during earthquakes. In the present study, an attempt was made to evaluate a type of steel shear wall that has regular holes in the inner sheet by modeling the finite element model with Abacus software. The shear wall of the steel plate, measuring 6000 × 3000 mm (one floor) and 3 mm thickness, was modeled with four different pores with a cross-sectional area. The shear wall was dynamically subjected to a time history of 5 seconds by three accelerators, El Centro, Imperial Valley and Kobe. The results showed that increasing the distance between the geometric center of the hole and the geometric center of the inner plate in the steel shear wall (increasing the RCS index) caused the total maximum acceleration to be transferred from the perimeter of the hole to horizontal and vertical beams. The results also show that there is no direct relationship between RCS index and total acceleration in steel shear wall and RCS index is separate from the peak ground acceleration value of earthquake.

Keywords: Hollow Steel plate shear wall, time history analysis, finite element method, Abaqus Software.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 533
318 Repair and Maintenance Capability and Facilities Availability for MF 285 Tractor Operators in North of Khouzestan Province

Authors: Fatemeh Afsharnia, Mohammad Amin Asoodar, Abbas Abdeshahi, Afshin Marzban

Abstract:

A repairable mechanical system (as agricultural tractor) is subject to deterioration or repeated failure and needs a repair shops and also operator’s capability for the repair and maintenance operations. Data are based on field visits and interviews with 48MF 285 tractor operators from 14 villages collected in north of Khouzestan province. The results showed that most operators were lack the technical skill to service and repair tractors due to insufficient training, specific education and work experience. Inadequate repair and maintenance facilities, such as workshops, mechanics and spare parts depots cause delays in repair work in the survey areas. Farmers do not keep accurate service records and most of them disregard proper maintenance and service of their tractors, such as changing engine oil without following the manufacturer’s recommendations. Since, Repair and maintenance facilities should be established in village areas to guarantee timely repair in case of breakdowns and to make spare parts available at low price. The operators should keep service records accurately and adhere to maintenance and service schedules according to the manufacturer’s instructions. They should also be encouraged to do the service and maintain their tractors properly.

Keywords: Operators’ capability, Facilities availability, Repair and maintenance, MF 285 tractors.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1808
317 Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System for Financial Trading using Intraday Seasonality Observation Model

Authors: A. Kablan

Abstract:

The prediction of financial time series is a very complicated process. If the efficient market hypothesis holds, then the predictability of most financial time series would be a rather controversial issue, due to the fact that the current price contains already all available information in the market. This paper extends the Adaptive Neuro Fuzzy Inference System for High Frequency Trading which is an expert system that is capable of using fuzzy reasoning combined with the pattern recognition capability of neural networks to be used in financial forecasting and trading in high frequency. However, in order to eliminate unnecessary input in the training phase a new event based volatility model was proposed. Taking volatility and the scaling laws of financial time series into consideration has brought about the development of the Intraday Seasonality Observation Model. This new model allows the observation of specific events and seasonalities in data and subsequently removes any unnecessary data. This new event based volatility model provides the ANFIS system with more accurate input and has increased the overall performance of the system.

Keywords: Adaptive Neuro-fuzzy Inference system, High Frequency Trading, Intraday Seasonality Observation Model.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3365
316 Role of Technological Innovation in Improving Manufacturing Performance: A Review

Authors: Davinder Singh, Jaimal Singh Khamba, Tarun Nanda

Abstract:

MSMEs are regarded as the sunrise sector of the Indian economy in view of its large potential for growth and likely socio economic impact specifically on employment and income generation. In today’s competitive business environment, global competition forces companies to continuously seek ways of improving their products and services. The pressure on organizations to adapt to new technologies and external threats requires resourcefulness, creativity and innovation. Market has become more open, competitive and customers more demanding. Without continuous technology innovation, no organization can ever remain competitive. Innovations reflect a critical way in which organizations respond to either technological or market challenges. The need of the market is to deliver high quality products through continuous changing in features in product, improve existing products, reduce their cost, and improve employee skills, training, technology infrastructure and financial policies. Therefore, the key factor of organization’s ability to change is innovation. The study presents a detailed review of literature on the role of technology innovation in improving manufacturing performance of industries.

Keywords: Competitive, Manufacturing performance, MSMEs, Technological Innovation.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2867
315 Fiber-Based 3D Cellular Reinforcing Structures for Mineral-Bonded Composites with Enhanced Structural Impact Tolerance

Authors: Duy M. P. Vo, Cornelia Sennewald, Gerald Hoffmann, Chokri Cherif

Abstract:

The development of solutions to improve the resistance of buildings to short-term dynamic loads, particularly impact load, is driven by the urgent demand worldwide on securing human life and critical infrastructures. The research training group GRK 2250/1 aims to develop mineral-bonded composites that allow the fabrication of thin-layered strengthening layers providing available concrete members with enhanced impact resistance. This paper presents the development of 3D woven wire cellular structures that can be used as innovative reinforcement for targeted composites. 3D woven wire cellular structures are truss-like architectures that can be fabricated in an automatized process with a great customization possibility. The specific architecture allows this kind of structures to have good load bearing capability and forming behavior, which is of great potential to give strength against impact loading. An appropriate combination of topology and material enables an optimal use of thin-layered reinforcement in concrete constructions.

Keywords: 3D woven cellular structures, ductile behavior, energy absorption, fiber-based reinforced concrete, impact resistant.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 663
314 Laser Registration and Supervisory Control of neuroArm Robotic Surgical System

Authors: Hamidreza Hoshyarmanesh, Hosein Madieh, Sanju Lama, Yaser Maddahi, Garnette R. Sutherland, Kourosh Zareinia

Abstract:

This paper illustrates the concept of an algorithm to register specified markers on the neuroArm surgical manipulators, an image-guided MR-compatible tele-operated robot for microsurgery and stereotaxy. Two range-finding algorithms, namely time-of-flight and phase-shift, are evaluated for registration and supervisory control. The time-of-flight approach is implemented in a semi-field experiment to determine the precise position of a tiny retro-reflective moving object. The moving object simulates a surgical tool tip. The tool is a target that would be connected to the neuroArm end-effector during surgery inside the magnet bore of the MR imaging system. In order to apply flight approach, a 905-nm pulsed laser diode and an avalanche photodiode are utilized as the transmitter and receiver, respectively. For the experiment, a high frequency time to digital converter was designed using a field-programmable gate arrays. In the phase-shift approach, a continuous green laser beam with a wavelength of 530 nm was used as the transmitter. Results showed that a positioning error of 0.1 mm occurred when the scanner-target point distance was set in the range of 2.5 to 3 meters. The effectiveness of this non-contact approach exhibited that the method could be employed as an alternative for conventional mechanical registration arm. Furthermore, the approach is not limited by physical contact and extension of joint angles.

Keywords: 3D laser scanner, intraoperative MR imaging, neuroArm, real time registration, robot-assisted surgery, supervisory control.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1022
313 Knowledge Transfer in Industrial Clusters

Authors: Ana Paula Lisboa Sohn, Filipa Dionísio Vieria, Nelson Casarotto, Idaulo José Cunha

Abstract:

This paper aims at identifying and analyzing the knowledge transmission channels in textile and clothing clusters located in Brazil and in Europe. Primary data was obtained through interviews with key individuals. The collection of primary data was carried out based on a questionnaire with ten categories of indicators of knowledge transmission. Secondary data was also collected through a literature review and through international organizations sites. Similarities related to the use of the main transmission channels of knowledge are observed in all cases. The main similarities are: influence of suppliers of machinery, equipment and raw materials; imitation of products and best practices; training promoted by technical institutions and businesses; and cluster companies being open to acquire new knowledge. The main differences lie in the relationship between companies, where in Europe the intensity of this relationship is bigger when compared to Brazil. The differences also occur in importance and frequency of the relationship with the government, with the cultural environment, and with the activities of research and development. It is also found factors that reduce the importance of geographical proximity in transmission of knowledge, and in generating trust and the establishment of collaborative behavior.

Keywords: Industrial clusters, interorganizational learning, knowledge transmission channels, textile and clothing industry.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2058
312 Parkinsons Disease Classification using Neural Network and Feature Selection

Authors: Anchana Khemphila, Veera Boonjing

Abstract:

In this study, the Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP)with Back-Propagation learning algorithm are used to classify to effective diagnosis Parkinsons disease(PD).It-s a challenging problem for medical community.Typically characterized by tremor, PD occurs due to the loss of dopamine in the brains thalamic region that results in involuntary or oscillatory movement in the body. A feature selection algorithm along with biomedical test values to diagnose Parkinson disease.Clinical diagnosis is done mostly by doctor-s expertise and experience.But still cases are reported of wrong diagnosis and treatment. Patients are asked to take number of tests for diagnosis.In many cases,not all the tests contribute towards effective diagnosis of a disease.Our work is to classify the presence of Parkinson disease with reduced number of attributes.Original,22 attributes are involved in classify.We use Information Gain to determine the attributes which reduced the number of attributes which is need to be taken from patients.The Artificial neural networks is used to classify the diagnosis of patients.Twenty-Two attributes are reduced to sixteen attributes.The accuracy is in training data set is 82.051% and in the validation data set is 83.333%.

Keywords: Data mining, classification, Parkinson disease, artificial neural networks, feature selection, information gain.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3737
311 Numerical Investigation of Nozzle Shape Effect on Shock Wave in Natural Gas Processing

Authors: Esam I. Jassim, Mohamed M. Awad

Abstract:

Natural gas flow contains undesirable solid particles, liquid condensation, and/or oil droplets and requires reliable removing equipment to perform filtration. Recent natural gas processing applications are demanded compactness and reliability of process equipment. Since conventional means are sophisticated in design, poor in efficiency, and continue lacking robust, a supersonic nozzle has been introduced as an alternative means to meet such demands. A 3-D Convergent-Divergent Nozzle is simulated using commercial Code for pressure ratio (NPR) varies from 1.2 to 2. Six different shapes of nozzle are numerically examined to illustrate the position of shock-wave as such spot could be considered as a benchmark of particle separation. Rectangle, triangle, circular, elliptical, pentagon, and hexagon nozzles are simulated using Fluent Code with all have same cross-sectional area. The simple one-dimensional inviscid theory does not describe the actual features of fluid flow precisely as it ignores the impact of nozzle configuration on the flow properties. CFD Simulation results, however, show that nozzle geometry influences the flow structures including location of shock wave. The CFD analysis predicts shock appearance when p01/pa>1.2 for almost all geometry and locates at the lower area ratio (Ae/At). Simulation results showed that shock wave in Elliptical nozzle has the farthest distance from the throat among the others at relatively small NPR. As NPR increases, hexagon would be the farthest. The numerical result is compared with available experimental data and has shown good agreement in terms of shock location and flow structure.

Keywords: CFD, Particle Separation, Shock wave, Supersonic Nozzle.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3220