Search results for: economic effects
2526 Improved Skin Detection Using Colour Space and Texture
Authors: Medjram Sofiane, Babahenini Mohamed Chaouki, Mohamed Benali Yamina
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Skin detection is an important task for computer vision systems. A good method of skin detection means a good and successful result of the system. The colour is a good descriptor for image segmentation and classification; it allows detecting skin colour in the images. The lighting changes and the objects that have a colour similar than skin colour make the operation of skin detection difficult. In this paper, we proposed a method using the YCbCr colour space for skin detection and lighting effects elimination, then we use the information of texture to eliminate the false regions detected by the YCbCr skin model.
Keywords: Skin detection, YCbCr, GLCM, Texture, Human skin.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 24562525 Understanding Health Behavior Using Social Network Analysis
Authors: Namrata Mishra
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Health of a person plays a vital role in the collective health of his community and hence the well-being of the society as a whole. But, in today’s fast paced technology driven world, health issues are increasingly being associated with human behaviors – their lifestyle. Social networks have tremendous impact on the health behavior of individuals. Many researchers have used social network analysis to understand human behavior that implicates their social and economic environments. It would be interesting to use a similar analysis to understand human behaviors that have health implications. This paper focuses on concepts of those behavioural analyses that have health implications using social networks analysis and provides possible algorithmic approaches. The results of these approaches can be used by the governing authorities for rolling out health plans, benefits and take preventive measures, while the pharmaceutical companies can target specific markets, helping health insurance companies to better model their insurance plans.Keywords: Health behaviors, social network analysis, directed graph, breadth first search.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 19142524 Dielectric Properties of MWCNT-Muscovite/Epoxy Hybrid Composites
Authors: Nur Suraya Anis Ahmad Bakhtiar, Hazizan Md Akil
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In the present work, the dielectric properties of Epoxy/MWCNT-muscovite HYBRID and MIXED composites based on a ratio 30:70 were studied. The multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) were prepared using two methods: (a) MWCNTmuscovite hybrids were synthesised by chemical vapour deposition (CVD) and (b) physically mixing muscovite with MWCNT. The effects of different preparation of the composites and filler loading were evaluated. It was revealed that the dielectric constants of HYBRID epoxy composites are slightly higher than MIXED epoxy composites. It was also indicated that the dielectric constant increased by increasing the MWCNT filler loading.
Keywords: MWCNT-Muscovite, Epoxy, Dielectric Properties, Hybrid Composite.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 22862523 A Framework and Case Study for Sustainable Development of Urban Areas
Authors: Yasaman Zeinali, Farid Khosravikia
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This paper presents a multi-objective framework for sustainable urban development. The proposed framework aims to address different aspects of sustainability in urban development planning. These aspects include, but are not limited to education, health, job opportunities, architecture, culture, environment, mobility, energy, water, waste, and so on. Then, the proposed framework is applied to the Brackenridge Tract (an area in downtown Austin, Texas), to redevelop that area in a sustainable way. The detail of the implementation process is presented in this paper. The ultimate goal of this paper is to develop a sustainable area in downtown Austin with ensuring that it locally meets the needs of present and future generations with respect to economic, social, environmental, health as well as cultural aspects. Moreover, it helps the city with the population growth problem by accommodating more people in that area.
Keywords: Environmental impacts of human activities, sustainability, urban planning.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 12692522 Hydrodynamic Simulation of Fixed Bed GTL Reactor Using CFD
Authors: Sh. Shahhosseini, S. Alinia, M. Irani
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In this work, axisymetric CFD simulation of fixed bed GTL reactor has been conducted, using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). In fixed bed CFD modeling, when N (tube-to-particle diameter ratio) has a large value, it is common to consider the packed bed as a porous media. Synthesis gas (a mixture of predominantly carbon monoxide and hydrogen) was fed to the reactor. The reactor length was 20 cm, divided to three sections. The porous zone was in the middle section of the reactor. The model equations were solved employing finite volume method. The effects of particle diameter, bed voidage, fluid velocity and bed length on pressure drop have been investigated. Simulation results showed these parameters could have remarkable impacts on the reactor pressure drop.Keywords: GTL Process, Fixed bed reactor, Pressure drop, CFDsimulation.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 23762521 The International Labor Standard on the Elimination of Discrimination in Employment: Response and Prospect of Malaysia
Authors: Harlida Abdul Wahab
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Discrimination in employment has its wider social and economic consequences other than mere violating a basic human right. Discrimination involves treating people differently because of certain grounds such as race, color, or sex, which results in the impairment of equality of opportunity and treatment. As an essential part of promoting decent work, combating discrimination through the principle of non-discrimination has been established by the International Labor Organization (ILO) through the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work 1998. Considering elimination of discrimination in employment as a core labor standard, member states are expected to respect, promote and implement it to their national laws and policies. Being a member state, Malaysia has to position herself align with this international requirement. The author discusses the related convention together with Malaysia-s responses on the matter. At the closing stage, the prospect of Malaysia is presumed taking into account of the current positions and reports submitted to the ILO.Keywords: Discrimination, employment, international labor standard, Malaysia.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 18772520 A Look at the Gezi Park Protests through the Lens of Media
Authors: Süleyman Hakan Yılmaz, Yasemin Gülşen Yılmaz
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The Gezi Park protests of 2013 have significantly changed the Turkish agenda and its effects have been felt historically. The protests, which rapidly spread throughout the country, were triggered by the proposal to recreate the Ottoman Army Barracks to function as a shopping mall on Gezi Park located in Istanbul’s Taksim neighbourhood despite the oppositions of several NGOs and when trees were cut in the park for this purpose. Once the news that the construction vehicles entered the park on May 27 spread on social media, activists moved into the park to stop the demolition, against whom the police used disproportioned force. With this police intervention and the then prime-minister Tayyip Erdoğan's insistent statements about the construction plans, the protests turned into anti- government demonstrations, which then spread to the rest of the country, mainly in big cities like Ankara and Izmir. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ June 23rd reports, 2.5 million people joined the demonstrations in 79 provinces, that is all of them, except for the provinces of Bayburt and Bingöl, while even more people shared their opinions via social networks. As a result of these events, 8 civilians and 2 security personnel lost their lives, namely police chief Mustafa Sarı, police officer Ahmet Küçükdağ, citizens Mehmet Ayvalıtaş, Abdullah Cömert, Ethem Sarısülük, Ali İsmail Korkmaz, Ahmet Atakan, Berkin Elvan, Burak Can Karamanoğlu, Mehmet İstif, and Elif Çermik, and 8163 more were injured. Besides being a turning point in Turkish history, the Gezi Park protests also had broad repercussions in both in Turkish and in global media, which focused on Turkey throughout the events. Our study conducts content analysis of three Turkish reporting newspapers with varying ideological standpoints, Hürriyet, Cumhuriyet ve Yeni Şafak, in order to reveal their basic approach to news casting in context of the Gezi Park protests. Headlines, news segments, and news content relating to the Gezi protests were treated and analysed for this purpose. The aim of this study is to understand the social effects of the Gezi Park protests through media samples with varying political attitudes towards news casting.
Keywords: Gezi Park, media, news casting, tree.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 20742519 A Review on Recycled Materials Used in Construction
Authors: Oghenerukome Akponovo, Lynda I. Onyebuchukwu
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Construction waste, along with that of many other industries, contributes significantly to the world's annual solid waste totals. Most of these materials, such as ash from rice hulls, slags, cement kiln dust, tire ash, plastic waste (PW), and silica fumes, end up in landfills or waterways. Some of them might even end up polluting the air from high in the atmosphere. It is sustainable, cheap, and environmentally friendly to recycle these items into new building supplies. When constructing a "green" structure, the materials employed have the potential to either exacerbate environmental imbalance or maintain a stable ecosystem. The purpose of this research is to take stock of what is already known about recycling's potential in the construction industry and to identify its deficiencies. Therefore, this study systematically reviews the wide range of recycled materials that go into building construction. In the construction industry, the utilization of recycled materials plays a significant role in environmental conservation, and a thorough investigation into these materials could potentially yield substantial economic benefits if appropriately harnessed.
Keywords: Paper waste, rice grain husks, recycled materials, waste management.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2632518 Mathematical Modeling of Machining Parameters in Electrical Discharge Machining of FW4 Welded Steel
Authors: M.R.Shabgard, R.M.Shotorbani
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FW4 is a newly developed hot die material widely used in Forging Dies manufacturing. The right selection of the machining conditions is one of the most important aspects to take into consideration in the Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM) of FW4. In this paper an attempt has been made to develop mathematical models for relating the Material Removal Rate (MRR), Tool Wear Ratio (TWR) and surface roughness (Ra) to machining parameters (current, pulse-on time and voltage). Furthermore, a study was carried out to analyze the effects of machining parameters in respect of listed technological characteristics. The results of analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicate that the proposed mathematical models, can adequately describe the performance within the limits of the factors being studied.Keywords: Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM), linearregression technique, Response Surface Methodology (RSM)
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 19212517 Problems Faced by the Agricultural Sector and Agribusiness Development Strategy in Georgia
Authors: E. Kharaishvili, G. Erkomaishvili, M. Chavleishvili
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The importance of agribusiness development is proved in accordance with the trends in the agricultural sector of Georgia. Agribusiness environment and the consequences of the agricultural reforms are evaluated. The factors hindering the development of agribusiness are revealed and the ways for overcoming these problems are suggested. SWOT analysis is done in order to identify the needs of agribusiness. The needs of agribusiness development in Georgia are evaluated by priorities: prevention of diseases and reduction of the harm caused by these diseases, accessibility of long-term agricultural loans with low interest rates, improving qualification of farmers, the level of education and usage of modern technologies, changes in legislation, accessibility to high quality agricultural machinery, and the development of infrastructure. Based on the outcomes of the research, agribusiness development strategies in Georgia are suggested and appropriate priorities of economic policy are determined. Conclusions are made and based on these conclusions, some recommendations are suggested.Keywords: Agricultural sector, agribusiness development, agribusiness strategy, agribusiness in Georgia.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 43742516 Transesterification of Jojoba Oil-Wax Using Microwave Technique
Authors: Labiba I. Hussein, Maher Z. Elsabee, Eid A. Ismail, Hala F. Naguib, Hilda A. Aziz, Moataz A. Elsawy
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Jojoba oil-wax is extracted from the seeds of the jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis Link Schneider), a perennial shrub that grows in semi desert areas in Egypt and in some parts of the world. The main uses of jojoba oil-wax are in the cosmetics and pharmaceutical industry, but new uses could arise related to the search of new energetic crops. This paper summarizes a process to convert the jojoba oil-wax to biodiesel by transesterification with ethanol and a series of aliphatic alcohols using a more economic and energy saving method in a domestic microwave. The effect of time and power of the microwave on the extent of the transesterification using ethanol and other aliphatic alcohols has been studied. The separation of the alkyl esters from the fatty alcohols rich fraction has been done in a single crystallization step at low temperature (−18°C) from low boiling point petroleum ether. Gas chromatography has been used to follow up the transesterification process. All products have been characterized by spectral analysis.
Keywords: Jojoba oil, transesterification, microwave, gas chromatography jojoba esters, Jojoba alcohol.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 37232515 Theoretical Investigation of Steel Plated Girder Resistance
Authors: J. Kala, J. Melcher, M. Škaloud, Z. Kala
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In the paper, the results of sensitivity analysis of the influence of initial imperfections on the web stress state of a thinwalled girder are presented. The results of the study corroborate a very good and effective agreement of experiments with theory. Most input random quantities were found experimentally. The change of sensitivity coefficients in dependence on working load value is analysed. The stress was analysed by means of a geometrically and materially non-linear solution by applying the program ANSYS. This research study offers important background for theoretical studies of stability problems, post-critical effects and limit states of thin-walled steel structures.
Keywords: Buckling, Fatigue, Imperfection, Steel, Sensitivity analysis.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 18142514 A Dynamic Filter for Removal DC - Offset In Current and Voltage Waveforms
Authors: Khaled M.EL-Naggar
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In power systems, protective relays must filter their inputs to remove undesirable quantities and retain signal quantities of interest. This job must be performed accurate and fast. A new method for filtering the undesirable components such as DC and harmonic components associated with the fundamental system signals. The method is s based on a dynamic filtering algorithm. The filtering algorithm has many advantages over some other classical methods. It can be used as dynamic on-line filter without the need of parameters readjusting as in the case of classic filters. The proposed filter is tested using different signals. Effects of number of samples and sampling window size are discussed. Results obtained are presented and discussed to show the algorithm capabilities.Keywords: Protection, DC-offset, Dynamic Filter, Estimation.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 37662513 Laboratory Investigations on Mechanical Properties of High Volume Fly Ash Concrete and Composite Sections
Authors: Aravindkumar B. Harwalkar, S. S. Awanti
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Use of fly ash as a supplementary cementing material in large volumes can bring both technological and economic benefits for concrete industry. In this investigation mix proportions for high volume fly ash concrete were determined at cement replacement levels of 50%, 55%, 60% and 65% with low calcium fly ash. Flexural and compressive strengths of different mixes were measured at ages of 7, 28 and 90 days. Flexural strength of composite section prepared from pavement quality and lean high volume fly ash concrete was determined at the age of 28 days. High volume fly ash concrete mixes exhibited higher rate of strength gain and age factors than corresponding reference concrete mixes. The optimum cement replacement level for pavement quality concrete was found to be 60%. The consideration of bond between pavement quality and lean of high volume fly ash concrete will be beneficial in design of rigid pavements.
Keywords: Keywords—Composite section, Compressive strength, Flexural strength, Fly ash.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 19632512 Measurement Uncertainty Evaluation of Meteorological Model: CALMET
Authors: N. Miklavčič, U. Kugovnik, N. Galkina, P. Ribarič, R. Vončina
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Today the need for weather predictions is deeply rooted in the everyday life of people as well as it is in industry. The forecasts influence final decision-making processes in multiple areas from agriculture and prevention of natural disasters to air traffic regulations and solutions on a national level for health, security, and economic problems. Namely in Slovenia, alongside other existing forms of application, weather forecasts are adopted for the prognosis of electrical current transmission through powerlines. Meteorological parameters are one of the key factors which need to be considered in estimations of the reliable supply of electrical energy to consumers. And like for any other measured value, the knowledge about measurement uncertainty is critical also for the secure and reliable supply of energy. The estimation of measurement uncertainty grants us a more accurate interpretation of data, a better quality of the end results, and even a possibility of improvement of weather forecast models.
Keywords: Measurement uncertainty, microscale meteorological model, CALMET meteorological station, orthogonal regression.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 772511 Designing Early Warning System: Prediction Accuracy of Currency Crisis by Using k-Nearest Neighbour Method
Authors: Nor Azuana Ramli, Mohd Tahir Ismail, Hooy Chee Wooi
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Developing a stable early warning system (EWS) model that is capable to give an accurate prediction is a challenging task. This paper introduces k-nearest neighbour (k-NN) method which never been applied in predicting currency crisis before with the aim of increasing the prediction accuracy. The proposed k-NN performance depends on the choice of a distance that is used where in our analysis; we take the Euclidean distance and the Manhattan as a consideration. For the comparison, we employ three other methods which are logistic regression analysis (logit), back-propagation neural network (NN) and sequential minimal optimization (SMO). The analysis using datasets from 8 countries and 13 macro-economic indicators for each country shows that the proposed k-NN method with k = 4 and Manhattan distance performs better than the other methods.
Keywords: Currency crisis, k-nearest neighbour method, logit, neural network.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 23052510 Effects of Position and Shape of Atomic Defects on the Band Gap of Graphene Nano Ribbon Superlattices
Authors: Zeinab Jokar, Mohammad Reza Moslemi
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In this work, we study the behavior of introducing atomic size vacancy in a graphene nanoribbon superlattice. Our investigations are based on the density functional theory (DFT) with the Local Density Approximation in Atomistix Toolkit (ATK). We show that, in addition to its shape, the position of vacancy has a major impact on the electrical properties of a graphene nanoribbon superlattice. We show that the band gap of an armchair graphene nanoribbon may be tuned by introducing an appropriate periodic pattern of vacancies. The band gap changes in a zig-zag manner similar to the variation of band gap of a graphene nanoribbon by changing its width.
Keywords: Antidot, Atomistix ToolKit, Superlattice, Vacancy.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 27092509 The Political Economy of Police Corruption in Nigeria
Authors: Tosin Osasona
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The Nigeria Police Force bears the constitutional mandate as the primary policing agency for the protection of life and property within Nigeria; however, the police have an historical ill-reputation for corruption, ineptitude and impunity. Using the institutional theory of police as the framework of analysis, the paper argues that the performance of the police in Nigeria mirrors the dominant political, social and economic institutions and the structural environment of the Nigerian state. The article puts in perspective the deliberate political decision to underfund the police, leaving officers of the force the extra task of foraging for funds to undertake the duty that the Nigeria state primarily exists for; the article further explores the nexus between corruption in the police in Nigeria and the issue of funding. The article finds that the Nigerian state, by deliberately under-funding the police, while expecting the agency to perform its duties, has indirectly sanctioned the corruption of the force and approved the cooption of the institution of police and policing for private use in Nigeria.
Keywords: Funding, policing, Nigeria Police Force, corruption.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 11332508 The Effect of Air Entraining Agents on Compressive Strength
Authors: Demet Yavuz
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Freeze-thaw cycles are one of the greatest threats to concrete durability. Lately, protection against this threat excites scientists’ attention. Air-entraining admixtures have been widely used to produce freeze-thaw resistant at concretes. The use of air-entraining agents (AEAs) enhances not only freeze-thaw endurance but also the properties of fresh concrete such as segregation, bleeding and flow ability. This paper examines the effects of air-entraining on compressive strength of concrete. Air-entraining is used between 0.05% and 0.4% by weight of cement. One control and four fiber reinforced concrete mixes are prepared and three specimens are tested for each mix. It is concluded from the test results that when air entraining is increased the compressive strength of concrete reduces for all mixes with AEAs.
Keywords: Concrete, air-entraining, compressive strength, mechanical properties.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 17602507 Impact of Process Variations on the Vertical Silicon Nanowire Tunneling FET (TFET)
Authors: Z. X. Chen, T. S. Phua, X. P. Wang, G. -Q. Lo, D. -L. Kwong
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This paper presents device simulations on the vertical silicon nanowire tunneling FET (VSiNW TFET). Simulations show that a narrow nanowire and thin gate oxide is required for good performance, which is expected even for conventional MOSFETs. The gate length also needs to be more than the nanowire diameter to prevent short channel effects. An effect more unique to TFET is the need for abrupt source to channel junction, which is shown to improve the performance. The ambipolar effect suppression by reducing drain doping concentration is also explored and shown to have little or no effect on performance.
Keywords: Device simulation, MEDICI, tunneling FET (TFET), vertical silicon nanowire.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 26432506 How the Iranian Free-Style Wrestlers Know and Think about Doping? – A Knowledge and Attitude Study
Authors: F. Halabchi, A. Esteghamati, A. Razzaghi, A. Noori
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Nowadays, doping is an intricate dilemma. Wrestling is the nationally popular sport in Iran. Also the prevalence of doping may be high, due to its power demanding characteristics. So, we aimed to assess the knowledge and attitudes toward doping among the club wrestlers. In a cross sectional study, 426 wrestlers were studied. For this reason, a researcher made questionnaire was used. In this study, researchers selected the clubs by randomized clustered sampling and distributed the questionnaire among wrestlers. Knowledge of wrestlers in three categories of doping definitions, recognition of prohibited drugs and side effects was poor or moderate in 70.8%, 95.8% and 99.5%, respectively. Wrestlers have poor knowledge in doping. Furthermore, they believe some myths which are unfavorable. It seems necessary to design a comprehensive educational program for all of the athletes and coaches.Keywords: Attitude, Doping, Knowledge, Wrestling
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 16232505 Regression Analysis of Travel Indicators and Public Transport Usage in Urban Areas
Authors: M. Moeinaddini, Z. Asadi-Shekari, M. Zaly Shah, A. Hamzah
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Currently, planners try to have more green travel options to decrease economic, social and environmental problems. Therefore, this study tries to find significant urban travel factors to be used to increase the usage of alternative urban travel modes. This paper attempts to identify the relationship between prominent urban mobility indicators and daily trips by public transport in 30 cities from various parts of the world. Different travel modes, infrastructures and cost indicators were evaluated in this research as mobility indicators. The results of multi-linear regression analysis indicate that there is a significant relationship between mobility indicators and the daily usage of public transport.Keywords: Green travel modes, urban travel indicators, daily trips by public transport, multi-linear regression analysis.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 25602504 Specialized Translation Teaching Strategies: A Corpus-Based Approach
Authors: Yingying Ding
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This study presents a methodology of specialized translation with the objective of helping teachers to improve the strategies in teaching translation. In order to allow students to acquire skills to translate specialized texts, they need to become familiar with the semantic and syntactic features of source texts and target texts. The aim of our study is to use a corpus-based approach in the teaching of specialized translation between Chinese and Italian. This study proposes to construct a specialized Chinese - Italian comparable corpus that consists of 50 economic contracts from the domain of food. With the help of AntConc, we propose to compile a comparable corpus in for translation teaching purposes. This paper attempts to provide insight into how teachers could benefit from comparable corpus in the teaching of specialized translation from Italian into Chinese and through some examples of passive sentences how students could learn to apply different strategies for translating appropriately the voice.
Keywords: Corpus-based approach, translation teaching, specialized translation.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 12822503 Cost Benefit Analysis and Adjustments of Corporate Social Responsibility in the Airline Industry
Authors: Roman Asatryan
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The decision-making processes in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) among firms in the airlines industry borders on the benefits that accrue to firms through those investments. The crux of the matter is how firms can quantify the benefits derived from such investments. This paper analyses the cost benefit adjustment strategies for firms in the airline industry in their CSR strategy adoption and implementation. The paper discusses the CBA model in order to understand the ways airlines can reduce costs and increase returns on CSR, or balance the cost and benefits. The analysis indicates that, economic concepts especially the CBA are useful, though they are not without challenges. This paper concludes that the CBA model gives a basic understanding of the motivations for investing in intangible assets like CSR. It sets the tone for formulating relevant hypothesis in empirical studies in investment in CSR and other intangible assets in business operations.
Keywords: Cost Benefit Analysis, Corporate Social Responsibility, airline industry.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 50762502 Evaluate Aging Effect of SBS Modified Bitumen
Authors: Seyed Abbas Tabatabaei
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One of the important factors of cracks on the asphalt pavements is bitumen aging that associated with the loss of volatile components and oxidation of asphalt binder. This paper is about effect of Styrene-Butadiene-Styrene (SBS) polymer on asphalt aging In order to decrease asphalt aging effects. For this purpose samples of base bitumen and SBS modified bitumen aged according to the rolling thin film oven test (RTFOT) and pressure aging vessel (PAV), respectively. Properties of each sample were evaluated using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, n-heptane precipitation, viscosity test, softening point test and penetration test. FT-IR Analysis, showed lower oxidation of SBS modified bitumen than base bitumen, after aging.Keywords: SBS, Asphalt aging, modified bitumen.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 31602501 Analysis of Effects of Magnetic Slot Wedges on Characteristics of Permanent Magnet Synchronous Machine
Authors: B. Ladghem Chikouche
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The influence of slot wedges permeability on the electromagnetic performance of three-phase permanent magnet synchronous machine is investigated in this paper. It is shown that the back-EMF waveform, electromagnetic torque and electromagnetic torque ripple are all significantly affected by slot wedges permeability. The paper presents an accurate analytical subdomain model and confirmed by finite-element analyses.Keywords: Exact analytical calculation, finite-element method, magnetic field distribution, permanent magnet machines performance, stator slot wedges permeability.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 20152500 Descriptive Study of Role Played by Exercise and Diet on Brain Plasticity
Authors: Mridul Sharma, Praveen Saroha
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In today's world, everyone has become so busy in their to-do tasks and daily routine that they tend to ignore some of the basal components of our life, including exercise and diet. This comparative study analyzes the pathways of the relationship between exercise and brain plasticity and also includes another variable diet to study the effects of diet on learning by answering questions including which diet is known to be the best learning supporter and what are the recommended quantities of the same. Further, this study looks into inter-relation between diet and exercise, and also some other approach of the relation between diet and exercise on learning apart from through Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF).
Keywords: Basolateral amygdala, brain derived neurotrophic factor, brain plasticity, diet, exercise, mediterranean diet.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 11342499 Effects of ECCS on the Cold-Leg Fluid Temperature during SGTR Accidents
Authors: Tadashi Watanabe
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The LSTF experiment simulating the SGTR accident at the Mihama Unit-2 reactor is analyzed using the RELAP5/MOD3.3 code. In the accident, and thus in the experiment, the ECC water was injected not only into the cold legs but into the upper plenum. Overall transients during the experiment such as pressures and fluid temperatures are simulated well by the code. The cold-leg fluid temperatures are shown to decrease if the upper plenum injection system is connected to the cold leg. It is found that the cold-leg fluid temperatures also decrease if the upper-plenum injection is not used and the cold-leg injection alone is actuated.Keywords: SGTR, LSTF, RELAP5, ECCS.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 20862498 Health Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals Adsorbed in Particulates
Authors: Sadovska V.
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The progress of concentrations of particular heavy metals was assessed in chosen localities in region Moravia, the Czech Republic, from 2007 to 2009. Particular metals were observed in localities with various types and characterization of zone. Pb, Ni, As and Cd were emphasized as a result of their toxicity and potential adverse health effect to the exposed population. The progress of metal concentrations and their health effects in the most polluted localities were examined. According to the results, the air pollution limit values were not exceeded. Based on the health risk assessment, the probability of developing tumorous diseases is acceptable, except for the increased probability of cancer risk from long-term exposure to As.
Keywords: Air pollution, heavy metals, health risk assessment, individual lifetime cancer risk
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 24202497 Evaluation on Bearing Capacity of Ring Foundations on two-Layered Soil
Authors: R. Ziaie Moayed, V. Rashidian, E. Izadi
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This paper utilizes a finite element analysis to study the bearing capacity of ring footings on a two-layered soil. The upper layer, that the footing is placed on it, is soft clay and the underneath layer is a cohesionless sand. For modeling soils, Mohr–Coulomb plastic yield criterion is employed. The effects of two factors, the clay layer thickness and the ratio of internal radius of the ring footing to external radius of the ring, have been analyzed. It is found that the bearing capacity decreases as the value of ri / ro increases. Although, as the clay layer thickness increases the bearing capacity was alleviated gradually.Keywords: Bearing capacity, Ring footing, Two-layered soil
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 4051