Search results for: survey methodology

Authors: Nazym Shedenova, Aigul Beimisheva

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The market transformation in Kazakhstan during the last two decades has essentially strengthened a gap between development of urban and rural areas. Implementation of market institutes, transition from public financing to paid rendering of social services, change of forms of financing of social and economic infrastructure have led to strengthening of an economic inequality of social groups, including growth of stratification of the city and the village. Sociological survey of urban and rural households in Almaty city and villages of Almaty region has been carried out within the international research project “Livelihoods Strategies of Private Households in Central Asia: A Rural–Urban Comparison in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan" (Germany, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan). The analysis of statistical data and results of sociological research of urban and rural households allows us to reveal issues of territorial development, to investigate an availability of medical, educational and other services in the city and the village, to reveal an evaluation urban and rural dwellers of living conditions, to compare economic strategies of households in the city and the village.

Keywords: Urban and rural households, social and economic infrastructure, territorial availability.

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Authors: Mohsen Mohammadi, Toshio Fujimi

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High population and irregular urban development in Kabul city, Afghanistan's capital, are among factors that increase its vulnerability to earthquake disasters (on top of its location in a high seismic region); this can lead to widespread economic loss and casualties. This study aims to evaluate earthquake risks in Kabul's 13th district based on scientific data. The research data, which include hazard curves of Kabul, vulnerability curves, and a questionnaire survey through sampling in district 13, have been incorporated to develop risk curves. To estimate potential casualties, we used a set of M parameters in a model developed by Coburn and Spence. The results indicate that in the worst case scenario, more than 90% of district 13, which comprises mostly residential buildings, is exposed to high risk; this may lead to nearly 1000 million USD economic loss and 120 thousand casualties (equal to 25.88% of the 13th district's population) for a nighttime earthquake. To reduce risks, we present the reconstruction of the most vulnerable buildings, which are primarily adobe and masonry buildings. A comparison of risk reduction between reconstructing adobe and masonry buildings indicates that rebuilding adobe buildings would be more effective.

Keywords: Earthquake risk evaluation, Kabul, mitigation, vulnerability.

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Authors: S, Rosnafisah, M.S., Siti Salbiah., A, Mohd Sharifuddin

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Research in e-Business has been growing tremendously covering all related aspects such as adoption issues, e- Business models, strategies, etc. This research aims to explore the potential of adopting e-Business for a micro size business operating from home called home-based businesses (HBBs). In Malaysia, the HBB industry started many years ago and were mostly monopolized by women or housewives managed as a part-time job to support their family economy. Today, things have changed. The availability of the Internet technology and the emergence of e-Business concept promote the evolution of HBBs, which have been adopted as another alternative as a professional career for women without neglecting their family needs especially the children. Although this study is confined to a limited sample size and within geographical biasness, the findings show that it concurs with previous large scale studies. In this study, both qualitative and quantitative methods were used and data were gathered using triangulation methods via interview, direct observation, document analysis and survey questionnaires. This paper discusses the literature review, research methods and findings pertaining to e-Business adoption factors that influence the HBBs in Malaysia.

Keywords: e-Business, HBB, adoption factor, qualitative andquantitative

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Authors: Samir Khrais, Adel Mahammod Hassan , Amro Gazawi

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The aim of this research is to evaluate surface roughness and develop a multiple regression model for surface roughness as a function of cutting parameters during the turning of flame hardened medium carbon steel with TiN-Al2O3-TiCN coated inserts. An experimental plan of work and signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) were used to relate the influence of turning parameters to the workpiece surface finish utilizing Taguchi methodology. The effects of turning parameters were studied by using the analysis of variance (ANOVA) method. Evaluated parameters were feed, cutting speed, and depth of cut. It was found that the most significant interaction among the considered turning parameters was between depth of cut and feed. The average surface roughness (Ra) resulted by TiN-Al2O3- TiCN coated inserts was about 2.44 μm and minimum value was 0.74 μm. In addition, the regression model was able to predict values for surface roughness in comparison with experimental values within reasonable limit.

Keywords: Medium carbon steel, Prediction, Surface roughness, Taguchi method

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Authors: M. Hosseinzadeh, S. A. Zamani, A. Taheri

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During the last few years, several sheet hydroforming processes have been introduced. Despite the advantages of these methods, they have some limitations. Of the processes, the two main ones are the standard hydroforming and hydromechanical deep drawing. A new sheet hydroforming die set was proposed that has the advantages of both processes and eliminates their limitations. In this method, a polyurethane plate was used as a part of the die-set to control the blank holder force. This paper outlines the Taguchi optimization methodology, which is applied to optimize the effective parameters in forming cylindrical cups by the new die set of sheet hydroforming process. The process parameters evaluated in this research are polyurethane hardness, polyurethane thickness, forming pressure path and polyurethane hole diameter. The design of experiments based upon L9 orthogonal arrays by Taguchi was used and analysis of variance (ANOVA) was employed to analyze the effect of these parameters on the forming pressure. The analysis of the results showed that the optimal combination for low forming pressure is harder polyurethane, bigger diameter of polyurethane hole and thinner polyurethane. Finally, the confirmation test was derived based on the optimal combination of parameters and it was shown that the Taguchi method is suitable to examine the optimization process.

Keywords: Sheet Hydroforming, Optimization, Taguchi Method

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Authors: Zulaikha Reesha Rashaad

Abstract:

One of the major factors which can contribute greatly to success of catering businesses is to employ food and beverage staff having sound hygiene knowledge. Individuals having sound knowledge of hygiene has a higher chance of following safe food practices in food production. One of the leading causes of food poisoning and food borne illnesses has been identified as lack of hygiene knowledge among food and beverage staff working in catering establishments and restaurants. This research aims to analyze the hygiene knowledge among food and beverage staff working in top five restaurants of Male’, in relation to their age, educational background, occupation and training. The research uses quantitative and descriptive methods in data collection and in data analysis. Data was obtained through random sampling technique with self-administered survey questionnaires which was completed by 60 respondents working in 5 different restaurants operating at top level in Male’. The respondents of the research were service staff and chefs working in these restaurants. The responses to the questionnaires have been analyzed by using SPSS. The results of the research indicated that age, education level, occupation and training correlated with hygiene knowledge perception scores.

Keywords: Food and beverage staff, food poisoning, food production, hygiene knowledge.

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Authors: H. Alaleh, N. Hedayat, A. Alaleh, H. Ayazi, A. Ruhani

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Run-offs are considered as important hydrological factors in feasibility studies of river engineering and irrigation-related projects under arid and semi-arid condition. Flood control is one of the crucial factor, the management of which while mitigates its destructive consequences, abstracts considerable volume of renewable water resources. The methodology applied here was based on Mizumura, which applied a mathematical model for simple tank to simulate the rainfall-run-off process in a particular water basin using the data from the observational hydrograph. The model was applied in the Dez River water basin adjacent to Greater Dezful region, Iran in order to simulate and estimate the floods. Results indicated that the calculated hydrographs using the simple tank method, SCS-CN model and the observation hydrographs had a close proximity. It was also found that on average the flood time and discharge peaks in the simple tank were closer to the observational data than the CN method. On the other hand, the calculated flood volume in the CN model was significantly closer to the observational data than the simple tank model.

Keywords: Simple tank, Dez River, run-off, lag time, excess rainfall.

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Authors: Azlina Binti Abu Bakar, Fahmi Zaidi Bin Abdul Razak, Wan Salihin Wong Abdullah

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Psychographic is a psychological study of values, attitudes, interests and it is used mostly in prediction, opinion research and social research. This study predicts the influence of performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence and facilitating condition on e-government acceptance among Malaysian citizens. The survey responses of 543 e-government users have been validated and analyzed by means of covariance-based Structural Equation Modeling. The findings indicate that e-government acceptance among Malaysian citizens are mainly influenced by performance expectancy (β = 0.66, t = 11.53, p < 0.01) and social influence (β = 0.20, t = 4.23, p < 0.01). Surprisingly, there is no significant effect of facilitating condition and effort expectancy on e-government continuance intention (β = 0.01, t = 0.27, p > 0.05; β = -0.01, t = -0.40, p > 0.05). This study offers government and vendors a frame of reference to analyze citizen’s situation before initiating new innovations. In case of Malaysian e-government technology, adoption strategies should be built around fostering level of citizens’ technological expectation and social influence on e-government usage.

Keywords: Continuance intention, Malaysian citizens, media psychology, structural equation modeling.

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Authors: Giuseppe Spampinato, Salvatore Curti, Ivana Guarneri, Arcangelo Bruna

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This document describes an advanced system and methodology for Cross Traffic Alert (CTA), able to detect vehicles that move into the vehicle driving path from the left or right side. The camera is supposed to be not only on a vehicle still, e.g. at a traffic light or at an intersection, but also moving slowly, e.g. in a car park. In all of the aforementioned conditions, a driver’s short loss of concentration or distraction can easily lead to a serious accident. A valid support to avoid these kinds of car crashes is represented by the proposed system. It is an extension of our previous work, related to a clustering system, which only works on fixed cameras. Just a vanish point calculation and simple optical flow filtering, to eliminate motion vectors due to the car relative movement, is performed to let the system achieve high performances with different scenarios, cameras and resolutions. The proposed system just uses as input the optical flow, which is hardware implemented in the proposed platform and since the elaboration of the whole system is really speed and power consumption, it is inserted directly in the camera framework, allowing to execute all the processing in real-time.

Keywords: Clustering, cross traffic alert, optical flow, real time, vanishing point.

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Authors: Satjaporn Tungsong, Gun Srijuntongsiri

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This research seeks to investigate the frequency and profitability of index arbitrage opportunities involving the SET50 futures, SET50 component stocks, and the ThaiDEX SET50 ETF (ticker symbol: TDEX). In particular, the frequency and profit of arbitrage are measured in the following three arbitrage tests: (1) SET50 futures vs. ThaiDEX SET50 ETF, (2) SET50 futures vs. SET50 component stocks, and (3) ThaiDEX SET50 ETF vs. SET50 component stocks are investigated. For tests (2) and (3), the problems involve conic optimization and quadratic programming as subproblems. This research is first to apply conic optimization and quadratic programming techniques in the context of index arbitrage and is first to investigate such index arbitrage in the Thai equity and derivatives markets. Thus, the contribution of this study is twofold. First, its results would help understand the contribution of the derivatives securities to the efficiency of the Thai markets. Second, the methodology employed in this study can be applied to other geographical markets, with minor adjustments.

Keywords: Conic optimization, Equity index arbitrage, Executionlags, Quadratic programming, SET50 index futures, ThaiDEX SET50ETF, Transaction costs

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Authors: Zaza Tabagari, Zaza Sanikidze, George Giorgobiani

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Abovepresented work deals with the new scope of application of information and communication technologies for the improvement of the election process in the biased environment. We are introducing a new concept of construction of the information-communication system for the election participant. It consists of four main components: Software, Physical Infrastructure, Structured Information and the Trained Stuff. The Structured Information is the bases of the whole system and is the collection of all possible events (irregularities among them) at the polling stations, which are structured in special templates, forms and integrated in mobile devices.The software represents a package of analytic modules, which operates with the dynamic database. The application of modern communication technologies facilities the immediate exchange of information and of relevant documents between the polling stations and the Server of the participant. No less important is the training of the staff for the proper functioning of the system. The e-training system with various modules should be applied in this respect. The presented methodology is primarily focused on the election processes in the countries of emerging democracies.It can be regarded as the tool for the monitoring of elections process by the political organization(s) and as one of the instruments to foster the spread of democracy in these countries.

Keywords: ICT, elections, structured information, dynamic databases, e-training.

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Authors: C. I. Omohimi, O. P. Sobukola, K. O. Sarafadeen, L.O. Sanni

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Flour from Mucuna beans (Mucuna pruriens) were used in producing texturized meat analogue using a single screw extruder to monitor modifications on the proximate composition and the functional properties at high moisture level. Response surface methodology based on Box Behnken design at three levels of barrel temperature (110, 120, 130°C), screw speed (100,120,140rpm) and feed moisture (44, 47, 50%) were used in 17 runs. Regression models describing the effect of variables on the product responses were obtained. Descriptive profile analyses and consumer acceptability test were carried out on optimized flavoured extruded meat analogue. Responses were mostly affected by barrel temperature and moisture level and to a lesser extent by screw speed. Optimization results based on desirability concept indicated that a barrel temperature of 120.15°C, feed moisture of 47% and screw speed of 119.19 rpm would produce meat analogue of preferable proximate composition, functional and sensory properties which reveals consumers` likeness for the product.

Keywords: Functional properties, mucuna bean flour, optimization, proximate composition, texturized meat analogue.

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Authors: B. K. Yeoh, Z. Arsad, C. W. Hooy

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This paper tests the level of market integration between Malaysia and Singapore stock markets with the world market. Kalman Filter (KF) methodology is used on the International Capital Asset Pricing Model (ICAPM) and the pricing errors estimated within the framework of ICAPM are used as a measure of market integration or segmentation. The advantage of the KF technique is that it allows for time-varying coefficients in estimating ICAPM and hence able to capture the varying degree of market integration. Empirical results show clear evidence of varying degree of market integration for both case of Malaysia and Singapore. Furthermore, the results show that the changes in the level of market integration are found to coincide with certain economic events that have taken placed. The findings certainly provide evidence on the practicability of the KF technique to estimate stock markets integration. In the comparison between Malaysia and Singapore stock market, the result shows that the trends of the market integration indices for Malaysia and Singapore look similar through time but the magnitude is notably different with the Malaysia stock market showing greater degree of market integration. Finally, significant evidence of varying degree of market integration shows the inappropriate use of OLS in estimating the level of market integration.

Keywords: ICAPM, Kalman filter, stock market integration.

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Authors: Yun Mi, Ko, Hye Jung, Joo

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This study develops a relation to explore the factors influencing management and technology capabilities in strategic alliances. Alliances between firms are recognizing increasingly popular as a vehicle to create and extract greater value from the market. Firm’s alliance can be described as the collaborative problem solving process to solve problems jointly. This study starts from research questions what factors of firm’s management and technology characteristics affect performance of firms which are formed alliances. In this study, we investigated the effect of strategic alliances on company performance. That is, we try to identify whether firms made an alliance with other organizations are differed by characteristics of management and technology. And we test that alliance type and alliance experiences moderate the relationship between firm’s capabilities and its performance. We employ problem-solving perspective and resource-based view perspective to shed light on this research questions. The empirical work is based on the Survey of Business Activities conducted from2006 to 2008 by Statistics Korea. We verify correlations between to point out that these results contribute new empirical evidence on the effect of strategic alliances on company performance.

Keywords: Problem solving process, strategic alliance.

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Authors: R. Srinivasa Rao

Abstract:

This paper presents a new and efficient approach for capacitor placement in radial distribution systems that determine the optimal locations and size of capacitor with an objective of improving the voltage profile and reduction of power loss. The solution methodology has two parts: in part one the loss sensitivity factors are used to select the candidate locations for the capacitor placement and in part two a new algorithm that employs Plant growth Simulation Algorithm (PGSA) is used to estimate the optimal size of capacitors at the optimal buses determined in part one. The main advantage of the proposed method is that it does not require any external control parameters. The other advantage is that it handles the objective function and the constraints separately, avoiding the trouble to determine the barrier factors. The proposed method is applied to 9 and 34 bus radial distribution systems. The solutions obtained by the proposed method are compared with other methods. The proposed method has outperformed the other methods in terms of the quality of solution.

Keywords: Distribution systems, Capacitor allocation, Loss reduction, Fuzzy, PGSA.

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Authors: Khatesiree Sripoothon, Usanee Sengpanich, Rattana Sittioum

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The objective of this study is to examine the factors influencing consumer purchasing decisions about healthy food. This model consists of two latent variables: Consumer Perception relating to NCDs and Consumer Perceived Product Value. The study was conducted in the northern provinces of Thailand, which are popular with tourists and have received support from the government for health and wellness tourism. A survey was used as the data collection method, and the questionnaire was applied to 385 consumers. An accidental sampling method was used to identify the sample. The statistics of frequency, percentage, mean, and structural equation model were used to analyze the data obtained. Additionally, all factors had a significant positive influence on healthy food purchasing decisions (p<0.001) and were predictive of healthy food purchasing decisions at 46.20% (R2=0.462). Also, these findings seem to underline the supposition that consumer perceptions of NCDs and perceived product value are key variables that strengthen the competitive effects of healthy-friendly business entrepreneurs. Moreover, it reduces the countries' public health costs for treating patients with the disease of NCDs in Thailand.

Keywords: healthy food, perceived product value, perception of noncommunicable diseases, purchasing decisions

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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.

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Authors: Chiao-Chen Chang, Yang-Chieh Chin

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This study examines the issue of recommendation sources from the perspectives of gender and consumers- perceived risk, and validates a model for the antecedents of consumer online purchases. The method of obtaining quantitative data was that of the instrument of a survey questionnaire. Data were collected via questionnaires from 396 undergraduate students aged 18-24, and a multiple regression analysis was conducted to identify causal relationships. Empirical findings established the link between recommendation sources (word-of-mouth, advertising, and recommendation systems) and the likelihood of making online purchases and demonstrated the role of gender and perceived risk as moderators in this context. The results showed that the effects of word-of-mouth on online purchase intentions were stronger than those of advertising and recommendation systems. In addition, female consumers have less experience with online purchases, so they may be more likely than males to refer to recommendations during the decision-making process. The findings of the study will help marketers to address the recommendation factor which influences consumers- intention to purchase and to improve firm performances to meet consumer needs.

Keywords: Recommendation sources, Online purchaseintentions, Gender differences, Perceived risk.

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Authors: A. Sohrabi

Abstract:

The importance of local food products and their promotion are drivers for economic growth. Entrepreneurship is one of the most important tools for development, which puts its most important effect on the way of increasing business in society. The purpose of this paper is to assess the breadth of food strategies in Italy toward to promoting local Italian foods in order to present useful food policies for developing countries. The methodology of this paper is based on qualitative analysis. In order to achieve such objectives, a literature review is carried out by employing documenting study. In this research, at first, we seek to present compliance’s concepts and definitions. Then, after examining the dimensions of the three strategies, we access to the indicators and compare their effects in order to present some useful policies and guidelines for developing countries. Despite of the limitations like inaccessibility, performance of companies in exporting local foods and lacking perception of awareness and experience of people, the study offers possible ways for future, as an example for Middle East countries to promote Italian local foods. The finding of this paper evaluates the three strategies in order to promote local food entrepreneurship in Italy and developing countries.

Keywords: Local food, Italian food, Italian strategy, food policy.

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Authors: Indrasen Raghupatruni, Michael Glora, Ralf Diekmann, Thomas Demmer

Abstract:

As the trend in automotive technology is fast moving towards hybridization and electrification to curb emissions as well as to improve the fuel efficiency, air-conditioning systems in passenger cars have not caught up with this trend and still remain as the major energy consumers amongst others. Adsorption based air-conditioning systems, e.g. with silica-gel water pair, which are already in use for residential and commercial applications, are now being considered as a technology leap once proven feasible for the passenger cars. In this paper we discuss a methodology, challenges and feasibility of implementing an adsorption based air-conditioning system in a passenger car utilizing the exhaust waste heat. We also propose an optimized control strategy with interfaces to the engine control unit of the vehicle for operating this system with reasonable efficiency supported by our simulation and validation results in a prototype vehicle, additionally comparing to existing implementations, simulation based as well as experimental. Finally we discuss the influence of start-stop and hybrid systems on the operation strategy of the adsorption air-conditioning system.

Keywords: Adsorption air-conditioning, feasibility study, optimized control strategy, prototype vehicle.

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Authors: Li Wu

Abstract:

By using linear regression methodology to analyze the data of daily precipitation from 1961-2012, this paper studied the variation tendency of precipitation in Chenzhou. The outcome showed: (1) The annual precipitation was decreasing for 52 years and the difference of precipitation variation tendency among four seasons was remarkable. The precipitation of spring and autumn showed more remarkable decrease than of summer; but the precipitation of winter significantly increased. (2) The annual precipitation frequency tended to lower, which was consistent with the tendency of yearly variation. The seasonal precipitation frequency was greatly different, namely, precipitation frequency in spring and autumn decreased, co-occurring with the phenomenon of mutation; but the winter precipitation frequency increased notably. (3) The precipitation intensity displayed a tendency of increase, including spring, autumn and winter; among them, winter had the most obvious tendency to increase, and autumn had the most yearly variation. Summer was the only season with a tendency of decreasing in precipitation intensity. (4) Annual extreme precipitation tended to reduce, spring, summer and autumn are all included; whereas, winter extreme precipitation tended to increase at the rate of 0.1d/10a. (5) The daily maximum precipitation intensity increased slightly and it varied greatly.

Keywords: Chenzhou, precipitation variation, precipitation frequency, precipitation intensity.

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Authors: A. Zanaz, S. Yotte, F. Fouchal, A. Chateauneuf

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This paper presents a methodology for probabilistic assessment of bearing capacity and prediction of failure mechanism of masonry vaults at the ultimate state with consideration of the natural variability of Young’s modulus of stones. First, the computation model is explained. The failure mode corresponds to the four-hinge mechanism. Based on this consideration, the study of a vault composed of 16 segments is presented. The Young’s modulus of the segments is considered as random variable defined by a mean value and a coefficient of variation. A relationship linking the vault bearing capacity to the voussoirs modulus variation is proposed. The most probable failure mechanisms, in addition to that observed in the deterministic case, are identified for each variability level as well as their probability of occurrence. The results show that the mechanism observed in the deterministic case has decreasing probability of occurrence in terms of variability, while the number of other mechanisms and their probability of occurrence increases with the coefficient of variation of Young’s modulus. This means that if a significant change in the Young’s modulus of the segments is proven, taking it into account in computations becomes mandatory, both for determining the vault bearing capacity and for predicting its failure mechanism.

Keywords: Masonry, mechanism, probability, variability, vault.

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Authors: Dang Hanh Nguyen, Nassim Sebaibi, Mohamed Boutouil, Lydia Leleyter, Fabienne Baraud

Abstract:

Pervious concrete is a green alternative to conventional pavements with minimal fine aggregate and a high void content. Pervious concrete allows water to infiltrate through the pavement, thereby reducing the runoff and the requirement for stormwater management systems.

Seashell By-Products (SBP) are produced in an important quantity in France and are considered as waste. This work investigated to use SBP in pervious concrete and produce an even more environmentally friendly product, Pervious Concrete Pavers.

The research methodology involved substituting the coarse aggregate in the previous concrete mix design with 20%, 40% and 60% SBP. The testing showed that pervious concrete containing less than 40% SBP had strengths, permeability and void content which are comparable to the pervious concrete containing with only natural aggregate. The samples that contained 40% SBP or higher had a significant loss in strength and an increase in permeability and a void content from the control mix pervious concrete. On the basis of the results in this research, it was found that the natural aggregate can be substituted by SBP without affecting the delicate balance of a pervious concrete mix. Additional, it is recommended that the optimum replacement percentage for SBP in pervious concrete is 40 % direct replacement of natural coarse aggregate while maintaining the structural performance and drainage capabilities of the pervious concrete.

Keywords: Seashell by-products, pervious concrete pavers, permeability and mechanical strength.

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Authors: R. Srinivasa Rao, S. V. L. Narasimham

Abstract:

This paper presents a new and efficient approach for capacitor placement in radial distribution systems that determine the optimal locations and size of capacitor with an objective of improving the voltage profile and reduction of power loss. The solution methodology has two parts: in part one the loss sensitivity factors are used to select the candidate locations for the capacitor placement and in part two a new algorithm that employs Plant growth Simulation Algorithm (PGSA) is used to estimate the optimal size of capacitors at the optimal buses determined in part one. The main advantage of the proposed method is that it does not require any external control parameters. The other advantage is that it handles the objective function and the constraints separately, avoiding the trouble to determine the barrier factors. The proposed method is applied to 9, 34, and 85-bus radial distribution systems. The solutions obtained by the proposed method are compared with other methods. The proposed method has outperformed the other methods in terms of the quality of solution.

Keywords: Distribution systems, Capacitor placement, loss reduction, Loss sensitivity factors, PGSA.

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Authors: Vivek Agrawal, Vikas Tripathi, Nitin Seth

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This study examines several critical dimensions of eservice quality overlooked in the existing literature and proposes a model and instrument framework for measuring customer perceived e-service quality in the banking sector. The initial design was derived from a pool of instrument dimensions and their items from the existing literature review by content analysis. Based on focused group discussion, nine dimensions were extracted. An exploratory factor analysis approach was applied to data from a survey of 323 respondents. The instrument has been designed specifically for the banking sector. Research data was collected from bank customers who use electronic banking in a developing economy. A nine-factor instrument has been proposed to measure the e-service quality. The instrument has been checked for reliability. The validity and sample place limited the applicability of the instrument across economies and service categories. Future research must be conducted to check the validity. This instrument can help bankers in developing economies like India to measure the e-service quality and make improvements. The present study offers a systematic procedure that provides insights on to the conceptual and empirical comprehension of customer perceived e-service quality and its constituents.

Keywords: Testing, instrument, e-service quality, factor analysis.

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Authors: Konstantinos G. Dassios, Guillaume Bonnefont, Gilbert Fantozzi, Theodore E. Matikas, Costas Galiotis

Abstract:

We report herein the development and preliminary mechanical characterization of fully-dense multi-wall carbon nanotube (MWCNT)-reinforced ceramics and glasses based on a completely new methodology termed High Shear Compaction (HSC). The tubes are introduced and bound to the matrix grains by aid of polymeric binders to form flexible green bodies which are sintered and densified by spark plasma sintering to unprecedentedly high densities of 100% of the pure-matrix value. The strategy was validated across a PyrexTM glass / MWCNT composite while no identifiable factors limit application to other types of matrices. Nondestructive evaluation, based on ultrasonics, of the dynamic mechanical properties of the materials including elastic, shear and bulk modulus as well as Poisson’s ratio showed optimum property improvement at 0.5 %wt tube loading while evidence of nanoscalespecific energy dissipative characteristics acting complementary to nanotube bridging and pull-out indicate a high potential in a wide range of reinforcing and multifunctional applications. 

Keywords: Carbon nanotubes, ceramic matrix composites, toughening, ultrasonics.

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Authors: C. Ardil

Abstract:

Multiple criteria decision making analysis (MCDMA) methods are applied to many real - life problems in different fields of engineering science and technology. The "preference analysis for reference ideal solution (PARIS)" method is proposed for an efficient MCDMA evaluation of decision problems. The multiple criteria aircraft evaluation approach is based on the integrated the mean weight, entropy weight, PARIS, and TOPSIS method, which eliminates the subjective importance weight assignment process. The evaluation criteria were identified from an extensive literature review of aircraft selection process. The aim of this study is to propose an efficient methodology for handling the aircraft selection process in which the proposed method solves effectively the MCDMA problem. A numerical example is presented to demonstrate the applicability and validity of the proposed MCDMA approach. 

Keywords: aircraft selection, aircraft, multiple criteria decision making, multiple criteria decision making analysis, mean weight, entropy weight, MCDMA, PARIS, TOPSIS, VIKOR, ELECTRE, PROMETHEE

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Authors: Raquel M. de Sousa, Sofiane Labidi, Allan Kardec D. Barros, Alex O. Barradas Filho, Aldalea L. B. Marques

Abstract:

Several parameters are established in order to measure biodiesel quality. One of them is the iodine value, which is an important parameter that measures the total unsaturation within a mixture of fatty acids. Limitation of unsaturated fatty acids is necessary since warming of higher quantity of these ones ends in either formation of deposits inside the motor or damage of lubricant. Determination of iodine value by official procedure tends to be very laborious, with high costs and toxicity of the reagents, this study uses artificial neural network (ANN) in order to predict the iodine value property as an alternative to these problems. The methodology of development of networks used 13 esters of fatty acids in the input with convergence algorithms of back propagation of back propagation type were optimized in order to get an architecture of prediction of iodine value. This study allowed us to demonstrate the neural networks’ ability to learn the correlation between biodiesel quality properties, in this caseiodine value, and the molecular structures that make it up. The model developed in the study reached a correlation coefficient (R) of 0.99 for both network validation and network simulation, with Levenberg-Maquardt algorithm.

Keywords: Artificial Neural Networks, Biodiesel, Iodine Value, Prediction.

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Authors: C. J. W. Habets, D. J. Peters, J. G. de Gijt, A. V. Metrikine, S. N. Jonkman

Abstract:

Conventional seismic designs of quay walls in ports are mostly based on pseudo-static analysis. A more advanced alternative is the Performance-Based Design (PBD) method, which evaluates permanent deformations and amounts of (repairable) damage under seismic loading. The aim of this study is to investigate the suitability of this method for anchored sheet pile quay walls that were not purposely designed for seismic loads. A research methodology is developed in which pseudo-static, permanent-displacement and finite element analysis are employed, calibrated with an experimental reference case that considers a typical anchored sheet pile wall. A reduction factor that accounts for deformation behaviour is determined for pseudo-static analysis. A model to apply traditional permanent displacement analysis on anchored sheet pile walls is proposed. Dynamic analysis is successfully carried out. From the research it is concluded that PBD evaluation can effectively be used for seismic analysis and design of this type of structure.

Keywords: Anchored sheet pile quay wall, simplified dynamic analysis, performance-based design, pseudo-static analysis.

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Authors: Usman Ghani

Abstract:

Feedback is a vital element for improving student learning in a simulation-based training as it guides and refines learning through scaffolding. A number of studies in literature have shown that students’ learning is enhanced when feedback is provided with personalized tutoring that offers specific guidance and adapts feedback to the learner in a one-to-one environment. Thus, emulating these adaptive aspects of human tutoring in simulation provides an effective methodology to train individuals. This paper presents the results of a study that investigated the effectiveness of automating different types of feedback techniques such as Knowledge-of-Correct-Response (KCR) and Answer-Until- Correct (AUC) in software simulation for learning basic information technology concepts. For the purpose of comparison, techniques like simulation with zero or no-feedback (NFB) and traditional hands-on (HON) learning environments are also examined. The paper presents the summary of findings based on quantitative analyses which reveal that the simulation based instructional strategies are at least as effective as hands-on teaching methodologies for the purpose of learning of IT concepts. The paper also compares the results of the study with the earlier studies and recommends strategies for using feedback mechanism to improve students’ learning in designing and simulation-based IT training.

Keywords: Simulation, feedback, training, hands-on, labs.

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