Search results for: Case Studies
3288 The Benefits of IFRS Adoption – A Survey of Chief Financial Officers of Romanian Listed Companies
Authors: Lucian Munteanu
Abstract:
The move towards internationalization of accounting encountered a great boost, when in 2002 EU delegated the IASB to provide the accounting standards to be applied inside its frontiers. Among the incentives of the standardization of accounting on the international level, is the reduction of the cost of capital. Romania made the move towards IFRS before EU, when the country was not yet a member of it. Even if this made Romania a special case, it was scarcely approached. The leak of real data is usually the reason for avoiding. The novelty of this paper is that it offers an insight from the reality of Romanian companies and their view regarding the IFRS. The paper is based on a survey that the authors made among the companies listed on the first two tiers of the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BSE), which are basically, the most important companies in the country.
Keywords: Cost of capital, IFRS, information asymmetry, transparency.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 26803287 Simulation of Propagation of Cos-Gaussian Beam in Strongly Nonlocal Nonlinear Media Using Paraxial Group Transformation
Authors: A. Keshavarz, Z. Roosta
Abstract:
In this paper, propagation of cos-Gaussian beam in strongly nonlocal nonlinear media has been stimulated by using paraxial group transformation. At first, cos-Gaussian beam, nonlocal nonlinear media, critical power, transfer matrix, and paraxial group transformation are introduced. Then, the propagation of the cos-Gaussian beam in strongly nonlocal nonlinear media is simulated. Results show that beam propagation has periodic structure during self-focusing effect in this case. However, this simple method can be used for investigation of propagation of kinds of beams in ABCD optical media.
Keywords: Paraxial group transformation, nonlocal nonlinear media, Cos-Gaussian beam, ABCD law.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 8623286 First Aid Application on Mobile Device
Authors: Komwit Surachat, Supasit Kajkamhaeng, Kasikrit Damkliang, Watanyoo Tiprat, Taninnuch Wacharanimit
Abstract:
An accident is an unexpected and unplanned situation that happens and affects human in a negative outcome. The accident can cause an injury to a human biological organism. Thus, the provision of initial care for an illness or injury is very important move to prepare the patients/victims before sending to the doctor. In this paper, a First Aid Application is developed to give some directions for preliminary taking care of patient/victim via Android mobile device. Also, the navigation function using Google Maps API is implemented in this paper for searching a suitable path to the nearest hospital. Therefore, in the emergency case, this function can be activated and navigate patients/victims to the hospital with the shortest path.Keywords: First Aid Application, Android, Google Maps API, Navigation System.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 60023285 Health Effects of Trihalomethanes as Chlorinated Disinfection by Products: A Review Article
Authors: M. R. Mohamadshafiee, L. Taghavi
Abstract:
Trihalomethanes (THMs) were among the first disinfection byproducts to be discovered in chlorinated water. The substances form during a reaction between chlorine and organic matter in the water. Trihalomethanes are suspected to have negative effects on birth such as, low birth weight, intrauterine growth retardation in term births, as well as gestational age and preterm delivery. There are also some evidences showing these by-products to be mutagenic and carcinogenic, the greatest amount of evidence being related to the bladder cancer. However, there exist inconsistencies regarding such effects of THMs as different studies have provided different results in this regard. The aim of the present study is to provide a review of the related researches about the above mentioned health effects of THMs.Keywords: Trihalomethans, by-products, disinfection, carcinogenic
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 47263284 Temporary Housing Respond to Disasters in Developing Countries- Case Study: Iran-Ardabil and Lorestan Province Earthquakes
Authors: Farzaneh Hadafi, Alireza Fallahi
Abstract:
Natural Disasters have always occurred through earth life. As human life developed on earth, he faced with different disasters. Since disasters would destroy his living areas and ruin his life, he learned how to respond and overcome to these matters. Nowadays, in the era of industrialized world and informatics, the man kind seeks for stages and classification of pre and post disaster process in order to identify a framework in these circumstances. Because too many parameters complicate these frameworks and proceedings, it seems that this goal has not been properly established yet and the only resource is guidelines of UNDRO (1982) [1]. This paper will discuss about temporary housing as one of an approved stage in disaster management field and investigate the affects of disapproval or dismissal of this at two earthquakes which took place in Iran.
Keywords: Temporary Housing, Temporary Sheltering, DisasterManagement, Iran
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 23013283 Preparation of Heterogeneous Ferrite Catalysts and Their Application for Fenton-Like Oxidation of Radioactive Organic Wastewater
Authors: Hsien T. Hsieh, Chao R. Chen, Li C. Chuang, Chin C. Shen
Abstract:
Fenton oxidation technology is the general strategy for the treatment of organic compounds-contained wastewater. However, a considerable amount of ferric sludge was produced during the Fenton process as secondary wastes, which were needed to be further removed from the effluent and treated. In this study, heterogeneous catalysts based on ferrite oxide (Cu-Fe-Ce-O) were synthesized and characterized, and their application for Fenton-like oxidation of simulated and actual radioactive organic wastewater was investigated. The results of TOC decomposition efficiency around 54% ~ 99% were obtained when the catalyst loading, H2O2 loading, pH, temperature, and reaction time were controlled. In this case, no secondary wastes formed and the given catalysts were able to be separated by magnetic devices and reused again.Keywords: Fenton, oxidation, heterogeneous catalyst, wastewater.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 14653282 Performance Enhancement of Motion Estimation Using SSE2 Technology
Authors: Trung Hieu Tran, Hyo-Moon Cho, Sang-Bock Cho
Abstract:
Motion estimation is the most computationally intensive part in video processing. Many fast motion estimation algorithms have been proposed to decrease the computational complexity by reducing the number of candidate motion vectors. However, these studies are for fast search algorithms themselves while almost image and video compressions are operated with software based. Therefore, the timing constraints for running these motion estimation algorithms not only challenge for the video codec but also overwhelm for some of processors. In this paper, the performance of motion estimation is enhanced by using Intel's Streaming SIMD Extension 2 (SSE2) technology with Intel Pentium 4 processor.Keywords: Motion Estimation, Full Search, Three StepSearch, MMX/SSE/SSE2 Technologies, SIMD.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 21003281 Economic Analysis of Endogenous Growth Model with ICT Capital
Authors: Shoji Katagiri, Hugang Han
Abstract:
This paper clarifies the role of ICT capital in economic growth. Albeit ICT remarkably contributes to economic growth, there are few studies on ICT capital in ICT sector from theoretical point of view. In this paper, production function of ICT which is used as input of intermediate good in final good and ICT sectors is incorporated into our model. In this setting, we analyze the role of ICT on balance growth path and show the possibility of general equilibrium solutions for this model. Through the simulation of the equilibrium solutions, we find that when ICT impacts on economy and economic growth increases, it is necessary that increases of efficiency at ICT sector and of accumulation of non-ICT and ICT capitals occur simultaneously.
Keywords: Endogenous economic growth, ICT, intensity, capital accumulation.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 16753280 Using Data from Foursquare Web Service to Represent the Commercial Activity of a City
Authors: Taras Agryzkov, Almudena Nolasco-Cirugeda, Jos´e L. Oliver, Leticia Serrano-Estrada, Leandro Tortosa, Jos´e F. Vicent
Abstract:
This paper aims to represent the commercial activity of a city taking as source data the social network Foursquare. The city of Murcia is selected as case study, and the location-based social network Foursquare is the main source of information. After carrying out a reorganisation of the user-generated data extracted from Foursquare, it is possible to graphically display on a map the various city spaces and venues especially those related to commercial, food and entertainment sector businesses. The obtained visualisation provides information about activity patterns in the city of Murcia according to the people‘s interests and preferences and, moreover, interesting facts about certain characteristics of the town itself.
Keywords: Social networks, Foursquare, spatial analysis, data visualization, geocomputation.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 26773279 Application of Computational Intelligence for Sensor Fault Detection and Isolation
Authors: A. Jabbari, R. Jedermann, W. Lang
Abstract:
The new idea of this research is application of a new fault detection and isolation (FDI) technique for supervision of sensor networks in transportation system. In measurement systems, it is necessary to detect all types of faults and failures, based on predefined algorithm. Last improvements in artificial neural network studies (ANN) led to using them for some FDI purposes. In this paper, application of new probabilistic neural network features for data approximation and data classification are considered for plausibility check in temperature measurement. For this purpose, two-phase FDI mechanism was considered for residual generation and evaluation.
Keywords: Fault detection and Isolation, Neural network, Temperature measurement, measurement approximation and classification.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 20713278 Distributed GIS Based Decision Support System for Efficiency Evaluation of Education System: A Case Study of Primary School Education System of Bundelkhand Zone, Uttar Pradesh, India
Authors: Garima Srivastava, R. K. Srivastava, R. C. Vaishya
Abstract:
Decision Support System (DSS), a query-based system meant to help decision makers to use a variety of information for decision making, plays a very vital role in sustainable growth of any country. For this very purpose it is essential to analyze the educational system because education is the only way through which people can be made aware as to how to sustain our planet. The purpose of this paper is to prepare a decision support system for efficiency evaluation of education system with the help of Distributed Geographical Information System.
Keywords: Distributed GIS, Web GIS, Spatial Decision Support System, Bundelkhand Zone, Efficiency, Primary School Education.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 25643277 Comparative Approach of Measuring Price Risk on Romanian and International Wheat Market
Authors: Larisa N. Pop, Irina M. Ban
Abstract:
This paper aims to present the main instruments used in the economic literature for measuring the price risk, pointing out on the advantages brought by the conditional variance in this respect. The theoretical approach will be exemplified by elaborating an EGARCH model for the price returns of wheat, both on Romanian and on international market. To our knowledge, no previous empirical research, either on price risk measurement for the Romanian markets or studies that use the ARIMA-EGARCH methodology, have been conducted. After estimating the corresponding models, the paper will compare the estimated conditional variance on the two markets.Keywords: conditional variance, GARCH models, price risk, volatility
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 14493276 Vision Based People Tracking System
Authors: Boukerch Haroun, Luo Qing Sheng, Li Hua Shi, Boukraa Sebti
Abstract:
In this paper we present the design and the implementation of a target tracking system where the target is set to be a moving person in a video sequence. The system can be applied easily as a vision system for mobile robot. The system is composed of two major parts the first is the detection of the person in the video frame using the SVM learning machine based on the “HOG” descriptors. The second part is the tracking of a moving person it’s done by using a combination of the Kalman filter and a modified version of the Camshift tracking algorithm by adding the target motion feature to the color feature, the experimental results had shown that the new algorithm had overcame the traditional Camshift algorithm in robustness and in case of occlusion.
Keywords: Camshift Algorithm, Computer Vision, Kalman Filter, Object tracking.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 13363275 Equilibrium, Kinetic and Thermodynamic Studies of the Biosorption of Textile Dye (Yellow Bemacid) onto Brahea edulis
Authors: G. Henini, Y. Laidani, F. Souahi, A. Labbaci, S. Hanini
Abstract:
Environmental contamination is a major problem being faced by the society today. Industrial, agricultural, and domestic wastes, due to the rapid development in the technology, are discharged in the several receivers. Generally, this discharge is directed to the nearest water sources such as rivers, lakes, and seas. While the rates of development and waste production are not likely to diminish, efforts to control and dispose of wastes are appropriately rising. Wastewaters from textile industries represent a serious problem all over the world. They contain different types of synthetic dyes which are known to be a major source of environmental pollution in terms of both the volume of dye discharged and the effluent composition. From an environmental point of view, the removal of synthetic dyes is of great concern. Among several chemical and physical methods, adsorption is a promising technique due to the ease of use and low cost compared to other applications in the process of discoloration, especially if the adsorbent is inexpensive and readily available. The focus of the present study was to assess the potentiality of Brahea edulis (BE) for the removal of synthetic dye Yellow bemacid (YB) from aqueous solutions. The results obtained here may transfer to other dyes with a similar chemical structure. Biosorption studies were carried out under various parameters such as mass adsorbent particle, pH, contact time, initial dye concentration, and temperature. The biosorption kinetic data of the material (BE) was tested by the pseudo first-order and the pseudo-second-order kinetic models. Thermodynamic parameters including the Gibbs free energy ΔG, enthalpy ΔH, and entropy ΔS have revealed that the adsorption of YB on the BE is feasible, spontaneous, and endothermic. The equilibrium data were analyzed by using Langmuir, Freundlich, Elovich, and Temkin isotherm models. The experimental results show that the percentage of biosorption increases with an increase in the biosorbent mass (0.25 g: 12 mg/g; 1.5 g: 47.44 mg/g). The maximum biosorption occurred at around pH value of 2 for the YB. The equilibrium uptake was increased with an increase in the initial dye concentration in solution (Co = 120 mg/l; q = 35.97 mg/g). Biosorption kinetic data were properly fitted with the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The best fit was obtained by the Langmuir model with high correlation coefficient (R2 > 0.998) and a maximum monolayer adsorption capacity of 35.97 mg/g for YB.Keywords: Adsorption, Brahea edulis, isotherm, yellow bemacid.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 12753274 Enhancement of Impingement Heat Transfer on a Flat Plate with Ribs
Authors: M. Kito, M. Takezaki, T. Shakouchi, K. Tsujimoto, T. Ando
Abstract:
Impinging jets are widely used in industrial cooling systems for their high heat transfer characteristics at stagnation points. However, the heat transfer characteristics are low in the downstream direction. In order to improve the heat transfer coefficient further downstream, investigations introducing ribs on jet-cooled flat plates have been conducted. Most studies regarding the heat-transfer enhancement using a rib-roughened wall have dealt with the rib pitch. In this paper, we focused on the rib spacing and demonstrated that the rib spacing must be more than 6 times the nozzle width to improve heat transfer at Reynolds number Re=5.0×103 because it is necessary to have enough space to allow reattachment of flow behind the first rib.Keywords: Forced convection, heat transfer, impinging jet cooling, rib roughened wall
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 24443273 Socio-Demographic Effects on Digital Libraries Preference and Use: A Case Study at Higher Learning Institutions
Authors: A. K. Razilan, A. B. Amzari, B. Ap-azli, A. R. Safawi
Abstract:
Explosion in information management and information system technology has brought dramatic changes in learning and library system environments. The use of academic digital libraries does witness the spectacular impact on academic societies’ way of performing their study in Malaysia, a country with a multi-racial people. This paper highlights a research on examining the socio-demographic differences on the preference and use of academic digital libraries as compared to physical libraries at higher learning institutions. Findings indicate that preference towards digital libraries differed between ethnicity, gender and university. However none of the socio-demographic factors is statistically significant in terms of the use of digital libraries.
Keywords: Socio-demographic, academic digital library, preference, use.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 14863272 Method of Finding Aerodynamic Characteristic Equations of Missile for Trajectory Simulation
Authors: Attapon Charoenpon, Ekkarach Pankeaw
Abstract:
This paper present a new way to find the aerodynamic characteristic equation of missile for the numerical trajectories prediction more accurate. The goal is to obtain the polynomial equation based on two missile characteristic parameters, angle of attack (α ) and flight speed (╬¢ ). First, the understudied missile is modeled and used for flow computational model to compute aerodynamic force and moment. Assume that performance range of understudied missile where range -10< α <10 and 0< ╬¢ <200. After completely obtained results of all cases, the data are fit by polynomial interpolation to create equation of each case and then combine all equations to form aerodynamic characteristic equation, which will be used for trajectories simulation.
Keywords: Aerodynamic, Characteristic Equation, Angle ofAttack, Polynomial interpolation, Trajectories
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 36673271 Safety Compliance of Substation Earthing Design
Authors: A. Hellany, M.Nagrial, M. Nassereddine, J. Rizk
Abstract:
As new challenges emerge in power electrical workplace safety, it is the responsibility of the systems designer to seek out new approaches and solutions that address them. Design decisions made today will impact cost, safety and serviceability of the installed systems for 40 or 50 years during the useful life for the owner. Studies have shown that this cost is an order of magnitude of 7 to 10 times the installed cost of the power distribution equipment. This paper reviews some aspects of earthing system design in power substation surrounded by residential houses. The electrical potential rise and split factors are discussed and a few recommendations are provided to achieve a safety voltage in the area beyond the boundary of the substation.Keywords: EPR, Split Factor, Earthing Design
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 42693270 Biotransformation of Artemisinin by using a Novel Soil Isolated Microorganism
Authors: Sreenivasa Rao Parcha, Lakshmi P
Abstract:
Artemisinin is a potential antimalarial drug effective against the multidrug resistant forms of Malarial Parasites. The current production of artemisinin is insufficient to meet the global demand. In the present study microbial biotransformation of arteannuin B, a biogenetic precursor of artemisinin to the later has been investigated. Screening studies carried out on several soil borne microorganisms have yielded one novel species with the bioconversion ability. Crude cell free extract of 72h old culture of the isolate had shown the bioconversion activity. On incubation with the substrate arteannuin B, crude cell free extract of the isolate had shown a bioconversion of 18.54% to artemisinin on molar basis with a specific activity of 0.18 units/mg.Keywords: Arteannuin-B, Artemisia annua, Artemisinin, Bioconversion
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 17453269 An Overview of Energy Efficient Routing Protocols for Acoustic Sensor Network
Authors: V. P. Dhivya, R. Arthi
Abstract:
Underwater acoustic network is one of the rapidly growing areas of research and finds different applications for monitoring and collecting various data for environmental studies. The communication among dynamic nodes and high error probability in an acoustic medium forced to maximize energy consumption in Underwater Sensor Networks (USN) than in traditional sensor networks. Developing energy-efficient routing protocol is the fundamental and a curb challenge because all the sensor nodes are powered by batteries, and they cannot be easily replaced in UWSNs. This paper surveys the various recent routing techniques that mainly focus on energy efficiency.
Keywords: Acoustic channels, Energy efficiency, Routing in sensor networks, Underwater Sensor Network.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 29893268 Optimal Planning of Dispatchable Distributed Generators for Power Loss Reduction in Unbalanced Distribution Networks
Authors: Mahmoud M. Othman, Y. G. Hegazy, A. Y. Abdelaziz
Abstract:
This paper proposes a novel heuristic algorithm that aims to determine the best size and location of distributed generators in unbalanced distribution networks. The proposed heuristic algorithm can deal with the planning cases where power loss is to be optimized without violating the system practical constraints. The distributed generation units in the proposed algorithm is modeled as voltage controlled node with the flexibility to be converted to constant power factor node in case of reactive power limit violation. The proposed algorithm is implemented in MATLAB and tested on the IEEE 37 -node feeder. The results obtained show the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.
Keywords: Distributed generation, heuristic approach, Optimization, planning.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 18083267 Forecasting Rainfall in Thailand: A Case Study of Nakhon Ratchasima Province
Authors: N. Sopipan
Abstract:
In this paper, we study the rainfall using a time series for weather stations in Nakhon Ratchasima province in Thailand by various statistical methods to enable us to analyse the behaviour of rainfall in the study areas. Time-series analysis is an important tool in modelling and forecasting rainfall. The ARIMA and Holt-Winter models were built on the basis of exponential smoothing. All the models proved to be adequate. Therefore it is possible to give information that can help decision makers establish strategies for the proper planning of agriculture, drainage systems and other water resource applications in Nakhon Ratchasima province. We obtained the best performance from forecasting with the ARIMA Model(1,0,1)(1,0,1)12.
Keywords: ARIMA Models, Exponential Smoothing, Holt- Winter model.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 26823266 An Experiment for Assessment of a “Functional Scenario-based“ Test Case Generation Method
Authors: Cencen Li, Shaoying Liu, Shin Nakajima
Abstract:
Specification-based testing enables us to detect errors in the implementation of functions defined in given specifications. Its effectiveness in achieving high path coverage and efficiency in generating test cases are always major concerns of testers. The automatic test cases generation approach based on formal specifications proposed by Liu and Nakajima is aimed at ensuring high effectiveness and efficiency, but this approach has not been empirically assessed. In this paper, we present an experiment for assessing Liu-s testing approach. The result indicates that this testing approach may not be effective in some circumstances. We discuss the result, analyse the specific causes for the ineffectiveness, and describe some suggestions for improvement.Keywords: experiment, functional scenario, specification-based, testing.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 17013265 Promoting Community Food Security and Empowerment among Somali Bantu Refugees: A Case for Community Kitchen Gardens
Authors: Michelle D. Hand, Michelle L. Kaiser
Abstract:
African refugees are among the fastest-growing populations in the United States and nearly half of these refugees come from Somalia, many of whom are Somali Bantus, the most marginalized group in Somali society. Yet limited research is available on Somali Bantu refugees. In this paper, Empowerment Theory is used to guide an in-depth exploration of the potential benefits of using community kitchen gardens to increase community food security among Somali Bantu refugees. In addition, recommendations for future research, policy and practice are offered following existing scholarly and grey source literature guidelines as informed by an Empowerment perspective to best meet the needs of this under-researched and underserved yet growing population.Keywords: Community kitchen gardens, food insecurity, refugees, Somali Bantu.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 7473264 Effects of Dust on the Performance of PV Panels
Authors: Shaharin A. Sulaiman, Haizatul H. Hussain, Nik Siti H. Nik Leh, Mohd S. I. Razali
Abstract:
Accumulation of dust from the outdoor environment on the panels of solar photovoltaic (PV) system is natural. There were studies that showed that the accumulated dust can reduce the performance of solar panels, but the results were not clearly quantified. The objective of this research was to study the effects of dust accumulation on the performance of solar PV panels. Experiments were conducted using dust particles on solar panels with a constant-power light source, to determine the resulting electrical power generated and efficiency. It was found from the study that the accumulated dust on the surface of photovoltaic solar panel can reduce the system-s efficiency by up to 50%.Keywords: Dust, Photovoltaic, Solar Energy.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 137353263 System Survivability in Networks in the Context of Defense/Attack Strategies: The Large Scale
Authors: A. Ben Yaghlane, M. N. Azaiez, M. Mrad
Abstract:
We investigate the large scale of networks in the context of network survivability under attack. We use appropriate techniques to evaluate and the attacker-based- and the defenderbased- network survivability. The attacker is unaware of the operated links by the defender. Each attacked link has some pre-specified probability to be disconnected. The defender choice is so that to maximize the chance of successfully sending the flow to the destination node. The attacker however will select the cut-set with the highest chance to be disabled in order to partition the network. Moreover, we extend the problem to the case of selecting the best p paths to operate by the defender and the best k cut-sets to target by the attacker, for arbitrary integers p,k>1. We investigate some variations of the problem and suggest polynomial-time solutions.Keywords: Defense/attack strategies, large scale, networks, partitioning a network.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 14813262 The Current Home Hemodialysis Practices and Patients’ Safety Related Factors: A Case Study from Germany
Authors: Ilyas Khan. Liliane Pintelon, Harry Martin, Michael Shömig
Abstract:
The increasing costs of healthcare on one hand, and the rise in aging population and associated chronic disease, on the other hand, are putting increasing burden on the current health care system in many Western countries. For instance, chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a common disease and in Europe, the cost of renal replacement therapy (RRT) is very significant to the total health care cost. However, the recent advancement in healthcare technology, provide the opportunity to treat patients at home in their own comfort. It is evident that home healthcare offers numerous advantages apparently, low costs and high patients’ quality of life. Despite these advantages, the intake of home hemodialysis (HHD) therapy is still low in particular in Germany. Many factors are accounted for the low number of HHD intake. However, this paper is focusing on patients’ safety-related factors of current HHD practices in Germany. The aim of this paper is to analyze the current HHD practices in Germany and to identify risks related factors if any exist. A case study has been conducted in a dialysis center which consists of four dialysis centers in the south of Germany. In total, these dialysis centers have 350 chronic dialysis patients, of which, four patients are on HHD. The centers have 126 staff which includes six nephrologists and 120 other staff i.e. nurses and administration. The results of the study revealed several risk-related factors. Most importantly, these centers do not offer allied health services at the pre-dialysis stage, the HHD training did not have an established curriculum; however, they have just recently developed the first version. Only a soft copy of the machine manual is offered to patients. Surprisingly, the management was not aware of any standard available for home assessment and installation. The home assessment is done by a third party (i.e. the machines and equipment provider) and they may not consider the hygienic quality of the patient’s home. The type of machine provided to patients at home is similar to the one in the center. The model may not be suitable at home because of its size and complexity. Even though portable hemodialysis machines, which are specially designed for home use, are available in the market such as the NxStage series. Besides the type of machine, no assistance is offered for space management at home in particular for placing the machine. Moreover, the centers do not offer remote assistance to patients and their carer at home. However, telephonic assistance is available. Furthermore, no alternative is offered if a carer is not available. In addition, the centers are lacking medical staff including nephrologists and renal nurses.
Keywords: Home hemodialysis, home hemodialysis practices, patients’ related risks in the current home hemodialysis practices, patient safety in home hemodialysis.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 8113261 Brazilian Environmental Public Policies Analysis
Authors: Estela Macedo Alves
Abstract:
This paper is an overview on public policy analysis focused on the study of Brazilian public policy making process. The methodology is based on the review of some theories on the subject, linking them to Brazilian reality. The study presents basic policy analysis concepts, such as policy, polity and politics. It is emphasized John Kingdon's Multiple Stream Model, because of its clarifying aspects concerning public policies formulation process in democratic countries. In this path it was possible to establish interpretations on environmental public policies in Brazil and understand its methods, instead of presenting only a case study. At the end, it is possible to connect theory with Brazilian reality, identifying negative and positive points of its political processes and structure.
Keywords: Brazilian policies, environmental public policy, multiple stream model, public policy analysis.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 21703260 The Identification of Selected Dysfunctions and Paradoxes in Corporate Social Responsibility Management in Small Enterprise
Authors: A. Sokołowska
Abstract:
The study presents a brief and synthetic discussion of selected conclusions resulting from multidimensional and in-depth empirical studies. Its theoretical part presents the assumptions referring to social responsibility management from the perspective of the specific nature of small enterprise functioning, while the empirical part presents the selected dysfunctions and paradoxes in social responsibility management referring to this group of enterprises. The paper is summarized by a short list of the resulting recommendations.
Keywords: Small enterprise, social responsibility management, social responsibility of small enterprise.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 12793259 Analysis of the Key Indicators of Sustainable Tourism: A Case Study in Lagoa da Confusão, Brazil
Authors: Veruska C. Dutra, Lucio F. M. Adorno, Mary L. G. S. Senna
Abstract:
From the start, the importance of having a plan to sustain tourism was acknowledged. The correct methods to monitor that type of tourism have been researched. Thus, we propose in this work to analyze the applicability of a monitoring and assistance method on the understanding of the tourism sustainability in a small size destiny or getaway. In this study, the subject is Lagoa da Confusão, in the state of Tocantins and the analysis was carried out through the efficiency of the local indicators, according to the WOT approach. We concluded that the sustainable tourism key points that were analyzed demonstrated to be important evaluation and quantification tools for the proposed tasks to be developed in the mentioned destiny. This is a study of an interdisciplinary character and the deductive method was chosen as the guiding line.Keywords: Indicators, Lagoa da Confusão, Tocantins, Brazil, monitoring, sustainability.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2903