Search results for: Livestock Support Project
839 Job Stressors and Coping Mechanisms among Emergency Department Nurses in the Armed Force Hospitals of Taiwan
Authors: Wei-Wen Liu, Feng-Chuan Pan, Pei-Chi Wen, Sen-Ji Chen, Su-Hui Lin
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Nurses in an Armed Force Hospital (AFH) expose to stronger stress than those in a civil hospital, especially in an emergency department (ED). Ironically, stresses of these nurses received few if any attention in academic research in the past. This study collects 227 samples from the emergency departments of four armed force hospitals in central and southern Taiwan. The research indicates that the top five stressors are a massive casualty event, delayed physician support, overloads of routine work, overloads of assignments, and annoying paper work. Excessive work loading was found to be the primary source of stress. Nurses who were perceived to have greater stress levels were more inclined to deploy emotion-oriented approaches and more likely to seek job rotations. Professional stressors and problem-oriented approaches were positively correlated. Unlike other local studies, this study concludes that the excessive work-loading is more stressful in an AFH.
Keywords: Emergency nurse, Job stressor, Coping behavior, Armed force hospital.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2950838 Visualization of Latent Sweat Fingerprints Deposit on Paper by Infrared Radiation and Blue Light
Authors: Xiaochun Huang, Xuejun Zhao, Yun Zou, Feiyu Yang, Wenbin Liu, Nan Deng, Ming Zhang, Nengbin Cai
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A simple device termed infrared radiation (IR) was developed for rapid visualization of sweat fingerprints deposit on paper with blue light (450 nm, 11 W). In this approach, IR serves as the pretreatment device before the sweat fingerprints was illuminated by blue light. An annular blue light source was adopted for visualizing latent sweat fingerprints. Sample fingerprints were examined under various conditions after deposition, and experimental results indicate that the recovery rate of the latent sweat fingerprints is in the range of 50%-100% without chemical treatments. A mechanism for the observed visibility is proposed based on transportation and re-impregnation of fluorescer in paper at the region of water. And further exploratory experimental results gave the full support to the visible mechanism. Therefore, such a method as IR-pretreated in detecting latent fingerprints may be better for examination in the case where biological information of samples is needed for consequent testing.
Keywords: Forensic science, visualization, infrared radiation, blue light, latent sweat fingerprints, detection.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1463837 Extending the Flipped Classroom Approach: Using Technology in Module Delivery to Students of English Language and Literature at the British University in Egypt
Authors: Azza Taha Zaki
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Technology-enhanced teaching has been in the limelight since the 90s when educators started investigating and experimenting with using computers in the classroom as a means of building 21st. century skills and motivating students. The concept of technology-enhanced strategies in education is kaleidoscopic! It has meant different things to different educators. For the purpose of this paper, however, it will be used to refer to the diverse technology-based strategies used to support and enrich the flipped learning process, in the classroom and outside. The paper will investigate how technology is put in the service of teaching and learning to improve the students’ learning experience as manifested in students’ attendance and engagement, achievement rates and finally, students’ projects at the end of the semester. The results will be supported by a student survey about relevant specific aspects of their learning experience in the modules in the study.
Keywords: Attendance, British University, Egypt, flipped, student achievement, student-centred, student engagement, students’ projects.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 672836 Interpolation Issue in PVNPG-14M Application for Technical Control of Artillery Fire
Authors: Martin Blaha, Ladislav Potužák, Daniel Holesz
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This paper focused on application support for technical control of artillery units – PVNPG-14M, especially on interpolation issue. Artillery units of the Army of the Czech Republic, reflecting the current global security neighborhood, can be used outside the Czech Republic. The paper presents principles, evolution and calculation in the process of complete preparation. The paper presents expertise using of application of current artillery communication and information system and suggests the perspective future system. The paper also presents problems in process of complete preparing of fire especially problems in permanently information (firing table) and calculated values. The paper presents problems of current artillery communication and information system and suggests requirements of the future system.Keywords: Fire for effect, application, fire control, interpolation method, software development.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1154835 A New Intelligent, Dynamic and Real Time Management System of Sewerage
Authors: R. Tlili Yaakoubi, H. Nakouri, O. Blanpain, S. Lallahem
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The current tools for real time management of sewer systems are based on two software tools: the software of weather forecast and the software of hydraulic simulation. The use of the first ones is an important cause of imprecision and uncertainty, the use of the second requires temporal important steps of decision because of their need in times of calculation. This way of proceeding fact that the obtained results are generally different from those waited. The major idea of this project is to change the basic paradigm by approaching the problem by the "automatic" face rather than by that "hydrology". The objective is to make possible the realization of a large number of simulations at very short times (a few seconds) allowing to take place weather forecasts by using directly the real time meditative pluviometric data. The aim is to reach a system where the decision-making is realized from reliable data and where the correction of the error is permanent. A first model of control laws was realized and tested with different return-period rainfalls. The gains obtained in rejecting volume vary from 19 to 100 %. The development of a new algorithm was then used to optimize calculation time and thus to overcome the subsequent combinatorial problem in our first approach. Finally, this new algorithm was tested with 16- year-rainfall series. The obtained gains are 40 % of total volume rejected to the natural environment and of 65 % in the number of discharges.Keywords: Automation, optimization, paradigm, RTC.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1488834 Effective Leadership in the Engineering, Technology, and Construction Industry
Authors: David W. Farler, Perry Haan
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This paper explores what effective leadership is being employed in the engineering, technology, and construction (ETC) industry. Organizations need to understand what character traits are being used and what leadership styles work to promote sustainability and improve the triple bottom line. This paper looks at multiple publications on leadership and character traits effective for managers and leaders in the ETC industry. The ETC industry is a trillion-dollar industry, and understanding ways to improve leadership is vital for organizations' successful outcomes. With improvements to the managerial and leadership, there could be ways for organizations to profit more and cut down on cost costs. Finding ways to improve motivation can help organizations improve safety, improve culture, and increase employee motivation. From the research, this paper has found that situational leadership, transformational, and transactional are the most effective leadership styles that individuals can use in the ETC industry for leadership. Character traits that are the most effective have been identified in this research paper. This research has contributed to the ways individuals who start in the engineering and technology industry can improve upon their leadership skills as they are promoted into managerial and leadership roles. The need for managerial positions in the ETC industry, such as project and construction managers, to improve is vital for successful outcomes and creating a high-level performance. The study helps provide a gap in the limited research available to improve ETC leadership for all organizations' present and future.
Keywords: Construction, effective leadership, engineering, technology.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 983833 ‘Daily Speaking’: Designing an App for Construction of Language Learning Model Supporting ‘Seamless Flipped’ Environment
Authors: Zhou Hong, Gu Xiao-Qing, Lıu Hong-Jiao, Leng Jing
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Seamless learning is becoming a research hotspot in recent years, and the emerging of micro-lectures, flipped classroom has strengthened the development of seamless learning. Based on the characteristics of the seamless learning across time and space and the course structure of the flipped classroom, and the theories of language learning, we put forward the language learning model which can support ‘seamless flipped’ environment (abbreviated as ‘S-F’). Meanwhile, the characteristics of the ‘S-F’ learning environment, the corresponding framework construction and the activity design of diversified corpora were introduced. Moreover, a language learning app named ‘Daily Speaking’ was developed to facilitate the practice of the language learning model in ‘S-F’ environment. In virtue of the learning case of Shanghai language, the rationality and feasibility of this framework were examined, expecting to provide a reference for the design of ‘S-F’ learning in different situations.
Keywords: Seamless learning, flipped classroom, seamless-flipped environment, language learning model.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 626832 Design of Quality Assessment System for On-Orbit 3D Printing Based on 3D Reconstruction Technology
Authors: Jianning Tang, Xiaofeng Wu
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With the increasing demand for space use in multiple sectors (navigation, telecommunication, imagery, etc.), the deployment and maintenance demand of satellites are growing. Considering the high launching cost and the restrictions on weight and size of the payload when using launch vehicle, the technique of on-orbit manufacturing has obtained more attention because of its significant potential to support future space missions. 3D printing is the most promising manufacturing technology that could be applied in space. However, due to the lack of autonomous quality assessment, the operation of conventional 3D printers still relies on human presence to supervise the printing process. This paper is proposed to develop an automatic 3D reconstruction system aiming at detecting failures on the 3D printed objects through application of point cloud technology. Based on the data obtained from the point cloud, the 3D printer could locate the failure and repair the failure. The system will increase automation and provide 3D printing with more feasibilities for space use without human interference.
Keywords: 3D printing, quality assessment, point cloud, on-orbit manufacturing.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 401831 Web 2.0 in Higher Education: The Instructors’ Acceptance in Higher Educational Institutes in Kingdom of Bahrain
Authors: Amal M. Alrayes, Hayat M. Ali
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Since the beginning of distance education with the rapid evolution of technology, the social network plays a vital role in the educational process to enforce the interaction been the learners and teachers. There are many Web 2.0 technologies, services and tools designed for educational purposes. This research aims to investigate instructors’ acceptance towards web-based learning systems in higher educational institutes in Kingdom of Bahrain. Questionnaire is used to investigate the instructors’ usage of Web 2.0 and the factors affecting their acceptance. The results confirm that instructors had high accessibility to such technologies. However, patterns of use were complex. Whilst most expressed interest in using online technologies to support learning activities, learners seemed cautious about other values associated with web-based system, such as the shared construction of knowledge in a public format. The research concludes that there are main factors that affect instructors’ adoption which are security, performance expectation, perceived benefits, subjective norm, and perceived usefulness.
Keywords: Web 2.0, Higher education, Acceptance, Students’ perception.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1309830 Heat Treatment of Aluminum Alloy 7449
Authors: Suleiman E. Al-lubani, Mohammad E. Matarneh, Hussien M. Al-Wedyan, Ala M. Rayes
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Aluminum alloy has an extensive range of industrial application due to its consistent mechanical properties and structural integrity. The heat treatment by precipitation technique affected the Magnesium, Silicon Manganese and copper crystals dissolved in the Aluminum alloy. The crystals dislocated to precipitate on the crystal’s boundaries of the Aluminum alloy when given a thermal energy increased its hardness. In this project various times and temperature were varied to find out the best combination of these variables to increase the precipitation of the metals on the Aluminum crystal’s boundaries which will lead to get the highest hardness. These specimens are then tested for their hardness and tensile strength. It is noticed that when the temperature increases, the precipitation increases and consequently the hardness increases. A threshold temperature value (264C0) of Aluminum alloy should not be reached due to the occurrence of recrystalization which causes the crystal to grow. This recrystalization process affected the ductility of the alloy and decrease hardness. In addition, and while increasing the temperature the alloy’s mechanical properties will decrease. The mechanical properties, namely tensile and hardness properties are investigated according to standard procedures. In this research, different temperature and time have been applied to increase hardening.The highest hardness at 100°c in 6 hours equals to 207.31 HBR, while at the same temperature and time the lowest elongation equals to 146.5.Keywords: Aluminum alloy, recrystalization process, heat treatment, hardness properties, precipitation, intergranular breakage.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 4076829 Computational Approaches for Ballistic Impact Response of Stainless Steel 304
Authors: A. Mostafa
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This paper presents a numerical study on determination of ballistic limit velocity (V50) of stainless steel 304 (SS 304) used in manufacturing security screens. The simulated ballistic impact tests were conducted on clamped sheets with different thicknesses using ABAQUS/Explicit nonlinear finite element (FE) package. The ballistic limit velocity was determined using three approaches, namely: numerical tests based on material properties, FE calculated residual velocities and FE calculated residual energies. Johnson-Cook plasticity and failure criterion were utilized to simulate the dynamic behaviour of the SS 304 under various strain rates, while the well-known Lambert-Jonas equation was used for the data regression for the residual velocity and energy model. Good agreement between the investigated numerical methods was achieved. Additionally, the dependence of the ballistic limit velocity on the sheet thickness was observed. The proposed approaches present viable and cost-effective assessment methods of the ballistic performance of SS 304, which will support the development of robust security screen systems.
Keywords: Ballistic velocity, stainless steel, numerical approaches, security screen.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 663828 Concept for Determining the Focus of Technology Monitoring Activities
Authors: Guenther Schuh, Christina Koenig, Nico Schoen, Markus Wellensiek
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Identification and selection of appropriate product and manufacturing technologies are key factors for competitiveness and market success of technology-based companies. Therefore, many companies perform technology intelligence (TI) activities to ensure the identification of evolving technologies at the right time. Technology monitoring is one of the three base activities of TI, besides scanning and scouting. As the technological progress is accelerating, more and more technologies are being developed. Against the background of limited resources it is therefore necessary to focus TI activities. In this paper we propose a concept for defining appropriate search fields for technology monitoring. This limitation of search space leads to more concentrated monitoring activities. The concept will be introduced and demonstrated through an anonymized case study conducted within an industry project at the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT. The described concept provides a customized monitoring approach, which is suitable for use in technology-oriented companies. It is shown in this paper that the definition of search fields and search tasks are suitable methods to define topics of interest and thus to align monitoring activities. Current as well as planned product, production and material technologies and existing skills, capabilities and resources form the basis for derivation of relevant search areas. To further improve the concept of technology monitoring the proposed concept should be extended during future research e.g. by the definition of relevant monitoring parameters.
Keywords: Monitoring radar, search field, technology intelligence, technology monitoring.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3254827 Optimizing Forecasting for Indonesia's Coal and Palm Oil Exports: A Comparative Analysis of ARIMA, ANN, and LSTM Methods
Authors: Mochammad Dewo, Sumarsono Sudarto
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The Exponential Triple Smoothing Algorithm approach nowadays, which is used to anticipate the export value of Indonesia's two major commodities, coal and palm oil, has a Mean Percentage Absolute Error (MAPE) value of 30-50%, which may be considered as a "reasonable" forecasting mistake. Forecasting errors of more than 30% shall have a domino effect on industrial output, as extra production adds to raw material, manufacturing and storage expenses. Whereas, reaching an "excellent" classification with an error value of less than 10% will provide new investors and exporters with confidence in the commercial development of related sectors. Industrial growth will bring out a positive impact on economic development. It can be applied for other commodities if the forecast error is less than 10%. The purpose of this project is to create a forecasting technique that can produce precise forecasting results with an error of less than 10%. This research analyzes forecasting methods such as ARIMA (Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average), ANN (Artificial Neural Network) and LSTM (Long-Short Term Memory). By providing a MAPE of 1%, this study reveals that ANN is the most successful strategy for forecasting coal and palm oil commodities in Indonesia.
Keywords: ANN, Artificial Neural Network, ARIMA, Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average, export value, forecast, LSTM, Long Short Term Memory.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 224826 Communication and Quality in Distributed Agile Development: An Empirical Case Study
Authors: R. Green, T. Mazzuchi, S. Sarkani
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Through inward perceptions, we intuitively expect distributed software development to increase the risks associated with achieving cost, schedule, and quality goals. To compound this problem, agile software development (ASD) insists one of the main ingredients of its success is cohesive communication attributed to collocation of the development team. The following study identified the degree of communication richness needed to achieve comparable software quality (reduce pre-release defects) between distributed and collocated teams. This paper explores the relevancy of communication richness in various development phases and its impact on quality. Through examination of a large distributed agile development project, this investigation seeks to understand the levels of communication required within each ASD phase to produce comparable quality results achieved by collocated teams. Obviously, a multitude of factors affects the outcome of software projects. However, within distributed agile software development teams, the mode of communication is one of the critical components required to achieve team cohesiveness and effectiveness. As such, this study constructs a distributed agile communication model (DAC-M) for potential application to similar distributed agile development efforts using the measurement of the suitable level of communication. The results of the study show that less rich communication methods, in the appropriate phase, might be satisfactory to achieve equivalent quality in distributed ASD efforts.Keywords: agile software development (ASD), distributedsoftware teams, media richness theory, software development.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2162825 A Value-Oriented Metamodel for Small and Medium Enterprises’ Decision Making
Authors: Romain Ben Taleb, Aurélie Montarnal, Matthieu Lauras, Mathieu Dahan, Romain Miclo
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To be competitive and sustainable, any company has to maximize its value. However, unlike listed companies that can assess their values based on market shares, most Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) which are non-listed cannot have direct and live access to this critical information. Traditional accounting reports only give limited insights to SME decision-makers about the real impact of their day-to-day decisions on the company’s performance and value. Most of the time, an SME’s financial valuation is made one time a year as the associated process is time and resource-consuming, requiring several months and external expertise to be completed. To solve this issue, we propose in this paper a value-oriented metamodel that enables real-time and dynamic assessment of the SME’s value based on the large definition of their assets. These assets cover a wider scope of resources of the company and better account for immaterial assets. The proposal, which is illustrated in a case study, discusses the benefits of incorporating assets in the SME valuation.
Keywords: SME, metamodel, decision support system, financial valuation.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 442824 Bioclimatic Design, Evaluation of Energy Behavior and Energy-Saving Interventions at the Theagenio Cancer Hospital
Authors: Emmanouel Koumoulas, Aikaterini Rokkou, Marios Moschakis
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Theagenio" in Thessaloniki exists and works for three centuries now as a hospital. Since 1975, it has been operating as an Integrated Special Cancer Hospital and since 1985 it has been integrated into the National Health System. "Theagenio" Cancer Hospital is located at the central web of Thessaloniki residential complex and consists of two buildings, the "Symeonidio Research Center", which was completed in 1962 and the Nursing Ward, a project that was later completed in 1975. This paper examines the design of the Hospital Unit according to the requirements of the energy design of buildings. Initially, the energy characteristics of the Hospital are recorded, followed by a detailed presentation of the electromechanical installations. After the existing situation has been captured and with the help of the software TEE-KENAK, different scenarios for the energy upgrading of the buildings have been studied. Proposals for upgrading concern both the shell, e.g. installation of external thermal insulation, replacement of frames, addition of shading systems, etc. as well as electromechanical installations, e.g. use of ceiling fans, improvements in heating and cooling systems, interventions in lighting, etc. The simulation calculates the future energy status of the buildings and presents the economic benefits of the proposed interventions with reference to the environmental profits that arise.Keywords: Energy consumption in hospitals, energy saving interventions, energy upgrading, hospital facilities.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 843823 Selection of Pichia kudriavzevii Strain for the Production of Single-Cell Protein from Cassava Processing Waste
Authors: Phakamas Rachamontree, Theerawut Phusantisampan, Natthakorn Woravutthikul, Peerapong Pornwongthong, Malinee Sriariyanun
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A total of 115 yeast strains isolated from local cassava processing wastes were measured for crude protein content. Among these strains, the strain MSY-2 possessed the highest protein concentration (>3.5 mg protein/mL). By using molecular identification tools, it was identified to be a strain of Pichia kudriavzevii based on similarity of D1/D2 domain of 26S rDNA region. In this study, to optimize the protein production by MSY-2 strain, Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was applied. The tested parameters were the carbon content, nitrogen content, and incubation time. Here, the value of regression coefficient (R2) = 0.7194 could be explained by the model which is high to support the significance of the model. Under the optimal condition, the protein content was produced up to 3.77 g per L of the culture and MSY-2 strain contains 66.8 g protein per 100 g of cell dry weight. These results revealed the plausibility of applying the novel strain of yeast in single-cell protein production.Keywords: Single cell protein, response surface methodology, yeast, cassava processing waste.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2680822 Augmenting History: Case Study Measuring Motivation of Students Using Augmented Reality Apps in History Classes
Authors: Kevin. S. Badni
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Due to the rapid advances in the use of information technology and students’ familiarity with technology, learning styles in higher education are being reshaped. One of the technology developments that has gained considerable attention in recent years is Augmented Reality (AR), where technology is used to combine overlays of digital data on physical real-world settings. While AR is being heavily promoted for entertainment by mobile phone manufacturers, it has had little adoption in higher education due to the required upfront investment that an instructor needs to undertake in creating relevant AR applications. This paper discusses a case study that uses a low upfront development approach and examines the impact on generation-Z students’ motivation whilst studying design history over a four-semester period. Even though the upfront investment in creating the AR support was minimal, the results showed a noticeable increase in student motivation. The approach used in this paper can be easily transferred to other disciplines and other areas of design education.
Keywords: Augmented reality, history, motivation, technology.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 937821 Evolutionary Multi-objective Optimization for Positioning of Residential Houses
Authors: Ayman El Ansary, Mohamed Shalaby
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The current study describes a multi-objective optimization technique for positioning of houses in a residential neighborhood. The main task is the placement of residential houses in a favorable configuration satisfying a number of objectives. Solving the house layout problem is a challenging task. It requires an iterative approach to satisfy design requirements (e.g. energy efficiency, skyview, daylight, roads network, visual privacy, and clear access to favorite views). These design requirements vary from one project to another based on location and client preferences. In the Gulf region, the most important socio-cultural factor is the visual privacy in indoor space. Hence, most of the residential houses in this region are surrounded by high fences to provide privacy, which has a direct impact on other requirements (e.g. daylight and direction to favorite views). This investigation introduces a novel technique to optimally locate and orient residential buildings to satisfy a set of design requirements. The developed technique explores the search space for possible solutions. This study considers two dimensional house planning problems. However, it can be extended to solve three dimensional cases.
Keywords: Evolutionary optimization, Houses planning, Urban modeling, Daylight, Visual Privacy, Residential compounds.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1545820 Design of Cooperative Processes of Innovation
Authors: Suzanne Yaganeh, Janni Nielsen, Leif Bloch Rasmussen
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This paper invites to dialogue and reflections on innovation and entrepreneurship by presenting concepts of innovation leading to the introduction of a complex theoretical framework; Cooperative Innovation (CO-IN). CO-IN is a didactic model enhancing and scaffolding processes of cooperation creating innovation drawing on a Scandinavian tradition. CO-IN is based on a cross-sectorial and multidisciplinary approach. We introduce the concept of complementarity to help capture the validity of diversity and we suggest the concept of “the space in between" to understand the creation of identity as a collective mind. We see dialogue and the use of multi modal techniques as essential tools for conceptualizations giving possibility for clarification of the complexity and diversity leading to decision making based on knowledge as commons. We introduce the didactic design and present our empirical findings from an innovation workshop in Argentina. In a final paragraph we reflect on the design as a support of the development of common ground, collective mind and collective action and the creation of knowledge as commons to facilitate innovation and entrepreneurship.Keywords: CO-operative Innovation, didactic design, dialogue and ICT.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1718819 Effect of Birks Constant and Defocusing Parameter on Triple-to-Double Coincidence Ratio Parameter in Monte Carlo Simulation-GEANT4
Authors: F. Abubaker, F. Tortorici, M. Capogni, C. Sutera, V. Bellini
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This project concerns with the detection efficiency of the portable Triple-to-Double Coincidence Ratio (TDCR) at the National Institute of Metrology of Ionizing Radiation (INMRI-ENEA) which allows direct activity measurement and radionuclide standardization for pure-beta emitter or pure electron capture radionuclides. The dependency of the simulated detection efficiency of the TDCR, by using Monte Carlo simulation Geant4 code, on the Birks factor (kB) and defocusing parameter has been examined especially for low energy beta-emitter radionuclides such as 3H and 14C, for which this dependency is relevant. The results achieved in this analysis can be used for selecting the best kB factor and the defocusing parameter for computing theoretical TDCR parameter value. The theoretical results were compared with the available ones, measured by the ENEA TDCR portable detector, for some pure-beta emitter radionuclides. This analysis allowed to improve the knowledge of the characteristics of the ENEA TDCR detector that can be used as a traveling instrument for in-situ measurements with particular benefits in many applications in the field of nuclear medicine and in the nuclear energy industry.
Keywords: Birks constant, defocusing parameter, GEANT4 code, TDCR parameter.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 520818 Improving Location Management in Mobile IPv4 Networks
Authors: Haidar Safa, Hassan Artail, Ahmad Mehio, Hicham Zahr, Ziad Matragi
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The Mobile IP Standard has been developed to support mobility over the Internet. This standard contains several drawbacks as in the cases where packets are routed via sub-optimal paths and significant amount of signaling messages is generated due to the home registration procedure which keeps the network aware of the current location of the mobile nodes. Recently, a dynamic hierarchical mobility management strategy for mobile IP networks (DHMIP) has been proposed to reduce home registrations costs. However, this strategy induces a packet delivery delay and increases the risk of packet loss. In this paper, we propose an enhanced version of the dynamic hierarchical strategy that reduces the packet delivery delay and minimizes the risk of packet loss. Preliminary results obtained from simulations are promising. They show that the enhanced version outperforms the original dynamic hierarchical mobility management strategy version.
Keywords: Location management, Mobile IP (MIP), Home Agent, Foreign Agent.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1446817 Incidence of Disasters and Coping Mechanism among Farming Households in South West Nigeria
Authors: Fawehinmi Olabisi Alaba, Adeniyi O. R.
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Farming households faces lots of disaster which contribute to endemic poverty. Anticipated increases in extreme weather events will exacerbate this. Primary data was administered to farming household using multi-stage random sampling technique. The result of the analysis shows that majority of the respondents (69.9%) are male, have mean household size, years of formal education and age of 5±1.14, 6±3.41, and 51.06±10.43 respectively. The major (48.9%) type of disaster experienced is flooding. Major coping mechanism adopted is sourcing for support from family and friends. Age, education, experience, access to extension agent, and mitigation control method contribute significantly to vulnerability to disaster. The major adaptation method (62.3%) is construction of drainage.
The study revealed that the coping mechanisms employed may become less effective as increasingly fragile livelihood systems struggle to withstand disaster shocks. Thus there is need for training of the farmers on measures to adapt to mitigate the shock from disasters
Keywords: Adaptation, Disasters, Flooding, Vulnerability.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2127816 Greening the Greyfields: Unlocking the Redevelopment Potential of the Middle Suburbs in Australian Cities
Authors: Peter Newton, Peter Newman, Stephen Glackin, Roman Trubka
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Pressures for urban redevelopment are intensifying in all large cities. A new logic for urban development is required – green urbanism – that provides a spatial framework for directing population and investment inwards to brownfields and greyfields precincts, rather than outwards to the greenfields. This represents both a major opportunity and a major challenge for city planners in pluralist liberal democracies. However, plans for more compact forms of urban redevelopment are stalling in the face of community resistance. A new paradigm and spatial planning platform is required that will support timely multi-level and multi-actor stakeholder engagement, resulting in the emergence of consensus plans for precinct-level urban regeneration capable of more rapid implementation. Using Melbourne, Australia as a case study, this paper addresses two of the urban intervention challenges – where and how – via the application of a 21st century planning tool ENVISION created for this purpose.Keywords: Green urbanism, greyfields, planning tools, urban regeneration.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3124815 On Supporting a Meta-design Approach in Socio-Technical Ontology Engineering
Authors: Mesnan Silalahi, Dana Indra Sensuse, Indra Budi
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Many studies have revealed the fact of the complexity of ontology building process. Therefore there is a need for a new approach which one of that addresses the socio-technical aspects in the collaboration to reach a consensus. Meta-design approach is considered applicable as a method in the methodological model of socio-technical ontology engineering. Principles in the meta-design framework are applied in the construction phases of the ontology. A web portal is developed to support the meta-design principles requirements. To validate the methodological model semantic web applications were developed and integrated in the portal and also used as a way to show the usefulness of the ontology. The knowledge based system will be filled with data of Indonesian medicinal plants. By showing the usefulness of the developed ontology in a semantic web application, we motivate all stakeholders to participate in the development of knowledge based system of medicinal plants in Indonesia.
Keywords: Socio-technical, meta-design, ontology engineering methodology, semantic web application.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2520814 Performance of an Improved Fluidized System for Processing Green Tea
Authors: Nickson Kipng’etich Lang’at, Thomas Thoruwa, John Abraham, John Wanyoko
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Green tea is made from the top two leaves and buds of a shrub, Camellia sinensis, of the family Theaceae and the order Theales. The green tea leaves are picked and immediately sent to be dried or steamed to prevent fermentation. Fluid bed drying technique is a common drying method used in drying green tea because of its ease in design and construction and fluidization of fine tea particles. Major problems in this method are significant loss of chemical content of the leaf and green appearance of tea, retention of high moisture content in the leaves and bed channeling and defluidization. The energy associated with the drying technology has been shown to be a vital factor in determining the quality of green tea. As part of the implementation, prototype dryer was built that facilitated sequence of operations involving steaming, cooling, pre-drying and final drying. The major findings of the project were in terms of quality characteristics of tea leaves and energy consumption during processing. The optimal design achieved a moisture content of 4.2 ± 0.84%. With the optimum drying temperature of 100 ºC, the specific energy consumption was 1697.8 kj.Kg-1 and evaporation rate of 4.272 x 10-4 Kg.m-2.s-1. The energy consumption in a fluidized system can be further reduced by focusing on energy saving designs.
Keywords: Evaporation rate, fluid bed dryer, maceration, specific energy consumption.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1700813 Neuro-fuzzy Classification System for Wireless-Capsule Endoscopic Images
Authors: Vassilis S. Kodogiannis, John N. Lygouras
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In this research study, an intelligent detection system to support medical diagnosis and detection of abnormal lesions by processing endoscopic images is presented. The images used in this study have been obtained using the M2A Swallowable Imaging Capsule - a patented, video color-imaging disposable capsule. Schemes have been developed to extract texture features from the fuzzy texture spectra in the chromatic and achromatic domains for a selected region of interest from each color component histogram of endoscopic images. The implementation of an advanced fuzzy inference neural network which combines fuzzy systems and artificial neural networks and the concept of fusion of multiple classifiers dedicated to specific feature parameters have been also adopted in this paper. The achieved high detection accuracy of the proposed system has provided thus an indication that such intelligent schemes could be used as a supplementary diagnostic tool in endoscopy.Keywords: Medical imaging, Computer aided diagnosis, Endoscopy, Neuro-fuzzy networks, Fuzzy integral.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1752812 Spray Combustion Dynamics under Thermoacoustic Oscillations
Authors: Wajid A. Chishty, Stephen D. Lepera, Uri Vandsburger
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Thermoacoustic instabilities in combustors have remained a topic of investigation for over a few decades due to the challenges it posses to the operation of low emission gas turbines. For combustors burning liquid fuel, understanding the cause-andeffect relationship between spray combustion dynamics and thermoacoustic oscillations is imperative for the successful development of any control methodology for its mitigation. The paper presents some very unique operating characteristics of a kerosene-fueled diffusion type combustor undergoing limit-cycle oscillations. Combustor stability limits were mapped using three different-sized injectors. The results show that combustor instability depends on the characteristics of the fuel spray. A simple analytic analysis is also reported in support of a plausible explanation for the unique combustor behavior. The study indicates that high amplitude acoustic pressure in the combustor may cause secondary breakdown of fuel droplets resulting in premixed pre-vaporized type burning of the diffusion type combustor.Keywords: Secondary droplet breakup, Spray dynamics, Taylor Analogy Breakup Model, Thermoacoustic instabilities.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1855811 Using Knowledge Management for Creating Knowledge Society through e-Government Services in Montenegro
Authors: Tamara Djurickovic
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The waves of eGovernment are rising very fast through almost all public administration, or at least most of the public administrations around the world, and not only the public administration, but also the entire government and all of their organization as a whole. The government uses information technology, and above all the internet or web network, to facilitate the exchange of services between government agencies and citizens, businesses, employees and other non-governmental agencies. With efficient and transparent information exchange, the information becomes accessible to the society (citizens, business, employees etc.), and as a result of these processes the society itself becomes the information society or knowledge society. This paper discusses the knowledge management for eGovernment development in significance and role. Also, the paper reviews the role of virtual communities as a knowledge management mechanism to support eGovernment in Montenegro. It explores the need for knowledge management in eGovernment, identifies knowledge management technologies, and highlights the challenges for developing countries, such as Montenegro in the implementation of eGovernment. The paper suggests that knowledge management is needed to facilitate information exchange and transaction processing with citizens, as well as to enable creation of knowledge society.Keywords: information, eGovernment, knowledge management, knowledge society
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1557810 A System Dynamic Based DSS for Ecological Urban Management in Alexandria, Egypt
Authors: Mona M. Salem, Khaled S. Al-Hagla, Hany M. Ayad
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The concept of urban metabolism has increasingly been employed in a diverse range of disciplines as a mean to analyze and theorize the city. Urban ecology has a particular focus on the implications of applying the metabolism concept to the urban realm. This approach has been developed by a few researchers, though it has rarely if ever been used in policy development for city planning. The aim of this research is to use ecologically informed urban planning interventions to increase the sustainability of urban metabolism; with special focus on land stock as a most important city resource by developing a system dynamic based DSS. This model identifies two critical management strategy variables for the Strategic Urban Plan Alexandria SUP 2032. As a result, this comprehensive and precise quantitative approach is needed to monitor, measure, evaluate and observe dynamic urban changes working as a decision support system (DSS) for policy making.
Keywords: Alexandria SUP 2032, DSS, ecology, land resource, LULCC, management, metabolism, model, scenarios, System dynamics, urban development.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1194