Search results for: Software as a Service (SaaS)

Authors: W. Chayinthu, K-N. Areerak, K-L. Areerak, A. Srikaew

Abstract:

This paper presents the optimal controller design of the generator control unit in the aircraft power system. The adaptive tabu search technique is applied to tune the controller parameters until the best terminal output voltage of generator is achieved. The output response from the system with the controllers designed by the proposed technique is compared with those from the conventional method. The transient simulations using the commercial software package show that the controllers designed from the adaptive tabu search algorithm can provide the better output performance compared with the result from the classical method. The proposed design technique is very flexible and useful for electrical aircraft engineers.

Keywords: Cascade PI controllers, DQ method, Adaptive tabusearch, Generator control unit, Aircraft power system, Modeling, Simulation, Artificial Intelligence.

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Authors: S. M. Abbas, M. A. Hannan, S. A. Samad, A. Hussain

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This paper presented a modified efficient inductive powering link based on ASK modulator and proposed efficient class- E power amplifier. The design presents the external part which is located outside the body to transfer power and data to the implanted devices such as implanted Microsystems to stimulate and monitoring the nerves and muscles. The system operated with low band frequency 10MHZ according to industrial- scientific – medical (ISM) band to avoid the tissue heating. For external part, the modulation index is 11.1% and the modulation rate 7.2% with data rate 1 Mbit/s assuming Tbit = 1us. The system has been designed using 0.35-μm fabricated CMOS technology. The mathematical model is given and the design is simulated using OrCAD P Spice 16.2 software tool and for real-time simulation, the electronic workbench MULISIM 11 has been used.

Keywords: Implanted devices, ASK techniques, Class-E power amplifier, Inductive powering and low-frequency ISM band.

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Authors: S. P. Koko, K. Kusakana, H. J. Vermaak

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Standalone micro-hydrokinetic river (MHR) system is one of the promising technologies to be used for remote rural electrification. It simply requires the flow of water instead of elevation or head, leading to expensive civil works. This paper demonstrates an economic benefit offered by a standalone MHR system when compared to the commonly used standalone systems such as solar, wind and diesel generator (DG) at the selected study site in Kwazulu Natal. Wind speed and solar radiation data of the selected rural site have been taken from national aeronautics and space administration (NASA) surface meteorology database. The hybrid optimization model for electric renewable (HOMER) software was used to determine the most feasible solution when using MHR, solar, wind or DG system to supply 5 rural houses. MHR system proved to be the best cost-effective option to consider at the study site due to its low cost of energy (COE) and low net present cost (NPC).

Keywords: Economic analysis, Micro-hydrokinetic system, Rural-electrification, Stand-alone system.

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Authors: S. Barabas, A.Fota.

Abstract:

In this paper is study the possibility of successfully implementing of hollow roller concept in order to minimize inertial mass of the large bearings, with major results in diminution of the material consumption, increasing of power efficiency (in wind power station area), increasing of the durability and life duration of the large bearings systems, noise reduction in working, resistance to vibrations, an important diminution of losses by abrasion and reduction of the working temperature. In this purpose was developed an original solution through which are reduced mass, inertial forces and moments of large bearings by using of hollow rollers. The research was made by using the method of finite element analysis applied on software type Solidworks - Nastran. Also, is study the possibility of rapidly changing the manufacturing system of solid and hollow cylindrical rollers.

Keywords: Large bearings, Von Mises stress, hollow rollers, flexible manufacturing system

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Authors: Levent Basayigit, Mert Dedeoglu, Fadime Ozogul

Abstract:

In this study, an application was carried out to determine the Volcanic Soils by using remote sensing.  The study area was located on the Golcuk formation in Isparta-Turkey. The thermal bands of Landsat 7 image were used for processing. The implementation of the climate model that was based on the water index was used in ERDAS Imagine software together with pixel based image classification. Soil Moisture Index (SMI) was modeled by using the surface temperature (Ts) which was obtained from thermal bands and vegetation index (NDVI) derived from Landsat 7. Surface moisture values were grouped and classified by using scoring system. Thematic layers were compared together with the field studies. Consequently, different moisture levels for volcanic soils were indicator for determination and separation. Those thermal wavelengths are preferable bands for separation of volcanic soils using moisture and temperature models.

Keywords: Landsat 7, soil moisture index, temperature models, volcanic soils.

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Authors: N. Sozbir, M. Bulut, M.F.Oktem, A.Kahriman, A. Chaix

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TUSAT is a prospective Turkish Communication Satellite designed for providing mainly data communication and broadcasting services through Ku-Band and C-Band channels. Thermal control is a vital issue in satellite design process. Therefore, all satellite subsystems and equipments should be maintained in the desired temperature range from launch to end of maneuvering life. The main function of the thermal control is to keep the equipments and the satellite structures in a given temperature range for various phases and operating modes of spacecraft during its lifetime. This paper describes the thermal control design which uses passive and active thermal control concepts. The active thermal control is based on heaters regulated by software via thermistors. Alternatively passive thermal control composes of heat pipes, multilayer insulation (MLI) blankets, radiators, paints and surface finishes maintaining temperature level of the overall carrier components within an acceptable value. Thermal control design is supported by thermal analysis using thermal mathematical models (TMM).

Keywords: Spacecraft thermal control, design of thermal control.

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Authors: Mostafa.A. Fellani, Dawo.E. Abaid

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This paper presents a controller design technique for Synchronous Reluctance Motor to improve its dynamic performance with fast response and high accuracy. The sliding mode control is the most attractive and suitable method to use for this purpose, since it is simple in design and for its insensitivity to parameter variations or external disturbances. When this method implemented it yields fast dynamic response without overshoot and a zero steady-state error. The current loop control with decentralized sliding mode is presented in this paper. The mathematical model for the synchronous machine, the inverter and the controller is developed. The stability of the sliding mode controller is analyzed. Simulation of synchronous reluctance motor and the controller with PWM-inverter has been curried out, using the SIMULINK software package of MATLAB. Simulation results are presented to show the effectiveness of the approach.

Keywords: Dynamic Simulation, MATLAB, PWM-inverter, Reluctance Machine, Sliding-mode.

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Authors: Adarsh Patil, David A. Power, John P. Morrison

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Grid environments consist of the volatile integration of discrete heterogeneous resources. The notion of the Grid is to unite different users and organisations and pool their resources into one large computing platform where they can harness, inter-operate, collaborate and interact. If the Grid Community is to achieve this objective, then participants (Users and Organisations) need to be willing to donate or share their resources and permit other participants to use their resources. Resources do not have to be shared at all times, since it may result in users not having access to their own resource. The idea of reward-based computing was developed to address the sharing problem in a pragmatic manner. Participants are offered a reward to donate their resources to the Grid. A reward may include monetary recompense or a pro rata share of available resources when constrained. This latter point may imply a quality of service, which in turn may require some globally agreed reservation mechanism. This paper presents a platform for economybased computing using the WebCom Grid middleware. Using this middleware, participants can configure their resources at times and priority levels to suit their local usage policy. The WebCom system accounts for processing done on individual participants- resources and rewards them accordingly.

Keywords: WebCom, Economy-based computing, WebComGrid Bank Reward, Condensed Graph, Distributor, Accounting, GridPoint.

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Authors: Víctor Martínez del Rey, Kourosh Nasr Esfahani, Amir Masoud Samani Majd

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In this experimental study, the behaviors of Mixed Oxidant solution components (MOS) and sodium hypochlorite (HYPO) as the most commonly applied surface disinfectant were compared through the effectiveness of chlorine disinfection as a function of the contact time and residual chlorine. In this regard, the variation of pH, free available chlorine (FAC) concentration, and electric conductivity (EC) of disinfection solutions in different concentrations were monitored over 48 h contact time. In parallel, the plant stress activated by chlorine-based disinfectants was assessed by comparing MOS and HYPO. The elements of pH and EC in the plant-soil and their environmental impacts, spread by disinfection solutions were analyzed through several concentrations of FAC including 500 mg/L, 1000 mg/L, and 5000 mg/L in irrigated water. All the experiments were carried out at the service station of Sant Cugat, Spain. The outcomes indicated lower pH and higher durability of MOS than HYPO at the same concentration of FAC which resulted in promising stability of FAC within MOS. Furthermore, the pH and EC value of plant-soil irrigated by NaOCl solution were higher than that of MOS solution at the same FAC concentration. On-site generation of MOS as a safe chlorination option might be considered an imaginary future of smart cities.

Keywords: Disinfection, free available chlorine, on-site generation, sodium hypochlorite.

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Authors: Anita Kéri

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Satisfying foreign student needs has been in the center of research interest in the past several years. Higher education institutions have been exploring factors influencing foreign student satisfaction to stay competitive on the educational market. Even though foreign student satisfaction and loyalty are topics investigated deeply in the literature, the academic years of 2020 and 2021 have revealed challenges never experienced before. With the COVID-19 pandemic, new factors have emerged that might influence foreign student satisfaction and loyalty in higher education. The aim of the current research is to shed lights on what factors influence foreign student satisfaction and loyalty in the post-pandemic educational era, and to reveal if the effects of factors influencing satisfaction and loyalty have changed compared to previous findings. Initial results show that students are less willing to participate in online surveys during and after the pandemic. The return rate of the survey instrument is below 5%. Results also reveal that there is a slight difference in what factors students deem important during pandemic times regarding their satisfaction and loyalty. The results of the current study help us determine what factors higher education institutions need to consider, when planning the future service affordances for their foreign students, that might influence their satisfaction and loyalty.

Keywords: COVID-19, foreign students, loyalty, pandemic, satisfaction.

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Authors: Monirah Alkathiry, Hanan Aljarwan

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Cloud computing is one of the most significant technologies that the world deals with, in different sectors with different purposes and capabilities. The cloud faces various challenges in securing data from unauthorized access or modification. Consequently, security risks and levels have greatly increased. Therefore, cloud service providers (CSPs) and users need secure mechanisms that ensure that data are kept secret and safe from any disclosures or exploits. For this reason, CSPs need a number of techniques and technologies to manage and secure access to the cloud services to achieve security goals, such as confidentiality, integrity, identity access management (IAM), etc. Therefore, this paper will review and explore various access controls implemented in a cloud environment that achieve different security purposes. The methodology followed in this survey was conducting an assessment, evaluation, and comparison between those access controls mechanisms and technologies based on different factors, such as the security goals it achieves, usability, and cost-effectiveness. This assessment resulted in the fact that the technology used in an access control affects the security goals it achieves as well as there is no one access control method that achieves all security goals. Consequently, such a comparison would help decision-makers to choose properly the access controls that meet their requirements.

Keywords: Access controls, cloud computing, confidentiality, identity and access management.

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Authors: Gamze Uslu, Sebnem Baydere, Alper K. Demir

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In this study, data loss tolerance of Support Vector Machines (SVM) based activity recognition model and multi activity classification performance when data are received over a lossy wireless sensor network is examined. Initially, the classification algorithm we use is evaluated in terms of resilience to random data loss with 3D acceleration sensor data for sitting, lying, walking and standing actions. The results show that the proposed classification method can recognize these activities successfully despite high data loss. Secondly, the effect of differentiated quality of service performance on activity recognition success is measured with activity data acquired from a multi hop wireless sensor network, which introduces  high data loss. The effect of number of nodes on the reliability and multi activity classification success is demonstrated in simulation environment. To the best of our knowledge, the effect of data loss in a wireless sensor network on activity detection success rate of an SVM based classification algorithm has not been studied before.

Keywords: Activity recognition, support vector machines, acceleration sensor, wireless sensor networks, packet loss.

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Authors: M. P. Sebastian

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Health for all is considered as a sign of well-being and inclusive growth. New healthcare technologies are contributing to the quality of human lives by promoting health education and awareness, leading to the prevention, early diagnosis and treatment of the symptoms of diseases. Healthcare technologies have now migrated from the medical and institutionalized settings to the home and everyday life. This paper explores these new technologies and investigates how they contribute to health education and awareness, promoting the objective of high-value health system for all. The methodology used for the research is literature review. The paper also discusses the opportunities and challenges with futuristic healthcare technologies. The combined advances in genomics medicine, wearables and the IoT with enhanced data collection in electronic health record (EHR) systems, environmental sensors, and mobile device applications can contribute in a big way to high-value health system for all. The promise by these technologies includes reduced total cost of healthcare, reduced incidence of medical diagnosis errors, and reduced treatment variability. The major barriers to adoption include concerns with security, privacy, and integrity of healthcare data, regulation and compliance issues, service reliability, interoperability and portability of data, and user friendliness and convenience of these technologies.

Keywords: Bigdata, education, healthcare, ICT, patients, technologies.

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Authors: Hasimah Sapiri, Anton Abdulbasah Kamil, Razman Mat Tahar, Hanafi Tumin

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Salary risk and demographic risk have been identified as main risks in analyzing pension expenditure particularly in Defined Benefit pension plan. Therefore, public pension plan in Malaysia is studied to analyze pension expenditure due to salary and demographic risk. Through the literature review and interview session with several officers in public sector, factors affecting pension expenditure are determined. Then, the inter-relationships between these factors are analyzed through causal loop diagram. The System Dynamics model is later developed using iThink software to show how demographic and salary changes affect the pension expenditure. Then, by using actual data, the impact of different policy scenarios on pension expenditure is analyzed. It is shown that dynamics simulation model of pension expenditure is useful to evaluate the impact of changes and policy decisions on risk particularly involving demographic and salary risk.

Keywords: Demographic and Salary risk, Pension Expenditure, Public Policy, System Dynamics.

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Authors: Naima Ikken, Abdelhadi Bouknadel, Nour-eddine Tariba Ahmed Haddou, Hafsa El Omari

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The operation of grid-connected inverters necessity a single-phase phase locked loop (PLL) is proposed in this article to accurately and quickly estimate and detect the grid phase angle. This article presents the improvement of a method of phase-locked loop. The novelty is to generate a method (PLL) of synchronizing the grid with a Notch filter based on adaptive fuzzy logic for inverter systems connected to the grid. The performance of the proposed method was tested under normal and abnormal operating conditions (amplitude, frequency and phase shift variations). In addition, simulation results with ISPM software are developed to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method strategy. Finally, the experimental test will be used to extract the result and discuss the validity of the proposed algorithm.

Keywords: Phase locked loop, PLL, notch filter, fuzzy logic control.

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Authors: J. Fernandez de Canete, P. Del Saz Orozco, S. Gonzalez-Perez

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LabVIEW and SIMULINK are two most widely used graphical programming environments for designing digital signal processing and control systems. Unlike conventional text-based programming languages such as C, Cµ and MATLAB, graphical programming involves block-based code developments, allowing a more efficient mechanism to build and analyze control systems. In this paper a LabVIEW environment has been employed as a graphical user interface for monitoring the operation of a controlled distillation column, by visualizing both the closed loop performance and the user selected control conditions, while the column dynamics has been modeled under the SIMULINK environment. This tool has been applied to the PID based decoupled control of a binary distillation column. By means of such integrated environments the control designer is able to monitor and control the plant behavior and optimize the response when both, the quality improvement of distillation products and the operation efficiency tasks, are considered.

Keywords: Distillation control, software tools, SIMULINKLabVIEWinterface.

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Authors: Zerarka Hizia, Akchiche Mustapha, Prunier Florent

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The landslide of Ain El Hammam (AEH) is characterized by a complex geology and a high hydrogeology hazard. AEH's perpetual reactivation compels us to look closely at its triggers and to better understand the mechanisms of its evolution in mass and in depth. This study builds a numerical model to simulate the influencing factors such as precipitation, non-saturation, and pore pressure fluctuations, using Plaxis software. For a finer analysis of instabilities, we use Hill's criterion, based on the sign of the second order work, which is the most appropriate material stability criterion for non-associated elastoplastic materials. The results of this type of calculation allow us, in theory, to predict the shape and position of the slip surface(s) which are liable to ground movements of the slope, before reaching the rupture given by the plastic limit of Mohr Coulomb. To validate the numerical model, an analysis of inclinometer measures is performed to confirm the direction of movement and kinematic of the sliding mechanism of AEH’s slope.

Keywords: Landslide, second order work, precipitation, inclinometers.

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Authors: Prateep Wajeetongratana

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This study is a descriptive-normative research. It attempted to investigate the restaurants’ firm performance in terms of the customers and restaurant personnel’s degree of satisfaction. A total of 12 restaurants in Bangkok, Thailand that offer Thai cuisine were included in this study. It involved 24 stockholders/managers, 120 subordinates and 360 customers. General Managers and restaurants’ stockholders, 10 staffs, and 30 costumers for each restaurant were chosen for random sampling. This study found that respondents are slightly satisfied with their work environment but are generally satisfied with the accessibility to transportation, to malls, convenience, safety, recreation, noise-free, and attraction; customers find the Quality of Food in most Thai Cuisines like services, prices of food, sales promotion, and capital and length of service satisfactory. Therefore, both stockholder-related and personnel-related factors which are influenced by restaurant, personnel, and customer-related factors are partially accepted whereas; customer-related factors which are influenced by restaurant, personnel and customer-related factors are rejected.

Keywords: Firm performance, Thai Cuisine, Tourism industry.

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Authors: Karim Hamidi Machekposhti, Hossein Sedghi

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This study was designed to find the best-fit probability distribution of annual rainfall based on 50 years sample (1966-2015) in the Karkheh river basin at Iran using six probability distributions: Normal, 2-Parameter Log Normal, 3-Parameter Log Normal, Pearson Type 3, Log Pearson Type 3 and Gumbel distribution. The best fit probability distribution was selected using Stormwater Management and Design Aid (SMADA) software and based on the Residual Sum of Squares (R.S.S) between observed and estimated values Based on the R.S.S values of fit tests, the Log Pearson Type 3 and then Pearson Type 3 distributions were found to be the best-fit probability distribution at the Jelogir Majin and Pole Zal rainfall gauging station. The annual values of expected rainfall were calculated using the best fit probability distributions and can be used by hydrologists and design engineers in future research at studied region and other region in the world.

Keywords: Log Pearson Type 3, SMADA, rainfall, Karkheh River.

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Authors: Mustafa Sahin, İlkay Yavrucuk

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This paper presents a wind turbine envelope protection control algorithm that protects Variable Speed Variable Pitch (VSVP) wind turbines from damage during operation throughout their below and above rated regions, i.e. from cut-in to cut-out wind speed. The proposed approach uses a neural network that can adapt to turbines and their operating points. An algorithm monitors instantaneous wind and turbine states, predicts a wind speed that would push the turbine to a pre-defined envelope limit and, when necessary, realizes an avoidance action. Simulations are realized using the MS Bladed Wind Turbine Simulation Model for the NREL 5 MW wind turbine equipped with baseline controllers. In all simulations, through the proposed algorithm, it is observed that the turbine operates safely within the allowable limit throughout the below and above rated regions. Two example cases, adaptations to turbine operating points for the below and above rated regions and protections are investigated in simulations to show the capability of the proposed envelope protection system (EPS) algorithm, which reduces excessive wind turbine loads and expectedly increases the turbine service life.

Keywords: Adaptive envelope protection control, limit detection and avoidance, neural networks, ultimate load reduction, wind turbine power control.

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Authors: Sze Yee Lee

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The death of a sibling in childhood leads to significant impacts on both personal and family development of the surviving siblings, however, both short-term and long-term effects of sibling loss in Chinese societies such as Hong Kong have been inadequately documented in the literature. This paper explores the experience of encountering siblings’ death during childhood with the use of semi-structured interviews. Through thematic analysis, the author explores the impacts on surviving siblings’ emotions, coping styles, struggles and challenges and personal development. Furthermore, the influences on family dynamics are explored thoroughly, including the changes in family atmosphere, family roles, family relationship, family communication and parenting styles. More importantly, the author identifies (i) existing continuing bonds; (ii) crying; (iii) adequate social support; (iv) hiding own emotions as a gesture of protecting parents as the crucial elements pertinent to surviving siblings’ successful adaptation in the face of sibling loss. In addition, “child-centered” and “family-centered” service implications of families with a sibling's death in a Chinese context are discussed.

Keywords: Surviving children, sibling’s death, child-centered, family-centered.

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Authors: Pradeep Singh, Sukhwinder Singh, Gurjinder Kaur

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In recent years, rapid advances in software and hardware in the field of information technology along with a digital imaging revolution in the medical domain facilitate the generation and storage of large collections of images by hospitals and clinics. To search these large image collections effectively and efficiently poses significant technical challenges, and it raises the necessity of constructing intelligent retrieval systems. Content-based Image Retrieval (CBIR) consists of retrieving the most visually similar images to a given query image from a database of images[5]. Medical CBIR (content-based image retrieval) applications pose unique challenges but at the same time offer many new opportunities. On one hand, while one can easily understand news or sports videos, a medical image is often completely incomprehensible to untrained eyes.

Keywords: Classification, clustering, content-based image retrieval (CBIR), relevance feedback (RF), statistical similarity matching, support vector machine (SVM).

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Authors: Hassan Haghighi, Seyedeh Zahra Hosseini, Seyedeh Elahe Jalambadani

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One of the most important aspects expected from an ERP system is to mange user\administrator manual documents dynamically. Since an ERP package is frequently changed during its implementation in customer sites, it is often needed to add new documents and/or apply required changes to existing documents in order to cover new or changed capabilities. The worse is that since these changes occur continuously, the corresponding documents should be updated dynamically; otherwise, implementing the ERP package in the organization encounters serious risks. In this paper, we propose a new architecture which is based on the agent oriented vision and supplies the dynamic document generation expected from ERP systems using several independent but cooperative agents. Beside the dynamic document generation which is the main issue of this paper, the presented architecture will address some aspects of intelligence and learning capabilities existing in ERP.

Keywords: enterprise resource planning, dynamic documentgeneration, software architecture, agent oriented architecture, learning, intelligence

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Authors: Zainah Abdullah, Aznur Hajar Abdullah

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This paper examines the impact of information and communication technology (ICT) usage, internal relationship, supplier-retailer relationship, logistics services and inventory management on convenience store suppliers- performance. Data was collected from 275 convenience store managers in Malaysia using a set of questionnaire. The multiple linear regression results indicate that inventory management, supplier-retailer relationship, logistics services and internal relationship are predictors of supplier performance as perceived by convenience store managers. However, ICT usage is not a predictor of supplier performance. The study focuses only on convenience stores and petrol station convenience stores and concentrates only on managers. The results provide insights to suppliers who serve convenience stores and possibly similar retail format on factors to consider in improving their service to retailers. The results also provide insights to government in its aspiration to improve business operations of convenience store to consider ways to enhance the adoption of ICT by retailers and suppliers.

Keywords: Information and communication technology (ICT), internal relationship, inventory management, logistics services, supplier performance, supplier-retailer relationship.

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Authors: Suttipong Boonphadung, Thassanant Unnanantn

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This research focused on comparing the critical thinking of the teacher students before and after using Miller’s Model learning activities and investigating their opinions. The sampling groups were (1) fourth year 33 student teachers majoring in Early Childhood Education and enrolling in semester 1 of academic year 2013 (2) third year 28 student teachers majoring in English and enrolling in semester 2 of academic year 2013 and (3) third year 22 student teachers majoring in Thai and enrolling in semester 2 of academic year 2013. The research instruments were (1) lesson plans where the learning activities were settled based on Miller’s Model (2) critical thinking assessment criteria and (3) a questionnaire on opinions towards Miller’s Model based learning activities. The statistical treatment was mean, deviation, different scores and T-test. The result unfolded that (1) the critical thinking of the students after the assigned activities was better than before and (2) the students’ opinions towards the critical thinking improvement activities based on Miller’s Model ranged from the level of high to highest.

Keywords: Critical thinking, Miller’s model, Opinions.

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Authors: Hossein Nejati, Seyed H. Mirisaee, Gholam H. Dastghaibifard

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Computers are being integrated in the various aspects of human every day life in different shapes and abilities. This fact has intensified a requirement for the software development technologies which is ability to be: 1) portable, 2) adaptable, and 3) simple to develop. This problem is also known as the Pervasive Computing Problem (PCP) which can be implemented in different ways, each has its own pros and cons and Context Oriented Programming (COP) is one of the methods to address the PCP. In this paper a design for a COP framework, a context aware framework, is presented which has eliminated weak points of a previous design based on interpreter languages, while introducing the compiler languages power in implementing these frameworks. The key point of this improvement is combining COP and Dependency Injection (DI) techniques. Both old and new frameworks are analyzed to show advantages and disadvantages. Finally a simulation of both designs is proposed to indicating that the practical results agree with the theoretical analysis while the new design runs almost 8 times faster.

Keywords: Dependency Injection, Compiler-based architecture, Context-Oriented Programming, COP, Pervasive ComputingProblem

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Authors: Seyed Abolhasan Naeini, Mohammad Hossein Zade

Abstract:

This article is an attempt to present a numerically study of the behaviour of an eccentrically loaded circular footing resting on sand to determine ‎its ultimate bearing capacity. A surface circular footing of diameter 12 cm (D) was used as ‎shallow foundation. For this purpose, three dimensional models consist of foundation, and medium sandy soil was modelled by ABAQUS software. Bearing capacity of footing was evaluated and the ‎effects of the load eccentricity on bearing capacity, its settlement, and modulus of subgrade reaction were studied. Three different values of load eccentricity with equal space from inside the core on the core boundary and outside the core boundary, which were respectively e=0.75, 1.5, and 2.25 cm, were considered. The results show that by increasing the load eccentricity, the ultimate load and the ‎modulus of subgrade reaction decreased.

Keywords: Circular foundation, eccentric loading, sand, modulus of subgrade reaction.

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Authors: Akiko Kondo, Akio Kondo

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We are facing regional problems to low birth rate and longevity in Japan. Under this situation, there are some local municipalities which lose their vitality. The aims of this study are to clarify the present state of local public transportation services in local municipalities and relation between local public transportation services and population quantitatively. We conducted a questionnaire survey concerning regional agenda in all local municipalities in Japan. We obtained responses concerning the present state of convenience in use of public transportation and local public transportation services. Based on the data gathered from the survey, it is apparent that we should some sort of measures concerning public transportation services. Convenience in use of public transportation becomes an object of public concern in many rural regions. It is also clarified that some local municipalities introduce a demand bus for the purpose of promotion of administrative and financial efficiency. They also introduce a demand taxi in order to secure transportation to weak people in transportation and eliminate of blank area related to public transportation services. In addition, we construct a population model which includes explanatory variables of present states of local public transportation services. From this result, we can clarify the relation between public transportation services and population quantitatively.

Keywords: Public transportation, local municipality, regional analysis, regional issue.

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Authors: Jinseon Song, Yongwan Park

Abstract:

In this paper, propose method that can user’s position that based on database is built from single camera. Previous positioning calculate distance by arrival-time of signal like GPS (Global Positioning System), RF(Radio Frequency). However, these previous method have weakness because these have large error range according to signal interference. Method for solution estimate position by camera sensor. But, signal camera is difficult to obtain relative position data and stereo camera is difficult to provide real-time position data because of a lot of image data, too. First of all, in this research we build image database at space that able to provide positioning service with single camera. Next, we judge similarity through image matching of database image and transmission image from user. Finally, we decide position of user through position of most similar database image. For verification of propose method, we experiment at real-environment like indoor and outdoor. Propose method is wide positioning range and this method can verify not only position of user but also direction.

Keywords: Positioning, Distance, Camera, Features, SURF (Speed-Up Robust Features), Database, Estimation.

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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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