Search results for: qualitative design

Authors: Abdeljalil Métioui

Abstract:

We discuss the alternative conceptions of students analysing the behaviour of electrical circuits. The present paper aims at, on one hand, studying the misconceptions of 80 elementary pre-service teachers from Quebec in Canada, in relation to the current source in DC circuits. To do this, they completed a two-choice questionnaire (true or false) with justification. Data analysis identifies many conceptual difficulties. For example, their majority considered a battery as a source of constant current: When a circuit composed of battery and resistors is modified, the current supplied by the battery remains unchanged. On the other hand, considering the alternatives conceptions identified we develop a two-tier test about source current. The aim of this two-tier test is to help teachers to diagnose rapidly their students’ misconceptions in order to consider in their teaching.   

Keywords: Two-tier diagnostic test, current source, pre-service teachers, alternative conceptions after teaching, qualitative study.

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Authors: Sarah Reker

Abstract:

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) provides the basis of this study. For all countries which have ratified the convention since its entry into force in 2007, the effective implementation of the requirements often leads to considerable challenges. Furthermore, missing indicators make it difficult to measure progress. Therefore, the aim of the research project is to contribute to analyze the consequences of the implementation process on the inclusion and exclusion conditions for people with disabilities in Germany. Disabled People’s Organisations and other associations consider the social space to be relevant for the successful implementation of the CRPD. Against this background, the research project wants to focus on the relationship between a barrier-free access to the social space and the “full and effective participation and inclusion” (Art. 3) of persons with disabilities. The theoretical basis of the study is the sociological theory of social space (“Sozialraumtheorie”).

Keywords: Decentralisation, qualitative research, residential facilities, social space.

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Authors: H. Shayeghi, H. A. Shayanfar, G. Azimi

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Short-Term Load Forecasting (STLF) plays an important role for the economic and secure operation of power systems. In this paper, Continuous Genetic Algorithm (CGA) is employed to evolve the optimum large neural networks structure and connecting weights for one-day ahead electric load forecasting problem. This study describes the process of developing three layer feed-forward large neural networks for load forecasting and then presents a heuristic search algorithm for performing an important task of this process, i.e. optimal networks structure design. The proposed method is applied to STLF of the local utility. Data are clustered due to the differences in their characteristics. Special days are extracted from the normal training sets and handled separately. In this way, a solution is provided for all load types, including working days and weekends and special days. We find good performance for the large neural networks. The proposed methodology gives lower percent errors all the time. Thus, it can be applied to automatically design an optimal load forecaster based on historical data.

Keywords: Feed-forward Large Neural Network, Short-TermLoad Forecasting, Continuous Genetic Algorithm.

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Authors: Bella Llego

Abstract:

This study aims to investigate the relationships between human resource management and entrepreneurship in the view of owner-managers and employees, and among employees with in the SME in Thailand. The research method used qualitative method to confirm the phenomenology interest with top management position which women are regarding their career path by using purposive sampling method. The results showed that human resources management has positive relate with the corporate entrepreneurship are including the recruitment process, training worker, professional career development and reward system impact to entrepreneur’s knowledge and innovation of corporate entrepreneurship in respectively to bring a very reliable way. Then, the key informant suggested that women’s career experiences predisposed them to find an alternative route for entrepreneurship, despite having achieved top management. The understanding factors that successfully contribute to the development of women entrepreneurs from career development perspective are critical endeavour for any type of organization as well.

Keywords: Entrepreneurship, firm performance, human resource management, work efficiency.

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Authors: Chiang-Ho Cheng, An-Shik Yang, Hong-Yih Cheng, Ming-Yu Lai

Abstract:

This paper presents the design and fabrication of a novel piezoelectric actuator for a gas micro pump with check valve having the advantages of miniature size, light weight and low power consumption. The micro pump is designed to have eight major components, namely a stainless steel upper cover layer, a piezoelectric actuator, a stainless steel diaphragm, a PDMS chamber layer, two stainless steel channel layers with two valve seats, a PDMS check valve layer with two cantilever-type check valves and an acrylic substrate. A prototype of the gas micro pump, with a size of 52 mm × 50 mm × 5.0 mm, is fabricated by precise manufacturing. This device is designed to pump gases with the capability of performing the self-priming and bubble-tolerant work mode by maximizing the stroke volume of the membrane as well as the compression ratio via minimization of the dead volume of the micro pump chamber and channel. By experiment apparatus setup, we can get the real-time values of the flow rate of micro pump and the displacement of the piezoelectric actuator, simultaneously. The gas micro pump obtained higher output performance under the sinusoidal waveform of 250 Vpp. The micro pump achieved the maximum pumping rates of 1185 ml/min and back pressure of 7.14 kPa at the corresponding frequency of 120 and 50 Hz.

Keywords: PDMS, Check valve, Micro pump, Piezoelectric.

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Authors: H. M. Ghasemzadeh, Y. Mohammadi, Gh. Nouri, S. E. Nabavi

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Steel corrosion in concrete is considered as a main engineering problems for many countries and lots of expenses has been paid for their repair and maintenance annually. This problem may occur in all engineering structures whether in coastal and offshore or other areas. Hence, concrete structures should be able to withstand corrosion factors existing in water or soil. Reinforcing steel corrosion enhancement can be measured by use of concrete electrical resistance; and maintaining high electric resistivity in concrete is necessary for steel corrosion prevention. Lots of studies devoted to different aspects of the subjects worldwide. In this paper, an evaluation of the effects of W/C ratio, cementitious materials, and percent increase in silica fume were investigated on electric resistivity of high strength concrete. To do that, sixteen mix design with one aggregate grading was planned. Five of them had varying amount of W/C ratio and other eleven mixes was prepared with constant W/C ratio but different amount of cementitious materials. Silica fume and super plasticizer were used with different proportions in all specimens. Specimens were tested after moist curing for 28 days. A total of 80 cube specimens (50 mm) were tested for concrete electrical resistance. Results show that concrete electric resistivity can be increased with increasing amount of cementitious materials and silica fume.

Keywords: Corrosion, Electric resistivity, Mix design, Silica fume

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Authors: Badiossadat Hassanpour, Nangkula Utaberta, Azami Zaharim, Nurakmal Goh Abdullah

Abstract:

Architecture education was based on apprenticeship models and its nature has not changed much during long period but the Source of changes was its evaluation process and system. It is undeniable that art and architecture education is completely based on transmitting knowledge from instructor to students. In contrast to other majors this transmitting is by iteration and practice and studio masters try to control the design process and improving skills in the form of supervision and criticizing. Also the evaluation will end by giving marks to students- achievements. Therefore the importance of the evaluation and assessment role is obvious and it is not irrelevant to say that if we want to know about the architecture education system, we must first study its assessment procedures. The evolution of these changes in western countries has literate and documented well. However it seems that this procedure has unregarded in Malaysia and there is a severe lack of research and documentation in this area. Malaysia as an under developing and multicultural country which is involved different races and cultures is a proper origin for scrutinizing and understanding the evaluation systems and acceptability amount of current implemented models to keep the evaluation and assessment procedure abreast with needs of different generations, cultures and even genders. This paper attempts to answer the questions of how evaluation and assessments are performed and how students perceive this evaluation system in the context Malaysia. The main advantage of this work is that it contributes in international debate on evaluation model.

Keywords: Architecture, assessment, design studio, learning

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Authors: Mehmet Durnali

Abstract:

The main purpose of this study is to find out, analyze and discuss basic principles of education and training in the constitutions, including the latest amendment, of France, Indonesia, Japan, South Africa, the United States of America, and Turkey. This research specifically aims at establishing a framework in order to compare educational values such as right of education, responsibilities of states and those of people, and other issues pertaining to education in the Constitution of Turkey to others. Additionally, it emphasizes the meaning of education in constitution, the reasons for references to education in constitutions and why it is important for people, states or nations and state organs. Qualitative analysis technique is performed to accomplish the aim of this study. Maximum variation sampling is used. The main data source of the analysis is official organic laws of those countries. The data is examined by using descriptive and content analysis method.

Keywords: Education in the constitution, education law, legal principles of education, right to education.

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Authors: Padmanabhan Balasubramanian, C. Ardil

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In this paper, we consider the problem of logic simplification for a special class of logic functions, namely complementary Boolean functions (CBF), targeting low power implementation using static CMOS logic style. The functions are uniquely characterized by the presence of terms, where for a canonical binary 2-tuple, D(mj) ∪ D(mk) = { } and therefore, we have | D(mj) ∪ D(mk) | = 0 [19]. Similarly, D(Mj) ∪ D(Mk) = { } and hence | D(Mj) ∪ D(Mk) | = 0. Here, 'mk' and 'Mk' represent a minterm and maxterm respectively. We compare the circuits minimized with our proposed method with those corresponding to factored Reed-Muller (f-RM) form, factored Pseudo Kronecker Reed-Muller (f-PKRM) form, and factored Generalized Reed-Muller (f-GRM) form. We have opted for algebraic factorization of the Reed-Muller (RM) form and its different variants, using the factorization rules of [1], as it is simple and requires much less CPU execution time compared to Boolean factorization operations. This technique has enabled us to greatly reduce the literal count as well as the gate count needed for such RM realizations, which are generally prone to consuming more cells and subsequently more power consumption. However, this leads to a drawback in terms of the design-for-test attribute associated with the various RM forms. Though we still preserve the definition of those forms viz. realizing such functionality with only select types of logic gates (AND gate and XOR gate), the structural integrity of the logic levels is not preserved. This would consequently alter the testability properties of such circuits i.e. it may increase/decrease/maintain the same number of test input vectors needed for their exhaustive testability, subsequently affecting their generalized test vector computation. We do not consider the issue of design-for-testability here, but, instead focus on the power consumption of the final logic implementation, after realization with a conventional CMOS process technology (0.35 micron TSMC process). The quality of the resulting circuits evaluated on the basis of an established cost metric viz., power consumption, demonstrate average savings by 26.79% for the samples considered in this work, besides reduction in number of gates and input literals by 39.66% and 12.98% respectively, in comparison with other factored RM forms.

Keywords: Reed-Muller forms, Logic function, Hammingdistance, Algebraic factorization, Low power design.

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Authors: Simone Galati, Adriano Troia

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Ultrasound (US) is widely used in medical field for a variety diagnostic techniques but, in recent years, it has also been creating great interest for therapeutic aims. Regarding drug delivery, the use of US as an activation source provides better spatial delivery confinement and limits the undesired side effects. However, at present there is no complete characterization at a fundamental level of the different signals produced by sono-activated nanocarriers. Therefore, the aim of this study is to obtain a metrological characterization of the cavitation phenomena induced by US through three parallel investigation approaches. US was focused into a channel of a customized phantom in which a solution with oxygen-loaded nanodroplets (OLNDs) was led to flow and the cavitation activity was monitored. Both quantitative and qualitative real-time analysis were performed giving information about the dynamics of bubble formation, oscillation and final implosion with respect to the working acoustic pressure and the type of nanodroplets, compared with pure water. From this analysis a possible interpretation of the observed results is proposed.

Keywords: Cavitation, Drug Delivery, Nanodroplets, Ultrasound.

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Authors: Sadık Kartal

Abstract:

This study was carried out to determine the feedback from the primary school headmasters on in-service training activities. 384 primary school headmasters were asked to give feedback on the in-service training facilities organized by the Ministry of Education through an open –ended question. The study group was formed by 359 primary school headmasters who attended “Management Skills" seminars which were organized in March, April and May in the extent of 2006 In-service Training Facilities Plan by the Ministry of Education and were also volunteers to give feedback on the inservice training activities. The qualitative research method was used in the analysis of the data since the primary school headmasters gave written feedback on the in-service training activities. Having analyzed the feedback, certain categories were formed by coding it. Certain frequencies and percentages were determined according to the codes. It was made obvious that the primary school headmasters benefitted from those facilities by sharing their experiences, problems and their possible solutions mutually

Keywords: In-service training, primary school principles, educates.

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Authors: Stephen C. W. Kong

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The use of 3D computer-aided design (CAD) models to support construction project planning has been increasing in the previous year. 3D CAD models reveal more planning ideas by visually showing the construction site environment in different stages of the construction process. Using 3D CAD models together with scheduling software to prepare construction plan can identify errors in process sequence and spatial arrangement, which is vital to the success of a construction project. A number of 4D (3D plus time) CAD tools has been developed and utilized in different construction projects due to the awareness of their importance. Virtual prototyping extends the idea of 4D CAD by integrating more features for simulating real construction process. Virtual prototyping originates from the manufacturing industry where production of products such as cars and airplanes are virtually simulated in computer before they are built in the factory. Virtual prototyping integrates 3D CAD, simulation engine, analysis tools (like structural analysis and collision detection), and knowledgebase to streamline the whole product design and production process. In this paper, we present the application of a virtual prototyping software which has been used in a few construction projects in Hong Kong to support construction project planning. Specifically, the paper presents an implementation of virtual prototyping in a residential building project in Hong Kong. The applicability, difficulties and benefits of construction virtual prototyping are examined based on this project.

Keywords: construction project planning, prefabrication, simulation, virtual prototyping.

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Authors: Ishapathik Das

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The purpose of this article is to find a method of comparing designs for ordinal regression models using quantile dispersion graphs in the presence of linear predictor misspecification. The true relationship between response variable and the corresponding control variables are usually unknown. Experimenter assumes certain form of the linear predictor of the ordinal regression models. The assumed form of the linear predictor may not be correct always. Thus, the maximum likelihood estimates (MLE) of the unknown parameters of the model may be biased due to misspecification of the linear predictor. In this article, the uncertainty in the linear predictor is represented by an unknown function. An algorithm is provided to estimate the unknown function at the design points where observations are available. The unknown function is estimated at all points in the design region using multivariate parametric kriging. The comparison of the designs are based on a scalar valued function of the mean squared error of prediction (MSEP) matrix, which incorporates both variance and bias of the prediction caused by the misspecification in the linear predictor. The designs are compared using quantile dispersion graphs approach. The graphs also visually depict the robustness of the designs on the changes in the parameter values. Numerical examples are presented to illustrate the proposed methodology.

Keywords: Model misspecification, multivariate kriging, multivariate logistic link, ordinal response models, quantile dispersion graphs.

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Authors: Panida Jongsuksomsakul

Abstract:

This study of the ‘happiness’ and ‘sustainability’ in the community of Donkeaw, Amphoe Mae Rim, Chiang Mai Province during the non-election period in Thailand, noted that their happiness levels are in the middle-average range. This was found using a mixed approach of qualitative and quantitative methods (N = 386, α = 0.05). The study explores indicators for six aspects of well-being and happiness, including, good local governance, administrative support for the health system that maintains people’s mental and physical health, environment and weather, job security and a regular income aids them in managing a sustainable lifestyle. The impact of economic security and community relationships on social and cultural capital, and the way these aspects impact on the life style of the community, affects the sustainable well-being of people. Moreover, living with transparency and participatory communication led to diverse rewards in many areas.

Keywords: Communication, happiness, well-being, Donkeaw community, social and cultural capital.

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Authors: Satish Kumar, Arun Kumar Gupta, Pankaj Chandna

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The present work analyses different parameters of pressure die casting to minimize the casting defects. Pressure diecasting is usually applied for casting of aluminium alloys. Good surface finish with required tolerances and dimensional accuracy can be achieved by optimization of controllable process parameters such as solidification time, molten temperature, filling time, injection pressure and plunger velocity. Moreover, by selection of optimum process parameters the pressure die casting defects such as porosity, insufficient spread of molten material, flash etc. are also minimized. Therefore, a pressure die casting component, carburetor housing of aluminium alloy (Al2Si2O5) has been considered. The effects of selected process parameters on casting defects and subsequent setting of parameters with the levels have been accomplished by Taguchi-s parameter design approach. The experiments have been performed as per the combination of levels of different process parameters suggested by L18 orthogonal array. Analyses of variance have been performed for mean and signal-to-noise ratio to estimate the percent contribution of different process parameters. Confidence interval has also been estimated for 95% consistency level and three conformational experiments have been performed to validate the optimum level of different parameters. Overall 2.352% reduction in defects has been observed with the help of suggested optimum process parameters.

Keywords: Aluminium Casting, Pressure Die Casting, Taguchi Methodology, Design of Experiments

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Authors: Taotao Deng, John D. Nelson

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Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) has emerged as a cost-effective transport system for urban mobility. However its ability to stimulate land development remains largely unexplored. The study makes use of qualitative (interview method) and quantitative analysis (questionnaire survey and longitudinal analysis of property data) to investigate land development impact resulting from BRT in Beijing, China. The empirical analysis suggests that BRT has a positive impact on the residential and commercial property attractiveness along the busway corridor. The statistical analysis suggests that accessibility advantage conferred by BRT is capitalized into higher property price. The average price of apartments adjacent to a BRT station has gained a relatively faster increase than those not served by the BRT system. The capitalization effect mostly occurs after the full operation of BRT, and is more evident over time and particularly observed in areas which previously lack alternative mobility opportunity.

Keywords: accessibility, Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), Beijing, property value uplift

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Authors: T. G. L. J. Bikoko, J. C. Tchamba, S. Amziane

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This study focuses on the problem of collapsed buildings within the city of Douala over the past ten years, and more precisely within the period from 2011 to 2020. It was carried out in a bid to ascertain the real causes of this phenomenon, which has become recurrent in the leading economic city of Cameroon. To achieve this, it was first necessary to review some works dealing with construction materials and technology as well as some case histories of structural collapse within the city. Thereafter, a statistical study was carried out on the results obtained. It was found that the causes of building collapses in the city of Douala are: Neglect of administrative procedures, use of poor quality materials, poor composition and confectioning of concrete, lack of Geotechnical study, lack of structural analysis and design, corrosion of the reinforcement bars, poor maintenance in buildings, and other causes. Out of the 46 cases of failure and collapse of buildings within the city of Douala, 7 of these were identified to have had no geotechnical study carried out, giving a percentage of 15.22%. It was also observed that out of the 46 cases of structural failure, 6 were as a result of lack of proper structural analysis and design giving a percentage of 13.04%. Subsequently, recommendations and suggestions are made in a bid to placing particular emphasis on the choice of materials, the manufacture and casting of concrete as well as the placement of the required reinforcements. All this guarantees the stability of a building.

Keywords: collapse buildings, Douala, structural collapse, Cameroon

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Authors: W. S. Barber, S. L. King

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This paper is a qualitative case study analysis of the development of a fully online learning community of graduate students through arts-based community building activities. With increasing numbers and types of online learning spaces, it is incumbent upon educators to continue to push the edge of what best practices look like in digital learning environments. In digital learning spaces, instructors can no longer be seen as purveyors of content knowledge to be examined at the end of a set course by a final test or exam. The rapid and fluid dissemination of information via Web 3.0 demands that we reshape our approach to teaching and learning, from one that is content-focused to one that is process-driven. Rather than having instructors as formal leaders, today’s digital learning environments require us to share expertise, as it is the collective experiences and knowledge of all students together with the instructors that help to create a very different kind of learning community. This paper focuses on innovations pursued in a 36 hour 12 week graduate course in higher education entitled “Critical and Reflective Practice”. The authors chronicle their journey to developing a fully online learning community (FOLC) by emphasizing the elements of social, cognitive, emotional and digital spaces that form a moving interplay through the community. In this way, students embrace anywhere anytime learning and often take the learning, as well as the relationships they build and skills they acquire, beyond the digital class into real world situations. We argue that in order to increase student online engagement, pedagogical approaches need to stem from two primary elements, both creativity and critical reflection, that are essential pillars upon which instructors can co-design learning environments with students. The theoretical framework for the paper is based on the interaction and interdependence of Creativity, Intuition, Critical Reflection, Social Constructivism and FOLCs. By leveraging students’ embedded familiarity with a wide variety of technologies, this case study of a graduate level course on critical reflection in education, examines how relationships, quality of work produced, and student engagement can improve by using creative and imaginative pedagogical strategies. The authors examine their professional pedagogical strategies through the lens that the teacher acts as facilitator, guide and co-designer. In a world where students can easily search for and organize information as self-directed processes, creativity and connection can at times be lost in the digitized course environment. The paper concludes by posing further questions as to how institutions of higher education may be challenged to restructure their credit granting courses into more flexible modules, and how students need to be considered an important part of assessment and evaluation strategies. By introducing creativity and critical reflection as central features of the digital learning spaces, notions of best practices in digital teaching and learning emerge.

Keywords: Online, pedagogy, learning, communities.

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Authors: M. Philokyprou, A. Michael

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Contemporary theories of sustainability, concerning the natural and built environment, have recently introduced an environmental attitude towards the architectural design that, in turn, affects the practice of conservation and reuse of the existing building stock. This paper presents an environmentally friendly approach towards the conservation of vernacular architecture and it is based on the results of a research program which involved the investigation of sustainable design elements of traditional buildings in Cyprus. The research in question showed that Cypriot vernacular architecture gave more emphasis on cooling rather than heating strategies. Another notable finding of the investigation was the great importance given to courtyards as they enhance considerably, and in various ways, the microclimatic conditions of the immediate environment with favorable results throughout the year. Moreover, it was shown that the reduction in temperature fluctuation observed in the closed and semi-open spaces, compared to the respective temperature fluctuation of the external environment -due to the thermal inertia of the building envelope- helps towards the achievement of more comfortable living conditions within traditional dwellings. This paper concludes with a proposal of a sustainable approach towards the conservation of the existing environment and the introduction of new environmental criteria for the conservation of traditional buildings, beyond the aesthetic, morphological and structural ones that are generally applied.

Keywords: Bioclimatic, conservation, environmental, traditional dwellings, vernacular architecture.

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Authors: Rahmat A, Radin Rafeeuddin R. D., Norasrudin S., Mastura M.

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The objective of the study is to investigate the effect of a footballer-s postural on selected physical fitness components. Twenty-one (21) subjects of the university male footballers under the Sport Excellence Center programme were photographed using qualitative analysis. The postural variables were stratified manually into normal and anomalies group and their flexibility, strength and SAQ performance were compared using the Mann-Whitney Test. The AROM assessment and SAQ test reported no significance difference (Z=-.398, p=0.711, p>0.05), similar to the lower body strength was shown with no significance different (Z=-.493, p=0.640, p>0.05). In contrast, only 1 RM strength test for the upper body strength test shown with a significance different (Z=- 2.537, p=0.009, p<0.05) the. Hence, the Body posture among the football athletes with anomalies does not influence selected physical fitness components. This study has proven, that postural anomalies will not affect or influence the physical performance the respective athletes.

Keywords: Postural Analysis, Anomalies, Flexibility, Strength, SAQ.

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Authors: Sangram Keshori Mohapatra, Sidhartha Panda, Prasant Kumar Satpathy

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Power-system stability improvement by simultaneous tuning of power system stabilizer (PSS) and a Static Var Compensator (SVC) based damping controller is thoroughly investigated in this paper. Both local and remote signals with associated time delays are considered in the present study. The design problem of the proposed controller is formulated as an optimization problem, and differential evolution (DE) algorithm is employed to search for the optimal controller parameters. The performances of the proposed controllers are evaluated under different disturbances for both single-machine infinite bus power system and multi-machine power system. The performance of the proposed controllers with variations in the signal transmission delays has also been investigated. The proposed stabilizers are tested on a weakly connected power system subjected to different disturbances. Nonlinear simulation results are presented to show the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed control schemes over a wide range of loading conditions and disturbances. Further, the proposed design approach is found to be robust and improves stability effectively even under small disturbance conditions.

Keywords: Differential Evolution Algorithm, Power System Stability, Power System Stabilizer, Static Var Compensator

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Authors: Fariba Tadayon, Elmira Hassanlou, Hasan Bagheri, Mostafa Jafarian

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Heavy metals are released into water, plants, soil, and food by natural and human activities. Lead has toxic roles in the human body and may cause serious problems even in low concentrations, since it may have several adverse effects on human. Therefore, determination of lead in different samples is an important procedure in the studies of environmental pollution. In this work, an ultrasonic assisted-ionic liquid based-liquid-liquid microextraction (UA-IL-DLLME) procedure for the determination of lead in zucchini, pomegranate, and lettuce has been established and developed by using flame atomic absorption spectrometer (FAAS). For UA-IL-DLLME procedure, 10 mL of the sample solution containing Pb2+ was adjusted to pH=5 in a glass test tube with a conical bottom; then, 120 μL of 1-Hexyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluoro phosphate (CMIM)(PF6) was rapidly injected into the sample solution with a microsyringe. After that, the resulting cloudy mixture was treated by ultrasonic for 5 min, then the separation of two phases was obtained by centrifugation for 5 min at 3000 rpm and IL-phase diluted with 1 cc ethanol, and the analytes were determined by FAAS. The effect of different experimental parameters in the extraction step including: ionic liquid volume, sonication time and pH was studied and optimized simultaneously by using Response Surface Methodology (RSM) employing a central composite design (CCD). The optimal conditions were determined to be an ionic liquid volume of 120 μL, sonication time of 5 min, and pH=5. The linear ranges of the calibration curve for the determination by FAAS of lead were 0.1-4 ppm with R2=0.992. Under optimized conditions, the limit of detection (LOD) for lead was 0.062 μg.mL-1, the enrichment factor (EF) was 93, and the relative standard deviation (RSD) for lead was calculated as 2.29%. The levels of lead for pomegranate, zucchini, and lettuce were calculated as 2.88 μg.g-1, 1.54 μg.g-1, 2.18 μg.g-1, respectively. Therefore, this method has been successfully applied for the analysis of the content of lead in different food samples by FAAS.

Keywords: Dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction, Central composite design, Food samples, Flame atomic absorption spectrometry.

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Authors: Kyoung-Jong Park, Woong-Gi Jeon, Hee-Cheol Kim, Dong-Eog Kim, Heung-Kook Choi

Abstract:

The brain MR imaging-based clinical research and analysis system were specifically built and the development for a large-scale data was targeted. We used the general clinical data available for building large-scale data. Registration period for the selection of the lesion ROI and the region growing algorithm was used and the Mesh-warp algorithm for matching was implemented. The accuracy of the matching errors was modified individually. Also, the large ROI research data can accumulate by our developed compression method. In this way, the correctly decision criteria to the research result was suggested. The experimental groups were age, sex, MR type, patient ID and smoking which can easily be queries. The result data was visualized of the overlapped images by a color table. Its data was calculated by the statistical package. The evaluation for the utilization of this system in the chronic ischemic damage in the area has done from patients with the acute cerebral infarction. This is the cause of neurologic disability index location in the center portion of the lateral ventricle facing. The corona radiate was found in the position. Finally, the system reliability was measured both inter-user and intra-user registering correlation.

Keywords: Software tool design, Cerebral infarction, Brain MR image, Registration

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Authors: Nicholas Lambert, Seungyeon Ryu, Mehmet Mulla, Albert Kim

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In this paper, an interactive in-car interface called HoloDash is presented. It is intended to provide information and infotainment in both autonomous vehicles and ‘connected cars’, vehicles equipped with Internet access via cellular services. The research focuses on the development of interactive avatars for this system and its gesture-based control system. This is a case study for the development of a possible human-centred means of presenting a connected or autonomous vehicle’s On-Board Diagnostics through a projected ‘holographic’ infotainment system. This system is termed a Holographic Human Vehicle Interface (HHIV), as it utilises a dashboard projection unit and gesture detection. The research also examines the suitability for gestures in an automotive environment, given that it might be used in both driver-controlled and driverless vehicles. Using Human Centred Design methods, questions were posed to test subjects and preferences discovered in terms of the gesture interface and the user experience for passengers within the vehicle. These affirm the benefits of this mode of visual communication for both connected and driverless cars.

Keywords: Holographic interface, human-computer interaction, user-centered design, Gesture.

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Authors: A. Bachrata, N. Marie, F. Bertrand, J. B. Droin

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The in-depth understanding of severe accident propagation in Generation IV of nuclear reactors is important so that appropriate risk management can be undertaken early in their design process. This paper is focused on model improvements in the SIMMER code in order to perform studies of severe accident mitigation of Sodium Fast Reactor. During the design process of the mitigation devices dedicated to extraction of molten fuel from the core region, the molten fuel propagation from the core up to the core catcher has to be studied. In this aim, analytical as well as the complex thermohydraulic simulations with SIMMER-III code are performed. The studies presented in this paper focus on physical phenomena and associated physical models that influence the corium relocation. Firstly, the molten pool heat exchange with surrounding structures is analyzed since it influences directly the instant of rupture of the dedicated tubes favoring the corium relocation for mitigation purpose. After the corium penetration into mitigation tubes, the fuel-coolant interactions result in formation of debris bed. Analyses of debris bed fluidization as well as sinking into a fluid are presented in this paper.

Keywords: Corium, mitigation tubes, SIMMER-III, sodium fast reactor (SFR).

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Authors: Wanida Suwunniponth

Abstract:

The objectives of this research paper was to study the influencing factors that contributed the willingness of consumers to purchase products online included quality of website, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, trust on online purchases, attitude towards online shopping and intentions to online purchases. The research was conducted in both quantitative and qualitative methods, by utilizing both questionnaire and in-depth interview. A questionnaire was used to collect data from 350 consumers who had online shopping experiences in Bangkok, Thailand. Statistics utilized in this research included descriptive statistics and path analysis.

The findings revealed that the factors concerning with quality of website, perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness played an influence on trust in online shopping. Trust also played an influence on attitude towards online purchase, whereas trust and attitude towards online purchase manipulated the intention of online purchase.

Keywords: E-commerce, intention, online shopping, Technology acceptance model.

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Authors: Yanwei Pang, Lei Zhang, Zhengkai Liu

Abstract:

Studies in neuroscience suggest that both global and local feature information are crucial for perception and recognition of faces. It is widely believed that local feature is less sensitive to variations caused by illumination, expression and illumination. In this paper, we target at designing and learning local features for face recognition. We designed three types of local features. They are semi-global feature, local patch feature and tangent shape feature. The designing of semi-global feature aims at taking advantage of global-like feature and meanwhile avoiding suppressing AdaBoost algorithm in boosting weak classifies established from small local patches. The designing of local patch feature targets at automatically selecting discriminative features, and is thus different with traditional ways, in which local patches are usually selected manually to cover the salient facial components. Also, shape feature is considered in this paper for frontal view face recognition. These features are selected and combined under the framework of boosting algorithm and cascade structure. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed approach outperforms the standard eigenface method and Bayesian method. Moreover, the selected local features and observations in the experiments are enlightening to researches in local feature design in face recognition.

Keywords: Face recognition, local feature, AdaBoost, subspace analysis.

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Authors: K. Zigan

Abstract:

Not with standing the importance of foreign highly skilled professionals for host economies, there is a paucity of research studies investigating the role of the corporate social context during the integration process. This research aims to address this paucity by exploring the role of social capital in the integration of foreign health professionals. It does so by using a qualitative research approach. In this pilot study the hospital sector forms this study-s sample and interviews were conducted with HR managers, foreign health professionals and external HR consultants. It was found that most of the participating hospitals had not established specific HR practices and had only partly linked the development of organisational social capital with a successful integration process. This research contributes, for example, to the HR literature on the integration of self-initiated expatriates by analysing the role of HRM in generating organisational social capital needed for a successful integration process.

Keywords: Corporate integration, hospitals, self-initiated expatriates, organisational social capital.

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Authors: Gulshan Sharma

Abstract:

This article presents the design of optimal automatic generation control (AGC) based on full state feedback control for a multi-area interconnected power system. An extra high voltage AC transmission line in parallel with a high voltage DC link is considered as an area interconnection between the areas. The optimal AGC are designed and implemented in the wake of 1% load perturbation in one of the areas and the system dynamic response plots for various system states are obtained to investigate the system dynamic performance. The pattern of closed-loop eigenvalues are also determined to analyze the system stability. From the investigations carried out in the work, it is revealed that the dynamic performance of the system under consideration has an appreciable improvement when a high voltage DC line is paralleled with an extra high voltage AC line as an interconnection between the areas. The investigation of closed-loop eigenvalues reveals that the system stability is ensured in all case studies carried out with the designed optimal AGC.

Keywords: Automatic generation control, area control error, DC link, optimal AGC regulator, closed-loop eigenvalues.

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Authors: M. H. Mehrabi, S. S. Ghodsi, Zainah Ibrahim, Meldi Suhatril

Abstract:

Standard routes for upgrading existing buildings to improve their seismic response can be expensive in terms of both time and cost due to the modifications required to the foundations. As a result, interest has grown in the installation of viscoelastic dampers (VEDs) in mid and high-rise buildings. Details of a low-cost viscoelastic passive control device, the rotary rubber braced damper (RRBD), are presented in this paper. This design has the added benefits of being lightweight and simple to install. Experimental methods and finite element modeling were used to assess the performance of the proposed VED design and its effect on building response during earthquakes. The analyses took into account the behaviors of non-linear materials and large deformations. The results indicate that the proposed RRBD provides high levels of energy absorption, ensuring the stable cyclical response of buildings in all scenarios considered. In addition, time history analysis was employed in this study to evaluate the RRBD’s ability to control the displacements and accelerations experienced by steel frame structures. It was demonstrated that the device responds well even at low displacements, highlighting its suitability for use in seismic events of varying severity.

Keywords: Dynamic response, passive control, performance test, seismic protection.

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