Search results for: Safety Element out of Context
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 3228

Search results for: Safety Element out of Context

948 A Fast Sign Localization System Using Discriminative Color Invariant Segmentation

Authors: G.P. Nguyen, H.J. Andersen

Abstract:

Building intelligent traffic guide systems has been an interesting subject recently. A good system should be able to observe all important visual information to be able to analyze the context of the scene. To do so, signs in general, and traffic signs in particular, are usually taken into account as they contain rich information to these systems. Therefore, many researchers have put an effort on sign recognition field. Sign localization or sign detection is the most important step in the sign recognition process. This step filters out non informative area in the scene, and locates candidates in later steps. In this paper, we apply a new approach in detecting sign locations using a new color invariant model. Experiments are carried out with different datasets introduced in other works where authors claimed the difficulty in detecting signs under unfavorable imaging conditions. Our method is simple, fast and most importantly it gives a high detection rate in locating signs.

Keywords: Sign localization, color-based segmentation.

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947 Vibration of a Beam on an Elastic Foundation Using the Variational Iteration Method

Authors: Desmond Adair, Kairat Ismailov, Martin Jaeger

Abstract:

Modelling of Timoshenko beams on elastic foundations has been widely used in the analysis of buildings, geotechnical problems, and, railway and aerospace structures. For the elastic foundation, the most widely used models are one-parameter mechanical models or two-parameter models to include continuity and cohesion of typical foundations, with the two-parameter usually considered the better of the two. Knowledge of free vibration characteristics of beams on an elastic foundation is considered necessary for optimal design solutions in many engineering applications, and in this work, the efficient and accurate variational iteration method is developed and used to calculate natural frequencies of a Timoshenko beam on a two-parameter foundation. The variational iteration method is a technique capable of dealing with some linear and non-linear problems in an easy and efficient way. The calculations are compared with those using a finite-element method and other analytical solutions, and it is shown that the results are accurate and are obtained efficiently. It is found that the effect of the presence of the two-parameter foundation is to increase the beam’s natural frequencies and this is thought to be because of the shear-layer stiffness, which has an effect on the elastic stiffness. By setting the two-parameter model’s stiffness parameter to zero, it is possible to obtain a one-parameter foundation model, and so, comparison between the two foundation models is also made.

Keywords: Timoshenko beam, variational iteration method, two-parameter elastic foundation model.

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946 The Importance of Sustainable Urban Development and Its Impacts on Turkey’s Urban Environmental Laws

Authors: Azadeh Rezafar, Sevkiye Sence Turk

Abstract:

Rapid population growth in urban areas and extinction danger of natural resources in order to meet the food needs of these population, has revealed the need for sustainability. It did not last long that city planners realized the importance of an equal access to natural resources with protecting and managing them in cities, in accordance with the concept of sustainable development. Like in other countries The Turkish Government is aware of the importance of the sustainable development in their cities. The government issued new laws for protection of environmental assets and so that the preservation of natural ecology. The main objective of this article is to emphasis the importance of the sustainable development in the context of the developing world by giving special information about the method of the Turkish Government for protecting nature with approval of difference laws in this area.

Keywords: Population Growth, Sustainable Development, Turkey, Turkish Urban Environmental Laws.

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945 A Biometric Template Security Approach to Fingerprints Based on Polynomial Transformations

Authors: Ramon Santana

Abstract:

The use of biometric identifiers in the field of information security, access control to resources, authentication in ATMs and banking among others, are of great concern because of the safety of biometric data. In the general architecture of a biometric system have been detected eight vulnerabilities, six of them allow obtaining minutiae template in plain text. The main consequence of obtaining minutia templates is the loss of biometric identifier for life. To mitigate these vulnerabilities several models to protect minutiae templates have been proposed. Several vulnerabilities in the cryptographic security of these models allow to obtain biometric data in plain text. In order to increase the cryptographic security and ease of reversibility, a minutiae templates protection model is proposed. The model aims to make the cryptographic protection and facilitate the reversibility of data using two levels of security. The first level of security is the data transformation level. In this level generates invariant data to rotation and translation, further transformation is irreversible. The second level of security is the evaluation level, where the encryption key is generated and data is evaluated using a defined evaluation function. The model is aimed at mitigating known vulnerabilities of the proposed models, basing its security on the impossibility of the polynomial reconstruction.

Keywords: Fingerprint, template protection, bio-cryptography, minutiae protection.

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944 Big Five Traits and Loneliness among Turkish Emerging Adults

Authors: Hasan Atak

Abstract:

Emerging adulthood, between the ages of 18 and 25, as a distinct developmental stage extending from adolescence to young adulthood. The proportions composing the five-factor model are neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. In the literature, there is any study which includes the relationship between emerging adults loneliness and personality traits. Therefore, the relationship between emerging adults loneliness and personality traits have to be investigated. This study examines the association between the Big Five personality traits, and loneliness among Turkish emerging adults. A total of 220 emerging adults completed the NEO Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI), and the The UCLA Loneliness Scale (UCLALS). Correlation analysis showed that three Big Five personality dimensions which are Neuroticism (positively), and Extraversion and Aggreableness (negatively) are moderately correlated with emerging adults loneliness. Regression analysis shows that Extraversion, Aggreableness and Neuroticism are the most important predictors of emerging adults loneliness. Results can be discussed in the context of emerging adulthood theory.

Keywords: Personality, Big Five Traits, Loneliness, Turkish Emerging Adults

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943 Adopting Collaborative Business Processes to Prevent the Loss of Information in Public Administration Organisations

Authors: A. Capodieci, G. Del Fiore, L. Mainetti

Abstract:

Recently, the use of web 2.0 tools has increased in companies and public administration organisations. This phenomenon, known as "Enterprise 2.0", has, de facto, modified common organisational and operative practices. This has led “knowledge workers” to change their working practices through the use of Web 2.0 communication tools. Unfortunately, these tools have not been integrated with existing enterprise information systems, a situation that could potentially lead to a loss of information. This is an important problem in an organisational context, because knowledge of information exchanged within the organisation is needed to increase the efficiency and competitiveness of the organisation. In this article we demonstrate that it is possible to capture this knowledge using collaboration processes, which are processes of abstraction created in accordance with design patterns and applied to new organisational operative practices.

Keywords: Business Practices, Business Process Patterns, Collaboration Tools, Enterprise 2.0, Knowledge Workers.

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942 Audio User Interface for Visually Impaired Computer Users: in a Two Dimensional Audio Environment

Authors: Ravihansa Rajapakse, Malshika Dias, Kanishka Weerasekara, Anuja Dharmaratne, Prasad Wimalaratne

Abstract:

In this paper we discuss a set of guidelines which could be adapted when designing an audio user interface for the visually impaired. It is based on an audio environment that is focused on audio positioning. Unlike current applications which only interpret Graphical User Interface (GUI) for the visually impaired, this particular audio environment bypasses GUI to provide a direct auditory output. It presents the capability of two dimensional (2D) navigation on audio interfaces. This paper highlights the significance of a 2D audio environment with spatial information in the context of the visually impaired. A thorough usability study has been conducted to prove the applicability of proposed design guidelines for these auditory interfaces. While proving these guidelines, previously unearthed design aspects have been revealed in this study.

Keywords: Human Computer Interaction, Audio User Interfaces, 2D Audio Environment, Visually Impaired Users

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941 The Comparison of Anchor and Star Schema from a Query Performance Perspective

Authors: Radek Němec

Abstract:

Today's business environment requires that companies have access to highly relevant information in a matter of seconds. Modern Business Intelligence tools rely on data structured mostly in traditional dimensional database schemas, typically represented by star schemas. Dimensional modeling is already recognized as a leading industry standard in the field of data warehousing although several drawbacks and pitfalls were reported. This paper focuses on the analysis of another data warehouse modeling technique - the anchor modeling, and its characteristics in context with the standardized dimensional modeling technique from a query performance perspective. The results of the analysis show information about performance of queries executed on database schemas structured according to principles of each database modeling technique.

Keywords: Data warehousing, anchor modeling, star schema, anchor schema, query performance.

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940 Developing a Campus Sustainability Assessment Framework for the National University of Malaysia

Authors: Z.F. Fadzil, H.S. Hashim, A.I. Che-Ani, S. Aziz

Abstract:

Campus sustainability is the goal of a university striving for sustainable development. This study found that of 17 popular approaches, two comprehensive campus sustainability assessment frameworks were developed in the context of Sustainability in Higher Education (SHE), and used by many university campuses around the world. Sustainability Tracking Assessment and Rating Systems (STARS) and the Campus Sustainability Assessment Framework (CSAF) approaches are more comprehensive than others. Therefore, the researchers examined aspects and elements used by CSAF and STARS in the approach to develop a campus sustainability assessment framework for Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). Documents analysis found that CSAF and STARS do not focus on physical development, especially the construction industry, as key elements of campus sustainability assessment. This finding is in accordance with the Sustainable UKM Programme which consists of three main components of sustainable community, ecosystem and physical development.

Keywords: Campus sustainability, campus sustainability assessment, sustainability assessment framework, sustainable campus

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939 Health Post A Sustainable Prototype for the Third World

Authors: Chizzoniti Domenico, Beggiora Klizia, Cattani Letizia, Moscatelli Monica

Abstract:

This paper concerns the study of sustainable construction materials applied on the "Health Post", a prototype for the primary health care situated in alienated areas of the world. It's suitable for social and climatic Sub-Saharan context; however, it could be moved in other countries of the world with similar urgent needs. The idea is to create a Health Post with local construction materials that have a low environmental impact and promote the local workforce allowing reuse of traditional building techniques lowering production costs and transport. The aim of Primary Health Care Centre is to be a flexible and expandable structure identifying a modular form that can be repeated several times to expand its existing functions. In this way it could be not only a health care centre but also a socio-cultural facility.

Keywords: Low costs building, sustainable construction materials, green construction system, prototype, health care, emergency.

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938 Semantic Mobility Channel (SMC): Ubiquitous and Mobile Computing Meets the Semantic Web

Authors: José M. Cantera, Miguel Jiménez, Genoveva López, Javier Soriano

Abstract:

With the advent of emerging personal computing paradigms such as ubiquitous and mobile computing, Web contents are becoming accessible from a wide range of mobile devices. Since these devices do not have the same rendering capabilities, Web contents need to be adapted for transparent access from a variety of client agents. Such content adaptation is exploited for either an individual element or a set of consecutive elements in a Web document and results in better rendering and faster delivery to the client device. Nevertheless, Web content adaptation sets new challenges for semantic markup. This paper presents an advanced components platform, called SMC, enabling the development of mobility applications and services according to a channel model based on the principles of Services Oriented Architecture (SOA). It then goes on to describe the potential for integration with the Semantic Web through a novel framework of external semantic annotation that prescribes a scheme for representing semantic markup files and a way of associating Web documents with these external annotations. The role of semantic annotation in this framework is to describe the contents of individual documents themselves, assuring the preservation of the semantics during the process of adapting content rendering. Semantic Web content adaptation is a way of adding value to Web contents and facilitates repurposing of Web contents (enhanced browsing, Web Services location and access, etc).

Keywords: Semantic web, ubiquitous and mobile computing, web content transcoding. semantic mark-up, mobile computing, middleware and services.

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937 Formulation and Evaluation of Dispersible Tablet of Furosemide for Pediatric Use

Authors: O. Benaziz, A. Dorbane, S. Djeraba

Abstract:

The objective of this work is to formulate a dry dispersible form of furosemide in the context of pediatric dose adjustment. To achieve this, we have produced a set of formulas that will be tested in process and after compression. The formula with the best results will be improved to optimize the final shape of the product. Furosemide is the most widely used pediatric diuretic because of its low toxicity. The manufacturing process was chosen taking into account all the data relating to the active ingredient and the excipients used and complying with the specifications and requirements of dispersible tablets. The process used to prepare these tablets was wet granulation. Different excipients were used: lactose, maize starch, magnesium stearate and two superdisintegrants. The mode of incorporation of super-disintegrant changes with each formula. The use of super-disintegrant in the formula allowed optimization of the disintegration time. Prepared tablets were evaluated for weight, content uniformity, hardness, disintegration time, friability and in vitro dissolution test. 

Keywords: Formulation, dispersible tablets, wet granulation, superdisintegrants, disintegration.

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936 Contemplating Preference Ratings of Corporate Social Responsibility Practices for Supply Chain Performance System Implementation

Authors: Mohit Tyagi, Pradeep Kumar

Abstract:

The objective of this research work is to identify and analyze the significant corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices with an aim to improve the supply chain performance of automobile industry located at National Capital Region (NCR) of India. To achieve the objective, 6 CSR practices have been considered and analyzed using expert’s preference rating (EPR) approach. The considered CSR practices are namely, Top management and employee awareness about CSR (P1), Employee involvement in social and environmental problems (P2), Protection of human rights (P3), Waste reduction, energy saving and water conservation (P4), Proper visibility of CSR guidelines (P5) and Broad perception towards CSR initiatives (P6). The outcomes of this research may help mangers in decision making processes and framing polices for SCP implementation under CSR context.

Keywords: Supply chain performance, corporate social responsibility, CSR practices, expert’s preference rating approach.

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935 Study of Features for Hand-printed Recognition

Authors: Satish Kumar

Abstract:

The feature extraction method(s) used to recognize hand-printed characters play an important role in ICR applications. In order to achieve high recognition rate for a recognition system, the choice of a feature that suits for the given script is certainly an important task. Even if a new feature required to be designed for a given script, it is essential to know the recognition ability of the existing features for that script. Devanagari script is being used in various Indian languages besides Hindi the mother tongue of majority of Indians. This research examines a variety of feature extraction approaches, which have been used in various ICR/OCR applications, in context to Devanagari hand-printed script. The study is conducted theoretically and experimentally on more that 10 feature extraction methods. The various feature extraction methods have been evaluated on Devanagari hand-printed database comprising more than 25000 characters belonging to 43 alphabets. The recognition ability of the features have been evaluated using three classifiers i.e. k-NN, MLP and SVM.

Keywords: Features, Hand-printed, Devanagari, Classifier, Database

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934 Abstraction Hierarchies for Engineering Design

Authors: Esra E. Aleisa, Li Lin

Abstract:

Complex engineering design problems consist of numerous factors of varying criticalities. Considering fundamental features of design and inferior details alike will result in an extensive waste of time and effort. Design parameters should be introduced gradually as appropriate based on their significance relevant to the problem context. This motivates the representation of design parameters at multiple levels of an abstraction hierarchy. However, developing abstraction hierarchies is an area that is not well understood. Our research proposes a novel hierarchical abstraction methodology to plan effective engineering designs and processes. It provides a theoretically sound foundation to represent, abstract and stratify engineering design parameters and tasks according to causality and criticality. The methodology creates abstraction hierarchies in a recursive and bottom-up approach that guarantees no backtracking across any of the abstraction levels. The methodology consists of three main phases, representation, abstraction, and layering to multiple hierarchical levels. The effectiveness of the developed methodology is demonstrated by a design problem.

Keywords: Hierarchies, Abstraction, Loop-free, Engineering Design

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933 Structural Sustainability Techniques for RC High Rise Buildings

Authors: Mohamed A. Azab

Abstract:

Over the early years of the 21st century, cities throughout the Middle East, particularly in the Gulf region have expanded more rapidly than ever before. Given the presence of a large volume of high-rise buildings allover the region, the local authority aims to set a new standard for sustainable development; with an integrated approach to maintain a balance between economy, quality, environmental protection and safety of life. In the very near future, as mandatory requirements, sustainability will be the criteria that should be included in all building projects. It is well known in the building sustainability topics that structural design engineers do not have a key role in this matter. In addition, the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) has looked almost exclusively on the environmental components and materials specifications. The objective of this paper is to focus and establish groundwork for sustainability techniques and applications related to the RC high-rise buildings design, from the structural point of view. A set of recommendations related to local conditions, structural modeling and analysis is given, and some helpful suggestions for structural design team work are addressed. This paper attempts to help structural engineers in identifying the building sustainability design, in order to meet local needs and achieve alternative solutions at an early stage of project design.

Keywords: Building, Design, High-rise, Middle East, Structural, Sustainability.

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932 Evaluating Accessibility to Bangkok Mass Transit System: Case Study of Saphan Taksin BTS Station

Authors: Rungpansa Noichan, Bart Julien Dewancker

Abstract:

Access to the mass transit system, including rapid elevated and underground transport has become an outstanding issue for many cities. The mass transit access development should focus on behavioral responses of the different passenger groups. Moreover, it should consider about the appearance of intent-oriented action related accessibility that was explored from user’s satisfaction and attitudes related to services quality. This study aims to evaluate mass transit accessibility from passenger’s satisfaction, therefore, understanding the passenger’s attitudes about mass transit accessibility. The study area of this research is Bangkok Mass Transit system (BTS Skytrain) at Saphan Taksin station. 200 passengers at Saphan Taksin station were asked to rate the questionnaires survey that considers accessibility aspects of convenience, safety, feeder connectivity, and other dimensions. The survey was to find out the passenger attitudes and satisfaction for access to the BTS station, and the result shows several factors that influence the passenger choice of using the BTS as a public transportation mode and passenger’s opinion that needs to concern for the development mass transit system and accessibility performance.

Keywords: Urban transportation, user satisfaction, accessibility, Bangkok mass transit.

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931 Real Time Detection, Tracking and Recognition of Medication Intake

Authors: H. H. Huynh, J. Meunier, J.Sequeira, M.Daniel

Abstract:

In this paper, the detection and tracking of face, mouth, hands and medication bottles in the context of medication intake monitoring with a camera is presented. This is aimed at recognizing medication intake for elderly in their home setting to avoid an inappropriate use. Background subtraction is used to isolate moving objects, and then, skin and bottle segmentations are done in the RGB normalized color space. We use a minimum displacement distance criterion to track skin color regions and the R/G ratio to detect the mouth. The color-labeled medication bottles are simply tracked based on the color space distance to their mean color vector. For the recognition of medication intake, we propose a three-level hierarchal approach, which uses activity-patterns to recognize the normal medication intake activity. The proposed method was tested with three persons, with different medication intake scenarios, and gave an overall precision of over 98%.

Keywords: Activity recognition, background subtraction, tracking, medication intake, video surveillance

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930 Optimal Power Allocation to Diversity Branches of Cooperative MISO Sensor Networks

Authors: Rooholah Hasanizadeh, Saadan Zokaei

Abstract:

In the context of sensor networks, where every few dB saving counts, the novel node cooperation schemes are reviewed where MIMO techniques play a leading role. These methods could be treated as joint approach for designing physical layer of their communication scenarios. Then we analyzed the BER performance of transmission diversity schemes under a general fading channel model and proposed a power allocation strategy to the transmitting sensor nodes. This approach is then compared to an equal-power assignment method and its performance enhancement is verified by the simulation. Another key point of the contribution lies in the combination of optimal power allocation and sensor nodes- cooperation in a transmission diversity regime (MISO). Numerical results are given through figures to demonstrate the optimality and efficiency of proposed combined approach.

Keywords: Optimal power allocation, cooperative MISO scheme, sensor networks, diversity branch.

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929 New Findings on the User’s Preferences about Data Visualization of Online Reviews

Authors: Elizabeth Simão Carvalho, Marcirio Silveira Chaves

Abstract:

The information visualization is still a knowledge field that lacks from a solid theory to support it and there is a myriad of existing methodologies and taxonomies that can be combined and adopted as guidelines. In this context, it is necessary to pre-evaluate as much as possible all the assumptions that are considered for its design and development. We present an exploratory study (n = 123) to detect the graphical preferences of travelers using accommodation portals of Web 2.0 (e.g. tripadvisor.com). We took into account some of the most relevant ground rules applied in the field to map visually data and design end-user interaction. Moreover, the evaluation process was completely data visualization oriented. We found out that people tend to refuse more advanced types of visualization and that a hybrid combination between radial graphs and stacked bars should be explored. In sum, this paper introduces new findings about the visual model and the cognitive response of users of accommodation booking websites.

Keywords: Information visualization, Data visualization, Visualization evaluation, Online reviews, Booking portal, Hotel booking.

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928 Psychopathic Disorders and Judges Sentencing: Can Neurosciences Change This Aggravating Factor in a Mitigating Factor?

Authors: Kevin Moustapha

Abstract:

Psychopathic disorders are taking an important part in judge sentencing, especially in Canada. First, we will see how this phenomenon can be illustrated by the high proportion of psychopath offenders incarcerated in North American prisons. Many decisions in Canadians courtrooms seem to point out that psychopathy is often used as a strong argument by the judges to preserve public safety. The fact that psychopathy is often associated with violence, recklessness and recidivism, could explain why many judges consider psychopathic disorders as an aggravating factor. Generally, the judge reasoning is based on Article 753 of Canadian Criminal Code related to dangerous offenders, which is used for individuals who show a pattern of repetitive and persistent aggressive behaviour. Then we will show how, with cognitive neurosciences, the psychopath’s situation in courtrooms would probably change. Cerebral imaging and news data provided by the neurosciences show that emotional and volitional functions in psychopath’s brains are impaired. Understanding these new issues could enable some judges to recognize psychopathic disorders as a mitigating factor. Finally, two important questions ought to be raised in this article: can exploring psychopaths ‘brains really change the judge sentencing in Canadian courtrooms? If yes, can judges consider psychopathy more as a mitigating factor than an aggravating factor?

Keywords: Criminal law, judges sentencing, neurosciences, psychopathy.

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927 Development of Equivalent Inelastic Springs to Model C-Devices

Authors: Oday Al-Mamoori, J. Enrique Martinez-Rueda

Abstract:

'C' shape yielding devices (C-devices) are effective tools for introducing supplemental sources of energy dissipation by hysteresis. Studies have shown that C-devices made of mild steel can be successfully applied as integral parts of seismic retrofitting schemes. However, explicit modelling of these devices can become cumbersome, expensive and time consuming. The device under study in this article has been previously used in non-invasive dissipative bracing for seismic retrofitting. The device is cut from a mild steel plate and has an overall shape that resembles that of a rectangular portal frame with circular interior corner transitions to avoid stress concentration and to control the extension of the dissipative region of the device. A number of inelastic finite element (FE) analyses using either inelastic 2D plane stress elements or inelastic fibre frame elements are reported and used to calibrate a 1D equivalent inelastic spring model that effectively reproduces the cyclic response of the device. The more elaborate FE model accounts for the frictional forces developed between the steel plate and the bolts used to connect the C-device to structural members. FE results also allow the visualization of the inelastic regions of the device where energy dissipation is expected to occur. FE analysis results are in a good agreement with experimental observations.

Keywords: C-device, equivalent nonlinear spring, FE analyses, reversed cyclic tests.

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926 Smart Motion

Authors: Arpita Soni, Sapna Mittal

Abstract:

Austenite and Martensite indicate the phases of solids undergoing phase transformation which we usually associate with materials and not with living organisms. This article provides an overview of bacterial proteins and structures that are undergoing phase transformation and suggests its probable effect on mechanical behavior. The context is mainly within the role of phase transformations occurring in the flagellum of bacteria. The current knowledge of molecular mechanism leading to phase variation in living organisms is reviewed. Since in bacteria, each flagellum is driven by a separate motor, similarity to a Differential drive in case of four-wheeled vehicles is suggested. It also suggests the application of the mechanism in which bacteria changes its direction of movement to facilitate single point turning of a multi-wheeled vehicle. Finally, examples are presented to illustrate that the motion due to phase transformation of flagella in bacteria can start a whole new research on motion mechanisms.

Keywords: Flagella, Phase Transformation, Nanobots, Differential Drive, Single point turn, Biomimetics

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925 A Mapping Approach of Code Generation for Arinc653-Based Avionics Software

Authors: Lu Zou, Dianfu MA, Ying Wang, Xianqi Zhao

Abstract:

Avionic software architecture has transit from a federated avionics architecture to an integrated modular avionics (IMA) .ARINC 653 (Avionics Application Standard Software Interface) is a software specification for space and time partitioning in Safety-critical avionics Real-time operating systems. Methods to transform the abstract avionics application logic function to the executable model have been brought up, however with less consideration about the code generating input and output model specific for ARINC 653 platform and inner-task synchronous dynamic interaction order sequence. In this paper, we proposed an AADL-based model-driven design methodology to fulfill the purpose to automatically generating Cµ executable model on ARINC 653 platform from the ARINC653 architecture which defined as AADL653 in order to facilitate the development of the avionics software constructed on ARINC653 OS. This paper presents the mapping rules between the AADL653 elements and the elements in Cµ language, and define the code generating rules , designs an automatic C µ code generator .Then, we use a case to illustrate our approach. Finally, we give the related work and future research directions.

Keywords: IMA, ARINC653, AADL653, code generation.

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924 Use of Radial Basis Function Neural Network for Bearing Pressure Prediction of Strip Footing on Reinforced Granular Bed Overlying Weak Soil

Authors: Srinath Shetty K., Shivashankar R., Rashmi P. Shetty

Abstract:

Earth reinforcing techniques have become useful and economical to solve problems related to difficult grounds and provide satisfactory foundation performance. In this context, this paper uses radial basis function neural network (RBFNN) for predicting the bearing pressure of strip footing on reinforced granular bed overlying weak soil. The inputs for the neural network models included plate width, thickness of granular bed and number of layers of reinforcements, settlement ratio, water content, dry density, cohesion and angle of friction. The results indicated that RBFNN model exhibited more than 84 % prediction accuracy, thereby demonstrating its application in a geotechnical problem.

Keywords: Bearing pressure, granular bed, radial basis function neural network, strip footing.

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923 Working Motivation Factors Affecting Job Performance Effectiveness

Authors: Supattra Kanchanopast

Abstract:

The purpose of this paper was to study motivation factors affecting job performance effectiveness. This paper drew upon data collected from an Internal Audit Staffs of Internal Audit Line of Head Office of Krung Thai Public Company Limited. Statistics used included frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation, t-test, and one-way ANOVA test. The finding revealed that the majority of the respondents were female of 46 years of age and over, married and live together, hold a bachelor degree, with an average monthly income over 70,001 Baht. The majority of respondents had over 15 years of work experience. They generally had high working motivation as well as high job performance effectiveness. The hypotheses testing disclosed that employees with different working status had different level of job performance effectiveness at a 0.01 level of significance. Working motivation factors had an effect on job performance in the same direction with high level. Individual working motivation included working completion, reorganization, working progression, working characteristic, opportunity, responsibility, management policy, supervision, relationship with their superior, relationship with co-worker, working position, working stability, safety, privacy, working conditions, and payment. All of these factors related to job performance effectiveness in the same direction with medium level.

Keywords: Internal Audit Staffs, Job Performance Effectiveness, Working Motivation.

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922 A Comparative Study of Afghan Traditional and Contemporary Courtyard Housing Regarding Affordable Planning and Sustainability

Authors: Mohammad Saraj Sharifzai, Keisuke Kitagawa, Mohammad Kamil Halimee, Javid Habib, Daishi Sakaguchi

Abstract:

The purpose of this research is to upgrade a pleasing, sustainable and safe shelter in the Afghan urban community. It also aims to maintain traditional housing, which is fitted to its environment, while attempting to upgrade it with new, traditional standards. The three main objectives of this study are to upgrade the traditional courtyard house to become safe and sustainable today and tomorrow; to fit the contemporary house environmentally and culturally, and to suppress or reduce the broad gap between traditional and contemporary housing. The paper tries to exhibit and analyze the sustainably best practices available in both traditional and contemporary courtyard housing in Afghanistan. For instance, the use of thick walls and Tawa-Khana (floor heating system) shows the best sustainable practice in that context.

Keywords: Afghan Traditional Courtyard Housing (ATCH), Afghan Contemporary Courtyard Housing (ACCH), suitability planning, affordable and thermal comfort.

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921 Electro-Thermal Imaging of Breast Phantom: An Experimental Study

Authors: H. Feza Carlak, N. G. Gencer

Abstract:

To increase the temperature contrast in thermal images, the characteristics of the electrical conductivity and thermal imaging modalities can be combined. In this experimental study, it is objected to observe whether the temperature contrast created by the tumor tissue can be improved just due to the current application within medical safety limits. Various thermal breast phantoms are developed to simulate the female breast tissue. In vitro experiments are implemented using a thermal infrared camera in a controlled manner. Since experiments are implemented in vitro, there is no metabolic heat generation and blood perfusion. Only the effects and results of the electrical stimulation are investigated. Experimental study is implemented with two-dimensional models. Temperature contrasts due to the tumor tissues are obtained. Cancerous tissue is determined using the difference and ratio of healthy and tumor images. 1 cm diameter single tumor tissue causes almost 40 °mC temperature contrast on the thermal-breast phantom. Electrode artifacts are reduced by taking the difference and ratio of background (healthy) and tumor images. Ratio of healthy and tumor images show that temperature contrast is increased by the current application.

Keywords: Medical diagnostic imaging, breast phantom, active thermography, breast cancer detection.

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920 FEM Simulation of Triple Diffusive Magnetohydrodynamics Effect of Nanofluid Flow over a Nonlinear Stretching Sheet

Authors: Rangoli Goyal, Rama Bhargava

Abstract:

The triple diffusive boundary layer flow of nanofluid under the action of constant magnetic field over a non-linear stretching sheet has been investigated numerically. The model includes the effect of Brownian motion, thermophoresis, and cross-diffusion; slip mechanisms which are primarily responsible for the enhancement of the convective features of nanofluid. The governing partial differential equations are transformed into a system of ordinary differential equations (by using group theory transformations) and solved numerically by using variational finite element method. The effects of various controlling parameters, such as the magnetic influence number, thermophoresis parameter, Brownian motion parameter, modified Dufour parameter, and Dufour solutal Lewis number, on the fluid flow as well as on heat and mass transfer coefficients (both of solute and nanofluid) are presented graphically and discussed quantitatively. The present study has industrial applications in aerodynamic extrusion of plastic sheets, coating and suspensions, melt spinning, hot rolling, wire drawing, glass-fibre production, and manufacture of polymer and rubber sheets, where the quality of the desired product depends on the stretching rate as well as external field including magnetic effects.

Keywords: FEM, Thermophoresis, Diffusiophoresis, Brownian motion.

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919 Awakeness, Awareness and Learning Mathematics for Arab Students: A Pilot Study

Authors: S. Rawashdi, D. Bshouty

Abstract:

This paper aimed at discussing how to urge middle and high school Arab students in Israel to be aware of the importance of and investing in learning mathematics. In the first phase of the study, three questionnaires were passed to two nine-grade classes, one on Awareness, one on Awakeness and one on Learning. One of the two classes was an outstanding class from a public school (PUBS) of 31 students, and the other a heterogeneous class from a private school (PRIS) with 31 students. The Learning questionnaire which was administrated to the Awareness and Awareness topics was passed to PRIS and the Awareness and Awareness Questionnaires were passed to the PUBS class After two months we passed the post-questionnaire to both classes to validate the long-term impact of the study. The findings of the study show that awakeness and awareness processes have an effect on the math learning process, on its context in students' daily lives and their growing interest in learning math.

Keywords: Awakeness, awareness, learning mathematics, pupils.

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