Search results for: Operational research

Authors: Zixin Liu, Shu Lü, Shouming Zhong, Mao Ye

Abstract:

In this paper, some new nonlinear generalized Gronwall-Bellman-Type integral inequalities with mixed time delays are established. These inequalities can be used as handy tools to research stability problems of delayed differential and integral dynamic systems. As applications, based on these new established inequalities, some p-stable results of a integro-differential equation are also given. Two numerical examples are presented to illustrate the validity of the main results.

Keywords: Gronwall-Bellman-Type integral inequalities, integrodifferential equation, p-exponentially stable, mixed delays.

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Authors: Jiri Barta

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This paper deals with a simulation programs and technologies using in the educational process for members of the crisis management. Risk analysis, simulation, preparation and planning are among the main activities of workers of crisis management. Made correctly simulation of emergency defines the extent of the danger. On this basis, it is possible to effectively prepare and plan measures to minimize damage. The paper is focused on simulation programs that are trained at the University of Defence. Implementation of the outputs from simulation programs in decision-making processes of crisis staffs is one of the main tasks of the research project.

Keywords: Crisis Management, Continuity, Critical Infrastructure, Dangerous substance, Education, Flood, Simulation Programs.

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Authors: Xun Ge, Jinjin Li, Ying Ge

Abstract:

Adopting Zakowski-s upper approximation operator C and lower approximation operator C, this paper investigates granularity-wise separations in covering approximation spaces. Some characterizations of granularity-wise separations are obtained by means of Pawlak rough sets and some relations among granularitywise separations are established, which makes it possible to research covering approximation spaces by logical methods and mathematical methods in computer science. Results of this paper give further applications of Pawlak rough set theory in pattern recognition and artificial intelligence.

Keywords: Rough set, covering approximation space, granularitywise separation.

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Authors: Sri Ranjini Mei Hua, Vivian Hsueh-hua Chen

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The African Diaspora in Singapore (and larger Asia) is a topic that has received little scholarly attention and research. This exploratory study will analyze the changing identity of Africans throughout the process of cultural adaptation in Singapore. For the focus of this study, “black Africans" will be defined as any black Africans from sub-Saharan Africa who have lived in Singapore for at least six months. The dialectic relationship between Singaporean conceptions of black African identity and African self-consciousness will be analyzed from the perspective of black Africans so as to evaluate the impact of intercultural discourse on the evolution of the African identity in Singapore.

Keywords: African, Diaspora, identity negotiation, interculturalcommunication

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Authors: M.E.khosroshahi , M.S.Nourbakhsh

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Wet chemistry methods are used to prepare the SiO2/Au nanoshells. The purpose of this research was to synthesize gold coated SiO2 nanoshells for biomedical applications. Tunable nanoshells were prepared by using different colloidal concentrations. The nanoshells are characterized by FTIR, XRD, UV-Vis spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The FTIR results confirmed the functionalization of the surfaces of silica nanoparticles with NH2 terminal groups. A tunable absorption was observed between 470-600 nm with a maximum range of 530-560 nm. Based on the XRD results three main peaks of Au (111), (200) and (220) were identified. Also AFM results showed that the silica core diameter was about 100 nm and the thickness of gold shell about 10 nm.

Keywords: Gold nanoshells, Synthesis, UV-vis spectroscopy, XRD, AFM

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Authors: Usman Ali Khan, Bismah Tariq, Khalida Raza, Saima Malik, Aoun Muhammad

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This research paper is based upon the simulation of gradient of mathematical functions and scalar fields using MATLAB. Scalar fields, their gradient, contours and mesh/surfaces are simulated using different related MATLAB tools and commands for convenient presentation and understanding. Different mathematical functions and scalar fields are examined here by taking their gradient, visualizing results in 3D with different color shadings and using other necessary relevant commands. In this way the outputs of required functions help us to analyze and understand in a better way as compared to just theoretical study of gradient.

Keywords: MATLAB, Gradient, Contour, Scalar Field, Mesh

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Authors: Tawiwat V., Narongkorn D., Auttapoom L.

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This research proposes the change of damping coefficient regarding minimum displacement. From the mass with external forced and damper problem, when is the constant external forced transmitted to the understructure in the difference angle between 30 and 60 degrees. This force generates the vibration as general known; however, the objective of this problem is to have minimum displacement. As the angle is changed and the goal is the same; therefore, the damper of the system must be varied while keeping constant spring stiffness. The problem is solved by using nonlinear programming and the suitable changing of the damping coefficient is provided.

Keywords: Damping coefficient, Optimal control, Minimum Displacement and Vibration

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Authors: V. K. Bansal, M. Kumar, P. P. Bansal, A. Batish

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This paper presents the results of an experimental investigation carried out to evaluate the effects of partial replacement of cement and fine aggregate with industrial waste by-products on concrete strength properties. The Grey Taguchi approach has been used to optimize the mix proportions for desired properties. In this research work, a ternary combination of industrial waste by-products has been used. The experiments have been designed using Taguchi's L9 orthogonal array with four factors having three levels each. The cement was partially replaced by ladle furnace slag (LFS), fly ash (FA) and copper slag (CS) at 10%, 25% and 40% level and fine aggregate (sand) was partially replaced with electric arc furnace slag (EAFS), iron slag (IS) and glass powder (GP) at 20%, 30% and 40% level. Three water to binder ratios, fixed at 0.40, 0.44 and 0.48, were used, and the curing age was fixed at 7, 28 and 90 days. Thus, a series of nine experiments was conducted on the specimens for water to binder ratios of 0.40, 0.44 and 0.48 at 7, 28 and 90 days of the water curing regime. It is evident from the investigations that Grey Taguchi approach for optimization helps in identifying the factors affecting the final outcomes, i.e. compressive strength and split tensile strength of concrete. For the materials and a range of parameters used in this research, the present study has established optimum mixes in terms of strength properties. The best possible levels of mix proportions were determined for maximization through compressive and splitting tensile strength. To verify the results, the optimal mix was produced and tested. The mixture results in higher compressive strength and split tensile strength than other mixes. The compressive strength and split tensile strength of optimal mixtures are also compared with the control concrete mixtures. The results show that compressive strength and split tensile strength of concrete made with partial replacement of cement and fine aggregate is more than control concrete at all ages and w/c ratios. Based on the overall observations, it can be recommended that industrial waste by-products in ternary combinations can effectively be utilized as partial replacements of cement and fine aggregates in all concrete applications.

Keywords: Analysis of variance, ANOVA, compressive strength, concrete, grey Taguchi method, industrial by-products, split tensile strength.

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Authors: Gehad S. Kaseb, Mona F. Ahmed

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Arabic Sentiment Analysis (SA) is one of the most common research fields with many open areas. This paper proposes different pre-processing steps and a modified methodology to improve the accuracy using normal Support Vector Machine (SVM) classification. The paper works on two datasets, Arabic Sentiment Tweets Dataset (ASTD) and Extended Arabic Tweets Sentiment Dataset (Extended-ATSD), which are publicly available for academic use. The results show that the classification accuracy approaches 86%.

Keywords: Arabic, hybrid classification, sentiment analysis, tweets.

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Authors: Jelena Zagorska, Inga Ciprovica

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the obligatory step during immunoglobulin and lysozyme concentration process is thermal treatment. The combination of temperature and time used in processing can affect the structure of the proteins and involve unfolding and aggregation. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the heat stability of total Igs, the particular immunoglobulin classes and lysozyme in milk. Milk samples were obtained from conventional dairy herd in Latvia. Raw milk samples were pasteurized in different regimes: 63 °C 30 min, 72 °C 15-20 s, 78 °C 15-20 s, 85 °C 15-20 s, 95 °C 15-20 s. The concentrations of Igs (IgA, IgG, IgM) and lysozyme were determined by turbodimetric method. During research was established, that activity of antimicrobial proteins decreases differently. Less concentration reduce was established in a case of lysozyme.

Keywords: immunoglobulins, lysozyme, milk, pasteurization

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Authors: Jindriska Svobodova, Jan Novotny

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A teacher’s attitude to creativity plays an essential role in the thinking development of his/her students. The purpose of this study is to understand if a science teacher's personal creativity can modify his/her ability to produce various kinds of questions. This research used an education activity based on cosmic sketches and pictures by K.E. Tsiolkovsky, the founder of astronautics, to explore if any relationship between individual creativity and the asking questions skill exists. As a screening instrument, which allows an assessment of the respondent's creative potential, a common test of creative thinking was used. The results of the creativity test and the diversity of the questions are mentioned.

Keywords: Science education, active learning, physics teaching, creativity.

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Authors: Hidehiko Okada, Yuki Fujii

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Researchers have been applying artificial/ computational intelligence (AI/CI) methods to computer games. In this research field, further researchesare required to compare AI/CI methods with respect to each game application. In thispaper, we report our experimental result on the comparison of evolution strategy, genetic algorithm and their hybrids, applied to evolving controller agents for MarioAI. GA revealed its advantage in our experiment, whereas the expected ability of ES in exploiting (fine-tuning) solutions was not clearly observed. The blend crossover operator and the mutation operator of GA might contribute well to explore the vast search space.

Keywords: Evolutionary algorithm, autonomous game controller agent, neuroevolutions, MarioAI

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Authors: Ashly Joseph

Abstract:

In the era of digital transformation, full-stack observability has emerged as a crucial aspect of administering modern application stacks. This research paper presents the concept of full-stack observability, its significance in the context of contemporary application stacks, and the challenges posed by swiftly evolving digital environments. In addition, it describes how full-stack observability intends to provide complete visibility and actionable insights by correlating telemetry across multiple domains.

Keywords: Actionable insights, digital transformation, full-stack observability, performance metrics.

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Authors: Frederike Ohrem, Lukas Sikorski, Bastian Haarmann

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Often the users of a semantic search application are facing the problem that they do not find appropriate terms for their search. This holds especially if the data to be searched is from a technical field in which the user does not have expertise. In order to support the user finding the results he seeks, we developed a domain-specific ontology and implemented it into a search application. The ontology serves as a knowledge base, suggesting technical terms to the user which he can add to his query. In this paper, we present the search application and the underlying ontology as well as the project EnArgus in which the application was developed.

Keywords: Information system, knowledge representation, ontology, semantic search.

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Authors: Safdar Muhammad Usman, Youji Kohda, Katsuhiro Umemoto

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Electronic market place plays an important intermediary role for connecting dealers and retail customers. The main aim of this paper is to design a value co-creation model in used-car auctions. More specifically, the study has been designed in order to describe the process of value co-creation in used-car auctions, to explore the co-created values in used-car auctions, and finally conclude the paper indicating the future research directions. Our analysis shows that economic values as well as non-economic values are co-created in used-car auctions. In addition, this paper contributes to the academic society broadening the view of value co-creation in service science.

Keywords: Value co-creation, Used-car auctions, Non-economic values, Service science.

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Authors: Hamdi Melih Saraoğlu, Muhlis Yıldırım, Abdurrahman Özbeyaz, Feyzullah Temurtas

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In this research, the diabetes conditions of people (healthy, prediabete and diabete) were tried to be identified with noninvasive palm perspiration measurements. Data clusters gathered from 200 subjects were used (1.Individual Attributes Cluster and 2. Palm Perspiration Attributes Cluster). To decrase the dimensions of these data clusters, Principal Component Analysis Method was used. Data clusters, prepared in that way, were classified with Support Vector Machines. Classifications with highest success were 82% for Glucose parameters and 84% for HbA1c parametres.

Keywords: Palm perspiration, Diabetes, Support Vector Machine, Classification.

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Authors: R. Hosseingholizadeh

Abstract:

This article presents a method for elections between the members of a group that is founded by fuzzy logic. Linguistic variables are objects for decision on election cards and deduction is based on t-norms and s-norms. In this election-s method election cards are questionnaire. The questionnaires are comprised of some questions with some choices. The choices are words from natural language. Presented method is accompanied by center of gravity (COG) defuzzification added up to a computer program by MATLAB. Finally the method is illustrated by solving two examples; choose a head for a research group-s members and a representative for students.

Keywords: fuzzy election, fuzzy electoral card, fuzzy inference, questionnaire.

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Authors: Marjan Mansourvar, Norizan Mohd Yasin

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The development of Web has affected different aspects of our lives, such as communication, sharing knowledge, searching for jobs, social activities, etc. The web portal as a gateway in the World Wide Web is a starting point for people who are connecting to the Internet. The web portal as the type of knowledge management system provides a rich space to share and search information as well as communication services like free email or content provision for the users. This research aims to discover the university needs to the web portal as a necessary tool for students in the universities to help them in getting the required information. A survey was conducted to gather students' requirements which can be incorporated in to portal to be developed.

Keywords: Knowledge, Knowledge management system, Knowledge sharing, web portal.

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Authors: M. Liebherr, P. Schubert, S. Kersten, C. Dietz, L. Franz, C. T. Haas

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With a long history, dual-task has become one of the most intriguing research fields regarding human brain functioning and cognition. However, findings considering effects of taskinterrelations are limited (especially, in combined motor and cognitive tasks). Therefore, we aimed at developing a measurement system in order to analyse interrelation effects of cognitive and motor tasks. On the one hand, the present study demonstrates the applicability of the measurement system and on the other hand first results regarding a systematisation of different task combinations are shown. Future investigations should combine imagine technologies and this developed measurement system.

Keywords: Dual-task, interference, cognition, measurement.

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Authors: Adebisi A. Sunday, Babajide Adeokin

Abstract:

The persistent rise in farm theft in rural region of Nigeria is attributed to the lack of adequate and effective policing in the regions; thus, this brought about the inevitable introduction of native charms on farmlands as a means of fortification of harvests against theft in Ayetoro community. The use of charm by farmers as security on farmlands is a traditional crime control mechanism that is largely based on unwritten laws which greatly influenced the lives of people, and their attitudes toward the society. This research presents a qualitative sociological study on how native charms are deployed by farmers for protection against theft. The study investigated the various types of charms that are employed as security measures among farmers in Ayetoro community and the rationale behind the use of these mechanisms as farm security. The study utilized qualitative method to gather data in the research process. Under the qualitative method, in-depth interview method was adopted to generate a robust and detailed data from the respondents. Also the data generated were analysed qualitatively using thematic content analysis and simple description which was preceded by transcription of data from the recorder. It was revealed that amidst numerous charms known, two major charms are used on farmlands as a measure of social control in Ayetoro community, Ogun state South West Nigeria. Furthermore, the result of this study showed that, the desire for safekeeping of harvest from pilferers and the heavy punishments dispense on offenders by native charms are the reasons why farmers deploy charms on their farms. In addition, findings revealed that the adoption of these charms for protection has improved yields among farmers in the community because the safety of harvest has been made possible by virtue of the presence of various charms in the farm lands. Therefore, based on the findings of this study, it is recommended that such measures should be recognized in mainstream social control mechanisms in the fight against crime in Nigeria and the rest of the world. Lastly, native charms could be installed in all social and cooperate organisation and position of authority to prevent theft of valuables and things hold with utmost importance.

Keywords: Farm theft, native charms, mechanism, Ayetoro, pilferer.

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Authors: A. Ahadpour Shal, A. Ghadimi, A. Azadbar

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In this paper a new method for increasing the speed of SAGCM-APD is proposed. Utilizing carrier rate equations in different regions of the structure, a circuit model for the structure is obtained. In this research, in addition to frequency response, the effect of added new charge layer on some transient parameters like slew-rate, rising and falling times have been considered. Finally, by trading-off among some physical parameters such as different layers widths and droppings, a noticeable decrease in breakdown voltage has been achieved. The results of simulation, illustrate some features of proposed structure improvement in comparison with conventional SAGCM-APD structures.

Keywords: Optical communication systems (OCS), Circuit modeling, breakdown voltage, SAGCM APD

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Authors: Hemant Kumar, Nilendu Das

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A study based on ANN structure gives us the information to predict the size of the future in realizing a past event. ANN, IMD (Indian meteorological department) data and remote sensing were used to enable a number of parameters for calculating the size that may occur in the future. A threshold selected specifically above the high-frequency harvest reached the area during the selected seismic activity. In the field of human and local biodiversity it remains to obtain the right parameter compared to the frequency of impact. But during the study the assumption is that predicting seismic activity is a difficult process, not because of the parameters involved here, which can be analyzed and funded in research activity.

Keywords: ANN, Bayesian class, earthquakes, IMD.

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Authors: O. Vlcek

Abstract:

The paper deals with current issues in research of advanced methods to increase reliability of traditional timber structural elements. It analyses the issue of strengthening of bent timber beams, such as ceiling beams in old (historical) buildings with additional concrete slab in combination with externally bonded fibre - reinforced polymer. The paper describes experimental testing of composite timber-concrete beam with FRP reinforcement and compares results with FEM analysis.

Keywords: Timber-concrete composite, strengthening, fibre-reinforced polymer, experimental analysis.

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Authors: Shian Wan, Yi-Chang Wang, Yu-Chien Lin

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This research discussed the various theories of service design, the importance of service design methodology, and the development of transformative service design framework. In this study, transformative service design is applied while building a new brand community service for women, children and infants retailing business. The goal is to enhance the brand recognition and customer loyalty, effectively increase the brand community engagement by embedding the brand community in social network and ultimately, strengthen the impact and the value of the company brand.

Keywords: Service design, transformative service design, brand community.

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Authors: Arishai Akraudom

Abstract:

The objective of this research was to study the themes of alcoholic beverage advertisements in Thailand after the enactment of the 2008 Alcoholic Beverage Control Act. Data was collected through textual analysis of 35 television and cinema advertisements for alcoholic beverage products broadcast in Thailand. Nine themes were identified, seven of which were themes that had previously been used before the new law (i.e. power, competition, friendship, Thainess, success, romance and safety) and two of which were new themes (volunteerism and conservation) that were introduced as a form of adaptation and negotiation in response to the new law.

Keywords: Alcoholic Beverage Control Act 2008, Alcohol Advertising, Analysis of Themes, Narrative Structure, Health Communication.

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Authors: Ke Wang, Zhu Wang

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Coordinating and promoting urban and rural development has been a new round of institutional change in Zhejiang province since 2004. And this plan was fully implemented, which showed that the isolation between the urban and rural areas had gradually diminished. Little by little, an infiltration interface that is dynamic, flexible and interactive is formed, and this morphological structure starts to appear on the landscape form in the surrounding villages. In order to study the specific function and formation of the structure in the context of industrial revolution, Bimen village located on the interface between Anji Township, Huzhou and Yuhang District, Hangzhou is taken as the case. Anji township is in the cross area between Yangtze River delta economic circle and innovation center in Hangzhou. Awarded with ‘Chinese beautiful village’, Bimen has witnessed the growing process of infiltration in ecology, economy, technology and culture on the interface. Within the opportunity, Bimen village presents internal reformation to adapt to the energy exchange with urban areas. In the research, the reformation is to adjust the industrial structure, to upgrade the local special bamboo crafts, to release space for activities, and to establish infrastructures on the interface. The characteristic of an interface is elasticity achieved by introducing an Internet platform using ‘O2O’ agriculture method to connect cities and farmlands. There is a platform of this kind in Bimen named ‘Xiao Mei’. ‘Xiao’ in Chinese means small, ‘Mei’ means beautiful, which indicates the method to refine the landscape form. It turns out that the new agriculture mode will strengthen the interface by orienting the Third Party Platform upon the old dynamic basis and will bring new vitality for economy development in Bimen village. The research concludes opportunities and challenges generated by the evolution of the infiltration interface. It also proposes strategies for how to organically adapt to the urbanization process. Finally it demonstrates what will happen by increasing flexibility in the landscape forms of suburbs in the Bimen village.

Keywords: Bimen Village, infiltration interface, flexibility, suburban landscape form.

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Authors: Farshad Kheiri

Abstract:

Iran Central Plateau encompasses a large proportion of this country. The weather in these flat plains is warm and arid with very little precipitation. Different attempts in architecture have been done to alleviate the weather severity of this area and create a living place compatible with humans’ comfort criteria. Investigations have showed that some of the most successful approaches in traditional architecture of the area has been forgotten or are not being used widely. As sustainability is defined as an appropriate solution for environmental, economical, and social disorders, this research is a try to demonstrate the sustainability in aforementioned architecture and based on these studies, propounds solutions for today architecture in hot arid zones.

Keywords: Hot arid climatic zone, Iranian Architecture, Sustainability, Vernacular architecture.

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Authors: Norazah Yusof, Andi Besse Firdausiah Mansur

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Social learning network analysis has drawn attention for most researcher on e-learning research domain. This is due to the fact that it has the capability to identify the behavior of student during their social interaction inside e-learning. Normally, the social network analysis (SNA) is treating the students' interaction merely as node and edge with less meaning. This paper focuses on providing an ontology structure of e-learning Moodle that can enrich the relationships among students, as well as between the students and the teacher. This ontology structure brings great benefit to the future development of e-learning system.

Keywords: Ontology, e-learning, © Learning Network, Moodle.

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Authors: Claudia Carbajal, Jija Dutt, Smriti Pahwa, Sumukhi Vaid, Karishma Vats

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ASER Centre, the research and assessment arm of Pratham Education Foundation sees measurement as the first stage of action. ASER uses primary research to push and give empirical foundations to policy discussions at a multitude of levels. At a household level, common citizens use a simple assessment (a floor-level test) to measure learning across rural India. This paper presents the evidence on the applicability of an ASER approach to the health sector. A citizen-led assessment was designed and executed that collected information from young mothers with children up to a year of age. The pilot assessments were rolled-out in two different models: Paid surveyors and student volunteers. The survey covered three geographic areas: 1,239 children in the Jaipur District of Rajasthan, 2,086 in the Rae Bareli District of Uttar Pradesh, and 593 children in the Bhuj Block in Gujarat. The survey tool was designed to study knowledge of health-related issues, daily practices followed by young mothers and access to relevant services and programs. It provides insights on behaviors related to infant and young child feeding practices, child and maternal nutrition and supplementation, water and sanitation, and health services. Moreover, the survey studies the reasons behind behaviors giving policy-makers actionable pathways to improve implementation of social sector programs. Although data on health outcomes are available, this approach could provide a rapid annual assessment of health issues with indicators that are easy to understand and act upon so that measurements do not become an exclusive domain of experts. The results give many insights into early childhood health behaviors and challenges. Around 98% of children are breastfed, and approximately half are not exclusively breastfed (for the first 6 months). Government established diet diversity guidelines are met for less than 1 out of 10 children. Although most households are satisfied with the quality of drinking water, most tested households had contaminated water.

Keywords: Citizen-led assessment, infant and young children feeding, maternal nutrition, rapid health assessment supplementation, water and sanitation.

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Authors: Tommaso Adamo, Gianpaolo Ghiani, Antonio D. Grieco, Emanuela Guerriero

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Batch production plants provide a wide range of scheduling problems. In pharmaceutical industries a batch process is usually described by a recipe, consisting of an ordering of tasks to produce the desired product. In this research work we focused on pharmaceutical production processes requiring the culture of a microorganism population (i.e. bacteria, yeasts or antibiotics). Several sources of uncertainty may influence the yield of the culture processes, including (i) low performance and quality of the cultured microorganism population or (ii) microbial contamination. For these reasons, robustness is a valuable property for the considered application context. In particular, a robust schedule will not collapse immediately when a cell of microorganisms has to be thrown away due to a microbial contamination. Indeed, a robust schedule should change locally in small proportions and the overall performance measure (i.e. makespan, lateness) should change a little if at all. In this research work we formulated a constraint programming optimization (COP) model for the robust planning of antibiotics production. We developed a discrete-time model with a multi-criteria objective, ordering the different criteria and performing a lexicographic optimization. A feasible solution of the proposed COP model is a schedule of a given set of tasks onto available resources. The schedule has to satisfy tasks precedence constraints, resource capacity constraints and time constraints. In particular time constraints model tasks duedates and resource availability time windows constraints. To improve the schedule robustness, we modeled the concept of (a, b) super-solutions, where (a, b) are input parameters of the COP model. An (a, b) super-solution is one in which if a variables (i.e. the completion times of a culture tasks) lose their values (i.e. cultures are contaminated), the solution can be repaired by assigning these variables values with a new values (i.e. the completion times of a backup culture tasks) and at most b other variables (i.e. delaying the completion of at most b other tasks). The efficiency and applicability of the proposed model is demonstrated by solving instances taken from a real-life pharmaceutical company. Computational results showed that the determined super-solutions are near-optimal.

Keywords: Constraint programming, super-solutions, robust scheduling, batch process, pharmaceutical industries.

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