Search results for: integrated weed management
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 3509

Search results for: integrated weed management

929 Remote Training with Self-Assessment in Electrical Engineering

Authors: Zoja Raud, Valery Vodovozov

Abstract:

The paper focuses on the distance laboratory organisation for training the electrical engineering staff and students in the fields of electrical drive and power electronics. To support online knowledge acquisition and professional enhancement, new challenges in remote education based on an active learning approach with self-assessment have been emerged by the authors. Following the literature review and explanation of the improved assessment methodology, the concept and technological basis of the labs arrangement are presented. To decrease the gap between the distance study of the up-to-date equipment and other educational activities in electrical engineering, the improvements in the following-up the learners’ progress and feedback composition are introduced. An authoring methodology that helps to personalise knowledge acquisition and enlarge Web-based possibilities is described. Educational management based on self-assessment is discussed.

Keywords: Advanced training, active learning, distance learning, electrical engineering, remote laboratory, self-assessment.

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928 Hospitals Disaster Preparedness during Arab Spring in Yemen

Authors: Saleem Ahmed Aladhrai, Pier Luigi Ingrassia, Nahid K. El- Bakri

Abstract:

Objective: The objective of this paper is to assess the hospitals preparedness for emergency using WHO standards. Method: This is a cross-sectional study, consisted of site visit, questionnaire survey, 16 health facilities were included. The WHO standard for emergency preparedness of health facilities was used to evaluate and assess the hospitals preparedness of health facilities. Result: 13 hospitals were responded. They scored below average in all measure >75%), while above average score was in 7 out 9 nine measure with a range of 8%-25%. Un acceptable below average was noted in two measures only. Discussion: The biggest challenge facing the hospitals in their emergency intervention is the lack of pre-emergency and emergency preparedness plans as well as the coordination of the hospitals response mechanisms. Conclusion: The studied hospitals presently are far from international disasters preparedness protocols. That necessitates improvements in emergency preparedness, as well as in physician skills for injury management.

Keywords: Arab Spring, Yemen, Hospital Preparedness, Disaster.

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927 Hybrid Recommender Systems using Social Network Analysis

Authors: Kyoung-Jae Kim, Hyunchul Ahn

Abstract:

This study proposes novel hybrid social network analysis and collaborative filtering approach to enhance the performance of recommender systems. The proposed model selects subgroups of users in Internet community through social network analysis (SNA), and then performs clustering analysis using the information about subgroups. Finally, it makes recommendations using cluster-indexing CF based on the clustering results. This study tries to use the cores in subgroups as an initial seed for a conventional clustering algorithm. This model chooses five cores which have the highest value of degree centrality from SNA, and then performs clustering analysis by using the cores as initial centroids (cluster centers). Then, the model amplifies the impact of friends in social network in the process of cluster-indexing CF.

Keywords: Social network analysis, Recommender systems, Collaborative filtering, Customer relationship management

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926 A Study of Quality Assurance and Unit Verification Methods in Safety Critical Environment

Authors: Miklos Taliga

Abstract:

In the present case study we examined the development and testing methods of systems that contain safety-critical elements in different industrial fields. Consequentially, we observed the classical object-oriented development and testing environment, as both medical technology and automobile industry approaches the development of safety critical elements that way. Subsequently, we examined model-based development. We introduce the quality parameters that define development and testing. While taking modern agile methodology (scrum) into consideration, we examined whether and to what extent the methodologies we found fit into this environment.

Keywords: Safety-critical elements, quality management, unit verification, model base testing, agile methods, scrum, metamodel, object-oriented programming, field specific modelling, sprint, user story, UML Standard.

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925 Segmentation of Korean Words on Korean Road Signs

Authors: Lae-Jeong Park, Kyusoo Chung, Jungho Moon

Abstract:

This paper introduces an effective method of segmenting Korean text (place names in Korean) from a Korean road sign image. A Korean advanced directional road sign is composed of several types of visual information such as arrows, place names in Korean and English, and route numbers. Automatic classification of the visual information and extraction of Korean place names from the road sign images make it possible to avoid a lot of manual inputs to a database system for management of road signs nationwide. We propose a series of problem-specific heuristics that correctly segments Korean place names, which is the most crucial information, from the other information by leaving out non-text information effectively. The experimental results with a dataset of 368 road sign images show 96% of the detection rate per Korean place name and 84% per road sign image.

Keywords: Segmentation, road signs, characters, classification.

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924 A Real-Time Bayesian Decision-Support System for Predicting Suspect Vehicle’s Intended Target Using a Sparse Camera Network

Authors: Payam Mousavi, Andrew L. Stewart, Huiwen You, Aryeh F. G. Fayerman

Abstract:

We present a decision-support tool to assist an operator in the detection and tracking of a suspect vehicle traveling to an unknown target destination. Multiple data sources, such as traffic cameras, traffic information, weather, etc., are integrated and processed in real-time to infer a suspect’s intended destination chosen from a list of pre-determined high-value targets. Previously, we presented our work in the detection and tracking of vehicles using traffic and airborne cameras. Here, we focus on the fusion and processing of that information to predict a suspect’s behavior. The network of cameras is represented by a directional graph, where the edges correspond to direct road connections between the nodes and the edge weights are proportional to the average time it takes to travel from one node to another. For our experiments, we construct our graph based on the greater Los Angeles subset of the Caltrans’s “Performance Measurement System” (PeMS) dataset. We propose a Bayesian approach where a posterior probability for each target is continuously updated based on detections of the suspect in the live video feeds. Additionally, we introduce the concept of ‘soft interventions’, inspired by the field of Causal Inference. Soft interventions are herein defined as interventions that do not immediately interfere with the suspect’s movements; rather, a soft intervention may induce the suspect into making a new decision, ultimately making their intent more transparent. For example, a soft intervention could be temporarily closing a road a few blocks from the suspect’s current location, which may require the suspect to change their current course. The objective of these interventions is to gain the maximum amount of information about the suspect’s intent in the shortest possible time. Our system currently operates in a human-on-the-loop mode where at each step, a set of recommendations are presented to the operator to aid in decision-making. In principle, the system could operate autonomously, only prompting the operator for critical decisions, allowing the system to significantly scale up to larger areas and multiple suspects. Once the intended target is identified with sufficient confidence, the vehicle is reported to the authorities to take further action. Other recommendations include a selection of road closures, i.e., soft interventions, or to continue monitoring. We evaluate the performance of the proposed system using simulated scenarios where the suspect, starting at random locations, takes a noisy shortest path to their intended target. In all scenarios, the suspect’s intended target is unknown to our system. The decision thresholds are selected to maximize the chances of determining the suspect’s intended target in the minimum amount of time and with the smallest number of interventions. We conclude by discussing the limitations of our current approach to motivate a machine learning approach, based on reinforcement learning in order to relax some of the current limiting assumptions.

Keywords: Autonomous surveillance, Bayesian reasoning, decision-support, interventions, patterns-of-life, predictive analytics, predictive insights.

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923 Analysis and Simulation of Automotive Interleaved Buck Converter

Authors: Mohamed. A. Shrud, Ahmad H. Kharaz, Ahmed. S. Ashur, Ahmed Faris, Mustafa Benamar

Abstract:

This paper will focus on modeling, analysis and simulation of a 42V/14V dc/dc converter based architecture. This architecture is considered to be technically a viable solution for automotive dual-voltage power system for passenger car in the near further. An interleaved dc/dc converter system is chosen for the automotive converter topology due to its advantages regarding filter reduction, dynamic response, and power management. Presented herein, is a model based on one kilowatt interleaved six-phase buck converter designed to operate in a Discontinuous Conduction Mode (DCM). The control strategy of the converter is based on a voltagemode- controlled Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) with a Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID). The effectiveness of the interleaved step-down converter is verified through simulation results using control-oriented simulator, MatLab/Simulink.

Keywords: Automotive, dc-to-dc power modules, design, interleaved, Matlab\Simulink and PID control.

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922 Modelling of Groundwater Resources for Al-Najaf City, Iraq

Authors: Hayder H. Kareem, Shunqi Pan

Abstract:

Groundwater is a vital water resource in many areas in the world, particularly in the Middle-East region where the water resources become scarce and depleting. Sustainable management and planning of the groundwater resources become essential and urgent given the impact of the global climate change. In the recent years, numerical models have been widely used to predict the flow pattern and assess the water resources security, as well as the groundwater quality affected by the contaminants transported. In this study, MODFLOW is used to study the current status of groundwater resources and the risk of water resource security in the region centred at Al-Najaf City, which is located in the mid-west of Iraq and adjacent to the Euphrates River. In this study, a conceptual model is built using the geologic and hydrogeologic collected for the region, together with the Digital Elevation Model (DEM) data obtained from the "Global Land Cover Facility" (GLCF) and "United State Geological Survey" (USGS) for the study area. The computer model is also implemented with the distributions of 69 wells in the area with the steady pro-defined hydraulic head along its boundaries. The model is then applied with the recharge rate (from precipitation) of 7.55 mm/year, given from the analysis of the field data in the study area for the period of 1980-2014. The hydraulic conductivity from the measurements at the locations of wells is interpolated for model use. The model is calibrated with the measured hydraulic heads at the locations of 50 of 69 wells in the domain and results show a good agreement. The standard-error-of-estimate (SEE), root-mean-square errors (RMSE), Normalized RMSE and correlation coefficient are 0.297 m, 2.087 m, 6.899% and 0.971 respectively. Sensitivity analysis is also carried out, and it is found that the model is sensitive to recharge, particularly when the rate is greater than (15mm/year). Hydraulic conductivity is found to be another parameter which can affect the results significantly, therefore it requires high quality field data. The results show that there is a general flow pattern from the west to east of the study area, which agrees well with the observations and the gradient of the ground surface. It is found that with the current operational pumping rates of the wells in the area, a dry area is resulted in Al-Najaf City due to the large quantity of groundwater withdrawn. The computed water balance with the current operational pumping quantity shows that the Euphrates River supplies water into the groundwater of approximately 11759 m3/day, instead of gaining water of 11178 m3/day from the groundwater if no pumping from the wells. It is expected that the results obtained from the study can provide important information for the sustainable and effective planning and management of the regional groundwater resources for Al-Najaf City.

Keywords: Al-Najaf city, conceptual modelling, groundwater, unconfined aquifer, visual MODFLOW.

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921 Response of Chickpea Genotypes to Drought

Authors: K. E. McPHEE, A. Kahraman, M. Onder, E. Ceyhan, B. Tashtemirov

Abstract:

Water is the main component of biological processes. Water management is important to obtain higher productivity. In this study, some of the yield components were investigated together with different drought levels. Four chickpea genotypes (CDC Frontier, CDC Luna, Sawyer and Sierra) were grown in pots with 3 different irrigation levels (a dose of 17.5 ml, 35 ml and 70 ml for each pot per day) after three weeks from sowing. In the research, flowering, pod set, pod per plant, fertile pod, double seed/pod, stem diameter, plant weight, seed per plant, 1000 seed weight, seed diameter, vegetation length and weekly plant height were measured. Consequently, significant differences were observed on all the investigated characteristics owing to genotypes (except double seed/pod and stem diameter), water levels (except first pod, seed weight and height on 3rd week) and genotype x water level interaction (except first pod, double seed/pod, seed weight and height).

Keywords: Agronomical characteristics, Cicer arietinum, water levels.

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920 Performance Analysis of Certificateless Signature for IKE Authentication

Authors: Nazrul M. Ahmad, Asrul H. Yaacob, Ridza Fauzi, Alireza Khorram

Abstract:

Elliptic curve-based certificateless signature is slowly gaining attention due to its ability to retain the efficiency of identity-based signature to eliminate the need of certificate management while it does not suffer from inherent private key escrow problem. Generally, cryptosystem based on elliptic curve offers equivalent security strength at smaller key sizes compared to conventional cryptosystem such as RSA which results in faster computations and efficient use of computing power, bandwidth, and storage. This paper proposes to implement certificateless signature based on bilinear pairing to structure the framework of IKE authentication. In this paper, we perform a comparative analysis of certificateless signature scheme with a well-known RSA scheme and also present the experimental results in the context of signing and verification execution times. By generalizing our observations, we discuss the different trade-offs involved in implementing IKE authentication by using certificateless signature.

Keywords: Certificateless signature, IPSec, RSA signature, IKE authentication.

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919 Supporting Technology Transfer with Communities and Social Software Solutions

Authors: G. Schuh, S. Aghassi

Abstract:

In order to bridge the gap between research and industry, promoting technology and knowledge transfer becomes increasingly important. Especially small- and medium-sized enterprises, having only little R&D resources themselves, depend on external technology development activities for remaining innovative. Academia research on the other hand needs potential industrial partners, who are capable and willing to commercialize their technologies as most public funding programs require some sort of technology transfer or dissemination activities. Modern web technologies offer more and more “social” functionalities and open up new ways of user interaction. In the past years several technology transfer platforms were developed, making use of modern web technologies in order to enable and support technology transfer. In this paper we report on the results of a state-of-the art analyses of existing technology transfer platforms, point out their advantages and deficits and give a perspective to the development of an improved technology transfer platform.

Keywords: Knowledge transfer, social software, technology management, technology transfer.

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918 Application of Soft Systems Methodology in Solving Disaster Emergency Logistics Problems

Authors: Alhasan Hakami, Arun Kumar, Sung J Shim, Yousef Abu Nahleh

Abstract:

In recent years, many high intensity earthquakes have occurred around the world, such as the 2011 earthquake in Tohoku, Japan. These large-scale disasters caused huge casualties and losses. In addition, inefficient disaster response operations also caused the second wave of casualties and losses, and expanded the damage. Effective disaster management can be used to respond to the chaotic situation, and reduce the damage; however, some inefficient disaster response operations are still used. Therefore, this case study chose the 921 earthquake for analyzing disaster emergency logistics problems and proposed the Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) to solve disaster emergency logistics problems. Moreover, it analyses the effect of human factors on system operation, and suggests a solution to improve the system.

Keywords: Soft systems methodology, emergency logistics.

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917 Entropy based Expeditive Methodology for Rating Curves Assessment

Authors: D. Mirauda, M. Greco, P. Moscarelli

Abstract:

The river flow forecasting represents a crucial point to employ for improving a management policy addressed to the right use of water resources as well as for conjugating prevention and defense actions against environmental degradation. The difficulties occurring during the field activities encourage the development and implementation of operative computation and measuring methods addressed to time reduction for data acquisition and processing maintaining a good level of accuracy. Therefore, the aim of the present work is to test a new entropy based expeditive methodology for the evaluation of the rating curves on three gauged sections with different geometric and morphological characteristics. The methodology requires the choice of only three verticals along the measure section and the sampling of only the maximum velocity. The results underline how in most conditions the rating curves drawn can replace those built with classic methodologies, simplifying thus the procedures of data monitoring and calculation.

Keywords: gauged station, entropic approach, expeditive methodology, rating curves.

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916 The Evaluation of Production Line Performance by Using ARENA – A Case Study

Authors: Muhammad Marsudi, Hani Shafeek

Abstract:

The purpose of this paper is to simulate the production process of a metal stamping industry and to evaluate the utilization of the production line by using ARENA simulation software. The process time and the standard time for each process of the production line is obtained from data given by the company management. Other data are collected through direct observation of the line. There are three work stations performing ten different types of processes in order to produce a single product type. Arena simulation model is then developed based on the collected data. Verification and validation are done to the Arena model, and finally the result of Arena simulation can be analyzed. It is found that utilization at each workstation will increase if batch size is increased although throughput rate remains/is kept constant. This study is very useful for the company because the company needs to improve the efficiency and utilization of its production lines.

Keywords: Arena software, case study, production line, utilization.

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915 Affordable and Environmental Friendly Small Commuter Aircraft Improving European Mobility

Authors: Diego Giuseppe Romano, Gianvito Apuleo, Jiri Duda

Abstract:

Mobility is one of the most important societal needs for amusement, business activities and health. Thus, transport needs are continuously increasing, with the consequent traffic congestion and pollution increase. Aeronautic effort aims at smarter infrastructures use and in introducing greener concepts. A possible solution to address the abovementioned topics is the development of Small Air Transport (SAT) system, able to guarantee operability from today underused airfields in an affordable and green way, helping meanwhile travel time reduction, too. In the framework of Horizon2020, EU (European Union) has funded the Clean Sky 2 SAT TA (Transverse Activity) initiative to address market innovations able to reduce SAT operational cost and environmental impact, ensuring good levels of operational safety. Nowadays, most of the key technologies to improve passenger comfort and to reduce community noise, DOC (Direct Operating Costs) and pilot workload for SAT have reached an intermediate level of maturity TRL (Technology Readiness Level) 3/4. Thus, the key technologies must be developed, validated and integrated on dedicated ground and flying aircraft demonstrators to reach higher TRL levels (5/6). Particularly, SAT TA focuses on the integration at aircraft level of the following technologies [1]: 1)    Low-cost composite wing box and engine nacelle using OoA (Out of Autoclave) technology, LRI (Liquid Resin Infusion) and advance automation process. 2) Innovative high lift devices, allowing aircraft operations from short airfields (< 800 m). 3) Affordable small aircraft manufacturing of metallic fuselage using FSW (Friction Stir Welding) and LMD (Laser Metal Deposition). 4)       Affordable fly-by-wire architecture for small aircraft (CS23 certification rules). 5) More electric systems replacing pneumatic and hydraulic systems (high voltage EPGDS -Electrical Power Generation and Distribution System-, hybrid de-ice system, landing gear and brakes). 6) Advanced avionics for small aircraft, reducing pilot workload. 7) Advanced cabin comfort with new interiors materials and more comfortable seats. 8) New generation of turboprop engine with reduced fuel consumption, emissions, noise and maintenance costs for 19 seats aircraft. (9) Alternative diesel engine for 9 seats commuter aircraft. To address abovementioned market innovations, two different platforms have been designed: Reference and Green aircraft. Reference aircraft is a virtual aircraft designed considering 2014 technologies with an existing engine assuring requested take-off power; Green aircraft is designed integrating the technologies addressed in Clean Sky 2. Preliminary integration of the proposed technologies shows an encouraging reduction of emissions and operational costs of small: about 20% CO2 reduction, about 24% NOx reduction, about 10 db (A) noise reduction at measurement point and about 25% DOC reduction. Detailed description of the performed studies, analyses and validations for each technology as well as the expected benefit at aircraft level are reported in the present paper.

Keywords: Affordable, European, green, mobility, technologies development, travel time reduction.

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914 Determining the Criteria and their Importance Level of Calibration Supplier Selection

Authors: Ayse Gecer, Nihal Erginel

Abstract:

Quality control is the crucial step for ISO 9001 Quality System Management Standard for companies. While measuring the quality level of both raw material and semi product/product, the calibration of the measuring device is an essential requirement. Calibration suppliers are in the service sector and therefore the calibration supplier selection is becoming a worthy topic for improving service quality. This study presents the results of a questionnaire about the selection criteria of a calibration supplier. The questionnaire was applied to 103 companies and the results are discussed in this paper. The analysis was made with MINITAB 14.0 statistical programs. “Competence of documentations" and “technical capability" are defined as the prerequisites because of the ISO/IEC17025:2005 standard. Also “warranties and complaint policy", “communication", “service features", “quality" and “performance history" are defined as very important criteria for calibration supplier selection.

Keywords: Calibration, criteria of calibration supplier selection, calibration supplier selection, questionnaire

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913 Assessing Chemo-Radiotherapy Induced Toxicity and Quality of Life of Cancer Patients

Authors: A. Taqaddas

Abstract:

Chemotherapy and radiotherapy are one of the major treatment modalities that play important role in the management of a number of different cancers. This study for the first time evaluates the toxicity of these treatment modalities and its impact on quality of life of cancer patients in Pakistan. The study also for the first time determines what cancer patients of different ages and cancer stages believe would be an effective intervention to manage their psychosocial needs and treatment induced toxicity. The article also provides evidence based approach for the use of variety of interventions to mange cancer treatment induced morbidity and toxicity. In light of the present study and reviewed research data, evidence based recommendations are also made for selection of appropriate interventions to manage Pain, Nausea and Vomiting, Anxiety and Depression, Fatigue and Overall QOL of cancer survivors.

Keywords: Chemotherapy Toxicity, Psycho-Social Interventions, Quality of Life, Radiotherapy Toxicity.

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912 Public User Assessment of Malaysia's E-Government Applications

Authors: M. N. Norshita, B. Z. Halimah, T. S. Tengku Mohammad

Abstract:

The implementation of electronic government started since the initiation of Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) by the Malaysia government. The introduction of ICT in the public sector especially e-Government initiatives opens up a new book in the government administration throughout the world. The aim or this paper is to discuss the implementation of e-government in Malaysia, covering the result of public user self assessment on Malaysia's electronic government applications. E-services, e-procurement, Generic Office Environment (GOE), Human Resources Management Information System (HRMIS), Project Monitoring System (PMS), Electronic Labor Exchange (ELX) and e-syariah(religion) were the seven flagship application assessed. The study adopted a crosssectional survey research approach and information system literature were used. The analysis was done for 35 responden in pilot test and there was evidence from public user's perspective to suggest that the e-government applications were generally successful.

Keywords: Electronic government, flagship, multimedia super corridor, public user.

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911 Avoiding Pin Ball Routing Problem in Network Mobility Hand-Off Management

Authors: M. Dinakaran, P. Balasubramanie

Abstract:

With the demand of mobility by users, wireless technologies have become the hotspot developing arena. Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) working group has developed Mobile IP to support node mobility. The concept of node mobility indicates that in spite of the movement of the node, it is still connected to the internet and all the data transactions are preserved. It provides location-independent access to Internet. After the incorporation of host mobility, network mobility has undergone intense research. There are several intricacies faced in the real world implementation of network mobility significantly the problem of nested networks and their consequences. This article is concerned regarding a problem of nested network called pinball route problem and proposes a solution to eliminate the above problem. The proposed mechanism is implemented using NS2 simulation tool and it is found that the proposed mechanism efficiently reduces the overload caused by the pinball route problem.

Keywords: Mobile IP, Pinball routing problem, NEMO

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910 Mining and Visual Management of XML-Based Image Collections

Authors: Khalil Shihab, Nida Al-Chalabi

Abstract:

This article describes Uruk, the virtual museum of Iraq that we developed for visual exploration and retrieval of image collections. The system largely exploits the loosely-structured hierarchy of XML documents that provides a useful representation method to store semi-structured or unstructured data, which does not easily fit into existing database. The system offers users the capability to mine and manage the XML-based image collections through a web-based Graphical User Interface (GUI). Typically, at an interactive session with the system, the user can browse a visual structural summary of the XML database in order to select interesting elements. Using this intermediate result, queries combining structure and textual references can be composed and presented to the system. After query evaluation, the full set of answers is presented in a visual and structured way.

Keywords: Data-centric XML, graphical user interfaces, information retrieval, case-based reasoning, fuzzy sets

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909 Product Ecodesign Approaches in ISO 14001 Certified Companies

Authors: Gregor Radonjič, Aleksandra P. Korda, Damijan Krajnc

Abstract:

The aim of the study was to investigate whether there is the promotion of product ecodesign measures as a result of adopting ISO 14001 certification in manufacturing companies in the Republic of Slovenia. Companies gave the most of their product development attention to waste and energy reduction during manufacturing process and reduction of material consumption per unit of product. Regarding the importance of different ecodesign criteria reduction of material consumption per unit of product was reported as the most important criterion. Less attention is paid to endof- life issues considering recycling or packaging. Most manufacturing enterprises considered ISO 14001 standard as a very useful tool or at least a useful tool helping them to accelerate and establish product ecodesign activities. Two most frequently considered ecodesign drivers are increased competitive advantage and legal requirements and two most important barriers are high development costs and insufficient market demand.

Keywords: ecodesign, environmental management system, ISO 14001, products

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908 Modeling Peer-to-Peer Networks with Interest-Based Clusters

Authors: Bertalan Forstner, Dr. Hassan Charaf

Abstract:

In the world of Peer-to-Peer (P2P) networking different protocols have been developed to make the resource sharing or information retrieval more efficient. The SemPeer protocol is a new layer on Gnutella that transforms the connections of the nodes based on semantic information to make information retrieval more efficient. However, this transformation causes high clustering in the network that decreases the number of nodes reached, therefore the probability of finding a document is also decreased. In this paper we describe a mathematical model for the Gnutella and SemPeer protocols that captures clustering-related issues, followed by a proposition to modify the SemPeer protocol to achieve moderate clustering. This modification is a sort of link management for the individual nodes that allows the SemPeer protocol to be more efficient, because the probability of a successful query in the P2P network is reasonably increased. For the validation of the models, we evaluated a series of simulations that supported our results.

Keywords: Peer-to-Peer, model, performance, networkmanagement.

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907 Analysis of Patterns in TV Commercials that Recognize NGO Image

Authors: J. Areerut, F. Samuel

Abstract:

The purpose of this research is to analyze the pattern of television commercials and how they encourage non-governmental organizations to build their image in Thailand. It realizes how public relations can impact an organization's image. It is a truth that bad public relations management can cause hurt a reputation. On the other hand, a very small amount of work in public relations helps your organization to be recognized broadly and eventually accepted even wider. The main idea in this paper is to study and analyze patterns of television commercials that could impact non-governmental organization's images in a greater way. This research uses questionnaires and content analysis to summarize results. The findings show the aspects of how patterns of television commercials that are suited to non-governmental organization work in Thailand. It will be useful for any non-governmental organization that wishes to build their image through television commercials and also for further work based on this research.

Keywords: Television Commercial (TVC), Organization Image, Non-Governmental Organization: NGO, Public Relation.

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906 Decision Making during the Project Management Life Cycle of Infrastructure Projects

Authors: Karrar Raoof Kareem Kamoona, Enas Fathi Taher AlHares, Zeynep Isik

Abstract:

The various disciplines in the construction industry and the co-existence of the people in the various disciplines are what builds well-developed, closely-knit interpersonal skills at various hierarchical levels thus leading to a varied way of leadership. The varied decision making aspects during the lifecycle of a project include: autocratic, participatory and last but not least, free-rein. We can classify some of the decision makers in the construction industry in a hierarchical manner as follows: project executive, project manager, superintendent, office engineer and finally the field engineer. This survey looked at how decisions are made during the construction period by the key stakeholders in the project. From the paper it is evident that the three decision making aspects can be used at different times or at times together in order to bring out the best leadership decision. A blend of different leadership styles should be used to enhance the success rate during the project lifecycle.

Keywords: Leadership style, construction, decision-making, built environment.

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905 Transforming Ganges to be a Living River through Waste Water Management

Authors: P. M. Natarajan, Shambhu Kallolikar, S. Ganesh

Abstract:

By size and volume of water, Ganges River basin is the biggest among the fourteen major river basins in India. By Hindu’s faith, it is the main ‘holy river’ in this nation. But, of late, the pollution load, both domestic and industrial sources are deteriorating the surface and groundwater as well as land resources and hence the environment of the Ganges River basin is under threat. Seeing this scenario, the Indian government began to reclaim this river by two Ganges Action Plans I and II since 1986 by spending Rs. 2,747.52 crores ($457.92 million). But the result was no improvement in the water quality of the river and groundwater and environment even after almost three decades of reclamation, and hence now the New Indian Government is taking extra care to rejuvenate this river and allotted Rs. 2,037 cores ($339.50 million) in 2014 and Rs. 20,000 crores ($3,333.33 million) in 2015. The reasons for the poor water quality and stinking environment even after three decades of reclamation of the river are either no treatment/partial treatment of the sewage. Hence, now the authors are suggesting a tertiary level treatment standard of sewages of all sources and origins of the Ganges River basin and recycling the entire treated water for nondomestic uses. At 20million litres per day (MLD) capacity of each sewage treatment plant (STP), this basin needs about 2020 plants to treat the entire sewage load. Cost of the STPs is Rs. 3,43,400 million ($5,723.33 million) and the annual maintenance cost is Rs. 15,352 million ($255.87 million). The advantages of the proposed exercise are: we can produce a volume of 1,769.52 million m3 of biogas. Since biogas is energy, can be used as a fuel, for any heating purpose, such as cooking. It can also be used in a gas engine to convert the energy in the gas into electricity and heat. It is possible to generate about 3,539.04 million kilowatt electricity per annum from the biogas generated in the process of wastewater treatment in Ganges basin. The income generation from electricity works out to Rs 10,617.12million ($176.95million). This power can be used to bridge the supply and demand gap of energy in the power hungry villages where 300million people are without electricity in India even today, and to run these STPs as well. The 664.18 million tonnes of sludge generated by the treatment plants per annum can be used in agriculture as manure with suitable amendments. By arresting the pollution load the 187.42 cubic kilometer (km3) of groundwater potential of the Ganges River basin could be protected from deterioration. Since we can recycle the sewage for non-domestic purposes, about 14.75km3 of fresh water per annum can be conserved for future use. The total value of the water saving per annum is Rs.22,11,916million ($36,865.27million) and each citizen of Ganges River basin can save Rs. 4,423.83/ ($73.73) per annum and Rs. 12.12 ($0.202) per day by recycling the treated water for nondomestic uses. Further the environment of this basin could be kept clean by arresting the foul smell as well as the 3% of greenhouse gages emission from the stinking waterways and land. These are the ways to reclaim the waterways of Ganges River basin from deterioration.

Keywords: Holy Ganges River, lifeline of India, wastewater treatment and management, making Ganges permanently holy.

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904 An Empirical Analysis of HRM in Different Pharmaceutical Departments of Different Pharmaceutical Industries in Pakistan

Authors: Faisal Ali, Mansoor Shuakat, Lirong Cui, Helena Uhde, Rabia Riasat, Janeth J. Marwa

Abstract:

HR is a department that enhances the power of employee performance in regard with their services, and to make the organization strategic objectives. The main concern of HR department is to organize people, focus on policies and their system. The empirical study shows the relationship between HRM (Human Resource Management practices) and their Job Satisfaction. The Hypothesis is testing on a sample of overall 320 employees of 5 different Pharmaceutical departments of different organizations in Pakistan. The important thing as Relationship of Job satisfaction with HR Practices, Impact on Job Satisfaction with HR Practices, Participation of Staff of Different Departments, HR Practices effects the Job satisfaction, Recruitment or Hiring and Selection effects the Job satisfaction, Training and Development, Performance and Appraisals, Compensation affects the Job satisfaction , and Industrial Relationships affects the Job satisfaction. After finishing all data analysis, the conclusion is that lots of Job related activities raise the confidence of Job satisfaction of employees with their salary and other benefits.

Keywords: HRM, HR practices, job satisfaction, TQM.

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903 Optimization of Distributed Processors for Power System: Kalman Filters using Petri Net

Authors: Anant Oonsivilai, Kenedy A. Greyson

Abstract:

The growth and interconnection of power networks in many regions has invited complicated techniques for energy management services (EMS). State estimation techniques become a powerful tool in power system control centers, and that more information is required to achieve the objective of EMS. For the online state estimator, assuming the continuous time is equidistantly sampled with period Δt, processing events must be finished within this period. Advantage of Kalman Filtering (KF) algorithm in using system information to improve the estimation precision is utilized. Computational power is a major issue responsible for the achievement of the objective, i.e. estimators- solution at a small sampled period. This paper presents the optimum utilization of processors in a state estimator based on KF. The model used is presented using Petri net (PN) theory.

Keywords: Kalman filters, model, Petri Net, power system, sequential State estimator.

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902 e-Service Innovation within Open Innovation Networks

Authors: Hung T. Tsou, Hsuan Y. Hsu

Abstract:

Service innovations are central concerns in fast changing environment. Due to the fitness in customer demands and advances in information technologies (IT) in service management, an expanded conceptualization of e-service innovation is required. Specially, innovation practices have become increasingly more challenging, driving managers to employ a different open innovation model to maintain competitive advantages. At the same time, firms need to interact with external and internal customers in innovative environments, like the open innovation networks, to co-create values. Based on these issues, an important conceptual framework of e-service innovation is developed. This paper aims to examine the contributing factors on e-service innovation and firm performance, including financial and non-financial aspects. The study concludes by showing how e-service innovation will play a significant role in growing the overall values of the firm. The discussion and conclusion will lead to a stronger understanding of e-service innovation and co-creating values with customers within open innovation networks.

Keywords: e-Service innovation, performance, open innovation networks, co-create value.

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901 Addressing Security Concerns of Data Exchange in AODV Protocol

Authors: Monis Akhlaq, M Noman Jafri, Muzammil A Khan, Baber Aslam

Abstract:

The Ad Hoc on demand distance vector (AODV) routing protocol is designed for mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs). AODV offers quick adaptation to dynamic link conditions; it is characterized by low memory overhead and low network utilization. The security issues related to the protocol remain challenging for the wireless network designers. Numerous schemes have been proposed for establishing secure communication between end users, these schemes identify that the secure operation of AODV is a bi tier task (routing and secure exchange of information at separate levels). Our endeavor in this paper would focus on achieving the routing and secure data exchange in a single step. This will facilitate the user nodes to perform routing, mutual authentications, generation and secure exchange of session key in one step thus ensuring confidentiality, integrity and authentication of data exchange in a more suitable way.

Keywords: AODV, key management, security, wirelessnetworks.

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900 A Review on Recycled Materials Used in Construction

Authors: Oghenerukome Akponovo, Lynda I. Onyebuchukwu

Abstract:

Construction waste, along with that of many other industries, contributes significantly to the world's annual solid waste totals. Most of these materials, such as ash from rice hulls, slags, cement kiln dust, tire ash, plastic waste (PW), and silica fumes, end up in landfills or waterways. Some of them might even end up polluting the air from high in the atmosphere. It is sustainable, cheap, and environmentally friendly to recycle these items into new building supplies. When constructing a "green" structure, the materials employed have the potential to either exacerbate environmental imbalance or maintain a stable ecosystem. The purpose of this research is to take stock of what is already known about recycling's potential in the construction industry and to identify its deficiencies. Therefore, this study systematically reviews the wide range of recycled materials that go into building construction. In the construction industry, the utilization of recycled materials plays a significant role in environmental conservation, and a thorough investigation into these materials could potentially yield substantial economic benefits if appropriately harnessed.

Keywords: Paper waste, rice grain husks, recycled materials, waste management.

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