Search results for: C* elements

Authors: Abd Aziz Bin Abd Shukor, Eftah Binti Moh Hj Abdullah

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This case study aims to identify teachers’ perception as regards integrity in School-Ba sed Assessment (PBS) practice. This descriptive study involved 9 teachers from 4 secondary schools in 3 districts in the state of Perak. The respondents had undergone an integrity in PBS Practice interview using a focused group discussion method. The overall findings showed that the teachers believed that integrity in PBS practice could be achieved by adjusting the teaching methods align with learning objectives and the students’ characteristics. Many teachers, parents and student did not understand the best practice of PBS. This would affect the integrity in PBS practice. Teachers did not emphasis the principles and ethics. Their integrity as an innovative public servant may also be affected with the frequently changing assessment system, lack of training and no prior action research. The analysis of findings showed that the teachers viewed that organizational integrity involving the integrity of PBS was difficult to be implemented based on the expectations determined by Malaysia Ministry of Education (KPM). A few elements which assisted in the achievement of PBS integrity were the training, students’ understanding, the parents’ understanding of PBS, environment (involving human resources such as support and appreciation and non-human resources such as technology infrastructure readiness and media). The implications of this study show that teachers, as the PBS implementers, have a strong influence on the integrity of PBS. However, the transformation of behavior involving PBS integrity among teachers requires the stabilisation of support and infrastructure in order to enable the teachers to implement PBS in an ethical manner.

Keywords: Assessment integrity, integrity, perception, school-based assessment.

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Authors: Xiuzhan Guo, Arthur Berrill, Ajinkya Kulkarni, Kostya Belezko, Min Luo

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Ontology operations, e.g., aligning and merging, were studied and implemented extensively in different settings, such as, categorical operations, relation algebras, typed graph grammars, with different concerns. However, aligning and merging operations in the settings share some generic properties, e.g., idempotence, commutativity, associativity, and representativity, which are defined on an ontology merging system, given by a nonempty set of the ontologies concerned, a binary relation on the set of the ontologies modeling ontology aligning, and a partial binary operation on the set of the ontologies modeling ontology merging. Given an ontology repository, a finite subset of the set of the ontologies, its merging closure is the smallest subset of the set of the ontologies, which contains the repository and is closed with respect to merging. If idempotence, commutativity, associativity, and representativity properties are satisfied, then both the set of the ontologies and the merging closure of the ontology repository are partially ordered naturally by merging, the merging closure of the ontology repository is finite and can be computed, compared, and sorted efficiently, including sorting, selecting, and querying some specific elements, e.g., maximal ontologies and minimal ontologies. An ontology Valignment pair is a pair of ontology homomorphisms with a common domain. We also show that the ontology merging system, given by ontology V-alignment pairs and pushouts, satisfies idempotence, commutativity, associativity, and representativity properties so that the merging system is partially ordered and the merging closure of a given repository with respect to pushouts can be computed efficiently.

Keywords: Ontology aligning, ontology merging, merging system, poset, merging closure, ontology V-alignment pair, ontology homomorphism, ontology V-alignment pair homomorphism, pushout.

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Authors: Zayed Freah Zeadat

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The wellbeing of urban dwellers is strongly associated with the quality and quantity of green infrastructure. Nevertheless, urban green infrastructure is still lagging in many Arab cities, and Jordan is no exception. The capital city of Jordan, Amman, is becoming more urban dense with limited green spaces. The unplanned urban growth in Amman has caused several environmental problems such as urban heat islands, air pollution and lack of green spaces. This study aims to investigate the most suitable drivers to leverage the implementation of urban green infrastructure in Jordan through qualitative and quantitative analysis. The qualitative research includes an extensive literature review to discuss the most common drivers used internationally to promote urban green infrastructure implementation in the literature. The quantitative study employs a questionnaire survey to rank the suitability of each driver. Consultants, contractors and policymakers were invited to fill the research questionnaire according to their judgments and opinions. Relative Importance Index has been used to calculate the weighted average of all drivers and the Kruskal-Wallis test to check the degree of agreement among groups. This study finds that research participants agreed that indirect financial incentives (i.e., tax reductions, reduction in stormwater utility fee, reduction of interest rate, density bonus etc.) are the most effective incentive policy whilst granting sustainability certificate policy is the least effective driver to ensure widespread of UGI is elements in Jordan.

Keywords: sustainable development, urban green infrastructure, relative importance index, urban Jordan

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Authors: J. C. Cabanillas-Noris, M. I. Martínez-Hernández, I. León-Monzón

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The selection of diffractive events in the ALICE experiment during the first data taking period (RUN-I) of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) was limited by the range over which rapidity gaps occur. It would be possible to achieve better measurements by expanding the range in which the production of particles can be detected. For this purpose, the ALICE Diffractive (AD0) detector has been installed and commissioned for the second phase (RUN-II). Any new detector should be able to take the data synchronously with all other detectors and be operated through the ALICE central systems. One of the key elements that must be developed for the AD0 detector is the Detector Control System (DCS). The DCS must be designed to operate safely and correctly this detector. Furthermore, the DCS must also provide optimum operating conditions for the acquisition and storage of physics data and ensure these are of the highest quality. The operation of AD0 implies the configuration of about 200 parameters, from electronics settings and power supply levels to the archiving of operating conditions data and the generation of safety alerts. It also includes the automation of procedures to get the AD0 detector ready for taking data in the appropriate conditions for the different run types in ALICE. The performance of AD0 detector depends on a certain number of parameters such as the nominal voltages for each photomultiplier tube (PMT), their threshold levels to accept or reject the incoming pulses, the definition of triggers, etc. All these parameters define the efficiency of AD0 and they have to be monitored and controlled through AD0 DCS. Finally, AD0 DCS provides the operator with multiple interfaces to execute these tasks. They are realized as operating panels and scripts running in the background. These features are implemented on a SCADA software platform as a distributed control system which integrates to the global control system of the ALICE experiment.

Keywords: AD0, ALICE, DCS, LHC.

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Authors: Masoud Mahdavi

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During an earthquake, the structure is subjected to seismic loads that cause tension in the members of the building. The use of energy dissipation elements in the structure reduces the percentage of seismic forces on the main members of the building (especially the columns). Steel plate shear wall, as one of the most widely used types of energy dissipation element, has evolved today, and regular drilling of its inner plate is one of the common cases. In the present study, using a finite element method, the shear wall of the steel plate is designed as a floor (with dimensions of 447 × 6/246 cm) with Abacus software and in three different modes on which a cyclic load has been applied. The steel shear wall has a horizontal element (beam) with a reduced beam section (RBS). The hole in the interior plate of the models is created in such a way that it has the process of increasing the area, which makes the effect of increasing the surface area of the hole on the seismic performance of the steel shear wall completely clear. In the end, it was found that with increasing the opening level in the steel shear wall (with reduced cross-section beam), total displacement and plastic strain indicators increased, structural capacity and total energy indicators decreased and the Mises Monson stress index did not change much.

Keywords: Steel plate shear wall with opening, cyclic loading, reduced cross-section beam, finite element method, Abaqus Software.

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Authors: Shaza Melies, Abeer Refky, Nihad Mansoor

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Multimodality involves the communication between verbal and visual components in various discourses. A painting represents a form of communication between the artist and the viewer in terms of colors, shades, objects, and the title. This paper aims to present how multimodality can be used to decode the verbal and visual dimensions a painting holds. For that purpose, this study uses Kress and van Leeuwen’s theoretical framework of visual grammar for the analysis of the multimodal semiotic resources of selected paintings of Salvador Dali. This study investigates the visual decoding of the selected paintings of Salvador Dali and analyzing their social and political meanings using Kress and van Leeuwen’s framework of visual grammar. The paper attempts to answer the following questions: 1. How far can multimodality decode the verbal and non-verbal meanings of surrealistic art? 2. How can Kress and van Leeuwen’s theoretical framework of visual grammar be applied to analyze Dali’s paintings? 3. To what extent is Kress and van Leeuwen’s theoretical framework of visual grammar apt to deliver political and social messages of Dali? The paper reached the following findings: the framework’s descriptive tools (representational, interactive, and compositional meanings) can be used to analyze the paintings’ title and their visual elements. Social and political messages were delivered by appropriate usage of color, gesture, vectors, modality, and the way social actors were represented.

Keywords: Multimodality, multimodal analysis, paintings analysis, Salvador Dali, visual grammar.

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Authors: Rana Daneshvar Salehi

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In many Iranian cities including ‎‎Mashhad‎, the capital of ‎‎‎‎Razavi Khorasan Province‏‎, ‎ordinary samples of domestic architecture ‎on a ‎‏small scale is not ‎‎‎considered as ‎heritage. ‎While the ‎principals of house formation are ‎‎respected in all ‎‎traditional Iranian ‎‎‎‎houses‎; ‎from moderate to great ones. During the past decade, Mashhad has lost its identity, and has become a modern city. Identifying it as the capital of the Islamic Culture in 2017 by ISESCO and consequently looking for new developments and transfiguration caused to demolish a large ‎number ‎of ‎traditional modest habitation. ‎For this ‎reason, the present paper aims to introduce ‎the three ‎undiscovered houses with the ‎historical and monumental values located in the ‎oldest ‎neighborhoods of Mashhad which have been neglected in the cultural ‎heritage field. The preliminary phase of this approach will be a measured survey to identify the significant characteristics ‎of ‎selected dwellings and understand the challenges through focusing on building ‎form, orientation, ‎‎room function, space proportion and ornamental elements’ details. A comparison between the ‎‎case studies and the wealthy domestically buildings ‎presents that a house belongs to inhabitants ‎with an average income could introduce the same accurate, regular, harmonic and proportionate ‎design which can be found in the great mansions. It reveals that an ordinary traditional house can ‎be regarded as valuable construction not only for its historical characteristics but also ‎for its ‎aesthetical and architectural features that could avoid further destructions in the future.

Keywords: Traditional ordinary house, architectural characteristic, proportion, heritage.

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Authors: K. T. Huynh, I. Gibson, W. F. Lu, B. N. Jagdish

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In this paper, the construction of a detailed spine model is presented using the LifeMOD Biomechanics Modeler. The detailed spine model is obtained by refining spine segments in cervical, thoracic and lumbar regions into individual vertebra segments, using bushing elements representing the intervertebral discs, and building various ligamentous soft tissues between vertebrae. In the sagittal plane of the spine, constant force will be applied from the posterior to anterior during simulation to determine dynamic characteristics of the spine. The force magnitude is gradually increased in subsequent simulations. Based on these recorded dynamic properties, graphs of displacement-force relationships will be established in terms of polynomial functions by using the least-squares method and imported into a haptic integrated graphic environment. A thoracolumbar spine model with complex geometry of vertebrae, which is digitized from a resin spine prototype, will be utilized in this environment. By using the haptic technique, surgeons can touch as well as apply forces to the spine model through haptic devices to observe the locomotion of the spine which is computed from the displacement-force relationship graphs. This current study provides a preliminary picture of our ongoing work towards building and simulating bio-fidelity scoliotic spine models in a haptic integrated graphic environment whose dynamic properties are obtained from LifeMOD. These models can be helpful for surgeons to examine kinematic behaviors of scoliotic spines and to propose possible surgical plans before spine correction operations.

Keywords: Haptic interface, LifeMOD, spine modeling.

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Authors: Ahmed. S. Alasmari, M. S. Soliman, Magdy M. El-Rayes

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This study focuses on the effect of the addition of magnesium (Mg) and silver (Ag) on the mechanical properties of aluminum based alloys. The alloying elements will be added at different levels using the factorial design of experiments of 2²; the two factors are Mg and Ag at two levels of concentration. The superior mechanical properties of the produced Al-Cu-Mg-Ag alloys after aging will be resulted from a unique type of precipitation named as Ω-phase. The formed precipitate enhanced the tensile strength and thermal stability. This paper further investigated the microstructure and mechanical properties of as cast Al–Cu–Mg–Ag alloys after being complete homogenized treatment at 520 °C for 8 hours followed by isothermally age hardening process at 190 °C for different periods of time. The homogenization at 520 °C for 8 hours was selected based on homogenization study at various temperatures and times. The alloys’ microstructures were studied by using optical microscopy (OM). In addition to that, the fracture surface investigation was performed using a scanning electronic microscope (SEM). Studying the microstructure of aged Al-Cu-Mg-Ag alloys reveal that the grains are equiaxed with an average grain size of about 50 µm. A detailed fractography study for fractured surface of the aged alloys exhibited a mixed fracture whereby the random fracture suggested crack propagation along the grain boundaries while the dimples indicated that the fracture was ductile. The present result has shown that alloy 5 has the highest hardness values and the best mechanical behaviors.

Keywords: Precipitation hardening, aluminum alloys, aging, design of experiments, analysis of variance, heat treatments.

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Authors: Bohuslava Juhasova, Martin Juhas, Renata Masarova, Zuzana Sutova

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The article deals with the tool in Matlab GUI form that is designed to analyse a mechatronic system sensitivity and tolerance. In the analysed mechatronic system, a torque is transferred from the drive to the load through a coupling containing flexible elements. Different methods of control system design are used. The classic form of the feedback control is proposed using Naslin method, modulus optimum criterion and inverse dynamics method. The cascade form of the control is proposed based on combination of modulus optimum criterion and symmetric optimum criterion. The sensitivity is analysed on the basis of absolute and relative sensitivity of system function to the change of chosen parameter value of the mechatronic system, as well as the control subsystem. The tolerance is analysed in the form of determining the range of allowed relative changes of selected system parameters in the field of system stability. The tool allows to analyse an influence of torsion stiffness, torsion damping, inertia moments of the motor and the load and controller(s) parameters. The sensitivity and tolerance are monitored in terms of the impact of parameter change on the response in the form of system step response and system frequency-response logarithmic characteristics. The Symbolic Math Toolbox for expression of the final shape of analysed system functions was used. The sensitivity and tolerance are graphically represented as 2D graph of sensitivity or tolerance of the system function and 3D/2D static/interactive graph of step/frequency response.

Keywords: Mechatronic systems, Matlab GUI, sensitivity, tolerance.

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Authors: Wilson Handoko, Farshid Pahlevani, Isha Singla, Himanish Kumar, Veena Sahajwalla

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Aluminium bronze alloys are well known for their superior abrasion, tensile strength and non-magnetic properties, due to the co-presence of iron (Fe) and aluminium (Al) as alloying elements and have been commonly used in many industrial applications. However, continuous exposure to the marine environment will accelerate the risk of a tendency to Al bronze alloys parts failures. Although a higher level of corrosion resistance properties can be achieved by modifying its elemental composition, it will come at a price through the complex manufacturing process and increases the risk of reducing the ductility of Al bronze alloy. In this research, the use of ironmaking slag and waste plastic as the input source for surface modification of Al bronze alloy was implemented. Microstructural analysis conducted using polarised light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) that is equipped with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). An electrochemical corrosion test was carried out through Tafel polarisation method and calculation of protection efficiency against the base-material was determined. Results have indicated that uniform modified surface which is as the result of selective diffusion process, has enhanced corrosion resistance properties up to 12.67%. This approach has opened a new opportunity to access various industrial utilisations in commercial scale through minimising the dependency on natural resources by transforming waste sources into the protective coating in environmentally friendly and cost-effective ways.

Keywords: Aluminium bronze, waste-based surface modification, Tafel polarisation, corrosion resistance.

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Authors: Claude Alavoine, Ferkan Kaplanseren

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Negotiation is a specific form of interaction based on communication in which the parties enter into deliberately, each with clear but different interests or goals and a mutual dependency towards a decision due to be taken at the end of the confrontation. Consequently, negotiation is a complex activity involving many different disciplines from the strategic aspects and the decision making process to the evaluation of alternatives or outcomes and the exchange of information. While gender differences can be considered as one of the most researched topic within negotiation studies, empirical works and theory present many conflicting evidences and results about the role of gender in the process or the outcome. Furthermore, little interest has been shown over gender differences in the definition of what is negotiation, its essence or fundamental elements. Or, as differences exist in practices, it might be essential to study if the starting point of these discrepancies does not come from different considerations about what is negotiation and what will encourage the participants in their strategic decisions. Some recent and promising experiments made with diverse groups show that male and female participants in a common and shared situation barely consider the same way the concepts of power, trust or stakes which are largely considered as the usual driving forces of any negotiation. Furthermore, results from Human Resource self-assessment tests display and confirm considerable differences between individuals regarding essential behavioral dimensions like capacity to improvise and to achieve, aptitude to conciliate or to compete and orientation towards power and group domination which are also part of negotiation skills. Our intention in this paper is to confront these dimensions with negotiation’s usual driving forces in order to build up new paths for further research.

Keywords: Gender, negotiation, personality, power, stakes, trust.

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Authors: Adnan Ahmad, Yusri Kamin, Asnol Dahar Minghat, Mohd. Khir Nordin, Dayana Farzeha, Ahmad Nabil

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The purpose of this study is to identify the teaching method practices of the practical work subject in Vocational Secondary School. This study examined the practice of Vocational Teaching Method in Automotive Practical Work. The quantitative method used the sets of the questionnaire. 283 students and 63 teachers involved from ten VSS involved in this research. Research finding showed in conducting the introduction session teachers prefer used the demonstration method and questioning technique. While in deliver the content of practical task, teachers applied group monitoring and problem solving approach. To conclude the task of automotive practical work, teachers choose re-explain and report writing to make sure students really understand all the process of teaching. VTM-APW also involved the competency-based concept to embed in the model. Derived from factors investigated, research produced the combination of elements in teaching skills and vocational skills which could be used as the best teaching method in automotive practical work for school level. As conclusion this study has concluded that the VTM-APW model is able to apply in teaching to make an improvement with current practices in Vocational Secondary School. Hence, teachers are suggested to use this method to enhance student's knowledge in Automotive and teachers will deliver skills to the current and future workforce relevant with the required competency skilled in workplace.

Keywords: Vocational Teaching Method, Practical Task, Teacher Preferences, Student Preferences.

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Authors: N. G. Margiani, I. G. Kvartskhava, G. A. Mumladze, Z. A. Adamia

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Chemical doping with different elements and compounds at various amounts represents the most suitable approach to improve the superconducting properties of bismuth-based superconductors for technological applications. In this paper, the influence of partial substitution of Sr(BO₂)₂ for SrO on the phase formation kinetics and transport properties of (Bi,Pb)-2223 HTS has been studied for the first time. Samples with nominal composition Bi_1.7Pb_0.3Sr_2-xCa₂Cu₃O_y[Sr(BO₂)₂]_x, x=0, 0.0375, 0.075, 0.15, 0.25, were prepared by the standard solid state processing. The appropriate mixtures were calcined at 845 ^oC for 40 h. The resulting materials were pressed into pellets and annealed at 837 ^oC for 30 h in air. Superconducting properties of undoped (reference) and Sr(BO₂)₂-doped (Bi,Pb)-2223 compounds were investigated through X-ray diffraction (XRD), resistivity (ρ) and transport critical current density (J_c) measurements. The surface morphology changes in the prepared samples were examined by scanning electron microscope (SEM). XRD and J_c studies have shown that the low level Sr(BO₂)₂ doping (x=0.0375-0.075) to the Sr-site promotes the formation of high-T_c phase and leads to the enhancement of current carrying capacity in (Bi,Pb)-2223 HTS. The doped sample with x=0.0375 has the best performance compared to other prepared samples. The estimated volume fraction of (Bi,Pb)-2223 phase increases from ~25 % for reference specimen to ~70 % for x=0.0375. Moreover, strong increase in the self-field J_c value was observed for this dopant amount (J_c=340 A/cm²), compared to an undoped sample (J_c=110 A/cm²). Pronounced enhancement of superconducting properties of (Bi,Pb)-2223 superconductor can be attributed to the acceleration of high-T_c phase formation as well as the improvement of inter-grain connectivity by small amounts of Sr(BO₂)₂ dopant.

Keywords: Bismuth-based superconductor, critical current density, phase formation, Sr(BO2)2 doping.

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Authors: Mohd Afif Md Nasir, Faizal Amin NurYunus, Jamaluddin Hashim, Abd Samad Hassan Basari, A. Halim Sahelan

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The aim of this study is to identify the suitability of Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) in welding simulator application towards Computer-Based Training (CBT) in developing skills upon new students at the Advanced Technology Training Center (ADTEC) Batu Pahat, Johor, Malaysia and GIATMARA, Batu Pahat, Johor, Malaysia. The significance of the study is to create a computer-based skills development approach in welding technology among new students in ADTEC and GIATMARA as well as to cultivate the elements of general skills among them. This study is also important in elevating the number of individual knowledge workers (K-workers) working in manufacturing industry in order to achieve a national vision which is to be an industrial nation in the year of 2020. The design of the study is a survey type of research which using questionnaires as the instruments and some 136 students from ADTEC and GIATMARA were interviewed. Descriptive analysis is used to identify the frequency and mean values. The findings of the study show that the welding technology has developed skills in the students because of the application of VLE simulated at a high level and the respondents agreed that the skills could be embedded through the application of the VLE simulator. In summary, the VLE simulator is suitable in welding skills development training in terms of exposing new students with the relevant characteristics of welding skills and at the same time spurring the students’ interest towards learning more about the skills.

Keywords: Computer-Based Training (CBT), knowledge workers (K-workers), virtual learning environment, welding simulator, welding technology.

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Authors: M. J. Xavier, J. Raja, S. Usha Nandhini

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For scores of years now, several microfinance organizations, non governmental organizations and other welfare organizations have, with a view to aiding the progress of communities rooted in poverty have been focusing on creating microentrepreneurs, besides taking several other measures. In recent times, business corporations have joined forces to combat poverty by taking up microenterprise development. Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL), the Indian subsidiary of Unilever Limited exemplifies this through its Project Shakti. The company through the Project creates rural women entrepreneurs by making them direct to home sales distributors of its products in villages that have thus far been ignored by multinational corporations. The members participating in Project Shakti are largely self help group members. The paper focuses on assessing the impact made by the company on the members engaged in Project Shakti. The analysis involves use of quantitative methods to study the effect of Project Shakti on those self help group members engaged in Project Shakti and those not engaged with Project Shakti. Path analysis has been used to study the impact made on those members engaged in Project Shakti. Significant differences were observed on fronts of entrepreneurial development, economic empowerment and social empowerment between members associated with Project Shakti and those not associated with Project Shakti. Path analysis demonstrated that involvement in Project Shakti led to entrepreneurial development resulting in economic empowerment that in turn led to social empowerment and that these three elements independently induced a feeling of privilege in the women for being associated with the Project.

Keywords: Entrepreneurship development, economicempowerment, impact assessment, microentrepreneurs, pathanalysis, social empowerment.

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Authors: Magdalena Musiał-Karg

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The expansion of telecommunication and progress of electronic media constitute important elements of our times. The recent worldwide convergence of information and communication technologies (ICT) and dynamic development of the mass media is leading to noticeable changes in the functioning of contemporary states and societies. Currently, modern technologies play more and more important roles and filter down to almost every field of contemporary human life. It results in the growth of online interactions that can be observed by the inconceivable increase in the number of people with home PCs and Internet access. The proof of it is undoubtedly the emergence and use of concepts such as e-society, e-banking, e-services, e-government, e-government, e-participation and e-democracy. The newly coined word e-democracy evidences that modern technologies have also been widely used in politics. Without any doubt in most countries all actors of political market (politicians, political parties, servants in political/public sector, media) use modern forms of communication with the society. Most of these modern technologies progress the processes of getting and sending information to the citizens, communication with the electorate, and also – which seems to be the biggest advantage – electoral procedures. Thanks to implementation of ICT the interaction between politicians and electorate are improved. The main goal of this text is to analyze electronic voting (e-voting) as one of the important forms of electronic democracy in terms of security aspects. The author of this paper aimed at answering the questions of security of electronic voting as an additional form of participation in elections and referenda.

Keywords: Electronic democracy, electronic participation, electronic voting, security of e-voting, ICT.

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Authors: Sylvia Tumelo Nthutang, Nehemiah Mavetera

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Educational institutions are under pressure from their competitors. Regulators and community groups need educational institutions to adopt appropriate business and organizational practices. Globally, educational institutions are now using e-learning as the best teaching and learning approach. E-learning is becoming the center of attention to the learning institutions, educational systems and software inventors. North-West University (NWU) is currently using eFundi, a Learning Management System (LMS). LMS are all information systems and procedures that adds value to students learning and support the learning material in text or any multimedia files. With various e-learning tools, students would be able to access all the materials related to the course in electronic copies. The study was tasked with identifying the e-learning components at the NWU, Mafikeng campus. Quantitative research methodology was considered in data collection and descriptive statistics for data analysis. The Activity Theory (AT) was used as a theory to guide the study. AT outlines the limitations amongst e-learning at the macro-organizational level (plan, guiding principle, campus-wide solutions) and micro-organization (daily functioning practice, collaborative transformation, specific adaptation). On a technological environment, AT gives people an opportunity to change from concentrating on computers as an area of concern but also understand that technology is part of human activities. The findings have identified the university’s current IT tools and knowledge on e-learning elements. It was recommended that university should consider buying computer resources that consumes less power and practice e-learning effectively.

Keywords: E-learning, information and communication technology, teaching, and virtual learning environment.

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Authors: Shilan Li, Ivan Arokiam, Peter Jarvis, Wendy Garner, Gazelleh Moradi, Stuart Wakefield

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Development of a Robust Supply Chain for Dynamic Operating Environment as we move further into the twenty first century, organisations are under increasing pressure to deliver a high product variation at a reasonable cost without compromise in quality. In a number of cases this will take the form of a customised or high variety low volume manufacturing system that requires prudent management of resources, among a number of functions, to achieve competitive advantage. Purchasing and Supply Chain management is one of such function and due to the substantial interaction with external elements needs to be strategically managed. This requires a number of primary and supporting tools that will enable the appropriate decisions to be made rapidly. This capability is especially vital in a dynamic environment as it provides a pivotal role in increasing the profit margin of the product. The management of this function can be challenging by itself and even more for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) due to the limited resources and expertise available at their disposal. This paper discusses the development of tools and concepts towards effectively managing the purchasing and supply chain function. The developed tools and concepts will provide a cost effective way of managing this function within SMEs. The paper further shows the use of these tools within Contechs, a manufacturer of luxury boat interiors, and the associated benefits achieved as a result of this implementation. Finally a generic framework towards use in such environments is presented.

Keywords: Lean, Supply Chain, High variety Low volume, Small and Medium Enterprises.

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Authors: Zs. J. Becze, Á. Krivián, M. Sárvári

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Hybrid selection and the application of hybrid specific production technologies are important in terms of the increase of the yield and crop safety of maize. The main explanation for this is climate change, since weather extremes are going on and seem to accelerate in Hungary too.

The biological bases, the selection of appropriate hybrids will be of greater importance in the future. The issue of the adaptability of hybrids will be considerably appreciated. Its good agronomical traits and stress bearing against climatic factors and agrotechnical elements (e.g. different types of herbicides) will be important. There have been examples of 3-4 consecutive droughty years in the past decades, e.g. 1992-1993-1994 or 2009-2011-2012, which made the results of crop production critical. Irrigation cannot be the solution for the problem since currently only the 2% of the arable land is irrigated. Temperatures exceeding the multi-year average are characteristic mainly to the July and August in Hungary, which significantly increase the soil surface evaporation, thus further enhance water shortage. In terms of the yield and crop safety of maize, the weather of these two months is crucial, since the extreme high temperature in July decreases the viability of the pollen and the pistil of maize, decreases the extent of fertilization and makes grain-filling tardy. Consequently, yield and crop safety decrease.

Keywords: Abiotic factors, drought, nutrition content, yield.

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Authors: H. Apaza, L. Chévez, H. Loro

Abstract:

Plastic and microplastic pollution in human food chain is a big problem for human health that requires more elaborated techniques that can identify their presences in different kinds of food. Hyperspectral imaging technique is an optical technique than can detect the presence of different elements in an image and can be used to detect plastics and microplastics in a scene. To do this statistical techniques are required that need to be evaluated and compared in order to find the more efficient ones. In this work, two problems related to the presence of plastics are addressed, the first is to detect and identify pieces of plastic immersed in almond seeds, and the second problem is to detect and quantify microplastic in almond flour. To do this we make use of the analysis hyperspectral images taken in the range of 900 to 1700 nm using 4 unmixing techniques of hyperspectral imaging which are: least squares unmixing (LSU), non-negatively constrained least squares unmixing (NCLSU), fully constrained least squares unmixing (FCLSU), and scaled constrained least squares unmixing (SCLSU). NCLSU, FCLSU, SCLSU techniques manage to find the region where the plastic is found and also manage to quantify the amount of microplastic contained in the almond flour. The SCLSU technique estimated a 13.03% abundance of microplastics and 86.97% of almond flour compared to 16.66% of microplastics and 83.33% abundance of almond flour prepared for the experiment. Results show the feasibility of applying near-infrared hyperspectral image analysis for the detection of plastic contaminants in food.

Keywords: Food, plastic, microplastic, NIR hyperspectral imaging, unmixing.

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Authors: Shivalinge Gowda

Abstract:

The total mass attenuation coefficients m/r, of some halides such as, NaCl, KCl, CuCl, NaBr, KBr, RbCl, AgCl, NaI, KI, AgBr, CsI, HgCl₂, CdI₂ and HgI₂ were determined at photon energies 279.2, 320.07, 514.0, 661.6, 1115.5, 1173.2 and 1332.5 keV in a well-collimated narrow beam good geometry set-up using a high resolution, hyper pure germanium detector. The mass attenuation coefficients and the effective atomic cross sections are found to be in good agreement with the XCOM values. From these mass attenuation coefficients, the effective atomic cross sections s_a, of the compounds were determined. These effective atomic cross section s_a data so obtained are then used to compute the effective atomic numbers Z_eff. For this, the interpolation of total attenuation cross-sections of photons of energy E in elements of atomic number Z was performed by using the logarithmic regression analysis of the data measured by the authors and reported earlier for the above said energies along with XCOM data for standard energies. The best-fit coefficients in the photon energy range of 250 to 350 keV, 350 to 500 keV, 500 to 700 keV, 700 to 1000 keV and 1000 to 1500 keV by a piecewise interpolation method were then used to find the Z_eff of the compounds with respect to the effective atomic cross section s_a from the relation obtained by piece wise interpolation method. Using these Z_eff values, the electron densities N_el of halides were also determined. The present Z_eff and N_el values of halides are found to be in good agreement with the values calculated from XCOM data and other available published values.

Keywords: Mass attenuation coefficient, atomic cross-section, effective atomic number, electron density.

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Authors: Mahmoud A. Mahmoud, Ashraf Osman

Abstract:

In this study, the different approaches currently followed by design codes to assess the stability of buildings utilizing concrete moment resisting frames structural system are evaluated. For such purpose, a parametric study was performed. It involved analyzing group of concrete moment resisting frames having different slenderness ratios (height/width ratios), designed for different lateral loads to vertical loads ratios and constructed using ordinary reinforced concrete and high strength concrete for stability check and overall buckling using code approaches and computer buckling analysis. The objectives were to examine the influence of such parameters that directly linked to frames’ lateral stiffness on the buildings’ stability and evaluates the code approach in view of buckling analysis results. Based on this study, it was concluded that, the most susceptible buildings to instability and magnification of second order effects are buildings having high aspect ratios (height/width ratio), having low lateral to vertical loads ratio and utilizing construction materials of high strength. In addition, the study showed that the instability limits imposed by codes are mainly mathematical to ensure reliable analysis not a physical ones and that they are in general conservative. Also, it has been shown that the upper limit set by one of the codes that second order moment for structural elements should be limited to 1.4 the first order moment is not justified, instead, the overall story check is more reliable.

Keywords: Buckling, lateral stability, p-delta, second order.

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Authors: Salina Budin, Shaira Ismail

Abstract:

Students learn effectively in a learning environment with a suitable teaching approach that matches their learning preferences. The main objective of the study is to examine the learning preferences amongst the students in the Science and Technology (S&T), and Social Science (SS) fields of study at the Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), Pulau Pinang. The measurement instrument is based on the Dunn and Dunn Learning Styles which measure five elements of learning styles; environmental, sociological, emotional, physiological and psychological. Questionnaires are distributed amongst undergraduates in the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Faculty of Business Management. The respondents comprise of 131 diploma students of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and 111 degree students of the Faculty of Business Management. The results indicate that, both S&T and SS students share a similar learning preferences on the environmental aspect, emotional preferences, motivational level, learning responsibility, persistent level in learning and learning structure. Most of the S&T students are concluded as analytical learners and the majority of SS students are global learners. Both S&T and SS students are concluded as visual learners, preferred to be in an active mobility in a relaxing and enjoying mode with some light of refreshments during the learning process and exhibited reflective characteristics in learning. Obviously, the S&T students are considered as left brain dominant, whereas the SS students are right brain dominant. The findings highlighted that both categories of students exhibited similar learning preferences except on psychological preferences.

Keywords: Learning preferences, Dunn and Dunn learning style, teaching approach, science and technology, social science.

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Authors: Nikola Radovanovic, Petros Gkotsis, Mathieu Doussineau

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Aeronautics is regarded as a strategically important sector for European competitiveness. It was at the heart of European entrepreneurial development since the industry was born. Currently, the EU is the world leader in the production of civil aircraft, including helicopters, aircraft engines, parts, and components. It is recording a surplus in trade relating to aerospace products, which are exported all over the globe. Also, this industry shows above-average investments in research and development, as demonstrated in the patent activity in this area. The post-pandemic recovery of the industry will partly depend on the possibilities to streamline collaboration in further research and innovation activities. Aeronautics features as one of the often-selected priority domains in smart specialisation, which represents the main regional and national approach in developing and implementing innovation policies in Europe. The basis for the selection of priority domains for smart specialisation lies in the mapping of innovative potential, with research and patent activities being among the key elements of this analysis. This research is aimed at identifying characteristics of the trends in research and patent activities in the regions and countries that base their competitiveness on the aeronautics sector. It is also aimed at determining the scope and patterns of collaborations in aeronautics between innovators from the European regions, focusing on revealing new technology areas that emerge from these collaborations. For this purpose, we developed a methodology based on desk research and the analysis of the PATSTAT patent database as well as the databases of R&I framework programmes.

Keywords: aeronautics, smart specialisation, innovation policy, regional policy.

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Authors: Muhammad Naseem Baig, Razia Sharif

Abstract:

From past many decades human beings are suffering from plethora of natural disasters. Occurrence of disasters is a frequent process; it changes conceptual myths as more and more advancement are made. Although we are living in technological era but in developing countries like Pakistan disasters are shaped by socially constructed roles. The need is to understand the most vulnerable group of society i.e. females; their issues are complex in nature because of undermined gender status in the society. There is a need to identify maximum issues regarding females and to enhance the achievement of millennium development goals (MDGs). Gender issues are of great concern all around the globe including Pakistan. Here female visibility in society is low, and also during disasters, the failure to understand the reality that concentrates on double burden including productive and reproductive care. Women have to contribute a lot in society so we need to make them more disaster resilient. For this non-structural measures like awareness, trainings and education must be carried out. In rural and in urban settings in any disaster like earthquake or flood, elements like gender perspective, their age, physical health, demographic issues contribute towards vulnerability. In Pakistan the gender issues in disasters were of less concern before 2005 earthquake and 2010 floods. Significant achievements are made after 2010 floods when gender and child cell was created to provide all facilities to women and girls. The aim of the study is to highlight all necessary facilities in a disaster to build coping mechanism in females from basic rights till advance level including education.

Keywords: Disaster resilient, Gender cell, Millennium development.

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Authors: Ml. López-Moreno, Le. Lugo Avilés, Fr. Román, J. Lugo Rosas, Ja. Hernández-Viezcas, Jr. Peralta-Videa, Jl. Gardea-Torresdey

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Degradation of agricultural soils has increased rapidly during the last 20 years due to the indiscriminate use of pesticides and other anthropogenic activities. Currently, there is an urgent need of soil restoration to increase agricultural production. Utilization of sewage sludge or municipal solid waste is an important way to recycle nutrient elements and improve soil quality. With these amendments, nutrient availability in the aqueous phase might be increased and production of healthier crops can be accomplished. This research project aimed to achieve sustainable management of tropical agricultural soils, specifically in Puerto Rico, through the amendment of water treatment plant sludge’s. This practice avoids landfill disposal of sewage sludge and at the same time results costeffective practice for recycling solid waste residues. Coriander sativum was cultivated in a compost-soil-sludge mixture at different proportions. Results showed that Coriander grown in a mixture of 25% compost+50% Voladora soi+25% sludge had the best growth and development. High chlorophyll content (33.01 ± 0.8) was observed in Coriander plants cultivated in 25% compost+62.5% Coloso soil+ 12.5% sludge compared to plants grown with no sludge (32.59 ± 0.7). ICP-OES analysis showed variations in mineral element contents (macro and micronutrients) in coriander plant grown I soil amended with sludge and compost.

Keywords: Compost, Coriandrum sativum, nutrients, waste sludge.

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Authors: Jindřiška Šedová

Abstract:

In the past 20 years the economy of the Czech Republic has experienced substantial changes. In the 1990s the development was affected by the transformation which sought to establish the right conditions for privatization and creation of elementary market relations. In the last decade the characteristic elements such as private ownership and corresponding institutional framework have been strengthened. This development was marked by the accession of the Czech Republic to the EU. The Czech Republic is striving to reduce the difference between its level of economic development and the quality of institutional framework in comparison with other developed countries. The process of finding the adequate solutions has been hampered by the negative impact of the world financial crisis on the Czech Republic and the standard of living of its inhabitants. This contribution seeks to address the question of whether and to which extent the economic development of the transitive Czech economy is affected by the change in behaviour of households and their tendency to consumption, i.e. in the sense of reduction or increase in demand for goods and services. It aims to verify whether the increasing trend of household indebtedness and decreasing trend of saving pose a significant risk in the Czech Republic. At a general level the analysis aims to contribute to finding an answer to the question of whether the debt increase of Czech households is connected to the risk of "eating through" the borrowed money and whether Czech households risk falling into a debt trap. In addition to household indebtedness risks in the Czech Republic the analysis will focus on identification of specifics of the transformation phase of the Czech economy in comparison with the EU countries, or selected OECD countries.

Keywords: household indebtedness, household consumption, credits, financial literacy

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Authors: Domenico Chizzoniti, Monica Moscatelli, Letizia Cattani, Luca Preis

Abstract:

A primary healthcare facility in developing countries should be a multifunctional space able to respond to different requirements: Flexibility, modularity, aggregation and reversibility. These basic features could be better satisfied if applied to an architectural artifact that complies with the typological, figurative and constructive aspects of the context in which it is located. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to identify a procedure that can define the figurative aspects of the architectural structure of the health prototype for the marginal areas of developing countries through a critical approach. The application context is the rural areas of the Northeast of Bahia in Brazil. The prototype should be located in the rural district of Quingoma, in the municipality of Lauro de Freitas, a particular place where there is still a cultural fusion of black and indigenous populations. Based on the historical analysis of settlement strategies and architectural structures in spaces of public interest or collective use, this paper aims to provide a procedure able to identify the categories and rules underlying typological and figurative aspects, in order to detect significant and generalizable elements, as well as materials and constructive techniques typically adopted in the rural areas of Brazil. The object of this work is therefore not only the recovery of certain constructive approaches but also the development of a procedure that integrates the requirements of the primary healthcare prototype with its surrounding economic, social, cultural, settlement and figurative conditions.

Keywords: Architectural typology, Developing countries, Local construction techniques, Primary health care.

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Authors: Alia Alghosoun, Ashraf Osman, Mohammed Seaid

Abstract:

A coupled two-layer finite volume/finite element method was proposed for solving dam-break flow problem over deformable beds. The governing equations consist of the well-balanced two-layer shallow water equations for the water flow and a linear elastic model for the bed deformations. Deformations in the topography can be caused by a brutal localized force or simply by a class of sliding displacements on the bathymetry. This deformation in the bed is a source of perturbations, on the water surface generating water waves which propagate with different amplitudes and frequencies. Coupling conditions at the interface are also investigated in the current study and two mesh procedure is proposed for the transfer of information through the interface. In the present work a new procedure is implemented at the soil-water interface using the finite element and two-layer finite volume meshes with a conservative distribution of the forces at their intersections. The finite element method employs quadratic elements in an unstructured triangular mesh and the finite volume method uses the Rusanove to reconstruct the numerical fluxes. The numerical coupled method is highly efficient, accurate, well balanced, and it can handle complex geometries as well as rapidly varying flows. Numerical results are presented for several test examples of dam-break flows over deformable beds. Mesh convergence study is performed for both methods, the overall model provides new insight into the problems at minimal computational cost.

Keywords: Dam-break flows, deformable beds, finite element method, finite volume method, linear elasticity, Shallow water equations.

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