Search results for: Khaled M. Nabil
124 Electric Load Forecasting Using Genetic Based Algorithm, Optimal Filter Estimator and Least Error Squares Technique: Comparative Study
Authors: Khaled M. EL-Naggar, Khaled A. AL-Rumaih
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This paper presents performance comparison of three estimation techniques used for peak load forecasting in power systems. The three optimum estimation techniques are, genetic algorithms (GA), least error squares (LS) and, least absolute value filtering (LAVF). The problem is formulated as an estimation problem. Different forecasting models are considered. Actual recorded data is used to perform the study. The performance of the above three optimal estimation techniques is examined. Advantages of each algorithms are reported and discussed.
Keywords: Forecasting, Least error squares, Least absolute Value, Genetic algorithms
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2723123 A Multiple-Objective Environmental Rationalization and Optimization for Material Substitution in the Production of Stone-Washed Jeans- Garments
Authors: Nabil A. Ibrahim, Nabil M. Abdel Moneim, Mohamed A. Ramadan, Marwa M. Hosni
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As the Textile Industry is the second largest industry in Egypt and as small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) make up a great portion of this industry therein it is essential to apply the concept of Cleaner Production for the purpose of reducing pollution. In order to achieve this goal, a case study concerned with ecofriendly stone-washing of jeans-garments was investigated. A raw material-substitution option was adopted whereby the toxic potassium permanganate and sodium sulfide were replaced by the environmentally compatible hydrogen peroxide and glucose respectively where the concentrations of both replaced chemicals together with the operating time were optimized. In addition, a process-rationalization option involving four additional processes was investigated. By means of criteria such as product quality, effluent analysis, mass and heat balance; and cost analysis with the aid of a statistical model, a process optimization treatment revealed that the superior process optima were 50%, 0.15% and 50min for H2O2 concentration, glucose concentration and time, respectively. With these values the superior process ought to reduce the annual cost by about EGP 105 relative to the currently used conventional method.Keywords: Cleaner Production, Eco-friendly of jeans garments, Stone washing, Textile Industry, Textile Wet Processing.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2073122 Validity of Universe Structure Conception as Nested Vortexes
Authors: Khaled M. Nabil
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This paper introduces the Nested Vortexes conception of the universe structure and interprets all the physical phenomena according this conception. The paper first reviews recent physics theories, either in microscopic scale or macroscopic scale, to collect evidence that the space is not empty. But, these theories describe the property of the space medium without determining its structure. Determining the structure of space medium is essential to understand the mechanism that leads to its properties. Without determining the space medium structure, many phenomena; such as electric and magnetic fields, gravity, or wave-particle duality remain uninterpreted. Thus, this paper introduces a conception about the structure of the universe. It assumes that the universe is a medium of ultra-tiny homogeneous particles which are still undiscovered. Like any medium with certain movements, possibly because of a great asymmetric explosion, vortexes have occurred. A vortex condenses the ultra-tiny particles in its center forming a bigger particle, the bigger particles, in turn, could be trapped in a bigger vortex and condense in its center forming a much bigger particle and so on. This conception describes galaxies, stars, protons as particles at different levels. Existing of the particle’s vortexes make the consistency of the speed of light postulate is not true. This conception shows that the vortex motion dynamic agrees with the motion of all the universe particles at any level. An experiment has been carried out to detect the orbiting effect of aggregated vortexes of aligned atoms of a permanent magnet. Based on the described particle’s structure, the gravity force of a particle and attraction between particles as well as charge, electric and magnetic fields and quantum mechanics characteristics are interpreted. All augmented physics phenomena are solved.
Keywords: Astrophysics, cosmology, particles’ structure model, particles’ forces, vortex dynamics.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 850121 ILMI Approach for Robust Output Feedback Control of Induction Machine
Authors: Abdelwahed Echchatbi, Adil Rizki, Ali Haddi, Nabil Mrani, Noureddine Elalami
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In this note, the robust static output feedback stabilisation of an induction machine is addressed. The machine is described by a non homogenous bilinear model with structural uncertainties, and the feedback gain is computed via an iterative LMI (ILMI) algorithm.Keywords: Induction machine, Static output feedback, robust stabilisation.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1878120 A New Hardware Implementation of Manchester Line Decoder
Authors: Ibrahim A. Khorwat, Nabil Naas
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In this paper, we present a simple circuit for Manchester decoding and without using any complicated or programmable devices. This circuit can decode 90kbps of transmitted encoded data; however, greater than this transmission rate can be decoded if high speed devices were used. We also present a new method for extracting the embedded clock from Manchester data in order to use it for serial-to-parallel conversion. All of our experimental measurements have been done using simulation.Keywords: High threshold level, level segregation, lowthreshold level, smoothing circuit synchronization..
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3784119 Innovating and Disrupting Higher Education: The Evolution of Massive Open Online Courses
Authors: Nabil Sultan
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A great deal has been written on Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) since 2012 (considered by some as the year of the MOOCs). The emergence of MOOCs caused a great deal of interest amongst academics and technology experts as well as ordinary people. Some of the authors who wrote on MOOCs perceived it as the next big thing that will disrupt education. Other authors saw it as another fad that will go away once it ran its course (as most fads often do). But MOOCs did not turn out to be a fad and it is still around. Most importantly, they evolved into something that is beginning to look like a viable business model. This paper explores this phenomenon within the theoretical frameworks of disruptive innovations and jobs to be done as developed by Clayton Christensen and his colleagues and its implications for the future of higher education (HE).
Keywords: MOOCs, disruptive innovations, higher education, jobs theory.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 759118 Plasmonic Absorption Enhancement in Au/CdS Nanocomposite
Authors: K. Easawi, M. Nabil, T. Abdallah, S. Negm, H. Talaat
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Composite nanostructures of metal core/semiconductor shell (Au/CdS) configuration were prepared using organometalic method. UV-Vis spectra for the Au/CdS colloids show initially two well separated bands, corresponding to surface plasmon of the Au core, and the exciton of CdS shell. The absorption of CdS shell is enhanced, while the Au plasmon band is suppressed as the shell thickness increases. The shell sizes were estimated from the optical spectra using the effective mass approximation model (EMA), and compared to the sizes of the Au core and CdS shell measured by high resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM). The changes in the absorption features are discussed in terms of gradual increase in the coupling strength of the Au core surface plasmon and the exciton in the CdS. leading to charge transfer and modification of electron oscillation in Au core.Keywords: Nanocomposites, Plasmonics.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2459117 Improvement of Data Transfer over Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP)
Authors: Khaled Ahmed Kadouh, Kamal Ali Albashiri
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This paper presents a designed algorithm involves improvement of transferring data over Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP). The aim of this work is to establish whether using SOAP in exchanging XML messages has any added advantages or not. The results showed that XML messages without SOAP take longer time and consume more memory, especially with binary data.
Keywords: JAX-WS, SMTP, SOAP, Web service, XML.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2123116 Calculating the Efficiency of Steam Boilers Based on Its Most Effecting Factors: A Case Study
Authors: Nabil M. Muhaisen, Rajab Abdullah Hokoma
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This paper is concerned with calculating boiler efficiency as one of the most important types of performance measurements in any steam power plant. That has a key role in determining the overall effectiveness of the whole system within the power station. For this calculation, a Visual-Basic program was developed, and a steam power plant known as El-Khmus power plant, Libya was selected as a case study. The calculation of the boiler efficiency was applied by using heating balance method. The findings showed how the maximum heat energy which produced from the boiler increases the boiler efficiency through increasing the temperature of the feed water, and decreasing the exhaust temperature along with humidity levels of the of fuel used within the boiler.Keywords: Boiler, Calculation, Efficiency, Performance. Steam
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3515115 Tracking Trajectory of a Cable-Driven Robot for Lower Limb Rehabilitation
Authors: Hachmia Faqihi, Maarouf Saad, Khalid Benjelloun, Mohammed Benbrahim, M. Nabil Kabbaj
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This paper investigates and presents a cable-driven robot to lower limb rehabilitation use in sagittal plane. The presented rehabilitation robot is used for a trajectory tracking in joint space. The paper covers kinematic and dynamic analysis, which reveals the tensionability of the used cables as being the actuating source to provide a rehabilitation exercises of the human leg. The desired trajectory is generated to be used in the control system design in joint space. The obtained simulation results is showed to be efficient in this kind of application.Keywords: Cable-driven multibody system, computed-torque controller, lower limb rehabilitation, tracking trajectory.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1755114 Qualitative Possibilistic Influence Diagrams
Authors: Wided GuezGuez, Nahla Ben Amor, Khaled Mellouli
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Influence diagrams (IDs) are one of the most commonly used graphical decision models for reasoning under uncertainty. The quantification of IDs which consists in defining conditional probabilities for chance nodes and utility functions for value nodes is not always obvious. In fact, decision makers cannot always provide exact numerical values and in some cases, it is more easier for them to specify qualitative preference orders. This work proposes an adaptation of standard IDs to the qualitative framework based on possibility theory.
Keywords: decision making, influence diagrams, qualitative utility, possibility theory.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1530113 Microwave Plasma Dry Reforming of Methane at High CO2/CH4 Feed Ratio
Authors: Nabil Majd Alawi, Gia Hung Pham, Ahmed Barifcani
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Dry reforming of methane that converts two greenhouses gases (CH4 and CO2) to synthesis gas (a mixture of H2 and CO) was studied in a commercial bench scale microwave (MW) plasma reactor system at atmospheric pressure. The CO2, CH4 and N2 conversions; H2, CO selectivities and yields, and syngas ratio (H2/CO) were investigated in a wide range of total feed flow rate (0.45 – 2.1 L/min), MW power (700 – 1200 watt) and CO2/CH4 molar ratio (2 – 5). At the feed flow rates of CH4, CO2 and N2 of 0.2, 0.4 and 1.5 L/min respectively, and the MWs input power of 700 W, the highest conversions of CH4 and CO2, selectivity and yield of H2, CO and H2/CO ratio of 79.35%, 44.82%, 50.12, 58.42, 39.77%, 32.89%, and 0.86, respectively, were achieved. The results of this work show that the product ratio increases slightly with the increasing total feed flow rate, but it decreases significantly with the increasing MW power and feeds CO2/CH4 ratio.
Keywords: Atmospheric pressure, methane dry reforming, microwave plasma, synthesis gas production.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 961112 Waste Lubricating Oil Treatment by Adsorption Process Using Different Adsorbents
Authors: Nabil M. Abdel-Jabbar, Essam A.H. Al Zubaidy, Mehrab Mehrvar
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Waste lubricating oil re-refining adsorption process by different adsorbent materials was investigated. Adsorbent materials such as oil adsorbent, egg shale powder, date palm kernel powder, and acid activated date palm kernel powder were used. The adsorption process over fixed amount of adsorbent at ambient conditions was investigated. The adsorption/extraction process was able to deposit the asphaltenic and metallic contaminants from the waste oil to lower values. It was found that the date palm kernel powder with contact time of 4 h was able to give the best conditions for treating the waste oil. The recovered solvent could be also reused. It was also found that the activated bentonite gave the best physical properties followed by the date palm kernel powder.Keywords: activated bentonite, egg shale powder, datepalm kernel powder, used oil treatment, used oilcharacteristics.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3832111 Hydro-Mechanical Behavior of a Tuff and Calcareous Sand Mixture for Use in Pavement in Arid Region
Authors: I. Goual, M. S. Goual, M. K. Gueddouda, Taïbi Saïd, Abou-Bekr Nabil, A. Ferhat
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The aim of the paper is to study the hydro-mechanical behavior of a tuff and calcareous sand mixture. A first experimental phase was carried out in order to find the optimal mixture. This showed that the material composed of 80% tuff and 20% calcareous sand provides the maximum mechanical strength. The second experimental phase concerns the study of the drying-wetting behavior of the optimal mixture was carried out on slurry samples and compacted samples at the MPO. Experimental results let to deduce the parameters necessary for the prediction of the hydro-mechanical behavior of pavement formulated from tuff and calcareous sand mixtures, related to moisture. This optimal mixture satisfies the regulation rules and hence constitutes a good local eco-material, abundantly available, for the conception of pavements.Keywords: Tuff, sandy calcareous, road engineering, hydro mechanical behaviour, suction.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1530110 Class Outliers Mining: Distance-Based Approach
Authors: Nabil M. Hewahi, Motaz K. Saad
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In large datasets, identifying exceptional or rare cases with respect to a group of similar cases is considered very significant problem. The traditional problem (Outlier Mining) is to find exception or rare cases in a dataset irrespective of the class label of these cases, they are considered rare events with respect to the whole dataset. In this research, we pose the problem that is Class Outliers Mining and a method to find out those outliers. The general definition of this problem is “given a set of observations with class labels, find those that arouse suspicions, taking into account the class labels". We introduce a novel definition of Outlier that is Class Outlier, and propose the Class Outlier Factor (COF) which measures the degree of being a Class Outlier for a data object. Our work includes a proposal of a new algorithm towards mining of the Class Outliers, presenting experimental results applied on various domains of real world datasets and finally a comparison study with other related methods is performed.Keywords: Class Outliers, Distance-Based Approach, Outliers Mining.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3388109 A Context-Aware based Authorization System for Pervasive Grid Computing
Authors: Marilyn Lim Chien Hui, Nabil Elmarzouqi, Chan Huah Yong
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This paper describes the authorization system architecture for Pervasive Grid environment. It discusses the characteristics of classical authorization system and requirements of the authorization system in pervasive grid environment as well. Based on our analysis of current systems and taking into account the main requirements of such pervasive environment, we propose new authorization system architecture as an extension of the existing grid authorization mechanisms. This architecture not only supports user attributes but also context attributes which act as a key concept for context-awareness thought. The architecture allows authorization of users dynamically when there are changes in the pervasive grid environment. For this, we opt for hybrid authorization method that integrates push and pull mechanisms to combine the existing grid authorization attributes with dynamic context assertions. We will investigate the proposed architecture using a real testing environment that includes heterogeneous pervasive grid infrastructures mapped over multiple virtual organizations. Various scenarios are described in the last section of the article to strengthen the proposed mechanism with different facilities for the authorization procedure.Keywords: Pervasive Grid, Authorization System, Contextawareness, Ubiquity.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2153108 Analysis of Six Sigma in the Aerospace Industry
Authors: Masimuddin Mohd Khaled
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This paper subsidizes to the discussion of Six Sigma in the Aerospace Industry. The main aim of this report is to study the literature review of Six Sigma emphasizing on the aerospace industry. The implementation of Six Sigma stages are studied and how the improvement cycle ‘Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control cycle’ (DMAIC) and the design process is ‘Define, Measure, Analyze, Design and Verify cycle’ (DMADV) is used. The focus is also done by studying how the implementation of Six Sigma on an aerospace company has brought a positive effect to the company.
Keywords: Six Sigma, DMAIC, DMADV, aerospace.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 7360107 A Novel Method for Live Debugging of Production Web Applications by Dynamic Resource Replacement
Authors: Khalid Al-Tahat, Khaled Zuhair Mahmoud, Ahmad Al-Mughrabi
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This paper proposes a novel methodology for enabling debugging and tracing of production web applications without affecting its normal flow and functionality. This method of debugging enables developers and maintenance engineers to replace a set of existing resources such as images, server side scripts, cascading style sheets with another set of resources per web session. The new resources will only be active in the debug session and other sessions will not be affected. This methodology will help developers in tracing defects, especially those that appear only in production environments and in exploring the behaviour of the system. A realization of the proposed methodology has been implemented in Java.
Keywords: Live debugging, web application, web resources, inconsistent bugs, tracing.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2029106 Selection Initial modes for Belief K-modes Method
Authors: Sarra Ben Hariz, Zied Elouedi, Khaled Mellouli
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The belief K-modes method (BKM) approach is a new clustering technique handling uncertainty in the attribute values of objects in both the cluster construction task and the classification one. Like the standard version of this method, the BKM results depend on the chosen initial modes. So, one selection method of initial modes is developed, in this paper, aiming at improving the performances of the BKM approach. Experiments with several sets of real data show that by considered the developed selection initial modes method, the clustering algorithm produces more accurate results.Keywords: Clustering, Uncertainty, Belief function theory, Belief K-modes Method, Initial modes selection.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1813105 Validation Testing for Temporal Neural Networks for RBF Recognition
Authors: Khaled E. A. Negm
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A neuron can emit spikes in an irregular time basis and by averaging over a certain time window one would ignore a lot of information. It is known that in the context of fast information processing there is no sufficient time to sample an average firing rate of the spiking neurons. The present work shows that the spiking neurons are capable of computing the radial basis functions by storing the relevant information in the neurons' delays. One of the fundamental findings of the this research also is that when using overlapping receptive fields to encode the data patterns it increases the network-s clustering capacity. The clustering algorithm that is discussed here is interesting from computer science and neuroscience point of view as well as from a perspective.
Keywords: Temporal Neurons, RBF Recognition, Perturbation, On Line Recognition.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1492104 Pruning Method of Belief Decision Trees
Authors: Salsabil Trabelsi, Zied Elouedi, Khaled Mellouli
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The belief decision tree (BDT) approach is a decision tree in an uncertain environment where the uncertainty is represented through the Transferable Belief Model (TBM), one interpretation of the belief function theory. The uncertainty can appear either in the actual class of training objects or attribute values of objects to classify. In this paper, we develop a post-pruning method of belief decision trees in order to reduce size and improve classification accuracy on unseen cases. The pruning of decision tree has a considerable intention in the areas of machine learning.Keywords: machine learning, uncertainty, belief function theory, belief decision tree, pruning.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1910103 Application of Fractional Model Predictive Control to Thermal System
Authors: Aymen Rhouma, Khaled Hcheichi, Sami Hafsi
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The article presents an application of Fractional Model Predictive Control (FMPC) to a fractional order thermal system using Controlled Auto Regressive Integrated Moving Average (CARIMA) model obtained by discretization of a continuous fractional differential equation. Moreover, the output deviation approach is exploited to design the K -step ahead output predictor, and the corresponding control law is obtained by solving a quadratic cost function. Experiment results onto a thermal system are presented to emphasize the performances and the effectiveness of the proposed predictive controller.
Keywords: Fractional model predictive control, fractional order systems, thermal system.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1227102 FPGA Implementation of RSA Encryption Algorithm for E-Passport Application
Authors: Khaled Shehata, Hanady Hussien, Sara Yehia
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Securing the data stored on E-passport is a very important issue. RSA encryption algorithm is suitable for such application with low data size. In this paper the design and implementation of 1024 bit-key RSA encryption and decryption module on an FPGA is presented. The module is verified through comparing the result with that obtained from MATLAB tools. The design runs at a frequency of 36.3 MHz on Virtex-5 Xilinx FPGA. The key size is designed to be 1024-bit to achieve high security for the passport information. The whole design is achieved through VHDL design entry which makes it a portable design and can be directed to any hardware platform.
Keywords: RSA, VHDL, FPGA, modular multiplication, modular exponential.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 5416101 A Dynamic Filter for Removal DC - Offset In Current and Voltage Waveforms
Authors: Khaled M.EL-Naggar
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In power systems, protective relays must filter their inputs to remove undesirable quantities and retain signal quantities of interest. This job must be performed accurate and fast. A new method for filtering the undesirable components such as DC and harmonic components associated with the fundamental system signals. The method is s based on a dynamic filtering algorithm. The filtering algorithm has many advantages over some other classical methods. It can be used as dynamic on-line filter without the need of parameters readjusting as in the case of classic filters. The proposed filter is tested using different signals. Effects of number of samples and sampling window size are discussed. Results obtained are presented and discussed to show the algorithm capabilities.Keywords: Protection, DC-offset, Dynamic Filter, Estimation.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3760100 A Multi-Agent Framework for Data Mining
Authors: Kamal Ali Albashiri, Khaled Ahmed Kadouh
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A generic and extendible Multi-Agent Data Mining (MADM) framework, MADMF (the Multi-Agent Data Mining Framework) is described. The central feature of the framework is that it avoids the use of agreed meta-language formats by supporting a framework of wrappers. The advantage offered is that the framework is easily extendible, so that further data agents and mining agents can simply be added to the framework. A demonstration MADMF framework is currently available. The paper includes details of the MADMF architecture and the wrapper principle incorporated into it. A full description and evaluation of the framework-s operation is provided by considering two MADM scenarios.Keywords: Multi-Agent Data Mining (MADM), Frequent Itemsets, Meta ARM, Association Rule Mining, Classifier generator.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 207499 Integration of Inter-Organisational Learning with Supply Chain Management: A Literature Review
Authors: Masimuddin Mohd Khaled
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This paper subsidises to the discussion of inter-organisational learning. This study has a main aim which is to examine the inter-organisational learning from a supply chain perspective. The integration and importance of supply chain with inter-organisational learning till date is discussed. The steps that are involved in the consideration of inter-organisational learning are looked throughout with emphasis done to supply chain management. The paper studies the impact of absorptive capacity, the supply chain orientation and design as well as discusses on fostering the inter-organisational learning.
Keywords: Absorptive Capacity, Inter-organisational Learning, Supply Chain Management, supply chain orientation.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 175798 An Analysis of Institutional Audits: Basis for Teaching, Learning and Assessment Framework and Principles
Authors: Nabil El Kadhi, Minerva M. Bunagan
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The dynamism in education, particularly in the area of teaching, learning and assessment has caused Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) worldwide to seek for ways to continuously improve their educational processes. HEIs use outcomes of institutional audits, assessments and accreditations, for improvement. In this study, the published institutional audit reports of HEIs in the Sultanate of Oman were analyzed to produce features of good practice; identify challenges along Teaching, Learning Assessment (TLA); and propose a framework that puts major emphasis in having a quality-assured TLA, including a set of principles that can be used as basis in succeeding an institutional visit. The TLA framework, which shows the TLA components, characteristics of the components, related expectation, including implementation tool/ strategy and pitfalls can be used by HEIs to have an adequate understanding of the scope of audit and be able to satisfy institutional audit requirements. The scope of this study can be widened by exploring the other requirements of the Institutional Audits in the Sultanate of Oman, particularly the area on Governance and Management and Student Support Services.Keywords: Accreditation, audit, quality assurance, teaching, learning and assessment.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 147797 A Hybrid Metaheuristic Framework for Evolving the PROAFTN Classifier
Authors: Feras Al-Obeidat, Nabil Belacel, Juan A. Carretero, Prabhat Mahanti,
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In this paper, a new learning algorithm based on a hybrid metaheuristic integrating Differential Evolution (DE) and Reduced Variable Neighborhood Search (RVNS) is introduced to train the classification method PROAFTN. To apply PROAFTN, values of several parameters need to be determined prior to classification. These parameters include boundaries of intervals and relative weights for each attribute. Based on these requirements, the hybrid approach, named DEPRO-RVNS, is presented in this study. In some cases, the major problem when applying DE to some classification problems was the premature convergence of some individuals to local optima. To eliminate this shortcoming and to improve the exploration and exploitation capabilities of DE, such individuals were set to iteratively re-explored using RVNS. Based on the generated results on both training and testing data, it is shown that the performance of PROAFTN is significantly improved. Furthermore, the experimental study shows that DEPRO-RVNS outperforms well-known machine learning classifiers in a variety of problems.Keywords: Knowledge Discovery, Differential Evolution, Reduced Variable Neighborhood Search, Multiple criteria classification, PROAFTN, Supervised Learning.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 147896 Lack of BIM Training: Investigating Practical Solutions for the State of Kuwait
Authors: Noor M. Abdulfattah, Ahmed M. Khalafallah, Nabil A. Kartam
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Despite the evident benefits of building information modeling (BIM) to the construction industry, it faces significant implementation challenges in the State of Kuwait. This study investigates the awareness of construction stakeholders of BIM implementation challenges, and identifies various solutions to overcome these challenges. Specifically, the main objectives of this study are to: (1) characterize the barriers that deter utilization of BIM, (2) examine the awareness of engineers, architects, and construction stakeholders of these barriers, and (3) identify practical solutions to facilitate BIM utilization. A questionnaire survey was designed to collect data on the aforementioned objectives from local companies and senior BIM experts. It was found that engineers are highly aware of BIM implementation barriers. In addition, it was concluded from the questionnaire that the biggest barrier is the lack of BIM training. Based on expert feedback, the study concluded with a number of recommendations on how to overcome the barriers of BIM utilization. This should prove useful to the construction industry stakeholders and can lead to significant changes to design and construction practices.
Keywords: Building information modeling, construction, challenges, information technology.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 247495 Identifying Common Behavioural Traits of Lone-Wolves in Recent Terrorist Attacks in Europe
Authors: Khaled M. Khan, Armstrong Nhlabatsi
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This article attempts to analyse behavioural traits of lone-wolves who struck and killed innocents in six different attacks in Europe in last nine months. The main objective of this study is to develop a profiling template in order to capture commonality of characteristics of these attackers. This study tries to understand the homogeneity of lone-wolves in terms of their social background and state of mind. The commonality among them can possibly be used to build a profiling template that could help detecting vulnerable persons who are prone to be self-radicalised or radicalised by someone else. The result of this study provides us an understanding of their commonality in terms of their state of mind and social characteristics.Keywords: Behavioral pattern, terrorism, profiling, commonality.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1635