Search results for: SOAP Extension.

Authors: Fan-Yong Meng

Abstract:

In this paper, we first introduce the model of games on augmenting systems with a coalition structure, which can be seen as an extension of games on augmenting systems. The core of games on augmenting systems with a coalition structure is defined, and an equivalent form is discussed. Meantime, the Shapley function for this type of games is given, and two axiomatic systems of the given Shapley function are researched. When the given games are quasi convex, the relationship between the core and the Shapley function is discussed, which does coincide as in classical case. Finally, a numerical example is given.

Keywords: Cooperative game, augmenting system, Shapley function, core.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1135

Authors: Lee Yih Rou, Hishammuddin Asmuni

Abstract:

Flexible Job Shop Problem (FJSP) is an extension of classical Job Shop Problem (JSP). The FJSP extends the routing flexibility of the JSP, i.e assigning machine to an operation. Thus it makes it more difficult than the JSP. In this study, Cooperative Coevolutionary Genetic Algorithm (CCGA) is presented to solve the FJSP. Makespan (time needed to complete all jobs) is used as the performance evaluation for CCGA. In order to test performance and efficiency of our CCGA the benchmark problems are solved. Computational result shows that the proposed CCGA is comparable with other approaches.

Keywords: Co-evolution, Genetic Algorithm (GA), Flexible JobShop Problem(FJSP)

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1751

Authors: Hidehiko Okada

Abstract:

The author proposes an extension of genetic algorithm (GA) for solving fuzzy-valued optimization problems. In the proposed GA, values in the genotypes are not real numbers but fuzzy numbers. Evolutionary processes in GA are extended so that GA can handle genotype instances with fuzzy numbers. The proposed method is applied to evolving neural networks with fuzzy weights and biases. Experimental results showed that fuzzy neural networks evolved by the fuzzy GA could model hidden target fuzzy functions well despite the fact that no training data was explicitly provided.

Keywords: Evolutionary algorithm, genetic algorithm, fuzzy number, neural network, neuroevolution.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2256

Authors: Yuka Kawakami, Tomoyuki Yokogawa, Hisashi Miyazaki, Sousuke Amasaki, Yoichiro Sato, Michiyoshi Hayase

Abstract:

In this paper, we proposed a method for detecting consistency violation between state machine diagrams and a sequence diagram defined in UML 2.0 using SMV. We extended a method expressing these diagrams defined in UML 1.0 with boolean formulas so that it can express a sequence diagram with combined fragments introduced in UML 2.0. This extension made it possible to represent three types of combined fragment: alternative, option and parallel. As a result of experiment, we confirmed that the proposed method could detect consistency violation correctly with SMV.

Keywords: UML, model checking, SMV, sequence diagram.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1430

Authors: Said Baadel, Fadi Thabtah, Joan Lu

Abstract:

Clustering involves the partitioning of n objects into k clusters. Many clustering algorithms use hard-partitioning techniques where each object is assigned to one cluster. In this paper we propose an overlapping algorithm MCOKE which allows objects to belong to one or more clusters. The algorithm is different from fuzzy clustering techniques because objects that overlap are assigned a membership value of 1 (one) as opposed to a fuzzy membership degree. The algorithm is also different from other overlapping algorithms that require a similarity threshold be defined a priori which can be difficult to determine by novice users.

Keywords: Data mining, k-means, MCOKE, overlapping.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2682

Authors: Nisha Singhal, Usha Chouhan

Abstract:

At present, application of the extension of soft set theory in decision making problems in day to day life is progressing rapidly. The concepts of fuzzy soft set and its properties have been evolved as an area of interest for the researchers. The generalization of the concepts recently got importance and a rapid growth in the research in this area witnessed its vital-ness. In this paper, an application of the concept of generalized fuzzy soft set to make decision in a social problem is presented. Further, this paper also highlights some of the key issues of the related areas.

Keywords: Soft set, Fuzzy Soft set, Generalized Fuzzy Soft set, Membership and Non-Membership Score.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 905

Authors: Chadlia Jerad, Amel Grissa-Touzi, Habib Ounelli

Abstract:

Negation is useful in the majority of the real world applications. However, its introduction leads to semantic and canonical problems. SEPN nets are well adapted extension of predicate nets for the definition and manipulation of stratified programs. This formalism is characterized by two main contributions. The first concerns the management of the whole class of stratified programs. The second contribution is related to usual operations optimization (maximal stratification, incremental updates ...). We propose, in this paper, useful algorithms for manipulating stratified programs using SEPN. These algorithms were implemented and validated with STRPRO tool.

Keywords: stratified programs, update operations, SEPN formalism, algorithms, STRPRO.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1231

Authors: Jefri Marzal, Hong Xie, Chun Che Fung

Abstract:

Vertex configuration for a vertex in an orthogonal pseudo-polyhedron is an identity of a vertex that is determined by the number of edges, dihedral angles, and non-manifold properties meeting at the vertex. There are up to sixteen vertex configurations for any orthogonal pseudo-polyhedron (OPP). Understanding the relationship between these vertex configurations will give us insight into the structure of an OPP and help us design better algorithms for many 3-dimensional geometric problems. In this paper, 16 vertex configurations for OPP are described first. This is followed by a number of formulas giving insight into the relationship between different vertex configurations in an OPP. These formulas will be useful as an extension of orthogonal polyhedra usefulness on pattern analysis in 3D-digital images.

Keywords: Orthogonal Pseudo Polyhedra, Vertex configuration

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1327

Authors: Jyoti Dua

Abstract:

One image is worth more than thousand words. Images if analyzed can reveal useful information. Low level image processing deals with the extraction of specific feature from a single image. Now the question arises: What technique should be used to extract patterns of very large and detailed image database? The answer of the question is: “Image Mining”. Image Mining deals with the extraction of image data relationship, implicit knowledge, and another pattern from the collection of images or image database. It is nothing but the extension of Data Mining. In the following paper, not only we are going to scrutinize the current techniques of image mining but also present a new technique for mining images using Genetic Algorithm.

Keywords: Image Mining, Data Mining, Genetic Algorithm.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2400

Authors: C. C. Alamanjo, A. O. Adepoju, H. Martin, R. N. Baines

Abstract:

Peri-urban agriculture in Jos Nigeria serves as a major means of livelihood for both urban and peri-urban poor, and constitutes huge commercial inclination with a target market that has spanned beyond Plateau State. Yet, the sustainability of this sector is threatened by intensive application of urban refuse ash contaminated with heavy metals, as a result of the highly heterogeneous materials used in ash production. Hence, this research aimed to understand the current fertilizer employed by farmers, their perception and acceptability in utilization of household sewage sludge for agricultural purposes and their capacity in mitigating risks associated with such practice. Mixed methods approach was adopted, and data collection tools used include survey questionnaire, focus group discussion with farmers, participants and field observation. The study identified that farmers maintain a complex mixture of organic and chemical fertilizers, with mixture composition that is dependent on fertilizer availability and affordability. Also, farmers have decreased the rate of utilization of urban refuse ash due to labor and increased logistic cost and are keen to utilize household sewage sludge for soil fertility improvement but are mainly constrained by accessibility of this waste product. Nevertheless, farmers near to sewage disposal points have commenced utilization of household sewage sludge for improving soil fertility. Farmers were knowledgeable on composting but find their strategic method of dewatering and sun drying more convenient. Irrigation farmers were not enthusiastic for treatment, as they desired both water and sludge. Secondly, household sewage sludge observed in the field is heterogeneous due to nearness between its disposal point and that of urban refuse, which raises concern for possible cross-contamination of pollutants and also portrays lack of extension guidance as regards to treatment and management of household sewage sludge for agricultural purposes. Hence, farmers concerns need to be addressed, particularly in providing extension advice and establishment of decentralized household sewage sludge collection centers, for continuous availability of liquid and concentrated sludge. Urgent need is also required for the Federal Government of Nigeria to increase commitment towards empowering her subsidiaries for efficient discharge of corporate responsibilities.

Keywords: Ash, farmers, household, peri-urban, refuse, sewage, sludge, urban.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 709

Authors: S.Aranganayagi, K.Thangavel

Abstract:

K-Modes is an extension of K-Means clustering algorithm, developed to cluster the categorical data, where the mean is replaced by the mode. The similarity measure proposed by Huang is the simple matching or mismatching measure. Weight of attribute values contribute much in clustering; thus in this paper we propose a new weighted dissimilarity measure for K-Modes, based on the ratio of frequency of attribute values in the cluster and in the data set. The new weighted measure is experimented with the data sets obtained from the UCI data repository. The results are compared with K-Modes and K-representative, which show that the new measure generates clusters with high purity.

Keywords: Clustering, categorical data, K-Modes, weighted dissimilarity measure

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3639

Authors: M. Sasajima, M. Watanabe, T. Yamaguchi, Y. Kurosawa, Y. Koike

Abstract:

Sound pathways in the enclosures of small earphones are very narrow. In such narrow pathways, the speed of sound propagation and the phase of sound waves change because of the air viscosity. We have developed a new finite element method that includes the effects of damping due to air viscosity for modeling the sound pathway. This method is developed as an extension of the existing finite element method for porous sound-absorbing materials. The numerical calculation results using the proposed finite element method are validated against the existing calculation methods.

Keywords: Simulation, FEM, air viscosity, damping.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2154

Authors: N. Hamzah, M.A. Khoiry, I. Arshad, W.H.W. Badaruzzaman, N. M. Tawil

Abstract:

Construction delay is unavoidable in developing countries including Malaysia. It is defined as time overrun or extension of time for completion of a project. The purpose of the study is to determine the causes of delay in Malaysian construction industries based on previous worldwide research. The field survey conducted includes the experienced developers, consultants and contractors in Malaysia. 34 causes of the construction delay have been determined and 24 have been selected using the Rasch model analysis. The analysis result will be used as the baseline for the next research to find the causes of delay in the Malaysian construction industry taking place in Malaysian higher learning institutions.

Keywords: Causes of construction delay, construction projects, Malaysian construction industry, Rasch model analysis.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 7516

Authors: P. Sateesh Kumar , S. Ramachandram

Abstract:

Genetic Zone Routing Protocol (GZRP) is a new hybrid routing protocol for MANETs which is an extension of ZRP by using Genetic Algorithm (GA). GZRP uses GA on IERP and BRP parts of ZRP to provide a limited set of alternative routes to the destination in order to load balance the network and robustness during node/link failure during the route discovery process. GZRP is studied for its performance compared to ZRP in many folds like scalability for packet delivery and proved with improved results. This paper presents the results of the effect of load balancing on GZRP. The results show that GZRP outperforms ZRP while balancing the load.

Keywords: MANET, routing, ZRP, Genetic algorithm, GZRP, load balancing

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2156

Authors: Nataša Živić, Christoph Ruland

Abstract:

Method of Parallel Joint Channel Coding and Cryptography has been analyzed and simulated in this paper. The method is an extension of Soft Input Decryption with feedback, which is used for improvement of channel decoding of secured messages. Parallel Joint Channel Coding and Cryptography results in improved coding gain of channel decoding, which achieves more than 2 dB. Such results are an implication of a combination of receiver components and their interoperability.

Keywords: Block length, Coding gain, Feedback, L-values, Parallel Joint Channel Coding and Cryptography, Soft Input Decryption.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1530

Authors: David Avis, Luc Devroye, Kazuo Iwama

Abstract:

We consider a cooperative game played by n players against a referee. The players names are randomly distributed among n lockers, with one name per locker. Each player can open up to half the lockers and each player must find his name. Once the game starts the players may not communicate. It has been previously shown that, quite surprisingly, an optimal strategy exists for which the success probability is never worse than 1 − ln 2 ≈ 0.306. In this paper we consider an extension where the number of lockers is greater than the number of players, so that some lockers are empty. We show that the players may still win with positive probability even if there are a constant k number of empty lockers. We show that for each fixed probability p, there is a constant c so that the players can win with probability at least p if they are allowed to open cn lockers.

Keywords: Locker problem, pointer-following algorithms.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1248

Authors: Assad Maalouf, Lunjin Lu, James Lynott

Abstract:

We present a taint analysis that can automatically detect when string operations result in a string that is free of taints, where all the tainted patterns have been removed. This is an improvement on the conservative behavior of previous taint analyzers, where a string operation on a tainted string always leads to a tainted string unless the operation is manually marked as a sanitizer. The taint analysis is built on top of a string analysis that uses finite state automata to approximate the sets of values that string variables can take during the execution of a program. The proposed approach has been implemented as an extension of FlowDroid and experimental results show that the resulting taint analyzer is much more precise than the original FlowDroid.

Keywords: Android, static analysis, string analysis, taint analysis.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 580

Authors: Trung Hieu Tran, Hyo-Moon Cho, Sang-Bock Cho

Abstract:

Motion estimation is the most computationally intensive part in video processing. Many fast motion estimation algorithms have been proposed to decrease the computational complexity by reducing the number of candidate motion vectors. However, these studies are for fast search algorithms themselves while almost image and video compressions are operated with software based. Therefore, the timing constraints for running these motion estimation algorithms not only challenge for the video codec but also overwhelm for some of processors. In this paper, the performance of motion estimation is enhanced by using Intel's Streaming SIMD Extension 2 (SSE2) technology with Intel Pentium 4 processor.

Keywords: Motion Estimation, Full Search, Three StepSearch, MMX/SSE/SSE2 Technologies, SIMD.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2050

Authors: Alexander Y. Vaninsky

Abstract:

This paper presents a method of economic factorial analysis of the CO₂ emissions based on the extension of the Divisia index to interconnected factors. This approach, contrary to the Kaya identity, considers three main factors of the CO₂ emissions: gross domestic product, energy consumption, and population - as equally important, and allows for accounting of all of them simultaneously. The three factors are included into analysis together with their carbon intensities that allows for obtaining a comprehensive picture of the change in the CO₂ emissions. A computer program in R-language that is available for free download serves automation of the calculations. A case study of the U.S. carbon dioxide emissions is used as an example. 

Keywords: CO2 emissions, Economic analysis, Factorial analysis, Divisia index, Interconnected factors.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2469

Authors: Cholpassorn Sitthiwarongchai, Chutikarn Sriviboon

Abstract:

The two primary objectives of this research were (1)  to examine the current knowledge and actual circumstance of  agricultural workers about mangosteen product processing; and (2) to  analyze and evaluate ways to develop capacity of mangosteen  product processing. The population of this study was 15,125 people  who work in the agricultural sector, in this context, mangosteen  production, in the eastern part of Thailand that included Chantaburi  Province, Rayong Province, Trad Province and Pracheenburi  Province. The sample size based on Yamane’s calculation with 95%  reliability was therefore 392 samples. Mixed method was employed  included questionnaire and focus group discussion with  Connoisseurship Model used in order to collect quantitative and  qualitative data. Key informants were used in the focus group  including agricultural business owners, academic people in agro food  processing, local academics, local community development staff,  OTOP subcommittee, and representatives of agro processing  industry professional organizations. The study found that the  majority of the respondents agreed with a high level (in five- rating  scale) towards most of variables of knowledge management in agro  food processing. The result of the current knowledge and actual  circumstance of agricultural human resource in an arena of  mangosteen product processing revealed that mostly, the respondents  agreed at a high level to establish 7 variables. The guideline to  developing the body of knowledge in order to enhance the capacity  of the agricultural workers in mangosteen product processing was  delivered in the focus group discussion. The discussion finally  contributed to an idea to produce manuals for mangosteen product  processing methods, with 4 products chosen: (1) mangosteen soap;  (2) mangosteen juice; (3) mangosteen toffee; and (4) mangosteen  preserves or jam.

Keywords: Capacity Enhancement, Agricultural Workers, Mangosteen Product Processing.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1868

Authors: Anatoli Torokhti, Stanley Miklavcic

Abstract:

Suppose KY and KX are large sets of observed and reference signals, respectively, each containing N signals. Is it possible to construct a filter F : KY → KX that requires a priori information only on few signals, p  N, from KX but performs better than the known filters based on a priori information on every reference signal from KX? It is shown that the positive answer is achievable under quite unrestrictive assumptions. The device behind the proposed method is based on a special extension of the piecewise linear interpolation technique to the case of random signal sets. The proposed technique provides a single filter to process any signal from the arbitrarily large signal set. The filter is determined in terms of pseudo-inverse matrices so that it always exists.

Keywords: Wiener filter, filtering of stochastic signals.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1370

Authors: Jiaji Zhou, Le Liang, Long Chen

Abstract:

Geographic Profiling has successfully assisted investigations for serial crimes. Considering the multi-cluster feature of serial criminal spots, we propose a Multi-point Centrography model as a natural extension of Single-point Centrography for geographic profiling. K-means clustering is first performed on the data samples and then Single-point Centrography is adopted to derive a probability distribution on each cluster. Finally, a weighted combinations of each distribution is formed to make next-crime spot prediction. Experimental study on real cases demonstrates the effectiveness of our proposed model.

Keywords: Geographic profiling, Centrography model, K-means algorithm

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2027

Authors: Amran Mohd Zaid, M. Atif Yaqub, Mohd Rizal Arshad, Md Saidin Wahab

Abstract:

A multi fingered dexterous anthropomorphic hand is being developed by the authors. The focus of the hand is the replacement of human operators in hazardous environments and also in environments where zero tolerance is observed for the human errors. The robotic hand will comprise of five fingers (four fingers and one thumb) each having four degrees of freedom (DOF) which can perform flexion, extension, abduction, adduction and also circumduction. For the actuation purpose pneumatic muscles and springs will be used. The paper exemplifies the mechanical design for the robotic hand. It also describes different mechanical designs that have been developed before date.

Keywords: Robotic hand, Multi-fingered hand, dextrous hand, anthropomorphic hand, pneumatic muscles.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3213

Authors: F. Saccucci

Abstract:

Gamification has now started to take root in the post-secondary classroom. Educators have learned much about gamification to date but there is still a great deal to learn. One definition of gamification is the ability to engage post-secondary students with games that are fun and correlate to class room curriculum. There is no shortage of literature illustrating the advantages of gamification in the class room. This study is an extension of similar thought as well as an extension of a previous study where in class testing proved with the used of paired T-test that gamification did significantly improve the students’ understanding of subject material. Gamification itself in the class room can range from high end computer simulated software to paper based games of which both have advantages and disadvantages. This analysis used a paper based game to highlight certain qualitative advantages of gamification. The paper based game in this analysis was inexpensive, required low preparation time for the faculty member and consumed approximately 20 minutes of class room time. Data for the study was collected through in class student feedback surveys and narrative from the faculty member moderating the game. Students were randomly selected into groups of four. Qualitative advantages identified in this analysis included: 1. Students had a chance to meet, connect and know other students. 2. Students enjoyed the gamification process given there was a sense of fun and competition. 3. The post assessment that followed the simulation game was not part of their grade calculation therefore it was an opportunity to participate in a low risk activity whereby students could subsequently self-assess their understanding of the subject material. 4. In the view of the student, content knowledge did increase after the gamification process. These qualitative advantages identified in this analysis contribute to the argument that there should be an attempt to use gamification in today’s post-secondary class room. The analysis also highlighted that eighty (80) percent of the respondents believe twenty minutes devoted to the gamification process was appropriate, however twenty (20) percentage of respondents believed that rather than scheduling a gamification process and its post quiz in the last week, a review for the final exam may have been more useful. An additional study to this hopes to determine if the scheduling of the gamification had any correlation to a percentage of the students not wanting to be engaged in the process. As well, the additional study hopes to determine at what incremental level of time invested in class room gamification produce no material incremental benefits to the student as well as determine if any correlation exist between respondents preferring not to have it at the end of the semester to students not believing the gamification process added to the increase of their curricular knowledge.

Keywords: Gamification, inexpensive, qualitative advantages, post-secondary.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 821

Authors: Hsiang-Fu Yu, Yu-Chan Hsu, Chun Fang, Hao-Yun Yang

Abstract:

Periodic broadcast is a cost-effective solution for large-scale distribution of popular videos because this approach guarantees constant worst service latency, regardless of the number of video requests. An essential periodic broadcast method is the client-centric approach (CCA), which allows clients to use smaller receiving bandwidth to download broadcast data. An enhanced version, namely CCA++, was proposed to yield a shorter waiting time. This work further improves CCA++ in reducing client buffer requirements. The new scheme decreases the buffer requirements by as much as 52% when compared to CCA++. This study also provides an analytical evaluation to demonstrate the performance advantage, as compared with particular schemes.

Keywords: Periodic broadcast, client-centric approach, buffer space, multimedia communications.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1725

Authors: Vishal Awasthi, Krishna Raj

Abstract:

In this paper, firstly, we present the mathematical modeling of finite impulse response (FIR) filter and Cascaded Integrator Comb (CIC) filter for sampling rate reduction and then an extension of Canonical signed digit (CSD) based efficient structure is presented in framework using hybrid signed digit (HSD) arithmetic. CSD representation imposed a restriction that two non-zero CSD coefficient bits cannot acquire adjacent bit positions and therefore, represented structure is not economical in terms of speed, area and power consumption. The HSD based structure gives optimum performance in terms of area and speed with 37.02% passband droop compensation.

Keywords: Multirate filtering, compensation theory, CIC filter, compensation filter, signed digit arithmetic, canonical signed digit.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1013

Authors: D. Almazo, M. Toledo, C. Rodríguez

Abstract:

This work presents a methodology for the design and manufacture of propellers oriented to the experimental verification of theoretical results based on the combined model. The design process begins by using algorithms in Matlab which output data contain the coordinates of the points that define the blade airfoils, in this case the NACA 6512 airfoil was used. The modeling for the propeller blade was made in NX7, through the imported files in Matlab and with the help of surfaces. Later, the hub and the clamps were also modeled. Finally, NX 7 also made possible to create post-processed files to the required machine. It is possible to find the block of numbers with G & M codes about the type of driver on the machine. The file extension is .ptp. These files made possible to manufacture the blade, and the hub of the propeller.

Keywords: Airfoil, CAM, manufacturing, mathematical algorithm, numeric control, propeller design, simulation.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3821

Authors: Kollie B. Dogba, Willis Oluoch-Kosura, Chepchumba Chumo

Abstract:

In Liberia, many of the agricultural households cultivate cassava for either sustenance purposes, or to generate farm income. Many of the concentrated cassava farmers reside in Nimba, a north-eastern County that borders two other economies: the Republics of Cote D’Ivoire and Guinea. With a high demand for cassava output and products in emerging Asian markets coupled with an objective of the Liberia agriculture policies to increase the competitiveness of valued agriculture crops; there is a need to examine the level of resource-use efficiency for many agriculture crops. However, there is a scarcity of information on the efficiency of many agriculture crops, including cassava. Hence the study applying an output-oriented method seeks to assess the economic efficiency of cassava farmers in Nimba County, Liberia. A multi-stage sampling technique was employed to generate a sample for the study. From 216 cassava farmers, data related to on-farm attributes, socio-economic and institutional factors were collected. The stochastic frontier models, using the Translog functional forms, of production and revenue, were used to determine the level of revenue efficiency and its determinants. The result showed that most of the cassava farmers are male (60%). Many of the farmers are either married, engaged or living together with a spouse (83%), with a mean household size of nine persons. Farmland is prevalently obtained by inheritance (95%), average farm size is 1.34 hectares, and most cassava farmers did not access agriculture credits (76%) and extension services (91%). The mean cassava output per hectare is 1,506.02 kg, which estimates average revenue of L$23,551.16 (Liberian dollars). Empirical results showed that the revenue efficiency of cassava farmers varies from 0.1% to 73.5%; with the mean revenue efficiency of 12.9%. This indicates that on average, there is a vast potential of 87.1% to increase the economic efficiency of cassava farmers in Nimba by improving technical and allocative efficiencies. For the significant determinants of revenue efficiency, age and group membership had negative effects on revenue efficiency of cassava production; while farming experience, access to extension, formal education, and average wage rate have positive effects. The study recommends the setting-up and incentivizing of farmer field schools for cassava farmers to primarily share their farming experiences with others and to learn robust cultivation techniques of sustainable agriculture. Also, farm managers and farmers should consider a fix wage rate in labor contracts for all stages of cassava farming.

Keywords: Economic efficiency, frontier production, and revenue functions, Liberia, Nimba County, output-oriented, revenue efficiency.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 624

Authors: Young-Seok Choi

Abstract:

This paper presents a multiscale information measure of Electroencephalogram (EEG) for analysis with a short data length. A multiscale extension of permutation entropy (MPE) is capable of fully reflecting the dynamical characteristics of EEG across different temporal scales. However, MPE yields an imprecise estimation due to coarse-grained procedure at large scales. We present an improved MPE measure to estimate entropy more accurately with a short time series. By computing entropies of all coarse-grained time series and averaging those at each scale, it leads to the modified MPE (MMPE) which provides an enhanced accuracy as compared to MPE. Simulation and experimental studies confirmed that MMPE has proved its capability over MPE in terms of accuracy.

Keywords: Multiscale entropy, permutation entropy, EEG, seizure.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1425

Authors: Carlos J. Costa, Manuela Aparício

Abstract:

In this paper, we present the information life cycle, and analyze the importance of managing the corporate application portfolio across this life cycle. The approach presented here does not correspond just to the extension of the traditional information system development life cycle. This approach is based in the generic life cycle employed in other contexts like manufacturing or marketing. In this paper it is proposed a model of an information system life cycle, supported in the assumption that a system has a limited life. But, this limited life may be extended. This model is also applied in several cases; being reported here two examples of the framework application in a construction enterprise, and in a manufacturing enterprise.

Keywords: Information systems/technology, informatio nsystems life cycle, organization engineering, information economics.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1555