Search results for: zones of protection.
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 831

Search results for: zones of protection.

231 Megalopolisation: An Effect of Large Scale Urbanisation in Post-Reform China

Authors: Siqing Chen

Abstract:

Megalopolis is a group of densely populated metropolitan areas that combine to form an urban complex. Since China introduced the economic reforms in late 1970s, the Chinese urban system has experienced unprecedented growth. The process of urbanisation prevailed in the 1980s, and the process of predominantly large city growth appeared to continue through 1990s and 2000s. In this study, the magnitude and pattern of urbanisation in China during 1990s were examined using remotely sensed imagery acquired by TM/ETM+ sensor onboard the Landsat satellites. The development of megalopolis areas in China was also studied based on the GIS analysis of the increases of urban and built-up area from 1990 to 2000. The analysis suggests that in the traditional agricultural zones in China, e.g., Huang-Huai-Hai Plains, Changjiang River Delta, Pearl River Delta and Sichuan Basin, the urban and built-up areas increased by 1.76 million hectares, of which 0.82 million hectares are expansion of urban areas, an increase of 24.78% compared with 1990 at the national scale. The Yellow River Delta, Changjiang River Delta and Pearl River Delta also saw an increase of urban and built-up area by 63.9%, 66.2% and 83.0% respectively. As a result, three major megalopolises were developed in China: the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong- Macau (Pearl River Delta: PRD) megalopolis area, the Shanghai- Nanjing-Hangzhou (Changjiang River Delta: CRD) megalopolis area and the Beijing-Tianjing-Tangshan-Qinhuangdao (Yellow River Delta-Bohai Sea Ring: YRD) megalopolis area. The relationship between the processed of megalopolisation and the inter-provincial population flow was also explored in the context of social-economic and transport infrastructure development in Post-reform China.

Keywords: Megalopolisation, Land use change, Spatial analysis, Post-reform China

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1509
230 Biometric Technology in Securing the Internet Using Large Neural Network Technology

Authors: B. Akhmetov, A. Doszhanova, A. Ivanov, T. Kartbayev, A. Malygin

Abstract:

The article examines the methods of protection of citizens' personal data on the Internet using biometric identity authentication technology. It`s celebrated their potential danger due to the threat of loss of base biometric templates. To eliminate the threat of compromised biometric templates is proposed to use neural networks large and extra-large sizes, which will on the one hand securely (Highly reliable) to authenticate a person by his biometrics, and on the other hand make biometrics a person is not available for observation and understanding. This article also describes in detail the transformation of personal biometric data access code. It`s formed the requirements for biometrics converter code for his work with the images of "Insider," "Stranger", all the "Strangers". It`s analyzed the effect of the dimension of neural networks on the quality of converters mystery of biometrics in access code.

Keywords: Biometric security technologies, Conversion of personal biometric data access code, Electronic signature, Large neural networks, quality of converters "Biometrics - the code", the Egovernment.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2135
229 FEM Models of Glued Laminated Timber Beams Enhanced by Bayesian Updating of Elastic Moduli

Authors: L. Melzerová, T. Janda, M. Šejnoha, J. Šejnoha

Abstract:

Two finite element (FEM) models are presented in this paper to address the random nature of the response of glued timber structures made of wood segments with variable elastic moduli evaluated from 3600 indentation measurements. This total database served to create the same number of ensembles as was the number of segments in the tested beam. Statistics of these ensembles were then assigned to given segments of beams and the Latin Hypercube Sampling (LHS) method was called to perform 100 simulations resulting into the ensemble of 100 deflections subjected to statistical evaluation. Here, a detailed geometrical arrangement of individual segments in the laminated beam was considered in the construction of two-dimensional FEM model subjected to in fourpoint bending to comply with the laboratory tests. Since laboratory measurements of local elastic moduli may in general suffer from a significant experimental error, it appears advantageous to exploit the full scale measurements of timber beams, i.e. deflections, to improve their prior distributions with the help of the Bayesian statistical method. This, however, requires an efficient computational model when simulating the laboratory tests numerically. To this end, a simplified model based on Mindlin’s beam theory was established. The improved posterior distributions show that the most significant change of the Young’s modulus distribution takes place in laminae in the most strained zones, i.e. in the top and bottom layers within the beam center region. Posterior distributions of moduli of elasticity were subsequently utilized in the 2D FEM model and compared with the original simulations.

Keywords: Bayesian inference, FEM, four point bending test, laminated timber, parameter estimation, prior and posterior distribution, Young’s modulus.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2167
228 Promising Immobilization of Cadmium and Lead inside Ca-rich Glass-ceramics

Authors: A. Karnis, L. Gautron

Abstract:

Considering toxicity of heavy metals and their accumulation in domestic wastes, immobilization of lead and cadmium is envisaged inside glass-ceramics. We particularly focused this work on calcium-rich phases embedded in a glassy matrix. Glass-ceramics were synthesized from glasses doped with 12 wt% and 16 wt% of PbO or CdO. They were observed and analyzed by Electron MicroProbe Analysis (EMPA) and Analytical Scanning Electron Microscopy (ASEM). Structural characterization of the samples was performed by powder XRay Diffraction. Diopside crystals of CaMgSi2O6 composition are shown to incorporate significant amounts of cadmium (up to 9 wt% of CdO). Two new crystalline phases are observed with very high Cd or Pb contents: about 40 wt% CdO for the cadmiumrich phase and near 60 wt% PbO for the lead-rich phase. We present complete chemical and structural characterization of these phases. They represent a promising way for the immobilization of toxic elements like Cd or Pb since glass ceramics are known to propose a “double barrier" protection (metal-rich crystals embedded in a glass matrix) against metal release in the environment.

Keywords: Cadmium, Calcium-rich phases, Diopside, Domesticwastes, Fly ashes, Glass-ceramics, Lead, Municipal Solid WasteIncineration.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1617
227 Twin-Screw Extruder and Effective Parameters on the HDPE Extrusion Process

Authors: S. A. Razavi Alavi, M. Torabi Angaji, Z. Gholami

Abstract:

In the process of polyethylene extrusion polymer material similar to powder or granule is under compression, melting and transmission operation and on base of special form, extrudate has been produced. Twin-screw extruders are applicable in industries because of their high capacity. The powder mixing with chemical additives and melting with thermal and mechanical energy in three zones (feed, compression and metering zone) and because of gear pump and screw's pressure, converting to final product in latest plate. Extruders with twin-screw and short distance between screws are better than other types because of their high capacity and good thermal and mechanical stress. In this paper, process of polyethylene extrusion and various tapes of extruders are studied. It is necessary to have an exact control on process to producing high quality products with safe operation and optimum energy consumption. The granule size is depending on granulator motor speed. Results show at constant feed rate a decrease in granule size was found whit Increase in motor speed. Relationships between HDPE feed rate and speed of granulator motor, main motor and gear pump are calculated following as: x = HDPE feed flow rate, yM = Main motor speed yM = (-3.6076e-3) x^4+ (0.24597) x^3+ (-5.49003) x^2+ (64.22092) x+61.66786 (1) x = HDPE feed flow rate, yG = Gear pump speed yG = (-2.4996e-3) x^4+ (0.18018) x^3+ (-4.22794) x^2+ (48.45536) x+18.78880 (2) x = HDPE feed flow rate, y = Granulator motor speed 10th Degree Polynomial Fit: y = a+bx+cx^2+dx^3... (3) a = 1.2751, b = 282.4655, c = -165.2098, d = 48.3106, e = -8.18715, f = 0.84997 g = -0.056094, h = 0.002358, i = -6.11816e-5 j = 8.919726e-7, k = -5.59050e-9

Keywords: Extrusion, Extruder, Granule, HDPE, Polymer, Twin-Screw extruder.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 4943
226 Data Hiding by Vector Quantization in Color Image

Authors: Yung-Gi Wu

Abstract:

With the growing of computer and network, digital data can be spread to anywhere in the world quickly. In addition, digital data can also be copied or tampered easily so that the security issue becomes an important topic in the protection of digital data. Digital watermark is a method to protect the ownership of digital data. Embedding the watermark will influence the quality certainly. In this paper, Vector Quantization (VQ) is used to embed the watermark into the image to fulfill the goal of data hiding. This kind of watermarking is invisible which means that the users will not conscious the existing of embedded watermark even though the embedded image has tiny difference compared to the original image. Meanwhile, VQ needs a lot of computation burden so that we adopt a fast VQ encoding scheme by partial distortion searching (PDS) and mean approximation scheme to speed up the data hiding process. The watermarks we hide to the image could be gray, bi-level and color images. Texts are also can be regarded as watermark to embed. In order to test the robustness of the system, we adopt Photoshop to fulfill sharpen, cropping and altering to check if the extracted watermark is still recognizable. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed system can resist the above three kinds of tampering in general cases.

Keywords: Data hiding, vector quantization, watermark.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1743
225 A Wavelet Based Object Watermarking System for Image and Video

Authors: Abdessamad Essaouabi, Ibnelhaj Elhassane

Abstract:

Efficient storage, transmission and use of video information are key requirements in many multimedia applications currently being addressed by MPEG-4. To fulfill these requirements, a new approach for representing video information which relies on an object-based representation, has been adopted. Therefore, objectbased watermarking schemes are needed for copyright protection. This paper proposes a novel blind object watermarking scheme for images and video using the in place lifting shape adaptive-discrete wavelet transform (SA-DWT). In order to make the watermark robust and transparent, the watermark is embedded in the average of wavelet blocks using the visual model based on the human visual system. Wavelet coefficients n least significant bits (LSBs) are adjusted in concert with the average. Simulation results shows that the proposed watermarking scheme is perceptually invisible and robust against many attacks such as lossy image/video compression (e.g. JPEG, JPEG2000 and MPEG-4), scaling, adding noise, filtering, etc.

Keywords: Watermark, visual model, robustness, in place lifting shape adaptive-discrete wavelet transform.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1861
224 The Effects of Cross-Border Use of Drones in Nigerian National Security

Authors: H. P. Kerry

Abstract:

Drone technology has become a significant discourse in a nation’s national security, while this technology could constitute a danger to national security on the one hand, on the other hand, it is used in developed and developing countries for border security, and in some cases, for protection of security agents and migrants. In the case of Nigeria, drones are used by the military to monitor and tighten security around the borders. However, terrorist groups have devised a means to utilize the technology to their advantage. Therefore, the potential danger in the widespread proliferation of this technology has become a myriad of risks. The research on the effects of cross-border use of drones in Nigerian national security looks at the negative and positive consequences of using drone technology. The study employs the use of interviews and relevant documents to obtain data while the study applied the Just War theory to justify the reason why countries use force; it further buttresses the points with what the realist theory thinks about the use of force. In conclusion, the paper recommends that the Nigerian government through the National Assembly should pass a bill for the establishment of a law that will guide the use of armed and unarmed drones in Nigeria enforced by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority and the office of the National Security Adviser.

Keywords: Armed drones, cross-border, drones, national security.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1041
223 Identifications and Monitoring of Power System Dynamics Based on the PMUs and Wavelet Technique

Authors: Samir Avdakovic, Amir Nuhanovic

Abstract:

Low frequency power oscillations may be triggered by many events in the system. Most oscillations are damped by the system, but undamped oscillations can lead to system collapse. Oscillations develop as a result of rotor acceleration/deceleration following a change in active power transfer from a generator. Like the operations limits, the monitoring of power system oscillating modes is a relevant aspect of power system operation and control. Unprevented low-frequency power swings can be cause of cascading outages that can rapidly extend effect on wide region. On this regard, a Wide Area Monitoring, Protection and Control Systems (WAMPCS) help in detecting such phenomena and assess power system dynamics security. The monitoring of power system electromechanical oscillations is very important in the frame of modern power system management and control. In first part, this paper compares the different technique for identification of power system oscillations. Second part analyzes possible identification some power system dynamics behaviors Using Wide Area Monitoring Systems (WAMS) based on Phasor Measurement Units (PMUs) and wavelet technique.

Keywords: Power system oscillations, Modal analysis, Prony, Wavelet, PMU, Wide Area Monitoring System.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2723
222 Effects of Polluted Water on the Metallic Water Pipelines

Authors: Abdul-Khaliq M. Hussain, Bashir A. Tantosh, El-Sadeg A. Abdalla

Abstract:

Corrosion of metallic water pipelines buried below ground surface is a function of the nature of the surrounding soil and groundwater. This gives the importance of knowing the physical and chemical characteristics of the pipe-s surrounding environment. The corrosion of externally – unprotected metallic water pipelines, specially ductile iron pipes, in localities with aggressive soil conditions is becoming a significant problem. Anticorrosive protection for metallic water pipelines, their fittings and accessories is very important, because they may be attached by corrosion with time. The tendency of a metallic substrate to corrode is a function of the surface characteristics of the metal and of the metal/protective film interface, the physical, electrical and electrochemical properties of the film, and the nature of the environment in which the pipelines system is placed. In this work the authors have looked at corrosion problems of water pipelines and their control. The corrosive properties of groundwater and soil environments are reviewed, and parameters affecting corrosion are discussed. The purpose of this work is to provide guidelines for materials selection in water and soil environments, and how the water pipelines can be protected against metallic corrosion.

Keywords: Corrosion, Drinking Water, Metallic WaterPipelines, Polluted Water.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1760
221 Multilevel Fuzzy Decision Support Model for China-s Urban Rail Transit Planning Schemes

Authors: Jin-Bao Zhao, Wei Deng

Abstract:

This paper aims at developing a multilevel fuzzy decision support model for urban rail transit planning schemes in China under the background that China is presently experiencing an unprecedented construction of urban rail transit. In this study, an appropriate model using multilevel fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method is developed. In the decision process, the followings are considered as the influential objectives: traveler attraction, environment protection, project feasibility and operation. In addition, consistent matrix analysis method is used to determine the weights between objectives and the weights between the objectives- sub-indictors, which reduces the work caused by repeated establishment of the decision matrix on the basis of ensuring the consistency of decision matrix. The application results show that multilevel fuzzy decision model can perfectly deal with the multivariable and multilevel decision process, which is particularly useful in the resolution of multilevel decision-making problem of urban rail transit planning schemes.

Keywords: Urban rail transit, planning schemes, multilevel fuzzy decision support model, consistent matrix analysis

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1277
220 A Normalization-based Robust Image Watermarking Scheme Using SVD and DCT

Authors: Say Wei Foo, Qi Dong

Abstract:

Digital watermarking is one of the techniques for copyright protection. In this paper, a normalization-based robust image watermarking scheme which encompasses singular value decomposition (SVD) and discrete cosine transform (DCT) techniques is proposed. For the proposed scheme, the host image is first normalized to a standard form and divided into non-overlapping image blocks. SVD is applied to each block. By concatenating the first singular values (SV) of adjacent blocks of the normalized image, a SV block is obtained. DCT is then carried out on the SV blocks to produce SVD-DCT blocks. A watermark bit is embedded in the highfrequency band of a SVD-DCT block by imposing a particular relationship between two pseudo-randomly selected DCT coefficients. An adaptive frequency mask is used to adjust local watermark embedding strength. Watermark extraction involves mainly the inverse process. The watermark extracting method is blind and efficient. Experimental results show that the quality degradation of watermarked image caused by the embedded watermark is visually transparent. Results also show that the proposed scheme is robust against various image processing operations and geometric attacks.

Keywords: Image watermarking, Image normalization, Singularvalue decomposition, Discrete cosine transform, Robustness.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2053
219 Enforcement of Decisions of Ombudsmen and the South African Public Protector: Muzzling the Watchdogs

Authors: Roxan Venter

Abstract:

Ombudsmen often face the challenge of a lack of authority to have their decisions and recommendations enforced. This lack of authority may be seen as one of the major obstacles in the way of the effectiveness of the institutions of Ombudsman and also the South African Public Protector. The paper will address the current legal position in South Africa with regard to the status of the decisions and recommendations of the South African Public Protector and the enforcement thereof. In addition, the paper will compare the South African position with the experiences of other jurisdictions, including Scandinavian countries like Sweden, Denmark and Norway, but also New Zealand and Northern Ireland, with regard to the enforcement of the decisions of Ombudsmen. Finally, the paper will make recommendations with regard to the enhancement of the power and authority of Ombudsmen in order to effectively enforce their decisions. It is submitted that the creation of the office of Ombudsman, and the Public Protector in the South African system, is an essential tool to ensure the protection of society against governmental abuse of power and it is therefore imperative to ensure that these watchdogs of democracy are not muzzled by a lack of powers of enforcement.

Keywords: Enforcement of decisions of Ombudsmen, Governmental control, Ombudsman, South African Public Protector.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1702
218 A Short Glimpse to Environmental Management at Alborz Integrated Land and Water Management Project-Iran

Authors: Zahra Morshedi

Abstract:

Environmental considerations have become an integral part of developmental thinking and decision making in many countries. It is growing rapidly in importance as a discipline of its own. Preventive approaches have been used at the evolutional process of environmental management as a broad and dynamic system for dealing with pollution and environmental degradation. In this regard, Environmental Assessment as an activity for identification and prediction of project’s impacts carried out in the world and its legal significance dates back to late 1960. In Iran, according to the Article 2 of Environmental Protection Act, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) should be prepared for seven categories of project. This article has been actively implementing by Department of Environment at 1997. World Bank in 1989 attempted to introducing application of Environmental Assessment for making decision about projects which are required financial assistance in developing countries. So, preparing EIA for obtaining World Bank loan was obligated. Alborz Project is one of the World Bank Projects in Iran which is environmentally significant. Seven out of ten W.B safeguard policies were considered at this project. In this paper, Alborz project, objectives, safeguard policies and role of environmental management will be elaborated

Keywords: AILWMP, EIA, Environmental Management, Safeguard Policies.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1745
217 Intellectual Property Implications in the Context of Space Exploration with a Focus on European Space Agency Rules and Regulations

Authors: Linda Ana Maria Ungureanu

Abstract:

This article details the manner in which European law establishes the protection and ownership rights over works created in off-world environments or in relation to space exploration. In this sense, the analysis is focused on identifying the legal treatment applicable to creative works based on the provisions regulated under the International Space Treaties, on one side, and the International Intellectual Property (IP) Treaties and subsequent EU legislation, on the other side, with a special interest on European Space Agency (ESA) Rules and Regulations. Furthermore, the article analyses the manner in which ESA regulates the ownership regime applicable for creative works, taking into account the relationship existing between the inventor/creator and ESA and the environment in which the creative work was developed. Moreover, the article sets a series of de lege ferenda proposals for the regulation of IP matters in the context of space exploration, the main purpose being to identify legal measures and steps that need to be taken in order to ensure that creative activities are fostered and understood as a significant catalyst for encouraging space exploration.

Keywords: ESA guidelines, EU legislation, intellectual property law, international IP treaties.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 380
216 Productivity and Energy Management in Desert Urban

Authors: Masoud Nasri, Rahele Hekmatpanah

Abstract:

Growing world population has fundamental impacts and often catastrophic on natural habitat. The immethodical consumption of energy, destruction of the forests and extinction of plant and animal species are the consequence of this experience. Urban sustainability and sustainable urban development, that is so spoken these days, should be considered as a strategy, goal and policy, beyond just considering environmental issues and protection. The desert-s climate has made a bunch of problems for its residents. Very hot and dry climate in summers of the Iranian desert areas, when there was no access to modern energy source and mechanical cooling systems in the past, made Iranian architects to design a natural ventilation system in their buildings. The structure, like a tower going upward the roof, besides its ornamental application and giving a beautiful view to the building, was used as a spontaneous ventilation system. In this paper, it has been tried to name the problems of the area and it-s inconvenience, then some answers has pointed out in order to solve the problems and as an alternative solution BADGIR (wind-catcher) has been introduced as a solution knowing that it has been playing a major role in dealing with the problems.

Keywords: Productivity, Sustainable development, hot aridzones, climate design, BADGIR (wind-catcher)

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1596
215 Representation of Memory of Forced Displacement in Central and Eastern Europe after World War II in Polish and German Cinemas

Authors: Ilona Copik

Abstract:

The aim of this study is to analyze the representation of memories of the forced displacement of Poles and Germans from the eastern territories in 1945 as depicted by Polish and German feature films between the years 1945-1960. The aftermath of World War II and the Allied agreements concluded at Yalta and Potsdam (1945) resulted in changes in national borders in Central and Eastern Europe and the large-scale transfer of civilians. The westward migration became a symbol of the new post-war division of Europe, new spheres of influence separated by the Iron Curtain. For years it was a controversial topic in both Poland and Germany due to the geopolitical alignment (the socialist East and capitalist West of Europe), as well as the unfinished debate between the victims and perpetrators of the war. The research premise is to take a comparative view of the conflicted cultures of Polish and German memory, to reflect on the possibility of an international dialogue about the past recorded in film images, and to discover the potential of film as a narrative warning against totalitarian inclinations. Until now, films made between 1945 and 1960 in Poland and the German occupation zones have been analyzed mainly in the context of artistic strategies subordinated to ideology and historical politics. In this study, the intention is to take a critical approach leading to the recognition of how films work as collective memory media, how they reveal the mechanisms of memory/ forgetting, and what settlement topoi and migration myths they contain. The main hypothesis is that feature films about forced displacement, in addition to the politics of history - separate in each country - reveal comparable transnational individual experiences: the chaos of migration, the trauma of losing one's home, the conflicts accompanying the familiar/foreign, the difficulty of cultural adaptation, the problem of lost identity, etc.

Keywords: Forced displacement, Polish and German cinema, war victims, World War II.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 35
214 Photogrammetry and GIS Integration for Archaeological Documentation of Ahl-Alkahf, Jordan

Authors: Rami Al-Ruzouq, Abdallah Al-Zoubi, Abdel-Rahman Abueladas, Petya Dimitrova

Abstract:

Protection and proper management of archaeological heritage are an essential process of studying and interpreting the generations present and future. Protecting the archaeological heritage is based upon multidiscipline professional collaboration. This study aims to gather data by different sources (Photogrammetry and Geographic Information System (GIS)) integrated for the purpose of documenting one the of significant archeological sites (Ahl-Alkahf, Jordan). 3D modeling deals with the actual image of the features, shapes and texture to represent reality as realistically as possible by using texture. The 3D coordinates that result of the photogrammetric adjustment procedures are used to create 3D-models of the study area. Adding Textures to the 3D-models surfaces gives a 'real world' appearance to the displayed models. GIS system combined all data, including boundary maps, indicating the location of archeological sites, transportation layer, digital elevation model and orthoimages. For realistic representation of the study area, 3D - GIS model prepared, where efficient generation, management and visualization of such special data can be achieved.

Keywords: Archaeology, close range photogrammetry, ortho-photo, 3D-GIS

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2117
213 Corporate Cautionary Statement: A Genre of Professional Communication

Authors: Chie Urawa

Abstract:

Cautionary statements or disclaimers in corporate annual reports need to be carefully designed because clear cautionary statements may protect a company in the case of legal disputes and may undermine positive impressions. This study compares the language of cautionary statements using two corpora, Sony’s cautionary statement corpus (S-corpus) and Panasonic’s cautionary statement corpus (P-corpus), illustrating the differences and similarities in relation to the use of meaningful cautionary statements and critically analyzing why practitioners use the way. The findings describe the distinct differences between the two companies in the presentation of the risk factors and the way how they make the statements. The word ability is used more for legal protection in S-corpus whereas the word possibility is used more to convey a better impression in P-corpus. The main similarities are identified in the use of lexical words and pronouns, and almost the same wordings for eight years. The findings show how they make the statements unique to the company in the presentation of risk factors, and the characteristics of specific genre of professional communication. Important implications of this study are that more comprehensive approach can be applied in other contexts, and be used by companies to reflect upon their cautionary statements.

Keywords: Cautionary statements, corporate annual reports, corpus, risk factors.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 813
212 Optimum Time Coordination of Overcurrent Relays using Two Phase Simplex Method

Authors: Prashant P. Bedekar, Sudhir R. Bhide, Vijay S. Kale

Abstract:

Overcurrent (OC) relays are the major protection devices in a distribution system. The operating time of the OC relays are to be coordinated properly to avoid the mal-operation of the backup relays. The OC relay time coordination in ring fed distribution networks is a highly constrained optimization problem which can be stated as a linear programming problem (LPP). The purpose is to find an optimum relay setting to minimize the time of operation of relays and at the same time, to keep the relays properly coordinated to avoid the mal-operation of relays. This paper presents two phase simplex method for optimum time coordination of OC relays. The method is based on the simplex algorithm which is used to find optimum solution of LPP. The method introduces artificial variables to get an initial basic feasible solution (IBFS). Artificial variables are removed using iterative process of first phase which minimizes the auxiliary objective function. The second phase minimizes the original objective function and gives the optimum time coordination of OC relays.

Keywords: Constrained optimization, LPP, Overcurrent relaycoordination, Two-phase simplex method.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2970
211 Radio-Frequency Plasma Discharge Equipment for Conservation Treatments of Paper Supports

Authors: Emil G. Ioanid, Viorica Frunză, Dorina Rusu, Ana Maria Vlad, Catalin Tanase, Simona Dunca

Abstract:

The application of cold Radio-Frequency (RF) plasma in the conservation of cultural heritage became important in the last decades due to the positive results obtained in decontamination treatments. This paper presents an equipment especially designed for cold RF plasma application on paper documents, developed within a research project. The equipment consists in two modules: the first one is designed for decontamination and cleaning treatments of any type of paper supports, while the second one can be used for coating friable papers with adequate polymers, for protection purposes. All these operations are carried out in cold radio-frequency plasma, working in gaseous nitrogen, at low pressure. In order to optimize the equipment parameters ancient paper samples infested with microorganisms have been treated in nitrogen plasma and the decontamination effects, as well as changes in surface properties (color, pH) were assessed. The microbiological analysis revealed complete decontamination at 6 minutes treatment duration; only minor modifications of the surface pH were found and the colorimetric analysis showed a slight yellowing of the support.

Keywords: Cultural heritage, nitrogen plasma, paper support.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2561
210 Accumulation of Pollutants, Self-purification and Impact on Peripheral Urban Areas: A Case Study in Shantytowns in Argentina

Authors: N. Porzionato, M. Mantiñan, E. Bussi, S. Grinberg, R. Gutierrez, G. Curutchet

Abstract:

This work sets out to debate the tensions involved in the processes of contamination and self-purification in the urban space, particularly in the streams that run through the Buenos Aires metropolitan area. For much of their course, those streams are piped; their waters do not come into contact with the outdoors until they have reached deeply impoverished urban areas with high levels of environmental contamination. These are peripheral zones that, until thirty years ago, were marshlands and fields. They are now densely populated areas largely lacking in urban infrastructure. The Cárcova neighborhood, where this project is underway, is in the José León Suárez section of General San Martín county, Buenos Aires province. A stretch of José León Suarez canal crosses the neighborhood. Starting upstream, this canal carries pollutants due to the sewage and industrial waste released into it. Further downstream, in the neighborhood, domestic drainage is poured into the stream. In this paper, we formulate a hypothesis diametrical to the one that holds that these neighborhoods are the primary source of contamination, suggesting instead that in the stretch of the canal that runs through the neighborhood the stream’s waters are actually cleaned and the sediments accumulate pollutants. Indeed, the stretches of water that runs through these neighborhoods act as water processing plants for the metropolis. This project has studied the different organic-load polluting contributions to the water in a certain stretch of the canal, the reduction of that load over the course of the canal, and the incorporation of pollutants into the sediments. We have found that the surface water has considerable ability to self-purify, mostly due to processes of sedimentation and adsorption. The polluting load is accumulated in the sediments where that load stabilizes slowly by means of anaerobic processes. In this study, we also investigated the risks of sediment management and the use of the processes studied here in controlled conditions as tools of environmental restoration.

Keywords: Bioremediation, pollutants, sediments, urban streams.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2431
209 Network Based Intrusion Detection and Prevention Systems in IP-Level Security Protocols

Authors: R. Kabila

Abstract:

IPsec has now become a standard information security technology throughout the Internet society. It provides a well-defined architecture that takes into account confidentiality, authentication, integrity, secure key exchange and protection mechanism against replay attack also. For the connectionless security services on packet basis, IETF IPsec Working Group has standardized two extension headers (AH&ESP), key exchange and authentication protocols. It is also working on lightweight key exchange protocol and MIB's for security management. IPsec technology has been implemented on various platforms in IPv4 and IPv6, gradually replacing old application-specific security mechanisms. IPv4 and IPv6 are not directly compatible, so programs and systems designed to one standard can not communicate with those designed to the other. We propose the design and implementation of controlled Internet security system, which is IPsec-based Internet information security system in IPv4/IPv6 network and also we show the data of performance measurement. With the features like improved scalability and routing, security, ease-of-configuration, and higher performance of IPv6, the controlled Internet security system provides consistent security policy and integrated security management on IPsec-based Internet security system.

Keywords: IDS, IPS, IP-Sec, IPv6, IPv4, VPN.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 4508
208 Isolation and Probiotic Characterization of Arsenic-Resistant Lactic Acid Bacteria for Uptaking Arsenic

Authors: Jatindra N. Bhakta, Kouhei Ohnishi, Yukihiro Munekage, Kozo Iwasaki

Abstract:

The growing health hazardous impact of arsenic (As) contamination in environment is the impetus of the present investigation. Application of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) for the removal of toxic and heavy metals from water has been reported. This study was performed in order to isolate and characterize the Asresistant LAB from mud and sludge samples for using as efficient As uptaking probiotic. Isolation of As-resistant LAB colonies was performed by spread plate technique using bromocresol purple impregnated-MRS (BP-MRS) agar media provided with As @ 50 μg/ml. Isolated LAB were employed for probiotic characterization process, acid and bile tolerance, lactic acid production, antibacterial activity and antibiotic tolerance assays. After As-resistant and removal characterizations, the LAB were identified using 16S rDNA sequencing. A total of 103 isolates were identified as As-resistant strains of LAB. The survival of 6 strains (As99-1, As100-2, As101-3, As102-4, As105-7, and As112-9) was found after passing through the sequential probiotic characterizations. Resistant pattern pronounced hollow zones at As concentration >2000 μg/ml in As99-1, As100-2, and As101-3 LAB strains, whereas it was found at ~1000 μg/ml in rest 3 strains. Among 6 strains, the As uptake efficiency of As102-4 (0.006 μg/h/mg wet weight of cell) was higher (17 – 209%) compared to remaining LAB. 16S rDNA sequencing data of 3 (As99- 1, As100-2, and As101-3) and 3 (As102-4, As105-7, and As112-9) LAB strains clearly showed 97 to 99% (340 bp) homology to Pediococcus dextrinicus and Pediococcus acidilactici, respectively. Though, there was no correlation between the metal resistant and removal efficiency of LAB examined but identified elevated As removing LAB would probably be a potential As uptaking probiotic agent. Since present experiment concerned with only As removal from pure water, As removal and removal mechanism in natural condition of intestinal milieu should be assessed in future studies.

Keywords: Lactic acid bacteria, As-resistant, characterization, Pediococcus sp., As removal probiotic.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2683
207 Performance Evaluation of Discrete Fourier Transform Algorithm Based PMU for Wide Area Measurement System

Authors: Alpesh Adeshara, Rajendrasinh Jadeja, Praghnesh Bhatt

Abstract:

Implementation of advanced technologies requires sophisticated instruments that deal with the operation, control, restoration and protection of rapidly growing power system network under normal and abnormal conditions. Presently, the applications of Phasor Measurement Unit (PMU) are widely found in real time operation, monitoring, controlling and analysis of power system network as it eliminates the various limitations of supervisory control and data acquisition system (SCADA) conventionally used in power system. The use of PMU data is very rapidly increasing its importance for online and offline analysis. Wide area measurement system (WAMS) is developed as new technology by use of multiple PMUs in power system. The present paper proposes a model of Matlab based PMU using Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) algorithm and evaluation of its operation under different contingencies. In this paper, PMU based two bus system having WAMS network is presented as a case study.

Keywords: DFT-Discrete Fourier Transform, GPS-Global Positioning System, PMU-Phasor Measurement System, WAMS-Wide Area Monitoring System.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2678
206 Ranking of Performance Measures of GSCM towards Sustainability: Using Analytic Hierarchy Process

Authors: Dixit Garg, S. Luthra, A. Haleem

Abstract:

During recent years, the natural environment has become a challenging topic that business organizations must consider due to the economic and ecological impacts and increasing awareness of environment protection among society. Organizations are trying to achieve the goals of improvement in environment, low cost, high quality, flexibility and more customer satisfaction. Performance measurement frameworks are very useful to monitor the performance of any organization. The basic goal of this paper is to identify performance measures and ranking of these performance measures of GSCM performance measurement towards sustainability framework. Five perspectives (Environment, Economic, Social, Operational and Cost performances) and nineteen performance measures of GSCM performance towards sustainability have been have been identified from extensive literature review. Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) technique has been utilized for ranking of these performance perspectives and measures. All pair comparisons in AHP have been made on the basis on the experts’ opinions (selected from academia and industry). Ranking of these performance perspectives and measures will help to understand the importance of environmental, economic, social, operational performances and cost performances in the supply chain.

Keywords: Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), Green Supply Chain Management, Performance Measures (PM), Sustainability.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3202
205 Legal Regulation and Critical Analysis for an Effectively Treatment of Pharmaceutical Waste

Authors: Merita Dauti, Edita Alili-Idrizi, Sihana Ahmeti–Lika, Ledjan Malaj

Abstract:

The extermination and proper disposal of pharmaceutical wastes from expired and unused medications remains a disputable issue due to their specific nature and characteristics. Even though the hazards from these wastes are already well known in terms of environment and human health, people still treat them as usual wastes. At a national level, in many countries the management of pharmaceutical and medical wastes has been one of the main objectives in order to protect people’s health and the environment. Even though many legal regulations exist in this respect, there has not been a single law that would clearly explain the procedures of returning medicines, ways of selection, treatment and extermination of pharmaceutical wastes. This paper aims at analyzing the practices of pharmaceutical waste management and treatment in some European countries as well as a review of the legislation and official guidelines in managing these kinds of wastes and protecting the environment and human health. A suitable treatment and management of expired medications and other similar wastes would be in the interest of public health in the first place, as well as in the interest of healthcare institutions and other bodies engaged in environment protection.

Keywords: Pharmaceutical waste, legal regulation, proper disposal, environment pollution.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2766
204 Measures for Limiting Corruption upon Migration Wave in Europe

Authors: Jordan Georgiev Deliversky

Abstract:

Fight against migrant smuggling has been put as a priority issues at the European Union policy agenda for more than a decade. The trafficked person, who has been targeted as the object of criminal exploitation, is specifically unique for human trafficking. Generally, the beginning of human trafficking activities is related to profit from the victim’s exploitation. The objective of this paper is to present measures that could result in the limitation of corruption mainly through analyzing the existing legislation framework against corruption in Europe. The analysis is focused on exploring the multiple origins of factors influencing migration processes in Europe, as corruption could be characterized as one of the most significant reasons for refugees to flee their countries. The main results show that law enforcement must turn the focus on the financing of the organized crime groups that are involved in migrant smuggling activities. Corruption has a significant role in managing smuggling operations and in particular when criminal organizations and networks are involved. Illegal migrants and refugees usually represent significant sources of additional income for officials involved in the process of boarding protection and immigration control within the European Union borders.

Keywords: Corruption, influence, human smuggling, legislation, migration.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1043
203 The Impact of Open Defecation on Fecal-Oral Infections: A Case Study in Burat and Ngaremara Wards of Isiolo County, Kenya

Authors: Kimutai Joan Jepkorir, Moturi Wilkister Nyaora

Abstract:

The practice of open defecation can be devastating for human health as well as the environment, and this practice persistence could be due to ingrained habits that individuals continue to engage in despite having a better alternative. Safe disposal of human excreta is essential for public health protection. This study sought to find if open defecation relates to fecal-oral infections in Burat and Ngaremara Wards in Isiolo County. This was achieved through conducting a cross-sectional study. Simple random sampling technique was used to select 385 households that were used in the study. Data collection was done by use of questionnaires and observation checklists. The result show that 66% of the respondents disposed-off fecal matter in a safe manner, whereas 34% disposed-off fecal matter in unsafe manner through open defecation. The prevalence proportions per 1000 of diarrhea and intestinal worms among children under-5 years of age were 142 and 21, respectively. The prevalence proportions per 1000 of diarrhea and typhoid among children over-5 years of age were 20 and 20, respectively.

Keywords: Fecal-oral infections, open defecation, prevalence proportion, sanitation.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 747
202 Groundwater Quality and the Sources of Pollution in Baghan Watershed, Iran

Authors: Abolfazl Moeini, Elahe Alizadeh Paeenafrakaty

Abstract:

The protection of groundwater resources is the great important many semiarid and arid environments. Baghan watershed is located in the north of Kangan in the Boshehr province in Iran. The groundwater resources have a vital role in supplying agricultural, drinking, domestic and industrial water demand in Baghan watershed. For our investigation into the water quality we collected 30 samples to chemical and physical analysis. The result showed the marl and evaporation deposits that contain anhydrite and gypsum is the main source of groundwater pollution, and one part of the groundwater was polluted by oil and gas industrial. Another part of the groundwater was contaminated by urban waste water. The electrical conductivity and captions and anions increased around of towns and gas refinery. Although the negative impact of untreated domestic wastewater is relatively low but the results showed strongly the negative impact of wastewater refinery is very considerable. This negative impact increased in downstream due to shallow aquifer. Additionally, the agents that adversely affect the quality of groundwater come from a variety of sources, including geology, domestic wastewater and the Jam refinery in Baghan watershed.

Keywords: Baghan watershed, Chemical quality, Groundwater, Pollution sources.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2012