Abstract: This paper aims to explain the project carried out at
the University of Cordoba, specifically at the High Polytechnic
School in collaboration with two other organizations belonging to the
Andalusian Ministry of Innovation, Science and Business:
Andalusian Innovation and Development Agency (IDEA agency) [1]
and the Territorial Net of Entrepreneurship Support (in Spanish Red
Territorial de Apoyo al Emprendedor) [11].
The project is being developed in several stages of which only the
first one has already been completed. However, several important
preliminary results derive from it, based mainly in the description of
the nature of entrepreneurship in the field of university education and
its impact on student-s competency as recommended by the European
Higher Education Area. Some problems holding back the correct
future development will also be shown as derived from the specific
context of application of the project.
Abstract: Roundabout work on the principle of circulation and
entry flows, where the maximum entry flow rates depend largely on
circulating flow bearing in mind that entry flows must give away to
circulating flows. Where an existing roundabout has a road hump
installed at the entry arm, it can be hypothesized that the kinematics
of vehicles may prevent the entry arm from achieving optimum
performance. Road humps are traffic calming devices placed across
road width solely as speed reduction mechanism. They are the
preferred traffic calming option in Malaysia and often used on single
and dual carriageway local routes. The speed limit on local routes is
30mph (50 km/hr). Road humps in their various forms achieved the
biggest mean speed reduction (based on a mean speed before traffic
calming of 30mph) of up to 10mph or 16 km/hr according to the UK
Department of Transport. The underlying aim of reduced speed
should be to achieve a 'safe' distribution of speeds which reflects the
function of the road and the impacts on the local community.
Constraining safe distribution of speeds may lead to poor drivers
timing and delayed reflex reaction that can probably cause accident.
Previous studies on road hump impact have focused mainly on speed
reduction, traffic volume, noise and vibrations, discomfort and delay
from the use of road humps. The paper is aimed at optimal entry and
circulating flow induced by road humps. Results show that
roundabout entry and circulating flow perform better in
circumstances where there is no road hump at entrance.
Abstract: The study of the transport coefficients in electronic
devices is currently carried out by analytical and empirical models.
This study requires several simplifying assumptions, generally
necessary to lead to analytical expressions in order to study the
different characteristics of the electronic silicon-based devices.
Further progress in the development, design and optimization of
Silicon-based devices necessarily requires new theory and modeling
tools. In our study, we use the PSO (Particle Swarm Optimization)
technique as a computational tool to develop analytical approaches in
order to study the transport phenomenon of the electron in crystalline
silicon as function of temperature and doping concentration. Good
agreement between our results and measured data has been found.
The optimized analytical models can also be incorporated into the
circuits simulators to study Si-based devices without impact on the
computational time and data storage.
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to study postpartum breastfeeding mothers to determine the impact their psychosocial and spiritual dimensions play in promoting full-term (6 month duration) breastfeeding of their infants. Purposive and snowball sampling methods were used to identify and recruit the study's participants. A total of 23 postpartum mothers, who were breastfeeding within 6 weeks after giving birth, participated in this study. In-depth interviews combined with observations, participant focus groups, and ethnographic records were used for data collection. The Data were then analyzed using content analysis and typology. The results of this study illustrated that postpartum mothers experienced fear and worry that they would lack support from their spouse, family and peers, and that their infant would not get enough milk It was found that the main barrier mothers faced in breastfeeding to full-term was the difficulty of continuing to breastfeed when returning to work. 81.82% of the primiparous mothers and 91.67% of the non-primiparous mothers were able to breastfeed for the desired full-term of 6 months. Factors found to be related to breastfeeding for six months included 1) belief and faith in breastfeeding, 2) support from spouse and family members, 3) counseling from public health nurses and friends. The sample also provided evidence that religious principles such as tolerance, effort, love, and compassion to their infant, and positive thinking, were used in solving their physical, mental and spiritual problems.
Abstract: The objective of this study was to improve our
understanding of vulnerability and environmental change; it's causes
basically show the intensity, its distribution and human-environment
effect on the ecosystem in the Apodi Valley Region, This paper is
identify, assess and classify vulnerability and environmental change
in the Apodi valley region using a combined approach of landscape
pattern and ecosystem sensitivity. Models were developed using the
following five thematic layers: Geology, geomorphology, soil,
vegetation and land use/cover, by means of a Geographical
Information Systems (GIS)-based on hydro-geophysical parameters.
In spite of the data problems and shortcomings, using ESRI-s ArcGIS
9.3 program, the vulnerability score, to classify, weight and combine
a number of 15 separate land cover classes to create a single indicator
provides a reliable measure of differences (6 classes) among regions
and communities that are exposed to similar ranges of hazards.
Indeed, the ongoing and active development of vulnerability
concepts and methods have already produced some tools to help
overcome common issues, such as acting in a context of high
uncertainties, taking into account the dynamics and spatial scale of
asocial-ecological system, or gathering viewpoints from different
sciences to combine human and impact-based approaches. Based on
this assessment, this paper proposes concrete perspectives and
possibilities to benefit from existing commonalities in the
construction and application of assessment tools.
Abstract: Indoor air distribution has great impact on people-s thermal sensation. Therefore, how to remove the indoor excess heat becomes an important issue to create a thermally comfortable indoor environment. To expel the extra indoor heat effectively, this paper used a dynamic CFD approach to study the effect of an air-supply guide vane swinging periodically on the indoor air distribution within a model room. The numerical results revealed that the indoor heat transfer performance caused by the swing guide vane had close relation with the number of vortices developing under the inlet cold jet. At larger swing amplitude, two smaller vortices continued to shed outward under the cold jet and remove the indoor heat load more effectively. As a result, it can be found that the average Nusselt number on the floor increased with the increase of the swing amplitude of the guide vane.
Abstract: In Algeria, liberalization reforms undertaken since the 1990s have resulted in negative effects on the development and management of irrigation schemes, as well as on the conditions of farmers. Reforms have been undertaken to improve the performance of irrigation schemes, such as the national plan of agricultural development (PNDA) in 2000 and the water pricing policy of 2005. However, after implementation of these policies, questions have arisen with regard to irrigation performance and its suitability for agricultural development. Hence, the aim of this paper is to provide insight into the profitability of irrigation during the transition period under current irrigation agricultural policies in Algeria. By using the method of farm crop budget analysis in the East Mitidja irrigation scheme, the returns from using surface water resources based on farm typology were found to vary among crops and farmers- groups within the scheme. Irrigation under the current situation is profitable for all farmers, including both those who benefit from subsidies and those who do not. However, the returns to water were found to be very sensitive to crop price fluctuations, particularly for non-subsidized groups and less so for those whose farming is based on orchards. Moreover, the socio-economic environment of the farmers contributed to less significant impacts of the PNDA policy. In fact, the limiting factor is not only the water, but also the lack of land ownership title. Market access constraints led to less agricultural investment and therefore to low intensification and low water productivity. It is financially feasible to recover the annual O&M costs in the irrigation scheme. By comparing the irrigation water price, returns to water, and O&M costs of water delivery, it is clear that irrigation can be profitable in the future. However, water productivity must be improved by enhancing farmers- income through farming investment, improving assets access, and the allocation of activities and crops which bring high returns to water; this could allow the farmers to pay more for water and allow cost recovery for water systems.
Abstract: Music has a great effect on human body and mind; it
can have a positive effect on hormone system. Objective of this study
is to analysis the effect of music (carnatic, hard rock and jazz) on
brain activity during mental work load using electroencephalography
(EEG). Eight healthy subjects without special musical education
participated in the study. EEG signals were acquired at frontal (Fz),
parietal (Pz) and central (Cz) lobes of brain while listening to music
at three experimental condition (rest, music without mental task and
music with mental task). Spectral powers features were extracted at
alpha, theta and beta brain rhythms. While listening to jazz music, the
alpha and theta powers were significantly (p < 0.05) high for rest as
compared to music with and without mental task in Cz. While
listening to Carnatic music, the beta power was significantly (p <
0.05) high for with mental task as compared to rest and music
without mental task at Cz and Fz location. This finding corroborates
that attention based activities are enhanced while listening to jazz and
carnatic as compare to Hard rock during mental task.
Abstract: The principle concern of this paper is to determine the
impact of solar absorption coefficient of external wall on building
energy consumption. Simulations were carried out on a typical
residential building by using the simulation Toolkit DeST-h. Results
show that reducing solar absorption coefficient leads to a great
reduction in building energy consumption and thus light-colored
materials are suitable.
Abstract: This study examines the impact of working capital
management on firms- performance and market value of the firms in
Nigeria. A sample of fifty four non-financial quoted firms in Nigeria
listed on the Nigeria Stock Exchange was used for this study. Data
were collected from annual reports of the sampled firms for the
period 1995-2009. This result shows there is a significant negative
relationship between cash conversion cycle and market valuation
and firm-s performance. It also shows that debt ratio is positively
related to market valuation and negatively related firm-s
performance. The findings confirm that there is a significant
relationship between Market valuation, profitability and working
capital component in line with previous studies. This mean that
Nigeria firms should ensure adequate management of working
capital especially cash conversion cycle components of account
receivables, account payables and inventories, as efficiency working
capital management is expected to contribute positively to the firms-
market value.
Abstract: Development of motor car safety devices has reduced
fatality rates in car accidents. Yet despite this increase in car safety,
neck injuries resulting from rear impact collisions, particularly at low
speed, remain a primary concern. In this study, FEA(Finite Element
Analysis) of seat was performed to evaluate neck injuries in rear
impact. And the FEA result was verified by comparison with the actual
test results. The dummy used in FE model and actual test is BioRID II
which is regarded suitable for rear impact collision analysis. A
threshold of the BioRID II neck injury indicators was also proposed to
upgrade seat performance in order to reduce whiplash injury. To
optimize the seat for a low-speed rear impact collision, a method was
proposed, which is multi-objective optimization idea using DOE
(Design of Experiments) results.
Abstract: Small tanks, the ancient man-made rain water storage
systems, support the pheasant life and agriculture of the dry zone of
Sri Lanka. Many small tanks were abandoned with time due to
various reasons. Such tanks, rehabilitated in the recent past, were
found to be less sustainable and most of these rehabilitation
approaches have failed. The objective of this research is to assess the
impact of the rehabilitation approaches in the management of small
tanks in the Kurunegala District of Sri Lanka with respect to eight
small tanks. A Sustainability index was developed using seven
indicators representing the ability and commitment of the villagers to
maintain these tanks. The sustainability index of the eight tanks
varied between 79.2 and 47.2 out of a total score of 100. The
conclusion is that, the approaches used for tank rehabilitation have a
significant effect on the sustainability of the management of these
small tanks.
Abstract: For the first incumbent operator it is very important
to understand how to react when the second operator comes to the
market. In this paper which is prepared for preliminary study of
GSM market in Iran, we have studied five MENA markets
according to the similarity point of view. This paper aims at
analyzing the impact of second entrants in selected markets on
certain marketing key performance indicators (KPI) such as:
Market shares (by operator), prepaid share, minutes of use (MoU),
Price and average revenue per user (ARPU) (for total market
each).
Abstract: In the globalization process, when the struggle for minds and values of the people is taking place, the impact of the virtual space can cause unexpected effects and consequences in the process of adjustment of young people in this world. Their special significance is defined by unconscious influence on the underlying process of meaning and therefore the values preached by them are much more effective and affect both the personal characteristics and the peculiarities of adjustment process. Related to this the challenge is to identify factors influencing the reflection characteristics of virtual subjects and measures their impact on the personal characteristics of the students.
Abstract: In this paper, we have proposed two novel plasmonic demultiplexing structures based on metal-insulator-metal surfaces which, beside their compact size, have a very good transmission spectrum. The impact of the key internal parameters on the transmission spectrum is numerically analyzed by using the twodimensional (2D) finite difference time domain (FDTD) method. The proposed structures could be used to develop ultra-compact photonic wavelength demultiplexing devices for large-scale photonic integration.
Abstract: Mobile IP has been developed to provide the
continuous information network access to mobile users. In IP-based
mobile networks, location management is an important component of
mobility management. This management enables the system to track
the location of mobile node between consecutive communications. It
includes two important tasks- location update and call delivery.
Location update is associated with signaling load. Frequent updates
lead to degradation in the overall performance of the network and the
underutilization of the resources. It is, therefore, required to devise
the mechanism to minimize the update rate. Mobile IPv6 (MIPv6)
and Hierarchical MIPv6 (HMIPv6) have been the potential
candidates for deployments in mobile IP networks for mobility
management. HMIPv6 through studies has been shown with better
performance as compared to MIPv6. It reduces the signaling
overhead traffic by making registration process local. In this paper,
we present performance analysis of MIPv6 and HMIPv6 using an
analytical model. Location update cost function is formulated based
on fluid flow mobility model. The impact of cell residence time, cell
residence probability and user-s mobility is investigated. Numerical
results are obtained and presented in graphical form. It is shown that
HMIPv6 outperforms MIPv6 for high mobility users only and for low
mobility users; performance of both the schemes is almost equivalent
to each other.
Abstract: Long term rainfall analysis and prediction is a
challenging task especially in the modern world where the impact of
global warming is creating complications in environmental issues.
These factors which are data intensive require high performance
computational modeling for accurate prediction. This research paper
describes a prototype which is designed and developed on grid
environment using a number of coupled software infrastructural
building blocks. This grid enabled system provides the demanding
computational power, efficiency, resources, user-friendly interface,
secured job submission and high throughput. The results obtained
using sequential execution and grid enabled execution shows that
computational performance has enhanced among 36% to 75%, for
decade of climate parameters. Large variation in performance can be
attributed to varying degree of computational resources available for
job execution.
Grid Computing enables the dynamic runtime selection, sharing
and aggregation of distributed and autonomous resources which plays
an important role not only in business, but also in scientific
implications and social surroundings. This research paper attempts to
explore the grid enabled computing capabilities on weather indices
from HOAPS data for climate impact modeling and change
detection.
Abstract: Web-based technologies have created numerous
opportunities for electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) communication.
There are many factors that affect customer adoption and decisionmaking
process. However, only a few researches focus on some
factors such as the membership time of forum and propensity to trust.
Using a discrete-time event simulation to simulate a diffusion model
along with a consumer decision model, the study shows the effect of
each factor on adoption of opinions on on-line discussion forum. The
purpose of this study is to examine the effect of factor affecting
information adoption and decision making process. The model is
constructed to test quantitative aspects of each factor. The simulation
study shows the membership time and the propensity to trust has an
effect on information adoption and purchasing decision. The result of
simulation shows that the longer the membership time in the
communities and the higher propensity to trust could lead to the
higher demand rates because consumers find it easier and faster to
trust the person in the community and then adopt the eWOM. Other
implications for both researchers and practitioners are provided.
Abstract: Urban disaster risks and vulnerabilities are great problems for Turkey. The annual loss of life and property through disaster in the world-s major metropolitan areas is increasing. Urban concentrations of the poor and less-informed in environmentally fragile locations suffer the impact of disaster disproportionately. Gecekondu (squatter) developments will compound the inherent risks associated with high-density environments, in appropriate technologies, and inadequate infrastructure. On the other hand, there are many geological disadvantages such as sitting on top of active tectonic plate boundaries, and why having avalanche, flood, and landslide and drought prone areas in Turkey. However, this natural formation is inevitable; the only way to survive in such a harsh geography is to be aware of importance of these natural events and to take political and physical measures. The main aim of this research is to bring up the magnitude of natural hazard risks in Izmir built-up zone, not being taken into consideration adequately. Because the dimensions of the peril are not taken seriously enough, the natural hazard risks, which are commonly well known, are not considered important or they are being forgotten after some time passes. Within this research, the magnitude of natural hazard risks for Izmir is being presented in the scope of concrete and local researches over Izmir risky areas.
Abstract: Transport and land use are two systems that are
mutually influenced. Their interaction is a complex process
associated with continuous feedback. The paper examines the
existing land use around an under construction metro station of the
new metro network of Thessaloniki, Greece, through the use of field
investigations, around the station-s predefined location. Moreover,
except from the analytical land use recording, a sampling
questionnaire survey is addressed to several selected enterprises of
the study area. The survey aims to specify the characteristics of the
enterprises, the trip patterns of their employees and clients, as well as
the stated preferences towards the changes the new metro station is
considered to bring to the area. The interpretation of the interrelationships
among selected data from the questionnaire survey takes
place using the method of Principal Components Analysis for
Categorical Data. The followed methodology and the survey-s results
contribute to the enrichment of the relevant bibliography concerning
the way the creation of a new metro station can have an impact on the
land use pattern of an area, by examining the situation before the
operation of the station.