Abstract: Business models are shaped by their design space or the environment they are designed to be implemented in. The rapidly changing economic, technological, political, regulatory and market external environment severely affects business logic. This is particularly true for social enterprises whose core mission is to transform their environments, and thus, their whole business logic revolves around the interchange between the enterprise and the environment. The context in which social business operates imposes different business design constraints while at the same time, open up new design opportunities. It is also affected to a great extent by the impact that successful enterprises generate; a continuous loop of interaction that needs to be managed through a dynamic capability in order to generate a lasting powerful impact. This conceptual research synthesizes and analyzes literature on social enterprise, social enterprise business models, business model innovation, business model design, and the open system view theory to propose a new business model design process for social enterprises that takes into account the critical role of environmental factors. This process would help the social enterprise develop a dynamic capability that ensures the alignment of its business model to its environmental context, thus, maximizing its probability of success.
Abstract: Reinforced concrete bridges designed by code are intended to achieve target reliability levels adequate for the geographical environment where the code is applicable. Several methods can be used to estimate such reliability levels. Many of them require the establishment of an explicit limit state function (LSF). When such LSF is not available as a close-form expression, the simulation techniques are often employed. The simulation methods are computing intensive and time consuming. Note that if the reliability of real bridges designed by code is of interest, numerical schemes, the finite element method (FEM) or computational mechanics could be required. In these cases, it can be quite difficult (or impossible) to establish a close-form of the LSF, and the simulation techniques may be necessary to compute reliability levels. To overcome the need for a large number of simulations when no explicit LSF is available, the point estimate method (PEM) could be considered as an alternative. It has the advantage that only the probabilistic moments of the random variables are required. However, in the PEM, fitting of the resulting moments of the LSF to a probability density function (PDF) is needed. In the present study, a very simple alternative which allows the assessment of the reliability levels when no explicit LSF is available and without the need of extensive simulations is employed. The alternative includes the use of the PEM, and its applicability is shown by assessing reliability levels of reinforced concrete bridges in Mexico when a numerical scheme is required. Comparisons with results by using the Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) technique are included. To overcome the problem of approximating the probabilistic moments from the PEM to a PDF, a well-known distribution is employed. The approach mixes the PEM and other classic reliability method (first order reliability method, FORM). The results in the present study are in good agreement whit those computed with the MCS. Therefore, the alternative of mixing the reliability methods is a very valuable option to determine reliability levels when no close form of the LSF is available, or if numerical schemes, the FEM or computational mechanics are employed.
Abstract: During the past two decades, photoinitiated polymerization has been attracting a great interest in terms of scientific and industrial activity. The wide recognition of UV treatment in the polymer industry results not only from its many practical applications but also from its advantage for low-cost processes. Unlike most thermal curing systems, radiation-curable systems can polymerize at room temperature without additional heat, and the curing is completed in a very short time. The advantage of cationic UV technology is that post-cure can continue in the ‘dark’ after radiation. In this study, bio-based acrylated epoxidized soybean oil (AESO) was cured with UV radiation using radicalic photoinitiator Irgacure 184. Triarylsulphonium hexafluoroantimonate was used as cationic photoinitiator for curing of 3,4-epoxycyclohexylmethyl-3,4-epoxycyclohexanecarboxylate. The effect of curing time and the amount of initiators on the curing degree and thermal properties were investigated. The thermal properties of the coating were analyzed after crosslinking UV irradiation. The level of crosslinking in the coating was evaluated by FTIR analysis. Cationic UV-cured coatings demonstrated excellent adhesion and corrosion resistance properties. Therefore, our study holds a great potential with its simple and low-cost applications.
Abstract: Irish identity continues to be discussed in various fields including social science, culture, literary humanities as well as political debates. In this context, Irishness had been usurped for a long time by the hegemonic power of the British Empire. That is why, Irish writers, in general, and Seamus Heaney along with William Butler Yeats, in particular, endeavored to retrieve this lost identity by shedding light on Irish history, folklore, communal traditions, landscape, indigenous people, language as well as culture. In this context, we may speak of a decolonizing attempt that allowed these writers to represent the autonomous Irish subjectivity by establishing an ethical relationship based on an extraordinary approach to the represented alterity. This article, indeed, places itself within the arena of postmodern, postcolonial discussions of the issue of identity and, particularly, of Irishness.
Abstract: The complexity of scavenging by ports and its impact on engine efficiency create the need to understand and to model it as realistically as possible. However, there are few empirical scavenging models and these are highly specialized. In a design optimization process, they appear very restricted and their field of use is limited. This paper presents a comparison of two methods to establish and reduce a model of the scavenging process in 2-stroke diesel engines. To solve the lack of scavenging models, a CFD model has been developed and is used as the referent case. However, its large size requires a reduction. Two techniques have been tested depending on their fields of application: The NTF method and neural networks. They both appear highly appropriate drastically reducing the model’s size (over 90% reduction) with a low relative error rate (under 10%). Furthermore, each method produces a reduced model which can be used in distinct specialized fields of application: the distribution of a quantity (mass fraction for example) in the cylinder at each time step (pseudo-dynamic model) or the qualification of scavenging at the end of the process (pseudo-static model).
Abstract: Even its content is rich in antioxidants ϒ-oryzanol, rice bran is not used properly as functional food. This research aims to (1) extract ϒ-oryzanol; (2) determine the solubility of ϒ-oryzanol in supercritical CO2 based on phase equilibrium theory; and (3) study the effect of process variables on solubility. Extraction experiments were carried out for rice bran (5 g) at various extraction pressures, temperatures and reaction times. The flowrate of supercritical fluid through the extraction vessel was 25 g/min. The extracts were collected and analysed with high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC). The conclusion based on the experiments are as: (1) The highest experimental solubility was 0.303 mcg/mL RBO at T= 60°C, P= 90 atm, t= 30 min; (2) Solubility of ϒ-oryzanol was influenced by pressure and temperature. As the pressure and temperature increase, the solubility increases; (3) The solubility data of supercritical extraction can be successfully determined using phase equilibrium theory. Meanwhile, tocopherol was found and slightly investigated in this work.
Abstract: An analysis of the distribution of nurses’ working time constitutes vital information for the management in planning employment. The objective of the study was to analyze the distribution of nurses’ working time in an emergency department. The study was conducted in an emergency department of a teaching hospital in Lublin, in Southeast Poland. The catalogue of activities performed by nurses was compiled by means of continuous observation. Identified activities were classified into four groups: Direct care, indirect care, coordination of work in the department and personal activities. Distribution of nurses’ working time was determined by work sampling observation (Tippett) at random intervals. The research project was approved by the Research Ethics Committee by the Medical University of Lublin (Protocol 0254/113/2010). On average, nurses spent 31% of their working time on direct care, 47% on indirect care, 12% on coordinating work in the department and 10% on personal activities. The most frequently performed direct care tasks were diagnostic activities – 29.23% and treatment-related activities – 27.69%. The study has provided information on the complexity of performed activities and utilization of nurses’ working time. Enhancing the effectiveness of nursing actions requires working out a strategy for improved management of the time nurses spent at work. Increasing the involvement of auxiliary staff and optimizing communication processes within the team may lead to reduction of the time devoted to indirect care for the benefit of direct care.
Abstract: The goal of engineering education is to prepare students to cope with problems of real devices and systems. Usually there are not enough devices or time for conducting experiments in a real lab. Other factors that prevent the use of lab devices directly by students are inaccessible or dangerous phenomena, or polluting chemical reactions. The technology brings additional strategies of learning and teaching, there are two types of online labs, virtual and remote labs RL. We present an example of a successful development and deployment of a remote lab in the field of engineering education, integrated in the Moodle platform, using very low-coast, high documented devices and free software. The remote lab is user friendly for both teachers and students. Our web 2.0 based user interface would attract and motivate students, as well as solving the problem of larger classes and expensive lab devices.
Abstract: The use of social media has become more defined. It has been widely used for the purpose of business. More marketers are now using social media as tools to enhance their businesses. Whereas on the other hand, there are more and more people spending their time through mobile apps to be engaged in the social media sites like YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and others. Social media has even become common in Public Relations (PR). It has become number one platform for creating and sharing content. In view to this, social media has changed the rules in PR where it brings new challenges and opportunities to the profession. Although corporate websites, chat-rooms, email customer response facilities and electronic news release distribution are now viewed as standard aspects of PR practice, many PR practitioners are still struggling with the impact of new media though the implementation of social media is potentially reducing the cost of communication. It is to the point that PR practitioners are not fully embracing new media, they are ill-equipped to do so and they have a fear of the technology. Somehow that social media has become a new style of communication that is characterized by conversation and community. It has become a platform that allows individuals to interact with one another and build relationship among each other. Therefore, in the use of business world, consumers are able to interact with those companies that have joined any social media. Based on their experiences with social networking site interactions, they are also exposed to personal interaction while communicating. This paper is to study the impact of social media to PR. This paper discovers the potential changes of PR practices in a developing country like Malaysia. Eventually the study reflects on how PR practitioners are actually using social media in the country. This paper is based on two theories in its development of this research foundation. Media Ecology Theory is to support the impact and changes to PR. Social Penetration Theory is to reflect on how the use of social media is among PRs. This research is using survey with PR practitioners in its data collection. The results have shown that PR professionals value social media more than they actually use it and the way of organizations communicate had been changed due to the transformation of social media.
Abstract: Course timetabling problems occur every semester in a university which includes the allocation of resources (subjects, lecturers and students) to a number of fixed rooms and timeslots. The assignment is carried out in a way such that there are no conflicts within rooms, students and lecturers, as well as fulfilling a range of constraints. The constraints consist of rules and policies set up by the universities as well as lecturers’ and students’ preferences of courses to be allocated in specific timeslots. This paper specifically focuses on the preferences of the course timetabling problem in one of the public universities in Malaysia. The demands will be considered into our existing mathematical model to make it more generalized and can be used widely. We have distributed questionnaires to a number of lecturers and students of the university to investigate their demands and preferences for their desired course timetable. We classify the preferences thus converting them to construct one mathematical model that can produce such timetable.
Abstract: In this study, the potential of heat recovery from waste flue gas was examined in 60 MW district heating system of a university, and fuel saving was aimed by using the recovered heat in the system as a source again. Various scenarios are intended to make use of waste heat. For this purpose, actual operation data of the system were taken. Besides, the heat recovery units that consist of heat exchangers such as flue gas condensers, economizers or air pre-heaters were designed theoretically for each scenario. Energy analysis of natural gas-fired boiler’s exhaust flue gas in the system, and economic analysis of heat recovery units to predict payback periods were done. According to calculation results, the waste heat loss ratio from boiler flue gas in the system was obtained as average 16%. Thanks to the heat recovery units, thermal efficiency of the system can be increased, and fuel saving can be provided. At the same time, a huge amount of green gas emission can be decreased by installing the heat recovery units.
Abstract: Carbon dioxide (CO2) emission to the environment is inevitable which is responsible for global warming. Photocatalytic reduction of CO2 to fuel, such as methanol, methane etc. is a promising way to reduce greenhouse gas CO2 emission. In the present work, Bi2S3/CdS was synthesized as an effective visible light responsive photocatalyst for CO2 reduction into methanol. The Bi2S3/CdS photocatalyst was prepared by hydrothermal reaction. The catalyst was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) instrument. The photocatalytic activity of the catalyst has been investigated for methanol production as a function of time. Gas chromatograph flame ionization detector (GC-FID) was employed to analyze the product. The yield of methanol was found to increase with higher CdS concentration in Bi2S3/CdS and the maximum yield was obtained for 45 wt% of Bi2S3/CdS under visible light irradiation was 20 μmole/g. The result establishes that Bi2S3/CdS is favorable catalyst to reduce CO2 to methanol.
Abstract: In present scenario, cardiovascular problems are growing challenge for researchers and physiologists. As heart disease have no geographic, gender or socioeconomic specific reasons; detecting cardiac irregularities at early stage followed by quick and correct treatment is very important. Electrocardiogram is the finest tool for continuous monitoring of heart activity. Heart rate variability (HRV) is used to measure naturally occurring oscillations between consecutive cardiac cycles. Analysis of this variability is carried out using time domain, frequency domain and non-linear parameters. This paper presents HRV analysis of the online dataset for normal sinus rhythm (taken as healthy subject) and sudden cardiac death (SCD subject) using all three methods computing values for parameters like standard deviation of node to node intervals (SDNN), square root of mean of the sequences of difference between adjacent RR intervals (RMSSD), mean of R to R intervals (mean RR) in time domain, very low-frequency (VLF), low-frequency (LF), high frequency (HF) and ratio of low to high frequency (LF/HF ratio) in frequency domain and Poincare plot for non linear analysis. To differentiate HRV of healthy subject from subject died with SCD, k –nearest neighbor (k-NN) classifier has been used because of its high accuracy. Results show highly reduced values for all stated parameters for SCD subjects as compared to healthy ones. As the dataset used for SCD patients is recording of their ECG signal one hour prior to their death, it is therefore, verified with an accuracy of 95% that proposed algorithm can identify mortality risk of a patient one hour before its death. The identification of a patient’s mortality risk at such an early stage may prevent him/her meeting sudden death if in-time and right treatment is given by the doctor.
Abstract: By applying coating onto a structural component, the corrosion and/or wear resistance requirements of the surface can be fulfilled. Since the layer adhesion of the coating influences the mechanical integrity of the coat/substrate interface during the service time, it should be examined accurately. At the present work, the tensile bonding strength of the 316 stainless steel plasma sprayed coating on aluminum substrate was determined by using tensile adhesion test, TAT, specimen. The interfacial fracture toughness was specified using four-point bend specimen containing a saw notch and modified chevron-notched short-bar (SB) specimen. The coating microstructure and fractured specimen surface were examined by using scanning electron- and optical-microscopy. The investigation of coated surface after tensile adhesion test indicates that the failure mechanism is mostly cohesive and rarely adhesive type. The calculated value of critical strain energy release rate proposes relatively good interface status. It seems that four-point bending test offers a potentially more sensitive means for evaluation of mechanical integrity of coating/substrate interfaces than is possible with the tensile test. The fracture toughness value reported for the modified chevron-notched short-bar specimen testing cannot be taken as absolute value because its calculation is based on the minimum stress intensity coefficient value which has been suggested for the fracture toughness determination of homogeneous parts in the ASTM E1304-97 standard.
Abstract: In this paper, we discuss the deteriorated standing of engineering companies, some of the reasons behind it and the problems facing engineering enterprises during the financial crisis. We show the part that financial analysis plays in the detection of the main factors affecting the standing of a company, classify internal problems and the reasons influencing efficiency thereof. The publication contains the analysis of municipal engineering companies in post-Soviet transitional economies. In the wake of the 2008 world financial crisis the issue became even more poignant. It should be said though that even before the problem had been no less acute for some post-Soviet states caught up in a lengthy transitional period. The paper highlights shortcomings in the management of transportation companies, with new, more appropriate methods suggested. In analyzing the financial stability of a company, three elements need to be considered: current assets, investment policy and structural management of the funding sources leveraging the stability, should be focused on. Inappropriate management of the three may create certain financial problems, with timely and accurate detection thereof being an issue in terms of improved standing of an enterprise. In this connection, the publication contains a diagram reflecting the reasons behind the deteriorated financial standing of a company, as well as a flow chart thereof. The main reasons behind low profitability are also discussed.
Abstract: Various retrofit techniques for reinforced concrete frame with infill wall have been steadily developed. Among those techniques, strengthening methodology based on diagonal FRP strips (FRP bracings) has numerous advantages such as feasibility of implementing without interrupting the building under operation, reduction of cost and time, and easy application. Considering the safety of structure and retrofit cost, the most appropriate retrofit solution is needed. Thus, the objective of this study is to suggest pareto-optimal solution for existing building using FRP bracings. To find pareto-optimal solution analysis, NSGA-II is applied. Moreover, the seismic performance of retrofit building is evaluated. The example building is 5-storey, 3-bay RC frames with infill wall. Nonlinear static pushover analyses are performed with FEMA 356. The criterion of performance evaluation is inter-story drift ratio at the performance level IO, LS, CP. Optimal retrofit solutions is obtained for 32 individuals and 200 generations. Through the proposed optimal solutions, we confirm the improvement of seismic performance of the example building.
Abstract: Today Internet has very important role to promote products and services all over the world. Companies and destinations in tourism industry use Internet to sell and to promote their core products to directly potential tourists. Internet technologies have redefined the relationships between tourists, tourism companies, and travel agents. The new relationship allows for accessing and tapping tourism information and services. Internet technologies ensure new opportunities to available for the tourism industry, including travel accommodation, and tourist destination organizations. Websites are important devices to the marketing of a destination. Most people make a research about the destination before arriving via internet. Governments have a considerable role in the process of marketing tourism destinations. Governments make policies and regulations; furthermore, they help to market destinations to potential tourists. Governments have a comprehensive overview of the sector to see changes in tourism market and design better policies, programs and marketing plans. At the same time, governments support developing of alternative tourism in the country with regulations and marketing tools. The aim of this study is to analyse of an Internet website of governmental tourism portal in Turkey to determine effectiveness about gastronomy tourism. The Turkish government has established a culture portal for foreign and local tourists. The Portal provides local and general information about tourism attractions of cities and Turkey. There are 81 official cities in Turkey and all these cities are conducted to analyse to determine how effective marketing is done by Turkish Government in the manner of gastronomy tourism. A content analysis will be conducted to Internet website of the portal with food content, recipes and gastronomic feature of cities.
Abstract: With the aging of the world population and the
continuous growth in technology, service robots are more and more
explored nowadays as alternatives to healthcare givers or personal
assistants for the elderly or disabled people. Any service robot
should be capable of interacting with the human companion, receive
commands, navigate through the environment, either known or
unknown, and recognize objects. This paper proposes an approach
for object recognition based on the use of depth information and
color images for a service robot. We present a study on two of the
most used methods for object detection, where 3D data is used to
detect the position of objects to classify that are found on horizontal
surfaces. Since most of the objects of interest accessible for service
robots are on these surfaces, the proposed 3D segmentation reduces
the processing time and simplifies the scene for object recognition.
The first approach for object recognition is based on color histograms,
while the second is based on the use of the SIFT and SURF feature
descriptors. We present comparative experimental results obtained
with a real service robot.
Abstract: The result of suggestion for low energy diet (1,000-1,200 kcal) in obese women to the effect on body weight, waist circumference and body mass index (BMI) in this experiment. Quisi experimental research was used for this study and it is a One-group pretest-posttest designs measurement method. The aim of this study was body weight, waist circumference and body mass index (BMI) reduction by using low energy diet (1,000-1,200 kcal) in obese women, the result found that in 15 of obese women that contained their body mass index (BMI) ≥ 30, after they obtained low energy diet (1,000-1,200 kcal) within 2 weeks. The data were collected before and after of testing the results showed that the average of body weight decrease 3.4 kilogram, waist circumference value decrease 6.1 centimeter and the body mass index (BMI) decrease 1.3 kg.m2 from their previous body weight, waist circumference and body mass index (BMI) before experiment started. After this study, the volunteers got healthy and they can choose or select some food for themselves. For this study, the research can be improved for data development for forward study in the future.
Abstract: Although, reliability is an important attribute of quality, especially for mission critical systems, yet, there does not exist any versatile model even today for the reliability assessment of component-based software. The existing Black Box models are found to make various assumptions which may not always be realistic and may be quite contrary to the actual behaviour of software. They focus on observing the manner in which the system behaves without considering the structure of the system, the components composing the system, their interconnections, dependencies, usage frequencies, etc.As a result, the entropy (uncertainty) in assessment using these models is much high.Though, there are some models based on operation profile yet sometimes it becomes extremely difficult to obtain the exact operation profile concerned with a given operation. This paper discusses the drawbacks, deficiencies and limitations of Black Box approaches from the perspective of various authors and finally proposes a conceptual model for the reliability assessment of software.