Abstract: Uniqueness and distinctiveness of localities (referred to as genius loci or sense of place) are important to ensure people-s identification with their locality. Existing frameworks reveals that the affective dimension of environments is rarely mentioned or explored and limited public participation was used in constructing the frameworks. This research argues that the complexity of sense of place would be recognised and appropriate planning guidelines formulated by exploring and integrating the affective dimension of a site. Aims of the research therefore are to (i) explore relational dimensions between people and a natural rural landscape, (ii) to implement a participatory approach to obtain insight into different relational dimensions, and (ii) to concretise socio-affective relational dimensions into site planning guidelines. A qualitative, interdisciplinary research approach was followed and conducted on the farm Kromdraai, Vredefort Dome World Heritage Site. In essence the first phase of the study reveals various affective responses and projections of personal meanings. The findings in phase 1 informed the second phase, to involve people from various disciplines and different involvement with the area to make visual presentations of appropriate planning and design of the site in order to capture meanings of the interactions between people and their environment. Final site planning and design guidelines were formulated, based on these. This research contributed to provide planners with new possibilities of exploring the dimensions between people and places as well as to develop appropriate methods for participation to obtain insight into the underlying meanings of sites.
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.
Abstract: This paper develops a pedometer with a three-axis acceleration sensor that can be placed with any angle. The proposed pedometer measures the number of steps while users walk, jog or run. It can be worn on users’ waistband or placed within pocket or backpack. The work address to improve on the general pedometers, which can only be used in a single direction or can only count of steps without the continuous exercise judgment mechanism. Finally, experimental results confirm the superior performance of the proposed pedometer.
Abstract: The deficit of power supply in Macedonia is almost 30% or reached up to 3000 GWh in a year. The existing thermal and hydro power plants are not enough to cover the power and energy, so the import increases every year. Therefore, in order to have more domestic energy supply, the new trends in renewable and energy efficiency should be implemented in power sector. The paper gives some perspectives for development of the power system in Macedonia, taking into account the growth of electricity demand and in the same time with implementation of renewable and energy efficiency. The development of power system is made for the period up to 2030 with the period of every 5 years.
Abstract: An experiment was performed in the south of
Morocco in order to evaluate the effect of deficit irrigation by treated
wastewater on chickpea production. We applied six irrigation
treatments on a local variety of chickpea by supplying alternatively
50 or 100% of ETm in a completely randomized design.
We found a highly significant difference between treatments in
terms of biomass production. Drought stress during the vegetative
period showed highest yield with 6.5 t/ha which was more than the
yield obtained for the control (4.9 t/ha). The optimal crop stage in
which deficit irrigation can be applied is the vegetative growth stage,
as the crop has a chance to develop its root system, to be able to
cover the plant needs for water and nutrient supply during the rest of
cycle, and non stress conditions during the flowering and seed filling
stages allow the plant to optimize its photosynthesis and carbon
translocation, therefore increase its productivity.
Abstract: This paper explores the sense of place in the Vredefort Dome World Heritage site, South Africa, as an essential input for the formulation of spatial planning proposals for the area. Intangible aspects such as personal and symbolic meanings of sites are currently not integrated in spatial planning in South Africa. This may have a detrimental effect on local inhabitants who have a long history with the site and built up a strong place identity. Involving local inhabitants at an early stage of the planning process and incorporating their attitudes and opinions in future intervention in the area, may also contribute to the acceptance of the legitimacy of future policy. An interdisciplinary and mixed-method research approach was followed in this study in order to identify possible ways to anchor spatial planning proposals in the identity of the place. In essence, the qualitative study revealed that inhabitants reflect a deep and personal relationship with and within the area, which contributes significantly to their sense of emotional security and selfidentity. Results include a strong conservation-orientated attitude with regard to the natural rural character of the site, especially in the inner core.
Abstract: This study aims to investigate empirically the valuerelevance
of accounting information to domestic investors in Tehran
stock exchange from 1999 to 2006. During the present research
impacts of two factors, including positive vs. negative earnings and
the firm size are considered as well. The authors used earnings per
share and annual change of earnings per share as the income
statement indices, and book value of equity per share as the balance
sheet index. Return and Price models through regression analysis are
deployed in order to test the research hypothesis. Results depicted
that accounting information is value-relevance to domestic investors
in Tehran Stock Exchange according to both studied models.
However, income statement information has more value-relevance
than the balance sheet information. Furthermore, positive vs. negative
earnings and firm size seems to have significant impact on valuerelevance
of accounting information.
Abstract: The aim of the study was to investigate the possible
use of commercial Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software in
the design process of a domestic gas boiler. Because of the limited
computational resources some simplifications had to be made in
order to contribute to the design in a reasonable timescale.
The porous media model was used in order to simulate the
influence of the pressure drop characteristic of particular elements of
a heat transfer system on the water-flow distribution in the system.
Further, a combination of CFD analyses and spread sheet
calculations was used in order to solve the flow distribution problem.
Abstract: International trade involves both large and small firms
engaged in business overseas. Possible drivers that force companies
to enter international markets include increasing competition at the
domestic market, maturing domestic markets, and limited domestic
market opportunities. Technology is an important driving factor in
shaping international marketing strategy as well as in driving force
towards a more global marketplace, especially technology in
communication. It includes telephones, the internet, computer
systems and e-mail. There are three main marketing strategy choices,
namely standardization approach, adaptation approach and middleof-
the-road approach that companies implement to overseas markets.
The decision depends on situations and factors facing the companies
in the international markets. In this paper, the contingency concept is
considered that no single strategy can be effective in all contexts.
The effect of strategy on performance depends on specific situational
variables. Strategic fit is employed to investigate export marketing
strategy adaptation under certain environmental conditions, which in
turn can lead to superior performance.
Abstract: In today scenario, to meet enhanced demand imposed
by domestic, commercial and industrial consumers, various
operational & control activities of Radial Distribution Network
(RDN) requires a focused attention. Irrespective of sub-domains
research aspects of RDN like network reconfiguration, reactive
power compensation and economic load scheduling etc, network
performance parameters are usually estimated by an iterative process
and is commonly known as load (power) flow algorithm. In this
paper, a simple mechanism is presented to implement the load flow
analysis (LFA) algorithm. The reported algorithm utilizes graph
theory principles and is tested on a 69- bus RDN.
Abstract: In this paper we present a Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy
System (ANFIS) with inputs the lagged dependent variable for the
prediction of Gross domestic Product growth rate in six countries.
We compare the results with those of Autoregressive (AR) model.
We conclude that the forecasting performance of neuro-fuzzy-system
in the out-of-sample period is much more superior and can be a very
useful alternative tool used by the national statistical services and the
banking and finance industry.
Abstract: Essential hypertension (HTN) usually clusters with other cardiovascular risk factors such as age, overweight, diabetes, insulin resistance and dyslipidemia. The target organ damage (TOD) such as left ventricular hypertrophy, microalbuminuria (MA), acute coronary syndrome (ACS), stroke and cognitive dysfunction takes place early in course of hypertension. Though the prevalence of hypertension is high in India, the relationship between microalbuminuria and target organ damage in hypertension is not well studied. This study aim at detecting MA in essential hypertension and its relation to severity of HTN, duration of HTN, body mass index (BMI), age and TOD such as HTN retinopathy and acute coronary syndrome The present study was done in 100 patients of essential hypertension non diabetics admitted to B.L.D.E.University-s Sri B.M.Patil Medical College, Bijapur, from October 2008 to April 2011. The patients underwent detailed history and clinical examination. Early morning 5 ml of urine sample was collected & MA was estimated by immunoturbidometry method. The relationship of MA with the duration & severity of HTN, BMI, age, sex and TOD's like hypertensive retinopathy, ACS was assessed by univariate analysis. The prevalence of MA in this study was found to be 63 %. In that 42% were male & 21% were female. In this study a significant association between MA and the duration of hypertension (p = 0.036) & (OR =0.438). Longer the duration of hypertension, more possibility of microalbumin in urine. Also there was a significant association between severity of hypertension and MA (p=0.045) and (OR=0.093). MA was positive in 50 (79.4%) patients out of 63, whose blood pressure was >160/100 mm Hg. In this study a significant association between MA and the grades of hypertensive retinopathy (p =0.011) and acute coronary syndrome (p = 0.041) (OR =2.805). Gender and BMI did not pose high risk for MA in this study.The prevalence of MA in essential hypertension is high in this part of the community and MA will increase the risk of developing target organ damage.Early screening of patients with essential hypertension for MA and aggressive management of positive cases might reduce the burden of chronic kidney diseases and cardiovascular diseases in the community.
Abstract: The refueling of a transparent rectangular fuel tank
fitted with a standard filler pipe and roll-over valve was
experimentally studied. A fuel-conditioning cart, capable of
handling fuels of different Reid vapor pressure at a constant
temperature, was used to dispense fuel at the desired rate. The
experimental protocol included transient recording of the tank and
filler tube pressures while video recording the flow patterns in the
filler tube and tank during the refueling process. This information
was used to determine the effect of changes in the vent tube
diameter, fuel-dispense flow rate and fuel Reid vapor pressure on the
pressure-time characteristics and the occurrence of premature fuel
filling shut-off and fuel spill-back. Pressure-time curves for the case
of normal shut-off demonstrated the classic, three-phase
characteristic noted in the literature. The variation of the maximum
values of tank dome and filler tube pressures are analyzed in relation
to the occurrence of premature shut-off.
Abstract: The most common domestic birds live in Turkey are: crows (Corvus corone), pigeons (Columba livia), sparrows (Passer domesticus), starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) and blackbirds (Turdus merula). These birds give damage to the agricultural areas and make dirty the human life areas. In order to send away these birds, some different materials and methods such as chemicals, treatments, colored lights, flash and audible scarers are used. It is possible to see many studies about chemical methods in the literatures. However there is not enough works regarding audible bird scarers are reported in the literature. Therefore, a solar powered bird scarer was designed, manufactured and tested in this experimental investigation. Firstly, to understand the sensitive level of these domestic birds against to the audible scarer, many series preliminary studies were conducted. These studies showed that crows are the most resistant against to the audible bird scarer when compared with pigeons, sparrows, starlings and blackbirds. Therefore the solar powered audible bird scarer was tested on crows. The scarer was tested about one month during April- May, 2007. 18 different common known predators- sounds (voices or calls) of domestic birds from Falcon (Falco eleonorae), Falcon (Buteo lagopus), Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), Montagu-s harrier (Circus pygargus) and Owl (Glaucidium passerinum) were selected for test of the scarer. It was seen from the results that the reaction of the birds was changed depending on the predators- sound type, camouflage of the scarer, sound quality and volume, loudspeaker play and pause periods in one application. In addition, it was also seen that the sound from Falcon (Buteo lagopus) was most effective on crows and the scarer was enough efficient.
Abstract: Recently in the field of bridges that are newly built or
repaired, fast construction is required more than ever. For these
reasons, precast prefabricated bridge that enables rapid construction is
actively discussed and studied today. In South Korea, it is called
modular bridge. Cross beam is an integral component of modular
bridge. It functions for load distribution, reduction of bending
moment, resistance of horizontal strength on lateral upper structure. In
this study, the structural characteristics of domestic and foreign cross
beam types were compared. Based on this, alternative cross beam
connection types suitable for modular bridge were selected. And
bulb-T girder specimens were fabricated with each type of connection.
The behavior of each specimen was analyzed under static loading, and
cross beam connection type which is expected to be best suited to
modular bridge proposed.
Abstract: Cooling with sound is a physical phenomenon allowed by Thermo-Acoustics in which acoustic energy is transformed into a negative heat transfer, in other words: into cooling! Without needing any harmful gas, the transformation is environmentally friendly and can respond to many needs in terms of air conditioning, food refrigeration for domestic use, and cooling medical samples for example. To explore the possibilities of this cooling solution on a small scale, the TACS prototype has been designed, consisting of a low cost thermoacoustic refrigerant “pipe” able to lower the temperature by a few degrees. The obtained results are providing an interesting element for possible future of thermo-acoustic refrigeration.
Abstract: This paper examines economic and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) development influence on recently increasing Internet purchases by individuals for European Union member states. After a growing trend for Internet purchases in EU27 was noticed, all possible regression analysis was applied using nine independent variables in 2011. Finally, two linear regression models were studied in detail. Conducted simple linear regression analysis confirmed the research hypothesis that the Internet purchases in analyzed EU countries is positively correlated with statistically significant variable Gross Domestic Product per capita (GDPpc). Also, analyzed multiple linear regression model with four regressors, showing ICT development level, indicates that ICT development is crucial for explaining the Internet purchases by individuals, confirming the research hypothesis.
Abstract: Social-economic variables influence transportation
demand largely. Analyses of discrete choice model consider
social-economic variables to study traveler-s mode choice and
demand. However, to calibrate the discrete choice model needs to have
plenty of questionnaire survey. Also, an aggregative model is
proposed. The historical data of passenger volumes for high speed rail
and domestic civil aviation are employed to calibrate and validate the
model. In this study, models with different social-economic variables,
which are oil price, GDP per capita, CPI and economic growth rate,
are compared. From the results, the model with the oil price is better
than models with the other social-economic variables.
Abstract: In this paper, taking Chinese Nanjing Metro ALSTOM vehicle synthesis brake as an example, the subway with synthetic brake shoe formula components of final product performance, has done a lot of research and performance test, final is drawn with hybrid fiber as reinforcing material, modified phenolic resin as matrix material, and then filling friction modifier performance, by the hot pressing process made a new type of domestic subway brake shoe. The product of the test performance indicators that can replace the similar foreign products.
Abstract: This paper employs a the variable returns to scale DEA
model to take account of risky assets and estimate the operating
efficiencies for the 21 domestic listed securities firms during the
period 2005-2009. Evidence is found that on average the brokerage
securities firms- operating efficiencies are better than integrated
securities firms. Evidence is also found that the technical inefficiency
from inappropriate management constitutes the main source of the
operating inefficiency for both types of securities firms. Moreover, the
scale economies prevail in brokerage and integrated securities firms,
in other words, which exhibit the characteristic of increasing returns to
scale.