Abstract: This paper presents the results and findings from a
parametric study on the water surface elevation at upstream of bridge
constriction for subcritical flow. In this study, the influence of
Manning's Roughness Coefficient of main channel (nmc) and
floodplain (nfp), and bridge opening (b) flow rate (Q), contraction
(kcon) and expansion coefficients (kexp) were investigated on
backwater level. The DECK bridge models with different span widths
and without any pier were investigated within the two stage channel
having various roughness conditions. One of the most commonly
used commercial one-dimensional HEC-RAS model was used in this
parametric study. This study showed that the effects of main channel
roughness (nmc) and flow rate (Q) on the backwater level are much
higher than those of the floodplain roughness (nfp). Bridge opening
(b) with contraction (kcon) and expansion coefficients (kexp) have very
little effect on the backwater level within this range of parameters.
Abstract: Nowadays, it is a globalization era which social media
plays an important role to the lifestyle as an information source, tools
to connect people together and etc. This research is object to find out
about the significant level of the social media as a distribution
channel to the agriculture product of Thailand. In this research, the
agriculture product is the Rice Berry which is the cross-bred unmilled
rice producing dark violet grain, is a combination of Hom Nin Rice
and Thai Jasmine/ Fragrant Rice 105. Rice Berry has a very high
nutrition and nice aroma so the product is in the growth stage of the
product cycle. The problem for the Rice Berry product in Thailand is
the production and the distribution channel. This study is to confirm
that the social media is another option as the distribution channel for
the product which is not a mass production product. This will be the
role model for the other niche market product to select the
distribution channel.
Abstract: The aim of this study is to analyze the role and
effectiveness of internal mechanism (audit committee) of corporate
governance on credit institutions performance in Croatia. Based on
research objective, sample of 78 credit institutions listed on Zagreb
Stock Exchange, from 2007 to 2012, has been collected and
efficiency index of audit committee (EIAC) has been created. Based
on the sample and created EIAC, conclusions are as follows: audit
committees of credit institutions have medium efficiency, based on
EIAC measurement; there is a significant difference in audit
committee effectiveness, in observed period; there is no positive
relationship between audit committee effectiveness and credit
institution performance; there is a significant difference between
level of audit committee effectiveness and audit firm type. Future
research should contain increased number of elements in EIAC
creation and increased sample, for all obligators who need to
establish audit committee.
Abstract: There has been a significant decline in active travel
and a massive increase in the use of car dependent travel in many
countries during the past two decades. Evidential risks for people’s
physical and mental health problems are correlated with this
increased use of motorized travel. These health related problems
range from overweight and obesity to increased air pollution. In
response to these rising concerns health professionals, traffic planers,
local authorities and others have introduced a variety of initiatives to
counterbalance the dominance of cars for daily journeys.
However, the nature of travel behavior change interventions,
which aim to reduce car use, are very complex and challenging
regarding their interactions with human behavior. To change travel
behavior at least two aspects have to be taken into consideration.
First, how to alter attitudes and perceptions toward the sustainable
and healthy modes of travel, in competition with experiences of
private car use. And second, how to make these behavior change
processes irreversible and sustainable. There are no comprehensive
models available to guide policy interventions to increase the level of
success of travel behavior change interventions across both these
dimensions.
A comprehensive theoretical framework is required in the effort to
optimize how to facilitate and guide the processes of data collection
and analysis to achieve the best possible guidelines for policy
makers. Regarding the gaps in the travel behavior change research
literature, this paper attempted to identify and suggest a
multidimensional framework in order to facilitate planning the
implemented travel behavior change interventions. A structured
mixed-method model is suggested to improve the analytic power of
the results according to the complexity of human behavior.
In order to recognize people’s attitudes towards a specific travel
mode, the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) was operationalized.
But in order to capture decision making processes the Transtheoretical
model of Behavior Change (TTM) was also used.
Consequently, the combination of these two theories (TTM and TPB)
has resulted in a synthesis with appropriate concepts to identify and
design an implemented travel behavior change interventions.
Abstract: Anxiety is a common psychological problem and also
implicated as a contributor to many chronic diseases which decreased
quality of life even with pharmacological treatment. At the present
time several yogic practices- meditation, pranayama, and mantra,
etcetera are playing important role in treating physiological and
psychological problems. Hence, the present investigation is aimed to
see the effect of Trataka on the level of anxiety among adolescents.
For the present study, a sample of 30 adolescents belonging to the
age range 20-30 years was selected from Devsanskriti Vishwa
Vidyalaya Haridwar through random sampling. In this investigation,
Sinha’s Comprehensive anxiety test has been used to measure the
level of anxiety. Statistical analysis has been done by using t-test.
Findings of this study reveal that Trataka significantly decreases the
level of anxiety among adolescents.
Abstract: The turbocharger and turbocharging have been the
inherent component of diesel engines, so that critical parameters of
such engines, as BSFC (Brake Specific Fuel Consumption) or
thermal efficiency, fuel consumption, BMEP (Brake Mean Effective
Pressure), the power density output and emission level have been
improved extensively. In general, the turbocharger can be considered
as the most complex component of diesel engines, because it has
closely interrelated turbomachinery concepts of the turbines and the
compressors to thermodynamic fundamentals of internal combustion
engines and stress analysis of all components.
In this paper, a waste gate for a conventional single stage radial
turbine is investigated by consideration of turbochargers operation
constrains and engine operation conditions, without any detail
designs in the turbine and the compressor. Amount of opening waste
gate which extended between the ranges of full opened and closed
valve, is demonstrated by limiting compressor boost pressure ratio.
Obtaining of an optimum point by regard above mentioned items is
surveyed by three linked meanline modeling programs together
which consist of Turbomatch®, Compal®, Rital® madules in concepts
NREC® respectively.
Abstract: This study aims to analyze ceramic employees’
occupational health and safety training expectations. To that general
objective, the study tries to examine whether occupational health and
safety training expectations of ceramic employees meaningfully
differentiate depending on demographic features and professional,
social and economic conditions. For this purpose, a questionnaire was
developed by the researcher. The research data were collected
through this questionnaire called “Questionnaire of Occupational
Health and Safety Training Expectation” (QSOHSTE). QSOHSTE
was applied to 125 ceramic employees working in Kütahya, Turkey.
Data obtained from questionnaire were analyzed via SPSS 21.
The findings, obtained from the study, revealed that employees’
agreement level to occupational health and safety training expectation
statements is generally high-level. The findings reveal that employees
expect professional interest such as increased development and
investment, preventive measures for accidents, interventions to
evaluate the working conditions, establishment of safe working
environments and sustainment of adequate equipment for
occupational health and safety training process.
Besides these findings, employees’ agreement level to
occupational health and safety training expectation statements also
varies in terms of educational level, professional seniority, income
level and perception of economic condition.
Abstract: The rhizome of Java grass, Cyperus rotundus was
extracted different organic polar and non-polar solvents and
performed the in vitro antiviral and immunostimulant activities
against White Spot Syndrome Virus (WSSV) and Vibrio harveyi
respectively. Based on the initial screening the ethyl acetate extract of
C. rotundus was strong activities and further it was purified through
silica column chromatography and the fractions were screened again
for antiviral and immunostimulant activity. Among the different
fractions screened against the WSSV and V. harveyi, the fractions, FIII
to FV had strong activities. In order to study the in vivo influence
of C. rotundus, the fractions (F-III to FV) were pooled and delivered
to the F. indicus through artificial feed for 30 days. After the feeding
trail the experimental and control diet fed F. indicus were challenged
with virulent WSSV and studied the survival, molecular diagnosis,
biochemical, haematological, and immunological parameters.
Surprisingly, the pooled fractions (F-IV to FVI) incorporated diets
helped to significantly (P
Abstract: This paper proposes a rotational invariant texture
feature based on the roughness property of the image for psoriasis
image analysis. In this work, we have applied this feature for image
classification and segmentation. The fuzzy concept is employed to
overcome the imprecision of roughness. Since the psoriasis lesion is
modeled by a rough surface, the feature is extended for calculating
the Psoriasis Area Severity Index value. For classification and
segmentation, the Nearest Neighbor algorithm is applied. We have
obtained promising results for identifying affected lesions by using
the roughness index and severity level estimation.
Abstract: Blueberries are widely valued for their high content in
phenolic compounds with antioxidant activity, and hence beneficial
for the human health. In this way, a study was done to determine the
phenolic composition (total phenols, anthocyanins and tannins) and
antioxidant activity of blueberries from three cultivars (Duke,
Bluecrop, and Ozarkblue) grown in two different Portuguese farms.
Initially two successive extractions were done with methanol
followed by two extractions with aqueous acetone solutions. These
extracts obtained were then used to evaluate the amount of phenolic
compounds and the antioxidant activity. The total phenols were
observed to vary from 4.9 to 8.2 mg GAE/g fresh weight, with
anthocyanin’s contents in the range 1.5-2.8 mg EMv3G/g and tannins
contents in the range 1.5- 3.8 mg/g. The results for antioxidant
activity ranged from 9.3 to 23.2 molTE/g and from 24.7 to 53.4molTE/g, when measured, respectively, by DPPH and ABTS
methods. In conclusion it was observed that, in general, the cultivar
had a visible effect on the phenols present, and furthermore, the
geographical origin showed relevance either in the phenols contents
or the antioxidant activity.
Abstract: Risk analysis is considered as a fundamental aspect
relevant for ensuring the level of critical infrastructure protection,
where the critical infrastructure is seen as system, asset or its part
which is important for maintaining the vital societal functions. Article
actually discusses and analyzes the potential application of selected
tools of information support for the implementation and within the
framework of risk analysis and critical infrastructure protection. Use
of the information in relation to their risk analysis can be viewed as a
form of simplifying the analytical process. It is clear that these
instruments (information support) for these purposes are countless, so
they were selected representatives who have already been applied in
the selected area of critical infrastructure, or they can be used. All
presented fact were the basis for critical infrastructure resilience
evaluation methodology development.
Abstract: The aim of this work is to build a model based on
tissue characterization that is able to discriminate pathological and
non-pathological regions from three-phasic CT images. With our
research and based on a feature selection in different phases, we are
trying to design a neural network system with an optimal neuron
number in a hidden layer. Our approach consists of three steps:
feature selection, feature reduction, and classification. For each
region of interest (ROI), 6 distinct sets of texture features are
extracted such as: first order histogram parameters, absolute gradient,
run-length matrix, co-occurrence matrix, autoregressive model, and
wavelet, for a total of 270 texture features. When analyzing more
phases, we show that the injection of liquid cause changes to the high
relevant features in each region. Our results demonstrate that for
detecting HCC tumor phase 3 is the best one in most of the features
that we apply to the classification algorithm. The percentage of
detection between pathology and healthy classes, according to our
method, relates to first order histogram parameters with accuracy of
85% in phase 1, 95% in phase 2, and 95% in phase 3.
Abstract: Wind energy offers a significant advantage such as no
fuel costs and no emissions from generation. However, wind energy
sources are variable and non-dispatchable. The utility grid is able to
accommodate the variability of wind in smaller proportion along with
the daily load. However, at high penetration levels, the variability can
severely impact the utility reserve requirements and the cost
associated with it. In this paper the impact of wind energy is
evaluated in detail in formulating the total utility cost. The objective
is to minimize the overall cost of generation while ensuring the
proper management of the load. Overall cost includes the curtailment
cost, reserve cost and the reliability cost, as well as any other penalty
imposed by the regulatory authority. Different levels of wind
penetrations are explored and the cost impacts are evaluated. As the
penetration level increases significantly, the reliability becomes a
critical question to be answered. Here we increase the penetration
from the wind yet keep the reliability factor within the acceptable
limit provided by NERC. This paper uses an economic dispatch (ED)
model to incorporate wind generation into the power grid. Power
system costs are analyzed at various wind penetration levels using
Linear Programming. The goal of this study is show how the
increases in wind generation will affect power system economics.
Abstract: Standard processes, similar and limited production
lines, the production of high direct costs will be more accurate than
the use of parts of the traditional cost systems in the literature.
However, direct costs, overhead expenses, in turn, decrease the
burden of increasingly sophisticated production facilities, a situation
that led the researchers to look for the cost of traditional systems of
alternative techniques. Variety cost management approaches for
example Total quality management (TQM), just-in-time (JIT),
benchmarking, kaizen costing, targeting cost, life cycle costs (LLC),
activity-based costing (ABC) value engineering have been
introduced. Management and cost applications have changed over the
past decade and will continue to change. Modern cost systems can
provide relevant and accurate cost information. These methods
provide the decisions about customer, product and process
improvement. The aim of study is to describe and explain the
adoption and application of costing systems in SME. This purpose
reports on a survey conducted during 2014 small and medium sized
enterprises (SME) in Ankara. The survey results were evaluated
using SPSS18 package program.
Abstract: The English competence of Thai people was examined
in the context of knowledge of English in everyday life for Small and
Medium Entrepreneurs (SMEs), and also integrated with Second
language acquisition (SLA) students’ classroom. Second language
acquisition was applied to the results of the questionnaires and
interview forms. Levels of the need on English used for SME
entrepreneurs in Thailand, satisfaction on joining the street classroom
project were shown to be significantly high for some certain language
functions and satisfaction. Finding suggests that the language
functions on etiquette for professional use is essential and useful
because lesson learned can be used in the real situation for their
career. Implications for the climate of the street classroom are
discussed.
Abstract: Living today in turbulent business environment forces
companies to distinguish from each other, securing sustainable
competitive growth and competitive advantage. The best possible
solution is to invest (effort and financial resources) within
companies’ different practices of human resource management
(HRM), more specifically in employees’ knowledge, skills and
abilities. Applying this approach companies will create enviable level
of human capital securing its economic growth. Employees become
human capital for their employers at the moment when they
contribute with their own knowledge and abilities in creating material
and non-material value of the company. The main aim of this
research is to explore the relations between human capital
investments and business excellence of Croatian companies.
Furthermore, the differences in the level of human capital
investments with regard to several companies’ characteristics (e.g.
size of the company, ownership and type of the industry) are
investigated.
Abstract: Constructing a portfolio of investments is one of the
most significant financial decisions facing individuals and
institutions. In accordance with the modern portfolio theory
maximization of return at minimal risk should be the investment goal
of any successful investor. In addition, the costs incurred when
setting up a new portfolio or rebalancing an existing portfolio must
be included in any realistic analysis.
In this paper rebalancing an investment portfolio in the presence of
transaction costs on the Croatian capital market is analyzed. The
model applied in the paper is an extension of the standard portfolio
mean-variance optimization model in which transaction costs are
incurred to rebalance an investment portfolio. This model allows
different costs for different securities, and different costs for buying
and selling. In order to find efficient portfolio, using this model, first,
the solution of quadratic programming problem of similar size to the
Markowitz model, and then the solution of a linear programming
problem have to be found. Furthermore, in the paper the impact of
transaction costs on the efficient frontier is investigated. Moreover, it
is shown that global minimum variance portfolio on the efficient
frontier always has the same level of the risk regardless of the amount
of transaction costs. Although efficient frontier position depends of
both transaction costs amount and initial portfolio it can be concluded
that extreme right portfolio on the efficient frontier always contains
only one stock with the highest expected return and the highest risk.
Abstract: This study aims to investigate the possibility of crime
prevention through CCTV by analyzing the appropriateness of the
CCTV location, whether it is installed in the hotspot of crime-prone
areas, and exploring the crime prevention effect and transition effect.
The real crime and CCTV locations of case city were converted into
the spatial data by using GIS. The data was analyzed by hotspot
analysis and weighted displacement quotient (WDQ). As study
methods, it analyzed existing relevant studies for identifying the trends
of CCTV and crime studies based on big data from 1800 to 2014 and
understanding the relation between CCTV and crime. Second, it
investigated the current situation of nationwide CCTVs and analyzed
the guidelines of CCTV installation and operation to draw attention to
the problems and indicating points of CCTV use. Third, it investigated
the crime occurrence in case areas and the current situation of CCTV
installation in the spatial aspects, and analyzed the appropriateness and
effectiveness of CCTV installation to suggest a rational installation of
CCTV and the strategic direction of crime prevention. The results
demonstrate that there was no significant effect in the installation of
CCTV on crime prevention in the case area. This indicates that CCTV
should be installed and managed in a more scientific way reflecting
local crime situations. In terms of CCTV, the methods of spatial
analysis such as GIS, which can evaluate the installation effect, and the
methods of economic analysis like cost-benefit analysis should be
developed. In addition, these methods should be distributed to local
governments across the nation for the appropriate installation of
CCTV and operation. This study intended to find a design guideline of
the optimum CCTV installation. In this regard, this study is
meaningful in that it will contribute to the creation of a safe city.
Abstract: Concrete is found to undergo degradation when
subjected to elevated temperatures and loose substantial amount of its
strength. The loss of strength in concrete is mainly attributed to
decomposition of C-S-H and release of physically and chemically
bound water, which begins when the exposure temperature exceeds
100°C. When such a concrete comes in contact with moisture, the
cement paste is found rehydrate and considerable amount of strength
lost is found to recover. This paper presents results of an
experimental program carried out to investigate the effect of recuring
on strength gain of OPC concrete specimens subjected to elevated
temperatures from 200°C to 800°C, which were subjected to
retention time of two hours and four hours at the designated
temperature. Strength recoveries for concrete subjected to 7
designated elevated temperatures are compared. It is found that the
efficacy of recuring as a measure of strength recovery reduces with
increase in exposure temperature.
Abstract: The aim of this study was to build ‘Ubi-Net’, a
decision-making support system for systematic establishment in
U-City planning. We have experienced various urban problems caused
by high-density development and population concentrations in
established urban areas. To address these problems, a U-Service
contributes to the alleviation of urban problems by providing real-time
information to citizens through network connections and related
information. However, technology, devices, and information for
consumers are required for systematic U-Service planning in towns
and cities where there are many difficulties in this regard, and a lack of
reference systems.
Thus, this study suggests methods to support the establishment of
sustainable planning by providing comprehensive information
including IT technology, devices, news, and social networking
services (SNS) to U-City planners through intelligent searches. In this
study, we targeted Smart U-Parking Planning to solve parking
problems in an ‘old’ city. Through this study, we sought to contribute
to supporting advances in U-Space and the alleviation of urban
problems.