Abstract: This paper introduces a signal monitoring program
developed with a view to helping electrical engineering students get
familiar with sensors with digital output. Because the output of digital
sensors cannot be simply monitored by a measuring instrument such as
an oscilloscope, students tend to have a hard time dealing with digital
sensors. The monitoring program runs on a PC and communicates with
an MCU that reads the output of digital sensors via an asynchronous
communication interface. Receiving the sensor data from the MCU,
the monitoring program shows time and/or frequency domain plots of
the data in real time. In addition, the monitoring program provides a
serial terminal that enables the user to exchange text information with
the MCU while the received data is plotted. The user can easily
observe the output of digital sensors and configure the digital sensors
in real time, which helps students who do not have enough experiences
with digital sensors. Though the monitoring program was programmed
in the Matlab programming language, it runs without the Matlab since
it was compiled as a standalone executable.
Abstract: Project Portfolio Management (PPM) is an essential
component of an organisation’s strategic procedures, which requires
attention of several factors to envisage a range of long-term outcomes
to support strategic project portfolio decisions. To evaluate overall
efficiency at the portfolio level, it is essential to identify the
functionality of specific projects as well as to aggregate those
findings in a mathematically meaningful manner that indicates the
strategic significance of the associated projects at a number of levels
of abstraction. PPM success is directly associated with the quality of
decisions made and poor judgment increases portfolio costs. Hence,
various Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) techniques have
been designed and employed to support the decision-making
functions. This paper reviews possible options to enhance the
decision-making outcomes in organisational portfolio management
processes using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) both from
academic and practical perspectives and will examine the usability,
certainty and quality of the technique. The results of the study will
also provide insight into the technical risk associated with current
decision-making model to underpin initiative tracking and strategic
portfolio management.
Abstract: A seizure prediction method is proposed by extracting
global features using phase correlation between adjacent epochs for
detecting relative changes and local features using fluctuation/
deviation within an epoch for determining fine changes of different
EEG signals. A classifier and a regularization technique are applied
for the reduction of false alarms and improvement of the overall
prediction accuracy. The experiments show that the proposed method
outperforms the state-of-the-art methods and provides high prediction
accuracy (i.e., 97.70%) with low false alarm using EEG signals in
different brain locations from a benchmark data set.
Abstract: In this paper, a robust fault detection and isolation
(FDI) scheme is developed to monitor a multivariable nonlinear
chemical process called the Chylla-Haase polymerization reactor,
when it is under the cascade PI control. The scheme employs a radial
basis function neural network (RBFNN) in an independent mode to
model the process dynamics, and using the weighted sum-squared
prediction error as the residual. The Recursive Orthogonal Least
Squares algorithm (ROLS) is employed to train the model to
overcome the training difficulty of the independent mode of the
network. Then, another RBFNN is used as a fault classifier to isolate
faults from different features involved in the residual vector. Several
actuator and sensor faults are simulated in a nonlinear simulation of
the reactor in Simulink. The scheme is used to detect and isolate the
faults on-line. The simulation results show the effectiveness of the
scheme even the process is subjected to disturbances and
uncertainties including significant changes in the monomer feed rate,
fouling factor, impurity factor, ambient temperature, and
measurement noise. The simulation results are presented to illustrate
the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed method.
Abstract: Much of the literature on research design has focused
on research conducted in developed, uni-cultural or primarily English
speaking countries. Studies of qualitative case study research, the
challenges, and prospects have been embedded in Western/Eurocentric
society and social theories. Although there have been some
theoretical studies, few empirical studies have been conducted to
explore the nature of the challenges of qualitative case study in
developing countries. These challenges include accessibility to
organizations, conducting interviews in developing countries,
accessing documents and observing official meetings, language and
cultural challenges, the use of consent forms, issues affecting access
to companies, respondent issues, and data analysis. The author, while
conducting qualitative case study research in Libya, faced all these
issues. The discussion in this paper examines these issues in order to
make a contribution toward the literature in this area.
Abstract: The goal of this paper is to identify the main
differences in the way men and women perceive TV ads. This paper
is based on a research project conducted partly as a review of relevant
papers, which deals with gender influence on the cognitive process
and postmodern perception of advertising. In addition to that,
qualitative research was conducted by means of interviews and
structured questionnaires. Furthermore, data acquired from the
research were used to evaluate our objectives and hypotheses. The
goal of this paper is to compare women's and men's perception of
advertisement. Although women are able to perceive more details
than men, men are more susceptible to sexual appeals in advertising.
Significant differences were also found in the perception of sexual
appeals in the context of gender.
Abstract: We have studied the temporal characteristics of
bistable perception of the stimuli of two types: one involves
alterations in a perceived depth and another one has an ambiguous
content. We used the Necker lattice and lines of shadowed circles
ambiguously perceived either as spheres or holes as stimuli of the
first type. The Winson figure (the Eskimo/Indian picture) was a
stimulus of the second type. We have analyzed how often the
reversals occurred (reversal rate) and for how long each of the two
interpretations, or percepts, was observed during one presentation
(stability durations). For all three ambiguous images the reversal rate
and the stability durations had similar values, which provide another
evidence for a significant role of top-down processes in multistable
perception.
Abstract: Production fluids are transported from the platform to
tankers or process facilities through transfer pipelines. Water being
one of the heavier phases tends to settle at the bottom of pipelines
especially at low flow velocities and this has adverse consequences
for pipeline integrity. On restart after a shutdown, this could result in
corrosion and issues for process equipment, thus the need to have the
heavier liquid dispersed into the flowing lighter fluid. This study
looked at the flow regime of low water cut and low flow velocity oil
and water flow using conductive film thickness probes in a large
diameter 4-inch pipe to obtain oil and water interface height and the
interface structural velocity. A wide range of 0.1–1.0 m/s oil and
water mixture velocities was investigated for 0.5–5% water cut. Two
fluid model predictions were used to compare with the experimental
results.
Abstract: Global economy today is full of sophistication. All
over the world, business and marketing practices are undergoing
unprecedented transformation. In realization of this fact, the federal
government of Nigeria has put in place a robust transformation
agenda in order to put Nigeria in a better position to be a competitive
player and in the process transform all sectors of its economy. New
technologies, especially the Internet, are the driving force behind this
transformation. However, technology has inadvertently affected the
way businesses are done thus necessitating the acquisition of new
skills. In developing countries like Nigeria, citizens are still battling
with effective application of those technologies. Obviously, students
of business education need to acquire relevant business knowledge to
be able to transit into the world of work on graduation from school
and compete favorably in the labor market. Therefore, effective
utilization of social media by both teachers and students can help
extensively in empowering students with the needed skills. Social
media which is a group of Internet-based applications built on the
ideological foundations of Web 2.0, that allow the creation and
exchange of user generated content, and if incorporated into the
classroom experience may be the needed answer to unemployment
and poverty in Nigeria as beneficiaries can easily connect with
existing and potential enterprises and customers, engage with them
and reinforce mutual business benefits. Challenges and benefits of
social media use in education in Nigeria universities were revealed in
this study.
Abstract: This research was made during the 2015 growing
periods in the trial filed of "Research Station for Department of Field
Crops, Agricultural Faculty, Selcuk University" according to
“Randomized Blocks Design” with 3 replications. Research material
was the following pea lines; PS16, PS18, PS21, PS23, PS24, PS25,
PS36, PS47, PS49, PS51, PS54, PS58, PS67, PS69, PS71, PS73,
PS83, PS84, PS87 and PSKY and three cultivars and other 2
commercial varieties named as Bolero, Rondo and Ultrello. Some
agronomical characteristics such as plant height (cm) number of pod
per plant number of seed per pod number of seed per plant 100 seed
weight (g) and seed yield (kg ha-1) were determined. The highest seed
yield was obtained 2727.0 kg ha-1 in the PS71 line and the lowest
value was obtained 1238.0 kg ha-1 in the commercial variety of
Bolero. Results of the research implicated that the new developed
lines were superior compared with the control (commercial) varieties
by means of most of the characteristics. Nevertheless, similar
researches should be continued in different locations and years.
Abstract: Wind energy is rapidly emerging as the primary
source of electricity in the Philippines, although developing an
accurate wind resource model is difficult. In this study, Weather
Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model, an open source mesoscale
Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) model, was used to produce a
1-year atmospheric simulation with 4 km resolution on the Ilocos
Region of the Philippines. The WRF output (netCDF) extracts the
annual mean wind speed data using a Python-based Graphical User
Interface. Lastly, wind resource assessment was produced using a
GIS software. Results of the study showed that it is more flexible to
use Python scripts than using other post-processing tools in dealing
with netCDF files. Using WRF Model, Python, and Geographic
Information Systems, a reliable wind resource map is produced.
Abstract: The underutilization of biomass resources in the
Philippines, combined with its growing population and the rise in
fossil fuel prices confirms demand for alternative energy sources. The
goal of this paper is to provide a comparison of MODIS-based and
Landsat-based agricultural land cover maps when used in the
estimation of rice hull’s available energy potential. Biomass resource
assessment was done using mathematical models and remote sensing
techniques employed in a GIS platform.
Abstract: Education and practical training crisis management
members are a topical issue nowadays. The paper deals with the
perspectives and possibilities of "smart solutions" to education for
crisis management staff. Currently, there is a large number of
simulation tools, which notes that they are suitable for practical
training of crisis management staff. The first part of the paper is focused on the introduction of the
technology simulation tools. The simulators aim is to create a
realistic environment for the practical training of extending units of
crisis staff. The second part of the paper concerns the possibilities of using the
simulation technology to the education process. The aim of this
section is to introduce the practical capabilities and potential of the
simulation programs for practical training of crisis management staff.
Abstract: Geological and tectonic framework indicates that
Bangladesh is one of the most seismically active regions in the world.
The Bengal Basin is at the junction of three major interacting plates:
the Indian, Eurasian, and Burma Plates. Besides there are many
active faults within the region, e.g. the large Dauki fault in the north.
The country has experienced a number of destructive earthquakes due
to the movement of these active faults. Current seismic provisions of
Bangladesh are mostly based on earthquake data prior to the 1990.
Given the record of earthquakes post 1990, there is a need to revisit
the design provisions of the code. This paper compares the base shear
demand of three major cities in Bangladesh: Dhaka (the capital city),
Sylhet, and Chittagong for earthquake scenarios of magnitudes
7.0MW, 7.5MW, 8.0MW, and 8.5MW using a stochastic model. In
particular, the stochastic model allows the flexibility to input region
specific parameters such as shear wave velocity profile (that were
developed from Global Crustal Model CRUST2.0) and include the
effects of attenuation as individual components. Effects of soil
amplification were analysed using the Extended Component
Attenuation Model (ECAM). Results show that the estimated base
shear demand is higher in comparison with code provisions leading to
the suggestion of additional seismic design consideration in the study
regions.
Abstract: In this study, the time-dependent behavior of damaged
reinforced concrete shear wall structures strengthened with composite
plates having variable fibers spacing was investigated to analyze their
seismic response. In the analytical formulation, the adherent and the
adhesive layers are all modeled as shear walls, using the mixed Finite
Element Method (FEM). The anisotropic damage model is adopted to
describe the damage extent of the Reinforced Concrete shear walls.
The phenomenon of creep and shrinkage of concrete has been
determined by Eurocode 2. Large earthquakes recorded in Algeria
(El-Asnam and Boumerdes) have been tested to demonstrate the
accuracy of the proposed method. Numerical results are obtained for non-uniform distributions of
carbon fibers in epoxy matrices. The effects of damage extent and the
delay mechanism creep and shrinkage of concrete are highlighted.
Prospects are being studied.
Abstract: Rotary entrainment is a phenomenon in which the
interface of two immiscible fluids are subjected to external flux by
means of rotation. Present work reports the experimental study on
rotary motion of a horizontal cylinder between the interface of air and
water to observe the penetration of gas inside the liquid. Experiments
have been performed to establish entrainment of air mass in water
alongside the cylindrical surface. The movement of tracer and seeded
particles has been tracked to calculate the speed and path of the
entrained air inside water. Simplified particle image velocimetry
technique has been used to trace the movement of particles/tracers at
the moment they are injected inside the entrainment zone and
suspended beads have been used to replicate the particle movement
with respect to time in order to determine the flow dynamics of the
fluid along the cylinder. Present paper establishes a thorough experimental analysis of the
rotary entrainment phenomenon between air and water keeping in
interest the extent to which we can intermix the two and also to study
its entrainment trajectories.
Abstract: Gastric Cancer (GC) has high morbidity and fatality
rate in various countries. It is still one of the most frequent and
deadly diseases. Gastrokine1 (GKN1) and gastrokine2 (GKN2) genes
are highly expressed in the normal stomach epithelium and play
important roles in maintaining the integrity and homeostasis of
stomach mucosal epithelial cells. In this study, 47 paired samples that
were grouped according to the types of gastric cancer and the clinical
characteristics of the patients, including gender and average of age.
They were investigated with gene expression analysis and mutation
screening by monitoring RT-PCR, SSCP and nucleotide sequencing
techniques. Both GKN1 and GKN2 genes were observed significantly
reduced found by (Wilcoxon signed rank test; p
Abstract: Wireless networks are built upon the open shared
medium which makes easy for attackers to conduct malicious
activities. Jamming is one of the most serious security threats to
information economy and it must be dealt efficiently. Jammer
prevents legitimate data to reach the receiver side and also it
seriously degrades the network performance. The objective of this
paper is to provide a general overview of jamming in wireless
network. It covers relevant works, different jamming techniques,
various types of jammers and typical prevention techniques.
Challenges associated with comparing several anti-jamming
techniques are also highlighted.
Abstract: The understanding of geotechnical characteristics of
near-surface material and the effects of the groundwater is very
important problem in such as site studies. For showing the relations
between seismic data and groundwater, we selected about 25 km2 as
the study area. It has been presented which is a detailed work of
seismic data and groundwater depths of Gokpinar Damp area.
Seismic waves velocity (Vp and Vs) are very important parameters
showing the soil properties. The seismic records were used the
method of the multichannel analysis of surface waves near area of
Gokpinar Damp area. Sixty sites in this area have been investigated
with survey lines about 60 m in length. MASW (Multichannel
analysis of surface wave) method has been used to generate onedimensional
shear wave velocity profile at locations. These shear
wave velocities are used to estimate equivalent shear wave velocity in
the study area at every 2 and 5 m intervals up to a depth of 45 m.
Levels of equivalent shear wave velocity of soil are used the
classified of the study area. After the results of the study, it must be
considered as components of urban planning and building design of
Gokpinar Damp area, Denizli and the application and use of these
results should be required and enforced by municipal authorities.
Abstract: This study aims to investigate the relationships
between human resource management and entrepreneurship in the
view of owner-managers and employees, and among employees with
in the SME in Thailand. The research method used qualitative
method to confirm the phenomenology interest with top management
position which women are regarding their career path by using
purposive sampling method. The results showed that human
resources management has positive relate with the corporate
entrepreneurship are including the recruitment process, training
worker, professional career development and reward system impact
to entrepreneur’s knowledge and innovation of corporate
entrepreneurship in respectively to bring a very reliable way. Then,
the key informant suggested that women’s career experiences
predisposed them to find an alternative route for entrepreneurship,
despite having achieved top management. The understanding factors
that successfully contribute to the development of women
entrepreneurs from career development perspective are critical
endeavour for any type of organization as well.