Abstract: Effective employee selection is a critical component
of a successful organization. Many important criteria for personnel
selection such as decision-making ability, adaptability, ambition, and
self-organization are naturally vague and imprecise to evaluate. The
rough sets theory (RST) as a new mathematical approach to
vagueness and uncertainty is a very well suited tool to deal with
qualitative data and various decision problems. This paper provides
conceptual, descriptive, and simulation results, concentrating chiefly
on human resources and personnel selection factors. The current
research derives certain decision rules which are able to facilitate
personnel selection and identifies several significant features based
on an empirical study conducted in an IT company in Iran.
Abstract: A new method of adaptation in a partially integrated learning environment that includes electronic textbook (ET) and integrated tutoring system (ITS) is described. The algorithm of adaptation is described in detail. It includes: establishment of Interconnections of operations and concepts; estimate of the concept mastering level (for all concepts); estimate of student-s non-mastering level on the current learning step of information on each page of ET; creation of a rank-order list of links to the e-manual pages containing information that require repeated work.
Abstract: Soft topological spaces are considered as mathematical tools for dealing with uncertainties, and a fuzzy topological space is a special case of the soft topological space. The purpose of this paper is to study soft topological spaces. We introduce some new concepts in soft topological spaces such as soft first-countable spaces, soft second-countable spaces and soft separable spaces, and some basic properties of these concepts are explored.
Abstract: Granular computing deals with representation of information in the form of some aggregates and related methods for transformation and analysis for problem solving. A granulation scheme based on clustering and Rough Set Theory is presented with focus on structured conceptualization of information has been presented in this paper. Experiments for the proposed method on four labeled data exhibit good result with reference to classification problem. The proposed granulation technique is semi-supervised imbibing global as well as local information granulation. To represent the results of the attribute oriented granulation a tree structure is proposed in this paper.
Abstract: Masonry cavity walls are loaded by wind pressure and vertical load from upper floors. These loads results in bending moments and compression forces in the ties connecting the outer and the inner wall in a cavity wall. Large cavity walls are furthermore loaded by differential movements from the temperature gradient between the outer and the inner wall, which results in critical increase of the bending moments in the ties. Since the ties are loaded by combined compression and moment forces, the loadbearing capacity is derived from instability equilibrium equations. Most of them are iterative, since exact instability solutions are complex to derive, not to mention the extra complexity introducing dimensional instability from the temperature gradients. Using an inverse variable substitution and comparing an exact theory with an analytical instability solution a method to design tie-connectors in cavity walls was developed. The method takes into account constraint conditions limiting the free length of the wall tie, and the instability in case of pure compression which gives an optimal load bearing capacity. The model is illustrated with examples from praxis.
Abstract: Polystyrene particles of different sizes are optically
trapped with a gaussian beam from a He-Cd laser operating at 442
nm. The particles are observed to exhibit luminescence after a certain
trapping time followed by an escape from the optical trap. The
observed luminescence is explained in terms of the photodegradation
of the polystyrene backbone. It is speculated that these chemical
modifications also play a role for the escape of the particles from the
trap. Variations of the particle size and the laser power show that
these parameters have a great influence on the observed phenomena.
Abstract: The main focus of this paper is on the human induced
forces. Almost all existing force models for this type of load (defined
either in the time or frequency domain) are developed from the
assumption of perfect periodicity of the force and are based on force
measurements conducted on rigid (i.e. high frequency) surfaces. To
verify the different authors conclusions the vertical pressure
measurements invoked during the walking was performed, using
pressure gauges in various configurations. The obtained forces are
analyzed using Fourier transformation. This load is often decisive in
the design of footbridges. Design criteria and load models proposed
by widely used standards and other researchers were introduced and a
comparison was made.
Abstract: Numerous experimental tests for post-installed anchor systems drilled in hardened concrete were conducted in order to estimate pull-out and shear strength accounting for uncertainties such as torque ratios, embedment depths and different diameters in demands. In this study, the strength of the systems was significantly changed by the effect of those three uncertainties during pull-out experimental tests, whereas the shear strength of the systems was not affected by torque ratios. It was also shown that concrete cone failure or damage mechanism was generally investigated during and after pull-out tests and in shear strength tests, mostly the anchor systems were failed prior to failure of primary structural system. Furthermore, 3D finite element model for the anchor systems was created by ABAQUS for the numerical analysis. The verification of finite element model was identical till the failure points to the load-displacement relationship specified by the experimental tests.
Abstract: Nylon 6-clay hybrid/neat nylon 6, sheath/core
bicomponent nanocomposite fibers containing 4 wt% of clay in
sheath section were melt spun at different take-up speeds. Their
orientation and crystalline structure were compared to those of neat
nylon 6 fibers. Birefringence measurements showed that the
orientation development in sheath and core parts of bicomponent
fibers was different. Crystallinity results showed that clay did not act
as a nucleating agent for bicomponent fibers. The neat nylon 6 fiber
had a smooth surface while striped pattern was appeared on the
surface of bicomponent fiber containing clay due to thermal
shrinkage of the core part.
Abstract: In Lebanon, public construction projects are awarded
to the contractor submitting the lowest bid price based on a
competitive bidding process. The contractor has to make a strategic
decision in choosing the appropriate bid price that will offer a
satisfactory profit with a greater probability to win. A simulation
model for bid price decision making based on the lowest bid price
evaluation is developed. The model, built using Crystal Ball decisionengineering
software, considers two main factors affecting the
bidding process: the number of qualified bidders and the size of the
project. The validity of the model is tested on twelve separate
projects. The study also shows how to use the model to conduct risk
analysis and help any specific contractor to decide on his bid price
with associated certainty level in a scientific method.
Abstract: Compost manufacturing plants are one of units where
wastewater is produced in significantly large amounts. Wastewater
produced in these plants contains high amounts of substrate (organic
loads) and is classified as stringent waste which creates significant
pollution when discharged into the environment without treatment. A
compost production plant in the one of the Iran-s province treating
200 tons/day of waste is one of the most important environmental
pollutant operations in this zone. The main objectives of this paper
are to investigate the compost wastewater treatability in hybrid
anaerobic reactors with an upflow-downflow arrangement, to
determine the kinetic constants, and eventually to obtain an
appropriate mathematical model. After starting the hybrid anaerobic
reactor of the compost production plant, the average COD removal
rate efficiency was 95%.
Abstract: This work describes refrigeration effects during storage on total protein and amino acids composition of raw and processed flour of two pearl millet cultivars (Ashana and Dembi). The protein content of the whole raw flour was found to be 14.46 and 13.38% for Ashana and Dembi cultivars, respectively. Dehulling of the grains reduced the protein content to 13.38 and 12.67% for the cultivars, respectively. For both cultivars, the protein content of the whole and dehulled raw flour before and after cooking was slightly decreased when the flour was stored for 60 days even after refrigeration. The effect of refrigeration process in combination with the storage period, cooking or dehulling was found to be vary between amino acids and even between cultivars. Regardless of the storage period and processing method, the amino acids content was remained unchanged after refrigeration for both cultivars.
Abstract: This paper deals with the synthesis of fuzzy state feedback controller of induction motor with optimal performance. First, the Takagi-Sugeno (T-S) fuzzy model is employed to approximate a non linear system in the synchronous d-q frame rotating with electromagnetic field-oriented. Next, a fuzzy controller is designed to stabilise the induction motor and guaranteed a minimum disturbance attenuation level for the closed-loop system. The gains of fuzzy control are obtained by solving a set of Linear Matrix Inequality (LMI). Finally, simulation results are given to demonstrate the controller-s effectiveness.
Abstract: Both prognostic and diagnostic modes of a 3D baroclinic
model in hydrodynamic and sediment transport models of
the Princeton Ocean Model (POM) were conducted to separate
prognose and diagnose effects of different hydrodynamic factors on
transport of suspended sediment discharged from the rivers to the
Gulf of Thailand (GoT). Both transport modes of suspended sediment
distribution in the GoT were numerically simulated. It could be
concluded that the suspended sediment discharged from the rivers
around the GoT. Most of sediments in estuaries and coastal areas are
deposited outside the GoT under the condition of wind-driven current,
and very small amount of the sediments of them are transported
faraway. On the basis of wind forcing, sediments from the lower
GoT to the upper GoT are mainly transported south-northwestward
and also continuously moved north-southwestward. An obvious 3D
characteristic of suspended sediment transport is produced in the
wind-driven current residual circulation condition. In this study, the
transport patterns at the third layer are generally consistent with
the typhoon-induced strong currents in two case studies of Typhoon
Linda 1997. The case studies presented the prognostic and diagnostic
modes during 00UTC28OCT1997 to 12UTC06NOV1997 in a short
period with the current condition for pre-operation of the suspended
sediment transport model in estuaries and coastal areas.
Abstract: SAD (Sum of Absolute Difference) algorithm is
heavily used in motion estimation which is computationally highly
demanding process in motion picture encoding. To enhance the
performance of motion picture encoding on a VLIW processor, an
efficient implementation of SAD algorithm on the VLIW processor is
essential. SAD algorithm is programmed as a nested loop with a
conditional branch. In VLIW processors, loop is usually optimized by
software pipelining, but researches on optimal scheduling of software
pipelining for nested loops, especially nested loops with conditional
branches are rare. In this paper, we propose an optimal scheduling and
implementation of SAD algorithm with conditional branch on a VLIW
DSP processor. The proposed optimal scheduling first transforms the
nested loop with conditional branch into a single loop with conditional
branch with consideration of full utilization of ILP capability of the
VLIW processor and realization of earlier escape from the loop. Next,
the proposed optimal scheduling applies a modulo scheduling
technique developed for single loop. Based on this optimal scheduling
strategy, optimal implementation of SAD algorithm on TMS320C67x,
a VLIW DSP is presented. Through experiments on TMS320C6713
DSK, it is shown that H.263 encoder with the proposed SAD
implementation performs better than other H.263 encoder with other
SAD implementations, and that the code size of the optimal SAD
implementation is small enough to be appropriate for embedded
environments.
Abstract: The adoption of e-learning in Hong Kong has been
increasing rapidly in the past decade. To understand the e-learning
experiences of the students, the School of Professional and Continuing
Education of The University of Hong Kong conducted a survey. The
survey aimed to collect students- experiences in using learning
management system, their perceived e-learning advantages, barriers in
e-learning and preferences in new e-learning development. A
questionnaire with 84 questions was distributed in mid 2012 and 608
valid responds were received. The analysis results showed that the
students found e-learning helpful to their study. They preferred
interactive functions and mobile features. Blended learning mode,
both face-to-face learning mode integrated with online learning and
face-to-face learning mode supplemented with online resources, were
preferred by the students. The results of experiences of Hong Kong
students in e-learning provided a contemporary reference to the
e-learning practitioners to understand the e-learning situation in Asia.
Abstract: The aim of this research is to develop a fast and
reliable surveillance system based on a personal digital assistant
(PDA) device. This is to extend the capability of the device to detect
moving objects which is already available in personal computers.
Secondly, to compare the performance between Background
subtraction (BS) and Temporal Frame Differencing (TFD) techniques
for PDA platform as to which is more suitable. In order to reduce
noise and to prepare frames for the moving object detection part,
each frame is first converted to a gray-scale representation and then
smoothed using a Gaussian low pass filter. Two moving object
detection schemes i.e., BS and TFD have been analyzed. The
background frame is updated by using Infinite Impulse Response
(IIR) filter so that the background frame is adapted to the varying
illuminate conditions and geometry settings. In order to reduce the
effect of noise pixels resulting from frame differencing
morphological filters erosion and dilation are applied. In this
research, it has been found that TFD technique is more suitable for
motion detection purpose than the BS in term of speed. On average
TFD is approximately 170 ms faster than the BS technique
Abstract: Writer identification is one of the areas in pattern
recognition that attract many researchers to work in, particularly in
forensic and biometric application, where the writing style can be
used as biometric features for authenticating an identity. The
challenging task in writer identification is the extraction of unique
features, in which the individualistic of such handwriting styles
can be adopted into bio-inspired generalized global shape for
writer identification. In this paper, the feasibility of generalized
global shape concept of complimentary binding in Artificial
Immune System (AIS) for writer identification is explored. An
experiment based on the proposed framework has been conducted
to proof the validity and feasibility of the proposed approach for
off-line writer identification.
Abstract: In 2011, Debiao et al. pointed out that S-3PAKE protocol proposed by Lu and Cao for password-authenticated key exchange in the three-party setting is vulnerable to an off-line dictionary attack. Then, they proposed some countermeasures to eliminate the security vulnerability of the S-3PAKE. Nevertheless, this paper points out their enhanced S-3PAKE protocol is still vulnerable to undetectable on-line dictionary attacks unlike their claim.
Abstract: Twenty - nine Holstein cows were used to evaluate the effects of different dry period (DP) lengths on milk yield and composition, some blood metabolites, and complete blood count (CBC). Cows were assigned to one of 2 treatments: 1) 60-d dry period, 2) 35-d DP. Milk yield, from calving to 60 days, was not different for cows on the treatments (p =0.130). Cows in the 35-d DP produced more milk protein and SNF compare with cows in treatment 1 (p ≤ 0.05). Serum glucose, non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA), beta hydroxyl butyrate acid (BHBA), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), urea, and glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT) were all similar among the treatments. Body condition score (BCS), body weight (BW), complete blood count (CBC) and health problems were similar between the treatments. The results of this study demonstrated we can reduce the dry period length to 35 days with no problems.