Abstract: The creation of a sustainable future depends on the knowledge and involvement of the people, as well as an understanding of the consequences of individual actions. Construction industry has long been associated with the detrimental effects to our mother earth. In Malaysia, the government, professional bodies and private companies are beginning to take heed in the necessity to reduce this environmental problem without restraining the need for development. This paper focuses on the actions undertaken by the Malaysian government, non-government organizations and construction players in promoting sustainability in construction. To ensure that those concerted efforts are not only skin deep in its impact, a survey was conducted to investigate the awareness of the developers regarding this issue and whether those developers has absorb the concept of sustainable construction in their current practices. The survey revealed that although the developers are aware of the rising issues on sustainability, little efforts are generated from them in implementing it. More effort is necessary to boost this application and further stimulate actions and strategies towards a sustainable built environment.
Abstract: The complexity of today-s software systems makes
collaborative development necessary to accomplish tasks.
Frameworks are necessary to allow developers perform their tasks
independently yet collaboratively. Similarity detection is one of the
major issues to consider when developing such frameworks. It allows
developers to mine existing repositories when developing their own
views of a software artifact, and it is necessary for identifying the
correspondences between the views to allow merging them and
checking their consistency. Due to the importance of the
requirements specification stage in software development, this paper
proposes a framework for collaborative development of Object-
Oriented formal specifications along with a similarity detection
approach to support the creation, merging and consistency checking
of specifications. The paper also explores the impact of using
additional concepts on improving the matching results. Finally, the
proposed approach is empirically evaluated.
Abstract: Liquidity risk management ranks to key concepts
applied in finance. Liquidity is defined as a capacity to obtain
funding when needed, while liquidity risk means as a threat to this
capacity to generate cash at fair costs. In the paper we present
challenges of liquidity risk management resulting from the 2007-
2009 global financial upheaval. We see five main regulatory
liquidity risk management issues requiring revision in coming
years: liquidity measurement, intra-day and intra-group liquidity
management, contingency planning and liquidity buffers, liquidity
systems, controls and governance, and finally models testing the
viability of business liquidity models.
Abstract: Advent enhancements in the field of computing have
increased massive use of web based electronic documents. Current
Copyright protection laws are inadequate to prove the ownership for
electronic documents and do not provide strong features against
copying and manipulating information from the web. This has
opened many channels for securing information and significant
evolutions have been made in the area of information security.
Digital Watermarking has developed into a very dynamic area of
research and has addressed challenging issues for digital content.
Watermarking can be visible (logos or signatures) and invisible
(encoding and decoding). Many visible watermarking techniques
have been studied for text documents but there are very few for web
based text. XML files are used to trade information on the internet
and contain important information. In this paper, two invisible
watermarking techniques using Synonyms and Acronyms are
proposed for XML files to prove the intellectual ownership and to
achieve the security. Analysis is made for different attacks and
amount of capacity to be embedded in the XML file is also noticed.
A comparative analysis for capacity is also made for both methods.
The system has been implemented using C# language and all tests are
made practically to get the results.
Abstract: Aerial and satellite images are information rich. They are also complex to analyze. For GIS systems, many features require fast and reliable extraction of roads and intersections. In this paper, we study efficient and reliable automatic extraction algorithms to address some difficult issues that are commonly seen in high resolution aerial and satellite images, nonetheless not well addressed in existing solutions, such as blurring, broken or missing road boundaries, lack of road profiles, heavy shadows, and interfering surrounding objects. The new scheme is based on a new method, namely reference circle, to properly identify the pixels that belong to the same road and use this information to recover the whole road network. This feature is invariable to the shape and direction of roads and tolerates heavy noise and disturbances. Road extraction based on reference circles is much more noise tolerant and flexible than the previous edge-detection based algorithms. The scheme is able to extract roads reliably from images with complex contents and heavy obstructions, such as the high resolution aerial/satellite images available from Google maps.
Abstract: Information and communication technology (ICT) is
essential to the operation of business, and create many employment
opportunities. High volumes of students graduate in ICT however
students struggle to find job placement. A discrepancy exists between
graduate skills and industry skill requirements. To address the need
for ICT skills required, universities must create programs to meet the
demands of a changing ICT industry. This requires a partnership
between industry, universities and other stakeholders. This situation
may be viewed as a critical systems thinking problem situation as
there are various role players each with their own needs and
requirements. Jackson states a typical critical systems methods has a
pluralistic nature. This paper explores the applicability and suitability
of Maslow and Dooyeweerd to guide understanding and make
recommendations for change in ICT WIL, to foster an all-inclusive
understanding of the situation by stakeholders. The above methods
provide tools for understanding softer issues beyond the skills
required. The study findings suggest that besides skills requirements,
a deeper understanding and empowering students from being a
student to a professional need to be understood and addressed.
Abstract: This article concerns with the accessibility of Business
process modelling tools (BPMo tools) and business process
modelling languages (BPMo languages). Therefore the reader will be
introduced to business process management and the authors'
motivation behind this inquiry. Afterwards, the paper will reflect
problems when applying inaccessible BPMo tools. To illustrate these
problems the authors distinguish between two different categories of
issues and provide practical examples. Finally the article will present
three approaches to improve the accessibility of BPMo tools and
BPMo languages.
Abstract: Digital watermarking is a way to provide the facility of secure multimedia data communication besides its copyright protection approach. The Spread Spectrum modulation principle is widely used in digital watermarking to satisfy the robustness of multimedia signals against various signal-processing operations. Several SS watermarking algorithms have been proposed for multimedia signals but very few works have discussed on the issues responsible for secure data communication and its robustness improvement. The current paper has critically analyzed few such factors namely properties of spreading codes, proper signal decomposition suitable for data embedding, security provided by the key, successive bit cancellation method applied at decoder which have greater impact on the detection reliability, secure communication of significant signal under camouflage of insignificant signals etc. Based on the analysis, robust SS watermarking scheme for secure data communication is proposed in wavelet domain and improvement in secure communication and robustness performance is reported through experimental results. The reported result also shows improvement in visual and statistical invisibility of the hidden data.
Abstract: Finding synchronizing sequences for the finite automata is a very important problem in many practical applications (part orienters in industry, reset problem in biocomputing theory, network issues etc). Problem of finding the shortest synchronizing sequence is NP-hard, so polynomial algorithms probably can work only as heuristic ones. In this paper we propose two versions of polynomial algorithms which work better than well-known Eppstein-s Greedy and Cycle algorithms.
Abstract: The paper investigates the main issues concerning the activity of mergers and acquisitions in Romania in the period 2000- 2004. As in the first decade after the failure of the socialist economy the market of M&A was living its infancy based exclusively on privatization transactions, after 2000 the market entered in a stage of maturity. We are investigated both the registered evolutions in terms of number and value of transactions, and some sectoral issues, concerning the most important industries affected by the M&A process.
Abstract: The objective of this research work is to discuss the concept of “green growth” in the Republic of Kazakhstan introduced by its government in the “National Sustainable Development Strategy” with the objective of transition to a resource-efficient, “green economy.” We believe that emerging economies like Kazakhstan can pursue a cleaner and more efficient development path by introducing an environmental tax system based on resource consumption rather than only income and labor. The key issues discussed in this article are the eco-efficiency, which refers to closing the gap between economic and ecological efficiencies, and the structural change of the economy toward “green growth.” We also strongly believe that studying the experience of East Asian countries on “green reform” including eco-innovation and “green solutions” in business is essential to the case of Kazakhstan. All of these will raise the status of Kazakhstan to the level of one of the thirty developed countries over the next decades.
Abstract: Establishing pumping stations is one of the most common ways of providing water from rivers. There are many issues involved in the design and operation of pumping stations most important of which is the problem of sedimentation. One of the significant issues which must be taken into consideration in designing pumping stations is the operation method and technical matters related to it. Safety and convenience of operation is one of the issues that must be always considered by the designer. Some of the major issues in making decisions regarding the type of design for the station are geographical condition, the location of the station and availability of experts in maintenance and operation of the station. Dimensions of the station must allow free movement for checking and operating pumps after installation of pumps and plumbing system.
Abstract: Culinary culture differences can cause health
problems for international tourists in Thailand. This paper drew upon
data collected from an international tourist survey conducted in
Bangkok, Thailand during summer of 2012. Summer is the period
that a variety food safety issues and incidents are often publicized in
Thailand. The survey targeted European Union tourists- concerns
toward a variety of food safety issues that they encountered during
their trip in Thailand. A total of 400 respondents were elicited as data
input for t-test, and one way ANOVA test. The findings revealed an
astonishing result that up to 46.5 percent of respondents were sick at
least one time or more in Thailand. However, the majority of
respondents trusted that the Thai hotel and Thai restaurants would
ensure food safety, but they did not trust street vendors to ensure food
safety. The level of food safety concern can be ranked from most
concern to least concern by using the value of mean scores as
follows: 1) artificial coloring, 2) use of preservatives, 3) antibiotics,
4) growth hormones, 5) chemical residues, and 6) bacterial
contamination. The overall mean score for level of concerns was
3.493 with standard deviation of 1.677 which did not indicate a very
high level of concern. In addition, the result for t-test and one way
ANOVA test revealed that there was not much effect from the
demographic differences to level of food safety concerns.
Abstract: The purpose of this research is to increase our
knowledge as regards how Small-and-Medium-Sized Enterprises
(SMEs) tackle ERP implementation projects to achieve successful
adoption and use of these systems within the organization. SMEs
have scare resources to handle these kinds of projects which have
proved to be risky and costly. There are several studies focusing on
ERP implementation in larger companies, however, few studies
report on challenges experienced by SMEs. Our research seeks to
bridge this gap. Through a multiple case study of four companies, we
identified challenges and critical elements within the different phases
(pre-implementation, implementation and post-implementation) of
the ERP life cycle. To interpret our findings, we utilize a well-know
ERP life cycle model and critical success factors developed for larger
companies which are reported in former research literature. We
discuss if these models are relevant for SMEs and suggest additional
critical elements identified in this study to make a framework more
adapted to the SME context.
Abstract: An attempt has been made several times to identify
and discuss the U.S. experience on the formation of political nation in
political science. The purpose of this research paper is to identify the
main aspects of the formation of civic identity in the United States
and Kazakhstan, through the identification of similarities and
differences that can get practical application in making decisions of
national policy issues in the context of globalization, as well as to
answer the questions “What should unite the citizens of Kazakhstan
to the nation?" and “What should be the dominant identity: civil or
ethnic (national) one?"
Can Kazakhstan being multiethnic country like America, adopt its
experience in the formation of a civic nation? Since it is believed that
the “multi-ethnic state of the population is a characteristic feature of
most modern countries in the world," it states that “inter-ethnic
integration is one of the most important aspects of the problem of
forming a new social community (metaetnic - Kazakh people,
Kazakh nation" [1].
Abstract: Attachment of the circulating monocytes to the
endothelium is the earliest detectable events during formation of
atherosclerosis. The adhesion molecules, chemokines and matrix
proteases genes were identified to be expressed in atherogenesis.
Expressions of these genes may influence structural integrity of the
luminal endothelium. The aim of this study is to relate changes in the
ultrastructural morphology of the aortic luminal surface and gene
expressions of the endothelial surface, chemokine and MMP-12 in
normal and hypercholesterolemic rabbits. Luminal endothelial
surface from rabbit aortic tissue was examined by scanning electron
microscopy (SEM) using low vacuum mode to ascertain
ultrastructural changes in development of atherosclerotic lesion. Gene
expression of adhesion molecules, MCP-1 and MMP-12 were studied
by Real-time PCR. Ultrastructural observations of the aortic luminal
surface exhibited changes from normal regular smooth intact
endothelium to irregular luminal surface including marked globular
appearance and ruptures of the membrane layer. Real-time PCR
demonstrated differentially expressed of studied genes in
atherosclerotic tissues. The appearance of ultrastructural changes in
aortic tissue of hypercholesterolemic rabbits is suggested to have
relation with underlying changes of endothelial surface molecules,
chemokine and MMP-12 gene expressions.
Abstract: Video sensor networks operate on stringent requirements
of latency. Packets have a deadline within which they have
to be delivered. Violation of the deadline causes a packet to be
treated as lost and the loss of packets ultimately affects the quality
of the application. Network latency is typically a function of many
interacting components. In this paper, we propose ways of reducing
the forwarding latency of a packet at intermediate nodes. The
forwarding latency is caused by a combination of processing delay
and queueing delay. The former is incurred in order to determine the
next hop in dynamic routing. We show that unless link failures in a
very specific and unlikely pattern, a vast majority of these lookups
are redundant. To counter this we propose source routing as the
routing strategy. However, source routing suffers from issues related
to scalability and being impervious to network dynamics. We propose
solutions to counter these and show that source routing is definitely
a viable option in practical sized video networks. We also propose a
fast and fair packet scheduling algorithm that reduces queueing delay
at the nodes. We support our claims through extensive simulation on
realistic topologies with practical traffic loads and failure patterns.
Abstract: This study used positivist quantitative approach to examine the mathematical concepts acquisition of- KS4 (14-16) Special Education Needs (SENs) students within the school sector education in England. The research is based on a pilot study and the design is completely holistic in its approach with mixing methodologies. The study combines the qualitative and quantitative methods of approach in gathering formative data for the design process. Although, the approach could best be described as a mix method, fundamentally with a strong positivist paradigm, hence my earlier understanding of the differentiation of the students, student – teacher body and the various elements of indicators that is being measured which will require an attenuated description of individual research subjects. The design process involves four phases with five key stages which are; literature review and document analysis, the survey, interview, and observation; then finally the analysis of data set. The research identified the need for triangulation with Reid-s phases of data management providing scaffold for the study. The study clearly identified the ideological and philosophical aspects of educational research design for the study of mathematics by the special education needs (SENs) students in England using the virtual learning environment (VLE) platform.
Abstract: This paper details few mechanical modeling and
design issues of RF MEMS switches. We concentrate on an
electrostatically actuated broad side series switch; surface
micromachined with a crab leg membrane. The same results are
extended to any complex structure. With available experimental data
and fabrication results, we present the variation in dynamic
performance and compliance of the switch with reference to few
design issues, which we find are critical in deciding the dynamic
behavior of the switch, without compromise on the RF
characteristics. The optimization of pull in voltage, transient time and
resonant frequency with regard to these critical design parameters are
also presented.
Abstract: Various mechanisms providing mutual exclusion and
thread synchronization can be used to support parallel processing
within a single computer. Instead of using locks, semaphores, barriers
or other traditional approaches in this paper we focus on alternative
ways for making better use of modern multithreaded architectures
and preparing hash tables for concurrent accesses. Hash structures
will be used to demonstrate and compare two entirely different
approaches (rule based cooperation and hardware synchronization
support) to an efficient parallel implementation using traditional
locks. Comparison includes implementation details, performance
ranking and scalability issues. We aim at understanding the effects
the parallelization schemes have on the execution environment with
special focus on the memory system and memory access
characteristics.