Abstract: Parsing is important in Linguistics and Natural
Language Processing to understand the syntax and semantics of a
natural language grammar. Parsing natural language text is
challenging because of the problems like ambiguity and inefficiency.
Also the interpretation of natural language text depends on context
based techniques. A probabilistic component is essential to resolve
ambiguity in both syntax and semantics thereby increasing accuracy
and efficiency of the parser. Tamil language has some inherent
features which are more challenging. In order to obtain the solutions,
lexicalized and statistical approach is to be applied in the parsing
with the aid of a language model. Statistical models mainly focus on
semantics of the language which are suitable for large vocabulary
tasks where as structural methods focus on syntax which models
small vocabulary tasks. A statistical language model based on Trigram
for Tamil language with medium vocabulary of 5000 words has
been built. Though statistical parsing gives better performance
through tri-gram probabilities and large vocabulary size, it has some
disadvantages like focus on semantics rather than syntax, lack of
support in free ordering of words and long term relationship. To
overcome the disadvantages a structural component is to be
incorporated in statistical language models which leads to the
implementation of hybrid language models. This paper has attempted
to build phrase structured hybrid language model which resolves
above mentioned disadvantages. In the development of hybrid
language model, new part of speech tag set for Tamil language has
been developed with more than 500 tags which have the wider
coverage. A phrase structured Treebank has been developed with 326
Tamil sentences which covers more than 5000 words. A hybrid
language model has been trained with the phrase structured Treebank
using immediate head parsing technique. Lexicalized and statistical
parser which employs this hybrid language model and immediate
head parsing technique gives better results than pure grammar and
trigram based model.
Abstract: The study explored the question of who am I? As a (re)construction of cultural identity by delving into globalization, communication, and social change in Malta during a historical moment when Malta became a European Union Member State. Three objectives guided this qualitative study. Firstly the study reviewed European Union (EU) policies that regulate broadcasting and their implementation in Member States, whilst meeting the challenges of globalization and new media technology. Secondly the research investigated the changes of the media landscape via organizational structures, programs and television (TV) content. Finally the study explored the impact of these transformations taking place in the way Maltese live as they (re)construct their cultural identity. Despite the choices available to the Maltese audience, old local traditions and new foreign customs coexist as informants continue to (re)construct their cultural identity and define who they are.
Abstract: This paper presents the results of a study aimed at
establishing the temperature distribution during the welding of
magnesium alloy sheets by Pulsed Current Gas Tungsten Arc
Welding (PCGTAW) and Constant Current Gas Tungsten Arc
Welding (CCGTAW) processes. Pulsing of the GTAW welding
current influences the dimensions and solidification rate of the fused
zone, it also reduces the weld pool volume hence a narrower bead. In
this investigation, the base material considered was 2mm thin AZ 31
B magnesium alloy, which is finding use in aircraft, automobile and
high-speed train components. A finite element analysis was carried
out using ANSYS, and the results of the FEA were compared with
the experimental results. It is evident from this study that the finite
element analysis using ANSYS can be effectively used to model
PCGTAW process for finding temperature distribution.
Abstract: To improve the material characteristics of single- and
poly-crystals of pure copper, the respective relationships between crystallographic orientations and microstructures, and the bending and mechanical properties were examined. And texture distribution is also
analyzed. A grain refinement procedure was performed to obtain a
grained structure. Furthermore, some analytical results related to
crystal direction maps, inverse pole figures, and textures were obtained from SEM-EBSD analyses. Results showed that these
grained metallic materials have peculiar springback characteristics with various bending angles.
Abstract: One of the most important aspects expected from ERP systems is to integrate various operations existing in administrative, financial, commercial, human resources, and production departments of the consumer organization. Also, it is often needed to integrate the new ERP system with the organization legacy systems when implementing the ERP package in the organization. Without relying on an appropriate software architecture to realize the required integration, ERP implementation processes become error prone and time consuming; in some cases, the ERP implementation may even encounters serious risks. In this paper, we propose a new architecture that is based on the agent oriented vision and supplies the integration expected from ERP systems using several independent but cooperator agents. Besides integration which is the main issue of this paper, the presented architecture will address some aspects of intelligence and learning capabilities existing in ERP systems
Abstract: Decentralized eco-sanitation system is a promising and sustainable mode comparing to the century-old centralized conventional sanitation system. The decentralized concept relies on an environmentally and economically sound management of water, nutrient and energy fluxes. Source-separation systems for urban waste management collect different solid waste and wastewater streams separately to facilitate the recovery of valuable resources from wastewater (energy, nutrients). A resource recovery centre constituted for 20,000 people will act as the functional unit for the treatment of urban waste of a high-density population community, like Singapore. The decentralized system includes urine treatment, faeces and food waste co-digestion, and horticultural waste and organic fraction of municipal solid waste treatment in composting plants. A design model is developed to estimate the input and output in terms of materials and energy. The inputs of urine (yellow water, YW) and faeces (brown water, BW) are calculated by considering the daily mean production of urine and faeces by humans and the water consumption of no-mix vacuum toilet (0.2 and 1 L flushing water for urine and faeces, respectively). The food waste (FW) production is estimated to be 150 g wet weight/person/day. The YW is collected and discharged by gravity into tank. It was found that two days are required for urine hydrolysis and struvite precipitation. The maximum nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) recovery are 150-266 kg/day and 20-70 kg/day, respectively. In contrast, BW and FW are mixed for co-digestion in a thermophilic acidification tank and later a decentralized/centralized methanogenic reactor is used for biogas production. It is determined that 6.16-15.67 m3/h methane is produced which is equivalent to 0.07-0.19 kWh/ca/day. The digestion residues are treated with horticultural waste and organic fraction of municipal waste in co-composting plants.
Abstract: This paper presents a generalized formulation for the
problem of buckling optimization of anisotropic, radially graded,
thin-walled, long cylinders subject to external hydrostatic pressure.
The main structure to be analyzed is built of multi-angle fibrous
laminated composite lay-ups having different volume fractions of the
constituent materials within the individual plies. This yield to a
piecewise grading of the material in the radial direction; that is the
physical and mechanical properties of the composite material are
allowed to vary radially. The objective function is measured by
maximizing the critical buckling pressure while preserving the total
structural mass at a constant value equals to that of a baseline
reference design. In the selection of the significant optimization
variables, the fiber volume fractions adjoin the standard design
variables including fiber orientation angles and ply thicknesses. The
mathematical formulation employs the classical lamination theory,
where an analytical solution that accounts for the effective axial and
flexural stiffness separately as well as the inclusion of the coupling
stiffness terms is presented. The proposed model deals with
dimensionless quantities in order to be valid for thin shells having
arbitrary thickness-to-radius ratios. The critical buckling pressure
level curves augmented with the mass equality constraint are given
for several types of cylinders showing the functional dependence of
the constrained objective function on the selected design variables. It
was shown that material grading can have significant contribution to
the whole optimization process in achieving the required structural
designs with enhanced stability limits.
Abstract: This paper is concerned with the application of small
rating Capacitive Energy Storage units for the improvement of
Automatic Generation Control of a multiunit multiarea power
system. Generation Rate Constraints are also considered in the
investigations. Integral Squared Error technique is used to obtain the
optimal integral gain settings by minimizing a quadratic performance
index. Simulation studies reveal that with CES units, the deviations
in area frequencies and inter-area tie-power are considerably
improved in terms of peak deviations and settling time as compared
to that obtained without CES units.
Abstract: E-Appointment Scheduling (EAS) has been developed
to handle appointment for UMP students, lecturers in Faculty of
Computer Systems & Software Engineering (FCSSE) and Student
Medical Center. The schedules are based on the timetable and
university activities. Constraints Logic Programming (CLP) has been
implemented to solve the scheduling problems by giving
recommendation to the users in part of determining any available
slots from the lecturers and doctors- timetable. By using this system,
we can avoid wasting time and cost because this application will set
an appointment by auto-generated. In addition, this system can be an
alternative to the lecturers and doctors to make decisions whether to
approve or reject the appointments.
Abstract: The mosaicing technique has been employed in more and more application fields, from entertainment to scientific ones. In the latter case, often the final evaluation is still left to human beings, that assess visually the quality of the mosaic. Many times, a lack of objective measurements in microscopic mosaicing may prevent the mosaic from being used as a starting image for further analysis. In this work we analyze three different metrics and indexes, in the domain of signal analysis, image analysis and visual quality, to measure the quality of different aspects of the mosaicing procedure, such as registration errors and visual quality. As the case study we consider the mosaicing algorithm we developed. The experiments have been carried out by considering mosaics with very different features: histological samples, that are made of detailed and contrasted images, and live stem cells, that show a very low contrast and low detail levels.
Abstract: Proactive coping directed at an upcoming as opposed
to an ongoing stressor, is a new focus in positive psychology. The
present study explored the proactive coping-s effect on the workplace
adaptation after transition from college to workplace. In order to
demonstrate the influence process between them, we constructed the
model of proactive coping style effecting the actual positive coping
efforts and outcomes by mediating proactive competence during one
year after the transition. Participants (n = 100) started to work right
after graduating from college completed all the four time-s surveys
--one month before (Time 0), one month after (Time 1), three months
after (Time 2), and one year after (Time 3) the transition. Time 0
survey included the measurement of proactive coping style and
competence. Time 1, 2, 3 surveys included the measurement of the
challenge cognitive appraisal, problem solving coping strategy, and
subjective workplace adaptation. The result indicated that proactive
coping style effected newcomers- actual coping efforts and outcomes
by mediating proactive coping competence. The result also showed
that proactive coping competence directly promoted Time1-s actual
positive coping efforts and outcomes, and indirectly promoted Time
2-s and Time 3-s.
Abstract: This paper presents a new approach for image
segmentation by applying Pillar-Kmeans algorithm. This
segmentation process includes a new mechanism for clustering the
elements of high-resolution images in order to improve precision and
reduce computation time. The system applies K-means clustering to
the image segmentation after optimized by Pillar Algorithm. The
Pillar algorithm considers the pillars- placement which should be
located as far as possible from each other to withstand against the
pressure distribution of a roof, as identical to the number of centroids
amongst the data distribution. This algorithm is able to optimize the
K-means clustering for image segmentation in aspects of precision
and computation time. It designates the initial centroids- positions
by calculating the accumulated distance metric between each data
point and all previous centroids, and then selects data points which
have the maximum distance as new initial centroids. This algorithm
distributes all initial centroids according to the maximum
accumulated distance metric. This paper evaluates the proposed
approach for image segmentation by comparing with K-means and
Gaussian Mixture Model algorithm and involving RGB, HSV, HSL
and CIELAB color spaces. The experimental results clarify the
effectiveness of our approach to improve the segmentation quality in
aspects of precision and computational time.
Abstract: A concrete structure is designed and constructed for its
purpose of use, and is expected to maintain its function for the target
durable years from when it was planned. Nevertheless, as time elapses
the structure gradually deteriorates and then eventually degrades to the
point where the structure cannot exert the function for which it was
planned. The performance of concrete that is able to maintain the level
of the performance required over the designed period of use as it has
less deterioration caused by the elapse of time under the designed
condition is referred to as Durability. There are a number of causes of
durability degradation, but especially chloride damage, carbonation,
freeze-thaw, etc are the main causes. In this study, carbonation, one of
the main causes of deterioration of the durability of a concrete
structure, was investigated via a microstructure analysis technique.
The method for the measurement of carbonation was studied using the
existing indicator method, and the method of measuring the progress
of carbonation in a quantitative manner was simultaneously studied
using a FT-IR (Fourier-Transform Infrared) Spectrometer along with
the microstructure analysis technique.
Abstract: The article emphasizes the ideological commitment of
the philosopher Emil Cioran. It presents firstly Cioran's works on the
theme announced by the title, then the European context that
determined the political option of Cioran and a brief analysis of his
relationship with History during his French period. The anti-
Semitism of Cioran was favored by his attachment to a few
philosophers, but also by the European extremist and anti-Semitic
context. The article seeks to demonstrate that the philosopher Cioran,
known more for his pessimism and nihilism, maintained in time an
obsessive relationship with History. His political philosophy is as
important as his subjective philosophy, better known than the former.
Abstract: The Taiwan government has started to promote the “Plain Landscape Afforestation and Greening Program" since 2002. A key task of the program was the payment for environmental services (PES), entitled the “Plain Landscape Afforestation Policy" (PLAP), which was certificated by the Executive Yuan on August 31, 2001 and enacted on January 1, 2002. According to the policy, it is estimated that the total area of afforestation will be 25,100 hectares by December 31, 2007. Until the end of 2007, the policy had been enacted for six years in total and the actual area of afforestation was 8,919.18 hectares. Among them, Taiwan Sugar Corporation (TSC) was accounted for 7,960 hectares (with 2,450.83 hectares as public service area) which occupied 86.22% of the total afforestation area; the private farmland promoted by local governments was accounted for 869.18 hectares which occupied 9.75% of the total afforestation area. Based on the above, we observe that most of the afforestation area in this policy is executed by TSC, and the achievement ratio by TSC is better than by others. It implies that the success of the PLAP is seriously related to the execution of TSC. The objective of this study is to analyze the relevant policy planning of TSC-s participation in the PLAP, suggest complementary measures, and draw up effective adjustment mechanisms, so as to improve the effectiveness of executing the policy. Our main conclusions and suggestions are summarized as follows: 1. The main reason for TSC-s participation in the PLAP is based on their passive cooperation with the central government or company policy. Prior to TSC-s participation in the PLAP, their lands were mainly used for growing sugarcane. 2. The main factors of TSC-s consideration on the selection of tree species are based on the suitability of land and species. The largest proportion of tree species is allocated to economic forests, and the lack of technical instruction was the main problem during afforestation. Moreover, the method of improving TSC-s future development in leisure agriculture and landscape business becomes a key topic. 3. TSC has developed short and long-term plans on participating in the PLAP for the future. However, there is no great willingness or incentive on budgeting for such detailed planning. 4. Most people from TSC interviewed consider the requirements on PLAP unreasonable. Among them, an unreasonable requirement on the number of trees accounted for the greatest proportion; furthermore, most interviewees suggested that the government should continue to provide incentives even after 20 years. 5. Since the government shares the same goals as TSC, there should be sufficient cooperation and communication that support the technical instruction and reduction of afforestation cost, which will also help to improve effectiveness of the policy.
Abstract: This paper addresses the stability of the switched systems with discrete and distributed time delays. By applying Lyapunov functional and function method, we show that, if the norm of system matrices Bi is small enough, the asymptotic stability is always achieved. Finally, a example is provided to verify technically feasibility and operability of the developed results.
Abstract: The microbiological and physicochemical
characteristics of wetland soils in Eket Local Government Area were
studied between May 2001 and June 2003. Total heterotrophic
bacterial counts (THBC), total fungal counts (TFC), and total
actinomycetes counts (TAC) were determined from soil samples
taken from four locations at two depths in the wet and dry seasons.
Microbial isolates were characterized and identified. Particle size and
chemical parameters were also determined using standard methods.
THBC ranged from 5.2 (+0.17) x106 to 1.7 (+0.18) x107 cfu/g and
from 2.4 (+0.02) x106 to 1.4 (+0.04) x107cfu/g in the wet and dry
seasons, respectively. TFC ranged from 1.8 (+0.03) x106 to 6.6 (+
0.18) x106 cfu/g and from 1.0 (+0.04) x106 to 4.2 (+ 0.01) x106 cfu/g
in the wet and dry seasons, respectively .TAC ranged from 1.2
(+0.53) x106 to 6.0 (+0.05) x106 cfu/g and from 0.6 (+0.01) x106 to
3.2 (+ 0.12) x106 cfu/g in the wet and dry season, respectively.
Acinetobacter, Alcaligenes, Arthrobacter, Bacillus, Beijerinckja,
Enterobacter, Micrococcus, Flavobacterium, Serratia, Enterococcus,
and Pseudomonas species were predominant bacteria while
Aspergillus, Fusarium, Mucor, Penicillium, and Rhizopus were the
dominant fungal genera isolated. Streptomyces and Norcadia were
the actinomycetes genera isolated. The particle size analysis showed
high sand fraction but low silt and clay. The pH and % organic
matter were generally acidic and low, respectively at all locations.
Calcium dominated the exchangeable bases with low electrical
conductivity and micronutrients. These results provide the baseline
data of Eket wetland soils for its management for sustainable
agriculture.
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of the development of Szuchung Creek take for the cause of the critical success factors, This research is to use the depth interviews, document analysis and Modified-Delphi technique survey of nine depth interviews with experts and 14 experts of Modified-Delphi technique questionnaire and inviting as the research object, Szuchung Creek Hot Springs for the scope of the study. The results show, Szuchung Creek Hot Springs development take for career success factors for the following reasons: 1. Government. 2. Opportunities. 3. Factors of production. 4. Demand conditions. 5. Corporate structure and the degree of competition. 6. Related and supporting industries. Furthermore, Szuchung Creek hot springs, itself already has a number of critical success factors. Contingent less than or inadequacies by Szuchung Creek take for the enterprise development to take for the cause of the critical success factors as the basis for correcting, planning out for local use improvement strategies to achieve the objective of sustainable management.
Abstract: Thermoelastic temperature, displacement, and
stress in heat transfer during laser surface hardening are solved
in Eulerian formulation. In Eulerian formulations the heat flux
is fixed in space and the workpiece is moved through a control
volume. In the case of uniform velocity and uniform heat flux
distribution, the Eulerian formulations leads to a steady-state
problem, while the Lagrangian formulations remains transient.
In Eulerian formulations the reduction to a steady-state
problem increases the computational efficiency. In this study
also an analytical solution is developed for an uncoupled
transient heat conduction equation in which a plane slab is
heated by a laser beam. The thermal result of the numerical
model is compared with the result of this analytical model.
Comparing the results shows numerical solution for uncoupled
equations are in good agreement with the analytical solution.
Abstract: Whilst there is growing evidence that activity
across the lifespan is beneficial for improved health, there are
also many changes involved with the aging process and
subsequently the potential for reduced indices of health. The
nexus between health, physical activity and aging is complex
and has raised much interest in recent times due to the
realization that a multifaceted approached is necessary in
order to counteract a growing obesity epidemic. By
investigating age based trends within a population adhering to
competitive sport at older ages, further insight might be
gleaned to assist in understanding one of many factors
influencing this relationship.
BMI was derived using data gathered on a total of 6,071
masters athletes (51.9% male, 48.1% female) aged 25 to 91
years ( =51.5, s =±9.7), competing at the Sydney World
Masters Games (2009). Using linear and loess regression it
was demonstrated that the usual tendency for prevalence of
higher BMI increasing with age was reversed in the sample.
This trend in reversal was repeated for both male and female
only sub-sets of the sample participants, indicating the
possibility of improved prevalence of BMI with increasing
age for both the sample as a whole and these individual subgroups.
This evidence of improved classification in one index of
health (reduced BMI) for masters athletes (when compared to
the general population) implies there are either improved
levels of this index of health with aging due to adherence to
sport or possibly the reduced BMI is advantageous and
contributes to this cohort adhering (or being attracted) to
masters sport at older ages. Demonstration of this
proportionately under-investigated World Masters Games
population having an improved relationship between BMI and
increasing age over the general population is of particular
interest in the context of the measures being taken globally to
curb an obesity epidemic.