Abstract: This article explores the sociological perspectives on
social problems and the role of the media which has a delicate role to
tread in balancing its duty to the public and the victim Whilst social
problems have objective conditions, it is the subjective definition of
such problems that ensure which social problem comes to the fore
and which doesn-t. Further it explores the roles and functions of
policymakers when addressing social problems and the impact of the
inception of media profiling as well as the advantages and
disadvantages of media profiling towards social problems. It focuses
on the inception of media profiling due to its length and a follow up
article will explore how current media profiling towards social
problems have evolved since its inception.
Abstract: Least Significant Bit (LSB) technique is the earliest
developed technique in watermarking and it is also the most simple,
direct and common technique. It essentially involves embedding the
watermark by replacing the least significant bit of the image data with
a bit of the watermark data. The disadvantage of LSB is that it is not
robust against attacks. In this study intermediate significant bit (ISB)
has been used in order to improve the robustness of the watermarking
system. The aim of this model is to replace the watermarked image
pixels by new pixels that can protect the watermark data against
attacks and at the same time keeping the new pixels very close to the
original pixels in order to protect the quality of watermarked image.
The technique is based on testing the value of the watermark pixel
according to the range of each bit-plane.
Abstract: A numerical study is presented on convective heat transfer in enclosures. The results are addressed to automotive headlights containing new-age light sources like Light Emitting Diodes (LED). The heat transfer from the heat source (LED) to the enclosure walls is investigated for mixed convection as interaction of the forced convection flow from an inlet and an outlet port and the natural convection at the heat source. Unlike existing studies, inlet and outlet port are thermally coupled and do not serve to remove hot fluid. The input power of the heat source is expressed by the Rayleigh number. The internal position of the heat source, the aspect ratio of the enclosure, and the inclination angle of one wall are varied. The results are given in terms of the global Nusselt number and the enclosure Nusselt number that characterize the heat transfer from the source and from the interior fluid to the enclosure walls, respectively. It is found that the heat transfer from the source to the fluid can be maximized if the source is placed in the main stream from the inlet to the outlet port. In this case, the Reynolds number and heat source position have the major impact on the heat transfer. A disadvantageous position has been found where natural and forced convection compete each other. The overall heat transfer from the source to the wall increases with increasing Reynolds number as well as with increasing aspect ratio and decreasing inclination angle. The heat transfer from the interior fluid to the enclosure wall increases upon decreasing the aspect ratio and increasing the inclination angle. This counteracting behaviour is caused by the variation of the area of the enclosure wall. All mixed convection results are compared to the natural convection limit.
Abstract: The neural network's performance can be measured by efficiency and accuracy. The major disadvantages of neural network approach are that the generalization capability of neural networks is often significantly low, and it may take a very long time to tune the weights in the net to generate an accurate model for a highly complex and nonlinear systems. This paper presents a novel Neuro-fuzzy architecture based on Extended Kalman filter. To test the performance and applicability of the proposed neuro-fuzzy model, simulation study of nonlinear complex dynamic system is carried out. The proposed method can be applied to an on-line incremental adaptive learning for the prediction of financial time series. A benchmark case studie is used to demonstrate that the proposed model is a superior neuro-fuzzy modeling technique.
Abstract: The Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm
(ECDSA) is the elliptic curve analogue of DSA, where it is a digital
signature scheme designed to provide a digital signature based on a
secret number known only to the signer and also on the actual
message being signed. These digital signatures are considered the
digital counterparts to handwritten signatures, and are the basis for
validating the authenticity of a connection. The security of these
schemes results from the infeasibility to compute the signature
without the private key. In this paper we introduce a proposed to
development the original ECDSA with more complexity.
Abstract: Major social changes in the last century had significant impact on the Kazakh literature. Participants of the World War II, writers and poets imprisoned during the war, formed the Kazakh literature in emigration within the framework of 'Turkistan Legion'. This was a topic which remained closed until Kazakhstan gained its independence, though even after the independence, there were few research works done about the literature in emigration. The article studies the formation of the Kazakh literature in emigration, its prominent figures, its artistic heritage, and notes of emigration in works of poets and writers.
Abstract: Current tools for data migration between documentoriented
and relational databases have several disadvantages. We
propose a new approach for data migration between documentoriented
and relational databases. During data migration the relational
schema of the target (relational database) is automatically created
from collection of XML documents. Proposed approach is verified on
data migration between document-oriented database IBM Lotus/
Notes Domino and relational database implemented in relational
database management system (RDBMS) MySQL.
Abstract: In this work Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques like Fuzzy logic, Genetic Algorithms and Particle Swarm Optimization have been used to improve the performance of the Automatic Generation Control (AGC) system. Instead of applying Genetic Algorithms and Particle swarm optimization independently for optimizing the parameters of the conventional AGC with PI controller, an intelligent tuned Fuzzy logic controller (acting as the secondary controller in the AGC system) has been designed. The controller gives an improved dynamic performance for both hydrothermal and thermal-thermal power systems under a variety of operating conditions.
Abstract: Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) is a measure of
the oxygen used in bacteria mediated oxidation of organic substances
in water and wastewater. Theoretically an infinite time is required for
complete biochemical oxidation of organic matter, but the
measurement is made over 5-days at 20 0C or 3-days at 27 0C test
period with or without dilution. Researchers have worked to further
reduce the time of measurement.
The objective of this paper is to review advancement made in
BOD measurement primarily to minimize the time and negate the
measurement difficulties. Survey of literature review in four such
techniques namely BOD-BARTTM, Biosensors, Ferricyanidemediated
approach, luminous bacterial immobilized chip method.
Basic principle, method of determination, data validation and their
advantage and disadvantages have been incorporated of each of the
methods.
In the BOD-BARTTM method the time lag is calculated for the
system to change from oxidative to reductive state. BIOSENSORS
are the biological sensing element with a transducer which produces
a signal proportional to the analyte concentration. Microbial species
has its metabolic deficiencies. Co-immobilization of bacteria using
sol-gel biosensor increases the range of substrate. In ferricyanidemediated
approach, ferricyanide has been used as e-acceptor instead
of oxygen. In Luminous bacterial cells-immobilized chip method,
bacterial bioluminescence which is caused by lux genes was
observed. Physiological responses is measured and correlated to
BOD due to reduction or emission.
There is a scope to further probe into the rapid estimation of BOD.
Abstract: Efficient utilization of existing water is a pressing
need for Pakistan. Due to rising population, reduction in present
storage capacity and poor delivery efficiency of 30 to 40% from
canal. A study to evaluate an irrigation system in the cotton-wheat
zone of Pakistan, after the watercourse lining was conducted. The
study is made on the basis of cropping pattern and salinity to evaluate
the system. This study employed an index-based approach of using
Geographic information system with field data. The satellite images
of different years were use to examine the effective area. Several
combinations of the ratio of signals received in different spectral
bands were used for development of this index. Near Infrared and
Thermal IR spectral bands proved to be most effective as this
combination helped easy detection of salt affected area and cropping
pattern of the study area. Result showed that 9.97% area under
salinity in 1992, 9.17% in 2000 and it left 2.29% in year 2005.
Similarly in 1992, 45% area is under vegetation it improves to 56%
and 65% in 2000 and 2005 respectively. On the basis of these results
evaluation is done 30% performance is increase after the watercourse
improvement.
Abstract: Transportation is of great importance in the current
life of human beings. The transportation system plays many roles,
from economical development to after-catastrophe aids such as
rescue operation in the first hours and days after an earthquake. In
after earthquakes response phase, transportation system acts as a
basis for ground operations including rescue and relief operation,
food providing for victims and etc. It is obvious that partial or
complete obstruction of this system results in the stop of these
operations. Bridges are one of the most important elements of
transportation network. Failure of a bridge, in the most optimistic
case, cuts the relation between two regions and in more developed
countries, cuts the relation of numerous regions. In this paper, to
evaluate the vulnerability and estimate the damage level of Tehran
bridges, HAZUS method, developed by Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA) with the aid of National Institute of
Building Science (NIBS), is used for the first time in Iran. In this
method, to evaluate the collapse probability, fragility curves are
used. Iran is located on seismic belt and thus, it is vulnerable to
earthquakes. Thus, the study of the probability of bridge collapses, as
an important part of transportation system, during earthquakes is of
great importance. The purpose of this study is to provide fragility
curves for Gisha Bridge, one of the longest steel bridges in Tehran,
as an important lifeline element. Besides, the damage probability for
this bridge during a specific earthquake, introduced as scenario
earthquakes, is calculated. The fragility curves show that for the
considered scenario, the probability of occurrence of complete
collapse for the bridge is 8.6%.
Abstract: Deployment of pneumatic muscles in various
industrial applications is still in its early days, considering the relative
newness of these components. The field of robotics holds particular
future potential for pneumatic muscles, especially in view of their
specific behaviour known as compliance. The paper presents and
discusses an innovative constructive solution for a gripper system
mountable on an industrial robot, based on actuation by a linear
pneumatic muscle and transmission of motion by gear and rack
mechanism. The structural, operational and constructive models of
the new gripper are presented, along with some of the experimental
results obtained subsequently to the testing of a prototype. Further
presented are two control variants of the gripper system, one by
means of a 3/2-way fast-switching solenoid valve, the other by means
of a proportional pressure regulator. Advantages and disadvantages
are discussed for both variants.
Abstract: Permanent magnet synchronous machines are known
as a good candidate for hybrid electric vehicles due to their unique
merits. However they have two major drawbacks i.e. high cost and
small speed range. In this paper an optimal design of a permanent
magnet machine is presented. A reduction of permanent magnet
material for a constant torque and an extension in speed and torque
ranges are chosen as the optimization aims. For this purpose the
analytical model of the permanent magnet synchronous machine is
derived and the appropriate design algorithm is devised. The genetic
algorithm is then employed to optimize some machine specifications.
Finally the finite element method is used to validate the designed
machine.
Abstract: In this paper a novel method for multiple one dimensional real valued sinusoidal signal frequency estimation in the presence of additive Gaussian noise is postulated. A computationally simple frequency estimation method with efficient statistical performance is attractive in many array signal processing applications. The prime focus of this paper is to combine the subspace-based technique and a simple peak search approach. This paper presents a variant of the Propagator Method (PM), where a collaborative approach of SUMWE and Propagator method is applied in order to estimate the multiple real valued sine wave frequencies. A new data model is proposed, which gives the dimension of the signal subspace is equal to the number of frequencies present in the observation. But, the signal subspace dimension is twice the number of frequencies in the conventional MUSIC method for estimating frequencies of real-valued sinusoidal signal. The statistical analysis of the proposed method is studied, and the explicit expression of asymptotic (large-sample) mean-squared-error (MSE) or variance of the estimation error is derived. The performance of the method is demonstrated, and the theoretical analysis is substantiated through numerical examples. The proposed method can achieve sustainable high estimation accuracy and frequency resolution at a lower SNR, which is verified by simulation by comparing with conventional MUSIC, ESPRIT and Propagator Method.
Abstract: The objectives of this research are to search the
management pattern of Bang Khonthi lodging entrepreneurs for
sufficient economy ways, to know the threat that affects this sector
and design fit arrangement model to sustain their business with
Samut Songkram style. What will happen if they do not use this
approach? Will they have a financial crisis? The data and information
are collected by informal discussions with 8 managers and 400
questionnaires. A mixed methods of both qualitative research and
quantitative research are used. Bent Flyvbjerg-s phronesis is utilized
for this analysis. Our research will prove that sufficient economy can
help small business firms to solve their problems. We think that the
results of our research will be a financial model to solve many
problems of the entrepreneurs and this way will can be a model for
other provinces of Thailand.
Abstract: Nowadays, quasi-continuous wave diode lasers are
used in a widespread variety of applications. Temperature effects in
these lasers can strongly influence their performance. In this paper,
the effects of temperature have been experimentally investigated on
different features of a 60W-QCW diode laser. The obtained results
indicate that the conversion efficiency and operation voltage of diode
laser decrease with the augmentation of the working temperature
associated with a redshift in the laser peak wavelength. Experimental
results show the emission peak wavelength of laser shifts 0.26 nm
and the conversion efficiency decreases 1.76 % with the increase of
temperature from 40 to 50 ̊C. Present study also shows the slope
efficiency decreases gradually at low temperatures and rapidly at
higher temperatures. Regarding the close dependence of the
mentioned parameters to the operating temperature, it is of great
importance to carefully control the working temperature of diode
laser, particularly for medical applications.
Abstract: In this paper, the computation of the electrical field distribution around AC high-voltage lines is demonstrated. The advantages and disadvantages of two different methods are described to evaluate the electrical field quantity. The first method is a seminumerical method using the laws of electrostatic techniques to simulate the two-dimensional electric field under the high-voltage overhead line. The second method which will be discussed is the finite element method (FEM) using specific boundary conditions to compute the two- dimensional electric field distributions in an efficient way.
Abstract: The organic farmers use wider range of crop varieties than the conventional farming. Bread wheat is the most favorite and the most common food crop. The organic bread wheat is usually of worse technological quality. Therefore, it is supposed to be an attractive alternative to the hulled wheat species (einkorn, emmer wheat and spelt). Twenty-five hulled bread wheat varieties and control bread wheat ones were grown on the certified organic parcel in České Budějovice (the Czech Republic) between 2009 and 2012. Their baking quality was measured and evaluated with standard methods, and in accordance with ICC. The results have shown that the grain of hulled wheat varieties contain a lot of proteins in grains (up to 18 percent); even the organic hulled bread wheat varieties are characterized by such good baking quality. Einkorn and emmer wheat are of worse technological quality of proteins (low values of gluten index and Zeleny test), which is a disadvantage of these two wheat species. On the other hand, spelt wheat is of better technological quality and is similar to the control bread wheat varieties. Mixtures consisting of bread wheat, among others, are considered good alternatives; they may contribute to wider range of use of the hulled wheat species. It is one of the possibilities which may increase the proportion of proteins in bread wheat grains; the nutrition-rich hulled wheat grains may be also used in such way at the same time.
Abstract: Skin color based tracking techniques often assume a
static skin color model obtained either from an offline set of library
images or the first few frames of a video stream. These models
can show a weak performance in presence of changing lighting or
imaging conditions. We propose an adaptive skin color model based
on the Gaussian mixture model to handle the changing conditions.
Initial estimation of the number and weights of skin color clusters
are obtained using a modified form of the general Expectation
maximization algorithm, The model adapts to changes in imaging
conditions and refines the model parameters dynamically using spatial
and temporal constraints. Experimental results show that the method
can be used in effectively tracking of hand and face regions.
Abstract: One part of the total employee’s reward is apart from basic wages or salary, employee’s benefits and intangible remuneration also so called contingent (variable) pay. Contingent pay is connected to performance, contribution, cap competency or skills of individual employees, and to team’s or company-wide performance or to combination of few of the mentioned possibilities. Sometimes among the contingent pay is also incorporated the remuneration based on length of employment, when the financial reward is not connected to performance or skills, but to length of continuous employment either on one working position or in one level of remuneration scale. Main aim of this article is to define, based on available information, contingent pay, describe individual forms, its advantages and disadvantages and possibilities to utilization in practice; but also bring information not only about its extent and level of utilization of contingent pay by companies in one of the Czech Republic’s regions, but also mention their practical experience with this type of remuneration.