Abstract: The UK is leading in online retail and mobile
adoption. However, there is a dearth of information relating to mobile
apparel retail, and developing an understanding about consumer
browsing and purchase behaviour in m-retail channel would provide
apparel marketers, mobile website and app developers with the
necessary understanding of consumers’ needs. Despite the rapid
growth of mobile retail businesses, no published study has examined
shopping behaviour on fashion mobile apps and websites. A mixed method approach helped to understand why fashion
consumers prefer websites on smartphones, when diverse mobile
apps are also available. The following research methods were
employed: survey, eye-tracking experiments, observation, and
interview with retrospective think aloud. The mobile gaze tracking
device by SensoMotoric Instruments was used to understand
frustrations in navigation and other issues facing consumers in
mobile channel. This method helped to validate and compliment
other traditional user-testing approaches in order to optimize user
experience and enhance the development of mobile retail channel.
The study involved eight participants - females aged 18 to 35 years
old, who are existing mobile shoppers. The participants used the
Topshop mobile app and website on a smart phone to complete a task
according to a specified scenario leading to a purchase. The
comparative study was based on: duration and time spent at different
stages of the shopping journey, number of steps involved and product
pages visited, search approaches used, layout and visual clues, as
well as consumer perceptions and expectations. The results from the data analysis show significant differences in
consumer behaviour when using a mobile app or website on a smart
phone. Moreover, two types of problems were identified, namely
technical issues and human errors. Having a mobile app does not
guarantee success in satisfying mobile fashion consumers. The
differences in the layout and visual clues seem to influence the
overall shopping experience on a smart phone. The layout of search
results on the website was different from the mobile app. Therefore,
participants, in most cases, behaved differently on different
platforms. The number of product pages visited on the mobile app
was triple the number visited on the website due to a limited visibility
of products in the search results. Although, the data on traffic trends
held by retailers to date, including retail sector breakdowns for visits
and views, data on device splits and duration, might seem a valuable
source of information, it cannot explain why consumers visit many
product pages, stay longer on the website or mobile app, or abandon
the basket. A comprehensive list of pros and cons was developed by
highlighting issues for website and mobile app, and recommendations
provided. The findings suggest that fashion retailers need to be aware of
actual consumers’ behaviour on the mobile channel and their expectations in order to offer a seamless shopping experience. Added
to which is the challenge of retaining existing and acquiring new
customers. There seem to be differences in the way fashion
consumers search and shop on mobile, which need to be explored in
further studies.
Abstract: Polylactic acid (PLA) is the most commercially
available bio-based and biodegradable plastic at present. PLA has
been used in plastic related industries including single-used
containers, disposable and environmentally friendly packaging owing
to its renewability, compostability, biodegradability, and safety.
Although PLA demonstrates reasonably good optical, physical,
mechanical and barrier properties comparable to the existing
petroleum-based plastics, its brittleness and mold shrinkage as well as
its price are the points to be concerned for the production of rigid and
semi-rigid packaging. Blending PLA with other bio-based polymers
including thermoplastic starch (TPS) is an alternative not only to
achieve a complete bio-based plastic, but also to reduce the
brittleness, shrinkage during molding and production cost of the
PLA-based products. TPS is a material produced mainly from starch
which is cheap, renewable, biodegradable, compostable, and nontoxic.
It is commonly prepared by a plasticization of starch under
applying heat and shear force. Although glycerol has been reported as
one of the most plasticizers used for preparing TPS, its migration
caused the surface stickiness of the TPS products. In some cases,
mixed plasticizers or natural fibers have been applied to impede the
retrogradation of starch or reduce the migration of glycerol. The
introduction of fibers into TPS-based materials could reinforce the
polymer matrix as well. Therefore, the objective of the present
research is to study the effect of starch type (i.e. native starch and
phosphate starch), plasticizer type (i.e. glycerol and xylitol with a
weight ratio of glycerol to xylitol of 100:0, 75:25, 50:50, 25:75 and
0:100) and fiber content (i.e. in the range of 1-25 %wt) on properties
of PLA/TPS blend and composite. PLA/TPS blends and composites
were prepared using a twin-screw extruder and then converted into
dumbbell-shaped specimens using an injection molding machine. The
PLA/TPS blends prepared by using phosphate starch showed higher
tensile strength and stiffness than the blends prepared by using native
one. In contrast, the blends from native starch exhibited higher
extensibility and heat distortion temperature (HDT) than those from
the modified starch. Increasing xylitol content resulted in enhanced
tensile strength, stiffness and water resistance, but decreased
extensibility and HDT of the PLA/TPS blend. Tensile properties and
hydrophobicity of the blend could be improved by incorporating
silane treated-jute fibers.
Abstract: The Greater Athens Area (GAA) faces photochemical
and particulate pollution episodes as a result of the combined effects
of local pollutant emissions, regional pollution transport, synoptic
circulation and topographic characteristics. The area has undergone
significant changes since the Athens 2004 Olympic Games because
of large scale infrastructure works that lead to the shift of population
to areas previously characterized as rural, the increase of the traffic
fleet and the operation of highways. However, few recent modelling
studies have been performed due to the lack of an accurate, updated
emission inventory. The photochemical modelling system
MM5/CAMx was applied in order to study the photochemical and
particulate pollution characteristics above the GAA for two distinct
ten-day periods in the summer of 2006 and 2010, where air pollution
episodes occurred. A new updated emission inventory was used
based on official data. Comparison of modeled results with
measurements revealed the importance and accuracy of the new
Athens emission inventory as compared to previous modeling
studies. The model managed to reproduce the local meteorological
conditions, the daily ozone and particulates fluctuations at different
locations across the GAA. Higher ozone levels were found at
suburban and rural areas as well as over the sea at the south of the
basin. Concerning PM10, high concentrations were computed at the
city centre and the southeastern suburbs in agreement with measured
data. Source apportionment analysis showed that different sources
contribute to the ozone levels, the local sources (traffic, port
activities) affecting its formation.
Abstract: The advancements in technology allow the
development of a new system that can continuously measure surface
soil erosion. Continuous soil erosion measurements are required in
order to comprehend the erosional processes and propose effective
and efficient conservation measures to mitigate surface erosion.
Mitigating soil erosion, especially in Mediterranean countries such as
Greece, is essential in order to maintain environmental and
agricultural sustainability. In this paper, we present the Automated
Soil Erosion Monitoring System (ASEMS) that measures surface soil
erosion along with other factors that impact erosional process.
Specifically, this system measures ground level changes (surface soil
erosion), rainfall, air temperature, soil temperature, and soil moisture.
Another important innovation is that the data will be collected by
remote communication. In addition, stakeholder’s awareness is a key
factor to help reduce any environmental problem. The different
dissemination activities that were utilized are described. The overall
outcomes were the development of a new innovative system that can
measure erosion very accurately. These data from the system help
study the process of erosion and find the best possible methods to
reduce erosion. The dissemination activities enhance the stakeholders
and public's awareness on surface soil erosion problems and will lead
to the adoption of more effective soil erosion conservation practices
in Greece.
Abstract: The development of composite materials and the
related design and manufacturing technologies is one of the most
important advances in the history of materials. Composites are
multifunctional materials having unprecedented mechanical and
physical properties that can be tailored to meet the requirements of a
particular application. Some composites also exhibit great resistance
to high-temperature corrosion, oxidation, and wear. Polymers are
widely used indoors and outdoors, therefore they are exposed to a
chemical environment which may include atmospheric oxygen, acidic
fumes, acidic rain, moisture heat and thermal shock, ultra-violet light,
high energy radiation, etc. Different polymers are affected differently
by these factors even though the amorphous polymers are more
sensitive. Ageing is also important and it is defined as the process of
deterioration of engineering materials resulting from the combined
effects of atmospheric radiation, heat, oxygen, water, microorganisms
and other atmospheric factors.
Abstract: Rapid prototyping is a new group of manufacturing
processes, which allows fabrication of physical of any complexity
using a layer by layer deposition technique directly from a computer
system. The rapid prototyping process greatly reduces the time and
cost necessary to bring a new product to market. The prototypes
made by these systems are used in a range of industrial application
including design evaluation, verification, testing, and as patterns for
casting processes. These processes employ a variety of materials and
mechanisms to build up the layers to build the part. The present work
was to build a FDM prototyping machine that could control the X-Y
motion and material deposition, to generate two-dimensional and
three-dimensional complex shapes. This study focused on the
deposition of wax material. This work was to find out the properties
of the wax materials used in this work in order to enable better
control of the FDM process. This study will look at the integration of
a computer controlled electro-mechanical system with the traditional
FDM additive prototyping process. The characteristics of the wax
were also analysed in order to optimise the model production process.
These included wax phase change temperature, wax viscosity and
wax droplet shape during processing.
Abstract: The ferrites ZnFe2O4, CdFe2O4 and CuFe2O4 are
synthesized in laboratory conditions using ceramic technology. Their
homogeneity and structure are proven by X-Ray diffraction analysis
and Mössbauer spectroscopy. The synthesized ferrites are subjected
to strong acid and high temperature leaching with solutions of H2SO4,
HCl and HNO3. The results indicate that the highest degree of
leaching of Zn, Cd and Cu from the ferrites is achieved by use of
HCl. The charging of five zinc sulfide concentrates was optimized using
the criterion of minimal amount of zinc ferrite produced when
roasting the concentrates in a fluidized bed. The results obtained are
interpreted in terms of the hydrometallurgical zinc production and
maximum recovery of zinc, copper and cadmium from initial zinc
concentrates after their roasting.
Abstract: In recent years, the power system has been changed
and a flexible power pricing system such as demand response has been
sought in Japan. The demand response system works simply in the
household sector and the owner as the decision-maker, can benefit
from power saving. On the other hand, the execution of demand
response in the office building is more complex than in the household
because various people such as owners, building administrators and
occupants are involved in the decision-making process. While the
owners benefit from demand saving, the occupants are exposed to
restricted benefits of a demand-saved environment. One of the reasons
is that building systems are usually under centralized management and
each occupant cannot choose freely whether to participate in demand
response or not. In addition, it is unclear whether incentives give
occupants the motivation to participate. However, the recent
development of IT and building systems enables the personalized
control of the office environment where each occupant can control the
lighting level or temperature individually. Therefore, it can be possible
to have a system which each occupant can make a decision of whether
or not to participate in demand response in the office building. This study investigates personal responses to demand response
requests, under the condition where each occupant can adjust their
brightness individually in their workspace. Once workers participate
in the demand response, their desk-lights are automatically turned off.
The participation rates in the demand response events are compared
among four groups, which are divided by different motivation, the
presence, or absence of incentives and the method of participation. The
result shows that there are significant differences of participation rates
in demand response event between four groups. The method of
participation has a large effect on the participation rate. The “Opt-out”
groups where the occupants are automatically enrolled in a demand
response event if they do not express non-participation have the
highest participation rate in the four groups. Incentives also have an
effect on the participation rate. This study also reports on the impact of low illumination office
environment on the occupants, such as stress or fatigue. The
electrocardiogram and the questionnaire are used to investigate the
autonomic nervous activity and subjective fatigue symptoms of the
occupants. There is no big difference between dim workspace during
demand response event and bright workspace in autonomic nervous
activity and fatigue.
Abstract: The aim of optimization of store management is not
only designing the situation of store management itself including its
equipment, technology and operation. In optimization of store
management we need to consider also synchronizing of
technological, transport, store and service operations throughout the
whole process of logistic chain in such a way that a natural flow of
material from provider to consumer will be achieved the shortest
possible way, in the shortest possible time in requested quality and
quantity and with minimum costs. The paper deals with the
application of the queuing theory for optimization of warehouse
processes. The first part refers to common information about the
problematic of warehousing and using mathematical methods for
logistics chains optimization. The second part refers to preparing a
model of a warehouse within queuing theory. The conclusion of the
paper includes two examples of using queuing theory in praxis.
Abstract: In order to be capable of dealing with uncertainties,
subjectivities, including vagueness arising in building construction
projects, the application of fuzzy reasoning technique based on fuzzy
set theory is proposed. This study contributes significantly to the
development of a fuzzy reasoning safety risk assessment model for
building construction projects that could be employed to assess the
risk magnitude of each hazardous event identified during
construction, and a third parameter of probability of consequence is
incorporated in the model. By using the proposed safety risk analysis
methodology, more reliable and less ambiguities, which provide the
safety risk management project team for decision-making purposes.
Abstract: A large variety of pipe flange is required in marine
and construction industry. Pipe flanges are usually welded or screwed
to the pipe end and are connected with bolts. This approach is very
simple and widely used for a long time; however, it results in high
development cost and low productivity, and the productions made by
this approach usually have safety problem at the welding area. In this
research, a new approach of forming pipe flange based on cold
forging and floating die concept is presented. This innovative
approach increases the effectiveness of the material usage and save
the time cost compared with conventional welding method. To ensure the dimensional accuracy of the final product, the finite
element analysis (FEA) was carried out to simulate the process of
cold forging, and the orthogonal experiment methods were used to
investigate the influence of four manufacturing factors (pin die angle,
pipe flange angle, rpm, pin die distance from clamp jig) and predicted
the best combination of them. The manufacturing factors were
obtained by numerical and experimental studies and it shows that the
approach is very useful and effective for the forming of pipe flange,
and can be widely used later.
Abstract: A problem of complex mineral resources development is urgent and priority, it is aimed at realization of the processes of their ecologically safe development, one of its components is revealing the influence of the forms of element compounds in raw materials and in the processing products. In view of depletion of the precious metal reserves at the traditional deposits in the XXI century the large-size open cast deposits, localized in black shale strata begin to play the leading role. Carbonaceous (black) shales carry a heightened metallogenic potential. Black shales with high content of carbon are widely distributed within the scope of Bureinsky massif. According to academician Hanchuk`s data black shales of Sutirskaya series contain generally PGEs native form. The presence of high absorptive towards carbonaceous matter gold and PGEs compounds in crude ore results in decrease of valuable components extraction because of their sorption into dissipated carbonaceous matter.
Abstract: Processing of high-silicon bauxite on the base of the
traditional clinkering method is related to high power consumption
and capital investments, which makes production of alumina from
those ores non-competitive in terms of basic economic showings. For
these reasons, development of technological solutions enabling to
process bauxites with various chemical and mineralogical structures
efficiently with low level of thermal power consumption is important.
Flow sheet of the studies on washability of ores from the Timanskoe
and the Severo-Onezhskoe deposits is on the base of the flotation
method.
Abstract: The effects of wood ash from five common tropical
woods on the ignition point of four common tropical woods in
Nigeria were investigated. The ash and moisture contents of the wood
sawdust from Mahogany (Khaya ivorensis), Opepe (Sarcocephalus
latifolius), Abura (Mitragyna ciliata), Rubber (Heavea brasilensis)
and Poroporo (Sorghum bicolour) used, were determined using a
furnace (Vecstar furnaces, model ECF2, serial no. f3077) and oven
(Genlab laboratory oven, model MINO/040) respectively. The metal
contents of the five wood sawdust ash samples were determined
using a Perkin Elmer optima 3000 dv atomic absorption spectrometer
while the ignition points were determined using Vecstar furnaces
model ECF2. Poroporo had the highest ash content, 2.263g while
rubber had the least, 0.710g. The results for the moisture content
range from 2.971g to 0.903g. Magnesium metal had the highest
concentration of all the metals, in all the wood ash samples; with
mahogany ash having the highest concentration, 9.196ppm while
rubber ash had the least concentration of magnesium metal, 2.196
ppm. The ignition point results showed that the wood ashes from
mahogany and opepe increased the ignition points of the test wood
samples, Danta (Nesogordonia papaverifera), Ekpaya, Akomu
(Pycnanthus angolensis) and Oleku when coated on them while the
ashes from poroporo, rubber and abura decreased the ignition points
of the test wood samples when coated on them. However, Opepe saw
dust ash decreased the ignition point in one of the test wood samples,
suggesting that the metal content of the test wood sample was more
than that of the Opepe saw dust ash. Therefore, Mahogany and Opepe
saw dust ashes could be used in the surface treatment of wood to
enhance their fire resistance or retardancy. However, the caution to
be exercised in this application is that the metal content of the test
wood samples should be evaluated as well.
Abstract: Mineral oil is commonly used for high voltage
transformer insulation. The insulation quality of mineral oil is
affecting the operation process of high voltage transformer. There are
many contaminations which could decrease the insulation quality of
mineral oil. One of them is water. This research talks about the effect
of water content on dielectric properties, physic properties, and
partial discharge pattern on mineral oil. Samples were varied with 10
varieties of water content value. And then all samples would be tested
to measure the dielectric properties, physic properties, and partial
discharge pattern. The result of this research showed that an
increment of water content value would decrease the insulation
quality of mineral oil.
Abstract: The effect of molybdate addition to chloride
environment on resistance of AISI 316Ti stainless steel to pitting
corrosion was studied. Potentiodynamic polarisation tests were
performed in 1 M and 0.1 M chloride acidified solutions with various
additions of sodium molybdate at room temperature. The presented
results compare the effect of molybdate anions on quality of passive
film (expressed by the pitting potential) in both chloride solutions.
The pitting potential increases with the increase inhibitor
concentration. The inhibitive effect of molybdate ions is stronger in
chloride solution of lower aggressiveness (0.1M).
Abstract: Target of this study was the analysis of the impact of
crude glycerol on canine spermatozoa motility, morphology,
viability, and membrane integrity. Experiments were realized in vitro.
In the study, semen from 5 large dog breeds was used. They were
typical representatives of large breeds, coming from healthy rearing,
regularly vaccinated and integrated to the further breeding. Semen
collections were realized at the owners of animals and in the
veterinary clinic. Subsequently the experiments were realized at the
Department of Animal Physiology of the SUA in Nitra. The
spermatozoa motility was evaluated using CASA analyzer
(SpermVisionTM, Minitub, Germany) at the temperature 5 and 37°C
for 5 hours. In the study, 13 motility parameters were evaluated.
Generally, crude glycerol has generally negative effect on
spermatozoa motility. Morphological analysis was realized using
Hancock staining and the preparations were evaluated at
magnification 1000x using classification tables of morphologically
changed spermatozoa. Data clearly detected the highest number of
morphologically changed spermatozoa in the experimental groups
(know twisted tails, tail torso and tail coiling). For acrosome
alterations swelled acrosomes, removed acrosomes and acrosomes
with undulated membrane were detected. In this study also the effect
of crude glycerol on spermatozoa membrane integrity were analyzed.
The highest crude glycerol concentration significantly affects
spermatozoa integrity. Results of this study show that crude glycerol
has effect of spermatozoa motility, viability, and membrane integrity.
Detected changes are related to crude glycerol concentration,
temperature, as well as time of incubation.
Abstract: Presented article outlines a rationale, why it is
necessary to develop competence about infrastructure risk in water
transport. Climate changes are evident and require special attention
and global monitoring. Current risk assessment methods for Inland
waterway transport just consider some dramatic events. We present a
new method for the assessment of risk and vulnerability of inland
waterway transport where river depth represents a crucial part. The
analysis of water level changes in the lower Danube was done for two
significant periods (1965-1979 and 1998-2012).
Abstract: Analyzing the relation networks between the hospital
buildings which have complex structure and distinctive spatial
relationships is quite difficult. The hospital buildings which require
specialty in spatial relationship solutions during design and selfinnovation
through the developing technology should survive and
keep giving service even after the disasters such as earthquakes. In
this study, a hospital building where the load-bearing system was
strengthened because of the insufficient earthquake performance and
the construction of an additional building was required to meet the
increasing need for space was discussed and a comparative spatial
evaluation of the hospital building was made with regard to its status
before the change and after the change. For this reason, spatial
organizations of the building before change and after the change were
analyzed by means of Space Syntax method and the effects of the
change on space organization parameters were searched by applying
an analytical procedure. Using Depthmap UCL software,
Connectivity, Visual Mean Depth, Beta and Visual Integration
analyses were conducted. Based on the data obtained after the
analyses, it was seen that the relationships between spaces of the
building increased after the change and the building has become more
explicit and understandable for the occupants. Furthermore, it was
determined according to findings of the analysis that the increase in
depth causes difficulty in perceiving the spaces and the changes
considering this problem generally ease spatial use.
Abstract: Evolution strategy (ES) is a well-known instance of evolutionary algorithms, and there have been many studies on ES. In this paper, the author proposes an extended ES for solving fuzzy-valued optimization problems. In the proposed ES, genotype values are not real numbers but fuzzy numbers. Evolutionary processes in the ES are extended so that it can handle genotype instances with fuzzy numbers. In this study, the proposed method is experimentally applied to the evolution of neural networks with fuzzy weights and biases. Results reveal that fuzzy neural networks evolved using the proposed ES with fuzzy genotype values can model hidden target fuzzy functions even though no training data are explicitly provided. Next, the proposed method is evaluated in terms of variations in specifying fuzzy numbers as genotype values. One of the mostly adopted fuzzy numbers is a symmetric triangular one that can be specified by its lower and upper bounds (LU) or its center and width (CW). Experimental results revealed that the LU model contributed better to the fuzzy ES than the CW model, which indicates that the LU model should be adopted in future applications of the proposed method.