Abstract: People usually have a telephone voice, which means
they adjust their speech to fit particular situations and to blend in with
other interlocutors. The question is: Do we speak differently to
different people? This possibility has been suggested by social
psychologists within Accommodation Theory [1]. Converging toward
the speech of another person can be regarded as a polite speech
strategy while choosing a language not used by the other interlocutor
can be considered as the clearest example of speech divergence [2].
The present study sets out to investigate such processes in the course
of everyday telephone conversations. Using Joos-s [3] model of
formality in spoken English, the researchers try to explore
convergence to or divergence from the addressee. The results
propound the actuality that lexical choice, and subsequently, patterns
of style vary intriguingly in concordance with the person being
addressed.
Abstract: This paper introduces the effective speckle reduction of
synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images using inner product spaces in
undecimated wavelet domain. There are two major areas in projection
onto span algorithm where improvement can be made. First is the use
of undecimated wavelet transformation instead of discrete wavelet
transformation. And second area is the use of smoothing filter namely
directional smoothing filter which is an additional step. Proposed
method does not need any noise estimation and thresholding
technique. More over proposed method gives good results on both
single polarimetric and fully polarimetric SAR images.
Abstract: The steady state response of bond graphs representing
passive and active suspension is presented. A bond graph with
preferred derivative causality assignment to get the steady state
is proposed. A general junction structure of this bond graph
is proposed. The proposed methodology to passive and active
suspensions is applied.
Abstract: In this paper, solution of fuzzy differential equation
under general differentiability is obtained by simulink. The simulink
solution is equivalent or very close to the exact solution of the
problem. Accuracy of the simulink solution to this problem is
qualitatively better. An illustrative numerical example is presented
for the proposed method.
Abstract: This work aims to explore the factors that have an incidence in reading comprehension process, with different type of texts. In a recent study with 2nd, 3rd and 4th grade children, it was observed that reading comprehension of narrative texts was better than comprehension of expository texts. Nevertheless it seems that not only the type of text but also other textual factors would account for comprehension depending on the cognitive processing demands posed by the text. In order to explore this assumption, three narrative and three expository texts were elaborated with different degree of complexity. A group of 40 fourth grade Spanish-speaking children took part in the study. Children were asked to read the texts and answer orally three literal and three inferential questions for each text. The quantitative and qualitative analysis of children responses showed that children had difficulties in both, narrative and expository texts. The problem was to answer those questions that involved establishing complex relationships among information units that were present in the text or that should be activated from children’s previous knowledge to make an inference. Considering the data analysis, it could be concluded that there is some interaction between the type of text and the cognitive processing load of a specific text.
Abstract: Using a set of confidence intervals, we develop a
common approach, to construct a fuzzy set as an estimator for
unknown parameters in statistical models. We investigate a method
to derive the explicit and unique membership function of such fuzzy
estimators. The proposed method has been used to derive the fuzzy
estimators of the parameters of a Normal distribution and some
functions of parameters of two Normal distributions, as well as the
parameters of the Exponential and Poisson distributions.
Abstract: In sport, human resources management gives special
attention to method of applying volunteers, their maintenance, and
participation of volunteers with each other and management
approaches for better operation of events celebrants. The recognition
of volunteers- characteristics and motives is important to notice,
because it makes the basis of their participation and commitment at
sport environment. The motivation and commitment of 281
volunteers were assessed using the organizational commitment scale,
motivation scale and personal characteristics questionnaire.The
descriptive results showed that; 64% of volunteers were women with
age average 21/24 years old. They were physical education student,
single (71/9%), without occupation (53%) and with average of 5
years sport experience. Their most important motivation was career
factor and the most important commitment factor was normative
factor. The results of examining the hypothesized showed that; age,
sport experience and education are effective in the amount of
volunteers- commitment. And the motive factors such as career,
material, purposive and protective factors also have the power to
predict the amount of sports volunteers- commitment value.
Therefore it is recommended to provide possible opportunities for
volunteers and carrying out appropriate instructional courses by
events executive managers.
Abstract: In this research, Forming Limit Diagrams for supertension
sheet metals which are using in automobile industry have
been obtained. The exerted strains to sheet metals have been
measured with four different methods and the errors of each method
have also been represented. These methods have been compared with
together and the most efficient and economic way of extracting of the
exerted strains to sheet metals has been introduced. In this paper total
error and uncertainty of FLD extraction procedures have been
derived. Determination of the measurement uncertainty in extracting
of FLD has a great importance in design and analysis of the sheet
metal forming process.
Abstract: Aquatic and semi aquatic birds as a group are suited to
feed and breed in environments in which water forms a fundamental
part. These birds are biological indicator in aquatic environment,
because these birds belong to the top level of food chain in aquatic
ecosystems. There are 61 species in 14 families of aquatic and semi
aquatic birds in Iran. The birds of the Sattarkhan Lake belong to 16
species in 8 families which include 26.2 percent of total Aquatic and
semi aquatic bird species and 57% of Aquatic and semi aquatic bird's
family of Iran. Study was carried out monthly at Sattarkhan Lake
show the existence of Phalacrocorax carbo, Ardea cinerea, Egretta
alba, Egretta garzetta, Bubulcus ibis, Botaurus stellaris, Sterna
hirundo, Chlidonias leucopterus, Larus minutus, Larus argentatus,
Larus ridibunbus, Alcedo atthis, Ciconia ciconia, Plegadis
falcinellus, Circus aeruginosus, Corvus frugilegus
Abstract: The hybridization of artificial immune system with
cellular automata (CA-AIS) is a novel method. In this hybrid model,
the cellular automaton within each cell deploys the artificial immune
system algorithm under optimization context in order to increase its
fitness by using its neighbor-s efforts. The hybrid model CA-AIS is
introduced to fix the standard artificial immune system-s weaknesses.
The credibility of the proposed approach is evaluated by simulations
and it shows that the proposed approach achieves better results
compared to standard artificial immune system.
Abstract: The growing outsourcing of logistics services
resulting from the ongoing current in firms of costs
reduction/increased efficiency means that it is becoming more and
more important for the companies doing the outsourcing to carry out
a proper evaluation.
The multiple definitions and measures of logistics service
performance found in research on the topic create a certain degree of
confusion and do not clear the way towards the proper measurement
of their performance. Do a model and a specific set of indicators exist
that can be considered appropriate for measuring the performance of
logistics services outsourcing in industrial environments? Are said
indicators in keeping with the objectives pursued by outsourcing? We
aim to answer these and other research questions in the study we have
initiated in the field within the framework of the international High
Performance Manufacturing (HPM) project of which this paper
forms part.
As the first stage of this research, this paper reviews articles
dealing with the topic published in the last 15 years with the aim of
detecting the models most used to make this measurement and
determining which performance indicators are proposed as part of
said models and which are most used. The first steps are also taken in
determining whether these indicators, financial and operational, cover
the aims that are being pursued when outsourcing logistics services.
The findings show there is a wide variety of both models and
indicators used. This would seem to testify to the need to continue
with our research in order to try to propose a model and a set of
indicators for measuring the performance of logistics services
outsourcing in industrial environments.
Abstract: Propagation of solitons in single-mode birefringent fibers is considered under the presence of third-order dispersion (TOD). The behavior of two neighboring solitons and their interaction is investigated under the presence of third-order dispersion with different group velocity dispersion (GVD) parameters. It is found that third-order dispersion makes the resultant soliton to deviate from its ideal position and increases the interaction between adjacent soliton pulses. It is also observed that this deviation due to third-order dispersion is considerably small when the optical pulse propagates at wavelengths relatively far from the zerodispersion. Modified coupled nonlinear Schrödinger-s equations (CNLSE) representing the propagation of optical pulse in single mode fiber with TOD are solved using split-step Fourier algorithm. The results presented in this paper reveal that the third-order dispersion can substantially increase the interaction between the solitons, but large group velocity dispersion reduces the interaction between neighboring solitons.
Abstract: Recent financial international scandals around the world have led to a number of investigations into the effectiveness of corporate governance practices and audit quality. Although evidence of corporate governance practices and audit quality exists from developed economies, very scanty studies have been conducted in Egypt where corporate governance is just evolving. Therefore, this study provides evidence on the effectiveness of corporate governance practices and audit quality from a developing country. The data for analysis are gathered from the top 50 most active companies in the Egyptian Stock Exchange, covering the three year period 2007-2009. Logistic regression was used in investigating the questions that were raised in the study. Findings from the study show that board independence; CEO duality and audit committees significantly have relationship with audit quality. The results also, indicate that institutional investor and managerial ownership have no significantly relationship with audit quality. Evidence also exist that size of the company; complexity and business leverage are important factors in audit quality for companies quoted on the Egypt Stock Exchange.
Abstract: Scale defects are common surface defects in hot steel rolling. The modelling of such defects is problematic and their causes are not straightforward. In this study, we investigated genetic algorithms in search for a mathematical solution to scale formation. For this research, a high-dimensional data set from hot steel rolling process was gathered. The synchronisation of the variables as well as the allocation of the measurements made on the steel strip were solved before the modelling phase.
Abstract: Encryption protects communication partners from
disclosure of their secret messages but cannot prevent traffic analysis
and the leakage of information about “who communicates with
whom". In the presence of collaborating adversaries, this linkability
of actions can danger anonymity. However, reliably providing
anonymity is crucial in many applications. Especially in contextaware
mobile business, where mobile users equipped with PDAs
request and receive services from service providers, providing
anonymous communication is mission-critical and challenging at the
same time. Firstly, the limited performance of mobile devices does
not allow for heavy use of expensive public-key operations which are
commonly used in anonymity protocols. Moreover, the demands for
security depend on the application (e.g., mobile dating vs. pizza
delivery service), but different users (e.g., a celebrity vs. a normal
person) may even require different security levels for the same
application. Considering both hardware limitations of mobile devices
and different sensitivity of users, we propose an anonymity
framework that is dynamically configurable according to user and
application preferences. Our framework is based on Chaum-s mixnet.
We explain the proposed framework, its configuration
parameters for the dynamic behavior and the algorithm to enforce
dynamic anonymity.
Abstract: Within the last years, several technologies have been developed to help building e-learning portals. Most of them follow approaches that deliver a vast amount of functionalities, suitable for class-like learning. The SuGI project, as part of the D-Grid (funded by the BMBF), targets on delivering a highly scalable and sustainable learning solution to provide materials (e.g. learning modules, training systems, webcasts, tutorials, etc.) containing knowledge about Grid computing to the D-Grid community. In this article, the process of the development of an e-learning portal focused on the requirements of this special user group is described. Furthermore, it deals with the conceptual and technical design of an e-learning portal, addressing the special needs of heterogeneous target groups. The main focus lies on the quality management of the software development process, Web templates for uploading new contents, the rich search and filter functionalities which will be described from a conceptual as well as a technical point of view. Specifically, it points out best practices as well as concepts to provide a sustainable solution to a relatively unknown and highly heterogeneous community.
Abstract: This paper presents a simple approach for load
flow analysis of a radial distribution network. The proposed
approach utilizes forward and backward sweep algorithm
based on Kirchoff-s current law (KCL) and Kirchoff-s voltage
law (KVL) for evaluating the node voltages iteratively. In this
approach, computation of branch current depends only on the
current injected at the neighbouring node and the current in
the adjacent branch. This approach starts from the end nodes
of sub lateral line, lateral line and main line and moves
towards the root node during branch current computation. The
node voltage evaluation begins from the root node and moves
towards the nodes located at the far end of the main, lateral
and sub lateral lines. The proposed approach has been tested
using four radial distribution systems of different size and
configuration and found to be computationally efficient.
Abstract: It has been shown that in most accidents the driver is responsible due to being distracted or misjudging the situation. In order to solve such problems research has been dedicated to developing driver assistance systems that are able to monitor the traffic situation around the vehicle. This paper presents methods for recognizing several circumstances on a road. The methods use both the in-vehicle warning systems and the roadside infrastructure. Preliminary evaluation results for fog and ice-on-road detection are presented. The ice detection results are based on data recorded in a test track dedicated to tyre friction testing. The achieved results anticipate that ice detection could work at a performance of 70% detection with the right setup, which is a good foundation for implementation. However, the full benefit of the presented cooperative system is achieved by fusing the outputs of multiple data sources, which is the key point of discussion behind this publication.
Abstract: In this paper, an Arabic letter recognition system based on Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) and statistical analysis for feature extraction is presented. The ANN is trained using the Least Mean Squares (LMS) algorithm. In the proposed system, each typed Arabic letter is represented by a matrix of binary numbers that are used as input to a simple feature extraction system whose output, in addition to the input matrix, are fed to an ANN. Simulation results are provided and show that the proposed system always produces a lower Mean Squared Error (MSE) and higher success rates than the current ANN solutions.
Abstract: A new class of fuzzy closed sets, namely fuzzy weakly closed set in a fuzzy topological space is introduced and it is established that this class of fuzzy closed sets lies between fuzzy closed sets and fuzzy generalized closed sets. Alongwith the study of fundamental results of such closed sets, we define and characterize fuzzy weakly compact space and fuzzy weakly closed space.