Abstract: This research paper, based on demographic variables, is aimed to study the behaviour of bookkeeping for household accounts of residents living in urban communities in Dusit District, Bangkok and to investigate factors that affected the behavior of bookkeeping. By use of non proportional stratified sampling technique of probability sampling, the research had a total of 247 samples. The systematic sampling technique was also utilized by selecting one household out of every 3 households. The demographic findings reported female respondents as the majority with an average age between 26-35 years old, having married status and having children. The respondents earn a living by selling, with an average income per month of between 5,001-15,000 Baht. Most of the families rent a house and each family have approximately 3-4 members. Furthermore, most of the household respondents used to be trained to do bookkeeping for household accounts. In addition, the factors in affecting the residents’ behaviour of doing household account bookkeeping included a dislike of numbers, inaccuracy of recording, availability of accounting counselors in the communities, people’s participation in trainings arranged by outside organizations.
Abstract: The aim of this study was to analyze selected quality characteristics of cooked pork sausages manufactured with the addition of Sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.) berries preparations. Stuffings of model sausages consisted of pork, backfat, water and additives such a curing salt and sodium isoascorbate. Functional additives used in production process were two preparations obtained from dried Sea buckthorn berries in form of powder and brew. Powder of dried berries was added in amount of 1 and 3 g, while water infusion as a replacement of 50 and 100% ice water included in meat products formula. Control samples were produced without functional additives. Experimental stuffings were heat treated in water bath and stored for 4 weeks under cooled conditions (4±1ºC). Physical parameters of colour, texture profile and technological parameters as acidity, weight losses and water activity were estimated. The effect of Sea buckthorn berries preparations on lipid oxidation during storage of final products was determine by TBARS method.
Studies have shown that addition of Sea buckthorn preparations to meat-fatty batters significant (P≤0.05) reduced the pH values of sausages samples after thermal treatment. Moreover, the addition of berries powder caused significant differences (P ≤ 0.05) in weight losses after cooking process. Analysis of results of texture profile analysis indicated, that utilization of infusion prepared from Sea buckthorn dried berries caused increase of springiness, gumminess and chewiness of final meat products. At the same time, the highest amount of Sea buckthorn berries powder in recipe caused the decrease of all measured texture parameters. Utilization of experimental preparations significantly decreased (P≤0.05) lightness (L* parameter of color) of meat products. Simultaneously, introduction of 1 and 3 grams of Sea buckthorn berries powder to meat-fatty batter increased redness (a* parameter) of samples under investigation. Higher content of substances reacting with thiobarbituric acid was observed in meat products produced without functional additives. It was observed that powder of Sea buckthorn berries added to meat-fatty batters caused higher protection against lipid oxidation in cooked sausages.
Abstract: To develop the useful acoustic environmental
recognition system, the method of estimating 3D-position of a
stationary random acoustic source using bispectral analysis of
4-point detected signals is proposed. The method uses information
about amplitude attenuation and propagation delay extracted from
amplitude ratios and angles of auto- and cross-bispectra of the
detected signals. It is expected that using bispectral analysis affects
less influence of Gaussian noises than using conventional power
spectral one. In this paper, the basic principle of the method is
mentioned first, and its validity and features are considered from
results of the fundamental experiments assumed ideal circumstances.
Abstract: Chromium is one of the most common heavy metals which exist in very high concentrations in wastewater. The removal is very expensive due to the high cost of normal adsorbents. Lignocellulosic materials and mainly treated materials have proven to be a good solution for this problem.
Adsorption tests were performed at different pH, different times and with varying concentrations.
Results show that is at pH 3 that treated wood absorbs more chromium ranging from 70% (2h treatment) to almost 100% (12 h treatment) much more than untreated wood with less than 40%. Most of the adsorption is made in the first 2-3 hours for untreated and heat treated wood. Modified wood adsorbs more chromium throughout the time. For all the samples, adsorption fitted relatively well the Langmuir model with correlation coefficient ranging from 0.85 to 0.97.
The results show that heat treated wood is a good adsorbent ant that this might be a good utilization for sawdust from treating companies.
Abstract: The purposes of this research were to identify the perception of customers towards Krung Thai Bank’s image and to understand the customer attitude towards Krung Thai Bank’s image in Bangkok, Thailand. This research utilized quantitative approach and used questionnaire as data collection tool. A sample size of 420 respondents was selected by simple random sampling. The findings revealed that the majority of respondents received information, news, and feeds concerning the bank through televisions the most. This information channel had significantly influenced on the customers and their decisions to utilize the bank’s products and services.
From the information concerning the attitudes towards overall image of the bank, it was found that the majority respondents rated the bank’s image at the good level. The top three average attitudes included the bank’s images in supports government's monetary policies, being renowned and stable, and contributing in economical amendments and developments, with the mean average of 4.01, 3.96 and 3.81 respectively. The attitudes toward the images included a business leader in banking, marketing, and competitions. Offering prompt services, and provided appropriate servicing time were rated moderate with the attitudes of 3.36 and 3.30 respectively.
Abstract: The idea of adding metallic energy dissipaters to a structure to absorb a large part of the seismic energy began four decades ago. There are several types of metal-based devices conceived as dampers for the seismic energy absorber whereby damages to the major structural components could be minimized for both new and existing structures. This paper aimed to develop and evaluate structural performance of both stiffened and non stiffened circular shear panel damper for passive seismic energy protection by inelastic deformation. Structural evaluation was done using commercially available nonlinear FE simulation program. Diameter-to-thickness ratio is employed as main parameter to investigate the hysteresis performance of stiffened and unstiffened circular shear panel. Depending on these parameters three different buckling mode and hysteretic behavior was found: yielding prior to buckling without strength degradation, yielding prior to buckling with strength degradation and yielding with buckling and strength degradation which forms pinching at initial displacement. Hence, the hysteresis behavior is identified, specimens which deform without strength degradation so it will be used as passive energy dissipating device in civil engineering structures.
Abstract: SiC reinforced Aluminum samples were produced by stir casting of liquid AA1200 aluminum alloy at 600-650ºC casting temperature. 83µm SiC particles were rinsed in 10g/l, 20g/l and 30g/l molar concentration of Sncl2 through cleaning times of 0, 60, 120, and 180 minutes. Some cast samples were tested for mechanical properties and some were subjected to heat treatment before testing. The SnCl2 rinsed SiC reinforced aluminum exhibited higher yield strength, hardness, stiffness and elongation which increases with cleaning concentration and time up to 120 minutes, compared to composite with untreated SiC. However, the impact energy resistance decreases with cleaning concentration and time. The improved properties were attributed to good wettability and mechanical adhesion at the fiber-matrix interface. Quenching and annealing the composite samples further improve the tensile/yield strengths, elongation, stiffness, hardness similar to those of the as-cast samples.
Abstract: The objective of the paper is to measure and compare market orientation of Swiss and Czech banks, as well as examine statistically the degree of influence it has on competitiveness of the institutions. The analysis of market orientation is based on the collecting, analysis and correct interpretation of the data. Descriptive analysis of market orientation describe current situation. Research of relation of competitiveness and market orientation in the sector of big international banks is suggested with the expectation of existence of a strong relationship. Partially, the work served as reconfirmation of suitability of classic methodologies to measurement of banks’ market orientation.
Two types of data were gathered. Firstly, by measuring subjectively perceived market orientation of a company and secondly, by quantifying its competitiveness. All data were collected from a sample of small, mid-sized and large banks. We used numerical secondary character data from the international statistical financial Bureau Van Dijk’s BANKSCOPE database.
Statistical analysis led to the following results. Assuming classical market orientation measures to be scientifically justified, Czech banks are statistically less market-oriented than Swiss banks. Secondly, among small Swiss banks, which are not broadly internationally active, small relationship exist between market orientation measures and market share based competitiveness measures. Thirdly, among all Swiss banks, a strong relationship exists between market orientation measures and market share based competitiveness measures. Above results imply existence of a strong relation of this measure in sector of big international banks. A strong statistical relationship has been proven to exist between market orientation measures and equity/total assets ratio in Switzerland.
Abstract: Nowadays the growth of distributed generation within the bulk power system is feasible by using the optimal control of the transmission lines power flow. Static Synchronous Compensators (STATCOM) is effective for improving voltage stability but it can only exchange reactive power with the power grid. The integration of Superconducting Magnetic Energy Storage (SMES) with a STATCOM can extend the traditional STATCOM capabilities to four-quadrant bulk power system power flow control and providing exchange both the active and reactive power related to the STATCOM with the ac network. This paper shows how the SMES system can be connected to the ac system via the DC bus of a STATCOM and also analyzes how the integration of STATCOM and SMES allows the bus voltage regulation and power oscillation damping (POD) to be achieved simultaneously. The dynamic performance of the integrated STATCOM-SMES is evaluated through simulation by using PSCAD/EMTDC software and the compensation effectiveness of this integrated compensator is shown.
Abstract: The purpose of this research was to study the customers’ behavioral trend for online accommodation system at Bangkonthi District, Samutsongkhram province. The research collected data from 400 online users. A questionnaire was utilized as the tool in collecting information. Descriptive statistics included frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation. Independent- sample t- test, analysis of variance and Pearson Correlation were also used. The findings of this research revealed that the majority of the respondents were male, 25-32 years old, and graduated a bachelor degree. The respondents mostly worked in private sectors and had monthly income between 10,001-15,000 baht. The regular online users, visiting this system between 3-4 times/month, spending 1-2 hours/time, searched for online accommodation information. This result showed that the users had good and high attitude towards the system. According to the hypothesis testing, the number of online usage had positive related to the behavioral trends: accommodation purchasing intention and recommend the accommodation to others. Furthermore, both the number of online usage and overall attitude had a significant correlation to accommodation purchase intention and recommend the accommodation to others.
Abstract: Demographic aging is the major problem that Taiwanese society is facing, and retirement life adaptation is the most concerning issue. In recent years, studies have suggested that in order to have successful aging and retirement planning, a view for the future is necessary. In Taiwan, civil servants receive better pensions and retirement benefits than do other industries. Therefore, their retirement preparation is considerably more significant than other senior groups in Taiwan. The purpose of this study is to understand the correlation of proactive coping and retirement planning of senior civil servants in Taiwan. The method is conducted by questionnaire surveys, with 342 valid questionnaires collected. The results of this study are: 1. The background variables of the interviewees, including age, perceived economic statuses, and retirement statuses, are all significantly related to their proactive coping and retirement planning. 2. Regarding age, the interviewees with ages 55 and above have better proactive coping and retirement planning than those with ages 45 and below. 3. In the aspect of perceived economic statuses, the participants who feel “very good” economic statuses have better proactive coping ability and retirement readiness than those who feel “bad” and “very bad”. 4. Retirees have better proactive coping and retirement planning than those who are still working. 5. Monthly income is significant in retirement planning only. The participants’ retirement planning would be better if they have higher incomes. Furthermore, the participants’ retirement planning would be better if their revenue were €1453~€1937, than if their revenue were below €968. 6. There are positive correlations between proactive coping and retirement planning. 7. Proactive coping can predict retirement planning. The result of this study will be provided as references to the Taiwan government for educational retirement planning policies.
Abstract: Media displays in public areas are becoming
increasingly pervasive—they are used in many settings, come in
different sizes, serve different purposes, and have varied degrees of
interactivity. In this paper, we aim to provide a survey of how these
displays, often named media façades, are used in the wild in a city in
China which is undergoing a rapid growth. This survey is intended to
raise greater awareness and discussion about the use and effect of
these displays in public areas. Through this survey, we have been
able to distill some lessons of what is good, bad, and ugly about some
current examples of media displays used in a city that is transitioning
into becoming a modern one and one that is located in one of the
fastest growing areas in Asia. With this research, we hope that we can
provide technology designers and architects with some general
principles that can help them integrate these types of technologies
into their architectural creations.
Abstract: The aim of this study was to find out if the special type of exercise with elastic cord can improve the level of postural stability. The exercise programme was conducted twice a week for 3 months. The participants were randomly divided into an experimental group and a control group. The electronic balance board was used for testing of postural stability. All participants trained for 18 hours at the time of experiment without any special form of coordination programme. The experimental group performed 90 minutes plus of coordination exercise. The result showed that differences between pre-test and post-test occurred in the experimental group. It was used the nonparametric Wilcoxon t-test for paired samples (p=0.012; the significance level 95%). We calculated effect size by Cohen´s d. In the experimental group d is 1.96 which indicates a large effect. In the control group d is 0.04 which confirms no significant improvement.
Abstract: Nowadays harmonization of sanitary and hygienic standards of environmental quality with international standards is crucial part of integration of Russia into the international community. Harmonization of Russian and international ambient air quality standards may be realized by risk-based standards development. In this paper approaches to risk-based standards development and examples of these approaches implementation are presented.
Abstract: Portugal is an important wine and olive oil producer, activities which generate a high quantity of residues commonly called grape stalks and olive cake, respectively. In this work grape stalks and olive cake were used as lignocellulosic adsorbents for wastewater containing lead treatment. To attain a better knowledge of the factors that could influence the quality of the treated wastewater, a chemical characterization of the materials used in the treatment was done. To access the ecotoxicological safety of the treated wastewater, several tests were performed.
The results of the toxicity test show that the samples leachate has a mild effect on the living models tested. The tests performed in lemna and bacteria were the most sensible to toxicity effects of the samples. The results obtained in this work evidenced the importance of use of simple and fast toxicity tests to predict impacts in the environment.
Abstract: In this paper, we investigate the residual life prediction
problem for a partially observable system subject to two failure
modes, namely a catastrophic failure and a failure due to the system
degradation. The system is subject to condition monitoring and the
degradation process is described by a hidden Markov model with
unknown parameters. The parameter estimation procedure based on
an EM algorithm is developed and the formulas for the conditional
reliability function and the mean residual life are derived, illustrated
by a numerical example.
Abstract: This paper is an attempt to describe some of the results that had been found through a journey of study in the field of particle physics. This study consists of two parts, one about the measurement of the cross section of the decay of the Z particle in two electrons, and the other deals with the measurement of the cross section of the multi-photon absorption process using a beam of Laser in the Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber.
The first part of the paper concerns the results based on the analysis of a data sample containing 8120 ee candidates to reconstruct the mass of the Z particle for each event where each event has an ee pair with PT(e) > 20GeV, and η(e) < 2.5. Monte Carlo templates of the reconstructed Z particle were produced as a function of the Z mass scale. The distribution of the reconstructed Z mass in the data was compared to the Monte Carlo templates, where the total cross section is calculated to be equal to 1432pb.
The second part concerns the Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber, LAr TPC, the results of the interaction of the UV Laser, Nd-YAG with λ= 266mm, with LAr and through the study of the multi-photon ionization process as a part of the R&D at Bern University. The main result of this study was the cross section of the process of the multi-photon ionization process of the LAr, σe = 1.24±0.10stat±0.30sys.10 -56cm4.
Abstract: This paper describes a node pair selection scheme
in relay-aided multiple source multiple destination communication
system based on stable marriage problem. A general case is assumed
in which all of source, relay and destination nodes are equipped
with multiantenna and carry out multistream transmission. Based
on several metrics introduced from inter-node channel condition,
the preference order is determined about all source-relay and
relay-destination relations, and then the node pairs are determined
using Gale-Shapley algorithm. The computer simulations show
that the effectiveness of node pair selection is larger in multihop
communication. Some additional aspects which are different from
relay-less case are also investigated.
Abstract: This survey research aims to study the standard of service quality of food and beverage service staffs in hotel business by studying the service standard of three sample hotels, Siam Kempinski Hotel Bangkok, Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai, and Banyan Tree Phuket. In order to find the international service standard of food and beverage service, triangular research, i.e. quantitative, qualitative, and survey were employed. In this research, questionnaires and in-depth interview were used for getting the information on the sequences and method of services. There were three parts of modified questionnaires to measure service quality and guest’s satisfaction including service facilities, attentiveness, responsibility, reliability, and circumspection. This study used sample random sampling to derive subjects with the return rate of the questionnaires was 70% or 280. Data were analyzed by SPSS to find arithmetic mean, SD, percentage, and comparison by t-test and One-way ANOVA. The results revealed that the service quality of the three hotels were in the international level which could create high satisfaction to the international customers. Recommendations for research implementations were to maintain the area of good service quality, and to improve some dimensions of service quality such as reliability. Training in service standard, product knowledge, and new technology for employees should be provided. Furthermore, in order to develop the service quality of the industry, training collaboration between hotel organization and educational institutions in food and beverage service should be considered.
Abstract: The purpose of this research was to explore the relation between proactive coping and well-being of middle-aged adults. We conducted survey research that with t-test, one way ANOVA, Pearson correlation and stepwise multiple regression to analyze. This research drew on a sample of 395 participants from the senior learning centers of Taiwan. The results provided the following findings: 1.The participants from different residence areas associated significant difference with proactive coping, but not with well-being. 2. The participants’ perceived of financial level associated significant difference with both proactive coping and well-being. 3. There was significant difference between participants’ income and well-being. 4. The proactive coping was positively correlated with well-being. 5. From stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that two dimensions of proactive coping had positive predictability. Finally, these results of this study can be provided as references for designing older adult educational programs in Taiwan.