Abstract: Graph transformation has recently become more and
more popular as a general visual modeling language to formally state
the dynamic semantics of the designed models. Especially, it is a
very natural formalism for languages which basically are graph (e.g.
UML). Using this technique, we present a highly understandable yet
precise approach to formally model and analyze the behavioral
semantics of UML 2.0 Activity diagrams. In our proposal, AGG is
used to design Activities, then using our previous approach to model
checking graph transformation systems, designers can verify and
analyze designed Activity diagrams by checking the interesting
properties as combination of graph rules and LTL (Linear Temporal
Logic) formulas on the Activities.
Abstract: Carbon steel is used in boilers, pressure vessels, heat
exchangers, piping, structural elements and other moderatetemperature
service systems in which good strength and ductility are
desired. ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, Section II Part A
(2004) provides specifications of ferrous materials for construction of
pressure equipment, covering wide range of mechanical properties
including high strength materials for power plants application.
However, increased level of springback is one of the major problems
in fabricating components of high strength steel using bending.
Presented work discuss the springback simulations for five different
steels (i.e. SA-36, SA-299, SA-515 grade 70, SA-612 and SA-724
grade B) using finite element analysis of air V-bending. Analytical
springback simulations of hypothetical layered materials are
presented. Result shows that; (i) combination of the material property
parameters controls the springback, (ii) layer of the high ductility
steel on the high strength steel greatly suppresses the springback.
Abstract: As the information age matures, major social
infrastructures such as communication, finance, military and energy,
have become ever more dependent on information communication
systems. And since these infrastructures are connected to the Internet,
electronic intrusions such as hacking and viruses have become a new
security threat. Especially, disturbance or neutralization of a major
social infrastructure can result in extensive material damage and social
disorder. To address this issue, many nations around the world are
researching and developing various techniques and information
security policies as a government-wide effort to protect their
infrastructures from newly emerging threats. This paper proposes an
evaluation method for information security levels of CIIP (Critical
Information Infrastructure Protection), which can enhance the security
level of critical information infrastructure by checking the current
security status and establish security measures accordingly to protect
infrastructures effectively.
Abstract: Tubular process equipment is often damaged in
industrial processes. The damage occurs both on devices working at
high temperatures and also on less exposed devices. In case of sudden
damage of key equipment a shutdown of the whole production unit
and resulting significant economic losses are imminent. This paper
presents a solution of several types of tubular process equipment. The
causes of damage and suggestions of correction actions are discussed
in all cases. Very important part is the analysis of operational
conditions, determination of unfavourable working states decreasing
lifetime of devices and suggestions of correction actions. Lately very
popular numerical methods are used for analysis of the equipment.
Abstract: The hidden-point bar method is useful in many
surveying applications. The method involves determining the
coordinates of a hidden point as a function of horizontal and vertical
angles measured to three fixed points on the bar. Using these
measurements, the procedure involves calculating the slant angles,
the distances from the station to the fixed points, the coordinates of
the fixed points, and then the coordinates of the hidden point. The
propagation of the measurement errors in this complex process has
not been fully investigated in the literature. This paper evaluates the
effect of the bar geometry on the position accuracy of the hidden
point which depends on the measurement errors of the horizontal and
vertical angles. The results are used to establish some guidelines
regarding the inclination angle of the bar and the location of the
observed points that provide the best accuracy.
Abstract: This study examines the use of the persuasive strategy
of deixis and personalization in advertising slogans. This rhetorical/
stylistic and linguistic strategy has been found to be widely used in
advertising slogans for over a century. A total of five hundred
advertising slogans of multinational companies in both product and
service sectors were obtained. The analysis reveals the 3 main
components of this strategy as being deictic words, absolute
uniqueness and personal pronouns. The percentage and mean of the
use of the 3 components are tabulated. The findings show that
advertisers have used this persuasive strategy in creative ways to
persuade consumers to buy their products and services.
Abstract: The frontal area in the brain is known to be involved in
behavioral judgement. Because a Kanji character can be discriminated
visually and linguistically from other characters, in Kanji character
discrimination, we hypothesized that frontal event-related potential
(ERP) waveforms reflect two discrimination processes in separate
time periods: one based on visual analysis and the other based
on lexcical access. To examine this hypothesis, we recorded ERPs
while performing a Kanji lexical decision task. In this task, either a
known Kanji character, an unknown Kanji character or a symbol was
presented and the subject had to report if the presented character was
a known Kanji character for the subject or not. The same response
was required for unknown Kanji trials and symbol trials. As a preprocessing
of signals, we examined the performance of a method
using independent component analysis for artifact rejection and found
it was effective. Therefore we used it. In the ERP results, there
were two time periods in which the frontal ERP wavefoms were
significantly different betweeen the unknown Kanji trials and the
symbol trials: around 170ms and around 300ms after stimulus onset.
This result supported our hypothesis. In addition, the result suggests
that Kanji character lexical access may be fully completed by around
260ms after stimulus onset.
Abstract: The aim of this paper is to introduce a parametric
distribution model in fatigue life reliability analysis dealing with
variation in material properties. Service loads in terms of responsetime
history signal of Belgian pave were replicated on a multi-axial
spindle coupled road simulator and stress-life method was used to
estimate the fatigue life of automotive stub axle. A PSN curve was
obtained by monotonic tension test and two-parameter Weibull
distribution function was used to acquire the mean life of the
component. A Pearson system was developed to evaluate the fatigue
life reliability by considering stress range intercept and slope of the
PSN curve as random variables. Considering normal distribution of
fatigue strength, it is found that the fatigue life of the stub axle to
have the highest reliability between 10000 – 15000 cycles. Taking
into account the variation of material properties associated with the
size effect, machining and manufacturing conditions, the method
described in this study can be effectively applied in determination of
probability of failure of mass-produced parts.
Abstract: Electronic voting (E-voting) using an internet has been
recently performed in some nations and regions. There is no spatial
restriction which a voter directly has to visit the polling place, but an
e-voting using an internet has to go together the computer in which the
internet connection is possible. Also, this voting requires an access
code for the e-voting through the beforehand report of a voter. To
minimize these disadvantages, we propose a method in which a voter,
who has the wireless certificate issued in advance, uses its own cellular
phone for an e-voting without the special registration for a vote. Our
proposal allows a voter to cast his vote in a simple and convenient way
without the limit of time and location, thereby increasing the voting
rate, and also ensuring confidentiality and anonymity.
Abstract: The paper presents the results of theoretical and
numerical modeling of propagation of shock waves in bubbly liquids
related to nonlinear effects (realistic equation of state, chemical
reactions, two-dimensional effects). On the basis on the Rankine-
Hugoniot equations the problem of determination of parameters of
passing and reflected shock waves in gas-liquid medium for
isothermal, adiabatic and shock compression of the gas component is
solved by using the wide-range equation of state of water in the
analitic form. The phenomenon of shock wave intensification is
investigated in the channel of variable cross section for the
propagation of a shock wave in the liquid filled with bubbles
containing chemically active gases. The results of modeling of the
wave impulse impact on the solid wall covered with bubble layer are
presented.
Abstract: The argument that self-disclosure will change the
psychoanalytic process into a socio-cultural niche distorting the
therapeutic alliance and compromise therapeutic effectiveness is still
the widely held belief amongst many psychotherapists. This paper
considers the issues surrounding culture, disclosure and concealment
since they remain largely untheorized and clinically problematic. The
first part of the paper will critically examine the theory and practice
of psychoanalysis across cultures, and explore the reasons for
culturally diverse patients to conceal rather than disclose their
feelings and thoughts in the transference. This is followed by a
discussion on how immigrant analysts- anonymity is difficult to
maintain since diverse nationalities, language and accents provide
clues to the therapist-s and patient-s origins. Through personal
clinical examples of one the author-s (who is an immigrant) the paper
analyses the transference-countertransference paradigm and how it
reflects in the analyst-s self-revelation.
Abstract: This study endeavors to evaluate the effects of farmers’ training program on the adoption of improved farming practices, the output of rice farming, and the income as well as the profit from rice farming by employing an ex-post non-experimental data in Sierra Leone. It was established that participating in farmers’ training program increased the possibility of adoption of the improved farming activities that were implemented in the study area. Through the training program also, the proceeds from rice production was also established to have increased considerably. These results were in line with the assumption that one of the main constraints on the growth in agricultural output particularly rice cultivation in most African states is the lack of efficient extension programs.
Abstract: Applying a rigorous process to optimize the elements
of a supply-chain network resulted in reduction of the waiting time
for a service provider and customer. Different sources of downtime
of hydraulic pressure controller/calibrator (HPC) were causing
interruptions in the operations. The process examined all the issues to
drive greater efficiencies. The issues included inherent design issues
with HPC pump, contamination of the HPC with impurities, and the
lead time required for annual calibration in the USA.
HPC is used for mandatory testing/verification of formation
tester/pressure measurement/logging-while drilling tools by oilfield
service providers, including Halliburton.
After market study andanalysis, it was concluded that the current
HPC model is best suited in the oilfield industry. To use theexisting
HPC model effectively, design andcontamination issues were
addressed through design and process improvements. An optimum
network is proposed after comparing different supply-chain models
for calibration lead-time reduction.
Abstract: Lean production (or lean management respectively)
gained popularity in several waves. The last three decades have been
filled with numerous attempts to apply these concepts in companies.
However, this has only been partially successful. The roots of lean
production can be traced back to Toyota-s just-in-time production.
This concept, which according to Womack-s, Jones- and Roos-
research at MIT was employed by Japanese car manufacturers,
became popular under its international names “lean production",
“lean-manufacturing" and was termed “Schlanke Produktion" in
Germany. This contribution shows a review about lean production in
Germany over the last thirty years: development, trial & error and
implementation as well.
Abstract: The software industry has been considered a critical
infrastructure for any nation. Several studies have indicated that
national competitiveness increasingly depends upon Information and
Communication Technology (ICT), and software is one of the major
components of ICT, important for both large and small enterprises.
Even though there has been strong growth in the software industry in
Thailand, the industry has faced many challenges and problems that
need to be resolved. For example, the amount of pirated software has
been rising, and Thailand still has a large gap in the digital divide.
Additionally, the adoption among SMEs has been slow. This paper
investigates various issues in the software industry in Thailand, using
information acquired through analysis of secondary sources,
observation, and focus groups. The results of this study can be used
as “lessons learned" for the development of the software industry in
any developing country.
Abstract: The protection issues in distribution systems with open and closed-loop are studied, and a generalized protection setting scheme based on the traditional over current protection theories is proposed to meet the new requirements. The setting method is expected to be easier realized using computer program, so that the on-line adaptive setting for coordination in distribution system can be implemented. An automatic setting program is created and several cases are taken into practice. The setting results are verified by the coordination curves of the protective devices which are plotted using MATLAB.
Abstract: Internet is nowadays included to all National Curriculums of the elementary school. A comparative study of their
goals leads to the conclusion that a complete curriculum should aim to student-s acquisition of the abilities to navigate and search for
information and additionally to emphasize on the evaluation of the information provided by the World Wide Web. In a constructivistic knowledge framework the design of a course has to take under
consideration the conceptual representations of students. The following paper presents the conceptual representation of students of eleven years old, attending the Sixth Grade of Greek Elementary School about World Wide Web and their use in the design and
implementation of an innovative course.
Abstract: A pot experiment was carried out under controlled
conditions to evaluate the residual effects of different doses of
atrazine+alachlor and foramsulfuron used in corn fields on the
growth and physiology of rapeseed (Brassica napus L.). A split-plot
experiment in CRD with 4 replications was used. The main plots
consisted of herbicide type (atrazine+alachlor mixture and
foramsulfuron) and the sub-plots were different residual doses of the
herbicides (0, 1%, 5%, 10%, 20%, 40%, 50% and 100%). 7 cm
diameter pots were filled with a virgin soil and seeds of rapeseed cv.
Hayola were planted in them. The pots were kept under controlled
conditions for 8 weeks after germination. At harvest, the growth
parameters and the chlorophyll contents of the leaves were
determined. The results showed that the growth of rapeseed plants
was completely prevented at the highest residual doses of the
herbicides (50 and 100 %). The growth parameters of rapeseed plants
were affected by all doses of both types of the herbicide as compared
to the controls. The residual effects of atrazine+alachlor mixture in
reducing the growth parameters of rapeseed were more pronounced
as compared to the residual effects of foramsulfuron alone.
Abstract: Radio propagation from point-to-point is affected by
the physical channel in many ways. A signal arriving at a destination
travels through a number of different paths which are referred to as
multi-paths. Research in this area of wireless communications has
progressed well over the years with the research taking different
angles of focus. By this is meant that some researchers focus on
ways of reducing or eluding Multipath effects whilst others focus on
ways of mitigating the effects of Multipath through compensation
schemes. Baseband processing is seen as one field of signal
processing that is cardinal to the advancement of software defined
radio technology. This has led to wide research into the carrying out
certain algorithms at baseband. This paper considers compensating
for Multipath for Frequency Modulated signals. The compensation
process is carried out at Radio frequency (RF) and at Quadrature
baseband (QBB) and the results are compared. Simulations are
carried out using MatLab so as to show the benefits of working at
lower QBB frequencies than at RF.
Abstract: Rotation or tilt present in an image capture by digital
means can be detected and corrected using Artificial Neural Network
(ANN) for application with a Face Recognition System (FRS). Principal
Component Analysis (PCA) features of faces at different angles
are used to train an ANN which detects the rotation for an input image
and corrected using a set of operations implemented using another
system based on ANN. The work also deals with the recognition
of human faces with features from the foreheads, eyes, nose and
mouths as decision support entities of the system configured using
a Generalized Feed Forward Artificial Neural Network (GFFANN).
These features are combined to provide a reinforced decision for
verification of a person-s identity despite illumination variations. The
complete system performing facial image rotation detection, correction
and recognition using re-enforced decision support provides a
success rate in the higher 90s.