Abstract: Postgraduate education is generally aimed at providing in-depth knowledge and understanding that include general philosophy in the world sciences, management, technologies, applications and other elements closely related to specific areas. In most universities, besides core and non-core subjects, a thesis is one of the requirements for the postgraduate student to accomplish before graduating. This paper reports on the empirical investigation into attributes that are associated with the obstacles to thesis accomplishment among postgraduate students. Using the quantitative approach the experiences of postgraduate students were tapped. Findings clearly revealed that information seeking, writing skills and other factors which refer to supervisor and time management, in particular, are recognized as contributory factors which positively or negatively influence postgraduates’ thesis accomplishment. Among these, writing skills dimensions were found to be the most difficult process in thesis accomplishment compared to information seeking and other factors. This pessimistic indication has provided some implications not only for the students but supervisors and institutions as a whole.
Abstract: Decision tree algorithms have very important place at
classification model of data mining. In literature, algorithms use
entropy concept or gini index to form the tree. The shape of the
classes and their closeness to each other some of the factors that
affect the performance of the algorithm. In this paper we introduce a
new decision tree algorithm which employs data (attribute) folding
method and variation of the class variables over the branches to be
created. A comparative performance analysis has been held between
the proposed algorithm and C4.5.
Abstract: The method of gait identification based on the nearest neighbor classification technique with motion similarity assessment by the dynamic time warping is proposed. The model based kinematic motion data, represented by the joints rotations coded by Euler angles and unit quaternions is used. The different pose distance functions in Euler angles and quaternion spaces are considered. To evaluate individual features of the subsequent joints movements during gait cycle, joint selection is carried out. To examine proposed approach database containing 353 gaits of 25 humans collected in motion capture laboratory is used. The obtained results are promising. The classifications, which takes into consideration all joints has accuracy over 91%. Only analysis of movements of hip joints allows to correctly identify gaits with almost 80% precision.
Abstract: Clustering categorical data is more complicated than
the numerical clustering because of its special properties. Scalability
and memory constraint is the challenging problem in clustering large
data set. This paper presents an incremental algorithm to cluster the
categorical data. Frequencies of attribute values contribute much in
clustering similar categorical objects. In this paper we propose new
similarity measures based on the frequencies of attribute values and
its cardinalities. The proposed measures and the algorithm are
experimented with the data sets from UCI data repository. Results
prove that the proposed method generates better clusters than the
existing one.
Abstract: The nutrient composition and sensory properties of
poultry-based patties (PBPs) incorporated with various levels of grey
oyster mushroom (Pleurotus sajor-caju, PSC) were studied. The
PBPs were formulated with either 0%, 25% or 50% of fresh ground
PSC. Results show poultry patty formulated with 25% PSC had
protein content of 17.46% lower than the control patty which had
18.13% but it was not significant. Meanwhile, both cooked poultry
patties containing 25% and 50% PSC significantly recorded lower
concentration of fat at 10.67% and 7.15%, respectively. On the other
hand, poultry patty added with 50% ground PSC shows the highest
concentration of total dietary fibre (TDF) of 4.90 g/100g compared to
poultry patty containing 25% of mushroom (3.40 g/100g) and to the
control (1.90g/100g). In addition, patty incorporated with 25% PSC
had moisture content of 57.91% which is significantly lower than
patty formulated with 50% which had moisture of 61.80%. In the
sensory evaluation, there were no differences recorded in all sensory
attributes of PSC-based patties judged by untrained panelists. In
conclusion, the addition of PSC to replace poultry meat can be
recommended for the purpose of lowering production cost, enhancing
nutritional composition and maintaining the acceptability of poultry
patties.
Abstract: Interpolated contour maps drawn for aluminum,
copper and molybdenum in downstream monitoring boreholes of
water dam in Miduk Copper Complex and the values of pH, redox
potential (Eh) and distance from water dam indicate different trends
of variation and behavior of these three elements in downward
groundwater resources. As these maps exhibit, aluminum is dominant
in the most alkaline (pH = 9-11) borehole (MB5) to water dam. The
highest concentration of molybdenum is found in the nearest
borehole (MB6) to water dam. Main concentration of copper is
observed in the most oxidized borehole (MB3 with Eh=293.2mV).
The spatial difference among sampling stations can be attributed to
the existence of faults and diaclases in the geologic structure of
Miduk region which causes the groundwater sampling sites to be
impressed by different contamination sources (toe seepage and upper
seepage water originated from different zones of tailings dump).
Abstract: Fault-proneness of a software module is the
probability that the module contains faults. A correlation exists
between the fault-proneness of the software and the measurable
attributes of the code (i.e. the static metrics) and of the testing (i.e.
the dynamic metrics). Early detection of fault-prone software
components enables verification experts to concentrate their time and
resources on the problem areas of the software system under
development. This paper introduces Genetic Algorithm based
software fault prediction models with Object-Oriented metrics. The
contribution of this paper is that it has used Metric values of JEdit
open source software for generation of the rules for the classification
of software modules in the categories of Faulty and non faulty
modules and thereafter empirically validation is performed. The
results shows that Genetic algorithm approach can be used for
finding the fault proneness in object oriented software components.
Abstract: This paper describes a 3D modeling system in
Augmented Reality environment, named 3DARModeler. It can be
considered a simple version of 3D Studio Max with necessary
functions for a modeling system such as creating objects, applying
texture, adding animation, estimating real light sources and casting
shadows. The 3DARModeler introduces convenient, and effective
human-computer interaction to build 3D models by combining both
the traditional input method (mouse/keyboard) and the tangible input
method (markers). It has the ability to align a new virtual object with
the existing parts of a model. The 3DARModeler targets nontechnical
users. As such, they do not need much knowledge of
computer graphics and modeling techniques. All they have to do is
select basic objects, customize their attributes, and put them together
to build a 3D model in a simple and intuitive way as if they were
doing in the real world. Using the hierarchical modeling technique,
the users are able to group several basic objects to manage them as a
unified, complex object. The system can also connect with other 3D
systems by importing and exporting VRML/3Ds Max files. A
module of speech recognition is included in the system to provide
flexible user interfaces.
Abstract: The decision to recruit manpower in an organization
requires clear identification of the criteria (attributes) that distinguish
successful from unsuccessful performance. The choice of appropriate
attributes or criteria in different levels of hierarchy in an organization
is a multi-criteria decision problem and therefore multi-criteria
decision making (MCDM) techniques can be used for prioritization
of such attributes. Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is one such
technique that is widely used for deciding among the complex criteria
structure in different levels. In real applications, conventional AHP
still cannot reflect the human thinking style as precise data
concerning human attributes are quite hard to be extracted. Fuzzy
logic offers a systematic base in dealing with situations, which are
ambiguous or not well defined. This study aims at defining a
methodology to improve the quality of prioritization of an
employee-s performance measurement attributes under fuzziness. To
do so, a methodology based on the Extent Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy
Process is proposed. Within the model, four main attributes such as
Subject knowledge and achievements, Research aptitude, Personal
qualities and strengths and Management skills with their subattributes
are defined. The two approaches conventional AHP
approach and the Extent Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process approach
have been compared on the same hierarchy structure and criteria set.
Abstract: Contractor selection in Saudi Arabia is very important due to the large construction boom and the contractor role to get over construction risks. The need for investigating contractor selection is due to the following reasons; large number of defaulted or failed projects (18%), large number of disputes attributed to contractor during the project execution stage (almost twofold), the extension of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) into construction industry, and finally the few number of researches. The selection strategy is not perfect and considered as the reason behind irresponsible contractors. As a response, this research was conducted to review the contractor selection strategies as an integral part of a long advanced research to develop a good selection model. Many techniques can be used to form a selection strategy; multi criteria for optimizing decision, prequalification to discover contractor-s responsibility, bidding process for competition, third party guarantee to enhance the selection, and fuzzy techniques for ambiguities and incomplete information.
Abstract: An appropriate project delivery system (PDS) is crucial
to the success of a construction projects. Case-based Reasoning (CBR)
is a useful support for PDS selection. However, the traditional CBR
approach represents cases as attribute-value vectors without taking
relations among attributes into consideration, and could not calculate
the similarity when the structures of cases are not strictly same.
Therefore, this paper solves this problem by adopting the Relational
Case-based Reasoning (RCBR) approach for PDS selection,
considering both the structural similarity and feature similarity. To
develop the feature terms of the construction projects, the criteria and
factors governing PDS selection process are first identified. Then
feature terms for the construction projects are developed. Finally, the
mechanism of similarity calculation and a case study indicate how
RCBR works for PDS selection. The adoption of RCBR in PDS
selection expands the scope of application of traditional CBR method
and improves the accuracy of the PDS selection system.
Abstract: Feature selection has recently been the subject of intensive research in data mining, specially for datasets with a large number of attributes. Recent work has shown that feature selection can have a positive effect on the performance of machine learning algorithms. The success of many learning algorithms in their attempts to construct models of data, hinges on the reliable identification of a small set of highly predictive attributes. The inclusion of irrelevant, redundant and noisy attributes in the model building process phase can result in poor predictive performance and increased computation. In this paper, a novel feature search procedure that utilizes the Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) is presented. The ACO is a metaheuristic inspired by the behavior of real ants in their search for the shortest paths to food sources. It looks for optimal solutions by considering both local heuristics and previous knowledge. When applied to two different classification problems, the proposed algorithm achieved very promising results.
Abstract: Soursop (Anona muricata) is one of the underutilized tropical fruits containing nutrients, particularly dietary fibre and antioxidant properties that are beneficial to human health. This objective of this study is to investigate the feasibility of matured soursop pulp flour (SPF) to be substituted with high-protein wheat flour in bread. Bread formulation was substituted with different levels of SPF (0%, 5%, 10% and 15%). The effect on physicochemical properties and sensory attributes were evaluated. Higher substitution level of SPF resulted in significantly higher (p
Abstract: Music Information Retrieval (MIR) and modern data mining techniques are applied to identify style markers in midi music for stylometric analysis and author attribution. Over 100 attributes are extracted from a library of 2830 songs then mined using supervised learning data mining techniques. Two attributes are identified that provide high informational gain. These attributes are then used as style markers to predict authorship. Using these style markers the authors are able to correctly distinguish songs written by the Beatles from those that were not with a precision and accuracy of over 98 per cent. The identification of these style markers as well as the architecture for this research provides a foundation for future research in musical stylometry.
Abstract: Granular computing deals with representation of information in the form of some aggregates and related methods for transformation and analysis for problem solving. A granulation scheme based on clustering and Rough Set Theory is presented with focus on structured conceptualization of information has been presented in this paper. Experiments for the proposed method on four labeled data exhibit good result with reference to classification problem. The proposed granulation technique is semi-supervised imbibing global as well as local information granulation. To represent the results of the attribute oriented granulation a tree structure is proposed in this paper.
Abstract: The effects of irrigation with dairy factory wastewater on soil properties were investigated at two sites that had received irrigation for > 60 years. Two adjoining paired sites that had never received DFE were also sampled as well as another seven fields from a wider area around the factory. In comparison with paired sites that had not received effluent, long-term wastewater irrigation resulted in an increase in pH, EC, extractable P, exchangeable Na and K and ESP. These changes were related to the use of phosphoric acid, NaOH and KOH as cleaning agents in the factory. Soil organic C content was unaffected by DFE irrigation but the size (microbial biomass C and N) and activity (basal respiration) of the soil microbial community were increased. These increases were attributed to regular inputs of soluble C (e.g. lactose) present as milk residues in the wastewater. Principal component analysis (PCA) of the soils data from all 11sites confirmed that the main effects of DFE irrigation were an increase in exchangeable Na, extractable P and microbial biomass C, an accumulation of soluble salts and a liming effect. PCA analysis of soil bacterial community structure, using PCR-DGGE of 16S rDNA fragments, generally separated individual sites from one another but did not group them according to irrigation history. Thus, whilst the size and activity of the soil microbial community were increased, the structure and diversity of the bacterial community remained unaffected.
Abstract: This study fabricates p-type Ni1−xO:Li/n-Si heterojunction solar cells (P+/n HJSCs) by using radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering and investigates the effect of substrate temperature on photovoltaic cell properties. Grazing incidence x-ray diffraction, four point probe, and ultraviolet-visible-near infrared discover the optoelectrical properties of p-Ni1-xO thin films. The results show that p-Ni1-xO thin films deposited at 300 oC has the highest grain size (22.4 nm), average visible transmittance (~42%), and electrical resistivity (2.7 Ωcm). However, the conversion efficiency of cell is shown only 2.33% which is lower than the cell (3.39%) fabricated at room temperature. This result can be mainly attributed to interfacial layer thickness (SiOx) reduces from 2.35 nm to 1.70 nm, as verified by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy.
Abstract: During the last decade Panicum virgatum, known as
Switchgrass, has been broadly studied because of its remarkable
attributes as a substitute pasture and as a functional biofuel source.
The objective of this investigation was to establish soil suitability for
Switchgrass in the State of Mississippi. A linear weighted additive
model was developed to forecast soil suitability. Multicriteria
analysis and Sensitivity analysis were utilized to adjust and optimize
the model. The model was fit using seven years of field data
associated with soils characteristics collected from Natural Resources
Conservation System - United States Department of Agriculture
(NRCS-USDA). The best model was selected by correlating
calculated biomass yield with each model's soils-based output for
Switchgrass suitability. Coefficient of determination (r2) was the
decisive factor used to establish the 'best' soil suitability model.
Coefficients associated with the 'best' model were implemented
within a Geographic Information System (GIS) to create a map of
relative soil suitability for Switchgrass in Mississippi. A Geodatabase
associated with soil parameters was built and is available for future
Geographic Information System use.
Abstract: Carbon Capture & Storage (CCS) is one of the various
methods that can be used to reduce the carbon footprint of the
energy sector. This paper focuses on the absorption of CO2 from
flue gas using packed columns, whose efficiency is highly dependent
on the structure of the liquid films within the column. To study the
characteristics of liquid films a CFD solver, OpenFOAM is utilised
to solve two-phase, isothermal film flow using the volume-of-fluid
(VOF) method. The model was validated using existing experimental
data and the Nusselt theory. It was found that smaller plate inclination
angles, with respect to the horizontal plane, resulted in larger wetted
areas on smooth plates. However, only a slight improvement in
the wetted area was observed. Simulations were also performed
using a ridged plate and it was observed that these surface textures
significantly increase the wetted area of the plate. This was mainly
attributed to the channelling effect of the ridges, which helped to
oppose the surface tension forces trying to minimise the surface area.
Rivulet formations on the ridged plate were also flattened out and
spread across a larger proportion of the plate width.
Abstract: To investigate some relations between higher mathe¬matics scores in Chinese graduate student entrance examination and calculus (resp. linear algebra, probability statistics) scores in subject's completion examination of Chinese university, we select 20 students as a sample, take higher mathematics score as a decision attribute and take calculus score, linear algebra score, probability statistics score as condition attributes. In this paper, we are based on rough-set theory (Rough-set theory is a logic-mathematical method proposed by Z. Pawlak. In recent years, this theory has been widely implemented in the many fields of natural science and societal science.) to investigate importance of condition attributes with respective to decision attribute and strength of condition attributes supporting decision attribute. Results of this investigation will be helpful for university students to raise higher mathematics scores in Chinese graduate student entrance examination.