Abstract: Different forms of interaction are an integral part of
modern courses. Traditional courses held on-campus might focus on
teacher-student interaction, or student-student interaction, or both.
However when these traditional on-campus courses are to be held as
distance courses there is a risk that these well-designed interactions
will be difficult or impossible to uphold. For example, studentstudent
interaction in traditional project assignments might not work
well if the students are scattered across the world. Thus, even a welldesigned
traditional on-site course cannot without modification be
turned into a distance course. Traditional on-site courses simply have
to be redesigned to become true distance courses. This paper
describes a structured approach which facilitates the redesign of a
traditional course into a distance course. The approach is based on
that the desired forms of course flexibility are identified, and
thereafter that the course activities are redesigned to facilitate
interaction in a distance course. The approach is making use of
known patterns of pedagogic interaction and existing guidelines for
distance education design. The approach is illustrated with an
example course in the field of information systems design.
Abstract: The scientific community has invested a great deal of effort in the fields of discrete wavelet transform in the last few decades. Discrete wavelet transform (DWT) associated with the vector quantization has been proved to be a very useful tool for the compression of image. However, the DWT is very computationally intensive process requiring innovative and computationally efficient method to obtain the image compression. The concurrent transformation of the image can be an important solution to this problem. This paper proposes a model of concurrent DWT for image compression. Additionally, the formal verification of the model has also been performed. Here the Symbolic Model Verifier (SMV) has been used as the formal verification tool. The system has been modeled in SMV and some properties have been verified formally.
Abstract: Prior research has not effectively investigated how the
profitability of Chinese branches affect FDIs in China [1, 2], so this
study for the first time incorporates realistic earnings information
to systematically investigate effects of innovation, imitation, and
profit factors of FDI diffusions from Taiwan to China. Our nonlinear
least square (NLS) model, which incorporates earnings factors,
forms a nonlinear ordinary differential equation (ODE) in numerical
simulation programs. The model parameters are obtained through
a genetic algorithms (GA) technique and then optimized with the
collected data for the best accuracy. Particularly, Taiwanese regulatory
FDI restrictions are also considered in our modified model to meet
the realistic conditions. To validate the model-s effectiveness, this
investigation compares the prediction accuracy of modified model
with the conventional diffusion model, which does not take account
of the profitability factors.
The results clearly demonstrate the internal influence to be positive,
as early FDI adopters- consistent praises of FDI attract potential firms
to make the same move. The former erects a behavior model for the
latter to imitate their foreign investment decision. Particularly, the
results of modified diffusion models show that the earnings from
Chinese branches are positively related to the internal influence. In
general, the imitating tendency of potential consumers is substantially
hindered by the losses in the Chinese branches, and these firms would
invest less into China. The FDI inflow extension depends on earnings
of Chinese branches, and companies will adjust their FDI strategies
based on the returns. Since this research has proved that earning is
an influential factor on FDI dynamics, our revised model explicitly
performs superior in prediction ability than conventional diffusion
model.
Abstract: Understanding of how and where NOx formation
occurs in industrial burner is very important for efficient and clean
operation of utility burners. Also the importance of this problem is
mainly due to its relation to the pollutants produced by more burners
used widely of gas turbine in thermal power plants and glass and steel
industry.
In this article, a numerical model of an industrial burner operating
in MILD combustion is validated with experimental data.. Then
influence of air flow rate and air temperature on combustor
temperature profiles and NOX product are investigated. In order to
modification this study reports on the effects of fuel and air dilution
(with inert gases H2O, CO2, N2), and also influence of lean-premixed
of fuel, on the temperature profiles and NOX emission.
Conservation equations of mass, momentum and energy, and
transport equations of species concentrations, turbulence, combustion
and radiation modeling in addition to NO modeling equations were
solved together to present temperature and NO distribution inside the
burner.
The results shows that dilution, cause to a reduction in value of
temperature and NOX emission, and suppresses any flame
propagation inside the furnace and made the flame inside the furnace
invisible. Dilution with H2O rather than N2 and CO2 decreases further
the value of the NOX. Also with raise of lean-premix level, local
temperature of burner and the value of NOX product are decreases
because of premixing prevents local “hot spots" within the combustor
volume that can lead to significant NOx formation. Also leanpremixing
of fuel with air cause to amount of air in reaction zone is
reach more than amount that supplied as is actually needed to burn
the fuel and this act lead to limiting NOx formation
Abstract: In this paper we present a novel technique for data
hiding in binary document images. We use the concept of entropy in
order to identify document specific least distortive areas throughout
the binary document image. The document image is treated as any
other image and the proposed method utilizes the standard document
characteristics for the embedding process. Proposed method
minimizes perceptual distortion due to embedding and allows
watermark extraction without the requirement of any side information
at the decoder end.
Abstract: In recent five decades, textured yarns of polyester fiber produced by false twist method are the most
important and mass-produced manmade fibers. There are
many parameters of cross section which affect the physical and mechanical properties of textured yarns. These parameters
are surface area, perimeter, equivalent diameter, large
diameter, small diameter, convexity, stiffness, eccentricity, and hydraulic diameter. These parameters were evaluated by
digital image processing techniques. To find trends between production criteria and evaluated parameters of cross section, three criteria of production line have been adjusted and different types of yarns were produced. These criteria are
temperature, drafting ratio, and D/Y ratio. Finally the relations between production criteria and cross section parameters were
considered. The results showed that the presented technique can recognize and measure the parameters of fiber cross section in acceptable accuracy. Also, the optimum condition
of adjustments has been estimated from results of image analysis evaluation.
Abstract: In this paper, we propose the pre-processor based on
the Evidence Supporting Measure of Similarity (ESMS) filter and also
propose the unified fusion approach (UFA) based on the general
fusion machine coupled with ESMS filter, which improve the
correctness and precision of information fusion in any fields of
application. Here we mainly apply the new approach to Simultaneous
Localization And Mapping (SLAM) of Pioneer II mobile robots. A
simulation experiment was performed, where an autonomous virtual
mobile robot with sonar sensors evolves in a virtual world map with
obstacles. By comparing the result of building map according to the
general fusion machine (here DSmT-based fusing machine and
PCR5-based conflict redistributor considereded) coupling with ESMS
filter and without ESMS filter, it shows the benefit of the selection of
the sources as a prerequisite for improvement of the information
fusion, and also testifies the superiority of the UFA in dealing with
SLAM.
Abstract: The purposes of this study are to study political
information exposure, politicians- perceptions, political attitudes and
political participations among people in Bangkok Metropolitan Area.
The sample consisted of 420 which were selected by using accidental sampling method. Questionnaires were administered to all of the
respondents to obtain the data for this research. T-test, one-way ANOVA and Pearson-s correlation coefficient were used to analyze the data. The findings are as follows: The difference in gender,
education, income and occupation has significantly effect upon political information exposures. The difference in age, income has
significantly effect upon politicians- perceptions. The difference in income has significantly effect upon political attitudes. The
difference in gender, income and occupation has significantly effect
upon political participations. There were a significantly relations between political information exposures, political attitudes, political
participations and between politicians- perceptions, political attitudes and political participations.
Abstract: In the last decades, the problem of perforation
damage has been considered as the major factor for the
reduction of oil productivity. Underbalance perforation is
considered as one of the best means to minimize or overcome
this problem. By maintaining wellbore pressure lower than
formation pressure, perforation damage could be minimize or
eliminated. This can be achieved by the use of nontraditional
lightweight completion fluid. This paper presents the effect of
natural clay in formulating nontraditional completion fluid to
ensure successful perforation job and increase of production
rate. Natural clay is used as homogenizing agent to create a
stable and non-damaging low-density completion fluid.
Results indicate that the addition of natural clay dramatically
increase the stability of the final fluids. In addition, field test
has shown that the application of nontraditional completion
fluid increases oil production by three folds.
Abstract: In this paper we describe our efforts to design and
implement an agent development framework that has the potential to
scale to the size of any underlying network suitable for various ECommerce
activities. The main novelty in our framework is it-s
capability to allow the development of sophisticated, secured agents
which are simple enough to be practical.
We have adopted FIPA agent platform reference Model as
backbone for implementation along with XML for agent
Communication and Java Cryptographic Extension and architecture
to realize the security of communication information between agents.
The advantage of our architecture is its support of agents
development in different languages and Communicating with each
other using a more open standard i.e. XML
Abstract: This work aims to test the application of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling to fixed bed catalytic cracking reactors. Studies of CFD with a fixed bed design commonly use a regular packing with N=2 to define bed geometry. CFD allows us to obtain a more accurate view of the fluid flow and heat transfer mechanisms present in fixed bed equipment. Naphtha was used as feedstock and the reactor length was 80cm. It is divided in three sections that catalyst bed packed in the middle section of the reactor. The reaction scheme was involved one primary reaction and 24 secondary reactions. Because of high CPU times in these simulations, parallel processing have been used. In this study the coke formation process in fixed bed and empty tube reactor was simulated and coke in these reactors are compared. In addition, the effect of steam ratio and feed flow rate on coke formation was investigated.
Abstract: Control of complex systems is one of important files in complex systems, that not only relies on the essence of complex systems which is denoted by the core concept – emergence, but also embodies the elementary concept in control theory. Aiming at giving a clear and self-contained description of emergence, the paper introduces a formal way to completely describe the formation and dynamics of emergence in complex systems. Consequently, this paper indicates the Emergence-Oriented Control methodology that contains three kinds of basic control schemes: the direct control, the system re-structuring and the system calibration. As a universal ontology, the Emergence-Oriented Control provides a powerful tool for identifying and resolving control problems in specific systems.
Abstract: Solar energy is the most “available", ecological and clean energy. This energy can be used in active or passive mode. The active mode implies the transformation of solar energy into a useful energy. The solar energy can be transformed into thermal energy, using solar collectors. In these collectors, the active and the most important element is the absorber, material which performs the absorption of solar radiation and, in at the same time, limits its reflection. The paper presents some aspects regarding the IR absorbing material – a type of cermets, used as absorber in the solar collectors, by X Ray Diffraction Technique (XRD) characterization.
Abstract: Text categorization is the problem of classifying text
documents into a set of predefined classes. After a preprocessing
step, the documents are typically represented as large sparse vectors.
When training classifiers on large collections of documents, both the
time and memory restrictions can be quite prohibitive. This justifies
the application of feature selection methods to reduce the
dimensionality of the document-representation vector. In this paper,
three feature selection methods are evaluated: Random Selection,
Information Gain (IG) and Support Vector Machine feature selection
(called SVM_FS). We show that the best results were obtained with
SVM_FS method for a relatively small dimension of the feature
vector. Also we present a novel method to better correlate SVM
kernel-s parameters (Polynomial or Gaussian kernel).
Abstract: This paper presents a novel method for remaining
useful life prediction using the Elliptical Basis Function (EBF)
network and a Markov chain. The EBF structure is trained by a
modified Expectation-Maximization (EM) algorithm in order to take
into account the missing covariate set. No explicit extrapolation is
needed for internal covariates while a Markov chain is constructed to
represent the evolution of external covariates in the study. The
estimated external and the unknown internal covariates constitute an
incomplete covariate set which are then used and analyzed by the EBF
network to provide survival information of the asset. It is shown in the
case study that the method slightly underestimates the remaining
useful life of an asset which is a desirable result for early maintenance
decision and resource planning.
Abstract: This study shows the effect of carbon towards
molybdenum carbide alloy when exposed to Microwave. This
technique is also known as Microwave Induced Alloying (MIA) for
the preparation of molybdenum carbide. In this study ammonium
heptamolybdate solution and carbon black powder were
heterogeneously mixed and exposed to microwave irradiation for 2
minutes. The effect on amount of carbon towards the produced alloy
on morphological and oxidation states changes during microwave is
presented. In this experiment, it is expected carbon act as a reducing
agent with the ratio 2:7 molybdenum to carbon as the optimum for
the production of molybdenum carbide alloy. All the morphological
transformations and changes in this experiment were followed and
characterized using X-Ray Diffraction and FESEM.
Abstract: Within the new world order, the term “crisis" is nowadays familiar to companies. Organizations are experiencing conditions which are surprising, uncertain, often adverse and usually unstable. The companies, who grasp the importance of transformation within the information age, have felt the need to develop modern methods to achieve the ability to thrive despite severe shocks. Through strategically managing human resource and developing appropriate elements of human resource system, companies can be assured for resolving the crisis. In this paper the role of HR system on resolving crisis has been evaluated. To help accomplish this, an insight on previous strategic HRM literature and an introduction to the elements and relationship within HR systems has been presented. It also reviews different attitude around resilience in literature. It continues by reviewing three elements central to developing an organization-s capacity for crisis resolving and it will demonstrate how designing proper elements of HR system can lead the organizations to possess the ability for passing through crisis. Finally it will evaluate an Iranian Insurance organization in case of one of the three central elements (specific cognitive ability) and observe how successful they were on developing an effective HR system to be ready for facing crisis.
Abstract: The paper represents a reflection on how to select proper indicators to assess the progress of regional contexts towards a knowledge-based society. Taking the first research methodologies elaborated at an international level (World Bank, OECD, etc.) as a reference point, this work intends to identify a set of indicators of the knowledge economy suitable to adequately understand in which manner and to which extent the territorial development dynamics are correlated with the knowledge-base of the considered local society. After a critical survey of the variables utilized within other approaches adopted by international or national organizations, this paper seeks to elaborate a framework of variables, named Regional Knowledge Economy Indicators (ReKEI), necessary to describe the knowledge-based relations of subnational socio-economic contexts. The realization of this framework has a double purpose: an analytical one consisting in highlighting the regional differences in the governance of knowledge based processes, and an operative one consisting in providing some reference parameters for contributing to increasing the effectiveness of those economic policies aiming at enlarging the knowledge bases of local societies.
Abstract: Cardiovascular diseases, principally atherosclerosis, are responsible for 30% of world deaths. Atherosclerosis is due to the formation of plaque. The fatty plaque may be at risk of rupture, leading typically to stroke and heart attack. The plaque is usually associated with a high degree of lumen reduction, called a stenosis.It is increasingly recognized that the initiation and progression of disease and the occurrence of clinical events is a complex interplay between the local biomechanical environment and the local vascular biology. The aim of this study is to investigate the flow behavior through a stenosed artery. A physical experiment was performed using an artery model and blood analogue fluid. An axisymmetric model constructed consists of contraction and expansion region that follow a mathematical form of cosine function. A 30% diameter reduction was used in this study. The flow field was measured using particle image velocimetry (PIV). Spherical particles with 20μm diameter were seeded in a water-glycerol-NaCl mixture. Steady flow Reynolds numbers are 250. The area of interest is the region after the stenosis where the flow separation occurs. The velocity field was measured and the velocity gradient was investigated. There was high particle concentration in the recirculation zone. High velocity gradient formed immediately after the stenosis throat created a lift force that enhanced particle migration to the flow separation area.
Abstract: Safer driver behavior promoting is the main goal of this paper. It is a fact that drivers behavior is relatively safer when being monitored. Thus, in this paper, we propose a monitoring system to report specific driving event as well as the potentially aggressive events for estimation of the driving performance. Our driving monitoring system is composed of two parts. The first part is the in-vehicle embedded system which is composed of a GPS receiver, a two-axis accelerometer, radar sensor, OBD interface, and GPRS modem. The design considerations that led to this architecture is described in this paper. The second part is a web server where an adaptive hierarchical fuzzy system is proposed to classify the driving performance based on the data that is sent by the in-vehicle embedded system and the data that is provided by the geographical information system (GIS). Our system is robust, inexpensive and small enough to fit inside a vehicle without distracting the driver.