Abstract: The evolution of logic circuits, which falls under the heading of evolvable hardware, is carried out by evolutionary algorithms. These algorithms are able to automatically configure reconfigurable devices. One of main difficulties in developing evolvable hardware with the ability to design functional electrical circuits is to choose the most favourable EA features such as fitness function, chromosome representations, population size, genetic operators and individual selection. Until now several researchers from the evolvable hardware community have used and tuned these parameters and various rules on how to select the value of a particular parameter have been proposed. However, to date, no one has presented a study regarding the size of the chromosome representation (circuit layout) to be used as a platform for the evolution in order to increase the evolvability, reduce the number of generations and optimize the digital logic circuits through reducing the number of logic gates. In this paper this topic has been thoroughly investigated and the optimal parameters for these EA features have been proposed. The evolution of logic circuits has been carried out by an extrinsic evolvable hardware system which uses (1+λ) evolution strategy as the core of the evolution.
Abstract: In this paper Lattice Boltzmann simulation of
turbulent natural convection with large-eddy simulations (LES) in a
square cavity which is filled by water has been investigated. The
present results are validated by finds of other investigations which
have been done with different numerical methods. Calculations were
performed for high Rayleigh numbers of Ra=108 and 109. The results
confirm that this method is in acceptable agreement with other
verifications of such a flow. In this investigation is tried to present
Large-eddy turbulence flow model by Lattice Boltzmann Method
(LBM) with a clear and simple statement. Effects of increase in
Rayleigh number are displayed on streamlines, isotherm counters and
average Nusselt number. Result shows that the average Nusselt
number enhances with growth of the Rayleigh numbers.
Abstract: Intelligent Transportation System integrates various modern advanced technologies into the ground transportation system, and it will be the goal of urban transport system in the future because of its comprehensive effects. However, it also brings some problems, such as project performance assessment, fairness of benefiting groups, fund management, which are directly related to its operation and implementation. Wuhan has difficulties in organizing transportation because of its nature feature (river and lake), therefore, calling Service of Taxi plays an important role in transportation. This paper researches on calling Service of Taxi in Wuhan, based on quantitative and qualitative analysis. It analyzes its operations management systematically, including business model, finance, usage analysis and users evaluation. As for business model, it is that the government leads the operation at the initial stage, and the third part dominates the operation at the mature stage, which not only eases the pressure of the third part and benefits the spread of the calling service at the initial stage, but also alleviates financial pressure of government and improve the efficiency of the operation at the mature stage. As for finance, it draws that this service will bring heavy financial burden of equipments, but it will be alleviated in the future because of its spread. As for usage analysis, through data comparison, this service can bring some benefits for taxi drivers, and time and spatial distribution of usage have certain features. As for user evaluation, it analyzes using group and the reason why choosing it. At last, according to the analysis above, the paper puts forward the potentials, limitations, and future development strategies for it.
Abstract: In this paper we would like to introduce some of the
best practices of using semantic markup and its significance in the
success of web applications. Search engines are one of the best ways
to reach potential customers and are some of the main indicators of
web sites' fruitfulness. We will introduce the most important
semantic vocabularies which are used by Google and Yahoo.
Afterwards, we will explain the process of semantic markup
implementation and its significance for search engines and other
semantic markup consumers. We will describe techniques for slow
conceiving RDFa markup to our web application for collecting Call
for papers (CFP) announcements.
Abstract: The purpose of this research was to study the behavior
trend factors of consumers to roasted coffee at the petrol station on
the route of Rangsit to Nakhon Nayok. The research drew upon data
collected from the regular consumers of roasted coffee stands. The
majority of respondents was male, 33-39 years old, and holding a
bachelor degree. The majority of respondents considered themselves
private business proprietors or entrepreneurs and had a monthly
income of between 10,000-16,000 baht. The regular coffee
consumers spent a minimum coffee expense of between 45 and 300
baht per day. These consumers also displayed good attitude and good
motivation which can be ranked as very high. From the hypothesis
testing of the behavior trend for the roasted coffee consumers in
repurchasing coffee and recommended the coffee to others, the
findings revealed that it had a significant correlation. Moreover, the
overall attitude towards the marketing mix factors also had a
significant correlation with the behavior trend consumers.
Abstract: The need for Information Security in organizations, regardless of their type and size, is being addressed by emerging standards and recommended best practices. The various standards and practices which evolved in recent years and are still being developed and constantly revised, address the issue of Information Security from different angles. This paper attempts to provide an overview of Information Security Standards and Practices by briefly discussing some of the most popular ones. Through a comparative study of their similarities and differences, some insight can be obtained on how their combination may lead to an increased level of Information Security.
Abstract: Numerical studies on race car aerodynamics at wing
in ground effect have been carried out using a steady 3d, double
precision, pressure-based, and standard k-epsilon turbulence model.
Through various parametric analytical studies we have observed that
at a particular speed and ground clearance of the wings a favorable
negative lift was found high at a particular angle of attack for all the
physical models considered in this paper. The fact is that if the
ground clearance height to chord length (h/c) is too small, the
developing boundary layers from either side (the ground and the
lower surface of the wing) can interact, leading to an altered variation
of the aerodynamic characteristics at wing in ground effect. Therefore
a suitable ground clearance must be predicted throughout the racing
for a better performance of the race car, which obviously depends
upon the coupled effects of the topography, wing orientation with
respect to the ground, the incoming flow features and/or the race car
speed. We have concluded that for the design of high performance
and high speed race cars the adjustable wings capable to alter the
ground clearance and the angles of attack is the best design option for
any race car for racing safely with variable speeds.
Abstract: Water borne polyurethane (PU) based on newly prepared hyperbranched poly (amine-ester) (HBPAE) was applied and evaluated as organic coating material. HBPAE was prepared through one-pot synthesis between trimethylol propane as a core and AB2 branched monomer which was obtained via Michal addition of methyl methacrylate (MMA) and diethanol amine (DEA). PU was prepared from HBPAE using different ratios of toluene diisocyanate (TDI) to form cured coating film. The prepared HBPAE was characterized using; GPC, FT-IR and 1H-NMR. The mechanical properties (impact, hardness, adhesion, and flexibility), thermal properties (DSC and TGA) and chemical resistance of the applied film were estimated. The results indicated 50% of TDI is the selected ratio. This formulation represents a promising candidate to be used as coating material.
Abstract: The purposes of this study are 1) to study the impact
of the 3-community-core model: House (H), Temple (T), and School
(S) with the co-operation of official departments on community
development to ASEAN economic community involvement and 2) to
study the procedures and extension of the model. The research which
is a qualitative research is based on the formal and informal
interviews. Local people in a community are observed. Group
interview is, also, operated by executors and cooperators in the
school in the community. In terms of social and cultural dimension,
the 3-community-core model consisting of house, temple and school
is the base of Thai cultures bringing about understanding, happiness
and unity to the community. The result of this research is that the
official departments in accompanied with this model developers
cooperatively work together in the community to support such factors
as budget, plan, activities. Moreover, the need of community, and the
continual result to sustain the community are satisfied by the model
implementation. In terms of the procedures of the model
implementation, executors and co-operators can work, coordinate,
think, and launch their public relation altogether. Concerning the
model development, this enables the community to achieve its goal to
prepare the community’s readiness for ASEAN Economic
Community involvement.
Abstract: In this paper, an adaptive polarized Multiple-Input
Multiple-Output (MIMO) Multicarrier Spread Spectrum Code Division Multiple Access (MC-SS-CDMA) system is designed for downlink mobile communications. The proposed system will be
examined in Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) mode for both macro urban and suburban environments. For the same transmission
bandwidth, a performance comparison between both nonoverlapped and orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM) schemes will be presented. Also, the proposed system will be compared with
both the closed loop vertical MIMO MC-SS-CDMA system and the
synchronous vertical STBC-MIMO MC-SS-CDMA system. As will
be shown, the proposed system introduces a significant performance
gain as well as reducing the spatial dimensions of the MIMO system
and simplifying the receiver implementation. The effect of the
polarization diversity characteristics on the BER performance will be
discussed. Also, the impact of excluding the cross-polarization MCSS-
CDMA blocks in the base station will be investigated. In addition,
the system performance will be evaluated under different Feedback
Information (FBI) rates for slowly-varying channels. Finally, a
performance comparison for vehicular and pedestrian environments
will be presented
Abstract: This paper presents a new algorithm which yields a nonlinear state estimator called iterated unscented Kalman filter. This state estimator makes use of both statistical and analytical linearization techniques in different parts of the filtering process. It outperforms the other three nonlinear state estimators: unscented Kalman filter (UKF), extended Kalman filter (EKF) and iterated extended Kalman filter (IEKF) when there is severe nonlinearity in system equation and less nonlinearity in measurement equation. The algorithm performance has been verified by illustrating some simulation results.
Abstract: High-velocity oxygen fuel (HVOF) thermal spraying
uses a combustion process to heat the gas flow and coating material.
A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model has been developed to
predict gas dynamic behavior in a HVOF thermal spray gun in which
premixed oxygen and propane are burnt in a combustion chamber
linked to a parallel-sided nozzle. The CFD analysis is applied to
investigate axisymmetric, steady-state, turbulent, compressible,
chemically reacting, subsonic and supersonic flow inside and outside
the gun. The gas velocity, temperature, pressure and Mach number
distributions are presented for various locations inside and outside
the gun. The calculated results show that the most sensitive
parameters affecting the process are fuel-to-oxygen gas ratio and
total gas flow rate. Gas dynamic behavior along the centerline of the
gun depends on both total gas flow rate and fuel-to-oxygen gas ratio.
The numerical simulations show that the axial gas velocity and Mach
number distribution depend on both flow rate and ratio; the highest
velocity is achieved at the higher flow rate and most fuel-rich ratio.
In addition, the results reported in this paper illustrate that the
numerical simulation can be one of the most powerful and beneficial
tools for the HVOF system design, optimization and performance
analysis.
Abstract: A numerical prediction of flow in a tube bank is reported. The flow regimes considered cover a wide range of Reynolds numbers, which range from 380 to 99000 and which are equivalent to a range of inlet velocities from very low (0.072 m/s) to very high (60 m/s). In this study, calculations were made using the standard k-e model with standard wall function. The drag coefficient, skin friction drag, pressure drag, and pressure distribution around a tube were investigated. As the velocity increased, the drag coefficient decreased until the velocity exceeded 45 m/s, after which it increased. Furthermore, the pressure drag and skin friction drag depend on the velocity.
Abstract: To respond to the Kyoto Protocol, the policy of Payment for Environmental Service (PES), which was entitled “Plain Landscape Afforestation Program (PLAP)", was certified by Executive Yuan in Taiwan on 31 August 2001 and has been implementing for six years since 1 January 2002. Although the PLAP has received a lot of positive comments, there are still many difficulties during the process of implementation, such as insufficient technology for afforestation, private landowners- low interests in participating in PLAP, insufficient subsidies, and so on, which are potential threats that hinder the PLAP from moving forward in future. In this paper, selecting Ping-Tung County in Taiwan as a sample region and targeting those private landowners with and without intention to participate in the PLAP, respectively, we conduct an empirical analysis based on the Logit model to investigate the factors that determine whether those private landowners join the PLAP, so as to realize the incentive effects of the PLAP upon the personal decision on afforestation. The possible factors that might determine private landowner-s participation in the PLAP include landowner-s characteristics, cropland characteristics, as well as policy factors. Among them, the policy factors include afforestation subsidy amount (+), duration of afforestation subsidy (+), the rules on adjoining and adjacent areas (+), and so on, which do not reach the remarkable level in statistics though, but the directions of variable signs are consistent with the intuition behind the policy. As for the landowners- characteristics, each of age (+), education level (–), and annual household income (+) variables reaches 10% of the remarkable level in statistics; as for the cropland characteristics, each of cropland area (+), cropland price (–), and the number of cropland parcels (–) reaches 1% of the remarkable level in statistics. In light of the above, the cropland characteristics are the dominate factor that determines the probability of landowner-s participation in the PLAP. In the Logit model established by this paper, the probability of correctly estimating nonparticipants is 98%, the probability of correctly estimating the participants is 71.8%, and the probability for the overall estimation is 95%. In addition, Hosmer-Lemeshow test and omnibus test also revealed that the Logit model in this paper may provide fine goodness of fit and good predictive power in forecasting private landowners- participation in this program. The empirical result of this paper expects to help the implementation of the afforestation programs in Taiwan.
Abstract: Sign language recognition has been a topic of research since the first data glove was developed. Many researchers have attempted to recognize sign language through various techniques. However none of them have ventured into the area of Pakistan Sign Language (PSL). The Boltay Haath project aims at recognizing PSL gestures using Statistical Template Matching. The primary input device is the DataGlove5 developed by 5DT. Alternative approaches use camera-based recognition which, being sensitive to environmental changes are not always a good choice.This paper explains the use of Statistical Template Matching for gesture recognition in Boltay Haath. The system recognizes one handed alphabet signs from PSL.
Abstract: The New Basel Capital Accord (Basel II) influences how financial institutions around the world, and especially European Union institutions, determine the amount of capital to reserve. However, as the recent global crisis has shown, the revision of Basel II is needed to reflect current trends, such as increased volatility and correlation, in the world financial markets. The overall objective of Basel II is to increase the safety and soundness of the international financial system. Basel II builds on three main pillars: Pillar I deals with the minimum capital requirements for credit, market and operational risk, Pillar II focuses on the supervisory review process and finally Pillar III promotes market discipline through enhanced disclosure requirements for banks. The aim of this paper is to provide the historical background, key features and impact of Basel II on financial markets. Moreover, we discuss new proposals for international bank regulation (sometimes referred to as Basel III) which include requirements for higher quality, constituency and transparency of banks' capital and risk management, regulation of OTC markets and introduction of new liquidity standards for internationally active banks.
Abstract: The basic objective of this paper is to measure and
compare the profitability of investments made by the small and
marginal farmers of the state of West Bengal in floriculture shifting
from the traditional cultivation of paddy. A comparison of IRR is
made to establish the fact that cultivation of flowers yield higher
returns farmers whose land size is so small that viability of paddy
cultivation is raising a question mark. A detailed study of the price
behavior of the flower crop has been carried out in which the factors
leading to the volatility of the price and the dispersion of the range
have also been discussed. Finally the incremental incomes of the
farmers have been calculated with the help of imputed income from
paddy cultivation and the reported income from the selected flowers.
The study shows that the farmers stand gainers if they opt for flower
cultivation.
Abstract: Technological newness and innovativeness are
important aspects of small firm development, growth and wealth
creation. The contribution of the study to entrepreneurship
personality research and to technology-related research in
entrepreneurship is that the model of the general personality driven
technological development was developed and empirically tested.
Hypotheses relating the big five personality factors (OCEAN:
openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and
neuroticism) and technological developments were tested by using
multiple regression analysis on survey data from a sample of 160
entrepreneurs from Slovenia. The model reveals two personality
factors, which are predictive of technological developments:
openness (positive impact) and neuroticism (negative impact). In
addition, a positive impact of firm age on technological
developments was found. Other personality factors
(conscientiousness, extraversion and agreeableness) of entrepreneurs
may not be considered important for their firm technological
developments.
Abstract: In the context of spectrum surveillance, a method to
recover the code of spread spectrum signal is presented, whereas the
receiver has no knowledge of the transmitter-s spreading sequence.
The approach is based on a genetic algorithm (GA), which is forced to
model the received signal. Genetic algorithms (GAs) are well known
for their robustness in solving complex optimization problems.
Experimental results show that the method provides a good
estimation, even when the signal power is below the noise power.
Abstract: A welded structure must be inspected to guarantee that the weld quality meets the design requirements to assure safety and reliability. However, X-ray image analyses and defect recognition with the computer vision techniques are very complex. Most difficulties lie in finding the small, irregular defects in poor contrast images which requires pre processing to image, extract, and classify features from strong background noise. This paper addresses the issue of designing methodology to extract defect from noisy background radiograph with image processing. Based on the use of actives contours this methodology seems to give good results