Scholarly

Optical Properties of WO3-NiO Complementary Electrochromic Devices

Year: 2014 Volume: 8 Issue: 7 641 - 644 Pages

Abstract: In this study, we developed a complementary electrochromic device consisting of WO3 and NiO films fabricated by rf-magnetron sputtered. The electrochromic properties of WO3 and NiO films were investigated using cyclic voltammograms (CV), performed on WO3 and NiO films immersed in an electrolyte of 1 M LiClO4 in propylene carbonate (PC). Optical and electrochemical of the films, as a function of coloration–bleaching cycle, were characterized using an UV-Vis-NIR spectrophotometer and cyclic voltammetry (CV). After investigating the properties of WO3 film, NiO film, and complementary electrochromic devices, we concluded that this device provides good reversibility, low power consumption of -2.5 V in color state, high variation of transmittance of 58.96%, changes in optical density of 0.81 and good memory effect under open-circuit conditions. In addition, electrochromic component penetration rate can be retained below 20% within 24h, showing preferred memory features; however, component coloring and bleaching response time are about 33s.

Using Printing Method and Post Heat Treatment to Fabricate CIS Absorber Layer

Year: 2014 Volume: 8 Issue: 7 637 - 640 Pages

Abstract: In this study, the Mo-electrode thin films were deposited using two-stepped process and the high purity copper indium selenide-based powder (CuInSe2, CIS) was fabricated by using hydrothermal process by Nanowin Technology Co. Ltd. Because the CIS powder was aggregated into microscale particles, the CIS power was ground into nano-scale particles. 6 wt% CIS particles were mixed and dispersed into isopropyl alcohol (IPA). A new non-vacuum thin-film deposition process, spray coating method (SPM), was investigated to deposit the high-densified CIS absorber layers. 0.1 ml CIS solution was sprayed on the 20 mm×10 mm Mo/glass substrates and then the CuInSe2 thin films were annealed in a selenization furnace using N2 as atmosphere. The annealing temperature and time were set at 550oC and 5 min, and 0.0g~0.6g extra Se content was added in the furnace. The influences of extra Se content on the densification, crystallization, resistivity (ρ), hall mobility (μ), and carrier concentration of the CIS absorber layers were well investigated in this study.

Deposition of Transparent IGZO Conducting Thin Films by Co-Sputtering of Zn2Ga2O3 and In2O3 Targets at Room Temperature

Year: 2014 Volume: 8 Issue: 7 633 - 636 Pages

Abstract: In this study, we investigated (In,Ga,Zn)Ox (IGZO) thin films and examined their characteristics of using Ga2O3-2 ZnO (GZO) co-sputtered In2O3 prepared by dual target radio frequency magnetron sputtering at room temperature in a pure Ar atmosphere. RF powers of 80 W and 70 W were used for GZO and pure In2O3, room temperature (RT) was used as deposition temperature, and the deposition time was changed from 15 min to 60 min. Structural, surface, electrical, and optical properties of IGZO thin films were investigated as a function of deposition time. Furthermore, the GZO co-sputtered In2O3 thin films showed a very smooth and featureless surface and an amorphous structure regardless of the deposition time due to the room temperature sputtering process. We would show that the co-sputtered IGZO thin films exhibited transparent electrode properties with high transmittance ratio and low resistivity.

Optimization of Energy Harvesting Systems for RFID Applications

Year: 2014 Volume: 8 Issue: 7 1167 - 1170 Pages

Abstract: To avoid battery assisted tags with limited lifetime batteries, it is proposed here to replace them by energy harvesting systems, able to feed from local environment. This would allow total independence to RFID systems, very interesting for applications where tag removal from its location is not possible. Example is here described for luggage safety in airports, and is easily extendable to similar situation in terms of operation constraints. The idea is to fix RFID tag with energy harvesting system not only to identify luggage but also to supply an embedded microcontroller with a sensor delivering luggage weight making it impossible to add or to remove anything from the luggage during transit phases. The aim is to optimize the harvested energy for such RFID applications, and to study in which limits these applications are theoretically possible. Proposed energy harvester is based on two energy sources: piezoelectricity and electromagnetic waves, so that when the luggage is moving on ground transportation to airline counters, the piezo module supplies the tag and its microcontroller, while the RF module operates during luggage transit thanks to readers located along the way. Tag location on the luggage is analyzed to get best vibrations, as well as harvester better choice for optimizing the energy supply depending on applications and the amount of energy harvested during a period of time. Effects of system parameters (RFID UHF frequencies, limit distance between the tag and the antenna necessary to harvest energy, produced voltage and voltage threshold) are discussed and working conditions for such system are delimited.

Community-Based Destination Sustainable Development: Case of Cicada Walking Street, Hua Hin, Thailand

Year: 2014 Volume: 8 Issue: 6 1961 - 1966 Pages

Authors:
Pongsiri Kingkan

Abstract: This paper aims to study the role and activities of the participants and the impact of activities created in the local area in order to sustainably develop the local areas. This study applied both qualitative and quantitative approaches presented in descriptive style; the data was collected via survey, observation and in-depth interviews with samples. The results illustrated five sorts of roles of participants of the Cicada Walking-street and four types of creative activities; recreation based, art based, cultural based, and live events. Integration of local characteristics, arts and cultures were presented creatively and interestingly. Participants are various. The roles of the participants found in the Cicada Market are group of the property and area management, entrepreneurs, leisure (entertaining persons), local people, and tourists. The good impacts on local communities are those in terms of economy, environmental friendly and local arts and cultures promoting. On the other hand, the traffic congestion, waste and the increasing of energy consumption are negative impacts from area development.

Customers’ Perception towards the Service Marketing Mix and Frequency of Use of Mercedes Benz Automobile Service, Thailand

Year: 2014 Volume: 8 Issue: 6 1958 - 1960 Pages

Authors:
Pranee Tridhoskul

Abstract: This research paper is aimed to examine a relationship between the service marketing mix and customers’ frequency of use of service at Mercedes Benz Auto Repair Centres under Thonburi Group, Thailand. Based on 2,267 customers who used the service of Thonburi Group’s Auto Repair Centres as the population, the sampling of this research was a total of 340 samples, by use of Probability Sampling Technique. Systematic Random Sampling was applied by use of questionnaire in collecting the data at Thonburi Group’s Auto Repair Centres. Mean and Pearson’s basic statistical correlations were utilized in analyzing the data. The study discovered a medium level of customers’ perception towards product and service of Thonburi Group’s Auto Repair Centres, price, place or distribution channel and promotion. People who provided service were perceived also at a medium level, whereas the physical evidence and service process were perceived at a high level. Furthermore, there appeared a correlation between the physical evidence and service process, and customers’ frequency of use of automobile service per year.

Using the Technology Acceptance Model to Examine Seniors’ Attitudes toward Facebook

Year: 2014 Volume: 8 Issue: 6 1030 - 1035 Pages

Abstract: Using the technology acceptance model (TAM), this study examined the external variables of technological complexity (TC) to acquire a better understanding of the factors that influence the acceptance of computer application courses by learners at Active Aging Universities. After the learners in this study had completed a 27-hour Facebook course, 44 learners responded to a modified TAM survey. Data were collected to examine the path relationships among the variables that influence the acceptance of Facebook-mediated community learning. The partial least squares (PLS) method was used to test the measurement and the structural model. The study results demonstrated that attitudes toward Facebook use directly influence behavioral intentions (BI) with respect to Facebook use, evincing a high prediction rate of 58.3%. In addition to the perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEOU) measures that are proposed in the TAM, other external variables, such as TC, also indirectly influence BI. These four variables can explain 88% of the variance in BI and demonstrate a high level of predictive ability. Finally, limitations of this investigation and implications for further research are discussed.

Deriving Generic Transformation Matrices for Multi-Axis Milling Machine

Year: 2014 Volume: 8 Issue: 7 1249 - 1253 Pages

Abstract: This paper proposes a new method to find the equations of transformation matrix for the rotation angles of the two rotational axes and the coordinates of the three linear axes of an orthogonal multi-axis milling machine. This approach provides intuitive physical meanings for rotation angles of multi-axis machines, which can be used to evaluate the accuracy of the conversion from CL data to NC data.

Systemic Approach to Risk Measurement of Drainage Systems in Urban Areas

Year: 2014 Volume: 8 Issue: 7 484 - 488 Pages

Abstract: The work delineates the threats of maladjustment of the capacity of rain canals, designed and built in the early 20th century, in connection to heavy rainfall, especially in summer. This is the cause of the so called 'urban floods.' It directly relates to fierce raise of paving in the cities. Resolving this problem requires a change in philosophy of draining the rainfall by wider use of retention, infiltration and usage of rainwater. In systemic approach to managing the safety of urban drainage systems the risk, which is directly connected to safety failures, has been accepted as a measure. The risk level defines the probability of occurrence of losses greater than the ones forecast for a given time frame. The procedure of risk modelling, enabling its numeric analysis by using appropriate weights, is a significant issue in this paper.

Model of Community Management for Sustainable Utilization

Year: 2014 Volume: 8 Issue: 7 2132 - 2134 Pages

Abstract: This research intended to develop the model of community management for sustainable utilization by investigating on 2 groups of population, the family heads and the community management team. The population of the former group consisted of family heads from 511 families in 12 areas to complete the questionnaires which were returned at 479 sets. The latter group consisted of the community management team of 12 areas with 1 representative from each area to give the interview. The questionnaires for the family heads consisted of 2 main parts; general information such as occupations, etc. in the form of checklist. The second part dealt with the data on self reliance community development based on 4P Framework, i.e., People (human resource) development, Place (area) development, Product (economic and income source) development, and Plan (community plan) development in the form of rating scales. Data in the 1st part were calculated to find frequency and percentage while those in the 2nd part were analyzed to find arithmetic mean and SD. Data from the 2nd group of population or the community management team were derived from focus group to find factors influencing successful management together with the in depth interview which were analyzed by descriptive statistics. The results showed that 479 family heads reported that the aspect on the implementation of community plan to self reliance community activities based on Sufficient Economy Philosophy and the 4P was at the average of 3.28 or moderate level. When considering in details, it was found that the 1st aspect was on the area development with the mean of 3.71 or high level followed by human resource development with the mean of 3.44 or moderate level, then, economic and source of income development with the mean of 3.09 or moderate level. The last aspect was community plan development with the mean of 2.89. The results from the small group discussion revealed some factors and guidelines for successful community management as follows: 1) on the People (human resource) development aspect, there was a project to support and develop community leaders. 2) On the aspect of Place (area) development, there was a development on conservative tourism areas. 3) On the aspect of Product (economic and source of income) development, the community leaders promoted the setting of occupational group, saving group, and product processing group. 4) On the aspect of Plan (community plan) development, there was a prioritization through public hearing.

Bird Diversity along Boat Touring Routes in Tha Ka Sub-District, Amphawa District, Samut Songkram Province, Thailand

Year: 2014 Volume: 8 Issue: 7 683 - 685 Pages

Abstract: This research aims to study species, abundance, status of birds, the similarities and activity characteristics of birds which reap benefits from the research area in boat touring routes in Tha Ka sub-district, Amphawa District, Samut Songkram Province, Thailand. from October 2012 – September 2013. The data was analyzed to find the abundance, and similarity index of the birds. The results from the survey of birds on all three routes found that there are 33 families and 63 species. Route 3 (traditional coconut sugar making kiln – resort) had the most species; 56 species. There were 18 species of commonly found birds with an abundance level of 5, which calculates to 28.57% of all bird species. In August, 46 species are found, being the greatest number of bird species benefiting from this route. As for the status of the birds, there are 51 resident birds, 7 resident and migratory birds, and 5 migratory birds. On Route 2 and Route 3, the similarity index value is equal to 0.881. The birds are classified by their activity characteristics i.e. insectivore, piscivore, granivore, nectrivore and aquatic invertebrate feeder birds. Some birds also use the area for nesting.

The Development of Online Lessons in Integration Model

Year: 2014 Volume: 8 Issue: 7 2127 - 2131 Pages

Authors:
Chalermpol Tapsai

Abstract: The objectives of this research were to develop and find the efficiency of integrated online lessons by investigating the usage of online lessons, the relationship between learners’ background knowledge, and the achievement after learning with online lessons. The sample group in this study consisted of 97 students randomly selected from 121 students registering in 1/2012 at Trimitwittayaram Learning Center. The sample technique employed stratified sample technique of 4 groups according to their proficiency, i.e. high, moderate, low, and non-knowledge. The research instrument included online lessons in integration model on the topic of Java Programming, test after each lesson, the achievement test at the end of the course, and the questionnaires to find learners’ satisfaction. The results showed that the efficiency of online lessons was 90.20/89.18 with the achievement of after learning with the lessons higher than that before the lessons at the statistically significant level of 0.05. Moreover, the background knowledge of the learners on the programming showed the positive relationship with the achievement learning at the statistically significant level at 0.05. Learners with high background knowledge employed less exercises and samples than those with lower background knowledge. While learners with different background in the group of moderate and low did not show the significant difference in employing samples and exercises.

Applied Actuator Fault Accommodation in Flight Control Systems Using Fault Reconstruction Based FDD and SMC Reconfiguration

Year: 2014 Volume: 8 Issue: 7 1161 - 1166 Pages

Abstract: Historically, actuators’ redundancy was used to deal with faults occurring suddenly in flight systems. This technique was generally expensive, time consuming and involves increased weight and space in the system. Therefore, nowadays, the on-line fault diagnosis of actuators and accommodation plays a major role in the design of avionic systems. These approaches, known as Fault Tolerant Flight Control systems (FTFCs) are able to adapt to such sudden faults while keeping avionics systems lighter and less expensive. In this paper, a (FTFC) system based on the Geometric Approach and a Reconfigurable Flight Control (RFC) are presented. The Geometric approach is used for cosmic ray fault reconstruction, while Sliding Mode Control (SMC) based on Lyapunov stability theory is designed for the reconfiguration of the controller in order to compensate the fault effect. Matlab®/Simulink® simulations are performed to illustrate the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed flight control system against actuators’ faulty signal caused by cosmic rays. The results demonstrate the successful real-time implementation of the proposed FTFC system on a non-linear 6 DOF aircraft model.

Analytical Study on Threats to Wetland Ecosystems and their Solutions in the Framework of the Ramsar Convention

Year: 2014 Volume: 8 Issue: 7 2116 - 2126 Pages

Abstract: Wetlands are one of the most important ecosystems on Earth. Nevertheless, various challenges threaten these ecosystems and disrupt their ecological character. Among these, the effects of human-based threats are more devastating. Following mass degradation of wetlands during 1970s, the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar, Iran, 1971) was concluded to conserve wetlands of international importance and prevent destruction and degradation of such ecosystems through wise use of wetlands as a mean to achieve sustainable development in all over the world. Therefore, in this paper, efforts have been made to analyze threats to wetlands and then investigate solutions in the framework of the Ramsar Convention. Finally, in order to operate these mechanisms, this study concludes that all states should in turn make their best effort to improve and restore global wetlands through preservation of environmental standards and close contribution and also through taking joint measures with other states effectively.

High Gain Mobile Base Station Antenna Using Curved Woodpile EBG Technique

Year: 2014 Volume: 8 Issue: 7 1092 - 1098 Pages

Abstract: This paper presents the gain improvement of a sector antenna for mobile phone base station by using the new technique to enhance its gain for microstrip antenna (MSA) array without construction enlargement. The curved woodpile Electromagnetic Band Gap (EBG) has been utilized to improve the gain instead. The advantages of this proposed antenna are reducing the length of MSAs array but providing the higher gain and easy fabrication and installation. Moreover, it provides a fan-shaped radiation pattern, wide in the horizontal direction and relatively narrow in the vertical direction, which appropriate for mobile phone base station. The paper also presents the design procedures of a 1x8 MSAs array associated with U-shaped reflector for decreasing their back and side lobes. The fabricated curved woodpile EBG exhibits bandgap characteristics at 2.1 GHz and is utilized for realizing a resonant cavity of MSAs array. This idea has been verified by both the Computer Simulation Technology (CST) software and experimental results. As the results, the fabricated proposed antenna achieves a high gain of 20.3 dB and the half-power beam widths in the E- and H-plane of 36.8 and 8.7 degrees, respectively. Good qualitative agreement between measured and simulated results of the proposed antenna was obtained.

Conception of a Reliable, Low Cost and Autonomous Explorative Hovercraft

Year: 2014 Volume: 8 Issue: 7 1157 - 1160 Pages

Abstract: The paper presents actual benefits and drawbacks of a multidirectional autonomous hovercraft conceived with limited resources and designed for indoor exploration. Recent developments in the field have led to the apparition of very powerful automotive systems capable of very high calculation and exploration in complex unknown environments. They usually propose very complex algorithms, high precision/cost sensors and sometimes have heavy calculation consumption with complex data fusion. These systems are usually powerful but have a certain price, and the benefits may not be worth the cost, especially considering their hardware limitations and their power consumption. The present approach is to build a compromise between cost, power consumption and results preciseness.

A New Bound on the Average Information Ratio of Perfect Secret-Sharing Schemes for Access Structures Based On Bipartite Graphs of Larger Girth

Year: 2014 Volume: 8 Issue: 7 1144 - 1149 Pages

Authors:
Hui-Chuan Lu

Abstract: In a perfect secret-sharing scheme, a dealer distributes a secret among a set of participants in such a way that only qualified subsets of participants can recover the secret and the joint share of the participants in any unqualified subset is statistically independent of the secret. The access structure of the scheme refers to the collection of all qualified subsets. In a graph-based access structures, each vertex of a graph G represents a participant and each edge of G represents a minimal qualified subset. The average information ratio of a perfect secret-sharing scheme realizing a given access structure is the ratio of the average length of the shares given to the participants to the length of the secret. The infimum of the average information ratio of all possible perfect secret-sharing schemes realizing an access structure is called the optimal average information ratio of that access structure. We study the optimal average information ratio of the access structures based on bipartite graphs. Based on some previous results, we give a bound on the optimal average information ratio for all bipartite graphs of girth at least six. This bound is the best possible for some classes of bipartite graphs using our approach.

Design of a Sliding Controller for Optical Disk Drives

Year: 2014 Volume: 8 Issue: 7 1138 - 1143 Pages

Abstract: This paper presents the design and implementation of a sliding-mod controller for tracking servo of optical disk drives. The tracking servo is majorly subject to two disturbance sources: radial run-out and shock. The lateral run-out disturbance is mostly repeatable, and a model of such disturbance is incorporated into the controller design to effectively compensate for it. Meanwhile, as a shock disturbance is usually non-repeatable and unpredictable, the sliding-mode controller is employed for its robustness to abrupt perturbations. As a result, a sliding-mode controller design based on the internal model principle is tailored for tracking servo of optical disk drives in order to deal with these two major disturbances. Experimental comparative studies are conducted to investigate the effectiveness of the specially designed controller.

Is School Misbehavior a Decision? Implications for School Guidance

Year: 2014 Volume: 8 Issue: 7 2111 - 2115 Pages

Authors:
Rachel C. F. Sun

Abstract: This study examined the predictive effects of moral competence, prosocial norms and positive behavior recognition on school misbehavior among Chinese junior secondary school students. Results of multiple regression analysis showed that students were more likely to misbehave in school when they had lower levels of moral competence and prosocial norms, and when they perceived their positive behavior being less likely recognized. Practical implications were discussed on how to guide students to make the right choices to behave appropriately in school. Implications for future research were also discussed.

Effectiveness of Software Quality Assurance in Offshore Development Enterprises in Sri Lanka

Year: 2014 Volume: 8 Issue: 7 1124 - 1133 Pages

Authors:
Malinda G. Sirisena

Abstract: The aim of this research is to evaluate the effectiveness of software quality assurance approaches of Sri Lankan offshore software development organizations, and to propose a framework which could be used across all offshore software development organizations. An empirical study was conducted using derived framework from popular software quality evaluation models. The research instrument employed was a questionnaire survey among thirty seven Sri Lankan registered offshore software development organizations. The findings demonstrate a positive view of Effectiveness of Software Quality Assurance – the stronger predictors of Stability, Installability, Correctness, Testability and Changeability. The present study’s recommendations indicate a need for much emphasis on software quality assurance for the Sri Lankan offshore software development organizations.

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