Abstract: One of the vital developmental tasks that an
individual faces during adolescence is choosing a career. Arriving at
a career decision is difficult and anxious for many adolescents in the
tertiary level. The main purpose of this study is to determine the
factors relating to career indecision among freshmen college students
as basis for the formulation of a comprehensive career counseling
program for the psychological well-being of freshmen university
students. The subjects were purposively selected. The Slovin-s
formula was used in determining the sample size, using a 0.05
margin of error in getting the total number of samples per college and
per major. The researcher made use of descriptive correlational study
in determining significant factors relating to career indecision.
Multiple Regression Analysis indicated that career thoughts, career
decisions and vocational identity as factors related to career
indecision.
Abstract: A design of communication area for infrared
electronic-toll-collection systems to provide an extended
communication interval in the vehicle traveling direction and
regular boundary between contiguous traffic lanes is proposed.
By utilizing two typical low-cost commercial infrared LEDs with
different half-intensity angles Φ1/2 = 22◦ and 10◦, the radiation
pattern of the emitter is designed to properly adjust the spatial
distribution of the signal power. The aforementioned purpose
can be achieved with an LED array in a three-piece structure
with appropriate mounting angles. With this emitter, the influence
of the mounting parameters, including the mounting height and
mounting angles of the on-board unit and road-side unit, on the
system performance in terms of the received signal strength and
communication area are investigated. The results reveal that, for
our emitter proposed in this paper, the ideal ”long-and-narrow”
characteristic of the communication area is very little affected by
these mounting parameters. An optimum mounting configuration is
also suggested.
Abstract: Streaming Applications usually run in parallel or in
series that incrementally transform a stream of input data. It poses a
design challenge to break such an application into distinguishable
blocks and then to map them into independent hardware processing
elements. For this, there is required a generic controller that
automatically maps such a stream of data into independent processing
elements without any dependencies and manual considerations. In
this paper, Kahn Process Networks (KPN) for such streaming
applications is designed and developed that will be mapped on
MPSoC. This is designed in such a way that there is a generic Cbased
compiler that will take the mapping specifications as an input
from the user and then it will automate these design constraints and
automatically generate the synthesized RTL optimized code for
specified application.
Abstract: In this paper, we provide complete end-to-end delay analyses including the relay nodes for instant messages. Message Session Relay Protocol (MSRP) is used to provide congestion control for large messages in the Instant Messaging (IM) service. Large messages are broken into several chunks. These chunks may traverse through a maximum number of two relay nodes before reaching destination according to the IETF specification of the MSRP relay extensions. We discuss the current solutions of sending large instant messages and introduce a proposal to reduce message flows in the IM service. We consider virtual traffic parameter i.e., the relay nodes are stateless non-blocking for scalability purpose. This type of relay node is also assumed to have input rate at constant bit rate. We provide a new scheduling policy that schedules chunks according to their previous node?s delivery time stamp tags. Validation and analysis is shown for such scheduling policy. The performance analysis with the model introduced in this paper is simple and straight forward, which lead to reduced message flows in the IM service.
Abstract: This paper presents the optimal design and development
of an axial flux motor for blood pump application. With the design
objective of maximizing the motor efficiency and torque, different
topologies of AFPM machine has been examined. Selection of
optimal magnet fraction, Halbach arrangement of rotor magnets and
the use of Soft Magnetic Composite (SMC) material for the stator
core results in a novel motor with improved efficiency and torque
profile. The results of the 3D Finite element analysis for the novel
motor have been shown.
Abstract: Market based models are frequently used in the resource
allocation on the computational grid. However, as the size of
the grid grows, it becomes difficult for the customer to negotiate
directly with all the providers. Middle agents are introduced to
mediate between the providers and customers and facilitate the
resource allocation process. The most frequently deployed middle
agents are the matchmakers and the brokers. The matchmaking agent
finds possible candidate providers who can satisfy the requirements
of the consumers, after which the customer directly negotiates with
the candidates. The broker agents are mediating the negotiation with
the providers in real time.
In this paper we present a new type of middle agent, the marketmaker.
Its operation is based on two parallel operations - through
the investment process the marketmaker is acquiring resources and
resource reservations in large quantities, while through the resale process
it sells them to the customers. The operation of the marketmaker
is based on the fact that through its global view of the grid it can
perform a more efficient resource allocation than the one possible in
one-to-one negotiations between the customers and providers.
We present the operation and algorithms governing the operation
of the marketmaker agent, contrasting it with the matchmaker and
broker agents. Through a series of simulations in the task oriented
domain we compare the operation of the three agents types. We find
that the use of marketmaker agent leads to a better performance in the
allocation of large tasks and a significant reduction of the messaging
overhead.
Abstract: In this paper, genetic algorithm (GA) is proposed for
the design of an optimization algorithm to achieve the bandwidth
allocation of ATM network. In Broadband ISDN, the ATM is a highbandwidth;
fast packet switching and multiplexing technique. Using
ATM it can be flexibly reconfigure the network and reassign the
bandwidth to meet the requirements of all types of services. By
dynamically routing the traffic and adjusting the bandwidth
assignment, the average packet delay of the whole network can be
reduced to a minimum. M/M/1 model can be used to analyze the
performance.
Abstract: Space exploration is a highly visible endeavour of
humankind to seek profound answers to questions about the origins
of our solar system, whether life exists beyond Earth, and how we
could live on other worlds. Different platforms have been utilized in
planetary exploration missions, such as orbiters, landers, rovers, and
penetrators.
Having low mass, good mechanical contact with the surface,
ability to acquire high quality scientific subsurface data, and ability to
be deployed in areas that may not be conducive to landers or rovers,
Penetrators provide an alternative and complimentary solution that
makes possible scientific exploration of hardly accessible sites (icy
areas, gully sites, highlands etc.).
The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) has put space exploration as
one of the pillars of its space program, and established ExCo program
to prepare Canada for future international planetary exploration.
ExCo sets surface mobility as its focus and priority, and invests
mainly in the development of rovers because of Canada's niche space
robotics technology. Meanwhile, CSA is also investigating how
micro-penetrators can help Canada to fulfill its scientific objectives
for planetary exploration.
This paper presents a review of the micro-penetrator technologies,
past missions, and lessons learned. It gives a detailed analysis of the
technical challenges of micro-penetrators, such as high impact
survivability, high precision guidance navigation and control, thermal
protection, communications, and etc. Then, a Canadian perspective of
a possible micro-penetrator mission is given, including Canadian
scientific objectives and priorities, potential instruments, and flight
opportunities.
Abstract: This paper presents a method for determining the
uniaxial tensile properties such as Young-s modulus, yield strength
and the flow behaviour of a material in a virtually non-destructive
manner. To achieve this, a new dumb-bell shaped miniature
specimen has been designed. This helps in avoiding the removal of
large size material samples from the in-service component for the
evaluation of current material properties. The proposed miniature
specimen has an advantage in finite element modelling with respect
to computational time and memory space. Test fixtures have been
developed to enable the tension tests on the miniature specimen in a
testing machine. The studies have been conducted in a chromium
(H11) steel and an aluminum alloy (AR66). The output from the
miniature test viz. load-elongation diagram is obtained and the finite
element simulation of the test is carried out using a 2D plane stress
analysis. The results are compared with the experimental results. It is
observed that the results from the finite element simulation
corroborate well with the miniature test results. The approach seems
to have potential to predict the mechanical properties of the
materials, which could be used in remaining life estimation of the
various in-service structures.
Abstract: Model-based approaches have been applied successfully
to a wide range of tasks such as specification, simulation, testing, and
diagnosis. But one bottleneck often prevents the introduction of these
ideas: Manual modeling is a non-trivial, time-consuming task.
Automatically deriving models by observing and analyzing running
systems is one possible way to amend this bottleneck. To
derive a model automatically, some a-priori knowledge about the
model structure–i.e. about the system–must exist. Such a model
formalism would be used as follows: (i) By observing the network
traffic, a model of the long-term system behavior could be generated
automatically, (ii) Test vectors can be generated from the model,
(iii) While the system is running, the model could be used to diagnose
non-normal system behavior.
The main contribution of this paper is the introduction of a model
formalism called 'probabilistic regression automaton' suitable for the
tasks mentioned above.
Abstract: Bioinformatics and computational biology involve
the use of techniques including applied mathematics,
informatics, statistics, computer science, artificial intelligence,
chemistry, and biochemistry to solve biological problems
usually on the molecular level. Research in computational
biology often overlaps with systems biology. Major research
efforts in the field include sequence alignment, gene finding,
genome assembly, protein structure alignment, protein structure
prediction, prediction of gene expression and proteinprotein
interactions, and the modeling of evolution. Various
global rearrangements of permutations, such as reversals and
transpositions,have recently become of interest because of their
applications in computational molecular biology. A reversal is
an operation that reverses the order of a substring of a permutation.
A transposition is an operation that swaps two adjacent
substrings of a permutation. The problem of determining the
smallest number of reversals required to transform a given
permutation into the identity permutation is called sorting by
reversals. Similar problems can be defined for transpositions
and other global rearrangements. In this work we perform a
study about some genome rearrangement primitives. We show
how a genome is modelled by a permutation, introduce some
of the existing primitives and the lower and upper bounds
on them. We then provide a comparison of the introduced
primitives.
Abstract: This paper explores the knowledge and attitude of
women and men in decision making on pap smear screening. This
qualitative study recruited 52 respondents with 44 women and 8 men,
using the purposive sampling with snowballing technique through indepth
interviews. This study demonstrates several key findings:
Female respondents have better knowledge compared to male. Most
of the women perceived that pap smear screening is beneficial and
important, but to proceed with the test is still doubtful. Male
respondents were supportive in terms of sending their spouses to the
health facilities or give more freedom to their wives to choose and
making decision on their own health due to prominent reason that
women know best on their own health. It is expected that the results
from this study will provide useful guideline for healthcare providers
to prepare any action/intervention to provide an extensive education
to improve people-s knowledge and attitude towards pap smear.
Abstract: Support vector machines (SVMs) have shown
superior performance compared to other machine learning techniques,
especially in classification problems. Yet one limitation of SVMs is
the lack of an explanation capability which is crucial in some
applications, e.g. in the medical and security domains. In this paper, a
novel approach for eclectic rule-extraction from support vector
machines is presented. This approach utilizes the knowledge acquired
by the SVM and represented in its support vectors as well as the
parameters associated with them. The approach includes three stages;
training, propositional rule-extraction and rule quality evaluation.
Results from four different experiments have demonstrated the value
of the approach for extracting comprehensible rules of high accuracy
and fidelity.
Abstract: A generalized Digital Modulation Identification algorithm for adaptive demodulator has been developed and presented in this paper. The algorithm developed is verified using wavelet Transform and histogram computation to identify QPSK and QAM with GMSK and M–ary FSK modulations. It has been found that the histogram peaks simplifies the procedure for identification. The simulated results show that the correct modulation identification is possible to a lower bound of 5 dB and 12 dB for GMSK and QPSK respectively. When SNR is above 5 dB the throughput of the proposed algorithm is more than 97.8%. The receiver operating characteristics (ROC) has been computed to measure the performance of the proposed algorithm and the analysis shows that the probability of detection (Pd) drops rapidly when SNR is 5 dB and probability of false alarm (Pf) is smaller than 0.3. The performance of the proposed algorithm has been compared with existing methods and found it will identify all digital modulation schemes with low SNR.
Abstract: In this paper, a multi-agent robot system is presented. The system consists of four robots. The developed robots are able to automatically enter and patrol a harmful environment, such as the building infected with virus or the factory with leaking hazardous gas. Further, every robot is able to perform obstacle avoidance and search for the victims. Several operation modes are designed: remote control, obstacle avoidance, automatic searching, and so on.
Abstract: Based on Traub-s methods for solving nonlinear
equation f(x) = 0, we develop two families of third-order
methods for solving system of nonlinear equations F(x) = 0. The
families include well-known existing methods as special cases.
The stability is corroborated by numerical results. Comparison
with well-known methods shows that the present methods are
robust. These higher order methods may be very useful in the
numerical applications requiring high precision in their computations
because these methods yield a clear reduction in number of iterations.
Abstract: In this paper we illuminate a frequency domain based
classification method for video scenes. Videos from certain topical
areas often contain activities with repeating movements. Sports
videos, home improvement videos, or videos showing mechanical
motion are some example areas. Assessing main and side frequencies
of each repeating movement gives rise to the motion type. We
obtain the frequency domain by transforming spatio-temporal motion
trajectories. Further on we explain how to compute frequency features
for video clips and how to use them for classifying. The focus of
the experimental phase is on transforms utilized for our system.
By comparing various transforms, experiments show the optimal
transform for a motion frequency based approach.
Abstract: In this paper we examine the use of global texture analysis based approaches for the purpose of Persian font recognition in machine-printed document images. Most existing methods for font recognition make use of local typographical features and connected component analysis. However derivation of such features is not an easy task. Gabor filters are appropriate tools for texture analysis and are motivated by human visual system. Here we consider document images as textures and use Gabor filter responses for identifying the fonts. The method is content independent and involves no local feature analysis. Two different classifiers Weighted Euclidean Distance and SVM are used for the purpose of classification. Experiments on seven different type faces and four font styles show average accuracy of 85% with WED and 82% with SVM classifier over typefaces
Abstract: Positron emission particle tracking (PEPT) is a
technique in which a single radioactive tracer particle can be
accurately tracked as it moves. A limitation of PET is that in order to
reconstruct a tomographic image it is necessary to acquire a large
volume of data (millions of events), so it is difficult to study rapidly
changing systems. By considering this fact, PEPT is a very fast
process compared with PET.
In PEPT detecting both photons defines a line and the annihilation
is assumed to have occurred somewhere along this line. The location
of the tracer can be determined to within a few mm from coincident
detection of a small number of pairs of back-to-back gamma rays and
using triangulation. This can be achieved many times per second and
the track of a moving particle can be reliably followed. This
technique was invented at the University of Birmingham [1].
The attempt in PEPT is not to form an image of the tracer particle
but simply to determine its location with time. If this tracer is
followed for a long enough period within a closed, circulating system
it explores all possible types of motion.
The application of PEPT to industrial process systems carried out
at the University of Birmingham is categorized in two subjects: the
behaviour of granular materials and viscous fluids. Granular
materials are processed in industry for example in the manufacture of
pharmaceuticals, ceramics, food, polymers and PEPT has been used
in a number of ways to study the behaviour of these systems [2].
PEPT allows the possibility of tracking a single particle within the
bed [3]. Also PEPT has been used for studying systems such as: fluid
flow, viscous fluids in mixers [4], using a neutrally-buoyant tracer
particle [5].
Abstract: Social, culture and artistic status of a society in
various historical eras is affected by numerous, and sometimes
imposed, factors that better understanding requires analysis of such
conditions. Throughout history Iran has been involved with
determining and significant events that examining each of these
events can improve the understanding of social conditions of this
country in the intended time. Mongolian conquest of Iran is one of
most significant events in the history of Iran with consequences that
never left Iranian societies. During this tragic invasion and
subsequent devastating wars, which led to establishment of Ilkhanate
dynasty, numerous cultural and artistic changes occurred both in
Mongolian conquerors and Iranian society. This study examines these
changes with a glimpse towards art and architecture as important part
of cultural aspects and social communication.