Abstract: An international cooperation between educators in
Australia and the US has led to a reconceptualization of the teaching
of a library science course at Appalachian State University. The
pedagogy of Action Learning coupled with a 3D virtual learning
environment immerses students in a social constructivist learning
space that incorporates and supports interaction and reflection. The
intent of this study was to build a bridge between theory and practice
by providing students with a tool set that promoted personal and
social reflection, and created and scaffolded a community of practice.
Besides, action learning is an educational process whereby the fifty
graduate students experienced their own actions and experience to
improve performance.
Abstract: A complex valued neural network is a neural network, which consists of complex valued input and/or weights and/or thresholds and/or activation functions. Complex-valued neural networks have been widening the scope of applications not only in electronics and informatics, but also in social systems. One of the most important applications of the complex valued neural network is in image and vision processing. In Neural networks, radial basis functions are often used for interpolation in multidimensional space. A Radial Basis function is a function, which has built into it a distance criterion with respect to a centre. Radial basis functions have often been applied in the area of neural networks where they may be used as a replacement for the sigmoid hidden layer transfer characteristic in multi-layer perceptron. This paper aims to present exhaustive results of using RBF units in a complex-valued neural network model that uses the back-propagation algorithm (called 'Complex-BP') for learning. Our experiments results demonstrate the effectiveness of a Radial basis function in a complex valued neural network in image recognition over a real valued neural network. We have studied and stated various observations like effect of learning rates, ranges of the initial weights randomly selected, error functions used and number of iterations for the convergence of error on a neural network model with RBF units. Some inherent properties of this complex back propagation algorithm are also studied and discussed.
Abstract: Molodstov-s soft sets theory was originally proposed
as general mathematical tool for dealing with uncertainty problems. The matrix form has been introduced in soft set and some of its
properties have been discussed. However, the formulation of soft
matrix in group decision making problem only with equal importance
weights of criteria, which does not show the true opinion of decision maker on each criteria. The aim of this paper is to propose a method
for solving group decision making problem incorporating the importance of criteria by using soft matrices in a more objective manner. The weight of each criterion is calculated by using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method. An example of house
selection process is given to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Abstract: This paper is taken into consideration the problem of cryptanalysis of stream ciphers. There is some attempts need to improve the existing attacks on stream cipher and to make an attempt to distinguish the portions of cipher text obtained by the encryption of plain text in which some parts of the text are random and the rest are non-random. This paper presents a tutorial introduction to symmetric cryptography. The basic information theoretic and computational properties of classic and modern cryptographic systems are presented, followed by an examination of the application of cryptography to the security of VoIP system in computer networks using LFSR algorithm. The implementation program will be developed Java 2. LFSR algorithm is appropriate for the encryption and decryption of online streaming data, e.g. VoIP (voice chatting over IP). This paper is implemented the encryption module of speech signals to cipher text and decryption module of cipher text to speech signals.
Abstract: In this paper, an ultra low power and low jitter 12bit
CMOS digitally controlled oscillator (DCO) design is presented.
Based on a ring oscillator implemented with low power Schmitt
trigger based inverters. Simulation of the proposed DCO using 32nm
CMOS Predictive Transistor Model (PTM) achieves controllable
frequency range of 550MHz~830MHz with a wide linearity and high
resolution. Monte Carlo simulation demonstrates that the time-period
jitter due to random power supply fluctuation is under 31ps and the
power consumption is 0.5677mW at 750MHz with 1.2V power
supply and 0.53-ps resolution. The proposed DCO has a good
robustness to voltage and temperature variations and better linearity
comparing to the conventional design.
Abstract: Nonlinear finite element method and Serendipity eight
nodes element are used for determining of ground surface settlement
due to tunneling. Linear element with elastic behavior is used for
modeling of lining. Modified Generalized plasticity model with nonassociated
flow rule is applied for analysis of a tunnel in Sao Paulo –
Brazil. The tunnel had analyzed by Lades- model with 16 parameters.
In this work modified Generalized Plasticity is used with 10
parameters, also Mohr-Coulomb model is used to analysis the tunnel.
The results show good agreement with observed results of field data
by modified Generalized Plasticity model than other models. The
obtained result by Mohr-Coulomb model shows less settlement than
other model due to excavation.
Abstract: Development of intelligent assembly cell conception includes new solution kind of how to create structures of automated and flexible assembly system. The current trend of the final product quality increasing is affected by time analysis of the entire manufacturing process. The primary requirement of manufacturing is to produce as many products as soon as possible, at the lowest possible cost, but of course with the highest quality. Such requirements may be satisfied only if all the elements entering and affecting the production cycle are in a fully functional condition. These elements consist of sensory equipment and intelligent control elements that are essential for building intelligent manufacturing systems. Intelligent behavior of the system as the control system will repose on monitoring of important parameters of the system in the real time. Intelligent manufacturing system itself should be a system that can flexibly respond to changes in entering and exiting the process in interaction with the surroundings.
Abstract: The paper presents the case study of hazard
identification and sensitivity of potential resource of emergency
water supply as part of the application of methodology classifying
the resources of drinking water for emergency supply of population.
The case study has been carried out on a selected resource of
emergency water supply in one region of the Czech Republic. The
hazard identification and sensitivity of potential resource of
emergency water supply is based on a unique procedure and
developed general registers of selected types of hazards and
sensitivities. The registers have been developed with the help of the
“Fault Tree Analysis” method in combination with the “What if
method”. The identified hazards for the assessed resource include
hailstorms and torrential rains, drought, soil erosion, accidents of
farm machinery, and agricultural production. The developed registers
of hazards and vulnerabilities and a semi-quantitative assessment of
hazards for individual parts of hydrological structure and
technological elements of presented drilled wells are the basis for a
semi-quantitative risk assessment of potential resource of emergency
supply of population and the subsequent classification of such
resource within the system of crisis planning.
Abstract: The results obtained after incorporating the competence “creativity" to the subject Technical Drawing of the first course of the Degree in Forestry, Technical University of Madrid, are presented in this study.At first, learning activities which could serve two functions at the same time -developing students- creativity and developing other specific competences of the subject- were considered. Besides, changes in the assessment procedure were made and a method which analyzes two aspects of the assessment of the competence creativity was established. On the one hand, the products are evaluated by analyzing the outcomes obtained by students in the essays suggested and by establishing a parameter to assess the creativity expressed in those essays. On the other, an assessment of the student is directly carried out through a psychometric test which has been previously chosen by the team.Moreover, these results can be applied to similar or could be of general application.
Abstract: Genetic algorithms (GAs) have been widely used for
global optimization problems. The GA performance depends highly
on the choice of the search space for each parameter to be optimized.
Often, this choice is a problem-based experience. The search space
being a set of potential solutions may contain the global optimum
and/or other local optimums. A bad choice of this search space
results in poor solutions. In this paper, our approach consists in
extending the search space boundaries during the GA optimization,
only when it is required. This leads to more diversification of GA
population by new solutions that were not available with fixed search
space boundaries. So, these dynamic search spaces can improve the
GA optimization performances. The proposed approach is applied to
power system stabilizer optimization for multimachine power system
(16-generator and 68-bus). The obtained results are evaluated and
compared with those obtained by ordinary GAs. Eigenvalue analysis
and nonlinear system simulation results show the effectiveness of the
proposed approach to damp out the electromechanical oscillation and
enhance the global system stability.
Abstract: Industrial surveys shows that manufacturing
companies define the qualities of thermal removing process based on
the dimension and physical appearance of the cutting material
surface. Therefore, the roughness of the surface area of the material
cut by the plasma arc cutting process and the rate of the removed
material by the manual plasma arc cutting machine was importantly
considered. Plasma arc cutter Selco Genesis 90 was used to cut
Standard AISI 1017 Steel of 200 mm x100 mm x 6 mm manually
based on the selected parameters setting. The material removal rate
(MRR) was measured by determining the weight of the specimens
before and after the cutting process. The surface roughness (SR)
analysis was conducted using Mitutoyo CS-3100 to determine the
average roughness value (Ra). Taguchi method was utilized to
achieve optimum condition for both outputs studied. The
microstructure analysis in the region of the cutting surface is
performed using SEM. The results reveal that the SR values are
inversely proportional to the MRR values. The quality of the surface
roughness depends on the dross peak that occurred after the cutting
process.
Abstract: Sensors have been used in various kinds of academic
fields and applications. In this article, we propose the idea of
modularized sensors that combine multiple sensor modules into a
unique sensor. We divide a sensor into several units according to
functionalities. Each unit has different sensor modules, which share
the same type of connectors and can be serially and arbitrarily
connected each other. A user can combine different sensor modules
into a sensor platform according to requirements. Compared with
current modularized sensors, the proposed sensor platform is highly
flexible and reusable. We have implemented the prototype of the
proposed sensor platform, and the experimental results show the
proposed platform can work correctly.
Abstract: In this paper, a new dependable algorithm based on an adaptation of the standard variational iteration method (VIM) is used for analyzing the transition from steady convection to chaos for lowto-intermediate Rayleigh numbers convection in porous media. The solution trajectories show the transition from steady convection to chaos that occurs at a slightly subcritical value of Rayleigh number, the critical value being associated with the loss of linear stability of the steady convection solution. The VIM is treated as an algorithm in a sequence of intervals for finding accurate approximate solutions to the considered model and other dynamical systems. We shall call this technique as the piecewise VIM. Numerical comparisons between the piecewise VIM and the classical fourth-order Runge–Kutta (RK4) numerical solutions reveal that the proposed technique is a promising tool for the nonlinear chaotic and nonchaotic systems.
Abstract: In this paper, we propose an improved fast search
algorithm using combined histogram features and temporal division
method for short MPEG video clips from large video database. There
are two types of histogram features used to generate more robust
features. The first one is based on the adjacent pixel intensity
difference quantization (APIDQ) algorithm, which had been reliably
applied to human face recognition previously. An APIDQ histogram is
utilized as the feature vector of the frame image. Another one is
ordinal feature which is robust to color distortion. Combined with
active search [4], a temporal pruning algorithm, fast and robust video
search can be realized. The proposed search algorithm has been
evaluated by 6 hours of video to search for given 200 MPEG video
clips which each length is 30 seconds. Experimental results show the
proposed algorithm can detect the similar video clip in merely 120ms,
and Equal Error Rate (ERR) of 1% is achieved, which is more
accurately and robust than conventional fast video search algorithm.
Abstract: The alterations in pancreas gland secretion hormones
following an aerobic and exhausting exercise was the purpose of this
study. Sixteen healthy men participated in the study. The blood
samples of these participants were taken in four stages under fasting
condition. The first sample was taken before Bruce exhausting and
aerobic test, the second sample was taken after Bruce exercise and
the third and forth stages samples were taken 24 and 48 hours after
the exercises respectively. The final results indicated that a strenuous
aerobic exercise can have a significant effect on glucagon and insulin
concentration of blood serum. The increase in blood serum insulin
was higher after 24 and 48 hours. It seems that an intensive exercise
has little effect on changes in glucagon concentration of blood serum.
Also, disorder in secretion in glucagon and insulin concentration of
serum disturbs athletes- exercise.
Abstract: From environmental aspect purification of ammonia
containing wastewater is expected. High efficiency ammonia
desorption can be done from the water by air on proper temperature.
After the desorption process, ammonia can be recovered and used in
another technology. The calculation method described below give
some methods to find either the minimum column height or ammonia
rich solution of the effluent.
Abstract: The use of e-business in small and medium-sized
enterprises (SMEs) has been recently received an enormous attention
in information systems research by both academic and practitioners.
With the adoption of new and efficient technologies to enhance
businesses, Thai SMEs should be able to compete worldwide.
Unfortunately, most of the owners are not used to new technologies.
It is clear that most Thai SMEs prefer to work manually rather than
electronically. This paper aims to provide a fundamental conceptual
framework for E-business adoption by Thai SMEs. Rooted in
Knowledge transfer model, several factors are identified, which drive
and enable e-business adoption. By overlooking the benefits
associated with implementing new technologies, it is difficult for
Thai SMEs to perform well enough to compete globally. The paper
also helps Thai SMEs to understand factors related to E-business
adoption.
Abstract: This paper addresses linear quadratic regulation (LQR)
for variable speed variable pitch wind turbines. Because of the
inherent nonlinearity of wind turbine, a set of operating conditions is
identified and then a LQR controller is designed for each operating
point. The feedback controller gains are then interpolated linearly to
get control law for the entire operating region. Besides, the
aerodynamic torque and effective wind speed are estimated online to
get the gain-scheduling variable for implementing the controller. The
potential of the method is verified through simulation with the help of
MATLAB/Simulink and GH Bladed. The performance and
mechanical load when using LQR are also compared with that when
using PI controller.
Abstract: Environmental contamination is a common problem in ex-industrial and industrial sites. This article gives a brief description of general applied environmental investigation methodologies and possible remediation applications in Latvia. Most of contaminated areas are situated in former and active industrial, military areas and ports. Industrial and logistic activities very often have been with great impact for more than hundred years thus the contamination level with heavy metals, hydrocarbons, pesticides, persistent organic pollutants is high and is threatening health and environment in general. 242 territories now are numbered as contaminated and fixed in the National Register of contaminated territories in Latvia. Research and remediation of contamination in densely populated areas are of important environmental policy domain. Four different investigation case studies of contaminated areas are given describing the history of use, environmental quality assessment as well as planned environmental management actions. All four case study locations are situated in Riga - the capital of the Republic of Latvia. The aim of this paper is to analyze the situation and problems with management of contaminated areas in Latvia, give description of field research methods and recommendations for remediation industry based on scientific data and innovations.
Abstract: Electronic nose (array of chemical sensors) are widely
used in food industry and pollution control. Also it could be used to
locate or detect the direction of the source of emission odors. Usually
this task is performed by electronic nose (ENose) cooperated with
mobile vehicles, but when a source is instantaneous or surrounding is
hard for vehicles to reach, problem occurs. Thus a method for
stationary ENose to detect the direction of the source and locate the
source will be required. A novel method which uses the ratio between
the responses of different sensors as a discriminant to determine the
direction of source in natural wind surroundings is presented in this
paper. The result shows that the method is accurate and easily to be
implemented. This method could be also used in movably, as an
optimized algorithm for robot tracking source location.