Abstract: Practicum placements are an critical factor for student teachers on Education Programs. How can student teachers become professionals? This study was to investigate problems, weakness and obstacles of practicum placements and develop guidelines for partnership in the practicum placements. In response to this issue, a partnership concept was implemented for developing student teachers into professionals. Data were collected through questionnaires on attitude toward problems, weaknesses, and obstacles of practicum placements of student teachers in Rajabhat universities and included focus group interviews. The research revealed that learning management, classroom management, curriculum, assessment and evaluation, classroom action research, and teacher demeanor are the important factors affecting the professional development of Education Program student teachers. Learning management plan and classroom management concerning instructional design, teaching technique, instructional media, and student behavior management are another important aspects influencing the professional development for student teachers.
Abstract: The relevance of the study of everyday life in Almaty
and Kyzylorda are associated with the emergence of the modern
trends in historiography and socializing areas of government reform.
The relevance is due to the fact that in the early twentieth century
Kyzylorda and Almaty began to develop as a city and this period has
a special place in the life of the state. An interesting aspect of the
everyday life of the inhabitants of the new city, which was built in the
era of Stalin's Five-Year Plans, can be examined through the eyes of
the Soviet people living in a specific environment, reflecting the life
of the citizens. The study of industrialization of the Soviet Union and
the attention paid to new developments in the first five years of
everyday aspects as the impact of the modernization of the 1930s was
one of the decisive factors in the lives of residents. Among these
factors, we would like to highlight the medical field, which is the
basis of all human life, specifically focusing on the state of medicine
in Alma-Ata in the first 20-30-years of the twentieth century, and
analyze the different aspects of human life, determining the quality of
medical care to the population during this period.
Abstract: In July 1, 2007, Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) on
market observation post system (MOPS) adds a new "Financial
reference database" for investors to do investment reference. This
database as a warning to public offering companies listed on the
public financial information and it original within eight targets. In
this paper, this database provided by the indicators for the application
of company financial crisis early warning model verify that the
database provided by the indicator forecast for the financial crisis,
whether or not companies have a high accuracy rate as opposed to
domestic and foreign scholars have positive results. There is use of
Logistic Regression Model application of the financial early warning
model, in which no joined back-conditions is the first model, joined it
in is the second model, has been taken occurred in the financial crisis
of companies to research samples and then business took place
before the financial crisis point with T-1 and T-2 sample data to do
positive analysis. The results show that this database provided the
debt ratio and net per share for the best forecast variables.
Abstract: This study describes a micro device integrated with
multi-chamber for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with different
annealing temperatures. The device consists of the reaction
polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) chip, a cover glass chip, and is
equipped with cartridge heaters, fans, and thermocouples for
temperature control. In this prototype, commercial software is utilized
to determine the geometric and operational parameters those are
responsible for creating the denaturation, annealing, and extension
temperatures within the chip. Two cartridge heaters are placed at two
sides of the chip and maintained at two different temperatures to
achieve a thermal gradient on the chip during the annealing step. The
temperatures on the chip surface are measured via an infrared imager.
Some thermocouples inserted into the reaction chambers are used to
obtain the transient temperature profiles of the reaction chambers
during several thermal cycles. The experimental temperatures
compared to the simulated results show a similar trend. This work
should be interesting to persons involved in the high-temperature
based reactions and genomics or cell analysis.
Abstract: This paper is concerned with propagation of thermoelastic longitudinal vibrations of an infinite circular cylinder, in the context of the linear theory of generalized thermoelasticity with two relaxation time parameters (Green and Lindsay theory). Three displacement potential functions are introduced to uncouple the equations of motion. The frequency equation, by using the traction free boundary conditions, is given in the form of a determinant involving Bessel functions. The roots of the frequency equation give the value of the characteristic circular frequency as function of the wave number. These roots, which correspond to various modes, are numerically computed and presented graphically for different values of the thermal relaxation times. It is found that the influences of the thermal relaxation times on the amplitudes of the elastic and thermal waves are remarkable. Also, it is shown in this study that the propagation of thermoelastic longitudinal vibrations based on the generalized thermoelasticity can differ significantly compared with the results under the classical formulation. A comparison of the results for the case with no thermal effects shows well agreement with some of the corresponding earlier results.
Abstract: DG application has received increasing attention during
recent years. The impact of DG on various aspects of distribution system
operation, such as reliability and energy loss, depend highly on DG
location in distribution feeder. Optimal DG placement is an important
subject which has not been fully discussed yet.
This paper presents an optimization method to determine optimal DG
placement, based on a cost/worth analysis approach. This method
considers technical and economical factors such as energy loss, load point
reliability indices and DG costs, and particularly, portability of DG. The
proposed method is applied to a test system and the impacts of different
parameters such as load growth rate and load forecast uncertainty (LFU)
on optimum DG location are studied.
Abstract: With the rapid growth and development of information and communication technology, the Internet has played a definite and irreplaceable role in people-s social lives in Taiwan like in other countries. In July 2008, on a general social website, an unexpected phenomenon was noticed – that there were more than one hundred users who started forming clubs voluntarily and having face-to-face gatherings for specific purposes. In this study, it-s argued whether or not teenagers- social contact on the Internet is involved in their life context, and tried to reveal the teenagers- social preferences, values, and needs, which merge with and influence teenagers- social activities. Therefore, the study conducts multiple user experience research methods, which include practical observations and qualitative analysis by contextual inquiries and in-depth interviews. Based on the findings, several design implications for software related to social interactions and cultural inheritance are offered. It is concluded that the inherent values of a social behaviors might be a key issue in developing computer-mediated communication or interaction designs in the future.
Abstract: In this paper, a simulated annealing algorithm has been developed to optimize machining parameters in turning operation on cylindrical workpieces. The turning operation usually includes several passes of rough machining and a final pass of finishing. Seven different constraints are considered in a non-linear model where the goal is to achieve minimum total cost. The weighted total cost consists of machining cost, tool cost and tool replacement cost. The computational results clearly show that the proposed optimization procedure has considerably improved total operation cost by optimally determining machining parameters.
Abstract: The paper considers a novel modular and intrinsically safe redundant robotic system with biologically inspired actuators (pneumatic artificial muscles and rubber bellows actuators). Similarly to the biological systems, the stiffness of the internal parallel modules, representing 2 DOF joints in the serial robotic chains, is controlled by co-activation of opposing redundant actuator groups in the null-space of the module Jacobian, without influencing the actual robot position. The decoupled position/stiffness control allows the realization of variable joint stiffness according to different force-displacement relationships. The variable joint stiffness, as well as limited pneumatic muscle/bellows force ability, ensures internal system safety that is crucial for development of human-friendly robots intended for human-robot collaboration. The initial experiments with the system prototype demonstrate the capabilities of independently, simultaneously controlling both joint (Cartesian) motion and joint stiffness. The paper also presents the possible industrial applications of snake-like robots built using the new modules.
Abstract: An important step in three-dimensional reconstruction
and computer vision is camera calibration, whose objective is to
estimate the intrinsic and extrinsic parameters of each camera. In this
paper, two linear methods based on the different planes are given. In
both methods, the general plane is used to replace the calibration
object with very good precision. In the first method, after controlling
the camera to undergo five times- translation movements and taking
pictures of the orthogonal planes, a set of linear constraints of the
camera intrinsic parameters is then derived by means of homography
matrix. The second method is to get all camera parameters by taking
only one picture of a given radius circle. experiments on simulated
data and real images,indicate that our method is reasonable and is a
good supplement to camera calibration.
Abstract: This paper addresses the problem of forbidden states in
non safe Petri Nets. In the system, for preventing it from entering the
forbidden states, some linear constraints can be assigned to them.
Then these constraints can be enforced on the system using control
places. But when the number of constraints in the system is large, a
large number of control places must be added to the model of system.
This concept complicates the model of system. There are some
methods for reducing the number of constraints in safe Petri Nets.
But there is no a systematic method for non safe Petri Nets. In this
paper we propose a method for reducing the number of constraints in
non safe Petri Nets which is based on solving an integer linear
programming problem.
Abstract: This research aims to study the preferable tourism and
the elements of choosing tourist destination from domestic tourist in
Bangkok and the nearby areas in Thailand.The data were collected by
using 1249 set of questionnaires, in mid-August 2012. The result
illustrates that religious destinations are the most preferable places
for the tourist. The average expense per travel is approximately 47
USD a time. Travellers travel based on the advertisement in the
television and internet and their decisions is based on the reputation
of the destinations.
The result on a place dimension demonstrates the neatness and
well managed location play a crucial role on tourist destination.
Gender, age, marriage status and their origins are affecting their
spending and travelling behaviour. The researcher reckon that
providing the area of arcade, selling the souvenir and promoting
tourism among a young professional group would be an important
key follow the income distribution policy, including managing the
destination to welcome the family group, which the result is to
identified as the highest spending.
Abstract: In this study, a semi-cylinder obstacle placed in a
channel is handled to determine the effect of flow and heat transfer
around the obstacle. Both faces of the semi-cylinder are used in the
numerical analysis. First, the front face of the semi-cylinder is stated
perpendicular to flow, than the rear face is placed. The study is
carried out numerically, by using commercial software ANSYS 11.0.
The well-known κ-ε model is applied as the turbulence model.
Reynolds number is in the range of 104 to 105 and air is assumed as
the flowing fluid. The results showed that, heat transfer increased
approximately 15 % in the front faze case, while it enhanced up to 28
% in the rear face case.
Abstract: Technological innovation capability (TIC) is
defined as a comprehensive set of characteristics of a firm that
facilities and supports its technological innovation strategies.
An audit to evaluate the TICs of a firm may trigger
improvement in its future practices. Such an audit can be used
by the firm for self assessment or third-party independent
assessment to identify problems of its capability status. This
paper attempts to develop such an auditing framework that
can help to determine the subtle links between innovation
capabilities and business performance; and to enable the
auditor to determine whether good practice is in place. The
seven TICs in this study include learning, R&D, resources
allocation, manufacturing, marketing, organization and
strategic planning capabilities. Empirical data was acquired
through a survey study of 200 manufacturing firms in the
Hong Kong/Pearl River Delta (HK/PRD) region. Structural
equation modelling was employed to examine the
relationships among TICs and various performance indicators:
sales performance, innovation performance, product
performance, and sales growth. The results revealed that
different TICs have different impacts on different
performance measures. Organization capability was found to
have the most influential impact. Hong Kong manufacturers
are now facing the challenge of high-mix-low-volume
customer orders. In order to cope with this change, good
capability in organizing different activities among various
departments is critical to the success of a company.
Abstract: Combustion, emission and performance
characterization of a single cylinder diesel engine using methanol
diesel blends was carried out. The blends were 5% (v/v) methanol in
diesel (MD05) and 10% (v/v) methanol in diesel (MD10). The
problem of solubility of methanol and diesel was addressed by an
agitator placed inside the fuel tank to prevent phase separation. The
results indicated that total combustion duration was reduced by15.8%
for MD05 and 31.27% for MD10compared to the baseline data.
Ignition delay was increased with increasing methanol volume
fraction in the test fuel. Total cyclic heat release was reduced by
1.5% for MD05 and 6.7% for MD10 as compared to diesel baseline.
Emissions of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons along with smoke were
reduced and that of nitrogen oxides were increased with rising
methanol contents in the test fuel. Full load brake thermal efficiency
was marginally reduced with increased methanol composition in the
blend.
Abstract: This paper presents a new method which applies an
artificial bee colony algorithm (ABC) for capacitor placement in
distribution systems with an objective of improving the voltage profile
and reduction of power loss. The ABC algorithm is a new population
based meta heuristic approach inspired by intelligent foraging behavior
of honeybee swarm. The advantage of ABC algorithm is that
it does not require external parameters such as cross over rate and
mutation rate as in case of genetic algorithm and differential evolution
and it is hard to determine these parameters in prior. The other
advantage is that the global search ability in the algorithm is implemented
by introducing neighborhood source production mechanism
which is a similar to mutation process. To demonstrate the validity
of the proposed algorithm, computer simulations are carried out on
69-bus system and compared the results with the other approach
available in the literature. The proposed method has outperformed the
other methods in terms of the quality of solution and computational
efficiency.
Abstract: The grey oyster mushroom, Pleurotus sajor-caju
(PSC), is a common edible mushroom and is now grown
commercially around the world for food. This fungus has been
broadly used as food or food ingredients in various food products for
a long time. To enhance the nutritional quality and sensory attributes
of bakery-based products, PSC powder is used in the present study to
partially replace wheat flour in baked product formulations. The
nutrient content and sensory properties of rice-porridge and
unleavened bread (paratha) incorporated with various levels of PSC
powder were studied. These food items were formulated with either
0%, 2%, 4% or 6% of PSC powder. Results show PSC powder
recorded β-glucan at 3.57g/100g. In sensory evaluation, consumers
gave higher score to both rice-porridge and paratha bread containing
2-4% PSC compared to those that are not added with PSC powder.
The paratha containing 4% PSC powder can be formulated with the
intention in improving overall acceptability of paratha bread.
Meanwhile, for rice-porridge, consumers prefer the formulated
product added with 4% PSC powder. In conclusion, the addition of
PSC powder to partially wheat flour can be recommended for the
purpose of enhancing nutritional composition and maintaining the
acceptability of carbohydrate-based products.
Abstract: Organ motion, especially respiratory motion, is a technical challenge to radiation therapy planning and dosimetry. This motion induces displacements and deformation of the organ tissues within the irradiated region which need to be taken into account when simulating dose distribution during treatment. Finite element modeling (FEM) can provide a great insight into the mechanical behavior of the organs, since they are based on the biomechanical material properties, complex geometry of organs, and anatomical boundary conditions. In this paper we present an original approach that offers the possibility to combine image-based biomechanical models with particle transport simulations. We propose a new method to map material density information issued from CT images to deformable tetrahedral meshes. Based on the principle of mass conservation our method can correlate density variation of organ tissues with geometrical deformations during the different phases of the respiratory cycle. The first results are particularly encouraging, as local error quantification of density mapping on organ geometry and density variation with organ motion are performed to evaluate and validate our approach.
Abstract: This paper proposes a novel methodology for enabling
debugging and tracing of production web applications without
affecting its normal flow and functionality. This method of debugging
enables developers and maintenance engineers to replace a set of
existing resources such as images, server side scripts, cascading
style sheets with another set of resources per web session. The new
resources will only be active in the debug session and other sessions
will not be affected. This methodology will help developers in tracing
defects, especially those that appear only in production environments
and in exploring the behaviour of the system. A realization of the
proposed methodology has been implemented in Java.
Abstract: The purpose of this study is to design a portable virtual
piano. By utilizing optical fiber gloves and the virtual piano software
designed by this study, the user can play the piano anywhere at any
time. This virtual piano consists of three major parts: finger tapping
identification, hand movement and positioning identification, and
MIDI software sound effect simulation. To play the virtual piano, the
user wears optical fiber gloves and simulates piano key tapping
motions. The finger bending information detected by the optical fiber
gloves can tell when piano key tapping motions are made. Images
captured by a video camera are analyzed, hand locations and moving
directions are positioned, and the corresponding scales are found. The
system integrates finger tapping identification with information about
hand placement in relation to corresponding piano key positions, and
generates MIDI piano sound effects based on this data. This
experiment shows that the proposed method achieves an accuracy rate
of 95% for determining when a piano key is tapped.