Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
THE NEED TO IDENTIFY SYSTEM ARCHETYPES AND LEVERAGE POINTS FOR THE PROTECTION OF AQUIFERS IN THE WATER-ENERGY NEXUS

Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 As the world’s population approaches the 9 billion mark ( United Nations, 2011 ) and the demand for energy increases, increased pressure is being placed on freshwater supplies in the earth’s ‘water-energy’ systems. This paper, based on research for the completion of my doctoral dissertation, studies a number of concerns regarding the contamination and depletion of freshwater aquifers as the energy sector continues to grow. To address these concerns, this paper proposes that environmental tax policy, and in particular, ecological tax incentives for aquifer protection – within a socio-ecological systems framework - can play an important role in protecting potable water sources by promoting long-term sustainable practices. Daly ( 1996 ) discusses fifteen principles on sustainable development. Though nearly twenty years old, these principles are as relevant today as they were when they were written – if not more so, now. The principles are integrated into a ‘regulatory framework for the protection of aquifers’ in this study, in an attempt to link existing ideas regarding ‘sustainable development’ with new ideas formulated using a systems approach. The interactions between energy production/usage and potable water supplies is depicted in the paper through a series of systems archetypes, wherein balancing loops are identified as points of leverage for the introduction of ecological tax incentives for aquifer protection. These points of leverage are then identified within the larger framework, where they will later be tested using primary data from various stakeholders (using a grounded theory methodology) in order to discover a theory and themes on the use of ecological tax incentives for water protection. The study takes an interdisciplinary approach to deal with the multi-faceted dilemma facing the water-energy nexus, and the paper explores the situation using theories of complex open-systems, e.g. ( Meadows, 2008 ; Senge, 1990 ; Sterman, 2000 ; von Bertalanffy, 1972 ) , environmental regulations and tax policy, e.g. ( Baumol & Oates, 1988 ; DiJohn, 2010 ; Fullerton, 2001 ; Gunningham & Grabosky, 2004 ; Maatta, 2006 ; Pigou, 2002 ; Tinbergen, 1952 ) , and resilience, e.g. ( Arrow et al., 1995 ; Berkes & Folke, 1998 ; Gunderson, Allen, & Holling, 2010 ; Holling, 1973 ; Walker & Salt, 2006 ) . The paper then concludes with the suggestion that economic/environmental policies based on systems thinking will offer a more sustainable and resilient future for the earth’s freshwater supplies.
Delfi-n3Xt's Attitude Determiniation and Control Subsystem: Implementation and verification of the hardware and software

Attitude determination and control is the estimation of the current orientation of a satellite and controlling or changing it in order to reach a desired orientation. In the current gener- ation of nano satellites an Attitude Determination and Control Subsytem (ADCS) plays an important roll and sometimes even critical roll. An ADCS is necessary in order to achieve certain mission objectives and to prevent the satellite from tumbling to fast. A failure of this subsystem can have serious consequences and can even lead to a failing mission. Because of the importance, this subsystem must be reliable and robust in order to reduce the risk of a failing system. To achieve reliability and robustness, a software framework must be designed and implemented that minimizes the risk of software failures. Apart from software failures the risk of hardware failures should also be reduced as much as possible. Therefore all hardware should be thoroughly tested, before it can be marked as a flight candidate. Besides reliability and robustness the software framework should also be user friendly. Because the Delfi-n3Xt’s ADCS incorporates two different micro controllers the software framework should be easy to adapt for different micro controllers. For future purposes the software framework should have a modular structure in order to make re-usability and extendibility possible. In this thesis the design and implementation of such a software framework is described. Fur- thermore, the process and results of testing the hardware thoroughly are presented.
THE MULTI-DEPTH DEFLECTOMETER: A MULTISTAGE SENSOR FOR THE MEASUREMENT OF RESILIENT DEFLECTIONS AND PERMANENT DEFORMATION AT VARIOUS DEPTHS IN ROAD PAVEMENTS

In order to understand the behaviour of different pavements a knowledge of the variation of deflection with depth under the action of traffic is needed. The Multi Depth Deflectometer (MDD) was developed to meet this need and this report describes its development and construction. The preparation of a site to accommodate this instrument is important to ensure reliability. The instrument is left on the pavement throughout the period of testing which in the case of an accelerated evaluation can be for a few months. The expected accuracy was estimated both in the laboratory and in the field and it is concluded that it is acceptable for pavement design purposes. (Author)
Solution Oriented School Improvement Programme: Does it do what it says on the tin?

The effectiveness of school improvement programmes has been investigated primarily with a focus on children’s academic attainments. Research on school improvement programmes acknowledges the importance of stakeholder inclusion in organisational change. The views and experience of school personnel were sought in order to triangulate this information with improvement indicators of school performance. The Solution Oriented Schools (SOS) Programme is a strengths-based school improvement programme which builds on school capacity and inclusive practices. The outcomes of the SOS Programme’s improvement criteria were monitored in 26 schools over one year using a mixed methodology design. Data on improvement indicators such as pupil and staff attendance, fixed-term exclusions and staff turnover was used. Average rates before and after SOS implementation were compared to identify and investigate any improvement in these indicators in line with SOS programme claims. Using a Friedman test, decreases in fixed-term exclusion reached significance. (p< 0.001). The rate of authorised pupil absences, staff absences and turnover decreased but not significantly and unauthorised pupil absences significantly increased (p<0.05). The self-esteem of 316 pupils aged between 4 and11 was measured using the LAWSEQ scale before and after SOS programme implementation and a significant increase was found (p<0.001). Staff self-esteem, measured using the Rosenberg scale also increased significantly (p<0.05) and provided a significant indicator of Programme sustainability (p< 0.05). IV Thematic analysis of seventeen interviews undertaken with staff led to a proposed model of school improvement. This model demonstrated that the extent of the effectiveness of school improvement programmes rested on the preparation of staff in terms of capacity, perceptions of change and stability of the school before implementation of the programme. Goal Attainment Scales were significantly correlated with fidelity of Programme participation (p< 0.05). The SOS Programme was useful in enabling schools to achieve these goals. Feedback on the process of change necessary for the success of the SOS programme indicated that there was more to school improvement programmes than simply buying one ‘off the shelf’.
New directions in street auditing: lessons from the PERS audits

With pedestrian movement and the importance of streetscapes recognised within national and local UK policy, a method was required to effectively assess these types of environment and to identify ways to encourage people to use them. TRL's Pedestrian Environment Review System (PERS) provides local authorities with a quick and effective method for reviewing all types of pedestrian space and identifying where improvements are most needed. TRL have worked with Transport for London (TfL) in the past three years to further expand upon the capabilities of PERS. PERS reviews have now been applied across Greater London as part of TfL's drive to better understand the condition of all pedestrian environments within London. This paper aims to discuss the use of PERS by TRL for TfL, TfL's perspectives on walking and PERS, its capabilities, and the lessons learned from applying the audit tool extensively across Greater London in the past year.
Quantifying the interplay of conversational devices in building mutual understanding.

Humans readily engage in idle chat and heated discussions and negotiate tough joint decisions without ever having to think twice about how to keep the conversation grounded in mutual understanding. However, current attempts at identifying and assessing the conversational devices that make this possible are fragmented across disciplines and investigate single devices within single contexts. We present a comprehensive conceptual framework to investigate conversational devices, their relations, and how they adjust to contextual demands. In two corpus studies, we systematically test the role of three conversational devices: backchannels, repair, and linguistic entrainment. Contrasting affiliative and task-oriented conversations within participants, we find that conversational devices adaptively adjust to the increased need for precision in the latter: We show that low-precision devices such as backchannels are more frequent in affiliative conversations, whereas more costly but higher-precision mechanisms, such as specific repairs, are more frequent in task-oriented conversations. Further, task-oriented conversations involve higher complementarity of contributions in terms of the content and perspective: lower semantic entrainment and less frequent (but richer) lexical and syntactic entrainment. Finally, we show that the observed variations in the use of conversational devices are potentially adaptive: pairs of interlocutors that show stronger linguistic complementarity perform better across the two tasks. By combining motivated comparisons of several conversational contexts and theoretically informed computational analyses of empirical data the present work lays the foundations for a comprehensive conceptual framework for understanding the use of conversational devices in dialogue. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).
Design and implementation of a biomimetic wire-driven underactuated serpentine manipulator

Inspired by the snake skeleton and octopus arm muscle arrangement, we designed and built a wire-driven underactuated serpentine robot arm. The robot arm is made of a number of rigid vertebras, which is controlled by two sets of wires. The chained vertebras make up the backbone while the wires together with the servo motor work as the muscle. The robot arm has two bending degree of freedom (DOF). An elastic tube is used to confine the joint rotation. By the piece wise constant curvature assumption, forward and inverse kinematics is developed by geometry analysis and D-H method. Trajectory of the end effector is a spheroidal surface. A prototype is built to validate the design. The positioning error of the designed robot arm is related to the overall length of the flexible part. The longer the bending section, the larger the error. For the prototype, the positioning error is less than 2%. The robot arm is highly flexible. It remains controllable when obstacles are present. This manipulator is well suited for working in confined space, especially for engineering or medical inspection.
'Distance travelled versus the 'distance' travelled': Enhancing the student learning experience using a creative and innovative approach to tutorial organisation

In an effort to remain both competitive and attractive to prospective and established students Higher Education institutions, both at a national and international level, are actively seeking innovative ways 'of improving the student experience and student progression/retention' (National Audit Office, 2002 in Stevenson, 2009, p. 117). This paper reports on an original approach to tutorial organisation to enhance the learning experience of undergraduate students on a practice based foundation degree at a UK university. Students' perceptions of tutorials prior to and post their active engagement with a Tutorial Stations system (TSS) within the classroom learning space will be shared and discussed. Whilst there is student calling to sustain usage of the system as part of other taught modules on the programme further research is needed to evaluate the impact of the system on improving student attainment.
Analisa Sistem Tenaga Listrik Di Minahasa Dalam Menghindari Padam Total

Abstrak Seiring dengan meningkatnya kebutuhan dan penggunaan tenaga listrik oleh masyarakat, maka sangat dibutuhkan penyediaan tenaga listrik yang kontinu dengan kwantitas dan kwalitas yang memadai, sehingga pemadaman tenaga listrik tidak perlu terjadi pada keseluruhan sistem, namun sistem kelistrikan Minahasa Manado dan Bitung sering padam total apabila terjadi salah satu mesin pembangkit trip. Dari hasil penelitian jelas menunjukkan bahwa terjadinya padam total sistem Minahasa Manado dan Bitung bila terjadi salah satu mesin pembangkit trip, diakibatkan terjadinya kekurangan daya yang tersedia dimana daya yang dibangkitkan lebih kecil dari pada beban sistem. Berdasarkan penelitian bahwa terjadinya padam total bila salah satu mesin pembangkit trip, adalah diakibatkan oleh waktu gangguan yang sangat cepat yang tidak dapat diatasi oleh operator pengatur beban untuk mengurangi beban sistem, hal ini disebabkan belum tersedianya ( Automatic Frekwensi Load Shedding) dengan menggunakan Under Frequency Relay. Kata kunci : Beban Lebih, Frekwensi, Gangguan Mesin, Padam Total. Abstract Along with the increasing need for and use of electric power by the people , it is necessary that a continuous supply of electric power with an adequate quantity and quality , so that the power outage does not need to occur in the entire system , but the electrical system Minahasa Manado and Bitung often extinguished completely if there is one a generator trip . From the research results clearly indicate that the total system outages Minahasa Manado and Bitung in case one of the generators trip , caused shortages of available power where power generated is less than the system load . Based on the research that the total extinguished when one generator trip , is caused by a very rapid disruption that can not be resolved by the operator to reduce the regulatory burden of system load , this is due to the unavailability ( Automatic Frequency Load Shedding ) with mengguanakan Under Frequency Relay. Keywords : Engine Trouble, Frequency, Off to Total, Over Load.
Sous Vide and Cook-Chill Processing for the Food Industry

Consumer Perceptions And Practice In The Handling Of Chilled Foods. Principles and Applications of Sous Vide Processed Food. Sensory and Nutritional Aspects of Vide Processed Food. The Potential Role of Time-Temperature Integrators for Process Impact Evaluation in the Cook-Chill Chain. Computer Integrated Manufacturing of Sous Vide Products: The ALMA Case Study. Critical Factors Affecting the Safety of Minimally Processed Chilled Foods. Shelf Life and Safety of Minimally Processed Fruits and Vegetables. The Sensory Quality, Microbiological Safety and Shelf Life of Packaged Foods. Microbiological Safety Considerations When Using Hurdle Technology with Refrigerated Processed Foods of Extended Durability. Hazards Associated with Non-Proteolytic Clostridium Botulinum and Other Spore-Formers in Extended-Life Refrigeration Foods. Application of Combined Factors Technology in Minimally Processed Foods. Hurdle and HACCP Concepts in Sous Vide and Cook-Chill Products. Microbiological Safety Aspects of Cook-Chill Foods. Index
Evaluation of concrete structures : strength development and fatigue capacity

This licentiate thesis consists of four papers. In paper A the development of tensile and compression strength are presented for old concrete railway trough bridges. The compression strength has usually increased 50 to 100% over the years. However the same could not be said for the tensile strength. The so-called Capo-test has been used and an improved formula is presented. In paper B load carrying capacities of cracked as well as un-cracked concrete railway sleepers have been investigated. The cracking is believed to be caused by delayed ettringite formation. Test results, information on how the visual inspection and the classification of damage are performed are presented together with possible failure mechanisms of the fastener when loaded horizontally. In paper C results and analyses are presented from cyclic tensile fatigue tests. The fatigue tests have been compared to a strain criterion proposed by Balazs (1991). In paper D a comparison is made between the Swedish Codes and Eurocode regarding fatigue load for concrete. The results show that the codes are conservative. (A) The report is available as a PDF file: http://epubl.luth. se/1402-1757/2001/25/LTU-LIC-0125-SE.pdf.
.Sense, A Secure Framework for Sensor Network Data Acquisition, Monitoring and Command

We present , an end-to-end security framework for sensor network data acquisition, monitoring and command. In order to provide security service inside the sensor network two security protocols are implemented. The first is a key establishment algorithm in which sensor nodes agree on common keys to use for securing communications among them. The second is a scheme in which the base station can issue commands in authenticated manner to the network. We are also using typical security schemes such as SSL to connect the end-users to the system.
A novel optoelectronic sampling technique by using a delay-time tunable ultrafast laser diode

We demonstrate a DC-voltage controlled optoelectronic delay-line for continuous tuning the relative delay-time of optical pulse-train generated from gain-switched laser diode. The maximum tuning delay-time can be up to 3.9 ns for pulses repeated at 500 MHz. Electro-optic sampling of high-frequency microwave signal by using the modified pulsed laser as novel optical source is reported.
Ordinary Differential Equations

The existing Neural ODE formulation relies on an explicit knowledge of the termination time. We extend Neural ODEs to implicitly defined termination criteria modeled by neural event functions, which can be chained together and differentiated through. Neural Event ODEs are capable of modeling discrete and instantaneous changes in a continuous-time system, without prior knowledge of when these changes should occur or how many such changes should exist. We test our approach in modeling hybrid discreteand continuoussystems such as switching dynamical systems and collision in multi-body systems, and we propose simulation-based training of point processes with applications in discrete control.
MECHANISTIC EVALUATION OF THE GEORGIA LOADED WHEEL TESTER FOR SUPERPAVE ASPHALT MIXTURES

Rutting of asphalt concrete has been one of the leading distress modes in asphalt pavement, primarily due to increasing truck loads, inadequate mix design, and poor construction methods. The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) is facing the challenge of developing an effective tool for assessing the rutting potential of various hot mix asphalt (HMA) mixtures under a variety of climatic conditions. The Superpave asphalt mix design method, at the present time, lacks the accepted tool for evaluating the mix's propensity for rutting. As a result, ODOT, along with other state highway agencies, has opted for the loaded wheel tester as an effective and inexpensive method for evaluating the rutting behavior of various mix designs. The main goals of the research encompass the following: (a) Development of a comprehensive mechanistic rutting model for asphalt concrete mixtures, (b) Development of efficient and robust techniques for extracting basic rutting model parameters from standard mechanical testing or loaded wheel testing, and (c) Development of recommendations for improving the GLWT (Georgia Loaded Wheel Tester) testing procedures. A series of extensive laboratory test programs has been carried out. The test data generated include resilient modulus, compressive strength and stress-strain relationship at two loading rates, creep with recovery, and cyclic testing with three different frequencies. In addition, the GLWT loaded wheel test has been performed on the same asphalt mixtures to obtain the corresponding rut data. Rigorous constitutive models, together with numerical integrations into finite element codes, have been formulated for both rut prediction and extraction of material model parameters. The outcome of the research includes testing temperature at the high temperature side of the binder performance grade and the target air void content for beam specimens at 5%. The mechanistic interpretation of the GLWT test has elucidated the attractive features, such as high stress level, non-uniformity of confining and multi-axial stresses, and revealing long-term cyclic characteristics. Thus, ODOT is highly recommended to continue to use the GLWT as an excellent tool for assessing the rut potential of HMA.
Synthesis and Characterization of Alkyd Resin from Albizia lebbeck (frywood) seeds

Alkyd resin was synthesized from the Albizia lebbeck (frywood) seed oil (FWO) and the physico-chemical properties of both the oil and the consequent alkyd resin were studied. Fourier Transform Infra-red (FTIR) spectroscopy was used to investigate the functional groups present in the alkyd resin. MATLAB was used to generate model equations for the extent of reaction for the synthesis of the alkyd resin. The oil extracted from the plant’s seeds has a percentage yield of 17.32%w/w, exhibited yellow colour and was liquid at room temperature. Other physico-chemical properties of the oil such as density, specific gravity (30oC), refractive index (30oC), viscosity (30oC), saponification value, iodine value, acid value, free fatty acids and peroxide value were determined to be 0.89g/cm 3 , 0.84, 1.48, 27.064m 2 /S, 207.22mgKOH/g, 122.18gI2/100g, 8.98 mgKOH/g, 4.52% and 10.00mEq/kg respectively. The synthesized alkyd resin from frywood seed oil (FWOAR) was dark-brown in colour while that of the commercially prepared alkyd resin (CPAR) was colourless. Physico-chemical properties of FWOAR such as specific gravity (30oC), viscosity (30oC), saponification value, iodine value and acid value were investigated to be 47.58, 36.50, 361.85mgKOH/g, 32.33gI2/100g and 7.01mgKOH/g respectively. These values, except that of saponification (361.85mgKOH/g vs 263.97mgKOH/g), were not significantly difference when compared to those of CPAR that were determined to be 47.40, 32.34m 2 /S, 263.97mgKOH/g, 48.22gI2/100g and 6.31mgKOH/g respectively. Variations in acid value (AV), viscosity, extent of reaction (Re) and degree of polymerization (Dp) of in-process alkyd sample with time were studied. Viscosity, Dp and Re increased with time while AV decreased with time. The IR spectra of the test alkyd resin and the commercially prepared alkyd resin showed that the broad band shoulder around 3859.69cm -1 and 3498.02 cm -1 were due to the OH stretch hydroxyl of the unsaturated fatty acid. The peak value within the range of 2930.93 cm -1 2933.83cm -1 observed in both alkyd resins corresponds to SCN and the peak height observed around 1727.31cm1 was due to CO stretch of unsaturated cyclic ester of monoglyceride. The presence of vinylidene compounds of unsaturated fatty acid of diglyceride and triglyceride were suggested in the peaks observed in both alkyds. From the performance tests, it was observed that the drying trend was faster in CPAR than FWOAR. CPAR showed higher resistant to water and acidic medium than FWOAR and both were poorly resistant to alkaline medium. Results so far obtained from this study suggest that the FWO and FWOAR exhibited good performance characteristics even when FWOAR was compared with the commercially produced alkyd resin and there are similar functional groups in the compounds observed in the absorbance of IR spectra.