bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Dotted Raster-Stereography
Authors: Wasim Muhammad , Saeed Fauzan , Aziz Abdul , Siddiqui Adnan Ahmed
Published: August 2018

Raster-stereography is a 3D surface topography technique that provides height and curvature information of the subject. This is a non-contact, non-invasive, and radiation-free technique that is mostly used to analyze the back shape of a human body. The most practical aspect of raster-stereography is ease in its apparatus setup and reduced exposure to x-rays. Another very important and effective application is to identify the human faces that can be used in security domain. The problem of breaking lines was observed while traversing the distorted raster pattern on the human body. These breaks in raster pattern increased significantly when projected on the face. Computationally, it becomes difficult to extract all valid curvatures of the human face. This problem was resolved using a modified dotted raster, and the noise effect was reduced substantially. The dotted raster technique proved that it is by far the best option when compared with the conventional line grid.
Machine Dreaming
Authors: Pagel James Frederic
Published: August 2018

Active sleep modes, alternative logics, non-parametric programming, and extended interfaces are being incorporated into the processing capabilities of complex computer systems. While system disconnected FSMs have only minimal capacities for achieving dream-like forms of cognitive processing, internet-connected systems can meet human-based criteria for dreaming. The internet includes periods low data flow (system sleep). Non-parametric and fuzzy logic processing extends system capacity and increases the possibility of alternative and/or unexpected outcomes. Neural-net processing increases the chance that results attained will be indeterminate and hallucinatory. At the interface, such machine dreams are bi-directionally incorporated into the dream consciousness of interacting humans. In order to function in the human-defined environment, artificial systems require the capacity to achieve dream equivalent states.
Moving Object Detection and Tracking Based on the Contour Extraction and Centroid Representation
Authors: M Naveenkumar , V. Sriharsha K. , A Vadivel
Published: August 2018

This chapter presents a novel approach for moving object detection and tracking based on contour extraction and centroid representation (CECR). Firstly, two consecutive frames are read from the video, and they are converted into grayscale. Next, the absolute difference is calculated between them and the result frame is converted into binary by applying gray threshold technique. The binary frame is segmented using contour extraction algorithm. The centroid representation is used for motion tracking. In the second stage of experiment, initially object is detected by using CECR and motion of each track is estimated by Kalman filter. Experimental results show that the proposed method can robustly detect and track the moving object.
Apps as Assistive Technology
Authors: Bouck Emily C. , Flanagan Sara M. , Cosby Missy D.
Published: August 2018

Apps can serve as assistive technology to support students with disabilities. Yet, there is little support for educators in determining the most effective and efficient apps to support students with disabilities. The objectives of this chapter include (1) examining how apps can serve as assistive technology for students with disabilities; (2) discussing the importance of educators not being arbitrary in their decision to select and implement apps to serve as assistive technology, such as relying on reviews, ratings, app lists, app databases, or the inclusion on a categorization on iTunes or Google Play; and (3) presenting options for educators evaluating apps, which can assist educators in making more informed decisions for apps as assistive technology. Although some app evaluation rubrics exist specifically for students with disabilities, there is little research as to the impact of the rubrics on educators selecting apps or the impact on student learning.
A Disability-Aware Mentality to Information Systems Design and Development
Authors: Nganji Julius T.
Published: August 2018

With the proliferation of information technology devices comes a massive increase in the number of information systems that are developed to meet the demands of users. By default, designers and developers of information systems tend to design for users without disabilities. The consequences for people with disabilities are enormous. This chapter aims to propose a disability-aware approach to information systems design that advocates that stakeholders consider the needs of people with disabilities throughout development. This aim is achieved by reviewing some of the difficulties encountered by people with disabilities when interacting with information systems, proposing a disability-aware approach and examining how this could be practically implemented through e-learning design. The recommendations from 48 students with disabilities from two universities in the United Kingdom and Canada are presented. The chapter also looks at possible future research for those interested in pursuing such approach.
The Understanding of Spatial-Temporal Behaviors
Authors: Zhang Yu-Jin
Published: August 2018

This chapter introduces a cutting-edge research field of computer vision and image understanding – the spatial-temporal behavior understanding. The main concepts, the focus of research, the typical technology, the fast development, etc. of this new field in recent years are overviewed. An important task in computer vision and image understanding is to analyze the scene through image operation on the image of scene in order to guide the action. To do this, one needs to locate the objects in the scene, and to determine how they change its position, attitude, speed, and relationships in the space over time. In short, it is to grasp the action in time and space, to determine the purpose of the operation, and thus to understand the semantics of the information they passed. This is referred ti as the understanding of spatial-temporal behaviors.
Application of Soft Set in Game Theory
Authors: Tripathy B. K. , R. Sooraj T. , Mohanty Radhakrishna N.
Published: August 2018

In recent years, most of the applications in game theory have been developed based on the theory of fuzzy sets. But the inadequacy of the parameterization tool in fuzzy set theory leads to difficulties for decision making in the game theory. Soft sets were introduced by Molodtsov to overcome this problem in fuzzy sets and it was illustrated by him. Choice functions play an important role in game theory. Soft set theory gives an opportunity to construct new mathematical tool which keeps all good sides of choice function and eliminates its drawbacks. Also, decision making is an integral part of games and many researchers have applied soft set theory in decision making. In this chapter, the authors describe all these and propose some important improvements leading to better deals in game environments.
Computer-Assisted Indian Matrimonial Services
Authors: Fisher Robert Leslie
Published: August 2018

The focus of the chapter is on the way the computer has been harnessed to assist both an ancient custom of arranged marriage and its practitioners (known as matchmakers) rather than on the internet usage of people looking for love in the internet era. The principal argument is that the computer-assisted matchmaking, because it offers the opportunity for fine grained analysis, is beneficial to the couple and thus improves the chances that the marriage will be durable and happy for both the man and his wife.
Creative Collaborative Virtual Environments
Authors: Eustáquio Luís , Carneiro de Sousa Catarina
Published: August 2018

The authors propose to define creative collaborative virtual environments (CCVEs) as platforms for collaborative and distributed creation in online communities. This will be established by examining virtual worlds as agents of change towards new creative and collaborative models. CCVEs are grounded on three key elements: creation, collaboration, and distribution. These relate not only to the technical but also to the social layers of virtual online communities. Shared creativity and distributed authorship are approached as examples of specific dynamics rooted upon these three elements. The concept of CCVE is important to the design of emerging virtual worlds, specifically regarding the preservation of affordances for collaborative creativity. Discussion based on these observations demonstrates how collaborative creation of new content and meaning takes place in CCVEs, and how they transform communicative and creative agency in digital communities.
Interface Trends in Human Interaction, the Internet of Things, and Big Data
Authors: Gibbs William J.
Published: August 2018

In this chapter, the author examines trends in today's news-orientated interfaces and the impact of digital interfaces on news consumption. Digital interfaces will be differentiated from traditional informational sources such as newspapers and television news. Additionally, the author explores several major characteristics or trends germane to today's news interfaces and their implications for how people consume news and, more generally, for how they transform information services: 1) rapid innovation, 2) interactivity, 3) social, 4) standardization, 5) scale, 6) media convergence and, 7) the internet of things and big data.
Internet Addiction in Context
Authors: Vondrackova Petra , Šmahel David
Published: August 2018

Internet addiction can be defined as the overuse of the internet such that it leads to the impairment of an individual's psychological state (both mental and emotional), as well as their scholastic, occupational, and social interactions. In this chapter, the authors first present a short historical overview of the internet addiction phenomenon and its place in the context of mental health. They then introduce the contributions of major researchers who focused on defining its core components, designing measurement scales and diagnostic criteria. Furthermore, they focus on the main areas of research in this field: the major surveys regarding prevalence rates and the correlates of internet addiction. In the last section, they introduce basic approaches to the treatment of internet addiction.
Screen Culture
Authors: Melro Ana , Oliveira Lídia
Published: August 2018

For several years now, technology usage cannot be separated from screens. Examples include television, computer, smartphone, mobile phone, tablet, e-book reader, multimedia player (music and/or audio), camera and camcorder, watch, digital advertising public panels, virtual reality glasses. In fact, if the goal is to understand what can be considered a screen, the examples will not cease to increase. The major goal of the chapter is to explore the screen definition and the way in which it has emerged in society, in a cross way, almost without being noticed, but ubiquitously, even becoming inseparable from most of the necessary activities.
Technology Assessment of Information and Communication Technologies
Authors: Grunwald Armin , Orwat Carsten
Published: August 2018

Technology assessment (TA) has taken up the field of information science and technology (IST) as a subject of study from the 1970s on. Nowadays, this field is of central relevance to TA in a triple respect: (1) as research field per se (e.g., with regard to impact dimensions such as privacy, data protection, increasing use of autonomous agents, safety and security, sustainable development, intellectual property rights, regulation, societal vulnerability, etc.). It is (1) also of major and even increasing importance by entering and influencing other fields of technology (e.g., energy supply, military, robotics, logistics, nanotechnology, cognitive science, neuroscience, etc.). Finally, (2) several new services made available by IST developments are of high utility in TA practice of scientific projects and policy advice (e.g., in the fields of e-participation). This chapter provides an overview of TA with respect to its origin, its development, and its current situation in general, followed by a more specific consideration of TA themes and activities in the IST field.
Virtual Hoarding
Authors: Oravec Jo Ann
Published: August 2018

This chapter outlines hoarding issues involving virtual or digital goods (including video and image files, digital documents, etc.) in the context of workplace and household settings. It covers “dark data” security issues and intellectual property concerns as well as matters related to information flow. It discusses research about why and how individuals hoard both physical and virtual entities, outlining how this hoarding can negatively impact particular systems. The chapter also includes reflections about the moral and personal dimensions of virtual hoarding, with an emphasis on information ethics and concerns about strategic and opportunistic hoarding. Virtual hoarding issues may not seem to be critical given the decreased costs of on-site and backup storage as well as relatively-inexpensive storage facilities in the Cloud. However, data that are not managed in terms of their formats, metadata, and substrata could certainly present issues for organizations; data that are inappropriately removed from the standard flow of information within organizations also present potential losses.
Constrained Nonlinear Optimization in Information Science
Authors: Fox William P.
Published: August 2018

This chapter provides an overview of constrained optimization methods. Background, theory, and examples are provided. Coverage includes Lagrange multipliers for equality constrained optimization with a Cobb-Douglass example from information science. The authors also provide Karush-Kuhn-Tucker for inequality-constrained optimization and a production example for smart phones with inequalities. An overview and discussion of numerical methods and techniques is also provided. The authors also provide a brief list of technology available to assist in solving these constrained nonlinear optimization problems.
Information Technologies and Social Change
Authors: Köroğlu Muhammet Ali , Köroğlu Cemile Zehra
Published: August 2018

Since the 19th century, the whole world has experienced the effects of the Information Revolution in varying degrees. Information science and technologies have become areas that their communities give the greatest importance, and they make maximum investments to them in the globalized world conditions. Industrial society left its place to post-industrial society which is an information society in a sense. This chapter explores information technologies and social change.
Methods for Improving Alias Rejections in Comb Filters
Authors: Dolecek Gordana Jovanovic
Published: August 2018

Downsampling is the process of decreasing the sampling rate of signal by an integer. This process may introduce the unwanted spectrum replica called aliasing. To avoid aliasing, the signal must be filtered by decimation filter prior to downsampling. Decimation consists of filtering and downsampling. The simplest decimation filter is comb filter usually used in the first stage of decimation. However, comb filter does not provide a good aliasing rejection. This chapter presents methods for improving alias rejection of comb filters. The methods are based on comb zero rotation, cosine filters, Chebyshev polynomials, and cascade of combs with different parameters.
Artificial Neural Networks and Their Applications in Business
Authors: Bihl Trevor J. , Young II William A. , Weckman Gary R.
Published: August 2018

Despite the natural advantage humans have for recognizing and interpreting patterns, large and complex datasets, as in big data, preclude efficient human analysis. Artificial neural networks (ANNs) provide a family of pattern recognition approaches for prediction, clustering, and classification applicable to KDD with ANN model complexity ranging from simple (for small problems) to highly complex (for large issues). To provide a starting point for readers, this chapter first describes foundational concepts that relate to ANNs. A listing of commonly used ANN methods, heuristics, and criteria for initializing ANNs are then discussed. Common pre- and post-data processing methods for dimensionality reduction and data quality issues are then described. The authors then provide a tutorial example of ANN analysis. Finally, the authors list and describe applications of ANNs to specific business-related endeavors for further reading.
Binary Decision Diagram Reliability for Multiple Robot Complex System
Authors: Fazlollahtabar Hamed , Niaki Seyed Taghi Akhavan
Published: August 2018

Assume a production system having multiple robots and work stations leading to a complex system. To evaluate the reliability of this system, a network of components is considered configuring a complex reliability network. A robotic network is considered which has perfect vertices and imperfect links. It means path links may fail with known probability. The authors obtain the reliability of the given network by using an exact method and with binary decision diagram. Binary decision diagram-based reliability evaluation involves three main steps. First, ordering the given path link. Second, generate the reliability function with the help of min-paths from source to sink. At last, apply Shannon's decomposition to compute the reliability of the given network.
Improving Dependability of Robotics Systems
Authors: Mahmud Nidhal
Published: August 2018

The use of robotics systems is increasingly widespread and spans a variety of application areas. From healthcare to manufacturing to space missions, these systems are typically conceived to perform dangerous or critical tasks. The nature of such tasks (e.g., surgery operations or radioactive waste clean-up) places high demands on the dependability of robotics systems. Fault tree analysis is among the most often used dependability assessment techniques in various domains of robotics. However, fault tree analysis of cost-effective fault tolerant robotics systems requires compositional synthesis of fault trees extended with the expressive power to allow analyzing the sequential dependencies among the components. Thereafter, a relevant experience from the automotive domain is presented. This consists mainly of a suitable synthesis approach that computes expressions of global failure conditions from the dysfunctional behavior local to the components. The benefits of the approach to dependability analysis of robotics architectures are highlighted by using a fault-tolerant example system.
Home UbiHealth
Authors: Sarivougioukas John , Vagelatos Aristides , Parsopoulos Konstantinos E. , Lagaris Isaac E.
Published: August 2018

At the third computing era, users interact with many computing devices surrounding or implanted in them, in a natural way, anytime and anywhere, implementing the concept of ubiquitous computing. Moreover, the ubiquitous computing implementations provide the advantageous characteristics of awareness and personalization, which are precious in healthcare applications (i.e., the operating computing devices in the patient's environment can be aware about the evolving situations and actively participate in the provision of the medical treatment). In addition, the ubiquitously supported healthcare services can be provided anywhere and at any time allowing specific cases of the hospitalization model to be transferred to the home healthcare model. The adoption of the home healthcare model in a ubiquitous computing environment provides the prerequisites for the development of the home UbiHealth model. Extending the formal provision of medical services at home provides the capability to cover the medical needs of all the population categories.
An Iterative Approach for Knowledge Production in the Agricultural Systems and Insights for IS Development
Authors: Salvia Rosanna , Quaranta Giovanni
Published: August 2018

There is motivation in many rural areas and communities to resolve the issues slowing achievement of a sustainable future, and to embrace the concept of the circular economy for agro-food systems. Increased consumption of resources is not an option and therefore best use must be made of capital, incorporating the “reduce, re-use, recycle” mantra. Research projects addressing sustainable land use can help to accomplish this aim, and the studies have demonstrated that stakeholders may be helped to understand and act on new knowledge especially if they are involved in more than one project. This is because they gain confidence to evaluate research ideas in the light of their own experience. In the Basilicata region of southern Italy there has been a succession of research projects since the 1990s to study the processes of land degradation and appropriate technologies to combat the risk of desertification. Most recently, the attitudes and perceptions of groups of cereal farmers included in both the DESIRE and REACT projects, or the REACT project alone, were compared using a Questionnaire, and the results highlighted the success of the iterative approach. This is an important finding, and can encourage understanding and action to overcome constraints and support the circular economy in agro-food systems.
County Funds, Delays in Procurement Process, and Budget Absorption in County Governments in Kenya
Authors: Owuor Charles Okeyo
Published: August 2018

County governments in Kenya have been consistently accused of poor budget absorption. This article sought to assess misallocation of county funds and the delays in procurement process on budget absorption in county governments in Kenya. Descriptive research design was used. The study found out that there was misallocation of funds from the national governments to county treasuries and from the county treasuries to various department projects and activities which in effect affected the procurement processes. Procurement functions in the county governments were inefficient owing to the lead time and bureaucracies involved in procurement. The study therefore recommended for county governments in collaboration with commission for revenue allocation and the national treasuries to come up with a criterion for ensuring smooth flow of funds from the national treasury to the end user departments.
A Proposal Model for Measuring the Impact of Viral Marketing Through Social Networks on Purchasing Decision
Authors: Ahmed Hussein Moselhy Sayed
Published: August 2018

Viral marketing has become a conduit for today's organizations and an important pillar for managing the organization and a source that enhances its competitiveness and creates new opportunities for organizations through which they are trying to achieve competitive advantages to obtain new market shares. So, this study provides insight into how social network influence on purchasing decision through viral marketing and knowledge sharing on social networking sites (SNSs). By using the sample from 650 Egyptian college students - who spend more time on SNSs, this study investigates the relationship among the use of SNSs, users' social relationships, online word-of-mouth, and knowledge sharing. Therefore, this paper is working on the study of the impact of viral marketing through social networks on consumer buying decisions, and working on the development of a proposed model to measure this effect.
Discursive-Linguistic Devices and Strategies in Spam E-Mail Narratives
Authors: Belli Simone , Bernal Miriam Jiménez
Published: August 2018

In this article, we aim at relating emotions and gender stereotypes through the analysis of the narratives contained in spam e-mails. We will present four different types of spam e-mails from a corpus consisting of 450 emails, their length being between four and fifty-two lines of extension. They were received between late 2009 and mid-2013, and written in English, Spanish, Portuguese and French. Our analysis will be carried out in two steps. In the first step, the discursive-linguistic strategies will be described. In the second step, the linguistic expression of emotions will be addressed. We will rely on the Positioning Theory of Rom Harré to identify where authors and readers are positioned in the narratives.
A Comparative Study of VoxelNet and PointNet for 3D Object Detection in Car by Using KITTI Benchmark
Authors: Gujjar Harish S
Published: August 2018

In today's world, 2D object recognition is a normal course of study in research. 3D objection recognition is more in demand and important in the present scenario. 3D object recognition has gained importance in areas such as navigation of vehicles, robotic vision, HoME, virtual reality, etc. This work reveals the two important methods, Voxelnet and PointNet, useful in 3D object recognition. In case of NetPoint, the recognition is good when used with segmentation of point clouds which are in small-scale. Whereas, in case of Voxelnet, scans are used directly on raw points of clouds which are directly operated on patterns. The above conclusion is arrived on KITTI car detection. The KITTI uses detection by using bird's eye view. In this method of KITTI we compare two different methods called LiDAR and RGB-D. We arrive at a conclusion that pointNet is useful and has high performance when we are using small scenarios and Voxelnet is useful and has high performance when we are using large scenarios.
Business Continuity Management in Micro Enterprises: Perception, Strategies, and Use of ICT
Authors: Kaufhold Marc-André , Riebe Thea , Reuter Christian , Hester Julian , Jeske Danny , Knüver Lisa , Richert Viktoria
Published: August 2018

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) represent 99% of enterprises in Germany and more than 95% in the European Union. Given the recent increase of natural disasters and man-made crises and emergencies, it seems an important economic goal to ascertain that SMEs are capable of maintaining their work, revenue and profit at an acceptable level. According to ISO 22301, business continuity management (BCM) is a holistic management process which identifies potential threats and their impact to an organization and serves as a framework to increase organizational resilience and response capabilities. Prior research identified that BCM is under-represented in SMEs and that their security level is partially in an uneconomical range. This article presents the analysis of interviews with 19 independent micro enterprises highlighting findings on their low crisis awareness, varying technical dependency, existing action strategies and communication strategies and proposing a categorization of micro enterprises as preventive technicians, data-intensive chains or pragmatic jumpers.
Project of Inventive Ideas Through a TRIZ Study Applied to the Analysis of an Innovative Urban Transport Means
Authors: Frizziero Leonardo , Donnici Giampiero , Caligiana Gianni , Liverani Alfredo , Francia Daniela
Published: August 2018

Opening from an examination of all the best features of accomplishment of the hoverboard, a modern vehicle for urban transport, the authors have created inventive ideas to design the transport means itself. Quality Function Deployment methodology provided the requirements to start from, while the TRIZ methods have provided us the proposals and notions of an innovative landscape to which the authors tend. In practice, while the QFD methodology has a powerfully conceptual appeal, and it is the basis of our analysis, the TRIZ method gives a more innovative thrust and deals the aspects that are strongly constructive and concrete. The Matrix of Contradictions was used within the Hill Model, and through it, the authors have been able to rework the innovative problems, suggested by the QFD analysis, in terms of technical contradictions. At the end of the work, a number of suggestions were made to further innovate this urban and modern means of transport: the hoverboard.
Optimal Hop Lengths to Ensure Minimum Energy Consumption in Wireless Sensor Networks
Authors: Kheireddine Mekkaoui , Abdellatif Rahmoune
Published: August 2018

In wireless sensor networks, nodes have a low computing capacity, a small antenna and a very limited energy source; thereby batteries are considered as a critical resource and should be used efficiently. On the other hand, the antennas are the biggest consumers of energy, therefore, and their use must be very efficient to minimize energy consumption. In a dense WSN, each node may route messages to destination nodes either through short-hops or long-hops, by using a short or a long radio range. Thus, the hop length optimization can save energy. In this article, the authors propose a theorem to optimize the hop lengths and a routing algorithm to improve the WSN power consumption. The theorem establishes a simple condition to ensure the optimal hop lengths which guarantees the minimum energy consumption. And the proposed algorithm based on that condition is used to find the optimal routing path. The simulation results are obtained by applying the condition and the algorithm on WSNs and reveals a high performance regarding WSNs energy consumption and network lifetime.
Influence and Information Flow in Online Social Networks
Authors: Agah Afrand , Asadi Mehran
Published: August 2018

This article introduces a new method to discover the role of influential people in online social networks and presents an algorithm that recognizes influential users to reach a target in the network, in order to provide a strategic advantage for organizations to direct the scope of their digital marketing strategies. Social links among friends play an important role in dictating their behavior in online social networks, these social links determine the flow of information in form of wall posts via shares, likes, re-tweets, mentions, etc., which determines the influence of a node. This article initially identities the correlated nodes in large data sets using customized divide-and-conquer algorithm and then measures the influence of each of these nodes using a linear function. Furthermore, the empirical results show that users who have the highest influence are those whose total number of friends are closer to the total number of friends of each node divided by the total number of nodes in the network.
The Impact of Employee Motivation on Romanian Organizational Performance
Authors: Oncioiu Ionica , Petrescu Marius , Duică Mircea Constantin , Croitoru Gabriel
Published: August 2018

Employee performance evaluation is an essential management practice for any organization, because the progress of employees is of real importance in enhancing the efficiency and development of every organization. The authors propose a model that ties employee motivation to organizational performance. The research objectives were designed to identify strategies that take into account all the factors contributing to quality and superior productivity of labor, in other words, to identify motivation strategies conducive to efficient management. The assessment was conducted through quantitative analysis using a questionnaire. The questionnaire, through the statements contained therein, assessed how public and private organizational performance reflect employee motivation characteristics.
Samuel Clarke contra o determinismo de Anthony Collins
Authors: Brandão Rodrigo
Published: August 2018

Pretendo com este artigo apresentar alguns aspectos da oposição entre Samuel Clarke e Anthony Collins a respeito da liberdade da vontade. Após a consideração de alguns argumentos que sustentam a posição determinista de Collins, proponho-me a analisar como a noção de agency de Clarke alicerça sua crítica ao materialismo dos modernos, sobretudo ao de deterministas como o próprio Collins.
O “artesão” e a “rainha”. Livre arbítrio e divina providência em Giambattista Vico
Authors: Caporali Riccardo
Published: August 2018

Este artigo pretende mostrar que Vico não pode ser considerado um pensador católico-ortodoxo do liber arbitrium indifferentiae. Distinta da história sacra (aquela dos Judeus), a história secular pode ser investigada abertamente e de modo não apologético. A “nova ciência” investiga as leis, as constantes e as regularidades da “natureza comum das nações”; assim, não faz nenhum apelo às intervenções de Deus, nem a qualquer ideia de vontade humana como sendo incondicionada e transparente. Com base nisso, a providência é a “inesperada” lógica dos eventos, a divergência entre o escopo estreito das intenções humanas e as consequências “mais amplas” de suas ações, poderosas ou desastrosas. A providência (a rainha) é a “ajuda ordinária” e deixa ao homem (o artesão) o fardo de entender o significado e os fins das suas próprias ações.
Influence of Welding Current on Formation of Weld Bead in TIG Welding for Joining Thin Plates
Authors: Anh Nguyen Van , Akihisa Murata , Tadasuke Murata , Tashiro Shinichi , Tanaka Manabu
Published: August 2018

In this paper, a new (novel) welding technology has been applied to join 0.1 mm thin plates. An initial study on the influence of welding current on the welding properties for stainless steel SUS304 plates is discussed in this paper. The weld bead appearance on both top surface and bottom surface was observed by microscope to indicate the change of weld bead size and welding defects. The results showed that by utilizing a constricted nozzle, a good weld bead is found out when the arc length is too short (0.3 mm), welding speed is very high (3000 mm min-1) and base metal is very thin (0.1 mm) with suitable welding conditions.
Numerical Modelling of Swirl-Stabilized Turbulent Lean Non-Premixed Flames
Authors: Parra Teresa , Pastor David , Pérez Ruben , Molina José
Published: August 2018

Numerical simulations have been performed to analyze the interaction of confined coaxial high-swirl jets in both cases: isothermal and reactive flows. Besides different setups of swirl injectors have been tested to study the influence of swirl in the flames for both stoichiometric and lean mixtures. The aim was to quantify the nitrogen oxide emissions as well as the flow pattern for different swirling annular air jet and non-swirling inner fuel jet. This simple setup is widely used in burners to promote stabilized flames of lean mixtures producing ultra low NOx emissions.
In Vitro Comparative Study of Osteogenic Differentiation Ability between Adipose and Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cell Applied to Bovine Demineralized Bone Matrix
Authors: Mahyudin Ferdiansyah , Utomo Dwikora Novembri , Edward Mouli , Widhiyanto Lukas , Simanjuntak Christopher Anthony , Nikmatullah Hudaya
Published: August 2018

Ideal bone graft must possess the desirable trait such as osteoconductive, osteoinductive and osteogenesis. Demineralized Bone Matrix (DBM) provides both osteoconductive and osteoinductive trait. Referring to the tissue engineering principle, the addition of mesenchymal stem cell would add the osteogenic trait to this procedure. The design of this study is experimental using Bovine DBM. Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cell (BMSCs) and Adipose Mesenchymal Stem Cells (ASCs) were taken from New Zealand white rabbit. There are two groups of treatment, divided into DBM implanted with BMSCs and DBM implanted with ASCs. Each BMSCs and ASCs groups is incubated in the normal and osteogenic culture plate. Evaluation is performed by counting the osteoblast and immunohistochemistry stain using Alkaline Phosphate and Osteocalcin. After 4 weeks of incubation, we found that the osteoblast count in BMSCs groups is higher compared to the ASCs groups in both culture condition (p<0.01) along with Alkaline Phosphate staining (p<0.05), while the Osteocalcin staining showed insignificant differences (p>0.05). This study revealed that xenogenic bovine DBM can act as the potential osteoinductive scaffold for the MSCs to differentiate. The tissue engineering application by combining MSCs and Bovine DBM can be considered as an alternative in managing bone defect cases.
The association between corporate social responsibility reporting and firm value for South African firms
Authors: Horn Riana , De Klerk Marna , De Villiers Charl
Published: August 2018

Background: Corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure is widespread among the largest companies in South Africa due to the listing requirements of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE). These companies have also increasingly pursued external assurance of their CSR disclosures in recent years. The increased regulation of CSR disclosure and the increased rate of obtaining assurance of these disclosures motivated us to perform our study.Aim: To examine the association between CSR reporting, including both CSR disclosure and CSR assurance, and firm value of large South African companies.Setting: The JSE listing requirements place South Africa, the setting for our study, at the forefront of corporate governance and CSR reporting.Method: Tobin’s Q is used as a measure of firm value. Three measures of CSR disclosure and three of CSR assurance are used in this study. The measures are based on data collected by Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler (KPMG) International on the CSR reporting practices of large South African companies. The sample period for this study coincides with the sample period covered in the KPMG surveys conducted during 2008, 2011 and 2013.Results: No significant association is found between CSR disclosure and firm value. However, a significant negative association is found between CSR assurance and firm value. Additional analysis found that the negative association between firm value and CSR assurance is more significant for companies that are not listed on the Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) index.Conclusion: The results found between CSR disclosure and firm value may suggest that firm value is unaffected by CSR disclosures. Taken together, the findings on CSR assurance and firm value and the additional analysis may suggest that in South Africa managers with negative CSR issues are more likely to obtain assurance on their CSR disclosure. The findings may be of interest to regulators when considering current and future disclosure and assurance requirements for CSR reporting in South Africa, as well as other parts of the world, shareholders when considering investment options, and managers when considering the benefit of certain CSR reporting practices.
Построение точных решений для равновесных конфигураций границы проводящей жидкости, деформированной внешним электрическим полем
Authors: Zubarev Nikolai Mikhailovich , Zubareva Ol'ga Vladimirovna
Published: August 2018

В двумерной плоскосимметричной постановке рассмотрена задача о равновесных конфигурациях свободной поверхности проводящей капиллярной жидкости, помещенной во внешнее электрическое поле. Найдено однопараметрическое семейство точных решений задачи, согласно которым жидкость принимает форму лезвия. Подобная конфигурация обеспечивает формально неограниченное локальное усиление поля: на кромке лезвия напряженность поля максимальна, а на периферии спадает до нуля. При заданной разности потенциалов между жидкостью и расположенным над ней плоским электродом найдены пороговые значения напряженности электрического поля на кромке жидкого лезвия, радиуса кривизны кромки и расстояния от кромки до электрода, ограничивающие область существования решений.
Фазовые резонансы для повторяемости аномальных волн НУШ в квазисимметричном случае
Authors: Grinevich Petr Georgievich , Santini Paolo Maria
Published: August 2018

Наши недавние аналитические результаты о задаче Коши для фокусируюшего нелинейного уравнения Шредингера с начальными данными в виде периодического возмущения неустойчивого фона позволяют в простейшем случае одной неустойчивой моды получить полное аналитическое описание повторяемости аномальных волн. С учетом того, что современные эксперименты в волновых бассейнах и нелинейной оптике, посвященные наблюдению повторяемости Ферми-Паста-Улама, осуществляются в почти симметричных конфигурациях, с использованием полученных ранее результатов выведены полезные аналитические формулы для фазовых резонансов в повторяемости для почти симметрического случая, которые можно сопоставить с данными экспериментов.
Modelling and Simulation of Full Vehicle Model with Variable Damper Controlled Semi-Active Suspension System
Authors: Sathishkumar P. , Rajeshkumar S. , Rajalakshmi T.S. , Thiyagarajan J. , Arivarasan J.
Published: August 2018

The main objective of the variable damper controlled vehicle suspension system is to reduce the discomfort identified by passengers which arises from road roughness and to increase the ride handling related with the rolling, pitching and heave movements. This imposes a very fast and accurate variable damper to meet as much control objectives, as possible. The method of the proposed damper is to reduce the vibrations on each corner of vehicle by providing control forces to suspension system while travelling on uneven road. Numerical simulations on a full vehicle suspension model are performed in the Matlab Simulink toolboxes to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed approach. The obtained results show that the proposed system provides better results than the conventional suspension system.
Finite Element Analysis of Cartridge Tapered Roller Bearing of Freight Wagon
Authors: Singh Parbant , Harsha S.P.
Published: August 2018

Freight trains run under high service loads during consignment loading and operation so tapered roller bearings are ideally suited to wheel bearing applications. The tapered roller bearings used in the railway industry are of a standard design fixed by the American Association of Railroads regulations. Nowadays rail industry improves the train operating speeds, which means that failure of a bearing will result into a derailment, affecting human lives, network disruption, and damage to the railroad, unplanned maintenance costs, and generating fear in general public about rail transport. So the rail industry has focused on the improvement in maintenance work and improvement in component design. This paper discusses the results of finite element analysis and model analysis of Cartridge Tapered Roller bearing (CTRB). Solid modelling of CTRB has been done using solid works. The CTRB is then discretized using ANSYS software and 3D hexahedral solid elements are used to mesh the components. The effect of vibration modes on the dynamic behaviour and stability of wagon is described. Frequencies up to a range of 100 Hz are considered for mode shapes.
Performance Characteristics of C.I. Engine with Bio-diesel Blends of Jatropha, Soya Bean Oil and Waste Cooking Oil at Fixed Compression Ratio
Authors: Ramchandani Dinesh , Rathore Yogendra , Pandey R.K.
Published: August 2018

In this paper raw oil (jatropha, soybean and waste cooking fuel) is taken as potential alternative fuel for C.I. engines. The best distinction between these 3 kinds of oils and diesel fuel is viciousness. Every vegetable oil is blended with diesel in variable proportion (20% - 50%). Two sets of experiments are conducted for every fuel blend. First experiment is focussed on a performance check for pure diesel fuel. Second experiment is focussed on a performance check using many blends for each of Jatropha-diesel, soybean-diesel and waste cooking oil-diesel at fixed compression ratio of 18. The results of performance characteristics such as brake specific fuel consumption and brake thermal efficiency for every vegetable oil-diesel blends are compared with that using diesel fuel alone.
Vibration Characteristics of Al6061-SiC Metal Matrix Composite based Rubber Mount for I.C Engine Chassis
Authors: Ramachandran T. , Sudhakara Reddy S. , Jeyakumar S.
Published: August 2018

Vibrations are found to be dangerous and reduce the life and reliability of the vehicle. The studies were carried out by many researchers to stiff the structures by increasing the wall thickness of the plates, rubber and to minimize the vibration by increasing the damping coefficient of the rubber materials. The conventional materials indicate an improvement in stiffness, but not satisfying the requirements of the engine vibration at different speed and load standards and also increased the mass of the structure. This research on the engine mount vibration isolation aims at developing an alternative material for the structures which exhibit good damping and stiffness characteristics. In terms of properties such as chemical resistance, ease of production, high strength to weight ratio and damping, composite materials are increasingly used in many engineering application where the vibration is predominant. In this paper, the steel plates are replaced by Al6061-SiC Metal Matrix Composites (MMC) and studies are carried out on the engine mount made of Al6061 MMC structural material and integrated with rubber. The static and dynamic properties of the Al6061MMC-rubber mounts are determined using experimental investigations. The harmonic analysis is also carried out to test the damping characteristics of the mounts.
Finite Element Simulation of Wheel-Rail Interaction: Technical Note
Authors: Dubey Shiv Prakash , Sharma Satish C. , Harsha Suraj P.
Published: August 2018

This paper deals with quasi-static analysis of wheel-rail interaction. The model has been developed for analysing the contact patches behaviour, pressure distribution, von mises stress and strain. A solid model has been developed using SOLIDWORKS on the basis of UIC-60 rail profile and S-1002 wheel profile. Finite element analysis of the solid model has been done using ANSYS software. It has been observed that wheel-rail interaction is nonlinear and exceeded the yield strength of wheel material. The analysis of the worn thread of wheel has enabled the identification of the contact patches and critical sections of the wheel-rail interface.
Programmable Logic Controller based Monitoring System for Oil Filling of Heavy Vehicle Rear Axle Assembly
Authors: Rajalakshmi T.S. , Rajeshkumar S. , Arivarasan J. , Thiyagarajan J. , Sathishkumar P.
Published: August 2018

In the chassis assembly shop, there are instances when the rear axle oil was not filled. During the period from January to December, there were ten such instances that were reported. Out of the 10 cases, 6 cases seized after handing over the vehicle to the customer and 4 cases were identified when the vehicles left the assembly process. The reason for the seizing of the trucks was predominantly due to the absence of the oil in the rear axle or in some cases, due to the discrepancy that occurred. This problem can be rectified by introducing the concept of interlocking, wherein the conveyor stops from proceeding to the next stage in case the rear axle oil is not filled. To prevent any further chances of error, a system was suggested where a code is scanned, which gives details of the bill of materials used to assemble the truck. This bill of material includes the axle model number which is cross referenced with a traceability matrix to determine the quantity of oil required and confirming the oil filling process with a sticker.