bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Dynamic properties and time response of frameworks with semi-rigid and eccentric connections
Authors: Gopcevic Spiro , Brcic Stanko , Zugic Ljiljana
Published: April 2012

The paper is considering effects of the semi-rigid and eccentric joint
connections of framework structures upon its dynamic properties and the time
response due to an earthquake action. The corresponding numerical method
representing the linear structural behavior is developed. Semi-rigid
connections at beam ends are presented by the rotational springs at beam's
ends, with linear moment-rotation relationship. Eccentricity of joint
connections is presented by the corresponding short infinitely rigid links at
beam's ends. The effect of semi-rigid and eccentric connections is introduced
in the numerical model by the corresponding corrective matrix. The corrective
matrix is applied upon the conventional stiffness matrix of the beam element
with usual rigid and centric connections. As important dynamic properties,
the change of the natural circular frequencies and the natural modes, due to
variation of joint rigidity and eccentricity of beam-to-column connections,
is analyzed. In the time response structural analysis, considering
displacements only, dynamic loading due to an earthquake defined by a given
accelerogram is considered. The solution of the differential equations of
motion is obtained by direct numerical step-by-step integration using the ?
method (Hilber-Hughes- Taylor). In order to perform the numerical analysis,
all considered numerical models and methods are implemented into the
corresponding computer code, called ELAN, which is then used for the
parametric analyses presented in the paper.
Residence of the elderly
Authors: Stanimirovic Mirko , Jovanovic Goran
Published: April 2012

Residence of the elderly is analyzed in this work. Experiences of the
developed world in this field can be extremely beneficial to the housing
policy in Serbia. The elderly are facing serious facility shortages for
living compared to the actual demand. The subject-matter of this work is to
carry out research into the institutional forms of taking up residence of the
elderly in Serbia and France, since France is a welfare state. By analyzing
French pattern, some useful recommendations can be found for the development
of the Serbian pattern.
Environmental formation of facades
Authors: Cekic Nikola , Dacic Milos , Jovanovic Aleksandar
Published: April 2012

This paper raises the questions of environmental design of facade planes in
urbarchitecture, remodeling of existing bulks applying the vegetation
material. Environmental interventions in general sense can render the
constructed areas and structures in them less globalistic, esthetically more
valuable, historically and culturally more significant and to affect the
space in a way for all to feel better in it. It is possible to establish new
patterns of reforming of artifact building values, as well as a model for a
more creative acting in multicultural space. Natural, floral and other
vegetative structures in combination with artifact forms allow a conceptually
different, non-globalistic approach in which new, fuller forms create a
dynamic and recognizable exterior ecourbarchitectonic space. Physical
structures with environmental bulks masking the rigid, inadequate commanding
geometry, improve the general conditions and atone for the urban crisis. It
is our opinion that an environmental approach in formation of facade planes,
be them horizontal or vertical, is an indispensable position in
city-building. We are persuaded by the numerous examples in the world, where
environmental-scientific analysis in the area of urban design of space
produced fantastic realizations of micro and macro ambiance entities.
Estimating hourly reference evapotranspiration from limited weather data by sequentially adaptive RBF network
Authors: Trajkovic Slavisa
Published: April 2012

This study investigates the utility of adaptive Radial Basis Function (RBF)
networks for estimating hourly grass reference evapotranspiration (ET0) from
limited weather data. Nineteen days of micrometeorological and lysimeter
data collected at half-hour intervals during 1962-63 and 1966-67 in the
Campbell Tract research site in Davis, California were used in this study.
Ten randomly chosen days (234 patterns) were selected for the RBF networks
training. Two sequentially adaptive RBF networks with different number of
inputs (ANNTR and ANNTHR) and two Penman-Monteith equations with different
canopy resistance values (PM42 and PM70) were tested against hourly
lysimeter data from remaining nine days (200 patterns). The ANNTR requires
only two parameters (air temperature and net radiation) as inputs. Air
temperature, humidity, net radiation and soil heat flux were used as inputs
in the ANNTHR. PM equations use air temperature, humidity, wind speed, net
radiation and soil heat flux density as inputs. The results reveal that
ANNTR and PM42 were generally the best in estimating hourly ET0. The ANNTHR
performed less well, but the results were acceptable for estimating ET0.
These results are of significant practical use because the RBF network with
air temperature and net radiation as inputs could be used to estimate hourly
ET0 at Davis, California.
Application of the numerical model of landform in surface runoff prediction
Authors: Aleksic Velimir , Sivcev Branislava , Ristovski Aleksandar , Milojkovic Boban
Published: April 2012

Surface runoff has recently been observed on the topographic map. The
application of modern computer techniques in geodesy and hydrotechnics has
expanded the possibility of surface runoff arrangement as well as for the
formation of basic lines over the vector field.
Functional zones of flats in the period of art moderne in Nis (1930-1941)
Authors: Kekovic Aleksandar , Petrovic Marjan
Published: April 2012

This paper analyzes organization of flats built in the Art Moderne in Nis in
the period between two world wars. In the Moderne period flats one may
observe a more complex structure of flats with several different rooms, in
comparison to the previous period. This is an undeniable contribution to the
quality design of this period, even though it does not follow the examples of
"the open plans" which existed in the developed communities in Serbia and
Europe. Time distance of almost eighty years since the first buildings of the
Moderne movement were built in Nis, is a sufficiently long historical period
to conduct an objective and quality analysis of the contribution and
influence this style had in forming the contemporary organizational
arrangement of flats in of Nis.
Treatment of dematiaceous fungal keratitis in a dog
Authors: Pucket Jonathan D. , Allbaugh Rachel A. , Rankin Amy J.
Published: April 2012

Case Description—A 9-year-old castrated male Bichon Frise was evaluated because of a 3-week history of a nonhealing corneal ulcer and corneal pigmentation of the left eye.

Clinical Findings—Ophthalmic examination of the left eye revealed conjunctival hyperemia, corneal neovascularization, corneal edema, corneal ulceration, and central corneal pigmentation. Intraocular structures of the left eye could not be visually examined because of the diffuse nature of the corneal lesions. The right eye had anterior cortical incipient cataracts, nuclear sclerosis, and an inactive chorioretinal scar.

Treatment and Outcome—Superficial lamellar keratectomy of the left eye was performed for both therapeutic and diagnostic purposes. Histologic evaluation of corneal biopsy specimens revealed dematiaceous fungal keratitis of the left eye, and topical administration of voriconazole was used to successfully resolve the keratitis. Seven months after diagnosis of dematiaceous fungal keratitis, the dog had no clinical signs or history of recurrence of the keratitis.

Clinical Relevance—Dematiaceous fungal keratitis should be considered as a possible cause of nonhealing corneal ulceration with heavy pigment deposition in dogs. Results suggested that lamellar keratectomy along with topical administration of voriconazole can be used successfully to treat dematiaceous fungal keratitis in dogs.
Methodology for conformance testing of spatial data infrastructure components including an example of its implementation in Slovakia
Authors: Kliment T. , Tuchyňa M. , Kliment M.
Published: April 2012

Methodology for conformance testing of spatial data infrastructure components including an example of its implementation in Slovakia

Before any spatial data infrastructure (SDI) is implemented as fully operational, many relevant testing procedures should take place. Such procedures should evaluate the compliancy level of particular SDI components against the relevant standards and implementing rules. Hence, they should ensure a high interoperability level. Many testing activities have already been performed within the implementation of the European SDI (INSPIRE - Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the European Community). Nevertheless, a common and versatile testing methodology, which is possible to use at any level of SDI realization is still lacking. This paper proposes a conformance testing methodology for selected SDI components applicable via network services for the discovery, view and downloading of data. An example of such an implementation has taken place within an environmental SDI developed by the Slovak Environmental Agency. A testing report template summarizing the results of the tests is proposed to be considered as a common template on a national level to be used within the implementation of a National Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the Slovak Republic.
Experimental verification of the resistance of glass beams
Authors: Slivanský M.
Published: April 2012

Experimental verification of the resistance of glass beams

Experimental research at the Department of Steel and Timber Structures at SUT in Bratislava focused on the verification of the behavior of modern glass structures. Four types of glass beams were tested - laminated beams made of annealed (ANG) and fully tempered glass (FTG) in interactions with or without steel elements (as reinforcement). The results of the experimental research were also compared with theoretical models using FEM calculations.
Mending the Acadian Diaspora: Strategies of Remediation in Nicolas Dickner’s Nikolski (2005)
Authors: Porter Laurence M.
Published: April 2012

Dickner’s brilliant, witty first novel finds inspiration in the parody and paradox of the OULIPO writers, Jorge Luís Borges, and Michel Tournier – particularly the latter’s ingenious exploitation of the archetype of inversion. Nikolski’s thematic deep structure, however, derives from Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick and from the stories of Jonah (Jonas, in French) and Noah in the Book of Genesis. Through the mediation of these intertexts, Dickner reflects on the tragic diaspora of the Acadians starting with their violent deportation from the Maritime Provinces in 1755. Three contemporary Acadian protagonists (one may be descended from Caribbean pirates, one is half Native American, and one half Québécois) separately attempt to reconstitute their lost culture. They transcend their initial failures, forsaking paralyzing nostalgia to join new, multiethnic communities of marginalized peoples. Thus Dickner updates the reparative efforts of Longfellow’s Evangeline and Antonine Maillet’s folk epic Pélagie la charrette, with his thoroughly urban, postmodern sensibility.
Early On-Treatment Viral Load and Baseline Metavir Score: Improved Prediction of Sustained Virological Response in HCV Genotype 1 Patients
Authors: Crawford Darrell HG , Dore Gregory J , Sievert William , Cheng Wendy SC , Weltman Martin , McCaughan Geoffrey , Rawlinson William , Marks Philippa S , Yoshihara Motoko , Rizkalla Bishoy , Roberts Stuart K ,   the CHARIOT Study Group
Published: April 2012

Background

On-treatment HCV viral load during early therapy with pegylated interferon (PEG-IFN) and ribavirin is highly predictive of sustained virological response (SVR). We sought to provide further refinement of this prediction through an extensive evaluation of the effect of HCV viral loads at weeks 4, 8 and 12 on SVR, including analysis by liver disease stage grouping.

Methods

A total of 309 patients with genotype 1 chronic HCV and recent liver biopsy enrolled in the CHARIOT study received 180 μg of PEG-IFN-α2a weekly with 1,000/1,200 mg of ribavirin daily. The probability of an SVR was estimated using baseline METAVIR fibrosis stage and HCV viral loads at weeks 4, 8 and 12.

Results

HCV RNA was undetectable in 27.5%, 50.3% and 62.6% of patients at weeks 4, 8 and 12, respectively. SVR was 80.0%, 76.8% and 72.4% among patients with undetectable HCV RNA at weeks 4, 8 and 12, respectively. SVR decreased in a progressive fashion with increasing HCV viral loads at each early time point, but was similar for patients with HCV viral load <15 IU/ml, 15–100 IU/ml and 100–1,000 IU/ml. The effect of fibrosis stage on SVR was modest for patients with HCV viral load <1,000 IU/ml at week 4, but more marked for those with week 4 HCV viral load >1,000 IU/ml, and all HCV viral load categories at weeks 8 and 12.

Conclusions

A combination of baseline fibrosis stage and on-treatment HCV viral load at early time points provides improved estimates for treatment response in patients with chronic HCV genotype 1.
Le lien fraternel dans l'adoption
Authors: Loncan Anne
Published: April 2012

Résumé Retraçant brièvement l’évolution de la famille adoptive, l’auteur note qu’elle met en exergue les avatars contemporains de la famille en général. L’observation dans le contexte d’une consultation de pédopsychiatrie montre que la précarité des liens y prévaut. L’étude d’un cas de thérapie familiale psychanalytique met en évidence l’intrication des différents axes organisateurs des liens, soulignant l’impact de fantasmes tels que le rapt et l’abandon qui prennent rang de fantasmes originaires et peuvent inhiber les processus de mise en lien fraternel comme les promouvoir dans une thérapie où l’interfantasmatisation sera soutenue et protégée par le cadre.
La construction du lien fraternel : filiation et origine
Authors: Jaïtin Rosa , Cléar Françoise , Paris Martine
Published: April 2012

Résumé Les auteurs exposent le suivi d’une thérapie familiale à travers des dessins d’enfants, pour travailler la question de la construction de la différence sexuelle, générationnelle et culturelle.
Dans la fratrie de Paul et Camille Claudel : le clivage en héritage
Authors: Dravet Danièle
Published: April 2012

Résumé La dynamique relationnelle au sein de la fratrie Claudel fut hantée par la phantasmatique de la « violence fondamentale » (au sens défini par Jean Bergeret), qui avait pris corps à la génération précédente. Les pertes prématurées qui avaient frappé leurs parents respectifs – laissant la mère des enfants Claudel orpheline de mère, et le père, orphelin de père – auront été mises sur le compte du conflit œdipien. L’infigurable de ce triomphe de l’usurpateur, consommé dans le secret des psychés, allait se rejouer au sein de la fratrie : Camille finissant par endosser le destin d’avoir à objectiver les contenus de cet inconscient parental scellé sur ses secrets d’État.
Fratrie en chantier
Authors: Yahyaoui Abdessalem
Published: April 2012

Résumé Les liens de fratrie en milieu migrant sont étudiés à partir de la fragilité parentale et des clivages internes/externes. L’accent est mis sur la capacité de la fratrie à réorganiser la vie psychique de la famille, du groupe fratrie et des membres qui les composent. L’auteur dégage certaines fonctions de la fratrie qui participent à cette réorganisation.
Vers une thérapie psychanalytique de fratrie ?
Authors: Savin Bernard
Published: April 2012

Résumé Après avoir rappelé quelques principes fondamentaux de la Thérapie familiale psychanalytique et à travers quelques situations cliniques de demande de thérapie, nous nous interrogerons sur la pertinence d’aménager le cadre de la TFP sous la forme de thérapie psychanalytique de fratrie.
De l'identification à l'empiétement dans l'expérience de l'intime
Authors: Ciccone Albert
Published: April 2012

Résumé L’auteur décrit certains contextes d’empiétement de l’espace intime. Il définit d’abord l’espace intime et l’expérience de l’intime en les situant dans leur rapport au secret et au privé, et en soulignant la manière dont ces différentes expériences confrontent aux logiques du conflit esthétique ou à celles de l’envie. L’intime est ensuite envisagé dans sa dimension autoérotique et dans sa dimension intersubjective, après quoi sont explorées les situations d’empiétement de l’espace intime et leurs conséquences. L’auteur développe le modèle de l’empiétement imagoïque, qu’il a proposé à partir de ses conceptions sur la transmission psychique dans les contextes traumatiques, et sur les fantasmes de transmission que ceux-ci mobilisent ou génèrent. L’empiétement imagoïque participe d’une transmission actuelle traumatique et soutient dans le même temps la constitution d’un fantasme de transmission. Si un tel concept peut être utile à la compréhension des logiques inter- ou transsubjectives dans un groupe familial, il peut aussi éclairer certains processus d’une cure psychanalytique, et l’auteur en donne un exemple illustratif.
Perversion et intrusion dans l'intime
Authors: Francese Erica
Published: April 2012

Résumé Quelques vignettes tirées de la pratique professionnelle de l’auteur dans des cadres différents et auprès de patients de diverses structures illustrent comment le discours pervers exerce une emprise saisissant l’être intime de l’analyste. L’effet est une paralysie de la capacité de penser et de l’écoute. Ce n’est que par l’analyse du contre-transfert que le thérapeute peut se dessaisir de l’emprise de l’horreur et/ou de la fascination, qui le fige risquant de le détourner de sa place soit en rejetant le patient, soit en se faisant complice, à son insu, de ses défenses perverses.
La ville dont le prince est un enfant »
Authors: Bonnet Gérard
Published: April 2012

Résumé Beaucoup sont d’avis qu’il faut sauvegarder les impératifs de pudeur dans la vie familiale, et pourtant ils les bafouent régulièrement dans leur vie quotidienne sous des prétextes qui ne sont pas pertinents en matière de sexualité. L’auteur avance l’hypothèse que cela tient au fait que l’enfant est considéré aujourd’hui comme un prince, et qu’en agissant de la sorte les adultes cherchent à réaffirmer leur pouvoir, certes d’une manière assez perverse, mais qui mérite réflexion. Il faut surtout donner un fondement plus solide aux impératifs de pudeur : ils ne relèvent pas de l’interdit proprement dit, mais de ces nombreux « refusements » inhérents à la vie en groupe, qui permettent à chacun de trouver sa place et de s’épanouir à partir de ses propres désirs.
La maternité au risque de l'adoption
Authors: Arnaud Michel
Published: April 2012

Résumé La maternité adoptive est une construction relativement fragile et délicate, à partir des représentations imaginaires, des rêves maternels. Elle tente une mise en lien, par l’attachement sans engendrement, de deux êtres que tout sépare, de deux histoires jalonnées de traumatismes. La constitution d’un mythe des origines est essentielle pour que naisse une famille.
Le père « désautorisé »
Authors: Eiguer Alberto
Published: April 2012

Résumé Dans notre société, l’effacement de la figure du père paraît être la règle. Sa fonction d’autorité est affaiblie ; en même temps dans les familles qui viennent nous voir, la parentification de l’enfant n’est pas exceptionnelle. Après avoir souligné que la cause des changements devrait être trouvée au niveau du fonctionnement inconscient familial, l’auteur examine les apports spécifiques de la théorie groupale ; il suggère que les fonctions se façonnent réciproquement ; celle du père se construit dans et par le psychisme collectif ; celui-ci fomente le déploiement de places et de fonctions, incite, stimule, libère. La toute-puissance phallique ou prégénitale les bouleverse. L’exposé de la thérapie d’une famille recomposée montre que les passages successifs du transfert collectif facilitent la reconquête de la place paternelle.
Dette : qui tranche ? (introduction)
Authors: Giraud Gaël
Published: April 2012

Résumé Que la dette devienne insoutenable pour les populations ou qu’elle soit héritée d’un régime dictatorial, qui décide, au besoin, de son annulation? L’actualité européenne comme arabe rend la question brûlante.
Pourquoi vote-t-on encore ? (introduction)
Authors: Merckaert Jean
Published: April 2012

Résumé L’abstention progresse. Au point, devant le flou des clivages, le formatage du discours et le sentiment d’impuissance du politique, d’être revendiquée comme un mode d’expression. Mais alors, pourquoi une majorité se rend-elle aux urnes? Par tradition, par devoir, par réaction, par adhésion à une personne, à un projet, ou encore par inscription dans une communauté politique?
Voter en période de clivages flottants
Authors: Revault d’Allonnes Myriam , Perrineau Pascal , Wieviorka Michel , Merckaert Jean , Soulage Vincent
Published: April 2012

Résumé Entretien croisé – Les électeurs sont plus volatils, mais plus critiques. L’abstention n’exprime pas qu’un désintérêt pour la chose publique, mais l’inadéquation de l’offre et un manque de clivage clair.
Lâchez prise, votez!
Authors: Cugno Alain
Published: April 2012

Résumé Le vote, pour Rousseau, rappelle l’existence en nous de la volonté générale. Pour Hobbes, il est plus encore une « autorisation » : un acte de foi dans ses contemporains, au point de se dessaisir de sa part de souveraine puissance à leur profit.
Les espions français parlent
Authors: Merckaert Jean
Published: April 2012

Résumé Sébastien Laurent (sous la dir.), Les espions français parlent , Nouveau monde éd., 2011, 622 p., 24 €
Exploring the Influence of Students’ Attributions for Success on Their Self-Regulation in Pathophysiology
Authors: Dunn Karee E. , Osborne Cara , Link Hope J.
Published: April 2012

Pathophysiology is a difficult course both for students to take and for instructors to teach. However, little research has explored learner characteristics that teachers may address through targeted instruction to make both the teaching and learning experience better. This study examined the influence of students’ causal attributions for success on their self-regulated learning, which is strongly associated with positive learning outcomes. Results indicated that ability, effort, and luck attributions for success collectively influenced Pathophysiology students’ self-regulated learning and that ability was the most potent influence. The findings and the implication for teaching are discussed.
An Approach to Deploying SOA in Technological Information Integration
Authors: Zhao Zhuofeng , Fu Haifang , Fang Jun
Published: April 2012

The growing need for the integrated usage of information from different sources has led to the requirement for information integration. This paper proposes a business-oriented SOA deployment approach, which is derived from a real world project, for the agencies of technology to provide value-added services through integrating the existing information resources. In the approach, information services, which are supposed to be identified in accordance with information category standard, are created and used in a resource-centric way, and the concept of business service is brought out for domain users to ease the usage of information services by modeling business context and IT information coherently. Based on business services, a domain-specific service mash-up language is provided to “program” information integration applications, and the corresponding run-time support is built to parse the applications and execute business services in mediation-style architecture. The system implementation and the application of our approach are also given.
Service Science, Management and Engineering Education
Authors: Wei Jianliang , Chen Jianhua , Zhu Qinghua
Published: April 2012

Service Science, Management and Engineering (SSME) is an emerging discipline which studies service industry under an integrated framework. SSME education trains scientists and skilled service workers to promote innovation and productivity in service industry. Although quite a number of universities started SSME programs years ago, most of them are still in the stage of experiment, and only address a small portion of the total subject. This paper first discusses the objectives of SSME education program—the abilities that service workers and scientists should have. Then, three types of foundation courses of the current programs are discussed in depth; the bachelor, master and PhD degree programs offered currently are analyzed, which include the course contents and teaching methods. Based on the inspirations from these practical programs, a unified model for SSME education is developed and presented, which proposes to unify bachelor, master and PhD programs, and establishes a new service science department comprising areas of service management, service engineering and design, service arts and humanities.
Preliminary Discussions on Several Characteristics of Service Value
Authors: Ma Chao , Wang Zhongjie , Xu Xiaofei
Published: April 2012

Service is defined as a provider-to-client co-production that creates and captures value while sharing risks. Value plays a central position in the lifecycle of services, for example, new values are defined in service mode, designing service models to support the proposed values, and developing service systems to deliver values to customers and providers. It is also necessary to make clear what kinds of characteristics service value has. In this paper, the authors make a classification on service values and discuss characteristics of service value, that is, transitivity, decomposability, partition, transformation, and dependency. The authors illuminate these characteristics by presenting several practical examples, as well as introducing value-aware service engineering and methodology (VASEM). Results of this paper will provide references to value-oriented service innovation, service design and service system development in SSME domain.
Nanostructured Metal Oxide Gas Sensor
Authors: Mazloom Jamal , Ghodsi Farhad E.
Published: April 2012

This chapter provides a review of recent progress in gas sensor based on semiconducting metal oxide nanostructure. The response mechanism and development of various methods to enhancement of sensing properties receives the most attention. Theoretical models to explain the effects of morphology, additives, heterostructured composite and UV irradiation on response improvement were studied comprehensively. Investigations have indicated that 1D nanostructured metal oxide with unique geometry and physical properties display superior sensitivity to gas species. Also, the proposed conduction model in gas sensor based on 1D Metal oxide is discussed. Finally, the response mechanism of hierarchical and hollow nanostructures as novel sensing materials is addressed.
Pervasive Streaming via Peer-to-Peer Networks
Authors: Alhaisoni Majed , Liotta Antonio
Published: April 2012

Media streaming is an essential element of many applications, including the emerging area of mobile systems and services. Internet broadcasting, conferencing, video-on-demand, online gaming, and a variety of other time-constrained applications are gaining significant momentum. Yet, streaming in a pervasive environment is not mature enough to address challenges such as scalability, heterogeneity, and latency. In a client-server system, streaming servers introduce computational and network bottlenecks affecting the scalability of the system and mobile client exhibit intermittent behavior and high-latency connections. This chapter explores ways that several proposed peer-to-peer (P2P) streaming systems deploy to address some of these challenges. An initial introduction on P2P network fundamentals and classifications provides the necessary background information to focus on and assimilate the different mechanisms that enable scalable and resilient streaming in a pervasive environment. The most interesting developments are presented in an accessible way by revisiting the features of common P2P streaming applications. This approach helps in identifying a range of burning research issues that are still undergoing investigation.
P2P Video Streaming over MANET
Authors: Niraula Nobal Bikram , Laouiti Anis
Published: April 2012

Video streaming in Mobile Ad hoc NETwork (MANET) is a real challenge due to frequent changes in network topology, and sensitiveness of radio links. Recent approaches make use of Peer-to-Peer (P2P) technologies to combat these challenges because the technologies have been already found to be effective for content delivery on the Internet. However, as the Internet and MANET operate differently, the P2P technologies used in Internet need modifications before employing to MANET. In this chapter, the authors discuss the recent P2P approaches, the adaptations to be made, and the major challenges to be faced while using P2P approaches in MANETs.
Productive Use of Renewable Energy (PURE) for Economic Development in Developing Countries
Authors: Olla Phillip , Onwudinjo Nkemdilim
Published: April 2012

There has been an increase in the deployments of renewable energy technologies such as solar, wind, geothermal, and biomass energy due to the concerns regarding global warming. This growth in renewable energy projects along with the technological innovations is leading to lowering costs, which is making available an array of renewable energy options to developing nations to address the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Although Africa’s main discussions on renewable energy have been focused on large scale grid-connected power systems, this chapter presents the arguments that several renewable energy technologies are well-suited to providing modern energy services for low-income people. The article presents a comprehensive framework that highlights how to scale up a broad portfolio of micro-renewable energy solutions that can make a major contribution to achieving the MDGs.
Energy Management System Concepts
Authors: Bedford Adam
Published: April 2012

World energy is rapidly approaching a point of transition where the traditional types of generation will be replaced with distributed generation. This will put an enormous strain on existing power grids and, if not properly managed, may lead to brownouts, blackouts, and enormous expenditures to upgrade the grids. Energy management technologies provide a means of smoothing the transition to these new technologies by manipulating generation and storage technologies and managing demands. Energy management coupled with energy storage is particularly important because it can deliver improved efficiency and reduce power spiking, reducing the strain on the grid. Improving the operation of the grid will be key to future developments in developed nations; however, the lessons learned could help to advance the structure of developing nation’s power grids to accelerate the introduction of clean energy worldwide.
Are Biofuels a Factor of Sustainable Development in a Food Insecurity Context in Africa?
Authors: Dabat Marie-Hélène , Blin Joël , Hanff Elodie
Published: April 2012

Bearing in mind the strong link between energy and development, and given the country’s heavy reliance on imported fossil fuels, this chapter discusses the opportunity for substituting fossil fuels with biofuels in a Sahelian country, Burkina Faso. Biofuel opportunities are discussed taking into account technical, agronomic, and land potentials in this country. Diversification of energy resources with biofuels would reduce the growth of fuel imports in the short term, improve overall public finances, provide a chance to develop agriculture, and provide benefits for the locals. However, if they are to generate sustainable socio-economic development, biofuel projects need to be mindful of food security and economic incentives, and should be part of national agricultural strategies. The chapter shows that a number of conditions must be met to ensure the advantages of biofuels outweigh the disadvantages: prioritising domestic use over exports; supporting the emergence of decentralised systems; localising dedicated crops in order to avoid competition with food crops; regulating the edible oil market; removing technical obstacles to production and processing; and prioritising projects implying family-farming rather than agri-business.
Soft Keyboard Evaluations
Authors: Merlin Bruno , Raynal Mathieu
Published: April 2012

Predictive models, based on cognitive and motor laws (modeling some aspect of human behaviors), were supposed to provide an efficient tool to compare quickly soft keyboards performances, but these models are confronted with some limits. Moreover, they failed to predict efficiently the performances during the first usage that got an important impact on soft keyboard acceptability. To improve these models, the authors integrated into them the character search strategies oriented by the user’s background. They illustrate their purpose by modeling three keyboards and comparing the results with experimental ones. The models integrating the user’s background predicted results close to the experimental ones. However, those models must be adapted to the function of the keyboard and the targeted population. The applicability of the models as a rapid comparison tool for soft keyboards must be questioned.
MobiGaze
Authors: Nagamatsu Takashi , Yamamoto Michiya , Sato Hiroshi
Published: April 2012

Today, touch-screen-based handheld mobile devices are widely used; however, they are awkward to use with one hand. We propose MobiGaze, which is a user interface that uses one’s gaze to operate a handheld mobile device. By using MobiGaze, one can target the entire display area easily, even when the device is quite large. Moreover, MobiGaze can use both gaze and touch interactions. The combination of gaze and touch becomes a novel interaction paradigm. A gaze-and-touch interface effectively avoids the Midas-touch problem. The authors adopted a gaze-tracking method that uses a stereo camera to develop MobiGaze, because the user’s line of sight is detected in 3D. This allows the user to move the handheld mobile device freely. They constructed a prototype MobiGaze system, which consists of two cameras with IR-LEDs, a Windows-based notebook PC, and iPod touches. The authors evaluated the accuracy in a laboratory experiment and developed several applications for MobiGaze.
The Bootstrap Discovery Behaviour Model
Authors: Borsci Simone , Federici Stefano , Mele Maria Laura , Polimeno Domenico , Londei Alessandro
Published: April 2012

The chapter focuses on the Bootstrap statistical technique for assigning measures of accuracy to sample estimates, here adopted for the first time to obtain an effective and efficient interaction evaluation. After introducing and discussing the classic debate on p value (i.e., the discovery detection rate) about estimation problems, the authors present the most used model for the estimation of the number of participants needed for an evaluation test, namely the Return On Investment model (ROI). Since the ROI model endorses a monodimensional and economical perspective in which an evaluation process, composed of only an expert technique, is sufficient to identify all the interaction problems—without distinguishing real problems (i.e., identified both experts and users) and false problems (i.e., identified only by experts)—they propose the new Bootstrap Discovery Behaviour (BDB) estimation model. Findings highlight the BDB as a functional technique favouring practitioners to optimize the number of participants needed for an interaction evaluation. Finally, three experiments show the application of the BDB model to create experimental sample sizes to test user experience of people with and without disabilities.
Interactive Picture Book with Story-Changeable System by Shuffling Pages
Authors: Yamada Hiroki , Hirose Michitaka
Published: April 2012

In this chapter, the authors introduce SequenceBook system, an interactive picture book that consists of a paper book with very thin IC (Integrated Circuit) tags embedded in each page and an RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) antenna. This system uses a traditional paper book as an interface and realizes natural interface that keeps the affordance of traditional book and thus smoothly prompts users to experience its contents by just flipping pages in the same way as they read an ordinary book. Another important feature of the system is that users can change its storylines as they like. The system is designed like a bookbinder so that users can easily shuffle pages and make several patterns of stories.
Understanding Decentralized and Dynamic Brokerage in Federated Cloud Environments
Authors: Calcavecchia Nicolò Maria , Celesti Antonio , Di Nitto Elisabetta
Published: April 2012

The advent of the cloud computing paradigm offers different ways both to sell services and to exploit external computational resources according to a pay-per-use economic model. Nowadays, cloud computing clients can buy various form of IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS from cloud providers. Besides this form of pay-per-use, the perspective of cloud federation offers further business opportunities for small/medium providers which hold physical datacenters. Considering the cloud computing ecosystem, besides large cloud providers, smaller ones are also becoming popular even though their own virtualization infrastructures (i.e., deployed in their datacenters) cannot directly compete with the bigger market leaders. The result is that often small/medium clouds have to exploit the services of mega-providers in order to develop their business logic and their cloud-based services. To this regard, a possible future alternative scenario is represented by the promotion of cooperation among small/medium cloud providers, thus enabling the sharing of computational and storage resources. However, in order to achieve such an environment, several issues have to be addressed. One of these challenges is how to plan brokerage strategies allowing cloud providers to discover other providers for partnership establishment. This chapter focuses on different possible centralized and decentralized approaches in designing a brokerage strategy for cloud federation, analyzing their features, advantages and disadvantages.
Towards Energy-Efficient, Scalable, and Resilient IaaS Clouds
Authors: Feller Eugen , Rilling Louis , Morin Christine
Published: April 2012

With increasing numbers of energy hungry data centers, energy conservation has now become a major design constraint for current and future Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) cloud providers. In order to efficiently manage such large-scale environments, three important properties have to be fulfilled by the management frameworks: (1) scalability, (2) fault-tolerance, and (3) energy-awareness. However, the scalability and fault tolerance capabilities of existing open-source IaaS cloud management frameworks are limited. Moreover, they are far from being energy-aware. This chapter first surveys existing efforts on building IaaS platforms. This includes both, system architectures and energy-aware virtual machine (VM) placement algorithms. Afterwards, it describes the architecture and implementation of a novel scalable, fault-tolerant, and energy-aware VM manager called Snooze. Finally, a nature-inspired energy-aware VM placement approach based on the Ant Colony Optimization is introduced.
Rocket Jump Mechanics for Side Scrolling Platform Games
Authors: Ashraf Golam , Hui Ho Jie , Lim Kenny , Luar Esther , Lan Luo
Published: April 2012

This chapter uses the Mechanics, Dynamics and Aesthetics (MDA) framework as a practical guide to incorporate the Rocket Jump mechanic in a side-scrolling platform game. The authors systematically approach the design problem by encoding physically based rules for Rocket propulsion (Mechanics), and then creating appropriate obstacles to construct progressively difficult levels (Dynamics). A comparison is then made to the Rocket Jump with the Conventional Jump with a subjective questionnaire on game difficulty (Aesthetics) using the NASA TLX template. Participants report that they find the rocket jump mechanic more mentally demanding, and thus better immersed in the game. Game-play data is also evaluated to analyze performance differences between the two mechanics modes and find that there is negligible difference. This proves that the Rocket Jump implementation is balanced and quite compatible with conventional platform games. This article aims to provide useful insights and information for the construction of challenging levels with Rocket Jump.
From a Game Story to a Real 2D Game
Authors: Xu Chong-wei , Xu Daniel N.
Published: April 2012

How does one design and implement a 2D game? Specifically, how does one teach students how to develop a game from an idea or a game story? A technical guide has been developed, which includes the modeling principle, the generic global software structure framework, and the incremental development strategy. The technical guide is introduced via the development of the example game Othello from a standalone version to a single player version and then to a networked version. The technical guide not only has been applied for gaming but also for implementing teaching tools with dynamic behaviors.
Building an Interactive Fully-Online Degree Program
Authors: Mitchell Jennie , Kim Daesang
Published: April 2012

Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College (SMWC) expects to launch an interactive fully-online undergraduate degree program in 2010. This program will fill a market need not currently met at SMWC. The program is designed for an online community of learners with a format and focus that appeals to net generation (millennial), neo-millennial, and computer savvy non-traditional students, including military personnel. The General Studies in the new program will focus on seven themes of Leadership for Environmental and Social Justice and will build upon a subset of the existing General Studies. This new program will complement the Woods External Degree (WED), an existing distance education program, established in 1973, that was built on the “correspondence model.” In the new program, students will not be required to come to campus, but will become a vibrant part of the SMWC community by being empowered to explore, discover, and interact through innovative technologies.
Implementing Virtual Career Counseling and Advising at a Major University
Authors: Haberstroh Shane , Rowe Shirley , Cisneros Stefanie
Published: April 2012

In this case study, the authors discuss the implementation of online career advising and planning services at a major university. Using externally hosted chat software, the office of career services designed an interactive, student focused, online resource for students and alumni. Implementation required researching best practices, establishing a reasonable budget, training staff, and marketing this service to the university community.
Critical Issues in Evaluating Education Technology
Authors: Adedokun-Shittu Nafisat Afolake , Shittu Abdul Jaleel Kehinde
Published: April 2012

This chapter highlights some issues that are critical in evaluating technology in education such that it will be implemented to meet educational goals, and it will also serve as a spotlight for policy makers and educators to make a worthwhile return on their technology investment. Schools and institutions of learning invest heavily on technology before establishing clear plans on how it will be integrated into teaching and learning to achieve educational goals. Even though many studies have reported positive impact of technology on students’ learning, few studies have been carried out to investigate whether the investment on technology in schools have been commensurate with the investment. Particularly, needs assessment on both students and teachers’ technology needs is often ignored before technology implementation. Educators and policy makers need to consider certain evaluation issues before committing huge budget percentages into technology. It is crucial to ask what can technology do that cannot be done without it, what percentage of the institution’s budget should be invested on technology, how should technology be integrated in the curriculum to achieve educational goals, and lots more before investing on educational technology to avoid resource wastage. Thus, this chapter highlights these critical issues in the light of a study conducted on the integration of information and communication technology (ICT) in the teaching and learning of science and mathematics in Malaysian secondary school (Adedokun, 2008). The research investigated some concerns that culminated from the integration of ICT in the instruction of English, mathematics, and science in Malaysia among which are: Can the teachers deliver? Do they have the strong will to deliver? Are there adequate facilities for them to carry out this new task? Do they possess the necessary skills for them to be able to deliver? Does the government provide adequate training on the integration of ICT in subject content? Are the students prepared for the change in the medium of instruction? What is the present situation in schools with regards to the use of ICT? And is better teaching and learning achieved with the integration of ICT?
Developing an Online Community to Promote Engagement and Professional Learning for Pre-Service Teachers Using Social Software Tools
Authors: McLoughlin Catherine , Lee Mark J.W.
Published: April 2012

While references to the concept of “learning community” abound in the literature, a common ingredient is the belief that learning is enhanced when there is a commitment to sharing ideas and knowledge within a collaborative group or network of individuals. To support student teachers completing their practicum placements as part of a one-year Graduate Diploma of Secondary Education at the Australian Catholic University (ACU National), a communities of practice model (Wenger, 1998) was implemented, supported by a social software-based technology framework, to enable mutual engagement, joint enterprise, and a shared repertoire. At the outset, all participants were given hands-on training in the use of the text and audio tools that comprised the technology framework. They then formed peer-to-peer mentoring relationships, creating and sharing web log (blog) entries and voice recordings of critical incidents while on their teaching practicum. The data from the students’ discourse was transcribed, coded, and categorized by evaluating each message unit based upon the type of communication it displayed. The main focus was to identify the discourse elements based on Wenger’s (1998) conceptual framework. The coded scripts were used to explore issues and patterns that were indicators of a learning community. This data, together with post-practicum focus group discussions in which students reflected on the benefits of these media for peer mentoring and support, attests strongly to the relevance and effectiveness of the adopted approach to developing a socio-professional community to support the development of pre-service teachers. It is hoped that this case study will contribute to best practice in the use of social software technologies for online community building and support in professional learning contexts, in ways that transcend organizational and disciplinary boundaries. The authors believe that the best outcomes are achieved when activities are structured, when students are adequately trained in using the technologies, and when instructors or experts are available to scaffold reflection processes as the need arises.