bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
In Favour of a Strategic as Opposed to a Scientific Approach to Terrorism
Authors: Marton Péter
Published: February 2025

The following brief overview offers consideration of why quantitative research on terrorist leader targeting may be a dead-end or at least of questionable use from a policy-maker's perspective. It presents the quest for identifying best policies against terrorism as largely futile given the multi-dimensional and reflexive nature of the strategic interaction of terrorists and counter-terrorists. Developing a doctrine for counterterrorism is not impossible, however. The criticism offered here merely posits that such a doctrine can never be used without case-specific considerations, with special regards to the large number of strategically relevant variables over which decision-makers have weak control or perhaps none at all.
Lone Wolves and Network Agents in Leaderless Jihad (The Case of the Boston Marathon Bombing Cell)
Authors: Stepanova Ekaterina
Published: February 2025

In the broader context of homegrown jihadist terrorism in the West, most interpretations of the 2013 Boston Marathon attack generally conform to the concept of “jihad of individual terrorism”. This concept effectively blurs the boundary between a network agent and a stand-alone “lone wolf”. The choice between the two often boils down to whether or not one accepts that acting in the name of a universalist extremist ideology suffices for otherwise dispersed and unconnected self-generating cells to qualify as parts of a larger network. While conforming to some general patterns of homegrown jihadist attacks in the United States, the Boston Marathon attack stands out for two less typical, and mutually contradictory, characteristics. For a pure “lone wolve” jihadist act, the Boston bombings were a rarely successful mass-casualty attack. This either makes it a major outlier, or suggests some external connections, training or support. However, the bombers' purported links to the North Caucasus militant underground as the suspected foreign source of such support are most atypical for U.S.-based jihadist terrorists, even if such links have some precedence among jihadist cells in Europe.
Analysis and Design of Robust Network Clusters with Bounded Diameter
Authors: Mahdavi Pajouh Foad  , Veremyev Alexander  , Boginski Vladimir
Published: February 2025

This chapter surveys early studies and recent developments in the broad area of analysis and design of robust network clusters with bounded diameter. Low diameter (small number of intermediaries in the shortest path between any two nodes) is a desired property of various infrastructure networks (communication/information exchange, transportation/supply, etc.) However, in addition to low diameter, a network cluster may need to be able to withstand multiple disruptions or failures of their elements (nodes and/or links), which is not always a guaranteed property for networks with low diameter. We review mathematical modeling and optimization aspects of studying network clusters with bounded diameter, including basic models (referred to as k-clique and k-club), as well as generalized models with improved failure/attack tolerance characteristics (i.e., R-robust k-club).
Approximation Algorithms for Detecting Critical Nodes
Authors: Ventresca Mario  , Aleman Dionne
Published: February 2025

In this chapter we discuss a common derandomized approximation algorithm for yielding a constant-tunable approximation bound to two variants of the critical node detection problem. The goal of the respective problems is to reduce total pairwise connectivity or number of vertices to delete in order to achieve bounded component sizes in the residual graph, respectively. Our algorithms are built upon previous research and improved by an efficient local search algorithm that incorporates the closeness centrality. We show that the original approximation algorithm bounds remain in tact, while the practical performance is greatly improved. To highlight the results we utilize five common network data sets of various sizes.
Variable Neighborhood Search for Edge-Ratio Network Clustering
Authors: Cafieri Sonia  , Hansen Pierre  , Mladenović Nenad
Published: February 2025

Edge-ratio clustering was introduced in [Cafieri et al., Phys.Rev. E 81(2):026105, 2010], as a criterion for optimal graph bipartitioning in hierarchical divisive algorithms for cluster identification in networks. Exact algorithms to perform bipartitioning maximizing the edge-ratio were shown to be too time consuming to be applied to large datasets. In this paper, we present a Variable Neighborood Search (VNS)-based heuristic for hierarchical divisive edge ratio network clustering. We give a full description including the structure of some algorithmic procedures which are used to implement the main steps of the heuristic. Computational results show that the proposed algorithm is very efficient in terms of quality of the bipartitions, moreover the computing time is much smaller than that one for exact algorithms.
DIY Home Modifications: an Australian case-study of choice and control
Authors: McNamara Nicole  , Bleasdale Michael  , Bridge Catherine
Published: February 2025

Recent disability and aged care reforms in Australia have shifted emphasis from ongoing support and care toward prevention and early intervention, complementing universal design values of equity and flexibility. The reforms encourage the active engagement of individuals in the choices they make about housing and the support and care they receive, and will drive a preference to age in place. Approximately 2% of Australia's housing stock is new built each year, with a small proportion incorporating universal design principles. Consequently, existing premises will need to be modified to enable people who are ageing and people with disability to live in the community and receive support at home. This paper considers how, in a person-centred support environment, do-it-yourself (DIY) home modifications expand our understanding of universal design, as DIY can empower individuals to exercise autonomy and control over their lives and the choices they make.
Effectiveness of Universal Design Education at Japanese Schools
Authors: Kose Satoshi  , Takayama Yasuko
Published: February 2025

Majority of Japanese people now know the term “Universal Design.” It is not only because of publicizing effort by the local governments and their related organizations, but also schools have taken up universal design (UD) as a concept to be taught. Shizuoka University of Art and Culture has adopted UD as one of its fundamental policies since it was established in 2000, and the authors examined how the students of high schools and of the Shizuoka University of Art and Culture have learned UD. Authors compared the findings with UD education tools for pupils and students, including UD promotion by the local governments and Japanese language textbooks. The examination of the effect upon students' knowledge of UD by these tools and actions suggests correlation between them, and what are sufficient/insufficient as to the contents of UD education. The authors discuss what UD education should be, based on the results.
Effects of Color Combinations on the Discrimination Performance of Elderly People Using a LCD Monitor
Authors: Yeh Po-Chan
Published: February 2025

As the world has a rapidly growing aging population, more and more attention must be paid to product design and development for older adults. Designer should understand the change of aged function, so that they can design product which can satisfy older adults need. Experiment investigated the effects of color combinations of text/background on reading performance. Results showed that nine better color combinations of text/background, including orange/indigo, yellow/red, yellow/green, yellow/indigo, green/white, indigo/yellow, white/red, white/green and white/blue, however, two bad color combinations of text/background, including green/orange and green/blue. Results of this study can be widely applied to various product interfaces, e.g. test displayed on computer monitors, tablet PC interfaces, touch screens, and electronic directories.
The Effects of Interactive Stairways on User Behavior and Safety
Authors: Kim Karen  , Steinfeld Edward
Published: February 2025

The social context for stairway design in multi-story buildings is changing. At one time, stairways were viewed primarily as a means of egress in an emergency, and elevators or escalators were the primary method of vertical circulation with the exception of monumental “feature” stairways. Today, the emphasis is changing to promote the use of stairways in buildings as opposed to use of elevators due to the health benefits of stair climbing. This is providing an opportunity for architects and building owners to experiment with innovative designs. One interesting innovation is the “interactive stairway.” Little is known about the impact of these interventions on the rate of stair accidents. The purpose of this study was to assess the safety of interactive stairway designs by comparing the user's behavior and the incidence of unsafe stair use on two interactive stairways with a stairway made of conventional material. A checklist for recording observations of stair users was developed. Observations were conducted in two museum buildings with interactive stairways and in one university building with a conventional stairway. Safety-related behaviors and incidents on the interactive stairways (CM and SM) and the conventional stairway (SU) were documented and compared. On the interactive stairways, more stair users glanced down at the treads (CM: 90%, SM: 81% vs. SU: 53%); fewer stair users diverted their gaze away from the stairs (CM: 22%, SM: 32% vs. SU: 66%); and handrail use was higher (CM: 40%, SM: 33% vs. SU: 28%). Incident rates were similar across the stairways (CM: 2.2%, SM: 2.2%, SU: 2.6%). The research suggests that interactivity can improve stair safety if used appropriately.
Making navigation simple? Initial user studies within the NavMem project
Authors: Magnusson Charlotte  , Östlund Britt  , Rassmus-Gröhn Kirsten  , Hedlund Allan
Published: February 2025

The aim of the NavMem project is to develop a mobile navigation companion for elderly persons with memory decline (MCI). The project is intended for a wide range of target users – e.g. persons with memory problems due to early dementia, stroke but also elderly persons in general. In the following we report results from studies made together with the Swedish Stroke Association. We describe the early stages of the user centered design process and provide a list of requirements. We also provide initial designs and early prototypes and report preliminary results from recent user tests.
A Multi-dimensional Framework for Understanding Accessible Built Environments for All in ‘All Weather Conditions’: The Study of Small towns in Nordic Region
Authors: Pasupuleti Ram Sateesh  , Berggård Glenn
Published: February 2025

This paper is developed with a growing concern on accessibility issues for winter cities in Nordic context. Much of this knowledge on inclusiveness, universal design and all such efforts in making buildings and public places accessible and usable for everyone are becoming critical for winter conditions especially in the case of northern settlements that are mostly covered with snow and ice for about six to eight months in a year. There is not much of literature available on such concerns of accessibility in winter cities. This paper extends the definition from ‘design for all’ to design for all in all weather conditions'. The first section of this paper highlights the need to rethink the definition of the concept ‘design for all’ in the context of all weather conditions. The later part of this paper develops a new integrated and multi-dimensional framework for understanding the accessible built environments for all in all weather conditions. The framework is developed by integrating three different disciplines urban design, social and behavioral studies, and maintenance aspects. Currently this framework is used for conducting empirical case study in small towns in North Sweden.
Norwegian acoustic building criteria and socio-acoustic study on accessibility for all
Authors: Turunen-Rindel Iiris  , Brynn Rudolph
Published: February 2025

Norwegian acoustic criteria for universal design were finalized in 2012 [1]. The work focused on room acoustics and noise conditions suitable for all in public and work buildings. A socio-acoustic survey was conducted among hearing and vision impaired [2]. Their experiences of acoustics in spaces and rooms were applied as a basis for where to focus. The selected criteria are considered more satisfactory for all. Norwegian acoustic classification, given in NS 8175 [1], concerns dwellings, hospitals, schools, kindergartens, offices, work premises etc. Updates were made for these buildings, in specific for open plan teaching environments and open plan offices. Buildings that did not have specified acoustic limits, e.g. museums, lobbies, assembly halls, etc., were evaluated for room acoustics and noise levels. Acoustic quality was defined by measures for reverberation time related to room height, acoustic absorption, noise, speech intelligibility etc. Also, sound amplification systems and devices for assisted listening were applied. NS 8175 contains noise and sound insulation criteria for indoor conditions, outdoor noise nearby buildings and in surrounding outdoor areas. In order to follow up the needs for aging population, children, hearing and vision impaired and others, the relevant criteria were adopted in NS 8175.
An Analytical Approach to People with Disabilities Mainstreaming Policies In Western and Arab Countries
Authors: Issa Abdou Safaa Mahmoud
Published: February 2025

The rise of the number of Individuals with disabilities, worldwide, to a billion, necessitates applying the policies that allow full participation in social life or Mainstreaming these Individuals. Western countries provide a good example in this respect and the choice of the United States and Sweden will be justified. As to Arab Countries, Egypt and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia reveal efforts to integrate this group into social life and Mainstream its members.
Research Tools to Study Vulnerable Populations; A Case of Designing Inclusive Spaces for Autism
Authors: Khare Rachna  , Mullick Abir
Published: February 2025

‘Reality to an autistic person is a confusing, interacting mass of events, people, places, sounds and sights. There seems to be no clear boundaries, order or meaning to anything. A large part of their life is spent just trying to work out the pattern behind everything’ [1]. Educational environments have failed to consider the needs for users with autism, and are unpredictable, fearful and unsafe for children affecting their performance. Regardless of its immense occurrence, it remains unnoticed by the architects and designers in building design guidelines and codes. Most environmental research projects have excluded autistic participants as their involvement is restricted by the code of research ethics involving humans (like Institutional Review Board (IRB) in the United States). Consequently, users with autism and their needs are not considered in the design of built environment. There is an urgent need to develop investigative tools that identify the needs children with autism and conduct environmental research that does not involve them to comply with the research ethics statute. The current study reports the use of newly developed research tools to develop design guidelines for universal access to educational spaces. No children, with autism or able bodied, were involved in the study; only teachers were involved and the environment was examined. First, ‘environmental design issues’ were identified. Then newly developed evaluating tools were implemented to examine behavioral issues in existing educational settings, and they were tested in inclusive and specialized institutions. The newly developed research tools address the impossibility of involving autistic children in environmental research. The tools have been successfully tested and the results offer important information that have the potential to influence building design, revise building codes, offer new design guidelines and develop inclusive built environments for children with autism and able bodied children.
A Study on the Natural Manipulation of Multi-touch Gestures for 3D Object Rotation Using a Large Touch Screen
Authors: Ku Chao-Jen  , Chen Li-Chieh
Published: February 2025

Providing the natural mapping between multi-touch gestures and digital content manipulations is an important factor of friendly user interfaces. Although, in the literature, there are some guidelines available for 2D digital content, the guideline for the manipulation of 3D contents is yet to be developed. In this research, two sets of gestures were developed for experiments. For comparative studies of age differences, 30 participants, including adults and children, were invited to carry out three tasks relevant to rotating the digital model of a green turtle to explore its features. The results showed that simpler gestures could facilitate the mapping between 2D control movements and 3D content displays, especially for children without intrinsic mental models of virtual contents manipulation. Although participants tended to visually observe the feedback angle of the contour and use the head of green turtle as a manipulation reference, it may not be easy to identify and manipulate the 3D object without a clear convex shape or image. In addition, offering a robust mechanism for gesture inputs is necessary for universal control of such a system. While manipulation, providing a synchronized mapping instruction for three axes rotation on screens is a useful 3D objects rotation solution for touch-screen design.
Universal design and standardisation – can user participation be standardized?
Authors: Brynn Rudolph
Published: February 2025

The background for this presentation is the adaptation of a new national standard for user participation in ICT in Norway in December 2013. The standard provides requirements for including user participation as a part of the different stages of the development process of ICT services and products. The article sets the content of the standard into a larger context of user participation theories, presents the role of standardisation as a tool for the objective of universal design both on national and European level, and presents some ideas about the practical use of a standard for user participation in the development processes in the field of ICT products and services, but also in other fields where inclusion of users' interests and viewpoints is relevant.
Universal design education in India; design challenge as design pedagogy
Authors: Khare Rachna  , Khare Ajay
Published: February 2025

In last decade the Universal Design education is being experimented by educators all over the world and people tried different ways to teach the concept. Though it has become a worldwide movement today but it has demonstrated limited acceptance amongst architecture, planning and design schools in India. There are no specialized courses on universal design in the country, this is perhaps because the benefits of designing in a more inclusive way are not immediately apparent and also because there are many other pressing issues that require attention. The Center for Human Centric Research (CHCR) housed in School of Planning and Architecture Bhopal organizes an annual National Student Design Competition on Universal Design (NSDC-UD) together with a Hands-on Workshop and Exhibition, to explore creative ways to offer universal design to the students of diverse design disciplines in the country. The center has organized three such events since 2010, and the next is scheduled in 2014. The events provide an intense and experiential universal design understanding to the students. For educators they provide an opportunity to explore design competition as a pedagogical tool to meet educational objectives that the center is striving to include in academic curricula. The paper presents this annual academic event in brief and summarizes the lessons learnt for the contextual aptness of universal design teaching and learning.
Using Elderly as Lead Users for Universal Engineering Design
Authors: Raviselvam Sujithra  , Noonan Meghann  , Hölttä-Otto Katja
Published: February 2025

A design that adheres to all users' needs, can help us generate universally designed products. While nothing is as thorough as active co-design with end users, other less resource intensive approaches are needed as well. We investigate the concept of lead users as a source for ideas on universal design. Specifically we investigate how elderly i.e. people over the age of 65, can act as lead users while designing for the general population. The main idea behind this is that, the elderly may be able to articulate more needs when compared to the general population and the outcome attained by addressing these needs would be preferred by all. We propose a combination of product function and human activity based approach. The elderly survey participants are asked to indicate tasks which they have difficulty completing and universal design rules are derived using those results. We then empirically test the rules by designing set of products based on those rules. The products are then evaluated by both the general population and the elderly. We find that, the products designed by fixing elderly as lead users are either preferred over or equally to the existing products also by the general population.
Which visual cues are important in way-finding? Measuring the influence of travel mode on visual memory for built environments
Authors: Afrooz Aida E.  , White David  , Neuman Michael
Published: February 2025

The visual appearance of the built environment provides navigational cues for travelers that might benefit the way-finding process. Therefore, when designing built environments it is important to consider how users will respond to the characteristics of the environment during way-finding. This study highlights the importance of travel mode in way-finding processes. We conducted an experiment where participants engaged in active and passive traveler modes were asked to navigate through a pre-defined study route on a university campus. We tested participants' visual memory for landmarks by presenting photographs on a computer screen in a scene recognition task. We also measured participants' eye movements to determine which features of the landmarks were encoded in memory. Our results show an interaction between travel mode and contextual landmarks used to recognize scenes from the visual environment. Specifically, active travelers show less reliance on buildings when recognizing visual scenes. The group of active travelers appeared to use non-building cues when recognizing scenes, suggesting that these aspects of the environment had been more strongly encoded in memory. Our results can help to inform inclusive design guidelines and strategies for designing buildings, open spaces, and computer-assisted guidance applications. Furthermore, this paper introduces and applies a novel method in urban design studies that can be used to measure way-finding performance, and to examine the interaction between visual cues and cognitive processes involved in this important task.
The missing link in implementation of universal design: the barrier between legislative framework and architectural practice
Authors: Ryhl Camilla
Published: February 2025

The research project ‘Universal Design in Architecture: a new strategy for implementation’ investigates the understanding of UD as a legislative and architectural concept as perceived from the point of view of the practicing architect. The project is based on theoretical studies of multisensory architecture and on qualitative interviews with 7 practicing architects from Norway and Denmark and case studies of their work.
Universal Design for Indian Public Transportation Systems
Authors: Raheja Gaurav  , Jaiswal Swapneel
Published: February 2025

Human diversity along with regional and cultural layers present immense challenges for Indian transportation systems. An equally diverse transit system continues to be an identity of mobility for masses in India since ages. Universal Design (UD) strategies with growing needs and awareness have started percolating in the Indian transport networks catalyzing inclusion as a process. This paper briefly discusses the advancing state of UD approach in Indian transportation systems. Through a stage wise evolution from policy framework to accessibility codes and guidelines and finally the implementation in the form of Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) like Delhi Metro and Bus Rapid Transit Systems (BRTS) in Ahmedabad, it makes an important highlight for nations with similar contexts to project UD strategies in their transportation systems.
Universal Design for Mass Pilgrimage ‘Kumbh’ at Ujjain, India – Berkeley Prize Teaching Fellowship 2013
Authors: Khare Rachna  , Khare Ajay
Published: February 2025

This short paper presents universal design studio conducted for undergraduate architecture students at School of Planning and Architecture, Bhopal, India. The studio was conducted under Berkeley Prize Teaching Fellowship-2013 with a theme of inclusive design. The objective of the studio was to identify the environmental challenges for diverse users visiting a historic pilgrimage in India, and provide contextual and inclusive solution for universal usability. This short paper includes the studio overview in brief, whereas the presentation would have few best examples of student designs.
Designing Universal Workspaces
Authors: Kar Gourab  , Mullick Abir
Published: February 2025

This paper describes a research and design project focused on investigating challenges of work in behind the counter (BhC) workspaces. Present designs of BhC workspaces do not accommodate needs of intended users; and exclude older adults and people-with-disabilities from employment possibilities. The project examined challenges of work in BhC workspaces for the working population in the United States. People-focused and environment-oriented research methods were employed to learn about needs and preferences of employees working in office reception, library checkout, hotel reception and airline check-in counters. A multimodal research methodology helped to map problems from different perspectives; identify user needs and preferences; and generate guidelines to inform design development of inclusive BhC workspaces. The resulting BhC workspace designs incorporate principles of universal design and enable employment opportunities for everyone.
Detecting and Identifying Deleterious Phases in Lean Duplex Stainless Steel
Authors: Areiza Maria C. Lopez  , Tavares Sergio S.  , Simão Renata A.  , Rebello João Marcos A.
Published: February 2025

Lean duplex stainless steels (LDSS) are used due their corrosion resistance and mechanical strength in aggressive environments. However, a drawback can be pointed out: exposition to temperatures in the range 300°C - 1000°C may lead to precipitation of some deleterious phase, such as sigma (σ). When this occurs, the material becomes brittle and its corrosion resistance is severely impaired. Past publications [1,2] showed how conventional eddy current tests (ECT) can be successfully applied to detecting and quantifying deleterious phases in duplex stainless steel (DSS). Due to the similarity of chemical composition and microstructure between these two steels, ECT will be applied to detect and quantify deleterious phases in LDSS. The results obtained in the present work showed to be promising for the understand of the LDSS material characterization, where a not linear behavior in the relationship between volumetric deleterious phases and ECT impedance plane phase angle is observed. Using a thoroughly magnetic force microscope (MFM) analysis of the samples studied, together with a kinetic precipitation model of secondary phases in DSS, it was possible to propose some explanation about these behavior [3].
PSO Based Techniques for NDT-ECT Inverse Problems
Authors: Duca Anton  , Rebican Mihai  , Janousek Ladislav  , Smetana Milan  , Strapacova Tatiana
Published: February 2025

This paper presents the efficiency of some algorithms based on Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) technique, such as Intelligent PSO and Discrete PSO, to solve a non-destructive eddy current (NDT-ECT) inverse problem. The inverse problem is formulated as an optimization problem, aiming to minimize the distance between the true 2D ECT signal, produced by the real crack and the simulated signal, produced by a potential solution (crack). The paper also presents some local search strategies to enhance the efficiency of PSO algorithms. The inversion schemes are compared in the three-dimensional reconstruction of partially conductive cracks, which have a uniform conductivity smaller than the conductivity of the base material and a cuboid shape.
Ferrite-Composite Sensors for Challenging Environmental Applications
Authors: Sláma Jozef  , Olah Vladimír  , Grusková Anna  , Šoka Martin  , Franek Jaroslav
Published: February 2025

The research on composite magnetic sensors must deal with magnetic, thermal and mechanical properties of ferrite filler in the selected dielectric matrix. This research was focused on properties of the mixture of Sr ferrite filler in the polymer (rubber) matrix. Basic questions of these properties of ferrite-rubber blends were solved. They have been studied for using them for measuring the elastic deformation of the body's surface. The example of the model of passive magnetic sensor is also presented and compared with an active magnetic one.
UNIVA: A University Open to the Community
Authors: Cánovas-Marmo Célica Esther  , Guerrero Ortiz Claudia  , Zamudio Victor
Published: February 2025

In this paper we present an educational model called University Open to the Community. This model is inspired on the social needs and context of our University and aims to align our research efforts toward social impact. Universidad del Valle de Atemajac Campus León is very closed to a zone where people has not all the opportunities they deserved; in fact, it has been found one of the poorest zones in the region. Research, lecturing and social impact should be aligned in order to get the synergy we need in order to have real impact in our community. This project is on an early stage, however we are sure our initiative will impact not only our students and lectures, but our region.
Home-based e-healthcare for elderly: Implications of demand, research and market
Authors: Kang Shiyong  , Shen Liping
Published: February 2025

The rapid development of sensing and communication technology is providing us a wide array of solutions that are related to home-based e-healthcare to support the health, safety and independence of older people. While these technologies bring us magnificent prospects, everything is still in its infancy when consumers' demand is unclear, researchers do not judge well among various technologies and marketplace is also too early to be defined. We must realize that it is not just an academic problem, but also is related to the demand and market. To better understand the perceptions from different stakeholders, implications of demand, research and market are discussed here.
Self-* Properties in Smart Environments: Requirements and Performance Metrics
Authors: Warriach Ehsan Ullah  , Ozcelebi Tanir  , Lukkien Johan J.
Published: February 2025

Self-management in smart environments increases dependability of applications, thereby decreasing maintenance costs thanks to the reduced need for user and expert intervention. We define what we call the “self-* properties” of a self-managing system, namely, self-healing, self-protection, self-awareness, self-organizing, self-synchronization and self-configuration, as well as a generic self-* process enabling these properties. We focus on the self-healing property and a scenario in this context, where the states of a smart environment application in a self-healing process as well as functional and non-functional system requirements are identified. Finally, we present metrics, allowing a quantitative evaluation of the proposed self-healing process.
Affordable Development of Animated Avatars for Conveying Emotion in Intelligent Environments
Authors: Sánchez J. Alfredo  , Starostenko Oleg  , Medina Paula  , Cervantes Ofelia  , Wan Wanggen
Published: February 2025

This paper presents an approach to the development of emotional avatars that is based on the use of widely available technologies, such as 3D modeling and animation software. We demonstrate the application of a simplified version of the Facial Action Coding System (FACS) to represent basic emotions (anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness and surprise) and build an experimental platform to explore how animation and various avatar traits may impact emotion representation and recognition. We experimented with subjects in Mexico and China. Our results show remarkable recognition levels for some prototypical emotions, particularly happiness, sadness and surprise. This is relevant for some intelligent environments in which detecting whether a user experiences a positive or negative emotion is helpful. Our results also show that animation is an important factor in conveying emotion. Finally, from observing subjects with very different cultural backgrounds (Mexico and China), we confirmed the universality of prototypical emotions and the wide applicability of our approach for emotion representation.
An XML data format for geotechnical data: AGSML4
Authors: Toll David G.  , O'Dea Jack
Published: February 2025

The paper proposes an XML data exchange format based on the UK AGS 4.0 data exchange format for site investigation data. The case is made for updating the existing AGS text based (CSV) format to XML. This allows opportunities for central control of versions of the data standard by reference to a centrally maintained XML schema. It also allows use of XML validation functions to ensure files conform to the agreed standard. Data structures and stylesheets have been developed for borehole data and field testing data. A simple structure was adopted that can be used for importing data into a spreadsheet if required.
A Web-based Digital Platform for Shield Tunnel Operation Management
Authors: Lin Xiaodong  , Li Xiaojun  , Zhu Hehua
Published: February 2025

Shield tunneling has become an attractive method in the development of underground space. In recent years, engineers have been faced with pressure to reduce tunnel maintenance fees. Thus, this paper presents a web-based digital platform as a management tool to manage, query and visualize shield tunnel operation data. First, a data standard involving monitoring, inspection and maintenance is proposed based on existing engineering data standards and shield tunnel projects. The data standard is needed to collect data and design the database. Then a web-based digital platform is developed based on WebGIS software and Web Service Technology. Users can obtain all the engineering information through this platform. A novel feature of this system is an ability to share, update and analyze data through the internet in a visual way. The functions implemented in the platform include monitoring point positioning, historical monitoring data queries, alarm monitoring, maintenance data queries and maintenance data analysis. A case study of the Shanghai Metro Line No. 13 is presented. Compared with traditional tunnel operation management system, the digital platform provides a more effective way to manage the massive data set.
Data Acquisition and Control Software for Automated Resistivity Measurements
Authors: Toll David G.  , Hassan Asem
Published: February 2025

Automated multi-electrode resistivity systems now allow rapid and efficient data acquisition of electrical resistivity measurements to address a wide range of hydrogeological, geotechnical and environmental problems. In this work, a flexible data acquisition and control software package has been developed to acquire resistivity data using configurable electrode arrangements. The user friendly and reliable acquisition software has been used to integrate the hardware and to control the resistivity data collection process. The user can remotely set the current and voltage; multiplex 64 electrodes interchangeably as current and voltage electrodes in a fully automated procedure to collect real-time resistivity data. The package developed has been tested using a wide range of high precision reference resistors and compacted clay soils, and the results have been correlated with those acquired with commercial standard instruments. The results demonstrate high precision, accuracy, and resolution of the collected data with a maximum error of 0.8%.
Evaluations of Initial Stress and Material Properties of Inhomogeneous Rock Mass by Using Back Analysis on Tunnel Excavation Analysis
Authors: Okazaki Yasuyuki  , Kumasaka Hiroo  , Shinji Masato
Published: February 2025

This study discusses the variation of the average Young's modulus arising out of the inhomogeneity of rock mass. Numerical analyses of tunnel excavation in the rock with statistically distributed inhomogeneous materials are carried out. The displacements of extensometer measurements during tunnel excavation on numerical simulation were collected. Back analysis by using extensometer measurements was then carried out. Young's modulus and initial stresses assuming a homogeneous rock mass by back analysis were compared with the average Young's modulus of the original numerical model. It was shown that the inhomogeneity of rock mass affects the area of excavation. The distribution of initial stress and material properties changed from initial parameters of numerical analysis. If the homogeneous size is less than 10% the diameter of tunnel, the inhomogeneous rock mass can be treated as an apparent homogeneous material.
An Overview of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Data Exchange
Authors: Bardet Jean-Pierre  , Liu Fang  , Mokarram Nazila  , Zand Amir
Published: February 2025

Data exchange, sometimes referred to as data interchange, is critical to make full use of the complex but valuable data from geotechnical and geoenvironmental engineering projects. Data exchange is not only about preserving data between source and target databases but also about building up meaningful data sets during projects. The paper identifies four major approaches for exchanging geotechnical and geoenvironmental data, namely the relational, XML, GIS/GML, and metadata approaches. It describes at a high level their main characteristics and differences and ponders on their respective advantages and disadvantages.
The Development and Governance of the AGS Format for Geotechnical Data
Authors: Bland Jackie  , Walthall Stephen  , Toll David
Published: February 2025

The AGS format is a digital data interchange format for the geotechnical community, consisting of a data dictionary, rules and the file format itself. The Association of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Specialists (AGS) in the UK set up a Working Party in 1991 to reduce the proliferation of data formats and establish a format to transfer data between systems. The AGS Format was first published in 1991 and has been updated and extended in response to industry requirements ever since. AGS3.1 which was published in Dec 2004 contains monitoring and instrumentation data. The latest version AGS4.0 contains a significant range of additional fields to cover the requirements of EC7, mainly for QA/QC purposes and has added a totally reworked environmental section. The AGS Format continues with an ASCII commas and quotes format although other file types have been studied and are being investigated for future versions. The format has been adopted world wide in the practising construction industry for Australasia, China and Singapore in the Far East, through India and the Gulf States in the Middle East, Eastern and Western Europe and is beginning to be used in the USA. The paper will discuss the origins of the format, its maintenance and continued changes and in particular the methodology used for governance and development.
Case study – The real life benefits of Geotechnical Building Information Modelling
Authors: Morin Gary  , Hassall Steve  , Chandler Roger
Published: February 2025

Is Building Information Modelling (BIM) a case of the emperor's new clothes or are there real benefits to it for the geotechnical industry? The basic premise of BIM is for organisations to collaborate and share information through the whole project, from initial conception, design, build and maintenance but what this translates to, how it is achieved and what the benefits are is not clear to a number of geotechnical consultants. This paper will explore what BIM means to the geotechnical industry by looking at real world examples of geotechnical involvement in BIM.
A Closed-loop PLM Model for Lifecycle Management of Complex Product
Authors: Guo Wei  , Zheng Qing  , Zuo Bin  , Shao Hong-yu
Published: February 2025

Complex Product has the characteristics of variety, long life cycle, difficult to verify design, strong target-oriented and dynamic, complex operating environment and status and so on. The existing PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) system can hardly effectively meet the demand of product designing, manufacturing services and MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul/Operation). The complex product lifecycle management model is therefore put forward. In this model, the maintenance closed-loop, operation closed-loop and design closed-loop combine to form an intelligent triple closed-loop PLM. Based on the data collected through a variety of sensors and information systems from different stages of the product life cycle, the model can be used to research the flow of data and feedback methods across the stages and organizations. By combing the data flow, the data feedback points is supposed to be found, which enable the product life cycle data being used circularly. The result is of important guiding significance to lifecycle management of complex product.
Model of Product Definition for Meeting the RoHS Directive
Authors: Ribeiro Dos Santos José Altair  , Borsato Milton
Published: February 2025

The development of sustainable products is a full growth area due to current legislation, mainly in Europe and the United States. Electronics products have increasingly short life cycles, which imposes the need to exchange information more dynamically, accurately and timely, for preventing failures in the survey, interpretation and application of information during the stage of product development, ensuring compliance to existing regulatory frameworks. Products need to be designed based on structured information. Capturing the desires and needs of customers and turning them into requirements and design details for the purpose of compliance to the RoHS regulatory framework is a complex task due to the multitude of information, not always correlated. Hypothetically, the use of a single definition model that captures a spatial, behavioral and procedural description of the product can help reduce the current waste of resources and quality assurance in the development process. The present work aims to develop a product definition model for meeting the RoHS directive. This is done by proposing a formal ontology that potentially promotes interoperability of information systems that are used throughout the production chain in the electronics industry. The model is under development and is to be checked for suitability in the context of the Brazilian electronics industry.
Knowledge Object – a Concept for Task Modelling Supporting Design Automation
Authors: Elgh Fredrik  , Johansson Joel
Published: February 2025

The ability to design and manufacture highly customer adapted products brings a competitive edge to manufacturing companies acting on a business-to-business market as suppliers to OEMs. A vital means for success in quotation and order preparation is advanced system support in design, process planning and cost estimation based upon the automation of engineering tasks. A design automation system encapsulates these tasks which are to be executed for specific customer specifications in a sequence specified either by a predefined order or resolved by an inference mechanism in run-time. Commonly, the development of a design automation system is an iterative process alternating between a top-down and a bottom-up approaches. An overall strategy is a necessity for successful system development, however, to successfully define the tasks, retrace all the necessary knowledge and to close gaps in both the tasks and the knowledge definitions require a complete and detailed understanding of the specific domain. In this paper, the concept of Knowledge Object is described together with examples of its use in both the development and system realization of design automation systems enabling product customization. The concept has shown to be useful for modelling of design processes, tasks, and engineering knowledge as well as in system development and realization. It also supports traceability and understanding by relations to other concepts describing associated requirements and design rational.
Word Segmentation Algorithm on Procedure Blueprint
Authors: Liu Jianbin  , Yao Duo  , Yao LiRui
Published: February 2025

Word segmentation plays a most important role in the semi-auto conversation process from logic structure to implementation structure. This paper is intended to design a segmentation method for Procedure Blueprint. And this design will be illustrated by the point of long words priority, reverses matching principle and characteristic of Chinese language center rear and the reduction of cross-shaped ambiguity. Meantime, based on the Procedure Blueprint and computer implementation, we are planning to improve the dictionary organization structure, the Segmentation method and the participle efficiency.
A Lean Manufacturing Implementation Strategy and Its Model for Numerical Control Job Shop under Single-piece and Small-batch Production Environment
Authors: Bai Ao  , Xia Ping  , Zeng Liang
Published: February 2025

Lean Manufacturing (LM) is an advanced manufacturing paradigm which aims at improving the efficiency of production, enhancing the quality of products whereas eliminating various kinds of waste and cost on shop floor. It is obvious that different manufacturing environment or mode needs different lean manufacturing implementation method. In this study, a LM implementation model for Numerical Control (NC) job shop under single-piece and small-batch production environment is proposed and constructed. With the detailed analysis for the characteristics and problems of modern NC job shop, a new and specific structure of LM system is presented. Based on this structure, a LM implementation model is established, this model is made up of problem analysis layer, information platform layer and system application layer. To support the model implementation, an operational procedure is further put forward. Finally, case study in a typical NC job shop from a part fabrication manufacturer is given out to validate the model's availability and possibility. Practical application shows that with the LM adoption and implementation model, the overall efficiency of NC job shop under single-piece and small-batch production environment can be profoundly promoted.