Bilingual Publishing Co. (BPC): E-Journals
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Landfill Site Suitability Assessment Using Geographic Information System (GIS) and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) in Butuan City, Philippines
No full textLandfilling is one of the most effective and responsible ways to dispose of municipal solid waste (MSW). Identifying landfill sites, however, is a challenging and complex undertaking because it depends on social, environmental, technical, economic, and legal issues. This study aims to map the optimal sites that were environmentally suitable for locating a landfill site in Butuan City, Philippines. With reference to the policy requirements from DENR Section I, Landfill Site Identification Criteria and Screening Guidelines of National Solid Waste Management Commission, the integration of a Geographic Information System (GIS) model builder and Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) has been used in this study to address the aforementioned challenges related to the landfill site suitability analysis. Based on the generated sanitary landfill suitability map, results showed that Barangay Tungao (1131.42967 ha) and Florida (518.48 ha) were able to meet and consider the three (3) main components, namely economic, environmental, and physical criteria, and are highly suitable as landfill site locations in Butuan City. It is recommended that there will conduct a geotechnical evaluation, involving rigorous geological and hydrogeological assessment employing a combination of site investigation and laboratory techniques. In addition, additional specific social, ecological, climatic, and economic factors need to be considered (i.e. including impact on humans, flora, fauna, soil, water, air, climate, and landscape)
Wavelet Transform Technique Applied to Satellite Image Denoising
No full textSatellite images either digital or analog must have certain elements that are accidentally introduced during the processing of capturing as a result of weather or system sensor known as electronic noise. However, several attempts and advances have been made by academicians, industries and intelligent security agencies to remove this noise. It has been a nagging problem in the area of computer vision, image processing and artificial intelligence to denoise satellite images and noise removal is among the significant components in satellite image analysis. The aim of this research work was to denoise the satellite image of Sambisa forest using the wavelet transform technique. Satellite images of Sambisa forest captured by Landsat satellite in 2007, 2013, 2014, 2019 and 2021 respectively with their associated Geo-referenced 11.2503° N Longitude and 13.4167° E Latitude were downloaded from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) website. The images are acquired as Zipped Geo-referenced Tagged Image File Format (GeoTIFF). Color Composite bands of natural colors (bands 2, 3 and 4) are combined using the ArcGIS software and RGB image were obtained. Wavelet transforms denoising technique was used to filter noise from the images, which was implemented using the wdenoise2() function in MATLAB 2021
A Study on Factors Influencing Cost Overrun in High-rise Building Construction across India
No full textCost overrun is common problem in construction projects worldwide. Most Indian construction projects, particularly those involving high-rise buildings, have had severe cost overruns. For managers, architects, engineers, and contractors, completing building projects within the specified cost budget has become the most important and hard assignment. Since it is common for high-rise building projects to go over budget, the aim of this study is to find out the causes of cost overruns and provide effective measures. The study found 70 cost overrun factors based on a comprehensive literature review and expert opinions. A Google form questionnaire was distributed to 150 construction professionals across India. After following up, 101 of the 150 responses were received. A five-point Likert scale was used and the acquired data was analyzed and ranked using the Relative Importance Index (RII) technique. According to the findings of RII, the top ten critical factors influencing cost overruns were frequent change orders during construction by the owner, delay in construction, escalation of material prices, market inflation or deflation, rework, frequent changes in design, inaccurate evaluation of the project timeline, unforeseen ground condition, inaccurate quantity take-off, and delay in progressive payment by the owner. Spearman’s rank correlation test revealed that there is a very significant relationship between the rankings of factors provided by the owner, the consultant, and the contractor. In addition, a factor analysis tool in the SPSS software was also used to categorize the seventy factors into sixteen core components. The top ten critical factors were presented to subject matter experts, and their suggestions were being compiled. These results are expected to help construction professionals minimize cost overruns, improve cost control measures, and initiate future research
Numerical Solution for Thermal Elastohydrodynamic Lubrication of Line Contact with Couple Stress Fluid as Lubricant
No full textIn this paper, the detail analysis of the influence of thermal and non-Newtonian aspects of lubricant (couple stress fluid) on EHL line contact as a function of slide-roll ratio is presented. The novel low complexity FAS(Full approximation scheme), of Multigrid scheme, with Jacobi dipole and Gauss Seidel relaxationis used for the solution of coupled equations viz.modified Reynolds equation, film thickness equation and energy equation satisfying appropriate boundary conditions. The analysis reveals the combined influence of non-Newtonian, thermal and slide-roll ratio (of bearing movingwith different speeds) on pressure, film thickness and pressure spike covering wide range of physical parameters of interest. Results show that pressure spike is strongly influenced by thermal, slide-roll ratio and non-Newtonian character of lubricant with negligible effect on overall pressure distribution. Also, minimum film thickness is slightly altered and it increases with increase in couple stress parameter. These findings confirm the importance of non-Newtonian and thermal effects in the study of EHL
Restoration Planning of Mining Wastelands : A Case Study
No full textMining plays an important role in the economic development of a country. But the consequences of the mining can be seen in the form of degradation of soil, water, and native vegetation, which ultimately results in the disturbance of the local ecosystem. The ecological restoration of such disturbed ecosystems involves the reclamation of soil, conservation of water, erosion control, and re-vegetation of native vegetation. This can be achieved by improving the physical properties of soil, enhancing the nutrient status of soil, selecting appropriate plant species for re-vegetation, providing provision of irrigation facilities for re-vegetated mining wasteland, and so on. The present study was conducted in the Kota district of Rajasthan, where stone mining is one of the major industrial activities. The paper provides a scientific assessment of the existing vegetation of limestone mining wastelands through field surveys and physicochemical analysis of soil and water. Loss of natural vegetation and excessive stoniness of the substratum were major hurdles that restrict the easy recovery of vegetation on mining wastelands but there is almost no negative impact on the water quality. The study summarizes the holistic technology including the vegetational approach to the restoration of mining wastelands and puts forward some existing problems and their solutions
The Powerful Role of Mothers in Adolescent Purpose Development
No full textAdolescence is a critical time for the cultivation of life purpose, also known as a meaningful long-term aim focused on contribution to others. Youth with purpose, especially marginalized youth, report a number of positive outcomes. Relationships with caring adults appear to be particularly helpful in guiding young people on their path to purpose, but little work has focused specifically on the role of mothers. This qualitative study, approved by a Institutional Review Board, examines how twenty adolescents from marginalized communities describe their sense of purpose and its relationship to their caregivers. The sample size was determined based on saturation, a process in qualitative research when the researchers begin to observe redundancy in the data. Through content analysis, a major theme emerged: the role of mothers and their impact on purpose development on their children. Results showed that mothers helped their adolescents develop their sense of purpose through serving as a sense of inspiration, providing the adolescents with support, sparking a desire for the adolescents to make their mothers proud, and through the mothers and adolescents in engaging in conversations about one’s future
Do They Pose a Danger: Evaluation of the Recidivism Characteristics in China’s Community Corrections?
No full textThe modern criminal justice system includes community corrections, which play a preventive role in lowering recidivism among offenders. However, some offenders continue to commit crimes during community corrections. This research focuses on community corrections in Chinese community policing practice, particularly offender recidivism. The study collected a total of 500 questionnaires from offenders in the provincial administrative regions of northern China, which included first offense status, psychological status, and recidivism behavior. The study found that most recidivists are usually arrested for “drunk driving”, which may be related to their ability to exercise self-restraint, and that alcohol may contribute to their deviant behavior. Another important finding relates to young recidivists, who may have difficulty securing employment during community corrections and thus use crime again to gain income. In general, this study explores the offender population in Chinese community corrections practice and discusses the factors within it that influence offender recidivism. This may support law enforcement agencies in further evaluating the effectiveness of community corrections, and may provide new information for understanding community corrections in China
Monitoring and Quantification of Carbon Dioxide Emissions and Impact of Sea Surface Temperature on Marine Ecosystems as Climate Change Indicators in the Niger Delta Using Geospatial Technology
No full textThe Niger Delta marine environment has experienced a series of environmental disasters since the inception of oil and gas exploration, which can be attributed to climate change. Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and sea surface temperature (T) ties associated with burning fossil fuels, such as gas flaring, vehicular traffic, and marine vessel movement along the sea, are increasing. Using data extracted from the NASA Giovanni satellite’s Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), this study mapped the carbon footprint and T along the coastline into the deep sea from 2003 to 2011, using ArcGIS software. The spatial distribution of CO2 and T concentrations determined by the inverse distance weighting (IDW) method reveals variations in the study area. The results show an increase in the quantity of the mean tropospheric CO2 from July 2003 to December 2011, from 374.5129 ppm to 390.7831 ppm annual CO2 emissions, which also reflects a continuous increase. The average Monthly sea surface temperature had a general increasing trend from 25.79 °C in July 2003 to 27.8 °C in December, with the Pearson correlation coefficient between CO2 and T indicating 50% strongly positive, 20% strongly negative, 20% weakly positive,and 10% weakly negative. CO2 levels, like temperature, follow a seasonal cycle, with a decrease during the wet season due to precipitation dissolving and plant uptake during the growing season, and then a rise during the dry season. Carbon capture and storage technologies must be implemented to benefit the marine ecosystem and human well-being
Best Practices in Construction 4.0 – Catalysts of digital innovations (Part I)
No full textDigital transformation in the AEC industry (Architecture, Engineering and Construction) is a key driver to enhance technical innovation in the branch and adds dynamic to all work processes and methods. A more differentiated understanding of the responsible use of innovative technologies aims not only towards increased sustainability and more efficient building life cycles but also recognizing the unintended effects such as artificial intelligence (AI). The study is part of a larger primary research on Corporate Digital Responsibility (CDR) in Construction 4.0; this identifies, analyzes and systematically evaluates key factors of a sustainable digital transformation, especially in the traditionally small-scale Construction Industry - one in which there can be no standardized procedure. The study uses interdisciplinary literature and data research and expert interviews. The qualitative method enables a critical-reflexive analysis of the key factors of a meaningful and sustainable implementation of innovative technologies in Construction. Application examples show possible approaches - some of which are implemented as prototypes - and provide guidance for small to medium-sized companies. The study outlines the necessary steps for companies to define their own potential fields of application and find suitable methods. Another aim of the study is to take stock of the acceptance of new technologies by comparing different perspectives from experts. The study results show new perspectives in the transformation of the Construction Industry. They show that Digital Transformation in Construction 4.0 has great potential for an economical, efficient construction life cycle, but requires the responsible, sensible use of innovative technologies
