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Cost efficiency optimization for industrial automation
No full textThis chapter aims at shedding light on low power technologies as the key enablers for industrial automation. It discusses the different types of costs involved in harsh industrial environments, with a focus on the damage penalty and battery replenishment costs for the sensor motes deployed across the production line. It analyses the reciprocal relationship and trade-off analysis for these costs to suggest some optimization strategies for ultimate production efficiency. The chapter presents an overview of the aforementioned low energy networking protocols and highlights the key technologies and the results of long range wide area networks evaluation. Energy harvested from renewable energy sources, available in the industrial environment, can dramatically play its role to improve both performance and production efficiency in industry 4.0. Harvesting sources available in the industry are considered to demonstrate the huge cost savings and the great impact of the availability of this surplus energy on the industrial cost optimization process
‘The care that you give to yourself’: a qualitative study exploring patients' perceptions of self-care
Get PDFIntroduction
Self-care incorporates a range of activities undertaken by patients including health protection and maintenance, treatment of minor ailments and the self-management of chronic conditions.. The present study aimed to explore patients’ perceptions of self-care, including factors which might promote, or hinder, patients' engagement with self-care strategies.
Methods
A qualitative approach was adopted. A sample of 20 patients with chronic conditions participated in the study. Seventeen interviews and one focus group were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Transcripts were analysed thematically using Framework methodology.
Results
Participants identified five dimensions to the concept of self-care (1) taking responsibility for one's health and lifestyle choices, (2) reflecting on own needs, (3) being an expert of oneself, (4) doing things for oneself (self-agency), and (5) adopting lifestyle activities to support health and wellbeing. Participants identified a number of factors which had facilitated the initiation of their self-care activities. These included having accurate advice/information to inform decision making; having encouragement from treating healthcare professionals; having the right attitude and outlook; and having the motivation to initiate self-care. Factors which could hinder the initiation of self-care included symptoms of their chronic condition, and socioeconomic, cultural, and environmental factors.
Conclusions
Patients appear to have a complex and multifaceted understanding of self-care. The identified factors which facilitated or hindered participants in adopting self-care activities have important implications for the provision of self-care advice by treating health care workers, and the delivery of self-care services more widely
Sonic necessity and compositional invention in #BluesHop: composing the blues for sample-based hip hop
Get PDFRap, the musical element of Hip-Hop culture, has depended upon the recorded past to shape its birth, present and, potentially, its future. Founded upon a sample-based methodology, the style’s perceived authenticity and sonic impact are largely attributed to the use of phonographic records, and the unique conditions offered by composition within a sampling context. Yet, while the dependence on pre-existing recordings challenges traditional notions of authorship, it also results in unavoidable legal and financial implications for sampling composers who, increasingly, seek alternative ways to infuse the sample-based method with authentic content. But what are the challenges inherent in attempting to compose new material—inspired by traditional forms—while adhering to Rap’s unique sonic rationale, aesthetics and methodology? How does composing within a stylistic frame rooted in the past (i.e. the Blues) differ under the pursuit of contemporary sonics and methodological preferences (i.e. Hip-Hop’s sample-based process)? And what are the dynamics of this inter-stylistic synthesis? The article argues that in pursuing specific, stylistically determined sonic objectives, sample-based production facilitates an interactive typology of unique conditions for the composition, appropriation, and divergence of traditional musical forms, incubating era-defying genres that leverage the dynamics of this interaction. The musicological inquiry utilizes (auto)ethnography reflecting on professional creative practice, in order to investigate compositional problematics specific to the applied Blues-Hop context, theorize on the nature of inter-stylistic composition, and consider the effects of electronic mediation on genre transformation and stylistic morphing
Internet use
No full textChildren’s use of the internet has been increasing tremendously in the past decade. Prevalence rates of children’s online time, devices and activities are outlined. Some insight is offered into digital divides by geographic region and socioeconomic circumstances. A typology of online opportunities and risks for children is presented, followed by a brief discussion of online risks, concluding with theoretical models proposing approaches to identify risk and resilience factors with regards to children’s internet use
Estimating reservoir permeability with borehole radar
No full textIn oil drilling, mud filtrate penetrates into porous formations and alters the compositions and properties of the pore fluids. This disturbs the logging signals and brings errors to reservoir evaluation. Drilling and logging engineers therefore deem mud invasion as undesired and attempt to eliminate its adverse effects. However, the mud-contaminated formation carries valuable information, notably with regard to its hydraulic properties. Typically, the invasion depth critically depends on the formation porosity and permeability. Therefore, if adequately characterized, mud invasion effects could be used for reservoir evaluation. To pursue this objective, we have applied borehole radar to measure mud invasion depth considering its high radial spatial resolution compared with conventional logging tools, which then allows us to estimate the reservoir permeability based on the acquired invasion depth. We investigate the feasibility of this strategy numerically through coupled electromagnetic and fluid modeling in an oil-bearing layer drilled using freshwater-based mud. Time-lapse logging is simulated to extract the signals reflected from the invasion front, and a dual-offset downhole antenna mode enables time-to-depth conversion to determine the invasion depth. Based on drilling, coring, and logging data, a quantitative interpretation chart is established, mapping the porosity, permeability, and initial water saturation into the invasion depth. The estimated permeability is in a good agreement with the actual formation permeability. Our results therefore suggest that borehole radar has significant potential to estimate permeability through mud invasion effects
An enhanced data processing framework for mapping tree root systems using ground penetrating radar
Get PDFThe preservation of natural assets is nowadays an essential commitment. In this regard, root systems are endangered by fungal diseases which can undermine the health and stability of trees. Within this framework, Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) is emerging as a reliable non-destructive method for root investigation. A coherent GPR-based root-detection framework is presented in this paper. The proposed methodology is a multi-stage data analysis system that is applied to semi-circular measurements collected around the investigated tree. In the first step, the raw data are processed by applying several standard and advanced signal processing techniques, to reduce noise-related information. In the second stage, the presence of any discontinuity element within the survey area is investigated by analysing the signal reflectivity. Then, a tracking algorithm aimed at identifying patterns compatible with tree roots is implemented. Finally, the mass density of roots is estimated by means of continuous functions, to achieve a more realistic representation of the root paths and to identify their length in a continuous and more realistic domain. The method was validated in a case study in London (UK), where the root system of a real tree was surveyed using GPR and a soil test pit was excavated for validation purposes. Results support the feasibility of the data processing framework implemented in this study
Familial and socio-cultural barriers in maintaining tobacco-free homes in Bangladesh: a comparative cross-sectional study
Get PDFObjectives: Children, pregnant women and the elderly at a global level are all being dangerously exposed to tobacco use in the household (HH). However, there is no understanding of the familial and socio-cultural factors that provide barriers to ensuring tobacco-free homes in Bangladesh either in urban or rural areas (U&RAs). This study therefore investigates those barriers to help enable a move towards tobacco free homes in Bangladesh.
Design: Comparative cross-sectional study.
Settings: Data were collected from both urban and rural settings in Bangladesh.
Participants: A probability proportional sampling procedure was used to select 808 participants in U&RAs out of a total of 3,715 tobacco users.
Results: The prevalence of tobacco use at home was 25.7% in urban areas and 47.6% in rural areas. In urban areas: marital status (AOR=3.23, 95%CI=1.37-6.61), education (AOR=2.14, 95%CI=1.15-3.99), the smoking habits of elderly family members (AOR=1.81, 95%CI=0.91-2.89), offering tobacco as a traditional form of leisure activity at home (AOR=1.85, 95%CI=.94-2.95), and lack of religious practices (AOR=2.39, 95%CI=1.27-4.54) were identified as significant socio-cultural predictors associated with tobacco use at home. In rural areas: age (AOR=5.11, 95%CI=2.03-12.83), extended family (AOR=3.08, 95%CI=1.28-7.38), lack of religious practices (AOR=4.23, 95%CI=2.32-7.72), using children to buy or carry tobacco (AOR=3.33, 95%CI=1.11-9.99), lack of family guidance (AOR=4.27, 95%CI=2.45-41 7.42), and offering tobacco as a traditional form of leisure activity at home (AOR=3.81, 95%CI=2.23-6.47) were identified as significant determinants for tobacco use at home.
Conclusion: This study concludes that socio-cultural traditions and familial norms in Bangladesh provide significant barriers for enabling tobacco-free homes. The identification of these barriers can aid policy makers and programme planners in Bangladesh in devising appropriate measures to mitigate the deadly consequences of tobacco use in the home. The consequences also include the dangers involved in family members being exposed to second48 hand smoke
On the use of lateral wave for the interlayer debonding detecting in an asphalt airport pavement using a multistatic GPR system
Get PDFIn this paper, we focus on the detection of the interlayer debonding of the asphalt airport pavement by the Ground-penetrating Radar (GPR) system. Since the interlayer debonding usually occurs in the shallow region of the asphalt airport pavement (several centimeters), it is difficult to interpret the anomalies or the defects from the GPR signals composed of many waves under the boundary conditions. Moreover, the wavelength of the ordinary GPR system is over several centimeters. Therefore, the spatial resolution of the system is not accurate enough to consider the millimeter thickness of the debonding layer. To overcome these problems, we propose a new method based on evaluating the lateral wave behavior of common midpoint (CMP) gathers collected by a multiple static GPR system. The multi-static GPR system is a stepped frequency continuous wave (SFCW) radar system, which consists of 8 transmitting and 8 receiving bowtie antennas. The system operates in the frequency range from 50 MHz to 1.5 GHz. After the validation of the simulation, the results of the interlayer debonding detection were evaluated by a field experiment obtained at Tokyo International Airport. The proposed method can detect the debonding layers which are less than 1mm. Also, it is shown that our proposed method has a high consistency with the conventional acoustic finding method in the field measurement. It provides an innovative and effective method for the interlayer debonding detection of a partially damaged airport asphalt pavement, which is difficult to be observed by the ordinary GPR signals
A waste of science? The case for depositing undergraduate psychology dissertation research in institutional repositories
Get PDFThe following paper makes the case for a recommended practice of depositing undergraduate student dissertations into Higher Education Institute (HEI) institutional research repositories. In discussing this, the reasons for doing so, and a comprehensive discussion of the benefits and challenges (motivationally, logistically and ethically) for the Discipline, Students and Supervisors are highlighted, along with ways in which the challenges may be addressed. Guidelines to simplify, and therefore encourage, greater rates of submission of undergraduate dissertation research into institutional research repositories are noted, along with the potential consequences for the Research Excellence Framework and Teaching Excellence Framework exercises. It is the author’s hope that this paper will stimulate further discussion of this idea, including bringing to light considerations not addressed here
Developing the digital business readiness assessment framework (DBRAF) for fashion retail SMEs in Lagos, Nigeria
Get PDFThe adoption and use of digital technologies have been a growing area of research focus in recent years. Despite the popularity in developed countries, digital technology adoption amongst SMEs in developing countries, e.g. Nigeria, is still relatively low. Such low adoption hinders the digital transformation of SMEs in the developing countries, and the low level of adoption is often the result of the low level of digital business readiness. Therefore, this paper proposes the digital business readiness assessment framework (DBRAF) based on Socio-Technical Systems (STS), Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2), Organisational Semiotics (OS) and Enterprise Architecture (EA). The DBRAF is designed to understand and examine the enablers and barriers of digital business adoption for SMEs in developing countries. A pilot study, based on a pilot study in fashion retail SMEs in Lagos, was conducted to test the validity of the proposed framework. The DBRAF aims to assist fashion retail SMEs to identify the specific areas that they need to address in order to reach the desired level of digital business readiness