796 research outputs found
SVR-AMA: An asynchronous alternating minimization algorithm with Variance Reduction for Model Predictive Control applications
No full textThis paper focuses on the design of an asynchronous dual solver suitable for model predictive control (MPC) applications. The proposed solver relies on a state-of-the-art variance reduction (VR) scheme, previously used in the context of stochastic proximal gradient methods (Prox-SVRG), and on the alternating minimization algorithm (AMA). The resultant algorithm, a stochastic AMA with VR (SVR-AMA), shows geometric convergence (in the expectation) to a suboptimal solution of the MPC problem and, compared to other state-of-the-art dual asynchronous algorithms, allows one to tune the probability of the asynchronous updates to improve the quality of the estimates. Two novel accelerated versions of the Prox-SVRG (and, by duality, of SVR-AMA) are also provided. We apply the proposed algorithm to a specific class of splitting methods, that is, the decomposition along the length of the prediction horizon. Numerical results on the longitudinal control problem of an Airbus passenger aircraft show the benefits that we can gain in terms of computation time when using our proposed solver with an adaptive probability distribution.Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository 'You share, we take care!' - Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.Intelligent VehiclesTeam Tamas Keviczk
Empowering AMA
No full textThe dependence of the economy on fossil fuels and the lack of stringent policies to extensively implement renewable energy is an issue to be tackled at national level in the Netherlands. Reducing emissions, while making the shift to renewable energy and changing the existing energy systems towards a sustainable model has been discussed widely. This shift can only be possible with a strategic plan defining the role of all involved stakeholders. Spatially, we can prepare for this transition by creating conditions for this change to occur in the future. The concept of circularity can be used as a tool to analyze the spatial and economic implication of energy flows. This involves exploring synergies between the environment, economic and social conditions that contribute to the growth of the green energy economy. The project demonstrates this by proposing a strategic plan for the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area (AMA) to develop energy transition landscapes.Architecture and The Built Environmen
Food Island: Creating a Resilient Food System for the AMA
No full textGovernments and private and non-profit organisations from international to local levels have acknowledged the idea that more sustainable systems are required to reduce our ecological footprint (WWF, 2016, Jonkhoff, 2012). The food system is a very important aspect within our lives, socially as well as economically but it is also one of the most important causes of unsustainability. The Amsterdam Metropolitan Area (AMA), a key player within the global food sector, is also working to a more sustainable system with their focus on a circular economy. This research outlines the fact that in order to reach a more sustainable economy, there should also be an emphasis on resilience. In analyzing the region, there were several dependencies highlighted within the food system. Within the aspects of production, retail and end of life, each are dependent on a handful of controlling and dominating stakeholders as well as unsustainable and uncircular practices. Thus, there is a heavy emphasis on the food system needing to adapt and change to growing demands and trends. This led to our research question of, How can the food system become more resilient in the AMA to promote a sustainable circular economy? In our research, scenario planning and weather mapping were used to showcase and locate feasible opportunities for our goals and strategies within the AMA. The primary strategies to create resiliency within the food system were to decentralize, diversify and connect aspects related to various urban and agri-food trends. This project envisions a decentralized system that contains a dense network of diverse and independent stakeholders with localized sustainable projects. There is also an emphasis on creating smaller and shorter connections within the chain.This includes incorporating and empowering various smaller stakeholders and actors with positive incentives but also restricting dominating stakeholders with policies and regulations. In addition, through the creation of more transparency through integrated and multiscaled design solutions, this will increase awareness and promote healthy and sustainable practices within the system. Food island encourages a thriving circular economy that is resilient and thus more sustainable. Architecture, Urbanism and Building Sciences | Urbanis
Prescott AMA groundwater flow model update report : final report
No full textabstract: Groundwater resources of the Prescott AMA continue to be depleted on a regional basis, resulting in decreased groundwater storage in the aquifers of the area. In addition, natural groundwater discharge from the area has decreased with potential impacts on riparian areas and downstream users.Includes bibliographical references (p. 30-32)
The sustainability marketing canvas. Creating order from chaos
No full textPaper Title: The Sustainability Marketing Canvas: Creating order from disorder Abstract: Marketing has made questionable impact upon environmental, social and economic sustainability due to a conceptual and level-of-analysis fragmentation. Not only is this a barrier to theoretical development but perhaps, most importantly, for coherent, sustainable action. Considering the challenges our planet is facing because of climate change, resource scarcity and biodiversity to name a few, answers are desperately needed for firms and society to adjust course in production and consumption. Marketing as a discipline is uniquely poised in offering sustainability answers because of its broad reach. One way to do this is to marry notions of marketing sustainability with “normal” marketing in a decision-making tool. A Sustainability Marketing Canvas is introduced where the 7P’s are fused with the two P’s of the Triple Bottom Line to create order in this conceptual disorder. The canvas is explained in detail and a case is briefly presented using VAUDE GmbH & Co , a sustainable outdoor brand in Germany. (Author note: Until the AMA Summer Conference the SMC will be tested on a business unit at Hilti and will be included in this paper as a case instead of VAUDE. VAUDE is only now used as a place-marker and example of what to expect from the paper until summer.
AMA diffused: Reorganising the built environment in an emerging knowledge economy
No full textThe Amsterdam Metropolitan Area (AMA) is characterized by its strong performing economy and its high liveability standards, making the region an attractive place to live and work in. However, the AMA’s spatial structure and social geography have come under increased pressure. Unprecedented population growth as well as economic activity is concentrated within the AMA’s epicentre, and dichotomies in the social fabric are becoming more evident. Simultaneously, the region’s natural landscape is under threat due to fragmentation of green space, and an increase of the built-up environment, especially in Amsterdam. In order to relieve pressure from the AMA’s epicentre while preserving the original landscape, flows of working and living environments need to be redistributed, and new ways of arranging the local economy and the built environment need to be uncovered. To achieve this, this report suggests a more polycentric structure for the AMA, while also drawing upon the knowledge economy as an economic system that is more inclusive and may facilitate the dispersion of population and economic pressure on the region’s epicentre. In order to accommodate the AMA’s growing population, this report suggests the implementation of the ‘built environment as a service’, a more circular approach of utilizing (existing) space. Additionally, an in-depth analysis of Almere is presented in which location-specific strategies are articulated to make the region more economically competitive, resource-efficient, and liveable.AR2U086 R&D Studio – Spatial Strategies for the Global MetropolisArchitecture, Urbanism and Building Sciences | Urbanis
Selection of the AMA-1 Gene in Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax
No full textabstract: Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax are two of the main propagators of human malaria. Both species contain the protein, Apical Membrane Antigen 1 (AMA-1), which is involved in the process of host cell invasion. However, the high degree of polymorphisms and antigenic diversity in this protein has prevented consistent single-vaccine success. Furthermore, the three main domains within AMA-1 (Domains I, II, and III), possess variable polymorphic features and levels of diversity. Overcoming this issue may require an understanding of the type of selection acting on AMA-1 in P. falciparum and P. vivax. Therefore, this investigation aimed to determine the type of selection acting on the whole AMA-1 coding sequence and in each domain for P. falciparum and P. vivax. Population structure was investigated on a global scale and among individual countries. AMA-1 sequences were obtained from the National Center for Biotechnology. For P. falciparum, 649 complete and 382 partial sequences were obtained. For P. vivax, 395 sequences were obtained (370 partial). The AMA-1 gene in P. falciparum was found to possess high nonsynonymous polymorphisms and disproportionately low synonymous polymorphisms. Domain I was found to have the most diverse region with consistently high nonsynonymous substitutions across all countries. Large, positive, and significant Z-test scores indicated the presence of positive selection while FST and NST values showed low genetic differentiation across populations. Data trends for all analyses were relatively consistent for the global and country-based analyses. The only country to deviate was Venezuela, which was the only South American country analyzed. Network analyses did not show distinguishable groupings. For P. falciparum, it was concluded that positive diversifying selection was acting on the AMA-1 gene, particularly in Domain I. In AMA-1 of P. vivax, nonsynonymous and synonymous polymorphisms were relatively equal across all analyses. FST and NST values were high, indicating that countries were genetically distinct populations. Network analyses did not show distinguishable grouping; however, the data was limited to small sample sizes. From the data, it was concluded that AMA-1 in P. vivax was evolving neutrally, where selective pressures did not strongly encourage positive or purifying selection specifically. In addition, different AMA-1 P. vivax strains were genetically distinct and this genetic identity correlated with geographic region. Therefore, AMA-1 strains in P. falciparum and P. vivax not only evolve differently and undergo different form of selection, but they also require different vaccine development strategies. A combination of strain-specific vaccines along with preventative measures on an environmental level will likely be more effective than trying to achieve a single, comprehensive vaccine
GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE IN AMA ATTA AIDOO’S NO SWEETNESS HERE
No full textThe aim of this study is to offer a critical analysis of No Sweetness Here by Ama Atta Aidoo to identify forms of gender violence which is a violence intentionally perpetrated by husbands or male partners-people known to be intimate associates in the text. The feminist approach has been adopted as our theoretical framework. The text offers interesting representations of the complex ways in which female characters feature as gender abuse victims in situations where gender violence is prevalent. Descriptive analysis is the main method of data analysis in this study. The study revealed that the protagonist, Maami Ama suffered several forms of gender-based violence such as emotional, economic, marital, and social and discrimination in her matrimonial home. The author portrayed her as struggling against gender–based violence from her husband, her mother- in-law and sister-in-laws.
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Comparative Analysis of Japanese Folklore Ama No Hagoromo and Indonesian Folklore Jaka Tarub
No full textThis research focuses on the Comparative Analysis of Japanese Folklore Ama No Hagoromo and Indonesian Folklore Jaka Tarub. The author chose this title because the author is interested in Japanese folktales Ama No Hagoromo and Jaka Tarub which are two folktales that come from different countries, but have almost the same story structure. These two folktales have a similar theme, which tells the main character who is an ordinary young man, but gets a wife who is an angel from heaven. In the end, the young man had to lose his wife because his lie was known by his wife. This research method uses a qualitative method with a structural approach to find out the similarities and differences in themes, characters, settings, plot, and mandate contained in the two folktales. After conducting the analysis, the author will compare the intrinsic elements of the two stories using the comparative literature method. The results of this study show that there are similarities in the theme, namely both have a major theme, namely love at first sight and the minor theme is crime (stealing), in the characters, namely both have main characters and additional characters, in the plot, namely both have a forward plot, in the setting, namely both have a place setting and time setting, and in the mandate, namely both the message conveyed must be honest. The basic differences in the two folktales to be compared in local wisdom are in the Ama No Hagoromo folktale the angels who appear are eight while in the Jaaka Taarub folktale the angels who appear are seven, in the Ama No Hagoromo folktale the angel's shawl is white while in the Jaka Tarub folktale the angel's shawl is red. The conclusion of this research is that folktales are not only used as entertainment and are only seen as oral traditions of children's bedtime. However, it can try to understand the positive values obtained as learning in everyday life.127 PagesSkripsi Sarjan
Comparative Analysis of Japanese Folklore Ama No Hagoromo and Indonesian Folklore Jaka Tarub
No full textThis research focuses on the Comparative Analysis of Japanese Folklore Ama No Hagoromo and Indonesian Folklore Jaka Tarub. The author chose this title because the author is interested in Japanese folktales Ama No Hagoromo and Jaka Tarub which are two folktales that come from different countries, but have almost the same story structure. These two folktales have a similar theme, which tells the main character who is an ordinary young man, but gets a wife who is an angel from heaven. In the end, the young man had to lose his wife because his lie was known by his wife. This research method uses a qualitative method with a structural approach to find out the similarities and differences in themes, characters, settings, plot, and mandate contained in the two folktales. After conducting the analysis, the author will compare the intrinsic elements of the two stories using the comparative literature method. The results of this study show that there are similarities in the theme, namely both have a major theme, namely love at first sight and the minor theme is crime (stealing), in the characters, namely both have main characters and additional characters, in the plot, namely both have a forward plot, in the setting, namely both have a place setting and time setting, and in the mandate, namely both the message conveyed must be honest. The basic differences in the two folktales to be compared in local wisdom are in the Ama No Hagoromo folktale the angels who appear are eight while in the Jaaka Taarub folktale the angels who appear are seven, in the Ama No Hagoromo folktale the angel's shawl is white while in the Jaka Tarub folktale the angel's shawl is red. The conclusion of this research is that folktales are not only used as entertainment and are only seen as oral traditions of children's bedtime. However, it can try to understand the positive values obtained as learning in everyday life.127 PagesSkripsi Sarjan
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