scholarly journals Autonomously shaping natural climbing plants: a bio-hybrid approach

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (10) ◽  
pp. 180296 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mostafa Wahby ◽  
Mary Katherine Heinrich ◽  
Daniel Nicolas Hofstadler ◽  
Ewald Neufeld ◽  
Igor Kuksin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hybrid Approach ◽  
Internal Communication ◽  
Distributed Sensing ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Mechatronic System ◽  
Climbing Plants ◽  
Light Spectra ◽  
Self Organized ◽  
Building Components ◽  
Set Up

Plant growth is a self-organized process incorporating distributed sensing, internal communication and morphology dynamics. We develop a distributed mechatronic system that autonomously interacts with natural climbing plants, steering their behaviours to grow user-defined shapes and patterns. Investigating this bio-hybrid system paves the way towards the development of living adaptive structures and grown building components. In this new application domain, challenges include sensing, actuation and the combination of engineering methods and natural plants in the experimental set-up. By triggering behavioural responses in the plants through light spectra stimuli, we use static mechatronic nodes to grow climbing plants in a user-defined pattern at a two-dimensional plane. The experiments show successful growth over periods up to eight weeks. Results of the stimuli-guided experiments are substantially different from the control experiments. Key limitations are the number of repetitions performed and the scale of the systems tested. Recommended future research would investigate the use of similar bio-hybrids to connect construction elements and grow shapes of larger size.

The use of ICT by SMMEs in a Digital Economy: A case study in Buffalo City Metropolitan in South Africa [Abstract]

10.28945/4314 ◽  
2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Technology Acceptance ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Common Knowledge ◽  
Digital Economy ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Wealth Creation ◽  
Underdeveloped Areas ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Set Up

Aim/Purpose: The goal of this study is to advance understanding of ICT utilization by SMMEs by checking access, ability (in terms of technological skills) and usage of ICT among some SMMEs entrepreneurs operating their businesses in an underdeveloped areas to enhance their business activities in order to utilizes the digital opportunities 21st century digital economies present. Background: In today’s world no nation or region is untouched by the forces of globalization and digital economy. One of the key pioneering forces of globalization is the advances of ICT like internet, social networks, etc. In the sphere of business, this pioneering force has also altered the way businesses and organizations communicate and interact with customers and society at large. Such alternation presents obvious opportunities for wealth creation and growth for businesses and organizations that are well-equipped to take advantages of them. But for those that are less-equipped, particularly SMMEs, globalization can easily lead to fore-closures and marginalization. It is a common knowledge that SMMEs entrepreneurs mostly rely on ICT gadgets like mobile phone, Laptops, Tablets to conduct their business activities as many of them don’t have enough capital to set up offices with necessary equipment. Therefore, using various ICT functions/programs on these ICT devices to enhance their business activities are critical to their businesses in the 21st century digital economies. Methodology: Purposeful sampling was used to approach fifty-four SMMEs entrepreneurs operating their businesses in underdeveloped areas locally called Townships in Buffalo City Metropolitan. Microsoft excel was used in the descriptive statistics. Contribution: This research will add to the growing knowledge ICT usage in SMMEs in the 21st century digital economies. Findings: The results indicate that the participating SMMEs entrepreneurs need to be educated, trained and supported in the use of the ICT applicable to enhance their business activities in order for them to take advantages of 21st century digital economies present. Recommendations for Practitioners: The agencies tasked with looking after SMMEs in South Africa needs to consider the lacked of utilisation of ICTs by SMMEs entrepreneurs operating their businesses in underdeveloped areas as one of the barrier to growing of their businesses and take necessary steps to address it. Recommendation for Researchers: Since age and gender have been proven to be key-moderating variables in many technology acceptance models. There is a need to explore in depth whether the factors of gender and age also act as barriers. Impact on Society: The research will assist stakeholders, policy makers and agencies tasked with looking after SMMEs to identify the barriers hindering SMMEs to grow and address them accordingly. Future Research: More work needs to be done to check whether gender, age of the SMMEs entrepreneurs have some effects on their attitude towards the integration of ICT into their business activities.

scholarly journals Recommendation Systems for Education: Systematic Review

Electronics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (14) ◽  
pp. 1611
Author(s):  
María Cora Urdaneta-Ponte ◽  
Amaia Mendez-Zorrilla ◽  
Ibon Oleagordia-Ruiz
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Systematic Review ◽  
Formal Education ◽  
Research Work ◽  
Hybrid Approach ◽  
Recommendation Systems ◽  
Educational Resources ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Collaborative Approach ◽  
Developmental Approach

Recommendation systems have emerged as a response to overload in terms of increased amounts of information online, which has become a problem for users regarding the time spent on their search and the amount of information retrieved by it. In the field of recommendation systems in education, the relevance of recommended educational resources will improve the student’s learning process, and hence the importance of being able to suitably and reliably ensure relevant, useful information. The purpose of this systematic review is to analyze the work undertaken on recommendation systems that support educational practices with a view to acquiring information related to the type of education and areas dealt with, the developmental approach used, and the elements recommended, as well as being able to detect any gaps in this area for future research work. A systematic review was carried out that included 98 articles from a total of 2937 found in main databases (IEEE, ACM, Scopus and WoS), about which it was able to be established that most are geared towards recommending educational resources for users of formal education, in which the main approaches used in recommendation systems are the collaborative approach, the content-based approach, and the hybrid approach, with a tendency to use machine learning in the last two years. Finally, possible future areas of research and development in this field are presented.

scholarly journals Proof-of-PUF Enabled Blockchain: Concurrent Data and Device Security for Internet-of-Energy

Sensors ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 28
Author(s):  
Rameez Asif ◽  
Kinan Ghanem ◽  
James Irvine
Keyword(s):  
Hybrid Approach ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Data Provenance ◽  
Data Generation ◽  
Cyber Attack ◽  
Design Development ◽  
Seamless Integration ◽  
Device Identification ◽  
Physical Unclonable Functions ◽  
History Of

A detailed review on the technological aspects of Blockchain and Physical Unclonable Functions (PUFs) is presented in this article. It stipulates an emerging concept of Blockchain that integrates hardware security primitives via PUFs to solve bandwidth, integration, scalability, latency, and energy requirements for the Internet-of-Energy (IoE) systems. This hybrid approach, hereinafter termed as PUFChain, provides device and data provenance which records data origins, history of data generation and processing, and clone-proof device identification and authentication, thus possible to track the sources and reasons of any cyber attack. In addition to this, we review the key areas of design, development, and implementation, which will give us the insight on seamless integration with legacy IoE systems, reliability, cyber resilience, and future research challenges.

A Hybrid Approach to Computer-Aided Process Planning for Prismatic Parts

1994 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. F. Zhang ◽  
A. Y. C. Nee ◽  
J. Y. H. Fuh
Keyword(s):  
Process Planning ◽  
Hybrid Approach ◽  
Optimization Method ◽  
Optimal Operation ◽  
Operation Sequencing ◽  
Computer Aided Process Planning ◽  
Prismatic Parts ◽  
Minimum Number ◽  
Set Up

Abstract One of the most difficult tasks in automated process planning is the determination of operation sequencing. This paper describes a hybrid approach for identifying the optimal operation sequence of machining prismatic parts on a three-axis milling machining centre. In the proposed methodology, the operation sequencing is carried out in two levels of planning: set-up planning and operation planning. Various constraints on the precedence relationships between features are identified and rules and heuristics are created. Based on the precedence relationships between features, an optimization method is developed to find the optimal plan(s) with minimum number of set-ups in which the conflict between the feature precedence relationships and set-up sequence is avoided. For each set-up, an optimal feature machining sequence with minimum number of tool changes is also determined using a developed algorithm. The proposed system is still under development and the hybrid approach is partially implemented. An example is provided to demonstrate this approach.

scholarly journals Factors Influencing and Contributing to Perceived Safety of Passengers during Driverless Shuttle Rides

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 657-671
Author(s):  
Claudia Luger-Bazinger ◽  
Cornelia Zankl ◽  
Karin Klieber ◽  
Veronika Hornung-Prähauser ◽  
Karl Rehrl
Keyword(s):  
Autonomous Driving ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Natural Setting ◽  
Mixed Traffic ◽  
Control Room ◽  
Driving Style ◽  
Perceived Safety ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
Traffic Environment ◽  
Set Up

This study investigates the perceived safety of passengers while being on board of a driverless shuttle without a steward present. The aim of the study is to draw conclusions on factors that influence and contribute to perceived safety of passengers in driverless shuttles. For this, four different test rides were conducted, representing aspects that might challenge passengers’ perceived safety once driverless shuttles become part of public transport: passengers had to ride the shuttle on their own (without a steward present), had to interact with another passenger, and had to react to two different unexpected technical difficulties. Passengers were then asked what had influenced their perceived safety and what would contribute to it. Results show that perceived safety of passengers was high across all different test rides. The most important factors influencing the perceived safety of passengers were the shuttle’s driving style and passengers’ trust in the technology. The driving style was increasingly less important as the passengers gained experience with the driverless shuttle. Readily available contact with someone in a control room would significantly contribute to an increase in perceived safety while riding a driverless shuttle. For researchers, as well as technicians in the field of autonomous driving, our findings could inform the design and set-up of driverless shuttles in order to increase perceived safety; for example, how to signal passengers that there is always the possibility of contact to someone in a control room. Reacting to these concerns and challenges will further help to foster acceptance of AVs in society. Future research should explore our findings in an even more natural setting, e.g., a controlled mixed traffic environment.

scholarly journals “It Helps if You Think of Yourself as a Radio Presenter!” A Lefebvrian Commentary on the Concerns, Conflicts and Opportunities of Online Block Teaching

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-35
Author(s):  
Ben Harkin ◽  
Chrissi Nerantzi
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Hybrid Approach ◽  
Teaching Approach ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Student Dialogue ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Online Spaces

The COVID-19 pandemic has generated shifts in how higher education provision is offered. In one UK institution block teaching was introduced. This way of teaching and learning has brought new challenges and opportunities for staff and students. To date, little research or theoretical discussion has investigated how this hybrid approach or differences between tutors and student can arise in the use of online teaching spaces (OTS) within a block-teaching format. The present paper focuses on the institution-wide implementation of an online block-teaching model at Manchester Metropolitan University in the United Kingdom. With a specific emphasis on observations and reflections on the experiences of undergraduate students’ and staff by one of the authors from the Department of Psychology who employed an online block teaching approach (6 weeks) from the beginning of block 1 during the academic year 2020/21. We provide a novel methodological advancement of Lefebvre’s (1991) Trialectic of Space to discuss how students and tutors jointly produce and experience learning and teaching within an online block teaching approach. Pre-existing behavioural, cognitive and emotional experiences of using online spaces, contribute to the curriculum, student-tutor and student-student dialogue. We also highlight the importance of community within an online block teaching approach. Applications of the Lefebvrian model (1991) to present pedagogical approaches along with avenues of future research are considered.

Tweet, share, like? De rol van sociaalnetwerksites van sportverenigingen bij de ontwikkeling van het clubgevoel van leden

2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nanny Kuijsters-Timmers ◽  
John Goedee ◽  
Roger Leenders
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Social Network Sites ◽  
Internal Communication ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Sports Clubs ◽  
Significant Relationships ◽  
Sports Club ◽  
Practical Implications

Tweet, share, like? The role of social network sites at voluntary sports clubs in developing membership involvement The number of organizations that use social network sites (SNSs) for internal communication is growing rapidly. However, little is known about the use and perceptions of SNSs in member organizations, such as voluntary sports clubs (VSCs). In a survey, members of the Dutch VSCs (n = 129) were asked about their use and perceptions of their clubs’ social network sites (ClubSNSs) and aspects of involvement with their club. Foremost, ClubSNSs are characterized as informative, interactive, and entertaining channels, as indicated by significant relationships with the content types on ClubSNSs. Furthermore, content about sports, the club, and the members are important. Finally, ClubSNSs contribute to membership involvement through the identification of members with their sports club. The main contributions of this study are the insights into the use and perceptions of SNSs in member organizations, such as VSCs. Practical implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Geodetic benchmark displacement measurements following the 2020 Petrinja earthquake in Croatia

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Branko Kordić ◽  
Matija Vukovski ◽  
Marko Budić ◽  
Marko Špelić ◽  
Josip Barbača ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Field Research ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Postseismic Deformation ◽  
Vertical Displacements ◽  
Geodynamic Processes ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Deformation Area ◽  
Absolute Shift

<p>The earthquake with magnitude ML=6.2 that occurred on 29th December 2020 has caused significant material damage to objects and infrastructure in the towns of Petrinja, Sisak,Glina and the surrounding area. According to the satellite interferometry data, the coseismic and postseismic deformation area covers around 500 square kilometers. The existing geodetic benchmarks have been set in the affected towns, and their coordinates have been determined based on previous GPS campaigns. The GPS network was set up and adjusted at the State Geodetic Administration's request for geodetic monitoring of infrastructure and cadastral projects. These points are not primarily intended for high accuracy measurements at the level of a few millimeters, so their accuracy and the absolute shift concerning geodynamic processes in the region should be taken into account. Nevertheless, the data obtained by their observation after the earthquake can provide valuable information about the horizontal and vertical displacements with a certain level of confidence. The field survey has detected disappearance of a large number of benchmarks and some valuable information has been lost. Still, 58 points were found and observed and it has been concluded that 52 points are reliable and can be used for future research. Because the network of benchmarks is not developed in rural areas, there is a gap in the distribution of benchmarks in affected area. Therefore, the additional data was collected using the benchmarks established for the engineering and cadastral projects and studies. From a total of 67 points that have been found and observed, 42 points will be used. Along with the data collected in urban areas, there will be a total of 94 benchmarks. The accuracy of the geodetic benchmark measurements is at the centimeter level, while the values of deformation are at the level of a few decimeters. Therefore, the obtained data can be used to better assess the displacement recorded during the 29 December 2020 event. In the future, field research will focus on finding additional benchmarks to reach a better spatial distribution.</p>

The use of ICT by SMMEs in a Digital Economy: A case study in Buffalo City Metropolitan in South Africa

10.31355/74 ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 159-168
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Technology Acceptance ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Common Knowledge ◽  
Digital Economy ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Wealth Creation ◽  
Underdeveloped Areas ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Set Up

Aim/Purpose.................................................................................................................................................... The goal of this study is to advance understanding of ICT utilization by SMMEs by checking access, ability (in terms of technological skills) and usage of ICT among some SMMEs entrepreneurs operating their businesses in an underdeveloped areas to enhance their business activities in order to utilizes the digital opportunities 21st century digital economies present. Background........................................................................................................................................................ In today’s world, no nation or region is untouched by the forces of globalization and digital economy. One of the key pioneering forces of globalization is the advances of ICT like internet, social networks, etc. In the sphere of business, this pioneering force has also altered the way businesses and organizations communicate and interact with customers and society. Such alternation presents obvious opportunities for wealth creation and growth for businesses and organizations that are well equipped to take advantages of them. However, for those that are less-equipped, particularly SMMEs, globalization can easily lead to fore-closures and marginalization. It is a common knowledge that SMMEs entrepreneurs mostly rely on ICT gadgets like mobile phone, Laptops, Tablets to conduct their business activities as many of them do not have enough capital to set up offices with necessary equipment. Therefore, using various ICT functions/programs on these ICT devices to enhance their business activities are critical to their businesses in the 21st century digital economies. Methodology.................................................................................................................................................. Purposive sampling has been used to approach fifty-four SMMEs entrepreneurs operating their businesses in underdeveloped areas locally called Townships in Buffalo City Metropolitan. Microsoft excel was used in the descriptive statistics. Contribution............................................................................................................................................... This research will add to the growing knowledge ICT usage in SMMEs in the 21st century digital economies. Findings....................................................................................................................................................... The results indicate that the participating SMMEs entrepreneurs need to be educated, trained and supported in the use of the ICT applicable to enhance their business activities in order for them to take advantages of 21st century digital economies present. Recommendations for Practitioners .......................................................................................................... The agencies tasked with looking after SMMEs in South Africa needs to consider the lacked of utilization of ICTs by SMMEs entrepreneurs operating their businesses in underdeveloped areas as one of the barrier to growing of their businesses and take necessary steps to address it. Recommendation for Researchers ........................................................................................................... Since age and gender have been proven key-moderating variables in many technology acceptance models. There is a need to explore in depth whether the factors of gender and age also act as barriers. Impact on Society ....................................................................................................................................... The research will assist stakeholders, policy makers and agencies tasked with looking after SMMEs to identify the barriers hindering SMMEs to grow and address them accordingly. Future Research........................................................................................................................................... More work needs to be done to check whether gender, age of the SMMEs entrepreneurs have some effects on their attitude towards the integration of ICT into their business activities.

Recommendations for Policy, Practice, and Future Research Opportunities

2017 ◽  
pp. 108-126
Keyword(s):  
Market Failure ◽  
Third Sector ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Social Enterprises ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Research Opportunities ◽  
Policy Practice ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Sustainable Income

There is a wealth of reporting and evidence from research that small third sector social enterprises have a vital role to play not just in relation to service delivery, but also contribute to nurturing positive relationships, supporting vulnerable, disadvantaged groups and building stronger communities (Maher, 2015a; Seanor & Meaton, 2007; Smallbone & Lyon, 2004). Most small third sector social enterprises are set up because they have identified a gap in the market. Often, this has meant that there is either a public-service or private-market failure. In order to help these enterprises grow, policy makers need to tailor policy and support aiming to build capacity of these organisations in terms of the scale and volume of their activities; to enhance their contribution at local, regional and national levels. Organisations should advance their business management and procurement skills to enable the creation of sustainable income. This chapter makes recommendations for both policy and practices to help the development, growth, and sustainability of small third sector social enterprises and concludes by making suggestions for future research opportunities.

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