A Measurement Tool for the Assessment of Farmers’ Perception about Impact of Changing Climate on Agriculture in India

Changing climate is a serious environmental problem affecting agricultural productivity at global level. It is important to study the perceptions of farmers’ towards changing climate and its impact on agriculture as it is one of the strong interpreters of changing farmers’ behaviour to mitigate climate change and adopt adequate and appropriate measures to ensure agricultural production. For the construction of the scale to measure the farmers’ perception, summating rating method suggested by Likart (1932) was followed. Based on review of literature 79 statements were enlisted initially and 21 statements were finalized for the final construction of the scale. The reliability and validity of the scale was calculated to find out the precision and consistency of the results. This scale will be helpful for interested policy makers, academicians and researchers who willing to study the farmers’ perceptions about climate change and its impact on agriculture.

Using stated preference methods to inform public health decision making

Croatia has recognised the importance of prevention programmes in the field of public health, although their effectiveness is not satisfactory due to the low population response, which has a negative impact on the rationalisation of public spending. One of the possible solutions is to consider the stated preferences of the target population. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to evaluate the use of stated preference methods in improving public health prevention programmes. For the purpose of the study, a questionnaire was designed using three different methods - Discrete Choice Experiment (DCE), Contingent Rating method (CR) and Best-Worst Scaling method (BWS). This study shows that the attributes of the Croatian cervical cancer screening programme are significantly associated with the respondents' utility level, which in turn is related to women's response. Since BWS, DCE, and CR measure the same construct - utility - we can say that convergent validity partially confirms the external validity of the methods. The author concludes that it is necessary to implement market principles, i.e. the demand-side analysis using stated preference methods, in the planning, implementation and re-evaluation of public health programmes.

Analysis of large-scale UHF-RFID use-cases utilizing full-wave simulation techniques

UHF-RFID is a mature and widespread technology that has the potential to increase the reliability and efficiency of processes in logistics and production environments. However, complex interference effects in indoor environments pose challenges to the implementation of reliable wireless communication systems like RFID. This work proposes a method for tag performance evaluation utilizing a coherent two-stage rating process. This enables the abstraction of physical quantities and facilitates the interpretation of tag readability. For this purpose, two well-established full-wave techniques are utilized to perform deterministic simulations of a logistical UHF-RFID use-case. The setup of large-scale simulation environments is discussed and important quantities to be considered in RFID-systems are derived. Based on the simulation results and the proposed rating method, the RFID use-case is evaluated. Results are visualized in full-3D, facilitating the identification of critical spots. Furthermore, a subsequent cross-validation of the simulation results is performed, verifying the validity of the simulation results. By performing a priori propagation analysis, issues can effectively be revealed beforehand and costly modifications after system deployment can be avoided.

Intelligent rating method of tunnel surrounding rock based on one-dimensional convolutional neural network

Accurate prediction of surrounding rock grades holds great significance to tunnel construction. This paper proposed an intelligent classification method for surrounding rocks based on one-dimensional convolutional neural networks (1D CNNs). Six indicators collected in some tunnel construction sites are considered, and the degree of linear correlation between these indicators has been analyzed. The improved one-hot encoding method is put forward for transforming these non-image indicators into one-dimensional structural data and avoiding the sampling error in the indicators of surrounding rock collected in the field. We found that the 1D CNNs model based on the improved one-hot encoding method can best extract the features of surrounding rock classification indicators (in terms of both accuracy and efficiency). We applied the well-trained classification model of tunnel surrounding rock to a series of expressway tunnels in China, and the results show that our model could accurately predict the surrounding rock grade and has great application value in the construction of tunnel engineering. It provides a new research idea for the prediction of surrounding rock grades in tunnel engineering.

The cognitive comparison enhanced hierarchical clustering

The growth of online shopping is rapidly changing the buying behaviour of consumers. Today, there are challenges facing buyers in the selection of a preferred item from the numerous choices available in the market. To improve the consumer online shopping experience, recommender systems have been developed to reduce the information overload. In this paper, a cognitive comparison-enhanced hierarchical clustering (CCEHC) system is proposed to provide personalised product recommendations based on user preferences. A novel rating method, cognitive comparison rating (CCR), is applied to weigh the product attributes and measure the categorical scales of attributes according to expert knowledge and user preferences. Hierarchical clustering is used to cluster the products into different preference categories. The CCEHC model can be used to rank and cluster product data with the input of user preferences and produce reliable customised recommendations for the users. To demonstrate the advantages of the proposed model, the CCR method is compared with the rating approach of the analytic hierarchy process. Two recommendation cases are demonstrated in this paper with two datasets, one collected by this research for laptop recommendation and the other an open dataset for workstation recommendation. The simulation results demonstrate that the proposed system is feasible for providing personalised recommendations. The significance of this research is the provision of a recommendation solution that does not depend on historical purchase records; rather, one wherein the users’ rating preferences and expert knowledge, both of which are measured by CCR, is considered. The proposed CCEHC model could be further applied to other types of similar recommendation cases such as music, books, and movies.

Research equity: Incentivizing high-risk basic research with market mechanisms

Innovation in basic research is vital to scientific progress and technological development; however, such research finds insufficient support in the current research environment. To stimulate high-risk, high-reward basic research, this paper proposes a “research equity” funding model in which funders—such as government agencies and philanthropies—would pay researchers and institutions for completed research: The more valuable the research, the greater the reward. The valuation of completed research could be done with a novel “chess rating” method: A peer reviewer would be presented with a pair of research papers and would decide which of the two is of greater value, and a large number of comparisons would produce a numerical rating to inform payment. Payment based on research value would enable many of the qualities found in healthy markets. Initial capital for basic research would be provided by research institutions, which would be financially incentivized to invest in a diverse body of basic research that includes both low-risk, conservative research and high-risk, innovative research. Institutions would be motivated to demonstrate the value of completed research in their portfolios, which may accelerate recognition of important results. By motivating researchers and institutions to produce and promote valuable research, the research equity model could stimulate more rapid scientific discovery and progress. Notably, the research equity model could coexist with grant funding.

LABOR PRODUCTIVITY RATING MODEL FOR LIGHT BRICK WALL INSTALLATION IN RESIDENTIAL PROJECTS

<p>Management on a construction project is something that cannot be ignored, because without construction management a project will be difficult to run according to expectations in the form of cost, time, quality and the success or failure of a construction project depends on the effectiveness of resource management. One way that can be done to achieve project objectives is to increase work productivity. This study aims to determine the productivity of labor in the installation of lightweight brick walls based on facts in housing projects. Labor productivity by analyzing the LUR value and productivity rating then becomes the regression analysis data to produce the model. The data search was carried out by direct observation to the field and conducting unstructured interviews with workers in the field. The resource persons are workers as artisans and workers who are experts in the work of installing light brick walls. This productivity measurement uses the productivity rating method, where worker activities are classified into 3 things, namely Essential contributory work, Effective work, and not useful. The results of the analysis show that the productivity of light brick wall installation workers based on the fact has higher productivity than the SNI labor coefficient. To calculate the labor productivity of installing lightweight brick walls, then the model from the results of this study can be used. The results of the evaluation of the model to predict labor productivity for installing lightweight brick walls have an average accuracy of 99.34%, so the model can be declared accurate.</p>

KESEHATAN KEUANGAN DAN VALUASI BJBR MENGGUNAKAN RISK BASED BANK RATING METHOD

The COVID-19 pandemic has given an impact on the health of banks in Indonesia, one of which is the West Java and Banten Bank (BJBR). This study aims to assess the health of BJBR before and during the covid-19 pandemic and to find the intrinsic value of BJBR shares that can be used as an evaluation of the company's performance. This research is a descriptive quantitative research. BJBR health analysis was carried out using the Risk Based Rating or RGEC and the intrinsic value analysis was carried out using the Dividend Discount Model (DDM). The authors used data from the 2018-2020 of BJBR financial statements. The results showed that in general, the soundness of BJBR was very healthy and the intrinsic value of BJBR's shares was Rp. 1,659.33 or BJBR's share price is currently sold below its intrinsic value. This research is expected to provide information on the impact of the pandemic on banking, especially BJBR so that the Government and the Financial Services Authority can provide support to banks. In addition, this research can be used as a reference by investors who are interested in BJBR shares. Pandemi covid-19 telah memberikan dampak pada kesehatan perbankan di Indonesia, salah satunya Bank Jawa Barat dan Banten (BJBR). Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk untuk menilai kesehatan BJBR sebelum dan selama pandemi covid-19 serta untuk mencari nilai intrinsik saham BJBR yang dapat digunakan sebagai evaluasi kinerja perusahaan. Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian kuantitatif deskriptif. Analisis kesehatan BJBR dilakukan dengan menggunakan Risk Based Rating atau RGEC dan analisis nilai intrinsik dilakukan dengan Dividend Discount Model (DDM). Penulis menggunakan data laporan keuangan BJBR tahun 2018-2020. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa secara umum, tingkat kesehatan BJBR adalah sangat sehat dan nilai intrinsik saham BJBR adalah Rp1.659,33 atau harga saham BJBR saat ini dijual di bawah nilai intrinsiknya. Penelitian ini diharapkan dapat memberikan informasi dampak pandemic terhadap perbankan, khususnya BJBR agar Pemerintah dan Ototritas Jasa Keuangan dapat memberikan dukungan kepada bank. Selain itu, penelitian ini dapat digunakan sebagai acuan oleh investor yang tertarik saham BJBR.