Secure Data Mobility in Cloud Computing for e-Governance Application

Due to the rapid technological advancement, traditional e-government systems are getting obsolete because of their inherent limitation of interoperability and accessibility to the highly secured and flexible e-governance services. Migration of such systems into highly secured cloud governance architecture will be a long-term viable solution. However, the adoption of distributed cloud computing has created operational and security challenges. This research work aims to bridge the gap between traditional and cloud-based e-Government systems in terms of data security based on confidentiality, interoperability, and mobility of data among distributed databases of cloud computing environments. In this work, we have created two organization databases by the use of AWS EC2 instances and classified the data based on the Risk Impact Level (RIL) of data by the use of the Metadata Attribute Value (MAV) function. To enhance further security on classified data, we take appropriate security action based on the sensitivity of the data. For the analysis purpose, we implemented different security algorithms, i.e. AES, DES, and RSA in the mobility of data between two distributed cloud databases. We measured the encryption and decryption time along with the file size of data before and after classification. AES performed better while considering the encryption time and file size, but the overall performance of RSA was better for smaller file sizes. Finally, the performance of the data mobility between two distributed clouds databases was analyzed while maintaining the sensitivity level of the data.

Seismic Response of Vertical Irregular Structures in Setback and Stepped Buildings

Vertical irregular buildings are frequently constructed across the globe for functional as well as aesthetic purpose. However post-earthquake reconnaissance survey reports revealed high seismic vulnerability of the building with vertical irregularities. Consequently it is very important to explore the reason behind the high seismic vulnerability and the poor performance of irregular structures during the earthquake. A humble effort is under taken considering several case studies comprising different configuration of vertical irregular structures, so as to comprehend the seismic behavior of vertical irregular structure using response spectrum and pushover analysis has been attempted in finite element software ETABS 16.2.1 version. The results of the analysis indicate the irregular structures have ample chance of higher stress concentration as well as higher displacement demand at the vicinity of irregularity. Member strength enhancement at the vicinity of vertical irregularity may improve the overall seismic performance of the building. Also, this research checks the adequacy of fundamental mode properties for the quantification of vertical irregularity. Furthermore, pushover analysis has been done to observe the hinge formation pattern and also the plastic hinge rotation for observing the performance level of building.

Effect of Air-entrained Agent for the Mortar of Roller Compacted Concrete

Roller compacted concrete (RCC) is the zero slump concrete produced from the same materials used in conventional concrete. The mortar used in RCC plays a significant role for the workability, strength and durability of the concrete. The air content in the mortar is the key factor for durability, especially to resist the freezing and thawing action. The main target is to produce the microscopic air cells inside the mortar using air-entrained agent and minimize the entrapped air as little as possible. Air content may range from 4~7% depending upon the type of concrete. The effect of the content of AE 303A type air-entrained agent was studied for the fresh and hardened properties of the RCC mortar. The result showed that it has an almost negligible effect on the workability of mortar, but highly effective for the density and compressive strength of hardened mortar. The use of 0.02% (by weight of cement) increased the air content about 4.5 times of the base mortar (without the use of the agent), from 2% to 9.1%. However, the density was decreased by about 10 % (from 2.18 gm/cm3 to 1.96 gm/cm3) and the 28 days compressive strength by about 49% (from 21.90 MPa to 14.73 MPa). The model, developed for the mortar of the dam concrete, has also been well satisfied with the experimental results for the case of RCC mortar.

Seismic Analysis of Retrofitting of RC Regular Frame with V-Braced Frame

Retrofitting of the existing buildings helps to reduce the serious damages under the strong ground motions. In retrofitting techniques, steel bracings are used to resist the lateral load effectively. In this study, the author aimed to investigate the four-story RC frames without and with steel bracings to understand the seismic performances of the buildings. The authors select the V bracings having 7 different thickness of steel bracings ( t= 2.5, 4, 6, 8, 10, 14 and 20mm) and observed the effect in seismic behaviors of the structures in terms of maximum story displacements, inter-story drift (ISD), base shear, fundamental time period (FTP) and capacity curves. In addition, it observed the failure behaviors of the structures. To study the seismic behaviors, the response spectrum analysis and nonlinear static analysis are performed in ETABs software. The result indicates that V bracing improves the seismic performances of the RC frames as well as improves the strength capacity and stiffness of the buildings. Adding bracing in RC frames decreases the top story displacements and inter story drift of the buildings. To get the expected failure mechanism in the braced frames and suitable uniform energy dissipation behaviors, the bracings are designed in such a way that the RC columns should be the main line of defense in the dual systems. Expected failure mechanism is obtained when stronger column, weak beam and weaker bracings design philosophy is used and it is only possible when the columns are designed to resist at least 50% lateral base shear in dual systems. A suitable thickness of bracings which is economical and structurally good should be selected.

Review of Underground Space Utilization and its Relevance in Nepal

Underground space, both open-cut and fully underground method, has been in use throughout the world for mining, storage, waterway, transport, and others from past centuries. But still the clear demarcation of ownership in terms of surface and underground is not clear in most parts of the world. The concept of underground space utilization is an evolving concept. The developed nations have opted for this option to accommodate growing urbanization need. Two modes of space utilization are reviewed for this paper, open excavation and full underground excavation. Also world case scenario is presented and is compared to the situation in Nepal. Social factors and geological factors in the context of Nepal are also addressed that have been crucial in case of some completed projects. Ambiguous underground rights in relation to surface ownership in Nepal is taken in account and example of some cities like Singapore, Tokyo, Helsinki is presented to make it clear how right segregation is possible and is needed for better underground space utilization. Historical evolution of Tunneling in Nepal is discussed along with the future designed and scheduled projects. Despite the geological complexity and lack of experienced manpower in the context of Himalayan geology the importance of underground space is highlighted because emerging researches and technological innovation around the world and also in Nepal have been confirming this concept now and again. As a conclusion for betterment and well managed cities in Nepal underground space would be an undefeated option in the long run.

A Concept of Optimum Forest Area for the Sustainable Development of Nepal

Forest sector was badly suffered due to anthropogenic activities in the last two centuries before it is getting revitalized due to serious conservation efforts particularly after the Earth Summit in 1992. In order to expedite the development efforts by being considerate to the environment of the planet we live, United Nations has adopted seventeen sustainable development goals (SDGs) to be achieved by 2030. Sustainable development aims for harmony among physical, social and environmental development, and hence, guides for finding a balanced approach of development and conservation. This paper highlights the need for finding a balance between infrastructure development and forest conservation initiatives in Nepal with a focus of attaining SDGs by 2030. The economic status of Nepal is reviewed along with the plans, policies and trends of forest conservation. It highlights the need for a system perspective in which forest conservation is a component of the overall objective of sustainable development. A theoretical framework of optimum forest area for Nepal is presented by considering the contributions and obstacles of the forest sector towards attaining SDGs. Rather than focusing on complicated mathematical models; this paper presents a simple and practical concept of gauging the attainment of SDGs by a single index that may be useful to planners. The optimum forest area for Nepal has not been assessed and will be a scope of future studies. Once the idea of optimum forest area is adopted, major breakthroughs can be expected towards attaining SDGs in Nepal.

Status and Potential of Resource Recovery from Municipal Solid Waste in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal

Current waste management strategies are shifting from waste disposal to recycling and recovery and are considering waste as a potential new resource. This paper aims to quantify reusable and recyclable fractions with status of material recovery from municipal solid waste (MSW) in Kathmandu Valley of Nepal. 550 households, 110 institutions and 110 commercial establishments were sampled to compute the generation, composition and quantify reusable and recyclable fraction of solid waste. In addition, 120 scrap shops were surveyed randomly from Kathmandu Valley to estimate the amount of resource recovered for economic benefits. As per results, the average per capita MSW generation can be estimated at range of 0.25 kg day-1 to 0.47 kg day-1 in municipalities of Kathmandu Valley. Based on these generation rates and population for the year 2011, the total MSW generation of the five municipalities of Kathmandu Valley was estimated to be 620 metric tonnes day-1. The major content of reusable and recyclable materials in MSW comprised with an average of 44% that is equivalent to 271 metric tonnes day-1 among which only 52% (i.e. 140 metric tonnes day-1) of these materials were found to be recovered during survey. The key materials that have been recovered are papers, plastics, metals, glasses, and batteries. Recovery of reusable and recyclable materials not only helps to minimize the quantity of solid waste for land filling, but also provides a potential source of livelihood for the urban poor.

Resident’s Perception of Safety in Planned Residential Neighborhood of Kathmandu

Kathmandu valley has been urbanizing rapidly but the planning of neighborhoods is limited to land readjustments and housing developments. The focus of such development is to provide either the service plots or ready to move in housing stock. Residential Environment Satisfaction (RES) has been used as a concept to measure the perceptual dimension neighborhood planning. Moreover, neighborhood safety is a key priority while considering RES. This paper aims to examine the relationships between various factors related to the safety as a measure of the RES in the planned residential neighborhood in Kathmandu Valley. Since the planned cities or communities seem to have better residential satisfaction, the case study area surveyed upon is Purano Sinamangal Town planning, a land pooling area nearly at junction to three major districts of Kathmandu valley. Various factors have been taken as a measure for neighborhood safety including physical and socio-psychological variable. This research is based on a mixed method. A figure of 109 households was determined as sample household size and individual representatives were interviewed for the survey. The research finds that perception of safety is very high depending on the ethnic groups while it is also significant in case of occupation that the respondent holds. The reason for safety highly was found to be dependent upon good street design, the presence of good neighbors and provision of security patrols. Also, annoyance factors such as disturbances from street and vehicles, crimes, neighborly disputes were found to make the neighborhood unsafe. The research concludes that safety is a major concern for RES and it had been perceived by the residents through significant of good neighborly relation and safety measures in road planning and design.

Storm water Management in the context of Climate Change and Rapid Urbanization: A case of Tokyo Metropolitan

Groundwater table depletion and increasing flood events can be easily realized in urban areas. It is necessary to improve existing storm water management systems for good quality water environment and reduced hydro-meteorological disasters while preserving our natural/pristine environment in a sustainable manner. This can be achieved through optimal collection, infiltration and storage of storm water. The need of sustainable storm water management is desired and optimal capture measure is explored in this paper. This paper provides a review of storm water management in urbanization and climate change context with a case study of Tokyo Metropolitan, Japan which could be helpful in mitigating the dual problems of groundwater depletion and flood events. This paper presents the overview of storm water run-off management in order to guide future storm water management policies. Also, the effects of different onsite facilities from water harvesting, reuse, ponds and infiltration are explored to establish adaptation strategies that restore water cycle and reduce climate change induced flood and water scarcity.

Analysis of Highway Slope Failure by Using Stereographic Projection Method

This study was conducted at the Bhasu Bhir of Kailali district in the Far-western Province, along the Khanidanda-Sahajpur road section of Bhimdatta pant highway. The main objective of this study is to identify the potential slope failure area and assess the major control factors along the road section. To accomplish the objective, the dip amount and dip direction of major discontinuity was measured in the field along with hill slope and hill slope direction. The data of 40 locations were analyzed by using stereographic projection method. The result was obtained by using Dips 6.0 software. The major slope failures obtained on the area were wedge failure and plane failure. The hill slope geometry, joint status and rock geometry are found major controlling factors for the slope failure in the study area.