Strategic Unification of Artificial Intelligence in Foreign Direct Investment Application Forms

A foreign direct investment (FDI) is a very popular method of investing overseas but different from a stock investment in a foreign company. It could be purchasing of an interest in a company by an investor located outside its borders and in most cases, governments pay special interest on them. This is a business decision to acquire a substantial stake in a foreign business or to buy it outright as to expand its operations to a new region. Embedding artificial intelligence (AI) across the business requires significant investment and a change in overall approach. It is highly constructive and productive transformation that should be planned professionally, applied systematically, and managed strategically. AI drives meaningful value to business through better decision-making and consumer-facing applications. The general perception about filling a FDI application is a cumbersome job. Some countries manage this stage very methodically and investors always give priority for them as they can commence the production/business activities within a short period. Those countries who fail to gain this competitive advantage tend to lose the FDI opportunities even if they own various other advantages of resources to attract investors. This paper attempts to evaluate the potential of embedding a strategic unification of artificial intelligence in the application forms used to fill by investors at the time of starting foreign direct investment projects.

Shaping the Education to Meet the Global Demands: Industrial Inclusiveness in University Curriculum

The world entered to knowledge-based economy which is based on the production and use of information. Today computer technology, language proficiency and logistics play a major role. University Curriculum connects the secondary level education and the industry. Therefore, industry inclusiveness is essential in transforming children to an industry worker or an entrepreneur. This paper is derived from an opinion survey, desk research, and a case study. Reports of international institutions were studied extensively in the literatures survey. The respondents of the survey consisted key personnel in the government and private sector covering a cross section of the stakeholders in education and business world. The report analyses are then evaluated and discussed though a case study in Sri Lanka. The practices and procedures in the contemporary education system in the country is systematically explained in this section. The report presents its key recommendation under seven areas as policy recommendations. It includes innovative concepts such as, vertical integration between schools, universities, and industry; extended academic disciplines at tertiary level; changes in the university; review to selection criteria of state universities; new academic disciplines in the school curriculum; technical and vocational education; focus on children with different skills etc.

Hydrolytic Degradation of 3D-Printed Poly (Lactic Acid) Structures

Hydrolytic degradation of commercially available 3D printing filament, i.e. poly (lactic acid) with broad molecular weight distribution was induced by incubating 3D-printed parts in deionized water at 3 temperatures. Small changes in orthogonal dimensions occurred due to relaxation of printing stresses, but no mass or volume loss were detected over the time-frame of the experiments. Molecular weight decreased while polydispersity remained constant. The most sensitive measure of degradation was found to be nondestructive, small-amplitude oscillatory tensile measurements. A rapid decay of tensile storage modulus was found with an exponential decay time constant of about an hour. This work demonstrates that practical monitoring of commercially available PLA degradation can be achieve with linear viscoelastic measurements of modulus.

Sustainability in the New Congo’s Tropical Architecture: A Case Study of The Sabena Towers by Claude Laurens

Tropicalizing a building might seem like the best option for a young architect who lands in the tropics, but this is an approach contrary to sustainability. Claude Laurens, through one of his first projects in Congo, understood that it was better to deal with the place from the start. His project became one of the best examples of tropical modernism. The article attempts to contrast an import approach with a more sustainable one, to deal with the present and future context. The research method adopted for this study was a mixed method approach where data was sourced from literature as secondary source and compared with direct observation of the selected case study (The Sabena Towers). The results are presented as figures which were used to further illustrate findings. The result showed that the architect, with little information, did his utmost to offer Congo a new architecture that fitted with the objectives of sustainable development. The study concluded that the architect chose not to adopt the foreign architecture as a solution for the sustainability issues he encountered in the design, rather he evolved solutions that were Congolese based and therefore responded adequately to the challenges of sustainability in Congo and created an architecture for Congo.

The Contribution of Forests from Counties Located in Romania’s West Plain to The Area’s Long Lasting Development

The present paper reunites in an objective synthesis data from forest management plans realized in the West Plain during 1995-2008. The study focused on stands situated around cities and in their construction perimeter in order to emphasise their contribution to the area’s long lasting development. The paper’s importance derives from the fact that urban areas are in a continuous development that will incorporate heavily nearby forests. As such, through their functions, forests contribute to the long lasting development of the entire metropolitan area to which they belong. All forests from the West Plain were divided in stand elements (species of a certain age that belong to a forest’s composition). The study has taken into account all stand elements from the area that belongs to the forest category from around cities. The large number of these stand elements (2107) offers a solid base for the different realized analyses. The paper’s results show that from the entire surface of forests with recreation functions located in the West Plain, 4.670 ha are occupied by Forests from around counties, cities and villages as well as forests located in their construction perimeter. The most widespread species from this type of stand is pedunculate oak (Quercus robur L.), which occupies 2072 ha. Forests from around cities from the West Plain are situated at altitudes between 80 and 400 m. The soils are predominantly common alvisol, while Arum-Pulmonaria is the most widespread flora. In the context of the long lasting development of urban areas with implications on nearby forests, the results and discussions of this article represent a first step towards knowing these forests and towards properly managing them in order to successfully fulfil their protection and recreational purposes.

Correction of Tropical Rainfall Measuring Missions Satellite Data of Solar Radiation for the High Andean Areas of Peru

The spatial and temporal quantification of climatic elements is necessary in different regions of the world, as mitigation policies against climate change in recent years the use of renewable energies has been promoted, with solar radiation being an important element, the objective is to correct Tropical Rainfall Measuring Missions (TRMM) satellite data series of solar radiation with respect to the data observed through an automatic meteorological station for a short period at a point located in the southern Peruvian Andes, we proceeded to process the observed data and download satellite information, making use of From a mathematical model, the correction coefficients of the satellite data were determined; The multiplicative factor model better corrects the satellite information, the Pearson correlation improved from R = 0.65 to R = 0.84 for monthly solar radiation, in the series of satellite data corrected for 37 years, a trend was determined -0.0006 Watt/m2/month.

An Environmental Perspective of Dracunculiasis and the Guinea Worm Eradication Programme on Human Behaviour in the Northern Region of Ghana

This article examines the role dracunculiasis (Guinea Worm Disease – GWD) and the Guinea Worm Eradication Programme (GWEP) played in changing community members’ behaviour towards the disease and their bio-physical environment. The research design that was used to collect data was the mixed method approach, in which questionnaire was administered, Focus Group Discussion (FGD) was held, and key informant interviews conducted. Krejcie and Morgan’s formula for determining sample population for research was used to determine the sample population of the study area, which was 860. It was found that bedrock lithology made community members to resort to unsafe sources of drinking water which exposed them to GWD. It was also realized that the educational programmes which the GWEP brought along with it changed community members’ behaviour towards their bio-physical environment, which ultimately resulted in eradicating the disease in the study area. It was therefore recommended that in carrying out disease eradication or control programmes, the environmental protection agency should be involved in the process of educating community members on methods of improving on the integrity of their natural and built environment to enhance the overall health status of the community.

Survey on Ten Years of Multi-Depot Vehicle Routing Problems: Mathematical Models, Solution Methods and Real-Life Applications

A crucial practical issue encountered in logistics management is the circulation of final products from depots to end-user customers. When routing and scheduling systems are improved, they will not only improve customer satisfaction but also increase the capacity to serve a large number of customers minimizing time. On the assumption that there is only one depot, the key issue of distribution is generally identified and formulated as VRP standing for Vehicle Routing Problem. In case, a company having more than one depot, the suggested VRP is most unlikely to work out. In view of resolving this limitation and proposing alternatives, VRP with multiple depots and multi-depot MDVRP have been a focus of this paper. Carrying out a comprehensive analytical literature survey of past ten years on cost-effective Multi-Depot Vehicle Routing is the main aim of this research. Therefore, the current status of the MDVRP along with its future developments is reviewed at length in the paper.

A Lesson of Sustainability Given by The Tropical Modernism in Kinshasa: The BCB Headquarters by Maurice Houyoux

The tropical region is often considered as a region where the sun shines intensely and the temperature varies at certain times of the year. In the case of Congo, the average weather condition is considered cool, however, there have been cases where the temperature reached up to 43° C. It is therefore imperative for buildings in this region to take into account the temperature variation while considering the comfort of the users. During the design and construction of the Bank of Belgian Congo, the availability of data to assist the architect Maurice Houyoux in meeting the challenge of the region was unavailable. The architect had to be creative in planning and overcoming the challenges posed by the environment. This paper seeks to examine the issues confronted by Maurice Houyoux and the design solutions he provided to ensure that the building was functional and responded to the tropical challenges. In undertaking this study, a historical approach was adopted through the review of relevant literature on the building and designs within the period of the development of the bank. An observation method was also deployed to verify some of the information found in the literature. The findings are presented using pictures and sketches to explain some of the key issues relevant to the design of the bank. The findings showed that despite the reduced number of published data for designing in such a region, the architect was able to examine the existing buildings and discuss with users of other constructions to obtain relevant data. The findings also showed that the building was able to respond to peculiar requirements to be functional. The paper concludes that the local building materials and traditional builders can be used to achieve a contemporary building that fits into the context towards sustainable architecture.

A Comparative Study between Jordanian Overall Heat Transfer Coefficient (U-Value) and International Building Codes, With Thermal Bridges Effect Investigation

Depletion of fossil fuel and the environmental effect associated with the use of it have made the topic of “thermal insulation regulations” a major concern in country Jordan and worldwide. This paper reviews the overall heat transfer coefficient U-value in Jordanian code for the building envelope, which represents how much the building envelope transfer heat to the outside environment. U-value was reviewed with respect to the following factors, heating degree days, the heating load required to achieve thermal comfort. Based on the review a new U-value of 0.65 W/m2.K was proposed and it was found that this value reduces the energy demand almost 50%. Moreover, the thermal bridge effect was investigated and it was found that an obvious increase in the U-value is present when having thermal bridges; this will affect the energy demand, almost 200%.