Road Asset Management Assessment

Albanian Road Authority (ARA) under the administration of the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure. It is responsible agency for the process of construction and maintenance of national and regional roads. Albanian Development Fund (ADF) is the agency for construction of rural and regional road infrastructure, also training for maintenance and management of municipalities responsible for maintenance of the urban and rural roads. ARA and ADF are using public funds for the construction of road infrastructure network, so due to restriction budgetary in road maintenance they the need to develop a strategy for the management and financial of maintenance, based on current accounting principles and efficiency of public funds in order to ensure safety and cost saving users. This includes the use of a balance of investments made to launch a database for years and the development of basic documents for the planning and control of public spending in these activities. The question that arises and requires an analysis is: a generally accepted value will be calculated for the infrastructure during its useful life, using the principles of sound accounting and valuation of real estate activities internationally applied. The results show that the existing accounting standards are suitable for use in infrastructure management, allowing a better control of public spending on infrastructure, while the principles of technical assessment of public infrastructure assets require the creation of a database and inventory for all road classification.

Slopes Analyses - Case Study, Slope Stability of Bypass Project

The scope of this study was to compare various stability evaluation methods. Accordingly, most common LE approaches were compared with the advanced LE (M‐P) method. Similarly, the differences in FOS computed from LE and FE analyses were compared based on a simple slope considering various load cases. In addition, two real slopes in a case study were analysed for the recorded minimum‐maximum GWT, pseudo‐static and dynamic conditions. Moreover, the stability evaluations of these slopes were based on both LE (M‐P) and FE (PLAXIS) calculation approaches, which both utilized shear strength parameters from advanced triaxle tests. Similarly, Mohr‐Coulomb model was applied in both approaches. The following conclusions are hence derived based on the reported work on both idealized and real slopes. To fulfil one of the aims of the study, the LE based methods are compared based on the factor of safety (FOS) obtained for various load combinations. The comparison is mainly based on simplified slope geometry and assumed input parameters. Among the LE methods, the Bishop simplified (BS), Janbu simplified (JS) and Janbu GPS methods are compared with the Morgenstern‐Price method (M‐PM). These LE methods are well established for many years, and thus some of them are still commonly used in practice for stability analysis. Moreover, the M‐PM has been compared with results from the FE analyses. Compared with theFE (PLAXIS) analyses, the LE (M‐PM) analyses may estimate 5 – 14percent higher FOS, depending on the conditions of a dry slope and a fully saturated slope with hydrostatic pore pressure distributions. For fully saturated conditions in the slope, inaccurate computation of stresses in LE methods may have resulted in larger difference in the computed FOS. Since, the FE software is based on stress‐strain relationship, stress redistributions are surely better computed even for a complicated problem. This has been found one of the advantages in FE simulations. A parameter study shows that the application of a positive dilatancy angle in FE analysis can significantly improve the FOS (4 ‐ 10percent). On contrast, the shear surface optimization in LE (M‐PM in SLOPE/W) analysis results in lower FOS, and thus minimizing the difference in FOS compared with FE analysis

The Design of a Tomato Powder Processing Plant with a Capacity of 75,000 Tonnes Per Annum in Oyo State, Nigeria, West Africa

This project designed a plant that will process 250 tonnes of raw tomatoes per day. The duration of this production was spread across 24 hours and operated for 300 days in a year, which gave a yield of 17.5 tons of tomato powder per day. From these specifications, the best process route was synthesized. The process route selected involved choosing and sorting the tomatoes, washing, blanching, blending, spray drying (as the drying process), packaging and labeling. Through a series of investigations, the most feasible way to dry tomato powder on an industrial scale proved to be the spray-drying method because the process was very rapid, required low labor cost, and was relatively simple to operate and sustain. The particle size was also easy to control with this technology, making it easy to correlate with product standards. The equipment to be used was then identified which included the machine vision, a spray washer, a water Blancher, an industrial blender, a spray dryer, and a powder packaging machine. Material and energy balance were evaluated around the whole plant. A process flow diagram and basic piping and instrumentation diagram were also computed using engineering software such as Microsoft Visio. From the previous work done, the selected process unit, the spray dryer, was designed with a detailed piping and instrumentation diagram made around it. The site of the plant was resolved, adjacent oriental foods along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. It was necessary to site the plant in an area where raw materials can easily be delivered to. The area selected was directly linked to a major highway, the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, thereby making transport quite affordable. The site layout alongside the plant layout was constructed. The layouts clearly showed the standard flow process.

Design and Development of GSR Biofeedback Device

It has been a long time that human is interested in learning how to control involuntary actions such as heartbeat, blood pressure, breathing, etc., so a lot of research has been done on this issue so far. One of the methods using in this field is biofeedback, in which someone can roughly control an involuntary action or having better control over some voluntary actions such as muscle contraction through some visual or audio feedback from those actions. This study is to design and development of one biofeedback instrument, which is GSR (Galvanic Skin Response), and examine some signals that have been taken by this device.

Artificial Intelligence as a Resilient Tool for Fighting Inequalities in the COVID-19 Crisis

Can artificial intelligence (AI) be a sustainable way to help solving the Covid-19 global problem? What does the way how welfare states, charity organizations and labour markets are dealing with the pandemic crisis tells us about the AI capacity for reducing exposition of underprivileged groups to the desease? It is becoming more and more visible how the new coronavirus pandemic is affecting specifically the most deprived and vulnerable groups, and also the big difference that welfare states and their policies make. What did the pandemic show about the relations between social inequality, welfare state provision and AI? This presentation will discuss the role of AI as a tool for public policies fighting inequalities that were amplified during the Covid-19 crisis. It will be analysed how the welfare state, the labour market and social communities are already incorporating AI tools and how this can eventually produce more resilient paths. Accelareted and amplified by the Covid-19, several processes of AI penetration in health, education, healthcare, social security, public administrations, labour and surveillance of citizens, became a subject of public discussion. Artificial intelligence is currently a process of long-term change in health and biotechnologies, long-distance education, teleworking, automation, robotization, consumption behaviours, surveillance and human enhancement. An in-deep analysis of the Portuguese case will support the lessons that can be learnt from AI and its use in public policies in a context of pandemic crisis, leading to a set of political recommendations, to promote its application as a resilient tool to fight inequalities.

Rockfall Analyses at Km 13+550 in the New Road of Vlora, Albania

Rockfall dynamics is a complex function of the location of the detachment point and the geometry and mechanical properties of both the block and the slope. Theoretically, knowing the initial conditions, the slope geometry, and the relationships describing the energy loss at impact or by rolling, it should be possible to compute the position and velocity of a block at any time. Nevertheless, relevant parameters are difficult to ascertain both in space and time, even for an observed event. Usually, the geometrical and geomechanically properties of the blocks (size, shape, strength, fracturing) and the slope (gradient, length and roughness, longitudinal and transversal concavities and convexities, grain size distribution, elastic moduli, water content, etc.), and the exact location of the source areas are unknown. In this paper, the sources of potential rock fallings involve a rocky area including between km 13+550 and km 13+600 in the new road of Vlora city in Albania. The area is characterized by a rock ridge, shaped like a dome, located few tens of meters above the design road. The purpose of this paper is the rock slope analysis. This analysis consists mainly of defining the sources of falling rocks, estimating the causes (by toppling, rock slides, single blocks) the size, the geometry, and type of blocks, the structural arrangement of joints, etc.

The Dimensional Stability and Durability of Acrylic Resins for the Injection of Cementitious Systems

The dimensional stability and durability of Acrylamide- and Methacrylate-based acrylic resins have been studied. The dimensional stability was characterized by measuring the volume expansion of samples immersed in water for a period up to 240 days or by exposing the samples to 23oC and 50 per cent, 90 per cent relative humidity and by monitoring the shrinkage. The durability was investigated by exposing the resins to cyclic variations of temperature in air and in water. The resins generally exhibit a significant volume change up to 160 per cent of the initial volume when immersed in water or exposed to a relatively dry atmosphere (23oC and 50 per cent). A general increase in the material stiffness and/or crack formation on the surface of the resin is observed. On a long-term basis, the durability of the resins may significantly vary with occasionally a partial or complete deterioration of the some resins. A general better dimensional stability and durability is observed for the Methacrylate-based resins as compared to the Acrylamide-based resins.

Simpler Machine Learning Using Spreadsheets: Neural Network Predict

Machine Learning as a phenomenon has gone viral, with many technologists and software vendors promoting it. However, offered tools remain highly technical and not accessible to those without rigorous training in Computer Science or Business Analytics. It would be more useful if end-users can understand it beyond the sales pitch or blind application, and perhaps, even work from scratch to build simple models without much additional training. With better assimilation and acceptance of this AI methodology as an acquired skill and not just head knowledge, many more may want to invest the intensive effort to learn the required tough mathematics and cryptic programming. Or, after simple trial explorations, be willing to put aside substantial budgets to employ skilled professionals for full-scale business application. With simplicity and accessibility in mind, this paper renders Neural Network, a key machine learning methodology, on the ubiquitous and easily comprehensible spreadsheet without macros or add-ins, employing only elementary operations and if so desired, optionally leveraging on its built-in Solver. We will show that backpropagation can be achieved using the elegant though obscure recursive computation feature, with no need for Solver. We will demonstrate the application of neural network on a familiar problem: early and prior prediction of students’ graduation GPA. The paper can be used to form the core content for introducing machine learning to non-technical audiences, particularly those majoring in Business and the Social Sciences.

Requalification of Residential Space in Tirana - Methodologies and Intervention Strategies

The city of Tirana is subject to constant physical and spatial metamorphosis. In its urban territory, the different residential typologies are well distinguished by socio-economic conditions and the technical-constructive characteristics which have been influenced by political development of the country. The multi-family residential buildings from the post-war period up to the 1990s, in addition to the problems that accompanied them from their initial construction, are found today in front of a physical degradation derived from the years they have. Problematic residential spaces are also most of the buildings constructed in the first decade after 1990, characterized by a low technological and housing quality, derived from an uncontrolled and informal development of the building sector. The building quality in this research, is focused on the applied architectural standards, the technological solutions adopted and the energy consumption derived from them. From the analysis made it has been reached in the conclusions that a renewal and requalification process is necessary to reduce the energy waste and to increase the quality of housing within residential spaces. The main objective of this research is to contribute to the sustainable development of the residential area of Tirana, referring to both the architectural and technological scale. Sustainable development in this paper is closely linked to the quality of residential spaces, which is directly related to the quality of life of the inhabitants. Due to the complexity of the urban environment and its transformations over time, the identification of light regeneration and redevelopment strategies is fundamental, minimizing demolition works. This article includes numerous European examples and a theoretical part, from which proposals for the future development of the residential areas of the city of Tirana can be extrapolated.

Students’ Consciousness of their Problem Solving Approaches as a Key to Creativity in Design

Architectural engineering students are constantly dealing with ill-defined and tangled design problems. Many scholars accentuated the importance of creative thinking in tackling such wicked and complex problems. Accordingly, getting engaged in an ill-defined problem solving process requires specific personality traits that are often critical to creativity and innovation in design. In that sense, architectural engineering curricula need to provide various strategies through which such individual skills can be nurtured and developed. The objective of this study is to empirically identify the different patterns of students’ approaches in solving problems and the role of group discussions in such a process. The study adopted a qualitative approach, in a live class setup, through a series of workshops to allow for in-depth exploration of the students’ problem solving skills and abilities. The intention is to help students in discovering and in being aware of their own way of solving problems and identifying its strengths and weaknesses. This is considered a core and significant step towards the improvement and development of their design thinking skills. The findings of the study have emphasized the positive impact of the cyclical behavior in the creative problem solving process and highlighted the different key issues and lessons emerging from students’ consciousness of the mental processes that occurred during this iterative process. Such awareness and consciousness of those emergent issues is expected to encourage conscious design, increase tolerance for ambiguity and improve self-confidence which are believed to dramatically help students in creatively solving ill-defined architectural design problems.